Blog entry paper 7

Summary:
The Commons expenses watchdog just have revealed 148 MPs have claimed money for their children’s  extra costs of living and travelling with them. These MPs take advantage of the rules that are set up for the children of the MPs. The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa) showed their results that showed some MPs claimed more than 10,000 pounds for their children. This has cost the people of England almost 140,000 pounds since 2010. Some of the MPs already had been allowed to claim more than before to rent bigger houses.

Opinion:
I think it is absurd to claim so much money for children from MPs. MPs already make a lot of money, so why would they still need to claim money for their children, when they can pay for it themselves since they make a lot of money. It only costs a lot of the taxpayers, when they actually make less money than the MPs self, so I don’t see why they need to come up with the money. I just think it is ridiculous. I believe the MPs take too much advantage of their status and power.

Link:
Wintour, P. 2013-07-05, Expenses watchdog reveals 148 MPs claim to cover costs of their children, The Guardian

Retrieved from:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2013/jul/05/mps-expenses-commons-watchdog-children

Blog entry paper 6

Summary:

A public inquiry has found that the man Azelle Rodney was killed unlawfully eight years ago by a MET police officer. Azelle was shot six times in London eight years ago when he was stopped over in his car by a MET police officer. The MET police officer believed Azelle picked up a gun, which is why he shot him. The MET police officer now faces criminal charges for the dead of Azelle. Azelle's mother wants an apology from the MET police officer who shot Azelle. The police commissioner says the MET police officer was wrong to shoot Azelle.

My opinion:
I think it was wrong to shoot the guy Azelle. I think it is stupid to just say that he picked up a gun, when there was no gun in sight. I think police officers are wrong a lot of the times when shooting someone, because these kinds of things happen quiet often these days. I feel like police officers these days just feel like they have the power and can just do whatever they want, which is totally wrong if you ask me. It is good that they investigate the crime to see who was really wrong of right.

Link:
Author unknown, 2013-07-05, Azelle Rodney’s death: “No justification” for police shooting, BBC News 
Retrieved from:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-23193571

Blog entry paper 5

Summary:
The Economist did not agree on the Olympics coming to London in 2005, when London was chosen to host the Olympics. The costs would be very high, around 10 million pounds, and London would not need the attention. Luckily London has decided to do a lot of different things with what is left after the Olympics. The houses that were used to provide shelter to all the athletes are now being changed into real houses for families. The hopes of having a lot of families in it are very high, but if there are enough families that will move into these houses will still be the question.

Opinion:
I think it is good London does something after the Olympics. Most of the times a lot of the things built during the Olympics are not being used after the Olympics are over. Take a look at Greece, all the money problems started after the Olympics in 2004, which cost Greece too much money which they didn't really have.  It would be a shame is the same happend to London. I hope this way London can still get a lot of the money ‘back’ by selling or renting the houses to families.

Link:
Unknown Author, 2013- 06-22, After the Olympics: Urbanabolic Steroids, The Economist

Retrieved from:
http://www.economist.com/news/britain/21579838-year-legacy-olympic-games-faster-revival-east-london-urbanabolic

Blog entry paper 4

Summary:
A woman was found dead in her home in Greater Manchester. The 25 year old Linzi Ashton was found Saturday evening in her house. The police now wants to interview her former partner about the dead of the woman. How the woman died is still unknown, as an examination on the body still has to take place. More information about the death of the woman will be released after the examination. There are also more policemen in the area now to offer some reinsurance. If people have any information they can also contact them.

Opinion:

I think it is sad for somebody to die, especially if it is a person who is just 25 years old. I hope the police will find the suspect soon. I think it will give the family and friends of the woman some comfort to know who did it and that the person who did it, is behind bars. I think it is also a good thing that there are more policemen in the area for people to go to if they feel the need and to give possible information.

Link:
Unknown Author, 2013-06-30, Woman found murdered in Greater Manchester, BBC News

Retrieved from:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23116117

Blog entry paper 3

Summary:

The British Prime Minister, David Cameron, is on a visit in Pakistan where he met the newly elected Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. This is where David Cameron promised to 'stand together' with Pakistan. Together they hope to fight terrorism as they both have the same ideas about terrorism. The reason they will stand together is that they hope that they can battle terrorism better together than on their own. Both countries also hope that they can help Afghanistan to be democratic, stable and peaceful. A stable Afghanistan will be in Pakistan’s interest.

Opinion:

I think it is good that both countries will work together towards one particular goal. It is always better to help each other out than stand-alone against a big thing which is terrorism. I do hope that both countries will work together in the future, as some of the agreements from other countries turned out to be false. If both countries do put their effort into helping each other out, and also Afghanistan, I think terrorism has a lower change of succeeding. That is why I think it is a good think the two countries made agreements.

Link:

 Unknown Author ,2013-06-30, PM Pledges to ‘stand together’ with Pakistan on terrorism, BBC News

Retrieved from:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23116681

Blog entry paper 2

Summary:

These days, a lot of people in England eat exotic foods from other countries. This does not come without any consequences. A lot of the times, the food that comes in has a lot of diseases in it and is not inspected for any food regulations. A lot of the food that comes into the country is illegal. That is why it can cause serious health risks. Not only food comes in illegal, but also plants. This can also cause health problems, especially when people chew on it or mix it with tobacco. For now, the government can’t do anything about it.

Opinion:

I think it is not a good thing that food comes in illegal, especially food which can contain dangerous diseases. I do think that the government should try to control this, since it is their country. The government should try to protect their own people. I know that they can’t ban everything from the country, but I think they should try to bring it back to a minimum.

Link:

Bawden, D. 2013-06-13, Eating this exotic meat may seriously damage your health, The Independent.

Retrieved from:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/eating-this-exotic-meat-may-seriously-damage-your-health-8660895.html

Blog entry paper 1

Summary:

An airplane from Egyptair had to land in Glasgow after a message was found in the airplane. The airplane was on its way from Cairo to New York but couldn’t fly any further due to the message that was found. The note was found on the bathroom with the words: “I’ll set this plane on fire”. A BBC producer from New York found the note when the plane was already 3 hours in the air. She immediately told the cabin crew, who locked the toilet for other people. 

Opinion:

My opinion is that it is very stupid to leave a message like that behind in a bathroom. It would be really scary for people in the plane to read something like that while they are in the plane. I think the person who did it, wasn’t even serious. I think if somebody would want to do any harm, they wouldn’t have said anything like that in the first place, they would just do it. I am glad that it turned out fine and that nobody was actually harmed. 

Link:
Sawer, P( 2013 June 16), Egyptair flight diverted to Glasgow after note threat found on board, The Telegrapgh.
Retrieved from:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/aviation/10122649/Egyptair-flight-diverted-to-Glasgow-after-note-threat-found-on-board.html