Eye on Britain
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
The Church of England and Die Judenfrage
I should have mentioned yesterday that the "learned" British judges who ruled that Jews are a race do have on their side one authority who is much respected to this day in academe: Karl Marx. Marx was of course the original self-hating Jew. He was furiously antisemitic. But Marx was a sponger. He rarely earned enough to keep himself and his family so was always "borrowing" money from someone. It was initially his father (Heinrich Marx was a real gentleman, a lovely man. How he ever had such a monster as Karl is hard to imagine) and he was in later years supported by Friedrich Engels out of the proceeds of the Engels family business. One therefore imagines that when he wrote a letter to his Jewish uncle in Holland he had in mind ingratiating himself for future borrowing. The letter was about Marx's excitement over the American civil war and his contempt for Benjamin Disraeli but in the course of his comments about Disraeli he does refer to "our race".
As I briefly touched on in the opening sentence to my post yesterday, I am not wholly unsympathetic to self-hating Jews. It must be appalling to realize that by the accident of your birth you are a member of a widely suspect and even hated group -- regardless of what your personal characteristics might be. Distancing oneself from that could even be a perfectly healthy reaction. But it is when such Jews extend the dislike of their origins to undermining Israel that they really get my goat. Why do they have to be so extreme? Why not simply become an Anglican, as Disraeli did? The Anglicans (Episcopalians in the USA) have lovely buildings, colourful services and the sermons demand nothing and in fact mean nothing at all. Why not just treat it as a pleasant Sunday morning time of relaxation and have a whole new identity to show for it? Many Anglican bishops are barely-disguised atheists so you certainly don't have to believe anything to be an Anglican. It is sometimes said that the only requirement for being an Anglican is good taste.
By the way, "Die Judenfrage" is German for "The Jewish Question" and is an expression used by both Karl Marx and Adolf Hitler so there is an allusion to history in the title I chose yesterday and today. It is actually a bit of a tease. Any stray Leftist coming by my writings would expect something antisemitic under that title -- but, as you can see, such an expectation would have been disappointed.
In my peculiar position as a atheist with an interest in religious matters, I take a continued interest not only in Jews but also in the Church of England. And I have recently put up on my Paralipomena blog an article by a Church of England bishop that makes doleful reading. He notes the steady decline in adherents to his church and suspects that his church will not exist at all in 30 years' time. But he has no real answer to that problem. So will the Church of England eventually disappear up its own backside? I think not. The problem, as I see it, is that they have somehow become dominated by dress-up queens. People go there for a show rather than for a boost to faith.
But amid such desecration of a great heritage, real faith does survive in patches. The Sydney diocese is the most vivid proof of that. Their churches are full and their seminary is overflowing with people with a religious vocation. So how do they do it? Simple. They have returned to their roots. The original faith of the New Testament is a mightily powerful one and the closer you get to that the more empowered you will be. And the 39 "Articles of Religion" that were the original definition of Anglicanism are a very powerful expression of early Protestant faith -- a faith that was very Bible-based. So my expectation is that the show-ponies of Anglicanism will wither away eventually and a core of real believers will remain.
They may even evangelize. Priests ordained in Sydney already do. They go into neighbouring dioceses and set up "Family Churches", much to the irritation of the local bishops. The Sydney priests end up having more people in their pews than the local Bishop does! So the vitality is there if you drink from the waters of the original New Testament faith. The knowalls may dismiss such faith as "old-fashioned" and "irrelevant to the modern world" but it still has a great power to bring blessings to its people.
I should have mentioned yesterday that the "learned" British judges who ruled that Jews are a race do have on their side one authority who is much respected to this day in academe: Karl Marx. Marx was of course the original self-hating Jew. He was furiously antisemitic. But Marx was a sponger. He rarely earned enough to keep himself and his family so was always "borrowing" money from someone. It was initially his father (Heinrich Marx was a real gentleman, a lovely man. How he ever had such a monster as Karl is hard to imagine) and he was in later years supported by Friedrich Engels out of the proceeds of the Engels family business. One therefore imagines that when he wrote a letter to his Jewish uncle in Holland he had in mind ingratiating himself for future borrowing. The letter was about Marx's excitement over the American civil war and his contempt for Benjamin Disraeli but in the course of his comments about Disraeli he does refer to "our race".
As I briefly touched on in the opening sentence to my post yesterday, I am not wholly unsympathetic to self-hating Jews. It must be appalling to realize that by the accident of your birth you are a member of a widely suspect and even hated group -- regardless of what your personal characteristics might be. Distancing oneself from that could even be a perfectly healthy reaction. But it is when such Jews extend the dislike of their origins to undermining Israel that they really get my goat. Why do they have to be so extreme? Why not simply become an Anglican, as Disraeli did? The Anglicans (Episcopalians in the USA) have lovely buildings, colourful services and the sermons demand nothing and in fact mean nothing at all. Why not just treat it as a pleasant Sunday morning time of relaxation and have a whole new identity to show for it? Many Anglican bishops are barely-disguised atheists so you certainly don't have to believe anything to be an Anglican. It is sometimes said that the only requirement for being an Anglican is good taste.
By the way, "Die Judenfrage" is German for "The Jewish Question" and is an expression used by both Karl Marx and Adolf Hitler so there is an allusion to history in the title I chose yesterday and today. It is actually a bit of a tease. Any stray Leftist coming by my writings would expect something antisemitic under that title -- but, as you can see, such an expectation would have been disappointed.
In my peculiar position as a atheist with an interest in religious matters, I take a continued interest not only in Jews but also in the Church of England. And I have recently put up on my Paralipomena blog an article by a Church of England bishop that makes doleful reading. He notes the steady decline in adherents to his church and suspects that his church will not exist at all in 30 years' time. But he has no real answer to that problem. So will the Church of England eventually disappear up its own backside? I think not. The problem, as I see it, is that they have somehow become dominated by dress-up queens. People go there for a show rather than for a boost to faith.
But amid such desecration of a great heritage, real faith does survive in patches. The Sydney diocese is the most vivid proof of that. Their churches are full and their seminary is overflowing with people with a religious vocation. So how do they do it? Simple. They have returned to their roots. The original faith of the New Testament is a mightily powerful one and the closer you get to that the more empowered you will be. And the 39 "Articles of Religion" that were the original definition of Anglicanism are a very powerful expression of early Protestant faith -- a faith that was very Bible-based. So my expectation is that the show-ponies of Anglicanism will wither away eventually and a core of real believers will remain.
They may even evangelize. Priests ordained in Sydney already do. They go into neighbouring dioceses and set up "Family Churches", much to the irritation of the local bishops. The Sydney priests end up having more people in their pews than the local Bishop does! So the vitality is there if you drink from the waters of the original New Testament faith. The knowalls may dismiss such faith as "old-fashioned" and "irrelevant to the modern world" but it still has a great power to bring blessings to its people.
British doctors want right to pray for patients without fear of reprisal
Doctors are calling for the legal right to be allowed to pray alongside their patients. The British Medical Association is to debate whether the threat of disciplinary action should be lifted from NHS staff who try to meet patients' spiritual or religious needs. There has been concern among doctors and nurses that even offering to talk about such matters could be grounds for suspension.
Guidance issued by the Department of Health in a document called Religion Or Belief: A Practice Guide For The NHS has fuelled anxieties. It says such requests could be seen as harassment or intimidation and could lead to staff being disciplined.
Cancer specialist Dr Bernadette Birtwhistle, of the Christian Medical Fellowship, said the debate on Wednesday at the BMA's annual meeting in Liverpool would clarify how doctors and other staff could provide spiritual care for patients. She said: 'It's getting to where many of us feel we cannot talk to patients about their spiritual or religious needs or ask them about praying. 'Christianity is being seen as something that is unhelpful. 'Freedom of speech is being curtailed too much, and I don't think it is always in the benefit of patients.'
The move follows the case last year of nurse Caroline Petrie, from Westonsuper-Mare last year, who was suspended after a patient complained that she had offered to pray for her. North Somerset NHS Trust agreed she could return to work and pray for patients as long as she asked them first if they had any spiritual needs.
The Department of Health guidance states that members of some religions are expected to convert other people. It adds: 'To avoid misunderstandings and complaints, it should be made clear to everyone from the first day of training or employment that such behaviour could be construed as harassment under the disciplinary and grievance procedures.'
Dr Hamish Meldrum, chairman of the BMA Council, said the importance of the issue for a minority of people 'could not be underestimated'. He said no healthcare professional should be able to impose their beliefs but it was 'perfectly acceptable' for patients with a terminal illness to be asked if they wanted to see a chaplain. Dr Vivienne Nathanson, director of professional activities at the BMA, said: 'It's hugely important that it's allowed, but it's not an opportunity to impose your views on patients.'
The BMA will debate the matter, making it clear that offering to pray for a patient should not be grounds for suspension. The Department of Health said the document was a guide to encourage awareness for staff and patients.
SOURCE
The "don't ask, don't tell" approach to immigration is what has given Britain's despised anti-immigration party an opportunity
By FRASER NELSON
Does it matter if immigrants have taken (or created) all the new jobs in the British private sector? I reveal this in my News of the World column today, as the key fact from a data request I made from the ONS. It's a divisive topic, and even exploring it make ministers feel uncomfortable. But this `don't ask, don't tell' approach to immigration has not just given the BNP the political space needed for its electoral breakthrough three weeks ago, but left ministers ignorant about what's going on in our labour market. Between Q1 of 1997 and Q1 of 2009, immigrants account for 106% of new jobs in the private sector - ie, there are more new workers (1.55m) than new jobs (1.47m).
I'll update this post later with key graphs and put online the full response to my data request - this all deserves to be in the public domain. But it does strike me that the best way to fight the BNP is not to ban its MEPs from the House of Commons (as our MPs are now trying to do) but actually start learning about, and dealing with, the dynamics of migration. BNP support is the scream of the forgotten voter - and unless Westminster collectively starts to reach out to these people then the BNP's success story may well have a good bit left to run.
SOURCE
Freaked by the BNP! British PM pledges to house local people first
But isn't that "racist", Gordo? It is when the BNP advocate it!
Gordon Brown is to try to win back Labour's core supporters with a pledge to give priority on housing waiting-lists to local residents. A proposal to require councils to take account of applicants' connections to the area when allocating homes is central to a policy blueprint. The populist measure risks reviving the controversy over Mr Brown's call for "British jobs for British workers" .
A housebuilding programme is also to be announced today as Mr Brown seeks to regain the political initiative. Extra cash for social housing will come from a œ500 million switch in spending, outlined in the new programme, Building Britain's Future, The Times has learnt.
Resentment at needs-based rules under which newly arrived migrants are believed to be placed at the front of housing queues has long been cited by Labour MPs as eroding support among its core working-class voters. Housing is an important issue in the Labour heartlands, with 1.6 million households on council waiting lists - four million people in England and Wales. In some areas, a quarter of households are queueing for a home. Disaffection among traditional Labour supporters was plain at the recent council and European elections, at which British National Party MEPs were elected. Mr Brown's decision to oblige councils to give priority to those with local connections who have been waiting a long time is being dubbed "British homes for British people".
Senior government sources insist, however, that the policy is consistent with a new emphasis on entitlement to key public services. The measure will not require primary legislation, it is understood, but will be subject to consultation.
Other policies being announced today include guarantees of a maximum 18-week wait for a hospital appointment, limited to two weeks for cancer patients, and free health checks for the over-40s. The NHS will be placed under statutory obligations to meet what are currently only targets. [which will just lead to yet more fudging of the figures]
Mr Brown previewed the theme of the government paper in an interview with The Times last week, when he said that he would not flinch from taking on "any vested interest that stands in the way of better services".
Ed Balls, the Schools Secretary, is expected to take up the theme of entitlement tomorrow with the publication of a White Paper extending a guarantee of one-to-one tuition in maths and English for struggling pupils from primaries to the early years of secondary schools. It will also propose that league tables be replaced by a "report card" detailing schools' performance on behaviour, truancy and parental satisfaction alongside exam results. Mr Balls is expected to duck the issue of whether schools should be ranked on a single grade. Critics claim such a move would diminish the emphasis schools place on academic performance.
Today's policy blueprint, which will also include economic measures as well as the draft legislative programme for the last session before the general election, comes in the midst of a fierce row over public spending.
Yesterday Yvette Cooper, the Work and Pensions Secretary, told the BBC that ministers wanted to improve accountability in the public services. Challenged in a Politics Show interview on what would happen if entitlements were not met, she said the punishments would depend on the service concerned. Refusing to comment on whether hospitals would have money taken away if they failed, Ms Cooper said: "There are . . . areas, in which you do have penalties, where actually you don't get the services improved, but this will depend on particular areas."
SOURCE
The Gauleiter complex in Britain
(Gauleiters were local Nazi officials. Post from Prof. Brignell)
In these pages we have frequently remarked that the British experience should be taken as a warning of what could happen in the USA . Nevertheless, Americans have gone ahead with their own experiment in authoritarian socialism. Typical of the phenomenon is hurriedly and ill drafted legislation that puts power into the hands of minor and unelected officials. It is an unfortunate characteristic of some people that such power goes to their heads, and many of those in positions that once were intended to represent servants of the people now come to regard themselves as the masters. In Britain much of the primary legislation comes directly from Brussels in the form of "Directives", which are diktats, emerging from a secretive bureaucracy, that have never been properly debated or received the benefit of expert advice.
American politicians now have their own version of this process, as exemplified by the bizarre goings-on that led to the House of Representatives passing a weirdly inapposite Climate Change Bill. The cost of the Global Warming Myth, already staggering, is about to increase by orders of magnitude, tantamount to economic suicide.
One of the many dubious claims of the proponents is that it will create Green Jobs. This is a dysphemism for a new class of people living off the taxpayer. A major sub-class is The Snoopers. We had them in the UK during the post-war Labour Government. They were tasked with such duties as preventing private enterprise. It was largely Winston Churchill's successful campaign against The Snoopers that brought that spendthrift Government to an end. Nowadays opposition leaders are considerably less effective.
Now The Snoopers are back. They pry into our garbage bins, secretly film us and employ covert agents to follow us (justified by legislation originally promoted as being anti-terrorist). One couple were subjected to a prolonged stake-out to check that they were living where they claimed to be and not evading the equality rules in the educational lottery. A teenager was prosecuted for allowing a toddler to discard a sweet wrapper. Fortunately, our judges still have enough power to treat such cases with the derision they deserve. What is not disclosed is how much this snooping impoverishes the taxpayer, but it is not difficult to imagine the cost of several weeks of secret surveillance. Also typical is the fact that the actions in question were not even offences until the advent of New Labour Government. It is not only a crime to want to select a school for your child (unless you are rich), there are now so many new offences that no one, even the lawyers, knows what is legal or illegal. There are literally thousands of new crimes (including the Orwellian sounding enviro-crimes). When the Government is enacting seven new laws every day, without a semblance of proper debate, ordinary people are exposed to legal hazards of which they are completely unaware.
These are the conditions under which the Gauleiters thrive. Every citizen is threatened with the circumstances of Kafka's Joseph K, arraigned for crimes and misdemeanours unknown, and helpless in the face of an all powerful officialdom. Furthermore, ordinary people are now encouraged to become informers. Records show that 28 Gestapo were able to rule a million people by the use of informers. Many people were wrongly arrested owing to accusations motivated by malice or revenge. When journalists enquire about cases like those mentioned above, the response always comes from someone called "A Spokesman", anonymous and unelected. There is no comeback if they get it wrong. The ultimate insult is that the poor chumps they pick on have been forced to contribute to the inflated salaries these officials command. One of the greatest financial burdens carried by the poorer elements of society, such as pensioners, is the dramatic inflation of local taxes.
Look on this America. It is your future.
SOURCE
Wimbledon admits good-looking female tennis players get centre court
This was being furiously denied just days ago. I mentioned it on 22nd.
Britain: PC repair techs serve as police spies: "A visit to your PC repair shop could be swiftly followed by a trip to court and a short stay in your local jail if it harbours any remotely questionable material - whether you knew about it or not. That, at least, is the fear as the latest confirmed outing for the Dangerous Pictures Act sees one individual prosecuted after a PC engineer spotted potentially unlawful pictures on their PC - and his line manager passed on details to the police."
There is a new lot of postings by Chris Brand just up -- on his usual vastly "incorrect" themes of race, genes, IQ etc.
Doctors are calling for the legal right to be allowed to pray alongside their patients. The British Medical Association is to debate whether the threat of disciplinary action should be lifted from NHS staff who try to meet patients' spiritual or religious needs. There has been concern among doctors and nurses that even offering to talk about such matters could be grounds for suspension.
Guidance issued by the Department of Health in a document called Religion Or Belief: A Practice Guide For The NHS has fuelled anxieties. It says such requests could be seen as harassment or intimidation and could lead to staff being disciplined.
Cancer specialist Dr Bernadette Birtwhistle, of the Christian Medical Fellowship, said the debate on Wednesday at the BMA's annual meeting in Liverpool would clarify how doctors and other staff could provide spiritual care for patients. She said: 'It's getting to where many of us feel we cannot talk to patients about their spiritual or religious needs or ask them about praying. 'Christianity is being seen as something that is unhelpful. 'Freedom of speech is being curtailed too much, and I don't think it is always in the benefit of patients.'
The move follows the case last year of nurse Caroline Petrie, from Westonsuper-Mare last year, who was suspended after a patient complained that she had offered to pray for her. North Somerset NHS Trust agreed she could return to work and pray for patients as long as she asked them first if they had any spiritual needs.
The Department of Health guidance states that members of some religions are expected to convert other people. It adds: 'To avoid misunderstandings and complaints, it should be made clear to everyone from the first day of training or employment that such behaviour could be construed as harassment under the disciplinary and grievance procedures.'
Dr Hamish Meldrum, chairman of the BMA Council, said the importance of the issue for a minority of people 'could not be underestimated'. He said no healthcare professional should be able to impose their beliefs but it was 'perfectly acceptable' for patients with a terminal illness to be asked if they wanted to see a chaplain. Dr Vivienne Nathanson, director of professional activities at the BMA, said: 'It's hugely important that it's allowed, but it's not an opportunity to impose your views on patients.'
The BMA will debate the matter, making it clear that offering to pray for a patient should not be grounds for suspension. The Department of Health said the document was a guide to encourage awareness for staff and patients.
SOURCE
The "don't ask, don't tell" approach to immigration is what has given Britain's despised anti-immigration party an opportunity
By FRASER NELSON
Does it matter if immigrants have taken (or created) all the new jobs in the British private sector? I reveal this in my News of the World column today, as the key fact from a data request I made from the ONS. It's a divisive topic, and even exploring it make ministers feel uncomfortable. But this `don't ask, don't tell' approach to immigration has not just given the BNP the political space needed for its electoral breakthrough three weeks ago, but left ministers ignorant about what's going on in our labour market. Between Q1 of 1997 and Q1 of 2009, immigrants account for 106% of new jobs in the private sector - ie, there are more new workers (1.55m) than new jobs (1.47m).
I'll update this post later with key graphs and put online the full response to my data request - this all deserves to be in the public domain. But it does strike me that the best way to fight the BNP is not to ban its MEPs from the House of Commons (as our MPs are now trying to do) but actually start learning about, and dealing with, the dynamics of migration. BNP support is the scream of the forgotten voter - and unless Westminster collectively starts to reach out to these people then the BNP's success story may well have a good bit left to run.
SOURCE
Freaked by the BNP! British PM pledges to house local people first
But isn't that "racist", Gordo? It is when the BNP advocate it!
Gordon Brown is to try to win back Labour's core supporters with a pledge to give priority on housing waiting-lists to local residents. A proposal to require councils to take account of applicants' connections to the area when allocating homes is central to a policy blueprint. The populist measure risks reviving the controversy over Mr Brown's call for "British jobs for British workers" .
A housebuilding programme is also to be announced today as Mr Brown seeks to regain the political initiative. Extra cash for social housing will come from a œ500 million switch in spending, outlined in the new programme, Building Britain's Future, The Times has learnt.
Resentment at needs-based rules under which newly arrived migrants are believed to be placed at the front of housing queues has long been cited by Labour MPs as eroding support among its core working-class voters. Housing is an important issue in the Labour heartlands, with 1.6 million households on council waiting lists - four million people in England and Wales. In some areas, a quarter of households are queueing for a home. Disaffection among traditional Labour supporters was plain at the recent council and European elections, at which British National Party MEPs were elected. Mr Brown's decision to oblige councils to give priority to those with local connections who have been waiting a long time is being dubbed "British homes for British people".
Senior government sources insist, however, that the policy is consistent with a new emphasis on entitlement to key public services. The measure will not require primary legislation, it is understood, but will be subject to consultation.
Other policies being announced today include guarantees of a maximum 18-week wait for a hospital appointment, limited to two weeks for cancer patients, and free health checks for the over-40s. The NHS will be placed under statutory obligations to meet what are currently only targets. [which will just lead to yet more fudging of the figures]
Mr Brown previewed the theme of the government paper in an interview with The Times last week, when he said that he would not flinch from taking on "any vested interest that stands in the way of better services".
Ed Balls, the Schools Secretary, is expected to take up the theme of entitlement tomorrow with the publication of a White Paper extending a guarantee of one-to-one tuition in maths and English for struggling pupils from primaries to the early years of secondary schools. It will also propose that league tables be replaced by a "report card" detailing schools' performance on behaviour, truancy and parental satisfaction alongside exam results. Mr Balls is expected to duck the issue of whether schools should be ranked on a single grade. Critics claim such a move would diminish the emphasis schools place on academic performance.
Today's policy blueprint, which will also include economic measures as well as the draft legislative programme for the last session before the general election, comes in the midst of a fierce row over public spending.
Yesterday Yvette Cooper, the Work and Pensions Secretary, told the BBC that ministers wanted to improve accountability in the public services. Challenged in a Politics Show interview on what would happen if entitlements were not met, she said the punishments would depend on the service concerned. Refusing to comment on whether hospitals would have money taken away if they failed, Ms Cooper said: "There are . . . areas, in which you do have penalties, where actually you don't get the services improved, but this will depend on particular areas."
SOURCE
The Gauleiter complex in Britain
(Gauleiters were local Nazi officials. Post from Prof. Brignell)
In these pages we have frequently remarked that the British experience should be taken as a warning of what could happen in the USA . Nevertheless, Americans have gone ahead with their own experiment in authoritarian socialism. Typical of the phenomenon is hurriedly and ill drafted legislation that puts power into the hands of minor and unelected officials. It is an unfortunate characteristic of some people that such power goes to their heads, and many of those in positions that once were intended to represent servants of the people now come to regard themselves as the masters. In Britain much of the primary legislation comes directly from Brussels in the form of "Directives", which are diktats, emerging from a secretive bureaucracy, that have never been properly debated or received the benefit of expert advice.
American politicians now have their own version of this process, as exemplified by the bizarre goings-on that led to the House of Representatives passing a weirdly inapposite Climate Change Bill. The cost of the Global Warming Myth, already staggering, is about to increase by orders of magnitude, tantamount to economic suicide.
One of the many dubious claims of the proponents is that it will create Green Jobs. This is a dysphemism for a new class of people living off the taxpayer. A major sub-class is The Snoopers. We had them in the UK during the post-war Labour Government. They were tasked with such duties as preventing private enterprise. It was largely Winston Churchill's successful campaign against The Snoopers that brought that spendthrift Government to an end. Nowadays opposition leaders are considerably less effective.
Now The Snoopers are back. They pry into our garbage bins, secretly film us and employ covert agents to follow us (justified by legislation originally promoted as being anti-terrorist). One couple were subjected to a prolonged stake-out to check that they were living where they claimed to be and not evading the equality rules in the educational lottery. A teenager was prosecuted for allowing a toddler to discard a sweet wrapper. Fortunately, our judges still have enough power to treat such cases with the derision they deserve. What is not disclosed is how much this snooping impoverishes the taxpayer, but it is not difficult to imagine the cost of several weeks of secret surveillance. Also typical is the fact that the actions in question were not even offences until the advent of New Labour Government. It is not only a crime to want to select a school for your child (unless you are rich), there are now so many new offences that no one, even the lawyers, knows what is legal or illegal. There are literally thousands of new crimes (including the Orwellian sounding enviro-crimes). When the Government is enacting seven new laws every day, without a semblance of proper debate, ordinary people are exposed to legal hazards of which they are completely unaware.
These are the conditions under which the Gauleiters thrive. Every citizen is threatened with the circumstances of Kafka's Joseph K, arraigned for crimes and misdemeanours unknown, and helpless in the face of an all powerful officialdom. Furthermore, ordinary people are now encouraged to become informers. Records show that 28 Gestapo were able to rule a million people by the use of informers. Many people were wrongly arrested owing to accusations motivated by malice or revenge. When journalists enquire about cases like those mentioned above, the response always comes from someone called "A Spokesman", anonymous and unelected. There is no comeback if they get it wrong. The ultimate insult is that the poor chumps they pick on have been forced to contribute to the inflated salaries these officials command. One of the greatest financial burdens carried by the poorer elements of society, such as pensioners, is the dramatic inflation of local taxes.
Look on this America. It is your future.
SOURCE
Wimbledon admits good-looking female tennis players get centre court
This was being furiously denied just days ago. I mentioned it on 22nd.
"Good looks count for more than tennis ability when it comes to choosing which women play on Wimbledon's centre court. A succession of easy-on-the-eye unknowns have appeared in Wimbledon's prime arena this year while some of the top women's seeds have been relegated to lesser courts.
The All England Club admitted that physical attractiveness is taken into consideration. Spokesman Johnny Perkins said: "Good looks are a factor."
A BBC source said: "It's the Wimbledon play committee, not us who decides on the order of play. "But obviously it's advantageous to us if there are good-looking women players on Centre Court. "Our preference would always be a Brit or a babe as this always delivers high viewing figures."
Source
Britain: PC repair techs serve as police spies: "A visit to your PC repair shop could be swiftly followed by a trip to court and a short stay in your local jail if it harbours any remotely questionable material - whether you knew about it or not. That, at least, is the fear as the latest confirmed outing for the Dangerous Pictures Act sees one individual prosecuted after a PC engineer spotted potentially unlawful pictures on their PC - and his line manager passed on details to the police."
There is a new lot of postings by Chris Brand just up -- on his usual vastly "incorrect" themes of race, genes, IQ etc.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Amazing: Government of Victoria imports the trash of the world's social workers
There is a unending stream of stories coming out of Britain detailing the sheer evil of British social workers -- and Australians need that garbage? Their attitudes stem from the Marxist hate they learn in their social work schools: The middle classes are the enemy and the "worker" can do no wrong. Too bad if the occasional child get brutalized and killed. Victoria shouldn't be touching such animals with a bargepole. I regularly post horror stories about British social workers here and on POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH. Thank goodness the recruitment drive was largely unsuccessful
THE Brumby Government has spent more than $500,000 of taxpayer money in five months to recruit health workers from the United Kingdom and Ireland and fly them to Victoria. The Department of Human Services alone spent $457,051 to lure 50 child protection workers from England, Ireland and Scotland in a recruitment campaign launched last October. But by last March only 19 European child protection staff had started work in Victoria, with a recruitment cost of more than $24,000 per person on top of an average annual salary of $49,800. And at least three have since returned home, citing "personal" or "medical" reasons.
The DHS spent $224,000 on advertising, $134,000 to relocate workers to Australia and more than $1300 on a welcome party, documents obtained by the Sunday Herald Sun through Freedom of Information reveal. Community Services Minister Lisa Neville flew business class to the UK for a "welcome event" celebrating the success of the scheme - racking up a $52,000 bill in the process. Ms Neville defended the spending, saying the Government had taken action to recruit desperately needed staff and expand services. "We make no excuses for trying to find the best people to help stand up for vulnerable Victorians," she said.
Opposition community services spokeswoman Mary Wooldridge said the move was a "stop-gap solution" to a major problem. "Here we are at a time when the Government is trying to promote our workforce and they're bringing in these workers from overseas," she said. "They're spending all this money to bring in offshore workers when they have known about the problems for years and failed to act."
A Government spokeswoman, Peta James, said that as of last week there were 31 child protection workers recruited from overseas in Victoria - seven in regional areas and 24 in Melbourne. She said four more were likely to arrive by the end of July. The workers, recruited from London, Dublin, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Manchester and Belfast, have been offered two-year contracts in the hope they will stay in Victoria and then train Australian graduates.
The Government paid their immigration and citizenship fees, airfares and short-term accommodation costs to convince them to move to Victoria. Information and interview sessions held in the UK to recruit them cost $91,189. Two DHS staff sent to oversee the process lodged expense claims for almost $15,000.
SOURCE
Scandal of the migrant criminals in Britain: How legal lunancy left serial sex offender free to kill girl, 12
In the year to April, Britain received more than 3,500 requests from foreign countries for the return of their criminals. More than 150 were suspected or convicted murderers. The astonishing total was up by a quarter on the previous 12 months.
The vast majority of the 'wanted' suspects hailed from European Union countries. As Detective Chief Inspector Murray Duffin, of the Scotland Yard Extradition and Intelligence Unit, has warned: 'Britain is becoming a magnet for increasing numbers of criminals from the former Eastern bloc countries which are now members of the EU.'
Notably, the number of fugitives being sought by Poland has soared 14-fold since 2004, when the country joined the EU and its citizens were allowed to live in Britain. The Warsaw police now send a charter plane to Britain every month to pick up their countrymen wanted for killings, rape, robbery, burglary, drugs and theft. Last year, officers from the extradition unit returned 275 Poles accused of crimes back home.
Even the police chief of Albania - which is not an EU member - has warned that Britain has become the favourite sanctuary for fugitives. He recently claimed that the UK is harbouring 80 Albanian killers and 20 other serious offenders. Many have got British citizenship after deceiving our authorities and claiming asylum by pretending to be from war-torn Kosovo.
So why does our extradition system take so long to send back the suspected foreign criminals found here? And what are the implications for our own safety as rapists and murderers freely walk our streets?
In London, a fifth of all offences, a third of all sex attacks and half of all frauds are committed by those born overseas. In the West Midlands, the number of foreigners accused of crimes doubled to 3,700 in the five years up to 2008. In the country as a whole, drink-driving convictions of foreigners have shot up 17 times. And it is hard not to suspect that many of them will have had criminal records before they came to Britain. For as one London senior police officer told me: 'A criminal doesn't stop being a criminal just because he moves country - and that is the real problem. Our first call when we get an extradition request from a foreign country is to the British prison authorities, because that is where they are often to be found.' Indeed, about 5 per cent of all extradition requests concern suspects who have already been jailed for offences committed in the UK.
Many have arrived here illicitly, smuggling themselves into Britain hidden in lorries [trucks] arriving from Calais, Dunkirk and Boulogne, or on trains through the Channel tunnel. This week the Home Office said that last year 28,000 foreigners clandestinely tried to enter the country by these routes. 'Inevitably, some are running away from their own justice system,' explained the police officer.
The trouble is, by the time foreign criminals are successfully tracked down it's often too late. In one horrific case, schoolgirl Katerina Koneva, 12, was strangled at her home in Hammersmith, West London, by Andrezej Kunowski, who had spent 15 years in jail in his native Poland for serial sex offences. The 51-year-old was awaiting trial in his home country for further sex attacks when, in June 1996, he was freed on bail for urgent medical treatment and absconded, travelling to Britain under a tourist visa. (Poland was not yet a member of the EU.)
He murdered Katerina a year later, and although the Polish authorities continued to seek his extradition, Kunowski remained at large in the UK for six years after her death. It was only when he was arrested for the rape of a 22-year-old student from London that police were able to use the DNA samples they had taken to link him to Katerina's killing. He is serving life in prison in Britain and is unlikely ever to be released - which means that he will never face justice in his own country.
Yet shocking though his case is, there are many more like him still at large in Britain. In fact, only a fraction of those suspected of crimes in their home country and traced to Britain are ever successfully extradited. Of the 3,526 foreigners for whom extradition requests were made by European Union countries in the past year, 683 were arrested and only one in seven - 516 - returned, according to the latest figures released to the Mail by the Serious Organised Crime Agency.
As for those from outside the EU, the Home Office says that of the 300 'wanted' by the rest of the world since 2003, a third escaped extradition and remain here. There are a myriad legal loopholes to sidestep removal. The suspects' lawyers often claim - successfully - that their clients will suffer human rights abuse or will not face a fair trial back home. The extradition process can be dragged out for years if suspects appeal to the High Court and then up again to the Home Secretary. If they come from outside the EU, many instantly claim asylum. This request has then to be considered by the courts before the extradition process can even begin. In a further twist, those accused of offences carrying the death penalty in their home country cannot - by our law - be returned because Britain has abolished capital punishment.
This begs the question of whether the most dangerous foreign criminals are deliberately settling here because they are safe from extradition. The situation is even more complicated if the suspected foreign criminal has a wife and children in this country. Under the Human Rights Act 1998, they can fight removal, claiming their family life would be disrupted.
The crisis was highlighted earlier this month with the Crimestoppers' campaign to track down foreign criminals here. The 16 named suspects were mainly from Eastern Europe (eight from Albania alone) and included six rapists and six murderers. Lord Ashcroft, who founded Crimestoppers, said: 'Fugitives hide across the globe in all communities. When you look at the criminals that are on the most wanted list, they can be truly horrible people and need to be caught.'
To speed the extradition process, new laws on sending criminals back to Europe were passed in 2003. However, over four days in court, I saw a score of foreigners using every twist and turn in the law to fight removal. Take Fred Undrits, who is wanted in Estonia for burning down a house. The 23-year-old was brought to the extradition hearing from prison, where he is serving a 56-day sentence for shoplifting. He has been in Britain since 2006 and his case might take years to decide.
And what of Albanian Shkelzen Gradica? The 33-year-old has changed his name to Robert and was convicted in his absence in Italy of attempted murder. His defence team argue it could breach his human rights to be sent to Rome because he would not get a fair trial. The reason? Gradica was convicted on the basis of an unreliable witness statement and has never had the chance to answer the allegations against him in an Italian courtroom.
From Poland, Maciej Blaszko, 30, has been accused in Warsaw of attempted robbery and driving while disqualified. Here he has been fighting extradition with a team of lawyers paid for with legal aid funded by the British taxpayer. Blaszko says he won't get a fair trial back home because the police case against him was prepared when he had fled the country for the UK.
And then there was paedophile Julius Horvath, convicted in 1996 of the sexual assault and rape of a child in the Czech Republic. Horvath slipped through our borders and came to Britain in 2000. Despite his dubious past, he successfully claimed asylum. Living in a one-bed council flat in Leeds, he even received job seekers' allowance. The 54-year old has also had numerous run-ins with police here, according to evidence given at the extradition hearing. In the past four years, the Czech has been cautioned for affray, being drunk and disorderly, serious assault and shoplifting. Luckily for him, he has one son living here, and four grandchildren who were born here, which means the chances of him ever going home are slim indeed. Why? His lawyers say that a return would infringe his 'family life' under Article 8 of the Human Rights Act.
And then there was the suspected Hungarian paedophile Balazs Asztalos. He made a second appearance at the extradition court ten days after he was found by police in Milton Keynes. His employers, S and D Leisure, admitted they did not have a clue their polite young employee was a suspected child molester. 'We were really amazed when he was arrested,' said company owner Stanley Reeves. 'If we'd had the slightest inkling he was on the run from police we never would have given him a job.' The family-run company, which operates bungee rides all over the country, had taken down Asztalos' details from his passport and started to run a police criminal record check on him.
Now Mr Reeves is questioning how Asztalos had not been tracked down to Britain before. He arrived in Britain in 2006. In the extradition court, Asztalos' shoulder-length hair was swept back from his face with gel, and he looked completely different to the shavenheaded figure who had appeared in the Crimestoppers photograph. But already there are nagging doubts about whether he can ever be returned. The court heard that the Hungarian police have questioned three other people - including Asztalos' own mother - in connection with child sex abuse in his home town. Defence barrister Martin Henley told the extradition court the trio had all been released without charge.
And then Mr Henley announced his bombshell. He said that under British laws the extradition request was useless if Asztalos was wanted only for interviews by Hungarian police and was not, thus far, subject to a fullblown arrest warrant. While inquiries are made about exactly what the situation is, the young Hungarian will remain in prison.
Asztalos is innocent until proven guilty, but there are countless other foreign crooks and deviants with dubious pasts who are making Britain an infinitely more unsafe place for decent people to live in. It is a scandal of terrifying proportions.
SOURCE
Some socialist policing to inspire you
After 12 years of Leftist government, Britain's police no longer care about ordinary crime but if you call a homosexual something derogatory, you are sure to get a visit. The Australian State where I live has also been Left-run for a long time (since 1989 with one brief interruption) and they are even worse than the police in the story below. The Queensland police refused to take any interest when I handed them an ID card dropped by a person who had stolen my car. No "lack of evidence" excuse there. Their excuse was that the thief had "No form" (no criminal record). One wonders how anybody ever gets any "form" in that case. I am very familiar with the complete lack of police interest in crime reported by the woman below
A family have criticised a police force which claimed it could not investigate a theft at their home - even though they live just 70 yards from the local police station. Paula and David Whitfield, who works as a carer, were confident local officers would investigate after a pony cart, worth œ500, was stolen from outside their house. But after reporting the theft and told not to disturb any potential evidence the couple waited in vain for officers to come round, take a statement and check for fingerprints.
Four days after the Whitfields' reported the crime they were stunned to get a letter from police saying they had closed the case. Exasperated Mrs Whitfield, 38, said: 'I couldn't believe they were disregarding a crime which happened on their own doorstep. 'We live so close to the police station that we can even hear the cell doors. Officers going to and from the station actually walk past our house. 'What's the point of them being there if they don't do their jobs?'
The letter from Hampshire Police said they had 'recorded' the theft at the Whitfields' home in the heart of New Forest. It added: 'Unfortunately we are unable to take any action. 'This is because there is not enough evidence available at this stage to make a case for prosecution and so your case has been closed.'
Mrs Whitfield rang police to complain when she received the letter on Saturday and was told an officer would visit. But when she had still not heard anything by Tuesday evening she walked around the corner to the police station but was told the relevant officer was in a meeting. Eventually Mrs Whitfield received a call from the officer but said she was still given no assurance that the theft of the cart would be properly investigated. She said: 'I got the impression from her attitude that she did not think it was important, that they would not trace the cart and that it would just be a waste of police time. 'A crime has happened in their own back yard and their attitude has been an absolute joke.'
Hampshire police have now said the letter was sent 'in error' and promised the crime would be investigated. However, their belated response has failed to impress the mother of four who plans to make a formal complaint to Hampshire police. She said: ''Some scenes of crime officers have been round but they say they only managed to get a partial fingerprint. 'That's hardly surprising because they finally came more than a week after the theft and it's rained a couple of times since then. 'They know they've mucked up and are attempting to cover their tracks. 'I'm 100 per cent convinced they've only decided to investigate the theft because the media have got involved. 'It makes me think I should try to investigate matters myself in future.'
Mrs Whitfield and her husband have abandoned any hope of being reunited with the cart, which they used to break in New Forest ponies. Despite being chained up it was stolen from a small garden beside their semi-detached house where their son Mitchell, 15, had spent several months rebuilding it. A police spokesman has since admitted the letter had been generated too early and sent in error. He said: 'When the crime was reported there weren't many lines of inquiry because the victims didn't see or hear anything. The theft will be investigated.'
Asked why police did not visit the couple the spokesman said the personnel involved did not work at that particular police station and had no way of knowing the Whitfields lived so close to the building. Chief Inspector Gary Cooper said: 'It is important to note that all incidents reported to police are dealt with in accordance with a grading system. 'Proximity to a police station does not qualify anyone for a preferential service. 'Upon receiving reports of the theft of a pony cart from an address in Lyndhurst, several unsuccessful attempts were made to re-contact the owners by telephone.'
SOURCE
A new naughty word: "scuffer"
Whining Scottish cop complains about a word of dubious meaning
It sounds like rather a good word. I will try to remember it. It might come in handy.
There is a unending stream of stories coming out of Britain detailing the sheer evil of British social workers -- and Australians need that garbage? Their attitudes stem from the Marxist hate they learn in their social work schools: The middle classes are the enemy and the "worker" can do no wrong. Too bad if the occasional child get brutalized and killed. Victoria shouldn't be touching such animals with a bargepole. I regularly post horror stories about British social workers here and on POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH. Thank goodness the recruitment drive was largely unsuccessful
THE Brumby Government has spent more than $500,000 of taxpayer money in five months to recruit health workers from the United Kingdom and Ireland and fly them to Victoria. The Department of Human Services alone spent $457,051 to lure 50 child protection workers from England, Ireland and Scotland in a recruitment campaign launched last October. But by last March only 19 European child protection staff had started work in Victoria, with a recruitment cost of more than $24,000 per person on top of an average annual salary of $49,800. And at least three have since returned home, citing "personal" or "medical" reasons.
The DHS spent $224,000 on advertising, $134,000 to relocate workers to Australia and more than $1300 on a welcome party, documents obtained by the Sunday Herald Sun through Freedom of Information reveal. Community Services Minister Lisa Neville flew business class to the UK for a "welcome event" celebrating the success of the scheme - racking up a $52,000 bill in the process. Ms Neville defended the spending, saying the Government had taken action to recruit desperately needed staff and expand services. "We make no excuses for trying to find the best people to help stand up for vulnerable Victorians," she said.
Opposition community services spokeswoman Mary Wooldridge said the move was a "stop-gap solution" to a major problem. "Here we are at a time when the Government is trying to promote our workforce and they're bringing in these workers from overseas," she said. "They're spending all this money to bring in offshore workers when they have known about the problems for years and failed to act."
A Government spokeswoman, Peta James, said that as of last week there were 31 child protection workers recruited from overseas in Victoria - seven in regional areas and 24 in Melbourne. She said four more were likely to arrive by the end of July. The workers, recruited from London, Dublin, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Manchester and Belfast, have been offered two-year contracts in the hope they will stay in Victoria and then train Australian graduates.
The Government paid their immigration and citizenship fees, airfares and short-term accommodation costs to convince them to move to Victoria. Information and interview sessions held in the UK to recruit them cost $91,189. Two DHS staff sent to oversee the process lodged expense claims for almost $15,000.
SOURCE
Scandal of the migrant criminals in Britain: How legal lunancy left serial sex offender free to kill girl, 12
In the year to April, Britain received more than 3,500 requests from foreign countries for the return of their criminals. More than 150 were suspected or convicted murderers. The astonishing total was up by a quarter on the previous 12 months.
The vast majority of the 'wanted' suspects hailed from European Union countries. As Detective Chief Inspector Murray Duffin, of the Scotland Yard Extradition and Intelligence Unit, has warned: 'Britain is becoming a magnet for increasing numbers of criminals from the former Eastern bloc countries which are now members of the EU.'
Notably, the number of fugitives being sought by Poland has soared 14-fold since 2004, when the country joined the EU and its citizens were allowed to live in Britain. The Warsaw police now send a charter plane to Britain every month to pick up their countrymen wanted for killings, rape, robbery, burglary, drugs and theft. Last year, officers from the extradition unit returned 275 Poles accused of crimes back home.
Even the police chief of Albania - which is not an EU member - has warned that Britain has become the favourite sanctuary for fugitives. He recently claimed that the UK is harbouring 80 Albanian killers and 20 other serious offenders. Many have got British citizenship after deceiving our authorities and claiming asylum by pretending to be from war-torn Kosovo.
So why does our extradition system take so long to send back the suspected foreign criminals found here? And what are the implications for our own safety as rapists and murderers freely walk our streets?
In London, a fifth of all offences, a third of all sex attacks and half of all frauds are committed by those born overseas. In the West Midlands, the number of foreigners accused of crimes doubled to 3,700 in the five years up to 2008. In the country as a whole, drink-driving convictions of foreigners have shot up 17 times. And it is hard not to suspect that many of them will have had criminal records before they came to Britain. For as one London senior police officer told me: 'A criminal doesn't stop being a criminal just because he moves country - and that is the real problem. Our first call when we get an extradition request from a foreign country is to the British prison authorities, because that is where they are often to be found.' Indeed, about 5 per cent of all extradition requests concern suspects who have already been jailed for offences committed in the UK.
Many have arrived here illicitly, smuggling themselves into Britain hidden in lorries [trucks] arriving from Calais, Dunkirk and Boulogne, or on trains through the Channel tunnel. This week the Home Office said that last year 28,000 foreigners clandestinely tried to enter the country by these routes. 'Inevitably, some are running away from their own justice system,' explained the police officer.
The trouble is, by the time foreign criminals are successfully tracked down it's often too late. In one horrific case, schoolgirl Katerina Koneva, 12, was strangled at her home in Hammersmith, West London, by Andrezej Kunowski, who had spent 15 years in jail in his native Poland for serial sex offences. The 51-year-old was awaiting trial in his home country for further sex attacks when, in June 1996, he was freed on bail for urgent medical treatment and absconded, travelling to Britain under a tourist visa. (Poland was not yet a member of the EU.)
He murdered Katerina a year later, and although the Polish authorities continued to seek his extradition, Kunowski remained at large in the UK for six years after her death. It was only when he was arrested for the rape of a 22-year-old student from London that police were able to use the DNA samples they had taken to link him to Katerina's killing. He is serving life in prison in Britain and is unlikely ever to be released - which means that he will never face justice in his own country.
Yet shocking though his case is, there are many more like him still at large in Britain. In fact, only a fraction of those suspected of crimes in their home country and traced to Britain are ever successfully extradited. Of the 3,526 foreigners for whom extradition requests were made by European Union countries in the past year, 683 were arrested and only one in seven - 516 - returned, according to the latest figures released to the Mail by the Serious Organised Crime Agency.
As for those from outside the EU, the Home Office says that of the 300 'wanted' by the rest of the world since 2003, a third escaped extradition and remain here. There are a myriad legal loopholes to sidestep removal. The suspects' lawyers often claim - successfully - that their clients will suffer human rights abuse or will not face a fair trial back home. The extradition process can be dragged out for years if suspects appeal to the High Court and then up again to the Home Secretary. If they come from outside the EU, many instantly claim asylum. This request has then to be considered by the courts before the extradition process can even begin. In a further twist, those accused of offences carrying the death penalty in their home country cannot - by our law - be returned because Britain has abolished capital punishment.
This begs the question of whether the most dangerous foreign criminals are deliberately settling here because they are safe from extradition. The situation is even more complicated if the suspected foreign criminal has a wife and children in this country. Under the Human Rights Act 1998, they can fight removal, claiming their family life would be disrupted.
The crisis was highlighted earlier this month with the Crimestoppers' campaign to track down foreign criminals here. The 16 named suspects were mainly from Eastern Europe (eight from Albania alone) and included six rapists and six murderers. Lord Ashcroft, who founded Crimestoppers, said: 'Fugitives hide across the globe in all communities. When you look at the criminals that are on the most wanted list, they can be truly horrible people and need to be caught.'
To speed the extradition process, new laws on sending criminals back to Europe were passed in 2003. However, over four days in court, I saw a score of foreigners using every twist and turn in the law to fight removal. Take Fred Undrits, who is wanted in Estonia for burning down a house. The 23-year-old was brought to the extradition hearing from prison, where he is serving a 56-day sentence for shoplifting. He has been in Britain since 2006 and his case might take years to decide.
And what of Albanian Shkelzen Gradica? The 33-year-old has changed his name to Robert and was convicted in his absence in Italy of attempted murder. His defence team argue it could breach his human rights to be sent to Rome because he would not get a fair trial. The reason? Gradica was convicted on the basis of an unreliable witness statement and has never had the chance to answer the allegations against him in an Italian courtroom.
From Poland, Maciej Blaszko, 30, has been accused in Warsaw of attempted robbery and driving while disqualified. Here he has been fighting extradition with a team of lawyers paid for with legal aid funded by the British taxpayer. Blaszko says he won't get a fair trial back home because the police case against him was prepared when he had fled the country for the UK.
And then there was paedophile Julius Horvath, convicted in 1996 of the sexual assault and rape of a child in the Czech Republic. Horvath slipped through our borders and came to Britain in 2000. Despite his dubious past, he successfully claimed asylum. Living in a one-bed council flat in Leeds, he even received job seekers' allowance. The 54-year old has also had numerous run-ins with police here, according to evidence given at the extradition hearing. In the past four years, the Czech has been cautioned for affray, being drunk and disorderly, serious assault and shoplifting. Luckily for him, he has one son living here, and four grandchildren who were born here, which means the chances of him ever going home are slim indeed. Why? His lawyers say that a return would infringe his 'family life' under Article 8 of the Human Rights Act.
And then there was the suspected Hungarian paedophile Balazs Asztalos. He made a second appearance at the extradition court ten days after he was found by police in Milton Keynes. His employers, S and D Leisure, admitted they did not have a clue their polite young employee was a suspected child molester. 'We were really amazed when he was arrested,' said company owner Stanley Reeves. 'If we'd had the slightest inkling he was on the run from police we never would have given him a job.' The family-run company, which operates bungee rides all over the country, had taken down Asztalos' details from his passport and started to run a police criminal record check on him.
Now Mr Reeves is questioning how Asztalos had not been tracked down to Britain before. He arrived in Britain in 2006. In the extradition court, Asztalos' shoulder-length hair was swept back from his face with gel, and he looked completely different to the shavenheaded figure who had appeared in the Crimestoppers photograph. But already there are nagging doubts about whether he can ever be returned. The court heard that the Hungarian police have questioned three other people - including Asztalos' own mother - in connection with child sex abuse in his home town. Defence barrister Martin Henley told the extradition court the trio had all been released without charge.
And then Mr Henley announced his bombshell. He said that under British laws the extradition request was useless if Asztalos was wanted only for interviews by Hungarian police and was not, thus far, subject to a fullblown arrest warrant. While inquiries are made about exactly what the situation is, the young Hungarian will remain in prison.
Asztalos is innocent until proven guilty, but there are countless other foreign crooks and deviants with dubious pasts who are making Britain an infinitely more unsafe place for decent people to live in. It is a scandal of terrifying proportions.
SOURCE
Some socialist policing to inspire you
After 12 years of Leftist government, Britain's police no longer care about ordinary crime but if you call a homosexual something derogatory, you are sure to get a visit. The Australian State where I live has also been Left-run for a long time (since 1989 with one brief interruption) and they are even worse than the police in the story below. The Queensland police refused to take any interest when I handed them an ID card dropped by a person who had stolen my car. No "lack of evidence" excuse there. Their excuse was that the thief had "No form" (no criminal record). One wonders how anybody ever gets any "form" in that case. I am very familiar with the complete lack of police interest in crime reported by the woman below
A family have criticised a police force which claimed it could not investigate a theft at their home - even though they live just 70 yards from the local police station. Paula and David Whitfield, who works as a carer, were confident local officers would investigate after a pony cart, worth œ500, was stolen from outside their house. But after reporting the theft and told not to disturb any potential evidence the couple waited in vain for officers to come round, take a statement and check for fingerprints.
Four days after the Whitfields' reported the crime they were stunned to get a letter from police saying they had closed the case. Exasperated Mrs Whitfield, 38, said: 'I couldn't believe they were disregarding a crime which happened on their own doorstep. 'We live so close to the police station that we can even hear the cell doors. Officers going to and from the station actually walk past our house. 'What's the point of them being there if they don't do their jobs?'
The letter from Hampshire Police said they had 'recorded' the theft at the Whitfields' home in the heart of New Forest. It added: 'Unfortunately we are unable to take any action. 'This is because there is not enough evidence available at this stage to make a case for prosecution and so your case has been closed.'
Mrs Whitfield rang police to complain when she received the letter on Saturday and was told an officer would visit. But when she had still not heard anything by Tuesday evening she walked around the corner to the police station but was told the relevant officer was in a meeting. Eventually Mrs Whitfield received a call from the officer but said she was still given no assurance that the theft of the cart would be properly investigated. She said: 'I got the impression from her attitude that she did not think it was important, that they would not trace the cart and that it would just be a waste of police time. 'A crime has happened in their own back yard and their attitude has been an absolute joke.'
Hampshire police have now said the letter was sent 'in error' and promised the crime would be investigated. However, their belated response has failed to impress the mother of four who plans to make a formal complaint to Hampshire police. She said: ''Some scenes of crime officers have been round but they say they only managed to get a partial fingerprint. 'That's hardly surprising because they finally came more than a week after the theft and it's rained a couple of times since then. 'They know they've mucked up and are attempting to cover their tracks. 'I'm 100 per cent convinced they've only decided to investigate the theft because the media have got involved. 'It makes me think I should try to investigate matters myself in future.'
Mrs Whitfield and her husband have abandoned any hope of being reunited with the cart, which they used to break in New Forest ponies. Despite being chained up it was stolen from a small garden beside their semi-detached house where their son Mitchell, 15, had spent several months rebuilding it. A police spokesman has since admitted the letter had been generated too early and sent in error. He said: 'When the crime was reported there weren't many lines of inquiry because the victims didn't see or hear anything. The theft will be investigated.'
Asked why police did not visit the couple the spokesman said the personnel involved did not work at that particular police station and had no way of knowing the Whitfields lived so close to the building. Chief Inspector Gary Cooper said: 'It is important to note that all incidents reported to police are dealt with in accordance with a grading system. 'Proximity to a police station does not qualify anyone for a preferential service. 'Upon receiving reports of the theft of a pony cart from an address in Lyndhurst, several unsuccessful attempts were made to re-contact the owners by telephone.'
SOURCE
A new naughty word: "scuffer"
Whining Scottish cop complains about a word of dubious meaning
"David Cameron has ordered an investigation into a claim that a Tory MP manhandled and racially abused a Scottish policeman during a demonstration in Parliament Square. Mark Pritchard is accused of calling PC Ray McQuarrie a `scuffer' - said to be slang for peasant - and of trying to push him out of the way when his route to the Commons was blocked.
PC McQuarrie complained to his superiors and wrote to Mr Cameron asking for an apology, claiming Mr Pritchard, 42, had been drinking when the alleged incident occurred before midnight. Mr Cameron asked Chief Whip Patrick McLoughlin to investigate....
PC McQuarrie obtained his definition of scuffer from the online Urban Dictionary. It calls them a `peasant underclass, known for wearing "prison white" training shoes and Burbery check,' it adds they like `drinking cheap spirits/wines on the street and from a bottle, drink pints of lager until they cannot stand at which point they attempt to fight anybody within arms length'. They are also said to `chain smoke, write in pigeon English, constantly swear and spit and regard petty theft and violent crime as a game'.
However, Urban Dictionary also gives another definition as a `hegemonic power tool of the state, law enforcer'. Other dictionaries say `scuffer' is merely Northern slang for a policeman.
Mr Pritchard last night said: `It is the case that when my route was blocked by police officers I objected. `I was, however, neither abusive towards them, nor did I push anyone. I did not use the words `Scottish scuffer'. `Until the complaint was drawn to my attention I had never heard of, let alone myself used, this expression
Source
It sounds like rather a good word. I will try to remember it. It might come in handy.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Could this happen in Britain?
I doubt that many modern day Brits would have the ticker for it anyway but if they did the guy concerned would not be praised by the authorities. He would be bawled out and punished in some way for breaching "Elf 'n Safety" rules. You must go through the "proper channels" before doing anything. Story below from Australia
Firefighters have praised a Williamstown diner for single handedly extinguishing a potentially fatal warehouse blaze.
Joe Vetesi was dining with three friends at Williamstowns Satorini restaurant when he heard a call for help about 10pm. Noticing a fire in a Parker St warehouse he ran to help. "I have 29 years CFA experience so I'd like to think I know what I'm doing," Mr Vetesi said.
Mr Vetesi scaled a three metre high fence to gain entry to the warehouse and sourced water to extinguish the blaze. "My first concern was that people were inside but once I realised the warehouse was unoccupied I went about putting the fire out," he said.
Two fire crews attended the scene. Newport senior station officer Shane Rhodes praised Mr Vetesis actions. "When we arrived the fire was basically extinguished - he did a good job," he said.
SOURCE
Yet again British social workers were too busy harassing middle-class parents to deal with dangerous feral families (1)
It's part of the Marxist hate they learn in social work schools: The middle classes are the enemy and the "worker" can do no wrong. Too bad if the occasional child get brutalized and killed
Social workers in Doncaster failed to intervene before a father snapped the spine of his 16-month-old daughter despite being aware she was at significant risk, an inquiry has found. Amy Howson was punched on numerous occasions by her father, James, leaving her with fractures to her arms, legs and ribs. Basic procedures that might have prevented her death were not followed. The 25-year-old was later sentenced to a minimum of 22 years in prison.
A serious case review into the way social services dealt with the family revealed that there had been sufficient information about the father's violence for action to have been taken. It was one of two serious case reviews published today into the deaths of youngsters murdered in the borough of Doncaster, South Yorkshire. There was such concern at the inadequacy of the children's services that, earlier this year, the Government sent in a leadership team to manage the council's social services department and the then mayor, Martin Winter, made it clear he would not be seeking re-election. In total the deaths of eight children known to the town's social services since 2004 are being investigated.
In a separate serious case review into the death of Alfie Goddard, who died from head injuries in May last year at 11 weeks old, agencies were criticised for failing to heed warning signs. The child's father, Craig Goddard, 24, a man who struggled with alcohol and drugs, threw the child to the floor because he was crying. He was known to have had issues over controlling his temper.
The report's authors concluded that agencies failed to recognise that anger, mental health problems, substance use and domestic violence could be risk factors for children. Individual bodies, including social services and health workers, generally acted in isolation. "There was very little communication between agencies and no co-ordinated involvement with the family," said the report. "There was also a tendency for agencies to concentrate on the needs of the parents without considering the impact on the children."
It was the shockingly violent death of Amy Howson in December 2007 that pushed Doncaster's social service provision onto the national stage. In the report's conclusion, the authors suggest: "The murder of Child B (Amy Howson) by her father was not predictable given the information and knowledge held on him and other family members by agencies. "However, there was sufficient information and knowledge on family members, including (the father), held by individual agencies to conclude that, on balance, both Child B and (and another child) were at risk of significant harm from him. "Some agencies within the Doncaster multi-agency child protection system failed to follow basic safeguarding procedures and did not take proper and effective action to safeguard and promote the welfare of Child B and (another child)."
The report also suggested that the Doncaster Community and Schools Social Worker Service, the Youth Inclusion Support Service and the Doncaster PCT Health Visiting Service missed key opportunities to intervene to help the child. The borough's children's services, which received only one star in the Audit Commission's assessment last year, remain under the control of the Government's intervention team.
Gareth Williams, the director of children's services, insisted that plans are now in place to offer an effective service run by experienced staff. However, he admitted that there were still problems with recruitment. Julie Bolus, director of quality and clinical assurance for NHS Doncaster, said that changes to working procedures have been made, including how information is shared with other agencies.
SOURCE
Yet again British social workers were too busy harassing middle-class parents to deal with dangerous feral families (2)
Social services are in the dock again after a toddler was left to die at the hands of a schoolboy babysitter despite repeated warnings that she was in grave danger. Demi-Leigh Mahon, two, was punched, kicked and bitten by 15-year-old Karl McCluney, while her drug-addict mother was out collecting child benefit. The little girl suffered at least 68 separate injuries.
As McCluney was convicted of murder the catalogue of failings by social services was finally revealed. An independent report found that social workers should have taken action. They knew that Demi-Leigh was being raised in a drugs den. Members of the public and neighbours had told children's services that the child was left crying a lot and that her mother, Ann-Marie McDonald, was injecting heroin and was unable to care for her. Police had reports of domestic abuse.
Yet at no point did social services intervene, and Demi-Leigh was never placed on the 'at risk' register. The case is the second in two years in which Salford social services - branded inadequate by Ofsted in 2007 - have been found to be at fault. However, no one has been disciplined over the errors which enabled Demi-Leigh's mother to leave her daughter with McCluney, who had previously threatened to beat up a teacher and stab another man.
In March last year 31-year-old Miss McDonald - known as Sindy - was given a rehabilitation order after being convicted of supplying heroin and cocaine from her flat in Eccles, near Manchester. But she failed to comply and took Demi-Leigh to a friend's flat, resulting in a warrant for her arrest.
On July 15, she left her daughter with McCluney at his father's flat. It was his 15th birthday. When Demi-Leigh began crying he flew into a rage. He subjected the defenceless toddler to an appalling assault, punching her in the face, biting her and kicking her. When Miss McDonald returned after an hour and a half, Demi-Leigh was barely breathing. She died in hospital two days later.
McCluney admitted manslaughter but a jury at Manchester Crown Court found him guilty of murder. He was remanded in custody and will be sentenced next month.
Last night Demi-Leigh's father, Gary Mahon, and grandmother, Frances Gillon, said they twice contacted the council up to six months before the toddler's death. Mrs Gillon, 68, said: 'It is a disgusting failure by social services. 'They should have done something. There was no communication and they need their back sides kicking.'
Demi-Leigh's father, Gary Mahon, who left the family home when she was just three months old and now lives in Morecambe, Lancashire, said: 'Demi was a much-loved and wanted child. She smiled so much she looked like a Cheshire Cat.'
In a statement Miss McDonald said: 'I always tried to do my best and I'd do anything I could for Demi but sometimes I feel I didn't get the help and support I needed.
Ministers told Salford social services bosses last year to make improvements or be removed following Demi-Leigh's death and a report on failings which led to the death of a twoyearold boy in a blaze at his home. Additional social workers have now been recruited and the improvement notice has been lifted.
John Merry, the leader of Salford council, said: 'I do not want to make excuses, but the report's sad conclusion is that this tragedy could not have been foreseen and it could not have been prevented.'
SOURCE
Whistleblower helpline for NHS doctors as concerns for patient safety grow
Hospital doctors wanting to raise fears about patient safety are to be given an anonymous "whistleblower" helpline because of growing evidence of staff reluctance to speak out for fear of recriminations. The dedicated phoneline has been set up as part of new guidelines issued by the British Medical Association, and seen by The Times, designed to help to formalise the process of "whistleblowing" in the NHS.
Doctors will be presented with two motions at the BMA annual conference next week calling for action to address staff concerns about reporting malpractice. One motion, proposed by the BMA's agenda committee, warns that the NHS risks another patient safety scandal like that of Mid-Staffordshire where 400 deaths were linked to poor care, such is the scale of the problem. It calls for trusts and regulators to pool all complaints from clinicians to identify worrying trends. A second motion, proposed by junior doctors, calls on the General Medical Council to recognise formally that the harassment of whistleblowers is a serious breach of medical regulations. It also requests guidance on whistle-blowing.
Tom Dolphin, a junior doctor specialising in anaesthesia based in East London, said he had felt compelled to act after hearing of the experiences of colleagues who had to work without some patient-monitoring equipment. "One colleague needed equipment that wasn't there, and was told there wasn't any. There can be a culture of `that's the way it's always been and no one's come to harm yet anyway'. Others tried to raise concerns, got nowhere and had pretty much given up."
The BMA guidelines, released today, follow research suggesting hospital doctors are frequently frustrated in their attempts to raise concerns about standards of care, despite recommendations by the Department of Health for the development of whistleblowing policies six years ago. A survey of 565 doctors working in hospitals in England and Wales found that three quarters had had concerns about issues relating to patient safety, malpractice or bullying in the NHS, the majority linked to standards of patient care.
Many said that their experiences of reporting issues had been negative - either because they were ignored or because their complaint was shared more widely than they were comfortable with. One in six doctors who reported concerns said that their trusts had indicated that their employment could be negatively affected.
The BMA advises hospital doctors to err on the side of raising any concerns about malpractice or systemic failures, and to do it as soon as they can, rather than allowing the situation to reach a point where patient safety is threatened. It points out that employees who are victimised after raising their concerns can go to an employment tribunal, and that employers can be heavily fined. "If told not to raise or pursue any concern, even by a person in authority such as a manager, you should not agree to remain silent," it states, adding that "raising concerns is not just a matter of personal conscience - in some circumstances it is a professional obligation".
Last month Jonathan Fielden, the chairman of the BMA consultants committee, called for sweeping changes to reporting problems in the NHS. He said that "a culture of inactivity and despair is preventing issues from coming to light, and putting patient care at risk".
Margaret Haywood, a nurse, is appealing to the High Court against a decision by the Nursing and Midwifery Council to strike her off the register for secretly filming at a Brighton hospital. Footage showed examples of neglect, including an elderly patient sitting in clothes he had soiled the night before.
Earlier this month the National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) called for greater reporting of safety issues in hospitals in a report on paediatric healthcare. It said that 10,000 alerts over medication given to children were being issued annually in the NHS, including errors in the calculation of drug doses and health workers forgetting to give patients their medicine. The NPSA report concludes that over the period of a year 33 children and 39 newborn babies died with "indicators of avoidable factors".
SOURCE
Britain: The bankrupt welfare State: "The stark evidence of the growing imbalance between what the Government raises and what it spends is likely to intensify the political row over the public finances and may strengthen calls for cuts in spending. Treasury figures show that welfare payments will exceed income tax receipts by almost œ25 billion. Normally, income tax receipts comfortably cover the benefits bill. The disparity between tax revenue and welfare costs was identified by Andrew Brough, a fund manager at Schroder Investment Management, who suggested that the amount of money spent on social protection could soon exceed that raised from both income tax and national insurance. According to an official Treasury forecast, benefits will cost œ170.9 billion in 2010/11. That is equal to what the Government will spend on the NHS, schools and universities combined. This year will be the first in a decade that benefits cost more than workers pay in income tax."
I doubt that many modern day Brits would have the ticker for it anyway but if they did the guy concerned would not be praised by the authorities. He would be bawled out and punished in some way for breaching "Elf 'n Safety" rules. You must go through the "proper channels" before doing anything. Story below from Australia
Firefighters have praised a Williamstown diner for single handedly extinguishing a potentially fatal warehouse blaze.
Joe Vetesi was dining with three friends at Williamstowns Satorini restaurant when he heard a call for help about 10pm. Noticing a fire in a Parker St warehouse he ran to help. "I have 29 years CFA experience so I'd like to think I know what I'm doing," Mr Vetesi said.
Mr Vetesi scaled a three metre high fence to gain entry to the warehouse and sourced water to extinguish the blaze. "My first concern was that people were inside but once I realised the warehouse was unoccupied I went about putting the fire out," he said.
Two fire crews attended the scene. Newport senior station officer Shane Rhodes praised Mr Vetesis actions. "When we arrived the fire was basically extinguished - he did a good job," he said.
SOURCE
Yet again British social workers were too busy harassing middle-class parents to deal with dangerous feral families (1)
It's part of the Marxist hate they learn in social work schools: The middle classes are the enemy and the "worker" can do no wrong. Too bad if the occasional child get brutalized and killed
Social workers in Doncaster failed to intervene before a father snapped the spine of his 16-month-old daughter despite being aware she was at significant risk, an inquiry has found. Amy Howson was punched on numerous occasions by her father, James, leaving her with fractures to her arms, legs and ribs. Basic procedures that might have prevented her death were not followed. The 25-year-old was later sentenced to a minimum of 22 years in prison.
A serious case review into the way social services dealt with the family revealed that there had been sufficient information about the father's violence for action to have been taken. It was one of two serious case reviews published today into the deaths of youngsters murdered in the borough of Doncaster, South Yorkshire. There was such concern at the inadequacy of the children's services that, earlier this year, the Government sent in a leadership team to manage the council's social services department and the then mayor, Martin Winter, made it clear he would not be seeking re-election. In total the deaths of eight children known to the town's social services since 2004 are being investigated.
In a separate serious case review into the death of Alfie Goddard, who died from head injuries in May last year at 11 weeks old, agencies were criticised for failing to heed warning signs. The child's father, Craig Goddard, 24, a man who struggled with alcohol and drugs, threw the child to the floor because he was crying. He was known to have had issues over controlling his temper.
The report's authors concluded that agencies failed to recognise that anger, mental health problems, substance use and domestic violence could be risk factors for children. Individual bodies, including social services and health workers, generally acted in isolation. "There was very little communication between agencies and no co-ordinated involvement with the family," said the report. "There was also a tendency for agencies to concentrate on the needs of the parents without considering the impact on the children."
It was the shockingly violent death of Amy Howson in December 2007 that pushed Doncaster's social service provision onto the national stage. In the report's conclusion, the authors suggest: "The murder of Child B (Amy Howson) by her father was not predictable given the information and knowledge held on him and other family members by agencies. "However, there was sufficient information and knowledge on family members, including (the father), held by individual agencies to conclude that, on balance, both Child B and (and another child) were at risk of significant harm from him. "Some agencies within the Doncaster multi-agency child protection system failed to follow basic safeguarding procedures and did not take proper and effective action to safeguard and promote the welfare of Child B and (another child)."
The report also suggested that the Doncaster Community and Schools Social Worker Service, the Youth Inclusion Support Service and the Doncaster PCT Health Visiting Service missed key opportunities to intervene to help the child. The borough's children's services, which received only one star in the Audit Commission's assessment last year, remain under the control of the Government's intervention team.
Gareth Williams, the director of children's services, insisted that plans are now in place to offer an effective service run by experienced staff. However, he admitted that there were still problems with recruitment. Julie Bolus, director of quality and clinical assurance for NHS Doncaster, said that changes to working procedures have been made, including how information is shared with other agencies.
SOURCE
Yet again British social workers were too busy harassing middle-class parents to deal with dangerous feral families (2)
Social services are in the dock again after a toddler was left to die at the hands of a schoolboy babysitter despite repeated warnings that she was in grave danger. Demi-Leigh Mahon, two, was punched, kicked and bitten by 15-year-old Karl McCluney, while her drug-addict mother was out collecting child benefit. The little girl suffered at least 68 separate injuries.
As McCluney was convicted of murder the catalogue of failings by social services was finally revealed. An independent report found that social workers should have taken action. They knew that Demi-Leigh was being raised in a drugs den. Members of the public and neighbours had told children's services that the child was left crying a lot and that her mother, Ann-Marie McDonald, was injecting heroin and was unable to care for her. Police had reports of domestic abuse.
Yet at no point did social services intervene, and Demi-Leigh was never placed on the 'at risk' register. The case is the second in two years in which Salford social services - branded inadequate by Ofsted in 2007 - have been found to be at fault. However, no one has been disciplined over the errors which enabled Demi-Leigh's mother to leave her daughter with McCluney, who had previously threatened to beat up a teacher and stab another man.
In March last year 31-year-old Miss McDonald - known as Sindy - was given a rehabilitation order after being convicted of supplying heroin and cocaine from her flat in Eccles, near Manchester. But she failed to comply and took Demi-Leigh to a friend's flat, resulting in a warrant for her arrest.
On July 15, she left her daughter with McCluney at his father's flat. It was his 15th birthday. When Demi-Leigh began crying he flew into a rage. He subjected the defenceless toddler to an appalling assault, punching her in the face, biting her and kicking her. When Miss McDonald returned after an hour and a half, Demi-Leigh was barely breathing. She died in hospital two days later.
McCluney admitted manslaughter but a jury at Manchester Crown Court found him guilty of murder. He was remanded in custody and will be sentenced next month.
Last night Demi-Leigh's father, Gary Mahon, and grandmother, Frances Gillon, said they twice contacted the council up to six months before the toddler's death. Mrs Gillon, 68, said: 'It is a disgusting failure by social services. 'They should have done something. There was no communication and they need their back sides kicking.'
Demi-Leigh's father, Gary Mahon, who left the family home when she was just three months old and now lives in Morecambe, Lancashire, said: 'Demi was a much-loved and wanted child. She smiled so much she looked like a Cheshire Cat.'
In a statement Miss McDonald said: 'I always tried to do my best and I'd do anything I could for Demi but sometimes I feel I didn't get the help and support I needed.
Ministers told Salford social services bosses last year to make improvements or be removed following Demi-Leigh's death and a report on failings which led to the death of a twoyearold boy in a blaze at his home. Additional social workers have now been recruited and the improvement notice has been lifted.
John Merry, the leader of Salford council, said: 'I do not want to make excuses, but the report's sad conclusion is that this tragedy could not have been foreseen and it could not have been prevented.'
SOURCE
Whistleblower helpline for NHS doctors as concerns for patient safety grow
Hospital doctors wanting to raise fears about patient safety are to be given an anonymous "whistleblower" helpline because of growing evidence of staff reluctance to speak out for fear of recriminations. The dedicated phoneline has been set up as part of new guidelines issued by the British Medical Association, and seen by The Times, designed to help to formalise the process of "whistleblowing" in the NHS.
Doctors will be presented with two motions at the BMA annual conference next week calling for action to address staff concerns about reporting malpractice. One motion, proposed by the BMA's agenda committee, warns that the NHS risks another patient safety scandal like that of Mid-Staffordshire where 400 deaths were linked to poor care, such is the scale of the problem. It calls for trusts and regulators to pool all complaints from clinicians to identify worrying trends. A second motion, proposed by junior doctors, calls on the General Medical Council to recognise formally that the harassment of whistleblowers is a serious breach of medical regulations. It also requests guidance on whistle-blowing.
Tom Dolphin, a junior doctor specialising in anaesthesia based in East London, said he had felt compelled to act after hearing of the experiences of colleagues who had to work without some patient-monitoring equipment. "One colleague needed equipment that wasn't there, and was told there wasn't any. There can be a culture of `that's the way it's always been and no one's come to harm yet anyway'. Others tried to raise concerns, got nowhere and had pretty much given up."
The BMA guidelines, released today, follow research suggesting hospital doctors are frequently frustrated in their attempts to raise concerns about standards of care, despite recommendations by the Department of Health for the development of whistleblowing policies six years ago. A survey of 565 doctors working in hospitals in England and Wales found that three quarters had had concerns about issues relating to patient safety, malpractice or bullying in the NHS, the majority linked to standards of patient care.
Many said that their experiences of reporting issues had been negative - either because they were ignored or because their complaint was shared more widely than they were comfortable with. One in six doctors who reported concerns said that their trusts had indicated that their employment could be negatively affected.
The BMA advises hospital doctors to err on the side of raising any concerns about malpractice or systemic failures, and to do it as soon as they can, rather than allowing the situation to reach a point where patient safety is threatened. It points out that employees who are victimised after raising their concerns can go to an employment tribunal, and that employers can be heavily fined. "If told not to raise or pursue any concern, even by a person in authority such as a manager, you should not agree to remain silent," it states, adding that "raising concerns is not just a matter of personal conscience - in some circumstances it is a professional obligation".
Last month Jonathan Fielden, the chairman of the BMA consultants committee, called for sweeping changes to reporting problems in the NHS. He said that "a culture of inactivity and despair is preventing issues from coming to light, and putting patient care at risk".
Margaret Haywood, a nurse, is appealing to the High Court against a decision by the Nursing and Midwifery Council to strike her off the register for secretly filming at a Brighton hospital. Footage showed examples of neglect, including an elderly patient sitting in clothes he had soiled the night before.
Earlier this month the National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) called for greater reporting of safety issues in hospitals in a report on paediatric healthcare. It said that 10,000 alerts over medication given to children were being issued annually in the NHS, including errors in the calculation of drug doses and health workers forgetting to give patients their medicine. The NPSA report concludes that over the period of a year 33 children and 39 newborn babies died with "indicators of avoidable factors".
SOURCE
Britain: The bankrupt welfare State: "The stark evidence of the growing imbalance between what the Government raises and what it spends is likely to intensify the political row over the public finances and may strengthen calls for cuts in spending. Treasury figures show that welfare payments will exceed income tax receipts by almost œ25 billion. Normally, income tax receipts comfortably cover the benefits bill. The disparity between tax revenue and welfare costs was identified by Andrew Brough, a fund manager at Schroder Investment Management, who suggested that the amount of money spent on social protection could soon exceed that raised from both income tax and national insurance. According to an official Treasury forecast, benefits will cost œ170.9 billion in 2010/11. That is equal to what the Government will spend on the NHS, schools and universities combined. This year will be the first in a decade that benefits cost more than workers pay in income tax."
Saturday, June 27, 2009
BRITAIN'S MYSTIC MET OFFICE PREDICTS NEIGHBOURHOOD THERMAGEDDON
On Thursday, the Met Office launched its new report on global warming: UK Climate Projections 2009, otherwise known as UKCP09. This is based on the output of Hadley Centre climate models that predict temperature increases of up to 6øC with wetter winters, dryer summers, more heatwaves, rising sea levels, more floods and all the other catastrophes that one would expect from similar exercises in alarmism.
What makes this report different from any of its predecessors is the resolution of the predictions that the Met Office is making. They are not just presenting a general impression of what might happen globally during this century, or even how climate change could affect the UK as a whole. They are claiming that they can predict what will happen in individual regions of the country - down to a 25km square. You can enter your postcode and find out how your street will be affected by global warming in 2040 or 2080.
All this is rather unexpected. In May last year, I posted here and here about a world summit of climate modellers that took place at Reading University. On the agenda was one very important problem for them; even the most powerful super-computers that have been developed so far are not capable of running the kind of high resolution models that they claim would allow them to reduce the degree of uncertainty in their predictions, and also make detailed regional predictions that policy makers would like to have so that they can build climate change into infrastructure planning.
Here are a couple of excerpts from the conference website:
Modellers also fretted that the GCMs, or General Circulation Models, were blunt instruments.
This was summed up by Julia Slingo (at that time Professor of Meteorology at Reading University, who also chaired part of the conference) in a report by Roger Harrabin on the BBC News website:
If, since the conference, several hundred million pounds had been invested in producing a new generation of supercomputers, a thousand times more powerful than the present generation, and the Met Office had already developed and run the kind of high resolution models which were so far beyond the scientist's grasp just a year ago, then I suspect that this might have seeped into the media and we would have head about it. So far as I am aware, the fastest supercomputers are still a thousand times slower than the modellers consider necessary for credible regional scale modelling of the climate.
So I wondered whether Professor Slingo had anything to say about the Met Office's new. In fact, she did:
So what's changed since last year? Well one thing is that Julia Slingo has a new job. She has been appointed as Chief Scientist at the Met Office. So far as I know, the limitations that lack of computing power place on the accuracy and resolution of models are just the same.
During a rather bad-tempered interview on Thursday evening's Newsnight, Kirsty Wark asked Hilary Benn, the UK Environment Secretary, why local authorities were being told to use the Met Office predictions as a template for infrastructure planning when their report had not been peer reviewed and the authors had postponed publication of information about the methodology that they had used. She also told him that there was considerable concern among other climate scientists about the Met Office's research.
Myles Allen made an appearance on the programme warning that local authorities should be very wary about planning infrastructure projects on the basis of climate models unless they were sure that the science was robust. Mr Benn parroted the usual mantras without addressing the questions, and looked as though he would have much preferred to be elsewhere.
SOURCE
More arrogant British bureaucrats
'I was turned into a pariah for complaining about a yob' -- Woman blacklisted by her local council. And the council would not admit that they had got it wrong. She had to go all the way to the High Court to slap them down. Legal costs: Half a million pounds -- to be paid by the council's insurers. I'm guessing that when the insurance policy comes up for renewal they will have to pay a huge premium to get any insurance cover at all
Jane Clift saw it as her public duty to report a drunk she saw trampling flowers in a park. But her efforts led to a surreal nightmare in which she was branded potentially violent and put on a council blacklist with thugs and sex attackers. Her details were circulated to an extraordinary range of public and private bodies, including doctors, dentists, opticians, libraries, contraceptive clinics, schools and nurseries. Their staff were advised not to see her alone. The 43-year-old former care worker was forced to withdraw an application to become a foster parent and, eventually, to leave the town where she had lived for ten years.
Now, after a bitter four-year legal battle with Slough Council, the stain on her character has finally been removed. The High Court ordered the council to pay her 12,000 pounds in libel damages after a case which has cost taxpayers an estimated 500,000 in legal fees. Mrs Clift said last night: 'I hope this means others will never have to go through the hell I have suffered.'
Jane Clift, 43, was 'outraged' in December 2005 on learning she had been put on the council's 'register of potentially violent persons', with officials warned only to approach her in pairs, a High Court jury heard during a week-long trial. Her QC, Hugh Tomlinson, said she was unfairly branded a trouble-maker in order to 'get rid of her' due to her persistence in pursuing complaints against the council and its staff.
The court heard in August 2005 Mrs Clift confronted an abusive drunk in the town's Sheffield Road Rest Gardens after she objected to a small boy vandalising a flower bed. Her deadlock with the council developed over Mrs Clift's claims that staff in its anti-social behaviour unit took no action over her complaints.
Former care worker, Mrs Clift, claimed damages for libel from the council and its then head of public protection, Patrick Kelleher, both of whom denied the claims. Each insisted that they acted in good faith. On Wednesday the jury rejected allegations that Mr Kelleher had acted maliciously, but upheld Mrs Clift's libel claim, awarding œ12,000 damages.
Ms Clift sued for libel over the insertion of her name on the violent persons' register, and over an email distributed by Mr Kelleher. The jury found the disputed register entry and email were not 'substantially true', but cleared Mr Kelleher of allegations of malice in composing the email.
She said she had no idea such a register even existed before her name was added to it. The entry expired after 18 months but by then she had been forced to leave Slough. Mrs Clift, who now lives in Birmingham, said: 'I am not and never have been violent - as the jury have found. 'It has taken me four years to clear my name and I hope Slough and other councils never again misuse their registers.'
Simon Davies, from the human rights watchdog Privacy International, said: 'This just shows the megalomania of these local authorities. This poor woman was subjected to a Kafkaesque ordeal because of an incorrect allegation made by one official. 'It is the sort of behaviour that we would have condemned if it came from China or Russia. Our councils seem to be out of control.'
During the eight-day hearing the court was told Mrs Clift had told another council worker that, as far as she was concerned, Miss Rashid could 'drop down dead'. She followed up with a letter in which she wrote: 'I felt so filled with anger that I am certain I would have physically attacked her if she had been anywhere near me. I truly am not of that nature and so, surely, this should act as a wake-up call to the borough as to the capacity she has for offending people.'
But her counsel, Hugh Tomlinson, said the letter was misinterpreted and the decision to put her on the register had been 'completely ridiculous'. Her name was added to the blacklist because she was 'a thorn in their side' and the council thought the move would mean no-one would take her seriously.
Mr Justice Tugendhat ordered Slough to pay the legal costs of the case, estimated at between 450,000 to 500,000 pounds. Mrs Clift brought the action under a 'no win no fee' arrangement with her legal team.
A council spokesman said later: 'The jury found that what we recorded about Mrs Clift was not true, but they were not prepared to find that we acted in bad faith. 'We will reflect carefully on how we need to respond.'
See here and here (The Daily Mail article was incomplete so I have inserted part of a report on the case above from another newspaper)
British headteachers to get more powers as Labour Party performs massive U-turn
Schools are to be freed from the key central government controls imposed under New Labour in a dramatic turnaround, it was reported today. The Government's 'national strategies' for education are to be scrapped, ending centralised prescription of teaching methods and of literacy and numeracy hours in primary schools. It will hand back powers to headteachers - and save the Government up to œ100million a year currently spent employing private consultants to 'improve' schools, a newspaper reported.
The central controls, introduced after 1997, were the flagship of Labour's education policy under Tony Blair. The money saved on private consultants will instead be used to encourage successful schools to forge networks with worse-performing neighbours and to buy in their own advisers to help drive up standards.
The Department for Children, Schools and Families last night confirmed that the Education White Paper expected to be published next Tuesday will set out a new approach to provide more 'tailored' support to schools, based on their individual needs and circumstances. However, a spokesman insisted the changes were actually a mark of the success of the National Strategies. He said the reforms would not stop the daily literacy and numeracy hours introduced in the early Blair years. Schools are expected to continue with these because good teachers 'know this is the right thing to do'.
The DCSF spokesman said: 'Building on the successes we have seen since 1997, the White Paper will set out our new approach to local authority and school accountability and support, making the support that schools can access even more tailored to their individual needs and circumstances. 'The confidence that such a shift is viable is in many respects testament to the success of the National Strategies. 'All primary schools will continue to have daily English and maths lessons because strong school leaders know this is the right thing to do. We must continue to do the very best to ensure that all children get the reading and writing skills they need to succeed in later life. 'This is not about getting rid of the literacy and numeracy hours but a renewed push to raise standards and provide new forms of support and challenge for schools who need it.'
Tuesday's White Paper is also expected to include new U.S.-style 'report cards', giving grades to schools on a scale of A to F as well as information about truancy levels, behaviour and sporting achievements.
The Guardian today quoted sources close to the White Paper as saying that the Government's national strategy contracts with consultants Capita will be wound down from 2011. The company currently provides management advice, as well as materials and training to standardise teaching across schools. The White Paper follows a report from the Commons Schools Committee in April which criticised the 'degree of control' exercised by Whitehall over the curriculum and said lessons were too prescriptive and failed to take account of the needs of pupils in different areas. 'At times schooling has appeared more of a franchise operation, dependent on a recipe handed down by Government rather than the exercise of professional expertise by teachers,' said the report.
SOURCE
Four in ten under-20s in London aren't white
Four out of ten young people in London are members of ethnic minorities, it was revealed yesterday. A government report found that more than 700,000 children and teenagers are classed as non-white, around 40 per cent of the age group in the capital.
At present, just over a third of Londoners of all ages are reckoned to be non-white - but the new figures indicate that this share will grow substantially in the future. They also point to the way recent waves of immigration have made a bigger impact on London than other parts of the country.
The analysis from the Office for National Statistics said that in the West Midlands, the second most multi-racial area of the country after London, just 19 per cent of children and teenagers are non-white.
The figures were disclosed in Whitehall's annual Regional Trends report. They drew warnings from migration experts that politicians are taking a risk by ignoring the changing nature of cities and suburbs.
Sir Andrew Green of the Migrationwatch think-tank said: 'This illustrates the massive change that is taking place to our society at a rapid pace and without the indigenous population ever being consulted. 'It is high time that the political class took their heads out of the clouds and responded to the very strong public opinion that wants to bring immigration under control.'
Many of the migrants who have come into Britain in the past ten years have settled in London. Three London boroughs have had majority ethnic minority populations since the turn of the Millennium - Newham, Tower Hamlets and Brent - and others are likely to see whites become a minority in the near future. The estimates yesterday put the under-20 ethnic minority population of London at 714,000.
Around 15 per cent of young Londoners are classed as Asian or Asian British, it said, and 14 per cent black or black British. Lowest populations of ethnic minority youngsters were in the North-East - five per cent of all people under 20 - and in the South-West, at six per cent.
The all-party Balanced Migration group of MPs said that 70 per cent of future population increase and 40 per cent of new households will be a result of immigration.
In a statement, the group's co-chairmen, Labour MP Frank Field and Tory Nicholas Soames, said: 'As we face severe cuts in public spending, it is the politics of madness to continue with immigration policies that will mean us having to provide thousands of new homes for newcomers - not to mention the necessary roads, schools and hospitals - on this unprecedented scale, when our own citizens, both black and white, cannot get homes.'
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Jewish school broke race laws by refusing boy whose mother had converted
This is muddled thinking even by the standards of modern British law. Despite what the judges said, Jews are a religion, not a race. There are Jews of all races. And the fact that the school was willing to accept a convert shows that the discrimination was not based on ancestry. It was based on religion. How can you be converted into a different race??? Even Michael Jackson couldn't manage that. The school just wanted the conversion to be up to orthodox standards and not some token thing
A leading Jewish state school broke race laws by refusing to admit a boy whose mother had converted to the religion, the Court of Appeal ruled yesterday. JFS, formerly the Jewish Free School, is highly oversubscribed and has turned away several pupils for not meeting its criteria of Jewishness. Previous court hearings have supported its stance. Yesterday, however, the court ruled in favour of the parents of a boy named only as M. The school, in Brent, northwest London, rejected the 12-year-old child because his mother converted to Judaism at a Progressive rather than Orthodox synagogue. M's father is Jewish, but custom dictates that the faith line passes through the mother.
The judges said that "the requirement that if a pupil is to qualify for admission his mother must be Jewish, whether by descent or by conversion, is a test of ethnicity which contravenes the Race Relations Act".
The ruling will have widespread implications for other faith schools and puts the court on a collision course with the Office of the Chief Rabbi, Sir Jonathan Sacks, from which the school takes its definition of which children are Jewish. It strikes at the heart of whether being Jewish is a religious or racial question and means that such schools will now have to adopt a religious practice test.
JFS said that it was "disappointed" and would seek leave to appeal to the House of Lords - a decision supported by Sir Jonathan. "I have advised the leadership of JFS that they have my full personal support," he said.
Other Jewish groups, however, welcomed the ruling, saying they had been marginalised and discouraged from speaking out. Rabbi Danny Rich, the chief executive of Liberal Judaism, said: "The JFS, a state comprehensive funded by taxpayers, has been exclusively following one Jewish religious authority and ignoring the rest. We object to standard-setting by just one section of the community to the detriment of the rest. The JFS will now be open to children from all types of Jewish background."
The court ruling stated: "It appears to us clear that Jews constitute a racial group defined principally by ethnic origin and additionally by conversion and that to discriminate against a person on the ground that he either is or is not Jewish is therefore to discriminate against him on racial grounds. "If for theological reasons a fully subscribed Christian faith school refused to admit a child on the ground that, albeit practising Christians, the child's family were of Jewish origin, it is hard to see what answer there could be to a claim for race discrimination. The refusal of JFS to admit M was accordingly, in our judgment, less favourable treatment of him on racial grounds."
John Halford, who represented the boy's father, said: "It is unlawful for a child's ethnic origins to be used as the criterion for school entry. Such a practice is even more unacceptable in the case of a comprehensive school funded by the taxpayer." Many other Jewish schools operate according to similar policies and will be affected by the court's decision.
David Lightman's daughter was also turned away by JFS because it did not accept her Jewish status, even though her mother is head of English at the school. Mr Lightman, an Orthodox Jew, said yesterday: "This is a victory for common sense and religious freedom. We are talking about two Jewish children who want an education. If the school thinks it's worth spending millions of pounds to stop that happening, then they need to re-examine what Judaism is about."
JFS is one of Britain's oldest Jewish schools and is the largest Orthodox Jewish school in Europe, with 2,000 pupils. It is described by Ofsted as outstanding and is oversubscribed every academic year.
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Scottish scientists raise hopes of new treatments for autism
This is pretty nutty. Only 5 out of 121 autistic kids had the gene abnormality and they think they have found THE autism gene. What a lot of bollocks!
Scottish scientists have discovered a gene linked with autism, raising the prospect of the development of new treatments for the condition. Drugs to control autism could be developed within five years as a result of the findings, according to the doctor who led the research team at the University of Aberdeen. The condition affects more than 500,000 people across Britain and there is no cure.
The study, published yesterday, began seven years ago with one child with severe autism. The boy attended the genetics clinic at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, where he was found to have a rare re-arrangement of chromosomes in which one had broken and swapped with another. By using genetic mapping techniques, researchers discovered that this realignment had disrupted a gene known to be important to memory and learning. When they extended the study to examine 120 other families with autism, they found that four other children - two siblings in two separate families - had faults in the same gene, known as EIF4E.
It is estimated that 1 per cent of the British population suffers from autism, a lifelong developmental disability that affects the way that a person communicates and relates to those around them. The condition occurs in varying forms of severity, and some people require lifelong care.
The research was led by Zosia Miedzybrodzka, reader in medical genetics at the University of Aberdeen and honorary clinical geneticist at NHS Grampian. She said that the study was a significant step towards the discovery of a treatment. "When I started doing genetics I believed that conditions such as autism, that people are born with or develop when very young, would be hard-wired and that there was little you could do about it," she said. "But what we are learning now is that they are modifiable, and that is very exciting. I think we could be trying out drugs in five years. It is not a cure, but something that would potentially improve the condition dramatically."
Dr Miedzybrodzka said that the work suggested that a correction of EIF4E abnormalities could improve symptoms in people whose autism did not result from a fault in the gene. "If you fix the problem at the endpoint then you also fix problems further upstream," she said.
She paid tribute to the parents of the boy who prompted the research, pointing out that the study was an extra complication for the family as they struggled to cope with his condition. "It has been a long process and the family has been key to allowing us to get the blood samples we needed from the boy. With his condition, which was very severe, that was no trivial thing," she said. The parents of the child, who wished to remain anonymous, said: "We are delighted that the work that started with our son brings so much hope for the future."
Carol Evans, national director at the National Autistic Society Scotland, said that the research could shed new light on the condition. She emphasised, though, that much could be done to help to manage the condition until a treatment is found. "Various studies over many years have sought to identify candidate genes but so far inconclusively," she said. "Whilst it is important that this research continues, it is also crucial that those living with the condition have access to appropriate advice and information, as the right support at the right time can make an enormous difference to people's lives."
Autism is a lifelong developmental condition affecting the way that the brain processes information. The condition is on the rise in Britain, but many experts believe that the increase is because of improved diagnosis. While people can have varying degrees of autism, all sufferers share similar symptoms, including problems with verbal and non-verbal communication, difficulties with social interaction and repetitive behaviour, or narrow, obsessive interests. Boys are four times as likely to develop autism as girls. Research indicates that a combination of genetic and environmental factors may account for changes in brain development.
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UK: Hackers recruited to help fight against cybercrime : "Reformed computer hackers are being recruited by the Government to defend Britain from international crime gangs and terrorists plotting cyber attacks on the country. With internet fraud costing billions of pounds a year and Whitehall computer systems facing repeated assaults from abroad, ministers are hiring hackers to protect state secrets. A new `cyber security operations centre' at GCHQ in Cheltenham will monitor attempts, many orchestrated from abroad, to infiltrate the national computer network."
Journalism and the British expenses scandal: "Sunday Telegraph editor Ian Macgregor was our guest at a power lunch in Westminster this week. His topic was `The importance of journalism in modern society.' And of course, that's a topic that Telegraph have earned a right to talk about in the last couple of months, with their brilliantly handled investigation into MPs expenses. There's no question the story has been good for the Telegraph's business, winning them many thousands of new readers. But I also think they have performed a genuine public service, by making people realize that you just can't trust politicians to be responsible with taxpayers' money."
On Thursday, the Met Office launched its new report on global warming: UK Climate Projections 2009, otherwise known as UKCP09. This is based on the output of Hadley Centre climate models that predict temperature increases of up to 6øC with wetter winters, dryer summers, more heatwaves, rising sea levels, more floods and all the other catastrophes that one would expect from similar exercises in alarmism.
What makes this report different from any of its predecessors is the resolution of the predictions that the Met Office is making. They are not just presenting a general impression of what might happen globally during this century, or even how climate change could affect the UK as a whole. They are claiming that they can predict what will happen in individual regions of the country - down to a 25km square. You can enter your postcode and find out how your street will be affected by global warming in 2040 or 2080.
All this is rather unexpected. In May last year, I posted here and here about a world summit of climate modellers that took place at Reading University. On the agenda was one very important problem for them; even the most powerful super-computers that have been developed so far are not capable of running the kind of high resolution models that they claim would allow them to reduce the degree of uncertainty in their predictions, and also make detailed regional predictions that policy makers would like to have so that they can build climate change into infrastructure planning.
Here are a couple of excerpts from the conference website:
The climate modelling community is therefore faced with a major new challenge: Is the current generation of climate models adequate to provide societies with accurate and reliable predictions of regional climate change, including the statistics of extreme events and high impact weather, which are required for global and local adaptation strategies? It is in this context that the World Climate Research Program (WCRP) and the World Weather Research Programme (WWRP) asked the WCRP Modelling Panel (WMP) and a small group of scientists to review the current state of modelling, and to suggest a strategy for seamless prediction of weather and climate from days to centuries for the benefit of and value to society.
A major conclusion of the group was that regional projections from the current generation of climate models were sufficiently uncertain to compromise this goal of providing society with reliable predictions of regional climate change.
Modellers also fretted that the GCMs, or General Circulation Models, were blunt instruments.
Current generation climate models have serious limitations in simulating regional features, for example, rainfall, mid-latitude storms, organized tropical convection, ocean mixing, and ecosystem dynamics. What is the scientific strategy to improve the fidelity of climate models?
This was summed up by Julia Slingo (at that time Professor of Meteorology at Reading University, who also chaired part of the conference) in a report by Roger Harrabin on the BBC News website:
So far modellers have failed to narrow the total bands of uncertainties since the first report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 1990.
And Julia Slingo from Reading University admitted it would not get much better until they had supercomputers 1,000 times more powerful than at present. "We've reached the end of the road of being able to improve models significantly so we can provide the sort of information that policymakers and business require," she told BBC News. "In terms of computing power, it's proving totally inadequate. With climate models we know how to make them much better to provide much more information at the local level... we know how to do that, but we don't have the computing power to deliver it."
Professor Slingo said several hundred million pounds of investment were needed. "In terms of re-building something like the Thames Barrier, that would cost billions; it's a small fraction of that. "And it would allow us to tell the policymakers that they need to build the barrier in the next 30 years, or maybe that they don't need to."
If, since the conference, several hundred million pounds had been invested in producing a new generation of supercomputers, a thousand times more powerful than the present generation, and the Met Office had already developed and run the kind of high resolution models which were so far beyond the scientist's grasp just a year ago, then I suspect that this might have seeped into the media and we would have head about it. So far as I am aware, the fastest supercomputers are still a thousand times slower than the modellers consider necessary for credible regional scale modelling of the climate.
So I wondered whether Professor Slingo had anything to say about the Met Office's new. In fact, she did:
"Through UKCP09 [UK Climate Predictions 2009] the Met Office has provided the world's most comprehensive regional climate projections with a unique assessment of the possible changes to our climate through the rest of this century. "For the first time businesses and other organisations have the tools to help them make risk-based decisions to adapt to the challenges of our changing climate." Slingo confidently explained the 'breakthrough' to Bloomberg. "We can attach levels of certainty," she said.
So what's changed since last year? Well one thing is that Julia Slingo has a new job. She has been appointed as Chief Scientist at the Met Office. So far as I know, the limitations that lack of computing power place on the accuracy and resolution of models are just the same.
During a rather bad-tempered interview on Thursday evening's Newsnight, Kirsty Wark asked Hilary Benn, the UK Environment Secretary, why local authorities were being told to use the Met Office predictions as a template for infrastructure planning when their report had not been peer reviewed and the authors had postponed publication of information about the methodology that they had used. She also told him that there was considerable concern among other climate scientists about the Met Office's research.
Myles Allen made an appearance on the programme warning that local authorities should be very wary about planning infrastructure projects on the basis of climate models unless they were sure that the science was robust. Mr Benn parroted the usual mantras without addressing the questions, and looked as though he would have much preferred to be elsewhere.
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More arrogant British bureaucrats
'I was turned into a pariah for complaining about a yob' -- Woman blacklisted by her local council. And the council would not admit that they had got it wrong. She had to go all the way to the High Court to slap them down. Legal costs: Half a million pounds -- to be paid by the council's insurers. I'm guessing that when the insurance policy comes up for renewal they will have to pay a huge premium to get any insurance cover at all
Jane Clift saw it as her public duty to report a drunk she saw trampling flowers in a park. But her efforts led to a surreal nightmare in which she was branded potentially violent and put on a council blacklist with thugs and sex attackers. Her details were circulated to an extraordinary range of public and private bodies, including doctors, dentists, opticians, libraries, contraceptive clinics, schools and nurseries. Their staff were advised not to see her alone. The 43-year-old former care worker was forced to withdraw an application to become a foster parent and, eventually, to leave the town where she had lived for ten years.
Now, after a bitter four-year legal battle with Slough Council, the stain on her character has finally been removed. The High Court ordered the council to pay her 12,000 pounds in libel damages after a case which has cost taxpayers an estimated 500,000 in legal fees. Mrs Clift said last night: 'I hope this means others will never have to go through the hell I have suffered.'
Jane Clift, 43, was 'outraged' in December 2005 on learning she had been put on the council's 'register of potentially violent persons', with officials warned only to approach her in pairs, a High Court jury heard during a week-long trial. Her QC, Hugh Tomlinson, said she was unfairly branded a trouble-maker in order to 'get rid of her' due to her persistence in pursuing complaints against the council and its staff.
The court heard in August 2005 Mrs Clift confronted an abusive drunk in the town's Sheffield Road Rest Gardens after she objected to a small boy vandalising a flower bed. Her deadlock with the council developed over Mrs Clift's claims that staff in its anti-social behaviour unit took no action over her complaints.
Former care worker, Mrs Clift, claimed damages for libel from the council and its then head of public protection, Patrick Kelleher, both of whom denied the claims. Each insisted that they acted in good faith. On Wednesday the jury rejected allegations that Mr Kelleher had acted maliciously, but upheld Mrs Clift's libel claim, awarding œ12,000 damages.
Ms Clift sued for libel over the insertion of her name on the violent persons' register, and over an email distributed by Mr Kelleher. The jury found the disputed register entry and email were not 'substantially true', but cleared Mr Kelleher of allegations of malice in composing the email.
She said she had no idea such a register even existed before her name was added to it. The entry expired after 18 months but by then she had been forced to leave Slough. Mrs Clift, who now lives in Birmingham, said: 'I am not and never have been violent - as the jury have found. 'It has taken me four years to clear my name and I hope Slough and other councils never again misuse their registers.'
Simon Davies, from the human rights watchdog Privacy International, said: 'This just shows the megalomania of these local authorities. This poor woman was subjected to a Kafkaesque ordeal because of an incorrect allegation made by one official. 'It is the sort of behaviour that we would have condemned if it came from China or Russia. Our councils seem to be out of control.'
During the eight-day hearing the court was told Mrs Clift had told another council worker that, as far as she was concerned, Miss Rashid could 'drop down dead'. She followed up with a letter in which she wrote: 'I felt so filled with anger that I am certain I would have physically attacked her if she had been anywhere near me. I truly am not of that nature and so, surely, this should act as a wake-up call to the borough as to the capacity she has for offending people.'
But her counsel, Hugh Tomlinson, said the letter was misinterpreted and the decision to put her on the register had been 'completely ridiculous'. Her name was added to the blacklist because she was 'a thorn in their side' and the council thought the move would mean no-one would take her seriously.
Mr Justice Tugendhat ordered Slough to pay the legal costs of the case, estimated at between 450,000 to 500,000 pounds. Mrs Clift brought the action under a 'no win no fee' arrangement with her legal team.
A council spokesman said later: 'The jury found that what we recorded about Mrs Clift was not true, but they were not prepared to find that we acted in bad faith. 'We will reflect carefully on how we need to respond.'
See here and here (The Daily Mail article was incomplete so I have inserted part of a report on the case above from another newspaper)
British headteachers to get more powers as Labour Party performs massive U-turn
Schools are to be freed from the key central government controls imposed under New Labour in a dramatic turnaround, it was reported today. The Government's 'national strategies' for education are to be scrapped, ending centralised prescription of teaching methods and of literacy and numeracy hours in primary schools. It will hand back powers to headteachers - and save the Government up to œ100million a year currently spent employing private consultants to 'improve' schools, a newspaper reported.
The central controls, introduced after 1997, were the flagship of Labour's education policy under Tony Blair. The money saved on private consultants will instead be used to encourage successful schools to forge networks with worse-performing neighbours and to buy in their own advisers to help drive up standards.
The Department for Children, Schools and Families last night confirmed that the Education White Paper expected to be published next Tuesday will set out a new approach to provide more 'tailored' support to schools, based on their individual needs and circumstances. However, a spokesman insisted the changes were actually a mark of the success of the National Strategies. He said the reforms would not stop the daily literacy and numeracy hours introduced in the early Blair years. Schools are expected to continue with these because good teachers 'know this is the right thing to do'.
The DCSF spokesman said: 'Building on the successes we have seen since 1997, the White Paper will set out our new approach to local authority and school accountability and support, making the support that schools can access even more tailored to their individual needs and circumstances. 'The confidence that such a shift is viable is in many respects testament to the success of the National Strategies. 'All primary schools will continue to have daily English and maths lessons because strong school leaders know this is the right thing to do. We must continue to do the very best to ensure that all children get the reading and writing skills they need to succeed in later life. 'This is not about getting rid of the literacy and numeracy hours but a renewed push to raise standards and provide new forms of support and challenge for schools who need it.'
Tuesday's White Paper is also expected to include new U.S.-style 'report cards', giving grades to schools on a scale of A to F as well as information about truancy levels, behaviour and sporting achievements.
The Guardian today quoted sources close to the White Paper as saying that the Government's national strategy contracts with consultants Capita will be wound down from 2011. The company currently provides management advice, as well as materials and training to standardise teaching across schools. The White Paper follows a report from the Commons Schools Committee in April which criticised the 'degree of control' exercised by Whitehall over the curriculum and said lessons were too prescriptive and failed to take account of the needs of pupils in different areas. 'At times schooling has appeared more of a franchise operation, dependent on a recipe handed down by Government rather than the exercise of professional expertise by teachers,' said the report.
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Four in ten under-20s in London aren't white
Four out of ten young people in London are members of ethnic minorities, it was revealed yesterday. A government report found that more than 700,000 children and teenagers are classed as non-white, around 40 per cent of the age group in the capital.
At present, just over a third of Londoners of all ages are reckoned to be non-white - but the new figures indicate that this share will grow substantially in the future. They also point to the way recent waves of immigration have made a bigger impact on London than other parts of the country.
The analysis from the Office for National Statistics said that in the West Midlands, the second most multi-racial area of the country after London, just 19 per cent of children and teenagers are non-white.
The figures were disclosed in Whitehall's annual Regional Trends report. They drew warnings from migration experts that politicians are taking a risk by ignoring the changing nature of cities and suburbs.
Sir Andrew Green of the Migrationwatch think-tank said: 'This illustrates the massive change that is taking place to our society at a rapid pace and without the indigenous population ever being consulted. 'It is high time that the political class took their heads out of the clouds and responded to the very strong public opinion that wants to bring immigration under control.'
Many of the migrants who have come into Britain in the past ten years have settled in London. Three London boroughs have had majority ethnic minority populations since the turn of the Millennium - Newham, Tower Hamlets and Brent - and others are likely to see whites become a minority in the near future. The estimates yesterday put the under-20 ethnic minority population of London at 714,000.
Around 15 per cent of young Londoners are classed as Asian or Asian British, it said, and 14 per cent black or black British. Lowest populations of ethnic minority youngsters were in the North-East - five per cent of all people under 20 - and in the South-West, at six per cent.
The all-party Balanced Migration group of MPs said that 70 per cent of future population increase and 40 per cent of new households will be a result of immigration.
In a statement, the group's co-chairmen, Labour MP Frank Field and Tory Nicholas Soames, said: 'As we face severe cuts in public spending, it is the politics of madness to continue with immigration policies that will mean us having to provide thousands of new homes for newcomers - not to mention the necessary roads, schools and hospitals - on this unprecedented scale, when our own citizens, both black and white, cannot get homes.'
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Jewish school broke race laws by refusing boy whose mother had converted
This is muddled thinking even by the standards of modern British law. Despite what the judges said, Jews are a religion, not a race. There are Jews of all races. And the fact that the school was willing to accept a convert shows that the discrimination was not based on ancestry. It was based on religion. How can you be converted into a different race??? Even Michael Jackson couldn't manage that. The school just wanted the conversion to be up to orthodox standards and not some token thing
A leading Jewish state school broke race laws by refusing to admit a boy whose mother had converted to the religion, the Court of Appeal ruled yesterday. JFS, formerly the Jewish Free School, is highly oversubscribed and has turned away several pupils for not meeting its criteria of Jewishness. Previous court hearings have supported its stance. Yesterday, however, the court ruled in favour of the parents of a boy named only as M. The school, in Brent, northwest London, rejected the 12-year-old child because his mother converted to Judaism at a Progressive rather than Orthodox synagogue. M's father is Jewish, but custom dictates that the faith line passes through the mother.
The judges said that "the requirement that if a pupil is to qualify for admission his mother must be Jewish, whether by descent or by conversion, is a test of ethnicity which contravenes the Race Relations Act".
The ruling will have widespread implications for other faith schools and puts the court on a collision course with the Office of the Chief Rabbi, Sir Jonathan Sacks, from which the school takes its definition of which children are Jewish. It strikes at the heart of whether being Jewish is a religious or racial question and means that such schools will now have to adopt a religious practice test.
JFS said that it was "disappointed" and would seek leave to appeal to the House of Lords - a decision supported by Sir Jonathan. "I have advised the leadership of JFS that they have my full personal support," he said.
Other Jewish groups, however, welcomed the ruling, saying they had been marginalised and discouraged from speaking out. Rabbi Danny Rich, the chief executive of Liberal Judaism, said: "The JFS, a state comprehensive funded by taxpayers, has been exclusively following one Jewish religious authority and ignoring the rest. We object to standard-setting by just one section of the community to the detriment of the rest. The JFS will now be open to children from all types of Jewish background."
The court ruling stated: "It appears to us clear that Jews constitute a racial group defined principally by ethnic origin and additionally by conversion and that to discriminate against a person on the ground that he either is or is not Jewish is therefore to discriminate against him on racial grounds. "If for theological reasons a fully subscribed Christian faith school refused to admit a child on the ground that, albeit practising Christians, the child's family were of Jewish origin, it is hard to see what answer there could be to a claim for race discrimination. The refusal of JFS to admit M was accordingly, in our judgment, less favourable treatment of him on racial grounds."
John Halford, who represented the boy's father, said: "It is unlawful for a child's ethnic origins to be used as the criterion for school entry. Such a practice is even more unacceptable in the case of a comprehensive school funded by the taxpayer." Many other Jewish schools operate according to similar policies and will be affected by the court's decision.
David Lightman's daughter was also turned away by JFS because it did not accept her Jewish status, even though her mother is head of English at the school. Mr Lightman, an Orthodox Jew, said yesterday: "This is a victory for common sense and religious freedom. We are talking about two Jewish children who want an education. If the school thinks it's worth spending millions of pounds to stop that happening, then they need to re-examine what Judaism is about."
JFS is one of Britain's oldest Jewish schools and is the largest Orthodox Jewish school in Europe, with 2,000 pupils. It is described by Ofsted as outstanding and is oversubscribed every academic year.
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Scottish scientists raise hopes of new treatments for autism
This is pretty nutty. Only 5 out of 121 autistic kids had the gene abnormality and they think they have found THE autism gene. What a lot of bollocks!
Scottish scientists have discovered a gene linked with autism, raising the prospect of the development of new treatments for the condition. Drugs to control autism could be developed within five years as a result of the findings, according to the doctor who led the research team at the University of Aberdeen. The condition affects more than 500,000 people across Britain and there is no cure.
The study, published yesterday, began seven years ago with one child with severe autism. The boy attended the genetics clinic at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, where he was found to have a rare re-arrangement of chromosomes in which one had broken and swapped with another. By using genetic mapping techniques, researchers discovered that this realignment had disrupted a gene known to be important to memory and learning. When they extended the study to examine 120 other families with autism, they found that four other children - two siblings in two separate families - had faults in the same gene, known as EIF4E.
It is estimated that 1 per cent of the British population suffers from autism, a lifelong developmental disability that affects the way that a person communicates and relates to those around them. The condition occurs in varying forms of severity, and some people require lifelong care.
The research was led by Zosia Miedzybrodzka, reader in medical genetics at the University of Aberdeen and honorary clinical geneticist at NHS Grampian. She said that the study was a significant step towards the discovery of a treatment. "When I started doing genetics I believed that conditions such as autism, that people are born with or develop when very young, would be hard-wired and that there was little you could do about it," she said. "But what we are learning now is that they are modifiable, and that is very exciting. I think we could be trying out drugs in five years. It is not a cure, but something that would potentially improve the condition dramatically."
Dr Miedzybrodzka said that the work suggested that a correction of EIF4E abnormalities could improve symptoms in people whose autism did not result from a fault in the gene. "If you fix the problem at the endpoint then you also fix problems further upstream," she said.
She paid tribute to the parents of the boy who prompted the research, pointing out that the study was an extra complication for the family as they struggled to cope with his condition. "It has been a long process and the family has been key to allowing us to get the blood samples we needed from the boy. With his condition, which was very severe, that was no trivial thing," she said. The parents of the child, who wished to remain anonymous, said: "We are delighted that the work that started with our son brings so much hope for the future."
Carol Evans, national director at the National Autistic Society Scotland, said that the research could shed new light on the condition. She emphasised, though, that much could be done to help to manage the condition until a treatment is found. "Various studies over many years have sought to identify candidate genes but so far inconclusively," she said. "Whilst it is important that this research continues, it is also crucial that those living with the condition have access to appropriate advice and information, as the right support at the right time can make an enormous difference to people's lives."
Autism is a lifelong developmental condition affecting the way that the brain processes information. The condition is on the rise in Britain, but many experts believe that the increase is because of improved diagnosis. While people can have varying degrees of autism, all sufferers share similar symptoms, including problems with verbal and non-verbal communication, difficulties with social interaction and repetitive behaviour, or narrow, obsessive interests. Boys are four times as likely to develop autism as girls. Research indicates that a combination of genetic and environmental factors may account for changes in brain development.
SOURCE
UK: Hackers recruited to help fight against cybercrime : "Reformed computer hackers are being recruited by the Government to defend Britain from international crime gangs and terrorists plotting cyber attacks on the country. With internet fraud costing billions of pounds a year and Whitehall computer systems facing repeated assaults from abroad, ministers are hiring hackers to protect state secrets. A new `cyber security operations centre' at GCHQ in Cheltenham will monitor attempts, many orchestrated from abroad, to infiltrate the national computer network."
Journalism and the British expenses scandal: "Sunday Telegraph editor Ian Macgregor was our guest at a power lunch in Westminster this week. His topic was `The importance of journalism in modern society.' And of course, that's a topic that Telegraph have earned a right to talk about in the last couple of months, with their brilliantly handled investigation into MPs expenses. There's no question the story has been good for the Telegraph's business, winning them many thousands of new readers. But I also think they have performed a genuine public service, by making people realize that you just can't trust politicians to be responsible with taxpayers' money."
Friday, June 26, 2009
Power-mad British bureaucrats again
Thou shalt NOT show individual initiative: Gardener who spruced up council car park for free faces legal action for criminal damage. The "criminal" greenery below
A public-spirited gardener has been told she could face prosecution for criminal damage after sprucing up a neglected patch of land in a car park. Green-fingered Jayne Bailey gave the concrete island on her housing estate a makeover as the 30-year-old cobbles were coming loose and becoming a safety hazard. So she removed the stones and replaced them with flowers from her own garden and from friends, turning a crumbling eyesore into a bright display that won praise from some of her neighbours.
However, she has since been told by Cornwall County Council to rip out the flowers and replace the cobbles herself - or foot the bill for contractors to do it. 'In a letter I have been told I have 28 days to replace it or they will come out and do the work and send me the bill,' said Mrs Bailey, who is in her 50s. 'They also threatened that they would go to the police and report me for criminal damage. 'This is bureaucratic madness. The little area was showing its age and the entire thing was a crumbling mess, covered in weeds and rubbish. Some of the local children had taken to removing the cobblestones to play with because it was in such a dilapidated condition. 'It now hosts an assortment of sun-loving plants suited to that area which are all thriving.
'The centre-piece is a eucalyptus with other plants such as jasmine, buddleia and fuchsias, which were all planted on a budget and designed to fill that space over the coming years with minimal maintenance.'
Many of Mrs Bailey's neighbours in Bodmin have welcomed the new greenery. Naomi Luke said: 'It looks a lot nicer. It was disgusting before. In fact it was a hazard. Now it is somewhere everyone can enjoy and looks pretty.'
It is not Mrs Bailey's first brush with town hall bosses for showing the kind of initiative that many would see as entirely praiseworthy. Five years ago she planted an overgrown area on the estate that was being used for fly-tipping. 'They threatened me then too,' she said. 'I do not want to make a claim on the land - I just don't want it turning into a dumping ground. 'I was told to replace it then but I didn't - how do they expect me to get brambles that I cut down?'
Mrs Bailey added: 'The council is more than happy for areas to remain an eyesore but they cannot even carry out basic repairs that have been high on the residents' list for many years.'
A spokesman insisted the council backed residents who wanted to spruce up the public areas around them but added: 'This is done in partnership with ourselves to ensure appropriate plants and maintenance.' He said: 'In this particular case no agreement was sought to carry out the works. Several complaints from residents have been received concerning the planting.'
However, his comments suggest the council's approach might not be as draconian as the letter to Mrs Bailey had threatened. 'A council horticulturist has been asked to look at the suitability of the planting,' he said. [Publicity brings a backdown, as usual. The children of the light love the light and the children of the darkness love the darkness (See John 3:19-20). If they had been decent human beings, they would have started out with a polite and courteous personal approach -- but impersonal accusations and threats are so much more pleasing to the diseased bureaucratic mind]
SOURCE
Conviction of Gypsy family reduces crime rate in a British county to 20-year low
A county's crime rate fell to a 20-year low after a notorious criminal family was jailed, police revealed yesterday. The Johnson family was a ruthless gang of travellers who carried out countless crimes over two decades, from cash machine raids to sheet metal thefts. Their most profitable targets, however, were country mansions, from which they stole antiques and works of art worth œ30million. One of their raids, in which they targeted a multi-millionaire property tycoon, is thought to be the biggest ever burglary of a private home.
Since they were jailed last year, Gloucestershire Police said the county's crime rates have plummeted to levels last seen in the 1980s. Figures show there were 44,136 recorded crimes in Gloucestershire in 2008-09, down from 45,685 in 2007-08 - a fall of 3 per cent.
This followed an even bigger decrease from 2006-07, when 52,388 crimes were recorded - the year the Johnsons committed some of their most brazen thefts. Chief Constable Dr Timothy Brain said of their arrest: 'What that operation showed is that no one is untouchable.'
The Johnsons would stake out country mansions and stately homes for weeks at a time, to pinpoint the best means of entry and escape. Their targets included the 17th-century Wiltshire mansion of property tycoon Harry Hyams, where they stole property worth œ23million in a raid described as Britain's biggest burglary of a private home. In February 2006, they smashed their way inside with a 4x4 vehicle and stripped the home of one of the country's largest private collections antiques, jewellery and china in ten minutes. Mr Hyams, who has an estimated fortune of œ320 million, was not at home when the raid took place.
The month after the Hyams raid, police received an anonymous tip-off which led them to a bunker in Warwickshire where the Johnsons had stored some of their booty. A third of the property taken from Mr Hyams's house was found there.
Members of the Johnson family were last year found guilty of conspiracy to commit burglary between April 8, 2005 and October 13, 2006. Ricky Johnson, 54, was jailed for eight years while his two sons, Richard 'Chad' Johnson, 33, and Albi Johnson, 25, were sentenced to 11 years and nine years respectively. Ricky's nephews, Danny O'Loughlin, 32, and Michael Nicholls, 29, were jailed for 11 years and ten years.
The notoriety of the Johnsons had been cemented when a BBC film crew spent weeks on the family's caravan site for a documentary in 2005. The family made clear their contempt for the law - but insisted they were scapegoats for crime in the area. Chad said: 'Don't get me wrong, I have committed a few burglaries and pinched a few handbags, but you grow out of it, get a family and settle down. I've got no GCSEs. 'I just know street life and gipsy life - that is all I know.'
The family's other targets included Warneford Place in Wiltshire, the home of Formula One advertising tycoon Paddy McNally, an old flame of the Duchess of York. The raid netted items worth œ750,000. In all, detectives investigated 116 offences of country house burglaries, cash dispenser and metal thefts.
SOURCE
Migrant stowaways at Calais triple in five years
The number of migrants trying to sneak into Britain via Calais has almost tripled in just five years. The revelation that more than 50 a day are being caught follows the re-emergence of refugee camps at Sangatte, close to where lorries board ferries to cross the Channel. In 2004, after the closure of the original Sangatte camp, border officials detected 7,540 stowaways. Last year, the total was 19,399.
Including checks at Coquelles, Dunkirk, Paris and in Belgium the number of migrants caught trying to sneak into Britain was 28,007. But critics point out these are only the illegal immigrants who are caught, with many more likely to have evaded checks.
Immigration minister Phil Woolas said that almost 740,000 searches had been carried out on lorries. He said: `We work closely with our French partners to tackle illegal immigration using state-oftheart technology such as carbon dioxide and heartbeat detectors. `The illegal migrants in France are not queuing to get into Britain - they have been locked out.'
Stowaways are using a number of methods to try to evade being caught. Ten were found in a lorry of wheelie bins. Officers were alerted to their presence by a sniffer dog, while four Afghans in a lorry load of champagne were discovered by CO2 detectors.
French politicians have blamed Britain for the return of migrant camps to Calais. The mayor of Calais said the UK Government's policies were `imposing' thousand of migrants on the town, costing the local economy millions. Natacha Bouchart criticised the UK for paying `enormous' state handouts to asylum seekers. Mrs Bouchart said the lure of these payouts was the reason why thousands of foreigners are using the French port as a staging point to get across the Channel.
SOURCE
Miracle of the drug that mends your faulty genes
Christine Falleti has spent much of her life combating the crippling effects of cystic fibrosis (CF). Now 34, she is painfully aware that she's approaching the age when most people with CF die. Two friends with the disease already have. But last year she took part in a test of a new drug that led to a dramatic improvement in her symptoms. Suddenly, she had a reason to hope her chances of dying might be reduced. And it's not just patients with CF who might benefit. The drug Christine was trialling is one of a new generation that could revolutionise the treatment of far more common diseases such as Alzheimer's, cancer and diabetes. For the first time, instead of treating the symptoms, it looks as if these drugs actually repair the effects of genes that cause disease.
CF affects 8,000 people in the UK and is caused by a mutation in just one gene, known as CTFR. It results in the patient's lungs and gut becoming lined with thick mucus. Breathing can be difficult and digestion is poor because the extra mucus stops nutrients being properly absorbed. Like many CF sufferers, Christine needs more than 15 medications every day to treat her symptoms. 'It takes three hours to clear my airways,' she says. She uses a device like a life-jacket which, when inflated, vibrates her chest to shake the mucus free. Before going to bed, she does a dozen upside-down exercises while her partner slaps her upper back, sides and chest to loosen the phlegm.
Until now there haven't been any drugs that can treat CF - or indeed any of the thousands of deadly conditions caused by a faulty gene, such as haemophilia and Huntington's chorea. Doctors can only help patients deal with the symptoms. But that could change. The drug Christine took, called VX-770, promises a revolution because it is able to reduce the damage caused by the mutation in the gene. The result was less mucus clogging up her lungs. Within two weeks of starting the drug (as part of an American trial), she was breathing more easily.
'I felt completely different,' says Christine, a teacher from Ohio. 'I could laugh without it turning into a five-minute coughing fit. Exercise became so much more enjoyable and easier.'
But once she stopped the drug after the four-week trial, her breathing was soon as bad as it had been before. And that wasn't the only downside. 'It's frustrating knowing there is something that can make you feel better but you can't have it.'
There are three other similar drugs for treating CF being tested; again, these target the faulty genes rather than the symptoms. Being able to correct errors in the CF gene means it should be possible to do the same thing for patients who have harmful mutations in other genes. 'If these drugs fulfil their promise, it will be a major breakthrough,' says Professor Kate Bushby, of the Institute of Human Genetics at Newcastle University, who has been involved in testing one of them.
CF has always been at the cutting edge of gene research. The CTFR gene was the first to be linked to a specific disease 20 years ago. 'That discovery caused huge excitement,' says Professor Bushby. 'Everyone thought we'd start replacing the faulty genes with healthy ones prepared in the laboratory - genetic diseases would be history. But it proved much trickier than we thought.' Putting the healthy genes into the cell came with side-effects. In some cases, the newly inserted genes were attacked by the patient's own immune system. Even worse, in one trial, children given replacement genes developed leukaemia. So rather than replacing these damaged genes, American scientists began searching for drugs that could repair them instead.
At the forefront of this was Dr Robert Beall, director of the American Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, who raised $175 million from various sources, including Microsoft founder Bill Gates's charity.
The problem for CF patients is that their faulty gene affects a protein which is vital for transporting water in the airways and other passageways - this causes a lack of water, which is why their mucus is so thick. Dr Beall and his team have identified two chemicals that can improve the way the protein works, and have turned them into two drugs (which could be used in combination). The drug Christine was given boosts the effectiveness of the protein needed to transport water around the body.
The drug based on the other chemical works in a different way; it corrects a mistake in the way the protein is made. In most CF patients, this protein is slightly the wrong shape. The second new drug, VX-809, is able to tweak it back into shape. This second drug opens up the possibility of treating other illnesses, such as Alzheimer's and cancer, where again a protein hasn't been made properly and is also slightly the wrong shape.
'Poor protein folding is one of the main things that goes wrong when a gene becomes faulty in all sorts of other conditions,' says Dr David Sheppard, a physiologist at the University of Bristol, who has been researching these two drugs. 'What we need now is a large-scale trial to prove that benefits outweigh risks.'
One of the conditions the drugs might help with is male infertility. 'It can be caused by thick mucus in the vas deferens, the tube that carries sperm to the penis,' says Dr Sheppard. 'Patients have a faulty CF gene, but no other symptoms.'
Around 10 per cent of CF sufferers have none of the water-carrying protein at all. They could be helped by a third drug, called Ataluren, which tricks the cells into ignoring the faulty gene's message. In an Israeli study of the drug, the rate at which CF patients coughed dropped dramatically. Someone with CF coughs around 650 times a day (a healthy rate is fewer than 16 times); on Ataluren, the coughing rate dropped to 450 a day. Altaluren is being trialled in the UK as a possible treatment for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, the deadly muscle-wasting disorder for which there is no cure.
Meanwhile, Christine is keen to continue using the new drug. She says: 'Every Monday, I call the clinic to see if I'm going to be put on to another longer trial with VX-770. 'All I can do is cross my fingers and keep on with the other treatments, but none of them has the effect that VX-770 did.'
SOURCE
Thou shalt NOT show individual initiative: Gardener who spruced up council car park for free faces legal action for criminal damage. The "criminal" greenery below
A public-spirited gardener has been told she could face prosecution for criminal damage after sprucing up a neglected patch of land in a car park. Green-fingered Jayne Bailey gave the concrete island on her housing estate a makeover as the 30-year-old cobbles were coming loose and becoming a safety hazard. So she removed the stones and replaced them with flowers from her own garden and from friends, turning a crumbling eyesore into a bright display that won praise from some of her neighbours.
However, she has since been told by Cornwall County Council to rip out the flowers and replace the cobbles herself - or foot the bill for contractors to do it. 'In a letter I have been told I have 28 days to replace it or they will come out and do the work and send me the bill,' said Mrs Bailey, who is in her 50s. 'They also threatened that they would go to the police and report me for criminal damage. 'This is bureaucratic madness. The little area was showing its age and the entire thing was a crumbling mess, covered in weeds and rubbish. Some of the local children had taken to removing the cobblestones to play with because it was in such a dilapidated condition. 'It now hosts an assortment of sun-loving plants suited to that area which are all thriving.
'The centre-piece is a eucalyptus with other plants such as jasmine, buddleia and fuchsias, which were all planted on a budget and designed to fill that space over the coming years with minimal maintenance.'
Many of Mrs Bailey's neighbours in Bodmin have welcomed the new greenery. Naomi Luke said: 'It looks a lot nicer. It was disgusting before. In fact it was a hazard. Now it is somewhere everyone can enjoy and looks pretty.'
It is not Mrs Bailey's first brush with town hall bosses for showing the kind of initiative that many would see as entirely praiseworthy. Five years ago she planted an overgrown area on the estate that was being used for fly-tipping. 'They threatened me then too,' she said. 'I do not want to make a claim on the land - I just don't want it turning into a dumping ground. 'I was told to replace it then but I didn't - how do they expect me to get brambles that I cut down?'
Mrs Bailey added: 'The council is more than happy for areas to remain an eyesore but they cannot even carry out basic repairs that have been high on the residents' list for many years.'
A spokesman insisted the council backed residents who wanted to spruce up the public areas around them but added: 'This is done in partnership with ourselves to ensure appropriate plants and maintenance.' He said: 'In this particular case no agreement was sought to carry out the works. Several complaints from residents have been received concerning the planting.'
However, his comments suggest the council's approach might not be as draconian as the letter to Mrs Bailey had threatened. 'A council horticulturist has been asked to look at the suitability of the planting,' he said. [Publicity brings a backdown, as usual. The children of the light love the light and the children of the darkness love the darkness (See John 3:19-20). If they had been decent human beings, they would have started out with a polite and courteous personal approach -- but impersonal accusations and threats are so much more pleasing to the diseased bureaucratic mind]
SOURCE
Conviction of Gypsy family reduces crime rate in a British county to 20-year low
A county's crime rate fell to a 20-year low after a notorious criminal family was jailed, police revealed yesterday. The Johnson family was a ruthless gang of travellers who carried out countless crimes over two decades, from cash machine raids to sheet metal thefts. Their most profitable targets, however, were country mansions, from which they stole antiques and works of art worth œ30million. One of their raids, in which they targeted a multi-millionaire property tycoon, is thought to be the biggest ever burglary of a private home.
Since they were jailed last year, Gloucestershire Police said the county's crime rates have plummeted to levels last seen in the 1980s. Figures show there were 44,136 recorded crimes in Gloucestershire in 2008-09, down from 45,685 in 2007-08 - a fall of 3 per cent.
This followed an even bigger decrease from 2006-07, when 52,388 crimes were recorded - the year the Johnsons committed some of their most brazen thefts. Chief Constable Dr Timothy Brain said of their arrest: 'What that operation showed is that no one is untouchable.'
The Johnsons would stake out country mansions and stately homes for weeks at a time, to pinpoint the best means of entry and escape. Their targets included the 17th-century Wiltshire mansion of property tycoon Harry Hyams, where they stole property worth œ23million in a raid described as Britain's biggest burglary of a private home. In February 2006, they smashed their way inside with a 4x4 vehicle and stripped the home of one of the country's largest private collections antiques, jewellery and china in ten minutes. Mr Hyams, who has an estimated fortune of œ320 million, was not at home when the raid took place.
The month after the Hyams raid, police received an anonymous tip-off which led them to a bunker in Warwickshire where the Johnsons had stored some of their booty. A third of the property taken from Mr Hyams's house was found there.
Members of the Johnson family were last year found guilty of conspiracy to commit burglary between April 8, 2005 and October 13, 2006. Ricky Johnson, 54, was jailed for eight years while his two sons, Richard 'Chad' Johnson, 33, and Albi Johnson, 25, were sentenced to 11 years and nine years respectively. Ricky's nephews, Danny O'Loughlin, 32, and Michael Nicholls, 29, were jailed for 11 years and ten years.
The notoriety of the Johnsons had been cemented when a BBC film crew spent weeks on the family's caravan site for a documentary in 2005. The family made clear their contempt for the law - but insisted they were scapegoats for crime in the area. Chad said: 'Don't get me wrong, I have committed a few burglaries and pinched a few handbags, but you grow out of it, get a family and settle down. I've got no GCSEs. 'I just know street life and gipsy life - that is all I know.'
The family's other targets included Warneford Place in Wiltshire, the home of Formula One advertising tycoon Paddy McNally, an old flame of the Duchess of York. The raid netted items worth œ750,000. In all, detectives investigated 116 offences of country house burglaries, cash dispenser and metal thefts.
SOURCE
Migrant stowaways at Calais triple in five years
The number of migrants trying to sneak into Britain via Calais has almost tripled in just five years. The revelation that more than 50 a day are being caught follows the re-emergence of refugee camps at Sangatte, close to where lorries board ferries to cross the Channel. In 2004, after the closure of the original Sangatte camp, border officials detected 7,540 stowaways. Last year, the total was 19,399.
Including checks at Coquelles, Dunkirk, Paris and in Belgium the number of migrants caught trying to sneak into Britain was 28,007. But critics point out these are only the illegal immigrants who are caught, with many more likely to have evaded checks.
Immigration minister Phil Woolas said that almost 740,000 searches had been carried out on lorries. He said: `We work closely with our French partners to tackle illegal immigration using state-oftheart technology such as carbon dioxide and heartbeat detectors. `The illegal migrants in France are not queuing to get into Britain - they have been locked out.'
Stowaways are using a number of methods to try to evade being caught. Ten were found in a lorry of wheelie bins. Officers were alerted to their presence by a sniffer dog, while four Afghans in a lorry load of champagne were discovered by CO2 detectors.
French politicians have blamed Britain for the return of migrant camps to Calais. The mayor of Calais said the UK Government's policies were `imposing' thousand of migrants on the town, costing the local economy millions. Natacha Bouchart criticised the UK for paying `enormous' state handouts to asylum seekers. Mrs Bouchart said the lure of these payouts was the reason why thousands of foreigners are using the French port as a staging point to get across the Channel.
SOURCE
Miracle of the drug that mends your faulty genes
Christine Falleti has spent much of her life combating the crippling effects of cystic fibrosis (CF). Now 34, she is painfully aware that she's approaching the age when most people with CF die. Two friends with the disease already have. But last year she took part in a test of a new drug that led to a dramatic improvement in her symptoms. Suddenly, she had a reason to hope her chances of dying might be reduced. And it's not just patients with CF who might benefit. The drug Christine was trialling is one of a new generation that could revolutionise the treatment of far more common diseases such as Alzheimer's, cancer and diabetes. For the first time, instead of treating the symptoms, it looks as if these drugs actually repair the effects of genes that cause disease.
CF affects 8,000 people in the UK and is caused by a mutation in just one gene, known as CTFR. It results in the patient's lungs and gut becoming lined with thick mucus. Breathing can be difficult and digestion is poor because the extra mucus stops nutrients being properly absorbed. Like many CF sufferers, Christine needs more than 15 medications every day to treat her symptoms. 'It takes three hours to clear my airways,' she says. She uses a device like a life-jacket which, when inflated, vibrates her chest to shake the mucus free. Before going to bed, she does a dozen upside-down exercises while her partner slaps her upper back, sides and chest to loosen the phlegm.
Until now there haven't been any drugs that can treat CF - or indeed any of the thousands of deadly conditions caused by a faulty gene, such as haemophilia and Huntington's chorea. Doctors can only help patients deal with the symptoms. But that could change. The drug Christine took, called VX-770, promises a revolution because it is able to reduce the damage caused by the mutation in the gene. The result was less mucus clogging up her lungs. Within two weeks of starting the drug (as part of an American trial), she was breathing more easily.
'I felt completely different,' says Christine, a teacher from Ohio. 'I could laugh without it turning into a five-minute coughing fit. Exercise became so much more enjoyable and easier.'
But once she stopped the drug after the four-week trial, her breathing was soon as bad as it had been before. And that wasn't the only downside. 'It's frustrating knowing there is something that can make you feel better but you can't have it.'
There are three other similar drugs for treating CF being tested; again, these target the faulty genes rather than the symptoms. Being able to correct errors in the CF gene means it should be possible to do the same thing for patients who have harmful mutations in other genes. 'If these drugs fulfil their promise, it will be a major breakthrough,' says Professor Kate Bushby, of the Institute of Human Genetics at Newcastle University, who has been involved in testing one of them.
CF has always been at the cutting edge of gene research. The CTFR gene was the first to be linked to a specific disease 20 years ago. 'That discovery caused huge excitement,' says Professor Bushby. 'Everyone thought we'd start replacing the faulty genes with healthy ones prepared in the laboratory - genetic diseases would be history. But it proved much trickier than we thought.' Putting the healthy genes into the cell came with side-effects. In some cases, the newly inserted genes were attacked by the patient's own immune system. Even worse, in one trial, children given replacement genes developed leukaemia. So rather than replacing these damaged genes, American scientists began searching for drugs that could repair them instead.
At the forefront of this was Dr Robert Beall, director of the American Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, who raised $175 million from various sources, including Microsoft founder Bill Gates's charity.
The problem for CF patients is that their faulty gene affects a protein which is vital for transporting water in the airways and other passageways - this causes a lack of water, which is why their mucus is so thick. Dr Beall and his team have identified two chemicals that can improve the way the protein works, and have turned them into two drugs (which could be used in combination). The drug Christine was given boosts the effectiveness of the protein needed to transport water around the body.
The drug based on the other chemical works in a different way; it corrects a mistake in the way the protein is made. In most CF patients, this protein is slightly the wrong shape. The second new drug, VX-809, is able to tweak it back into shape. This second drug opens up the possibility of treating other illnesses, such as Alzheimer's and cancer, where again a protein hasn't been made properly and is also slightly the wrong shape.
'Poor protein folding is one of the main things that goes wrong when a gene becomes faulty in all sorts of other conditions,' says Dr David Sheppard, a physiologist at the University of Bristol, who has been researching these two drugs. 'What we need now is a large-scale trial to prove that benefits outweigh risks.'
One of the conditions the drugs might help with is male infertility. 'It can be caused by thick mucus in the vas deferens, the tube that carries sperm to the penis,' says Dr Sheppard. 'Patients have a faulty CF gene, but no other symptoms.'
Around 10 per cent of CF sufferers have none of the water-carrying protein at all. They could be helped by a third drug, called Ataluren, which tricks the cells into ignoring the faulty gene's message. In an Israeli study of the drug, the rate at which CF patients coughed dropped dramatically. Someone with CF coughs around 650 times a day (a healthy rate is fewer than 16 times); on Ataluren, the coughing rate dropped to 450 a day. Altaluren is being trialled in the UK as a possible treatment for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, the deadly muscle-wasting disorder for which there is no cure.
Meanwhile, Christine is keen to continue using the new drug. She says: 'Every Monday, I call the clinic to see if I'm going to be put on to another longer trial with VX-770. 'All I can do is cross my fingers and keep on with the other treatments, but none of them has the effect that VX-770 did.'
SOURCE
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Bring back selective schools to help the poor, says British Conservative politician
David Cameron is facing a fresh row over grammar schools [academically selective schools] after an extraordinary challenge to Tory policy by his one-time leadership rival David Davis. The former shadow home secretary, who went to grammar school, insisted only a return to selective education could 'rescue the next generation of the underprivileged'.
'The simple truth is that grammar schools were the greatest instrument for social mobility ever invented,' he said. In what will be seen as a thinly-veiled swipe at Eton-educated Mr Cameron's privileged upbringing, he said the only winners from the 'catastrophe' of the death of grammars were public school boys who now 'run Britain'.
Mr Davis, who quit as shadow home secretary last year to campaign on civil liberties, has been careful not to voice criticism of the Tory leadership since then. But his decision to reopen the toxic issue of grammar schools, which triggered an angry rebellion by Tory MPs early in Mr Cameron's leadership, will be seen as a declaration of war.
Mr Davis told the Mail he was also planning to speak out on other issues, such as the need for public spending cuts. 'I think the public are smarter than we sometimes give them credit for,' he said. 'They want to hear us debate these issues such as education, public spending and defence sensibly and intelligently, and that's what I intend to do.'
Right-wing MPs remain angry at Mr Cameron's decision to drop his party's long-standing commitment to academic selection. The Tory leader said in 2007 he was 'determined to move on from a sterile debate about building a few more grammar schools'. He insists there will be no return to the 11-plus [entry exam at age 11] under a Tory government.
But speaking at a debate last night, Mr Davis, who went to Bec Grammar School in Tooting, South London, said it was clear selective education delivered better results for all. 'Every chance I had was created by that grammar school,' he said. 'And that is what grammar schools have done for hundreds of thousands of children from poor homes, council estates, even broken homes, through the postwar years. 'The charge against the grammar school is that they helped the brightest at the expense of the weaker child. The truth about the comprehensive system is that it failed the best without helping the weak.'
Mr Davis said it was self-evident that selective systems produced better results. Some 70 per cent of children in selective education get five good GCSEs against 60 per cent in comprehensive systems, he said. 'However you measure it, selective systems deliver better results for the whole community,' he added.
Mr Davis blamed Britain's descent to the bottom of the international league table in social mobility on the death of grammars. 'Today we are witnessing the results of a failed revolution, where egalitarians abolished grammar schools to level opportunity in our society, and accidentally destroyed the chances of the very people they were trying to help,' he said. 'They punished the bright poor kids who were held back. They handicapped the intellectual capacity of the country. 'And out of this catastrophe there was only one winning group. Do you know who they were?
'Yes, the public schools [The traditional British term for private schools]. Who teach just 7 per cent of the population.' Mr Davis said public school boys now 'run Britain', adding: 'The media, the law, business - they are all dominated by public school boys.'
SOURCE
Police have let us down, say three in four Britons in damning Whitehall survey
Confidence in the police used to be extraordinarily high in Britain -- but not now that 12 years of Labour government has turned them into political police and form-fillers. You will get a visit from the police if you use a forbidden word in Britain but if your car is stolen, who cares?
Three quarters of the population believe the police have failed to get to grips with anti-social behaviour and drink-fuelled violence, a damning Whitehall survey showed yesterday. It found police forces and other public services are said to neither listen to what people say about crime and rowdiness nor do anything to stop it.
The poll of more than half a million adults also suggested that councils are out of touch, unpopular, and take too much of residents' money. The inquiry, conducted in more than 300 council areas, found only a quarter of respondents thought police were willing to listen when they complained about crime and disorder. The same proportion said they believed the police and other local services were dealing properly with drunken violence, vandalism and local drug dealing.
The survey said a majority are dissatisfied with the way their town hall goes about its business, and two thirds do not believe local government gives value for money. Fewer than a third think they have any say over what the town hall does, according to the poll carried out by councils themselves for the Department of Communities and Local Government.
The findings appear to reflect deep disillusion with years of promises that initiatives such as ASBOs and greater efforts by the police and the justice system would make streets safer. They suggest the great majority do not believe everyday crime has been successfully tackled. They also point to public disaffection through the impact of high council tax and a widespread view that town halls are arrogant and incompetent.
The findings drew a rebuke for councils from Local Government Secretary John Denham, who said: 'The improvements we have seen in local services are not being reflected in people's perception of their council. 'I want to see local councils do more - and gain more power - to shape the services offered in their area. 'There is an untapped demand for local people to have more say in what goes on.'
Tory local government spokes-man Caroline Spelman said: 'Under Labour, satisfaction with local councils has plummeted. 'It is no surprise that local residents are so unhappy given council tax has doubled thanks to Gordon Brown, while frontline services like weekly rubbish collections have been slashed back due to Whitehall diktats.'
The Place Survey was carried out by more than 300 councils which collected nearly 544,000 filled-in questionnaires. Only 33 per cent agreed that their local authority gave value for money, while 45 per cent said they were satisfied with the way their council ran things. Fewer than three in ten, 29 per cent, said they thought they could influence council decisions.
The survey said that 78 per cent were happy with their refuse collections - a finding at odds with other surveys and with election results that have punished councils introducing wheelie bins and fortnightly collections. But fewer than half were satisfied with transport information, sport facilities, museums or theatres run by councils.
The Local Government Association, the umbrella body for councils, said: 'This survey shows that the vast majority of residents are happy with services which their councils provide.'
SOURCE
Are we sure that it is the BNP who are the Fascists?
What would it be like to live under Fascists, I wonder:-
They'd make sure everyone carried identity papers and you'd be arrested if you failed to show your papers to a policeman, a policeman who would be armed with stun guns and two handled billy clubs and who'd beat unarmed demonstrators to the ground if they protested government policy. The police would be granted the right to intern suspects without charge for months and if anyone spoke out against the government they'd be arrested as "terrorists".
There would be constant monitoring of every citizen by CCTV on every street corner, the government would have access to your emails and phone messages, crikey, they might even do crazy stuff like implanting computer chips in your bins to monitor your rubbish!
Anyone who happened to dislike some aspects of the government's social policy would be forced out of business and making jokes or speaking your mind about certain protected classes of people could see you losing your job or even your children.
The state would gain control over the lives and livelihoods of tens of millions of citizens and anyone who deviated from "acceptable" standards of behaviour would be punished by being deprived of health or welfare assistance.
The state run media would be intimidated into parroting government spin and lies and everyone from doctors and nurses to teachers and neighbours would be expected to report to the government any behaviour which was deemed to be outside government decreed standards.
Who knows they might even go crazy and start invading other countries.
From a comment on IMMIGRATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL. Those who know modern-day Britain will recognize in the description features of Britain as it already is
Some concentrated climate skepticism from Britain
Melting ice caps,global warming,our favourite foods giving us cancer. The doom-mongers love to tell uswe're all going to hell in a handcart. But don't panic! A new book uncovers some inconvenient truths that give the pessimists pause for thought ...
The overwhelming scientific consensus is that we are all going to hell in a handcart. Climate change - the inexorable warming of Earth's atmosphere caused by mankind's addiction to fossil fuels - is to blame for what we are told will be a parched and inhospitable future. The polar ice caps will melt, causing sea levels to rise. Vast swathes of the world will flood, drowning some of our greatest cities - and a great many polar bears.
It gets worse: we also face a plague of obesity, heart disease and diabetes as we consume a growing mountain of fatty fast food. And if that weren't enough, increasing amounts of chemicals and radiation in our environment are causing an epidemic of cancer. This is the consensus view and to question it is, at best, to be labelled naive and, at worst, a heretic.
But a stubborn band of thinkers persists in questioning this grim, accepted view, pointing to inconvenient truths which do not fit the doom-and-gloom narrative. Indeed, this group of prominent scientists is picking holes in the doomsday consensus. Many of these theories now appear in a new book by Stanley Feldman, a professor of anaesthetics at London University, and Vincent Marks, a former professor of clinical biochemistry and dean of medicine at the University of Surrey.
Here are some of their more awkward discoveries, which may yet give the pessimists pause for thought...
THE SUN IS BEHIND GLOBAL WARMING
The consensus view is that man-made CO2 is causing the lion's share of global warming. But natural changes in the Sun's power may be as much to blame.
There is good evidence that the cause of at least some of global warming is an increase in the intensity of the Sun's heat. Indeed, global temperatures appear to be more closely related to solar activity, which is constantly changing, than to levels of CO2 in the atmosphere.
After all, the Earth warmed up more during medieval times than during the 20th century, and it cooled down considerably during the Little Ice Age of the 16th and 17th centuries - without any manmade event that would have affected CO2 output. Temperatures also dipped between 1940 and 1975 - a period of intense industrial activity.
Meanwhile, data from between 1880 and 2000 shows a close correlation between increased solar activity and higher average temperatures on Earth. So couldn't it be that the Sun is responsible for heating us up after all?
THE MALDIVES AREN'T SINKING
It has become a key part of the climate change mantra that some of the world's most beautiful islands are at risk of sinking below the waves, thanks to sea level rises caused by global warming.
But so confident are property owners in the Maldives that the sea is receding, they are building a flurry of lavish seafront hotels. Meanwhile, Tuvalu in the Pacific - also cited as being most at risk - has actually seen a fall in sea levels.
CO2 LEVELS ARE NOT AT UNPRECEDENTED HIGHS
Today, about 0.038 per cent of the atmosphere consists of carbon dioxide, the main man-made climate change gas. This figure has certainly risen over the past 200 years or so - the 'pre-industrial' level of CO2 was closer to 0.02 per cent.
But what is often ignored is that in the Earth's past, carbon dioxide levels have often been as much as ten times higher than they are today.
For example, during the Cretaceous era, when dinosaurs ruled the Earth, CO2 levels were five to ten times what they are today. The planet was certainly warmer then, but life thrived and there was no runaway greenhouse catastrophe of the sort that the doom-mongers insist we face if we let levels rise further. They also, it should be noted, came down again naturally.
POLAR BEARS ARE NOT DYING OUT...
The doom-mongers love showing us images of polar bears in peril, floating on isolated ice rafts. But most populations are doing very well, thank you. Despite the (limited) melting seen in the Arctic ice cap over the past 50 years, polar bear numbers have more than doubled since 1950 - and that's despite the fact that 50 to 100 bears are now shot every year.
Indeed, polar bears aren't bothered by the odd stretch of open water - they are very capable swimmers. In fact, it is not even clear that the Arctic ice is melting. The summer of 2008 was the coldest in Anchorage, Alaska, for 40 years.
...NOR ARE THE PENGUINS
And it's a similar story at the South Pole. Although some Antarctic penguin colonies, especially those near human bases, have decreased in size, overall, penguin numbers are steady or increasing.
THE GULF STREAM IS NOT UNDER THREAT
Some scientists have warned that if the Arctic ice cap melts, the resulting flood of cold water in the Atlantic could push the Gulf Stream - the warm current which keeps Britain relatively balmy - further south. If this happens, they have made dire predictions that northern Europe could become a frozen wasteland.
Unfortunately for them, there is no evidence to support this view. In fact, the Gulf Stream is as strong as ever - and is getting warmer, not colder. Nor is it changing direction.
GLOBAL WARMING MIGHT EVEN BE GOOD FOR US
A warmer climate and an increase in CO2 will be a boon for farming and agriculture in general. One can even envisage returning to the warmer landscape of Roman times, when vineyards were common in England.
With less severe winters, it will also be possible to grow many crops that, because they are susceptible to the occasional frost, cannot be grown at present.
SOURCE
HERE'S THE FORECAST: BRITAIN'S MET OFFICE WILL GET IT WRONG AGAIN
It's a beautiful day outside; clear blue sky, scarcely the whisper of a breeze, temperature hovering around a gently cossetting 20C, greenfinch wheezing away nearby. This is good news for me because as soon as I finish this article I intend to spend the rest of the day under the horse chestnut tree with a pitcher of neat alcohol. But it is also good news for Britain and the rest of the world.
Last Thursday we were all frightened out of our wits by a new report from the Met Office about what life in Britain would be like in 2080: scorching African sun, all the crops dying, plagues of locusts and mosquitos. Cows collapsing in the fields because they had not worn enough Factor 30; half of Yorkshire and Norfolk washed away by the sea, middle England flooded by swollen rivers, Essex a lifeless arid desert (no change there, then); impeccably well-mannered middle-class people on their knees sucking the last molecules of moisture from dusty, exhausted standpipes in Notting Hill; famine, pestilence and death flapping its wings over our heads like a big black bat, cackling to itself.
This was the UK Climate Projections 2009, as envisaged by the Met Office and presented by a dutifully grave Hilary Benn, who insisted that we all had a responsibility to do something, anything, to stave off this apocalypse. So I did. I checked out the Met Office forecast for my village for the next 48 hours. Cloudy, it said. Bit of rain. Temperature of 17C, wind gusting at a remarkably precise 31mph, it said. Short of predicting 6ft snowdrifts, ball lightning and gallons of newts falling from the sky, how much more wrong could it be?
And if it is that wrong over a forecast for the next 48 hours, how much faith should we have when it tells us, with a sort of smug and overweening confidence, what's going to happen in 70 years' time? How about none whatsoever?
Something terrible has happened to our weathermen since that evening in October 1987 when Michael Fish, with a patronising smirk, assured us we need not worry our silly heads about any of this hurricane nonsense - about five hours before Britain was flattened.
I think it is a case of Met Office overcompensation. These days they have hair-trigger reactions and are given to biblical pronouncements. Last weekend, for example, we were assured that by Monday we would all be drowned, with vast swathes of the country submerged by floods. It did not happen, anywhere. Thank the Lord the Met Office wasn't around in Noah's day with its comprehensive five-day forecast for the Ararat region or that dove would never have been released.
More HERE
David Cameron is facing a fresh row over grammar schools [academically selective schools] after an extraordinary challenge to Tory policy by his one-time leadership rival David Davis. The former shadow home secretary, who went to grammar school, insisted only a return to selective education could 'rescue the next generation of the underprivileged'.
'The simple truth is that grammar schools were the greatest instrument for social mobility ever invented,' he said. In what will be seen as a thinly-veiled swipe at Eton-educated Mr Cameron's privileged upbringing, he said the only winners from the 'catastrophe' of the death of grammars were public school boys who now 'run Britain'.
Mr Davis, who quit as shadow home secretary last year to campaign on civil liberties, has been careful not to voice criticism of the Tory leadership since then. But his decision to reopen the toxic issue of grammar schools, which triggered an angry rebellion by Tory MPs early in Mr Cameron's leadership, will be seen as a declaration of war.
Mr Davis told the Mail he was also planning to speak out on other issues, such as the need for public spending cuts. 'I think the public are smarter than we sometimes give them credit for,' he said. 'They want to hear us debate these issues such as education, public spending and defence sensibly and intelligently, and that's what I intend to do.'
Right-wing MPs remain angry at Mr Cameron's decision to drop his party's long-standing commitment to academic selection. The Tory leader said in 2007 he was 'determined to move on from a sterile debate about building a few more grammar schools'. He insists there will be no return to the 11-plus [entry exam at age 11] under a Tory government.
But speaking at a debate last night, Mr Davis, who went to Bec Grammar School in Tooting, South London, said it was clear selective education delivered better results for all. 'Every chance I had was created by that grammar school,' he said. 'And that is what grammar schools have done for hundreds of thousands of children from poor homes, council estates, even broken homes, through the postwar years. 'The charge against the grammar school is that they helped the brightest at the expense of the weaker child. The truth about the comprehensive system is that it failed the best without helping the weak.'
Mr Davis said it was self-evident that selective systems produced better results. Some 70 per cent of children in selective education get five good GCSEs against 60 per cent in comprehensive systems, he said. 'However you measure it, selective systems deliver better results for the whole community,' he added.
Mr Davis blamed Britain's descent to the bottom of the international league table in social mobility on the death of grammars. 'Today we are witnessing the results of a failed revolution, where egalitarians abolished grammar schools to level opportunity in our society, and accidentally destroyed the chances of the very people they were trying to help,' he said. 'They punished the bright poor kids who were held back. They handicapped the intellectual capacity of the country. 'And out of this catastrophe there was only one winning group. Do you know who they were?
'Yes, the public schools [The traditional British term for private schools]. Who teach just 7 per cent of the population.' Mr Davis said public school boys now 'run Britain', adding: 'The media, the law, business - they are all dominated by public school boys.'
SOURCE
Police have let us down, say three in four Britons in damning Whitehall survey
Confidence in the police used to be extraordinarily high in Britain -- but not now that 12 years of Labour government has turned them into political police and form-fillers. You will get a visit from the police if you use a forbidden word in Britain but if your car is stolen, who cares?
Three quarters of the population believe the police have failed to get to grips with anti-social behaviour and drink-fuelled violence, a damning Whitehall survey showed yesterday. It found police forces and other public services are said to neither listen to what people say about crime and rowdiness nor do anything to stop it.
The poll of more than half a million adults also suggested that councils are out of touch, unpopular, and take too much of residents' money. The inquiry, conducted in more than 300 council areas, found only a quarter of respondents thought police were willing to listen when they complained about crime and disorder. The same proportion said they believed the police and other local services were dealing properly with drunken violence, vandalism and local drug dealing.
The survey said a majority are dissatisfied with the way their town hall goes about its business, and two thirds do not believe local government gives value for money. Fewer than a third think they have any say over what the town hall does, according to the poll carried out by councils themselves for the Department of Communities and Local Government.
The findings appear to reflect deep disillusion with years of promises that initiatives such as ASBOs and greater efforts by the police and the justice system would make streets safer. They suggest the great majority do not believe everyday crime has been successfully tackled. They also point to public disaffection through the impact of high council tax and a widespread view that town halls are arrogant and incompetent.
The findings drew a rebuke for councils from Local Government Secretary John Denham, who said: 'The improvements we have seen in local services are not being reflected in people's perception of their council. 'I want to see local councils do more - and gain more power - to shape the services offered in their area. 'There is an untapped demand for local people to have more say in what goes on.'
Tory local government spokes-man Caroline Spelman said: 'Under Labour, satisfaction with local councils has plummeted. 'It is no surprise that local residents are so unhappy given council tax has doubled thanks to Gordon Brown, while frontline services like weekly rubbish collections have been slashed back due to Whitehall diktats.'
The Place Survey was carried out by more than 300 councils which collected nearly 544,000 filled-in questionnaires. Only 33 per cent agreed that their local authority gave value for money, while 45 per cent said they were satisfied with the way their council ran things. Fewer than three in ten, 29 per cent, said they thought they could influence council decisions.
The survey said that 78 per cent were happy with their refuse collections - a finding at odds with other surveys and with election results that have punished councils introducing wheelie bins and fortnightly collections. But fewer than half were satisfied with transport information, sport facilities, museums or theatres run by councils.
The Local Government Association, the umbrella body for councils, said: 'This survey shows that the vast majority of residents are happy with services which their councils provide.'
SOURCE
Are we sure that it is the BNP who are the Fascists?
What would it be like to live under Fascists, I wonder:-
They'd make sure everyone carried identity papers and you'd be arrested if you failed to show your papers to a policeman, a policeman who would be armed with stun guns and two handled billy clubs and who'd beat unarmed demonstrators to the ground if they protested government policy. The police would be granted the right to intern suspects without charge for months and if anyone spoke out against the government they'd be arrested as "terrorists".
There would be constant monitoring of every citizen by CCTV on every street corner, the government would have access to your emails and phone messages, crikey, they might even do crazy stuff like implanting computer chips in your bins to monitor your rubbish!
Anyone who happened to dislike some aspects of the government's social policy would be forced out of business and making jokes or speaking your mind about certain protected classes of people could see you losing your job or even your children.
The state would gain control over the lives and livelihoods of tens of millions of citizens and anyone who deviated from "acceptable" standards of behaviour would be punished by being deprived of health or welfare assistance.
The state run media would be intimidated into parroting government spin and lies and everyone from doctors and nurses to teachers and neighbours would be expected to report to the government any behaviour which was deemed to be outside government decreed standards.
Who knows they might even go crazy and start invading other countries.
From a comment on IMMIGRATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL. Those who know modern-day Britain will recognize in the description features of Britain as it already is
Some concentrated climate skepticism from Britain
Melting ice caps,global warming,our favourite foods giving us cancer. The doom-mongers love to tell uswe're all going to hell in a handcart. But don't panic! A new book uncovers some inconvenient truths that give the pessimists pause for thought ...
The overwhelming scientific consensus is that we are all going to hell in a handcart. Climate change - the inexorable warming of Earth's atmosphere caused by mankind's addiction to fossil fuels - is to blame for what we are told will be a parched and inhospitable future. The polar ice caps will melt, causing sea levels to rise. Vast swathes of the world will flood, drowning some of our greatest cities - and a great many polar bears.
It gets worse: we also face a plague of obesity, heart disease and diabetes as we consume a growing mountain of fatty fast food. And if that weren't enough, increasing amounts of chemicals and radiation in our environment are causing an epidemic of cancer. This is the consensus view and to question it is, at best, to be labelled naive and, at worst, a heretic.
But a stubborn band of thinkers persists in questioning this grim, accepted view, pointing to inconvenient truths which do not fit the doom-and-gloom narrative. Indeed, this group of prominent scientists is picking holes in the doomsday consensus. Many of these theories now appear in a new book by Stanley Feldman, a professor of anaesthetics at London University, and Vincent Marks, a former professor of clinical biochemistry and dean of medicine at the University of Surrey.
Here are some of their more awkward discoveries, which may yet give the pessimists pause for thought...
THE SUN IS BEHIND GLOBAL WARMING
The consensus view is that man-made CO2 is causing the lion's share of global warming. But natural changes in the Sun's power may be as much to blame.
There is good evidence that the cause of at least some of global warming is an increase in the intensity of the Sun's heat. Indeed, global temperatures appear to be more closely related to solar activity, which is constantly changing, than to levels of CO2 in the atmosphere.
After all, the Earth warmed up more during medieval times than during the 20th century, and it cooled down considerably during the Little Ice Age of the 16th and 17th centuries - without any manmade event that would have affected CO2 output. Temperatures also dipped between 1940 and 1975 - a period of intense industrial activity.
Meanwhile, data from between 1880 and 2000 shows a close correlation between increased solar activity and higher average temperatures on Earth. So couldn't it be that the Sun is responsible for heating us up after all?
THE MALDIVES AREN'T SINKING
It has become a key part of the climate change mantra that some of the world's most beautiful islands are at risk of sinking below the waves, thanks to sea level rises caused by global warming.
But so confident are property owners in the Maldives that the sea is receding, they are building a flurry of lavish seafront hotels. Meanwhile, Tuvalu in the Pacific - also cited as being most at risk - has actually seen a fall in sea levels.
CO2 LEVELS ARE NOT AT UNPRECEDENTED HIGHS
Today, about 0.038 per cent of the atmosphere consists of carbon dioxide, the main man-made climate change gas. This figure has certainly risen over the past 200 years or so - the 'pre-industrial' level of CO2 was closer to 0.02 per cent.
But what is often ignored is that in the Earth's past, carbon dioxide levels have often been as much as ten times higher than they are today.
For example, during the Cretaceous era, when dinosaurs ruled the Earth, CO2 levels were five to ten times what they are today. The planet was certainly warmer then, but life thrived and there was no runaway greenhouse catastrophe of the sort that the doom-mongers insist we face if we let levels rise further. They also, it should be noted, came down again naturally.
POLAR BEARS ARE NOT DYING OUT...
The doom-mongers love showing us images of polar bears in peril, floating on isolated ice rafts. But most populations are doing very well, thank you. Despite the (limited) melting seen in the Arctic ice cap over the past 50 years, polar bear numbers have more than doubled since 1950 - and that's despite the fact that 50 to 100 bears are now shot every year.
Indeed, polar bears aren't bothered by the odd stretch of open water - they are very capable swimmers. In fact, it is not even clear that the Arctic ice is melting. The summer of 2008 was the coldest in Anchorage, Alaska, for 40 years.
...NOR ARE THE PENGUINS
And it's a similar story at the South Pole. Although some Antarctic penguin colonies, especially those near human bases, have decreased in size, overall, penguin numbers are steady or increasing.
THE GULF STREAM IS NOT UNDER THREAT
Some scientists have warned that if the Arctic ice cap melts, the resulting flood of cold water in the Atlantic could push the Gulf Stream - the warm current which keeps Britain relatively balmy - further south. If this happens, they have made dire predictions that northern Europe could become a frozen wasteland.
Unfortunately for them, there is no evidence to support this view. In fact, the Gulf Stream is as strong as ever - and is getting warmer, not colder. Nor is it changing direction.
GLOBAL WARMING MIGHT EVEN BE GOOD FOR US
A warmer climate and an increase in CO2 will be a boon for farming and agriculture in general. One can even envisage returning to the warmer landscape of Roman times, when vineyards were common in England.
With less severe winters, it will also be possible to grow many crops that, because they are susceptible to the occasional frost, cannot be grown at present.
SOURCE
HERE'S THE FORECAST: BRITAIN'S MET OFFICE WILL GET IT WRONG AGAIN
It's a beautiful day outside; clear blue sky, scarcely the whisper of a breeze, temperature hovering around a gently cossetting 20C, greenfinch wheezing away nearby. This is good news for me because as soon as I finish this article I intend to spend the rest of the day under the horse chestnut tree with a pitcher of neat alcohol. But it is also good news for Britain and the rest of the world.
Last Thursday we were all frightened out of our wits by a new report from the Met Office about what life in Britain would be like in 2080: scorching African sun, all the crops dying, plagues of locusts and mosquitos. Cows collapsing in the fields because they had not worn enough Factor 30; half of Yorkshire and Norfolk washed away by the sea, middle England flooded by swollen rivers, Essex a lifeless arid desert (no change there, then); impeccably well-mannered middle-class people on their knees sucking the last molecules of moisture from dusty, exhausted standpipes in Notting Hill; famine, pestilence and death flapping its wings over our heads like a big black bat, cackling to itself.
This was the UK Climate Projections 2009, as envisaged by the Met Office and presented by a dutifully grave Hilary Benn, who insisted that we all had a responsibility to do something, anything, to stave off this apocalypse. So I did. I checked out the Met Office forecast for my village for the next 48 hours. Cloudy, it said. Bit of rain. Temperature of 17C, wind gusting at a remarkably precise 31mph, it said. Short of predicting 6ft snowdrifts, ball lightning and gallons of newts falling from the sky, how much more wrong could it be?
And if it is that wrong over a forecast for the next 48 hours, how much faith should we have when it tells us, with a sort of smug and overweening confidence, what's going to happen in 70 years' time? How about none whatsoever?
Something terrible has happened to our weathermen since that evening in October 1987 when Michael Fish, with a patronising smirk, assured us we need not worry our silly heads about any of this hurricane nonsense - about five hours before Britain was flattened.
I think it is a case of Met Office overcompensation. These days they have hair-trigger reactions and are given to biblical pronouncements. Last weekend, for example, we were assured that by Monday we would all be drowned, with vast swathes of the country submerged by floods. It did not happen, anywhere. Thank the Lord the Met Office wasn't around in Noah's day with its comprehensive five-day forecast for the Ararat region or that dove would never have been released.
More HERE
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
That fierce Jewish drive and ambition leads to public distinction yet again. Bercow becomes Speaker of the British House of Commons
But, as a "turncoat", he is loathed by his own Conservative party. A wise Jew foresaw this and was horrified. I also have made some previous comments in this general area
How the former secretary of the repatriation committee of the notorious Monday Club became a Tory Speaker elected on almost entirely Labour support is testament to years of work by the MP from Buckinghamshire and the deep cynicism of his backers. Few dispute the fervour with which John Bercow wanted to succeed Michael Martin, a campaign that he has been waging by stealth for months. Indeed, a burning ambition sustained him through a vicious "anti-Bercow" campaign by Tory MPs and parts of the media, much of which had the tacit support of David Cameron, his erstwhile parliamentary tennis partner.
Yet by 11am yesterday morning it was clear that his support on the Labour benches was making him unstoppable, pushing him to victory by 52 votes - a wider margin than some of Gordon Brown's critical votes.
Mr Bercow did not escape criticism over his parliamentary expenses, paying to Revenue & Customs the œ6,500 that he avoided in capital gains tax after "flipping" his second-home allowance.
He is the first Jewish Speaker and at 46, the youngest since Charles Shaw-Lefevre, Viscount Eversley, who was 45 on election in 1839. The result yesterday is a tribute to the organising power of Martin Salter, the Labour MP for Reading - Mr Bercow's neighbouring constituency - and serial rebel and their desire to punish the Tories for ousting Mr Martin. But who exactly did he persuade them to sign up for?
At first he looks like an unlikely candidate for widespread Labour support. The son of a taxi driver who went to a comprehensive school, in his teenage years he was an exceptional tennis player destined for Wimbledon until his chances were dashed by glandular fever. From this point he became more political. At 18, inspired by the speeches of Enoch Powell and concerned about the impact of mass immigration, he joined the Monday Club - a right-wing Conservative pressure group founded in 1970 that was notable for having promoted a policy of voluntary, or assisted, repatriation for non-white immigrants.
At the University of Essex, he fought battles with the Left and became national chairman of the Federation of Conservative Students. It was the era of "hang Nelson Mandela" T-shirts in the Tory party - he says he never wore one - and one that he would rather forget.
He went into banking before joining the Major Government in its final days as a special adviser, first to Jonathan Aitken - before the minister resigned to fight a libel suit with The Guardian - and then Virginia Bottomley. In 1997, on his third attempt, he became an MP, with a smooth ascent through the opposition ranks, pausing only once to declare that he did not consider himself ruthless enough to reach the top of politics.
Then, in 2002, came the event that defined his political career - his resignation from the Tory front bench in protest at Iain Duncan Smith's decision to impose a three-line whip on MPs in the debate on gay adoption. Although he was brought back by Michael Howard, this event proved seminal as he "came out" as a moderate Conservative. "It's true that I've got the zeal of the convert but that doesn't mean that the conversion is any less genuine or that the need for constant repetition of the message is any less great," he said days after the resignation. "It was extremely ill judged to prescribe how Tory members should vote on that subject. It defies common sense that there can be only one Conservative view on this subject."
From then on, he was treated differently by Tory MPs and, as if to underline his ideological switch, married a Labour supporter, Sally Illman, who watched his triumph yesterday. "He has been on a journey that makes his one-time hero Michael Portillo seem like a mere day-tripper," one prominent Conservative said.
More HERE Other comments here and here and here. Positive comments about the man and his character are hard to find. He has paid a price for his success that would be too high for many.
You can't ban parents from taking pictures, British schools told
Parents who want to take photos of their children in school plays or at sports days can once again snap happily away. The privacy watchdog says authorities that have banned parents taking shots for the family album are wrongly interpreting the rules. Relatives wanting to take pictures at nativity plays, sports days or other public events are often told that doing so would breach the Data Protection Act. But the Office of the Information Commissioner has said this interpretation of the law is simply wrong. It decreed that any picture taken for the family photograph album would normally be acceptable. This guidance can now be used by parents and grandparents to challenge 'barmy' rulings relating to the upcoming school sports day season.
Deputy Information Commissioner David Smith said: 'We recognise that parents want to capture significant moments on camera. 'We want to reassure them and other family members that whatever they might be told, data protection does not prevent them taking photographs of their children and friends at school events. 'Photographs taken for the family photo album are exempt from the Act and citing the Data Protection Act to stop people taking photos or filming their children at school is wrong.'
The guidance, sent to education authorities across the country, says: 'Fear of breaching the provisions of the Act should not be wrongly used to stop people taking photographs or videos which provide many with much pleasure. 'Where the Act does apply, a common sense approach suggests that if the photographer asks for permission to take a photograph, this will usually be enough to ensure compliance.'
Specific examples of what is allowed includes a parent taking 'a photograph of their child and some friends taking part in the school sports day to be put in the family photo album'. The video recording of school nativity plays is also listed as being acceptable.
The guidance says that, in some cases, official school photographs or visits by newspaper photographers may be covered by data protection laws. But provided that parents and children are informed about what is happening, there should be no problem in these cases. Earlier this month, the Mail reported how parents at Mrs Ethelston's Church of England Primary School were upset after being told they could not take pictures of their own children at sports day.
The village school in Uplyme, Devon, cited changes to child protection legislation for the ban on cameras. Headmistress Andrea Rice said 'vulnerable pupils' needed to be protected. There has been a string of similar cases in which parents were stopped from taking pictures at school events.
Margaret Morrissey, of pressure group Parents Outloud, said: 'I am really pleased that common sense has broken out. We have to be sensible about this and allow families to build up histories of their children and stop spoiling life for those parents who want to be involved.'
SOURCE
British passports to be given to a record 220,000 migrants this year
The number of British passports given to migrants is set to hit a record 220,000 this year. In the first three months of 2009, 54,615 citizenship applications were approved - up 57 per cent on the same period in 2008. At that rate, the number receiving passports - and with them the right to full benefits - this year will smash the record of 164,540 set in 2007. Last year the total was 129,310, and when Labour came to power in 1997, just 37,010 people were given citizenship. It means approvals have rocketed by almost 500 per cent under the current Government.
Officials blame the massive increase on the fact that ministers are introducing a 'tough' new system of earned citizenship next year. They say migrants are rushing to obtain their passports before they have to undergo an extra probationary period. Under the new system, obtaining a passport will take six to eight years from a migrant's arrival in most cases, rather than the current five.
Critics said the rush shows just how lax the current system is. They also point out that, by handing out so many passports, the Government is changing the make-up of Britain without any public debate. Shadow home secretary Chris Grayling said: 'This is yet another example of the Government's incompetence in managing our immigration system. 'They openly admit they are introducing a new system and that everyone is rushing to get in before it. It just smacks of ministers having no idea what they are doing.'
Grants of settlement, the stage before citizenship, were also up in the first three months of 2009, running at an annual rate of 190,000. Sir Andrew Green, chairman of Migrationwatch UK, said: 'At this rate, grants of settlement will have trebled under Labour. 'We are on course for a massive increase in the population which nobody wants and on which nobody has been consulted. 'No wonder people are so angry with the political class. It is not just fingers in the till, it is fingers in their ears when the public have a serious concern.'
The top five native countries of those gaining citizenship in the past two years have been India, Pakistan, Iraq, Somalia and Zimbabwe. India and Pakistan are historic sources of migration, particularly via marriage to a British citizen. The large numbers of Iraqis, Somalis and Zimbabweans reflects the fact that asylum seekers who arrived at the start of this decade have now been in the UK long enough to receive citizenship.
The introduction of the earned citizenship scheme was recently delayed by nine months, to Decemember 2010. Immigration minister Phil Woolas claimed yesterday that it would save taxpayers up to œ2billion in benefit claims. He said the new rules will deter some migrants from travelling to the UK or staying long enough to obtain citizenship and benefits. Until a passport application has been approved, migrants do not have access to child benefit, council and housing tax benefits and income support. Mr Woolas insisted: 'The pull factor of coming to the UK is to be taken away.' [What utter bullsh*t!]
The Home Office said last night: 'The increase in settlement grants reflects the success of UK Border Agency staff in clearing outstanding applications. It also reflects the Home Office's decision to tighten up the criteria for settlement. 'In 2006 we raised the qualifying period for settlement from four to five years, which meant that migrant workers who wanted to stay permanently had to wait an extra year. 'We have also set out our plans for earned citizenship which demand that people earn the right to stay. 'We are now looking at raising the bar further by applying a points-based system to the path to citizenship and we will consult on this in the summer.'
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NHS still going around in circles over dentistry
NHS dentists should be paid according to the number of patients on their list and penalised for shoddy operations that require repeat visits, an independent review has recommended. The proposals, which have been accepted in principle by the Government, include changes to improve access to NHS dentists and to end the "drill-and-fill" culture of operations. The review said that dentistry had become too preoccupied with treatment rather than prevention over the past 60 years.
The recommendations include rewarding dentists for registering new patients and building up relationships with existing ones, similar to those between GPs and their patients. Jimmy Steele, the lead author from Newcastle University, said that dentists' responsibilities must be as much about ensuring that people understand oral health and diet as carrying out fillings.
A series of pilot trials will start in the autumn. Income will be determined on patient list size, quality of care and the number of courses of treatment.
The plans for patient registration have marked the return of a policy scrapped by Labour in its much-criticised dental reforms of 2006 - and which the Government said at the time would end the "drill-and-fill" culture. Figures show that around a million fewer people now have access to an NHS dentist in England than before the contract came into force three years ago. Andy Burnham, the Health Secretary, said yesterday that he recognised that dentistry was "an area of unfinished business". He accepted that the contract had been problematic and that some decisions could have been taken differently.
Professor Steele said that dentists would have as much as 50 per cent of their income linked to the number of patients on their books. "It's an incentive to take more patients on," he said.
The review also recommends that dentists have greater accountability. This could mean being penalised for faulty work and having to carry out repairs at no extra charge to the NHS. At present, dentists can charge local health trusts for a procedure and then charge again even if they are the reason why a patient has had to return for further treatment. Under the new plans, the points dentists receive for carrying out an operation would not be awarded a second time if restorative work had to be carried out within three years.
Professor Steele said: "It's a basic principle of quality and warranty. If I think the filling that I'm about to put in, or the crown I'm about to prepare for, is not going to last three years, then I shouldn't be picking up that handpiece."
Other plans include a new system of patient charges, replacing the current three-band system with one of between five and 12 bands. This was in response to the view of some patients that they did not always receive value for money.
Professor Steele said that patients should be called in for check-ups based on their individual need between every three and 24 months. "The six-month recall has no basis in science," he said. "It's just got a long history."
The review also calls for more focus on preventative healthcare, with the aim of teaching people how to better look after their teeth. Mr Burnham said this could include looking at people's diet. He has long been in favour of adding fluoride to the water in deprived areas.
The 2006 contract, which was supposed to allow dentists to spend more time with their patients, was criticised by dentists, while they were accused of playing the system. Yesterday's report included examples of dentists recalling patients too often, or choosing more profitable treatments for patients when a less lucrative alternative was available.
Professor Steele added: "In the last 60 years, dental services have all been about quantity. We need to make a jump - and it's a difficult jump - to move on to quality, to accept that less is usually actually better."
Norman Lamb, the Liberal Democrat health spokesman, said the "near-destruction of NHS dentistry will be one of Labour's most shameful legacies". He added: "The Government has repeatedly botched efforts to reform dentistry services in this country. The NHS must learn from past mistakes and ensure that future reforms are rigorously piloted. It is also vital that the concerns of dentists and patients are listened to."
Andrew Lansley, the Conservatives' health spokesman, said that the review confirmed the comprehensive failure of the 2006 reforms. "It is bad news for the Government that their own independent reviewer has highlighted a string of problems with NHS dentistry and recommended moving to a patient registration systemas Conservatives have proposed."
John Milne, of the British Dental Association, said: "What is important now is that the Government pilots properly the changes it makes and engages fully with the profession and patient groups as we move forward."
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Does your child have Nature Deficit Disorder?
A new book says that children today need to get outside more - and that, despite the perceived dangers, parents should let them play without being watched over... Jeeezuz! This lady is talking about the carefree world of the '80s. It would probably make her hair stand on end to hear what I did freely and unsupervised as a kid of grade-school age in the '50s! Routinely standing on the slimy lip of a cross-river cable ferry as it made its crossings; wading knee deep through the mud of mangroves, wandering barefoot through towering fields of sugarcane that were also home to various poisonous creatures; walking around casually on high-up pitched roofs, etc. etc. My parents rarely knew where I was or what I was doing when I was out and about but looked after me well in other ways. It was just a time when kids were allowed to be kids and what I chose to do was fine as long as I got home in time for tea. Mothers in those days used to go out to their front fence and "call in" their kids at the time of the evening meal -- assuming that their kids were somewhere in the neighbourhood playing with other kids but without knowing at all exactly where the kids were or what they were doing.
It was easier for the neighbourhood when my brother Christopher was a kid, however. He was and is very popular and was always doing interesting things with Ko Karts etc. So all the neighbourhood kids would always be at our place playing with Christopher. So, come tea-time, local parents would just amble down to our place and call their kids from our front fence. I led a much more solitary life than my brother but, because I wandered about more, I think that may have exposed me to a wider range of experiences -- and I certainly enjoyed my life. And I am glad that the great trust that my parents obviously reposed in me never went remotely awry in the small country town where we lived -- JR
In a sunlit corner of the London Wetland Centre in Barnes, south-west London, my daughter, Clemmie, two, is bending perilously over a pond. "Mummy! Green stuff! Fishies," she coos. Entranced, her sister, Sasha, four, stares at a butterfly. "He is my friend," she declares. Watching them, my heart swells with delighted relief. Like most parents, I am terrorised by images of my 21st-century children growing up sun-starved and chubby, wedded to their Nintendo console and thinking that bacon comes from cows and that milk is concocted in a backroom lab at Tesco.
Next month the pressure to give our children more access to nature will intensify further with the UK publication of Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv. A huge bestseller in Louv's native US, the book caused a mini revolution when it was first published in 2005, leading to the forming of the international Children and Nature Network, campaigning to reconnect with the outdoor world.
A former journalist, Louv coined the phrase "nature deficit disorder", arguing that children suffer physically and mentally from lack of contact with nature and pointing out that today's generation are the first to be raised without "meaningful contact with the natural world". Louv's is by no means a lone voice. A recent report by Play England, the campaigning group for children, showed that the "radius of activity", meaning the distance from home children are allowed to play unsupervised, has declined by 90 per cent since the Seventies. Another report by Natural England revealed that 81 per cent of children would love more play outside. Eighty five per cent of parents agreed, but said fears about traffic and predatory strangers deterred them.
Certainly, the difference between my early-Eighties childhood and today's paranoid world is marked. My brother and cousins spent holidays at our granny's in the Scottish Borders where we enjoyed a Just William-type existence: paddling in the river, exploring derelict buildings and scratching our legs on brambles. Only recently did I realise that just a few miles away, at this time, 11-year-old Susan Maxwell was abducted, raped and murdered by the serial child killer Robert Black. The following year he did the same to five-year-old Caroline Hogg, just 27 miles from us in Portobello, Lothian. I ask my mother if she was worried or even knew of Black's activities.
"I was aware, but I wasn't really concerned. You were in the middle of nowhere, who was going to swoop in and kidnap you? But I think my post-war generation has a different concept of danger to people today." Indeed they do. "We live in a tiny village in Devon, where everyone knows everyone, but my neighbours are always saying, 'You can't be too careful these days,' whereas I think you definitely can be too careful," says Tom Hodgkinson, father of three children aged nine, seven and four, and author of The Idle Parent.
"We let our children wander as far as possible before the traffic gets too dangerous, but people tell them off and say: 'Go home, where are your parents?' You have to fight the prejudices of friends and neighbours who've been told constantly how awful the world is and who've understandably let it sink in." Yet most parents know from experience that the easiest way to calm fractious children is to go outside. Louv backs this up by citing the biophilia theory, coined by a Harvard biologist in 1984, which says that humans are still essentially hunters and gatherers, who biologically require natural contact to thrive.
Louv believes that dozens of maladies from depression to attention deficit disorder can be triggered by alienation from nature and remedied when the contact increases. "The woods were my Ritalin," he writes. Dozens of studies have shown significant decreases in blood pressure in people looking at an aquarium or surveying an open landscape.
Louv also points out that while children today worry about saving the Amazon rainforest, few have ever lain on a forest floor, and that the epidemic in childhood obesity has coincided with the huge rise in children's organised sport which - ironically - leaves no spare time to run around aimlessly.
Nigel Lowthorp knows first hand the transformative effects of nature. At Hill Holt Wood, near Norton Disney, Lincolnshire, Lowthorp has founded a centre for up to 20 boys, aged mainly between 14 to 16, who have been excluded from mainstream education, many of whom have been involved in crime, are illiterate and come from troubled homes. After two years of coppicing overgrown trees, clearing dead undergrowth and chopping logs in the 34-acre wood, the vast majority go on to higher education or employment, an achievement few schools can rival. "Most will have never been in a rural environment before and it absolutely calms them. When they have their mad moments we send them off into a clearing to sit under a tree and listen to the birds and just think, and the rage vanishes."
Louv believes that children who are not allowed to take risks with nature are more likely to lack creativity and confidence and to court danger in other ways. Lowthorp agrees. "We give 14-year-olds a bill hook, saw and slasher to cut down rhododendrons and show them the basic idea, but a lot of it is about having a go. Sometimes the knife slips and they cut themselves. We have boys who've been carrying around knives in gangs, who faint when they see their own blood. It's how they learn a knife can cause serious damage and to use it responsibly."
The advantages are felt much younger too. A representative from Louv's Children's and Nature Network recently visited the Farley Outdoor Nursery in Salisbury, Wilshire, where children spend virtually all day outside, whatever the weather. Even the six-month-old babies spend much of the day in the sandpit or napping in prams with a view of the sky.
Tracy Frick, whose son, Rafe, four, has attended the nursery for two years, is evangelical about the children's bravery. "They know that nettles sting, that ponds can be dangerous, but they are not frightened. So many parents put the fear of God into their children and wrap them in cotton wool but these children know the consequences of their actions, they know that nature can be dangerous but in a very level-headed sort of way. They pick blackberries from the hedge but my son tells me: 'I can't eat too many or they'll make me ill and I can't eat some berries at all.' "
While such stories are inspiring, I can't help wondering if Louv will only encourage earnest parents to add "building campfires" to their children's activity list, alongside Mandarin and flute. Hodgkinson, for one, has found it challenging to convert his eldest son to wholesome activities. "I have to physically pull Arthur away from his computer to play in the tree house I built - in fact I've seriously thought of installing a broadband connection to lure him in. He'd far rather look at an ornithology website than go outside and see a real bird. Humans have striven for the past 500 years to better nature with technology so it's hardly surprising our children are seduced by it."
Nor is it just children. Back at the Wetlands, Clemmie and Sasha are blissfully collecting wild flowers and clamouring to play Pooh sticks. Meanwhile - despite my free-range childhood - I am wondering how I can sneak off for a coffee and to read the papers. "My children are always telling me off for spending too much time on the computer," Hodgkinson sympathises. "I'm a fireside lurker at heart, not an outdoorsman. The trick is to start them building a log cabin and, once they've got going, you can rush inside and check your emails."
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British police on the side of the wrongdoers again
Father convicted for assault after suffering years of abuse from youths who threatened to rape his daughter, 7
A father who stood up to youths after a two-year campaign of abuse has been convicted of assault after reaching the 'end of his tether'. David Magson told a court he was forced to endure months of abuse and vandalism from a gang - including a threat to rape his seven-year-old daughter. The father-of-two marched outside his Leicester home with a rounders bat to have it out with youths who had 'tormented' him and his neighbours for years. But he found himself in the dock on an assault charge after striking one of them with the bat and pushing him over.
The bus driver was handed an 18-month community order at Leicester Crown Court and told to attend an anger management course after he admitted causing actual bodily harm and being in possession of an offensive weapon.
Today he said youths from a local hostel had been responsible for the trouble - but the authorities had failed to deal with them. He and his neighbours had repeatedly complained to the police, the hostel and the city council about their behaviour, but nothing was done, he said. Mr Magson said: 'Personally I think it's wrong that people can run amok and do what they want and terrorise people. It's about time the police were given the authority to deal with these people. 'Due to drugs and alcohol, they are not thought to be responsible for their actions.
'People such as me and you, if we go out and confront them, because we are sensible, decent and hard-working people we have to take responsibility for our actions.' He added: 'I've had eggs thrown at my windows. On the night in question it was the third time my car had been vandalised. They've tried to mug me twice. 'One day I got a smack in the face on my way to work. On another occasion, when I went to complain, I was urinated on from an upstairs window.'
On March 21, as he was watching television at home with his young children James,11, and Katie, seven, a neighbour rang to tell him his car was being vandalised. Mr Magson went outside, armed with the bat, to complain to hostel staff. He was confronted and goaded by a number of youths and Mr Magson struck out. His victim suffered a minor head injury when he was pushed.
Police officers arrived and the resident told them he was a member of a community group who were fed up with the incessant problems. But he was arrested and later charged. Sentencing him, Judge Ian Collis said: 'I'm sure you were at the end of your tether. I accept you were under extreme provocation.'
Mr Magson said the situation in his street has improved since his brush with the law. Police patrols have been stepped up and a change of management has seen the behaviour of the hostel's residents improve, he said. But he added: 'It's a pity it involved me being prosecuted, before anything was done about the problem.'
Mr Magson could soon find himself in court again, however, as a victim of violent crime. Five days after his arrest, he was left nearly blind in one eye when he was attacked with a pint glass in Leicester city centre. His defence lawyer Rebecca Herbert, told the court: 'He cannot say the youths who glassed him had anything to do with the hostel, but he has his suspicions.'
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Latest British climate predictions are a joke
Projections by the UK's Climate Impact Programme released on Thursday come with strict caveats about how they should be used and their margin for error. The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Met Office argue that, even though the projections are far from certain, they will be useful to help plan for climate change in the UK. But others have warned that the uncertainties in the projections are too great to be of practical use
Defra has produced projections of climate change and consequent weather using advanced computer modelling techniques. Up until now, most projections have been at a sub-continental level - giving information at a regional level in squares of 300km on a side. Defra's projections are among the first in the world to give information at a local level - to the scale of large cities of 25km square and, in some cases, projecting weather patterns to a village scale of 5km square.
The UK's Climate Impacts Programme projections were explicitly designed to help local authority planners and businesses make investment decisions to adapt to the consequence of climate change. But according to Dr Myles Allen of Oxford University, who was among those who carried out an independent review of the projections, said that they may not be reliable enough at this stage to make some of the most important policy decisions. "If your decisions depend on what's happening at these very fine scales of 25 km or even 5 km resolution, then you probably shouldn't be making irreversible investment decisions now," he said.
The review, published on Thursday, says that the projections are "credible" but does raise concerns that the statistical techniques used are untested and have not been published in a peer-reviewed journal. The last assessment by a committee set up in 2007 by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concluded that these kinds of so-called "probabilistic" projections could only be applied reliably on a global scale - of 1000km square. "The IPCC explicitly stepped back from making probabilistic projections on this sort of scale," said Dr Allen.
"The method that's been used to produce this projection is a very specific one. "It's not been used before for this climate change approach and we thought that it would be helpful to provide a much more conservative method, something the IPCC would have used in 2007 just to provide users with a context and something to compare with so that they can see which aspects of these projections are robust."
Defra has not accepted the recommendation to provide an an alternative set of projections by the independent review panel because officials felt that having two sets would be confusing.
Dr Leonard Smith of the London School of Economics' Grantham Institute says he cannot see how any planner could make decisions on probable climate outcomes that are so uncertain that they might change substantially in 20 years. "It's very hard to find a rational way of using them," he said. "If the numbers are used in a naive way, then you are very likely to design a power plant or reservoir that doesn't meet the needs of the population."
Many in the scientific community were particularly astonished that Defra published projections at a scale of 5km square - which are even more uncertain than the 25km square projections. Among them was Professor Sir David King who was involved in commissioning the projections when he was the government's chief scientific advisor. "If you include a 5km scale in your predictions, you are probably pushing things beyond what is realistic. So I'm a little surprised that scientists were prepared to go that far.
More HERE
BRITAIN'S GREEN SUICIDE NOTE: œ5,000 POWER BILLS SHOCK
ENERGY bills will hit a shocking œ5,000 a year to strike a blow to millions of struggling families, experts warned last night. Consumer champions said the massive sum was a "wake-up call", marking the end of cheap electricity and gas. Bills will rise by up to 42 per cent ayear over the next decade - with the biggest single increase an eye-watering œ1,280.
But they said this will be boosted by a yearly œ548 to help overhaul the UK's out-of-date energy supply system. And they warned that the huge rise would stretch household budgets to breaking point and dump hundreds of thousands more people into fuel poverty.
Experts at uSwitch.com said that average annual bills have more than doubled from œ580 five years ago to œ1,243 today. Over the next decade customers will suffer even steeper price rises with fees quadrupling by 2020, they warn. Investment in outdated infrastructure and new green energy policies will drive bills higher.
More HERE
Leftist commentator on BBC chat show lumps "climate deniers" in with "gay bashers" and "Fascist sympathizers"
Transcript excerpt:
POLLY TOYNBEE
I think this is one of the most alarming aspects of current Conservative policy and it suggests that Cameron's moderation is something of a veneer if he is willing to leave the mainstream of Europe where Merkel, where Sarkozy are, where power is, where decisions are made and join this very freakish group. I mean I would like to hear from Caroline whether she would say it hasn't been decided yet but all of those likely to form this new alliance if they can get enough of these freakish parties in ,will you say yourself that you will object strongly if it does include any gypsy-haters, any gay-bashers, any fascist sympathizers and any climate deniers? Because if it includes any of those a respectable Conservative party should have nothing to do with it.
Full transcript downloadable HERE. The comment is towards the end of the programme. The remark was greeted with applause from the studio audience.
'No proof' for filling baby teeth
Filling rotten baby teeth may be an unnecessary trial for children to endure, experts say. Some 40% of five-year-olds in the UK have tooth decay and at least one in 10 of these are treated with fillings. But anecdotal evidence from 50 dentists gathered by Manchester University researchers suggests filling baby teeth may not offer significant benefits. Advisers to the NHS are now beginning a study on treatment options to provide dentists with clear guidelines.
Experts already know there is wide variation in care which means that a young child with signs of tooth decay could have no treatment, a filling or the tooth pulled out depending on which dentist they attend. Without any clear guidelines, dentists currently have to rely on their experience and judgement to decide whether or not to intervene. If the child is in severe pain and having sleepless nights, and the parent is confident that their child will cope with and benefit from the treatment, then the choice may be clear.
But when the decay is not causing symptoms, it can be difficult to decide what is in the child's best interests given that their tooth will ultimately fall out by the time they are 11 anyway. Indeed, anecdotal evidence gathered from the case notes of 50 dentists suggests filling baby teeth may achieve nothing but expose children to the discomfort of an injection and the sound of the drill.
Professor Martin Tickle, of the University of Manchester, found no difference in the numbers of extractions for pain or infection whether baby teeth had been filled or not. And when he surveyed the parents of all five-year-olds living in Ellesmere Port and Chester in 2003, he found only 6% would want their child to have a filling if they had symptomless decay in a baby tooth. In comparison, a third would want the dentist to monitor the tooth but provide no treatment.
Experts working for the Health Technology Assessment Programme plan to recruit over 1,000 children from across the UK to take part a study that will compare the outcomes of three treatment options. They are conventional drilling and filling, no fillings or a painless paint-on tooth treatment that merely seals and contains the decay.
Lead investigator Dr Gail Topping, of the University of Dundee, said: "This is a really big question to answer. "At the moment there is no clear winner and we do not know which is best to recommend. There is no guidance or mandate. "At the moment, dentists are doing what they believe is the right option for the child on a case by case basis." She said dentists would welcome evidence-based guidelines because the treatment decision can be a difficult one to make.
Kamini Shah, dentist and honorary secretary of the British Association for the Study of Community Dentistry, said: "There are two schools of thought, one being that baby teeth can cause pain and sleepless nights and so dentists should fill. "The other is that actually the evidence around filling baby teeth is questionable. "Sometimes you need to adopt a pragmatic approach rather than go in with all guns blazing. "If a child is very uncooperative but has a mouthful of non-symptomatic holes you might decide to apply a fluoride varnish to stabilise the disease rather than to do conventional fillings." Painted on with a small brush, the banana-flavoured varnish is totally painless and can slow or even stop the decay if applied often enough.
Dr Shah said: "That way you gain the child's confidence and can work on prevention. You do not want to upset the child and make them phobic of future treatments. "The problem arises when children come in aged three or four and it is their first experience of the dentist and it is because they are in pain. "In that scenario you can well imagine that they might not be most cooperative."
She said in extreme cases, and when the decay was so bad it necessitated treatment, a child might be referred for anxiety management or have the teeth removed under general anaesthetic.
Recently, an eight-year-old girl starved to death because of an apparently severe dental phobia. Sophie Waller, from St Dennis in Cornwall, is thought to have been so traumatised by her phobia that she refused to open her mouth after having eight teeth removed under general anaesthetic.
The full trial will run for four years from 2011 across England, Scotland and Wales, with a feasibility study starting in the coming months.
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But, as a "turncoat", he is loathed by his own Conservative party. A wise Jew foresaw this and was horrified. I also have made some previous comments in this general area
How the former secretary of the repatriation committee of the notorious Monday Club became a Tory Speaker elected on almost entirely Labour support is testament to years of work by the MP from Buckinghamshire and the deep cynicism of his backers. Few dispute the fervour with which John Bercow wanted to succeed Michael Martin, a campaign that he has been waging by stealth for months. Indeed, a burning ambition sustained him through a vicious "anti-Bercow" campaign by Tory MPs and parts of the media, much of which had the tacit support of David Cameron, his erstwhile parliamentary tennis partner.
Yet by 11am yesterday morning it was clear that his support on the Labour benches was making him unstoppable, pushing him to victory by 52 votes - a wider margin than some of Gordon Brown's critical votes.
Mr Bercow did not escape criticism over his parliamentary expenses, paying to Revenue & Customs the œ6,500 that he avoided in capital gains tax after "flipping" his second-home allowance.
He is the first Jewish Speaker and at 46, the youngest since Charles Shaw-Lefevre, Viscount Eversley, who was 45 on election in 1839. The result yesterday is a tribute to the organising power of Martin Salter, the Labour MP for Reading - Mr Bercow's neighbouring constituency - and serial rebel and their desire to punish the Tories for ousting Mr Martin. But who exactly did he persuade them to sign up for?
At first he looks like an unlikely candidate for widespread Labour support. The son of a taxi driver who went to a comprehensive school, in his teenage years he was an exceptional tennis player destined for Wimbledon until his chances were dashed by glandular fever. From this point he became more political. At 18, inspired by the speeches of Enoch Powell and concerned about the impact of mass immigration, he joined the Monday Club - a right-wing Conservative pressure group founded in 1970 that was notable for having promoted a policy of voluntary, or assisted, repatriation for non-white immigrants.
At the University of Essex, he fought battles with the Left and became national chairman of the Federation of Conservative Students. It was the era of "hang Nelson Mandela" T-shirts in the Tory party - he says he never wore one - and one that he would rather forget.
He went into banking before joining the Major Government in its final days as a special adviser, first to Jonathan Aitken - before the minister resigned to fight a libel suit with The Guardian - and then Virginia Bottomley. In 1997, on his third attempt, he became an MP, with a smooth ascent through the opposition ranks, pausing only once to declare that he did not consider himself ruthless enough to reach the top of politics.
Then, in 2002, came the event that defined his political career - his resignation from the Tory front bench in protest at Iain Duncan Smith's decision to impose a three-line whip on MPs in the debate on gay adoption. Although he was brought back by Michael Howard, this event proved seminal as he "came out" as a moderate Conservative. "It's true that I've got the zeal of the convert but that doesn't mean that the conversion is any less genuine or that the need for constant repetition of the message is any less great," he said days after the resignation. "It was extremely ill judged to prescribe how Tory members should vote on that subject. It defies common sense that there can be only one Conservative view on this subject."
From then on, he was treated differently by Tory MPs and, as if to underline his ideological switch, married a Labour supporter, Sally Illman, who watched his triumph yesterday. "He has been on a journey that makes his one-time hero Michael Portillo seem like a mere day-tripper," one prominent Conservative said.
More HERE Other comments here and here and here. Positive comments about the man and his character are hard to find. He has paid a price for his success that would be too high for many.
You can't ban parents from taking pictures, British schools told
Parents who want to take photos of their children in school plays or at sports days can once again snap happily away. The privacy watchdog says authorities that have banned parents taking shots for the family album are wrongly interpreting the rules. Relatives wanting to take pictures at nativity plays, sports days or other public events are often told that doing so would breach the Data Protection Act. But the Office of the Information Commissioner has said this interpretation of the law is simply wrong. It decreed that any picture taken for the family photograph album would normally be acceptable. This guidance can now be used by parents and grandparents to challenge 'barmy' rulings relating to the upcoming school sports day season.
Deputy Information Commissioner David Smith said: 'We recognise that parents want to capture significant moments on camera. 'We want to reassure them and other family members that whatever they might be told, data protection does not prevent them taking photographs of their children and friends at school events. 'Photographs taken for the family photo album are exempt from the Act and citing the Data Protection Act to stop people taking photos or filming their children at school is wrong.'
The guidance, sent to education authorities across the country, says: 'Fear of breaching the provisions of the Act should not be wrongly used to stop people taking photographs or videos which provide many with much pleasure. 'Where the Act does apply, a common sense approach suggests that if the photographer asks for permission to take a photograph, this will usually be enough to ensure compliance.'
Specific examples of what is allowed includes a parent taking 'a photograph of their child and some friends taking part in the school sports day to be put in the family photo album'. The video recording of school nativity plays is also listed as being acceptable.
The guidance says that, in some cases, official school photographs or visits by newspaper photographers may be covered by data protection laws. But provided that parents and children are informed about what is happening, there should be no problem in these cases. Earlier this month, the Mail reported how parents at Mrs Ethelston's Church of England Primary School were upset after being told they could not take pictures of their own children at sports day.
The village school in Uplyme, Devon, cited changes to child protection legislation for the ban on cameras. Headmistress Andrea Rice said 'vulnerable pupils' needed to be protected. There has been a string of similar cases in which parents were stopped from taking pictures at school events.
Margaret Morrissey, of pressure group Parents Outloud, said: 'I am really pleased that common sense has broken out. We have to be sensible about this and allow families to build up histories of their children and stop spoiling life for those parents who want to be involved.'
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British passports to be given to a record 220,000 migrants this year
The number of British passports given to migrants is set to hit a record 220,000 this year. In the first three months of 2009, 54,615 citizenship applications were approved - up 57 per cent on the same period in 2008. At that rate, the number receiving passports - and with them the right to full benefits - this year will smash the record of 164,540 set in 2007. Last year the total was 129,310, and when Labour came to power in 1997, just 37,010 people were given citizenship. It means approvals have rocketed by almost 500 per cent under the current Government.
Officials blame the massive increase on the fact that ministers are introducing a 'tough' new system of earned citizenship next year. They say migrants are rushing to obtain their passports before they have to undergo an extra probationary period. Under the new system, obtaining a passport will take six to eight years from a migrant's arrival in most cases, rather than the current five.
Critics said the rush shows just how lax the current system is. They also point out that, by handing out so many passports, the Government is changing the make-up of Britain without any public debate. Shadow home secretary Chris Grayling said: 'This is yet another example of the Government's incompetence in managing our immigration system. 'They openly admit they are introducing a new system and that everyone is rushing to get in before it. It just smacks of ministers having no idea what they are doing.'
Grants of settlement, the stage before citizenship, were also up in the first three months of 2009, running at an annual rate of 190,000. Sir Andrew Green, chairman of Migrationwatch UK, said: 'At this rate, grants of settlement will have trebled under Labour. 'We are on course for a massive increase in the population which nobody wants and on which nobody has been consulted. 'No wonder people are so angry with the political class. It is not just fingers in the till, it is fingers in their ears when the public have a serious concern.'
The top five native countries of those gaining citizenship in the past two years have been India, Pakistan, Iraq, Somalia and Zimbabwe. India and Pakistan are historic sources of migration, particularly via marriage to a British citizen. The large numbers of Iraqis, Somalis and Zimbabweans reflects the fact that asylum seekers who arrived at the start of this decade have now been in the UK long enough to receive citizenship.
The introduction of the earned citizenship scheme was recently delayed by nine months, to Decemember 2010. Immigration minister Phil Woolas claimed yesterday that it would save taxpayers up to œ2billion in benefit claims. He said the new rules will deter some migrants from travelling to the UK or staying long enough to obtain citizenship and benefits. Until a passport application has been approved, migrants do not have access to child benefit, council and housing tax benefits and income support. Mr Woolas insisted: 'The pull factor of coming to the UK is to be taken away.' [What utter bullsh*t!]
The Home Office said last night: 'The increase in settlement grants reflects the success of UK Border Agency staff in clearing outstanding applications. It also reflects the Home Office's decision to tighten up the criteria for settlement. 'In 2006 we raised the qualifying period for settlement from four to five years, which meant that migrant workers who wanted to stay permanently had to wait an extra year. 'We have also set out our plans for earned citizenship which demand that people earn the right to stay. 'We are now looking at raising the bar further by applying a points-based system to the path to citizenship and we will consult on this in the summer.'
SOURCE
NHS still going around in circles over dentistry
NHS dentists should be paid according to the number of patients on their list and penalised for shoddy operations that require repeat visits, an independent review has recommended. The proposals, which have been accepted in principle by the Government, include changes to improve access to NHS dentists and to end the "drill-and-fill" culture of operations. The review said that dentistry had become too preoccupied with treatment rather than prevention over the past 60 years.
The recommendations include rewarding dentists for registering new patients and building up relationships with existing ones, similar to those between GPs and their patients. Jimmy Steele, the lead author from Newcastle University, said that dentists' responsibilities must be as much about ensuring that people understand oral health and diet as carrying out fillings.
A series of pilot trials will start in the autumn. Income will be determined on patient list size, quality of care and the number of courses of treatment.
The plans for patient registration have marked the return of a policy scrapped by Labour in its much-criticised dental reforms of 2006 - and which the Government said at the time would end the "drill-and-fill" culture. Figures show that around a million fewer people now have access to an NHS dentist in England than before the contract came into force three years ago. Andy Burnham, the Health Secretary, said yesterday that he recognised that dentistry was "an area of unfinished business". He accepted that the contract had been problematic and that some decisions could have been taken differently.
Professor Steele said that dentists would have as much as 50 per cent of their income linked to the number of patients on their books. "It's an incentive to take more patients on," he said.
The review also recommends that dentists have greater accountability. This could mean being penalised for faulty work and having to carry out repairs at no extra charge to the NHS. At present, dentists can charge local health trusts for a procedure and then charge again even if they are the reason why a patient has had to return for further treatment. Under the new plans, the points dentists receive for carrying out an operation would not be awarded a second time if restorative work had to be carried out within three years.
Professor Steele said: "It's a basic principle of quality and warranty. If I think the filling that I'm about to put in, or the crown I'm about to prepare for, is not going to last three years, then I shouldn't be picking up that handpiece."
Other plans include a new system of patient charges, replacing the current three-band system with one of between five and 12 bands. This was in response to the view of some patients that they did not always receive value for money.
Professor Steele said that patients should be called in for check-ups based on their individual need between every three and 24 months. "The six-month recall has no basis in science," he said. "It's just got a long history."
The review also calls for more focus on preventative healthcare, with the aim of teaching people how to better look after their teeth. Mr Burnham said this could include looking at people's diet. He has long been in favour of adding fluoride to the water in deprived areas.
The 2006 contract, which was supposed to allow dentists to spend more time with their patients, was criticised by dentists, while they were accused of playing the system. Yesterday's report included examples of dentists recalling patients too often, or choosing more profitable treatments for patients when a less lucrative alternative was available.
Professor Steele added: "In the last 60 years, dental services have all been about quantity. We need to make a jump - and it's a difficult jump - to move on to quality, to accept that less is usually actually better."
Norman Lamb, the Liberal Democrat health spokesman, said the "near-destruction of NHS dentistry will be one of Labour's most shameful legacies". He added: "The Government has repeatedly botched efforts to reform dentistry services in this country. The NHS must learn from past mistakes and ensure that future reforms are rigorously piloted. It is also vital that the concerns of dentists and patients are listened to."
Andrew Lansley, the Conservatives' health spokesman, said that the review confirmed the comprehensive failure of the 2006 reforms. "It is bad news for the Government that their own independent reviewer has highlighted a string of problems with NHS dentistry and recommended moving to a patient registration systemas Conservatives have proposed."
John Milne, of the British Dental Association, said: "What is important now is that the Government pilots properly the changes it makes and engages fully with the profession and patient groups as we move forward."
SOURCE
Does your child have Nature Deficit Disorder?
A new book says that children today need to get outside more - and that, despite the perceived dangers, parents should let them play without being watched over... Jeeezuz! This lady is talking about the carefree world of the '80s. It would probably make her hair stand on end to hear what I did freely and unsupervised as a kid of grade-school age in the '50s! Routinely standing on the slimy lip of a cross-river cable ferry as it made its crossings; wading knee deep through the mud of mangroves, wandering barefoot through towering fields of sugarcane that were also home to various poisonous creatures; walking around casually on high-up pitched roofs, etc. etc. My parents rarely knew where I was or what I was doing when I was out and about but looked after me well in other ways. It was just a time when kids were allowed to be kids and what I chose to do was fine as long as I got home in time for tea. Mothers in those days used to go out to their front fence and "call in" their kids at the time of the evening meal -- assuming that their kids were somewhere in the neighbourhood playing with other kids but without knowing at all exactly where the kids were or what they were doing.
It was easier for the neighbourhood when my brother Christopher was a kid, however. He was and is very popular and was always doing interesting things with Ko Karts etc. So all the neighbourhood kids would always be at our place playing with Christopher. So, come tea-time, local parents would just amble down to our place and call their kids from our front fence. I led a much more solitary life than my brother but, because I wandered about more, I think that may have exposed me to a wider range of experiences -- and I certainly enjoyed my life. And I am glad that the great trust that my parents obviously reposed in me never went remotely awry in the small country town where we lived -- JR
In a sunlit corner of the London Wetland Centre in Barnes, south-west London, my daughter, Clemmie, two, is bending perilously over a pond. "Mummy! Green stuff! Fishies," she coos. Entranced, her sister, Sasha, four, stares at a butterfly. "He is my friend," she declares. Watching them, my heart swells with delighted relief. Like most parents, I am terrorised by images of my 21st-century children growing up sun-starved and chubby, wedded to their Nintendo console and thinking that bacon comes from cows and that milk is concocted in a backroom lab at Tesco.
Next month the pressure to give our children more access to nature will intensify further with the UK publication of Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv. A huge bestseller in Louv's native US, the book caused a mini revolution when it was first published in 2005, leading to the forming of the international Children and Nature Network, campaigning to reconnect with the outdoor world.
A former journalist, Louv coined the phrase "nature deficit disorder", arguing that children suffer physically and mentally from lack of contact with nature and pointing out that today's generation are the first to be raised without "meaningful contact with the natural world". Louv's is by no means a lone voice. A recent report by Play England, the campaigning group for children, showed that the "radius of activity", meaning the distance from home children are allowed to play unsupervised, has declined by 90 per cent since the Seventies. Another report by Natural England revealed that 81 per cent of children would love more play outside. Eighty five per cent of parents agreed, but said fears about traffic and predatory strangers deterred them.
Certainly, the difference between my early-Eighties childhood and today's paranoid world is marked. My brother and cousins spent holidays at our granny's in the Scottish Borders where we enjoyed a Just William-type existence: paddling in the river, exploring derelict buildings and scratching our legs on brambles. Only recently did I realise that just a few miles away, at this time, 11-year-old Susan Maxwell was abducted, raped and murdered by the serial child killer Robert Black. The following year he did the same to five-year-old Caroline Hogg, just 27 miles from us in Portobello, Lothian. I ask my mother if she was worried or even knew of Black's activities.
"I was aware, but I wasn't really concerned. You were in the middle of nowhere, who was going to swoop in and kidnap you? But I think my post-war generation has a different concept of danger to people today." Indeed they do. "We live in a tiny village in Devon, where everyone knows everyone, but my neighbours are always saying, 'You can't be too careful these days,' whereas I think you definitely can be too careful," says Tom Hodgkinson, father of three children aged nine, seven and four, and author of The Idle Parent.
"We let our children wander as far as possible before the traffic gets too dangerous, but people tell them off and say: 'Go home, where are your parents?' You have to fight the prejudices of friends and neighbours who've been told constantly how awful the world is and who've understandably let it sink in." Yet most parents know from experience that the easiest way to calm fractious children is to go outside. Louv backs this up by citing the biophilia theory, coined by a Harvard biologist in 1984, which says that humans are still essentially hunters and gatherers, who biologically require natural contact to thrive.
Louv believes that dozens of maladies from depression to attention deficit disorder can be triggered by alienation from nature and remedied when the contact increases. "The woods were my Ritalin," he writes. Dozens of studies have shown significant decreases in blood pressure in people looking at an aquarium or surveying an open landscape.
Louv also points out that while children today worry about saving the Amazon rainforest, few have ever lain on a forest floor, and that the epidemic in childhood obesity has coincided with the huge rise in children's organised sport which - ironically - leaves no spare time to run around aimlessly.
Nigel Lowthorp knows first hand the transformative effects of nature. At Hill Holt Wood, near Norton Disney, Lincolnshire, Lowthorp has founded a centre for up to 20 boys, aged mainly between 14 to 16, who have been excluded from mainstream education, many of whom have been involved in crime, are illiterate and come from troubled homes. After two years of coppicing overgrown trees, clearing dead undergrowth and chopping logs in the 34-acre wood, the vast majority go on to higher education or employment, an achievement few schools can rival. "Most will have never been in a rural environment before and it absolutely calms them. When they have their mad moments we send them off into a clearing to sit under a tree and listen to the birds and just think, and the rage vanishes."
Louv believes that children who are not allowed to take risks with nature are more likely to lack creativity and confidence and to court danger in other ways. Lowthorp agrees. "We give 14-year-olds a bill hook, saw and slasher to cut down rhododendrons and show them the basic idea, but a lot of it is about having a go. Sometimes the knife slips and they cut themselves. We have boys who've been carrying around knives in gangs, who faint when they see their own blood. It's how they learn a knife can cause serious damage and to use it responsibly."
The advantages are felt much younger too. A representative from Louv's Children's and Nature Network recently visited the Farley Outdoor Nursery in Salisbury, Wilshire, where children spend virtually all day outside, whatever the weather. Even the six-month-old babies spend much of the day in the sandpit or napping in prams with a view of the sky.
Tracy Frick, whose son, Rafe, four, has attended the nursery for two years, is evangelical about the children's bravery. "They know that nettles sting, that ponds can be dangerous, but they are not frightened. So many parents put the fear of God into their children and wrap them in cotton wool but these children know the consequences of their actions, they know that nature can be dangerous but in a very level-headed sort of way. They pick blackberries from the hedge but my son tells me: 'I can't eat too many or they'll make me ill and I can't eat some berries at all.' "
While such stories are inspiring, I can't help wondering if Louv will only encourage earnest parents to add "building campfires" to their children's activity list, alongside Mandarin and flute. Hodgkinson, for one, has found it challenging to convert his eldest son to wholesome activities. "I have to physically pull Arthur away from his computer to play in the tree house I built - in fact I've seriously thought of installing a broadband connection to lure him in. He'd far rather look at an ornithology website than go outside and see a real bird. Humans have striven for the past 500 years to better nature with technology so it's hardly surprising our children are seduced by it."
Nor is it just children. Back at the Wetlands, Clemmie and Sasha are blissfully collecting wild flowers and clamouring to play Pooh sticks. Meanwhile - despite my free-range childhood - I am wondering how I can sneak off for a coffee and to read the papers. "My children are always telling me off for spending too much time on the computer," Hodgkinson sympathises. "I'm a fireside lurker at heart, not an outdoorsman. The trick is to start them building a log cabin and, once they've got going, you can rush inside and check your emails."
SOURCE
British police on the side of the wrongdoers again
Father convicted for assault after suffering years of abuse from youths who threatened to rape his daughter, 7
A father who stood up to youths after a two-year campaign of abuse has been convicted of assault after reaching the 'end of his tether'. David Magson told a court he was forced to endure months of abuse and vandalism from a gang - including a threat to rape his seven-year-old daughter. The father-of-two marched outside his Leicester home with a rounders bat to have it out with youths who had 'tormented' him and his neighbours for years. But he found himself in the dock on an assault charge after striking one of them with the bat and pushing him over.
The bus driver was handed an 18-month community order at Leicester Crown Court and told to attend an anger management course after he admitted causing actual bodily harm and being in possession of an offensive weapon.
Today he said youths from a local hostel had been responsible for the trouble - but the authorities had failed to deal with them. He and his neighbours had repeatedly complained to the police, the hostel and the city council about their behaviour, but nothing was done, he said. Mr Magson said: 'Personally I think it's wrong that people can run amok and do what they want and terrorise people. It's about time the police were given the authority to deal with these people. 'Due to drugs and alcohol, they are not thought to be responsible for their actions.
'People such as me and you, if we go out and confront them, because we are sensible, decent and hard-working people we have to take responsibility for our actions.' He added: 'I've had eggs thrown at my windows. On the night in question it was the third time my car had been vandalised. They've tried to mug me twice. 'One day I got a smack in the face on my way to work. On another occasion, when I went to complain, I was urinated on from an upstairs window.'
On March 21, as he was watching television at home with his young children James,11, and Katie, seven, a neighbour rang to tell him his car was being vandalised. Mr Magson went outside, armed with the bat, to complain to hostel staff. He was confronted and goaded by a number of youths and Mr Magson struck out. His victim suffered a minor head injury when he was pushed.
Police officers arrived and the resident told them he was a member of a community group who were fed up with the incessant problems. But he was arrested and later charged. Sentencing him, Judge Ian Collis said: 'I'm sure you were at the end of your tether. I accept you were under extreme provocation.'
Mr Magson said the situation in his street has improved since his brush with the law. Police patrols have been stepped up and a change of management has seen the behaviour of the hostel's residents improve, he said. But he added: 'It's a pity it involved me being prosecuted, before anything was done about the problem.'
Mr Magson could soon find himself in court again, however, as a victim of violent crime. Five days after his arrest, he was left nearly blind in one eye when he was attacked with a pint glass in Leicester city centre. His defence lawyer Rebecca Herbert, told the court: 'He cannot say the youths who glassed him had anything to do with the hostel, but he has his suspicions.'
SOURCE
Latest British climate predictions are a joke
Projections by the UK's Climate Impact Programme released on Thursday come with strict caveats about how they should be used and their margin for error. The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Met Office argue that, even though the projections are far from certain, they will be useful to help plan for climate change in the UK. But others have warned that the uncertainties in the projections are too great to be of practical use
Defra has produced projections of climate change and consequent weather using advanced computer modelling techniques. Up until now, most projections have been at a sub-continental level - giving information at a regional level in squares of 300km on a side. Defra's projections are among the first in the world to give information at a local level - to the scale of large cities of 25km square and, in some cases, projecting weather patterns to a village scale of 5km square.
The UK's Climate Impacts Programme projections were explicitly designed to help local authority planners and businesses make investment decisions to adapt to the consequence of climate change. But according to Dr Myles Allen of Oxford University, who was among those who carried out an independent review of the projections, said that they may not be reliable enough at this stage to make some of the most important policy decisions. "If your decisions depend on what's happening at these very fine scales of 25 km or even 5 km resolution, then you probably shouldn't be making irreversible investment decisions now," he said.
The review, published on Thursday, says that the projections are "credible" but does raise concerns that the statistical techniques used are untested and have not been published in a peer-reviewed journal. The last assessment by a committee set up in 2007 by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concluded that these kinds of so-called "probabilistic" projections could only be applied reliably on a global scale - of 1000km square. "The IPCC explicitly stepped back from making probabilistic projections on this sort of scale," said Dr Allen.
"The method that's been used to produce this projection is a very specific one. "It's not been used before for this climate change approach and we thought that it would be helpful to provide a much more conservative method, something the IPCC would have used in 2007 just to provide users with a context and something to compare with so that they can see which aspects of these projections are robust."
Defra has not accepted the recommendation to provide an an alternative set of projections by the independent review panel because officials felt that having two sets would be confusing.
Dr Leonard Smith of the London School of Economics' Grantham Institute says he cannot see how any planner could make decisions on probable climate outcomes that are so uncertain that they might change substantially in 20 years. "It's very hard to find a rational way of using them," he said. "If the numbers are used in a naive way, then you are very likely to design a power plant or reservoir that doesn't meet the needs of the population."
Many in the scientific community were particularly astonished that Defra published projections at a scale of 5km square - which are even more uncertain than the 25km square projections. Among them was Professor Sir David King who was involved in commissioning the projections when he was the government's chief scientific advisor. "If you include a 5km scale in your predictions, you are probably pushing things beyond what is realistic. So I'm a little surprised that scientists were prepared to go that far.
More HERE
BRITAIN'S GREEN SUICIDE NOTE: œ5,000 POWER BILLS SHOCK
ENERGY bills will hit a shocking œ5,000 a year to strike a blow to millions of struggling families, experts warned last night. Consumer champions said the massive sum was a "wake-up call", marking the end of cheap electricity and gas. Bills will rise by up to 42 per cent ayear over the next decade - with the biggest single increase an eye-watering œ1,280.
But they said this will be boosted by a yearly œ548 to help overhaul the UK's out-of-date energy supply system. And they warned that the huge rise would stretch household budgets to breaking point and dump hundreds of thousands more people into fuel poverty.
Experts at uSwitch.com said that average annual bills have more than doubled from œ580 five years ago to œ1,243 today. Over the next decade customers will suffer even steeper price rises with fees quadrupling by 2020, they warn. Investment in outdated infrastructure and new green energy policies will drive bills higher.
More HERE
Leftist commentator on BBC chat show lumps "climate deniers" in with "gay bashers" and "Fascist sympathizers"
Transcript excerpt:
POLLY TOYNBEE
I think this is one of the most alarming aspects of current Conservative policy and it suggests that Cameron's moderation is something of a veneer if he is willing to leave the mainstream of Europe where Merkel, where Sarkozy are, where power is, where decisions are made and join this very freakish group. I mean I would like to hear from Caroline whether she would say it hasn't been decided yet but all of those likely to form this new alliance if they can get enough of these freakish parties in ,will you say yourself that you will object strongly if it does include any gypsy-haters, any gay-bashers, any fascist sympathizers and any climate deniers? Because if it includes any of those a respectable Conservative party should have nothing to do with it.
Full transcript downloadable HERE. The comment is towards the end of the programme. The remark was greeted with applause from the studio audience.
'No proof' for filling baby teeth
Filling rotten baby teeth may be an unnecessary trial for children to endure, experts say. Some 40% of five-year-olds in the UK have tooth decay and at least one in 10 of these are treated with fillings. But anecdotal evidence from 50 dentists gathered by Manchester University researchers suggests filling baby teeth may not offer significant benefits. Advisers to the NHS are now beginning a study on treatment options to provide dentists with clear guidelines.
Experts already know there is wide variation in care which means that a young child with signs of tooth decay could have no treatment, a filling or the tooth pulled out depending on which dentist they attend. Without any clear guidelines, dentists currently have to rely on their experience and judgement to decide whether or not to intervene. If the child is in severe pain and having sleepless nights, and the parent is confident that their child will cope with and benefit from the treatment, then the choice may be clear.
But when the decay is not causing symptoms, it can be difficult to decide what is in the child's best interests given that their tooth will ultimately fall out by the time they are 11 anyway. Indeed, anecdotal evidence gathered from the case notes of 50 dentists suggests filling baby teeth may achieve nothing but expose children to the discomfort of an injection and the sound of the drill.
Professor Martin Tickle, of the University of Manchester, found no difference in the numbers of extractions for pain or infection whether baby teeth had been filled or not. And when he surveyed the parents of all five-year-olds living in Ellesmere Port and Chester in 2003, he found only 6% would want their child to have a filling if they had symptomless decay in a baby tooth. In comparison, a third would want the dentist to monitor the tooth but provide no treatment.
Experts working for the Health Technology Assessment Programme plan to recruit over 1,000 children from across the UK to take part a study that will compare the outcomes of three treatment options. They are conventional drilling and filling, no fillings or a painless paint-on tooth treatment that merely seals and contains the decay.
Lead investigator Dr Gail Topping, of the University of Dundee, said: "This is a really big question to answer. "At the moment there is no clear winner and we do not know which is best to recommend. There is no guidance or mandate. "At the moment, dentists are doing what they believe is the right option for the child on a case by case basis." She said dentists would welcome evidence-based guidelines because the treatment decision can be a difficult one to make.
Kamini Shah, dentist and honorary secretary of the British Association for the Study of Community Dentistry, said: "There are two schools of thought, one being that baby teeth can cause pain and sleepless nights and so dentists should fill. "The other is that actually the evidence around filling baby teeth is questionable. "Sometimes you need to adopt a pragmatic approach rather than go in with all guns blazing. "If a child is very uncooperative but has a mouthful of non-symptomatic holes you might decide to apply a fluoride varnish to stabilise the disease rather than to do conventional fillings." Painted on with a small brush, the banana-flavoured varnish is totally painless and can slow or even stop the decay if applied often enough.
Dr Shah said: "That way you gain the child's confidence and can work on prevention. You do not want to upset the child and make them phobic of future treatments. "The problem arises when children come in aged three or four and it is their first experience of the dentist and it is because they are in pain. "In that scenario you can well imagine that they might not be most cooperative."
She said in extreme cases, and when the decay was so bad it necessitated treatment, a child might be referred for anxiety management or have the teeth removed under general anaesthetic.
Recently, an eight-year-old girl starved to death because of an apparently severe dental phobia. Sophie Waller, from St Dennis in Cornwall, is thought to have been so traumatised by her phobia that she refused to open her mouth after having eight teeth removed under general anaesthetic.
The full trial will run for four years from 2011 across England, Scotland and Wales, with a feasibility study starting in the coming months.
SOURCE
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Another horror from hate-filled British social workers
They subject a woman to extreme provocation and then condemn her for becoming angry
A mother had her twin babies taken from her by social workers after she joked that their caesarean birth had ruined her body. She and her husband endured five rounds of IVF costing œ38,000 to start a family, only to have social services take their children within weeks. The parents insist social workers acted needlessly, but have been warned their six-month-old boy and girl could be put up for adoption following a secret Family Court hearing last week.
The babies, who were born six weeks prematurely, were taken into care after hospital staff warned that the first-time parents were struggling to care for them. Nurses reported that the mother appeared to feel ' bitter' towards her children after her joke about the caesarean's effect on her body. And when the desperate woman lost her temper at social workers who had taken her babies, officials said she had 'anger problems' and could pose a threat to her twins.
The babies were born in December, at the height of nationwide fury that social workers had failed to step in and halt the abuse and tragic death of Baby Peter in Haringey, North London. The alarm over Peter's death has raised the prospect that some innocent families have been caught up in the backlash.
The couple, from Hornchurch, Essex, can be identified only as Mr and Mrs N to protect the identity of their children. They are allowed only supervised contact for ten hours a week with their son and daughter, and have been warned that the babies could be handed to strangers for adoption if a judge rules they cannot care for them.
Mrs N, a 36-year-old who has been told she cannot try for more children for medical reasons, said: 'Social services should step in where there's violence or abuse but we would never hurt our children.' Her 42-year- old husband added: 'No one is born with parenting skills - you have to learn them.' The couple have been married for five years.
A childhood infection left Mrs N suffering from a rare hormone disorder and unable to conceive naturally, and she suffers from short-term memory loss because of a car accident when she was a teenager, but doctors said there was no reason why she should not undergo IVF treatment. The babies were delivered on December 30 after Mrs N was admitted to Whipps Cross Hospital in East London with high blood pressure. They both weighed little more than 3lb and were kept in incubators at the NHS hospital's neonatal unit, where their parents were eventually able to help feed and care for them.
But staff became concerned that they were not giving the twins enough milk or changing them often enough. On January 29 a senior nurse referred the family to social services.
Mrs N said: 'The hospital could see we were struggling but they made no attempt to help us. They just decided we didn't have the parenting skills to look after the babies. 'They wrote down everything we did and said so they could use it against us. They twist everything. I remember talking to my son while he was in his cot, and saying jokingly, "You want to see what you have done to your Mummy's body". 'It didn't mean I felt bitter towards him or didn't want him - I've never wanted anything as much as I wanted children - I was just joking about the state of my stomach.'
Social workers visited the couple and asked to take the children into foster care. When the parents refused, Havering Borough Council took the case to court and in February was granted an interim care order to give the twins to a foster carer. Mr and Mrs N were allowed to visit but have found it difficult to see their babies in a stranger's care, and Mrs N admits she has shouted at the foster mother and social workers during angry confrontations over the twins' welfare.
The petite, 5ft 2in woman was accused of throwing her mobile phone at a social worker, and officials once called the police during an angry case conference. Mrs N said: 'Who wouldn't be emotional, watching another woman with my children? How am I supposed to stay calm? I'm terrified that they are going to take my babies away. 'Of course I get frustrated and I sometimes lose my temper, but never with the children. We don't drink, smoke or take drugs. Neither of us has a criminal record. All we wanted was to have a family.'
A council spokesman said: 'Only in exceptional circumstances would we seek to separate a child of any age from their parents. This decision was undertaken with a great deal of thought [about how to justify hurting middle class parents] and following thorough assessment.'
SOURCE
Some wide ranging food skepticism from Britain
Extracted from "Global Warming And Other Bollocks: The Truth About All Those Science Scare Stories" by Professor Stanley Feldman and Professor Vincent Marks. It reprises most of what I have been saying on this blog
THERE ARE FEW 'BAD' FOODS
Received wisdom, repeated by many doctors and public health professionals, says we can remain fit and avoid disease by cutting out certain 'bad foods' from our diets. Indeed, it is variously claimed that 35-50 per cent of all cancers are caused by the food we eat.
But while they are despised by the culinary elite, readily available hamburgers, sausages and pizzas have provided good nutritional value for many low-income families, who in previous days could afford only low-protein, high-carbohydrate, high-fat meals such as bread and dripping, and chip butties.
In fact, fears about hamburgers and sausages in Britain are especially irrational. Most countries have a national dish based on minced or processed meat - and none is suffering from an epidemic of junk food-inspired illness. For example, meatballs are used in many guises in the Middle East, chopped meat on a bed of onions is a national dish in the Balkans, and mince is also used in countless Italian sauces.
The terrines and pƒt‚s of France and Belgium also contain processed chopped meat. Obesity is not caused by these foods, but by those who choose to gorge on them. Studies claiming to show the negative impact of a 'junk food' diet usually have little scientific validity.
ORGANIC FOOD IS NO BETTER FOR YOU
A widespread belief has emerged that organic foods are better for you than others because they do not contain 'chemicals' used in large- scale conventional farming.
This dogma is wrong. All plant nutriment comes from the air, in the form of CO2, and from water-soluble chemicals in the soil. The composition of these chemicals is the same, whether they come from a plastic bag or from 'natural' manure or compost. They are certainly the same by the time they are on your plate.
THERE'S NO NEED TO CUT BACK ON SALT
Salt is an essential food. Without it, we would die. Land-based mammals-such as humans control their body temperature by sweating and panting. Sweating is impossible without sufficient salt. In fact, strenuous exercise in a person depleted of salt causes overheating and death.
The Government has caved in to the anti-salt zealots in its advice to reduce salt intake. However, there is, in fact, very little, if any, truly scientific evidence that cutting back on it will do you any good.
TURKEY TWIZZLERS ARE FINE
The much-disparaged Turkey Twizzler, bugbear of TV chef Jamie Oliver, is made of recovered turkey meat and provides the same amino acids as normal turkey breast.
Corned beef, now an unfashionable meat product, is also no less nutritious than any other beef, although, like Turkey Twizzlers, it is also a reclaimed meat product.
Turkey Twizzlers are fine: The recovered meat provides the same amino acids as regular turkey breast meat
WE DON'T KNOW WHAT CAUSES HEART DISEASE
The medical (and social) consensus is that cardiovascular disease is caused by being overweight, by having a high-fat, high-cholesterol diet and by unhealthy activities such as smoking.
While being morbidly obese, eating nothing but lard and smoking 60 a day will probably lead to an early grave, there is nevertheless a lot of confusion about the precise link between lifestyle and this, the biggest killer of all.
Many people with high cholesterol levels in their blood do not get heart disease. Many people with very low levels do.
The very low levels of heart disease recorded in some populations, notably the Japanese, may have more to do with cultural variation and prejudice than with medical reality (in many societies, what are, in fact, heart attacks are often listed on death certificates as 'strokes').
Furthermore, some of the lowest levels of cholesterol and arterial sclerosis are to be found in populations such as the Inuit and Siberian hunter-gatherers, who live on a diet which is incredibly high in saturated fat.
TAKE HEALTH ADVICE WITH A PINCH OF SALT
Everything seems to be bad for you these days, but there is also plenty of scientific evidence to the contrary. Eggs seldom contain salmonella, even if some chickens do. Cholesterol in the diet does not cause fatty deposits in your arteries. There is probably little difference between the effect of saturated and unsaturated fats.
In those with normal kidney function, salt does not cause high blood pressure. Those with a body-mass index of between 25 and 32 live as long as or longer than those with a lower BMI. And avoiding the sun causes vitamin D deficiency; a suntan is nature's natural sun block, although sunburn is to be avoided.
MERCURY FILLINGS ARE PROBABLY HARMLESS
Anti-mercury campaigners believe that the mercury used in dental fillings will make you ill (mercury is a potent poison).
But a single amalgam filling provides just 0.03 micrograms/day of mercury, which is almost 3,000 times less than the safety level permitted for persons with occupational exposure to mercury, and is too small to be responsible for any symptoms.
SOURCE
British photography phobia again
Parents of children at a primary school have been banned from taking pictures of their own children at the annual sports day. Parents criticised the move and said they felt there was no legal reason why they cannot take photos for personal use.
Mrs Ethelston's Church of England Primary School, in Uplyme, Devon, prohibited photos and video filming, claiming it was due to changes in child protection and images legislation. It is the first time the school has taken such measures.
Parents criticised the move and said they felt there was no legal reason why they cannot take photos for personal use. Jane Souter, who has a son at the school and is chair of the Parents Teachers and Friends Association, said: "It is a shame but that is the way it is all going now, you are not allowed to do a lot of things because of rules and regulations. "A lot of the parents think it is a great shame. There are people who have been there for many, many years and they are upset about it, although they do not blame the school. "It is sad that you are not allowed to take pictures of your own children.
"It is all to do with the pictures getting into the wrong hands and the school has to follow its own code of conduct. "I am sure the school do not like it just as much as we do."
Another parent, who did not want to be named, said: "Parents want to record achievements through their child's life and not to be made to feel that they are all criminals and are going to upload dodgy photos to some porn site."
They added that many parents were upset that they could no longer take photos and fear photography will be banned at every school event. They said: "Speaking to many parents, they were extremely annoyed and exasperated and no one really knew why they couldn't take photos of their children as they done so in the past. "Many seemed just resigned that it was a sign of the times." They added: "Please, please, clear this ridiculous nanny state affair up."
A spokesman for the Devon local education authority said: "It's a decision which individual head teachers come to, usually with consultation with governors."
SOURCE
German accent now incorrect
Not allowed to refer to the fact that the Nazis were German?
They subject a woman to extreme provocation and then condemn her for becoming angry
A mother had her twin babies taken from her by social workers after she joked that their caesarean birth had ruined her body. She and her husband endured five rounds of IVF costing œ38,000 to start a family, only to have social services take their children within weeks. The parents insist social workers acted needlessly, but have been warned their six-month-old boy and girl could be put up for adoption following a secret Family Court hearing last week.
The babies, who were born six weeks prematurely, were taken into care after hospital staff warned that the first-time parents were struggling to care for them. Nurses reported that the mother appeared to feel ' bitter' towards her children after her joke about the caesarean's effect on her body. And when the desperate woman lost her temper at social workers who had taken her babies, officials said she had 'anger problems' and could pose a threat to her twins.
The babies were born in December, at the height of nationwide fury that social workers had failed to step in and halt the abuse and tragic death of Baby Peter in Haringey, North London. The alarm over Peter's death has raised the prospect that some innocent families have been caught up in the backlash.
The couple, from Hornchurch, Essex, can be identified only as Mr and Mrs N to protect the identity of their children. They are allowed only supervised contact for ten hours a week with their son and daughter, and have been warned that the babies could be handed to strangers for adoption if a judge rules they cannot care for them.
Mrs N, a 36-year-old who has been told she cannot try for more children for medical reasons, said: 'Social services should step in where there's violence or abuse but we would never hurt our children.' Her 42-year- old husband added: 'No one is born with parenting skills - you have to learn them.' The couple have been married for five years.
A childhood infection left Mrs N suffering from a rare hormone disorder and unable to conceive naturally, and she suffers from short-term memory loss because of a car accident when she was a teenager, but doctors said there was no reason why she should not undergo IVF treatment. The babies were delivered on December 30 after Mrs N was admitted to Whipps Cross Hospital in East London with high blood pressure. They both weighed little more than 3lb and were kept in incubators at the NHS hospital's neonatal unit, where their parents were eventually able to help feed and care for them.
But staff became concerned that they were not giving the twins enough milk or changing them often enough. On January 29 a senior nurse referred the family to social services.
Mrs N said: 'The hospital could see we were struggling but they made no attempt to help us. They just decided we didn't have the parenting skills to look after the babies. 'They wrote down everything we did and said so they could use it against us. They twist everything. I remember talking to my son while he was in his cot, and saying jokingly, "You want to see what you have done to your Mummy's body". 'It didn't mean I felt bitter towards him or didn't want him - I've never wanted anything as much as I wanted children - I was just joking about the state of my stomach.'
Social workers visited the couple and asked to take the children into foster care. When the parents refused, Havering Borough Council took the case to court and in February was granted an interim care order to give the twins to a foster carer. Mr and Mrs N were allowed to visit but have found it difficult to see their babies in a stranger's care, and Mrs N admits she has shouted at the foster mother and social workers during angry confrontations over the twins' welfare.
The petite, 5ft 2in woman was accused of throwing her mobile phone at a social worker, and officials once called the police during an angry case conference. Mrs N said: 'Who wouldn't be emotional, watching another woman with my children? How am I supposed to stay calm? I'm terrified that they are going to take my babies away. 'Of course I get frustrated and I sometimes lose my temper, but never with the children. We don't drink, smoke or take drugs. Neither of us has a criminal record. All we wanted was to have a family.'
A council spokesman said: 'Only in exceptional circumstances would we seek to separate a child of any age from their parents. This decision was undertaken with a great deal of thought [about how to justify hurting middle class parents] and following thorough assessment.'
SOURCE
Some wide ranging food skepticism from Britain
Extracted from "Global Warming And Other Bollocks: The Truth About All Those Science Scare Stories" by Professor Stanley Feldman and Professor Vincent Marks. It reprises most of what I have been saying on this blog
THERE ARE FEW 'BAD' FOODS
Received wisdom, repeated by many doctors and public health professionals, says we can remain fit and avoid disease by cutting out certain 'bad foods' from our diets. Indeed, it is variously claimed that 35-50 per cent of all cancers are caused by the food we eat.
But while they are despised by the culinary elite, readily available hamburgers, sausages and pizzas have provided good nutritional value for many low-income families, who in previous days could afford only low-protein, high-carbohydrate, high-fat meals such as bread and dripping, and chip butties.
In fact, fears about hamburgers and sausages in Britain are especially irrational. Most countries have a national dish based on minced or processed meat - and none is suffering from an epidemic of junk food-inspired illness. For example, meatballs are used in many guises in the Middle East, chopped meat on a bed of onions is a national dish in the Balkans, and mince is also used in countless Italian sauces.
The terrines and pƒt‚s of France and Belgium also contain processed chopped meat. Obesity is not caused by these foods, but by those who choose to gorge on them. Studies claiming to show the negative impact of a 'junk food' diet usually have little scientific validity.
ORGANIC FOOD IS NO BETTER FOR YOU
A widespread belief has emerged that organic foods are better for you than others because they do not contain 'chemicals' used in large- scale conventional farming.
This dogma is wrong. All plant nutriment comes from the air, in the form of CO2, and from water-soluble chemicals in the soil. The composition of these chemicals is the same, whether they come from a plastic bag or from 'natural' manure or compost. They are certainly the same by the time they are on your plate.
THERE'S NO NEED TO CUT BACK ON SALT
Salt is an essential food. Without it, we would die. Land-based mammals-such as humans control their body temperature by sweating and panting. Sweating is impossible without sufficient salt. In fact, strenuous exercise in a person depleted of salt causes overheating and death.
The Government has caved in to the anti-salt zealots in its advice to reduce salt intake. However, there is, in fact, very little, if any, truly scientific evidence that cutting back on it will do you any good.
TURKEY TWIZZLERS ARE FINE
The much-disparaged Turkey Twizzler, bugbear of TV chef Jamie Oliver, is made of recovered turkey meat and provides the same amino acids as normal turkey breast.
Corned beef, now an unfashionable meat product, is also no less nutritious than any other beef, although, like Turkey Twizzlers, it is also a reclaimed meat product.
Turkey Twizzlers are fine: The recovered meat provides the same amino acids as regular turkey breast meat
WE DON'T KNOW WHAT CAUSES HEART DISEASE
The medical (and social) consensus is that cardiovascular disease is caused by being overweight, by having a high-fat, high-cholesterol diet and by unhealthy activities such as smoking.
While being morbidly obese, eating nothing but lard and smoking 60 a day will probably lead to an early grave, there is nevertheless a lot of confusion about the precise link between lifestyle and this, the biggest killer of all.
Many people with high cholesterol levels in their blood do not get heart disease. Many people with very low levels do.
The very low levels of heart disease recorded in some populations, notably the Japanese, may have more to do with cultural variation and prejudice than with medical reality (in many societies, what are, in fact, heart attacks are often listed on death certificates as 'strokes').
Furthermore, some of the lowest levels of cholesterol and arterial sclerosis are to be found in populations such as the Inuit and Siberian hunter-gatherers, who live on a diet which is incredibly high in saturated fat.
TAKE HEALTH ADVICE WITH A PINCH OF SALT
Everything seems to be bad for you these days, but there is also plenty of scientific evidence to the contrary. Eggs seldom contain salmonella, even if some chickens do. Cholesterol in the diet does not cause fatty deposits in your arteries. There is probably little difference between the effect of saturated and unsaturated fats.
In those with normal kidney function, salt does not cause high blood pressure. Those with a body-mass index of between 25 and 32 live as long as or longer than those with a lower BMI. And avoiding the sun causes vitamin D deficiency; a suntan is nature's natural sun block, although sunburn is to be avoided.
MERCURY FILLINGS ARE PROBABLY HARMLESS
Anti-mercury campaigners believe that the mercury used in dental fillings will make you ill (mercury is a potent poison).
But a single amalgam filling provides just 0.03 micrograms/day of mercury, which is almost 3,000 times less than the safety level permitted for persons with occupational exposure to mercury, and is too small to be responsible for any symptoms.
SOURCE
British photography phobia again
Parents of children at a primary school have been banned from taking pictures of their own children at the annual sports day. Parents criticised the move and said they felt there was no legal reason why they cannot take photos for personal use.
Mrs Ethelston's Church of England Primary School, in Uplyme, Devon, prohibited photos and video filming, claiming it was due to changes in child protection and images legislation. It is the first time the school has taken such measures.
Parents criticised the move and said they felt there was no legal reason why they cannot take photos for personal use. Jane Souter, who has a son at the school and is chair of the Parents Teachers and Friends Association, said: "It is a shame but that is the way it is all going now, you are not allowed to do a lot of things because of rules and regulations. "A lot of the parents think it is a great shame. There are people who have been there for many, many years and they are upset about it, although they do not blame the school. "It is sad that you are not allowed to take pictures of your own children.
"It is all to do with the pictures getting into the wrong hands and the school has to follow its own code of conduct. "I am sure the school do not like it just as much as we do."
Another parent, who did not want to be named, said: "Parents want to record achievements through their child's life and not to be made to feel that they are all criminals and are going to upload dodgy photos to some porn site."
They added that many parents were upset that they could no longer take photos and fear photography will be banned at every school event. They said: "Speaking to many parents, they were extremely annoyed and exasperated and no one really knew why they couldn't take photos of their children as they done so in the past. "Many seemed just resigned that it was a sign of the times." They added: "Please, please, clear this ridiculous nanny state affair up."
A spokesman for the Devon local education authority said: "It's a decision which individual head teachers come to, usually with consultation with governors."
SOURCE
German accent now incorrect
Not allowed to refer to the fact that the Nazis were German?
"The Conservative leader used a discussion about his opposition to ID cards to do what appeared to be an impression of a Nazi officer. Adopting an exaggerated German accent, he asked the crowd 'Where are your papers?'
The joke was supposed to be a comment on the draconian nature of the ID card scheme. But it drew gasps from listening voters at the question and answer session in Norwich, and did not quite yield the response he was going for. Critics fear it could even trigger an embarrassing diplomatic row between the would-be Prime Minister and Germany.
A woman in the audience raised her hand and asked him: 'I wonder about the wisdom of you adopting a German accent?'
Mr Cameron's patronising response was worthy of the notoriously offensive hotel boss in the 1970s sitcom Fawlty Towers - in the iconic scene where he addresses German guests - explaining to her: 'It was meant to be light-hearted.'
Source
Monday, June 22, 2009
Church of England to confront BBC over treatment of Christianity
The BBC faces a clash with the Church of England over claims that its new head of religious broadcasting has given preferential treatment to minority faiths
Concerns over the appointment of Aaqil Ahmed, who was poached by the corporation from Channel 4 last month, will be raised in a Church document to be published tomorrow. It calls his move to the BBC a "worrying" development and accuses the corporation of treating religion like "a freak show".
Senior bishops have signalled their backing for the paper, which is set to trigger a debate at the General Synod, the Church's parliament, over the alleged marginalisation of religious broadcasting.
Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, met with Mark Thompson, the BBC's director-general, in March to challenge him about the issue. Now a motion prepared for the Synod calls on the corporation to explain the decline in its coverage of religion and its failure to provide enough programming during key Christian festivals.
The document accompanying the motion, published ahead of next month's General Synod in York, criticises the lack of regular religious programmes on BBC television and alleges that Mr Ahmed, a Muslim, displayed anti-Christian bias while in charge of commissioning at Channel 4. "The regular BBC Television coverage of religion consists of just two programmes." the Church paper says. "BBC 3 tackles religion rarely but does so from the angle of the freak show, and many of the Channel 4 programmes concerned with Christianity, in contrast to those featuring other faiths, seem to be of a sensationalist or unduly critical nature. "From this point of view it is worrying that the Channel 4 religion and multicultural commissioning editor, Aaqil Ahmed, who is a Muslim, is soon to be responsible for all the religious output from the BBC."
Last summer, Channel 4 screened a week of special programmes on Islam including a feature-length documentary on the Koran, and a series of interviews with Muslims around the world talking about their beliefs.
The main Christian documentary broadcast for Easter that year, called The Secrets of the 12 Disciples, cast doubt on the legitimacy of the Pope's leadership of the Roman Catholic Church.
Nigel Holmes, a General Synod member and former BBC producer, who has tabled the motion and who wrote the paper, said that the Church needed to tackle the issue at a time when the future of religious broadcasting was under threat. "There is an element of uncertainty at the BBC with all of the changes there, and the appointment of Aaqil Ahmed gives rise to an element of concern," he said. "He has been involved with programmes that have tended to look at the fringes of Christianity where it can be brought into disrepute. "Religion is higher on the political agenda than ever before and we are crying out for programmes that give a moral view." Mr Holmes attacked the BBC for the lack of religious television programmes at Easter, but said that ITV has also failed to give enough coverage.
The Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali, the Bishop of Rochester, has signalled he would support the motion. He told The Sunday Telegraph that Mr Ahmed is "duty bound to provide adequate time and fair representation to the Christian faith and to Christian concerns".
The Rt Rev Nigel McCulloch, the Bishop of Manchester, has previously accused the BBC of "overlooking" Good Friday. "Many people want an appropriate marker of religious significance, whether it is life and death or Easter and Christmas," he said.
While the BBC's total output of television hours has doubled over the past 20 years, the amount of religious coverage has fallen by nearly 15 per cent, from 177 hours in 1988 to 155 in 2008. Critics of the corporation are upset that respected programmes such as Everyman and Heart of the Matter have not been replaced. They argue that well-produced and promoted programmes can attract a large audience. The Passion, which received a big budget and prime-time slot, attracted more than five million viewers when it was broadcast last year...
The Rev Jonathan Alderton-Ford, vicar of Christ Church, Bury St Edmunds, and a General Synod member, said that he would support the motion. "It gives voice to the concerns many of us have about the drift of the BBC over the last decade," said Mr Alderton-Ford, who has advised the Church on media issues. "The BBC's bias permeates its programme-making, so that the Christians get criticised while the minority faiths escape the same treatment. It's necessary that we debate this."
A spokesman for the BBC said that Mr Ahmed was the best-qualified candidate for the role and rejected claims that religious affairs has been covered in a "sensationalist manner". She added: "The BBC's commitment to religion and ethics broadcasting is unequivocal. As the majority faith of the UK, Christians are and will remain a central audience for the BBC's religious and ethics television and other output."
SOURCE
British registrar demoted to receptionist because she refused to "marry" homosexuals
A Christian registrar was demoted to receptionist because she refuses to preside over gay `marriages' - and last night claimed she is facing dismissal. The case parallels that of 48-year-old Lillian Ladele, the registrar who won a similar battle last year against Miss Davies's employers - Islington Council in North London. Miss Davies has worked for the council for 18 years and was a friend and colleague of Miss Ladele in the same department.
She will send a strongly worded letter to all members of the House of Lords tomorrow, highlighting her plight and complaining of a `militant political-sexual libertarian lobby' at the council. Miss Davies told The Mail on Sunday: `Britain is supposed to be a nation that respects freedom of conscience. But my conscience is not being respected. If Islington Council believes in dignity for all, why can't my beliefs be accommodated and why is my dignity not being respected? `I have nothing against homosexuals. My colleagues in the office will tell you that - and the openly gay ones have no problem with me. All I am asking is that the system can be arranged so I do not have to perform civil partnerships.'
At one point Miss Davies, who is not married, rose to deputy superintendent registrar - third in the hierarchy in the 16-strong department - although she then chose to return to the role of deputy registrar. After the introduction of civil partnerships in December 2005 she told her bosses her beliefs would preclude her from performing same-sex ceremonies. While her position was being discussed, she felt under so much pressure that in June 2006 she took four months' sick leave with stress.
On her return she says she was told that she would have to be demoted to an entry-level job on reception or face dismissal. Believing that she had no choice, she accepted and worked as a receptionist for the next two years, despite finding it humiliating. She said: `I was shocked because I knew that if they had wanted to they could have accommodated me. `I know of other councils that have allowed Christian registrars to carry on by ensuring that colleagues are given civil partnerships - but I was told this was not Islington's policy. `I was very disappointed, very saddened and angry. It was humiliating to be back on reception, where I had started.'
When Miss Ladele won her employment tribunal case against Islington in July last year, Miss Davies was moved on to the general rota, though she had few marriages to conduct. She was even put back on to the full marriage rota - but in December Islington Council won an appeal against Miss Ladele, upholding its right to insist that staff carry out civil partnerships. Miss Ladele is now taking her case to the Court of Appeal.
In January this year Miss Davies failed to conduct a civil partnership ceremony for which she was rostered - it was carried out by colleague instead - and a staff member complained. In March, John Lynch, the head of her department, told her to perform civil partnerships or she would be removed from the marriage rota. Last week, she was told she was being demoted to a reception job for a second time as part of a `restructuring'.
With the backing of the Christian Legal Centre, Miss Davies is now launching a grievance procedure against the council, arguing that she has been the victim of discrimination on the grounds of her religious beliefs. She said: `Doctors can opt out of performing abortions on conscience grounds so why can't I opt out of civil partnerships?'
When the Government introduced new laws to criminalise the stirring up of hatred against gays and lesbians last year, Lord Waddington forced through an amendment to safeguard people's rights to make reasonable comments about homosexuals. But the Government is now trying to remove this amendment. In her letter to peers, Miss Davies urges them to block the Government's attempt to do so.
An Islington Council spokesman said: `Following detailed discussions with Miss Davies, a year ago she accepted another job in the same team that did not require her to conduct civil partnerships or marriages. `Miss Davies made no formal response to a recent consultation on a restructure in the registrars' department, and we have no reason to think she was unhappy with her role. `Islington council expects employees to provide services to all sections of the community.'
SOURCE
As mobs drive Romanian gipsies out of Ulster, we ask who's REALLY to blame?
Gipsies have been loathed wherever they go in Europe because of their high rate of criminality and antisocial behaviour
On a piece of waste ground poisoned by toxic chemicals, a group of teenagers were indulging in an age-old ritual this week. They were making a giant bonfire from old crates and timber stolen from derelict buildings. When a huge pyre had been erected, the youths retired to admire their work from the `den', a hut they'd built for their gang from scrap and furnished with sofas found dumped on the street. There were even broken venetian blinds at the front of the hut, which twisted and moaned in the wind.
Next month, on July 11, the night before the anniversary of the Battle of the Boyne - when Protestant King William of Orange defeated the Catholic King James in 1690 - the bonfire will be set ablaze. Along with hundreds of other bonfires lit across Belfast that night, the flames are meant to remind the Catholic majority of that historic Protestant victory, and serve warning that Loyalists will still fight fire with fire if any attempt is made to separate them from British rule.
Yet, as they prepared their fire to coincide with Ulster's `marching season', it transpired that this generation of young men had also been involved in a sinister, disturbing new ritual: mounting racial attacks on the `foreigners' in their midst. With swastikas daubed on the walls of their den, these youths - aged from 14 to 20 - admitted they had been present during the attacks on Romanian immigrants this week that made headlines around the world. `So what if we were?' said one, curling his lip. `They had it coming.'
To cries of anguish from politicians and citizens alike, the tumultuous events of the past week have again thrust Belfast to the forefront of world attention, after more than 100 Romanian gipsies, known as Roma, were forced to flee in terror when gangs armed with bottles and rocks drove them from their homes. In echoes of the sectarian violence at the height of The Troubles, when those from the `wrong' religion were burned out of their homes, these attacks happened in an affluent, liberal part of the city, home to Queen's University and countless trendy bars and bistros. Violence flared when more than 30 youths gathered outside the homes of about 20 Roma on Sunday night, taunting and jeering and smashing their windows. They came again the following night, hurling rocks and bottles at the windows and making Nazi salutes.
The Romanian families, including a five-day-old baby girl, cowered inside as the mob shouted and swore that the foreign gipsy `scum' should pack up and go - or face the consequences. After police were called, the mob was dispersed and about 20 Romanian families emerged from their damaged homes. Clutching old suitcases and blankets, and looking terrified as the cameras recorded their every move, they were given shelter in a local church hall. But their numbers grew. By Wednesday morning, 115 Roma had congregated, telling the authorities that they did not feel safe in their own homes. As one man lugged an accordion past the waiting photographers, and women sobbed, pictures of these pitiful scenes went round the world.
After being moved into a leisure centre, where mattresses were spread out on indoor tennis courts and local people donated soup and sandwiches, the few Romanians who could speak English claimed that some of the attackers had been armed with guns, although the police later said they had no evidence to support this. `They made signs like they wanted to cut my brother's baby's throat,' said Couaccusil Filuis, who'd come from a village near Bucharest, the Romanian capital. `They said they wanted to kill us. We are very scared. We have young children. We could go back to Romania, but we have no money. We have to stay here.'
Strugurel Teglas, another Roma, who had been selling newspapers and washing cars in Belfast, said: `No money for food in Romania. 'Romania no job. Belfast job. But ten persons come. They drink. They broke in the house. They no good.'
Understandably, the scenes of foreigners being evacuated with their belongings were received with horror. This, after all, is a city still nervously emerging from decades of violence and bloodshed. The last thing anyone wants to see is new fissures in Ulster's tragic history of ethnic hatred. Indeed, so appalled was Naomi Long, the Lord Mayor of Belfast, that she was in tears when she was asked about the violence. `A minority of people in this city have brought shame on us and I urge the good people of Belfast, the overwhelming majority, to co-operate with the police and bring the perpetrators of these racist attacks to justice.'
As Gordon Brown called on the authorities to take all possible action to end the violence, and former IRA terrorists now sharing power condemned those involved in the violence, Mrs Long pledged to do everything possible to persuade the Romanians to stay in Northern Ireland. `If they go back to Romania, the thugs will think they have won,' she added. `That is the last thing we want. We must find them permanent new homes.'
Not everyone shares her sentiments. There was fury in The Village, a rugged working-class area a mile from the attacks, some of whose residents joined the mob wanting to drive the Roma out. With murals of the Queen painted on walls and Union Jacks fluttering from virtually every window, the people of The Village are incensed at the `special treatment' they say immigrants receive, while they themselves live in grim terrace homes with outside toilets. `These people are sly,' said Annie Johnson, a local woman. `It's all just a racket - they put on their sad faces and get moved to the top of the queue for housing. `Politicians are full of cr*p. They leap into action at the first mention of racism - but what about the poor people who have lived here all their lives?'
Opinion has been inflamed not only by the crimes the police and locals agree some of the Roma commit - but also by the fact that no one has even been able to debate the issue of their presence in the city without being accused of racism. Ian Magill, 45, runs the only shop in The Village, which was once a stronghold for Loyalist terrorists. He is a calm, intelligent man, whose greatest wish is that his three sons do not get into trouble with the law. Dominic, his youngest son, was adopted from Croatia, so Mr Magill can hardly be described as someone with a hatred of foreigners. But he is under no illusions about why people from his area were involved in the violence.
`People feel like they are under siege because of all the immigrants coming in,' he said. `It's getting to the stage where people just don't care any more. `You get branded a racist if you speak out about the issue of immigration. But I think I'm being a realist, not a racist, when I say that this is something we must address. `Most of the Polish immigrants work - but these people [Romas] don't,' he added. `They are pretty uneducated and they seem to think that the only way they can survive is to bend the rules. `But when you are doing this, and carrying out crimes against local people, it becomes a problem. They shouldn't be here.'
Not all Mr Magill's fellow citizens are as considered as he is. At a nearby off-licence, a young, welldressed man of about 30 erupts in anger. He says all these `foreigners should be burned out of their f****** homes. All we hear about are their problems. For once, why don't you write about the problems these people cause to us locals'. He is referring to a wave of petty crime that has swept Belfast over the past two years - the period in which the Roma have arrived.
The crimes, confirmed by police, range from `mobbing' elderly ladies at cashpoint machines, distracting them while they steal cash, to using razor blades to slice the straps of handbags and disappear with possessions before anyone knows. Roma have also been linked with prostitution and people trafficking. But it is the petty crimes that are causing such fury. Countless people I spoke to in The Village reported clothes being stolen from their washing lines - one man claimed to have seen a Roma wearing his distinctive jeans, which had disappeared while hanging out to dry, only for the thief to laugh in his face - and children's bikes being taken from back yards....
Interpol has since warned that organised criminals among the Romanian immigrants are stealing from indigenous populations on the orders of gangsters back home. British police said last year that they were struggling to cope with a staggering 800 per cent increase in crimes, such as pickpocketing, committed by Romanians since they started coming to Britain in large numbers.
Forces in Germany and France have also reported more crime, some of it violent. In Italy, murders, rapes and kidnappings have been blamed on the newcomers. Inevitably, there is a danger that Roma are unjustly blamed for the crimes of others. But acts of retaliation are taking place everywhere.
Marian Mandache, of Romani Criss, a group dedicated to helping the gipsies, says the violence in Belfast follows a disturbing trend of assaults on the Roma across Europe. `Starting in Italy, there have been waves of attacks - as well as in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, everywhere.'
Racial tensions are rising throughout Europe as the pace of immigration intensifies and economies deteriorate. In Italy, the authorities have started fingerprinting Roma immigrants and repatriating them after their alleged crimes led to waves of brutal, retaliatory attacks by locals.
More than 1,000 Roma have arrived in Northern Ireland. Few speak English and `begging gangs' now operate throughout Belfast. Local tourism websites are clogged with comments about aggressive beggars, pickpockets and con artists - though clearly they are not all Roma....
Of course, no right-thinking person can condone the attacks that have seen the Roma families moved this weekend to a new, secret location. Yet it is the lack of debate (or action) on immigration by politicians that has contributed to these festering frustrations, just as it has led to the appalling spectre of two seats for the British National Party in this month's European elections.
More HERE
Must not mention that many female tennis players look attractive
We read:
There is a new lot of postings by Chris Brand just up -- on his usual vastly "incorrect" themes of race, genes, IQ etc.
The BBC faces a clash with the Church of England over claims that its new head of religious broadcasting has given preferential treatment to minority faiths
Concerns over the appointment of Aaqil Ahmed, who was poached by the corporation from Channel 4 last month, will be raised in a Church document to be published tomorrow. It calls his move to the BBC a "worrying" development and accuses the corporation of treating religion like "a freak show".
Senior bishops have signalled their backing for the paper, which is set to trigger a debate at the General Synod, the Church's parliament, over the alleged marginalisation of religious broadcasting.
Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, met with Mark Thompson, the BBC's director-general, in March to challenge him about the issue. Now a motion prepared for the Synod calls on the corporation to explain the decline in its coverage of religion and its failure to provide enough programming during key Christian festivals.
The document accompanying the motion, published ahead of next month's General Synod in York, criticises the lack of regular religious programmes on BBC television and alleges that Mr Ahmed, a Muslim, displayed anti-Christian bias while in charge of commissioning at Channel 4. "The regular BBC Television coverage of religion consists of just two programmes." the Church paper says. "BBC 3 tackles religion rarely but does so from the angle of the freak show, and many of the Channel 4 programmes concerned with Christianity, in contrast to those featuring other faiths, seem to be of a sensationalist or unduly critical nature. "From this point of view it is worrying that the Channel 4 religion and multicultural commissioning editor, Aaqil Ahmed, who is a Muslim, is soon to be responsible for all the religious output from the BBC."
Last summer, Channel 4 screened a week of special programmes on Islam including a feature-length documentary on the Koran, and a series of interviews with Muslims around the world talking about their beliefs.
The main Christian documentary broadcast for Easter that year, called The Secrets of the 12 Disciples, cast doubt on the legitimacy of the Pope's leadership of the Roman Catholic Church.
Nigel Holmes, a General Synod member and former BBC producer, who has tabled the motion and who wrote the paper, said that the Church needed to tackle the issue at a time when the future of religious broadcasting was under threat. "There is an element of uncertainty at the BBC with all of the changes there, and the appointment of Aaqil Ahmed gives rise to an element of concern," he said. "He has been involved with programmes that have tended to look at the fringes of Christianity where it can be brought into disrepute. "Religion is higher on the political agenda than ever before and we are crying out for programmes that give a moral view." Mr Holmes attacked the BBC for the lack of religious television programmes at Easter, but said that ITV has also failed to give enough coverage.
The Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali, the Bishop of Rochester, has signalled he would support the motion. He told The Sunday Telegraph that Mr Ahmed is "duty bound to provide adequate time and fair representation to the Christian faith and to Christian concerns".
The Rt Rev Nigel McCulloch, the Bishop of Manchester, has previously accused the BBC of "overlooking" Good Friday. "Many people want an appropriate marker of religious significance, whether it is life and death or Easter and Christmas," he said.
While the BBC's total output of television hours has doubled over the past 20 years, the amount of religious coverage has fallen by nearly 15 per cent, from 177 hours in 1988 to 155 in 2008. Critics of the corporation are upset that respected programmes such as Everyman and Heart of the Matter have not been replaced. They argue that well-produced and promoted programmes can attract a large audience. The Passion, which received a big budget and prime-time slot, attracted more than five million viewers when it was broadcast last year...
The Rev Jonathan Alderton-Ford, vicar of Christ Church, Bury St Edmunds, and a General Synod member, said that he would support the motion. "It gives voice to the concerns many of us have about the drift of the BBC over the last decade," said Mr Alderton-Ford, who has advised the Church on media issues. "The BBC's bias permeates its programme-making, so that the Christians get criticised while the minority faiths escape the same treatment. It's necessary that we debate this."
A spokesman for the BBC said that Mr Ahmed was the best-qualified candidate for the role and rejected claims that religious affairs has been covered in a "sensationalist manner". She added: "The BBC's commitment to religion and ethics broadcasting is unequivocal. As the majority faith of the UK, Christians are and will remain a central audience for the BBC's religious and ethics television and other output."
SOURCE
British registrar demoted to receptionist because she refused to "marry" homosexuals
A Christian registrar was demoted to receptionist because she refuses to preside over gay `marriages' - and last night claimed she is facing dismissal. The case parallels that of 48-year-old Lillian Ladele, the registrar who won a similar battle last year against Miss Davies's employers - Islington Council in North London. Miss Davies has worked for the council for 18 years and was a friend and colleague of Miss Ladele in the same department.
She will send a strongly worded letter to all members of the House of Lords tomorrow, highlighting her plight and complaining of a `militant political-sexual libertarian lobby' at the council. Miss Davies told The Mail on Sunday: `Britain is supposed to be a nation that respects freedom of conscience. But my conscience is not being respected. If Islington Council believes in dignity for all, why can't my beliefs be accommodated and why is my dignity not being respected? `I have nothing against homosexuals. My colleagues in the office will tell you that - and the openly gay ones have no problem with me. All I am asking is that the system can be arranged so I do not have to perform civil partnerships.'
At one point Miss Davies, who is not married, rose to deputy superintendent registrar - third in the hierarchy in the 16-strong department - although she then chose to return to the role of deputy registrar. After the introduction of civil partnerships in December 2005 she told her bosses her beliefs would preclude her from performing same-sex ceremonies. While her position was being discussed, she felt under so much pressure that in June 2006 she took four months' sick leave with stress.
On her return she says she was told that she would have to be demoted to an entry-level job on reception or face dismissal. Believing that she had no choice, she accepted and worked as a receptionist for the next two years, despite finding it humiliating. She said: `I was shocked because I knew that if they had wanted to they could have accommodated me. `I know of other councils that have allowed Christian registrars to carry on by ensuring that colleagues are given civil partnerships - but I was told this was not Islington's policy. `I was very disappointed, very saddened and angry. It was humiliating to be back on reception, where I had started.'
When Miss Ladele won her employment tribunal case against Islington in July last year, Miss Davies was moved on to the general rota, though she had few marriages to conduct. She was even put back on to the full marriage rota - but in December Islington Council won an appeal against Miss Ladele, upholding its right to insist that staff carry out civil partnerships. Miss Ladele is now taking her case to the Court of Appeal.
In January this year Miss Davies failed to conduct a civil partnership ceremony for which she was rostered - it was carried out by colleague instead - and a staff member complained. In March, John Lynch, the head of her department, told her to perform civil partnerships or she would be removed from the marriage rota. Last week, she was told she was being demoted to a reception job for a second time as part of a `restructuring'.
With the backing of the Christian Legal Centre, Miss Davies is now launching a grievance procedure against the council, arguing that she has been the victim of discrimination on the grounds of her religious beliefs. She said: `Doctors can opt out of performing abortions on conscience grounds so why can't I opt out of civil partnerships?'
When the Government introduced new laws to criminalise the stirring up of hatred against gays and lesbians last year, Lord Waddington forced through an amendment to safeguard people's rights to make reasonable comments about homosexuals. But the Government is now trying to remove this amendment. In her letter to peers, Miss Davies urges them to block the Government's attempt to do so.
An Islington Council spokesman said: `Following detailed discussions with Miss Davies, a year ago she accepted another job in the same team that did not require her to conduct civil partnerships or marriages. `Miss Davies made no formal response to a recent consultation on a restructure in the registrars' department, and we have no reason to think she was unhappy with her role. `Islington council expects employees to provide services to all sections of the community.'
SOURCE
As mobs drive Romanian gipsies out of Ulster, we ask who's REALLY to blame?
Gipsies have been loathed wherever they go in Europe because of their high rate of criminality and antisocial behaviour
On a piece of waste ground poisoned by toxic chemicals, a group of teenagers were indulging in an age-old ritual this week. They were making a giant bonfire from old crates and timber stolen from derelict buildings. When a huge pyre had been erected, the youths retired to admire their work from the `den', a hut they'd built for their gang from scrap and furnished with sofas found dumped on the street. There were even broken venetian blinds at the front of the hut, which twisted and moaned in the wind.
Next month, on July 11, the night before the anniversary of the Battle of the Boyne - when Protestant King William of Orange defeated the Catholic King James in 1690 - the bonfire will be set ablaze. Along with hundreds of other bonfires lit across Belfast that night, the flames are meant to remind the Catholic majority of that historic Protestant victory, and serve warning that Loyalists will still fight fire with fire if any attempt is made to separate them from British rule.
Yet, as they prepared their fire to coincide with Ulster's `marching season', it transpired that this generation of young men had also been involved in a sinister, disturbing new ritual: mounting racial attacks on the `foreigners' in their midst. With swastikas daubed on the walls of their den, these youths - aged from 14 to 20 - admitted they had been present during the attacks on Romanian immigrants this week that made headlines around the world. `So what if we were?' said one, curling his lip. `They had it coming.'
To cries of anguish from politicians and citizens alike, the tumultuous events of the past week have again thrust Belfast to the forefront of world attention, after more than 100 Romanian gipsies, known as Roma, were forced to flee in terror when gangs armed with bottles and rocks drove them from their homes. In echoes of the sectarian violence at the height of The Troubles, when those from the `wrong' religion were burned out of their homes, these attacks happened in an affluent, liberal part of the city, home to Queen's University and countless trendy bars and bistros. Violence flared when more than 30 youths gathered outside the homes of about 20 Roma on Sunday night, taunting and jeering and smashing their windows. They came again the following night, hurling rocks and bottles at the windows and making Nazi salutes.
The Romanian families, including a five-day-old baby girl, cowered inside as the mob shouted and swore that the foreign gipsy `scum' should pack up and go - or face the consequences. After police were called, the mob was dispersed and about 20 Romanian families emerged from their damaged homes. Clutching old suitcases and blankets, and looking terrified as the cameras recorded their every move, they were given shelter in a local church hall. But their numbers grew. By Wednesday morning, 115 Roma had congregated, telling the authorities that they did not feel safe in their own homes. As one man lugged an accordion past the waiting photographers, and women sobbed, pictures of these pitiful scenes went round the world.
After being moved into a leisure centre, where mattresses were spread out on indoor tennis courts and local people donated soup and sandwiches, the few Romanians who could speak English claimed that some of the attackers had been armed with guns, although the police later said they had no evidence to support this. `They made signs like they wanted to cut my brother's baby's throat,' said Couaccusil Filuis, who'd come from a village near Bucharest, the Romanian capital. `They said they wanted to kill us. We are very scared. We have young children. We could go back to Romania, but we have no money. We have to stay here.'
Strugurel Teglas, another Roma, who had been selling newspapers and washing cars in Belfast, said: `No money for food in Romania. 'Romania no job. Belfast job. But ten persons come. They drink. They broke in the house. They no good.'
Understandably, the scenes of foreigners being evacuated with their belongings were received with horror. This, after all, is a city still nervously emerging from decades of violence and bloodshed. The last thing anyone wants to see is new fissures in Ulster's tragic history of ethnic hatred. Indeed, so appalled was Naomi Long, the Lord Mayor of Belfast, that she was in tears when she was asked about the violence. `A minority of people in this city have brought shame on us and I urge the good people of Belfast, the overwhelming majority, to co-operate with the police and bring the perpetrators of these racist attacks to justice.'
As Gordon Brown called on the authorities to take all possible action to end the violence, and former IRA terrorists now sharing power condemned those involved in the violence, Mrs Long pledged to do everything possible to persuade the Romanians to stay in Northern Ireland. `If they go back to Romania, the thugs will think they have won,' she added. `That is the last thing we want. We must find them permanent new homes.'
Not everyone shares her sentiments. There was fury in The Village, a rugged working-class area a mile from the attacks, some of whose residents joined the mob wanting to drive the Roma out. With murals of the Queen painted on walls and Union Jacks fluttering from virtually every window, the people of The Village are incensed at the `special treatment' they say immigrants receive, while they themselves live in grim terrace homes with outside toilets. `These people are sly,' said Annie Johnson, a local woman. `It's all just a racket - they put on their sad faces and get moved to the top of the queue for housing. `Politicians are full of cr*p. They leap into action at the first mention of racism - but what about the poor people who have lived here all their lives?'
Opinion has been inflamed not only by the crimes the police and locals agree some of the Roma commit - but also by the fact that no one has even been able to debate the issue of their presence in the city without being accused of racism. Ian Magill, 45, runs the only shop in The Village, which was once a stronghold for Loyalist terrorists. He is a calm, intelligent man, whose greatest wish is that his three sons do not get into trouble with the law. Dominic, his youngest son, was adopted from Croatia, so Mr Magill can hardly be described as someone with a hatred of foreigners. But he is under no illusions about why people from his area were involved in the violence.
`People feel like they are under siege because of all the immigrants coming in,' he said. `It's getting to the stage where people just don't care any more. `You get branded a racist if you speak out about the issue of immigration. But I think I'm being a realist, not a racist, when I say that this is something we must address. `Most of the Polish immigrants work - but these people [Romas] don't,' he added. `They are pretty uneducated and they seem to think that the only way they can survive is to bend the rules. `But when you are doing this, and carrying out crimes against local people, it becomes a problem. They shouldn't be here.'
Not all Mr Magill's fellow citizens are as considered as he is. At a nearby off-licence, a young, welldressed man of about 30 erupts in anger. He says all these `foreigners should be burned out of their f****** homes. All we hear about are their problems. For once, why don't you write about the problems these people cause to us locals'. He is referring to a wave of petty crime that has swept Belfast over the past two years - the period in which the Roma have arrived.
The crimes, confirmed by police, range from `mobbing' elderly ladies at cashpoint machines, distracting them while they steal cash, to using razor blades to slice the straps of handbags and disappear with possessions before anyone knows. Roma have also been linked with prostitution and people trafficking. But it is the petty crimes that are causing such fury. Countless people I spoke to in The Village reported clothes being stolen from their washing lines - one man claimed to have seen a Roma wearing his distinctive jeans, which had disappeared while hanging out to dry, only for the thief to laugh in his face - and children's bikes being taken from back yards....
Interpol has since warned that organised criminals among the Romanian immigrants are stealing from indigenous populations on the orders of gangsters back home. British police said last year that they were struggling to cope with a staggering 800 per cent increase in crimes, such as pickpocketing, committed by Romanians since they started coming to Britain in large numbers.
Forces in Germany and France have also reported more crime, some of it violent. In Italy, murders, rapes and kidnappings have been blamed on the newcomers. Inevitably, there is a danger that Roma are unjustly blamed for the crimes of others. But acts of retaliation are taking place everywhere.
Marian Mandache, of Romani Criss, a group dedicated to helping the gipsies, says the violence in Belfast follows a disturbing trend of assaults on the Roma across Europe. `Starting in Italy, there have been waves of attacks - as well as in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, everywhere.'
Racial tensions are rising throughout Europe as the pace of immigration intensifies and economies deteriorate. In Italy, the authorities have started fingerprinting Roma immigrants and repatriating them after their alleged crimes led to waves of brutal, retaliatory attacks by locals.
More than 1,000 Roma have arrived in Northern Ireland. Few speak English and `begging gangs' now operate throughout Belfast. Local tourism websites are clogged with comments about aggressive beggars, pickpockets and con artists - though clearly they are not all Roma....
Of course, no right-thinking person can condone the attacks that have seen the Roma families moved this weekend to a new, secret location. Yet it is the lack of debate (or action) on immigration by politicians that has contributed to these festering frustrations, just as it has led to the appalling spectre of two seats for the British National Party in this month's European elections.
More HERE
Must not mention that many female tennis players look attractive
We read:
"As a former Wimbledon champion, Michael Stich might be expected to have an expert appreciation for the skill and dedication required to play tennis at its highest level.
But on the eve of this year's tournament, the BBC Radio 5 Live commentator has caused outrage among the sport's female stars by claiming their role is as much about `selling sex' on court as it is about their sporting prowess....
However, not everyone took offence. Two-time Wimbledon singles winner Serena Williams admitted: `Sex sells! It's great for Angelina Jolie and it's true
Source
There is a new lot of postings by Chris Brand just up -- on his usual vastly "incorrect" themes of race, genes, IQ etc.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Britain's "caring" social worker bitches again
Mother of disabled daughter told they would take her into "care" if she doesn't take away her daughter's toys. Putting "care" into the hands of government employees is a sick joke
A mother is distraught after being told her disabled daughter could be taken into care if she does not take away her collection of toys. Maureen Wright was sent a letter by the council telling her to make "significant adjustments" to the way she looked after daughter Michelle. Among these adjustments was an order to move Michelle's collection of soft toys out of reach in case she "ingests fibres".
She was also told to be more accommodating to her daughter's three full time carers, who spend up to 21 hours a day with Michelle, 38, who suffers from genetic condition Cri du Chat syndrome. The letter was sent by the team leader of the council's joint community learning disability team, Linda Lines.
In the letter Ms Lines wrote: "I am aware that you are keen for Michelle to remain living at home. "This is something that the local authority will support provided Michelle's care needs are being fully met. "In the event that Michelle's needs are not fully met we have been advised to make an application to the Court of Protection, which may result in Michelle being moved to residential accommodation. "Unless significant adjustments are made now ... it is likely that she will have to be moved into residential care."
Maureen, 65, says the letter has left her feeling like a bad mother, despite providing many years of loving care for her daughter. It also asked her to ensure Michelle is fed a varied diet including fresh vegetables - even though Maureen claims she already does this. She said: "I'm extremely angry and very upset. I just don't know what to do about it. "Of course I don't want Michelle to go into care but if they keep writing me letters and making demands I don't know how I can keep up with it." She says she will abide by the council's demands but has been left distraught at the insinuation she is not providing her daughter with everything she needs.
Maureen, of Queens Road, Thornton Heath, said: "Michelle is so happy at home. She wouldn't survive in care. "She's 38 now and I've been looking after her since she was born. "I know what to do. I'm her mother."
A spokeswoman for Croydon Council defended the letter being sent out. She said: "The council has a responsibility to safeguard the wellbeing of all disabled people living at home with carers and this is always our number one priority. "We have been working closely with Mrs Wright and her daughter to ensure that Michelle's welfare and wellbeing comes first in any decisions or changes as regards her care." [What a mealy-mouthed hypocritical bitch!]
SOURCE
Virulent new strain of anti-Semitism rife in UK, says Chief Rabbi
Britain is in the grip of a "virulent" new strain of anti-Semitism, according to the Chief Rabbi. Sir Jonathan Sacks told The Times in an interview that in January the number of anti-Semitic incidents reached the highest level since records began. Jews have been physically attacked, schools targeted and cemeteries desecrated.
"I was in the synagogue a few months ago when one of the members came in visibly shaken: somebody had just shouted at him, `It's a pity Hitler didn't finish the job'," the Chief Rabbi said.
Although the new "mutation" was different from the anti-Semitism promoted by Hitler, it was dangerous because it was international, he said. "The internet means that we no longer have national cultures; we have global cultures and the new anti-Semitism is very much a phenomenon of the global culture."
Whereas in the past, hatred was focused against Judaism as a religion or Jews as a race, the focus this time was on Jews as a nation. The rise in the number of attacks in January took place at the same time as Israel's assault on Hamas in Gaza. "It begins as anti-Zionism - but it is never merely anti-Zionism when it attacks synagogues or Jewish schools," Sir Jonathan said. "In the post-Holocaust world the single greatest source of authority is human rights - therefore the new anti-Semitism is constructed in the language of human rights."
In a new book, Future Tense, he describes a "virulent new strain of anti-Semitism". A worrying alliance had developed between radical Islamists and anti-globalisation protesters, he said. [i.e. the extreme Left]
The UN had also fanned the flames. At the World Conference against Racism in Durban in 2001, he said, "Israel was accused of the five cardinal sins against human rights - racism, apartheid, ethnic cleansing, crimes against humanity and attempted genocide. So the old myths are recycled they are alive and well but they are done in a new kind of vocabulary."
The media should also be more careful in coverage of the Middle East: "I do think too little of the history has been set out and people don't really understand what's at stake, so the Jewish community has felt quite vulnerable because of that." Asked whether he thought the BBC had shown anti-Israeli bias, he replied: "No comment."
Sir Jonathan said that the mood had changed after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre in 2001. His daughter, who at the time was studying at the London School of Economics, "had gone to an anti-globalisation rally which quickly turned into a diatribe against Israel and Jews. She came home weeping and said, `Dad they hate us'. I never expected that to happen in the 21st century," he said. "There had been after the Holocaust a kind of taboo and that began to break. Within 24 hours of 9/11 people said it was `Mossad wot done it'.
"Then the anti-Semitism went viral and it became very worrying. There started to be synagogue desecrations, cemetery desecrations and Jews attacked on the street. We had a rabbinical student who was on the top floor of a bus in Stamford Hill quietly studying the Talmud. Somebody stabbed him many times - he was lucky to live. The guy who was convicted said, `Israel is persecuting us so I decided I had to persecute him'."
Mark Gardiner, of the Community Security Trust, said that the number of attacks in January - 250 - was double the highest previous monthly total and the level had stayed well above average. Figures began to be compiled in 1984. "We have repeatedly seen a surge of anti-Semitic attacks every time there is turmoil in the Middle East," Mr Gardiner said. "It's a ridiculous situation that British Jews should feel vulnerable in relation to a conflict thousands of miles away."
SOURCE
A response to Digital Britain: "The government has announced `plans to help secure Britain's place at the head of a new media age.' We should be cautious whenever we see governments combining future visions with the word `plan.' Not surprisingly, the headline measures involve the use of force to construct a `transformation' - in Gordon Browns words - of the distribution of digital broadband, comparing it with what he calls `essential services such as electricity, gas and water.' This is an upside-down policy approach. Technology, delivery methods and service product innovations are changing rapidly under private initiative, individual traders are juggling for profitable commercial position and the industry is moving on fast. Now leviathan wants in on the act to re-invent a commanding height in the economy that they control. That's mad. If ever there was the case for getting out of the way, this is it."
Mother of disabled daughter told they would take her into "care" if she doesn't take away her daughter's toys. Putting "care" into the hands of government employees is a sick joke
A mother is distraught after being told her disabled daughter could be taken into care if she does not take away her collection of toys. Maureen Wright was sent a letter by the council telling her to make "significant adjustments" to the way she looked after daughter Michelle. Among these adjustments was an order to move Michelle's collection of soft toys out of reach in case she "ingests fibres".
She was also told to be more accommodating to her daughter's three full time carers, who spend up to 21 hours a day with Michelle, 38, who suffers from genetic condition Cri du Chat syndrome. The letter was sent by the team leader of the council's joint community learning disability team, Linda Lines.
In the letter Ms Lines wrote: "I am aware that you are keen for Michelle to remain living at home. "This is something that the local authority will support provided Michelle's care needs are being fully met. "In the event that Michelle's needs are not fully met we have been advised to make an application to the Court of Protection, which may result in Michelle being moved to residential accommodation. "Unless significant adjustments are made now ... it is likely that she will have to be moved into residential care."
Maureen, 65, says the letter has left her feeling like a bad mother, despite providing many years of loving care for her daughter. It also asked her to ensure Michelle is fed a varied diet including fresh vegetables - even though Maureen claims she already does this. She said: "I'm extremely angry and very upset. I just don't know what to do about it. "Of course I don't want Michelle to go into care but if they keep writing me letters and making demands I don't know how I can keep up with it." She says she will abide by the council's demands but has been left distraught at the insinuation she is not providing her daughter with everything she needs.
Maureen, of Queens Road, Thornton Heath, said: "Michelle is so happy at home. She wouldn't survive in care. "She's 38 now and I've been looking after her since she was born. "I know what to do. I'm her mother."
A spokeswoman for Croydon Council defended the letter being sent out. She said: "The council has a responsibility to safeguard the wellbeing of all disabled people living at home with carers and this is always our number one priority. "We have been working closely with Mrs Wright and her daughter to ensure that Michelle's welfare and wellbeing comes first in any decisions or changes as regards her care." [What a mealy-mouthed hypocritical bitch!]
SOURCE
Virulent new strain of anti-Semitism rife in UK, says Chief Rabbi
Britain is in the grip of a "virulent" new strain of anti-Semitism, according to the Chief Rabbi. Sir Jonathan Sacks told The Times in an interview that in January the number of anti-Semitic incidents reached the highest level since records began. Jews have been physically attacked, schools targeted and cemeteries desecrated.
"I was in the synagogue a few months ago when one of the members came in visibly shaken: somebody had just shouted at him, `It's a pity Hitler didn't finish the job'," the Chief Rabbi said.
Although the new "mutation" was different from the anti-Semitism promoted by Hitler, it was dangerous because it was international, he said. "The internet means that we no longer have national cultures; we have global cultures and the new anti-Semitism is very much a phenomenon of the global culture."
Whereas in the past, hatred was focused against Judaism as a religion or Jews as a race, the focus this time was on Jews as a nation. The rise in the number of attacks in January took place at the same time as Israel's assault on Hamas in Gaza. "It begins as anti-Zionism - but it is never merely anti-Zionism when it attacks synagogues or Jewish schools," Sir Jonathan said. "In the post-Holocaust world the single greatest source of authority is human rights - therefore the new anti-Semitism is constructed in the language of human rights."
In a new book, Future Tense, he describes a "virulent new strain of anti-Semitism". A worrying alliance had developed between radical Islamists and anti-globalisation protesters, he said. [i.e. the extreme Left]
The UN had also fanned the flames. At the World Conference against Racism in Durban in 2001, he said, "Israel was accused of the five cardinal sins against human rights - racism, apartheid, ethnic cleansing, crimes against humanity and attempted genocide. So the old myths are recycled they are alive and well but they are done in a new kind of vocabulary."
The media should also be more careful in coverage of the Middle East: "I do think too little of the history has been set out and people don't really understand what's at stake, so the Jewish community has felt quite vulnerable because of that." Asked whether he thought the BBC had shown anti-Israeli bias, he replied: "No comment."
Sir Jonathan said that the mood had changed after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre in 2001. His daughter, who at the time was studying at the London School of Economics, "had gone to an anti-globalisation rally which quickly turned into a diatribe against Israel and Jews. She came home weeping and said, `Dad they hate us'. I never expected that to happen in the 21st century," he said. "There had been after the Holocaust a kind of taboo and that began to break. Within 24 hours of 9/11 people said it was `Mossad wot done it'.
"Then the anti-Semitism went viral and it became very worrying. There started to be synagogue desecrations, cemetery desecrations and Jews attacked on the street. We had a rabbinical student who was on the top floor of a bus in Stamford Hill quietly studying the Talmud. Somebody stabbed him many times - he was lucky to live. The guy who was convicted said, `Israel is persecuting us so I decided I had to persecute him'."
Mark Gardiner, of the Community Security Trust, said that the number of attacks in January - 250 - was double the highest previous monthly total and the level had stayed well above average. Figures began to be compiled in 1984. "We have repeatedly seen a surge of anti-Semitic attacks every time there is turmoil in the Middle East," Mr Gardiner said. "It's a ridiculous situation that British Jews should feel vulnerable in relation to a conflict thousands of miles away."
SOURCE
A response to Digital Britain: "The government has announced `plans to help secure Britain's place at the head of a new media age.' We should be cautious whenever we see governments combining future visions with the word `plan.' Not surprisingly, the headline measures involve the use of force to construct a `transformation' - in Gordon Browns words - of the distribution of digital broadband, comparing it with what he calls `essential services such as electricity, gas and water.' This is an upside-down policy approach. Technology, delivery methods and service product innovations are changing rapidly under private initiative, individual traders are juggling for profitable commercial position and the industry is moving on fast. Now leviathan wants in on the act to re-invent a commanding height in the economy that they control. That's mad. If ever there was the case for getting out of the way, this is it."
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Welsh IVF blunder clinic lost another couple's embryos
The HFEA should have closed this clinic down after earlier reports of negligence but they were instead obsessed with pursuing Dr. Taranissi over paperwork issues
The fertility clinic that transferred a woman's last embryo into another patient has apologised for losing the embryos of another couple. The latest couple, who do not want to be identified, said that they were devastated by the loss of their embryos at the IVF Wales clinic in Cardiff in 2004, which happened when the tube and needle transferring them to the woman's womb became disconnected. The clinic said in a statement that an apology had been made to the couple and that the incident happened because of an equipment error.
The man, from the South Wales valleys, told BBC Radio Wales that the doctor dealing with them had at first been looking at the wrong notes. "It became apparent the doctor was referring to a different couple's notes, from Swansea, I believe. When we raised that issue, that we weren't actually from Swansea, they realised. If they can't get something as relatively straightforward as record-keeping right it doesn't bode well," he said.
His partner said that when they went back to the clinic for the embryo transfer, "unfortunately during this time they lost our embryos. I can't put it into words, I really can't. I just cried. We were devastated. We viewed our embryos seconds before it happened. You look at these embryos and think they're your babies."
The couple decided to talk about their experience after hearing about the couple from Bridgend, South Wales, whose last remaining embryo was implanted in the wrong woman by mistake. The woman who had had the wrong embryo implanted had a termination when she found out about the error.
The Cardiff and Vale NHS Trust has paid the couple, identified only as Deborah and Paul, whose embryo was wrongly transplanted an unidentified sum after admitting liability for gross failures in care. The couple had been hoping to try for a second baby with their last remaining embryo in 2007 when they were told that it had been implanted in another woman. The mistake occurred when more than one patient's embryos were temporarily stored in an incubator. A trainee embryologist failed to carry out "fail-safe" witnessing procedures.
The trust said that systems had since been improved, in line with recommendations made in a report by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority investigators in relation to the case. In the latest incident the couple were not charged and they accepted the offer of a further free cycle of treatment.
Janet Evans, the clinical director of IVF Wales, said: "This was an unfortunate but extremely rare failure in a standard piece of equipment used for embryo transfer around the world. We have since changed the equipment that we use. The incident was investigated by IVF Wales staff and a personal apology was made. "The incident was reported to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) as part of the incident alert register so other centres could benefit from the information.
"IVF Wales is regularly inspected, as are all units in the UK, by the HFEA. The unit maintains its licence with no conditions, which demonstrates HFEA satisfaction with our quality of care."
SOURCE
Lies, Damned Lies and BBC Climate Reports
When the global warming alarmist house of cards finally collapses, exposing the pseudo-science/scare-journalism axis that has perpetrated the world's greatest mass delusion, among the first led out into the public square for ritual humiliation ought to be BBC `science' and `environment' correspondents.
Firstly, for submitting fraudulent CV's to BBC Human Resources claiming they actually knew something about science. Secondly, for asserting, as public service (public-paid) broadcasters, that they were only reporting `what scientists were saying.'
No doubt they will also adopt the same mitigation Scoop's William Boot called upon - that they were really only Gardening Correspondents who took a wrong turn in the BBC corridor one day. They will claim that their news editors `water-boarded' destroying their `testicular fortitude' thereby forcing them to concoct a veritable cornucopia of journalistic drivel to feed the public angst. That resulting in warnings of global apocalypse via everything -- everything from swine flu to SARS to the Mad Cow Disease (not to mention their `toxic' farts) -- but, mainly by employing the daddy of all scare scams: warm-mongering.
So science is turned on its head. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is reported by the BBC as a `pollutant' and thus all exhaling humans are `toxic'. Faith, not science, now prophesies that `higher CO2 emissions cause global warming' - even though the actual data reveals global warming ended in 1998, while CO2 emissions continued to rise. Planet Gore-ism propaganda finds a ready home displaying its wares via the `world's broadcaster'. Next an epidemic of teenage sleep-denying stress is brought on by viewing science-fiction horror flicks entitled `An Inconvenient Bunch of Statistical Crap', as media-induced hysteria invades our schoolrooms. And the evening news presents us with a steady procession of reports warn us that if we don't sell our SUV's and buy dull light-bulbs, dire prognostications will befall us. We will see the end of the Gulf Stream, the demise of islands (various), the loss of both polar ice caps and the bulk of the world's population - not to mention the nightly re-showing of those cuddly polar bears floating about on a chunk of ice.
This June, in the wake of Japanese scientists disputing the UN IPCC's anthropogenic warming orthodoxy (which, needless to say, the BBC didn't report), the Japanese Government put forward what the BBC's Environment Correspondent Richard Black called "weak" carbon targets. Writer/blogger Maurizio Morabito helpfully provides us with stark `numerical evidence' of Black's - thus the BBC's - biased reporting. Morabito says: "The article is made up of 469 words. Of those, 249 make up "neutral" sentences (54%). Negative comments are made of 156 words (34%). Only 58 words (13%...a mere three sentences!!) are left to explain the reasons for the Japanese government's decision."
It wasn't so long ago - April 2008 to be precise - that the actions of the BBC's environment reporter Roger Harrabin epitomised the lack of integrity in the BBC news reporting. Having confirmed (for once) that global warming appeared to have peaked in 1998 Harrabin went as far `change the news' to accommodate the anger of a climate activist.
Then there is Susan Watts, BBC TV's Newsnight's science editor, who informed the British public that "Scientists calculate that President Obama has just four years to save the world". It was unclear whether she meant from climate catastrophe or a prospective Palin White House. (I assume the former, liberal hand-wringing angst over Sarah Palin will come soon enough.) Watts later confirmed, via her blog, that she was referring to comments by Dr James Hansen. For the uninitiated Hansen is the resident alarmist nut-job at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies - a man whose `science' his more serious NASA colleagues are queuing up to skewer publicly.
In `BBC Abandons "impartiality" on warming' Chris Booker provides other examples of Watts' "bizarre" reporting, including editing Obama's inaugural speech "to convey a considerably stronger impression of what Obama has said on global warming than his careful wording justified." Booker also reminds us that, "as late as August 28, 2008, it [the BBC] was still predicting the Arctic ice might soon disappear". By the end of the year, the Arctic ice was reported as having grown by 30 percent. Needless to say, those reports too were frozen out of BBC reports. Then there was the controversy over an `impartial' BBC devoting 15 hours of airtime to the Live Earth/Al Gore Propaganda Show in 2007. It featured at one point a giant poster of Michael Mann's famous computer modelled "hockey stick" temperature graph. As Booker points out, "one of the most discredited artefacts in the history of science".
Okay, so why pick on the BBC? Haven't they enough troubles playing down internal reports that confirm their ideologically leftwing and liberal biases? True enough. But the BBC loves to call itself, as we have noted, the `world's broadcaster'. Fair enough. But its scientifically-challenged science/enviro correspondents, as Dr Richard North's excellent 2006 report `The BBC's Climate Change Meltdown' notes concerning those that know more science than they (mentioning Harrabin and Watts by name), they "give us every sign that they think sceptics are fools or knaves or both". Cometh the time then, only the highest profile ritual humiliation will do.
The BBC, replete with its increasingly shabby values, is now a growing player in the American and Canadian markets too, with shows including Dancing With The Stars - a programme, by the way, that cause celebrities to rush around expelling enormous quantities of CO2 into the atmosphere. If I sound a tad peevish, it's with good reason. As a British citizen I am forced annually to subsidize the BBC (British Bias Corporation) via Britain's iniquitous TV licence fee `tax'. Fact is, there was a time in Britain when `end is nigh' placarders and other much-loved eccentrics, operated at the margins of society. Sadly, today they have moved indoors, gained a degree in journalism and become proficient at state of the art graphics. Novelist Graham Greene once wrote, "A petty reason...why novelists more and more try to keep a distance from journalists is that novelists are trying to write the truth and journalists are trying to write fiction". We might add, given the BBC's appalling reporting record on climate issues, "mostly science-fiction, too".
SOURCE
British corruptocrats still trying to hide
MPs were shamed yesterday after the much vaunted opening of their expenses files produced a humiliating cover-up of the most serious abuses. Parliament and its officials were accused of colluding in a œ2 million ($4 million) operation to protect the greedy as the supposed new era of transparency was drowned in a sea of black ink.
More than a million pieces of paper - bills, receipts and claim forms - were posted on the House of Commons website shortly before 6am, but thousands of them were indecipherable. Much of the information was blacked out as the MPs, helped by the authorities, censored incriminating material, citing security and privacy. The redactions included addresses, making it impossible to tell from the official version which MPs "flipped" their second homes to maximise returns from the taxpayer or changed the designation of their homes to avoid paying capital gains tax.
Even so, the exposure produced more dramatic developments in a saga that has shaken politics to the core. It was slipped out last night that about 200 MPs had rushed to pay back nearly œ500,000 because of public outrage over their claims.
In four years Labour MPs have channelled œ235,000 of taxpayers' money to a computing consultancy that operates from party headquarters. Several Cabinet ministers have used their Commons allowance to pay Computing for London to manage communications in their constituency offices.
The papers revealed that Alistair Darling, the Chancellor, asked his accountants to change the wording of an invoice for tax advice before he submitted it to the fees office and controversially claimed it back on expenses.
David Cameron said that he would repay almost œ1,000 in overpayments on mortgage, electricity and phone bills. He blamed the overpayment on an "inadvertent administrative error".
The expenses scandal has already ended the careers of 20 MPs, and more are expected to follow.
The cover-up shocked campaigners. Commons officials had removed references to previously revealed absurdities such as the cleaning of moats and the purchase of houses for ducks. The names of companies providing goods and gardening services were also blanked out to avoid having to show where the work was done.
Without earlier disclosures no one would have known that Hazel Blears claimed second home expenses for three different properties in a year, or that the second home of Margaret Moran, who claimed œ22,000 to treat dry rot, was in Southampton, 100 miles from her constituency. The official record would not have exposed the Labour MPs David Chaytor and Elliot Morley, who claimed thousands of pounds against mortgages that had already been paid off. This only emerged after their addresses were cross-checked against Land Registry records.
Nevertheless, the political establishment was smarting as the full tawdriness of its claims was laid bare to a public audience. By 4.30pm 250,000 people had visited the website and clicked on 1.5 million pages.
The receipts revealed that the Conservative MP Graham Brady claimed œ71 to get back into his house after being locked out and that the former minister John Reid claimed œ29.99 for a book explaining basic economics.
Tony Blair, the former Prime Minister, spent œ260 on shredding as he wound up his parliamentary affairs, and claimed œ6,990 for repairing the roof of his constituency home two days before leaving No 10. The fees office reduced his claim to œ4,453. Others spent a fortune on paper clips, matches, milk frothers, assertiveness training courses and the Racing Post.
MPs themselves were hugely embarrassed by the cover-up. Vince Cable, of the Liberal Democrats, said: "If people had had to rely on this information to find out about their MPs they would have been faced with swaths of black ink rather than information about the flipping of homes and the avoidance of capital gains tax. "It took a huge amount of effort from campaigners, my Liberal Democrat colleagues and other independent-minded MPs to get even this much information released. It's a shame that it is still far less transparent than it could have been."
The Commons authorities spent more than œ140,000 trying to avoid publishing the expenses before being defeated in the High Court in May last year. The process of scanning and editing all the receipts from 2004-08 has cost a further 2 million pounds and taken 13 months to complete. Sir Stuart Bell, of the Commons Commission, described the disclosure as unprecedented and said that it was right that information was blacked out to protect MPs' privacy and security.
Maurice Frankel, of the Campaign for Freedom of Information, said: "The mood of the House of Commons was that they did not want any of this information to be published and, failing that, as little as possible."
SOURCE
Scandal of killers on probation
Criminals are just misunderstood, don't you know?
THE justice secretary, Jack Straw, was facing a scathing attack on Labour's prison policy this weekend after it emerged that criminals on probation are charged with one in seven murders in Britain.
The Tories unearthed figures which show that in the past three years at least 300 criminals on parole have been charged with murder. A further 130 have faced trial for attempted murder or conspiracy.
Dominic Grieve, the shadow justice secretary, said the figures shattered Straw's recent claim that the fiasco surrounding the brutal murder of two French students was a one-off case.
Gabriel Ferez and Laurent Bonomo, who were stabbed more than 200 times in a sadistic attack in London last June, were killed by Dano Sonnex and Nigel Farmer. Sonnex should have been in jail at the time in connection with an earlier crime he had committed while on probation.
"We are now learning the true scale of the systematic failings revealed in the tragic Sonnex case. Gordon Brown has released serious offenders early and relaxed the monitoring of those on probation," Grieve said.
"Dangerous criminals under diluted probation supervision are now being charged with a shocking one in seven of all homicides in Britain. This amounts to a reckless dereliction of this government's duty to protect the public.
"Only this week, the justice secretary claimed the Sonnex case was a one-off. This now looks complacent in the extreme, not least since the number of murders committed by those on probation is in fact rising," he added.
The figures show that 129 criminals on parole were charged with murders in 2006-7. A further 107 faced murder charges in 2007-8, with an additional 64 charged in the six months to last September, the latest period for which figures are available.
Probation failures have proved a constant embarrassment to Labour ministers. They were highlighted by the killing of John Monckton, a City financier, at his home in Chelsea, London, in 2004.
He was killed by Damien Hanson and Elliot White, who were both supposed to be under the supervision of the probation service at the time.
After the Sonnex case, David Scott, the head of London probation, resigned. Straw insisted the failures which led to the murders could not be blamed on lack of resources.
SOURCE
Welfare payments the principal concern behind Britain's points-based migration system
Students are not the only people hurt by the UK's points-based visa application system. Non-EU citizens who seek employment in the UK are also disadvantaged. The government intends to accomplish three objectives with the new migration control system. First, Gordon Brown's government wants to curtail the number and type of non-EU citizens working in the UK. Second, the government wants to keep visa holders off the dole. The third government objective is to raise money from visa applications.
The first objective has been publicly stated by the Home Office. The second objective is revealed through a review of the new visa application forms. The points-based system requires all visa applicants to have sufficient funds to support themselves, and any dependants, throughout their stay. Applicants also certify that they will not receive welfare benefits whilst in the UK. The third objective is manifest by hike in visa application fees. For example, unsponsored visa applicants must now pay between œ675 and œ1020 for the application fee. Sponsored applicants must pay a œ265 fee. Even students are required to pay œ145 to apply for a visa. Applicants in these three categories who have dependents must pay the same application fee for each dependent. Visa application statistics are sparse for the period since the points-based system was launched, but in the 2006-2007 financial year, the UK government received 2.7 million visa applications. That translates into millions of pounds of revenue for the government.
The concerns underlying the government's objectives can all be traced to the maladies of the welfare state. Welfare states attract people who are content to live on the dole. The new points-based system cracks down on would-be social loafers from non-EU nations, but European freeloaders are left undeterred. This is especially problematic due to the combination of the UK's high standard of living and relatively generous welfare benefits. Welfare states are also expensive to run, which explains the high taxes and government fees.
The easy way to eliminate the government's welfare-based concerns is to do away with the welfare system. That may not be politically practicable at the moment, but an effective compromise would be to pare down welfare benefits to the point that the UK's dole is much less desirable than welfare programs in other EU nations. This will encourage net negative residents to look elsewhere for government handouts. With fewer freeloaders, many of the government's immigration concerns will be allayed. The Home Office could then relax its points based system rules to make it easier for industrious, innovative applicants to make positive contributions to the UK economy.
SOURCE
British taste choices are defined by region, Nottingham food scientists find
In the Midlands they like the spicy flavour that triggers taste buds on the front of the tongue, while in Scotland it is rich, creamy flavours that linger on the palate
Research has indicated that people's culinary preferences depend on where they were born. Scientists from the University of Nottingham found that taste preferences could be broken down like regional accents and were highly dependent on an area's history. In the North East, for example, foods are enjoyed by taste buds on the tip of the tongue - which pick up sour flavours - because, claim the researchers, the region has a history of hungry industrial workers demanding meals that offer immediate sustenance.
The researchers, who surveyed 13,000 people on behalf of Costa Coffee, said that in contrast, across the Pennines in Manchester and Liverpool, foods with soft, rounded flavours that linger on the palate were popular, perhaps because of the region's soft water.
Greg Tucker, a food psychologist, and Andy Taylor, Professor of Flavour Technology at the University of Nottingham and an adviser to Heston Blumenthal, the chef, said that the research was based on the fact that different parts of the tongue tend to pick up varying flavours. The front of the tongue is sensitive to sweet flavours and the back picks up the taste of bitter foods. The sides of the front of the tongue usually detect sour flavours, while the middle tastes salty foods and a little-known taste called umami, best represented by soy sauce.
Professor Taylor said: "Taste is determined by our genetic make-up and influenced by our upbringing and experience with flavours. "Just as with spoken dialects, where accent is placed on different syllables and vowel formations, people from different regions have developed enhanced sensitivities to certain taste sensations and seek foods that trigger these." Mr Tucker, managing director of the Marketing Clinic, based in Cambridge, said: "I suspected that there might be some minor differences from region to region but I was quite surprised that the variations were so pronounced. "Taste preferences are predetermined by a combinations of economics, culture and genetics. `Taste dialect' is a good phrase because just as you get dialects in any other countries, so you get taste dialects that are driven by different factors."
The researchers found that those living in the South had the least defined taste dialect of all the regions. The Scots are the slowest eaters.
South West: Sweet flavours. Apples are a favourite and often used in Cornish pasties, as the region is rural and fruit-growing. Sage is often used in dishes from the region
South East: The region has perhaps lost its distinctive palate owing to the number of different ethnic groups that have moved here. People tend to be the most adventurous about food
Wales: An industrial past, so strong-tasting foods that have cut through the dirt and grime down mines have always proved popular. Onions and leeks are a hit, as is Worcestershire sauce
The Midlands: Curry is a favourite, but not necessarily because of the large Asian communities
North West: People here like to eat comforting food. Lancashire hotpot contains many of the flavours enjoyed in the region
North East: Food that provides an instant hit of satisfaction is appreciated most. Fish and chip shops serve scrapings of overcooked chips from the corner of the deep fat fryer to customers who use their incisors to crunch food and taste chips at the front of their tongues
Scotland: Scots like rich, creamy foods that are comforting and linger on the palate. A rich fudge known as tablet is a delicacy, perhaps replaced by deep-fried Mars bars
SOURCE
Schools 'too safe' British teachers say
Daily Mail report
Children are being made to wear goggles before handling Blu Tack and are forbidden to run in the playground as a health and safety culture sweeps through schools. A survey of nearly 600 teachers revealed the most restrictive rules being imposed in an attempt to avoid injuries and lawsuits.
Pupils at one school are forced to put on goggles before using Blu Tack to prevent them rubbing the common adhesive into their eyes. In another, teachers are given a five-page briefing note on the dangers of Pritt Stick before they may use it with their charges. Generations of youngsters who made things out of empty egg boxes will be dismayed to learn that some schools have banned them for fear of salmonella poisoning. And many teachers reported bans on footballs, snowball fights, conker games and running in the playground.
Nearly half of teachers and classroom assistants polled by Teachers TV believe health and safety regulations are holding children back at school.
The findings emerged days after the Local Government Association urged parents and schools to shake off the 'cotton wool' culture. It vowed that town halls would not 'bow to the compensation culture' and would build new adventure-playgrounds. Judith Hackitt, chairman of the Health and Safety Executive, said the examples cited were 'frankly ridiculous'.
She added: 'Health and safety is blamed for a lot of things not going ahead, but they're often about something else - high costs, an event that requires a lot of organising or fear of getting sued. 'Children cannot be wrapped in cotton wool - risk is part of growing up and our children need to learn how to manage risks in the real world.'
A spokesman for the Department for Children, Schools and Families said: 'We urge schools to take a commonsense approach to keeping safe. 'Health and safety should not be a major burden and it shouldn't stop pupils from learning and playing. 'A small amount of risk is part and parcel of growing up and we do not subscribe to a cotton wool culture-of a sanitised childhood.'
The survey also revealed that two in five teachers are concerned about being alone in a room with a pupil in case they are falsely accused of inappropriate behaviour. And more than half have had to deal with a situation where they feared a child was being abused. But almost a third did not feel properly prepared and trained to deal with such situations.
SOURCE
Schools 'too safe' British teachers say
BBC report
Nearly half of teachers questioned for a survey believe the health and safety culture in schools is damaging children's learning. When questioned by Teachers TV, teachers complained about a five-page briefing on using glue sticks and being told to wear goggles to put up posters. Others said pupils were not allowed to enjoy the sun or snow without taking health and safety precautions.
Teachers TV surveyed 585 subscribers to the channel by questionnaire. Around 45% of those who took part thought health and safety precautions had a negative effect on teachers, as well as on students' personal development and learning. However, 45% said they did not think health and safety regulations were too restrictive. And just over 10% of teachers surveyed thought accidents in schools had increased during the last five years.
The teachers were also asked about general safety - their own and that of their pupils. More than half of those who responded - 56% - said they had had to deal with a situation where they suspected a child was being abused. More than two in five said they were afraid to be alone in a room with a pupil in case they were falsely accused of inappropriate behaviour. Just under a third of respondents said they were under-prepared in this area.
Questions regarding weapons checks in schools appeared to divide teachers. Exactly half said they favoured weapons checks in schools and half opposed it.
Chief executive of Teachers TV Andrew Bethell said: "The more extreme examples [of health and safety] are thankfully not the norm but schools still need to take into consideration the workforce's concerns when trying to protect pupils. "It is worrying that almost a third of the education workforce feel under-prepared to deal with the very complicated issues surrounding abuse and potential abuse."
SOURCE
The HFEA should have closed this clinic down after earlier reports of negligence but they were instead obsessed with pursuing Dr. Taranissi over paperwork issues
The fertility clinic that transferred a woman's last embryo into another patient has apologised for losing the embryos of another couple. The latest couple, who do not want to be identified, said that they were devastated by the loss of their embryos at the IVF Wales clinic in Cardiff in 2004, which happened when the tube and needle transferring them to the woman's womb became disconnected. The clinic said in a statement that an apology had been made to the couple and that the incident happened because of an equipment error.
The man, from the South Wales valleys, told BBC Radio Wales that the doctor dealing with them had at first been looking at the wrong notes. "It became apparent the doctor was referring to a different couple's notes, from Swansea, I believe. When we raised that issue, that we weren't actually from Swansea, they realised. If they can't get something as relatively straightforward as record-keeping right it doesn't bode well," he said.
His partner said that when they went back to the clinic for the embryo transfer, "unfortunately during this time they lost our embryos. I can't put it into words, I really can't. I just cried. We were devastated. We viewed our embryos seconds before it happened. You look at these embryos and think they're your babies."
The couple decided to talk about their experience after hearing about the couple from Bridgend, South Wales, whose last remaining embryo was implanted in the wrong woman by mistake. The woman who had had the wrong embryo implanted had a termination when she found out about the error.
The Cardiff and Vale NHS Trust has paid the couple, identified only as Deborah and Paul, whose embryo was wrongly transplanted an unidentified sum after admitting liability for gross failures in care. The couple had been hoping to try for a second baby with their last remaining embryo in 2007 when they were told that it had been implanted in another woman. The mistake occurred when more than one patient's embryos were temporarily stored in an incubator. A trainee embryologist failed to carry out "fail-safe" witnessing procedures.
The trust said that systems had since been improved, in line with recommendations made in a report by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority investigators in relation to the case. In the latest incident the couple were not charged and they accepted the offer of a further free cycle of treatment.
Janet Evans, the clinical director of IVF Wales, said: "This was an unfortunate but extremely rare failure in a standard piece of equipment used for embryo transfer around the world. We have since changed the equipment that we use. The incident was investigated by IVF Wales staff and a personal apology was made. "The incident was reported to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) as part of the incident alert register so other centres could benefit from the information.
"IVF Wales is regularly inspected, as are all units in the UK, by the HFEA. The unit maintains its licence with no conditions, which demonstrates HFEA satisfaction with our quality of care."
SOURCE
Lies, Damned Lies and BBC Climate Reports
When the global warming alarmist house of cards finally collapses, exposing the pseudo-science/scare-journalism axis that has perpetrated the world's greatest mass delusion, among the first led out into the public square for ritual humiliation ought to be BBC `science' and `environment' correspondents.
Firstly, for submitting fraudulent CV's to BBC Human Resources claiming they actually knew something about science. Secondly, for asserting, as public service (public-paid) broadcasters, that they were only reporting `what scientists were saying.'
No doubt they will also adopt the same mitigation Scoop's William Boot called upon - that they were really only Gardening Correspondents who took a wrong turn in the BBC corridor one day. They will claim that their news editors `water-boarded' destroying their `testicular fortitude' thereby forcing them to concoct a veritable cornucopia of journalistic drivel to feed the public angst. That resulting in warnings of global apocalypse via everything -- everything from swine flu to SARS to the Mad Cow Disease (not to mention their `toxic' farts) -- but, mainly by employing the daddy of all scare scams: warm-mongering.
So science is turned on its head. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is reported by the BBC as a `pollutant' and thus all exhaling humans are `toxic'. Faith, not science, now prophesies that `higher CO2 emissions cause global warming' - even though the actual data reveals global warming ended in 1998, while CO2 emissions continued to rise. Planet Gore-ism propaganda finds a ready home displaying its wares via the `world's broadcaster'. Next an epidemic of teenage sleep-denying stress is brought on by viewing science-fiction horror flicks entitled `An Inconvenient Bunch of Statistical Crap', as media-induced hysteria invades our schoolrooms. And the evening news presents us with a steady procession of reports warn us that if we don't sell our SUV's and buy dull light-bulbs, dire prognostications will befall us. We will see the end of the Gulf Stream, the demise of islands (various), the loss of both polar ice caps and the bulk of the world's population - not to mention the nightly re-showing of those cuddly polar bears floating about on a chunk of ice.
This June, in the wake of Japanese scientists disputing the UN IPCC's anthropogenic warming orthodoxy (which, needless to say, the BBC didn't report), the Japanese Government put forward what the BBC's Environment Correspondent Richard Black called "weak" carbon targets. Writer/blogger Maurizio Morabito helpfully provides us with stark `numerical evidence' of Black's - thus the BBC's - biased reporting. Morabito says: "The article is made up of 469 words. Of those, 249 make up "neutral" sentences (54%). Negative comments are made of 156 words (34%). Only 58 words (13%...a mere three sentences!!) are left to explain the reasons for the Japanese government's decision."
It wasn't so long ago - April 2008 to be precise - that the actions of the BBC's environment reporter Roger Harrabin epitomised the lack of integrity in the BBC news reporting. Having confirmed (for once) that global warming appeared to have peaked in 1998 Harrabin went as far `change the news' to accommodate the anger of a climate activist.
Then there is Susan Watts, BBC TV's Newsnight's science editor, who informed the British public that "Scientists calculate that President Obama has just four years to save the world". It was unclear whether she meant from climate catastrophe or a prospective Palin White House. (I assume the former, liberal hand-wringing angst over Sarah Palin will come soon enough.) Watts later confirmed, via her blog, that she was referring to comments by Dr James Hansen. For the uninitiated Hansen is the resident alarmist nut-job at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies - a man whose `science' his more serious NASA colleagues are queuing up to skewer publicly.
In `BBC Abandons "impartiality" on warming' Chris Booker provides other examples of Watts' "bizarre" reporting, including editing Obama's inaugural speech "to convey a considerably stronger impression of what Obama has said on global warming than his careful wording justified." Booker also reminds us that, "as late as August 28, 2008, it [the BBC] was still predicting the Arctic ice might soon disappear". By the end of the year, the Arctic ice was reported as having grown by 30 percent. Needless to say, those reports too were frozen out of BBC reports. Then there was the controversy over an `impartial' BBC devoting 15 hours of airtime to the Live Earth/Al Gore Propaganda Show in 2007. It featured at one point a giant poster of Michael Mann's famous computer modelled "hockey stick" temperature graph. As Booker points out, "one of the most discredited artefacts in the history of science".
Okay, so why pick on the BBC? Haven't they enough troubles playing down internal reports that confirm their ideologically leftwing and liberal biases? True enough. But the BBC loves to call itself, as we have noted, the `world's broadcaster'. Fair enough. But its scientifically-challenged science/enviro correspondents, as Dr Richard North's excellent 2006 report `The BBC's Climate Change Meltdown' notes concerning those that know more science than they (mentioning Harrabin and Watts by name), they "give us every sign that they think sceptics are fools or knaves or both". Cometh the time then, only the highest profile ritual humiliation will do.
The BBC, replete with its increasingly shabby values, is now a growing player in the American and Canadian markets too, with shows including Dancing With The Stars - a programme, by the way, that cause celebrities to rush around expelling enormous quantities of CO2 into the atmosphere. If I sound a tad peevish, it's with good reason. As a British citizen I am forced annually to subsidize the BBC (British Bias Corporation) via Britain's iniquitous TV licence fee `tax'. Fact is, there was a time in Britain when `end is nigh' placarders and other much-loved eccentrics, operated at the margins of society. Sadly, today they have moved indoors, gained a degree in journalism and become proficient at state of the art graphics. Novelist Graham Greene once wrote, "A petty reason...why novelists more and more try to keep a distance from journalists is that novelists are trying to write the truth and journalists are trying to write fiction". We might add, given the BBC's appalling reporting record on climate issues, "mostly science-fiction, too".
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British corruptocrats still trying to hide
MPs were shamed yesterday after the much vaunted opening of their expenses files produced a humiliating cover-up of the most serious abuses. Parliament and its officials were accused of colluding in a œ2 million ($4 million) operation to protect the greedy as the supposed new era of transparency was drowned in a sea of black ink.
More than a million pieces of paper - bills, receipts and claim forms - were posted on the House of Commons website shortly before 6am, but thousands of them were indecipherable. Much of the information was blacked out as the MPs, helped by the authorities, censored incriminating material, citing security and privacy. The redactions included addresses, making it impossible to tell from the official version which MPs "flipped" their second homes to maximise returns from the taxpayer or changed the designation of their homes to avoid paying capital gains tax.
Even so, the exposure produced more dramatic developments in a saga that has shaken politics to the core. It was slipped out last night that about 200 MPs had rushed to pay back nearly œ500,000 because of public outrage over their claims.
In four years Labour MPs have channelled œ235,000 of taxpayers' money to a computing consultancy that operates from party headquarters. Several Cabinet ministers have used their Commons allowance to pay Computing for London to manage communications in their constituency offices.
The papers revealed that Alistair Darling, the Chancellor, asked his accountants to change the wording of an invoice for tax advice before he submitted it to the fees office and controversially claimed it back on expenses.
David Cameron said that he would repay almost œ1,000 in overpayments on mortgage, electricity and phone bills. He blamed the overpayment on an "inadvertent administrative error".
The expenses scandal has already ended the careers of 20 MPs, and more are expected to follow.
The cover-up shocked campaigners. Commons officials had removed references to previously revealed absurdities such as the cleaning of moats and the purchase of houses for ducks. The names of companies providing goods and gardening services were also blanked out to avoid having to show where the work was done.
Without earlier disclosures no one would have known that Hazel Blears claimed second home expenses for three different properties in a year, or that the second home of Margaret Moran, who claimed œ22,000 to treat dry rot, was in Southampton, 100 miles from her constituency. The official record would not have exposed the Labour MPs David Chaytor and Elliot Morley, who claimed thousands of pounds against mortgages that had already been paid off. This only emerged after their addresses were cross-checked against Land Registry records.
Nevertheless, the political establishment was smarting as the full tawdriness of its claims was laid bare to a public audience. By 4.30pm 250,000 people had visited the website and clicked on 1.5 million pages.
The receipts revealed that the Conservative MP Graham Brady claimed œ71 to get back into his house after being locked out and that the former minister John Reid claimed œ29.99 for a book explaining basic economics.
Tony Blair, the former Prime Minister, spent œ260 on shredding as he wound up his parliamentary affairs, and claimed œ6,990 for repairing the roof of his constituency home two days before leaving No 10. The fees office reduced his claim to œ4,453. Others spent a fortune on paper clips, matches, milk frothers, assertiveness training courses and the Racing Post.
MPs themselves were hugely embarrassed by the cover-up. Vince Cable, of the Liberal Democrats, said: "If people had had to rely on this information to find out about their MPs they would have been faced with swaths of black ink rather than information about the flipping of homes and the avoidance of capital gains tax. "It took a huge amount of effort from campaigners, my Liberal Democrat colleagues and other independent-minded MPs to get even this much information released. It's a shame that it is still far less transparent than it could have been."
The Commons authorities spent more than œ140,000 trying to avoid publishing the expenses before being defeated in the High Court in May last year. The process of scanning and editing all the receipts from 2004-08 has cost a further 2 million pounds and taken 13 months to complete. Sir Stuart Bell, of the Commons Commission, described the disclosure as unprecedented and said that it was right that information was blacked out to protect MPs' privacy and security.
Maurice Frankel, of the Campaign for Freedom of Information, said: "The mood of the House of Commons was that they did not want any of this information to be published and, failing that, as little as possible."
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Scandal of killers on probation
Criminals are just misunderstood, don't you know?
THE justice secretary, Jack Straw, was facing a scathing attack on Labour's prison policy this weekend after it emerged that criminals on probation are charged with one in seven murders in Britain.
The Tories unearthed figures which show that in the past three years at least 300 criminals on parole have been charged with murder. A further 130 have faced trial for attempted murder or conspiracy.
Dominic Grieve, the shadow justice secretary, said the figures shattered Straw's recent claim that the fiasco surrounding the brutal murder of two French students was a one-off case.
Gabriel Ferez and Laurent Bonomo, who were stabbed more than 200 times in a sadistic attack in London last June, were killed by Dano Sonnex and Nigel Farmer. Sonnex should have been in jail at the time in connection with an earlier crime he had committed while on probation.
"We are now learning the true scale of the systematic failings revealed in the tragic Sonnex case. Gordon Brown has released serious offenders early and relaxed the monitoring of those on probation," Grieve said.
"Dangerous criminals under diluted probation supervision are now being charged with a shocking one in seven of all homicides in Britain. This amounts to a reckless dereliction of this government's duty to protect the public.
"Only this week, the justice secretary claimed the Sonnex case was a one-off. This now looks complacent in the extreme, not least since the number of murders committed by those on probation is in fact rising," he added.
The figures show that 129 criminals on parole were charged with murders in 2006-7. A further 107 faced murder charges in 2007-8, with an additional 64 charged in the six months to last September, the latest period for which figures are available.
Probation failures have proved a constant embarrassment to Labour ministers. They were highlighted by the killing of John Monckton, a City financier, at his home in Chelsea, London, in 2004.
He was killed by Damien Hanson and Elliot White, who were both supposed to be under the supervision of the probation service at the time.
After the Sonnex case, David Scott, the head of London probation, resigned. Straw insisted the failures which led to the murders could not be blamed on lack of resources.
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Welfare payments the principal concern behind Britain's points-based migration system
Students are not the only people hurt by the UK's points-based visa application system. Non-EU citizens who seek employment in the UK are also disadvantaged. The government intends to accomplish three objectives with the new migration control system. First, Gordon Brown's government wants to curtail the number and type of non-EU citizens working in the UK. Second, the government wants to keep visa holders off the dole. The third government objective is to raise money from visa applications.
The first objective has been publicly stated by the Home Office. The second objective is revealed through a review of the new visa application forms. The points-based system requires all visa applicants to have sufficient funds to support themselves, and any dependants, throughout their stay. Applicants also certify that they will not receive welfare benefits whilst in the UK. The third objective is manifest by hike in visa application fees. For example, unsponsored visa applicants must now pay between œ675 and œ1020 for the application fee. Sponsored applicants must pay a œ265 fee. Even students are required to pay œ145 to apply for a visa. Applicants in these three categories who have dependents must pay the same application fee for each dependent. Visa application statistics are sparse for the period since the points-based system was launched, but in the 2006-2007 financial year, the UK government received 2.7 million visa applications. That translates into millions of pounds of revenue for the government.
The concerns underlying the government's objectives can all be traced to the maladies of the welfare state. Welfare states attract people who are content to live on the dole. The new points-based system cracks down on would-be social loafers from non-EU nations, but European freeloaders are left undeterred. This is especially problematic due to the combination of the UK's high standard of living and relatively generous welfare benefits. Welfare states are also expensive to run, which explains the high taxes and government fees.
The easy way to eliminate the government's welfare-based concerns is to do away with the welfare system. That may not be politically practicable at the moment, but an effective compromise would be to pare down welfare benefits to the point that the UK's dole is much less desirable than welfare programs in other EU nations. This will encourage net negative residents to look elsewhere for government handouts. With fewer freeloaders, many of the government's immigration concerns will be allayed. The Home Office could then relax its points based system rules to make it easier for industrious, innovative applicants to make positive contributions to the UK economy.
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British taste choices are defined by region, Nottingham food scientists find
In the Midlands they like the spicy flavour that triggers taste buds on the front of the tongue, while in Scotland it is rich, creamy flavours that linger on the palate
Research has indicated that people's culinary preferences depend on where they were born. Scientists from the University of Nottingham found that taste preferences could be broken down like regional accents and were highly dependent on an area's history. In the North East, for example, foods are enjoyed by taste buds on the tip of the tongue - which pick up sour flavours - because, claim the researchers, the region has a history of hungry industrial workers demanding meals that offer immediate sustenance.
The researchers, who surveyed 13,000 people on behalf of Costa Coffee, said that in contrast, across the Pennines in Manchester and Liverpool, foods with soft, rounded flavours that linger on the palate were popular, perhaps because of the region's soft water.
Greg Tucker, a food psychologist, and Andy Taylor, Professor of Flavour Technology at the University of Nottingham and an adviser to Heston Blumenthal, the chef, said that the research was based on the fact that different parts of the tongue tend to pick up varying flavours. The front of the tongue is sensitive to sweet flavours and the back picks up the taste of bitter foods. The sides of the front of the tongue usually detect sour flavours, while the middle tastes salty foods and a little-known taste called umami, best represented by soy sauce.
Professor Taylor said: "Taste is determined by our genetic make-up and influenced by our upbringing and experience with flavours. "Just as with spoken dialects, where accent is placed on different syllables and vowel formations, people from different regions have developed enhanced sensitivities to certain taste sensations and seek foods that trigger these." Mr Tucker, managing director of the Marketing Clinic, based in Cambridge, said: "I suspected that there might be some minor differences from region to region but I was quite surprised that the variations were so pronounced. "Taste preferences are predetermined by a combinations of economics, culture and genetics. `Taste dialect' is a good phrase because just as you get dialects in any other countries, so you get taste dialects that are driven by different factors."
The researchers found that those living in the South had the least defined taste dialect of all the regions. The Scots are the slowest eaters.
South West: Sweet flavours. Apples are a favourite and often used in Cornish pasties, as the region is rural and fruit-growing. Sage is often used in dishes from the region
South East: The region has perhaps lost its distinctive palate owing to the number of different ethnic groups that have moved here. People tend to be the most adventurous about food
Wales: An industrial past, so strong-tasting foods that have cut through the dirt and grime down mines have always proved popular. Onions and leeks are a hit, as is Worcestershire sauce
The Midlands: Curry is a favourite, but not necessarily because of the large Asian communities
North West: People here like to eat comforting food. Lancashire hotpot contains many of the flavours enjoyed in the region
North East: Food that provides an instant hit of satisfaction is appreciated most. Fish and chip shops serve scrapings of overcooked chips from the corner of the deep fat fryer to customers who use their incisors to crunch food and taste chips at the front of their tongues
Scotland: Scots like rich, creamy foods that are comforting and linger on the palate. A rich fudge known as tablet is a delicacy, perhaps replaced by deep-fried Mars bars
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Schools 'too safe' British teachers say
Daily Mail report
Children are being made to wear goggles before handling Blu Tack and are forbidden to run in the playground as a health and safety culture sweeps through schools. A survey of nearly 600 teachers revealed the most restrictive rules being imposed in an attempt to avoid injuries and lawsuits.
Pupils at one school are forced to put on goggles before using Blu Tack to prevent them rubbing the common adhesive into their eyes. In another, teachers are given a five-page briefing note on the dangers of Pritt Stick before they may use it with their charges. Generations of youngsters who made things out of empty egg boxes will be dismayed to learn that some schools have banned them for fear of salmonella poisoning. And many teachers reported bans on footballs, snowball fights, conker games and running in the playground.
Nearly half of teachers and classroom assistants polled by Teachers TV believe health and safety regulations are holding children back at school.
The findings emerged days after the Local Government Association urged parents and schools to shake off the 'cotton wool' culture. It vowed that town halls would not 'bow to the compensation culture' and would build new adventure-playgrounds. Judith Hackitt, chairman of the Health and Safety Executive, said the examples cited were 'frankly ridiculous'.
She added: 'Health and safety is blamed for a lot of things not going ahead, but they're often about something else - high costs, an event that requires a lot of organising or fear of getting sued. 'Children cannot be wrapped in cotton wool - risk is part of growing up and our children need to learn how to manage risks in the real world.'
A spokesman for the Department for Children, Schools and Families said: 'We urge schools to take a commonsense approach to keeping safe. 'Health and safety should not be a major burden and it shouldn't stop pupils from learning and playing. 'A small amount of risk is part and parcel of growing up and we do not subscribe to a cotton wool culture-of a sanitised childhood.'
The survey also revealed that two in five teachers are concerned about being alone in a room with a pupil in case they are falsely accused of inappropriate behaviour. And more than half have had to deal with a situation where they feared a child was being abused. But almost a third did not feel properly prepared and trained to deal with such situations.
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Schools 'too safe' British teachers say
BBC report
Nearly half of teachers questioned for a survey believe the health and safety culture in schools is damaging children's learning. When questioned by Teachers TV, teachers complained about a five-page briefing on using glue sticks and being told to wear goggles to put up posters. Others said pupils were not allowed to enjoy the sun or snow without taking health and safety precautions.
Teachers TV surveyed 585 subscribers to the channel by questionnaire. Around 45% of those who took part thought health and safety precautions had a negative effect on teachers, as well as on students' personal development and learning. However, 45% said they did not think health and safety regulations were too restrictive. And just over 10% of teachers surveyed thought accidents in schools had increased during the last five years.
The teachers were also asked about general safety - their own and that of their pupils. More than half of those who responded - 56% - said they had had to deal with a situation where they suspected a child was being abused. More than two in five said they were afraid to be alone in a room with a pupil in case they were falsely accused of inappropriate behaviour. Just under a third of respondents said they were under-prepared in this area.
Questions regarding weapons checks in schools appeared to divide teachers. Exactly half said they favoured weapons checks in schools and half opposed it.
Chief executive of Teachers TV Andrew Bethell said: "The more extreme examples [of health and safety] are thankfully not the norm but schools still need to take into consideration the workforce's concerns when trying to protect pupils. "It is worrying that almost a third of the education workforce feel under-prepared to deal with the very complicated issues surrounding abuse and potential abuse."
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Friday, June 19, 2009
NHS medication mistakes hitting kids on large scale
Ten thousand safety alerts over medication given to children are being issued annually in the NHS, including serious errors in the calculation of drug doses and health workers forgetting to give patients their medicine, research shows. The first report into health service safety incidents concerning children shows that 61,000 alerts were recorded between October 2007 and September 2008 in the care of patients under 18, with 18,200 involving babies aged under 1 month.
A quarter of the cases were the result of misuse of medication, including examples where patients received ten times too much of a drug owing to a dosing miscalculation. There were more than 2,800 alerts involving wrong or unclear dose or strength and children under the age of 4 were particularly affected.
The report, by the National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA), concludes that over the period there were 33 deaths of children and 39 deaths of newborn babies that had "indicators of avoidable factors". The findings echo concerns raised in recent years over the lack of treatments tailored for children, and how nurses are often left to carry out complex calculations to ensure that the right amount of a drug tested for adults is given to a child.
The report is the first to calculate the impact of safety alerts on children. It uses information sent in from health trusts to the NPSA's Reporting and Learning System (RLS) and analysis of key research papers. Of the 900,000 alerts issued annually, 7 per cent were found to involve people under 18. Researchers found that children up to the age of 4 had the second-highest percentage of medication incidents of all age groups, after the over-75s. Most of the incidents reported to the NPSA resulted in no harm or low harm to the baby or child.
Jenny Mooney, head of child health at the NPSA, said that one concern was the very small number of alerts from the primary care sector - only 4 per cent of the 61,000 total - suggesting that the figure was a substantial underestimate.
Dr Mooney said that the review showed that errors could occur when calculating and preparing drug doses for children. "It comes down to the availability in terms of drugs. You would always try to get them in liquid form, but sometimes you may not be able to. You end up having to crush up tablets . . . and it is fraught with potential problems."
Other examples included confusion over milligrams and micrograms. Among babies, errors relating to treatment or procedure was the most common incident type (3,294 alerts), followed by medication incidents (2,881). Among children, medication incidents were the most commonly reported incident type (7,029), followed by treatment or procedure (5,416) and accidents involving the patient (4,576).
Dr Mooney added that she hoped that reporting of alerts would continue to improve, because a high number of reports did not necessarily indicate that a trust was performing poorly, but that its surveillance was thorough. "It is about changing the culture of reporting," she said.
The report, called Review of Patient Safety for Children and Young People, said that more than half of accidents involving children related to slips, trips and falls. The report noted that 2,000 children a week are admitted to hospital with accident-related injuries and added: "It can therefore be anticipated that children will also be at risk of accidents while in hospital, and appropriate safeguards should be in place to protect children from accidental injury while receiving healthcare."
The NPSA is urging NHS organisations to examine a range of best-practice guidance to help to cut the number of incidents, and better training for staff and a review of local procedures for managing medicines.
Kevin Cleary, the NPSA's medical director, said that the agency had highlighted a range of recommendations for best practice to help to improve care and reduce safety problems: "The majority of patient-safety incidents involving children were reported to have resulted in no harm or low harm. However, we are hoping this constructive feedback will support all trusts and clinicians in delivering even safer clinical care to all NHS patients in the future."
Case Study: Gentamicin
Gentamicin, an antibiotic used to treat bacterial infections in the very young, was the subject of 400 safety alerts between April 2007 and March 2008. It is administered intravenously for the treatment of neonatal sepsis, but has a narrow therapeutic range: slightly too little or too much can affect its toxicity and efficacy. An analysis of Reporting and Learning System data for neonatal medication incidents involving gentamicin identified 400 incidents. Two thirds of these were related to problems with administration of the drug, 23 per to prescribing and 6 per cent to insufficient monitoring. Gentamicin is the subject of a joint project between the National Patient Safety Agency and the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health relating to safe administration.
Best practice in neonatal care, being piloted, includes "no interruption" policies during prescribing, preparing, checking and administering; use of a 24-hour clock when prescribing; and administration of the dose to be given within one hour either side of the prescribed time.
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Amazing British government racism
This makes America's "affirmative action" seem weak-kneed
Want to see a GP? Gipsies come first as NHS tells doctors that travellers must be seen at once. Gipsies and travellers should be given priority in NHS hospitals and GP surgeries, doctors have been told. They will be fast-tracked for doctors, nurses and even some dentist appointments above all other patients. GPs have also been told to see any travellers who simply walk in without an appointment, even if all consultation times for the day are full.
They will also be given longer consultations than other patients. Five or ten minutes is the average but travellers will be given 20 minutes and allowed to bring relatives into the consulting rooms. Staff will be given 'mandatory cultural awareness' training so they can fully understand what it is like to be a traveller or gipsy.
It raises the prospect that other patients will suffer worse healthcare and have to wait even longer to see their GP. The guidelines have been introduced because, under race laws, gipsies and travellers are defined as minority ethnic groups and the NHS is obliged to consider their special needs and circumstances. Yet no special treatment is promised for other groups such as those from the Asian sub-continent or Africa.
The guidance also encourages Primary Care Trusts to establish new services for travellers if none exist, and to designate a senior manager to be a named lead for 'Gipsy and Traveller Health'. The rules form part of the Primary Care Service Framework, drawn up by the NHS Primary Care Commissioning - an advisory service for local health trusts - to help all PCTs understand the Department of Health's policy.
It will go on trial for between three and five years, Although PCTs do not necessarily have to follow the guidelines, they could be breaking human rights law and the Race Relations Act of 2000 if they do not. Groups covered by the framework include Scottish gipsy travellers, Welsh gipsies, bargees, circus and fairground showmen and new travellers.
Tory health spokesman Andrew Lansley said: 'No one should get priority treatment in the NHS apart from our Armed Forces, to whom we owe a special debt of gratitude. 'Decisions about who should be treated first should be based on a patient's medical needs, not their ethnic group. 'NHS managers need to get off doctors' and nurses' backs and start letting them get on with what they do best - looking after sick people. 'Such a policy of fast-tracking one section of society over another goes against the founding principles of the NHS.
Labour's botched handling of the new GP contracts and obsession with a tick-box target culture in the NHS mean many people find it difficult to get a GP appointment quickly. 'Families will feel aggrieved that it will now be even harder.'
Mark Wallace, from the Tax-Payers' Alliance, said: 'This kind of special treatment is totally uncalled-for and utterly unjustified. 'The NHS is meant to treat people equally so matter who they are or whatever their race. 'The only priority should be how ill someone is, not their politically-correct concerns. 'This will be incredibly frustrating for people who have paid tax all their lives to fund the NHS and are left struggling to get a doctor's appointment and prompt treatment. 'Hardworking people will be outraged at this double standard.'
The NHS estimates there are 120,000 to 300,000 gipsies and travellers in the UK but there are no firm numbers as the census does not include them as a category.
Traveller spokesman Gratton Puxon, from the illegal camp at Crays Hill in Essex, welcomed the initiative. He said: 'The problem stems from years ago when there was simply no access to healthcare, but things have greatly improved. Health workers visit the site quite regularly if people have chronic problems.'
The Department of Health said: 'We are aware that gipsies and travellers have experienced tremendous difficulties in accessing primary care. 'Partly as a result, community members experience the worst health inequalities of any disadvantaged group. 'The framework suggests fast-tracking for two reasons. First, as a matter of urgency, inroads need to be made into the health problems of gipsies and travellers. 'Second, if mobile community members are not seen quickly, the opportunity could be lost as they move on or are moved on. This should not be to the detriment of service provision to the settled community.'
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British Police 'illegally' stopping white people to racially balance stop-and-search figures, watchdog claims
The political correctness news from Britain never stops coming
Police are making unjustified and 'almost certainly' illegal searches of white people to provide 'racial balance' to Government figures. Lord Carlile, the independent reviewer of terror laws, said he knew of cases where suspects were stopped by officers even though there was no evidence against them. He warned that police were wasting time and money by carrying out these 'self-evidently unmerited searches' which were an invasion of civil liberties and 'almost certainly unlawful'.
The searches of, for example, 'blonde women' who fit no terrorist profile come against a backdrop of complaints from rights groups that the number of black and Muslim people being stopped by police is disproportionate. Lord Carlile suggests whites are being needlessly stopped in order to balance the books. Last year, the number of whites searched under anti-terror laws rocketed by 185 per cent, from 25,962 to 73,967. Whites made up around two-thirds of all those stopped, although, compared to the overall population, blacks and Asians remain far more likely to be stopped and searched.
Lord Carlile, a Liberal Democrat peer and QC, condemned the wrongful use of Section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000 in his annual report on anti-terror laws. He said police were carrying out the searches on people they had no basis for suspecting so they could avoid accusations of prejudice. Lord Carlile wrote: 'I have evidence of cases where the person stopped is so obviously far from any known terrorism profile that, realistically, there is not the slightest possibility of him/her being a terrorist, and no other feature to justify the stop. 'In one situation the basis of the stops was numerical only, which is almost certainly unlawful and in no way an intelligent use of the procedure.
'I believe it is totally wrong for any person to be stopped in order to produce a racial balance in the Section 44 statistics. There is ample anecdotal evidence this is happening. 'I can well understand the concerns of the police that they should be free from allegations of prejudice, but it is not a good use of precious resources if they waste them on self-evidently unmerited searches. 'It is also an invasion of the civil liberties of the person who has been stopped, simply to 'balance' the statistics. 'The criteria for section 44 stops should be objectively based, irrespective of racial considerations: if an objective basis happens to produce an ethnic imbalance, that may have to be regarded as a proportional consequence of operational policing.'
Lord Carlile later said the number of Section 44 searches could be cut by half in London without damaging national security. He added: 'If, for example, 50 blonde women are stopped who fall nowhere near any intelligence-led terrorism profile, it's a gross invasion of the civil liberties of those 50 blonde women. 'The police are perfectly entitled to stop people who fall within a terrorism profile even if it creates a racial imbalance as long as it is not racist."
Officers in England and Wales used the powers to search 124,687 people in 2007/8, up from 41,924 in 2006/7 and only 1 per cent of searches led to an arrest. Nearly 90 per cent of the searches were carried out by the Metropolitan Police which recorded a 266 per cent increase in its use of the power. Lord Carlile said he could see no reason for the whole of Greater London to be permanently designated an area where the power could operate.
He added: 'I repeat my mantra that terrorism related powers should be used only for terrorism related purposes; otherwise their credibility is severely damaged. The damage to community relations if they are used incorrectly can be considerable.'
Shadow Security Minister Baroness Neville-Jones said: 'It is a hallmark of this Government that powers available under terrorism legislation are used for reasons entirely unrelated to those for which they were put on the statute book. 'Inappropriate use of stop and search power is the surest way to lose public support and damage community relations. Lord Carlile rightly condemns this. 'The Government needs to make absolutely sure that anti-terrorism powers are used proportionately and only for terror-related purposes.'
Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Chris Huhne said: 'We must row back from random and excessive use of stop and search and reach out to the communities we most rely on for intelligence in the fight against terrorism.'
Home Secretary Alan Johnson said the Metropolitan Police had already begun to review how Section 44 was used across the whole of the capital, including a pilot of its more restricted use.
Today's report also warns of the continuing terrorist threat to the UK. Lord Carlile says there is evidence of `small, dissent active and dangerous' paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland. The Peer also remains pessimistic about `the future of international terrorism as promulgated by violent Islamist jihad'.
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Scottish Education Awards: Going back to old methods helped me win honour, says teacher of the year
WE'RE used to hearing about schools employing the very latest technology in today's modern classrooms. But for newly-crowned Teacher of the Year Ian Houston, it was dusting off some old equipment which sparked the interest of his students. The physics teacher from St Joseph's College in Dumfries won the praise of pupils, colleagues and judges alike for his original approach to teaching, which included experiments that dated back to the 19th century.
He was just one of the winners announced yesterday at the 2009 Scottish Education Awards, which took place at the City Halls in Glasgow. Ian said: "The history of our school goes back more than 100 years. I found old stuff in our cupboards which no one had a clue how to use, so I bought some old books which had pictures of this equipment. "So we've been able to give them a new lease of life by showing students the old way of doing things, then working up to more modern ways. "A lot of modern science these days involve black boxes where you put stuff in one end and get a measurement out, but with older equipment you get to see what's going on inside."
Ian's teaching methods became so popular that pupils began asking to be transferred to his class, with parents also being struck by the enthusiasm of their kids for the subject.
But Ian himself was surprised to hear that he'd made such an impact. He added: "I was teaching the Advanced Higher class this year, so I made a big effort for it, but it didn't occur to me that I was doing anything unusual. "Like most teachers, I sit there worrying that I'm not doing it properly."
Also celebrating yesterday was maths teacher John MacKenzie. He picked up the Lifetime Achievement Award for 30 years of dedicated work as principal of the maths department at Oban High School. He said: "When I heard I'd been nominated, I was overwhelmed and humbled that my colleagues had gone to the effort of doing that. "So to win the award is wonderful. I'm even more humbled by it. "My colleagues have always said networking is one of my strengths, and if I come across an idea I think will be beneficial to our pupils then I'll certainly pursue it to motivate our young people."
While the day offered John a chance to look back on his career, for other teachers, their days in the classroom are only just beginning. They include chemistry teacher Alice Thompson, of Eastbank Academy in Glasgow, who was named Probationary Teacher of theYear for a mammoth amount of work which included organising a crime scene investigation project for the school's chemistry club. She said: "I applied to the British Science Association for a grant and that allowed us to do some work on forensic techniques. "We set up a fake crime scene, we had a mock murder trial and a lot of different departments got involved. The maths department were looking at the velocity and angles of blood spatter patterns and things like that. It was fantastic."
The Head Teacher of the Year Award went to Paul McLaughlin of St Ninian's High School in Bishopriggs, East Dunbartonshire, for the huge impact he has had on the life and culture of the school since he took over there five years ago. Last year's Teacher of the Year, David Miller, also came from St Ninian's. Paul said: "I feel great to have won this award, but I don't believe that this award is really for me, it is for the whole school. "The school won two awards last year, so it is just amazing to be back again at such an exciting event which is such a great celebration of teachers and teaching." ...
The staff and pupils of Perth Grammar School also went home happy after winning the Ambition award in recognition of their work to improve the school. Head teacher John Low said: "We had a issues in the school in terms of behaviour and morale, but we tackled it head-on and within a matter of weeks, things had improved as the staff and the vast majority of pupils wanted things sorted out. "We worked on the themes of pride, respect and ambition as they were the three things that were missing, and it's worked to the extent that winning has now become a habit within the school. "The energy of the school is now going in the right direction."
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In Britain and in Europe generally, the people are forcing the elite to re-evaluate immigration
MORE than a week after the European Parliament elections, the hand-wringing in Britain over the success of the ultra-right British National Party continues. Having secured two seats in the European Parliament - a first for the BNP - many in the political and media class are rehashing, at least implicitly, the line made famous by German playwright Bertolt Brecht. Surely, they wonder, it is time to elect a new people, a more sophisticated, better informed people not prone to nasty and vicious xenophobia.
Mainstream political leaders - Tory and Labour - mutter in disgust. Newspapers mull over whether a 1920s version of militant fascism is emerging. The BNP, with its racist, anti-immigrant agenda, should be driven out of British politics as an illegitimate force, they say.
The BNP is surely a repellent political force, but again elites have misjudged the meaning of its rise.
For better analysis, you need only jump in a taxi to understand what happens when there is a sense that a nation has lost its way. My taxi driver from Heathrow told me he voted BNP for the first time. The next day, another taxi driver said the same. Another day, another taxi driver, another first-time BNP voter. For them, mainstream parties stopped listening to the concerns of working-class people about immigration. Likewise, you will learn more from the letters pages of British newspapers than from the reams of so-called expert analysis devoted to denouncing the BNP's success as a depressing moment for democracy. "The political process must address such concerns, not simply dismiss them as wrong. Denial simply makes things worse, and repression fuels rage among people who feel they have lost their country and want it back," one correspondent wrote to The Independent.
The emergence of the BNP - and, indeed, other similar anti-immigration parties across Europe - is yet another wake-up call that large swaths of the West have failed to discuss the consequences of fast-growing immigration honestly and openly.
Once again we are reminded that multiculturalism rendered such discussion distasteful, where elites presented immigration as a necessary part of a tolerant society, no matter how incompatible the values of these migrants. All cultures were equal, they preached, while deriding Western culture as somehow less equal. Any reservations about the costs and consequences of immigration were discarded as vile xenophobia from the ignorant, intolerant masses.
It is easy to dismiss the concerns of the working class when you are far removed from the daily, social challenges of immigration.
Our own Mark Latham best described that disconnect back in 2002 when he said that: "In my experience, the strongest supporters of the rights agenda are those who do not have to face the daily consequences of irresponsible behaviour. They have the resources to buy themselves away from social problems ... This gives them the luxury of being able to talk about human rights without the need for social responsibility."
How horrifying it must be for the Left to discover that they are partly responsible for the rise of anti-immigration parties such as the BNP. When people feel disenfranchised, ignored by mainstream politicians who have failed to treat them as adults entitled to a serious debate about immigration and a fading national identity, they will resort to unattractive fringe parties to vent their anger.
They turn to parties such as the BNP and the obsessively nationalist UK Independence Party, which out-polled the ruling British Labour Party. And to Hungary's far right party Jobbik, otherwise known as the Movement for a Better Hungary, which won 14.8 per cent of the poll, securing almost as many votes as the ruling Hungarian socialists. And Geert Wilders's Freedom Party in the Netherlands, which doubled its vote campaigning on anti-Islamic concerns, nationalist parties such as True Finns in Finland and Denmark's far-right Danish People's Party, which picked up a second seat in Strasbourg.
Years ago now, writing in Prospect magazine, David Goodhart wrote an important essay warning liberals about the progressive dilemma that confronts many Western countries: sharing and solidarity can often conflict with diversity. "Acts of sharing are more smoothly and generously negotiated if we take for granted a limited set of common values and assumptions," he wrote.
Yet, the more diverse that once homogenous societies become, the more the common culture is eroded. He warned that the reaction to growing diversity will happen through decades, if not generations. After last week's European elections, more people are now realising the inevitable price of diversity.
In a new book, Reflections on the Revolution in Europe, which could not have appeared at a better time given the gnashing of elite teeth about the European elections, Christopher Caldwell describes the revolution under way in Europe. Growing immigrant communities are changing Europe to suit their own cultural identities. They are able to do so only because so many European countries have been left confused and enervated, losing their own sense of self. The march of modernity and globalisation, said the ruling political elites and much of the media, requires an unquestioning acceptance of immigration, regardless of the clash of values. The move away from the old-fashioned notion of solidarity and shared values in favour of diversity and multicultural moral relativism is most apparent in the area of women's rights, where increasing numbers of immigrants from different cultures do not share the West's commitment to equality.
Reviewing Caldwell's book last week in The Guardian, Martin Woollacott could not help but ask whether talk of a fading European identity was "right-wing rubbish" from a "luminary of the The Weekly Standard, the American neo-conservative magazine Rupert Murdoch finances". In the past, that is where much analysis would have stopped.
Now, however, more people such as Woollacott are conceding that Caldwell is right in "underlining the fact that immigration was encouraged by elites who took a ludicrously short-sighted view of its costs and consequences". And right too "that we frequently talk about (immigration) in stupid and dishonest ways".
Woollacott concludes that if Caldwell's book "sharpens a so far sluggish debate, it will have served an important purpose".
The same could be said of the recent elections for the European Parliament. If the many messages and political warnings that resonate from the results are heeded, then the elections will have served Europe and Britain well. Only a more honest discussion about immigration - and the importance of national identity - will prevent further political gains to parties that know how to manipulate the concerns of people such as my early morning taxi driver. Repressing these parties will be interpreted as repressing the genuine concerns of voters. If that happens, Britain - and Europe - will learn an even tougher lesson about repression when there is an even stronger, more unfortunate backlash against immigration and open borders.
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Is lack of vitamin D linked to swine flu?
This is an improbable speculation. Vitamin D is added to butter and margarine these days so everybody should be getting enough. Though I suppose that the anti-fat brigade may have reduced usage of butter and margarine among some people. As for the reason why health is unusually poor in Scotland, why are we not mentioning Scotland's rate of alcohol consumption and the inactivity that accompanies high rates of unemployment?
Scotland has a disproportionately high number of swine flu cases. There could be a simple reason. It was all very predictable, I suppose, that when the first UK death from someone suffering from swine flu came, it did not come from St Ives or St Andrews. Jacqueline Fleming lived on a rundown council estate in Glasgow; she came from the other Scotland, the bleak one we garland with jokes and statistics but ultimately prefer to ignore.
The H1N1 outbreak is an uncomfortable reminder that the health gap both between the rich and the poor in Scotland, and between Scotland and practically everywhere else in Europe, is not only inescapable - it is, sadly, one of the things that define this country. How symbolic that Ms Fleming, 38 - the first person with swine flu outside the Americas to die - lived of all places in poor little Carnwadric, a deprived council ward in the West of Scotland. She is, in death, a Scottish landmark, an unintended indictment of this country's disproportionately woeful health record.
Ms Fleming apparently suffered from strokes and seizures. She was described as "a good, quiet woman"; a full-time mother, who lived an existence constrained by lack of opportunity and income. She was expecting her third child. When she caught the illness, which had occurred at a local primary school, she was made doubly vulnerable through her chronic condition and by virtue of the pregnancy. She fell gravely ill, gave birth to her baby at 29 weeks and died two weeks later without regaining consciousness. Her child, Jack, who did not have the virus, died 24 hours later: a private double tragedy that echoed round the world.
The following day, I was invited on The Jeremy Vine Show. We want to ask, said the researcher, why Scotland? Why is swine flu cutting swaths across Scotland, and killing people? The unvoiced question hovered: what's wrong with you people that makes you the sickest in half the world? You can understand where they were coming from. Scotland has 530 confirmed cases of swine flu, 441 possible cases and 300 clinically diagnosed possibles - a total of more than 1,200. By comparison, bigger countries are relatively unscathed. England, with ten times the people, only has 1,062 cases, Austria 7, Portugal 3, France 80, Germany 170, Spain 488 and Ireland 12.
Beneath the soundbites, there are several answers. One can say with absolute certainty that there has been better monitoring here. NHS Scotland and its many limbs, Health Protection Scotland and Health Scotland and NHS Quality Improvement Scotland and the Healthcare Environment Inspectorate and the Information Services Division - I could go on - are just part of one of the most impressive health service data engines in the world. In this regard Scotland purrs along like a Rolls-Royce: few other nations have information that combines high-quality data, consistency, national coverage and the ability to link data to allow patient-based analysis and follow-up. No case of swine flu has a chance of getting away from that lot.
And yes, of course, there's much to monitor. Scotland possesses a health record that would make a Third World dictator wince: hospital admissions from alcohol up 7 per cent on the previous year and up 17 per cent on five years ago; chronic levels of disability from strokes, coronary heart disease and cancer; lung cancer; drug use; a diet built on fat and sugar; and soaring levels of obesity. Surely these endemic weaknesses are what makes us vulnerable to swine flu?
Yes - but it's not the whole answer either. Since devolution, and the pumping in of billions of pounds, NHS Scotland is a fairly magnificent operation. Rates of ill health are declining, although the gap between the most deprived areas and the most affluent is widening, and England's health, similarly blessed with extra funding in the good times, is improving faster than Scotland's.
Which brings us face to face with the disconcerting thing they call the health deficit: the unexplained gap between Scotland's health outcomes and that of the rest of Britain; a gap that still persists even when the epidemiologists factor in all the lifestyle issues; the gap, in other words, that makes the Scots sick no matter how much money is spent on them.
It was fashionable for a while to talk about the biology of poverty, explaining it away by poor housing and a history of deprivation; cooked up with low self-respect and expectation.
But could the puzzle have a simpler answer? Recently The Times has revealed astonishing research showing the links between low vitamin-D levels and poor general health. Multiple sclerosis, cancer and diabetes are just some of the diseases linked to an immune system compromised by lack of the vitamin. And the Scots, living in a cloudy climate, are known to be twice as likely to be vitamin D deficient as the English. Increasing numbers of scientists suspect vitamin D could be the Scots' Achilles' heel.
Influenza, we know, strikes in the winter when vitamin D levels are naturally lowered - hence a possible reason why swine flu is at present widespread in Australia, where it's winter. Could the disproportionate prevalence of H1N1 in Scotland be related to endemic low levels of vitamin D among the population - especially those least likely to buy themselves supplements? It is a huge, intriguing question.
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British Navy captain bans brussels sprouts
Good man!
A BRITISH navy captain has banned brussels sprouts from his ship, labelling them the "devil's vegetable". Commanding officer Wayne Keble delivered the order to his 390-strong crew on HMS Bulwark because he hates the vegetable, Britain's Daily Telegraph reported. But he denied speculation he imposed the ban because sprouts make the sailors suffer from flatulence in the cramped conditions on board.
Keble disclosed his order after he was asked to confirm reports he had banned fried foods from his ship on health grounds. He said: "The only thing I have banned on board is brussels sprouts. They are the devil's vegetable and the only thing I do not like, and the only thing I hate. "Brussels sprouts are absolutely banned on board HMS Bulwark. I do not eat them so I do not know what the after-effects are.'' The distinctive smell of sprouts is caused by sulphur compounds released when cooked.
A spokesman for the Royal Navy and the Ministry of Defence said sprouts had only been banned from the captain's table. But a source on board the ship said Keble was "very serious'' about the ban and refused to allow any sprouts on board. "This ban is no joke ... The MoD can say what they like but Captain Keble runs the ship and he has categorically said that sprouts are banned,'' the source said.
HMS Bulwark is at present deployed in the Mediterranean and Far East.
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Ten thousand safety alerts over medication given to children are being issued annually in the NHS, including serious errors in the calculation of drug doses and health workers forgetting to give patients their medicine, research shows. The first report into health service safety incidents concerning children shows that 61,000 alerts were recorded between October 2007 and September 2008 in the care of patients under 18, with 18,200 involving babies aged under 1 month.
A quarter of the cases were the result of misuse of medication, including examples where patients received ten times too much of a drug owing to a dosing miscalculation. There were more than 2,800 alerts involving wrong or unclear dose or strength and children under the age of 4 were particularly affected.
The report, by the National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA), concludes that over the period there were 33 deaths of children and 39 deaths of newborn babies that had "indicators of avoidable factors". The findings echo concerns raised in recent years over the lack of treatments tailored for children, and how nurses are often left to carry out complex calculations to ensure that the right amount of a drug tested for adults is given to a child.
The report is the first to calculate the impact of safety alerts on children. It uses information sent in from health trusts to the NPSA's Reporting and Learning System (RLS) and analysis of key research papers. Of the 900,000 alerts issued annually, 7 per cent were found to involve people under 18. Researchers found that children up to the age of 4 had the second-highest percentage of medication incidents of all age groups, after the over-75s. Most of the incidents reported to the NPSA resulted in no harm or low harm to the baby or child.
Jenny Mooney, head of child health at the NPSA, said that one concern was the very small number of alerts from the primary care sector - only 4 per cent of the 61,000 total - suggesting that the figure was a substantial underestimate.
Dr Mooney said that the review showed that errors could occur when calculating and preparing drug doses for children. "It comes down to the availability in terms of drugs. You would always try to get them in liquid form, but sometimes you may not be able to. You end up having to crush up tablets . . . and it is fraught with potential problems."
Other examples included confusion over milligrams and micrograms. Among babies, errors relating to treatment or procedure was the most common incident type (3,294 alerts), followed by medication incidents (2,881). Among children, medication incidents were the most commonly reported incident type (7,029), followed by treatment or procedure (5,416) and accidents involving the patient (4,576).
Dr Mooney added that she hoped that reporting of alerts would continue to improve, because a high number of reports did not necessarily indicate that a trust was performing poorly, but that its surveillance was thorough. "It is about changing the culture of reporting," she said.
The report, called Review of Patient Safety for Children and Young People, said that more than half of accidents involving children related to slips, trips and falls. The report noted that 2,000 children a week are admitted to hospital with accident-related injuries and added: "It can therefore be anticipated that children will also be at risk of accidents while in hospital, and appropriate safeguards should be in place to protect children from accidental injury while receiving healthcare."
The NPSA is urging NHS organisations to examine a range of best-practice guidance to help to cut the number of incidents, and better training for staff and a review of local procedures for managing medicines.
Kevin Cleary, the NPSA's medical director, said that the agency had highlighted a range of recommendations for best practice to help to improve care and reduce safety problems: "The majority of patient-safety incidents involving children were reported to have resulted in no harm or low harm. However, we are hoping this constructive feedback will support all trusts and clinicians in delivering even safer clinical care to all NHS patients in the future."
Case Study: Gentamicin
Gentamicin, an antibiotic used to treat bacterial infections in the very young, was the subject of 400 safety alerts between April 2007 and March 2008. It is administered intravenously for the treatment of neonatal sepsis, but has a narrow therapeutic range: slightly too little or too much can affect its toxicity and efficacy. An analysis of Reporting and Learning System data for neonatal medication incidents involving gentamicin identified 400 incidents. Two thirds of these were related to problems with administration of the drug, 23 per to prescribing and 6 per cent to insufficient monitoring. Gentamicin is the subject of a joint project between the National Patient Safety Agency and the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health relating to safe administration.
Best practice in neonatal care, being piloted, includes "no interruption" policies during prescribing, preparing, checking and administering; use of a 24-hour clock when prescribing; and administration of the dose to be given within one hour either side of the prescribed time.
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Amazing British government racism
This makes America's "affirmative action" seem weak-kneed
Want to see a GP? Gipsies come first as NHS tells doctors that travellers must be seen at once. Gipsies and travellers should be given priority in NHS hospitals and GP surgeries, doctors have been told. They will be fast-tracked for doctors, nurses and even some dentist appointments above all other patients. GPs have also been told to see any travellers who simply walk in without an appointment, even if all consultation times for the day are full.
They will also be given longer consultations than other patients. Five or ten minutes is the average but travellers will be given 20 minutes and allowed to bring relatives into the consulting rooms. Staff will be given 'mandatory cultural awareness' training so they can fully understand what it is like to be a traveller or gipsy.
It raises the prospect that other patients will suffer worse healthcare and have to wait even longer to see their GP. The guidelines have been introduced because, under race laws, gipsies and travellers are defined as minority ethnic groups and the NHS is obliged to consider their special needs and circumstances. Yet no special treatment is promised for other groups such as those from the Asian sub-continent or Africa.
The guidance also encourages Primary Care Trusts to establish new services for travellers if none exist, and to designate a senior manager to be a named lead for 'Gipsy and Traveller Health'. The rules form part of the Primary Care Service Framework, drawn up by the NHS Primary Care Commissioning - an advisory service for local health trusts - to help all PCTs understand the Department of Health's policy.
It will go on trial for between three and five years, Although PCTs do not necessarily have to follow the guidelines, they could be breaking human rights law and the Race Relations Act of 2000 if they do not. Groups covered by the framework include Scottish gipsy travellers, Welsh gipsies, bargees, circus and fairground showmen and new travellers.
Tory health spokesman Andrew Lansley said: 'No one should get priority treatment in the NHS apart from our Armed Forces, to whom we owe a special debt of gratitude. 'Decisions about who should be treated first should be based on a patient's medical needs, not their ethnic group. 'NHS managers need to get off doctors' and nurses' backs and start letting them get on with what they do best - looking after sick people. 'Such a policy of fast-tracking one section of society over another goes against the founding principles of the NHS.
Labour's botched handling of the new GP contracts and obsession with a tick-box target culture in the NHS mean many people find it difficult to get a GP appointment quickly. 'Families will feel aggrieved that it will now be even harder.'
Mark Wallace, from the Tax-Payers' Alliance, said: 'This kind of special treatment is totally uncalled-for and utterly unjustified. 'The NHS is meant to treat people equally so matter who they are or whatever their race. 'The only priority should be how ill someone is, not their politically-correct concerns. 'This will be incredibly frustrating for people who have paid tax all their lives to fund the NHS and are left struggling to get a doctor's appointment and prompt treatment. 'Hardworking people will be outraged at this double standard.'
The NHS estimates there are 120,000 to 300,000 gipsies and travellers in the UK but there are no firm numbers as the census does not include them as a category.
Traveller spokesman Gratton Puxon, from the illegal camp at Crays Hill in Essex, welcomed the initiative. He said: 'The problem stems from years ago when there was simply no access to healthcare, but things have greatly improved. Health workers visit the site quite regularly if people have chronic problems.'
The Department of Health said: 'We are aware that gipsies and travellers have experienced tremendous difficulties in accessing primary care. 'Partly as a result, community members experience the worst health inequalities of any disadvantaged group. 'The framework suggests fast-tracking for two reasons. First, as a matter of urgency, inroads need to be made into the health problems of gipsies and travellers. 'Second, if mobile community members are not seen quickly, the opportunity could be lost as they move on or are moved on. This should not be to the detriment of service provision to the settled community.'
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British Police 'illegally' stopping white people to racially balance stop-and-search figures, watchdog claims
The political correctness news from Britain never stops coming
Police are making unjustified and 'almost certainly' illegal searches of white people to provide 'racial balance' to Government figures. Lord Carlile, the independent reviewer of terror laws, said he knew of cases where suspects were stopped by officers even though there was no evidence against them. He warned that police were wasting time and money by carrying out these 'self-evidently unmerited searches' which were an invasion of civil liberties and 'almost certainly unlawful'.
The searches of, for example, 'blonde women' who fit no terrorist profile come against a backdrop of complaints from rights groups that the number of black and Muslim people being stopped by police is disproportionate. Lord Carlile suggests whites are being needlessly stopped in order to balance the books. Last year, the number of whites searched under anti-terror laws rocketed by 185 per cent, from 25,962 to 73,967. Whites made up around two-thirds of all those stopped, although, compared to the overall population, blacks and Asians remain far more likely to be stopped and searched.
Lord Carlile, a Liberal Democrat peer and QC, condemned the wrongful use of Section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000 in his annual report on anti-terror laws. He said police were carrying out the searches on people they had no basis for suspecting so they could avoid accusations of prejudice. Lord Carlile wrote: 'I have evidence of cases where the person stopped is so obviously far from any known terrorism profile that, realistically, there is not the slightest possibility of him/her being a terrorist, and no other feature to justify the stop. 'In one situation the basis of the stops was numerical only, which is almost certainly unlawful and in no way an intelligent use of the procedure.
'I believe it is totally wrong for any person to be stopped in order to produce a racial balance in the Section 44 statistics. There is ample anecdotal evidence this is happening. 'I can well understand the concerns of the police that they should be free from allegations of prejudice, but it is not a good use of precious resources if they waste them on self-evidently unmerited searches. 'It is also an invasion of the civil liberties of the person who has been stopped, simply to 'balance' the statistics. 'The criteria for section 44 stops should be objectively based, irrespective of racial considerations: if an objective basis happens to produce an ethnic imbalance, that may have to be regarded as a proportional consequence of operational policing.'
Lord Carlile later said the number of Section 44 searches could be cut by half in London without damaging national security. He added: 'If, for example, 50 blonde women are stopped who fall nowhere near any intelligence-led terrorism profile, it's a gross invasion of the civil liberties of those 50 blonde women. 'The police are perfectly entitled to stop people who fall within a terrorism profile even if it creates a racial imbalance as long as it is not racist."
Officers in England and Wales used the powers to search 124,687 people in 2007/8, up from 41,924 in 2006/7 and only 1 per cent of searches led to an arrest. Nearly 90 per cent of the searches were carried out by the Metropolitan Police which recorded a 266 per cent increase in its use of the power. Lord Carlile said he could see no reason for the whole of Greater London to be permanently designated an area where the power could operate.
He added: 'I repeat my mantra that terrorism related powers should be used only for terrorism related purposes; otherwise their credibility is severely damaged. The damage to community relations if they are used incorrectly can be considerable.'
Shadow Security Minister Baroness Neville-Jones said: 'It is a hallmark of this Government that powers available under terrorism legislation are used for reasons entirely unrelated to those for which they were put on the statute book. 'Inappropriate use of stop and search power is the surest way to lose public support and damage community relations. Lord Carlile rightly condemns this. 'The Government needs to make absolutely sure that anti-terrorism powers are used proportionately and only for terror-related purposes.'
Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Chris Huhne said: 'We must row back from random and excessive use of stop and search and reach out to the communities we most rely on for intelligence in the fight against terrorism.'
Home Secretary Alan Johnson said the Metropolitan Police had already begun to review how Section 44 was used across the whole of the capital, including a pilot of its more restricted use.
Today's report also warns of the continuing terrorist threat to the UK. Lord Carlile says there is evidence of `small, dissent active and dangerous' paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland. The Peer also remains pessimistic about `the future of international terrorism as promulgated by violent Islamist jihad'.
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Scottish Education Awards: Going back to old methods helped me win honour, says teacher of the year
WE'RE used to hearing about schools employing the very latest technology in today's modern classrooms. But for newly-crowned Teacher of the Year Ian Houston, it was dusting off some old equipment which sparked the interest of his students. The physics teacher from St Joseph's College in Dumfries won the praise of pupils, colleagues and judges alike for his original approach to teaching, which included experiments that dated back to the 19th century.
He was just one of the winners announced yesterday at the 2009 Scottish Education Awards, which took place at the City Halls in Glasgow. Ian said: "The history of our school goes back more than 100 years. I found old stuff in our cupboards which no one had a clue how to use, so I bought some old books which had pictures of this equipment. "So we've been able to give them a new lease of life by showing students the old way of doing things, then working up to more modern ways. "A lot of modern science these days involve black boxes where you put stuff in one end and get a measurement out, but with older equipment you get to see what's going on inside."
Ian's teaching methods became so popular that pupils began asking to be transferred to his class, with parents also being struck by the enthusiasm of their kids for the subject.
But Ian himself was surprised to hear that he'd made such an impact. He added: "I was teaching the Advanced Higher class this year, so I made a big effort for it, but it didn't occur to me that I was doing anything unusual. "Like most teachers, I sit there worrying that I'm not doing it properly."
Also celebrating yesterday was maths teacher John MacKenzie. He picked up the Lifetime Achievement Award for 30 years of dedicated work as principal of the maths department at Oban High School. He said: "When I heard I'd been nominated, I was overwhelmed and humbled that my colleagues had gone to the effort of doing that. "So to win the award is wonderful. I'm even more humbled by it. "My colleagues have always said networking is one of my strengths, and if I come across an idea I think will be beneficial to our pupils then I'll certainly pursue it to motivate our young people."
While the day offered John a chance to look back on his career, for other teachers, their days in the classroom are only just beginning. They include chemistry teacher Alice Thompson, of Eastbank Academy in Glasgow, who was named Probationary Teacher of theYear for a mammoth amount of work which included organising a crime scene investigation project for the school's chemistry club. She said: "I applied to the British Science Association for a grant and that allowed us to do some work on forensic techniques. "We set up a fake crime scene, we had a mock murder trial and a lot of different departments got involved. The maths department were looking at the velocity and angles of blood spatter patterns and things like that. It was fantastic."
The Head Teacher of the Year Award went to Paul McLaughlin of St Ninian's High School in Bishopriggs, East Dunbartonshire, for the huge impact he has had on the life and culture of the school since he took over there five years ago. Last year's Teacher of the Year, David Miller, also came from St Ninian's. Paul said: "I feel great to have won this award, but I don't believe that this award is really for me, it is for the whole school. "The school won two awards last year, so it is just amazing to be back again at such an exciting event which is such a great celebration of teachers and teaching." ...
The staff and pupils of Perth Grammar School also went home happy after winning the Ambition award in recognition of their work to improve the school. Head teacher John Low said: "We had a issues in the school in terms of behaviour and morale, but we tackled it head-on and within a matter of weeks, things had improved as the staff and the vast majority of pupils wanted things sorted out. "We worked on the themes of pride, respect and ambition as they were the three things that were missing, and it's worked to the extent that winning has now become a habit within the school. "The energy of the school is now going in the right direction."
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In Britain and in Europe generally, the people are forcing the elite to re-evaluate immigration
MORE than a week after the European Parliament elections, the hand-wringing in Britain over the success of the ultra-right British National Party continues. Having secured two seats in the European Parliament - a first for the BNP - many in the political and media class are rehashing, at least implicitly, the line made famous by German playwright Bertolt Brecht. Surely, they wonder, it is time to elect a new people, a more sophisticated, better informed people not prone to nasty and vicious xenophobia.
Mainstream political leaders - Tory and Labour - mutter in disgust. Newspapers mull over whether a 1920s version of militant fascism is emerging. The BNP, with its racist, anti-immigrant agenda, should be driven out of British politics as an illegitimate force, they say.
The BNP is surely a repellent political force, but again elites have misjudged the meaning of its rise.
For better analysis, you need only jump in a taxi to understand what happens when there is a sense that a nation has lost its way. My taxi driver from Heathrow told me he voted BNP for the first time. The next day, another taxi driver said the same. Another day, another taxi driver, another first-time BNP voter. For them, mainstream parties stopped listening to the concerns of working-class people about immigration. Likewise, you will learn more from the letters pages of British newspapers than from the reams of so-called expert analysis devoted to denouncing the BNP's success as a depressing moment for democracy. "The political process must address such concerns, not simply dismiss them as wrong. Denial simply makes things worse, and repression fuels rage among people who feel they have lost their country and want it back," one correspondent wrote to The Independent.
The emergence of the BNP - and, indeed, other similar anti-immigration parties across Europe - is yet another wake-up call that large swaths of the West have failed to discuss the consequences of fast-growing immigration honestly and openly.
Once again we are reminded that multiculturalism rendered such discussion distasteful, where elites presented immigration as a necessary part of a tolerant society, no matter how incompatible the values of these migrants. All cultures were equal, they preached, while deriding Western culture as somehow less equal. Any reservations about the costs and consequences of immigration were discarded as vile xenophobia from the ignorant, intolerant masses.
It is easy to dismiss the concerns of the working class when you are far removed from the daily, social challenges of immigration.
Our own Mark Latham best described that disconnect back in 2002 when he said that: "In my experience, the strongest supporters of the rights agenda are those who do not have to face the daily consequences of irresponsible behaviour. They have the resources to buy themselves away from social problems ... This gives them the luxury of being able to talk about human rights without the need for social responsibility."
How horrifying it must be for the Left to discover that they are partly responsible for the rise of anti-immigration parties such as the BNP. When people feel disenfranchised, ignored by mainstream politicians who have failed to treat them as adults entitled to a serious debate about immigration and a fading national identity, they will resort to unattractive fringe parties to vent their anger.
They turn to parties such as the BNP and the obsessively nationalist UK Independence Party, which out-polled the ruling British Labour Party. And to Hungary's far right party Jobbik, otherwise known as the Movement for a Better Hungary, which won 14.8 per cent of the poll, securing almost as many votes as the ruling Hungarian socialists. And Geert Wilders's Freedom Party in the Netherlands, which doubled its vote campaigning on anti-Islamic concerns, nationalist parties such as True Finns in Finland and Denmark's far-right Danish People's Party, which picked up a second seat in Strasbourg.
Years ago now, writing in Prospect magazine, David Goodhart wrote an important essay warning liberals about the progressive dilemma that confronts many Western countries: sharing and solidarity can often conflict with diversity. "Acts of sharing are more smoothly and generously negotiated if we take for granted a limited set of common values and assumptions," he wrote.
Yet, the more diverse that once homogenous societies become, the more the common culture is eroded. He warned that the reaction to growing diversity will happen through decades, if not generations. After last week's European elections, more people are now realising the inevitable price of diversity.
In a new book, Reflections on the Revolution in Europe, which could not have appeared at a better time given the gnashing of elite teeth about the European elections, Christopher Caldwell describes the revolution under way in Europe. Growing immigrant communities are changing Europe to suit their own cultural identities. They are able to do so only because so many European countries have been left confused and enervated, losing their own sense of self. The march of modernity and globalisation, said the ruling political elites and much of the media, requires an unquestioning acceptance of immigration, regardless of the clash of values. The move away from the old-fashioned notion of solidarity and shared values in favour of diversity and multicultural moral relativism is most apparent in the area of women's rights, where increasing numbers of immigrants from different cultures do not share the West's commitment to equality.
Reviewing Caldwell's book last week in The Guardian, Martin Woollacott could not help but ask whether talk of a fading European identity was "right-wing rubbish" from a "luminary of the The Weekly Standard, the American neo-conservative magazine Rupert Murdoch finances". In the past, that is where much analysis would have stopped.
Now, however, more people such as Woollacott are conceding that Caldwell is right in "underlining the fact that immigration was encouraged by elites who took a ludicrously short-sighted view of its costs and consequences". And right too "that we frequently talk about (immigration) in stupid and dishonest ways".
Woollacott concludes that if Caldwell's book "sharpens a so far sluggish debate, it will have served an important purpose".
The same could be said of the recent elections for the European Parliament. If the many messages and political warnings that resonate from the results are heeded, then the elections will have served Europe and Britain well. Only a more honest discussion about immigration - and the importance of national identity - will prevent further political gains to parties that know how to manipulate the concerns of people such as my early morning taxi driver. Repressing these parties will be interpreted as repressing the genuine concerns of voters. If that happens, Britain - and Europe - will learn an even tougher lesson about repression when there is an even stronger, more unfortunate backlash against immigration and open borders.
SOURCE
Is lack of vitamin D linked to swine flu?
This is an improbable speculation. Vitamin D is added to butter and margarine these days so everybody should be getting enough. Though I suppose that the anti-fat brigade may have reduced usage of butter and margarine among some people. As for the reason why health is unusually poor in Scotland, why are we not mentioning Scotland's rate of alcohol consumption and the inactivity that accompanies high rates of unemployment?
Scotland has a disproportionately high number of swine flu cases. There could be a simple reason. It was all very predictable, I suppose, that when the first UK death from someone suffering from swine flu came, it did not come from St Ives or St Andrews. Jacqueline Fleming lived on a rundown council estate in Glasgow; she came from the other Scotland, the bleak one we garland with jokes and statistics but ultimately prefer to ignore.
The H1N1 outbreak is an uncomfortable reminder that the health gap both between the rich and the poor in Scotland, and between Scotland and practically everywhere else in Europe, is not only inescapable - it is, sadly, one of the things that define this country. How symbolic that Ms Fleming, 38 - the first person with swine flu outside the Americas to die - lived of all places in poor little Carnwadric, a deprived council ward in the West of Scotland. She is, in death, a Scottish landmark, an unintended indictment of this country's disproportionately woeful health record.
Ms Fleming apparently suffered from strokes and seizures. She was described as "a good, quiet woman"; a full-time mother, who lived an existence constrained by lack of opportunity and income. She was expecting her third child. When she caught the illness, which had occurred at a local primary school, she was made doubly vulnerable through her chronic condition and by virtue of the pregnancy. She fell gravely ill, gave birth to her baby at 29 weeks and died two weeks later without regaining consciousness. Her child, Jack, who did not have the virus, died 24 hours later: a private double tragedy that echoed round the world.
The following day, I was invited on The Jeremy Vine Show. We want to ask, said the researcher, why Scotland? Why is swine flu cutting swaths across Scotland, and killing people? The unvoiced question hovered: what's wrong with you people that makes you the sickest in half the world? You can understand where they were coming from. Scotland has 530 confirmed cases of swine flu, 441 possible cases and 300 clinically diagnosed possibles - a total of more than 1,200. By comparison, bigger countries are relatively unscathed. England, with ten times the people, only has 1,062 cases, Austria 7, Portugal 3, France 80, Germany 170, Spain 488 and Ireland 12.
Beneath the soundbites, there are several answers. One can say with absolute certainty that there has been better monitoring here. NHS Scotland and its many limbs, Health Protection Scotland and Health Scotland and NHS Quality Improvement Scotland and the Healthcare Environment Inspectorate and the Information Services Division - I could go on - are just part of one of the most impressive health service data engines in the world. In this regard Scotland purrs along like a Rolls-Royce: few other nations have information that combines high-quality data, consistency, national coverage and the ability to link data to allow patient-based analysis and follow-up. No case of swine flu has a chance of getting away from that lot.
And yes, of course, there's much to monitor. Scotland possesses a health record that would make a Third World dictator wince: hospital admissions from alcohol up 7 per cent on the previous year and up 17 per cent on five years ago; chronic levels of disability from strokes, coronary heart disease and cancer; lung cancer; drug use; a diet built on fat and sugar; and soaring levels of obesity. Surely these endemic weaknesses are what makes us vulnerable to swine flu?
Yes - but it's not the whole answer either. Since devolution, and the pumping in of billions of pounds, NHS Scotland is a fairly magnificent operation. Rates of ill health are declining, although the gap between the most deprived areas and the most affluent is widening, and England's health, similarly blessed with extra funding in the good times, is improving faster than Scotland's.
Which brings us face to face with the disconcerting thing they call the health deficit: the unexplained gap between Scotland's health outcomes and that of the rest of Britain; a gap that still persists even when the epidemiologists factor in all the lifestyle issues; the gap, in other words, that makes the Scots sick no matter how much money is spent on them.
It was fashionable for a while to talk about the biology of poverty, explaining it away by poor housing and a history of deprivation; cooked up with low self-respect and expectation.
But could the puzzle have a simpler answer? Recently The Times has revealed astonishing research showing the links between low vitamin-D levels and poor general health. Multiple sclerosis, cancer and diabetes are just some of the diseases linked to an immune system compromised by lack of the vitamin. And the Scots, living in a cloudy climate, are known to be twice as likely to be vitamin D deficient as the English. Increasing numbers of scientists suspect vitamin D could be the Scots' Achilles' heel.
Influenza, we know, strikes in the winter when vitamin D levels are naturally lowered - hence a possible reason why swine flu is at present widespread in Australia, where it's winter. Could the disproportionate prevalence of H1N1 in Scotland be related to endemic low levels of vitamin D among the population - especially those least likely to buy themselves supplements? It is a huge, intriguing question.
SOURCE
British Navy captain bans brussels sprouts
Good man!
A BRITISH navy captain has banned brussels sprouts from his ship, labelling them the "devil's vegetable". Commanding officer Wayne Keble delivered the order to his 390-strong crew on HMS Bulwark because he hates the vegetable, Britain's Daily Telegraph reported. But he denied speculation he imposed the ban because sprouts make the sailors suffer from flatulence in the cramped conditions on board.
Keble disclosed his order after he was asked to confirm reports he had banned fried foods from his ship on health grounds. He said: "The only thing I have banned on board is brussels sprouts. They are the devil's vegetable and the only thing I do not like, and the only thing I hate. "Brussels sprouts are absolutely banned on board HMS Bulwark. I do not eat them so I do not know what the after-effects are.'' The distinctive smell of sprouts is caused by sulphur compounds released when cooked.
A spokesman for the Royal Navy and the Ministry of Defence said sprouts had only been banned from the captain's table. But a source on board the ship said Keble was "very serious'' about the ban and refused to allow any sprouts on board. "This ban is no joke ... The MoD can say what they like but Captain Keble runs the ship and he has categorically said that sprouts are banned,'' the source said.
HMS Bulwark is at present deployed in the Mediterranean and Far East.
SOURCE
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Former British schools chief attacks Labour's 'focus on fairness'
The senior official who ran the country's schools until last year has condemned the comprehensive system, saying academic standards have suffered because of an obsession with fairness. In a startling indictment of Government policy, Ralph Tabberer, the former director-general of schools, said not enough emphasis had been put on "scholarship, genuinely high quality study and its importance". Even teaching children "character" and the difference between right and wrong had been neglected, he said.
He gave warning that the comprehensive system was "not working" and said Britain risked being overtaken by developing nations. Mr Tabberer, who now works for the world's biggest chain of fee-paying schools, said the future of education could only be assured by increased involvement of the private sector. But he said "inverted snobbery" in Britain had led to 30 years of near-apartheid between state and independent schools.
Mr Tabberer's comments, in an interview with The Daily Telegraph, will come as a serious blow to Gordon Brown. He was director-general of schools at the Department for Children, Schools and Families until stepping down for family reasons last year. His warning will resonate with those who fear that the needs of the brightest schoolchildren have been marginalised in recent years, leading to a rise in applications for state grammar schools and private schools.
A recent Government-backed report suggested bright children in state schools were being failed by teachers who refused to give them extra help for fear of promoting "elitism". Fewer than half of pupils in England, Wales and Northern Ireland left school with five good GCSEs last summer, including the key subjects of English and mathematics.
"We have tried a comprehensive system and that is not working," said Mr Tabberer. "The clock's ticking. Everybody else is catching up because they haven't got the same struggle to reconcile fairness and excellence." He added: "How do you make that the focus of education, and also the development of character, to turn out people who know the difference between right and wrong? "These are areas which are not getting enough attention in state policy and in the education debate."
Mr Tabberer led the Training and Development Agency for Schools, which trains teachers, before effectively becoming the second highest ranked civil servant at the DCSF. After stepping down he was appointed chief schools officer at Dubai-based GEMS Education, which manages almost 100 schools.
In his interview, he was careful not to levy personal or political blame, but he compared the current situation with the reforms of the Blair years. "We got a lot of things done, particularly between 1997 and 2004 or 2005 - the pace of change was fantastic," he said. "But the problem has got bigger and harder."
GEMS runs international schools in the Gulf, as well as a number in Britain. But it has made its name by providing low-cost education to the large south Asian communities of the Middle East.
Mr Tabberer said it was "humbling" to see Indian children at schools of 5,000 pupils, where costs per head were a sixth those in British state schools, achieve far superior GCSE results.
He criticised the failure of British parents to teach children to value education and to encourage competitiveness. But he said politicians needed to show more leadership.
Although he does not advocate a return to grammar schools, he said the emphasis on making sure the system was fair and equal had reduced the stress on teaching children to be competitive. "We don't spend enough time at the moment arguing about scholarship, genuinely high quality study and its importance."
He also called for closer ties between the state and private sector. "UK people are going to have to set aside a 30-year history of almost apartheid where inverted snobbery stands in the way," he said.
A spokesman for the DCSF said: "We make no apology for making closing the social gap an absolute priority. "It is about making sure that every child fulfils their potential."
SOURCE
Fighting fascism with fascism
People have taken to the street to fight fascism with, er, fascism. Last week's attack on free speech by the UAF (Unite Against Fascism) organization (which sounds suspiciously like an Irish paramilitary wing) was truly anti-liberal and purely fascist in action. It is a tactic that has been increasingly used by the left throughout time: the control of language and the threat of violence against those who do not obey.
Both sides of this argument mirror each other in their actions and their desired outcomes. On one side we have a collection of individuals coalesced around their fear of the unknown, namely ethnically different persons. On the other we have a group who do not understand the most basic human right: free speech. Both groups should be vigorously opposed by all, yet one is openly endorsed by the mainstream parties. Is it any wonder that people choose to vote BNP when they show such a disdain for rights?
It was by ignoring the BNP that allowed them to sneak under the radar and attract voters. The state's role in the demonstration also calls into question the changing relationship between right and wrong protests. The state is rubber stamping protests it approves of by standing aside and allowing this to happen. Equality before the law has vanished. The only way to defeat them is by engaging them and discussing their griefs so you can enlighten them. The current approach will not work especially as it merely looks like the establishment wanting to protect their right to use violence either via the police or approved protestors against a 'differently' oriented minority.
SOURCE
Only in Britain: An official kangaroo court
Mothers are having children taken away after a court hearing at which they are not allowed to be legally represented
A SECOND case has emerged of a woman who has had her children taken away from her and been prevented from objecting because she was judged "too stupid" by the authorities. Lawyers acting for the 24-year-old from Nottingham, who has had two daughters adopted, say she has since shown herself far brighter than was believed when the original judgment was made. But it is now too late for her to go back to court for the return of her children.
Last month, The Sunday Times reported a similar case of a mother deemed too unintelligent to care for her child.
The plight of the women has highlighted the role of the official solicitor, the state lawyer appointed to represent them, but who declined to contest either case.
New figures show that hundreds of parents have had the official solicitor, currently Alastair Pitblado, imposed.
Since January 2006 his department has been brought in to represent 588 parents deemed to "lack the mental capacity" to instruct lawyers in cases where their children faced the possibility of adoption.
Last month The Sunday Times highlighted the case of Rachel, also a 24-year-old from Nottingham, who is taking her legal challenge to the European Court of Human Rights after her three-year-old daughter was ordered to be adopted because she was ruled not to be intelligent enough to care for her.
In the latest case the mother's two daughters were both adopted in 2006 after a health worker noticed that her living conditions were unsatisfactory.
Before the case was finalised in court, however, it was decided that the woman lacked the intelligence to instruct her own lawyer, which led to the official solicitor being brought in. A psychologist's report gave her a low IQ but said her learning disability would improve in time.
The mother insisted that she wanted to keep her girls but the official solicitor said she did not have a case at the time and did not contest the adoptions on her behalf.
Her solicitor, Simon Leach, who runs Nottingham Family Law Associates, said: "I would have liked her to have given evidence, or certainly have someone speak on her behalf, so it could be explained at length why she should keep her children. But the system would not allow it.
"At that time she had little or no understanding of what her children needed but she was very loving of her children and still is.
"But I sat down with her last week and she was using words she could never have used before. It was clear to me that her level of understanding had improved considerably."
Leach said there were still question marks over whether she would be able to care properly for the girls but since the adoption had already happened the issue could no longer be addressed. "It's too late now," he said. He added that his firm had been involved in up to 20 cases in which their clients were handed over to the official solicitor.
The official solicitor typically declines to contest any final care orders.
Leach said this was because the system did not allow the official solicitor to do so.
He said: "I think the official solicitor should be able to put a case. It's not just about justice, it's about justice being seen to be done."
SOURCE
Free to walk British streets, the war criminals Britain cannot deport because of their human rights
Hundreds of war criminals are walking the streets of Britain with impunity, a shocking report reveals today. Around 300 people suspected of war crimes or genocide have been referred to the immigration services or police for action, said the Aegis Trust. But glaring legal loopholes mean they cannot be deported because sending them home to face a possible death penalty would breach their human rights.
The trust, an independent group working to eliminate genocide, said the suspects cannot be prosecuted here because only British residents can be arrested and charged under the Government's war crimes legislation. And the law only applies to crimes committed after 2001 - despite many of the worst genocides taking place before this, including in Bosnia and Rwanda.
The report's authors unearthed asylum and immigration case files relating to suspects living in the UK. These included an alleged Zimbabwean torturer, an Iraqi torturer who worked for the Saddam Hussein regime, a member of the Sudanese militia and a Sri Lankan Tamil Tiger assassination squad driver.
Also found was a member of the Sierra Leone 'Mosquito' rebel group notorious for murder, rape, looting, burning, sexual slavery and forced amputations. Other immigration files list child soldiers from Sierra Leone, officers in Charles Taylor's army in Liberia, a Somali warlord, a member of the Serb militia 'Arkan's Tigers' and a rebel from Angola implicated in hostage-taking.
In April, four men accused of mass murder in the Rwandan genocide won their battle to stay free in Britain. The four are wanted to stand trial for their part in the 1994 massacre in which 800,000 people were killed in 100 days. But the High Court ruled that there was 'a real risk they would suffer a flagrant denial of justice' if returned to Rwanda.
Nick Donovan, head of research for the Aegis Trust, said: 'There are two 'impunity gaps' in UK law which prevent prosecution for international crimes. 'Those suspected of genocide, crimes against humanity and most war crimes cannot be prosecuted in the UK if they committed those acts before 2001. 'And non-residents such as students, tourists or asylumseekers without residence status can't be prosecuted even if those acts were committed after 2001. 'This is not a hypothetical issue. It's about individuals suspected of heinous crimes: individuals who this country needs to bring to justice if we do not want to remain a haven for war criminals.'
Proposals to close the loopholes have been tabled in Parliament by the Liberal Democrat Peer Lord Carlile. But ministers have only said they are prepared to debate changes.
The Aegis report came as ministers faced a separate attack over deportation. In a report today, Parliamentary spending watchdogs warn the backlog of asylum cases is growing fast because efforts to deport foreign prisoners are swamping detention spaces. The Public Accounts Committee said the backlog doubled to 8,700 last year. This does not include hundreds of thousands of 'legacy cases', some of which have been stuck in the Home Office system for years.
SOURCE
We've never had it so good. Why then are we so downhearted?
In our affluent age, family, church and dusty old virtues seem redundant. But they gave us a sense of contentment we now lack
As the general election nears, an implicit question threads its way through the discussion of Labour's record and the opposition plans for change; is Britain getting better or worse? As luck would have it, this is precisely the issue addressed by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation in its study of "new social evils". One big theme to emerge from it is that the greatest evil is the retreat of society in the face of rampant individualism.
We live in a time of profound social pessimism. There is a widening gulf between our view of ourselves and of society at large. Nine in ten of us are optimistic about our family's prospects, yet fewer than one in five feels optimism about other people.
The contemporary feeling of social unease is undeniable; the dark seam exposed by the foundation is the same one mined by David Cameron in his talk of a broken society. Yet, despite the recession, a latter-day Harold Macmillan would have every reason for proclaiming that we have never had it so good.
It isn't simply that we live longer, earn more, travel farther, enjoy more recreation than our parents or grandparents. We are also more tolerant, better educated, more compassionate, overall, than our Victorian counterparts.
There are two obvious ways to resolve this paradox. Maybe social pessimism simply reflects higher expectations and the opportunity we now have to wallow in our doubts. Conversely, isn't what matters what we feel? We are twice as rich as our grandparents but no more content.
The truth may be more subtle. It is the way things have got better that makes us feel worse. Avner Offer, the economic historian, sums up this argument in one line: "Affluence breeds impatience and impatience undermines wellbeing." Offer means by this that affluence makes us feel as though we no longer need the social norms, conventions and institutions that encourage us to look to our own and society's long-term interests.
He calls these cultural safeguards "commitment devices". We can include in them not just institutions such as the family, the Church and welfare state, but also the values associated with those institutions: unfashionable ideas such as thrift, temperance and duty. The weakening of these commitment devices has been implicated in the rise of a culture of instant gratification, inauthentic communication (advertising, PR, spin doctoring) and unearned entitlements.
But, as we are starting at last to realise, it is impossible for society to thrive, and for most of us to get what we want, without commitment devices. Progress has its costs. Women's economic emancipation may weaken the extended family; social mobility leaves behind a less self-reliant and self-respecting working class.
But why have we failed to understand what we were losing in the forward march of individualism? An explanation may lie in the disjuncture between human evolution and history. While evolution is slow and incremental, history is accelerating in leaps and bounds. The brains that did fine for us for the first 200,000 years of our existence find it hard to cope with the revolutionary changes of the past century. For most of our existence as a species there was no long term: we hunted, we gathered, we died young. We are hardwired to be short-termist. That's why behavioural economists (the people who brought us the idea of the "nudge") argue the only way for governments to get us to save more for retirement is to trick us into it.
Many civilisations collapsed, in part, because the elite - the only ones who lived with plenty - succumbed to self-indulgence and a loss of vitality and authority. Today most of the UK's population have more disposable income than they need, not only to survive, but to enjoy good health and opportunities for leisure and self-development. But we have exhibited a mass version of the decadence that history has taught us to associate with the fall of the Roman Empire. There was a "chickens coming home to roost" feel in much commentary about the economic downturn.
Could it be that this period of rampant individualism and hyper-consumerism is transitional? Human beings have spent most of their existence producing just enough to survive. We have only had a few years to see that plenty creates as many problems as it solves. So are we starting to ask a different question: what do we truly need to live the good life? After all, this is what we tend to do in our own lives; we crave something we are denied, we over-consume it when we have unlimited access and then realise (in my grandmother's favourite bon mot) that "enough is as good as a feast"?
The idea of a transition between excessive consumption and the emergence of higher goals echoes Maslow's famous "hierarchy of human needs" that puts self- actualisation at its peak, well above material need. It also chimes with "the environmental Kuznets curve" - which suggests that nations are indifferent to the degradation of the natural world when they are on the road to growth. However, as nations become richer they start to value and protect the environment because social needs are seen as being as important as individual self-interest.
From this perspective our problems with affluence, and our susceptibility to social pessimism, reflect not just the power of new technology and the allure of its consumer goods but also a more general frailty as we go through what some have caricatured as the adolescence of Enlightenment Man.
Our susceptibility to excess may not be the only zone of transition. For nearly all human existence we have lived in relatively homogeneous communities, largely ignorant of the rest of the world. But as technology, commerce and transport widen our horizons, conflicts arising from the clash of cultures and identities reverberate from the Swat Valley to the European election results. Over the longer term will we adjust, developing a truly global model of citizenship, one that is able, for example, to tackle climate change?
A third journey may help to explain the crisis besetting our political system. After millennia of worshipping earth and sky gods, royal dynasties and, much more recently, elected leaders, we are no longer willing to look up to authority. We find ourselves unwilling to be governed but not yet willing to govern ourselves.
Lives are better today but our unease is real. There are new social evils. The better future waiting for us will only come about if we acknowledge the ways current thinking and behaviour are failing us.
SOURCE
No blogger anonymity in Britain
We read:
This will place significant limits on what people are game to say on blogs. And since Britain's speech laws are so strict, it closes off just about the last avenue for non-conforming people to say what they think.
The senior official who ran the country's schools until last year has condemned the comprehensive system, saying academic standards have suffered because of an obsession with fairness. In a startling indictment of Government policy, Ralph Tabberer, the former director-general of schools, said not enough emphasis had been put on "scholarship, genuinely high quality study and its importance". Even teaching children "character" and the difference between right and wrong had been neglected, he said.
He gave warning that the comprehensive system was "not working" and said Britain risked being overtaken by developing nations. Mr Tabberer, who now works for the world's biggest chain of fee-paying schools, said the future of education could only be assured by increased involvement of the private sector. But he said "inverted snobbery" in Britain had led to 30 years of near-apartheid between state and independent schools.
Mr Tabberer's comments, in an interview with The Daily Telegraph, will come as a serious blow to Gordon Brown. He was director-general of schools at the Department for Children, Schools and Families until stepping down for family reasons last year. His warning will resonate with those who fear that the needs of the brightest schoolchildren have been marginalised in recent years, leading to a rise in applications for state grammar schools and private schools.
A recent Government-backed report suggested bright children in state schools were being failed by teachers who refused to give them extra help for fear of promoting "elitism". Fewer than half of pupils in England, Wales and Northern Ireland left school with five good GCSEs last summer, including the key subjects of English and mathematics.
"We have tried a comprehensive system and that is not working," said Mr Tabberer. "The clock's ticking. Everybody else is catching up because they haven't got the same struggle to reconcile fairness and excellence." He added: "How do you make that the focus of education, and also the development of character, to turn out people who know the difference between right and wrong? "These are areas which are not getting enough attention in state policy and in the education debate."
Mr Tabberer led the Training and Development Agency for Schools, which trains teachers, before effectively becoming the second highest ranked civil servant at the DCSF. After stepping down he was appointed chief schools officer at Dubai-based GEMS Education, which manages almost 100 schools.
In his interview, he was careful not to levy personal or political blame, but he compared the current situation with the reforms of the Blair years. "We got a lot of things done, particularly between 1997 and 2004 or 2005 - the pace of change was fantastic," he said. "But the problem has got bigger and harder."
GEMS runs international schools in the Gulf, as well as a number in Britain. But it has made its name by providing low-cost education to the large south Asian communities of the Middle East.
Mr Tabberer said it was "humbling" to see Indian children at schools of 5,000 pupils, where costs per head were a sixth those in British state schools, achieve far superior GCSE results.
He criticised the failure of British parents to teach children to value education and to encourage competitiveness. But he said politicians needed to show more leadership.
Although he does not advocate a return to grammar schools, he said the emphasis on making sure the system was fair and equal had reduced the stress on teaching children to be competitive. "We don't spend enough time at the moment arguing about scholarship, genuinely high quality study and its importance."
He also called for closer ties between the state and private sector. "UK people are going to have to set aside a 30-year history of almost apartheid where inverted snobbery stands in the way," he said.
A spokesman for the DCSF said: "We make no apology for making closing the social gap an absolute priority. "It is about making sure that every child fulfils their potential."
SOURCE
Fighting fascism with fascism
People have taken to the street to fight fascism with, er, fascism. Last week's attack on free speech by the UAF (Unite Against Fascism) organization (which sounds suspiciously like an Irish paramilitary wing) was truly anti-liberal and purely fascist in action. It is a tactic that has been increasingly used by the left throughout time: the control of language and the threat of violence against those who do not obey.
Both sides of this argument mirror each other in their actions and their desired outcomes. On one side we have a collection of individuals coalesced around their fear of the unknown, namely ethnically different persons. On the other we have a group who do not understand the most basic human right: free speech. Both groups should be vigorously opposed by all, yet one is openly endorsed by the mainstream parties. Is it any wonder that people choose to vote BNP when they show such a disdain for rights?
It was by ignoring the BNP that allowed them to sneak under the radar and attract voters. The state's role in the demonstration also calls into question the changing relationship between right and wrong protests. The state is rubber stamping protests it approves of by standing aside and allowing this to happen. Equality before the law has vanished. The only way to defeat them is by engaging them and discussing their griefs so you can enlighten them. The current approach will not work especially as it merely looks like the establishment wanting to protect their right to use violence either via the police or approved protestors against a 'differently' oriented minority.
SOURCE
Only in Britain: An official kangaroo court
Mothers are having children taken away after a court hearing at which they are not allowed to be legally represented
A SECOND case has emerged of a woman who has had her children taken away from her and been prevented from objecting because she was judged "too stupid" by the authorities. Lawyers acting for the 24-year-old from Nottingham, who has had two daughters adopted, say she has since shown herself far brighter than was believed when the original judgment was made. But it is now too late for her to go back to court for the return of her children.
Last month, The Sunday Times reported a similar case of a mother deemed too unintelligent to care for her child.
The plight of the women has highlighted the role of the official solicitor, the state lawyer appointed to represent them, but who declined to contest either case.
New figures show that hundreds of parents have had the official solicitor, currently Alastair Pitblado, imposed.
Since January 2006 his department has been brought in to represent 588 parents deemed to "lack the mental capacity" to instruct lawyers in cases where their children faced the possibility of adoption.
Last month The Sunday Times highlighted the case of Rachel, also a 24-year-old from Nottingham, who is taking her legal challenge to the European Court of Human Rights after her three-year-old daughter was ordered to be adopted because she was ruled not to be intelligent enough to care for her.
In the latest case the mother's two daughters were both adopted in 2006 after a health worker noticed that her living conditions were unsatisfactory.
Before the case was finalised in court, however, it was decided that the woman lacked the intelligence to instruct her own lawyer, which led to the official solicitor being brought in. A psychologist's report gave her a low IQ but said her learning disability would improve in time.
The mother insisted that she wanted to keep her girls but the official solicitor said she did not have a case at the time and did not contest the adoptions on her behalf.
Her solicitor, Simon Leach, who runs Nottingham Family Law Associates, said: "I would have liked her to have given evidence, or certainly have someone speak on her behalf, so it could be explained at length why she should keep her children. But the system would not allow it.
"At that time she had little or no understanding of what her children needed but she was very loving of her children and still is.
"But I sat down with her last week and she was using words she could never have used before. It was clear to me that her level of understanding had improved considerably."
Leach said there were still question marks over whether she would be able to care properly for the girls but since the adoption had already happened the issue could no longer be addressed. "It's too late now," he said. He added that his firm had been involved in up to 20 cases in which their clients were handed over to the official solicitor.
The official solicitor typically declines to contest any final care orders.
Leach said this was because the system did not allow the official solicitor to do so.
He said: "I think the official solicitor should be able to put a case. It's not just about justice, it's about justice being seen to be done."
SOURCE
Free to walk British streets, the war criminals Britain cannot deport because of their human rights
Hundreds of war criminals are walking the streets of Britain with impunity, a shocking report reveals today. Around 300 people suspected of war crimes or genocide have been referred to the immigration services or police for action, said the Aegis Trust. But glaring legal loopholes mean they cannot be deported because sending them home to face a possible death penalty would breach their human rights.
The trust, an independent group working to eliminate genocide, said the suspects cannot be prosecuted here because only British residents can be arrested and charged under the Government's war crimes legislation. And the law only applies to crimes committed after 2001 - despite many of the worst genocides taking place before this, including in Bosnia and Rwanda.
The report's authors unearthed asylum and immigration case files relating to suspects living in the UK. These included an alleged Zimbabwean torturer, an Iraqi torturer who worked for the Saddam Hussein regime, a member of the Sudanese militia and a Sri Lankan Tamil Tiger assassination squad driver.
Also found was a member of the Sierra Leone 'Mosquito' rebel group notorious for murder, rape, looting, burning, sexual slavery and forced amputations. Other immigration files list child soldiers from Sierra Leone, officers in Charles Taylor's army in Liberia, a Somali warlord, a member of the Serb militia 'Arkan's Tigers' and a rebel from Angola implicated in hostage-taking.
In April, four men accused of mass murder in the Rwandan genocide won their battle to stay free in Britain. The four are wanted to stand trial for their part in the 1994 massacre in which 800,000 people were killed in 100 days. But the High Court ruled that there was 'a real risk they would suffer a flagrant denial of justice' if returned to Rwanda.
Nick Donovan, head of research for the Aegis Trust, said: 'There are two 'impunity gaps' in UK law which prevent prosecution for international crimes. 'Those suspected of genocide, crimes against humanity and most war crimes cannot be prosecuted in the UK if they committed those acts before 2001. 'And non-residents such as students, tourists or asylumseekers without residence status can't be prosecuted even if those acts were committed after 2001. 'This is not a hypothetical issue. It's about individuals suspected of heinous crimes: individuals who this country needs to bring to justice if we do not want to remain a haven for war criminals.'
Proposals to close the loopholes have been tabled in Parliament by the Liberal Democrat Peer Lord Carlile. But ministers have only said they are prepared to debate changes.
The Aegis report came as ministers faced a separate attack over deportation. In a report today, Parliamentary spending watchdogs warn the backlog of asylum cases is growing fast because efforts to deport foreign prisoners are swamping detention spaces. The Public Accounts Committee said the backlog doubled to 8,700 last year. This does not include hundreds of thousands of 'legacy cases', some of which have been stuck in the Home Office system for years.
SOURCE
We've never had it so good. Why then are we so downhearted?
In our affluent age, family, church and dusty old virtues seem redundant. But they gave us a sense of contentment we now lack
As the general election nears, an implicit question threads its way through the discussion of Labour's record and the opposition plans for change; is Britain getting better or worse? As luck would have it, this is precisely the issue addressed by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation in its study of "new social evils". One big theme to emerge from it is that the greatest evil is the retreat of society in the face of rampant individualism.
We live in a time of profound social pessimism. There is a widening gulf between our view of ourselves and of society at large. Nine in ten of us are optimistic about our family's prospects, yet fewer than one in five feels optimism about other people.
The contemporary feeling of social unease is undeniable; the dark seam exposed by the foundation is the same one mined by David Cameron in his talk of a broken society. Yet, despite the recession, a latter-day Harold Macmillan would have every reason for proclaiming that we have never had it so good.
It isn't simply that we live longer, earn more, travel farther, enjoy more recreation than our parents or grandparents. We are also more tolerant, better educated, more compassionate, overall, than our Victorian counterparts.
There are two obvious ways to resolve this paradox. Maybe social pessimism simply reflects higher expectations and the opportunity we now have to wallow in our doubts. Conversely, isn't what matters what we feel? We are twice as rich as our grandparents but no more content.
The truth may be more subtle. It is the way things have got better that makes us feel worse. Avner Offer, the economic historian, sums up this argument in one line: "Affluence breeds impatience and impatience undermines wellbeing." Offer means by this that affluence makes us feel as though we no longer need the social norms, conventions and institutions that encourage us to look to our own and society's long-term interests.
He calls these cultural safeguards "commitment devices". We can include in them not just institutions such as the family, the Church and welfare state, but also the values associated with those institutions: unfashionable ideas such as thrift, temperance and duty. The weakening of these commitment devices has been implicated in the rise of a culture of instant gratification, inauthentic communication (advertising, PR, spin doctoring) and unearned entitlements.
But, as we are starting at last to realise, it is impossible for society to thrive, and for most of us to get what we want, without commitment devices. Progress has its costs. Women's economic emancipation may weaken the extended family; social mobility leaves behind a less self-reliant and self-respecting working class.
But why have we failed to understand what we were losing in the forward march of individualism? An explanation may lie in the disjuncture between human evolution and history. While evolution is slow and incremental, history is accelerating in leaps and bounds. The brains that did fine for us for the first 200,000 years of our existence find it hard to cope with the revolutionary changes of the past century. For most of our existence as a species there was no long term: we hunted, we gathered, we died young. We are hardwired to be short-termist. That's why behavioural economists (the people who brought us the idea of the "nudge") argue the only way for governments to get us to save more for retirement is to trick us into it.
Many civilisations collapsed, in part, because the elite - the only ones who lived with plenty - succumbed to self-indulgence and a loss of vitality and authority. Today most of the UK's population have more disposable income than they need, not only to survive, but to enjoy good health and opportunities for leisure and self-development. But we have exhibited a mass version of the decadence that history has taught us to associate with the fall of the Roman Empire. There was a "chickens coming home to roost" feel in much commentary about the economic downturn.
Could it be that this period of rampant individualism and hyper-consumerism is transitional? Human beings have spent most of their existence producing just enough to survive. We have only had a few years to see that plenty creates as many problems as it solves. So are we starting to ask a different question: what do we truly need to live the good life? After all, this is what we tend to do in our own lives; we crave something we are denied, we over-consume it when we have unlimited access and then realise (in my grandmother's favourite bon mot) that "enough is as good as a feast"?
The idea of a transition between excessive consumption and the emergence of higher goals echoes Maslow's famous "hierarchy of human needs" that puts self- actualisation at its peak, well above material need. It also chimes with "the environmental Kuznets curve" - which suggests that nations are indifferent to the degradation of the natural world when they are on the road to growth. However, as nations become richer they start to value and protect the environment because social needs are seen as being as important as individual self-interest.
From this perspective our problems with affluence, and our susceptibility to social pessimism, reflect not just the power of new technology and the allure of its consumer goods but also a more general frailty as we go through what some have caricatured as the adolescence of Enlightenment Man.
Our susceptibility to excess may not be the only zone of transition. For nearly all human existence we have lived in relatively homogeneous communities, largely ignorant of the rest of the world. But as technology, commerce and transport widen our horizons, conflicts arising from the clash of cultures and identities reverberate from the Swat Valley to the European election results. Over the longer term will we adjust, developing a truly global model of citizenship, one that is able, for example, to tackle climate change?
A third journey may help to explain the crisis besetting our political system. After millennia of worshipping earth and sky gods, royal dynasties and, much more recently, elected leaders, we are no longer willing to look up to authority. We find ourselves unwilling to be governed but not yet willing to govern ourselves.
Lives are better today but our unease is real. There are new social evils. The better future waiting for us will only come about if we acknowledge the ways current thinking and behaviour are failing us.
SOURCE
No blogger anonymity in Britain
We read:
"Thousands of bloggers who operate behind the cloak of anonymity have no right to keep their identities secret, the High Court ruled yesterday.
In a landmark decision, Mr Justice Eady refused to grant an order to protect the anonymity of a police officer who is the author of the NightJack blog. The officer, Richard Horton, 45, a detective constable with Lancashire Constabulary, had sought an injunction to stop The Times from revealing his name.
In April Mr Horton was awarded the Orwell Prize for political writing, but the judges were unaware that he was using information about cases, some involving sex offences against children, that could be traced back to genuine prosecutions.
His blog, which gave a behind-the-scenes insight into frontline policing, included strong views on social and political issues. The officer also criticised and ridiculed "a number of senior politicians" and advised members of the public under police investigation to "complain about every officer . . . show no respect to the legal system or anybody working in it".
Some of the blog's best-read sections, which on occasion attracted half a million readers a week, were anecdotes about cases on which Mr Horton had worked. The people and places were made anonymous and details changed, but they could still be traced back to real prosecutions.
In the first case dealing with the privacy of internet bloggers, the judge ruled that Mr Horton had no "reasonable expectation" to anonymity because "blogging is essentially a public rather than a private activity". The judge also said that even if the blogger could have claimed he had a right to anonymity, the judge would have ruled against him on public interest grounds.
Source
This will place significant limits on what people are game to say on blogs. And since Britain's speech laws are so strict, it closes off just about the last avenue for non-conforming people to say what they think.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
British school bans bananas because one teacher has life-threatening allergy to them
This sounds pretty cockeyed. How does somebody ELSE eating a banana affect the allergy sufferer?
Nutritious and delicious, bananas are a lunchbox favourite. But they have been banned from a primary school because a teacher is allergic to them. The school has forbidden pupils to eat bananas because a female staff member suffers from the rare and potentially lethal condition 'latex fruit syndrome'. Any contact with the fruit could result in anaphylactic shock - which in extreme cases can cause collapse or even death.
The ban, introduced two years ago at Stoke Damerel Primary School in Plymouth, has divided parents. 'When it was first brought in we couldn't believe it,' said Mary Williams, 54, as she dropped her grandchild at the school. 'Banning bananas because a member of staff - not even a pupil - is allergic is ridiculous. 'A lot of us feel this is a massive overreaction. But another parent said: 'It does seem a little silly, but then if it was my child who was allergic I would be relieved that they would not be in danger.'
Latex fruit syndrome is related to latex allergy. Experts say up to 50 per cent of those allergic to natural rubber latex are also sensitive to fruits, particularly bananas.
A spokesman for the school said the ban would be lifted in September when the affected teacher is leaving the school. She added: 'These are very unusual circumstances but the school community has been supportive and understanding over the last two years.'
SOURCE
$6,000 for being a Muslim
œ3,000 for Muslim cocktail waitress who had to work in 'sexy' dress (but who didn't mind appearing on Facebook wearing a skimpy top)
You can see as revealing or more revealing dresses at Royal Ascot. It's a disgrace that she got a cent. It's just Muslim pandering. Below are a couple of pictures of very proper English ladies at Ascot
A Muslim cocktail waitress who quit after refusing to wear a `sexy' dress has won almost œ3,000 in compensation for sexual harassment. A tribunal accepted that Fata Lemes genuinely believed that the short, lowcut red dress was `disgusting' and made her look `like a prostitute'. But the panel rejected her claim that it was `sexually revealing and indecent'. Her compensation claim of œ20,000 - including œ17,500 for hurt feelings - was branded `manifestly absurd'.
Miss Lemes told London Central Employment Tribunal that she `might as well be naked' in the dress, adding: `I was brought up a Muslim and am not used to wearing sexually attractive clothes.' However, a photo on the Facebook social networking site shows her wearing a lowcut T-shirt.
She was awarded œ2,919.95 for hurt feelings and loss of earnings. It is not known whether the panel saw the Facebook photo before making their judgment. The tribunal panel ruled that bosses at Rocket bar and restaurant in Mayfair should have made allowance for her feelings and their insistence that she wear the dress amounted to sexual harassment.
It concluded that the Bosnian Muslim `holds views about modesty and decency which some might think unusual in Britain in the 21st century'. However, it found that Miss Lemes, 33, `overstated' her trauma at being asked to wear the sleeveless dress. Her claim that she was left with no choice but to walk out of her job at the bar after only eight days was rejected by the panel.
Miss Lemes, who was paid œ5.52 an hour, also said she was pestered for sex by clients at the bar. She alleged that bosses ran Rocket `like a sex club' and allowed clients to think that `waitresses could be treated as prostitutes'. She told how on one shift two men told her they were looking for a blonde `for one or more nights'. `I considered the company must be indicating to guests that the bar was the type of bar where they could make sexual offers to staff,' she said.
Tom Grady, the lawyer for the Spring & Greene-owned bar, told the tribunal: `There is no evidence to support the suggestion that it is a sex club or some sort of seedy brothel.'
The panel said Miss Lemes's perception that wearing the dress would make her feel as if she was on show `was legitimate and not unreasonable'. But it rejected her claim of constructive dismissal, saying the employment was ended by mutual consent `once it became clear that there was no prospect of the differences over the dress being resolved'.
Miss Lemes, of Camden, North London, was also judged to have overstated the injury to her feelings. `We do not accept that it was reasonable for her to decide, as she told us she had done, not to consider any form of waitressing again,' the panel said. `Her sincere feelings about being required to wear a red dress when working in a Mayfair bar could not reasonably have caused her to rule out employment in, for example, a cafe or fast-food restaurant.'
The company failed to pay Miss Lemes for her shifts but handed over œ255 during the hearing at the suggestion of the tribunal panel.
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Climate change nonsense
British taxes on airline flights have already been doubled for "Green" reasons. Not enough, apparently. Yet another tax on airline flights proposed for Britain
An awful lot of nonsense about climate change is spouted, as we know. I think the thing that bugs me the most though is that people don't seem to be understanding the very reports they rely upon for their logic and calls to action. You know, things like various greenies insisting that we should revert to local and regional economies....when the very IPCC report they rely upon for predictions of climate change states that this would make things worse, not better. Today's example comes from the private sector:
Airline passengers should pay a global tax on carbon and accept an increase in the cost of flying for the sake of the environment, the chief executive of British Airways has told The Times. The airline is the first in the world to propose that all airline passengers should pay an additional sum which would be likely to rise steadily over time.
BA is proposing that the tax should raise at least $5 billion (œ3 billion) a year to be used to combat tropical deforestation and help developing companies to adapt to climate change.
That there should be a price for carbon emissions, as there should be for other externalities, I have no problem with, indeed welcome. And as the Stern Review pointed out, we can do this either by Pigou taxation or by cap and trade. We'll leave aside the bit where that report points out that it doesn't matter what you spend the taxes on, it's simply the addition into market prices of those costs that does the work.
But what I would like Bill Walsh (for it is he suggesting this) to understand is that the very same report/review which provides logical support for this position also gives us what that price should be. And as a result of that suggestion, Gordon Brown has doubled Air Passenger Duty. As far as Stern is concerned, as far as both the price and logic of the argument are concerned, the external costs of aviation are already included in the market prices people pay to fly from or to the UK.
It's already been done, no more taxes are needed. It would be fine to call for a different system, but not to call for an additional one.
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CROPS UNDER STRESS AS TEMPERATURES FALL
Our politicians haven't noticed that the problem may be that the world is not warming but cooling, observes Christopher Booker
For the second time in little over a year, it looks as though the world may be heading for a serious food crisis, thanks to our old friend "climate change". In many parts of the world recently the weather has not been too brilliant for farmers. After a fearsomely cold winter, June brought heavy snowfall across large parts of western Canada and the northern states of the American Midwest. In Manitoba last week, it was -4§C. North Dakota had its first June snow for 60 years.
There was midsummer snow not just in Norway and the Cairngorms, but even in Saudi Arabia. At least in the southern hemisphere it is winter, but snowfalls in New Zealand and Australia have been abnormal. There have been frosts in Brazil, elsewhere in South America they have had prolonged droughts, while in China they have had to cope with abnormal rain and freak hailstorms, which in one province killed 20 people.
None of this has given much cheer to farmers. In Canada and northern America summer planting of corn and soybeans has been way behind schedule, with the prospect of reduced yields and lower quality. Grain stocks are predicted to be down 15 per cent next year. US reserves of soya - used in animal feed and in many processed foods - are expected to fall to a 32-year low.
In China, the world's largest wheat grower, they have been battling against the atrocious weather to bring in the harvest. (In one province they even fired chemical shells into the clouds to turn freezing hailstones into rain.) In north-west China drought has devastated crops with a plague of pests and blight. In countries such as Argentina and Brazil droughts have caused such havoc that a veteran US grain expert said last week: "In 43 years I've never seen anything like the decline we're looking at in South America."
In Europe, the weather has been a factor in well-below average predicted crop yields in eastern Europe and Ukraine. In Britain this year's oilseed rape crop is likely to be 30 per cent below its 2008 level. And although it may be too early to predict a repeat of last year's food shortage, which provoked riots from west Africa to Egypt and Yemen, it seems possible that world food stocks may next year again be under severe strain, threatening to repeat the steep rises which, in 2008, saw prices double what they had been two years before.
There are obviously various reasons for this concern as to whether the world can continue to feed itself, but one of them is undoubtedly the downturn in world temperatures, which has brought more cold and snow since 2007 than we have known for decades.
Three factors are vital to crops: the light and warmth of the sun, adequate rainfall and the carbon dioxide they need for photosynthesis. As we are constantly reminded, we still have plenty of that nasty, polluting CO2, which the politicians are so keen to get rid of. But there is not much they can do about the sunshine or the rainfall.
It is now more than 200 years since the great astronomer William Herschel observed a correlation between wheat prices and sunspots. When the latter were few in number, he noted, the climate turned colder and drier, crop yields fell and wheat prices rose. In the past two years, sunspot activity has dropped to its lowest point for a century. One of our biggest worries is that our politicians are so fixated on the idea that CO2 is causing global warming that most of them haven't noticed that the problem may be that the world is not warming but cooling, with all the implications that has for whether we get enough to eat.
It is appropriate that another contributory factor to the world's food shortage should be the millions of acres of farmland now being switched from food crops to biofuels, to stop the world warming, Last year even the experts of the European Commission admitted that, to meet the EU's biofuel targets, we will eventually need almost all the food-growing land in Europe. But that didn't persuade them to change their policy. They would rather we starved than did that. And the EU, we must always remember, is now our government - the one most of us didn't vote for last week.
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Britain: Capable students to miss out on university as clearing places cut
British universities have the rather weird system of accepting students on the basis of their "predicted" results in their final High School exams. Places left over after that process are later filled on the basis of actual exam results. Those places are called "clearing" places
Two thirds of A-level students who would normally get into university through the clearing system will be left without a place this year, according to research by The Times. In the biggest squeeze on higher education for 20 years, tens of thousands of capable students will miss out on higher education after a huge rise in applications and an effective freeze on university places.
Almost two thirds of clearing places have been cut at universities that accept large numbers of students looking for a place after A-level results in August. The figures from a survey by The Times indicate that some of the biggest recruiters will have to halve their clearing intake, while others say that they will have no clearing places at all.
Universities are also saying that they will be far less lenient this year on those who fall slightly below their predicted grades, as they have been told by the Government that they will face financial sanctions if they overrecruit.
Pam Tatlow, of Million+, which represents new universities, said: "It's clear this could be a very sticky summer if the Government doesn't think more carefully and positively about what it can do to prevent potential students from joining the dole queue."
The Times contacted 60 universities that usually take the highest numbers through clearing. The ten that were able to confirm the number of spaces that they expect to have left this August have lost 2,300 places between them - 58 per cent down on last year.
Northumbria University, which has experienced an 11 per cent rise in applications this year, will have 60 per cent fewer spaces on offer in August compared with last year, when 500 students got last-minute places. Goldsmiths, University of London, the University of the West of England and the University of Surrey all predict a significant reduction in clearing places. If this drop is applied to the 44,000 places available through clearing last year, only 18,480 places will be available this summer.
By April there were 524,151 applications for full-time undergraduate courses compared with 481,784 at the same time last year. At least 58,000 more applications are expected before the end of the June deadline, Ucas, the university admissions service, said. The sector has experienced an 8.8 per cent rise in prospective students, but many of the 30 universities who responded to The Times survey - those that are most popular with clearing candidates - have seen far bigger increases. The Government has made provision for only 10,000 more places this year, including those taken by postgraduate and part-time students.
Wes Streeting, president of the National Union of Students, said that the Government's cap on extra places would mean that at least 28,000 good candidates would be disappointed. "Applicants are clearly making the correct assessment that it is better to invest now in their education and training, and it is very disappointing that the Government is limiting their ability to do that," he said. Vocational and business-orientated subjects are increasingly popular, with huge rises in the number of applications for nursing, economics, engineering and business-related degrees.
A spokesman for Ucas said: "If an applicant cannot find a suitable place through clearing, all is not lost. They can reapply again for the next year, take a gap year or do some voluntary work." [How consoling!]
SOURCE
A British Liberal politician goes to an NHS hospital
Even though he got VIP treatment he could still see lots of problems
Last weekend, when the heart was being ripped out of Gordon Brown's Government by angry voters, I was having bits of my insides cut out by surgeons. Fortunately, my bits were less essential - merely an appendix. And the voters seemed angrier than the appendix.
The unplanned, emergency hospital visit to St Thomas's, London, did, however, do me a valuable service - providing first-hand experience of what the NHS now calls `the patient journey' (though much of it was actually second-hand, via my family, as I spent a fair proportion of my time unconscious).
Overall, I came away very impressed and reassured. I was released in good shape 36 hours after surgery under general anaesthetic. I had benefited from recent advances in diagnostics - the acute appendicitis was picked up on a CT scan - and keyhole surgery techniques. The consultants and hospital doctors were highly professional. Nursing care was meticulous and friendly. Staff repeatedly cleaned their hands with MRSA disinfectant. I even enjoyed good hospital food. [They must have sent out for it]
This positive experience reflects, I think, a bigger change. A decade ago, as a newly elected MP, I was deluged by complaints about NHS hospitals. Long waiting times. Slapdash treatment. Bolshie nurses.
Dirty wards. Local and national surveys showed that health care was top of voters' concerns. Health remains an issue, of course, especially around such big, intractable problems as mental illness and geriatric care. But with a few dramatic, recent exceptions, such as Stafford General Hospital, the sense of crisis which centred on the country's hospitals has lifted.
One reason is that vast amounts of taxpayers' money have been spent, and it shows. The worry is that the taps will now be turned off again as we head for a new era of cuts. Last week there were warnings of severe financial curbs as Government tries to rebalance the budget after the terrible damage inflicted on public finances by the collapse of the banking system and recession.
My short experience told me that there is now excellent quality care in the NHS provided by some first-class people. I also sensed that the services are potentially fragile if put under financial stress.
My own adventure began when I collapsed in a heap several times after dinner at a friend's house. The initial theory was food poisoning - a House of Commons crayfish sandwich eaten earlier in the day was chief suspect.
When the ambulance team arrived, within seconds of the predicted time, they were worried about the fainting and wanted me checked out at the nearest hospital. I hadn't appreciated ambulance staff have advanced paramedic skills. When you are feeling half dead it is reassuring to know that the first contact with the NHS is with people who really know what they are doing.
There followed the almost obligatory long wait on a trolley in a cubicle in A&E. I am told this violates one of the numerous targets hospitals have to meet. But it wasn't a problem. There were higher priorities: desperately ill old people and victims of assaults guarded by the police. I was safe and comfortable and the medical staff were calm, efficient and kind.
I was fortunate to have my wife with me who spotted details that the system somehow overlooked - such as dirty toilet floors and missing loo rolls. As morning broke I discovered that my lab tests showed a worrying abnormality and I must stay.
It also transpired that someone had recognised the grey-faced, middle-aged man in the cubicle. A smart lady appeared with a clipboard - Management - and I was taken to a beautiful room with a view. I was getting five-star treatment and felt too weak to insist on equality. My wife later overheard a conversation: `I can't believe it! We've actually got an MP here on the NHS.' It is quite possible that my favourable experience owes something to this observation. But I think the outstandingly good practice I encountered ran much deeper. As did the inefficiencies.
While I was waiting for surgery the next day, long after the appointed hour, my son and daughter were waiting for me, chatting to the surgeons and anaesthetists.
They waited and waited. There was a problem. No porter. No manager to sort it out. I discovered that such waits occur constantly. There aren't enough porters. But we are in a recession and there are alarming levels of unemployment in Inner London which provides the hospital with its staff. So why is there a porter shortage?
I also discovered that a new multi-million-pound building next door had been poorly designed so that doors are too narrow for porters to take trolleys through.
The underlying problem seems to be a preoccupation with the glamorous `frontline' roles rather than the equally essential backroom systems. Or perhaps funds are rationed in ways which starve these less visible activities. Armies win battles, however, not just because of brave soldiers but because someone is organising supplies of ammunition, lorries, food and drink. Good businesses also understand logistics.
Public services are often woefully deficient in this area. The problem is called management. In the NHS, management seems to mean highly-paid officials sitting in big offices, attending meetings, burnishing their mission statements and issuing edicts to operational staff based on Government targets.
In St Thomas's I gathered management was insisting on commandeering a doctors' rest area for new offices - alienating the very people who make the NHS so remarkable.
The problem, as I saw it, is a lack of the NHS equivalent of hands-on supermarket floor managers, factory fore- men and Army sergeant majors: the cogs who make the machine work.
When I was ready to leave, my worries were confirmed. I was told there was a three-hour wait for straightforward drugs from the pharmacy. I was happy enough reading a book but my bed and room, and nursing staff, were likely to be immobilised for a morning. Someone made a fuss and this cut the wait to three minutes. But when my wife visited the pharmacy there were harassed staff too busy to answer the phone, attend the front desk or supervise distribution. Management was nowhere.
In numerous, passionate debates about the future of the NHS I have never heard mention of porter shortages, pharmacy management, hospital transport or trolley logistics. But unless the inefficiencies are sorted the cuts will reverse the NHS improvements of the past decade.
We have been here before. The financial screw tightens. Hospitals are told to make economies. There are cuts in `beds' (in other words medical staff). Key vacancies aren't filled. Non-emergency cases are pushed back (and their condition deteriorates). Then someone decides that the hospital isn't `viable'.
Protests, barricades, petitions. In the battle for resources, valued local community hospitals and less glamorous bits of the NHS are trampled underfoot. But it needn't be like that. Sensible steps have to be taken now to ensure the high-quality people who work in the NHS are properly used.
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British "Big Brother" State under attack
ID cards will come under further high-level attack today. A retired law lord will today make a withering attack on the Government's 'ridiculous' and far-reaching attacks on civil liberties.
Lord Steyn reserves his most stinging criticisms for the œ5billion ID cards scheme, which he will say are 'unnecessary' and un-British and should be scrapped. But he will also fired a broadside at the DNA database and the use of surveillance cameras, including CCTV.
In a London memorial lecture, Lord Steyn will warn that ID cards, and the national identity database which will store the personal data, are steps towards a 'Kafkaesque' society.
He accuses the Home Office of introducing the cards step by step as a way of 'conditioning' and 'softening up' public opinion. The cards, already in use for foreign nationals coming to Britain, will be available to anyone living in Manchester from later this year. Trials are also due to begin at Manchester and City Airport in London this autumn.
Ministers say the scheme will help fight terrorism, crime and illegal immigration and help people easily prove their identity. But Lord Steyn says there is 'absolutely no evidence' they would protect the country against terrorism. Their introduction was an unjustified 'invasion' of civil liberties, the former judge adds. He will say: 'The commitment, by and large, of the British people to European constitutional principles and ideals does not require us to adopt an ID card system. 'In my view a national identity card system is not necessary in our country. No further money should be spent on it. The idea should be abandoned.
'The Home Office now proudly asserts that comprehensive surveillance has become routine. If that is true, the resemblance to the world of Kafka is no longer so very distant.' 'To illustrate the scale of the surveillance, one can refer to the estimated 4.2 million CCTV cameras in operation in this country. It is said that a person living and working in London is likely to be filmed about 300 times on an average day. 'The cost to the taxpayer is several hundred millions of pounds. No doubt CCTV coverage has, in some cases, proved effective in combating crime. But it is unclear how cost effective generally the system is. Some of the types of surveillance introduced by the State border on the ridiculous.'
In a speech today, Shadow security minster Baroness Neville-Jones will launch her own withering attack on the Government's privacy record. Miss Neville Jones will promise to 'substantially curtail' the number of people who can make use of the controversial Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act - used by councils to spy on dog foulers and people putting their bins out on the wrong day. She will also pledge to move away from huge centralised databases containing vast amounts of the public's most sensitive personal information.
Miss Neville-Jones said: 'The individual is the rightful owner of personal information and the state is merely possessor and should behave as a responsible custodian. We need to roll back the advance of Big Brother and restore this fundamental right of our citizens. 'Restoring privacy today must mean a clear statement on the part of those who have custody of personal information of their purpose in retaining it and of their commitment to its proper management. 'This will involve a review of most of the Government's centralised databases.'
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This sounds pretty cockeyed. How does somebody ELSE eating a banana affect the allergy sufferer?
Nutritious and delicious, bananas are a lunchbox favourite. But they have been banned from a primary school because a teacher is allergic to them. The school has forbidden pupils to eat bananas because a female staff member suffers from the rare and potentially lethal condition 'latex fruit syndrome'. Any contact with the fruit could result in anaphylactic shock - which in extreme cases can cause collapse or even death.
The ban, introduced two years ago at Stoke Damerel Primary School in Plymouth, has divided parents. 'When it was first brought in we couldn't believe it,' said Mary Williams, 54, as she dropped her grandchild at the school. 'Banning bananas because a member of staff - not even a pupil - is allergic is ridiculous. 'A lot of us feel this is a massive overreaction. But another parent said: 'It does seem a little silly, but then if it was my child who was allergic I would be relieved that they would not be in danger.'
Latex fruit syndrome is related to latex allergy. Experts say up to 50 per cent of those allergic to natural rubber latex are also sensitive to fruits, particularly bananas.
A spokesman for the school said the ban would be lifted in September when the affected teacher is leaving the school. She added: 'These are very unusual circumstances but the school community has been supportive and understanding over the last two years.'
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$6,000 for being a Muslim
œ3,000 for Muslim cocktail waitress who had to work in 'sexy' dress (but who didn't mind appearing on Facebook wearing a skimpy top)
You can see as revealing or more revealing dresses at Royal Ascot. It's a disgrace that she got a cent. It's just Muslim pandering. Below are a couple of pictures of very proper English ladies at Ascot
A Muslim cocktail waitress who quit after refusing to wear a `sexy' dress has won almost œ3,000 in compensation for sexual harassment. A tribunal accepted that Fata Lemes genuinely believed that the short, lowcut red dress was `disgusting' and made her look `like a prostitute'. But the panel rejected her claim that it was `sexually revealing and indecent'. Her compensation claim of œ20,000 - including œ17,500 for hurt feelings - was branded `manifestly absurd'.
Miss Lemes told London Central Employment Tribunal that she `might as well be naked' in the dress, adding: `I was brought up a Muslim and am not used to wearing sexually attractive clothes.' However, a photo on the Facebook social networking site shows her wearing a lowcut T-shirt.
She was awarded œ2,919.95 for hurt feelings and loss of earnings. It is not known whether the panel saw the Facebook photo before making their judgment. The tribunal panel ruled that bosses at Rocket bar and restaurant in Mayfair should have made allowance for her feelings and their insistence that she wear the dress amounted to sexual harassment.
It concluded that the Bosnian Muslim `holds views about modesty and decency which some might think unusual in Britain in the 21st century'. However, it found that Miss Lemes, 33, `overstated' her trauma at being asked to wear the sleeveless dress. Her claim that she was left with no choice but to walk out of her job at the bar after only eight days was rejected by the panel.
Miss Lemes, who was paid œ5.52 an hour, also said she was pestered for sex by clients at the bar. She alleged that bosses ran Rocket `like a sex club' and allowed clients to think that `waitresses could be treated as prostitutes'. She told how on one shift two men told her they were looking for a blonde `for one or more nights'. `I considered the company must be indicating to guests that the bar was the type of bar where they could make sexual offers to staff,' she said.
Tom Grady, the lawyer for the Spring & Greene-owned bar, told the tribunal: `There is no evidence to support the suggestion that it is a sex club or some sort of seedy brothel.'
The panel said Miss Lemes's perception that wearing the dress would make her feel as if she was on show `was legitimate and not unreasonable'. But it rejected her claim of constructive dismissal, saying the employment was ended by mutual consent `once it became clear that there was no prospect of the differences over the dress being resolved'.
Miss Lemes, of Camden, North London, was also judged to have overstated the injury to her feelings. `We do not accept that it was reasonable for her to decide, as she told us she had done, not to consider any form of waitressing again,' the panel said. `Her sincere feelings about being required to wear a red dress when working in a Mayfair bar could not reasonably have caused her to rule out employment in, for example, a cafe or fast-food restaurant.'
The company failed to pay Miss Lemes for her shifts but handed over œ255 during the hearing at the suggestion of the tribunal panel.
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Climate change nonsense
British taxes on airline flights have already been doubled for "Green" reasons. Not enough, apparently. Yet another tax on airline flights proposed for Britain
An awful lot of nonsense about climate change is spouted, as we know. I think the thing that bugs me the most though is that people don't seem to be understanding the very reports they rely upon for their logic and calls to action. You know, things like various greenies insisting that we should revert to local and regional economies....when the very IPCC report they rely upon for predictions of climate change states that this would make things worse, not better. Today's example comes from the private sector:
Airline passengers should pay a global tax on carbon and accept an increase in the cost of flying for the sake of the environment, the chief executive of British Airways has told The Times. The airline is the first in the world to propose that all airline passengers should pay an additional sum which would be likely to rise steadily over time.
BA is proposing that the tax should raise at least $5 billion (œ3 billion) a year to be used to combat tropical deforestation and help developing companies to adapt to climate change.
That there should be a price for carbon emissions, as there should be for other externalities, I have no problem with, indeed welcome. And as the Stern Review pointed out, we can do this either by Pigou taxation or by cap and trade. We'll leave aside the bit where that report points out that it doesn't matter what you spend the taxes on, it's simply the addition into market prices of those costs that does the work.
But what I would like Bill Walsh (for it is he suggesting this) to understand is that the very same report/review which provides logical support for this position also gives us what that price should be. And as a result of that suggestion, Gordon Brown has doubled Air Passenger Duty. As far as Stern is concerned, as far as both the price and logic of the argument are concerned, the external costs of aviation are already included in the market prices people pay to fly from or to the UK.
It's already been done, no more taxes are needed. It would be fine to call for a different system, but not to call for an additional one.
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CROPS UNDER STRESS AS TEMPERATURES FALL
Our politicians haven't noticed that the problem may be that the world is not warming but cooling, observes Christopher Booker
For the second time in little over a year, it looks as though the world may be heading for a serious food crisis, thanks to our old friend "climate change". In many parts of the world recently the weather has not been too brilliant for farmers. After a fearsomely cold winter, June brought heavy snowfall across large parts of western Canada and the northern states of the American Midwest. In Manitoba last week, it was -4§C. North Dakota had its first June snow for 60 years.
There was midsummer snow not just in Norway and the Cairngorms, but even in Saudi Arabia. At least in the southern hemisphere it is winter, but snowfalls in New Zealand and Australia have been abnormal. There have been frosts in Brazil, elsewhere in South America they have had prolonged droughts, while in China they have had to cope with abnormal rain and freak hailstorms, which in one province killed 20 people.
None of this has given much cheer to farmers. In Canada and northern America summer planting of corn and soybeans has been way behind schedule, with the prospect of reduced yields and lower quality. Grain stocks are predicted to be down 15 per cent next year. US reserves of soya - used in animal feed and in many processed foods - are expected to fall to a 32-year low.
In China, the world's largest wheat grower, they have been battling against the atrocious weather to bring in the harvest. (In one province they even fired chemical shells into the clouds to turn freezing hailstones into rain.) In north-west China drought has devastated crops with a plague of pests and blight. In countries such as Argentina and Brazil droughts have caused such havoc that a veteran US grain expert said last week: "In 43 years I've never seen anything like the decline we're looking at in South America."
In Europe, the weather has been a factor in well-below average predicted crop yields in eastern Europe and Ukraine. In Britain this year's oilseed rape crop is likely to be 30 per cent below its 2008 level. And although it may be too early to predict a repeat of last year's food shortage, which provoked riots from west Africa to Egypt and Yemen, it seems possible that world food stocks may next year again be under severe strain, threatening to repeat the steep rises which, in 2008, saw prices double what they had been two years before.
There are obviously various reasons for this concern as to whether the world can continue to feed itself, but one of them is undoubtedly the downturn in world temperatures, which has brought more cold and snow since 2007 than we have known for decades.
Three factors are vital to crops: the light and warmth of the sun, adequate rainfall and the carbon dioxide they need for photosynthesis. As we are constantly reminded, we still have plenty of that nasty, polluting CO2, which the politicians are so keen to get rid of. But there is not much they can do about the sunshine or the rainfall.
It is now more than 200 years since the great astronomer William Herschel observed a correlation between wheat prices and sunspots. When the latter were few in number, he noted, the climate turned colder and drier, crop yields fell and wheat prices rose. In the past two years, sunspot activity has dropped to its lowest point for a century. One of our biggest worries is that our politicians are so fixated on the idea that CO2 is causing global warming that most of them haven't noticed that the problem may be that the world is not warming but cooling, with all the implications that has for whether we get enough to eat.
It is appropriate that another contributory factor to the world's food shortage should be the millions of acres of farmland now being switched from food crops to biofuels, to stop the world warming, Last year even the experts of the European Commission admitted that, to meet the EU's biofuel targets, we will eventually need almost all the food-growing land in Europe. But that didn't persuade them to change their policy. They would rather we starved than did that. And the EU, we must always remember, is now our government - the one most of us didn't vote for last week.
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Britain: Capable students to miss out on university as clearing places cut
British universities have the rather weird system of accepting students on the basis of their "predicted" results in their final High School exams. Places left over after that process are later filled on the basis of actual exam results. Those places are called "clearing" places
Two thirds of A-level students who would normally get into university through the clearing system will be left without a place this year, according to research by The Times. In the biggest squeeze on higher education for 20 years, tens of thousands of capable students will miss out on higher education after a huge rise in applications and an effective freeze on university places.
Almost two thirds of clearing places have been cut at universities that accept large numbers of students looking for a place after A-level results in August. The figures from a survey by The Times indicate that some of the biggest recruiters will have to halve their clearing intake, while others say that they will have no clearing places at all.
Universities are also saying that they will be far less lenient this year on those who fall slightly below their predicted grades, as they have been told by the Government that they will face financial sanctions if they overrecruit.
Pam Tatlow, of Million+, which represents new universities, said: "It's clear this could be a very sticky summer if the Government doesn't think more carefully and positively about what it can do to prevent potential students from joining the dole queue."
The Times contacted 60 universities that usually take the highest numbers through clearing. The ten that were able to confirm the number of spaces that they expect to have left this August have lost 2,300 places between them - 58 per cent down on last year.
Northumbria University, which has experienced an 11 per cent rise in applications this year, will have 60 per cent fewer spaces on offer in August compared with last year, when 500 students got last-minute places. Goldsmiths, University of London, the University of the West of England and the University of Surrey all predict a significant reduction in clearing places. If this drop is applied to the 44,000 places available through clearing last year, only 18,480 places will be available this summer.
By April there were 524,151 applications for full-time undergraduate courses compared with 481,784 at the same time last year. At least 58,000 more applications are expected before the end of the June deadline, Ucas, the university admissions service, said. The sector has experienced an 8.8 per cent rise in prospective students, but many of the 30 universities who responded to The Times survey - those that are most popular with clearing candidates - have seen far bigger increases. The Government has made provision for only 10,000 more places this year, including those taken by postgraduate and part-time students.
Wes Streeting, president of the National Union of Students, said that the Government's cap on extra places would mean that at least 28,000 good candidates would be disappointed. "Applicants are clearly making the correct assessment that it is better to invest now in their education and training, and it is very disappointing that the Government is limiting their ability to do that," he said. Vocational and business-orientated subjects are increasingly popular, with huge rises in the number of applications for nursing, economics, engineering and business-related degrees.
A spokesman for Ucas said: "If an applicant cannot find a suitable place through clearing, all is not lost. They can reapply again for the next year, take a gap year or do some voluntary work." [How consoling!]
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A British Liberal politician goes to an NHS hospital
Even though he got VIP treatment he could still see lots of problems
Last weekend, when the heart was being ripped out of Gordon Brown's Government by angry voters, I was having bits of my insides cut out by surgeons. Fortunately, my bits were less essential - merely an appendix. And the voters seemed angrier than the appendix.
The unplanned, emergency hospital visit to St Thomas's, London, did, however, do me a valuable service - providing first-hand experience of what the NHS now calls `the patient journey' (though much of it was actually second-hand, via my family, as I spent a fair proportion of my time unconscious).
Overall, I came away very impressed and reassured. I was released in good shape 36 hours after surgery under general anaesthetic. I had benefited from recent advances in diagnostics - the acute appendicitis was picked up on a CT scan - and keyhole surgery techniques. The consultants and hospital doctors were highly professional. Nursing care was meticulous and friendly. Staff repeatedly cleaned their hands with MRSA disinfectant. I even enjoyed good hospital food. [They must have sent out for it]
This positive experience reflects, I think, a bigger change. A decade ago, as a newly elected MP, I was deluged by complaints about NHS hospitals. Long waiting times. Slapdash treatment. Bolshie nurses.
Dirty wards. Local and national surveys showed that health care was top of voters' concerns. Health remains an issue, of course, especially around such big, intractable problems as mental illness and geriatric care. But with a few dramatic, recent exceptions, such as Stafford General Hospital, the sense of crisis which centred on the country's hospitals has lifted.
One reason is that vast amounts of taxpayers' money have been spent, and it shows. The worry is that the taps will now be turned off again as we head for a new era of cuts. Last week there were warnings of severe financial curbs as Government tries to rebalance the budget after the terrible damage inflicted on public finances by the collapse of the banking system and recession.
My short experience told me that there is now excellent quality care in the NHS provided by some first-class people. I also sensed that the services are potentially fragile if put under financial stress.
My own adventure began when I collapsed in a heap several times after dinner at a friend's house. The initial theory was food poisoning - a House of Commons crayfish sandwich eaten earlier in the day was chief suspect.
When the ambulance team arrived, within seconds of the predicted time, they were worried about the fainting and wanted me checked out at the nearest hospital. I hadn't appreciated ambulance staff have advanced paramedic skills. When you are feeling half dead it is reassuring to know that the first contact with the NHS is with people who really know what they are doing.
There followed the almost obligatory long wait on a trolley in a cubicle in A&E. I am told this violates one of the numerous targets hospitals have to meet. But it wasn't a problem. There were higher priorities: desperately ill old people and victims of assaults guarded by the police. I was safe and comfortable and the medical staff were calm, efficient and kind.
I was fortunate to have my wife with me who spotted details that the system somehow overlooked - such as dirty toilet floors and missing loo rolls. As morning broke I discovered that my lab tests showed a worrying abnormality and I must stay.
It also transpired that someone had recognised the grey-faced, middle-aged man in the cubicle. A smart lady appeared with a clipboard - Management - and I was taken to a beautiful room with a view. I was getting five-star treatment and felt too weak to insist on equality. My wife later overheard a conversation: `I can't believe it! We've actually got an MP here on the NHS.' It is quite possible that my favourable experience owes something to this observation. But I think the outstandingly good practice I encountered ran much deeper. As did the inefficiencies.
While I was waiting for surgery the next day, long after the appointed hour, my son and daughter were waiting for me, chatting to the surgeons and anaesthetists.
They waited and waited. There was a problem. No porter. No manager to sort it out. I discovered that such waits occur constantly. There aren't enough porters. But we are in a recession and there are alarming levels of unemployment in Inner London which provides the hospital with its staff. So why is there a porter shortage?
I also discovered that a new multi-million-pound building next door had been poorly designed so that doors are too narrow for porters to take trolleys through.
The underlying problem seems to be a preoccupation with the glamorous `frontline' roles rather than the equally essential backroom systems. Or perhaps funds are rationed in ways which starve these less visible activities. Armies win battles, however, not just because of brave soldiers but because someone is organising supplies of ammunition, lorries, food and drink. Good businesses also understand logistics.
Public services are often woefully deficient in this area. The problem is called management. In the NHS, management seems to mean highly-paid officials sitting in big offices, attending meetings, burnishing their mission statements and issuing edicts to operational staff based on Government targets.
In St Thomas's I gathered management was insisting on commandeering a doctors' rest area for new offices - alienating the very people who make the NHS so remarkable.
The problem, as I saw it, is a lack of the NHS equivalent of hands-on supermarket floor managers, factory fore- men and Army sergeant majors: the cogs who make the machine work.
When I was ready to leave, my worries were confirmed. I was told there was a three-hour wait for straightforward drugs from the pharmacy. I was happy enough reading a book but my bed and room, and nursing staff, were likely to be immobilised for a morning. Someone made a fuss and this cut the wait to three minutes. But when my wife visited the pharmacy there were harassed staff too busy to answer the phone, attend the front desk or supervise distribution. Management was nowhere.
In numerous, passionate debates about the future of the NHS I have never heard mention of porter shortages, pharmacy management, hospital transport or trolley logistics. But unless the inefficiencies are sorted the cuts will reverse the NHS improvements of the past decade.
We have been here before. The financial screw tightens. Hospitals are told to make economies. There are cuts in `beds' (in other words medical staff). Key vacancies aren't filled. Non-emergency cases are pushed back (and their condition deteriorates). Then someone decides that the hospital isn't `viable'.
Protests, barricades, petitions. In the battle for resources, valued local community hospitals and less glamorous bits of the NHS are trampled underfoot. But it needn't be like that. Sensible steps have to be taken now to ensure the high-quality people who work in the NHS are properly used.
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British "Big Brother" State under attack
ID cards will come under further high-level attack today. A retired law lord will today make a withering attack on the Government's 'ridiculous' and far-reaching attacks on civil liberties.
Lord Steyn reserves his most stinging criticisms for the œ5billion ID cards scheme, which he will say are 'unnecessary' and un-British and should be scrapped. But he will also fired a broadside at the DNA database and the use of surveillance cameras, including CCTV.
In a London memorial lecture, Lord Steyn will warn that ID cards, and the national identity database which will store the personal data, are steps towards a 'Kafkaesque' society.
He accuses the Home Office of introducing the cards step by step as a way of 'conditioning' and 'softening up' public opinion. The cards, already in use for foreign nationals coming to Britain, will be available to anyone living in Manchester from later this year. Trials are also due to begin at Manchester and City Airport in London this autumn.
Ministers say the scheme will help fight terrorism, crime and illegal immigration and help people easily prove their identity. But Lord Steyn says there is 'absolutely no evidence' they would protect the country against terrorism. Their introduction was an unjustified 'invasion' of civil liberties, the former judge adds. He will say: 'The commitment, by and large, of the British people to European constitutional principles and ideals does not require us to adopt an ID card system. 'In my view a national identity card system is not necessary in our country. No further money should be spent on it. The idea should be abandoned.
'The Home Office now proudly asserts that comprehensive surveillance has become routine. If that is true, the resemblance to the world of Kafka is no longer so very distant.' 'To illustrate the scale of the surveillance, one can refer to the estimated 4.2 million CCTV cameras in operation in this country. It is said that a person living and working in London is likely to be filmed about 300 times on an average day. 'The cost to the taxpayer is several hundred millions of pounds. No doubt CCTV coverage has, in some cases, proved effective in combating crime. But it is unclear how cost effective generally the system is. Some of the types of surveillance introduced by the State border on the ridiculous.'
In a speech today, Shadow security minster Baroness Neville-Jones will launch her own withering attack on the Government's privacy record. Miss Neville Jones will promise to 'substantially curtail' the number of people who can make use of the controversial Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act - used by councils to spy on dog foulers and people putting their bins out on the wrong day. She will also pledge to move away from huge centralised databases containing vast amounts of the public's most sensitive personal information.
Miss Neville-Jones said: 'The individual is the rightful owner of personal information and the state is merely possessor and should behave as a responsible custodian. We need to roll back the advance of Big Brother and restore this fundamental right of our citizens. 'Restoring privacy today must mean a clear statement on the part of those who have custody of personal information of their purpose in retaining it and of their commitment to its proper management. 'This will involve a review of most of the Government's centralised databases.'
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Tuesday, June 16, 2009
British students pushed out of universities by EU applicants
British sixth formers could be "crowded out" of university places because of an increase in applications from candidates from the rest of Europe, according to vice-chancellors. An unprecedented surge in applications by young people to start higher education in the UK in September has seen the number of British candidates rise by 8.8 per cent from last year. Applications from the rest of the European Union are rising even more quickly, up by 16.4 per cent.
Yet even though 43,367 more Britons and 3,576 more Europeans are chasing places, the Government has set a controversial 10,000 cap on the number of additional places available across the sector. A combination of the cap, the rise in EU applicants and a rule that prevents universities from discriminating in favour of homegrown talent means that British sixth formers risk losing places to well-qualified rivals from abroad. Students from the EU are funded by the Government in the same way as British students, and count in an identical way towards universities' student quotas.
"We have never seen anything like the upsurge in applications," said Malcolm Grant, the provost of University College London. "It is across all sectors, postgraduate, international and even our conventional UK and EU undergraduate applications. "EU students have to be treated the same. There is a crowding out possibility - if you take an EU student it is a place that is not available to a UK student.
"We get superb overseas students, especially from France and Germany, and we must treat them on the same basis and offer them places on the same basis. "They turn up here and they are dead keen to have come to London on their own initiative. They have studied English in a formal way and are pretty impressive."
The number of EU students studying in the UK is already on the rise. Between 2006/07 and 2007/08 there was a six per cent increase to 112,150, while enrolments of Britons actually fell by one per cent. Over the same period, the number of non-EU overseas students increased by four per cent.
The squeeze on places this year will mean even greater competition for courses. It is estimated that as many as 80,000 applicants could fail to find a place. Les Ebdon, the vice-chancellor of Bedfordshire University, who has condemned ministers for restricting higher education at a time of recession, warned that if British students are turned away, while EU students win places, it could lead to a backlash that mirrors the "British jobs for British workers" row. "Institutions are not allowed to discriminate against any student in the EU," said Professor Ebdon, chairman of the Million+ group of newer universities. "And for EU students, the UK is an increasingly popular destination. "But in a situation when you have increased applications, a cap on places and few places through clearing it will be difficult for the public to understand why a Polish student can get a place but their own kids can't."
EU nationals face the same œ3,145-a-year tuition fees as their UK counterparts and are entitled to the same grants and subsidised loans, to cover the cost of fees and living expenses. Non-EU overseas students are charged full tuition costs by universities, which average œ10,000 a year for arts students, and they do not count against Government student quotas.
Since 2006, EU citizens studying in Britain have been eligible to take out low interest loans to pay for tuition fees, in the same way as British students. They are supposed to pay back what they owe when they graduate. But figures published earlier this year revealed that among the 2,240 EU students who have so far become eligible to start paying back such loans, some 1,580 were not doing so, leaving taxpayers with a œ3.8 million bill.
David Lammy, the universities minister, claims that the figure is misleading because a proportion of the 1,580 students will have changed courses and not yet graduated, or are earning below the salary at which loans have to be repaid - œ15,000 in the UK, or an equivalent level in their homeland. Students from the EU currently studying currently studying at British universities have borrowed, between them, a further œ124 million to cover tuition fees and living costs. It is feared that many who return to their home countries will never repay the money because there is no repayment mechanism outside of the UK. The Student Loan Company has to rely on students informing them of their earnings and making their own arrangements, although it said measures to track EU students will be in place by April next year.
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`Thousands of Britons dying as doctors miss signs of kidney failure'
Thousands of patients are dying unnecessarily because hospital doctors are missing the signs of kidney failure, a national inquiry reports today. Half of people who die from acute kidney injury (AKI) do not receive a good standard of care because of lapses in "basic bedside medicine", the National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death (NCEPOD) says.
AKI, also known as acute renal failure, is estimated to affect up to 5 per cent of all hospital patients, but there are "systematic failings" in identifying and treating patients with the condition. Estimates suggest that at least 2,000 patients die every year from AKI, brought on by dehydration and the side-effects of medication.
The NCEPOD report on 564 patients who died in hospital found that in 43 per cent of cases, there was an unacceptable delay in diagnosing their condition, while in 13 per cent of cases, fatal complications were missed. Complications were also "avoidable" in 17 per cent of cases and "managed badly" in 22 per cent of cases.
The report found failings in basic bedside medicine - the way doctors cared for patients, rather than in the way hospitals organised the care. This included doctors failing to carry out basic tests to check for kidney failure - the study found 33 per cent of patients had had inadequate investigations.
The inquiry focused on the case notes of patients who died from AKI in 215 hospitals between January and March 2007. The hospitals were in England, Wales, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.
James Stewart, a joint author of the report and NCEPOD's clinical co-ordinator, said that the findings indicated a lack of awareness among doctors of the risks of renal failure, a poor understanding of how the condition progressed and inadequate knowledge of how to manage it. "AKI is a common and essentially treatable condition, but a lack of basic bedside medicine is leading to the deaths of at least 2,000 patients a year in this country. The very essentials of medical care were being omitted and, unless attention is paid to the basics, patients will continue to die unnecessarily."
AKI is distinct from chronic kidney disease, which requires regular treatment with dialysis. It can be identified through a blood test, but the inquiry found that the condition was often recognised late when complications were already evident. "In the past, specialist clinical care has rightly focused on chronic kidney disease, but this has left acute kidney injury to be managed by non-specialists," Dr Stewart added. "Leaving complex and potentially reversible problems to junior staff is always unacceptable.
The NCEPOD report, Adding Insult to Injury, recommends that all patients admitted to hospital as an emergency should have a blood test to check electrolyte levels, which indicates how well the kidneys are functioning.
Dr Stewart said that the condition was more likely to affect elderly patients but could also result from a lack of fluids, or as a side-effect of common drugs including aspirin, blood pressure medication and antibiotics. He pointed to the failure of undergraduate and graduate medical training as a key factor in the inadequate care of AKI patients: "Education is paramount, but medical student training does not provide junior doctors with the ability to recognise acute illness."
The inquiry recommended that medical training should promote greater awareness of the condition. All patients in hospital should also be reviewed by a senior consultant within 12 hours of admission, it added. Ann Keen, the Health Minister, said: "We are grateful to NCEPOD for bringing this to our attention. "Predictable and avoidable acute kidney injury should never occur."
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A new desideratum for the modern age
Comment from Britain
In case you missed it, one of Martin Amis's girlfriends from the 1970s has published an article about his womanising ways and the girls he loved and left. It has caused a minor storm because Amis is arguably our most famous living author - and certainly the most glamorous - and because Marty gave his approval for this kiss-and-tell.
There are plenty of people who would go to court not to have details of their private lives revealed in print. But Amis not only doesn't care, he positively welcomed the exposure. This got me thinking: wouldn't it be great to be so confident of your sexual history - so sure that your lovers numbered the smartest, most attractive people of your generation - that naming them could only make you look better? How rare must that be? Thanks to Amis, we now have a new definition of success: having a sexual history that you can afford to boast about, with no exceptions.
The importance of racking up a sexual history that you can be proud of is not something they teach you in school, but it has to be more useful in the long term than metalwork. Look around and the world is roughly divided into people whose SH has held them back and people who don't need to lie in bed at night wondering if anyone is going to find out about the heroin dealer/sex pest/con artist/embarrassing loser they lived with for six months after college.
The truth is, nothing damages a girl's respect factor faster than a dalliance with Calum Best (oh Lindsay, how could you?). And if you're a bloke, it's probably better to have had a three-month stint inside for pension fraud than a fling with the former Mrs Paul McCartney. Take Sienna Miller - lovely girl, but her SH is so dodgy, it has affected her karma and left her looking like a romantic liability. And George Clooney is a super guy but for one niggling detail: the line-up of strikingly unremarkable exes.
To score high in the sexual-history stakes, you don't have to be the opposite of promiscuous, or even faithful - you merely need to demonstrate that you have good taste and the power to pull people worth pulling (it's a bonus if, like Marty, you leave all your lovers "numb and shattered", but at the very least, the experience needs to have been memorable). And a quality sexual history works for both parties. We don't like to admit it, but how you rate the women in your man's past (and who dumped who) directly affects your perception of them. If you admire the girls who came before you, then it's okay to be tainted by association. But if your boyfriend's exes are a pretty sad bunch who tend to be the ones to leave, and you definitely wouldn't want to borrow their clothes, it can't help but make you question if he's worth it.
Maybe that's the point in the end. I don't particularly want to be able to say I've slept with Mick Jagger, but I wouldn't mind being lumped in a category with the young Marianne Faithfull, Marsha Hunt, Sophie Dahl, Carla Bruni... Best stop there on account of the lawyers.
SOURCE
There is ONE crime that the British police will respond promptly to
Any attack on one of their own. It shows what could be done (but rarely if ever is) when other people are under attack. Many complaints to British police result in no action at all
There are often complaints about the length of time it takes for the police to respond to an emergency call. In the interest of balance and fairness, I must point out that such a miserable experience is by no means a universal one.
A cacophony of angry, shouting male voices, accompanied by the loud barking of dogs the other day, quite naturally drew me to the window, outside of which there was indeed a serious-looking altercation, half-obscured down an alley.
I'd barely taken a step towards the phone when a car carrying four armed police skidded to a halt, and the occupants waded into the fray. Impressive.
But it didn't stop there. Another armed response unit soon arrived on the scene, followed by three regular squad cars and five police vans, one little, four big. There were so many police it was impossible to count them all, and they were soon marching the small group of miscreants into some of the dizzying choice of available vehicles.
The alley in which the captured youths had congregated is notorious for its open drug dealing and its crude dogfights. Residents were amazed that such routine activity, long-since recognised as nothing we should trouble the police too much about, had finally attracted the undivided attention of the law.
Later, it emerged that two police on the beat had, unusually, challenged the assembled group, and that more than one had been moronic enough to take a swing at them. It's good to know that there are some crimes serious enough to be addressed with efficiency, passion and unlimited manpower. Sort of.
SOURCE
British immigration backflip
Foreign doctors told: You can stay in Britain after all
Foreign doctors treating patients in British hospitals will be allowed to stay in this country after an embarrassing U-turn by the Government - triggered by The Mail on Sunday. Former Home Secretary Jacqui Smith announced a change to immigration laws in February that would have forced about 200 non-EU medics to leave the UK. The doctors, who trained here for five years and now work in hospitals as part of a two-year foundation programme, would have had to leave after their visas expired because they would no longer have been classed as 'highly skilled' workers.
Critics claimed the move was a waste of taxpayers' money and could have threatened patient safety when there are shortages of doctors in areas such as cardiology and neurology.
The Mail on Sunday revealed the potential impact of the policy to the Home Office last week. On Friday, officials performed a stunning volte-face and announced that non-EU medics in their second foundation year would be allowed to apply to continue working in Britain. But 100 doctors in the first year of the foundation course will still have to leave.
Shadow Immigration Minister Damian Green said: 'This U-turn is yet another example of chaos and confusion at the Home Office. Ministers have no consistent strategy and make up policy on the hoof. 'It is astonishing that they have to rely on The Mail on Sunday to point out errors in their own laws.'
SOURCE
FINANCIAL TIMES DECLARES ITS TRUE COLOURS
The German-language version of the pro-business Financial Times urged its readers on Thursday to vote for the Green party in the forthcoming European elections.
"Whoever wants to bring meaningful change with his vote should this time tick the Green box. They are the only party putting forward real ideas for Europe," the paper said in an editorial on its famous pink pages.
More HERE
British sixth formers could be "crowded out" of university places because of an increase in applications from candidates from the rest of Europe, according to vice-chancellors. An unprecedented surge in applications by young people to start higher education in the UK in September has seen the number of British candidates rise by 8.8 per cent from last year. Applications from the rest of the European Union are rising even more quickly, up by 16.4 per cent.
Yet even though 43,367 more Britons and 3,576 more Europeans are chasing places, the Government has set a controversial 10,000 cap on the number of additional places available across the sector. A combination of the cap, the rise in EU applicants and a rule that prevents universities from discriminating in favour of homegrown talent means that British sixth formers risk losing places to well-qualified rivals from abroad. Students from the EU are funded by the Government in the same way as British students, and count in an identical way towards universities' student quotas.
"We have never seen anything like the upsurge in applications," said Malcolm Grant, the provost of University College London. "It is across all sectors, postgraduate, international and even our conventional UK and EU undergraduate applications. "EU students have to be treated the same. There is a crowding out possibility - if you take an EU student it is a place that is not available to a UK student.
"We get superb overseas students, especially from France and Germany, and we must treat them on the same basis and offer them places on the same basis. "They turn up here and they are dead keen to have come to London on their own initiative. They have studied English in a formal way and are pretty impressive."
The number of EU students studying in the UK is already on the rise. Between 2006/07 and 2007/08 there was a six per cent increase to 112,150, while enrolments of Britons actually fell by one per cent. Over the same period, the number of non-EU overseas students increased by four per cent.
The squeeze on places this year will mean even greater competition for courses. It is estimated that as many as 80,000 applicants could fail to find a place. Les Ebdon, the vice-chancellor of Bedfordshire University, who has condemned ministers for restricting higher education at a time of recession, warned that if British students are turned away, while EU students win places, it could lead to a backlash that mirrors the "British jobs for British workers" row. "Institutions are not allowed to discriminate against any student in the EU," said Professor Ebdon, chairman of the Million+ group of newer universities. "And for EU students, the UK is an increasingly popular destination. "But in a situation when you have increased applications, a cap on places and few places through clearing it will be difficult for the public to understand why a Polish student can get a place but their own kids can't."
EU nationals face the same œ3,145-a-year tuition fees as their UK counterparts and are entitled to the same grants and subsidised loans, to cover the cost of fees and living expenses. Non-EU overseas students are charged full tuition costs by universities, which average œ10,000 a year for arts students, and they do not count against Government student quotas.
Since 2006, EU citizens studying in Britain have been eligible to take out low interest loans to pay for tuition fees, in the same way as British students. They are supposed to pay back what they owe when they graduate. But figures published earlier this year revealed that among the 2,240 EU students who have so far become eligible to start paying back such loans, some 1,580 were not doing so, leaving taxpayers with a œ3.8 million bill.
David Lammy, the universities minister, claims that the figure is misleading because a proportion of the 1,580 students will have changed courses and not yet graduated, or are earning below the salary at which loans have to be repaid - œ15,000 in the UK, or an equivalent level in their homeland. Students from the EU currently studying currently studying at British universities have borrowed, between them, a further œ124 million to cover tuition fees and living costs. It is feared that many who return to their home countries will never repay the money because there is no repayment mechanism outside of the UK. The Student Loan Company has to rely on students informing them of their earnings and making their own arrangements, although it said measures to track EU students will be in place by April next year.
SOURCE
`Thousands of Britons dying as doctors miss signs of kidney failure'
Thousands of patients are dying unnecessarily because hospital doctors are missing the signs of kidney failure, a national inquiry reports today. Half of people who die from acute kidney injury (AKI) do not receive a good standard of care because of lapses in "basic bedside medicine", the National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death (NCEPOD) says.
AKI, also known as acute renal failure, is estimated to affect up to 5 per cent of all hospital patients, but there are "systematic failings" in identifying and treating patients with the condition. Estimates suggest that at least 2,000 patients die every year from AKI, brought on by dehydration and the side-effects of medication.
The NCEPOD report on 564 patients who died in hospital found that in 43 per cent of cases, there was an unacceptable delay in diagnosing their condition, while in 13 per cent of cases, fatal complications were missed. Complications were also "avoidable" in 17 per cent of cases and "managed badly" in 22 per cent of cases.
The report found failings in basic bedside medicine - the way doctors cared for patients, rather than in the way hospitals organised the care. This included doctors failing to carry out basic tests to check for kidney failure - the study found 33 per cent of patients had had inadequate investigations.
The inquiry focused on the case notes of patients who died from AKI in 215 hospitals between January and March 2007. The hospitals were in England, Wales, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.
James Stewart, a joint author of the report and NCEPOD's clinical co-ordinator, said that the findings indicated a lack of awareness among doctors of the risks of renal failure, a poor understanding of how the condition progressed and inadequate knowledge of how to manage it. "AKI is a common and essentially treatable condition, but a lack of basic bedside medicine is leading to the deaths of at least 2,000 patients a year in this country. The very essentials of medical care were being omitted and, unless attention is paid to the basics, patients will continue to die unnecessarily."
AKI is distinct from chronic kidney disease, which requires regular treatment with dialysis. It can be identified through a blood test, but the inquiry found that the condition was often recognised late when complications were already evident. "In the past, specialist clinical care has rightly focused on chronic kidney disease, but this has left acute kidney injury to be managed by non-specialists," Dr Stewart added. "Leaving complex and potentially reversible problems to junior staff is always unacceptable.
The NCEPOD report, Adding Insult to Injury, recommends that all patients admitted to hospital as an emergency should have a blood test to check electrolyte levels, which indicates how well the kidneys are functioning.
Dr Stewart said that the condition was more likely to affect elderly patients but could also result from a lack of fluids, or as a side-effect of common drugs including aspirin, blood pressure medication and antibiotics. He pointed to the failure of undergraduate and graduate medical training as a key factor in the inadequate care of AKI patients: "Education is paramount, but medical student training does not provide junior doctors with the ability to recognise acute illness."
The inquiry recommended that medical training should promote greater awareness of the condition. All patients in hospital should also be reviewed by a senior consultant within 12 hours of admission, it added. Ann Keen, the Health Minister, said: "We are grateful to NCEPOD for bringing this to our attention. "Predictable and avoidable acute kidney injury should never occur."
SOURCE
A new desideratum for the modern age
Comment from Britain
In case you missed it, one of Martin Amis's girlfriends from the 1970s has published an article about his womanising ways and the girls he loved and left. It has caused a minor storm because Amis is arguably our most famous living author - and certainly the most glamorous - and because Marty gave his approval for this kiss-and-tell.
There are plenty of people who would go to court not to have details of their private lives revealed in print. But Amis not only doesn't care, he positively welcomed the exposure. This got me thinking: wouldn't it be great to be so confident of your sexual history - so sure that your lovers numbered the smartest, most attractive people of your generation - that naming them could only make you look better? How rare must that be? Thanks to Amis, we now have a new definition of success: having a sexual history that you can afford to boast about, with no exceptions.
The importance of racking up a sexual history that you can be proud of is not something they teach you in school, but it has to be more useful in the long term than metalwork. Look around and the world is roughly divided into people whose SH has held them back and people who don't need to lie in bed at night wondering if anyone is going to find out about the heroin dealer/sex pest/con artist/embarrassing loser they lived with for six months after college.
The truth is, nothing damages a girl's respect factor faster than a dalliance with Calum Best (oh Lindsay, how could you?). And if you're a bloke, it's probably better to have had a three-month stint inside for pension fraud than a fling with the former Mrs Paul McCartney. Take Sienna Miller - lovely girl, but her SH is so dodgy, it has affected her karma and left her looking like a romantic liability. And George Clooney is a super guy but for one niggling detail: the line-up of strikingly unremarkable exes.
To score high in the sexual-history stakes, you don't have to be the opposite of promiscuous, or even faithful - you merely need to demonstrate that you have good taste and the power to pull people worth pulling (it's a bonus if, like Marty, you leave all your lovers "numb and shattered", but at the very least, the experience needs to have been memorable). And a quality sexual history works for both parties. We don't like to admit it, but how you rate the women in your man's past (and who dumped who) directly affects your perception of them. If you admire the girls who came before you, then it's okay to be tainted by association. But if your boyfriend's exes are a pretty sad bunch who tend to be the ones to leave, and you definitely wouldn't want to borrow their clothes, it can't help but make you question if he's worth it.
Maybe that's the point in the end. I don't particularly want to be able to say I've slept with Mick Jagger, but I wouldn't mind being lumped in a category with the young Marianne Faithfull, Marsha Hunt, Sophie Dahl, Carla Bruni... Best stop there on account of the lawyers.
SOURCE
There is ONE crime that the British police will respond promptly to
Any attack on one of their own. It shows what could be done (but rarely if ever is) when other people are under attack. Many complaints to British police result in no action at all
There are often complaints about the length of time it takes for the police to respond to an emergency call. In the interest of balance and fairness, I must point out that such a miserable experience is by no means a universal one.
A cacophony of angry, shouting male voices, accompanied by the loud barking of dogs the other day, quite naturally drew me to the window, outside of which there was indeed a serious-looking altercation, half-obscured down an alley.
I'd barely taken a step towards the phone when a car carrying four armed police skidded to a halt, and the occupants waded into the fray. Impressive.
But it didn't stop there. Another armed response unit soon arrived on the scene, followed by three regular squad cars and five police vans, one little, four big. There were so many police it was impossible to count them all, and they were soon marching the small group of miscreants into some of the dizzying choice of available vehicles.
The alley in which the captured youths had congregated is notorious for its open drug dealing and its crude dogfights. Residents were amazed that such routine activity, long-since recognised as nothing we should trouble the police too much about, had finally attracted the undivided attention of the law.
Later, it emerged that two police on the beat had, unusually, challenged the assembled group, and that more than one had been moronic enough to take a swing at them. It's good to know that there are some crimes serious enough to be addressed with efficiency, passion and unlimited manpower. Sort of.
SOURCE
British immigration backflip
Foreign doctors told: You can stay in Britain after all
Foreign doctors treating patients in British hospitals will be allowed to stay in this country after an embarrassing U-turn by the Government - triggered by The Mail on Sunday. Former Home Secretary Jacqui Smith announced a change to immigration laws in February that would have forced about 200 non-EU medics to leave the UK. The doctors, who trained here for five years and now work in hospitals as part of a two-year foundation programme, would have had to leave after their visas expired because they would no longer have been classed as 'highly skilled' workers.
Critics claimed the move was a waste of taxpayers' money and could have threatened patient safety when there are shortages of doctors in areas such as cardiology and neurology.
The Mail on Sunday revealed the potential impact of the policy to the Home Office last week. On Friday, officials performed a stunning volte-face and announced that non-EU medics in their second foundation year would be allowed to apply to continue working in Britain. But 100 doctors in the first year of the foundation course will still have to leave.
Shadow Immigration Minister Damian Green said: 'This U-turn is yet another example of chaos and confusion at the Home Office. Ministers have no consistent strategy and make up policy on the hoof. 'It is astonishing that they have to rely on The Mail on Sunday to point out errors in their own laws.'
SOURCE
FINANCIAL TIMES DECLARES ITS TRUE COLOURS
The German-language version of the pro-business Financial Times urged its readers on Thursday to vote for the Green party in the forthcoming European elections.
"Whoever wants to bring meaningful change with his vote should this time tick the Green box. They are the only party putting forward real ideas for Europe," the paper said in an editorial on its famous pink pages.
More HERE
Monday, June 15, 2009
British home education rules 'an abuse of civil liberties'
Parents could be banned from educating children at home in a move branded a "very bad day for civil liberties"
For the first time, local councils will have the power to enter family homes and question young children, under new plans. They will also be able to order under-16s to school if there are fears about their safety or quality of education.
Families' groups said they were "absolutely devastated" by the move, claiming it undermined their freedom to educate children beyond state control. Annette Taberner, from the group Education Otherwise, said: "To suggest parents can continue to home educate but then give powers to local authorities to enter our homes and interview our children without an adult being present is just extraordinary. This is nothing short of an attempt to regulate the private lives of people. It is a very bad day for civil liberties in this country."
A review ordered by the Government estimated that as many as 80,000 children could be educated at home. Previous estimates put the figure between 20,000 and 50,000.
Graham Badman, former director of education at Kent County Council, who carried out the study, recommended forcing all parents to register sons and daughters with local authorities every year.
The review - accepted in full by the Government - said officials from local authorities should have the right to access their home with just two weeks' notice and speak to children to ensure they were "safe and well". They can revoke the right to home schooling if they have serious concerns over their welfare, it said.
Parents must also submit a statement outlining what children will be taught over the following 12 months. Councils can impose a "school attendance order" if they believe the education received is not up to scratch, with parents facing legal action if they refuse.
Mr Badman said a further review would be carried out to judge the structure of an acceptable home education. Releasing the report in central London on Thursday, he suggesting children aged eight should be "competent in handling numbers, have "rudimentary" computing skills and be able to read. Lessons for those aged 11 to 16 should be based around "broad systems of knowledge", he said. "By raising the bar in terms of entry to home education, you effectively raise the standard of education on offer," he said.
It is not yet known when the reforms will be introduced. New legislation will be needed to enforce rules on registration and local authority access to homes.
The review was launched amid fears some children educated at home could be at risk of abuse. Mrs Taberner, a mother of two from Sheffield, said the "horrendous" suggestion had been "trotted out by the Government" to justify the crackdown.
Mr Badman's report said there was "no evidence" to suggest home education was linked to forced marriage, servitude or child trafficking. But he claimed the overall number of children "known to children's social care in some local authorities is disproportionately high relative to the size of [the] home education population."
SOURCE
Incomprehensible British university professors
UNIVERSITY students have come forward to claim that the poor standard of English spoken by their lecturers means they have run up debts of more than œ20,000 without the prospect of a good degree. The economics students at Kingston University, southwest London, say some of the academics' accents are so heavy and many of their words so incomprehensible that it is not worth attending their lectures.
Two students contacted The Sunday Times last week after reading a report in the paper describing how another undergraduate at Kingston, Joanna al-Zahawi, 22, had resorted to employing a private tutor. One factor was her despair at her lecturers' poor English. Both students declined to be named. One of them, awaiting his degree results, said he had lost hope of obtaining a good-quality degree because he had been so poorly taught.
"In this economy, what graduate employer is going to want someone with a 2:2 from Kingston?" he said. "I have run up œ22,000 of debts and I have no hope of getting a graduate level job." Another said: "One of the lecturers had real problems saying basic words - like `zero', which he pronounced `chino'. That is confusing when someone is talking about economics."
Students around the country are becoming more vocal in expressing their discontent about poor value for money. Degree courses now cost undergraduates more than œ3,000 a year. Protests are under way at universities including Bristol and Manchester as well as Edinburgh - where English students, although not Scottish ones, pay fees.
At Bolton University, students have posted anonymous cards in lecturers' pigeonholes giving them marks out of 10. At Manchester Metropolitan, undergraduates send a text message to their student union when academics are late for classes and lectures or cancel them. The University and College Union, which represents academics, describes these actions as "hate mail" and "bullying".
Kingston University said: "The academic job market is international. It would be unusual for a university department to be staffed only by people with English as their first language. In the case of Kingston's economics department, just under half of lecturers are not native to the UK."
SOURCE
Stillbirth risk triples for Scottish women who choose home delivery with private midwife over NHS
Homebirth has a long tradition in Scotland and what this shows is that women who expect problems would rather go to a private midwife than the NHS! This is a great reflection on the NHS. If the NHS did not treat women like no-account cattle, their first choice in such cases would surely be a hospital
Women who give birth at home aided by an independent midwife are almost three times as likely to have a stillbirth than those who deliver their child in hospital. Home births have long been debated amid concerns about their safety, because specialist care is not on hand in case of serious complications. However, the number of mothers choosing this option have been rising since 1988 and now about 2.5 per cent have a home birth.
NHS babies were more likely to be premature and admitted to a neonatal intensive care unit than those delivered by an independent midwife
Scientists from the University of Dundee studied records of more than 8,6000 women who gave birth in Scotland between 2002 and 2005. This included 1,462 who used the Independent Midwives Association (IMA) and 7,214 who relied on the NHS. They found the risk of stillbirth or neonatal death within a month of birth was 1.7 per cent in the IMA group compared with 0.6 per cent in the NHS group.
However, independent midwives had more patients who knew there would be problematic births, and were expecting twins or had a history of complications in labour. When 'high risk' cases were excluded from both groups, there was little difference between them. [But is that the point? Surely high risk cases should be in hospitals?]
The authors also pointed out that home births had a number of advantages when comparing the two groups. IMA mothers were significantly more likely to start labour spontaneously and have an unassisted birth than NHS mothers. They also took fewer pain relieving drugs.
Their babies were significantly heavier than mothers who had babies in hospital. NHS babies were also more likely to be premature and admitted to a neonatal intensive care unit. Finally IMA mothers were much more likely to breastfeed successfully than NHS mothers.
Belinda Phipps, Chief Executive of the National Childbirth Trust said: 'Women at high-risk of complications are still entitled to choose a home birth and I think we have to ask why they are made to feel that their only option is to turn away from the health service.'
SOURCE
This should be the last straw for Britain's IVF regulator
They have wasted huge amounts of time and money in a fruitless legal assault on Dr. Taranissi's highly successful private IVF clinic while ignoring real sloppiness at a government IVF clinic
A MOTHER desperate to have a second child has told how she lost her last IVF embryo when the NHS implanted it into the wrong patient. When the other woman found out that the embryo was not hers, she aborted it.
Details of the blunder raise fresh questions about the way IVF clinics are regulated. The Sunday Times has previously revealed that women undergoing fertility treatment have had their eggs fertilised with the wrong sperm.
Deborah, the woman who lost her chance of another baby, is so traumatised by the error that she is reluctant to risk further IVF to have a longed-for sibling for her son, Jamie, 6. Because Deborah is 40 her prospects of having another child with her boyfriend, Paul, 38, are slim and diminishing. Deborah, who does not want to disclose her surname, said: "I will never forget the moment the hospital broke the news to us. Initially, the hospital told me there had been an accident in the lab and that the embryo had been damaged. I thought that someone had, perhaps, dropped the embryo dish. "I remember thinking: `That's our last hope gone - we will never have another child.' I left the hospital feeling totally shell-shocked. "When we went back to the hospital two days later and we were told the truth about my embryo being given to someone else I was so angry."
Deborah, a healthcare worker, and Paul, who have been together for 17 years, went on the NHS waiting list for fertility treatment in 1996. After two failed attempts, Jamie was born on the third cycle in 2003. Three of the couple's remaining embryos were frozen and they tried for another child with the only embryo to survive the freezing process at the IVF Wales fertility clinic, University Hospital of Wales, in Cardiff in December 2007.
The causes of the blunder remained secret until the couple instructed lawyers to obtain reports into the incident. Documents acquired by their solicitor, Guy Forster of Irwin Mitchell, showed that, the previous year, there had been "near misses" because of problems in monitoring the ownership of embryos. These were reported to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), but Forster says it let patients down by failing to ensure that the problems at the clinic were sorted out.
Forster said: "We are concerned that the HFEA missed opportunities to take action in relation to IVF Wales before this incident occurred. "A report by HFEA investigators shows that the error occurred primarily due to failures by laboratory staff and theatre staff to carry out basic procedures."
SOURCE
NHS waiting time targets hamper superbug fight, claim BMA
Waiting time targets in the NHS are hampering efforts to reduce "superbug" infections such as MRSA, doctors' leaders have claimed. Patients are being placed on dirty beds to help hospitals meet the requirement to start treatment within four hours of admission.
Today the British Medical Association (BMA) called on the Government to allow more flexibility in the target to ensure there is enough time to clean equipment. Despite declining rates of MRSA and Clostridium difficile, healthcare-associated infections remain a "significant" problem for the NHS, with Britain having some of the highest rates in Europe, the BMA said in a report on tackling the issue.
The pressure to admit patients quickly and a shortage of isolation facilities at peak times are "critical challenges to maintaining high quality patient care", the report states. Moving staff and patients around the hospital, in an effort to meet targets, also contributed to the spread of germs. The BMA said that patients with non-urgent conditions would understand if they had to wait an extra hour to be admitted to hospital while a ward was properly cleaned to minimise the risk of infection.
There needed to be a focus on long-term action and a will to drive down all infections, not just MRSA and C. difficile, it added. Medical processes could be improved, and meticulous hand-washing and proper prescribing of antibiotics should be encouraged, as overuse of the drugs is known to build up the resistance of microbes, the report concludes.
Jonathan Fielden, chairman of the BMA's consultants committee, said: "Hygiene, hand-washing and antibiotic policies have extremely important roles to play, but if we want to reduce the spread of infections we must put safety in front of political targets. "With many hospitals already working at full capacity, they will only get more pressurised as winter arrives, but you need time to clean. "If you ask a patient whether they want care now or safe care in an hour, they wouldn't mind waiting for the safe care. Existing targets need to take the need for good infection control into account."
The BMA's report said that staff or hospitals should face sanctions if they failed to implement simple strategies such as washing hands with soap and water or using alcohol gels. A œ50 million deep clean of all hospitals in England was ordered by ministers in 2007, concluding in March last year. But Vivienne Nathanson, the BMA's head of science and ethics, said that the policy needed to be part of a package of long-term measures to maintain regular, thorough cleaning of hospitals. "Deep cleaning is a good thing provided you go in and do all the other organisational things and keep your cleaning at a high level," she said. This includes proper cleaning of things such as bedside lockers and rails, the buttons on machines and switches.
Dr Nathanson added that areas of a hospital that posed the greatest risk of harbouring germs were not always included in cleaning contracts. Roughly half of all hospital cleaning has been outsourced to private companies.
Ann Keen, the Health Minister, responded that the latest figures showed that MRSA infections had fallen by 65 per cent and C. difficile infections were down by 35 per cent. "It is difficult to understand the BMA's suggestion that our broad integrated strategy to reduce healthcare associated infection has been anything other than a success. "However, we accept that one preventable infection is one too many and we continue to battle against infections on every front."
Norman Lamb, the Liberal Democrat health spokesman, said: "This report provides further evidence that the Government's obsession with targets is putting patient safety at risk. "Ministers need to stop micromanaging the NHS and trust doctors and nurses to decide the best way to care for their patients."
SOURCE
Fear and hatred on the streets of Luton
Anger that "hate speech" by whites can get you arrested in Britain but hate speech from Muslims is OK. Britain's politicized police have a lot to answer for
When troops returning from Iraq marched through Luton, all hell broke loose. Muslims protested, white residents rioted and the Sikh mayor was viciously attacked. Can this multicultural community ever find peace - or is this eruption of long-simmering tensions a sign of even worse to come?
Later that day, after the soldiers' parade had dispersed, Kier was walking across St George's Square in his England shirt - "Eng-er-land! Eng-er-land! Eng-er-land!" the crowd had been chanting at the protesters. Kier was still feeling wound up by what he had just witnessed back by the Arndale. He had a cousin in the army, a family friend who had been killed in action. Bloody Muslim extremists, Kier was thinking to himself. How dare they!
Then he saw the mayor crossing the square, walking high and proud in his robe and chains. He was Asian. So far as Kier was concerned, he was a Muslim too, and it was all his fault. He was the head of the council; the council had given permission for the extremists to make their protest. F*** it, Kier thought. Kier ran up to him and fly-kicked him in the back. Councillor Lakhbir Singh, the mayor of Luton, a Sikh by faith, not in fact a Muslim at all, stumbled and fell forward, putting out his hands to stop himself falling. Kier turned around and, before the police could do anything, he ran through them and was away.
It would be farcical if it were not so sad and unpleasant, that brief moment in the life of modern, multicultural Britain. A Sikh in a turban had been mistaken for a Muslim by a white youth too ignorant to know any better, and apparently too angry to express himself other than with a kick.
The incident had been caught on camera, but it took the police a while to catch up with Kier. He was finally arrested six weeks later, outside Luton Town Football Club, which is slap bang in the middle of Bury Park, the predominantly Muslim area of the town. Kier McElroy, a white youth aged 18, had been attending a reserves match against Peterborough United.
In the weeks preceding Kier's arrest, for some unexplained reason, the assault on the mayor was kept a secret and the mayor himself kept under wraps. He would not talk to me for this article, and I only found out about the attack through a contact in the town after Kier had been charged.
"It's political correctness, innit," Kier told me, after being released from custody. "We feel we're being treated differently. They won't nick the Asian lads, will they?" "We", of course, were the white lads. Luton has been sharply divided along racial lines by recent events. Many of the town's white youth are restless and incensed, and those other extremists, of the far right - the National Front (NF) and the British National Party (BNP) - are circling like vultures. Not for the first time, many of the town's 30,000 or more Muslims are fearful of the backlash provoked, as they would see it, by the actions of the few Islamic extremists, or "troublemakers", as I often heard them called....
Everyone was blaming everyone else. The whites blamed the authorities for letting it happen and the police for not doing anything about it - why didn't they arrest them? The moderate Muslims blamed the extremists, the extremists blamed the moderate Muslims for not having the courage of their convictions; the authorities blamed the media for its inflammatory coverage of the parade and the intemperate language it tended to use when writing about Muslims...
Sayful had no hesitation in seeking to protest at the soldiers' homecoming parade. He also says he knew that people would be upset by the protests and tried to have a low-key presence, out of harm's way.
The police had agreed with the group that they would meet in the town at 12.30. The police would examine their placards and agree a place for them to stand, just away from the march past, where they would barely be noticed.
Things began to go wrong when the group did not arrive in town together, but became separated on the journey from Bury Park, so that while half of them took up the agreed position, by the Don Millers bakery, the delayed group got caught on the outside of the procession route and could not immediately be walked through to join the others. This second group were held in position by the police at the back of the town hall, at the top of Gordon Street, much closer to the march past.
Still, a journalist I spoke to who filmed along the whole route did not at first notice the protesters or capture them on film. It was only when he got down to St George's Square - where the mayor was saying the soldiers should not be blamed for the war in Iraq - that the cameraman heard trouble and went back around the town hall to find out what was going on. According to the police, the split in the protest group had prevented them from properly examining their placards: "Anglian soldiers butchers of Basra". "Anglian soldiers criminals, murderers, terrorists". "Anglian soldiers go to hell". "British government, terrorist government". "Muslims rise against British oppression".
Of course, half the country was against the war in Iraq, white, Asian, black, Muslims, Christians alike. But those placards, as no doubt intended, were provocative statements against the soldiers and their friends and families who had turned out to see the march. White people, young and old, male and female, who were there for the march past were incensed by the protesters' placards and their shouting. "Anglian soldiers, baby killers!" was one call that particularly upset the soldiers and some of the several thousand people who were there to see them, though most would have been oblivious to the protests at the time. To the protesters, a regiment that had fired a total of 36,000 rounds in Iraq ought to share responsibility for the many civilian casualties - mothers and children among them - in that country. The army and its supporters would argue that the protesters should take their grievances to the government, which had promoted the war, and leave alone the soldiers, who had merely been following orders. But this was not good enough for Sayful Islam. "Would we excuse the Nazi soldiers who carried out atrocities because they were just obeying orders?"
The divisional commander of Luton, Chief Superintendent Andy Frost, would later think long and hard about the decisions taken before and during the day. Should he have banned or arrested the protesters? Well, they had turned out before with their banners and their megaphone - at the Luton Faith Walk and the Holocaust Memorial Day - and there had never been any real threat to public order. "Normally they turn up, start off their protest against the war, most people ignore them, and everyone moves on." Next time, mind you, he might think differently.
More HERE
Prince defeats ugly modern architecture
He is a true "tribunus plebis" in such matters. I congratulate him -- JR
The Prince of Wales has forced a Qatari development firm to withdraw its application for a controversial œ3 billion housing project at the Chelsea Barracks site in West London. The Prince, a famously outspoken critic of modern architecture, had criticised Lord Rogers of Riverside's design for Britain's most expensive housing development as "unsympathetic" and "unsubtle". He also wrote to the Emir of Qatar to voice his concerns at the plans for the glass and steel complex opposite the Royal Hospital in Chelsea.
Yesterday, less than a week before the application was due to go before the planning committee of Westminster Council, the site's owner Qatari Diar, a property company, withdrew the application.
Lord Rogers, who designed the Millennium Dome in East London and the Pompidou Centre in Paris, blamed the Prince for the project's collapse. The architect told The Times: "After two and a half years of extensive consultation with the local community and statutory consultees, and the publication of an exceptionally complimentary report on the Chelsea Barracks application from planning officers at Westminster City Council, it is extremely disappointing that this application has been withdrawn in response to Prince Charles's views less than a week before the council was due to consider it."
The leader of Westminster Council, Colin Barrow, said the Prince acted as a lightning rod for objections and encouraged others to come forward. He said: "I think the Prince of Wales gave voice to some misgivings that many people had about the architecture. It enabled people to say things that they were otherwise reluctant to say. Many more people came out against the architecture after that."
More than 450 complaints were received by the council from residents concerned about the scale of the project, which would have included 548 flats, a hotel, two restaurants and a sports centre on the 12.8-acre site.
Qatari Diar bought the site for nearly œ1 billion in January last year, and will now be seeking new designs. One architect who submitted a sketch in the initial competition was traditionalist Quinlan Terry. His design was recommended by the Prince of Wales as a preferable alternative. Prince Charles's Foundation for the Built Environment will be consulted over new submissions.
SOURCE
Parents could be banned from educating children at home in a move branded a "very bad day for civil liberties"
For the first time, local councils will have the power to enter family homes and question young children, under new plans. They will also be able to order under-16s to school if there are fears about their safety or quality of education.
Families' groups said they were "absolutely devastated" by the move, claiming it undermined their freedom to educate children beyond state control. Annette Taberner, from the group Education Otherwise, said: "To suggest parents can continue to home educate but then give powers to local authorities to enter our homes and interview our children without an adult being present is just extraordinary. This is nothing short of an attempt to regulate the private lives of people. It is a very bad day for civil liberties in this country."
A review ordered by the Government estimated that as many as 80,000 children could be educated at home. Previous estimates put the figure between 20,000 and 50,000.
Graham Badman, former director of education at Kent County Council, who carried out the study, recommended forcing all parents to register sons and daughters with local authorities every year.
The review - accepted in full by the Government - said officials from local authorities should have the right to access their home with just two weeks' notice and speak to children to ensure they were "safe and well". They can revoke the right to home schooling if they have serious concerns over their welfare, it said.
Parents must also submit a statement outlining what children will be taught over the following 12 months. Councils can impose a "school attendance order" if they believe the education received is not up to scratch, with parents facing legal action if they refuse.
Mr Badman said a further review would be carried out to judge the structure of an acceptable home education. Releasing the report in central London on Thursday, he suggesting children aged eight should be "competent in handling numbers, have "rudimentary" computing skills and be able to read. Lessons for those aged 11 to 16 should be based around "broad systems of knowledge", he said. "By raising the bar in terms of entry to home education, you effectively raise the standard of education on offer," he said.
It is not yet known when the reforms will be introduced. New legislation will be needed to enforce rules on registration and local authority access to homes.
The review was launched amid fears some children educated at home could be at risk of abuse. Mrs Taberner, a mother of two from Sheffield, said the "horrendous" suggestion had been "trotted out by the Government" to justify the crackdown.
Mr Badman's report said there was "no evidence" to suggest home education was linked to forced marriage, servitude or child trafficking. But he claimed the overall number of children "known to children's social care in some local authorities is disproportionately high relative to the size of [the] home education population."
SOURCE
Incomprehensible British university professors
UNIVERSITY students have come forward to claim that the poor standard of English spoken by their lecturers means they have run up debts of more than œ20,000 without the prospect of a good degree. The economics students at Kingston University, southwest London, say some of the academics' accents are so heavy and many of their words so incomprehensible that it is not worth attending their lectures.
Two students contacted The Sunday Times last week after reading a report in the paper describing how another undergraduate at Kingston, Joanna al-Zahawi, 22, had resorted to employing a private tutor. One factor was her despair at her lecturers' poor English. Both students declined to be named. One of them, awaiting his degree results, said he had lost hope of obtaining a good-quality degree because he had been so poorly taught.
"In this economy, what graduate employer is going to want someone with a 2:2 from Kingston?" he said. "I have run up œ22,000 of debts and I have no hope of getting a graduate level job." Another said: "One of the lecturers had real problems saying basic words - like `zero', which he pronounced `chino'. That is confusing when someone is talking about economics."
Students around the country are becoming more vocal in expressing their discontent about poor value for money. Degree courses now cost undergraduates more than œ3,000 a year. Protests are under way at universities including Bristol and Manchester as well as Edinburgh - where English students, although not Scottish ones, pay fees.
At Bolton University, students have posted anonymous cards in lecturers' pigeonholes giving them marks out of 10. At Manchester Metropolitan, undergraduates send a text message to their student union when academics are late for classes and lectures or cancel them. The University and College Union, which represents academics, describes these actions as "hate mail" and "bullying".
Kingston University said: "The academic job market is international. It would be unusual for a university department to be staffed only by people with English as their first language. In the case of Kingston's economics department, just under half of lecturers are not native to the UK."
SOURCE
Stillbirth risk triples for Scottish women who choose home delivery with private midwife over NHS
Homebirth has a long tradition in Scotland and what this shows is that women who expect problems would rather go to a private midwife than the NHS! This is a great reflection on the NHS. If the NHS did not treat women like no-account cattle, their first choice in such cases would surely be a hospital
Women who give birth at home aided by an independent midwife are almost three times as likely to have a stillbirth than those who deliver their child in hospital. Home births have long been debated amid concerns about their safety, because specialist care is not on hand in case of serious complications. However, the number of mothers choosing this option have been rising since 1988 and now about 2.5 per cent have a home birth.
NHS babies were more likely to be premature and admitted to a neonatal intensive care unit than those delivered by an independent midwife
Scientists from the University of Dundee studied records of more than 8,6000 women who gave birth in Scotland between 2002 and 2005. This included 1,462 who used the Independent Midwives Association (IMA) and 7,214 who relied on the NHS. They found the risk of stillbirth or neonatal death within a month of birth was 1.7 per cent in the IMA group compared with 0.6 per cent in the NHS group.
However, independent midwives had more patients who knew there would be problematic births, and were expecting twins or had a history of complications in labour. When 'high risk' cases were excluded from both groups, there was little difference between them. [But is that the point? Surely high risk cases should be in hospitals?]
The authors also pointed out that home births had a number of advantages when comparing the two groups. IMA mothers were significantly more likely to start labour spontaneously and have an unassisted birth than NHS mothers. They also took fewer pain relieving drugs.
Their babies were significantly heavier than mothers who had babies in hospital. NHS babies were also more likely to be premature and admitted to a neonatal intensive care unit. Finally IMA mothers were much more likely to breastfeed successfully than NHS mothers.
Belinda Phipps, Chief Executive of the National Childbirth Trust said: 'Women at high-risk of complications are still entitled to choose a home birth and I think we have to ask why they are made to feel that their only option is to turn away from the health service.'
SOURCE
This should be the last straw for Britain's IVF regulator
They have wasted huge amounts of time and money in a fruitless legal assault on Dr. Taranissi's highly successful private IVF clinic while ignoring real sloppiness at a government IVF clinic
A MOTHER desperate to have a second child has told how she lost her last IVF embryo when the NHS implanted it into the wrong patient. When the other woman found out that the embryo was not hers, she aborted it.
Details of the blunder raise fresh questions about the way IVF clinics are regulated. The Sunday Times has previously revealed that women undergoing fertility treatment have had their eggs fertilised with the wrong sperm.
Deborah, the woman who lost her chance of another baby, is so traumatised by the error that she is reluctant to risk further IVF to have a longed-for sibling for her son, Jamie, 6. Because Deborah is 40 her prospects of having another child with her boyfriend, Paul, 38, are slim and diminishing. Deborah, who does not want to disclose her surname, said: "I will never forget the moment the hospital broke the news to us. Initially, the hospital told me there had been an accident in the lab and that the embryo had been damaged. I thought that someone had, perhaps, dropped the embryo dish. "I remember thinking: `That's our last hope gone - we will never have another child.' I left the hospital feeling totally shell-shocked. "When we went back to the hospital two days later and we were told the truth about my embryo being given to someone else I was so angry."
Deborah, a healthcare worker, and Paul, who have been together for 17 years, went on the NHS waiting list for fertility treatment in 1996. After two failed attempts, Jamie was born on the third cycle in 2003. Three of the couple's remaining embryos were frozen and they tried for another child with the only embryo to survive the freezing process at the IVF Wales fertility clinic, University Hospital of Wales, in Cardiff in December 2007.
The causes of the blunder remained secret until the couple instructed lawyers to obtain reports into the incident. Documents acquired by their solicitor, Guy Forster of Irwin Mitchell, showed that, the previous year, there had been "near misses" because of problems in monitoring the ownership of embryos. These were reported to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), but Forster says it let patients down by failing to ensure that the problems at the clinic were sorted out.
Forster said: "We are concerned that the HFEA missed opportunities to take action in relation to IVF Wales before this incident occurred. "A report by HFEA investigators shows that the error occurred primarily due to failures by laboratory staff and theatre staff to carry out basic procedures."
SOURCE
NHS waiting time targets hamper superbug fight, claim BMA
Waiting time targets in the NHS are hampering efforts to reduce "superbug" infections such as MRSA, doctors' leaders have claimed. Patients are being placed on dirty beds to help hospitals meet the requirement to start treatment within four hours of admission.
Today the British Medical Association (BMA) called on the Government to allow more flexibility in the target to ensure there is enough time to clean equipment. Despite declining rates of MRSA and Clostridium difficile, healthcare-associated infections remain a "significant" problem for the NHS, with Britain having some of the highest rates in Europe, the BMA said in a report on tackling the issue.
The pressure to admit patients quickly and a shortage of isolation facilities at peak times are "critical challenges to maintaining high quality patient care", the report states. Moving staff and patients around the hospital, in an effort to meet targets, also contributed to the spread of germs. The BMA said that patients with non-urgent conditions would understand if they had to wait an extra hour to be admitted to hospital while a ward was properly cleaned to minimise the risk of infection.
There needed to be a focus on long-term action and a will to drive down all infections, not just MRSA and C. difficile, it added. Medical processes could be improved, and meticulous hand-washing and proper prescribing of antibiotics should be encouraged, as overuse of the drugs is known to build up the resistance of microbes, the report concludes.
Jonathan Fielden, chairman of the BMA's consultants committee, said: "Hygiene, hand-washing and antibiotic policies have extremely important roles to play, but if we want to reduce the spread of infections we must put safety in front of political targets. "With many hospitals already working at full capacity, they will only get more pressurised as winter arrives, but you need time to clean. "If you ask a patient whether they want care now or safe care in an hour, they wouldn't mind waiting for the safe care. Existing targets need to take the need for good infection control into account."
The BMA's report said that staff or hospitals should face sanctions if they failed to implement simple strategies such as washing hands with soap and water or using alcohol gels. A œ50 million deep clean of all hospitals in England was ordered by ministers in 2007, concluding in March last year. But Vivienne Nathanson, the BMA's head of science and ethics, said that the policy needed to be part of a package of long-term measures to maintain regular, thorough cleaning of hospitals. "Deep cleaning is a good thing provided you go in and do all the other organisational things and keep your cleaning at a high level," she said. This includes proper cleaning of things such as bedside lockers and rails, the buttons on machines and switches.
Dr Nathanson added that areas of a hospital that posed the greatest risk of harbouring germs were not always included in cleaning contracts. Roughly half of all hospital cleaning has been outsourced to private companies.
Ann Keen, the Health Minister, responded that the latest figures showed that MRSA infections had fallen by 65 per cent and C. difficile infections were down by 35 per cent. "It is difficult to understand the BMA's suggestion that our broad integrated strategy to reduce healthcare associated infection has been anything other than a success. "However, we accept that one preventable infection is one too many and we continue to battle against infections on every front."
Norman Lamb, the Liberal Democrat health spokesman, said: "This report provides further evidence that the Government's obsession with targets is putting patient safety at risk. "Ministers need to stop micromanaging the NHS and trust doctors and nurses to decide the best way to care for their patients."
SOURCE
Fear and hatred on the streets of Luton
Anger that "hate speech" by whites can get you arrested in Britain but hate speech from Muslims is OK. Britain's politicized police have a lot to answer for
When troops returning from Iraq marched through Luton, all hell broke loose. Muslims protested, white residents rioted and the Sikh mayor was viciously attacked. Can this multicultural community ever find peace - or is this eruption of long-simmering tensions a sign of even worse to come?
Later that day, after the soldiers' parade had dispersed, Kier was walking across St George's Square in his England shirt - "Eng-er-land! Eng-er-land! Eng-er-land!" the crowd had been chanting at the protesters. Kier was still feeling wound up by what he had just witnessed back by the Arndale. He had a cousin in the army, a family friend who had been killed in action. Bloody Muslim extremists, Kier was thinking to himself. How dare they!
Then he saw the mayor crossing the square, walking high and proud in his robe and chains. He was Asian. So far as Kier was concerned, he was a Muslim too, and it was all his fault. He was the head of the council; the council had given permission for the extremists to make their protest. F*** it, Kier thought. Kier ran up to him and fly-kicked him in the back. Councillor Lakhbir Singh, the mayor of Luton, a Sikh by faith, not in fact a Muslim at all, stumbled and fell forward, putting out his hands to stop himself falling. Kier turned around and, before the police could do anything, he ran through them and was away.
It would be farcical if it were not so sad and unpleasant, that brief moment in the life of modern, multicultural Britain. A Sikh in a turban had been mistaken for a Muslim by a white youth too ignorant to know any better, and apparently too angry to express himself other than with a kick.
The incident had been caught on camera, but it took the police a while to catch up with Kier. He was finally arrested six weeks later, outside Luton Town Football Club, which is slap bang in the middle of Bury Park, the predominantly Muslim area of the town. Kier McElroy, a white youth aged 18, had been attending a reserves match against Peterborough United.
In the weeks preceding Kier's arrest, for some unexplained reason, the assault on the mayor was kept a secret and the mayor himself kept under wraps. He would not talk to me for this article, and I only found out about the attack through a contact in the town after Kier had been charged.
"It's political correctness, innit," Kier told me, after being released from custody. "We feel we're being treated differently. They won't nick the Asian lads, will they?" "We", of course, were the white lads. Luton has been sharply divided along racial lines by recent events. Many of the town's white youth are restless and incensed, and those other extremists, of the far right - the National Front (NF) and the British National Party (BNP) - are circling like vultures. Not for the first time, many of the town's 30,000 or more Muslims are fearful of the backlash provoked, as they would see it, by the actions of the few Islamic extremists, or "troublemakers", as I often heard them called....
Everyone was blaming everyone else. The whites blamed the authorities for letting it happen and the police for not doing anything about it - why didn't they arrest them? The moderate Muslims blamed the extremists, the extremists blamed the moderate Muslims for not having the courage of their convictions; the authorities blamed the media for its inflammatory coverage of the parade and the intemperate language it tended to use when writing about Muslims...
Sayful had no hesitation in seeking to protest at the soldiers' homecoming parade. He also says he knew that people would be upset by the protests and tried to have a low-key presence, out of harm's way.
The police had agreed with the group that they would meet in the town at 12.30. The police would examine their placards and agree a place for them to stand, just away from the march past, where they would barely be noticed.
Things began to go wrong when the group did not arrive in town together, but became separated on the journey from Bury Park, so that while half of them took up the agreed position, by the Don Millers bakery, the delayed group got caught on the outside of the procession route and could not immediately be walked through to join the others. This second group were held in position by the police at the back of the town hall, at the top of Gordon Street, much closer to the march past.
Still, a journalist I spoke to who filmed along the whole route did not at first notice the protesters or capture them on film. It was only when he got down to St George's Square - where the mayor was saying the soldiers should not be blamed for the war in Iraq - that the cameraman heard trouble and went back around the town hall to find out what was going on. According to the police, the split in the protest group had prevented them from properly examining their placards: "Anglian soldiers butchers of Basra". "Anglian soldiers criminals, murderers, terrorists". "Anglian soldiers go to hell". "British government, terrorist government". "Muslims rise against British oppression".
Of course, half the country was against the war in Iraq, white, Asian, black, Muslims, Christians alike. But those placards, as no doubt intended, were provocative statements against the soldiers and their friends and families who had turned out to see the march. White people, young and old, male and female, who were there for the march past were incensed by the protesters' placards and their shouting. "Anglian soldiers, baby killers!" was one call that particularly upset the soldiers and some of the several thousand people who were there to see them, though most would have been oblivious to the protests at the time. To the protesters, a regiment that had fired a total of 36,000 rounds in Iraq ought to share responsibility for the many civilian casualties - mothers and children among them - in that country. The army and its supporters would argue that the protesters should take their grievances to the government, which had promoted the war, and leave alone the soldiers, who had merely been following orders. But this was not good enough for Sayful Islam. "Would we excuse the Nazi soldiers who carried out atrocities because they were just obeying orders?"
The divisional commander of Luton, Chief Superintendent Andy Frost, would later think long and hard about the decisions taken before and during the day. Should he have banned or arrested the protesters? Well, they had turned out before with their banners and their megaphone - at the Luton Faith Walk and the Holocaust Memorial Day - and there had never been any real threat to public order. "Normally they turn up, start off their protest against the war, most people ignore them, and everyone moves on." Next time, mind you, he might think differently.
More HERE
Prince defeats ugly modern architecture
He is a true "tribunus plebis" in such matters. I congratulate him -- JR
The Prince of Wales has forced a Qatari development firm to withdraw its application for a controversial œ3 billion housing project at the Chelsea Barracks site in West London. The Prince, a famously outspoken critic of modern architecture, had criticised Lord Rogers of Riverside's design for Britain's most expensive housing development as "unsympathetic" and "unsubtle". He also wrote to the Emir of Qatar to voice his concerns at the plans for the glass and steel complex opposite the Royal Hospital in Chelsea.
Yesterday, less than a week before the application was due to go before the planning committee of Westminster Council, the site's owner Qatari Diar, a property company, withdrew the application.
Lord Rogers, who designed the Millennium Dome in East London and the Pompidou Centre in Paris, blamed the Prince for the project's collapse. The architect told The Times: "After two and a half years of extensive consultation with the local community and statutory consultees, and the publication of an exceptionally complimentary report on the Chelsea Barracks application from planning officers at Westminster City Council, it is extremely disappointing that this application has been withdrawn in response to Prince Charles's views less than a week before the council was due to consider it."
The leader of Westminster Council, Colin Barrow, said the Prince acted as a lightning rod for objections and encouraged others to come forward. He said: "I think the Prince of Wales gave voice to some misgivings that many people had about the architecture. It enabled people to say things that they were otherwise reluctant to say. Many more people came out against the architecture after that."
More than 450 complaints were received by the council from residents concerned about the scale of the project, which would have included 548 flats, a hotel, two restaurants and a sports centre on the 12.8-acre site.
Qatari Diar bought the site for nearly œ1 billion in January last year, and will now be seeking new designs. One architect who submitted a sketch in the initial competition was traditionalist Quinlan Terry. His design was recommended by the Prince of Wales as a preferable alternative. Prince Charles's Foundation for the Built Environment will be consulted over new submissions.
SOURCE
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Lack of discipline destroying the education of young British children
Excluding children is the only means schools have of dealing with disruptive and violent behaviour. The situation will get ever-worse until they bring back the cane
Thousands of very young children are being excluded from primary schools for physically attacking pupils and teachers, research by The Times shows. It exposes the extent to which children of infant-school age are being expelled or suspended, even though the tactic is more commonly associated with uncontrollable teenagers.
The Times survey of 25 local authorities found that almost 4,000 primary school children had been excluded for fixed periods in 2007-08. This is the national equivalent to 25,128, a 6 per cent increase on last year, if extrapolated to cover the whole of England. Over the same period the primary school population fell by almost 20,000, so the real rise is 6.7 per cent.
More than three quarters of those who gave reasons said that one of the biggest causes of exclusion was the child physically assaulting another pupil. Another main reason was attacking a teacher.
Our findings underline national figures, which show temporary exclusions in primary schools have risen by 10 per cent in three years, from 41,300 in 2004 to 45,730 in 2007, because staff could not cope with their threatening and disruptive behaviour. More than 1,200 of the fixed-term exclusions in 2007 involved children aged 4 and under. Another 12,000 were under the age of 8.
Our survey paints a picture of teachers struggling to deal with violence from ever-younger children, some of whom in effect drop out of the education system before reaching secondary school.
John Bangs, head of education at the National Union of Teachers, said: "There's a small and growing group of very young children creating very real problems, over whom parents seem to have no control. It's a relatively new phenomenon for primary schools. They are reporting that groups of parents have real problems with their young children."
Professor Carl Parsons, who has researched primary school exclusions for 16 years, said that children may be picking up bad behaviour younger. "The rise in fixed-term exclusions could be because there are more socially troubled families who are more isolated and less able to provide guidance and support for children."
Many primary schools do not have the resources to deal with aggressive children in any other way, as they lack staff to offer one-to-one teaching and do not have on-call child psychiatrists. One teacher from a primary school in Norfolk told The Times: "I have worked at several schools and there has been a marked deterioration in behaviour in the last five years. Behaviour strategies don't seem to work because schools have no power. Teachers are left to get on with it."
Our survey showed that schools in Kingston-upon-Thames, southwest London, suspended 87 young children last year, including three from reception class and another seven aged 7 and under.
SOURCE
NHS Hospital "sorry" as young mother dies after meningitis is undiagnosed for 15 hours
The rapid progression of meningococcal disease is well-known but it can normally be cured by antibiotics if diagnosed immediately on presentation to a doctor. Treatment should be commenced immediately if there is any doubt
A health trust has apologised after a young mother died when doctors took 15 hours to spot that she had contracted the meningitis that eventually killed her. Shazia Ahmed, 26, died in hospital five days after contracting the bug after out-of-hours doctors twice failed to respond to emergency calls. Health bosses yesterday admitted that she may have lived if they had treated her more quickly.
Miss Ahmed, who lived in Oxford and was engaged to marry her partner Aaron Willett next year, had a six-year-old son called Kaishaan. She began to feel ill on February 20 and phoned an out-of-hours service to explain her symptoms of a tingling sensation in her legs at 7pm and was told she probably had a virus and that a doctor would not visit her.
By 2am she felt worse and was told to collect an anti-sickness tablet from the NHS out-of-hours centre but, again, no doctor was available. Her condition worsened, she began to vomit and suffer diarrhoea and she developed a purple rash so Miss Ahmed's mother Lorraine Lewis, 50, took her to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford.
Mrs Lewis said: "When we got there I overheard a doctor outside the cubicle asking a consultant if he thought it could be meningitis? He just said 'no, it won't be that'. "Then from 5.30am to 9.40am, they just left her and we mopped up her vomit and diarrhoea. "They realised her condition was really bad and took her through to intensive care. "Those hours definitely made a difference."
Miss Ahmed was put into a coma in the intensive care unit before suffering a brain haemorrhage four days later.
A spokesman for the Oxfordshire Primary Care Trust yesterday said: "We are deeply sorry for the distress which Shazia's family are experiencing following her tragic death. "It is possible that an earlier diagnosis may have had a different outcome but it is impossible to say what this might have been in Shazia's case."
SOURCE
The British far-Left do their best to generate publicity and sympathy for anti-immigration party
What they really want is self-publicity but they just succeeed in showing who the real thugs are
When Nick Griffin was pelted with eggs outside Parliament this week, the protest divided public opinion over whether it was a legitimate expression of anger or a foolhardy stunt that handed unwarranted publicity to the British National Party. It has also widened a rift in the anti-fascist movement over how to combat the rise of the far-right party.
United Against Fascism (UAF) is planning a series of physical demonstrations over the coming months based on Tuesday's confrontation, which forced Mr Griffin, the BNP leader and newly elected MEP, to abandon his victory press conference. The approach has frustrated seasoned anti-BNP campaigners, who believe that the stunt allowed Mr Griffin to portray himself as a martyr.
There were violent tussles between the protesters and supporters of Mr Griffin and Andrew Brons, who won the BNP's second European seat in Yorkshire and the Humber region, and police are investigating two allegations of common assault. UAF, which was set up five years ago as an umbrella organisation for anti-racism groups and trade unions, says that it will picket Mr Griffin wherever he goes. It accepts that there is potential for further violence but insists that the action is necessary to combat the BNP.
Searchlight, a separate organisation that has campaigned against the BNP and its predecessors since the 1960s, is cautious about such protests and says that a more "constructive" approach is needed. Searchlight initially joined UAF when it was created but broke away following policy differences. This week it launched a widespread digital media initiative called Not In My Name. The organisation is being advised by Blue State Digital, the internet strategy firm responsible for President Obama's winning US campaign, and plans a variety of online initiatives to raise awareness and funds.
This weekend an appeal video featuring various celebrities will be posted online to urge the public to donate. More than 84,500 people have already signed up to its database, making it bigger than those of any of the mainstream political parties.
The Royal British Legion yesterday accused Mr Griffin of trying to politicise "one of the nation's most beloved symbols" after he repeatedly wore a red poppy during the European election campaign. The charity is demanding that Mr Griffin stop wearing the poppy, after private appeals to his "sense of honour" were ignored. In an open letter to The Guardian, the charity wrote: "True valour deserves respect regardless of a person's ethnic origin . . . Stop it, Mr Griffin."
Campaigners are also organising a petition to take to the European Parliament next month, saying that while the BNP has won seats, it does not represent Britain. The number of signatures had exceeded 56,000 by Wednesday, only two days after it was begun. Campaigners aim to surpass 132,094, signatures - the number of votes that Mr Griffin attracted in the North West region.
Searchlight is hoping to raise enough money to wage its biggest campaign against the BNP, from advertisements on buses to leaflets aimed at areas where voters are BNP-friendly. Nick Lowles, the campaign coordinator, said it was a positive way to express discontent. "We need to harness people's anger in a constructive way, rather than throwing eggs at the BNP," he said.
However, Anindya Bhattacharyya, a spokesman for UAF, claimed that the strategy was not adequate to defeat the BNP. "If fascists simply organised on the internet then it would be fine. But they foment their race hatred on to the streets. That's where we have to stand up to them," he said. UAF is planning an emergency national conference in Manchester on July 18 and aims to picket events such as the BNP's annual rally in August. Mr Bhattacharyya defended the tactics displayed on Tuesday. He said: "I think the far greater danger is that he [Mr Griffin] becomes legitimised."
SOURCE
Arrogant feminist who thinks men should bring up babies to represent "families" in Britain
A hardline feminist has been chosen as the Government's new chief spokesman on families. Dr Katherine Rake, who wants to see men bring up babies, will head the Family and Parenting Institute, a heavily state-financed organisation set up by Labour to speak for parents and children. The Institute boasts that it 'brings alive the real issues for families' and 'listens to parents and carers across the country'.
But critics said the appointment of Dr Rake, currently director of the women's equality campaign group the Fawcett Society, showed the Institute was out of touch with the concerns of ordinary families.
The organisation was set up in 1999 by then Home Secretary Jack Straw to shore up family life and encourage parents. Last year it received nearly œ8million from Ed Balls's Department for Children, Schools and Families towards its declared mission of 'supporting parents in bringing up children'.
Dr Rake, who will take over from the Institute's founding chief executive Mary MacLeod, has long declared her intention is not to support parents as they are, but to revolutionise their lives. Writing in The Guardian three years ago, she said: 'We want to transform the most intimate and private relations between women and men. 'We want to change not just who holds power in international conglomerations, but who controls the household budget. 'We want to change not just what childcare the state provides, but who changes the nappies at home.' Dr Rake added: 'It is only when men are ready to share caring and work responsibilities with women that we will be able to fulfil our true potential to form equal partnerships in which we have respect, autonomy and dignity.'
Under the direction of Dr Rake, a former London School of Economics lecturer, the Fawcett Society has campaigned for a 'changing role' for men. The group, which is chaired by prominent gay rights campaigner Angela Mason, says the role reversal should be backed by longer paid parental leave, official encouragement for men to apply for flexible work hours, and the opening of mother and toddler groups to stay-at-home fathers. It has complained that women will never achieve equality with men at work without 'challenging the traditional roles of homemaker and breadwinner'.
Fawcett has also condemned Tory plans to give tax breaks to married couples, complaining that 'it penalises all those children living with unmarried parents or with one parent'.
The appointment of Dr Rake, who is likely to earn œ60,000 a year, comes at a time of growing pressure on mothers to go out to work. Despite overwhelming evidence that a majority would prefer to stay home to bring up young children, ministers have piled pressure on them to take jobs and warned that those who fail to do so, and who rely on the income of a husband or partner, are likely to face poverty.
Only two million mothers now bring up their children full time. Official figures show that two out of three children aged three and four now spend at least part of their week in nurseries.
Jill Kirby, of the centre-right think-tank Centre for Policy Studies, said: 'This appointment to a body which is supposed to speak for the interests of ordinary parents and families shows how out of touch the leadership of the organisation is with real life in Britain. 'Katherine Rake's agenda is more about reversing sex roles than helping parents.'
The chairman of the National Parenting Institute is Fiona Millar, long-term partner of Tony Blair's former spokesman Alastair Campbell. She said that Dr Rake 'has a strong track record in research, policy and campaigning and will be a great asset to the organisation at a time when the recession is putting extra pressure on families up and down the country'.
SOURCE
An understandable immigration goof but a big one
The woman explained but getting bureaucrats to listen or even think is always mountainously difficult. That someone from Argentina might want to come to Britain to learn Welsh sounds a very unlikely story -- but what if that person actually is of Welsh ancestry with family connections in Wales?
A Patagonian woman was sent back to her home country after British immigration officials refused to believe she was travelling to Wales to learn Welsh. Evelyn Talcadrini, from Puerto Madryn, Argentina, was on her way to Glyndyfrdwy, near Llangollen, to spend six months living with a local family to practise her Welsh. But she was put on a flight back to South America within hours of landing in the UK.
Now the Government has agreed to launch an investigation into her treatment after Plaid Cymru's Hywel Williams and Elfyn Llwyd raised the case in the House of Commons during Welsh questions. Mr Williams, Caernarfon MP, said: "She travelled for 35 hours to get to Heathrow, but was summarily ejected and sent back. She is not the only young Welsh Patagonian who has, unfortunately, suffered summary ejection for no good cause that I can see."
The MP said it was a "disgraceful stain on our welcome to Welsh Patagonians." Some 20,000 Welsh people settled in Patagonia in the mid-19th century because they wanted to keep their language and religion at at time when English was becoming the predominant tongue. The first group sailed aboard the Mimosa from Liverpool in May 1865.
Evelyn had been due to spend her time in Wales with Eos Griffiths and his Patagonian-born wife Carina at their home in Glyndyfrdwy, and showed a letter from them to the immigration officials at Heathrow. Mr Griffiths said: "I have known her family for more than 30 years and invited her to stay with us. I thought she would be able to improve her Welsh and learn some English and enjoy the Eisteddfod at Bala this summer."
Wales minister Wayne David said the United Kingdom welcomed Patagonians who were keen to explore their Welsh heritage. "Of course the UK Borders Agency does not have any separate policy in relation to Welsh-speaking people from Patagonia. I give my commitment that the Secretary of State and I will meet the relevant Home Office Minister as soon as possible."
SOURCE
How desperation has made us cast votes for extremism
An article from the heart of middle England (Staffordshire and South Cheshire)
YOU don't have to be a political genius to grasp that as long as the Government fails to tackle the problem of illegal immigration, more voters will turn to the BNP. I can't be the only one who feels that ordinary people are being driven by desperation to vote for the extremist party because their views on immigration are being ignored.
This may be an uncomfortable truth for some people to swallow, but neither Labour nor the Tories can say they haven't been warned. Only a few months ago a nationwide poll showed a majority of supporters of both the major parties putting failure to control immigration at the top of their list of worries. Yet, in spite of the genuine concern, little has been done to restrict the flow of new arrivals. To all intents, Britain operates the open-door policy introduced in 1997. All right, I can already hear the snarls of those who think it's racist even to bring up the subject of immigration, let alone complain about it.
These politically correct diehards would rather we keep silent about our fears and merely 'celebrate diversity' without looking at the consequences of failing to stem an endless tide. Let me put it like this. The worries of millions of ordinary people have nothing to do with race or colour, but everything to do with numbers. Their concern is self-preservation, and why not? It's one of our oldest characteristics. They feel that their culture and whole way of life is under threat and wonder what sort of country their grandchildren will inherit.
I remember Tony Blair acknowledging that there was "cause for complaint" about the extent of illegal immigration and promised to put everything right. But what did the former Prime Minister do? In 2005 he signed away our rights on immigration policies to the European Union. So much for empty promises. This has left Labour hamstrung and unable to initiate anything without the consent of Brussels, though I believe other EU countries have made their own rules on immigration to protect themselves. All I can recall in recent times is a project by former Home Secretary Jacqui Smith to get immigrants to earn their British citizenship, which hardly touched on the true problem.
So the BNP has played on public discontent and come up with its own drastic solutions, appealing exclusively to people in working-class districts and gaining support.
I must confess that the spectacular rise of the BNP in Stoke on-Trent surprised me. I've always believed that race relations in the Potteries are good, even very good. Yet local people no longer seem embarrassed to vote for a Far Right party, even though BNP councillors can do nothing to influence national policies on immigration. For that matter, neither can Nick Griffin or Andrew Brons in their capacity as newly-elected MEPs among the 700-odd members of the European Parliament.
I thought it was foolish for protesters to throw eggs at Griffin at Westminster this week. That's not a good way to fight the BNP. Indeed, such behaviour could work in the BNP's favour. Any violent reaction to the party can rebound. In a democracy you beat your opponents by reasoned argument.
On a different tack, I think the fashionable concept of a multicultural society is among the root causes of the problem. It urges us that immigrants have no need to integrate into our society, but remain within their own communities. I feel this is misguided and likely to cause resentment where none has previously existed. To my mind, we should work towards creating a united nation, not one divided on ethnic or religious lines. I hope that doesn't sound like an impossible dream.
But while the Government continues to dodge the issue of controlling illegal immigration, I fear the BNP will continue to thrive.
SOURCE
Britain: The database state: "Click a mouse, text a friend, use your credit cards, sign up for a storecard, pay your car tax or buy a TV licence, walk in the street under the gaze of CCTV, apply for social benefits, forget to tick the box on that says `we'd like to share your information with .' and your ID cat is out of the bag, floating around between - well, who knows who? That's why the proposed National Identity Register is so dangerous. And the NHS patient records system too. Tens of millions of our records, all accessible to whichever of 400,000 civil servants happens to have the right security code."
Excluding children is the only means schools have of dealing with disruptive and violent behaviour. The situation will get ever-worse until they bring back the cane
Thousands of very young children are being excluded from primary schools for physically attacking pupils and teachers, research by The Times shows. It exposes the extent to which children of infant-school age are being expelled or suspended, even though the tactic is more commonly associated with uncontrollable teenagers.
The Times survey of 25 local authorities found that almost 4,000 primary school children had been excluded for fixed periods in 2007-08. This is the national equivalent to 25,128, a 6 per cent increase on last year, if extrapolated to cover the whole of England. Over the same period the primary school population fell by almost 20,000, so the real rise is 6.7 per cent.
More than three quarters of those who gave reasons said that one of the biggest causes of exclusion was the child physically assaulting another pupil. Another main reason was attacking a teacher.
Our findings underline national figures, which show temporary exclusions in primary schools have risen by 10 per cent in three years, from 41,300 in 2004 to 45,730 in 2007, because staff could not cope with their threatening and disruptive behaviour. More than 1,200 of the fixed-term exclusions in 2007 involved children aged 4 and under. Another 12,000 were under the age of 8.
Our survey paints a picture of teachers struggling to deal with violence from ever-younger children, some of whom in effect drop out of the education system before reaching secondary school.
John Bangs, head of education at the National Union of Teachers, said: "There's a small and growing group of very young children creating very real problems, over whom parents seem to have no control. It's a relatively new phenomenon for primary schools. They are reporting that groups of parents have real problems with their young children."
Professor Carl Parsons, who has researched primary school exclusions for 16 years, said that children may be picking up bad behaviour younger. "The rise in fixed-term exclusions could be because there are more socially troubled families who are more isolated and less able to provide guidance and support for children."
Many primary schools do not have the resources to deal with aggressive children in any other way, as they lack staff to offer one-to-one teaching and do not have on-call child psychiatrists. One teacher from a primary school in Norfolk told The Times: "I have worked at several schools and there has been a marked deterioration in behaviour in the last five years. Behaviour strategies don't seem to work because schools have no power. Teachers are left to get on with it."
Our survey showed that schools in Kingston-upon-Thames, southwest London, suspended 87 young children last year, including three from reception class and another seven aged 7 and under.
SOURCE
NHS Hospital "sorry" as young mother dies after meningitis is undiagnosed for 15 hours
The rapid progression of meningococcal disease is well-known but it can normally be cured by antibiotics if diagnosed immediately on presentation to a doctor. Treatment should be commenced immediately if there is any doubt
A health trust has apologised after a young mother died when doctors took 15 hours to spot that she had contracted the meningitis that eventually killed her. Shazia Ahmed, 26, died in hospital five days after contracting the bug after out-of-hours doctors twice failed to respond to emergency calls. Health bosses yesterday admitted that she may have lived if they had treated her more quickly.
Miss Ahmed, who lived in Oxford and was engaged to marry her partner Aaron Willett next year, had a six-year-old son called Kaishaan. She began to feel ill on February 20 and phoned an out-of-hours service to explain her symptoms of a tingling sensation in her legs at 7pm and was told she probably had a virus and that a doctor would not visit her.
By 2am she felt worse and was told to collect an anti-sickness tablet from the NHS out-of-hours centre but, again, no doctor was available. Her condition worsened, she began to vomit and suffer diarrhoea and she developed a purple rash so Miss Ahmed's mother Lorraine Lewis, 50, took her to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford.
Mrs Lewis said: "When we got there I overheard a doctor outside the cubicle asking a consultant if he thought it could be meningitis? He just said 'no, it won't be that'. "Then from 5.30am to 9.40am, they just left her and we mopped up her vomit and diarrhoea. "They realised her condition was really bad and took her through to intensive care. "Those hours definitely made a difference."
Miss Ahmed was put into a coma in the intensive care unit before suffering a brain haemorrhage four days later.
A spokesman for the Oxfordshire Primary Care Trust yesterday said: "We are deeply sorry for the distress which Shazia's family are experiencing following her tragic death. "It is possible that an earlier diagnosis may have had a different outcome but it is impossible to say what this might have been in Shazia's case."
SOURCE
The British far-Left do their best to generate publicity and sympathy for anti-immigration party
What they really want is self-publicity but they just succeeed in showing who the real thugs are
When Nick Griffin was pelted with eggs outside Parliament this week, the protest divided public opinion over whether it was a legitimate expression of anger or a foolhardy stunt that handed unwarranted publicity to the British National Party. It has also widened a rift in the anti-fascist movement over how to combat the rise of the far-right party.
United Against Fascism (UAF) is planning a series of physical demonstrations over the coming months based on Tuesday's confrontation, which forced Mr Griffin, the BNP leader and newly elected MEP, to abandon his victory press conference. The approach has frustrated seasoned anti-BNP campaigners, who believe that the stunt allowed Mr Griffin to portray himself as a martyr.
There were violent tussles between the protesters and supporters of Mr Griffin and Andrew Brons, who won the BNP's second European seat in Yorkshire and the Humber region, and police are investigating two allegations of common assault. UAF, which was set up five years ago as an umbrella organisation for anti-racism groups and trade unions, says that it will picket Mr Griffin wherever he goes. It accepts that there is potential for further violence but insists that the action is necessary to combat the BNP.
Searchlight, a separate organisation that has campaigned against the BNP and its predecessors since the 1960s, is cautious about such protests and says that a more "constructive" approach is needed. Searchlight initially joined UAF when it was created but broke away following policy differences. This week it launched a widespread digital media initiative called Not In My Name. The organisation is being advised by Blue State Digital, the internet strategy firm responsible for President Obama's winning US campaign, and plans a variety of online initiatives to raise awareness and funds.
This weekend an appeal video featuring various celebrities will be posted online to urge the public to donate. More than 84,500 people have already signed up to its database, making it bigger than those of any of the mainstream political parties.
The Royal British Legion yesterday accused Mr Griffin of trying to politicise "one of the nation's most beloved symbols" after he repeatedly wore a red poppy during the European election campaign. The charity is demanding that Mr Griffin stop wearing the poppy, after private appeals to his "sense of honour" were ignored. In an open letter to The Guardian, the charity wrote: "True valour deserves respect regardless of a person's ethnic origin . . . Stop it, Mr Griffin."
Campaigners are also organising a petition to take to the European Parliament next month, saying that while the BNP has won seats, it does not represent Britain. The number of signatures had exceeded 56,000 by Wednesday, only two days after it was begun. Campaigners aim to surpass 132,094, signatures - the number of votes that Mr Griffin attracted in the North West region.
Searchlight is hoping to raise enough money to wage its biggest campaign against the BNP, from advertisements on buses to leaflets aimed at areas where voters are BNP-friendly. Nick Lowles, the campaign coordinator, said it was a positive way to express discontent. "We need to harness people's anger in a constructive way, rather than throwing eggs at the BNP," he said.
However, Anindya Bhattacharyya, a spokesman for UAF, claimed that the strategy was not adequate to defeat the BNP. "If fascists simply organised on the internet then it would be fine. But they foment their race hatred on to the streets. That's where we have to stand up to them," he said. UAF is planning an emergency national conference in Manchester on July 18 and aims to picket events such as the BNP's annual rally in August. Mr Bhattacharyya defended the tactics displayed on Tuesday. He said: "I think the far greater danger is that he [Mr Griffin] becomes legitimised."
SOURCE
Arrogant feminist who thinks men should bring up babies to represent "families" in Britain
A hardline feminist has been chosen as the Government's new chief spokesman on families. Dr Katherine Rake, who wants to see men bring up babies, will head the Family and Parenting Institute, a heavily state-financed organisation set up by Labour to speak for parents and children. The Institute boasts that it 'brings alive the real issues for families' and 'listens to parents and carers across the country'.
But critics said the appointment of Dr Rake, currently director of the women's equality campaign group the Fawcett Society, showed the Institute was out of touch with the concerns of ordinary families.
The organisation was set up in 1999 by then Home Secretary Jack Straw to shore up family life and encourage parents. Last year it received nearly œ8million from Ed Balls's Department for Children, Schools and Families towards its declared mission of 'supporting parents in bringing up children'.
Dr Rake, who will take over from the Institute's founding chief executive Mary MacLeod, has long declared her intention is not to support parents as they are, but to revolutionise their lives. Writing in The Guardian three years ago, she said: 'We want to transform the most intimate and private relations between women and men. 'We want to change not just who holds power in international conglomerations, but who controls the household budget. 'We want to change not just what childcare the state provides, but who changes the nappies at home.' Dr Rake added: 'It is only when men are ready to share caring and work responsibilities with women that we will be able to fulfil our true potential to form equal partnerships in which we have respect, autonomy and dignity.'
Under the direction of Dr Rake, a former London School of Economics lecturer, the Fawcett Society has campaigned for a 'changing role' for men. The group, which is chaired by prominent gay rights campaigner Angela Mason, says the role reversal should be backed by longer paid parental leave, official encouragement for men to apply for flexible work hours, and the opening of mother and toddler groups to stay-at-home fathers. It has complained that women will never achieve equality with men at work without 'challenging the traditional roles of homemaker and breadwinner'.
Fawcett has also condemned Tory plans to give tax breaks to married couples, complaining that 'it penalises all those children living with unmarried parents or with one parent'.
The appointment of Dr Rake, who is likely to earn œ60,000 a year, comes at a time of growing pressure on mothers to go out to work. Despite overwhelming evidence that a majority would prefer to stay home to bring up young children, ministers have piled pressure on them to take jobs and warned that those who fail to do so, and who rely on the income of a husband or partner, are likely to face poverty.
Only two million mothers now bring up their children full time. Official figures show that two out of three children aged three and four now spend at least part of their week in nurseries.
Jill Kirby, of the centre-right think-tank Centre for Policy Studies, said: 'This appointment to a body which is supposed to speak for the interests of ordinary parents and families shows how out of touch the leadership of the organisation is with real life in Britain. 'Katherine Rake's agenda is more about reversing sex roles than helping parents.'
The chairman of the National Parenting Institute is Fiona Millar, long-term partner of Tony Blair's former spokesman Alastair Campbell. She said that Dr Rake 'has a strong track record in research, policy and campaigning and will be a great asset to the organisation at a time when the recession is putting extra pressure on families up and down the country'.
SOURCE
An understandable immigration goof but a big one
The woman explained but getting bureaucrats to listen or even think is always mountainously difficult. That someone from Argentina might want to come to Britain to learn Welsh sounds a very unlikely story -- but what if that person actually is of Welsh ancestry with family connections in Wales?
A Patagonian woman was sent back to her home country after British immigration officials refused to believe she was travelling to Wales to learn Welsh. Evelyn Talcadrini, from Puerto Madryn, Argentina, was on her way to Glyndyfrdwy, near Llangollen, to spend six months living with a local family to practise her Welsh. But she was put on a flight back to South America within hours of landing in the UK.
Now the Government has agreed to launch an investigation into her treatment after Plaid Cymru's Hywel Williams and Elfyn Llwyd raised the case in the House of Commons during Welsh questions. Mr Williams, Caernarfon MP, said: "She travelled for 35 hours to get to Heathrow, but was summarily ejected and sent back. She is not the only young Welsh Patagonian who has, unfortunately, suffered summary ejection for no good cause that I can see."
The MP said it was a "disgraceful stain on our welcome to Welsh Patagonians." Some 20,000 Welsh people settled in Patagonia in the mid-19th century because they wanted to keep their language and religion at at time when English was becoming the predominant tongue. The first group sailed aboard the Mimosa from Liverpool in May 1865.
Evelyn had been due to spend her time in Wales with Eos Griffiths and his Patagonian-born wife Carina at their home in Glyndyfrdwy, and showed a letter from them to the immigration officials at Heathrow. Mr Griffiths said: "I have known her family for more than 30 years and invited her to stay with us. I thought she would be able to improve her Welsh and learn some English and enjoy the Eisteddfod at Bala this summer."
Wales minister Wayne David said the United Kingdom welcomed Patagonians who were keen to explore their Welsh heritage. "Of course the UK Borders Agency does not have any separate policy in relation to Welsh-speaking people from Patagonia. I give my commitment that the Secretary of State and I will meet the relevant Home Office Minister as soon as possible."
SOURCE
How desperation has made us cast votes for extremism
An article from the heart of middle England (Staffordshire and South Cheshire)
YOU don't have to be a political genius to grasp that as long as the Government fails to tackle the problem of illegal immigration, more voters will turn to the BNP. I can't be the only one who feels that ordinary people are being driven by desperation to vote for the extremist party because their views on immigration are being ignored.
This may be an uncomfortable truth for some people to swallow, but neither Labour nor the Tories can say they haven't been warned. Only a few months ago a nationwide poll showed a majority of supporters of both the major parties putting failure to control immigration at the top of their list of worries. Yet, in spite of the genuine concern, little has been done to restrict the flow of new arrivals. To all intents, Britain operates the open-door policy introduced in 1997. All right, I can already hear the snarls of those who think it's racist even to bring up the subject of immigration, let alone complain about it.
These politically correct diehards would rather we keep silent about our fears and merely 'celebrate diversity' without looking at the consequences of failing to stem an endless tide. Let me put it like this. The worries of millions of ordinary people have nothing to do with race or colour, but everything to do with numbers. Their concern is self-preservation, and why not? It's one of our oldest characteristics. They feel that their culture and whole way of life is under threat and wonder what sort of country their grandchildren will inherit.
I remember Tony Blair acknowledging that there was "cause for complaint" about the extent of illegal immigration and promised to put everything right. But what did the former Prime Minister do? In 2005 he signed away our rights on immigration policies to the European Union. So much for empty promises. This has left Labour hamstrung and unable to initiate anything without the consent of Brussels, though I believe other EU countries have made their own rules on immigration to protect themselves. All I can recall in recent times is a project by former Home Secretary Jacqui Smith to get immigrants to earn their British citizenship, which hardly touched on the true problem.
So the BNP has played on public discontent and come up with its own drastic solutions, appealing exclusively to people in working-class districts and gaining support.
I must confess that the spectacular rise of the BNP in Stoke on-Trent surprised me. I've always believed that race relations in the Potteries are good, even very good. Yet local people no longer seem embarrassed to vote for a Far Right party, even though BNP councillors can do nothing to influence national policies on immigration. For that matter, neither can Nick Griffin or Andrew Brons in their capacity as newly-elected MEPs among the 700-odd members of the European Parliament.
I thought it was foolish for protesters to throw eggs at Griffin at Westminster this week. That's not a good way to fight the BNP. Indeed, such behaviour could work in the BNP's favour. Any violent reaction to the party can rebound. In a democracy you beat your opponents by reasoned argument.
On a different tack, I think the fashionable concept of a multicultural society is among the root causes of the problem. It urges us that immigrants have no need to integrate into our society, but remain within their own communities. I feel this is misguided and likely to cause resentment where none has previously existed. To my mind, we should work towards creating a united nation, not one divided on ethnic or religious lines. I hope that doesn't sound like an impossible dream.
But while the Government continues to dodge the issue of controlling illegal immigration, I fear the BNP will continue to thrive.
SOURCE
Britain: The database state: "Click a mouse, text a friend, use your credit cards, sign up for a storecard, pay your car tax or buy a TV licence, walk in the street under the gaze of CCTV, apply for social benefits, forget to tick the box on that says `we'd like to share your information with .' and your ID cat is out of the bag, floating around between - well, who knows who? That's why the proposed National Identity Register is so dangerous. And the NHS patient records system too. Tens of millions of our records, all accessible to whichever of 400,000 civil servants happens to have the right security code."
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Best job winner a $150k whingeing Pom
For American readers: "Whingeing" is the sort of whining you get from a tired toddler. A "Pom" is Australian slang for an English person. It is a common Australian perception that the English do a lot of complaining about minor things and are hard to please generally. Australians deride that as "whingeing"
ENGLISHMAN Ben Southall, winner of the World's Best Job, hasn't even started "work" yet and he's already living up to the worst stereotypes of his countrymen. Southall, 34, will collect a $150,000 tax payer-funded salary for six months lounging around the tropical paradise, enjoying free meals and accommodation in a three-bedroom luxury villa on Hamilton Island.
However, the blond-haired project manager from Petersfield, Hampshire, is already complaining his July 1 start date means he will miss out on the English summer, The Sun reports. "I'll miss the long days we have. The island may boast a tropical climate but it gets dark at 8pm," he moaned.
The Brit even whinged about missing English food, saying he would pine for roast dinners. "It will be far too hot to cook anything like that," he said.
Southall's only duty is to produce a blog detailing his life of leisure and regular activities such as sailing, snorkelling and scuba diving. He beat off more than 34,000 other applicants from around the world to win the coveted post, dreamed up by Tourism Queensland as part of an award-winning promotional campaign.
SOURCE
Arrogant British social workers again: Making a mockery of the "care" they are supposed to provide
D-Day hero, 93, starved himself to death after care home 'refused to let him go home to wife'. Since he had been living at home satisfactorily before he became ill, there was no reason to prevent him from returning home after his illness. The bureaucratic love of power was what killed him
A veteran of D- Day starved himself to death after being held against his will in a care home. Alfred Tonkin, 93, went on hunger strike when he was prevented from being reunited with his wife of 68 years, Joyce. The great-grandfather, who lost a leg to a Nazi machine gunner, was initially admitted to hospital with a blood disorder.
But social services claimed he was suffering from dementia and insisted that a round-the-clock care package would need to be arranged before he could go home. He was transferred to a care home and was still there four months later when he was taken to hospital with dehydration and malnourishment. Mr Tonkin died six days later on June 3 - three days before the 65th anniversary of D-Day.
His son Ian said yesterday: 'It was a dreadful experience. My dad thought we had betrayed him but we were in social services' hands because they knew the rules and we didn't. 'The care he received at the hospital and care home was excellent but social services were useless.'
The 60-year-old, who works for Royal Mail, added: 'Dad told me he was going on hunger strike and even refused to eat for me. Then he stopped drinking too. 'My dad starved himself to death.'....
On December 6 last year, Mr Tonkin was taken ill at his home in St Albans, Hertfordshire, and admitted to Watford Hospital with a blood disorder. He spent four weeks there before Hertfordshire County Council social services moved him to Wilton House Nursing Home in Shenley, six miles outside St Albans, while they arranged 24-hour home care.
On May 28, a GP wrote to social services to protest at the time it was taking for him to be reunited with his wife and recommended he be immediately discharged. The letter warned that his intense frustration over the delays had led to him refusing food. Three days later, Mr Tonkin was admitted to Watford Hospital with renal failure and died days later.
The family have made an official complaint to Hertfordshire County Council's adult care services and are being supported by St Albans Tory MP Anne Main.
An adult care services spokesman said: 'Equipment and care services had been purchased and commissioned and we were in the process of putting them in place but sadly Mr Tonkin died before he could return home.'
SOURCE
Traveller (gypsy) sites are booming as they exploit Britain's Human Rights Act to defy the law
The number of illegal traveller sites has soared since Labour introduced the Human Rights Act, figures showed yesterday. A new site is appearing every three days as travellers use the controversial legislation to sidestep planning laws. They buy cheap green-belt farmland and construct sites without planning permission, then contest any efforts to evict them as a breach of their human rights. The figures show a particularly sharp increase in illegal sites ' tolerated' by councils which feel helpless to challenge them.
When Labour introduced the Human Rights Act in 1999, fewer than 300 illegal sites were tolerated on land in England owned by travellers. By January this year that had risen more than fourfold to 1,279. The total number of illegal sites - including those built on other people's land - soared by 1,166 to 3,680. This is equivalent to more than one new site every three days for almost a decade.
Conservative critics warned last night that planning rules are straining community relations. They called for a return to 'fair play' where the same rules apply to everyone.
The Human Rights Act made it possible to fight cases in British courts using the European Convention on Human Rights instead of having to travel to the European Court in Strasbourg. Travellers have used their right to respect for their homes and family lives under the Act to stop councils evicting them from illegal sites.
Critics also blamed planning guidelines introduced in 2005. These ordered local authorities to consider 'diversity and equality' in planning matters and to take 'positive action' to avoid discriminating against any groups.
By contrast, homeowners face masses of red tape in order to build an extension, and often have to demolish buildings put up without planning permission.
Some of those who have written protest letters about camps have had their complaints dismissed because they are deemed racist.
The figures from the Department of Communities and Local Government show the number of illegal sites in England on land owned by travellers rose from 729 in January 2000 to 2,365 this year. With a further 1,315 illegal sites established on other people's land, the total number in England has risen from 2,514 to 3,680. That does not include the 4,820 authorised sites provided by local councils at taxpayers' expense.
With more travellers buying land and then abusing the planning laws, there is evidence councils are losing their appetite for enforcing the rules. Since 2006, the number of sites where officials are trying to evict the travellers has fallen from 1,440 to 1,086. But the number of 'tolerated' illegal sites rose from 964 to 1,279.
Bob Neill, Tory local government spokesman, said it was wrong that law-abiding homeowners face huge bureaucracy to build an extension while travellers flout the rules. 'The perception of unfairness this breeds causes tension in local communities,' he added. 'We need fair play, with the same planning rules for everyone, rather than special treatment for certain groups.'
Last month, the Mail reported how 50 travellers descended on the Gloucestershire village of Newent at 5pm one Friday, just as council offices closed for the Bank Holiday weekend. They spent three days and nights concreting over a beauty spot and installing sewerage, toilets and electricity, all without permission. It followed a series of similar incidents in which travellers have exploited holidays to move in.
SOURCE
NHS faces its biggest cash crisis, with œ15bn shortfall, report warns
The National Health Service faces the biggest financial challenge in its history as a result of the economic downturn, with a œ15 billion funding shortfall likely in the next decade, according to a report published today.
The NHS Confederation, which represents 90 per cent of NHS organisations, said the next two years would be "tough but manageable" but beyond 2010-11 it would be "very different and extremely challenging".
Its report - Dealing with the downturn: The greatest ever leadership challenge for the NHS? - said the service should expect a funding shortfall of œ15 billion in real terms as a result of the impact of the recession and rising costs. "With little or no cash increase, from 2011-12 the NHS will need to plan for real terms funding to fall by 2.5-3 per cent per annum," the study said. "This is equivalent to a cut of between œ8-10 billion over the next Comprehensive Spending Review and up to œ15 billion over five years."
The report called for immediate action if the service is to continue to keep to its founding principles of providing free care to everyone at the point of need. It warned against "diluting" the quality of patient care and extending waiting lists, or making cuts to training budgets. A solution to the crisis lies in NHS leaders embracing innovation, change and improving efficiency, it said.
Steve Barnett, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said that with little or no cash increase from 2011-12, the NHS would need to make "hard decisions about which programmes to fund, how to reward staff and how to reorganise services now". "If it does not, then the mistakes of the past could be repeated and shortages in funding will translate to the kind of across-the-board cuts which could see waiting lists lengthen, standards fall and dissatisfaction with the service grow among patients and staff," he said. "The NHS needs to take the opportunity to find efficiencies and savings - I believe it has the people, the ideas and the capacity to meet this challenge but we should be under no illusions of the size of the task ahead."
Nigel Edwards, the NHS Confederation's director of policy and author of the report, warned against losing significant improvements in the NHS through "short-term cuts and crude approaches to cost control". He added: "Quality improvements through greater efficiency and redesigning services can provide the budget savings necessary to navigate this crisis."
The NHS budget in 2009-10 stands at œ102.7 billion - a 7.5 per cent real terms increase on the previous year, according to the Department of Health. Next year, the budget will be œ105.8 billion, which it said was a 1.6 per cent increase in real terms.
Hamish Meldrum, chairman of the British Medical Association, said that a funding crisis could be very dangerous for the NHS. "It has the potential to seriously threaten patient services," Dr Meldrum said. "We agree with the NHS Confederation that difficult choices will have to be made.
SOURCE
For American readers: "Whingeing" is the sort of whining you get from a tired toddler. A "Pom" is Australian slang for an English person. It is a common Australian perception that the English do a lot of complaining about minor things and are hard to please generally. Australians deride that as "whingeing"
ENGLISHMAN Ben Southall, winner of the World's Best Job, hasn't even started "work" yet and he's already living up to the worst stereotypes of his countrymen. Southall, 34, will collect a $150,000 tax payer-funded salary for six months lounging around the tropical paradise, enjoying free meals and accommodation in a three-bedroom luxury villa on Hamilton Island.
However, the blond-haired project manager from Petersfield, Hampshire, is already complaining his July 1 start date means he will miss out on the English summer, The Sun reports. "I'll miss the long days we have. The island may boast a tropical climate but it gets dark at 8pm," he moaned.
The Brit even whinged about missing English food, saying he would pine for roast dinners. "It will be far too hot to cook anything like that," he said.
Southall's only duty is to produce a blog detailing his life of leisure and regular activities such as sailing, snorkelling and scuba diving. He beat off more than 34,000 other applicants from around the world to win the coveted post, dreamed up by Tourism Queensland as part of an award-winning promotional campaign.
SOURCE
Arrogant British social workers again: Making a mockery of the "care" they are supposed to provide
D-Day hero, 93, starved himself to death after care home 'refused to let him go home to wife'. Since he had been living at home satisfactorily before he became ill, there was no reason to prevent him from returning home after his illness. The bureaucratic love of power was what killed him
A veteran of D- Day starved himself to death after being held against his will in a care home. Alfred Tonkin, 93, went on hunger strike when he was prevented from being reunited with his wife of 68 years, Joyce. The great-grandfather, who lost a leg to a Nazi machine gunner, was initially admitted to hospital with a blood disorder.
But social services claimed he was suffering from dementia and insisted that a round-the-clock care package would need to be arranged before he could go home. He was transferred to a care home and was still there four months later when he was taken to hospital with dehydration and malnourishment. Mr Tonkin died six days later on June 3 - three days before the 65th anniversary of D-Day.
His son Ian said yesterday: 'It was a dreadful experience. My dad thought we had betrayed him but we were in social services' hands because they knew the rules and we didn't. 'The care he received at the hospital and care home was excellent but social services were useless.'
The 60-year-old, who works for Royal Mail, added: 'Dad told me he was going on hunger strike and even refused to eat for me. Then he stopped drinking too. 'My dad starved himself to death.'....
On December 6 last year, Mr Tonkin was taken ill at his home in St Albans, Hertfordshire, and admitted to Watford Hospital with a blood disorder. He spent four weeks there before Hertfordshire County Council social services moved him to Wilton House Nursing Home in Shenley, six miles outside St Albans, while they arranged 24-hour home care.
On May 28, a GP wrote to social services to protest at the time it was taking for him to be reunited with his wife and recommended he be immediately discharged. The letter warned that his intense frustration over the delays had led to him refusing food. Three days later, Mr Tonkin was admitted to Watford Hospital with renal failure and died days later.
The family have made an official complaint to Hertfordshire County Council's adult care services and are being supported by St Albans Tory MP Anne Main.
An adult care services spokesman said: 'Equipment and care services had been purchased and commissioned and we were in the process of putting them in place but sadly Mr Tonkin died before he could return home.'
SOURCE
Traveller (gypsy) sites are booming as they exploit Britain's Human Rights Act to defy the law
The number of illegal traveller sites has soared since Labour introduced the Human Rights Act, figures showed yesterday. A new site is appearing every three days as travellers use the controversial legislation to sidestep planning laws. They buy cheap green-belt farmland and construct sites without planning permission, then contest any efforts to evict them as a breach of their human rights. The figures show a particularly sharp increase in illegal sites ' tolerated' by councils which feel helpless to challenge them.
When Labour introduced the Human Rights Act in 1999, fewer than 300 illegal sites were tolerated on land in England owned by travellers. By January this year that had risen more than fourfold to 1,279. The total number of illegal sites - including those built on other people's land - soared by 1,166 to 3,680. This is equivalent to more than one new site every three days for almost a decade.
Conservative critics warned last night that planning rules are straining community relations. They called for a return to 'fair play' where the same rules apply to everyone.
The Human Rights Act made it possible to fight cases in British courts using the European Convention on Human Rights instead of having to travel to the European Court in Strasbourg. Travellers have used their right to respect for their homes and family lives under the Act to stop councils evicting them from illegal sites.
Critics also blamed planning guidelines introduced in 2005. These ordered local authorities to consider 'diversity and equality' in planning matters and to take 'positive action' to avoid discriminating against any groups.
By contrast, homeowners face masses of red tape in order to build an extension, and often have to demolish buildings put up without planning permission.
Some of those who have written protest letters about camps have had their complaints dismissed because they are deemed racist.
The figures from the Department of Communities and Local Government show the number of illegal sites in England on land owned by travellers rose from 729 in January 2000 to 2,365 this year. With a further 1,315 illegal sites established on other people's land, the total number in England has risen from 2,514 to 3,680. That does not include the 4,820 authorised sites provided by local councils at taxpayers' expense.
With more travellers buying land and then abusing the planning laws, there is evidence councils are losing their appetite for enforcing the rules. Since 2006, the number of sites where officials are trying to evict the travellers has fallen from 1,440 to 1,086. But the number of 'tolerated' illegal sites rose from 964 to 1,279.
Bob Neill, Tory local government spokesman, said it was wrong that law-abiding homeowners face huge bureaucracy to build an extension while travellers flout the rules. 'The perception of unfairness this breeds causes tension in local communities,' he added. 'We need fair play, with the same planning rules for everyone, rather than special treatment for certain groups.'
Last month, the Mail reported how 50 travellers descended on the Gloucestershire village of Newent at 5pm one Friday, just as council offices closed for the Bank Holiday weekend. They spent three days and nights concreting over a beauty spot and installing sewerage, toilets and electricity, all without permission. It followed a series of similar incidents in which travellers have exploited holidays to move in.
SOURCE
NHS faces its biggest cash crisis, with œ15bn shortfall, report warns
The National Health Service faces the biggest financial challenge in its history as a result of the economic downturn, with a œ15 billion funding shortfall likely in the next decade, according to a report published today.
The NHS Confederation, which represents 90 per cent of NHS organisations, said the next two years would be "tough but manageable" but beyond 2010-11 it would be "very different and extremely challenging".
Its report - Dealing with the downturn: The greatest ever leadership challenge for the NHS? - said the service should expect a funding shortfall of œ15 billion in real terms as a result of the impact of the recession and rising costs. "With little or no cash increase, from 2011-12 the NHS will need to plan for real terms funding to fall by 2.5-3 per cent per annum," the study said. "This is equivalent to a cut of between œ8-10 billion over the next Comprehensive Spending Review and up to œ15 billion over five years."
The report called for immediate action if the service is to continue to keep to its founding principles of providing free care to everyone at the point of need. It warned against "diluting" the quality of patient care and extending waiting lists, or making cuts to training budgets. A solution to the crisis lies in NHS leaders embracing innovation, change and improving efficiency, it said.
Steve Barnett, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said that with little or no cash increase from 2011-12, the NHS would need to make "hard decisions about which programmes to fund, how to reward staff and how to reorganise services now". "If it does not, then the mistakes of the past could be repeated and shortages in funding will translate to the kind of across-the-board cuts which could see waiting lists lengthen, standards fall and dissatisfaction with the service grow among patients and staff," he said. "The NHS needs to take the opportunity to find efficiencies and savings - I believe it has the people, the ideas and the capacity to meet this challenge but we should be under no illusions of the size of the task ahead."
Nigel Edwards, the NHS Confederation's director of policy and author of the report, warned against losing significant improvements in the NHS through "short-term cuts and crude approaches to cost control". He added: "Quality improvements through greater efficiency and redesigning services can provide the budget savings necessary to navigate this crisis."
The NHS budget in 2009-10 stands at œ102.7 billion - a 7.5 per cent real terms increase on the previous year, according to the Department of Health. Next year, the budget will be œ105.8 billion, which it said was a 1.6 per cent increase in real terms.
Hamish Meldrum, chairman of the British Medical Association, said that a funding crisis could be very dangerous for the NHS. "It has the potential to seriously threaten patient services," Dr Meldrum said. "We agree with the NHS Confederation that difficult choices will have to be made.
SOURCE
Friday, June 12, 2009
British mother forced to deliver her own baby on motorway... after hospital turned her away for 'not being ready'
A new mother gave birth in a car as it sped along a motorway after being sent home twice that day by a hospital because she wasn't ready enough. Rebecca Longley, 20, was forced to deliver daughter Aaliyah herself as boyfriend Andrew Mildenhall desperately tried to stay focused on the road ahead. The couple had first gone to the hospital that morning and then again in the evening but were told both times that Rebecca wasn't ready to give birth.
Two hours later the beauty therapist's waters broke but when she phoned the same hospital, medics advised her to stay at home. Just ten minutes later Rebecca and Andrew decided to take matters into their own hands and head back to the Royal Hampshire County Hospital, in Winchester, Hants. But before they got there Rebecca went into labour and gave birth to the 6lb 1oz baby girl on the front passenger seat on the M3 motorway.
The couple have now called on the hospital to review its admissions procedures. Miss Longley, from Hamble, Hampshire, said: 'I really had no idea what to expect because it was my first child. I had a real mix of emotions.
'When it first started I was so scared and worried but that turned to relief and happiness when she was born and we realised she was OK. 'Andrew did a brilliant job to carry on driving even though he was feeling quite faint. 'I had no drugs and I was screaming with pain but my natural instincts kicked in as soon as I saw the baby's head pop out. I just knew what I had to do.'
Miss Longley and Mr Midenhall first visited the Royal Hampshire County Hospital at 7am but were turned away. They tried again at 8pm but were met with the same response. Two hours later Rebecca phoned the hospital's maternity ward and said that her waters had broken - but she was told to stay at home.
Baby Aaliyah ended up making her entrance just before 10.30pm in Mr Midenhall's Peugeot 206 car. Miss Longley added: 'We have been so lucky because Aaliyah is a healthy baby. 'But if there had been complications like if she had had the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck then I dread to think what could have happened. 'We hope the hospital reviews its procedures especially with first time parents. 'If I had stayed in on the second visit then I would have given birth two hours later in a safe environment.'
Carpenter Mr Midenhall added: 'She appeared so quickly so there was no time to pull over and stop - I just kept driving. 'It was such a relief when I heard her crying because I knew she was going to be alright.'
A hospital spokesman confirmed that Rebecca was sent home twice but said that the advice was given because of the slow progress of her labour. He added: 'Labour is different for every woman. We would describe Rebecca's labour as totally natural, albeit rapid once it had begun.'
SOURCE
British ambassador to Poland under fire for promoting homosexual rights
Homosexuals are widely despised in Eastern Europe
The British ambassador to Poland has sparked a diplomatic incident after promoting a controversial gay pride march due to take place in Warsaw on Saturday. Ric Todd has been told by the country's civil rights ombudsman that he has 'exceeded his authority' and Roman Catholic groups have accused the ambassador of representing the 'homosexual lobby'.
The problem arose after Mr Todd, who has been our man in Warsaw for almost two years, gave gay rights leaders a UK Guide To Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual And Transgender People And Their Rights, translated into Polish, earlier this week. It was adapted from the so-called Transgender Toolkit, a political correctness manual for civil servants that the Foreign Office funds with taxpayers' money. It came ahead of the gay pride march scheduled for this weekend.
But the move has provoked a storm of protest. 'Ambassador Todd has exceeded his authority,' Janusz Kochanowski, the Polish civil rights ombudsman, told The Daily Mail. 'He is being improper and doesn't understand the role of a diplomat. He represents the UK, he is not meant to intervene here in the way that he chooses.' Mr Kochanowski added that Polish homosexuals do not live in fear of discrimination as the British ambassador seemed to be implying.
Slawomir Skiba, editor of Christian Polonia, a Catholic newspaper, agreed: 'The ambassador has demonstrated an extreme lack of diplomacy and absolute ignorance of the values by which the vast majority of our society lives.' He added that Mr Todd should confine himself to represent the interests of Britain, not the ' homosexual lobby'.
Poland is arguably Europe's most traditional country and is strongly influenced by the Catholic church. Family values are largely intact, and the country has relatively low rates of abortion, divorce and underage pregnancy. A previous gay pride march was banned by president Lech Kaczynski while he was serving as the mayor of Warsaw.
It is not the first time Mr Todd, who has a wife and three children, has found himself criticised for his stance on gay rights. Last year, he hoisted a 'rainbow flag' - a symbol of gay rights - next to the Union Flag in front of the British embassy, causing some British expatriates in Warsaw to dub him 'Rainbow Ric'. A spokesman for the Foreign Office said the ministry 'does have a policy of promoting LGBT ( lesbian gay bisexual transgender) rights' abroad.'
Asked whether he would raise the rainbow flag at the British embassies in Iran or Saudi Arabia, Mr Todd said: 'I have made a judgment-about what I should do in Poland, and in my opinion this is the appropriate thing to do in this country. 'I am not interfering in Polish politics or society nor am I criticising it. Foreign Office policy is clearly spelt out and I am acting in accordance with policy. 'We have achieved a lot of good things around the world on the subject of LGBT rights. 'None of this is any suggestion by me or the Foreign Office that the Polish policy on LGBT rights is wrong. 'After all the pride organisers met with me and that shows that Poland is a tolerant society.'
SOURCE
UK government says "no" to volunteer labor
One of the many consequences of the new points-based system for UK visa distribution is the limitation imposed on non-EU student interns. The current migration regulations bar non-EU students from undertaking fulltime internships in the UK, effectively pronouncing a death sentence on thousands of UK internship programmes at universities around the world.
The objective of this new policy is simple, to protect UK jobs. The government assumes that a drastic reduction in free student labor will compel UK employers to pay EU citizens to do the work formerly done by non-EU interns. If the volunteer labor supply is depleted, organizations with internship programmes will be forced either to increase their expenses by hiring additional employees or do less work because they cannot afford to pay new staff. The points based system ensures that intern-dependent employers reduce either net profitability or productivity.
I grant that this is an oversimplification. It is possible that organizations that previously relied on non-EU interns might maintain their productivity levels by working more efficiently. It could also be argued that the time spent training interns diminishes organizational efficiency. Astute observers may even point out that intern-dependent employers represent a miniscule percentage of UK employers, so the impact on the economy will also be negligible.
Efficiency is a hallmark of free market economies, but it must be worked out in an unfettered marketplace not artificially imposed by regulation. Although the collective economy will notice little effects from the elimination of interns, market sectors containing an abundance of resource poor, intern-dependent organizations - unregistered charities in particular - will feel the effects of the points-based system most acutely.
The anti-intern policy is far from the top of the list of ill-advised policies set forth by the current regime (see capital gains tax reform, non-dom tax, et al.). Nonetheless, the policy is yet another example of regulation that obstructs free enterprise. Hopefully it will follow many of its poorly conceived counterparts to the policy graveyard.
SOURCE
Headmistress from hell still allowed to teach in Britain
A bullying headmistress spent ten minutes calmly finishing her lunch while a pupil lay in agony crying for help with a broken leg, a tribunal heard. Rowena Brace ignored pupils' pleas for help and finished her sandwiches before phoning the child's father instead of calling an ambulance.
Mrs Brace's staff were often reduced to tears as they worked in the `climate of fear' she created, it was claimed. She also behaved `inappropriately' toward fellow teachers at her primary school and fiddled the school's test results, a General Teaching Council tribunal in Birmingham heard.
Isobel Hollis, Mrs Brace's former deputy at Hope Brook Church of England Primary School in Longhope, Gloucestershire, told the tribunal how pupils began knocking on the staff room door after the boy broke his leg on the football field in May 2005. `They said "quick, quick", but Mrs Brace, 57, continued to eat her lunch and only left the staff room ten to 15 minutes later,' she said. `The pupil was lying on the ground, pale and shaking and Mrs Brace said he wanted his dad to come, so she had not called for an ambulance.'
Naina Patel, representing Mrs Brace, asked: `If the situation was so obviously urgent, why didn't you say something?' Miss Hollis said the climate of fear in the school was such that she did not dare interfere and admitted to being scared of the headmistress.
Yesterday Mrs Brace was found guilty of unacceptable professional conduct and issued with a reprimand, the lowest sanction. It means she can resume teaching.
Earlier, Miss Hollis said the intimidation began during the first staff meeting after Hope Brook Primary and Hopes Hill Community Primary schools merged in 2001 and Mrs Brace was installed as head. `Mrs Brace dismissed anything else anyone had done in the past and told us all that it was going to be done her way in the future,' said Miss Hollis. One of the teachers became so disillusioned with the new head she resigned later that day, it was claimed. The committee panel heard that bullying, shouting and door slamming was common and `it was a daily occurrence for one of the teachers to be reduced to tears'.
Mair Blackman, another teacher, told the hearing that Mrs Brace informed her she had downgraded pupils' results in an assessment at ages three to five. `Mrs Brace told me she had downgraded the Foundation Stage Profile results and I was both shocked and dismayed. 'If FSP results are low and then Key Stage One (ages five to seven) results are normal a year later, that makes the school sound fantastic.' When asked why she said nothing to the school governors, Miss Blackman said: 'There was such an atmosphere of fear and intimidation that I would not have dared say anything.'
Mrs Brace was suspended in 2006 and sacked in 2007 after complaints from fellow staff and parents.
The tribunal found one complaint of bullying was proved - but four were dismissed. Mrs Brace was also proved to have altered test scores and allowed pupils extra time to finish SATS test after a disturbance outside a classroom. The most serious complaint, that a child who broke his leg was left in pain while she finished lunch, was proven. However, the tribunal ruled her actions were not malicious but `errors of judgement'. Mrs Brace said she would seek a new teaching post `as soon as possible'.
SOURCE
THE BBC IS APPALLED BY JAPANESE CLIMATE DECISION
Japan has announced a target of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 15% over the next 11 years - a figure derided by environmentalists as "appalling". The target equates to a cut of about 8% from 1990 levels, the commonly used baseline. By comparison, the EU plans a 20% reduction over the same period.
The announcement comes in the middle of talks on the UN climate treaty in Bonn.
Some observers say Japan's goal is not enough to persuade developing countries to cut their own emissions. "The target is not strong enough to convince developing nations to sign up for a new climate change pact," said Hidefumi Kurasaka, professor of environmental policies at Japan's Chiba University.
Announcing the target, Prime Minister Taro Aso argued it was as strong as the EU's because it does not include "flexible mechanisms" such as international carbon trading.
But Kim Carstensen, leader of the global climate initiative at environment group WWF, said the 8% target represented virtually no advance from the 6% cut that Japan had pledged, under the Kyoto Protocol, to achieve by 2012. "Prime Minister Aso's plan is appalling," he said. "[It] would mean that Japan effectively gives dirty industries the freedom to pollute without limits for eight years."
Japan's annual emissions are currently about 6% above 1990 levels, despite its Kyoto Protocol pledge to make cuts.
More HERE
Not allowed to laugh at incorrect jokes
Even if you are drunk:
The point seems to be missed that the students themselves accepted that the jokes were "inappropriate". They were actually showing an acceptance of political correctness.
A new mother gave birth in a car as it sped along a motorway after being sent home twice that day by a hospital because she wasn't ready enough. Rebecca Longley, 20, was forced to deliver daughter Aaliyah herself as boyfriend Andrew Mildenhall desperately tried to stay focused on the road ahead. The couple had first gone to the hospital that morning and then again in the evening but were told both times that Rebecca wasn't ready to give birth.
Two hours later the beauty therapist's waters broke but when she phoned the same hospital, medics advised her to stay at home. Just ten minutes later Rebecca and Andrew decided to take matters into their own hands and head back to the Royal Hampshire County Hospital, in Winchester, Hants. But before they got there Rebecca went into labour and gave birth to the 6lb 1oz baby girl on the front passenger seat on the M3 motorway.
The couple have now called on the hospital to review its admissions procedures. Miss Longley, from Hamble, Hampshire, said: 'I really had no idea what to expect because it was my first child. I had a real mix of emotions.
'When it first started I was so scared and worried but that turned to relief and happiness when she was born and we realised she was OK. 'Andrew did a brilliant job to carry on driving even though he was feeling quite faint. 'I had no drugs and I was screaming with pain but my natural instincts kicked in as soon as I saw the baby's head pop out. I just knew what I had to do.'
Miss Longley and Mr Midenhall first visited the Royal Hampshire County Hospital at 7am but were turned away. They tried again at 8pm but were met with the same response. Two hours later Rebecca phoned the hospital's maternity ward and said that her waters had broken - but she was told to stay at home.
Baby Aaliyah ended up making her entrance just before 10.30pm in Mr Midenhall's Peugeot 206 car. Miss Longley added: 'We have been so lucky because Aaliyah is a healthy baby. 'But if there had been complications like if she had had the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck then I dread to think what could have happened. 'We hope the hospital reviews its procedures especially with first time parents. 'If I had stayed in on the second visit then I would have given birth two hours later in a safe environment.'
Carpenter Mr Midenhall added: 'She appeared so quickly so there was no time to pull over and stop - I just kept driving. 'It was such a relief when I heard her crying because I knew she was going to be alright.'
A hospital spokesman confirmed that Rebecca was sent home twice but said that the advice was given because of the slow progress of her labour. He added: 'Labour is different for every woman. We would describe Rebecca's labour as totally natural, albeit rapid once it had begun.'
SOURCE
British ambassador to Poland under fire for promoting homosexual rights
Homosexuals are widely despised in Eastern Europe
The British ambassador to Poland has sparked a diplomatic incident after promoting a controversial gay pride march due to take place in Warsaw on Saturday. Ric Todd has been told by the country's civil rights ombudsman that he has 'exceeded his authority' and Roman Catholic groups have accused the ambassador of representing the 'homosexual lobby'.
The problem arose after Mr Todd, who has been our man in Warsaw for almost two years, gave gay rights leaders a UK Guide To Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual And Transgender People And Their Rights, translated into Polish, earlier this week. It was adapted from the so-called Transgender Toolkit, a political correctness manual for civil servants that the Foreign Office funds with taxpayers' money. It came ahead of the gay pride march scheduled for this weekend.
But the move has provoked a storm of protest. 'Ambassador Todd has exceeded his authority,' Janusz Kochanowski, the Polish civil rights ombudsman, told The Daily Mail. 'He is being improper and doesn't understand the role of a diplomat. He represents the UK, he is not meant to intervene here in the way that he chooses.' Mr Kochanowski added that Polish homosexuals do not live in fear of discrimination as the British ambassador seemed to be implying.
Slawomir Skiba, editor of Christian Polonia, a Catholic newspaper, agreed: 'The ambassador has demonstrated an extreme lack of diplomacy and absolute ignorance of the values by which the vast majority of our society lives.' He added that Mr Todd should confine himself to represent the interests of Britain, not the ' homosexual lobby'.
Poland is arguably Europe's most traditional country and is strongly influenced by the Catholic church. Family values are largely intact, and the country has relatively low rates of abortion, divorce and underage pregnancy. A previous gay pride march was banned by president Lech Kaczynski while he was serving as the mayor of Warsaw.
It is not the first time Mr Todd, who has a wife and three children, has found himself criticised for his stance on gay rights. Last year, he hoisted a 'rainbow flag' - a symbol of gay rights - next to the Union Flag in front of the British embassy, causing some British expatriates in Warsaw to dub him 'Rainbow Ric'. A spokesman for the Foreign Office said the ministry 'does have a policy of promoting LGBT ( lesbian gay bisexual transgender) rights' abroad.'
Asked whether he would raise the rainbow flag at the British embassies in Iran or Saudi Arabia, Mr Todd said: 'I have made a judgment-about what I should do in Poland, and in my opinion this is the appropriate thing to do in this country. 'I am not interfering in Polish politics or society nor am I criticising it. Foreign Office policy is clearly spelt out and I am acting in accordance with policy. 'We have achieved a lot of good things around the world on the subject of LGBT rights. 'None of this is any suggestion by me or the Foreign Office that the Polish policy on LGBT rights is wrong. 'After all the pride organisers met with me and that shows that Poland is a tolerant society.'
SOURCE
UK government says "no" to volunteer labor
One of the many consequences of the new points-based system for UK visa distribution is the limitation imposed on non-EU student interns. The current migration regulations bar non-EU students from undertaking fulltime internships in the UK, effectively pronouncing a death sentence on thousands of UK internship programmes at universities around the world.
The objective of this new policy is simple, to protect UK jobs. The government assumes that a drastic reduction in free student labor will compel UK employers to pay EU citizens to do the work formerly done by non-EU interns. If the volunteer labor supply is depleted, organizations with internship programmes will be forced either to increase their expenses by hiring additional employees or do less work because they cannot afford to pay new staff. The points based system ensures that intern-dependent employers reduce either net profitability or productivity.
I grant that this is an oversimplification. It is possible that organizations that previously relied on non-EU interns might maintain their productivity levels by working more efficiently. It could also be argued that the time spent training interns diminishes organizational efficiency. Astute observers may even point out that intern-dependent employers represent a miniscule percentage of UK employers, so the impact on the economy will also be negligible.
Efficiency is a hallmark of free market economies, but it must be worked out in an unfettered marketplace not artificially imposed by regulation. Although the collective economy will notice little effects from the elimination of interns, market sectors containing an abundance of resource poor, intern-dependent organizations - unregistered charities in particular - will feel the effects of the points-based system most acutely.
The anti-intern policy is far from the top of the list of ill-advised policies set forth by the current regime (see capital gains tax reform, non-dom tax, et al.). Nonetheless, the policy is yet another example of regulation that obstructs free enterprise. Hopefully it will follow many of its poorly conceived counterparts to the policy graveyard.
SOURCE
Headmistress from hell still allowed to teach in Britain
A bullying headmistress spent ten minutes calmly finishing her lunch while a pupil lay in agony crying for help with a broken leg, a tribunal heard. Rowena Brace ignored pupils' pleas for help and finished her sandwiches before phoning the child's father instead of calling an ambulance.
Mrs Brace's staff were often reduced to tears as they worked in the `climate of fear' she created, it was claimed. She also behaved `inappropriately' toward fellow teachers at her primary school and fiddled the school's test results, a General Teaching Council tribunal in Birmingham heard.
Isobel Hollis, Mrs Brace's former deputy at Hope Brook Church of England Primary School in Longhope, Gloucestershire, told the tribunal how pupils began knocking on the staff room door after the boy broke his leg on the football field in May 2005. `They said "quick, quick", but Mrs Brace, 57, continued to eat her lunch and only left the staff room ten to 15 minutes later,' she said. `The pupil was lying on the ground, pale and shaking and Mrs Brace said he wanted his dad to come, so she had not called for an ambulance.'
Naina Patel, representing Mrs Brace, asked: `If the situation was so obviously urgent, why didn't you say something?' Miss Hollis said the climate of fear in the school was such that she did not dare interfere and admitted to being scared of the headmistress.
Yesterday Mrs Brace was found guilty of unacceptable professional conduct and issued with a reprimand, the lowest sanction. It means she can resume teaching.
Earlier, Miss Hollis said the intimidation began during the first staff meeting after Hope Brook Primary and Hopes Hill Community Primary schools merged in 2001 and Mrs Brace was installed as head. `Mrs Brace dismissed anything else anyone had done in the past and told us all that it was going to be done her way in the future,' said Miss Hollis. One of the teachers became so disillusioned with the new head she resigned later that day, it was claimed. The committee panel heard that bullying, shouting and door slamming was common and `it was a daily occurrence for one of the teachers to be reduced to tears'.
Mair Blackman, another teacher, told the hearing that Mrs Brace informed her she had downgraded pupils' results in an assessment at ages three to five. `Mrs Brace told me she had downgraded the Foundation Stage Profile results and I was both shocked and dismayed. 'If FSP results are low and then Key Stage One (ages five to seven) results are normal a year later, that makes the school sound fantastic.' When asked why she said nothing to the school governors, Miss Blackman said: 'There was such an atmosphere of fear and intimidation that I would not have dared say anything.'
Mrs Brace was suspended in 2006 and sacked in 2007 after complaints from fellow staff and parents.
The tribunal found one complaint of bullying was proved - but four were dismissed. Mrs Brace was also proved to have altered test scores and allowed pupils extra time to finish SATS test after a disturbance outside a classroom. The most serious complaint, that a child who broke his leg was left in pain while she finished lunch, was proven. However, the tribunal ruled her actions were not malicious but `errors of judgement'. Mrs Brace said she would seek a new teaching post `as soon as possible'.
SOURCE
THE BBC IS APPALLED BY JAPANESE CLIMATE DECISION
Japan has announced a target of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 15% over the next 11 years - a figure derided by environmentalists as "appalling". The target equates to a cut of about 8% from 1990 levels, the commonly used baseline. By comparison, the EU plans a 20% reduction over the same period.
The announcement comes in the middle of talks on the UN climate treaty in Bonn.
Some observers say Japan's goal is not enough to persuade developing countries to cut their own emissions. "The target is not strong enough to convince developing nations to sign up for a new climate change pact," said Hidefumi Kurasaka, professor of environmental policies at Japan's Chiba University.
Announcing the target, Prime Minister Taro Aso argued it was as strong as the EU's because it does not include "flexible mechanisms" such as international carbon trading.
But Kim Carstensen, leader of the global climate initiative at environment group WWF, said the 8% target represented virtually no advance from the 6% cut that Japan had pledged, under the Kyoto Protocol, to achieve by 2012. "Prime Minister Aso's plan is appalling," he said. "[It] would mean that Japan effectively gives dirty industries the freedom to pollute without limits for eight years."
Japan's annual emissions are currently about 6% above 1990 levels, despite its Kyoto Protocol pledge to make cuts.
More HERE
Not allowed to laugh at incorrect jokes
Even if you are drunk:
"It is supposed to be a breeding ground for future Tory high-fliers. But current party leader David Cameron would be aghast to hear the comments made by members of the Oxford University Conservative Association. During a drunken hustings for the next president for the student body, candidates made a string of racist remarks. They were asked to repeat `the most inappropriate joke you have ever told'.
Nick Gallagher, the publications officer, said: `What do you say if you see a TV moving across your living room? "Drop it, n*****".'
A high-level Tory source said: `People who behave in this disgusting and reprehensible way have no place in the Conservative Party.'
At the meeting, another student reportedly made a gag about a family of three black people being lynched.
Both jokes were clapped and cheered on by members of the association, which counts Margaret Thatcher as its patron and Shadow Foreign Secretary William Hague as its honorary president.
The drink-fuelled hustings took place at midday in the Oxford Union on Sunday. A source said: `Each candidate gave a speech then they were asked to tell the most inappropriate joke they have ever told.
`Nick Gallagher, the publications officer who is running for president, stood up and said: "What do you say if you see a TV moving across your living room? Drop it, n*****."
`Everybody laughed their heads off. When one person raised concerns he said it was OK because it was a joke made by Chris Rock, the American comedian, who is black, which obviously makes it fine. Another made a joke about a black family of three being lynched. Nobody booed.
Source
The point seems to be missed that the students themselves accepted that the jokes were "inappropriate". They were actually showing an acceptance of political correctness.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
NHS Stroke patients facing unacceptable delays
Stroke patients are facing "unacceptable delays" in life-saving surgery, new research shows. Just one in five have operations to reduce their risk of another potential fatal attack within the two week target set by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence.
A survey of 240 surgeons from 102 hospital trusts across Britain found of 5,513 patients who underwent surgery between December 2005 and December 2007, 83 per cent of whom had a history of stroke, three in 10 waited more than 12 weeks.
The common, procedure called carotid endarterectomy, is routinely used to remove the build up of fatty deposits in the main artery between the heart and brain. These deposits could cause blood clots that block the blood supply to the brain, leading to strokes.
The average delay from referral to surgery was 40 days. Twenty-nine patients (0.5 per cent) died while in hospital, while 48 (1 per cent) died 30 days after surgery, mainly from strokes.
Professor Alison Halliday, of St George's Hospital Medical School, University of London, and colleagues, called for major improvements in services to enable early surgery to prevent strokes in high risk patients. Prof Halliday, whose findings are published online in the British Medical Journal, said: "These findings show unacceptable delays between symptom and operation in the UK. "Such delays are associated with a high risk of disabling or fatal stroke before surgery, and the benefit of surgery consequently falls rapidly with increasing delay. "Major improvements in services are necessary to enable early surgery in appropriate patients in order to prevent strokes."
Previous research has shown the sooner surgery was performed after patients had their first symptoms, the more beneficial it was in reducing the risk of subsequent, and more serious, strokes. Surgery was particularly effective if performed within two weeks after their initial symptoms.
Every year in the UK, about 120,000 people have a minor stroke, known as a transient ischaemic attack, and up to 30 per cent die within a month. Stroke is also the single largest cause of severe disability in adults and costs the economy œ7bn a year.
Prof Halliday added: "This large survey of carotid endarterectomy practice in the UK shows that the operation is underused compared with other similar countries. "Surgeons abroad might be driven by 'fee for service' and certainly perform many more operations for asymptomatic disease. "It is possible, however, that of the 120,000 people who have a transient ischaemic attack or stroke every year in the UK at least 10,000 might be suitable candidates for carotid endarterectomy yet only 4,500 procedures are being performed each year."
SOURCE
Edu-babble is turning schoolchildren into `customers'
Performativity is forcing curriculum deliverers to focus on desired outputs among customers in managed learning environments.
If you struggled to understand that sentence, pity the poor teachers (curriculum deliverers) who are struggling to interpret jargon and management language rather than simply teaching their pupils (customers).
Edu-babble has become so common that it earns censure today in a review of education led by professors at the University of Oxford. Their report criticises the "Orwellian language seeping through government documents of performance management and control that has come to dominate educational deliberation and planning".
Heads and teachers receive edicts on inputs and outputs, audits, targets, curriculum delivery, customers, deliverers, efficiency gains, performance indicators and bottom lines, it says.
This language of policymakers and their advisers hinders the enthusiasm of teachers and engagement of pupils, it adds. The Nuffield Review report is the biggest independent analysis of education for those aged 14 to 19 in fifty years, taking six years to complete. It was led by Professor Richard Pring and Dr Geoff Hayward, from Oxford, and professors from the Institute of Education and Cardiff University.
It claims that ministers' micro-management of schools and colleges has resulted in a narrow curriculum, teaching to the test, and a high number of disaffected teenagers not in education, employment or training.
The report says: "The increased central control of education brings with it the need for a management perspective, and language of performance management - for example, levers and drivers of change, and public service agreements as a basis of funding. The consumer or client replaces the learner. The curriculum is delivered. Stakeholders shape the aims. Aims are spelt out in terms of targets. Audits measure success defined in terms of hitting targets. Cuts in resources are euphemistically called `efficiency gains'. Education becomes that package of activities (or inputs) largely determined by government."
It adds: "As the language of performance and management has advanced, so we have lost a language of education which recognises the intrinsic value of pursuing certain sorts of questions, of trying to make sense of reality, of seeking understanding, of exploring through literature and the arts what it means to be human."
Professor Pring told The Times that policy language was "leading to a narrowing of the curriculum and impoverishment of learning". He added: "We are losing the tradition of teachers being curriculum directors and developers - instead they're curriculum deliverers. It's almost as though they have little robots in front of them and they have to fill their minds, rather than engage with them."
Bill Rammell, a former education minister, recently told the House of Commons about the establishment of the Centre for Procurement Performance. This had worked "proactively with the schools sector" to "embed principles and secure commitment from the front line" by "working with and through key stakeholders" and "engaging with procurement experts" to "deliver efficiency gains".
Mary Bousted, the general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, said: "We call it edu-babble. It completely denudes education from being a human and social act."
SOURCE
British judge attacked for using old-fashioned slang
We read:
It's a word I have not heard used for a long time but it was once common. I always understood it to refer to the experiences of visitors to Egypt in the first half of the 20th century, who were often cheated in various ways.
NHS trust apologises after photo of nurse making v-sign during operation posted on Facebook
I am anything but a fan of Britain's dismal nationalized health system but I think this is a bit of a storm in a teacup. I have been on the operating table more times than I can count but mostly under local anesthetic. And there is always plenty of chatter between those present -- with laughter from time to time but absolutely NO detriment to my treatment. But I do go to a top private clinic for my procedures so perhaps I should not generalize too much:
Stroke patients are facing "unacceptable delays" in life-saving surgery, new research shows. Just one in five have operations to reduce their risk of another potential fatal attack within the two week target set by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence.
A survey of 240 surgeons from 102 hospital trusts across Britain found of 5,513 patients who underwent surgery between December 2005 and December 2007, 83 per cent of whom had a history of stroke, three in 10 waited more than 12 weeks.
The common, procedure called carotid endarterectomy, is routinely used to remove the build up of fatty deposits in the main artery between the heart and brain. These deposits could cause blood clots that block the blood supply to the brain, leading to strokes.
The average delay from referral to surgery was 40 days. Twenty-nine patients (0.5 per cent) died while in hospital, while 48 (1 per cent) died 30 days after surgery, mainly from strokes.
Professor Alison Halliday, of St George's Hospital Medical School, University of London, and colleagues, called for major improvements in services to enable early surgery to prevent strokes in high risk patients. Prof Halliday, whose findings are published online in the British Medical Journal, said: "These findings show unacceptable delays between symptom and operation in the UK. "Such delays are associated with a high risk of disabling or fatal stroke before surgery, and the benefit of surgery consequently falls rapidly with increasing delay. "Major improvements in services are necessary to enable early surgery in appropriate patients in order to prevent strokes."
Previous research has shown the sooner surgery was performed after patients had their first symptoms, the more beneficial it was in reducing the risk of subsequent, and more serious, strokes. Surgery was particularly effective if performed within two weeks after their initial symptoms.
Every year in the UK, about 120,000 people have a minor stroke, known as a transient ischaemic attack, and up to 30 per cent die within a month. Stroke is also the single largest cause of severe disability in adults and costs the economy œ7bn a year.
Prof Halliday added: "This large survey of carotid endarterectomy practice in the UK shows that the operation is underused compared with other similar countries. "Surgeons abroad might be driven by 'fee for service' and certainly perform many more operations for asymptomatic disease. "It is possible, however, that of the 120,000 people who have a transient ischaemic attack or stroke every year in the UK at least 10,000 might be suitable candidates for carotid endarterectomy yet only 4,500 procedures are being performed each year."
SOURCE
Edu-babble is turning schoolchildren into `customers'
Performativity is forcing curriculum deliverers to focus on desired outputs among customers in managed learning environments.
If you struggled to understand that sentence, pity the poor teachers (curriculum deliverers) who are struggling to interpret jargon and management language rather than simply teaching their pupils (customers).
Edu-babble has become so common that it earns censure today in a review of education led by professors at the University of Oxford. Their report criticises the "Orwellian language seeping through government documents of performance management and control that has come to dominate educational deliberation and planning".
Heads and teachers receive edicts on inputs and outputs, audits, targets, curriculum delivery, customers, deliverers, efficiency gains, performance indicators and bottom lines, it says.
This language of policymakers and their advisers hinders the enthusiasm of teachers and engagement of pupils, it adds. The Nuffield Review report is the biggest independent analysis of education for those aged 14 to 19 in fifty years, taking six years to complete. It was led by Professor Richard Pring and Dr Geoff Hayward, from Oxford, and professors from the Institute of Education and Cardiff University.
It claims that ministers' micro-management of schools and colleges has resulted in a narrow curriculum, teaching to the test, and a high number of disaffected teenagers not in education, employment or training.
The report says: "The increased central control of education brings with it the need for a management perspective, and language of performance management - for example, levers and drivers of change, and public service agreements as a basis of funding. The consumer or client replaces the learner. The curriculum is delivered. Stakeholders shape the aims. Aims are spelt out in terms of targets. Audits measure success defined in terms of hitting targets. Cuts in resources are euphemistically called `efficiency gains'. Education becomes that package of activities (or inputs) largely determined by government."
It adds: "As the language of performance and management has advanced, so we have lost a language of education which recognises the intrinsic value of pursuing certain sorts of questions, of trying to make sense of reality, of seeking understanding, of exploring through literature and the arts what it means to be human."
Professor Pring told The Times that policy language was "leading to a narrowing of the curriculum and impoverishment of learning". He added: "We are losing the tradition of teachers being curriculum directors and developers - instead they're curriculum deliverers. It's almost as though they have little robots in front of them and they have to fill their minds, rather than engage with them."
Bill Rammell, a former education minister, recently told the House of Commons about the establishment of the Centre for Procurement Performance. This had worked "proactively with the schools sector" to "embed principles and secure commitment from the front line" by "working with and through key stakeholders" and "engaging with procurement experts" to "deliver efficiency gains".
Mary Bousted, the general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, said: "We call it edu-babble. It completely denudes education from being a human and social act."
SOURCE
British judge attacked for using old-fashioned slang
We read:
"A judge has been accused of using a 'racial slur' against gipsies when sentencing a conman. Judge Christopher Elwen told the fraudster he had 'gypped' a student out of money on the eBay website. The slang verb 'to gyp' means to defraud or steal. Experts suggested there is 'scholarly consensus' that it is derived from the word gipsy.
Romany gipsies also claimed the word began life as 'gypsied' and is an insult. But the judge insisted there is 'no evidence to connect it to any racial group'.
Travellers Times editor Jake Bowers said: 'Gypped is an offensive word. 'It is derived from gipsy and it is being used in the same context as a person might once have said they "jewed" somebody if they did an underhand business transaction. 'Basically what Judge Elwen has done is ascribed thievery to an entire ethnic group.
A spokesman for the Judicial Communications Office defended the judge's choice of words, saying: 'Gyp is defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as an act of cheating, nothing more.
Source
It's a word I have not heard used for a long time but it was once common. I always understood it to refer to the experiences of visitors to Egypt in the first half of the 20th century, who were often cheated in various ways.
NHS trust apologises after photo of nurse making v-sign during operation posted on Facebook
I am anything but a fan of Britain's dismal nationalized health system but I think this is a bit of a storm in a teacup. I have been on the operating table more times than I can count but mostly under local anesthetic. And there is always plenty of chatter between those present -- with laughter from time to time but absolutely NO detriment to my treatment. But I do go to a top private clinic for my procedures so perhaps I should not generalize too much:
"A hospital visitor visited Facebook to thank nurses for their treatment of a patient - and was stunned to find pictures of staff pulling 'v-signs' and pointing their backsides at the camera.
The picture of a nurse flicking a 'v-sign' while inside an operating theatre - with a patient apparently lying on the bed - was branded 'humiliating' by fellow patients and Tory MP Ann Widdecombe.
Bosses of the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust today issued an apology, and had the pictures removed from the site while launching an investigation.
Source
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Patients with suspected cancer forced to wait so NHS targets can be hit
Patients rushed to hospital with suspected cancer are having their treatment delayed so that managers can meet Government targets, an NHS investigation has found. And an appalling case of negligence below. Getting anything seriously wrong with yourself sure is risky in Britain
People arriving at Accident and Emergency departments with symptoms which could indicate the aggressive spread of the disease are waiting weeks for diagnosis and treatment while "routine" cases are prioritised. Hospital managers told researchers that treating desperately sick patients more quickly would "reflect badly" on their performance against Government cancer targets which only cover those referred to specialists by GPs. Doctors, patients groups and politicians were appalled by what one described as a "breathtaking admission" which confirmed their "very worst fears" about how far the NHS target culture has gone in distorting clinical priorities.
Although most people with suspected cancer are referred to hospitals by their GPs, more than 30,000 people diagnosed with the disease each year are first alerted to tumours by violent symptoms, such as seizures, vomiting and jaundice, which cause such alarm that patients go straight to their local A&E departments.
The report by the NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement, an official health service agency which issues advice to hospital managers, says that many of these emergency patients waited six weeks or longer for basic tests. It said they were "often" not given the same priority as patients who had been referred by GPs, who were covered by two targets, ensuring that they see a specialist within two weeks, and start treatment, following diagnostic tests, within two months. "As a result, they can end up with a very poor experience before finally receiving a diagnosis and the right care," it warns. The report, due to be published tomorrow added: "Many trusts recognised the need to get some patients in this group onto the same pathway as people on the cancer two week wait [target] but were concerned this would reflect badly on their cancer figures".
Some A&E departments failed to recognise the risk of cancer in seriously ill patients. In cases where the disease was suspected, patients were sent home to wait six weeks or longer for diagnostic tests. Others waited weeks on wards before seeing a specialist or having scans, the report, which is endorsed by the Government's cancer tsar, found.
Nigel Beasley, the NHS Institute's lead for cancer, and head and neck surgeon from Nottingham University Hospitals said: "Targets are very effective, but they do have side-effects. The risk is that these patients are not being prioritised because of the focus on the two-week target for patients referred by GPs." He said anxious patients admitted as an emergency were often trapped in hospital for weeks waiting for scans, and to see a specialist, and should learn from good hospitals, who carried out investigations quickly, often using outpatients appointments. Mr Beasley said: "Patients can be stuck in hospital for a long time, waiting for scans, and other diagnostic tests. Once they are in hospital, they can end up waiting two, three, or even four weeks before there is a diagnosis and any decision to treat."
The admission about the effect Government targets were having on emergency cancer patients horrified clinicians and patients groups. Shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley described it as "one of the clearest examples yet of how Labour's tick-box targets are failing NHS patients". He said decisions about which patients should be seen first must be taken by doctors, based on the patient's clinical needs, not by managers following Government diktats.
Katherine Murphy, from the Patients Association, said the report provided "breathtaking" evidence of a confidence trick being played on the public, repeatedly told that waiting times for patients with suspected cancer are falling, while desperate cases were forced to the back of the queue. She said: "This confirms our very worst fears, and exposes the scandal of what pernicious targets are doing to patients. We have seen other targets being used in ways that damage patient care, but of everything we have seen, this really is the cruellest of the cruel".
Leading cancer specialist Prof Karol Sikora said: "I think it is absolutely horrifying that hospital managers are playing around with targets that can delay treatment for people who may well be at an advanced stage of the disease." "I know of many cases where people who have been admitted to NHS hospitals as an emergency have languished for weeks before even seeing an oncologist," added Prof Sikora, Medical Director of independent company CancerPartnersUK.
The British Medical Association said many trusts were bullying doctors into delaying urgent referrals. Dr Jonathan Fielden, chairman of the BMA's consultants committee, said: "A number of our members have already expressed fears about the two-week cancer target, because it means all the cases referred by GPs are given the same priority, regardless of whether they are expected to be benign or high risk. When this same target is delaying patients who have been admitted as an emergency that is an even greater cause for concern".
Several oncologists said they supported two-week waiting time targets for cancer patients referred by GPs, but called for the target to be widened to include all patients.
Ian Beaumont, from charity Bowel Cancer UK said it "beggared belief" that anyone would value statistics over efforts to save lives. Dr Jane Maher, chief medial officer at Macmillan Cancer Relief described the revelation in the report as worrying, but said the biggest obstacle to getting the right care for patients admitted to hospitals as an emergency was getting the right diagnosis, as cases were often complex, meaning cancer could be mistaken for other conditions.
Among those who have experienced the problem is Melissa Matthews was 28 when she went to the Accident and Emergency department of her local hospital. For several days, she had been suffering abdominal pain which had left her feeling so uncomfortable that she was unable to eat. She told her family doctor, who advised her not to worry, unless she began vomiting, in which case she should go immediately to A&E.
When she began being sick, her partner took her to the casualty unit of Norfolk and Norwich Hospital. The couple mentioned concerns about bowel cancer, having recently watched a programme about its symptoms, but the doctor reassured her: "You are far too young to have bowel cancer; when the blood tests come back they will show that". The tests did not indicate a problem; Miss Matthews was sent home to Norwich and told she was probably suffering from irritable bowel syndrome.
But the pain and vomiting continued. A week later, when she was unable to even swallow water, she returned to A&E, and was admitted to a ward for five days, but sent home once more. One week later, after she collapsed in agony at home, she was admitted to hospital again. This time, X-rays revealed a blockage. During an eight-hour operation, surgeons found a tumour so large they were forced to remove her womb and 36 inches of her bowel. The blood tests which Miss Matthews had undergone in A&E, she later found out, were not a clear indicator of bowel cancer, or its absence after all.
Six months of chemotherapy followed Miss Matthews' operation, after which she was given the all-clear. However, since then the cancer has returned. On Tuesday, Miss Matthews, now 30, will undergo a second operation to remove a tumour. The mother of two girls, aged 11 and 13, says her focus now is on survival. "I don't feel angry about this any more, my concern is about what happens next, but I did feel very frustrated, and frightened. I thought going to A&E was the safest place to be, but I was just fobbed off".
A hospital spokesman said patients were encouraged to complain if they were not satisfied with their care, and added that bowel cancer was rare in patients of Miss Matthews' age.
More than 4,900 people have backed The Sunday Telegraph's Heal Our Hospitals campaign, which is calling for a review of hospital targets to make sure they work to improve quality of care.
SOURCE
Privatize universities
Sir Roy Anderson, Rector of Imperial College London, said the top UK universities, including Oxford and Cambridge, should be freed from state control and allowed to charge students more than the current œ3,145 capped fees, and to attract more international students to boost their income.
Why stop there? Before 1919, all UK universities were independent. They should be again. Britain has four universities in the world's top ten, but the league tables are dominated by America's independent universities like Harvard, Yale, CalTech, Chicago, MIT and Columbia. And while we are slipping, America's colleges are rising. They are taking the best brains, and the best students, and are pulling in more cash to fund their teaching and their research. Thirty US universities have endowment funds of over œ1bn. Only Oxford and Cambridge come close, but Harvard has five times more cash in the bank than either of them.
But that's how the US system works. The real cost of a university education is not œ3,145. It's more like œ40,000. And some US universities do indeed charge that amount of money. But they use their endowment funds to make sure that bright students who can't afford fees on that scale are given scholarships so they can get the education anyway. Students are admitted on merit, but supported according to their needs.
As Professor Terence Kealey, head of the (largely) independent Buckingham University, says in an Adam Smith Institute Briefing, that is what should happen in the UK. Instead of subsidizing universities, we should subsidize needy students, so that anyone who is capable of doing well at university has the opportunity to go. I would tell Sir Roy and his colleagues to charge whatever they like - œ40,000 if that it what their product actually costs - provided that they make sure no needy student is turned away. Yes, some of the money that is currently doled out to the universities by the Higher Education Funding Councils could be used for those scholarships. Otherwise, the universities will have to go out and raise the money for scholarship funds themselves.
SOURCE
Many pupils 'would be better off learning woodwork than being forced into university'
Half of all teenagers are failed by a school system which forces them to pursue academic studies, a landmark report says today. Hundreds of thousands of youngsters better suited to practical work leave with poor qualifications because their skills go unrecognised. Woodwork, metalwork and home economics have all but disappeared while geography field-work and science experiments are in decline, the six-year investigation concludes.
The Oxford-based Nuffield Review, the most comprehensive study of secondary education in 50 years, found those who are better suited to 'learning by doing' are simply not catered for. Instead, a culture of testing has brought about a narrow focus on written exams at GCSE and A-level. This has consigned a generation of pupils to an 'impoverished' education.
In a damning indictment, the study said school attainment remained 'low' despite unprecedented investment in education. The Government's school diplomas covering 14 industry areas do little to improve matters, because they put greater emphasis on 'learning about the world of work' than on practical learning, the review warns. It says the entire system needs to be overhauled because it has suffered years of tinkering and piecemeal changes. Universities now have so little confidence in A-levels that 45 are setting their own admissions tests to help them distinguish between the most able candidates.
Professor Richard Pring, who led the review team of academics from Oxford, London's Institute of Education and Cardiff University, said concern about the achievement of young people was 'not new'. 'That bottom half is still a cause for concern,' he said. 'So many young people leave school inadequately prepared for further study or training.' He pointed out that around half of 16-year-olds fail to achieve five good GCSEs, including English and maths - the Government's yardstick of secondary school achievement. Around one in ten ended up classified as 'Neets' - not in education, employment or training. 'A lot of those have been told they are failures for about ten years,' Professor Pring said.
A generation ago, hands-on lessons were 'very much part of the learning experience at school', he said. But the introduction of the national curriculum in 1988 had hastened the 'demise' of practical learning. 'We now have a rather narrow view of success in learning,' he said. 'A great many young people achieve quite a lot in other areas which are equally valid and don't get recognised.' Many might benefit-from practical training in crafts, engineering, hairdressing, mechanics and catering. Apprenticeships should also be promoted more widely as an alternative to university, he added. His review concludes: 'There is not the progress which one might expect from so much effort and investment.
'The review believed that a tradition of learning based on practical engagement has been lost in schools, reflected in the near demise of woodwork, metalwork and home economics, in the decline of field-work in geography, in less experimental approaches to science (caused partly by assessment almost exclusively through written examination), and in the decline of work-based learning and employer-related apprenticeships.
Sixth-formers face extra tests on top of A-levels to get into 45 universities, today's review reveals. These include aptitude tests for medicine and law, and thinking skills tests and SATs. 'The growth of independent entrance tests by universities needs to be curbed,' the review says. It suggests bolstering national qualifications so that universities do not need to resort to other tests to identify the brightest students.
Schools should teach moral values to educate pupils for life as well as work. They should encourage youngsters to take responsibility for themselves, treat others with respect and care for the environment. Academics on the review team had seen youngsters 'transformed' in schools which promote justice and respect.
The review said teachers should also foster intellectual virtues, encouraging children to be open to evidence, argument and criticism.
SOURCE
UK: Government launches "kitchen bin war"
A Government campaign will see the end of confusing 'best before' labels, reduced packaging, and five new plants to convert waste into energy
An ambitious "War on Waste" campaign to tackle Britain's mountains of food-based rubbish with a range of radical new measures is to be launched tomorrow. The programme will scrap "best before" labels on food [Thus creating a health risk], create new food packaging sizes, build more "on-the-go" recycling points and unveil five flagship anaerobic digestion plants, to harness the power of leftover food and pump energy back into the national grid. The government hopes that its plans will reduce the 100 million tons of waste the country produced last year, which included 20 million tons of food waste and 10.7 million tons of packaging waste.
On Tuesday, Hilary Benn, Secretary of State for the Environment, will announce plans to dispense with "best before" labels, in an attempt to reduce the estimated 370,000 tons of food that is thrown away despite being perfectly edible. The latest government research into food labelling showed that the British are very cautious when it comes to eating anything that has passed its "best before" date: 53 per cent of consumers never eat fruit or vegetables that has exceeded the date; 56 per cent would not eat bread or cake; and 21 per cent never even "take a risk" with food close to its date.
"One of the things we found in our research is that confusion over date labelling is one of the major reasons for throwing food away. Often people don't realise the difference between 'best before' and 'use by'," said Richard Swannell, director of retail and organics at Wrap, the Government waste watchdog. It is working with the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and leading retailers to get rid of the "sell until", "display until" and "best before" tags, which confuse customers, causing them to throw away edible food.
"It is an issue that we want to address, but there has to be a balance, as we have to protect consumer safety," said an FSA spokesman. "Not eating out-of-date food is one of the simplest ways of preventing food poisoning."
Ahead of the launch, Mr Benn said: "It's time for a new war on waste. It's not just about recycling more - and we are making progress there - it's about rethinking the way we use resources in the first place. "We need to make better use of everything we produce, from food to packaging, and the plans I'm setting out over the next few days will help us to achieve that. We all have a part to play, from businesses and retailers to consumers."
The minister added: "Too many of us are putting things in the bin simply because we're not sure, we're confused by the label, or we're just playing safe. This means we're throwing away thousands of tons of food every year completely unnecessarily. I want to improve labels so that when we buy a loaf of bread or a packet of cold meat, we know exactly how long it's safe to eat."
On Tuesday, the Government will also unveil plans for dealing with packaging, including increased glass collection from pubs, clubs and restaurants, a huge expansion of "on-the-go" recycling points for aluminium cans, and new packaging sizes for supermarkets.
In addition to tackling food waste and packaging, the Government will reveal plans to use the waste we do produce as fuel. Tomorrow Mr Benn will announce the location of five new anaerobic digestion plants, built with the help of œ10m in state funding. The facilities compost waste in the absence of oxygen, producing a biogas that can be used to generate electricity and heat. Mr Benn said: "We need to rethink the way we deal with waste - to see it as a resource, not a problem."
The UK produces 100 tons of organic waste a year. If processed anaerobically this would produce enough energy to power two million homes, or Birmingham five times over. Anaerobic digestion plants are widely used across Europe, and are already being used by high street retailers such as Sainsbury's and Marks & Spencer to tackle their food waste.
Michael Warhurst, senior waste and resources campaigner for Friends of the Earth, said: "This should be happening across the country, instead of councils still putting money into building incinerators. They are the technology of the past - this is the future."
More HERE
Patients rushed to hospital with suspected cancer are having their treatment delayed so that managers can meet Government targets, an NHS investigation has found. And an appalling case of negligence below. Getting anything seriously wrong with yourself sure is risky in Britain
People arriving at Accident and Emergency departments with symptoms which could indicate the aggressive spread of the disease are waiting weeks for diagnosis and treatment while "routine" cases are prioritised. Hospital managers told researchers that treating desperately sick patients more quickly would "reflect badly" on their performance against Government cancer targets which only cover those referred to specialists by GPs. Doctors, patients groups and politicians were appalled by what one described as a "breathtaking admission" which confirmed their "very worst fears" about how far the NHS target culture has gone in distorting clinical priorities.
Although most people with suspected cancer are referred to hospitals by their GPs, more than 30,000 people diagnosed with the disease each year are first alerted to tumours by violent symptoms, such as seizures, vomiting and jaundice, which cause such alarm that patients go straight to their local A&E departments.
The report by the NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement, an official health service agency which issues advice to hospital managers, says that many of these emergency patients waited six weeks or longer for basic tests. It said they were "often" not given the same priority as patients who had been referred by GPs, who were covered by two targets, ensuring that they see a specialist within two weeks, and start treatment, following diagnostic tests, within two months. "As a result, they can end up with a very poor experience before finally receiving a diagnosis and the right care," it warns. The report, due to be published tomorrow added: "Many trusts recognised the need to get some patients in this group onto the same pathway as people on the cancer two week wait [target] but were concerned this would reflect badly on their cancer figures".
Some A&E departments failed to recognise the risk of cancer in seriously ill patients. In cases where the disease was suspected, patients were sent home to wait six weeks or longer for diagnostic tests. Others waited weeks on wards before seeing a specialist or having scans, the report, which is endorsed by the Government's cancer tsar, found.
Nigel Beasley, the NHS Institute's lead for cancer, and head and neck surgeon from Nottingham University Hospitals said: "Targets are very effective, but they do have side-effects. The risk is that these patients are not being prioritised because of the focus on the two-week target for patients referred by GPs." He said anxious patients admitted as an emergency were often trapped in hospital for weeks waiting for scans, and to see a specialist, and should learn from good hospitals, who carried out investigations quickly, often using outpatients appointments. Mr Beasley said: "Patients can be stuck in hospital for a long time, waiting for scans, and other diagnostic tests. Once they are in hospital, they can end up waiting two, three, or even four weeks before there is a diagnosis and any decision to treat."
The admission about the effect Government targets were having on emergency cancer patients horrified clinicians and patients groups. Shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley described it as "one of the clearest examples yet of how Labour's tick-box targets are failing NHS patients". He said decisions about which patients should be seen first must be taken by doctors, based on the patient's clinical needs, not by managers following Government diktats.
Katherine Murphy, from the Patients Association, said the report provided "breathtaking" evidence of a confidence trick being played on the public, repeatedly told that waiting times for patients with suspected cancer are falling, while desperate cases were forced to the back of the queue. She said: "This confirms our very worst fears, and exposes the scandal of what pernicious targets are doing to patients. We have seen other targets being used in ways that damage patient care, but of everything we have seen, this really is the cruellest of the cruel".
Leading cancer specialist Prof Karol Sikora said: "I think it is absolutely horrifying that hospital managers are playing around with targets that can delay treatment for people who may well be at an advanced stage of the disease." "I know of many cases where people who have been admitted to NHS hospitals as an emergency have languished for weeks before even seeing an oncologist," added Prof Sikora, Medical Director of independent company CancerPartnersUK.
The British Medical Association said many trusts were bullying doctors into delaying urgent referrals. Dr Jonathan Fielden, chairman of the BMA's consultants committee, said: "A number of our members have already expressed fears about the two-week cancer target, because it means all the cases referred by GPs are given the same priority, regardless of whether they are expected to be benign or high risk. When this same target is delaying patients who have been admitted as an emergency that is an even greater cause for concern".
Several oncologists said they supported two-week waiting time targets for cancer patients referred by GPs, but called for the target to be widened to include all patients.
Ian Beaumont, from charity Bowel Cancer UK said it "beggared belief" that anyone would value statistics over efforts to save lives. Dr Jane Maher, chief medial officer at Macmillan Cancer Relief described the revelation in the report as worrying, but said the biggest obstacle to getting the right care for patients admitted to hospitals as an emergency was getting the right diagnosis, as cases were often complex, meaning cancer could be mistaken for other conditions.
Among those who have experienced the problem is Melissa Matthews was 28 when she went to the Accident and Emergency department of her local hospital. For several days, she had been suffering abdominal pain which had left her feeling so uncomfortable that she was unable to eat. She told her family doctor, who advised her not to worry, unless she began vomiting, in which case she should go immediately to A&E.
When she began being sick, her partner took her to the casualty unit of Norfolk and Norwich Hospital. The couple mentioned concerns about bowel cancer, having recently watched a programme about its symptoms, but the doctor reassured her: "You are far too young to have bowel cancer; when the blood tests come back they will show that". The tests did not indicate a problem; Miss Matthews was sent home to Norwich and told she was probably suffering from irritable bowel syndrome.
But the pain and vomiting continued. A week later, when she was unable to even swallow water, she returned to A&E, and was admitted to a ward for five days, but sent home once more. One week later, after she collapsed in agony at home, she was admitted to hospital again. This time, X-rays revealed a blockage. During an eight-hour operation, surgeons found a tumour so large they were forced to remove her womb and 36 inches of her bowel. The blood tests which Miss Matthews had undergone in A&E, she later found out, were not a clear indicator of bowel cancer, or its absence after all.
Six months of chemotherapy followed Miss Matthews' operation, after which she was given the all-clear. However, since then the cancer has returned. On Tuesday, Miss Matthews, now 30, will undergo a second operation to remove a tumour. The mother of two girls, aged 11 and 13, says her focus now is on survival. "I don't feel angry about this any more, my concern is about what happens next, but I did feel very frustrated, and frightened. I thought going to A&E was the safest place to be, but I was just fobbed off".
A hospital spokesman said patients were encouraged to complain if they were not satisfied with their care, and added that bowel cancer was rare in patients of Miss Matthews' age.
More than 4,900 people have backed The Sunday Telegraph's Heal Our Hospitals campaign, which is calling for a review of hospital targets to make sure they work to improve quality of care.
SOURCE
Privatize universities
Sir Roy Anderson, Rector of Imperial College London, said the top UK universities, including Oxford and Cambridge, should be freed from state control and allowed to charge students more than the current œ3,145 capped fees, and to attract more international students to boost their income.
Why stop there? Before 1919, all UK universities were independent. They should be again. Britain has four universities in the world's top ten, but the league tables are dominated by America's independent universities like Harvard, Yale, CalTech, Chicago, MIT and Columbia. And while we are slipping, America's colleges are rising. They are taking the best brains, and the best students, and are pulling in more cash to fund their teaching and their research. Thirty US universities have endowment funds of over œ1bn. Only Oxford and Cambridge come close, but Harvard has five times more cash in the bank than either of them.
But that's how the US system works. The real cost of a university education is not œ3,145. It's more like œ40,000. And some US universities do indeed charge that amount of money. But they use their endowment funds to make sure that bright students who can't afford fees on that scale are given scholarships so they can get the education anyway. Students are admitted on merit, but supported according to their needs.
As Professor Terence Kealey, head of the (largely) independent Buckingham University, says in an Adam Smith Institute Briefing, that is what should happen in the UK. Instead of subsidizing universities, we should subsidize needy students, so that anyone who is capable of doing well at university has the opportunity to go. I would tell Sir Roy and his colleagues to charge whatever they like - œ40,000 if that it what their product actually costs - provided that they make sure no needy student is turned away. Yes, some of the money that is currently doled out to the universities by the Higher Education Funding Councils could be used for those scholarships. Otherwise, the universities will have to go out and raise the money for scholarship funds themselves.
SOURCE
Many pupils 'would be better off learning woodwork than being forced into university'
Half of all teenagers are failed by a school system which forces them to pursue academic studies, a landmark report says today. Hundreds of thousands of youngsters better suited to practical work leave with poor qualifications because their skills go unrecognised. Woodwork, metalwork and home economics have all but disappeared while geography field-work and science experiments are in decline, the six-year investigation concludes.
The Oxford-based Nuffield Review, the most comprehensive study of secondary education in 50 years, found those who are better suited to 'learning by doing' are simply not catered for. Instead, a culture of testing has brought about a narrow focus on written exams at GCSE and A-level. This has consigned a generation of pupils to an 'impoverished' education.
In a damning indictment, the study said school attainment remained 'low' despite unprecedented investment in education. The Government's school diplomas covering 14 industry areas do little to improve matters, because they put greater emphasis on 'learning about the world of work' than on practical learning, the review warns. It says the entire system needs to be overhauled because it has suffered years of tinkering and piecemeal changes. Universities now have so little confidence in A-levels that 45 are setting their own admissions tests to help them distinguish between the most able candidates.
Professor Richard Pring, who led the review team of academics from Oxford, London's Institute of Education and Cardiff University, said concern about the achievement of young people was 'not new'. 'That bottom half is still a cause for concern,' he said. 'So many young people leave school inadequately prepared for further study or training.' He pointed out that around half of 16-year-olds fail to achieve five good GCSEs, including English and maths - the Government's yardstick of secondary school achievement. Around one in ten ended up classified as 'Neets' - not in education, employment or training. 'A lot of those have been told they are failures for about ten years,' Professor Pring said.
A generation ago, hands-on lessons were 'very much part of the learning experience at school', he said. But the introduction of the national curriculum in 1988 had hastened the 'demise' of practical learning. 'We now have a rather narrow view of success in learning,' he said. 'A great many young people achieve quite a lot in other areas which are equally valid and don't get recognised.' Many might benefit-from practical training in crafts, engineering, hairdressing, mechanics and catering. Apprenticeships should also be promoted more widely as an alternative to university, he added. His review concludes: 'There is not the progress which one might expect from so much effort and investment.
'The review believed that a tradition of learning based on practical engagement has been lost in schools, reflected in the near demise of woodwork, metalwork and home economics, in the decline of field-work in geography, in less experimental approaches to science (caused partly by assessment almost exclusively through written examination), and in the decline of work-based learning and employer-related apprenticeships.
Sixth-formers face extra tests on top of A-levels to get into 45 universities, today's review reveals. These include aptitude tests for medicine and law, and thinking skills tests and SATs. 'The growth of independent entrance tests by universities needs to be curbed,' the review says. It suggests bolstering national qualifications so that universities do not need to resort to other tests to identify the brightest students.
Schools should teach moral values to educate pupils for life as well as work. They should encourage youngsters to take responsibility for themselves, treat others with respect and care for the environment. Academics on the review team had seen youngsters 'transformed' in schools which promote justice and respect.
The review said teachers should also foster intellectual virtues, encouraging children to be open to evidence, argument and criticism.
SOURCE
UK: Government launches "kitchen bin war"
A Government campaign will see the end of confusing 'best before' labels, reduced packaging, and five new plants to convert waste into energy
An ambitious "War on Waste" campaign to tackle Britain's mountains of food-based rubbish with a range of radical new measures is to be launched tomorrow. The programme will scrap "best before" labels on food [Thus creating a health risk], create new food packaging sizes, build more "on-the-go" recycling points and unveil five flagship anaerobic digestion plants, to harness the power of leftover food and pump energy back into the national grid. The government hopes that its plans will reduce the 100 million tons of waste the country produced last year, which included 20 million tons of food waste and 10.7 million tons of packaging waste.
On Tuesday, Hilary Benn, Secretary of State for the Environment, will announce plans to dispense with "best before" labels, in an attempt to reduce the estimated 370,000 tons of food that is thrown away despite being perfectly edible. The latest government research into food labelling showed that the British are very cautious when it comes to eating anything that has passed its "best before" date: 53 per cent of consumers never eat fruit or vegetables that has exceeded the date; 56 per cent would not eat bread or cake; and 21 per cent never even "take a risk" with food close to its date.
"One of the things we found in our research is that confusion over date labelling is one of the major reasons for throwing food away. Often people don't realise the difference between 'best before' and 'use by'," said Richard Swannell, director of retail and organics at Wrap, the Government waste watchdog. It is working with the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and leading retailers to get rid of the "sell until", "display until" and "best before" tags, which confuse customers, causing them to throw away edible food.
"It is an issue that we want to address, but there has to be a balance, as we have to protect consumer safety," said an FSA spokesman. "Not eating out-of-date food is one of the simplest ways of preventing food poisoning."
Ahead of the launch, Mr Benn said: "It's time for a new war on waste. It's not just about recycling more - and we are making progress there - it's about rethinking the way we use resources in the first place. "We need to make better use of everything we produce, from food to packaging, and the plans I'm setting out over the next few days will help us to achieve that. We all have a part to play, from businesses and retailers to consumers."
The minister added: "Too many of us are putting things in the bin simply because we're not sure, we're confused by the label, or we're just playing safe. This means we're throwing away thousands of tons of food every year completely unnecessarily. I want to improve labels so that when we buy a loaf of bread or a packet of cold meat, we know exactly how long it's safe to eat."
On Tuesday, the Government will also unveil plans for dealing with packaging, including increased glass collection from pubs, clubs and restaurants, a huge expansion of "on-the-go" recycling points for aluminium cans, and new packaging sizes for supermarkets.
In addition to tackling food waste and packaging, the Government will reveal plans to use the waste we do produce as fuel. Tomorrow Mr Benn will announce the location of five new anaerobic digestion plants, built with the help of œ10m in state funding. The facilities compost waste in the absence of oxygen, producing a biogas that can be used to generate electricity and heat. Mr Benn said: "We need to rethink the way we deal with waste - to see it as a resource, not a problem."
The UK produces 100 tons of organic waste a year. If processed anaerobically this would produce enough energy to power two million homes, or Birmingham five times over. Anaerobic digestion plants are widely used across Europe, and are already being used by high street retailers such as Sainsbury's and Marks & Spencer to tackle their food waste.
Michael Warhurst, senior waste and resources campaigner for Friends of the Earth, said: "This should be happening across the country, instead of councils still putting money into building incinerators. They are the technology of the past - this is the future."
More HERE
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
Another huge NHS disgrace
The bureaucratic British mind: A stroke victim died after an ambulance driver decided to stop work instead of taking the critically ill patient to the hospital
A stroke victim died after an ambulance driver who had finished his shift drove to his depot to clock off instead of going to hospital. The driver complained to a colleague that he had worked 15 minutes' overtime already and wanted someone else to take over. The condition of the patient, Ali Asghar, 69, from Stockton on Tees, in Cleveland, deteriorated during the journey and he died of a suspected heart attack after arriving at North Tees Hospital.
The driver, a paramedic, and an advanced technician, who was in the back of the vehicle attending to Mr Asghar, have since been suspended as health chiefs investigate the incident.
Ambulance controllers received a 999 call at 3.52pm on May 18. The crew were alerted to a Category A life-threatening incident and arrived at Mr Asghar's home, just three miles from the hospital, at 3.57pm.
After assessing his condition, they left for the hospital at 4.13pm. The journey should have taken around 10 minutes. Instead the driver went to his ambulance station, where he got out leaving the patient in the back with the technician until a new driver turned up. It is alleged that he failed to tell his replacement that there was a critically ill patient in the ambulance.
The vehicle finally arrived at the hospital at 4.27pm. Doctors administered Cardiopulmonary resuscitation straight away, but were unable to save him. The detour, which added half a mile to the journey, was reported by the new driver, who was just starting his shift.
A spokesman for the North East Ambulance Service said: "This incident was immediately reported to us by another member of staff. As soon as we were notified, we acted to suspend a paramedic and an advanced technician from duty. "We appointed a senior officer to carry out a full investigation and have notified the North East Strategic Health Authority, Stockton-on-Tees Teaching Primary Care Trust and the Health Professions Council of our actions. "We have also been in touch with the family of the patient to give them our condolences. Patient care is our number one priority and we treat any action which falls short of the high standard expected of our staff extremely seriously. "Both the paramedic and advanced technician are now being dealt in line with the trust's disciplinary process."
Mr Asghar was a father of four. His youngest son, Mohammed, 33, said: "If you have a patient in an ambulance, you don't worry about your bloody shift finishing. "The driver should not get away with it. The time he took to detour could have saved my father's life."
SOURCE
BBC's hatred of private medicine costs it big
BBC's œ1m backdown in libel fight with IVF doctor. Taranissi was the most successful IVF practitioner in Britain but his clinics were private so the BBC tried its best to tear him down
The BBC is facing a legal bill of well over œ1million after settling a libel battle with top IVF doctor Mohamed Taranissi. Mr Taranissi, who is said to have helped mothers give birth to 2,300 babies in seven years, had accused the Panorama programme of making defamatory allegations. Yesterday it emerged that the BBC has come to a settlement with the Egyptian-born doctor, with the corporation paying both sides' legal bills.
Legal experts said this could cost up to œ6million, but the BBC said Mr Taranissi's costs were around œ900,000. The Corporation's own costs have not been revealed but they are likely to be a sizeable six-figure sum. It was unclear if Mr Taranissi has received any damages. Last October the High Court ordered the BBC to pay him an estimated œ500,000 costs after it 'threw in the towel' over one part of its defence. But BBC bosses decided to fight on in what became one of the most bruising legal battles in its history.
The decision to settle with Mr Taranissi comes just over a week after the broadcaster offered to pay œ30,000 and apologise to the Muslim Council of Britain over claims that it encouraged the killing of British troops.
Mr Taranissi, who has been described as one of the country's richest doctors, launched his action after the Panorama broadcast in January 2007 suggested that one of his central London clinics, the Assisted Reproduction and Gynaecology Centre, offered 'unnecessary and unproven' treatment to an undercover reporter posing as a patient. The show also alleged that a 26-year-old journalist was offered IVF treatment costing thousands of pounds despite neither she nor her partner having a history of fertility problems. One of the therapies involved a blood transfusion that an independent expert suggested could harm an unborn child.
The programme also claimed that Mr Taranissi was running a second clinic, the Reproductive Genetics Institute, without a licence and was sending his older and harder-to-treat patients there to maintain higher success rates at the ARGC. The IVF investigation was used to relaunch Panorama on a new Monday night slot on BBC1.
Mr Taranissi, who was represented by top libel lawyers Carter-Ruck, called the programme 'biased and irresponsible'. He said producers had information that showed 'a different side and a different argument', but chose not to use it. He has said Panorama sent at least two other undercover reporters to his clinics and they were given legitimate advice - but this was left out of the show. There have also been claims that the show's researchers used fake GP referral letters to target Mr Taranissi.
The programme generated 150 complaints to the BBC, a sizeable number of them said to have come from Mr Taranissi's former patients. His supporters claimed that the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, the fertility watchdog, had colluded with Panorama as part of a 'witch hunt' against the doctor. Leading fertility expert Lord Winston later wrote to Panorama accusing it of trial by television and letting the HFEA 'off the hook'.
Last night a BBC source said: 'Both parties have agreed to settle the case and consider the matter now closed.' But critics of the Corporation are astonished that it let the case run on so long, increasing the costs, and are angry that such an extraordinary amount of licence fee cash is being spent on legal costs rather than on TV shows at a time when money is short.
SOURCE
Elections to the European parliament
Conservatives racing ahead in EU parliament voting: "Conservatives raced toward victory in some of Europe's largest economies on Sunday as initial results and exit polls showed voters punishing left-leaning parties in European parliament elections in France, Germany and elsewhere. Some right-leaning parties said the results vindicated their reluctance to spend more on company bailouts and fiscal stimulus amid the global economic crisis. First projections by the European Union showed centre-right parties would have the most seats - between 263 and 273 - in the 736-member parliament. Centre-left parties were expected to get between 155 to 165 seats. Right-leaning governments were ahead of the opposition in Germany, France, Italy and Belgium, while conservative opposition parties were leading in Britain and Spain. Greece was a notable exception, where the governing conservatives were headed for defeat in the wake of corruption scandals and economic woes. Germany's Social Democrats headed to their worst showing in a nationwide election since World War II. Four months before Germany holds its own national election, the outcome boosted conservative Chancellor Angela Merkel's hopes of ending the tense left-right "grand coalition" that has led the European Union's most populous nation since 2005. "We are the force that is acting level-headedly and correctly in this financial and economic crisis," said Volker Kauder, the leader of Merkel's party in the German parliament. France's Interior Ministry said partial results showed the governing conservatives in the lead, with the Socialists in a distant second and the Europe Ecologie environmentalist party a close third.
Anti-EU party wins big in EU elections!: "UKIP early this morning appeared to be the main beneficiary of another set of disastrous results for Labour in the European elections. A big protest vote against all the main political parties because of the MPs' expenses row led to increases in the votes of all smaller parties, with UKIP making a breakthrough in several regions. The anti-EU party got its first seat in Wales, retained its seats in the Eastern region, the South East and Yorkshire and the Humber and increased its share of the vote. The party looked set to overtake Labour and come second behind the Tories, with the Lib Dems coming fourth. Initial predictions of the share of the vote across Britain suggested that the Tories would poll 27 per cent, roughly the same as in 2004, UKIP would come second with 17 per cent, one percentage point up from last time, with Labour a dismal third on 16 per cent, down 7 percentage points, its worst ever result. The Lib Dems were expected to get about 15 per cent of the vote, with the Greens and BNP getting 7 to 8 per cent each."
Bad news for the Warriors of Destiny: "Fianna F il, the most successful political party in Western Europe, was facing up to its worst electoral performance in its history last night with the likelihood that it would lose a European Parliament seat in Dublin. The party's woes were compounded by disastrous results in local council elections and two Dublin by-elections. Another loser last night appeared to be Declan Ganley, founder and leader of Libertas, which brought the Lisbon Treaty ratification process to a standstill when it spearheaded the No vote in last year's Irish referendum. Mr Ganley polled better than predicted, but his 16 per cent share in the Ireland North West constituency was not likely, after the first round of counting, to secure him its third seat. [Yes. Fianna F il really does mean "Warriors of Destiny". Irish political loyalties owe as much to history as anything else but in non-Irish terms they are a centrist party]
British anti-immigration party wins EP seats: "Nick Griffin, leader of the far-right British National Party, has won a seat in the European Parliament. Mr Griffin, standing in the Northwest of England region, was the second candidate of the anti-immigration party to be elected. Hours earlier, Andrew Brons won the party's first European seat in the nearby Yorkshire and the Humber region. Both seats were at the expense of Prime Minister Gordon Brown's Labour Party, which suffered a devastating result across the country. Mr Griffin had earlier hailed Mr Brons' win - with almost 10 per cent of the vote - as "a huge breakthrough'' for his party, and used the victory to reiterate his party's anti-immigration and anti-Islam stance. He denied his party was racist, but said: "We do say this country is full up. The key thing is to shut the door.'' Mr Griffin told Sky News television: "This is a Christian country and Islam is not welcome, because Islam and Christianity, Islam and democracy, Islam and women's rights do not mix. "That's a simple fact that the elites of Europe are going to have to get their heads round and deal with over the next few years.''
The bureaucratic British mind: A stroke victim died after an ambulance driver decided to stop work instead of taking the critically ill patient to the hospital
A stroke victim died after an ambulance driver who had finished his shift drove to his depot to clock off instead of going to hospital. The driver complained to a colleague that he had worked 15 minutes' overtime already and wanted someone else to take over. The condition of the patient, Ali Asghar, 69, from Stockton on Tees, in Cleveland, deteriorated during the journey and he died of a suspected heart attack after arriving at North Tees Hospital.
The driver, a paramedic, and an advanced technician, who was in the back of the vehicle attending to Mr Asghar, have since been suspended as health chiefs investigate the incident.
Ambulance controllers received a 999 call at 3.52pm on May 18. The crew were alerted to a Category A life-threatening incident and arrived at Mr Asghar's home, just three miles from the hospital, at 3.57pm.
After assessing his condition, they left for the hospital at 4.13pm. The journey should have taken around 10 minutes. Instead the driver went to his ambulance station, where he got out leaving the patient in the back with the technician until a new driver turned up. It is alleged that he failed to tell his replacement that there was a critically ill patient in the ambulance.
The vehicle finally arrived at the hospital at 4.27pm. Doctors administered Cardiopulmonary resuscitation straight away, but were unable to save him. The detour, which added half a mile to the journey, was reported by the new driver, who was just starting his shift.
A spokesman for the North East Ambulance Service said: "This incident was immediately reported to us by another member of staff. As soon as we were notified, we acted to suspend a paramedic and an advanced technician from duty. "We appointed a senior officer to carry out a full investigation and have notified the North East Strategic Health Authority, Stockton-on-Tees Teaching Primary Care Trust and the Health Professions Council of our actions. "We have also been in touch with the family of the patient to give them our condolences. Patient care is our number one priority and we treat any action which falls short of the high standard expected of our staff extremely seriously. "Both the paramedic and advanced technician are now being dealt in line with the trust's disciplinary process."
Mr Asghar was a father of four. His youngest son, Mohammed, 33, said: "If you have a patient in an ambulance, you don't worry about your bloody shift finishing. "The driver should not get away with it. The time he took to detour could have saved my father's life."
SOURCE
BBC's hatred of private medicine costs it big
BBC's œ1m backdown in libel fight with IVF doctor. Taranissi was the most successful IVF practitioner in Britain but his clinics were private so the BBC tried its best to tear him down
The BBC is facing a legal bill of well over œ1million after settling a libel battle with top IVF doctor Mohamed Taranissi. Mr Taranissi, who is said to have helped mothers give birth to 2,300 babies in seven years, had accused the Panorama programme of making defamatory allegations. Yesterday it emerged that the BBC has come to a settlement with the Egyptian-born doctor, with the corporation paying both sides' legal bills.
Legal experts said this could cost up to œ6million, but the BBC said Mr Taranissi's costs were around œ900,000. The Corporation's own costs have not been revealed but they are likely to be a sizeable six-figure sum. It was unclear if Mr Taranissi has received any damages. Last October the High Court ordered the BBC to pay him an estimated œ500,000 costs after it 'threw in the towel' over one part of its defence. But BBC bosses decided to fight on in what became one of the most bruising legal battles in its history.
The decision to settle with Mr Taranissi comes just over a week after the broadcaster offered to pay œ30,000 and apologise to the Muslim Council of Britain over claims that it encouraged the killing of British troops.
Mr Taranissi, who has been described as one of the country's richest doctors, launched his action after the Panorama broadcast in January 2007 suggested that one of his central London clinics, the Assisted Reproduction and Gynaecology Centre, offered 'unnecessary and unproven' treatment to an undercover reporter posing as a patient. The show also alleged that a 26-year-old journalist was offered IVF treatment costing thousands of pounds despite neither she nor her partner having a history of fertility problems. One of the therapies involved a blood transfusion that an independent expert suggested could harm an unborn child.
The programme also claimed that Mr Taranissi was running a second clinic, the Reproductive Genetics Institute, without a licence and was sending his older and harder-to-treat patients there to maintain higher success rates at the ARGC. The IVF investigation was used to relaunch Panorama on a new Monday night slot on BBC1.
Mr Taranissi, who was represented by top libel lawyers Carter-Ruck, called the programme 'biased and irresponsible'. He said producers had information that showed 'a different side and a different argument', but chose not to use it. He has said Panorama sent at least two other undercover reporters to his clinics and they were given legitimate advice - but this was left out of the show. There have also been claims that the show's researchers used fake GP referral letters to target Mr Taranissi.
The programme generated 150 complaints to the BBC, a sizeable number of them said to have come from Mr Taranissi's former patients. His supporters claimed that the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, the fertility watchdog, had colluded with Panorama as part of a 'witch hunt' against the doctor. Leading fertility expert Lord Winston later wrote to Panorama accusing it of trial by television and letting the HFEA 'off the hook'.
Last night a BBC source said: 'Both parties have agreed to settle the case and consider the matter now closed.' But critics of the Corporation are astonished that it let the case run on so long, increasing the costs, and are angry that such an extraordinary amount of licence fee cash is being spent on legal costs rather than on TV shows at a time when money is short.
SOURCE
Elections to the European parliament
Conservatives racing ahead in EU parliament voting: "Conservatives raced toward victory in some of Europe's largest economies on Sunday as initial results and exit polls showed voters punishing left-leaning parties in European parliament elections in France, Germany and elsewhere. Some right-leaning parties said the results vindicated their reluctance to spend more on company bailouts and fiscal stimulus amid the global economic crisis. First projections by the European Union showed centre-right parties would have the most seats - between 263 and 273 - in the 736-member parliament. Centre-left parties were expected to get between 155 to 165 seats. Right-leaning governments were ahead of the opposition in Germany, France, Italy and Belgium, while conservative opposition parties were leading in Britain and Spain. Greece was a notable exception, where the governing conservatives were headed for defeat in the wake of corruption scandals and economic woes. Germany's Social Democrats headed to their worst showing in a nationwide election since World War II. Four months before Germany holds its own national election, the outcome boosted conservative Chancellor Angela Merkel's hopes of ending the tense left-right "grand coalition" that has led the European Union's most populous nation since 2005. "We are the force that is acting level-headedly and correctly in this financial and economic crisis," said Volker Kauder, the leader of Merkel's party in the German parliament. France's Interior Ministry said partial results showed the governing conservatives in the lead, with the Socialists in a distant second and the Europe Ecologie environmentalist party a close third.
Anti-EU party wins big in EU elections!: "UKIP early this morning appeared to be the main beneficiary of another set of disastrous results for Labour in the European elections. A big protest vote against all the main political parties because of the MPs' expenses row led to increases in the votes of all smaller parties, with UKIP making a breakthrough in several regions. The anti-EU party got its first seat in Wales, retained its seats in the Eastern region, the South East and Yorkshire and the Humber and increased its share of the vote. The party looked set to overtake Labour and come second behind the Tories, with the Lib Dems coming fourth. Initial predictions of the share of the vote across Britain suggested that the Tories would poll 27 per cent, roughly the same as in 2004, UKIP would come second with 17 per cent, one percentage point up from last time, with Labour a dismal third on 16 per cent, down 7 percentage points, its worst ever result. The Lib Dems were expected to get about 15 per cent of the vote, with the Greens and BNP getting 7 to 8 per cent each."
Bad news for the Warriors of Destiny: "Fianna F il, the most successful political party in Western Europe, was facing up to its worst electoral performance in its history last night with the likelihood that it would lose a European Parliament seat in Dublin. The party's woes were compounded by disastrous results in local council elections and two Dublin by-elections. Another loser last night appeared to be Declan Ganley, founder and leader of Libertas, which brought the Lisbon Treaty ratification process to a standstill when it spearheaded the No vote in last year's Irish referendum. Mr Ganley polled better than predicted, but his 16 per cent share in the Ireland North West constituency was not likely, after the first round of counting, to secure him its third seat. [Yes. Fianna F il really does mean "Warriors of Destiny". Irish political loyalties owe as much to history as anything else but in non-Irish terms they are a centrist party]
British anti-immigration party wins EP seats: "Nick Griffin, leader of the far-right British National Party, has won a seat in the European Parliament. Mr Griffin, standing in the Northwest of England region, was the second candidate of the anti-immigration party to be elected. Hours earlier, Andrew Brons won the party's first European seat in the nearby Yorkshire and the Humber region. Both seats were at the expense of Prime Minister Gordon Brown's Labour Party, which suffered a devastating result across the country. Mr Griffin had earlier hailed Mr Brons' win - with almost 10 per cent of the vote - as "a huge breakthrough'' for his party, and used the victory to reiterate his party's anti-immigration and anti-Islam stance. He denied his party was racist, but said: "We do say this country is full up. The key thing is to shut the door.'' Mr Griffin told Sky News television: "This is a Christian country and Islam is not welcome, because Islam and Christianity, Islam and democracy, Islam and women's rights do not mix. "That's a simple fact that the elites of Europe are going to have to get their heads round and deal with over the next few years.''
Monday, June 08, 2009
Scans showing possible cancer not passed on for months at scandal-hit NHS hospital trust
Scans showing possible cancer were not passed on to consultants for months at scandal-hit Mid-Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust, MPs have heard. Forms detailing serious incidents also ended up in the waste paper bins of senior managers or in a "black hole", the Commons Health Select Committee was told.
A report from the Healthcare Commission in March condemned "appalling" and "shocking" standards of care at the trust, which led to some patients dying.
Between 400 and 1,200 more people died than would have been expected in a three-year period, with the poorest examples of care at Stafford Hospital. Families described "Third World" conditions at the trust, with some patients so thirsty they drank water from vases and others left screaming in pain.
The Mid-Staffordshire NHS Trust was awarded Foundation Trust status just before the investigation into the scandal began and Ben Bradshaw, Health Minister, told MPs that legal changes are under consideration to allow the status to be removed and thus bring failing trusts back under the control of Whitehall. Mr Bradshaw also appeared to soften the Government's opposition to a public inquiry into the scandal, saying ministers remained open to persuasion but were not currently convinced it was necessary.
Dr Peter Daggett, a consultant physician and endocrinologist at the trust, who has worked there since 1982, told the committee that a cardiologist submitted forms detailing serious incidents which were "downgraded" to minor incidents by nursing managers or were not investigated at all.
Another colleague, a gastroenterologist, warned that there was a dangerous lack of nurses on the wards but nothing was done. However Dr Daggett said although nurses had apologised over the failings, doctors had not because "they had nothing to apologise for".
SOURCE
UK faces backlash over 'libel tourists'
US politicians try to protect citizens from British court, claiming foreigners use law to bring expensive defamation cases
American politicians are pushing through free speech laws to protect US citizens from libel rulings in British courts that have been accused of stifling criticism of oligarchs and dictators. The development follows claims that foreigners flock to the UK to begin hugely expensive defamation cases even though they have little to do with this country.
Claimants who have indulged in so-called "libel tourism" include a Ukrainian businessman who sued a Ukrainian language website based in his homeland for œ50,000, simply because its contents could be viewed in Britain. An Icelandic bank successfully sued a Danish newspaper in the British courts for publishing unflattering stories about the advice it gave to clients, despite collapsing six months later.
Now lawmakers in several American states, including New York and Illinois, have moved to block the enforcement of British libel judgments in the United States. Congress is also considering a bill that will allow defendants of foreign libel suits to counter-sue for up to three times the damages sought by a claimant if their right to free speech, enshrined in the First Amendment, has been violated.
Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Greenpeace, Global Witness, Index on Censorship and representatives of Oxfam and Christian Aid are all known to be alarmed by the way UK courts are being used to challenge their reports. "Our libel laws have made Britain a place where any of the world's bullies and wealthy celebrities can wander into court 13 \ and launder their reputations," said Mark Stephens, a partner at the law firm Finers Stephens Innocent, which advises many non-governmental organisations (NGOs). "In the US you can still be sued but claimants pay for their own lawyers, fewer spurious claims go to court and freedom of speech is enshrined in law by the First Amendment. Some NGOs are seriously considering moving their publication people out to the States to protect themselves."
London has long been regarded as a claimant-friendly place for libel actions because defendants are deemed "guilty" until they have proved their innocence, the opposite of the usual burden of proof in criminal cases. Damages are also typically higher in the UK and the costs so expensive that defendants often feel compelled to settle out of court, even though they may be in the right. Because there is no legal aid for such cases, the government has allowed libel and privacy claimants to sue under "no win, no fee" arrangements. This enables lawyers to claim a 100% "uplift" on their normal rates. One of London's leading libel lawyers charges up to a total of œ1,200 an hour.
"The reports NGOs (write) take many months, even years, to put together and rely on anonymous sources who fear for their lives," said Jo Glanville, of Index on Censorship. "These are not people you can just pull into a courtroom. "By contrast, many of these libel tourism claims are not about disputing factual errors, they are really about shutting up critics who have exposed serious abuses."
Global Witness, an environmental and human rights pressure group, faced legal action in London from Denis Christel Sassou Nguesso, son of the president of Congo-Brazzaville. The NGO published a report, based on Hong Kong court papers, which suggested Sassou Nguesso had bought more than $100,000 of designer clothes and other luxury goods using a credit card paid for by public funds. Sassou Nguesso hired Schillings, a London law firm, in an attempt to suppress the report. His application for an injunction did not succeed, but Global Witness has been left with legal costs of œ50,000.
The Commons culture, media and sport select committee is conducting an inquiry into libel, privacy and press standards. "I have been left in no doubt that the high cost of libel claims is having a damaging effect on the good work of some NGOs," said John Whittingdale, its chairman. Jack Straw, the justice secretary, has also admitted that no-win no-fee agreements for claimant lawyers are having a serious effect on free speech.
Mr Justice Eady, a High Court judge, has delivered a series of rulings that have bolstered privacy laws and encouraged libel tourism. He awarded Max Mosley, the Formula One president, privacy damages of œ60,000 over the News of the World's expos‚ of his sex life.
Most recently, Eady has been accused of "stifling" scientific debate after he ruled in favour of a trade body for chiropractors against a science writer who had accused the body of promoting "bogus treatments". Eady said that Simon Singh, the writer, had effectively accused the body of dishonesty.
In a landmark decision five years ago Eady gave judgment for Khalid bin Mahfouz, a Saudi banker, who had sued Rachel Ehrenfeld, an American academic. She suggested in a book that the banker had links to the financing of terrorist groups. Ehrenfeld had not published or promoted the book in this country but 23 copies sold over the internet were shipped to Britain. She decided not to defend the case, but Eady ordered her to pay œ130,000 in costs and damages.
He also ruled that any copies of her book must be pulped. This judgment almost single- handedly launched the American freedom of speech backlash against UK libel laws.
SOURCE
Women are soaring ahead of men at British universities
Women are trouncing men in British higher education, according to a new study which has found that they are more likely to go to university, do far better once they get there and win higher- quality jobs as a result. More than 49% of women now go to university, meaning they have almost reached Tony Blair's target that half of all young people should do so. Men lag far behind, with just 37.8% studying for degrees.
The researchers at the Higher Education Policy Institute (Hepi) found that the gap between women and men is widening most quickly among the most disadvantaged social classes. They argue that the gap in performance is exacerbated by school exams, particularly GCSEs, which heavily favour girls.
They warn that plunging male performance risks creating an excluded generation of men, particularly among the working class. "The under-performance of males matters: graduates after all tend to form the elites of society," said Bahram Bekhradnia, director of the institute and an adviser to the Commons universities select committee.
The number of women going to university overtook men in 1992-3 and they now outnumber male undergraduates in every type of university except Oxford and Cambridge, where the numbers are about equal.
The Hepi study shows they secure better degrees than men, with 63.9% achieving first or upper second class results, against 59.9% of men. They are also less likely to drop out of courses and less likely to be unemployed.
SOURCE
Probiotic supplements have 'no proven benefit for healthy people'
Good to see some reasonable skepticism
Probiotic drinks are of no benefit to healthy people and may harm those with low immune systems, a leading microbiologist has warned. Michael Wilson, Professor of Microbiology at University College London, said there were some cases when topping up on "good bacteria" could help recovery from illness, but understanding of the supplements is "shaky" and needs a more robust scientific investigation.
"There are certain instances when probiotics are useful but the problem is there's no regulation," Prof Wilson said. "They are regarded as food supplements not medicinal products - anyone can get a suspension of bacteria and market it as a probiotic," said Prof Wilson, speaking at the Cheltenham Science Festival. "With medicinal treatments, the pharmaceutical industry makes sure the things they produce are safe."
He said that there was some "instinctive sense" that adding to the gut flora will help with adverse events. In recent years, probiotics have been promoted as a healthy food supplements, in the form of yoghurts, drinks and capsules, and the market is worth an estimated œ200 million in Britain.
Clinical trials have shown that eating live bacteria can help sufferers of certain illnesses, such as antibiotic-associated diarrhoea, and there is evidence they can help women who have recently given birth to lose weight. However, according to Prof Wilson, for people with compromised immune systems, increasing the bacterial load could lead to health problems.
"No bacterium is totally innocuous. If you are healthy there is probably no harm in taking probiotics, but there is also no benefit. But to increase the bacterial burden if you are immuno-compromised is asking for trouble," he said.
A spokesman for Yakult, one of the leading probiotic brands, disputed Prof Wilson's warning. "We have 75 years of studies, carried out by independent scientific research bodies in the UK, Europe and Japan, including human trials, which have all demonstrated the health benefits of supporting the gut flora with Yakult."
A spokesman for Danone, the company which produces Actimel and Activia probiotic yoghurts, added: "The efficacy of these products has been shown in many studies and the results have been published in highly reputed scientific journals. "Most recently an independent study, published in the British Medical Journal, showed a significant reduction in the incidence of C difficile-associated diarrhoea in hospitalised patients who drank Actimel twice a day."
SOURCE
Scans showing possible cancer were not passed on to consultants for months at scandal-hit Mid-Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust, MPs have heard. Forms detailing serious incidents also ended up in the waste paper bins of senior managers or in a "black hole", the Commons Health Select Committee was told.
A report from the Healthcare Commission in March condemned "appalling" and "shocking" standards of care at the trust, which led to some patients dying.
Between 400 and 1,200 more people died than would have been expected in a three-year period, with the poorest examples of care at Stafford Hospital. Families described "Third World" conditions at the trust, with some patients so thirsty they drank water from vases and others left screaming in pain.
The Mid-Staffordshire NHS Trust was awarded Foundation Trust status just before the investigation into the scandal began and Ben Bradshaw, Health Minister, told MPs that legal changes are under consideration to allow the status to be removed and thus bring failing trusts back under the control of Whitehall. Mr Bradshaw also appeared to soften the Government's opposition to a public inquiry into the scandal, saying ministers remained open to persuasion but were not currently convinced it was necessary.
Dr Peter Daggett, a consultant physician and endocrinologist at the trust, who has worked there since 1982, told the committee that a cardiologist submitted forms detailing serious incidents which were "downgraded" to minor incidents by nursing managers or were not investigated at all.
Another colleague, a gastroenterologist, warned that there was a dangerous lack of nurses on the wards but nothing was done. However Dr Daggett said although nurses had apologised over the failings, doctors had not because "they had nothing to apologise for".
SOURCE
UK faces backlash over 'libel tourists'
US politicians try to protect citizens from British court, claiming foreigners use law to bring expensive defamation cases
American politicians are pushing through free speech laws to protect US citizens from libel rulings in British courts that have been accused of stifling criticism of oligarchs and dictators. The development follows claims that foreigners flock to the UK to begin hugely expensive defamation cases even though they have little to do with this country.
Claimants who have indulged in so-called "libel tourism" include a Ukrainian businessman who sued a Ukrainian language website based in his homeland for œ50,000, simply because its contents could be viewed in Britain. An Icelandic bank successfully sued a Danish newspaper in the British courts for publishing unflattering stories about the advice it gave to clients, despite collapsing six months later.
Now lawmakers in several American states, including New York and Illinois, have moved to block the enforcement of British libel judgments in the United States. Congress is also considering a bill that will allow defendants of foreign libel suits to counter-sue for up to three times the damages sought by a claimant if their right to free speech, enshrined in the First Amendment, has been violated.
Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Greenpeace, Global Witness, Index on Censorship and representatives of Oxfam and Christian Aid are all known to be alarmed by the way UK courts are being used to challenge their reports. "Our libel laws have made Britain a place where any of the world's bullies and wealthy celebrities can wander into court 13 \ and launder their reputations," said Mark Stephens, a partner at the law firm Finers Stephens Innocent, which advises many non-governmental organisations (NGOs). "In the US you can still be sued but claimants pay for their own lawyers, fewer spurious claims go to court and freedom of speech is enshrined in law by the First Amendment. Some NGOs are seriously considering moving their publication people out to the States to protect themselves."
London has long been regarded as a claimant-friendly place for libel actions because defendants are deemed "guilty" until they have proved their innocence, the opposite of the usual burden of proof in criminal cases. Damages are also typically higher in the UK and the costs so expensive that defendants often feel compelled to settle out of court, even though they may be in the right. Because there is no legal aid for such cases, the government has allowed libel and privacy claimants to sue under "no win, no fee" arrangements. This enables lawyers to claim a 100% "uplift" on their normal rates. One of London's leading libel lawyers charges up to a total of œ1,200 an hour.
"The reports NGOs (write) take many months, even years, to put together and rely on anonymous sources who fear for their lives," said Jo Glanville, of Index on Censorship. "These are not people you can just pull into a courtroom. "By contrast, many of these libel tourism claims are not about disputing factual errors, they are really about shutting up critics who have exposed serious abuses."
Global Witness, an environmental and human rights pressure group, faced legal action in London from Denis Christel Sassou Nguesso, son of the president of Congo-Brazzaville. The NGO published a report, based on Hong Kong court papers, which suggested Sassou Nguesso had bought more than $100,000 of designer clothes and other luxury goods using a credit card paid for by public funds. Sassou Nguesso hired Schillings, a London law firm, in an attempt to suppress the report. His application for an injunction did not succeed, but Global Witness has been left with legal costs of œ50,000.
The Commons culture, media and sport select committee is conducting an inquiry into libel, privacy and press standards. "I have been left in no doubt that the high cost of libel claims is having a damaging effect on the good work of some NGOs," said John Whittingdale, its chairman. Jack Straw, the justice secretary, has also admitted that no-win no-fee agreements for claimant lawyers are having a serious effect on free speech.
Mr Justice Eady, a High Court judge, has delivered a series of rulings that have bolstered privacy laws and encouraged libel tourism. He awarded Max Mosley, the Formula One president, privacy damages of œ60,000 over the News of the World's expos‚ of his sex life.
Most recently, Eady has been accused of "stifling" scientific debate after he ruled in favour of a trade body for chiropractors against a science writer who had accused the body of promoting "bogus treatments". Eady said that Simon Singh, the writer, had effectively accused the body of dishonesty.
In a landmark decision five years ago Eady gave judgment for Khalid bin Mahfouz, a Saudi banker, who had sued Rachel Ehrenfeld, an American academic. She suggested in a book that the banker had links to the financing of terrorist groups. Ehrenfeld had not published or promoted the book in this country but 23 copies sold over the internet were shipped to Britain. She decided not to defend the case, but Eady ordered her to pay œ130,000 in costs and damages.
He also ruled that any copies of her book must be pulped. This judgment almost single- handedly launched the American freedom of speech backlash against UK libel laws.
SOURCE
Women are soaring ahead of men at British universities
Women are trouncing men in British higher education, according to a new study which has found that they are more likely to go to university, do far better once they get there and win higher- quality jobs as a result. More than 49% of women now go to university, meaning they have almost reached Tony Blair's target that half of all young people should do so. Men lag far behind, with just 37.8% studying for degrees.
The researchers at the Higher Education Policy Institute (Hepi) found that the gap between women and men is widening most quickly among the most disadvantaged social classes. They argue that the gap in performance is exacerbated by school exams, particularly GCSEs, which heavily favour girls.
They warn that plunging male performance risks creating an excluded generation of men, particularly among the working class. "The under-performance of males matters: graduates after all tend to form the elites of society," said Bahram Bekhradnia, director of the institute and an adviser to the Commons universities select committee.
The number of women going to university overtook men in 1992-3 and they now outnumber male undergraduates in every type of university except Oxford and Cambridge, where the numbers are about equal.
The Hepi study shows they secure better degrees than men, with 63.9% achieving first or upper second class results, against 59.9% of men. They are also less likely to drop out of courses and less likely to be unemployed.
SOURCE
Probiotic supplements have 'no proven benefit for healthy people'
Good to see some reasonable skepticism
Probiotic drinks are of no benefit to healthy people and may harm those with low immune systems, a leading microbiologist has warned. Michael Wilson, Professor of Microbiology at University College London, said there were some cases when topping up on "good bacteria" could help recovery from illness, but understanding of the supplements is "shaky" and needs a more robust scientific investigation.
"There are certain instances when probiotics are useful but the problem is there's no regulation," Prof Wilson said. "They are regarded as food supplements not medicinal products - anyone can get a suspension of bacteria and market it as a probiotic," said Prof Wilson, speaking at the Cheltenham Science Festival. "With medicinal treatments, the pharmaceutical industry makes sure the things they produce are safe."
He said that there was some "instinctive sense" that adding to the gut flora will help with adverse events. In recent years, probiotics have been promoted as a healthy food supplements, in the form of yoghurts, drinks and capsules, and the market is worth an estimated œ200 million in Britain.
Clinical trials have shown that eating live bacteria can help sufferers of certain illnesses, such as antibiotic-associated diarrhoea, and there is evidence they can help women who have recently given birth to lose weight. However, according to Prof Wilson, for people with compromised immune systems, increasing the bacterial load could lead to health problems.
"No bacterium is totally innocuous. If you are healthy there is probably no harm in taking probiotics, but there is also no benefit. But to increase the bacterial burden if you are immuno-compromised is asking for trouble," he said.
A spokesman for Yakult, one of the leading probiotic brands, disputed Prof Wilson's warning. "We have 75 years of studies, carried out by independent scientific research bodies in the UK, Europe and Japan, including human trials, which have all demonstrated the health benefits of supporting the gut flora with Yakult."
A spokesman for Danone, the company which produces Actimel and Activia probiotic yoghurts, added: "The efficacy of these products has been shown in many studies and the results have been published in highly reputed scientific journals. "Most recently an independent study, published in the British Medical Journal, showed a significant reduction in the incidence of C difficile-associated diarrhoea in hospitalised patients who drank Actimel twice a day."
SOURCE
Sunday, June 07, 2009
Your child's Body Mass Index is nobody's business but yours
My daughter is desperately excited by her upcoming fifth birthday - not least because apparently she will `look like six'. She's not daft; she knows that the labels on the clothes that I buy her now read `Age 6-7', and that she is taller and heavier than some of her friends.
My daughter is not fat - although according to recent research from Newcastle University, eviscerated by Tim Black on spiked, as a parent I would be the last person to admit that she was. But she isn't a skinnymalinks either. I'm quite pleased about this because I think she looks healthy and beautiful, and my instincts tell me that denying children pudding and sending them to bed hungry is neither necessary nor desirable in this day and age.
The trouble is, when you are constantly incited by government campaigns, health professionals and media reports to calculate and then worry about your child's Body Mass Index, you find yourself doubting your instincts - and looking at your child in a very peculiar way. Will she pass the test? you wonder, when the school weigh-in programme comes around. If I put a chocolate biscuit in her lunchbox, will people think it's my fault that she failed?
And so it was when, towards the end of last school term, I received a letter from the local NHS Community Services regarding the `height, weight, vision and hearing' screening programme for reception-class children. Parents were advised to complete a form, which asked for basic health information about the child and gave the opportunity to consent - or not - to their child `receiving the Health Assessment Service offered', and return it to the school forthwith. The covering letter was explicit in its advice that parents really should consent to this: we were told the Health Assessment was necessary `to identify any unmet health needs that may impact on your child's education'; and that if we did not consent, or failed to return the form, `your GP will be notified'.
Now, I am not the most organised of parents when it comes to returning forms; but in this case, I actively dithered. I have no problem with vision and hearing screening offered through the school, not least because I can see how problems with eyesight and hearing really can `impact on your child's education'. But screening for height and weight is a different matter. This is a political initiative, introduced a few years ago as part of the government's war on obesity.
The introduction, in 2006, of a national `weigh-in' scheme via schools, through which parents could be advised about how far down the scale of morbid obesity their children were sitting and through which the government could collect statistics to beef up their claims of a rampant fatness epidemic, was all about meeting the political objective of tackling a presumed public health problem (1). It had, and has, nothing to do with education - unless you take into account a fat kid's ability to shine at PE.
This was given tacit recognition in the early days of the weigh-in scheme, when parents were given the ability to opt their child out of this aspect of the Health Assessment. But it was quickly discovered that the `target group' - that is, children with less-than-perfect BMI scores - were being removed from the programme by their parents, defeating its stated objective of helping parents to recognise their child's chubbiness and take appropriate lifestyle measures to address this; and the rules changed to make all parents comply with the screening.
The upshot, certainly in our neck of the woods, was that the political height and weight screening became lumped together with the medically more important hearing and vision screening, and parents are forced to `consent' to all of this or face the scrutiny of their GP. The only basis on which you can `opt out' is by refusing to allow your child's height and weight measurements to be included in the government's data collection statistics. Which is what, after far too much soul-searching, I eventually did. Not having the ability to register a protest about my child being weighed or having her individually graded on a scale of fatness (both of which I cared about) I took the only available opportunity of registering any kind of objection, by refusing to let anonymous, meaningless figures about my child be included in national statistics (about which I really don't give a monkey's).
Then a funny thing happened. Three weeks into the new school term, I received a message from my GP's surgery asking me to get in touch, followed by a phone call from a very nice woman involved in the Health Assessment service. The woman explained to me that they had received my consent form after the screening had already taken place in school, and asked whether I would like them to arrange some separate screening for my daughter. I accepted the offer, although I also explained that if I thought there was a problem I would be happy to talk to my GP. After a brief pause, she admitted that, while my daughter had not been screened for vision and hearing because my consent had not been given, they had gone ahead with the height and weight screening, with the result that I would receive a letter telling me how tall my daughter was and how much she weighed, and that these statistics would have already been passed on for collection in the government's data.
The woman was very apologetic, and took pains to reassure me that all this data was `anonymised'. I explained that I did not actually mind the data being collected, but that it seemed rather strange that my lack of consent could be taken seriously when it came to the medically-important part of the screening service that I did want to access, but ignored when it came to the very bit of the service that I was worried about. I raised my concerns that the height and weight screening was a political measure that had nothing to do with my child's education, and pointed out that - unlike eyesight and hearing - I was perfectly capable of measuring height and weight myself. The woman agreed with me that the height and weight screening was indeed political, and said that was causing those working in this field a lot of problems with parents becoming upset and confused by the whole thing - the last thing that health professionals want to happen.
So, I asked, am I likely to receive a letter categorising my child as underweight, normal, overweight, obese? The woman explained that no, this year they were not categorising children like this, because last year several parents became understandably very upset on hearing that their child had been awarded a fat grade. Consequently, this year parents would be receiving (as I did) a letter that simply informed us how tall and heavy our child was, along with a general paragraph on the importance of having a healthy weight. But, as she pointed out, this would lead to complaints, too, as parents were utterly confused about `what it meant'. In other words, simply being told that your child weighs x kilos begs the question of whether you are then supposed to go and work out their Body Mass Index and its presumed relationship to healthy weights and diets - or whether you just chuck the letter in the bin.
I haven't chucked the letter in the bin - but only because I want to keep it as proof that I do not require surveillance by my GP. The telephone call from my local surgery, staffed by busy, conscientious people who are brilliant when you are ill, turned out to have been placed because I had not returned the screening form in time, and they just wanted to check `whether everything is okay'. As it goes, I am not worried that they might be worried - the GP practice knows my family, and I am confident that they realise that the reason we are not visiting the doctor all the time is because, actually, the kids are pretty healthy. But they, too, are forced to play along with an agenda that forces parents to `consent' to surveillance practices that both parents and health professionals know are based on political objectives rather than health imperatives.
What a waste of everybody's time, skill and energy this all is. And how bad it is for children, that so many people are scrutinising their bodies for signs of a glitch in the BMI calculation, rather than seeing them as little people with so many more exciting challenges ahead than worrying about what they had for breakfast.
SOURCE
Anger as British school tells children aged five about homosexual issues...to the sound of Elton John
Pupils as young as five were left 'confused and worried' after a school assembly to explain homosexuality. Teachers played a recording of Elton John's Your Song before explaining that the singer is homosexual and what the term means. The children were then shown images of same-sex couples.
Parents said the experience left some pupils afraid to cuddle each other in the playground in case other children thought they were gay. They have complained they were not consulted over the content of the assembly. Although it may have been appropriate for older children, they say it left the little ones confused and self-conscious about being friends with classmates of the same sex. When parents complained to the headmaster, they claim they were treated as 'homophobic' for even raising the issue.
The assembly, given to pupils aged from five to 11 at Bromstone Primary, in Broadstairs, Kent, aimed to steer them away from homophobic bullying. It also covered bullying on the grounds of race, language and weight.
Gemma Martin, 28, whose children, Chloe, seven, and Danny, four, attend the school, said some pupils were now worried 'about being friends with each other'. 'Little girls often cuddle each other if one of them is crying or has fallen over, and now they are afraid to do that in case the others think they are gay,' she said.
Michelle Cosgrove, 33, said some parents felt they were treated as homophobic just for asking why they had not been consulted about the assembly. Her three children, Jasmine, ten, Luke, seven, and Freya, five, attend the school. She said the example of two boys holding hands and two boys kissing was mentioned in the assembly - held the day after the International Day Against Homophobia. She found herself answering questions on homosexuality when her children raised it at home. 'There is no way on this earth I'm homophobic - I just want the choice as a parent to talk to my children about this when the time is appropriate,' she said.
Headmaster Nigel Utton said the 30-minute assembly contained only a small section on homosexuality which was appropriate for the age of the children. It was part of an initiative spearheaded by Kent County Council, he said. Other parents had approved of the assembly, he said. It had not been necessary to consult them beforehand. 'Five-year-olds understand about relationships and about liking people,' he said.
Kent education officer Lynne Miller said: 'This was an assembly about bullying and parents have praised the school for its handling of such a sensitive matter. 'Young children are exposed at a very early age to homophobic language. If language is not challenged it makes it much more difficult to address homophobic bullying in secondary schools.'
SOURCE
British plan to give parents the power to oust underperforming headmasters
Schools Secretary Ed Balls is considering a new scheme that will let parents overthrow poor headmasters. Parents would be able to rate their children's education and trigger the overthrow of poor headmasters under plans being drawn up by ministers. Councils will be required to act on their views and send in superheads or open new primaries and secondaries where families are dissatisfied. Officials will also be expected to expand popular schools if large numbers of pupils miss out on their first choice school. The `parent power' proposals are expected to form part of a White Paper to be unveiled later this month by Schools Secretary Ed Balls.
The measures, seen as an answer to Conservative plans to allow families to set up their own schools, will be launched as Gordon Brown desperately seeks to shift attention from questions over his leadership. The Tories branded the proposals as underwhelming. The Liberal Democrats said they were gimmicks.
Under the initiative, parents will be asked to rate schools on U.S.-style report cards, which will eventually replace traditional league tables. The report cards will give grades in each of up to six categories including parents' views, pupils' views, attainment, pupil progress and children's well-being. These grades are expected to be condensed into an overall grade for the school, from A to E or even F.
Parents will also be asked to rate the schools in their area as part of plans to force councils to overhaul education provision if parents are unhappy. Parents already answer questionnaires from inspection body Ofsted and this mechanism is expected to be expanded to cover schools across an authority. Officials would be forced to respond to parental concerns, for example by changing the management of struggling schools. Underperforming schools could be taken over by higher-achieving neighbours. There would be an expansion in the number of `federations' or chains of schools run by an executive head.
Outlining his thinking in a recent speech, Mr Brown said: `Where there is significant dissatisfaction with the pattern of secondary school provision, and where standards across an area are too low, then the local authority will be required to act. `This could mean either the creation of a federation of schools, an expansion of good school places, or, in some cases, the establishment of entirely new schools.'
A Tory party spokesman branded the proposals timid: `The Government should be introducing legislation to give teachers more power to keep order in the classroom and to sort out the exam system.'
Mick Brookes, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said: `We will be interested to see what will be in the White Paper. `We support the direction the Government seems to want to travel in. But we are against a large letter being on the report card denoting a school's category. `We think this would be incredibly misleading for everyone, especially parents.'
SOURCE
My daughter is desperately excited by her upcoming fifth birthday - not least because apparently she will `look like six'. She's not daft; she knows that the labels on the clothes that I buy her now read `Age 6-7', and that she is taller and heavier than some of her friends.
My daughter is not fat - although according to recent research from Newcastle University, eviscerated by Tim Black on spiked, as a parent I would be the last person to admit that she was. But she isn't a skinnymalinks either. I'm quite pleased about this because I think she looks healthy and beautiful, and my instincts tell me that denying children pudding and sending them to bed hungry is neither necessary nor desirable in this day and age.
The trouble is, when you are constantly incited by government campaigns, health professionals and media reports to calculate and then worry about your child's Body Mass Index, you find yourself doubting your instincts - and looking at your child in a very peculiar way. Will she pass the test? you wonder, when the school weigh-in programme comes around. If I put a chocolate biscuit in her lunchbox, will people think it's my fault that she failed?
And so it was when, towards the end of last school term, I received a letter from the local NHS Community Services regarding the `height, weight, vision and hearing' screening programme for reception-class children. Parents were advised to complete a form, which asked for basic health information about the child and gave the opportunity to consent - or not - to their child `receiving the Health Assessment Service offered', and return it to the school forthwith. The covering letter was explicit in its advice that parents really should consent to this: we were told the Health Assessment was necessary `to identify any unmet health needs that may impact on your child's education'; and that if we did not consent, or failed to return the form, `your GP will be notified'.
Now, I am not the most organised of parents when it comes to returning forms; but in this case, I actively dithered. I have no problem with vision and hearing screening offered through the school, not least because I can see how problems with eyesight and hearing really can `impact on your child's education'. But screening for height and weight is a different matter. This is a political initiative, introduced a few years ago as part of the government's war on obesity.
The introduction, in 2006, of a national `weigh-in' scheme via schools, through which parents could be advised about how far down the scale of morbid obesity their children were sitting and through which the government could collect statistics to beef up their claims of a rampant fatness epidemic, was all about meeting the political objective of tackling a presumed public health problem (1). It had, and has, nothing to do with education - unless you take into account a fat kid's ability to shine at PE.
This was given tacit recognition in the early days of the weigh-in scheme, when parents were given the ability to opt their child out of this aspect of the Health Assessment. But it was quickly discovered that the `target group' - that is, children with less-than-perfect BMI scores - were being removed from the programme by their parents, defeating its stated objective of helping parents to recognise their child's chubbiness and take appropriate lifestyle measures to address this; and the rules changed to make all parents comply with the screening.
The upshot, certainly in our neck of the woods, was that the political height and weight screening became lumped together with the medically more important hearing and vision screening, and parents are forced to `consent' to all of this or face the scrutiny of their GP. The only basis on which you can `opt out' is by refusing to allow your child's height and weight measurements to be included in the government's data collection statistics. Which is what, after far too much soul-searching, I eventually did. Not having the ability to register a protest about my child being weighed or having her individually graded on a scale of fatness (both of which I cared about) I took the only available opportunity of registering any kind of objection, by refusing to let anonymous, meaningless figures about my child be included in national statistics (about which I really don't give a monkey's).
Then a funny thing happened. Three weeks into the new school term, I received a message from my GP's surgery asking me to get in touch, followed by a phone call from a very nice woman involved in the Health Assessment service. The woman explained to me that they had received my consent form after the screening had already taken place in school, and asked whether I would like them to arrange some separate screening for my daughter. I accepted the offer, although I also explained that if I thought there was a problem I would be happy to talk to my GP. After a brief pause, she admitted that, while my daughter had not been screened for vision and hearing because my consent had not been given, they had gone ahead with the height and weight screening, with the result that I would receive a letter telling me how tall my daughter was and how much she weighed, and that these statistics would have already been passed on for collection in the government's data.
The woman was very apologetic, and took pains to reassure me that all this data was `anonymised'. I explained that I did not actually mind the data being collected, but that it seemed rather strange that my lack of consent could be taken seriously when it came to the medically-important part of the screening service that I did want to access, but ignored when it came to the very bit of the service that I was worried about. I raised my concerns that the height and weight screening was a political measure that had nothing to do with my child's education, and pointed out that - unlike eyesight and hearing - I was perfectly capable of measuring height and weight myself. The woman agreed with me that the height and weight screening was indeed political, and said that was causing those working in this field a lot of problems with parents becoming upset and confused by the whole thing - the last thing that health professionals want to happen.
So, I asked, am I likely to receive a letter categorising my child as underweight, normal, overweight, obese? The woman explained that no, this year they were not categorising children like this, because last year several parents became understandably very upset on hearing that their child had been awarded a fat grade. Consequently, this year parents would be receiving (as I did) a letter that simply informed us how tall and heavy our child was, along with a general paragraph on the importance of having a healthy weight. But, as she pointed out, this would lead to complaints, too, as parents were utterly confused about `what it meant'. In other words, simply being told that your child weighs x kilos begs the question of whether you are then supposed to go and work out their Body Mass Index and its presumed relationship to healthy weights and diets - or whether you just chuck the letter in the bin.
I haven't chucked the letter in the bin - but only because I want to keep it as proof that I do not require surveillance by my GP. The telephone call from my local surgery, staffed by busy, conscientious people who are brilliant when you are ill, turned out to have been placed because I had not returned the screening form in time, and they just wanted to check `whether everything is okay'. As it goes, I am not worried that they might be worried - the GP practice knows my family, and I am confident that they realise that the reason we are not visiting the doctor all the time is because, actually, the kids are pretty healthy. But they, too, are forced to play along with an agenda that forces parents to `consent' to surveillance practices that both parents and health professionals know are based on political objectives rather than health imperatives.
What a waste of everybody's time, skill and energy this all is. And how bad it is for children, that so many people are scrutinising their bodies for signs of a glitch in the BMI calculation, rather than seeing them as little people with so many more exciting challenges ahead than worrying about what they had for breakfast.
SOURCE
Anger as British school tells children aged five about homosexual issues...to the sound of Elton John
Pupils as young as five were left 'confused and worried' after a school assembly to explain homosexuality. Teachers played a recording of Elton John's Your Song before explaining that the singer is homosexual and what the term means. The children were then shown images of same-sex couples.
Parents said the experience left some pupils afraid to cuddle each other in the playground in case other children thought they were gay. They have complained they were not consulted over the content of the assembly. Although it may have been appropriate for older children, they say it left the little ones confused and self-conscious about being friends with classmates of the same sex. When parents complained to the headmaster, they claim they were treated as 'homophobic' for even raising the issue.
The assembly, given to pupils aged from five to 11 at Bromstone Primary, in Broadstairs, Kent, aimed to steer them away from homophobic bullying. It also covered bullying on the grounds of race, language and weight.
Gemma Martin, 28, whose children, Chloe, seven, and Danny, four, attend the school, said some pupils were now worried 'about being friends with each other'. 'Little girls often cuddle each other if one of them is crying or has fallen over, and now they are afraid to do that in case the others think they are gay,' she said.
Michelle Cosgrove, 33, said some parents felt they were treated as homophobic just for asking why they had not been consulted about the assembly. Her three children, Jasmine, ten, Luke, seven, and Freya, five, attend the school. She said the example of two boys holding hands and two boys kissing was mentioned in the assembly - held the day after the International Day Against Homophobia. She found herself answering questions on homosexuality when her children raised it at home. 'There is no way on this earth I'm homophobic - I just want the choice as a parent to talk to my children about this when the time is appropriate,' she said.
Headmaster Nigel Utton said the 30-minute assembly contained only a small section on homosexuality which was appropriate for the age of the children. It was part of an initiative spearheaded by Kent County Council, he said. Other parents had approved of the assembly, he said. It had not been necessary to consult them beforehand. 'Five-year-olds understand about relationships and about liking people,' he said.
Kent education officer Lynne Miller said: 'This was an assembly about bullying and parents have praised the school for its handling of such a sensitive matter. 'Young children are exposed at a very early age to homophobic language. If language is not challenged it makes it much more difficult to address homophobic bullying in secondary schools.'
SOURCE
British plan to give parents the power to oust underperforming headmasters
Schools Secretary Ed Balls is considering a new scheme that will let parents overthrow poor headmasters. Parents would be able to rate their children's education and trigger the overthrow of poor headmasters under plans being drawn up by ministers. Councils will be required to act on their views and send in superheads or open new primaries and secondaries where families are dissatisfied. Officials will also be expected to expand popular schools if large numbers of pupils miss out on their first choice school. The `parent power' proposals are expected to form part of a White Paper to be unveiled later this month by Schools Secretary Ed Balls.
The measures, seen as an answer to Conservative plans to allow families to set up their own schools, will be launched as Gordon Brown desperately seeks to shift attention from questions over his leadership. The Tories branded the proposals as underwhelming. The Liberal Democrats said they were gimmicks.
Under the initiative, parents will be asked to rate schools on U.S.-style report cards, which will eventually replace traditional league tables. The report cards will give grades in each of up to six categories including parents' views, pupils' views, attainment, pupil progress and children's well-being. These grades are expected to be condensed into an overall grade for the school, from A to E or even F.
Parents will also be asked to rate the schools in their area as part of plans to force councils to overhaul education provision if parents are unhappy. Parents already answer questionnaires from inspection body Ofsted and this mechanism is expected to be expanded to cover schools across an authority. Officials would be forced to respond to parental concerns, for example by changing the management of struggling schools. Underperforming schools could be taken over by higher-achieving neighbours. There would be an expansion in the number of `federations' or chains of schools run by an executive head.
Outlining his thinking in a recent speech, Mr Brown said: `Where there is significant dissatisfaction with the pattern of secondary school provision, and where standards across an area are too low, then the local authority will be required to act. `This could mean either the creation of a federation of schools, an expansion of good school places, or, in some cases, the establishment of entirely new schools.'
A Tory party spokesman branded the proposals timid: `The Government should be introducing legislation to give teachers more power to keep order in the classroom and to sort out the exam system.'
Mick Brookes, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said: `We will be interested to see what will be in the White Paper. `We support the direction the Government seems to want to travel in. But we are against a large letter being on the report card denoting a school's category. `We think this would be incredibly misleading for everyone, especially parents.'
SOURCE
Saturday, June 06, 2009
Sharia law 'same' as gangster's rule, says Lord Tebbit
Veteran Tory Lord Tebbit provoked anger among Muslims yesterday by comparing Islamic sharia courts to gangsters. He likened the tribunals to the 'system of arbitration of disputes that was run by the Kray brothers'. Lord Tebbit told the Lords: 'Are you not aware that there is extreme pressure put upon vulnerable women to go through a form of arbitration that results in them being virtually precluded from access to British law?'
The intervention from Lord Tebbit, the former Tory chairman and cabinet minister whose leading role in the Thatcher years has made him a revered figure for many in the party, reignited the row over Islamic courts and their role in the British justice system. Muslim critics called his remarks 'baseless and ignorant'.
Last autumn, ministers confirmed that sharia tribunals may deal with family and divorce disputes among Muslims, and that sharia decisions need only the briefest scrutiny in a law court to win full legal effect. Five sharia courts currently operate mediation systems approved under the 1996 Arbitration Act. Their decisions on divorce, money and children can be approved by a family court if they are submitted to a judge for approval.
Orthodox Jewish religious tribunals settle similar disputes and have a similar legal status.
Lord Tebbit - who drew controversy in the 1990s after he recommended a 'cricket test' to assess the loyalty to Britain of immigrants - spoke after ministers confirmed the role of sharia courts. Warning that women could be shut out from the protection of the law, he asked Justice Minister Lord Bach: 'That is a difficult matter, I know, but how do you think we can help those who are put in that position?'
His comparison with the intimidation and violence used by the Krays to run their gangland empire brought an angry response. Inayat Bunglawala, of the Muslim Council of Britain, said: 'We can only wonder whether Lord Tebbit has ever set foot in a sharia council to see what they actually do before making such a baseless and ignorant comparison with the workings of the Kray brothers. 'Both Muslim sharia councils and Orthodox Jewish Beth Din courts exist to try and help resolve civil disputes amongst individuals through a voluntary process of arbitration. They are entirely legal and have to operate firmly within the law.'
But Lord Tebbit's scepticism over sharia law was backed by UKIP peer Lord Pearson of Rannoch, who called on the Government for 'a clear assurance that sharia law will never be allowed to take precedence over British law.'
Lord Bach admitted a problem 'undoubtedly exists' over the treatment of women in sharia courts. But he added: 'The fact is that any decision made by anybody that is outside English law cannot stand against English law. If consent is sought, for example, for some issue around children or to do with family assets, then the English courts decide. 'Other councils - not courts - can, if the parties want to make that agreement, make that agreement and that applies across the board. But always behind that is the fact that those agreements can't be enforced except by an English court.'
Last year, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, said the full establishment of sharia law 'seems unavoidable'. In July 2008, the then Lord Chief Justice Lord Phillips said the principles of sharia law could be the basis for resolving family and business disputes.
SOURCE
'Stifling' British libel laws attacked by celebrities and scientists after writer is sued by chiropractors for saying unproven treatment is 'bogus'
Scientists and celebrities joined yesterday in an attack on Britain's libel laws. They called for free speech in science after a judge ruled against a writer who accused chiropractors of using 'bogus treatments'. The resulting outcry among leading scientists has drawn support from showbusiness stars Stephen Fry, Ricky Gervais and Harry Hill and Left-wing figureheads such as lawyer Baroness Kennedy and columnist Yasmin Alibhai-Brown.
The ruling against Dr Simon Singh came from controversial judge Mr Justice Eady, already the focus of strong criticism over his interpretations of human rights and libel laws.
Dr Singh wrote in the Guardian last year that the British Chiropractic Association was 'the respectable face of the chiropractic profession and yet it happily promotes bogus treatments'. The association sued for libel, demanding an apology and a retraction. In a preliminary ruling last month Mr Justice Eady said the use of the word 'bogus' meant Mr Singh had accused the association of dishonesty and supporting treatment it knew would not work.
The campaign to help Dr Singh in an appeal has the support of many eminent scientific names, including biologist Richard Dawkins, astronomer Jocelyn Bell, geneticist Steve Jones, Royal Society president Lord Rees and former Government chief scientist Sir David King. Professor Dawkins said: 'The English libel laws are ridiculed as an international charter for litigious mountebanks, and the effects are especially pernicious where science is concerned.'
Sir David King questioned Mr Justice Eady's opinion over the word bogus. He said: 'It is ridiculous that a legal and outmoded definition of a word has been used to hinder and discourage scientific debate.' Stephen Fry said: 'When a powerful organisation tries to silence a man of Simon Singh's reputation, anyone who believes in science, fairness and the truth should rise in indignation.'
Dr Singh's article attacked chiropractors for claiming that they could treat complaints and conditions unconnected to back problems. The British Chiropractic Association says its techniques 'improve the efficiency of the nervous system and release the body's natural healing ability'. It said in a statement that Dr Singh 'could have retracted the remarks and apologised and the debate would have continued away from the legal world. He chose not to do so. 'To stifle scientific debate would clearly be wrong. However, with rights comes responsibility, and scientists must realise they cannot simply publish with impunity what they know to be untrue and libellous.'
Mr Justice Eady has been accused of promoting 'libel tourism' after finding for a Saudi banker against an American author whose book had not even been published in Britain.
The decision provoked deep cr
Veteran Tory Lord Tebbit provoked anger among Muslims yesterday by comparing Islamic sharia courts to gangsters. He likened the tribunals to the 'system of arbitration of disputes that was run by the Kray brothers'. Lord Tebbit told the Lords: 'Are you not aware that there is extreme pressure put upon vulnerable women to go through a form of arbitration that results in them being virtually precluded from access to British law?'
The intervention from Lord Tebbit, the former Tory chairman and cabinet minister whose leading role in the Thatcher years has made him a revered figure for many in the party, reignited the row over Islamic courts and their role in the British justice system. Muslim critics called his remarks 'baseless and ignorant'.
Last autumn, ministers confirmed that sharia tribunals may deal with family and divorce disputes among Muslims, and that sharia decisions need only the briefest scrutiny in a law court to win full legal effect. Five sharia courts currently operate mediation systems approved under the 1996 Arbitration Act. Their decisions on divorce, money and children can be approved by a family court if they are submitted to a judge for approval.
Orthodox Jewish religious tribunals settle similar disputes and have a similar legal status.
Lord Tebbit - who drew controversy in the 1990s after he recommended a 'cricket test' to assess the loyalty to Britain of immigrants - spoke after ministers confirmed the role of sharia courts. Warning that women could be shut out from the protection of the law, he asked Justice Minister Lord Bach: 'That is a difficult matter, I know, but how do you think we can help those who are put in that position?'
His comparison with the intimidation and violence used by the Krays to run their gangland empire brought an angry response. Inayat Bunglawala, of the Muslim Council of Britain, said: 'We can only wonder whether Lord Tebbit has ever set foot in a sharia council to see what they actually do before making such a baseless and ignorant comparison with the workings of the Kray brothers. 'Both Muslim sharia councils and Orthodox Jewish Beth Din courts exist to try and help resolve civil disputes amongst individuals through a voluntary process of arbitration. They are entirely legal and have to operate firmly within the law.'
But Lord Tebbit's scepticism over sharia law was backed by UKIP peer Lord Pearson of Rannoch, who called on the Government for 'a clear assurance that sharia law will never be allowed to take precedence over British law.'
Lord Bach admitted a problem 'undoubtedly exists' over the treatment of women in sharia courts. But he added: 'The fact is that any decision made by anybody that is outside English law cannot stand against English law. If consent is sought, for example, for some issue around children or to do with family assets, then the English courts decide. 'Other councils - not courts - can, if the parties want to make that agreement, make that agreement and that applies across the board. But always behind that is the fact that those agreements can't be enforced except by an English court.'
Last year, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, said the full establishment of sharia law 'seems unavoidable'. In July 2008, the then Lord Chief Justice Lord Phillips said the principles of sharia law could be the basis for resolving family and business disputes.
SOURCE
'Stifling' British libel laws attacked by celebrities and scientists after writer is sued by chiropractors for saying unproven treatment is 'bogus'
Scientists and celebrities joined yesterday in an attack on Britain's libel laws. They called for free speech in science after a judge ruled against a writer who accused chiropractors of using 'bogus treatments'. The resulting outcry among leading scientists has drawn support from showbusiness stars Stephen Fry, Ricky Gervais and Harry Hill and Left-wing figureheads such as lawyer Baroness Kennedy and columnist Yasmin Alibhai-Brown.
The ruling against Dr Simon Singh came from controversial judge Mr Justice Eady, already the focus of strong criticism over his interpretations of human rights and libel laws.
Dr Singh wrote in the Guardian last year that the British Chiropractic Association was 'the respectable face of the chiropractic profession and yet it happily promotes bogus treatments'. The association sued for libel, demanding an apology and a retraction. In a preliminary ruling last month Mr Justice Eady said the use of the word 'bogus' meant Mr Singh had accused the association of dishonesty and supporting treatment it knew would not work.
The campaign to help Dr Singh in an appeal has the support of many eminent scientific names, including biologist Richard Dawkins, astronomer Jocelyn Bell, geneticist Steve Jones, Royal Society president Lord Rees and former Government chief scientist Sir David King. Professor Dawkins said: 'The English libel laws are ridiculed as an international charter for litigious mountebanks, and the effects are especially pernicious where science is concerned.'
Sir David King questioned Mr Justice Eady's opinion over the word bogus. He said: 'It is ridiculous that a legal and outmoded definition of a word has been used to hinder and discourage scientific debate.' Stephen Fry said: 'When a powerful organisation tries to silence a man of Simon Singh's reputation, anyone who believes in science, fairness and the truth should rise in indignation.'
Dr Singh's article attacked chiropractors for claiming that they could treat complaints and conditions unconnected to back problems. The British Chiropractic Association says its techniques 'improve the efficiency of the nervous system and release the body's natural healing ability'. It said in a statement that Dr Singh 'could have retracted the remarks and apologised and the debate would have continued away from the legal world. He chose not to do so. 'To stifle scientific debate would clearly be wrong. However, with rights comes responsibility, and scientists must realise they cannot simply publish with impunity what they know to be untrue and libellous.'
Mr Justice Eady has been accused of promoting 'libel tourism' after finding for a Saudi banker against an American author whose book had not even been published in Britain.
The decision provoked deep cr