20th Century
Labour’s bad boys – the intro
A series on Labour’s bad boys has been suggested. At first sight it seemed akin to climbing Everest, there are just so many but on reflection, as one of the current phrases goes, it is [more…]
Fraud
Literature
The cult of victimhood
It has recently emerged that Raynor Winn (NHRN), whose trip with her husband Moth (also NHRN) along the SW Coastal Path inspired her book ‘The Salt Path’ (followed by the film of the same name [more…]
America
Why DOGE Has Failed
After much ballyhoo and euphoria over Elon Musk’s DOGE findings, it now appears that the federal budget will not decrease one penny this fiscal year. What went wrong? As a long-time consultant in the banking [more…]
Communism
We are running out of bread and circuses
It takes a lot to keep a population anaesthetised. Anaesthesia, as medical Puffins will attest, is a very tricky and demanding mistress. A dash too much potion here, or an insufficient soupçon of elixir there, [more…]
Computing
Dodgy software
I have thought long and hard about writing this but seeing as this happened about 30 years ago I think I may be on firm ground. I used to work for a company that did [more…]
Economics
Government’s real role has limits
President Ronald Reagan said the nine most terrifying words in the English language are: “I’m from the government and I’m here to help”. We wonder whether he appreciated their full truth. The role of government [more…]
Authoritarianism
The price of energy
The rise in energy prices has been confusing me. With standing charges being increased three or more fold and the cost per unit heading for the stratosphere, what on earth is going on. There is [more…]
Economics
The Risk Factor: Time for an Honest Assessment
As the spread of Covid begins to wane we should consider afresh whether, for example, a shopkeeper who travels to work to open his business is in fact acting irresponsibly. This comes, as ever, down [more…]