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Thursday 17th May 2018

Posted: Thu 17 May, 2018 7:30 am
by HindleA
Morning

Re: Thursday 17th May 2018

Posted: Thu 17 May, 2018 8:02 am
by PaulfromYorkshire
HindleA wrote:Morning
Morning.

Just remembered what Hodges was being pitied for. He must have written something to the effect that Theresa May was showing her strength through U-turning

:lol:

I didn't read it!

Re: Thursday 17th May 2018

Posted: Thu 17 May, 2018 8:03 am
by PaulfromYorkshire
The Mail front page (as read on the news stand) this morning is hateful.

Presumably Diane Abbott gave a speech yesterday on Labour's immigration policy?

Re: Thursday 17th May 2018

Posted: Thu 17 May, 2018 8:48 am
by RogerOThornhill
PaulfromYorkshire wrote:The Mail front page (as read on the news stand) this morning is hateful.

Presumably Diane Abbott gave a speech yesterday on Labour's immigration policy?
Worries about an early election?

Morning all. Mixed day in the library yesterday - some of the building plans I saw didn't make any sense but looking through microfilm of old newspapers brought some decent stuff to write about.

And I gave my first local history talk on Monday - it went OK.

Re: Thursday 17th May 2018

Posted: Thu 17 May, 2018 9:30 am
by frog222
This is thirty years overdue, but better late than never :-)

EU president tears into Donald Trump, warning US president is bad friend who acts with 'capricious assertiveness'

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/p ... 54171.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Re: Thursday 17th May 2018

Posted: Thu 17 May, 2018 9:49 am
by RogerOThornhill
Have we seen this? Apologies if it's been posted before.

" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Re: Thursday 17th May 2018

Posted: Thu 17 May, 2018 9:55 am
by RogerOThornhill
NHS cost-cutting Capita contract put 'patients at serious risk of harm', find auditors

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/heal ... 54651.html
Patients have been “put at serious risk of harm” by the failure of a £330m outsourcing exercise which NHS England contracted to the private firm Capita in a bid to cut costs, the National Audit Office has warned.

Women were dropped from national cervical cancer screening programmes and medical records and supplies have gone undelivered because of NHS England’s “deeply unsatisfactory” contract, it said in a report.
I'm assuming that people who chunter on about the "envy of the world" that is the NHS - a phrase which nobody ever uses apart from gobshite free marketeers - will ignore this.

Re: Thursday 17th May 2018

Posted: Thu 17 May, 2018 9:59 am
by RogerOThornhill
While I recognise that not everything in the NHS is perfect, and that all failings should be fully investigated and people dealt with properly; the answer isn't simply to look at everything and assume that it would be far better if it is was outsourced.

Openness, transparency, admitting fault, learning from mistakes is the only way to improve.

Re: Thursday 17th May 2018

Posted: Thu 17 May, 2018 10:09 am
by RogerOThornhill
And another great policy disaster continues to show...
Apprenticeship starts continue to plummet

The drop in apprenticeship starts since the introduction of the levy is getting even more severe, the latest government statistics reveal.

In February 2018 there were 21,800 apprenticeship starts – down by 40 per cent from the 36,400 starts in February 2017 reported at this point last year.
:roll:

Re: Thursday 17th May 2018

Posted: Thu 17 May, 2018 10:20 am
by AnatolyKasparov
RogerOThornhill wrote:While I recognise that not everything in the NHS is perfect, and that all failings should be fully investigated and people dealt with properly; the answer isn't simply to look at everything and assume that it would be far better if it is was outsourced.

Openness, transparency, admitting fault, learning from mistakes is the only way to improve.
This was also a failure of *some* New Labour thinking.

Re: Thursday 17th May 2018

Posted: Thu 17 May, 2018 10:23 am
by gilsey
This is interesting*, some 'experts' have been busy.

Mysterious rise in banned ozone-destroying chemical shocks scientists
CFCs have been outlawed for years but researchers have detected new production somewhere in east Asia
https://www.theguardian.com/environment ... scientists" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


*to me, anyway

Re: Thursday 17th May 2018

Posted: Thu 17 May, 2018 10:23 am
by RogerOThornhill
AnatolyKasparov wrote:
RogerOThornhill wrote:While I recognise that not everything in the NHS is perfect, and that all failings should be fully investigated and people dealt with properly; the answer isn't simply to look at everything and assume that it would be far better if it is was outsourced.

Openness, transparency, admitting fault, learning from mistakes is the only way to improve.
This was also a failure of *some* New Labour thinking.
Quite - "public sector reform" is a phrase that should ring alarm bells every time it's used.

Re: Thursday 17th May 2018

Posted: Thu 17 May, 2018 10:32 am
by PaulfromYorkshire
RogerOThornhill wrote:
AnatolyKasparov wrote:
RogerOThornhill wrote:While I recognise that not everything in the NHS is perfect, and that all failings should be fully investigated and people dealt with properly; the answer isn't simply to look at everything and assume that it would be far better if it is was outsourced.

Openness, transparency, admitting fault, learning from mistakes is the only way to improve.
This was also a failure of *some* New Labour thinking.
Quite - "public sector reform" is a phrase that should ring alarm bells every time it's used.
This is something I was definitely wrong about back then.

People used to say "it's a slippery slope" when New Labour started this stuff. They were right!

Re: Thursday 17th May 2018

Posted: Thu 17 May, 2018 11:10 am
by HindleA
Fraud and error gone up,even with the ever changing statistical sleights of hand.Of course the truth is it was miniscule anyway,particularly in the areas that were propagandised as problematic,well past the point where attempts to deny/police cost the holy tax payer,which is all of us,regardless more than any supposed savings,even the Lord Fraud,said as much.


https://www.gov.uk/government/statistic ... -estimates" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Re: Thursday 17th May 2018

Posted: Thu 17 May, 2018 11:12 am
by HindleA
I don't like waste.I particular don't like spewing money under false pretences,far better used.

Re: Thursday 17th May 2018

Posted: Thu 17 May, 2018 11:14 am
by PorFavor
RogerOThornhill wrote:While I recognise that not everything in the NHS is perfect, and that all failings should be fully investigated and people dealt with properly; the answer isn't simply to look at everything and assume that it would be far better if it is was outsourced.

Openness, transparency, admitting fault, learning from mistakes is the only way to improve.
True. Thankfully, we now seem to be passing the phase (which lasted far too long and risked taking permanent hold) where people were too nervous of criticising the NHS for fear of any criticism being seen as a sign of tacit support for outsourcing.

Re: Thursday 17th May 2018

Posted: Thu 17 May, 2018 12:25 pm
by AnatolyKasparov
PaulfromYorkshire wrote:
RogerOThornhill wrote:
AnatolyKasparov wrote:This was also a failure of *some* New Labour thinking.
Quite - "public sector reform" is a phrase that should ring alarm bells every time it's used.
This is something I was definitely wrong about back then.

People used to say "it's a slippery slope" when New Labour started this stuff. They were right!
I don't think it had to be, but yes in practice it all too often was.

Part of the problem was some NuLab types becoming bewitched with management speak type bollix :twisted:

Re: Thursday 17th May 2018

Posted: Thu 17 May, 2018 12:54 pm
by HindleA
[youtube]ihuQFnuxhkY[/youtube]

Re: Thursday 17th May 2018

Posted: Thu 17 May, 2018 12:59 pm
by AnatolyKasparov
Meanwhile, the latest figures show *all* newspapers have seen their sales drop in the past year. Again.

Graun is down to 140k now, in bottom place (even below the FT)

Maybe it could yet dawn on Viner and co that persistently p***ing off their core readership is not a viable long term strategy?

Re: Thursday 17th May 2018

Posted: Thu 17 May, 2018 1:47 pm
by adam
It would appear, no doubt in an attempt to not make things any more complicated than they already are with the Republic, that the Queen is considering making her grandson and grand-daughter in law-about-to-be the Duke and Duchess of Connaught.

Re: Thursday 17th May 2018

Posted: Thu 17 May, 2018 1:56 pm
by RogerOThornhill
This is hardly surprising but really, really bad...

HOME OFFICE: IT IS NOT OK TO ASK OUR STUDENTS ABOUT THE IMPACT OF ‘INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS’ ON THEIR EXPERIENCE OF UNIVERSITY LIFE

https://janeemcallaghan.wordpress.com/2 ... sity-life/
The survey invites students to express attitudes about international students as if that was a real thing. International students are not a homogenous group. In my long experience as an academic working with students from the UK and from other countries, I’ve worked with great international students, weak international students, rewarding ones, challenging ones, funny ones, brilliant ones, angry ones, sad ones, friendly ones, introverted ones…. Pretty much exactly the same list as I would generate about UK home students. International students come from a huge range of backgrounds, they are as diverse, complex, and exciting to work with as UK based students are. Why would they not be?
What were they hoping to achieve by this - results so they could point to overseas students and say "See, no-one likes you here. Bugger off back to where you came from!"

I have friends from Australia, Italy, USA, Netherlands, Canada, Japan, Greece and more - all of whom have added so much to their respective universities.


:wall:

Re: Thursday 17th May 2018

Posted: Thu 17 May, 2018 2:04 pm
by HindleA
FFS.

Re: Thursday 17th May 2018

Posted: Thu 17 May, 2018 2:18 pm
by PaulfromYorkshire
Re the student survey thing. Quite disgraceful. I do hope my place hasn't distributed it!!

Re: Thursday 17th May 2018

Posted: Thu 17 May, 2018 2:19 pm
by PaulfromYorkshire
RogerOThornhill wrote:This is hardly surprising but really, really bad...

HOME OFFICE: IT IS NOT OK TO ASK OUR STUDENTS ABOUT THE IMPACT OF ‘INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS’ ON THEIR EXPERIENCE OF UNIVERSITY LIFE

https://janeemcallaghan.wordpress.com/2 ... sity-life/
The survey invites students to express attitudes about international students as if that was a real thing. International students are not a homogenous group. In my long experience as an academic working with students from the UK and from other countries, I’ve worked with great international students, weak international students, rewarding ones, challenging ones, funny ones, brilliant ones, angry ones, sad ones, friendly ones, introverted ones…. Pretty much exactly the same list as I would generate about UK home students. International students come from a huge range of backgrounds, they are as diverse, complex, and exciting to work with as UK based students are. Why would they not be?
What were they hoping to achieve by this - results so they could point to overseas students and say "See, no-one likes you here. Bugger off back to where you came from!"

I have friends from Australia, Italy, USA, Netherlands, Canada, Japan, Greece and more - all of whom have added so much to their respective universities.


:wall:
Roger it wasn't those Australian, European, North American students they meant. Nudge nudge, wink wink.

Re: Thursday 17th May 2018

Posted: Thu 17 May, 2018 2:32 pm
by PaulfromYorkshire
What's more it seems anyone can complete it! Unless it knows I'm currently sitting in a Uni.

http://www.homeofficesurveys.homeoffice ... lStudents/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Re: Thursday 17th May 2018

Posted: Thu 17 May, 2018 2:34 pm
by AnatolyKasparov
adam wrote:It would appear, no doubt in an attempt to not make things any more complicated than they already are with the Republic, that the Queen is considering making her grandson and grand-daughter in law-about-to-be the Duke and Duchess of Connaught.
Connaught in the RoI, no less. Maybe this could be a veiled hint of some kind, Brenda can be quite good at those......

Re: Thursday 17th May 2018

Posted: Thu 17 May, 2018 2:38 pm
by HindleA
Is a Uni a bit like a yurt?

Re: Thursday 17th May 2018

Posted: Thu 17 May, 2018 2:39 pm
by HindleA
For one

Re: Thursday 17th May 2018

Posted: Thu 17 May, 2018 2:41 pm
by adam
AnatolyKasparov wrote:
adam wrote:It would appear, no doubt in an attempt to not make things any more complicated than they already are with the Republic, that the Queen is considering making her grandson and grand-daughter in law-about-to-be the Duke and Duchess of Connaught.
Connaught in the RoI, no less. Maybe this could be a veiled hint of some kind, Brenda can be quite good at those......
With some very specific resonance from the past...
The ‘Cromwellian Settlement of 1652’ as it came to be called, was the worst political disaster ever to afflict Ireland and was second only in magnitude to the Great Famine of the 1840s. All Irish owned estates east of the Shannon, which had not hitherto been declared ‘confiscate’ were now ‘planted’. The Irish landowners were evicted en masse and were ordered to cross the Shannon by a certain date or face death. The only people allowed to remain east of the Shannon were those who could prove that they had been faithful to the parliamentary cause. The mass exodus westwards was a sad sight and the order “To Hell or to Connacht” became the regular heart-rending cry throughout the other three provinces.

Re: Thursday 17th May 2018

Posted: Thu 17 May, 2018 2:44 pm
by adam
PaulfromYorkshire wrote:What's more it seems anyone can complete it! Unless it knows I'm currently sitting in a Uni.

http://www.homeofficesurveys.homeoffice ... lStudents/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Just done, ta.

Re: Thursday 17th May 2018

Posted: Thu 17 May, 2018 2:58 pm
by citizenJA
adam wrote:
AnatolyKasparov wrote:
adam wrote:It would appear, no doubt in an attempt to not make things any more complicated than they already are with the Republic, that the Queen is considering making her grandson and grand-daughter in law-about-to-be the Duke and Duchess of Connaught.
Connaught in the RoI, no less. Maybe this could be a veiled hint of some kind, Brenda can be quite good at those......
With some very specific resonance from the past...
The ‘Cromwellian Settlement of 1652’ as it came to be called, was the worst political disaster ever to afflict Ireland and was second only in magnitude to the Great Famine of the 1840s. All Irish owned estates east of the Shannon, which had not hitherto been declared ‘confiscate’ were now ‘planted’. The Irish landowners were evicted en masse and were ordered to cross the Shannon by a certain date or face death. The only people allowed to remain east of the Shannon were those who could prove that they had been faithful to the parliamentary cause. The mass exodus westwards was a sad sight and the order “To Hell or to Connacht” became the regular heart-rending cry throughout the other three provinces.
It's nearly three o'clock in the afternoon and I require a baked good and a cup of something hot. Apologies for having to ask outright. What might be the message, please?

Re: Thursday 17th May 2018

Posted: Thu 17 May, 2018 2:58 pm
by citizenJA
Good-afternoon, everyone

Re: Thursday 17th May 2018

Posted: Thu 17 May, 2018 2:59 pm
by RogerOThornhill
I see Brendan O'Fuckwit has written his article again...

" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Like this comment:
John Lubbock
‏@jwsal
35m35 minutes ago
More
Replying to @spectator
Brendan is the kind of lad who would make a point of never wearing his seatbelt in a car, even if the beeping sound kept playing the whole time he was driving. Because he believes in his freedom to be a prick.
:lol:

Re: Thursday 17th May 2018

Posted: Thu 17 May, 2018 3:06 pm
by AnatolyKasparov
citizenJA wrote:
adam wrote:
AnatolyKasparov wrote:Connaught in the RoI, no less. Maybe this could be a veiled hint of some kind, Brenda can be quite good at those......
With some very specific resonance from the past...
The ‘Cromwellian Settlement of 1652’ as it came to be called, was the worst political disaster ever to afflict Ireland and was second only in magnitude to the Great Famine of the 1840s. All Irish owned estates east of the Shannon, which had not hitherto been declared ‘confiscate’ were now ‘planted’. The Irish landowners were evicted en masse and were ordered to cross the Shannon by a certain date or face death. The only people allowed to remain east of the Shannon were those who could prove that they had been faithful to the parliamentary cause. The mass exodus westwards was a sad sight and the order “To Hell or to Connacht” became the regular heart-rending cry throughout the other three provinces.
It's nearly three o'clock in the afternoon and I require a baked good and a cup of something hot. Apologies for having to ask outright. What might be the message, please?
A gentle reminder to HMG that Ireland does exist and it is in our interests to be on good terms with them, maybe?

Re: Thursday 17th May 2018

Posted: Thu 17 May, 2018 3:13 pm
by citizenJA
@AnatolyKasparov
I thought so
I was afraid I missed something more subtle
Thank you, AK

Re: Thursday 17th May 2018

Posted: Thu 17 May, 2018 3:14 pm
by adam
AnatolyKasparov wrote:
citizenJA wrote:It's nearly three o'clock in the afternoon and I require a baked good and a cup of something hot. Apologies for having to ask outright. What might be the message, please?
A gentle reminder to HMG that Ireland does exist and it is in our interests to be on good terms with them, maybe?
To be honest I read it as more of an 'In Your Face Ireland - we starved you, marched you and just plain shot you to death many times over and we can do so again!!!!!" It would be like trying to grease the wheels of a trade deal with india by making Harry the Viceroy of Amritsar.

Re: Thursday 17th May 2018

Posted: Thu 17 May, 2018 3:16 pm
by citizenJA
@adam
Yep, that crossed my mind too

Re: Thursday 17th May 2018

Posted: Thu 17 May, 2018 3:17 pm
by citizenJA
I liked her blue hat with gold flowers on it

Re: Thursday 17th May 2018

Posted: Thu 17 May, 2018 3:17 pm
by AnatolyKasparov
I realise it can also be read that way. But above all our monarch is a "*small*-c" conservative with all that entails - I never believed for a minute the Currant Bun line that she enthusiastically backed Brexit, and for primarily that reason.

Re: Thursday 17th May 2018

Posted: Thu 17 May, 2018 3:19 pm
by adam
On the FOBT £2 decision there was a good Long Read in the graun quite a while back about bookmakers and the poisonous culture that FOBTs in particular helped to culture, which is here. (Or you can listen to somebody read it to you here.)

Re: Thursday 17th May 2018

Posted: Thu 17 May, 2018 3:29 pm
by adam
AnatolyKasparov wrote:I realise it can also be read that way. But above all our monarch is a "*small*-c" conservative with all that entails - I never believed for a minute the Currant Bun line that she enthusiastically backed Brexit, and for primarily that reason.
Yeah I get that too - obviously it might not be true at all, I just thought that it was a very very bad idea that was more likely to be read as a dig at Ireland, who would care a lot, than as a dig at our government, who wouldn't care at all.

Re: Thursday 17th May 2018

Posted: Thu 17 May, 2018 4:41 pm
by HindleA
"Guide for the big day"

Train to Liverpool,enclosing myself in a pod.

Re: Thursday 17th May 2018

Posted: Thu 17 May, 2018 6:21 pm
by PorFavor
9

Re: Thursday 17th May 2018

Posted: Thu 17 May, 2018 6:25 pm
by PorFavor
Wodehouse prize for comic fiction withheld after judges fail to laugh

None of the 62 novels submitted for the 2018 award generated ‘unanimous laughter’ among the jury, so the honour will roll over this year (Guardian)
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/ ... l-to-laugh

Re: Thursday 17th May 2018

Posted: Thu 17 May, 2018 6:58 pm
by RogerOThornhill
A thread in which the dimwitted Dan Hannan gets told a thing or two about historic access to the EU by Commonwealth countries.

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For bananas read sugar too - ACP countries gained a lot by having access into the EU on guaranteed prices well above world market levels.

This gave rise to a peculiar situation where they could - and did - buy white refined sugar on the world market at a lower price than they exported raw sugar into the EU.

People like Hannan say they care deeply about the Commonwealth but are utterly clueless on, y'know, facts.

Re: Thursday 17th May 2018

Posted: Thu 17 May, 2018 8:15 pm
by citizenJA
goodnight, everyone
love,
cJA

Re: Thursday 17th May 2018

Posted: Thu 17 May, 2018 9:44 pm
by RogerOThornhill
Political donations can get you a long way if you have no intelligence...
Schools Week


@SchoolsWeek
Following Following @SchoolsWeek
More
Agnew now recommending teachers cut down on photocopying and stop using coloured ink to save money #ASCL #BLconf18
Wonder how many schools out there are going "Gosh, he's right y'know - why didn't we think of that before?"

:roll:

The number of times I hit ; instead of '

Re: Thursday 17th May 2018

Posted: Thu 17 May, 2018 10:58 pm
by Willow904
I actually had a history teacher who quit teaching over photocopying. At least they probably quit over a lot of other stuff, but not being able to photocopy some sheets for his class because the history department had used up all their photocopying budget definitely sent him over the edge, judging by the rant he treated a classful of 15 year-olds to that day! :)

This would have been around 1987 so, oh what a surprise, the Tories were penny pinching on photocopying back then, too.

Re: Thursday 17th May 2018

Posted: Thu 17 May, 2018 11:16 pm
by Willow904
Some things were better in the 80s, though. Certainly it felt like GCSEs were introduced for positive reasons, to help students show what they could do, rather than expose what they couldn't. As opposed to now....

https://amp.theguardian.com/education/2 ... ssion=true" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Stress and serious anxiety: how the new GCSE is affecting mental health
Kenneth Baker actually pops up in this article and makes a very good point:
Among those critics is the Conservative peer Kenneth Baker, who was education secretary between 1985 and 1986 when the first GCSEs were being tested. “When I took the equivalent in 1952, it was before O-levels,” he told a radio show last year. “Ninety-three per cent got a job at 16 when I took the exam. And so they had to clutch in their hands a certificate showing what they’d achieved and that was very important. But now the school leaving age is 18, in effect. Education goes on from four to 18. So what are you testing people at 16 for?”

Re: Thursday 17th May 2018

Posted: Fri 18 May, 2018 12:21 am
by Sky'sGoneOut
Question Time report:

This week it took place in Kensington and Chelsea, so a lot about the Grenfell fire.

First of all special mention must go to the rather splendid "You're only ever 10 feet away from a Tory" t-shirt a lady was sporting replete with a picture of a large savage looking rat. I must get myself one of those.

As for the panel we had Diane Abbott for Labour...I liked her Sgt Pepperesque jacket but she was hopeless, I mean really bad. She didn't appear to listen to what anyone said and simply blurted out responses to things she imagined they might have said. Which eventually ended up with her being laughed at. And I hated to see that. I've been watching Diane for years and she's clearly nowhere near as impressive a performer as she was before her illness. It's like witnessing a once great boxer being floored by some bum while the crowd jeers. It genuinely saddens me.

Anyway for the government we had Dominic Raab who actually managed to appear human and answer a couple of questions before retreating back behind his vacant stare when defending his government's record on spending. Then there was Bernard Hogan-Howe, former Met Police commissioner, who is a no nonsense Yorkshireman who seems to take everything literally and respond in the kind of slow, dim witted way stupid people think makes them sound measured and reasonable, which is no doubt how he did so well in the police force. We also had Camilla Cavendish, former head of policy for David Cameron, who avoided mentioning any of the policies she was responsible for when advising our previous gammon faced prime minister that may have led to something like, say the Grenfell fire, and instead pointed at squirrels. And finally Aditya Chakrabortty from the Guardian who was superb. He managed to get an audience to accept that Grenfell was an act of murder perpetrated by the deregulations and cuts of this and previous governments with barely a murmur of dissent from the audience and a loud round of applause.

The best however came from a young woman in the audience making a similar case to Aditya after he spoke, she was obviously moved and she managed to move an old cynic like me, I hope someone puts it up on Youtube.