Posts Tagged UK news

Work till you drop… it’ll stave off Alzheimer’s!

Histopathogic image of senile plaques seen in ...
Image via Wikipedia

Well, well. First we get this reminder from the Telegraph (reminding us of who is really working for whom) and then barely two weeks later, this from the BBC:

Keeping the brain active by working later in life may be an effective way to ward off Alzheimer’s disease, research suggests.

There’s a silver lining to every cloud, and the populace must be told about it.

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Tags: , , , ,

Sign along the dotted line and work for 50 year

Hey-ho.

Britons will have to work until the age of 70, at least five years beyond the current retirement age, if the Government is to stand any hope of bringing public debt under control over the next decade, a report claims.

What if folks decided they didn’t care about bringing public debt under control? What if folks decide they don’t want to work till they’re 70? How long will folks be allowed to decide when they will and won’t work? This article shows clearly who is working for whom.

The Telegraph article has a couple of interesting maps: the UK unemployment map and the UK job losses since Oct 08 map.

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Tags: , ,

Sex education in UK schools… and sex on the beach in Dubai

(Cartoon by mac at the UK’s (Daily) Mail Online, from Google Images ).

The recent announcement from the British government that “lessons about personal, social and health matters including sex and relationships will be compulsory in all England’s schools from ages five to 16”, which I blogged about yesterday, has created many ripples. Here’s an article today on the School Gate blog: it focusses on how this difficult subject will be taught, and by whom, pointing out that there are not enough, trained and competent teachers. A  couple of comments wonder how this was taught at Hogwarts (perhaps Severus Snape just popped in a video?)

AlphaMummy also discusses the issue, but merely points out how important this kind of education is, without asking why the government is getting involved in this and whether that is a good thing or not.

The comments list is very long, but almost all of them miss the point. The point is not whether sex education is good or bad, but who has the right to decide, and whether that person or group then has the right to decide for others and force them to accept it. Is this freedom or statism?

Out of the great many comments, I only came across one that said “This isn’t for the government or schools to decide – THE PARENT DECIDES! Each child is different, some may need the discussion earlier than others and vice versa. I’m fed up with the government – they can’t get right the tasks they are hired to handle, and butt in on the tasks they have no right to!!!!!!!!!” Interestingly, the commenter is name “Yank”; Americans were amongst the first to state the individual is sovereign and no-one has the right to force anyone to do something.

Sex is also in the headlines (the media must just be loving this) because of a British couple who were caught in Dubai having sex on the beach, and whose trial has just finished. Here’s a Time columnist’s view: they got what they deserved, and brought shame on Britain, the filthy perverts! The comments are fun.

Tags: , ,