Natalie Solent |
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Politics, news, libertarianism, Science Fiction, religion, sewing.
You got a problem, bud? I like sewing.
E-mail: nataliesolent-at-aol-dot-com (I assume it's OK to quote senders by name.) Back to main blog RSS thingy 
Jane's Blogosphere: blogtrack for Natalie Solent. 
Links ( 'Nother Solent is this blog's good twin. Same words, searchable archives, RSS feed. Provided by a benefactor, to whom thanks. I also sometimes write for Samizdata and Biased BBC.) The Old Comrades:
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Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Ticking all the boxes. I get the impression that Mick Waters, Curriculum Director of the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA), is trying too hard. As Jack Huges, a commenter to Biased BBC, said of Mr Waters' article: It's heavy going, because its just babble. In every sentence he tries to tick all the boxes.[Added later: After re-reading the article, I softened a bit. Mr Waters may even be moving the national curriculum (not that we ought to have one at all) in the right direction. But, oh boy, he needs to be stripped to his undies and passed through the dejargonator before being allowed contact with the public.] The QCA's anxiousness to be all things to all assessment schemes shows up elsewhere as well. On page 11 of the Times (given the problems on the Times site I won't even try linking) there's an article about how the new proposed changes to the curriculum will bring back traditional teaching methods into the heart of the dustbin. Or possibly vice versa. Tagging along with the main article is a sidebar headed "New methods" and tailed "Source: QCA", which says under the heading "Modern languages" that pupils are to Learn French, German, Spanish, Italian, Mandarin, Arabic or Urdu. Focus on listening, speaking, reading, writing and grammar.And for an encore, catch flies with your tongue. Why not? You'll already have proved that you can act like a chameleon when you focussed on four different things simultaneously. Monday, February 05, 2007
If you're unhappy and you know it, ring the cops. If you're unhappy and you know it, ring the cops. If you're unhappy and you know it, and you really want to show it... If you're unhappy and you know it, ring the cops. If you're unhappy and you know it, shout out loud. If you're unhappy and you know it, shout out loud. If you're unhappy and you know it, and you really want to show it... If you're unhappy and you know it, shout out loud. If you're unhappy and you know it, blow your horn. If you're unhappy and you know it, blow your horn. If you're unhappy and you know it, and you really want to show it... If you're unhappy and you know it, blow your horn. If you're unhappy and you know it, ring up again. If you're unhappy and you know it, ring up again. If you're unhappy and you know it, and you really want to show it... If you're unhappy and you know it, ring up again. If you're unhappy and you know it, jump up and down. If you're unhappy and you know it, jump up and down. If you're unhappy and you know it and you really want to show it... If you're unhappy and you know it, jump up and down. (The original version of this post was rather obscure, so I have expanded it. I also felt that a musical setting would render the advice of the Minister on how to assist an old woman being beaten up more memorable to citizens anxious to do the right thing in these difficult times.) (Cross-posted at Samizdata.) Sunday, February 04, 2007
I've missed you, Britblog roundup, what's new? Why not follow the link* and read this jolly post from Nearly Legal: Why do people do it? Why do they sign up for joint tenancies with private landlords together with people they have only just met?*It occurs to me that if I give the link here on this blog it defeats the object. You are meant to be rounded up like a naughty decimal 3 fig over the sig and sent to read it at Mr Worstall's. Saturday, February 03, 2007
Dead horse, still needs flogging. You know I said I was still busy? I'm still still busy. But if you pine for my company, the more reactive, and hence quicker, style of blogging at Biased BBC has tempted me out once or twice. And there is always time to get in a last flick at old Dobbin. The other day I had cause to look again at this old post from 2003 while taking part in a survey of bloggers. It still bugs me the way people say, "But Saddam Hussein's regime could not possibly have cooperated with Al Qaeda because it was secular," as if that settled the matter. It still bugs me and they're still saying it. I swear, I wrote most of this post before doing a search on Google News for "Saddam" and "secular" and finding this Washington Times article published all of seventeen hours ago. Just to show that heartwarming cooperation between secular and religious organisations does happen, scroll down on this post from Moonbat Media to hear a video of Stop The War Coalition marchers chanting, "Khaibar, Khaibar, Ya Yahood, Jaish Muhammad sawfa ya'ood!" ("Khaibar, Khaibar, Oh Jew, the army of Mohammed will return!") The Chair of the Stop The War Coalition is Andrew Murray of the Communist Party of Great Britain. |