Since 2012 the conversations of people travelling on buses in Maryland have been recorded. It’s one thing to have active video recording, which can help identify the drunk and the trouble- makers. But to record passenger ‘s conversations! This is really going too far. What this mass surveillance hopes to achieve is puzzling. Maryland has …
A RAND Corporation report reveals an alarming pattern: gun salesmen based in the US now ship worldwide, with Europe the biggest source of profit. Lax gun laws in the US are undermining stricter rules elsewhere. Over half of the weapons for sale are from the US, with the revenue from Europe five times higher than from domestic sales, …
If you are flying off on holiday the airport is now, in all probability, the worst part of the experience (except the flight!). Profit is the motivation of the airport management, rather than security. Misery is the result. 1. More than half UK international airports lack free drinking water. Water fountains have been removed, forcing travellers …
Continue reading ‘The price of privatising airports in the UK’ »
Kosovo has become a hotbed of Islamist extremism. The tiny Balkan country, whose population is largely comprised of Muslim ethnic Albanians, is studded with mosques that preach the Salafist strain of militant Islam, shared by al-Qa’eda and Isis. Hundreds of Kosovars have gone to Syria and Iraq to join extremist groups. Yet Kosovars also admire …
Continue reading ‘When will we stop kow-towing to the abominable Saudi regime?’ »
The New York Times of February 24th carried an article about behavioural economics. The article states that since defined- benefit pensions disappeared in the private sector, only 40% of American families in the bottom half of the income distribution have any form of retirement savings plan. Even among those who do have a plan, their …
