Obama

The past month has felt very strange, and the reason was well put by Mark Steel: "And the most immoral part of all is the perfectly cynical timing [of the attack on Gaza], as if three weeks ago Bush shouted: 'Last orders please. Any last bombing, before time's up? Come along now, haven't you got homes to demolish?' "

Anyway, the waiting is over and we have a new President. There is a hopeful aspect to the Palestinian disaster: it suggests that Israel may have inside information on Obama's intentions; they may realize that indeed time is up.

It has been a strange period for me, because at the end of the old year I cancelled my order for daily papers to be delivered. I have read a daily paper for most of my adult life, but I found that the British press grew more and more empty and introverted. The Independent is a shadow of what it was when it was launched, and the Guardian is not much better. As for The Times, I have never forgiven its takeover by Murdoch. It seems that now the only serious newspaper is Le Monde, so perhaps I'll take out a subscription to that. On the other hand, I find I can get plenty of news from Radio Four and New Scientist, and it is nice to have more time for reading books.