Perfect storm for moral champion Abbot

The bush fires are raging in the Sydney area right now and hard-pressed firefighters and volunteers are trying to keep them under control. And the politicians, what are they doing? They are blocking every attempt to curb their expenses claims for friend's weddings, excessive travel claims to attend the Tour de France and taxpayers' money for them to attend sporting events. Good to see they have their priorities right eh?

Tony Abbott's gang have been called a Kleptocracy. That seems to be a slur on Kleptomaniacs who have high moral standards compared with most politicians who pad their expense accounts and seem to have no conscience at all.  The Catholic Herald wrongly praised Abbott's homophobic demagogy as a high moral stand. Like all politicians he has feet of clay. What did they expect?

Like the Daily Telegraph expose of politicians with their hands in the till, the similar expose in Sydney could have unforeseen consequences if people begin to question what use these corrupt politicians are and seek to find an alternative.

Http://derekmcmillan.com

Free Schools

Secretary of State Michael Gove is reportedly 'relaxed' about being condemned by all the teachers' associations. His view of educational theory, expressed on Question Time. on the BBC was 'yadda yadda yadda'. This plays well with the Tory backwoodsmen whose votes he will need in his inevitable leadership bid.

His educational theory is epitomized by his 'free schools' They are free from educational theory, free from local authority support and most importantly free from qualified teachers.

It is small wonder that unqualified heads and teachers have found the job just a wee bit harder than they imagined. 

While schools face cuts in every area, the free school program has money to burn. An overspend of a billion pounds is something Gove is also 'relaxed' about.

Gove wrote a letter apologizing to his French teacher which was published in the Radio Times. Too little too late. An apology to all teachers and the pupils whose future he has betrayed would be a start. For most of us Gove's head on a plate would be too little too late!

http://derekmcmillan.com/

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http://derekmcmillan.com/

Coalition MPs in expenses scandal

It would seem that it's the same the whole world over it's the rich wot gets the gravy and the poor wot takes the blame.

The Coalition in question is in Australia. Premier Abbot was forced to pay  back 1095 dollars spent on attending a wedding. His was the government The Catholic Herald thought was setting a fine moral example! He only set this particular example seven years after the event and after the media were asking questions!

A Labor MP took a trip costing 5474 dollars during which he took some personal time to watch the Tour de France.  The MP's name is Ripoll although it might be Ripoff from now on.

And while MPs are living the highlife they preach austerity - for the poor obviously, not for themselves

Http://derekmcmillan.com

BUPA Child Abuse!

The latest BUPA advert uses charming children to promote a benevolent cuddly image. 

If someone were to use children to, shall we say, oppose NHS privatisation you can just imagine the Daily Mail choking on the carpet fulminating about indoctrination and propaganda. 

The role of BUPA is to help people with money to jump the queue for health care. Queue jumping is the only crime which carries the death penalty. In this case it is those at the back of the queue who suffer and die waiting for care while BUPA pushes the ones with money to the front. 

Medical care should be based on health not wealth. If I want to see a cardiologist I have to wait months and then sit in an unprepossessing waiting room for three hours. They then take my blood pressure and say it is a bit high!

If a private patient wants to see the same cardiologist in the same NHS hospital they pick the date and time. 

So there is nothing nice about BUPA and using children to promote queue-jumping is child abuse. 

Every Tory cut (or Labour cut come to that) makes more people see bribing their way into health care an unfortunate necessity and BUPA profits. We need a health service which would make BUPA irrelevant. The political elite are not interested but the 99 percent are. We need a party to represent us. 

Http://derekmcmillan.com

Energy companies resist price freeze. Shocking!

Energy prices

The limited proposal for Labour to freeze energy prices has put a cat among the pigeons. The Daily Mail went into doubleplus rant mode and predicted disaster. Interestingly whereas a strike by workers gets them foaming at the mouth, a strike by the power companies would have their support.

The Independent had a news story that the energy companies would rather have the public pay higher prices than for their profits to take a hit. In what way is that news?

The fact of the matter is that a government which wanted to confront the fat cats would need to be prepared for vicious retaliation. Any supplier who cut off supplies would forfeit their rights. They could, if the government had the guts, face imprisonment for economic sabotage and profiteering. Six months in Strangeways would do them more good than those unhealthy bonuses. At the bare minimum the energy companies would have to be taken into public ownership. 

As for compensation, haven't you heard? Skivers have to work for their benefits these days. The prospect of fat cats having to work for their compensation would be popular. 

It was interesting, but probably irrelevant, that yesterday's men like El Portillo and Prince of Lies Mandelson rushed to toady to the power companies. The poor old things probably just wanted to see their names in the papers. 

Socialists will support a price freeze and damn the fat cats. At the same time the battle against Labour cuts, Labour evictions and Labour traitors will not be put on hold!

Miliband vs Lucas

On the Andrew Marr show this morning there was a politician advocating "Saving the NHS, Fighting Austerity, Railways into Public Hands, Scrapping Trident" Well it could hardly have been Ed Miliband could it?

No it was Brighton MP Caroline Lucas. There is an advert greeting delegates to Brighton "Welcome to Brighton – Home of the True Opposition in Parliament. p.s. Labour is down the hill on the right”. I assume that the down the hill on the right is geographically accurate. It is 100% politically accurate.

Marr then attempted to interview Miliband. Oh dear. He has some good policies - scrapping the bedroom tax and "strengthening" the minimum wage. Coming on the same day as UKIP "sluts" made a complete pig's ear of their publicity the announcement of these policies on Saturday made a positive news story.

When pressed by Marr on anything, e.g. whether "strengthening" the minimum wage actually means increasing it Miliband said "we have made this absolutely clear." He said it at least eight times. Compared with Caroline Lucas' clear policy statements all we were getting from Miliband was fudge. And clotted cream fudge at that.

Caroline Lucas's bold approach to opposing the Tories puts "One Nation" Labour to shame. It is likely trade unionists and socialists will be supporting Green candidates when there is no alternative. The Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition is that alternative. The Greens in local government in Brighton do not have the same chutzpah as Caroline Lucas nor do they have a consistent anti-austerity line.

The Iron Heel

Politicians seek votes by attacking the muslim community

The rich and powerful will use any means necessary to defend their wealth and power. If that means turning their venom on defenceless women for what they are wearing then they will do just that.

Women who are deemed to be dressed too immodestly are told they are "asking to be raped." And women who wear the niqab are demonised in the press as if we didn't have anything more pressing to worry about.

Throughout history ruling elites have used 'divide and rule' to keep in power. Never mind that the politicians and corporations are robbing you blind. Look at that woman in a veil. She is your real enemy.

This is rubbish and the organisations of the working class need to tell them so. The politicians scent a cheap scapegoat. This ridiculous debate is not only insulting it is divisive and irrelevant.

Tory MP Philip Hollobone is wasting parliamentary time fulminating against the niqab. He even turns his back on any constituent who wears one. Didn't his mother teach him any manners? This wiseacre claims that he is "acting in the interests of muslim women". Apparently muslim women are oppressed by patriarchal Islam and the only cure for this is for them to be oppressed by white patriarchs like Hollobone. He knows what is in their best interests. Certainly he would not dream of allowing women to take their own decisions.

Hollobone was frightened by the Birmingham Metropolitan College ditching its ban on the niqab but this ban would have meant denying an education to a proportion of the population on the grounds of their religious belief and the way they dress. If we tolerate such discrimination where would it end?

http://derekmcmillan.com

Cromwell comments on MPs expenses scandal

Rather prescient words from Oliver Cromwell!

It is high time for me to put an end to your sitting in this place, which you have dishonored by your contempt of all virtue, and defiled by your practice of every vice.

Ye are a factious crew, and enemies to all good government.

Ye are a pack of mercenary wretches, and would like Esau sell your country for a mess of pottage, and like Judas betray your God for a few pieces of money.

Is there a single virtue now remaining amongst you? Is there one vice you do not possess?

Ye have no more religion than my horse. Gold is your God. Which of you have not bartered your conscience for bribes? Is there a man amongst you that has the least care for the good of the Commonwealth?

Ye sordid prostitutes have you not defiled this sacred place, and turned the Lord's temple into a den of thieves, by your immoral principles and wicked practices?

Ye are grown intolerably odious to the whole nation. You were deputed here by the people to get grievances redressed, are yourselves become the greatest grievance.

Your country therefore calls upon me to cleanse this Augean stable, by putting a final period to your iniquitous proceedings in this House; and which by God's help, and the strength he has given me, I am now come to do.

I command ye therefore, upon the peril of your lives, to depart immediately out of this place.

Go, get you out! Make haste! Ye venal slaves be gone! So! Take away that shining bauble there, and lock up the doors.

In the name of God, go!

(OK there is a bit of hyperbole here but on the whole it is a good summary of the nature of the political elite)

www.derekmcmillan.com

Giving nepotism a bad name

Legend has it that Guy Fawkes was the only person ever to enter parliament with honest intentions. It is an exaggeration. Today's news shows that it is not much of one however.

What follows is the list of shame, those MPs who give public money to family members on one pretext or another. Dave Nellist was hounded and vilified by the Parliamentary elite. Why? He insisted on working for the average wage of a skilled worker and donated the rest of his parliamentary salary to trade union causes. Of course they hated him. He showed them up for what they were.

Dave Nellist is now in the forefront of the Campaign for a New Workers' Party. If your union has any spare cash the Labour Party is too proud to take, there is a campaign they could endorse :)

List of Shame: Every MP Who Employs a Family Member

Adrian Bailey: Jill Bailey £9,999
Adrian Sanders: Alison Sanders £29,999
Aidan Burley: Jodie Jones £29,999
Alan Campbell: Jayne Campbell £4,999
Alan Haselhurst: Angela Margaret £44,999
Alan Meale: Diana Gilhespy £19,999
Albert Owen: Samuel Blyth £29,999
Alec Shelbrooke: Susan Shelbrooke £14,999
Alex Cunningham: John Cunningham £9,999
Alistair Burt: Eve Burt £39,999
Andrew George: Jill George £4,999
Andrew Miller: Frances Miller £29,999
Andrew Robathan: Rachel Robathan £24,999
Andrew Smith: Valerie Smith £14,999
Andrew Turner: Carole Dennett £19,999
Angela Smith: Steven Wilson £39,999
Angus MacNeil: Jane MacNeil £24,999
Angus Robertson: Carron Anderson £29,999
Annette Brooke: Eleanor Perera £4,999
Barry Gardiner: Caroline Smith £24,999
Ben Wallace: Liza Wallace £24,999
Bill Cash: Bridget Cash £29,999
Bob Ainsworth: Gloria J Ainsworth £14,999
Bob Blackman: Nicola Blackman £34,999
Brian Donohoe: Christine Donohoe £24,999
Caroline Flint: Phil Cole £39,999
Cathy Jamieson: Ian Sharpe £14,999
Charles Walker: Fiona Walker £29,999
Cheryl Gillan: John Leeming £19,999
Chris Grayling: Susan Grayling £39,999
Chris Ruane: Gillian Roberts £24,999
Chris Williamson: Margaret Amsbury £29,999
Christopher Chope: Christine Chope £49,999
Clive Betts: James Thomas £34,999
Craig Whittaker: Sophie Whittaker £19,999
Dan Jarvis: Rachel Brookes £9,999
Dan Rogerson: Heidi Rogerson £9,999
Daniel Poulter: Carol Poulter £39,999
David Amess: Julia Amess £19,999
David Burrowes: Rebecca Chard £39,999
David Crausby: Enid Crausby £39,999
David Davies: Aliz Harnisfoger-Davies £9,999
David Davis: Doreen Margery Davis £34,999
David Hamilton: Jean Hamilton £29,999
David Mundell: Oliver Mundell £29,999
Dennis Skinner: Lois Blasenheim £39,999
Derek Twigg: Mary Twigg £29,999
Desmond Swayne: Moira Swayne £9,999
Diana Johnson: Kevin Morton £39,999
Frank Roy: Ellen Roy £4,999
Gareth Johnson: Wendy Johnson £14,999
Gary Streeter: Janet Vanessa Streeter £14,999
Gavin Williamson: Joanne Williamson £4,999
George Howarth: Julie Howarth £34,999
George Young: Camilla Young £34,999
Glenda Jackson: Clare Fletcher £9,999
Glyn Davies: Bobbie Davies £19,999
Graham Brady: Victoria Lowther £44,999
Graham Evans: Cheryl Evans £24,999
Graham Stringer: Eleanor Carr £29,999
Graham Stuart: Niki Roberts £34,999
Graham Morris: Michelle Morris £14,999
Greg Knight: Janet Knight £24,999
Gregory Campbell: Frances Campbell £19,999
Helen Grant: Simon Grant £9,999
Helen Jones: Michael Vobe £39,999
Henry Bellingham: Emma Bellingham £14,999
Henry Smith: Jennifer Lois Millar-Smith £24,999
Hilary Benn: Sally Clark £24,999
Hugo Swire: Alexandra Sasha Swire £34,999
Hywel Francis: Mair Francis £44,999
Iain McKenzie: Alison McKenzie £4,999
Iain Wright: Tiffany Wright £29,999
Ian Davidson: Morag MacKinnon £34,999
Ian Lavery: Hilary Lavery £24,999
Ian Liddell-Grainger: Jill Liddell-Grainger £34,999
Ian Lucas: Noah Lucas £9,999
Ian Murray: Hannah Woolfson £9,999
Ian Swales: Anne Marie Swales £9,999
Jackie Doyle-Price: Mark Steven Coxshall £19,999
James Gray: Phillipa Gray £34,999
James Paice: Ava Paice £14,999
Jeffry Donaldson: Eleanor Donaldson £24,999
Jim Dobbin: Mary Dobbin £34,999
Jim Hood: Marion Stewart Hood £24,999
Jim Sheridan: Joanne Riley £29,999
Joe Benton: Doris Benton £24,999
John Healey: Jackie Bate £14,999
John Mann: Joanna White £34,999
John Robertson: Laura Robertson £4,999
John Stevenson: Tracy Nixon £9,999
Julian Brazier: Katharine Elizabeth Brazier £19,999
Julie Elliott: Miles Elliott £24,999
Karen Bradley: Neil Bradley £44,999
Karl McCartney: Cordelia McCartney £39,999
Kelvin Hopkins: Patricia Hopkins £14,999
Kevin Barron: Andree Deane £14,999
Laurence Robertson: Anne Marie Adams £44,999
Lee Scott: Estelle Scott £34,999
Liam Byrne: Sarah Harnett £9,999
Linda Riordan: Stephen Roberts £39,999
Lindsay Hoyle: Catherine Hoyle £14,999
Malcolm Bruce: Rosemary Bruce £35,000
Margaret Beckett: Lionel Beckett £30,000
Mark Garnier: Caroline Garnier £40,000
Mark Pritchard: Sondra Spaeth £45,000
Mark Simmonds: Lizbeth Simmonds £25,000
Mark Tami: Sally Tami £20,000
Martin Caton: Bethan Caton £35,000
Martin Vickers: Ann Vickers £10,000
Meg Munn: Dennis Bates £25,000
Menzies Campbell: Elspeth Cambpell £30,000, Donald Lothian £25,000
Michael Dugher: Joanna Dugher £35,000
Michael Fallon: Wendy Fallon £20,000
Michael McCann: Tracey Ann McCann £35,000
Michael Moore: Alison Moore £20,000
Mike Penning; Angela Penning £35,000
Nadine Dorries: Phillipa Dorries £45,000, Jennifer Dorries £35,000
Neil Parish: Susan Parish £20,000
Nigel Adams: Claire Adams £20,000
Oliver Heald: Christine Heald £40,000
Owen Paterson: Rose Paterson £35,000
Patrick McLoughlin: Lynn McLoughlin £40,000
Patrick Mercer: Susan Gray £40,000
Paul Beresford: Julie Beresford £30,000
Paul Farrelly: Victoria Perry £5,000
Paul Flynn: Lynne Flynn £20,000
Peter Aldous: Mark Bee £10,000
Peter Bone: Jeanette Bone £50,000
Phil Wilson: Margaret Brown £40,000
Philip Davies: Deborah Davies £25,000
Phillip Lee: Anthony Lee £10,000
Rehman Chishti: Nusrat Ahmed £25,000
Richard Ottaway: Nicola Ottaway £15,000
Richard Shepherd: Davida Catleugh £40,000
Robert Buckland: Sian Reed £5,000
Robert Goodwill: Maureen Goodwill £20,000
Roger Gale: Susan Gale £40,000
Ronnie Campbell: Deirdre Campbell £15,000
Russell Brown: Gillian Carey £25,000
Sharon Hodgson: Alan Hodgson £35,000
Simon Danczuk: Karen Burke £30,000
Simon Hart: Abigail Hart £25,000
Stephen Crabb: Beatrice Crabb £20,000
Stephen Gilbert: Jaqueline Bull £15,000
Stephen Hammond: Sally Hammond £45,000
Stephen Pound: Maggie Pound £25,000
Teresa Pearce: Paul O’Neill £10,000
Tim Loughton: Elizabeth Loughton £10,000
Tom Harris: Carolyn Harris £35,000
Tony Lloyd: Angharad Lloyd £10,000
Valerie Vaz: Paul Townsend £40,000
William McCrea: Robert Watters £25,000
Yvonne Fovargue: Paul Kenny £25,000
£4 million-a-year of your money goes straight into their pockets…

This information comes from the Guy Fawkes blog. order-order.com

 

Per ardua ad astra

Paul (Dr Paul McMillan) has started tweeting. His monicker is Mcmillan_astro which I thought was a character in the Jetsons but apparently not. He will be dealing with all matters astrophysical in a theoretical way/
.

Miliband gives in to anti-union prejudice

In 1964 the Tories won an unexpected victory in Smethwick as a result of an openly racist campaign. The Labour Party branded the Conservative tactics as caving in to racial prejudice and fought back successfully in the 1966 election.

Fast forward to 2013, the Conservatives and the millionaire press are baying for trade union blood. Miliband's only response is to "distance himself" from the trade unions. The Tories and the political elite hate the unions because the unions are the only people standing up to them, They also believe that the working classes have no business interfering in politics. Politics is a matter for their betters.

The media has made much of the polls which indicate that union members support Miliband's reforms. Another way of looking at it would be to say that they do not see the point of unions giving money to the Labour Party when all they get in response is lectures, abuse and betrayal.

And are the rabid right satisfied with Miliband's craven attitude? Not a bit of it. Today's Express claims

'ED Miliband has “buckled under pressure” to the unions after failing to come up with new plans to challenge their power over Labour, it was claimed last night.' The inverted commas indicating that "sources in the Conservative Party" were saying that. Well they would say that wouldn't they?

The backwoodsmen seem to be looking for some kind of dutch auction between the parties over trade unions. If Tories say ban strikes, Labour says ban some strikes. Tories say shoot the lot, Labour says only shoot some of them. Tories say send them all to Hell, Labour says well give some the option of going to t'other place. 

Union money would be better spent supporting anti-cuts candidates than giving a carte-blanche to Labour.

http://derekmcmillan.com/

Action speaks louder than words

Ronnie Draper of the bakers union speaking at the NSSN in  Bournemouth mentioned zero hours contracts. Workers at Hovis in Wigan were on strike over Zero Hours contracts. They have successfully got proper contracts for the workers on zero hours contracts. There will be further strike action over the abuse of agency workers.

The speeches from Bob Crow and Martin Powell-Davies were excellent. A joint strike by NASUWT and NUT is on the cards for this term. It is possible other unions could coordinate strike action on the same day. 

The blacklist support group has successfully got workers reinstated with the support of NSSN.

Frances O'Grady always speaks very well in condemning the government of the bankers.Action from the TUC would speak a lot louder however. It is true that the government can use the law against the unions if they seek to call a general strike.

I remember when a government was pig-headed enough to do so. They imprisoned five dockers in July 1972. There was a completely illegal strike (for which nobody was ever prosecuted) which spread like wildfire and the government was forced to produce the Official Solicitor like a rabbit out of a hat and release the dockers. More recently the POA held union meetings during working hours as a form of strike action.

An ounce of audacity is worth a ton of speeches.

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TUC get off your knees

The political elite have turned their backs on the people. Anyone on benefits is stigmatised as a skiver. People in work are told they must work harder and don't deserve pay rises. Nobody is standing up for the poor.
The TUC ought to be doing this. The TUC needs to act as a general staff of the working class. The TUC ought to be giving a lead.
The National Shop Stewards Network is lobbying the TUC with precisely that agenda.
Stop pussyfooting around the issue of a general strike and get on with it.

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State funding of political parties?

If there is one thing which has become clear in recent years it is that the political elite are out of touch with the lives of ordinary people. They live in a Westminster "bubble" with a protected privileged lifestyle.

At the same time "cash for favours", "cash for peerages" and "cash for influence" scandals have revealed the seedy side of Westminster politics.

Now that some union leaders have called time on donating millions to the Labour Party, a new proposal has been brought forward. The Labour leaders now propose state funding for political parties.

This will only insulate the political elite from the popularion still further. The rich will always find ways of funding the political policies which favour them. The trade unions and the general public will be on the outside looking in.

The rich have three parties to do their bidding. There ought to be a party for the 99%.

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Free Socialist Reviews 1 - 5 September

Socialist Reviews free to Socialists from 1 - 5 September for Kindle, Ipad and PC (There is a free PC viewer for Kindle books)

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Insane options in Syria

War is insane at the best of times. However the war options floated by the BBC for Syria beggar belief.

One is to "bomb the chemical weapon factories." Assuming the intelligence is accurate and in Iraq you will remember the weapons of mass destruction did not even exist so intelligence is not a strong point, what happens when you bomb a chemical weapon factory?

Could it for example release masses of deadly gases into the atmosphere? And that would help the people of Syria would it? Or would they be collateral damage as the Iraqi civilians and the Afghan civilians have been?

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Blair baying for blood in Syria

Tony Blair has jumped into the Syrian conflict with both boots. Blair is remembered as the man who redefined the sixties term "running dog of imperialism" as 'Bush's poodle' because of his slavish obedience to American imperialism.

Britain and America have massive stockpiles of chemical weapons. They are now on their moral high horse over the alleged use of such weapons by the hated Assad regime.

And their solution?

Well what do the British taxpayers want more than yet another bloody war when we cannot feed our own poor?

What do the people of Syria need more than American carpet bombing? Some 'shock and awe'. You would think they had enough of that.

And what on earth makes Cameron and his canaille think they can run Syria when they are making such a mess of running the United Kingdom?

This is a planned imperialist war. Pure and simple.

Blair is called the Middle East Peace Embassador.

In the Middle East he is called the mass murdering war criminal.

http://derekmcmillan.com/

Return of the Means Test

Edinburgh City Council has decided to crack down on smokers and
drinkers. Anyone who smokes or drinks will lose benefit. They are the
first council to admit this openly but one wonders how many others are
taking similar decisions behind closed doors.

They are clearly the "undeserving poor" so this SNP/Labour Council
feels free to punish them. What next, I wonder. Will bankers who drink
not receive their bonuses? Will MPs who smoke have their expenses
withheld? Apparently not. Apparently it is only the poor who are
undeserving.

This is arguably more intrusive than the means test which precipitated
the hunger marches and it is just one more stick to beat the poor.
Setting smokers against non-smokers, drinkers against non-drinkers, it
is the age-old tactic of divide and rule. People who are struggling to
make ends meet are encouraged to demonise people who receive benefits
but have the temerity to drink and smoke. Some even watch TV and read
books. Horror!

People who are unemployed, disabled or retired deserve to be treated
with respect. Instead every opportunity is taken to humiliate them.
To take a small example, the Job Centre in Horsham expects people to
attend meetings of up to an hour and a half but there are no toilet
facilities for the general public. They do not even provide water -
presumably this is a precaution because they don't provide toilets. It
is tempting to say they are taking the piss.

Only the trade unions have any interest in helping the poor. The
political elite are otherwise engaged. We could do with a party of the
working class, open to smokers and drinkers!

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http://derekmcmillan.com/

Academy for Homophobia

Homophobia, particularly name-calling and bullying, is an issue which all teachers are aware of. For example even OFSTED objected that name-calling is “commonplace” at the Hope Academy in St Helens and teachers need to be trained in how to deal with derogatory language appropriately.

Those were the findings of Ofsted inspectors who visited the multi-faith secondary school.
Inspectors who held meetings with 40 students from different age groups were told that homophobic language was the norm.

The problem with academies, it seems is not just a matter of rogue pupils mouthing off. The problem would seem to go right to the top.

An investigation by The Independent refers to a return of Section 28, Margaret Thatcher's disgusting attack on gay community which prevented "the promotion of homosexuality" which could include such things as treating gay people with respect.

The Grace Academy chain based in Coventry, Darlaston and Solihull, all of which opened after section 28’s repeal. Their policy, dated from last November, says ‘Objective discussion of homosexuality may take place in the classroom, including discussion of homophobic behaviour.  The Governing Body will not permit the promotion of homosexuality.’

Tasker Milward VC School in Pembrokeshire. Their policy dates from 2008 but says ‘Section 28 of the Local Government Action does not prevent teachers from addressing issues of homosexuality in the classroom in a neutral and unbiased manner, however, the LA shall not intentionally promote homosexuality or publish material which actively promotes homosexuality.’

Northumberland Church of England Academy, which opened in 2009 and most recently reviewed their policy in November last year. The school is a Stonewall School Champion and staff spoke on faith schools and homophobia at this year’s Education for All conference. They say ‘The Northumberland Church of England Academy and the Governing Body will not permit the promotion of homosexuality.’

The same language as is used by the Kremlin to justify its witch-hunt against the gay community is being promoted by Gove's flagship academies. He can hardly deny all knowledge or responsibility for the disgraceful behaviour of academies.

And of course, let's not forget that academies do not have to employ qualified teachers so any Tom Dick or Harriet without any training in dealing with homophobia could be in charge of your children.

The website of the anti academies alliance is http://antiacademies.org.uk/

http://derekmcmillan.com

 

Kremlin scapegoats gay community

Tilda Swinton  has appeared in a number of films, including Burn After Reading, The Beach, The Chronicles of Narnia, and was nominated for a Golden Globe for her performances in The Deep End and We Need to Talk About Kevin. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Michael Clayton in 2007.

She risked arrest waving a rainbow flag in front of the Kremlin in violation of Russia’s new homosexual propaganda bill. And she wants everyone who can to share it in solidarity.

In the Chronicles of Narnia, she played Jadis, the snow queen. Her willingness to defy the Kremlin is to be applauded when the Olympic Committee seems to be dragging its feet over a clear violation of human rights.

The targeting of the gay community by the Kremlin might be a way of diverting attention from the shortcomings of the regime. I wonder.

http://derekmcmillan.com/

The great gas gala in Balcombe

If you want to help this protest the information is in this communique. One small thought. We have been plagued by water shortages in this country. Fracking will take thousands of gallons of water out of the system and pollute it beyond belief. And as for us, we will have higher water bills and of course the obligatory hosepipe ban. The hosepipe ban does not apply to those who can get the servants to do the watering for them. Francis Maude MP for example - fracking Tory extraordinaire.

 

Since 7am on Thursday (25th) the community in Balcombe, Sussex has been resisting attempts by fracking company Cuadrilla Resources to start drilling in their village. They need your help!

 

The camp now has a postal address (you want to send letters of support etc.): Balcombe Community Protection Camp, London Road, Balcobme, W.Sussex, RH17 6JH

 

All are warmly invited to join Balcombe Village in a clear demonstration of front-line protection against those that threaten us and our environment.

 

If you’re driving and have space, please contact info@greatgasgala.org.uk to offer a lift!

 

Things to bring:

Essential – water, food and warm/waterproof clothes, sun protection.

 

Recommended –
 Picnics, cakes, water, tea-making facilities, warm/waterproof clothes, friends, banners, games, music, instruments, Knitting (yellow and black – gasfield free community colours!), blankets, chairs, tables, Gazebos, small tents, plastic cutlery/plates. You get the picture.

 

Things not to bring:

Alcohol, drugs, anything which could be construed as a weapon, glass etc.

 

Take Note!:

The Great Gas Gala! will be a clear demonstration of community protection against the threat of harm to our health and environment posed by the fracking industry. The industry is supported by the state and therefore there will almost certainly be a police presence. Know your rights and don’t be intimidated. The Gala will be an inclusive, friendly space. We won’t be bullied.

 

More info:

http://frack-off.org.uk/local-group/no-fracking-in-sussex/

See you at the Gala, it’ll be a gas!

 

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Apartheid in Switzerland

According to The Independent, "Switzerland's local authorities have introduced draconian restrictions which ban asylum-seekers from frequenting public places such as school playgrounds, swimming pools and libraries in a move angrily denounced by human rights groups as intolerable and racist. "

Such draconian measures have not been introduced against a racial minority since the days of the Yellow Star introduced by the Nazis to restrict the freedom of the Jews. Switzerland is famous for its cheese, Toblerone and the vast quantities of Nazi gold which ended up there after the Second World War.


In the UK we face a "dutch auction" over immigration with the political elite vying with each other to out-UKIP the racists. Apart from anything else, they are on a hiding to nothing. UKIP can always counter by sliding further into the gutter.



A party of the working class would cut across this nonsense and seek to unite the working class. No sign of the Labour leaders taking up that role any time soon. That is why the role of TUSC

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Fracking Tories

It is ironic that the scenes in Balcombe resemble on a small scale the miners' strike. It was the same Tories who closed the mines who have now discovered an energy shortage. After fracking has polluted a significant amount of water these wiseacres will probably notice a water shortage too.

I wonder if Cabinet Secretary Francis Maude will end up with a nice sinecure with Cuadrilla.

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Iain Duncan Smith pimping for lap-dancing club

Iain Duncan Smith has been called many things. However he can now add "pimp" to his CV. The government has gone out of its way to humiliate the unemployed. It is harder and harder to claim Job-Seekers' Allowance and one of the requirements is that if you are unemployed you have to use their website to look for work. And among the work available? Lap dancing in a club which offers "topless to fully nude dances" according to the i newspaper this morning. And of course if you turn down a job you lose your benefit

I will not be applying myself. I wonder if IDS would be happy for his wife to work in a lapdancing club. Or perhaps he fancies his own chances.

If you think you have heard this story before you are right. The last time this sordid business came to light in 2010 all the politicians swore on their mothers' graves (even the ones whose mothers were still alive!) that it would never happen again. A fat lot of use they are.

 IDS attracted attention for his insistence that he should get a handout from the state to pay for his rather expensive £39 breakfasts. A scrounger and a pimp it would seem.

When Labour was elected in  1945 one of its first acts was to insist that the unemployed be treated with respect. The present canaille of politicians, Lab Lib and Con, could not care less. We deserve better.

C of E vicar miles ahead of the Labour leaders

This is utterly ludicrous. According to the Daily Mirror, retired C of E vicar Paul Nicolson is prepared to go to jail for non-payment of council tax in protest over the bedroom tax.

'He will tell the court he will not pay a penny of this money – until Haringey Council restores 100% council tax benefit for benefit claimants and the Government stops the Benefit Cap he believes is destroying his community.

'“Civil disobedience is morally defensible,” he will say, “when the laws being highlighted are morally indefensible.”

'The father of five, who has nine grandchildren, says he is prepared to go to jail for his beliefs.

The link is here

Are the political elite listening? Are the union leaders listening? An 82-year-old is putting the lot of you to shame. This is in marked contrast to the Bishop of London whose eulogy to Thatcher even had staunch Tories reaching for the sick bag. (There are apocryphal rumours that he wears a bracelet saying "What would Judas do?")

It is a sign of the times that the Churches are having to step in where the politicians fear to tread. There is no party of the working class. Nobody stands up for the poor so there are even elements of the Churches who are in advance of the politicians. It is not good enough. The people who are prepared to stand up and be counted in fighting the bedroom tax, the people in TUSC who are prepared to stand against the Labour Traitors in elections are to be applauded.

May tries to outdo UKIP racism

Trumping the race card 

Home office officials have been harassing anyone who 'looks foreign' at railway stations in a high profile crackdown on illegal immigration. In a conscious sop to the far right they have organised 'immigrants go home' vans.

Liberal Democrats were caught on the hop as nobody thought to tell them about this dramatic lurch to the right (or lurch into the gutter) of government policy. 

Could it be that May wants to attract the criticism of Labour and Liberals so she can label them as 'soft on immigration' and attract the applause of Tory backwoods men?

She has a long way to go to prove she can be a disgusting racist to rival UKIP so we can anticipate more vicious attacks on ethnic minorities from the supposed representative of law and order

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Cable's hypocrisy over Wonga

The Archbishop of Canterbury said revelations that the Church of England has indirectly invested in Wonga were “very embarrassing”, coming just two days after he said he wanted to drive the payday lender out of business.

However, the Church was prepared to do something about Wonga. The government has so far done nothing. Why on earth should that be the case?

Well there is a curious co-incidence. According to The Telegraph, "...business executives were charged £1,250 for face-to-face meetings with ministers at which they were invited to help “develop” business-friendly policies. Wonga confirmed it had sent a representative to meetings with ministers from the Department for Business and the Treasury.

Wonga have done very well thank you from cuts in benefits which force people to take out payday loans.

Millionaire Vince Cable has said the government will support the efforts of the church to provide cheap credit for the poor. I suggest you withhold your admiration until he has actually done anything. Talk really is cheap.

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ATOS pockets the money but their assessments are flawed

My MP is Francis Maude. He recently sold a million and a half pound house. Nevertheless he needs a public handout to pay his travel costs, first class all the way for Francis.

It is galling that his government has the cheek to label disabled people, the unemployed and pensioners as "scroungers" and to seek to cut their benefits further.

The basis of the attack on the disabled, leading to headlines in the gutter press such as "80 percent of claimants are frauds" was the so-called assessments carried out by ATOS. ATOS were tasked with getting these fraudulent scroungers back to work. In some cases they succeeded in pushing them to commit suicide which was a "final solution" to the problem of disabled people. Disability campaigners have labelled ATOS "contract killers."

To be fair, ATOS were 'only obeying orders'. Their orders to harrass and stigmatise disabled people were carried out to the letter. The result of three years of their ministrations is that just under half of their assessments are regarded as "flawed." Not by disability campaigners but by the Department of Work and Pensions itself.

Does this spell the end to privatised assessments. Not a bit of it, the DWP are just going to look for other private companies to do their dirty work. Perhaps the ever-efficient G4S will fit the bill - assuming nothing comes of those pesky fraud claims against them.

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G4S licence to kill?

What to do with a 100 kg guard who fatally restrains a 40 kg boy?
Promote him to health and safety manager, G4S children's homes.

This story by investigative journalist Clare Sambrook makes shocking reading. One wonders whether our children are really safe in G4S's hands.
The link is here

In the same website, there is an article showing how G4S, aware of their poor public profile, are now trying to conceal their identity when taking on children's homes.

The link is here

Will this stop the political elite from privatising everything in sight to the enormous benefit of G4S? No. Only decisive action from the trade unions can do that.

The NSSN has announced that Ian Lawrence, the recently elected General Secretary of the National Association of Probation Officers (NAPO) will be addressing their rally on September 8th. NAPO is currently engaged in a very serious dispute with the government over the privatisation of 70% of core probation services. You have three guesses who will benefit if this goes ahead.

There will be a lobby of TUC conference in Bournemouth on September 8th pushing for the TUC to name the date for a 24 hour general strike.

 

G4S have a reputation for "restraint" which can kill. 

Jimmy Mubenga died after G4S restrained him.

 

 

 

Cameron posturing over porn

Headlines like "Prime Minister to Act on Porn Video" were inevitable when this silly-season story broke. Experts such as Jim Gamble have asserted that paedophiles will laugh at Cameron's attempted crackdown and hinted that it is being used as a cover for real cuts in spending on child protection. Jim Gamble is former chief executive of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection centre. Last year the Police Federation warned that cuts to this service would place more children at risk.

On the one hand Cameron talks tough on child porn. On the other hand the cuts make it inevitable that more children will suffer.

Perhaps he should act on porn videos. He would be doing less harm.

Fact and opinion Yadd Yadda Yadda

If the (non-zero) numerator and the denominator of a fraction are the same then the fraction is equal to 1. That is something Michael Gove might recognise as a fact. It will doubtless astound him and the Tory blowhards that I have been teaching that fact successfully to pupils for 33 years. He pretends to believe that lefty teachers don't teach facts.

On the other hand, if a pupil is reading a newspaper article the "facts" in the story are carefully chosen to accord with the underlying attitude of the writer.

Stories about the abuse of white girls by Asian men are factual for the most part. Stories about the abuse of youngsters by Jimmy Saville and Stuart Hall have also been published.

The first set of articles have been used to foster a myth that the religious attitudes of Asian men in general and muslims in particular cause them to prey on white girls. It is a myth which fails to take into account the millions of Asian men and muslims who do no such thing.

The second set of articles have not been used by the Daily Mail to suggest that the attitudes of white men cause them to prey on children.

Studying that is not a matter of "facts". It is a matter of process. It involves looking at the facts which are included and thinking about the facts which are excluded. It involves looking at how the story is constructed and how that leads the reader to a conclusion.

And that kind of education has been eloquently described by the Secretary of State for education as "yadda yadda yadda."

White Cliffs of Beachy Head update

I would like to know why the Beachy Head Countryside Shop sells golliwogs. Irrespective of whether you find them offensive (and most people do) I wonder about the Beachy Head connection. Are the seagulls all white supremacists? Have the sheep joined the EDL?

Update:

There has been an article in the Eastbourne Herald on this issue. The comments from Eastbourne readers are entirely white supremacist.
 http://www.eastbourneherald.co.uk/news/local/is-sale-of-golliwog-style-doll-beyond-the-pale-1-5277012

The response from the shop is:

Firstly, we appreciate that a few do get upset by these dollies, but an
awful lot more like them, and we have sold large numbers over the last six
or seven years.

The firm who supply them tell us that these dollies are one of their most
popular items which they sell to shops all over the country.

We respect the right of everyone to their views but the vast majority of
comments we get are favourable.

We are a small charity which relies for our funding on goods sold in the
shop and these dollies continue to make a useful contribution to our funds.

Yours sincerely


PETER MUMFORD
On Behalf of the Committee

Their address is info@beachyhead.org if you have any comments. The reply does not tell us the Beachy Head connection for these gratuitously offensive dolls.

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Privatisation = corruption

G4S and Serco, beloved of the Conservative Party, are tasked with delivering public services better and cheaper than the public sector. What they do manage to deliver is millions of pounds of public money into private pockets.

The Olympics Fiasco did not prevent the Con-Dem government from blindly pushing ahead with privatisation projects. The Serious Fraud Office has been called in by the justice secretary to investigate G4S for overcharging tens of millions of pounds on electronic tagging contracts for offenders.

This is unlikely to stop the political elite's love affair with privatisation but it does expose to the public the disgusting corruption underlying the privatisation process. Privatisation does not demonstrate the vitality of capitalism but its rapacious nature. No political party opposes privatisation. The trade unions do oppose privatisation. It is no accident that "One Nation Labour" (the heirs of Disraeli) want to demonise the trade unions.

The trade unions created the Labour Party but the political elite have moved a long way from Labour's roots. MPs are too busy being creative with their expenses to care about the mere working classes. And soon the political elite will be wallowing in their 11 percent pay rise because the poor things cannot possibly make ends meet on a mere £65,738.

A party which opposes the whole corrupt capitalist system is long overdue.

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Dave Nellist on Miliband

Dave Nellist, the chair of the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition, Labour MP 1983-92, and Socialist Party councillor 1998-2012, looks at Labour leader Ed Miliband's attack on Unite the Union.

The article is in The Socialist

Inter Alia it says, 

"In April 1990, Labour was 24 points ahead in the opinion polls (substantially further ahead than now). Instead of attacking the Tories in government it attacked the leaders of the anti-poll tax campaign and the socialists who supported the Militant newspaper (the Socialist's forerunner).

"Labour expelled many socialists, including myself, but the Tory press wasn't satisfied. They came back for more, with papers such as the Evening Standard demanding that dozens of left supporting MPs face a similar end. Miliband attacking Unite over Falkirk will have a comparable result. And Labour lost the 1992 election!"

Dave Nellist is a living example of the fact that Labour MPs don't have to be corrupt lickspittles of the rich - he worked as an MP for an average worker's wage. The rest of the political elite could never forgive him for that.

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Dear Francis Maude,

There is a debate in parliament tomorrow on the plight of disabled people in the UK thanks to the government's cuts.

I am sure you will agree that the degree of absenteeism in the House of Commons is unacceptable for public servants and I expect you will want to attend this debate.

Unions and Labour

The Conservative Party have always had a dislike of the trade unionists interfering in the concerns of their betters. This dislike has now been taken up with enthusiasm by Miliband. It is not permitted for trade unionists to have a view on political matters. Politics is a rather dirty game for gentlemen and the working classes should know their place and keep out of it.

Of course the payments of large sums of money by private companies - i.e. companies which make a lot of money out of the public - that is quite OK.

Can I assume that next time I reach the checkout at Sainsbury's I will be asked to opt in or opt out of the hundreds of thousands they give to the Conservative Party? Mmm thought not.

However if the Labour Party wants to distance itself from the Trade Unions, the unions could do worse than stand anti-cuts candidates against New Labour in the next election. They offer us nothing, they deserve nothing.

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Euthanasia machine

In the Science Museum there is a lovely array of fascinating displays. However at one end of the gallery they laud Nazi scientist Werner Von Braun.

Older readers may remember Tom Lehrer's comment on this scientist.
"Some have harsh words for this man of renown
But some think our attitude
Should be one of gratitude.
Like the widows and cripples of Old London Town
Who owe their large pensions to Werner Von Braun.

"Don't say that he's hypocritical.
Say rather that he's apolitical.
'When the rockets are up, who cares where they come down?
 That's not my department!' says Werner Von Braun."

Continuing this theme, at the other end of the gallery they show a euthanasia machine to help useless old people out of this world. An example of the moral neutrality of science?

I agree with Richard Reiser. We need more emphasis on people who want to keep us alive!

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Greedy MPs

As a means of setting a cat among the pigeons, the i newspaper published a tongue in cheek article by Chris Blackhurst suggesting MPs should be paid £200,000 a year as a way to make them less corrupt.

This led to an explosive response from readers as you can imagine. Suggestions included:

* This is no better than Danegeld - if you pay criminals fabulous sums, they will just come back for more.

* The bankers are a case in point. Allowing them to walk off with million pound bonuses has not decreased their appetite for more, more, more.

* a vicar pointed out that the stipend of a C of E vicar is around £24,000 plus a fully-funded house in the "constituency" however to get the money they have to do useful work.

* the market values espoused by all three parties suggest that where supply exceeds demand the price does not go up. Plenty of people want to become MPs. Three applicants for every job. A case for a wage cut for most employers.

* If MPs were on Performance Related Pay they would be paying us, not the other way round. The rate of absenteeism in the Commons chamber is appalling.

Well done, Chris Blackhurst :) MPs like Dave Nellist managed on a skilled worker's wage. It helps to keep them in touch with reality.

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Tory MP's sick doctrine of hatred

In blaring front page headline today the Daily Mail blames the problems of the NHS not on privatisation or cuts in funding. That would be naive. No it is all the fault of immigrants.

In an article from Chris Skidmore MP, who wants to don the mantle of Enoch Powell, the paper uses fake statistics to blame the problems in healthcare on immigrants.

"It cannot be a coincidence that 2004 — the year in which A&E attendance jumped so noticeably — was the year that Labour changed GPs' contracts to let them opt out of out-of-hours care, and also the year that East European countries such as Poland and the Czech Republic acceded to the EU, allowing their people free migration to the UK."

And the figure Skidmore ignores is that 50 percent of nurses and 25 percent of doctors were born overseas. Kick out the immigrants and the NHS would collapse.

The Daily Mail is no stranger to stirring up race hatred. It's "Hurrah for the Blackshirts" attitude in the 1930s is a template for Chris Skidmore's sick doctrine of hatred.

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MPs snouts in the trough

In Brighton the rubbish is piling up because the Greenies sought to impose cuts of up to £4000 on the dustbin workers. But it's not all doom and gloom. MPs are set for pay rises in excess of £4000 on top of their more than generous and imaginative expenses. Some reports suggest £10000 and a few red faces in Westminster.

The red faces may be the result of shame or the result of expense-account lunches paid for by people like the Brighton dustmen. When they cut the pay of dustmen you can see the results. If the MPs were getting the average wage of a skilled worker (as Dave Nellist did when he was an MP for Coventy) we would probably see an improvement in productivity.

If one of the little piggies asks you for your vote, ask them how much it is going to cost you this time.

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