marcwelsh.bsky.social
Eclectic, inert, nerdish, a collection of spare parts. Niche Doctor Who references a forte. Masquerades as an academic with a political bent, tho mostly moans about how and why the current system doesn't work. Once wrote something something resilience.
295 posts
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210 following
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If you keep going I doubt your phone will survive!
Beyond the word salad I suspect this sort of framing is something a number of government advisors and ministers will be looking at for inspiration. We'll see soon enough ...
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We're all the blonde girl front left with the vacant stare and out of time hand movements cos it's ... The Lighthouse Family. How are you supposed to summon enthusiasm for that?!
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As expected the Madleen was boarded at 3am & citizens of 7 nations captured. Much is made on the legality of a blockade. But even Israeli legal arguments are predicated on "the condition that a state may not starve the civilian population (San Remo, Article 102)".
www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblo...
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Currently just north of Dumyat (Egypt).
Remind yourself of what happened to the Mavi Marmara if you want to understand why onlookers are worried about Greta et al. That was a night-time raid by the IDF. And a much larger vessel.
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Yes straight north from Tafarn Zinc. One opposite the quarry, an earlier one further up on the slope facing south. We went hunting for it with my mother last summer. She had a lot of memories of it too!
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A 'quick walk up'! That's a lovely spot. Keep walking due west and you come out at my great grandmothers old farm! Just below Foel Cwmcerwyn.
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Keeping Eyes on Madleen and its mix of medical and humanitarian aid is made harder by military jamming of its signal.
But a new tracker - Garmin livetrack - is apparently up here:
live.garmin.com/session/b2e0...
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Apologies 160 nm.
Follow here: freedomflotilla.org
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That's, that's, that's SOCIAL-ISMMM!!!
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So Gatwa was good, Whittaker was good. Both performed the role with aplomb. But their eras are defined by the fantastical. Going forward I want to see the show return to the fantastic. It's more grounded, more rewarding. More Doctor Who.
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Chibnall made the show too big, and RTD has continued that trend. It's unwieldy. And centring the story arc around 'gods' has meant too much focus on mythology (both of the show and in the show) and not enough good old 'science fiction as allegory' stuff.
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And perversely it has resulted in a 'reboot' that requires a lot of the audience, with call backs and big reveals drawing on Doctor Who cannon (which a global audience of Nu-Whovians struggle with), but then tweaked to meet the need for spectacle (Omega - completely wasted!) rather than logic.
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Personally I think the Disney money has weakened the show. Too few episodes means investment in characters is unearned yet written as though we are meant to care. Bigger budget means ideas are thrown out onto the screen without the need for internal coherence (yes, talking about you 'underverse').
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Spar Trek IV: the Undiscovered Country.
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Ha ha! I know how you feel! (I'm still laughing at "we need more russian revolutions").
Luckily it's raining and I feel no compunction to go to the office so finishing off marking and ignoring further union work for the rest of the day. :)
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As a UK wide action I fear the legal costs, convolutions of legal argument and risks would be prohibitive. To progress it I'd favour focusing on English SoS as an English HE case. Because that way I think it has more chance of success.
But persuadable otherwise and that will rightly be up to HEC.
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Completely agree Jo. I voted FOR the motion for that reason.
I just prefer clarity and focus early rather than the (common) mistake of assuming and mispresenting something as "UK" when it isn't/legally can't be.
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So those taking it forward will either need to actively involve other nations to bottom this out (which WILL make it more complex and take more time), or prioritise practicality and maintain the focus on an English case against the Labour SoS.
IMHO.
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This doesn't seem insurmountable, but constructing a case to incorporate devolution just seems to make it much more complex & messy, or require entirely separate cases/legal advice for each nation.
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Seems to me a Welsh branch participating in an aggregate ballot and action might risk the case being dismissed (lack of legal standing), raise Qs about the legality of the ballot, and potentially put members at risk of taking IA illegally.
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Ignoring the extent to which we can invoke the English SoS at all in a dispute, the comparator would surely be Jr Drs or teachers actions (or perhaps more closely to GPs as 'non-employees') - which I think were all nation actions, not national ones.
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I voted for it too, cos good to test shifts in strategy, even though it seemed surprisingly ill considered from a devo point of view. Barnett seems risky basis as it's a consequential not a direct impact or relationship.
From what I can see it only really works (initially) as an England wide action.
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Presumably. In fact arguably more so in that we have a whole 'post-16' education thing going on. Though whether it would be supported or productive is another matter.
But that was not the motion that was passed BY Conference. Exemplifying the problems with policy developed in this forum and format.
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I hear your pain.
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And if all the above sounds a bit ranty - actually it was a testament to the chairing and the new technology that we got through so much of such a ridiculous agenda at all, and in relatively collegial spirits!
The main problem is with the structures, not those left to try and manage them.
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Congress is broken as a model.
Silo-ised, unreflective of members experience or ideas, factional/entryist, unfocused, and, for strategic planning - incoherent.
That suits some, but I think it does a disservice to our members who ultimately are turned off UCU politics, to our detriment.
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That's how policy is done in the real world. Not in 150 words, in 15 mins, with radically constrained debate.
That is not the fault of the motion or its drafters, but the format of our democratic policy making structures. With such a packed agenda it can only ever provide for a facsimile of debate.
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Frankly it is emblematic of why Congress/Conference does not work.
This is EXACTLY the sort of policy idea to develop collectively, based on this draft proposal, during Congress. To then take away & work on and rework until it WAS fit for adoption as a coherent, focused and deliverable policy.
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I'm not a legal beagle, just a lowly political geographer.
But if I can see those problems and how govt would challenge legitimacy of such legal action then you can be sure the govt and management lawyers can.
So a lot more work is needed to make this deliverable.
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Seems to me it can ONLY be an English HE case and action to avoid providing obvious and expensive open goals for "UK" govt lawyers to shoot at.
But, given the experience available in HE on these matters, I hope Welsh, Scottish & NI legal minds will be weighing in & helping HEC deliberate further.
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As drafted it is devolutionarily myopic however.
A huge amount of work would be needed to develop a case in which a Welsh UCU branch or its members could participate in action against the English Sec for Education.
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It is also being misreported - motion to HESC, not Congress.
Personally I think exploring new and different ways of achieving our goals, including legal routes, is a good & laudable one.
In the room there was recognition of the challenges in making this case & further work would be needed.
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The original motion (the one each delegate would, in theory, have actually consulted branches on) was more about 'exploring' this option.
Something was subsequently lost in translation ...
The GS was being quizzed on what was actually adopted & did a good job in circs.
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If this was recorded it would be great to share it with members?
Arley Gill was inspiring and enlightening in equal measure.
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whilst quietly humming The Flintstones theme tune at all times.
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The drugs still require you to change your diet and approach to food. You still need to reduce calories. You need to eat healthy and fibrous. You need to maintain muscle mass through being or becoming active. It just takes away the drive to eat to excess.
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Not once, but thrice. In a blink and you'll miss it way!