"Funny how many self-proclaimed liberals become open-borders esque anarcho-capitalists when it comes to mass migration, or at least, mass migration to western countries."

I am not a self-proclaimed liberal. Thus far in our exchange I have been a self-proclaimed nothing, though I am certainly more anarchist than…

The French study you cite only shows that immigration was of no provable economic benefit after the 1980s; not that it harmed the economy or the working classes. As for the Danish study, I don't know which you're referring to, but "preventing government savings" doesn't equate to "enemy of the working class".

Word. I'm not Italian, but if I was, I would 100% consider Balotelli a national treasure.

I think you're referring to two separate issues here, although they are linked in some ways. First, there is the ill-treatment toward people of colour during times of economic hardship; secondly, there is the use of "terror" to curtail civil liberties. While both these techniques bear some resemblance to those used by…

Why are proponents of open borders enemies of the European working class? There's no hard-and-fast EU data showing that immigrants have damaged the economic prospects of any social class in Europe. And far-right parties weren't on the rise before the economic collapse, which (it's almost too trivial to state) was not…

All of this in the same world where people of colour who want to talk about discrimination are told to stop playing "the race card".

I'm not American, so that educational model doesn't apply to me.

But what I'm saying is that I don't agree that that's true. Asserting that "hard things" are "important" doesn't prove anything: which "hard things"? What does "important" mean? Why do you get to decide what's an "important skill" for me? My life turned out great, I'm happy and fulfilled, I love education and…

I appreciate that the boundaries of usefulness are always in flux, but I think they're probably best ascertained by a dialogue between students and educators, rather than coercion of students by unearned authority. I love challenging my brain too; but why is it "good"? I really hate challenging my body, but that's…

Wow, this discussion became really unproductive and horrible really quickly. My life's going okay now. I found school difficult but I'm in a better place at the moment. I don't need to be called "chicky" by strangers on the internet, and I'm done talking to you.

Well, making a soft toy to a deadline is actually super time-consuming, especially if you are genuinely and spectacularly bad at sewing. Blocks of time are, sadly, not rearrangeable at will, so the stuff I wanted to do right then couldn't be done right then if I had to make a soft toy for literally no reason other…

It really doesn't build character, though. What it does do is disproportionately reward children who are innately skilled at Maths, and undermine the self-worth of children who consistently struggle to understand formulaic thinking. I still enjoy cracking quadratic equations, so it wasn't a problem for me. But when I…

Again, I just disagree with you about what it is and isn't legitimate to expect from children. Obviously, I tried to negotiate with my teachers - I was well-known for being outspoken, and I was disciplined for it repeatedly. My school was a very conservative Catholic one and I was notorious for making fusses about…

I don't know. The school I went to had punishingly weird and unrewarding subjects like Sewing. I didn't want to sew (still don't) and my teachers were making my life hell about it. My mother successfully negotiated me out of having to make a teddy bear because I wanted to read and write a bunch instead. If that was…

So, I'm not from the US but is there some kind of coded "welfare queen" jibe going on in the subtext here? Because it's disgusting enough without even considering that and now my brain has thought those thoughts and ugh.

Putin's blazer fits best, I think, but it could just be that neither Obama's nor Cameron's are faring very well through the extended-arm wave.

I'm really glad that you got past your drinking habit and you're in a better place now. I think it's still important to bear in mind that teaching oneself moderation isn't an available option for many people who abuse alcohol. Although your story is a very happy and hopeful one, it's still rare, and for a lot of…

The headline photo might as well be titled "Which Human Rights Abuser Wore it Better?" (Although Obama no contest obvz).

This seems like a fair and respectful response. I disagree that the image would have been okay if it had run alongside a story about Cowen or her work; I still think it would have been distasteful. But the dress credit definitely added injury to injury on this one. It's good to hear Morgan speak about it in any case.

I understand the idea of crediting the clothes used in a fashion shoot. I've been on shoots myself.