I actually agree with the Liberal Democrats about not criminalising kids who cause trouble (the ASBO-type offences I mean, not violent crime). Community service, meeting the victims, and getting the offender’s parents / family involved must be the answer for most cases.
Two policemen were attacked by a mob when they asked a teenager to pick up her litter (she did, then dropped it again, ‘sparking a confrontation leading to the attack’). In London.
Schools anger as ITV X Factor auditions clash with exam days:
Headteachers have accused the makers of ITV’s X Factor of “irresponsible” planning after it emerged that Scottish auditions for the talent show clash with the Standard Grade English exam next week.
I didn’t realise a profit-making venture such as The X Factor had a responsibility to schools. I think the programme is shit, but no matter.
Teenage angst: study for exams or audition for X Factor place?
For an immature, impressionable youngster the choice could well be a no-brainer. The opportunity to take part in auditions for ITV’s X Factor and the remote chance of that ultimate prize – a £1m recording contract and instant celebrity status. Or staying at school to sit an exam.
Ah, the lure of those 15 minutes. Not all of you could be the next Leona Lewis — who was a major fluke, IMHO. If I may just say, if you’re 16, you should be old enough to have learnt that actions have consequences (assuming your parents have imparted that stellar piece of wisdom). An adolescent who has dreams of fame should be reined in by their parents if an audition is the day before a big exam.
Try studying harder two days before the exam. Understand that if you flunk your exam because you were amongst thousands chasing short-lived celebrity, it’s your own fault and don’t sue the council later for lost earning potential.
I have to say, I don’t think this would even be an issue in Singapore. No student would be allowed to go to the audition (parents would probably eyeball their child studying if they had to), so the programme makers wouldn’t even bother. The fact that there is all this hand-wringing shows that teenagers are running riot here.
It was the headline that did it: Anger as GPs can’t decide on definition of obesity.
Scotland has one of the highest rates of obesity, second only to the US on some league tables.
Not exactly suprising. But this:
Dr Colin Waine, chair of the National Obesity Forum, said: “A very important chronic disease is being subject to a postcode lottery. We have got to see that obesity is not a cosmetic issue. It is probably the biggest health problem that we are facing at this present time.”
For the most part, obesity is not unavoidable — they’ve made a choice to eat lots of food and sit on their arses all day and night. Those with children are setting a bad example. By treating obesity as a disease, they are (once again) relieving the fat fuckers of any responsibility. That doesn’t help anyone.
By all means, institute a policy of designing pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly towns, and making facilities available for people to work out. But for fuck’s sake, make people take responsiblity for problems they brought on themselves. And let Darwin take care of the rest.
One in four ‘fails to save money’.
I’m not surprised. There is something fundamentally incompatible with encouraging a commercial / business / retail free-for-all and then also propping people up with ‘free’ health care*, unemployment benefits, and so on.
You know what it says to me?
Spend all you damn like, do anything you want, we’ll be there to pick up the pieces.
This drives me mad. Is it any wonder young adults and children (and many supposedly mature and responsible adults) are careering completely out of control? No one thinks they’re accountable for anything, even their own lives (retirement, pension, future, destiny).
* Healthcare in this country is most definitely not free. I for one would prefer to be able to choose where, when, and how my healthcare is provided, and pay for it directly.
If anyone needs proof that Britons (well, these two at the very least) absolutely expect to accept no responsibility for anything, they just have to read this article — Motorists lose speed camera case:
Idris Francis, of Petersfield, Hants, and Gerard O’Halloran, from London, argued that current rules forced car owners to incriminate themselves.
They said human rights were breached by making a car’s owner name the driver if the vehicle is caught speeding.
…
Judges acknowledged that both men had been faced compulsion to provide information, but threw out their claim that the right to remain silent and the right not to incriminate oneself are “absolute rights”.
Their judgement noted that people “who choose to keep and drive cars” have implicitly “accepted certain responsibilities” under UK law.
…
Mr Francis said after the verdict: “The fight for freedom goes on. We can’t allow the tyrants, who are taking away our rights, to succeed. They have to be stopped.”
OMFG. ‘The fight for freedom’? Do they realise how fucking ludicrous they sound?
I’ve noticed that a lot of people complaining about Gordon Brown cite the huge growth in personal debt. I believe taking on personal debt is a choice, the Chancellor didn’t exactly force anyone to apply for loans they can’t afford to pay.
I’m sure he’s a flawed man, but I think he has done a fairly good job and Britain has done reasonably well. Attributing it all to the Conservatives who ruled before is silly as Labour had a decade to screw it up, and if they were that incompetent, they would have.
SNP supporters have been so adamant about giving ol’ Alex a chance for four years of government, so why not give Gordon Brown a chance for two or three?
News today on teachers trying to ‘fight back‘ after being abused and humiliated online by their students:
The US-based RateMyTeachers website carries comments about individual, named teachers. Remarks left on the site have included: “I have heard awful rumours about that man” and “he is evil personified”.
Not all teachers are good teachers, and some may even be criminally unfit, but for the most part, I reckon teachers are doing the best they can to educate their charges. This does not give students the right to post lies in an attempt to damage their teachers’ reputations or abuse them in class and film it for distribution on the Internet. Where do these kids learn this utter lack of respect for others?
I do believe that children have certain rights. The law has obviously gone miles too far in ‘protecting’ children — those who do not have a pressing need to have their rights protected have NOT learned that there are consequences to their actions (or at least, there should be).
These kids need to be caned or something.