In the aftermath of the cinema shooting in Aurora, Colorado, this piece from a three year old episode of Charlie Brooker’s Screenwipe is again relevant for how to help prevent copycat killing sprees.
Comment of the Day
On how the ECB is not allowed to learn from its mistakes:
So: Ireland’s critical error was to protect legacy bondholders who were completely stuck (the money was long since lent), but now that Ireland made that error, we can’t let Spain come up with a better policy because then there would be questions about Ireland.
David Mitchell on passion
One for Sandra, she had become increasingly annoyed with the meaningless use of “passion” as a catch all motivation for wannabe cooks on Masterchef or oiks on The Apprentice.
Enjoy the games!
Official advice on how to best “enjoy” the London olympics:
Be prepared for security checks when you arrive: you and your bag will be searched. It will be busy and you will have to queue – so arrive early. Gates will open 2.5 hours before competition starts and there’s plenty to see and do inside the venue – you can even watch the athletes train.
Bring as little as possible with you: one medium-sized handbag or small backpack is allowed per person. There are no storage facilities available. You can bring food, provided it fits in your bag, and an empty plastic water bottle to fill up inside the venue. You cannot bring in liquids over 100ml. Read the full list of prohibited and restricted items
Leave plenty of time to travel: park-and-ride is available for this venue and must be booked in advance. If you’re coming by train, the recommended station is Leigh-on-Sea. From there, you can take the free shuttle bus to the venue or it’s a scenic 40-minute walk. Use the spectator journey planner to plan your journey and, where necessary, book your travel in advance. If you’re travelling from London, don’t forget your free Games Travelcard on the day.
After your event, you can avoid the queues to leave by staying on to enjoy the fantastic views and entertainment inside the venue.
Remember the only way to pay is by Visa (debit, credit or prepaid card) or cash: for details of the services and facilities available in your venue, read the venue information online. There are no ATM cash machines available at your venue.
Check the weather forecast and come prepared: Hadleigh Farm is an outdoor venue with limited shelter. The course is hilly so come in suitable footwear – it’s a 15-minute walk from the venue entrance to the course.
Austerity isn’t meant to work
In the Guardian, Ha-Joon Chang writes why austerity measures like the ones below cannot solve the economic crisis
The remedies on offer are well known. Reduce budget deficits by cutting spending – especially “unproductive” social welfare spending that reduces growth by making poor people less willing to work. Cut taxes at the top and deregulate business (euphemistically called “cutting red tape”) so that the “wealth creators” have greater incentives to invest and generate growth; and make hiring and firing easier.
What he misses is that all these measures were never meant to solve the crisis, but come straight off the wishlist of big business; the crisis is used as an excuse to implement them. A child can see that reducing unemployment benefits or making it easier to fire people when every company is already busy firing people isn’t going to help, but it sure comes in handy if you’re a business owner who wants to be able to fire his employees at will.
The thing we should remember is that by and large, the big banks and big businesses, with some exceptions, have paid the price for their own crisis. Instead, by measures such as these, the costs have been transferred to the workers. Bankers get their bonuses, the rest of us get fired.