A heartening, very interesting – and highly unusual – intervention by the Lord Advocate: Scotland’s top prosecutor has said the case has not been made for extending the length of time terror suspects can be detained without charge to 42 days. BBC Scotland has learnt that Lord Advocate Elish Angiolini gave her opinion in a
What accounts for John McCain’s popularity? By which I mean, of course, his popularity amongst the press and television pundit class. After all, by some conventional measures, McCain is a politician, with few legislative achievements to his name (the most significant being his highly dubious campaign finance reforms) who shows little interest in the actual
Scotland on Sunday’s splash yesterday highlighted a report to the UN written by from the country’s Children’s Commissioner which presents a ghastly, even dystopian vision of Scotland as being, it would seem, one of the worst places on earth in which to bring up children. We won’t even let them play, apparently. The report highlights
A friend in San Francisco sent me an article that, I suspect, has to be the best thing written about Barack Obama yet. Mark Morford, a San Francisco Chronicle columnist writes: Barack Obama isn’t really one of us. Not in the normal way, anyway.. Many spiritually advanced people I know (not coweringly religious, mind you,
In broad terms I agree with Will Wilkinson here: Should you be a state-smashing radical or a milquetoast piecemealer? I don’t know. The debate over reformism versus radicalism is never-ending. For my part, I have a fairly radical ideal theory of a cosmopolitan liberal global order of trade, migration, and peace. I think the “nation
The government’s proposals for incarcerating suspects for up to 42 days before being required, however inconveniently, to produce a charge are, naturally, appalling. How can you be so sure? Well, they must be: 65% of the public supports them. In other poll news, ICM puts the Tories on 42%, Labour 26% and the Liberal Democrats
I suspect that MPs are sufficiently craven – and willing to put the government’s political prospects ahead of any petty concerns about principle or, god help us, justice – that they will endorse the government’s appalling proposal that terrorist suspects can be held for up to 42 days before the state need produce a charge.
Euro 2008 starts today and happily we’re spared the agony of watching Scotland play. The BBC are doing their best to persuade us that even a tournament “without England” might be worth watching even though most sentient people appreciate that England’s failure to qualify actually enhances the tournament, especially for the TV viewer who might
Even I, a fan of robust tabloid journalism, have to wonder if this might be going just a little bit far… The Guardian reports: Poland’s national football coach apologised yesterday after a tabloid newspaper ran a gruesome depiction of him holding the severed heads of Germany’s national trainer and team captain and demanded he slaughter
Headline of the Day: The Bronx is More Than Just Yankee Stadium Who knew? No surprise there. Except that the newspaper running this story in its travel section is… The New York Times. Or, rather, the Manhattan and Parts of Brooklyn Times. Not a new phenomenon, of course, as the famous New Yorker cartoon, The
Guardianista logic: I like classics I think classics should be promoted Boris Johnson promotes the classics Boris Johnson is a toff Boris Johnson is therefore damaging the classics The classics would be better off with no champion than with Boris. Seriously.
From a WaPo dispatch from the trial of Khalid Sheik Mohammed: Mohammed appeared to have equal disdain for the process, but he only briefly mentioned his “torturing” at the hands of U.S. officials, something he acknowledged he was warned not to mention in open court, lest a security official hit a button muting the audio
Is the Scottish Parliament building more of “a poured-concrete Vogon love poem” than Boston’s city hall?
At long last: Hillary will quit on Saturday. I think Nick Garland’s cartoon in the Telegraph a) sums it up well and b) is oddly affecting. UPDATE: In response to a commenter, there’s no caption missing. None is required…
I’d have more respect for the Tony Blair Faith Foundation if it had a different, less egotistical, name. (And, if truth be told, if it were led by a different, less sanctimonious, person). To wit, as he told Time last week: He can, no question, come across as a bit cocksure in the rightness of
Recalling the weirdness of the Ron Paul Revolution, Julian Sanchez risks a peek at Hillary’s equally delusional supporters and sagely concludes that all this: should be at least a little unsettling to people who want to view politics as this kind of wonderful deliberative process by which we all reason together, harnessing our collective wisdom
Even the Cabinet is demob happy… Adam Bouton reports: I was taken aback this week to hear that one senior member of the Cabinet is cheerfully telling colleagues that he has been over-promoted but intends “to enjoy it while it lasts”. James Forsyth asks whom could it be? Is Des Browne sufficiently self-aware (and cheerful)
It is not, right now, saying much to observe that Kevin Pietersen is England’s best batsman. His century against New Zealand today has not been the stuff of legends but it has at least rescued England from the perilous position they had put themselves into at 86/5. But if Pietersen is England’s best batsman, we
Courtesy of Charles Moore in The Spectator: On the Tube recently, I saw advertisements for mass meetings to hear ‘one of India’s most highly regarded living Saints’. Is there a caste system of living sainthood? Could one be a living saint and yet be lowly regarded?
Megan asks for suggestions for a tribute tape to the late and lamented Democratic primary race. A quick glance at my iPod suggests these tunes… “Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards” – Billy Bragg “A Century of Fakers” – Belle & Sebastien “Let’s Get Out of This Country” – Camera Obscura “The Queen is Dead”