The Spectator

Barometer | 29 December 2016

Also in Barometer: dull landmark cases at the Supreme Court, middle incomes, and trials of the very old

issue 31 December 2016

Supremely exciting

The nation awaits with bated breath the decision of the Supreme Court on whether the government can exercise Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty without parliamentary approval. This is more exciting than the first day of the US Supreme Court in 1791, when six judges sat around all day waiting for a case. It was not until the following year that they finally got down to action:
— A farmer, William West, had held a lottery to try to pay off his mortgage. The winner, David Leonard Barnes, was paid in bank notes but demanded gold or silver. The case was decided on a procedural issue, not exactly boosting the court’s reputation, and West lost his farm.

Leader of the packs

A number of wolves were reported to be living near Paris. How many are estimated to live in Europe?

Northern Greece/Macedonia 5,000
Baltic states/Western Russia 4,300
North-west Spain 2,400
Italian/Swiss/French Alps and the Apennines 600-900
Slovakia/Romania/Western Ukraine 500
Eastern Germany/West Poland 150
Sweden/Norway 150

Source: EuroNatur

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