Being politically conservative is a vague, hard to define notion that depends heavily on the context in which the term is used. To be a conservative in an Islamic theocracy is very different to being conservative in a communist dictatorship or a liberal democracy. Even within a country, the meaning of conservative can change over …
Continue reading ‘War is not conservative: The hypocrisy of Trump and May’ »
This is NOT a party political issue, but one that concerns the welfare and peace of mind of everyone: David Van Reybrouck in his book, “Against Elections”, argues that there is a more democratic alternative to elections: random selection of people to political office. Incredulous? Well, think about it. The current situation is not working. …
False news travels much faster online than the truth – and it’s all because of our craving for novelty. In the largest-ever study looking at how news spreads on social media, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology analysed 126,000 stories on Twitter from between 2006 and 2017. They found that false stories were 70% …
I sit gazing over the warm waters of Islamorada – The seabirds, the distant lighthouse, the wind-surfers, Kayakers, and jet-skiers skudding to and fro. Islamorada is about relaxation, slowness Extended time, warmth, sun and beauty. What intrigues me is what seems to be a wreck, Marooned on the outer edges of the reef. From the …
In every country in the world, men are paid more than women. In the developed world, women tend to earn around four-fifths of what men do. In the developing world, it is common for men earn up to six times what women make, particularly in conservative Muslim countries like Iran. With the latter, it is …
“Melinda Gates’s children don’t have smartphones and only use a computer in the kitchen. Her husband Bill spends hours in his office reading books while everyone else is refreshing their homepage. The most sought-after private school in Silicon Valley, the Waldorf School of the Peninsula, bans electronic devices for the under-11s and teaches the children …
“From a worldly point of view there is no mistake so great as that of being always right.” Samuel Butler, quoted in Forbes
CALLER: Is this Gordon’s Pizza? GOOGLE: No sir, it’s Google Pizza. CALLER: I must have dialed a wrong number. Sorry. GOOGLE: No sir, Google bought Gordon’s Pizza last month. CALLER: Oh – OK. I would like to order a pizza. GOOGLE: Do you want your usual, sir? CALLER: My usual? You know me ? GOOGLE: …
People hate the idea of being forced to make healthier choices by the nanny state. The trick is not to tell them. Just ask Coca-Cola. In order to dodge the new tax on sugary drinks – much to the fury of libertarians – the soft drinks giant has recently been reformulating its products. It began …
To The Daily Telegraph The head of the Royal Philharmonic is making a serious error by believing that abolishing the term “classical music” will suddenly attract thousands of young people into our concert halls. The leadership of the RPO seem to be suffering from a crisis of confidence in their art form – brought on …
The Guardian of March 30, 2018 carried an article by Peter Ormerod that suggested that “In the light of widespread rejection among Europe’s young people“, Christianity as a default, as a norm, is gone, and is probably gone for good.” He suggested that this might, long term, actually be good news for Christianity, which started …
Continue reading ‘Will Christianity decline but be re- born?’ »
To The Daily Telegraph You report that the University of Oxford wants 40% of its philosophy reading list to consist of work by female philosophers. I see no reason in principle why sexism should not be combated by such a tactic, and it may succeed in what is presumably its main aim of bringing more …
The North American Free Trade Agreement came into existence in 1994. As a result of it blue collar workers suffered. High school drop-outs in areas heavily impacted by NAFTA had 8% slower wage growth in the 1990s compared with those in less affected areas. The industries that lost the old protections saw their wages fall …
For many Americans, particularly those of a conservative disposition, theirs is the greatest country in the world. Patriotism is a far more prominent feature of American politics and culture than in Europe, with adversaries denouncing each other for insufficiently loving and caring for their country. Much of this is justified, even if European liberals find …
British Transport Minister John Hayes recently proked criticism after a speech to the Independent Transport Commission in which he spoke of the ugliness of Britain’s transport architecture and the importance of making our public and industrial buildings more beautiful. Why give us a “trivial and twee” homily on aesthetics, carped the critics: aren’t there more …
