Writer, Def Ed Evening Standard, broadcaster, Hon Fellow Exeter SSI etc -- especially etc
Islington, London N1, UK
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Will Burnham scrap the House of Lords in favour of an intelligently crafted second chamber for revision and scrutiny. It must have a regional bias and a democratic credential . Come on, this has been hanging around since 1911
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Er ? Really ?
Here's my theory: The #Fairford nonsense was a false-flag operation by our own Establishment (which went wrong, thanks to that lady farmer). The plan was to attack the base & then blame Russia for it. Result: war with Russia! Which is what the Establishment so desperately want.
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Wonderful appreciation of Stephen Hawking by M d’Ancona in the Evening Standard, also brilliant exposition of his ideas by my peerless old colleague Roger Highfield. In awe of them, especially the great Star Man himself.
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Just terribly negative and confrontational - on migration there is something oddly off balance . By that I mean as a commentator just to say perpetually a plague on both your houses doesn’t cut it. So then, in those dreadful circumstances, in which you blame all sundry Mr Syed, what would you do ? It tends to fall apart at that point
Personally, I have rated Syed since discovering his BBC podcast Sideways. But I haven’t seen him on Newsnight. Why do you dislike him, exactly?
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Sorry , you asked a perfectly fair question, I have tried to answer. Equally, I find Sideways can be deeply humane and then occasionally a bit eccentric. The Newsnight broadcast struck me hard by the relentless negative animus. I actually tuned in to hear Matthew. I didn’t quite understand his stance - Victoria was fair and civil.
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Then you should look at Rovelli On the Equality of All Things. Teresa pivots on Lilburne i
Equality doesn’t mean we have to give every opinion equal weight. I believe we are all equal yet still enjoy those who know their own mind, say what they think and don’t spend their time qualifying things. Perhaps that’s complacency; I see it as confidence.
Tortuous, yes.
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Primrose, I am absolutely up for this : you must look out for Teresa Bejan’s First Among Equals - 17th century arguments on egalitarianism: wonderful reading of Putney Debates and their piquant relevance today ! PS I like your refs to assisted dying - a tortured subject
I channelled the 16c meaning of the word smug.
What you call incurious and complacent, I see as not getting bogged down in over-intellectualised debate.
His appeal is surely that he cuts through the noise and speaks with the direct, unapologetic confidence of his audience.
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Carp ? The Cole performance was incurious - smug is not a corollary of self-esteem. Complacent huh ?
I love a man with high self esteem, who finds pleasure in knowing something and who is content with themself. For that is what a smug man is. That is also the charm of Cole.
The bitter man who jealously carps from the side lines less so. Look to yourself Mr Fox.
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