The British and Ronald Searle
Searle is 90 tomorrow and Channel 4 News ran a tribute interview. Typically, the commentary had to have a little attitudinising. Read more...
Richard D North.
On culture, Nature, liberal issues, monasticism, spiritualityPage 40 of all posts
A New Military Covenant: The 21st century warrior?
The British military tradition is real, but it is up for grabs. Here is my account of a British military which becomes large, clever, multi-purpose, and is deployed worldwide. Along the way, it becomes more commercial, more part-time and more argumentative. Read more...
Which party wants a modern state?
I want to scrap the BBC, expand the military, phase out the NHS and the rest of the Welfare State, empower Whitehall. What is this unholy muddle? And how does affect politics? Do the Tories get it? Read more...
The Tories lack “bottom”
The Tory leadership under David Cameron clearly lack something. Their followers don't know what the party's for. The Cameroons are a bit controlling. Blairite, then. But there's something more... Read more...
Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll: 6 out of 10
S & D & R & R has a lot going for it, but it's a little lame in some departments. Read more...
Revolutionary Row: Gorgeous but thin
Sam Mendes is a very good director but he has a track record of disliking capitalism and isn't a lot better about human relations. Revolutionary Road makes these points almost as well as American Beauty did. Read more...
Stewart Brand’s Whole Earth Discipline
Drawing on one aspect of Stewart Brand’s new Whole Earth Discipline, this is a rather dense (mercifully short) note about the weakness of most discussion about the merits of action on climate change. Read more...
Up In the Air: not quite tough enough
George Clooney's Up In the Air (2009) is in a long and noble tradition (maybe two), and it very nearly delivers. Read more...
RDN on BBC R4 on climate change
On the radio today (BBC Radio 4's You and Yours) I made a fair fist of describing my position on the trustworthiness of climate change science and the IPCC. I did slightly mispeak... Read more...
Top reads of 2009
I keep meaning to try to do justice to the books I read. Here is a list of some of the things which rocked my world in 2009. Read more...