I am reproducing a book review by Stephen Collins in this month’s edition of Prospect Magazine, because it needs to be emphasised and tepeated. The book is called “Principled Spying” by David Omand, a former head of GCHQ. (Georgetown University Press): “Twitter and Facebook have a darker side. I have seen them encourage the growth …
Continue reading ‘A former spy-chief says social media emboldens the far Right.’ »
The EU’s Common Agricultural Policy provides a total of £3bn per year – more than half of all farm income – which on average supplies 50-80% of a British farmer’s income. The EU also protects its farmers with tariffs on agricultural imports from outside the bloc of 12.2%, rising to as much as 51% on …
Continue reading ‘Brexit and British agriculture (a bit long but a window into the Brexit muddle)’ »
It appears that the governor of Jubaland, Somalia, has banned the use of single-use plastic bags on the grounds that “they pose a serious threat to the well-being of humans and animals alike”. It has also forbidden the logging of rare trees. The governor, Mohammed Abu Abdullah, is head of a terrorist group allied with …
Seneca is particularly skeptical of the double-edged sword of achievement and ambition — which causes us to steep in our cesspool of insecurity, dissatisfaction, and clinging:. “It is inevitable that life will be not just very short but very miserable for those who acquire by great toil what they must keep by greater toil. They …
To The Times In your report “Ex-director goes on sex offender register for making pass at friend”, you write that the judge told the defendant: “You do not make advances towards women who don’t want you to.” In other words, a woman must first indicate that an advance is welcome before a man can make …
