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labourpress

Labour announces new Economic Advisory Committee

labourpress

Labour has today unveiled its Economic Advisory Committee that will be convened by the Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell MP, and will report directly to Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn MP.

Meeting quarterly, the purpose of the Committee will be to discuss and develop ideas around the official economic strategy that Labour will be advocating under the new leadership.

The Committee, which contains a broad based group of world leading economists, includes:

  • Mariana Mazzucato, Professor, University of Sussex
  • Joseph Stiglitz, Professor, Columbia University, recipient of the 2001 Nobel Memorial Prize in economics.
  • Thomas Piketty, Professor, Paris School of Economics
  • Anastasia Nesvetailova, Professor, City University London
  • Danny Blanchflower, Bruce V, Rauner Professor of Economics Dartmouth and Stirling, Ex-member of the MPC
  • Ann Pettiffor, Director of Policy Research in Macroeconomics (PRIME), and an Honorary Research Fellow at the Political Economy Research Centre of City University
  • Simon Wren-Lewis, Professor of Economic Policy, Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford.

Speaking ahead of the announcement, Jeremy Corbyn MP, Leader of the Labour Party, said:

“I was elected on a clear mandate to oppose austerity and to set out an economic strategy based on investment in skills, jobs and infrastructure. Our economy must deliver security for all, not just riches for a few.

“I am delighted that John McDonnell as Shadow Chancellor has convened this group to advise the leadership as we set out our economic vision.”

John McDonnell MP, Labour’s Shadow Chancellor, added:

“I am delighted to convene this Economic Advisory Committee that will assist in developing a radical but pragmatic and deliverable economic policy for our country.

“Our Economic Advisory Committee will assist in developing a fairer and more prosperous economic alternative based upon investment and growth which reaches all sections of society.

“Austerity is failing the people of this country. Working alongside world leading economists Labour will present the coherent alternative our country desperately needs.”

Member of the new Committee, Professor Thomas Piketty, said:

“I am very happy to take part in this Economic Advisory Committee and assist the Labour Party in constructing an economic policy that helps tackle some of the biggest issues facing people in the UK.

“There is now a brilliant opportunity for the Labour party to construct a fresh and new political economy which will expose austerity for the failure it has been in the UK and Europe.”

coolstewartlever

Jeremy & John clearly showing academic economic competence.

inudista
nudiarist: “Open letter to Tom Mulhall on the Facebook censorship issue Hi Tom, it’s really time for AANR, with or without TNS, to have a sit down with someone at Facebook. As nudists, we are clearly targets, and the majority of the links and photos...
nudiarist

Open letter to Tom Mulhall on the Facebook censorship issue

Hi Tom, it’s really time for AANR, with or without TNS, to have a sit down with someone at Facebook. As nudists, we are clearly targets, and the majority of the links and photos which are being removed actually meet the FB terms of service. The social network outsources nearly all of this arbitrary censorship, and because of this there is rampant inconsistency.

But you call this “un-American”, which is simply wishful thinking, because censorship and prudishness about sex is an American trademark. “Banned in Boston”, the movie production code, Janet Jackson’s nipple, The people vs. Larry Flynt, the war on clothing-optional beaches, the prohibition of public nudity nearly everywhere (even now in San Francisco), and so on.

And it’s really not just the US - take a look at what David Cameron did to “protect” people on the Internet from sex and nudity by putting in a ridiculous filter which actually blocks important health information on issues like breast cancer and sex education, and witness what is now going on in Germany to completely prohibit any and all photos depicting child nudity.

There is some sort of mass hysteria sweeping the country and many parts of the world that professes that any depiction of the nude human body is somehow harmful to the general public, even though we all have a nude human body underneath our clothes that we can look at anytime. The nudist idea is more relevant, important and necessary than ever, not only to combat these ridiculous notions, but to set us on a healthier course when it comes to body image and sexual health.

Pornography, the airbrushing of models in magazines, the use of body doubles in film, and many other false depictions of the human body in media are threatening our own self-image, turning the perceptions of our own bodies into something completely artificial and unattainable. As humans, we need to see real bodies in order to maintain a mental balance between what is real, and what is fantasy.

Nudists and naturists need to unite, find common ground, and become a real political force in America, lest we all fall victims to this media onslaught of artificial reality which threatens to destroy our humanity.


The Reeds and the Willow
by Stewart Lever

August 1990 (with amendments by Hannah Reader, 05 Dec 90)

Her Granddad seemed so keen to tell her all about the flying swing. He was sitting on the wall, in front of his stone cottage. Whilst he talked, he was making semicircles in the gravel with his waking stick. He had a round, friendly face with a short, trimmed moustache.

Hannah had been walking along the path, when her Granddad had smiled at her and said, “Would you like to learn how to make and fly a swing?” Hannah didn’t know what a flying swing was, but she was curious to find out more, and that’s why, she was sitting by her Granddad, on his garden wall.

“First of all,” began Granddad, “you will need some tall reeds….but they must be growing by the sea. Only pick them on a very windy day, because then the plants will be full of energy. It must be a dry day too,” emphasised Granddad, “because rain takes away the reed’s energy.”

“Put the reeds into a stream and beat them with wooden sticks until the fibres in the reeds, are separated. These fibres must be dried, twisted and plaited into two ropes, about as thick as a man’s thumb and as long as you are tall.” Granddad paused as he knocked his pipe on the wall to clean it out. “You know that smoking is bad for you?” said Hannah. But he ignored her and, as he pressed new tobacco into is pipe, he carried on with the explanation. “Make a plank from the wood of a willow tree, growing nearby. The plank must be as wide as your bottom. The swing will only work for the person who makes it. After you have made a hole in each side of the plank, thread the ropes into the holes and tie knots to stop the ropes from coming out.”

Her Granddad looked into Hannah’s eyes,“ You know, that we can all do things we believe we can do? I’m sure that you’ve been told that before……but if you’re to learn to use the swing…you need to believe that you can do it.” Hannah noticed that her Granddad’s cottage seemed different? It seemed smaller. She was sure that it was much bigger the last time she had looked at it.and Granddad was no longer smoking a pipe, he was sucking the end of his walking stick! When Hannah saw that she was wearing her favourite pink nightie with the huge shiny heart on the front, she began to realise…that Granddad, the reeds, the willow and the flying swing, were all a dream, which was quickly coming to an end!

“Please tell me how to fly the swing before the dream ends!” she begged. But Granddad was fading away, and instead of sitting by the cottage with him, she was on her bed, under her duvet in her bedroom. The last words she heard her Granddad say were, “We can all do most things, if we believe we can do them.”

Hannah turned over and lay on her back. “It was such a good dream.” she thought.  She imagined what it would be like to fly over Warrington in all her pink clothes. She always wore pink;  pink Groovy Chick jeans with silver hearts on the pockets, pink tee shirt covered in silver hearts and pink boots. She had short, spiky blonde hair, which she was still trying to persuade her Mum, to let her dye it pink. "That would be really brill - a flying pink!” she thought and giggled to herself for believing such a dream.

At breakfast, she told Jimmy her brother, all about her vivid dream. Her brother was a quiet, serious person most of the time, but sometimes he was very amusing. He had the same spiky blonde hair as Hannah. His problem was, he had no colour sense. In his tracksuit bottoms, baggy tee shirts and trainers, he’d mix orange  and green or purple, and think that it matched. He thought that he very fashionable. He always wore a personal CD player but he rarely played it. Although Jimmy thought what Hannah had learned in the dream was unlikely to be true, he told her that he’d like to try out what Granddad had said in the dream. “Let’s go to the library to find out where reeds and willow can be found near the sea. Perhaps we can get Mum and Dad to take us there for our holiday?” said Jimmy. “I’ll find out about reeds, and can you find out about willow, Jimmy?” said Hannah.

That morning they rushed their breakfasts, so that they could get to the library to find out all they could about reeds and willows. Hannah found out that some reeds, called “flax” come from southern Ireland that can be turned into cloth and rope. Jimmy found out that willow grows all over the British Isles, along the sides of rivers or marshy areas. So they decided that Ireland was where they should look for the willow and reeds.

“Let’s tell Mum and Dad that we’re doing a project on Ireland, rather than telling them about the dream,” said Hannah. They succeeded in getting their Mum and Dad to take them. Willow and reeds were everywhere and, on very windy, sunny day, they picked some reeds, and got their Dad to cut a piece of trunk from one of the willows growing by a river. “It’s for our nature project, Dad”, they said.

It was strange. Hannah and Jimmy couldn’t wait to get home and try out the plans for the flying swing. They normally didn’t want to come home from their holidays.

Hannah made the rope, by beating the reeds in a stream, drying the fibres, twisting and plaiting them into two ropes. Jimmy made the seat from willow, after carefully measuring Hannah’s bottom. She was very embarrassed about Jimmy doing this bit!

When the swing was finished, they both looked at it on the ground, and wondered how to use it. Jimmy was the first to try it. He held the seat under him, and holding the ropes in each hand, kicked forwards. Lying flat on his back, Hannah thought he looked very sillly and they both began to laugh, although was very disappointed that it’d not worked.

Hannah remembered that Granddad had said, that the swing would only work, for the person who made it. Jimmy had made the seat! Luckily there was enough willow to make another seat, which Hannah made very carefully and quickly. When the swing was put together, she sat on the seat and held the ropes either side of her. As she kicked forward, she fell flat on her back. They both laughed and said together, “It was worth a try.”

By bedtime, Hannah had almost forgotten the dream and the flying swing. However, as she lay in her bed and started to doze, she could see her Granddad much clearer. She could hear him saying, “We can all do most things if we believe we can do them.” “That’s it!” she thought. She had not really believed that the swing would fly. All she had to do was believe it.

Still wearing her pink nightie, she crept downstairs and found the swing, lying amongst some rubbish in her garage. She picked it up and took it to the middle of the lawn. Holding the ropes either side of her, she said out loudly, “I really believe that this is going to work!” As she kicked forward, with the seat of the swing pressed against her bottom, it lifted her off the lawn. She only just missed the top of the privet hedge!
Hannah found that if she leaned to the right, the swing dipped over to the right. And the same with the left. If she kicked her feet backwards, the swing moved down, and if she kicked her feet upwards, the swing moved up. “This is amazing,” said Hannah, "I hope this isn’t a dream?” As soon as she said this, the swing dropped like a stone, dropping her in the middle of next door’s garden.

For a second, she’d stopped believing that she could do it, and the swing had stopped flying. She decided to go to bed though, flying a swing for the first time, and in the dark, was something she ought to leave until she was a more experienced flyer.

At breakfast, she told Jimmy that she’d worked out how to fly the swing and that she’d gone for a short flight last night.  From the look on Jimmy’s face, it was obvious that he didn’t believe her. “Are you sure that it’s not another dream?” he said skeptically. “You just watch me go!!” Hannah replied.

She took Jimmy into the garden. She was already dressed, wearing her best pink clothes, sadly without pink hair. She held the ropes, so that the seat was firmly against her bottom. As she swung her feet forward, the swing slowly lifted Hannah above the lawn. When her feet were just above Jimmy’s head, she swooped and pushed him to the ground. “Eh! What was that for?” “Because you didn’t believe me.” Hannah shouted, “I’m going to fly over town. See you later.”

She soared above the house. She could see the girl who delivered their papers, nearly fall off her bike, when she saw Hannah in the sky.

When she got to the town centre, she’d really mastered the art of swing flying. She could hover, spin, swoop and turn. When she’d first gone up in the swing, looking down from above the houses, had really made her head spin. Now she enjoyed seeing everything from the sky. Everybody who saw her on the swing thought, “There’s a Groovy Chick on a swing and she’s flying! She can’t be, can she?” and they shook their heads in disbelief.

Hannah really enjoyed the flight. Whilst she was flying, she thought of so many things that she wanted to try with the swing, and so many places she wanted to go.

And she was definitely going to do all of them!

words 1691

children's books bedtime stories

the friendly dragon


ROCKET MAN STORIES

One night when all was quiet, Joseph was awakened from sleep by a strange, loud roaring sound, coming from outside. Joe was generally quite brave, but at this time of the night, with everything being dark and everyone asleep, he wanted his sister, Ellen to help him find out what the noise was.

So he put on his slippers and dressing gown and tiptoed into Ellen’s bedroom. She was already awake. “Did you hear that noise?” he whispered. Ellen nodded and they both opened the curtains to look onto the playing field. There, sitting on the field, was a large, silvery rocket.

“Let’s go and have a look!” insisted Ellen. Although Joe was older than his sister, he wasn’t sure that this was a good idea. But Ellen was already down the stairs and by the door, and so he followed after her.

They crept out of the house and round to the playing field. The grass was still smouldering, where the rocket flames had burnt it. There was a ladder going up the side of the rocket. As both Ellen and Joe were looking all the way to the top of the ladder, a door started to open.

Slowly and cautiously a helmeted head appeared through the door. Followed by the rest of the astronaut, because that’s what it was….an astronaut. Joe had seen photos of astronauts in one of his books, all gleaming white with a thickly padded suit. Ellen thought that the astronaut looked like it had a duvet, stuck under it’s clothes!

Ellen and Joe looked at the astronaut and the astronaut looked back. It was Ellen who broke the silence, “Can we come up?” she shouted. The astronaut nodded. “You go up first Joe, and I’ll follow you.”

Soon they were both near the top of the ladder. They could see inside the rocket and also see the astronaut more clearly. Through the glass screen, covering the face, Joe thought he could see a smile. Anyway, he hoped it was a smile!

The astronaut seemed to be beckoning them into the rocket so warily, they obeyed. Inside the walls and floor were made of silvery material that looked like metal but felt like plastic. There was a console facing the windscreen and seated in front of it was a thing that Ellen thought was a robot. She’s read about them in one of her books. Unfortunately all could remember about them, was that they were normally rather NASTY! S, with all the confidence she could summon up, she marched over to the robot and introduced herself. “My name is Ellen, and this is my brother, Joseph….but you can call him Joe.” It wasn’t really clear to Joe or Ellen, whether she was talking to the right end of the robot, as it didn’t have any eyes, mouth or the things people normally have on their heads.

The robot was shaped like a volcano firework, with two telescopic arms which it used t press buttons and switches on the console. It suddenly stopped what it was doing and the top half of it’s body glowed, giving out a warm red light. Joe was about to say he’d seen enough, when the astronaut came across. “I’d like you to meet ROBOT 2001. I just call it ‘Friendly’. And I’m 'Astro’. Would you like to come with us for a ride in the rocket?”. “Yes please!” they said together.

So they sat down in the large, reclining seats, Ellen next to Friendly, and Joe next to Astro. Friendly used its telescopic arms to fasten a wide seat belt round Ellen, whilst Astro did the same to Joe.

After Friendly and Astro had pressed some buttons on the control computer, Ellen and Joe excitedly shouted out the countdown. “Five, Four, Three, Two, One, BLASTOFF!"  The loud roar from far below them told them that the rocket had ignited and they were on their way.

As Ellen looked out of the window, the world beneath them disappeared. Friendly could read the look of fear in her face. It pointed at the console. The button marked "megaspeed” was set to “on”. Astro said, “You should be able to see the planet soon.” They both looked out and could see a green and blue planet, very similar to our own Earth, growing larger as they approached. “You’d better get back in your seats, ready for the landing.” said Astro.

They felt the rocket slowing down, and then they were down. “Friendly, you go first to make sure everything’s safe.” Joe wondered how the robot was going to get down the ladders? He didn’t have to wait long to find out.

The robot seemed to float across the floor, over to the door. As the door opened, Friendly simply floated out and gently to the ground. Joe said, “What a useful robot you’ve got in Friendly!” Astro said that he was very lucky to have a robot in the 2000 Series as only two were made, ROBOT 2000 and Friendly, ROBOT 2001.

“Friendly s glowing warm red now. This shows it must be safe to go out. Come on, let’s go.” said Astro as he lead the way down the ladder.

They appeared to have landed in the middle of a field. In the distance, there was smoke rising and lights shining. “That looks like a town. Shall we go and investigate?” said Ellen, heading off in that direction, without waiting to see if the others were following. Astro, Friendly and Joe had no option but to follow behind.

As they got nearer, the town appeared to be surrounded by a large, stone wall. They stopped by the front wall, where there was a small, wooden gate. Friendly floated up to the gate and knocked with it’s telescopic arms. Nothing happened…..Friendly was about to knock again, when a voice came from above.

“You can come in, but you’d better be very quick!” and the wooden gates opened. Joe and Ellen hurried through, followed by Astro and Friendly.

Inside were lots of people wondering what these strange visitors wanted. Ellen suddenly realised how strange they must look - they still had only their dressing gowns and slippers on, and Friendly and Astro still looked strange to them!

All the town’s people talked and shouted at once. It was very difficult to understand them. “You are lucky the Dragon didn’t get you, Cara and Sim weren’t so lucky. Where could they have come from?” Astro interrupted the and said,“One at a time! Now what’s this about a dragon? And who’s this Cara and Sim then?

The crowd parted and a small boy and girl came forward. The girl said that her name was Cara and the boy, her brother was Sim. They both had very ugly scars in their faces. "We were playing over by the woods, not far from the city walls. he flame-breathing Dragon caught us and burnt our faces. ” said Cara. Astro turned to Ellen and Joe and said, “We’re going to have to find this dragon and kill it.” Joe didn’t say anything, but hoped that they wouldn’t have to kill the dragon.

The townspeople were glad to see that they were going to try and kill the dragon, but they also thought that must be slightly mad for trying! They watched the four of them, for quite a long time,  walking towards the woods where the Dragon lived, before someone  said that they ought to close the gate, just in case the Dragon came around!

As the four of them got nearer to the woods, a roaring sound got louder and louder. “That must be the Dragon. I hope we don’t have to kill it, Ellen.” whispered Joe. Astro asked Joe and Ellen to wait outside the woods, whilst they went inside to kill the Dragon. But Joe and Ellen wanted to see the Dragon….and they didn’t want it to be killed.

Through the trees, they could see the flames and smoke. The roaring noise grew louder and louder. The noise seemed to sound like something familiar….together Ellen and Joe realised what the the sound was..the Dragon was crying!

“I’ve got no friends! No-one can come near me. As soon as they do and I breathe on them, they’re burnt to a cinder. I’M SO LONELY!” moaned the Dragon, louder and louder.

Astro said to Friendly, “Arm the short-range missile. Get ready to fire.” “No! Stop!” screamed Ellen and Joe, “there must be something else we can do? the Dragon doesn’t mean to hurt anyone.” Astro said that there was anything else they could do.

“What can we do?” said Ellen, “I don’t know.” said Joe. Suddenly a gleam came over Ellen’s face, “I know what to do!” She shouted from behind the tree, nearest the Dragon, “ HOLD YOUR BREATH!”

The Dragon stopped crying for a moment and looked up. “HOLD YOUR BREATH! I SAID."  she shouted again. A puzzled look came over the Dragon, but it obviously understood, because it took a deep breath. Ellen rushed over to the Dragon, "We’re going to put your flames out. We’ll back soon.”

“Just what are we going to do then?” asked Joe. “I’d better not tell you yet, 'cos you won’t believe me. Come on, we’ve got to get something from back at the town!” exclaimed Ellen, heading back the way they came.

The townspeople were so surprised when they saw the four of coming back, “Didn’t the Dragon get you?” they shouted from the city walls. “No, it didn’t. We’re going to put out the flames,” shouted Joe. When they were inside the town, Ellen told everyone to collect as much ice as they could, any kind of ice - ice cubes, ice lollies, ice-cream…just any ice. The ice was loaded into four wheelbarrows, one each for Joe, Ellen, Astro and Friendly, which they took back to the wood, where Dragon lived.

When they got to the woods, Joe shouted to Dragon, “Open your mouth as wide as possible. Now take the biggest breath you can and hold it as long as you can!” He had already guessed what Ellen had in mind.

Dragon inhaled for a long, long time. As soon as the flames died down, all four of them ran over to Dragon and started to load the ice into its open mouth. One wheelbarrow load. Then another. Then another. Dragon’s eyes starting to go red, with holding its breath. And finally, the last wheelbarrow full of ice, was poured into its gaping mouth. “Everybody! Quick! Behind the tree,” shouted Joe, “before Dragon breaths out. We don’t know if the flames will be out yet.”

When they were behind the trees, Ellen shouted, “Right Dragon. You can breath out now.” A loud phew and a rush of steam, came from Dragon’s mouth, but no flames or fire! Joe and Ellen were overjoyed. Ellen danced with Friendly and Joe Danced with Astro. “We’ve done it! We’ve done it!” they all sang.

All four of them went over to Dragon. “The flames have gone. I won’t frighten people away any more! Climb on my back and I’ll take you for a ride.” said smiling Dragon. Joe and Ellen climbed on Dragon’s long neck. “Let’s go back to the town and tell everyone?” whispered Ellen into Dragon’s ear.

When they road up to the town, the townspeople closed the gate. “What do you think you're  doing bringing that dragon here? You were supposed to kill it?” they shouted from the top of the city walls. Joe shouted back,“ We didn’t need to kill it. We’ve just put out it’s flames. See? It’s not breathing fire now.”

Slowly the gate opened. Cara and Sim came out. When Dragon saw their disfigured faces, it started to weep, “I didn’t mean to do that. Please forgive me,” it moaned. “We forgive you,” said Cara and Sim, kissing Dragon on each cheek, “as long as we can both have a ride on your back next?”

As soon as Joe and Ellen had climbed down, Cara and Sim got onto Dragon’s back.

Astro whispered to Ellen and Joe, “ We’d better be getting back. Your Mum and Dad will be waking soon.” They climbed quickly up the ladder of the rocket. Friendly and Astro prepared for takeoff, as Ellen and Joe waived goodbye to the townspeople. As they closed the rocket door, Dragon lifted one of its massive paws and waved back at them. Dragon looked so happy, surrounded by the townspeople, with Cara and Sim on its back.

After they'd  blasted off, Joe and Ellen watched through one of the windows, as their new friends became smaller and smaller, until they could no longer see them.

They landed back on the recreation ground. As she started to climb down the ladder, Ellen asked Astro, if they would see them again. “Maybe. Maybe? Goodbye for now.” Friendly whirled its arms, which probably meant goodbye too.

From their bedroom window, they watched the rocket takeoff. They watched until the rocket was a tiny dot in the sky. And then, they climbed into their beds, to dream about the next adventure with Astro and Friendly, the robot.

2203 words

children childhood fairy tale