Quotes:

"The smart way to keep people passive and obedient is to strictly limit the spectrum of acceptable opinion, but allow very lively debate within that spectrum - even encourage the more critical and dissident views. That gives people the sense that there’s free thinking going on, while all the time the presuppositions of the system are being reinforced by the limits put on the range of the debate."
Noam Chomsky

'There is radical change taking place in this city. The only time we look back is when people pick our scabs and the wounds bleed. How often have you heard scousers sentimentally wallowing in the past? Only in recent times in response to events elsewhere in the country.'
Playwright Alan Bleasdale

'More than four out of ten items of fruit, vegetable and cereals on sale in Britain contain traces of pesticide, according to a new report which reveals the extent of chemical contamination in the food chain.'
Stephen Castle - Independent

'The use of crack cocaine is soaring to epidemic levels, fuelling a dramatic rise in violent street crime and driving the price down to a record low. Abuse of the drug has become so widespread that specialist police units have targeting muggers, carjackers and petty criminals are arresting more crack addicts than heroin users. A study by the National Association of Probation Officers shows that crack users typically spend as much on drugs in a day as heroin users in a week.'
Tony Thompson - Observer

Anti-Social Behaviour - What The Professors Say:

In essence much of the legislation has a very narrow definition of what anti social behaviour means. For example, in city centres fly posting is labelled as anti social but what about billboards which display semi naked women in order to sell their products, this kind of objectionable behaviour is not targeted; so too with the litter caused by fast food companies that is not a target but individual 'litter louts' will be; the anti social behaviour of car drivers seems to have disappeared from the government's anti social radar screen, so there is an issue about definition and who is targeted. Furthermore how will fines work for those who are already socially and economically marginalized who have little funds and capital to begin with? Finally, there is a major debate to be had concerning how responsibility is defined. Again particular groups, the least powerful, are the targets for government interventions and exhortations to be responsible; the powerful e.g. corporations, states, individuals, are not the target groups, their activities, often more detrimental to our society than the activities of the powerless, again will not be on the government's radar.
Joe Sim, Professor of Criminology John Moores University

Knowsley Council, seemingly happy to allow Sonae to pollute the atmosphere around its Kirby plant, make local residents sick, and injure its workers, is rather less tolerant of other 'anti-social behaviour' - earlier this year it launched a 15-month campaign 'to become Britain's cleanest urban borough', 'backed by a tough drive to get residents to take action in the fight against litter'. Its self-proclaimed 'highlight' of the campaign was the unveiling of Knowsley's new 'secret weapon' in the fight against grime - 'Phil' the bin is a walking, talking bin who will challenge those who drop litter instead of feeding their rubbish to him. Despite the council insisting that the campaign was 'no joke', it was launched on April 1st 2004 or, as it’s referred to, 'April Fools Day'. One of the benefits of the campaign is to save on "the costs to the Council as it makes best use of enforcement powers to prosecute litter louts." Clean streets are fine by me, but what about the health and safety of local people? Really, it is no joke.
Steve Tombs, Professor of Sociology John Moores University

Capitalism is a thug's economy, a heartless economy, a base and vile and largely boring economy. It is the antithesis of human fulfillment and development. It mocks equity and justice. It enshrines greed... Capitalism sucks. Does anyone seriously want to contest that?
Michael Albert

'A recent Home Office report, 'Hidden Harm', calculated that as many as 300,000 children in England and Wales have at least one parent who is a drug addict. At the same time, nearly half of all social services departments have been found to be failing to adequately safeguard vulnerable children and in some inner city areas vacancy rates for social workers are running at nearly 40-50 per cent.'
Mark Townsend - Observer