Cash For Geezers
August 9, 2009
This image has been posted with express written permission.
This cartoon was originally published at Town Hall.
Obese US man hid gun between rolls of fat
August 9, 2009
George Vera, an obese prisoner in Texas, has been charged with illegal possession of a firearm after he was discovered to be hiding a 9mm pistol in between his rolls of fat.
Vera, who weighs around 35 stone and 10 lbs (225 kilos), was being held in a prison in Harris County in the southern state. He was originally arrested last week for selling counterfeit CDs, according to a report in the Houston Chronicle newspaper.
A police spokesman told the newspaper that Vera was searched three times over the course of his arrest and booking at the jail but managed to conceal the handgun with his rolls of fat until it was discovered when he was in the shower.
Vera has since been charged with possession of an illegal weapon in a correctional facility. On conviction the charge carries a penalty of two to 10 years in prison.
However Vera is currently free on bail of $10,000 (£6,000).
Of Mice And Obama
August 9, 2009
This image has been posted with express written permission.
This cartoon was originally published at Town Hall.
Lord Mandelson is drawing up plans to overhaul university entry that could see applicants from poor families awarded a two-grade “head start” over better-off candidates.
One of the effects would be to “bump out” many middle-class candidates at high-performing independent and grammar schools from popular courses at leading universities.
Mandelson, the first secretary of state, has told his officials to report back to him on schemes run by Leeds University and two London medical schools that give lower A-level offers to candidates from disadvantaged families.
He sees such changes not as positive discrimination but as a policy at the heart of Labour’s drive to improve social mobility in Britain…
“Treating everyone the same way is not appropriate and not equitable,” said Lewis. “It is far more important to consider the context in which someone has achieved their qualifications.”
A scheme at King’s College London adds a catch-up year to its medicine programme for 50 low-income comprehensive pupils admitted annually from London and Kent on reduced A-level offers.
At Leeds, the third scheme, application forms will be automatically flagged from this autumn if they come from postcodes where few people go to university…
