I have talented friends. At least two have book deals and are furiously writing while living off their advances. A few have been elected to Parliament. Some are advising ministers or writing Middle East peace plans. On balance, this is a good thing, even if it does make me feel rather inferior by comparison. Some are inventors. […]
Author: arieh
Re-entry experiences on landing in the UK
I just landed in the UK for a few days and had two re-entry experiences in the course of leaving the airport. Default Languages Since moving to Israel I’ve tried to integrate with society and learn the language. This wasn’t easy, and after my first few months I realised that I’d have to do more. […]
Two-Tier Exams
One of the commonest criticisms of Michael Gove’s proposals to reform England and Wales’ examinations is that it would recreate a two-tier system: more prestigious O-levels and less-good CSEs, instead of the universal GCSE that exists today. The problem with this argument is that many commentators don’t seem to realise that GCSEs are themselves a […]
Thoughts on the Arab revolutions
A few thoughts after sitting in a panel discussion on the Arab revolutions, with speakers from Turkey, Jordan, Egypt, the USA and Israel, as part of the Israeli Presidential Conference. Jordan Though Jordan isn’t undergoing a violent revolution (or a violent repression of a peaceful revolution), there are now weekly protests against the King and […]
A note from the management
You might have noticed that it’s a bit quiet around here. There’s a reason for this: I’m not a blogger – well, not a proppa blogga (© Sion Simon). There was some point a few years ago when I wanted to rant about something but needed a platform a bit bigger than Twitter, so I […]