The first part of Richard Dawkins’ polemical documentary on religion, The Root of All Evil?, has certainly sparked plenty of debate and, not unsurprisingly, brought all manner of believers out in force to tell all the good things that there are about religion. I’m going to wait until […]

I’ve spent much of my working life dealing with, and sometimes working in, bureaucratic institutions in the Public, Private and Voluntary Sectors and, if truth be told, there is often little to choose between them. Anyone who believes that the private sector is somehow the ultimate antidote to […]

I find myself faced with something of quandary. I can’t decide quite who it is I dislike more; bureaucrats or ideologues. I’ve spent more or less the last ten years working in either of the public or the voluntary sectors, which I suppose should tip the balance in […]

They say that there’s a broken light for every heart on Broadway… They say that life’s a game, then they take the board away… They give you masks and costumes and an outline of the story… Then leave you all to improvise their Vicious Cabaret… "The great thing […]

Tim’s post on ‘THE BOOK‘ at Bloggerheads has reminded me that I owe the other Tim (Worstall) the courtesy of a review. Well, what can one say about ‘2005:Blogged‘ that hasn’t already been said? In terms of the ‘great typeface controversy’, I can’t say that I find the […]

Yep, I was right. The ongoing shambles that is the CSA is rapidly turning into amother issue in which it is impossible to conduct a reasoned and mature debate. Today’s dose of crass gender politics comes courtesy of Zoe William’s in the Guardian who’s pissed off that men […]

This report (quoted below) from Friday’s Independent, has quite rightly attracted the opprobrium of several bloggers including Justin (Chicken Yoghurt), Jeremy (My Way Of Thinking) and Mark (Longrider). A day earlier, Mr Blair had told MPs: “We do not agree with the use of torture.” Pressed over whether […]

Lots of ground to cover here so I’ll straight down to business. First up Tim Worstall notes an interesting statistical claim from Julie Bindel in today’s Grauniad, which he files under the category ‘idiotarians’: Violence against women is the cause of more deaths and disability around the world […]

He that is proud eats up himself. Pride is his own glass, his own trumpet, his own chronicle; and whatever praises itself but in the deed, devours the deed in the praise. The History of Troilus and Cressida (Agamemnon at II, iii) When defeat is inevitable, it is […]

After the strenuous effort of laying into Blair in my last piece I’m rather too tired to go for mcuh more in the way of spittle-flecked invective, deserved as it is by the government’s education white paper other than to note that I would have rather in not […]