(cross-posted to academics_anon)

If anyone thinks that the nearly homicidal hatred of my friend wemyss for the repulsive rabble that pretends to govern this wretched country is exaggerated,( Read more... )

The last time I( Read more... )

The one good thing about the British parliamentary system is the stake that every MP is supposed to have in his or her constituency. They are supposed to be ambassadors for the needs and interests of their constituents. However, in order to have a career at all they have also to be subservient followers of the party line, and, where the ( Read more... )

I do not have a dog in this fight. As a Catholic with a strong experience of English history, I can at best regard Anglicanism as one of those families which, having risen from dismal and even criminal beginnings, nonetheless have managed to produce a crop of likely and even outstanding heirs, and to embed itself graciously and gracefully in the ( Read more... )

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I will justify these aphorisms if challenged, but -

America is a principle.
France is a conflict.
Germany is tragedy.
Italy is a struggle against overwhelming odds, occasionally punctuated by bursts of Homeric laughter.
Russia is a siege - as seen from inside the besieged camp.
But Britain is a person, and could never be anything except an

First, remember what I said about parents and children:

http://fpb.livejournal.com/173966.html

Then, but only if you have a very strong stomach, read this:

( Read more... )

I find myself bewildered and irritated by the enormous attention paid to the story of an apparently sick whale which seems to have drifted up the Thames. It's all right to find it curious, but all the news programmes - including the super-snooty Channel Four, which fancies itself as the most serious news supplier in the country - have dedicated it ( Read more... )

The BBC is running a poll on the country's favourite philosophers. Marx is ahead by a mile, followed by Hume.

One of the more sickening events of the last few days was Candidate Kerry shouting to a mindlessly cheering audience: "I am John Kerry, and I am - reporting - for - DUTY!!" Forget that there are doubts about his supposed heroic record; forget that this Vietnam vet, who is now using his record as an officer to promote himself as a super-patriot to ( Read more... )