09 May 2019 Just (not) giving Hiding behind issues of trust by Frank O’Nomics £10 billion is undoubtedly a lot of money to give to charity. However, when spread over 165,000 organisations (there really are that many) the money does not go as far as one might hope, and when you look at the trends… Continue reading Issue 201: 2019 05 09: Just (not) giving
Article Category: Comment
Issue 201: 2019 05 09: Pre-Programmed?
09 May 2019 Pre-Programmed? Neuroscience and us. By Lynda Goetz I have just ordered a new book on the strength of an article in the Features section of The Telegraph, ‘Is our fate decided the moment we’re born? The broadcaster Chris Evans, who notoriously once claimed he had only ever read one book (Black Beauty)… Continue reading Issue 201: 2019 05 09: Pre-Programmed?
Issue 201: 2019 05 09: Drinking OK?
9 May 2019 Why is smoking bad, but drinking okay? by Simon Baseley In 1967 there were at least 5 big tobacco companies. One them alone, Imperial, had 57 brands of cigarette and over 180 varieties of tobacco. Although TV advertising of tobacco products was banned in 1965, it would be almost 40 years before… Continue reading Issue 201: 2019 05 09: Drinking OK?
Issue 200: 2019 05 02: Carping and Sneering
02 May 2019 Carping and Sneering Meanness of thought. By John Watson Carping is a human instinct but not a particularly attractive one. That is perhaps not surprising when you bear in mind that the temptation to find fault with conduct which is generous or altruistic has its origins in envy, itself not the nicest… Continue reading Issue 200: 2019 05 02: Carping and Sneering
Issue 200: 2019 05 02: Know Your Enemy
02 May 2019 Know Your Enemy Nominations and nicknames. By J R Thomas Know your enemy indeed. That, Joe, is the person behind you, not the one currently sitting in the White House. Joe Biden finally announced that he would throw his hat (an elderly but well maintained trilby, we guess) in the ring for… Continue reading Issue 200: 2019 05 02: Know Your Enemy
Issue 200: 2019 05 02: Diary of a Corbynista
2 May 2019 Diary of a Corbynista Tories in free fall by Don Urquhart 25 April It should be clear to everyone that we live in a society where many are in poverty, the public services are falling apart, and where younger people are struggling to get decent jobs and housing. It is therefore heartening… Continue reading Issue 200: 2019 05 02: Diary of a Corbynista
Issue 200: 2019 05 02: Dementia Tax Take 2
2 May 2019 Dementia Tax: Take 2 Funding social care. by Frank O’Nomics “Oi! Get off our land!” Such might be the exclamations from the Labour hierarchy this week, as a Tory think tank had the temerity to come up with a policy that appears to trespass on the traditional left wing ground of tax… Continue reading Issue 200: 2019 05 02: Dementia Tax Take 2
Issue 200: 2019 05 02: Asteroid Attack
02 May 2019 Asteroid Attack The universe strikes back. By Neil Tidmarsh Oh no, not another apocalypse looming on the horizon! As if climate change (Extinction Rebellion, Greta Thunberg) and the decay of democracy (almost 60% of Americans, over 50% of Britons and over 40% of Germans are dissatisfied with democracy, according to a survey… Continue reading Issue 200: 2019 05 02: Asteroid Attack
Issue 200: 2019 05 02: Ruffled Feathers
02 May 2019 Ruffled Feathers Conservation consternation. By Lynda Goetz In a vaguely amusing piece entitled ‘Guiltless Food… is it possible?’ in last week’s Countryman’s Weekly by contributor Ryan Lynch, he related a pub conversation prompted by his dog, a Chesapeake Bay Retriever, bred for retrieving ducks. The ‘young lady’ interrogating him about the dog… Continue reading Issue 200: 2019 05 02: Ruffled Feathers
Issue 200: 2019 05 02: Reparations and Bunkum
02 May 2019 Reparations and Bunkum Cambridge University. By Robert Kilconner About bloody time too. Under the leadership of Vice Chancellor Stephen Toope, a Canadian academic, Cambridge has at last decided to face up to its past and to run a project to identify whether, and if so by how much, the university gained from… Continue reading Issue 200: 2019 05 02: Reparations and Bunkum
Issue 199: 2019 04 25: Extinction Rebellion
25 April 2019 Extinction Rebellion Moving on. By John Watson It is impossible not to feel admiration for Dr Gail Bradbrook of Extinction Rebellion. She has taken the environmental agenda of the far left group Rising Up and has turned it into a movement which stands outside left/right politics. In a week of direct action,… Continue reading Issue 199: 2019 04 25: Extinction Rebellion
Issue 199: 2019 04 25: Diary of a Corbynista
25 April 2019 Diary of a Corbynista Public Services Crumbling by Don Urquhart 18 April My wife walked down the middle of Whitehall. No chance of being run over. It was like Glastonbury without the mud with tents everywhere and impromptu singing and dancing. People waved to her and wished her good day. Everyone including… Continue reading Issue 199: 2019 04 25: Diary of a Corbynista
Issue 199: 2019 04 25: Europe Loves the UK
25 April 2019 Europe Loves the UK Money runs counter to political rhetoric. by Frank O’Nomics Are those that talk down the UK economy just looking to buy at a cheaper price? For all the gloom and despondency surrounding the intractable Brexit negotiations, the UK has not only remained a major target for overseas businesses… Continue reading Issue 199: 2019 04 25: Europe Loves the UK