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Oil of Ole
If the continued presence of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in the Manchester United dugout is mystifying, you probably haven’t ever been too absorbed in the hell of UK office politics swirling around you. It’s a common phenomenon in business that people hire their buddies and would rather see poor results than allow somebody who’s not part…
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Poppy Go the Weasels
A fortnight of virtue-signalling is now upon us, with a plastic flower now determining our social status and propriety. Sneers, tuts, and in some cases full-on confrontation will bubble over in the event of your bare lapel being clocked. Yes, ‘poppy fascism’ us back to a pub, shop, or organisation near you. It’s nothing new…
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All the Sheeple
Well, it had to come sooner or later – the politicisation of mask-wearing. After all, the opposition are certainly no good at real politics. If they were even just below average, we would have seen some serious damage inflicted on the worst government in living memory. The great mask divide does not however reflect so…
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In Plain Sight
It’s time to talk about hate. ‘Hate’ is after all an intense dislike of something, which is not tempered by any recognition of a counterbalance. Of course, in popular usage, the descriptor of ’hate speech’ is typically applied to the unhinged musings of religious fanatics and right-wing nut jobs. It has however for sometime slipped…
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Coming Home To Roost
The UK Government has been taking a public beating recently for reneging on the Withdrawal Agreement, but perhaps for once this is not quite what it seems. I recall reading a fascinating paper – written by a hardcore feminist – that railed against the ‘No means no’ mantra. Her argument was a cogent one. If…
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P. O.
If you’re seeking an example of an institution that reflects our national decline, take a a trip to your local Post Office counter and try to send a parcel. You’d think that nothing could be simpler, but you’d be wrong. They might have toned down on the non-sequitur, Poundland-style counter upselling, but the commission-bereft battleaxes…
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Move On – Nothing To See Here…
The clock is already ticking on the new fad of calling out violence against women and girls, particularly on the part of police officers. Give it a couple of weeks, and the slacktivists who are desperate to claw in a few more Twitter followers will have slithered away to the next ‘hot topic’. By way…
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Pig Out
Wayne Couzens never shattered confidence in the police. Brutal criminal thugs bullying the public on fake public order raps, sly dogs secreting themselves in hedges with their speed guns, and mincing lavender fluffballs in their rainbow-decalled pandas sealed that one long ago. We can dwell on the Everard episode, but spare a thought for all…
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Wordsworths
It’s a rum old thing, and one that confounds linguists, but there’s an inherent paradox in language. When we communicate a message, the logic of the sentence will often have little bearing on how it will be interpreted. Audiences bring their fears, preferences, and very often their psychoses to the table, and then home in…
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The Same Game
You’d have to have a heart of stone not laugh at the current Brussels pantomime, and we’re not yet even in the run-up to Christmas. The anglosphere has converged to squeeze France out of a $90bn submarine contract, and French indignation is, well, ripe. Strangely, there seems to be no sign of smug Europhiles gleefully…
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Fighting the Good Fight…
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