The Spectator

Here are some of the posts made over the past week on Spectator.co.uk: Fraser Nelson highlights the topicality of Atlas Shrugged, and asks what options remain after rate cuts. James Forsyth remarks on the idiocy of the ECB, and outlines the politics of printing money. Peter Hoskin wonders how low we can go, and reports on what Peter Mandelson thinks of Ken Clarke's possible return. Lisa Hilton ushers in a fat-fighting New Year. Garvan Walshe says that Gazprom's actions reveal Russia's weakness, and Daniel Korski spells out how to put the freeze on Russia's energetic aggression. Melanie Phillips picks up on depravity and double standards. Clive Davis writes on the economy & the crime rate. Trading Floor gives details of a wise investment.

Labour’s carrot and stick Sir: The Spectator is right (Leading article, 13 December) to call not just for ‘benefit claimants actually to do something for their handouts’, but for a significant increase in the income tax threshold. There is little sense — or fairness — in trying to push people off benefits and into work if they are worse off in work than on benefits. In any case, there is something absurd in telling a man (or a single mother) that they are simultaneously poor enough to need benefits and rich enough to pay income tax. The government’s proposed measures to alleviate the economic mess they have helped to create will have a significant future cost in the burden of debt they will incur.

Welcome to the latest CoffeeHousers' Wall. For those who haven't come across the Wall before, it's a post we put up each Monday, on which – provided your writing isn’t libellous, crammed with swearing, or offensive to common decency – you’ll be able to say whatever you like in the comments section. There is no topic, so there’s no need to stay ‘on topic’ – which means you’ll be able to debate with each other more freely and extensively. There’s also no constraint on the length of what you write – so, in effect, you can become Coffee House bloggers. Anything’s fair game – from political stories in your local paper, to chat about the latest football results.

Why did Gatland resign? Sir: The uproar over the strange case of Maria Gatland McGuire seems almost incomprehensible from a Belfast perspective. At the beginning of December she was compelled to resign as the cabinet member for education on Croydon council when it was revealed that she was also Maria McGuire, who famously was involved with the IRA leadership in 1971–72. Maria McGuire is the author of an interesting book, To Take Arms — A Year in the Provisional IRA, published in 1973. The book makes clear that she has made a radical break with the IRA’s violent campaign. It seems that the final straw came on 21 July 1972, Bloody Friday, when at least 22 car bombs were detonated in Belfast, killing 11 people and injuring 130.

Here are some of the posts made over the weekend on Spectator.co.uk: Lisa Hilton says there are no more puffs in Paris. Fraser Nelson reports on an election with the X Factor. James Forsyth wonders about a poll puzzle, and asks the £250,000 quuestion. Peter Hoskin asks: if taxpayers' money is to be spent in clunking fistfuls, what should it be spent on? Clive Davis highlights someone with a brilliant head for money. And Americano notes a stimulating idea.

Silence over Mumbai Sir: If Britain is still a safe haven for Lashkar-e-Taiba and Deobandi sympathisers (‘The global force behind Mumbai’s agony in our midst’, 6 December), this must place a big question mark on the government’s policy of dealing with home-grown terrorism. The current policy seems to rest on two assumptions: namely that home-grown terrorism can be contained by propping up moderate representatives of the community to which terrorists belong; and that where a community contains both moderates and terrorists, they are implacably opposed to one another. Both of these assumptions have been undermined by the Muslim community’s failure to demonstrate its collective anger about the carnage in Mumbai.

Here are some of the posts made over the past week on Spectator.co.uk: Fraser Nelson reveals the true extent of Britain's debt, and says the government is squeezing the poor through Northern Rock. James Forsyth outlines the case for merit pay, and wonders whether Peter Mandelson is an idoelogical Blairite. Peter Hoskin stresses the importance of convincing the creditors, and asks whether Brown's PMQs gaffe was petty or revealing. Lisa Hilton exclaims: Mind the shoes! Daniel Korski says Britain should have Robert Mugabe prosecuted. Melanie Phillips observes groundhog day in primary school. Clive Davis laments the Westminster playground. Trading Floor delivers some good news. And Americano highlights the importance of Florida, Florida, Florida.