And press freedom and trial by jury bad.Watchman wrote:http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/artic ... TINGS.html
All of a sudden Nanny State is a good thing!
On Hastings's definition of human happiness probably most politicians running a niche micro state; Andorra, Luxembourg, Caymans. Except they don't have the authoritarian rule of Singapore. So its interesting what Hastings thinks we can learn from Singapore because he's not that explicit. Although I'm sure Singapore's a very nice place if that's your sort of thing. Certainly not mine. Its sounds like Canary Wharf run by the Stasi.How many politicians anywhere in the world can boast a smidgen of his contribution to human happiness ?
http://zelo-street.blogspot.co.uk/2015/ ... peaks.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;Head and shoulders above the rest, in that he has attempted to be original but failed spectacularly, is Max “Hitler” Hastings, who has been wheeled out by the Mail to tell readers that it’s all the fault of Edward Snowden, the deeply subversive Guardian, and all those bleeding heart liberal do-gooders who don’t appreciate the positive virtues of having the spooks snooping on our phone calls and emails.
Just how wibbling is “Hitler”? Feast your eyes on this gem: “It is scarcely surprising that the intelligence services are uneasy about the proposal in the report to government this month by David Anderson QC, that members of the judiciary should exercise powers of independent supervision over SIS, MI5 and GCHQ … A rogue judge granted such licence could delight the Guardian newspaper by adopting a tough line towards government surveillance, but do untold harm to our safety”.
Busy Bee, Cloud Nine, United Kingdom, 7 hours ago
Harry, I would respectfully suggest you put a stop to this whinging. The public have just about heard enough from you. Step down, abdicate from all royal privileges and get a normal life. Problem is - you're just not used to work or discipline. You have simply no idea how spoilt you are.
+1240 -122
A war film that dares to celebrate a British triumph: After decades of movies lionising the Yanks, MAX HASTINGS says Dunkirk should be required viewing for all schoolchildren
Think how many years have passed since there has been anything like it: British audiences expected to pack cinemas to see a British movie about one of the great British moments of World War II: Dunkirk.
Christopher Nolan’s deafening epic about the evacuation from the northern French beaches in May 1940 provides an answer to fans who have demanded for years: ‘Why are we always given Hollywood films about how the Americans battled Hitler all on their own?’
The war movie is such a staple of popular entertainment, a huge element of modern culture, that it is amazing the British have for so long stayed out of it, preferring to make genre pictures about gritty life in northern cities, or rom-coms about smart London.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z4nY9g7oTO" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
I once had a conversation about this with the great film director Stanley Kubrick, who was enthusing about a real-life 1944 episode in which the French Resistance battled with Nazi Panzers. I asked why he wasn’t making a film of the story. He replied: ‘Have you any idea what it costs to hire even one German tank for a week, never mind 20 of them?’
I'll start off by saying that the 1958 version with John Mills, Dickie Attemborough (and Bernard Cribbinds in a bit part) is an excellent example of a British war film.Andy McDandy wrote:That article's just basically a list of films. Seems very similar to a rant I read from George MacDonald Fraser - "Vietnam films are rubbish because the Brits never acted like that in Burma".
I once had a good chat with an actual Vietnam vet who insisted that 'Go Tell the Spartans' was the only accurate portrayal of that war.Seems very similar to a rant I read from George MacDonald Fraser - "Vietnam films are rubbish because the Brits never acted like that in Burma
- By Watchman