Lecturers praise student violence

It comes to something when those who are supposed to be teaching others take lessons from the would-be taught. And learn that several wrongs make a very bad right! The demonstration about student fees started well enough. But it was hijacked by a bunch of middle class hotheads whipped up by anarchists and all other types of anti-democratic street fighters.

Lecturers, from Goldsmiths, University of London, have proclaimed in a missive, "We the undersigned wish to congratulate staff and students on the magnificent anti-cuts demonstration this afternoon. The events demonstrate the deep hostility in the UK towards the cuts proposed in the Comprehensive Spending Review. We hope that this marks the beginning of a sustained defence of public services and welfare provision as well as higher education." They said nothing about vandalism, bludgeoning police officers and nearly trying to kill a policeman by throwing a heavy fire extinguisher from the roof of Millbank, where the Tories have their HQ. Staff of other offices in the building were frightened and waitresses in a coffee shop were trapped for over three hours.

These lecturers are a witless bunch who have suddenly let their brains hit the floor. They need to look in a mirror and think about whether trying to kill people is a perfectly acceptable activity whilst demonstrating. I wonder if a smile will come on their faces?

Nobody has said that peaceful demonstrating is wrong. How could they? It is part of our democratic system. What is wrong is trying to inflict pain, misery and generally acting as if other people's lives are of no consequence.

List of axed quangos published

Quangos indeed! They sound rather odd and for most of them they were behavingly rather oddly too for most of their existence. They could be creatures that deserve a documentary to themselves. Rather like dingos, with commentary by Sir David Attenborough. We'd learn all about their habits and their peculiar social interaction. All from a standpoint that 192 of them were in the same evolutionary void as the dinosuars and the dodo.

I always thought that quangos were sort of sinecures plus. You didn't have to worry about too much and you needn't get too het up and bothered about much. Now they face the axe. 192 of them. My only concern is where the jobless quango workers will go. Some will be redeployed, but many will not.

Perhaps the government could tell us how many useful, properly funded jobs this country can afford both public and private. I bet the answer is way below the number that is needed to keep all and sundry happy.