Orhan Pamuk is a masterful writer. His books all open in such a way that you know they are going to be hard to put down.
If one picked up this book expecting a genuine defence of COVID restrictions, one would soon be disabused of that notion. It is both hilarious and deadly serious, obliging the reader to remember all the traumas that befell us.
Social justice activism is a religion in that it provides a set of beliefs. These beliefs are to be accepted unquestioningly, and a common language develops between the people involved by which they may identify one another and interrogate and expel heretics.
For there to be blasphemy there needs to be religion and, in this case, I am referring to the religions of identity politics and climate-change activism. These are not merely religions, however; they are the religions of fanatics.
Defeating the pandemic became a matter of national pride, and the wishes, freedoms, and even the lives of individuals become secondary to that aim. Almost anything was permitted—including brutality in pursuit of the aim of winning the fight.
Erdoğan either has the best of intentions for Turkey or is simply in love with power. The fact that he has altered the presidential voting system and extended his term of office in the process suggest the latter.
We witnessed a prolonged curtailment of freedom of movement, freedom of association, and freedom of speech. But Mark Woolhouse does not address this. In fact, while he clearly comes out as lockdown sceptical, it is not entirely clear why.
It is not their judgement of the film that is in question; it is their methods and the reasons why they were permitted to behave with impunity in a society where free speech predominates.
From the bell preceding the priest’s entry, I was as engaged as I had ever been in any Mass.
While I agree with the aims and even admire the methods of the protesters of 2019 to 2020, it is likely that when China does assume full control of the Hong Kong territory, they will have made things worse.
The essential thesis of the book is, regardless of the efficacy of pandemic management measures, that there was never an assessment of what the likely damage was going to be. The equation between benefit and damage was unbalanced; in fact, the damage side was left blank.
The SNP displays little gratitude to the other regions of the UK without which Scotland’s very survival would be in question. Remarkably, however, it seems wedded to the idea of being part of the EU and members were furious when the UK voted to leave.
