A blogger from the Taxpayers' Alliance is fuming over the government's decision to fund convict's drug habits by giving them £4 million pounds worth of Methadone treatment, the legal equivalent of Heroin.
She's quite right when she writes: "Why should taxpayers fund a criminal's drug habit? I'm not an expert, but I would be willing to guess that drugs contributed to the crimes that many of these people committed in the first place. If prisons are supposed to rehabilitate inmates and reintegrate them into society, they should be striving to do just that, not substituting a heroin addiction with its legal equivalent to sedate their inmates."
Of course, this is why the Tories policy of social responsibility and to tackle the root reasons behind a Broken Britain is spot on. Last week, on the BBCs Question Time, Trisha Goddard, the reality TV chat show presenter was spot on. She said that politicians needed to tackle the root causes of crime and anti-social behaviour. Many of Britain's problems stem from the family (or lack of it), and that is the backbone of what makes a person who they are. Of course, add to the mixture outside influences, including drugs, alcohol, a media society fueled by fake celebrities and the media's obsession for them, and you've got a generation of people who don't really know who or what their role is in life.
The top Internet Marketer Yaro Starak has turned 30 today. What has this got to do with this? Well, he makes a great point on his blog about where he came from and where he's going in life. He tells people that he had experienced low points in life, but came through them - because he discovered his own self worth, identity.
He writes: "The problem when your own self worth is low, is that you have great difficulty digging yourself out. You generally attract experiences to enhance your low self esteem because you view the world in "sad" glasses. Until you can switch the conversation going on inside your head from negative to positive, your experiences in the outside world will reflect this, further enhancing your negative belief structure."
He has a point? And also, add to the cauldron, a UK media who love to build someone up into a star, and then drag them down again, because it makes good news, and sells papers, is what makes a lot of teenage kids stray from the straight and narrow. They think that this is the way of life for them. To be built up, only to be dragged down. In fact, in Britain, we love to either drag people down already on top, or, indeed, mock people who want to achieve success. We love the status quo - even though politicians and authority figures love talking about change.
Karen Hatter is The-Latest's America correspondent. A community activist and retired United States government employee, she has gained first-hand knowledge and experience of the concerns and challenges faced by Americans. She writes about a variety of social issues, providing depth, texture and an alternative, progressive perspective on current affairs. Karen has been a contributor to this site since 2008.
Tola Ositelu has been a freelance writer and blogger for almost a decade. She’s interested in arts, culture and social commentary. Currently based at the EU in Brussels, she studied law and has a masters in sociocultural linguistics. Tola is a lifelong learner as well as a music, literature and travel enthusiast. She describes herself as a novice political activist.
Simone Mendez is a creative writing graduate currently living in Birmingham. She is a book lover and equally enjoys reading and writing poetry. Simone also gains a lot of satisfaction from writing about culture and current affairs. She hopes to produce her own plays in the future.
Donnacha DeLong is an online journalist and freelance writer. He has been a senior site editor of Amnesty International’s global website amnesty.org and played a key role in developing the organisation's use of social media for campaigning and reporting purposes. Donnacha is a past President of the National Union of Journalists and is a current member of the union’s National Executive Committee.
Richard Lance Keeble, Professor of Journalism at Lincoln University and Visiting Professor at Liverpool Hope University, has written or edited 36 books. In 2011, he gained a National Teaching Fellowship, the highest award for UK teachers, and in 2014 was given a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Association for Journalism Education. Richard jointly edits Ethical Space: The International Journal of Communication Ethics and writes on a range of subjects including war/peace, journalism and George Orwell.
Lara Platman is a journalist and photographer with a passion for all things eccentric, fast and theatrical. This includes dance, motor cars, country life and polo. Her work has featured in a variety of top publications. She is a regular columnist for The-Latest and has her own site photofeature.co.uk that showcases her creative output.
Thomas L. Blair is a sociologist and political blogger on the Chronicleworld 'for creative renewal in Black Britain and Afro-Europe'. His work is honoured in the British Library's archive of "social, historic and culturally significant web-based material from the UK domain". He won top prize in the blogging competition on The-Latest.
Sumantra Maitra is a freelance journalist from Mumbai, India. He is a correspondent for All Sports magazine, and a foreign affairs blogger for the Washington Examiner. He has written articles for news website Merinews.com and other regional publications. Sumantra runs a blog at DailyWorldWatch.wordpress.com. He provided exclusive eyewitness reports for The-Latest on the Mumbai bombings of 2008.
Brian Usher is photography consultant for The-Latest.Com. He is a highly experienced editorial and commercial photographer whose work has been published throughout the world, appearing in many well known magazines and newspapers. Brian has featured in several books and has been a writer for the Royal Photographic Society magazine.
Heidi Kingstone has spent time in Afghanistan reporting for a number of publications. Her work has appeared in the Financial Times, The Spectator, The Sunday Times and other international journals. She has also reported from places like Iraq, Rwanda, Lebanon, Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Kenya. Heidi is The-Latest's Editor at large.
Deborah Hobson is a freelance writer and Deputy Editor of The-Latest.Com. She specialises in human interest, celebrity and lifestyle features. Deborah has written scoops for The-Latest, using the Freedom of Information Act to uncover official secrets the public have a right to know about. She looks after contributors and if you would like to become one contact her: contribsed@the-latest.com
Thomas L. Blair is a sociologist and political blogger on the Chronicleworld 'for creative renewal in Black Britain and Afro-Europe'. His work is honoured in the British Library's archive of "social, historic and culturally significant web-based material from the UK domain". He won top prize in the blogging competition on The-Latest.
Sumantra Maitra is a freelance journalist from Mumbai, India. He is a correspondent for All Sports magazine, and a foreign affairs blogger for the Washington Examiner. He has written articles for news website Merinews.com and other regional publications. Sumantra runs a blog at DailyWorldWatch.wordpress.com. He provided exclusive eyewitness reports for The-Latest on the Mumbai bombings of 2008.
Brian Usher is photography consultant for The-Latest.Com. He is a highly experienced editorial and commercial photographer whose work has been published throughout the world, appearing in many well known magazines and newspapers. Brian has featured in several books and has been a writer for the Royal Photographic Society magazine.
Heidi Kingstone has spent time in Afghanistan reporting for a number of publications. Her work has appeared in the Financial Times, The Spectator, The Sunday Times and other international journals. She has also reported from places like Iraq, Rwanda, Lebanon, Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Kenya. Heidi is The-Latest's Editor at large.
latest comments