Snippets........

The outrage over spelling by a Judge.........
I have to say I agree with him - not that I have gone on and on about the decline in general education in this country at all!( ME??? surely you jest!)
Okay - so we are all human and are entitled to make mistakes - but I DO think the judge was correct in stating his opinion too - especially concerning spelling in the legal profession where every word is judged. One simple word that is misunderstood could cause serious problems - therefore good standards of grammar and the English language are a necessity.
As for the bit at the end of this link - it is just another way of too many people wanting to dumb educational standards down even more to make it appear that everyone is on the same level :

Dr Ken Smith of Buckinghamshire New University said common misspellings, such as 'Febuary', 'ignor' and 'speach' should be considered as alternative spellings.

Yep - that's the way to go huh???!! People are different - some are more academically capable than others - that is the way it is. I am somewhere in the middle(ish) - not the great academic - but not too bad either. This thing that everyone seems to have of 'everyone must be seen to be the same' has gone beyond a joke - it causes more conflict in all sorts of realms - not just education - than anything else. Maybe one day (not gonna be holding my breath for this though!) academic excellence will once again be academic excellence - and people will be allowed to be themselves and not ordered about by a bunch of little people who think everyone should conform to their will and be the same as everyone else.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1043721/Judge-brands-court-worker-illiterate-idiot-spelling-word-wrong-times-charge-sheet.html

Rape compensation cut if you were drinking ............
Oh yes - apparently if you consumed alcohol on the night/day you were raped - they can take 25% of compensation.

The authority told her the reason for the reduction was that "the evidence shows that your excessive consumption of alcohol was a contributing factor in the incident".

This woman had a lawyer who fought for her and got her the full amount of compensation awarded.
This statement is tantamount to saying: 'you were wearing a short skirt - you asked for it!'
Rape is rape - it is a vicious vile act and it is illegal! Last time I looked - drinking (or wearing a short skirt) is not!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7555299.stm