The Spectator
Wednesday
Tuesday
Crocker damns Maliki government with faint praise
Interestingly enough, after a day and a half of questioning the most damaging sound bite to emerge so far from the Ambassador Crocker and General Petraeus hearings has come in response to a question from one of the most pro-surge politicians in Congress. John McCain just asked Crocker whether he was confident that the Maliki government
Exercise is not great
If you want a giggle, do read this account by Christopher Hitchens of his time at a health spa. The hard drinking, chain smoking Hitch is pretty much the last person you can imagine being wrapped in seaweed but he even provides photographic proof of the experience.
RIP Anita Roddick, inspiration for the new Conservatives
Anita Roddick, implausible as it may seem, deserves a footnote in future histories of the Conservative Party as well as the annals of ‘ethical consumerism’ where her place was already secure. Long before Fairtrade coffee, barn-fed eggs in Tesco and organic everything, she had spotted and mapped out the psychological terrain where the ethics of
Boris’s first full length TV interview of the campaign
Tonight on 18 Doughty Street, Iain Dale has a half an hour interview with The Spectator’s official candidate for Mayor of London. You can watch the entire thing here. One point that Boris makes that is well worth pondering the next time you’re sitting waiting for a tube train that is delayed or stuck in
Monday
The Iraq report
If you want to follow the General Petraeus and Crocker testimony the New York Times, the Washington Post and The Politico are all live blogging it. You can also read Petraeus and Crokcer’s opening statements in full here. Update: Britain and America also has coverage that is well worth reading.
Why is al Qaeda releasing a second bin Laden video?
There’s another bin Laden video coming out soon. This time, bin Laden will introduce the testimony of one of the 9/11 suicide bombers. The appearance of a second video is surprising as it is hard to see why after three years off screen bin Laden is making two appearances in a week. One would have
Addressing the reality of Iraq
The next few days will be a big test of whether the political class on both sides of the Atlantic can think about the reality of Iraq. Too often, the war is debated as if it is 2003 and we can still choose whether or not to invade. As this sobering George Packer essay in
The great digital seduction
Last week the RSA hosted ‘The Great Digital Seduction’, a lively event that gave rise to a gripping and important debate. On one side was Andrew Keen, author of The Cult of the Amateur, railing against what he called the cacophony of Web 2.0 and the calamitous effects of user-generated content on our culture. Keen
Gordon goes where Dave can’t
“British jobs for British workers”: Gordon Brown has road-tested this muscular phrase many times before, not least when he accepted the Labour leadership in Manchester in front of a Union Flag the size of a small constituency. But today, at the TUC, he puts patriotic flesh on the bones promising an “extra 500,000 British jobs
Sunday
Give the surge time
General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker’s testimony to Congress will be crucial in shaping future US strategy in Iraq. As a new poll reveals, Petraeus will be delivering his report against considerable public scepticism: 53% expect the report to exaggerate the extent of progress in Iraq. Petraeus is also, as the Washington Post details, having to resist
‘We need a surge in the South’
“I wish they would recalibrate. The south is a growing problem. It’s the next big problem to be faced. The British force in the south could do a great deal of good. We need a surge in the south.” So, Lindsey Graham, a Republican Senator from South Carolina, tells the Sunday Telegraph. This is a significant
Saturday
Letters to the Editor | 8 September 2007
Theodore Dalrymple’s cover story about our sentimental and brutal society (‘Too many teardrops’, 1 September) has given me an idea. Our thuggish society Sir: Theodore Dalrymple’s cover story about our sentimental and brutal society (‘Too many teardrops’, 1 September) has given me an idea. In order to reduce the impact of the British disease of
The McCain comeback
This week was meant to be all about the entry of Fred Thompson, the politician turned actor who’s being presented as the new Reagan, into the Republican race. But Thompson has turned out to be a disappointment. His speeches have been underwhelming and the crowds small. Instead, the candidate taking the plaudits this week has
The McCann saga
In the acres of news print devoted to the McCanns this morning, Andrew Pierce’s Telegraph column (a must-read on Saturdays) offers the best analysis. Andrew points out the sheer scale of what is at stake. If either or both of the McCanns are charged and convicted – and they deny any form of wrongdoing –
Change must still be the message
The great paradox of the Tory party is that its predicament in recent years reflects not failure, but success. For 18 years it was in government, for 11 of them under one of the most influential prime ministers in history. The Conservatives dominated the 20th century: Austen Chamberlain and William Hague were the only two
Friday
What you should do if you can’t see Atonement this weekend
Cinema goers will all be planning to go to see Atonement this weekend: I know I am. But if you are defeated by the queues, which threaten to be of English Patient/Shakespeare in Love proportions, do go and see Knocked Up instead. If ever a film was let down by its title it is this
Is Osama bin Laden not in Pakistan or Afghanistan after all?
This new bin Laden video might provide vital clues at to where the al Qaeda leader is hiding. One thing that is notable about it is that his beard is black in the advanced still that has been released, rather than white-flecked as it was back in 2004. Now it is unlikely that bin Laden
The Iraq mission cannot afford more careless talk
Next week’s testimony from General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker to Congress on Iraq will give us the best idea yet of how the surge is progressing. To date, the signs are encouraging: to cut sectarian killings in Baghdad in half is a real achievement and begins to provide the conditions in which a political solution