Ed West

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Ed West is a journalist who writes for The Telegraph, according to their website 'a journalist and social commentator who specialises in politics, religion and low culture'.[1] West is a fan of the work of Chris Snowdon.[2]

Views

On Alcohol Misuse

However, there are problem drinks that deserve close scrutiny. The super-strength lager known as 'wife-beater', alcopops, sugary sweet to make them more palatable to 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 a form of prejudice tantamount to alcophobia: punitive taxes should target the problem drinkers through the problem drinks. Why should the peaceful majority of the drinking community suffer because of a few extremists?[3]

On Geert Wilders

Wilders may be 'a trouble-maker with a dodgy haircut ... he's not a fascist or a racist ... he's just a normal mainstream conservative'.[4]

Chris Snowdon

Praise for Chris Snowdon

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

One of the most popular political movements of the past few years has been the “Skeptics”, a group of bloggers who look at political issues from an evidence-based viewpoint. The movement is entirely atheist and almost entirely Left-wing, and yet apart from the libertarian Christopher Snowdon (who has done some excellent work blogging a big tunnel underneath The Spirit Level), there are very few conservative skeptics around.[5]

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

Next time someone starts spouting off about “equality” – a goal that has dug more graves than all the gods in history combined – send them a copy of Snowdon’s excellent book and make sure they read it from cover to cover.[6]

Ed West also cites Snowdon's blog Velvet Glove: Iron Fist in order to criticise research arguint that the smoking ban reduced heart attacks.[7]

Affiliations

Chris Snowdon

Notes

  1. Ed West, Ed West, The Telegraph, Accessed 16-December-2010
  2. Ed West, The Eurosceptics were right, but so are the welfare-sceptics, multiculturalism-sceptics and sex education-sceptics, The Telegraph, 22-November-2010, Accessed 16-December-2010
  3. Ed West, Drinkers aren't all to blame - it's problem drinks, The Telegraph, 23-June-2007
  4. Ecosse, Islamophobia's mainstream appeal, The Sunday Times, 7-March-2010
  5. Ed West, The Eurosceptics were right, but so are the welfare-sceptics, multiculturalism-sceptics and sex education-sceptics, The Telegraph, 22-November-2010, Accessed 16-December-2010
  6. Ed West, Does recycling cause suicide? Or why The Spirit Level is wrong and more equal societies are not happier, The Telegraph, 9-July-2010, Accessed 16-Decemder-2010
  7. Ed West, Has the smoking ban reduced the number of heart attacks in the UK?, The Telegraph, 9-June-2010