Monthly Archives: August 2016

On Harshness Signalling…

Posted on August 24, 2016 by bsixsmith

The French “burkini” ban is completely pointless – completely pointless, that is, if taken at face value. It will do nothing to combat Islamic jihadism or Islamic totalism – targeting, I suspect, women from more liberal families than many others … Continue reading →

Posted in Europe, Multiculturalism, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Moral Philosopher

Posted on August 21, 2016 by bsixsmith

Like Cook or Columbus You discovered virtue. Your civilisation. Your own America. You have built a palace. You have taken slave girls. You have built an empire Across beautiful sands.

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Getting Rid of Books…

Posted on August 15, 2016 by bsixsmith

I am on holiday in England, at my parent’s house, and am throwing out some of the old books that I had left with them. I have hundreds here: the result of a childhood and adolescence spent rummaging through charity … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Literature, Personal, Uncategorized | 6 Comments

Books

Posted on August 14, 2016 by bsixsmith

A book is marked: 4.99 (Slightly damaged). I imagine: 4.99 (Total bollocks).

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Superficialities of Style…

Posted on August 14, 2016 by bsixsmith

In “A Criticism of Life”, the first essay of his spirited, pugnacious and sometimes disagreeable collection In Defence of T.S. Eliot, Craig Raine presents a rousing and convincing case for literature as an act of “measured consideration” that provides “focus, … Continue reading →

Posted in Literature | Leave a comment

A Diversity Paradox…

Posted on August 13, 2016 by bsixsmith

I was morbidly amused to see, towards the end of a BBC article on the murder of an Ahmadi Muslim by a Sunni Muslim, in Glasgow, for alleged blasphemy, a reference to a spokesman of the Council of Mosques in … Continue reading →

Posted in Britain, Multiculturalism | 2 Comments

Two Poems About Brave People…

Posted on August 11, 2016 by bsixsmith

Poem for Szmulek Goldberg and His Girlfriend Rose In the ruined sports hall you danced Amid the rubble. Darkness falls. Still that spirit lights our struggle. Poem for Rita Atria The truth was not enough. Courage was not enough. Belief … Continue reading →

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Conservative Means and Ends…

Posted on August 11, 2016 by bsixsmith

Conservatives are often criticised, and often fairly, for being nothing more than liberals who can pace themselves – that is, that they seek the same ends but through reforms and not radical change. What this obscures is that conservatives have, … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservatism | Leave a comment

The Sentimentality of David Brooks…

Posted on August 11, 2016 by bsixsmith

The English poet and critic T.E. Hulme once wrote, of religion, that he did not “put up with the dogma for the sake of the sentiment” but preferred to “swallow the sentiment for the sake of the dogma”. This was a … Continue reading →

Posted in Behaviour, Conservatism, Liberalism | Leave a comment

On “British Values”…

Posted on August 2, 2016 by bsixsmith

There are, periodically, attempts to define “British values”: both so that our governments can promote integration and so they can do their gallant best to appear patriotic. These tend to be lists of superficial progressive virtues – gender equality, religious … Continue reading →

Posted in Britain, Uncategorized | 3 Comments