Reclaiming our environmental imagination | Charlie Goulbourne
Our approach must be simple. To gently encourage children to do what they do without prompt- to explore their small patch of earth with its lonely woods and tranquil brooks, to discover and to cultivate their interior life in mirthful play here and not through the empty world that is on the other side of our phones.
Hockney and the new philistines | Lola Salem
Articles defending the piece of ‘art’ by David Hockney are a bit more dangerous than mere lazy gestures. That is because the scale of this ‘art’ is actually much wider than people think it is. It does something- quite a pernicious thing, really- as it quietly attempts to remodel the human mind in accordance with the nihilistic precepts that it discloses.
Stop hedging, start marrying | Mary Harrington
It’s easy to blame this, as conservative tabloids often do, on "selfish career women"—but the reality is more complex and more endemic. Gestation is something like a state of symbiosis, and the way it concretises the limits to individual human freedom so radically contradicts the liberal narrative that motherhood as such has to be swept under the carpet, or treated at best as a punishment, or a problem to be solved. We can only be good mothers by failing as atomised subjects. So inasmuch as the wider culture encourages us to be atomised subjects, it can’t help but discourage us from being mothers.
The Ulsterisation of Scotland | Michael Fraser
The SNP has managed to dominate Scottish politics despite its poor record in government, and its embroilment in various scandals. When given a choice between a party committed to independence and numerous parties committed to retaining Scotland’s place in the United Kingdom, there can only be one winner.
Trump’s unlikely torchbearer | OC Comment
With regards to China, Biden has achieved “essential continuity” with the Trump administration’s policy... It is no surprise that Toshihiro Nakayama from Keio university describes this approach as adding “smartness to Trumpian toughness”. The wording is key; instead of reversing or replacing Trump’s policy direction, Biden is bringing his experience and tactfulness to bear on essential Trump-era objectives.
Britain goes to the Pacific | Dominic Lawson
In 2018, the UK became the second Western nation after the United States to train soldiers on Japanese soil. At present, Tokyo is forbidden from commanding a standing army with expeditionary potential as an US-sanctioned punishment for her previous empire building. This is coming to an end and is bound to change soon, especially as China continues her ascent.
Scotland’s drug-related crisis and the ongoing failure of progressive drug policy | Dr Gary F. Fisher
They showed that 1,264 Scots had died as a result of drug-related causes, representing a 6% increase from the previous year and more than double that of 2014. Over half of deaths were related to the misuse of heroin and morphine. Scotland has firmly entrenched itself as the drug-deaths capital of Europe.
What we can learn from the Duke of Edinburgh | OC Comment
Prince Phillip was a citizen who respected institutions and wider society by sacrificing personal gratifications in their service. He sacrificed innumerable evenings at home in front of the TV during his 22,191 solo public engagements and doubtlessly gave up far more in the course of his service to the nation. We can all hope to measure up, in some small way, to his example, and recognize our duty and commitment to those around us.
Conservative cuts to Defence disaster: Go on home British Army | George Marsden
Apparently, the foreign secretary believes the best to way make good on this promise is to shrink the army to its smallest size since 1714. He would probably respond that the reason for the cuts is the opportunity it provides for a more appropriate prioritisation of resources; that the real way to combat the Russian menace is through a more advanced long-distance strike capability and a vamped up Royal Marines Corps, alongside an American style “Ranger Regiment” (there’s the dog and tail again).