Bald man wins police hair drug test appeal

A bald man whose application to join the police was rejected because he did not have enough hair for a drugs test. Today he successfully appealed the decision. The man apparently already managed to withstand the previous police tests, when suddenly problems arose over the drugs testing. Because of his baldness, the man was not able to give hairs of up to 3cm in length. The man was also unable to provide about 200 body hairs as an alternative. When hearing about the problems of his flaw, the man started a legal challenge in which the would-be policeman claimed that the decision was irrational and discriminatory. Meanwhile an alternative way of testing has already taken place.

I could not stop laughing when I read this article. I simply cannot believe that a person who already passed so many tests, suddenly gets tackled in a way like this when it comes to a simply drug scan. I think that this lawsuit has shaken up the local authorities and made them realize that their power has certain limits to its extend. Still I am glad to see that the would-be policeman was able to win this case and will be able to complete his policeman training.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/10393803.stm

Teenager dies after Rotherham lake search

A teenager has died after being found by police divers in a lake in South Yorkshire. After some research it became clear that the boy had been swimming with a couple of his friends, when he suddenly got carried away by a strong current. Police searched the area looking for the male and at about 1400 BST police divers pulled the body of a young man from the water. When the buy was finally found paramedics gave medical treatment to the boy before taking him to Sheffield Children's Hospital where he was declared dead at about 1420 BST. The parents of the teenager were informed shortly after.

I can not imagine to think how it must be for a parent to loose his or her child in a tragic accident like this. The article remains unclear if the teenagers swam in a restricted area. If the area was not marked dangerous by sign posts or anything then I think the government should be hold accountable for this. Still it does not help anybody to just point the finger to someone else. What happened here is something tragic and my heart and mind goes out the the family.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/south_yorkshire/10394503.stm

Fury over England big screen ban in Dover

Football fans have reacted with fury after a Kent council decided not to show England's World Cup game against Slovenia on the town's big screen. The Dover Council said that the necessary precautions that would have to be taken in order to 'peacefully' watch the match between England and Slovenia would cause too much disruption, such as road closure and marshalling. "We are appalled. They have let the people of Dover down very, very badly," said fan Peter McHugh. Mr McHugh, who started a Facebook campaign to get the council to change its mind, furthermore added: "They originally said these matches would be shown up to and including the quarter finals, should England get that far.

I think it is a bit weird and a bit unprofessional as well to first promise the citizens to show all the matches on the big screen up to and including the quarter finals, should England get that far, and suddenly not hold up your end of the bargain. I can understand the frustration of the football fans since the previous two matches did not cause any kind of trouble. Alcohol is even prohibited in Market Square, which makes the football fan meeting practicably harmless. I am curious if the football fans will eventually win this or not.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/kent/10387110.stm

Witney evictee's tarantula goodbye gift

Roger Sutton of 62 years old, was removed from his house in Colwell Drive, Witney, on 9 June following complaints over the noise and smell of his 40 dogs. When the old men had been removed from his property, house cleaners were in for the scare of their lives when they found 20 tarantulas locked away in jars. The African Baboon Tarantulas were part of the man's collection and could grow up to 9cm long (3.5 inches). In March Mr Sutton was fined £2,000 fine and ordered to pay £500 costs after failing to comply with a noise abatement notice over his barking dogs.

Oh my God... I think that pretty much sums it up about what I thought when I read this article... What man in his right mind would keep up to 40 dogs in his household? Not to mention the 20 tarantulas?! The special crew of cleaners (yes you are reading this right... a special crew actually needs to come over to the household in order to make it liveable again) says it will take weeks before the household can be declared clean and be put up for sale again. I seriously feel sorry for the man's next neighbours... Although they will probably not allow this man to keep any kind of pets anymore.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/england/oxford/10390275.stm

Rapper inundates Manchester Police with 999 calls

A rapper is tying up police emergency lines by bombarding a force with nuisance calls. The 'so-called' rapper dials 999 and starts rapping to operators at Greater Manchester - who are not allowed to cut the rapper off in case there might be a real emergency. In the past three months the rapper made 700 phone calls all lasting from two till five minutes, and thereby slowing down the response for callers who actually dó need immediate help. Despite officers blocking over 60 SIM cards, the rapper has plagued the number since January 2009.

I think it's absolutely outrageous that a childish mind like this one thinks it is even funny to do things like these. What if one of these calls actually hold an operator occupied while someone who was actually in trouble did need help? In my own personal opinion I think that, if they catch this guy, they should make him visit 700 999 victims. Hopefully that will teach him not to abuse this line because there are people in the world who sometimes desperately need help.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/england/manchester/10386731.stm

Sisters are given lifetime pub ban in Darwen

Two sisters have been given lifetime bans from all of their local pubs and bars after carrying out a vicious attack on a teenage girl in Lancashire. The two sister Zoe en and Zara of 24 and 30 years old brutally kicked in the head of a 19 year old girl outside of the Roxy night club. Both plead guilty on assault and were sentenced to 16 weeks of jail before this incident. Forty-six people are currently banned from Darwen's pubs and clubs under the scheme, which has been running for 11 years. But it is the first time anyone has been ordered to stay away for the rest of their lives. The motive for this brutal beating remains unknown.

I think it's a very smart and effective idea to restrict some people from being pored alcohol in clubs. These bans make people think twice before they decide to do something as stupid as beating someone up. If I may by fair I think that more countries and cities should have a combined 'ban-list' in which they ban specific persons from drinking alcohol in clubs in a whole city. I think its to bad to see that some people cannot handle any sort of responsibility when it comes to drinking alcohol. These people simply ruin the fun for those who cán be responsible.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/england/lancashire/10318140.stm

Mother-of-four dies after Blantyre street fight

A murder inquiry has been launched following the death of a mother-of-four in Blantyre, south Lanarkshire. Strathclyde Police said 26-year-old Gail Russell was killed after a fight in Small Crescent on Saturday. The woman was taken to the hospital but died from her injuries later on in the evening. Neighbours paid tribute to the mother and described her as a 'very polite and nice woman'. The neighbours claimed she had only moved into the new neighbourhood a few months ago. Custody over the four children is still being discussed, since the father of the four youngsters is in jail.

I think it is horrible to hear that a woman has been beaten to death, let alone a mother of four. Although the motive of the murderers has not been clarified yet, an incident like this remains tragic. The ironic thing is that the mother had moved from her previous house to escape crime related incidents like these. I hope that the four children which this mother left behind will be taken care of with care and that a suitable foster family will be found to take care of these children.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_west/10304158.stm

Welsh parents warned on under-15s alcohol consumption

Parents in Wales have been warned that under-15s should not drink alcohol - even under supervision. This because of the claims that alcohol harms a child's physical development. The new guidance, You, Your Children and Alcohol, aims to help protect children and young people from the risk linked to alcohol consumption. Dr Jewell added that "Not only is there a clear immediate and long-term impact on health of alcohol misuse, there is the potential for young people to be at risk of being involved in anti-social behavior, crime, unwanted pregnancies or drugs... If we do not tackle this problem, the financial cost in the future will be significantly higher."

In my opinion I think the government is right to support campaigns like these since I'm strictly against extended overuse of alcohol under 16 years old. In my opinion it isn't the end of the world when a 14 year old gets a beer all for him/herself, but anything more than this is not OK in my eyes. Yet I do think that the UK government could do more in order to help this organization in for filling their goals, mainly through legislation on price, licensing and advertising.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/wales/10217751.stm

Grandmother's £2m gambling spree

A grandmother who stole from her employer to feed her gambling habit wagered £2m on a single internet gaming site. Eileen Evis, who is 71 years old, was jailed for the crime of stealing £140.000 from a company that she had to keep an eye on. While the original owners had to go to Canada for 2 years, Eileen was entrusted with the company TAG in Sidmouth. Little did the original owners know about Eileen her gambling addictions, which she was able to feed when she got a managing position at the company. Eileen has stolen over £2.000.000 in total in the past 10 months, leaving the company in a weakened and vulnerable state.

I admit that I first had to laugh when I read this article. Just picture it: a woman of 71 years old who has an internet gambling addiction? What if that was YOUR grandma gambling on the computer? It's hard to imagine isn't it? On a more serious note, I think that it is horrible that people their trust can be misused in such a way, and with such heavy consequences as well. Members of the company have 'effectively been ruined' because of the gamble addicted women. Perhaps the worst part is that the money is gone forever and will not be earned back so easily...


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/england/devon/10266903.stm

Prisons strategy 'could drive Muslims to extremism'

Muslim inmates could all be driven to extremism in prison because of a certain approach that treats them all as potential terrorists. Treating these Muslims as potential terrorists may cause the known 'self-fulfilling prophecy' effect in which Muslims are created into terrorists. "It would be naive to deny that there are, within the prison population, Muslims who hold radical extremist views, or who may be attracted to them for a variety of reasons,but that does not argue for a blanket, security-led approach to Muslim prisoners in general" said Dame Anne who published her research.

In one way I can understand the precaution that is taken around Muslim prisoners. Yet there is only a slight one percent of the Muslims prisoners that is behind bars because of acts as terrorism. Because of this I think it is more than wrong to be so judgmental to all of the Muslim prisoners. Prison should be a place where we send people to in order to learn from their mistakes and keep criminals out of our society. Not a place where we create criminals by sowing hate.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk/10259038.stm

Tears for friends and family lost in Cumbria shooting

An emotional memorial service was held in Whitehaven to remember the victims of gunman Derrick Bird, who went on a shooting rampage in west Cumbria previous Wednesday. Twelve candles, twelve victims. No one would have thought that Derrick Bird, who seemed to be an everyday taxi driver, would be capable of doing the unthinkable. Over one-hundred people, who consisted of family members and friends, gathered at the memorial service in search for consolation and support from close ones. Despite their strength however, there is no question that this community will never forget Wednesday the 2nd of June.

First of all I would like to say that I think it is horrible for what has happened previous Wednesday. In one way I think it is a beautiful thing to see relatives and loved ones come together to support each other in times like these. Yet I cannot understand why someone in their right mind would decide to do something as horrible and abdominal as this. It seems that some people will remain selfish and will not be able to understand how much pain and suffering their actions have caused. As for the relatives of the deceased ones; I hope that someday you will be able to find peace and acceptance.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/england/10251423.stm

Abortion ad sparks controversy in the U.K. (speakers corner)

Rage and uproar has been caused in U.K. because of a certain television ad that aired on the 24th of March. The two parties who are involved in this conflict are the MSI (Marie Stopes International) and the anti-abortion groups backed up by the Roman Catholic Church. MSI sees it of vital importance that more citizens of the U.K. are made aware of where and how they are able to find more information regarding unplanned pregnancies before it is to late to take any actions, while The Roman Catholic Church keeps exclaiming that 'abortion is not a consumer service, and should thereby have no right to be aired as an ad on television.


In my personal opinion I have to say that I think there's nothing wrong when it comes to information about matters as these. If what MSI says is really true, citizens of the UK should be made more aware of their options. Of course I do believe that a woman carries responsibility over the life that grows in her, yet this does not mean that I do not believe in reasons that justify an abortion. Rape or mental/physical disabilities can be an example of these justifications. the situation however changes when two people have had unprotected intercourse willingly. In this case I do believe that responsibility should be taken for the life that has been made.


http://wellness.blogs.time.com/2010/05/20/abortion-ad-sparks-controversy-in-the-u-k/

Newborn babies to get bar codes instead of handwritten name tags

From this moment on, newborn babies in the UK will be found with bar codes strapped around their ankles. The NHS hospital in Northamptonshire is the first hospital in Britain that has introduced this system. One might ask himself why? The answer to this is simple; newborn babies were often mixed up with each other due to the illegible handwriting of doctors. Awkward situations like these weren't however the only mistakes that were made. Scientists often faced problems when it came to deciphering handwriting, in which serious, and sometimes life threatening, consequences soon followed.

In my personal opinion I have to say that I'm frankly quite shocked to see that hospitals can make serious mistakes like this. Imagine for yourself that you would receive your baby, only to find out 10 or maybe even 20 years later that your child does not resemble you or your partner in any way at all... Therefor I think it's a hospitals responsibility to not severely mess up a matter so important as this one when it comes to one simple factor of someone's handwriting. Make them learn how to write clearly like the rest of us do or suffer the consequences, since I'm sure that no one would like to be victim of a doctors' unclear handwriting.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/child_health/article7105626.ece

Nick Clegg seizes his moment in historic TV debate

A stunning and overwhelming victory has been achieved by the Liberal Democrats last night on ITV where party leader Nick Clegg managed to win 61% of the public votes within just minutes. Nick Clegg used a sly, yet effective strategy yesterday night where he did not support any of the arguments given by his rivals. Instead he sat on the background and mocked his two fellow politicians by using phrases as "these two" and “a slight danger of holier than thou”. Praising himself as the ‘grown up’. This had an overwhelming effect on yesterdays audience nationwide and has put the Liberal Democrats back in the race for Britain's next political election.

In my personal opinion I think that some very interesting things could happen when the Liberal Democrats party would actually turn out to be the biggest party in the UK. Because this has never every happened before, the UK can brace itself for a massive tidal wave of change that would effect every single citizen of the UK. The elections are however still far at bay and therefor it would therefor be blunt to brace yourself for the Liberal Democrats party. What will become of the UK? Only time will tell...