Category Archives: Uncategorized

Just a few years ago, when the ‘culture wars’, ‘political correctness’, ‘no platforming’ and ‘wokeness’ first burst – or rather slunk – on to the political scene, I remember being irritated by them, but only mildly. I recall just one … Continue reading →

‘That’s not who we are’. You sometimes hear this from liberal Americans who disapprove of policies or actions taken by their country, or by its people or Presidents. But of course it’s not entirely true. Going back over US history … Continue reading →

I know very little about the American judicial system, apart from what I’ve seen in films like Twelve Angry Men, which probably idealised it, and in any case is seventy years old. So I don’t know what is likely to … Continue reading →

At this moment I feel like I probably would have done in the 1930s: – that the world is hurtling towards a catastrophic end. Even before climate change fries us, our population is multiplying to a level that surely can’t … Continue reading →

The degree to which the far Right in both the US and Britain hate public services is difficult to overstate. Currently its ire is being directed against the BBC, occasioned by a 2024 Panorama report which spliced together two sections … Continue reading →

If my pet theory is sound – that most of the alarming events in the world today are symptoms of the ‘natural’ and perhaps even inevitable ‘evolution of capitalism’ in its later stages – there’s plenty of circumstantial evidence around … Continue reading →

The UK Education Secretary has just announced a reform of the English national school curriculum to include more on the Arts, and to incorporate the teaching of ‘Critical Thinking’ in order to make children aware of fake news and propaganda. … Continue reading →

Just occasionally I question the decision I took after the Brexit vote to make Sweden my main home, and to take on Swedish citizenship, in order to be part of the EU again. My doubts stem from the rise of … Continue reading →

‘I love the poorly educated’, said Donald Trump a few years ago (https://www.politico.com/video/2016/02/donald-trump-i-love-the-poorly-educated-044575). And of course Trump himself is poorly educated. Is that one of the factors behind his political success? And, incidentally, behind his assault on top American universities? … Continue reading →

Just to say that my KCom email still doesn’t work, despite the best efforts of the technical experts at KCom in Hull, and of the young people at the ‘Genius Desk’ in the bright, futuristic and friendly Apple Center in … Continue reading →