I came across this quote today. It was made in the diary of a colonal who was one of the first to liberate a Nazi concentration camp in 1945.

“It took a little time to get used to seeing men, women, and children collapse as you walked by them and to restrain oneself from going to their assistance. One had to get used early to the idea that the individual just did not count. It was shortly after the British Red Cross arrived, though it may have no connection, that a very large quantity of lipstick arrived.  This was not at all what we men wanted, we were screaming for hundreds and thousands of other things: food and medical equipment, and I don’t know who asked for lipstick. I wish so much that I could discover who did it; it was the action of genius, sheer unadulterated brilliance. I believe nothing did more for those internees than the lipstick. Women lay in bed with no sheets and no nightie but with scarlet red lips, you saw them wandering about with nothing but a blanket over their shoulders, but with scarlet red lips. I saw a woman dead on the post mortem table and clutched in her hand was a piece of lipstick. At last someone had done something to make them individuals again, they were someone, no longer merely the number tattooed on the arm. At last they could take an interest in their appearance. That lipstick started to give them back their humanity.”

Wow not only do you get two posts in a few minutes but they both fall into the illuminating category of "Hmmm". There's value for you.

Today I listened to a few minutes of BBC Radio 4. There were two items with quotes I shall have to paraphrase as it was some hours ago.

First there was a report about how the Afghan people are not warming to their new government. A man was interviewed who said something like, "I sell potatoes and make 6 (units of currency) per day. I have to bribe the police with one which only leaves me with 5 and I can't afford to do this. The authorities should do something about it." The presenter or reporter completely failed to see any irony in the statement.

Then just a minute or so later a similar statement where the irony was missed was made by our great leader Gordon Brown who said in reference to the idea of his "rescued" banks paying high bonuses to their staff something along the lines that "failures should not be rewarded". Obviously this kind of principle doesn't apply to serving Prime Ministers.

I hadn't seen this until a few minutes ago. He does call Gordon Brown an idiot and a one eyed Scotsman which is what all the fuss is about. But what is much more interesting is that he says in reference to Brown "... we know he's lying". It seems none of the idiots who complained about him being called a Scottish itdiot had the balls to challenge Jeremy on that one.

Only the most cynical will scratch their heads over this one. Make sure you are not among them!

This has no place on this blog whatsoever except for the spirit of the thing. Call me whatever you like I just think this is fabulous.