Life & Society
2007 and all that
Published 20 December 2007
Was this year a good thing? Ben Yarde-Buller casts his sideways glance over the past 12 months
Happy New EU
As is traditional the new year* began just after midnight with a wave of parties, treaties and new E.U. member states such as Bulgaria and even Romania. As the Bulgarians and Romanians had very few Gross Domestic Products* they were unable to drink any champagne to celebrate being the new poor men of Europe. However they managed to cheer themselves up by gathering in public places and attending free concerts, often simultaneously.
* 2007
* except some raw materials e.g. cabbage
Cash for Honours
Tony Blah did not have much time to govern in 2007 as he kept popping round to his local police station to swear that he had never made an Honours Penny in his life. He did not enjoy this at all, as the police refused to treat him as a suspect or indeed with any caution whatsoever, even though he was a Prime Minister and thus by definition a V.I.P.
Shaat Al-Arab
Shaat Al Arab is not a racist slur. On the contrary it is the name of a disputed waterway running between Iraq and Iran* where fifteen British sailors were humiliatingly captured by Irani terrorists in March. This was quite outrageous as at the time of their capture the sailors were very much minding their own business by boarding and searching Irani ships for smuggled goods.
Eventually Blah made a diplomatic effort and persuaded the Iranis to give the sailors right back. However he soon regretted his actions as on their return they all sold their stories to the tabloids, thus damaging Britain’s reputation (as the stories were rather boring and not even particularly well-written).
* or vice-versa depending on one’s viewpoint
The End of the Blah Era
In geological terms the Blah Era was a mere blip but to most of the people involved it didn’t seem that way at all.
Towards the end of his Era, Tony Blah started trying to work out what his Legacy should be. At first his main ideas were:
- Africa
- The Middle East
- Iraq
- Iran
- Northern Ireland
- Afghanistan
- Bosnia
- A.N. Other Country
- Good Friday
However in the end it turned out that Blah’s Legacy was none of the above but Gordon Brown* instead.
* no relation of Bennett
Gordon Brown
Gordon Brown hotly denied that he was Blah’s Legacy, arguing that if anything it was the other way round (or vice-versa). He tried to prove this by having some very firm policies of his very own, fizz:
- almost calling several elections
- almost pulling several troops out of Iraq
- almost gaining the confidence of several middle class voters
This is almost known as Leadership.
Smoking Ban
Smoking harms your unborn child (especially in public spaces) and was thus banned by the government on July 1st. This is known as a smoking ban and is a highly complex and controversial issue, as will now be proved beyond reasonable doubt:
Main Arguments (for the Smoking Ban)
- I do not smoke
- I do not like the smell of smoke on my clothes
- Smoking harms my unborn child
Main Counter-Arguments (against the Smoking Ban)
- I do smoke.
- I do like the smell of smoke on my clothes.
- Why should I believe you? Are you a scientist?
Sub Prime Lending Crisis
This unmemorable crisis was something to do with the American economy and is thus excessively relevant though not at all interesting except to:
- people who have a lot of money and/or free time (and/or both)
- people who are into northern rock
- economists, doom-mongers, sub-prime-ministers* etc
Sub-Prime Lending might (but shouldn’t) be confused with the Cash for Honours Scandal, The Abrahams Affair or Political Donations in general.
* e.g. Gordon Brown
Afghanistan, Iraq and all that
Afghanistan and Iraq should on no account be mixed up even though they are both fundamentally somewhat Muslim and thus contain millions of disaffected young men with a negative attitude (and bombs). Also they are both Asian and larger than Europe and thus ideal venues for a war on terror.
In Afghanistan the War on Terror continued steadily towards Peace by means of skirmishes, massacres, roadside explosions, the Caliban and Class A drugs.
In Iraq the War on Terror brought so much Peace, security, schools, policemen, chaos and mayhem that British troops chose to withdraw in an orderly yet shambolic fashion before they were all killed. They tried their very best to hand over power to genuine Iraqis, but by mistake gave it to some Shia* Militias instead. This was A Bad Thing but can on no account be viewed as an abject failure (least of all by the politicians in charge).
* Irani
2008
It was thus finally time for everyone* to put their feet up and take a well-earned rest before 2008 (and all that…).
* especially politicians and other important types
END OF YEAR EXAM
1. Arrange in order of preference, starting with your absolute favourite: Afghanistan, Iraq, Sudan, North Korea, Iran, Northern Ireland, Congo. Give four glib reasons for your answer.
2. In your personal opinion, what is a Mullah?
3. Which European country has the Grossest Domestic Product? (Hint: The answer is Germany.)
4. Romania and Bulgaria joined the European Union in 2007. Whatever next? Turkey?
5. Is this a libellous statement: “Tony Blah solicited cash for the Labour Party in return for dispensing honours.”? How about this: “Tony Blah sexed up the September Dossier in order to bolster his case for going to war against Iraq.”?
6. On a scale of 1 to 10 (via 5) how humiliating was the capture of British sailors by Irani terrorists?
7. Mind your own business (while straying into another country’s territorial waters and searching their ships for smuggled goods).
8. How cool is Britannia? (N.B. This is not a rhetorical question.)
9. Imagine for a brief moment that you trust Gordon Brown. How was it?
10. Pay lip-service to the crucial importance of the American economy then turn your mind to something more interesting (e.g. football or The X Factor).
11. Confuse and contrast Iraq, Iran, the Gulf, Mesopotamia, the Middle East, Pakistan, Afghanistan, the Taliban and (if you still have time) North Korea.
12. Write an email to your local M.P., expressing yourself in no uncertain terms.
13. “A Scot, a Presbyterian and an Economist.” How accurate do you find this assessment of Sub-Prime-Minister Brown?
14. Using only unavailable evidence, assess the situation in Basra.
15. Was 2007 A Good Thing? Your answer should take account of all of the following: Iraq, Afghanistan, the Taliban, North Korea, the England Football Team, Floods, Sub-Prime Mortgages, Sub-Prime Ministers, Russian Democracy, Anglo-Russian Relations, the Housing Market, Madeleine McCann, the Dafur Region, Chlorine Bombs, Global Warming and Paul Potts.
2066 AND ALL THAT - a memorable
Memorable Modern History from the Suffragettes to Saddam and Beyond (via the Coronation Chicken) by Ben Yarde-Buller & Sophie Duncan
ISBN: 978-1-90584-729-7
Price: £ 9.99
Publisher: Old Street Publishing
December 2007
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