NHS cuts protest in Manchester: 50,000 join march. 29 September 2013Last updated at 12:55 ET Continue reading the main story Protesters started to gather from about 11:00 BST in Manchester city centre People travelled from around the country to attend the rally Protesters in fancy dress claimed "privatisation will be the death of NHS" Greater Manchester Police said it had made two arrests Continue reading the main story About 50,000 have taken part in a union protest against austerity cuts and NHS changes during the Conservative Party conference in Manchester.
The march, which set off from Liverpool Road at 12:15 BST, passed through the city centre and ended with speeches in Whitworth Park. Greater Manchester Police described it as one of the largest protests they had ever policed. The 2013 Conservative Party Conference started earlier at Manchester Central. Frances O'Grady, TUC general secretary, said: "Austerity is having a devastating effect on our communities and services, with 21,000 NHS jobs lost over the last three months alone.
Arrests. Tories remove Army cuts protesters from conference hall. 29 September 2013Last updated at 14:05 ET Colonel Ian Brazier left the hall with security after protesting about defence cuts Two retired soldiers have been ejected from the Conservative Party conference hall after heckling Philip Hammond over defence cuts. The pair were protesting at plans to axe the second battalion of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.
Joe Eastwood and Ian Brazier accused Mr Hammond of betraying the regiment. They refused to sit down when asked to do so by the defence secretary and were escorted from the hall by security guards. Mr Hammond promised to speak to the retired soldiers, but they told reporters they were not interested in meeting him. The planned closure of the battalion is part of the government's Army 2020 strategy to reduce the number of service personnel from 102,000 to 82,000. 'Soldiers betrayed' "My soldiers, the people I have had the honour of serving with, have been betrayed," he told reporters. Col Brazier said: "It won't be a defence force.
Michael Gove acts to block 'damaging' early GCSE entry. 29 September 2013Last updated at 13:59 ET By Angela Harrison Education correspondent, BBC News Michael Gove thinks early exam entry "damages" pupils Michael Gove is changing league table rules in England to try to stop schools from "gaming the system". The education secretary says schools encourage pupils to take GCSEs early so they can "bank" good grades - simply entering them for retakes if they fail.
Under the changes, only the first attempt will be counted in future league tables. Mr Gove said early exam entry damaged pupils. Head teachers said the plan was "grossly unfair" to schools and pupils. They raised concerns that schools will be under intense pressure to change their exam entry plans when courses are already under way. In the league tables, schools are measured on how many pupils score between an A* and a C in certain subjects, with maths and English being especially important. Mr Gove has said before that the practice of entering pupils for exams early can damage their education.
On egalitarianism and feminism | The Alethiophile. I’ve pondered long and hard about whether to write on this subject. In fact, the first draft of this post was started in November 2011, but it got shelved, along with several others that I may dust off and heavily edit sometime. I do not write this to antagonise or offend, but rather to clarify my thinking, communicate that to you coherently and hopefully prompt you to think. I doubt all will agree with me and indeed, you are welcome to disagree with me in constructive debate in the comments if you so wish. In trying to be clear, I have not tried to keep this short, so I apologise that it is quite a long read.
I hope you’ll find it worthwhile. The problems in writing on the subject Though I write this blog pseudonymously, it is no great secret that I am a man. Even if we can agree that the answer is ‘yes’, can any aspect of feminism be critiqued without being dubbed “anti-feminist”, “sexist” or “misogynistic”? I am also conscious of the need for precise wording. My position and semantics. Egalitarianism and Feminism – a response | Rev'd Claire. My friend The Alethiophile blogged On Egalitariansim and Feminism, and then did it again, and was kind enough to ask for my comments on his essay.
It should be noted that his piece was two years in the writing, this response has been thought about for around a fortnight. I’d like to have a think about power. However scared we are as Christians to admit it, in every relationship there is a sharing of power, whether that relationship is organisation to organisation or between individuals. The way the power is shared alters the relationship. One of The Alethiophile’s concerns was the praising of the suffragettes, women who banded together to try to right an obvious imbalance of power.
But in effect, the First World War removed so many men from the Home Font that the balance of power shifted. I would love to be an Egalitarian. I’m not for a moment advocating violence against property or against people. Like this: Like Loading... We need to talk about talking about Rihanna. By Linnea Dunne // 17 September 2013, 21:13 The talking about Rihanna seems neverending. Everyone appears to have an opinion, and a need to vocalise it: she should put some clothes on; she should ignore people who tell her to put some clothes on; she should stay away from Chris Brown. What few people seem interested in talking about is her voice - shockingly few considering that's what she's famous for: being a singer. There's an assumption that Rihanna, being a public figure, has a responsibility towards us all. The singer has become a role model for young girls, and she should behave as such. That Rihanna is a singer and has done incredibly well as such, winning awards, selling millions of albums, making a bucket-load of money, seems an easily-forgettable fact.
There's nothing like a scapegoat to make people feel better about things: just someone, anyone, to blame for everything that's wrong with the world. Permalink. Defiant notes: The choir founded in Chile's detention camps. 10 September 2013Last updated at 19:51 ET By Katia Chornik University of Manchester The names of female political prisoners who were executed or disappeared are remembered in a rose garden at the former torture centre at Villa Grimaldi Anita Maria Jimenez is a Chilean music teacher and pianist. She was also an opponent of the regime of Gen Augusto Pinochet which took power in a military coup on 11 September 1973 and ruled Chile for 17 years. Continue reading the main story “Start Quote For us, singing was a form of resistance and defiance but also a way of reasserting solidarity... it was joy in the midst of so much pain” End QuoteAnita Maria JimenezMusic teacher and ex-detainee Her opposition landed her in three of the 1,132 detention centres where the military junta detained almost 40,000 political prisoners and subjected them to physical and psychological torture.
Arrested in April 1975, when she was 23 years old, she spent a total of 18 months in prisons in the capital, Santiago. He was 28. Photos du journal. Photos du journal. Afghan MP Fariba Ahmadi Kakar freed by the Taliban. 8 September 2013Last updated at 07:19 ET Ms Kakar's kidnapping was the first time a female MP was snatched by insurgents Female Afghan MP Fariba Ahmadi Kakar has been released by her Taliban kidnappers, the Taliban and Afghan officials say.
She and her children were abducted at gunpoint last month by insurgents in the central province of Ghazni on the main highway from Kabul to Kandahar. Officials say that she was handed over by the Taliban to local elders on Saturday night. She was reportedly freed in exchange for five Taliban fighters. Six family members of Taliban militants were also released, officials say. "The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan handed over with dignity the female Member of Parliament to her relatives in Ghazni province in the form of a prisoner exchange after four wronged women and their children were released by the Kabul government," the militant group said in a statement. Ms Kakar's kidnapping was the first time a female MP was snatched by insurgents. HS2 abandoned in favour of rebuilding Birmingham 10 minutes closer to London.
The Government has today called a halt to its proposed High Speed 2 rail link between London and the West Midlands and decided instead to spend the money on ‘moving Birmingham about 10 minutes further south’. ‘For the projected total spend of £43bn for HS2, we think it would be more cost effective simply to rebuild the whole of Birmingham a little closer to London,’ said Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin. ‘This would shorten journey times between London and Birmingham by the same amount as HS2, but would also have the added benefit of reducing the length of the M40, delivering a significant boost to the road haulage industry.’
Observers say that the planned relocation of Birmingham would free up thousands of acres of brownfield land where Walsall, Dudley and Sutton Coldfield currently are, permitting development of millions of new homes and kick-starting the construction industry. Based on an idea by NewBiscuit, with hat-tips to Titus, Arthur and beau-jolly. Indian diarist Sushmita Banerjee shot dead in Afghanistan. 5 September 2013Last updated at 10:31 ET Ms Banerjee wrote a best-selling memoir about her life in Afghanistan An Indian woman, who wrote a popular memoir about her escape from the Taliban, has been shot dead in Afghanistan by suspected militants, police say. Sushmita Banerjee, who was married to an Afghan businessman, was killed outside her home in Paktika province. The book about her dramatic escape in 1995 became a best-seller in India and was made into a Bollywood film in 2003.
Ms Banerjee had recently moved back to Afghanistan to live with her husband. A senior police official told the BBC's Jafar Haand that Ms Banerjee, who was also known as Sayed Kamala, was working as a health worker in the province and had been filming the lives of local women as part of her work. Police said Taliban militants arrived at her home in the provincial capital, Kharana, tied up her husband and other members of the family, took Ms Banerjee out and shot her. 'Taliban interrogation' Ramtopsgrum : Folks. Activism works. English... Syria crisis: UK draws up contingency military plans. 27 August 2013Last updated at 11:27 GMT The Syrian government has denied using chemical weapons and blames rebel fighters The UK is drawing up contingency plans for military action in response to the suspected chemical weapons attack in Syria, Downing Street has said.
No 10 stressed any action would be "proportionate", lawful and follow agreement with international allies. David Cameron will also announce later whether Parliament is to be recalled, amid growing pressure from MPs. A chemical attack is reported to have taken place on Wednesday near Damascus, killing more than 300 people. Syrian rebels say the Assad government was responsible, but Syria's foreign minister Walid Moualem said on Tuesday this was a "total lie" and accused the US of using it as an "inaccurate excuse" to intervene in the two-year military conflict in the country. 'International law' Mr Cameron has returned to London, having cut short his summer holiday to deal with the crisis.
Continue reading the main story Analysis. Mean and Meaningless Bedroom Tax Must Go | Seeking the Welfare. On Saturday I ran into a woman on the estate who has lived here for 20 years. 20 years of building and participating in community She raised her children here. She made her closest friends here. It’s here she’s served on the Community Association. It’s here where she volunteers at the local cafe four days a week, enabling the estate’s pensioners to have a place to meet together and eat affordable meals. She’s a pillar of her community, well-known and much-loved. But she lives with her youngest son in a three bedroom house. Which means that because of the Government’s Spare Room Subsidy (popularly termed ‘Bedroom Tax’), she needs to move into a smaller property or face paying an extra £14 a week. A discretionary housing payment is tiding her over until she finds a two bedroom place. All those friendships at risk. All those volunteer hours needing replaced. And a 10-year-old who faces the real threat of being relocated away from his friends and into a new school.
It is a policy that is mean. Steve Bell taking lessons from Tony Blair – cartoon. Photos de English Disco Lovers (EDL) Photos du journal. So, What’s It Going To Be? Well, here we are. It’s been two years of fighting, over 100,000 people are dead, there are no signs of this war ending, and a week ago I used chemical weapons on my own people. If you don’t do anything about it, thousands of Syrians are going to die. If you do something about it, thousands of Syrians are going to die. Morally speaking, you’re on the hook for those deaths no matter how you look at it. So, it’s your move, America. What’s it going to be? I’ve looked at your options, and I’m going to be honest here, I feel for you. So, where do I begin? Now, let’s say you’re okay with that, and you decide to go ahead with, oh, I don’t know, a bombing campaign. Okay, what else? Oh, and I know some of you think a no-fly zone will do the trick, but we both know you can’t stomach the estimated $1 billion a month that would cost, so wave bye-bye to that one, too.
Moving on. I suppose you could always, you know, not respond with military force at all. I’ll leave you with this: I am insane. Thinking Big and Failing Hard | A Reflex Anglican. A couple of interesting pieces from Christopher Booker in the Telegraph. I know for a fact that Old Jeb is livid about the idea of a badger cull. He’s been living off badger roadkill as his only source of animal protein for years. Says the last thing he wants is some fool killing off his favourite food. Jeb says he learnt to prepare and cook squashed badgers from his dad, Old Zeb.
Interesting character, Zeb. But I was more interested in Booker’s views on HS2, and his comparison of it to Edward Heath’s idiotic scheme to build an airport island in the Thames Estuary, What is it about politicians that they have to go for the big and the stupid schemes, rather than the small effective ones? HS2 is a ludicrous scheme. So I’d like to draw the parallel between HS2 and Syria.
And then there’s HS2. Bikes in the sky, that’s what. People, it seems pretty clear to me. Like this: Like Loading... 5 Interesting Facts about Women and Religion by Kile Jones | Feminism and Religion. Part of my research is focused on how the social sciences relate to “religion” and religious studies. More specifically, I spend time examining the sociology of religion. I look at stats, demographics, and polls.
I look at rates of attendance, frequency of prayer, levels of “religiosity,” apostates (or the less religiously-loaded term “exiters”), and political outlooks. I also look at how bias this area of study is in favor of religion. One facet of this work that has always interested me, is the differences in “gender” and “sex” as they relate to religious beliefs and observances. 1. In the literature and stats this notion is quite frequently cited. From Pew Forum 2. Norton and Tomal point this out in an excellent article on religion and female educational attainment.
From Wikimedia 3. Surprise! From the Global Peace Index 4. From PRRI 5. 10-12% of Senior or Sole Ordained Leaders are Women This may not shock you, but it certainly is interesting. From the National Congregations Study. Altered Images: New twist in scandal that rocked charity. Photos du journal. Syria conflict: 'Chemical attacks' near Damascus. The representation of Egypt in the Western media is completely wrong.
He World Is Fucking Insane — Health & The Future. Open Response to The Sun - No More Page 3 | Wandering Duck. The NHS: free and caring or a market commodity? Dr. Terence Ascott: Understanding the Present Situation in Egypt - Crossmap Christian News | Church & Ministries. Five things George Osborne doesn't want you to know about the economy. Happiness index shows 'small improvement' in 2013, ONS says. We are all Wonga now: Joining Welby's war on usury – Opinion – ABC Religion & Ethics.