Do the Laws on Abortion Need Changing?

Abortion isn’t always a travesty but is something we need to think long and hard about.

When I was in college, the subject of Termination of a birth was a huge point of debate in Parliament, and it’s one of those Catch 22 scenarios where no one is right or wrong.

I was discussing it with my friend who openly admitted she had, had a termination as soon as she found out she was pregnant. She was a single mother, with 2 kids already, and her and her boyfriend at the time were nothing more than a fling that had begun fizzling before it even sparked into something more serious.

He (I know the man) is also a commitment-phobe and would have made a lousy father due to his immaturity mentally and emotionally, as well as not being able to fund a child. She made that decision on educated grounds. She simply couldn’t afford another child.

Since meeting a guy 7 years ago, she’s got married, and now has 4 children.

I’m also a bit of an HIV advocate, and have heard some harrowing stories, something to put Game of Thrones to shame. On World AIDS Day, 2008, one of the speakers, a lesbian woman from Nigeria, spoke of how she was gang raped, fell pregnant and discovered she had been infected with HIV and other STI’s. Her duty (she felt) was to terminate the pregnancy. For her own health, and for that of the child as HAART isn’t freely available, and would be extremely costly.

She has since gone on to forge a new life in the UK, working, has a girlfriend and is a public speaker on women’s rights.

There was a time where the ‘A’ word, was dirty. But when you think about it, it’s the most difficult decision people can make. From teenagers who got a little too frisky to rape victims, cash strapped workers on minimum wage to the up and coming business greats that can’t afford the time to achieve what they desire. Termination is a gargantuan decision, not a form of birth control, and everyone has their own reasons for doing it.

I’m not Pro Life, but I’m not Pro Abortion either. No one is Pro Abortion, like the Pro Lifers make out.

No one in their right mind says ‘you know what, I’m going to have an abortion’, like they’re debating on whether to order the Pepperoni or the Meat Feast in a pizza place.

It’s no picnic for anyone, the staff involved, who know more than we ever will. The would be parent(s), friends and family (if they’re involved in the process). It really is not a simple choice, and people are making out that anyone who has an abortion is a slut, a slag, a whore. Shaming them for it.

Everyone has their own circumstances, and the vast majority of the time, they don’t think selfishly, they think of the foetus, and the life that they would end up inheriting from their parents.

Social Services Need to Improve

Let’s get something straight. Social services need to stop meddling where they’re not needed.

My blended family is getting pretty sick of Social Services interfering where they’re not required. I have an adult step daughter, who has an equally difficult boyfriend. The pair of them are as bad as each other. She winds him up, he winds her up, they have a shouting match, slam doors and 10 minutes later it’s all kisses and cuddles.

The pair of them are all mouth and no action, they’re not a danger to each other. This is what adults do. We bicker, argue, shout and scream, then once the steams let off and the air is cleared, we kiss and make up and go back to making dinner and calling each other playful nicknames.

So for social services to have homed in on a neighbours say so over the most trivial of matters is not only heavy handed, but is border lining criminal.

The idiotic do gooding bimbo that is meant to be the social worker met her match however with my partner, who systematically ripped every argument she had to shreds. So what stepdaughter and her on/off boyfriend were seen in the same town, on the same day, at the same time. Is it a crime to go shopping? Or to meet up with someone in a neutral place to try and sort things out? In my book, that’s a very grown up thing to do.

We have kids up and down the UK being groomed by gangs of men who pass them round like a used tissue. We have gangs using children to push drugs. We have people smugglers bringing in child brides to be used by depraved men. THESE are the children that should have social services and social workers on their cases. Not a pair of hot headed 20 something’s that have too much to say to each other and who deliberately wind each other up.

But no, the serious cases would be too much like hard work and no one wants to get involved with a 13 year old girl that’s been passed around every man from Rochdale to Bradford and back again. Or the feral little brats that are plaguing town centres because their own parents can’t be arsed to get out of their PJs, and instead smoke like chimneys, drink like fish and think they’re a celeb for appearing on Jeremy Kyle to have a paternity test on their child because there are 20 potential fathers, all from the same night and in the toilets of the same night club.

No, instead, the government set targets, and social services are homing in on the easiest jobs so they can make up the statistics to ensure funding for next year. Instead of doing what they should be doing (protecting those who ar most in need), they’re sticking noses in where they aren’t needed, and burying their heads in the sand, completely ignoring the elephant in the room.

Police Report Sex Offenders Go Missing

I can understand how one person slips under the radar, but EIGHTEEN sex offenders is absurd!

No fewer than 18 sex offenders in the Greater Manchester are have vanished. Paedophiles, rapists and gropers, not to mention other offenders have slipped under the radar and are currently on a ‘most wanted’ type list.

All of them have failed to inform authorities of their whereabouts and have essentially gone without a trace. All of the published offenders, all of which are men, are deemed to be highly dangerous to the public, with some of them being at the highest end of the scale.

So how do we sort this problem? These men aren’t petty criminals that have shop lifted a couple of packs of chewing gum, they are seriously dangerous individuals. Individuals, who in my opinion don’t deserve their human rights, they never considered their victims human rights, so why should we consider theirs?

How about giving them an under the skin GPS tracker? I don’t doubt that some offenders may be rehabilitated, but I certainly wouldn’t give them a long leash. Being able to track them would be a much simpler solution. Especially with the sex offenders register that requires those on it to be regularly seen by police to ensure they haven’t done a runner.

In the same breath though, appointments can’t always be made, and given that Manchester has some of the most diabolic public transport routes (where I lived, the trains were always 10 minutes late, and the busses came when they came), so you can’t expect an offender to be at their 10am appointment at bang on 10am every time. Being able to track them would give authorities the power to just check they are where they say they are, and see if they are actually stuck in traffic on Oldham Road, or are really in Brighton after fleeing.

What about electronic tagging? A little more visible, but a good way to ensure that we can keep a close eye on them, and if they stray, the authorities will know and will come down on them like a tonne of bricks.

I am sick of criminals in my home city, one of the best cities in the world, being given weak sentences, slaps on the wrist, and then being able to slip under the radar. When you commit a crime so heinous, you give up your human rights, your right to freedom, your right to anonymity, your right to live and breathe among the rest of us.

Sod the Human Rights laws, if you commit a crime so heinous that it warrants your arrest, trial and conviction, you don’t deserve them. Rights and Responsibilities. I have the right to be who I want to be, but I have the responsibility to be a good, upstanding citizen.

That is how the world works, treat others how you want to be treated, and if you don’t, expect to have the full weight of the law come crashing down on you with such force your head spins.

More Stop and Searches in London Planned

In my idealistic world, good conquers evil, cancer doesn’t exist, dogs are born house trained and babies don’t cry.

Wouldn’t that be FABULOUS?!

In the world I do live in, evil is everywhere, cancer kills, I wake up to ‘bonza pressies’ off the dog and if babies crying was an Olympic sport, at least 3 of them on my garden would be in the running for a gold medal.

The issue I have, is the police are scared. In my parents day, they were unceremoniously carted home. In my grandparents day, they were clipped round the ear. I won’t go as far as to say we should hold #shitgate ala Game of Thrones, where Cercei has her head shaved and is stripped naked and forced to walk through the city while the townsfolk throw their own excrement at her. But the police need to stop worrying about being complained about.

In school we ALL had teachers we didn’t like. I had Mr. Toner, he was an absolute narcissist on an ego trip and a year off retiring. I didn’t like the man but I can’t fault his teaching. He begrudgingly taught me Latin and Roman in extra lessons, we were just incompatible people. It didn’t stop him making a mockery of me at every opportunity.

The police are always seen as bad guys. Like teachers. They are there to discipline. But when the powers are consistently stripped away, your sense of authority waivers and the house of cards crumbles.

If a copper was to stop and search me, I could cry homophobia and they’d soon back off. If a black person or an Asian is stopped, they can cry racism and white superiority. In reality, it’s nothing to do with that, it’s trying to make the streets a safer place for everyone, and flapping your arms and resisting is about as much use as a chocolate teapot and is going to make you look more guilty.

The police need to be above normal law for us civvies, but within the guidelines. A clipped ear or a firm telling off is not going to kill you, and your ethnicity, sexuality, creed or colour doesn’t make any impact. If you’re being a prat, you need to be pulled up on it. That is how policing works.

The police are now scared to call a spade a spade. It’s now a Manual digging instrument.

Poor people are now ‘people of limited means’.

For god’s sake, they’re poor, the spade is a spade, they’re gay, black, white, Chinese, addicted to drugs. I don’t care! Call the thing what it is! I don’t call my bedside lamp a ‘soft lighting instrument with chiffon’. It’s a bloody lamp! I plug it in, flick a switch and it turns on.

It’s time the police revolted, and time they started taking power back. The criminals are running the show here. And the police are powerless.

Computer Problems and Low Cost Repairs

So this morning, I had to do a reset of my computer, it had got stuck in a continual loop and nothing was properly responding (never leave your computer on overnight, even when defragging). So, I did the reset, and got the dreaded Bios Message. Joy of joys. Just what I need with a deadline.

But, thanks to my smartphone I got to the bottom of it. It’s quite embarrassing, I did study IT in college, and dropped out before we got to the good stuff! Instead they were teaching us how to be a secretary and type letters and send emails. BORING!

But, don’t despair, usually this can be fixed quickly and although a little fiddly, easily. Firstly though, you need to understand that your motherboard acts as a circuit, and each time your computer fires up it does a POST (Power On System Test), and there are several codes programmed into the BIOS to alert the user, or repairer what each one means.

I find that Tom’s Hardware is really good and informative if you ever need to work something out, or if you just fancy gaining a little extra technical knowledge. Though every company works in different ways, normally, BIOS codes are pretty universal. Actually, just taking a look around the forums on a wet Sunday can pass the time pretty quick, and by the time you know it, you’ve spent 4 hours reading and learning.

Unlike a lot of websites, the one mentioned above isn’t a load of fan boys trolling each other, they are a load of like minded geeks who will try and get to the bottom of your problem using a variety of methods, be that certified by the company, or of their own making!

Mine turned out to be a Memory issue, and all I had to do was unplug the entire system from the mains, remove the Keyboard and mouse, remove the RAM, power on, power off, replace the RAM and this process ‘flushed’ the badness out of where ever the problem had arisen and the computer booted twice. Once with the American Mega Trends screen, and then with my usual ASUS screen.

I’ve found that a lot of issues that arise with computers are actually workable (unless there’s water damage), usually it’s corrupted drivers, or an individual device is frazzled on the Motherboard, which is easily sorted by buying a standalone device and installing it as it will automatically override the computers desire to use the built in chip set.

Always be sure to know your exact make and model numbers because some devices are incompatible with others, or it could be too new for your current set up. If this is the case, it’s wise to salvage your hard drive, shove the system on Ebay for Spares and Repairs and get a new rig that you can plug your hard drive in to, to retrieve any files you need. So before you despair, simply google, or use the site above to get your computer up and running.

Punish a Muslim Day? I Truly Despair

An array of fliers have been sent out to houses up and down the country, calling for April 3rd to be Punish a Muslim day, with a points system for the most deprived and degrading crimes ranking the highest, and ultimately, 1000 points for bombing a Mosque (which in itself is ironic as that is an act of terrorism, the very thing that people misjudgingly think all Muslims are quite adept at).

The thing is, the inbreds that would do this can’t differentiate between Jews, Sikhs, Muslims or Catholics. They simply see a head scarf or a turban and immediately go on tirades about ‘going back to their own country’ and that ‘I’m a f*****g minority in my own city’. What nonsense.

The vast majority of people of Chinese, Bangladeshi and Pakistani heritage in the UK are 3rd, some even 4th and 5th generation, and with each generation, they become more and more westernized. It’s simple evolution. If we were to do it the other way round, and send me and my family to Pakistan, as the generations progressed they would become more and more in line with the Pakistani culture.

This isn’t to say that there aren’t radicals on both sides of the argument, and I don’t agree with wearing the full face veils as they are firstly a security threat, and secondly oppressive. But going all vigilante and trying to purge the country goes against the very core of British Values.

We are NOT the Americans, and it is documented that during WWII, the UK welcomed Black American Troops and fought with our own ally, the US for their disparaging treatment of their black troops. The captain of the 320th Segregated Battalion, GI Willie Howard can actually be quoted as saying ‘Our biggest enemy was our own troops’. Now THAT is truly shocking.

We are a people of diverse culture and tastes, hell, we don’t even have our own language, we begged, stole and borrowed bits from other languages and mother tongues, how dare WE be the ones that are racist towards others.

If it wasn’t for migration, the country would have a very bland palette indeed, from art from Italy, to dance from India, food from Pakistan and Bangladesh to music from Poland. The reason we have all of this, is because over the years, society has blended, and although not 100% compatible, things will only get better if we meet in the middle, or more right of centre in line with our more Westernized culture, and discuss it.

There isn’t an Us and Them rule set. We have to follow all the same rules, it’s simply propaganda by bigots and racists trying to stir up trouble, and we all know they’ll have the emotional and intellectual range of a teaspoon. Don’t let this obscene thing pull you in.

So if you’re planning on ‘Punishing a Muslim’, I hope that curry, kebab, Samosa or whatever eastern delicacy you’re indulging on bloody chokes you!

How About Fish for Easter?

If you have been thinking of having something different for your Easter dinner, then how about having Fishcakes with a Thai Sweet Chilli Dip?

These simple Fishcakes are simply divine as an appetizer with a small side salad, or as a healthy lunch with New Potatoes and Glazed Vegetables for a more substantial lunch or evening meal. Feel free to play with the recipe to suit your own tastes and needs.

Serves 2 – 4

Ingredients

4 Large Potatoes, 1 Large Salmon Fillet, 1 Large Cod Fillet, 160g can Tuna in Brine well drained or pre drained, 1tsp Chilli Powder, Butter, Milk, Salt, Black Pepper, 1 – 2 Eggs, Breadcrumbs, Paprika, Oil, Thai Sweet Chilli Dip

Method

Bring a Pan of Salted water to the boil, Peel and chop the potatoes for mashing.

Open and drain the Tuna, Cut the Cod and Salmon in to around 1” chunks.

In a heavy bottomed frying pan, add a knob of butter and add the Tuna, Salmon and Cod and cook for around 5 – 7 minutes. Set aside.

Once the potatoes are cooked thoroughly, drain and mash them, add the required amount of Pepper, Milk and Butter (taste if you must) and gently whisk with a hand whisk until a firm texture is achieved. Gently spoon the fish into the Mashed potatoes, being careful to not add any fluid from the pan.

Add a generous amount of black pepper and roughly whisk, being sure to achieve a pleasant fluffy texture, adding more butter and/or milk if needed. Set aside to cool.

Once cool enough to touch, Take good sized handfuls of the mixture and roll into balls 1.5” – 2” balls and flatten them and put them on a plate. Put in the fridge for 5 – 10 minutes so the mixture firms up.

On a plate pour out a decent amount of Breadcrumbs, add just enough paprika for the breadcrumbs to take on a pinkish colour and mix together well.

In a wide bowl whisk the eggs so they are well mixed

Taking each fishcake, gently dip in the egg on both sides and coat in the bread crumbs and set aside. Repeat until all the fishcakes are done.

In a large frying pan, heat some oil over a medium high heat and cook the Fishcakes for around 2 – 4 minutes on each side until golden brown, and place onto a paper towel. This may need to be done in a couple of batches.

Once the excess oil is drained, serve with a side dish and Thai Sweet Chilli Dip.

The Full Monty Testicular Cancer Awareness

Several UK celebs of both genders have agreed to bear all to raise funds and awareness for cancer. The boys include the likes of Alexander Armstrong and Ainsley Harriot, while the girls include Coleen Nolan.

Channelling the hugely popular comedy from the 90’s, The Full Monty (American friends, if you’ve not seen it, it is a true British gem of gritty comedy), where during the Sheffield Steel crisis, coupled with the aftermath of recession, a group of guys find themselves so flat broke, something costs ‘£4.99 and they’re still a fiver short.’.

Both sets of participants are raising awareness for male and female cancers, and hopefully much needed funds to help research and hopefully one day cure this horrible disease. Each celebrity has their own reason for doing it. For example, Jack Tweedy, who was married to Jade Goodie, who was tragically diagnosed with, and ultimately died of cervical cancer, leaving him with their 2 sons, whom, though I’m not a huge fan of his I must admit, he has done an impeccable job at raising them in to a pair of lovely little boys.

One of the main reasons for male cancers being quite a big thing at the moment is that for the first time, testicular cancer is killing more men than breast cancer is killing women, and the pendulum has swung further towards men, and it’s high time that male cancers got a cut of the research.

With male cancers (testicular and prostate), they’re on a par with women’s cancers (ovarian and cervical). Neither is less or more important, they just so happen to only affect one gender, and like it or not, getting checked out is imperative.

Ladies, stirrups are hardly the most comfortable things (you’d think they could at least get something to cushion the straps!), and gents, having a couple of fingers up your backside isn’t the most flattering experience (for most), but is 10 minutes of mild indignation and discomfort seriously more important than your health? Watching your children grow? Growing old with your partner?

We can’t force anyone to get regular checkups, though ideally you should be getting yourself MOT’d once every 6 months, 3 if you have already had cancer, or you have a strong line of cancer in your close family.

Your doctor has seen it all. Hell, I’m not a doctor and I’ve seen it all. From bumpy boobs to bruised balls on friends, I even had one female friend find a lump just behind her boob. I told her to whip her top and bra off and I’d have a quick check. It was nothing to be worried about, but I did tell her to go to the doctor and get it professionally checked out. What it turned out to be was an inflamed gland on her underarm likely caused by an ingrown hair. Exactly what I’d said. It doesn’t take Sherlock to put shaving rash, inflamed gland and smooth underarms to come to that conclusion!

So no matter the problem, just speak to your doctor.

Expensive Restaurant? No Thanks

As M&S looks at overhauling its food range, let’s look at ways YOU can make some restaurant quality favourites.

As M&S has reported a decline in sales, it has been decided that a bit of an overhaul is in order. However, we thought it may be an idea to show you how to make restaurant quality foods at a fraction of the price. Most of these are side dishes, and predominantly will go with anything, but we have slipped a few mains in too. So get creative.

The reason we’re doing this, is because it really isn’t expensive to eat well, and with so many people relying on solely ready meals, it’s getting to a point where we need to up our game, otherwise the obesity endemic is just going to get worse. These are simple alternatives that even the kids can help with, and it’s always good to get the youngsters in the kitchen to learn about food from a young age as cooking is a life skill that we will always have to use, be that making a sandwich, or making a 3 course dinner for a date.

Below are simply guides, but with a little common sense, we’re sure you can work out your measurements without too much difficulty. Also, take a look online at how other people do things, you may find you have a new passion.

New Potatoes with Herbs – Simply empty a bag of New Potatoes into a pan of salted, boiling water until cooked through and tender, drain, transfer to an oven proof dish, drizzle in olive oil, add fresh herbs and toss well. Put in the oven for 20 minutes at 200C. Saving – £5.50

Glazed Vegetables – Boil your vegetables until tender, but still slightly firm, drain and return to the pan with a knob of butter and 1tsp of sugar. Place over a high heat for a few minutes until the veg has a nice glaze. Saving – £3-5

Bubble and Squeak – Boil Potatoes, 1 Carrot and 1 Onion, drain and mash together. Serve as a topping for cottage pie, make into cakes and shallow fry for a few minutes each side, or serve as an alternative for stuffing for a veggie roast dinner. – £3

Sticky Whiskey BBQ Chicken Breasts – In an oven proof dish, place 1 chopped onion, chicken breasts, sliced green pepper and submerge in BBQ Sauce, add 2 shots of sweet whiskey, cover and marinate for 2 hours. Remove cover, put in a preheated oven at 200C for 30 minutes or until the sauce is reduced and sticky. – Saving £10

Mac, Leek and Bacon and Cheese – In a large pan boil the macaroni for 2 minutes shy of the packaging instructions, drain. Chop and fry the leeks and bacon until cooked add to an oven proof dish. Make cheese sauce and put into the dish. Add the pasta to the dish. Stir well. Top with lots of grated cheese and bake for 20 minutes at 200C. – Saving £7

Who Are the Real Celebrities?

Is it possible for people to be famous for actually DOING good things? It’s been a very strange week or so. Stephen Hawking died, Jim Bowen Died. They’ve been dropping like flies.

Kim Kardashian gives someone a blowjob and suddenly she’s an A list celeb!

Seriously, there is something wrong when the untalented are being made into the medias hot totty.

The Beatles had talent, Elvis had talent, Cher has talent, Bette Midler has talent. They are true celebs. People that actually do something, instead we’ve got the modern day Addams Family thrust into the spotlight. We have Kaitlyn Jenner, a former Olympian, and then the entourage he married into. Kris, Kim, Khloe, Kourtney and Rob.

Seriously, these are famous for doing exactly what?

It’s like a lot of reality stars. They are famous for simply being notoriously badly behaved in night clubs.

Big Brother, for example has ended up making minor celebs of people, as as X-Factor and ’s got talent. They get a 15 minute burst of fame, and then fade into obscurity, only then to become sensations on reality TV.

Katie Price got her boobs out for The Sun, had a child with a footballer, subsequently divorced and remarried several times, and she’s what our youth look up to. Fake boobs and fake tan so dark it looks like she’s rolled around in Chicken gravy!

Do we really want our children to be looking up to thugs, druggies and sluts? Thinking that making a sex tape (and leaking it on the internet) will make them famous?

What about the celebs that have done things. Like Martin Luther King, who kick started the Civil Rights Movement. What about Emmaline Pankhurst, who was one of the leaders of the Suffragettes? They did things that changed history, things that matter, and they’re not as idolized as these reality people that flash their boobs or get their abs out while sunning it in Spain.

Celebrity should be reserved for the talented, and those who have worked to change the world. Not vainly objectify themselves and make them wannabe porn stars.

I want to see people in the news who have done real things, not just kick a ball around for 90 minutes, or wear a pair of jeans from a certain designer.

Why don’t we start looking at real talent? There are so many musicians, artists, dancers, designers out there, yet we seem to spend all of our time and energy following the talentless, vain, egotistical people around that do absolutely nothing but enjoy a life of riley without having to lift a finger. It’s actually quite sickening, especially when you have to endure article after article about them. Let’s get back to celebrating glamour, class and taste. Not some topless bimbo who likes to post nudes to ‘break the internet’.