News Summary II

Today has been quite busy but I managed to get some Game Theory done and finish an article I'm writing.

1. Checked out Gordon Brown's 2006 budget and it looks like the cost of cigarettes, wine and beer is going to rise. I wonder if there'll ever be a tax on ice cream or chocolate. Or coffee. He's allocating more money to education which I think is a really good idea although David Cameron did point out that he's not really doing much for the NHS despite the fact that it's been wrecked with budgeting problems for a long time. My guess is that he's trying to reinforce Tony Blair's legacy of education reform. The UK's share of national income spent on education is still less than what the US spends.

I can't emphasise further on how much I value education and how pivotal I see it in determining the progressive development of a society. More money spent on schools, research and educational programs is money very, very well spent. There has been a lot of emphasis on science and mathematics in this year's budget.

It would be good if there was some focus on the arts as well, however. Someone reminded me recently that it's culture and the arts that influence society. If you don't keep this scene alive and thriving, not only will you lose your cultural heritage, you'll also lose your sense of identity because you're out of touch with your roots.

If you don't develop this scene, I would suppose that present day effects would be a repressed society in which people are unable to express themselves as well as a loss of character within that society as a whole.