To The Observer One reason so many eastern European workers came to Britain – famously, Polish builders – was that however bad the old communist states were, at least they had good technical education systems. In the UK we have governments dominated by people who went to schools where the academic route was taken for …
“I do not speak the minds of others except to speak my own mind better.” (Montaigne)
Kefalonia We came, we saw, we sunbathed Odysseus, who came from Ithaca, just next door, Found Kefalonia a bore. No dragons, no beasties, no Charybdis or Scyllas, Just a load of young Brits drinking beer in their villas. From the earliest moment when he was a boy, He wanted adventures, like leveling Troy. But although …
Bloomberg reports this comment from Germany’s deputy foreign minister: “The U.K. government consists mostly of clueless boarding-school graduates. “Brexit is a big shitshow, I say that now very undiplomatically,” Michael Roth said at an event of his Social Democratic Party in Berlin on Saturday. He accused “90 percent” of the British cabinet of having “no …
Continue reading ‘To see British politicians as others see them’ »
“The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits”. Albert Einstein
There were more than 70m prescriptions for antidepressants in England in 2018 to treat conditions including depression and anxiety, according to NHS Digital. The 2016 and 2017 figures were 64.7m and 67.5m respectively. In 2008 the figure was 36 million. Professor Wendy Burn, president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said: “For many people antidepressants …
I don’t do it often (it’s the quality of visitor to this blog that is important, not the number), but yesterday I had occasion to inspect the statistics associated with this blog. 25 Russians are shown as visitors to the blog, just yesterday. Now why would 25 Russian citizens visit a blog called Epicurus.Today, presented …
47% of British head teachers who responded to a survey on pupil poverty say they or their staff have had to wash their pupils’ clothes, and 75% say so many children turn up hungry, they offer free breakfasts. 91% have given clothes to pupils. 96% think pupil poverty has increased in recent years. 60% say …
Donald Trump has caused widespread indignation by appearing to suggest that he could use force against his political enemies. In an interview, Trump noted how “tough” right-wingers are, compared with left-wingers, and said: “I can tell you I have the support of the police, the support of the military, the support of the Bikers for …
“There are among us still those who would deny to others the right to hold a different understanding of the fundamental issues of our time. Thus, if we look around us , we see dogma still in conflict with rival dogma; we see people of one culture or belief at odds with their human neighbours …
Continue reading ‘A passage worthy of Epicurus and appropriate for our roiled-up times’ »
Kim Kardashian is having another baby. Well she’s not actually “having” it herself. She and her husband, the rapper Kanye West, are paying another woman to give birth to it. “I’m totally gonna forget,” she explains. “Then a month before I’m gonna be like holy shit, we need to get a nursery.” Rent-a-womb is legal …
Photosynthesis – the process used by plants to convert light energy into the chemical energy that fuels growth – is one of nature’s most crucial chemical reactions. And an international team of scientists (mainly from US and British universities) now believe they can use a genetic “hack” to make the process more efficient, and, in …
Continue reading ‘Some good news? A second green revolution?’ »
Three philosophers were stationed on a New York street, prepared to take questions from the passers- by. A little girl, six years old, approached the group and asked, “How do I know I’m real?” Suddenly I was back in graduate school, reported one of the philosophers later. Should I talk about the French philosopher Rene …
One hears a lot about Baby Boomers, Generation X etc, These classifications are designed by journalists to allow them to make sweeping and outrageous generalisations about huge groups of people with little in common, except that they were born between certain dates. I never thought about this much, but, late in the day I discover …
To The Sunday Times The Democrats should give full funding for Donald Trump’s wall, on one condition: that he moves to the Mexican side of it. Michael O’Connell, Ireland
