Freemania

"couple of thousand years of Christianity&quo...

2012-05-26T02:47:59.284+01:00

"couple of thousand years of Christianity" - sigh.

Among ordinary people: suspicion and mistrust of outsiders, in the days before empire and mass migration when the Jews were the only significant outsiders outside of major cities.

Among elites: cynical usage of popular suspicion to dodge paying debts.

"Christ-killers" was only ever a lame

Dead right. It reminds me of John Major's rem...

2012-05-24T21:35:10.337+01:00

Dead right.

It reminds me of John Major's remark on crime: "we need to condemn a little more and understand a little less". Not mutually exclusive at all - although of course he was trading on the double meaning of "understand".

Very poorly-worded question, I'd agree. But I...

2012-05-24T20:55:12.324+01:00

Very poorly-worded question, I'd agree. But I don't think the relationship between 'explicable' and 'contemptible' is a zero-sum game. A more straightforward question about the history of anti-Semitism would have been preferable. Why are some people anti-Semitic? Because the influence of a couple of thousand years of Christianity isn't discarded just like that.

Amazingly enough, the Pound has become a "saf...

2012-05-20T16:48:39.516+01:00

Amazingly enough, the Pound has become a "safe haven", as has the dollar. I am not an economist, but I believe this has something to do with the UK controlling its own currency. Investors become more worried about "return of capital" then return on capital.

you make the similarities between the US and UK al...

2012-04-22T15:11:30.820+01:00

you make the similarities between the US and UK all too close. Britain's system of government is MUCH different than the United States, and few countries in the world actually operate along American governmental lines. There are many, many big differences between the two governments which makes European politics much more different than American politics. What also should be highlighted is

Most of which are probably already trademarked.......

2012-04-20T17:05:11.273+01:00

Most of which are probably already trademarked.....

Superb

2012-04-18T11:59:26.978+01:00

Superb

Oh this is perfect!

2012-04-17T19:56:47.135+01:00

Oh this is perfect!

This is truly brill. As I tweeted you just now, I ...

2012-04-17T19:47:29.731+01:00

This is truly brill. As I tweeted you just now, I like Chandler even more than Fitzgerald and Hemingway; and this is real class. Submission for the Orwell next year perhaps?

Tom, brilliant.

2012-04-17T19:44:11.850+01:00

Tom, brilliant.

If Raymond Chandler had only stayed in the UK afte...

2012-04-17T13:33:53.308+01:00

If Raymond Chandler had only stayed in the UK after Dulwich College and his stint as a civil servant then who knows if we would have seen Labour Nior in the 30s!

Excellent piece, Tom. And I actually read it from ...

2012-03-04T15:11:16.949Z

Excellent piece, Tom. And I actually read it from beginning to end. Glad you found the time to put it together ... it needed saying.

I understand England's government a little mor...

2012-02-27T23:02:52.013Z

I understand England's government a little more. Thanks for taking the time to write this.

Where's Lord G when you need him? His "E...

2012-02-24T16:37:12.110Z

Where's Lord G when you need him? His "Endogenous growth, flexible labour-market reform, free movement of labour, the dominance of the City of London - it was all crap" pop at the Brown/Balls faction was masterful....

Dr Watson for leader!

2012-01-18T09:43:48.937Z

Dr Watson for leader!

Oh God! Here we are drowning in a tsunami of econo...

2012-01-14T19:14:19.351Z

Oh God! Here we are drowning in a tsunami of economic greed and here we are back on the good old anti-colonial stuff. Somebody should set up a think-tank to repudiate all the bad things said about colonialism. Imagine the repercussions! Of course, one must acknowledge that colonialism was replaced by a much better standard of political leadership......oh, yes...

”But the idea that any white person has in any ...

2012-01-06T13:48:34.895Z
”But the idea that any white person has in any way been harmed by this tweet is just ridiculous”

Of course it is and that’s why I found yesterday terribly frustrating.

But something else occurs to me every time I read someone challenging the “if it was the other way around” line of argument. Yes it’s different because of the history of oppression and violence but

For a succinct summary of conservative values, che...

2011-12-21T21:35:53.117Z
For a succinct summary of conservative values, check this out by Charlie Allen, singing “Grandpa’s Recipe” http://www.charlieallenmusic.com/index.htm

Thanks for the tip. I think I will be paying this ...

2011-12-21T16:56:32.820Z
Thanks for the tip. I think I will be paying this exhibition a visit.

Thank you Lazaro Alonso for a reliable hangover cu...

2011-12-21T11:29:50.865Z
Thank you Lazaro Alonso for a reliable hangover cure. Am trying it as we speak.....

The last one, which gives the address of the mirac...

2011-12-21T11:05:37.642Z
The last one, which gives the address of the miraculous warehouse, is clearly an advert. Ambush marketing at its finest.

Of course Christianity’s been more influential and...

2011-12-20T22:55:25.105Z
Of course Christianity’s been more influential and over a longer period than the Tory party. I’m not saying that my adaptation’s obvious falseness shows that Cameron’s original is false too.

I’m saying that my version’s obvious bias and repulsiveness shows that Cameron’s is biased and is bound to repulse people too. And needlessly so. If he accepts that morality transcends religion,

I read a really interesting article, I think it wa...

2011-12-20T18:57:11.958Z
I read a really interesting article, I think it was a couple of years ago, about the schools in an area of North Carolina.

Basically, they limited each school to having a certain percentage of kids on free school meals. This meant all the kids, rich or poor, got spread around the schools rather than being concentrated within certain areas and in all cases the schools started achieving

I have a few issues with this. Can you credibly ...

2011-12-19T09:46:16.471Z
I have a few issues with this.

Can you credibly compare the bible and the Tory party? I have no great respect for either but for thousands of years the bible was at the centre of people’s lives. It wasn’t even a ‘set of beliefs’ or ‘values’ that people chose to subscribe to or reject, it was simply accepted as the truth of existence by millions of people. It inspired and provoked most

I fund it crass and patronising...just like the ma...

2011-12-17T21:55:27.519Z
I fund it crass and patronising...just like the man himself