Why we posted this: The dust is settling on a major political and economic ruction in the UK. So far, the evidence is that our democratic process and economic management will change a little, and for the better. Most people won’t notice or care. More »
Themes: Media / Money / Politics / Rights. Posted by Richard D North on June 13th, 2009
Why we posted this: It is a familiar riff that people are more miserable in the West, and Westerners are more miserable than they used to be. This is mostly nonsense, but there is an important issue to wrestle with: why are women less happy than men? This piece seems sensible all round. More »
Themes: Society. Posted by Richard D North on June 2nd, 2009
Why we posted this: There’s much fun to be had at the expense of Trudie Styler and the helicopters and private jets she uses to defend the planet and its people. But suppose she’s worth the airmiles? Or is she barking up the wrong tree? More »
Themes: Campaigning / Green / Rights. Posted by Richard D North on May 25th, 2009
Why we posted this: People have forgotten how badly they need to be governed by an elite. The exposure of MP’s allowances in the Daily Telegraph shows just how far we have gone in misunderstanding the problem of public service. The paper of the professions has descended into tabloid destructiveness. More »
Themes: Interrogating the Media / Politics / Society / Truth & Trust. Posted by Richard D North on May 9th, 2009
Why we posted this: Politics and politicians in the UK are mostly decent and public-spirited. So it profoundly matters that journalists should tell us more of what they know about the skullduggery at the heart of Westminster. More »
Themes: Interrogating the Media / Media / Truth & Trust. Posted by Richard D North on April 18th, 2009
Why we posted this: It’s a commonplace that The People are angry with capitalism and that’s why there’s protest on the streets, and it ought to be heard by our leaders. But actually, isn’t the big surprise that there’s so little protest and that there is little evidence that people think capitalism is dead, or anything like it? More »
Themes: Food / Green / Money. Posted by Richard D North on April 3rd, 2009
Why we posted this: It’s becoming quite common to declare that free market capitalism is dead, long live state interference. Even some Financial Times gurus are taken with this line, and it is useful to wonder if they are right. More »
Themes: Interrogating the Media / Media / Money. Posted by Richard D North on March 10th, 2009
Why we posted this: It’s official: the Israeli military did not – as widely reported at the time – shell a United Nations school in Gaza, killing 43 in its grounds. Time for an apology by the reporters? More »
Themes: Campaigning / Green / Interrogating the Media / Media / Politics. Posted by Richard D North on February 4th, 2009
Why we posted this: George Monbiot is quite funny – if a tad over the top – on the way the middle classes are taking most of the advantage of cheap flights. But the squabble over flying is also mostly a middle class affair – like most arguments. More »
Themes: Campaigning / Global Warming / Green / Money / Rights. Posted by Richard D North on January 14th, 2009
Why we posted this: The idea that protest is almost always good and being strict with it almost always bad is not necessarily sensible. So why shouldn’t the UK government consider blocking a legal loophole used by lawyers and juries to let protesters off? More »
Themes: Campaigning / Food / Green / Politics / Rights. Posted by Richard D North on December 31st, 2008
