The Wisdom of Others

The Moai is on form this morning, which is probably for the best because I am really not.

First up he has a look at rape statistics - link. "I am unaware of what rape convictions are like in other countries with similar demographies to Britain. That would be good to know. In fact, I would like to see policy makers making far greater use of data and examples from other countries, as it is the nearest thig you'll ever get to a trial run of a new idea. Can you think of any examples of British policies that are explicitly informed by the example of other nations? As a scientist, my first reaction when I read of a new policy proposal is 'What's the evidence? Where's the data? Has anyone ever tried this, or even simulated it?'"

Then, via Stumbling And Mumbling, he has had a look at class, race and Celebrity Big Brother: "this is not about race, it's about class. Jade is mixed race lumpenproletariat, Shilpa a high caste millionaire Bollywood actress with immaculate vowels. I am increasingly coming round to the view that much of the conflict we see is in fact class-based, with race, gender and religion as a cipher. A crude example - ask a section of the population if they'd like a Muslim family next door. Then, ask them if they'd like Mr & Mrs Khan, the surgeon and the accountant, next door. Watch the percentages change. People object to Muslims partly because Muslims in this country are overwhelmingly working class, and came from poor places like Sylhet with little qualifications to work in manufacturing an catering. By contrast, many Hindus and Sikhs were and are of a high caste/professional status, and went into medical practice and runnign their own businesses. Ergo, race is not the issue, class is."

My thoughts? Well, I think I found a pub yesterday evening in Central London where you can buy 2 pints for under £4. And I think I celebrated this find with more than one of the aforementioned pints. And I think the reason why the pints are so cheap is because they do not have a wonderful effect on you the next day. So anymore useful and coherent thoughts will have to wait for another day, when it does not feel like a badger shat in my head.