Yes, Minister – The Rhodesia Solution
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Yes Minister was a great series and well written, a good illustration that the prime function of any large bureaucracy is to look after those within it, like a society of it’s own, but a parasitic society.
Did Yes Minister get much time on US TV screens?
Andrew_W,
Most of the BBC comedy shows in my neck of the woods play on PBS. This was one of them, but it was not played as much as – “Are you being Served”, “Allo, Allo”, “Keeping up appearances”, “Blackadder”, and “Red Dwarf”. Fawlty Towers is a cult classic.
The funny thing is PBS plays more British shows than BBC America!
Another from Yes Minister on the bureaucracy looking after itself.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiCDGRXiwHM
“… smudge it all over …….”
Brilliant !
I just MUST pass that over to Joe and his staff. Perhaps others as well ?
Any ideas out there ?
Love it Mr.Z., thanks.
A.
On the theme of absurd policies, on Wednesday the EU bans menthol cigarettes. I didn’t know that menthol is more dangerous to the health than tobacco! Sweden has recently banned owning more than one magazine per firearm (we’ve got many hunters). Strangely enough, it hasn’t curbed the rise in criminal shootings.
In the same vein, I’ve began insulting people with measure. Like the woman who spent minutes in the grocery shop queue searching for her credit card in her gigantic hand bag. I said I wish that she be cursed so that her paper bag breaks when she walks to the car. That her papaya fruit is rotten inside. That her cat has overturned her vase when she was out. So that justice is appropriately served.
Andrew_W:
Ref “time on US TV screens,”–primarily on local PBS (Public Broadcasting) stations. We don’t have a monolithic ‘pbs,’ there is a national-feed available for news and expensive shows like NOVA, but each local station bought their own packages, BBC being a major source.)
[Tangentially, “Dr. WHO,” was always popular fair on my PBS station, despite it’s hefty cost. But on the flip-side, the Whovians always ponied up the donations at dreaded “pledge-week” time.]
((–I could possibly see a need for “PBS,” 40 years ago, but it’s mainly a tax-payer funded, hate-America operation, now, and should be defunded.))
Jay–
Yes, BBC America is sorta a disappointment. I like the Star-Trek, but…where’s the good British TV?
(…..it’s all at–https://acorn.tv/ “Acorn TV” “the best British TV Streaming, On Demand, Commercial Free.” You can get a month for free….)
LocalFluff wrote: “Strangely enough, it hasn’t curbed the rise in criminal shootings.”
This is strange? The U.S. long ago noticed that criminals are further emboldened every time the law abiding are further limited in their own protective firepower. It is too bad that other countries do not learn from our mistakes. When seconds count, the police are only minutes away.
The USA will remain the lighthouse for the world for 4 1/2 years IMHO. I can not see rational people voting for Joe!
But there in lies the rub “Rational”
LocalFluff–
Ref–“EU bans menthol cigarettes.”
We were on track to ban menthol cigarettes here in the United States but that was put on hold +/- 2 years ago, if I’m not mistaken.
pivoting….
Nigel Farage last European Parliament Speech
https://youtu.be/LIgmfpHBiDw
5:11
“Nigel Farage’s final speech at the EU ended very dramatically when he was cut off for ‘disobeying the rules’ ahead of the Brexit withdrawal agreement vote.”