Free market philosophy has a lot going for it, but at times like this you have to question the underlying wisdom of this approach.  Purists would argue that we should let the markets sort themselves out but with the current downward spiral the obvious concern is that the world will rapidly disappear up its own backside.  The economy is rapidly coming to a standstill.  Banks won’t lend money to each other, yet alone you or me.  The housing market is dead and woe betide car manufacturers.

At the moment we are in a surreal phase where life is going on as normal.  Christmas is coming and the economies of the western world are still chugging along under the inertia of consumer spending, but what happens when the credit card bills arrive on the doormat in January?  2009 will be an uphill struggle for most, people will pull in their haunches and look to reduce their debt burden.  Consumer spending will slow rapidly and profit warnings from manufacturers and service providers will be plentiful.  Stocks will crash even more and the downward cycle will continue.

This recession has the potential to be deeper and longer than no other the world has ever known.  Yet I sense hope; there is so much talent out there, so many hard working , diligent, talented individuals bursting with enthusiasm and innovation that I cannot see how the downturn can last too long.  In addition, when recovery comes it will come in a way that has never happened before.  The standard of education, communication and technology will enable the realisation of smart business ideas in a way and with a pace that has never been seen before.  This time it will be an a truly global basis with more and more Third World nations participating.  I truly believe the world will be a better place with harmony and cooperation taking place like never before.

I see China and India as major players, no longer emerging markets but powerhouses of the new global economy.  Africa will also participate as there is so much untapped  potential there.  Turning the Sahara green will be the way to save the world from threats of global warming/climate change.  The deforestation in the Amazon will be offset by the greening of the Sahara.  True carbon offsetting. There will be a surplus of food and this can be used to make carbon neutral fuel.  A totally renewable source of carbon fuel which is effectively solar energy.  The new plants will extract carbon from the atmosphere, in exactly the same way as other plant life, but we will be revitalising an area of land that is totally wasted right now.  Sea water irrigation and salt resistant crops is the answer!

I see a brave new world where communication and cooperation are key.  Talented individuals will run their own businesses from the comfort of their own home/office whilst collaborating with their personal networks around the globe.  They will employ a few key workers and a few more service operators, plumbers, builders, gardeners, nannys and the like.

This is the new business model for the 21st century and you IT savvy, creative, problem solvers out there are at the heart of it, you can change the world with your innovative ideas and communication skills.  How many of you reading this are out of work right now, spending your waking hours searching the internet, looking for the right role?  With approximately 200 people applying for the same role as you, you would be right in thinking that the job market is extremely competitive right now.  Don’t worry, in the new world you will be masters of the Universe.  You just have to find your niche!

It’s bad enough when it’s one on one but there have been several headlines highlighting gang beatings literally kicking and stamping people to death and then gleefully boasting.  Just one step beyond ‘happy slappings’, except when the outcome is lethal even they’re not stupid enough to create video evidence.

Why, why, why do they do it?  Is human life so worthless?  What is it about us as a race that allows such behaviour?  Even if we as individuals happened across such an event, what could we do to stop it?

Yes, we know that these teenage killings are testosterone fuelled with some kind of quasi tribal motive.  Territory and ‘respect’ are factors.  In essence it’s no different to football related violence where young men (and not so young men) gang together for the sake of a coloured jersey and engage in violent activity.  Maybe at a major event like the World Cup they will form alliances and take on the local constabulary.  For some reason this doesn’t seem to happen in Rugby circles.  But these knife killings and savage beatings are a step beyond.

What kind of society are we that breeds callous killers, a knife carrying gang culture and gratuitous violence?  I do believe anonymity is at the heart of this and could be addressed by more extensive of use of CCTV.

It may be that the media plays a part by providing the inspiration in the form of violent movies and graphical console games, but at the end of the day you can’t say they are the root cause.  I don’t believe anybody is born evil, we are all a mixture of nature and nurture and I am sure that the violence is a function of the nurture.

In the past, a criminal would be known in their community and would suffer from the ongoing ignominy even after a sentence was served.  The community would be wary of them and they would have to earn respect over a long time.  Today, in our crowded towns and cities, everybody is virtually anonymous.  If criminals commit crime today they are not recognised by the rest of the community, in fact it is this lack of sense of community that is the underlying cause of our troubles.

I believe technology has a role to play, CCTV is a good preventative measure but currently the quality is too poor to secure solid convictions.  We need more cameras and better cameras.  What about the ‘Big Brother’ overtones? Frankly, I don’t give a damn, if it is used responsibly and it makes our lives safer, what’s the problem?

I started writing this report as a guilt ridden UK national. How could we as a nation produce someone like the mother of Shannon, who purportedly colluded in the kidnapping of her own daughter and then tried to cash in on it?

Since starting this report, the case of Josef Fritzl has come into the news and I can recall the earlier cases of child sex abuse in Belgium. Mark Dutroux was convicted and sentenced to life (the maximum under Belgian law) for the kidnapping and murder of 4 young women. Before their deaths they were imprisoned and sexually abused for months. The kidnappings were in two pairs, the first were two 8 year olds who starved to death when Dutroux was imprisoned on unrelated charges. Then there is the case of Natascha Kampusch, the Austrian girl kidnapped at the age of 10 and imprisoned as a sex slave for 8 years by Wolfgang Priklopil who threw himself under a train when Natascha managed to escape.

All this around the anniversary of the disappearance of Madeleine McCann. What of this poor child who I feel is still alive and suffering abuse right now or at best being groomed for some salacious activities by a depraved maniac or secret ring of paedophiles. Is it possible she could be rescued even now? Her parents have been vilified (incorrectly in my opinion) and granted arguido status by the Portugese police. The McCanns may be guilty of a lot of things but arguidos they are not. Their despair is apparent and yes, they know they shouldn’t have left her with her twin siblings alone while they dined nearby with friends. We’ve all made mistakes, luckily few of us have suffered such consequences, but that doesn’t hide the fact that some evil person stole her from the holiday apartment. The opportunity shouldn’t have been available but it was and there’s no point in vilifying her parents, their grief is real and is only compounded by the knowledge of their own actions in this tragedy.

How many more unreported victims are there out there in the EU? This supposed haven of civilisation still harbours the most horrendous (as yet undiscovered) monsters. How long will it be before we read yet another macabre tale of murder and abuse? All around us, in the most innocent of surroundings there are monsters lurking, ready to kidnap and abuse our children and dispose of them in the most gruesome manner when they tire of them or their usefulness diminishes. The family butcher at the end of the road, the retired gentleman of polite disposition who you meet in the library, the wide eyed tourist, are they all potential suspects? Do you know someone who you suspect is abusing children? They must be interacting with the rest of society at some level. They need to buy petrol for their cars, food from supermarkets or even take their children to school?

What can be done to stop it? How can we identify them? If we could profile them how could we proceed without evidence, even with suspicious reports? Not easy questions but ones perhaps we could address and solve in the 21st century?