The Pope’s Visit It is right that the Pope should visit Britain. It is wrong that this should be a State Visit. The status of the Vatican owes more to Italian politics in the days of Mussolini than it does to the real world. Moreover there is no other faith which is also a State, […]
9/11 Anniversary It is indeed unfortunate that this day of great emotional solemnity for so many, which should be a moment of coming together of humankind, is sullied by the preposterous proposals of a hitherto unheard of pastor of a church almost without followers. It does however tell us that literal and fundamentalist religion of […]
Tony Blair All the interviews and publicity surrounding his book, together with the extracts I have read, reveal a conflicting personality which is a far cry from the open, refreshing young man, so popular at the start of his premiership. How can the man who brought peace to Northern Ireland and devolution to Wales and […]
Hello Again! At last I am back on line, after a customer experience with BT edging towards delirium for which there is no rational explanation other than a totally dysfunctional system or human incompetence to defy belief. Enough to say that a same day switchover took twenty one days to complete. Never as a monopoly or […]
BT Fails Again. Having moved to the perfect cottage with a promise in writing and other confirmations from the shambolic muddle calling itself BT, that my phone and broadband would be connected by midnight on August 20th, I am now told that due to arguments among providers I cannot be connected unless I have a new line […]
General Petraeus There is no doubt that Gen Petraeus is a practical and competent commander, with the ability to see the big picture. It is therefore inevitable that he should start to hint, as he has, that in terms of achieving the mission, American combat troops may have to stay in Afghanistan longer. This will […]
Rural Housing In another element of what I suppose is the Big Society, there is a proposal for local communities to hold referenda to determine whether to build affordable housing. If 80% vote yes, the plan goes ahead irrespective of what the planning authority thinks. Critics point out that this is another blocking measure, not an […]
David Beckham Many people are offended by the off hand way Fabio Capello called time on the nation’s favourite footballer as a member of the England team. Beckham is not just a footballer. He is a sports ambassador and international celebrity. He is a popular hero. He has millions and millions of fans. All are affronted by […]