The firing-squad execution of two Australian citizens (and others) by the Indonesian authorities following their conviction on drags smuggling charges has caused official dismay and anger in Australia. And Australia has responded by recalling (withdrawing?) its Ambassador. Here is an account of some differing views on how far this makes […]
This one is interesting. Just when we thought that nothing else in the wider Balkan region could astonish us, up pops a brand new country. No, not Kosovo. Not Vojvodina. Not even Eastern Republika Srpska. Liberland! The basic ingenious idea is that, as luck has it, there is a tiny patch […]
Here is a brisk piece by Tim Harford on Causation and Cigarettes, where he looks at how Big Data help (helps?) us see patterns that were not obvious before or confirm our previously unproved hypotheses: We cannot rely on correlation alone, then. But insisting on absolute proof of causation is […]
“She is going to own the wise, smart grandmother,” Walsh said. “Embracing the title grandmother – rather than running away – makes her real, makes her human, makes her a more fully rounded candidate.” (Note the shifty comparative.) It starts. The Feminist-Media Complex starts to bludgeon the world in general and […]
Some people have concluded that my thoughts on the Sturgeon Memo as previously posted were amiss – see the Comments. Am I accusing key people of lying? No. This first: “It seems to me the overwhelming probability is that this document, whether it purports to be a FCO or Scottish […]
Why am I looking at all those old Football Fascism pieces? Because I heard young Liverpool football player Raheem Sterling on BBC radio the other day, being pressed to respond to alleged complaints from alleged fans that he is being ‘greedy’ by turning down a fabulous new contract with Liverpool […]
Finally, this other one from the now-defunct Business and Politics website. How many times do I have to rail against Football Fascism before people in this country get the point? It started off with Labour’s Football Fascism. Now it’s spread to the unlikely pages of Conservative Home and Tim Montgomerie […]
Likewise I also write a while back several pieces for Business and Politics about Football Fascism. Now gone! Here’s the first one, written before the previous UK General Election in 2010. Its wise message still holds: According to my watch it is 29 March. April Fool’s Day is not yet […]
A grotesque situation of post-modern techno-bureaucracy unfolds live, before your very eyes! On Wednesday I ordered from Apple a wonderful new iMac 27″ Retina machine. Naughtily expensive, but VERY nice. I was told to expect it on the following day via UK Mail, “but if for some reason it doesn’t arrive, […]
Actor Michael Sheen makes a ‘blistering’ speech about the UK National Health Service. Hurrah! If only our milksop politicians would have a bit of that passion and sincerity! Or not. Here is the speech. It’s a fine example of a good but very bad speech. Rather like the ill-fated Neil […]
