British security would improve upon separation from the European Union. British Prime Minister David Cameron’s announcement on February 20 of a “special” relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union (EU) briefly boosted support for staying in—if only because he dominated the news agenda. However, support will decline before the referendum on June 23, particularly... Continue Reading
Your chances of ever being caught in a terrorist attack are negligible, but these ten rules can help in any emergency. Multi-method terrorist attacks—like the ones in Paris on November 13—are becoming more frequent and deadly, while official authorities are struggling to protect their residents. So, how can we protect ourselves? Terrorism is still extremely rare compared to other... Continue Reading
Europe must improve border security first, before it blames national security. In less than three hours on the night of November 13, seven terrorists killed at least 129 people and wounded 352 others, mostly with small arms (their suicide explosives were used to martyr themselves at the end of their killing sprees). The Islamic State (IS) has claimed responsibility. France’s terrorism... Continue Reading
The UK General Election campaign focuses on inputs into public services, rather than improving outputs or reducing demands. The election campaign in the United Kingdom has been dismissed as “irrelevant,” “boring” and “plastic.” It is better described as simplistic. British politicians avoid the most urgent issues by reducing them to simple choices between some uncontestable but... Continue Reading
The UK General Election campaigns of 2015 offer practically no promises on official accountability. The 2000s were the most scandal-ridden decade in British politics: Politicians sold their favors and claimed false expenses; politicians and their lackeys lied over war in Iraq; police and other officials sold private information; and lazy or misguided police and social workers ignored organized... Continue Reading
To dismiss UKIP as racist is to mischaracterize not just the party, but Britons as a whole. The titular question was asked of Fair Observer, so Fair Observer asked me, at which point I realized how little the public knows about the real policies offered by the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP), other than cheap accusations of “racism.” Google reports that the two most common... Continue Reading
After 15 years of public scandals, only 23 journalists and officials have been held criminally accountable for illegally accessing information. For decades, British journalists have illegally accessed personal information and bribed officials, yet they remain essentially self-regulated without criminal accountability, even for behaviors that are unambiguously illegal. In 2000, a few... Continue Reading
Why does the Department of Health not accept public health complaints? The British Parliament’s Public Administration Select Committee (PASC) has reported that the authorities for investigating health care failures in the United Kingdom are too numerous and unaccountable. One committee has at least criticized the structure of British health care, but the PASC airily follows all previous... Continue Reading
Why are British Muslims so well-represented in the self-declared “Islamic State”? The United States and Britain have similar-sized Muslim minorities, but US officials have estimated that approximately 100 Americans are fighting with the Islamic State, while their British counterparts put the number at 500 Britons; although Member of Parliament Khalid Mahmood estimates more than... Continue Reading
Given increasing insurgencies, further proliferation of guided missiles are to be expected over the next few years. The world is in shock from the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine on July 17, most likely by a guided missile, which resulted in the loss of all 298 people on board. Since 2001, passengers have become sensitized to all sorts of diabolical schemes to... Continue Reading
