23 July 2015 Signals from the Past by Neil Tidmarsh In 1940, P G Wodehouse was captured by the Germans in Le Touquet, where he was living. He was interned – he was 59 years old and a civilian – and then released but confined to Germany. He was invited to appear on some programmes… Continue reading Issue 12: 2015 07 23 Signals from the Past
Category: Comment
Issue 12: 2015 07 23: More of the President’s People
23 July 2015 More of the President’s People by J R Thomas In the fast-moving world of presidential hopefuls it can be difficult to keep up. This week we will deal with the rest of the crowd jostling for the Republican nomination, having last week picked off the current front-runners, Messrs Bush and Rubio, two… Continue reading Issue 12: 2015 07 23: More of the President’s People
Issue 11: 2015 07 16: All the President’s People
16 July 2015 All the President’s People by J R Thomas Imagine a horse race with only one runner, preening and prancing in front of the crowd. Then imagine another horse race with so many runners there aren’t enough starting stalls, and every neighbourhood donkey, pony and carthorse in the county is jostling around the… Continue reading Issue 11: 2015 07 16: All the President’s People
Issue 11: 2015 07 16: The people who cannot afford it
16 July 2015 The people who cannot afford it by John Watson There are two distinct sides to Mr Osborne’s budget. From a macroeconomic point of view, he has been less austere than expected, moving the date on which the budget is expected to balance to 2019/2020 and relying on growth to push down the… Continue reading Issue 11: 2015 07 16: The people who cannot afford it
Issue 11: 2015 07 16: To boldly go…
16 July 2015 To boldly go… in the starship Free Enterprise by Neil Tidmarsh It’s been a good week for space exploration. NASA scored an impressive double whammy: its New Horizons probe began to send back stunning photos of Pluto from the outer reaches of the solar system; and it announced that it has begun… Continue reading Issue 11: 2015 07 16: To boldly go…
Issue 10: 2015 07 09: Mr Tsipras’s Tactics
09 July 2015 Mr Tsipras’s Tactics by John Watson Old hands at litigation will tell you that if you are stuck for a strategy you can do worse than to imagine yourself in the other side’s position, work out what it is that they would like you to do least and then do it. It… Continue reading Issue 10: 2015 07 09: Mr Tsipras’s Tactics
Issue 10: 2015 07 09: Negotiations? Which Negotiations?
9 July 2015 NEGOTIATIONS? WHICH NEGOTIATIONS? by Neil Tidmarsh Protracted and deadlocked negotiations between Western powers and an obdurate ‘rogue’ state drag on in a European capital. A deal to bring the state back into the international fold should have been signed this week but a deadline was missed and the talks have been extended… Continue reading Issue 10: 2015 07 09: Negotiations? Which Negotiations?
Issue 10: 2015 07 09: Surplus Energy
09 July 2015 Surplus Energy by J R Thomas Apologies to those who think the Shaw Sheet is developing an obsession with what lies under our feet. Last week potash, this week oil. Potash is something we don’t think about very much in normal life, but it is vital to how we feed our ever-growing… Continue reading Issue 10: 2015 07 09: Surplus Energy
Issue 9: 2015 07 02: The Referendum Card
02 July 2015 The Referendum Card by John Watson With all eyes on Greece and the prospect of a referendum, it is easy to forget that something not entirely dissimilar is going on on this side of the English Channel. Of course the political background is very different indeed. Britain is committed to austerity and… Continue reading Issue 9: 2015 07 02: The Referendum Card
Issue 9: 2015 07 02:The Refugee Crisis; Any Solutions?
2 July 2015 The Refugee Crisis; Any Solutions? by Neil Tidmarsh The migrant crisis intensified this week, with violent scenes in Calais, registration procedures breaking down in Greece and Italy and the World Food Programme running out of funds to feed Syrian refugees in Jordan. Last Wednesday, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees reported that… Continue reading Issue 9: 2015 07 02:The Refugee Crisis; Any Solutions?
Issue 9: 2015 07 02: Fading Icons: Digging the National Parks
02 July 2015 Fading Icons: Digging the National Parks by J R Thomas Big ideas often take a remarkably long time to come to fruition in British politics. In the USA of the 1860’s, even before the West was finally won, the American federal government began to take public ownership of great swathes of the… Continue reading Issue 9: 2015 07 02: Fading Icons: Digging the National Parks
Issue 8: 2015 06 25: The Threat From Outside the Bubble
25 June 2015 The threat from outside the Bubble by John Watson In my next life I think I would like to work at the EU Commission. That is not because I love Brussels, although to be fair the chocolate there is excellent. Nor is it the stimulating company; I am sure there are lots… Continue reading Issue 8: 2015 06 25: The Threat From Outside the Bubble
Issue 8:2015 06 25:Who Was Ioannis Kapodistrias?
25 June 2015 Who was Ioannis Kapodistrias? by Neil Tidmarsh The Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras flew to Russia this week to meet with President Putin at the Saint Petersburg Economic Forum. But his first engagement on arrival was to lay a wreath at the monument to Ioannis Kapodistrias in Saint Petersburg’s Grecheskaya Ploshchad (Greek… Continue reading Issue 8:2015 06 25:Who Was Ioannis Kapodistrias?
