Union fights to save ''lollipop ladies''

Lollipop men and women are school crossing patrols and their existence is being threatened by plans to withdraw funding.

The Road Traffic Act 1988 give local authorities the power to appoint school crossing patrols, but does not impose any legal obligation to do so. Some councils in England suggest schools or volunteers should take over instead.

Union leader Dave Prentis said the councils were making ''dangerous decisions'' and that the government should step in.

Original article:
---http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-13841756



My take on this:
I understand the need for lollipop men and women, but on my old school the lollipop lady was a school employee who volunteered to do the job. It worked out just fine. It was no full-time job ofcourse, so she only helped out in the mornings and afternoons, but I still think this is a viable option as well.

Hospital toilet rapist jailed

Ian Joseph, 44, who attacked a 22-year-old woman last year and forced her to perform a sex act on him is indeterminately sentenced with a minimum term of four years. He denied being guilty but was found unanimously guilty by a jury at Oxford Crown Court

''Joseph is a predatory offender and has shown no remorse at any time during his trial for the crime he committed'' says Det Con Rob Barratt of Thames Valley Police.

His act was filmed on CCTV and the hospitals' guards caught him afterwards.

Original article:
---http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-13845350


My take on this:
If there's video evidence that this man is guilty, he probably is guilty. Sounds quite simple to me. I'm glad they caught him because a lot of rape- and abuse cases seem to go unsolved. A minim of four years in prison seems a good start. These people just don't seem to understand what kind of damage they can do to their victom emotionally as well as physically and if they do understand they're quite obviously insane and should be put away for life because they're a risk to their environment. That's just my view on this matter though.

Football hate crimes to be punished harder

The new Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Bill will, if approved, ensure a stricter more severe punishment for people who disrupt football matches or show threatening, abusive, disorderly or offensive behaviour. Any of these can lead to a five-year sentence, whereas current law dictates a maximum of  a one-year sentence.  Even online hate crime, such as abusive or offensive Twitter messages, are included and carry the same heavy punishment.

Community Safety Minister Roseanna Cunningham said: ''We saw a very ugly situation developing towards the end of the last football season, very ugly - an image of Scotland going around the world which we really, really do not want to see continuing.''

Original article:
---http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/tougher-laws-for-football-hate-crimes-2298875.html



My take on this:
I'm not a very big sports fan. One of the things that I despise about sports such as football is their fanbase. I don't get how you need to fight other supporters, trash everything you run into while extremely drunk or disrupt the match itself if things aren't going your way. By this logic I think it's a very wise decision to step up the punishment level for hooligans and the likes. Sports should be about sports, competitiveness, support and fun and to be honest I don't see how random acts of violence are fun or sports related.

Drug dealer uses child he never saw as excuse to stay

Convicted drugs dealer Asim Parris, 23, convinced both immigration judges and the Appeal Court that he should stay in Britain, in stead of being deported to Trinidad, because of his ''close bond'' with his daughter.

He, however, was never closely involved in her upbringing until the deportation order according to the mom.

Parris has been sentenced to six years in prison for a serious attack, but he can stay in Britain due to his ''close bond'' with his daughter, which apparently does not exist.



Original article:
---http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/8584563/Violent-drug-dealer-used-child-he-never-saw-as-excuse-to-stay.html



My take on this:
Using a child you've basically never seen as an excuse to stay in Britain is very low, even for a drugs dealer in my opinion. If the mom can prove that he was never involved in the child's upbringing, he should still be deported to Trinidad if you'd ask me. This only proves how low the man is willing to go to avoid being deported, not how ''close'' his ''bond'' is with his daughter.

'Phallic' cross banned from cab

The owner of AnD taxis, Clair Cook, had to make sure the object was removed after a complaint by a 15-year-old boy who thought the cross looked 'phallic' and was offended by it.

Cook thinks the complaint is 'ridiculous' and said the driver of the car was a devout Roman Catholic who wishes to remain anonymous. He bought the cross on holiday in Greece six years ago and could not believe that anyone could think of it as anything else but a cross. He has taken it of his deskboard though to avoid losing his licence.

---Original article:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/8511053/Cab-driver-banned-from-displaying-phallic-cross.html


My take on this:
I agree with the cab driver on this one. How can someone see this cross as something 'phallic'? I think the boy who was 'offended' by this cross needs to look up the word 'phallic' in his dictionary or google it to see some images because I think he is quite unaware of what the word means. I also feel that the cab driver should be allowed to put it back on his deskboard if he feels like it.

Adult or juvenile sentence based on how mature the suspect is

Government policies often neglect that contact with criminal justice system can alter young people's prospects. Having a criminal record can make finding a job very difficult, which can cause the adolescents to keep offending.

Britain should have a system like Germany, where courts assign 18-to 21-year-olds to either juvenile or adult sentences based on how mature the individual is in stead of what their chronological age is. This way makes sure that the way someone is treated in court does not change over night when the offender becomes 18 years old.

Over 70% of adults for the Transition to Adulthood Alliance finds that emotional and psychological maturity should be taken into account by the courts when dealing with a young person.

Original article:
---http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/joepublic/2011/mar/02/young-offenders-criminal-justice-system



My take on this:
Germany is on the right track in my opinion. I think it's way too static, and unjust, to have a 17-year-old murderer get a mucht lighter sentence than an 18-year-old murderer even if they committed the exact same crimes! State of mind, level of maturity and chronological age should all be looked into and taken into account when sentencing a young criminal.

Boy banned from school for wearing cornrows

An 11-year-old boy was refused entry to St Gregory's Catholic Science College in Kenton, North London. The school has a conserative ''short back and sides'' hairstyle only policy for boys because they believe that other styles could encourage ''gang culture''.

The boy, now 13 years old, won his case at the high court because the judge ruled the school's policy ''indirect racial discrimination''. This due to the fact that the school should be able to make exceptions to its strict policy if student wants to wear a different haircut based on cultural background. Every male member of the boy's family wears their hair in cornrows after birth. It is a tradition.


---Original Article:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/jun/17/school-ban-cornrows-indirect-discrimination


My take on this:
I agree with the judge's decision to allow the boy to wear cornrows at school. In my opinion those strict rules are a tad bit over the top in the first place and if a person wants or needs to wear a certain hairstyle due to family tradition I think this should be permissable. This boy for instance hasn't cut his hear since he was born due to family tradition and he would have to cut off his hair to gain entry to this school? I tend to disagree.