38 reasons we should hate the French (or at least dislike them mildly)

I posted this earlier today, and then realised that it probably requires a bit of context.

France v Ireland: preview

There is a big rugby match on tomorrow between Ireland and France.  A really big one, that will see the greatest rugby player of his generation, and the greatest Irish rugby player of all time, Brian O'Driscoll, retire from international play on the same turf where he first shot to stardom.

If Ireland beat France, and England don't run up a victory margin of 50-odd points against Italy, then Ireland will win the 6 Nations Championship.

But, we are really bad at beating the French, especially in Paris.  In fact we have only managed it twice in the past 40 years.

But this one's for BO'D.  For BO'D and Ireland.

38 reasons we should hate the French (or at least dislike them mildly) - The Irish Times - Fri, Mar 14, 2014

Numbers 1, 18 and 38:

Thierry Henry

Mandela And His Legacy

NB: The videos embedded in this blogpost may not play on mobile devices.

The death of Nelson Mandela prompted an outpouring of tributes from around the world, and raised some interesting questions about his legacy and those of the conservative governments of the 1980s.  It has been been particularly interesting for me to observe the US media struggling with how to deal with Mandela's life history and worldview, and ultimately choosing to portray him as a Gandhi-like figure, for whom peaceful change was the goal, which is to completely misinterpret Mandela and his Long Walk to Freedom.  (As a side-note, Henry Kissinger once opined in conversations with the Chinese in 1971/2 that Gandhi's non-violence was a tactical not a philosophical decision, based on the nature of his opponent: the British).  Mandela's genius was to be able to react and change tactics as the circumstances allowed and dictated.