A good article by Julie Bindel about the film Eyes Wide Open. The film depicts what happens when two men, who also happen to be Hassidic Jews, meet and discover their love for one another. As she says about the real-life gay people who exist within such communities:

The fascination for me was the subjects’ allegiance to their religion rather than their sexuality. Why do they stay wedded to a set of beliefs that interprets their lifestyles as an abomination? What pull does fundamentalist religion have for these people, who, unlike many others, could walk away into the arms of another community?

They are good questions, and I don’t know the answers. I also don’t know what would have happened had I, by chance, been born into such a community. Would I have had the strength to be true to myself? Or would I have lived and died under the yoke of an inimical morality?

I see that the mascots for the 2012 Olympics to be held in London have been unveiled. They have the improbable names of Wenlock and Mandeville, and apparently figure in a children’s story specially commissioned for the Olympics and written by Michael Morpogu.

I have to confess that I have never heard of him before Sir Sebastian Coe claimed that Morpogu was “the nation’s most popular children’s storyteller”. Er, really? Anyway, Mr. Morpogu has his own website, and I have to say that he sounds rather engaging.

Still, Wenlock and Mandeville? I think it’s going to be an uphill struggle – rather like the London Olympics themselves. The comments on the Guardian’s story do rather spell it out:

Obby:

I think I speak for everyone when I say:
Jesus Fucking Christ

PaulBowen:

Because nothing says "Britain" like a creepy bipedal showerhead/penis thing with lobster claws.

DataHoover:

I have to get this off my chest:
Doesn’t the new Olympic logo look like Lisa Simpson performing a sex act?

And that’s only a selection…

Today, May 4th, is Remembrance Day in The Netherlands. Throughout the country, ceremonies are held to remember the dead of World War II and other conflicts. Chief amongst these is the ceremony that is held in Dam Square in Amsterdam, in the presence of the Dutch Royal Family, politicians and veterans.

Today’s affair was a telling example of how crowd hysteria can suddenly take hold. Of course, many people would probably be on edge following the incident in Apeldoorn in 2009 on the Queen’s Birthday.

The Remembrance ceremony revolves around the two-minute silence held at 8pm, when throughout the Netherlands, people stop. Today, in Dam Square, in the presence of the Dutch Royal Family, politicians, veterans and thousands of people, another incident occurred. Just before the end of the two-minute silence, the stillness in the Square was broken by the sound of a man shouting. People started to panic, and a stampede began:

It appears as though an Orthodox Jew had suddenly started declaiming into the silence; as a result another man nearby, dropped his suitcase (er, his suitcase?) at this, and the crowd panics. The Royal Family are whisked away, and chaos ensues.

To give the organisers credit, order is soon restored as it becomes clear that it was a false alarm. But it just goes to show how easily shouting “fire!” in a crowded theatre can lead to panic.

At the impromptu press conference held a couple of hours later with the Amsterdam Mayor and Chief of Police, a journalist asked whether it was a good idea to let  people carrying suitcases into the Square. And so it goes – let’s all get frightened over phantoms. Fortunately, the Police Chief had the good sense to defuse the question. Hopefully, sanity will continue to prevail.

Update: It seems as though the man who caused the panic is a 39 year-old Amsterdammer who is well known to the police because of his record of theft, possession and dealing of drugs and threatening violence. He wore a hat, long black coat and has a full beard and long sideburns – that’s why many took him to be an Orthodox Jew. An eyewitness said that he was talking to himself during the silence, and when he was asked to be quiet by bystanders, he suddenly threw his head back and screamed. A man nearby dropped the case he was carrying, and panic ensues in which 63 people were hurt. The Dutch word "koffer" was used to described the case, but this is literally a portmanteau word that can describe anything from a handbag up to a suitcase, which is why I thought it was the latter. But now I suspect, given the fact that the police described the contents as being personal documents, that the man was probably carrying a briefcase.