The case of Gary McKinnon, the British Hacker facing extradition to the USA still rumbles on. I confess to a degree of scepticism when I first read about the case. McKinnon was subsequently diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome, a form of autism 3 years after the alleged crime and I cynically wondered whether this label had [...]
Posts Tagged ‘government’
Someone’s Son
Posted in Criminal Justice, tagged autism, government, Health on April 2, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Should home educators pay the price for Khyra Ishaq?
Posted in Children, Education, Parents, Politics, tagged child protection, Education, government, legislation on February 27, 2010 | 13 Comments »
I read the harrowing case of Khyra Ishaq just before I cuddled my own daughter (3) to sleep last night. As I wrestled my arms out from under her, I held my face next to her podgy cheek. My thoughts turned to Khyra and, inevitably, food. My daughter loves breakfast. In the morning she takes [...]
Down and Disillusioned
Posted in Education, Parents, Politics, tagged election, expenses, government, Labour party, vote on February 20, 2010 | 5 Comments »
I know that if I had been born 100 years earlier that I would have been a suffragette, out chaining myself to railings, smashing windows and going on hunger strike. I feel so strongly about the fight for our right to vote that I would never, ever, ever, contemplate not voting. I’m not really a [...]
Not laptops, but lapdancing…
Posted in Politics, tagged government on February 15, 2010 | 5 Comments »
I will lay my cards on the table straight away – I do not agree with lap-dancing clubs. At all. It might be fogeyish and unfashionable, but I felt a sense of glee when I heard a debate on Radio 1 on Friday about new laws tightening up licensing. You can read about it here and here [...]
Marriage and Tax
Posted in Parents, Politics, tagged conservatives, government, marriage, tax on February 13, 2010 | 5 Comments »
Earlier today, one of our contributors at laptopmums published an article on the importance of marriage which I read with interest. Quoted therein was this speech by David Cameron in which he discusses the introduction of tax breaks for married couples. I decided to go and read it, and I am glad I did since [...]
Can Bureaucracy Save Our Children?
Posted in Children, Education, Parents, Politics, tagged child protection, childcare, government, safeguarding, under fives on February 9, 2010 | 4 Comments »
In last night’s Panorama , Jeremy Vine examined the role of the new Independent Safeguarding Agency. Anyone who works or volunteers with children once a week or more will need to be checked by the new agency. Let me state at the beginning that of course convicted paedophiles should be barred from working with children, [...]
The Dream Team and Those on the Dark Side
Posted in Politics, tagged government on February 6, 2010 | 7 Comments »
– Inspired by aficionados of Fantasy Football leagues. I was chatting to a friend the other week about how jaded I, and he, was with politics. How deeply unaffected we felt by the prospect of a general election – how exactly would that help anyway? And was there any intrinsic difference between the parties that [...]
