Society

This is why people hate politicians. Just when you start thinking that it might not be terrible if Hillary Clinton becomes the next President of the United States you, hear stuff like this. Sure, it’s trivial in one sense but it tells us more about her than the details of whatever health care plan she’s punting these days. She even ducked the question of which team she’d root for if her hometown Chicago Cubs met the New York Yankees in next month’s World Series. “I’d have to switch back and forth,” she said.

What’s the appropriate way to deal with a “Will you be my Facebook Friend?” request from someone you don’t know? How many damn friends should you have anyway? The estimable Reihan Salam tells you what you need to know about these and other social networking dilemmas..

Yes, it’s from the doom-peddlers at The Daily Mail, but still… A police force has banned hundreds of its officers from riding bicycles for safety reasons. Greater Manchester Police has stopped 300 fully-fledged officers and PCSOs from patrolling on their mountain bikes. The patrols are popular with the public because they allow officers to chase criminals down narrow lanes and through parks and because they act as a visible deterrent. But police chiefs say they fear the officers do not have enough training to handle road conditions across Greater Manchester.

Walking to the station the other day I was thinking how annoying it is that, when people are invited to name their favourite words, so many answer serendipity. Then, blow me if the next news report I read didn’t detail an invitation from Education Action, a charity, to send in favourite words to celebrate Literacy Day. (There is such a thing.) ‘The most popular so far,’ said someone involved, ‘are those associated with positive aspirations, like peace, love, and serendipity.’ Yet serendipity is in a different category from peace or love. People might like peace and love, but it’s the sound of serendipity they like. It is like Boris Johnson’s