Monthly Archives: January 2015

Mystic and Mad

In the Spectator a review by Sean McGlynn of a new book intended to show that there was more to the Middle Ages than mud and blood: For those who imagine the medieval period along the lines of Monty Python … Continue reading

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Too Dangerous a Historical Debate

Writing in the Guardian, Nick Cohen on self-censorship: Unless we find the courage to overcome fear, the self-censorship will spread, and not only in the media. Colleagues who wanted historians at a London museum to talk about the long history … Continue reading

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#PasCharlie 2

Cross-posted on the Corner (yesterday): Tomorrow Paris will play host to a march designed to show France’s unity in the aftermath of the Charlie Hebdo attacks. The Guardian explains: Je suis Charlie. Nous sommes Charlie. La France est Charlie. Under … Continue reading

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#PasCharlie

Cross-posted on the Corner: The #JeSuisCharlie message doesn’t appear to be getting through to some. The Global Post: A Swedish member of parliament reported a far-right leader to the police on Friday for alleged incitement to hatred over a comment … Continue reading

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Will Anything Change?

Cross-posted on the Corner. At the Financial Times, Europe editor Tony Barber’s initial response to the atrocity in Paris included this: Charlie Hebdo has a long record of mocking, baiting and needling French Muslims. If the magazine stops just short … Continue reading

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Charlie Hebdo

Cross-posted on the Corner. The revolting terrorist assault on Charlie Hebdo today is designed to intimidate for the future as much as to ‘punish’ for the past. And I suspect that it has, to some degree, been encouraged by opinion … Continue reading

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On Living in a Theocracy

Gulf News: Manama: Saudi Arabia’s efforts to edge closer to setting a minimum age for marriage have received a blow after the Grand Mufti said there was nothing wrong with girls below 15 getting married. “There is currently no intention … Continue reading

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A Coming Clash of Civilizations?

Cross-posted on the Corner. Over at the XX Committee, John Schindler takes a look at what he calls “Putin’s Orthodox Jihad.” Trying to make sense of Putin’s ideology, much of which appears to have been adopted on the hoof as … Continue reading

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The Vatican and Cuba: Some More Background

Cross-posted on the Corner: With the latest crackdown in Cuba showing just how Havana has ‘read’ Obama’s policy shift towards the Castro dictatorship, this new Foreign Affairs article by Victor Gaetan giving some background to the Vatican’s involvement in the … Continue reading

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