On 17 July, 2014, MH017 was shot down over the Ukraine, killing all 283 passengers and 15 crew. Putin’s response was quick and decisive: he declared that the person who perpetrated this act was a common murderer, that the Federation of Russian States would spare no effort in hunting him down, and hunting down the people… Read more »
Category: Politics
A Singular Summit, and a Thought Experiment for It
Right now, the mood of the times is pessimistic. The predominant trend in the Anglophone world is not about what could be, but to revert to what was. The obvious ones are Brexit and Trump, but Trudeau is a humbug who has done nothing to rein in the tar sands, while Australia may as well append “Mining, Inc.”… Read more »
Adios, Trumpocalypse and Brexitageddon
I’ve just spent a week in Andalucía in Spain, not boozing it up at the Costa del Red Barrel but in the mountains of the Sierra Nevada with a bunch of other aspiring writers, at a literary retreat (organised by The Literary Consultancy, and conducted by Lesley Glaister). It was a joyous week for me,… Read more »
“Back up, You Creep!”
Imagine if Hilary, when being stalked by Trump during the second presidential debate, had said what her book says she wanted to. Imagine if she’d lost her composure, rounded on him and said: “Back up, you creep.” Imagine how many of her supporters would have thought At last. At last she showed some spunk, at… Read more »
Subject: First Promise Kept
Government House Upper Albert Rd Hong Kong Dear Clement, What a super start my one-and-only has got off to! Not only has she sorted out the logistical issues with toilet roll supplies, but she’s also dealt with those awful scruffs infesting Lego. Or LegCo. I can never remember. Just in case you don’t remember, in 2014 the… Read more »
Vladimir Trump and Donald Putin
Part of me wishes the whole Russia thing would just go away. Yes, Russia interfered. Yes, Trump and his hideous brood, even if they weren’t active in soliciting Russian help, did nothing to stop Russia’s interference by, for example, making it public that Russia had offered help. And nobody cares. Trump’s supporters don’t care. The… Read more »
Oaths
Last Friday, another four of Hong Kong’s democratically elected legislators were booted out of Legco on technicalities. The technicality is that, under Article 104 of the Basic Law, the lawmakers are required to take an oath. Thus far in HK’s Legco, the taking of oaths has been regarded as something between a formality and a… Read more »
From: Mr. Carrie Lam
Government House Lower Albert Rd Hong Kong Dear Clement, I know it’s been a while, but the past few months have been awfully exciting, what with God summoning my one and only to CE-ship of Hong Kong, she hearing his call, and having 777 of the election committee answer His summons. Though I’m not… Read more »
TST Vehicle-Free
For those who saw my article in HK Free Press and wonder how to take it from speculation to realisation, the answer is something along the following lines. First, the idea needs to be refined by people who’s job it is to know about such things. Urban planners, traffic specialists, infrastructure architects and civil engineers…. Read more »
Freedom and Bureaucracy
The Great Confusicator brought to mind, after his speech in Poland, one of the reasons I ended up in Hong Kong. …on both sides of the Atlantic, our citizens are confronted by yet another danger… . the steady creep of government bureaucracy that drains the vitality and wealth of the people. The West became great… Read more »