TODAY'S NEWS

Was going through the papers again this morning and the quality of news here is just appalling….

Just last week I was talking to an old school mate of mine and we were both marveling at the discrepancy between the quality of newsprint and the editorial content. You get newspapers here, which weigh almost a kilo and yet hardly any news, leave alone informed commentary. If 2/thirds of the pages are filled with ad’s then the remaining is filled with absolute drivel.

Some vignettes from today’s paper.

* Man denies possessing stolen mobile phones: Nothing wrong with this news per-sé but almost a 250 word article?? Wow

* 40yr old arrested for kidnapping ex-girlfriend: An Italian in Rome (duh!) was arrested for kidnapping his ex from a pub and taking her home and forcing her to wash his clothes and the dishes. Couldn’t he just hire a maid.

* Police detain drunken Grandma: Police in Poland yesterday arrested a drunken woman 48 who was pushing her car while her intoxicated husband steered the vehicle with their 3yr old grandson on board.

* Restaurant serves dishwashing liquid: A restaurant in New Zealand was convicted of accidentally serving dishwashing liquid instead of wine. A customer and barmaid were both hospitalized after drinking the liquid which had been accidentally placed in a empty wine container. Again what I don’t get is how the 2 could drink enough dishwash without noticing to get hospitalized.

Meanwhile there is an excerpt of an interesting blog by an expat in Dubai who writes:

‘Last week in Arabic class, my teacher Mohamed Ali taught me an interesting new word.
“Eshaal” he said and asked me to guess what it meant hinting that Yousuf, our Arabic book’s protagonist, was going in and out of the bathroom holding his tummy.
“Diarrhoea?” I volunteered.
He shook his head, frowning.
“Constipation” he said. “The answer is Constipation.”
This time I frowned. Why in the world would Yousuf go in and out of the bathroom if he had constipation?
“What’s the word for Diarrhoea?” I asked
He didn’t reply. Just smiled.

Someone probably didn’t tell the poor guy that Arabic is read backwards. Maybe something to do with that.

On the opposite page was an article called “ASK THE VET” with the big question below “How do I treat my dog’s Diarrhoea?”

“Eshaal” I thought to myself chuckling… “Eshaal”

Till next time..

Ciao

Vish