Beautiful Cambridge

Sloane Rangers and others are certain to find this gallery of beautiful low-light and night photographs of Cambridge, England nostalgic and refreshing to the spirit.
Fine art prints are available for purchase, and photographer Sean T. McHugh discloses of some of his methods and offers a discussion board for fellow photographers. Top-notch.

Taki on the Madoff Scandal

Cartoon of Gstaad's Palace Hotel by the wonderful Oliver Preston; visit him here.

Taki Theodoracopulos writes this week that many of Bernie Madoff’s friends own chalets in Gstaad, where he lives, and tells what he knows of of them.

Madoff used Jewish charities to build up immunity from snoopers. Anyone suspected of being anti-Madoff was leaned on—heavily. There were many who steered clear of Madoff nonetheless. In 2003, the French Société Générale figured that Madoff’s numbers didn’t add up and placed him on its blacklist.

The trouble is that the U.S. government will not go all the way while prosecuting Madoff. Uncle Sam would if there were pension funds involved, but going to bat for some rich white Europeans is not Sam’s habit. Obviously Madoff has hidden assets, perhaps in the billions, and most of his feeder fund managers have money, too. I don’t see any of them wearing striped pyjamas any time soon. Smart lawyers, the best money can buy, will defend them against underpaid government mouthpieces. The leading players so far have maintained a stony silence, making sure to avoid any kind of apology or statement of responsibility. Villehuchet’s suicide is probably seen as a dumb act by the Madoffs, Picciottos, Piedrahitas, Toubs and Noels of this world. It’s going to be an interesting Gstaad season, to say the least.
Visit Taki here.


UPDATE: Feb. 2009 - Taki adds a very funny sequel on the Madoff scandal here; we'd like to join you, Taki, and hope that Her Grace The Dowager Duchess of Devonshire will also be there!

Sloanes in the Kitchen: AGA and the Green Movement

"This is indeed a class war, and the campaign against the Aga starts here"
Mr. Monbiot writes
"It would be stupid to claim that environmentalism is never informed by class. Compare, for example, the campaign against patio heaters with the campaign against Agas. Patio heaters are a powerful symbol: heating the atmosphere is not a side-effect, it's their purpose. But to match the fuel consumption of an Aga, a large domestic patio heater would have to run continuously at maximum output for three months a year. Patio heaters burn liquefied petroleum gas, while most Agas use oil, electricity or coal, which produce more CO2. A large Aga running on coal turns out nine tonnes of carbon dioxide per year: five and a half times the total CO2 production of the average UK home. To match that, the patio heater would have to burn for nine months.
So where is the campaign against Agas? There isn't one. I've lost count of the number of aspirational middle-class greens I know who own one of these monsters and believe that they are somehow compatible (perhaps because they look good in a country kitchen) with a green lifestyle. The campaign against Agas - which starts here - will divide rich greens down the middle."

Prole or posh, it is time to green all our machines. Let us consider microwave ovens. Microwave ovens are so unhealthy that they were banned by the Soviets in 1976.

And, like other appliances that are never truly "off", microwave ovens are energy vampires.

Read an eco-friendly story - about AGA creating huge savings in electricity - here. AGA now has a green section at its site here. And there is a delightful blog, Girl at the Aga, by Laura James here.