I CANNOT help taking fire at anything said in disparagement of Walter Scott. I feel that I have got from his writings, not only immense pleasure, but some good. He was a truly noble-hearted gentleman, a model of that class, and his character is impressed on all the works of his pen. A type, he seems to me, of social chivalry. In all his writings, too, there is the buoyancy of perfect health. In reading them you breathe the air of the Scotch hills. I can conceive no better mental febrifuge, no better antidote to depression, no more sovereign remedy for dull care. Scott was a hot Tory, perhaps a Jacobite, and his worship of monarchy in the person of George IV betrayed him into the one ridiculous action of his life. I have always been glad that he sat down upon the wineglass which he had put into his pocket to be kept as a relic because it had touched the sacred lips of the King. But his Toryism was not flunkyish. Nor was it narrow. It did not interfere in the slightest degree with the … [Read more...] about Scott’s Poetry Again
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What’s it really like to work at McDonald’s?
By Justin Parkinson Published 15 April 2015 Share close Share page Copy link About sharing In 1955 the first McDonald's franchise restaurant opened in the US. Now it is the world's biggest fast food chain, employing 1.9 million people. The word "McJob" has become a term of derision, but what's it like to actually work there? "Hello, can I help you?" asks the smiling young woman behind the counter. Within about 20 seconds of receiving the order, an Egg and Sausage McMuffin is on the counter. The woman smiles again and moves on to the next customer. The restaurant's only part-full but the serving area is still busy. That's the way McDonald's likes it. Staff are set time targets for service. Efficiency and profit margins are key. It's fair to say that, in the 60 years since the first franchised McDonald's restaurant opened, portrayals of its workplaces have not been universally … [Read more...] about What’s it really like to work at McDonald’s?
The Twitter employee who deleted Donald Trump’s account is being hailed as a hero
On Thursday President Donald Trump's infamous Twitter account, which he has used to shape everything from Department of Defense policy to America's foreign relations with North Korea, disappeared from the social media platform for 11 minutes. At first Twitter thought it was due to human error, but on further investigation they found it was was an intentional act by an employee on their last day of work. "Through our investigation we have learned that this was done by a Twitter customer support employee who did this on the employee's last day," Twitter wrote in a statement Thursday. "We are conducting a full internal review." Initially, some thought the president had been penalized for violating Twitter's terms of service and policy on hateful conduct because he has bullied groups like the NFL and others through his account. In the aftermath, some Twitter users branded the as-yet-unnamed employee as a hero. "Not all heroes wear capes," tweeted out British journalist … [Read more...] about The Twitter employee who deleted Donald Trump’s account is being hailed as a hero
Steven Seagal visits prison holding Ukrainian detainees days after dozens killed in attack
Steven Seagal has visited a prison camp run by Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine which was hit by a deadly attack days earlier. The Hollywood action star, 70, was photographed looking through the bars of the complex at the prisoners of war inside. He was later pictured inside the ruined building in the frontline town of Olenivka in Donetsk Oblast. Among the detainees were reportedly members of the far-right Azov battalion who had been captured in Mariupol where Ukrainian forces held out against Russian troops for months during the war. Seagal's visit comes after more than 50 people were killed and dozens of others were injured in a 29 July incident at the jail. Advertisement Russia claimed Ukraine's military used US-supplied HIMARS rockets to strike the prison in an area controlled by the Moscow-backed Donetsk People's Republic. However, Ukraine's armed forces denied responsibility, saying Russian artillery had targeted the jail … [Read more...] about Steven Seagal visits prison holding Ukrainian detainees days after dozens killed in attack
Bleak House: Frustration on Capitol Hill
Atlantic FOUNDED IN 1857 by Sanford J. Ungar Jerry Ambro caught on early. He was elected to the House of Representatives from a traditionally Republican area on Long Island in 1974. He became a leader among the seventy-six brash new Democratic congressmen who arrived in Washington the following January, determined to remodel and revolutionize the institution. They deposed three committee chairmen, pushed through a number of significant procedural changes, and established themselves as a force to be reckoned with. It was a heady, exhilarating experience. Before many months had passed, however, Ambro was confronted with a typical problem: the Army Corps of Engineers was planning to dump 250,000 cubic yards of dredged spoil containing heavy metals into Long Island Sound. Although the dumping area was technically in Connecticut waters, Ambro’s constituents were alarmed that the polluted material would drift in their direction, and they thought their congressman should be able to … [Read more...] about Bleak House: Frustration on Capitol Hill
Jimmy Carter Revealed: Rockefeller Republican
It sounds too simple, I grant you, but just for the sake of argument, try thinking of Jimmy Carter as a Rockefeller Republican. It is hardly more simplistic than “populist,” “New South,” “evangelical,” and sundry other handles that have been tried out on Carter; it fits more snugly than any of the others do, and for me it's held firm for more than a year now. No, alas, this is not an argument that David Rockefeller first invented Jimmy Carter around 1971, arranged for Zbigniew Brzezinski to train him in global politics, and then rigged his nomination and election. Nor do I believe what some Reaganites have suggested: that a piqued Nelson Rockefeller—dumped from the Republican ticket in favor of Senator Bob Dole, a Reagan designee—contrived last fall to make Jimmy Carter the vessel of his revenge on the GOP. On the contrary, I observe here the ban on conspiracy theories in mainstream American journalism and political discussion. So unfashionable are conspiracy theories that if … [Read more...] about Jimmy Carter Revealed: Rockefeller Republican