Society

Saturday

Roger Alton Roger Alton

Spectator Sport | 21 June 2008

I used to play squash with a distinguished veteran film critic, currently plying his trade on the London Evening Standard. I would force the ball to his backhand but the diminutive master of cinema would simply flick his racket from his right hand to his left and smash it back past me as a forehand drive. He was a keen cricketer too, but I don’t think he ever tried to do what Kevin Pietersen did to a bemused Scott Styris up in Durham on Sunday. The hoo-hah about Pietersen’s astounding switch-hit has been wondrous. Is it within the laws? (Yes, for now.) Is it within the spirit of the game?

Tony Curzon-Price

Wishful thinking at the Economist

In 1990, the former Wall Street trader Jim Rogers (interviewed here by Jonathan Davis, 15 March) set off to circumscribe the globe astride a large motorcycle. He returned in 1992 having pondered the meaning of life — and the answer was ‘commodities’. As a player of markets, he did not have to do anything so practical as to go out and drill or mine. He just kept buying more commodity futures — a gigantic bet that commodity prices would rise. He was right, and became hugely wealthier as a result. But as the price of oil, the world’s most essential commodity, continues to rise, listen for the sound of market

Paul Johnson

And Another Thing | 21 June 2008

I recently gave a lecture, on quite a solemn subject, the connection between freedom and the ownership of property, to about 200 people, and was gratified — and surprised — at how well it was received. I think it was because I followed my own maxim, and spoke for only 25 minutes, leaving the rest of the hour for questions. It is a fact of life that any discourse, on any subject, whatever the occasion and whatever the status of the speaker, will always please if it is five minutes shorter than people expect. That is one reason why Lincoln’s Gettysburg address became so famous. Of course what made it

Lucy Vickery

New word order

In Competition No. 2549 you were invited to find a gap in the language and plug it, explaining the etymology of your coinage. There is a word, ‘sniglet’, created by the American comedian and writer Rich Hall, which describes ‘any word that doesn’t appear in the dictionary but should’. There were some fine sniglets in the postbag this week. Frank McDonald’s ‘carcophonist’ — ‘a driver, usually a young male, who is keen that everyone should hear the music he’s playing in his car’ — is a useful insult to hurl at offending motorists though it’s unlikely that they’ll hear you. Carolyn Beckingham’s ‘yoofemism’ is ‘any word or expression used in

Aidan Hartley

On red alert

‘Yaes!’ I’ll answer the phone in a falsetto Scottish accent. ‘Can ae help yay?’ If the voice is unfamiliar I lapse into Gaelic and slam down the receiver. This is my strategy for tackling a new wave of death threats being made against me. I have also taken to wearing funny hats, a stick-on moustache and a pirate’s eyepatch. Sometimes I will only leave the house in a burqa. The threats are real and I take them seriously, though I am only joking about the disguises. I wish I could become an accountant and live in Plymouth, but it’s too late now. I am a hack. But my life has

Reihan Salam

The new Woodstock generation

In late May, New York magazine noted a highly unusual advertisement that appeared on Craigslist. A young Brooklyn couple had decided to sell virtually everything they owned, from electronics to furniture to designer shoes, for $8,500. As it turns out, the couple was planning on taking their two young children and setting out for the open road. Two weeks earlier, the New York Times profiled several other couples who had made a similar choice — to surrender their accumulated possessions and, with toddlers in tow, to leave a dreary, consumption-driven urban existence behind for something nobler and more environmentally sound. One couple, the Harrises, have been chronicling their adventures on

Talk of ‘excellence for all’ is just Balls

David Green responds to the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families: Ed Balls claims that the Tories want excellence for the few, whereas he wants excellence for everyone. Worse still, the Tories want schools to select parents, while he wants parents to select schools. And the Tories are complacent. Balls will ‘intervene and drive change in the system’ while the Tories will merely ‘stand back and hope for the best’. Let’s take him at his word: ‘parents and pupils should choose schools not the other way round’. A policy-maker genuinely committed to parents choosing schools would carry out an honest evaluation of places where it has already been

Theodore Dalrymple

Global Warning | 21 June 2008

The last time I played rugby, I was sent off for reading on the field. It was my small satirical protest against the supposition that my character would be much improved by having my knees dragged along icy ground, or my hand trodden into the mud by boys who, by dint of no effort of their own, were twice as large as I. Now I am not so sure. It appears to me that every soul should be tempered a little in the fire of humiliation and suffering: though the precise dose of laudably character-forming humiliation and suffering is, I admit, difficult to estimate and dole out. In fact, it

Friday

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Davis tries to explain why if 42 days is so wrong 28 is OK

David Davis has blogged today in defence of his position on 28 days, his critics are asking why he voted for that if detention without charge is so wrong. Here’s his explanation: For me, we should only be keeping someone in jail without telling them what they are charged with for as shorter period as is necessary, bearing in mind the need to protect the public. Detention without charge is a necessary evil – it must be strictly limited … My view is that 21 days has proved necessary on the basis of experience. I can also see that the police need some limited margin for error, because terrorism investigations

Mark Daniell

Countdown to Wimbledon

If ever there was a sporting foregone conclusion it’s Wimbledon. Federer always wins Wimbledon. It’s what he does. He hasn’t lost on grass in 59 games so there’s no point in watching it, right? But this year the knives are out for the world number one. He was humbled in the final in Paris a fortnight ago, in a match many thought he would win. How come? Well the fact is Rafael Nadal has never played better, been stronger or had such confidence. He’s just won his first ever grass court tournament (at Queen’s) and he’s clearly got the psychological edge on Federer. Many people are saying this will be Nadal’s

Peter Hoskin

Peter Oborne: We have a duty to protect Zimbabwe

With the EU having just threatened further sanctions against Zimbabwe, I’d recommend you read Peter Oborne’s powerful article in this week’s magazine.  In it, he describes the terrible civil strife experienced under Robert Mugabe, and suggests that the UN, in particular, has failed to act accordingly.  Here’s the bottom line: “Zimbabwe is a perfect test case for the new United Nations doctrine of ‘responsibility to protect’. There should be peacekeepers, international monitors, a roar of urgent condemnation. The United Nations, led by its feeble Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, has made its choice. It has gone down the path of collaboration with Robert Mugabe’s illegal government as it launches war on its own people.” So, is

Andrew Neil

Exclusive: Martha Stewart banned from Britain! Her loss — or ours?

I was scheduled to have dinner with Martha Stewart, America’s very own domestic goddess, in London next week — but not any more. She was due to arrive for an extended visit to the UK this weekend. But the Home Office has refused her application for a visa, presumably because of the time she spent in the slammer in America for a cover up over insider dealing.   The Home Office tells me that the government “opposes the entry of individuals to the UK where their presence is not conducive to the public good or where they have been found guilty of serious criminal offences abroad.”   Obviously, this American

James Forsyth James Forsyth

We stand with Mandelson

I know this might not come naturally to Coffeee Housers but we all really should rally to Peter Mandelson’s defence. Nicolas Sazkozy is attacking Mandelson because he is a free trader, or at least more of one than the French president. Sarko also worries that Mandelson might be about to put the skids under Europe’s absurd system of out relief to farmers at the WTO talks. Protectionism is on the march at the moment, it offers false comfort to workers made nervous by the global economy. Unscrupulous politicians on both sides of the Atlantic are happy to peddle this snake oil despite knowing that more protectionism would actually restrict global

Peter Hoskin

Ed Balls’ salvo against grammar schools

Although he hasn’t quite stepped out and declared that he hates all existing grammar schools, Ed Balls’ latest speech contains the strongest clue yet that that’s how he feels. Here’s the relevant passage: “I accept that selection is a local decision for parents and local authorities. But I do not accept that children in secondary moderns should be left to fall behind. Overall, secondary moderns are around twice as likely to be below the 30 per cent benchmark than the average school. I’ve heard first-hand how some of the young people starting in these schools feel on day one that they have already failed.” So, in other words, grammar schools

Thursday

The Spectator

Spectator Live | 19 June 2008

Just a reminder about latest feature on the site – Spectator Live.  You can access it via the ‘Live’ tab at the top of the page, or by going to new.spectator.co.uk/live.  It’s a roundup of all the latest blog posts from across Spectator.co.uk, and the best place to keep up-to-date with all the views and analysis from our writers. You don’t even need to visit the page to view the latest content on Spectator Live. If you have an RSS reader on your computer (see here for details), you can subscribe to Spectator Live’s RSS feed and have updates automatically delivered to you. You can subscribe to the Spectator Live RSS feed here.

Peter Hoskin

Kelvin MacKenzie: I won’t contest Haltemprice & Howden

Kelvin MacKenzie confirms in his Sun column today that he won’t stand in the Haltemprice & Howden by-election: “…the clincher for me was the money. Clearly The Sun couldn’t put up the cash — so I was going to have to rustle up a maximum of £100,000 to conduct my campaign as candidate for the Red Mist Party… …Right now, with a divorce behind me and a couple of poor investments — I’m sure the C5 will catch on one day — a hundred grand looks more attractive in my wallet than being spent on the good folk of East Riding. And, more importantly, there is the issue of my personal

Wednesday

Alex Massie Alex Massie

Department of Employment: Jobs Scots won’t do?

Looming crisis in the countryside requires immediate action: Efforts are being made to reverse a decline in sheep shearers in Scotland. The workforce is ageing, with fewer young people entering what is considered one of the most labour-intensive jobs in farming… “There aren’t enough young shearers doing the job. Because it is a physical job and involves travel, it is really a young person’s job. “We are also competing with other jobs, some of them less physical than ours.” He added: “There are an awful lot of us heading into our 40s and the average age of shearers must be in the 30s.” More details here, including claims that shearers

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Muslim women moved out of camera shot at Obama rally

The absurd accusation that Barack Obama is some kind of Muslim Manchurian candidate has caused his campaign some political discomfort. But it is still disappointing in the extreme to read in The Politico that two women wearing headscarves were moved from behind the podium at an Obama rally in Detroit so that they would be out of camera shot.   Volunteers moved the women and the campaign has moved quickly to apologise for their behaviour. “This is of course not the policy of the campaign. It is offensive and counter to Obama’s commitment to bring Americans together and simply not the kind of campaign we run,” an  Obama spokesman told

The Spectator

Spectator Live

Just a reminder about latest feature on the site – Spectator Live.  You can access it via the ‘Live’ tab at the top of the page, or by going to new.spectator.co.uk/live.  It’s a roundup of all the latest blog posts from across Spectator.co.uk, and the best place to keep up-to-date with all the views and analysis from our writers. You don’t even need to visit the page to view the latest content on Spectator Live. If you have an RSS reader on your computer (see here for details), you can subscribe to Spectator Live’s RSS feed and have updates automatically delivered to you. You can subscribe to the Spectator Live RSS feed here.

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Progress in Iraq

Perhaps the most under reported story of recent years is the turn around in Iraq. In this country, there is no constituency for charting the progress there—both main political parties and most of the media just wish Iraq would go away. But the news from there is too important to ignore. I’d urge everyone to read this tour d’horizon from Robert Reid, the AP bureau chief in Baghdad who has been reporting from Iraq since 2003. His judgement is that “Iraq is by almost any measure safer today than at any time in the past three years” and that “Signs are emerging that Iraq has reached a turning point. Violence