Just had an email from Junius:

I've just blogged about a matter that I think has potentially serious implications for freedom of expression in British universities.

Thank you Junius. His posting starts thus:

A report into Mona Baker's decision to sack Israelis from the editorial boards of journals she edits has recommended that British universities should take on extensive powers to regulate the external activities of their staff. As regular readers know, I thought Mona Baker's actions were wrong, repellent and stupid, but this rings alarm bells ...

I won't quote further. Go there to read more.

However, a more general point about BEdBlog. I am especially interested in focussing on British stories, and, more generally, and no disrespect to that fine country intended, non-USA stories. (You will note that my first Official Guest Writer – and isn't he doing well? – is a fellow Brit.) This is not me dissing the USA, merely a belief in the value of the division of labour. If I wanted to, I could keep this blog plenty full enough by doing nothing but piggy-back stories from the USA. Often I can't resist joining in on a USA story, and I'm certainly not saying that I'll never do that. But a better service to the blogosphere in general, and to the USA's edu-blogger's (and to their readers, linked to here), is to bring British stories to their attention, or, as in this case, help to do that by adding my voice to a hubbub someone else is busy creating. Presumably I wasn't the only person Junius emailed. If I was, all the more reason to respond here.

Besides which, Britain is where I live. I like the place. It's where I am being educated, and am educating from. Nothing wrong with being patriotic about your own little corner of the world. As I often say about another blog I also occasionally write for, Transport Blog: see the world in a grain of sand …