Tim Worstall

That is because a highly volatile substance called zirconium was chosen back in the 1940’s and 50’s, when plans were first developed to build nuclear power plants, as the material to be used to make the rods into which radioactive fuel would be loaded. There are 30,000 to 40,000 rods—composed of twenty tons of zirconium—in [...]

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Britain needs a grown-up conversation about the relationship between its public and private sectors – and a framework in which taxpayers , shareholders, workers and customers can understand why our bosses are paid what they are, and to limit it when it gets out of hand. Agreed. I, for one, would like to know why [...]

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Apparently not staying married long enough to inherit Knole leads to a certain amount of bile against the aristocracy…..

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It was confirmed that radioactive caesium, one of the elements released when overheating causes core damage, had been detected around the plant. The discovery indicates that meltdown, caused by a nuclear reaction running out of control, had affected the first reactor’s fuel rods – although possibly only to a limited extent. You cannot have the [...]

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At the ASI. Green jobs are a cost…..again.

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No. Last week, The Sunday Telegraph launched a campaign to give the owners of squatted houses greater legal powers to regain the quiet enjoyment of their property, rather than stand helplessly by and see it abused and degraded. There is a legal principle that stands higher than the law, however, and that is justice. No, [...]

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Heineken announcing this week that it is reducing the strength of “a leading brand” – thought to be the cider Strongbow – by 1pc alcohol by volume, from 5.3pc to 4.3pc as “just the start” of attempts to lower the alcoholic content of its drinks; I’m sure they’re entirely happy to do this. For booze [...]

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Italy 22 France 21 Tee hee.

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That by the time you’ve written something about a nuclear explosion in Japan, new information can come out entirely contradicting everything you’ve said. But it is going to be extraordinarily interesting, isn’t it? Are we about to find out how safe nuclear reactors are, or are we about to find out how dangerous they are? [...]

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Just wait until you read about how actors are paid.

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At the ASI. When the world’s largest bond fund holds no US Treasuries, you might want to think about where the bond vigilantes are.

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And, that NHS services should only be let out to private providers where there was no cherrypicking of routine cases – leaving the NHS with the cost of emergencies, complexities and post-operative catastrophes as well as training and research. Haven’t you ever heard of the division of labour? Specialisation? What we would actually like is [...]

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I am typing this in Gill Sans. Does that answer your question?

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Quite how this is going to play out is unknown at the moment. But this is good news: Naoto Sekimura, a professor at the University of Tokyo, told AP a major radioactive disaster was unlikely. “No Chernobyl is possible at a light water reactor. Loss of coolant means a temperature rise, but it also will [...]

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Wonder if they ever hear “are we there yet?” from the back seat?

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* Mervyn King? Angela Eagle?

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Diane Abbott: Tobacco control was one of the last Labour government’s public health successes. We introduced the smoking ban in pubs and enclosed spaces, ended sports sponsorship and billboard advertising, raised the legal age of purchasing cigarettes and put graphic warnings on cigarette packs. We often had to push on with these policies against industry [...]

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Civil servants’ union suggests solution to our woes is emplying more civil servants. Paid consultant to a civil servants’ union agrees with them.

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Letter in The Guardian today. The unedited version started off: As economists we are opposed to the public sector pension reforms proposed by this government and Lord Hutton. The signatories: Richard Murphy, Tax Research LLP (No, not an economist). A retired accountant from Wandsworth in fact. Andrew Fisher, LEAP Secretary: Pete Firmin and Andrew Fisher [...]

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The reality is that we can only meet the needs of those already in retirement and those who will retire if we invest for the future, now. And we can only meet those needs if that investment is wisely managed for the beenfit of all. And I mean all. That means the state has a duty [...]

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