World

In the ranking of dictators, Hugo Chávez is in the welterweight class. President of Venezuela these past 14 years, he is supposed to be holding a ceremony of inauguration for yet another term of one-man rule and demagoguery. In anticipation, his supporters, the Chávistas in their uniform of red shirts, are singing and dancing in the streets of Caracas. But rumour has it that Chávez is on the point of death after surgery for cancer in a hospital in Cuba. Caution! The apparent popularity, the sympathy, the tenterhooks, the pseudo-Mandela image of the man, is largely the work of those strange modern-age political publicists known as fellow travellers. A fellow

‘We can’t tolerate this anymore. These tragedies must end. And to end them, we must change. We will be told that the causes of such violence are complex, and that is true. No single law, no set of laws can eliminate evil from the world, or prevent every senseless act of violence in our society. But that can’t be an excuse for inaction. Surely, we can do better than this. If there is even one step we can take to save another child, or another parent, or another town from the grief that has visited Tucson and Aurora and Oak Creek and Newtown and communities from Columbine to Blacksburg before

There certainly seems to be something to be said for keeping an effective minister in the same post. After two years and eight months in the job, Steve Webb is by far the longest-serving Pensions Minister since the post was created in 1998. And, as last week’s mid-term review showed, pensions is one area where the coalition has much to boast about: the ‘triple lock’, the Hutton review, raising the pension age, ending default retirement and compulsory annuitisation, and introducing automatic enrolment. And today, Webb has announced the government’s new ‘single tier’ state pension. At the moment, the state pension system is fiendishly complex: there’s the basic state pension (currently

For a man cutting the military budget so much, David Cameron does seem to like using the Armed Forces. His personal conviction to act in Libya played a major part in deposing Col Gadaffi – after Afghanistan, his second war. And tonight, it looks like there may be a third. He has just offered the RAF support to the French, whose military is trying to oust al-Qaeda from their former colony in Mali. No10 has just released the following statement:- “The Prime Minister spoke to President Hollande this evening to discuss the deteriorating situation in Mali and how the UK can support French military assistance provided to the Malian Government

There’s an interesting subplot to yesterday’s prisoner exchange in Syria which has not received as much attention as it should. While government and rebel forces were busy swapping captives (more than 2,000 in total), little has been made of the role played by aid group IHH in brokering the deal. The group came to prominence during the Gaza flotilla in 2010 when its members became involved in a deadly confrontation with the Israeli army after refusing to cooperate with the coastguard. The IHH has since dismissed accusations of being linked to jihadist groups and insists its aims are purely humanitarian. Its role in the Syrian prisoner exchange belies these claims.

Andrew Marr is recovering from a stroke in hospital, the BBC has said this evening. We at Coffee House wish him well in his recovery. The BBC’s statement on Andrew Marr’s condition: “Andrew Marr was taken ill yesterday and taken to hospital. The hospital confirmed he has had a stroke. His doctors say he is responding to treatment. His family have asked for their privacy to be respected as he recovers. “We will continue to broadcast The Andrew Marr Show and Radio 4’s Start The Week with guest presenters in his absence. His colleagues and the whole BBC wish him a speedy recovery.” Acting Director-General, Tim Davie, said: “I am

The Europeanisation of American politics continues apace with President Obama’s nomination of Chuck Hagel as Secretary of Defence. Known for his dovish views on Iran, his opposition to the war in Iraq, and scepticism of America’s relationship with Israel, Hagel’s nomination is a contentious one. Obama’s first term cabinet was a diverse one, with the reappointment of several Bush administration officials including Ben Bernanke as Chairman of the Federal Reserve, and Robert Gates as Defence Secretary. It is hard to think of two more sensitive positions for an incoming president given the challenges America faces at home and abroad. In his second term the president is invariably thinking of his

Have you seen these Change4Life adverts the government has shoved on the television to stop fat chavs eating themselves to death? They suggest that people grate some carrot into their ‘spag bol’ and ‘eat some nuts and raisins’. Diane Abbott, for it is she, has rightly condemned the adverts as being patronising, insulting and a waste of money. She might have added that the people most at risk are not the sort of people who will be preparing, from scratch, a ‘spag bol’. They will, at best, be putting ready meals in the oven and at worst eating takeaways. The misapprehension is that people are not aware that what they

Addressing the American people for the final time as President, Dwight Eisenhower warned that: This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence — economic, political, even spiritual — is felt in every city, every statehouse, every office of the federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources and livelihood are all involved; so is the very structure of our society. In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex.

If Andrew Sullivan offers one example of how to thrive in the confusing, difficult, exciting new media world then, by god, the Irish newspaper industry offers another. The Irish newspaper industry has hit upon an innovative means of survival in these troubled times for the ink-trade: charge folk money for linking to your copy. Yes, for linking. Not for copying or ripping off or excerpting far beyond any fair use standard but for linking. Like, for instance, this link. Or this one. Or this one. Or this one. Or this one. Or this one. For linking to these six randomly selected stories from today’s Irish papers the industry suggests it

‘Stormin’ Norman’ Schwarzkopf was a formidable figure: formidable in size, in his fearsome temper—and as a genius in the art of war. I first met the General in Oman a few weeks before the unleashing of the First Gulf War of 1990, where he commanded a remarkable array of coalition forces, including Egyptians and Syrians. At first glimpse it was hard to take seriously the bear-like figure, bursting out of his desert fatigues, with a cap that seemed several sizes too small. But within five minutes it was plain that here was a most remarkable man. Speaking very directly, he made it clear that the coming battle would be ‘short

The school holidays are nearly over, so here’s a cheery tale for those returning to the classroom next week. Teachers are demoralised, says a poll [PDF] for the NUT which found 55 per cent of those in the profession described themselves as having low or very low morale. Out of the 804 surveyed by YouGov, 71 per cent said they didn’t think the government trusted them to get on with their jobs. Michael Gove has made it pretty clear that there is indeed one group of teachers that he doesn’t trust to get on with their jobs: ‘militant’ trade union members who initiate industrial action such as ‘work-to-rule’ measures. But

If there was any justice in the world, Yorkshire pensioner Gordon Wilson would feature in the New Year’s Honours list – but I suppose it’s too much to hope for. The Wilkcockson family, from Hunmanby,  kept noticing that their pussycats were going missing, never to return – but they did not suspect the kindly old gentleman living next door. Mr Wilson, however, was outraged that these noisome creatures were crapping all over his lovely garden and had constructed special wood and steel mesh traps baited with tuna fish. Having ensnared Tibbles et al he would then release the animals “in the countryside”, ie presumably in close proximity to an arterial

A hundred years ago, travel writers commented, there was something peculiarly depressing about Menton — or Mentone as the British would say, recalling the days when the town situated on the Mediterranean border between France and Italy was an independent Italian-leaning state. It was depressing because wherever you looked there were people tottering palely along the promenade past the statue of Queen Victoria (who used to stay in a discreetly grand villa tucked among the hills) or lurking in the numerous hotels with Anglophone names. Since Dr James Bennet in the 1870s had declared that the town’s microclimate and its almost unfailingly good weather offered a hope of recovery for

I’m thoroughly enjoying the playground spat between the USA and Russia. The Americans have banned Russians with dodgy human rights records from visiting the country, but have no such objection to travellers from Iran, Pakistan or Somalia dropping by, no matter how psychopathic they might be. In retaliation, the Russkies have voted to halt their most valuable export to the USA – that of small Russian children, who are used by middle class Americans as mantelpiece ornaments and garden furniture. I assume that adopting a little black child from, say, Malawi, is now considered a little de trop. Whatever, there seems to be a yearning, on both sides, for this

That Andrew Mitchell no longer has confidence in the Metropolitan Police Commissioner escalates this scandal. I understand from those close to Mitchell that he was particularly concerned by Bernard Hogan-Howe’s declaration a few days ago that he had seen ‘nothing that causes me to doubt the original account’ contained in the police logs. He felt that this risked prejudging the police’s own investigation into the matter. One other aspect of this affair is where it leaves the relationship between the police and those Cabinet Ministers they protect. After the Mitchell incident, many of them made their displeasure known. David Cameron’s own security detail were seen wearing ‘toffs and plebs’ cufflinks at