The Paradoxes of Spying Part 1

For all its deception, double-dealing and treachery spying would appear to be straightforward. Side ‘A’ recruits and infiltrates a spy or mole into side ‘B’. Once installed in ‘B’ the mole begins leaking information to ‘A’ to the detriment of ‘B’ and the immense advantage of ‘A’. Simple. And that’s how most espionage and spy […]

THE FOLLY OF LIBERAL INTERVENTIONISM

Following the end of the Cold War, Western countries, primarily the US and Britain, embarked on a series of interventions in overseas conflicts that seemed to yield quick results in terms of an end to fighting and an apparently sustainable peace. This began with the response to Saddam’s Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990-91 resulting […]

FAITH, CERTAINTY & TERROR

The recent attacks on Paris and now San Bernardino have, rightly, focused on the sheer barbarity of the assaults. These atrocities were deliberately intended to cause as much wanton loss of life as possible. Such callous targeting of innocent people defies most people’s comprehension. Surely these people must be psychopaths or beyond the pale of […]

JFK, FAITH AND CONSPIRACY

Vincent Bugilosi’s monumental book on the Kennedy assassination Reclaiming History* is a rigorous dissection of the events and circumstances surrounding the JFK shooting, and at over 1600 pages, vigorously rebuts the numerous conspiracies that have attended the brutal slaying in Dallas in 1963. Two examples. Firstly, Bugilosi presents a clinical account of the movements and […]

THE DOWNFALL OF MANAGERIALISM

The framework within which policy-makers and decision makers have been operating over the past decades in Britain and most Western countries has been dominated by ‘managerialism’. This is a focus on the best way of managing and implementing policies in the socio-economic and political spheres which transcend, indeed almost dismiss, ideological considerations of left and […]

REVIEW OF CAROL CRAIG’S THE TEARS THAT MADE THE CLYDE (ARGYLL PUBLISHING £8.99)

Glasgow, Scotland’s largest city is a health promotion and social care professional’s nightmare. In spite of hundreds of millions of pounds spent on programmes and a plethora of initiatives targeted at poor health and lifestyle, the city stubbornly remains at the bottom of the table when it comes to bad health, atrocious diet, dreadful levels […]

MESSY COMPROMISES

Imagine a man aged over 50 who is grossly overweight and eating a salt and vinegar saturated fried take-away fish supper, washed down with a sugary, high calorie soft drink. Having vociferously consumed the fish supper our man proceeds to open a can of strong lager and accompanies this by lighting up one of 60 […]