The spawn of a bankrupt ruling elite

THE riots in London and elsewhere in Britain are a backhanded tribute to the long-term intellectual torpor, moral cowardice, incompetence and careerist opportunism of the British political and intellectual class.
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No sensible employer in a service industry would choose a young Briton if he could have a young Pole; the young Pole is not only likely to have a good work ethic and refined manners, he is likely to be able to add up and -- most humiliating of all -- to speak better English than the Briton, at least if by that we mean the standard variety of the language. He may not be more fluent but his English will be more correct and his accent easier to understand.
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Of course, none of this reduces the personal responsibility of the rioters. But the riots are a manifestation of a society in full decomposition, of a people with neither leaders nor followers but composed only of egotists. theaustralian


Ed Miliband links riots to scandals

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Mr Miliband admitted Labour's role in laying the foundations for the riots which exploded last weekend.

He lamented the party's failure to cut inequality during its 13 years in power, saying: "I deeply regret that inequality wasn't reduced under the last Labour government. But we did great things to tackle inequality in our society." independent


Germans Ask, 'Could It Happen Here?'

"The statistics also show clear differences: According the OECD, there is no other country in the West in which wealth is distributed as unfairly as in Britain. Nowhere else are the opportunities for children to escape poverty as limited. One certainly can't say that Germany shines when it comes to social mobility, but it does stand in the middle of the rankings. Youth unemployment in Germany is about 9 percent, and only Austria and the Netherlands are in a better position. That rate may be higher in Berlin, but it is nowhere close to British conditions." spiegel