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jinks-cider-stash

Listed below are comments made by jinks-cider-stash between Friday, 4th July 2008 and Wednesday, 17th June 2009.

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Kings provide Lions with timely test 10:39am on 17 Jun 2009 I think last night proved what a liability Monye is. He doesn't do the basics well! He has averaged 4 mistakes a game so far (knock ons, penalties, forward passes, missed tackles, turnovers etc) which is far too high for test match rugby - where matches are one and lost on the smallest of margins. I dont know what his kicking game is like.

After his first knock-on last night Miles Harrison actually said 'that's the 1st mistake Monye has made on this tour' which I found hilarious and Barnsey did actually pull him up on that.

He just doesn't seem to get the blitz defence system either. He comes up much too slowly, this creates a gap between 13 and wing which has been, and would be against the Boks, exploited.

Kearney is the only real option at 11.
Knives, guns and teens 12:41pm on 04 Jul 2008 After the tragic death of yet another teenager, 16 year old Shakilus Townsend, I have just heard on the radio the police chief in charge of the investigation (didn't catch the name) blaming this recent increase of violence among the young people on the LICENSING LAWS. He claims that the ease in which people can access alcohol today is the single most important factor contributing to the rise of knife, and gun, crime.

I sincerely respect the police today, they are face with a difficult job under increasingly tough and political circumstances but surely this has to the lazy piece of police work I have seen. Before we investigate the conditions in which these crimes occur, why not start at the beginning – why are children and young people carrying weapons in the first place. This has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH LICENSING LAWS.

Gang or Gangsta culture and the glorification of violence and weapons as a means to an ends has certainly played a role. Anything from Scarface to F’ddy Cent can rightfully share a portion of the blame to the situation we now find ourselves in. You only have to see that silly girl on Big Brother to understand how deeply routed this culture is in some parts of our society. The biggest excuse given to the question ‘why do you carry a weapon?’ is always ‘for protection’. Ashamedly, as a weapon carrying youth myself, I can say this is total nonsense. The actual reason for carrying a weapon is simply as a status symbol, it’s so you can tell other people you’re carrying and that you’re not a person to be messed with. The protection fallacy is simply to try an earn sympathy.

There is no quick fix to this problem, and dare I say, it will perhaps get worse before we see it getting better. The protest that was sparked by the unfortunate death of Ben Kinsella is a good start, it shows that many young people are starting to realise that it isn’t ‘cool’ to carry a weapon (although I do believe protests by children and young people should always take place at the weekend rather than a school day, it shows more belief in the cause if you do it in your own time). I do, however, that this problem will not simply be solved by attacking licensing laws.

Rant over, thanks

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