As the centenary of the October Revolution approaches, Russia’s current rulers have decided that ambiguity towards the events of 1917 is the second best response, after trying to ignore it. Ideally it would be left to ‘experts’ to deliberate, which is probably why planning official commemorations only commenced in December 2016.
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When it comes to a contrast between two brothers in public life, the nearest parallel is in Hamlet: Old Hamlet, the murder victim, and Claudius, his assassin - Hyperion to a satyr. Yet that does not entirely work. Satyr is perfect for Boris Johnson; Hyperion may be overstating his brother Jo's graces. Equally, Old Hamlet may not have deserved all his son's hero-worship, while Claudius might be worthy of tragic status. To win a throne and a Queen, he committed a dreadful and treacherous crime. Yet there was a certain heroic grandeur, albeit evil, to his objectives and his offences. In Boris's case, there is mere squalid littleness.
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With strange symbolism, on Friday 13th October, in the diplomatic room of the White House, Donald Trump said he would no longer certify to Congress that Iran is complying with the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear deal.
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Hugh Hefner insisted he made the world a better place by way of large breasts and air-brushed pudenda, while Harvey Weinstein reckoned being a champion of liberal causes entitled him to starlets on demand. Neither noticed how times, as they say, are changing.
It is just over three weeks since the “American icon,” Hugh Hefner, breathed his last in the Playboy mansion and was transported to California to be interred in a mausoleum next door to the body of Marilyn Monroe. He and Monroe never met, but she was the first of the naked celebrities who became the hallmark of Playboy, appearing both on the cover of its first 1953 issue and as its first centerfold and apparently ensuring that the magazine sold out. Ever the sentimentalist, Hefner spent a full $75,000 on a grave in this desirable location. He liked the idea, he said, of spending eternity next to the famous and fragile movie-star.
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The principle behind the Universal Credit is simple. Its intention is to make work pay and to ensure that the transition to employment from unemployment is as smooth as possible. As it replaces six existing benefits, it will ultimately be an easier system to use. Income-based Job Seekers Allowance, income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Income Support, Working Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit and Housing Benefit will all come into one payment. One of its main advantages is that it is withdrawn at a slower rate for those moving from unemployment to work, as of the last Budget at 63%, so that any form of work will make a claimant better off because for every pound earned thirty eight pence will be kept rather than being wiped out by the loss of benefits. It also mimics employment. Those who have salaries do not receive different payments from their employers for their housing costs, nor are there bills paid directly. Most firms pay monthly rather than weekly or fortnightly and do so directly into a bank account.
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