The Spectator

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Monday

The Spectator

CoffeeHousers’ Wall, 17 October – 23 October 2011

From our UK edition

Welcome to the latest CoffeeHousers' Wall. For those who haven't come across the Wall before, it's a post we put up each Monday, on which — providing your writing isn't libellous, crammed with swearing, or offensive to common decency — you'll be able to say whatever you like in the comments section. There is no topic, so there's no need to stay 'on topic', which means you'll be able to debate with each other more freely and extensively. There's also no constraint on the length of what you write — so, in effect, you can become Coffee House bloggers. Anything's fair game, from political stories in your local paper, to chat about the latest football results.

The Spectator

Just in case you missed them… | 17 October 2011

From our UK edition

…here are some of the posts made at Spectator.co.uk over the weekend. Fraser Nelson says that unionists are in trouble: 39 per cent of Scots are in favour of independence. Matt Cavanagh notes that voters want immigration to be reduced, just not like this. James Forsyth wonders how Justine Greening will handle the airports issue, and says that the future’s bright for the right. Peter Hoskin surveys the post-Fox reaction, and asks what Osborne’s offer to the IMF will amount to. Clarissa Tan speaks to the organisers of Occupy London. Jonathan Jones notes that Labour is struggling to regain economic credibility. Daniel Korski says that Occupy London will disrupt Boris.

Saturday

The Spectator

Egypt’s new theocracy

From our UK edition

The massacre this week of Coptic Christians in Cairo stands as a bloody corrective to the idea that the ‘Arab Spring’ was a wonderful uprising of the masses against dictators. Revolutions are not, in themselves, causes for celebration if they create a vacuum that can be filled by evil. The deliberate mowing down of dozens of peaceful demonstrators by armoured vehicles (hundreds of others were shot at point-blank range by Egyptian soldiers) is the starkest indication yet that the land of the Pharaohs is fast becoming a fundamentalist Islamic state, with the blessing of its powerful military establishment.