Society

Thursday

Stephen Prendergast

Malta’s military marvels

Fate occasionally leads travellers to places they had never planned to visit. Into this category, for me, fell Malta. I went to Valletta to see my sister, who was at a nursing conference. I wasn’t expecting a wild party; the island has a reputation for being fairly dry compared with its Mediterranean sisters. Yet for a certain type of traveller, with sturdy shoes and an interest in military history, Malta is a matchless trove. I plotted my campaign around the island’s key martial landmarks carefully. Time spent on reconnaissance is seldom wasted. My sister, inexplicably, made her excuses. Valletta is still dominated by reminders of the Knights Hospitaller, the crusading

Tom Leonard

Hug a hoodie: can there really be a kinder, gentler Ku Klux Klan?

 New York Without the unifying force of anger and the excitement of violence, the Klan is falling apart The Ku Klux Klan is rebranding. It’s less lynchings and cross burning these days, more novelty kitchenware (fancy an ‘Original Boyz N the Hood’ mug?), family barbecues and children’s TV shows. The traditional dress code — white robes, hoods, cone hats — still applies, by and large, but the rest of the Klan is having a makeover. ‘White supremacy is the old Klan, this is the new Klan,’ says John Abarr, a KKK chapter head from Great Falls, Montana. ‘The KKK is for a strong America. We’re not about violence. We’re about

Harry Mount

The National Trust is spoiling beautiful places in the name of people who’ll never visit them

Broadhaven Beach in Pembrokeshire was once a sublime combination of the works of nature and man. The broad, deep, sandy bay is flanked by towering limestone cliffs. Two hundred years ago, a stream leading to the sea was dammed by Lord Cawdor, the then owner, to form the Bosherston Lily Ponds. Enter the National Trust, owners of the estate since 1976. Now the spot where the lakes meet the sea is marked with a bright purple National Trust sign, saying, Return to the start, a new path you’ll take Its rocky in places, don’t fall in the lake. Perhaps it’s better in the Welsh translation, also featured on the purple

Liam Halligan

The subversive wonders of Kilkenomics – where economics meets stand-up

‘What is a Minsky moment, anyway?’ asks Gerry Stembridge, an Irish satirist. ‘I’ve been reading about them in the papers and have often wondered’. Stembridge is putting the question to Paul McCulley, chief economist at Pimco, the world’s largest bond fund with over $200 billion under management, one of the ten most influential economists on earth. McCulley is sporting a T-shirt and jeans. The two men, Celtic comic and American financial whiz, are on stage in a theatre in Kilkenny, a bijou provincial city in south-east Ireland. It’s Saturday night and they’re facing a sell-out crowd — all of whom have paid to watch a debate on global economics and

Matthew Parris Matthew Parris

What you’re missing now that you don’t read this in print

Liverpool airport is a curiously unreal place in the half-light before dawn on a cold November morning. Out across the Mersey at high tide, raindrops turn the silver to lead, and at the easyJet departures gate people in tracksuit bottoms brush against the occasional tweed and Remembrance Day poppy. Intending stag-weekenders, and the set who have a little place in the Pyrenees, coincide but do not mingle. A young woman is trying to buy rosé wine, and an elderly gent is trying to find a copy of that morning’s Times. The elderly gent is me, flying to Barcelona for the day for my sister’s 60th birthday lunch, to return that

The Spectator

From the archives | 13 November 2014

From ‘News of the Week’, The Spectator, 14 November 1914: We must make no attempt to conceal the terrible character of our losses. It is true that the German losses have been probably twice, or possibly even three times, as heavy, but that does not make our own losses the less awful. That we shall be able to make them good is no doubt true, but, unfortunately, we have not an inexhaustible human reservoir to draw upon, or, at any rate, not yet. Here, in fact, as in every other direction, we are brought back to the imperative need of more men. Here is the essential, and on this the

Hugo Rifkind Hugo Rifkind

You shouldn’t watch Dapper Laughs. But you really shouldn’t let the likes of me stop you

As you’ll know by now, I’m big on thinking the right things. Should a thought strike me that m’colleague Rod Liddle would not describe as ‘bien-pensant’, then I will of course shy away from it, in a blind panic, for fear that my pensée should be considered insufficiently bien. Right now, however, I’m having doubts about the catechism. The liberal elite may take away my badge. Presumptuous as it may be, I’m going to go out on a limb and assume that Spectator readers are not immediately familiar with the work of a comedian called Daniel O’Reilly, otherwise known as Dapper Laughs. He’s an internet phenomenon and — let’s not

Rod Liddle Rod Liddle

Please, Theresa, let Anjem Choudary go and get himself killed

The news is always grim, isn’t it? Doom and gloom everywhere. And even the news which appears to be good has a dark cloud hovering behind it. For example, we frequently hear reports of British-born jihadis being killed in Syria, either by blowing themselves up in the familiar, traditional manner or being bombed by the Americans. I usually break out some really good white wine and get the neighbours over for a bit of a knees-up whenever this happens — we exult, and sing songs for a while, our cares forgotten. But I have just read that the death rate for our lads in the Islamic State is one every

Lucy Vickery

Concrete poem

In Competition No. 2873 you were invited to submit a poem in praise or dispraise of a well-known building. It was a strong entry this week and Alanna Blake, Philip Roe, Basil Ransome-Davies and W.J. Webster were unlucky losers. Frank McDonald took me at my word and submitted an actual concrete poem, which made it into the winning line-up. His fellow victors take £25 each and this week’s bonus fiver goes to Brian Allgar for a double dactyl that would have pleased Guy de Maupassant. Maupassant hated the Eiffel Tower — ‘this tall, skinny pyramid of iron ladders, this giant and disgraceful skeleton’ — so much that he often sought

Wednesday

Ed West Ed West

Why Social Justice Warriors are losing

What has happened to social justice warriors recently? Every campaign seems to fail, the latest being a cack-handed attempt to police Twitter in order to win the Gamergate saga (turn to p194 for details). Gamergate is one of those things that a couple of years ago would have been resolved quickly, going into the narrative as part of the great struggle against the ‘isms’. Instead it goes on and on, and SJWs seem to be losing the battle. It’s not the only one. Take, for example, the ‘This is what a feminist looks like’ T-shirt campaign, which one would have expected the core group of online SJWs to win. Instead the

The Spectator

The Spectator’s portrait of the week | 12 November 2014

Home The government, expecting a backbench rebellion over the European Arrest Warrant, did not present it for a separate vote in the Commons, which enraged backbenchers all the more. Yvette Cooper, the shadow home secretary, tabled a procedural motion, forcing David Cameron, the Prime Minister, to hurry from the Lord Mayor’s banquet in white tie to vote amid angry scenes. George Osborne, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, came back from Brussels claiming that Britain would now only have to pay half of a £1.7 billion bill that the European Union had presented; but critics said that he was merely counting a future rebate that Britain was owed in any case. A

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

Does Cameron benefit from ECJ ruling?

Yesterday’s ‘excellent‘ ruling from the European Court of Justice on benefits immediately seemed a jolly good thing for David Cameron and allowed him to move on the Commons shambles on the European Arrest Warrant. But is it a good thing for his renegotiation plan? The Guardian reports the head of the European People’s Party in the European parliament saying that this judgement means the UK does not need to contest freedom of movement ‘because it highlights that member states have many options and legal tools at their disposal to make sure their social system is not abused’. This would make sense if David Cameron just wants to reform freedom of

The Spectator

The Spectator at war: Quiet seas

From The Spectator, 14 November 1914: We have mentioned elsewhere Mr. Winston Churchill’s speech on the Navy at the Guildhall, in which he pointed out that in effect patience and vigilance must be the watch-words of our sailors now as heretofore. There seemed at one time a certain restlessness in the public mind in regard to the Navy, which if it had been reflected in our Fleets might have been of the utmost danger. Happily, however, public opinion seems now to have steadied, and there is no fear of any attempt on the part of the man in the street to try to force our Navy into premature action. Nothing

Tuesday

Hugo Rifkind Hugo Rifkind

You shouldn’t watch Dapper Laughs. But you really shouldn’t let the likes of me stop you.

In an extract from this week’s Spectator, Hugo Rifkind finds himself defending the comedian Dapper Laughs… As you’ll know by now, I’m big on thinking the right things. Should a thought strike me that m’colleague Rod Liddle would not describe as ‘bien-­pensant’, then I will of course shy away from it, in a blind panic, for fear that my pensée should be considered insufficiently bien. Right now, however, I’m having doubts about the catechism. The liberal elite may take away my badge. Presumptuous as it may be, I’m going to go out on a limb and assume that Spectator readers are not immediately familiar with the work of a comedian called Daniel

Camilla Swift Camilla Swift

Why the ‘bat police’ are the animals’ own worst enemy

‘The only thing to be said for Halloween’, wrote Alexander Chancellor in a recent Long Life column, ‘is that it perpetuates the demonisation of the bat’. My initial thought was: ‘Surely Alexander is being slightly harsh on the poor old bat?’. I’ve always felt that bats have been dealt a pretty bad hand. After all, they’re essentially mice with wings, yet neither mice nor birds are quite as maligned as bats are. Rats, maybe, but that’s a different story. But then I thought about it some more, and I can see where he’s coming from. I’d argue, however, that it’s not so much the bats themselves that people detest. It’s

Steerpike Steerpike

Britain’s ‘top entrepreneur’ Victoria Beckham faces a fine

When Victoria Beckham was crowned Britain’s top entrepreneur by Management Today there were sniggers from an unkind few, while others balked at her estimated worth of £210 million. Mr S can’t dispute the figures that earned her the title, but it is probably time the former Spice Girl brushed up on her bookkeeping skills if she wants to be known for her business prowess. Steerpike hears that Posh Spice is facing a fine from Companies House for failing to file her annual accounts on time. The accounts for Victoria Beckham Limited were due at the end of September, and she is now so late that the fee has reached £375. What’s

Sebastian Payne

It’s time for Boris to abandon his island and back Gatwick expansion

Surprise surprise, airport expansion is going to cost more than anyone expected. Howard Davies, of the Airport Commission fame, took to the Today programme this morning to kick off the public consultation while informing delighted flyers (who will likely end up footing part of the bill) that a second runway at Gatwick will cost £2 billion more than previously suggested. A third runway or runway extension at Heathrow will be in the region of an additional £3-4 billion. Sir Howard again declined to signal his preference for either option, instead carefully arguing there is an ‘interesting choice’ to be made over the ‘airport model’ the UK wishes to pursue: ‘If you look at the last 10 years or

Susannah Hickling

Seven big fat myths about fitness

When it comes to exercise and health, there’s a lot of dodgy advice out there (including plenty from friends and family). We explode some of the myths which might put you off or lead to injury. 1. No pain no gain Aching muscles are only to be expected when you first start exercising or you push yourself hard, but pain in joints, muscles, bones and ligaments are not normal or recommended. You could be overdoing it. Start off slowly to avoid injury and don’t carry on if it hurts. 2. Stretching prevents injuries It’s a bit of a given that you need to stretch before jogging or other strenuous exercise

The Spectator

The Spectator at war: The peril from aliens

From The Spectator, 14 November 1914: Men guilty of helping the enemy are simply spies within our lines, or traitors to their adopted country. There cannot be any dispute about that. If the penalty visited on them is one of laughable leniency, the spy or traitor, so far from being deterred, has an actual incentive to continue his business. He sees himself in an heroic light—and he will get rich rewards when peace is restored and the time comes to acknowledge his “dangerous” services. Imprisonment, even for a considerable period, is certainly not a practical way of dealing with guilty aliens. They know that with the war will end all

Monday

Rod Liddle Rod Liddle

Let’s hear it for the breaking down of hegemonic structures

The latest instalment of what is becoming a regular feature: admiring the work of academics at places which, these days, we must call universities. This week let’s hear it for Professor Eric ‘Gumby’ Anderson, who lectures in Sports Sociology at the King Alfred Teacher Training College, or Winchester University as it is now known. One of his addresses to students is reported to have contained the following: ‘I’m going to cuss a lot and I’m going to break down all kinds of hegemonic structures. If you’re offended by discussions of anal sex, vaginal sex, rimming, cheating, having cum all over [your] face then you should probably leave.’ Claiming to have had