Have cuts in the youth services caused the riots?

“In da ghettos of Berkshire, right, you ain’t got nowhere to put da energy, ‘cos like apart from youth clubs, cinemas, theatres, sport centres, amusement arcades, football, school clubs, go-karting, dry-slope skiing, ice-skating, fishing, skate-boarding, Legoland, sea cadets, scouts, roller-discos, music workshops, oh yeah and swimming,… there ain’t nothin’ for kids to do.” – Ali G

Independence for London and the Home Counties?

This is a tongue-in-cheek proposal but one which raises an important issue:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-13661001

Why should the most prosperous region of the UK not declare its independence? Resentment is rising about the apparent injustice of south-eastern taxpayers funding benefits for Scotland and Wales such as free prescriptions, hospital parking and university education, while we have to put up with second-rate public services, not to mention the foreign aid budget (the UK's £70m donation to fight poverty in Uganda recently allowed the Ugandan President to spend £30m on a presidential jet).

Over the last 100 years, the number of nation states has increased as empires have fallen apart. Presently on the agenda, is the prospect of "independence for Scotland" and there is also the prospect of Belgium separating into its linguistic regions. These are simply the latest in a long process of separation to which no end is in sight. Any region which can claim a distinctive identity could claim the right to self-determination and a distinctive identity can easily be created where they do not really exist, as people in different regions turn to libraries to rediscover long dead languages, flags, anthems and numerous other traditions.

Yet these so-called "independent" states are not really independent as nineteenth century nation states were independent. An independent Scotland will want to be a member of the European Union, the IMF, the World Bank and about 200 other IGOs (International Governmental Organisations). While more and more "independent" countries have been created, more and more power has been given away by nation states to international bodies.

So we have the paradox of a rise of "identity politics" causing pressure for regions to want their own "identity" but also of globalisation requiring common solutions to common problems in a wide range of policy areas. After all, the most independent state in the world is probably North Korea.

What Alex Salmond probably craves is the title of President (or Prime Minister) of Scotland, cementing his place in history. This would mean that he could get to join a number of world leaders' clubs (how he must have wished that he too could be filmed playing table tennis with Barack Obama).

There is a valid concern that there is a fine line between celebrating identity and diversity and the more intolerant right-wing variety of "nationalism" which fails to properly recognise a common humanity. Modern identity politics increasingly emphasises difference based on arbitary factors of language, ethnicity and borders.

Furthermore, we have to recognise that as the nationalists seek to create smaller and smaller national units, the role for supranational bodies increases as issues such as immigration, the environment, international crime and the need to regulate the activities of multinational businesses make national borders an increasing irrelevance. Yet too often these IGOs have a serious democratic deficit, leading to problems of legitimacy and accountability. How can democracy be made to work internationally when it took about 2,000 years for democracy to make the transition from the city state to the nation state?

Will the Royal Wedding cause an Increase in Marriages? (post hoc)

It can be predicted that there will shortly be a sharp increase in the number of marriages in the UK. When this happens, the press will almost certainly report that the "Kate and Will factor" must be the cause of the increase.

On last week's More or Less (Radio 4) it was explained that a similar phenomenon followed the marriage of David and Victoria Beckham with Posh and Becks being credited for causing a brief reversal in the long term decline of marriage.

A more likely explanation, however, is that shortly after the marriage of David and Victoria Beckham, the government announced a clampdown on "sham marriages" and people rushed to get married before the new regulations came into force. This legislation has now been ruled illegal under the Human Rights Act and the government will be shortly forced to lift the regulations, which can be expected to lead to an increase in marriages.

So any increase in marriage will probably have more to do with people seeking to beat the immigration rules rather than any royal inspiration.

Listen to More or Less:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b010mwbt#synopsis

Baby Joy for Jordan - appeal to history

From Private Eye's Street of Shame Column (issue 1278)

"Baby Joy for Jordan" screamed The Star's headline on 14 December. The facts of the story were as follows: Jordan has changed from brunette to blonde. According to friends, when Jordan has been pregnant in the past, she has changed her hair colour. Therefore, she must be with child.

Home Cooking Raises Physics Take-up

Should we expect better from the Times Educational Supplement?

Family meals have bigger impact than “superfoods”, research suggests

Fish oils, nuts and seeds have all been claimed to boost pupils’ brainpower - but a family meal is likely to have a bigger impact than “superfoods” when it comes to studying science, new research suggests.

Children who regularly eat with their families are 30 per cent more likely to take biology and physics at A-level than other pupils, according to a Government study.

Full report at: http://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=6069253

Junk food makes kids less brainy

Eating junk food may be correlated with low IQ, but is this the same as saying that eating junk food causes low IQ? The Sun certainly seems to think so.

Story at: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3398102/Junk-food-makes-kids-less-brainy.html

Al Franken's Extended Ditch Analogy

Obama says that the Republicans drove America into a ditch, so they shouldn't be given back the keys.

Senator Al Franken extends this analogy considerably:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XR2GZ25tjQY