Gesture politics A royal home movie from 1933 apparently showed the future Queen, aged seven, and her mother giving a Nazi salute. Like the Swastika, the stiff-armed salute was not invented by the Nazis. In this case they took it from the Mussolini and his Fascists, who thought it came from ancient Rome. Three Roman
“Whether it’s in Iraq, Syria, Libya or elsewhere — as Prime Minister, if I believe there is a specific threat to the British people, would I be prepared to authorise action to neutralise that threat? Yes, I would.” It is almost two years since David Cameron lost a vote on intervening in the Syrian war
Home Parents would be able to have their children’s passports removed if they were suspected of planning to travel abroad to join a radical group, under provisions outlined by David Cameron, the Prime Minister, to deal with Islamist extremism. It emerged that five British pilots embedded with allied forces had been taking part in air
From ‘Armour and Shields’, The Spectator, 17 July 1915: A bone, a book, a cigarette-case, even a five-franc piece in the pocket, will often save a man from death by a bullet. Still oftener will these flimsy substitutes for armour save life in the case of scraps of shrapnel or pieces of shell which have
From ‘Coal and its problems’, The Spectator, 24 July 1915: Instead of attempting to regulate prices, the government ought to have contented themselves with taxing profits, and by that phrase we mean not only the extra profits of the coalowner, but also the extra wages of the coalminer. The assumption that the coalminer is morally justified
From ‘Women and the War‘, The Spectator, 24 July 1915: It is not too much to say that without the help and inspiration of the women we could not win the war. But we have had the good fortune to know from the moment that war was declared that if we did not win it
From ‘The Struggle in the East‘, The Spectator, 24 July 1915: Even if the Germans take Warsaw and practically the whole of the Polish salient, and are not too badly punished by the Russian armies during the operation, they will have to begin the painful and dangerous task of invading Russia. No doubt in theory
From ‘News of the Week’, The Spectator, 24 July 1915: The United States Government have received from Germany an admission that the American vessel ‘Nebraskan’ was sunk by a German submarine. The German Government, in apologizing and promising reparation, explain that no attack on the American flag was intended, and that the affair was an
From ‘The Magnanimity of Italy’, The Spectator, 18 July 1915: The Italian always aspires not only to do great things, but to do them in the great way, whether it be to build a church, a hospital, or a railway station, paint a picture, or write an ode. Picturesqueness and the refinement of miniature work—these
From ‘Phantom Gold’, The Spectator, 17 July 1915: There is something about the sight of golden coins which excites the imagination. Was it for economic nations alone that the world settled upon gold as the universal token? What delight children take in counters made to represent sovereigns—small children who have certainly never possessed a real
From ‘A Voice from the Ranks’, The Spectator, 17 July 1915: [To THE EDITOR OF THE “SPECTATOR.”] Sir,—Having served in the ranks since August, allow me to say a word about “National Military Service” and the “Drink” problem. On the grounds of equity and right, the flower of our British manhood—that manhood which is now
‘It’s shocking how the Garrick Club treats women. I think I’ll join.’
‘You are being held in a queue. Please wait and you will be able to hear the sea shortly.’
‘Do you take party bookings?’
‘The new political will to bomb Syria leaves us with a few minor logistical problems.’
‘I’ve no idea, I’ve never loaded a dishwasher.’
