14: Just one criminal jailed for every 93 crimes

Figures showed just one criminal is jailed for every 93 offences committed. A total of 101,500 offenders who were convicted last year were given an immediate custodial sentence (representing less than eight per cent of all those sentenced, according to the Ministry of Justice). The annual criminal justice statistics also revealed that the proportion of serial offenders has risen sharply in the last decade. Offenders with at least 15 previous convictions to their name now make up 29 per cent of those convicted in the crown courts, compared to just 17 per cent in 2000. Jonathan Djanogly, the justice minister, said: “These statistics show that the number of criminals committing multiple crimes has risen dramatically over the last decade.

I agree with Jonathan Djanogly; the statistics show some really shocking information. The fact that people got killed every day makes the world having a "dark side". I think the justice system can be much more strict; it seemed to be not strict enough because bad things still happen too many times. That is why I agree with the quote in the article: “Prisons must become places of hard work and sentences must be designed to properly tackle the root causes of crime, such as drug and alcohol misuse or mental illness.”

Source: The Telegraph

13: Woman who strangled autistic son is cleared of murder

A woman, Yvonne Freaney (49), has been cleared of murder after strangling her autistic son with a belt and then attempting to take her own life. She will instead be sentenced for manslaughter. After strangling her son, Yvonne left a note for one of her three other children, who also have disabilities, saying: "You may not understand what has happened but just think of it as I am finally getting rest." It was very hard for Yvonne to take care of her son as a real mother. By the age of 11 her autistic son was not toilet trained and still wore nappies. Yvonne faced a murder charge but was cleared by a jury at Cardiff crown court after a day of deliberation. Freaney had admitted a charge of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

This is a very tragical case. I feel very sorry for both the mother and the autistic son, they both do not deserve to die. It must be very hard for a mother to take care of an intensively autistic son, but I do not get why she searched for professional help instead. An autistic son will change your life entirely, but I do not think this is the way it should end up. Yvonne should have looked for professional help in stead of killing her son.

Source: Guardian

12: 'Washing machines live just as long without Calgon' – Which?

Washing machines don't necessarily live longer with Calgon, consumer organisation Which? shows. They simulated three years' worth of washing and found no evidence that using Calgon extended the life of the washing machine in "normal" washing conditions. Using Calgon does not extend the life of a standard washing machine at all. Calgon commented on the report: "We were both surprised and disappointed to see the comments in the recent Which? report on washing machines regarding the use of water softeners such as Calgon. We found the report to be highly misleading."

Extending the lifetime of your washing machine is nonsense. You would probably have to hire a mechanic to do this. Simple tablets do not have any influence on this at all. Calgon just used this slogan to be attractive. They seem to succeed with this, since Calgon is a very popular brand. Although, I think this has not very much to do with the actual quality of the products. Calgon is popular and therefore a lot of people use it. A lot of slogans are misleading and I do not think it is needed to find out whether they are exactly true or not. It is an interesting article, though.

Source: Guardian

11: Teacher who told pupil ‘you’ve got a face like a baboon's arse' is allowed to keep his job

A science teacher who told a pupil he had a 'face like a baboon's arse' and pulled a girl's hair while calling her a dog has avoided a ban from the classroom. The teacher, called Trevor Goode, was also found guilty of 'unacceptable professional misconduct'. But he avoided a suspension or ban from teaching and was instead told to go on an anger management course by members of the General Teaching Council's Professional Conduct Committee. Rather than impose a teaching ban on Mr Goode the committee imposed a Conditional Registration Order that states he must within six months attend an approved course for personal behaviour management, including classroom communication skills.

I think it is crazy that this man can keep his job. I think he should be banned from the classroom for at least a few months. This man is simply not someone who should come along with children. He should first learn to behave properly in front of class. The course he has to do is a good idea; this way he will learn how to be a better teacher. I ask myself with what kind of intention this man behaved like this. Was it just to make a joke or are there any serious problems inside his head?

Source: Mail Online

10: Shotgun murderer given four life sentences

John Cooper found guilty of four killings in 1980s rural west Wales. He has been given four life sentences for four shotgun murders. The murderer, called John Cooper, was convicted of killing holidaymakers Peter and Gwenda Dixon as they walked the coastal path in Pembrokeshire in 1989. John Cooper, who was described as a "cold and calculating" killer, also murdered millionaire farmer Richard Thomas and his sister, Helen, in 1985. He was also found guilty of several sex attacks on teenagers. He also sexually assaulted a woman called Mrs Dixon and forced marketing manager Mr Dixon to reveal his bank card pin. During the review, traces of blood were found on Cooper his clothes.

This man is sick. He really is. In the article is said John Cooper had hedgerows as "safes" to hide the valuables he stole and cut escape routes through fences and fields. I never understand how men like this can have a husband. How can a woman ever like such a depraved and bad guy? I am glad John Cooper is in prison now. This is typically someone who definitely does not deserve to be a part of this world. Unfortunately, there are still too many bad people walking on earth nowadays. Oh, by the way, John Cooper is the man on the right side of the picture.

Source: Guardian

9: Alcohol-related hospital admissions at record high

NHS figures show alcohol-related admissions to hospitals in England have topped one million in a year for the first time. It even doubled in less than a decade! Men comprised nearly two-thirds of admissions (63%), which rose by 12% between 2008/9 and 2009/10, according to statistics in a report by the NHS Information Centre. The admissions include some serious problems like heart diseases, mental health problems and even cancers. The charity Alcohol Concern called the figures "deeply worrying but not at all surprising". They also say alcohol is one of the biggest public health problems facing the country yet. Sadly, this government is showing no commitment to dealing with the problem.

I think it is a shame that the amount of problems related to alcohol is this big. People should really be aware of what they are doing and know their limits. Alcohol can have some serious consequences and I think people in the UK are not aware of that. The charity Alcohol Concern says the government is not doing anything about this. When it comes to alcohol, I always know my limits and I know I have to be aware of the dangers it can cause.

Source: Guardian

8: Heinz left playing tomato catch-up after ketchup tasting trouncing

In a blind tasting of 13 ketchups, carried out by the consumer group, Heinz failed to make it into the top 10. It finished second from bottom, along with Aldi. Overall, the top-scoring "best brand" was Sainsbury's own-brand tomato ketchup, which was singled out for its "rich tomato taste, with a nice thickness to the sauce". M&S and Tesco own-brand ketchups came joint second. Heinz scored just two out of five for taste, with many tasters describing its flavour as "artificial" and '"synthetic", and claiming it had a "bitter" and "vinegary" taste. Also, the prices of Heinz products are way higher. Heinz cost almost twice as much as the top-scoring Sainsbury's product (£1.75 for a 460g bottle compared with 95p for a 485g bottle).

I have always thought Heinz is, like, the best brand in ketchup products. This research provided information which showed the opposite. People in the UK (and probably in various other countries) only buy Heinz because of its famous name. It does not really matter what it tastes like, the brand is famous so a lot of people buy it. Personally, I do not really taste any differences in kinds of ketchup. It all tastes the same to me, so whether I buy Heinz or not, I would not really taste any great differences. Ketchup is ketchup.

Source: Guardian

7: Detective warns over Twitter rumours

Michael Tucker, 50, was jailed for 26 years at Norwich Crown Court for murdering his partner, Rebecca Thorpe, 28, and hiding her body in a freezer. The murder happened in the village of Snettisham and during the actual investigation there was widespread speculation on Twitter about the circumstances of the killing. Detective Chief Inspector Jes Fry, from Norfolk Police, said the investigation had been a "complex one" which was complicated by the use of social media. A lot of misinformation was provided by many Twitter users, what made it difficult for Mr Fry to differentiate facts from untrue things. "I understand that it is human nature to discuss these things online. I would just ask that people think twice about what they actually know and what is speculation", he said.

Twitter is one of the fastest and most used online social networks. People find it interesting and entertaining because it provides you an overview of what your friends are doing at a particular time. The disadvantage of Twitter is the fact that everyone in the world can read your updates (unless you protect protect your tweets, which only 10% of the users actually does). People should not use Twitter for personal or private cases because it can have some serious consequences. I use Twitter myself, as you can see on the right side of this blog, but I will never use it for such things.

Source: The Independent

6: Marmite made illegal in Denmark

Danes will no longer get the chance to make up their own minds on Marmite after the British delicacy was banned under food safety laws. Many well known breakfast cereal and drink brands have already been banned or taken off supermarket shelves after Danish legislation in 2004 restricted foods fortified with extra vitamins or minerals. Marianne Ørum, a Danish shop owner, said Marmite was one of their best selling products. She thinks it's a shame Marmite is banned from Danmark. "They don't like it because it's foreign," she said.

I think it is ridiculous to ban a particular product from a country. Marmite does not harm anyone or anything, it simply is a normal product and Danmark does not like it because it is foreign? That is crazy. In the article is also said that the expert for the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration can not comment on the Marmite case because he is away until Thursday. I have not eaten Marmite since a long time, but from what I remember, it tastes really well. It is very salt and you can keep it like five years in your fridge.

Source: Telegraph

5: Are you happy? The OECD wants to know

A new method of measuring progress that goes beyond the calculation of national output is launched. Because the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development celebrates its 50th anniversary, they offer the public the chance to use an online tool to judge overall standards of living in its 34 member countries. The Better Life index uses 11 separate measures – housing, income, jobs, community, education, environment, governance, health, life satisfaction, safety and work-life balance. Users of the site will be able to weight each of the 11 categories to reflect their own priorities. Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the Nordic countries scored best if every measure was considered equally important.

Interesting method to measure whether people are happy or not. I think a lot of the outcoming results have to do with the economical crisis, even though this has been a problem for a few years now. The categories in the test are well chosen, in my opinion. Life features all of those aspects, and therefore it will be representative test for the happiness of societies. I can't think of testimony why Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Nordic countries scored best. It might have something to do with climate?

Source: Guardian

4: British girls ‘biggest teenage binge drinkers in the world’

According to a report, British girls are the biggest teenage binge drinkers in the western world. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) figures were published in “Through the Looking Glass”. These results came from a poll for British females aged sixteen to nineteen. It found 84% were anxious about being able to secure the job they wanted in the future, with 81% worried about doing well in exams. Among respondents 16% were not very happy, while 64% were quite happy most of the time and 17% felt very happy. The poll results also feature topics like money, the future, love and education. Click on the link below if you are interested in those results.

I think the alcohol results are very shocking. I wonder if the British girls are actually aware of the dangers of alcohol. The reason I chose this article is because our research project in Scotland for UKOK! will be about alcohol and youth as well. It would be very interesting to feature this article in our project. The other results don’t really surprise me; these are just more or less the same as in the Netherlands.

Source: Guardian

3: Mail Online becomes world's second most popular newspaper site

Mail Online, an online news website, has overtaken the Huffington Post to become the second most popular news website. These results are according to new figures from metrics firm comScore. There are a few reasons why the popularity of Mail Online has grown exponentially. The main reason is because the front page of the website is very showbiz-laden. People seem to find this attracting, so that is one reason for its popularity. The second reason why Mail Online became more popular is because they have been focusing a lot more on news from the United States.

Personally, I actually never read news online. You will never see me going to an online news website for my daily dose of news. I think online news websites are good for society, because lately probably everyone in the world browses on the internet daily. Slowly we get rid of news on paper and start using the internet as our news source. The website Mail Online is indeed very popular because of its catching front page loaded with show news. A good way to improve your popularity, but on the other hand I think it will make your website more informal.

Source: Guardian

2: Number of motorists caught by speed cameras plummets

The number of motorists caught by speed cameras fell below a million for the first time in almost a decade. Figures have shown that 935,000 motorists were caught driving too fast by camera in 2009. 2009 is the latest year for which figures are available. Robert Grifford, executive director of the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety, said he doesn’t have one right answer for this result. Questions remain, he said. “Are people becoming more compliant? Do they merely slow down for the camera? Has the emphasis on educational alternatives encouraged people to obey the law? Whichever of these is the answer, it is good to see fewer people issued with speeding tickets.”

The fact that people are more aware of the dangers of driving too fast is a good thing, I think. These results show that “the educational alternatives” do work and have effect on the motorists. Being a motorist can be very dangerous and therefore it’s important to take the rules into account. Hopefully the number of car drivers driving too fast will plummet as well, in the future.

Source: Telegraph

1: Two arrested over Edmonton schoolboy stabbing

Two young boys (16 and 14 years old) have been arrested on suspicion of the murder of a 15-year-old who was killed while “selflessly protecting” his young brother. The arrested boys still remain in police custody. The 15-year-old, Negus McClean died from a stab wound to the heart after being attacked in Edmonton (north London). Negus would have celebrated his 16th birthday later this month. Unfortunately, there is still no concrete evidence about the murder. Now, detectives are still investigating and hope especially people who were involved in the murder will provide them information to find out more about the case.

It seems murderers get younger by the day, which is a very bad case, I think. I actually can’t believe a boy who is just as old as my brother was killed by someone of his own age. Strange things happen lately and I’m glad I have never been involved in such horrible incidents. The fact that Negus was just about celebrating his 16th birthday is very sad, and therefore I feel really sorry for his parents and his other relatives.

Source: Guardian

Hm!

This isn't a very interesting message, is it?