Month: November 2015

  • Rule of Law

    The other day a colleague who is familiar with my slightly subversive views maliciously presented me with a philosophical challenge: – How come you who so fervently believe in the rule of law defend people like Edward Snowden and Julian Assange? It is true that I passionately believe in the rule of law, defined by…

  • 1029… and still counting

    Even I was taken aback by the Counted! Why the Guardian feels called upon to kindly help the US keep a record that most civilised and indeed, even uncivilised, nations would blush to admit they did not themselves scrupulously record, is explained here. There is really nothing I can add. Except, yes, for one thing:…

  • Bedtime story

    Once upon a time, dear Reader, when your grandparents were still in diapers, there was a gigantic monster with three heads. He lived far, far away in a land where the sun never rises and the sky is always pink. When he was at home, he would mostly lie on his back, scratching his stomach,…

  • Atttacks against humanity

    We have just heard that the killings in Paris last night “are an attack against all humanity”. Indeed they are! They are loathsome, ghastly, cowardly acts of random cruelty. There is no obscenity that can fully convey my contempt for the intoxicated sadism that characterises such acts. However, Mr Obama, did you or any of…

  • As far as watchdogs go …

    So, am I being watched? I mean, am I subject to more scrutiny on the part of western intelligence agencies than the average man and woman? Are you, who are reading me, being watched? Because we are all being watched, remember? Not only by the NSA, which appears to have assumed extra-judicial powers and which,…

  • In the Dark

    When I turn off the main road, a narrow winding route takes me into the forest. Deep into the forest. Gaunt, tall pine trees, standing close together like freezing soldiers, sternly witness my slow progress ever deeper into their midst. I drive carefully, as it is more than likely that a deer will suddenly leap…