Apologies for not updating these past two days - I have been working "undercover".
Wednesday, October 03, 2012
Sunday, September 30, 2012
I am still asking aloud
On 13th September Owen Jones (as well as many others in the many Labour activist claques) told us "Jack Straw is right - Thatcherism built the police mentality that led to Hillsborough".
At the time I thought this was an oddly tenuous connection to make.
It now seems that Jack Straw may have been using Owen Jones as a "useful innocent" in propagating a highly misleading diversion of attention regarding Labour's approach to the Hillsborough disaster.
An article in today's Independent indicates some form of Labour cover-up (led by Jack Straw) was in operation:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/hillsborough-families-fury-at-spin-operation-8191043.html
Unfortunately among Labour activists "hating Thatcher" is preferred to getting at the truth.
Even so, I am still asking aloud what David Blunkett's role was pre-Hillsborough, during Hillsborough and after Hillsborough.
I even managed a walk
And just as suddenly as it arrived my illness went, leaving me feeling weak and exhausted but otherwise fine.
I even managed a walk this afternoon - blustery winds, gleams of sunshine, occasional spots of rain.
Above: the elder trees were heavy with fruit sambucus nigra.
Above: the bramble blackberries Rubus fruticosus were mostly small, hard and unripened (an indication of the poor summer we have had).
Above: along the grass verges that bordered the lane were little groups of the mauve common scabious - just seeing this wild flower made me feel happy (does nature have anything more charming?).
I even managed a walk this afternoon - blustery winds, gleams of sunshine, occasional spots of rain.
Above: the elder trees were heavy with fruit sambucus nigra.
Above: the bramble blackberries Rubus fruticosus were mostly small, hard and unripened (an indication of the poor summer we have had).
Above: along the grass verges that bordered the lane were little groups of the mauve common scabious - just seeing this wild flower made me feel happy (does nature have anything more charming?).
Saturday, September 29, 2012
"There is a lot riding on this for me" he said
Monday
Over the weekend I developed a terrible cough that is exhausting, painful and makes my head ache. I would have dearly liked to have stayed at home today. But countdown for the conference seminar made this impossible.
Once I was in the office I made myself some coffee and sat quietly at my desk reading returned questionnaires.
11o'clock and the management meeting. We (the management team) all trooped into the office of Director Vijay Singh. I sat at my usual place at the long table (marked by a deep scratch I once accidentally made with the edge of a ring binder.
"This will be a chance for you to report on how your department is doing against targets" Vijay Singh said.
I have been so preoccupied with planning the seminar that I could barely remember what my targets were, let alone how I was achieving them. Looking round the table I saw that others had done reports with graphs and tables, and Tim Watts (Development Manager) had even done a Powerpoint presentation. When my turn came I was saved by my illness - so hoarse was my voice, so pathetic was my struggle against influenza, that I was listened to with quiet sympathy and no-one asked any hostile questions.
The meeting finished at 1pm and I went home, taking some work with me.
Tuesday
Going to work was out of the question. I coughed and coughed and coughed. Eventually I got up and went downstairs to drink some hot blackcurrant - no sign of my brother.
I went back to bed and slept until 3pm.
I tried to read, but I didn't have enough energy even for reading.
I just sat in an armchair with the electric fire on, conscious of the dry rushing wind outside the house.
So many syrups and cough lozenges that I felt sick.
Wednesday
Many enquiries after my health when I arrived at the office. I was ruthless about deleting e-mails that had arrived yesterday. Vijay Singh asked me to contact Alec Nussbaum's PA to find out if he planned to attend our seminar at the conference.
Most of the morning I spent working on the exhibitions programme, most of the bookings now in place.
The afternoon spent in a session of Appraisal Training, which was reasonably interesting although rather pointless as I have no staff to appraise (but perhaps that might change?).
When I came out of the training I was not in the mood for work and so idled away the last hour.
Thursday
Vijay Singh has decided, at this very late hour, he wants the Institute to do a special newsletter to be given out at the conference. All my plans for today were disrupted as I edited this newsletter and got Joey to lay it out and produce a proof. Not wanting to wait for others to write the contributions (I know how slow that would be!) I simply wrote their sections myself and asked "Is this what you want to say?"
Too busy to go out at lunchtime I had lunch at my desk - grapes, an apple and two Kit Kats.
A meeting with Vijay Singh towards the end of the afternoon - he told me Alec Nussbaum wanted to move the Library and reading room back to Head Office.
Friday
Almost every hour today I had little meetings with Vijay Singh to discuss aspects of the Seminar. "There is a lot riding on this for me" he said. In the afternoon we held a rehearsal, which was a bit shambolic.
Lunchtime I went to Tescos, and after buying some sandwiches in the store I drove to the far side of the giant car park, where no other cars were parked, so that I could read quietly. Out of the corner of my eye I was aware of a tall security guard approaching, and when he got up to my vehicle he stood cockily right by the car door, rocking slightly on his heels. I continued to ignore him, so that he was forced to tap on the window. When I had half-opened the window he asked me why I had chosen to park so far away from the other cars. I told him: "I parked here because I didn't want any interruptions". "Fair enough" he said, and walked away.
Over the weekend I developed a terrible cough that is exhausting, painful and makes my head ache. I would have dearly liked to have stayed at home today. But countdown for the conference seminar made this impossible.
Once I was in the office I made myself some coffee and sat quietly at my desk reading returned questionnaires.
11o'clock and the management meeting. We (the management team) all trooped into the office of Director Vijay Singh. I sat at my usual place at the long table (marked by a deep scratch I once accidentally made with the edge of a ring binder.
"This will be a chance for you to report on how your department is doing against targets" Vijay Singh said.
I have been so preoccupied with planning the seminar that I could barely remember what my targets were, let alone how I was achieving them. Looking round the table I saw that others had done reports with graphs and tables, and Tim Watts (Development Manager) had even done a Powerpoint presentation. When my turn came I was saved by my illness - so hoarse was my voice, so pathetic was my struggle against influenza, that I was listened to with quiet sympathy and no-one asked any hostile questions.
The meeting finished at 1pm and I went home, taking some work with me.
Tuesday
Going to work was out of the question. I coughed and coughed and coughed. Eventually I got up and went downstairs to drink some hot blackcurrant - no sign of my brother.
I went back to bed and slept until 3pm.
I tried to read, but I didn't have enough energy even for reading.
I just sat in an armchair with the electric fire on, conscious of the dry rushing wind outside the house.
So many syrups and cough lozenges that I felt sick.
Wednesday
Many enquiries after my health when I arrived at the office. I was ruthless about deleting e-mails that had arrived yesterday. Vijay Singh asked me to contact Alec Nussbaum's PA to find out if he planned to attend our seminar at the conference.
Most of the morning I spent working on the exhibitions programme, most of the bookings now in place.
The afternoon spent in a session of Appraisal Training, which was reasonably interesting although rather pointless as I have no staff to appraise (but perhaps that might change?).
When I came out of the training I was not in the mood for work and so idled away the last hour.
Thursday
Vijay Singh has decided, at this very late hour, he wants the Institute to do a special newsletter to be given out at the conference. All my plans for today were disrupted as I edited this newsletter and got Joey to lay it out and produce a proof. Not wanting to wait for others to write the contributions (I know how slow that would be!) I simply wrote their sections myself and asked "Is this what you want to say?"
Too busy to go out at lunchtime I had lunch at my desk - grapes, an apple and two Kit Kats.
A meeting with Vijay Singh towards the end of the afternoon - he told me Alec Nussbaum wanted to move the Library and reading room back to Head Office.
Friday
Almost every hour today I had little meetings with Vijay Singh to discuss aspects of the Seminar. "There is a lot riding on this for me" he said. In the afternoon we held a rehearsal, which was a bit shambolic.
Lunchtime I went to Tescos, and after buying some sandwiches in the store I drove to the far side of the giant car park, where no other cars were parked, so that I could read quietly. Out of the corner of my eye I was aware of a tall security guard approaching, and when he got up to my vehicle he stood cockily right by the car door, rocking slightly on his heels. I continued to ignore him, so that he was forced to tap on the window. When I had half-opened the window he asked me why I had chosen to park so far away from the other cars. I told him: "I parked here because I didn't want any interruptions". "Fair enough" he said, and walked away.
Friday, September 28, 2012
Ed Miliband's leadership
In an article for the New Statesman Sunny Hundal makes the following comments about Ed Miliband's leadership:
"he has... established a double-digit lead over the Tories" (but in a poll today the Conservatives have a 5 point lead over Labour on the key issue of the economy http://www.ipsos-mori.com/researchpublications/researcharchive/3048/Labour-increases-its-lead-on-healthcare-and-education.aspx ).
"...voters consider the Labour leader to be no more left-wing than Cameron is right-wing" (is that not what is wrong with politics? - the Conservatives are not Conservative and the Socialists are not Socialist).
"...he needs more interventions and fewer policy reviews" (that would be a disaster in my view, since posturing now will have no effect on what might happen in 2015 whereas good policies are fundamental to successful government - there is no point in getting into power just for the sake of power).
http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/politics/2012/09/how-miliband-can-address-his-image-problem
"he has... established a double-digit lead over the Tories" (but in a poll today the Conservatives have a 5 point lead over Labour on the key issue of the economy http://www.ipsos-mori.com/researchpublications/researcharchive/3048/Labour-increases-its-lead-on-healthcare-and-education.aspx ).
"...voters consider the Labour leader to be no more left-wing than Cameron is right-wing" (is that not what is wrong with politics? - the Conservatives are not Conservative and the Socialists are not Socialist).
"...he needs more interventions and fewer policy reviews" (that would be a disaster in my view, since posturing now will have no effect on what might happen in 2015 whereas good policies are fundamental to successful government - there is no point in getting into power just for the sake of power).
http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/politics/2012/09/how-miliband-can-address-his-image-problem
Newspapers must not be allowed to print lies
I hope John Terry takes the Independent newspaper to court for calling him a racist on their front page.
John Terry was found innocent in a court of law and senior judge Howard Riddle specifically ruled that he could not be called a racist.
As the slur on the Independent front page will damage John Terry's ability to attract commercial income he needs to crush the newspaper now - newspapers must not be allowed to print lies, however enthusiastic the headline writers might get.
Also in today's Independent John Barnes invents the new crime of "unconscious racism". Is this what Orwell called thought crime? Or is John Barnes just being an unconscious idiot?
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/john-barnes-john-terry-is-guilty-of-unconscious-racism-8182579.html
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Jeremy Paxman gave Jack Dromey MP a beating on Newsnight this evening
I am SO pleased Jeremy Paxman gave Jack Dromey MP a beating on Newsnight this evening.
In the second Newsnight report on the way unrestricted migration is destroying employment rights for the lowest paid in the United Kingdom, Jack Dromey simply sat back in his chair and in tones of false outrage repeated what the report had just told us, as if the mess was nothing to do with him or the previous Labour government up until 2010.
It was waffle of the most offensive kind, given the human cost of wage-undercutting.
The wages and conditions of the developing world are being imported into the United Kingdom, and no politician seems to have the courage to stop it.
In the second Newsnight report on the way unrestricted migration is destroying employment rights for the lowest paid in the United Kingdom, Jack Dromey simply sat back in his chair and in tones of false outrage repeated what the report had just told us, as if the mess was nothing to do with him or the previous Labour government up until 2010.
It was waffle of the most offensive kind, given the human cost of wage-undercutting.
The wages and conditions of the developing world are being imported into the United Kingdom, and no politician seems to have the courage to stop it.
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
JK Rowling talking about The Casual Vacancy
There was an interview this morning on the Today programme - JK Rowling talking about The Casual Vacancy, her new novel (for adults).
Apparently a council estate features in the book.
I hope it is not going to be a platform for chav caricatures.
You can hear the interview: http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9755000/9755001.stm
Apparently a council estate features in the book.
I hope it is not going to be a platform for chav caricatures.
You can hear the interview: http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9755000/9755001.stm
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Psychological over-compensation
A report issued today shows that over 65% of adults in Scotland are obese.
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/0040/00402630.pdf
Is it possible that a poor personal self-image among obese individuals in Scotland is leading to psychological over-compensation in terms of national self-aggrandisement, thus fuelling support for the SNP?
I suppose you would have to do a study on whether SNP party members tend to be more obese than members of other parties in Scotland.
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/0040/00402630.pdf
Is it possible that a poor personal self-image among obese individuals in Scotland is leading to psychological over-compensation in terms of national self-aggrandisement, thus fuelling support for the SNP?
I suppose you would have to do a study on whether SNP party members tend to be more obese than members of other parties in Scotland.
Monday, September 24, 2012
Tom Clark tells us that Labour is ten points ahead
Guardian leader writer Tom Clark tells us that Labour is ten points ahead of the Conservatives in a new poll http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/sep/24/labour-lead-tories-icm-poll
And yet that does not square with other evidence (not least my own straw poll surveys).
What can be happening here?
Possibly I am only talking to Tories and am getting a skewed picture of reality.
But this article by Rick Nye http://ricknye.tumblr.com/ indicates that a "spiral of silence" is obscuring the real intentions of voters.
Which indicates lots of people are publicly sympathising with the anti-cuts campaigns, but privately they intend to vote for austerity.
It makes sense from a self-interest point of view. If you have a job the last thing you want is economic risk-taking that might end in another downturn. Better to flat-line than take risks.
Selfish, self-defeating, self-limiting maybe, but I think it is how people are assessing the situation.
Why were the gates not opened for Andrew Mitchell
Dateline London on Saturday asked the question I would also like answered:
Why were the gates not opened for Andrew Mitchell last week when previously they were normally opened?
Was this some kind of work to rule? Was it some kind of demonstration? Was is due to poor training? (in which case who was responsible for the training?). Was it due to incompetence? Was there some kind of security justification? Was this some kind of bias against bicycles?
No-one seems to be asking these questions.
Update:
Have just broken off work to watch Owen Jones talking about the issue on BBC News 24. Perhaps the lights were in his eyes are he was blinking and gurning as he talked to Emily Maitlis. He is wrong to say that the police are powerless - the confrontation with Andrew Mitchell demonstrated that on that occasion the police held all the power (and seem to have used that power provocatively).
Why were the gates not opened for Andrew Mitchell last week when previously they were normally opened?
Was this some kind of work to rule? Was it some kind of demonstration? Was is due to poor training? (in which case who was responsible for the training?). Was it due to incompetence? Was there some kind of security justification? Was this some kind of bias against bicycles?
No-one seems to be asking these questions.
Update:
Have just broken off work to watch Owen Jones talking about the issue on BBC News 24. Perhaps the lights were in his eyes are he was blinking and gurning as he talked to Emily Maitlis. He is wrong to say that the police are powerless - the confrontation with Andrew Mitchell demonstrated that on that occasion the police held all the power (and seem to have used that power provocatively).
A great man hounded by a politically-inspired campaign
Sorry to see the news about John Terry.
He was a great man hounded by a politically-inspired campaign that had nothing to do with sport.
I have long suspected that the Kick It Out campaign is a front for a political movement that seeks to justify social engineering policies (the social engineering having a covert purpose of delivering votes to the Labour party).
Ordinary people should have nothing to do with this.
He was a great man hounded by a politically-inspired campaign that had nothing to do with sport.
I have long suspected that the Kick It Out campaign is a front for a political movement that seeks to justify social engineering policies (the social engineering having a covert purpose of delivering votes to the Labour party).
Ordinary people should have nothing to do with this.
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Afternoon
This afternoon I watched the film Seven Years In Tibet. I had forgotten what a good film it is. Probably one of Brad Pitt's best.
Also a reminder of what a fascinating culture exists in Tibet.
After the film, in the light that remained, I went for a drive to look at some medieval carvings in a local church.
The carvings show figures playing musical instruments, most of them very weird-looking. This one has a convoluted trumpet. The black wood has a plastic appearance that suggests it is bog wood (from a prehistoric forest submerged for millennia in a swamp and then dredged up in the medieval period - the wood was prized by our ancestors for its hardness and pliability).
Also a reminder of what a fascinating culture exists in Tibet.
After the film, in the light that remained, I went for a drive to look at some medieval carvings in a local church.
The carvings show figures playing musical instruments, most of them very weird-looking. This one has a convoluted trumpet. The black wood has a plastic appearance that suggests it is bog wood (from a prehistoric forest submerged for millennia in a swamp and then dredged up in the medieval period - the wood was prized by our ancestors for its hardness and pliability).
Verbascum thapsus or Common Mullein
Out of all our native wild flowers Verbascum thapsus or Common Mullein has the most beautiful foliage. The leaves are covered with a thick downy Trichomes so that they look as if they are made of velvet. The flowers are yellow and the plant is very prolific so don't let it loose in your garden!
Labour MPs calling people plebs
If I were advising Andrew Mitchell MP on PR I would be combing through digital media looking for examples of Labour MPs calling people plebs.
In just a couple of minutes I came up with Greg Pope, Labour MP for Hyndburn until 2010 (and government whip from 1997 until 2001), referring to Piers Morgan as a pleb:
http://www.blogminster.com/2010/03/22/celebrity-hate-meme/
I am confident there must many other examples as Labour MPs have just as much contempt for ordinary people as most other members of parliament.
There was Foreign Office minister Kerry McCarthy's Twitter outburst on a train against someone drinking lager and playing music too loudly (she wanted him killed - which is enough to get her arrested, whether she was joking or not).
In just a couple of minutes I came up with Greg Pope, Labour MP for Hyndburn until 2010 (and government whip from 1997 until 2001), referring to Piers Morgan as a pleb:
http://www.blogminster.com/2010/03/22/celebrity-hate-meme/
I am confident there must many other examples as Labour MPs have just as much contempt for ordinary people as most other members of parliament.
There was Foreign Office minister Kerry McCarthy's Twitter outburst on a train against someone drinking lager and playing music too loudly (she wanted him killed - which is enough to get her arrested, whether she was joking or not).
Saturday, September 22, 2012
We work well together - the past week at work
Monday
I got up at 5am this morning after hardly any sleep, my limbs aching so much that I wondered if I had 'flu.
Cold as I went out to my car (the days are cold in the mornings, cold in the evenings, with warm sun in the middle).
Train to London, and eventually I arrived at an hotel just off the Strand, gloomy and mostly empty of people. Downstairs to a hall holding approximately a hundred people, the room pink and white baroque with stunning chandaliers. Hour long presentation on the economy, with an emphasis on Japan and China.
I stayed in the hotel for lunch (charged to the Institute) - vegetable lasagna, lemon brulee, two glasses of an indifferent white wine. I felt so weak that I had almost no appetite, and sat in the hotel for half an hour drinking one cup of coffee. Eventually I left the hotel and walked along the the National Portrait Gallery, but did not have the energy to go around the building and just moved from one bench to another before giving up and going home.
Tuesday
A long weary sleep that did not refresh me at all. As I was shaving my nose began bleeding (a sign I think of high blood pressure). All of the day I had a very slight headache and sore throat.
When I arrived at the office I wrote a one page report on yesterday's economic briefing and was called into Director Vijay Singh's office to discuss it.
Hundreds and hundreds of e-mails which took me an hour to clear (only reading those I was absolutely obliged to, deleting all the ones where I had just been copied in).
Main task of the day was writing a supplement to one of the Institute's most popular reports. The tight deadline has eased somewhat, which is a relief. My illness (whatever it was) made me feel sorry for myself.
Wednesday
To London again and Head Office. I had arranged to borrow Carol Reynolds' desk for the day, located on the second floor. I knew many of the people on the floor, so it did not seem strange to be working there.
There was no computer on the desk (Carol Reynolds uses a laptop) so I could not access my files. Also the 'phone was blocked so I could not dial out. None of this mattered as I was in Head Office for a day of meetings and just needed somewhere to base myself while waiting.
Meetings at 10am (planning the conference presentation), 12 noon (membership), 2pm (the editorial meeting, which went very well).
At the end of the afternoon an informal meeting with Terry Solomon in fund-raising.
Thursday
Carol Reynolds was at the Institute, mainly to discuss the conference presentation (a join event between Carol's department and the Institute). She also went into the Reading Room downstairs and consulted several reports, the first visitor for several weeks (this lack of readers is a worry to them - if they are not used they will be axed). I have good relations with Carol Reynolds and we work well together, although I realise it would be unwise to trust her.
Later I drafted a discussion document for the afternoon meeting and e-mailed it to everyone.
The meeting began with a "working lunch" but the sandwiches were so nasty I could not eat them.
Carol Reynolds and myself gave an outline on the presentation for conference. The usual muttered snide remarks from around the table. I showed mock-ups of the literature we will give out at the presentation. Lots of pointless huffing and puffing about whether there was time to do a survey in time for the conference. Because of the current chaos in the Admin section Vijay Singh asked me to take charge of the catering for the event (it is being held at lunchtime, and the theory is that we will get a bigger audience if we offer free food). The meeting came to an end at 3.30pm.
Friday
I only worked in the morning as I had taken the afternoon as holiday.
The offices were almost empty, so many people being out.
All I really did was write my report for the monthly review meeting on Monday.
Vijay Singh rang me and we had a long pointless discussion on whether Alec Nussbaum should be invited to our presentation at the conference. I said it was fairly safe to invite him as he is likely to be so busy at the conference it was extremely unlikely he would be able to attend. Vijay Singh seemed reassured by the argument.
I got up at 5am this morning after hardly any sleep, my limbs aching so much that I wondered if I had 'flu.
Cold as I went out to my car (the days are cold in the mornings, cold in the evenings, with warm sun in the middle).
Train to London, and eventually I arrived at an hotel just off the Strand, gloomy and mostly empty of people. Downstairs to a hall holding approximately a hundred people, the room pink and white baroque with stunning chandaliers. Hour long presentation on the economy, with an emphasis on Japan and China.
I stayed in the hotel for lunch (charged to the Institute) - vegetable lasagna, lemon brulee, two glasses of an indifferent white wine. I felt so weak that I had almost no appetite, and sat in the hotel for half an hour drinking one cup of coffee. Eventually I left the hotel and walked along the the National Portrait Gallery, but did not have the energy to go around the building and just moved from one bench to another before giving up and going home.
Tuesday
A long weary sleep that did not refresh me at all. As I was shaving my nose began bleeding (a sign I think of high blood pressure). All of the day I had a very slight headache and sore throat.
When I arrived at the office I wrote a one page report on yesterday's economic briefing and was called into Director Vijay Singh's office to discuss it.
Hundreds and hundreds of e-mails which took me an hour to clear (only reading those I was absolutely obliged to, deleting all the ones where I had just been copied in).
Main task of the day was writing a supplement to one of the Institute's most popular reports. The tight deadline has eased somewhat, which is a relief. My illness (whatever it was) made me feel sorry for myself.
Wednesday
To London again and Head Office. I had arranged to borrow Carol Reynolds' desk for the day, located on the second floor. I knew many of the people on the floor, so it did not seem strange to be working there.
There was no computer on the desk (Carol Reynolds uses a laptop) so I could not access my files. Also the 'phone was blocked so I could not dial out. None of this mattered as I was in Head Office for a day of meetings and just needed somewhere to base myself while waiting.
Meetings at 10am (planning the conference presentation), 12 noon (membership), 2pm (the editorial meeting, which went very well).
At the end of the afternoon an informal meeting with Terry Solomon in fund-raising.
Thursday
Carol Reynolds was at the Institute, mainly to discuss the conference presentation (a join event between Carol's department and the Institute). She also went into the Reading Room downstairs and consulted several reports, the first visitor for several weeks (this lack of readers is a worry to them - if they are not used they will be axed). I have good relations with Carol Reynolds and we work well together, although I realise it would be unwise to trust her.
Later I drafted a discussion document for the afternoon meeting and e-mailed it to everyone.
The meeting began with a "working lunch" but the sandwiches were so nasty I could not eat them.
Carol Reynolds and myself gave an outline on the presentation for conference. The usual muttered snide remarks from around the table. I showed mock-ups of the literature we will give out at the presentation. Lots of pointless huffing and puffing about whether there was time to do a survey in time for the conference. Because of the current chaos in the Admin section Vijay Singh asked me to take charge of the catering for the event (it is being held at lunchtime, and the theory is that we will get a bigger audience if we offer free food). The meeting came to an end at 3.30pm.
Friday
I only worked in the morning as I had taken the afternoon as holiday.
The offices were almost empty, so many people being out.
All I really did was write my report for the monthly review meeting on Monday.
Vijay Singh rang me and we had a long pointless discussion on whether Alec Nussbaum should be invited to our presentation at the conference. I said it was fairly safe to invite him as he is likely to be so busy at the conference it was extremely unlikely he would be able to attend. Vijay Singh seemed reassured by the argument.
Friday, September 21, 2012
John Tully, Metropolitan Police Federation, has just appeared on BBC News talking about the Andrew Mitchell issue.
Storm in a teacup on a slow news day?
Or is it more serious.
Is the provocative behaviour of the police at the gates of Downing Street any different from the provocative behaviour of the police towards Ian Tomlinson? Different in degree perhaps. But not different in principle or in provocation (over-cocksure police thinking they can push people around).
I have to go out so I will not be able to see Owen Jones discussing the subject on Sky News - it is possible he will use the opportunity to raise the issue of the way the police treat BME people.
Storm in a teacup on a slow news day?
Or is it more serious.
Is the provocative behaviour of the police at the gates of Downing Street any different from the provocative behaviour of the police towards Ian Tomlinson? Different in degree perhaps. But not different in principle or in provocation (over-cocksure police thinking they can push people around).
I have to go out so I will not be able to see Owen Jones discussing the subject on Sky News - it is possible he will use the opportunity to raise the issue of the way the police treat BME people.
Bullying from petty jobsworths
I'm afraid I cannot get very worked up about Conservative Chief Whip Andrew Mitchell's altercation with the Downing Street police last night (he is supposed to have called one of them a "pleb").
How many of us have suffered bullying from petty jobsworths who on a whim suddenly decide they are going to make life difficult, not through any emergency requirement but simply because they want to demonstrate their own personal superiority.
Recently I have had a wheelie-bin left by the Council rubbish collectors because it was "too heavy" even though it was no different from any other week, contained exactly the rubbish it should contain, and was not even full to the top (and the rubbish department cannot define what "too heavy" means).
Recently when picking up my brother from the pub late at night I was followed by a police car all through the town, during which I was careful not to go over 30 miles an hour, and as soon as I left the 30 mile per hour zone the police car stopped me because I was driving "too slowly" (I had slowed down wanting them to overtake and leave me alone). Obviously they were hoping I had been drinking. This might seem a trivial incident but at the time I was furious that the police should try to make my life difficult for no other reason than I was driving through a town late at night.
So I am not surprised that Andrew Mitchell should lose his temper when the gates that are normally opened are suddenly, on a whim, not opened and he is told by some jobsworth that he would have to get off and walk round.
When are public servants going to accept that they are the servants of society, not the masters?
In the Twitter frenzy that has followed the pleb remark (no-one has yet called it plebgate) Owen Jones has been castigated for placing the pleb revolt in the Roman Empire period instead of the Roman Republic https://twitter.com/OwenJones84
Obviously this is a flippant remark, and should not be over-analysed but a few (flippant) thoughts occur to me:
1 Owen Jones goes on and on about his comprehensive school education, but no Independent school alumnus would have made such an elementary mistake (apologies if I have declined alumni wrongly but I went to a dumbed-down comp myself).
2 Owen Jones studied History at Oxford University - perhaps this error helps to demonstrate how over-hyped and bogus the Oxbridge hegemony is?
3 Owen Jones wrote a book on class, talks professionally on class, and helps to run a think tank devoted to class issues - and yet he cannot get even simple historical facts right (arguably you cannot fully understand the history of class without reference to the pleb revolt).
How many of us have suffered bullying from petty jobsworths who on a whim suddenly decide they are going to make life difficult, not through any emergency requirement but simply because they want to demonstrate their own personal superiority.
Recently I have had a wheelie-bin left by the Council rubbish collectors because it was "too heavy" even though it was no different from any other week, contained exactly the rubbish it should contain, and was not even full to the top (and the rubbish department cannot define what "too heavy" means).
Recently when picking up my brother from the pub late at night I was followed by a police car all through the town, during which I was careful not to go over 30 miles an hour, and as soon as I left the 30 mile per hour zone the police car stopped me because I was driving "too slowly" (I had slowed down wanting them to overtake and leave me alone). Obviously they were hoping I had been drinking. This might seem a trivial incident but at the time I was furious that the police should try to make my life difficult for no other reason than I was driving through a town late at night.
So I am not surprised that Andrew Mitchell should lose his temper when the gates that are normally opened are suddenly, on a whim, not opened and he is told by some jobsworth that he would have to get off and walk round.
When are public servants going to accept that they are the servants of society, not the masters?
In the Twitter frenzy that has followed the pleb remark (no-one has yet called it plebgate) Owen Jones has been castigated for placing the pleb revolt in the Roman Empire period instead of the Roman Republic https://twitter.com/OwenJones84
Obviously this is a flippant remark, and should not be over-analysed but a few (flippant) thoughts occur to me:
1 Owen Jones goes on and on about his comprehensive school education, but no Independent school alumnus would have made such an elementary mistake (apologies if I have declined alumni wrongly but I went to a dumbed-down comp myself).
2 Owen Jones studied History at Oxford University - perhaps this error helps to demonstrate how over-hyped and bogus the Oxbridge hegemony is?
3 Owen Jones wrote a book on class, talks professionally on class, and helps to run a think tank devoted to class issues - and yet he cannot get even simple historical facts right (arguably you cannot fully understand the history of class without reference to the pleb revolt).
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Each time the medical establishment sidestepped the question
Discussion this morning on the Today programme about drugs to treat Alzheimer's disease.
Three times presenter Sarah Montague asked two representatives from the medical establishment (one from a university, one from a big pharma company) whether relying on the large pharmaceutical companies is the best way to research and develop new treatments. Each time the medical establishment sidestepped the question. Evasive, misleading, intellectually dishonest.
Because of the high cost of developing a new drug the pharmaceutical companies will only (ONLY) develop drugs they can patent and sell at a profit.
They also have a vested interest to suppress and belittle research that shows the efficacy of low cost commonly-owned sources of new medicines.
There is an enormous body of anecdotal evidence, going back centuries and developed in all cultures and regions of the world, that shows plant-based traditional medicines can be used to treat a vast range of medical conditions.
This is belittled by the medical establishment as "herbal" medicine, or "alternative" medicine, or "quack science".
Because common plants are common, and grow everywhere, they cannot be patented.
The big pharmaceutical companies have no interest in researching these plants unless they can identify the active constituents, synthesise them, and sell the patented formula to the NHS.
Thus to take one example from many thousands, Sutherlandia frutescens (a plant found in South Africa) has an anecdotal history of being useful to treat some forms of cancer.
Medicines made from this plant will cost next to nothing.
And yet no pharmaceutical company is researching this possible cure for some forms of cancer.
They are not researching it because they cannot find a way to make money from it.
They would be seriously alarmed if Sutherlandia frutescens (or any other common plant) was brought forward as a cure for some forms of cancer as it would undermine all the expensive patented drugs they are already selling into the NHS.
Thus the pharmaceutical companies commission PR companies to alarm the general population with tales of untested medicines, and anyone interested in this body of medicine is ridiculed for "quack therapies" and "bad science" and people like Ben Goldacre write supercilious articles in the Guardian.
Obviously patients should not be given untested medicines.
However the real scandal is that the medical establishment is not researching and testing medicines from common plants with a history of efficacy, irrespective of whether money can be made from them.
Three times presenter Sarah Montague asked two representatives from the medical establishment (one from a university, one from a big pharma company) whether relying on the large pharmaceutical companies is the best way to research and develop new treatments. Each time the medical establishment sidestepped the question. Evasive, misleading, intellectually dishonest.
Because of the high cost of developing a new drug the pharmaceutical companies will only (ONLY) develop drugs they can patent and sell at a profit.
They also have a vested interest to suppress and belittle research that shows the efficacy of low cost commonly-owned sources of new medicines.
There is an enormous body of anecdotal evidence, going back centuries and developed in all cultures and regions of the world, that shows plant-based traditional medicines can be used to treat a vast range of medical conditions.
This is belittled by the medical establishment as "herbal" medicine, or "alternative" medicine, or "quack science".
Because common plants are common, and grow everywhere, they cannot be patented.
The big pharmaceutical companies have no interest in researching these plants unless they can identify the active constituents, synthesise them, and sell the patented formula to the NHS.
Thus to take one example from many thousands, Sutherlandia frutescens (a plant found in South Africa) has an anecdotal history of being useful to treat some forms of cancer.
Medicines made from this plant will cost next to nothing.
And yet no pharmaceutical company is researching this possible cure for some forms of cancer.
They are not researching it because they cannot find a way to make money from it.
They would be seriously alarmed if Sutherlandia frutescens (or any other common plant) was brought forward as a cure for some forms of cancer as it would undermine all the expensive patented drugs they are already selling into the NHS.
Thus the pharmaceutical companies commission PR companies to alarm the general population with tales of untested medicines, and anyone interested in this body of medicine is ridiculed for "quack therapies" and "bad science" and people like Ben Goldacre write supercilious articles in the Guardian.
Obviously patients should not be given untested medicines.
However the real scandal is that the medical establishment is not researching and testing medicines from common plants with a history of efficacy, irrespective of whether money can be made from them.
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