Now, when asked to think up a list of the most violent countries in the developed world, few people come up with Scotland. But, according to the UN (admittedly a pretty bad source for anything), the Scots are commiting violent crimes at a high rate. By the way, England and Wales are #2.

The study, by the UN’s crime research institute, found that 3 per cent of Scots had been victims of assault compared with 1.2 per cent in America and just 0.1 per cent in Japan, 0.2 per cent in Italy and 0.8 per cent in Austria. In England and Wales the figure was 2.8 per cent.

And I thought gun control would solve all their problems...but apparently, in Scotland at least, there is a knife control problem. Maybe we should have registration and a waiting period on knives too.

A good looking blog, The Joy of Curmudgeonry, is on the scene. T'will be linked soon.

President James A. Garfield died on this date in 1881, the victim of assassination, leaving the White House for the inestimable Vermonter Chester Alan Arthur (right there behind Pierce, Buchanan, Fillmore, and, of course, Warren G. Harding in the heart of the Doc). Raise a glass to Garfield tonight.

And perhaps the proprietor of Zambone.com will explain to us all why he likes cows so much.