Man's right.

The UK is a major offender with GCHQ, but our government has been shamingly successful in closing down debate on the issue compared with what's happening in the US. The main response from our wonderful government has been to threaten the Guardian. This in a country where (happily) you still don't risk life and limb by opposing the government. The sad fact is that people here don't care about their freedom as much as Americans do.

As I often point out to the pretty numerous people I meet who object to some new lunacy in American politics - you may complain about this, but whatever you think about [whatever], be sure there are Americans who care just as much about [whatever] and are actually trying to do something about it.

You mean until 1453. (Ask any Greek)

Given that TFA is only using leprosy as a metaphor, I suppose this is, strictly, off-topic.

But I have to say, in the many countries where leprosy hasn't gone away, there are still plenty of very real, non-metaphorical leper colonies. I know because I'm an eye surgeon who used to work in Africa, and I've been involved in outreach trips to operate on cataracts in leper colonies. If we hadn't arranged the trips, the people would have had no chance of getting their sight back. Nobody much cares about them.

Find another bloody metaphor.

Soviet-era Bulgarian joke (as told me by a Soviet-era Bulgarian):

A: Why do Bulgarian policemen always go around in threes?
B: Dunno. Why?
A: One knows how to read, and one knows how to write.
B: What's the third one for?
A: He's keeping an eye on the two intellectuals.

To clarify, the non-fact-checker I'm dissing is Janis Ian, not cervesaebraciator, whose comments are highly sensible (I reckon) and who has made a good catch in finding the Janis Ian quote. Evidently a fact-checker.

Anybody who thinks James Joyce was antisemitic plainly hasn't done the research - in particular, hasn't read Ulysses. Or even seen a synopsis of the plot ...

General point is right, though. Which proves that even people who don't bother checking facts get it right sometimes.

Not difficult to construct a list of horrible people who made great novels, great poetry, great art ... but then only people who think that Art can play the role of morality or religion should be surprised.

C is "secure" now?
Surprise, surprise indeed ...

Last time I checked, Scotland was still part of the UK. We practically invented New Year.