I'm not much of a punk. I don't own any steel-toed boots, I've never had a mohawk, and I am a fan of neither the Sex Pistols nor The Clash. In my favor, I do like The Ramones, I've dyed my hair many times, and I have little respect for most people and the way they live their lives. Either way, I am enough of a punk to know this: I loathe mods. Conformist bastards. I don't understand mods; they whine about how most people are complete ciphers and just accept the pop culture garbage that is shovelled at them, but yet they all bend over backwards to look just like each other, i.e. look like they walked straight off the set of Quadrophenia. Fucking mods. Here's an idea for you toolboxes to chew over while you're cruising on your Vespas: think for yourself!

I wonder who is the real ruler of China? Yes, Jiang Zemin has been replaced as president by Hu Jintao, but who really wields the power? After all, bear in mind that at the time of his death, Deng Xiaoping's only official title was honorary chairman of the China Bridge Association (bridge as in the card game).

We should all always be careful what we wish for. For example, Scotland and Wales have agitated for decades to have greater autonomy within the United Kingdom. To this end, the four "countries" that comprise the UK - England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland - compete as separate teams in many international sporting events, though I believe the UK still fields one unified Olympic team. The danger in this is that by fostering Scottish and Welsh national pride, these moves have also fostered English national pride, possibly even English nationalism. Do you really want to encourage the English to think of themselves as English rather than British? The English are among the most aggressive, ruthless, and successful conquerers in human history. They saw no contradiction in forcibly subjugating Scotland, Wales, Ireland, India, North America, and, eventually, 1/3 of the human race, while at the same time giving birth to parliamentary democracy and laying the foundation for the great American republic. Do not think me hateful; I am an Anglophile. I love both Britain and specifically England. My blood comes from England. But today, to celebrate England's victory in the world cup of rugby, Trafalger Square was filled with people waving flags bearing not the Union Jack, but the red and white St. George's Cross. I wonder if this was the desired result of the Scottish nationalists in Edinburgh when they launched their long campaign for greater autonomy from London.

About the Great War, my late great-grandmother Maude Gray (born in England, 1897) is said to have remarked, "Such a terrible waste of all those handsome young men."