Men can't be trusted ....

Ahh, good old Harriet. No sooner has she started warming the seat of power with her bum, she looks for ways to get 50% of the population on her side, by saying "“Men cannot be left to run things on their own,” she explains. “I think it’s a thoroughly bad thing to have a men-only leadership."
This sort of comment, coupled with the instigation, by Labour, of women -only MP selection lists cannot fail to alienate many males of the general public. The women only lists will inevitably lead to charges that the successful candidate didnt get the gig on merit, and is therefore a less than able candidate. It is sexism, however you dress it up.
It is true that the House of Parliament is massively underrepresented when it comes to women, ( even Rwanda has a more representative parliament) who after all represent 50% of the electorate - but resorting to unfair sexist practice such as women only lists, and making this sort of comment is not the right way to change the balance.
The right way to change this balance is as part of a radical, long overdue overhaul of the whole political system, to make politics more transparent, less confrontational, and more representative so that more of the general public become engaged with, and part of, the political process.
Be inclusive, Harriet, not exclusive. Full text of her interview can be found at http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article6735934.ece

Fundamentalist religious belief destroys brain cells?

What else explains this? Stupid, because even people of strong faith I have heard talking about this rationalise by saying that God put Doctors on the earth so we could use them. This guy plainly exhibits a complete lack of faith in humanity, and his poor daughter has died as a consequence.

Creationism endorsed by UK education agency?

This article in The Guardian caught my eye this week.
The UK, in common with other countries, has an agency that attempts to assign uncommon or international educational qualifications a UK equivalence. This is obviously a useful and sensible thing - until, that is, you equate an exam which contains questions blatantly at odds with established scientific fact. Then, you give credence to the qualification and the underlying beliefs, both at home and abroad. More worryingly, this curriculum is being taught to kids in Britain, taught outside of the state system, either at private christian academies or through home schooled initiatives. This got me thinking - what controls are there on the quality and nature of education for the home schooled? We have a loophole in our educational system at present which allows for parents to withdraw them from state education and warp minds with absurd propaganda. Its time we changed this. Germany outlaws home education - we should do the same.