Female students do better at school and are more likely to go to university than their male peers, but a gender bias study has found they are seen as less capable of “brainy” tasks. In one experiment by US researchers, women were about as likely as men to be referred for a job requiring “consistent …
Yesterday, the pound slumped below $1.26 to the lowest level since April 2017 after the prime minister said she cancelled the vote on her Brexit plan rather than see it rejected by a “significant margin”. Sterling was worth $1.2563 and €1.1062 late on Monday, and at time of writing its fortunes are little changed. Nothing …
So there is agreement on Brexit between the EU and the British government It all looks desperately important at the moment, but the details of the deal may not make all that much difference in the long run. It’s economics, not politics, that will ultimately define our relationship with Europe, and the big factors driving …
A study published in the Lancet shows that in half the countries of the world there has been a remarkable decline in the number of children women are having, which means that in over half the countries of the world, particularly in economically developed countries (Europe, the US, South Korea and Australia) there are insufficient …
Were you a harmless, nameless tree, just standing there, Motionless and proud, your boughs spread wide, The product of a hundred fruitful summers, Surviving the convulsions of Caribbean hurricanes, Cold fronts and brisk north winds, You might neither notice nor much care about The arrival, perching quietly, of yet another bird. Thousands stop from year …
Continue reading ‘A Poem : The Strangler Tree at The Moorings, Islamorada FL’ »
Official figures from India’s Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) show that more than 240,000 children were reported missing between 2012 and 2017. While some run away, the majority are taken by human traffickers, Victims are either kidnapped or lured away from their parents with promises of jobs and education. These children are trafficked …
Today is Thanksgiving Day in the United States. We should give thanks for the clever system of checks and balances that the Founders, and those who came after them, devised under the Constitution, and which, hopefully, will protect every man, woman and child from the lurch towards what looks like autocratic and unconstitutional political behaviour …
Epicureanism is a system of philosophy based on the teachings of Epicurus, founded around 307 B.C. It teaches that the greatest good is to seek modest pleasures in order to attain a state of tranquillity, freedom from fear (“ataraxia”) and absence from bodily pain (“aponia”). This combination of states is held to constitute happiness in …
Continue reading ‘A brief rundown on Epicureanism for those new to it’ »
A CNN reporter has been denied access to White House Press briefings on a trumped up charge of manhandling a White House staff member, shown on video. The video indicated absolutely no “inappropriate behaviour” – on the contrary, the inappropriate behahiour was on the part of the Assistant to Sarah Sanders, a shocking suppression of …
With thanks to THE WEEK. (3 November 2018). which compiled this situation report. I have lightly edited it for length! (still too long, but it is mind-bendingly complicated) Brexit has arguably been the most threatening issue that has faced Britain since the Civil War nearly 500 years ago, (or, some would say, the Norman Conquest) …
These are words used in modern human relationships: Ghosting: Ending a relationship bloody-mindedly by refusing to communicate, relate or explain. Flaming: An on-line argument using bogus, unfair, bullying and unfounded personal attacks. Gaslighting: A form of persistent manipulation and brainwashing that causes the victim to doubt her or himself, and ultimately lose her or his …
(I am deliberately ignoring the American election and leaving it to my colleague, Owen, to write about it tomorrow, offering his take on it from Britain. Robert) “Does anyone live a life of quiet despair these days? The question struck me with some force, one Sunday evening last summer, when I found myself on the …
According to the 2018 Global Wealth Report from the Credit Suisse Research Institute, you need a net worth of US$871,320 to be in the top 1% in the world. Credit Suisse defines net worth, or “wealth,” as “the value of financial assets plus real assets (principally housing) owned by households, minus their debts.” More than …
Cheer up, liberal America and all Epicureans, wherever you may be! It may feel like Trump will be around for ever, but the announcement by Nikki Haley that she is standing down as US representative at the UN is a clear sign that his days are indeed numbered. Haley is one of the most astute …
Continue reading ‘“The end of the Trump era may be in sight”. (The New Yorker)’ »
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 …
