The Critical Commentator

Socrates unknown artist Photo Credit: Harris Manchester College, University of Oxford [CC  BY-NC] The evangelicals laid hands on Donald Trump in the Oval Office earlier this month, eyes closed, faces contorted into supplication to the Big Man. I have no idea whether the president believes or merely pretends to believe, but there is no doubt that we are witnessing something remarkable not just in America but beyond: 300 years after the Enlightenment, there is an accelerating influence of fundamentalist religion in the decisions that affect our world. We already knew about this about the Middle East, of course. We knew that the ayatollahs believe they have absolute truth.... But while we castigate these fanatics, I think we should at least pay attention to a milder form of this disease seeping back into the West. Look at Pete Hegseth on Friday telling Americans to pray for US troops "on bended knee with your family, in your schools, in your churches, in the name of  Jesus Christ...

  The forthcoming opening of The Pembroke in Belgravia - a "super" members' club - has caused panic in the well-appointed rooms of Mayfair's traditional, exclusive watering holes. Backed by foreign investors, believed to be Omani, the club has embarked on a hiring spree and is even rumoured to have so disrupted the London wine market that there is a shortage of high-end plonk across the capital. But another front has opened in the battle to become London's most exclusive members' club: butter. Still Life of Bread, Butter and Cheese George Smith (1714-1776) Photo Credit: Yale Centre for British Art. [Public Domain] The Pembroke this month took out a half-page advertisement in Country Life for a "butter sommelier" whose role will be to "curate our butter assortment and assist in training staff using our silver butter trolley". The individual will be required to possess a "deep love for, and understanding of, butter. In addition to a butt...

 A   report last February showed that nearly 100 members of the Lords were paid to give political or policy advice by commercial firms. One former minister earned millions of pounds by working for 30 companies. Multiple peers are being paid by foreign governments, including repressive regimes. Politics and business are bound together in the Lords, with peers able to book plush rooms to pursue their private interests. Perhaps that is why the Earl of Shrewsbury forgot he couldn't claim travel expenses to attend a business conference. He got banned from the Lords for the second time in three years.   Feast of Fools Frans Floris the elder (c. 1517-1570) Picture Credit:: Shakespeare Birthplace Trust  [CC BY-NC-ND]   Last year, Ian Duncan, a deputy speaker of the Lords, was found to have breached the rules by providing a parliamentary service for Terrestrial Energy when he facilitated an introduction between its chief executive and a new energy minister. Oth...

  It is surely obvious to anyone who has given  this more than a fraction of a second's thought that Mandelson was appointed not in spite of his relationship with Epstein but because of it. This is the kind of guy who hangs out in these circles, who is comfortable in them, an environment that Donald Trump - mentioned in the Epstein files more than almost anyone else - is comfortable in too. And Mandelson is slippery; we knew as much   even before the allegations  of misconduct, which he denies, turned the perception into a legitimate sense of collective outrage. We knew about the Hindujas, the Geoffrey Robinson affair; Starmer knew too. He knew about the lobbying company that the honey-tongued lord used to parlay his way into social connections and lucrative opportunities. Again, isn't that why he was hired in the first place? Trump and his clan are all about an eye on the main chance, enriching themselves at any opportunity, albeit in a rather more brazen way t...

  There's a new it-bag in fashion but this time it is not about a designer, label or splashy logo. Instead, it's what's inside that counts. So called "analogue bags" filled with activities such as crossword puzzles, knitting, novels and journals have become the accessory of the season, championed by millennials and Gen Z as a way to reduce screen time. Bag unknown artist Photo Credit: Embroiderers Guild {CC BY-NC-ND] Similar to a prep bag, the analogue bag or basket should contain all the essentials to remain offline for as long as possible. One user compares it to "a toy box for your attention span". David Sax, author of The Revenge of Analog, approves... "Our phones have everything you could ever ask for so you need an alternative to hand in order to fill that void."  The term was coined by Sierra Campbell, a 31 year-old California content creator. "My biggest fear is that I'll lie on my deathbed and regret how much time  I spent on...

  There are two certainties in life: death and taxes. It seems now the uber-rich and famous appear to believe thar they may be able to avoid them both. Leading health professionals have recognised a new disorder, longevity fixation syndrome, which they say is an obsession with longevity so all consuming it begins to take over daily life. Now a Swiss clinic has said that it has seen a "significant uptick" in clients coming to them exhibiting symptoms. On the lakefront in Zurich, the upper echelons of society make their way to Paracelsus Recovery, a mental health clinic with a highly personalised and skilled team treating patients for about £90,000 a week. Immortality Henry Fantin-Latour (1836-1904) Photo Credit: Museum of Wales [Public Domain] Jan Gerber, the founder and chief executive, said: "It's like any fixation, like an eating disorder or a classic behavioural addiction... People start giving up on things that are important for them - the career can suffer, pers...