Society

Friday

Alex Massie Alex Massie

Arise, Sir Nils!

Really, can Friday stories get much better than this? A penguin who was previously made a Colonel-in-Chief of the Norwegian Army has been knighted at Edinburgh Zoo. Penguin Nils Olav has been an honorary member and mascot of the Norwegian King’s Guard since the 1972. Over the years, he has been promoted through the ranks after being adopted by Royal Guard who visited the zoo. During the ceremony, Nils had a sword dubbed on each side of his head, where his shoulders should be, to confirm his regimental knighthood. A crowd of several hundred people joined the 130 guardsmen at the zoo. A citation from King Harald the Fifth of

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Indian independence day

Today is the 61st anniversary of Indian independence and it comes at a time when the prospects for the country have never looked better. The country has reformed its economy and has grown, in real terms, at a rate of more than seven percent a year for the last decade. Indeed, there is a strong argument that in the medium to long term, India has better economic prospects than China. One of the issues that will shape this century is how strong the Indian-American relationship is. A strategic alliance between the world’s strongest and the world’s largest democracies would create in Asia—a continent that will grow even further in its

James Forsyth James Forsyth

The Tories’ best chance for a substantive legacy

A truly significant government is one that makes changes that the other parties have to accept are part of a new settlement. That is why the Attlee and Thatcher governments are, rightly regarded as the most important governments since the war. At the moment—and it is still early days in policy terms, the only area where the Tories look like they would create a permanent shift is education where there planned supply-side reforms are truly and admirably radical. (If you haven’t, do read Fraser’s explanation of the thinking behind it). The test of the Tory’s schools policy will be whether it creates more social mobility in Britain. Michael Gove pointed

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Cameron to Georgia this weekend, Miliband to visit next week

David Cameron has stolen a further march on the government by heading out to Georgia before either the Foreign Secretary, who is going next week, or the Prime Minister. With Russian troops only 15 miles from Tbilisi, the Georgian government is keen for any signs of international solidarity and so Cameron can be assured of a warm reception. He will be there at the same time as a host of key players on the world stage—Condi Rice is in Tbilisi at the moment and several European leaders are expected there over the weekend—and his presence will highlight just how MIA Britain has been during the crisis to date. Amazingly, Miliband

Ruth Dudley Edwards

Omagh rememberance marred by McGuinness’s presence

Omagh Highlights of the 10th Anniversary commemoration of victims of the Omagh bomb: lashing rain; Martin McGuinness laying a wreath in honour of victims of republican terrorism; Terry Waite telling us about good Jews who work for peace and bad Jews who persecute Palestinians; the Omagh Waterford Peace Choir (‘not a Prod amongst them’, said my Presbyterian friend, observing them all blessing themselves) singing a hymn with the lines ‘Lord, there are times when I have to ask, “What?” -/Times when your love is not easy to spot’; ‘a Dialogue, in music, of lament and hope’ (don’t ask, but petals were involved); and an audience of around 800 rather than

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Weekend reading

If Coffee Housers haven’t already read Bob Kagan’s The Return of History and the End of Dreams,  I would thoroughly recommend that you do so. In only a hundred pages or so, Kagan explains why ideological competition is now a factor once again in great power politics and examines the probable consequences of Russia’s desire to reassert itself in its near abroad. Following Russia’s actions in Georgia this past week, the book seems particularly relevant. Yet another reason to read it is that Kagan is probably the most important intellectual influence on John McCain’s foreign policy thinking. 

Brian Cullen

Our low expectations

Today’s Times tells the heart-warming story of Alex Griffiths who was kidnapped as an infant and has now achieved an A and two Bs at A-level to win her place at university.  The story certainly has the feel-good factor, but one part struck me as depressing: “Her mother, Dawn Griffiths, a nanny from Middlesbrough, was paid £110,000 for the story, but rather than spend it, she put all the money into a fund to give her daughter the education that she never had. The sacrifice – which allowed Alex to attend a private boarding school with fees of more than £6,000 a term – paid off.” Sacrifice? Alex’s mother’s decision

The Spectator

Sales and online readership of the Spectator power ahead once more

The Spectator magazine has recorded its highest-ever sales. The audited ABC average circulation for the first half of this year was almost 77,000 — a weekly average of 76,952 to be exact — the highest ever sale in the magazine’s 180-year history and the 12th consecutive half-year increase.  Circulation is now 5% up on the first half of 2007. Of particular importance to advertisers, both ‘paid-for’ elements sales were up over the same period last year, with newsstand sales up 4% and subscriptions up almost 6%. The total ‘actively purchased’ copies in the UK increased by 7.4%. Spectator magazine sales have continued to grow despite a huge increase in traffic to its

Sean Martin

Boston must go

The QCA has at long last pulled the plug on ETS over the SATS marking debacle with the company being forced to pay back the remaining four years of its contract payment. It is good news that the taxpayers won’t have to pay ETS £19.5 million over the next four years but it can’t hide the fact that someone at the government end should be held responsible for this cock-up. After all, they signed a £156 million contract with a firm whose record should have set alarm bells ringing. Ed Balls should take the blame but he won’t, arguing that his department had passed responsibility for the contract to the

Ruth Dudley Edwards

Omagh 10 years on

So here I am in Omagh to attend the commemoration of the tenth anniversary of the bomb that killed 29 people (and unborn twins) in the name of a united Ireland.  I’m writing a book about the civil case being taken by some of the families in an effort to nail some of the bastards – sorry, alleged bastards – responsible for this obscenity. The ceremony this afternoon is supposed to be about peace and love and the coming together of different traditions, but – in the Irish way – there is a split and a scandal.  The split is between the district council (21 members: 10 Sinn Fein) who

James Forsyth James Forsyth

<strong>Brown’s byelection dilemma</strong>

One of the trickiest decisions that Gordon Brown has to make is when to call the Glenrothes byelection. As Martin Kettle points out in The Guardian this morning, Labour can have the poll on any Thursday between September 11 and December 4—so either before conference or once the Autumn re-launch is under way. A byelection loss in Fife (and as Matt noted on Wednesday a Labour defeat is, at the moment, the most likely result) will be hugely embarrassing for Brown and will weaken his position still further, if Labour under Brown can’t win in Fife where can it win? A defeat before conference could persuade the party that however much

Thursday

Brian Cullen

A grade A problem

The debate sparked by today’s A-level results was predictable – the Tories are saying they’re getting easier and the government is saying everyone is simply getting smarter – but it’s also academic. It doesn’t matter why the number of students getting As is higher than ever – the fact itself is a problem. The purpose of grading is to distinguish between different strata of performance. Of course it’s possible that students are smarter than ever.  But if that’s the case then the bar must be raised again – and again – and again until only a small percentage achieve the top grade; the message that A grades are meant to send

Sean Martin

Tsvangirai must hold strong

As the crucial negotiations in Zimbabwe drag on, Morgan Tsvangirai must hold strong and not accept any deal that leaves Mugabe in charge of the military. The offer of Prime Minster tabled to him this week is neither fair nor what Zimbabwe needs. First, Tsvangirai polled over 180,000 more votes than Mugabe in the first popular vote, any settlement that does not recognise that reality will not be legitimate. Second, the control over the economy that Tsvangirai would gain would be meaningless as Mugabe would maintain command of the military and police; the military is the cornerstone of Zanu PF support and until Muagbe’s control over it is broken, Zimbabwe

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Right-thinking

The Policy Exchange report on northern cities has thrust the world of think-tanks into the spotlight—I’ll stand a round for any reader who can tell me when the last time the Daily Mirror devoted its lead editorial to a think-tank report was—and there has been a lot of talk about Policy Exchange’s relationship with the Tories but it is worth noting that the think tanks the Tories work with are more diverse than you might think. Jonathan Isaby pointed out yesterday that George Osborne is to deliver an agenda-setting speech at Demos, which was New Labour’s favourite think-tank back in the day. But that not’s the half of the relationship

James Forsyth James Forsyth

The coming Russian-American face-off in Georgia

The New York Times reports that Russian troops are still in the key Georgian cities of Gori and Poti; reports about them handing over control of Gori to the Georgian police appear to have been premature. With US humanitarian aid also flowing into Georgia in US military transports, the likelihood of Georgia turning into a battle of wills between Russia and the West has increased. The New York Times, whose coverage of the crisis has been superlative, quote a senior Pentagon official describing the strategic thinking behind the Pentagon-led humanitarian mission thus: “to show to Russia that we can come to the aid of a European ally, and that we

Matthew Dancona

Georgia is only the start

Philip Bobbitt’s cover piece in this week’s magazine is a very significant intervention in the debate on what is happening in Georgia. I commissioned the article because – in my opinion – Bobbitt is the most important writer in the world on geopolitical issues right now: his impeccable scholarship, work for the National Security Council, the advice he has given presidents, and his capacity to soar over the battlefield of confusion make him unique. Above all, he is intrinsically wary of applying old paradigms of analysis to new landscapes: that is why his book Terror and Consent is such a masterpiece. There is no better guide to the new international order

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Deckchairs on the Titanic

First it was Margaret Beckett tipped for a return to the front line, now it is John Prescott. Here’s Martin Bright in the New Statesman. “There is also talk of the need for a Chris Patten figure to act as cheerleader for the party, as the Tory chairman did in the run-up to the 1992 election to cover for John Major’s inadequacies. More likely will be the emergence of a praetorian guard of seasoned TV and radio performers to protect Brown from the growing hostility of the media. One figure who may yet make a play for the Patten role is the former deputy party leader John Prescott, who has

Wednesday

Alex Massie Alex Massie

Department of Food

An excellent recipe for “breakfast pizza” courtesy of the New York Times. It is, however, I would suggest, incomplete. That is to say, the pizza would be immeasurably improved by the addition of black pudding. Or haggis, now that I think of it.

James Forsyth James Forsyth

It’s not the cavalry but it is important

President Bush’s decision to have the US military head up a humanitarian mission to Georgia is about more than bringing much-needed aid and relief to the Georgian people. The thinking appears to be that using US planes and ships to deliver aid will serve as a way of pressuring Russia not to close down Georgian airspace and try and blocks its access to the sea. In an interview with The New York Times, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said that Bush’s announcement marked  a “turning point”:  “What I expected specifically from America was to secure our airport and to secure our seaports,” he said, in a telephone interview minutes after Mr. Bush