Today's Times devotes a page to Elish Angiolini who is stepping down as Lord Advocate, Scotland. (No link as Times is behind a pay-barrier) The article detailed her idea that communications technology could corroborate a victim's account of a sex attack. She supported use of mobile phone company records and social networking sites and had seen a rise of securing convictions. Scots law requires corroboration of a witness's testimony and she had introduced this with expert opinion evidence from psychologists who examine mobile and Facebook records for clues as to a person's behaviour after being attacked. This can encourage victims to come forward where they might fear that they would be believed.
Of course,all this has attracted the criticism of the Human Rights Squad who describe the expert evidence as pseudo-science.
The old Judges Rules governed what police officers should do in the course of their investigations so as to show Judges that things were done fairly. The very first of these rules allowed the police to question any person with a view to finding out whether, or by whom, an offence had been committed. 'Question any person' gave approval to the use of experts and this should include psychologists.
Persons accused of a crime have many routes open to them to avoid questioning or to dispute such evidence. It is, of course, open to them to retain their own expert. These give the man in the dock an advantage over the forces of law and order. My contention, formed from having been an investigator, is that all relevant evidence should be put before a Judge and Jury. The Judge would decide whether it was relevant and the jury - possibly with guidance at summing-up time - would rule as to which side had made it's case. This should happen regardless of how the information was obtained (short of torture obviously). If the accused was shown to have used some form of trickery in the commission of the offence, why is it wrong to bar the police from using trickery in their investigations? We now have international courts of appeal so the idea that the law could ride rough shod over some harmless but unlucky defendant is obsolete.
Saturday, 2 October 2010
Friday, 1 October 2010
Care of the sick and aged
I have been reading up on our ancestors and came across this.
"Old ManThere are other accounts of finds where skeletons were found with withered arms, tooth loss and severe osteoarthritis such that they could not have fended for themselves in a hunter-gatherer community.
Estimated age: 50,000 years
Date of discovery: 1908
Location: La-Chapelle-aux-Saints, France
This individual, who was 30 to 40 years old when he died, had a healed broken rib, severe arthritis of the hip, lower neck, back, and shoulders, and had lost most of his molar teeth. This indicates that Neanderthals may have had a complex social system that included care for the elderly."
I have also read up on the suggested changes in the NHS and the impact - especially in Scotland - of cost savings likely to be imposed.
It would seem that our new Government does not even come up to the standards of Neanderthals.
No Neanderthals were harmed in the research for this report.
Sunday, 26 September 2010
Crime reform
The Big Man at the Inspectorate of Constabulary has confirmed what so very many people had long suspected. The Police had given up on antisocial behaviour. For whatever reason one subscribes to, there were too few bobbies on their beats. This could well be a ruse to save Forces from cutbacks said to be as much as 25%; I'll not explore that idea.
Regardless of what is done, the police are in the hands of many other agencies. Social Services may want to chip their oar in. Local authorities will have policies. The Prosecution Services will mull things over. And then there are the judiciary who jealously guard their status in deciding what punishments should be awarded. Nicking the antisocial is one thing but it starts off a veritable Snakes and Ladders process.
The very title of Antisocial Behaviour means nothing and leaves open the way that 'high spirits' is differentiated from, say, Causing Criminal Damage. If offences were to be charged as found in the existing criminal law the way in which an offender is dealt with is much simplified and capable of being understood by the lay person. Breaking wind in a lift is antisocial but (thank goodness) not a crime.
A founder of modern policing laid down
He argued that the effectiveness of the police in preventing crime depended on public support. The police would gain this by showing absolute impartiality, by offering service to all members of the public without regard to their wealth or status, and "by ready exercise of courtesy and good humour". Force should only be used as a last resort.
Socialist principles of seeking to treat all of the community as equals have gone too far. Some parents take care of what their offspring learn from them and well-behaved others. Other parents give not a damn with the results we have seen. One sees on the TV coverage of where uniformed police interact with young hoodies. There is absolutely no sign of any respect for the uniform or what it should represent. The most foul language from children of about 7 or 8 years of age goes unchecked. This disrespect continues up the age band. The days when juveniles respected adults and the aged have long gone. They are - in short terms - uncontrollable. This what must be put right. Like it or lump it, people need to be made very well aware that the majority expect them to conform to the rules that we need to bind us together.
The concept that we all have the same rights each with another has to be re-examined. Any juvenile - say under 18 years of age - who causes trouble of the sort now described as anti-social needs a short sharp shock and left in no doubt that they must change their ways. If the parents are unable or do not assist in this process, it should be made very clear that the offender will be removed from their control and handed over to the State for corrective re-induction as a reasonably behaving individual.
'Short sharp shock' may suggest National Service or "Sisters of Mercy" running laundries in Ireland. That is exactly what it is not. Ritualised cruelty will change a person but it will rarely alter their personality. I was put through National Service in a Corps that demanded high levels of instant compliance with orders and high personal standards. I saw the toughest of feral youth come in full of resentment and animosity to all. Eighteen weeks later we all marched off the barrack square with everyone committed to upholding the tradition and honour of the Corps that had just accepted us. At no time had I seen any physical violence used towards any of them. Certainly, there was verbal abuse but it was always out in the open and we all understood why correction was needed. We were taught that we could rely on the man next to us and he on us. The need for uniformity of conduct was illustrated. The smelly learnt to shower. The drinker learned to control his consumption. Being the odd man out in a room of maybe 40 others can be very uncomfortable. Once the 'hard men' realised that there was no way they could beat the system, things moved ahead much faster and easier for us all.
How this might be accomplished is something I cannot assist with - I am an old man well out of touch with modern thinking. When I was still a teenager, we had Dr Barnado homes Many local authorities ran Homes for Unmarried Mothers - not all these were the brutal prison many imagine. What worked then could be revised, updated and re-used. They provided valuable training for youngsters, trainee nurses and midwives and ongoing care for the mothers.
I speak about the need to inculcate respect for authority - dissing in street slang.In their milieu of gangland, to diss someone is regarded as a serious offence and may well lead to murder. So, they know the concept. All they need to take on board the others that it does not pay to diss.
Regardless of what is done, the police are in the hands of many other agencies. Social Services may want to chip their oar in. Local authorities will have policies. The Prosecution Services will mull things over. And then there are the judiciary who jealously guard their status in deciding what punishments should be awarded. Nicking the antisocial is one thing but it starts off a veritable Snakes and Ladders process.
The very title of Antisocial Behaviour means nothing and leaves open the way that 'high spirits' is differentiated from, say, Causing Criminal Damage. If offences were to be charged as found in the existing criminal law the way in which an offender is dealt with is much simplified and capable of being understood by the lay person. Breaking wind in a lift is antisocial but (thank goodness) not a crime.
A founder of modern policing laid down
the principles under which they should consider their duties."1 / The basic mission for which the police exist is to prevent crime and disorder.That little lot would seem to cover much that hides under the stone of antisocial behaviour. And before we leave the wisdom of Robert Peel he also said "His central notion was that "the police are the public and the public are the police". The police, wrote Peel, are only members of the public who are "paid to give full-time attention to duties incumbent on every citizen".
2 / The ability of the police to perform their duties is dependent upon public approval of police actions.
3 / Police must secure the willing co-operation of the public in voluntary observance of the law to be able to secure and maintain the respect of the public.
4 / The degree of co-operation of the public that can be secured diminishes proportionately to the necessity of the use of physical force.
5 / Police seek and preserve public favour not by catering to public opinion but by constantly demonstrating absolute impartial service to the law.
6 / Police use physical force to the extent necessary to secure observance of the law or to restore order only when the exercise of persuasion, advice and warning is found to be insufficient.
7 / Police, at all times, should maintain a relationship with the public that gives reality to the historic tradition that the police are the public and the public are the police; the police being only members of the public who are paid to give full-time attention to duties which are incumbent on every citizen in the interests of community welfare and existence.
8 / Police should always direct their action strictly towards their functions and never appear to usurp the powers of the judiciary.
9 / The test of police efficiency is the absence of crime and disorder, not the visible evidence of police action in dealing with it."
He argued that the effectiveness of the police in preventing crime depended on public support. The police would gain this by showing absolute impartiality, by offering service to all members of the public without regard to their wealth or status, and "by ready exercise of courtesy and good humour". Force should only be used as a last resort.
Socialist principles of seeking to treat all of the community as equals have gone too far. Some parents take care of what their offspring learn from them and well-behaved others. Other parents give not a damn with the results we have seen. One sees on the TV coverage of where uniformed police interact with young hoodies. There is absolutely no sign of any respect for the uniform or what it should represent. The most foul language from children of about 7 or 8 years of age goes unchecked. This disrespect continues up the age band. The days when juveniles respected adults and the aged have long gone. They are - in short terms - uncontrollable. This what must be put right. Like it or lump it, people need to be made very well aware that the majority expect them to conform to the rules that we need to bind us together.
The concept that we all have the same rights each with another has to be re-examined. Any juvenile - say under 18 years of age - who causes trouble of the sort now described as anti-social needs a short sharp shock and left in no doubt that they must change their ways. If the parents are unable or do not assist in this process, it should be made very clear that the offender will be removed from their control and handed over to the State for corrective re-induction as a reasonably behaving individual.
'Short sharp shock' may suggest National Service or "Sisters of Mercy" running laundries in Ireland. That is exactly what it is not. Ritualised cruelty will change a person but it will rarely alter their personality. I was put through National Service in a Corps that demanded high levels of instant compliance with orders and high personal standards. I saw the toughest of feral youth come in full of resentment and animosity to all. Eighteen weeks later we all marched off the barrack square with everyone committed to upholding the tradition and honour of the Corps that had just accepted us. At no time had I seen any physical violence used towards any of them. Certainly, there was verbal abuse but it was always out in the open and we all understood why correction was needed. We were taught that we could rely on the man next to us and he on us. The need for uniformity of conduct was illustrated. The smelly learnt to shower. The drinker learned to control his consumption. Being the odd man out in a room of maybe 40 others can be very uncomfortable. Once the 'hard men' realised that there was no way they could beat the system, things moved ahead much faster and easier for us all.
How this might be accomplished is something I cannot assist with - I am an old man well out of touch with modern thinking. When I was still a teenager, we had Dr Barnado homes Many local authorities ran Homes for Unmarried Mothers - not all these were the brutal prison many imagine. What worked then could be revised, updated and re-used. They provided valuable training for youngsters, trainee nurses and midwives and ongoing care for the mothers.
I speak about the need to inculcate respect for authority - dissing in street slang.In their milieu of gangland, to diss someone is regarded as a serious offence and may well lead to murder. So, they know the concept. All they need to take on board the others that it does not pay to diss.
Thursday, 23 September 2010
Cold wind on hot air
Considerable coverage everywhere on the new Thanet wind farm. The wind power technology is rated as even better than sliced bread. We in Scotland have seen a considerable growth in wind farms - something to do with valleys channelling wind onto flat places. So, we need to give thought to something that appeared in our news quite recently.
"SCOTLAND'S wind farms have produced only around half the amount of power they were expected to this year, Scotland on Sunday has learned. The government blamed the low generation levels on unusually calm weather, but critics said the figures showed the danger of becoming too dependent on renewable energy." This situation is then amplified "Stuart Young, who runs Caithness Wind Information Forum and opposes wind farms, carried out the research by analysing data from the Balancing Mechanism Reporting System website, which the National Grid uses to monitor generation. The site provides a constant flow of information on output from 1,588 megawatts wind farms in Scotland.
His research also showed that for 80 per cent of the time between February and June Scotland's turbines were operating at less than 30 per cent.
And for almost a third of the time they were operating at less than 5 per cent of their maximum output, meaning they were virtually becalmed. Only nine times between February and June had the wind farms achieved 30 per cent efficiency for a full day at a time. There were long stretches, such as from 16 to 29 May, 9 to 15 April and 6 to 23 February when they failed to reach 30 per cent output"
The industry was defended. Duncan McLaren, chief executive of Friends of the Earth Scotland who is reported as saying "Generally, the wind is blowing somewhere in the UK and the likelihood of low wind speeds affecting 50 per cent of the country occurs less than 100 hours per year."
It seems that the nuclear power stations will be decommissioned. Periods when there is insufficient wind-powered generation will be met by using the coal-fired power stations as back-up. Just how this might work in practice does not seem to have been released but it must take time to go from stand-by to full steam ahead. That is after someone has decided that wind power is failing. The coal fired resources will need to be kept manned. Even if just turning over they require feeding with non-sustainable fuel. They will generate large amounts of CO2. If we factor in the costs to make the windmills, transport them from their foreign manufacturers, erect, maintain and eventually decommission, there cannot be much of a saving on CO2 from wind farms.
Mention is made of the Danish experience as being supportive of wind power. Ah yes but, there is an element of apples and bears comparisons. "Danish wind turbines near Copenhagen. Wind often flows briskly and smoothly over water since there are no obstructions. The large and slow turning turbines of this offshore wind farm near Copenhagen take advantage of the moderate yet constant breezes at this location. While the wind at this location is not strong it is very consistent, with the turbines generating substantial power over 97 percent of the time." We have read about the vagaries of wind speeds in Scotland. 'Moderate' and 'constant breezes' they are not. I haven't kept a check but I think I have seen seven warnings of gale force winds this month alone.
Maybe our political masters who direct their sheep into the appropriate pens should read "The Wind Farm Scam. Dr Etherington argues that in the case of wind power the drawbacks far outweigh the claimed benefits. Wind turbines cannot generate enough energy to reduce global CO2 levels to a meaningful degree; what's more wind power is by nature intermittent and cannot generate a steady output, necessitating back-up coal and gas power plants that significantly negate the saving of greenhouse gas emissions. In addition to the inefficacy of wind power there are ecological drawbacks, including damage to habitats, wildlife and the far-from-insignificant aesthetic drawback of the assault upon natural beauty and the pristine landscape, which wind turbines entail. Dr Etherington argues that wind power has been, and is being, excessively financed at the cost of consumers who have not been consulted, nor informed that this effective subsidy is being paid from their bills to support an industry that cannot be cost efficient or, ultimately, favour the cause it purports to support"
And who will have to pick up the costs of this enterprise? Once it gets into the National Grid the costs will pass to the energy suppliers. And to whom will they off-load it? Us - the customers.
Welcome to Cameron's Brave New World.
"SCOTLAND'S wind farms have produced only around half the amount of power they were expected to this year, Scotland on Sunday has learned. The government blamed the low generation levels on unusually calm weather, but critics said the figures showed the danger of becoming too dependent on renewable energy." This situation is then amplified "Stuart Young, who runs Caithness Wind Information Forum and opposes wind farms, carried out the research by analysing data from the Balancing Mechanism Reporting System website, which the National Grid uses to monitor generation. The site provides a constant flow of information on output from 1,588 megawatts wind farms in Scotland.
His research also showed that for 80 per cent of the time between February and June Scotland's turbines were operating at less than 30 per cent.
And for almost a third of the time they were operating at less than 5 per cent of their maximum output, meaning they were virtually becalmed. Only nine times between February and June had the wind farms achieved 30 per cent efficiency for a full day at a time. There were long stretches, such as from 16 to 29 May, 9 to 15 April and 6 to 23 February when they failed to reach 30 per cent output"
The industry was defended. Duncan McLaren, chief executive of Friends of the Earth Scotland who is reported as saying "Generally, the wind is blowing somewhere in the UK and the likelihood of low wind speeds affecting 50 per cent of the country occurs less than 100 hours per year."
It seems that the nuclear power stations will be decommissioned. Periods when there is insufficient wind-powered generation will be met by using the coal-fired power stations as back-up. Just how this might work in practice does not seem to have been released but it must take time to go from stand-by to full steam ahead. That is after someone has decided that wind power is failing. The coal fired resources will need to be kept manned. Even if just turning over they require feeding with non-sustainable fuel. They will generate large amounts of CO2. If we factor in the costs to make the windmills, transport them from their foreign manufacturers, erect, maintain and eventually decommission, there cannot be much of a saving on CO2 from wind farms.
Mention is made of the Danish experience as being supportive of wind power. Ah yes but, there is an element of apples and bears comparisons. "Danish wind turbines near Copenhagen. Wind often flows briskly and smoothly over water since there are no obstructions. The large and slow turning turbines of this offshore wind farm near Copenhagen take advantage of the moderate yet constant breezes at this location. While the wind at this location is not strong it is very consistent, with the turbines generating substantial power over 97 percent of the time." We have read about the vagaries of wind speeds in Scotland. 'Moderate' and 'constant breezes' they are not. I haven't kept a check but I think I have seen seven warnings of gale force winds this month alone.
Maybe our political masters who direct their sheep into the appropriate pens should read "The Wind Farm Scam. Dr Etherington argues that in the case of wind power the drawbacks far outweigh the claimed benefits. Wind turbines cannot generate enough energy to reduce global CO2 levels to a meaningful degree; what's more wind power is by nature intermittent and cannot generate a steady output, necessitating back-up coal and gas power plants that significantly negate the saving of greenhouse gas emissions. In addition to the inefficacy of wind power there are ecological drawbacks, including damage to habitats, wildlife and the far-from-insignificant aesthetic drawback of the assault upon natural beauty and the pristine landscape, which wind turbines entail. Dr Etherington argues that wind power has been, and is being, excessively financed at the cost of consumers who have not been consulted, nor informed that this effective subsidy is being paid from their bills to support an industry that cannot be cost efficient or, ultimately, favour the cause it purports to support"
And who will have to pick up the costs of this enterprise? Once it gets into the National Grid the costs will pass to the energy suppliers. And to whom will they off-load it? Us - the customers.
Welcome to Cameron's Brave New World.
Made in Britain
As a old coffin dodger I remember when that proud boast meant something when seen on a product. Way way back now when we used to actually build things from start to finish and did not rely on 'service' industries employing off the hook foreigners at sweat shop rates.
We could still be doing it if we tried. We have the brains to invent - just how many types of Dyson vacuum cleaners are there? I hear we are well up in the development of computer games of the shoot 'em up, knock 'em down variety.
Something where I thought the developed world would appreciate some innovation must be the protection of the life and limb of their armed forces. That valuable document we know as Wikileaks revealed details of just how deeply the Taliban have adopted the Improvised Explosive Device. The leaked documents show the exponential growth in the use of these in the last six years. The number of British military personnel killed on operations in Afghanistan since 2001 stands at 337, after a soldier from the Queen's Royal Lancers and another from the Royal Engineers died in an explosion on 18 September. One would think that we might have explored all avenues to counteract this cheap but deadly munition. We have electronic measures but in the unfriendly to electrons environment they go off song.
But, wait a minute, the Americans have a new weapon of which great things are spoken. A gadget which fires a spear of water capable of slicing steel is being despatched to Afghanistan to disarm roadside bombs. The device — dubbed Stingray — was developed by boffins at America's Sandia National Laboratories — and 3,000 are heading to US soldiers this year.In this news release, it seems that someone's redacting marker had slipped. Bold as brass, right there it says "The basic concept of the devices was first developed in the 1970s in Britain to deal with IRA explosives" So, where the hell has it been in those 40 years? Looking at the manufacturer' site we see "Nine Sandians made the nation's fight against improvised explosive devices (IEDs) personal in 2009 through on-site service with the Joint IED Defeat Organization (JIEDDO) in Washington, DC" What we had for all those years was developed by these nine guys in the space of a year. From concept to shipment of 3,000 units.
We have had a selection of governments since 1970. All full of promises that mostly lasted little longer that it took the ink to dry on their false and deceptive manifesto. So, not caring for our troops is not an attitude confined to any one political party. The Conservative element of our current Mongrel Parliament spoke of rectifying the Military Covenant. "The Conservatives say they will create a new "tri-service" military covenant, which would include specific obligations and requirements to care for families and veterans. The manifesto promises a new mental health screening service for everyone leaving the armed forces. The Conservatives say that more than a quarter of Iraq war veterans suffer mental health problems and that they will establish Britain's first dedicated post-traumatic stress disorder treatment programme within the NHS.
Operational allowances for military personnel would be doubled and the children of servicemen and women killed while on active duty would be provided with university and further education scholarships. The scheme would be backdated to 1990." They said. They have since said that HM Forces personnel and other Budgets will have the same savagery imposed upon them and many now employed will be 'set free' of the bonds of uniform. The Army does not gave a lot of use for one armed and legless soldiers who benefit from a bit of a blind eye approach and are currently found useful employment suited to their medical condition and they will be in the front line for being made civilians. Retraining is not an overnight process so it is not likely they will get a lot of that. Pressure on the NHS will be increased even without the additional workload and expense of caring for damaged former soldiers.
Truly, Kipling had it right all those years ago
For sure, his employers will care not if he is neither safe nor sound.
We could still be doing it if we tried. We have the brains to invent - just how many types of Dyson vacuum cleaners are there? I hear we are well up in the development of computer games of the shoot 'em up, knock 'em down variety.
Something where I thought the developed world would appreciate some innovation must be the protection of the life and limb of their armed forces. That valuable document we know as Wikileaks revealed details of just how deeply the Taliban have adopted the Improvised Explosive Device. The leaked documents show the exponential growth in the use of these in the last six years. The number of British military personnel killed on operations in Afghanistan since 2001 stands at 337, after a soldier from the Queen's Royal Lancers and another from the Royal Engineers died in an explosion on 18 September. One would think that we might have explored all avenues to counteract this cheap but deadly munition. We have electronic measures but in the unfriendly to electrons environment they go off song.
But, wait a minute, the Americans have a new weapon of which great things are spoken. A gadget which fires a spear of water capable of slicing steel is being despatched to Afghanistan to disarm roadside bombs. The device — dubbed Stingray — was developed by boffins at America's Sandia National Laboratories — and 3,000 are heading to US soldiers this year.In this news release, it seems that someone's redacting marker had slipped. Bold as brass, right there it says "The basic concept of the devices was first developed in the 1970s in Britain to deal with IRA explosives" So, where the hell has it been in those 40 years? Looking at the manufacturer' site we see "Nine Sandians made the nation's fight against improvised explosive devices (IEDs) personal in 2009 through on-site service with the Joint IED Defeat Organization (JIEDDO) in Washington, DC" What we had for all those years was developed by these nine guys in the space of a year. From concept to shipment of 3,000 units.
We have had a selection of governments since 1970. All full of promises that mostly lasted little longer that it took the ink to dry on their false and deceptive manifesto. So, not caring for our troops is not an attitude confined to any one political party. The Conservative element of our current Mongrel Parliament spoke of rectifying the Military Covenant. "The Conservatives say they will create a new "tri-service" military covenant, which would include specific obligations and requirements to care for families and veterans. The manifesto promises a new mental health screening service for everyone leaving the armed forces. The Conservatives say that more than a quarter of Iraq war veterans suffer mental health problems and that they will establish Britain's first dedicated post-traumatic stress disorder treatment programme within the NHS.
Operational allowances for military personnel would be doubled and the children of servicemen and women killed while on active duty would be provided with university and further education scholarships. The scheme would be backdated to 1990." They said. They have since said that HM Forces personnel and other Budgets will have the same savagery imposed upon them and many now employed will be 'set free' of the bonds of uniform. The Army does not gave a lot of use for one armed and legless soldiers who benefit from a bit of a blind eye approach and are currently found useful employment suited to their medical condition and they will be in the front line for being made civilians. Retraining is not an overnight process so it is not likely they will get a lot of that. Pressure on the NHS will be increased even without the additional workload and expense of caring for damaged former soldiers.
Truly, Kipling had it right all those years ago
"O there'll surely come a day
When they'll give you all your pay,
And treat you as a Christian ought to do;
So, until that day comes round,
Heaven keep you safe and sound,"
For sure, his employers will care not if he is neither safe nor sound.
Saturday, 28 August 2010
Total recall
I think the phrase is 'Back in the day' but when in my final years as a student aged about 17,I was a bit of a stud. I was quite often mentioned in assembly as having gained some scholarship or other or winning something that involved throwing heavy weights about. I was not afraid of showering and had access to money from parents who preferred to see me elsewhere than at home. I was a close friend of the son of the local villain who seemed to view me as a good influence and saw I was 'looked after' in local pubs and restaurants. All of this stood me in good stead with the opposite sex.
At that time, a kiss at the end of the first date was considered extremely forward. Girls protected their good name even ahead of their virginity. We courted - sure but it was all ships that pass in the night stuff. However, I set a personal target of three strikes and you are out. I moved around like a butterfly.
I found that best results came from being very nice. None of the hard man posing that came later in those years. If all else had failed, I booked seats to see Carousel that was enjoying a long run in London. The show, with a meal before or after, seemed to have a magical effect on the female psyche. If it did not result in a lowering of the defences, I fluttered off. But that did not happen all that often.
The Proms has just had a Rogers and Hammerstein night and Carousel figured large. I knew the words to every song and could even picture what had been happening on stage when it was sung. I think the show ran just under two years and I must have seen it ten or so times. I knew what it was doing to my companions but never imagined it was burying itself deep into my brain.
All very interesting - to me anyway. Of course, what would be really interesting would be to know how many 75+ year old women recall it the way I did. Just a taste
Of course, the real knee-parter was You Will Never Walk Alone but the football hooligans have spoiled that.
At that time, a kiss at the end of the first date was considered extremely forward. Girls protected their good name even ahead of their virginity. We courted - sure but it was all ships that pass in the night stuff. However, I set a personal target of three strikes and you are out. I moved around like a butterfly.
I found that best results came from being very nice. None of the hard man posing that came later in those years. If all else had failed, I booked seats to see Carousel that was enjoying a long run in London. The show, with a meal before or after, seemed to have a magical effect on the female psyche. If it did not result in a lowering of the defences, I fluttered off. But that did not happen all that often.
The Proms has just had a Rogers and Hammerstein night and Carousel figured large. I knew the words to every song and could even picture what had been happening on stage when it was sung. I think the show ran just under two years and I must have seen it ten or so times. I knew what it was doing to my companions but never imagined it was burying itself deep into my brain.
All very interesting - to me anyway. Of course, what would be really interesting would be to know how many 75+ year old women recall it the way I did. Just a taste
Of course, the real knee-parter was You Will Never Walk Alone but the football hooligans have spoiled that.
Thanks for the laugh
We are currently afflicted by politicians who are all too damn serious for my liking. The power they are capable of deploying is immense and it worries me that they may never see the funny side of anything and thus remove the tensions.
Will we see this sort of thing again?
"I know how hard it is to put food on your family."
"The problem with the French is that they don't have a word for entrepreneur."
"I own a timber company? That's news to me. Need some wood?"
"Goodbye from the world's biggest polluter." (Parting words to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and French President Nicolas Sarkozy at his final G-Summit, punching the air and grinning widely as the two leaders looked on in shock?)
"Thank you, your Holiness. Awesome speech." (To Pope Benedict.)
"It seems like to me they based some of their decisions on the word of -- and the allegations -- by people who were held in detention, people who hate America, people that had been trained in some instances to disassemble -- that means not tell the truth."
"I was proud the other day when Republicans and Democrats stood with me in the Rose Garden to announce your support for a clear statement of purpose: you disarm, or we will. Speaking about Saddam Hussein, 2002.
"I was looking for a book to read. Laura said you ought to try Camus. I also read three Shakespeares.
"I'm honored to shake the hand of a brave Iraqi citizen who had his hand cut off by Saddam Hussein.
"I'll be long gone before some smart person ever figures out what happened inside this Oval Office."
Of course, Dubya had no monopoly on this sort of thing.
"I was under medication when I made the decision to burn the tapes."
-Richard (Dicky) Nixon
We've got to pause and ask ourselves: How much clean air do we need?"
-Lee Iacocca
We understand the importance of having bondage between parents and their children. Dan Quayle
Helpful Warnings: "CAUTION: Knife is very sharp. Keep out of children"
"The people in the Navy look on motherhood as being compatible with being a woman."
-Rear Admiral James R. Hogg
"If you're killed, you've lost a very important part of your life." -Brooke Shields
"A day without sunshine is like, you know, night."
"We apologize for the error in last week's paper in which we stated that Mr. Arnold Dogbody was a defective in the police force. We meant, of course, that Mr. Dogbody is a detective in the police farce."
-Correction notice in the Ely Standard, a British newspaper
"The private enterprise system indicates that some people have higher incomes than others."
-Gerry Brown
"I was provided with additional input that was radically different from the truth. I assisted in furthering that version."
-Colonel Oliver North, from his Iran-Contra testimony
"We are sorry to announce that Mr. Albert Brown has been quite unwell, owing to his recent death, and is taking a short holiday to recover."
-Parish Magazine
"We are not without accomplishment. We have managed to distribute poverty equally."
-Nguyen Co Thatch, Vietnamese foreign minister
"Fiction writing is great, you can make up almost anything."
-Ivana Trump, on finishing her first novel
"I've read about foreign policy and studied, I now know the number of continents."
-George Wallace, 1968 presidential campaign
"We don't necessarily discriminate. We simply exclude certain types of people."
-Colonel Gerald Wellman, ROTC instructor
The world is more like it is now then it ever has before.
Dwight Eisenhower
Eight more days and I can start telling the truth again.
-- Sen. Chris Dodd (D, Conn.), on the Don Imus show, on campaigning
If you take out the killings, Washington actually has a very low crime rate.
-- Marion Barry, mayor of Washington, D.C.
Survivors of the San Francisco earthquake said, "Thank God, I'm still alive." But, of course, those who died, their lives will never be the same again.
-- Sen. Barbara Boxer, (D, Calif.)
Joey Bishop (talk-show host): Would you like to become a regular on the show? Barry Goldwater: No, thank you. I'd much rather watch you in bed with my wife.
You know, if I were a single man, I might ask that mummy out. That's a good-looking mummy!
-- President Bill Clinton, looking at the recently-discovered Inca mummy "Juanita"
You read what Disraeli had to say. I don't remember what he said. He said something. He's no longer with us.
-- Bob Dole
I have opinions of my own -- strong opinions -- but I don't always agree with them. -- President George Bush
You can't just let nature run wild.
-- Wally Hickel, former governor of Alaska
(Alaska - maybe it is something in the water?)
I cannot tell you how grateful I am -- I am filled with humidity.
-- Gib Lewis, speaker of the Texas House
I'm Dan Quayle. Who are you?(extending his hand during a campaign stop):
Woman: I'm your Secret Service agent.
"It isn't pollution that is hurting the environment,it's the impurities in our air and water that are doing it."
-Dan Quayle
"If we don't succeed we run the risk of failure."
-Dan Quayle
"We are not ready for an unforseen event that may or may not occur."
-Dan Quayle
"Hawaii is a unique state. It is a small state. It is a state that is by itself. It is a --it is different from the other 49 states. Well,all states are different, but it's got a particularly unique situation."
-Dan Quayle
"It is wonderful to be here today in the great state of Chicago" - Dan Quayle
It's time for the human race to enter the solar system!
-- Dan Quayle, on the concept of a manned mission to Mars
"I love California, I practically grew up in Phoenix."
-Dan Quayle
"What a waste it is to lose one's mind.
Or not to have a mind is being very wasteful. How true that is."
-Dan Quayle
"Potatoe"
-Dan Quayle
Yes - cheap lineage for me but it might cause someone to smile and maybe even feel a little superior!
Will we see this sort of thing again?
"I know how hard it is to put food on your family."
"The problem with the French is that they don't have a word for entrepreneur."
"I own a timber company? That's news to me. Need some wood?"
"Goodbye from the world's biggest polluter." (Parting words to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and French President Nicolas Sarkozy at his final G-Summit, punching the air and grinning widely as the two leaders looked on in shock?)
"Thank you, your Holiness. Awesome speech." (To Pope Benedict.)
"It seems like to me they based some of their decisions on the word of -- and the allegations -- by people who were held in detention, people who hate America, people that had been trained in some instances to disassemble -- that means not tell the truth."
"I was proud the other day when Republicans and Democrats stood with me in the Rose Garden to announce your support for a clear statement of purpose: you disarm, or we will. Speaking about Saddam Hussein, 2002.
"I was looking for a book to read. Laura said you ought to try Camus. I also read three Shakespeares.
"I'm honored to shake the hand of a brave Iraqi citizen who had his hand cut off by Saddam Hussein.
"I'll be long gone before some smart person ever figures out what happened inside this Oval Office."
Of course, Dubya had no monopoly on this sort of thing.
"I was under medication when I made the decision to burn the tapes."
-Richard (Dicky) Nixon
We've got to pause and ask ourselves: How much clean air do we need?"
-Lee Iacocca
We understand the importance of having bondage between parents and their children. Dan Quayle
Helpful Warnings: "CAUTION: Knife is very sharp. Keep out of children"
"The people in the Navy look on motherhood as being compatible with being a woman."
-Rear Admiral James R. Hogg
"If you're killed, you've lost a very important part of your life." -Brooke Shields
"A day without sunshine is like, you know, night."
"We apologize for the error in last week's paper in which we stated that Mr. Arnold Dogbody was a defective in the police force. We meant, of course, that Mr. Dogbody is a detective in the police farce."
-Correction notice in the Ely Standard, a British newspaper
"The private enterprise system indicates that some people have higher incomes than others."
-Gerry Brown
"I was provided with additional input that was radically different from the truth. I assisted in furthering that version."
-Colonel Oliver North, from his Iran-Contra testimony
"We are sorry to announce that Mr. Albert Brown has been quite unwell, owing to his recent death, and is taking a short holiday to recover."
-Parish Magazine
"We are not without accomplishment. We have managed to distribute poverty equally."
-Nguyen Co Thatch, Vietnamese foreign minister
"Fiction writing is great, you can make up almost anything."
-Ivana Trump, on finishing her first novel
"I've read about foreign policy and studied, I now know the number of continents."
-George Wallace, 1968 presidential campaign
"We don't necessarily discriminate. We simply exclude certain types of people."
-Colonel Gerald Wellman, ROTC instructor
The world is more like it is now then it ever has before.
Dwight Eisenhower
Eight more days and I can start telling the truth again.
-- Sen. Chris Dodd (D, Conn.), on the Don Imus show, on campaigning
If you take out the killings, Washington actually has a very low crime rate.
-- Marion Barry, mayor of Washington, D.C.
Survivors of the San Francisco earthquake said, "Thank God, I'm still alive." But, of course, those who died, their lives will never be the same again.
-- Sen. Barbara Boxer, (D, Calif.)
Joey Bishop (talk-show host): Would you like to become a regular on the show? Barry Goldwater: No, thank you. I'd much rather watch you in bed with my wife.
You know, if I were a single man, I might ask that mummy out. That's a good-looking mummy!
-- President Bill Clinton, looking at the recently-discovered Inca mummy "Juanita"
You read what Disraeli had to say. I don't remember what he said. He said something. He's no longer with us.
-- Bob Dole
I have opinions of my own -- strong opinions -- but I don't always agree with them. -- President George Bush
You can't just let nature run wild.
-- Wally Hickel, former governor of Alaska
(Alaska - maybe it is something in the water?)
I cannot tell you how grateful I am -- I am filled with humidity.
-- Gib Lewis, speaker of the Texas House
I'm Dan Quayle. Who are you?(extending his hand during a campaign stop):
Woman: I'm your Secret Service agent.
"It isn't pollution that is hurting the environment,it's the impurities in our air and water that are doing it."
-Dan Quayle
"If we don't succeed we run the risk of failure."
-Dan Quayle
"We are not ready for an unforseen event that may or may not occur."
-Dan Quayle
"Hawaii is a unique state. It is a small state. It is a state that is by itself. It is a --it is different from the other 49 states. Well,all states are different, but it's got a particularly unique situation."
-Dan Quayle
"It is wonderful to be here today in the great state of Chicago" - Dan Quayle
It's time for the human race to enter the solar system!
-- Dan Quayle, on the concept of a manned mission to Mars
"I love California, I practically grew up in Phoenix."
-Dan Quayle
"What a waste it is to lose one's mind.
Or not to have a mind is being very wasteful. How true that is."
-Dan Quayle
"Potatoe"
-Dan Quayle
Yes - cheap lineage for me but it might cause someone to smile and maybe even feel a little superior!
Deja Vue
In the '50s, we used to sit around the record player and fall about at this guy. I am sure I would have dismissed this then but it is having the last laugh now
Just recalling - back then we had a number of entertainers who needed only a piano. Paddy Roberts, Flanders & Swann. All gone. All we are left with are rejects from the tumbling clown department at the circus.
Feeling generous - here is Paddy
Whilst this lament is valid all the years later
Thursday, 26 August 2010
Not suitable for the human race?
This is a gruesome video as are the photographs which follow. However, there can be few of us who have seen real mob violence and need to see this before I go into rant mode
That is what happened to two young people attacked by a mob who thought they were thieves. When the first video was made available, large numbers congregated to protest. And these are scenes from that protestation.
and
Can anyone distinguish any difference between the people in the video and those at the protest?
Yes - we here in Britain can match that sort of intensity. I was often sardonically amused at my presence on a street in UK where I was trying to keep Protestant Christians away from Roman Catholic Christians. If they got amongst each other, there would have been deaths. The Protestant Shankill had it's butchers just as the Catholic Ardoyne had its assassins.
Politicians meet and exchange pleasantries and promises as to the future. But, just how can we rely on any of these when our understandings rely upon a Nation that includes people such as we see here? Anyone who falls foul of them risks being torn limb from limb. Those who offend us are merely sent out into world free to make vast sums in finagling, public speeches and the writing of their autobiographies.
As and when we decide we can leave Afghanistan, much will rely upon Pakistan. We have heard the nice voices and read the undertakings but can we rely upon these from a populace so steeped in the past as the video and photographs illustrate?
That is what happened to two young people attacked by a mob who thought they were thieves. When the first video was made available, large numbers congregated to protest. And these are scenes from that protestation.
and
Can anyone distinguish any difference between the people in the video and those at the protest? Yes - we here in Britain can match that sort of intensity. I was often sardonically amused at my presence on a street in UK where I was trying to keep Protestant Christians away from Roman Catholic Christians. If they got amongst each other, there would have been deaths. The Protestant Shankill had it's butchers just as the Catholic Ardoyne had its assassins.
Politicians meet and exchange pleasantries and promises as to the future. But, just how can we rely on any of these when our understandings rely upon a Nation that includes people such as we see here? Anyone who falls foul of them risks being torn limb from limb. Those who offend us are merely sent out into world free to make vast sums in finagling, public speeches and the writing of their autobiographies.
As and when we decide we can leave Afghanistan, much will rely upon Pakistan. We have heard the nice voices and read the undertakings but can we rely upon these from a populace so steeped in the past as the video and photographs illustrate?
Wednesday, 25 August 2010
A Force for - good or evil?
Yesterday we saw a disturbing video of a middle-aged woman petting a cat and then throwing it—alive—into a trash bin. She is now under police protection. What happened between those two events? They were subjected to the force of the internet combining.
Often dismissed as little more than a gang of anonymous bullies, there is some truth to the notion that the site is simultaneously the best and worst of the internet, and that when they put their collective minds together, there is no stopping them. Sometimes they goof up, other times they emerge as victorious white knights on a quest from Ceiling Cat. Almost immediately after the video started making the internet rounds yesterday, the 4chan legion set out to find this woman and destroy her life.
I don't know exactly how long it took, but within a few hours she was identified as Mary Bale, 50, of Coventry (England). But there's more: they also found out where she worked. They posted the phone number and name of her boss. They found out where she lived, and posted a Google map of that address. They found her Facebook profile.
And because of what some suggested should be done with this info, the local police stepped in and helped her hide. Probably not a bad idea.
Just wondering what we might do with this sort of power - what about setting them the task of finding Osama Bin Laden. Nil result after 48 hours to be confirmation that the bstard is really dead. What I foresee is that a group somewhere, sometime and somehow will make their case that the ability to band together is evil and pronounce "it must be stopped". I do see a need for some form of control. Not on the tired example of free speech being associated with shouting FIRE in a crowded theatre but on the basis of responsibility. Considerable harm can come from some release of genuine information and it is the decision to release such detail that needs thought. There can be no safe assessment as to what might spark off vigilante action but we need ways to make information providers think deeper than they may do currently. Maybe there is scope for proceeding with damaging or dangerous disclosures by making provision that the author be liable to unlimited damages - hit their pockets if they overstated or dramatised their case. In the case of the cat in the bin, the better action might have been to pass the information to RSPCA or PETA for their consideration and action. We seem to have got there "Today the RSPCA confirmed they had identified the woman and would be questioning her. A spokeswoman said: "A woman featured in cctv footage putting a cat in a bin in Brays Road, Coventry has now been identified.
The RSPCA is leading an investigation into the incident and will be interviewing the woman shortly. Coventry Police are supporting this investigation and urge the public to leave the matter to be dealt with correctly by the authorities"
Compare that with just letting the information escape by posting it on Facebook - possibly the world's greatest collection of nutters outside confinement in special homes.
Wheels within wheels
Always a touch cynical where political matters are concerned, I just wonder if the Cameron calving of yesterday was in any way connected with the last General Election.
Were the Cornish being rewarded for their change in affiliations and groomed as to the future by having such a cuddlesome event in their back-yard?
Click on image to enlarge
Were the Cornish being rewarded for their change in affiliations and groomed as to the future by having such a cuddlesome event in their back-yard?
Click on image to enlarge
Tuesday, 24 August 2010
Land of the Free
Not a lot of inventiveness in the slogans!
At an all-white anti-mosque rally this week, a New York City resident passing by who happened to be black, and not a Muslim, wore the wrong hat — and was harassed and quite nearly assaulted by an assortment of "dumb motherf***ers." This is America, folks. In America you have the right to be a dumbmotherf***er. And I support that, no matter how dumb you are or you strive to be.
Seems there are still a load of Village People stereotypes on the streets of New York.
At an all-white anti-mosque rally this week, a New York City resident passing by who happened to be black, and not a Muslim, wore the wrong hat — and was harassed and quite nearly assaulted by an assortment of "dumb motherf***ers." This is America, folks. In America you have the right to be a dumbmotherf***er. And I support that, no matter how dumb you are or you strive to be.
Seems there are still a load of Village People stereotypes on the streets of New York.
Monday, 23 August 2010
A dog's life
Some dogs are very intelligent. Some not so. For the Lord's sake do not tell him he has his paw on a Mouse!
Drugs
Our shilly-shally will we or won't we coalition government is at it again. I grew up in a world where the mantra 'Order. Reorder. Disorder' was drummed into those of us being trained to give out orders. Dave's drug board has come up with a fresh idea.Drug addict benefit withdrawal considered. Some say withdrawing benefits from drug users would lead them into crime. People dependent on drugs and alcohol who refuse treatment could have their welfare benefits withdrawn under plans being considered by the Home Office. The idea is in a consultation paper on the government's drug strategy for England, Wales and Scotland.
Some experts have suggested that withdrawing benefits could lead addicts into crime and prostitution. The Labour government intended to carry out pilot schemes this year to get drug users into work. Under the plans, addicts who failed to attend a treatment awareness programme would lose welfare benefits. If people are addicted to substances then they will go to any length to get hold of them... benefit isn't enough to sustain a habit anyway" said a user.
However, in May the Social Security Advisory Committee - an independent statutory body - said withdrawing benefits from drug users would lead them into crime and prostitution. The coalition government scrapped the pilot programme - but the Home Office has now revived the idea."
Sooner or later when I gave presentations on drug matters, the question would arise as to why 'drugs' such as alcohol and tobacco were tolerated and the government was happy to receive the tax on these goods. As alcohol abuse in the Armed Forces where I was speaking was far more serious than drug abuse I had a lot of sympathy for the question. I ducked answering it by replying that if coffee and tobacco were new discoveries, we would quite likely ban them. So, let me forestall the cost and acceptance query.
"Important findings ... include the fact that (1) total direct social costs associated with alcohol ($7,427.5 million) are more than double those for all illicit drugs combined ($3,565.5 million); (2) direct alcohol-related health care costs ($3,306.2 million) are nearly three times as high as for all illicit drugs, excluding cannabis ($1,061.6 million), and over 45 times higher than the direct health care costs of cannabis ($73 million); and (3) annual direct costs for health care ($4,440.7 million) are 31 times higher, and annual direct costs for enforcement ($5,407.7 million) are 36 times higher than annual costs for prevention and research ($147.6 million)."
Analysis is drawn from the 2004 Canadian Addiction Survey," So, if it is money that is the main driver, there could be bigger savings on something with the same moral credentials. The foregoing are direct costs; anyone who is in a A & E department on any night of the weekend will see what the medical costs are for alcohol. The toll on relationships has not been costed nor miscellaneous costs such as police and street cleaning. However, as I wrote recently, there are some wars one has to recognise as incapable of being worth it. Alcohol abuse will continue largely unabated.
There are other factors to the proposal. "Addicts will have to register" Not very likely is it? Drug habits are not like light switches - there is no plain On or Off position. How likely is it that someone who routinely turns to prostitution or robbery will have the moral fibre to declare themselves as an addict when they know the next step? We do not know how many addicts there are currently undetected by police so any measure of compliance is fruitless.
So, we stop their benefits. In this age of yooman rites it is unlikely that a mere "John Wood is an addict" statement will suffice so there will need to be an investigation, prosecution and enforcement agency established. At what cost? We do not have a perfect record on preventing benefit fraud anyway. Surely no one thinks that the income from benefits is sufficient to fund any sort of addiction. The user will just increase whatever they do now to maintain their purchases. If this is prostitution or robbery we will suffer an increase in those and further costs will be generated.
My understanding is that 'benefits' are not solely money. Charges are abated or excused. If society removes the cash benefit, do these go as well? That leads to eviction and deprivation where the user, their family including children, will go short of food. Here again, there could be increased costs by way of additional social services activities and pressure on the NHS.
We are currently unable to control the importation and distribution of drugs. This will not improve just because we seek to register addicts. The aim of any new legislation seems to be to eradicate drug use - a far greater task that the one we are currently failing to win. The dealers will not just accept that they are out of business and will do all in their power to maintain their hold on their clients. This could include reducing their mark-up on sales.
In the back of my mind is a suspicion that this is not solely about stopping drug taking. That pompous arse Duncan Smith was very keen that he be made made Boss of the new plans. There will be many amongst the turnip Tories who see drug taking and it's milieu as "not very nice" and would like it to be stopped on social grounds alone.
There has been talk of economic benefit of drug legalization. "The report estimates that legalizing drugs would save roughly $48.7 billion per year in government expenditure on enforcement of prohibition. $33.1 billion of this savings would accrue to state and local governments, while $15.6 billion would accrue to the federal government. Approximately $13.7 billion of the savings would results from legalization of marijuana, $22.3 billion from legalization of cocaine and heroin, and $12.8 from legalization of other drugs. Those are American figures and ours would be significantly less but not a bad income stream for when times are hard.
A further instance of "wouldn't it be nice if..." occurs in the suggestion that addicts should seek gainful employment if benefits were withdrawn. I cannot imagine too many employers opening their arms wide to recruit someone who is an addict going through whatever it takes to come off drugs. Sure, users would not have to fess up but any worthwhile HR interviewer would get the picture pretty quick and any employment probation period would quite likely have a few days of suspicion making absences or unexplained sickness at work.
Yes - I can see it as something that would seem right to the adherents of what is 'nice' but anyone looking at it as a means to control a serious problem must surely see where things have not been thought through.
Sunday, 22 August 2010
Don't keep picking at it
If one has the slightest edge to their life, there will be occasions when one has to resist. Resist something from within yourself as in the urge that says sex with that lady would be a good idea and never mind the big guy buying her drinks right now. Bearing down on the idea that her glances could mean she might welcome your intervention.Ones responses can push one into conflict but the wise person sooner or later realises that there are some fights one cannot win. Me and Mohd. Ali would never have sold a single ticket - except maybe a few to my enemies. Sure, we all make enemies. These fights need not be physical; could be your boss is trying to find reasons to get rid of you without involving an employment tribunal. Every day he finds something or other to ring your bell. Keep that up long enough and the stress will rise up like acid reflux.
When that happens, you are fighting on both fronts. His mental torments increase the stress. The stress feeds on the body and manifests itself physically. Then one gets into that downwards helter-skelter where the landing is depression. Then one is in the Hall of Distorting Mirrors.
So, maybe one should recognise that there are some battles that cannot be won. If that can be achieved without too much retrospection as to whether it is because one is too weak, or the opponent is overwhelmingly strong then the answer must be to give up the fight. That can be an incredibly difficult response; especially if one has led the sort of life where fighting for one's soul or sanity has been rare. Maybe you have won every other battle that has faced - I do not think there are many such people who combine honesty with self-recollection.
The tactics of giving up are not simple - not just a case of picking up your jacket and walking away. Saving face as in getting an in-lieu payment by undertaking to stay away from Tribunals. Undertakings from an employer that they will be constructive in any references. Maybe even something simple as a handshake and a shrug. I have dealt with circumstances where an end to naked and aggressive confrontational debate has led to calmer negotiations that led to a outcome that would have avoided all the aggro anyway.
The alternative has to be sinking into depression and loss of any positive self-image where one spends time in pointless self-justification. Think of where depression leads - it is not a top ten tourist spot. It seems guaranteed that once bitten - one is forever in thrall. Seemingly normal everyday life runs up against some sort of flashback and one is in the snake-pit again.
I have avoided links. I never found anything written to which I fully relate and the best insight I was ever given was that it cannot be cured: merely alleviated. Drugs were of minimal aid - self-doubt and negative feelings came about every time I opened the container.
It is this seemingly invincible power that has convinced me that there are wars one cannot win and should not be entered into. Now - I still fight and resist. But only so far. Then it is down to the mental equivalent of voodoo dolls and needles.
If you have difficulty sourcing voodoo dolls, drop me a line. I've got drawers full all part used where the pins have killed off my concerns!
Saturday, 21 August 2010
America is a warrior nation
None of the following is my work. It is here because it is behind a barricade. I object and have chosen to draw attention to something of merit this way. If this analysis is correct, we should be alarmed.
US troops are out of Iraq but there will be more wars to come. A hyper-resourced military machine depends on it
In all of Britishness there is nothing quite like the electricity that passes between Americans of a certain patriotic stripe as they stand together with their hands over their hearts and their soldiers on parade for the playing of their national anthem. For outsiders it can be an uncomfortable charge, but it surely sharpens the senses.
I felt it on Tuesday evening on a hill in Arlington overlooking the Potomac. Several hundred young Marines stood motionless in three lines between their officers and the Iwo Jima memorial for one of the last Sunset Parades of the summer. The band played. We stood to attention and then we relaxed, but not much, for the main event.
At these parades a hand-picked platoon of 24 Marines performs with great pride and spellbinding precision the "silent drill". The official website says that this consists of "bayoneted rifles flying from Marine to Marine, the line-up of crisp dress blue uniforms, the rhythmic slap of rifles caught by leather-gloved hands". The website does not lie.
Don't take your children to a Sunset Parade if you don't want them to emigrate and enlist. When it was over and a salute to the fallen had been fired, the Marines were allowed to mingle. One strode towards my two oldest sons — not quite fighting age at 8 and 9, but close — with a still-warm bullet casing for each of them. They grinned as if embraced by Professor Dumbledore himself.
Many of those around us had wept quietly as they watched, and buses were on hand to take them to Arlington National Cemetery less than a mile away. As the buses rolled, so did the eight-wheeled armoured leviathans of 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, grinding towards the Iraq-Kuwaiti border seven time zones to the east, and towards the pre-dawn photo op chosen by the Pentagon and most American networks to symbolise the end of US combat operations in Iraq.
It has been seven years since the invasion; nine since 9/11. In that time more than 100,000 Iraqi civilians have died for a facsimile of democracy that may or may not blossom into the real thing. In the US the effects of a decade of war are more easily measured. The defence budget has doubled. The average earnings of military personnel have more than doubled to $122,263 per person, including benefits and hazardous duty pay. And a funny thing has happened to the map of military America. It is no longer an archipelago of blue-collar strivers in uniform but of relative affluence in an ocean of economic uncertainty.
A study by USA Today this week found that 16 of the 20 fastest-rising metropolitan areas in the country's income rankings have local economies based around military bases. Jacksonville, North Carolina, near the giant Camp Lejeune Marine base, was last year the richest place in the state. In 2000 it was second from bottom. In Texas, the unlovely town of Killeen is more prosperous than achingly hip Austin because it serves the world's largest army base at Fort Hood.
Robert Gates, President Obama's teddy-bearish and widely praised Defence Secretary, has made his name by cutting waste but not spending. The rapier-like but useless F22 fighter has been axed, but the even more expensive F35 is thundering skyward in pursuit of enemies real and imagined, from San Diego to Djibouti. A redundant bureaucracy in suburban Virginia called the Joint Forces Command is to be wound down to save $10 billion a year, but the Army and Marine Corps are being steadily retooled at mind-bending cost for the far-flung, often covert and always asymmetric military contests of the early 21st century.
In the age of suicide bombers and sandal-wearing Taleban, a team of Harvard MBAs could not have come up with a more devastatingly effective rationale for trillion-dollar Pentagon budgets than that one word, asymmetric. It justifies the fleets of drones piloted to their Pakistani targets from air-conditioned bunkers in Nevada, neutralises arguments for soft power over hard and muzzles any serious discussion about the insanity of spending more on "defence" than the rest of the world combined, two decades after the end of the Cold War.
The troops returning from Iraq this week deserve a long rest with their families, but the US military machine, compared with any other in history, is hyper-resourced and raring to go.
For now, its energies will be focused on Afghanistan. But President Obama's July 2011 deadline for starting to pull out is non-negotiable, he says, and although many units will remain behind, the bulk of the US Army and almost all the Navy and Air Force may look in vain for front lines on which to demonstrate their usefulness. The sensible answer to the question of what they will do in the absence of new and urgent threats to US national security is that they will clip the grass on their bases and conduct joint exercises with their allies to help to preserve a glorious new Pax Americana.
The crazy, conspiratorial answer is that new and urgent threats will have to be found because America as at present constructed cannot endure a long peace. It has too many soldiers, too many foreign policy fantasies that depend on them, too many interests that exist by serving them and altogether too much kit. The film-maker Michael Moore is crazy like this. So was the wisest president of the postwar era, Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Since Ike warned Americans in a farewell speech 50 years ago of the reality-distorting power of the US military-industrial complex, that complex has thrived beyond its wildest dreams. Yet if Mr Obama so much as used the phrase now, it would sink him. Instead he will continue to pay extravagant tribute to the courage and sacrifice of the soldiers he commands, and to aver, as to the optimistic Norwegians who awarded him the Nobel Prize for Peace last year, that "war is sometimes necessary" because "evil does exist in the world".
America's next war is being fought in Yemen, albeit undeclared and by "advisers" in shades. After that it could be Somalia, or Georgia or almost any of the former Soviet "stans", and when it comes, a surprisingly bipartisan array of think-tank jockeys will explain it as a muscular defence of freedoms the price and value of which Europeans simply don't understand.
Another thing Europeans may not understand if their experience of America extends only to Orlando and Manhattan is that this is, deep in its bones, a warrior nation. Fighting to the death is one of its default modes.
As Major General Smedley Butler of the US Marines wrote six years before Pearl Harbor: "Our exploits against the American Indian, the Filipinos, the Mexicans and against Spain are on a par with the campaigns of Genghis Khan." Seventy-five years on, the Army's mission statement — "to fight and win the nation's wars" — presupposes their existence while saying nothing at all about defence. Those wars are listed in gold round the giant base of the Iwo Jima Memorial, which stands in the shadow of a cluster of arms manufacturers' office towers.
Clutching his bullet casing, my middle son took me round the memorial. "Hey dad," said this thoughtful soul, filled until then with dreams of being an inventor. "I want to be a soldier when I grow up."
Giles Whittell is Washington correspondent
US troops are out of Iraq but there will be more wars to come. A hyper-resourced military machine depends on it
In all of Britishness there is nothing quite like the electricity that passes between Americans of a certain patriotic stripe as they stand together with their hands over their hearts and their soldiers on parade for the playing of their national anthem. For outsiders it can be an uncomfortable charge, but it surely sharpens the senses.
I felt it on Tuesday evening on a hill in Arlington overlooking the Potomac. Several hundred young Marines stood motionless in three lines between their officers and the Iwo Jima memorial for one of the last Sunset Parades of the summer. The band played. We stood to attention and then we relaxed, but not much, for the main event.
At these parades a hand-picked platoon of 24 Marines performs with great pride and spellbinding precision the "silent drill". The official website says that this consists of "bayoneted rifles flying from Marine to Marine, the line-up of crisp dress blue uniforms, the rhythmic slap of rifles caught by leather-gloved hands". The website does not lie.
Don't take your children to a Sunset Parade if you don't want them to emigrate and enlist. When it was over and a salute to the fallen had been fired, the Marines were allowed to mingle. One strode towards my two oldest sons — not quite fighting age at 8 and 9, but close — with a still-warm bullet casing for each of them. They grinned as if embraced by Professor Dumbledore himself.
Many of those around us had wept quietly as they watched, and buses were on hand to take them to Arlington National Cemetery less than a mile away. As the buses rolled, so did the eight-wheeled armoured leviathans of 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, grinding towards the Iraq-Kuwaiti border seven time zones to the east, and towards the pre-dawn photo op chosen by the Pentagon and most American networks to symbolise the end of US combat operations in Iraq.
It has been seven years since the invasion; nine since 9/11. In that time more than 100,000 Iraqi civilians have died for a facsimile of democracy that may or may not blossom into the real thing. In the US the effects of a decade of war are more easily measured. The defence budget has doubled. The average earnings of military personnel have more than doubled to $122,263 per person, including benefits and hazardous duty pay. And a funny thing has happened to the map of military America. It is no longer an archipelago of blue-collar strivers in uniform but of relative affluence in an ocean of economic uncertainty.
A study by USA Today this week found that 16 of the 20 fastest-rising metropolitan areas in the country's income rankings have local economies based around military bases. Jacksonville, North Carolina, near the giant Camp Lejeune Marine base, was last year the richest place in the state. In 2000 it was second from bottom. In Texas, the unlovely town of Killeen is more prosperous than achingly hip Austin because it serves the world's largest army base at Fort Hood.
Robert Gates, President Obama's teddy-bearish and widely praised Defence Secretary, has made his name by cutting waste but not spending. The rapier-like but useless F22 fighter has been axed, but the even more expensive F35 is thundering skyward in pursuit of enemies real and imagined, from San Diego to Djibouti. A redundant bureaucracy in suburban Virginia called the Joint Forces Command is to be wound down to save $10 billion a year, but the Army and Marine Corps are being steadily retooled at mind-bending cost for the far-flung, often covert and always asymmetric military contests of the early 21st century.
In the age of suicide bombers and sandal-wearing Taleban, a team of Harvard MBAs could not have come up with a more devastatingly effective rationale for trillion-dollar Pentagon budgets than that one word, asymmetric. It justifies the fleets of drones piloted to their Pakistani targets from air-conditioned bunkers in Nevada, neutralises arguments for soft power over hard and muzzles any serious discussion about the insanity of spending more on "defence" than the rest of the world combined, two decades after the end of the Cold War.
The troops returning from Iraq this week deserve a long rest with their families, but the US military machine, compared with any other in history, is hyper-resourced and raring to go.
For now, its energies will be focused on Afghanistan. But President Obama's July 2011 deadline for starting to pull out is non-negotiable, he says, and although many units will remain behind, the bulk of the US Army and almost all the Navy and Air Force may look in vain for front lines on which to demonstrate their usefulness. The sensible answer to the question of what they will do in the absence of new and urgent threats to US national security is that they will clip the grass on their bases and conduct joint exercises with their allies to help to preserve a glorious new Pax Americana.
The crazy, conspiratorial answer is that new and urgent threats will have to be found because America as at present constructed cannot endure a long peace. It has too many soldiers, too many foreign policy fantasies that depend on them, too many interests that exist by serving them and altogether too much kit. The film-maker Michael Moore is crazy like this. So was the wisest president of the postwar era, Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Since Ike warned Americans in a farewell speech 50 years ago of the reality-distorting power of the US military-industrial complex, that complex has thrived beyond its wildest dreams. Yet if Mr Obama so much as used the phrase now, it would sink him. Instead he will continue to pay extravagant tribute to the courage and sacrifice of the soldiers he commands, and to aver, as to the optimistic Norwegians who awarded him the Nobel Prize for Peace last year, that "war is sometimes necessary" because "evil does exist in the world".
America's next war is being fought in Yemen, albeit undeclared and by "advisers" in shades. After that it could be Somalia, or Georgia or almost any of the former Soviet "stans", and when it comes, a surprisingly bipartisan array of think-tank jockeys will explain it as a muscular defence of freedoms the price and value of which Europeans simply don't understand.
Another thing Europeans may not understand if their experience of America extends only to Orlando and Manhattan is that this is, deep in its bones, a warrior nation. Fighting to the death is one of its default modes.
As Major General Smedley Butler of the US Marines wrote six years before Pearl Harbor: "Our exploits against the American Indian, the Filipinos, the Mexicans and against Spain are on a par with the campaigns of Genghis Khan." Seventy-five years on, the Army's mission statement — "to fight and win the nation's wars" — presupposes their existence while saying nothing at all about defence. Those wars are listed in gold round the giant base of the Iwo Jima Memorial, which stands in the shadow of a cluster of arms manufacturers' office towers.
Clutching his bullet casing, my middle son took me round the memorial. "Hey dad," said this thoughtful soul, filled until then with dreams of being an inventor. "I want to be a soldier when I grow up."
Giles Whittell is Washington correspondent
Some soldiers' culture
When the Black Dog has me by the throat and I think of unwise things, I turn to Mr Kipling. No - not he who makes wonderful cakes but he who writes wonderful verse. I've been running through his works and the thought came that I might have a little Poetry Corner. Bring some culture to this page. Not a lot to start with but if I like doing it, then I'll expand it and make an irregular offering. Not just Kipling of course - there are others to suit my mood. Donne wrote some fine elegies after all. Just a few Rudyards for the present - some in the context of where we are now and a few that touch on a dog's love of mankind."Above the portico a flag-staff, bearing the Union Jack,
remained fluttering in the flames for some time, but ultimately
when it fell the crowds rent the air with shouts,
and seemed to see significance in the incident.--DAILY PAPERS.
Winds of the World, give answer! They are whimpering to and fro--
And what should they know of England who only England know?--
The poor little street-bred people that vapour and fume and brag,
They are lifting their heads in the stillness to yelp at the English Flag!"
"Neighbours
The man that is open of heart to his neighbour,
And stops to consider his likes and dislikes,
His blood shall be wholesome whatever his labour,
His luck shall be with him whatever he strikes.
The Splendour of Morning shall duly possess him,
That he may not be sad at the falling of eve.
And, when he has done with mere living--God bless him!--
A many shall sigh, and one Woman shall grieve!
But he that is costive of soul toward his fellow,
Through the ways, and the works, and the woes of this life,
Him food shall not fatten, him drink shall not mellow;
And his innards shall brew him perpetual strife.
His eye shall be blind to God's Glory above him;
His ear shall be deaf to Earth's Laughter around;
His Friends and his Club and his Dog shall not love him;
And his Widow shall skip when he goes underground!"
East is East
"They have looked each other between the eyes, and there they found no fault,
They have taken the Oath of the Brother-in-Blood on leavened bread and salt:
They have taken the Oath of the Brother-in-Blood on fire and fresh-cut sod,
On the hilt and the haft of the Khyber knife, and the Wondrous Names of God.
The Colonel's son he rides the mare and Kamal's boy the dun,
And two have come back to Fort Bukloh where there went forth but one.
And when they drew to the Quarter-Guard, full twenty swords flew clear --
There was not a man but carried his feud with the blood of the mountaineer."
Copybook headings
When the Cambrian measures were forming, They promised perpetual peace.
They swore, if we gave them our weapons, that the wars of the tribes would cease.
But when we disarmed They sold us and delivered us bound to our foe,
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings said: "Stick to the Devil you know."
On the first Feminian Sandstones we were promised the Fuller Life
(Which started by loving our neighbour and ended by loving his wife)
Till our women had no more children and the men lost reason and faith,
And the Gods of the Copybook Heading said: "The Wages of Sin is Death."
In the Carboniferous Epoch we were promised abundance for all,
By robbing selected Peter to pay for collective Paul;
But, though we had plenty of money, there was nothing our money could buy,
And the Gods of the Copybook Heading said: "If you don't work you die."
Then the Gods of the Market tumbled, and their smooth-tongued wizards withdrew,
And the hearts of the meanest were humbled and began to believe it was true
That All is not God that Glitters, and Two and Two make Four-
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings limped up to explain it once more.
As it will be in the future, it was at the birth of Man-
There are only four things certain since Social Progress began:-
That the Dog returns to his Vomit and the Sow returns to her Mire,
And the burnt Fool's bandaged finger goes wabbling back to the Fire;
And that after this is accomplished, and the brave new world begins
When all men are paid for existing and no man must pay for his sins,
As surely as Water will wet us, as surely as Fire will burn,
The Gods of the Copybook Headings with terror and slaughter return!" This one surely foretold our recent history eh?
This one hurts me but I am like that dog to it's vomit. "When the body that lived at your single will,
With its whimper of welcome, is stilled (how still!);
When the spirit that answered your every mood
Is gone--wherever it goes--for good,
You will discover how much you care,
And will give your heart for the dog to tear.
We've sorrow enough in the natural way,
When it comes to burying Christian clay.
Our loves are not given, but only lent,
At compound interest of cent per cent.
Though it is not always the case, I believe,
That the longer we've kept 'em, the more do we grieve:
For, when debts are payable, right or wrong,
A short-time loan is as bad as a long--
So why in Heaven (before we are there)
Should we give our hearts to a dog to tear?"
On that note, I'm off to see what Mr Jim Beam can offer as solace. Here is something not connected with culture.
Just how few were The Few
Almost unnoticed, an important anniversary has slipped past. Lost in reports of tarts receiving diamonds she did not even recognise, human rights of transvestite coal-miners and in the uselessness of a cobbled together coalition. OK - I invented the bit about the transvestites; we no longer have coal miners do we?Had the Battle of Britain been lost and were UK overcome in the follow-up invasion, Europe would not have been liberated from Nazism. The camps designed and operated to annihilate those deemed lesser beings or Untermensch would have multiplied such that Oxford or Windermere would have taken on the significance of Dachau or Belsen. Russia would have been defeated and Japan would have risen triumphant in Asia and India. Commonwealth and Empire would have been melted down like scrap. As Churchill said, "A new Dark Age would have fallen on the Earth"
So, just what were our material resources? If you wish a highly detailed account, there is a very good resource available. I think I have abstracted and added up properly. There were 2,340 Brits, 32 Australians, 112 Canadians, 1 Jamaican, 132 Kiwis, 3 Rhodesians and 23 South Africans. Ranged alongside those were 9 Americans, 28 Belgians, 89 Czechoslovakians, 13 French, 145 Polish and even 10 from the Republic of Ireland. Their resolve and gallantry would be tested from when Herr Schickelgruber signed War Directive 17 for the destruction of RAF Fighter Command that was an essential in disrupting the Royal Navy from action against a German Armada.
At the start of the war, Germany had 4,000 aircraft compared to Britain's front-line strength of 1,660. By the time of the fall of France, the Luftwaffe had 3,000 planes based in north-west Europe alone including 1,400 bombers, 300 dive bombers, 800 single engine fighter planes and 240 twin engine fighter bombers. At the start of the battle, the Luftwaffe had 2,500 planes that were serviceable and in any normal day, they could put up over 1,600 planes. The RAF had 1,200 planes on the eve of the battle which included 800 Spitfires and Hurricanes - but only 660 of these were serviceable.
We did have a very limited radar detection system but this was a double edged sword in many respects. RAF crews spent more time in the air; something like seven sorties or more each day. The enemy knew when they would be operational but RAF had to be held on stand-by between dawn around 3:30 am until dusk at 8:30pm. The German Air Force had real live experience dating from the Spanish Civil War and the Blitzkrieg in Europe. Some of our pilots were committed to action after just five weeks training to fly.
By mid-August the enemy had lost 360 aircraft and most of the crews were dead or prisoners of war. We sustained loses of 181 fighters in combat and a further 30 destroyed on the ground. These 211 losses had cost us 154 pilots; newbies added 63 replacements.Significantly, our casualties included 80% of squadron commanders lost to death, injury or battle exhaustion. This meant that inexperienced officers were in charge of even less experienced aircrew.
My birthday falls on 15th August and I have enjoyed many fine celebrations over some 77 years. However, the most impressive and memorable was 15th August 1940. We had started out in the car to visit my grandmother who lived at the edge of the London docklands. A important fighter base was at Hornchurch close to where we lived. During that day, more than 1,800 aircraft assaulted Britain in five massive attacks. The sky was quite literately darkened with bombers, fighters and the explosions of anti-aircraft artillery shells. There were planes - of both sides - crashing in flames. I particularly recall the sight of parachutes seen so very clearly, The whole thing was like a child's drawing.
What happened was very impressive at the time. In retrospect, it was greater than that. We are making such a hash of a tin pot war/security operation that one wonders just what has happened to us in the years between. We need those men today.
Sauce for the goose - look out gander
In my railings against what seems to be a US crusade against BP, I had reserved one event. To be used like that last round of ammunition when one was surrounded by Native Americans or when wounded on the plains of Afghanistan. Instead of my name on this bullet, was the word Bhopal. A major industrial incident that killed over 2,000 immediately and a considerable many more when the deaths of those consequent on the accident are considered. The tragedy occurred within a plant operated by a subsidiary of Union Carbide - a American company. There were allegations that the escape of gas was inevitable due to the negligent way the plant was operated. In June 2010, seven ex-employees, including the former UCIL chairman, were convicted in Bhopal of causing death by negligence and sentenced to two years imprisonment and a fine of about $2,000 each, the maximum punishment allowed by law.A government affidavit in 2006 stated the leak caused 558,125 injuries including 38,478 temporary partial and approximately 3900 severely and permanently disabling injuries. An event of this scale will have considerable debate and I suggest it has now been encapsulated by governmental action. The official UC line is a masterpiece of 'say nothing until you get a good lawyer' The law in India grind slower than the mills of God and UC negotiated a deal that got them out of the frame before things got around to minor details such as responsibility and who got what in the way of compensation.
However, it seems that some people just cannot let things rest. POTUS is scheduled to visit India and one of our more responsible papers got quite chippy about UC in Bhopal in relation to BP in the Mexican Gulf.
While Barack Obama is lambasting BP for spreading muck in the Gulf of Mexico, he should perhaps pencil in a date with the people of Bhopal when he visits India later this year. While 11 men lost their lives on BP's watch and the shrimps got coated with black stuff, the chemicals that killed thousands of people in Bhopal in 1984 are still leaching into the ground water a quarter of a century after a poisonous, milky-white cloud settled over the city.Now, it seems that that article has got to the desk of the American Deputy National Security Adviser Michael Froman and he has caused an e-mail to be dispatched. "In his e-mail in July to Montek Singh Ahluwalia, deputy chairman of the Indian Planning Commission, Mr. Froman wrote: "We are hearing a lot of noise about the Dow Chemical issue. I am not familiar with all the details, but I think we want to avoid developments which put a chilling effect on our investment relationship." Just in case Singh failed to get his drift, the correspondence came at a time when Mr. Ahluwalia was enlisting U.S. support for India to borrow funds from the World Bank. A U.S. official said the Obama administration is not trying to pressure India and is not linking future investment in Asia's third-largest economy to the nation's claim for damages for the Bhopal accident.
The compensation – some $470m – paid out by Union Carbide, the US owner of the plant and now part of Dow Chemical, was just the cash it received from its insurers to compensate the victims, a process that took 17 years. But it's one rule for them and another for anybody else. (My emphasis here just to initiate thought of how much we might pay for 11 lives and a few molluscs)
Obama wants "British Petroleum" to pay back every nickel and dime the Deepwater Horizon disaster costs. To make sure BP gets the message, the president says he back Congress plans to retrospectively raise the liability limit for claims from $75m to $10bn. That's real money.
While foreign companies in the US are shown the big stick, Washington offers a big shield for its multinationals abroad. In the case of Bhopal, it was the US that blocked India's requests to extradite Warren Anderson, the former chairman of Union Carbide who accepted "moral responsibility" for the accident until a short spell in an Indian jail changed his mind.
"The assertion that there was linkage between two separate and distinct issues is wrong, is incorrect," said Benjamin Chang, a spokesman for the National Security Council, as reported by the Press Trust of India news agency from Washington. Nice try Ben but, to me, you have re-opened a can of worms that UC's long and wide-ranging case tried to close. They write it up as Game Over whereas the position at NSC suggests it is still an issue. Separate and distinct maybe but still an issue.
We have Senators who have transmogrified the Gulf incident where they may well have status into the matter of the release of a sick Libyan where they have no better position other than public interest. We are not in the position where we can have even the most inconsequential effect upon what Obama does but our Prime Minister might well take on the attitude of Froman. Instead of cravenly denouncing BP and selling the pass in advance of any single legal consideration together with his saying that the release was wrong, he could get up off his knees and send an e-mail. In days of yore, we would have sent a gun boat to the party givers in Boston. Now we do things electronically - maybe Twitter could give added impact?
Friday, 20 August 2010
DIY - Part Two
The question of opportunities for university grade education was brewing as I did the main DIY blog but the full horrors facing the wishful graduates were not known.Around 150,000 students have made the grade but will be denied a university place. What does the government expect them to do?
We were warned last week that youth unemployment was on the increase, and would soon pass the one million mark. Things look bleak indeed for a generation that is at a real risk of being lost.
In light of this, this year's A-Levels result day takes on a particular, gloomy, significance. It is already clear that at least 150,000 students with both the grades and the desire to study at university this coming year will be left without a place. Given that there were this year approximately 600,000 university applicants in total this year, this means that at least a quarter of applicants will be shut out. The government's response to the present crisis has thus far been fit only for the birds, with disappointed and frustrated applicants being left to peck at crumbs.
We live in a world where our youth seem permanently disaffected and many have poor self-images. All their scholastic life so far has been focussed on the final hurdle - to get to university, heads down for three years and then leave with a qualification that has value. The last year of studies has been mired in accusations that standards have been dumbed down. Critics have said that this was a Blair initiative to reduce the number of unemployed youth; whatever, it has been destroyed by the coalition's drive to cut back on education as part of the draconian cost reviews. Of course, applying to university is a competitive process. What we have here, however, are applicants who have worked hard in order to achieve grades that would in other circumstances get them a university place now finding out that the goalposts have been drastically moved, and for reasons entirely out of their control.
This limit on places, crucially, is not one of necessity; the restrictions on university places are being achieved through an entirely arbitrary cap on student numbers, which is itself being enforced through the government's threat to fine any university which ends up oversubscribed.
Many universities have complained that they may even be left with spare capacity once term starts, with the government fines preventing them from over-recruiting slightly at this stage in order to account for the inevitable drop-outs that occur between now and the start of term.
"I would not dare predict what will happen if my generation finds itself to have been lied to, betrayed and abandoned to sink or swim. But the experience of the 1980s makes it starkly clear what happens when governments fail to invest in its future. As youth unemployment hit 1 million during the recession of the early 1980s, it provoked a national crisis and riots, creating permanent scars on the fabric of our economy and society."
The latest communique from the State Home for the Mentally Confused at Westminster typifies exactly how out of touch the Ministers really are. "Willetts told the MPs that disappointed teenagers should do work experience or an apprenticeship and apply to university at a later stage. You don't have just one opportunity at the age of 18 to go to university, people can carry on applying," he said. "We don't want to get into a situation where the entire focus is on the academic route. People can do work experience and take up apprenticeships and maybe apply to university in the future." Just what is the point of playing about in a makee-learnee semi-job when all of one's efforts have been to leap that last hurdle.
And just where does the two-brain senior idiot think all these work opportunity schemes (for limited periods only) and apprenticeships will come from? Apprenticeships are primarily craft based - where would one find an apprenticeship on PPE for example. And just what sort of employer would offer an apprenticeship to someone who wants to cut and run half way through? For every prospective uni graduate that gets one of these alternative, fill time, employment activities a lesser qualified youngster is denied their placement and opportunities. Sadly, given the state of the economy, together with the government's actions - in cutting the future jobs fund, breaking up of the Connexions service, and savagely cutting further education, for example - many young people will start their working lives by signing on. The suggestion of volunteer work is a farce - what money will they bring in?
Willetts and Cable said they had provided 10,000 more university places than last year, 150,000 extra apprenticeships and they were working on providing financial incentives for employers to take on young staff.
"I fully recognise that these are tough times for younger people going into education, training, or the jobs market," Willetts said. "But, given the state of the public finances that we have inherited, providing more apprenticeship places and university places and incentives for employers to take on more staff means opportunities are continuing to increase." Statements that are only just short of outright lies. The government has not created a single apprenticeship - with a fair wind they may have encouraged an employer to take on an apprenticeship. I was an apprentice myself and know that it can be two or three years before an apprentice can be expected to produce the sort of work a 'man' does in the time that 'man' takes. The current economics do not encourage the recruitment of dead weight. The claim regarding extra university places is shown to be hot air in real results. We are forecasting widescale shedding of labour so the claim "incentives for employers to take on more staff means opportunities are continuing to increase" is total testicles.
Clegg would do well to use his time at the helm to turn the sinking ship of youth opportunity around before it's too late for us. If he fails to do so and bails out on youth, it would only be natural for them to do it themselves before they are sold down the river.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)