A number of local councils in Britain have banned their staff from using Latin words, because they say they might confuse people.

Several local authorities have ruled that phrases like “vice versa”, “pro rata”, and even “via” should not be used, in speech or in writing.

But the ban has prompted anger among some Latin scholars.

Professor Mary Beard of Cambridge University said it was the linguistic equivalent of ethnic cleansing.

Some local councils say using Latin is elitist and discriminatory, because some people might not understand it - particularly if English is not their first language.

(more here)

Ben Stirland died in January

The parents of a County Durham schoolboy, who choked to death on a
plastic pen top, are stepping up their campaign to get them banned.

Ben Stirland, 13, from Consett, died in January, after swallowing the pen top while doing homework.

His parents vowed to get the tops banned after they said
one acted “like a fish hook” when it became lodged in the teenager’s
throat.

A charity ball on Saturday aims to highlight their campaign.

The youngster’s school, Moorside Community Technology College, banned plastic pen tops after the tragedy.

But his parents, Nathalie and David Hodgson, want a wider ban.

‘Biggest concern’

They have organised a charity ball to highlight their
campaign and to raise cash for Newcastle General Hospital, where Ben
was treated for two days before he died.

Mrs Hodgson, 38, said: “Ben was very outgoing and popular at school and just loved having a laugh.

“What Ben was doing that day, chewing his pen, is what thousands of people do every day.

“Our initial and main aim is to get the pen lids banned.

“Our biggest concern is that the safety air hole and the
clip, which you clip on to your jumper, acted almost like a fish hook
and was difficult to remove from his throat.”

Since Ben’s death the family have approached various
organisations, including the British Standards Institute and the
Writing Instruments Association, in an effort to persuade manufacturers
to stop producing pens with removable plastic tops.

One of the problems with being an internet superstar is you find yourself trapped in a world of fantastic euro-goo that covers you like a good old fashioned Bukkake. I’m proud to say I have a love for the Eurovision that is unnatural.

But I’m glad I’m not alone, you see, the eastern Europeans like it too, still, so much so that Work Your Magic only just got off the MusicBox RU top 10, where as Серебро still shows up on the main channel. But even more horrifically, I must admit the following still give me a bit of sex wee when they come up on my iTunes:

Oh yes, we’re loving the work of Marija Šerifović, even more so that RTS is whoring out a number of different versions of the song. Hardcore.

Holby Blue is utterly rubbish, not like Casualty or Holby City where there are rather comedic injuries. But alas that be life.

Anyways, today was busy as usual but it happens and I pwned the day. Even more importantly I pulled out my crack whore photo at work, I’ve now got another reputation, huzzah!

Now I have to hunt for food in the vacant cupboards. How annoying.

—
This post was made with a trial version of BlogPlanet, a photo blog client for mobile phones. For more information visit www.blogplanet.net.