Sunday 21 November 2010

The Pope, AIDS and contraception

Pope Benedict XVI has changed  - or perhaps clarified - the Catholic Church's position on the use of contraception. He had previously reaffirmed the teaching set out since The Second Vatican Council, and reinforced vigorously by hsi predecessor Pope John Paul II, that contraception was 'intrinsically evil'.

Friday 12 November 2010

Student funding

A good old-fashioned riot in London the other day. I remember the Poll Tax riots of the 1990s and this one was pretty small by comparision. The poll tax riots were the sharp end of a wider dissatisfaction throughout society; whereas yesterday's riots, frankly, were not.

Monday 8 November 2010

BBC1 Panorama: Are you paying too much tax?

Today's Panorama was about the mess the HMRC have made of people's taxes. The BBC's investigation focussed on 'ordinary' people's stories - most of them receiving demands way above what they should. They also mentioned that the wealthiest taxpayers find it easier to get round the system, and that staff cuts and poor leadership is to blame.