The number of Americans who lack access to basic necessities like food and healthcare is now higher than it was at the peak of the Great Recession, a survey released Thursday found. And in a finding that could worsen fears of U.S. decline, the share of Americans struggling to put food on the table is
Continue reading …The number of Americans who lack access to basic necessities like food and healthcare is now higher than it was at the peak of the Great Recession, a survey released Thursday found. And in a finding that could worsen fears of U.S. decline, the share of Americans struggling to put food on the table is
Continue reading …Members of the Occupy Wall Street protest are growing skeevier and skeevier—at least in bombast Bill O’Reilly’s eyes. To hear him tell it, the “crackheads” are dealing dope, having al fresco sex and drawing rats by the hordes in their festering campsite at Manhattan’s Zucotti Park, notes Gawker. Even…
Continue reading …
Scientists ask for names to be removed after mentions of climate change and sea-level rise taken out by Texas officials Officials in Rick Perry’s home state of Texas have set off a scientists’ revolt after purging mentions of climate change and sea-level rise from what was supposed to be a landmark environmental report. The scientists said they were disowning the report on the state of Galveston Bay because of political interference and censorship from Perry appointees at the state’s environmental agency. By academic standards, the protest amounts to the beginnings of a rebellion: every single scientist associated with the 200-page report has demanded their names be struck from the document. “None of us can be party to scientific censorship so we would all have our names removed,” said Jim Lester, a co-author of the report and vice-president of the Houston Advanced Research Centre. “To me it is simply a question of maintaining scientific credibility. This is simply antithetical to what a scientist does,” Lester said. “We can’t be censored.” Scientists see Texas as at high risk because of climate change, from the increased exposure to hurricanes and extreme weather on its long coastline to this summer’s season of wildfires and drought. However, Perry, in his run for the Republican nomination, has elevated denial of science, from climate change to evolution, to an art form. He opposes any regulation of industry, and has repeatedly challenged the authority of the Environmental Protection Agency. Texas is the only state to refuse to sign on to the federal government’s new regulations on greenhouse gas emissions. “I like to tell people we live in a state of denial in the state of Texas,” said John Anderson, an oceanography at Rice University, and author of the chapter targeted by the government censors. That state of denial percolated down to the leadership of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. The agency chief, who was appointed by Perry, is known to doubt the science of climate change. “The current chair of the commission, Bryan Shaw, commonly talks about how human-induced climate change is a hoax,” said Anderson. But scientists said they still hoped to avoid a clash by simply avoiding direct reference to human causes of climate change and by sticking to materials from peer-reviewed journals. However, that plan began to unravel when officials from the agency made numerous unauthorised changes to Anderson’s chapter, deleting references to climate change, sea-level rise and wetlands destruction. “It is basically saying that the state of Texas doesn’t accept science results published in Science magazine,” Anderson said. “That’s going pretty far.” Officials even deleted a reference to the sea level at Galveston Bay rising five times faster than the long-term average – 3mm a year compared to .5mm a year – which Anderson noted was a scientific fact. “They just simply went through and summarily struck out any reference to climate change, any reference to sea level rise, any reference to human influence – it was edited or eliminated,” said Anderson. “That’s not scientific review that’s just straight forward censorship.” Mother Jones has tracked the changes . The agency has defended its actions. “It would be irresponsible to take whatever is sent to us and publish it,” Andrea Morrow, a spokeswoman said in an emailed statement. “Information was included in a report that we disagree with.” She said Anderson’s report had been “inconsistent with current agency policy”, and that he had refused to change it. She refused to answer any questions. Campaigners said the censorship by the Texas state authorities was a throwback to the George Bush era when White House officials also interfered with scientific reports on climate change. In the last few years, however, such politicisation of science has spread to the states. In the most notorious case, Virginia’s attorney general Ken Cuccinelli, who is a professed doubter of climate science, has spent a year investigating grants made to a prominent climate scientist Michael Mann, when he was at a state university in Virginia. Several courts have rejected Cuccinelli’s demands for a subpoena for the emails. In Utah, meanwhile, Mike Noel, a Republican member of the Utah state legislature called on the state university to sack a physicist who had criticised climate science doubters. The university rejected Noel’s demand, but the physicist, Robert Davies said such actions had had a chilling effect on the state of climate science. “We do have very accomplished scientists in this state who are quite fearful of retribution from lawmakers, and who consequently refuse to speak up on this very important topic. And the loser is the public,” Davies said in an email. “By employing these intimidation tactics, these policymakers are, in fact, successful in censoring the message coming from the very institutions whose expertise we need.” Climate change scepticism Rick Perry Sea level Climate change Texas Climate change Oceans Virginia Utah United States Suzanne Goldenberg guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Under mounting pressure from the courts, where he is a defendant in three trials, the Italian prime minister leads an increasingly fractious party into today’s vote • Read all tweets from John Hooper • Follow John Hooper on Twitter Silvio Berlusconi Italy John Hooper guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …As Cabinet Office minister, Oliver Letwin is David Cameron’s right-hand man, and is responsible for advising the British prime minister on most aspects of government policy—but he doesn’t seem to know what a shredder is. Journalists from the Daily Mirror watched as, day after day, Letwin walked around a…
Continue reading …A high-flying California sex stunt has caught the attention of FAA officials. They’re investigating two skydivers filmed having sex in a plane before jumping into the wild blue yonder—still in “tandem.” Sky-diving instructor Alex Torres, who also works as a porn actor, made the video in a bid to…
Continue reading …
Jimmy Mubenga died while being restrained by private security contractors as he was being deported to Angola. One year on, his widow Makenda Kambana talks about life without Jimmy Johnny Howorth Christian Bennett
Continue reading …
Focus switches from Wall Street to London as thousands plan to demonstrate against global banking industry After four weeks of focus on Wall Street , the fast-moving campaign against the global banking industry is coming to the UK this weekend, with the biggest event aiming to “occupy” the London Stock Exchange. Organised by Facebook and Twitter pages which between them have picked up more than 15,000 followers, campaigners are to gather outside St Paul’s Cathedral at midday on Saturday before marching the short distance to Paternoster Square , the business development housing the London Stock Exchange, as well as the UK HQ of investment bank Goldman Sachs. It is one of a series of planned events around the UK, which are in turn part of a wider global day of action spanning a thus far promised 800-plus protests . It remains to be seen how many of the online supporters will turn up in London, with estimates ranging from a few hundred to a couple of thousand. It is also unclear whether City police, the small force which operates in London’s financial district, will permit activists to mimic the Wall Street protests by pitching their tents. Paternoster Square is a private development, giving police more powers to remove activists. Among its tenants are a number of high-end shops and restaurants which may take a dim view of having trade disrupted by a semi-permanent encampment. A City police spokesman refused to discuss whether protesters would be moved on, saying only that “appropriate policing preparations are in place”. The Stock Exchange and Goldman Sachs declined to comment. While the roots of the current wave of protests, which combine anger at the bail-out of the financial sector with disquiet at the faltering global economy and increased inequality, has its roots in mass marches earlier this year in Spain, it attracted global attention with the camp in Manhattan’s Zuccotti Park, which is scheduled to be cleared by authorities on Friday . The first UK event took place in Manchester earlier this month, timed to coincide with the Conservative Party conference in the city. Up to 30 people remain in tents in the city’s Peace Gardens square . Around a dozen other events are officially planned for Saturday around the UK, including Birmingham, Leeds, Bristol, Norwich, Glasgow and Edinburgh. Among events in other countries, 1,300 people have pledged via Facebook to occupy a central plaza in Sydney, with similar events planned for Saturday in Melbourne, Taipei, Seoul and Hong Kong, among others. The global movement has issued a manifesto, endorsed by Naomi Klein and Noam Chomsky, among others, calling for a democratisation of the global finance system and mentioning the Arab spring as an inspiration for mass action. One protester planning to take part in London said the campaign, which is not allied to any political party, began with a series of Facebook pages in early September. Once people gathered at the Stock Exchange there would be mass votes to decide the next course of action, said Spyro Van Leemnen, 28. “All decisions on the occupation, and how we’re going to take it forward, will happen then. If people decide they don’t want to stay then that’s it, we won’t stay,” he said, adding that he was bringing a tent in the expectation of staying for some time. “The idea is to stay there as long as it takes to see some substantial change. No one said it would be easy,” he said. “Since 2008 these ideas have been building up, and I think people realise there will be no governments who will represents their interests against the banks, unless the people themselves raise their voices.” Another activist planning to go to St Paul’s, Peter Vaughn, 24, said the aim was to set up a “rolling camp” of protesters as a permanent symbol of people’s concerns. “When the crisis began I think people were patient. They were told, ‘We need to bail out the banks, this is the only way to save our economy’. And now the whole European economy is in crisis, while banks continue to pay bonuses. The situation is untenable.” Vaughn said he hoped police would permit them to remain but was aware that TV footage of protesters being dragged away could publicise the campaign: “We’re not going there for a fight with the police. This is about legitimate concerns that we have.” A history and politics graduate who had worked for two years as a bicycle courier because of a lack of better options, Vaughn said there was also a personal element to his participation: “I feel like graduates were sold a lie. We’re not the ones that are suffering the most, but from a personal view, we were told, ‘You take on this debt but you’ll get a job and pay it off.’ I’m still more than £10,000 in debt.” There has been little response thus far from the global finance industry, although the US-based chief executive of Citigroup, Vikram Pandit, said this week he would meet the Wall Street occupiers, calling their views “completely understandable”. Brian Mairs of the British Banking Association said he knew of no similar plans in the UK. However, he said his organisation did not rule out engaging with protesters: “If there is a forum to have a sensible discussion we would be happy to do it.” Protest London Stock Exchange Global recession Economics Global economy Banking Peter Walker Shiv Malik guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …
The headteacher was courted by Michael Gove after achieving spectacular results at Mossbourne academy in Hackney A headteacher hailed as a “miracle worker” for dramatically improving failing inner-city schools will be the new head of Ofsted. Sir Michael Wilshaw, renowned for showing “tough love” to pupils and their parents, will start his new job in January 2012. He will have a pre-appointment hearing in front of MPs on the cross-party education select committee and his appointment is subject to the approval of the privy council. The 64-year-old will fill a role left vacant in June when the former head of Ofsted, Christine Gilbert, left early. Gilbert was said to have been under pressure to leave after the coalition government came to power. Wilshaw, who was knighted in 2000 for services to education, is said to have been courted for the role for some time. Michael Gove, the education secretary, has called him “my hero”. The son of a postman espouses views that are similar to Gove’s. He argues strongly for a return to traditional subjects, strong discipline, extended school days and no excuses. Wilshaw turned St Bonaventure’s Catholic boys school in Forest Gate, east London, into one of the most improved schools in the country as headteacher between 1985 and 2003. But he is most famous for his current role as executive principal of Mossbourne academy in Hackney. The school, less than one mile from the Pembury estate – the scene of the largest confrontation during the riots in London this summer – achieves results of which many fee-paying schools are envious. It replaced Hackney Downs school, which was described as the worst in Britain before closing in 1995. This summer, after its first A-level results, seven of Mossbourne’s pupils got places at Cambridge , one went to the Royal College of Music and 65% went to Russell Group institutions – the 20 most prestigious universities in the UK. Some 85% of Mossbourne pupils achieved five A* GCSEs including English and maths. The school’s catchment is very disadvantaged, with 40% on free school meals and 30% on the special needs register. Wilshaw, who was born in India and came to Britain as a child, has taken out restraining orders on badly behaved parents and thinks nothing of sending pupils home for wearing the wrong coloured shoes. At the start of each class, children pledge aloud in unison to maintain an “inquiring mind, a calm disposition and an attentive ear”. Wilshaw pays staff extra to come into school at the weekend. He will take the helm at a time when the country’s education landscape is radically changing. One in three pupils now attend academies and a new tranche of free schools is expected to be announced shortly. Ofsted’s brief is slimmer than it was for Wilshaw’s predecessor. From January, it will concentrate more on pupils’ behaviour, teacher quality and children’s reading. It intends to make it harder to give schools a rating of “outstanding”. Gove said he could not think of a better person to lead Ofsted. “He is one of the best educators of his generation … He has transformed the fortunes of thousands of children during his time as a headteacher. “He truly understands what success looks like and knows how to achieve it – even in the most challenging circumstances. This role will allow more heads, teachers and other professionals to be influenced by this talented and inspirational leader. “I have every confidence that his appointment will help to raise standards in education and children’s services in England.” Wilshaw said he would try to provide a commentary on educational standards, but also to “challenge the service to provide consistently high-quality provision for young people and adults”. In an interview with the Guardian last month , Wilshaw said there were “a lot of coasting schools out there, particularly outside urban areas, that are underachieving”. He said too many schools were told they were good and outstanding by inspectors. “I was shocked to read that only 4% of schools are judged outstanding in teaching, yet 20% are outstanding overall … Have we gone for the soft option too often? Yes we have we. At 15, we’re two years behind China in maths. We as a nation should be alarmed.” Ofsted Schools Education policy Hackney London Jessica Shepherd guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …