13 Apr 2016
Does the UK Prime Minister know what a conflict of interest is, even after it’s bitten him on the bum?
By Bobbo On 13 April 2016 In Current Affairs/Political
Two issues have been starring in recent headlines, the Prime Minister’s late father’s offshore unit trust arrangements and the 9m pounds’ worth of brochures explaining the government’s viewpoint on the EU. Although sounding like rather disparate issues,
15 Mar 2016
Just like Joan Bakewell, my Aunt Fanny has some strange ideas about anorexia: thank goodness no one listens to her
It could have been so different if my Aunt Fanny – a comely woman in her youth – had been an arts correspondent and broadcaster for the BBC in a period when there were so few women
29 Feb 2016
Upgrading the UK’s Nuclear Deterrent: Beware Rogue States and Terrorist Organisations becoming Rogue States
By Bobbo On 29 February 2016 In Current Affairs/Political
There are many reasons offered for the search for extra-terrestrial life, advanced enough to communicate across the cosmos. However, it’s estimated that the stars able to support suitable planetary systems for life to have evolved, are
26 Feb 2016
The UK’s in-out EU referendum: It’s all about Democracy, Including the Problem and the Solution
By Bobbo On 26 February 2016 In Current Affairs/Political
It’s arguably taken over a thousand years for the UK to arrive at the democracy that we now have. We should be rightly proud and not be surprised that the UK is the destination of choice for
30 Dec 2015
Strident Women Commentators: Not Necessarily Advancing Genuine Equality
It’s not certain whether the American theatre critic, Walter Kerr, had actually seen the Broadway play by John Van Druten “I Am a Camera”, before the title inspired him to think of what turned out to be
6 Dec 2015
Bombing Syria: Careful thought was required rather than stirring speeches
By Bobbo On 6 December 2015 In Current Affairs/Political
Robert E Lee was possibly the only man in history to have been offered an important command position by both sides in a major conflict. The major conflict was the American Civil war and he unhesitatingly chose, as
1 Dec 2015
The BBC: Blatantly Biased about Climate
By Bobbo On 1 December 2015 In Current Affairs/Political
In time for the Paris Climate conference the BBC has put up a guide to global warming entitled “Six Graphics that Explain Climate Change”. The first one entitled “What is the problem” indicates the world is getting
27 Nov 2015
More Carbon Reduction, More Premature Deaths?
By Bobbo On 27 November 2015 In Current Affairs/Political
The Paris climate talks meeting is convening on Monday 30th November to a background of coincidentally-timed scare stories, dutifully carried by the BBC and generated, as usual, by the University of East Anglia and the UN’s World
6 Nov 2015
Voting and Equivocal Mandates: Reform of the Lords should heed the EU experience
By Bobbo On 6 November 2015 In Current Affairs/Political
Mandate is an interesting word. Apart from sounding like a brand of aftershave or perfume formulated by the losing team from a task on “The Apprentice”, in a democracy it’s the authority for political action bestowed on
1 Nov 2015
Coincidence drives conspiracy theories, not conspiracy theorists
By Bobbo On 1 November 2015 In Current Affairs/Political
The former BBC correspondent, Jacky Sutton, was found dead, apparently hanged, in a toilet on the 17th of October in Istanbul’s Ataturk airport, Turkey, and was widely reported. The 50 year-old PhD student was acting Iraq director