In the Guardian Weekly of October 14th George Monbiot quotes the work of social science professors Christopher Achen and Larry Bartels, who say that most people possess almost no useful information about political policies and their implications, have little desire to improve their knowledge, and have a deep aversion to political disagreement. We base our …
Every action has a reaction. This is a principle, based on common sense, that everyone involved in foreign affairs should internalise. Only they don’t. ” If I put a line of so-called “defensive” rocket bases along the Russian frontier there is nothing the Russians are powerful enough to do about it at the moment. But …
The killing by police of innocent black Americans is a terrible running scandal. It can partially be explained by sheer fear on the part of the police – so many people now carry loaded guns that it is, maybe, understandable that policemen are tempted to shoot first and ask questions afterwards. But most shootings seem …
The British government plan to increase University tuition fees in England to £9,250 per year from 2017. Thereafter, fees will increase by the rate of inflation in subsequent years. This represents a 2.8% increase and if that continued would mean fees rising above £10,000 (over $14,000) in the next few years. Other increases will be linked …
One of the sillier historical anomalies is the status of Gibraltar, ceded to Britain at the end of the War of the Spanish Succession under the terms of the Treaty of Utrecht of 1713. At that time Britain actually had a powerful fleet and could hope to dominate the Mediterranean. Gibraltar is still a strategic …
