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The Spectator
Saturday
Letters | 7 April 2012
Generation wars Sir: Viva Carol Sarler (‘Battle of the generations’, 31 March)! I don’t think I’ve ever read anything as ridiculous as Daniel Knowles’s babblings, which merit a strong riposte. It is galling to read a 24-year-old simplistically categorise all of we ‘baby-boomers’ (I was born in 1946) as the people responsible for today’s economic
Barometer | 7 April 2012
Sinking feelings Some conspiracy theories on the sinking of the Titanic: — The disaster was planned by a bunch of Jesuits, Captain Smith of the Titanic included, intent on bumping off Benjamin Guggenheim, Isa Strauss and Jacob Astor, who opposed the establishment of the US Federal Reserve and therefore impeded Jesuit efforts to control the global
Portrait of the week | 7 April 2012
Home Nick Clegg, the deputy Prime Minister, said he could not support as they stood government plans to hold in camera civil court cases involving secret intelligence. The government also proposed changing the law to allow it to monitor the telephone calls, emails, texts and visits to websites of everyone in the country. UK Biobank
Carbon captives | 7 April 2012
The government’s desire for a ‘green economy’ has become such an obsession that it has begun to override common sense. This week, the Department for Energy and Climate Change invited bidders to apply for £1 billion of public funding for a commercial-scale carbon capture and storage project. The money will be used, we are told,
From the archives: The C of E’s lack of purpose
As Easter Sunday approaches, we cast back to April 2009 when Rod Liddle presented an Easter question to leaders of the Church — what happened to muscular Christianity? Here is the article in full for CoffeeHousers: The C of E has forgotten its purpose. Why, exactly, does it exist?, Rod Liddle, 11 April 2009What did
Friday
The week that was | 6 April 2012
Here is a selection of articles and discussions from this week on Spectator.co.uk… Most discussed: Ross Clark on Cameron’s tragic flaw Most shared: Sebastian Payne on Ken vs. Boris in a lift. Most read: James Forsyth on how the London Mayor campaigns could play out. And the best of the rest… Fraser Nelson looks at
Thursday
Transcript: Balls vs Alexander on tax credits
On the Today programme this morning, Ed Balls aired his criticisms of the government’s tax credit changes — which come in tomorrow. He was followed by Danny Alexander, who emphasised the £630 increase in the personal allowance and argued that the measures are necessary ‘to deal with Labour’s economic mess’ and to create a tax
Wednesday
Shelf Life: Marina Lewycka
Marina Lewycka has broken her busy reading schedule to answer this week’s Shelf Life questions. She admits to a fascination with Biggles and Paddington Bear. Her latest book, Various Pets Alive and Dead, is published by Penguin. 1) What are you reading at the moment? Old Filth by Jane Gardam (almost finished — would have
Monday
From the archives: Defending the Falklands
To mark the 30th anniversary of the start of the Falklands War, here’s Ferdinand Mount’s column from the time: The last armada, Ferdinand Mount, 10 April 1982 A debacle speaks for itself. All things that inescapably follow — the humiliation, the indignation, the ministers hurrying in and out of Cabinet, the spectacular sitting of Parliament
Just in case you missed them… | 2 April 2012
…here are some posts made on Spectator.co.uk over the weekend: James Forsyth examines Galloway’s ugly politics and argues Cameron needs to take on Whitehall. Peter Hoskin questions the current Tories motivation, writes that new polling suggests everyone’s a loser and thinks the Prime Minister needs to quickly find a proper solution on party funding. Melanie McDonagh argues