Saturday 21st & Sunday 22nd November 2015

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Sat 21 Nov, 2015 2:05 pm

PorFavor wrote:
TobyLatimer wrote:If anybody didn't hear it, John Mann & Ken Livingstone had quite a heated debate earlier on LBC.

http://www.lbc.co.uk/ken-in-raging-row- ... ann-120160" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

ScreenShot01070.jpg
Ken Livingstone unfortunately doing a good impression of someone who doesn't follow what's going on in the general political and Westminster world. Hence, as I've mentioned before, his ignorance of Kevan Jones's disclosure of his past mental health problems. John Mann not covered in glory, either, but I feel that he came off better.

So why didn't they include David Blunkett in the programme as well ?

Not only did the media, apart from the Huff Post, ignore reporting or getting outraged at his request for 'sane' people to join the Labour party, the Guardian disappeared it from their tweet and headline.

The lack of consistency is fascinating, and frustrating.
If Blunkett had been a Corbyn-ite the cries of 'disgusting' about his use/misuse of a reference to mental health would still be echoing.

RogerOThornhill · Post by **RogerOThornhill** » Sat 21 Nov, 2015 2:05 pm

You all know that I find this incessant cheerleading about free schools tiresome but you can see why with this.

OK, let's see who's on the board of governors...amongst others we have

http://excellencelondon.ac.uk/179/board-of-governors" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

BARNABY LENON (CHAIR)

Barnaby Lenon taught at Eton for many years and was Head Master of Trinity School Croydon and Harrow.
Paul Teulon is the Head of Admissions at King’s College London.
Paul Westbrook has been Director of Finance and Deputy Head at Brighton College since July 2009.
Simon Smith......he spent his career teaching English at Brighton College, latterly becoming Second Master.
Adam Pettitt has been Head Master of Highgate School since 2006.
Ian Archer is Sub-Warden and Fellow and Tutor in Modern History at Keble College, Oxford.
Adrian Thrasher is Professor in Paediatric Immunology and Honorary Consultant Immunologist at Great Ormond Street Hospital.
Martin Stephen was High Master of St Paul’s School from 2004 – 2011.
Alan Bird is Deputy Headmaster at Brighton College.
Ceri Jones is Headmaster of Caterham School in Surrey,
Simon Henderson is Head Master at Eton College
Mark J Beard joined University College School, Hampstead as Headmaster in September 2013

Barnaby Lenon is also a trustee of the New Schools Network.

So how many of the other 22,000 state schools have that sort of firepower on their GB?

And yet this will be trumpeted as a "yeah but look at our free school - miles better than your council run schools" as if they're remotely comparable.

Yes, it seems to be an outstanding school but given the people around it you'd kinda expect that.

NB I ought to mention that it is a selective 6th form. Very selective.

RogerOThornhill · Post by **RogerOThornhill** » Sat 21 Nov, 2015 2:18 pm

There's a debate day over at Michaela Community School and just at the point that I;m off to see Orient (lose) they're discussing Ofsted.

https://twitter.com/hashtag/michaela?src=hash" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

That is utter nonsense - our HT does hardly anything else but support teachers and TLAs. He also makes sure he teaches. A lot.

If you're Good or Outstanding now Ofsted will be in every three years if that - a lot of schools probably don't give them any thought. ours know that whenever they come in, we're prepared.

TheGrimSqueaker · Post by **TheGrimSqueaker** » Sat 21 Nov, 2015 2:36 pm

PorFavor wrote:
TheGrimSqueaker wrote:
PorFavor wrote: Ken Livingstone unfortunately doing a good impression of someone who doesn't follow what's going on in the general political and Westminster world. Hence, as I've mentioned before, his ignorance of Kevan Jones's disclosure of his past mental health problems. John Mann not covered in glory, either, but I feel that he came off better.
Which is all very true, but maybe Jones is not so squeaky clean here? As Mike Sivier has pointed out, Jones made a comment not dissimilar to Livingstone's back in 2010. I'm not condoning Ken's actions or comments, but Jones' motives are certainly questionable.

http://voxpoliticalonline.com/2015/11/2 ... van-jones/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
The trouble is, Kevan Jones's comments are, I feel, totally dissimilar. Ken Livingstone's remarks (albeit unintentionally - but I feel that he should have known whereof he spoke if he'd been paying proper attention) seem virtually tailored to be personally hurtful to KJ and to others. (I'm not explaining myself very well, am I?)

Ken's initial comments were aimed directly at KJ, so KJ was right to demand an apology for that, no argument from me there but ......

Jones (and others) have now switched their attack line to "Livingstone should apologise to all MH sufferers"; my point is that it is pretty rich for Jones to follow that line when he made a not entirely dissimilar comment himself some years back. His assumption is that he now speaks for the entire MH community (certainly doesn't speak for me), I'm just suggesting that he is displaying double standards. As I said, there is an agenda at work here and it is nothing to do with getting an apology to MH sufferers en masse.

RR2, yep, Ken does have form, that idiotic incident with the Standard reporter springs to mind; given that he knows they are gunning for him, and likely to quote even innocuous remarks out of context, you would have thought he'd have learned to be more circumspect by now.

Any road up. I'm not really that worried by this whole issue, just thought I'd point out that there may be other things going on here; if others think that is not the case, c'est la vie, be boring if we all agreed on everything.

AnatolyKasparov · Post by **AnatolyKasparov** » Sat 21 Nov, 2015 2:44 pm

Top of the league - for a few hours anyway

AnatolyKasparov · Post by **AnatolyKasparov** » Sat 21 Nov, 2015 3:35 pm

I do apologise for my mention of football having seemingly killed this thread

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Sat 21 Nov, 2015 3:45 pm

OffGuardian
‏@OffGuardian0
@BBCRadio4 rewriting history to say 2013 vote was on attacking ISIS, not Assad..
http://off-guardian.org/2015/11/19/bbc- ... mory-hole/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; …

The quote from John Humphrys is pretty extraordinary in it's blatant inaccuracy.

Hope the BBC is going to be challenged on this. It's too big an error - and very misleading for the public about the views expressed and the decisions being made now - it completely skews things.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Sat 21 Nov, 2015 3:47 pm

AnatolyKasparov wrote:I do apologise for my mention of football having seemingly killed this thread

Nothing to do with football Anatoly.

I've been out in a sandstorm on the beach walking the dogs. I think there's a video waiting to be made called 'Bella and the crow'. I should be paying that crow for making sure she's gets maximum exercise. Round and round and round and round in frantic circles. He's such a wind up merchant and very cool about it.

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Sat 21 Nov, 2015 3:59 pm

You've had it rough there today RR.
We were lucky, sunny morning, then cloud but it was dry enough to walk for an hour.

Actually all seems quite right as it is for a few hours.
Husband's baking a spiced fruit tea loaf and the house smells gorgeous, like Christmas pudding.

Blue tits and wrens are bobbing about outside the window on a table with little pots of bulbs waiting for the spring.

The Tories can't take things like that away. Feel sorry for them, their attitudes to do with wealth seem to ignore that a lot of the real joys of life can't be bought.

AnatolyKasparov · Post by **AnatolyKasparov** » Sat 21 Nov, 2015 4:04 pm

rebeccariots2 wrote:
OffGuardian
‏@OffGuardian0
@BBCRadio4 rewriting history to say 2013 vote was on attacking ISIS, not Assad..
http://off-guardian.org/2015/11/19/bbc- ... mory-hole/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; …
The quote from John Humphrys is pretty extraordinary in it's blatant inaccuracy.

Hope the BBC is going to be challenged on this. It's too big an error - and very misleading for the public about the views expressed and the decisions being made now - it completely skews things.

It may be that he is going senile and doesn't actually remember it properly? Time for him to be pensioned off either way

TobyLatimer · Post by **TobyLatimer** » Sat 21 Nov, 2015 4:13 pm

[youtube]A4roCKvBIxc[/youtube]

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Sat 21 Nov, 2015 4:23 pm

Peter Tobin ‏@WheelsTobin 5 mins5 minutes ago

First picture of David Cameron's official plane: Air Pork One

http://voxpoliticalonline.com/2015/11/2 ... -pork-one/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

via @MidWalesMike

Like this name....

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Sat 21 Nov, 2015 4:24 pm

This is one of the issues about the 'flag ship' Tory/Lib Dem flat rate pension that I think will be hitting the fan in the next year or so.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/pers ... ld-me.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It isn't just people who are retiring on the new pension who will suffer.
It appears that my husband, 65 last April, is going to lose out an amount of his main company pension indexation as it now becomes the remit of the government to uplift it instead of the company pension scheme. It'll be the Tory 1% welfare increase instead of the company pension scheme increase of RPI %.

When a lot of people discover that the index linking on some of their non-state pensions is only going to be increased in line with welfare benefits, the full implication of the Tory war on benefit claimants will become of more interest to people who aren't needing to claim.

I've been trying not to worry too much about how it is going to affect us, we couldn't plan for it because we didn't know it was going to happen. Realise that we are lucky compared to many, but the more people who get pissed off with the Tories, the more likely they are not to win in 2020.

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Sat 21 Nov, 2015 4:35 pm

TobyLatimer wrote:[youtube]A4roCKvBIxc[/youtube]

McDonnell's going to be on Radio 4's Any Questions next Friday evening, repeated Saturday lunchtime.

AnatolyKasparov · Post by **AnatolyKasparov** » Sat 21 Nov, 2015 4:39 pm

He will hopefully be an improvement on Lindsey Bloody German in giving the "pro-Corbyn" view.

Was having Charles "Lunched Well" Clarke as the "Labour" representative yesterday some sort of bad joke, btw?

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Sat 21 Nov, 2015 4:40 pm

Piers MorganVerified account ‏@piersmorgan 2h2 hours ago
Corbyn got 2 E-grade A levels.

Someone ask him whether he thinks Winston Churchill's poor school record rendered him unfit to be PM, particularly during wartime ?

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Sat 21 Nov, 2015 4:45 pm

AnatolyKasparov wrote:He will hopefully be an improvement on Lindsey Bloody German in giving the "pro-Corbyn" view.

Was having Charles "Lunched Well" Clarke as the "Labour" representative yesterday some sort of bad joke, btw?

He was a disgrace wasn't he ?

Post by **refitman** » Sat 21 Nov, 2015 4:49 pm

yahyah wrote:Piers MorganVerified account ‏@piersmorgan 2h2 hours ago
Corbyn got 2 E-grade A levels.

Someone ask him whether he thinks Winston Churchill's poor school record rendered him unfit to be PM, particularly during wartime ?

Dan Elkan ‏@refitman 10s10 seconds ago

@piersmorgan Winston Churchill - lowest grades at Harrow. Clearly he was never qualified to lead the country https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winston_C ... early_life" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; …
0 retweets 0 likes

Many other people are giving him a shoeing.

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Sat 21 Nov, 2015 4:53 pm

Don't think Piers Morgan will ever forgive Labour for putting pressure on about phone hacking.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Sat 21 Nov, 2015 4:54 pm

Cripes - have just received an email from Momentum asking me to go to Oldham West next weekend to help them campaign for Jim McMahon.

I think they might need to target their emails more geographically in future.

AnatolyKasparov · Post by **AnatolyKasparov** » Sat 21 Nov, 2015 5:11 pm

yahyah wrote:
AnatolyKasparov wrote:He will hopefully be an improvement on Lindsey Bloody German in giving the "pro-Corbyn" view.

Was having Charles "Lunched Well" Clarke as the "Labour" representative yesterday some sort of bad joke, btw?

He was a disgrace wasn't he ?

The BBC in particular seem totally infatuated with these irrelevant dinosaurs - I note that John Reid was wheeled out the other day too

Louise Haigh was a revelation the other week on Question Time - lets see more of some other stars of the 2015 intake.

Across the spectrum too, from Wes Streeting to Clive Lewis and plenty in between

Willow904 · Post by **Willow904** » Sat 21 Nov, 2015 5:13 pm

rebeccariots2 wrote:Cripes - have just received an email from Momentum asking me to go to Oldham West next weekend to help them campaign for Jim McMahon.

I think they might need to target their emails more geographically in future.

I got that e-mail too. I never signed up to get anything from Momentum and I don't even remember signing up to any Corbyn campaign either, so they may even be e-mailing the entire Labour membership each time.

At the moment, Momentum seems to have an early 38 Degrees feel to it. I presume the idea is to pull in non-political types on single issues and campaigns, people who don't feel comfortable with a long-term commitment to a single political party but care passionately about specific topics. It's still kind of embryo stage, isn't it?

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Sat 21 Nov, 2015 5:16 pm

I've never had anything from Momentum at all.

& the Labour emails I get are addressed to my husband !

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Sat 21 Nov, 2015 5:19 pm

yahyah wrote:I've never had anything from Momentum at all.

& the Labour emails I get are addressed to my husband !

Ooh - you need to get that sorted yahyah - being addressed to your husband I mean. Can't have you being written out of history - Labour are opposing government attempts to do that.

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Sat 21 Nov, 2015 5:23 pm

What really rankles is that when we got individually addressed postal begging letters pre-election they always asked me for a larger amount of money than him!

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Sat 21 Nov, 2015 5:23 pm

Willow904 wrote:
rebeccariots2 wrote:Cripes - have just received an email from Momentum asking me to go to Oldham West next weekend to help them campaign for Jim McMahon.

I think they might need to target their emails more geographically in future.
I got that e-mail too. I never signed up to get anything from Momentum and I don't even remember signing up to any Corbyn campaign either, so they may even be e-mailing the entire Labour membership each time.

At the moment, Momentum seems to have an early 38 Degrees feel to it. I presume the idea is to pull in non-political types on single issues and campaigns, people who don't feel comfortable with a long-term commitment to a single political party but care passionately about specific topics. It's still kind of embryo stage, isn't it?

I've never signed up to Momentum either. I think this is the second email I've had from them - whoever 'them' is. I've got enough on my plate with campaigning re the Assembly elections next year - and being one of the few people here who are trying to get in touch with our new members and get them connected in to the branch and other members. Local issues and activities will doubtless arise out of that. Plus - trying to support and protect wildlife takes up a fair amount of time and will probably take up more in future.

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Sat 21 Nov, 2015 5:25 pm

rebeccariots2 wrote:
yahyah wrote:I've never had anything from Momentum at all.

& the Labour emails I get are addressed to my husband !
Ooh - you need to get that sorted yahyah - being addressed to your husband I mean. Can't have you being written out of history - Labour are opposing government attempts to do that.

What have I missed

Are they going to airbrush us out of existence ?

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Sat 21 Nov, 2015 5:31 pm

yahyah wrote:
rebeccariots2 wrote:
yahyah wrote:I've never had anything from Momentum at all.

& the Labour emails I get are addressed to my husband !
Ooh - you need to get that sorted yahyah - being addressed to your husband I mean. Can't have you being written out of history - Labour are opposing government attempts to do that.
What have I missed Are they going to airbrush us out of existence ?

Removing feminism from the politics curriculum ..... so yes, I think that sort of qualifies.

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Sat 21 Nov, 2015 5:47 pm

I suppose they prefer their women supine and underpaid.
Barstewards of the highest order.

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Sat 21 Nov, 2015 5:49 pm

Wait a minute...they want all of us supine and underpaid. So they aren't sexist just b*****s.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Sat 21 Nov, 2015 5:51 pm

George Eaton ‏@georgeeaton 6h6 hours ago
Update 2: SNP says UN resolution on Syria does not provide legal authorisation for military action http://bit.ly/1NhEQsG" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

George Eaton ‏@georgeeaton 6h6 hours ago
Update: Hilary Benn welcomes UN resolution on Syria but emphasises that other tests for military action remain http://bit.ly/1NhEQsG" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Sat 21 Nov, 2015 5:51 pm

Mike Smithson ‏@MSmithsonPB 5h5 hours ago
10 weeks after his election as leader & ComRes is asking whether LAB MPs should remove Mr Corbyn. Poll out tonight

<sigh>

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Sat 21 Nov, 2015 5:54 pm

Reading's 1,000 council house-building plan cut to just 78 homes

Councillors pick up the pieces of their council house building programme after the chancellor's emergency budget demolished their business plan

http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/local- ... g-10476690

How many times is that being repeated all over the country...

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Sat 21 Nov, 2015 5:55 pm

I missed this report from October (saw a tweet via Otto English earlier). Not a good advert for the Named Person initiative brought in by the SNP government. What kind of checks - and I mean ongoing checks - will be made to ensure the right people are designated as Named Persons?

A teacher who had a senior position at a Moray secondary school could be struck off after she was found guilty of sex offences.

Dayna Dickson-Boath was acting principal teacher of guidance at Elgin High School when the offences were uncovered.

The 30-year-old also served as the named person for 200 pupils while working in Elgin.

She was convicted of sending grossly offensive or indecent messages in August and September 2014, when she was based at Forres Academy, while conversing about child sex abuse with others...
https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/ne ... onviction/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

... Her named person position meant she had access to pupils’ private data and also responsibility for judging how they were raised by their family.

The controversial scheme will come into force across Scotland from next August, meaning every child will have a state official appointed on their behalf.

The Scottish Government claims the scheme will help safeguard youngsters.

But critics have labelled it a “groomers’ charter” and a “gross intrusion” into family life.

Moray is one of a number of local authorities currently piloting the scheme...

RogerOThornhill · Post by **RogerOThornhill** » Sat 21 Nov, 2015 5:55 pm

Afternoon all. Back from a win - not a very confident one as it finished 3-2 - and just seen the replies to that Birbalsingh tweet which I rubbished earlier.

The first one is Ofsted's National Director of schools, and the second is the founder of the well-respected Headteachers Roundtable...

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Sat 21 Nov, 2015 5:59 pm

yahyah wrote:Mike Smithson ‏@MSmithsonPB 5h5 hours ago
10 weeks after his election as leader & ComRes is asking whether LAB MPs should remove Mr Corbyn. Poll out tonight

<sigh>

Sigh indeed. And who are ComRes asking? Given the recent reports on the unrepresentative panels and samples used by pollsters - it's a double sigh.

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Sat 21 Nov, 2015 6:05 pm

@OhSo

How's Mr OhSo feeling ?

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Sat 21 Nov, 2015 6:10 pm

Mike Smithson ‏@MSmithsonPB 1m1 minute ago
Just got the embargoed copy of the ComRes IoS/S Mirror online poll & it's a cracker. 2 politicians doing very badly. Details at 1930

Bloomin' bumboils, you can guess what that's going to be.
Spend months telling the public Corbyn's crap, get Labour MPs to go on TV, radio, into print telling the public he's a liabilty and then smirk smugly when the public lap it up and tell pollsters he's crap.

Has our public life and media always been as bad as this ?
Did I just miss it all those years of focusing on work and paying the mortgage ?

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Sat 21 Nov, 2015 6:21 pm

yahyah wrote: Has our public life and media always been as bad as this ?
Did I just miss it all those years of focusing on work and paying the mortgage ?

I really don't know yahyah - we're about the same age and I often wonder the same although I did spend a fair bit of my youth around people who did politics and protest and tried to educate me about the dirtier aspects of the Establishment and media.

I do find myself increasingly understanding why and how so many of the young people we've met when out on anti badger cull activity have just opted out of voting / supporting political parties and prefer to just get out there and do what they can. Direct action can feel and be far more enfranchising sometimes.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Sat 21 Nov, 2015 6:22 pm

Never mind. The Bridge is back later.

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Sat 21 Nov, 2015 6:22 pm

Farage isn't on the list on the ComRes poll according to Smithson.

But McDonnell is, as well as Corbyn, so we can guess who the second person mentioned as rating poorly is going to be.

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Sat 21 Nov, 2015 6:25 pm

Mr YahYah has just delivered a stern warning about his cake that's still cooling in the kitchen.
He does not want to find mouse-like bits missing off the top.
Would I do such a thing ?

Willow904 · Post by **Willow904** » Sat 21 Nov, 2015 6:28 pm

yahyah wrote:Farage isn't on the list on the ComRes poll according to Smithson.

But McDonnell is, as well as Corbyn, so we can guess who the second person mentioned as rating poorly is going to be.

Would Corbyn and McDonnell doing badly be a "cracker"? Wouldn't that just be "to be expected"? Has McDonnell been in the news enough for people to have strong feelings about him?

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Sat 21 Nov, 2015 6:29 pm

Andy Burnham ‏@andyburnhammp 2m2 minutes ago
West Brom. 28% possession. 1 shot on target. Won 2-1. Got to like that. Sounds like Everton under Walter Smith.

Funny how we don't see Cameron regularly tweeting his reactions to how his team is doing.

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Sat 21 Nov, 2015 6:29 pm

Andrew NeilVerified account ‏@afneil 58m58 minutes ago
Tomorrow's Comres poll in tomorrow's @DailyMirror and @Independent will be cause for concern for Labour.

Glen O'Hara ‏@gsoh31 36m36 minutes ago
If ComRes poll 2nite v bad 4 #Labour, as rumoured, maybe due 2 v tight turnout filter. Older voters poss more turned off by security doubts.

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Sat 21 Nov, 2015 6:32 pm

@willow

It could be called a cracker if the figures are really bad, worse than expected.

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Sat 21 Nov, 2015 6:33 pm

rebeccariots2 wrote:
Andy Burnham ‏@andyburnhammp 2m2 minutes ago
West Brom. 28% possession. 1 shot on target. Won 2-1. Got to like that. Sounds like Everton under Walter Smith.
Funny how we don't see Cameron regularly tweeting his reactions to how his team is doing.

That's because he can't remember which team he follows.

Willow904 · Post by **Willow904** » Sat 21 Nov, 2015 6:33 pm

yahyah wrote:@willow

It could be called a cracker if the figures are really bad, worse than expected.

Ah, I'm with you.

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Sat 21 Nov, 2015 6:35 pm

Hope to be wrong on it.

PorFavor · Post by **PorFavor** » Sat 21 Nov, 2015 6:46 pm

yahyah wrote:Mr YahYah has just delivered a stern warning about his cake that's still cooling in the kitchen.
He does not want to find mouse-like bits missing off the top.
Would I do such a thing ?

If he'd put it in my kitchen, it would be frozen by now! Very parky here in the sunny south.

(And yes, you probably would.)