Words of wisdom - from Boris

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/9337911/Dithering-Europe-is-heading-for-the-democratic-dark-ages.html

. If things go on as they are, we will see more misery, more resentment, and an ever greater chance that the whole damn kebab van will go up in flames. Greece will one day be free again – in the sense that I still think it marginally more likely than not that whoever takes charge in Athens will eventually find a way to restore competitiveness through devaluation and leaving the euro – for this simple reason: that market confidence in Greek membership is like a burst paper bag of rice – hard to restore.

Without a resolution, without clarity, I am afraid the suffering will go on. The best way forward would be an orderly bisection into an old eurozone and a New Eurozone for the periphery. With every month of dither, we delay the prospect of a global recovery; while the approved solution – fiscal and political union – will consign the continent to a democratic dark ages.

Give them a chance!

Foster kids do much better under approach developed by CU School of Medicine 
Foster kids who receive mentoring and training in skills such as anger management, healthy communication, and problem solving are less likely to move foster homes or to be placed in a residential treatment center, and more likely to reunify with their biological families, according to a study by University of Colorado School of Medicine researchers.

EU - Time to call a halt, and get out

 A recent study was conducted amongst 7,500 businesses by British Chambers of Commerce.  Key conclusions are first, that more than half of respondents (51%) now believe that a Free Trade Area would be a better deal than EU membership and the Single Market, while only 31% favour "economic union". 

Some countries actually find that it is easier to trade outside the EU, rather than cope with Brussels red tape.  It seems that many companies are choosing to focus their export efforts on the rapidly growing markets of the BRICS and the Commonwealth, which can only be a good thing

One by one, the arguments for closer EU integration are being dismantled by the reality of membership. 

Old, tired and misunderstood? Challenging stereotypes about the 'ageing population'

H&P co-founder Pat Thane's report, Demographic futures, for the British Academy, challenges the belief that an ageing population is imposing unprecedented economic burdens on society.  By considering the demographic evidence of the 20th century, and unpicking how it 
has been misunderstood, Pat Thane highlights the complexity and diversity of older peoples' experiences - in terms of inequality, health, and their contributions to society.  The findings have important and unexpected implications for policy makers.
 Read the report Demographic futures

MPs - read and digest......

The Singing Sands by Josephine Tey - same thesis, possibly more enjoyable reading.


The Government says Britain has a serious social mobility problem, but a new Civitas report shows this is wrong.  The Government’s social mobility strategy is based on a flawed understanding of the evidence.  Social Mobility Delusions, by sociologist Peter Saunders, reviews the evidence on social mobility in Britain and finds: Social mobility is the norm in Britain, not the exception, and it occurs in both directions across the entire range of the occupational class structure.

Quick and Effective Justice?

While police forces and the prison system grapple with the swingeing cuts inflicted by the Coalition Government, a new Civitas report reveals that policing strategies that target individual offenders could help protect the public.  Offender-Desistance Policing and the Sword of Damocles by two Cambridge University criminologists, Lawrence W. Sherman and Peter W. Neyroud, argues that letting the police deal with low-risk offenders quickly with a structured supervision plan linked to a deferred prosecution could reduce offending and allow police and the other agencies to focus more on preventing serious crime.

The wolf has been tasked with looking after the sheep

Nigel Farage slams new European Court judge appointment

The appointment of Paul Mahoney as Britain's new judge at the European Court of Human Rights is another kick in the teeth for the British people, says UKIP's party leader Nigel Farage.

"The man has barely set foot in the United Kingdom since the 1970s, has never sat as judge in the courts of England and Wales and has no experience whatsoever of dealing with the lives of real British people," Mr Farage said.

"His life has been that of a quintessential European functionary and his appointment is another kick in the teeth for the British people. So much for the Tories' tough talk to reform the ECHR. But what do we expect when committed europhile Ken Clarke draws up the shortlist for the post? All three people on his list were enthusiastic backers of the ECHR. Mr Mahoney says it's 'inevitable' that the Strasbourg court makes new law. Instead of finding someone to stand up for British values we now have an apologist for the current human rights regime where the real winners are terrorists and criminals.

"The wolf has been tasked with looking after the sheep. The British people can expect more absurd decisions out of the European Court of Human Rights while Mr Mahoney can expect £150K tax-free and 12 weeks' paid holiday. Nice work if you can get it."