For Mrs NotaSheep

XTC - Senses Working Overtime

Andy Partridge is one of the great British pop lyricists of the late 20th century and much underrated.

"Hey hey,
The clouds are whey,
There's straw for the donkeys,
And the innocents can all sleep safely,
All sleep safely.

My, my,
Sun is pie,
There's fodder for the cannons,
And the guilty ones can all sleep safely,
All sleep safely.

And all the world is football shaped,
It's just for me to kick in space,
And I can see, hear, smell, touch, taste,
And I've got one, two, three, four, five
Senses working overtime,
Trying to take this all in,
I've got one, two, three, four, five
Senses working overtime,
Trying to taste the difference,
'Tween the lemons and limes,
The pain and the pleasure,
And the church bells softly chime.

Hey hey,
Night fights day,
There's food for the thinkers,
And the innocents can all live slowly,
All live slowly,
My, my,
The sky will cry,
Jewels for the thirsty,
And the guilty one's can all die slowly
All die slowly.

And all the world is biscuit shaped,
It's just for me to feed my face,
And I can see, hear, smell, touch, taste,
And I've got one, two, three, four, five,
Senses working overtime,
Trying to take this all in,
I've got one, two, three, four, five,
Senses working overtime,
Trying to taste the difference,
'Tween the lemons and limes,
The pain and the pleasure,
And the church bells softly chime,

And birds might fall from black skies,
And bullies might give you black eyes,
And busses might skid on black ice,
But to me it's very very beautiful,
(England's glory!)
Beautiful
(a striking beauty!)

And all the world is football shaped,
It's just for me to kick in space,
And I can see, hear, smell, touch, taste,
And I've got one, two, three, four, five,
Senses working overtime,
Trying to take this all in,
I've got one,two,three, four, five
Senses working overtime,
Trying to tell the difference,
'Tween the goods and crimes,
Dirt or treasure,
And there's one, two, three, four,five
Senses working overtime,
Trying to take this all in,
I've got one, two, three, four, five,
Senses working overtime,
Trying to taste the difference,
'Tween the lemons and limes,
The pain and the pleasure,
And the church bells softly chime."

Sex with an object (update)

I Love You Cheetos, it's art (apparently).

Not for those of delicate sensibilities, or those who are allergic to cheese.

Obama mispoke again

Barack Obama described Israel as "undivided" when speaking to a Jewish group but recanted the next day. Now I learn that an Obama advisor, Daniel Kurtzer has said that Obama didn’t realize what he was saying to AIPAC when he used the term "undivided" in reference to Jerusalem. According to Kurtzer, Obama had "a picture in his mind of Jerusalem before 1967 with barbed wires and minefields and demilitarized zones." Kurtzer says that only after the speech did Obama realize it was a "code word" to use the phrase, "but it does not indicate any kind of naivete about foreign affairs."

He had no idea how Jerusalem is perceived by the Israel and the Muslim countries that surround her? Does he have foreign policy advisers or does he just want Tony Blair style to please everyone all the time until elected?

Any coverage of this story on the Barack Broadcasting Corporation (the BBC) yet?

Twelfth winner of the weekly "No shit, Sherlock" award

From Tim Blair's Australian blog:

"British journalist Jonathan Foreman despairs of British journalism:

British newspaper writing is famously more vigorous and readable than its American equivalent. But this comes at a price: there’s a good chance that anything you read in a British newspaper isn’t true.

When I worked as a leader writer for an American paper I was embarrassed when I was told that it was official policy not to trust any item in any British paper except the FT. American journalists work within a stringent code of ethics. If a journalist for a major paper or TV network is found to have run a false story — perhaps because it was “too good to check” — then his or her career is generally over.

In Britain, getting caught telling or repeating a lie is much less serious than cheating on expenses. This is especially true in the world of foreign reporting.

Take the broadsheet reporters who claimed there had been a massacre at “Jeningrad” in the West Bank on the dubious word of a single source. Even after all parties to the conflict pointed out that this massacre was a fantasy, the hoodwinked correspondents retained the trust of their editors.

The ABC’s Peter Cave - a Yasser fan - appeared on ABC radio a week ago to repeat (as he has for years) his claim that the Jenin massacre was real. As well as retaining the trust of his editors, he also retains the money of Australian taxpayers."

"there’s a good chance that anything you read in a British newspaper isn’t true"

"No shit, Sherlock"

House Price Crash update

Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS) is writing off another £1bn and is warning of a more rapid decline in the housing market. In a trading update, HBOS said it now expects UK house prices to fall 9% this year, twice the rate it previously forecast. It is also predicts housing transactions will fall by 45% in 2008.

As I have said before, expect a 40% drop in average house prices from top of the market last spring/summer to the bottom in a couple of years time.

Thanks Gordon.

You're killing the Earth, you evil child

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation have a lovely brainwashing tool on their website, it's aimed at children and at getting the "little darlings" to pester their parents about CO2 emissions. These emissions are, in ABC's view, killing the planet. Why not take the "planet slayer" test yourself here and see "when you should die". You can also "see the science behind the calculator", I presume the word "science" is used loosely.

Brainwashing children, well done the Australian Broadcasting Corporation - I just wonder why the BBC have been so slow with their version. I presume they were looking for an alternative to the "greenhouse pig", an alternative that would not insult Muslims.

The Arctic ice is melting, maybe never to return...

We have been told that the Arctic ice is melting and that any new ice is thin. This is meant to lead to 22 foot rises in sea levels, which is of course complete cobblers. What is actually happening is the complete opposite, the ice is getting thicker. Take a read of this piece from Watts up with that, here's an extract:

"What irony. I am a passenger on one of the most powerful icebreakers in the world, travelling through the Northwest Passage - which is supposed to become almost ice-free in a time of global warming, the next shipping route across the top of the world - and here we are, stuck in the ice, engines shut down, bridge deserted. Only time and tide can free us."

Global Warming or Man Made Climate Change it makes no difference, they are a con. Look around the web, find the truth and spread the word.

EU pensions again

I have blogged before, most recently here about the fact that

"Various "Noble Lords" gave their opinions on the EU Treaty during the recent debates. None of those who in receipt of EU pensions declared this fact, despite the fact that these pensions are paid on the understanding that the EU can remove this pension, if in the view of the Commission or the Luxembourg Court, they "fail to uphold the interests of the European Communities"."

I note that in last night's House of Lords debate the redoubtable Lord Pearson brought up the matter and named names much to the fury of "Lord" Kinnock, one of the leading EU weasels. The whole EU debate can be found here but the part that I am quoting from starts here:

"Lord Pearson of Rannoch: My Lords...I cannot disguise my disappointment that noble Lords in receipt of an EU pension did not, with the notable and honourable exception of the noble Lord, Lord Williamson, see fit to declare that interest in all our debates. I refer your Lordships to our debate on 19 July 2007 when we debated why they should have done so. In summary, the reason why I and my Eurosceptic friends believe that noble EU pensioners should declare that interest in our debates is that EU pensions are perhaps unique in that holders can lose them if they fail to uphold the EU’s interests or bring the EU into disrepute. Our case was unanimously supported by your Lordships’ Sub-Committee on Lords’ Interests, chaired by no less a personage than the former Lord Chief Justice, the noble and learned Lord, Lord Woolf. Then, again I think uniquely, that sub-committee was overruled by our Privileges Committee consisting of party leaders and various prefects of your Lordships’ House for largely spurious reasons.

It is against that background that no fewer than 12 noble EU pensioners have between them played a leading role in our proceedings.

A noble Lord: Name them!

Lord Pearson of Rannoch: My Lords, is it your Lordships’ pleasure that I should name them? I was not going to because a number of them are not in their seats, but if I am called to name them I will. We obviously have plenty of time. If we look at former members of the European Parliament, we have the noble Lords, Lord Dykes, Lord Inglewood, Lord Harrison and Lord Teverson, the noble Baroness, Lady Quin, and the noble Lord who asked the question, the noble Lord, Lord Tomlinson.

Lord Tomlinson: My Lords, the noble Lord should realise that Members of the European Parliament are paid a salary by Her Majesty’s Treasury and that it is Her Majesty’s Treasury that pays my pension for service in the European Parliament. That is true for pensions of all Members of the European Parliament. I think that the noble Lord should be a little more circumspect before he throws around allegations. If he is then going to say that there is a supplementary pension scheme, he should also acknowledge that that supplementary pension scheme is run by a non-profit making organisation, ASBL, which is registered under Luxembourg law. It is not a pension from the European Union.

Lord Pearson of Rannoch: My Lords, as the noble Lord will know, the treaties themselves and the European staff guidelines make it possible for the Commission and the court to remove an EU pension.

I had better complete the ex-Commissioners now, because I have got that far.

Lord Dykes: My Lords, perhaps I may remind the noble Lord that in the early 1970s I was a member of the old, unelected European Parliament. We were appointed by the leader of the party in those days—any party—and we received no salaries or pension at all.

Lord Pearson of Rannoch: My Lords, of course I apologise to the noble Lord if he, of all those I am now being called on to name, does not receive a pension. One reason why I did not want to name them all—because there are others—is that the certainty of some of these conditions can, in particular cases, be difficult to discern. But there is not much doubt about it when we come to the ex-Commissioners and ex-Commission employees: the noble Lords, Lord Brittan, Lord Clinton-Davis, Lord Kinnock, Lord Patten of Barnes, Lord Richard and Lord Tugendhat. As I say, I would not have named those people, but I think it will help students who read Hansard in future to know that our debates have been influenced to that extent. There can be no doubt that this unseen hand has distorted the quality of our deliberations. I very much regret that....No, my Lords; I do not withdraw the fact that if one is in receipt of a pension that one can lose, it must influence the way in which one thinks and speaks."

"An extremely large, extremely powerful idiot"

There is a letter in Tuesday's Independent newspaper that I think bears repeating. It's in reply to a comment piece by Howard Jacobson supporting the 42 days detention without trial and questioning why people fear "the State". Here's the letter in full:

"Sir: I don't fear the State, Mr Jacobson (Comment, 14 June). I don't suspect it of base motives. I just don't think it's very bright, and nobody enjoys having a fool for a boss. Consider, for a moment, being required to work with an editor who, flying in the teeth of all available evidence, considers himself best placed to tell you how to write your books.

The State feels the need to get involved in all aspects of my life, without ever showing any particular aptitude for the job. It wants to educate my children, but can't quite decide from one week to the next on the best way to do so. It wants to keep me safe, but approaches the analysis of comparative risk with the mind of a four-year-old child; happy to play hopscotch on the M25, but terrified of dragons.

It wants everyone to behave themselves, but believes the best way for that to happen is for it to stand peering in through my kitchen window in case I do something wrong. It wants to collect as much information as it can but, like a bank that opens a branch before installing the safe, can't quite figure out what to do with it, or where to put it. It wants to go to war on our behalf, but can't bring itself to explain the real reason why.

It is surrounded by battalions of advisers, but listens only to the bad ones. It desperately wants to make things better for everyone, but is constantly distracted by its perceived directive to help rich people to get richer.

There is an overwhelming case for the State to finally decide on its core competencies, wherever they may be, and to be swiftly kicked when it steps beyond them.

What appears to have happened is that, in a moment of nervousness, lacking the comfort of any convincing Higher Power, we have decided to make our own, and in a ham-fisted attempt to do so, we've taken the brightest and best, the finest intellects of our age, put them in a room together and created an extremely large, extremely powerful idiot.

Tim Hinchliffe

Beckenham, Kent"

A good letter that makes some serious points but I must take exception with one part of the letter:

"we've taken the brightest and best, the finest intellects of our age, put them in a room together and created an extremely large, extremely powerful idiot.

"brightest and best"? In no particular order I give you for your consideration - Geoff Hoon, Des Browne, Yvette Cooper, Ed Balls, Ed Miliband, Harriett Harman, Hilary Ben, David Miliband, Alistair Darling, Gordon Brown. Brightest and best, really? Has the UK sunk that low?


Thanks to Mr Eugenides for the spot.

" Our EU masters have no sense of shame"

Iain Martin's article in today's Telegraph is a must read.

"There has been something staggering and infuriating about the events of the past few days. The response to the latest setback has been so brazen from the European elite that wants full integration, it proves those involved have passed beyond a point where they might feel the slightest embarrassment about appearing not to be good democrats. In reality, they are now actively anti-democratic in pursuit of their master plan, revelling in a refusal to acknowledge that voters might be anything other than sheep needing to be led in the right direction."

and you know how I feel about "sheep"...

Answer the fucking question...

I have had it up to here with Gordon Brown, he seems to have an aversion to answering a straight question. Instead of answering a question he prefers to refer back to Conservative governments of at least 12 years ago. Here's a few exchanges from yesterday's PMQs (per Hansard):

1. "Mr. Cameron: The Prime Minister should understand that either the treaty is dead or it is not. I simply do not understand why he does not have the courage to say that it is dead. This is not a treaty that Britain wanted or needed; it is a treaty that he was so ashamed of that he had to sign it in a room all on his own. Because the Prime Minister will not take a lead and declare the treaty dead, everyone suspects that he and others in Europe will make the Irish vote again. Will he guarantee that he would never support such an arrogant and high-handed move? Would not it be ridiculous to ask the Irish to vote twice when we have not even been allowed to vote once?

The Prime Minister: To follow on the right hon. Gentleman’s first question, it is surely for the Irish to decide what they want to do—not for him to tell them what they want to do, or for us to tell them what they want to do.

The right hon. Gentleman forgets all the time during this discussion that 60 per cent. of our trade is with the European Union, that 3 million jobs depend on the European Union, and that his party supports the enlargement of the European Union. The whole purpose of the treaty is to put in place the institutional arrangements that make the enlargement possible. Once again, the Conservative party wills the ends but does not support the means."

Ignoring the misdirection that somehow the UK's trade with other EU countries would stop if the UK left the EU, does Gordon Brown in any way answer the question?

2. "Mr. Cameron: The Prime Minister says that this is a matter for the Irish people, but the Irish people have spoken. They have said no. Which part of “No” does the Prime Minister not understand?

The Prime Minister says that he does not want to bully Ireland, but does he not understand that continuing with the ratification process is doing precisely that? The Foreign Secretary says that we must proceed in order to express a British view. If the Prime Minister wants to hear a British view, why does he not ask the British people?

The Prime Minister: The last time a Conservative Government were in power, when the Maastricht treaty came up the then Prime Minister came to the House and said

“our partners propose to complete the ratification procedures. We share that judgment, and intend to continue with the passage of the Bill.”—[ Official Report, 3 June 1992; Vol. 208, c. 827.]

And that is what they did.

As for the referendum, the Conservatives opposed a referendum on Maastricht, which is about more integration. They opposed a referendum on the Single European Act when they were in power. They even opposed the initial referendum on membership of the European Union. Even now, they cannot give a straight answer on whether they support a post-ratification referendum. This is not a position of principle; it is opposition for opposition’s sake, once again."

Question unanswered but a really irrelevant reference to history.

3. "Mr. Hugo Swire (East Devon) (Con): While the situation in Zimbabwe is tragically worsening by the hour, the United Nations Security Council remains paralysed by China and by Russia. Will the Prime Minister now show some leadership by summoning the Chinese ambassador, reminding her that the eyes of the world are on China and Beijing in the run-up to the Olympics, and that the Chinese Government should cease immediately financially shoring up what the Prime Minister has rightly described as Mugabe’s “criminal regime”?

The Prime Minister: It is right that it is a criminal regime run by a criminal cabal, and we must make that clear to the rest of the world, but the hon. Gentleman is wrong to say that the UN Secretary-General has not been taking action. He has met President Mugabe and made it clear that he wants a human rights envoy into the country. Arrangements are being made for that human rights envoy to go into the country, and the United Nations Secretary-General has made it clear that his eyes are on a free and fair election. He is supporting the number of monitors who will come from outside Africa for that election, and that is what we support, as well."

Question unanswered and not even a reference to China and their attempts to takeover much of Africa.

4. "Ann Winterton (Congleton) (Con): Three cheers for the Irish, Mr. Speaker! How can the Prime Minister expect the people of this country to obey our laws and to trust the Government if the Government themselves flagrantly ignore the European Union rule that if a treaty is opposed—rejected—by just one country, it falls?

The Prime Minister: It is the Conservative party all over again; there it is, viscerally anti-European, and the truth is that it has not changed a bit. We all know the agenda of the hon. Lady and many Conservatives: they do not just want to defeat the treaty; they want us out of Europe altogether. That would be bad for Britain."

And answer came there none.


I suggest that one week at PMQs David Cameron asks one simple question and when he fails to get a proper answer (which he wont) just repeats it for his whole stint. Then each Conservative MP asks the same question. Can you imagine the fury on Gordon Brown's face? The fist clenching, the jaw clamping...

Dirty NHS

I have blogged previously about how dirty NHS hospitals are and how Gordon Brown's "deep clean" initiative is little more than a piece of froth and spin.

Now I read in The Telegraph that:

"More than a quarter of health trusts in England are failing to meet basic hygiene standards, official figures show today.

The Healthcare Commission reports that no improvement has been made on a year ago.

In total, 103 out of 391 trusts admitted they did not achieve the minimum requirements, brought in by the Government to help combat the hospital superbugs, MRSA and Clostridium difficile.

Patients groups and politicians said that it was "shocking" that one in four still did not meet the standards, despite ministers' pledges to tackle cleanliness.

More than 8,000 deaths were related to MRSA and C. diff. The report shows that
26 per cent of trusts failed to keep facilities clean, did not have adequate infection control or follow guidelines
on decontaminating reusable equipment.

Only 40 per cent of trusts claim to have met all the Governments standards, which include patient care and confidentiality as well as hygiene, a slight fall on last year.

The commission warns that even fewer trusts may be deemed to have met all the criteria by the time it finishes spot checks this year.

The failings come despite a £50 million "deep clean" of every hospital in England, designed to curb superbugs. "

The telegraph article does include an "excuse" and an "explanation" from Ben Bradshaw but I am tired of Ministers like him who are just a walking excuse for the mismanagement of the country and so if you want to read his pearls of "wisdom" you'll have to read them in The Telegraph as they wont get house room here.

Let them eat pizza

No this is not a joke story, it is for real.

The BBC report that:

"Police in a part of Derby have started running free pizza nights in a bid to stop young people committing anti-social behaviour.

More than 150 people signed a petition in Sinfin declaring their annoyance at the bad behaviour of some of the young people in the area.

Sgt Fiona Kilgour said not all the young people taking part were "bad", and it was a scheme for everyone.

But some local residents have said they are unhappy with the police's solution.

Shopkeeper and organiser of the petition Dinesh Bhandari, said he did not think the pizza plan was tackling the problem.

"Everybody's saying they're doing this, doing that but I don't think they're doing enough, they're just ticking boxes.

"With the new pizza thing, they [young people] are going to that, having the pizza but then coming here beforehand, then rounded up and taken there as if it's a pat on the back," he said.

Mr Bhandari said groups of up to 30 youths would regularly stand outside his shop on Cromarty Close, not "doing much" but their presence was "intimidating" for customers.

Sgt Fiona Kilgour said the pizza nights were part of a wider plan to engage young people.

"This was never about a miracle cure, it's one of several tactics we are developing at the moment.

"It's something we haven't tried before. It's about taking the group - and they are not all bad - from the estate, with our team so we can get to know them better, break down barriers with the aim of reducing their want or need to commit anti-social behaviour."

The pizza project will run for four weeks on Thursday and Friday nights."

More on Zimbabwe

The story just gets worse and worse and nothing is ever done...

Today I read that:

"President Robert Mugabe's onslaught against his opponents widened to include their families when the wife and child of the mayor of Harare were abducted.

Armed men raided the house of Emmanuel Chiroto, a senior member of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change and recently elected mayor.

They burned down the house with petrol bombs and kidnapped his wife, Abigail, 27, and their four-year-old son, Ashley. The boy was released a few hours later, but Mrs Chiroto is still missing.

The incident bore all the hallmarks of a state-organised operation designed to break the MDC's organisation by targeting its key figures. Five of the MDC's local organisers have been murdered."

And what do we do in the West? Nothing, have you heard a peep from our Foreign Secretary, no he's too busy trying to help the EU override the Ireland NO vote. How about Thabo Mbeki? Don't be daft, he still thinks that Mugabe is a heroic freedom fighter.

Oil exploration

Last week I blogged that:

"I often read that the world is now past the point of "peak oil", that being the point when when the maximum rate of global petroleum production is reached, after which the rate of production enters its terminal decline.

What we hear less about are the enormous reserves of oil that lie ready to be extracted but that are off-limits for dubious environmental reasons. This article from CNS News has some interesting facts:

"The U.S. government knows where it can get its hands on more untapped petroleum than exists in the proven reserves of Iran or Iraq, which have 136 billion barrels and 115 billion barrels, respectively.

This unexploited stock of crude is greater than what the U.S. Energy Information Administration reports is in the proven reserves of Russia (60 billion barrels), Libya (41.5 billion barrels) and Nigeria (36.2 billion barrels) combined.

It is more than Hugo Chavez's Venezuela has (80 billion barrels). It is more than is now known to sit beneath the waters and sands of Kuwait (101.5 billion barrels) or the United Arab Emirates (97.6 billion barrels)...."

Today I hear that John McCain called for an end to the long imposed ban on offshore oil production in the USA. Of course Barack Obama responded by accusing him of betraying his previous promises on the environment.

John McCain said that:

"Energy conservation is no longer just a moral luxury or a personal virtue"

Barack Obama responded that plans to allow offshore drilling were, like Mr McCain’s "gas tax gimmick", a policy that would offer limited benefits to drivers because no oil would be produced for at least a decade and, even then, "the effect on prices would be negligible".


I say (again) "You might almost believe that some people would rather have the Western World reliant on dodgy countries in the Middle East than have a ready supply of home produced oil. Now why would that be the case?"

EU Treaty

An interesting piece on the EU Treaty following the Irish Referendum NO vote can be found at The Tap. Here's an extract:

"Faced with the intention of David Milliband to press on and attempt to ratify the first Lisbon Treaty through the House Of Lords today, Wednesday June 18th, Bill Cash made an application to the High Court yesterday that the royal prerogative is being used illegally. The Lisbon Treaty, as it was written is now dead, and attempting to ratify the Treaty now is not only illogical, but also illegal."

More video of Avro Vulcans

There is something about that plane that really moves me. I particularly enjoyed the three flying in formation something that we will never see again in real life.




Thanks to Andy for the spot.

University educational standards under Labour - so much for education, education, education

The BBC report that:

"Degrees are being awarded to overseas students who speak almost no English, claims a whistleblowing academic.

The academic, at a world-famous UK university, says postgraduate degrees are awarded to students lacking in the most basic language skills. "

Read the article but more importantly the comments of which I reproduce a few here:

"It's about time the lid was blown off this practice. I'm a Lecturer at a Russell Group University and I wholeheartedly agree with the points made in your article. It's not just language either. In the rush for the glint of money we're taking students onto courses who may struggle with English but they don't even have the basic standard of education you would expect from someone undertaking post-graduate study. It's a disgrace. Some of our Departments have implemented taught Masters courses just to stay afloat. They don't take too much notice as long as the money rolls in but what does it say about standards? I'm sick of it. What a waste of our educational heritage. It's happening with undergraduate entry too. You can't fail them, even if they obviously aren't up to the course. Students won't want to come to a University that has a reputation for a high failure rate or where it is seen as "hard" to get a Degree. Will someone please wake up and smell what's being shovelled?
Simon, Nottingham


I study currently at a university and can clearly see how this is a problem. There are many people in my tutorial groups who speak little or no English and in discusssion groups when we rely on them to research certain topics it is very frustrating because you cannot understand them. Also, tutorials are taught by postgraduate students and all of these are overseas and some do not have good English yet are allowed to teach students. It isn't good enough and I think the financial incentives mentioned above have a lot to do with it.
Lloyd, York


I agree in the strongest terms. I am a postgraduate student at one of the most prestigious universities in the country and have been left shocked by the dismal standard of academics at a university which is often bracketed alongside the likes of Oxford and Cambridge. This is not due to the standard of teaching. Indeed, the lecturers are quite impressive, but rather the number of international students who can hardly put a few sentences in English together - let alone, entire paragraphs. Although to be fair, they have improved with time. Over frank conversations with many of these international students, they readily admit to having others write their personal statements and take their English language examinations. I refuse to believe that the universities are unaware of this. In either case, stringent measures must be put in place to ensure that this comes to an end. It has a disastrous impact on the quality of education not only for the local students, but indeed, the international students as well. And to pre-empt anyone accusing me of lacking cultural sensitivities... As one can tell from my name, I come from an ethnic background and have spent the majority of my life in the developing world. But, I cannot condone the use of similar circumstances as an excuse for any one to bring down the standard of education for others in British universities.
Arif Shah


My MSC Economics class at one of the Russell Group Universities was probably 90% foreign (myself included, although English is my first language). Some of the students’ language skills were extremely lacking – to the point where communication was all but impossible. It was incredibly frustrating, especially when we were split into groups for one course and I was the only one in mine with English as my mother tongue. Talking through our assignments and sharing ideas and knowledge wasn’t an option, and I feel robbed the course of a fair portion of its value. Lectures were also affected, with students holding up the entire class with mundane questions about basic meanings. Yes, we foreign students do add value – but please, please institute more rigorous language testing before letting us in (even if we are paying 3 times what local students are).
Lauren, London


I completed a masters last year and one Asian student had such poor English he could barely say hello. He could not contribute to class discussion or write his own coursework in English. He had a personal tutor assigned to him who translated all his work from Korean. It was never made clear how much more assistance he got in order to complete the course. He then ended up getting the equivalent of a 2:1. I found that a little suspect and believe he should not have been allowed to do the course without passing his English proficiency test.
Sarah, London


This is not just a problem for the students themselves, but also the other English speakers on the course. My Masters degree had a strong team working element which required all members of the team to contribute equally to a written report. Many of the foreign students on the course could not produce documents to a professional level, and it was left to the English speakers to spend their own time correcting the work. Not to mention, it is nearly impossible to have a discussion with people who's spoken English is poor. When I pointed this out to an assessor, I was told effectively tough luck. If i did not correct the english myself my marks would be penalised. I did not enroll in one of the world's top universities to correct other people's English.
Berney, Cambridge"

Labour have dumbed down GCSEs, A levels and degrees - what a result.

Citizenship exams

Take an abbreviated version of the German citizenship test here.

Take an abbreviated version of the American citizen test here.


My results show that I might find it easier to become German than American but then multiple choice helps. German test 5/7, American test 5/10.

It is interesting that the picture Spiegel online use to illustrate the test is of a Muslim woman.



Thanks to Sand Monkey for the spot.

Zimbabwe - Robert Mugabe is not really hiding his policies now is he?

The Times reports that :

"Robert Mugabe gave warning yesterday that he would not cede power if he loses next week’s election to the Opposition in his most explicit statement yet of his refusal to respect the result.

State-controlled media reported his comments to supporters at an election rally, the latest in a series of increasingly menacing threats as Zimbabwe counts down to the June 27 presidential run-off poll. Mr Mugabe’s military-backed regime has been carrying out a campaign of violence aimed at wiping out the opposition vote.

“We fought for this country, and a lot of blood was shed,” Mr Mugabe told his supporters. “We are not going to give up our country because of a mere X. How can a ballpoint fight with a gun?”

The warning came a day after he declared: “We are ready to go to war.” Evidence, say observers, of mounting concerns that he may not have done enough to secure the vote. "

And what do we do in the West? Nothing, have you heard a peep from our Foreign Secretary, no he's too busy trying to help the EU override the Ireland NO vote. How about Thabo Mbeki? Don't be daft, he still thinks that Mugabe is a heroic freedom fighter.