Current Affairs Articles

Culture and Society » Current Affairs | By Catherine Harvey @ Tuesday, 16th September 2008 @ 8:26 PM

The removal company business is a precarious one, given the current housing market. The market has slowed to a virtual standstill apart from two, very diverse sections of society and, as with many business sectors these days, it will be the middle ground ones that suffer the most. If a removal company can offer a cheap, basic service then they will appeal to those at the lower end of the housing market, the ones who have had their homes repossessed and who have no choice but to move all t... more...

Culture and Society » Current Affairs | By Catherine Harvey @ Saturday, 13th September 2008 @ 9:30 AM

The threat of an impending recession has been running for quite some time now and whether or not we feel it full force, the scaremongering has already been enough to make everybody pull in their belts and apply the brakes to their spending habits. Of course, everyday life still goes on, people go on holiday and try to carry on as best they can but effects are being felt as high up as big business such as the large tourist industry. It was recently seen that one of the top tour operators w... more...

Culture and Society » Current Affairs | By Ki Gray @ Saturday, 13th September 2008 @ 1:49 AM

So it has been a week since the feds came in and took over Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. While it will obviously take some time to know the long term repercussions I wanted to look at some of the immediate reactions to the move. First let's look at the reaction from the media and the general public. One would expect there to be some political fallout from the largest takeover in government history. But because of the election and Hurricane Ike the reactions have largely been muted. ... more...

Culture and Society » Current Affairs | By Catherine Harvey @ Wednesday, 10th September 2008 @ 9:17 PM

Times are pretty lean right now and we are all feeling the need to pull in our belts somewhat. However, it is just at these times that we start to feel deprived of the little luxuries that we are used to and it is the deprivation of these luxuries that make people think life is all so dreadful and we're all about to starve to death. But today's generation just don't know they're born. People are still out at night, drinking, clubbing, eating out, going to cinemas and p... more...

Culture and Society » Current Affairs | By Ki Gray @ Tuesday, 9th September 2008 @ 10:45 PM

So on Friday it was leaked that the government is taking over Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. On Sunday it was official. Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae have now been taken over by the federal government. But what does it mean for the real estate market, mortgage interest rates, and the US economy. First let's look at what it means for mortgage rates. I would expect that the government takeover will result in lower mortgage rates, possibly a full point lower. Why? Basically the Fed has ... more...

Culture and Society » Current Affairs | By Thomas Pretty @ Monday, 8th September 2008 @ 9:26 PM

Stratford a borough in East London and formerly in Essex is regarded to by many to be one of the most deprived areas in all of London. This however is set to change with the announcement that Stratford will see a major development in the coming years. This is because the site will play host to the London Olympics in 2012 and through a cunning ploy by the Mayor of London Ken Livingstone, the building of a vast sports complex has been combined with the redevelopment of an entire area. Stratford in... more...

Culture and Society » Current Affairs | By Maxine Clarke @ Sunday, 7th September 2008 @ 6:09 PM

The UK Treasury has taken steps to boost the stagnating housing market by rising the threshold for stamp duty to GBP175,000. This change means that those purchasing a home for up to this price will avoid having to pay an extra 10 percent of the property price to the government. As a result of the US subprime crisis and the ensuing credit crunch, the housing market throughout the UK has begun to go into free-fall, with property prices down approximately 10.9 percent in August in compariso... more...

Culture and Society » Current Affairs | By Thomas Pretty @ Friday, 5th September 2008 @ 7:40 PM

The car hire industry has never really been at the forefront of technological development, this however is set to change with the widespread introduction of biometric data recorders in many car hire outlets countrywide. This move is an attempt by UK rental companies to secure their fleets while maintaining high levels of customer services. The use of biometric data however has created somewhat of a furore amongst the press ad the public. With the recording of this data, a large set of privacy an... more...

Culture and Society » Current Affairs | By David Whelan @ Friday, 5th September 2008 @ 10:52 AM

Since road safety became an issue and the impact of fuel consumption on the environment came to light, there have been various arguments for an against reducing or increasing speed limits. We are now at a point in the UK where speed limits have become settled and general standards can be adhered to throughout. For small villages or towns, or generally areas with inhabitants, the speed limit is 30 miles per hour. For cars, automobiles and motorcycles in areas not classed as "built-up&... more...

Culture and Society » Current Affairs | By Maxine Clarke @ Thursday, 4th September 2008 @ 10:01 PM

Not for the first time, tuning in to the morning news revealed details of another gunman in the US taking to the streets and ending the lives of innocent people. Gun crime in the US continues to occur with distressing regularity, yet the availability and freedom with which individuals can purchase firearms remains an issue that needs focused attention. With just two months until the presidential elections, the issue of firearms demands attention from both candidates. The latest example o... more...

Culture and Society » Current Affairs | By Catherine Harvey @ Monday, 1st September 2008 @ 2:34 PM

You cannot open a newspaper or news page on the internet these days without being filled with doom and gloom for all the reports of recession, credit crunch and housing market crashes. We even have predictions of how crime and violence as well as family breakdown will all be symptoms of people's hardship. But is this not scaremongering? Is it all really so bad? There is no doubt that financial and housing markets are suffering but is this not part and parcel of an economy that can be... more...

Culture and Society » Current Affairs | By Carlton Straeker @ Friday, 29th August 2008 @ 5:36 PM

The only available chemical agents from the 1970's to the 1980's were CN tear gas canisters as I remembered them when I ordered one with a mixture of UV marking dye from a catalog when I was a kid and when I was issued one at a police academy. From the 1990's onward, OC pepper sprays were introduced and adopted by law enforcement since they are more effective in disabling an assailant. Tear gas causes intense tearing and a burning sensation to the face while pepper causes the ey... more...

Culture and Society » Current Affairs | By Ki Gray @ Friday, 29th August 2008 @ 7:51 AM

Mortgage interest rates moved down slightly this week. This was a good sign since it was not preceded by any rate cuts from the FED. The 30 year mortgage rate fell from 6.52 to 6.47 and the 15 year mortgage rate fell from 6.07 to 6.00. For arms the 5 year rate fell from 6.02 to 5.99. The 1 year arm was the only one of the 4 rates to increase going from 5.18 to 5.29. If anything the mortgage rates are not more in align with each other. Over the past few weeks the difference between the 1 ye... more...

Culture and Society » Current Affairs | By Thomas Pretty @ Thursday, 28th August 2008 @ 12:09 PM

The fourth largest airport in the UK, Stansted in the sleepy district of Uttlesford, Essex and is currently undergoing an inquiry into its expansion plans and particularly the proposed building of a second runway. This is just the last stage in the development of a site that has gone from a field near the town of Stansted Mountfitchet, to a modern, major airport with a host of auxiliary services such as shops, hotels, restaurants and car hire desks. Predominantly the flights that leave Stansted ... more...

Culture and Society » Current Affairs | By Thomas Pretty @ Thursday, 28th August 2008 @ 12:09 PM

Heathrow airport can be considered one of the oldest airports within the UK, its early use being in the First World War as a training airfield for the first military pilots. Military services in terms of operational sorties were practically non existent meaning that the site can almost solely trace its development as a commercial airport. At its inception the airfield had six runways in a star shape, a requirement due to the take off restrictions of early aircraft. At the time the centrally loca... more...

Culture and Society » Current Affairs | By Catherine Harvey @ Wednesday, 27th August 2008 @ 1:14 PM

In that wonderful way that health and safety anoraks have, yet again we are being banned from that everyday stuff that many of us call 'life'. In one small UK village, the local market hall clock winders have been doing their job for over 150 years and have now been told it's dangerous and they must stop. Without the appropriate health and safety training or aids, an accident could happen and somebody could be held liable. So, what is the problem? Are the clock winders conc... more...

Culture and Society » Current Affairs | By Ki Gray @ Tuesday, 26th August 2008 @ 8:53 PM

It takes unimaginable amounts of energy to power the United States, and the needs is constantly growing. As global warming and fuel crises gain more and more public attention, people everywhere are now looking for ways to live a greener lifestyle. But this doesn't mean rebuilding your home to run on solar energy, or overhauling your current lifestyle. There are plenty of small, simple things you can do every day to help reduce your household's energy consumption (and even waste). Here... more...

Culture and Society » Current Affairs | By Steven Walters @ Tuesday, 26th August 2008 @ 7:20 PM

Steroid use rumors and steroid bans are nothing new when it comes to the Olympics and it looks like the Beijing 2008 Olympics will be no different than the past Olympic games. Olympic history is peppered with steroid abuse stories including the very famous stories on Ben Johnson in the 1988 Olympics and more recently Marion Jones. This years Beijing Olympic games has seen dozens of athletes from around the world being banned for steroid use and doping. The U.S. swimming team has had sever... more...

Culture and Society » Current Affairs | By Thomas Pretty @ Tuesday, 19th August 2008 @ 1:45 AM

According to recent government estimates the average household uses around fifty thousand litres of water each year purely for drinking and bathing. When put into context this amount is enough to fill the average size private swimming pool; additionally, if this amount of water was bough in shops in bottles, it would cost around twenty thousand pounds. Considering this figure, the water bills we must pay seem a bargain, but while it is still relatively cheap, bills have increased steadily in rec... more...

Culture and Society » Current Affairs | By Samantha Gilmartin @ Friday, 15th August 2008 @ 9:43 AM

Just before 8:00pm on the 8th day of the 8th month of 2008, 2,008 drummers silently stood in neat, dark rows at the heart of China's National 'Bird's Nest' Stadium. As the countdown to the opening of the 29th Olympic Games began, counted simultaneously in western and Mandarin figures, the pounding roll of the drums began to rise. From less than a whisper the drums swelled to a deafening roar in an ancient rhythmic ritual designed to evoke the ancestral spirits of China. <... more...