Greek Irony

Wind farm cables triggered huge wildfire in Greece

The blaze began on Friday morning near Agios Vasileios in the Boeotia region at a site known as Mavro Spithari.

Greek authorities have arrested two people after investigators concluded that sparks from electricity cables linked to a private wind farm ignited a major wildfire that has been burning for three days west of Athens...

A similar incident involving the same network occurred only weeks earlier, about 100 metres from the current ignition point, burning around 60 acres before being contained.

Straitjacket

Education secretary vows to undo Gove’s ‘straitjacket’ school reforms

Education Secretary Lucy Powell says schools are stuck in a “straitjacket” of academic prioritisation, hindering children’s potential.

She has announced a review into whether teaching adequately prepares pupils for their futures, signalling a move to undo reforms implemented by Michael Gove.

Writing in The Times, Ms Powell said: “The one-size-fits-all approach simply doesn’t suit all children. For some it’s become a straitjacket. A straitjacket that has left too many being branded a failure — again and again — instead of being able to realise their potential.”

She intends to take a “fresh look at what we are teaching our children and whether we are equipping them for their lives ahead” as part of efforts to reverse Mr Gove’s education policies.


We have a review of course, but we we also have Michael Gove as the Tory to blame. To go with that we have a "one-size-fits-all approach" as the approach to blame even though this has been the Fabian dealing-with-the-plebs approach for over a century.

We also have the Freudian slip, a "straitjacket." That's another clue that more money will be needed, from you, via increased taxes, for the new straitjacket.

Oh yes - we also have a "fresh look at what we are teaching our children and whether we are equipping them for their lives ahead”, but that's just the usual sinister hint about taking a firmer grip on the approved political background to schooling.

Has 'laser-focused' been downgraded?

Mahmood ‘laser-like focused’ on securing UK’s border

The Home Secretary was touring the National Crime Agency’s offices in Stratford, east London.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said she was “laser-like focused” and will do “whatever it takes” to secure the country’s border, as she toured the National Crime Agency’s (NCA) offices in Stratford, east London.

Speaking to reporters on Sunday afternoon, Ms Mahmood said: “I think the most important thing that people need to hear from their Home Secretary is that I’m doing whatever it takes to secure our border.

“And that is what I’ve been absolutely laser-like focused on from the moment I became the Home Secretary, taking all of the measures that I know are needed in order to secure our border.”

As we know, under the Starmer regime, 'laser-focused' was the zippy metaphor for Ministerial determination to make something happen. 

It would be disappointing to find that 'laser-like focused' is the poor relation of 'laser-focused', akin to something such as pork-like sausages, milk-like coffee additive or meat-like pie filling.

Gosh - a Rachel Reeves script

John Healey vows to protect the public from price gouging

• Chancellor John Healey announced he will be closely monitoring for price gouging at petrol pumps and in supermarkets, as the war in Iran continues to affect prices.
• Healey conceded that the government ”can’t completely stop the squeeze” on families and businesses but signalled readiness to intervene against unfair price rises.

Reeves reveals plan to protect public from unfair Iran war price hikes

A crackdown on companies profiteering from the Iran war at the expense of millions of Brits is among cost-of-living plans announced by Rachel Reeves today.

The Chancellor vowed that the Government would guard against unfair price rises amid fears over surging oil and fuel costs sparked by Donald Trump’s conflict in the Middle East.

The Fabian Society's Goal

 

A headline and one of the comments

The unabashed socialist filling Andy Burnham’s mayoral shoes

There are only two really famous people from Burnage in Manchester, neither of them politicians. The suburb is the birthplace of Oasis’s Gallagher brothers, who put Manchester on the map in the mid-1990s, back when Andy Burnham was just another face in the crowd at the Hacienda.

Thirty years on, however, another Burnage resident is in the spotlight. Step forward, Bev Craig, the local Labour councillor who has replaced Burnham as Manchester’s mayor after his departure to Downing Street.



Scott Davies

Complete waste of time all these Mayoral offices, just another layer of useless government to add to the layer upon layer of district councils, local councils, city councils, county councils, PCCs, quangos, the civil service the government itself, committees.....all of it utterly useless. Just look at the state of the country. 

I use public transport in Greater Manchester and like public transport in the rest of the UK its a total shambles. I end up walking half the time or have to take a taxi.

It is a strange desire to seek Power

   

Men in Great Place are thrice Servants: Servants of the Sovereign or State; Servants of Fame; and Servants of Business. So as they have no Freedom, either in their Persons, nor in their Actions, nor in their Times. It is a strange desire to seek Power, and to lose Liberty; or to seek Power over others, and to lose Power over a Mans self. The Rising unto Place is laborious; and by Pains men come to greater Pains: and it is sometimes base; and by Indignities men come to Dignities. The Standing is Slippery, and the Regress is either a Downfall or at least an Eclipse, which is a melancholy thing. 

Sir Francis Bacon – Essays – Holt edition 1701