Thursday 24th September 2015

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Thu 24 Sep, 2015 3:44 pm

Mike Smithson ‏@MSmithsonPB 3 hrs3 hours ago
Ipsos MORI Standard poll

Corbyn beating Cameron on honesty by 54% to 30%

So --- the opinion is that Corbyn is more honest than Cameron, but Cameron still head the polls when it comes to approval rating as PM? Weird or what.

StephenDolan · Post by **StephenDolan** » Thu 24 Sep, 2015 3:52 pm

citizenJA wrote:
StephenDolan wrote:Did somebody say tea and biscuits?
I was removing the scary picture of weapons, StephenDolan, the kettle is on.
Chocolate biscuits or plain?

Triple choc please, it's one of those days!

ephemerid · Post by **ephemerid** » Thu 24 Sep, 2015 3:58 pm

ohsocynical wrote:Mike Smithson ‏@MSmithsonPB 3 hrs3 hours ago
Ipsos MORI Standard poll

Corbyn beating Cameron on honesty by 54% to 30%

So --- the opinion is that Corbyn is more honest than Cameron, but Cameron still head the polls when it comes to approval rating as PM? Weird or what.

It's all very very weird, OhSo.

Corbyn is more trustworthy, and more aware of ordinary peoples' problems.
Cameron is not trusted, and perceived as an out of touch toff.

I know life and that poll are both a lot more complicated than that - but seriously?

LadyCentauria · Post by **LadyCentauria** » Thu 24 Sep, 2015 4:06 pm

StephenDolan wrote:
citizenJA wrote:
StephenDolan wrote:Did somebody say tea and biscuits?
I was removing the scary picture of weapons, StephenDolan, the kettle is on.
Chocolate biscuits or plain?
Triple choc please, it's one of those days!

I'll add clotted cream and either chocolate or vanilla ice-cream to dunk or crumble the biccies in. Oh, and celery sticks, carrot batons, oaties, and a selection of parsnip, beetroot, and sweet potato crisps, with cucumber raita, roast aubergine purée, humous, and taramasalata for dipping. Help yourselves

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Thu 24 Sep, 2015 4:20 pm

Sam Macrory ‏@sammacrory 11m11 minutes ago
What really happens at a Piers Gaveston Soc party? A former Lord High Spanker (& current @LRB editor) tells all. http://bit.ly/1R2HgZW" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Very helpful clarification of the 'normal' niceties / etiquette of this society ...

I was the head of the Piers Gaveston Society, which is the society that David Cameron allegedly stuck his dick in a pig for. I never did that. According to Lord Ashcroft’s unofficial biography of the prime minister, Cameron did what he did as part of an initiation ritual, but the society in my day (late 2000s) didn’t have initiation rituals because it wasn’t a proper society.＊ Unlike the Bullingdon Club, we didn’t get up in ridiculous costumes and vandalise restaurants. All we did was organise the kind of party that people put their dicks in pigs at. If Porkergate happened at all, it was almost certainly at a party and not at dinner and people were almost certainly doing more shocking things at it than fucking pigs’ heads...

The first thing to sort out was our names. There was a traditional stock of them, but as a reformist and moderniser I allowed the new members to choose new ones if they wished. Most didn’t, and I assigned the names we had randomly. I can’t remember all of them, or who was who, but among our number there was a Fellatrix, an Irrumator, a Raging Horn and a Mr Whippy. The one name that couldn’t be randomly allocated was mine. The head of the Piers Gaveston Society is known as the Lord High Spanker – Spanks to his mates.

do read on ...

Tubby Isaacs · Post by **Tubby Isaacs** » Thu 24 Sep, 2015 4:25 pm

Interesting post from Dave Hill, the Guardian's London blogger, based on a report by a Hackney councillor, Vincent Stops.

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/dave ... -is-a-mess" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I've been sceptical about "remaking London as a cycling city" for some time. There's lots of complaining about buses by cyclists, almost as if the buses shouldn't be there and bus drivers are a bunch of psychos. But, of course, that's ridiculous. Buses are an important part of mass transport, and the drivers are just trying to get people where they need to go.

It would be nice if there were easily available ways of segregating cycling routes, but there isn't, besides what's been done piecemeal already in parks, quiet backstreets etc. When you try and force segregated routes into narrow London high streets, you get a right mess, whereby people shopping or waiting for buses have to be alert to cyclists speeding by them.

Nice to see the argument put against this sort of commuter cycling. I think a relatively small group of (well-connected) commuters are having disproportionate influence on policy, compared with less affluent shoppers and bus users. I hope Labour mayor candidates see it like this too.

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Thu 24 Sep, 2015 4:44 pm

LadyCentauria wrote:
StephenDolan wrote:
citizenJA wrote: I was removing the scary picture of weapons, StephenDolan, the kettle is on.
Chocolate biscuits or plain?
Triple choc please, it's one of those days!
I'll add clotted cream and either chocolate or vanilla ice-cream to dunk or crumble the biccies in. Oh, and celery sticks, carrot batons, oaties, and a selection of parsnip, beetroot, and sweet potato crisps, with cucumber raita, roast aubergine purée, humous, and taramasalata for dipping. Help yourselves

Thank you!

StephenDolan, better goodies here!

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Thu 24 Sep, 2015 4:47 pm

rebeccariots2 wrote:
Sam Macrory ‏@sammacrory 11m11 minutes ago
What really happens at a Piers Gaveston Soc party? A former Lord High Spanker (& current @LRB editor) tells all. http://bit.ly/1R2HgZW" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Very helpful clarification of the 'normal' niceties / etiquette of this society ...
I was the head of the Piers Gaveston Society, which is the society that David Cameron allegedly stuck his dick in a pig for. I never did that. According to Lord Ashcroft’s unofficial biography of the prime minister, Cameron did what he did as part of an initiation ritual, but the society in my day (late 2000s) didn’t have initiation rituals because it wasn’t a proper society.＊ Unlike the Bullingdon Club, we didn’t get up in ridiculous costumes and vandalise restaurants. All we did was organise the kind of party that people put their dicks in pigs at. If Porkergate happened at all, it was almost certainly at a party and not at dinner and people were almost certainly doing more shocking things at it than fucking pigs’ heads...

The first thing to sort out was our names. There was a traditional stock of them, but as a reformist and moderniser I allowed the new members to choose new ones if they wished. Most didn’t, and I assigned the names we had randomly. I can’t remember all of them, or who was who, but among our number there was a Fellatrix, an Irrumator, a Raging Horn and a Mr Whippy. The one name that couldn’t be randomly allocated was mine. The head of the Piers Gaveston Society is known as the Lord High Spanker – Spanks to his mates.
do read on ...

Only if I want to be bored to death.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Thu 24 Sep, 2015 4:56 pm

citizenJA wrote:
rebeccariots2 wrote:
Sam Macrory ‏@sammacrory 11m11 minutes ago
What really happens at a Piers Gaveston Soc party? A former Lord High Spanker (& current @LRB editor) tells all. http://bit.ly/1R2HgZW" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Very helpful clarification of the 'normal' niceties / etiquette of this society ...
I was the head of the Piers Gaveston Society, which is the society that David Cameron allegedly stuck his dick in a pig for. I never did that. According to Lord Ashcroft’s unofficial biography of the prime minister, Cameron did what he did as part of an initiation ritual, but the society in my day (late 2000s) didn’t have initiation rituals because it wasn’t a proper society.＊ Unlike the Bullingdon Club, we didn’t get up in ridiculous costumes and vandalise restaurants. All we did was organise the kind of party that people put their dicks in pigs at. If Porkergate happened at all, it was almost certainly at a party and not at dinner and people were almost certainly doing more shocking things at it than fucking pigs’ heads...

The first thing to sort out was our names. There was a traditional stock of them, but as a reformist and moderniser I allowed the new members to choose new ones if they wished. Most didn’t, and I assigned the names we had randomly. I can’t remember all of them, or who was who, but among our number there was a Fellatrix, an Irrumator, a Raging Horn and a Mr Whippy. The one name that couldn’t be randomly allocated was mine. The head of the Piers Gaveston Society is known as the Lord High Spanker – Spanks to his mates.
do read on ...
Only if I want to be bored to death.

Tbh I found it pretty funny citizen. You might too (you might not of course, but I certainly didn't find it that boring).

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Thu 24 Sep, 2015 4:59 pm

Isn't the general rule of thumb not to trust a Tory ?
Particularly when they were the head of something ridiculous like the PG dining club.
Why would he have an incentive to admit it, if it were true ?

What a bunch of prats, whatever the truth.

Had to resort to checking what irrumator meant.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Thu 24 Sep, 2015 4:59 pm

James Forsyth ‏@JGForsyth 1m1 minute ago
Steve Hilton jetting in to help with Cameron’s conference speech http://specc.ie/1L8zn6t" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Anyone know who, if anyone, has been helping Corbyn with his?

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Thu 24 Sep, 2015 5:01 pm

http://www.tatler.com/news/articles/sep ... king-clubs" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Thu 24 Sep, 2015 5:04 pm

Rachel Wearmouth
‏@REWearmouth Rachel Wearmouth retweeted Dods Monitoring
Smells like a realisation they have got it wrong

Dods Monitoring
‏@dodsmonitoring
Govt's proposed extension of #RighttoBuy to housing associations will be voluntary - @gregclarkmp speaking at #NHF15

Have I understood that right? Is that true? Smells and sounds like a screaming U turn to me if so - but good. It was only going to be challenged in the courts and make some very bad publicity for Cameron. It was one of the manifesto items designed to buy votes but that they never thought they'd be able to implement because they thought that if they were in power again it would be another coalition ...

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Thu 24 Sep, 2015 5:07 pm

James Forsyth ‏@JGForsyth 5m5 minutes ago
Expect Cameron to use his conference speech to call for more action against forced marriage and FGM http://specc.ie/1L8zn6t" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Expect that to go down like a cup of cold sick with some of those very traditional Conservative supporters ... they probably want him to prioritise talking about the green belt (definitely no green crap) and defence of the realm.

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Thu 24 Sep, 2015 5:08 pm

I see Andrew Sparrow's got a splash on the IPSOS Mori bad news for Labour poll.

For crying out loud, he's been leader less than two weeks.
How can people make any real assessment at this point.

The BBC, after their weeks of Corbyn tittle tattle fest seem to have forgotten he exists now.
It seems that if they can't say anything negative they won't say anything at all.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Thu 24 Sep, 2015 5:09 pm

Chris Ship ‏@chrisshipitv 4m4 minutes ago
Jeremy Corbyn comes to the aid of David Cameron on #piggate. "It's wrong" he says of the way media treated PM on unsubstantiated allegations

PorFavor · Post by **PorFavor** » Thu 24 Sep, 2015 5:22 pm

RobertSnozers wrote:
ohsocynical wrote:Mike Smithson ‏@MSmithsonPB 3 hrs3 hours ago
Ipsos MORI Standard poll

Corbyn beating Cameron on honesty by 54% to 30%

So --- the opinion is that Corbyn is more honest than Cameron, but Cameron still head the polls when it comes to approval rating as PM? Weird or what.
I get the distinct impression, sometimes, that Vladimir Putin would do rather well in British elections

I get the distinct impression, often, that the British would rather do without elections entirely, provided that it was suitably wrapped up and solemnly presented as for Queen and country and for the general financial well-being of "all".

Good morfternoon, everyone.

Willow904 · Post by **Willow904** » Thu 24 Sep, 2015 5:41 pm

rebeccariots2 wrote:
Rachel Wearmouth
‏@REWearmouth Rachel Wearmouth retweeted Dods Monitoring
Smells like a realisation they have got it wrong

Dods Monitoring
‏@dodsmonitoring
Govt's proposed extension of #RighttoBuy to housing associations will be voluntary - @gregclarkmp speaking at #NHF15
Have I understood that right? Is that true? Smells and sounds like a screaming U turn to me if so - but good. It was only going to be challenged in the courts and make some very bad publicity for Cameron. It was one of the manifesto items designed to buy votes but that they never thought they'd be able to implement because they thought that if they were in power again it would be another coalition ...

I still think implementing right to buy will be made a condition for qualifying for government grants and subsidies and will essentially be used as an excuse to pull a lot of public funding out of the social housing sector.

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Thu 24 Sep, 2015 5:50 pm

Medway Messenger ‏@MedwayMessenger Sep 23

Medway Labour membership doubles under Corbyn and Green MP candidate defects to join them

http://www.kentonline.co.uk/medway/news ... der-43614/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; …

Willow904 · Post by **Willow904** » Thu 24 Sep, 2015 5:52 pm

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/201 ... -interview" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The pedestrianisation of the UK’s busiest shopping street and the planting of 2 million trees across London are among the promises made by Labour’s newly chosen candidate to become the capital’s mayor.

tinybgoat · Post by **tinybgoat** » Thu 24 Sep, 2015 5:55 pm

rebeccariots2 wrote:
Sam Macrory ‏@sammacrory 11m11 minutes ago
What really happens at a Piers Gaveston Soc party? A former Lord High Spanker (& current @LRB editor) tells all. http://bit.ly/1R2HgZW" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Very helpful clarification of the 'normal' niceties / etiquette of this society ...

do read on ...

The most disturbing bit for me, is the writers conclusions:-

Some part of the outrage – #snoutrage – over Porkergate has been Nietzschean: the meek applying the balm of sanctimony to the bruises of austerity. Some of it has been legitimate jealousy. Not of the pig, but of the opportunity to spend time in an environment where what may or may not have been done to the pig wouldn’t have raised eyebrows. Perhaps invitations to the Piers Gaveston Society’s parties should work like jury duty: at least once in their lifetime everyone should wake up to find a hot pink and gilt invitation to a clandestine bacchanal on the doormat.

Sometimes I can understand where David Icke is coming from.

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Thu 24 Sep, 2015 6:03 pm

George Osborne: My bloated China trip is NOT so I look like Britain’s PM

http://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/ ... id-Cameron

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Thu 24 Sep, 2015 6:05 pm

tinybgoat wrote:
rebeccariots2 wrote:
Sam Macrory ‏@sammacrory 11m11 minutes ago
What really happens at a Piers Gaveston Soc party? A former Lord High Spanker (& current @LRB editor) tells all. http://bit.ly/1R2HgZW" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Very helpful clarification of the 'normal' niceties / etiquette of this society ...

do read on ...
The most disturbing bit for me, is the writers conclusions:-

Some part of the outrage – #snoutrage – over Porkergate has been Nietzschean: the meek applying the balm of sanctimony to the bruises of austerity. Some of it has been legitimate jealousy. Not of the pig, but of the opportunity to spend time in an environment where what may or may not have been done to the pig wouldn’t have raised eyebrows. Perhaps invitations to the Piers Gaveston Society’s parties should work like jury duty: at least once in their lifetime everyone should wake up to find a hot pink and gilt invitation to a clandestine bacchanal on the doormat.
Sometimes I can understand where David Icke is coming from.

Having looked up Google images of a Piers Gaveston more public event, a ball in the 80's with Hugh Grant looking pretty, you just feel sorry for them.

They seem so jaded at such a young age.
Their notions of decadence seem so jaded too.
All rather embarrassing really. That's the problem with people who want to be seen as transgressing norms, they just look silly to anyone else.

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Thu 24 Sep, 2015 6:06 pm

ohsocynical wrote:George Osborne: My bloated China trip is NOT so I look like Britain’s PM

http://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/ ... id-Cameron

He was probably there to find buyers for the NHS.

RogerOThornhill · Post by **RogerOThornhill** » Thu 24 Sep, 2015 6:11 pm

ohsocynical wrote:George Osborne: My bloated China trip is NOT so I look like Britain’s PM

http://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/ ... id-Cameron

Is it me or should an industrial strategy be more than simply going to China and telling them that we have some work for them?

I know they're apparently the world leaders in HSR but have we really not got businesses over here that can either do it now or could be developed for the future?

Just seems as though he's trying to prop up their economy rather than developing ours. Which I thought was his job.

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Thu 24 Sep, 2015 6:11 pm

Is everyone keeping Corbynesque silence on the (sadly photoshopped) Twitter pic of someone looking like our esteemed PM, naked, and about to become acquainted with a pig head on the lap of a Head Spanker type of fellow ?

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Thu 24 Sep, 2015 6:14 pm

More people recognise Jeremy Corbyn than George Osborne - but other members of the shadow cabinet don't fare so well

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/po ... 14999.html

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Thu 24 Sep, 2015 6:26 pm

Rugby World Cup: fans petition ITV to replace 'truly awful' Paloma Faith theme music
Even fans of Paloma Faith say her rendition of World in Union makes them hit the mute button

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/rugbyu ... music.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Thu 24 Sep, 2015 6:30 pm

rebeccariots2 wrote:Tbh I found it pretty funny citizen. You might too (you might not of course, but I certainly didn't find it that boring).

I'm sorry, rebeccariots2, what I meant and what it turned out looking like on the page weren't alike at all!
Please know I didn't mean offence.
I can't find an appropriate smiley either.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Thu 24 Sep, 2015 6:31 pm

yahyah wrote:Is everyone keeping Corbynesque silence on the (sadly photoshopped) Twitter pic of someone looking like our esteemed PM, naked, and about to become acquainted with a pig head on the lap of a Head Spanker type of fellow ?

I obviously haven't been frequenting the same sort of online dives that you have today yahyah.

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Thu 24 Sep, 2015 6:36 pm

It was on Twitter, one pic in one of those blocks of pics that appear at the top of the page.

But, no longer there now.

Have tracked it down by searching Twitter but it now appears on the Twitter account page of someone who is obviously a lover of well endowed young men and gay porn.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Thu 24 Sep, 2015 6:36 pm

Rob Merrick ‏@Rob_Merrick 18m18 minutes ago
@PickardJE Right to Buy to exclude areas with "a particular lack of affordable housing" That's...just about everywhere!

Of course - I should have realised that this U turn by the Tories on Right to Buy housing association properties is all down to Tim Farron and the Lib Dems saying they'll vote it down in the House of Lords. (Wait for the LDV article claiming this ... it won't be long.)

Lib Dems still blocking the Tories from the most dastardly deeds, eh.

They didn't need to go into coalition at all then - did they?

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Thu 24 Sep, 2015 6:37 pm

citizenJA wrote:
rebeccariots2 wrote:Tbh I found it pretty funny citizen. You might too (you might not of course, but I certainly didn't find it that boring).
I'm sorry, rebeccariots2, what I meant and what it turned out looking like on the page weren't alike at all!
Please know I didn't mean offence.
I can't find an appropriate smiley either.

I wasn't at all offended citizen. Don't you worry.

Tubby Isaacs · Post by **Tubby Isaacs** » Thu 24 Sep, 2015 6:38 pm

More from London.

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015 ... unding-row" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Lambeth Council drop out of supporting the Garden Bridge. Doubtless Johnson can force it on them anyway, but would he want to do that? Also, Sadiq Khan is vowing to scrap it.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Thu 24 Sep, 2015 6:39 pm

RogerOThornhill wrote:
ohsocynical wrote:George Osborne: My bloated China trip is NOT so I look like Britain’s PM

http://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/ ... id-Cameron

Is it me or should an industrial strategy be more than simply going to China and telling them that we have some work for them?

I know they're apparently the world leaders in HSR but have we really not got businesses over here that can either do it now or could be developed for the future?

Just seems as though he's trying to prop up their economy rather than developing ours. Which I thought was his job.

'Charm offensive' takes on a whole new meaning when applied to Osborne.

Tubby Isaacs · Post by **Tubby Isaacs** » Thu 24 Sep, 2015 6:40 pm

RogerOThornhill wrote:
ohsocynical wrote:George Osborne: My bloated China trip is NOT so I look like Britain’s PM

http://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/ ... id-Cameron

Is it me or should an industrial strategy be more than simply going to China and telling them that we have some work for them?

I know they're apparently the world leaders in HSR but have we really not got businesses over here that can either do it now or could be developed for the future?

Just seems as though he's trying to prop up their economy rather than developing ours. Which I thought was his job.

I presume Chinese investors are being targeted for offsheet balance finance?

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Thu 24 Sep, 2015 6:41 pm

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CPpVQyyWwAAMuJa.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This is it from another source. Still slightly parental advice.
My husband and I zoomed the page to check the photoshop

Had a conversation about how 'Cameron's' genitals were conveniently hidden from view.

If only it was real.

Tubby Isaacs · Post by **Tubby Isaacs** » Thu 24 Sep, 2015 6:42 pm

Hahey! Government wants to privatize Channel 4!

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/s ... up-reveals" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Thu 24 Sep, 2015 6:42 pm

I love the Parliamentary website.
Wonderful publications that don't make it into mainstream media can be found there.
I thought this was interesting.

Disposal of public land for new homes
Summary

The Department for Communities and Local Government cannot demonstrate the success of the land disposal programme in addressing the housing shortage or achieving value for money because it does not collect information on the actual number of houses built or under construction, the proceeds from land sold, or whether the parcels of land were sold at market value. Instead, it chose to focus only on a notional number for ‘potential’ capacity for building houses on the land sold by individual departments in order to determine ‘success’.

The Department also counted towards the programme’s target the capacity of land sold before the programme had even started. It did not collect basic information necessary to oversee the programme effectively and, where it did collect programme-level data, there were omissions and inconsistencies.

With much greater ambitions for land disposals in the new Parliament, the Department must address the weaknesses in the current programme, and the Department has accepted that it needs to improve its general monitoring. If it is to oversee the new programme effectively then this must specifically include tracking sale proceeds and progress with the actual construction of new homes, and overseeing the programme in a way that gives Parliament and the taxpayer much greater assurance over the value for money achieved from all disposals.

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/p ... /28903.htm

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Thu 24 Sep, 2015 6:44 pm

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/p ... /28905.htm

The Contents link leads to an error message so I've linked the conclusions and recommendations page above.

I won't post the whole thing, but this first conclusion is just incredible.

The Department cannot assess whether the programme delivered value for money for the taxpayer. The Department’s view is that the success of the programme is defined by having disposed of land with the potential capacity for more than 100,000 homes, and that the value for money of individual sales is just the responsibility of individual departmental Accounting Officers. We do not accept these narrow interpretations.

We do recognise that the Department sought assurances from land-owning departments that the land in question had a reasonable prospect of being developed, but this is no substitute for knowing whether the prospects actually materialised. The number of houses built or under construction is a common sense measure of impact, and is easily collected, but the Department chose not to monitor it. Furthermore, the Department has not recorded sale proceeds, or the commercial terms agreed for the land disposals, without which one cannot begin to assess value for money.

Recommendation: In taking forward the new target, the Department and the Homes and Communities Agency must apply a broader test of value for money, which must include sale proceeds and progress in the actual construction of new homes. Taxpayers deserve to know how many homes have actually been built.

RogerOThornhill · Post by **RogerOThornhill** » Thu 24 Sep, 2015 6:46 pm

Two educational posts in the category of Shocked, shocked etc...

Extra members appointed to initial teacher training expert group

http://schoolsweek.co.uk/extra-members- ... ert-group/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Four new members have been appointed to the group tasked with developing a “core” initial teacher training (ITT) framework.

Rachael Hare – Head of initial teacher education, Harris Federation

– Patrick Derham – headteacher, Westminster School

– John McIntosh CBE – former headmaster, London Oratory School

– Professor Anthony O’Hear – director of the Royal Institute of Philosophy, University of Buckinghamshire

So, all of the favourites then...especially that last one:

O’Hear was a Government special adviser on education for approximately ten years. He was especially influential during the time of Margaret Thatcher and John Major as Prime Minister when he was teaching at Bradford University. He continues to be active in Conservative circles, especially in advocating social conservatism. His relationship with New Labour was more troubled. Tony Blair dismissed him as an "old-fashioned snob" for his views on Diana, Princess of Wales (views which obtained substantial media coverage).[

And guess what, no room for anyone from the institute of Education...

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Thu 24 Sep, 2015 6:48 pm

Tubby Isaacs wrote:Hahey! Government wants to privatize Channel 4!

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/s ... up-reveals" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

will it ever end

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Thu 24 Sep, 2015 6:49 pm

The real-life exorcist behind Midwinter of the Spirit
Possession, hauntings and poltergeists exist, says the Church of England "deliverance minister" who advises on the ITV drama

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvan ... pirit.html

Doubt I'll be watching this.

Have you seen how they've cast the character? Nothing like they're described in the books. That always does it for me. If they can't be bothered to find actors and actresses who can act the role and look like the book character, it usually means they've messed around with the basic stories.

Tubby Isaacs · Post by **Tubby Isaacs** » Thu 24 Sep, 2015 6:51 pm

To be fair to O'Hear, Blair was out of order with him on that occasion. He merely said that Diana stuff was over the top.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Thu 24 Sep, 2015 6:53 pm

Those increased homelessness figures have been in my mind today - especially the 100,000 children affected.

The announcement of the shocking rise in homelessness coincided with me feeling very affected by one of the children in Educating Cardiff on C4 last night. He was struggling to keep up as he had missed several chunks of schooling so didn't have some of the basic knowledge needed to progress. He wasn't attending regularly and it was getting worse. When the teachers talked to him to try and work out what was going on we learnt that he had had 3 different homes and 3 different schools in the previous year ... his family kept having to move on and they were in temporary housing now and he didn't know where they would be from day to day. He was a delightful boy - pretty crushed by circumstances that were entirely not of his making. Very glad to see they managed to work with and support him to get him feeling more positive about coming to school and himself ... but I can't get his story out of my head. So unfair - so unsettling - so hard to see a child facing these odds.

RogerOThornhill · Post by **RogerOThornhill** » Thu 24 Sep, 2015 6:56 pm

Shocked, shocked II

There's such a thing as the Cambridgeshire Academies Board?

So what did Robert Hill say in evidence submission about the role of Regional Schools Commissioner?

Moreover as the number of academies, academy trusts and the types of schools over which RSCs have responsibility continues to expand, the practicality of continuing and resourcing this role will also become an issue. In many respects the exercise of the function appears to be like a reversion to the old model of local authority inspectors, link advisers or school improvement partners, and seems to jar with the government’s stated strategy of moving to a more school-led improvement system.

So we'll end up with something looking very much like LEAs but with them all reporting to the DfE with LAs being powerless to do anything about schools in their area?

There's a surprise...

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Thu 24 Sep, 2015 6:59 pm

Ian Dunt retweeted
Joel Taylor ‏@JoelTaylorMetro 7m7 minutes ago
Joel Taylor retweeted Peter Henley
This is just wonderful

Peter Henley
‏@BBCPeterH
Huge problems for UKIP members trying to get to conference - no taxis from Doncaster station because most drivers have the day off for Eid

RogerOThornhill · Post by **RogerOThornhill** » Thu 24 Sep, 2015 7:01 pm

Tubby Isaacs wrote:To be fair to O'Hear, Blair was out of order with him on that occasion. He merely said that Diana stuff was over the top.

I'm more concerned with the fact that although he's supposed to head up their department of education, he never seems to have written anything about education let alone teacher training.

I haven't looked at all of the teaching people's backgrounds but I wonder whether there's anyone with experience of teaching Early Years? Heck of a difference between teaching 4-6 y.o and 16 y.o kids!

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Thu 24 Sep, 2015 7:19 pm

Cathy Newman retweeted
Political Pictures ‏@PoliticalPics 4h4 hours ago
@cathynewman Just snapped a doc going into Downing St refers to extracting greater value from the channel privatisation option !! C4

It's no wonder that polls show 'No Plans To' Cameron isn't considered as trustworthy as Corbyn ... but still people - possibly even Cathy Newman herself - will support him. That's the wonder.

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Thu 24 Sep, 2015 7:28 pm

Government failing to properly monitor public land sell-offs, says report
Public accounts committee finds officials did not track money raised and number of new homes built under housing plan

"The government’s programme to sell off public land for new housing is in chaos, with no record of how much money has been raised by sell-offs nor how many homes have been built, parliament’s spending watchdog has found.

In June 2011, the then housing minister Grant Shapps announced plans to “release enough public land to build as many as 100,000 new, much-needed, homes and support as many as 25,000 jobs by 2015”.

But a report by the public accounts committee has found that the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) cannot demonstrate the success of the land disposal programme in addressing the housing shortage or achieving value for money. This is because civil servants have not collected information on the actual number of houses built or under construction, the proceeds from land sold or whether the parcels of land were sold at market value, the report concluded. Instead, they have focused only on a notional number for potential capacity for building houses on the land sold by individual departments.

The findings will embarrass David Cameron, who promised in 2011 that he would sell off enough public land to ease the housing crisis by this year."

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015 ... sebuilding" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

(my emphasis)

I was incorrect, the Guardian did publish a story about independent auditors finding out current government are inadequate to govern the UK. Unfortunately, the Guardian has chosen to indicate it's 'civil servants' failing to document information, which is shit, please excuse my profanity.

This is scandalous. Outrageous. Public lands have disappeared, been sold, lost, gifted to who knows who, for who knows why or for what and there we are. The article mentions Tory government attempted to use housing data figures from the Blair/Brown years to pad the numbers of homes built. 'Embarrass David Cameron'? Please, stop, this isn't funny.