Republicans demand resignation of nuclear agency head after he is found to have acted improperly in shutting down project Republicans in Congress demanded the resignation of the head of America’s nuclear agency on Tuesday after it emerged he acted improperly in stopping work on a controversial nuclear waste dump. Gregory Jaczko, who was appointed by Barack Obama to oversee safety at America’s 100 nuclear reactors, had unilaterally shut down preparatory work on the Yucca Mountain project, Hubert Bell, the inspector general of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), said in prepared testimony. Jaczko, who was supposed to be politically neutral, was also highly selective in sharing information with his fellow regulators at the NRC about the dump project. Some of those he did inform did not fully understand he was working to close the project. Those kept in the dark opposed plans to shut the dump. “He was not forthcoming with the other commissioners,” Bell said in his prepared testimony to the house energy and commerce committee. Jaczko did not break the law, Bell said. But his strategic control of information, and his management style, raised questions about his leadership and his political independence. Bell went over many of those concerns in an investigative report last week. Republicans in Congress are strongly pro-nuclear, and have been pushing the Obama administration to move forward on the Yucca Mountain dump as part of a plan to radically expand America’s fleet of nuclear reactors. Joe Barton, a Republican from Texas, insisted the NRC chairman step down. “He violated the law,” Barton said. Ed Whitfield, a Republican from Kentucky, said Jaczko had abused his authority. “I do think he needs to step down,” he said. Even Democrats in Congress criticised Jaczko’s management style, raising concerns about his temper. “Obviously he should work on his interpersonal skills,” said Henry Waxman, the California Democrat who once headed the committee. Underlining the Republican outrage was the accusation that Jaczko was acting at the behest of Obama and the Senate majority leader Harry Reid, who both want to shut down Yucca Mountain to please local interests in Nevada. Jaczko used to work for Reid, and Reid represents Nevada. The Democratic leadership argues instead that the original choice of siting the waste dump in Nevada was itself highly political. Obama promised in 2009 to cancel the project. Local opposition in Nevada has effectively kept Yucca Mountain in limbo for nearly 30 years. The federal government has spent $15bn (£9.16bn) on the project so far, and it is still 10 years away from completion. But the Fukushima nuclear disaster, which exposed the dangers of storing spent nuclear fuel at reactors, has given new urgency to safety concerns about nuclear waste. The US nuclear industry currently stores its nuclear waste at reactor sites scattered across the country. Obama, despite his opposition to the dump, remains a strong proponent of nuclear energy. The NRC is due to issue its first licence for a new reactor in more than 30 years. But America cannot significantly increase the number of reactors without coming up with a working solution on storage of nuclear waste. US politics Republicans Barack Obama United States Nuclear waste Energy Nuclear power Waste Suzanne Goldenberg guardian.co.uk
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Anti-crime activists attack government after judge frees former mayor of Tijuana at whose home officials say they found 88 guns The Mexican government of Felipe Calderón has been left with egg on its face after a judge ordered the release of a former Tijuana mayor arrested earlier this month when dozens of firearms were allegedly discovered in a raid on his mansion. The federal judge released Jorge Hank Rhon saying there was insufficient evidence to indict the 55-year-old gambling magnate and politician, despite reports from officials that 88 guns were found at his sprawling complex in Tijuana. Hank Rhon – a father of 19 – is famed for his fortune, machismo, and exotic animals. But he did not get to enjoy his freedom for long, as he was immediately taken to the state prosecutor’s office for questioning over murders reportedly committed with two of the guns. Hank Rhon was arrested in the early hours of 4 June after soldiers entered his home, which stretches up a hill from the racetrack he owns. The compound also includes a private bullring and zoo populated by white Bengal tigers, guacamayas and other rare animals. The attorney general, Marisela Morales, said Hank Rhon had no permits for 78 of the weapons said to have been found, which comprised 40 rifles and 48 handguns. The raid also yielded 9,298 bullets, 70 ammunition clips and a gas grenade. The judge who ordered Hank Rhon’s release in the early hours of Tuesday morning also freed 10 of his employees detained during the raid. The former mayor left the jail before dawn and was taken to an office of the state prosecution service for questioning, after ballistic tests that allegedly linked two of the seized handguns to murders in Tijuana. Officials said the tests indicated that one of the guns had been used to kill a security guard in December 2009 and the other to kill a car salesman in June 2010. State human rights ombudsman Heriberto Garcia, called in to monitor the case by Hank Rhon’s lawyers, said the local authorities were seeking a judge’s order to allow them to hold him for a maximum of 30 days while the investigations continued. Hank Rhon is a member of a political clan associated with the Institutional Revolutionary party (PRI), which governed from 1929 to 2000. His supporters claim the arrest was politically motivated. His father, Carlos Hank González, was one of Mexico’s most durable powerbrokers. He died in 2001 with an estimated US$1.3bn (£800m) fortune and reputedly coined the Mexican phrase “a politician who is poor is a poor politician”. Anti-crime activists were outraged by the news of Hank Rhon’s release. “This is another farce from the government of President Calderón,” said Eduardo Gallo, one of the leading figures of a growing movement deeply critical of the government’s claims to be hounding major criminals. “The state lacks the ability and the moral authority to tackle organised crime. The law in Mexico is never applied against those with money and political power.” Hank Rhon’s business empire, centred on the racetrack, includes hotels, shopping malls and gaming houses across Mexico. He was elected mayor in 2004, but stepped down in 2006 to fight an unsuccessful campaign to become state governor.While the accusations against him are legion, he has never come so close to facing formal charges. A former bodyguard is currently in prison for the murder of reporter Hector “El Gato” Felix of the local weekly magazine Zeta in 1988. In 1995 he was briefly detained after a suitcase full of ivory tusks and waistcoats made of the skins of endangered ocelots was found. Hank Rhon’s arrest has prompted accusations of orchestration by Calderón as part of an attempt to derail the PRI´s campaign in upcoming elections in Mexico state. Enrique Peña Nieto, the current PRI governor, was mentored by Hank Rhon’s clan and is the runaway favourite to win the 2012 presidential elections. The federal release order is highly embarrassing for the government. Mexico Jo Tuckman guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …John King Turns GOP Debate into Bigger Joke Than it Already Was With ‘This or That’ Segments
June 14, 2011 No Comment
Click here to view this media CNN’s John King decided to turn the second GOP Republican debate in New Hampshire, and I use that term lightly, into an even bigger joke than it was already with his “this or that” segments at the beginning and end of every commercial break during their broadcast. John King asked such hard-hitting questions as Leno or Conan to Rick Santorum, Elvis or Johnny Cash to Michele Bachmann, Dancing with the Stars or American Idol to Newt Gingrich, Blackberry or iPhone to Ron Paul, deep dish or thin crust to Herman Cain, spicey or mild wings to Mitt Romney and Coke or Pepsi to Tim Pawlenty. What was actually more pitiful was the complete lack of follow up during what was supposed to be some of the more “serious” discussions during this “debate” where the candidates were allowed to lie continually without being called out for it. Think Progress did a live blog of the debate that included some much needed fact checking that CNN’s John King was apparently unwilling to do during this fiasco here — Live-Blogging The GOP Primary Debate . King also inadvertently turned this into a running joke on Twitter where users there were posting their own questions as a substitute for King’s under the hashtag #thisorthat.
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Shawn Tyson has denied April murder of James Cooper and James Kouzaris in Newtown, Sarasota A youth accused of shooting dead two British holidaymakers in a crime-ridden Florida neighbourhood confessed to a fellow inmate shortly after he was arrested, according to newly released court documents. Shawn Tyson, 16, has denied killing James Cooper, 25, and James Kouzaris, 24, as they staggered drunkenly through Newtown, Sarasota, in the early hours of 16 April after a night out drinking. But, according to prosecutors, Tyson told the prisoner: “Yeah, I did it” only 24 hours after the shooting. The inmate said he asked what had happened and Tyson replied: “It’s trill,” – a slang word for “gangster”. In a recorded phone call from the Sarasota county jail to another witness known only as “brother”, Tyson apparently lamented the discovery by detectives of bullets at his house of the same calibre used to murder the Britons. “They found the bullets. That’s the only thing that’s going to fuck me up,” he told the friend. The same witness told police Tyson claimed he approached the Britons from behind after watching them stagger along the road and that he went to “fire off” at them because he assumed they were trying to break into a vehicle. The new details come in about 300 pages of documents released by the state attorney’s office in Sarasota that set out the largely circumstantial case against Tyson, who has been in custody for almost two months after being charged as an adult on two counts of first degree homicide. Included are witness statements that shed light for the first time on how Cooper and Kouzaris travelled to The Courts housing project, seven miles from the upmarket Longboat Key resort where they were enjoying a three-week holiday with Cooper’s family. The question had puzzled detectives for weeks until a taxi driver came forward to report that he remembered picking up two men “with British accents” at the Smokin’ Joes bar in central Sarasota and driving them to a 7-Eleven late-night grocery store in Newtown. Kouzaris, from Northampton, and Cooper, from Warwick, were caught on CCTV drinking in the bar just before closing time, about an hour before they were found dead in the street in Newtown, two miles away, shirtless and with multiple gunshot wounds. Medical records released by the Sarasota coroner, meanwhile, show that the pair, who became friends as students at the University of Sheffield, had blood alcohol levels more than three times Florida’s legal limit for driving. Although the documents reveal how the pair got to Newtown, they appear to stoke further speculation as to what they were doing there. A neighbour who lives close to the murder scene allegedly told police that she believed one of the Britons had previously visited her neighbour’s boyfriend. Another female resident of The Courts, listed only as a “confidential informant”, told detectives that she saw Tyson leaping in through the open window of his mother’s house within moments of the shooting. She identified Tyson as one of two people she saw running away. She said she heard shots then a neighbour told her that someone had been killed. Sarasota police, who have previously admitted they were seeking a second suspect, are investigating another shooting in Newtown, in which a 21-year-old was killed. Willie Hadley, 21, who lived less than a mile from where Cooper and Kouzaris were shot, was gunned down during the early hours of Monday on Martin Luther Way, five blocks from the scene of the April shooting. Police called to the scene at 2am found Hadley, who had been released from jail only a few days previously, lying dead in the road after local residents reported hearing gunfire. Tyson’s trial is expected to take place next year. He faces a probable life sentence if convicted. Gun crime United States Florida Richard Luscombe guardian.co.uk
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Prime minister attempts to make virtue of policy U-turns and revised timetable for change David Cameron issued a robust defence of his decision to introduce “substantive” changes to the government’s NHS reforms, hailing the move as a “sign of strength”. As Ed Miliband accused the prime minister of planning to waste billions of pounds in a “bureaucratic reorganisation”, the prime minister said the revisions would allow the NHS to thrive as a service free at the point of delivery. The government has been under in recent weeks fire for embarking on a series of policy U-turns, most notably its plans to water down health secretary Andrew Lansley’s proposals for greater competition to the NHS and to hand 65% of the NHS budget to new GP-led consortiums. The prime minister, who outlined significant alterations to Lansley’s blueprint at Guy’s hospital in London, tried to make a virtue of his change of heart. Standing alongside Nick Clegg and Lansley, he said: “Politicians aren’t very good at saying, we didn’t get it right first time. Politicians hate it if they ever get anything wrong. “But actually I think people respect a government that feels it is strong enough to say, hold on, we haven’t got every element right, we’re not taking enough people with us, let’s stop, let’s get this right. That is what you do in any other walk of life, so it seems perfectly good common sense to do it in government. I think people respect that. “I think it is a sign of strength to pause, to change, to improve and to recognise you’ll have a pretty uncomfortable couple of months and people will throw a few bricks at you. But so what? “The NHS is too precious, this is too important not to get it right. I absolutely think we have done the right thing. I think it has been a good process. I really paid tribute to the Future Forum and the way they have run it. We have had a massive engagement and as a result we have [emerged] much stronger and can now go ahead.” The prime minister defended his performance after the government accepted the bulk of a report on the health and social care bill by an independent panel of experts. Cameron appointed the Future Forum in April amid Liberal Democrat concerns about creeping privatisation and Tory fears that it was jeopardising his work in neutralising the NHS as an issue on which voters used to distrust the Conservatives. He announced that the bill will be amended to make clear that the primary duty of Monitor, the health service regulator, is not to promote competition. It will only do that if it helps patients. Cameron said: “You wanted us to make clear that competition isn’t there for its own sake, but to make life better for patients – done.” The membership of the new GP-led consortiums will be opened up. “You wanted us to get specialists, not just GPs, on commissioning groups – done,” Cameron said. “You wanted us to join up the different parts of the NHS, to put integration right at the heart of our reforms – done. We have listened, we have learned, and we are improving our plans for the NHS. We come here today with a substantive package of changes.” Among other changes to the plans: • Clegg announced that the proposal to allow “any qualified provider” to deliver NHS services will be introduced at a slower pace. • Lansley confirmed that his original 2013 deadline should be relaxed. The department also confirmed that the “relevant parts” of the health and social care bill will be sent back for consideration at the Commons committee stage. Sir Stephen Bubb, who runs the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations and who wrote the competition chapter in the Future Forum report, indicated that the changes would make little difference to the level of competition in the NHS. Asked on Channel 4 News whether there would be more or less competition or whether it would remain the same, Bubb said: “I suspect it will.” Miliband said: “The best thing the government could do is go back to the drawing board because they are still going ahead with a bureaucratic reorganisation.” Cameron and Clegg had an awkward moment when they were interrupted as they chatted to a patient in a ward at Guy’s for the benefit of the cameras. “Excuse me, I’m the senior orthopaedic surgeon in this department,” a man said, as he took exception to a camera crew and Downing Street aides on the grounds that they had not taken the correct measures to comply with hospital hygiene rules. “Why is it that we’re all told to walk around like this and these people … ” he added as he stormed out. Cameron told his staff to leave the ward. David Cameron NHS Health policy Liberal-Conservative coalition Andrew Lansley Ed Miliband GPs Health Public services policy Nicholas Watt guardian.co.uk
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Hopes being pinned on Muammar Gaddafi agreeing to flee the country or defections by Libyan leader’s aides Almost three months into the campaign of air strikes, Britain and its Nato allies no longer believe bombing alone will end the conflict in Libya, well-placed government officials have told the Guardian. Instead, they are pinning their hopes on the defection of Muammar Gaddafi’s closest aides, or the Libyan leader’s agreement to flee the country. “No one is envisaging a military victory,” said one senior official who echoed Tuesday’s warnings by Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope, head of the navy, that the bombing cannot continue much beyond the summer. Stanhope, whose comments caused fury in Downing Street, was expressing publicly what many senior defence officials say in private, officials made clear. The conflict is also straining relations between Washington and its European allies. Although few Nato countries are taking part in the air strikes, Europeans – including the British – are dismayed at the refusal by the US to deploy its low-flying A10 “tankbusters” and helicopters. The UK has deployed four Apaches, the French 12 attack helicopters. There are 150 other attack helicopters in Nato which can operate from ships but they all belong to the US Marine Corps, said Brigadier Benjamin Barry, senior fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). The latest tension between Nato allies follows a withering speech in Brussels last week by Robert Gates, the outgoing US defence secretary, who referred to the “spectacle of an air operations centre designed to handle more than 300 sorties a day struggling to launch about 150″. The problems within Nato are mirrored among rebel fighters on the ground in Libya. In Misrata the militia leaders, few with military experience, have failed to coalesce into a co-ordinated army which can undertake manoeuvre operations. A second obstacle to an advance is the lack of heavy weapons which would allow them to punch through the ring of Gaddafi forces facing them – and then hold that ground against counterattacks. While some militia leaders have told their troops to dig in, others have refused, leading to troops facing artillery fire out in the open. The result, last Friday, was slaughter; after British Apaches launched their first attacks on the Misrata front the night before, Gaddafi’s forces hit back with an unprecedented barrage of thousands of Russian-made Grad rockets. The Apaches did not reappear in daylight to attack the rocket launchers and rebel units suffered 31 deaths and 120 other casualities. The absence of Apaches dismayed rebel units, not all of whom are sure of Nato’s motives in failing to offer co-ordinated air support. None will say so publicly, but some commanders say the alliance may want Tripoli to rise up against the dictator, rather than be “liberated” by rebels from elsewhere – an event that could trigger political infighting in the postwar period. One member of the Misrata military council complained that some commanders had suggested it would be better to have a lightly-held first line with a defensive belt a kilometre or two behind it – a standard tactic for professional armies. “It’s a good idea,” he said. “But nobody wants to be on the second line.” A rebel logistics officer, Suleiman Abfalga, said: “We cannot live in holes in the ground, we have to show we are not afraid.” It has emerged that Nato has been dropping leaflets threatening Apache air strikes against government forces. The leaflets – each featuring a picture of an Apache helicopter and a burning tank along with the words: “If you go on killing the children and families you will be destroyed” – were sprinkled from a bomb that detonated above no-man’s land east of Misrata, raining down over rebel units who had advanced beyond the frontline without telling Nato. Political considerations among rebel leaders are also having an impact, preventing an order to assault Zlitan, the next town on the road to Tripoli: longstanding grievances between the two populations plus a fear of killing civilians – have seen Misrata’s units refuse to attack until Zlitan’s own rebels rise up – a problematic exercise given that Zlitan is home to the 32nd Brigade, one of Gaddafi’s few elite formations. Gaddafi’s problems are the reverse of those facing the rebels. He has vast stocks of Grad missiles, but his troops are demoralised by what one British source described as “incremental attrition”. One Nato official observed: “Defiance can only be measured by loyalty.” He expressed the view that the conflict was “close to the tipping point”. Sources told the Guardian that indictment for war crimes against Gaddafi and his inner circle before the international criminal court can be put on the back burner, in the hope this would encourage the Libyan leader to seek sanctuary in a friendly African country. There is concern, meanwhile, that the longer the conflict goes on, the greater the risk of civilian casualties as Nato commanders succumb to political pressure to step up the bombing campaign. “The longer the war goes on the greater the chance of a blunder resulting in significant civilian casualties,” warns the IISS in its latest Strategic Comments. It adds: “The risks also increase of both the government and rebels becoming more radicalised and perpetrating war crimes.” The IISS warns that fighting could spill over into Tunisia. Increasing instability in the Middle East, such as the current crises in Syria and Yemen, could compete for strategic attention and military resources. Other problems spring from the flight of nearly 1 million people so far from Libya to neighbouring states and Europe. “Any of these factors, either individually or in combination, could weaken the coalition’s military strength and political resolve.” Of the 10,000 sorties flown by Nato aircraft since mid-March, around one-third have been conducted by aircraft able to attack ground targets. This is far fewer than those flown over Serbia and Kosovo in 1999. The MoD says British aircraft have been involved in 400 strike sorties, dropping some £80m in weapons, according to official figures released to MPs. Libya Middle East Africa Muammar Gaddafi Arab and Middle East unrest Military Defence policy Nato Richard Norton-Taylor guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Hopes being pinned on Muammar Gaddafi agreeing to flee the country or defections by Libyan leader’s aides Almost three months into the campaign of air strikes, Britain and its Nato allies no longer believe bombing alone will end the conflict in Libya, well-placed government officials have told the Guardian. Instead, they are pinning their hopes on the defection of Muammar Gaddafi’s closest aides, or the Libyan leader’s agreement to flee the country. “No one is envisaging a military victory,” said one senior official who echoed Tuesday’s warnings by Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope, head of the navy, that the bombing cannot continue much beyond the summer. Stanhope, whose comments caused fury in Downing Street, was expressing publicly what many senior defence officials say in private, officials made clear. The conflict is also straining relations between Washington and its European allies. Although few Nato countries are taking part in the air strikes, Europeans – including the British – are dismayed at the refusal by the US to deploy its low-flying A10 “tankbusters” and helicopters. The UK has deployed four Apaches, the French 12 attack helicopters. There are 150 other attack helicopters in Nato which can operate from ships but they all belong to the US Marine Corps, said Brigadier Benjamin Barry, senior fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). The latest tension between Nato allies follows a withering speech in Brussels last week by Robert Gates, the outgoing US defence secretary, who referred to the “spectacle of an air operations centre designed to handle more than 300 sorties a day struggling to launch about 150″. The problems within Nato are mirrored among rebel fighters on the ground in Libya. In Misrata the militia leaders, few with military experience, have failed to coalesce into a co-ordinated army which can undertake manoeuvre operations. A second obstacle to an advance is the lack of heavy weapons which would allow them to punch through the ring of Gaddafi forces facing them – and then hold that ground against counterattacks. While some militia leaders have told their troops to dig in, others have refused, leading to troops facing artillery fire out in the open. The result, last Friday, was slaughter; after British Apaches launched their first attacks on the Misrata front the night before, Gaddafi’s forces hit back with an unprecedented barrage of thousands of Russian-made Grad rockets. The Apaches did not reappear in daylight to attack the rocket launchers and rebel units suffered 31 deaths and 120 other casualities. The absence of Apaches dismayed rebel units, not all of whom are sure of Nato’s motives in failing to offer co-ordinated air support. None will say so publicly, but some commanders say the alliance may want Tripoli to rise up against the dictator, rather than be “liberated” by rebels from elsewhere – an event that could trigger political infighting in the postwar period. One member of the Misrata military council complained that some commanders had suggested it would be better to have a lightly-held first line with a defensive belt a kilometre or two behind it – a standard tactic for professional armies. “It’s a good idea,” he said. “But nobody wants to be on the second line.” A rebel logistics officer, Suleiman Abfalga, said: “We cannot live in holes in the ground, we have to show we are not afraid.” It has emerged that Nato has been dropping leaflets threatening Apache air strikes against government forces. The leaflets – each featuring a picture of an Apache helicopter and a burning tank along with the words: “If you go on killing the children and families you will be destroyed” – were sprinkled from a bomb that detonated above no-man’s land east of Misrata, raining down over rebel units who had advanced beyond the frontline without telling Nato. Political considerations among rebel leaders are also having an impact, preventing an order to assault Zlitan, the next town on the road to Tripoli: longstanding grievances between the two populations plus a fear of killing civilians – have seen Misrata’s units refuse to attack until Zlitan’s own rebels rise up – a problematic exercise given that Zlitan is home to the 32nd Brigade, one of Gaddafi’s few elite formations. Gaddafi’s problems are the reverse of those facing the rebels. He has vast stocks of Grad missiles, but his troops are demoralised by what one British source described as “incremental attrition”. One Nato official observed: “Defiance can only be measured by loyalty.” He expressed the view that the conflict was “close to the tipping point”. Sources told the Guardian that indictment for war crimes against Gaddafi and his inner circle before the international criminal court can be put on the back burner, in the hope this would encourage the Libyan leader to seek sanctuary in a friendly African country. There is concern, meanwhile, that the longer the conflict goes on, the greater the risk of civilian casualties as Nato commanders succumb to political pressure to step up the bombing campaign. “The longer the war goes on the greater the chance of a blunder resulting in significant civilian casualties,” warns the IISS in its latest Strategic Comments. It adds: “The risks also increase of both the government and rebels becoming more radicalised and perpetrating war crimes.” The IISS warns that fighting could spill over into Tunisia. Increasing instability in the Middle East, such as the current crises in Syria and Yemen, could compete for strategic attention and military resources. Other problems spring from the flight of nearly 1 million people so far from Libya to neighbouring states and Europe. “Any of these factors, either individually or in combination, could weaken the coalition’s military strength and political resolve.” Of the 10,000 sorties flown by Nato aircraft since mid-March, around one-third have been conducted by aircraft able to attack ground targets. This is far fewer than those flown over Serbia and Kosovo in 1999. The MoD says British aircraft have been involved in 400 strike sorties, dropping some £80m in weapons, according to official figures released to MPs. Libya Middle East Africa Muammar Gaddafi Arab and Middle East unrest Military Defence policy Nato Richard Norton-Taylor guardian.co.uk
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Michael Gove says worst performers should meet current average by 2015 in bid to end ‘low-expectations culture’ The education secretary, Michael Gove, will try to demonstrate the coalition has not lost its zeal for public service reform on Thursday when he announces tougher exam targets for Britain’s worst-performing schools. In an attempt to end what he sees as the low-expectations culture in some schools, he will say that by 2015 he expects every secondary school in England to be achieving the national average of at least 50% of pupils achieving five A*-C grades at GCSE, including English and maths. If not the school will be regarded as underperforming. The current threshold to avoid that label is 35% of pupils getting five “good” GCSEs, including English and maths. The new goal would require 870 of the 3,000 secondary schools in England to improve by 2015 to avoid being taken over by a neighbouring headteacher or academy. Gove’s proposals indicate that neither the mishandling of the NHS reforms, nor the threat of a national teachers’ strike over pensions, have prompted a loss of confidence in the coalition about public service reform. In the speech Gove will challenge the country to recognise the scale of the education improvement still required in many schools by turning the current average performance into a minimum requirement. The plan represents a huge increase in the speed of demanded improvement in comparison with what Labour attempted after 2004. The targets will also inevitably become the yardstick against which Gove himself will be measured as education secretary by the next election. He will also propose as an interim measure that after the 2012 exams the floor of minimum performance is raised to 40% of pupils achieving five A*-Cs including in English and maths. At present 407 secondaries are below that level, but that number is dynamic and the list is bound to change by 2012. Gove will argue the rise of Asian economies and the sweep of technology are changing the demand for knowledge and skills so fast that Britain, and indeed Europe, has to accelerate the pace of improvement if it wants to avoid long-term economic decline. The education debate in the UK has been too inward-looking and failed to grasp the skills transformation in the far east, he will say. He will also argue that radical improvements will occur only if led by outstanding academies and headteachers on the ground, not micromanaged by Whitehall. In an attempt to confront parents, and the teaching profession, with the scale of the challenge, he will point out that in Singapore about 80% of pupils achieve at least a C in English and maths O-levels. In Britain, by contrast, about one-third of pupils do not achieve basic levels in English and maths at 11, and only half achieve at least grade Cs in English and Maths GCSE aged 16. If Britain is to justify claiming to have a world-class curriculum, exam system and world-class teachers, the levels of achievement in Singapore need to be matched, he will argue. Pointing once again to successful academies, such as Mossbourne in Hackney, east London, as well as his experiences in the US, Gove will argue that the envisaged improvements are achievable. Gove has the power to allow outstanding academies to take over failing schools and build new chains. In his speech, marking a new phase in schools reform and ending a period of relative silence from one of Cameron’s closest allies, Gove will also seek to rebut claims that he has perverted the academies programme by refocusing it solely on successful schools. The academies programme under Tony Blair was aimed at failing schools. In response Gove will also announce the government will turn at least 88 struggling schools into sponsored academies over the next two years. This is more than the Labour government achieved between 2000, when the academies programme was first announced, and 2008. Seventy-three of the new sponsored academies will be secondary schools and 13 primaries. Since coming to office Gove has already raised the minimum level of performance once, demanding all schools ensure 35% of pupils, as opposed to 30%, achieve five A*-C. The new demanding thresholds will be overseen by Dr Elizabeth Sidwell, the schools commissioner and a former headteacher and chief executive of three academies. She has already warned: “While there are many excellent schools in the country, the tail of underperformance is a long and depressing blight on our education system.” In his speech Gove will also promise that he will not tolerate underperformance in academies, vowing he will not allow the introduction of a two-tier system in which excuses are made for academies. He will argue that in academies by their nature it is simpler and easier for governors to act, but he will say he will not tolerate failure amongst academies. But he believes research overwhelmingly shows that academy status improves schools through innovations such as extended school days, changed payscales, and cuts in administrative costs such as payroll systems. Gove believes with the right leadership some schools can be turned around within three months. Gove will argue the key to building an effective education system is not Whitehall diktat, but by creating a system that leads to self-improvement. He will argue there are seven key pillars to reform, some of which he has yet to introduce: • Self-governing schools with a simple way to start new schools, and improvement driven by chains of schools which focus on the worst. • A higher entry bar for teaching, better pay for good teachers, and a faster system to remove unsuitable teachers • Planning and building regulation reform to make it easier for new and good schools to expand. • Improved curriculums and use of technology. • A more focused Ofsted inspection team. • A more transparent funding system. • Data transparency exemplified by the national pupil database going live on the web in 2012. Schools GCSEs Michael Gove Liberal-Conservative coalition Patrick Wintour Nicholas Watt guardian.co.uk
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Continue reading …Ministry of Defence urges servicemen and women, and their families, to be careful about sharing sensitive material online During the second world war, the propaganda motto from the British government was simple enough: careless talk costs lives. Things have become a little more complicated since then, but for the Ministry of Defence, the maxim still rings true. It has implored its servicemen and women, and their families, to be careful about gossiping online, using videos on YouTube to highlight the dangers of sharing sensitive material on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. In one personal security film , a mother is seen receiving a Facebook message from her son, who is serving abroad in Afghanistan at a forward operating base (FOB). “Hi Mum, hope you’re well,” writes Mark. “Just posted some new pics, the tan is coming along nicely as you can see. Big day tomorrow at FOB Jackson, major V VIP stuff happening so we’re all on our best behaviour, see you soon.” Mark has obviously committed the first offence. But mum also forgets to keep, well, mum – sharing the message with all of her friends. And the consequence of such rash behaviour? She is seen on the sofa, chatting away with an armed terrorist over tea and cakes. The message in another video is equally stark. Two sailors are off for a night out on the town, messaging friends that they are just leaving their ship, and telling them which nightclub they are heading to. The friends are then joined on the dancefloor by two balaclava-wearing men, waving machine guns over their heads. “Is it just your mates who know where you have checked in?” the film asks. Both videos end with the warning: “Think before you tweet, blog, update, tag, comment, check-in, upload, text, share.” The films have received a wry reception from some viewers. One posted: “Navy personnel would have been able to use their specialist training to detect and avoid the dancing terrorists.” The MoD, though, said the underlying message is important – two more short videos are being made and should be ready by next month. It said it did not want to gag people, or stop them using social media. “There have been cases recently when people have given away details of when a ship is due home, or when a plane is about to land,” said a spokesman. “These things happen in the excitement of homecomings and are unintentional. But we don’t want to give the enemy the edge. We’re just asking servicemen and women, and their families, to be a little more circumspect when they use these sites.” Military Defence policy YouTube Facebook Twitter Social media Nick Hopkins guardian.co.uk
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