Democracy?

Just like London buses...you wait for ages and then 2 come along almost at the same time.

I have been pondering this week on democracy. How can you do anything else in the lead up to the least democratic election of the most powerful man in the world's so-called leading democracy? CNN has had me ranting at the screen on a number of occasions as they ask everyone around the world whether they want Obama or McCain.

"They can't vote!" I scream at the presenters. "It doesn't matter what they think...."

But then the idea hit me. Wouldn't it be a whole lot more democratic if everyone else WAS allowed to vote. First, in America, the President, who probably still is the most powerful man in the world, despite my wishes to the contrary and the approaching takeover of that position of the Emporer of China, or whatever they have there as top dog, would be chosen by all the people in the world who are impacted by the decision. Brainwave!

But extend the idea further to every other country. There would be no Mugabe and no Adinajab, would have been no Saddam or Hitler or Pol Pot. OK, I know a number of these weren't elected anyway, but a serious number of the very bad leaders would have never had the power to inflict so much misery on the people in their country. Sometimes people need to be saved from themselves by having decisions taken out of their own hands.

I imagine a huge on-line voting facility, a bit like the Eurovision Song Contest but without TW and the annoying songs and block-voting for the Lithuanians. We'd have to limit the candidates to natives of the country being voted for, otherwise Arnie really would end up as US President and Borat as the leader of Kazhakstan...

But imagine it. I think it's brilliant - an instant end to poor leaders across the world. But then I suppose everyone always thinks their own ideas are brilliant...

Living in Germany but not being German means I'd get to vote here. As far as I can see there are no politicians worth voting in. So I think I'd probably vote for Nena. Who can forget her appearance on Top of the Pops singing 99 Red Balloons? What better representative of this fine country?

So who would be British PM if we applied this, do you think? Who would the great people of this world vote in as our leader if we had no say in it ourselves?

It's the end of the world as we know it...I feel fine!

OK. 3 months is long enough to wait for a new post.
And what a 3 months...
I have stayed in Germany this weekend for the first time in a while - half term travelling arrangements of Mrs Moose and the Mooselets cutting across the weekend. The Frankfurt marathon was today...I didn't run myself but did go to the end of my street to watch everyone run by and cheer on 3 colleagues who were running. Amazing that in a group of 12,000 runners I managed to see all 3 of them!
Thanks to Lyndyloo for passing on my message. Did my ARF get played?

Congratulations to Susan and the new mini-Susan!!!
Glad Mr Jollygit has a new job.
Loved the church announcements...crying from laughing so much!
Hi to everyone else...and come back soon anyone who's missing (I'm a fine one to talk...)

I am starting another (3rd since I got here...are they trying to tell me something?) new job soon, probably start of December now and highly politically sensitive. Always is when the person whose job you are getting doesn't know they are leaving it...oops!

I am looking forward to my next coaching session tomorrow, and to America having their first black president...there will be some serious egg on my face if McCain makes an unlikely comeback, huh?

I am looking forward to my next Personal Training session on Thursday...just signed up last week and did my first session. Already feel a couple of kilos lighter. In fact, I am considering shooting off for a swim when I have posted this.

So the financial markets are falling apart. Mrs M and I have had a difference of opinion on it and I thought I'd throw the topic open to you lot to chip in...
My view is that a global recession is actually only bad for a fairly small proportion of the population...mainly rich bankers...and that it's generally "no big deal". The media make a huge thing out of it because they have nothing else to talk about and it fills a few hours of non stop TV coverage without having to think too much. This makes everyone depressed and think about it more than necessary. Most of us will not lose our jobs. Just about everyone will survive it. We will probably all have to tighten our belts a bit, but for a lot of people in our all too well off world, I believe that's a good thing to have to endure now and again. And let's face it, for some of us mooses of a wider girth, a tightened belt is very definitely a good thing...
Mrs Moose thinks this is a selfish and narrow view. The chances are we will be OK as a family and will be almost totally unaffected. OK my shares a worth a bit less than before but that's paper money that I do not rely on for day to day food and shelter, and most likely will recover in time (and I still have some time before retirement when I might need to cash them in). But a lot of people will be seriously affected, high food and fuel prices will seriously impact people.

So what do you think? Will people really die (or even suffer) from starvation or even just a lack of food? Will people die because they can't afford fuel in the recession (but could have otherwise)? Or am I being extreme and only counting real suffering if it's of the fatal kind?

Walkabout

That's where I've been...on walkabout.
I'm amazed you guys have kept going all this time...but then I did have a quick peek on the CLP blog and am not totally surprised that some need to find some refuge...
Is it me, or did a storm in a teacup suddenly turn into world war 3? I guess hindsight is a wonderful thing for giving some calmer perspective.

Life goes on, madly busy at work and still flying around the place all the time. Am in Germany for the weekend and therefore I have the first time to sit and surf for weeks and months. Am off to Cornwall next week on Wednesday (for the Mrs Moose and Mooselet #2 double bill birthday) and they are all there already - not worth an extra weekend trip to come back for 2 days. Am playing golf tomorrow with a colleague...forecast is 35 degrees so I must just take a hat and some sun cream. Unlike last time when I frazzled myself.

Have had a coaching session at work. Good guy, really challenged me on a real sore point for me.
I am looking forward to working with him some more...

I will probably not be back for a while. After the Cornwall trip I'm back in Germany for a week then we're off on our proper hols for another 2 weeks.
Keep up the good work...I'm very proud of you all! See you in September...

Cleaning Day

A Bank Holiday in Germany today and I'm sitting at my desk wasting time and trying to put off cleaning the flat and doing my washing for as long as possible. I have to work this afternoon as well, so I guess I'm trying to put that off too.

Mrs Moose and the Mooselets are planned for a short trip over at the weekend as part of Half Term excitement. If only the Post Office would deliver Mooselet #2's passport then everything would be fine...

Hence the cleaning. I did clean once just after I'd moved in. But since then other things seem to always get in the way, and I only ever see the place in the dark when it's so much easier to ignore. Mrs Patel is the answer...I really must engage her services soon. (She is a cleaner, not a provider of any other form of personal services....)

I have a shiny new I-Pod docking station that is currently blaring out Bohemian Rhapsody at me as I type...picture Garth rocking out while driving and you almost get the picture....antlers waving in the air rather than long blond hair.

And for the philosophical question for the day (or given my record at posting, for the next 3 weeks): Why am I so good at defining what I don't want in life but so very poor in defining what I really do want?

Back again...

..via a spot of sunshine and sand on the south coast.

Have been busying myself with a profit forecast. Not an enthralling thing to be doing but at least it meant eating steak while looking at the sea last night. Have fought my way back through Bank Holiday traffic today in time to see the Mooselets and Mrs Moose. Makes up a bit for not actually getting a Bank Holiday. Grman one was on Thursday as they still do the quaint old-fashioned thing and celebrate May Day on May Day. But I was in Poole. On Monday I fly at my normal horrible o'clock in the morning time back to Germany and work, while everyone else gets to watch the rain in the UK. (Sorry!)

Does anyone else feel even just a little bit sorry for Gordon Brown?
It was all going so well for him...a reputation as one of our best Chancellors ever, a nice wife and children to fight those vicious rumours that keep bubbling up, and the pleasure of pretending to be devastated when the PM took a hell of a beating in the local elections.
Now he's got a reputation as one of the worst PMs ever, the rumours keep on coming (well they do here anyway!), and he's the one eating the humble pie.

So the question that remains is this...Who ate all the pies?

My money is on Boris...

Party?

As I'm in the country, anyone fancy a picnic party?

Location: Lundy Island
Time: 4 pm, finishing off with a communal skinny dip in the sea and listening to ARF
Jobs: Hazel - enormous sound system
Caroline - food
Me - eating food
Everyone else - wild fun

Hope to see you all there...

Connected

Hooray for Wireless Lans....

Connected now, feels so much better. Currently posting from Steve the Aussie Personal Trainer's flat - he lives upstairs and has a LAN that we are sharing. I hope it works as well from my flat downstairs. He also has a far more comfortable sofa than I do, so following my run this evening along the banks of the Main river, I needed some comfort. He says "G'day"...to all of you.

Stayed over this weekend to work and ended up getting invited to a dinner party and a barbecue...can't complain. This week sees the end of some of the last few weeks stress. I'm sure there'll be more from different sources to come, but at the moment it's just nice to see the end looming for one major piece of work.

The dinner party was a very nice international affair...2 South Africans, 1 Macedonian, 3 Germans, 1 American, 1 Peruvian, 2 Brits and a half Peruvian/half German baby. And a mad dog called Mackenzie! We ate traditional South African and Peruvian food - what a mixture. All fantastic though, and washed down by some wine from a vineyard that the hostess used to work for and the host's friend runs. Now they are the sort of friends to have!