The Spirit Level

I just finished the book; The Spirit Level - Why Equality is Better for Everyone, and I wanted to share this remarkable piece of work with you.

I have to admit it has taken me a while to read this, as it is like reading a text book at times, but it is well worth the time put into it. It is definitely one of those books that leaves a long lasting impression on yourself, and your ideology.

As the blurb states; This groundbreaking book, based on years of research, provides hard evidence to show:

• How almost everything - from life expectancy to mental illness, violence to illiteracy - is affected not by how wealthy a society is, but how equal it is
• That societies with a bigger gap between rich and poor are bad for everyone in them - including the well-off
• How we can find positive solutions and move towards a happier, fairer future

Now this may seem a bit preachy or airy fairy to some of you, but trust me when I say that some of the research and results really are thought provoking, and profound. It really makes you look at the bigger picture, and questions the current Western society standpoint. I personally enjoyed every quote, graph and statistic the book offered. Even the cartoon images are hilarious but provocative.

I encourage anyone to read this, even if just for the facts, as in the end of the day you can't argue with those. I thank my brother, Oliver, for sending the book my way, and if anyone wants to borrow the copy I have, I would gladly loan it out.

Rob Ford v Boris Johnson

Rob Ford, Mayor of Toronto, and Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, have both had run-ins with the media in their respective countries. As I was scrolling through pages online, I thought it would be fun to do a comparison of some similarities and differences between these two political figures.

So here goes:

Ford

Versus


Johnson


1. They both like the ladies;
Ford was accused by political rival Sarah Thomson of grabbing her ass during a photo and telling her she "should have been in Florida with him last week because his wife wasn’t there."



Boris with the infamous Cheeky Girls


2. They both take part in sporting activities in the wrong attire;

Ford can't even say on his feet!

Boris is focused.


3. Immigration viewpoint;

Ford: "Those Oriental people work like dogs ... they sleep beside their machines,'' he said. "The Oriental people, they're slowly taking over ... they're hard, hard workers."

Johnson accused Britons of being lazy and having themselves to blame for losing out on jobs to more hard-working foreigners.

4. Drinking;



Ford is said to have a drinking problem



No British man can resist a room temperature pint of beer

5. Opinion on cycling and bike lanes;

As per his appearance you can guess that Ford isn't a keen cyclist. Here he compares bike lanes to 'swimming with the sharks'??

Johnson, on the other hand is trying to get more people on bicycles and make the London less intimidating to new cyclists, as well as promising new bike lanes.





Conclusion:
Now Ford's in a smoking crack video scandal, whereas Johnson has announced he is going to write a book about Winston Churchill. Even though both these gentlemen have colourful personalities and I wouldn't vote for either, I'd take Boris over Rob any day! How about you?