Monthly Archives: February 2012

Now it can be told: my experience of allegedly dodgy welfare-to-work company A4e

Schadenfreude It would be dishonest for me to pretend I am not experiencing a touch of schadenfreude at the recent revelations concerning multimillionaire Emma Harrison and her so-called ‘welfare-to-work’ company, A4e.  In 2003 I worked at two of their branches, … Continue reading

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Ten questions for election candidates

Scottish Local Government elections will take place on 3 May 2012. With this in mind I am suggesting that Occupy Edinburgh asks candidates some or all of the following questions and the answers used to decide which candidates to endorse. … Continue reading

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Caustic soda into the wounds: BBC unrepentant over platform offered to supporter of Pinochet atrocities

[This is No.5 in a series of blog posts on Paul Johnson’s statement on BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs that he admired Chilean mass-murderer General Augusto Pinochet because he ‘saved Chile from civil war’. You may read the others … Continue reading

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Of love, litter, ordure and Occupy (oh, and Bob Dylan’s alleged plagiarism) – Valentine’s Day musing

Infuriated/irritated by Radio 4 I must confess that I am a bit of a Radio 4 addict, although as anyone who has seen my recent postings on the Paul Johnson episode of Desert Islands Discs will know, this doesn’t mean … Continue reading

Posted in Philosophy, Politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Pickles is wrong: secularism is good for religion.

I am irritated by the current stooshie about Bideford Council in Devon being ordered to take Christian prayers off the official agenda of their meetings. Even Tory Communities Secretary, Eric Pickles has weighed in with his pennyworth.  I think any defender … Continue reading

Posted in Philosophy, Politics | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Another letter to BBC re Pinochet’s ‘peacekeeeping’.

[This is No.4 in a series of blog posts on Paul Johnson’s statement on BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs that he admired Chilean mass-murderer General Augusto Pinochet because he ‘saved Chile from civil war’.  You may read the others … Continue reading

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School for torture but no civil war? More on BBC allowing Paul Johnson to praise Pinochet unchallenged.

[This is No.3 in a series of blog posts on Paul Johnson’s statement on BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs that he admired Chilean mass-murderer General August Pinochet because he ‘prevented civil war’. You may read the others here: No.5, … Continue reading

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RBS poster campaign takes off!

I am delighted to report that since I wrote this blog piece, more RBS ATM posters have appeared, and the story has attracted the interest of a journalist.  The timing couldn’t be better as a Move Your Money campaign has … Continue reading

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Guest post: Kids ‘drugged up to keep the peace’ – teacher says Ritalin not answer to Attention Deficit

I recently Tweeted about this fascinating article, in which a psychologist argues that Ritalin and other drugs are not the answer to Attention Deficit Disorder, and that they have no long-term benefits. I subsequently received an unsolicited email from a … Continue reading

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A promotional video for Disruptive, the book that forms the basis for a child-abuse case against Notts County Council.

This is self-explanatory – enjoy!

Posted in My books/commissions, Synchrony Books, Videos | Leave a comment