Society Archives

Saturday

5 Feb 2011

Any other business | 5 February 2011

Privatising forests must be a sensible policy if so many celebs are against it The more passionate the outcry against the government’s plan to privatise its English forestry estate, the more I feel the urge to cash in my meagre investments and bid for one of the forests in question myself. For a start, any policy which attracts the opposition of Tracey Emin, Ken Livingstone and Dame Vivienne Westwood is likely, on close examination, to be entirely sensible. And a holding of woodland is, after all, the perfect answer to my twin concerns for the immediate future, expressed here last month, of inflation and social disorder. Managed forests grow in

Friday

4 Feb 2011

Jonathan Jones

From the archives: the fall of President Sadat

With protesters in Egypt trying to force President Mubarak to resign, here is the piece that Roger Cooper wrote for The Spectator on the event that propelled him to power: the assassination of Anwar Sadat in 1981: The legacy of Sadat, Roger Cooper, The Spectator, 10 Oct 1981 Rarely has a political assassination set off such divergent reactions as that of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat on Tuesday. President Reagan called it ‘outrageous and tragic’, the Pope praised him for ‘his noble vision of reconciliation’, and the Israeli prime minister, Menachem Begin, expressed deep regret at the death of ‘a great leader’. But there was jubilation in Syria, Libya and

The Spectator

The week that was | 4 February 2011

Here are some of the posts made at Spectator.co.uk over the past week. Fraser Nelson treads the road to recovery. James Forsyth reports on the wheeler dealing over the AV bill, and bemoans the strange consensus at PMQs this week. Peter Hoskin gives 10 things you need to know about the IFS’ Green Budget, and asks what are Osborne’s options. David Blackburn notes that councils are playing politics with buses. Daniel Korski asks where Egypt’s convulsions leave Israel. Martin Bright itemises the pros and cons for the people of Egypt. Nick Cohen explains why the Left loses. Susan Hill is contemptuous. Rod Liddle remembers John Barry. Alex Massie introduces Glenn

Fraser Nelson

In this week’s Spectator | 4 February 2011

What to think about Egypt? Pick up most newspapers and you see a flood of words, but a trickle of information. Not so with this week’s Spectator, which has everything you need to know – and nothing more. Here are some pieces that I thought may interest CoffeeHousers. 1. What you need to know. Our lead feature is an interview with a dozen people who know their onions. Anne Applebaum on whether it can be compared to Poland, Charles Glass on fifty years of Egyptian dictators, Douglas Murray on neo-conservatism and Islamism, Professor Stephen Walt on the geopolitical fallout and Andrew Roberts on the alarming power of the Cairo mob.

Alex Massie

Six Nations; One Festival of Rugby

So here we go again. The Six Nations is back and just as unpredictable as ever. Happy times and so much better than the dark days when some – mainly English journalists admittedly – argued England should always play France on the last weekend of the championship since, invariably, that would be the game that would decide the tournament. This year’s championship is ripe with uncertainty. The fixture list does not favour France who must visit Twickenham and Lansdowne Road (I refuse to call it the “Aviva Stadium”) but England themselves, though showing signs of improvement, have won just four of their last 16 away fixtures and haven’t picked up

Melanie McDonagh

Abortion may be bad for a woman’s mental health. Discuss

Last November, Margaret Forrester, a mental health worker for the Central North West London Mental Health Trust in Camden was suspended for giving a colleague a charity booklet called “Forsaken – Women From Taunton Talk About Abortion” to a colleague – they’d been discussing the information they offered to patients. It had the stories of five women who had experienced what the author describes as ‘post-abortion syndrome’, including depression, relationship issues, suicidal feelings and fertility problems. So, the downside of abortion, then. To begin with – no problem. Her colleague didn’t seem offended. But a few days later her manager told her she was being sent home on ‘special leave

Alex Massie

Sarah Palin’s Trademark

Has anyone ever heard of a politician doing this? Politics Daily has learned that the Palin family lawyer, Alaska attorney Thomas Van Flein, has filed applications to the United States Patent and Trademark Office to trademark “Sarah Palin®” and “Bristol Palin®.” According to patent office application (serial # 85170226), Van Flein registered for a trademark of “Sarah Palin” on Nov. 5, 2010 — three days after the midterm elections. The government trademark examining attorney has “found no conflicting marks that would bar registration.” In other words, nobody else had already taken the proposed trademark. A “Bristol Palin” application (serial #85130638) was filed on Sept. 15, 2010. Bristol Palin’s stint with

Thursday

3 Feb 2011

Toby Young

Forget Mandarin. Latin is the key to success

As promised, here is an extended version of an article from the skills supplement in this week’s issue of the Spectator. On the face of it, encouraging children to learn Latin doesn’t seem like the solution to our current skills crisis. Why waste valuable curriculum time on a dead language when children could be learning one that’s actually spoken? The prominence of Latin in public schools is a manifestation of the gentleman amateur tradition whereby esoteric subjects are preferred to anything that’s of any practical use. Surely, that’s one of the causes of the crisis in the first place? But dig a little deeper and you’ll find plenty of evidence that this particular

David Blackburn

Body blow for the Big Society

A major setback has befallen David Cameron’s Big Society. One of the four pilot schemes opened by Cameron as the ‘vanguard of the Big Society’ last autumn has fallen under a barrage of government cuts. Using unaffordable start-up costs as an excuse (although unidentified structural impediments were also mentioned), senior councillors of Labour controlled Liverpool Council have insisted that the scheme be curtailed immediately. Courtesy of Andrew Sparrow, the Liverpool Echo has the story. To dismiss the council’s decision as politically motivated would be transparent. Naturally, politics lurks behind the scenes; but this is an acute embarrassment for the Prime Minister. Despite a glamorous inauguration and two subsequent re-launches, the

Alex Massie

Follow the Money: Why Localism Won’t Happen

Who’s responsible for cuts to council services? Central government or local government? The latter may find their budgets squeezed but it’s still their decision to close libraries or swimming pools. Nowhere is is mandated that they react to a tight spending settlement by doing so. They are responsible for choices made in response to circumstances for which they are not primarily responsible. Nevertheless, David is quite right to bemoan: […] Local government conniving to avoid responsibility for spending contractions. With adroit calculation, councils bastardise vital services to inconvenience those they represent. Local bus routes are a necessity, particularly for pensioners, school children and those who live in rural areas. Rising

Carole Stone

Much more than a networking event

What’s the point of Davos? This is a question seldom addressed in the reports filed from the five-day “World Economic Forum” which ended on Sunday. Many speeches are made, many issues debated, but it is not a place where decisions are taken. It is not a G20. Manifestos are not launched there. It exists to serve a very particular function: every year for a short period of time it becomes the temporary capital of the globalised world. Top business and political leaders, distinguished academics and journalists – all committed to improving the state of the world – flock there to meet each other, swap ideas and then go home. This

David Blackburn

Council gorillas get on the buses

The cold war in Britain’s localities is warming up. Buried in the Telegraph and the Financial Times is the news that councils are cutting local bus services, and central government is being apportioned blame. An organisation called Better Transport has launched a campaign titled Save Our Buses. It claims that straitened councils have been forced to shed £34 million from the subsidised funding of local buses; 70 percent of routes have been affected so far. This is a prime example of local government conniving to avoid responsibility for spending contractions. With adroit calculation, councils bastardise vital services to inconvenience those they represent. Local bus routes are a necessity, particularly

Peter Hoskin

Introducing Britain’s skills crisis

Did you know: Britain trails well behind other countries such as the US, Germany and Poland when it comes to educating its workforce? Did you know: the number of young people not in employment, education or training has risen by around 40 per cent over the last decade? Did you know … oh, you get the idea. All the statistics, and more, are in the booklet on Britain’s Skills Crisis that is included in this week’s Spectator. For CoffeeHousers who don’t buy the magazine (although you should, etc – purchasing options here), you can read the supplement for free via this snazzy, page-turning whatsit. We’ll also put one or two

Wednesday

2 Feb 2011

Alex Massie

What’s Politically Correct About Opposing Hosni Mubarak?

I don’t have much sympathy for a regime that unleashes its own goons against peaceful protestors in an attempt to foment chaos as part of a strategy designed, one imagines, to leave the “silent majority” craving something, anything that restores order and “stability” to Egyptian society. But it seems that’s just another example of political correctness run amok. According to some, anyway. Such as our old friend Con Coughlin. Con, typically, takes a robust view of the Egyptian uprising: At the risk of provoking the wrath of the politically correct lobby that wants to see wholesale reform of the Middle East, I am starting to feel rather sorry for Hosni

Daniel Korski

Al-Jazeera is not a new BBC World Service

Egypt has made al-Jazeera English. The Qatari satellite channel has been the “go-to” channel; it has had more reporters on the ground than the BBC and CNN; and it has used technology in ways that make Western media look like they belong to a different era. Newspapers from the New York Times to the Wall Street Journal have talked about the channel’s role in the protests. And all this despite its broadcasts being banned in Ben Ali’s Tunisia and blocked in Egypt. Facing these constraints, the TV channel switched to social media like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Its website posted Live Messages — audio messages recorded from phone calls placed

David Blackburn

Councils are still living it up

Councils are in the dog house again, following the publication of a report claiming that £7bn is wasted through ineffective land and building use. Chairman of the report, Matthew Hancock MP, and Vice-Chairman of the Local Government Association Richard Kemp debated the issue on Today and they revealed why the revolution in local government has stalled. Kemp made the most substantial point: recalcitrance and rivalry in Whitehall impairs reform of the localities. For instance, councils cannot unite libraries, Job Centre Plus and the One Stop shops into one building because the DWP has not yet begun its reform of Job Centre Plus. This reinforces the sense that the government has

Peter Hoskin

Ten things you need to know about the IFS Green Budget

An exciting day for policy freaks and numbers geeks: the Institute for Fiscal Studies has released its latest Green Budget, an annual survey of the state of the public finances. But if you can’t face wading through the complete 329-page document, here’s our quick ten-point summary of its main conclusions: 1) IFS forecasts “slightly lower” growth than the OBR. As this comparison shows: 2) But they’re more optimistic about borrowing. According to the IFS, borrowing won’t be as high as the government expects. The differences between their forecasts and the OBR’s are only minimal, but they’re there all the same: 3) The tax and spend forecast. Here’s a neat little

Matthew Hancock-Mp

IFS say Labour’s policy would mean higher interest rates

From the start of the financial crisis, the Conservatives have argued that when a country¹s finances are in a mess, the best way to manage demand is through monetary activism and fiscal responsibility. Going into this crisis, Britain¹s finances were indeed in a mess. We had the biggest structural deficit among major developed economies (according to the IMF, OECD, oh, and Alistair Darling). To claim there was no structural deficit is to oppose the truth. The principles of monetary activism and fiscal responsibility underpin the approach to the recovery too. By dealing with the fiscal mess, we can keep interest rates lower for longer, and avoid the sorts of financial

Tuesday

1 Feb 2011

James Forsyth

Reports: Mubarak to say he will step down in August

The wires are buzzing with uncomfirmed report that Mubarak will tonight say on Egyptian TV that he won’t run for re-election in August and will stand down then. Update: The New York Times is now reporting that President Obama has pushed Mubarak to say publicly that he won’t run again. The end game appears to be rapidly approaching.

Fraser Nelson

Treading the road to recovery

It will have been a quiet morning in the Balls household. Fresh economic indicators suggest that the British economy is not in some cuts-induced recession but, instead, doing rather nicely, thank-you. As I said last week, economic health is assessed by all manner of indices – and the ONS (which is forever having to tear up its GDP forecasts) might just have boobed last week with its preliminary Q4 GDP figures. Today we have the Manufacturing PMI surging to heights not even reached in the early 1990s: Now, this might be a flash in the pan, you say. But then consider corporate liquidity – that is, how much debt