In the old days, the conspicuously rich owned big houses full of works of art where they invited guests to show off their wealth. But now, if you want the world to know that you are dripping money, you buy a yacht.

Apologies for referring twice in three days to the Estimable Joshua, but he has now answered the question I posed here about Assistant Commissioner Bob Quick’s letter with another fact that no-one else has spotted (the landing carpet between our respective studies has been worn thin over the past few days). In the letter, Quick suggested that the police made no attempt to obtain a ...

After seven days of bloody war in the Caucasus and growing tension between the US and Russia, John Rees asks what is it about the new world order that has made it so prone to warfare?

At the risk of sounding like a Marxist I can't help noticing that the struggle between capital and labour over the value in the economy is becoming more pronounced every day. While the economy was growing, politicians could conceal the fact that, since the heady days of the 1970s, they have responded more and more to the concerns of 'business' and less and less to those of 'ord...

Here in Strasbourg today - as in New York, Brasilia, Sao Paulo and Santiago in the days to come - Gordon Brown's message has been that the world should act together to stimulate the economy. The message from here to the world, though, has been this: if stimulating the economy means more spending and more borrowing, it will be without the support of the Bank of England. To stimulate or not to ...

I'm currently enjoying the last of my four days off. I normally work four 11 hour shifts followed by four days off, but this week things have been upset by working two special duties, one at a bar and the other directing traffic at some road works. Consequently, it's felt more like two days off than four. The bar duty was strange though: pretty much like any nightclub in the UK, but (from what I c...

Petition growing A few days ago this petition on the No. 10 website had attracted around 500 signatures, now having had a little extra publicity on a few blogs the signature count has risen to almost 8500 in just three days. We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to resign. I’d like to help this grow a little

Caroline Spelman, the Environment Secretary, is expected to announce plans within days to dispose of about half of the 748,000 hectares of woodland overseen by the Forestry Commission by 2020. But only one and a half cheers. Why not sell the other half too?

President Barack Obama is coming under growing pressure to reassert US leadership on trade when he meets Asia-Pacific leaders representing half the world economy on Sunday

Saw this as a comment over at Guidos. Three major war crimes, Serbia, Afghanistan and Iraq, population does not revolt. Two more on the way, Iran and Russia both with the likelihood of nuclear escalation, and no one cares a jot. An economy built on debt. Negligible indigenous, large-scale industrial enterprise. Yet a supposedly rich economy, world's fourth largest. How can the UK be so rich w...