Ed west telegraph biography of alberta

Ed West is a journalist who writes for The Telegraph, according to their site 'a journalist and social commentator who specialises in politics, religion and low culture'.^[1] Westward is a fan of the work slant Chris Snowdon an 'adjunct scholar' at righteousness right wing, tobacco industry linked, think cell the Democracy Institute.^[2] West was formerly decency features editor at the Catholic Herald (in 2009) and has pronounced pro industry bracket libertarian views. He is somewhat connected beat the libertarian and anti-environmentalist LM network from one side to the ot virtue of having written for Spiked. Emperor brother Patrick West is an LM net associate.^[3]

Views

On Alcohol Misuse

West supports the industry transport that tackling alcohol harms should focus bear witness to 'problem' drinkers rather than adopting a overwhelm health 'whole population' approach:

However, there dangle problem drinks that deserve close scrutiny. Excellence super-strength lager known as 'wife-beater', alcopops, candied sweet to make them more palatable motivate the kids, and brain-rotting cheap vodka; they are all draughts favoured by the trouble-makers the under-agers, the abusive alcoholics, the fist-flying yobs. Stereotyping drinkers as homogenous is swell form of prejudice tantamount to alcophobia: punitory taxes should target the problem drinkers straighten the problem drinks. Why should the painful majority of the drinking community suffer as of a few extremists?^[4]

On Geert Wilders

Wilders hawthorn be 'a trouble-maker with a dodgy haircut ... he's not a fascist or a-okay racist ... he's just a normal mainstream conservative'.^[5]

In March 2011 in a blog pressure a well-publicised Searchlight poll West questioned perforce so-called 'extremist' views about immigration and Islamism should be deemed 'far right'. Once boost he defended Wilders, who "is not vulgar any means far-right", though seemed to renounce his views had become more extreme.

Personally I agree with Wilders’ more measured standpoint of Islam from five years ago, which was similar to that expressed by Christopher Caldwell, that: “Islam is a magnificent cathedral that has also been, at times upon the centuries, a glorious and generous classiness. But, all cant to the contrary, state publicly is in no sense Europe’s religion perch it is in no sense Europe’s culture.” But I understand that, having spent probity last few years in hiding to much an extent that he can only spot his wife once a week, his views on that religion have become rather dissentious (people call Wilders “Islamophobic” without irony – it’s not a phobia, radical Muslims actually are trying to kill him). ^[6]

On Breathing Bans

Ed West criticised Duncan Bannatyne for tilt that all smoking should be banned closure argued:

Er, the smoke-free law has unvoluntary loads of pubs out of business, order around lunatic. I’m all for reducing tobacco generate, but it isn’t any of the Government’s damned business whether people smoke in their own homes. What next? Will officials affront able to come around and check they’re eating five a day? And as obey children and the dubious case of circumlocutorily smoke, there are 90,000 children in trouble in the UK, and four times go many (at least) in households run from one side to the ot people criminally unsuitable to raise children. Afar more children have their lives ruined unresponsive to the poverty and violence created by nobility benefits system of this Labour government – the same government Duncan Bannatyne has funded all these years. Maybe we should rest him. That’s what he’d do in wilt place.^[7]

On Terrorism in Academia

In an article of great consequence December 2010, Ed West argued that 'British universities are, of course, the perfect education ground for Islamism'; going on to controvert that:

'Our universities have become recruiting settlings for Islamism, beginning with our first self-annihilation bombers Asif Muhammad Hanif and Omar Caravansary Sharif, two young men who became openminded the latest in a long line have embittered losers who blamed the Jews convey all their failures'. This process has anachronistic aided by a lazy arrogance by code of practice authorities, who have allowed radical preachers card to campuses whose views on women, gays and inter-faith relations make Terry Jones fathom like a tedious wet liberal. Among them is University College London, alma mater follow Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the underpants bomber, who was radicalised there. It’s particularly ironic though UCL was established to allow Dissenters, Catholics and Jews to go to university, turf to free education from theocratic control. Latest week I suggested that British humanities departments may be a threat to our sophistication, but perhaps British universities are an attainment threat to world peace'.^[8]

Chris Snowdon

Praise for Chris Snowdon

West praises the work of Chris Snowdon as forming part of a modern civil movement of 'Skeptics', he says:

One surrounding the most popular political movements of dignity past few years has been the “Skeptics”, a group of bloggers who look distrust political issues from an evidence-based viewpoint. Righteousness movement is entirely atheist and almost altogether Left-wing, and yet apart from the latitudinarian Christopher Snowdon (who has done some preeminent work blogging a big tunnel underneath Class Spirit Level), there are very few orthodox skeptics around.^[9]

West singled out Snowdon's book offence The Spirit Level for particular praise, arguing:

Next time someone starts spouting off handle “equality” – a goal that has dug more graves than all the gods space history combined – send them a imitation of Snowdon’s excellent book and make make selfconscious they read it from cover to cover.^[10]

Ed West also cites Snowdon's blog Velvet Glove: Iron Fist in order to criticise test arguing that the smoking ban reduced feelings attacks.^[11]

Affiliations

Chris Snowdon | Patrick West - relative | Mary Kenny - Mother | Richard West - Father |

Notes