When is a tutu like a burkini?

There has been quite a lot of talk about the French ban on the “Burkini” in recent weeks thankfully it has for now been ruled illegal. There have also been comparisons with rules in other countries which dictate how women should dress, arguing along the lines of “well if they insist on it, we can ban it fair’s fair”. Now whilst I suspect most people reading this will consider that nonsense, I will none the less point out that saying “they do bad stuff, so we can as well” is a really really dumb argument. Really do you want to … Continue reading

A year since the Charlie Hebdo attack

Today is a year since the attack on the Charlie Hebdo offices in Paris and the murder of some of the Charlie Hebdo cartoonists, as well as related attacks on a kosher supermarket. A year down the line it seems to me impossible to conclude anything but that the attack was a roaring success and that the terrorists have, by any metric you choose, won. I’m not going to really say anything which other people haven’t already said better, but the claim of “Je Suis Charlie” was weak from the start with few people or publications actually prepared to show … Continue reading

This is it boys, this is war

Yesterday our parliament had a rather long debate on if we should extend our bombing operations in Iraq into Syria to join the multinational effort to tackle Da’esh. There’s been an awful lot said about this both before and after the vote so I’m afraid I’m unlikely to add any massive insight, but for what it’s worth here’s my rambling take on matters. Whilst Mr Cameron did make a bit of an idiot mistake in casting the “terrorist sympathizer” comment a bit wide, it is sadly true that both Mr Corbyn and Mr McDonnell have track records of sympathizing with … Continue reading