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.

'Silence of the Lambs' rapist sent back to UK

Leslie Cunliffe, convicted in 1999 of the abduction and rape of a university student, is being deported home to Britain after his release from an Australian Jail.

Cunliffe posed as a cop to kidnap his victim. Afterwards he took her to a shed which he had converted to a dungeon similar to the one found in the movie ''Silence of the Lambs''. He bound her to a chair, gagged her, raped her and made her make a ransom demand to her family.

After Cunliffe left the shed to get some food the student poked a finger through the wall and her screams were heard by a passer-by.

Cunliffe was released in April after a 12 years out of 15 sentence and is now to be deported back to the UK, since permanent visas in Australia can be revoked when its owner broke the law.


---Original article:
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3644154/Silence-of-Lambs-rapist-sent-to-UK.html


My take on this:
People like this make me sick. I also can't imagine how a 51-year-old can suddenly decide it's time to go  rape someone. I guess the good part is that in Australia they actually have somewhat lengthy sentences for criminals unlike in the Netherlands. I do feel sorry for the people back in Britain who live near him. I can imagine them losing a couple of hours of sleep over this creep returning to their neighbourhood.

Britain's youngest hitman jailed for life

16-year-old Santre Sanches Gayle, thought to be Britain't youngest hitman, was jailed for life today for shooting a young mother dead for 200 pounds.

CCTV footage caught him blasting the victim in the chest on her doorstep.

Gayle, known as Riot to others, is related to two other convicted killers and was convicted of murder after boasting of the crime to another youngster.

The judge says ''youth and immaturity'' were factors in the crime but soon added: ''Anyone seeing the short but telling CCTV clip of the shooting cannot but be struck by the chillingly deliberate and cold-blooded way in which you went about your business.''

Detective Chief Inspector Jackie Sebire said: ''The frightening thing is his confidence and his lack of remorse. Even though he is only 15, he knew what he was doing''


Original article:
---http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/life-for-ruthless-teenage-hitman-2288336.html


http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/life-for-ruthless-teenage-hitman-2288336.html

My take on this:
It surprises me how someone can commit such a crime and not show any sign of remorse. To be honest I find it as fascinating as I find it terrifying. I, in my right state of mind, can not understand how someone can turn off his/her emotions or simply not have any! This kid seems like a classic psychopath or maybe I should say sociopath: someone who lacks emotions alltogether and can be cold and calculative like a machine. Scary and extremely dangerous as well. Most 'tough' kids or gangsters who commit heavy crimes still do have a sense of remorse or at least show some type of emotional response, but kids like these remind me of cold, calculative computers. Only difference being that these actually kill...

Daughter takes daddy's cocaine sweets to school

When a 10-year-old girl from Southdown Junior School in Newhaven, East Sussex, wanted to show her possessions at the end of school to her fellow pupils they found a cocaine wrap inside a packet of Haribo sweets.

Police found cocaine and cannabis in the family's home when they raided it last week. The 31-year-old father was arrested on suspicion of wanting to supply a controlled substance.

Original article:
---http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/man-held-over-cocaine-in-sweets-2291752.html


My take on this:
Sometimes its just hard to believe how stupid people are. First of all you're stupid enough to have illegal drugs in your house even though you have children. Second, you are stupid enough to hide some of the stuff in a Haribo sweet packet even though you have children in your home. Maybe a good tip for next time: children like sweets, so don't hide your drugs in or near a sweet packet. No, wait: don't take illegal drugs in your house at all, especially not when you have little ones running around!

Dad is held as ecstasy kills girl, 15

Brian Dodgeon, education expert and 60 years old, was arrested after a 15-year-old girl named Issy Reilly-Jones died when she took 2 ecstasy pills at a party hosted by Dodgeon's 14-year-old daughter.

Apparently the kids were drinking when Dodgeon's daughter told her friends that her dad had some weed somewhere. Dodgeon himself was not home when this occurred.  When the kids went looking for the weed, they found some pills stashed away in a room and ''passed them around like sweets''. Issy died from heart failure after taking the ecstacy and 3 other kids were taking to the hospital with convulsions. Their condition is stable at this time.

Brian Dodgeon was arrested on suspicion of drug possession and child abandonment.

Original Article:
---http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3545346/Dad-is-held-as-ecstasy-kills-teenage-girl-Issy-Reilly-Jones-15.html





My take on this:
I honestly can not believe how an education expert, and especially at that age, can leave his 14-year-old to party at home whithout him being there. I also can not believe how he can allow himself to be in possession of, or use, these kinds of drugs especially when he has kids this age. He should've known better. In my opinion this guy deserves to go to jail. Of course you can say that it's the kids' fault for trying out pills they know are dangerous, but then again they are teenagers who do experiment when they get the chance or are forced to by peer pressure, but I think it's clear that if this guy would've been the rolemodel he should've been none of this would've happened.

What's eating you?

Even though people tend to wash themselves regularly and tidey their homes the UK seems to be under attack from a plague of bedbugs.


According to pest control experts Rentokil the mite population has increased by 38% over the past year.

Rob Dunn, professor of biology at North Carolina University, however, says that a lot of these parasites and bacteria are working with us rahter than against us and he tries to explain how this works exactly in his new book The Wild Life Of Our Bodies.

He explains what creatures are living where on our bodies and tells us why they are there in the first place. Skin, mouth, eyebrows, lungs, colon, ankle and feet seem to be the most attractive areas for parasites and bacteria.

---Original Article:
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/features/3542887/Body-is-full-of-worms-mites-fungi.html



My take on this:
I was aware of the fact that there are many creatures living on- and in our bodies, but I had no clue that there were this many! Thank God that they're not all bad or harmful. It actually seems that most of them are either neutral or beneficial to us, but they sometimes have 'nasty' side effects such as smelly feet... An interesting article to read, but I probably wouldn't want to read the entire book on this subject.

Catholic and Muslim pupils find they have a lot in common

In order to increase mutual understanding between young Muslim and Catholic children, 10 pairs of contrasting schools decided to set up a linking project which allows children of different ethnical background and religion to get to know eachother in a playful way. William Austin junior school (mostly Muslim) and St. Joseph's (mostly Catholic) are two schools attending the project. The pupils from William Austin write letters to pupils from St. Joseph's visa versa. Then they set up small meetings between the pupils where they playfully get to see that there are a lot of similarities between them inspite of the fact that they are from different ethnical and religious backgrounds.

The students seem to be as delighted as they are surprised to the fact that they have more in common than they would've thought. Some even kept in touch after the project and became friends.

This Schools Linking Project is an initiative to bind neighbourhoods and schools together even though differences in religion and culture are vast and seems to have potential. ''I want to teach my students that it doesn't matter where you are from. You are here now and you choose to live here so let's celebrate being part of this country.'' - Penny Lasham, a teacher from a nearby school.

---Original Article:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/apr/12/school-twinning-catholic-muslim

My take on this:

I think this Schools Linkin Project is a great initiative to improve mutual understanding between the two dominant religions and might prove to be a good start to break down barriers between children, or adults for that matter, created by differences in ethnical background or religion. It might seem like a small step to some, but it is immense to these pupils. Every great initiative has to start somewhere right? And I believe this is, indeed, the right place to start when trying to combat these issues.

Private schools line up to become free

Private schools are lining up to become free schools, which are subsidized by the government, so that more people can get the opportunity to benefit from the large variety of educational systems they have to offer.

The National Union of Teachers' general secretary, Kevin Courtney, says it is ''incredible'' that the the Department for Education slashes the budget of already existing state schools and yet somehow finds that they have enough money to turn private schools into free schools.

David Mann, head of a future free school, claims that creating these new free schools will help raise the quality level of education by creating some competitiveness between the already existing state schools, which do not have a high level of education according to Mann, and the new free schools.

Original Article:
--- http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/apr/12/private-schools-conversion



My take on this:

I think that granting more people access to non-standard ways of education, by taking away the insane prices private schools charge and making them free instead, is a good idea since it grants more freedom in choice of education for parents. However, it seems that the already existing state schools have to suffer for the new free schools to work and personally I don't think that making one group suffer to make another one flourish is a fair trade-off. This decision should only be made if it has more pros than cons and at the moment it seems as though the pros and cons are equally distributed.