07 January 2016 Week in Brief: UK FLOODS: The severe floods which have affected the North of England and Scotland have caused £billions worth of damage. It is thought that most of the damage is not covered by insurance. The Government has been criticised for what is seen as a North/South divide, with insufficient funds… Continue reading Issue 35: 2016 01 07: Week in Brief: UK
Tag: Syria
Issue 32: 2015 12 10: War For Our Time
10 December 2015 War For Our Time by J R Thomas That of course was not what Neville Chamberlain said. He apparently did not even mean to say what he did say. As he stood outside Downing Street on his return from his visit to Hitler on 30th September 1938 to sign the Munich… Continue reading Issue 32: 2015 12 10: War For Our Time
Issue 31: 2015 12 03: An Uncertain Endgame
03 December 2015 An Uncertain Endgame by John Watson It is right that British politics should be dominated by the question of whether to bomb ISIL in Syria and it is to the credit of Westminster that the division is not down party lines. Clearly the decision bothers MPs and it is good that some… Continue reading Issue 31: 2015 12 03: An Uncertain Endgame
Issue 31: 2015 12 03: Week in Brief: UK
03 December 2015 Week in Brief: UK AUTUMN STATEMENT: The Chancellor’s job was made much easier by a re-computation of tax take and debt servicing costs, which gave him an extra £28.5 billion over the next five years. That meant that he did not have to go ahead with the proposed elimination of tax credits for… Continue reading Issue 31: 2015 12 03: Week in Brief: UK
Issue 29: 2015 11 19: Paris
19 February 2015 Paris Blocking the road from hell By John Watson The thinking behind the outrage in Paris is hard to understand. This was no assault on the bastions of the capitalist and military establishment. It was an attack on innocent people enjoying a pleasant evening out. “Thank God it’s Friday” many of them… Continue reading Issue 29: 2015 11 19: Paris
Issue 29: 2015 11 19:Blessed are the Peace-Makers
19 November 2015 Blessed are the Peacemakers History is being made by good men in Vienna, not by bad men in Paris. By Neil Tidmarsh The terrible events in Paris have understandably and quite properly knocked everything else off the front pages this week. But it’s worth turning the spotlight back onto the Syrian peace… Continue reading Issue 29: 2015 11 19:Blessed are the Peace-Makers
Issue 28: 2015 11 12: Nosing about in the e-mails
12 November 2015 Nosing About In The Emails Does the draft Investigatory Powers Bill cover all the gaps? By John Watson The failure by the Government to obtain parliamentary authority for the extension of the RAF’s activities in Iraq into Syria conjures up the image of targets dodging across the border like rabbits and then… Continue reading Issue 28: 2015 11 12: Nosing about in the e-mails
Issue 27: 2015 11 05: Week in Brief: UK
05 November 2015 Week in Brief: UK POPULATION FIGURES: The Office for National Statistics predicts that over the next twenty-five years the population of the UK will increase from 64,600,000 to 74,300,000. By then it will have overtaken that of France and, if trends continue, it will overtake that of Germany in 2047. The projected… Continue reading Issue 27: 2015 11 05: Week in Brief: UK
Issue 26 : 2015 10 29 Agincourt
29 October 2015 Agincourt How technology and terror still rule the day by Chin Chin You’d think we were in Monmouth, the Welsh town in which Henry V was born. It was as Henry of Monmouth that he was known and they certainly don’t let you forget it. The names Harry and Agincourt dominate the… Continue reading Issue 26 : 2015 10 29 Agincourt
Issue 24: 2015 10 15;The Modern Emperor
15 October 2015 The Modern Emperor A cautionary (but true) tale by Neil Tidmarsh The Modern Emperor picked up his pen and signed the order with a firm hand. It was his order to send troops to a distant foreign country. An arid and sun-baked country of deserts and mountains, of ancient civilizations and a… Continue reading Issue 24: 2015 10 15;The Modern Emperor
Issue 22:2015 10 01:SYRIA: A DILEMMA FOR OBAMA OR PUTIN?
1 October 2015 Syria: A dilemma for Obama, or for Putin? by Neil Tidmarsh This week, President Putin appealed to the United Nations on behalf of President Assad of Syria. How should President Obama and the West respond to that appeal? Before we consider that question, it’s worth reminding ourselves who is fighting who in… Continue reading Issue 22:2015 10 01:SYRIA: A DILEMMA FOR OBAMA OR PUTIN?
Issue 21:2015 09 24: The Only Lesson of History…
24 September 2015 The Only Lesson of History… …is that we learn nothing from history. by J R Thomas In 1919, Woodrow Wilson, Georges Clemenceau, Vittorio Orlando and David Lloyd George, the leaders of the victorious powers in the War to End All Wars, sat down together to sort out Europe. It was a job… Continue reading Issue 21:2015 09 24: The Only Lesson of History…
Issue 19: 2015 09 10:INTERNATIONAL NEWS
10 September 2015 Week in Brief:INTERNATIONAL NEWS AFGHANISTAN: Thirteen Shia Muslims were murdered in Balkh province. The Taliban have condemned the attack and have blamed it on Isis. In-fighting among the Taliban has broken out as break-away factions challenge the power of its new leader, Mullah Akhtar Mansour, and some defect to Isis.… Continue reading Issue 19: 2015 09 10:INTERNATIONAL NEWS