My colleague is correct in that anti-social behaviour should go punished. Don't forget that if they are not shown the errors of their ways then they will be anti-social parents of anti-social children. The idea that the police cannot do anything is prepostorous. With that amount of vandalism and anti-social behaviour going on then why not a task force to lay in wait and grab them in the act. If you show that any crime will not be tolerated then the community will follow. The idea that a thug can use violence to promote a level of fear for racist ends and yet the police take no action, is horrendous. Not got the resources then get them. They can keep soldiers in war zones thousends of miles away why can't they get the same resources to solve the problems in war zones here.
The new law about prostitution is obtuse. Lets make a disadvataged group even more scared of the police. I would love to know what the actual definition of prostituion is? Is it money or could it be in kind? If so then half of the women in the celebrity pages, ( yes we really have a lot in common even though I'm in my 20's and he is in his 80's, but just happens to be a billionaire), but joking aside, the problem, if there is one,of prostitution is that it is never going to go away. It needs to be properly looked at so that prostiutes can feel safe, from their clients, from pimps, organised crime and infection.
By fining the prostitute and the man never solves the problem. They should be given counselling and the opportunity to find alternative employment. Fining someone who has a drug habit doesn't make them give up they just need to work that much harder to get the money.
Its similar to the problem above, it needs a thoughtful approach to the problem. There should not be a no go area for anyone and the victims, in this case householders and prostitutes alike should be given protection and support.
I heard today that Gordon Brown is having a serious re-think about the super casinos in Manchester. Hooray. We live in a world where people are in serious debt and what do we want to do, give them an even easier way of getting into further debt?
I am unsure about the idea of the Mac A level, partly because it legitimises the idea of private education which is wrong, but it does allow for the whole aspect of the paperwork and qualifications that go with teaching to be brought into focus. I cannot wait until Offsted go to Mac College and ask to see lesson plans, programme reviews, marks and procedures let alone the documentation for the pastoral care. Like the police, education has become a self feeding buracracy. In the golden age of british education, the majority throughout the whole system from the infant to the graduate was free, the teachers most of which weren't qualified didn't take any lip, punishment was instant and without parents consent but had a discipline that enabled them to teach and more important for the children to learn. Now you have to pass qualifications that say you are a teacher, though it seems that most of these have very little to do with teaching but a lot about paperwork.
By the way, for those government ministers who think that health care should be going towards the American system, think of this, In this country we have to pay alot to keep our pets well. When my cat died it had cost me a small fortune in medication to keep him alive, until it was kinder to have him put down. That cost me £80. When grandad gets really ill and you can't afford the medication what are you going to do then, its not like a cat is it? I bet visits to Austria and Switzerland go up with a lot of old people going out but not coming back. Get my drift. I know the governement would say that wouldn't happen, but remember purchase tax that became VAT, that was only in place to pay for a war that eneded 60 years ago. Think on.