Free Republic

Brilliant Publications published a new book called "Talking About Terrorism". A new teaching aid that recommends schoolchildren as young as seven “write a letter to a terrorist” to help understand their motives. What could possibly go wrong?

THIRTY YEARS AGO Margaret Thatcher turned Britain into the world’s leading centre of “thinking the unthinkable”. Today that distinction has passed to Sweden. The streets of Stockholm are awash with the blood of sacred cows. The think-tanks are brimful of new ideas. The erstwhile champion of the “third way” is now pursuing a far more interesting brand of politics. Sweden has reduced public spending as a proportion of GDP from 67% in 1993 to 49% today. It could soon have a smaller state than Britain. It has also cut the top marginal tax rate by 27 percentage points since 1983,...

A new internet game is about to be launched which allows 'super snooper' players to plug into the nation's CCTV cameras and report on members of the public committing crimes. The 'Internet Eyes' service involves players scouring thousands of CCTV cameras installed in shops, businesses and town centres across Britain looking for law-breakers. Players who help catch the most criminals each month will win cash prizes up to £1,000. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1218225/Internet-game-awards-points-people-spotting-crimes-CCTV-cameras-branded-snoopers-paradise.html#ixzz0TNOMuvRg

A baby boy died minutes after birth – because the hospital had no anaesthetist on duty for an emergency caesarian. Clare Russell, who went into labour with son Dylan 10 weeks early, arrived at the maternity unit in the middle of the night. She desperately needed a C-section to save her son, who was coming out feet first in the breech position. But the hospital had a cost-cutting policy of not having an anaesthetist during the night. Clare had to give birth naturally, and Dylan died when the umbilical cord got wrapped around him, starving him of blood and oxygen....

Until a few days ago, Britain was admired and respected by the average Icelander. But the UK's moves to seize the assets of this isolated European state have provoked a backlash of feeling and escalating resentment. "They treated us like terrorists."

Two Swedish tabloids have provoked the ire of Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards. In what the veteran rocker claimed was the first time he had publicly reacted to a review, he lashed out at Aftonbladet and Expressen's reports on the band's performance at Gothenburg's Ullevi stadium earlier this month. The papers both gave the Stones two stars. An article in Expressen was headlined "Keith was very drunk," and gave the star a personal zero stars. "This is a first! Never before have I risen to the bait of a bad review. But this time... I have to stand up for...