Schools to spend thousands to acces YouTube

In the United Kingdom schools and local authorities want to use YouTube to acces videos, related to the subject their are teaching. But in most schools YouTube is blocked, just because schools don't want their pupils to see the disturbing comments or violent or sexual content. There is software, called Bloxx Media Filter, which filters out all this kind of content. But to use this software, schools have to spend between 2,500 and 10,000 pounds a year, depending on the number of computers being used. But schools are willing to pay that, just because they think that YouTube would improve teaching and it will give a big range of tools to help teach the children.

I think it is good that schools use YouTube. On YouTube you can find a lot of trash, but you can also find lots of useful movies and information. This information can help children to visualize what is being tought, and it is good for the variety in class. Normally the teacher teaches a class, but when pupils are able to find their own materials and when they are allowed to do something different then just listen to the teacher and make excersizes, they will be more motivated. I think it will be good for the variation of the lessons, and it will be good for pupils who learn faster when they are able to visualize things a teacher is teaching.


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/7068246/Schools-to-spend-thousands-to-access-YouTube.html

Apple tree defies coldest winter to retain fruit crop

In Summer Lane, Exeter, a 20ft apple tree is still bursting red and green fruit, despite the snow and frosts of recent weeks. Normally apple trees produce fruit from May to October. Some horticultural advisors can't explain how it comes that this apple tree gives fruit in January. They can't even imagine that the apples survived the frost of recent weeks. However it is described as 'magical', these hortucultural advisors don't see a reason why these apples won't be edible. They are quiet hard, but they still are edible.

I think it really is magic, that a apple tree has survived the cold weeks with snow, ice and frosts and gives apples in January. Normally plants and trees do survive cold periods, but sometimes trees and plants die after such a heavy period. But I have never heard about an apple tree, or any other kind of tree or plant, that it was blooming as this tree does. It is a very unusual story, which I can't clarify. We know that with the greenhouse effect nature is changing, but blooming trees in cold periods wasn't what I expected with planet Earth that is warming up.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/7071735/Apple-tree-defies-coldest-winter-to-retain-fruit-crop.html

Man Utd 'ban' stars on Twitters

Manchester United have banned their football stars from social network sites. Manchester United are said to have taken control of the Twitter accounts of Ryan Giggs, Darren Fletcher and Wayne Rooney. The Facebook accounts of Rio Ferdinand, Wes Brown and Ryan Giggs also have gone offline. This all is because United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is said to have ordered a clampdown to plug newsleaks. A couple of weeks before Liverpool forward Ryan Babel was forced to apologise to his manager Rafa Benitez for a 'tweet' on Twitter.

I don't agree with Manchester United. I think that everybody has the right to have their own social network profiles. I can understand that football players are not allowed to publish information about their club, or their situation at the club, but I think they have to be free to use social network sites. I think it is a bad thing that football clubs are trying to control this. If players don't publish information related to their club or their situation at their club, they have to be free to use a social network for any purpose they want.


http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2817887/Man-Utd-ban-stars-from-Twitter.html

Thames airport 'completely wrong'

London's mayor has a plan to build an airport on an artificial island in the Thames estuary. This plan has been branded "pie in the sky" by Medway Council. The plan is to build an airport in Thames estuary, some 60 miles from London. The mayor already has set up a Thames Estuary Steering Group to look into the airport. Medway Councils review has a couple of arguments why this airport would be a bad idea. The airport would be in an area where aircraft is 12 times more at risk of birdstrike. Another argument is that it would be too close to Thamesport, where ships unload liquid natural gasses. And Medway's landscape would be harmed, because a new airport would encourage air travel and need for a major road. Together with Kent County Council and Royal Society for the Protection of Birds Medway Council is campaining against the build of a new airport.

I agree with Medway Council. I also think it is a bad idea to build an airport in the Thames estuary. As the Medway Council already reviewed, it will be bad for birds, but I think that's not all. I think it will affect the nature in the Thames estuary. Also fishes, plants and other nature will be affected. And not only in the Thames estuary. When there is an airport there needs to be road, trainrails and other ways of traffic to get to the airport. This will also affect other areas where these roads have to be build. I think there are much easier and better idea's to expand an other airport, or to build a new one in a better area.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/8445934.stm

Ice danger for Britain as -17C freezes snow

In Great Britain it is a big chaos. Snow, ice and the big cold affected all parts of Great Britain. Hundreds of schools are closed, and a lot of workers have to spend their days at home, because most roads are to icy to drive on, train companies are having big trouble to drive and most airports are closed. On wednesday, 20,000 houses had experienced power cuts. Temperatures of -17C in Britain are matching temperatures of Moscow. Even in city centres the temperature is far below 0C. It is Britains longest cold snap since 1981, and nobody knows it is going to end. Steve Ellison said there is no end in sight, and that it is going to be the same weather for at least a few more days. And that's not all, the prediction for the upcoming days is that there is more snow to come, and that the temperature will remain very low.

Big parts of Europe are suffering from the cold and snowy weather conditions. I like these weather conditions, but for countries it is a big problem. Millions of people are unable to get into work in Great Britain, which costs hundreds of million pounds every day. In some parts of Great Britain more than 50cm of snow felt down. I think that also these weather conditions are a result of the global warming. The earth is warming up, so it is strange to say that very cold weather conditions are results of global warming, but I think it is. Global warming causes more extreme weather conditions, and I think this is one of it. For children it is very nice, but for countries and companies it is a disaster.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/topics/weather/6944875/Ice-danger-for-Britain-as--17C-freezes-snow.html

Porsche launch £328 sledge

It's also available in Great Britain, the Porsche sledge! Porsche has launched a £328 sledge to help Britons make the most of the snow. The sledge is designed with sleek aluminium racing frame, stainless runners and a seat with Porsche logo. The sledge is made in Germany and is created by the Porsche Design Studio. Normally children are having a lot of fun on a sledge, but Steve Blunt, sledging enthusiast, believes the sledge will not only be enjoyed by children, also by adults. He thinks this sledge will be perfect for people who want to own a Porsche but cannot afford a car.

I think this Porsche sledge is a great gadget, but only if you use it on a steep hill. The sledge looks very comfortable and strong to me. In Great Britain there are enough hills to use this sledge. If you only use a sledge to pull your child through the snow, it will be a waste of money. But if you need a good and strong sledge to glide from steep hills and you want to reach a high speed going down, this sledge will be a pleasure. I would never buy it, because it is kind of expensive, and I never use a sledge.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/6904780/Porsche-launch-328-sledge.html

50,000 children miss a day of school each week

Nearly 50,000 children of England's poorest areas are missing on average a day of school each week. That is what the Telegraph is reporting about. A Conservative analysis of Government statistics shows that 6.1 per cent of children in the poorest neighbourhoods missed at least one fifth of school in 2007/2008. In the richer neighbourhoods only 1.2 per cent of children missed one fifth of school in 2007/2008.
Children's Minister Dawn Primarolo said there was "no quick solution" for this problem. She says that attendance at school is absolutely vital, and that's why they have to ensure that school is interesting, and that there are enough challenges for the children. She also mentions that overall absence in 2007/2008 was at a record low.

In my opinion Children's Minister Dawn Primarolo is right. She says that school needs to be a challenge and interesting for children. I totally agree with this. Only if school is interesting pupils will have the motivation to reach targets and to pay attention. And this counts especially for children in the poorest areas. Because these children in the poor areas already have less knowledge and basic abilitys because of their background, it is even more important that these children use their time at school effictively. Attendance for these children is even more important because children in richer areas will have more opportunities to get good education, while most families in poor areas don't have enough money to provide good education for their children.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/6895443/50000-children-miss-a-day-of-school-each-week.html

Two soldiers killed in two days by ‘friendly fire’ in Afghanistan

Because of advances in night-vision equipment of the British army, friendly fire incidents involving British soldiers have been relatively rare in Afghanistan. However, in the last 48 hours there had been two friendly fire incidents, which killed two British soldiers. When officers of the Royal Military Police were investigating the first friendly fire incident, they heard of the second friendly fire incident. The deaths of these two soldiers took the fatal casualty toll since 2001 to 242.

I am sure that the American, Dutch, British and all the other soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan are doing a really good job. They are helping to rebuild these countries and they save the lives of thousands of people. Every killed soldier is one too many, but how does a family feel when they hear that their son, friend, brother or cousin is killed by friendly fire? It must be horrible. That's why I wanted to pay some attention to this item, because we may not forget the soldiers and the casualties.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/Afghanistan/article6965411.ece

UK wastes £15 million every day because of energy inefficiency

Business leaders have warned that Britain is wasting £15 million every day on energy bills because of leaky boilers inefficient offices and draughty homes. The third report by the CBI on UK Government climate change policy found just four out of 24 targets have been met so far. Richard Lambert, CBI Director-general, said the following: "Following the disappointing outcome to the Copenhagen negotiations, the immediate emphasis must now be on those actions that don't require global agreement and that bring economic benefits in their own right. Improved energy efficiency can take us a long way towards meeting our commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2020, and at the same time will bring significant economic benefits to the country,".

Wasting 15 million pounds every day is really shocking me. Not only because it is a lot of money, but also the fact that tonnes of carbon dioxide is being pumped into the atmosphere that could be saved, is shocking. Especially after the Copenhagen negotiations which can be seen as a failure, I think it is even more important that countries take actions that don't require a global agreement to stop the waste of energy and global warming.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthnews/6873077/UK-wastes-15-million-every-day-because-of-energy-inefficiency.html

Warming-up cars stolen from driveways

In Chelmsford and Ingatestone three cars were stolen. In Chelmsford the thieves stole a Ford Galaxy, while in Inatestone a Peugeot 407 and a Toyota Avensis were taken. These cars were stolen when they had their engines running while their owners were inside houses preparing to leave. In these cold times, most car owners warm their cars up on driveways, and go back inside to drink a cup of tea or coffee. This happens a lot, and that's why the Police thinks these thefts were planned. For car thieves there is no easier way to steal a car.

I can imagine the situation of the car owners, but also the situation of the thieves. As a car owner you don't want to drive in a car where the temperature is almost as low as outside, so then you warm up your car on the driveway. But sometimes when I see a car with its engine running, while there is nobody in or outside the car, I also think:"When you leave your car like this, it will be very easy to steal it". So for car thieves these days are very important, because there is no easier way to steal a car.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/warmingup-cars-stolen-from-driveways1848570.html