EXIT GAINS MOMENTUM

The last few days have seen the OUT campaign gaining ground. I like that, but am a bit worried to hear Boris and Michael putting more emphasis on economics. I suppose they must do something to attack the distortions offered by the IN lobby, but the economic arguments are unprovable. There are better grounds for […]

PRINCIPLES AND PRESCRIPTIONS

There was a report recently in the Daily Telegraph about a speech made by The Archbishop of Canterbury, saying that “economic recovery is not enough.” He went on to say that society needs to be more caring and should reflect Christian values. Well done, Archbishop. It’s great that somebody should make the point that Christian values […]

ROOTS OF BEHAVIOUR

An article in the Daily Telegraph attributed many of society’s ills to the poor upbringing that some children receive. That is very easy to believe, but almost impossible to remedy. Some of the forces that were influential are no longer effective. Fewer people now believe that good and evil actions here will lead to reward or […]

MILLIBAND AND MAIL

The conflict between Ed Milliband and The Daily Mail/Mail on Sunday has been news in the UK most of this past week. Public opinion is mostly pro-Milliband because it seems cheap and dishonest to dig up his fathers views and imply that Ed might follow them if he got into power. I feel that way myself, and, anyway, […]

THE BENEFITS REFORMS – UK

The different views about “reform” of the benefit system are confusing. There is no certainty about the impact and the arguments seem to reflect in-built beliefs. The churches are all about charity and love, so most condemn the changes. And almost everybody is against harming those who are in real need. On the other side, people with […]

EDUCATION AND EXPECTATION

Present concerns about the state of the UK and it’s competitiveness lead one to worry about eductation. We have a minister who obviously wants to improve it but we don’t see much dialogue about why children and young people should want to learn. In underdeveloped countries people are desperate to go to school. Why? Because […]

VALUES, FACTS,ACCURACY AND OPINIONS

The debate about foxhunting surfaced again on Boxing Day. It made me think about how one decides emotional issues. At the time of the ban I was against it, and took part in two ‘protests’ . I was not keen on animals being torn to pieces, but that was outweighed by anger at the aggression of […]