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.
Wednesday, 25 June 2008
Flood report: Urgent action needed to prevent further disaster
Wednesday, 4 June 2008
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.
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.
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.
Tuesday, 27 May 2008
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.
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.
Bassey recovers from emergency op
The Independent
Summary:
The 71-year-old singing legend, Dame Shirley Bassey is in the hospital recovering from an emergency operation on her stomach. Last week she had called out her doctor in Monaco, where she lives, complaining of abdominal pains. She was rushed to the hospital not long after that. The spokesman of Dame Shirley Bassey says that she is doing well. She is expected to recover in time for her performance at Nelson Mandela’s 90th birthday concert. Which will take place in Hyde Park next month.
This Welsh-born singer has had multiple chart success since the late 1950s. She has also sung the Bond theme tunes for Goldfinger, Diamonds are Forever and Moonmaker. Her last hit was History Repeating, which came out in 1997. She was made a Dame in 1999
Opinion:
It is great that Dame Shirley Bassey is doing well. This Welsh-born singer is one of the greatest artists of all time. It is great to know that she will be with us for a while longer. I just hope that the media will leave her alone now. This woman should get the chance to recover in peace. When the media is following you like a hawk it is hard to recover. She should have the chance to recover quickly because she has to perform at Nelson Mandela’s 90th birthday concert. Nobody deserves this concert more then Nelson Mandela and a performance by Dame Shirley Bassey should be part of that.
Summary:
The 71-year-old singing legend, Dame Shirley Bassey is in the hospital recovering from an emergency operation on her stomach. Last week she had called out her doctor in Monaco, where she lives, complaining of abdominal pains. She was rushed to the hospital not long after that. The spokesman of Dame Shirley Bassey says that she is doing well. She is expected to recover in time for her performance at Nelson Mandela’s 90th birthday concert. Which will take place in Hyde Park next month.
This Welsh-born singer has had multiple chart success since the late 1950s. She has also sung the Bond theme tunes for Goldfinger, Diamonds are Forever and Moonmaker. Her last hit was History Repeating, which came out in 1997. She was made a Dame in 1999
Opinion:
It is great that Dame Shirley Bassey is doing well. This Welsh-born singer is one of the greatest artists of all time. It is great to know that she will be with us for a while longer. I just hope that the media will leave her alone now. This woman should get the chance to recover in peace. When the media is following you like a hawk it is hard to recover. She should have the chance to recover quickly because she has to perform at Nelson Mandela’s 90th birthday concert. Nobody deserves this concert more then Nelson Mandela and a performance by Dame Shirley Bassey should be part of that.
Scarlett's organs remain in India
BBC News
Summary:
The mother of murdered Scarlett Keeling has returned from India to the UK without her daughter’s organs. The Indian government denied the request of Fiona MacKeown to get the organs of her daughter back. Scarlett's uterus, kidneys, stomach and liver where removed during a post-mortem. The 15-year-old girl was found dead on Anjuna beach in February and the police thought that she died from accidental drowning. They found out in a second post-mortem examination, urged on by the mother, that she was raped and killed after taking ecstasy, cocaine and LSD. Mrs. MacKeown has alleged that police officials have covered up evidence to protect the tourism trade and drugs dealers. Two men have been arrested over the death.
Opinion:
I find it ridiculous that the Indian government is not giving Mrs. MacKeown her daughter’s organs back. If they have a good reason to keep the organs, they should tell her why. This mother had gone through enough already. She was the one who had to fight for a second post-mortem because she could not believe that her daughter’s death was an accident. She turned out to be right. It is not fair that even after all of that Mrs. MacKeown now has to fight for the organs of her little girl. She just wants to burry her daughter, all of her.
Summary:
The mother of murdered Scarlett Keeling has returned from India to the UK without her daughter’s organs. The Indian government denied the request of Fiona MacKeown to get the organs of her daughter back. Scarlett's uterus, kidneys, stomach and liver where removed during a post-mortem. The 15-year-old girl was found dead on Anjuna beach in February and the police thought that she died from accidental drowning. They found out in a second post-mortem examination, urged on by the mother, that she was raped and killed after taking ecstasy, cocaine and LSD. Mrs. MacKeown has alleged that police officials have covered up evidence to protect the tourism trade and drugs dealers. Two men have been arrested over the death.
Opinion:
I find it ridiculous that the Indian government is not giving Mrs. MacKeown her daughter’s organs back. If they have a good reason to keep the organs, they should tell her why. This mother had gone through enough already. She was the one who had to fight for a second post-mortem because she could not believe that her daughter’s death was an accident. She turned out to be right. It is not fair that even after all of that Mrs. MacKeown now has to fight for the organs of her little girl. She just wants to burry her daughter, all of her.
Teachers 'need better training'
BBC News
Summary:
English teachers should have more training day’s says the Institute for Public Policy Research. Right now every teacher has to have 5 training days a year. This should be quadrupled to 20 a year. To become a teacher someone only needs one year of training before he or she can start working. Tests show that this is not enough to become a well-trained teacher. A two-year program would be best. This two-year training is equivalent to 20 extra training days a year. These extra training days cost the government £75m a year whereas the extra year of training costs £850m. This makes the extra training days the better option.
The government doesn’t angry with this. They believe that the teachers of today are the best ever. To them more training days is not the answer to the problem. Teachers should be motivated to do there job. Teachers who more bad days then good ones should be removed from their school and go to another one to be retrained. It is all about energizing the people in the profession.
Opinion:
I don’t think that giving the teacher more training days is the answer to the problem. Because of these extra training days the students will have more days off. They are in school to learn and training days should not prevent that from happening. I believe it is true that you should keep your teacher informed. And more training days would help, but 20 days is a little bit too much if you ask me.
Motivation is also a big part of how good a teacher is in front of the classroom. Schools themselves could help to keep their teachers motivated. I think the best way to do so is to keep communicating. If the teachers would all talk to each other and help each other out, the teachers would be more excited to stand in front of the classroom and to teach the students something new.
Summary:
English teachers should have more training day’s says the Institute for Public Policy Research. Right now every teacher has to have 5 training days a year. This should be quadrupled to 20 a year. To become a teacher someone only needs one year of training before he or she can start working. Tests show that this is not enough to become a well-trained teacher. A two-year program would be best. This two-year training is equivalent to 20 extra training days a year. These extra training days cost the government £75m a year whereas the extra year of training costs £850m. This makes the extra training days the better option.
The government doesn’t angry with this. They believe that the teachers of today are the best ever. To them more training days is not the answer to the problem. Teachers should be motivated to do there job. Teachers who more bad days then good ones should be removed from their school and go to another one to be retrained. It is all about energizing the people in the profession.
Opinion:
I don’t think that giving the teacher more training days is the answer to the problem. Because of these extra training days the students will have more days off. They are in school to learn and training days should not prevent that from happening. I believe it is true that you should keep your teacher informed. And more training days would help, but 20 days is a little bit too much if you ask me.
Motivation is also a big part of how good a teacher is in front of the classroom. Schools themselves could help to keep their teachers motivated. I think the best way to do so is to keep communicating. If the teachers would all talk to each other and help each other out, the teachers would be more excited to stand in front of the classroom and to teach the students something new.
Thursday, 8 May 2008
Britain's super rich get richer
The Sun
Summary:
The top 1,000 of the super-rich in the UK added almost £53 billion to their collective wealth last year. Together they now own a fortune of £412.85 billion. That is a 15% increase in the last year. Of all the 1,000 wealth creators in the Sunday Times Rich List there are 762 self-made millionaires. The UK now has about 75 billionaires, 40 of those billionaires arrived from overseas to build their empire in the UK. Those 40 billionaires are one of the biggest reasons why the super-rich became even richer.
Just to be mentioned in the Sunday Times Rich List 2008 you have to have a fortune of at least £80 million instead of the £70 million you needed in the list of 2007. Steel tycoon Lakshimi Mittal leads the list with £27.7 billion and that is £8 billion more than he had the year before. He has been number one on the list for 4 years now.
Opinion:
When I read this article it makes me all warm and fussy inside. It’s just great to know these people, who need the money the most, get what they wanted. I am joking of course, these millionaires just don’t need more money. They have more money then they can ever spent while on the other side of the world their are people dying of hunger and thirst. This still amazes me. I just hope that these so-called billionaires give a lot of money to charity because what is a couple of million more or less to the richest people of the UK.
Summary:
The top 1,000 of the super-rich in the UK added almost £53 billion to their collective wealth last year. Together they now own a fortune of £412.85 billion. That is a 15% increase in the last year. Of all the 1,000 wealth creators in the Sunday Times Rich List there are 762 self-made millionaires. The UK now has about 75 billionaires, 40 of those billionaires arrived from overseas to build their empire in the UK. Those 40 billionaires are one of the biggest reasons why the super-rich became even richer.
Just to be mentioned in the Sunday Times Rich List 2008 you have to have a fortune of at least £80 million instead of the £70 million you needed in the list of 2007. Steel tycoon Lakshimi Mittal leads the list with £27.7 billion and that is £8 billion more than he had the year before. He has been number one on the list for 4 years now.
Opinion:
When I read this article it makes me all warm and fussy inside. It’s just great to know these people, who need the money the most, get what they wanted. I am joking of course, these millionaires just don’t need more money. They have more money then they can ever spent while on the other side of the world their are people dying of hunger and thirst. This still amazes me. I just hope that these so-called billionaires give a lot of money to charity because what is a couple of million more or less to the richest people of the UK.
Thursday, 24 April 2008
English village votes to be Welsh
BBC News
Summary:
The residents of the English village Audlem state that they would prefer their village to be part of Wales. An online poll shows that 63% of the residents are not happy being part of England. The website Audlem online shows that 80 people want to become Welsh and 44 people want things to remain the same. The reason for this is that the prices for parking and prescriptions keep on going up in England whereas the prices in Wales have stayed the same. Audlem is nine miles away from the Werlsh-border and some people who live there say that it has more Welsh-speakers than Newport and Cardiff combined.
My opinion:
Im not in favor of changing Audlem from an English village into a Welsh village. If you allow something like this to happen, the residents that live nine miles further down the road will want to change their village into a Welsh village as well. If you want to profit from lower costs, you should move to Wales. To me this would be like making Venlo part of Belgium so that the residents could profit from the lower petrol prices. It just sounds silly, doesn’t it?
Summary:
The residents of the English village Audlem state that they would prefer their village to be part of Wales. An online poll shows that 63% of the residents are not happy being part of England. The website Audlem online shows that 80 people want to become Welsh and 44 people want things to remain the same. The reason for this is that the prices for parking and prescriptions keep on going up in England whereas the prices in Wales have stayed the same. Audlem is nine miles away from the Werlsh-border and some people who live there say that it has more Welsh-speakers than Newport and Cardiff combined.
My opinion:
Im not in favor of changing Audlem from an English village into a Welsh village. If you allow something like this to happen, the residents that live nine miles further down the road will want to change their village into a Welsh village as well. If you want to profit from lower costs, you should move to Wales. To me this would be like making Venlo part of Belgium so that the residents could profit from the lower petrol prices. It just sounds silly, doesn’t it?
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