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Is it any wonder the YES campaign has the momentum when national papers send out drivel like this.
If anybody other than windbag Salmond can explain why the yes campaign has momentum I am all ears.
To me it looks like it has a chasm of credibility to cross, I expect a shy union vote, given the huge uncertainties around the absolute basics of currency, jobs and EU membership.
Is it any wonder the YES campaign has the momentum when national papers send out drivel like this.
If anybody other than windbag Salmond can explain why the yes campaign has momentum I am all ears.
To me it looks like it has a chasm of credibility to cross, I expect a shy union vote, given the huge uncertainties around the absolute basics of currency, jobs and EU membership.
You would have to be pretty thin skinned to be swayed by that video, patronising as it is. When I am out of Wales I am asked about rugby, which I loathe, do I speak Welsh, Tom Jones and mostly every stereotype you care to mention, it doesn't offend me, I can do the same to those from Yorkshire, the south west, anywhere. It certainly doesn't piss me off enough to become a Nat.
Thanks to PK on Cif for pointing out that the Nat who gave Gordon Brown a hard time is an ex-teacher who was struck off after losing his rag and assaulting some badly behaved pupils.
yahyah wrote:Thanks to PK on Cif for pointing out that the Nat who gave Gordon Brown a hard time is an ex-teacher who was struck off after losing his rag and assaulting some badly behaved pupils.
Speaking of CiF, has anyone posted a link to the new site over there yet? I would but they don't like me down at Farringdon Rd.
There’s some horrendous stuff being posted on the Rotherham abuse threads. Plus multiple complaints about being moderated (presumably for posting unsavoury crap). Old rusty over on politics live is almost a breath of fresh air in comparison.
Assuming Shaun Wright steps down, I wonder who the candidates for the next PCC will be?
There’s some horrendous stuff being posted on the Rotherham abuse threads. Plus multiple complaints about being moderated (presumably for posting unsavoury crap). Old rusty over on politics live is almost a breath of fresh air in comparison.
Assuming Shaun Wright steps down, I wonder who the candidates for the next PCC will be?
Don't know about the PCC issue, but there's certainly an unpleasant right wing contingent over there now. See also today's clickbait, er, UKIP article.
There’s some horrendous stuff being posted on the Rotherham abuse threads. Plus multiple complaints about being moderated (presumably for posting unsavoury crap). Old rusty over on politics live is almost a breath of fresh air in comparison.
Assuming Shaun Wright steps down, I wonder who the candidates for the next PCC will be?
The update below highlights just how bloody useless the whole PCC thing is !
UPDATE [Wednesday 27th August, 4.10pm]: I thought I’d take a look at who might be appointed Acting PCC in South Yorkshire if the PCC resigned and the Deputy hadn’t been available. You’d expect it to be the most senior member of the OPCC – the Chief Executive (though that creates another set of difficulties for another blog). But – despite this information being required by law – I couldn’t find the name of the South Yorkshire OPCC Chief Executive on the South Yorkshire PCC website. There’s details of a recruitment campaign for a new Chief Executive in October 2013, but (again, required by law) I can find no information on the appointment listed in the PCC’s decisions. The Police and Crime Panel website‘s also no help.
and to cap it all:
iain watson @iainjwatson 29m Theresa May says it's not her job to hire and fire PCCs but south yorks PCC Shaun Wright should 'heed calls' to resign #rotherhamabuse
PaulfromYorkshire wrote:It never occurred to me that Julie Bailey as well as getting the oxygen of publicity for all her media stuff could actually get paid for it too!
I suspected that was what she had set up that company for [now defunct though, I believe] to channel making money from her anti-NHS activities so her the tax liability would be less.
Yes, it’s looking that way, even the Police & Crime Panels don’t seem to have any powers to dismiss the PCC.
There was also a damning report from HMIC wrt SY police earlier this year, on their response to domestic violence. In fairness, I believe Wright was redirecting resources as a result, not least because DV was one of his manifesto priorities when elected, but he must realise that his position is untenable and arguably, so is that of the four Chief Constables who’ve collectively managed to avoid dealing with this abuse over the years.
There is a really interesting post on UKPR by a guy who is a policeman specialising in child abuse cases.
This is what he has to say:
NEIL A
I’m about halfway through reading Prof Jay’s report, and therefore have mostly read the summaries and chronologies, rather than anything very specific.
The “headlines” are I think a bit misleading. You’d be forgiven for believing that 1,400 children suffered exploitation without anyone doing anything, when in fact a great deal was done. From the criticisms I’ve read so far I don’t think there’s anything unusually poor about Rotherham’s staff and systems, and I think the same yardstick applied to other authorities would measure pretty much the same failings everywhere.
I also think that there is something a bit odd about the “estimate” (although as I say I haven’t got to the bottom of the report yet so there may be more substance to their methodology). I worked until recently in a similar line of work in a city almost exactly the same size as Rotherham, and I’d estimate that the number of children suffering CSE (in the sense that most people actually mean it) is probably in double figures.
Therein lies the rub of course, because “Child S**ual Exploitation” is such a loose term that it can cover virtually any activity from all s*xual abuse, to all underaged relationships, to internet s*xting and everything in between. Quite a number of things that are classified as CSE under the government’s guidelines aren’t even criminal offences.
In a city the size of Rotherham, you’d expect the total number of victims of s*xual abuse over 15 years to be substantially higher than 1400, and the total number of strictly CSE cases to be a fraction of that. Either Prof.Jay’s estimates are roping in a very broad fraction, Rotherham has a very specific and unusual problem with CSE, or they’ve overestimated.
Judging from the examples in the report I’ve read, at least one refers specifically to internet-only offending. That is a massive and only barely-scratched problem that we’re struggling to find ways to tackle, so if the 1,400 includes all the victims of that in Rotherham then the headlines are a gross distortion and quite unfair to those involved.
I also think there has been some cherry picking of the “examples”. Prof. Jay states that not all of the most serious incidents were included in the examples, but virtually every one listed includes some sort of penetration. If it were a representative sample I’d expect to see a lot more lower level assaults in there.
The last thing I’d say (for now at least – I may have more once I’ve finished digesting it) is that it is very easy for a reviewer to come in and pontificate about the quality of the evidence that was available in a sort of theoretical guesswork exercise, especially if you do it with your social worker hat on. You try getting a CSE case through the UK courts. I had to drop one a couple of weeks ago, and have three more in the pipeline none of which I have much optimism about.
PaulfromYorkshire wrote:It never occurred to me that Julie Bailey as well as getting the oxygen of publicity for all her media stuff could actually get paid for it too!
I suspected that was what she had set up that company for [now defunct though, I believe] to channel making money from her anti-NHS activities so her the tax liability would be less.
PaulfromYorkshire wrote:It never occurred to me that Julie Bailey as well as getting the oxygen of publicity for all her media stuff could actually get paid for it too!
I suspected that was what she had set up that company for [now defunct though, I believe] to channel making money from her anti-NHS activities so her the tax liability would be less.
Unite leverage squads turn attention to private sector providers in the NHS
Evidence:
In a letter sent to union members, Unite leader Len McCluskey states,
“Our Leverage Department has now turned its efforts towards protecting our NHS…Unite will not stand by as the vested interest groups carve up the NHS for private gain and our Leverage Department has begun work to protect accident and emergency wards in your community, to protect hospitals and GP centres under threat in your community, and to expose and prevent the vested interest groups who tender for NHS work, those groups who have profit before patient care.”
On the Unite website, the work of the leverage department is described as,
“…a process whereby the Union commits resources and time to making all interested parties aware of the treatment received by Unite members at the hands of an employer. Those interested parties may include shareholders of the employer; competitors of the employer; communities within which the employer operates; customers of the employer and the market place of the employer…”
This latest move seems to represent an escalation of leverage activities. While in previous cases, leverage squads were deployed in industrial disputes like Grangemouth, it appears that ideological battles – such as the role of the private sector in delivering health services – will now be fought using these same tactics.
Heaven forbid a union should campaign against something the Tories lied about at the election and which is unpopular with the public.
And you won't be surprised to hear there is not "leverage department".
The pro-independence group Women for Independence said it had been inundated with calls and emails from previously undecided women who felt that the advert was "insulting, old-fashioned and unrealistic".
It's a sad indictment of the species if a stupid advert is the basis for some women to decide their fate.
Councils tendering care contracts case by case in online 'auctions'
Critics brand eBay-style system auctionyourgranny.com while company says it is changing behaviour in a 'too fluffy' market
Nigel Farage is certain Ukip will send MPs to Westminster in 2015
Party leader, who will run in South Thanet, Kent, repeats pledge to resign if general election bids fail but insists that won't happen
Former News International lawyers Lawrence Abramson and Jon Chapman have been referred to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) over alleged cover-ups in the phone hacking scandal. The lawyers have been under investigation by the Solicitors Regulation Authority since 2011 after Labour MP Tom Watson made a formal complaint against them.
Shaun Wright's record in Rotherham comes under uncomfortable scrutiny
A series of reports with 'stark evidence' of abuse were presented to both councillors and police in Rotherham – and ignored
My first thought, and I haven't found any reason to change it so far, is that the problem was so widespread they didn't know how to tackle it. It would have caused such an uproar they did an ostrich, buried their heads, covered their ears, hummed loudly and hoped it would go away. Which it did. For a lot of years.
We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office. – Aesop
The pro-independence group Women for Independence said it had been inundated with calls and emails from previously undecided women who felt that the advert was "insulting, old-fashioned and unrealistic".
It's a sad indictment of the species if a stupid advert is the basis for some women to decide their fate.
I quite agree. You'd have to be in the terminal stages of existential ennui to base your vote on a single misbegotten advert. There are rather more compelling arguments to be had.
The force of romanticism and starry eyed idealism, as well as healthy xenophobia about the English fuels some. Others see the erosion of the Scottish polity and surroundings due to a Westminster based government that they hardly voted for and in these cases, as well as in the name of self-determination (and in some cases a barely concealed chip on the shoulder and a wish to stick it to da man), people will be voting 'yes'.
The 'no' vote appears to be the rather more cautious (you might say realistic/sanguine) Scots who've apparently decided that the risks and the unknowns so charmingly skated over by Wee Eck and the SNP are pretty relevant when it's potentially your job, home and public services that might take the hit. For me, the currency question on its own (plus its numerous ramifications, of course) makes the whole thing a non-starter, but I'm not getting to vote, despite the fact that secession would affect the north of England.
Former News International lawyers Lawrence Abramson and Jon Chapman have been referred to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) over alleged cover-ups in the phone hacking scandal. The lawyers have been under investigation by the Solicitors Regulation Authority since 2011 after Labour MP Tom Watson made a formal complaint against them.
Still rolling along.
It's like on of those fires you can get in a coal seam. Flares up every so often, dies back, but never goes out completely.
We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office. – Aesop
Is it any wonder the YES campaign has the momentum when national papers send out drivel like this.
If anybody other than windbag Salmond can explain why the yes campaign has momentum I am all ears.
To me it looks like it has a chasm of credibility to cross, I expect a shy union vote, given the huge uncertainties around the absolute basics of currency, jobs and EU membership.
You would have to be pretty thin skinned to be swayed by that video, patronising as it is. When I am out of Wales I am asked about rugby, which I loathe, do I speak Welsh, Tom Jones and mostly every stereotype you care to mention, it doesn't offend me, I can do the same to those from Yorkshire, the south west, anywhere. It certainly doesn't piss me off enough to become a Nat.
Sadly I disagree, having lived in England for 20+ years before coming home and been subjected to non stop sheep shagging, odd shaped balls, speaks gibberish, mining "banter" that had it been about any other nationality would be called what it is - racism. Every time I see stuff like I am reminded that of all the countries I have lived in or visited, only in England have I had to put up with such behaviour.
It does drive people to say 'fuck them Im voting for independence.' That is why it is incredibly stupid for a national newspaper to throw shit like this out when the most important vote on the union for 300 years is only a few weeks away.
Anti-celtic banter is the last bastion of imperialist racism that is deemed acceptable and it really isnt.
TechnicalEphemera wrote:
If anybody other than windbag Salmond can explain why the yes campaign has momentum I am all ears.
To me it looks like it has a chasm of credibility to cross, I expect a shy union vote, given the huge uncertainties around the absolute basics of currency, jobs and EU membership.
You would have to be pretty thin skinned to be swayed by that video, patronising as it is. When I am out of Wales I am asked about rugby, which I loathe, do I speak Welsh, Tom Jones and mostly every stereotype you care to mention, it doesn't offend me, I can do the same to those from Yorkshire, the south west, anywhere. It certainly doesn't piss me off enough to become a Nat.
Sadly I disagree, having lived in England for 20+ years before coming home and been subjected to non stop sheep shagging, odd shaped balls, speaks gibberish, mining "banter" that had it been about any other nationality would be called what it is - racism. Every time I see stuff like I am reminded that of all the countries I have lived in or visited, only in England have I had to put up with such behaviour.
It does drive people to say 'fuck them Im voting for independence.' That is why it is incredibly stupid for a national newspaper to throw shit like this out when the most important vote on the union for 300 years is only a few weeks away.
Anti-celtic banter is the last bastion of imperialist racism that is deemed acceptable and it really isnt.
At this point I will point out that of all the countries I have visited the only two where I saw racism and aggression directed towards me because of my race were:
letsskiptotheleft wrote:
You would have to be pretty thin skinned to be swayed by that video, patronising as it is. When I am out of Wales I am asked about rugby, which I loathe, do I speak Welsh, Tom Jones and mostly every stereotype you care to mention, it doesn't offend me, I can do the same to those from Yorkshire, the south west, anywhere. It certainly doesn't piss me off enough to become a Nat.
Sadly I disagree, having lived in England for 20+ years before coming home and been subjected to non stop sheep shagging, odd shaped balls, speaks gibberish, mining "banter" that had it been about any other nationality would be called what it is - racism. Every time I see stuff like I am reminded that of all the countries I have lived in or visited, only in England have I had to put up with such behaviour.
It does drive people to say 'fuck them Im voting for independence.' That is why it is incredibly stupid for a national newspaper to throw shit like this out when the most important vote on the union for 300 years is only a few weeks away.
Anti-celtic banter is the last bastion of imperialist racism that is deemed acceptable and it really isnt.
At this point I will point out that of all the countries I have visited the only two where I saw racism and aggression directed towards me because of my race were:
1. Scotland
2. Wales.
Not to excuse this, but I think racism is all the nastier when it coincides with a history of oppression. And the Welsh and Scots haven't often oppressed the English. Yet!
Could we possibly avoid an unpleasant argument about this? For me what it really confirms is that despite the "debates" about the pound, oil, blah blah, the referendum will essentially be an emotional not rational response for most people. Which is as it should be I reckon.
For it to be racism there has to be a power element. I am sure you experienced bigotry, but what power do the welsh or scots have over the English? whereas Scotland Wales and NI are dominated and dictated to by an English Parliament, media and establishment.
Look I am incredibly pro-union in spite of the attitude of many over the border, and I try to judge people on on the way they act not their race or nationality, but an Englishman/woman saying the welsh and scots are just as racist is like an israeli blaming the palestinians for being bombed.
Temulkar wrote:For it to be racism there has to be a power element. I am sure you experienced bigotry, but what power do the welsh or scots have over the English? whereas Scotland Wales and NI are dominated and dictated to by an English Parliament, media and establishment.
Look I am incredibly pro-union in spite of the attitude of many over the border, and I try to judge people on on the way they act not their race or nationality, but an Englishman/woman saying the welsh and scots are just as racist is like an israeli blaming the palestinians for being bombed.
Your definition of racism is wrong. There is no requirement for it to have a power element.
Although at the time I can assure you they definitely had whatever power was available.
It was racism end of. Note I am not claiming the English are less racist.
Temulkar wrote:For it to be racism there has to be a power element. I am sure you experienced bigotry, but what power do the welsh or scots have over the English? whereas Scotland Wales and NI are dominated and dictated to by an English Parliament, media and establishment.
Look I am incredibly pro-union in spite of the attitude of many over the border, and I try to judge people on on the way they act not their race or nationality, but an Englishman/woman saying the welsh and scots are just as racist is like an israeli blaming the palestinians for being bombed.
Your definition of racism is wrong. There is no requirement for it to have a power element.
Although at the time I can assure you they definitely had whatever power was available.
It was racism end of. Note I am not claiming the English are less racist.
It is not my definition of racism it is the United Nations.
What I was trying to say was I'm a bit bored with the technocratic discussions about the economics of independence. In fact, Salmond in the last debate essentially gave up trying to provide a rational case for independence and went for raw emotion.
In this, my, view of the campaign, on the day it will be whether people really yearn in their hearts for an independent Scotland sufficiently to overcome the obvious risks associated with independence.
I wish them well in the booth. It's a very difficult decision.
I guess I will agree to disagree with Temulkar on this, to avoid what will no doubt be a prolonged exercise in both sides stacking hordes of angels on their respective pins.
Now am I the only person who looks at that and thinks not of the holocaust but of a badly dressed Play School presenter, or maybe a three year old girl.
Wrong star, wrong stripe, but fatally doomed by a too vague description; which initially led me to assume some brain dead fashion brand was selling holocaust chic in the same way they sell heroin chic.
Tubby Isaacs wrote:The police don't think there has to be a historical power element to treat an offence as racist.
There is no single criminal offence of racist crime or religious crime. Crimes are judged on racial or religious aggravation not on the basis of racism itself.
Tubby Isaacs wrote:The police don't think there has to be a historical power element to treat an offence as racist.
There is no single criminal offence of racist crime or religious crime. Crimes are judged on racial or religious aggravation not on the basis of racism itself.
It appears that the UN has instigated its first ever investigation into grave or systematic violations on the rights of disabled people in GB,Daily Wail reporting this.
Outsourcing giant Serco is embroiled in a fresh misuse of public funds scandal after a company it set up overcharged NHS hospitals millions of pounds, The Independent can reveal.
Internal documents leaked to Corporate Watch indicate Britain’s biggest pathology services provider, which was established by Serco in partnership with Guy’s and St Thomas’ hospitals, overcharged the NHS for diagnostic tests.
TechnicalEphemera wrote:
If anybody other than windbag Salmond can explain why the yes campaign has momentum I am all ears.
To me it looks like it has a chasm of credibility to cross, I expect a shy union vote, given the huge uncertainties around the absolute basics of currency, jobs and EU membership.
You would have to be pretty thin skinned to be swayed by that video, patronising as it is. When I am out of Wales I am asked about rugby, which I loathe, do I speak Welsh, Tom Jones and mostly every stereotype you care to mention, it doesn't offend me, I can do the same to those from Yorkshire, the south west, anywhere. It certainly doesn't piss me off enough to become a Nat.
Sadly I disagree, having lived in England for 20+ years before coming home and been subjected to non stop sheep shagging, odd shaped balls, speaks gibberish, mining "banter" that had it been about any other nationality would be called what it is - racism. Every time I see stuff like I am reminded that of all the countries I have lived in or visited, only in England have I had to put up with such behaviour.
It does drive people to say 'fuck them Im voting for independence.' That is why it is incredibly stupid for a national newspaper to throw shit like this out when the most important vote on the union for 300 years is only a few weeks away.
Anti-celtic banter is the last bastion of imperialist racism that is deemed acceptable and it really isnt.
I have lived in harmony (or so I thought) with the rest of the uk without a single jot of arrogance, looking down on, feelings of superiority or inferiority towards my fellow travellers. I took us "all" to be part of the same United Kingdom.
I can't say how sad I am to find that this is an illusion and fellow companions of this nation feel so - I don't know what the word is - but as though England, the English are somehow oppressors. To my shame, I have asked "do you speak Welsh", tried to speak about rugby when important matches were on or joked (so I thought) about kilts. My Irish friends take "banter" (and give it!) in good heart. I never knew trying to make conversation was seen in such a bad light. I'm clumsy conversational wise, I find it hard to break the ice with strangers or little know acquaintances so try to find a topic based around them, where they live and what life is like there. That may make me a lesser person in some eyes, but it doesn't make me racist.
letsskiptotheleft wrote:
You would have to be pretty thin skinned to be swayed by that video, patronising as it is. When I am out of Wales I am asked about rugby, which I loathe, do I speak Welsh, Tom Jones and mostly every stereotype you care to mention, it doesn't offend me, I can do the same to those from Yorkshire, the south west, anywhere. It certainly doesn't piss me off enough to become a Nat.
Sadly I disagree, having lived in England for 20+ years before coming home and been subjected to non stop sheep shagging, odd shaped balls, speaks gibberish, mining "banter" that had it been about any other nationality would be called what it is - racism. Every time I see stuff like I am reminded that of all the countries I have lived in or visited, only in England have I had to put up with such behaviour.
It does drive people to say 'fuck them Im voting for independence.' That is why it is incredibly stupid for a national newspaper to throw shit like this out when the most important vote on the union for 300 years is only a few weeks away.
Anti-celtic banter is the last bastion of imperialist racism that is deemed acceptable and it really isnt.
I have lived in harmony (or so I thought) with the rest of the uk without a single jot of arrogance, looking down on, feelings of superiority or inferiority towards my fellow travellers. I took us "all" to be part of the same United Kingdom.
I can't say how sad I am to find that this is an illusion and fellow companions of this nation feel so - I don't know what the word is - but as though England, the English are somehow oppressors. To my shame, I have asked "do you speak Welsh", tried to speak about rugby when important matches were on or joked (so I thought) about kilts. My Irish friends take "banter" (and give it!) in good heart. I never knew trying to make conversation was seen in such a bad light. I'm clumsy conversational wise, I find it hard to break the ice with strangers or little know acquaintances so try to find a topic based around them, where they live and what life is like there. That may make me a lesser person in some eyes, but it doesn't make me racist.
Talking to someone about their culture is very different to abusing them through racial stereotypes.
