Nick Griffin, the leader of the tiny British National Party, has a very low profile outside the UK. Their best political showing has been to pick up two seats in the European […]
Gavin Chait
Economist, data scientist, entrepreneur, author. Fascinated by the frontiers of human progress: innovation vs ignorance; wealth vs poverty. Oh, and coffee. @GavinChait and https://gavinchait.com
We're all porn stars now, thanks to airport security
“Rodney Deegen was surprised alone in his security booth where he was pleasuring himself while staring at ghost-like images of naked children. He was arrested immediately. Investigators suspect that he may have […]
The failure of the UN Millennium Development Villages
After a similar attempt resulted in civil war in Madagascar, the South Korean government bought 1,000 sq km of land in Tanzania for use in agriculture. Mindful of the politics involved, the […]
Governments picking winners, again
For 20 years, bureaucrats in Brussels have monitored the curvature and shape of more than 40 types of vegetable and fruit. Rule-makers claimed that this protected European consumers from poor quality, but […]
Intersexuality means that gender, like race, is neither black nor white
“I keep telling you guys my aim is to become a legend,” said Usain Bolt, after smashing the world 200 metres record and becoming the first man to hold the 100 and […]
Creating Healthcare – an exercise in choice and control
In 1990, a genial project was announced by James Watson, the co-discoverer of DNA and head of the National Centre for Human Genome Research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in […]
One year an immigrant: so you see…
I start from diminished expectations. My first experience with the UK was registering my company and opening business bank accounts. In South Africa, as a local, it takes two months to register […]
One year an immigrant: a resolution
In January of 2009, it snowed in Oxford. Deep drifts covered the meadow outside my study window. I watched as a fox, stark red against the pillow-white, tensed-and-leapt tensed-and-leapt through the fluffy […]
The danger of the Dalai Lama, or why South Africa couldn't let him in…
These are from the weekend paper. Actual quotes from South Africa’s minister of foreign affairs, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma (Jacob Zuma’s ex-wife, and the ex-ex-minister of health who introduced the idea that AIDS is […]
The Contrition of the Bankers – the Rules can't save you now
“Come before the American people and take that deep bow and say I’m sorry. And then either do one of two things, resign or go commit suicide,” said US congressman Chuck Grassley […]
Progressive Culture | Scholars & Rogues 