The Number of the Best.

Trainspotting and Iron Maiden top Jubilee poll

 by James Hall

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/9293231/Trainspotting-and-Iron-Maiden-top-Jubilee-poll.html

Summary and opinion:

The 1996 film Trainspotting and the 1980’s album The Number of the Beast by Iron Maiden were chosen to be the best cultural high spots of the Queen’s reign. Trainspotting has won from more conventional films like Harry Potter, Four Weddings and a Funeral and The Dambusters.  Iron Maiden’s heavy metal album The Number of the Beast beat great bands such as The Beatles, Revolver, Pink Floyd and Radiohead. These are the results of an online poll held by HMV, were almost 55.000 people voted for their favourite films and albums. HMV said that it is likely that the results of the poll have been influenced by the loyal fans. Apparently the fans have encouraged each other to vote on social media sites because normally the album doesn’t score extremely high in ‘best of’ lists. Iron Maiden singer Charles Dickinson said that he is astonished and delighted to hear that his album has won and he wants to thank the incredibly loyal fans who voted for the band’s album.

In my opinion the film Trainspotting and The Number of the Beast are really nice productions, but certainly not the best cultural high spots of the Queen’s reign. If you held an online survey you must considerate that you have to deal with a certain target group that votes. I think the outcome would probably be very different if the poll was send to home addresses. In that case lot more people would have had the opportunity to vote and you don’t exclude people who don’t use the internet very often or only use it if necessary.

What about the Queen?

Diamond Jubilee comp helps East Enders learn about Queen

By Katherine Sellgren BBC News education reporter

http://www.bbcnews.nl/

Primary school pupils in East London get extra lessons to learn more about the Queen and the history of the Royal Family in Britain. Many primary school children do not understand what the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth stands for. It seems that the pupils know very little about the Queen and what she does and how long she has reigned. This is the reason why several schools in East London participate in special art and poetry competitions in order to encourage their pupils. Already more than 500 pupils produced a poem or a picture about the Queen. The reason for the pupils’ ignorance can be found in the fact that many British school children are born to families with English as a second language and they did not think of the Queen as their Queen. Head teachers believe that this should be changed and therefore organize special classes to teach the children much more about the history of the Royal Family. Another reason that so little pupils are engaged with the Diamond Jubilee is the upcoming Olympic games. London is overwhelmed with Olympic advertising and the Diamond Jubilee is thereby forgotten.

There are two major events happening in Britain this year and they are both very important events for the country. The diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth is the talk of the day for many British people and on the other hand there are the Olympic Games. The Olympics is a very big event and the whole nation is needed in order to succeed. Unfortunately for the Queen her Jubilee is in the same period. Maybe she doesn’t get the attention she would like to have because of the confluence of events. I think it is a good thing to teach the young children the history of their country and the history of the Royal Family. It is your country and therefore important to know the country’s history. When you start teaching at a young age children will benefit the rest of their lives.

Teenager killed by parents

Shafilea Ahmed trial: sister describes seeing parents carry out killing

by Helen Carter.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/may/22/shafilea-ahmed-murder-trial-sister-describes-killing?INTCMP=ILCNETTXT3487

The Pakistan teenager Shafilea Ahmed was killed by her parents on 11 September 2003.These are the words of her younger sister Alesha, who eye witnessed the terrifying scene and now testifies against her parents. She explains to the court what happened on that fateful day. The father and  mother deny murdering their eldest daughter, but according to Alesha they deliberately suffocated their daughter to death in front of their other children. The reason for this “honour” killing was the fact that the parents disagreed with Shafila’s choice of friends and the way she liked to dress. Shafila lived a completely different live at college than she did at home and the fact that she could not keep her western teenage life a secret killed her eventually.

I think it is very sad to see two cultures collide. The Pakistan Muslim culture has very strict rules especially for girls. The English western culture is completely different from the Muslim and I can imagine that teenagers with a different background ,very much like the western way of living and perhaps even prefer it above their own culture. I do not think that is strange. They live in England and not in Pakistan and in England the western culture is  represented everywhere.  This murder would probably not have happened if the family lived in Pakistan, where the Muslim  culture is strongly represented.  Teenagers would not be tempted to wear different clothes because the majority is Muslim and not western and their friend would probably have the same religion. Still I found it very sad to read that two people are capable of killing their own child and have no remorse. If you cannot adjust in a country and live by its’ rules then you should reconsider your choice and maybe go back to where you came from.

girls and sports

Girls put off exercise for life by PE lessons

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/9240134/Girls-put-off-exercise-for-life-by-PE-lessons.html

Many young girls in Britain are put off physical activity by their experiences of school sport and PE lessons. This is the outcome of a study by the Women’s Sport and Fitness Foundation (WSFF). According to the study, one third of the girls say that their PE teacher only pays attention to the best pupils in the group. Girls think sport is too competitive and believe girls who are sporty are not feminine. It is not popular for girls to be sporty and girls do not like to get sweaty. Half of the least active girls do not like the activities they are offered in PE and being self conscious of their body does not help them either, because girls feel like their body is shown during PE. WSFF chief executive Sue Tibballs admits that there is a problem amongst school children being less active, especially for girls. She offers to help head teachers on how to make PE lessons more attractive for female students. She believes schools and government need to acknowledge the problem and they must focus on providing a solid health program at schools.

It is a shame that most girls at English schools do not like the lessons they are offered in PE. How is that possible? I think it is a problem of the teachers and that they need to have a close look on how they operate. It is impossible for teachers not to notice such a development amongst British school children. They must have seen the declining motivation and should have taken some action. Now suddenly it becomes a national problem. I think the competitive nature of most sports is a major culprit. Because of that, sport is no longer fun for a lot of children. Just imagine that you lose all the time, and people react very disappointed. The next time you will have to play the game you are less motivated or even worse you do not want to play the game at all.

War in Afghanistan

British soldiers killed in Taliban mortar attack named

By Sean Rayment, Defence Correspondent

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/9248447/British-soldiers-killed-in-Taliban-mortar-attack-named.html

The war In Afghanistan has claimed two more victims. Two British soldiers, who were attached to the 1st battalion The Royal Welsh Battlegroup, had the duty to clear homemade bombs and make the area district safe for civilians and patrolling troops. Clp Robers and Pte Ratu Silibaravi, both 32 years old, were killed by a Taliban mortar attack. Clp Robers leaves a girlfriend and three children and although they are very sad about this tragic incident, they think of him as a hero and a wonderful person. Both soldiers had served earlier in Afghanistan and Iraq and were well respected by their team. In previous mortar attacks the Taliban has limited success and authorities fear for another launch of the rebels. Since December last year, five British soldiers have been killed in the Afghanistan war. Western leaders prepare for the Nato Chicago conference in May 2012. During this conference, which is hosted by President Obama, western politicians discuss the future military involvements for Afghanistan. The politicians hope to come to an agreement on how much funding the international community will provide for Afghanistan. Britain has already offered to fund an army training academy in Kabul, for at least for years.

I am very sad to hear that again two soldiers were killed in Afghanistan. The war in Afghanistan is a war against terrorism. Terrorism is very frightening and life threatening. Hundreds of people have been killed by terrorist actions and more victims will come. Terrorism is very strong because it is powered and maintained by hatred. Most terrorist attacks we hear from are done by muslim fundamentalists who do not accept the western community. From 1979 till 1989 the Russians fought against the Islamic regime in Afghanistan. Russia saw the Islam as a threat and tried, unsuccessfully, for ten years to conquer the land. The Islam was funded by the VS and Saoudi Arabia and provided money and weapons to fight against the Communist Russians during the cold war. The irony of the current situation in Afghanistan is that the U.S. is fighting against forces they have created themselves in the first place. I really hope that the war between the Islam and the rest of the world will soothe and that everybody will have mutual respect for their ideas and religions.

Cannabis, a low risk business

Cannabis production booming in Britain, say police                                                                        (by Alan Travis)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/apr/30/cannabis-production-booming-britain-police

According to chief constables’ report, clandestine cannabis factories flourish in Britain. There have been found more than twice as many secret cannabis factories as four years ago. Organized crime groups are really into the illicit cannabis production because they see it as a low risk and highly profitable business. The recession also has a huge impact on the household budgets and has made the home-grow cannabis production more attractive than before. Cannabis used to be an import product, but a survey published by the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo), shows that the majority of the cannabis used in Britain is now home-grown rather than imported. Although there is a raise in illicit cannabis production, police do not see it as a priority to dismantle cannabis factories. The main concern for police forces is to tackle the supply of class A drugs such as heroin and cocaine. Cannabis or A class drugs, they all continue to pose a huge risk for the UK and organized crime groups become more and more involved in this area of criminality. Police forces are determined to disrupt the criminal networks and by doing so reduce the harm caused by drugs.

Organized crime groups see the cannabis production as a low risk business. If you get caught the penalty is not extremely high. You get a fine and a “serious” warning and the next day you are out on the streets again. That is a joke. As long as cannabis is treated as soft drugs the problems do not disappear but become bigger every day. We have seen it in the Netherlands, where school children start smoking weed in their lunch time, because the coffee shop which provides the cannabis, is around the corner. I think the government better maintain a strict policy that frightens criminals and start treating cannabis as a serious matter same as the class A drugs.

stroke survivors abandoned

Stroke survivors 'being denied best recovery chance'
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-17893433

Stroke survivors often need rehabilitation exercises after leaving hospital. In England many stroke survivors tell they feel abandoned after they got home from the hospital and feel they did not get the right care they needed. At the hospital patients receive the best medical care and over the years emergency hospital services have improved. Nowadays many people survive a strike, but a lot of them live with moderate or severe disabilities afterwards and are sent home without medical care. Phil Gray, chief executive of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy agreed that there is a major problem in post hospital care and that the lack of investments has led to the absence of services all over the UK.

It is unbelievable that the medical staff is allowed to send someone home without any form of evaluation or post medical care. It is like they are saying: We did our job, you are still alive, you did not die so grab your stuff and please make room for the next patient in line. If you had a stroke some brain functions have ceased to function and you will have to learn all sorts of body movements all over again. You need not be a specialist to see that help is necessary to recover.

(photograph: Alamy)