Youth Unemployment - at Home and Abroad

As I type, thousands of young protesters are camping out in Madrid to demonstrate their anger at Spain's appalling rate of youth unemployment, which stands at 45%. The protest, thankfully, has been peaceful so far, but needs to be taken seriously, not just by the Spanish government, but by all societies, including our own. The picture in the UK is almost as bad; recent news reports show that graduate unemployment in the UK is very high - the highest for 15 years. Official figures point to the fact that 20% of graduates were unemployed in late 2010 and data from the Office for National Statistics suggests that more than 45 students could be applying for each graduate job in 2011.
The inevitable official response will be that this is all a consequence of the international recession and we'll just have to live with it. There will, however, be other consequences, and they need to be thought about carefully.
The most obvious consequence will be the waste of human resources. Having so many intelligent people on the dole is not going to help us out of the recession. Far from it - we need them in work to help us OUT of this dire economic situation.
Another effect will be to push graduates into work for which they are over-qualified. You don't need a B.A. in Medieval Studies to serve burgers at Macdonalds, and is another example of how human resources can be wasted. But this will have an impact in another unwelcome way. The more graduates pushed into unskilled work will lead to less job opportunities for non-graduate young people,even  more of whom will be unemployed.
There will be knock-on effects throughout the education system, also. Young people will be questioning the need to go into Higher Education (I'm told that many are doing so already). The universities themselves will be adversely affected by a reduction in student numbers. Many degree courses and even departments may need to close.
It will also have a negative impact on schools. After all, if there's no point in taking a degree, why work hard at "A" levels or GCSEs? Hopefully, that level of demoralisation will not set in anywhere, but if it does, well, here's a story...
Some years ago, back in the so-called Thatcherite boom years, I met a secondary school teacher who'd moved from London to the West Country. Having taught in some tough schools in South London, she thought she'd seen everything. She was wrong. She found that for young people in the town she lived in, there were only three career choices: university, the armed forces or the dole. In this woman's own words:
"I had far worse discipline problems than ever I had in London".
Is this to be the future?

Looking Back on the 7/7 Bombings

I shall never forget the morning of 8th July, 2005. Like many Londoners, I woke with a sense of shock at what had happened the day before. At that stage, I wasn't fully aware of just how much devastation had been caused. I only knew that people had died, the Tube system had been attacked and it looked as if Al-Qaeda was behind it. I hate to admit it, but the first thought that came into my head as I walked to the Tube station to get to work was to wonder how long it was going to take. I immediately reproached myself for that passing attack of selfishness, when I remembered that an unknown number of my fellow Londoners were lying in hospital wishing that they could be on their way to work as normal - and for some, there would be no journey to work ever again.
Having thus chastened myself, I rode the tube, feeling somewhat apprehensive. Ludicrous though it may sound now, while riding in that ominously empty tube carriage, I felt that I was in a city at war. After all, at that time, there seemed to be a possibility of further attacks - perhaps that day. Then something remarkable happened. I looked up at one of the adverts and saw a picture of Winston Churchill making the V for Victory sign as part of an advert for the anniversary of VE Day. Somehow, a feeling of calm came over me, with a determination to carry on as normal.
When I arrived at my destination - Alperton Station, on the Piccadilly Line - I stood on the deserted platform with mixed emotions. A line from "September, 1939" by W. H. Auden came into my mind, seemingly very appropriate for a day when it felt like war had been declared:
"Uncertain and afraid".
Well, I'd felt like that all right. I felt relieved to have arrived safely, and somewhat shamefaced at having been so nervous. As I left the station, my thoughts turned again to the victims - wounded and dead. An idea for a poem by way of tribute came into my mind, and I wrote it that night, including Auden's line.
The Coroner's verdict at the inquest is well enough known, and can be read about HERE. I have nothing to add to that. I can only offer my poem as a tribute to my fellow Tube travellers who died so tragically on 7/7:

ON ALPERTON STATION

(July 8^th, 2005)

I stood on Alperton Station,

“Uncertain and afraid”

Of sudden, unseen terror –

My train was undelayed.

I left the silent platform

To start my working day,

When, on the darkened staircase,

A young girl barred my way.

She shimmered like the summer dawn.

“Please stay, my friend”, she said.

Her face was bright with metal shards

That garlanded her head.

“For you still have the working day,

The breakfast and the train,

The coffee break, the journey home

That I won’t make again.

My laughter lit the London skies;

I loved, and I was loved.

I filled a hole in many hearts

Till Hate had me removed.

If you’re in town at Christmas –

A time that I won’t see –

Please find my favourite wine bar

And raise one glass for me”.

Before I spoke – she vanished.

I slumped against a wall,

Shivered like a windblown leaf

And hoped I’d dreamed it all.

I walked from Alperton Station

And wondered what was real –

So glad for hands that trembled,

So glad for nerves that feel.

Osama Bin Laden - His "Achievements"

I must admit, I thought Bin Laden would never be caught. In fact, I didn't even think that he was alive. Well, now he is dead and everyone from President Obama to the relatives of those killed on 9/11 is jubilant. The USA is justifiably proud of the achievement of their Special Forces. This stands as an example of how to deal with a terrorist threat - good intelligence work, meticulous planning and the expertise of an elite military group.
And yet - there are a number of questions that need answering. Why, for instance, were the Pakistani authorities not informed? After all, Bin Laden was hiding on their territory. The answer would appear to be that Pakistani Intelligence (the ISI) have close links with the Taliban. In fact, they helped to create the Taliban after the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan and, according to some reports, some ISI elements still have those links.
Since he was located and eliminated by a small group of spooks, why was it necessary to invade Iraq and Afghanistan with huge conventional forces? In fact, the invasion of Iraq now seems to be even more pointless. Nor was he found in war-torn Afghanistan, where he was supposed to be based, protected by the Taliban.
We are told that the Taliban refused to hand over Bin Laden, but a number of commentators, including Mark Curtis and Michael Moore, claim that the Taliban (and others) DID offer to hand over Bin Laden before 9/11. In 1995, the Sudanese government offered to extradite him, but the offer was refused. Michael Moore gives details of three offers to hand over Bin Laden before and after 9/11:

"They [the Taliban] were saying, 'Do something to help us give
him up.'" – Milton Bearden, former CIA station chief who
ran war against Soviets in Afghanistan

September 21, 2001
U.S. refused to provide evidence of bin Laden's guilt, rejected recommendation
by Afghan clerics that Taliban tell bin Laden to leave Afghanistan

October 14, 2001
Bush rejected Taliban offer to turn bin Laden over to
neutral third country for trial "

Which leads me to what I meant by Bin Laden's "achievements". I am, of course, being somewhat ironic, but from his point of view, he achieved a great deal. He:

1. Successfully organised a major terrorist attack against the USA.

2. Provoked two massively unpopular and costly invasions of two countries by the USA and its allies, causing death, destruction and misery on a horrendous scale. These wars have done untold damage to the invading countries' prestige and their economies.

3. The invasions that Bin Laden provoked have led to further terrorist attacks, such as those in Bali, Madrid and London (7/7)

4. Some commentators have said that Al-Qaeda planned 9/11 because they were failing in their efforts to create a mass Jihadi movement. Bin Laden did not manage that, either, but the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan have created groups that are similar to Al-Qaeda, who will carry on the fight.

5. Lastly - now that the raison d'etre for the "War on Terror" has been eliminated - is it not time for all UK and US troops to go home? That probably won't happen, but it certainly calls for a radical re-assessment of aims and tactics.