Archive for 'Economy and Politics'

Every morning on my way to work I keep myself entertained by reading the metro newspaper (or sometimes BBC News’ mobile edition from my phone). It is, from my point of view, the best free newspaper and I always feel happy if I manage to find a copy still available at the metro station, on the metro or bus.

But what does that have to do with Junk Food and Censorship you might ask?

Well, Today’s front page was dominated by a headline and article regarding junk food advertising on TV. Unbelievably people and organisations are campaigning to restrict the broadcasting of adverts featuring junk food before 21:00 (9PM).

I don’t understand how that would change the consumption of junk food by children. After all, the biggest advertisements are the shops, cafes and restaurants selling such foods and/or confectionery that kids will see everywhere. Obviously, there is no legitimate reason to shut them down or a blanket ban of food products that can be harmful to one’s health if one does not take proper care of their body.

Read more…

Getting to work today was a nightmare due to the strike [1]. I have to be honest that while empaphise with the low income (and therefore low pension) people who are striking, everytime time there are public-services strikes it’s not the government suffering but the people trying to get to work. Instead of the usual hour’s journey to work (which is already long enough) it took over an hour just to get into the city centre (by bus), and that’s by no means the end of my journey to work (normally getting to the city centre by metro takes 20 minutes). I really feel sorry for anyone who lives even further from Newcastle City Centre than I do.

The metro strike also means more people will use cars. However, as 2 of the major car parks are in Newcastle City Centre are staffed by public servants, they’re likely to be closed. Someone mentioned to me yesterday that their combined capacity is 1500 cars. So there is going to be increased competition for parking spots, traffic congestion and plenty of people angry because they can’t find anywhere to park.

Read more…

An example of companies putting profit before all else: South East England is apparently going through its driest spell since 1933. However, it’s far easier to apply for drought orders so that the public are restricted on water usage than to fix the leaks (these 3 companies combined are leaking 145million litres of water every day)! An even further kick in the face is that water bills are going to be increased.

It was recently that the government allowed companies to require people to have water metres installed. Of course, the water companies will come to your house and install them.

Read more…

In October 2006, the UK’s national minimum wage is set to increase by 6% and unsurprisingly companies are complaining yet again about it.

These companies, though, need to consider where they would be:

• Without employees
• Without customers who can afford their products

The UK is an expensive country to live in, at times, and not because of the national minimum wage, but because companies are out to get maximum profit possible.


Read more…