A Letter on Justice and Open Debate | Harper's Magazine


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Croydon's in debt ... and we're all paying

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London Councils are owed a total £642 million in council tax arrears - an average of £188 per household. Six percent of that total is owed to Croydon Council, who have – amazingly – slightly reduced the amount owing in the last year!!! I suppose we long-suffering tax-payers should be grateful, but the £40m outstanding adds about £271 to all our individual bills. UK Council Tax debt league 1.       Liverpool - £114m, adds £528 to average bill 2.       Hackney - £41.8m, adds £403 to average bill 3.       Haringey - £32.6m, adds £313 to average bill 4.       Hounslow - £29.7m, adds £306 to average bill 5.       Lambeth - £38m, adds £284 to average bill 6.       Islington - £28.1m, adds £277 to average bill 7.       Croydon - £40m, adds £271 to average bill 8.  ...
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Mick Woollett, a true gent.

Mick, a proper gent – I’ll miss him Mick Woollett (easy to remember the name, double everything except ‘e’ and ‘w’) died on Monday.   He was my editor at Motor Cycle Weekly in the ‘seventies and early ‘eighties.   He was mature in every sense of the word, made editor in his early fifties and a proper gentleman, having to work with an office-full of (mostly) youngsters. He never lost his cool, was unfailingly courteous, never swore and was always perfectly mannered.   Extraordinary. I plan to get a lot more off my chest about Mick, but for the moment I’ll leave you with this, true, story from, about 1982. MCW had one mouthy sub, a Kiwi called Brendan who was always shouting off about everything.   He knew everything, was witty, but packed full of bluster and b**s**.   In the run-up to the Daytona Speed Week one year he’d been shouting the odds about how HE ought to join the team because of all his experience, skills and how he’d do a better j...
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Vada a bordo, cazzo!

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Francesco Schettino, the self-styled 'Captain of the Costa Concordia' who jumped ship, was ordered by back on board his stricken vessel  with the words - ' vada a bordo, cazzo! '. The coastguard official who gave that order - even if you don't understand Italian, you just know it IS an order - has been hailed a hero for his no nonsense approach.  That's in sharp contrast to the braggart captain who has caused 11 or so deaths and so much tragedy. So how does this, now famous, order translate? I'm told it goes somethimng like this, "Get back on board for f**k's sake".  Helpfully Google Translate gives us, "go on boardf, f**k!" The phrase has made it onto t-shirts - see graphic.  You can hear the radio exchange on  YouTube : As for me, I won't be buying their coffee ever again! Nb: The Captain's name is pronounced 'Skettino', not as you may have wished.
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