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Continue reading →: STOP PRESS: Robert Peston has a good idea
Robert Peston sends star speakers to state schools | Education | guardian.co.uk. One of the things I most enjoyed about Cheltenham Ladies' College, my daughters' private school, was Speech Day. Partly because the then Principal had a wicked sense of humour and gave an hilarious, but still informative, account of…
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Continue reading →: RIP Steve
Tributes to Steve Jobs | Technology | The Guardian. Steve Jobs managed to live just two years longer than Mrs Paine. Cancer cut him down in the end though his wealth gave him unrestricted access to the best medical care in the world. I feel for his family today. They…
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Continue reading →: The Boy King’s Speech
Conservative Party conference 2011: David Cameron's speech in full – Telegraph. I could quibble about some of his sentiments; on the importance of government leadership for example, but essentially I agree with every word of David Cameron's conference speech. The problem is I don't believe he does. At least, he…
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Continue reading →: Not ‘Christian rights’ but ‘human rights’
Iranian Pastor Sentenced to Death: Nadarkhani Refuses to Convert – International Business Times. Why does this story gain so little traction in the media? Why do only 'Christian rights' groups seem interested in the plight of a pastor who will not – even to save his life – renounce his…
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Continue reading →: What kind of country has Britain become? (Part II)
Teenage sisters sentenced over plot to kill their grandfather, 89 | UK news | guardian.co.uk. This beggars belief. As for the judge's concerns about the would-be murderers' youth and immaturity, my only question is this; how much 'maturity' does it take to know it's wrong to batter your granddad with…
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Continue reading →: Another nGram: Charity vs Social Security
Any thoughts about this one? (click to enlarge)
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Continue reading →: How best to use the nGram?
http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf This is a fun film from the ever-stimulating Ted.com. It started me thinking as to practical uses for this fascinating new tool. Can we apply it, for example to trends in political thought? Here's something I tried (click on the graph to enlarge it). Can you come up…
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Continue reading →: Incompetence is not a bug, it’s a feature
Dead federal retirees paid $120 million yearly, report says – The Federal Eye – The Washington Post. Just to hammer home my point that it's not the character or intelligence of public sector employees that – for the most part – I question. It's the whole concept of big government…
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Continue reading →: Who pays? What a naive question.
Has any one lost their job over half-billion pound waste? | Grassroots | The TaxPayers' Alliance. This is so naive. Of course the answer is 'No.' It's not even a sensible question. The job objectives of public 'servants' are so much more complex than in the private sector, as is…
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Continue reading →: The state is not your friend
Pat Nurse has a worrying post up at her blog. A professional colleague and his wife almost lost their children some years ago over unfounded allegations of abuse similar to those now faced by Pat's daughter. My colleague and his wife are wealthy, articulate and both qualified lawyers, yet still…
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.”
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Almost. I think Archbishop Sarah is a Christian. I just think she’s at a loss to know how to reach…
It’s almost as if they are not actually Christian but simply a person being advised by woke PR people in…
She may be gone but you have all those wonderful memories :-)
I miss the more traditional Anglican services that I remember from my younger years. I haven’t regularly attended church services…
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The Last Ditch by Tom Paine 
I’m sure there are a few fire and brimstone types they could have had instead of a woke woman. Putting…