The Fugitive starring Anne Sacoolas

Diplomatic immunity may mean that some people can get away with manslaughter, but inconvenient truth and demands for justice have a way of pursuing the guilty.

As Anne Sacoolas has been publicly named and shamed, particularly in the British press, this story of a road traffic fatality is front page news and gaining much traction.

It will not go away under legal and diplomatic arrangements. Justice for the late Harry Dunn and closure for his grieving parents, and well orchestrated, co-ordinated campaigning will not let the matter rest. 

Extinction Rebellion: a new religion?

Followers of Extinction Rebellion seem to me mainly young folk on a sort of religious crusade, not a war of the cross, but a war against climate change and ecological disaster.

It could be defined as a religion, if by religion one means deeply held belief, a creed, that influences behaviour, views, lifestyle, and demands a commitment to certain values and practices. Not all religions are theistic and God affirming.

Extinction Rebellion (ER) preaches a prescient message and proclaims prophesies of doom, death and destruction. It has an eschatological dimension. It has produced its martyrs, bearing witness and being arrested on the streets of large cities for their cause.

Young people, particularly, have found and embraced a movement which gives them meaning, a message and significance. Going on a demonstration is a sort of religious experience, a pilgrimage, a journey of faith at a time when the future seems to them doubtful, dark and dismal.

It is a truly apocalyptic faith and as chilling in its predictions as parts of the Book of Revelation.
Fiery times are ahead if we believe in 2 Peter 3: 10, but I doubt if many ER adherents would consider or reflect on verses 11-14. For some the end times will be extremely bleak. But those who are in Christ shall look forward to many mansions in a new heaven and new earth, the home of righteousness. 

Who will rid me of this turbulent journalist?

The Jamal Khashoogi murder was in the Saudi consulate a year ago, at this time of year. It was perpetrated by agents of the Saudi Arabian government, on the watch of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Are there parallels with the infamous Murder in the Cathedral, when knights loyal to Henry II killed Archbishop Thomas Becket? Agents loyal to the Crown Prince removed with extreme prejudice, that is assassinated, the turbulent journalist, a dissident thorn in the flesh of MbS. Becket was a thorn in the flesh of Henry II, who eventually took responsibility for the crime. Henry's knights went about their "urgent business", and so did Mohammed bin Salman's agents.

The Crown Prince, in an interview, has said that he has taken responsibility for the crime. So what kind of penance and personal punishment will he submit to?  Not, I think, the same as Henry II.

Spurs were shocking, severely second best on a miserable evening at N17. Bayern Munich were magnificent.

Tottenham Hotspur put in a pathetic and poor performance yesterday evening. Seven good goals, not lucky strikes, went past Lloris. Now I am beginning to wonder if El Poch is that good a manager when he plays Aurier at full back, a player clearly out of form and off the pace. He should have been left back in the locker room, locked away from the pitch. He had a stinker, one the worst games ever in a Tottenham shirt. And I have seen some bad defenders over the years at White Hart Lane.

Serge Gnarby really rubbed salt into the TH wounds. Gnarby scored four great goals and feasted on the lamentable defending. Lewandowski scored a truly spectacular and stunning goal of beautiful brillance. The Spurs defence failed to cope, especially in the second half, when Bayern ran rings round pub team defending.

The German word for such a Tottenham second half display is grausam. But Bayern Munich played some world class football, highlighting the Lilywhites' defensive frailties. Bayern Munich were ausgezeichnet, exzellent, trefflich.

Inside the Bodleian: Building a 21st Century Library

Images of Oregon, September 2019

I had a great time in Oregon, particularly on the coast around Lincoln City.

Let's start with Oregon Coastal sunsets.

Beach life near Highway 101

Near Depoe Bay, whale watchers' delight

You can see an excursion boat for whale watchers in the distance on the top left.

Having a whale of a time at a lovely location. And why not? The excursion boats are visible in the distance and can be seen if you enlarge the image by clicking inside the photograph.

The Federal Agent on the right looks a bit like Ryan Gosling, in my opinion. Could be a body double?

Elizabeth Holmes, false prophet of haematology? Making false profits?

I watched the documentary film The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley about the rise and fall of Elizabeth Holmes. I watched it on a Delta airways flight and on Netflix in the USA. This film is an amazing mixture of facts about falsehood, lies and a career built on ego, confidence and sheer guile. I do not understand, as I write this, how on earth has Elizabeth Holmes not been jailed and punished severely for the criminal activity outlined comprehensively in the book Bad Blood by John Carreyou? Massive fraud involving Theranos, a company valued at an estimated $9 billion, that came crashing down.


I have just discovered that the fraud trial is set for 2020. Some people will be out for Ms Holmes' blood. She will need the quality of mercy that is not strained...