From our UK edition
Good news from Washington: a common-sense interpretation of the Second Amendment prevails at the Supreme Court: WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court says Americans have a right to own guns for self-defense and hunting, the justices’ first major pronouncement on gun rights in U.S. history. The court’s 5-4 ruling strikes down the District of Columbia’s
From our UK edition
About some things anyway: “The demons in number 10, Downing Street, must be exorcised by someone,”
From our UK edition
So, yes, there’s been a mini-hiatus around these parts. Cricket and an unexpected trip to Edinburgh for a first meeting with my godson were largely to blame. Plus, you know, idleness. Anyway, we return to consider this remarkable passage: The Salmond/Saeed axis is not merely a disturbing sign of Salmond’s own prejudices. It has a
From our UK edition
In Paris, Byron York ponders the foreigners’ view of the American presidential race:“But why wouldn’t you vote for Obama?” I’m having lunch with an Obama supporter at La Coupole, the venerable brasserie in Paris’s Montparnasse neighborhood. The woman who asked me that question, along with her fiance, has come to discuss something else, but the
From our UK edition
An email from a friend in Washington who’s active in Democratic politics: Honestly, I haven’t been paying attention to the Presidential race at all. I’m sick of it and the coverage of it is terrible… Yesterday, MSNBC had a report on what Obama has in his pockets. It’s a lucky poker chip, a lucky arrowhead,
From our UK edition
Danny Finklestein reports: Politely talking to one Labour member, while in the presence of a member of the Shadow Cabinet, I asked him gently to what he thought we owed Labour’s decline in the polls. Instead of giving an involved explanation he replied: “Oh that’s easy to explain. Our Leader is utterly useless. If you
From our UK edition
Michael Ledeen despairs over Condi Rice’s condemnation of Robert Mugabe: This is Darfur all over again. And Iran all over again. And Syria all over again. Stern language, with the threat of even sterner language if the recipient doesn’t behave better.It’s an embarrassment.Once upon a time, we had leaders who supported freedom and did everything
From our UK edition
Looming crisis in the countryside requires immediate action: Efforts are being made to reverse a decline in sheep shearers in Scotland. The workforce is ageing, with fewer young people entering what is considered one of the most labour-intensive jobs in farming… “There aren’t enough young shearers doing the job. Because it is a physical job
From our UK edition
The ICC (that’s the International Cricket Council) and the authorities in England keep banging on about how they want to ensure that test cricket remains the pinnacle of the game. Then they keep announcing additional one day and 20/20 competitions. You tell me how that adds up. Allen Stanford, the Texan billionaire backer of the
From our UK edition
James Fallows has a very interesting post about what it’s like to be a foreigner in China, in which he writes: I think I now can explain why, despite the pollution and congestion and overall ceaseless hassle of big-city life in China, I always tell friends or visitors that I “like” Chinese people in general.
From our UK edition
A faithful correspondent emails: “I know it rightly pains you to contemplate the existence of Polly Toynbee, but is she actually saying that the worst thing about New Labour was that it wasn’t authoritarian, expedient, or intrusive enough?” I suspect readers know the answer to this but, to give Mrs Toynbee the benefit of the
From our UK edition
David Davis’s new website is up and running (sort of) and you can follow him on Twitter here.
From our UK edition
Meanwhile, in America habeas corpus is also in the news, prompting an excellent column from George Will today: McCain, co-author of the McCain-Feingold law that abridges the right of free political speech, has referred disparagingly to, as he puts it, “quote ‘First Amendment rights.’ ” Now he dismissively speaks of “so-called, quote ‘habeas corpus suits.’
From our UK edition
Ben Smith is right: more press conferences should be like this…
From our UK edition
Chris Dillow has a splendid post filleting the Scottish government’s plans to raise the age at which one may purchase alcohol at an off-license from 18 to 21. As he rightly says this is the usual mixture of paternalism, petty managerialism and soul-crushing illiberalism trussed up with a justification that there’s a problem so, rather
From our UK edition
All the London papers’ obituary pages reward close attention, but the Daily Telegraph remains peerless in tracking the lives and, obviously, deaths, of WW2 servicemen. These accounts of remarkable derring-do and extraordinary achievement under testing circumstances naturally seem more, not less, vital as the number of survivors dwindles. Thus this charming anecdote from today’s obituary
From our UK edition
Do you have what it takes to become a German citizen? I do. (Like Daniel Larison, I scored 5/7.)
From our UK edition
The Atlantic has a very interesting, unintentionally hilarious Mark Bowden piece on Rupert Murdoch’s plans for the Wall Street Journal. Apparently the newsroom is very troubled by the new proprietor’s insistence that reporters uncover “scoops”. Heaven forbid! This also made me laugh: “I think he has enough sense not to trash what makes the newspaper
From our UK edition
Who dares say the United States never listens to British concerns? An RAF fighter pilot has won his battle with the United States Air Force over the size of his handlebar moustache. Flight Lieutenant Chris Ball, who is on an exchange posting with the USAF in Afghanistan was told to trim his distinctive moustache. The
From our UK edition
Good grief. This is a terrific, amazing story. Congratulations to Rachel Stevenson and Harriet Grant. It’s almost like an Ealing comedy except, of course, you know, serious. And, I think, really rather wonderful: At first sight, the Kingsway seems an unwelcoming place. Wind whips around the 15-storey tower blocks, the windows in the lobby doors