Matt Yglesias sees walls going up in Baghdad and wonders if the US Army is using Northern Ireland as its template: I believe this technique comes to the US Army’s counterinsurgency theorists via Belfast, where I believe they have been effective in helping the British maintain a degree of order. To some extent, this brings
The always estimable Kerry Howley draws attention to another lovely House of Lords moment: Baroness Gardner of Parkes: My Lords, I speak as a member of the All-Party Group on Obesity. Why is it that in central London you can hardly find a thinly-sliced or medium-sliced loaf of bread to buy, and any sandwich you
My friend Toby Harnden finds John Edwards doing his best Monty Python in Iowa: Remember the “Four Yorkshiremen” sketch, which ended with Eric Idle describing how during his childhood he had to “drink a cup of sulphuric acid, work twenty-nine hours a day down mill, and pay mill owner for permission to come to work,
As part of its rather odd Call Yourself British campaign The Daily Telegraph has sent the novelist Andrew O’Hagan to tour the country and take its temperature. There’ll be plenty to say about this over the next few days. But, beginning in Edinburgh, O’Hagan writes: Despite the work of centuries, an intellectual Enlightenment, an Industrial
Former Atlanta mayor Andrew Young (who is black) was campaigning for Hillary Clinton today. He seems, however, to have gone off-message: He also joked that author Toni Morrison may have been on to something when she referred to former President Bill Clinton as the “first black president.” “Bill is every bit as black as Barack,”
Good grief. The Washington Post reports: Still looking for that last-minute Christmas gift for White House press secretary Dana Perino? May we recommend a gift certificate for the forthcoming book on the Cuban Missile Crisis by our colleague Michael Dobbs, “One Minute to Midnight: Kennedy, Khrushchev, and Castro on the Brink of Nuclear War,” due
No-one seems to know quite how many Britons have flown 7,000 miles to be in Las Vegas this weekend, but most estimates suggest it’s at least 15,000 and possibly as many as 25,000. Since no more than 4,000 of them can actually have tickets for Saturday’s fight between Ricky Hatton and Floyd Mayweather this is
So, the New York Times has not even mentioned tonight’s Hatton-Mayweather fight, far less run a piece on it. Not even in a Sport in Brief column. Doubtless some people will argue that this confirms boxing’s eclipse; I’d suggest it’s evidence of the New York Times’ irrelevance. Sure, I’d also say that the Times is
So, unsurprisingly, Time Magazine’s cover story (international edition) on The Death of French Culture is making waves on the eastern side of the Atlantic (once upon a time, Time might have devoted space to French culture in its US edition: that it wouldn’t dream of doing so now tells us as much about the United
Mitt Romney, leader of men, sage of our time: “I believe, of course, that there are thousands of people who are not of faith who are moral.” [Hat-tip: Mr Larison, who also points out that a) Roger Cohen has a confused view of history and b) sub-editors at the New York Times know no better.]
More Paddington Bear blogging: Paddington, the bear from Peru, will be arrested and interrogated over his immigration status in a book marking his 50th birthday.Paddington Here and Now, due to be published in June 2008, is set around the bear’s home at 32 Windsor Gardens, Notting Hill, west London. It will mark the 50th anniversary
Rod Dreher asks: I agree that it was stupid that Romney should have had to have given that speech, but American political culture really left him little choice. As silly as that may seem — as silly as it is — is Britain really better off? This, from Jeff Jacoby’s column on Romney today: It
The BBC’s excellent Nick Robinson speculates that Rupert Murdoch’s decision to hand control of his european interests to his son James is more bad news for Gordon Brown: the man formerly known as Britain’s most powerful tycoon was personally, if not always politically, sympathetic to the prime minister. Rupert Murdoch admires Gordon Brown’s personal morality
Scotland is already a semi-detached member of the Union and the question, it now seems, is whether the delegation/repatriation of further powers to Holyrood results in a Scotland that is 75% detached from the rest of the UK, or one that decides for whatever constitutes independence these days. Regardless of what the country decides, the
Rugby blogging: Warren Gatland has coached in the English premiership, the Super 14 and been Ireland’s coach. And he’s still surprised that people in Wales think being Welsh coach is a big deal? New Wales coach Warren Gatland says he has been surprised by the level of media interest his first week in charge has
Public Service Announcement: the news that the CIA has taken to destroying videotape of its interrogations depresses but does not surprise. It also reminds me that you really ought to see Alex Gibney’s new documentary Taxi to the Dark Side when it is released in January. It’s a dispiriting, devastating indictment of the Bush administration’s
More Romney, I’m afraid. But this is less about him than it concerns a general American trend. Daniel Larison has already touched on how Romney seems to share Fred Thompson’s odd belief in the uniquely generous nature of American military sacrifice. This reminds me that I’d meant to comment upon this passage from Romney’s speech:
Christmas relationships, courtesy of DCist: A Christmas tree lot on Wisconsin Avenue at about 9 p.m.: A busy, attractive, professional, unmarried couple in their early 30s who are clearly still in their work clothes. Guy to tree-seller: “We’ll take this wreath.” Tree-seller to couple: “Don’t you want a Christmas tree?” Couple awkwardly look at each
I’m not quite sure why this hasn’t received more attention, but didn’t Mike Huckabee just propose an alliance with Rudy Giuliani to take down Mitt Romney? Seems like it to me. Let’s go to the Youtube Debate transcript: I am Joseph. I am from Dallas, Texas, and how you answer this question will tell us
I’d like to think this is made up. Favourite bit? Hard to say, but “I heard of Turkey” is pretty good. [Via, Larison]