Uninsured drivers face having car destroyed

Source: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/uninsured-drivers-face-having-car-destroyed-2300053.html

Summary

New laws have been put in effect that have people who own an uninsured car warned to either have it insured or declared off the road. Car owners who ignore this warning face a fine, wheel clamp or even risk having their car destroyed. All this is to reduce the risk of uninsured cars on the road, deaths and the extra burden it places yearly on the prices of insurance of the other drivers. Both the minister of road safety and the Motor Insurer’s Bureau chief executive are in favor of the newly instated laws.

Response

Reducing the risks and improving upon the road safety is always important. There is no such thing as perfection when it comes to traffic safety, but if these laws work as well as they should, at least most of the uninsured vehicles will be kept off the roads. I am, however, not sure if uninsured driving is the biggest problem the road safety minister should be tackling and if this problem is as big a deal as they make it look in this article. Of course I do not have any data to support this idea.

Tube strikes begin, threatening Wimbledon

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/jun/20/tube-strikes-begin-threaten-wimbledon

Summary

Tube strikes are planned by the members of Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT), who are calling for Arwin Thomas, a driver who is currently awaiting the verdict of an employment tribunal on his claim of injust dismissal. On Sunday there had already been several hours of inactivity in the London Tubes and further strikes have been planned, which would possibly endanger the Wimbledon goers. The London Underground managing director is trying to convince the RMT members to wait for the verdict of the tribunal before continuing their strike actions.

Response

First and foremost I think it is unacceptable to do anything that would endanger the turn-out at Wimbledon. I also find it understandable that the RTM members are planning on going ahead with their strikes. They possibly want to put some pressure on the tribunal by showing they mean business with these strikes. I do not know the details on what inspired Arwin Thomas’ dismissal so I cannot incorporate that in my response. This whole strike situation does make me wonder though how often the London public transportation workers go on strike, I have been told to believe it happens often.

P.S. Don’t mess with Wimbledon ever.

Cadbury's Naomi Campbell ad not racist, rules watchdog

source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/jun/20/cadbury-naomi-campbell-ad-not-racist

Summary

A press advertisement by Cadbury inspired an assessment by the Council of the Advertising Standards Authority into possible racism. The advertisement depicted a Cadbury chocolate bar with text saying: ‘’Move over Naomi, there’s a new diva in town’’ shocked Naomi Campbell and the group Operation Black Vote. Cadbury stated it was not a remark on Naomi Campbell’s skin colour but her diva attitude they were referring to. The Council did not see the need for further investigation into the campaign but Cadbury still made a public apology and withdrew their press advertisements.

Response

In my eyes the moment you use someone’s name in an advertisement and the person in question has a problem with it, the advertisements should be changed or dropped entirely. In this case Cadbury itself willingly dropped the advertisements and made a public apology, this I encourage greatly and shows the company has a good (in my opinion) social awareness. On the other hand I think Naomi Campbell has overreacted a bit. Though she sure is being compared to a bar of chocolate it’s not because of her colour and I believe most people would know this.

P.S. I prefer the bar of chocolate over Naomi Campbell any day.

Traditional high street businesses lose out to coffee shops and nail bars

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/jun/16/traditional-high-street-businesses-lose-out

Summary

A study done by insurer Simply Business shows that the face of the average high street is changing. Competition between larger chains of supermarkets and smaller stores such as butchers and newsagents, and the rise in coffee shops and beauticians are the main causes for the changes. The government has issued a review be made on the future state of the high street. Based on the results of this review the government will try to find a way to help high streets flourish and keep the stores and shops diverse.

Response

Personally I think it’s a good initiative from the government to try and see how they can keep the high streets from being dominated by only larger chains of stores and beauticians and turning monotone. The phenomenon of private owned stores being overrun by competition of supermarkets is not just something that can be seen in the UK, but something that is happening all over the world. The British government is not the first to take action in preserving the face of their high streets and will hopefully not be the last.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wear-13780234

June 15, 2011

Sunderland Council apologises after rape by boy, 11

Summary

The Sunderland city council failed to act upon multiple warning letters concerning an 11 year old youth, which led to the eleven-year old raping a nine-year old in his bedroom. The eleven-year old had already been known to multiple agencies, who did not launch a cooperative countermeasure. The young rapist is currently being held in a detention center and will be supervised for 8 years, four and a half of which will be spent in detention.

The council has devised a number of countermeasures to prevent future cases such as this one from happening again.

Reaction

I think it is more than a slight mishap if a government appointed agency lets something like this happen while it has had more than one warning concerning the child in question. Hence, it is to be expected of them to look into what went wrong and how to prevent future situations like these from happening. It is nothing to applaud them for, it is quite strange that a flaw in the system so severe as this one has been overlooked.

P.S.  In America they would have been sooooo sued!