A Pictoral Tribute to the Republican Candidates

Washing clean dishes. I am washing a clean dish because I can't be bothered to get my hands dirty.

 http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/election-2012/wp/2012/10/15/charity-president-unhappy-about-paul-ryan-soup-kitchen-photo-op/

Binders full of women.

Tonight is the 3rd US Presidential debate. I will be getting up at 2:00 am and urging Obama on!

Eton Style

Shooting a 14 Year Old Girl For Going To School Is Evil

How can a 14 year old girl be shot when the only thing that she did 'wrong' is to campaign for basic human rights? Malala Yousafzai campaigned and blogged for girls to be able to go to school in her town of Swat Valley after the Taliban banned all girls attending school there. Education is a basic right and as a feminist and young female blogger ,like Malala, I am appalled. 

I go to school every day, unless I am ill or at conference, and I must admit that sometimes I dread my hours in the classroom but without education girls would not be able to compete, contribute or even have basic human rights. Does that sound wrong to you? Does it sound like something that would happen in medieval times? It does to me but yet it is happening in the 21st century. 

At school I hear sexist comments everyday at school and I condemn them but at least I am able to go to school. Malala had been banned from attending school by the Taliban and do you know what happened when she objected? She was shot.  The Taliban think that education for girls is too 'Westernised' but it's not.  Education is a basic human right!

Malala is very brave but I shudder to think what else the Taliban will do to her if she survives and carries on living in Pakistan. All girls deserve an education and basic human rights. I loudly applaud Malala for standing up for these rights. Malala is a heroine for young girls and I look up to her. Without her young girls would not have had a future in her area. All that is in jeopardy now. She stood up to the most feared organisation for the sake of young girls.  She was shot because the Taliban fear her and the difference that she can make. She is a heroine for all young girls and she does not deserve this suffering.

It Takes a Village- A Tribute to April Jones

Sometimes you can sit within the safety of your home and watch something on TV that shakes you to the core. So it was with me today as it must have been with so many of  you who watched the procession take place to the church in the village of Machynlleth in tribute to April Jones. The saying 'It takes a village to raise a child' had never seemed more relevant. 

The phrase 'It takes a village to raise a child' means that everybody comes together to nourish and care for a child in the village. It means looking out for their well being and their safety. It's so obvious that Machynlleth was just that sort of village but they were let down by one evil person.  As a result a poor innocent little girl was betrayed by somebody  that she knew and thought was part of the village. The whole village came together today not to raise her but to pray for her. 'It takes a village to raise a child' was taken to a level of utter sadness and despair. 

 When April was taken people in the village and in the rest of the country waited and prayed. There were tweets from people who would wake up early hoping for good news. For my part I am so sorry about the things that April will never get to see and do. She won't get to see another Christmas, learn double digit times tables to silly tunes, do show and tells at school, draw pictures of her family and friends in bright garish colours or play with her latest Barbies. 

Her parents and the villagers of Machynlleth need to know that all our thoughts and all our wishes were with them from day 1. A child's world is a morally poorer place for the abduction of April Jones. I post a pink ribbon as a tribute. 

Rest mewn heddwch angel hardd bach - Rest in peace beautiful little angel. 

A Child's Welfare Is a Public Concern

In just a week we have  heard more about the Rochdale grooming and how the female victims were blamed, people turning a blind eye to what Jimmy Saville did to girls and a father killing his own children in an act of domestic violence.

What society and the authorities need to realise is that it 'takes a village' to raise a child. All the present circumstances justify this thinking. It has been scorned by neo-liberal right wing types who would blame a stray rabbit that came into their garden for being attacked by their pet dog.

The well being of a child isn't just  about gang violence and street fights. It is about challenging attitudes towards girls, the blame culture and helping mothers who are in abusive relationships because their children inevitably suffer. 

How Can ANY Party Appeal for a One Nation?

I fail to understand how any leader can unite a Nation while we have a neo-liberal capitalist system which has inbuilt mechanisms that divide the rich and the poor, the able from the disabled, youth from baby boomers and serves the vested interest of the 1%. 

Ed Miliband Going to a Comprehensive is Half a Story

I am confused about what Ed Miliband is trying to say. He speaks fondly and proudly of going to a comprehensive school. His objective is clear enough. He is trying to differentiate himself from the millionaire Cabinet members who mostly went to private school. Ed's story is one of a simple start in life at a level playing field school without the leverage of privilege.

That is not totally true though. His father, Ralph Miliband, was a well known academic in Marxist theory. Ed  must have grown up being exposed to political discussions and debates all the time. I would say Ed must have had a brilliant advantage in politics from an early age.

I go to a private school but there is no way I would have become interested in politics if my mother had not introduced me to it. This part of my life does not come from school. My point is that Ed's opportunities did not come solely from going to a comprehensive school and it is wrong of him to say so. It presents a misleading picture. There are thousands of children who attend Comprehensives who will not have the life opportunities that he did. By presenting our state school system as a great starter covers the problems that exist such as underfunding and poor results. This is why children who go to private schools stand a better chance in life. It shouldn't be the case but it is.