http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-13336835
In March 2010 Sofyen Belamouadden was hunted down and stabbed to death by a group of teenagers in a London Tube station. There were tensions between pupils of two west London schools. Some of the teenagers saw the station as their ‘home territory’ and an attack was planned on Facebook. The assault took place during rush hour and there were hundreds of witnesses. Two youth have been convinced for murder, three others for manslaughter. A number of other youths will face individual trial over the killing and they will be sentenced following the conclusion of these trials.
One of the convicts declared to the court he was joining in the violence ‘simply because everyone else was doing it.’ Where did this go wrong? A 17 year old boy guilty of such a serious crime is a very troubled teenager. Automatically our thoughts go to the victim’s family who has to suffer a great loss. They didn’t do anything wrong and yet they are sentenced for life. However, I believe we should also think about the offender in cases like this. I definitely think youths committing an adult crime should be punished like adults, but punishment alone is not enough. We should keep in mind that, even though this young boy did something unforgivable, he is only 17 years old. He still has a life ahead of him and people can change, especially people as young as this. If we are not prepared to offer help, two young lives will be lost; the victim’s and the offender’s.
maandag 16 mei 2011
zondag 15 mei 2011
Bringing babies into the workplace
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13316133
Due to nursery costs that rise twice as much as family incomes in some parts of the UK, it is difficult for mothers to decide whether to go back to work or not. For companies it is a huge problem to replace the employees that are on maternity or paternity leave. That is why a firm in Tamworth, Staffordshire, decided to conduct an experiment. They allowed their staff to bring in their babies and toddlers to the office. It turned out that working while supervising a toddler was more distracting than they expected, so this will not be taken up as a long-term childcare solution.
Bringing your child into the office is the most ridiculous thing. I’m not surprised to hear it causes distraction. How unfair it is to employees that don’t have children. They are expected to be a lot more productive than the mummies and daddies that also have to supervise their children, even though they get paid the same salary. Life is all about choices and if you choose to have children, you know beforehand you will have to pay a lot for childcare if you want to continue working. This is something you have to take into account. If you don’t want to pay a lot for other people to take care of your children, it’s your own responsibility to find another solution.
Due to nursery costs that rise twice as much as family incomes in some parts of the UK, it is difficult for mothers to decide whether to go back to work or not. For companies it is a huge problem to replace the employees that are on maternity or paternity leave. That is why a firm in Tamworth, Staffordshire, decided to conduct an experiment. They allowed their staff to bring in their babies and toddlers to the office. It turned out that working while supervising a toddler was more distracting than they expected, so this will not be taken up as a long-term childcare solution.
Bringing your child into the office is the most ridiculous thing. I’m not surprised to hear it causes distraction. How unfair it is to employees that don’t have children. They are expected to be a lot more productive than the mummies and daddies that also have to supervise their children, even though they get paid the same salary. Life is all about choices and if you choose to have children, you know beforehand you will have to pay a lot for childcare if you want to continue working. This is something you have to take into account. If you don’t want to pay a lot for other people to take care of your children, it’s your own responsibility to find another solution.
vrijdag 13 mei 2011
Jeffrey the footballing pony
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2011/05/07/jeffrey-the-footballing-pony-115875-23112368/
Jeffrey, a three-year-old pony, loves playing football. Not only is the tiny horse fond of playing footie, he also seems to be pretty good at it. When the little pony arrived at the Bleakholt Animal Sanctuary he was in a perfectly good shape. Manager Neil Martin explains Jeffrey was given a ball to keep him occupied, because stallions get easily bored. One of the shelters is used as a goal and Jeffrey runs down everyone who gets in his way while he is chasing the ball into it. Jeffrey the footballing pony is a big hit amongst visitors of the farm in Greater Manchester.
This is one of those articles that puts a big smile on your face after reading it. Animals are cute, animals performing special tricks are even cuter, but animals doing it only because they like to are the cutest. The article doesn’t say why Jeffrey was brought to the sanctuary, but judging on what the manager tells us and the pictures of him in action, I can only come to the conclusion he is fully enjoying his stay at this farm. It always makes me happy to find a feel-good article like this between all the misery and sorrow that fills the newspapers.
Jeffrey, a three-year-old pony, loves playing football. Not only is the tiny horse fond of playing footie, he also seems to be pretty good at it. When the little pony arrived at the Bleakholt Animal Sanctuary he was in a perfectly good shape. Manager Neil Martin explains Jeffrey was given a ball to keep him occupied, because stallions get easily bored. One of the shelters is used as a goal and Jeffrey runs down everyone who gets in his way while he is chasing the ball into it. Jeffrey the footballing pony is a big hit amongst visitors of the farm in Greater Manchester.
This is one of those articles that puts a big smile on your face after reading it. Animals are cute, animals performing special tricks are even cuter, but animals doing it only because they like to are the cutest. The article doesn’t say why Jeffrey was brought to the sanctuary, but judging on what the manager tells us and the pictures of him in action, I can only come to the conclusion he is fully enjoying his stay at this farm. It always makes me happy to find a feel-good article like this between all the misery and sorrow that fills the newspapers.
dinsdag 10 mei 2011
I drink human blood at vampire parties
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/features/3528565/I-drink-human-blood-at-vampire-parties.html
Some 3,000 people in the UK are official members of an underground vampire movement. The ‘vampires’ gather once a month at private parties to drink human blood directly from the body of their partner. According to Pyretta Blaze it’s an amazing experience that makes you feel reborn and energized. She says that the vampire lifestyle is a lifelong commitment with its own rituals. People who are attending the parties and want to become members of the movement are given a psychological test by the Elders to rule out movie obsessed kids who just think it’s cool. The whole blood sucking process is very safe, since every attendant has to have a clean STI test, instruments are being sterilized, the Elders teach where and how to cut the fed without causing scars and there is a nurse or doctor present at every party.
Disgusting was the first word that came to my mind when I read the title of this article. Grown up people pretending to be vampires should seriously consider the possibility of some kind of mental disorder. Apparently they have to undergo a psychological test, but it is performed by the Elders, so I wonder about the credibility of this test. I am afraid an independent psychological test might show a completely different outcome. After reading this article I can only come to the conclusion that this underground vampire movement looks a lot like a scary sect.
Some 3,000 people in the UK are official members of an underground vampire movement. The ‘vampires’ gather once a month at private parties to drink human blood directly from the body of their partner. According to Pyretta Blaze it’s an amazing experience that makes you feel reborn and energized. She says that the vampire lifestyle is a lifelong commitment with its own rituals. People who are attending the parties and want to become members of the movement are given a psychological test by the Elders to rule out movie obsessed kids who just think it’s cool. The whole blood sucking process is very safe, since every attendant has to have a clean STI test, instruments are being sterilized, the Elders teach where and how to cut the fed without causing scars and there is a nurse or doctor present at every party.
Disgusting was the first word that came to my mind when I read the title of this article. Grown up people pretending to be vampires should seriously consider the possibility of some kind of mental disorder. Apparently they have to undergo a psychological test, but it is performed by the Elders, so I wonder about the credibility of this test. I am afraid an independent psychological test might show a completely different outcome. After reading this article I can only come to the conclusion that this underground vampire movement looks a lot like a scary sect.
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