An hours-long standoff between a group of heavily armed individuals and Massachusetts State Police on an interstate ended with 11 taken into custody. The situation was resolved “through negotiation and tactical maneuvers,” Massachusetts State Police Colonel Christopher Mason told reporters. The standoff began nine hours prior when police said the group claimed to “not recognize …
The only cow in a small town in Ireland stopped giving milk. Then the town folk found they could buy a cow in Wales quite cheaply. So, they brought a cow over from Wales. It was absolutely wonderful, it produced lots of milk every day and everyone was happy. They bought a bull to mate …
Epicureanism was never meant to be a dry academic philosophy. In fact, it is best kept away from academia, where, as usual with philosophy, long words render it dull, if not incomprehensible. Rather, it is a vital way of living which seeks to free men and women from a life of unhappiness, fear and anxiety. …
The American Right has discovered a new bogeyman,“Critical Race Theory” (CRT). A set of concepts first developed by legal scholars in the 1970s, CRT essentially holds that US racism is systemic, that key institutions are rooted in white supremacy, and that racial dynamics are the outcome of complex social systems. It’s a toxic theory, say …
Arnold Schwarzenegger was recently named in a poll of British adults as the most suitable public figure to lead humanity in the event of an alien invasion. “I am ready to serve,” tweeted the 73-year-old action star and former California governor. (The Week, April 2, 2021) My moment: Phew!……What a relief. Now we’ll be o.k.
Southern Sweden may be home to big cities like Stockholm and Gothenburg, but the North is fast emerging as our nation’s industrial powerhouse. The lithium-ion battery cell factory in Skellefrea keeps taking new orders, the State-owned metals company LKAB has made giant investments in its Northern iron mines, and a zero-emissions steelworks has opened in …
Continue reading ‘News from Sweden. Nothing is simple or easy.’ »
– Nuclear weapons – Corporations as persons. (ridiculous) – Online financial transactions in general. Unsafe? – Plastic bags and bottles – Cellphones (anti-social time gobblers) – The technology that allows social media, e.g Facebook and most other “social media” offerings, to flourish. – Availability of mind altering drugs and the violence that accompanies them. – …
Continue reading ‘The worst inventions of the last 100 years:’ »
People who wonder whether the glass is half empty or half full are missing the point. The glass is refillable.
England’s young lions won praise across Europe after making it to the final of a major international tournament for the first time in 55 years. What didn’t go down so well was the behaviour of some of their fans – or of the British government. The drunken louts, the booing of opponents’ anthems, the racist …
Continue reading ‘Lack of sportsmanship is vulgar and tiresome’ »
It’s a five minute walk from my house to the pub It’s a 35 minute walk from the pub to my house The difference is staggering.
US Attorney General Merrick Garland recently ordered a moratorium on federal executions and a Justice Department review of the death penalty. The move followed a decision by the Trump administration Justice Department to revive federal executions by lethal injection in 2019, using a one-drug protocol. The federal government then carried out 13 executions from July 2020 …
In 1921 men in England and Wales had a life expectancy of 56 years,women 60 years. Ninety years on the figures are 79 and 83 years respectively. Simply living longer is a bit meaningless in itself, but it is a pointer to better health. The Western world has shared in this greater longevity, thank to …
I have had several occasions where my right leg has caved under me, causing me to fall. My GP referred me to the National Health Service Falls Centre, which trains people to avoid falls and breakages. After a session I started on home with my wife, armed with a list of exercises. Running for …
‘“The idea that boredom is good for us – particularly in childhood, because it encourages imagination and creativity – is well established,” writes Jemima Lewis in The Daily Telegraph. She recounts the “massive afternoon longeurs” of her own infancy, during which she would “finally peel myself off the dusty-smelling carpet to read a book… or …
David Cameron might have been a disaster when it came to Brexit, but he did absolutely the right thing with the Unexplained Wealth Order. This is a government programme to uncover the crooks and thieves who use London to cover up corruption and theft in their home countries and to relieve them of dubious investments, …
