I said what you wanted me to say; I want a cookie! -SC-

The little schoolgirl Sarah Payne was kidnapped and murdered by Roy Whiting in 2001, she was eight years old when this happened. On July 1 2000 Sarah was kidnapped by Whiting near the home of her grandparents in West Sussex. There was a huge search, and 16 days later they found her body off the A29 at Pulborough. Whiting was jailed for life, but the judge said today that he had concluded that the “appropriate” minimum term was a period of forty years. So his jail time was lowered for ten years.

This is a very awkward situation, the family of Sarah Payne thought they would never see Roy Whiting again and that he could not hurt any other children anymore. It is very strange, that a case like this can be changed. You often hear that prisoners are leaving prison a lot earlier by good behavior than at first was said. I think this is wrong, because when you have done something like this, you should pay for what you have done by being jailed for life. This also is my speaker’s corner and my thesis is: Is it justifiable to reduce a jail sentence for murder

click HERE for the article

Is it a bird? is it a plane? No, it is an ash cloud!

We all know that the no-flying period has been caused by the ash cloud. Scientists used these days to show that airports causes pollution. The fact that take-offs and landings causes pollution could never be proved before, because pollution is also caused by vehicles. The first three days of the closure of the airspace has been analyzed and that shows us that there is a definite air pollution caused by air traffic. The Environmental Research Group said: “This period of unprecedented closure during unexceptional weather conditions has allowed us to demonstrate that the airports have a clear measurable effect on NO2 concentrations, and that this effect disappeared entirely during the period of closure, leading to a temporary but significant fall in pollutant concentrations adjacent to the airport perimeters.”

I think most of the people found it very annoying that the airports were closed for about four or five days. Luckily people of the Environmental Research Group used these ‘days without planes’ to analyze the pollution in the air to check whether the planes are causing some of these pollutions. In that way this period of closing was actually very good, because now the people from the ERG (Environmental Research Group) know how many pollution airplanes cause. So although many people could not go home during these days, it actually were very useful days to analyze the pollution.

Click HERE for the article.

Nick Clegg Better Than Everyone Thought

On the 15th of April there was the first TV debate between the three major party leaders. Right at the start Nick Clegg was one of the favourites and at the end of the TV debate he won the debate with 61 percent of voters. He managed to spare over a range of domestic issues without landing a killer blow. In the debate, Mr. Cameron said of Mr. Clegg that there was “a slight danger of holier than thou”. Mr. Brown also portrayed himself as a resilient leader for extraordinary times.

I think Nick Clegg did a great job, because before the debate had started everyone did not thought he would win the debate. At the beginning of the debate Nick Clegg took the lead by saying: “I know you think that all politicians are the same. I hope I have tried to show you that that isn’t true.” He was also the first who conquered his nerves and with that he was the strongest party leader of the evening.

Click HERE for the article.

To Bee, or Not To Bee

There is a new specie of the honeybee spotted in France: The Asian Hornet. It accidently arrived from the Far East in a consignment of Chinese plant pots in late 2004. The Asian hornets are attacking the other honeybees with groups from five to fifty hornets together. This is an evolved way of defending; they form a ball of worker bees around the intruders and killing them by “asphyxia-balling” in effect, by heatstroke. Last summer there were several attacks on people reported from the department of Lot-et-Garonne. Now British experts fear the insects could arrive in Britain either by crossing the Channel or being accidentally imported.

This ‘Asian’ hornet sounds a bit strange to me; they form groups to kill the intruders. I have never seen a group of hornets who are attacking another insect. The British people might have fear for the Asian hornets –which I can understand – because there are people who are allergic to honeybees and hornets. When the Asian hornets are attacking one of the people who are allergic to them, they could make this person very ill. On the other hand, I think there must be something to kill these hornets. Just like the ‘normal’ hornets and honeybees; fill a bottle with some lemonade and put it somewhere far away from you or you just hit them with an electric whisk.

Click HERE for the article.

It is looking very scary from this close!

Edit: 16-04-2010

The True Colours of Ladies’ Day

Liverpool was full of colours on the tenth of April this year; from hot pink to yellow and from fuchsia to lilac, they were all part of the outfits that the women wore on Ladies’ day. All these colourful outfits provided a suitable warm-up for that day’s Grand National. Wayne Rooney’s wife, Coleen had been expected to wear beautiful spring colours, but she arrived at Aintree in a black dress with a silver trim. The women who might have tried to play safe by wearing a black dress were actually the ones who stood out more than the women in colourful dresses.

Ladies’ day is a nice warm-up for the Grand National’s in Liverpool. This day there were horse races and the semi-finals of the FA Cup with Tiger Woods. These activities are suitable for most of the men in England and by also arranging a Ladies’ day they will have activities for almost everyone. I think it is also fun to see almost all the women in colourful outfits. Unfortunately not everyone chose the bright colours and that might have ruined the Ladies’ day a bit. Luckily everyone had a great time and were enjoying the races and of course the colourful outfits.

Click HERE for the article

I want a Ladies' Day in Holland!

Edit: 16-04-2010