Best articles: Britain NEWS^1324August2019 THEWEEKHowpopulism
poisons
modernpolitics
Ryan Bourne
The Daily Telegraph
“Populism”isawordmuchbandiedaboutthesedays,saysRyan
Bourne.It’softenusedbyleft-wingersasasticktobeatTrumpor
Brexitsupporters.Orit’sseenasablindrefusaltoacceptthe
wisdomofprofessionaleconomists–ast heantithesistoruleby
“experts”.Neitherdefinitiongetstotheheartofthedominant
trendinmodernpolitics–particularlyintheUS.No,theessence
ofpopulismistheideathatanelite,workingagainstthepeople’s
interest,hasriggedthesysteminitsfavour.Theelitemayconsist
ofinternationalagencies,theliberalestablishmentandBigTech,
asitdoesforTrump;orofBigOil,BigPharmaand...BigTech,as
itdoesforBernieSanders.Eitherway,thosewhoclaimtospeak
for“thepeople”insisttheycanusethestatetoousttheeliteand
deliverbig,cost-freewinsfor“thepeople”.Populism,whether
ofrightorleft,isthusintrinsicallyanti-pluralistandanti-market.
Definingagiveneliteas“theenemy”spurnstheneedtomake
trade-offsandtorecognisethatbenefitscomewithcosts.To
tacklethescourgeofpopulismwemustrecogniseitforwhatitis.Whydowelet
killerplagues
invadeBritain?
George Monbiot
The Guardian
AhostofkillerplaguesisstalkingBritain’strees,saysGeorge
Monbiot.Theashdiebackepidemicisalreadywreakinghavocon
thatspecies;othersareatriskfromseveraldeadlypathogensnow
spreadingacrossEurope.Xylella fastidiosaisravagingolivegroves
inItalyandthreatenstoinfectotherspecies,includingoak,plane,
sycamoreandcherry.Ourbeechtreesareindangerofsuccumbing
toPhytophthora kernoviae,“ad iseasethatappearstohavebeen
importedtoCornwalloninfectedshrubsfromNewZealand”.The
infuriatingthingisthatthere’sasimplewaytoprotectusfrom
mostoftheseplagues:bantheimportofallliveplantsexceptthose
grownfromtissueculturesinsterileconditions.Thelive-plant
trademakeslittlesenseeitherecologicallyoreconomically.It’s
worthonlyabout£300mayeartotheUK;yetaccordingtoa
paperinCurrentBiology,ashdiebackalonewillcosttheUK
some£15bn.It’smad.Weshouldbedoingallwecantoprotect
ourtrees,yetforthesakeof“deregulatorymachismo”we’re
blindlyfacilitatingglobaltradeineverything,includingpathogens.Keepingcheck
ontherobots
inthesky
Lucy Fisher
The Times
Weneedtotalkaboutdrones,saysLucyFisher.Unmannedaerial
vehicles(UAVs)are“anincreasinglycrucialweaponinBritain’s
arsenal”:theRAFisalreadyexpandingitsfleetwithdeadliernext-
generationmodels.Theirappealtomilitaryplannersisobvious–
UAVsarecheaperandlesspoliticallyriskythanputtingBritish
troopsinharm’sway.Butthelackofinformationabouttheiruse
shouldconcernusall.EverythingaboutourUAVuseisshrouded
inmystery.Thereisastarklackofdataonciviliansharmedby
UKdroneattacks(beforeMarch2018,thegovernmenthad
admittedtojustonesuchfatalityintheRAF’sfive-yearair
campaignagainstIsisinSyriaandIraq);andit’shardtoascertain
whohasbeenkilledwhenconflictsarewagedinurbanareas.Last
yearBorisJohnson,with“flipexuberance”,saidthathefully
supportedthe“extrajudicialkillings,withnodueprocess”,ofthe
London-raisedextremistMohammedEmwaziandhiscomrades.
That’snotgoodenough.AsourArmedForcesrelyevermore
heavilyonUAVs,theneedforproperethicalstandardsandthe
clarificationoflegalgreyareasgrowsevermoreurgent.Irelandhasno
needtofeara
no-dealBrexit
David McWilliams
Financial Times
Almost half of Americans
admit to having worn the
same underpants for two
or more days inarow.
More disturbingly, 13% of
respondents to the poll –
conducted on behalf of an
underwear company–said
that they had, at least once,
worn the same pair for a
week. Men, it turned out,
were 2.5 times more likely to
wear dirty pants than women.ARussian man trying to sell
his flat in Chelyabinsk hit on
the idea of making it look as
though Quentin Tarantino is
interested in the property. In
marketing photos, the film
director appears standing in
the kitchen, inspecting the
bathroom, and giving a
thumbs-up in the guest room.
“I haven’t foundabuyer yet,
but the ad did get 6,
views in five hours,” said
owner Aleksandr Kaynov.David Bowie and Freddie
Mercury were scientists who
developed the process of
desalination... The claim is
one ofastring of errors
found in school textbooks in
the Indian state of Telangana.
India’s textbooks are
unregulated, and notoriously
prone to error. In Gujarat, a
history text claimed that
Japan droppedanuclear
bomb on the US in WWII,
whileabiology textbook
used in Telangana insists:
“We still do not know much
about childbirth or how it is
triggered.”Awooden spear and
£4-worth of Tetley tea are
among the 1,784 items stolen
from British police stations
since 2015. The Met’s
reported losses included 24
items of uniform, andapet.
However, it later said that
the pet had not been stolen;
it had been tied up outside
the police station.IT MUST BE TRUE...
Iread it in the tabloidsBorisJohnsonreckonshecanbullytheEUintodroppingtheIrish
backstopbyplayingupthedamageano-dealBrexitwouldwreak
onIreland’seconomy,saysDavidMcWilliams.Butthatploymay
notworkaswellashehopes.Partlythat’sbecauseDublinknows
Britainwouldanywaysoonbeforcedtonegotiateanewtrade
arrangementwiththeEU,whichtakes46%ofitsgoodsexports.
Butit’salsobecauseIrelandisnolongerthe“poor,dependent
outpost”thatBrexiteersimagineittobe.In1953,91%of
Ireland’sexportswenttotheUK;todayamere11%do.Infact,
“littleIreland”isnowtheUK’sfifth-largestexportmarketandthe
countrywithwhichitrunsitssecond-largesttradesurplus.Why
so?ForthesimplereasonthatIrelandisricherthantheUK:the
averageIrishincomeis25%higherandeachyearitsGDPgrows
nearlyfivetimesfaster.Withafarmoreglobalisedeconomyand
freeaccesstotheEU,itisnowwell-placedtoleapyetfurther
aheadastheUKgoesaboutneedlesslyerectingtariffsandborders
“againsttheblocwithwhichitdoeshalfofitstrade”.ForIreland,
farfrombeinganightmare,Brexitmayeventurnouttobeaboon. ©F
ACEBOOK ALEKSANDR KAYNOV