The yobbish behaviour of Nigel Farage, one-time leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party at the European Parliament yesterday is the second time in recent years that I feel ashamed to be British. The first was when Tony Blair led the United Kingdom into an illegal war against Iraq in 2003.
Motor-mouth Farage has stepped beyond the pale this time with his boorish and school yard insults on the appearance and character of Herman van Rumpuy, the recently appointed President of the European Council. Whatever one might think about his appointment, and I have issues with the manner in which it was done, Farage has no right to attack this man with personal insults and to do so claiming the support of three quarters of the British people.
Shame on you, Nigel Farage – Shame on all members of UKIP and all those who voted for UKIP in the European Parliamentary Elections last year. You elected a bully boy who simply does not know how to behave decently in a civilised society.
If John Bufton, Wales’ UKIP MEP, has a shred of decency, he would immediately repudiate the childish activities of his leader in the European Parliament.
Thursday, 25 February 2010
Thursday, 11 February 2010
Little Ado About Something Very Important
I went to the special meeting of full council, but I really wished I hadn’t bothered. This meeting had been initiated by the Conservative Group on Powys County Council with the avowed intention of persuading the council to drop the leaked document outlining the options for Secondary School Modernisation.
Well, in the event and after much huffing and puffing, this motion proposed by Cllr Aled Evans and seconded by Cllr Mike Hodges was trounced by an amendment from the Council’s Board proposed by the portfolio Holder for Schools, Cllr David Jones.
The three part amendment confirmed that the original working group which the Council had appointed to come up with proposals for Secondary School Modernisation had been disbanded, Cllr Jones promised to come to Board on 2nd March with a report on the process so far and recommendations for the establishment of a new programme board to take the process forward, this programme board is to include elected members, and finally to confirm the establishment of the programme board, its membership and its terms of reference etc at a council seminar on 19th March.
So much for the Conservative Group playing politics, they were completely outflanked by a well organised Powys Administration. Such was the shambles that when it came to the recorded vote, Cllr Hodges, seconder of the original motion, voted for the amendment and he wasn’t the only Conservative to do so.
Rather than give a full report of a very lacklustre debate, I prefer to give my nominations for the following awards.
Prize for Stating the Blindingly Obvious – Jeremy Patterson on why modernisation was necessary.
Prize for the Most Cringe-making Cliché – Cllr Anne Holloway for “Children are our future”.
Prize for Making First Political Dig – Cllr Stephen Hayes who was so disappointed that the Conservative Group had decided to play politics by calling the meeting.
Prize for Righteous Indignation – Cllr Russell George for reacting to Cllr Hayes.
Prize for Incoherency and Irrelevance – jointly to Cllr Barry Thomas for his story on how he came to grips with his council laptop, and Cllr Sarah Millington for stating that she could not support the closure of any school if it were opposed by the community. (Nice to know your councillor has the courage to make unpopular decisions)
Prize for World-Weariness – Cllr Michael Jones
Prize for Incoherency and/or Irrelevance – jointly Cllr Michael Jones for seeking a long service medal for being a school governor since I don’t know when, and Cllr Ken Harris with “I’ve Been a Teacher” (and, by implication, I’m not sure how many other councillors have my extensive knowledge of education).
Prize for Playing to the Audience - all those councillors who claimed that this meeting was necessary to allay the fears of parents, pupils, school, communities etc. They blatantly failed to allay any fears – the leaked document is still on the table, waiting to be promoted by a different group of “experts”.
Well, in the event and after much huffing and puffing, this motion proposed by Cllr Aled Evans and seconded by Cllr Mike Hodges was trounced by an amendment from the Council’s Board proposed by the portfolio Holder for Schools, Cllr David Jones.
The three part amendment confirmed that the original working group which the Council had appointed to come up with proposals for Secondary School Modernisation had been disbanded, Cllr Jones promised to come to Board on 2nd March with a report on the process so far and recommendations for the establishment of a new programme board to take the process forward, this programme board is to include elected members, and finally to confirm the establishment of the programme board, its membership and its terms of reference etc at a council seminar on 19th March.
So much for the Conservative Group playing politics, they were completely outflanked by a well organised Powys Administration. Such was the shambles that when it came to the recorded vote, Cllr Hodges, seconder of the original motion, voted for the amendment and he wasn’t the only Conservative to do so.
Rather than give a full report of a very lacklustre debate, I prefer to give my nominations for the following awards.
Prize for Stating the Blindingly Obvious – Jeremy Patterson on why modernisation was necessary.
Prize for the Most Cringe-making Cliché – Cllr Anne Holloway for “Children are our future”.
Prize for Making First Political Dig – Cllr Stephen Hayes who was so disappointed that the Conservative Group had decided to play politics by calling the meeting.
Prize for Righteous Indignation – Cllr Russell George for reacting to Cllr Hayes.
Prize for Incoherency and Irrelevance – jointly to Cllr Barry Thomas for his story on how he came to grips with his council laptop, and Cllr Sarah Millington for stating that she could not support the closure of any school if it were opposed by the community. (Nice to know your councillor has the courage to make unpopular decisions)
Prize for World-Weariness – Cllr Michael Jones
Prize for Incoherency and/or Irrelevance – jointly Cllr Michael Jones for seeking a long service medal for being a school governor since I don’t know when, and Cllr Ken Harris with “I’ve Been a Teacher” (and, by implication, I’m not sure how many other councillors have my extensive knowledge of education).
Prize for Playing to the Audience - all those councillors who claimed that this meeting was necessary to allay the fears of parents, pupils, school, communities etc. They blatantly failed to allay any fears – the leaked document is still on the table, waiting to be promoted by a different group of “experts”.
Save ALL Our Secondary Schools In Powys
Opposition to the proposed Schools Reorganisation in Powys is lumbering into life. A meeting of interested parties who represented six of the thirteen secondary catchment areas was held at Llandrindod yesterday evening and they agreed to reform Powys Against Education Cuts, an umbrella organisation to co-ordinate protest action across Powys.
All those present are determined to maintain the status quo in Powys with thirteen 11-18 secondary schools. They were adamant that to allow the County Council to reduce the overall number of secondary schools and deprive any of the thirteen major Powys communities of their major educational institutions would have a devastating consequence for those communities.
Let us be absolutely clear, many current educational policies are predicated on a dogmatic and ideological adherence to the virtue of choice. None more so than the urban-biased,14-19 curriculum which requires that pupils should be allowed to choose from a huge range of vocational skills options, many of which have absolutely no relevance to the rural economy.
Now I am not against choice per se. In many areas of our complex lives, choice is to be welcomed, however, there is a significant financial cost implied in allowing the very large choice necessary to satisfy the requirements of the 14-19 curriculum. In sparsely populated, rural areas, if this curriculum is to be implemented with its full range of subject choice, this will inevitably manifest itself in very small teaching groups and the need to transport many pupils over long distances frequently. Indeed this is made abundantly clear in the four options of the discredited reorganisation process that was recently leaked to the media and triggered the furore that followed.
The next chapter of this unfortunate saga takes place at County Hall today, when a special meeting of the full county council has been called to debate secondary school modernisation. Let us hope that the totally impractical proposals contained in the leaked document are buried for good.
Nevertheless, it remains incumbent on the County Council, particularly the Members of the council, who to date appear to have been deliberately ignored by their officers, to chart a way forward for secondary education in Powys with the emphasis being placed on maintaining the high educational standards that currently prevail, rather than meekly accepting the diktat of WAG officials who seem to think that simply imposing an urban-centric model on rural communities will necessarily lead to a cheaper and better education for our children.
Members of the Welsh Assembly who this week voted unanimously to trigger the process to hold a referendum on further law-making powers for the Assembly, would do well to remember that if they are to win the eventual referendum on this issue, they will need to be confident that the people of Wales are satisfied with how they have used the powers that they already have. Let them be in no doubt, that with regard to how they have managed, and are continuing to manage, education policy, the jury is still out.
All those present are determined to maintain the status quo in Powys with thirteen 11-18 secondary schools. They were adamant that to allow the County Council to reduce the overall number of secondary schools and deprive any of the thirteen major Powys communities of their major educational institutions would have a devastating consequence for those communities.
Let us be absolutely clear, many current educational policies are predicated on a dogmatic and ideological adherence to the virtue of choice. None more so than the urban-biased,14-19 curriculum which requires that pupils should be allowed to choose from a huge range of vocational skills options, many of which have absolutely no relevance to the rural economy.
Now I am not against choice per se. In many areas of our complex lives, choice is to be welcomed, however, there is a significant financial cost implied in allowing the very large choice necessary to satisfy the requirements of the 14-19 curriculum. In sparsely populated, rural areas, if this curriculum is to be implemented with its full range of subject choice, this will inevitably manifest itself in very small teaching groups and the need to transport many pupils over long distances frequently. Indeed this is made abundantly clear in the four options of the discredited reorganisation process that was recently leaked to the media and triggered the furore that followed.
The next chapter of this unfortunate saga takes place at County Hall today, when a special meeting of the full county council has been called to debate secondary school modernisation. Let us hope that the totally impractical proposals contained in the leaked document are buried for good.
Nevertheless, it remains incumbent on the County Council, particularly the Members of the council, who to date appear to have been deliberately ignored by their officers, to chart a way forward for secondary education in Powys with the emphasis being placed on maintaining the high educational standards that currently prevail, rather than meekly accepting the diktat of WAG officials who seem to think that simply imposing an urban-centric model on rural communities will necessarily lead to a cheaper and better education for our children.
Members of the Welsh Assembly who this week voted unanimously to trigger the process to hold a referendum on further law-making powers for the Assembly, would do well to remember that if they are to win the eventual referendum on this issue, they will need to be confident that the people of Wales are satisfied with how they have used the powers that they already have. Let them be in no doubt, that with regard to how they have managed, and are continuing to manage, education policy, the jury is still out.
Thursday, 4 February 2010
Nuclear Deterrence Or Nuclear Disarmanent? - Your Choice
Soon Parliament is due to make a decision about the replacement of Britain’s “independent” nuclear deterrent. Rather than replace it, perhaps we ought to scrap it altogether.
Timothy Garton Ash in this morning’s Guardian eloquently puts the case for Global Zero by 2030. That is, the complete dismantling of all nuclear arsenals by 2030. Nuclear capability may have served countries well during the cold war when there appeared to be some sort of super power balance. However, it is clear that suicidal terrorists supported by rogue states are not going to be deterred by the possibility of nuclear retaliation.
We have seen what can happen when the White House is occupied by a group of fanatical, ignorant and doctrinaire hooligans willing to invade other countries on the flimsiest of excuses, and given the continuing widespread support of the American religious right for candidates of similar ilk, it is possible, even likely that, post Obama, such people could seize power again. This makes the world of our children and grand-children a very dangerous place.
So please consider what Global Zero is trying to bring about and lend this campaign your support. Individually, we can do little to save our world, but collectively anything is possible.
Timothy Garton Ash in this morning’s Guardian eloquently puts the case for Global Zero by 2030. That is, the complete dismantling of all nuclear arsenals by 2030. Nuclear capability may have served countries well during the cold war when there appeared to be some sort of super power balance. However, it is clear that suicidal terrorists supported by rogue states are not going to be deterred by the possibility of nuclear retaliation.
We have seen what can happen when the White House is occupied by a group of fanatical, ignorant and doctrinaire hooligans willing to invade other countries on the flimsiest of excuses, and given the continuing widespread support of the American religious right for candidates of similar ilk, it is possible, even likely that, post Obama, such people could seize power again. This makes the world of our children and grand-children a very dangerous place.
So please consider what Global Zero is trying to bring about and lend this campaign your support. Individually, we can do little to save our world, but collectively anything is possible.
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