Friday, July 16, 2010
by Daily Sport
.
THE French parliament has all but passed a law banning veils which some Muslim women wear in public places. Apparently, they just think these are not right for a country like France, and plan to make it an offence. What a ridiculous law! Even if you’re not a Muslim, and obviously I’m not, it’s really hard to see how there’s any case for this stupid regulation. The women who wear these veils tend to be following personal or religious duty. And whatever other people may think of it, I challenge anyone to explain what actual harm these veils do. Also,where does it end? What about a wedding veil? Would that be illegal as well? And how about other bits of material which people “don’t like”? You don’t have to be soft to tolerate this kind of item of clothing. You just have to understand that it takes all sorts to make a world and that, actually, the wearing of veils does not in fact threaten the downfall of French—or European — society in any way. It’s a pity the French are doing this, and I sincerely hope that the UK government don’t follow the same silly path. While I’m 100% in favour of racial harmony, I don’t think that’s achieved by lifting the veil on ladies who are doing what they feel morally bound to do. I’d be interested to hear your opinion on this, so drop me an email. But, as it stands, I say people need to co-exist. That way, we’ll all get on perfectly well without banning veils, swimsuits or anything else. Just as these females wish to cover themselves up, if Daily Sport beauty Jenny Laird wishes to UNCOVER herself, that should be a matter for her. It’s what a free society means and the sooner we all realise that, the sooner we’ll stop passing barmy laws which stop people “expressing themselves” by wearing a burka, a bikini, or nothing at all.
LAST week I had the delightful honour of being a guest on the daytime TV show Loose Women. It can be a bit of a bear pit if they take a dislike to you. Lots of people who go on are terrified of this panel of four feisty ladies. However, I’m glad to report they seemed to be quite pro-Öpik on the day I was there. We talked about life, politics and girlfriends. They couldn’t resist having a chat about the ladies in my life, especially Cheeky Girl Gabriella, who never fails to come up. Then, as the interview was coming to an end, I thought one of them was going to ask me out. Sadly not so. But if any of you are interested just give me a call. I’m more than happy to go on a date with a Loose Woman. Anytime!
YOU may have seen the pictures of people in Northern Ireland fighting the police? Their excuse is that this is the “marching season”, a time when different groups go up and down the streets parading their cultural and religious viewpoint for all to see. So what’s all this rioting about then? Well, feuds run deep in Northern Ireland, and go back centuries. The fighting is about settling scores which cannot be settled, and getting revenge in ways which simply carries on the stupid cycle of violence and resentment. I grew up in Belfast, and even as a child thought the rioters were doing themselves more harm than good. The “Troubles” may be over. But the mentality which lay behind the troubles lives on.
THERE were three red faces at the Estonian Embassy on Monday night— mine and those of my two trusty team members, Katie and Merily. We were attending the farewell do for the outstanding Estonian Ambassador —a super chap with great manners and a fine wit. Unfortunately, the three of us turned up with “accident prone” written all over our faces. First,Katie fell down the stairs in front of the Ambassador. Then Merily, who’s from Yorkshire, made a joke about Estonia not being “a proper country”… which didn’t get many laughs. Finally, I leant against a table which promptly collapsed, sending drinks, and food flying across the room. We hadn’t even been drinking much. All in all, it was the most embarrassing evening I’ve ever spent at an Embassy. So if Estonia breaks off diplomatic ties with Britain, you’ll know why!
YOU’LL have seen the news about more deaths in Afghanistan this week – most shockingly the three soldiers, Major James Bowman, Lieutenant Neal Turkington and Corporal Arjun Purja Pun killed by their Afghan “colleague” in a surprise attack. It is my view — and the view of this newspaper — that we will never win the Afghan war. The sooner we bring home our forces the better. We need a political, not a military solution. Until then, the length of our pointless presence will not be measured in days — sadly, it will be
measured in deaths.
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