The Chilcot Inquiry - The Iraq War
So, Sir John Chilcot has announced that he hopes their Report into the Iraq War will be published maybe in July 2016.
It started in 2009 and it will have taken 7 years to complete the Report of millions of pages. The cost ? £ Multi Millions.
It looks like we will finally get the conclusions which most ordinary citizens already know !
There has been much debate in the Media and within Parliament in the UK and within Congress in the USA.
Let's see if The Chilcot Report says anything different to what we already know -
President George Bush of the USA and Prime Minister Tony Blair of the UK thought that President Saddam Hussain of Iraq was a threat to its neighbours and the sources of Oil for the West. They knew he had used chemical weapons to kill 5,000 of his own villagers.
They received bad intelligence from opposition members in Iraq and misinterpreted their own intelligence feedback. They decided to go to war with Iraq - but it was sanctioned by their Parliament and Congress and the UN.
Conclusion One
President George Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair are not to blame for the Iraq War because they acted in good faith on the Intellegence Reports from their Support Staff and Satellite photos.
Conclusion Two
President Bush, Prime Minister Blair, The Military High Commands of all the Coalition Nations are guilty of a lack of understanding of the Political and Social complications of the Religous Rivalry within the Iraq Society and they were lacking in a post War Strategy.
They also failed to recognise that Saddam Hussain was the lesser of evils in the Middle East. He kept a balance with Iran, he stopped Terrorist Groups from growing in Iraq, he kept peace within Iraq. He was a ruthless leader but nevertheless, his rule might have been better that the chaotic aftermath of the Iraq War.
Conclusion Three
All parties - Leaders in the USA, UK, UN, Congress, UK Parliament were duped by the intelligence services. This was more a case of bad management in the Intelligence Services and not a deliberate series of misleading information.
It was a case of bad Judgement.
In Conflicts and Wars there is always a danger of bad judgements.
War is an imperfect state of Mankind. Positive Outcomes are often
laced with Negative Outcomes.
Conclusion Four
It was wrong to not accept the Reports of the Inspection Teams that they found no chemical weapons.
They were given free access by the Iraq Government to many sites and they found no evidence of chemical weapons.
Conclusion Five
In future, it is imperative that Leaders and their Political Institutions receive much better Intelligence.
Lessons should be learnt from the Iraq War.
The Iraq War was not illegal. It was sanctioned by the UN, the USA Congress, the Parliaments of Coalition Nations.
Conclusion Six
No person in the Political Rulers class is guilty of War Crimes.
Bad Judgement is part of the fabric of Warfare. It is a risk that Democracies have to take. The history of the World has seen many poor Generals and Politicians. Fortunately, the good Leaders over time have outnumbered the failures !
Conclusion Seven
The cost of the Eurekys Report is.... £ 0 taking 1 hour.
The cost of the Chilcot Report is..... £ Millions taking 7 years.
Let us await and see what Conclusions The Chilcot Inquiry comes up with and what it will add to our knowledge and understanding of the reasons for going to war with Iraq which was opposed by millions of citizens. I wonder.........
Thursday, 29 October 2015
Sunday, 4 October 2015
EUREKYS WARNED YOU - READ MY ARTICLE - TRUST THE TEACHERS
READ EUREKYS ARTICLE - TRUST THE PROFESSIONAL TEACHERS
I WARNED YOU
More than half of teachers in England (53%) are thinking of quitting in the next two years, a 2015 survey has suggested.
The survey, conducted by the National Union of Teachers, found 61% of those wanting to leave blamed workload and 57% desired a better work/life balance.
Two thirds of the 1,020 primary and secondary school teachers questioned felt morale in the profession had declined over the past five years.
Schools minister Nick Gibb pledged to tackle excessive workloads.
The findings of the survey are timely, because last month the five main teaching unions warned of a crisis in recruitment and retention, although the government maintains the vacancy rate has stayed stable at about 1%.
The survey, undertaken with a representative sample of teachers, also suggested many were unhappy with some of the government's plans.
76% said forcing schools that require improvement to become academies would damage education
62% said the plans for 500 new free schools would also damage education
54% were not confident the new baseline test for four-year-olds would provide valid information about a child's ability
General secretary of the NUT, Christine Blower, said: "This survey demonstrates the combined, negative impact of the accountability agenda on teacher workload and morale.
READ EUREKYS ARTICLE BELOW
TRUST THE PROFESSIONAL TEACHERS
In Britain Today, there is total distrust of the Professional Teacher - like there is total distrust of Hospital Professionals and other Professionals in our Society.
This distrust is manifested by the Government who have imposed masses of rules, standards and regulations whereby every tiny action by the Teacher is supervised, monitored and checked by the Head and Deputy Teachers, Ofsted and Government Education Departments.
It seems to the Teaching Staff, that there is total distrust of their abilities to perform well in class. Every move must. be assessed. The Teacher must be pressed for more and more higher standards regardless of the impact on the mental health of the teacher. Government appears to think that Teachers are Robots and not Human Beings.
Of course the justification is the objective to raise standards of performance by pupils and the school.
Is that not what all parents want ?
Standards, standards and more standards with reports, reports and more reports. The teacher is made accountable for everything in the classroom according to what the Government Standards are written into the Laws of Standards !
The lesson preparation work is checked, the individual students work is checked, the class performance checked. Why has the teacher done that, why is this or that result so low. why has not the teacher not included this. Why has the teacher failed to reach the standard in this subject or that subject, why has the teacher failed to complete the write up report in time ? Why ?; Why? Why ?
A variation on the old song should be - Hey Government, l.eave that teacher alone.
The Government needs more information, the parents need better results for their children, the Head Teacher wants a better rating for the School.
There is endless pressure on the Teacher In Britain Today to prepare lessons in their own private time but to be continually assessed and re-assessed on their achievement levels against standards and report writing. An Unbearable pressure leading to breakdowns in Teacher Health, pressure on Marriage Relations and Teachers leaving the profession. Government supervision of the Teaching Profession has gone too far.
Take for example the views of one experienced teacher -
We are required to plan and document in advance every single thing we say, do or teach. On one instant of Observance in class by officials I was criticised because I had not pre-written all the questions on my lesson plan.
My experienced years counted for nothing.
I have to prove my words in advance in writing
I must write up that I am going to make my lesson more challenging and how.
I can not longer speak to my teaching assistant about her role in the lesson - I must define it on paper in advance, Yes , more paperwork
I have to prove specific marking of every piece of work every child does in every lesson. With 32 in the class, that can be 96 - 128 written comments.
There is way too much emphasis on assuming what is measurable is the most valuable information
We have lost sight of good teaching and replaced it with lots of paperwork
I have to work most weekends to keep up with paperwork
The Head is more interested in my paperwork than teaching ability. Yes, he is under pressure for paperwork too
One Head Teacher who has recently resigned in 2014 from the Teaching Profession because he could not suffer the stress any more of the excessive burden of administration and lack of respect from Government and Parents alike. said -
Some excellent valid points have been made in this article.
He is not alone. Many more Head Teachers have buckled under the strain of Paperwork, Reports and unduly Scrutiny from the Civil Servants and Government.There will be many more if Policies do not change for the better.
No wonder Classroom Teachers and Head Teachers are disgruntled and upset. This is crazy Management of the Educational Profession and Schools System in the United kingdom.
One Parent suggested -
Tell the Government to impose the same stringent criteria for judging the performance of Teachers onto the Members of Parliament, The Civil Service and The House of Lords. Perhaps they are already committing this fundamental mistake of paperwork overload.
Children are very sensitive and observant to the mood of their teacher in the classroom. They can easily detect if a teacher is not well, moody, tired, irritable and short tempered. All the signs of stress. This is not good for the children and certainly not good for the teacher.
The Government seems to have forgotten that Teachers have undertaken some 3 years of intensive training, they are dedicated people and that they care for the children that they teach. Teachers are the Salt of the Earth. Teachers are people of good character and the majority of teachers are inspirational people. Of course there will always be some black sheep in any profession. It is the duty of Head Teachers to root them out. Head Teachers are responsible for standards in their school not Civil Servants in Whitehall London. I am in favour of Ofted regular visits to schools but I reject the excessive amount of Report Writing that the Teacher is currently subjected to. I am also against the mass of Targets and Sub Targets. imposed on the teacher. Let them spend more time teaching and less time completing reports.
So what can we do about this distrust of Teachers ?
Make the Head Teacher responsible in full for the standards of performance of his / her teaching staff by classroom observance - and more freedom from report writing.
Let the Governors review performance at the school but not to blame the teachers for every poor individual performance.
Let Government accept the principle that the Teaching Profession know best for what is good teaching practice and not Civil Service and Government Mandarins.
The NUT - National Union of Teachers know what is best for the good education of our children - they have the practical experience and not the Government. Their advice is worth more credence than the high ground perspective of the Civil Service and the Department of Education in Whitehall. The Government should listen to the NUT viewpoint and implement more of their recommendations. I am not a Member of the NUT nor am I a Member of any political party. This is my independent view.
Recognise that the individual pupil has the responsibility to learn and that the teacher must not be blamed always for poor results. Also, accept the fact of life that some children are late starters.
Reduce the amount of subject matter in some of the courses. Do not over fill the curriculum with subject matter placing extra pressure on the teacher.Education and Subject overload is not a good thing for our children. Excessive homework is one example. A child needs to enjoy home time and not have to worry about homework all the time. Is this because the curriculum is top loaded ? Is this because homework must be regular or the teacher will never cover the subjects and therefore will be black marked for under performing.
Remember that personal character development is just as important as academic achievement.
Physical activities are important in the school curriculum. Do not sell off any more sports grounds.
Start to treat the teacher with respect once more, lift the administrative burden and let us have happy, healthy teachers and not overstressed, irritable, depressed teachers.
Trust the Teacher not the Civil Service. Set the Teacher free of red tape. Let us have a healthier Teaching Profession.
Trust the Teacher to look after our children. The Teaching Profession know best.
Warning for the future Government - Teachers are under exceptional stress and strain. There is a danger that many will seek a different Career Pathway and leave the Teaching Profession..
You have been warned.
The Government has carried out its own research in 2014. Here are some of their findings which they published in a 2015 Report.-
Table 4: Most common unproductive work areas. “Tell us about the unnecessary and unproductive
tasks which take up too much of your time. Where do these come from?” Workload Challenge
survey, 2014 (sample base = 1645 respondents).
Percentage of
respondents
Lesson planning and policies, assessment and reporting
administration 82%
School administration and management 76%
Accountability 73%
Behaviour management 13%
Administrative planning and policies 12%
Pupil support 10%
*Note that those not responding are not included. Base is number of respondents who gave at least one
response across all categories.
The Conservative Government are trying to tackle these problems but they must act fast.
Otherwise, we are going to lose many of our best teachers forever.
We need a radical overall of Education Policy and I hope that the new Minister of Education will take URGENT note of the research findings.
I WARNED YOU
More than half of teachers in England (53%) are thinking of quitting in the next two years, a 2015 survey has suggested.
The survey, conducted by the National Union of Teachers, found 61% of those wanting to leave blamed workload and 57% desired a better work/life balance.
Two thirds of the 1,020 primary and secondary school teachers questioned felt morale in the profession had declined over the past five years.
Schools minister Nick Gibb pledged to tackle excessive workloads.
The findings of the survey are timely, because last month the five main teaching unions warned of a crisis in recruitment and retention, although the government maintains the vacancy rate has stayed stable at about 1%.
The survey, undertaken with a representative sample of teachers, also suggested many were unhappy with some of the government's plans.
76% said forcing schools that require improvement to become academies would damage education
62% said the plans for 500 new free schools would also damage education
54% were not confident the new baseline test for four-year-olds would provide valid information about a child's ability
General secretary of the NUT, Christine Blower, said: "This survey demonstrates the combined, negative impact of the accountability agenda on teacher workload and morale.
READ EUREKYS ARTICLE BELOW
TRUST THE PROFESSIONAL TEACHERS
In Britain Today, there is total distrust of the Professional Teacher - like there is total distrust of Hospital Professionals and other Professionals in our Society.
This distrust is manifested by the Government who have imposed masses of rules, standards and regulations whereby every tiny action by the Teacher is supervised, monitored and checked by the Head and Deputy Teachers, Ofsted and Government Education Departments.
It seems to the Teaching Staff, that there is total distrust of their abilities to perform well in class. Every move must. be assessed. The Teacher must be pressed for more and more higher standards regardless of the impact on the mental health of the teacher. Government appears to think that Teachers are Robots and not Human Beings.
Of course the justification is the objective to raise standards of performance by pupils and the school.
Is that not what all parents want ?
Standards, standards and more standards with reports, reports and more reports. The teacher is made accountable for everything in the classroom according to what the Government Standards are written into the Laws of Standards !
The lesson preparation work is checked, the individual students work is checked, the class performance checked. Why has the teacher done that, why is this or that result so low. why has not the teacher not included this. Why has the teacher failed to reach the standard in this subject or that subject, why has the teacher failed to complete the write up report in time ? Why ?; Why? Why ?
A variation on the old song should be - Hey Government, l.eave that teacher alone.
The Government needs more information, the parents need better results for their children, the Head Teacher wants a better rating for the School.
There is endless pressure on the Teacher In Britain Today to prepare lessons in their own private time but to be continually assessed and re-assessed on their achievement levels against standards and report writing. An Unbearable pressure leading to breakdowns in Teacher Health, pressure on Marriage Relations and Teachers leaving the profession. Government supervision of the Teaching Profession has gone too far.
Take for example the views of one experienced teacher -
We are required to plan and document in advance every single thing we say, do or teach. On one instant of Observance in class by officials I was criticised because I had not pre-written all the questions on my lesson plan.
My experienced years counted for nothing.
I have to prove my words in advance in writing
I must write up that I am going to make my lesson more challenging and how.
I can not longer speak to my teaching assistant about her role in the lesson - I must define it on paper in advance, Yes , more paperwork
I have to prove specific marking of every piece of work every child does in every lesson. With 32 in the class, that can be 96 - 128 written comments.
There is way too much emphasis on assuming what is measurable is the most valuable information
We have lost sight of good teaching and replaced it with lots of paperwork
I have to work most weekends to keep up with paperwork
The Head is more interested in my paperwork than teaching ability. Yes, he is under pressure for paperwork too
One Head Teacher who has recently resigned in 2014 from the Teaching Profession because he could not suffer the stress any more of the excessive burden of administration and lack of respect from Government and Parents alike. said -
Some excellent valid points have been made in this article.
He is not alone. Many more Head Teachers have buckled under the strain of Paperwork, Reports and unduly Scrutiny from the Civil Servants and Government.There will be many more if Policies do not change for the better.
No wonder Classroom Teachers and Head Teachers are disgruntled and upset. This is crazy Management of the Educational Profession and Schools System in the United kingdom.
One Parent suggested -
Tell the Government to impose the same stringent criteria for judging the performance of Teachers onto the Members of Parliament, The Civil Service and The House of Lords. Perhaps they are already committing this fundamental mistake of paperwork overload.
Children are very sensitive and observant to the mood of their teacher in the classroom. They can easily detect if a teacher is not well, moody, tired, irritable and short tempered. All the signs of stress. This is not good for the children and certainly not good for the teacher.
The Government seems to have forgotten that Teachers have undertaken some 3 years of intensive training, they are dedicated people and that they care for the children that they teach. Teachers are the Salt of the Earth. Teachers are people of good character and the majority of teachers are inspirational people. Of course there will always be some black sheep in any profession. It is the duty of Head Teachers to root them out. Head Teachers are responsible for standards in their school not Civil Servants in Whitehall London. I am in favour of Ofted regular visits to schools but I reject the excessive amount of Report Writing that the Teacher is currently subjected to. I am also against the mass of Targets and Sub Targets. imposed on the teacher. Let them spend more time teaching and less time completing reports.
So what can we do about this distrust of Teachers ?
Make the Head Teacher responsible in full for the standards of performance of his / her teaching staff by classroom observance - and more freedom from report writing.
Let the Governors review performance at the school but not to blame the teachers for every poor individual performance.
Let Government accept the principle that the Teaching Profession know best for what is good teaching practice and not Civil Service and Government Mandarins.
The NUT - National Union of Teachers know what is best for the good education of our children - they have the practical experience and not the Government. Their advice is worth more credence than the high ground perspective of the Civil Service and the Department of Education in Whitehall. The Government should listen to the NUT viewpoint and implement more of their recommendations. I am not a Member of the NUT nor am I a Member of any political party. This is my independent view.
Recognise that the individual pupil has the responsibility to learn and that the teacher must not be blamed always for poor results. Also, accept the fact of life that some children are late starters.
Reduce the amount of subject matter in some of the courses. Do not over fill the curriculum with subject matter placing extra pressure on the teacher.Education and Subject overload is not a good thing for our children. Excessive homework is one example. A child needs to enjoy home time and not have to worry about homework all the time. Is this because the curriculum is top loaded ? Is this because homework must be regular or the teacher will never cover the subjects and therefore will be black marked for under performing.
Remember that personal character development is just as important as academic achievement.
Physical activities are important in the school curriculum. Do not sell off any more sports grounds.
Start to treat the teacher with respect once more, lift the administrative burden and let us have happy, healthy teachers and not overstressed, irritable, depressed teachers.
Trust the Teacher not the Civil Service. Set the Teacher free of red tape. Let us have a healthier Teaching Profession.
Trust the Teacher to look after our children. The Teaching Profession know best.
Warning for the future Government - Teachers are under exceptional stress and strain. There is a danger that many will seek a different Career Pathway and leave the Teaching Profession..
You have been warned.
The Government has carried out its own research in 2014. Here are some of their findings which they published in a 2015 Report.-
Table 4: Most common unproductive work areas. “Tell us about the unnecessary and unproductive
tasks which take up too much of your time. Where do these come from?” Workload Challenge
survey, 2014 (sample base = 1645 respondents).
Percentage of
respondents
Lesson planning and policies, assessment and reporting
administration 82%
School administration and management 76%
Accountability 73%
Behaviour management 13%
Administrative planning and policies 12%
Pupil support 10%
*Note that those not responding are not included. Base is number of respondents who gave at least one
response across all categories.
The Conservative Government are trying to tackle these problems but they must act fast.
Otherwise, we are going to lose many of our best teachers forever.
We need a radical overall of Education Policy and I hope that the new Minister of Education will take URGENT note of the research findings.
Friday, 2 October 2015
STOPPNIG WORLD CONFLICT - ONE SUGGESTION
STOPPING WORLD CONFLICT AND THE THE ILLEGAL FLOW OF ARMS
What is it about some people in many World Regions that makes them want to take up arms and revert to violence and destruction to settle their differences? What makes them want to force change through conflict ? Why are they prepared to accept the destruction of homes civilians and their Society like in Syria ?
Most Religions in the World, whether you believe in God, Buddha, Islam and Allah or preach other life after death versions or atheism - preach Love, Order, Respect, Family Unity, Understanding and Peace. In other words, To Live Life in a Civilised Manner. Civilisation is based on moral principles not killing of human beings.
Why then do we have in the World today such carnage ?
Who supplies weapons to people who have a grievance ?
Are there any solutions?
I am an ordinary British Citizen and I confess - I do not have solutions to all the conflicts. I wish I did.
However, on the positive side, I have one practical suggestion -
The United Nations should try and identify all the Arms Manufacturers in the World. All Member States in the UN should be obliged to search and check for Manufacturers of weapons however large or small including bucket shop manufacturers in third world countries.
All arms / weapons manufacturing is BANNED and will be ILLEGAL unless the manufacturer has a United Nations PERMIT and is regularly monitored and checked.
Obviously, weapons for self defence must be allowed but only to legitimate Governments who are Members of the UN. But, who are the legitimate Governments ?
This is the big challenge. Should a Big Power be allowed to supply arms to an opposition who do not like their Government ?
No is the answer. Peaceful solutions may take time but the outcome is better than winning and leaving your Country in ruins with millions of its citizens dead like in Syria.
We either strive harder to make the United Nations work or we allow death,fear and destruction to destroy Civilisation. It is a question of Civilisation or Anarchy. I prefer Civilisation.
However, here is the big problem - CORRUPTION.
Is there a solution? Yes.
Recognised UN Agencies after vetting supported by Observers from Decent, Peace loving Nations should do the checking.
I know some Nations will cheat but surely the World can try and stop the constant flow of arms and weapons ?
Third Parties who sell arms against the approval of the UN should face lengthy jail sentences.
If this dangerous flow of weapons is stopped, so MIGHT conflict.
After World War 2, the United Nation Charter seemed to be the panacea to stop armed conflict.
I certainly believed it would. How wrong was I ? Korea, Egypt, Israel, Vietnam, Iraq, Syria. Ukraine and many many more. A terrible legacy. When will it stop ? How can it stop ?
Member States of the United Nations must start again to respect The United Nations Charter.
The General Assembly and the Security Council must reaffirm their support of and PRACTISE of The UN Charter.
Am I a dreamer ? No. We must find some peaceful solution.
Does anyone have a better idea ?
What is it about some people in many World Regions that makes them want to take up arms and revert to violence and destruction to settle their differences? What makes them want to force change through conflict ? Why are they prepared to accept the destruction of homes civilians and their Society like in Syria ?
Most Religions in the World, whether you believe in God, Buddha, Islam and Allah or preach other life after death versions or atheism - preach Love, Order, Respect, Family Unity, Understanding and Peace. In other words, To Live Life in a Civilised Manner. Civilisation is based on moral principles not killing of human beings.
Why then do we have in the World today such carnage ?
Who supplies weapons to people who have a grievance ?
Are there any solutions?
I am an ordinary British Citizen and I confess - I do not have solutions to all the conflicts. I wish I did.
However, on the positive side, I have one practical suggestion -
The United Nations should try and identify all the Arms Manufacturers in the World. All Member States in the UN should be obliged to search and check for Manufacturers of weapons however large or small including bucket shop manufacturers in third world countries.
All arms / weapons manufacturing is BANNED and will be ILLEGAL unless the manufacturer has a United Nations PERMIT and is regularly monitored and checked.
Obviously, weapons for self defence must be allowed but only to legitimate Governments who are Members of the UN. But, who are the legitimate Governments ?
This is the big challenge. Should a Big Power be allowed to supply arms to an opposition who do not like their Government ?
No is the answer. Peaceful solutions may take time but the outcome is better than winning and leaving your Country in ruins with millions of its citizens dead like in Syria.
We either strive harder to make the United Nations work or we allow death,fear and destruction to destroy Civilisation. It is a question of Civilisation or Anarchy. I prefer Civilisation.
However, here is the big problem - CORRUPTION.
Is there a solution? Yes.
Recognised UN Agencies after vetting supported by Observers from Decent, Peace loving Nations should do the checking.
I know some Nations will cheat but surely the World can try and stop the constant flow of arms and weapons ?
Third Parties who sell arms against the approval of the UN should face lengthy jail sentences.
If this dangerous flow of weapons is stopped, so MIGHT conflict.
After World War 2, the United Nation Charter seemed to be the panacea to stop armed conflict.
I certainly believed it would. How wrong was I ? Korea, Egypt, Israel, Vietnam, Iraq, Syria. Ukraine and many many more. A terrible legacy. When will it stop ? How can it stop ?
Member States of the United Nations must start again to respect The United Nations Charter.
The General Assembly and the Security Council must reaffirm their support of and PRACTISE of The UN Charter.
Am I a dreamer ? No. We must find some peaceful solution.
Does anyone have a better idea ?
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