Philobiblon

I find it extremely hard to believe, but the Media Guardian is reporting that the Daily Mail editor “Dacre … may now suspect that some women readers could be wearying of the masochistic hatred of their own gender that the Mail has enticed them with”. No don’t get too excited, the basis of the argument is Allison Pearson. Still, given its influence, any move towards a little humanity has, I suppose, to be a good thing.
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Bernard-Henri Levy has issued a call to arms to the American Left. He wants them to oppose the death penalty … here, here – but is there the courage to do that? What would happen if politicians actually acted on their convictions? Interesting question, since pandering to opinion polls seems to have been notably ineffective.
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The revenge of the quail: it is a rule of thumb in newspapers that you can’t make fun of something when someone is seriously injured, but since Dick Cheney’s hunting partner, and target, is about to be released from hospital, I guess I’m allowed a chortle. And to wonder if a man obviously unsuitable for being in charge of a shotgun should really be playing with nuclear weapons …