February 2009 - Posts
David Cameron is taking two weeks' compassionate leave after
the death of his six-year-old son, Ivan. It is the very least he will need. Read More...
The teenage pregnancy figures are out today and show a rise
for the first time since 2002 . Read More...
Education, education, education. But not of the religious
kind, please. And especially not collective worship, also known as assembly. Read More...
Prejudice against disabled people is seldom "up there" with
race and gender bias but the case of Cerrie Burnell shows that it should be. Read More...
Debbie Purdy is satisfied that the court system has done all
it can to answer her call for clarification on the law regarding assisted suicide. Read More...
Barely a month goes by without yet another pessimistic
statement on child poverty. Read More...
The recent publicity given to the health-related battles
being fought by Terry Pratchett, John Suchet and Jade Goody is forcing me to
revise my generally negative stance on celebrity culture. Read More...
The first few frames of the TV advert launched this week to
warn about the dangers of cannabis use made me wonder whether it would be worth finding a dealer and having a few puffs myself. Read More...
Which planet is Iain Duncan Smith on? Abregado-rae ,
apparently. Read More...
A series of UK Border Agency raids on restaurants run by
people from ethnic minorities is bringing into sharp relief both the problems
faced by many asylum seekers and the faults in the asylum system. Read More...
For those of us who are concerned about the destruction of
the natural world, the plan to turn the Chagos Islands into a marine reserve on
the scale of Australia's Great Barrier Reef is an exciting one. Read More...
If a social worker came out with the insults uttered by
Jeremy Clarkson and Carol Thatcher last week or a remark similar to that
allegedly made by a diplomat this week, they would be out of the door quicker
than a Chelsea football manager. Read More....
One subject that seems to stir more passion than most is the
rights and wrongs of smoking. Separate debates on Community Care's CareSpace
discussion forum and The Guardian's Joe Public website bear this out. Read More...
If the point of A Good Childhood was to maintain the profile
of The Children's Society and provide the charity with some positive publicity,
it worked. Read More...
There was a certain paradox in David Cameron's choice of
word that sits at the heart of his poverty battleplan. Read More...