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I was interested, yet dismayed, to hear today of the "Government Taskforce's" recommendations with regard to the social work "profession".
Same old same old. Nursing becomes a "profession", rather than a vocation and "the profession" becomes more interested in self protection/agrandisement than patient care. Precisely the same will happen for social work if these recommendations are implemented. Wasn't Shoesmith precisely the sort of "professional" whom this Taskforce is recommending?
All that the word "professional" really means is "paid for". Whereas, the phrase "vocational" implies a level of personal commitment and caring. I know which sort of person I'd prefer looking after me in my time of dire need!

Hi everyone, just wapping though...

"Newsnight reveals disturbing *new* evidence of the anti-Western thinking.." - I don't think so, Sonny Jim! see for example 'Blaming whitey' by Barbara Kay, National Post, September 13, 2006.

Good News for Barrie - 'What economists have dubbed the "nightmare scenario" for financial markets has grown more likely because voters are starting to feel more confident...'

Mixed news for Go1 - 'Lords, Billionaires and the Russian Connection'

No news for Lizzy/Celtic - ah! But! No news is good news! (And no bread is better than the best bread!)

ciao, Wapp.

Largely with you there puydedome #1

I saw an item on Breakfast this morning with a social workers panel, two of whom appeared no older than the 鈥榶oung鈥� parents they were assessing. And this link.



But it鈥檚 more complex. Everything in our modern topsy turvy lives is based on, for and around 'economics'. If you don't pay relatively well people will take better paid jobs in other professions. Leaving lesser mortals for hugely important jobs.

There is an argument for turning on its head the pay structures that capitalism supports. Not bankers, lawyers, business leaders, entertainers, sportspeople, artists on the top salaries, but the engineers, the manufacturers, and most importantly the nurses, the teachers, the law enforcers??

But then, how do you manage to get people in the for the 'vocational' aspect rather than the money. How many greedy bankers may actually have the skill set and character to be good social workers.

Most of all in these systems (education, welfare and health care, what is needed is

1) joined up thinking, action and communication
2) fewer levels of hierarchy and administration
3) less promotion from the factory floor to administration/management (rewards the shop floor for it's core output)
4) psychological profile testing of all applicants
5) age and experience (oh dear, that鈥檚 discriminatory!!!) in the recruitment process
6) Possibly all of the above three key 鈥榩rofessions鈥� should be Secondary careers.
7) In fact a lower age limit of say 30 for any of the key E,W & H) areas PLUS outside relevant experience.
8) Teachers who have experience of child rearing in reality; Midwives who have HAD a baby; Social workers who have dealt with death, long term illness, substance abuse, depression etc in their own family situations/lives.

Now I know that鈥檚 a bit too prescriptive and could mean losing out on some wonderful childless/spinster teachers etc, but it makes a point.

I still recall my two word response (one was off!) to the virginal midwife who shouted at me not to scream during a difficult labour.

But you know the biggest problem. For social workers at least, the GBP do not like busy bodies, so train them for years, bring in experience and wisdom, pay them 拢1m a year and they will STILL be seen as worthless interfering do gooders.

Solve that and we could be onto a winner all round

CONVINCING ENVIRONMENTAL CAMPAIGNER - CO2MORON OR OXYMORON?

Campaigning is to politicians and other zealots. Climate science is for rational minds and neutral presentation.

Have we been stung?

COMMERCIAL CARING (#1)

Well said puydedome. My title is another oxymoron, like 'banking service' and 'representative democracy'.

HUNG PARLIAMENT. A RESULT OF ALL WIMMIN SHORT LISTS? (#2)

Do I not like Wap! ONLY if we destroy the soulless party-ethos (and the soulless-party ethos) will governance take a turn for the better.

Let hung go hang. Hung depends on parties.

SPOIL PARTY GAMES

#22

You've raised some interesting points there about how it seems to be working in the production of Newsnight.

I've been saying it for a long time now that by and large my problem with the programme is not so much the presenters, but rather what they're being forced to do, what to present and how to present things, including, I suspect, having words literally put, I bet not quite infrequently, into their mouths. And on top everything what you call 'safe' I would also call 'stale'.

mim

i can understand why the pc brigade would be terrified over the minarets ban story.

i am happy now milliband has assured us 'there will be no confrontation with iran'. what a hysterical hothouse the FO must be these days when they feel they need to say such things?

the climate bunnies must be in a tizz. the ozone hole is repairing. oh no its going to mean more melting. Start spraying cfcs now to save the planet :)



meanwhile the media's favourite 'singer' booed out of Munich for a 'Nazi' song


just another day in the uk village.

COMPLAIN ABOUT THAT POST (#3)

By George you've done it brightyangthing. "Midwives who have HAD a baby". I'm off to the flak shelter.

I must ask you to consider your position, vis: far-too-reasonable. What about all the nice young men who want to be mid - er - Midexectives of Birthing? THEY HAVE RIGHTS YOU KNOW.

anyone remember when news [and tv] was psychedelic? which in analogy kind of fits with today's 'news'?

HHhmmm looks as though democracy doesn't work in Switzerland either!



They'll have to vote again, just like the Irish had to, why will these people not vote the right way?!

WE WEPT WE CRIED, WE DAMN NEAR DIED, PROFESSING WYNN WAS INNOCENT (#8)

Just a minaret! Did I hear the totally open and honest - Miliband D - declare the boat utterly free of political or military taint? Oh no!

I have posted before on the topic of Greville Wynne

In the 60s, HE WAS SO NOT GUILTY you would think Britain was 'The Land of Kevin'. (Oh - yes - it is.) We threw every tantrum in the book about his innocence. He was termed 'British Businessman' over and over. And those dastardly Russians, RUSSIANS MIND YOU, had the temerity to call him a spy.

Guess what . . . Anyone out there for believing Miliband D? He is Tony's man after all. WMD? 45 minutes? Rendition? Locherbie? Kelly? Cash for Peerages? I tire

do you think Sting will get his guitar out? I hope he is unplugged, him being a green and all that....

#11
Ecolizzy

Having read the article as per your link, it looks to me like there isn't going to be a second vote but rather the first will be rendered invalid by the Swiss courts. So, contrary to what you say, and I'm sorry to disagree with you, democracy does work in Switzerland. The referendum was held, people expressed their opinion, obviously fearing the spread of muslim fundamentalism, but thanks to the existence of the justice system and the Swiss listening to the opinion of other Western democracies, decided to re-examine the validity of that vote, probably on the basis of some constitutional point of law or something like that.

And, this issue is of a completely different nature than that of the Irish deciding of whether to join the European 'Lisbon' club or not but rather touching on an internal problem to do with of whether to allow builders build new buildings for the muslim community which already forms a part of the Swiss society.

mim

THE MENTAL CALIBRE OF THOSE WHO GOVERN (#11)

Made my day Lizzy (from your linked item)

"He said (Bernard Couchner) on French radio: 'I hope that the Swiss will go back on this decision rather quickly. It is an expression of intolerance, and I DETEST INTOLERANCE.'

Comedians all.

brightyanthing #3 - I understand where you are coming from in relation to midwives who have not experienced labour (or at least, as a male, I think I know where you are coming from. I would add though that of the midwives who attended the birth of our three children, the two who my wife preferred where childless albeit where in their 50s and very experienced. The other midwife had three children but instilled no confidence in my wife. Our children were all born at home and therefore having a midwife present whom you have confidence in was perhaps more important than usual. Going off on a bit of a tangent, one of the strange things about the way the NHS handles home births is that they are attended by community midwifes who may not have worked on a labour ward for years or may have spent a very short time working on the labour wards.

Anyway, on the Sting thing, I have no time for celebrities preaching at me to change my ways or donate money to charity. This is because (a) in many cases, they don't know what they are talking about (b) usually have a vested interestd in system status quo as it ahjs provided them with their wealth and status and (c) I find it hypocritical of wealthy celebrities to implore me to donate money or change my behaviour when they won't (presumably this is because in their view they are an exception). In short, the day that Sting promises to stop his air travel, renounces capitalism and gives away his wealth to the causes that he champions, is the day that I might start to listen to him. Even then, I probably won't. I would however be interested in listening to someone who is intelligent, knows his or her subject inside out and is not funded by some vested interest or another. The rant endeth.

CHAOTIC WEATHER-SYSTEM, THERE IS THY STING? (#16)

When you find "someone who is intelligent, knows his or her subject inside out and is not funded by some vested interest or another" ask them how to plot a graph of atmospheric temperature against CO2 content, will you? My (present) understanding is: 'chaos in - chaos out'.

#15
barriesingleton
do you revel in being so closely involved with the British/Russian spy network?
it looks like it's certainly helping you spend your retirement days in a rather unboring way /unboring - neoword/
if only you knew, however, the whole story
i suspect you don't really have the full insight into the whole thing
it's your life, however, who am i to start enlightening you

#14 Mim don't you get sarcasm after all your years of living here?! :/

iPlayer is a wonderful thing.

I can commend this programme in almost its entirety:

/iplayer/episode/b00p67m8/Panorama_Can_Tesco_Save_the_World/

(Though I think the end interview with Miliband. E might get Tom Heap sent to the naughty step).

But then we come to much more high profile greenocrisy...



Possibly why this particular Englishman is in New York?

#16 Ah, nedafo2 you live in a different age to me, give birth at home! Goodness you didn't do that in the seventies, I had a bloody great surgeon from Sierra Leone deliver one of mine. He was studying obstetrics so he could help the poor women and babies at home, which I thought an excellent idea.

IRONY IS COSE TO GOLDY - SARCASM IS CLOSE TO INIQUITY. (#19)

Ooh - you are awful - but I like you.

#3 byt

鈥漈here is an argument for turning on its head the pay structures that capitalism supports. Not bankers, lawyers, business leaders, entertainers, sportspeople, artists on the top salaries, but the engineers, the manufacturers, and most importantly the nurses, the teachers, the law enforcers鈥�

A substantial part of my career was in personnel research and remuneration, with Job Evaluation being a major tool in determining the pay scales for a series of jobs. J E systems commonly awarded points for a number of Key Factors at levels that the Job Description demanded; typical key factors being Education; Experience; Responsibility; Decision Making; Working Conditions, etc. Having determined the hierarchy of jobs, candidates would then be selected on the basis of their CVs indicating achievement of the required levels in each key factor, plus their performance at interview. Good employers also took account of track record, and some used aptitude testing.

Using these techniques, in the early days of London Boroughs (1960s) and overseas, it became obvious that jobs such as Nursing had been grossly undervalued, and this was corrected. Similarly the demand and supply of suitably qualified and experienced individuals for new job areas (eg I.T) caused distortions in the relationship between JE and actual pay offered.

In today鈥檚 world personnel management sciences, such as JE, have now been overwhelmed by other factors, notably employment legislation, multi-national companies, migration, mobility and mass media. We now have more leisure to indulge ourselves in entertainment and sport, manufacturing and engineering have been exported, and manual/menial jobs have been sidestepped by a benefits system, immigration and the obsession with higher education in which everyone has to aspire to at least a basic degree.

Greed in higher places (Bankers, Lawyers, MPs) is no longer concealed from the 鈥榳orking classes鈥� so we are indeed left with your question 鈥� 鈥淏ut then, how do you manage to get people in for the 'vocational' aspect rather than the money?鈥�

Finally, your 8 point 鈥榥eed鈥� list for jobs in E W & H involves DISCRIMINATION, which we all know is no longer permitted in this AGE of EQUALITY.
I would award you 8/10 for trying, with a bonus point for being female!

#20 Ha,ha, Junkkmale re your guardian link, you stung sting!

I think he has a new record out of cosy english folk song type cd, wouldn't be anything to do with selling that would it!

#21 ecolizzy I think you are right. My first daughter was born at home in 1965, even though we lived in the country it was mandatory if no complications were expected.
I well remember the typical middle-aged dragon of a midwife arriving in the customary Morris Minor, because she proceeded to rollock me soundly as I had taken 2 days off work 'to help' but had turned off the water supply in order to make good use of my unpaid leave by rebuilding the kitchen.

They don't build them like that now - motor cars, midwives, or handymen.

This is the kind of idea I admire... a simple way forward. I don't expect Sting has anything like this on his many acres of land.

And where's the solar power hob to cook by for the third world poor? Then the forests would be left alone, and so improve every creatures lives.

And where's the wave power energy capture equipment for our reliable tide twice a day?

Nah a windmill costs 3 million, someones got to make a bucket of money out of being green!

Oh and while I'm at it, there's only 50 Siberian tigers left in the wild, yup that's right 50! We have a lot to answer for on that poor number, shooting tropies!

Ah Jaunty
- World in Action- Nantucket Sleighride- Moby Dick

/blogs/newsnight/fromthewebteam/2009/11/newsnight_and_newsnight_review.html

Answers to the connection

Ecolizzy - the home birth bit was not my choice. I just wne along with what my wife wanted. Her logic was that she doesn't like hospitals and was concerned that therw was a fair chance that there would end up being some intervention. Interestingly, after our children were borne, I did see some research which suggested that labour can be stalled in many cases where women leave their home and venture into the relatively unfamiliar surroundings of hospital. This in turn can lead to medical intervention. This was one of my wife's fears.

There are drawbacks to home delivery. You have limited supplies of gas and air. First time round, my wife ran out of the stuff before the critical end bit; second time round, she was so concerned about running out of it that she hardly used it; and third time round it all happened so quickly, the midwife did not have time to set it up. I'm glad I am not a women.

VIVE LA DIFFERENCE.
#23 II
I was a resident of Brent in the 60's/70's. Went to school with Britains first black female councillor (I think) with the very appropriate first name of Merle. Oh, and Maxine (and Glenn) Nightingale. Off topic but what the heck.

Can't find much to disagree with there, except perhaps
'....I would award you 8/10 for trying, with a bonus point for being female!'

Still it's better than getting 5/10 as a bloke!

I DEMAND my human right to be DISCRIMNATORY is not abused!
(Not sure why a friend of mine (male) sometimes calls me Atilla. I take it as a compliment - which really hacks him off!!)

I do NOT want EQUALITY. I want complimentary differences to be embraced and celebrated.

#28 Nedafo 2
It has been mooted that a way to halt rising world population would be to endow men with the necessary. Once would most definitely be enough!

#27 World in Action should be Weekend World

What was Classical Gas played as the theme for? Can't remember or find it.

This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.

Prog probably pre dates psychedelia but the current affiairs themes (THIS WEEK) continues the Theme

Sibelius it is NOT, but has had me pulling out my 'The Nice' collection. The Nice were forerunners of ELP. Emerlist DavJack.

For devotees of Sibelius, the recognisable bit should kick in at about 1 min 30.

Teenage parties early seventies. No booze or other mind altering substances required. Just this and teh Floyds Meddle (Echoes) in the early hours when dance exhaution set in.

Those were the days.

Jaunty

The last comment on the World in Action clip was interesting.

Anyway if we are playing news theme poker I'll raise you with this one

#28 nedafo2 Some of my friends had home births, or very short stay hospital, but I was an elderly primigravida and with a universal blood group, so higher risk.

I'm happy yours all arrived safely tho!

33 BYT

I'll name your last tune in one. Name that tune!

#10 Jauntycyclist this one.. always reminded me of a spirograph

classical gas was the the theme tune to weekend world...wasn't it?

#38 Stevie

Thanks but got it! It was the theme to This is Your Right on Granada TV, so only for us in the North. (Where were you Brossen?)



For everyone else you will know it this is the original composer, from the original vinyl recording, just doing it on acoustic. If you don't think you know it the main theme kicks at 21 secs. Enjoy!

HOW TO DEFINE THE OBAMA DEFINING MOMENT

Mark Urban affirmed that the speech will be a DEFINING MOMENT in Obamas first term. I beg to differ. The lid is going to come of the BIG LIE of 9/11 and it will be apparent that Obama has been privy to the truth (unless he is surrounded by dummies). His defining moment will be that, knowing 9/11 was a set-up, HE STILL SENT MORE TROOPS TO AFGHANISTAN to 'fight Terror'.

Further, he will need a real 'Tony' of a speech, if he is to justify advance and retreat, all in one.