Senior Speaks!

Church Of England Wants To Impose Its Definition Of Marriage On Entire UK Population

noreply@blogger.com (Senior) — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 09:48:38 PST

The archbishop of York has accused the UK government of trying to redefine marriage, because the government intends to hold a consultation into legalising homosexual marriage in March, which may lead to marriage being redefined in law. In an interview for the Telegraph, John Sentamu said: “I don’t think it is the role of the state to define what marriage is”.
Read the rest of:

A Temple For Atheists?

noreply@blogger.com (Senior) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 10:47:49 PST

Atheist philosopher Alain de Botton plans to build a temple for atheists in London. He believes that temples don’t just have to celebrate God or important people in religions, but they can also celebrate anything that is “positive and good”. His plan is opposed by atheist professor Richard Dawkins, who argues that “atheists don’t need temples”, and that the money being used to fund the temple could be spent on improving secular education.
Read the rest of:

Winning The War On Drugs

noreply@blogger.com (Senior) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 15:37:26 PST

Sir Richard Branson should be stripped of his knighthood. The drug user who hopefully declared his interest when appearing at the Home Affairs Select Committee has called for the decriminalisation of drug-use. Richard Branson thinks the war on drugs is being lost.

Last night I watched a documentary about Nottinghamshire Police on Channel 4. “Coppers” featured a woman called Kerry, who had cannabis in her home. No action was taken against her, even though she is known to police. Today, I read that under new Sentencing Council guidelines, more drug dealers could be given community punishments instead of being sent to jail. It is already the case that people who commit drugs crimes receive soft sentences. Less than half of drug dealers get sent to jail. Consequently they reoffend, hence why it is argued that the war on drugs is not being won.
Read the rest of:

Some People Won't Report Child Neglect

noreply@blogger.com (Senior) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 07:42:54 PST

A survey conducted for Action for Children’s annual report on child neglect has found that 46% of the Yorkshire and Humberside public suspect children they know are being neglected, but won’t report their concerns to the authorities because they are worried about the consequences of being wrong or not having enough evidence. By not reporting their suspicions that children are being neglected, these people are deliberately enabling the continuation of that neglect.

The least people should do is report their suspicions of child neglect to the authorities. If the authorities find that the parents who were accused of neglecting their children are not neglecting their children, those parents and their children will not suffer. If however those parents are neglecting their children and the authorities don’t take action that immediately eradicates the neglect, the continued neglect the children suffer will be the fault of their parents and the authorities, but not the fault of the people who reported the neglect.

Not reporting suspicions of child neglect should be seen by society as an evil act. People should see reporting their suspicions of child neglect as their responsibility. The authorities cannot intervene in child neglect cases of which they are unaware.

Child Excluded From Holy Communion By Roman Catholic Church Because Of His Down's Syndrome

noreply@blogger.com (Senior) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 10:09:29 PST

Parents of a boy who has Down’s syndrome have criticised St Mary’s Roman Catholic Church in Batley because the priest there won’t let the boy participate in Holy Communion. Considering it’s a Roman Catholic Church, they should probably just be thankful he isn’t being abused. The Diocese of Leeds argued in a letter to Clare Ellerby, that her seven-year-old son Denum wouldn’t understand the experience, and expressed hope that he may be able to understand Holy Communion enough to participate in future. A petition opposing the church’s decision has been signed by hundreds of people.
Read the rest of:

Under Proportional Representation, Liberal Democrat MEP Is Replaced By Her Husband

noreply@blogger.com (Senior) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 08:06:19 PST

Yorkshire and the Humber Liberal Democrat member of the European Parliament Diana Wallis has resigned her seat, and is being replaced by her husband. Her husband was her assistant prior to her resignation. The move has been criticised, but it is legally acceptable. If an MEP resigns, the next person on the MEP’s party’s list of candidates for the region represented by the MEP at the last European parliamentary election is supposed to replace the MEP who resigned.
Read the rest of:

Another Poor PMQs Performance From Miliband

noreply@blogger.com (Senior) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 13:11:23 PST

Ed Miliband’s leadership of the Labour Party has come under internal scrutiny recently, and his contributions at Prime Minister’s Questions today explain why. They were terrible. It must only be a matter of time before Ed Miliband is replaced.
Read the rest of:

Occupy LSX Has Failed

noreply@blogger.com (Senior) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 12:38:39 PST

Occupy the London Stock Exchange is back in the news today, because the High Court has ruled that occupiers can be evicted. They plan to appeal but they shouldn’t bother, not because they won’t be successful (they may be), but because their occupation has become irrelevant. It’s ages since I heard anything about Occupy LSX. I know I could get the latest information on what’s happening at Occupy LSX by visiting websites that support the movement, but for the movement to grow, it’s message has to reach people who don’t currently support it.

Occupy LSX has had no impact on the 99% of people it claims to represent. It managed to provoke debate last year, but rather than talking about the issues on which Occupy LSX wishes to focus, most people who discuss Occupy LSX are discussing whether it is time the occupiers were evicted.

If occupiers sincerely believe their occupation is succeeding, they are living in a bubble of delusion. They have paid too much attention to their supporters and other occupiers, and not enough attention to the 99% of people who aren’t involved and won’t get involved in Occupy LSX or any other occupation in Britain. Occupy LSX has failed.
Read the rest of:

Qatada's Still Here

noreply@blogger.com (Senior) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 09:24:58 PST

The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that al-Qaeda terrorist Abu Qatada cannot be convicted to Jordan, where he has been convicted in his absence of being involved in two terrorism plots, because evidence obtained using torture may be used against him. A control order will continue to be imposed on Abu Qatada. The implications of this ruling are that if the countries to which governments of countries that are members of the Council of Europe want to deport terrorists or other criminals use torture, they will not be deported.
Read the rest of:

Government Shouldn't Punish Unemployed People Who Try To Get Jobs

noreply@blogger.com (Senior) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 09:12:53 PST

Kait Reilly is suing the government because she had to do a few weeks of unpaid work at Poundland to keep her Jobseekers Allowance, even though she was already doing voluntary work and looking for paid work. I have nothing against the government forcing people who aren’t looking for work to do unpaid work in return for their benefits.
Read the rest of:

Hold The Scottish Independence Referendum In May 2013

noreply@blogger.com (Senior) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 09:16:53 PST

When the Scottish National Party won the Scottish parliamentary election in May, the victory was their biggest ever achievement. Everybody who voted for the SNP must have known that the party favours Scottish independence, and that a vote for the SNP could therefore be interpreted as a vote for Scottish independence.

The SNP now seems to be reluctant to hold a referendum, even though the outcome of a referendum called by the Scottish Parliament wouldn’t be binding. The UK government is now debating whether to try to speed up the holding of a binding referendum.
Read the rest of:

Labour Won't Expell Racist Diane Abbott

noreply@blogger.com (Senior) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 10:24:12 PST

Racist Labour MP Diane Abbott has apologised for tweeting “white people love playing divide & rule”, but he apology isn’t enough for some people; there are calls for her to resign and for Labour to sack her.
I wonder if white Labour MPs would be sacked if they tweeted “black people love killing each other with guns and knives”, or “All Muslims are terrorists”?
Read the rest of:

Criminals Receive Benefits Instead Of Custodial Sentences

noreply@blogger.com (Senior) — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 16:54:12 PST

Considering only 8% of convicted criminals (including 43% of sex offenders) were jailed in 2010, I am not shocked that over a million benefit claimants are criminals, or that every day, fifty people are violently or sexually atacked by criminals who weren't jailed. Jailing criminals may be expensive, but so is Investigating the crimes criminals who aren't jailed go on to commit, the costs of court cases that wouldn't have been necessary had the criminals been jailed, implementing the conditions of sentences criminals receive as an alternative to prison, giving criminals benefits, providing support to victims of crimes committed by criminals who should have been in jail etc.

The government has said it wants to reduce the amount of money it spends on benefits, but it is also imposing cuts on prisons. If more criminals were jailed, the government wouldn’t have to pay them benefits, and they wouldn’t be able to commit more crimes while receiving benefits. Jailing more criminals may mean spending more money on prisons, but I’d rather money is spent on protecting the public from criminals than on financially supporting criminals. To keep costs down, criminals should be banned from communicating with the outside world, or using electronic equipment. Such restrictions aren’t inhumane; some communities around the world embrace them.

After criminals have served their sentences, a third of what they receive in benefits, wages or pensions should be diverted to victims of their crimes.

Why The Liberal Democrats Shouldn't Have Separate Representation At EU Summits

noreply@blogger.com (Senior) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 16:39:38 PST

Liberal Democrats leader Nick Clegg wants his party to be represented separately from the Conservatives at European Union summits. David Cameron should not let that happen. The Liberal Democrats are the third biggest party in the UK. If they can be represented, it is only fair that Labour can be represented.

The Liberal Democrats may argue that they are part of the government, but they are just one faction. The Conservatives who voted in favour of a referendum on the UK’s EU membership could argue that they are another faction and their faction is bigger than the Liberal Democrat faction, so they should therefore have their own representatives at EU summits too.

I think to have several competing politicians claiming to represent the UK would cause confusion and be obstructive. The government’s position should be the only position advocated on behalf of the UK at EU summits. If voters disagree with the positions adopted by the government at EU summits, they can vote for candidates who will adopt positions they support in general elections after those summits.

The Future Of North Korea

noreply@blogger.com (Senior) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 11:04:17 PST

Like Saddam Hussein and Muammar Gaddafi, North Korean president Kim Jong-il has died aged 69-years-old. Unlike them however, he died naturally. The spontaneous hysterical emotional wailing on the streets of North Korea is an indication of the extent to which North Koreans are brainwashed. Despite the famines, the human rights abuses committed under Kim Jong-il’s tyranny, and the isolation of their country, the North Korean people loved Kim Jong-il.
Read the rest of:

Don't Condemn The Free Syrian Army; Condemn Russia Instead

noreply@blogger.com (Senior) — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 15:59:39 PST

The Russian foreign minister has said that Western countries should condemn Syrian rebels, and accused opposition groups of trying to get countries to intervene by provoking a humanitarian crisis.
Read the rest of:

Making X Factor Better

noreply@blogger.com (Senior) — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 13:51:49 PST

The 2011 final of the X Factor was apparently watched by four million fewer viewers than the 2010 final. I didn’t watch it, because I didn’t approve of the judges performing with their acts, and I thought too many singers were involved. There have been negative articles about the viewing figures for X Factor this year, but I think some changes to the show would improve it, and may attract more viewers.
Read the rest of:

"A Society That Celebrates All The Wrong People"

noreply@blogger.com (Senior) — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 14:47:57 PST

In a Guardian interview, Ian Duncan Smith said “If you look at footballers, you look at our celebrity culture, we seem to be saying “this is the way you want to be”. We seem to be a society that celebrates all the wrong people”. The work and pensions secretary added: “Kids are meant to believe that their stepping stone to massive money is the X Factor”.

I don’t share Ian Duncan Smith’s opinion that people rioted in August because they wanted instant wealth or instant fame. I think soft sentences for criminals, the weakness of the police and opportunism caused the England riots. I don’t think however, that Ian Duncan Smith’s comments should be dismissed, because they may prove helpful in a debate about the harmful effects of greed and idolatry on society.
Read the rest of:

UK Right To Withdraw From Eurozone Negotiations

noreply@blogger.com (Senior) — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 14:51:58 PST

The government has been criticised for pulling the UK out of negotiations on a new agreement for the eurozone. Labour claims its approach would have led to decisions the government disagrees with being vetoed. In other words, the outcome would have been the same, but it would have been reached differently. I agree with the government’s decision. The UK's position was made clear to the other countries. Knowing the UK would veto an agreement at 27, eurozone countries decided to negotiate an agreement at 17+ instead of including the UK in negotiations.
Read the rest of:

Racist Muslim Gang Avoids Jail Because Judge Accepts Their Cultural Excuses

noreply@blogger.com (Senior) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 12:38:30 PST

Four Muslim Somali women have avoided being sent to jail after kicking a white woman in the head while screaming “kill the white slag” and racially abusing her. The kicking didn’t stop when Rhea Page fell unconscious, and the unprovoked attack continued after the police arrived. Three of the women are sisters, and the other woman is their cousin. They avoided jail because they drank alcohol prior to the assault, and they aren’t used to alcohol because they’re Muslims.
Read the rest of:

Making The UK More Financially Responsible

noreply@blogger.com (Senior) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 11:57:14 PST

Rising unemployment, unaccountability at the top of big companies, and the misuse of money in the private, public and voluntary sectors are negatively affecting the UK economy. I believe that the debt crisis was caused by rich people gambling with the money of other people, selfish and greedy high earners in the private, public and voluntary sectors, and people and companies borrowing money they couldn’t pay back. I propose several measures, which will make the UK a more financially responsible place.
Read the rest of:

I'm Glad Misha Was Eliminated, And I Wish Tulisa Was Eliminated

noreply@blogger.com (Senior) — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 14:18:00 PST

If Tulisa didn’t have an act to mentor, she would have been overtly supporting Misha tonight, and she would have overtly wanted Misha to win this year's X Factor. The semi-final loser has grown on Tulisa. Kitty was in the sing-off thrice. I remember Tulisa saying she voted against her because she didn’t think the public were connecting with her. Considering Misha was also in the sing-off thrice, and she was eliminated this week, the public were obviously not connecting with her either.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Kelly favoured Tulisa over her other girls, and mentored her more than she mentored the other girls. Tulisa and Kelly only liked Misha so much because she was the most urban contestant; it had nothing to do with her vocal ability.
Read the rest of:

Punish The Sun For Publishing jeremy Clarkson Column

noreply@blogger.com (Senior) — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 15:05:51 PST

In his Sun column today, Jeremy Clarkson has described people who commit suicide by jumping in front of trains as “very selfish”. Advocating a different response to the deaths of people he labelled “Johnny Suicide”, he wrote: “change the driver, pick up the big bits of what’s left of the victim, get the train moving as soon as possible and let foxy woxy and the birds nibble away at the smaller, gooey parts that are far away and hard to find”, after boasting that he could write that in his Sun column.
Read the rest of:

Anti-UK Protests Backfire

noreply@blogger.com (Senior) — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 07:48:20 PST

Hundreds of Iranians stormed and damaged the UK embassy and another UK diplomatic compound in Tehran (Iran) on Tuesday, following the Iranian parliament’s decision to downgrade diplomatic relations with the UK. The UK responded on Wednesday by closing the Iranian embassy and giving Iranian diplomats 48 hours to leave the UK. In the House of Commons, William Hague said: “if any country makes it impossible for us to operate on their soil, they cannot expect to have a functioning embassy here”.
Read the rest of:

Sterilise Jamie Cumming

noreply@blogger.com (Senior) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 10:12:52 PST

The industrial breeding machine appropriately named Jamie Cumming has said he is prepared to take a DNA test to prove he is not the father of half of the sixteen children he is accused of creating with fourteen women in seventeen years. He has had as long as the children he says he didn’t create have been alive to take DNA tests to prove he is not their father. He should have taken DNA tests after they were born. By not taking DNA tests while claiming not to be their father and by breeding on an industrial scale, Jamie Cumming has proved that he is an extremely irresponsible industrial breeding machine.
Read the rest of: