If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
My point is, if our schools are to remain more than institutions of academia, if we want them to remain the backbone of our communities and a moral compass as well as an educational one, then we need to open up our schools to the support and involvement of local communities and organizations looking to do just that.
A while ago, the French magazine Closer sparked a fierce debate by publishing controversial images of Kate Middleton. This entire controversy does bring up some interesting questions. Where do we draw the line between freedom of press and the right to privacy?
The longer it takes for Wikipedia volunteers to spot this, the more opportunity marketers will have for creating loops and false verifications. History won't be re-written, it'll be lied into existence.
Some people say Britain is a responsible, tolerant country, proud of its multicultural heritage. I don't see it. I see the national press and an alarming amount of people willing to demonize the faith of 1.4 billion people because of the actions of a very small minority.
Of course, the country must be eternally vigilant against crimes against minorities, especially acts of reprisal and retaliation. As I've argued elsewhere, there is a real threat of Islamists and far-right activists feeding a cycle of mutually reinforcing violence. But it would be terrible to allow extremists to portray the UK as an anti-Islamic country, feeding the 'us and them' narrative. It is simply not the case. It is equally true that groups like the EDL need to know the feeling is mutual: surveys have found British Muslims are the most patriotic group in the UK.
It's estimated that around three in four convicted offenders use indecent images of children to stimulate themselves sexually, to lower the inhibitions of their victims or to teach the child to copy the activity in real-life situations. So what can be done?
We all know crime doesn't pay, but we increasingly expect it to pay back. Of course the true cost of crime isn't financial: it's the pain and misery caused to innocent victims and communities. Yet at the moment criminals contribute less than one pound in every six to supporting victims. This balance is utterly wrong and it needs to change now.
In November 2012, BBC's "Newsnight" broadcast a report making serious allegations against 'a leading Conservative politician from the Thatcher years'. A frenzy of speculation followed on social media sites, with Mrs Bercow tweeting to her 56,400 followers: Why is Lord McAlpine trending? *Innocent face*. Lord McAlpine commenced libel action claiming damages over the Tweet.
Though the illicit wildlife trade is nowhere near as large and lucrative as drugs or arms, it is there: The fact that people don't feel the need to resort as much to the Dark Web to sell ivory suggests that too many loopholes in the law around wildlife trade are allowing people to disguise illegal products as though they are perfectly legal.
Plenty of things have changed over the last 50 years but there are always constants, things that will survive for good or bad. Unfortunately, one of t...
In an outpouring of support, millions of dollars have been raised to help support victims of the Boston marathon attacks and their families. To date, more than 32 million dollars have been raised from individuals, foundations, and corporations by The One Fund.
The media and government realized that using words like 'terrorism' would only serve Terry's objective of spreading fear. Why on Earth would they want to help a criminal? Why would the government want to spread fear when they were supposed to spread hope and unity?!
The EDL claim that they are "defending" the English. But what does being English, or being British, mean? If you ask me, it is about more than just nationality, it is a state of mind, a state of being. If you believe that you are English, if you think of yourself as British, then as far as I'm concerned that's all you need.
This week Fair Trials has called on Interpol to stop its networks being used to pursue Petr Silaev. But this alone is not enough. Petr has already suffered arrest and detention and his case is only the tip of the iceberg. Interpol needs to look again at its systems so that it can weed out abuses before the damage is done.
There's nothing "Islamic" about acts of violence. So all those anguished questions along the lines of "What is it about Islam that drives people to such terrible acts of violence?" seem to me to be entirely specious.
The prevalence of violent people in Scotland is 13.6 times that of terrorists among Muslims. In fact, this is an understatement. A Scotsman who has committed a violent crime is more likely to be out of prison than a Muslim terrorist, either because he's more likely to have gotten away with his crime or because he's more likely to have finished his sentence.
Most Popular Crime Stories
