World: Frankness in the Air

Two Labor members of the Birmingham City Council recently had what they considered a bright idea: Why not establish municipal brothels to keep the city's aggressive prostitutes in one place? The councillors were fully braced for a storm of indignant protest, even though they never seriously expected their measure to pass. Nothing of the sort happened. Instead, the two councillors were immediately besieged with invitations to appear on TV and state their views. Many Britons wrote to congratulate them for forthrightly raising an important question. The Tories complained only that, if there were...

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