Kim Jong-un likes his video games and the internet. He also likes nuclear weapons. He has decided that he wants to enjoy more of western technology and the joys of life. So he made a significant policy change and today he met with the Prime Minister of South Korea in a historic, choreographed meeting. For …
Author: Donald
How far have the Tories fallen?
There has been congratulations all round for the pregnancy of the leader of the Tory party in Scotland. While I rejoice at every new God-given life, it is time to call out the Christian perspective on this event when Christians in public life are too hide-bound to political correctness and their careers to do so. …
Christian scribes
I am a scribe but not a Pharisee – that is, I am a Christian scribe. In Jesus' day, the scribes and Pharisees were opposed to His teaching. Jesus accused them of hypocrisy: "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because you close the kingdom of heaven against mankind: for you neither go in yourselves, …
Which media can we trust?
Fake news raises the question, which media can we trust? The UK diplomatic response to Russian denials of involvement in the poisoning of the Skripals in Salisbury includes the claim that Russia is spreading a smoke screen of fake news. Yet repeated claims over the years that the BBC is itself biassed, not least from …
Global, please, not Universal
Universal Credit and the universal flood – really? The universe was not flooded, and Universal Credit is not even global. It is a social security benefit in the United Kingdom which, having rolled together and replaced six other benefits, has been called 'universal'. However, the UK is not the Universe. Many people commonly and wrongly …
Unbelief and victim abuse
Victim abuse occurs when a victim's account of their abuse is not believed. It has surfaced in recent times because historically rape victims were not believed. It is slowly being applied to domestic abuse where abused persons have been forced to leave their domestic home because they are not believed to be victims. However, it …
Taking complaints seriously
Too late, Jeremy Corbyn is discovering the effects of not taking seriously the complaints about antisemitism in the Labour Party. He is now on the back foot and trying to salvage the situation with as much damage limitation as he can muster. Russia and Vladimir Putin are discovering the same. After thinking they could ignore …
How far does shame go?
Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, said that he has "learned to be ashamed again of the Church (of England)" after three weeks of studying the accounts of sexual abuse by Church of England clerics. How does this compare with Roman Catholic cardinal Joseph Ratzinger who regularly studied the accounts of abuse by Roman Catholic priests …
Fake news is more popular than the truth
People spread lies more than the truth. An analysis of more than ten year's worth of tweets shows that fake news spreads faster and further on twitter than true stories. The research also suggests that people play a greater role in sharing lies than computer-generated bots. People are gossips and love to pass on stories …
Secular puritanism
Secular puritanism is on the rise and it is aggressive, unlike Christian puritanism. In the wake of recent sex scandals, secular commentators are expressing their concern at the suspension of due process with trial by media, by social media and the assumption of guilt till proved innocent. ‘The new puritanism’ was discussed in the 15th-anniversary …