24 December 2015 Week in Brief: INTERNATIONAL AFGHANISTAN: Isis-affiliated groups continue to fight the Taliban for ground and influence along the border with Pakistan. The town of Sangin, in Helmand province, is under siege by the Taliban. British and US special forces are helping efforts to break through to the reportedly poorly-supplied Afghan army defending… Continue reading Issue 34: 2015 12 24: Week in Brief: International
Author: Neil Tidmarsh
Issue 34: 2015 12 24: When a war zone becomes an economic tiger
24 December 2015 When a War Zone Becomes an Economic Tiger by Frank O’Nomics It started with intensive bombing in response to concerns that the west was under threat, and then progressed via boots on the ground to a lengthy, bloody conflict followed by a mass exodus of some 1.5 to 2 million people in… Continue reading Issue 34: 2015 12 24: When a war zone becomes an economic tiger
Issue 33: 2015 12 17: Letter: Listed Buildings
14th December 2015 The Editor Shaw Sheet Magazine Dear Editor Listed Buildings: Time To Revisit The List? Lynda Goetz’s fascinating article on listed buildings points out the very bizarre principles of current historic and architectural buildings conservation ideology, where ugly or second-rate alterations that Historic England would never for a moment countenance if submitted to… Continue reading Issue 33: 2015 12 17: Letter: Listed Buildings
Issue 33: 2015 12 17: The Top Dogs’ Dogs
17 December 2015 The Top Dogs’ Dogs A dog’s life at the top. by Neil Tidmarsh It’s been a good week for news stories about Top Dogs’ dogs. In Thailand, a factory worker has been arrested and charged with the crime of lese-majeste because of alleged “sarcastic comments” made on-line about Tong Daeng, King Bhumipol’s… Continue reading Issue 33: 2015 12 17: The Top Dogs’ Dogs
Issue 33: 2015 12 17: The True Price Of Diesel
17 December 2015 The True Price Of Diesel By Chin Chin No one can say that it isn’t exciting. As the wholesale price of oil slides down towards $35 per barrel it would be a hard man who could pull in at a motorway service station without a slight flutter of expectation. To what level… Continue reading Issue 33: 2015 12 17: The True Price Of Diesel
Issue 33: 2015 12 17: Feuding Twins
17 December 2015 Feuding Twins Lady Thatcher’s legacy by Lynda Goetz So, Carol Thatcher is auctioning her mother’s effects. On this occasion her brother Mark is apparently “on the side of the angels,” in the words of a Tory source quoted in the Mail on Sunday: “His only concern is to protect his mother’s legacy and… Continue reading Issue 33: 2015 12 17: Feuding Twins
Issue 33: 2015 12 17: Week in Brief: UK
17 December 2015 Week in Brief: UK ENVIRONMENT: The commitment in the Paris agreement to pursue efforts to keep global warning down to 1.5° C above pre-industrial levels would require a substantial step up from Britain. Until now the Committee on Climate Change has worked on the basis of 2C°, the maximum envisaged by Paris. … Continue reading Issue 33: 2015 12 17: Week in Brief: UK
Issue 33: 2015 12 17: The Ticking Of The Clock
17 December 2015 The Ticking of the Clock by J R Thomas Fifty or so years ago, the advertising for Rolls Royce cars used to proudly claim that at 60 miles per hour the loudest noise was the “ticking of the clock”. Now, a very different Rolls Royce business also has its eye on the… Continue reading Issue 33: 2015 12 17: The Ticking Of The Clock
Issue 33: 2015 12 17: An Agreement From Paris
17 December 2015 An Agreement From Paris Will the process succeed? By John Watson My favourite clause of the Paris Agreement is article 7.5 which runs as follows: Parties acknowledge that adaptation action should follow a country-driven, gender-responsive, participatory and fully transparent approach, taking into consideration vulnerable groups, communities and ecosystems, and should be based… Continue reading Issue 33: 2015 12 17: An Agreement From Paris
Issue 33: 2015 12 17: Alive and Kicking
17 December 2015 Alive and Kicking J R Thomas reviews “Alive, Alive Oh!” by Diana Athill We are getting used to great age in our society. People are living to astonishing ages, in numbers that must require the recruitment of ever-increasing numbers to the office in Buckingham Palace that deals with sending out centenary congratulations. … Continue reading Issue 33: 2015 12 17: Alive and Kicking
Issue 32: 2015 12 10: Icecream and Revolution
10 December 2015 Ice-Cream and Revolution by J R Thomas North of Waterbury, Vermont, on the road to Stowe is an American shrine. Not the Von Trapp Family Lodge and Von Trapp Timeshare Homes (and Von Trapp Brewery and Von Trapp Austrian Restaurant and and and…). If you get there you have gone too far… Continue reading Issue 32: 2015 12 10: Icecream and Revolution
Issue 32: 2015 12 10: Week in Brief: UK
10 December 2015 Week in Brief: UK STORM DESMOND: Record rainfall in Cumbria has led to widespread flooding with much of the city of Carlisle underwater. The 15.9 inches of rain which fell within a 48-hour period at Thirlmere, Cumbria, was a new record, beating the previous record of 15.6 inches set in 2009. Water… Continue reading Issue 32: 2015 12 10: Week in Brief: UK
Issue 32: 2015 12 10: Making for the exit
10 December 2015 Making For The Exit The decision by a 50 year old woman to refuse treatment jars modern sensibilities By John Watson This week’s doings in the Court of Protection have raised a few eyebrows. A lady aged fifty, who had until then lived a hedonistic life, decided that she did not… Continue reading Issue 32: 2015 12 10: Making for the exit
