There was an amusing twitter argument between Fraser Nelson and Jonathan Portes Monday evening. For those who missed it, I’ll summarise: Nelson: There are more people in work than economists ever dreamed. It must be because the government’s welfare reforms are driving people to look for work instead of lounging about watching Jeremy Kyle. Portes: […]
Archives for July 2014
Clegg is right about Russia and the 2018 World Cup
Typing out that title seemed weirdly redundant, like calling an article “Water: good cure for thirst”. It is so abundantly obvious that stripping Russia of the 2018 World Cup is the least that should happen post-MH17. Yet a Tory MP described the DPM’s call for this as “pretty amateur” adding that “a great deal is […]
The Zayn Malik Palestine tweet: are One Direction about to enter their “Revolver” phase?
Yesterday morning, in the wee hours in fact (how rock and roll), Zayn Malik of the boy band One Direction tweeted the following: #FreePalestine. This caused a shitstorm on Twitter, with many of the group’s following signalling their approval by favouring or retweeting – but also a healthy number expressing deep discontent at the action. As […]
We need to talk about Syria: the American suicide bomber
The first suicide bombing in Syria to definitely involve an American perpetrator has now taken place – at least if a video released by Al-Qaeda is to be believed. Moner Mohammad Abu Salha, from Florida, pledges to blow himself in said piece. It has been confirmed that Mr Abu Salha has died in Syria, but […]
The Cinematic “Magic” of Coleman Francis
“I don’t know…..I like Francis as an actor but really he should have stayed in front of the camera. As a director, he really didn’t know what he was doing.” – Ed Wood Jnr. When the man noted as being the worst film director of all time says you’re rather lousy at this filmmaking malarkey, […]
The execution of Joseph Wood and the death penalty debate in America
Yesterday, a man named Joseph Wood was killed by the state of Arizona for the crime of double murder. This in and of itself is not newsworthy; it is the fact that the execution appears to have gone slightly wrong, causing Mr Wood unintentional suffering that is of note. The death row inmate apparently choked […]
As the Commonwealth Games begin, here’s five things worth considering about the Commonwealth
The Commonwealth Games kick off today in Glasgow, and in celebration I thought it might be worthwhile looking at what this group of nations, held together by the fact that they were all once British colonies and in many cases not much else, and uncovering some little discussed facts about the whole thing. We often […]
London’s Russian oligarchs and the rest of Europe
There is currently a live Franco-British spat going on around Russia. But not on the topic most of those ignorant to the details might think. No, not the specifics of a Malaysian Airlines flight which saw 298 people killed. It is based around whether France supplying Russia with a very large warship under the circumstances is really […]
The War in Gaza comes to London: what a mess
I don’t mean the title literally, so relax. It’s just that it is interesting to see how a situation like the one in Gaza manifests itself in a cosmopolitan city like London. On Saturday, there was a pro-Palestine rally held in the West End. The way the event has been covered in the UK media […]
The Rise of the Putinistas
I write about Russia, and by extension, Vladimir Putin, a reasonable amount. As a result, through various social media outlets, I am exposed to a wide range of views on the Russian president. I get some pro-Putin stuff from people inside of Russia, which doesn’t interest me all that much. Most of it is really […]