Religious freedom bill misses heart of the problem
The big lie of the Yes campaign for same-sex marriage was that no one else’s freedoms would be messed with. It’s…
Bravo to the Rittenhouse jury
How disingenuous can one 79-year-old mentally enfeebled President be? Here is Biden’s reaction to the Kyle Rittenhouse verdict: While the…
Braveheart?
Prime Minister Scott Morrison yesterday discovered his inner Braveheart. “Sons of Australia. I am Scott Morrison,” he told a hastily…
What on earth is going on in South Australia?
Adelaide was roiled this week by the spectacle of Deputy Premier and Attorney-General, Vickie Chapman, refusing to stand down after…
Adem Somyurek vs Daniel Andrews: don’t laugh, this isn’t funny
Forget House of Cards. This is more like that season of Dallas that turned out to be a dream. The…
Please accept my resignation from the Church with immediate effect
Dear Sir/Madam/Whomever it may concern, I write as, until now, a life-long communicant of the Church of England, or whatever…
How the green blob runs on hypocrisy
The climate change world runs on hypocrisy, from presidents and prime ministers to virtue-signalling billionaires and multinationals, and pious individuals.…
Downfall?
Since Covid hit, Daniel Andrews has been perched atop his throne, ruling Victoria with an iron fist. There has been…
Afghanistan is starving to death and there is nothing the West can do
The scale of the human tragedy unfolding in Afghanistan is hard to comprehend. The economy has collapsed, some 20 million…
How gang warfare took over Sweden’s streets
Nils Grönberg was 19 years old when he was shot and killed: one bullet to his chest and one to…
Kyle Rittenhouse and the failure of the American state
Kyle Rittenhouse is innocent. We knew that anyway, but the simple fact of something being true in no way guarantees…
The rise of Indian cancel culture
In 1975, India’s prime minister Indira Gandhi suspended democracy. The so-called ‘Emergency’ was largely of her own making, giving her…
Kiwi Life
A government in jackboots A recent headline echoes the current mood of this now fed-up country, with Sir Russell Coutts,…
He Puapua?
Now why on earth why would the New Zealand government, dominated by the far-left Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, produce a…
Kiwi notes
Our tired democracy teeters When is enough? When Aucklanders recently heard the seemingly interminable lockdown which the Prime Minister Jacinda…
Kiwi Life
Lorde vs Lana People who live in glass houses really shouldn’t get changed with the lights on. Doubly so, one…
Musings on our universities
I made a bad mistake this past weekend. I got to reading a few articles on the state of universities…
Herding sheeple onto the vaccine treadmill
‘We want to see your smiles; masks are optional’ read a sign in Adam Creighton’s hotel in Miami, Florida. At…
Farmers, watch out!
There was a time when Australians held farmers in high regard. They admired their hard work, sympathised with their struggles…
Japan, Taiwan and the threat of Xi Jinping
The Australian media has been awash with reports of the significant victory by Republican Glenn Youngkin over incumbent Democrat Terry…
Strong people are harder to kill than weak people
Former United States wrestling coach, Mark Riptoe said, strong people are harder to kill than weak people, and more useful…
Cash levels rising
Samoan Brianna Fruen, 23, was turned into a climate activist by her school teacher and 350.org when she was 11.…
Persecution & Pauline conversions
The persecution of Dr Mark Hobart by the Victorian Department of Health is hardly surprising. Throughout the pandemic he has…
Tweedledum Tweedledee politicians tarnish the nation
Having the honour of addressing a citizenship ceremony a few years ago, I told the new citizens that the country…
Don’t forget the motor city
Detroit is the only American city where I always felt uneasy. Even the cops look at you as if you…
Sean Connery
Anyone who cares about the theatre should rush to see Kendall Feaver’s Wherever She Wanders which Griffin Theatre Company is…
Bert Newton
And so the world finally bestirs itself in the direction of going out because it’s now allowable. A young millennial…
The Crucible
Sometimes you think the Apocalypse doesn’t go away. It just takes new and frightful forms. No sooner was the lockdown…
How Shane MacGowan became Ireland’s prodigal son
I once stood on a Dublin street with Shane MacGowan and watched little old ladies who can’t ever have been…
How fears of popery led to a century of turmoil in ‘the land of fallen angels’
Stuart England did not do its anti-Catholicism by halves. In the late 1670s and early 1680s, a popular feature of…
Were the Ottoman Turks as European as they thought themselves?
This is the best of times to be writing history, since so much of what has been taken for granted,…
More penny dreadful than Dickensian: Lily, by Rose Tremain, reviewed
Rose Tremain’s 15th novel begins with a favoured schmaltzy image of high Victoriana: it is a night (if not dark…
BOOKS OF THE YEAR II — a further selection of the books chosen by our regular reviewers
Jonathan Sumption The reputation of Sir Edward Grey, Britain’s foreign secretary from 1905 to 1916, has never recovered from the…
The true superhero is Douglas Wolk – who has read through 27,000 Marvel comics
In March 1963, the Fantastic Four had a fractious encounter with Spider-Man and a dust-up with the Hulk — a…
Elephants walk on tiptoes — but can they dance? This year’s stocking-fillers explore such puzzles
It’s almost a shock to admit it, but this year’s gift books aren’t bad at all. It’s even possible that,…
It’s a wonder any of our great country houses survived the 20th century
One of Adrian Tinniswood’s recent books, The Long Weekend, is a portrait of country house life in the interwar years.…
