5th Sept 9.30am Select Committee Witness Session on Home Education

That's it really, put it in your diary, though I don't know about there being any live streaming or immediate written text. I am getting used to expecting a livestream for everything, like the UN UPR events! Or rather 2 different ones, Bambuser and Ustream, like the ones used for Bahrain or Julian Assange demonstrations.

I assume the oral and written evidence will be published in due course, as I see links to evidence from previous events lower down on the page I have linked to.

See the great list of witnesses due to speak.

It was hailing at lunchtime, it must be summer

It is raining in stereo here now. The kitchen has 2 windows. It is lashing down to my left and to my right. Neither sets of gutters can cope with the rush of rain, so it pours over the edge and down the side of the house.

The front of the house is in the same condition, but I can't actually hear the downpour which crashes on our  front door step.

I have arranged for a full house survey with a 10 year plan for essential renovations and repairs. It should help us decide what to do in what order. It will also be a wake up call as to the full extent of the duties of a house owner. Facing the costs will be a shock too. I tend to downplay the costs of things in the forlorn belief that delaying buying things will mean that I won't be the archetypal wife who just spends and spends.

It is time to face the facts that it rains in the summer and houses need upkeep!

Disclaimer

I have been adding new blogs a lot recently, but then I often find the blogger writes or does something so contrary to my views that I remove them again. Do I need to be less fussy? Do I have to disinfect everything which appears on my side bar? Does it matter that views I am alarmed by float past on my own blog?

This falls into my category of good problems to have.

....

Re-reading this is uncomfortable, but rather than delete this post, I think it is important for me to recognise that other people write and discuss all sorts of issues. Chewing them over in real time, in text, with others is what the internet is all about. This difficult process is the basis for understanding of oneself and of others. Understanding does not mean agreeing, why should it? I disagree profoundly with myself and really don't like actions I have taken in the past. I'm not all that thrilled with how I am living my life right now either.

At Quaker discussions views or comments are put forward in turn without the expectation of a direct response. That allows each listener to listen without feeling that their silence means agreement as such. I think I shall try to read with a similar attitude of mind.

So I shall add blogs to my side bar more freely and live and let live a little more. I feel better now.

The Bahrain Book Group

I find that I am in a book group some readers will recognise. You have a current interest, but take time off to read other random books. Instead of broadening my mind, all I find in these books are examples of what I am taking my mind away from. Teargas, arrests at midnight, beatings...maybe I shouldn't have chosen a book about Romania.

It is 'The Last Hundred Days' by Patrick McGuiness, 2011, Seren Books.

Pride Marches banned for 100 years - can this be true?

Something has been put in the water! I can't believe the events of recent days.

The BBC is reporting the 100 year ban on Pride marches in Moscow.

A petition is up, please sign on behalf of those who are not able to sign for whatever reason.

William Hague's blunder - an ex-diplomat comments

William Hague overstepped the mark so much that Brian Barder points out: 'Even communist Hungary in cold war days resisted the temptation to violate the immunity of the American embassy in Budapest by forcibly entering it to arrest the Cardinal..' (A reference to the Cardinal Mindszenty who stayed for 15 years in that embassy.)

I wish I knew what the name is for this week in August when everything goes wrong? Pussy Riot, Nabeel Rajab, Ecuador's embassy, what next?

Do you recognise this tone and attitude?

I found this section of today's Guardian blog covering the Assange and Ecuador story (sorry for the odd formatting):

3h 59m ago

A full, translated version of the document presented to Ecuador by British diplomats in Quito has been released. Remember, this is the letter which Quito says represents a clear threat, and which London insists is a mere reminder of the law. Judge for yourself...

We are aware, and surprised by media reports in the last 24 hours, that Ecuador is about to take a decision and proposes to grant asylum to Mr. Assange. The reports quote official sources. We note that the (Ecuadorean) President (Rafael Correa) has stated that no decision has yet been made.

We are concerned, if true, that this might undermine our efforts to agree a joint text setting out the positions of both countries, allowing Mr. Assange to leave the Embassy.

As we have previously set out, we must meet our legal obligations under the European Arrest Warrant Framework Decision and the Extradition Act 2003, to arrest Mr. Assange and extradite him to Sweden. We remain committed to working with you amicably to resolve this matter. But we must be absolutely clear this means that should we receive a request for safe passage for Mr. Assange, after granting asylum, this would be refused, in line with our legal obligations.

In that light, and given the statements of the last 24 hours, we hope that you are prepared to continue to engage with the ongoing diplomatic discussions. We continue to believe that a solution is possible on the basis of a jointly agreed text, which would accompany Mr. Assange exiting the Embassy, and leading to his extradition.

We have a further meeting scheduled for Thursday 16th August. Given the statements made in Quito overnight, about an imminent decision, should we take it this meeting will be the final one to agree a joint text?

We have to reiterate that we consider continued use of diplomatic premises in this way, to be incompatible with the VCDR (Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations) and not sustainable, and that we have already made clear to you the serious implications for our diplomatic relations.

You should be aware that there is a legal basis in the U.K. the Diplomatic and Consular Premises Act which would allow us to take action to arrest Mr. Assange in the current premises of the Embassy.

We very much hope not to get this point, but if you cannot resolve the issue of Mr. Assange's presence on your premises, this route is open to us.

We understand the importance to you of the issues raised by Mr. Assange, and the strong public pressure in country. But we still have to resolve the situation on the ground, here in the U.K., in line with our legal obligations. We have endeavored to develop a joint text, which helps both meet your concerns, and presentational needs.

We believe a joint text and a voluntary surrender by Mr. Assange is the best way forward.

Wales Home Education Proposals

I am using this post as a base page for myself. I will add relevant links as I find them.

Legislative programme 2012/2013 added 8/8/12 (unread)

Serious Case Review added 8/8/12 (read quickly)

Welsh Assembly Government Memorandum added 9/8/2012 (read but still feel confused) (Not clear when this was written, post Badman report, but how much later? No mention of the wash up.)

Bridgend Home Education Conference added 12/8/12 (read) (Good to see that Jessica Kingsley Publishers want to attend the event.)

Ed Yourself - Wales / includes info on timing of the bill and how a new law is made in Wales added 26/8/12 (unread)

The 5 Outcomes - Every Child Matters added 28/8/12 (read) (An useful set of concepts which we used when dealing with the Badman report and subsequent proposals in 2009)

Rhuah_y_Ddraig  added 7/9/2012 (joined and read) The name of a Welsh Home Education Yahoo Group which is working on responses to the proposals.

E-Petition added 7/9/2012 (signed) By the way you can't sign it twice, so if you are not sure whether you have signed it or not and don't want to look down the entire list of signatories, just try to sign again. I have just found this out!!

Remember the locks being broken in the Abu Salim prison in Tripoli?

James Foley interviewed Matthew Van Dyke about that day

The clips of the locks being broken open - thank you YouTube

Jaafar Alhasabi - Photographers' Gallery

I listened to the Bahraini entry in the Photographers' Gallery exhibition. The subject is Jaafar Alhasabi and the photographer is Mitra Tabrizian. Where ever I go on the internet I come back to issues I care about. Small world and all that! So I did a google search and found some other info.

Photo and interview

Redress, a charity which acts to prevent torture and help those who have suffered this, has this piece of evidence from him. I have given money to this charity already. My world gets even smaller...

Unity blog with info about him.

FreeJaafar blog.

Pussy Riot - Closing Statement

There are so many references to writers and thinkers, Christian references and and even a quote from Medvedev himself, 'Freedom rather than non-freedom'.

Closing statement from Nadezhda Tolokonnikovat

Closing Statement from Yekaterina Samutsevich 

Sign the change.org petition

Listen to the voices :)

I have found an exhibition to celebrate the Olympics. It is put on by the Photographers' Gallery, one of my growing up haunts. It is of 204 photos, one for each of the competing countries. I like this sort of orderly, planned approach!

Et Voila! (French for "Hey, here it is!" but with panache).

Each photo can be clicked on to enlarge. To the right there is a sound clip. It is part of an interview with each subject. I have only listened to Oman so far, so maybe I am wrong there.

This builds on my interest at hearing the voices of the poets who came to London for the Poetry Parnassus. Some read their work and happened to be filmed at the same time. Some of these recordings made it onto YouTube where I found them and drank them in.

Total Silence

I love that complete silence just before the gun as the big races start in the Olympic Stadium.

Image of Petr Pavlensky's shut mouth

To support Pussy Riot the artist Petr Pavlensky sewed his mouth shut. The photo is solemn and uncompromising. He did this on Monday.

I think this image will become an icon.

There is a whole interview with him along with the photo, though it does not answer my question of whether he has undone the sewing. I guess he has.