Unbelievable! Brent Council is a finalist for 'Race for Opportunity' award

If the news that Muhammed Butt had been chosen to headup the Equalities brief by London Council was not enough to declare irony dead, jaws dropped with a clang at the Brent Civic Centre today when the following notice was spotted on the Council Intranet:

Brent shortlisted for Race for Opportunity award 

We have been recognised for our commitment to increasing Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) representation in the workplace. 

The council has been named as a finalist in the Transparency, Monitoring and Action award category at the Race for Opportunity Awards 2015. LINK

The awards celebrate outstanding practice, innovation and dedication to race equality and inclusion in UK workplaces. The winners will be announced at the Awards Dinner on Tuesday 6 October at the London Hilton, Park Lane.  

Sandra Kerr OBE, Race Equality Director, Business in the Community, said:  "Congratulations to Brent Council on being named as a finalist in the Transparency, Monitoring and Action Award category at the Race for Opportunity Awards 2015. 

"They are taking action to create a workplace culture which puts race equality at the heart of their activity and have demonstrated a strong commitment to ensuring that ethnic minority talent has equal opportunity to progress at every level.  

"It's a huge positive to see that they recognise the UK's changing demographics and are addressing the need to reflect the clients, communities and customers they serve, and I hope other organisations will learn from their example."

One Brent worker said, 'Imagine our faces when we saw this. We were speechless at the Council's barefaced cheek in putting themselves forward.'

Meanwhile unconfirmed rumours are circulating that the rule, devised by Cara Davani, prohibiting workers leaving the employ of the Council from taking their ipads with them, had been changed just before she left.

 

Greens: Heathrow decision 'deeply disappointing' & shows power of big business

 

Jean Lambert , London Green MEP has issued the following statement on the Davies Commission findings:

'Today’s announcement shows the power and reach of big business. Growth at any cost in our aviation capacity is not compatible with the UK's climate change commitments. Heathrow Airport is already the biggest noise polluter in Europe and with estimates that around 1.1 million people will be affected by a third runway, this is a deeply disappointing decision.’  

 In 2014 Jean Lambert  submitted a joint response to a major Government consultation on airport expansion. In it, she highlighted the impact of aviation on meeting our climate change targets and on local communities. She also submitted a response to a separate consultation on state aid for aviation, in which they called for an end to state subsidies to the aviation industry

Keith Taylor, Green MEP for South East England said:

“Despite three long years of the Commission looking at all the evidence, we still cannot build a third runway at Heathrow otherwise we will fail to meet our climate change targets.

It is and has always been a myth that the UK faces an airport capacity crisis and we already fly more than any other country.

Instead of expanding our airports the Government should introduce a frequent  flyer tax which would tax aviation much more fairly and at the same time  reduce the demand for new runways".

Police move neo-Nazi demonstration to Whitehall

The Jewish Chronicle reported this afternoon that the police intend to move Saturday's  neo-Nazi demonstration from Golders Green to Richmond Tearrace, Whitehall.  They will be limited to a static demonstration for 60 minutes from 1pm-2pm.

Golders Green will still be policed as some demonstrators and counter-demonstrators who have not heard of the change of venue may turn up,

Greens: Don't sacrifice liberty in knee-jerk reaction to terror attacks

Green Party deputy leader Shahrar Ali has expressed his shock at hearing of the “inhumane” terror attacks that took place on Friday 26 June, but warned the government against fast-tracking its data communications bill in response.

Both Dr Ali and the Green Party’s foreign affairs spokesperson Tony Clarke called for nonviolent solutions to terrorism.

Dr Ali said:

How shocking to hear the news of terror attacks in a mosque in Kuwait City, a factory in Lyon and a beach in Sousse, Tunisia. People going about their everyday business suddenly had their worlds brought to an abrupt, inhumane end.

In the aftermath of the massacre, it is natural for our politicians to want to seek immediate solutions, but action requires thought, not haste. Just as the racist Charleston shooter, days earlier, was not representative of a whole community nor are the sick ideologues acting out their evil designs representative of any religion.

We must not sacrifice our liberties with a knee-jerk response to terror attacks.

The government's Prevent strategy is counterproductive on its own terms as it would impede open debate in our schools and universities when it is most needed.

Talk of fast-tracking the government's data communications bill, which would give agencies intrusive powers to intercept data, is not a legitimate response when current anti-terror legislation is already so open to abuse.

In seeking out nonviolent solutions we must take a sober look at our contribution to conflict, strife and resentment around the world. An attempt to understand the causes of the spread of terror, far from justifying unconscionable actions, gives us our best prospect to curtail them in the future.

Mr Clarke said:

All of us are affected as individuals each and every time terror strikes out at the innocent. We feel less secure, we feel angry at the use of extreme violence being perpetrated against people simply going about their everyday lives.

But to defeat the terrorists we have to win the peace, we have to redouble our diplomatic peacekeeping efforts and be prepared to advance our shared understanding of the open wounds in the world often created by governments themselves.

Only by reducing violence and assisting communities to live in peace will we ever be successful in breaking down the real recruitment drivers of terrorism.

The lessons are there for all to see in our recent past in Northern Ireland and in South Africa. We must now apply the same level of proactive peace and reconciliation processes in Afghanistan, in Iraq and in Palestine if we want to prevent future terrorist attacks and to protect the innocent.