Runaway dads are just as bad as drink-drivers
The Guarian

Summary:
Drink-drivers are being judged all the time, why is this not the case for runaway dads? Prime minister David Cameron wants to do something about it. He wants to make sure that fathers all around the country take care of their children. Runaway fathers should be stigmatized for not being there for their children.

Cameron says that he is going to introduce tax breaks for married couples to show the society the value of commitment. Even when couples are divorced, fathers should be there to for the emotional and financial well-being of their offspring.

Cameron himself sees his father as a great example of someone that worked hard for his family. His efforts had a great impact on him.

Opinion:
I believe Cameron is right when he says that runaway fathers should be held responsible for helping raise their children. Fathers are just as responsible of raising their children as the mothers are. Both parent should be there for their children. In my opinion runaway mothers should be stigmatized as well. All children should feel loved. Being abandoned by someone will have a great impact on a child’s life.

Tax breaks for married couples on the other hand, seems a bit extreme to me. It is all about being there for your children. Being married or not has nothing to do with that if you ask me.

Boy wears skirt in protest
The Telegraph

Summary:
Impington Village College in Cambridgeshire has rules against boys wearing shorts in warm weather. Twelve-year-old Chris Whitehead decided to protest against this by wearing a skirt to school because there was no rule against that. Chris calls the rule discrimination because girls are aloud to wear shorter clothes during warm weather and boys are not.

Chris got teased by schoolmates in the beginning but now people are getting used to it. Some students now even say that Cris is very brave for doing this. He also has the full support of his parents. Famous people have started tweeting about the event as well.

Opinion:
It was refreshing to find an article like this in the newspaper after reading all about terrorism and the economic crisis. I think Chris his way of protesting is very nice and civilized. It did make me think that it is weird that it is so strange for boys to wear skirts when in most societies it is a normal thing. Only in Western Europe and America it is strange for men to wear skirts and dresses. Why is this. Women have been wearing trousers in these countries for years now and that used to be weird as well. Maybe skirts for men will come in style at some point in time and we will see Famous actors walk the red carpet in fasionable skirts. When that day comes, I will think of Chris and how he would wear a skirt in protest against school regulations.

Couple murdered during robbery

BBC News

Summary:
In Wolverhampton two people were murdered with a knife and hammer. An 80-year-old man and his 77-year-old wife were brutally killed in their own home. The perpetrators took several objects from the home, including two flat screen televisions and the black Peugeot 307 that belonged to the couple. Three suspects have been arrested. The police have been granted extra time to question two of the men.

The family of the deceased are devastated. They can not grasp the idea of what happened to their loved ones. Two of the grandchildren ask anyone who has information that might help solve to case to come forward.

Opinion:
Taking someone’s life is one of the worst things you can do. It does not matter if that person is young or old. If you kill a person you take away something that is not yours to take away. There are so many reasons why one human being would kill another one. Revenge, hatred, war. But stolen goods? Is the stolen merchandise really worth killing for? I really do not know how these men can live with themselves. An elderly couple was killed because they stood between a couple of robbers and their loot. That is just unacceptable.

Flood report: Urgent action needed to prevent further disaster

Guardian Unlimited

Summary:
The risks of flooding have increased over the years because of the impact of climate change. That is why urgent and fundamental changes are needed in the way that the country is adapting to this problem. Sir Michael Pitt wrote a report on the June and July floods of last year. In this report he wrote a plan of action to improve the country’s flood resilience over the next two years.

Mr. Pitt made 92 recommendations in his 400-page report. These recommendations included:
- There should be a committee that will tackle the risk of flooding.
- The Environment Agency and the Met Office should work together to improve the weather
forecasts and provide warnings.
- There is more work to be done to protect critical infrastructure against flooding.
- The public should have a flood kit, which includes personal documents, insurance policy, a
mobile phone, a first-aid kit, blankets etc.
He said that four-fifths of the recommendations could be placed under existing budgets.

Opinion:
Flood can cause a lot of damage. That is why it is good to think ahead and start making a plan on what to do when a flood occurs. If you have a good plan, less people will get hurt in times of trouble. In Holland the people know a lot about flooding. Because the country is below sea level, the risk of flooding is greater they have taken a lot of precautions to prevent as much flooding as possible. When a flood does occur, the authorities know exactly what to do. The British authorities should look at the Dutch emergency plan for floods. Then they would not have to re-invent the wheel.

Big Ben sculpture marks recycling

BBC News

Summary:
A sculpture of Big Ben has been unveiled in London’s South Bank. The sculpture is 6 metres tall and is made out of Coca-Cola cans. The artwork, made by Robert Bradford, was commissioned to mark the beginning of Recycling Week. The Big Ben is one out of four sculptures made to inspire more people to recycle. A replica of the Angel of the North can be seen in Gateshead. The two other sculptures, which are models of Bristol’s Clifton Suspension Bridge and the Birmingham Bull, will be unveiled on Monday. Hopefully the miniatures of these capital landmarks will encourage everyone to recycle more.

Opinion:
It is a great idea to make sculptures out of tin cans. It is original and people will probably want to see them. But will it really help encourage people to recycle more? Maybe people will think of recycling when they look at the sculptures, but they probably will have forgotten all about it in an hour. If you really want to encourage people to recycle more of their waste you need to make it easier for them to do so. A better way to encourage people is to give everyone a bin where they can trough there cans in. If you collect these bins when you collect the garbage, it will be easier for everyone to actually separate the cans from the rest of the garbage.

Drunken children will be forced to undergo rehab

The Independent

Summary
The ministers announced today that when the police runs in to a child that is drunk regularly, they will order this child to go into rehabilitation. This will help stir them away from alcohol. These children will undergo compulsory treatment sessions with counsellors who will inform them on the health risks en how they can stop drinking. This program is based on successful adult programmes that helped cut drink-related crime in half.

Teenagers that are caught abusing alcohol will be given Asbos. This means that they will have curfews and alcohol bans, or will be put on acceptable behaviour contracts. Their parents could be required to follow parenting courses or they can even be prosecuted. The Youth Alcohol Action Plan will create a new criminal offence for under-18s who are caught drinking in public. But a spokesman for Alcohol Concern said that he believes that these young people with drink problems need support and advice, not a criminal record.

Opinion
I think that the spokesman for Alcohol Concern is right when he says that children with a drink problem need support and advise, not a criminal record. A criminal record is not the answer in this case. These children just need to know what the dangers of alcohol abuse are. They need structure and rules that will help them to stay away from alcohol.

The rehabilitation is a good idea. There the children can get the support they need. It is just the part of the criminal record that concerns me. Children are still learning how the world works; they are experimenting with everything that life has to offer. They should not be punished for making a bad decision. They should be told that making a bad decision is not going to determent who they are going to be for the rest of their lives. And that they two can make things right again.

Sex education 'should teach about infertility'

Guardian Unlimited

Summary:
Children should be taught about infertility as well as avoiding pregnancy. One in seven people in our modern world will have to cope with infertility. This is what the new head of Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority tells us. Right now few young people realise the difficulties they could face in trying for a family. Right now figures show that 32,000 women a year get fertility treatment and 11,000 of these treatments lead up to a full pregnancies. Studies show that female obesity lowers your chance to get pregnant. This will be the biggest problem. Some experts even believe that one in five couples will seek fertility treatment in the future because of it. Most people do not know much about infertility and that is why people should be educated on this subject.

Opinion:
Teaching children about infertility is a great idea. There are a lot of people who have to face this problem and I really believe that there are not many people who know much about it. Most people don’t think about these sorts of problems. They all think that they should be able to have children. But with the number of people with people with obesity rising, more people will have fertility problems. But teaching children about infertility is not enough. Children also should know more about obesity and all the risks it brings with it. Infertility is not the only problem someone with obesity could have. There are also other risks like diabetes and heart disease.