The Law’s cyber drug war. Is it time to hold peace talks with internet suppliers of ‘legal highs’?
Like alcohol, can these chemicals not be taken in the right way, at the right dose
Jonathan Hurlow, Independent, 1 November 2012

FreeSpeechDebate
Thirteen languages. Ten principles. One conversation.
University of Oxford, 2012

Scotland: the world’s most childish nation
The SNP thinks children should be trusted with votes in a referendum, but adults shouldn't be trusted with booze and fags.
Rob Lyons, spiked, 15 October 2012

Being Pro-Life Doesn't Make Me Any Less Of A Lefty
Listening to fellow pundits on the left react with rage and disbelief to the support by the Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, for halving the abortion time limit to 12 weeks, I was reminded of the late Christopher Hitchens. "[A]nyone who has ever seen a sonogram or has spent even an hour with a textbook on embryology knows that emotions are not the deciding factor [in abortions],"
Mehdi Hasan, Huffington Post, 14 October 2012

Vice Presidential Debate
Vice President Joe Biden and Republican challenger Paul Ryan hit the campaign trail on Friday after a combative debate in which they challenged each other's facts and claims while offering starkly different visions for the direction the country should follow.
ABC, 12 October 2012

And the Firewalls Came Tumbling Down
Sunlight might be the best disinfectant, but even the most ardent advocates of transparency reach for the sunblock once it gets too bright.
Evgeny Morozov, New York Times, 12 October 2012

Can you be spiritual and not religious?
As religious observance is on the wane, people's desire to connect at some higher level faces a quest for new forms
Piers Benn, Independent, 12 October 2012

The EU’s Nobel has come at the price of democracy
Now be against the political institution in its current form is apparently to be anti-peace as well as anti-European
Dave Bowden, Independent, 12 October 2012

Open Government Brasilia 2012
From the Public Leaders Network and the Open Government Partnership
Guardian, 2012

Troubled Families progamme shows absurdity of "Left/Right" classifications
An example of the difficulty in trying to classify policies as left wing or right wing comes with the Government's Troubled Families programme. It is being run by Eric Pickles and shows early signs of success. It is about reducing welfare burdens on the state, tackling crime and strengthening the family. So is it right wing? It is also about about turning round the leaves of those languishing at the bottom of society rather than just passing by on the other side.
ConservativeHome, 10 October 2012