Seriously, he does. And he doesn’t care what anyone thinks, either, as he said to Sky News yesterday. Thing is, as we all watch the uncomfortably inappropriate close ups, his dad dancing and numerous other cringeworthy snippets, we are compelled to listen to what is actually quite a good song by the Good Suns. A

New financial policy committee would be set up at the Bank to watch out for asset bubbles

Welcome back James! Now let’s all gather round the youtube and watch a compilation of Communist-era Hungarian secret police training films.

In the party horserace, 2011 was the year of not much happening. In fact, it was a year of exceptional boringness on that front, punctuated only by a small and quite possibly transient boost for the Tories after the EU veto in December. But behind that headline of ‘no change’, there were interesting shifts on other fronts.

New guidelines suggesting bosses watch out for mental-health problems end up medicalising normal emotions.

Those who aren't convinced that UAS will change warfare permanently need to watch this video, posted yesterday: Pardon the cliche, but this technology is truly transformational. For some interesting commentary on swarms, check out John Robb. The naval applications are there, too. How could AEGIS, RAM, ESSM, CIWS, or any other envisioned air defense system defend against a lethal "suicide" dro...

National Maritime Museum 18.30-22.00 Thursday 16th February 2012 A satirical extravaganza about China, Britain, imperialism and drugs in the 19th century in verse & music. See narco-capitalists & Chinese lawmakers slug it out, take part in a poetry slam, and watch the weirdest tea ceremony ever. What do the humble cup of tea and the

The removal of Fred Goodwin’s knighthood serves the coalition’s political purposes. It shows them being tough on a bad banker and reminds everyone that these problems happened on the last government’s watch and that Alex Salmond was cheering on RBS’s bid for ABN Amro. There are even some in government who are up for a fight over clawing back part of his pension or past bonu...

Alan Whitehead pressed the Government in Parliament yesterday over measures to tackle spiralling house prices and rents in the south of England. In Southampton, the average house price is now 9 times the average income, and the average rent for a two-bed home now accounts for 46% of the average income - one of the highest rent to income ratios in the country. Shelter's Private Rent Watch (p50...

The Left is retreating around the world. The Great Recession has produced a landscape so favourable for right-wing parties, their opponents can only feel sorry for themselves as they watch support drain away from them. At least, so goes the popular narrative. But the last 12 months don’t bear out the argument that the Left is on a losing streak.