Not there on merit

In the Guardian, John Harris is set the task of answering this question:

Is meritocracy dead?

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Not fit to lecture anyone

There are few public figures who enrage me more than Cormac Murphy O'Connor, who last night lectured us (as he then repeated on the Today programme just now) about attempts to "eliminate the Christian voice" from the public forum.

There is one Christian voice which ought to have been eliminated from the public forum years ago: that of the Cardinal. I refuse to take moral lessons from the man who considered it appropriate to protect and then re-employ a pederast priest, in full knowledge of his behaviour. As the Cardinal's BBC profile puts it:

It emerged that he had failed to act when a priest, Fr Michael Hill, became known to him as a paedophile. Instead of informing the police of the allegations against Hill, he moved him to the chaplaincy at Gatwick Airport where he believed the priest would no longer be a danger to children. 

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The Bastiat Prize

It's that time of year again...The 2008 Bastiat Prize is now under way. It's a terrific prize, with $15,000 to be awarded. Judges this year include Lord Lawson and Amity Shlaes. Full detailshere. 

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Tell Arabella what to do

A friend has pointed out that I might have been a tad unkind to Arabella Weir. As he puts it:

It is not entirely clear to me that she actually intends to go on hunger strike – the timeline is rather unclear. It appears that she will be attempting to do a number of things simultaneously, a few of which seem to defy the laws of physics.

I will go on hunger strike and throw myself in front of the next horse at Ascot if he wins. Failing that I was going to say I'll sleep with him, but he'd probably say yes. So instead I'll chain myself to the railings of his house. And then I'll move out of London. 

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Israel's contribution

As I'm sure you'll know, this month is the 60th anniversary of the foundation of the state of Israel. Oxford Economics has just produced a report on the ties between Israel and the UK, and it makes for fascinating reading. Among the more interesting facts:

Economic ties between the UK and Israel contributed a total of £1.7 billion to UK GDP in 2006, the most recent year for which figures can be calculated. This number takes no account of any indirect effects, such as additional purchases generated further down the supply chain, which would multiply the figure. 

Israel is one of the UK’s top fifty trading partners and ranks 26th on a national per capita basis (ahead of the US, Japanese and South African per capita figures)Israelis own £8.5 billion of assets in the UK, while UK residents own £3.8 billion of assets in Israel.

The latest data

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