Indian Give and Take

An Indian minister for public works has been forced to use the "taken out of context" defence after being caught on camera in an apparent attempt to keep Indian levels of corruption at a modest and civilised level. "If you work hard, and put your heart and soul into it ... then you are allowed to steal some," he told a mess of bureaucrats in Uttar Pradesh. "But don't be a bandit." Even if the context changed nothing, it is difficult to find fault with this advice; certainly the ruling wing of the British Neoliberal Party might benefit from a prime minister who had better things to do than posturing as an armchair athlete while his chums busy themselves stealing from the public.