Isis will be Toasting to the Rise of Far-right Populism
It makes me feel a bit sick thinking about the celebratory mood in Isis bunkers right now; them flipping open their laptops and delighting as schisms escalate, and Western democracy turns in on itself. Watching on with glee as Donald Trump, the Republican frontrunner, spews xenophobia from a podium, while Marine Le Pen’s National Front ascends into the mainstream of French politics. Toasting to a job well done now far-right populism grows ever more vehement, and ever more persuasive; as...
Barclays Life Skills Students Pinning Tweets Telling Them They’re Scumbags
The bank’s TV advertising campaign aimed at teaching digital “life skills” to help people get jobs, has drastically backfired. Thousands of young people were taught to pin a tweet, and most of them used it to call Barclays a bunch of cheating scumbags, at the top of their news feed. Steven Holmes, 18 said: “after the tutorial I went straight home and pinned a Tweet that said, “you thieving, robbing, shameless #Barclays”. They said the # might make it trend,...
The Dons Are Coming Home
AFC Wimbledon have been granted permission to return to Plough Lane in a landmark decision by the local council. The area was the home of Wimbledon FC until 1991 when the Taylor Report demanded all-seater stadiums for top-flight clubs, a decision which led to a groundshare with Crystal Palace and triggered a long-winded demise for the South West club who were relegated from the FA Premier League in 2001. After drawn out consultations to move the club back home the...
Review: Coldplay – A Head Full Of Dreams
By Declan Roberts (@DeclanMR) Before we get started, I am not the biggest Coldplay fan. Yes, when I was younger I liked them, but I liked S Club 7 when I was younger too, so I was hardly a bastion of good taste. We join Coldplay in a mid-life crisis. After a sorry showing with Ghost Stories and an average effort on Mylo Xyloto, Coldplay needed to rustle up something special with A Head Full of Dreams. They haven’t. Their...
Review: Troye Sivan – Blue Neighbourhood
South African born, Perth raised Troye Sivan is 20 years young. Already a YouTube star and a promising actor (he starred in X-Men Origins: Wolverine), the career-hopping role model has released his debut album Blue Neighbourhood and it’s a whirlwind of emotions. The first three tracks, ‘WILD’, ‘BITE’ and ‘FOOLS’, are from Sivan’s six track EP WILD. These tracks are a fitting start to the album as it delves further into the themes Sivan touched on in the EP. 'WILD'...
Public Trust in Business ‘Flat-Lining’
Public trust in business is flat-lining, according to Philippa Foster Back CBE from the Institute of Business Ethics. The latest survey from the IBE shows that corporate tax avoidance remains the top public concern about business behaviour for 2015. The study found that the public's general opinion about ethical business behaviour has failed to improve, with nearly 40 per cent still saying they consider British business behaves unethically. Although most Brits have historically leaned towards businesses behaving 'ethically' than 'not ethically', over...
Let’s Touch Base: The Office Lingo Plaguing UK Offices
If you're familiar with the glazed stare that spreads across your face when your manager asks you to "action" the "quick and dirty" by "EOP" then you may be one of the 70 per cent of workers who admit they completely switch off if their boss starts talking in business-speak. A new study by working animal charity SPANA polling 2,000 office workers has found that many can’t stand to hear cheesy phrases such as ‘it’s on my radar’, ‘peel the onion’ and ‘reach...
The Middle Class Decline
Winning the middle class vote has long been seen to be the key to winning a General Election, yet both politically and economically, that demographic is in decline. A new Pew Research study released today found the middle class in America, “after more than four decades of serving as the nation’s economic majority", is now matched in number by those in the economic tiers above and below it. The study found that the share of American adults living in middle-income...
Review: Erykah Badu – But You Caint Use My Phone
Phones are undeniably everywhere, so much so that they’ve become inspiration for many songwriters. Of course, this is nothing new; music’s relationship with the telephone has been a long affair. From Electric Light Orchestra’s ‘Telephone Line’, Blondie’s ‘Call Me’ and Stevie Wonder’s ‘I Just Called To Say I Love You’ all the way to Drake’s ‘Hotline Bling’, and not forgetting the flip-phone that made an appearance in Adele’s video for ‘Hello’. Whether the protagonist is slyly texting, whispering sweet nothings...