Thanks to Ian Jukes for this picture, taken March 26th 2011.
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Saturday, March 26, 2011
Libyans in Sheffield Chanting "We have to say... Thank you UK"
Friday, March 25, 2011
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Stop the press: man in dressing gown caught on CCTV! - Big Brother Watch
Image via WikipediaAs one of the commentators on this story asks, what business is it of the police, or CCTV operators, to stop or film a member of the public who is not breaking any laws nor giving grounds for suspicion that he is about to do so?
Furthermore, what right does the Council have to describe the man's activity on its public newsletter?
Behind the humour of the incident there is a telling illustration about the increasing intrusion and interference of the state in the lives of its citizens.
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Friday, March 18, 2011
Aristide Returns to Haiti
On a normal day, the return of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide to his native Haiti would be top of the news programmes.
But it's been a long time since we;ve had a normal day, news-wise.
Here are some intimate photos of the event via Sharif Koudous of Democracy Now. Sharif was one of the best first-hand sources of English-language reporting on Twitter during the Egyptian revolution.
He's now in Haiti providing similar first-hand updates.
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Wednesday, March 16, 2011
The world can be powered by alternative energy in 20-40 years, Stanford researcher says
The world can be powered by alternative energy in 20-40 years, Stanford researcher says
"Based on our findings, there are no technological or economic barriers to converting the entire world to clean, renewable energy sources," said Jacobson, a professor of civil and environmental engineering. "It is a question of whether we have the societal and political will."
Wednesday, March 09, 2011
Jobseekers told by job centre to volunteer at Poundland, claims volunteer centre - Third Sector
Jobseekers told by job centre to volunteer at Poundland, claims volunteer centre - Third Sector
Follow the link.
Read the story.
Is this the future for those who are unemployed - accept voluntary unpaid work for private businesses or lose your state benefits?
Disgraceful.
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Friday, March 04, 2011
7 Billion: Are You Typical? -- National Geographic Magazine
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Tuesday, March 01, 2011
Where Next for African Integration in The Post-Gaddafi Era?
Image via Wikipedia
Exactly one year ago, President Muammar Gaddafi was appointed Chairman of the African Union. The Libyan leader took the opportunity to outline his vision of African economic and political integration.
Next month, African specialists meet in London to deliberate on prospects for an African Free Trade Area.
It’s unlikely that Colonel Gaddafi will be able to attend.
Next month, African specialists meet in London to deliberate on prospects for an African Free Trade Area.
It’s unlikely that Colonel Gaddafi will be able to attend.
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Suffolk's Teachers Take 10,000 days off for Stress - Telegraph
Image via WikipediaThe Daily Telegraph is reporting today that teachers employed by Suffolk County Council required a total of 10,000 days off with stress-related illness in 2010.
The total is the equivalent of 50 academic years lost due to stress, depression and anxiety-related conditions.
While the Telegraph reports the story today in the context of the challenges, in general, of the modern teaching profession, and the decline in behaviour standards in the classroom, the article does not offer any specific geographical analysis of the alarming figure.
Last Autumn, I noted that Suffolk County Council (in the east of England) had become the first local authority in the UK to outsource virtually all of its council services in a dramatic cost-cutting exercise. The BBC reported at the time that the aim of the council's New Strategic Direction was to "turn the authority from one which provides public services itself, to an enabling council which commissions other to carry out the services."
Now, at the end of the first year that this strategy has been implemented by the Conservative-controlled Council, we can see some of the human cost of this policy. In addition to the damage done to the health of teaching professionals in the county, there will also be increased financial costs - to cover the supply teachers needed to cover absences, as well as the legal costs involved in any related litigation. This is on top of the money that must be spent providing medical and psychiatric services to these troubled teachers.
The lesson of Suffolk's daring experiment seems to be that whatever the ideological merits of a smaller government, (which of course are hugely controversial in themselves), the process of transitioning to such an outsourced model is vitally important for the health and stability of the public service being delivered.
The more I look at the current government's drive towards public sector reform, the more I am convinced that at a process level (let alone ideologically) it is seriously flawed.
In being confronted with these statistics of teachers' rates of mental health problems in the county, I fear that we are looking at the future across the nation, unless the government can apply the handbrake to its public spending cuts.
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