£1,000 fine for cyber bullying

Parents whose children bully classmates using text messages or the internet face £1,000 fines.

The Government is cracking down on 'cyber bullies' who use mobile phones, email and social networking websites to threaten or torment fellow pupils.

Ministers want schools to make greater use of parenting orders, under which fines of up to £1,000 can be imposed on mothers and fathers who fail to rein in bullying

This kind of bullying is nothing and can be ignored. Why doesn’t the government fine parents of children who physically bully classmates and use that money to pay for self defence classes for those that are being bullied.

Children will always bully other children and the government is not going to be able to stop it so they should do everything they can to ensure the children that are bullied have a chance to fight back.

Post office workers blackmailed and bribed

Post Office bosses turned to blackmail and spying to make sub-postmasters co-operate with their closure programme.

Postmasters were told exactly how to answer questions from worried customers - and warned that undercover PO staff would check that they complied.

They were also told they could lose compensation payments of up to £60,000 if they failed to parrot the official line. Tories reacted with outrage, saying postmasters were being forced to act as Government spin-doctors.

Ministers and Post Office chiefs say 2,500 rural branches must close in the next 18 months because customers are deserting them for the Internet and phone banking.

As well as blackmailing postmasters they have also decided to bribe the rest of the staff into shutting up by threatening them with losing a £1000 lump sum payment if they do not get involved in or support opposition to the changes.

Examples of protest include "asking customers to sign a petition or handing out leaflets during working hours, or taking part in strike action… any individual colleague who supports or is involved in activities that oppose our plans, during working hours, will not qualify for the payment".

It is not just postmasters and their workers which are being blackmailed and bribed. The head of the Royal Mail is to get a bonus of £1 million for carrying out the closures on top of his £250,000 salary.

Parents of bullies to be fined £1000

Parents of bullies could be forced to attend parenting classes or face a £1,000 fine, Education Secretary Alan Johnson has warned.

His message came as campaigners said 20,000 children were skipping school every day to avoid being bullied.

Mr Johnson said he wanted to create a "zero tolerance" culture towards bullying in an effort to stamp out the "despicable" and "intolerable" phenomenon.

New powers under the Education Act would allow parenting orders to be imposed on mothers and fathers of bullies, with a £1,000 fine if they failed to comply, he said.

I don’t think the government has any clue about how to stop bullying. There is no need for parenting classes. Parents know how to deal with their children but they are banned from using the only tool that is likely to stop misbehaviour and that is smacking. I don’t mean beating the kid up especially if they are only 7 but giving them one smack that is hard enough that they will feel the pain but don’t suffer any long term damage. Here are my proposals:

1. Bring back smacking. If the parent refuses to smack their child and their child continues to bully other children and misbehave then they should be sent to parenting classes paid for by them.

2. Free education is not a right. It is a privilege. Parents should be made to realise that. If they fail to stop their children from continuously misbehaving in school the child should lose their right to a free education until the child signs a contract on their behaviour. If they breach that contract they will lose free education forever. There will be no appeals allowed. Only the Minister of Education will be allowed to overturn the ruling.

3. Once losing free education there will be no need for child benefit unless they are sent to a private school paid out of their own pocket. If they can’t afford one it is tough. Seeing as they lose child benefit the child will be allowed to find a job if they want.

4. Teachers will be allowed to hit unruly pupils if they fail to behave after being asked once.