London murder will only encourage unnecessary tension in relationship between East and West

The inhumane killing of a young British soldier in London yesterday is truly a terrible act of cruelty,  of that there is no doubt. Carried out by a radical, extremist Muslim, the unfortunate result of the act is likely to be a backlash against the wider Muslim population, with political ramifications that will further widen the unnecessary rift that exists between Western and Islamic civilisations. This has already been seen in attacks on mosques and other buildings with even a remote relation to such cultures, and this is an extremely negative reaction that does nothing to build bridges between cultures and communities.

As has been seen, the Muslim Council of Britain has clearly condemned yesterday's brutal attack, as clear a message as any that the Muslim community is a peaceful one and simply wishes to be allowed to carry out it's way of life without disturbance. What certain members of society fail to realise is that radical and extremist Muslims are a different group to Muslims in general, and they in no way hold responsibility for this attack, and condemn it most strongly. What they should also realise, is that British society has it's own fair share of white extremists - this does not mean all white ethnic groups can be labelled in the same way, and the same applies to black ethnic communities, with a Muslim connection or otherwise.

The unfortunate result of all this is that the image of Islam and Islamic civilisations is reinforced as being representative of a dangerous and intolerant societal model. Whatever the truth is, a war of all against all serves no-one, and to hold one single social group responsible for a single act is at best, misinformed, and at worst, highly uneducated. What the communities of Britain (of all creeds and colours) need to do now is unite in a show of disapproval towards terrorism and those who would commit such cowardly acts.

Further evidence from Italy that freefall capitalism is not an option

The demands by Italian protesters for job creation over further austerity measures from the left-leaning Prime Minster shows that Governments that run a country with the aim of cutting costs cannot meet the needs of society, and that the only path available to them will lead to further dissatisfaction from a country's residents. This is not true solely in Italy, but in the world at large. In Britain, Government austerity is leading to heightened pressure on organisations and individuals who work for them, resulting in more work for people for less reward. The same can be seen in Greece, as people there cannot even meet their basic living costs. European citizens everywhere are having to raid their savings simply to eke out a living.

By focusing on and investing in job creation, Governments can ensure that it's citizens have a healthy work/life balance, take pride in their responsibilities and services, and perform their duties to the highest level of ability. By forcing people out of work and leaving those left behind to carry out their duties with what limited resources remain, a country and it's businesses will never be run effectively, as the people responsible for providing the services will cease to care about their work, as employers and Governments are too keen to show that they do not have the well-being of their citizens at heart.

The shocking thing is that it has taken so long for people to realise this. Now, everywhere, people are coming out of the woodwork to express their dissatisfaction not just with their Governments, but with the system as a whole. By investing in people and jobs, you are investing in life, and the groundwork is laid for healthy, socially active societies. Global corporations that run as automatic machines offer homogeneity and a standardised product, but they do not provide the creativity and enthusiasm which imaginative and well-funded projects deliver. It is time that Government's accepted the responsibility of providing their people with a right to earn an honest living for just reward, instead of finding new ways to cut costs at the expense of people's livelihoods and sanity. This does not mean people should expect a free ride, but that responsibility means more than just a meaningless existence. 

UN investigation into North Korean rights abuses welcome

The announcement by the United Nations that it is to conduct an investigation into the human rights abuses that take place in North Korea is a welcome and refreshing move. Although the Human Rights situation in North Korea is monitored by a number of other actors, including Human Rights Watch, this is the first time that the UN has become directly involved, adding weight and credibility to this issue and demonstrating the crucial importance of this issue at the present time. Additionally, it also gives a human dimension to the current situation in the country at the political level, as opposed to focusing merely on the strategic and military aspects of the crisis. Although these are necessarily of importance, a more detailed insight into the the human rights situation is essential.

However, as had already been stated in various circles, North Korea is unlikely to provide access to such a mission. Although there is bound to be no shortage of North Korean defectors who would be willing to give accounts of their experiences in North Korea, the lack of access to the country itself is damning and frustrating, although hardly to be unexpected. It does, however, demonstrate that the UN is taking this issue seriously in the current political climate between North Korea and the West, although it has taken the recent increase in political tensions for this to occur. What is especially encouraging however is that the UN has taken a cross section of commission members from a variety of countries, which may offer a variety of perspectives on the situation. One of these is Sonja Biserko, who has wide experience of the Yugoslav unrest of the 1990's, and it will be interesting to see what parallels, if any, can be made here.

The organisation has requested the country to give full and unimpeded access to the country, which is unlikely, but we have been surprised by North Korea's decision making before, and it may just be that some concessions will be made once more in a bid to try and increase it's standing in the international system. Whatever happens, it is almost guaranteed that the enquiry will find damning evidence against North Korea, but the question remains as to what extent this will actually be an open enquiry and new information will be discovered. For this enquiry to have any real significance or impact, North Korea needs to be a little more cooperative, and at this stage it would be unrealistic to expect this to occur. One thing is for sure, the end report will make for interesting reading. The story goes on...

Back door-privatisation will lead to country's ruin

The announcement yesterday that the Government is planning to sell off and privatise even more state functions is a very poor move, and a return to the desperate situation of the 1970's. When will Governments learn that to privatise everything is not in the public interest? It simply leads to the newly created private businesses looking for cost-cutting efficiencies and more ways to make profit. More often than not, it leads to cutting staff and more work for the staff that remain, with the much sought-after effiency gains hardly ever realised. This is highly likely to effect the standard of work offered and means the service standards offered are likely to decline, often in return for higher prices - as we have seen on the railway in Britain today.

However, the real implications are for those left to work in these new privatised roles. Turning a service over to the private sector means that any unnecessary services will be cut, and the pressure will be increased on staff to take on more work from those staff cut back. This will lead to higher stress levels among the employed, and will impact on their happiness levels in their daily life. Privatising anything is only ever done with one aim - to make profit, and this is something that many Government services in place should not be about. Of course, there are services that are unnecessary, inefficiently run and need overhaul. However, privatisation is not the answer - this is just an easy way for the Government to absolve it's responsibility instead of routing out the source of the problem.

What needs to be done is for the Government, perhaps in collaboration with external parties, to conduct an overhaul of it's system, invest in better training for people and look where it is wasting money - one of these is the Department for work and pensions, as has tragicomically been seen in the new TV sitcom The Job Lot. Only then will people feel happier and better able to carry out their roles.