Interesting publications

It seems to be my job at the moment to remind our readers that interesting papers and books are being published out there and they might be worth reading. The ideas might be worth disseminating as well.

First off, is the latest Bruges Group publication "The Costs of Regulation - And How the EU Makes Them Worse". Written by William Mason, this paper has been long in gestation but it is now out and available. It deals with all the obvious subjects - precautionary principle and how it has been abused; the competitive spirit among regulators at different levels - about the only kind of competition they like; and the inevitable shrinking of freedom and quality of life, especially among those who are supposed to be protected: children, the elderly and the disabled.

The second publication I want to mention is "Virtual Caliphate" by James Brandon, a study of how extremist Islamic groups in Britain use the internet for their own purposes (nefarious, needless to say) despite the various anti-terrorist measure put in place since 7/7.

It is published by the Centre for Social Cohesion, a Civitas project or spin-off. Curiously enough, its director, Douglas Murray, is in favour of the 42 day detention period, despite clear evidence that giving the police more powers and passing more legislation does not necessarily achieve the desired objectives.