Society

Saturday

Henry Sands

I don’t think my mum has much to fear from ‘Emos’

Henry Sands meets a group of ‘Emos’ — ‘emotional’, black-clad teenagers — who claim to hate his mother for what she wrote about them in the Daily Mail. But they’re not very scary I was walking through Hyde Park with a friend on Saturday when I noticed some people dressed in black gathering on the other side of Round Pond. At first I thought it might be a school trip having a picnic, but the eclectic mix of young teenagers — many of them with their parents — and peculiarly dressed older people suggested otherwise. A few of these gothic-looking creatures were holding banners and signs. The first I saw

Theodore Dalrymple

Global Warning | 7 June 2008

Staying recently in a handsome French provincial city, I could not help thinking, as I walked down its silent cobbled streets at night, what it would have been like if it had been in England. How restful is that deep, urban silence, which the young English so hate for fear of having to attend to their own thoughts! The same streets in England would have been alive with the sound of screaming: down them would have staggered shivering, drunken, scantily clad sluts with bared pudgy midriffs of pasty flesh and bejewelled navels, tattoos on one of their fat shoulders or above the beginning of the cleft in their buttocks. As

Claire Fox

I have a basic human right to look at fag packets

Claire Fox says that plans to ‘denormalise’ smoking by removing cigarettes from display infantilises adults and imposes upon us a dubious official version of what is ‘normal’ Has your personal life been ‘denormalised’ yet? Mine is about to be, and believe me it’s not pleasant. The health ministries in Scotland and Westminster have just announced plans to make a perfectly legal habit seem as abnormal as possible. The SNP’s Public Health Minister Shona Robinson, quickly followed by England’s own health secretary Alan Johnson, tells us that public displays of cigarettes are hindering official ‘efforts to denormalise smoking’. Apparently, being able to see the rows of cigarette packets that are a

Friday

Alex Massie Alex Massie

Department of Parochialism

Headline of the Day: The Bronx is More Than Just Yankee Stadium Who knew? No surprise there. Except that the newspaper running this story in its travel section is… The New York Times. Or, rather, the Manhattan and Parts of Brooklyn Times. Not a new phenomenon, of course, as the famous New Yorker cartoon, The View from 9th Avenue established more than 30 years ago.

Mark Daniell

Picking sides for Euro 2008

In the absence of any Home Nations presence in the upcoming Euro 2008 football championships, there’s been plenty of talk about which teams we Brits should support. I suspect many will have been scouring family trees or revamping tired old prejudices in a desperate attempt to give a hoot about what will happen. Personally, I find it difficult to forget past footballing harm inflicted on England, and could never bring myself to support the perpetrators. As such, this condition rules out Portugal, Germany, France, Romania and, well, if you go back far enough, pretty much anyone (except maybe Spain). Which doesn’t leave a whole load of choice. Perhaps, then, there’s

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Will South Africa act over Zimbabwe?

Robert Mugabe’s Zimbabwe is as dependent on South Africa as Ian Smith’s Rhodesia, and The LA Times editorial board has a good example of how South Africa could force Mugabe to back down if it wanted to: Mugabe is beyond hope, but it’s worth attempting an international pressure campaign against his chief enabler, South African President Thabo Mbeki. “Zimbabwe is not a province of South Africa,” Mbeki famously answered those who have urged him to curb Mugabe’s excesses. That’s true. It’s more like a protectorate of South Africa. South Africa supplies food, fuel, money, remittances and electricity to its neighbor. The electricity runs Zimbabwe’s vital platinum mines, in which South

The Spectator

How to get hold of the Spectator 180th Anniversary issue

We’ve had quite a few people asking how to get hold of the special Spectator 180th Anniversary issue, other than from off newsstands (priced £4.95).  You can do so by either phone or e-mail.  Here’s the info from our subscriptions team: Subscriber?  Call the order hotline now to receive the special subscriber price of only £3. Simply call 0800 031 90 19. Living overseas? Order your copy today for only £4.95 plus p&p. Simply call +44 141 22 66 703. Otherwise, e-mail 180th@spectator-business.co.uk to get your hands on a copy.

Thursday

Alex Massie Alex Massie

Blair’s Appealling Modesty…

I’d have more respect for the Tony Blair Faith Foundation if it had a different, less egotistical, name. (And, if truth be told, if it were led by a different, less sanctimonious, person). To wit, as he told Time last week: He can, no question, come across as a bit cocksure in the rightness of his judgments. But he swims in deep waters. He is convinced, he told me, that in the rich world, “without spiritual values, there is an emptiness that cannot be filled by material goods and wealth.” He understands that faith is what gives meaning to the lives of billions, and he passionately believes that the world

Alex Massie Alex Massie

The Madness of Crowds

Recalling the weirdness of the Ron Paul Revolution, Julian Sanchez risks a peek at Hillary’s equally delusional supporters and sagely concludes that all this: should be at least a little unsettling to people who want to view politics as this kind of wonderful deliberative process by which we all reason together, harnessing our collective wisdom to choose wise policies. There seems to be a stronger case for thinking that politics us makes us crazier together than we are seperately: E pluribus, unhinged. Indeed so. But them’s the breaks, ain’t they?

Alex Massie Alex Massie

What do they know of cricket who only play it well?

It is not, right now, saying much to observe that Kevin Pietersen is England’s best batsman. His century against New Zealand today has not been the stuff of legends but it has at least rescued England from the perilous position they had put themselves into at 86/5. But if Pietersen is England’s best batsman, we must hope that he is also be their most ignorant. How else to explain his prediction that Monty Panesar “will be the best finger-spinner the world has ever seen”? Of course there’s no reason to suppose that test cricketers might also have some appreciation for the the game’s history. But it would be nice to

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

A classic underclass problem?

What’s the cause of knife crime? The government has today focused on tightening laws etc. But if Charles Murray were here today, he’d see this as a classic underclass problem. He has three tests for an underclass: births outside marriage, jobless young men and violent crime. In 1997, 37% of children were born outside marriage – this is now projected to be 44.2% (strip out immigrants and it would be 50.1%). In 1997, 15% men were economically inactive (ie, not in work or seeking it). Now in spite of those 3m new jobs it is 16.5% – the highest in the history of these islands. Finally, violent crime was 650,330

James Forsyth James Forsyth

It might not be right for Dannatt to go public, but he is right

One can question the propriety of General Sir Richard Dannatt speaking out about serviceman’s pay in The Sun but it is hard to disagree with him. “You look to see how much a traffic warden is paid and compare that against what a private soldier gets paid. “If you compare a police constable on overtime, I think you will find that an individual serviceman gets quite a lot less.” A soldier’s starting salary is £12,572 a year, rising to £15,677 as a Level 1 private. A traffic warden’s basic pay is £17,000. Dannatt is also right that Britain urgently needs to spend more on the military. If we wish to

Peter Hoskin

In the latest issue

We’ve just uploaded the content from the latest issue of the magazine. And I’d strongly recommend you read Matt’s interview with Jacqui Smith, on the hot topic of 42-day detention. Says Smith: “I don’t think the government could fall over this …. I think if it was turned into a vote of confidence there would be massive support of the government, I don’t think it would be a problem.” Do you agree? As always, have your say in the comments section. Elsewhere in the magazine, Rod Liddle has his say on the community support officer who threatened two Christian evangelical ministers with arrest for handing out Gospel literature in a

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Hillary bows to the inevitable

“Senator Clinton will be hosting an event in Washington, DC to thank her supporters and express her support for Senator Obama and party unity.  This event will be held on Saturday to accommodate more of Senator Clinton’s supporters who want to attend.” This terse statement from the Clinton campaign indicates that the Clintons have accepted what became crystal clear on Tuesday night: the Democratic primary race is finally over. I doubt that I’ll see in my lifetime another campaign that twists and turns as much as this one did. That it went on so long is reflective of both the strengths and weaknesses of the two candidates. Hillary’s tenacity, her

Wednesday

James Forsyth James Forsyth

A ticket to defeat

Picking Hillary Clinton as his VP would be fatal to Obama’s chances. It is hard to imagine a move that could cause him more damage. First, it would make him look weak—as if Hillary had forced him into making a concession to her. Secondly, it would undercut his message that his candidacy represents change and the future. If this wasn’t enough, it would also motivate the Republican base like nothing else. NBC are reporting that Hillary does want to be his running mate. (Personally, I expect she must just be running through the gamut of emotions and we won’t know what she really thinks for at least 24 hours or

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

The rebirth of inflation

Many years ago, Roger Bootle wrote a book called ‘The Death of Inflation’ which was a brilliant guide to understanding the economics which were to dominate all major countries in the Brown years. We need a book called ‘The Rebirth of Inflation’ to explain the years ahead. Your savings strategy, property strategy and shopping trends will all be affected. The Daily Mail today unpacks energy inflation, and had the boldness to splash with this hugely important story. There are also huge questions around food inflation being asked in Rome today involving the harm inflicted by biofuels, the challenge of feeding China and India and a new look at GM food.

James Forsyth James Forsyth

What now for Obama and McCain?

If John McCain or his supporters had any doubts about the challenges ahead, they should have been removed last night. Obama once more demonstrated that he can hit the rhetorical heights at will, turn out a crowd whenever he needs and pose as a unifying figure, hovering above normal politics even while taking partisan jabs at his opponent. By contrast, McCain’s speech appeared defensive and uninspiring. Obama might have rather limped across the finished line – he has been consistently out-campaigned and out-performed by Hillary Clinton since the end of his February hot streak – but he will be a formidable general election opponent. The aircraft hangar campaigning of the

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Obama: I will be the nominee

Hillary Clinton might not have conceded last night but Barack Obama now has the delegates he needs to be the nominee. He declared himself the nominee last night despite Hillary Clinton’s refusal to drop out. His immediate challenge is to usher her off the stage and re-unite the party. He started that task with generous praise for her last night and a speech that hit the Democratic high notes.  

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Obama will have enough delegates to formally claim the nomination once the Montana and South Dakota results come in

NBC’s delegate count shows that following the flurry of super delegate declarations for him today, Obama is only 11 away from having an absolute majority of delegates. Considering that there are 31 up for grabs in Montana and South Dakota, Obama is pretty much certain to reach that mark before the end of the night.  According to the prepared remarks that have leaked to Drudge, Obama will declare himself the nominee this evening. He will, though, sweeten the pill for Hillary and her supporters with effusive praise for the Clintons.

Matthew Lynn

Will the wisdom of Warren Buffett translate into German?

Matthew Lynn wonders whether the world’s greatest investor will be able to pick winners in continental Europe the way he has for more than four decades in the US If Warren Buffett had not become famous as the world’s richest man — a career choice that trumps most alternatives — he could still have carved out a niche for himself as a writer of homely lessons in economics and business. The Sage of Omaha, as Buffett is known for his uncanny knack of calling the markets right, has always been able to explain his decisions in simple language. Buffettisms such as ‘Rule No. 1: Never lose money. Rule No. 2: