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J.D. Vance – an outlandish faith
Fathoming the byzantine thinking processes of pro-Trump religious zealots may or may not be aided by reading VP J.D.Vance’s latest book Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith. Described by a Times review as “part rant, part sermon, a contradictory, self-righteous, angry, humourless and slightly sinister mess of a book.” With divorced parents and … Read more
Andy Burnham – to Capricorn the crown for now
Andy Burnham won by a surprisingly large margin for Labour in the Makersfield bye-election with Reform firmly put in their place and Restore nowhere. While the SNP lost in Aberdeen South to the Tories, mainly as a vote against Net Zero killing off the oil industry and the Murrell fraud scandal. UK politics continues to … Read more
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Virginia Woolf – a visionary Aquarius
Virginia Woolf, long appreciated in high literary circles and hailed as a feminist activist, is becoming appreciated by a younger audience with recent adaptations of her work, including a movie of her novel Night and Day. It is released this week starring Haley Bennett, Timothy Spall, Jennifer Saunders, Jack Whitehall and Lily Allen, and focuses … Read more
Antoni Gaudi – a dream in stone
The Sagrada Familia, Barcelona’s iconic landmark, was celebrated by Pope Leo on the 100th anniversary of the architect Antoni Gaudi’s death. A manically ambitious project it is the tallest church in the world and still not complete. Gaudi’s weird and wonderful designs adorn many houses in the Catalan capital but none stranger than the cathedral. … Read more
US News Media – who holds the purse strings
Oligarchs owning vast tranches of the US media is Orwellian since they control the narrative that inform swathes of the electorate. Larry Ellison owns Paramount and CBS, soon possibly Tik Tok and CNN. Jeff Bezos the Washington Post. Mark Zuckerburg Facebook and Instagram. Lachlan Murdoch Fox News. Musk Twitter/X. Ellison, 17 August 1944, a New … Read more
US Iran peace deal – weak but necessary ++ DC signing
The much vaunted peace deal is being trumpeted as agreed from Washington and regarded as a “truce of convenience” elsewhere. No one expects it to be closure. Analysts were downbeat: “The biggest mistake is for people to think this is the final deal.” “We were in a lose-lose dynamic, and if they had continued [with … Read more
SpaceX IPO -wishing and hoping
The money men are grinning like Cheshire cats and Elon Musk salivating in being the world’ richest man as the Space X IPO was three times subscribed and Musk became the world’s first trillionaire. The FT remarked acerbically: “The bankers convinced investors to believe in a sci-fi strategy, overlook steep losses and hand full control … Read more
Great Depressions – history rhyming
Is history about to repeat itself with another Great Depression is the question posed by an illuminating book about the 1873 crash. A Times review comments: “The most striking thing about 1873 is that it feels uncannily like 2026. The railway mania has returned as artificial intelligence. Elsewhere, too, the scenery looks familiar: populist revolts … Read more
