Wednesday , December 11 2024

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2084: The Interregnum and the post-Liberal World

The world stands at the ‘Interregnum’ of modern history. We are at a precipice of a convergence of analogous threats; the majority of which have been self-inflicted. The threats go to the root of questioning key axiomatic principles of science. Innate qualities moulded by thousands of years of genetic tradition …

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Next PM – the runners, riders and those yet to fall

Boris has achieved what few have been capable of, uniting the parliamentary Conservative Party against continuing his tenure in Number 10. Having survived a vote of no confidence a few weeks ago, ostensibly having the backing of the majority of Tory MPs, we are now left with a leadership campaign …

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And now, the end is near

The odds of Boris Johnson remaining Prime Minister in 2022 are now 1/41. If you think he will stay until 2023 you can get odds of 29/1 or until 2024 37/1. This means we are going to have a new Prime Minister soon. There is no point any longer debating …

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Exiting History and the Myth of the Bipolar World

The ‘End of History’ has been postponed. Fukuyama, its author, assures us that ‘the spirit of 1989 is not dead…and is being reawakened’ by the Putin hiatus. The End of History and the triumph of liberalism is still there, according to Fukuyama, the Putin incident just a blip in the …

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Sturgeon lacks the intelligence in both senses of the word

There is a moment in the Godfather when Vito Corleone tells his rather dense son Sonny “Never tell anybody outside the family what you’re thinking again.” He was right. The fact that Sonny revealed his opinion leads directly to an assassination attempt on Don Corleone and indirectly to Sonny’s death. …

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British Volunteer Hackers Build a Missing Persons Platform for Ukraine In 72 Hours

A team of volunteers from the hacking group Secjuice.com and browser isolation cybersecurity startup WEBGAP.io worked nonstop for 72 hours to build a missing persons platform for Ukraine to help Ukrainians displaced by conflict find their missing loved ones.  The missing persons platform is DeTy.org, De Ty means ‘Where Are …

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Putin the Terrible

It is difficult to write about a fast-moving conflict with limited information and much disinformation. But it is impossible to write about anything else as every other topic looks trivial. I am uninterested in the domestic politics of the UK and cannot bring myself even to notice whatever Nicola Sturgeon …

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A great moment but challenges remain

Today’s announcement from the Prime Minister that the last vestiges of the coronavirus restrictions are being absolished is most welcome and fantastic news. The act itself will expire, the taxpayer will no longer pay for healthy people to test and there will be no more restrictions from the UK government …

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He and She

When the Berlin Wall came down, the Soviet Union collapsed and China briefly looked as if it might go the same way with the Tiananmen Square protests, the West declared itself the victor, history had ended and we could sink into our sofas. We began to get fatter and lazier. …

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Capitalism and the Environment

With the rise of Extinction Rebellion and other climate alarmist groups that have made militant demands in the name of protecting the environment, there has been a massive call for government action with demands to raise taxes and increase government spending. Furthermore, there has been a call to cut the …

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Never send for whom the birthday candles burn

There may have been some former Prime Ministers who were so saintly that everything they said and did in private in 10 Downing Street would have met the standards of probity set by Britain’s media, but I can’t think of one of them. Nor would I or anyone else that …

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Who are we as a country?

On the streets of Manchester, I asked a question to the general public: “Are you proud of our country?”. A range of answers sprang from this question: from a young communist on his way home from a hard shift at Tesco, to an old lady struggling to use Google Maps …

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Tories should stop pandering to boomers, tax them back to work 

The Conservatives must counter the narrative that they’re the party of the elderly by taking a hard line on older voters — even if that means forgoing the next election The trouble with the Conservative Party right now is they don’t realise they’re already dead. And so, they continue pandering …

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A second chance?

Yesterday’s Prime Minister’s Questions were arguably the most dangerous period in Boris Johnson’s time as Prime Minister. The nation’s fury at the hypocrisy of Boris Johnson attending a (or multiple) parties/social gatherings – combined with MPs opportunism left his premiership near collapse. However, with the Bury South MP Christian Wakeford …

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Many are called but few are chosen.

I think Britain was at its happiest in the first few years of Tony Blair. Thatcher had kept winning, because the alternative was Michael Foot and then Neil Kinnock, but most people did not much like her, let alone love her.  We were willing to tolerate the tough unpleasant medicine of …

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Paying the Premiums

During this pandemic, there has been no shortage of people on television and radio, in the newspapers and on social media expressing the view that governments at every level have been woefully unprepared for this pandemic. The argument invariably centres on resources – or lack thereof. The common theme across …

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Why doesn’t Taiwan allow absentee voting?

On November 26th millions of Taiwanese will wake up early to travel the length and breadth of the 13,800 square mile island off the east coast of China, returning to hometowns near and far – just to cast a ballot. Some might even fly in from overseas to be heard …

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‘Cancelling’ Taiwan’s opposition threatens a repeat of the past

When John Lennon penned the lyrics for Strawberry Fields Forever in the late 1960s, he included the line “Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see.” A throwaway lyric in the career of an iconic musician, this line in one of the Beatles most iconic tunes today encapsulates …

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Twitter might as well ban Jesus Christ too

I had only vaguely heard of US Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene before Twitter banned her. From what little I have read of her I disagree with what she has said about Covid, vaccines and many other issues. But I can only disagree with her if I am allowed to know …

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