Six of the Best 260

Photo credit: Robert Cutts

GamesMonitor, writing before today's news broke, welcomes us to The Security Games: "Since 2010, the number of security personnel required by Olympic organisers has risen sharply to an overall estimated 23700 on the busiest days, more than double the original predictions. As well as up to 12000 police from forces across the country, the Ministry of Defence has provided more troops deployed (in uniform) to work during the Games than are currently stationed in Afghanistan. More CCTV has been installed in a part of London already awash with cameras and around £80 million has been spent on the construction of an an 11-mile long 5000-volt electric fence around the Olympic zone."

In the last couple of weeks three major UK political figures have spoken about drugs and drug policy for a variety of reasons. Ewan Hoyle is not surprised that they have demonstrated hypocrisy, ignorance and an irresponsibly casual disregard for evidence and expertise.

Politics is for young people insists Victor Chamberlain, elected as Manchester's youngest ever councillor, in a guest post for the ALDC.

You know those thousands of 'never-worked' families living on what have been termed the 'Shameless estates' of Britain? FullFact.org presents evidence that suggests they are a myth.

"It was a warm, pleasant evening when I checked myself into the mad house. The irony of my situation wasn’t lost on me. Everything was back to front. As a psychology PhD, I fully expected to see the inside of such an institution in a professional capacity. But I now sat on the other side of the clinical transaction: a patient, tremulous and anxious, in the small admissions room of a large, gloomy psychiatric hospital." Darragh McCausland writes (and reads) for The Racket.

Richly Evocative takes us to Granville Road Spinney, a short walk from Finsbury Park tube station - and namechecks Richard Jefferies and Alan Garner.