This one is for the morons. For the students busily cosplaying at being terrorists on our city’s campuses. The automatons whose new radical-chic uniform is an Arab keffiyeh. Specifically to the ones who have decided to chant for “Intifada” and unveil a vast banner down the side of Hamilton Hall at Columbia this week. “Intifada,” the banner said, in huge letters as the mob below shrieked approval. Most of these students weren’t born when the Palestinians last had an “Intifada.” So although youth and ignorance aren’t any real excuse, perhaps I can educate these students about what they...…This one is for the morons. For the students busily cosplaying at being terrorists on our city’s campuses. The automatons whose new radical-chic uniform is an Arab keffiyeh. Specifically to the ones who have decided to chant for “Intifada” and unveil a vast banner down the side of Hamilton Hall at Columbia this week. “Intifada,” the banner said, in huge letters as the mob below shrieked approval. Most of these students weren’t born when the Palestinians last had an “Intifada.” So although youth and ignorance aren’t any real excuse, perhaps I can educate these students about what they...WW…

I don’t know how you chose to celebrate “Earth Day” on Thursday. But in London the protesters from Extinction Rebellion (XR) decided to mark it by shattering windows at Canary Wharf. , a bank who XR accuse of being linked to that dread fossil fuel industry that keeps our lights on.There were some fine sights and moments. One participant, Susan Reid, a 62-year old grandmother, was quoted saying, “I shouldn’t be having to do this.” Personally I have always tried to hold it as a general rule of thumb that if you ever find yourself on a weekday morning using a hammer and chisel to try to break...…I don’t know how you chose to celebrate “Earth Day” on Thursday. But in London the protesters from Extinction Rebellion (XR) decided to mark it by shattering windows at Canary Wharf. , a bank who XR accuse of being linked to that dread fossil fuel industry that keeps our lights on.There were some fine sights and moments. One participant, Susan Reid, a 62-year old grandmother, was quoted saying, “I shouldn’t be having to do this.” Personally I have always tried to hold it as a general rule of thumb that if you ever find yourself on a weekday morning using a hammer and chisel to try to break...WW…

I wonder exactly when we agreed that it is more of a priority to gather with strangers than to meet loved ones? You might chart a number of moments, but the presumption seems to have become fixed.You might say that it started before the pandemic with the idea that truanting from school is worthy, even admirable, so long as it is done in opposition to climate change. Indeed as we learned this week, if you leave school for long enough then you may eventually have a statue erected to you in an English town known for its cathedral and school but not for its university. If you were an adult you...…I wonder exactly when we agreed that it is more of a priority to gather with strangers than to meet loved ones? You might chart a number of moments, but the presumption seems to have become fixed.You might say that it started before the pandemic with the idea that truanting from school is worthy, even admirable, so long as it is done in opposition to climate change. Indeed as we learned this week, if you leave school for long enough then you may eventually have a statue erected to you in an English town known for its cathedral and school but not for its university. If you were an adult you...WW…

Ayaan Hirsi Ali is not an easy person to cancel. She has survived the brutal murder of her colleague Theo van Gogh, lived through more than two decades of serious threats to her life and fled more countries than many people have visited. Perhaps it is for these reasons, rather than in spite of them, that she generates such hatred from what used to be called ‘liberal’ quarters.Hirsi Ali has a new book out this week. ‘Prey’ is a forensically detailed, careful and brave analysis of (as the subtitle says) ‘immigration, Islam and the erosion of women’s rights'. It looks at questions that most...…Ayaan Hirsi Ali is not an easy person to cancel. She has survived the brutal murder of her colleague Theo van Gogh, lived through more than two decades of serious threats to her life and fled more countries than many people have visited. Perhaps it is for these reasons, rather than in spite of them, that she generates such hatred from what used to be called ‘liberal’ quarters.Hirsi Ali has a new book out this week. ‘Prey’ is a forensically detailed, careful and brave analysis of (as the subtitle says) ‘immigration, Islam and the erosion of women’s rights'. It looks at questions that most...WW…

Where did the liberals go? I don’t mean the remnant of a party with the name in it. It is many years since the Liberal Democrats have been either liberals or democrats. But like other parties across the globe, the term 'liberal' lingers like a memory of a nobler instinct.In some countries it is attached to a party of the Left, sometimes to one of the Right. In America this shape-shifter of a term long-ago became a synonym for 'leftie' and something not dissimilar has happened in Britain. Some years back the broadcaster .He must have known that he meant something quite different:...…Where did the liberals go? I don’t mean the remnant of a party with the name in it. It is many years since the Liberal Democrats have been either liberals or democrats. But like other parties across the globe, the term 'liberal' lingers like a memory of a nobler instinct.In some countries it is attached to a party of the Left, sometimes to one of the Right. In America this shape-shifter of a term long-ago became a synonym for 'leftie' and something not dissimilar has happened in Britain. Some years back the broadcaster .He must have known that he meant something quite different:...WW…

 Tuesday, Jan 12th 2021| 6.4k You might think the most powerful man in the world is the President of the United States. But you would be wrong.Because as this past week has shown, the Big Tech companies have power over even him. No one in human history has had the kind of reach and influence now wielded by a small group of men on the west coast of America.Indeed, several things over this past week demonstrated a dramatic escalation in the desire of the Big Tech companies to decide what everybody on the planet should think, know and say – culminating in the ‘cancelling’ of , the 45th...… Tuesday, Jan 12th 2021| 6.4k You might think the most powerful man in the world is the President of the United States. But you would be wrong.Because as this past week has shown, the Big Tech companies have power over even him. No one in human history has had the kind of reach and influence now wielded by a small group of men on the west coast of America.Indeed, several things over this past week demonstrated a dramatic escalation in the desire of the Big Tech companies to decide what everybody on the planet should think, know and say – culminating in the ‘cancelling’ of , the 45th...WW…

Imagine for a moment that after the last UK election the Conservatives had clearly won but the Labour Party had refused to concede.Imagine, furthermore, that the last time Labour won an election, senior Conservatives refused to accept that fact, claiming instead that foreign powers had installed the Labour government.Play that scenario out and you get close to making sense of what the hell happened on Capitol Hill this week.It has been plain for a number of cycles now that American democracy is close to broken, if not smashed apart. After the 2016 election, many US Democrats refused to...…Imagine for a moment that after the last UK election the Conservatives had clearly won but the Labour Party had refused to concede.Imagine, furthermore, that the last time Labour won an election, senior Conservatives refused to accept that fact, claiming instead that foreign powers had installed the Labour government.Play that scenario out and you get close to making sense of what the hell happened on Capitol Hill this week.It has been plain for a number of cycles now that American democracy is close to broken, if not smashed apart. After the 2016 election, many US Democrats refused to...WW…

Whatever 2021 is going to be, there is no doubt what 2020 was. It was the year of China. In China’s self-estimation the year that just passed could be seen as a success. That is certainly how President Xi’s New Year address came across. 2020 was one big Communist success story.At the beginning of last year, China was losing an increasingly bitter trade war with the United States being waged by the first US president in recent times to recognise China as a serious, unfriendly competitor. President Trump’s insights may have been basic but they were also accurate and long-held. No one could...…Whatever 2021 is going to be, there is no doubt what 2020 was. It was the year of China. In China’s self-estimation the year that just passed could be seen as a success. That is certainly how President Xi’s New Year address came across. 2020 was one big Communist success story.At the beginning of last year, China was losing an increasingly bitter trade war with the United States being waged by the first US president in recent times to recognise China as a serious, unfriendly competitor. President Trump’s insights may have been basic but they were also accurate and long-held. No one could...WW…

There was always something of the moral poseur in David Cameron’s insistence that foreign aid should be ring-fenced. After all, what prime minister has the right to decide what a future government should spend? Who can foresee what eventualities – such as a global pandemic – might emerge to change the fiscal situation of the nation? And why ring-fence the spending of only certain departments? Why not go to town and ring-fence them all? Is education, defence or policing any less important than foreign aid?If you were a Conservative in the Cameron era, of course the answer was “yes”. Because...…There was always something of the moral poseur in David Cameron’s insistence that foreign aid should be ring-fenced. After all, what prime minister has the right to decide what a future government should spend? Who can foresee what eventualities – such as a global pandemic – might emerge to change the fiscal situation of the nation? And why ring-fence the spending of only certain departments? Why not go to town and ring-fence them all? Is education, defence or policing any less important than foreign aid?If you were a Conservative in the Cameron era, of course the answer was “yes”. Because...WW…

Donald Trump’s approval ratings in the UK have never been good. Rarely achieving above 25 per cent among the British public, the latest YouGov ratings see him with a mere 15 per cent approval rating. Thankfully for The Donald, he is not seeking the endorsement of the British public, and among Americans he enjoys far greater support.One reason that explains the divide is that almost everything is the negative stuff. He is undoubtedly brash, boastful, offensive and often coarse, which offends British sensibilities. What the British public often miss are the considerable achievements, which...…Donald Trump’s approval ratings in the UK have never been good. Rarely achieving above 25 per cent among the British public, the latest YouGov ratings see him with a mere 15 per cent approval rating. Thankfully for The Donald, he is not seeking the endorsement of the British public, and among Americans he enjoys far greater support.One reason that explains the divide is that almost everything is the negative stuff. He is undoubtedly brash, boastful, offensive and often coarse, which offends British sensibilities. What the British public often miss are the considerable achievements, which...WW…