Friday 15th July 2016

Post by **refitman** » Fri 15 Jul, 2016 7:09 am

Morning all.

howsillyofme1 · Post by **howsillyofme1** » Fri 15 Jul, 2016 7:15 am

Morning all

Similar to my view of this white elephant

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... lic-labour" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

SpinningHugo · Post by **SpinningHugo** » Fri 15 Jul, 2016 8:00 am

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... class-base" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

my experience too.

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Fri 15 Jul, 2016 8:09 am

Morning.

Radio 4 say Owen Smith is postponing his leadership announcement because of the horrific murders in Nice.

tinybgoat · Post by **tinybgoat** » Fri 15 Jul, 2016 8:23 am

https://paulcockayne.com/2014/02/23/cou ... rick-wall/

I have never seen anyone break down a brick wall by smashing it with their head. So if you feel as if you’re banging your head against a brick wall, ask yourself why you’re doing it. Although it can feel as if you have no choice, there is always a choice – you can always choose to stop – at least for a while – or to take a completely different approach. Banging your head against a brick wall hurts and gets you nowhere. But it is not the brick wall that is hitting you, it is you that is hitting the brick wall. It is you that is choosing to do this, and you that can choose to stop. There has got to be a less painful way of achieving nothing….

JonnyT1234 · Post by **JonnyT1234** » Fri 15 Jul, 2016 8:25 am

howsillyofme1 wrote:Morning all

Similar to my view of this white elephant

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... lic-labour" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Yet, a government that has left us with a poorly armed, badly demoralised standing Army that can't even fill Wembley Stadium will get away with accusing any opposition to it as a 'threat to the security of the nation.'

Chris Mullins. I do miss him. Actually the sort of person Labour could really do with a lot more of at this moment in time.

howsillyofme1 · Post by **howsillyofme1** » Fri 15 Jul, 2016 8:48 am

Mullins would have been a useful bridge between the factions....credible to the left but not accepted to an extent by the right

Post by **refitman** » Fri 15 Jul, 2016 8:55 am

Leadsom on male nannies:

“As an employer we’re not — let’s face it — most of us don’t employ men as nannies, most of us don’t. Now you can call that sexist, I call that cautious and very sensible when you look at the stats. Your odds are stacked against you if you employ a man. We know paedophiles are attracted to working with children. I’m sorry but they’re the facts,” she said.

JonnyT1234 · Post by **JonnyT1234** » Fri 15 Jul, 2016 8:56 am

howsillyofme1 wrote:Mullins would have been a useful bridge between the factions....credible to the left but accepted to an extent by the right

Indeed, he'd actually be the person Owen Smith is pretending to be. Sidelined by Blair, of course.

Edit: removed the same superfluous not

howsillyofme1 · Post by **howsillyofme1** » Fri 15 Jul, 2016 9:04 am

howsillyofme1 wrote:Mullins would have been a useful bridge between the factions....credible to the left but accepted to an extent by the right

Have deleted superfluous not that changed meaning

nickyinnorfolk · Post by **nickyinnorfolk** » Fri 15 Jul, 2016 9:10 am

Bit of a sense of out of the frying pan and into the fire regarding NiMo's replacement Justine Greening.

Just months after the successful 2012 Olympics, Justine Greening – the new Education Secretary – backed the sell-off of six tennis courts, a football pitch and a playground belonging a local school in her Putney constituency, of which she was a governor:

Just months after the sale, the school was handed over to a private Academy Chain ARK.

The chairman of ARK at the time happened to be a multi-millionaire investment banker called Stanley Fink.

Fink also happens to be a Tory peer who has served as co-Treasurer of the Conservative Party.

The sold-off school fields were subsequently bought by a private developer.

This is the woman now in charge of all our children’s schools.

https://tompride.wordpress.com/2016/07/ ... tory-peer/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Post by **PaulfromYorkshire** » Fri 15 Jul, 2016 9:21 am

I'm sorry this may sound wrong, but I'm a bit shocked that Smith felt able to launch his bid on Jo Cox's funeral day, but is delaying it because of the (obviously horrifying) attack in Nice.

RIP Jo

minch · Post by **minch** » Fri 15 Jul, 2016 9:23 am

In case this is of interest. First degrees of the May's bunch (please tell me of any errors as I just scanned Wikipedia)

Theresa May, Prime minister, geography at St Hugh's College
Philip Hammond, Chancellor, Philosophy, Politics and Economics at University College, Oxford
Boris Johnson, Foreign, Classics, at Balliol College, Oxford
Amber Rudd, Home, history at Edinburgh University
David Davis, Secretary for exiting the EU, Joint Hons Molecular Science/Computer Science at University of Warwick
Liam Fox, International trade, medicine at the University of Glasgow
Michael Fallon, Defence, Classics and Ancient History at the University of St Andrews
Damien Green, Work and pensions, Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at Balliol College, Oxford
Priti Patel, International development, Economics, Sociology and Social Anthropology at Keele University
Justine Greening, Education and equalities, Economics at University of Southampton
Chris Grayling, Transport, History at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge
Greg Clark, Business and energy, Economics at Magdalene College, Cambridge
James Brokenshire, Northern Ireland, law at the University of Exeter
Jeremy Hunt, Health, Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at Magdalen College, Oxford
Sajid Javid, Local government, economics and politics at Exeter University
Liz Truss, Justice, Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Merton College, Oxford
Karen Bradley, Culture, media and sport, Mathematics at Imperial College London
David Mundell, Scotland, Law at the University of Edinburgh
Andrea Leadsom, Defra, Political Science at the University of Warwick
Gavin Williamson, Chief whip, social sciences at the University of Bradford
Patrick McLoughlin, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Agriculture at Rodbaston College
Natalie Evans, Leader of the Lords, social and political science at New Hall, Cambridge
Alun Cairns, Wales, Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales, Newport
David Gauke, Chief secretary to the Treasury, Law at St Edmund Hall, Oxford
David Lidington, Leader of the Commons, History at Sidney Sussex College, University of Cambridge

Post by **PaulfromYorkshire** » Fri 15 Jul, 2016 9:28 am

minch wrote:In case this is of interest. First degrees of the May's bunch (please tell me of any errors as I just scanned Wikipedia)

Theresa May, Prime minister, geography at St Hugh's College
Philip Hammond, Chancellor, Philosophy, Politics and Economics at University College, Oxford
Boris Johnson, Foreign, Classics, at Balliol College, Oxford
Amber Rudd, Home, history at Edinburgh University
David Davis, Secretary for exiting the EU, Joint Hons Molecular Science/Computer Science at University of Warwick
Liam Fox, International trade, medicine at the University of Glasgow
Michael Fallon, Defence, Classics and Ancient History at the University of St Andrews
Damien Green, Work and pensions, Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at Balliol College, Oxford
Priti Patel, International development, Economics, Sociology and Social Anthropology at Keele University
Justine Greening, Education and equalities, Economics at University of Southampton
Chris Grayling, Transport, History at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge
Greg Clark, Business and energy, Economics at Magdalene College, Cambridge
James Brokenshire, Northern Ireland, law at the University of Exeter
Jeremy Hunt, Health, Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at Magdalen College, Oxford
Sajid Javid, Local government, economics and politics at Exeter University
Liz Truss, Justice, Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Merton College, Oxford
Karen Bradley, Culture, media and sport, Mathematics at Imperial College London
David Mundell, Scotland, Law at the University of Edinburgh
Andrea Leadsom, Defra, Political Science at the University of Warwick
Gavin Williamson, Chief whip, social sciences at the University of Bradford
Patrick McLoughlin, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Agriculture at Rodbaston College
Natalie Evans, Leader of the Lords, social and political science at New Hall, Cambridge
Alun Cairns, Wales, Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales, Newport
David Gauke, Chief secretary to the Treasury, Law at St Edmund Hall, Oxford
David Lidington, Leader of the Commons, History at Sidney Sussex College, University of Cambridge

None from the University of Perugia then

SpinningHugo · Post by **SpinningHugo** » Fri 15 Jul, 2016 9:31 am

I suppose he can do this as the manifesto has no constitutional standing either in the party or country

https://www.politicshome.com/news/uk/de ... my-corbyns" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Maeght · Post by **Maeght** » Fri 15 Jul, 2016 9:32 am

howsillyofme1 wrote:Morning all

Similar to my view of this white elephant

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... lic-labour" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

So is having a seat on the Security Council no longer important?

If not and we finally manage to come to terms with the fact that we are no longer a world power, who will get our seat?

howsillyofme1 · Post by **howsillyofme1** » Fri 15 Jul, 2016 9:48 am

Maeght wrote:
howsillyofme1 wrote:Morning all

Similar to my view of this white elephant

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... lic-labour" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
So is having a seat on the Security Council no longer important?

If not and we finally manage to come to terms with the fact that we are no longer a world power, who will get our seat?

Will we get thrown off if we get rid of nuclear weapons? It may have been a criteria once but I do not think it would apply now? If I'd did there are a few more countries that could be considered...would be a travesty considering the non-prolifération treaty

Whether we deserve to be there is another matter. Following Brexit our influence is diminished anyway

tinybgoat · Post by **tinybgoat** » Fri 15 Jul, 2016 9:53 am

Maeght wrote:
howsillyofme1 wrote:Morning all

Similar to my view of this white elephant

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... lic-labour" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
So is having a seat on the Security Council no longer important?

If not and we finally manage to come to terms with the fact that we are no longer a world power, who will get our seat?

There's plans to increase number of permanent seats. Brazil, Germany, India & Japan want to have permanent seats, but don't all have nuclear weapons.

SpinningHugo · Post by **SpinningHugo** » Fri 15 Jul, 2016 9:57 am

Question (a good one I think).

What outcome would prove you were wrong?

So, Corbyn

If Corbyn won a General Election that would prove I was wrong about his electability.

If Labour, now, were 20 points ahead in the polls, that would show that I was probably wrong.

By what criterion would Corbyn's election be a failure (this is to those who support him)?

What is the benchmark?

Or is it that you couldn't be wrong?

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Fri 15 Jul, 2016 9:59 am

Good-morning, everyone.

Maeght · Post by **Maeght** » Fri 15 Jul, 2016 10:00 am

tinybgoat wrote:
Maeght wrote:
howsillyofme1 wrote:Morning all

Similar to my view of this white elephant

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... lic-labour" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
So is having a seat on the Security Council no longer important?

If not and we finally manage to come to terms with the fact that we are no longer a world power, who will get our seat?
There's plans to increase number of permanent seats. Brazil, Germany, India & Japan want to have permanent seats, but don't all have nuclear weapons.

India, which does, is the only country supported by all the members of the current Security Council .

howsillyofme1 · Post by **howsillyofme1** » Fri 15 Jul, 2016 10:02 am

Can we try and have a day without constant referral to Corbyn

I know that two people will find this difficult but we have a funeral today so perhaps we can try to leave further internecine warfare until the weekend

SpinningHugo · Post by **SpinningHugo** » Fri 15 Jul, 2016 10:03 am

Item 4

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2016/07 ... 1468571135" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

HindleA · Post by **HindleA** » Fri 15 Jul, 2016 10:12 am

UK construction output fell sharply in run-up to referendum

Construction output fell 2.1% in May, following a 2.8% increase in April (revised up from 2.5%).

It was worse than expected, with economists forecasting a smaller drop of 1%

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistic ... n-may-2016" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Fri 15 Jul, 2016 10:12 am

Andrew Wentworth Jones, a member of my local Labour Party posted this.
I thought it was so good I've copied it here. And it made me laugh.

I posted this on my wall earlier on. Thought I'd put it up here to see if it isn't just me that feels like the entire political landscape has been kicked down a rabbit hole and ended up in Narnia as imagined by H.R Giger.
So let's see if I have this right.

The PLP have decided that Jeremy Corbyn, the man who thus far has done nothing but win elections, is unelectable. Considering that the PLP have conspired to lose the last two elections one imagines they are something of an authority on the subject, and so have put up a candidate for a leadership challenge who not nine months ago came fourth out of five in the deputy leader election.

As Corbyn apparently lacks even the most rudimentary attributes required for leadership, Angela Eagle wasted no time in demonstrating her own leadership qualities by instantly launching into a "holding pattern" for around a fortnight whilst declaring Corbyn capable of warping the laws of physics by managing to be both "campaigning all around the country with the energy of a 25 year old" whilst simultaneously being "nowhere to be seen". Schrodinger's Leader if you will.

One imagines it is precisely this sort of three dimensional thinking which earns her the backing of the PLP; she's as close to a physical distillation of their combined clarity of thought as anything I've seen in politics. A living avatar of abstract PLP bullshit, you can see why 172 MP's who collectively believe the best way to make the Labour Party electable is to plunge it into civil war, and to protect the interests of the working classes from the worst privations of a Tory Party gone insane is to emulate them.....a leader whose preference for non sequitur is outstripped only by her cognitive dissonance is the perfect choice for a group of MP's who stand up for the poorest in society by abstaining on Tory welfare reforms and and consider such follies as "principles", "compassion", "fairness" and "justice" to be less desirable qualities in a political leader then getting pissed up on a Russian billionaires yacht or illegally invading middle eastern countries on fabricated pretexts.

And so whilst Corbyn was busy being unelectable, Angela launches her leadership campaign flanked by billboards of hot pink which was a subtle hint to her thriftiness should she find herself in charge of the economy as those billboards could double up to help launch her new perfume range if this whole politics thing is a bust. As Britain is now a country which has moved past bloody annoyances such as facts she showed the wisdom befitting a true leader by not mentioning anything that even slightly smelled of policies, instead going in for the kill with nebulous aphorisms and not noticing when half the room fucked off to watch Andrea Leadsome announce to the country she invented pipe cleaners and built the Eiffel Tower.

And so we are now in a situation where an electable man is being challenged by an unelectable woman in order to unite the Labour Party by pissing all over its membership and pricing the poorest out of democracy so they can best oppose the Tories by adhering to Tory ideology and enacting Tory policies. Furthermore, they must also reconnect with voters by suspending CLP meetings around the country and engage with their grassroots membership by branding us all Red Army Faction lunatics with uncontrollable violent urges.

Angela Eagle, and the PLP, understand what it is the working classes actually want due to their collective grasp of the realities of working class life. Angela, when asked a direct question about her motives for voting in favour of the Iraq war, tackled the issue head on by saying she "understood the nuances of working class life". A cynic might suggest that a class of people under the boot heel of crippling austerity, zero hours contracts, unaffordable housing, and the real prospect of starvation might choose another term besides "nuance", but clearly one of Angela's greatest attributes is her wonderful sense of perspective, such as dismissing her own voting record as "one of those memes on Twitter".

This dazzling grasp of "nuance" makes one wonder why anyone bothers at all with Corbyn's unelectable talk of eradicating poverty and re-nationalising public infrastructure when we could have the likes of Stephen Kinnock's insights on the plight of the working poor, because nothing better allows you to understand the fears and concerns of the most vulnerable and disenfranchised people in society than being embroiled in a million pound tax fraud investigation and being married to the former Prime Minister of Denmark. And if you think that's bad then just remember that Corbyn sometimes rides on a bicycle and enjoys his allotment when not drinking Pimms with Adolf Hussein and riding around in tanks with Hamas.

But that's not all as it emerged over last weekend that Corbyn's skulduggery extends to things even more sinister than growing marrows and cucumbers. A story in the Daily Mail was leaked that during cabinet meetings Corbyn could be seen to "munch on noodles" and sometimes "a cereal bar". This is understandably concerning as troubled Labour leaders have shown their complete unsuitability for leadership by eating food before. Who can forget the day that Ed Miliband committed political seppuku by eating a bacon sandwich? And now we can add noodle munching to this perfidy, bacon sandwiches and noodles, those twin moons of bad character and terrible leadership.
I hope this acts as a cautionary tale to future Labour leaders, lest Chukka Umunna politically castrate himself because of Pringles, or Rachel Reeves is impeached after being photographed with a Curly Wurly.

Dark times my friends. Despair and confusion surround us and the wagons draw in ever tighter circles. So thank God for the PLP for taking a stand to save us from this Lovecraftian hell. If Brexit has taught them anything, it is that on no account must the public ever be allowed to vote on things because people are determined to just fuck everything up completely. The PLP are meeting this challenge head on with bravery and maverick radical thinking. What other group would have the genius to get their begging bowl for Andrea Eagle out via The Sun, then promptly pull the plug on their voting arrangements? It's this kind of out of the box thinking that Britain is desperate need of.

We are now in a new era of post ironic Britain. A Britain where a democratically elected leader with unprecedented support from ordinary working people is shown up to be an absolute disaster of hope and reform, a Britain where a completely unelectable woman with the personal appeal of a pube flavoured cheesecake is putting herself forward to save a political party from being unelectable by rendering it unelectable, and to better represent working people by shitting all over them. A Britain where the PLP are so in touch with the priorities and values of the Labour and trade union movement that they behave precisely like the ruling class we are told they are saving us from. A Britain where working people taking an active interest in their own well being is best encouraged by pricing them out of democracy altogether, and a Britain whereby the PLP are so concerned with the prospect of a feral Tory Party that the most effective way of opposing such an entity is to go even further to the right of the real thin. A Britain where the disabled, the mentally ill, the most vulnerable of society including the parents of children living in absolute squalor are denied the right to a voice even at a local level because a relatively small number of Oxbridge educated millionaires are so concerned with such people falling through the cracks they would rather burn down the entire party then see it become, erm, unelectable. And all of this fronted by a woman with a voting record that makes Norman Tebbit look a moderate, whose personal electability resonates with the public because the PLP have apparently worked out that what people really want is not an honest and principled man who will stand up and fight for every single one of us, but an unprincipled dithering charisma vacuum with the rousing delivery of an out of office email, the appearance of an albino Oompa Loompa spliced with Brother Cadfael, a permanent expression of someone smuggling 300 lbs of heroin through a Saudi Arabian airport, the intellectual gravitas of Mr Tumble, and the moral integrity of a Lebanese pimp.

Have I got this right? Is this where we are with the current situation with the Parliamentary Labour Party?

HindleA · Post by **HindleA** » Fri 15 Jul, 2016 10:13 am

https://www.theguardian.com/business/20 ... ntribution" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Thousands of Post Office workers forced to take pension benefits cut

HindleA · Post by **HindleA** » Fri 15 Jul, 2016 10:14 am

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

There’ll be no Brexit emergency budget. But what will Philip Hammond do?
Jonathan Portes

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Fri 15 Jul, 2016 10:15 am

Theresa May speech that laid out plans to scrap the Human Rights Act deleted from the internet

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/po ... 37496.html

HindleA · Post by **HindleA** » Fri 15 Jul, 2016 10:16 am

http://www.parliament.uk/business/commi ... blication/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

We must tackle the housing crisis" recommends Economic Affairs Committee

Lost Soul · Post by **Lost Soul** » Fri 15 Jul, 2016 10:16 am

howsillyofme1 wrote:Can we try and have a day without constant referral to Corbyn

I know that two people will find this difficult but we have a funeral today so perhaps we can try to leave further internecine warfare until the weekend

Well, that's that one sent flying over the horizon...

And not by one of your 'two people' I suspect.

ephemerid · Post by **ephemerid** » Fri 15 Jul, 2016 10:20 am

PaulfromYorkshire wrote:I'm sorry this may sound wrong, but I'm a bit shocked that Smith felt able to launch his bid on Jo Cox's funeral day, but is delaying it because of the (obviously horrifying) attack in Nice.

RIP Jo

Yes.

gilsey · Post by **gilsey** » Fri 15 Jul, 2016 10:25 am

George Osborne’s austerity choked off the recovery: Brexit is his legacy
Aditya Chakrabortty
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... dum-revolt" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

of all the spending on infrastructure on which work is actually under way, almost 50p of every pound is going to London. The north-east is getting less than a penny. Alongside this are the findings of Steve Fothergill and Christina Beatty, showing how the Tories’ welfare cuts left the prosperous south-east and booming inner London almost untouched. According to the authors, the areas hit hardest were “older industrial areas, less prosperous seaside towns, some London boroughs”. In other words, Brexit-land.

HindleA · Post by **HindleA** » Fri 15 Jul, 2016 10:27 am

https://www.theguardian.com/environment ... perts-warn" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

2016 could be worst year on record for British butterflies, experts warn

PorFavor · Post by **PorFavor** » Fri 15 Jul, 2016 10:30 am

Good morfternoon.

7m ago 10:23

Cardiff Central MP Jo Stevens, one of Jeremy Corbyn’s most loyal backers, has switched allegiance and called on party members to back rival leadership candidate Owen Smith.(Politics Live, Guardian)

PorFavor · Post by **PorFavor** » Fri 15 Jul, 2016 10:32 am

HindleA wrote:https://www.theguardian.com/environment ... perts-warn

2016 could be worst year on record for British butterflies, experts warn

I'm waiting for my buddleia to flower to see what the butterfly situation is hereabouts.

gilsey · Post by **gilsey** » Fri 15 Jul, 2016 10:40 am

Sadiq Khan urges Theresa May to back Gatwick Airport expansion with second runway
http://www.standard.co.uk/news/transpor ... 96501.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The Mayor told the new Prime Minister the airport was “the only show in town” and would bring substantial economic benefits to the capital.

He warned pressing ahead with a third runway at Heathrow would mean years of legal challenges, splits in the Conservative party and political turmoil in London.

Willow904 · Post by **Willow904** » Fri 15 Jul, 2016 10:40 am

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/po ... 36196.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Wales told not to expect same level of funding as it got from the EU - despite voting Brexit
Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns will only commit to saying: 'Wales will get its fair share.'

Decades of misinformation about the EU in our gutter press has a lot to answer for. I can't really have much faith in democracy if it means I have to support kicking someone when they're down, because those with much to gain and no scruples managed to manipulate people into voting for it. If Brexit is going to happen, a much bigger effort to convince voters of the benefits of the single market than we've had so far is needed. If we leave entirely, Wales' "fair share" of much less money overall isn't going to go very far.

HindleA · Post by **HindleA** » Fri 15 Jul, 2016 10:43 am

Just declared myself unfamilied and not knowing anybody.I call that being cautious given statistics that you are far more likely to be killed or abused by those attracted to being in a family or getting to know people.

gilsey · Post by **gilsey** » Fri 15 Jul, 2016 10:50 am

David Davis still in la la land.

Davis said the government’s “first order of business” will be to begin negotiations with the aim of striking trade deals with non-EU countries such as the United States and China within two years. This would give Britain a free trade area “almost twice the size of the EU” before the negotiation with the European bloc is complete, he said.

Davis insisted Britain would be able to put in place new trade agreements to come into force at the point of exit from the EU having been fully negotiated beforehand.

Quoted from AS blog, article in the Sun apparently but I'm not going there.

Davis said Article 50 should not be triggered immediately in case EU countries act “irrationally” and refuse tariff-free access to the European single market because the UK will not compromise on ending free movement so it can control immigration.

He really hasn't a clue.

HindleA · Post by **HindleA** » Fri 15 Jul, 2016 10:58 am

PF same here.Definately lessening over the last few years.I used to get a lost homing pigeon at least once a year,I convinced myself it was the same one and called him Cyril and he was saying hello,none for some years
Which isn't really relevant beyond "security/contentment" of some things remaining the same.

HindleA · Post by **HindleA** » Fri 15 Jul, 2016 11:07 am

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/nqui ... e-and-work" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

nquiringminds: making cities smarter places to live and work

Willow904 · Post by **Willow904** » Fri 15 Jul, 2016 11:09 am

HindleA wrote:PF same here.Definately lessening over the last few years.I used to get a lost homing pigeon at least once a year,I convinced myself it was the same one and called him Cyril and he was saying hello,none for some years
Which isn't really relevant beyond "security/contentment" of some things remaining the same.

At least we still have the British weather, which can be relied upon to be consistently rubbish, which is surely comforting in times of upheaval. Although has always raised the question, re immigration, why anyone with a choice would actively choose 17C and drizzle in July.

AnatolyKasparov · Post by **AnatolyKasparov** » Fri 15 Jul, 2016 11:13 am

PaulfromYorkshire wrote:I'm sorry this may sound wrong, but I'm a bit shocked that Smith felt able to launch his bid on Jo Cox's funeral day, but is delaying it because of the (obviously horrifying) attack in Nice.

RIP Jo

Tbf maybe he didn't even know? It is apparently a very private affair with only family and close friends attending.

HindleA · Post by **HindleA** » Fri 15 Jul, 2016 11:24 am

http://www.disabilitynewsservice.com/ri ... ered-live/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Rio Paralympics scraps plans to expand number of sports covered live

RogerOThornhill · Post by **RogerOThornhill** » Fri 15 Jul, 2016 11:25 am

This is good from Mike Cameron the need for competence and telling the truth in the edu world.

Issues of competence

https://cogitateit.wordpress.com/2016/0 ... ompetence/

None of these issues I’ve highlighted above relies on educational capability to solve them. They are issues of competence. The barrier to solving many of these problems thus far has, in my view been threefold:

Firstly the issue of ideology has caused difficulties. Too often the approach taken hasn’t been “How can we solve this problem?” but “How can we solve this problem within the free market paradigm we have set ourselves?”

Secondly, and this is connected to the first issue, there has been an unwillingness to listen to experts in the sector. Critical to the success of any project is the acceptance of challenge and the recognition that integrating it into the solution strengthens and not weakens the outcome.

Finally there is the most difficult issue, for everyone, that of honesty. There has been a distinct lack of it. Now I’m not completely stupid so I understand the need for politicians to make their case for change in a positive way. But, simply put, too many lies have been told over the past few years. About money, about academies, about progress.

RogerOThornhill · Post by **RogerOThornhill** » Fri 15 Jul, 2016 11:35 am

Just on the above, the "full academisation by 2022" has all the makings of being edu's answer to net migration "down to the tens of thousands".

Flat refusal to acknowledge the evidence that shows that it really is impossible to achieve.

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Fri 15 Jul, 2016 11:38 am

HindleA wrote:https://www.theguardian.com/environment ... perts-warn

2016 could be worst year on record for British butterflies, experts warn

I've a huge butterfly bush, spirea and its thick with flower spikes. Has loved the wet weather. Normally it's a butterfly magnet, but I haven't seen one this year...Butterfly that is. Not magnets...

Willow904 · Post by **Willow904** » Fri 15 Jul, 2016 11:40 am

RogerOThornhill wrote:This is good from Mike Cameron the need for competence and telling the truth in the edu world.

Issues of competence

https://cogitateit.wordpress.com/2016/0 ... ompetence/

None of these issues I’ve highlighted above relies on educational capability to solve them. They are issues of competence. The barrier to solving many of these problems thus far has, in my view been threefold:

Firstly the issue of ideology has caused difficulties. Too often the approach taken hasn’t been “How can we solve this problem?” but “How can we solve this problem within the free market paradigm we have set ourselves?”

Secondly, and this is connected to the first issue, there has been an unwillingness to listen to experts in the sector. Critical to the success of any project is the acceptance of challenge and the recognition that integrating it into the solution strengthens and not weakens the outcome.

Finally there is the most difficult issue, for everyone, that of honesty. There has been a distinct lack of it. Now I’m not completely stupid so I understand the need for politicians to make their case for change in a positive way. But, simply put, too many lies have been told over the past few years. About money, about academies, about progress.

Seems to me, non-partisan professionals are finding it increasingly difficult to function effectively under a Tory government that finds facts, evidence and expertise inconvenient. I don't remember it being quite this bad under Thatcher. When GCSE's were introduced, at least it was in response to very real issues with the previous exams as identified by educational professionals. Political meddling in professional life has always been unwelcome and robustly debated, but it feels that the overall aims of government and the professionals they govern have never been further apart.

HindleA · Post by **HindleA** » Fri 15 Jul, 2016 11:40 am

http://www.onemk.co.uk/8203-outrage-fro ... story.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Outrage as Milton Keynes Council admit it destroys homeless people's tents

AnatolyKasparov · Post by **AnatolyKasparov** » Fri 15 Jul, 2016 11:47 am

Rather a good piece by Tom Baldwin on Labour's current situation in LabourList, I thought.

He is obviously anti-Corbyn but is also pretty scathing about the current mindset of much of the party's right and the PLP.