The rise of Britain's new nanny state
Bagehot columnist in The Economist
Today's politicians "see the nanny state as a necessity, rather than a nice-to-have", according to The Economist's Bagehot column. And while it used to be "paternalistic, protecting people from themselves", the aim now is "protecting the state from the people". Government will "intrude more into the lives of voters, in a bid to keep a lid on the cost of the services they demand". In "the new nanny state", with proposed bans on cigarettes and junk-food adverts, "everyone is a public servant".
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The hateful ideology behind pro-Hamas demonstrations
The Telegraph editorial board
"The motives behind the murderous Hamas incursion into Israel are hard to fathom beyond a desire to kill Jews," says The Telegraph's leader article. Hamas has "no interest in a two-state solution". The militant group "want Israel destroyed and do not recognise its right to exist", and "pro-Palestinian activists in the West who are backing Hamas are in reality subscribing to a profoundly hateful anti-Semitic ideology".
Crypto was never more than a solution in search of a problem
Adam Lashinsky in The Washington Post
Crypto was supposed to represent "a paradigmatic shift in the global finance industry", writes Adam Lashinsky for The Washington Post. Backers "dreamed of a new method of stored value, like gold", but digital currencies have "no inherent value" and are not "backed by the full faith and credit of a credible government". These limitations are recognised by "non-dreamers", but the fraud trial of "crypto kingpin" Sam Bankman-Fried "is a painful reminder of how easy it is to run the big con on a lot of folks".
Spain's high-speed trains aren't just efficient, they have transformed people's lives
María Ramírez for The Guardian
Over the past few decades, Spain has built "the longest high-speed rail network in Europe", says María Ramírez in The Guardian, and "the second longest in the world, now spanning approximately 2,500 miles". Meanwhile, Britain has managed 68 miles with the HS2 "high-speed fiasco". Spain's achievement "can be traced directly to a combination of unusual political consensus and EU funding". And while "many Spaniards don't realise" the extent of our railway success, they would "find it difficult to imagine living without" it.
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