By Chris Williams • 'All terror all the time' presumption prodded
Posted in Government, 25th March 2010 12:27 GMT
The "permanent state of emergency" over terrorism since 9/11 has blocked debate over whether the dozens of new laws introduced to combat the threat are justified, according to a cross-party group of peers and MPs.
The Joint Committeee on Human Rights today questioned ministers' claim that there has been a "public emergency threatening the life of the nation" ever since the attacks on New York and Washington.
The full document is here (pdf)
TRADITIONS based on heritage, sporting culture and common language are threatened by mass immigration, a leading demographer has warned.
Monash University population expert Dr Bob Birrell has said the huge influx of people with few or no English skills had created social problems in Melbourne suburbs such as Dandenong, Sunshine and Broadmeadows and most major cities were feeling the population strain, theHerald Sun reported.
"This is not a pretty picture," he said. "Social divisions are becoming more obvious and geographically concentrated and certain areas are being overlain by an ethnic identification."
Dr Birrell made the explosive comments in an article for Policy, a magazine published by the Centre for Independent Studies, a right-wing think tank.
At this stage in 2010, all eyes are on the upcoming election, which our latest polls suggest is getting tighter. So this seems an opportune moment to take stock of the state of public opinion as voters face a decision that will set the direction of the economy, public spending and the shape of many public services, possibly for years to come.
On the eve of a general election campaign, we offer this review partly as a synthesis of our work on the major issues of the last year, partly as an interpretation of what seem to be the crucial dynamics of 2010. We’ve grouped these into three big themes: Politics, Public Services and Society.
At the end of 2009, most people’s money would have been on a Conservative victory. Now, however, a whole series of polls are suggesting a hung parliament is still a possibility (though evidence that the Tories are performing better in the marginals still puts them in the driving seat). But whichever party wins, it is certain that the economic crisis will dictate a tightening of belts, and significantly lower public spending at some point soon. At the minimum public services will have to significantly adapt, and there is a good chance that many will need to be radically reshaped – but this may not be a bad thing; in the well-worn words of various US Democrats, we should never waste a good crisis.
PDF - Report
The review explores what people want, need and expect from public services, drawing together Ipsos MORI’s historical data across all key public service areas. In particular, it shows that the public remains deeply worried about postcode lotteries and concerned that greater local control and choice will benefit the more advantaged. Moreover, while people favour the idea of being involved in the design of services in affecting local spending priorities and in local decision making, most do not personally get involved in practice. This presents real challenges for decision-makers, since as Paul Buddery and Henry Kippin from the 2020 Public Services Trust point out in their introduction:
‘Without properly understanding what the public want and value, and how they relate to today’s services, it will be impossible to design services for tomorrow that fit the lives they live, and develop the capabilities they need to fulfill their aspirations. Ipsos MORI’s evidence should be of interest to anyone concerned about the meaning and impact of public services today, and their democratic reform in the future.’
| Giving up the ghost, by David Lipsey | |
| We have mainly faced phantom cuts so far, but the real ones will quickly follow. Expect industrial unrest, racial tension and attacks on public sector ‘bureaucrats’... - CIPFA | |
Facebook VP debates anti-hate activist over question of hate speech as free speech at event
Facebook, YouTube +: How Social Media Outlets Impact Digital Terrorism and Hate [cost involved]
......The CD-ROM report, released annually, is designed to assist law enforcement, public officials, educators, parents and the news media to better grasp the scope of hate. The report is used by the FBI, Homeland Security, military officials, hate crime units and joint terrorism taskforces in the U.S. as well as Canada and Europe (a PDF of the presentation which also includes a section about how Twitter is emerging as a new tool for extremists can be downloaded here.)....................
History & Policy Newsletter
Feature, March 2010
As the future of the Post Office comes under increasing speculation, Chris Bowlby talks to Adrian Steel about the place of the postal service in the twenty-first century. Changing times: How can the Post Office keep pace with the modern world? is the latest article in H&P's collaborative series with BBC History Magazine. Other articles can be found in our BBC History section.
Letter, 3 March 2010
A letter signed by twenty economic historians in the H&P Network was published in the Guardian. The signatories warn against immediate cuts in public spending and urge support for knowledge-based economic growth. They argue that British public debt is actually relatively low, both in historical and international contexts, and urge policymakers to maintain spending on the knowledge economy, which will contribute to economic growth and speed up repayment of the debt. The letter was initiated by Glen O'Hara of Oxford Brookes University and H&P co-founder Simon Szreter. Other signatories include Professors Martin Daunton, Jane Humphries and Jim Tomlinson.
Read the letter.
The letter was discussed in Madeleine Bunting's article on cuts.
See also: How (not) to cut government spending and reduce public sector debt by Glen O'Hara, and browse other H&P papers on economic history.
| Brendan O’Neill Let’s reclaim the C-word Labour and the Tories talk non-stop about ‘change’, but only because they would rather be in a state of perpetual flux than face up to political realities. |
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| Tim Black The paedophile panic: a product of elite hysteria The government’s sex offenders disclosure scheme should remind us that it isn’t ‘the mob’ who are obsessed with paedos. |
| Mick Hume How did the ‘right to die’ become the liveliest cause? Some thoughts on what the assisted suicide debate tells us about our political life and times – and what Leon Trotsky might have made of it all. | |||
| Kevin Yuill Why society should not tolerate suicide Suicide itself – ‘the right of anyone to take his life’ – is being legitimated by the assisted-suicide campaign. |
