Tom Arms' World ReviewNATO The NATO summit was a wild diplomatic roller coaster ride. But then, how could it be otherwise with President Donald J. Trump in attendance. Ankara was another example of his negotiating style: Start with the maximalist position delivered in the loudest and most belligerent style and then gradually back away from that and claim a happy agreement which is probably nowhere near the truth. Trump arrived demanding Denmark give him Greenland. If the Danes refused, he would withdraw all US troops from Europe. He also said that the US was ending all trade with Spain because of Prime Minister ... (more) |
Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood: Some Velvet MorningThe most 1967 track of all? More 1967 than David Hemmings Happens? These random paragraphs from a Believer article by Madeleine Watts may explain what is going on: Nancy Sinatra had, until the mid-sixties, been the favorite daughter of her famous father and a mediocre pop singer without a hit. Hazlewood changed that. He wrote "These Boots Are Made For Walking" for Nancy. He wrote "Sugar Town" for Nancy. And he wrote "Some Velvet Morning," a song that Rolling Stone, The Daily Telegraph and other publications have called one of the greatest duets ever recorded. Phaedra is a woman who ... (more) |
Convicted fraudster was introduced as Farage's chief of staffThe Guardian reports that convicted fraudster George Cottrell was routinely introduced as Nigel Farage's chief of staff before the 2024 election despite denials that he had any official role, according to a Reform UK candidate who stood aside for the party leader. The paper says that others who have been closely involved in the party have also claimed Cottrell arranged the Land Rovers that ferried Reform's newly elected MPs to parliament, and that he covered the cost of a fundraising lunch with potential donors before the national vote: Questions about the role of Cottrell - who is a convicted fraudster ... (more) |
Gilbert Adair: The orphan has lost not only his parents but his statusEmbed from Getty ImagesThis post is about another essay by Gilbert Adair, but first a quotation from Sammy Going South by W.H. Canaway. If you've not seen the movie, this is a novel about a 10-year-old British boy whose parents are killed by an RAF raid on Port Said during the Suez Crisis of 1956: Reminded by the scene he had witnessed, he thought, I'm an orphan! The idea intrigued him. He said aloud, "I'm an orphan!" savouring the words in the air. Then he said, experimentally, "My mummy and daddy are dead," and wished he hadn't said it, for ... (more) |
Observations of an Expat: Visions of AmericaFor those who looked carefully, there were two contrasting visions of America at its 250th birthday. Each was presented by a prominent American and could not have been more different. The first Is Donald Trump's America First vision. This is an America where immigrants are not only refused entry but are rounded up by armed agents; sent to overcrowded detention camps and deported. It is vision which is viewed through the narrow lens of American nationalism. The second was rooted in the idea that America has a responsibility beyond its borders—a universal vision which is closely linked to immigration, human ... (more) |
The Joy of Six 1546Toby Buckle argues that it's time for liberals to throw John Rawls under the bus. In his philosophy he guided the creed toward neutrality, but we can no longer afford that in the age of Trump . "After huge reductions in first-time entrants and custodial sentences in the youth justice system in recent years, a smaller, more complex cohort of children remains. Their offending behaviours mask deep vulnerabilities including earlier childhood abuse and trauma, poor mental health, school exclusion and poverty. This cohort need stability and care to rehabilitate and change. Yet the custodial estate has seen an alarming deterioration ... (more) |
Latest PollBase is out, with all the British voting intention polls since the 1930sWith the end of another, rather interesting, quarter, another update to PollBase, my database of British voting intention opinion polls since the 1930s is now up. It includes the first PM approval ratings from 1938 and first national voting intention scores from 1939. Download the new version here. As well as another three months of data, changes this time include: Backfilled Stonehaven MRP data for this Parliament, with thanks to Luke Betham for the missing data. Additional Gallup data from the 1951 Parliament from the Bodleian Library's set of Gallup/BIPO reports in the Conservative Central Office archives. Thank you to ... (more) |
Black market weight-loss jab factory found in stately homeOur Headline of the Day comes from BBC News. I noticed that Lord Bonkers was taking a keen interest in the finer details of the story. (more) |
Government talks tough but often moves slowly on foreign interference in politicsThe latest edition of my email newsletter about work in Parliament, A Lord's Eye View, is out and you can also read it in full below. But if you'd like to get future editions emailed direct to you as soon as they are published, sign up now: Welcome to my latest update on work in the House of Lords, this time covering a statement in Parliament about the government's response to the Rycroft Review into foreign interference in our politics. The Rycroft Review – and the significance of the 1695 Parliamentary Elections Act We had a short discussion in the ... (more) |
The largest abbey in WalesAs Wikipedia records, Neath Abbey was a Cistercian monastery, located near the present-day town of Neath. It was once the largest abbey in Wales. Substantial ruins can still be seen, and are in the care of Cadw. Tudor historian John Leland called Neath Abbey "the fairest abbey of all Wales." The Abbey was established in 1129 AD when Richard I de Grenville, one of the Twelve Knights of Glamorgan, gave 8,000 acres of his estate in Glamorgan to Savigniac monks from western Normandy: The first monks arrived in 1130. Following the merging of the Savigniac order into the Cistercian order ... (more) |