-
Continue reading →: Liveblogging Philosophy
Bernhard-Henri Levy is addressing the conference I am attending and speaking of the relationship between America and France. He told an amusing story about flying with John Kerry’s entourage with a view to interviewing him for a book. This was three days before Kerry lost the Presidential election. Time after…
-
Continue reading →: Shall the twain ever meet?
Today I attended a debate between businessmen and academics advocating investment in China vs India. The audience was told to imagine it had $500 million to invest and must choose between the two countries. I thought the result was a clear win for China, though the chairman diplomatically declared it…
-
Continue reading →: Liveblogging economics in Paris
Evan Davis, the BBC Economics Editor is addressing the conference I am attending in Paris. My God, but he’s condescending. He is so used to addressing the peasantry on IngSoc TV that he seemingly cannot adjust to an intelligent audience. The moderator praised him for "making complicated things seem simple,"…
-
Continue reading →: The UK Libertarian Party
Link: The UK Libertarian Party – Welcome. Britain has a new political party, which I am glad to be able to support. Membership is only £10 (though feel free to contribute more). Follow the link for details. There is, no doubt, a long road ahead. Taking on the established political…
-
Continue reading →: Falling in love again…
My test drive was a most diverting experience. The Granturismo is shorter and narrower than my present car, but the interior is elegant and comfortable. In sport mode, this is a fierce machine. The sense of raw power ("in reserve, of course, officer") is reassuring. Out of sport mode, however,…
-
Continue reading →: Today in Paris
I am off to Paris today to take part in a conference. I am thinking of changing my car and, before settling down to the serious business of the week, will be road testing this little beauty around the Arc de Triomphe. My choice of cars is limited by how…
-
Continue reading →: What military aircraft am I?
What military aircraft are you? F-15 Eagle You are an F-15. Your record in combat is spotless; you’ve never been defeated. You possess good looks, but are not flashy about it. You prefer to let your reputation do the talking. You are fast, agile, and loud, but reaching the end…
-
Continue reading →: What no go areas?
Link: Poor Bastard Marvin: What no go areas? ‘Youths’ pelt Jews with stones at Holocaust memorial in East London. This is a new blog to me. Amazingly (although several days old) this is a new story to me too. Is it really possible that Jews were stoned on Holocaust Memorial…
-
Continue reading →: Nearly two million ‘wrongly’ get benefit
Link: Nearly two million ‘wrongly’ get benefit – Times Online. The coffers are empty. Unemployment benefit is cheaper than disability benefit. Higher unemployment is to be expected anyway as the economy goes into recession. A new "government advisor" finds that the "right-wing tabloids" were right after all.
-
Continue reading →: Alice through the ideological looking-glass
Link: I’ve changed my mind on inheritance tax – Telegraph. Dear God, this is in a "right wing newspaper?" My family has never believed in inherited wealth. The idea of having a son who was a trustafarian, or a daughter who was an It girl, would horrify them. For generations…
THE LAST DITCH
Your blogger
Tom is a retired international lawyer. He was a partner in a City of London law firm and spent almost twenty years abroad serving clients from all over the world.
Returning to London on retirement in 2011, he was dismayed to discover how much liberty had been lost in the UK while he was away.
He’s a classical liberal (libertarian, if you must) who, like his illustrious namesake, considers that
“…government even in its best state is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one.”
Socials
Subscribe
Receive content by email
Latest comments
There are many reasons they’re not passed down, Tom. The Triune code, laid out in scripture in all reputable versions…
I’ve always tried to live my life doing no wrong but life isn’t like that so you make compromised but…
Hate to tell you this, but it’s not going to end until you end it. You think people to whom…
[…] – Tom Paine […]
ARCHIVES
Blogspot Archive Mar 2005 – Sep 2006
TypePad/WordPress Archives Sep 2006 – date
The Great American Road Trip of 2013
The Great American Road Trip Posts
First post (in case you want to read it from the beginning)
The Last Ditch by Tom Paine 
A little bird tweeted in my ear that it was time to come over and see how things are.