Further discrepancies: SAVING SYRIA`S CHILDREN

"A new video describing the alleged incendiary attack featured in the BBC Panorama programme Saving Syria`s Children contains a number of striking discrepancies with previous accounts and has gained millions of views on social media."

"Dr Hallam’s new account was posted on the Facebook page Now This Politics on 7 April."

"Dr Hallam’s new claim that the first victims of which she was aware were `ghoulish-looking children walking in` would ... appear to contradict the BBC’s footage of the event, her colleague on the ground and her own previous account..."

Read more: https://bbcpanoramasavingsyriaschildren.wordpress.com/2017/04/

"Published on 15 Feb 2017"

"Mike Robinson, Patrick Henningsen and campaigner Robert Stuart take a look at what is quite possibly the worst example of mainstream media fake news in history - the BBC Panorama documentary Saving Syria's Children."

Children and Social Work Bill is now law

More bad news for families:

"Reforms set out within the Children and Social Work Bill have now become law. The Children and Social Work Act 2017 became an act of parliament after receiving Royal Assent on 27th April 2017."

The Act includes provision about:

Corporate parenting and looked-after children:
A requirement for every local authority to publish
offer for care leavers, and provision of personal advisers to care leavers up to the age of 25.

The provision of information and advice to promote educational achievement in relation to previously looked after children.

Permanence provisions in respect of care and adoption proceedings in England and Wales. In respect of adoption, a duty to have regard to relationship with adopters.

Provision relating to the placement of children in secure accommodation elsewhere in Great Britain – namely Scotland. https://niromp.org/2017/04/28/children-and-social-work-act-2017/

Parenting isn`t rocket science

ID system is potentially intrusive

"Many people will be pleased to see the death of SNP plans to use the Scottish NHS Register to help collect income tax and verify the identities of citizens signing up for online government services. Doctors in particular will be relieved at the end of the risks that some patients may avoid registering with a GP, or feeling that their confidential relationships are compromised."

"However, Scotland still has the legacy of a potentially very intrusive national identity system that has grown up in a highly ad hoc manner and urgently needs an overhaul – perhaps even dismantling entirely. It may surprise people to hear that Scotland has a `national identity system`. If you looked for it on the statute books, you’d find nearly no mention of it at all. But the fact is that the key features of the widely disliked and now abandoned UK ID system, symbolised by the New Labour `Identity Card`, are shared by a parallel Scottish system."

"The UK ID system was deemed dangerous by campaigners because it had the clear intention of linking people’s personal information across government. The ID Card would be linked to a Unique ID number, which would be attached to every record about you in government."

"It would be trivially easy for a computer to search government records, and determine that you, Eric Blair, had got an average education, were currently unemployed, while appearing to stay at home more than was healthy for a job seeker and reading the wrong kind of library books for someone needing employment and training. From such `customer insights` New Labour hoped to target you with government `help`, and of course sanction you if you appeared to be avoiding your duties to the state..."

"The same kind of thinking appears to have been applied in Scotland."

Read more at: http://www.scotsman.com/news/opinion/jim-killock-put-privacy-first-and-id-system-can-be-a-boon-1-4426705

New legislation for Named Person expected in June

"Deputy first minister John Swinney made it clear in a statement to the Scottish Parliament ... that the Scottish Government will continue its efforts to bring the child protection measure into law."

"Last July, the Supreme Court ruled against the legislation, citing concerns about information sharing."

"However, crucially, in its judgement it confirmed that providing a named person as a point of contact and support for every child and their family would not breach human rights."

"Opponents, who had appealed to the court, claimed the ruling had holed the legislation below the waterline – and called for it to be completely sunk..."

"Swinney said: `The Scottish Government remains absolutely committed to the named person service as a way to support children and their families. It ensures early support is available for all families because it’s simply impossible to predict if or when they might need extra help`."

Read more at http://thirdforcenews.org.uk/tfn-news/named-person-laws-are-back-on-track#dtI7UH1wp1RYMDbc.99

In answer Lesley Scott, Scottish officer of the Tymes Trust, had this to say:

"We are already well down the early interventionist road that puts statutory duties on practitioners to interfere in the lives of families based on nothing more than their own subjective worries. Wellbeing as a basis for intervention offers the state a pseudo-scientific authority by which to enforce actions on families against arbitrary and subjective measures that fulfil the state’s objectives regardless of personal freedoms and rights."

"If the Scottish Government is being accurate in its claims of state guardians being voluntary and an entitlement then make it an opt-in service."

"Better yet Mr Swinney, scrap the whole thing and show the parents of Scotland that you truly believe they are the best people to raise their own children."

====================
Martin Crewe of Barnardo`s comments and there is an interesting response to his remarks after the article.

Read more at http://thirdforcenews.org.uk/blogs/snp-told-dont-tell-us-how-to-raise-our-kids#vTa7SDSYmK6z25Q2.99

A Robert Green update about Hollie Greig case

 
(That was a quick recap of the Hollie Greig case from 2012)

"Host Samuel William(s) helped to expose the corruption and abuse of power which started in the Aberdeen area and then spread throughout the UK."

===============

An update published from another source on 23 April 2017 shows that five years later Robert Green has not been silenced by imprisonment; and, like a terrier for the truth, hangs on and still pesters the Scottish authorities that would neglect a disabled child by covering up that girl`s abuse.

The sound quality is not the best but Robert does provide video evidence of letters that have gone back and forth to the Scottish government and their agents, as well as evidence of judicial corruption. 

View here https://youtu.be/fZqLx3RrBT4

Young Scot Enterprise paid £1million to IT company

[Mark Howarth, Scottish Daily Mail]

"A publicly funded charity has paid more than £1million to a company linked to one of its directors."

"Young Scot Enterprise (YSE) is at the forefront of promoting Scottish Government youth policy and is heavily reliant on taxpayers` cash."

"But the Scottish Daily Mail can reveal that for the past ten years it has been handing money to Edinburgh-based IT company Storm ID."

"Since 2007, the charity has paid the firm £1,142,370 for `website and media services`."

"Businessman Simon Wall is on the boards of the charity and firm - and owns a third of the shares in Storm ID..."

"YSE is `the national youth information and citizenship charity` aiming to offer those aged 11 to 26 `information, ideas and incentives to help them become confident, informed and active citizens`..."

"Eben Wilson, director of economic policy think-tank the centre for Democratic Prosperity said: `Where charities are funded by the taxpayer, we need a review of the rules on how contracts are tendered, awarded and paid for, and weaknesses addressed`."

"`Within the third sector, there is also a problem with sock-puppetry, where charities end up being paid by government to, in effect, echo their master`s voice`..."

Council contracts out more joined up care

"The council and Virgin Care have said that the contract aims to deliver a more joined up health and care system. Virgin Care’s business case document – which contains no explicit discussion of social work functions – mentions services having a single call centre, as well as creating integrated health and social care ‘hubs’ based around GP surgeries, but it is unclear as yet how these would work."

They will work by sharing adults` private data with the hubs.

Then the elderly, who are considered vulnerable enough to be taken advantage of, will be shuffled off to care homes and their houses sold in order to pay for their forced incarceration. This is how it will work.

Next stop will be the children.

"The LaingBuisson report is well worth a read. Its international comparisons reveal that nowhere else apart from England does the state look to contract out crucial assessments and decision-making about the safety and protection of children. The report also shows how much of children’s social services, such as children’s homes (66%), foster care (47%) and social workers (14%), are already provided through independent, largely profit-making, companies."

https://www.theguardian.com/social-care-network/2016/dec/12/laingbuisson-report-privatising-childrens-social-services

Madeleine - why the cover up ?

 

"The first film examines the movements of the initial suspect in the case, Robert Murat, both immediately before and after Madeleine was reported missing and attempts to shed light on whether he played a role in the cover up of Madeleine’s alleged death.

See here at Richplanet TV
  http://www.richplanet.net/starship_main.php?ref=237&part=1

Ways of making you think

`Cheeky` ruse used to advertise for surrogates in UK

 

"Britain's first ‘gay dads’, Barrie and Tony Drewitt-Barlow are not just charismatic advocates of same-sex marriage, but also of the often secretive world of surrogacy that allowed them to become parents..."

"Since they began building their family – five children by an assortment of egg donors and surrogate mothers, with triplet daughters planned soon – they have become the industry’s best known ambassadors..."

"Today, however, an undercover Mail on Sunday investigation reveals troubling questions about the methods and loopholes exploited by Barrie Drewitt-Barlow and his company the British Surrogacy Centre (BSC). We also highlight his abusive attitude to a vulnerable would-be mother and expose a lack of rigour in his company’s medical and legal vetting of a potential surrogate."

"Our shock evidence has persuaded some industry experts, notably Baroness Warnock, architect of Britain’s fertility legislation, that the way BSC operates is illegal and should be investigated..."

"The BSC`s vice-president admitted his company used a `cheeky` ruse to advertise for surrogates in the UK."

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4436130/The-gay-dads-getting-rich-rent-wombs.html#ixzz4fIPZ5v7W

A few Announcements

Vaxxed Facebook

There was another announcement about VAXXED on yesterday`s UK Column News. The location of the film will be put out on the day, 27 April 2017, it is to be shown in London in order to avoid harassment from government sources.

Brian Gerrish then gave some advertising time to the new Holliiegreigjustice website... The previous site was taken down, it would appear, by the Scottish government putting pressure on Google.  Gerrish wondered whether it was just a coincidence that the website got taken down within a couple of weeks of an election being called.

"Something in it? We don`t know."

"And remember that Portland Communications is the firm that Google is using to advise it; and Portland Communications headed up by a man previously very close to Tony Blair; so strong government connections. And go have a look at this website because on it it`s got an update of the trial - the Heather Capital trial - where huge amounts of money disappeared from a hedge fund and unfortunately that hedge fund was linked to Peter Watson of Levy & McRae solicitors, law firm, the very firm that started to threaten people in Scotland to get them to close down any sites talking about Hollie Greig; and of course the very man who phoned UK Column to attempt to pressurise us into dropping our reporting on Hollie Greig.  I`m pleased to say we never did."

"And we`ll also give this up and coming site some air time. This is Fresh Start Foundation and this is an initiative by Andy Peacher who`s been working extremely hard to expose child abuse over many years - a big event on Wednesday 3rd May. So that`s coming up at the Station Hotel, 1 Leonard Street in Perth."

"Get on the website and if you`re able to go to that, there`s some really excellent speakers and Andy and the other people there of course will be very glad to see you."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUQpwY1Ws8I&t=1379s

VAXXED coming to London soon

"Bio-terrorism is a much larger risk than a pandemic... Scientists say a fast-moving airborne pathogen could kill more than 30 million people in less than a year."

Bill Gates

"He likes to be vaccinating everybody around the world," says Mike Robinson from UK Column. "He`s mainly worrying about bio-terrorism ... So it`s all about ramping up the fear. He says that all these advantages in biology have made it far easier for terrorists to recreate smallpox which is a highly fatal pathogen where there is essentially no immunity remaining at this point."

"How could there be no immunity remaining at this point?  I thought smallpox had been beaten by vaccinations? ... "

"We`ll have to talk about this again Mike," says Brian Gerrish. "It`s because one of the excellent things that came out of our meeting was a pamphlet all about vaccinations."

"VAXXED is coming back to England to a West London venue which will be confirmed on the day. It is next Thursday, April 2017 between 7pm and 10pm." (Go to facebook page)

Bian Gerrish: "Can we just add to that Mike that for our overseas viewers , what better reflection of the state of Britain than to put out a film which is showing the dangers of widely used vaccinations. The British State is reacting so violently that you can only put out the location on the day. So this isn`t a third world country - the British government likes to talk about the Third World -  this isn`t Eastern Europe -  this is supposedly Theresa May`s Conservative democracy where if you try to tell the truth about the dangers of vaccines the government is going to bully and pressurise the venue to close down your showing of that film."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUQpwY1Ws8I&t=1369s

Crippling PFI contracts siphon off money from NHS

"NHS boards face paying back £10billion to firms for new hospitals that cost just £2billion to build under controversial private finance deals."

"The figures include the SNP’s own non-profit scheme which will see cash-strapped health boards paying back almost £2billion for hospitals worth less than £750million, the Sunday Mail can reveal."

"This year alone NHS boards will have to make repayments of £285million."

"Public-private partnership (PPP) schools have come under renewed fire after it was revealed last week 70 schools financed under the schemes in Scotland have defects."

"But the NHS also face a £9.7billion bill to pay for private firms financing, building and maintaining hospitals – some of which have been hit with a series of problems."

"Politicians and union leaders yesterday demanded the Scottish Government help to buy out crippling private finance initiative (PFI) contracts so the debt could be repaid at much lower interest rates..."

"Allyson Pollock, professor of public health at Newcastle University, said: `Most patients don’t know that a good proportion of the money that should be going towards their care is being siphoned off to bankers and shareholders, many of whom shelter their profits in tax havens`."

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/struggling-nhs-faces-crippling-bills-10234545

Improving lives for workless families

"A total of £30m has been set aside to boost the life chances of children in disadvantaged families by resolving conflict among parents, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has announced. The government wants to improve the quality of parental conflict provision across England."

"The money will go towards launching proven parental conflict provision in more local areas and improving the quality of family services already in place."

"Meanwhile, all local areas will be helped to train frontline practitioners in identifying parental conflict and referring families on to appropriate services."

"... An estimated 300,000 workless families are potentially affected by the issue. [There is no measure of the number of working families who are potentially affected by  the same issue and it must be wondered why !]

"The new initiative, set out in the government policy paper Improving Lives: Helping Workless Families... will work alongside the Troubled Families Programme to support local areas across England to improve the effectiveness of their family services..."

"The DWP said it will shortly be launching an opportunity for organisations to bid to deliver evidence-based work to reduce parental conflict in order to increase the supply of quality services available to local commissioners. ` Successful bidders will deliver help face-to-face for workless families using interventions which have been shown to make a difference to the quality of inter-parental relationships, and parents' ability to collaborate,` the policy paper adds." [Jobs for the boys]

http://www.cypnow.co.uk/cyp/news/2003446/government-launches-gbp30m-bid-to-improve-childrens-life-chances

As for resolving conflict between parents it will go the same way as the Troubled Families Programme: a great deal of opportunity for Social Services involvement and their partnerships, who take children away from their families, and little positive result for children who have been taken away :

"The report saw teams of intensive, low-caseload workers in the best position to help families ‘be converted to a new way of life’, much like being ‘turned around’ today. Despite this support, the report remained sceptical of cost-effectiveness, dwelt on the problems of defining ‘problem` families and the stigmatisation for families labelled as ‘inferior citizens`.."

"Despite numerous impressionistic local evaluations and the expansion of problem family policies across the country, it was only with the ‘rediscovery of poverty’ in the mid-1960s that they fell out of fashion."

"Unproven, anecdotal and written by advocates, ‘problem family’ evaluations are the clear precursor to the policy-based evidence which underpinned the ... Troubled Families Programme."

http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/the-trouble-with-the-troubled-families-programme-repeating-the-failed-attempts-of-the-past/

Children lured ahead of bus blast

Published on 19 Apr 2017

"Eyewitnesses to the bomb attack on a refugee convoy near Aleppo that killed dozens of children said the militants lured people out of the vehicles with snacks before the explosion, and also stopped them from escaping the blast site."

Family paid tribute to mum who died suddenly

"A family have paid tribute to a ‘beautiful, fun and loud’ mum who died suddenly last week."

"Kirsty Louise Olive, 26, was found dead at her flat in Harbour Way, Folkestone, at about 10am on Thursday after the emergency services rushed to her home."

"A police spokesman said: `Officers attended the property along with the ambulance service, where the woman was declared deceased at the scene`."

"`The death is not being treated as suspicious and the next of kin have been informed`."

"The fire service confirmed it was called at 10.40am and remained at the scene until just after midday. All emergency services had left the scene by 2pm and a report was prepared for the coroner."

"The young woman’s devastated mum, Donna Olive, said her family are still in shock."

"She said: `We don’t know exactly what happened but we think she took her own life`..."

"Donna said: `Kirsty had been under so much pressure from social services and they threatened to take her kids away`."

"But she had turned her life around, was working with [drug and alcohol] services, was going to her meetings, she was clean and she did everything for her kids."

http://www.kentonline.co.uk/folkestone/news/tributes-to-beautiful-fun-loving-123047/

Birmingham police force CHILDREN to ground at GUNPOINT

10/04/2017 News...

"Birmingham police force CHILDREN to ground at GUNPOINT."

"Shocking moment armed police point MACHINE GUNS at children in pyjamas as they are led from a house, forced to the ground and handcuffed after an incorrect tip off about a man with a firearm."

"Officers swooped on property in Birmingham following reports of man with gun. They led four young people from a house and laid them out on the road outside. With dogs and helicopter whirring overhead children were handcuffed on floor. Witnesses claiming one of the children, who were in nightclothes, was aged 12."

"Armed police were filmed raiding a home and leading out children at gunpoint before lying them on the road in handcuffs."

"Footage shows officers, responding to reports of a man with a gun, swooping on the property on Pretoria Road in Handsworth, Birmingham, at around midday."

"Officers, supported by dogs, lead the youngsters outside, one of whom was aged around 12, according to witnesses..."


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGIF2tuJ5a8　

Children`s ward closed to new admissions

"A ward at a children's hospital remains closed to new admissions after some patients tested positive for a highly infectious bug."

"The initial decision was taken by bosses at the Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow last week after cases of rotavirus were detected."

"NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said a fifth patient at the hospital has now tested positive for rotavirus, while four others have been found to have astrovirus, a separate bug with similar symptoms."

"Both viruses are `extremely common` among infants and young children , particularly if their immune system is compromised, the health board said."

"The ward in question has been closed to any new patients for the time being."

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/childrens-hospital-ward-glasgow-put-10249947

　

Chairman of Celtic Boys Club has been charged

"Gerry King, who has been chairman of Celtic Boys Club, has been charged in connection with historical sex abuse offences."

"Police Scotland have confirmed that a 65-year-old man was charged on 15 February and a report has been sent to the procurator fiscal."

"Mr King is a teacher at Glasgow's St Martha's Primary School."

"He has been suspended from teaching duties by Glasgow City Council pending the outcome of the investigation."

"There is no information to indicate that the charges relate to any alleged activities at the school."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-39595626

Family compensated because of resentful social worker

"Like many single mothers, teacher Sophie Baxter has sometimes found bringing up her four-year-old daughter Talia a struggle without a network of relatives nearby."

"Nevertheless, she impressed those who knew her with her devotion to her daughter`s wellbeing and development, taking the time to teach Talia to play the piano and ensuring she had a wide vocabulary."

June Barney social worker

"But when she came into contact with a `resentful` social worker in 2012, Sophie felt she was being `targeted` precisely because of those middle-class values and was devastated when her daughter was suddenly taken away based on false evidence."

"In a Kafkaesque case to terrify any parent, innocent facts were twisted and exaggerated, while everyday aspects of Sophie and Talia’s family life became, in the hands of social worker June Barney, 41, another weapon in a misguided campaign to wrest a child from her mother."

"Telling her story for the first time since being awarded a five-figure sum for being separated from her child, Sophie reveals how she was accused of being an overly pushy parent with an alcohol problem who had threatened to kill herself and her daughter."

"But none of this was true. In fact she was a dedicated, if anxious, mother who simply wanted to do the best for her only child."

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4415038/Too-middle-class-good-mother.html#ixzz4eVnkvhWe

Big Data in action: eleven charities breach data protection rules

"Eleven charities have been fined by England’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) for breaching data protection rules."

"The commission found many of the charities secretly screened millions of donors so they could target them for additional funds."

"It also discovered some traced and targeted new or lapsed donors by tracing information from other sources."

"And some traded personal details with other charities, creating a large pool of donor data for sale..."

"The ICO said that some of the charities had hired companies to profile the wealth of their donors, which was done by investigating their incomes, lifestyles, property values and friendship circles among other means..."

"Major charities including Oxfam, Cancer Research UK, The Royal British Legion and Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, Macmillan Cancer Support and NSPCC were among those fined a total of £138,000 for `serious breaches of data protection laws`..."

"The Charity Commission said: `The generous British public expect charities to safeguard their data and raise funds responsibly, and in return they donate in their millions`."

"`Sadly in these cases charities have not kept their side of the bargain. We are working with the charities concerned, the Information Commissioner and the Fundraising Regulator to ensure that any necessary remedial action is taken`."

Read more at http://thirdforcenews.org.uk/tfn-news/eleven-uk-charities-fined-for-breaching-data-laws#jYYZBZU4WPHY8MFL.99

Creating the elite

 

In the Guardian, Andrew Anthony writes about Alex Renton`s study of abuse at Ashdown House, "a boarding school that also educated Boris Johnson."

"Renton, and other investigators, estimate that as many as half of Britain`s private schools have harboured paedophiles in recent years. During the same period, historic cases of extensive teacher-pupil abuse have come to light, leading to a number of criminal cases and prison sentences..."

"As Renton shows, boarding schools were once seen as the first step to creating people fit to run an empire. That imperial self-justification has long been out of date, but something of its spirit lives on in the belief that removing children from their parents is the best way to prepare them for the rigours and demands of a fulfilling life."

"By the end of this thoughtful and sensitive indictment of one of the cornerstones of the British establishment, it’s very hard to conclude anything except that generations of children have been emotionally damaged on a truly shocking scale."

"That these people have often gone on to occupy senior positions  in politics, the military and the judiciary should, at the very least, give us pause for thought."

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/apr/10/stiff-upper-lip-secrets-crimes-schooling-of-a-ruling-class-alex-renton-book-review?

A monopoly on force

A `Dunblane` father is disgusted at proposal for a shooting range in Falkirk

"A father of a Dunblane massacre victim said he was `disgusted` a new shooting range in Falkirk is using real – deactivated – automatic weapons."

"Black Eye Reality is currently seeking a public entertainment licence from Falkirk Council to operate the range, which will allow customers of `all ages and abilities` to get their hands on rifles, pump action shotguns, Sig and Glock pistols and tasers, at Coasters, in Grangemouth Road. The firm’s website states it is the only shooting simulator in the UK using real converted weapons and similar systems are used to train police officers and military personnel."

"Doctor Mick North, who lost his five-year-old daughter Sophie in the 1996 shootings, heard about the Black Eye Reality shooting range through his work as a member of the Gun Control Network."

"He said: `I have to say I’m disgusted at the thought that anyone can take pleasure from this type of activity and that there are those who wish to make money from it. Looking at the pictures on their website it’s clearly being sold on the basis that people will get a kick from using real guns, and the presence of a child in one of the photos is particularly worrying`."

Read more at: http://www.falkirkherald.co.uk/news/dunblane-dad-s-fury-over-shooting-range-1-4418687

See also Dunblane: The unanswered questions

Transforming society

Suranya Aiyar

"War and Feminism:"

"Among various responses to my article last week on the dilemmas of a working mother, a young woman, a gender studies specialist, wrote me an irate response, including an article she had written in a newspaper for International Women's Day in which she called for women to start demanding more participation from men in the home and child care. One of her arguments was that teaching men to be nurturing would also transform us to a society that rejected war and espoused peace."

"Now, I'll go into her other arguments another time, but the high drama in the media about the alleged use of sarin gas by Assad in Syria, and Trump's apparent turn around from his earlier position of cessation of hostilities against Assad, made me think about this claim of feminism: the bringing of women out of the home and drawing of men into it as a `cure` for war, and the aggressive, violent `patriarchy`. "

"I often post about international affairs. I don't know about the patriarchy, but I do believe that Western society is aggressive, hierarchical and violent towards the rest of the world. So I follow international affairs both from interest and a sense of self preservation. As the citizen of a non-Western nation, I feel I need to keep my eyes firmly on the slavering Western dogs of war, which can be let lose on me at any time."

"But I hardly ever come across women, I mean lay-persons, not international affairs specialists, that follow international affairs. To be fair, I hardly ever come across men with more than a superficial interest in international affairs - but atleast they usually know the headlines of the day. The women, well, most college educated, self-proclaimed `feminist` women that I know, never read the paper at all."

"The thing is, that you can`t stop wars if you know nothing about them. Being a feminist, or educated, or `modern`, or financially independent - none of this is going to stop wars. In fact, so far as I can see, wars everywhere are led by the educated, the rich and the progressive peoples of the world; not by the uneducated or backward ones."

"The world has basically been at war now, the same war, since 9/11 - that's 16 years. 16 years! And none of the countries waging this war has changed the principles on which they have got country after country engaged in that war. Even though the stockpile of evidence that their basic ideas are utterly, tragically wrong is colossal - way bigger than the stockpile of chemical weapons that Assad would have had to have had to have gassed Idlib, but which, until the day before yesterday, everyone baying for his blood now, said he did not have."

"Trump's earlier position that regime change in Syria should not be the focus of the US policy there, was the most radical idea for peace in a world at war for 16 years. That's why it`s so important to understand - did Assad use chemical weapons, just when the US seemed on the verge of withdrawing its opposition to his regime, or was it a mistake, or, worse, was this a conspiracy by forces that want to perpetuate the situation in Syria?"

"So, yeah, I'm all for world peace too, like the feminists. But you can just forget about stopping wars by teaching men to coo at a baby. So far as I can see, the only people questioning the mainstream consensus on the Syrian situation are a few isolated men, who are also for world peace, like the feminists."

https://www.facebook.com/suranya.aiyar/posts/10155257202454359

Defects found at 71 more Scottish schools

"At least 71 more schools in Scotland were found to have similar defects to Edinburgh schools judged to be unsafe, a BBC investigation has found."

"Concerns were raised after 17 schools in the capital were shut following a wall collapse at Oxgangs Primary in January last year."

"Since then defects have been found at dozens of schools in 15 council areas."

"While most of the buildings have now been repaired, work on six of them is still to be completed."

"And fears have been voiced that there could be similar problems at other buildings constructed under public-private partnership (PPP) schemes like hospitals and care homes."

Panorama PFI scam UK

"Problems first came to light when hundreds of bricks weighing a total of nine tonnes were blown from a wall at Oxgangs Primary School in Edinburgh during Storm Gertrude..."

"Glasgow was the area where the most work had to be done, with 23 schools affected, including 22 built through PPP programmes and one under design-and-build..."

"Elsewhere, there were five in Aberdeenshire, four in Angus, five in Argyll and Bute, two in Clackmannanshire, three in Dundee, four in East Lothian, two in Fife, three in Inverclyde, one in North Lanarkshire, 10 in South Lanarkshire, three in Stirling and three in West Lothian... "

"Prof Alan Dunlop, a fellow of the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland and a visiting professor at Robert Gordon University, said the potential scale of the issue was `frightening`."

"He said: `The PPP financing process was not only used for schools, it was also used for hospitals and a number of public buildings, care homes, things like that. I'm wondering, if they found a similar problem in schools, are other things happening in other building type that have been used and building under PPP?`"

"Scotland`s Education Secretary John Swinney told the Good Morning Scotland programme that since the establishment of the Scottish Futures Trust in 2007, the construction methods used to build schools had changed and that no school built since then had suffered the defects associated with the previous system`."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-39580308

Mm Mm...

Even if true, Mr John Swinney, and by true I mean that buildings are designed differently now -  safer now in fact  - that does not address the financial scam, does it?

Public private partnerships (and their derivatives) have a very interesting history and are being pushed by the United Nations in the interests of the world`s population we are led to believe.

It`s another lie.

There are so many.

See http://alicemooreuk.blogspot.co.uk/2016/04/public-private-partnerships.html

The fracking insanity

Judge rules baby`s life support can be switched off

 

"DYING Charlie Gard’s heartbroken parents screamed `no` and sobbed as a judge decided his life support can be switched off to let him `die with dignity`."

"Devastated Chris Gard and Connie Yates broke down as they lost their battle to keep the eight-month-old, who has a rare genetic condition, alive The Sun reports."

"The couple, from west London, said the youngster should be sent to the US for experimental treatment that could extend his life."

"But judges at the High Court went against their wishes on Tuesday — instead ruling his life support machine can be turned off."

"The couple said they were `devastated` by the decision and were struggling to understand why the judge didn’t give him the `chance of treatment`."

"Medics at Great Ormond Street Hospital had argued it was time to stop providing treatment for little Charlie and move him onto a palliative care routine."

http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/parenting/babies/charlie-gard-case-court-decides-doctors-can-withdraw-babys-life-support/news-story/217a06659dbd85b3746eeb7ff70519c4

Youngsters held at gunpoint in Birmingham

"West Midlands held children at gunpoint in a Birmingham house after reports of a man carrying firearms at the property. No weapons were found and no arrests were made."

Trial for online assessments to be carried out in Highlands

"Children with conditions such as depression and autism could get help more quickly via online psychiatric assessments, it has been claimed."

"The use of a secure, computerised system for young people and their parents or guardians is being trialled in the Highlands and Finland."

"Leading the trial is a team from the University of Aberdeen."

"It said online assessments could offer a service in an area of health care with few staff and a heavy workload."

"The trial will involve four broad categories:
Anxiety, depression, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, phobias
Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder
Autism, Asperger's syndrome
Oppositional and conduct disorders"
"The University of Aberdeen said there were also other conditions to be considered, such as schizophrenia."

"During the trial, which will take place in the NHS Highland region, 50% of patients will receive the new Development and Wellbeing Assessment system and 50% will receive the current method of treatment."

"After meeting with their GP, parents involved in the trial will be given a set of codes to log into the secure computerised system where they will answer a series of interview questions."

"The interviews would involve parents alone, or with their child and their child's teacher depending on the age of the child."

"Once the interviews are completed, the resulting information will then be passed to a child psychologist who looks at a computerised summary of the data and makes a diagnostic assessment."

"Prof Philip Wilson, head of the University of Aberdeen's Centre for Rural Health said: "This is an important trial to test a new service which could ultimately lead to a slicker, more thorough and effective system for psychiatric referral for children and young people."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-39518546

So what has the Named Person been doing? Was it not to stop parents getting the run-around and put services swiftly in place for the child ?

Well according to this article they haven`t been doing that.

It always was a piece of nonsense because there are less services than ever due to austerity cuts.

This is about the data. If they can`t get it one way, they`ll get it up on the cloud another way. And that just isn`t safe for children.　

Scottish government drops controversial id scheme

"Open Rights Group welcomes the Scottish Government’s decision to drop proposals that would have paved the way for a national ID register in Scotland."

Executive Director Jim Killock said:

"We are delighted that the Scottish Government has listened to the concerns of Open Rights Group and our supporters. If these plans had gone ahead, Scotland would have introduced a national ID database that would have tracked Scottish citizens through the public services they use. This would have fundamentally changed the relationship between Scottish citizens and the state..."

"The Scottish Government announced the original plans in a consultation that took place in early 2015. The proposal was to use the NHS Central Register to verify personal details as people started to use `myaccount` online government services, and to tie people’s details to the single identifiers in the NHS system as well as the Scottish UCRN (Unique Citizen Reference Number)."

"If the proposals had been adopted, the UCRN would tie people’s data across 120 other Scottish public bodies – including Glasgow Airport, the Royal Botanical Gardens and the Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd.. Scottish residents could then be tracked across all their interactions with public bodies, including your benefits, bus pass travel or library usage."

"After ORG raised awareness of the proposals, over 200 of our supporters made submissions to the consultation. Liberal Democrat and Green MSPs also voiced their concerns and asked questions of the Scottish Government in relation to the proposals."

https://www.openrightsgroup.org/press/releases/2017/scottish-government-drops-controversial-id-scheme

Special schools use dangerous restraints

"Hundreds of children have been injured while being physically restrained in special schools, according to figures obtained by 5 live Investigates."

"Some youngsters were pinned face-down on the floor, while others were strapped into chairs..."

"Beth Morrison from Dundee launched a national campaign after her son Calum sustained injuries at his special school while being restrained."

"She said she became worried when her son came home from school with bruising on his arms and spots on his chest consistent with haemorrhaging caused by being restrained."

"The GP said there was some indication of positional asphyxia - such injuries are often seen in victims of strangulation - which was `very, very serious`."

"She says she was later told by an expert that the particular haemorrhaging on his chest could mean Calum had been held face-down, in a prone restraint."

"The former care minister, Norman Lamb, has previously called for the technique to be banned in care settings, describing it as `dangerous`."

"Dundee Council told the BBC it was cooperating fully with a police investigation, and wouldn't comment on specific allegations until that has been completed."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-39530915?ocid=socialflow_twitter&ns_mchannel=social&ns_campaign=bbcnews&ns_source=twitter

The fake curriculum

"Learning and teaching are at the heart of an effective curriculum. We now know much more about how children and young people learn and it’s imperative that we all understand that how we teach is as important as what we teach."

"Establishments will have an increased focus on the science of learning, including  multiple intelligences, how the brain works,
critical thinking skills, gender in education and different learning styles."

http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=12231

So says Gasgow City Council Education Services [2009] and time is proving them wrong.

"Teaching children according to their individual `learning style` does not achieve better results and should be ditched by schools in favour of evidence-based practice, according to leading scientists."

"Thirty eminent academics from the worlds of neuroscience, education and psychology have signed a letter to the Guardian voicing their concern about the popularity of the learning style approach among some teachers."

"They say it is ineffective, a waste of resources and potentially even damaging as it can lead to a fixed approach that could impair pupils’ potential to apply or adapt themselves to different ways of learning."

"The group opposes the theory that learning is more effective if pupils are taught using an individual approach identified as their personal `learning style`. Some pupils, for example, are identified as having a `listening` style and could therefore be taught with storytelling and discussion rather than written exercises."

"The letter describes that approach as `one of a number of common neuromyths that do nothing to enhance education`. It is signed by Steven Pinker, Johnstone family professor of psychology at Harvard University; Dorothy Bishop, professor of developmental neuropsychology at the University of Oxford; and leading neuroscientist Prof Uta Frith of University College London among others." 

Read more https://www.theguardian.com/education/2017/mar/12/no-evidence-to-back-idea-of-learning-styles

Father loses battle at Supreme Court

"In Scotland there are no fines for parents who take their children on holiday in term-time. But the Scottish government advises that schools will not normally give a family permission to take pupils out of school for holidays."

"It is up to education authorities to decide sanctions for persistent truancy."

"Likewise in Northern Ireland term-time holidays are considered unauthorised absences but there are no fines. Parents who come before the courts for absenteeism are those who have allowed their children to truant over a long period."

"In Wales families are allowed up to 10 days of term-time holiday at the head's discretion. In January Huw Lewis, the education minister for Wales, wrote to councils saying it was wrong to tell head teachers to ban all term-time leave."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-36277836

Complaints about autistic boy being bullied not investigated

"David Wright, former Head of Schools at Edinburgh Council, began a five day hearing with the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) yesterday."

"He faces allegations that he failed to investigate complaints and even lied to a family in a bid to protect his colleagues."

"It was revealed at the hearing that Mr Wright’s daughter was the head teacher’s business partner during the alleged incidents."

"And if the charges are found proven, he may be struck off and banned from the profession."

"The charge states that between September 2010 and June 2011, the parents of an autistic boy made seven complaints to their son’s school, all of which were referred to Mr Wright for investigation."

"The complaints include allegations of `inappropriate handling of Pupil A by members of teaching staff` and `bullying and discrimination of Pupil A by the head teacher`. "

"The first witness to be called at the hearing, held in Edinburgh, was the child’s father who remained anonymous for legal reasons. "

"He gave a statement claiming that on one occasion, the head teacher at his son’s school `dragged him through the school`."

"He also alleged that another teacher `pulled his son from under a desk as he clutched onto the table legs`."

"The father said that he spent four months asking for an `informal` investigation to take place - but nothing was done to get to the bottom of the allegations."

"It was only after submitting Freedom of Information requests that he found out the school was `deliberately withholding` documentation and reports."

http://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/education/autistic-boy-was-dragged-through-school-by-headteacher-1-4071804　

Hundreds of disabled children are being injured at school

"Hundreds of disabled children were injured in schools while being physically restrained, an investigation has found."

"Pupils were pinned face down on the floor, strapped into chairs, suffered broken bones and one had their head covered with a `spit hood`, according to 5 live Investigates."

"There were around 13,000 restraints resulting in 731 injuries in Britain over the last three years, according to a Freedom of Information request by the programme."

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/15212958.More_than_700_disabled_children__injured_in_schools_while_restrained_/

"Data from the Scottish Government confirms that the number of pupils with additional support needs has vastly increased. In 2016, 170,329 pupils (24.9% of all pupils), were identified as having additional support needs and 95% spent at least some of their time in mainstream classes. In 2011, the overall number was 98,523."

"The increase over those five years is 73%. It is hard to see how it is possible to ‘Get it Right for Every Child’ when so many children now have identified needs, and schools are operating within austerity budgets."

"We are also concerned about the lack of resources for professional development and training, which ASN teachers wish to undertake so that they can better meet pupils’ changing needs. Schools lack funding for CPD courses or to cover the cost of supply staff to enable release from the classroom of teachers wishing to undertake relevant professional learning."

"The cuts in staffing resources also mean that ASN teachers have busier workloads and less time to complete incident reports, which can mean under-reporting of violent incidents. We also have concerns about the reduction in educational psychological services."

[The Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS)]

http://www.parliament.scot/S5_Education/General%20Documents/20170222ESASNSubmissions.pdf

What`s wrong with the Named Person ?

"Published on 6 Apr 2017"

"Highlights of What’s wrong with the Named Person? an event in Dundee chaired by Dr Stuart Waiton. Speakers included Lesley Scott of Tymes Trust, retired paediatrician Dr Jenny Cunningham and independent social work consultant Maggie Mellon."

"Recorded: 30th January 2017, Dalhousie Building, University of Dundee"

Child care professionals have seized children on the run

"A Mum has been arrested on suspicion of abduction after she went missing with her sons for 11 days."

"Samantha Baldwin, 42, sparked a massive manhunt when she vanished with her kids, Louis, nine, and six-year-old Dylan ..."

"The kids are now in the care of child care professionals, Nottinghamshire cops said..."

"Shortly after she went missing, two women, aged 62 and 36, arrested on suspicion of assisting Samantha ... were released on police bail..."

"Meanwhile Samantha`s supporters set up a Justgiving page that the mum-of-two is a `kind and caring person`."

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/3267965/samantha-baldwin-arrested-two-children-found-safe-disappearance-nottingham-latest/

"Friends and supporters of Samantha Baldwin raised more than [£3,000] to help with her legal fees when she is found."

Read more at http://www.devonlive.com/fundraising-page-to-help-on-the-run-mum-samantha-baldwin-closed-down/story-30248799-detail/story.html#wzHDMFCcg9U7EbT1.99

Unfortunately, it is going to take a wee bit more than £3,000 to get the children disentangled from the state which has an endless amount of taxpayers` money to throw at the situation.

Being hunted by a whole nation is no small thing. The question is, why did such a traumatising event in the lives of these children get started in the first place and what is going to happen to them?

Hollie Greig supporters tackled by Google

BBC News

"I just happened to catch this little bit at the bottom," says Brian Gerrish on UK Column News: "This is what it said: `Europe is now the hub for child abuse content` and I was fascinated that the story which is essentially about the abuse of children is now pushed sideways into the category of technology. It`s nothing to do with children being abused, it`s simply to do with what is circulating on the internet and we should be concentrating on what`s circulating as if the content is not actually child abuse. It`s a fascinating piece of spin and propaganda by the BBC and I found it deeply offensive particularly as this is going on in the background."

Google to tackle terrorists online

"Now just a reminder here that we`ve had a lot in the news that Google and Facebook and other social media providers are going to tackle terrorists and extremists online. So we`ve just chosen the Telegraph article here but what they`re saying is: `Google and some of the world`s biggest internet companies agreed last night to create new technical tools to identify and remove terrorist propaganda in the wake of the Westminster terrorist attacks`."

"So this is all Google doing good work to protect the public and the Guardian here: `Amber Rudd showdown talks with tech firms on extremism are pure PR`. Well the Guardian is being a bit more cynical. It`s saying that `meetings between UK government and Facebook are more ritual than battle as they avoid subjects that both parties disagree on`... tax is obviously an important thing - more important than cleaning up the internet."

"Well, we were informed over the weekend of this, and the information is that the holliegreigjustice.blogspot has been taken down by Google. It was taken down on the evening of 31 March 2017. Apparently, no reason has been given and the site itself has had 1.7 million ordinary views and 5 million google + views."

"So what is the holliegreigjustice site about? Well, of course, it`s about justice for Hollie Greig and in striving for justice for Hollie, striving for justice for all other survivors of child sexual abuse. So we find it interesting that Google has suddenly turned its attention to this website... Remember that the focus of this is on Hollie on the left hand side and the mother Anne and of course Robert Green who`s been to prison twice trying to achieve justice for Hollie. So we wondered why Google would suddenly get tough on child abuse extremists."

"Well the good news is that there is a replacement site up at the moment but it`s very thin on the ground and I know that the people working behind the scenes are desperately trying to get ... the content they had previously up, but this is causing them some problems."

"Now one of the questions that`s been raised - it`s speculation but I think it`s very interesting speculation - is what would have caused Google to take this action? And our attention is turned to these letters which Robert Green`s MP David Mowat has actually been sending out. There`s three of them, and this gentleman has stood up to be counted on behalf of Robert and let`s have a look at what these letters say."

"So basically, the first one is to the Permanent Secretary of the Scottish government and it says: `Mr Green my constituent recently came to see me to discuss a number of issues and during the discussions he made reference to the fact he had requested copies of correspondence from your office and that not only had this been denied but that no satisfactory explanation had been provided as to why his request had been declined`."

"And then the letter says well `I am therefore asking you, if you will tell me why the material has been denied and why you have made this decision`. Now for an MP to do this, that`s a lot of weight behind Robert Green`s original request..."

"So we`ve got another letter here. It says that `I understand that the aforementioned constituent has been in recent communication with your office in order to secure the transcript of a case in which he himself was involved. I understand that Mr Green has subsequently been provided with a transcript as per his request. However, Mr Green has advised that the transcript is incomplete and that a section of the proceedings which he feels particularly significant to his case has been excluded from the text and so Mr Green is asking for that to be provided - and they are being asked why this has been excluded."

"This is the key tape from one of the court cases that Robert Green went through. So the Procurator Fiscal in Scotland is now being asked to provide the tape which Robert Green has been attempting to get and we say again this is really marvellous to see an MP standing up to be counted and now asking himself."

"Right well ... let`s just bring this up... well this is a question being asked on the website that basically on the 4th December 2009, Google got a letter from the Scottish government legal representatives threatening to take down the site. That was overcome but what the website supporters are saying is that in 2017 they may have done the same thing again."

"So the inference is that the letters that have been sent to the Scottish government have been so dangerous that the response has been for the Scottish government to contact Google."

"Now there is another letter and this is probably the key one because of course what we`ve got here is Mr Mowat writing to Nicola Sturgeon and what he`s saying is that his constituent Robert Green has come to see him and pointing out that the Scottish child abuse inquiry has now had a number of individuals resigning and surprisingly the Scottish government has simply replaced them with one individual and how can that possibly work?  How can you take an investigation which was supposedly going to have a team of people working and then you simply replace it with Lady Smith?"

"The aforementioned constituent has been in contact with me over a number of years and keeps me abreast of his endeavours to secure justice for Hollie Greig. I understand that he has written to you on a number of occasions regarding this and related matters. However the purpose of my writing to you today is in respect of the Panel that has been set up for the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry."

"Mr Green recently came to my office to discuss a number of issues and during our conversation he mentioned that of the three persons originally appointed to the Panel: Ms Susan O`Brien QC, Professor Michael Lamb and Mr Glen Houston, all have now stepped down from the inquiry. I understand that the first two cited interference from the Executive as their reason for so doing."

"However, my concern is not so much that all three of the panellists have determined not to continue in post; albeit that this is not a particularly helpful state of affairs, my concern relates to the fact that three panellists have all been replaced with a single person; Lady Anne Smith."

"Given the important work that this inquiry is required to undertake it does seem rather unorthodox to appoint a single person to take matters forward, when initially it was considered necessary to appoint three people to share the load. Furthermore given that Lady Smith was nominated to post by Mr John Swinney MSP, a member of your Executive Team; does this not open the Executive up to potential challenge?  As such it would appear to me to be a risky strategy to pursue."

"So the inference is that these letters have upset the Scottish government and particularly Nicola Sturgeon... to such an extent that they`ve called upon Google to take down the whole of the history which of course has been up on that website about the Hollie Greig case. I think there may well be some merit in this because obviously the Scottish government has been prepared to act and attack Robert Green in particular every time he started to make headway with questions about the Hollie Greig case."

 

"Now just for completeness: I spoke to Google media team this morning [3 April 2017] and followed up with this email simply saying `We understand that you`ve taken this website down. Please confirm that. But also is it correct that this `take down` action is at the behest of the Scottish government? So we sent that email off just before we became live. We haven`t had a response yet but it`s going to be extremely interesting to see what Google says."

"So Google, publicly tough on terrorists, but behind the scenes the inference seems to be that if you get too close to criminal activity at the government level you`re going to be taken down as well."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvAmhhldGic