Financial markets do not exist
ONE of the most striking aspects of the blanket media coverage of the eurozone crisis is the way in which financial markets are routinely spoken of as entities with a life of their own. They are conceived of as capable of adhering to ethical codes, from which they have of late drifted away. Ostensibly they [...]
British monarchy: scrap it altogether
‘OF THE various forms of government which have prevailed in the world,’ Edward Gibbon presciently remarked more than 200 years ago, ‘an hereditary monarchy seems to present the fairest scope for ridicule.’ In this respect at least, not a lot has changed over the past two centuries. Heaven only knows what the great historian would [...]
Tribune: the real is the rational
I WAS news editor at Tribune between 1992 and 1995, and it lived a hand to mouth existence even then. At a time when almost every other publication in Britain had switched to what journalists of the period called ‘the new technology’, I suddenly found myself thrown back into the era of manual typewriters. The [...]
Tony Blair: PR man for Kazakhstan
NURSULTAN Nazarbayev is clearly an extremely popular guy. Why, only last April, he secured 95% of the votes in Kazakhstan’s presidential elections. And just to underline how much his people love him, the name of the party which holds every single seat in the country’s parliament loosely translates as ‘Ray of Light of the Fatherland’, [...]
After Gaddafi: what next for Libya?
LESS than 24 hours after the death of Gaddafi, thousands of people have already committed predictions for the future of Libya to print and/or cyberspace. Some of those indulging in speculation are more informed than others, but the simple reality is that nobody knows what happens next. Although I have visited the country, and have [...]
James Wharton MP: the Tory who wants to cut dole
THREE quid is less than the price of a pint in most central London pubs. It’s just about enough to get a small salad in the subsidised canteen in the offices where I work. And coincidentally, it is roughly 5% of the top whack rate of Jobseekers’ Allowance, which currently stands at £64.30 for the [...]
#occupylsx: yes, but what are they advocating instead?
YES, but what are they advocating instead? That question is rapidly becoming the standard rightwing putdown of the Occupy Wall Street movement and the similar demonstrations it has inspired elsewhere, now including London’s #occupylsx. Hacks penning hatchet jobs on this one have two ways into the story. One option is to start by stressing widespread [...]
Youth unemployment: ‘guaranteed interviews’ are not enough
ALMOST one million young people in Britain are out of work. But never fear, employment minister Chris Grayling is determined to get to grips with the crisis. Why, a full 5% of them are to be guaranteed a job interview. At some point in the next two years, anyway. No rush then, mate. If it [...]
What Occupy Wall Street should tell the political right
I GUESS the biggest problem the political right on both sides of the Atlantic has with the Occupy Wall Street movement is the sudden realisation that not everybody in America thinks the way that they do. Those that habitually refer to liberals as ‘the far left’, and nonsensically insist that Obama is some kind of [...]
Liam Fox: Torn
DID Australian angst rock princess Natalie Imbruglia personally broker BAE Systems’ $15.8m contract to upgrade the Chilean army’s howitzer capacity? I only ask because the lucky girl lists Liam Fox among her former squeezes, and as we know, the defence secretary can be extremely accommodating to the commercial interests of old friends. As a special adviser to Dr [...]
