Diary
The thing we most need to understand right now is how you deprogram people who have been in a cult.…
Rag-tag heroes
‘Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot,/ But he’ll remember, with advantages,/ What feats he did that day.’ Peter…
Portrait of the week
Home The government, in the face of overwhelming numbers of people with Covid-19 being admitted to hospital, told everyone to…
The girl from Tennessee
Dolly Parton is the living embodiment of America’s best values, says Philip Hensher
Sir David Barclay, 1934-2021
When Sir David Barclay, along with his twin brother Sir Frederick, bought The Spectator in 2004, the magazine came as…
What does Trump want now? Revenge — and a second term
The figure of the ex-president is one of the most endearingly republican features of American politics. He who was the…
What on earth is wrong with saying “all lives matter”?
It’s that time of the year again where no one’s doing all that much and the most innocuous comments are…
Still not cheered by the change from Coon – and now there’s a Scrabble scuffle brewing
Every parent knows that if you give in to your toddler’s temper tantrums, you will receive as your reward even…
The China threat and the art of war
The war being conducted by the Chinese Communist Party against the democratic, free world, particularly Australia has predictable and understandable strategies. Under the Xi Jinping dictatorship, clear principles of…
Why Merlina, the Tower of London raven, was so remarkable
Merlin (or Merlina), the cleverest and most sociable of the Tower of London ravens is missing. It’s a bad omen…
Are we witnessing the birth of an African Islamic State?
On Monday, 13 soldiers were killedby the Islamic State in northeastern Nigeria. A week ago, just after midnight on Friday…
Canberra’s modern monetary theory dreamers are lost wandering their wonderland
There are certain human inventions that the world would probably be much better without. Things like nuclear and biological weapons…
There’s no scientific need to expose Australians to suffering. We need vaccine reciprocity now
As the city of Brisbane once again goes into full lockdown, borders remain closed, and businesses nation-wide are being decimated, the Australian…
Everything you always wanted to know about the public sector* (*but were afraid to ask)
Out of the mouths of babes and … Daniel Andrews? Amazing, but true. The Oz reports: Victorian private sector workplaces…
Donald Trump is impeached again – now what?
Today Donald Trump became the first president in United States history to be impeached twice. He was first impeached in…
Welcome to the Age of the Goldfish
I hope you all have a good memory, because you are going to need it. Modern political events are being…
This is the politics the left made – based on threats of power, not peaceful persuasion
I guess like me you’ve been more than a little shocked at the Republican “insurrection” in the United States. But…
The two left wings
May I recommend the brilliant writing and analysis of Kevin Williamson in the National Review? He recently authored this nugget titled Joe…
No penises in the pool? Puh-lease!
For almost one hundred years, Sydney women have been able to bathe at Coogee’s ladies-only pool, free from the prying…
Coronavirus: we’ve barely scratched the surface of the economic contagion
Normally, I strut into a New Year full of motivation, inspiration and sass. Much like an underfed clothes horse down…
Donald Trump and the limits of free speech
Is Donald Trump’s expulsion from Twitter an attack on free speech? A great many Republicans are saying so. You certainly…
@jack is the giant
Where is Jack? You know, Jack-the-Giant-Killer? The little fellow who caught the giant Cormaran in a deadfall and dispatched him…
America’s Yeltsin moment
The end of the Cold War was as great a shock to US politics as it was to the Soviet Union’s. The…
Tony Blair is deluding himself on a ‘De Gaulle-style comeback’
Tony Blair has made a tentative return to the heart of British politics by offering Matt Hancock strategic advice on…
Today’s cold-blooded political animals are solar-powered
Now that it’s high summer, you might see a lizard, sunning itself on a rock. Lizards don’t just get their energy…
