Pretty much any system of government will give rise to a certain number of few perverse outcomes. This is a good reason to complain, but it's not an excuse for electing fascists to power. (View Post)

That reminds me of that council that recently decided to crack down on dangerous cycling by banning bicycles from the town centre, with the threat of heavy fines. The result was that the nuisance cyc… (View Post)

Unlike the slaughter in Gaza, nobody (AFAIK) is defending those carrying out the massacres in Sudan. (View Post)

Many other successful democracies (e.g. Germany) seem to able to run fair judicial systems without the routine use of juries. Put our refusal to consider changing this under the "tradition"… (View Post)

The absolutely literal meaning of Schwerpunkt is "heavy point". The slightly less literal meaning is "centre of gravity", and the commonly used meaning is "focus" or &qu… (View Post)