Indy journos send coded messages to Rod Liddle
The Independent today has a wonderfully nice article on the Victoria era nurse Mary Seacole. It reports that the memorial to Crimea’s black nurse is in danger.
There’s no particular news hook to the story other than…
Now, five years down the line, the Mary Seacole Memorial Statue Appeal is still struggling for money. The fundraising total is £50,000, a long way short of the estimated £400,000 it will cost to complete the project.
The article adds:
Beloved by the soldiers, who called her “Mother Seacole”, her reputation soon rivalled that of Florence Nightingale, who worked in a hospital several miles behind the front line. After the war ended, she Seacole was awarded four medals including the Crimean Medal and the Légion d’Honneur, in recognition of her courage.
When she returned to London bankrupt and ill, a charity gala was held for her over four nights attended by more than 80,000 people. In 1857, she published her memoirs, The Wonderful Adventures of Mrs Seacole in Many Lands, an instant bestseller. She died in 1881 at 76, and was buried in Kensal Green in north-west London.
Over the years, her memory faded from public view, and her grave was neglected until 1973; it is now restored. The Crimean War Memorial, erected in central London in 1915, included a statue of Florence Nightingale but not one of Seacole. To this day, there is not a single statue dedicated to a named black woman anywhere in the UK.
You might think, ‘well that’s a nice story‘….
But those fond of reading between the lines may also know that Mary Seacole is a particular obsession of Rod Liddle, and not in a good way either.
When he started blogging at the Spectator Rod Liddle was infuriated that she was given so much attention, saying:
For the educationalists, Mary Seacole was one of the two most important figures of the century, solely and utterly because she was black.
Political correctness gone mad innit? What did Mary Seacole actually do??!??!?
He kept coming back to the topic of Mary Seacole, later writing a whole blog posts titled:
Changing your name to Seacole will eradicate your inner racist.
And there have been numerous other times too.
In light of his candidacy for editorship of the Independent, one cannot help thinking his own journalists are trying to send him a message.
Exclusive: Campaigners advising Cameron compares NHS to “Nazi” system
contribution by Zarathustra
Nurses for Reform have been featured on Liberal Conspiracy before. They’re a campaigning group with links to the libertarian Adam Smith Institute and ultra-conservative Heritage Foundation think-tanks.
Last month they met with David Cameron to discuss their ideas, which included wholesale privatisation of the NHS, the scrapping of national pay agreements for health workers and nurses being given brands like consumer products.
The idea of competing brands of nurses (None of yer manky Tesco nurses working in our hospital. We only use Sainsburys nurses) might sound daft, but this weekend Nurses For Reform crossed the line from silly to downright offensive.
Their leading spokesperspon has been strongly implying the NHS was created along Nazi principles.
continue reading… »
Even Mail readers think Cam poster backfired
The Daily Mail also put in the knife to Cameron today with a story gleefully reporting that many of his airbrushed posters across the country had been defaced, asking, “surely be regretting his poster campaign by now”.
It went on to point out that a poster of Cameron in the county town of Hereford had been defaced to make him look like Elvis.
It added:
The £500,000 advertising campaign has been heavily criticised amid claims Cameron was air-brushed for the nationwide poster.
…
The poster in Hereford has been happily admired by passers-by. Locals have been laughing and taking pictures of the billboard while posing next to it.After visiting Hereford for the day, Joanne Williams, 29, from Worcester, said: ‘I can’t believe people did this. I was horrified at first but now it makes me smile every time I see it. I don’t know how on earth he got up there.’
The newspaper polled its own readers to ask: ‘Has David Cameron’s poster campaign been an own goal?’
So far 63% have said yes.
[hat-tip Ellie Gellard]
In praise of Alan Duncan
I have no idea yet whether Alan Duncan is an asset or a liability to the cause of penal reform, but he certainly appears to be an ally, and is the author of two cracking soundbites:
Ms Crook wrote: ‘Alan Duncan said that the slogan “prison works” was repulsively simplistic. Anyone in politics should work to improve society and there was no more useful target than offenders.’
[...]
Ms Crook added: ‘He said, “Lock ’em up is Key Stage 1 politics.”’ Key Stage 1 is the first part of the primary-school curriculum studied by children as young as five.
To which the Mail has helpfully editorialised:
Suggesting that an old-style tough Tory approach to crime is worthy of a five-year-old will infuriate the party’s grassroots activists.
Well, if they’re going to act like five-year-olds…
continue reading… »
Is Murdoch planning to sell The Times?
A tweet by the Vanity Fair columnist Michael Wolff yesterday evening sent off a huge rumour mill.
Rumor making its way around London banking circles: Murdoch’s Times and Sunday Times up for sale. Stay tuned.
Makes sense that Murdoch might sell his money-losing London papers ’cause nobody at News Corp thinks pay wall will make a difference.
And again later the same night:
Would appreciate any further intell on rumor of Murdoch sale of London Times and Sunday Times. Working on it today.
Rather predictably that tweet was re-tweeted endlessly and will now have hacks scrambling to find out more.
Wolff is no stranger to Murdoch, having written a major article on the media mogul recently for Vanity Fair. He is also the founder of Newser.com.
Whether there is more to the rumour or not will no doubt be revealed soon.
The Times is a loss-making newspaper, partially subsidised by the Sunday Times.
How important is class for the Left?
In responding to John Denham’s speech last week on class, Chris Dillow said this on his blog:
…how could anyone have ever thought that class wasn’t important, or that race and disadvantage were the same?
To cut a long and tragi-comic story short, I fear the answer originates in the Left’s reaction against orthodox Marxism in the 1980s. Inspired in part by Hobsbawm’s essay, the Forward March of Labour Halted? (pdf), many on the Left gave up on the idea of the working class as a revolutionary force, and looked instead to what they called “new social movements”: women, blacks and gays (yes – to many the three were somehow homogenous!)
He then goes on to list three disastrous effects it’s had: a privileging of identity politics over class; the belief that government should get involved in everything; giving us a target-driven bureaucratized public sector which is plundered by “consultants”.
While I share concerns about the second and third issues, I want to discuss the first one. What frustrates me about Chris Dillow’s post is that while many on the Left instinctively support identity politics: they don’t seem to know why, or the thinking behind it.
continue reading… »
Watch: footage from EDL riots in Stoke
Seventeen people were arrested at an English Defence League (EDL) rally in Stoke-on-Trent yesterday after trouble broke out between the EDL and the police.
The video above, brought to our attention by Watching With George blog, also features a policeman being attacked by EDL supporters.
Video above via ‘A Very Public Sociologist‘ blog – who has a full account of what happened.
According to Tony and Mike of local Stoke blog, Pits n Pots, the EDL’s mood turned ugly very quickly. Several attempts by the EDL were made to break through police lines – presumably to reach the anti-fascist mobilisation around the corner. The irony of an avalanche of missiles pouring onto police lines while an EDL banner bearing the legend ‘marching peacefully against extremist Islam’ fluttered in the background was not lost on bemused locals.
Meanwhile, the BBC reported:
Four officers were injured and vehicles were damaged when EDL supporters broke through police cordons. Two of the officers needed hospital treatment.
About 1,500 EDL supporters were at the rally in Hanley on Saturday to protest about Islamic extremism, police said.
Top diplomat: Iraq war lacked legitimacy
The invasion of Iraq was legal but of “questionable legitimacy” because the US and UK had failed to persuade other countries of the need for war, the then-British ambassador to the UN told the Chilcot inquiry today.
Sir Jeremy Greenstock said: “I regard our participation in the military action in Iraq in March 2003 as legal but of questionable legitimacy in that it did not have the democratically observable backing of the great majority of [UN] member states, or even perhaps of the majority of people inside the UK.”
Earlier, Greenstock told the inquiry that he had threatened to resign if the UN security council failed to pass a resolution on Iraq in the lead-up to the invasion.
He and others in the British delegation to the UN believed a resolution was “essential if any military action was to be regarded as internationally legitimate”.
Hasn’t the fiscal stimulus argument won the day?
At the end of 2008 a European challenge had emerged – cash injection or hands on heads.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy who voiced his aggravation with German Chancellor Angela Merkel for not implementing a measure of fiscal stimulus said, “While France is working, Germany is thinking.”
Merkel was actually remaining loyal to the “Stability and Growth Pact” (SGP), the purpose of which was to tune the euro so it would be able to compete with the US Dollar and strengthen the stability of the euro-zone.
Now, in January 2010 we might be starting to see some early signs of this European challenge. The UK has had a surprise fall in unemployment figures – which may have part-time jobs to account for.
continue reading… »
Shock! Global poverty and inequality falling
contribution by Nick Cowen
Via Tom Palmer and Marginal Revolution, we learn that global poverty is falling, is doing so fast, and much more so than previously expected. Equality is increasing as a consequence.
This is very cheering news, and it means far more for so many people in the world than all the news stories about bad laws, rapacious corporations, and even attacks on civil liberties. The story probably has countless more implications for human prosperity than climate change.
Yet while this is a moment of celebration for anyone who can appreciate that slowly but surely more people are having the opportunity to pursue their own happiness, news of this sort receives a rather muted response in all sides of the MSM.
continue reading… »
You can read articles through the front page, via Twitter or RSS feed. You can also get them by email and through our Facebook group.
» The real agenda behind Telegraph’s abortion investigation
» How Scotland Yard monitors prying bloggers and journalists
» When disabled people want to work – employers can hold the back
» Revealed: the reality behind Workfare and why it doesn’t work
» Job snob? No, I’ve got the T-shirt
» Why country-by-country reporting matters to our wellbeing
» If Unions want to become stronger, they need to modernise
» Why work “reforms” in Spain are a warning for workers across Europe
» Five things you need to know about the NHS bill
» Bigger. Fatter. Gypsier. More Racist.
» Laziness levels in Britain getting lazier, wails government
|
62 Comments 15 Comments 23 Comments 8 Comments 24 Comments 16 Comments 16 Comments 83 Comments 203 Comments 85 Comments |
|
LATEST COMMENTS » Chaise Guevara posted on The real agenda behind Telegraph's abortion investigation » TimJ posted on How Scotland Yard monitors prying bloggers and journalists » Shatterface posted on The real agenda behind Telegraph's abortion investigation » Cylux posted on The real agenda behind Telegraph's abortion investigation » pagar posted on The real agenda behind Telegraph's abortion investigation » pjt posted on The real agenda behind Telegraph's abortion investigation » nothingspecial posted on Workfare - what does the evidence show? » Chaise Guevara posted on How Scotland Yard monitors prying bloggers and journalists » Patron Press - #P2 posted on Workfare - what does the evidence show? » karl meyer posted on Workfare - what does the evidence show? » BevR posted on Workfare - what does the evidence show? » bob woods posted on Workfare - what does the evidence show? » Alex Young posted on Workfare - what does the evidence show? » malcolm posted on Workfare - what does the evidence show? » BevR posted on Workfare - what does the evidence show? |
