Multimillion-pound Barracks Claim

Summary:
The property developer Christian Candy came out of high court with a lost case on his multimillion-pound claim over the Chelsea Barracks development in London. The judge found Mr Candy’s Qatari partners in the project violated the terms of their agreement by withdrawing the planning permission after the intervention of the Prince of Wales. He also said that Mr Candy’s company, CPC Group, was not entitled to the early payment of 68,5 million under the terms of the contract. The issue will be considered if CPC seeks damages for the breach of contract.

Opinion:
I think that the judge has a point in this case, since contracts are not made for nothing. However, if a company breaks a contract there should be some form of compensation. I think that big companies are getting way too much freedom already and should be more regulated by rules through government. The power that these multimillion-pound companies have is just too much. So in this case I do think that Mr Candy deserves to get his money. Since his partners have violated their contract.

Article:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/no-payout-for-property-developer-despite-court-ruling-2010291.html

Cuts Social Sector

Summary:
A co-ordinated strike is a possible threat due to the government treating public sector workers as “devils”. This is a result in cuts being made in their budgets. A two-year public sector pay freeze for six million workers and a thirty-two billion cut in the welfare sector. If the workers have confidence and work together, anything is possible. The biggest support for the strike comes from the private sector, from British Airways cabin crew to fuel truck drivers. All unions should work together to oppose the cuts.

Opinion:
I think it is great that people stand up for themselves when they feel that their government does them wrong. Especially the social sector which is, in my eyes, more focused on helping people then it is on earning money. Cuts should not be made in this sector, you can get more money from the bigger and richer companies anyway, so why not make cuts on them? I think this has to do with the general influence and power these big companies have due to their access to vast sums of money. I sincerely hope that it will not have to come to a strike, but if it does go that far, the government got what they deserved.

Article:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/jun/25/strike-threat-public-sector-fury

Global Economy Talks

Summary:
David Cameron tried to warn other world leaders to reduce the amount of global financial meetings they have due to the fact that these are overly expensive. Cameron did this when he prepared to attend his first summit in Canada. In a Canadian article, Cameron said that even though he is new to summits, he remains sceptical about them. Since somehow things have not really advanced when there’s a new summit the next year. Cameron said that unlike Gordon Brown, he is focused on a small amount of key priorities and will keep falling back to these year in year out.

Opinion:
I think that David Cameron has the correct view on these summits after I read the article. Even though he will keep going each year, which means it will still be a waste of money. I think they will have to make sure that they actually make plans and do something with them, instead of just drinking a way to expensive cup of coffee with each other and generally do nothing. I do think that it is important that countries work together to solve the recent problems with the global economy. After all, we all live on this world together.

Article:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/jun/25/david-cameron-global-recovery-g8-g20-summit

Free Food For Pupils

Summary:
Healthy school meals are barely affordable for poor working parents. Critics have asked the government to change their mind about free school meals. Some of the parents are so tight on money that their children have to take turns in getting a nutritious lunch from school. Labour wanted to give free school meals for every pupil below the poverty line. Another problem that connects with this one is that a lot of the school do not even serve healthy meals yet. Campaigners say that giving free school lunches to all primary school pupils living below the poverty line, would lift fifty thousand children out of poverty.

Opinion:
I think it would be great if pupils, although not just the poor, are able to get free healthy school lunches in primary school. The fact that a lot of the people are not eating healthy food is quite a big problem these days. Because in some cases this may lead to obesity and premature deaths. So I think that stimulating people, especially kids, will greatly improve the general health of the public. On the other side, it’s still the parents responsibility to take care of their children and somehow save up for money for proper food for their kids.

Article:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2010/jun/25/poor-children-need-free-meals

Whale Wars The Sequel

Article:
The attempt to scrap the international moratorium on commercial whaling collapsed. This to the delight of anti-whaling campaigners. Japan, Norway and Iceland are not too happy with this decision and they continue their whaling activities ignoring world opinion. Speakers from the 88 member states of the International Whaling Commission, who met in Agadir, Morocco, were not able to come to an agreement. They had been talking for two days about the three-year-old proposal to abandon the official whaling ban and allow them to get smaller and agreed kills. The issue will not be discussed for at least a year now.

Opinion:
I think that this conversation of delegates has led to nothing at all. Letting this rule pass or not does not make the slightest difference in my eyes. Japan, Norway and Iceland will continue whaling anyways. For some reason, I can’t really blame them. As it is as much a part of their as windmills are of ours. Who are we to say what they can and cannot do? This does not mean that I approve of whaling however, especially since I feel that we should prevent whole species from becoming extinct, unless this happens in a natural way. I believe that the extinction of wildlife will eventually lead to the extinction of mankind.

Article:
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/victory-for-antiwhaling-campaigners-2008900.html

Pull The Brake On Private Health Screenings

Summary:
Present day Doctor’s leaders demand restrains on the rapid growth in private screening clinics offering services costing more than £1.000. They feel that patients are being exploited due to “irresponsible” marketing of health screenings. The British Medical Association and the Academy of Royal Medical Colleges wrote a letter to health secretary Andrew Lansely explaining some of the downsides. There are significant risks with direct-to-consumer tests. Private companies ignore these risks and are only highlighting the benefits of such screenings. A lot of these tests are also inaccurate, which either falsely reassures people or depresses them because the screening resulted in a disease. Meldrum and Douglas ask the government to introduce tougher regulations on the marketing private screening tests to make sure it is factual and balanced.

Opinion:
I think it is a good thing to regulate the marketing on private screenings because a lot of people are just being scammed through these. I feel that if you really want to find out if you are sick, you are either already showing some pretty obvious symptoms or you should just go to the hospital and ask if they can check you. I think that the risk of just losing your money while not getting anything in return is far too high. So making sure the rules on private screenings are firm enough is in my eyes a great solution to this problem.

Article:
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/the-1631000-body-scans-that-ought-to-come-with-a-health-warning-2008808.html

Child Protection System Overhauled

Summary:
A big review of the child protection system will allow social workers to better create a relationship with vulnerable families. Children’s minister Tim Loughton, would be happy if social policy expert Professor Eileen Munro’s inquiry recommended removing a lot of the rules. SCRs (Serious Case Reviews) hidden by Labour will be made public. All future SCRs will be published so social workers are able to learn from previous mistakes of others. This is all meant to restore public confidence in the system. It will make sure that the social workers can actually keep an eye on vulnerable families instead of being shackled to their computers.

Opinion:
I think it is a good thing to make social workers less bound to rules and to make them able to keep an eye out on vulnerable families more. This because in my opinion, a lot of problems can be prevented if social workers have access to Serious Case Reviews. Crimes involving children are just absolutely hideous and anything that can be done against them, should be done against them. Reducing the chance these things happen by improving social help will be a great step in the right direction. Less rules (to a degree) will make it easier for social workers to actually do their job.

Article:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/jun/10/review-child-protection

Trick or Treat Police Policies (Speakers' Corner)

Summary:
Stop and search techniques are use by the police as a counter-terrorist measure. However, under the last government, stop and search techniques have been used unlawfully in many cases. Ten years ago, the government had introduced this law and they had been severely abused without type of interference from the government. This is why this law should be changed in such a way that the public can regain their trust for the government. Only if the public agrees with the anti-terrorism powers and if everyone works together, terrorism can be stopped.

Opinion:
I think this is a great thing to do. As I do not agree with stop and search policies at all. In my eyes it is just a step too far in anti-terrorism measurements, especially if they are abused by the police. This means they can just walk over to you and empty your pockets, without you having any intention to do harm. I think the whole commotion about terrorism is a bit over the top anyways. I feel that spreading panic throughout a community is never a good idea. So sharpening or getting rid of the stop and search powers of the police would be a great way to regain public trust on that matter.

Article:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/libertycentral/2010/jun/10/stop-and-search-powers-abuse

Gypsy and Hobo Injustice

Summary:
Cuts are being made for the most deprived and minor ethnic groups in the UK, the gypsies and the travellers. No more money will be put into sites for gypsies and travellers to live starting next year. This will end in more unauthorized gypsy camps and more conflict within the community as well as higher taxes for local council tax payers. There are currently 3729 gypsy caravans on unauthorized soil within the UK. It is estimated that if the government allocates one square mile of land to gypsy sites, every gypsy and traveller can be legally accommodated. So the government is called upon to think again about their policies and stick to fair, progressive programmes based on civil liberties.

Opinion:
I think that the UK government should indeed think again about their policies since making cuts on the lower class people is never a good idea in my eyes. These people cannot afford to get any less than they already have. Next to that, everyone deserves a place to live peacefully, even gypsies. The gypsies will have to keep everything clean and civilised however, since they will not be the only people living in that vicinity then. Everyone should be able to live together, looking at humanity in general, this will probably stay a dream until the end of times.

Article:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/jun/04/equality-liberal-conservative-coalition

Whale Wars

Summary:
After Peter Bethune was arrested at sea and taken to Tokyo in handcuffs, people see him as a controversial hero in the environmental movement. Peter was arrested for trying to stop Japan's annual whale cull. He is on trial for boarding a whaling ship and attacking a crew member and now faces a possible fifteen years in jail. Japanese nationalists now call him an eco-terrorist. Peter is accused of throwing a certain type of acid and injuring a member of the crew of the Shonan Maru No 2. Peter says this is a lie. Australia and New Zealand are now close to taking Japan to the International Court in The Hague.

Opinion:
I think that the whaling of Japan is somewhat like a double-edged sword. Since most people know it is ecologically a bad thing to do. But who are we to say what a country may or may not do. The rather aggressive means of behaviour of known anti-whaling groups might be occasionally effective, but do not justify the means in my eyes. Even though I feel that Japan should stop commercial whaling, even though they say they don’t, I think that groups like the Sea Shepherd are morally on the same level as the Japanese are. The crews of those boats are just doing their jobs to support their families and know no better.

Article:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/case-against-me-is-all-lies-says-whaling-activist-on-trial-in-japan-1991022.html

'Quicky' Gone Bad. Police Sergeant Fired.

Summary:
A police sergeant has be fired after he let junior staff members go home early so he could have sex with a female colleague from the office. This was on the fifth of August last year. The sergeant had made sure that he was alone in the building with his female civilian colleague and raped her. Afterwards, this colleague complained to have been raped at a police building in Islington, north London. The sergeant was arrested by people investigating the crime. Even though everything was filed, no charges were brought. The offices in question has been dismissed immediately after a disciplinary hearing.

Opinion:
If it truly was rape, I think that charges would have been made since it is quite a severe crime. I do not understand how people are actually able to do such a thing, I do however feel that these people do not belong at a police station. Well, they do belong there, as long as they are locked up behind bars. I think that the police should improve their screenings for new police school attendants so that things like this are less likely to happen. However, since no charges were brought, I remain skeptical about this story.

Article:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/police-officer-sacked-after-rape-complaint-1991564.html

To Mars and back without leaving.

Summary:
A 'five hundred and twenty day' mission to Mars started on Thursday the third. This mission however will not take place in space, but in a capsule that simulates the conditions of a mission to Mars. Six carefully selected, would-be astronaut multinationals entered the capsule at lunchtime on Thursday the third and will stay in it for seventeen months. A real manned mission to Mars is not to be expected for two more decades. Scientists say that this experiment will help to understand how people react when they are completely isolated for such a long period of time. No luxuries and no contact with the outside world will be made other than e-mails with a constantly increased delay.

Opinion:
I think such a mission is both useful and useless at the same time. Researching how people react to isolation on such a scale can, in my opinion, be tested way cheaper than this will probably cost. The conditions the ‘astronauts’ will be in will change this slightly though, since it’s not just a normal isolation, but an isolation in a mock-spaceship. It will also be useful for when the actual manned mission to Mars will be launched. Since I guess that they will simulate everything that has to do with such an actual mission quite perfectly. I hope they will get the results that they are looking for.

Article:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/the-mission-to-mars-that-will-never-leave-earth-1991020.html

Crime rates lowered than when Labour came to power in 1997

Article:http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article7104788.ece

Summary:
Last year, fewer crimes were comitted in England and Wales. There have been less burglaries, robberies and vehicle thefts. Crime rates have dropped by 7% since the start of the year till December. A crime wave due to the recession was predicted but has not happened so far. This drop in crimes has been confirmed by the British police and the British Crime Survey. This drop in crime came combined with a drop in knife and gun crimes. As well as a 21% drop in fatal stabbings. The largest drop was in car crimes. The risks of being a victim of crimes is now the lowest in 30 years, 22%.

Opinion:
A drop in crime rates is always a good thing. Especially the fact that fatal stabbings have dropped is just splendid. Why people even want to stab someone to death is beyond me, the less the better. I do not think this has a lot to do with any political party ruling a country though. As long as there is law enforcement, crime will be monitored and dealt with. Also the fact that the chance of being a victim of crime is now at the lowest in 30 years feels good to me. Even though I still think that 22% is an awful lot.

Nick Clegg scores! 1 - 0 - 0

Summary
In the United Kingdom, the first political debate on TV has been held. Representatives of three of the parties were present. Nick Clegg (Liberal Democrats), Gordon Brown (Prime Minister, Labour Party) and David Cameron (Conservative Party). They went into a heated discussion about multiple subjects at hand in the United Kingdom at this moment. Nick Clegg won the discussion if it came to voters with 61 percent of the viewers votes’ which is a staggering victory over the others, especially since the Liberal Democrats are more or less the outsiders within the United Kingdom Government. Nick Clegg represented himself as an alternative compared to the other two and proved himself to be so.

Opinion
I think it is pretty unusual for the Liberal Democrats to actually win this open debate. It will probably mean that if they are chosen to lead the United Kingdom, dramatic changes will be made. After reading the article and watching the debate I feel that Brown and Cameron were more or less just trying to promote their party instead of debating with each other. They also appeared to be trying to take each other down instead of discussing which I think is pretty childish. After this debate, I feel that Clegg had the right to win.


Article:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article7099159.ece

Video:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/election_2010/8624100.stm