Cameron's blunder!

Prime Minister leaves eight-year-old daughter behind / summary

*Source: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/david-cameron-leaves-eight-year-old-daughter-872378

After an outing to a 16^th century pub in Cadsden, PM Cameron forgot to take with him his eight-year-old daughter Nancy. He and his wife left with different cars after a lunch they had with friends at The Plough’s Inn. Nancy was left behind in the loo without the knowledge of the parents. Samantha, Cameron’s wife, thought she was in the car with her daddy and the PM thought his daughter to be in the car with his wife. After they discovered their mistake when they arrived at the PM’s official residence, the PM drove straight back to fetch his daughter, who was not at all in distress and happily chatting with the waitress of the pub.

Reaction:

Is it nowadays working pressure or just ignorance of the Prime Minister and his wife? Indeed, I would have counted heads anyway. My child is the most important of anything in the world. I got locked up in the loo once when I was a younger girl and I was really in distress, because I thought my parents would leave me behind. We were on holiday and ready to go home.  I cannot imagine that Cameron and Samantha forgot completely about their little girl. So let’s give them the best of all ideas, there must have been too much on their minds!

By Renate Pollemans s3904663

GKN: A proof how to make it in modern manufacturing

GKN and aerospace: Word on a wing /summary

A long-established global innovator shows how British firms can make it in modern manufacturing

*Source: http://www.economist.com/node/21556582

During hard economic times there is a British company with a fresh look on how to run business and therefore they outlived many companies with a similar manufacturing product as they have.  The company is named GKN (Guest, Keen and Nettlefolds) they carry this name since 1986 but the company is British-owned after 253 years!

“Only three or four firms in the world can do what we do,” says Marcus Bryson, head of GKN’s aerospace division and the chief executive, Nigel Stein claims “We have been very good at recognizing that things don’t last forever”. From driveline businesses for cars they flew into the aerospace business developing a material that is called fiber glass that can be used in cars nowadays as well.

Reaction:

I admire these companies who cannot sit still and learn from what is going around in the world. There is a lot of energy in such a way of working and these companies display a lot of reliability. It works good in a time of austerity and I believe that the mentality of similar companies restrain us from going deep down under in times of economic crisis going on. And the technical background I like with the exploring character of using high tech fiberglass normally used in aeroplanes, now to be used in the construction of automobiles.

By Renate Pollemans / s3904663

Mental health charity and cost of recession

Calls to mental health charity reveal human cost of recession / summary

*Source: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/calls-to-mental-health-charity-reveal-human-cost-of-recession-7769680.html

Mental health charity has difficulties in handling the demands for help that increased enormously over the past years since the ongoing crisis appeared in mid-2008. The number of phone calls has doubled! More and more families are affected even those who previously seemed not. The suicide numbers are high in countries like Greece and Ireland where the financial crisis was felt most acutely. Mind’s info line is an organization which provides information about how to access treatment up to how to manage debts. Stress, depression and anxiety cost the economy over 30bn pounds each year.  Employers could help to cut the costs if they start to improve the way they tend to deal with workplace stress and mental ill- health. Health minister Simon Burns claims that funding is raised for talking therapies to ensure that all who need it can make use of it.

Reaction:

I believe it is a matter of government, employers and health organizations to take care of this problem.  We are all busy worrying about our income and what is going to happen next, but we forget about the people who are really in despair. On the other hand the recession makes us think about and appreciate the smaller aspects in life and I hope it will make us less feeling like individuals. When we all get an eye of our neighbours we learn to take care of each other and suicidal thoughts could be recognized sooner and maybe banned out of people’s minds.

By Renate Pollemans s 3904663

Olympic torches listed for sale

Olympic torches listed for sale on eBay /summary

*source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/may/20/olympic-torches-for-sale-ebay

London 2012 organizers say they are powerless to stop relay bearers selling golden torches at a profit.

The Olympic relay runners had to buy the already subsidized torches for 199 pounds if they wanted to keep the torch to themselves. The first runner who started in Cornwall, Ben Ainslie, said he wanted to display the torch in a “special place” in his house whereas other runners are selling their torches and even their white uniforms on eBay. They see it as a moneymaking opportunity and indeed it is. There have been bids listed of 9,100 and 70,000 and even 150,000 pounds! It is not sure whether they have gone artificially high or if they are real bids. Organizers of the Olympics 2012 have claimed to be powerless to stop this movement.

Reaction:

In my opinion it is unbelievable this can occur. I believe the organization is to be held responsible for this. They could have made up  a contract which had to be signed at the moment an Olympic runner subscribed to walk the relay and at the purchase of the torch of 199 pounds they must sign for not selling it to others or even making a profit by it. Or they could have prevented this action by not selling the torch whatsoever. It has to remain the property of the organization. Through selling and reselling it, in my opinion, the magic is gone in a long held tradition of the Olympic Games.

By Renate Pollemans s3904663

Robin Gibb dies of cancer at the age of 62

Robin Gibb, pioneer of disco, dies at 62 /summary

*source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2012/may/21/robin-gibb-pioneer-disco-dies

Robin had a distinctive and vibrating voice. Together with his brothers Maurice and Barry he made many hits and he sold more than 200m records as a performer and a writer.

His twin brother Maurice died of the same cancer as Robin in the year 2003.

Songs like ‘How deep is your love’ and ‘Stayin’ alive’ are songs we all can remember because they grew very popular and are still to be heard on the radio.

The brothers Gibb, as they called themselves, the BeeGees were from the 70s disco boom.

Some tweets after the news on the dead of Robin Gibb:  DJ Mike Read, (family friend): “he had an incredible voice", adding: "Robin had the voice, the pathos, and he was a great writer." "In his head he could come up with some great melodies. I was delighted to work with him. He had a gift for melody and a gift for lyrics and left a phenomenal legacy, a phenomenal catalogue."

Former deputy prime minister, John Prescott, tweeted: "Just heard about Robin Gibb. A good friend, a brilliant musician and a man who turned all of us into wannabe Travoltas!"

Reaction:

As a tribute to such a great artist I wanted to blog this news item. When I was young I was a big fan of the BeeGees as well. I was born in 1972 but my mother and sisters loved their music and so did I. I am not such a big fan anymore but I still appreciate their work and their songs are everlasting. I believe I liked Maurice more because of his looks but I can remember in my head Robin’s wonderful voice!

By Renate Pollemans s3904463

Nick Clegg proposes student premium

Nick Clegg proposes student premium to help poorest entering university /summary

*Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2012/may/21/nick-clegg-student-premium-university

Nick Clegg’s proposal to offer the poorest students a premium to be able to make it to university has met some sour responses from a large part of the electorate. The main idea behind his plan is that poor families learn in an earlier stage of their children’s education that they will be financially supported by the state. The biggest barrier to enter higher education is a lack of aspiration. With this proposal Clegg hopes he can do something about it and to give the children’s aspiration a boost.  The Liberal Democratic way of thinking is that children even at primary school are thinking about their future education. Clegg wants to achieve a more fair educational system and heal the rift between the richer and the poorer and their opportunities. But this proposal will definitely raise educational funding and it will be difficult to draw a line to what extent funding can be used.

Reaction:

I believe Nick Clegg’s proposal comes from a good heart and therefore I can support his idea. For a fair system it is necessary that children from poor families need to get a chance of exploring their abilities and skills and that the lack of money should not be in the way. However there are many aspects left over to be looked at and this bill could not pass after thorough investigation. And I wonder whether and how many pupils in primary school are thinking about their future education. I believe most pupils will not do so until their last year at primary school.

By Renate Pollemans s3904663

Happier while living next to the sea? /reaction

Happier while living next to the seaside? / reaction

As I can speak for myself, I am really happy to live near the sea. I only have to drive for 10 minutes and I am able to stand with my feet in the sea. As I am driving to the city once a week for my study, it makes me consider how lucky I am that when I go to work I don’t have to consider traffic jams and all sorts of things that one has to do living in or near a city. The air in the place I live is much cleaner than the air hanging around a city. Most of the time I create a headache but coming back home in the clear air the headache will disappear.