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An article in New Scientist (13/12/03) under the title "Super Pooper" contains some interesting facts about the defecatory habits of caterpillars, some of which expel faeces from their anus at high speed.
"The average range achieved by the flying faeces was 19 times the length of the larva's body. The best shot, by a 4-centimetre long caterpillar, was 153 centimeters - 38 times its body length. The human equivalent would be 76 metres, or about 12 houses down the street."
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A report is expected today from a French parliamentary commission on whether to ban Muslim girls form wearing headscarfs to school. A French MP, interviewed this morning on the BBC radio 4 Today programme seemed to believe that this ban, if introduced, would somehow reduce racial and religious intolerance.
It pains me to say this, since I have a great deal of sympathy for the European idea, but this seems to be a classic demonstration of the European (as in mainland) bureacracy at work. There is an assumption that a problem is addressed if you make a rule covering it.
This is of course nonsense and only the most addled bureaucrat would argue that imposing a religious restriction will reduce religious intolerance.
This ties in I think with the current negotiations over the proposed EU constitution. I am in favour of having one - but all the extracts I have seen are in the most appallingly turgid language. The US constitution stands with the King James Bible as outstanding examples of the English language. I'm not competent to comment on other European languages, but I assume that the continent which produced Dante, Goethe, Cervantes, Victor Hugo and Shakespeare should be able to produce a modern equivalent to the US Declaration of Independence and the first constitution in any European language.
So here is a challenge for the blogosphere - lets see if we can come up with at least a preamble for a European Constitution which comes any where near the majesty of "We hold these truths to be self-evident..." or "We the People..."
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