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January 5th, 2013 9:10

Fans, not players, are keeping gay footballers from revealing themselves

fans-not-players-are-keeping-gay-footballers-from-revealing-themselves

From Saturday’s paper: The West Ham and England winger Matt Jarvis appears on the cover of this month’s Attitude, the gay magazine, topless and holding a football. Following David Beckham and Freddie Ljungberg, he’s the third footballer to do so. That is three times as many footballers in Britain as have come out as gay.… Read more

January 4th, 2013 20:04

Polish immigration, cringe-making gay Masses… and being locked in the loo

polish-immigration-cringe-making-gay-masses-and-being-locked-in-the-loo

From Saturday’s Daily Telegraph Did you know there are now more people in this country who were born in Poland than in Pakistan? That’s a finding from the latest census, and it’s a surprise, because although we’re all familiar with the stereotype of the Polish builder, this isn’t a community that interests us very much.… Read more

January 4th, 2013 18:22

Why has the West taken Chavez seriously for so long?

why-has-the-west-taken-chavez-seriously-for-so-long

Hugo Chavez is lying stricken in a hospital bed in Cuba and his aides have admitted that his condition is worsening. Meanwhile, cohorts of Chavez relatives are reported to have flown to Havana, perhaps to say a last goodbye. So it looks as if the “commandante” will soon pass on. Chavez is a divisive figure:… Read more

January 4th, 2013 18:01

The policy mistake that led to the collapse of Royal Bank of Scotland

the-policy-mistake-that-led-to-the-collapse-of-royal-bank-of-scotland

Generally speaking, I’m not that keen on “what if” history, but while sorting out the loft the other day I came across a copy, dating from 1981, of a Monopolies and Mergers Commission report into competing takeover bids by Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (now known as HSBC) and Standard Chartered Bank for Royal Bank… Read more

January 4th, 2013 17:42

Diane Abbott’s one-woman war against fried chicken sums up how snooty and paternalistic Labour has become

diane-abbotts-one-woman-war-against-fried-chicken-sums-up-how-snooty-and-paternalistic-labour-has-become

After the Christmas/New Year food’n’booze splurge, all of us are keen to drop a pound or two. But isn’t buxom Diane Abbott taking the diet thing a bit far by kicking off the New Year with a promise to ban the spread of fried chicken shops? Most of us settle for throwing those leftover chocolates… Read more

January 4th, 2013 17:14

Barack Obama’s $7 million Hawaii vacation is an insult to America’s struggling middle class

barack-obamas-7-million-hawaii-vacation-is-an-insult-to-americas-struggling-middle-class

$16.4 trillion – that’s the latest figure for America’s massive national debt. Nearly $6 trillion of this debt was racked up in the first term of the Obama presidency – a 50 percent increase. It is horrifying to imagine what the debt will be when Obama leaves the White House in 2016, unless Congress has… Read more

January 4th, 2013 17:13

In 2013, what breakthroughs can we expect in breast cancer treatments?

in-2013-what-breakthroughs-can-we-expect-in-breast-cancer-treatments

The new year has been rung in and, with it, many more developments in the world of cancer research. Whether it is finding a way to an earlier or more accurate diagnosis, matching the correct medication to the type of tumour, harnessing the patient’s own immune system to fight the cancer or challenging the side… Read more

January 4th, 2013 16:40

Even Guardian readers are outraged by the paper’s massive error of judgment over paedophilia

even-guardian-readers-are-outraged-by-the-papers-massive-error-of-judgment-over-paedophilia

  There’s been a lot of comment in the past 24 hours about Jon Henley’s article on paedophilia. Published by The Guardian under the headline, “Bringing Dark Desires to Light”, it posed as a balanced consideration of what makes paedophiles tick. The problem was less with content than with tone. Henley tried to bring “objectivity”… Read more

January 4th, 2013 16:07

Another Balls-up, but do the Tories offer any kind of an alternative?

another-balls-up-but-do-the-tories-offer-any-kind-of-an-alternative

I don’t necessarily disagree with the idea of scrapping tax breaks on pension contributions, but proposals from Ed Balls, the shadow Chancellor, for targeting the pension perks enjoyed by higher rate tax payers so as to fund a new jobs programme for the long term unemployed amount to an ill thought out dogs dinner of… Read more

January 4th, 2013 12:30

Bond bubble fears and why I took the biggest bet of my life

bond-bubble-fears-and-why-i-took-the-biggest-bet-of-my-life

Last month I took the biggest bet of my life and, without wishing to overstate the downside, put 26 years’ savings at risk. Contrary to the conventional wisdom that people should raise their exposure to supposedly low-risk bonds and reduce shareholdings as they get older, I did the opposite and sold all the bonds in… Read more

January 4th, 2013 12:00

Diane Abbott gives her feminist sisters a good kicking

diane-abbott-gives-her-feminist-sisters-a-good-kicking

Diane Abbott never fails to surprise (some would say, outrage). In a political landscape of dull and drab politicos she’s a technicolour firecracker. In a Labour party chockablock with thuggish machos, she is very much her own woman, striking a refreshingly independent note. This has placed the maverick MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington… Read more

January 4th, 2013 11:51

Labour needs to work out whether they want to be Robin Hood or the Sheriff of Nottingham

labour-needs-to-work-out-whether-they-want-to-be-robin-hood-or-the-sheriff-of-nottingham

This morning Ed Balls has announced he’s going to rob Peter to pay Paul. Or more accurately, he’s going to rob pensioners to pay Paul, by cutting basic rate tax relief on savings over £150,000 and using the money to create a new mandatory jobs scheme for the long-term unemployed. And fair play to him.… Read more

January 4th, 2013 11:45

She may be a CBE, but Tracey Emin is still naked

she-may-be-a-cbe-but-tracey-emin-is-still-naked

I wasn’t going to write about Tracey Emin being made a CBE, since having published a novel (Killing the Emperors) about crass, talentless conceptual art last year, I was taking a holiday from writing about people like her. But yesterday a comedian called Katy Brand (of Katy Brand’s Big Ass Show) propelled me back to… Read more

January 4th, 2013 11:33

Balls to another tax raid: hands off our pensions

balls-to-another-tax-raid-hands-off-our-pensions

Ed Balls’ proposal for yet another tax raid on pensions is horribly reminiscent of his former master and political inspiration, Gordon Brown. Mr Brown’s first major act as Chancellor in July, 1997, was to scrap pension funds’ ability to receive dividend income from their share portfolios tax-free. Many mistook this as a technicality at the… Read more

January 4th, 2013 10:06

Never mind banning the hijab, what about the banning of the cross?

never-mind-banning-the-hijab-what-about-the-banning-of-the-cross

So here we are again. A nine-year-old girl from south London has been forbidden from wearing her hijab at school. As surely as night follows day, her family are suing the school for religious discrimination. Commentators on the Left, like the education journalist Susan Elkin, tie themselves in tautologies in efforts to call for toleration: “I know… Read more

January 4th, 2013 6:45

Top tax dodgers – including ‘green fraudsters’ – jailed for 150 years

top-tax-dodgers-including-green-fraudsters-jailed-for-150-years

Thirty two “top tax criminals of 2012”, who were sentenced to a total of more than 150 years imprisonment, have been named and shamed with their photographs published online by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). The gloves are off as tax inspectors and the criminal courts take a tough line with tax evasion. However, an… Read more

January 3rd, 2013 21:33

Al Gore is accused of taking money from big oil. Why not? So did the Obama campaign

al-gore-is-accused-of-taking-money-from-big-oil-why-not-so-did-the-obama-campaign

Al Gore is one of the living saints of the liberal Left – think St Francis of Assisi, only with $100 million in the bank and a “10,000-square-foot colonial in Nashville”. Ever since An Inconvenient Truth hit cinemas, he has courageously warned us about the dangers of reliance upon big oil. In 2008, he said,… Read more

January 3rd, 2013 19:33

Switzerland and Britain are now at currency war

switzerland-and-britain-are-now-at-currency-war

It seems you can’t debase your coinage these days even if you try. The Bank of England is straining every sinew to drive down sterling with quantitative easing, and what happens? The Swiss National Bank trumps Threadneedle Street with an outright blitz of Gilt purchases. They just print it, and buy. The Swiss and UK… Read more

January 3rd, 2013 18:08

Where are the street protests over Syria’s bloodbaths?

where-are-the-street-protests-over-syrias-bloodbaths

Where are the demonstrations? The shocking disclosure that Syria’s civil war has claimed at least 60,000 lives has brought precious little reaction. To place this in context, President Bashar al-Assad’s murderous struggle to keep his stranglehold on power has now killed more people than any of the Arab-Israeli wars. Not one of those conflicts, going… Read more

January 3rd, 2013 15:37

The elderly have contributed to the state all their life. The Winter Fuel Allowance is the least they deserve

the-elderly-have-contributed-to-the-state-all-their-life-the-winter-fuel-allowance-is-the-least-they-deserve

A long time ago, one newspaper – it may have been The Daily Express – tried to stir up a fuss with a story about Field-Marshal Viscount Montgomery of Alamein visiting his local Post Office to collect his old-age pension. The suggestion was that Monty didn’t need the money and therefore shouldn’t take it. His… Read more

January 3rd, 2013 14:53

Apple’s arrogance is starting to get annoying

apples-arrogance-is-starting-to-get-annoying

Apple should be a lot more worried about its latest bug than it appears to be. Little mistakes often indicate bigger issues, and that’s true in this case. Scheduling the Do Not Disturb function in iOS has been broken since New Year’s Day and as with any error from Apple, it’s got plenty of press.… Read more

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