Yearly Archives: 2006

A small ethical dilemma

Posted on October 9, 2006 by acb

Suppose you are aware of a disreputable story about person x, known to you; you find a version of this story—entirely anonymised—on a blog kept by person y, known to both you and x, but not, so far as you … Continue reading →

Posted in Blather | 9 Comments

An act of God

Posted on October 3, 2006 by acb

There was a sizable thunderstorm here on Sunday which took out both my router and my cable modem. The router has been replaced; the internet connection may be back on Wednesday or may not;. In the mean time, anyone who … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Housekeeping | 4 Comments

Is God a teapot?

Posted on October 1, 2006 by acb

It is a standard atheist trope to claim that the existence of God can no more be disproved than the existence of a teapot orbiting Mars. So why worry that he might exist? Well, the obvious difference is that no … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in God | 4 Comments

Torture: an instructional video

Posted on October 1, 2006 by acb

Would it help explain the issues to make a film in a prominent torture supporter is kidnapped and waterboarded, on video, until he agrees to say that he, not Monica Lewinsky, gave Bill Clinton a blow job; also that torture … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in War | Comments Off on Torture: an instructional video

Timeless torture

Posted on September 29, 2006 by acb

This is a Worm’s Eye column from November last year: Everyone knows that in Stalin’s Purges between 1935 and 1940 perhaps fifteen million people died after various forms of torture. It is less known that throughout this Terror the Russian … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in War | 1 Comment

An argument for which I will not charge royalties

Posted on September 29, 2006 by acb

I thought I could not longer be shocked by the hatred and depravity of the usual crew of dhimmitudinous liberal al-Guardianistas who will see nothing good in any of the actions of this administration. Typically, they are screaming in their … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in War | Comments Off on An argument for which I will not charge royalties

What does this mean?

Posted on September 28, 2006 by acb

Tim Garton Ash, in the Guardian today, concludes by saying: At this pivotal moment, we who live in the rest of the world, beyond the Washington beltway, also face a choice. We can watch like spectators in the cinema, as … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in War | 2 Comments

Mike Ford, a review never published

Posted on September 28, 2006 by acb

I did actually review his most recent book1 for the Guardian. They never printed the review, because the book,sent me by PNH, was never published here. But I did send it to him, and got a kind note back.2 Below … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Literature | Comments Off on Mike Ford, a review never published

A friend you should have had (a note to Rupert)

Posted on September 28, 2006 by acb

Did you ever come across Mike Ford, memorialised at Making Light these last few days? He wrote the lovely sonnet in our living room. But go and read the linked posts anyway. They make a fence now, between us and … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Literature | Comments Off on A friend you should have had (a note to Rupert)

Textile despair

Posted on September 26, 2006 by acb

Some of the people who read this — I’m looking at you, Hammersley — know quite a lot about Movable Type. So maybe, somewhere you there on the lazyweb, is the person who can tell me why the individual archive … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Housekeeping | Comments Off on Textile despair