Almost Half of Detroit’s Adults Are Functionally Illiterate. Why Aren’t We Addressing Those Education Issues?
May 8, 2011 No CommentEducation “reform” isn’t going to do squat for students whose families are steeped in poverty and its side effects — like illiteracy. Research shows that children whose parents read to them have much bigger vocabularies and do better in school. If your parents can’t even read, how does that happen? How does a parent check your homework, or respond to notes from the teacher? We need another wave of Great Society programs, and instead we get deep cuts in the few social programs we have left: Detroit’s population fell by 25 percent in the last decade. And of those that stuck around, nearly half of them are functionally illiterate, a new report finds. According to estimates by The National Institute for Literacy, roughly 47 percent of adults in Detroit, Michigan — 200,000 total — are “functionally illiterate,” meaning they have trouble with reading, speaking, writing and computational skills. Even more surprisingly, the Detroit Regional Workforce finds half of that illiterate population has obtained a high school degree. The DRWF report places particular focus on the lack of resources available to those hoping to better educate themselves, with fewer than 10 percent of those in need of help actually receiving it. Only 18 percent of the programs surveyed serve English-language learners, despite 10 percent of the adult population of Detroit speaking English “less than very well.” Additionally, the report finds, one in three workers in the state of Michigan lack the skills or credentials to pursue additional education beyond high school. In March, the Detroit unemployment rate hit 11.8 percent, one of the highest in the nation, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported last month. There is a glimmer of hope, however: Detroit’s unemployment rate dropped by 3.3 percent in the last year alone.
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The Cut, Halesworth, Suffolk Given that Andrew Motion is a poet, novelist and biographer, it’s surprising it has taken him so long to get round to writing a play. But, prompted by an invitation from Halesworth’s admirable Hightide festival, he has come up with a 70-minute piece about the impact of the Afghan war on a single family. It is a good, honourable work that shows Motion has a gift for drama. It would be even better if he were less cautious about revealing his own anger towards the current conflict. Danny is a soldier recently killed in Helmand; his wife, Steph, is about to leave the family home. Each is alive in the other’s memory and each needs to tell his or her story. Danny relives the experience of frontline conflict – the concern for “your mates” rather than any patriotic principle, the horror of lugging a scorched colleague on your back, the dream-like sensation of the moment of death. He is cynically realistic about his own role in a dubious war, but Steph needs to feel that he died a hero, that the war has a purpose and that the Wootton Bassett funeral was something more than an example of the English gift for “glorious sadness”. Motion’s play is at its best when it gets down to brass tacks and when the dead and the living offer radically divergent views of the Afghan conflict. Danny has a powerful speech in which he attacks the way war has its own unstoppable momentum: having gone to Afghanistan supposedly to curb the Taliban and al-Qaida and to stop people fighting, he feels that, by his death, he is “now part of the reason it goes on”. I wanted Motion to develop the anti-war argument. But the domestic framework prevents him from pointing out that, according to General Petraeus, there are only 100 al-Qaida fighters in Afghanistan. And, although Steph vividly recalls the heartless way she was informed of Danny’s death, nothing she says is as effective as Danny’s account of the way war is fuelled by the endless desire for retaliation. I’m also sceptical about a coda in which Danny talks to his son Jack. The idea of a father and son only communicating after death was done more movingly by JM Barrie in his first world war play, A Well-Remembered Voice. But Motion’s piece is strongly acted, in Steven Atkinson’s production, by Christian Bradley and Penny Layden as Danny and Steph, and by Timothy Greaves as their son. And, even if Motion fights unduly shy of didacticism, he has written a good enough play to make you hope there is more to come. The real revelation at Hightide, however, was Nicked , a musical about Nick Clegg that has been expanded to include the results of the AV referendum. The first half, dealing with the coalition’s formation, is interesting; the second half, showing Clegg in power, is utterly compelling. What emerges is less Clegg’s hubristic vanity than his political ineptitude as Cameron and Osborne run rings round him, especially over tuition fees. Richard Marsh’s rhyming book and lyrics are on the button, Natalia Sheppard’s snazzy score brings the sound of urban music into the theatre, and Jason Longley conveys all Clegg’s narcissistic naivety. Clegg may be dead in the water politically but this musical, suitably trimmed, definitely has legs. Rating: 3/5 Theatre Andrew Motion Michael Billington guardian.co.uk
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Alex Salmond says he is prepared to compromise and offer more choices than a simple yes or no vote for Scottish people Alex Salmond is prepared to compromise on the Scottish independence referendum by including an extra question on giving Holyrood much greater financial freedom while remaining part of the UK. The Scottish first minister said he would talk to other parties about offering the voters a second choice known as “fiscal autonomy” within the UK, rather than a straight yes or no vote on Scotland moving to complete independence. Speaking on the BBC’s Politics Show , Salmond indicated he would work with opposition parties and other interest groups on the alternative question. “I’m very open to discussion and dialogue. Just because we got a majority in the Scottish parliament, doesn’t mean we’ve got a monopoly of wisdom,” he said. “I will listen to what people have to say. I don’t just listen to the SNP.” His offer came as a deep split emerged in the Tory party after senior Conservatives, including the Scotland Office minister, David Mundell, said Salmond should be forced into staging a snap referendum rather than dragging out the debate for another four years. Mundell was joined by Murdo Fraser, deputy leader of the Scottish party, and Lord Forsyth, who was Scottish secretary in the previous Conservative government, in questioning a promise by David Cameron this weekend that the UK government would not interfere in Salmond’s referendum plans. Mundell, the only Tory MP in Scotland, said Westminster could get involved if an early referendum was rejected by the Scottish parliament. “Westminster obviously has a direct interest in this matter and could always get involved. I think it is perfectly legitimate for a referendum to be brought on,” he said. Cameron told Salmond on Friday night that the government in Westminster would not raise any legal or constitutional barriers to the plebiscite. Michael Moore, the Scottish secretary in the UK cabinet, reiterated that on Sunday: “As a UK government we will not be putting obstacles in the way of any referendum.” Forsyth, one of the fiercest Tory critics of devolution, said he had told Cameron about his strong reservations and would put down an amendment to the Scotland bill currently going through Westminster, for a vote in the autumn. “I have been arguing for years that we should pick up Alex Salmond’s challenge and get an independence referendum out of the way for a generation, rather than let Alex Salmond determine the vote,” he told the Mail on Sunday. Officials in the last Labour government insist a referendum would breach the Scotland Act 1998, which established the devolved parliament, since the constitution is reserved to Westminster. Salmond is adamant that as the referendum will be consultative, and not legally binding, it is lawful. Salmond has been given complete command of the referendum process after the SNP won an unprecedented landslide victory in last week’s Holyrood elections, winning 69 seats and an overall majority of the 129-seat parliament. For the first time, a Scottish government does not have to form a coalition or run a weak minority government, as the SNP did in its first term in power after securing a one-seat advantage over Labour in 2007. Despite the clamour from his Tory opponents, Salmond again dismissed any prospect of the Scottish government holding the referendum immediately, saying he would wait until the latter stages of the five-year term. He said this was a “democratic point”, adding: “That’s the plan we outlined to the Scottish people very clearly in the election campaign. We did so consistently and we have been backed overwhelmingly by the Scottish people on that prospectus.” The re-emergence of the so-called “devolution max” option – staying in the UK but with significant autonomy for Scotland – confirms that Salmond wants to give the referendum as much political legitimacy as he can, allowing him to kill off a unified, cross-party opposition campaign. His proposal could attract opposition parties such as the Liberal Democrats, who favour federalism and are now desperate to regain political credibility in Scotland. That would dilute the anti-independence campaign both Cameron and Moore have said they will join. It also allows the SNP to offer sceptical voters a potentially more attractive middle way in case his attempts to build up greater popular support for independence over the next four years fail to secure a majority. Despite Salmond’s victory last week, opinion polls have repeatedly shown that less than a third of Scots favour full independence. Social attitudes surveys show instead that most Scots want to remain in the UK, but with much greater powers for Holyrood. Scottish politics Scotland Alex Salmond Scottish National Party (SNP) Severin Carrell guardian.co.uk
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• Set this page to update automatically using the button below • Send your emails over to simon.burnton@guardian.co.uk • Check out the league standings with our live stats centre • You can even follow Simon on Twitter, if that’s your thing 6 min: Down the other end, where Wilshere pokes the ball through to Van Persie, who has to hurry his shot and sends it over the bar from eight yards, the best chance of these opening stages. 5 min: Jones releases Walters, who irritates Arsenal’s backline for a while before crossing into Koscielny’s shin from the right, the ball bobbling slowly to the keeper. 4 min: I should have also included an FA Cup final mentionometer, because that’s getting some serious attention. 2 min: Kenwyne Jones has a shot at the other end, though he’s falling over while he’s doing it and it flies out for a throw-in, and not particularly near the corner flag either. 1 min: Arshavin drages a shot wide of the near post from the left side of the penalty area, after good work from Wilshere down the left. 1 min: Peeeeeep! Aaron Ramsey takes the game’s first kick, and we’re off! 2.04pm: Mention number one comes as Arsenal’s team sheet is read out, and we’re off and running. And a second, moments later! 2.02pm: Arsenal have “quite literally shot themselves in the foot” this season, expert-analyses Alan McInally. 2.01pm: The players are clattering down the steps and out of Stoke’s pop-out tunnel, action imminent here. 2.00pm: If Thomas Vermaelen makes it off the bench today, there’s a chance that Arsenal might associate the Britannia Stadium with recovering from long-term injuries rather than sustaining them. And if they win, and Chelsea do likewise later on, Arsenal will be just three points off the lead. They’ve still haven’t got a gnat in hell’s chance of winning the league, of course, but it’s better than being six points away. 1.53pm: Still battling through five minutes of stoppage time at Molineux with Wolves 3-1 up against West Bromwich, sadly reducing the time available for Ramsey leg-cruncher mentions. 1.43pm: Current readers’ favourite in today’s sweepstake is between five and 10 times, with 34.72% of the vote. My vote goes to between 10 and 20, incidentally. 1.40pm: An anniversary that will bring back happy memories for Arsenal, and bad ones for Manchester United as they head for another potential title decider at Old Trafford: nine years ago today Arsenal went to Old Trafford, won 1-0 thanks to Sylvain Wiltord’s goal and secured the title. Here’s an aide-memoire , if you need it, courtesy of our very own Richard Williams. And here’s a video , if you must. 1.34pm: Hello again. I’ve only got some teams for you – and Ramsey, unsurprisingly given his performance against Manchester United last week, is a starter: Stoke: Begovic, Wilkinson, Shawcross, Huth, Wilson, Pennant, Whelan, Whitehead, Delap, Walters, Jones. Subs: Sorensen, Collins, Pugh, Diao, Carew, Faye, Shotton. Arsenal: Szczesny, Sagna, Koscielny, Djourou, Gibbs, Walcott, Ramsey, Song, Wilshere, Arshavin, van Persie. Subs: Lehmann, Vermaelen, Rosicky, Squillaci, Eboue, Chamakh, Bendtner. Referee: Mark Halsey (Lancashire). 1.09pm: The question for today is: how often will Sky’s commentary team be mentioning last year’s match between Arsenal and Stoke here? I’ll count every single mention between the end of the Wolves v West Bromwich match and the final whistle, so here’s a just-for-fun sweepstake . 1pm: If you’re here early and you want to be entertained, here are a few match pointers. Or you can follow Wolves v West Bromwich with Barry Glendenning , if you prefer: • Stoke have won four of their last five home league meetings with Arsenal and also knocked them out of the FA Cup at the Britannia Stadium last season • Arsenal have the best passing accuracy in the opposition half (79.8%) while Stoke have the worst (55.7%) • Kenwyne Jones has had more headed shots (39) than any other player in the division There’s more where that came from, plus predicted line-ups for today’s game, in our squad sheets ? Premier League Stoke City Arsenal Simon Burnton guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Tina Fey As Palin: ‘We Finally Vanquished One of the World’s Great Villains – Katie Couric’
May 8, 2011 No Comment
NBC's Tina Fey guest-hosted “Saturday Night Live” last evening, and viewers could hardly be surprised her network took the opportunity to once again use her to bash former Alaska governor Sarah Palin. In a mock Republican presidential candidates debate, before depicting Palin as an idiot that doesn't fully understand English, Fey did manage to take a humorous swipe at the soon to be exiting CBS “Evening News” host saying, “I want to acknowledge that this week we finally vanquished one of the world's great villains, and I for one am thrilled to say good riddance to Katie Couric” (video follows with partial transcript): TINA FEY AS SARAH PALIN: Hi there. You know, it's just so great to be back on Fox News, a network that both pays me and shows me the questions ahead of time. And I just hope that tonight the lamestream media won't twist my words by repeating them verbatim. […] FEY: Well, first, I want to acknowledge that this week we finally vanquished one of the world's great villains, and I for one am thrilled to say good riddance to Katie Couric. As for boning up on experience and policy, I'm planning a trip to the Middle East where I will be filming a cameo in “Hangover 3,” the third hangover. The fellas go to a bar, and I'm there. I also recently purchased Rosetta Stone English. But the important thing for people to know is that I'm going to be running for president every four years for the rest of my life. It's my Olympics, and I intend to win a whole bunch of silvers.
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On Thursday night’s edition of The Ed Show on MSNBC, “Ed Schultz threw down a threat-down on hawkish, jingoistic country crooners like Toby Keith and Lee Greenwood ,” wrote Adam Gold of Nashville Scene , “or as he called 'em, ‘fun-lovin', American rednecks in Nashville, Tennessee.” Schultz “put the Music Row machine on notice — jestingly expressing his hankering to hear a patriotic anthem lauding President Obama and the Navy Seals for toe-tagging Osama bin Laden.” You can tell Schultz was mocking patriotic country singers because he didn’t ask Steve Earle or the Dixie Chicks for their help. Ed wanted a “gutsy call” song: I mean, I think I can say that we — with tremendous confidence — that this was a brave mission based on a gutsy call by President Obama. I mean, all of us, except maybe one portion of America I'm waiting on. And that's Nashville, Tennessee. You remember these country western singers that just loved to make all these patriotic songs, Lee Greenwood and he's proud to be an American? Toby Keith, come on, dude. Give me a song, man. We took down the number one terrorist in the world. Does it have to be a Republican president all the time? Schultz then suggested country stars don’t like Obama because of his political party, his international upbringing, his Ivy League degrees,
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• Set this page to update automatically using the button below • Send your emails over to barry.glendenning@guardian.co.uk • Check out the league standings with our live stats centre • You can even follow Barry on Twitter, if that’s your thing 35 min: Wolves win another corner, prompting panic and much finger-pointing, pulling and dragging in the West Brom penalty area … before it’s taken. When Craggy Island’s Stephen Hunt eventually sends the ball in the ball, the Baggies manage to clear comfortably. 34 min: Michael Mancienne lets Peter Odemwingie beat him for pace to latch on to a through-ball from Somen Tchoyi, but gets off the hook when the West Brom striker is correctly penalised for offside. 30 min: Interestingly, Sky Sports match analyst Don Goodman before before the goal was scored that West Brom striker Peter Odemwingie ambled into the penalty area to help defend that corner without appearing to have a clue who he was supposed to be marking. Sure enough, when the ball came in to the penalty area, Odemwingie hadn’t picked up anybody, leaving Adiene Guedioura completely unmarked. GOAL! Wolves 2-0 West Brom (Guedioura 28) That is shocking defending from West Brom, who concede from a corner for the second time. Stephen Hunt sent the ball past the far post to the right-hand side of the six-yard box, where Steven Fletcher leaps highest to direct the ball back across the face of goal. Standing unmarked inside the six-yard box, Adiene Guedioura swivels and volleys home from three or four yards out. 27 min: Another corner for Wolves, when an attempted cross from Stephen Hunt is deflected wide by Gonzalo Jara. 26 min: Stephen Ward tries to latch on to another through-ball towards the corner from Jamie O’Hara, but times his run incorrectly and is penalised for offside. 24 min: West Brom midfielder Youssuf Mulumbu gives the ball away cheaply in the centre-circle, before winning it back again courtesy of a crunching tackle that leaves Steven Fletcher rolling on the deck. Referee Mike Dean was on hand to see the incident, but didn’t deem it worthy of a free-kick. 22 min: Some interesting stats from Phil Booth. “West Brom have overturned three HT losses to win (equal best with Spurs),” she says, going on to point out that “Wolves top the ‘bottle chart’ having thrown away six half-time leads, totalling 10 points (Arsenal in second,: five bottles, seven points).” 20 min: “I don’t mean to be pedantic (alright, I do),” writes Tom Shaw. “But Wolves shirts are old gold. Well, that’s how Subbuteo used to describe them in the catalogue anyway.” Fair enough, Tom. If it’s good enough for Subbuteo, it’s good enough for me. 20 min: West Brom win a free-kick in the channel between Wolves penalty area and left-hand touchline. The ball is curled in towards the waiting throng, but Wolves clear. 18 min: Marvellous play from Jamie O’Hara, who whips a first-time cross into the edge of the six-yard box, finding the feet of Stephen Ward again. Offside. GOAL! Wolves 1-0 West Brom (Fletcher 15) Jamie O’Hara took the aforementioned free-kick, bringing an excellent save out of Scott Carson, who tipped the ball wide and conceded a corner. The ball was then swung in to the West Brom penalty area, where a completely unmarked Adiene Guedioura chested the ball into the path of Steven Fletcher, who reacted quickly to prod it home from about five yards out. That’s a huge goal for Wolves – as things stand, they’re out of the relegation zone. 14 min: With the ball flying over his own and Stephen Ward’s heads, West Brom skipper Jonas Olsson sticks out a leg and stupidly concedes a free-kick, a couple of yards outside the penalty area, on the right hand side. 12 min: Gonzalo Jara takes a throw-in for West Brom, allowing me to get a good look at his shirt courtesy of the pitchside camera. I feel compelled to say, those stripes look black to me. However, I think we can all agree, the white ones are definitely white. 10 min: “West Brom play in navy blue and white!” shrieks Pete. “Black and white? Tsk.” That’s me told. And I thought I was great for not saying Wolves play in orange. 8 min: Excellent work from Wolves left-back George Elokobi, who busts a gut to chase down Somen Tchoyi and concede a corner, rather than letting the Cameroonian getting a cross into the Wolves penalty area. West Brom take the corner and Wolves clear. 6 min: With Jamie O’Hara pulling the strings, a period of sustained Wolves pressure is rewarded with a corner. O’Hara sends the ball into the mixer, it’s cleared back towards him and he returns it with interest. West Brom clear. This is fairly absorbing so far, despite not featuring the reckless challenges and death-or-glory fare you’d expect from a derby. 4 min: From the left wing, Jamie O’Hara sends a low cross into the West Brom penalty area, directly to the feet of Stephen Ward, standing with his back to goal. He attempts to turn and fire, but his effort is blocked. 3 min: Wolves striker Stephen Ward is put through on goal down the inside left channel and shoots into the side-netting. Even if he’d scored it wouldn’t have counted – he’d been flagged for offside. 2 min: There’s warm applause for Kevin Foley, who intercepts a cross from West Brom right winger Somen Tchoyi to send a cushinoed header back to his goalkeeper, Wayne Hennessy. It wasn’t that impressive, but I suppose they haven’t had much to applaud round Molineux way in recent times. 1 min: West Brom kick off, playing from left to right. They press forward and immediately concede the first free-kick of the match when Simon Cox is caught offside while trying to latch on to a through ball from Jerome Thomas. Not long now: With Molineux bulging, the teams march out of the tunnel, with Wolves led by tough tackling’s Karl Henry and West Brom led by alice band wearing Scandinavian Jonas Olssen. Both sides are kitted out in their home colours, with Wolves in gold shirts and socks, with and black shorts (“out of darkness cometh light”) and West Brom in black and white stripes, white shorts and white socks. Mick McCarthy speaks: Upon being asked why he’s shuffled his deck and left Matt Jarvis, who’s played 33 league games this season, on the bench for this match, the Wolves manager says “maybe that’s why I’ve decided to leave him out. Hunty [Stephen Hunt] is desperate to play and he’s always got a goal in him so I’ve decided to start with him today.” Team news: Wolves boss Mick McCarthy has axed England winger Matt Jarvis for this afternoon’s match, hopefully for reasons unrelated to this interview he did for yesterday’s Guardian . Jarvis won his first cap against Ghana in March but has struggled to reproduce his best form in recent weeks. Defender Richard Stearman is also left out, with Adlene Guedioura and Stephen Hunt coming in to the side. West Brom manager Roy Hodgson recalls fit again Jerome Thomas and Somen Tchoyi in place of on-loan Carlos Vela and the suspended Paul Scharner. Wolves: Hennessey, Foley, Craddock, Mancienne, Elokobi, Guedioura, Henry, O’Hara, Hunt, Ward, Fletcher. Subs: Hahnemann, Stearman, Ebanks-Blake, Berra, Jarvis, Vokes, Milijas. West Brom: Carson, Jara, Meite, Olsson, Shorey, Tchoyi, Morrison, Mulumbu, Thomas, Cox, Odemwingie. Subs: Myhill, Miller, Vela, Hurst, Fortune, Thorne, Tamas. Referee: Mike Dean (Wirral) Good morning everybody and welcome to our minute-by-minute coverage of this afternoon’s Black Country derby between Wolverhampton Wanderers v West Bromwich Albion. A win for Wolves this afternoon will give them a real chance of survival and move them out of the drop zone , leaving Blackpool, Wigan Athletic and West Ham anchored in the relegation mire. West Brom are the form side, however – they’ve collected 16 points in their last nine games and lost just one in 10: a 3-1 home defeat at the hands of Chelsea. Should Baggies striker Peter Odemwingie score today, he’ll become the first player to get on the score-sheet in five successive Premier League matches this season. Some match pointers with which to amaze your friends down the pub • Albion have conceded more goals from outside the the area (10) than any other side • In this season’s reverse fixture, Wolves had only one shot on target compared to Albion’s eight, but the game still ended in a 1-1 draw • Youssuf Mulumbu has the best conversion ratio of players with five or more goals, scoring with 46% of his shots • Wolves have kept just one clean sheet in their last nine home meetings with Albion in all competitions • If Premier League games ended at half-time this season, Albion would be bottom with 30 points Premier League Wolverhampton Wanderers West Brom Barry Glendenning guardian.co.uk
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Two churches set ablaze after claims a Christian woman was being prevented from converting to Islam Egypt’s transitional government has called a crisis meeting after Muslim-Christian clashes in Cairo left 10 dead and cast a new cloud over hopes for peaceful post-revolutionary change. A Coptic church in the Imaba neighbourhood was set ablaze after fighting broke out over claims that a Christian woman was being held and prevented from converting to Islam. Initials reports on Egyptian state TV said six Muslims and three Copts had been killed, and there were nearly 200 injured. The death toll later rose to 10. The army, sensitive to alarm about deteriorating security, was quick to announce that 190 people arrested in connection with the violence would be tried in military courts. Eyewitness described how several hundred Muslims massed outside the St Mina church demanding the woman be surrendered. Gunfire rang out and stones and petrol bombs were thrown before the army and emergency services were able to bring the situation under control. A second church was burned down. Imbaba, which has some of Cairo’s worst slums, was quiet but tense on Sunday, with tanks, troops and police on the streets. Copts called for a march to the US embassy off Tahrir Square to demand international protection. Egyptian media described the attackers as Salafis, strictly fundamentalist Muslims who want to see the imposition of sharia law. The Salafis, often with links to Saudi Arabia, are seen as having gained prominence because security is far less repressive now than before the revolution. It is also widely believed that elements of the Hosni Mubarak regime are encouraging them. “It’s the previous regime that is responsible for this,” one resident said at the scene. George Ishaq, a pro-democracy activist, said: “We demand that the higher military council punish all those responsible. This is a crime, not sectarian strife.” The incident was quickly condemned by the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt’s main Islamist group. “We should crack down on that violence and not let those people ruin what we achieved in the January revolution,” Essam El-Erian, the brotherhood spokesman, warned in a TV interview. “The Imbaba incident clearly shows that there are some people who are still working behind the scenes to ignite sectarian strife in Egypt.” Erian echoed suggestions that attacks were encouraged by members of the now disbanded National Democratic party, which ruled Egypt during the Mubarak era. Last month 13 people died in similar Muslim-Coptic clashes in another neighbourhood of the capital. Copts make up about 10% of Egypt’s 80 million people. Over the weekend democracy activists held a conference to discuss the future of the revolution before parliamentary elections planned for September. Egypt Middle East Islam Christianity Religion Ian Black guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Fighting between prisoners and security officers in Baghdad kills at least 18, including al-Qaida mastermind of church attack At least 18 people were killed in fighting between security officers and prisoners at an Iraqi interior ministry jail complex in Baghdad on Sunday, a security official said. The dead included an al-Qaida leader known as the “emir of Baghdad” who planned an attack on a Catholic church last October in which more than 50 people died, said Major-General Qassim al-Moussawi, Baghdad’s security spokesman. The skirmish at a counter-terrorism unit in Baghdad’s central Karrada district began when a prisoner grabbed a gun from a guard, killed several guards and interior ministry officers, and gave a weapon to other inmates, Moussawi said. “Security forces and guards responded and killed 11 prisoners … including Huthaifa al-Batawi, who was in charge of planning the church attack,” he said. Seven security officers were killed in the skirmish and another was wounded. Moussawi said the situation at the jail was under control and no prisoners had escaped. Batawi was arrested in late November along with 11 others in connection with the attack on Our Lady of Salvation church in the Iraqi capital during Sunday mass on 31 October. Dozens of hostages and police died in the bloodiest attack against Iraq’s Christian minority since the 2003 US-led invasion. Iraqi security forces have been on high alert for revenge attacks by al-Qaida since US commandos killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan last week. Iraq al-Qaida guardian.co.uk
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Deputy PM says he wants substantial changes to NHS reform plans, and vows to be more assertive within coalition Nick Clegg has vowed to veto the government’s planned NHS reforms unless the package put forward by the health secretary, Andrew Lansley, is improved. The deputy prime minister said unless there were “substantial, significant changes” to Lansley’s proposals to hand commissioning powers to GPs and extend private provision of NHS services, he would tell Liberal Democrat MPs and peers to vote them down. The warning came as Clegg set out his plans to be more assertive within the coalition government in response to Lib Dem losses in last week’s elections. He told BBC1′s Andrew Marr show he would “never, never, never” join the Conservatives, adding: “I will be carried out in my coffin as a card-carrying Liberal Democrat.” Clegg accepted that his party’s traditional supporters were anxious about the programme of spending cuts the government has signed up to, but insisted the coalition’s efforts to reduce the deficit must continue. Despite the loss of more than 700 English councillors and the bulk of his representation in the Scottish parliament – as well as the overwhelming defeat on electoral reform – Clegg insisted the Lib Dems still had “a platform from which we can recover”. Earlier the Labour leader, Ed Miliband, urged disgruntled Lib Dems to jump ship from the coalition and join him in opposing the Conservatives, a call dismissed as “tactics” by Clegg. The Lib Dem leader told Marr: “I accept that there is real pressure on us to explain to our traditional voters why we are doing this and why it is good for the country. Of course there are lessons to be learned, and the lesson I have learned listening to people on the doorsteps is that people want a louder Liberal Democrat voice in government.” He insisted the “pause” in the health and social care bill announced by Lansley would not simply amount to a cosmetic consultation. “It is absolutely not just a pause for the sake of it. This is not a cosmetic exercise. There will be substantial, significant changes to the legislation,” he said. “As far as government legislation is concerned, no bill is better than a bad one, and I want to get this right. Protecting the NHS, rather than undermining it, is now my number one priority. “I am not going to ask Liberal Democrat MPs and peers to proceed with legislation on something as precious and cherished – particularly for Liberal Democrats – as the NHS unless I personally am satisfied that what these changes do is an evolutionary change in the NHS and not a disruptive revolution.” Clegg said critics of Lansley’s plans were right to warn that changes must not be pushed through too fast and GPs should not be forced to take on commissioning roles before they are ready. “What you will see in this legislation are clear guarantees that you are not going to have back-door privatisation of the NHS.” Clegg insisted it was not the time for “tit for tat politics in the government [with] ministers fighting like cats and dogs”, and said there would be no rewriting of the coalition agreement. Nick Clegg Health policy Liberal-Conservative coalition Liberal Democrats NHS Health guardian.co.uk
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