Dry January merely replicates the source of the problem it is supposed to be solving. It reinforces the idea that we need to go through a period of complete abstention to make up for our festive excesses. It perpetuates the binge-purge cycle rather than short-circuits it. The solution is not to refrain from enjoyment but to avoid excessive indulgence in the first place. Avoid a sodden December and your January can be moist.
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Boris Johnson’s trade deal does not bring “glad tidings of great joy” but final confirmation that a special relationship has been turned into a purely transactional one.
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I’m delighted to have contributed to the World Intellectual Property Organization’s 10th anniversary publication with a chapter on “Ethical Dilemmas in International Organizations”, alongside contributions from Onora O’Neill, Peter Singer and Peter Singer.
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Where’s the evidence? After years in which respect for science and reason has been in decline, it should be encouraging to hear this question being doggedly asked. And yet the demand for evidence is being used by those sceptical of measures scientists generally support to bring the virus under control: vaccines, lockdowns, masks. Ironically, the scientists’ mantra is now being used against them. How did this happen?
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My appeal to defenders of the “trans women are women, period” argument is stop dismissing those of us who are not yet persuaded as transphobic. Instead, engage with us, show us the errors of our ways, while being prepared to question the absolute rightness of your own.
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