Category: Politics
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Dirt Boundaries and Commonwealth Games: An Opportunity for Renewal
The furore over the state of the athletes’ accommodation at the forthcoming Commonwealth Games has focused largely on the issue of cleanliness. Putting the issues of security and hygiene aside for a moment – these are separate concerns that require a different reaction – I think the cleanliness issue is interesting in the way it…
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Selling Short: No Christian Should be involved in Spread Betting
A free supplement in The Independent today is all about spread betting: what it is, what the pitfalls are. It was pretty clear: there are potentially huge rewards, but because you can bet whatever money you like on each share, you can actually be exposed to huge losses too. Fine, whatever. But what disgusted me…
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Apple 7 Audio – Debate with Jonny Baker, Maggi Dawn and Ian Mobsby
Last night’s Apple event produced a very good discussion surrounding issues of institutional religion and what it means to move beyond relational networks into intentional gatherings. The audio from the event – which was a panel consisting of me, Jonny, Maggi and Ian plus great comment from the floor – is available for free here.…
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The Burning Issue… Has Terry Jones Thought This Through?
The unfolding drama about the potential burning of copies of the Qu’ran tomorrow throws up some very very interesting issues. The wonderfully-tached Terry Jones has named 9/11 ‘International Burn A Koran Day’ but the event appears to be on hold for a while while he fields calls from high-ranking government officials and leading Muslims. Not bad…
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Police, Government, Church: Violence and Cover-Ups in Northern Ireland
The report into the horrific bombings in the village of Claudy in 1972 – in which 9 people were killed – has been published today. It appears to make sickening reading: The Police Ombudsman found talks between the Catholic Church, the police and the government led to a priest suspected of involvement in the attack…
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The Spirit Level Debate – Inequality is Contentious
One of the sources I quote a number of times in Other is The Spirit Level – Why More Equal Societies Almost Always Do Better by Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett. The thrust of their thesis is very simple: by collating hundreds of studies over a long period of time they have concluded that the…