After everything that’s happened the last few years I didn’t think I could be surprised by any headlines any more… but “bird sniffing is not a crime” are a set of words I never expected to see out together in a sentence.

You can pick a message and sign one of the postcards here: https://findothers.com/tools/postcards-for-refugee-children

It’s just so comically evil that a political party would be against Human Rights… at least it would be comical if there wasn’t a real chance that the tories could actually scrap it and that there are voters who have been tricked into agreeing with them.

The chance is very low, the Good Friday Agreement depends on the ECHR but after Brexit we know what level of destruction the Tories are willing to do to this country in order to cling on to power

with intent to destroy the life of a child capable of being born alive

These are extremely late self administered abortions. Absolutely tragic for all involved and the current laws may not be appropriate but although most people agree that a collection of cells or tiny foetus is not a person yet… when someone is at a point in the pregnancy where the baby can be born and survive then I don’t think it’s as simple.

Note: I’m assuming that’s what the line meant about being capable of being born alive (as the other recent case I was aware of was a really really late abortion and I think this is a similar case based on the posted link)

Again? When did that ever change?

It’s not theft unless the owner specified in the conditions of the rental that car’s couldn’t be charged at the property. (Even then “Theft” is a strong word!)

That being said - there is obviously a big difference in charging your phone and charging a car and really we are at a point where this should be clear in all holiday rental agreements one way or another.

I don’t think the owner would be happy if someone just turned on all the taps in the house and left them running for the entirety of their stay. There is a sort of “fair use” which is assumed (if not actually in writing)

Question comes if car charging should always be assumed “fair use” or is that above and beyond? Or is it a gray area that just “depends”… Much better for everyone if all this is made as clear as possible in the agreement right at the beginning.

_From analysis of detention logs, during the previous six months, 1,257 children had been held at Manston, including 26 who were unaccompanied. The average recorded time of detention for children travelling in family groups was two days 11 hours although 232 children had been held for more than 96 hours and the longest time of detention for a child was more than 19 days. Unaccompanied children were held for an average of 21 hours 44 minutes.

Families with children were prioritised at Manston, but processing remained slow at busy times and we observed some families with very young children waiting for several hours to be progressed into the family marquee. The family marquee was in good condition and provided baby food, children’s toys and changing facilities. However, at the time of our inspection there was no private area for women to breastfeed.

Some particularly vulnerable children were held for long periods. One case concerned a 17-year-old girl and her 10-month-old baby, who the girl said had been conceived after she was raped. They arrived in the KIU at 11:030am and were held until 10am the following day, when accommodation was made available._

https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprisons/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/06/WJF-Manston-and-KIU-web-2023.pdf

———— Good thing that we spent £1,550 to get rid of those inappropriately friendly murals… I guess the baby food, children’s toys and changing facilities will also be removed because there’s definitely no children arriving here.

I feel really reassured now that the 1,257 children in the report weren’t really children (and the 10 month old baby was obviously a teenager with an intense fear of bright, cheerful colours and disney characters).

Edit: @520 - I’m sorry my sarcasm wasn’t targeted at you exactly, your point about newspapers and the reported statements are both valid. It’s just a forked up situation for whatever insane reason the decision was made… I think malicious… but even if it was pure bloody incompetence it doesn’t make it better.

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Good. What an absolutely ridiculous rule in the first place

Back to work after having a week off. Kind of dreading it as my calendar is already packed

Cwtching on the sofa watching postman pat with my little boy…. Considering getting a second coffee but the kitchen seems far away.

Not a bad casual Sunday morning so far

Agree with co-op salt & vinegar being the best (I do like mccoys too) - don’t really like walkers any more, the crisis are too thin!

That’s not the point and you know it. A child who already is likely to have experienced racism towards themselves not being comfortable with hearing casual racism being read out in class isn’t the same as wanting books restricted to “rainbows and unicorns”

I’m not saying that I agree with that of mice and men should be removed from the curriculum (honestly I don’t know what the right thing to do is) but I understand and empathise with the girls position.

What they are saying in the article that racism can and should be thought (and is!) but it’s entirely unnecessary and off putting for it to be part of English lit.

Part of English lit is encouraging a positive attitude to reading and literature. Yes it delves into the details but it should be encouraging young people about the joy of reading. That’s definitely not going to happen if you are choosing books that alienate your readers when there are plenty of alternatives that would be more suitable

This isn’t about “banning” of mice and men. It’s just about it not being the focus of the class where this hateful racist language and attitudes would be read out.

It’s a very understandable viewpoint

Summers in the UK are only going to get hotter and more extreme. Really this needs to be taken into account in how we build homes… but that doesn’t help the existing houses and flats.

I’d strongly recommend at least a small portable AC for the bedroom. Worth every penny.

A portable AC unit for the bedroom is one of the best purchase I’ve ever made. We put a hole in the wall for the vent which can just be closed when we don’t need it.

I can deal with the rest of the house being hot as long as I can get a half decent night sleep.

Bought it during the winter though as in the summer they are either out of stock or have a massively inflated price (or both!)