Good news #1: I'm not dead; good news #2: the blog's not dead. Rather, I've taken a month or so off thanks to a combination of bad things, good things and neutral things. Bad things: major unpleasantness from commenters I respect around some of the things I'd written about Julian Assange; the realisation that some … Continue reading Not dead
Banditry
I woke up this morning ready to issue an apology, on reading the headline that a UK court had remanded Julian Assange in custody on rape charges. I assumed that the Swedish prosecutors had actually produced some evidence (to be clear, victim testimony would absolutely count as evidence) that he'd either had sex with someone … Continue reading There’s still no (update: a case, but a weird one) against Julian Assange
Rousing. Beautiful. Amazing. Correct: Now reconcile this with restrictions on immigration. Please pay particular attention to "let no one build walls to divide us", and "the international ideal unites the human race".
In Anglophone countries, we tend to view race through a US prism. The recent Teacupgate saga that black (meaning black, not BME) students are underrepresented at Oxbridge is a good example. In the UK, and every other majority-white country except the US, black people are just another immigrant group - they're people who've mostly come … Continue reading The American race narrative is unique and irrelevant
OK, so as an Englishman following the World Cup bidding whilst living in and loving Australia, the last 20 minutes have been kinda sad. My pre-draw, pre-looking-up-facts take on things would be "it's most likely that Russia and Qatar will win, because the draw is decided by crooked bastards from the third world appointed by … Continue reading Soccer, with added self-loathing versus racism
When I was 15, I was a deeply unattractive specimen. I featured most of my current drawbacks - the arrogance, the lack of height, the fact that without serious gym work, my body tends towards the Tony Hancock look more than the Daniel Craig look - but without the positives that have come with age, … Continue reading I’m so young and you’re so old; this my darling I’ve been told
From an occasional correspondent who knows about this sort of thing: RR engines do not like oil in the wrong places because it may stop the air-cooled turbine blades being cooled All RR "B" checks are supposed to include a look for oil in the wrong places Qantas seem less good at finding it than … Continue reading Not from me, on Qantas and Rolls-Royce
It being Sunday, or Monday, or one of those kind of days, and this being a Journal of Record [*], I thought I'd put out the kind of quiz that only my readers could answer. What do the following UK-headquartered banks: * HSBC * Lloyds Banking Group * Standard Chartered * RBS ...have in common … Continue reading It’s a Jolly Fun Bank Quiz
Here's Felix Salmon Justin Fox standing in for Felix Salmon, on the economic impact of the socialist Truman government's evil confiscatory tax policies: During the Korean War, Congress enacted an excess profits tax meant to keep military contractors from, well, profiteering. In its infinite wisdom, Congress defined excess profits as anything above what a company … Continue reading More fun with marginal tax rates
Money and property rights are both creations of the state. If the state were abolished, neither would exist. The 'money' point is obvious, but the same applies to property: the fact that you happened to own a nice house would be irrelevant, because someone bigger than you would come along and tell you to get … Continue reading No, it’s not your bleedin’ money