On 13 March I tweeted that JK Rowling “is a Holocaust denier”. That allegation was false and offensive. I have deleted it and apologise to JK Rowling.

Always a shame when ideological zealots elevate political correctness over historical accuracy.

Love it: “People misunderstand translation as being about understanding obscure words or something,” he says, 'when it’s actually about being able to render a style...My work is untouchable to AI”

“To host a ‘conversation’ with Shakespeare denialists is a betrayal of the values of literary scholarship and critical inquiry that we hold to.” The Independent quotes me accurately - and I don’t consider that The London Library has a sustainable position here. independent.co.uk/arts-entertain…

Former Kent and England spinner Derek Underwood has sadly passed away at the age of 78.

He took 297 wickets in 86 Tests for England, and a total of 2,465 first-class wickets in 676 matches.

May he rest in peace.

Am glad to be getting coverage for my protest at The London Library’s hosting of Shakespeare denialism. Predictably, the planned speaker, Elizabeth Winkler, is evasive about her ridiculous & malign thesis and shamelessly dishonest about the nature of my complaint. dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1…

Marxists for kleptocratic capitalism, theocracy, and state-directed capitalism.
Because for many of today’s “Marxists,” the one thing that really matters is anti-Americanism.

Elizabeth Winkler, a graduate of two elite US universities, Princeton and Stanford, is scheduled to appear at the London Library in June to hold forth on her pet subject: “Was Shakespeare a woman?”
(£)thetimes.co.uk/article/writer…
I think John Rentoul may know the answer #QTWTAIN

Former Tory MPs Andrew Bridgen and Matt Hancock's libel battle over a tweet comparing Covid vaccines to the Holocaust has hit the courts. Bridgen's team argues Hancock's tweet calling the comments 'disgusting and dangerous anti-semitic, anti-vax conspiracy theories' is…

Quite extraordinary. All of it.

Thanks, Polity, for sending me advance copy of this book by Geoff Pullum. I’ve often felt there’s an absence of a reliable introduction to English grammar for intelligent laypeople, assuming no prior knowledge. This is it. It’s brilliant, by a giant of modern linguistics.

The MAGA right, anti-war left, self-styled realists, the Pope, and others say it's time for Ukraine to negotiate.
But from Russia sympathizers to well-intentioned peacemakers, all duck a key question: What if Putin doesn't want peace?
Me in The Daily Beast
thedailybeast.com/what-if-putin-…

Kathleen Stock If we’re going to talk about questionable academic practices, let’s maybe start with “authoring a paper with your own alter ego”. Nowhere in this paper is it made clear that Natacha Kennedy and Mark Hellen are the same person.

Is anyone connected with GB News going to defend this inflammatory nonsense? It’s not an isolated error but an intrinsic part of a media outlet where accuracy is neither prized nor observed. And it’s past time Ofcom revoked the channel’s UK broadcast licence.

The United States condemns Iran’s attack on Israel.  As the President said, our commitment to Israel’s security against threats from Iran is ironclad.

I deplore in the strongest possible terms Iran’s unjustified attack against Israel. This is a serious escalation putting more lives at risk. The top priority should be stopping any further escalation in the region.

Ukraine condemns Iran’s attack on Israel using “Shahed” drones and missiles. We in Ukraine know very well the horror of similar attacks by Russia, which uses the same “Shahed” drones and Russian missiles, the same tactics of mass air strikes.

Every effort must be made to prevent…