I am a latecomer to the Susan Boyle phenomenon. Perhaps I can be forgiven for this as I am allergic to Simon Cowell: I recall he was once asked if he enjoyed the process of crushing the hopefuls that came his way. While he didn’t explicitly say “yes”, he nodded and smiled in such a […]

I haven’t been paying much attention to what’s been going on in America this past week: theoretically, I’m on vacation. It’s been pleasant to have time to read, listen to music and to go out and experience Spring in England, even if that means getting rained on a few times. However, I got a phone […]

I’m not usually inclined to comment on a book before I’ve read it. However, I’m moved to make an exception in the case of Anthony Giddens’ new tome, entitled “The Politics of Climate Change”. For those who aren’t familiar with Lord Giddens’ previous works, he is one of the intellectual architects of the “Third Way”, […]

Nostalgia for days gone by is nothing new. The statue of Richard the Lionheart in front of the Houses of Parliament is a testament to Victorian aspirations of medieval nobility. I remember back in the early 1990’s that my younger sister developed a penchant for tie dye clothing and Janis Joplin records. “The good old […]

For those who have been spending their Easter holiday away from the news or are living abroad: one of the chief aides to UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Damian McBride, resigned yesterday. The reason for his departure was the revelation of certain emails which he sent from his 10 Downing Street address. In these missives, […]

If there is one day in the year when it is positively encouraged to be down on the Roman Empire, it would have to be today, Good Friday. I recall seeing an oil painting reproduced in a children’s Bible, which showed Pontius Pilate washing his hands in a jewel-encrusted golden bowl; a beaten, bleeding Christ […]

As presented by the Long Johns (John Bird and John Fortune):

Less than twenty four hours after explaining to my colleague what created the credit crunch and the subsequent economic turmoil, my own job was swept away by the rolling tide. There is very little to tell; the processes involved were not transparent, all I know is that there was a meeting of senior shareholders, most […]

I must admit, I was surprised by McCain’s vice presidential pick. Unlike many, I’d heard of Sarah Palin before, mostly because she was in favour of drilling in ANWR.  Still, because of her relative lack of notoriety (and the fact she’d only been governor for two years), I thought McCain was going to choose a […]

Finally, Bill did the right thing. He gave a speech which was unequivocally supportive of Barack: I breathed a sigh of relief. It was also gratifying that Bill managed to surpass his wife: while she said all the right words in her address on Tuesday, it was done in such a way that one couldn’t […]