Off the Rails

Reading the news in Britain today reveals something fundamentally wrong with the nation.

Item 1 - American counter-terrorism chiefs are demanding a full explanation from Britain of how radical cleric Abu Hamza was able to smuggle murderous messages from his UK prison cell to Al Qaeda's deputy leader.

Item 2 - A senior MP has received a warning from Downing Street after MI5 discovered that he was holding meetings with a suspected Russian spy....Undeterred, Mr MacKinlay continued to meet Mr Polyakov at locations around London and put down a series of parliamentary questions on Russian matters.

Item 3 - The body of murdered London schoolgirl Arsema Dawit was taken back to her African family last week and buried in a heartbreaking ceremony on an ancient hillside where thousands came to weep and pray...Police had been told she was being stalked by a man obsessed with her, but had taken no action.

Item 4 - Pot-holed roads, crumbling schools, litter-strewn streets – there’s no shortage of problem areas crying out for their attention. But councils believe they have found a better use for their money: reducing the number of holes in chip shop salt shakers.

Great Britain- terrorism, treason and murder seem to be beyond us, but too much salt on your chips is a problem worth facing. On days like this it feels like I'm living in some kind of surreal black comedy.