04 May 2017 Israel and the Syrian Civil War An increasingly difficult balancing act. by Neil Tidmarsh A massive explosion shook Damascus international airport last Thursday. The blast was heard 15 miles away, in the centre of Syria’s capital city. It was an air-strike on an arms depot – but by which of the powers… Continue reading Issue 103:2017 05 04: Israel and the Syrian Civil War (Neil Tidmarsh)
Tag: Neil Tidmarsh
Issue 102:2017 04 27:Slaves of the machine (Part II) (Neil Tidmarsh)
27 April 2017 Slaves Of The Machine (Part II) An epic and extraordinary journey through a hostile sci-fi universe. By Neil Tidmarsh I’ve seen the future, and it’s a right cock-up. Machine-driven, yes, but get this – the machines have turned into humans, and the humans have turned into machines. Strictly speaking, I haven’t seen… Continue reading Issue 102:2017 04 27:Slaves of the machine (Part II) (Neil Tidmarsh)
Issue 101:2017 04 20:Erdogan’s uneasy triumph (Neil Tidmarsh)
20 April 2017 Erdogan’s Uneasy Triumph Yet another crisis for Turkey. by Neil Tidmarsh Less than two years ago, it looked as if President Erdogan’s political life was about to come to an end. The parliamentary election of June 2015 was a disaster for him. The electorate understood that the vote was really about Erdogan’s… Continue reading Issue 101:2017 04 20:Erdogan’s uneasy triumph (Neil Tidmarsh)
Issue 100:2017 04 13: A moveable feast (Neil Tidmarsh)
13 April 2017 A Moveable Feast The milk chocolate Easter algorithm. by Neil Tidmarsh Christmas Day? December 25. Saint David’s Day? March 01. Saint Patrick’s Day? March 17. Easter Day? Er… um… well… We laughed at Homer Simpson when he moaned, after missing out on some sort of Christmas offer, “I’ll never get another chance… Continue reading Issue 100:2017 04 13: A moveable feast (Neil Tidmarsh)
Issue 99: 2016 04 06:The attack on Khan Sheikhoun (Neil Tidmarsh)
06 April 2017 The Attack on Khan Sheikhoun. Assad, sarin gas and the Syrian opposition. by Neil Tidmarsh The defeat of rebel forces in Aleppo and their expulsion from that city clearly wasn’t the end of the civil war in Syria. It wasn’t even the beginning of the end. It was, however, the beginning of… Continue reading Issue 99: 2016 04 06:The attack on Khan Sheikhoun (Neil Tidmarsh)
Issue 98:2017 03 30:Enlightenment City(Neil Tidmarsh)
30 March 2017 Enlightenment City Washington DC, March 2017 by Neil Tidmarsh Europe in the 18th century – the age of Enlightenment – the age of Haydn and Mozart, of David Hume and Adam Smith, of Voltaire’s Candide and Diderot’s Encyclopédie, of man’s recognition of himself as a rational being, his realisation that he could make… Continue reading Issue 98:2017 03 30:Enlightenment City(Neil Tidmarsh)
Issue 97:2017 03 23:Slaves of the machine (Neil Tidmarsh)
23 March 2017 Slaves of the Machine Robots don’t take our work – they just ensure we don’t get paid for it. by Neil Tidmarsh It’s even worse than we thought. Machines are out to destroy our jobs, but that isn’t all. Once they succeed, we aren’t even free to romp in a brave new… Continue reading Issue 97:2017 03 23:Slaves of the machine (Neil Tidmarsh)
Issue95:2017 03 09:Fake news (Neil Tidmarsh)
09 March 2017 Fake News Or is it? by Neil Tidmarsh Fake news alert! Yes, this week, we’re indulging in fake news. Well, if everyone else is at it, why should Shaw Sheet be any different? “Shame on you, Shaw Sheet!”, I hear you cry, but at least you can’t say that you haven’t been… Continue reading Issue95:2017 03 09:Fake news (Neil Tidmarsh)
Issue 94:2017 03 02:The occasional Shaw Sheet cock-up awards (Neil Tidmarsh)
02 March 2017 The Occasional Shaw Sheet Cock-up Awards And the winner of this week’s international Ossca is… By Neil Tidmarsh Hello and welcome to the Occasional Shaw Sheet Cock-up Awards – the event which absolutely nobody has been waiting for, or even knew existed. Without pausing to comment on the complete dearth of show-biz… Continue reading Issue 94:2017 03 02:The occasional Shaw Sheet cock-up awards (Neil Tidmarsh)
Issue 93:2017 02 23:Good Cop,Bad Cop(Neil Tidmarsh)
23 February 2017 Good Cop, Bad Cop Populism and the police. by Neil Tidmarsh Much has been written and said about populism recently, but one of its most interesting and important aspects has provoked little comment so far – the fact that, under a populist leader, a country’s police force often ends up going to… Continue reading Issue 93:2017 02 23:Good Cop,Bad Cop(Neil Tidmarsh)
Issue 92:2017 02 16: Poisonous Headlines (Neil Tidmarsh)
16 February 2017 Poisonous Headlines “We have a lot of killers.” by Neil Tidmarsh Welcome to the Shaw Sheet crime club. I lay before you three cases from this week’s global headlines. Three prime cases of apparent political assassination, not from the Renaissance Italy of Assassin’s Creed and Machiavelli, but from the here and now,… Continue reading Issue 92:2017 02 16: Poisonous Headlines (Neil Tidmarsh)
Issue 91:2017 02 09:The ancients exiled (Neil Tidmarsh)
09 February 2017 The Ancients Exiled The West’s heart proposes to cut off its own blood supply by Neil Tidmarsh This week, the Chinese press referenced the Athenian historian Thucydides (460 BC – 395 BC) when reporting on Sino-US relations. The official mouthpiece of the Communist Party, The People’s Daily, warned that the two countries… Continue reading Issue 91:2017 02 09:The ancients exiled (Neil Tidmarsh)
Issue 90:2017 02 02:Politics and the Post-Work World(Neil Tidmarsh)
02 February 2017 Politics and the Post-Work World Hamon says, but Fillon does (allegedly). by Neil Tidmarsh Has anyone else noticed the irony? One politician proposes an idea and it wins him the leadership of his party. Another politician is accused of putting that same idea into practice and it may well lose him the… Continue reading Issue 90:2017 02 02:Politics and the Post-Work World(Neil Tidmarsh)
