The case for eliminating the US electoral college
It would help do away with the repulsive, petty, and hysterical localism of this cycle's campaigns.It would appear a consensus of a kind has been reached and that, as such, this particular US election...
View Article"We’re not just a train company, we’re a customer service company that runs...
Virgin tries to do grass-roots protest, fails. I quite like Virgin Trains (the bacon sandwiches, the speed, the way everyone tries not to sit in the quarter of a carriage nearest a toilet – it's the...
View ArticleLocked-in sufferer Tony Nicklinson dies
The right-to-die appellant died of natural causes. Tony Nicklinson, the locked-in syndrome sufferer who last week lost a court battle over his right to euthanasia, died of natural causes this morning,...
View ArticleEnvironmental and social issues can be just as vital to company success
The nosedive in Lonmin’s share value over the last week is proof that the environmental, social and human rights activities of companies are linked to their financial value.Companies have traditionally...
View ArticleGreek government pushed into deeper cuts
The country is attempting to get a further loan of €30bn.Greece's future within the eurozone depends on whether prime minister Antonis Samaras can convince European leaders that the country deserves...
View ArticleWhy is Michael Fish lying about base-jumping, and why are people printing it?
The iconic weatherman, 68, famous for mis-calling the Great Storm, did not jump off a tower block.You may have seen a "viral video" going around yesterday, showing veteran weatherman Michael Fish...
View ArticleHeineken's half-yearly net profit up 1.6 per cent
But the Dutch brewer warns that the ongoing European economic downturn could affect demand for the rest of the year.Heineken International, the world's third largest brewer, has reported a small...
View ArticleReaders are the real reason British papers won't publish the naked Prince...
The stock of the royal family is at such a high that newspapers fear a reader backlash more than the regulators.Isn’t the internet a wonderful thing? Now, thanks to the miracle of modern connectivity,...
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New Statesman cover | 24-30 August
A sneak preview of tomorrow's cover.Tomorrow's cover in full size:
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Perhaps Iain Duncan Smith will accuse me of peeing on the data
There is more new evidence that the economy is flatlining and that Osborne’s deficit reduction programme is in disarray. I have to tell you something. I never had any doubt that George Osborne’s...
View ArticleCrackdown on crisis loans is simultaneously dystopian and Victorian
Tesco-only crisis loans, and paternalism for the poor. Marvellous.The Guardian reports on the expected deluge in demand for crisis help, which is leading a number of councils to invest unconventional...
View ArticleLeader: We must not dismiss or diminish allegations of rape
Rape happens everywhere. It is happening today in Syria, as the Assad government’s thugs rampage and humiliate, and as a weapon of war in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo. It happened in...
View ArticleGodspeed you black maestro
Melvin Van Peebles turns 80. He decided on the direct approach and made a film inspired by his blob of desert-spent jism and visualized a parable of a modern black fugitive/runaway slave told in the...
View ArticleLiverpool Studio wiped out by Sony
Video game developer shut down.Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios (SCE WWS) has shut down its game development studio in Liverpool, one of five in the UK. As the company restructures,...
View ArticleMiliband has the safety catch on. The tough choices can wait
Labour’s leader feels like the tide is running his way and doesn't want to jeopardise that. Last month, John Denham, Labour MP and one of Ed Miliband’s intellectual outriders, wrote an interesting...
View ArticleThe pursuit of Julian Assange is an assault on freedom and a mockery of...
The British government’s threat to invade the Ecuadorean embassy in London and seize Julian Assange is of historic significance. David Cameron, the former PR man to a television industry huckster and...
View ArticleLet’s not confuse the activities of WikiLeaks with those of Assange
Watching from outside Ecuador’s embassy in London on 19 August, I found it hard not to admire Julian Assange. Or at least his determination. After two months hiding inside, the WikiLeaks founder...
View ArticleMorning Call: pick of the papers
The ten must-read comment pieces from this morning's papers. 1. Getting rid of Dubya wasn't enough. The US remains a bully (Independent) The issue isn't Obama, any more than it was Bush before him. The...
View ArticleDavid Cameron: Nick Clegg's position "very precarious"
Quote of the day.According to a Conservative minister quoted by The Sun, David Cameron is extremely worried about what could happen to the coalition if the Lib Dems were to oust Nick Clegg as leader,...
View ArticleOsborne won't mastermind Cameron's next election campaign
Chancellor "to concentrate on economy".George Osborne will not take charge of the Cameron's next election campaign, according to the Daily Mail. The Mail reports that: The Prime Minister is instead...
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