Friday - March 20, 2009

false accusations of racism and religious discrimination at a primary school dominated by Muslims

I’m damn sorry she didn’t get a million. And I wonder if any of the jerks who didn’t support her got the sack.  Yeah. Don’t hold your breath.

Last post for the evening and will leave you with what I think is a very interesting story, but it won’t surprise any of our BMEWS regulars.
Shouldn’t surprise anyone else either.

This crap will continue at great cost till there are none of these left in our midst.  Or at least so few that they no longer present a problem to the rest of the civilized world.  And that won’t be in my lifetime.

A headteacher whose health and career were ruined by false accusations of racism and religious discrimination at a primary school dominated by Muslims has won £400,000 in damages.

By Martin Beckford, Religious Affairs Correspondent
Last Updated: 7:30PM GMT 19 Mar 2009

The High Court agreed that the Surrey County Council was negligent in not stepping in to support the head teacher

Erica Connor was forced into early retirement through stress after governors at New Monument School in Woking turned her into a scapegoat by claiming she was Islamophobic.

But the local education authority failed to help her as its “excessively tolerant” officers were more worried about complaints to the race equality watchdog than her suffering.

ACTUAL PHOTO OF A COUNCIL MEMBER

The High Court agreed that the Surrey County Council was negligent in not stepping in to support the headteacher, and ordered it to pay £407,781 in compensation. This includes damages for psychiatric injury, loss of income and pension, medical expenses and the premature end of the career she loved.

As she left court, Mrs Connor, 57, said: “The last five years have been a long haul at great personal cost to myself and my family, so I am thrilled that justice has prevailed.

“It is so unfortunate that matters have taken so long to resolve and at such a financial cost, but I finally feel vindicated in terms of the accusations of racism and Islamophobia against myself.

“For a protracted length of time I was subjected to dreadful pressure from a small group of individuals, unrepresentative of the local community, without the support I would have expected from Surrey County Council.”

The court heard that in 1998 Mrs Connor took over the school – where up to 85 per cent of pupils were Muslim and 90 per cent spoke English as a second language – and test results improved “very considerably” for the first few years.

However in 2003 two new members – Paul Martin, a parent governor, and Mumtaz Saleem, a nominee of the local education authority – joined its governing body and tried to take it over.

(KNOW YOUR ENEMY. THEY’RE NEVER FAR AWAY AND BELONG TO THE ROP LIKE MR. MARTIN, MENTIONED HERE.)

The judge, Mr John Leighton-Williams, QC, said: “I am satisfied that they sought to monopolise governors body meetings with a view to imposing their own agenda and were prepared to do so regardless of the interests of the school and anyone who resisted that agenda.”

While clearing Mr Saleem of harassment, the judge added: “Mr Saleem’s approach extended to offensive verbal attacks at governing body meetings.”

He said it was “not unreasonable” for Mrs Connor and the school’s staff “to consider that there was an agenda to convert New Monument to an Islamic faith school”.

Eventually Mr Martin was voted off the “dysfunctional” governing body but claimed he had been “removed for blowing the whistle on institutional racism” and “cited an old school document with pictures of seven children, only one of them dark-skinned”, the court was told.

An anonymous petition was circulated, “attacking Mrs Connor falsely and in vituperative terms”, it was claimed.

However the council failed to intervene or spot that Mrs Connor, who now lives in Abergavenny, was at risk of suffering stress. She was forced to take sick leave in late 2005, never to return.

The judge said that instead, council officers had shown “excessive tolerance” towards the two governors and displayed “misplaced sympathy for Mr Martin”, fearing that they were at risk of a complaint to the Commission for Racial Equality.

He added: “The lack of timely intervention in the governing body meant that Mr Martin’s and Mr Saleem’s conduct there had the effect of tearing apart the governing body.

“And these matters, together with poor response by the council, had as their effect two years of anxiety and low morale for the school staff, stress leading to a need for early retirement in some staff and Mrs Connor and disruption in the local community with, on the evidence, little, if anything, positive to show for it.”

ARTICLE SOURCE, TELEGRAPH

In the world we live in today, if we can cut the PC crap for a minute, it would be entirely unreasonable and unrealistic for a person NOT to be,
Islamophobic!

Of course we are, and with damn good reason.

Definition, “PHOBIA”

Posted by peiper     on 03/20/2009 at 02:05 PM   
Filed Under: • Daily Life • Education • RoPMA • UK •  
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   Tuesday - March 10, 2009

Remains of Shakespeare’s first Globe Theatre unearthed in East London. AWESOME!!!

Hey ... What a great find!

I’m not a huge fan and to be honest never have been able to grasp the language in the plays.
But I am impressed with things like this when they are found.  And I like Archaeology. Except the spelling of same of which I’ve noticed two ways to do so.
But there was ONLY ONE GLOBE THEATER.  or, Theatre for the Brits.

Remains of Shakespeare’s first Globe Theatre unearthed in East London

By Graham Smith
Last updated at 10:10 AM on 10th March 2009

The remains of William Shakespeare’s first theatre have been found in East London.

Archaelogists from the Museum Of London unearthed what they believe to be part of the original curved wall of the first Globe Theatre in Shoreditch.

The team made their discovery a metre and a half below street level last summer.

Since then they have uncovered the Tudor structure’s gravel surface, the area where the audience would have stood that sloped down towards the stage.

They have also found a fragment of pottery of a man with beard that resembles Shakespeare.

But the stage itself is now thought to be buried under a housing development.

The theatre was built outside the city in 1576, in what were then known as the ‘suburbs of sin’, the team’s leader Taryn Nixon told the BBC.
Enlarge Archaeologist Heather Knight walks on the site of what is thought to be London’s first purpose built playhouse

There are plans to build a new theatre on the Shoreditch site with an opening date of 2012

How it looked: A drawing of the Globe Theatre. It was built with materials dismantled from the East London theatre built by James Burbage

‘The Lord Mayor actually passed a decree that there shouldn’t be any theatrical performances in the city,’ she said.

‘So just on the edge of the city is actually, classically, where you find all the slightly wilder, slightly more fun activities going on.’

Twenty-five years after its construction, the theatre was dismantled piece by piece and rebuilt on London’s South Bank.

In the 1990s the Globe Theatre was reconstructed at this location and has hosted Shakespearean productions ever since.

There are now plans to build a new theatre on the Shoreditch site of the first playhouse with an opening date of 2012.

Meanwhile, a 400-year-old painting thought to be the only surviving portrait of Shakespeare from his lifetime was today unveiled.

The picture, painted in 1610, six years before the playwright’s death, has been owned by the Cobbe family since the early 18th century.

But for three centuries they were unsure if the subject was Britain’s greatest writer. At one point it was thought to be Sir Walter Raleigh, although experts now believe it was indeed the Bard.

Elsewhere on Monday, a newly identified portrait of the Bard was unveiled.

The 400-year-old painting is thought to be the only surviving portrait of William Shakespeare painted during his lifetime.

It was painted in 1610, six years before the playwright’s death, at the age of 46.

There has long been controversy over his portraits with the accuracy of many being called into question.
Enlarge shakespeare

BARD

Posted by peiper     on 03/10/2009 at 07:56 AM   
Filed Under: • Education • History • UK •  
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School bans CCTV film check to protect iPod thief’s rights.  Can they get any dumber?

BMEWS readers all ....

I read part (okay only the headline) of an article this morning that says people who are always angry are at risk of heart attacks.
So I thought ... hmmmm.  They’re talkin’ to me.  Maybe I’d better say my goodbyes now while I can and while I still feel fit.

So just in case the worst happens, it’s been great knowin’ ya’ll and here’s just another example of why I’m perpetually pissed off!

This appeared in this morning’s Telegraph on page 13.  Unfortunately, the story isn’t online in their site. Typical of these SOBs and so I’m PO’d on that score too as I had to go to something called Press Display and sign up for an account where they give me a couple of free articles a week I think it is.  So that means I haven’t a direct link to the article.  But you can tell I am NOT making this up.

So now I’m 2wice angry. 

Here is more lunacy from comrade socialist nanny state.

10 Mar 2009
The Daily Telegraph
By Richard Savill

School bans CCTV film check to protect iPod thief’s rights

ATEENAGER whose £165 iPod was stolen from a school changing room has been told that he cannot view CCTV footage because it would infringe the rights of the thief.

Oliver Wheen, 16, wanted to see if there was footage of the incident at Varndean School in Brighton to identify the suspect, but was refused permission by teachers who cited the Data Protection Act.
The schoolboy’s bag, containing his house keys and books, as well as the iPod, was taken during a PE lesson, forcing his mother, Lesley Wheen, to change the locks on their home.

Mrs Wheen, whose son also made an unsuccessful request under the Freedom of Information Act to view the footage, said: “It makes a bit of a mockery of having the cameras in the first place. What are they actually there for? If they are supposed to be a deterrent they obviously have not deterred anyone.”
The schoolboy asked to see the footage from cameras covering the entrance to the changing room after his bag was stolen while he was in a 90-minute games lesson which included trampolining in the sports hall.

A spokesman for the school said: “As a rule it is locked but every child knows that if they have anything valuable in their bag they have to give it to the teacher for them to lock up.
“There are no CCTV cameras in the changing rooms for privacy reasons so the only footage would have been someone walking out with the pupil’s bag.
“It has been reviewed and nothing like that was seen.”

The boy was initially allowed to watch the footage in fastforward alongside a member of staff, but after he complained the video needed to be shown in real time he was referred to a senior teacher who made clear he should not have been shown it in the first place.
Wendy Kassamani, the information compliance officer for Brighton and Hove council, said: “You are entitled to CCTV footage of yourself but not of other people.”

The school said police and designated members of staff were allowed to view the footage. “The matter including the footage has been passed to police.”
The spokesman added that it was the choice of pupils as to whether they brought an iPod into school.

Pupils had responsibility for their iPods and they were not allowed to use them in lessons unless directed to by the teachers.
The teenager’s bag has been handed back three weeks after it vanished.

Sussex Police are investigating the theft of the iPod which is still missing.

-30-

They allowed a fast forward view. Oh that’s a big help.  Can you folks believe this crap? So they watched and nothing showed up. Fine. But this is so darn stupid it defies description.  So I’ll leave the rest of that to you.

Posted by peiper     on 03/10/2009 at 06:12 AM   
Filed Under: • Daily Life • Education • Nanny State • Stoopid-People • UK •  
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   Saturday - March 07, 2009

AN UPDATE TO A PREVIOUS STORY. BOTTOM LINE .. PC WINS, CITIZENS LOSE. TIS ALWAYS SO

"It is outrageous for a school or local authority to think it can ride roughshod over parents and impose lessons upon children that arouse such widespread concerns.”
Comrades, comrades.  Calm yourselves.  This is our brave cowardly new world being created and the state with co-operation of Comrade Minister for Thought and Behavior approves.  Besides, it’s all about “diversity” which will all be explained in the new revised edition of UK version of Little Red Book.

Lesbian Gay Homosexual Bisexual Transgender History Month

Amazing. Pollution gets a month all its own.

Now then, I am not certain about the Transgender thing to be very honest.
It is my understanding only based on news articles and a very few interviews during news programs, that these people are not necessarily homosexual, but instead may be born with parts of em from both sexes.  ???  Do I have that right?  I have also read about it in links and am under the impression that a person somehow knows early on that the “body they have isn’t really theirs.” I’ve seen that quote more then once.

I’m not a doctor and have no training whatever in things of that nature and so think transgender ppl may (I stress that word, “may") be very legitimate, as opposed to a lifestyle I find really odd at best and disgusting at worst.

My views on the subject are known and the point of this story really belong in a heading like Parents Rights.  Apparently they have none when up against the homosexual lobby which appears very willing to force their point of view on children’s education.  Maybe the correct term is INDOCTRINATION.

Tis really a sick fraken world!

Parents face court action for removing children from gay homosexual history lessons
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 12:56 AM on 07th March 2009

More than 30 pupils were pulled out of a week of teaching at a primary school which included books about homosexual partnerships.
The controversial content was worked into the curriculum at George Tomlinson School in Waltham Forest, East London.

The council has declared that children who missed the lessons will be viewed as truants.
The ruling means some families could breach rules that children should not be absent for more than 19 days a year.
Sanctions include spot fines, parenting contracts and ultimately court action.

The parents, who objected to the lessons on moral and religious grounds, said the content was more appropriate to secondary age pupils.
Pervez Latif, whose children Saleh, ten, and Abdur-Rahim, nine, attend the school, said he knew of up to 30 withdrawals from the lessons.
The 41-year-old accountant said Christian and Muslim parents had objected to the theme linked to Lesbian ,queer, Bisexual ,Transgender History Month.

‘We as parents did not receive any guidance that this was going to happen,’ he added. ‘There was just a newsletter mentioning the week and that certain themes would be taught.
‘I didn’t want my children to be learning about this. I wrote a letter to the chairman of the governors explaining that I would be taking my children out of school and he wrote back saying that there was no other option.
‘If I am faced with court action, then I will just explain that these are my views. It was also very difficult explaining to my nine- and ten-year-old boys why they were being removed from school.
‘I found it difficult to explain topics such as homosexual relationships at such a young age.’

One story covered in a lesson was King and King, a fairytale about a prince who turns down three princesses before falling in love with one of their brothers.
Another book, And Tango Makes Three, features two male penguins, Roy and Silo, who fall in love at a New York zoo.
Sarah Saeed, 40, took her eight-year-old daughter out of school during the week.

She said: ‘It is not an appropriate age for the children to be learning such matters. We have our own way of explaining things to them and they should not be subjected to this.
‘I was aware they were going to be learning about homosexual relationships through stories.
‘If the council takes action against me I will tell them that I told the school beforehand I would be taking my child away if they did not change their policy.

‘She has a 100 per cent attendance record otherwise. This is the only time and this is the only choice I had.’
Parents have a legal right to withdraw their children from religious education and sex education lessons – apart from science lessons which cover biological reproduction as part of the national curriculum.

A spokesman for Waltham Forest Council said: ‘As part of the borough’s policy of promoting tolerance in our schools, children are taught that everyone in our society is of equal value.
‘At George Tomlinson, parents were invited to meet with teachers and governors several weeks ago to discuss what work would
be taking place throughout the national LGBT History Month and how this work would be delivered.
‘Regrettably, some parents chose to remove their children from school.

‘The council does not condone any unauthorised absence from school and action has been taken.’
Norman Wells, director of the Family Education Trust, said: ‘It is a fundamental principle of education law that children must be educated in accordance with the wishes of their parents.
‘It is outrageous for a school or local authority to think it can ride roughshod over parents and impose lessons upon children that arouse such widespread concerns.

‘The only action that needs to be taken is to offer an apology to the parents concerned.’
George Tomlinson is close to a school which launched a gayvery queer version of Romeo and Juliet called Romeo and Julian – also to mark the alternative history month.

Posted by peiper     on 03/07/2009 at 07:05 AM   
Filed Under: • Education • Jack Booted Thugs • UK •  
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   Tuesday - March 03, 2009

Church schools could be forced to promote Islam and homosexuality, Catholics fear .

teachers must promote equality and value diversity

Church schools could be forced to promote Islam and homosexuality under a new legally-binding code of conduct for teachers, it is feared.

By Martin Beckford,
Religious Affairs Correspondent

The code is accused of undermining the religious ethos of Christian schools by promoting secular morality and will discriminate against devout staff and drive them out of the classroom, the Roman Catholic church has warned.

As The Daily Telegraph disclosed last month, the General Teaching Council – the profession’s regulator – has published a draft code of conduct that all teachers will have to sign.

It will be used by the GTC in assessing misconduct cases, but also by school governors and local authorities in recruitment and discipline.

Principle 4 of the draft code states that teachers must “proactively challenge discrimination” and “promote equality and value diversity in all their professional relationships and interactions”.

However religious groups fear that these requirements could be used by liberal groups or parents to discriminate against Christian teachers, or to target faith schools.

An alleged lack of commitment to equality and diversity was used by a health trust to suspend Caroline Petrie, a Baptist community nurse, after she offered to pray for an elderly patient.

Oona Stannard, head of the Catholic Education Service, an agency of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, told the GTC in a written submission that “there was an understandable fear that the call to ‘proactively challenge discrimination’ could be used to oppose faith schools per se, and the rights that they have in law, for example, to select leaders who are of the faith”.

She went on: “This anxiety extends similarly to the direction to ‘promote equality’.

“It would be unacceptable to expect anyone to be required to promote something contrary to their own faith beliefs and, indeed, it would not be possible for a person of faith to promote another faith – ‘this is a matter of conscience.’

Miss Stannard added that there were grave concerns in the Church over the question of whether Catholic teachers would in good conscience feel able to register under the new code.

The Christian Institute, a charity that supports worshippers who feel discriminated against in the workplace, claims the GTC code could be used by educational establishments to insist that staff promote homosexual rights or other religions such as Islam, going against the beliefs of many Christians.

It fears teachers could be turned down for jobs unless they agreed to use materials designed by homosexual rights groups in the classroom, and would face disciplinary action if they tell pupils in RE lessons that Jesus Christ is the only means to salvation.

Colin Hart, director of the Christian Institute, said: “Respect for people as people is not the same as respecting or valuing every religious belief or sexual lifestyle.

“Forcing this on Christian teachers is to force them to go against their conscience.”

TELEGRAPH

(see, this is where folks fall down on the issue. Forcing them against their conscience?  No.  That only applies to muslims and one or two others.
It’s muslims who must be protected from doing that.  Funny how Christians and even Jews miss that. Where’d Christians ever get the idea they’d be protected as well?  Silly ppl. )

Attention comrade classmates. All raise now and together we sing our new anthem approved by central committee for diversity and kulture.
The following has been approved for comrades by the dept. of Health and Safety as well.  Ready class?  Begin.

“TOMORROW BELONGS, TOMORROW BELONGS, TOMORROW BELONGS TO .................... ?????????????

Posted by peiper     on 03/03/2009 at 04:24 AM   
Filed Under: • Education • Nanny State • RoPMA • UK •  
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   Tuesday - February 24, 2009

Schools should adopt back-to-basics discipline methods to curb bad behaviour .

No long editorial comment.

The ONLY reason I’m posting this is because I find it so, so, ... ?  Can’t find the right phrase or word.

How long have ppl been saying the same thing?
Oh ... Suddenly someone woke up?  Why so late? 

I’m not posting the entire article.  You can read if interested at the link below. 
This isn’t the first time of course that someone somewhere hasn’t said as much.
What I don’t understand is how educators lost the thread to begin with.  Aren’t some things just plain common sense? 
And why were so many who have called for a return to proper behavior for so long, ignored.

Back to basics discipline in school would curb bad behaviour
Schools should adopt back-to-basics discipline methods to curb bad behaviour and improve results among pupils, according to the Government’s education watchdog.

By Graeme Paton, Education Editor
Last Updated: 7:03AM GMT 24 Feb 2009

Traditional rules such as banning children with shaven heads and those wearing designer trainers or gang colours have proved effective in maintaining order at the best comprehensives, according to a report by Ofsted.

Formal assemblies, regular patrols of corridors, frequent school trips, strong values and appointing good teachers are also successful methods of raising standards, the study says.

The report examined how state schools in the most deprived areas improved standards, describing how one head teacher tackled troublemakers by suspending 300 pupils in a week.

Parents of all children barred from school were also ordered to meetings - often at anti-social hours such as 6am or 11pm - to be given a dressing-down.

Ofsted said the approach had proved successful and that poor-performing schools in England should mimic the methods to turn themselves around.

According to the watchdog, four in 10 secondary schools in England are still not good enough.

THE REST OF THE ARTICLE HERE

Posted by peiper     on 02/24/2009 at 06:58 AM   
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   Friday - February 06, 2009

Education minister’s blog littered with spelling mistakes. (Does this tell you something?)

I mite be the woerst spelar in the hole werld but for Spell Check and a dikshonairy I keep by my puter.

Even in school I was bad. No matter how much I tried I just couldn’t remember correct spelling. Had to work a lot harder at it.
As an adult I’ve continued to struggle with proper spelling.  I don’t know why as there have been any number of things far more complicated then spelling, that I could breeze through without any trouble.

So I find it difficult to understand how a minister for education can get things so wrong.
Some of the words are clearly typos and who hasn’t been caught short with those?  More a case of bad editing or no proofreading.
But with Spell Check these days, how does an education minister still manage to get it wrong?

So I share this with you good people and say good night until tomorrow.  Unless ice and more snow (predicted) bring down the lines.  Which I much doubt.

Cheers .. and stay tuned.

Education minister’s blog littered with spelling mistakes
A political blog written by Jim Knight, the Schools Minister, has been found to be riddled with spelling mistakes.

By Ben Leach

Jim Knight, the schools minister, made several spelling mistakes on his blog.

The Labour MP’s website was also found to contain typing errors and grammatical oversights.

The mispellings of Mr Knight, who was educated at Cambridge University, include “maintainence”, “convicned”, “curently”, “similiar”, “foce”, “pernsioners”, “reccess” and “archeaological”.

Mr Knight, who is responsible for raising education standards, also clearly has problems with the “i before e, except after c” spelling rule taught to primary school pupils.

He spelled “achieving” and “received” incorrectly.

Mr Knight, 43, gives his opinions on local and national issues regularly on his website, which reveals he attended the fee-paying Eltham College, in Mottingham, south east London.

He went on to study geography, and social and political sciences at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, from 1984 to 1987.

Mr Knight, MP for Dorset South, said: “When I was at school the teachers told me to always check my work. While my spelling is generally pretty good, I need to focus more on checking.”

Rob Wilson, the Conservative education spokesman, said: “He will be disappointed with his efforts in class but I’m sure he’ll make every effort to improve now teacher has noticed he’s falling behind.”

Words the education minister got wrong:

maintainence (maintenance)

convicned (convinced)

curently (currently)

similiar (similar)

foce (force)

pernsioners (pensioners)

reccess (recess)

archeaological (archeological)

acheiving (achieving)

receieved (received)

SPELLING

Posted by peiper     on 02/06/2009 at 01:20 PM   
Filed Under: • Education • UK •  
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   Tuesday - January 27, 2009

Tips on cannabis being handed out in schools. ("I get high with a little help from my friends")

I’ve been off line and ill the last few days. In fact, I should not even be here now. Really.
No need for tea and sympathy and please hold the flowers but, I really hurt. Have had a doctor come to the house as I couldn’t get in to the clinic and am just too sick to bus it in.  Chest infection and some strained chest muscles cause by a severe and constant cough.  Feel like what I imagine a limp rag might feel like if it could feel anything.

Who cares?

Nobody but the reason I’m sharing my puny medical ills is because when I came downstairs this morning and got the paper off the floor (it’s delivered through the mail slot in the front door), intending to read and try and relax with a hot cup of tea and honey, some headlines immediately caught my eye and naturally I just couldn’t go back to bed where I belong.

Some of these stories are so dumb, so looney tunes, so unbelievable there wasn’t any way I could ignore them or put off posting them until tomorrow, because I’m not certain I’ll be on line tomorrow.  No kidding friends and neighbors.  I feel pukey.

So then, because some stories raise my ire and do not make me feel warm and friendly, I’m trying to tie my BLM (blood pressure meter) to yours. Why should I suffer alone?  As an example, this EDITORIAL COMMENT by a Conservative. My gosh a conservative?  Yeah.  Some of you will say he is merely one in name only.  But honestly that isn’t true either.  But his swooning over RamaLama is just too much.  Try and read as many comments as you can.  I may not agree with all but they do make a point.  Of course, I don’t buy it and I kinda doubt you will.

Something tells me that I share a blood pressure meter with the Tiger.

There’s also a story about .. well guess. Our new fearless leader is quoted in a headline today saying that “THE US WILL LEAD THE WORLD IN GOING GREENER AND CLEANER.” He also took the time to take a swipe at President Bush and his policy on the green issue.  TheOne is going to fall in line with the Europeans
on Climate Change. 

Do I want to come home to the USA when the time arrives to do so?  Will I still have a country?  Jeesh!

Gary McKinnon believes in little green men – but it doesn’t make him a terrorist
Americans who want a harmless hacker extradited from Britain must be from a different planet, says Boris Johnson.

By Boris Johnson
Conservative Mayor of London

Way to go, Mr President. I think we can all agree that it has been a cracking first week. Apart from the swearing-in glitch – which was entirely the fault of that judge – I have supported just about everything that Barack Obama has done.

I liked the speech, and the promise that America is ready to lead again. It is good news that he is getting rid of Guantanamo and water-boarding and extraordinary rendition, all the dread apparatus of the Bush regime.

But before we all get too misty-eyed about the new era, and before Barack devotes himself entirely to the meltdown of the banks, there is one more thing in his diplomatic in-tray. There is one last piece of neocon lunacy that needs to be addressed, and Mr Obama could sort it out at the stroke of a pen.

In a legal nightmare that has lasted seven years, and cost untold millions to taxpayers both here and in America, the US Justice Department is persisting in its demented quest to extradite 43-year-old Londoner, Gary McKinnon.

To listen to the ravings of the US military, you would think that Mr McKinnon is a threat to national security on a par with Osama bin Laden. According to the Americans, this mild-mannered computer programmer has done more damage to their war-fighting capabilities than all the orange-pyjama-clad suspects of Guantanamo combined.

And how? He is a hacker. He hacked into the Pentagon, he hacked into the army, the navy, and the air force, and the Americans say he temporarily paralysed US Naval Weapons station Earle, by deleting some files.

In their continuing rage at this electronic lèse-majesté, the Americans want us to send him over there to face trial, and the possibility of a 70-year jail sentence. It is a comment on American bullying and British spinelessness that this farce is continuing, because Gary McKinnon is not and never has been any kind of threat to American security. He had only one reason for fossicking around in the databanks of Pentagon computers, and it had nothing to do with the war on terror or indeed the military capabilities of any country on earth.

Mr McKinnon believes in UFOs, and he is one of the large number of people who think that there is a gigantic conspiracy to conceal their existence from the rest of us, and that this conspiracy is organised by the US government.

Link editorial comment above for entire article.
Here is one of the comments made by readers in reply to Bad Boris.

Well, Boris, either you are a member of the MMGW orthodoxy and sitting in the GoreBore pocket or yoiu missed the Messiah’s latest commitment.

Out goes Bush’s eminently rational scepticism and in comes the whole Gore/IPCC, no holes barred, bring on the new Kyoto package.

Well, in doing so, he will ruin his country and its people, who for the moment worship him as if there is no tomorrow.

Michael
on January 27, 2009
at 02:11 PM

Barack Obama promises to lead world on climate change
President Barack Obama has promised that the US will lead the world on climate change and make cleaner energy a priority.

By Alex Spillius in Washington
Last Updated: 12:15AM GMT 27 Jan 2009
HOW GWEEN WUZ MY VALLEY

“We will make it clear to the world that America is ready to lead. To protect our climate and our collective security, we must call together a truly global coalition,” said Mr Obama, before signing three executive orders and memorandums on environmental issues.

In a dig at Mr Bush, who was accused of subverting science for ideological reasons, he added: “My administration will not deny facts - we will be guided by them.”

Hillary Clinton, the new Secretary of State, meanwhile picked Todd Stern, a veteran of the Kyoto Protocol talks, as her envoy for climate change, in a clear signal of intent to world leaders aiming to reach a successor to Kyoto this year.

The protocol was drafted late on in the Clinton administration only for Mr Bush to reject its environmental standards as bad for American businesses.

Mr Obama set out a bold vision of an energy-independent US, a goal he described as critical for “our security, our economy and our planet”.

Well now, apparently there are only ONE set of “facts” to be given credence.  The “facts” that he approves over anything else put before him. You either agree or are in denial and deserving of ridicule.  How typical of the left.  Oh boy.  How many more years?

Now then ... for sheer over the top MoonBat looney tunes insanity .... I offer you this below the fold.  I’m not sure I follow the logic here. Is there any? 

Posted by peiper     on 01/27/2009 at 10:01 AM   
Filed Under: • Blog Stuff • Education • UK •  
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   Friday - December 26, 2008

Victim of the ‘can’t touch’ culture: Teacher throttled by pupil as colleagues looked on .

WELL NOW ....

SEE WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A TEACHER USES A RED PEN.  THE KID WHO ATTACKED THIS TEACHER WAS THE REAL VICTIM.

just can not cope with this craziness.

By Laura Clark
Last updated at 12:01 PM on 26th December 2008

A teacher who won £250,000 compensation after a pupil tried to strangle him has criticised a ‘can’t touch’ culture in schools after other staff initially refused to intervene.

Colin Adams, 50, was attacked by a 12- year- old boy, who knocked him to the floor before punching and kicking him, and grabbing his neck. But despite other teachers yelling at the boy to stop, no one stepped in to help.

Mr Adams’s ordeal ended only after another teacher eventually came to his aid by forcing the boy’s thumbs back to release his hold. Later, the unnamed teacher admitted to Mr Adams that he was afraid the boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, would accuse him of assault.

It later emerged the boy had a history of violence, having previously attacked pupils and a security guard at a library opposite Kingsford Community School in East London.

However, he was not properly disciplined over the assaults and staff were not warned about his past.

Mr Adams yesterday criticised Government-backed ‘inclusion’ policies, which he claimed had led to pupils with severe behavioural problems being taught in schools where staff are not trained to cope with them.

His comments come only days after figures released under the Freedom of Information Act revealed police were called to schools 10,000 times last year to deal with violent incidents.

Mr Adams’s attacker was expelled after the assault in 2004 and given a referral order by the courts, which involved him being supervised for six months.

It is rumoured he was sent on a holiday as ‘a reward’ for completing it.

As a result of the attack, which lasted for several minutes, Mr Adams, of Ockendon, Essex, was forced to give up work after suffering severe stress and back problems.

His distress was further compounded by a lengthy court battle to win compensation, charted by his wife Sharon, 47, in a diary she started after the assault.

Four-and-a-half years later, he secured £250,000 in an out-of-court settlement from Newham Council.

Writing in her diary, Mrs Adams said the boy had been misbehaving in another teacher’s class and Mr Adams, as head of department, had gone to his aid. He ordered the boy to leave but the pupil refused.

Mr Adams then left the room and was attacked by the boy from behind.

She wrote: ‘He came around to find the boy strangling him. The teachers told the boy to let go, but he did not.

‘Teachers are very wary of touching children these days as children all know their rights and they can take a teacher to court.

‘It only came to an end when a male teacher grabbed hold of one of the boy’s thumbs and caused him pain and made the boy let go.

‘This teacher didn’t want to admit what he’d done for fear of being accused of assault.

‘The police informed the school they could have kicked the boy in his back to make him let go, but I am not sure there is any teacher anywhere who would be willing to do that for fear of repercussions.’

Mr Adams, who has two grown-up children, added: ‘The whole thing has left a bitter taste. We are trying our best to move forward but it’s a slow process.’

A Newham Council spokesman said: ‘Our staff have the right to work without fear of assault or harassment.

‘In this particular case, an appropriate financial settlement was agreed following advice from our insurers, which was based on Mr Adams’s loss of salary, future loss of earnings and damages for the injury he suffered.’

YOBS

Posted by peiper     on 12/26/2008 at 11:51 AM   
Filed Under: • Education • UK •  
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Teachers banned from using ‘confrontational’ red ink in case it upsets children. Any teachers here?

DO YOU BELIEVE THIS? 

What the heck is happening to this place?  They are stark raving mad.  How did generation after generation manage the stress of red ink and still achieve what they did?  This is BIZARRE beyond any way for me to describe it.
This is what is happening right now, right here in this country on this date.  Dec.26,2008.

Where are the grown ups?

By Colin Fernandez
Last updated at 1:03 AM on 26th December 2008

Hundreds of schools have barred teachers from marking in red in case it upsets the children.

They are scrapping the traditional method of correcting work because they consider it ‘confrontational’ and ‘threatening’.

Pupils increasingly find that the ticks and crosses on their homework are in more soothing shades like green, blue, pink and yellow, or even in pencil.

Traditionalists have branded the ban ‘barmy’, saying that red ink makes it easier for children to spot errors and improve. There are no set government guidelines on marking and schools are free to formulate their own individual policies.

Crofton Junior School, in Orpington, Kent, whose pupils range from seven to 11, is among those to have banned red ink. Its Marking Code of Practice states: ‘Work is generally marked in pen – not red – but on occasion it may be appropriate to indicate errors in pencil so that they may be corrected.’

Headmaster Richard Sammonds said: ‘Red pen can be quite demotivating for children. It has negative, old-school connotations of “See me” and “Not good enough”.

‘We are no longer producing clerks and bookkeepers. We are trying to provide an education for children coming into the workforce in the 21st century.

‘The idea is to raise standards by taking a positive approach.

‘We highlight bits that are really good in one colour and use a different colour to mark areas that could be improved.’

At Hutton Cranswick Community Primary School in Driffield, East Yorkshire, the Marking and Feedback Policy reads: ‘Marking should be in a different colour or medium from the pupil’s writing but should not dominate. For this reason, red ink is inappropriate.’

Shirley Clarke, an associate of the Institute of Education, said: ‘Banning red ink is a reaction to years of children having nothing but red over their work and feeling demoralised. When children, especially young children, see every single spelling mistake covered in red, they can feel useless and give up.’

But Nick Seaton, chairman of the Campaign for Real Education, said: ‘Banning red ink is absolutely barmy. Common sense suggests that children learn by their mistakes and occasionally they need upsetting to teach them to pull their socks up.

‘Self-esteem has to be built on genuine achievement, not mollycoddling, which only harms children in the long-run.

‘Red ink is the quickest way for pupils to see where they are going wrong and raise standards. I give teachers who have ditched their red pens nought out of ten. They’ve failed.’

SCHOOL DAZE

Posted by peiper     on 12/26/2008 at 10:47 AM   
Filed Under: • Education • UK •  
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   Wednesday - December 17, 2008

good morning all comrades. todays order of business: Private schools told: open to poor or Close!

Today’s lesson for new comradeskys, commissars will take notes on those not paying attention.

“FROM EACH ACCORDING TO HIS ABILITY, TO EACH ACCORDING TO HIS NEEDS.”

Comrade Marx will give test.  Those failing will be re- schooled. Those unwilling will be shot. 

Have a nice day.

Private schools have been told to provide more free places to children from poor homes - even if they claim to be full - or effectively face closure.


By Graeme Paton, Education Editor
Last Updated: 12:22AM GMT 17 Dec 2008

The new rules are designed to stop fee-paying schools being run exclusively for the wealthy.

Guidance published today by the Charity Commission also suggests schools could raise fees for existing parents as part of a “deliberate pricing strategy” to fund more places for deprived children.

The rules, which come into force next year, will be a blow to many independent schools as they battle the threat of falling pupil numbers prompted by the economic downturn.

Last night, experts said it may be the “final nail in the coffin” for some smaller schools.

Under Labour’s 2006 Charities Act, fee-paying schools are no longer automatically entitled to charitable status.

They must prove they provide “public benefit” to hang on to tax breaks worth an estimated £100m to the sector every year.

Schools have already warned they may have to increase class sizes or ask existing parents for more cash to satisfy the requirements.

Official guidance outlines how independent schools - along with charities for the poor, charitable hospitals and religious groups - can pass the new test.

It said they must do far more than offer “minimal or tokenistic” help for working class children.

In Scotland, four leading private schools have already been ordered to increase the amount spent on poor pupils or risk being stripped of charitable status.

The Charity Commission said it would intervene at schools struggling to meet the requirement in England and Wales to find “ways to fund free or subsidised access”.

It has the ultimate power to remove schools from the charities register - effectively closing them down and transferring assets to other charities - although officials insist this would be highly unlikely.

Sue Fieldman, of the Good Schools Guide, said: “This is not the Christmas present private schools wanted. It could not have come at a worse time. Many are already stretched financially as parents struggle to pay fees and it could be the final nail in the coffin, particularly for some small prep schools. I imagine the commission will be quite lenient to begin with but increase the pressure on schools when the economy picks up.”

Guidance, which has been toughened up compared to draft rules published in March, suggests schools can help pass the public benefit test by:

* Giving pupils from state schools free access to swimming pools, drama studies and concert halls

* Allowing them to sit in on certain classes not offered in the state sector

* Giving poor pupils coaching to boost their chances of getting into top universities

* Sponsoring one of the Government’s semi-independent academies

But the document makes it clear that providing more bursaries is the most likely way to satisfy the requirements.

It suggested schools should consider “increasing general fee levels in order to offer subsidies to those unable to pay the full cost”. Last year, the average private school charged £11,253.

(in dollars at that time it would have come to more then $22,000.)

The commission said the option was “certainly available” to owners, although it would not be feasible for every school.

Guidance said others may offer more places even if they are officially full. This will raise concerns among parents that small class sizes - seen as one of the main attractions of the fee-paying sector - may have to rise in some schools.

“It might be possible to offer additional places at a school in addition to the places for existing pupils,” said the document. “Even if there are legal and practical limitations on how many boarding pupils can be housed, additional day pupils might be easier to cater for and cost less.”

Schools were encouraged to drop academic scholarships - which can often go to bright children from wealthy homes - and divert cash to means-tested bursaries.

If schools cannot afford subsidies, the commission said they should consider embarking on fundraising drives or find “wealthy philanthropists”. Commissioners may step in to help schools raise money.

Commissioners are already investigating five schools as part of pilot tests. Other schools will be expected to file public benefit reports in their annual accounts from 2009, and officials may carry out random inspections.

The guidance makes clear schools will be judged on a case by case basis, although large schools with the highest fees will be expected to do the most.

It also rejects claims from many headmasters that they should pass the test simply by educating pupils who would otherwise be schooled at taxpayers’ expense.

“If the opportunity to benefit… is not genuine, or is meaningless or trivial, then it would count for very little in a public benefit assessment,” said the guidance.

More than 500,000 children attend 2,000 private schools in the UK. The majority were set up as charities, receiving benefits - principally in rate relief - of about £225 per child every year.

Last year, the number of pupils at independent school increased, but there are fears the economic downturn may push some families away. At least seven have closed this year citing the credit crunch.

Guidance effectively rules out the possibility that schools can relinquish charitable status or be sold to profit-making organisations to get around the rules.

Under charity law, any proceeds of a sale must be used for charitable purposes, it said.

Dame Suzi Leather, Charity Commission chairman, said: “Not only is it now a legal requirement for all charities to demonstrate how they benefit the public, but also our own research shows that the public expects charities to be clear about what they do and to be accountable and transparent at all times.”

The Independent Schools Council was outraged by draft guidance published earlier this year, insisting it was “heavily biased in favour of wealthier charities”.

David Lyscom, ISC chief executive, said it was studying the latest report before advising schools in the New Year.

SCHOOL DAZE

HELP, is needed here from someone who understands the school system here better then this foreigner posting the article.  Lyndon? Chris? Brits anywhere?

Why does a school charging £11,000 a head qualify to collect any monies from charities. Unless the money is specific to a person on say a scholarship or grant of some sort.  I know private schools here are what Americans call public, and public schools here are private.  ???

Man oh man.  I can see why you guys drive on the WRONG side. 
Get ready for “roundabouts” in the USA. Right. Nashville already has one or two. Anywhere else? 

Posted by peiper     on 12/17/2008 at 02:36 AM   
Filed Under: • Commies • Democrats-Liberals-Moonbat Leftists • Education • Government • Nanny State • UK •  
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   Tuesday - December 09, 2008

Words associated with Christianity and British history taken out of children’s dictionary .

I think I’d better leave this alone.  Cause once I get on a soap box on this issue I may find it impossible to get off.

What the heck are these ppl thinking?  Oh wait.  They aren’t thinking at all.

Oh well, they may have lost the empire but they now have “DIVERSITY.” Lots and lots of that.  And “MULTI-CULTURISM.  Right you are lads, look sharp and lets hear it for Down The Drain.

Words associated with Christianity, the monarchy and British history have been dropped from a leading dictionary for children.

Julie Henry, Education Correspondent
Last Updated: 12:48PM GMT 08 Dec 2008

Westminster Abbey may be one of Britain’s most famous landmarks, but the word abbey has been removed from the Oxford Junior Dictionary.  Photo: PA

Oxford University Press has removed words like “aisle”, “bishop”, “chapel”, “empire” and “monarch” from its Junior Dictionary and replaced them with words like “blog”, “broadband” and “celebrity”. Dozens of words related to the countryside have also been culled.

The publisher claims the changes have been made to reflect the fact that Britain is a modern, multicultural, multifaith society.

But academics and head teachers said that the changes to the 10,000 word Junior Dictionary could mean that children lose touch with Britain’s heritage.

“We have a certain Christian narrative which has given meaning to us over the last 2,000 years. To say it is all relative and replaceable is questionable,” said Professor Alan Smithers, the director of the centre for education and employment at Buckingham University. “The word selections are a very interesting reflection of the way childhood is going, moving away from our spiritual background and the natural world and towards the world that information technology creates for us.”

An analysis of the word choices made by the dictionary lexicographers has revealed that entries from “abbey” to “willow” have been axed. Instead, words such as “MP3 player”, “voicemail” and “attachment” have taken their place. 

Words taken out:

Carol, cracker, holly, ivy, mistletoe

Dwarf, elf, goblin

Abbey, aisle, altar, bishop, chapel, christen, disciple, minister, monastery, monk, nun, nunnery, parish, pew, psalm, pulpit, saint, sin, devil, vicar

Coronation, duchess, duke, emperor, empire, monarch, decade

adder, ass, beaver, boar, budgerigar, bullock, cheetah, colt, corgi, cygnet, doe, drake, ferret, gerbil, goldfish, guinea pig, hamster, heron, herring, kingfisher, lark, leopard, lobster, magpie, minnow, mussel, newt, otter, ox, oyster, panther, pelican, piglet, plaice, poodle, porcupine, porpoise, raven, spaniel, starling, stoat, stork, terrapin, thrush, weasel, wren.

Acorn, allotment, almond, apricot, ash, bacon, beech, beetroot, blackberry, blacksmith, bloom, bluebell, bramble, bran, bray, bridle, brook, buttercup, canary, canter, carnation, catkin, cauliflower, chestnut, clover, conker, county, cowslip, crocus, dandelion, diesel, fern, fungus, gooseberry, gorse, hazel, hazelnut, heather, holly, horse chestnut, ivy, lavender, leek, liquorice, manger, marzipan, melon, minnow, mint, nectar, nectarine, oats, pansy, parsnip, pasture, poppy, porridge, poultry, primrose, prune, radish, rhubarb, sheaf, spinach, sycamore, tulip, turnip, vine, violet, walnut, willow

Words put in:

Blog, broadband, MP3 player, voicemail, attachment, database, export, chatroom, bullet point, cut and paste, analogue

Celebrity, tolerant, vandalism, negotiate, interdependent, creep, citizenship, childhood, conflict, common sense, debate, EU, drought, brainy, boisterous, cautionary tale, bilingual, bungee jumping, committee, compulsory, cope, democratic, allergic, biodegradable, emotion, dyslexic, donate, endangered, Euro

Apparatus, food chain, incisor, square number, trapezium, alliteration, colloquial, idiom, curriculum, classify, chronological, block graph.

FOR THE COMPLETE ARTICLE

Posted by peiper     on 12/09/2008 at 12:24 PM   
Filed Under: • Education • UK •  
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   Thursday - December 04, 2008

So, just how stark raving mad have these folks become?  See for yourself.

Have to thank Thorolf for reminding me about this.
I found it early this morning, got busy and then forgot all about it. Till a few minutes ago.
Talk about STUPID PEOPLE!

School cancels Christmas nativity in favour of Muslim Eid celebrations
A junior school has cancelled its Christmas performances because they got in the way of the Muslim children celebrating Eid.

Greenwood Junior School sent out a letter to parents saying the three day festival of Eid al-Adha, which takes place between 8-11 December, meant that Muslim children would be off school.

That meant planning for a traditional pantomime were shelved because the school felt it would be too difficult to run both celebrations side by side.

The move has left parents furious.

Janette Lynch, whose seven-year-old son Keanu attends the school, in Sneinton, Nottingham, said: “The head has a whole year to plan for Eid and so she should be able to plan for both religious festivals.

“I have never heard of this at a school. It is the first year my son has been there and a lot of the mums like me were really looking forward to seeing the children on stage.”

She said a letter, sent from “The staff at Greenwood Junior School’, said: “It is with much regret that we have had to cancel this year’s Christmas performances. This is due to the Eid celebrations that take place next week and its effect on our performers.”

Following outrage from parents, the school was forced to send out a second letter saying that the Christmas play would be done in January.

Sent by the head teacher, Amber Latif, and Yvonne Wright, chair of governors, it apologised for “any misunderstanding” but said it had to respect “the cultures and religions of all the children”.

It added: “The Christmas performance has not been cancelled outright but has been postponed until the New Year.”

Parents said they were originally told the performance was cancelled because children wanted to celebrate Eid with their families at home, and planning of the school year made it difficult to move performance dates to another week.

Sajad Hussain, 35, of who has two children at Greenwood Junior, said: “My children will be off for the two days next week to see their family.

“It’s not that complicated; they could have one event on one day and another on another day, they should have both celebrations at the school.

“If you do not have both it becomes a racist thing and that’s why you have to be careful If an issue is made out of it, it could become nasty.”

Yesterday, a statement issued by Greenwood Junior, said: “We would like to apologise for any confusion caused as a result of [the original] letter we sent out and would like to reassure parents and the community that Christmas has not been cancelled at Greenwood Junior School.

“For very practical reasons we have taken the difficult decision to re-arrange some significant events on the school calendar to ensure maximum pupil and staff attendance.”

FRAKEN MUZZIES

“Difficult Decision” my achin’ butt.  Nothing at all difficult about putting on a Christmas play in Jan and offending the “other” majority religion.  That’s because Christians are easy targets nowadays and there isn’t any protest with violent threats coming from the “majority” community.  What a load of garbage this is.
RCOB!  And I’m not even a religious person, but this bothers me.  This IS a Christian country. Wait, maybe I have that wrong.  It WAS a Christian country.  Long ago and far away.  That was a song title, or else a line in a song and it dates back to the second war.  I think.

Speaking of war, if the Tommy Atkins who fought for this island in two wars could have seen this future,
THEY’D HAVE STAYED HOME OR JOINED THE OTHER SIDE!
I simply refuse to believe that those old dogs of war would fight and die and be maimed for life, for this future.  NO WAY! No damn way!

I have been here more then four years now watching these folks give away their country and it’s damn awful.  What it is, is heartbreaking!
I swear I think everything is falling apart here.  Even on simple little things that you wouldn’t think mattered.  From workmen who never show up and people who never call to let you know about schedule changes, to ordering items in a catalog and getting the wrong items not once, not 2wice, but three times for the same damn thing.  There’s a rot that has set in and I’m certain of it. 

Posted by peiper     on 12/04/2008 at 02:08 PM   
Filed Under: • Education • Religion • RoPMA • UK •  
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   Monday - November 24, 2008

They must not read BMEWS

Rachel Lucas writes today about the results of a civic literacy exam given to 14,000 college kids. And they failed. Miserably. As they always do, year after year. Pathetic. No wonder they all voted Socialist. And these are our best and brightest.

The even scarier part is that our elected officials score far worse than the college kids.

Americans Fail a Basic Test on Their History and Institutions is the third major study conducted by ISI on the kind of knowledge required for informed citizenship. In 2006 and 2007, ISI published the first ever scientific surveys of civic learning among college students. Each year, approximately 14,000 freshmen and seniors at 50 schools nationwide were given a 60-question, multiple-choice exam on basic knowledge of America’s heritage. Both years, the students failed. The average freshman scored 51.7% the first year and 51.4% the next. The average senior scored 53.2%, then 54.2%. After all the time, effort, and money spent on college, students emerge no better off in understanding the fundamental features of American self-government.

When the test is given to people at large, they do even worse.

Seventy-one percent of Americans fail the test, with an overall average score of 49%.

* Liberals score 49%; conservatives score 48%. Republicans score 52%; Democrats score 45%.
* Fewer than half of all Americans can name all three branches of government, a minimal requirement for understanding America’s constitutional system.

Bah, I did it in 3 minutes and I only got a 94. I am embarrassed. I missed the Lincoln-Douglas debate question because in my head I confused that with Charles Sumner’s speech. And “54 40 or fight” kept popping up in my brain for no reason at all. And then I missed question 30 because I forgot to think like government, and instead answered with what I would do in a similar situation. Silly me.

Here, go take the test yourself. One click per question, no changing your mind, no going back and double checking. You either know the answer or you take a guess. It won’t take you 5 minutes. Although some of the questions are difficult, and you have to read them carefully, I have very high expectations of all of you. Then go read the Summary and the Introduction and the rest of it if you want.

When Jefferson, Madison, and other leading Virginians signed the plan for the University of Virginia, they knew it needed to be compelling to the legislature that commissioned it. For the university to have a claim to state funding, it needed a public purpose. The principle still applies. Given that most citizens never attend college, what do they get from subsidizing it?

One benefit envisioned by Jefferson and Madison was that the university would preserve the nation’s memory and increase its general store of knowledge.

“And it cannot be but that each generation succeeding to the knowledge acquired by all those who preceded it, adding to it their own acquisitions and discoveries, and handing the mass down for successive and constant accumulation, must advance the knowledge and well-being of mankind,”

Posted by Drew458     on 11/24/2008 at 12:05 PM   
Filed Under: • Education •  
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