Category: current affairs

Blood pressure statistically higher on Monday mornings. I don’t think that my wife needs to be told this.

There should be a simple answer too, in my view. "Yes".

"Now I am the Jew here, I am the boss".
Incidentally, is "co-religionist" a real word?

It won’t work! The housing price problem will only be solved by supply-side measures, not demand-side policies. Increase the supply of affordable housing and prices will stabilise or fall. And I happen to know a good chunk of land that would be ideal for the purpose.
Incidentally, there was a sensible piece in Deborah Orr‘s column in the Indy on Saturday (lamentably not archived online) in which Ms Orr highlighted how increasing the right to buy would help some people, but would also lead to increased "ghettoisation" of those without the means to purchase property – as if the ghettoes we have already are not bad enough.

Dispassionate history of the swastika. Useful for putting down all the fools who want to see the symbol banned – if you follow their logic, pretty much every symbol should be banned (Union Flag for British atrocities during colonialism; Stars and Stripes for American hegemony [oops – been reading Chomsky toooooo long!]; the hammer and sickle for the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan… I could go on…). It is time that nannying politicians stopped messing around at the edges and actually took steps to deal with the issues (for example – if they are so concerned about anti-Semitism, then take greater steps to improve education and tolerance, and also effectively punish those who use violence or desecration to promote such ideas).

In a shocking development, I agree with the Duchess of York. Prince Harry’s appearance at a fancy dress party in a Nazi uniform was both in keeping with the theme of the party and in keeping with the behaviour of a normal 20 year old. Even though he has some German close relatives, it does not in any way imply that he is either a Nazi or a Nazi sympathiser. Will someone please get a grip here?!
As I have said elsewhere, if he had gone to the party dressed as King Kong, would people be outraged at his implied support for giant apes swatting at biplanes from the top of the Empire State Building whilst clutching a scantily-clad Faye Wray? I don’t think so.
It has to be said that Harry should have shown a little more forethought about the likely reaction of the tabloid hacks to his choice of costume, but let’s get it all in perspective, please!