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.
zondag 24 april 2011
Is teaching racist? No more than Oxford University or 'Mastermind’
In this article Alasdair Palmer argues that we are too quick with throwing around accusations of racial discrimination. The Guardian called the profession of teacher an ‘institutionally racist’ one, because of the fact that black people make up 2 percent of the population while they only provide 0.7 percent of the head teachers. Palmer says it is only logical that “the proportion of a particular ethnic group in a particular position does not mirror that group's share of the population as a whole”. The failure of some ethnical groups is caused by different factors, in particular the sorts of things a child is exposed to, or not exposed to, before the age of seven. He argues it is wrong to benefit people because of ethnic or social class instead of qualities. Doing so destroys England’s top institutions.
Royal wedding: street parties list suggests class divide
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/royal-wedding/8468812/Royal-wedding-street-parties-list-suggests-class-divide.html
On the day of the royal wedding, lots of local communities are hosting street parties to celebrate the occasion. Official figures however implicate there is a class divide among those who host the parties. Middle class communities are quite enthusiastic about the idea, while the working class areas show a lot less enthusiasm. Experts believe the lack of motivation doesn’t necessarily have to do with a loss of affection for the monarchy, they believe a breakdown of community spirit in large cities makes people reluctant to take part in a mass celebration with their neighbors. Councils across the country have done everything to make organizing a street party as easy as possible, because they see it as their key role to stimulate communities to get together.
I like the idea of royal themed street parties on the day of the royal wedding. After all the royal family is ‘public property’ and I think it should be made possible for common people to take part in the celebrations. It surprises me that the working class in England doesn’t participate in hosting street parties, while the middle class seems to be very enthusiastic. In the Netherlands it is often the other way around. Lower class neighborhoods are famous for their street parties and community spirit during events like ‘Koninginnedag’ and the World Championship Football.
On the day of the royal wedding, lots of local communities are hosting street parties to celebrate the occasion. Official figures however implicate there is a class divide among those who host the parties. Middle class communities are quite enthusiastic about the idea, while the working class areas show a lot less enthusiasm. Experts believe the lack of motivation doesn’t necessarily have to do with a loss of affection for the monarchy, they believe a breakdown of community spirit in large cities makes people reluctant to take part in a mass celebration with their neighbors. Councils across the country have done everything to make organizing a street party as easy as possible, because they see it as their key role to stimulate communities to get together.
I like the idea of royal themed street parties on the day of the royal wedding. After all the royal family is ‘public property’ and I think it should be made possible for common people to take part in the celebrations. It surprises me that the working class in England doesn’t participate in hosting street parties, while the middle class seems to be very enthusiastic. In the Netherlands it is often the other way around. Lower class neighborhoods are famous for their street parties and community spirit during events like ‘Koninginnedag’ and the World Championship Football.
woensdag 20 april 2011
At home with the lion king
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/apr/16/wildlife-family-lion-king?INTCMP=SRCH
Tony Fitzjohn was a wild explorer who lived at a lion reserve in Kenia when he met his wife Lucy. At the time Fitzjohn was an alcoholic and 22 years Lucy’s senior. Even so, they fell in love and Lucy ‘surprised’ her family by moving in with Fitzjohn who lived under severely primitive circumstances in a rural part of Africa. Their four children were born there. Becoming a father and settling down even amazed Fitzjohn himself, because it was everything he never wanted. Fitzjohn doesn’t want to keep his children isolated, so three of their kids are in boarding school and the family spend their holidays in England. According to Fitzjohn raising children is very similar to raising lion cubs; they both need food, protection and love and, just like lions, children become independent.
I think Tony Fitzjohn is doing the right thing in not keeping his children isolated in rural Africa. Children should experience the ‘real’ world in order to give them a fair chance to decide which way of life they prefer themselves once they are grown up. Since there are no schools near the lion reserve, boarding school is the only possible solution to give his children as much of the normal childhood stuff as possible. I agree there are similarities between raising children and raising lion cubs; the basic needs are the same, but when it comes to bringing up children, it takes more than just food, protection and love.
Tony Fitzjohn was a wild explorer who lived at a lion reserve in Kenia when he met his wife Lucy. At the time Fitzjohn was an alcoholic and 22 years Lucy’s senior. Even so, they fell in love and Lucy ‘surprised’ her family by moving in with Fitzjohn who lived under severely primitive circumstances in a rural part of Africa. Their four children were born there. Becoming a father and settling down even amazed Fitzjohn himself, because it was everything he never wanted. Fitzjohn doesn’t want to keep his children isolated, so three of their kids are in boarding school and the family spend their holidays in England. According to Fitzjohn raising children is very similar to raising lion cubs; they both need food, protection and love and, just like lions, children become independent.
I think Tony Fitzjohn is doing the right thing in not keeping his children isolated in rural Africa. Children should experience the ‘real’ world in order to give them a fair chance to decide which way of life they prefer themselves once they are grown up. Since there are no schools near the lion reserve, boarding school is the only possible solution to give his children as much of the normal childhood stuff as possible. I agree there are similarities between raising children and raising lion cubs; the basic needs are the same, but when it comes to bringing up children, it takes more than just food, protection and love.
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