normblog (Free subscription) | yesterday | General
A leader in today's Sunday Times says: For years Remembrance Sunday was about honouring the dead of past world wars. Honouring the war dead - that seems to be a common understanding of what the day is about. An editorial...
Prairie Weather (Free subscription) | 07/11/2009 | General
I'm really taken with the final paragraphs of a long report/analysis/commentary in the UK's Independent on the Fort Hood shooter. Just this Wednesday, the man who was later caught smiling in the grocery shop, was knocking on the door of...
educating alice (Free subscription) | 07/11/2009 | General
This is a grown-up book for grown-up people who haven’t forgotten being childhood readers. It satisfies imagination and curiosity, revisiting things you suddenly remember clearly, telling you new things you didn’t know. A. S. Byatt reviews Maria Tatar’s Enchanted Hunters in the Guardian.
AMERICAblog (Free subscription) | 06/11/2009 | General
Idiots . Twenty years ago, thousands of Germans converged at the Berlin Wall to watch as the hated barrier between east and west was torn down. But tonight, many fans hoping to catch a glimpse of U2 as they played a free concert to celebrate the anniversary of the historic event would have found a small obstacle in their way: a hastily erected wall. The organisers of the event, the music network MTV,...
Loose WIre (Free subscription) | 06/11/2009 | General
Does what we search for online reflect our fears? There’s a growing obsession in the UK, it would seem, with ‘hoodies’—young people who wear sports clothing with hoods who maraud in gangs. Michael Caine has just starred in a movie...
Clayboy (Free subscription) | 05/11/2009 | General
The Common English Bible brings its first baby into public for the first time today, with the online publication of its version of St Matthew’s gospel. On the whole it seems to me to have some good colloquial writing in places, though I think it confines itself too much to a single specific reading age [...]
No Rock And Roll Fun (Free subscription) | 04/11/2009 | General
More vague plans: Kele Okereke is apparently working on a solo record . Or at least that's what he's told his producer: Hudson Mohawke told BBC Radio 1xtra that he may be working on the record with Okereke. [...] "It hasn't been finalised yet, but I'm doing a bit of stuff for Kele from Bloc Party's solo album," the producer said. "He's doing a record with one of the guys from Spank Rock."...
Political Animal (Free subscription) | 05/11/2009 | General
WEAK KNEES KEEP SHAKING.... In Tuesday's congressional races, voters sent two more House Democrats to Congress, expanding an already-large Democratic majority on the Hill. In 2008, the electorate made a House Democratic majority bigger, and in 2009, Dems went five...
The Star Celeb (Free subscription) | 05/11/2009 | General
According to the UK Telegraph, Russell Brand is thinking about cutting his hair and cleaning up his scruff. ”I can’t keep always playing long-haired, scruffy men, otherwise my career would be limited.” the British comedian said. “I was hoping one day to play Napoleon, but I can’t play Napoleon as this shaggy-haired, bearded raconteur.” Sounds like he’s really...
SwissToni's Place (Free subscription) | 05/11/2009 | General
There's a bit in Joseph Heller's " Catch-22 " where Captain Black runs something he calls the "Glorious Loyalty Oath Campaign", where everyone in the squadron finds themselves forced to sign oaths pledging their loyalty in order to get absolutely anything or everything: " Almost overnight the Glorious Loyalty Oath Crusade was in full flower, and Captain Black was enraptured...
SUBROSA (Free subscription) | 04/11/2009 | General
Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan are preparing for a 'very different winter' amid signs that suggest Taliban militants plan to ramp up their attacks in the coming months rather than reduce them because of the logistical challenge of travel, particularly in the country's foreboding mountain passes. The Canadian battle group commander of Task Force Kandahar said: "We know for a fact that the insurgents...
E - Editors Weblog (Free subscription) | 05/11/2009 | General
Rupert Murdoch admitted last night that his plans for News Corp newspapers to begin charging online by June next year, might have to be postponed.To date the media mogul has been the most proactive publisher in the move to charge...
Cafe Hayek (Free subscription) | 04/11/2009 | General
Here’s a letter of mine published in today’s Financial Times: From Dr Donald J. Boudreaux. Sir, You report (October 27) that George Soros is committing $50m to start a new think-tank whose purpose will be to displace what he considers (as you summarise it) “the unwavering belief in unchecked free markets, which remains pervasive in universities”. Or, [...]
Croydon Greens (Free subscription) | 05/11/2009 | General
Backspin (Free subscription) | 05/11/2009 | General
NY Times readers can be forgiven for not believing Iran is connected to arms boat seized en route to Syria. Reporter Myra Noveck writes: News reports quoted the Israeli president, Shimon Peres, and other officials saying the ship had been...
