After failing to obtain the release of an American pastor unjustly imprisoned for twenty-two months in Turkey, the Trump administration imposed sanctions against the Islamic-nationalist government of President Reccep Erdogan. Andrew Brunson is a married pastor and father of three who for more than two decades had been calmly building a very small Protestant community […]
OPINION
Boris burkas and the new, new liberalism
Heaven knows, I am no supporter of Boris Johnson, but I wonder whether there may be issues – perhaps of less symbolic value – but of more importance than what he meant, or didn’t mean, about burkas. This is not actually a post about either of them. It is about the widening gulf between what […]
We need to avoid the contagion of Politics E
In 1997, an article appeared in The Lancet, a medical journal, describing what was labelled Syndrome E. The ‘E’ stands for evil and the syndrome is a collection of the behaviour and characteristics of those who commit evil deeds. Here is the list of what was claimed to constitute Syndrome E: Repetition: the aggression is […]
We need a universal digital income, and soon
Most countries have some kind of broadcasting levy to pay for public radio and television. In the UK there is the license fee to pay for the BBC. In France, one must declare possession of a television on one’s income tax form. In Germany, every household must pay in excess of 200 euros even if […]
Why does Africa have so much trouble with democracy?
On 3 August, at the Kasumbalesa border crossing between Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC, former Zaire), an incident occurred. It was non-violent and therefore scarcely noticed. But it is worrying about the future of the largest country in French-speaking Africa, and emblematic of the way politics is being conducted today in the […]
Why the EU and UK can’t understand each other
They say that the chances of a no-deal Brexit are rising. If there is one thing that these Brexit negotiations show it is the fundamental differences in governance philosophy between Britain and continental Europe. It is one reason why the UK has never been comfortable in the European Union. The UK’s tradition of common law […]
The degrading business of using UK public services
Yes, it is hot. The heat has also added a layer of what I can only describe as degradation to our public services. But before I describe it, I don’t want to be pigeon-holed as someone who believes that all services should be managed by ministers, as they were before – say – the start […]
Who will win the AI race – content or platforms?
For the last couple of decades, the question has raged as to who would win the media wars: content providers or media platforms that can beam everyone’s content? The battle has, over time, resulted in the belief that one needs both. Platforms like Netflix have moved into content provision while content providers continue to acquire […]
What gets in the way of an Russian-American agreement
On July 27, the White House said that President Trump would receive President Putin in Washington early in 2019, and that Trump would later travel to Moscow. Including the Helsinki meeting of July 16, this would be the third Russian-American summit in the space of a year. Do these multiple meetings foreshadow a Russo-American rapprochement? […]
The old order is crumbling – what should we do?
I went to the Social Liberal Forum conference last weekend and found it completely transformed – no more endless whingeing but real debate about big ideas for the future. They really had made the transition, as the Greens used to say, from opposition to proposition. Anyone who has read my political blogs will know is […]
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