Intelligence² Catholic church debate: Transcript
The Intelligence² group hosted a debate in the Methodist Central Hall, Westminster, in October, considering whether the Catholic church is a force for good in the world. Speaking for the motion were Archbishop John Onaiyekan, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, Nigeria, and the Rt Hon Ann Widdecombe, Conservative MP and Catholic convert. Speaking against [...]
Ireland’s sons
Ireland may have been the land that saved western civilization,1 and certainly enjoyed a period of setting priests alongside agricultural products as the major export, but that’s not to say that nothing good came out of the experience. Their perhaps unique relationship with the Catholic church has put Irish comedians in a wonderful position, and [...]
Universally challenged
Another blunder on the prestigious UK quiz show University Challenge yesterday, as Birmingham took on Magdalen College, Oxford in a very close contest. The question went something like this: Jeremy Paxman: “Which hydrated ferrous salt used to be known as green vitriol?” Answer: “Iron sulphate.” Jeremy Paxman: “No, just sulphate.” That’s akin to asking who [...]
Fishing the planet dry, by saving the dolphins
There are some pretty banal programmes on television at times, such is the role it plays, but Animal Park – Wild on the West Coast really caught my eye today. It served up the job of a nature programme from California, but it was a real eye opener to some of the ludicrous crap that [...]
Nichts als die Wahrheit
I recently caught a TV screening of The Boys from Brazil, a film adaptation of Ira Levin’s novel, concerning the nefarious actions of Dr. Josef Mengele in South America, and his pursuit by a Nazi-hunter presumably modelled on Simon Wiesenthal. Certainly a rather motley cast, with Laurence Olivier showing why he is so often cited [...]
The Global Warming debate heats up
Global warming has become something of a fashion. To gainsay it is a political cyanide pill akin to older variants of the likes of ‘abolitionism’ or ‘free trade’. The climate is changing, and it’s all our fault. One need only look at the success of a film like Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth to see [...]
Forest of Dennis
A programme on the beeb yesterday dealing with Britain’s economy, entitled What’s Britain Worth? and hosted by Peter Snow and his son, featured a short interview with one of the nation’s wealthiest men, Felix Dennis. Aside from the rather astute observation he made about the wealthiest members of society (“They’re all shits!”), Dennis talked about [...]
Currently Reading
Planned books:
- The Affirmative Action Empire by Terry Martin
- The Age of Capital, 1848-75 by E.J. Hobsbawm
- Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes
- History of Western Philosophy by Bertrand Russell
- Rising ’44: The Battle for Warsaw by Norman Davies
Current books:
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The Little Friend by Donna Tartt
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Der Untergang des Abendlandes. Umrisse einer Morphologie der Weltgeschichte. Band 1 by Oswald Spengler
Recent books:
- Sie wollten Hitler töten by Guido Knopp
- Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein
- Uni-Wissen Anglistik /Amerikanistik: Introduction to English Language Teaching by Andreas Müller-Hartmann, Marita Schocker-von Ditfurth
- The Man In The High Castle by Philip K. Dick
- Der Dativ ist dem Genitiv sein Tod by Bastian Sick
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