Category Archives: Abolition Of Work

On Thursday, Britain heads to the polls to cast a vote that will determine which political party will shape the next five years. Here is why the Tories are absolutely not my cup of tea:

Conservatives put the 'n' in cuts

Conservative cuts have ruthlessly hurt society in a number of ways, particularly the most vulnerable people:

1. Since the Tories took office in 2010, homelessness has doubled. Their failure to build affordable housing, cuts to social services and inaction on soaring private rental costs have plunged us into a housing crisis.

There is the highest number of people in work without a home than ever before. This completely undermines the Tory rhetoric of 'hard workers will be rewarded'. While helping out at a winter homeless shelter for the past couple of years I have been horrified to discover how many of the guests have jobs - on minimum wages and zero-hour contracts.

2. Tory austerity has caused disabled people deep distress. Policies like "fit to work" and the abolition of disability living allowance has left people like Alex in a degrading and humiliating state, unable to afford necessary medicine and facilities.

3. May's cuts to essential services such as the police force has hindered our security and put our lives in danger. Watch this former senior Met officer expose the Tory lies about officer numbers following the London Attacks:

The list of detrimental cuts goes on.

Conservative means backwards Conservative literally means keeping old-fashioned traditions in place. This prevents progress. Their pledges reflect the extent to which Tory priorities are outrageously past their sell by date; take for instance:

Fox hunting Colonialist sentiment Bizarre war with Spain regarding Gibraltar Stiff blue passports (anti-EU cohesion)

I sit here wondering: How have Theresa May's political priorities outgrown her haircut?

Brexit divisions and distractions

Under David Cameron, the Tories unintentionally triggered a departure from the EU which has deeply and detrimentally divided the nation. Brexit has fostered, perpetuated and normalised a climate of xenophobic hatred and violence, evident in figures that reveal a rise of up to 100% in hate crime across England and Wales since the referendum.

Here is the cherry on the cake: instead of focusing on Brexit negotiations, Theresa May decided to call a snap general election. This has totally detracted from Brexit negotiations. Yet she audaciously attacked Jeremy Corbyn for having the wrong priorities when he called on her to do a TV debate. Interestingly, she agreed to do a TV Q&A instead.

Big business breaks are bad business: from BHS to bathroom births

Symptomatic of the lack of corporate regulation we have the wonderfully corrupt and greedy Philip Green, Mike Ashley's inhumane third world factories and empty houses owned by foreign property moguls amidst a housing crisis. The only thing trickle down about the Tories policy on conglomerates is the poor lady's water that broke in a Sports Direct toilet where she had to give birth because of their harsh penalties for missing work. Yet the Tories adamenty refrain from regulating and taxing big businesses more effectively.

Our human rights are at risk

Tories want to scrap the Human Rights Act (HRA) after Brexit. I don't know about you, but I like my human rights. The HRA helps to protect the most vulnerable people, from domestic violence victims to LGBT people. The Tories proposed Bill of Rights will allow the government to pick and choose which rights to protect, essentially jeopardising many of our current rights.

"Difficult and embarrassing" deadly foreign policy

Saudi relations *cough*. It is time to talk about who is funding and fuelling the war on terror Theresa; stop dealing arms with Saudi Arabia if you want to tackle extremism.

Additionally, Saudi is using UK bought cluster bombs to explode innocent children and civilians in Yemen. Complicity in Yemen's civil war, is not a good look for a first world democracy that should set an example when it comes to human rights standards.

Theresa Dismay, dark leader of the underworld

She has proved herself to be highly uncertain, untrustworthy and unstable. That is not a strong leader. How can you vote for a politician in a general election who lied about calling an election in the first place? As Captain SKA's #2 hit goes - she's a LIAR LIAR.

What to do?

DO vote. We are privileged to have the opportunity to exercise our democratic right to vote. Even if you want to spoil your ballot, turn up to your polling station. It really, really matters.

DON'T be politically tribal. Party politics is petty. Be tactical with your vote. You can find out how to be tactical here.

Under the Conservatives, since 2010 the fat cats have got fatter at the cost and neglect of the poor and most vulnerable in society. Let's not let them continue. Cheers to anti-Tory cuppas!

See the article here:

Why The Tories Are Not My Cuppa - HuffPost UK

Sex work is adult consensual provision of sexual services for money. What part of this definition challenges the notion of work? A service provided for money? A service provided by adults for money? A service provided consensually by adults for money? None of the above. The minute the service is described as a sexual one, the understanding that it is work changes drastically. This article would like to explore the nature of work in Dhanda (sex business).

Sex work is also monogamous or polygamous sexual partnerships within a commercial context. These two constructions, one of provision of sexual services and the other of sexual partnerships, both for the exchange of money remain contentious mainly because of the perception of the easy availability of women to cater to male lust. Arguments of the market controlling the sexual terrain and power equations that privilege men over poor women both as economic and social victims dominate the discourse.

Sex work is adult consensual provision of sexual services for money. What part of this challenges the notion of work?

Moralists are offended by the notion that casual sex with multiple partners could be a physical act stripped of emotion, could be initiated by women, used in a commercial context and even be pleasurable. The immoral whore image followswomen who are ostracised by a judgemental society that approves the criminalisation of sex work.

Within India, the Dalit movement has held that upper caste men use women from lower castes to satisfy their carnal needs mainly as an expression of caste dominance. The caste-based Devadasi system in many parts of India, and the Bedia tribe are the examples used in this analysis. The forced rehabilitation of devadasis and the anti-devadasi lawin Karnataka has forced devadasis to leave their natal homes in Karnataka and migrate for work to Maharashtra in large numbers.

Another strand of thought, as Cheryl Overs explains, is expressed by conservative feminist attitudes which are arranged around a theory in which sex work is defined as both indivisible from slavery inevitably involuntary and inherently violent and as a driver of the objectification and oppression of women.The idea that no woman can come into sex work on her own and that all women are forced, deceived, lured, bonded to loan sharks and trafficked into sex work for sexual and economic exploitation is also firmly held.

The advent of HIV/AIDS in the 1980s saw governments make great efforts to target sex workers in global and national responses to the HIV epidemic. Sex workers were considered vectors of the spread of HIV, and governments were determined to save the bridge population of men, using sex work interventions only as a means of protecting respectable women from HIV. In small pockets around the world, sex workers turned this around and made it an opportunity to mobilise attention to the health, safety and rights of sex workers.

The idea that no woman can come into sex work on her own and that all women are forced is firmly held.

However, as Joanne Csete points out, this picture was complicated by politically powerful faith-based constituencies, an anti-trafficking movement that denied the agency and rights of sex workers, and powerful funders. The United Nations positions demonstrated some leadership on sex worker rights early in the epidemic but later appeared to acquiesce to prohibitionist views.

Anti-trafficking activists who have gained support from radical feminists have argued that sex work itself is violence mainly because the entry into sex work is involuntary, forced, and through deception women are lured and sexually exploited by unscrupulous traffickers. Their argument especially about minor girls is valid but the underpinning of abolitionism that governs their arguments takes the focus away from finding and punishing the traffickers to rescuing and rehabilitating sex workers without consent.

The fracture in this method comes from the idea that all women are trafficked and thus consent is not necessary in such an indiscriminate rescue and rehabilitation plan. Needless to say, though sex workers are the best placed to fight traffickers there are no programmes to strengthen them by the anti-trafficking, anti-sex work organisations.

Most laws and policies on sex work reflect that though sex work is not illegal in India, there are laws such as the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act that continue to criminalise women in sex work and those who support her work such as third parties. The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, enacted in 1956, was initially the Suppression of Immoral Traffic Act (SITA), and in 1986, the name was changed to Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act or ITPA. The legislation (ITPA) penalises acts such as keeping a brothel, soliciting in a public place, living off the earnings of prostitution and living with or habitually being in the company of a prostitute.

consent is not seen as necessary in such an indiscriminate rescue and rehabilitation plan.

In a departure from criminal jurisprudence, which clearly indicates the stigmatisation of sex workers, the ITPA has paradoxical offences like detaining a personwith or without his consent in premises where sex work is carried onor taking a person, with or without his consent for the purpose of prostitution. Again, the provisions dealing with raid and rescue make no distinction between adults and minors. Ordinarily, in the case of adults, consent or the lack of it is a crucial factor in offences like abduction or illegal confinement which determines whether or not an act is to be dubbed criminal. The legislation gives power to a magistrate to order the removal of a prostitute living within the local limits of his jurisdiction from the area.

Abolitionists who hold dear some or all of the above positions on sex work argue that sex work is violence against all women and should be done away with altogether. The most powerful argument is the one that links poverty, caste, pure womanhood, sacredness, force of circumstances and unscrupulous traffickers to argue for the abolition of sex work and the rescue of the unfortunate victim from an uncaring state and an indifferent society.

Also Read:Sex Workers Discuss & Give Suggestions To The Anti-Trafficking Bill Draft 2016

Overs, C. Sex Workers and Feminists: Personal Reflections in The Business of Sex, ed. Laxmi Murthy and Meena Saraswathi Seshu, 2013, Zubaan Books.

Csete, J. Victimhood and Vulnerability: Sex Work and the Rhetoric and the Reality of the Global Response to HIV/AIDS inThe Business of Sex, ed. Laxmi Murthy and Meena Saraswathi Seshu, Zubaan Books, 2013.

A Walk Through the Labyrinths of Sex Work Law, The Business of Sex, ed. Laxmi Murthy and Meena Saraswathi Seshu.

This post was originally published in In Plainspeak, Tarshis online magazine on sexuality in the Global South. You can find the article here.

Featured Image Credit: Kolkata On Wheels

Read this article:

Why Is Sex Work Not Seen As Work? Part 1 - Feminism in India (blog)

BBC News

Buxton anti-slavery monument unveiled in Weymouth BBC News ... was a driving force behind the abolition of slavery. There are already memorials to him in London, Jamaica and Sierra Leone. The 90,000 monument, carved by Weymouth College stonemasonry students, is the result of seven years of work by the Thomas ... and more »

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Buxton anti-slavery monument unveiled in Weymouth - BBC News

Is Jeremy Corbyn really out to help the poor or just to entice the middle classes into his big socialist tent? I ask because the more you examine the manifesto he keeps waving before the television cameras, the more it seems to be designed around giving benefits to the better-off. These wont come without cost, of course the better-off will also be paying for the benefits which Corbyn is dangling before their eyes, in the form of higher income taxes, and possibly new wealth taxes, too. But for the moment, it seems to be the potential handouts which are making Labour headlines rather than the prospect of higher taxes.

Could Corbyn potentially sweep to power on the back of the student vote, and the votes of students parents? Probably not, but the promise to abolish tuition fees has certainly helped to turn the polls. Would it really help to increase participation of low-income groups in higher education? Not to judge by the experience of Ireland, where tuition fees were abolished in 1996. A study by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) in 2011rather poured cold water on the theory that tuition fees are all that stands between us and more children of poor families going to university. The IFS looked atparticipation rates before and after abolition of tuition fees and concluded that the policy had done absolutely nothing to increase educational opportunities for the poor. On the contrary, it found:

The only obvious effect of the policy was to provide a windfall gain to middle class parents who no longer had to pay fees.

The experience contrasts with that in England when tuition fees were trebled in 2012. In the first year, the number of students from poorer backgrounds rose by 10 per cent in the first year. Why? Because as the IFS found in Ireland, factors other than tuition fees are far more important in determining whether children go on to study at university. The biggest barrier is low educational attainment at school. The English tuition fee increase coincided with a period in which the government was putting pressure on universities to offer places based on lower exam grades to students from poorer backgrounds.

There is a difference between England now and Ireland in 1996. Prior to then, Irish students from poor backgrounds already enjoyed means-tested grants which covered bother tuition fees and living costs. Abolishing the fees, in other words, offered nothing new to them, and in fact put them at a disadvantage because it encouraged more middle class children to apply to university.

If Labour really wants to help the poor, why not means-test free tuition fees? That would work out considerably cheaper than a wholesale end to the fees which will cost 11 billion. Is it that Labour is shamelessly going after the middle class vote with a bribe? I think the answer is a little more subtle than that. Corbyn opposes means-tests because he wants us all to share in socialism. Like Nye Bevan, who wanted the banker and the architect to live in council housing next door to the welder and the plumber, Corbyn first and foremost wants to make us all clients of the state. In Corbyns mind, the well-being of the poor comes second to this principle.

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Is Jeremy Corbyn really out to help the poor? - Spectator.co.uk (blog)

Moira Leydonof the Association of Secondary Teachers of Ireland outlines her organisations perspective on what can be done to improve our education system.

In 2015, Ireland ranked third out of 35 countries for literacy, including digital literacy, and 13th out of 35 countries for both science and maths.

THE Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation hosted a conference on the future of work last month.

In her address, Minister Mary Mitchell OConnor quoted research which forecast that 65% of children in primary school today will work in jobs which currently do not exist.

Not only is the economy changing, so too are the political and international institutions which have created, for better or for worse, the world as we currently know it.

The future is unknown and, therefore, uncertain. Education policy has to navigate this uncertainty. It has to prepare young people for their future lives as citizens, parents, workers and job creators in a digital society.

At the same time, education must sustain young peoples wellbeing in the here-and-now as well as ensuring that culture, values and knowledge are passed on, shared and re-shaped between the generations.

In this context, we must ask deep questions: What is the purpose of education today? How can we ensure young peoples wellbeing and happiness? How do we prepare them for a world where exponential change is the norm? Such questions are not just the prerogative of educators. They concern all of society especially those who set the public agenda. What happens in education today shapes the society and economy of tomorrow.

Irish second-level education is internationally acknowledged as being of high quality. Successive OECD PISA reports (Programme for International Student Assessment) shows that Irelands 15-year olds achieve above average in literacy, maths and science. In 2015, Ireland ranked third out of 35 countries for literacy, including digital literacy, and 13th out of 35 countries for both science and maths.

PISA also found that Irish students feel a strong sense of belonging at school: this is vital for their wellbeing and their motivation to learn.

Second-level education is also ahead on other indicators in the EU 2020 Strategy. The latter aims to ensure that the school drop-out rate not exceed 10% by 2020: Irelands rate is currently 8.1%. The EU target that at least 40% of the population aged 30-34 years successfully complete third level education is already surpassed by Ireland: at 52.6%, Ireland currently has the highest rate in the EU.

Moving beyond quantitative evidence, there is also strong system evidence from Department inspection reports of public satisfaction with schools. Commissioned research by the Teaching Council similarly found high levels of trust and satisfaction with the teaching profession.

The work of the Teaching Council itself is focused on maintaining the quality of the teaching profession from initial teacher education, to professional standards and lifelong learning.

Another strength in our education system is the role of the statutory National Council for Curriculum and Assessment in ensuring an ongoing process of curriculum review and reform from early childhood to the end of second level education. Notwithstanding the ongoing ASTI objections to aspects of the new Junior Cycle Framework, the process of curriculum change is, in the main, dynamic and ongoing.

However, we need to look at systemic problems. Complacency has no place in our education system which is constantly charged with meeting new and enduring societal problems. From my perspective as Education and Research Officer with the ASTI, I would identify the following areas as priorities if our second level schools are to realise our aspirations for our young people.

Bestsellers such as Thomas Pikettys Capital in the Twenty-first Century, and The Spirit Level: Why More Equal Societies Almost Always do Better, by Richard G Wilkinson and Kate Pickett, are part of a growing body of evidence on rising inequality. The proportion of children in Ireland (aged 0 to 17) at risk of poverty fell to 30.3 % in 2014 but remains higher than the EU average of 27.8%. The current policy for educational disadvantage DEIS focuses on schools with high numbers of disadvantaged students.

However, the majority of students at risk of educational disadvantage are not enrolled in DEIS schools. We need appropriate interventions in non-DEIS schools so that no child is left behind because of their family circumstances.

Invest in our school infrastructure Department projections indicate that from 2016 to 2025 second-level enrolments will grow by 19% over 65,000 additional students in the system. We need new schools, but we also need to seriously look at existing schools; overcrowding in classrooms and corridors, and the lack of space for non-traditional classroom learning are quality issues. In particular, ASTI research by Millward Brown has underlined the inadequate facilities in science laboratories.

The latter will increasingly become apparent when new practical assessment tasks are introduced for Leaving Cert science subjects in the next school year.

The gap between policy development and policy implementation is increasingly acknowledged as one of the reasons why education systems are either slow to adopt new practices or adopt them in a piecemeal fashion.

There is a real need to examine this conundrum in the Irish context. If the ASTI dispute on the Junior Cycle teaches us anything, it is that we need to look for better ways to engage teachers in the dialogue on innovation.

Teachers do not want their students to be the guinea pigs for experimentation. We need to examine how schools can engage in curriculum innovation while not undermining students learning or classroom relationships.

A proper framework for teachers lifelong learning must be developed which is underpinned by concrete supports to (i) ensure that the courses available to teachers are relevant to their work and to their personal development needs, and (ii) that they are financially accessible. Recent research by RED C for ASTI found that the biggest barrier to further learning for recently qualified teachers was the abolition of qualification allowances.

A key area for teacher learning relates to the digital revolution in our childrens lives.

There is consistent international evidence as to the quality of the Irish teaching profession. That quality is underpinned by several factors: High standards of initial teacher education and induction; continuous professional development; working conditions and level of pay. Almost a decade of austerity has seriously eroded the latter and it is now the number one priority for new entrants to the profession.

A differential salary structure for new entrants to the profession is eating away at the attractiveness of teaching as a career for our best and brightest graduates. Coupled with pervasive job insecurity, it has the potential to damage the future quality of the teaching profession. It is the number one political priority for the ASTI.

Moira Leydon is education and research officer with the Association of Secondary Teachers of Ireland (ASTI)

What other countries do, with a focus on Finland.

Also, students and stress about 75% of teenagers describe pressure to excel in exams.

Irish Examiner Ltd. All rights reserved

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How we teach our children: We must prepare children for professions of the digital age - Irish Examiner

Party leaders are pledging to scrap the tolls completely, but is the Monmouthshire and Newport region positioned to take advantage?

Promises to half the price of the Severn Bridge crossing tolls by 2018 was one of the few positive outcomes specifically for Wales as a result of the Autumn Budget last year. Currently at 6.70 for a car and 20 for HGVs, prices for the 25 million drivers who cross from England to Wales each year, are costly.

PM Theresa May has said she wants 'to ensure that economic progress is shared across the United Kingdom' and that scrapping the tolls 'will strengthen the links between communities'.

Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, has also revealed his party would be 'working with the Welsh Government to scrap the tolls', joining Welsh Labour which has been campaigning for years that action be taken on the bridge crossing.

Dan Smith, managing director of Newport-based M4 Property Consultants, said: "Clearly, the hope is that by scrapping the tolls, the whole of Wales will benefit, not just the immediate areas around the border.

"Reducing the costs to those looking to live, work or spend their leisure time in Wales can only be a positive. Estate agents have been reported increased demand in Chepstow, Caldicot and Newport for housing from Bristol-based buyers, since the announcement that the tolls would be halved.

"From a commercial property point of view, those businesses which have previously dismissed relocating to south east Wales may now think twice.

"Previous concerns about staff having to pay the tolls can be put aside. With work-life balance ever more important for employers to attract the best employees, this area offers more affordable housing for employees, often shorter commuting times and easier access to the fantastic great outdoors Wales has to offer. As a result, we would expect more office occupiers to consider areas such as Chepstow, Newport, Cwmbran and Cardiff.

"We believe the biggest impact is likely to come in the industrial market. Avonmouth has performed particularly well over the last five years in attracting distribution companies. Proximity to the both the M4 and M5 being a key factor.

"However, it has become a victim of its own success with current limited availability and rising rents / values putting offer other occupiers. "Again, since the Autumn Statement there has been a noticeable increase in demand from Bristol-based industrial companies looking to relocate to Chepstow, Caldicot, Newport & Cwmbran. If the tolls are scrapped, this demand will only increase.

"To be able to capitalise on this potential increased demand we must provide an offering which will entice these companies to Monmouthshire or Newport. At present, it is doubtful whether we do.

"There is certainly a lack of good quality office accommodation, with very little, if any, grade A offices available in either Newport or Monmouthshire. There is also a lack of industrial space with the majority of stock in the area now let or under offer and very limited new build taking place.

"It is therefore vital that the local authorities work with private developers to identify areas for further development and ensure that these developments are brought forward quickly or we may lose out!

"If reducing the tolls increases the traffic flow in and out of south east Wales, it is more important than ever that the M4 relief road is progressed. The congestion on the M4 is a major barrier to business and a significant inconvenience to those visiting Wales as well as those living in Wales. We cannot afford to procrastinate any further on this issue, a decision needs to be taken quickly and the scheme progressed. Failure to do so, combined with the abolition of the tolls will cause greater issues and could damage the reputation of south Wales as a business location."

More here:

Can we take advantage of the pledges to abolish the Severn Bridge Tolls? - Campaign Series

Sir John Key says he is immensely proud of his knighthood in the Queen's Birthday Honours to mark his eight years as prime minister of New Zealand.

But when people start calling him ``Sir'', it may take some getting used to. ``I suspect they'll stick with John,'' he said. ``I'll be more than happy with that.''

Sir John was made a Knight Grand Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, a level one honour which most former New Zealand leaders have been offered.

Business leaders, sports stars, a television producer joined Sir John as those recognised in the Queen's Birthday Honours announced today.

Former All Black Michael Jones, of Auckland, has become a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the Pacific community and youth.

Television producer Julie Christie, of Auckland, who has worked in the television industry for almost 30 years, is now a Dame Companion for her services to governance and the television industry. Emeritus Professor Peggy Koopman-Boyden, from Hamilton, has been made a dame for her research into the country's older population.

Adventurer and philanthropist Graeme Dingle, of Auckland, has been made a Knight Companion for his decades of work with youth, getting them into the outdoors to build their confidence.

Prof Timoti Karetu, of Havelock North, has been made a knight for services to the Maori language.

Sir John said Prime Minister Bill English initially texted him to tell him what the honours and appointments committee had in mind, telling him he had better accept it.

The later citation prepared by officials includes mentions of Sir John leading New Zealand's response to the global financial crisis, a series of major disasters, Treaty of Waitangi settlements, closer relations with the United States, withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, securing a seat on the UN Security Council - and the national cycleway project, which particularly amused Sir John.

``I said to Bill, I've got to be the only person in the world that's got a knighthood for a cycleway.''

But he said the honour reflected a huge team effort including ``millions of New Zealanders who through their voting patterns allowed us to be the Government''.

``There are so many people who have part of the story and in my case it was an incredibly capable and talented cabinet and caucus.

``I'm immensely proud of the honour but also very cognisant of the fact that it is something you share through the deeds and actions of other people.''

That included his family. Sir John and his wife, Bronagh, Lady Key, told their children, Max and Stephie, about the honour last weekend and he said they were thrilled for him.

Sir John's family was invited by the Queen to spend a weekend at Balmoral Castle in 2013 and he is a strong supporter of New Zealand's constitutional monarchy.

He said his reintroduction of titular honours (damehoods and knighthoods) in 2009 had nothing to do with the monarchy.

``And it wasn't because I wanted to get one, despite the rumours,'' he said.

It was because the abolition of them in 2000 by Helen Clark had led to a level of confusion with the public and they had not known the various levels and what they meant.

Commenting on being made a knight instead of a member of the Order of New Zealand, he said: ``It's horses for courses. They are both level one honours. They are both in my mind the same.

``They offered me the knighthood because they knew I had brought them back and that would seem a natural fit.

``When I was prime minister and I chaired the committee, I offered Helen Clark the Order of New Zealand because having abolished damehoods, it would be insulting of me to offer her that.''

He said he wanted his investiture to take place in New Zealand.

Original post:

Proud to be made a knight - Otago Daily Times

A public college in New York City is offering an undergraduate class called the Abolition of Whiteness, adding to what critics say is a growing number of courses aimed at the study of whiteness at colleges and universities around the country.

Hunter College a public school in Manhattan that is part of the City University of New York is advertising a course in its Fall 2017 catalog that examines how whiteness and/or white supremacy and violence is intertwined with conceptions of gender, race, sexuality, class, body ability, nationality, and age.

The Abolition of Whiteness, taught by Prof. Jennifer Gaboury, can be taken as either a women and gender studies course or a political science class, according to the schools online course catalog.

The class has drawn ire on conservative media sites, such as the Daily Caller and Campus Reform, where some readers expressed outrage over the courses title. Critics say the course is part of a rise in white studies classes in higher education, which they claim are divisive and detrimental to student learning.

These courses really pound a wedge between people based on race, said Arizona State Rep. Bob Thorpe, who had tried to ban a course at Arizona State University called Whiteness and Race Theory.

Theyre not bringing people together and creating unity on the college campus, Thorpe told Fox News.

The taxpayers are funding these kinds of courses as well, said Thorpe, claiming, Youre not really seeing these classes in private institutions.

But educators and those who work in academia say such classes are being distorted and critics are failing to recognize a fundamental purpose of higher education: to make students think for themselves.

Academic freedom protects the right for people to teach things that some might consider divisive, said Hans-Joerg Tiede of the American Association of University Professors.

A provocative title may encourage students to really think about the issues, said Tiede, who likened criticizing course titles like the one at Hunter College to judging a book by its cover.

Georgetown University, for instance, a private Catholic school, offers a popular theology course called, The Problem of God, which grapples with deep and difficult questions about life, meaning purpose and fulfillment, according to Georgetowns website.

It explores the notion of God and fundamental aspects of belief in such a being, says the school, where theology courses are a requirement for undergraduate students.

I am sure there may be people who look at Georgetowns course catalog and consider the class title to be offensive, noted Tiede.

Tiede said he was not familiar with the Abolition of Whiteness course being offered at Hunter College but said the class was likely reviewed by a committee of people before it was approved. Neither the school nor the professor was immediately available for comment when contacted by Fox News. A syllabus for the course was not available online.

A course like this could investigate a number of issues regarding race relations in the United States, Tiede said.

Unfortunately, you have a far-right, outrage machine out there that is trolling the internet for titles that may upset some readers and to use that to sort of stoke resentment against higher education, added Tiede. Im not questioning the right to do that I just dont think its productive or promotes the rights that higher education seeks to encourage.

Thorpe, meanwhile, disagrees, saying such white studies courses only reinforce prejudices and may in some cases spur violence against a particular group.

Thorpe and other critics note that such polarizing courses on white studies are on the rise across higher education institutions around the country.

A class at Ohio State University, titled Crossing Identity Boundaries, teaches students how to detect microaggressions and white privilege. And the University of Wisconsin-Madison offers a course called, The Problem of Whiteness, which has been roundly criticized by state Republican lawmakers.

I am extremely concerned that UW-Madison finds it appropriate to teach a course called, The Problem of Whiteness, with the premise that white people are racist, Rep. Dave Murphy, chairman of the Wisconsin Assemblys Committee on Colleges and Universities, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in a December 2016 interview.

If you had a class that said the problem with women or the problem with blacks it would never happen, Thorpe said of the course at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

I think of Martin Luther Kings famous words about how we should judge a person based on the content of their character and not the color of their skin, said Thorpe. You would think that this would be a fairly settled issue but it is not.

Read more here:

College offers course on 'Abolition of Whiteness' - New York Post

John Stossel | Syndicated Columnist

Venezuela descends into chaos. Its people, once the wealthiest in Latin America, starve. Even The New York Times runs headlines like "Dying Infants and No Medicine."

My Venezuelan-born friend Kenny says his relatives are speaking differently. Cousins who once answered "Fine" or "Good" when asked, "How are you?" now say, "We're eating."

Eating is a big deal in the country that's given birth to jokes about a "Venezuelan diet." A survey by three universities found 75 percent of Venezuelans lost an average 19 pounds this year.

So are American celebrities who championed Venezuela's "people's revolution" embarrassed? Will they admit they were wrong?

"No," says linguist and political writer Noam Chomsky. "I was right."

Sigh.

Actor Sean Penn met with Hugo Chavez several times and claimed Chavez did "incredible things for the 80 percent of the people that are very poor."

Oliver Stone made a film that fawned over Chavez and Latin American socialism. Chavez joined Stone in Venice for the film's premiere.

Michael Moore praised Chavez for eliminating "75 percent of extreme poverty."

Hello?! In Venezuela, Chavez and his successor, Nicolas Maduro, created extreme poverty.

Chomsky, whose anti-capitalist teachings have inspired millions of American college students, praised Chavez's "sharp poverty reduction, probably the greatest in the Americas." Chavez returned the compliment by holding up Chomsky's book during a speech at the U.N., making it a best-seller.

Is Chomsky embarrassed by that today? "No," he wrote me. He praised Chavez "in 2006. Here's the situation as of two years later." He linked to a 2008 article by a writer of Oliver Stone's movie who said, "Venezuela has seen a remarkable reduction in poverty."

I asked him, "Should you now say to the students who've learned from you, 'Socialism, in practice, often wrecks people's lives'?" Chomsky replied, "I never described Chavez's state capitalist government as 'socialist' or even hinted at such an absurdity. It was quite remote from socialism. Private capitalism remained ... Capitalists were free to undermine the economy in all sorts of ways, like massive export of capital."

What? Capitalists "undermine the economy" by fleeing?

I showed Chomsky's email to Marian Tupy, editor of HumanProgress.org. I like his response: "If lack of private capitalism I assume he means total abolition of private enterprise and most private property is his definition of socialism, then only North Korea and Kampuchea qualify."

Tupy also asks how Chomsky thinks "capitalists sabotaged the economy by taking money out if capitalists are superfluous to a functioning economy."

Good questions. Chomsky's arguments are absurd.

As Tupy wrote elsewhere about another socialist fool, "As much as I would like to enjoy rubbing (his) nose in his own mind-bending stupidity, I cannot rejoice, for I know that Venezuela's descent into chaos hyperinflation, empty shops, out-of-control violence and the collapse of basic public services will not be the last time we hear of a collapsing socialist economy. More countries will refuse to learn from history and give socialism 'a go.' 'Useful idiots,' to use Lenin's words ... will sing socialism's praises until the last light goes out."

I fear he's right. This love for state planning is especially outrageous today because anyone who pays attention knows what does work: market capitalism.

Socialism failed in Angola, Benin, Cambodia, China, Congo, Cuba, Ethiopia, Laos, Mongolia, Mozambique, North Korea, Poland, Somalia, the Soviet Union, Vietnam and now Venezuela. We are yet to experience the blessed event of seeing one socialist country succeed.

Yet during the same years, capitalism brought prosperity to Hong Kong, Singapore, New Zealand, most of Western Europe, and years ago, to a mostly poor and undeveloped country we now call America.

In 1973, when Chile abandoned its short-lived experiment with socialism and embraced capitalism, Chilean income was 36 percent that of Venezuela. Today, Chileans are 51 percent richer than Venezuelans. Chilean incomes rose by 228 percent. Venezuelans became 21 percent poorer.

Venezuela has greater oil reserves than Saudi Arabia. But because some people believe socialism is the answer to inequality, Venezuelans starve.

What should Venezuela do once the tyrant falls?

It should do what Dubai and Hong Kong did, and what America should do next with Guantanamo Bay and Puerto Rico: create "prosperity zones." I'll explain in my next column.

If you would like to write a letter to the editor in response to this column, follow this link.

John Stossel is the author of "No They Can't! Why Government Fails But Individuals Succeed."

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JOHN STOSSEL: Socialists blather while Venezuela starves - The Northwest Florida Daily News

Paul Keating, Tony Abbott and Julia Gillard have all delivered some zingers in their time.

William Charles Wentworth is famed for crossing the Blue Mountains but was also a political pioneer.

WHAT makes a leader great? And has Australia ever had a truly great political leader?

Apparently we have had 10 -- including several you have probably never heard of.

A former top political advisor has compiled a definitive list of the greatest political figures in Australian history and it is nothing if not surprising.

John Adams has warned that hyperpartisanship and relentless attempts to seize power by the political class has sent Australia into a national decline.

In an effort to stop this descent, the one-time economics and policy advisor has released his list, which he says should be taught in schools and be the subject of a national debate.

He has measured each figure against six key criteria:

1. Personal Courage

2. Acted in the public/national interest

3. Leadership

4. Foresight

5. Consistency

6. Impact

Adams, a former advisor to political supremo Arthur Sinodinos, as well as a former management consultant for a major accounting firm and public servant within the Commonwealth and NSW public services, says we need to be reminded of a better class of political leader to rescue Australia from its current perilous state.

Unfortunately, a significant majority of the current political class are obsessed with obtaining and maintaining power. As a result, they are unwilling to lead and take significant political and personal risks, but rather pursue deeply ideological agendas which do not align with the pressing public policy concerns of the Australian people, he says.

Moreover, many contemporary politicians seek to politicise every possible issue under the sun and employ hyper-partisan divide and conquer tactics, with the objective of pitting one Australian against another, in the hope that Australians become frustrated with the opposing side.

Hopefully, this top 10 list can trigger a national debate about the state of national decline Australia currently finds herself in and the rotten political class which is responsible for placing Australia in the current perilous state.

The list will no doubt be controversial there are at least two notable omissions, possibly more the fault of history than of the author. And, coming from a former Coalition warrior, many of the names on it will be a major surprise as will several whom you probably have never heard of. There is also one major name that failed to make the grade.*

See if you can pick the three unusual absences my answers are below. In the meantime, here is John Adams list of

Australias Top 10 Greatest Political Figures of all Time

Australian Prime Minister Joseph Lyons tops the list.Source:Supplied

1. Joseph Lyons

Former Labor Premier of Tasmania and Cabinet Minister in the Scullin Government, Lyons quit Federal Cabinet in January 1931 and later in March quit the ALP over the federal caucus decision to reappoint Ted Theodore as Treasurer. Theodore advocated significant money supply and credit expansion by the Commonwealth Bank to finance the Australian Governments significant expenditure and debts during the credit crisis of the Great Depression.

Concerned by the collapse of confidence among Australias creditors in London that Australia would struggle to meet its debt obligations and reminded by Germanys 1923 experience with hyperinflation, Lyons advocated for sound money and for significant cuts in public spending and wages across the Australian economy.

Lyons went on to unite with conservative parliamentarians to become the Leader of the United Australia Party and the Leader of the Opposition. Lyons courage and principled resolve resulted in him being elected as Australias 10th Prime Minister, winning 3 elections in total until his death in office in 1939. Lyons economic policies during the Great Depression resulted in the Australia economy enjoying a faster economic recovery relative to the US economy which was the leading economy in the world.

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange after Sweden dropped a warrant that drove him to take refuge in Ecuador's London embassy. Picture: AFP/Justin TallisSource:AFP

2. Julian Assange

Founder of the Wikileaks which is an international organisation with a perfect 10.5 year publishing record of the secrets of Government and major corporations. Driven by the political philosophy that citizens have a right to be informed about the true nature of government and corporate activity, Wikileaks has revealed information which has allowed citizens around the world to make superior political judgements and decisions when participating in democratic elections.

Assanges courage and body of work has made him a global hero to millions around the world. He single-handedly changed the tide of the 2016 US election by exposing corrupt behaviour at the Democratic National Committee and by exposing significant contradictions between Hillary Clintons public and private policy positions.

Still controversial, Assanges body of work has resulted in him becoming an effective political prisoner in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, where he has remained for four years.

Opposition Leader Dr John Hewson puts on a brave face in the aftermath of the 1993 election.Source:News Corp Australia

3. John Hewson

Leader of the Opposition and of the federal Liberal Party between 1990 and 1993. John Hewson fought the 1993 election on his Fightback package, which was the boldest economic policy reform package ever to be launched by a parliamentary opposition in Australian political history. While losing the 1993 election, Hewsons courage to fight an election on significant tax and other economic reforms paved the way for the Howard Governments success in implementing tax reform after the 1998 election.

Peter Lalor, leader of the 1854 Eureka Stockade revolt.Source:News Limited

4. Peter Lalor

Leader of the Eureka Reform League and the Eureka Rebellion in 1854. The Eureka Reform League passed resolutions affirming the right of the people to full representation, manhood suffrage, the abolition of the property qualification for members, payment of members, short Parliaments, and the abolition of the Gold Commission and the diggers licenses.

Lalor was shot in the left arm during the raid on the Eureka Stockade on the morning of 3 December 1854 which required amputation. As a result of the actions Peter Lalor and the Eureka Reform League, the Electoral Act 1856 was passed by the Victorian Parliament which expanded the electoral franchise of Victorians and for the first time in the western world introduced the secret ballot as part of the electoral process which was soon adopted around the world and has become a global standard for free and fair elections.

Former NSW Independent MP John Hatton, whose work led to the police royal commission.Source:News Limited

5. John Hatton

NSW Parliament Independent member for the South Coast from 1977 to 1995. John Hatton campaigned tirelessly against police corruption and also worked courageously to expose mafia crime around Griffith. Hattons parliamentary body of work led to the formation of the Royal Commission into the NSW Police Service in 1994. The Royal Commission uncovered hundreds of instances of bribery, money laundering, drug trafficking, fabrication of evidence, destruction of evidence, fraud and serious assaults in just the detective division of the Kings Cross patrol.

The Royal Commission led to widespread reform of the NSW Police Force and the establishment of the NSW Police Integrity Commission.

Former NSW Governor George Gipps defied popular opinion to punish crimes against Indigenous Australians.Source:News Corp Australia

6. George Gipps

Governor of New South Wales between 1838 and 1846. During his tenure as Governor, Gipps was the first governor in Australian history to take aggressive unpopular action to punish white perpetrators of the mass murder of Indigenous Australians and to prevent further mass murders from occurring. Governor Gipps believed that Indigenous Australians were entitled to protection under the law.

Famously, in response to the Myall Massacre in which 28 Indigenous men, women and children were murdered and burnt (in some cases alive), Governor Gipps commissioned an investigation of the massacre, ordered a retrial after the first trial found the accused not guilty and then took on the powerful and well-funded interests as well as widespread outrage within Sydney by following through on the execution of seven men who were found guilty during the second trial.

Wartime leader John Curtin portrait by Anthony Dattilo Rubbo.Source:News Limited

7. John Curtin

As Australias 14th Prime Minister between 1941 to 1945, Curtin led Australia during the countrys darkest hours in World War 2. Having been a part of the British Empire since 1788, John Curtin displayed significant courage in confronting Winston Churchill after the significant defeat in Singapore at the hands of Japan.

Fearing that Australias national survival was hanging in the balance, John Curtin switched Australias military allegiances from the United Kingdom to the United States which resulted in Australias national survival, the establishment of the ANZUS treaty and a 70+ year military, intelligence and economic partnership which is still in place today.

Paul Keating in full flight during Question Time -- named in this top 10 by a former Coalition advisor.Source:Supplied

8. Paul Keating

Commonwealth Treasurer and 24th Prime Minister from 1983 to 1996. Paul Keating should significant leadership in driving major economic reform throughout the 1980s and 1990s, including the floating of the Australian dollar, bank deregulation, trade reform, the 1985 tax summit and subsequent reform package, privatisation reform, competition reform, establishment of the superannuation system, the establishment of the Council of Australian Governments and the 1993 industrial relations reform package which introduced generational reform.

Keating also showed enormous courage and leadership during the 1986 balance of payments crisis when he warned Australia risked become a banana republic if the country did not confront its economic challenges. As a result, Paul Keating cut commonwealth spending and went on to deliver 3 budget surpluses.

As Prime Minister, Paul Keating provided visionary leadership on Australias future inevitable relationship with Asia, played a key role in the establishment of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC) and on Indigenous reconciliation through his famous 1992 Redfern speech.

John Howard shortly before being elected in 1996, after which he became the nations second-longest serving PM.Source:News Corp Australia

9. John Howard

Australias 25th Prime Minister led a determined reformist government achieving major reform including waterfront reform, tax reform and industrial reform (including reform of the building construction sector). Howard was instrumental in working with his Treasurer, Peter Costello in delivering 11 out of 12 surplus budgets. At the risk of triggering a regional armed conflict, Howard committed Australian troops to defend the people of East Timor through a United Nations protection force in 1999.

Howard also showed tremendous courage and leadership by introducing the unpopular Work Choices employment reform package which was instrumental in reducing the unemployment rate to 3.9% in July 2007, the lowest in over 30 years.

William Charles Wentworth is famed for crossing the Blue Mountains but was also a political pioneer.Source:News Corp Australia

10. William Charles Wentworth

Vigorously advocated through inflammatory speeches and radical articles against the prevailing winds, the reform of the political and legal structure of the penal colony of Sydney including advocating for a free press, trial by jury and self-government. Wentworths actions contributed to the passing of the New South Wales Act 1823, which instituted a nominated Legislative Council and permitted trial by jury in civil actions only when demanded by both parties.

Wentworth later played a significant role in the Australian Patriotic Association where he drafted reform legislation which was accepted by the Colonial Office in London which enlarged the size of the Legislative Council making it more representative. Wentworth went on to serve in the Legislative Council and helped establish in 1848 a system of state primary education in NSW.

*Odd ones out:

1. No woman

2. No Indigenous person

3. No Robert Menzies the nations longest serving prime minister and founder of the Liberal party

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Julian Assange, Paul Keating named in Australia's Top 10 political ... - NEWS.com.au