Anther teenager died from stab wounds today bringing the total of young people killed by violent crime in London this year to 19, as usual the media is asking why - and what can be done to stop it. A lot of emphasis is placed on knives, amnesties, heavier punishments and cracking down on people carrying knives but I think there is a better way - make these kids happier!

News item on the BBC:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/7487143.stm

"Our research indicates prosperity is linked with happiness. It does contribute," he says, "but it is not the most important factor.

"Personal freedom is even more important, and it's freedom in all kinds of ways. Political freedom, like with democracy and freedom of choice."

looks like the data needs a bit of analysis!

Humans have a fundamental need for a few things beyond food and shelter - tribe, territory and status. Human behaviour evolved from our ancestors the great apes - or monkeys as most people call them. Our monkey brains are still there underneath all our modern civilized veneer and they still have the same needs for tribe territory and status.

Happiness and food are really highly connected, from the pleasure of cooking and eating to the changes in brain chemistry that food can bring about. Many people are made miserable by food but if we switch that around we can use food to make ourselves happier!

I've just been reading a book called "Guns, Germs and Steel: A short history of everybody for the last 13,000 years" by Jared M Diamond and it's really made me think that happiness has got to be the way forward for the human race.

Just watching panorama about devious ne'er-do-wells screwing money out of the property market and it occurred to me that these people are actively engaged in wrecking society but they don't care because they think it won't affect them. Take the money and run, possibly to Panama. But we're all living in the world together and if civilization breaks down then it breaks down for everybody.