Are our courts a playground for bullies? Just ask Catherine Belton | Nick Cohen

by | May 8, 2021 | The Guardian

Her acclaimed book is under attack from Russian billionaires. Are they out to silence her?

Welcome to London, the censorship capital of the democratic world, where you must watch your step and bite your tongue if you know what’s good for you.

Everyone here who writes or broadcasts about plutocratic power should be honest with you before getting down to business. We’re pretty much free to say what we want about Boris Johnson, for example, or Dominic Raab. They’re only our prime minister and foreign secretary, after all: nobodies when put alongside the big boys. However badly we think they govern, they won’t hurt us.

Continue reading…

Click here to see original article

How I learned that by trying to avoid sadness, I was only making it worse | Helen Russell

by | May 8, 2021 | The Guardian

Bedridden, and unable to move, I realised that I had spent my life running from misery. It was time to confront it

Propped up by pillows and turned at intervals, like a pork chop on a grill, I endured a period of enforced bed rest a few years back when my world shrank to four walls. During what doctors termed a “high-risk geriatric pregnancy” I was incapacitated, developing sores on my hips and tailbone (despite the flipping) and an overwhelming melancholy.

I reminded myself that this was temporary and that in the history of the world, for many people, things had been far grimmer. And then I proved it to myself by embarking on a study of the history of sadness. This was less miserable than it sounds and excellent for putting things into perspective, heightening compassion, and encouraging the groundswell of change.

Continue reading…

Click here to see original article