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More evidence that “this blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England” isn’t doing so good: Kindly take that cigar outside Mr Brunel, do you think you’re some sort of hero?, on the unfortunate BBC poll to identify the 100 greatest Britons, and Constructing a value map, an account of how geography is … More ...

The second paragraph in a Times story today about the Catholic bishops’ deliberations on the threatened war with Iraq was innocently ironic:

This is the kind of global concern that used to preoccupy the bishops before this year, when the church was overwhelmed by the scandal over some bishops’ failure to discipline priests who had

It must be nice to be a black bigwig in South Africa and be able to pass off your personal demand for tons of money as something decreed by social justice: Rarity of Black-Run Businesses Worries South Africa’s Leaders. Somehow the personal interests of those making the demands (which are not the same as … More ...

Refusal to see what seems impossible to ignore is not restricted to politics: Danger on the seas as walls of water sink tankers. Apparently, enormous freak waves that can shatter any ship afloat are fairly common occurences at sea. Nonetheless, experts and authorities have shrugged off reports of the waves in spite of the … More ...

Actually, it seems the book might be worth reading as a brief guided tour of certain sorts of contemporary intellectual manipulation: Pooh-poohing postmodernism (on Postmodern Pooh, a long delayed sequel by Frederick Crews to his Pooh Perplex, a 1964 take-off on the schools of literary criticism then current). The man spent two years… More ...

If you want to keep your finger on the pulse of the European left, here’s a piece worth reading: Florence builds a bridge to a brave new social paradise. Say what you want about postmodern irony, simple faith is still whole and entire. People can’t live without it.

Traditionalists see limits to the regenerative qualities of capitalism, but it’s still got advantages over the politically-correct welfare state. A reader sends an instance from Down Under: Work aid better than welfare, according to aboriginal leader Pearson.

I found this amusing, although it doesn’t particularly prove anything: Spycatchers trapped by bugging bills. 20,000 phones tapped in Germany does sound like rather a lot.

Those Canadians are back again: India-Born Canadian Novelist Rohinton Mistry Cancels US Book Tour Over Racial Profiling. The noted storyteller complained that on previous visits he had been stopped and searched rudely at every airport he passed through and didn’t want to go through the experience again. The real news in the piece though … More ...

Another thought about the Dalrymple piece on crime in France that I commented on yesterday: one of the complaints the French make is that the police do nothing about crime, even when it happens right in front of them. They won’t even accept reports. That seems inevitable in a sensitized and politically correct society. … More ...