Meanwhile, the sharp swerve to the Left accelerates, writes Janet Daley. One of the most startling measures to which the Obama-Pelosi-Reid administration has committed itself is the Employee Free Choice Act (commonly known as the "card check" bill) which does precisely the opposite of what it says on the tin. The Act would effectively abolish the right of trade union members to secret ballots. In other words, it would give American union bosses the kind of power to intimidate their membership into strike action that used to belong to British union leaders before the Thatcherite reforms. I was amazed to discover that most US Republicans were unaware that the statutory right to a secret ballot was one of the most crucial aspects of the 1980s British industrial relations revolution. JANET DALEYDaily Telegraph When the phoney war ends and the consequences of the credit crunch make themselves fully felt in people's homes, popular belief in market capitalism will have suffered permanent damage, says Max Hastings. There is speculation about a rise of rightwing extremism. But it will be even more surprising if a new left does not sooner or later present a challenge for power in Britain and other democracies. The Tories are in no need of arguments to enable them to win an election. Gordon Brown provides those. They face the vastly more difficult task, shared by almost every political party in the western democracies, of thereafter producing a new model of capitalism that embittered electorates will acquiesce in. MAX HASTINGSThe Guardian Gordon told us in 2007 that we'd moved away from the time 'when celebrity matters' - a dig at the preceding Blair era, writes Peter McKay. Like the perfectly evolved shark, he devours any publicity protein which might conceivably aid his survival, be it welcoming mountaineering show-offs at Number 10 or sending a message to the dying Jade Goody. His calculation is that for every voter who notices his opportunism there may be ten others who accept it at face value. Who is to say he is wrong? PETER MCKAYDaily Mail Absurd stories springing from a juvenile with an inexplicably shored-up self-esteem abound, writes Philip Hensher. At the same conference of the Association of School and College Leaders, the headteacher of Kilmarnock Academy told a story of a student who, shown an error in a calculation, replied without joking: "Thank you, but I prefer it my way." We like to think these curious events arise from some vaguely envisaged Californian psychobabble. Perhaps that does play a role. But perhaps a more crucial factor is the way market forces are falsely factored into education. There is an entirely deluded concept, among students and some educators, that students are in some sense "customers". PHILIP HENSHERThe Independent It is not just that arbitrary objects (Brillo boxes, pickled sharks, piles of bricks) are now regularly presented as artworks, writes Roger Scruton. Among the artworks that we are called upon to admire are acts of desecration, such as Andres Serrano's crucifix in urine and Tracey Emin's unmade bed, or gestures of violence against art itself, such as the sarcastic postmodernist productions of the romantic operas. And because critics made fools of themselves in the mid-19th century, by preferring the salon art of Bouguereau to the innovative visions of Manet, few critics today will venture an adverse judgment of anything that presents itself as an original gesture, however offensive or banal. Hence the continuing scandal of the Turner Prize - which is not a scandal at all, since nobody in a position to say so has pointed out that the Emperor has no clothes. ROGER SCRUTONThe Times Evolence, the new wonder face-rejuvenator wowing the city's numerous dermatologists, has one downside: it is made from pig tendons. Kosher rules on eating pork are clear, but injecting it into the face is a grey area. Jewish patients with worry lines to iron out are being advised to consult their rabbi first. Tom Leonard Daily Telegraph There is astonishment here at the colossal sums found by industrialised countries to mitigate the impact of the crisis. Bump-starting their economies will be good news for Africa, but the trillions of dollars used dwarf the $100bn a year assigned by OECD nations for development assistance. Honouring aid commitments is a litmus test of the global solidarity being demanded by G20 leaders. Kofi Annan The Guardian But the worst of it is the cynical subsidising of liver cirrhosis by the supermarkets using their phenomenal buying power to undercut the pubs and clubs. For some 500 years now, alehouses have played a pivotal role within British public life. But now pubs are closing at the rate of 40 a week and we are haplessly bearing witness to an extraordinary process of cultural self-immolation.Tristram Hunt The Times It is not only CCTV and biometric passports that betray our whereabouts but also banking, bills, phones, cars, laptops (how ironic, just as you completed your escape, to be outed by web records showing you surfing for advice on how often to throw your prepay phone in the river). As technology moves on, not only fingerprinting but facial scanning may betray you. Libby Purves The Times YouTube is overrun with a series of brilliant homage videos referencing everything to do with Star Wars, from an orchestra of Lego storm troopers playing the movie's theme tune to fans re-creating light-sabre duels in deserted multistorey car parks. We've now reached the point where the Star Warspenetration of our culture is so total that it deserves to be seen as a fully developed myth world, more influential on our children's mental development than the Norse, Greek or Celtic tales with which we grew up. Michael Gove The TimesObama swerves to the left
Full article: The Republicans can take heart as Barack Obama staggers to the Left 
After the Tories win the election
Full article: Winning the next election should be the least of Cameron's worries 
Brown fawns to celebrity
Full article: 'Celebrity matters' as Brown schmoozes with Cheryl Cole Self-esteem problems
Full article: Students who think they can do no wrong 
Modern art is rubbish
Full article: What has art got to do with beauty these days? In Brief
Kosher facials
Full article Africa’s credit crunch
Full article: A message from Africa Closing time for pubs
They know where you are
Full article: E-borders - the new frontier of oppression Star Wars everywhere
Full article: Disney's empire has only one true rival...
Monday, 16 March 2009
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