The jury’s out on whether Obama’s health bill is too bitter a pill to swallow March 28, 2012 THIS week, two years after President Barack Obama signed his US health reforms, known as Obamacare, into law, the central tenet of the legislation, whether the federal government can compel uninsured individuals to purchase private health insurance, came before the Supreme Court. The administration claims that the so-called “individual mandate” is legal under terms of [...]
How to prove you are smart enough to work at Google March 28, 2012 HOW many houses in Canada are painted red?” That question recently greeted an applicant for an advertising position at Google. Crazy estimation questions have become popular in many industries, particularly as the job market has tightened. Job seekers are confronting posers like: How many surgeons are there in Britain? How many people are talking on [...]
Is Mervyn King wrong to say the Diamond Jubilee will be bad for Britain’s economy? March 28, 2012 YES Peter Whittle The argument that Britain can’t afford the downturn that, it is alleged, will result from the Diamond Jubilee is beyond parody. The event, which now has more momentum behind it than the obscenely expensive (and heavily publicly funded) Olympics, is historically unique, and will unite people in the biggest public celebration for [...]
RAPID RESPONSES March 28, 2012 Insufficient appeal [Re: Taxpayers must not be forced to pay, Tuesday] Surely if a party appealed to a sufficient number of people, they would happily donate funds for the party to use. Insufficient appeal leads to insufficient funds. If there was cash at the end, maybe politicians would be more likely to respond to consumer [...]
Time to invest in new pants March 28, 2012 GAMES SILENT HILL: DOWNPOUR Cert: 15 **** The new Silent Hill has a lot to live up to. For many gamers it was the first title that not only made them jump but got under their skin; that made them look over their shoulder while playing and sleep with the lights on. In this installment [...]
THE GAMES THAT GAVE US GOOSEBUMPS March 28, 2012 Alone in the Dark (1992) The original horror puzzler. The memory of being chased down a long, candle-lit corridor by a ghostly creature still makes me shudder. Alone in the Dark perfectly struck the balance between suspense and action. A classic for a reason. Doom (1993) Wolfenstein may have come before it but Doom perfected [...]
Ronson attacks politics of envy March 27, 2012 PROPERTY tycoon Gerald Ronson launched a scathing attack on the political establishment yesterday, hitting out at the “hypocrisy and envy” that is driving public opinion. In one of the most outspoken public critiques yet from a senior British business figure, Ronson said that our society is being “fuelled by the continual negativity of envy” and [...]
King warns jubilee will hit economy March 27, 2012 THE JUBILEE bank holiday could push the economy back into contraction in the second quarter of the year, Bank of England governor Sir Mervyn King warned yesterday. An extra day off work to mark the Queen’s 60th year on the throne will hit output, King told a House of Lords committee, although he said it [...]
No 10 warns businesses as fears grow over fuel March 27, 2012 DOWNING Street has urged businesses to make contingency plans as fears grow of a strike by tanker drivers that could affect nearly 8,000 petrol stations. David Cameron’s spokeswoman said “people, especially businesses” should consider how to severe disruption in the event of a strike, which could be arranged for next week or for over the Easter [...]
Coalition fails to shake-up UK’s antiquated planning rules March 27, 2012 IT was the government’s great opportunity to rip up red tape and make Britain an easier place in which to conduct business. For a while, the coalition had me convinced: I thought they would really do something about the UK’s obsolete planning rules, which were first dreamt up by the post-war socialist Clement Attlee government [...]
