As a parent, you worry about how decisions you make affect your children. Over the past 8 years, I have grown accustomed to these questions which I am constantly asking myself. I have never though, until now, questioned our decision to bring new life into the world.
The fatal stabbing of 16 year-old Ben Kinsella in North London, on Sunday, was the 17th murder of a teenager in our capital this year. 17. That's nearly 3 a month. In one city. The first of these killings came just hours into the New Year.
In 2007, there were 27 murdered teenagers in London. At the rate we are going, we will hit this number in mid-September. If the number continues to grow in the same fashion, next year it will be 60. These are all people under the age of 20.
I, for one, am seriously considering leaving these shores in search of a safer and better life for my family. Unfortunately, I feel that it is not just England that is going to hell:
Washington, USA- The body of a pregnant woman was found on Saturday morning. She had been stabbed multiple times in the chest and her baby cut from her womb.
Zimbabwe- President Robert Mugabe uses torture, rape and murder as a tool to 'win' his country's 'democratic' election. His only opponent stood down because his supporters were being killed. Voters were marked with red ink, anyone without a mark was beaten and in some cases killed. The world watches and discusses a course of action.
North Carolina, USA- A leader in the Democratic Party in the Triangle is charged in a bizarre sex crime. Sources tell Eyewitness News it was a satanic ritual that got out of hand. Arrest warrants allege Joy Johnson, a vice chair woman of the Durham County Democratic Party watched as her husband, Joseph Craig, beat and raped a female victim then kidnapped and beat another male victim with a wooden cane and a cable cord.
Europe- Racist crime is on the rise across Europe, the head of the European Union's Agency for Fundamental Rights announced in Brussels on Tuesday. There was a worrying trend of an increase in racist crimes between 2000 and 2006, and 2007 showed a similar picture, Anastasia Crickley, the agency's chairperson, said as she presented her organisation's annual report. Until 2006, the number of reported cases of racist offences rose in Austria, Britain, Finland, France, Denmark, Germany, Ireland and Slovakia. There was a slight decrease in the Czech Republic, Poland and Sweden in the 2000 to 2006 period.
It's not just crime which marks the terrible state the world is in. Society in general must be in pretty poor shape for this kind of thing to even be considered:
Los Angeles, USA- A company touts a new reality show called "Who Wants to Marry a U.S. Citizen." The show proposes televising courtship beween legal citizens and immigrants who have temporary visas. The show's investors hope the marriage of reality TV and a national obsession with immigration will make it a hit.
It makes you wonder if we are just being cruel subjecting a new generation to this.
Ok, rant over.
It seems to me, from reading various blogs here, that a lot of people had alot of sex this weekend. If this was you, congratulations. If not, HaHa.
On Friday, I put up the sex swing that Kirstie bought. I just want to say - those things are difficult. Adjusting it to the right height, her getting in it, making sure she was in the correct postion as listed in the instruction manual, making sure she didn't fall out and smash her face on the floor. It was a lot of work, but not at all bad.
Thursday is my little ones birthday, she'll be 4. She's so excited about becoming a big girl and, obviously, getting presents. On Saturday she's having a party so our house will be full of screaming kids and, worse than that, parents. Bullshit small talk aplenty.
I hope everyone is well.
"The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it. "
Henry David Thoreau
The fatal stabbing of 16 year-old Ben Kinsella in North London, on Sunday, was the 17th murder of a teenager in our capital this year. 17. That's nearly 3 a month. In one city. The first of these killings came just hours into the New Year.
In 2007, there were 27 murdered teenagers in London. At the rate we are going, we will hit this number in mid-September. If the number continues to grow in the same fashion, next year it will be 60. These are all people under the age of 20.
I, for one, am seriously considering leaving these shores in search of a safer and better life for my family. Unfortunately, I feel that it is not just England that is going to hell:
Washington, USA- The body of a pregnant woman was found on Saturday morning. She had been stabbed multiple times in the chest and her baby cut from her womb.
Zimbabwe- President Robert Mugabe uses torture, rape and murder as a tool to 'win' his country's 'democratic' election. His only opponent stood down because his supporters were being killed. Voters were marked with red ink, anyone without a mark was beaten and in some cases killed. The world watches and discusses a course of action.
North Carolina, USA- A leader in the Democratic Party in the Triangle is charged in a bizarre sex crime. Sources tell Eyewitness News it was a satanic ritual that got out of hand. Arrest warrants allege Joy Johnson, a vice chair woman of the Durham County Democratic Party watched as her husband, Joseph Craig, beat and raped a female victim then kidnapped and beat another male victim with a wooden cane and a cable cord.
Europe- Racist crime is on the rise across Europe, the head of the European Union's Agency for Fundamental Rights announced in Brussels on Tuesday. There was a worrying trend of an increase in racist crimes between 2000 and 2006, and 2007 showed a similar picture, Anastasia Crickley, the agency's chairperson, said as she presented her organisation's annual report. Until 2006, the number of reported cases of racist offences rose in Austria, Britain, Finland, France, Denmark, Germany, Ireland and Slovakia. There was a slight decrease in the Czech Republic, Poland and Sweden in the 2000 to 2006 period.
It's not just crime which marks the terrible state the world is in. Society in general must be in pretty poor shape for this kind of thing to even be considered:
Los Angeles, USA- A company touts a new reality show called "Who Wants to Marry a U.S. Citizen." The show proposes televising courtship beween legal citizens and immigrants who have temporary visas. The show's investors hope the marriage of reality TV and a national obsession with immigration will make it a hit.
It makes you wonder if we are just being cruel subjecting a new generation to this.
Ok, rant over.
It seems to me, from reading various blogs here, that a lot of people had alot of sex this weekend. If this was you, congratulations. If not, HaHa.
On Friday, I put up the sex swing that Kirstie bought. I just want to say - those things are difficult. Adjusting it to the right height, her getting in it, making sure she was in the correct postion as listed in the instruction manual, making sure she didn't fall out and smash her face on the floor. It was a lot of work, but not at all bad.
Thursday is my little ones birthday, she'll be 4. She's so excited about becoming a big girl and, obviously, getting presents. On Saturday she's having a party so our house will be full of screaming kids and, worse than that, parents. Bullshit small talk aplenty.
I hope everyone is well.
"The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it. "
Henry David Thoreau
VIEW 15 of 15 COMMENTS
Good to hear you know your comics!
My oldest isnt so much like that, but the 6 year old is. She LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVES Zac Effron. LOOOOOOOOOVES him. Its frightening. My oldest has a cell phone though, her dad got it for her.