Spectator Blogs

Reputations

, 11 May 2008 10:26:56 GMT

I almost forgot to add my entries to Alex's poll of over-rated and under-rated presidents. So here goes. I only have two candidates for each category.

Over-rated

1. Ronald Reagan. A decent man who is now in the process of being deified.

2. Woodrow Wilson. His idealism helped ensure that the war to end all wars led to the next one.

Under-rated

1. Dwight D. Eisenhower. The quiet, undemonstrative soldier.

2. Richard Nixon. I know, I know... I'm not going to try to persuade anyone on this. Yes, he earned his disgrace. All I'll say is that]]>

Winter Hill, Cookham

, 11 May 2008 09:58:41 GMT

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The BBC's lamentable coverage of Young Musician

, 10 May 2008 15:21:06 GMT

I've been catching up with my recordings of this week's broadcasts on BBC4 of the category finals for BBC Young Musician of the Year. The final takes place tonight, but isn't being shown until tomorrow night on BBC2.

I'd like to be able to write that the standard is, as ever, extremely high. I'm sure it will have been. But I can't tell you that for sure because this year's coverage is even more appalling than in 2006. Let's ignore the fact that it's been hidden away on BBC4, and take on board the BBC's defence - that BBC4 allows]]>

New world in the making

, 10 May 2008 13:29:48 GMT

Joseph Joffe [left] reviews Fareed Zakaria's "relentlessly intelligent" book about America's global role and the rising power of Asia's new giant. One arresting statistic: today's China now exports as much in a single day as it managed in the whole of 1978. For all that, Joffe - now a fellow at Stanford - doesn't believe US is doomed to decline. And nor, it seems, does Zakaria. "His point is not the demise of Gulliver, but the 'rise of the rest.'"

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Kamm in full flow

, 10 May 2008 12:50:19 GMT

This will, admittedly, be of limited interest; but for anyone who relishes the spectacle of Oliver Kamm in full flow, this demolition of a rather stupid academic (possibly the stupidest man alive) called Chris Bertram is a treat. You have to read the comments to get the full glory.

BTW, I entirely concur with Oliver's assertion:

Is there merit in the mild hypocrisy of not speaking ill of the recently deceased? Not in the case of public figures who influence policy or exercise office.... A toxic figure in life is not less so in posthumous influence.

Dead or alive, toxic]]>

Notebook

, 10 May 2008 10:05:08 GMT

The Spanish depended completely on such iron objects as shovels, pickes, axes, hammers, anvils, tool. They needed to make horseshoes and affix them, to repair weapons, to replace things broken. Every nail, every piece of iron, was precious, because it had to come from Spain. A horseshoe cost 30 pesos; nails, 80 pesos the hundred. Many a horseman found it cheaper to have his animal shod with gold.

David Landes, The Wealth and Poverty of Nations.

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Friday evening interlude: Sinatra sings bossa

, 09 May 2008 19:20:07 GMT

I thought I'd end the day in much the same way I began. While there's no shortage of English-language bossa nova travesties on the market, the album that Frank Sinatra made with the great Antonio Carlos Jobim has some gorgeous moments. Their TV medley includes "Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars" (Gene Lees's translation of "Corcovado"), a so-so treatment of Irving Berlin's "Change Partners" and the best number on the LP, Cole Porter's "I Concentrate on You". No prizes for guessing what they end with. Jobim strums gentle guitar chords, Frank puffs away on his cigarette. Those were the days.

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Bye bye Arabella. Or be quiet.

, 09 May 2008 17:08:11 GMT

Here are the long-awaited results of the Arabella Weir poll.

Go on hunger strike 14%
Throw herself in front of a horse at Ascot 39%
Chain herself to the railings outside Boris' house 23%
Leave London 25%

The clear winner is the second option: that she should throw herself under a horse at Ascot. Just to help her, here's tomorrow's Ascot card. There are six races for her to choose from.

Alternatively, she could just keep her trite, ignorant leftie drivel to herself in future.

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Jews and power

, 09 May 2008 15:51:46 GMT

Somehow I doubt that Inayat Bunglawala will have the same take on this as Daniel Finkelstein. The Tribe of Judah, as you charmingly put it, control the media, don't we, Inayat?

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