John Meakin

So, now it is official! With the publication of the police report investigating the Jimmy Savile scandal, the full extent of Savile’s “staggering and grotesque” six decades of sexual abuse has been laid bare. This man who spent his life as a popular disc jockey, television presenter, charity fundraiser and media personality has in death seen his reputation destroyed by an avalanche of allegations.

When British Prime Minister David Cameron exercised the United Kingdom’s national veto last Friday at the European Union Summit in Brussels—the first EU national veto ever exercised by a British Prime Minister—he surprised most observers and sent shock-waves through the Union as never before in the UK’s 39-year involvement in the grand European project.

Four days of mindless violence and anarchy swept across England in early August, taking five lives and engulfing 121 locations. Why? These were not, as some insinuated, “race riots”—even though the initial spark came from the police shooting of a well-known London gang member. Nor were they due to social deprivation, police brutality, political discontent, or government cuts to balance the budget. Neither were they directly related to joblessness or economic despair or poverty. After all, many places did not riot!  So, what is the explanation?