"No matter how rich you become, how famous or powerful, when you die the size of your funeral will still pretty much depend on the weather." - Michael Pritchard

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10th February:

SIR – Though the grandchild of Holocaust survivors, I was glad to see Charlemagne criticising laws in Europe that criminalise Holocaust denial (January 27th). But he didn't go far enough. Instead of debating freedom of speech, Europeans should be focusing on their freedom to analyse history. Holocaust denial posits an alternate—albeit entirely inaccurate—reading of the past. Does the European Union really want to start laying down what is “official” history, declaring certain accounts kosher and others illegal?

Jon Grinspan
New York

"As a legacy of their entanglement with Pakistan, Bangladeshi Muslims are forbidden to drink alcohol—unless they have a doctor's note prescribing it for their health. This useful document can be bought over the counter in Dhaka's bars. In one such dive, it was explained that the notes are a hangover from colonial days, when British doctors prescribed a little cognac for colds."

"In recent years, Hong Kong has become a magnet for urban Chinese women trying to evade China's strict one-child policy and enjoy better standards of hospital care (often free since many leave without paying their bills)."


27th January:

"Many European countries do have anti-incitement rules already. French law, for example, imposes sanctions on those who deny crimes against humanity or who express racist points of view. When Ms Zypries defended restricting free speech, she went on to say that “the limits are there when it is offensive to other religious and ethnic groups.” This is close to saying something is a crime if the victim says so—an unhappy legal principle, and an encouragement for people to take offence at every opportunity."


20th January:

[On endowments] According to one former Harvard official, its endowment fund has done so well because it has avoided taking advice from the economics faculty.

[On offshoring] As James Markusen, of the University of Colorado, mischievously puts it, “I am confident that I can concoct a model to generate any result desired by a reader with a deep pocketbook.”