“The culture in this country has become so overwhelmingly conformist that any alternative to capitalism is considered outlandish.”
Tariq Ali October 2009
 
Winston Churchill once famously said that “democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.” He might have said the same about the primacy […]

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The serious concerns of the UK Autism Foundation were highlighted in the Autism Debate in the House of Lords. Peers backed the call of the UK Autism Foundation for Her Majesty’s Government to reach out to poor families with autism who are struggling during the recession.
Baroness Uddin speaking in the debate supported the UK Autism […]

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Whilst nothing in politics is absolutely certain the high probability is that David Camerons’ Conservatives will win a comfortable majority in next year’s UK General Election – the Tories first taste of power since 1997. Analysing the reason for electorates’ choices in free and fair elections keeps psephologists happy and busy for years but it […]

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(London, UK) Some 42,000 runners are expected to participate in this year’s ING New York City Marathon. The NYC Marathon is an integral part of the World Marathon Series. The first ever New York Marathon was held in 1970 with 127 entrants running around Central Park. In 1970 around 55 runners crossed the finishing line, […]

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President Obama was brought up in Asia, yet he seems clueless about Afghanistan, and of the geopolitical problems in this area.
The press is even worse, preferring the simplistic out of date explanations of the “Afghanistan is Viet Nam” meme, or the “Stop the war” meme, or stressing civilian casualties “reported” by Taliban linked sources without […]

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Wow! Another week and another Google Alert. This time, its about having cameras in the classrooms in the United Kingdom. Wonder if this trend will hit up the United States?
A group in the UK called Class watch sets up cameras in classrooms and uses this as a basis for professional development. So far, they have […]

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The characteristic that most divides Man from the rest of the animal kingdom is cognitive thought. The power to reason, combined with sophisticated powers of communication, make Homo Sapiens the king of any jungle on earth.  Our brains, unlike the brains of all other species, are sufficiently advanced that we have powers of deduction that […]

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Once while filling in at an emergency room. I heard a conversation between an attending physician and the doc who had just arrived to work the evening shift. The attending physician asked him to check the X ray to ensure that the NG tube he had just placed was in the correct position before they […]

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Wow! The unthinkable has happened and that is a Facebook cyber bully is now in jail. Yes, in jail for tormenting another young woman on Facebook and Bebo for several years. However, this did not happen in the United States but in the United Kingdom. I hope the United States will follow suit at some […]

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Not only have the French gotten their knickers in a knot about Muslim girls wearing modest costumes to public swimming pools, but now an Italian city plans to ban it completely.
Women wearing the garment made up of a veil, a tunic and loose leggings face a fine of 500 euros ($850) if spotted at swimming […]

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There are two subjects which get to the very heart of what a modern, prosperous country is all about – education and healthcare.  Few citizens of Europe or of North America (for example) would argue with the premise that it is a sine qua non of a civilised country that our children are properly educated […]

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I am planning a longish article for BNN on the whole Healthcare issue - from a British perspective. But as a taster here is an excllent short piece by British columnist Simon Hoggart which catches the issue perfectly.
“There are few tribes more loathsome than the American right, and their vicious use of the shortcomings in […]

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(London, UK) British autism campaigners have launched a new online petition in support of Gary McKinnon. The petition has the full support of Mrs Janice Sharp, McKinnon’s mother. UK autism charities are now supporting the petition and organisers hope that thousands will sign it.
Gary McKinnon recently lost his appeal in the High Court in London […]

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Like most children, I hated Brussel sprouts, which were soggy, bitter and terrible tasting. Indeed, they come in first in a UK poll on the most hated vegetable.
But they are a source of Vitamin C, and in places like Great Britain they are part of the traditional Christmas dinner.
But now, to the horror of sprout […]

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An article on the left-leaning website Truthout announced yesterday that a “new direction in the war on terror” may result from a case that occurred in the last year of the Bush Administration. Bryant Neal Vinas, an American-born suspected terrorist who was captured in Pakistan, was given “all the rights of  American criminal suspects.” The results? […]

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When President Obama visited the UK he was quite a hit as evidenced by the ‘wall-to-wall’ news coverage but they, as well as us, have had a better chance to digest his policies and it seems to be common knowledge that Obama’s once brilliant aura is beginning to dim.
A scathing article in the London Telegraph […]

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There’s an old phrase book for foreigners: English as she is spoken.
So let’s talk about Health Care rationing, as she is practiced.
With all this talk about government health care and the possibility that rationing will be part of the plan, I am astonished that no one has bothered to see how US Federal Government clinics […]

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The Editorial Board of the New York Times has just sent a warning shot across the bow of the Democrat who are trying to fast track a health care bill:
They published an editorial by Dr. Peter Singer, who is best known for his promotion of the idea that infanticide is okay, but consensual sex with […]

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In this era of reduced real estate expectations and tighter lending it’s nice to know that taxpayers, via the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), will be helping folks buy luxury condos deep in the heart of Jersey City, New Jersey. With a mere 3.5 percent down “qualified buyers”* can use loans supplied by FHA backed lenders […]

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I haven’t seen the HBO series on the Tudors yet (HBO Asia is a year behind the US), but I find it interesting that the story is being revived and retold for today’s audience.
The story of Henry and his six wives is one that has held the fascination of people for hundreds of years. Is […]

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(London, UK) British parliamentarians have commended the hard work of the UK Autism Foundation who are campaigning non-stop on behalf of the poor, particularly during the credit crunch and the recession.
CDA Events Management Services recently organised a successful fundraiser for the UK Autism Foundation called ‘Scope for Hope.’ The autism charity dinner was held at […]

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Lord Acton’s cynical but truthful premise that “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men” is the explanation for the travails of Britain’s beleaguered Prime Minister Gordon Brown.  The problem is that, unlike his immediate predecessor, Gordon Brown has been corrupted in the pursuit and retention of […]

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The reports now coming out of foreign press sources are eerily similar to John McCain’s accounts of his P.O.W. treatment at the Hanoi Hilton. The Telegraph, a British media outlet, last week released photos  of Guantanamo abuses that President Obama had just announced would be kept confidential. And the government of Spain revealed that despite the president’s […]

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(London, UK) Lee Scott MP, a leading autism campaigner in the House of Commons in Westminster recently helped launch a thriller, a book titled ‘Gauntlet’ written by the Canadian author Richard Aaron. Scott met with Richard Aaron and autism campaigner Ivan Corea in the House of Commons.
‘Gauntlet’ is a nail biting, action packed novel. A […]

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An excerpt from an Associated Press report released this morning (5/20/09):
“High Court Justice Sean Ryan on Wednesday unveiled the 2,600-page final report of Ireland’s Commission to Inquire Into Child Abuse, which is based on testimony from thousands of former students and officials from more than 250 church-run institutions.
More than 30,000 children deemed to be […]

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Lawyers representing the British-based oil firm Trafigura have taken their first steps toward suing BBC’s current affairs television program, BBC Newsnight, for “libelous statements” in their May 13 investigative report, Dirty tricks and toxic waste in Ivory Coast .
The company’s law firm has yet to specify what statements in the report they […]

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The causes of homosexuality continue to both fascinate and divide people. Recently, in London, a conservative group of Anglicans, called the Anglican Mainstream hosted a conference to discuss the causes of homosexuality and promote change from gay to straight. Featured at the conference was American psychologist, Joseph Nicolosi. Dr. Nicolosi stirred much controversy when he […]

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IIM Ahmedabad (IIMA) and the Reseaerch Council of UK (RCUK) have organized an International Conference on Security and Identity Management (SIM-09) at Ahmedabad. To be held over two days, the conference will deliberate on various issues of Security not only from the technological perspective but also from the perspective of Business and Regulatory aspects.
Dr Henry Bloomfield […]

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There are over 60 million people with autism and Asperger’s Syndrome around the world. Many have written accounts of their lives - from the UK comes the story of Kevin Healey, a young man with Asperger’s Syndrome, his idential twin, shaun has autism.
‘Twin Brothers Worlds Apart’ is the moving account of Kevin and Shaun […]

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(London, UK) The Canadian author, Richard Aaron (who recently released a fiction masterpiece recommended by the UK Autism Foundation), will be in the United Kingdom, in May 2009, to promote his book called ‘Gauntlet.’
Ivan Corea of the UK Autism Foundation said: ‘Gauntlet, written by Richard Aaron, is a fascinating piece of fiction, it puts autism […]

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