<< Mar 2010 Are we really sick ... ? Saturday, February 27th, 2010 - 1:49 pm
As a nation we seem to have degenerated into letting the big, important things get into a mess. We reward the people at the top, no matter how badly they have let us down. We are expected to put paper targets ahead of genuine achievement. Everyone who gets paid by government in some shape or form seems to have been dragged down. This nonsense started with the Conservatives bringing in paper targets and it rumbles on and on. The Labour government has done nothing to stop it.
Does it matter? Here are some of the results:
* At least one hospital has put targets ahead of patients' safety, comfort, dignity and even lives
* Our social work system is not letting social workers do the job they care about - protecting the weakest members of our society
* Our banking system has bankrupted thousands of British citizens.
I'm angry!! Would MI5 please stop trying to recruit terrorists? Friday, February 26th, 2010 - 2:43 pm
Al-Qaida could not hope for a more effective recruiting agent what with MI5 seeming to support the maltreatment of terrorist suspects. Have you heard the rumour about Lloyd's Bank? Friday, February 26th, 2010 - 1:46 pm
There's nothing in it! The Tragedy of Borneo is Everyone's Tragedy Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010 - 12:34 pm
Last night's Panorama, presented by Raphael Rowe, was about the massive destruction of the forests of Borneo. I have blogged about this before, as it is a topic dear to my family:
David Attenborough on damage to rain forest in Borneo,23 May 2009
Front page headline about orang-utan: "Victims of the Oil Rush",1 May 2009
Borneo's rain forest destroyed for palm oil,14 April 2009
Want to find out more about Borneo's forest,6 March 2009
My sister-in-law belongs to the Dayak peoples of Borneo. It is heart breaking for her to see more and more destruction every time she goes home.
The programme showed how the destruction of the forest in order to grow palm oil is threatening the orang-utan with extinction. This is an urgent problem, highlighted by Sir David Attenborough in the past.
Something I didn't realise before was that there are laws in place about where palm trees can be planted in Indonesia so as to protect the rich peat soil. If this has palms planted in it then it releases masses of carbon into the atmosphere which is bad for the whole planet.
The laws are being broken. Palms are being planted indiscriminately.
I don't know whether such laws even exist in Malaysia. My sister-in-law's country, Sarawak is part of Malaysia. The destruction is just as bad there as in Indonesia.
Why is this happening? To provide cheap oil for us in the West. Next time you think you are doing something healthy by reaching for the Flora margarine at a supermarket, think again. Think of the dying orang-utans, gentle creatures which never did you any harm. Alledgedly Flora is made with suspicious palm oil. For a list of which foods contain palm oil see:
It is best to view statements by manufacturers with a pinch of salt, for instance when you see, "Mars said it is working towards sourcing 100% sustainable palm oil by 2015 and hopes to achieve 20% of that goal by the end of 2010," be sure that they do NOT use sustainable palm oil now and notice that they have not actually promised to do so by 2015. And a lot of orang-utans will be dead by then.
Apparently palm oil is beginning to be used in bio-fuels. That's even worse!
I would have liked Raphael Rowe to have mentioned that it is also threatening the very existence of the lovely Dayak people of Borneo too. A Lib Dem interpretation of Labour slogan Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010 - 12:19 pm
Thanks to Lib Dem Voice for this take on the new Labour slogan in the present economic climate.
Vince 'the people's choice for chancellor' talks about the economy. Monday, February 22nd, 2010 - 11:54 am
From today's Telegraph.co.uk in, "Vince Cable 'the people's choice for chancellor' explains his plans for reform" our guy says to Louise Armitstead:
'Before I go, I ask for just one more prediction: where's the bubble? Cable doesn't blink: "There's something very strange going on with property prices. The big correction in overvalued prices hasn't happened. There's been a partial correction about six months after the crash. But not a proper one. This is worrying." Let's never forget, Mr Cable has been right before.'
On Saturday I listened to the Radio 4 afternoon play, 'Murder in Uzbekistan' about the British ambassador Craig Murray. He must have believed the Labour government when it declared that it would have "an ethical foreign policy". (Remember that?)
I heard about Craig Murray losing his ambassadorial post at the time, in 2004. Labour's foreign policy became decidedly less than ethical when they decided they had to put the "war on terror" first. After that the media has been very quiet about Uzbekistan until this broadcast.
The play, by David Hare, is based on Craig Murray's book of the same title. It showed how appalling human rights abuses in Uzbekistan were allegedly condoned by the Labour government even though Craig Murray alerted them to what was going on. All the Uzbeki authorities had to do was to label anyone they arrested as a "terrorist" and they could apparently abuse them with impunity.
The really sad part is that things have not changed in Uzbekistan as far as I know. Now how could Labour have taken us to war against the cruel and unjust dictator of Iraq whilst condoning the cruel and unjust Uzbeki president Islam Karimov? Kris Hopkins and that Big Hole in the Middle of Bradford Sunday, February 21st, 2010 - 2:42 pm
Kris Hopkins, Conservative leader of Bradford Metropolitan Council and parliamentary candidate for Keighley is still presiding over a great big hole in the middle of Bradford. And it just got bigger: the former police station is being knocked down too. I really, really hope Kris Hopkins doesn't let the art deco former Odeon Cinema get trashed. Not many towns have such a lovely art deco building.
It would be far sighted to save it. Not too much hope then. 10 out of 12 polls indicate a Hung Parliament Saturday, February 20th, 2010 - 1:38 pm
According to Charter 2010 ten out of twelve recent polls indicate a hung parliament next time. Would that be a BAD THING? Quite a few British people might welcome parliament being hung! I myself think it would be a very good thing. No, wait a minute, this is what I mean ... it could be the first step in a genuine reform of the British parliament, and Heaven knows that's needed.
A fairer voting system would have to be the price of the Liberal Democrats holding the balance of power with our support for either side. I believe we should give support on an issue by issue basis, judging whether each parliamentary bill accords with our party principles. We can't give unqualified support to any other party.
The Old Boys' act of the Labour/Tory carve up of Britain will have to stop. Their safe seats will suddenly not feel so safe any more, so they will have to listen to UK citizens for a change. The worst MP expenses scams have been by MPs in safe seats.
A lot more could be achieved that would genuinely benefit Britain, with less knee jerk cooking up of new laws. The Labour government has created a lot of new laws. The trouble is they are mostly not very good laws. Their better legislation has often been at the persuasion of the Liberal Democrats. But we could achieve much more if we Lib Dems held a more central place in British politics.
The way to get something better for the UK is to vote Lib Dem, naturally! ;-) Want answers? Ask Vince Cable ... Saturday, February 20th, 2010 - 1:34 pm
In spite of bland reassurances to the contrary I have a very uneasy feeling about the UK economy. If you share that feeling with me you might like to ask Vince Cable, Lib Dem economics guru, a question on the topic.
Here's how to put a question.
Click on the link below to open a window with the Lib Dems' magazine.
Next click on the blue text, "Ask Vince any question on the economy here."
This opens a new window.
At the foot of the page click on "sign in", again in blue text.
This opens another window. Follow the instructions. There is an example given.
You can suggest a question of your own and vote on which of the questions already submitted to put to Vince.
Ask Vince Cable a Question Conservatives and Labour have managed something between them! Friday, February 19th, 2010 - 2:11 pm
Together they have caused the demise of British Steel at Redcar (renamed Corus). The Tories started the slide with the privatisation and selling off of the Redcar steel industry (and other plants too). Labour has not done enough to save it. Our Labour government's priority is to save the useless bankers who shuffle numbers around on computers and produce nothing. Shame on them both! No wonder the Lib Dems are doing rather well in the Redcar area.
I was born at Marske-by-Sea, a couple of miles from Redcar, and my mother's family (the Hudsons) lived there for centuries. My grandfather Hudson worked as a draughtsman for heavy industries in the Teesside area.
The people there must feel as though a death knell has been sounded for the area. Angry? Sad? Bitter?
We are already dependant on Russia for gas. It is unpatriotic to leave us at the mercy of any old foreign power, in my opinion. The first duty of a government is to protect its citizens from harm. Britain could not have stood alone against the Nazis in the Second World War without the coal and iron and steel industries.
Yes, I heard the term "mothballed". But I'm not sure it actually means anything. Even Vince (the Prince) Cable can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear but ... Thursday, February 18th, 2010 - 11:49 am
Let's face it: even Vince Cable can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear but I think the majority of British voters would trust him rather than Darling Osborne - I mean Darling or Osborne - to deal with our national finances.
According to the Liverpool Daily Post of 22nd January this year:
' SHADOW chancellor George Osborne was ordered to repay £1,666 after breaching expenses rules over claims for the mortgage on his second home.
But the cross-party Commons Standards and Privileges Committee found the Tatton MP’s breach was “unintended and relatively minor'”.
Well, that's a relief then; apparently he's not so much a spiv as incompetent. Oh, just a minute, he's the guy that Cameron wants us to trust to run the economy.
As for Alastair Darling, Andrew Goodwin, senior economic adviser to the Ernst & Young Item Club says in today's report from the BBC: ' The deterioration emphasised the scale of the fiscal challenge still facing the government, calling the chancellor's borrowing predictions "far too optimistic." '
I'd rather have Vince Cable in charge of our money. Wouldn't you? No profits on second homes - where have I heard that before? Wednesday, February 17th, 2010 - 5:12 pm
Of course all right thinking people would agree with Sir Ian Kennedy (yesterday) that MPs should not keep any profit made from the sale of second homes. But if you think that sounds familiar it's because Nick Clegg, leader of the Lib Dems, said the same thing on 13th May 2009.
A BBC article quotes Nick Clegg:
'Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg has repeatedly criticised the practice, saying it amounted to some MPs becoming "spivvy property speculators, trading up from one home to the next for personal profit".
Mr Clegg said he would support legislation to force MPs to pay back any profits they had made on the sale of subsidised second homes.
"The public will expect Gordon Brown and David Cameron to make a similar commitment," he said.'
I'm glad to see that injured service personnel are to get more help with finances and health treatment. About time too. But I heard it was not going to be backdated, seemingly on the grounds that it could mean the measure would have to go back to the Crimean War, or something. It is not acceptable not to support properly troops who have been invalided out of the forces during the present government's tenure, in my opinion. Flipping mean! They who make the law break the law! Thursday, February 11th, 2010 - 7:44 am
Thanks to "Norfolk Blogger" for this post about how the Labour Party either can't or won't obey the law they themselves brought in outlawing automatic telephone dialling (those nasty silent calls).
Do you think the Labour Party is fit to rule Britain? No? Will phenomenal borrowing come back to bite Labour in the bum Wednesday, February 10th, 2010 - 3:16 pm
This article from yesterday's Money Week about why the next phase of the fall in house prices will probably be starting soon is interesting. And it poses the question of whether Labour's phenomenal borrowing spree will come back to bite them in the bum.
from Money Week Another really special niece Wednesday, February 10th, 2010 - 12:00 am
I was saying how I have had reason to be grateful for two of nieces lately. I also have another very special niece who looks after my sister, her mother. My sister has a serious disability and her daughter has looked after her for many years. Thank goodness for her! Discussion about Slavery Tuesday, February 9th, 2010 - 1:05 pm
I've had an email from Jock in Oxford which raises some interesting discussion points about my recent post on slavery in the United States.
He says:
"It is of course great to celebrate the thirteenth amendment in the US, and, Judith, your question about whether prison amounts to slavery is an interesting one - and one which anarchists have long held to be true (as with conscription and confiscatory tax regimes).
"But I learned an interesting, and not so trival, factoid a few weeks ago. Did you know when Britain outlawed slavery?
"12th November, 2009!"
I've replied that I don't think it is wrong for prisoners to earn their own keep by working in prison, but I do think it is wrong to put people in prison for trivial offences and then make them work for virtually no pay, especially if the system is very possibly weighted against a particular racial group.
I didn't know slavery was only outlawed in Britain in November 2009. However in an email to Jock I suggested that this may be because such a law wasn't actually necessary before. It is possible that it only became necessary because of domestic servants being brought to Britain as part of the households of foreign nationals and then being treated as slaves because they had no legal status on their own account. The new law would also apply to the unfortunate people who have been trafficked into the UK as sex workers.
I asked, "Have you any thoughts on that?"
Jock's reply was,
"Well, it was clearly one of those loopholes that nobody realised that previous statutes on the slave trade had not covered, but yes, Shami [Chakrabati of Liberty] did say that it was more motivated at enabling the prosecution of [concerning] traffickers and overseas domestic servants. But that it was in looking into that that they discovered previous legislation did not actually ever create a criminal offence of holding someone in "involuntary servitude" - language purposely chosen, and defined in the clause as including such things that we might not normally call "slavery" but which in effect are."
Jock says he thinks the new law was introduced by a Lib Dem peer, possibly Lord Lester. I'm trying to find out, as I think it is indeed a very interesting point. I'm so glad of my nieces! Monday, February 8th, 2010 - 11:41 am
Progress has been slow with my broken foot (both literally and metaphorically). At last after two months coping I've asked advice from my chiropodist niece, who lives in the North of Scotland, so is too far away for her to look at said appendage.
She said that hospitals in general do not take a fractured metatarsal seriously enough. It's a small bone so they assume it will heal quickly. However a metatarsal can be just as difficult to heal as a femur (thigh bone).
She asked what the hospital gave me to help me: a pot for 12 days and then an elastic bandage and a pair of crutches. She said this was totally inadequate.
She asked what advice they gave me: when I first went to A & E I was told the break would take six weeks to heal; the physios taught me how to use the crutches. After the pot was taken off the doctor said I could go back if I had any problems; I was told to wear the bandage during the day and take it off at night.
She said I should have been told about going to a podiatrist for more specialised help and advice. I wasn't. She said the fracture could take two more months to heal (this was two months after it was fractured, but bearing in mind I hadn't been given adequate advice and support to start with).
She recommended footwear with a rigid sole and with curved heel and toe areas to give a 'rocking movement', in other words something similar to a Dutch clog, to rock my foot through the movement and prevent bending of my foot every time I stepped. As my foot is still too swollen to get any of my shoes on it I have been getting around in elastic bandage and socks.
Another niece (who lives in Surrey) has been to visit me and took me to the clog making place at Mytholmroyd. I've now got kitted out with a pair of clogs. The heels still need to have a curve put on them, but I've spoken to 'chiropodist niece' to ask how this should be done. With the help of a friend I'll be able to go to the clog factory and get that adjustment made.
Oh, and the only place in Britain where they manufacture clogs from start to finish is only a few miles away from here. Streets of Shame Sunday, February 7th, 2010 - 9:03 am
People in my ward have complained about dog dirt around the village lately. I've talked to Cleansing and the Dog Warden Service about it. They say the whole district has been overrun by it - er, maybe I should rephrase that - there are problems all over the district.
It seems to me that some dog walkers have imagined it's OK to leave shit in the street because the snow would cover it up. When the snow has melted all the brown stuff has come to light.
Of course the majority of dog owners are responsible people and wouldn't dream of leaving dog mess in the street.
Anyway the dog wardens have been so overwhelmed by complaints that they have had to bring in the pooh cavalry in the form of Community Wardens. Two of them came round to see me the other day. They were going to the streets that people had told me about. Here is a list of the 'Streets of Shame' that I've been told about (but I do realise that these may not be where the pooches in question actually live):
Thwaites Brow Road
Moss Carr Road
Cherry Tree Rise
It is actually illegal to allow a dog to foul a footpath, park, play area or grass verge without clearing it up - well, that is, the dog doesn't have to clear it up, the dog walker does. Hurray! Just spotted a pavement sweeper. Saturday, February 6th, 2010 - 12:51 pm
I've just spotted a pavement sweeper - a machine, so not able to get everywhere, but at least it can move quickly and clean a lot of pavement in a short time.
Hope it's sweeping up dog pooh, though I'd rather pooh wasn't left on the pavements in the first place! More on that story tomorrow. Has slavery ended in the US? Saturday, February 6th, 2010 - 12:09 pm
Nader's post of 1st February rightly celebrates the anniversary of the end of slavery in the United States of America.
However I heard a thought provoking piece on a TV current affairs programme this week. (I'm sorry, I can't remember which one.)
This was what I heard:
Some of the states of the United States have a "three strikes and you're out" rule. This means that having been found guilty of two offences you automatically go to prison if you are found guilty of a third offence, no matter how trivial it may be. All right, we don't like people to drop litter, say, but we Brits would think it outrageous to send someone to prison for such a misdemeanor. In the US people can be put away for something that trivial after they have had been found guilty of any two previous offences.
Once incarcerated, prisoners have to work. They have to produce goods. The only alternative is solitary confinement.
Now a disproportionate number of US prisoners are black. Is there a presumption of guilt that might not be applied to a white accused?
Maybe slavery amongst American people of African descent is still taking place, but in a less obvious way.
It's time the United States had a really good look at itself! Northern Ireland Agreement is Good News Saturday, February 6th, 2010 - 11:18 am
It's good to see progress being made in Northern Ireland - and all credit to Gordon Brown for his part in it. Maybe being a Celt helps.
The new agreement on policing may help to keep things on an even keel over the 'Marching Season'. Dial-a-Ride Monday, February 1st, 2010 - 12:24 pm
The man who came to ask the Town Council for funding for Dial-a-Ride said that none of us know when we might get a disability which makes us need their help. He was so right! They're going to help me today. So glad I voted in favour - but I would have done anyway. Of course from now on I'll have to declare an interest when anything comes up about the scheme.
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