Daily Archives: January 1, 2016

My top twenty blogs in 2015

January 1, 2016 By in Business Administration, Economics, People, Politics, Science, Society, Travel Tags: , , , , , Leave a comment
Jeremy Corbyn

Jeremy Corbyn (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A photograph taken of the Piazza del Campo in ...

A photograph taken of the Piazza del Campo in Siena (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Happy New Year and thank you for visiting this blog. 2015 was a record year, with approaching 40,000 hits on the site from around the world. This is the blog that adds two cents worth of comment to breaking news.

Anyway, here are the top twenty blogs for 2015, voted by number of hits (most popular first):

  1. Greek debt and a default of statesmanship – Martin Wolf – FT.com
  2. Greeks chose poverty, let them have their way – Francesco Giavazzi – FT.com
  3. A gaffe-prone Japan is a danger to peace in Asia – Gideon Rachman – FT.com
  4. Greece will no longer deal with ‘troika’, Yanis Varoufakis says – FT.com
  5. Why I am obsessed by austerity – Simon Wren-Lewis – Mainly Macro
  6. Athens must stand firm against the eurozone’s failed policies – Wolfgang Manchau – FT.com
  7. A stealthy route to Grexit – Wolfgang Münchau – FT.com
  8. Opinion – Merkel the bold | The Economist
  9. Opinion – Greeks chose poverty, let them have their way – Francesco Giavazzi – FT.com – John Gelmini
  10. Divorce Greece in haste, repent at leisure – Martin Wolf – FT.com
  11. Grexit is an avoidable catastrophe for the eurozone -Wolfgang Münchau – FT.com
  12. Angela Merkel takes revenge on Greek prime minister – FT.com
  13. BBC – Travel – Two days in Siena, Italy : Tuscany
  14. Jeremy Corbyn and the 1,000 days that destroyed Britain | Daily Mail Online
  15. Germany’s Destructive Anger – Jacob Soll – The New York Times
  16. How to Reinvent Yourself After 50 – Dorie Clark – Harvard Business Review
  17. The computerisation of European jobs | Jeremy Bowles at Bruegel.org
  18. Layoff List Grows: Morgan Stanley to Cut 1,600 Jobs | Fox Business
  19. Former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin returns to Beijing in challenge to President Xi Jinping
  20. Putin Looks to Do Business With South Africa’s Zuma | Business | The Moscow Times

I’d like to thank my friend, colleague and fellow blogger John Gelmini for his continued support.

On Monday, Marilyn and I are returning to Asia to continue our journey of discover. Keep an eye out for our adventures in our sister blog Discover the Orient.

Good luck for 2015!

Dr Alf

Opinion – The Conservative Party should be worried about its long-term prospects – Norman Tebbit – Telegraph – John Gelmini

January 1, 2016 By in Business Administration, David Cameron, Economics, People, Politics Tags: , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment
Conservative Party (UK)

Conservative Party (UK) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I agree with Dr Alf, the fight for the Tory succession needs to be brought forward but Lord Tebbit is wrong to suggest that it is getting harder to work out who a Conservative is.

Conservatives have always been people who believed in hard work, low taxes, strong law and order, Judeo-Christian values, traditional marriage, schools that inculcated pride, self-discipline and self-organisation, personal responsibility and a sense of patriotism, commonsense and civic pride.

The recent attempts to pander to gay people and vociferous minorities, appease Muslims who do not share these values to the extent that a minority are prepared to wage war against us are misguided and stupid. The failure to confront perversions like Sharia Law, the pressure for “gay marriage” and now American style cohabitation agreements and the failure to invest in dredging and proper infrastructure here as opposed to the largesse of unaffordable foreign aid are further examples of stupidity. These, when combined with wasted money on wind farms, the appeasement of mediaeval rulers in the Gulf who fund terrorism and dangerous Wahabi movements across the globe, the running down of our armed forces to a cypher with no more power than the Papal Guard is gross stupidity.

Stupidity is, however, not to be equated with Conservatism but with the antics of particular Conservatives who have forgotten what the word means and those in the shadows who tell them what to do and ought to know better.

Donald Trump in America is right to highlight competence as the issue there and someone here, who is not stupid should do the same here in the Conservative Party.

This country is in a state of drift and torpor and a state of entitlement which it does not deserve and has failed to earn.

It needs to be shocked out of this state and put into one of implacable resolve to put matters to rights quickly. Out of 70 million people a Conservative as opposed to the sandal wearing Liberal Democrats, the backstabbing Hilary Benn and the Dave Spart throwbacks under Corbyn, should step forward to deliver this message.

John Gelmini