Like ferrets fighting in a sack, the warring contenders for the Tory throne and their supporters are proclaiming their virtues while smearing the rest with allegations of financial, sexual and other moral improprieties. Eleven have thrown their hats into the compound to date with a hope from the organisers that this will be whittled down … Read more
Joe Biden is having to swallow past criticism of Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Crown Prince, whom he had vowed to make a pariah for the murder of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi, as he goes begging bowl in hand for cheaper oil for American consumers. Critics are outraged not only because Biden appears prepared to overlook … Read more
Actor James Caan, the memorable Godfather star who had a steady 60 year Hollywood career with several award nominations has died at 82. He was born on 26 March 1940 at 10.31pm (astrotheme) New York, son of a Bronx butcher from a Jewish-German immigrant family; and met the Godfather director Francis Ford Coppola while at … Read more
The runaway train that is Boris Johnson’s premiership may or may not run out of rail with the resignation of his Chancellor and Health Secretary. Past experience of his track record through the decades of lies, irresponsibility, negligence, unprincipled and dishonourable behaviour, all blithely swept aside as trifles, suggests he may try to brass-neck it … Read more
Nick Kyrgios, the mercurial bad-boy Australian tennis player ruffled the Wimbledon calm in an early match with outbursts in his standard hot-tempered way but seems to have bitten his lip for his last outing. Then his court appearance was announced for early August on an assault charge of a former girlfriend. The authorities were careful … Read more
‘Legendary’, ‘visionary’, ‘the enfant terrible of British theatre’ – the tributes to Peter Brook, who has just died, aged 97, give testament to his standalone status as a theatrical genius. His love for drama developed early with his rendition of Hamlet being delivered for his family aged 7. After Oxford, aged 20 he was appointed … Read more
An unwelcome blast from the past hove into view this week with Tony Blair winding up a head of steam to step back into the UK political arena. Probably not to become a party leader or candidate but to play puppet-master and king maker for a centre-left and centre amalgam to replace the shambles of … Read more
Ghislaine Maxwell appeared unbowed as she faced a 20 year sentence over sex trafficking and listened to the victims of Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse give harrowing testimony. As the judge noted she evinced sympathy but ducked responsibility. That will be partly because she hopes to appeal, though, as a lawyer noted, she is also a narcissist, … Read more
Joe Biden’s passivity in the face of the Roe V Wade reversal has riled activists who say he should be doing more than prompting voters to take action at the Mid Terms. Frustrated Democrats say the responses by party leaders have been inadequate and they aren’t fighting or willing to push boundaries. Progressive lawmakers like … Read more
Nora Ephron, writer, and filmmaker, cut a swathe through popular culture for decades with her iconic screenplays for When Harry Met Sally (1989), and Sleepless in Seattle (1993) and even earlier Silkwood (1983). Her quirky take on life hewn out of a childhood with two alcoholic parents proved a liferaft when her second marriage to … Read more