Australian notes
An Aborigine, an Arab and a Jew enter a public bar. They look more worried than angry as they bear…
Who speaks for Europe?
For the first time in many years, the eyes of the world are on Crimea. As Russian troops violated Ukrainian…
Portrait of the week
Home David Cameron, the Prime Minister, said Russia was to blame for ‘violating the sovereignty and territorial integrity of another…
The Spectator’s Notes
Plus: Are the middle classes turning against immigration? And what Prince Charles loses by not hunting
You shouldn’t lose your children for disagreeing with Boris Johnson
The mayor has a plan to take into care all children who are brought up with a bleak and nihilistic worldview. Does he include mine?
A reminder of the UK energy gap as Putin prepares to put another knot in his pipeline
Plus: The frenzy over AO.com, and business’s bad rap on stage
Europe’s nightmare neighbour
Pax Americana died six years ago. We're now seeing what has taken its place
Paddy power
The Transport Secretary and former miner admits High Speed 2 won't be through parliament by the next general election
The right sort of chap
A review of A Spy Among Friends, by Ben Macintyre. The double agent's victims, unlike his family, were not the sort of people one bumped into at White's
The Guardian vs the Hobbits
A review of The Snowden Files, by Luke Harding. Did GCHQ break in and insert the clichés?
The corpse in the cupboard
A review of The Madness of July, by James Naughtie. The broadcaster's clever first thriller leaves you in no doubt of his preferred reading
The Great Game in Arabia
A review of Lawrence of Arabia: War, Deceit, Imperial Folly and the Making of the Modern Middle East, by Scott Anderson. Increasing the cast list of T.E. Lawrence's story doesn't add to the interest
Lords and protectors
A review of God's Traitors: Terror and Faith in Elizabethan England, by Jessie Childs. To see the power of 16th-century aristocrats, look at the ones being tracked as enemies of the state
