I’ve made a few predictions about politics and music this year. Let’s see how they’re doing. Andromeda. That Liz Truss probably wouldn’t become British PM — completely wrong; my domestic political skills are found wanting — though I did note the Party was swinging towards Truss’ position. I never calculated how far. Lesson: Never underestimate … Continue reading My predictions in 2022 and how they’re doing
Tag: Politics
Game of Thrones, Daenerys Targaryen, and the War to End Slavery
The televisual series Game of Thrones is striking for none other than its main character’s quest east of Westeros to end the ancient slave system and enlist the free slaves in a war to reconquer Westeros and return power to the people. Game of Thrones and the war to end slavery. The idea is striking … Continue reading Game of Thrones, Daenerys Targaryen, and the War to End Slavery
DJ Khaled’s remix of Use This Gospel, featuring Eminem: A musical review
Jesus Is King by Kanye West is a remarkable album. ‘Closed On Sunday’ stands out as a striking statement for a music artist: ‘Stand up for my home / Even if I take this walk alone.’ — Kanye, Closed On Sunday Echoing the JIK follow-up Donda, which drew on the urban rock sounds of Yeezus, … Continue reading DJ Khaled’s remix of Use This Gospel, featuring Eminem: A musical review
#FreeBritney — Britney’s truth: Abuse will lose, and humanity will win
Britney Spears’ latest audio revelations of her years-long abuse at the hands of her father, assisted by her mother and sister, are striking and terrifying. One night, the helicopters flew in, and Britney’s life began to end — or so it seemed. Compelled to continue releasing album after album, Britney’s musical maturation went hand-in-hand with … Continue reading #FreeBritney — Britney’s truth: Abuse will lose, and humanity will win
Churchill, the Devil, and Hitler: An analogy for our own time
‘If Hitler invaded Hell, I would make at least a favourable reference of the Devil.’ — Winston Churchill, in a speech to the House of Commons. ‘Churchill allied with Stalin,’ notes the Churchill Project in a timely piece. I myself have been confronted with controversy in my call for renewing a strategic alliance with Russia … Continue reading Churchill, the Devil, and Hitler: An analogy for our own time
The medieval mysteries of ‘Attack of the Clones’
‘Impossible to see, the future is,’ notes Yoda in political discussions with the Chancellor of the Republic, reasoning, ‘the dark side clouds everything’ — an ironic admission in front of the secret Sith lord who had already seized the reigns of democratic power. The Chancellor’s next steps involved translating political power into military might — … Continue reading The medieval mysteries of ‘Attack of the Clones’
Kanye West’s Enlightening Fox News Interview: ‘Bring the best design to the people’
Kanye West is an astonishing individual. Endlessly maligned by media outlets throughout his career, Mr. West’s pivot from music to fashion has subverted expectations about his artistry and creativity in general. ‘He clearly thinks out of the box’, the Fox News interviewer said after the interview. For those who have not heard My Beautiful Dark … Continue reading Kanye West’s Enlightening Fox News Interview: ‘Bring the best design to the people’
Why the physical world is a lie
There’s a lot of paranoia going around about ‘fraud’, ‘lying’, and ‘deception’, encapsulated by the term ‘abuse’. These are certainly ugly, often evil, realities — but not for the reason we usually imagine. In David Runciman’s seminal Political Hypocrisy, the Cambridge Professor of Politics draws a distinction between first- and second-order hypocrisy. The first-order hypocrite … Continue reading Why the physical world is a lie
Plato, Rousseau, and the politics of philosophy
A recent book by Cambridge intellectual historian Christopher Brooke traces Philosophic Pride not to its usual imagined source, a utopian faith in abstractions, but to Stoicism, which places faith in the concrete world around us. Philosophers’ inflated sense of self comes out of, well, the self, as physically instantiated in our biological constitution. Eventually, Stoicism … Continue reading Plato, Rousseau, and the politics of philosophy
The politics of truth: A manifesto
We live in undeniably dark times. News headlines of death and despair abound. In such a climate, politics is hardly seen as our salvation. Indeed, politics is seen by many as the problem. One reason given for the decay of our political institutions is that politicians lie. The phrase ‘fake news’ also abounds news headlines … Continue reading The politics of truth: A manifesto
Edmund Wilson 