Gordon Brown, the British prime minister is set to announce in his speech tomorow plans to give everyone in the country a personalised webpage for accessing Government services within a year as part of a plan to save billions of pounds by putting all public services online.
Every voter will receive a unique identifier allowing them to apply for school places, book GP appointments, claim benefits, get a new passport, pay council tax or register a car. link to read more

Source: The Independent

Are behaviors inbred, written indelibly in our genes as immutable biological imperatives, or is the environment more important in shaping our thoughts and actions? What are the social consequences of genetic diagnoses of such traits as intelligence, criminality, or homosexuality? How much of our behavior can be attributed to our hardwiring?

Dr. Kristene Doyle is the Associate Executive Director of the Albert Ellis Institute. She is also the Director of Clinical Services and Director of Child and Family Services at the Ellis Institute and an Adjunct Assistant Professor at St. John’s University.

Source: FORA

Justine Picardie

Justine Picardie describes the agony of separation after a 16-year marriage in The Times, Divorce and separation: a woman’s view

I have yet to meet anyone who walks away unscathed: even those who choose to end a marriage must grieve; for it is, after all, a loss of hope, as well as a kind of bereavement, haunted by the living, however deadened they seem. We live in an age in which people use tidy phrases such as “no-blame divorce” or “by mutual agreement”. But despite the level language of legal mediators and family law specialists, the feelings that arise are primal, savage, and — especially if infidelity has been involved (which it usually is) — clouded by rage, shame, humiliation and jealousy. Link to read the article

Source: The Times