20 Jun 11 | Uncategorized
This is a cross post from Guido Fawkes
It is not often that Guido is invited to speak to an audience of Communists, so the invitation to speak to twenty or so visiting Chinese Communist Party propagandists and Information Ministry officials was hard to resist. The audience at the seminar included security officials, it would be fair to say that this was not a home crowd. Almost as bad as a Goldsmith’s Media Studies audience, but not as left-wing. (more…)
17 Jun 11 | Uncategorized
Have you ever been grossly insulted on national radio?
I have. In July last year, I took part in a debate on BBC Radio FiveLive, on the topic of British National Party leader Nick Griffin’s invitation to Queen Elizabeth’s garden party. I was set up in opposition (as these things go) with journalist James MacIntyre, then of the New Statesman, now at Prospect magazine (more of which here). (more…)
13 Jun 11 | Index Index, minipost, News and features
Chinese authorities evicted Zeng Jinyan, the wife of imprisoned AIDs and free speech activist Hu Jia, from her home in Shenzhen today. Zeng is also a human rights activist and keeps a blog and twitter account. Authorities are now warning Zeng that she and her husband may be put under house arrest upon his release on 26 June.
08 Jun 11 | Uncategorized
The philosopher AC Grayling may have misjudged how his New College of the Humanities would be received. Setting up a private university in Bloomsbury with fees of £18,000 per annum as a reaction to the UK government’s assault on higher education funding was probably not his best idea, despite his aim of providing financial assistance for 30 percent of its ‘gifted’ undergraduate students. But that doesn’t remove his right to speak in public. Whoever would think that it did? (more…)
