Wikio Blogs - uk

[UK] Struggle not submission: SBS win over Ealing (Liberal Conspiracy)

Liberal Conspiracy — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 07:44:42 GMT

It was back in April this year that Ealing Council voted to withdraw funding from Southall Black Sisters , a women's support group, on the spurious grounds that targeting services at black and minority ethnic groups ran contrary to the "equality" and "integration" agenda. On Friday it lost its court case.

The F-Word Blog : Victory for SBS! ...
Rupa Huq's home on the web : Ealing Council climbs down over Southall Black Sisters ...

blogs : Liberal Conspiracy,Rupa Huq's home on the web,The F-Word Blog...
(3 posts, last update: 22/07/2008 09:44)

[UK] Was there conflict of interest over gay marriage case? (Liberal Conspiracy)

Liberal Conspiracy — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 13:09:55 GMT

The decision of an employment tribunal in the case of the registrar who claimed to have discriminated against on religious ground for refusing to officiate in civil partnership ceremonies, has naturally drawn a considerable amount of attention. But was there undeclared conflict of interest on part of one of the judges who made the decision?

PinkNews.co.uk : Christian registrar who won 'gay marriage' case has illegitimate child ...
Anorak News : Christian Registrar Who Refused Gay Marriage Had Child Out Of Wedlock ...

blogs : Liberal Conspiracy,PinkNews.co.uk,Anorak News,appletree...
(4 posts, last update: 17/07/2008 15:09)

[UK] UK unemployment rises again! (JumpToJobs Blog)

JumpToJobs Blog — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 16:45:00 GMT

Figures released today paint a worrying picture of how things are going with unemployment. There are definitely jobs out there but is it that people are just not qualified enough or are they too lazy to get out there and make something of themselves? Or is it more than that – are we too scared to move on? Just under a month ago I reported that unemployment had risen by 38,000 to 1.64 million in the 3 months to April – UK unemployment rises by 38,000 Now unemployment is reported as rising by 12,000 to 1.62 million in the three months to May, according to the Office for National Statistics. Take your life into your own hands and Register with JumpToJobs.co.uk to secure your future. JumpToJobs.co.uk currently offers 623,275 jobs from job boards, recruitment agencies and corporate websites, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Richard JumpToJobs.co.uk

BBC News : UK jobless level increases again ...
Tom Jackson Online : Unemployment Up, Residual Income Down ...

blogs : Finance Markets,JumpToJobs Blog,BBC News,Tom Jackson Online...
(4 posts, last update: 16/07/2008 18:45)

[UK] A Loophole So Large, You Could Fly an Airbus Through It (The Stalwart)

The Stalwart — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 12:51:00 GMT

Lots of leg room here. Due to use-it-or-lose-it rules for slots at Britain's Heathrow airport, it looks like the British airline bmi might fly empty "ghost-flights" rather than give up multi-million dollar Heathrow slots it owns. Britain’s third-largest airline, bmi,...

Times Online : Planes ‘fly empty’ to keep slots at Heathrow ...
Mark Wadsworth : "Planes fly empty to keep slots at Heathrow" ...

blogs : Mark Wadsworth,Times Online,The Stalwart...
(4 posts, last update: 17/07/2008 14:51)

[UK] Newman to be Exhumed (Saint Mary Magdalen, Brighton, UK)

Saint Mary Magdalen, Brighton, UK — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 08:00:36 GMT

The Times The Vatican has asked for the exhumation of the body of the Church of England's most renowned convert to Roman Catholicism as part of his progression towards sainthood. The Venerable John Henry Cardinal Newman was buried in a small cemetery in August 1890 and Rome now wants his remains to be moved to a marble sarcophagus in the Birmingham Oratory. The move, which is expected to take place by the end of the year, would enable people to pay tribute to him more easily and is part of the process of creating a saint. The procedure has to be approved by Birmingham City Council and the Ministry of Justice, which was accused of "procrastinating" over the issue, but is expected to be rubber stamped in the next few weeks.

The Telegraph : Vatican asks for Cardinal Newman exhumation on path to sainthood ...
The Freethinker : Ghoulish Catholics plan to dig up a corpse in secret ...

blogs : The Telegraph,Saint Mary Magdalen, Brighton, UK,The Freethinker...
(3 posts, last update: 16/07/2008 10:00)

[UK] Unmarked SATS: A Solution (Little man, what now?)

Little man, what now? — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 08:55:00 GMT

The British education system still has a problem with many English SATs exam papers which remain unmarked and ungraded. SATs were introduced for 11 year-olds by the last Conservative regime and have been maintained by Blair and Brown. The exams are good on the one hand because they annoy awful lefty teachers who can't teach, but bad because they enforce adherence to a narrowly defined National Curriculum that leaves little room for individual growth in pupils. This year's SATs exam marking was contracted out to a faceless global corporation who were given a multi-million pound contract to take completed SATs exam papers and get them marked by the same middle-aged supply teachers who have always marked them. It seems the corporation in question has not fulfilled the contract as well as has been expected. Another triumph for public/private partnership. Little Man, What Now? would like to suggest an alternative method for grading SATs and would be willing to take on the contract for a competitive fee. Instead of carrying out the long labourious task of actually marking the papers, we suggest using a simple formula based upon simple information about the pupil in question: M = TG(100 - S) - N Here is an explanation of the symbols used in the equation: M = Mark. The pupil's final mark out of one hundred. S = School variable. A number to be subtracted from the mark decided by the type of school attended by the pupil. The methodology used for deciding these values was to eavesdrop at the window during middle class dinner parties and listen to parents with annoying voices droning on about catchment areas. The higher the number, the lower the mark: Public School= 0 Catholic School= 2 Grammar School= 4 City Academy Run By Tescos = 6 City Academy Run By Creationist Nutter = 8 BSC (Bog Standard Comprehensive) = 10 T = Teaching method coefficient. A number assigned to the method used to teach the pupil to read (or to not read as the case may be). These values were based upon the latest research, which has come to the astounding conclusion that children learn to read most effectively by learning the sounds made by different letters, rather than attempting to learn the shapes of thousands of words as if they were fucking Chinese ideograms. The lower the number, the lower the mark Synthetic Phonics = 1 No Particular Methodology = 0.8 Whole Word Method = 0.5 G = Gender multiplier. Since most primary teachers are female, it is unlikely that they will choose books for their classrooms which contain stories about pirates, robots or footballers. This puts the young male brain at a disadvantage. The lower the number, the lower the mark: Female = 1 Male = 0.8 N = Given name variable. A number to be subtracted from the mark depending on the given name of the pupil. Stringent anecdotal evidence has shown that a person's first name is a significant indicator of future social status. Actually, I once knew a professor named Sharon, but the exception surely proves the rule. A complete list will need to be compiled, but here are some examples of the values attached to male names. The higher the number, the lower the mark: Zhi = 2 Rupert = 4 Simon = 6 Moon Unit = 6 Wayne = 8 So, as an example, let us take a child with the misfortune to have been named "Wayne" but with the good luck to have been born Catholic. He attends a Catholic primary school where his teacher, an elderly Priest, taught him to read using encouragement and occasional violence. This would count as "no particular methodology". This information yields the following values: M = 0.8*0.8(100 - 2) - 8 = 54.72 % So, despite the burden of his proletarian Christian name, the positive influence of his Catholic schooling and his teacher's lack of modern teaching qualifications have given Wayne a solid C grade. This demonstrates that we can grade SATs to the satisfaction of all involved without any examiners actually having to miss EastEnders to mark papers.

BBC News : Boxes of Sats 'remain unmarked' ...
Primary Teacher UK : Have you got your SATs results? ...

blogs : The Telegraph,BBC News,Little man, what now?,Primary Teacher UK...
(4 posts, last update: 16/07/2008 10:55)

[UK] Welcome to the world.... (The F-Word Blog)

The F-Word Blog — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 17:39:54 GMT

where crimes against women are fair game for "edgy" comedy. Fast on the heels of Vegas-gate (and I'm really not reopening that discussion) comes Russel Brand's belief that ringing the Police purporting to have seen a serial sex offender is...

BBC News : Police warning after Brand 'hoax' ...
200 Weeks : Such Fun ...

blogs : The Telegraph,The F-Word Blog,Daily Star,BBC News,newsjiffy...
(6 posts, last update: 17/07/2008 19:39)

[UK] Possible Progress on “Disappeared” (Slugger O'Toole)

Slugger O'Toole — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 09:35:53 GMT

The family of one of the Disappeared Gerry Evans have been given information regarding the possible whereabouts of his remains. Mr. Evans was last seen hitching a lift in Castleblayney, County Monaghan, on Sunday 25 March, 1979. A map has now been given to his brother's aunt. The details have now been passed on to the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims' Remains though it may be some time before they can begin attempts to find Mr. Evans' remains. It would be at least some comfort to the families if the bodies of all the Disappeared were recovered. This might, however, also be a time to mention Lisa Dorrian who is rarely mentioned amongst the Disappeared. This young woman seems to have been murdered by some form of loyalist terrorist organisation and her remains have not been located. In her case since much less time has past it would seem to be very likely that someone knows exactly where her body is. Expecting compassion and any form of help from those responsible is of course probably hopelessly optimistic.

BBC News : Family told of 'Disappeared map' ...
SAOIRSE32 : Family told of 'Disappeared map' ...

blogs : SAOIRSE32,BBC News,Slugger O'Toole...
(3 posts, last update: 16/07/2008 11:35)

[UK] Death of the speed camera? (Curly's Corner Shop, the blog!)

Curly's Corner Shop, the blog! — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 10:25:40 GMT

Well, it’s a step in the right direction Perhaps Britain is not yet beyond redemption, Conservative controlled Swindon Council has decided that it will no longer make it’s contribution towards the cost of speed cameras in Wiltshire, preferring instead to plough it’s £400,000 into real road safety measures. ” A blatant tax on the motorist” said Cllr. Peter [...]

Daily Express : End of the road for speed cameras? ...
Peter Black AM : The backlash against speed cameras? ...

blogs : Curly's Corner Shop, the blog!,Peter Black AM,Daily Express...
(3 posts, last update: 15/07/2008 12:25)

[UK] Alternatively... (Spin and Spinners)

Spin and Spinners — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 13:08:00 GMT

The story about Swindon Council wanting to get rid of speed cameras certainly has a lot of tory spin on it. But the most mindless comment came from Katie Derham on ITV news: If you are regularly snapped by speed cameras, you may want to seriously consider moving to Swindon. Either that or slow down.

BBC News : Town may cut speed camera funding ...
Tom Jackson Online : Speed Cameras Given Short Shrift ...

blogs : BBC News,Tom Jackson Online,Spin and Spinners...
(3 posts, last update: 15/07/2008 15:08)

[UK] And so to Lourdes (Finding life hard?)

Finding life hard? — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 13:40:00 GMT

One hundred and fifty years ago, in 1858, a young girl named Bernadette claims to have been visited by a beautiful woman who identified herself as the Virgin Mary. She appeared several times to Bernadette and gave her messages to pass on to the priest. The site has now become the most important Catholic Marian shrine in the world and is visited by millions of pilgrims - and tourists - every year. This year, as part of the 150th anniversary celebrations, the pope is to visit the shrine. Many of the pilgrims who visit are hoping for miraculous cures. The spring water from the grotto is believed to have healing powers and there have been 68 incidents of healing - out of 7,000 put forward - that have been investigated by the Lourdes Medical Bureau (set up for this purpose) and been declared scientifically inexplicable miracles by both the Bureau and the Catholic Church. So we went along to see what all the fuss was about. Lourdes itself is a town of hotels and tacky souvenir shops. (In our office we collect holiday tat; I had a very hard job choosing the tackiest souvenir to take back!) Over the cliff and the grotto is built a large church, with a golden crown, but it's the grotto - or hole in the rock - that attracts people. We joined the queue, not knowing really what we were expecting to see; as it turned out it was a bit less than we'd expected. It was just a hole in the rock, a small cave. People in the queue ahead of us were touching the sides of the cliff, crossing themselves, murmuring prayers. In front of the grotto rows of chairs were set out and they were filled with people, silently contemplating. The silence was impressive; the rest wasn't. I'm not a Catholic but I went along open to being touched, affected by the emotion. I wanted to feel something. I felt nothing. Except maybe sadness. For so many people for whom this was a last desperate hope. So many people who would go away disappointed. That was moving but I have to ask: why do people reach out to touch a rock? Why do they fall on their knees and pray to the Virgin Mary? Why do they need to be there in that tiny place in France? God is omnipresent. He lives in us and with us. He can act in any place and at any time he wants to. When Jesus taught his disciples to pray he told them to say, 'Our father', not 'Our mother', 'Our Lady', 'Blessed Virgin'. I don't understand where that has come from. I suppose some could say that praying to a rock is no less stupid than praying to an omniscient being but he's my omniscient being. P.S. I notice a scandal is brewing regarding dodgy money-laundering in Lourdes.

A Cloud In Trousers : Life, Art and A Priest ...
Of course, I could be wrong... : moneychangers inLourdes' marketplacefear downturn in trade ...

blogs : Finding life hard?,A Cloud In Trousers,Of course, I could be wrong......
(3 posts, last update: 14/07/2008 15:40)

[UK] More authoritarian statements from the Busybody Medical Association. (Bag's Rants)

Bag's Rants — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 19:54:00 GMT

I read this on my travels today about another call from Doctors in the BMA making recommendations that teenage drivers have the drink drive limit cut to zero. Read here . Of course there is a million and one other suggestions where these old busybodies are sticking their noses in from smoking to sex. I'm assuming he isn't mandating sex but we can keep our fingers crossed. However I'm a realist and I can only assume that they are looking at limiting it. Probably to what they actually get now they are in a building far away from all those horny hot nurses. I particularly liked the statement 'although there was a risk the move would be unpopular among young people, it would improve road safety'. No sh1t Sherlock. If we reduced the drink drive limit to zero and we also made it mandatory for BMA busybodies not to have had a drink for a week before you went driving that would also improve road safety. I should hope that of course this would be accepted as intended and not be unpopular among BMA busybodies. In this respect I must be one up and at least plod have a better chance of enforcing this one. I have an additional proposal as well. I think all the doctors in the BMA should be out in the world fixing these issues hands on rather than sitting on their fat asses, drinking port and smoking cigars before driving home in their fancy CO2 polluting cars. They should be examined monthly to see if they are drinking, smoking and not taking enough exercise and if they are found in breach they should be jailed for being hypocrites.

BBC News : No alcohol for young drivers call ...
Woking Libertarian : Youngsters now the target of fascist ...

blogs : The Telegraph,The Guardian,Hug A Hoodie,Mirror.co.uk,Daily Star...
(11 posts, last update: 14/07/2008 21:54)

[UK] Islamofacists Learning How to "Look Respectable" (YID With LID)

YID With LID — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 20:00:55 GMT

Its an important part of the Political Game, Pat Buchanan is a master at it, a political extremist and racist but acting respectable. It is something that the Political Islamists are learning how to do. For example Islam Expo, Europe's largest Islamic cultural festival" Sounds like a Muslim EPCOT center right? Not quite, lots of space was given to the genocidal animals in the Sudan, and the friendly regime of Iran. It makes tons of sense though, as the amongst the people who ran the Expo are supporters of Homicide bombing and advocates of the position that women share the blame for their own Rapes. You see, these Islamists may seem "respectable" at first glance, but the more you examine them (see below) you know EXACTLY what they are: The hidden face of political Islamism It is increasingly hard to draw a line between the agendas of the violent and non-violent Dean Godson Who says that Islamists can't learn a trick or two from the West when they have to? Take a glance at the glossy brochure of Islam Expo - billed as Europe's “biggest Islamic cultural festival” - which ended at Olympia yesterday. You could be forgiven for thinking that you were looking at the catalogue for the forthcoming Boden sale that comes to the venerable London exhibition centre in a few weeks' time. Visitors to Islam Expo would have witnessed such innocent activities as an Islamic arts and crafts workshop for under 12s, live Islamic storytelling performances and lute-playing and poetry recitals in the pomegranate and date gardens. The old Comintern would have instantly recognised the first rate tradecraft involved in organising all this. Just as Moscow and its allies knew how to organise a “popular front” to draw non-communist progressives and liberals into their orbit of influence, so some Islamists have honed a keen sense of how to present a non-threatening face to the West and to the many hundreds of decent, apolitical Muslims who turned up for a family day out. But behind the cultural soft power of Islam Expo, there is political hard power, and some of it comes in quite raw, unpalatable forms. The organisers gave floor space in the exhibition section to the genocidal regime in Sudan (festooned with pictures of happy-looking black Africans) and to the “Cultural Section” of the Iranian Embassy (representing an aspirant genocidal regime) and the Algerian junta (no spring picnic on human rights). This perhaps becomes less surprising when one examines some of the directors of Islam Expo. All oppose al-Qaeda violence, but they are anything but moderate Muslims. They include Azzam Tamimi, a supporter of Hamas suicide bombings in Israel and an admirer of Ayatollah Khomeini; and Ismail Adam Patel, who believes that women in the West who are raped share responsibility with their attackers. Consider also the views of one of the expo's speakers: “Prof Zaghloul al Naggar, professor of geology and director of the London-based Markfield Institute of Higher Education has told IslamOnline that many Westerners - some of them homosexual - convert to Islam in order to appeal to Islamic communities and spread sinful behaviour among Muslims, thus shaking their belief,” according to the allaahuakbar.net website. No wonder Hazel Blears, the feisty Secretary of State for Communities, decided last week that this was not a place where any minister should be seen. Most of her Muslim colleagues in the Labour Party backed her, including the MPs Sadiq Khan and Khalid Mahmood. But another minister, Shahid Malik, MP for Dewsbury, had other ideas and sought to attend in a personal capacity. He was persuaded not to attend Islam Expo only with the greatest difficulty - after heavy pressure from his departmental chief at International Development, Douglas Alexander, the Chief Whip and the Cabinet Secretary, who invoked Cabinet Office guidelines on engagement with Islamic groups. Ms Blears is probably the member of the Cabinet readiest to uphold a strict interpretation of those criteria. She has also dealt vigorously with senior officials whom she believes have been naive in their approach to Islamist-friendly groups. But policing the boundaries of respectable discourse is hard work. While ministers were forbidden to go, the Foreign Office-funded British Satellite News was publicising an entirely positive image of Islam Expo for overseas consumption. This time the Government has had a narrow escape from the political Islamists of Islam Expo. Its relief must be compounded by what has happened over the past 48 hours to Alex Salmond. Scotland's First Minister has landed himself in serious trouble over a grant of £215,000 given to the Scottish Islamic Foundation, which is headed by one of his advisers, Osama Saeed. Other Muslim groups in Scotland are upset by what they see as favouritism to the best-known political Islamist in the Scottish National Party. Mr Saeed, an SNP parliamentary candidate and also a speaker at Islam Expo, has described Hamas suicide attacks as “martyrdom operations” and has supported the creation of a modern caliphate, or pan-Islamic state. The row could cost the SNP victory in the Glasgow East by-election next week. The fashionable take on deradicalising angry young Muslim men is that only political Islamists, such as Mr Saeed, have the credibility to stop them going over the deep end. This reasoning is doubtful. The opposition of political Islamists to al-Qaeda violence in the West does not mean that they are actually friends of the West. Rather, they know that there is more than one way to skin a cat. The boundaries between violent and non-violent Islamists deserve greater exploration. Are non-violent political Islamists part of the solution or, as figures such as Hazel Blears and David Cameron increasingly suspect, part of the problem? Dean Godson is research director of Policy Exchange think tank Please email me at yidwithlid@aol.com to be put onto my mailing list. Feel free to reproduce any article but please link back to http://yidwithlid.blogspot.com

Times Online - Guest contributors : The hidden face of political Islamism ...
PoliGazette : How Islamists Use Our Tolerance Against Us ...

blogs : The Corner,"We Have Some Planes",PoliGazette,David Frum's Diary,Islamization Watch...
(9 posts, last update: 16/07/2008 22:00)

[UK] Ronnie Wood ditches wife and kids for 19-year-old cocktail waitress (Cele|bitchy)

Cele|bitchy — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 14:28:36 GMT

Ronnie Wood and his wife Jo Wood at their daughter’s wedding on 6/21/08. Credit: Daniel Deme / WENN He’s a bit too old to chalk this one up to the oft-used excuse of “mid-life crisis.” Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood, 61, has left his wife and four children to take up with a 19-year-old cocktail waitress [...]

Daily Mail : Is this the evidence that teen vamp who stole Ronnie Wood's heart has posed naked for him? ...
lancerlord : of ekaterina ivanova, 18, steals rolling stone ron wood, 63, away from wife ...

blogs : Celebrity Smack!,Fox News,Cele|bitchy,The Independent,lancerlord...
(7 posts, last update: 15/07/2008 16:28)

[UK] Heckler Calls Gay Bishop Robinson a 'Heretic' at Sermon in the UK (Towleroad)

Towleroad — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 14:25:00 GMT

Gay Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson, who is in the UK defying Anglican leaders who have banned him from the annual Lambeth Conference, was the target of a heckler at a service on Sunday and was forced to stop his sermon....

Daily Mail : 'Heretic': The first openly gay bishop is pilloried in the pulpit by a long-haired heckler ...
Jesus Drives an SUV : Oh, no! A gay bishop! ...

blogs : Towleroad,Daily Mail on Sunday,Daily Mail,icWales,Jesus Drives an SUV...
(5 posts, last update: 14/07/2008 16:25)