Monthly Archives: October 2019

Football Review: The European Qualifiers Autumn 2019 – England vs Kosovo, Czech Republic and Bulgaria (all away fixtures)

It’s difficult making sense of European qualifying matches so let’s look at England’s opponents. FIFA’s ranking system has England at 4th; Kosovo 120th; Czech Republic 44th and Bulgaria 62nd. Translating this into English football league positions gives us.1 England at … Continue reading

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Informal bonuses for teachers

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A Chinese jobs creation programme

In a story beloved by economists it’s said that Milton Friedman* was once visiting China when he was shocked to see that, instead of modern tractors and earth movers, thousands of workers were toiling away building a canal with shovels. … Continue reading

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Hedonism and the state’s interference in the lives of adults

Hedonists believe ‘the pursuit of pleasure is the most important goal of human life’. Hedonists are tolerant. Each person’s pleasurable activities is theirs. Hedonists don’t recognise any role for states in legislating the personal conduct of adults. The only caveat … Continue reading

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The benefits of private health care

A lawyer woke up after surgery and asked, “Why are all the blinds drawn?” “There’s a fire across the street, and we didn’t want you to think you’d died.” Chris

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Book Review: Garrison Keillor ~ Lake Woebegon Days (1985)

Garrison is a radio star in the mid-West of the USA. His show is a slow conversational series of supposed memories. He speaks in a drawling and yet compelling voice and once hooked…. If you’ve heard his voice then the … Continue reading

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Incredible sky scene

Richard M.

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Len Deighton on Etonians

Eton, Oxbridge, Buddha class: sadistic, self-sufficient apparatchiks who controlled Whitehall by stealth, wealth and consanguinity and — no matter how friendly — inevitably closed ranks against intruders like me. Len Deighton. Hope (1995) (Kindle Locations 1945-1947). HarperCollins UK. Chris

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Del’s culinary tips for a healthy heart

Do you ever use vegetable bouillon? A popular make sold by Tesco is Marigold at £2.00 for 150 gms. The ingredients make interesting reading with salt at the top of the list, it forms almost half (44.6%) of the total … Continue reading

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Animal rights activists are thrilled

At a convention of biological scientists, a researcher remarked, “Did you know that in our lab we’ve switched from rats to accountants for our experiments?” “Really? Why the switch?” “Well, for three reasons. First we found that accountants are more … Continue reading

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