The thousandth anniversary of the Norman Conquest of England, in 1066 AD, is still a few decades away and most people know the related story of food and the cultural differences. Our modern English words for domestic animals tend to be the names used by the lowly Saxon farmer-folk who raised them, while once the [...]
by Stephen Masty A 1960s/1970s comedian from before entertainment was invented, Rodney Dangerfield, had a catch-phrase complaining “I don’t get no respect.” American conservatives, outside of their own small communities, could make the same gripe. Until now. According to industrial leaks, Google, the cutting-edge IT company, is already designing a second-generation of its highly-anticipated Google [...]
Margaret Thatcher Plenty of ink has been well-deployed in commemorating Margaret Thatcher (1925-2013), Britain’s greatest statesman since Churchill, who rolled back Britain’s command economy and, together with Ronald Reagan and The Blessed John Paul II, helped to end communism which was the most murderous ideology in human history. So, for now, let us [...]
Madsen Pirie’s science-fiction novel Tree Boy begins like Robinson Crusoe, morphs into a murder mystery and ends as an action thriller; and if that sounds confused, well, it is anything but. It targets teenagers; a venerable form with distinct protocols, that appeals to grown-ups lifelong in books such as “Treasure Island.” Amid gripping action come [...]
Reprinted from The Guardian (UK) Dr. Josh, as everyone calls him, collected me at the Asunción airport in a battered Land Rover that was twenty years older than the young Canadian environmentalist. His chequered wool shirt, worn loose over jeans and a Molson’s t-shirt, surprised me for no good reason; I had expected something more [...]
Good people, or even just straightforward souls lacking in guile, often mistakenly attribute to their adversaries their own virtues and values. Old China Hands explain that newly-arrived gringo businessmen are often surprised to learn that many people in China regard a signed contract not as a solemn pledge, but merely as a further step in [...]
The headline was a catch-phrase for Monty Python, a madcap 1970s British comedy troupe that might well have written the BBC’s news coverage of Pope Francis, but the hilarity was unintentional. (Americans who are spared from watching BBC news broadcasts may now offer up prayers of thanksgiving). The comedy started with a tweet from a [...]
President Obama A forthcoming book by Vali Nasr, who is Dean of Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, paints a tragic picture of President Obama and the Afghan debacle. Dr. Vasr worked closely with the late and unsuccessful envoy Richard Holbooke, summarised in Foreign Policy, where Mr Obama makes [...]
Students of Western cultural decline may find parallels in the aesthetic decay of Japan starting in the mid-nineteenth century. These four elements seem to have debased the graphic arts especially: technology, political reform and equality, industrialisation and wealth, and reduced popular support for traditional culture among new elites. In both places these factors overturned venerable [...]
There certainly were dragons in our recent past, but they moved around too swiftly to be painted onto a medieval-style map for the sake of public safety. I refer to the human variety of dragon that often carried an umbrella and a handbag (Periculosum Humana Draco). Until quite modern times they patrolled every street and [...]
An audience of more than a thousand, mostly young people, came to the London School of Economics on February 18th to hear Professor Eamonn Butler deliver a talk entitled “What Would Hayek Do to Sort Out This Mess.” In context, Butler’s talk is part of a recent series of LSE lectures and debates between Keynesians [...]
Dr. Himmelman dumped her files onto the common-room table, made a cup of Earl Gray and sat down heavily. It didn’t take a world-famous clinician to see that she was having a bad day. “Looks like you’re having a bad day,” observed Barbara D’Angelo, a world-famous clinician. “Is it Charles again?” Janet shook her head [...]
As a British judge, how would you rule under the forthcoming law allowing homosexual marriage? Winners may become British judges after purchasing a horse-hair wig. 1) Clarissa wants to divorce Arthur because he has been having an affair with Clive. Can divorce be granted? (a) yes; (b) no; (c) yes if Clive agrees to a sex-change [...]
Your Eminence, I pray that this finds you well. You may recall that when we met at the cathedral before I left to visit America, you asked that I write to Your Eminence through my beloved elder brother, Fr. Adebayo Francis, with occasional observations. The Lord has blessed me with a safe journey and this [...]