Israel is not a terrorist organisation or a failed state. It is founded on the highest principles of civilised values and is a pluralist democracy with a strong tradition in the protection of human rights. The world was shocked when three of its young citizens were abducted and murdered for no reason other than the fact […]
It is very good news that fast and reliable wi-fi is to be introduced onto mainline trains. This Blog commends the government for a long overdue decision to provide an essential facility on any modern transport system. But they go on to say it will take four years! Four years of modern technology development in social […]
President Obama is one of the brightest intellects to occupy the White House and like another, Abraham Lincoln, he has been caught in intractable problems which are difficult to resolve. Lincoln used force to settle an issue which should have been solved peacefully. Barack Obama was elected in part because he promised to bring America’s foreign […]
Once again abortion is in the news in America at a sufficient level to cross the Atlantic into the European media. At the heart of the issue is the freedom of individuals to choose what they believe in, and what they do with their lives. The problem comes when the beliefs and the actions clash. If […]
In the view of this Blog, this answer is both yes and no. It is right to point up the risks of the current boom and right to introduce measures to prevent the problem getting out of hand. But some may say it is out of hand already. Many worry that both the Governor and the […]
The Deputy governor of the Bank of England is the latest distinguished authority to raise concern about the house price boom, of which the government is more or less in denial. This blog and others have been warning since 2009 that another housing boom would be a disaster, yet the government has organised a recovery […]
The last reorganisation of the NHS, which has given us Commissioning Boards instead of Primary Care Trusts, has achieved nothing which could not have been achieved within the previous system. This can be repeated backwards through one upheaval after another right back to 1948. There are two problems which override everything. The first is the […]
The news that a Palestinian teenager was seen being kidnapped and that his body, partly burned, has been found this morning is truly shocking. This is clearly a revenge attack. What is also clear is that a rubicon has been crossed when both sides engage in tit for tat violence which involves killing young people out of […]
There are two ways of looking at yesterday’s big speech by ED Milliband. You can be positive and you can be negative. On the positive side it is a sound idea (actually proposed by Lord Heseltine) which diverts money from the financial sector, which is London based, and redistributes it to the regions which are closer […]
Originally published as Downfall in 1995, these new paperback and Kindle editions of one of my favourite works has stood the test of time rather well. I began it late in 1993, completed it during 1994 and it was published in 1995. I dipped into a copy on a recent rainy afternoon and found it had acquired […]