tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72355714606979429012024-03-13T19:36:57.472-07:00Common Sense Politicsplasfanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04147832824325749618noreply@blogger.comBlogger51125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7235571460697942901.post-86645777447888605142011-04-20T02:02:00.000-07:002011-04-20T02:05:14.582-07:00Take Back The PowerThis is the start of a campaign to ask all voters to vote for anyone who isn't from one of the big three parties. If you're fed up with constantly being lied to and let down; if you're fed up with politicians who never answer the question and spend all their time slagging off the opposition; if you're fed up with politicians telling you what you want, rather than listening to what you want; join the campaign at www.takebackthepower.webs.complasfanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04147832824325749618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7235571460697942901.post-76606132523493470492011-03-01T12:36:00.000-08:002011-03-01T13:13:15.120-08:00AdvertisingIf you publish an advertisement your are bound by the laws governing the content. It has to be clean decent honest & truthful. Yet why is this stricture lifted when it comes to political advertising? The mandates that all political parties put in their manifesto should come under the same laws. If you are advertising any product and service then if that is not carried through then the company is fined. It should be the same for political parties.<br /><br />It is no good us taking the high moral ground over the pro democracy demonstrations in the north African countries when we are having our own democracy eroded by politicians who consistantly lie about what they are going to do when they get into Parliament and then renege on their promises.<br />They have persuded voters to elect them on a mandate and then have not delivered what they promised. In other words they lied. Any company would be prosecuted, why not the politicians? This is not an academic exercise but I feel that it erodes the very tenets of democracy in this country.<br />We demand democracy and honesty in other countries but not our own. What happened to safeguard the NHS advertisement then putting through a complete reform based on an economic and ideological which is a short step away from privatisation?<br />It is about time that politicians should be honest. The idea that its ok to lie to get into power is Stalinist in its concept. They wonder why no one votes and this is why, though of course the less people who vote the better for the politicians as they will most probably stay in power. Is it really that important and at what price must they lose their soul to gain the world?<br /><br />The idea that all the country must pay for the greed of a few people or rather of an industry which deals in concepts rather than realities s purile. The actions of the present government are based on ideologies that can't work in a country based on market economics. The point of cutting services which in the long term will cause unrest while reducing the number of policemen on the beat is counter productive in that it costs more money to keep someone in prison that at Eton. So the prison population rises and therefore more prisons need to be built by private companies so we are seeing the birth of a new industry which was started as part of ideology. Why would a government stop the EMA which pays students £30 a week to study when the basic unemployment is £34? Over tens of thousends of students over several years the four pounds starts to add up.<br /><br />All this to get our credit rating down. Who cares? With inflation rising, unemployment rising, the cost of basics rising we are trying to get our interest rates down so we can borrow more money to sustain an economy which is based on a falsehood. The lie being that everything will be ok. Every election I am told that if I vote for a political party things will get better and yet they get worse. This leads me to one of two conclusions, that either the people we have in government are inept or they just lie to get power.<br />Now that's a case to answer.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16423469181248733208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7235571460697942901.post-1251260044407491152011-01-29T09:30:00.000-08:002011-01-29T09:53:32.671-08:00Duty of care?The government have decided that to follow their policy is somehow good sense, even when the exiting head of the CBI points out that it is doomed to failure. To feign suprise about the economy when following an economic policy that puts potential consumers out of work while raising prices, petrol is now at a record high, and then talk about long term growth. How is this policy going to help the country recover from what is an international debacle concerning the banking system.<br />Where are the reforms that have been promised? The idea that banks can be self governing is wrong, in fact the the best way to get over the financial crises is by putting a levy of 1p in the £1 on the banks profits. Now to whom do we owe this money tht helped save the bank, why other banks of course. The sense of irony is so tragic that we shoud be laughing not crying. Strangely I agree that the banks should be getting their bonuses if it does attrct the best people, but then surely we want to attract the best in every profession, nursing, teaching, transport, and the police. Yet when they put in for a pay rise the answer always to seem be a problem about funds. Actually on a serious note if I was a shareholder in a bank and the bonuses were really high while the interest rates were low I would start making the executives feel very uncomfortable.<br />They could say that the bank rate is low but actually they still charge a high rate to borrowers according to their status so why the pitifully low rate for investors. Just look at the rates of the credit card companies, the highest they have been for a very long time. Making it harder for people to pay back and so delaying the mythical recovery of the economy.<br />We have a government that is so out of touch and the worst of it they as a class always have been. It is the 21st century which means that all information is now accessible, and yet they remain out of touch. People are taking to the streets in protest yet nothing has even been discussed. I would have more respect for them if they actually admit that they were wrong. They just don't care. They may to prfess that they are doing the best for everybody but its not true. They just don't care and the trouble is I don't think they ever will.<br />As a postscript it took a long time for me to vote for the LibDems. I never will again as they have betrayed me and my optimism for a pocket full of magic beans called vanity. I really don't know who to vote for and until I see some form of duty of care for the men and women of this country then I am adrift in a sea of despair.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16423469181248733208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7235571460697942901.post-22260521388852535362010-11-15T04:49:00.000-08:002010-11-15T05:34:49.599-08:00EducationThe main problem with the government's eduation poliy is that it is based on cost, when it should be based on value. Not the value that is produced by statistics as in the league tables, which are a complete misnomer, much like the World Series, in that it assumes that everybody starts from the same point. No two shools will ever be the same so why should they be judged on a qualifiation based system, where qualifiations may not be appropriate.<br />I am talking about the value to the person, the community and the country. You annot judge a hilds eduation in money but in potential. How much faster would we have broken the 4 minute mile if the country had allowed working class manual workers to participate. People whose very existence is based on physical activity for 8 hours a day. Who an say that the child forbidden to go on to higher education not due to a lack of academic achievement but a lack of money might be the one to make a breakthrough in medicine, science or peace negotiations.<br />Are we now reduced to exporting potential students to abroad, giving the Australian, Canadian and Amerian Universities our best potential, not because of knowledge but beause of money. The very same potential graduates that will make officers for some God forsaken useless war. Loyalty and duty are not of a single path going in one direction. The idea that a ountry annot afford to educate it's young shows that the priorities are all wrong.<br />Why do the government insist on persuing this train, this juggernaut of quasi politial doctrine when it just omes down to a small minded provincial policy that was outdated in the 60's. It's why things changed then beause a prime minister saw the potential that eduation an give.<br />Now we have stastically operated systems that mean children still leave school being unable to read or write properly, where they feel rejeted by a society that they have yet to beome a part of or even understand. Why are the prisons filling up with young people, whose only life is dulled by a surfiet of drugs, alcohol and violence. As far back as the ancient Greeks they knew the power of eduation as an improving force.<br />We have given the young consumerism, technology and a disdain for the elderly, not the very things they do need; respect for themselves, for their society and for the people within that society. The young need to understand that education is all about individual responsibilities and understanding the consequences of actions. Something this government does seem to be able to do. They are destroying a complete system of education while blaming something else and not realising the consequences that this policy will have.<br />I just wonder if we are pulling out of the Middle East to save resouces for another conflict in the South Atlantic. Imagine it could be a hild from a working class family without GCSE's but just armed with common sense who might be able to solve the problem.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16423469181248733208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7235571460697942901.post-56861887851395732442010-10-20T12:31:00.000-07:002010-10-20T13:13:54.634-07:00Policy problemsIs it me or did I wake up and found myself back in the 80's? The record so far in this coalition government has been rather despicable. Coalition in the same respect as the American/ UK coalition in Iraq. The poor liberal democrats who started as the only hope left to those members of the voting population with some kind of moral conscience have now become the very epitome of the modern day bourgeoise. Someone willing to sacrfice their principles to win. These days they call them yuppies, but I think that has more to do with the lack of education so preventing either an understanding or even the correct spelling.<br />It does seem that modern government policy probably did seem like a good idea at the time after an expensive meal at Simpsons perhaps written on the back of a napkin. The idea that somehow letting schools carry on without repair, so creating a mirror image of despair. Do they think that by letting schools slowly fall into rack and ruin will either improve the moral of the pupils or teachers? Do they think that the lack of repair will not equate to a lack of respect by society and then be reflected back in the increase in vandalism to schools, the increase in attacks on staff and a lack of respect towards society as a whole. Bearing in mind that for some children school maybe the only hope they have to escape a situation that is not o their making. How can they resect society if they are not even worth respect of a habitual place to study. This at the same time they are cutting back on the police. Strange that the amount of policemen in Birmingham city centre increased to enormous numbers while the conservative conferance was on. A helicopter patrolled overhead continuously. The air ambulence has to raise donations for every trip to save lives. Still I am sure that it mahis is the point of this government, they don't care. They may act and talk in flowing rhetoric but they don't care.<br />It seems as though their policies have very little capability of actually solving any fiscal problem but a great deal in causing a great deal of hardship. After all we all have to make sacrifices, so I would be really interested in what sacrifices the government front bench are making, perhaps not claiming their expenses or paying for the petrol in their governmental vehicles when they go to visit to promote their policies and have their picture taken. A good idea for them to cut back would be to not be paid if they have other jobs, such as a barrister or a lobbyist. Let their companies sponsor their members. I pay for my MP through my taxes, to represent my interests, not to subsidise another agenda.<br />Of course we could just privatise everything that is a problem or rather that maybe allow the population to have a decent life. What about education? After all they are running it down, allowing people to run schools who have no experience or training in an industry that s over regulated so that they can then sell it off to private enterprise and pay the commission that would pay for every child to have a decent education. I told you it was the 80's.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16423469181248733208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7235571460697942901.post-54786653022305481812009-09-25T03:38:00.000-07:002009-09-25T03:43:01.310-07:00Justice for Ian TomlinsonYou may remember that Ian Tomlinson was killed as a result of action during the G20 summit protests. As far as I'm aware the CPS is still looking into this but it has now fallen off the press pages and as a consequence off the radar of most people. The Government recently released statistics on the rise in complaints against the police and it is time there was a serious debate about the role and management of the police in the UK.<br /><br />Perhaps it would be useful to revisit Peel's 9 principles of policing:<br /><br />Principle #1: The basic mission for which the police exist is to prevent crime and disorder.<br /><br />Principle #2: The ability of the police to perform their duties is dependent upon the public approval of police actions.<br /><br />Principle #3: Police must secure the willing co-operation of the public in voluntary observation of the law to be able to secure and maintain the respect of the public.<br /><br />Principle #4: The degree of co-operation of the public that can be secured diminishes proportionately to the necessity of the use of physical force.<br /><br />Principle #5: Police seek and preserve public favor not by catering to public opinion, but by constantly demonstrating absolute impartial service to the law.<br /><br />Principle #6: Police use physical force to the extent necessary to secure observance of the law or to restore order only when the exercise of persuasion, advice, and warning is found to be insufficient.<br /><br />Principle #7: Police, at all times, should maintain a relationship with the public that gives reality to the historic tradition that the police are the public and the public are the police; the police being only members of the public who are paid to give full-time attention to duties which are incumbent upon every citizen in the interests of community welfare and existence."<br /><br />Principle #8: Police should always direct their action strictly towards their functions, and never appear to usurp the powers of the judiciary.<br /><br />Principle #9: The test of police efficiency is the absence of crime and disorder, not the visible evidence of police action in dealing with it<br /><br />These still look pretty relevant to me.plasfanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04147832824325749618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7235571460697942901.post-87673555295078673722009-09-25T03:29:00.000-07:002009-09-25T03:37:19.022-07:00An article from the Guardian that I would have missed had I not heard the reference to the Inquest findings on 5Live:<br /><br /><div id="article-header"> <div id="main-article-info"> <h1>"Incident diary reveals ordeal of mother who killed herself and daughter</h1> <p id="stand-first" class="stand-first-alone">Fiona Pilkington, found dead in burning car with 18-year-old daughter, kept log of harassment by local youths</p> </div> <ul id="content-actions"><li class="third-party-tool no-comments"> <a id="buzzlink" href="http://uk.buzz.yahoo.com/buzz?publisherurn=the_guardian665&targetUrl=http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/sep/24/fiona-pilkington-incident-diary&summary=Fiona+Pilkington%2C+found+dead+in+burning+car+with+18-year-old+daughter%2C+kept+log+of+harassment+by+local+youths&headline=Incident%20diary%20reveals%20ordeal%20of%20mother%20who%20killed%20herself%20and%20daughter%20%7CUK%20news%20%7Cguardian.co.uk">Buzz up!</a> </li><li class="third-party-tool"> <a id="digglink" href="http://digg.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.uk%2Fuk%2F2009%2Fsep%2F24%2Ffiona-pilkington-incident-diary&title=Incident+diary+reveals+ordeal+of+mother+who+killed+herself+and+daughter">Digg it</a> </li></ul> </div> <ul class="article-attributes"><li class="byline"> <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/peterwalker" name="&lid={contentTypeByline}{Peter Walker}&lpos={contentTypeByline}{1}">Peter Walker</a> </li><li class="publication"> <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/" name="&lid={contentTypeByline}{guardian.co.uk}&lpos={contentTypeByline}{2}">guardian.co.uk</a>, Thursday 24 September 2009 14.23 BST </li><li class="history"><a class="rollover historylink" id="historylink-byline" href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/sep/24/fiona-pilkington-incident-diary#history-byline">Article history</a></li></ul> <div class="image"> <img src="http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2009/9/18/1253280710284/Fiona-Pilkington-and-daug-001.jpg" alt="Fiona Pilkington and daughter" width="460" height="276" /> <p class="caption">Francecca Hardwick, 18, and her mother Fiona Pilkington, whose bodies were found in a burning car in 2007. Photograph: Leicestershire police/PA</p> </div> <p>A vulnerable single mother who killed herself and her disabled daughter after years of harassment wrote about sitting in darkness in her house as youths yelled abuse outside, an inquest was told.</p><p>Extracts from a "harassment diary" Fiona Pilkington, 38, kept for her local council were read to the hearing at Loughborough town hall . She kept the diary for a short time about six months before her death in November 2007.</p><p>An extract from May 12 read: "They were shouting outside the window from 11.30pm until it went quiet at 2.30am." Pilkington had opened the living room curtains to see if she could scare away the gang, who regularly gathered outside her 1930s semi-detached house in Barwell, Leicestershire. This failed and she turned off the light. The entry ends: "Sat in the dark until 2.30am, stressed out."</p><p>The gang returned the next day, the diary records, attacking her hedge.</p><p>"It's chucking down with rain," she wrote at 4pm. "Fed up. Cheesed off. Why can't they just walk past without doing anything? Why can't they walk on the other side of the road?"</p><p>The last entry was written late at night on June 2, another Saturday. Youths had pelted the house with stones. "They then went [next door] to number 57, lit a fag and then tried to set fire to fences between the houses. Really cheesed off. Can't they just walk down the street without doing anything? It seems impossible."</p><p>Little more than six months later, after she had abandoned recording the incidents of abuse or, apparently, informing the council about them, Pilkington drove her blue Austin Maestro to a layby on the nearby A47 and set it alight. Inside, fire crews found her severely burned body and that of her 18-year-old daughter, Francecca.</p><p>An inquest has been told that the ever-changing gang of around 16 local youngsters seemed unable to leave the family in peace because they were perceived as different and vulnerable, and fair game.</p><p>As well as Francecca's <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/disability">disability</a>, Pilkington's son Anthony, now 19, has serious dyslexia. She herself had borderline learning difficulties and had experienced depression, the inquest has been told.</p><p>Although Pilkington called the police 33 times, no one was ever charged over the harassment. In the diary she noted that on the night of May 12 she opted against calling the police again. "Know from experience that no one is usually available from Friday to Monday as it is busy elsewhere. This is a low priority."</p><p>Yesterday it also emerged that the council failed to pick up on the family's vulnerability, or share information with local police, even though both organisations knew the identities of the children behind the harassment, most of whom lived on the same street.</p><p>Tim Butterworth, a community safety officer for Hinckley and Bosworth borough council, sent Pilkington the diary after visiting her at her home in February 2007, and he read the extracts to the inquest. His only other recorded contact with her was a 10-minute phone call in April.</p><p>The coroner, Olivia Davison, noted that in a matter of weeks during that period, police recorded three separate incidents involving the family, including youths throwing stones at Anthony as he rode his bike, and that the council was informed.</p><p>"Did it not concern you to explore why this was occurring to this family?" Davison asked. Butterworth replied: "At this point no, because I had no concern for the family." He said he had not picked up on Pilkington's slight learning difficulties and knew nothing of her children's conditions.</p><p>Had he known the family's situation, Butterworth said, he would have treated the matter as a suspected hate <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/ukcrime">crime</a> and pursued it far more vigorously.</p><p>The hearing heard how the police and the council identified the same hardcore group of tormentors, but seemingly failed to share the information. Both organisations particularly picked out children from a household further down Pilkington's road, which was referred to at the hearing only as "Family A". Earlier this week it emerged that this family had persistently refused to cooperate with officials, remained known troublemakers and still lived on the street despite efforts to evict them.</p><p>The inquest has heard that members of the gang, some as young as 10, would pelt the house with stones, eggs and flour, and put fireworks through the letterbox. Once a key member of the group was heard to shout: "We can do anything we like and you can't do anything about it."</p>The inquest is expected to finish on Friday"<br /><br />I simply cannot understand how something like this could possibly be allowed to go on for so long. Surely repeated reporting of this kind of activity should lead to a more proactive response from the police/council. I'm sure those 'kids' would have found it much less fun if the were constantly being picked up/detained/fined or, in the case of those who are considered below the age of criminal responsibility if their parents were constantly asked to come and pick them up from the station, or fined.<br /><br />That this situation is allowed to occur is a shaming indictment of the society we live in. A lack of care, a lack of responsibility and an apparently total lack of support/protection for victims. Who will those 'kids' pick on next? How many of them will end getting into more/worse trouble and ultimately causing further harm and costing more money (either in cleaning up or prosecuting further crimes).plasfanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04147832824325749618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7235571460697942901.post-12782405463521310112009-09-02T12:27:00.000-07:002009-09-02T13:00:00.293-07:00Lockerbie economyI hope that the Lockerbie bomber was let out on compassionate grounds. It shows that this country at least is capable of compassion. It was a difficult outcome and would be controversial whatever may happen. If it wasn't based upon a humanitarian reason then really it does put us in the same position as the rest of the world. If I was a relative of the a victim of that outrage then I too would be upset, but also think on this. If we by this gesture stop more Lockerbies from happening isn't that a good thing?<br />I know the Americans are angry about it but wasn't a deal done to get the two journalists out of North Korea or the American idiot who now has stopped the pro democracy leader in Burma from participating in the next election, so enabling the military powers to keep power for another long term. Do the Americans send a senator to protest, (I didn't hear anything), no he gets the American out of jail and back to the USA.<br />I dare say it was about oil. It generally is these days. Which leads me on to the idiocy of raising tax in a recession. It's not just the duty on petrol but the VAT on the duty. I am not sure but is the government taking 65% of the price of petrol in tax, plus in March unless the money runs out the scrappage scheme stops. Well that really helps the economy.It doesn't help the car industry but it helps the banks or finance houses that give the loans to buy the new cars. Does it really help the car industry? What car industry? Does the government mean car imports or cars built here for foreign companies who make more profits for their home company? If governments, any governments want to aid the economy then lets drop the cost of VAT on building. If you buy materials you pay VAT plus vat on the services, such as employing a plumber. We complain about houses falling into disrepair and not enough houses in the first place well how about dropping VAT on materials by half. The amount of work that would take place would easily cover the first instance shortfall in government revenue. Householders would be able to employ builders or even do it themselves so stimulating the economy through retail and the housing market through improved sales.<br />We now need a radical rethink in policy. Instead of the simple methods of more of less public spending which never works, depending on who is in government lets have some stimulating ideas about running the economy. Instead of nuclear power lets start by giving houses the opportunity of buying solar panels (without VAT) and proper grants. Have you tried to read the material about getting a grant to put in solar panels? I am reading a book on French revolutions series of economic blunders which led to the reign of terror and that is easier to understand than the documents from the government.<br />Lets actually stop and think about how to maintain a decent economy, without recourse to oil, but then without oil we wouldn't be in the Middle East,but then that brings us back to Lockerbie.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16423469181248733208noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7235571460697942901.post-78417428863530832322009-06-30T13:01:00.000-07:002009-06-30T13:43:53.537-07:00EducationI understand that teachers are to be licensed with a view to their licenses being revued every five years, this comes in the same breath as the new policy on having individual tuition for every child who is falling behind in English & Maths. Is it me or does this not add up? So lets get rid of teachers in an all ready under populated industry while having the teachers who are already there having to take time out to tutor those children who are falling behind because there are not enough teachers to teach the children they have already got so you have to increase class sizes which makes things worse for the treachers who leave the profession, etc etc etc.<br />When will governments actually start taking responsibility for the the mess education is in. First it was the super headmaster at a giant salary, when in fact their higher wages would have been better served in recruiting more teachers to make the classes smaller so giving the children more attention. It's not rocket science, but yet again it is all down to cost against benefit statistics. Whatever happened to value? What we need is a proper cohesive education policy. One that involves negotiation with the teachers, and the parents as well as the civil servants and policy makers. This has to be done before policy is rubber stamped, not after.<br />Try looking at the Dutch system. You know the one where every child takes responsibility for its own learning, the country where children as young at primary school can speak another European language. Where children are allowed to flourish not be squeezed. In fact government should stop looking towards America for their solutions and start looking to Europe. After all are we not in the community now? If I go to Spain, or France or Germany and I have to go to hospital, there will be a doctor who will be able to explain things to me in English. I wish I could say the same here. I have had problems making myself understood in the a&e down the road.<br />We have become the village idiots of Europe.<br />We need to change the whole culture of education. Start by putting the word education back into the ministery title. Its not about skills and employment, its about long term belief that education is not about a series of short term fixes, but a long thought through strategy of improving this country through education. Start thinking in terms of education as a profession and not a caring industry. If teachers who are under enough strain have to worry about being tested all the time what do you think they will do, settle for a good old nine to five, with more money, better conditions and no stress, no fear of violence from pupils or parents and actually being able to take cheap holidays in term time; well what do you think they will do?<br />How about a bit of support from government? How about reinstating teaching as a profession? Bad teachers will leave anyway. Its pretty obvious that whoever thought up this policy has never stood before a class of thirty kids from an inner city estate. Do you know what? Even bad teachers are better than no teachers, now bankers, thats a different matter.<br /> Stop rewarding failure. Stop allowing ceo's big payouts for putting people out of work and their homes. Now if you want to license one group lets start with CEO's of financial institutions. Where they have to show progress over five years, not just a large profit sheet but also social investment. How many small busineses have they helped over a five year period, not by lending them money but also with advice and guidence? How many first time buyers have they given the opportunity to buy their own house and advice on what grants are available to improve it? After all RBS is now owned by the government so why not instill the policy there as a start?<br />The problem is that MP's can only see everything in terms of their own tenure, but how about licensing MP's. Show us what you have done and we will renew your license so you can stand as an MP, if not it gets revoked so you can't. What about ministers. After all how many of them have been in the profession they are now in charge of. Perhaps a test on what they do every five years. Now thats what I call education.<br />By the way who ever is stealing our ideas please either stop or start giving us a credit, so we can appear on question time. I know its all there and it is nice that some of the solutions we came up with four years ago are now becoming policy, but give us a credit now and again. It won't hurt your reputation any, in fact imagine what we could do if we had the right backing and support.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16423469181248733208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7235571460697942901.post-56645757097831328742009-05-07T05:09:00.001-07:002009-05-07T05:09:39.791-07:00DNA databasewritten on another thread by Loftwork. <br /><br />The argument is always that since a genetic identifier allows the police to establish identity so easily we must keep as much data as possible to avoid the chance of missing a dangerous criminal. This is always trotted out in emotive cases - child abuse, rape, granny-mugging etc.<br /><br />The principle is in fact the same as the justification for torture: 'we need to do it because it might prevent a terrorist blowing up London'. It rests on the notion that one can strike a balance between a routine but less significant erosion of personal rights and an extreme and terrifying but remote possibility.<br /><br />The reason that governments manage to make the case so successfully is that human beings are very poor risk assessors. We are biologically wired to respond to severe threats but not to routine threats. Severe threats, no matter how unlikely, provoke a primitive hind-brain Thalamic response: fight or flight. This is illogical - a known threat which kills thousands is routinely ignored, a drastic risk which kills nobody provokes demands for action at any price.<br /><br />Politicians of course instinctively know how to manipulate this. If there's a problem and logic is against you, simply ramp up the threat level. Logical opposition vanishes as the Noradrenalin kicks in. Can't find a terrorist threat? Put tanks around Heathrow.<br /><br />So for those who prefer to know who is trying to manipulate them, the first step is to find the fear merchants.<br /><br />Jac Smith is a fear merchant. ID databases are grossly overhyped but a cool, logical assessment woud be contrary to nulabour political will, so the fear factor will now be spun to a froth.<br /><br />DNA evidence is nothing new. It is part of a range of techniques which allow identification including fingerprinting, facial recognition, tests for chemical and material transfer etc. etc. In other words, DNA is an investigative tool, not a total solution. It may be just as important that a perpetrator leaves a bit of fabric or a chemical smudge - without police work nothing will happen.<br /><br />The problem with universal DNA is that it is a probability-based tool so if the sample quality does not give an optimal result or the size of the database is large, the probability of a false positive increases toward unity. And its sensitivity also makes it prone to contamination in a way fingerprints were not. DNA found at a crime site is a starting point for investigation, not its conclusion. Whether the case is brought to successful conclusion is very much a matter of competent policing, as always.<br /><br />It is therefore fatuous to demand that there be an immense DNA database to avoid the possibility of future crime. The investment might much more profitably be made in improving the workload of parole officers or investing in more programmes to get offenders off drugs or back into work, or just to put policemen back on the street and in local stations instead of in 'fast response' units 20 miles away.<br /><br />The fact is that this database contributes to a society in which everyone is a criminal, in which criminals no longer have any possibility of 'spent' convictions, in which being suspected of a crime is the same as being guilty of a crime. Fundamentally, it is a society based on the idea that people never change. For a Christian nation that is a sad state of affairs. It is also a sure route to increasing crime, and of course criminals will take strenuous steps to avoid leaving forensic evidence while the innocent will not.<br /><br />But that would be a logical response. The political will is to have a big, expensive, bureaucratic, unreliable database which involves paying some US contractor billions of pounds. Now watch the fear factor as ministers spin the usual out-of-context war stories and dodgy statistics, again. With nulabour it never stops.plasfanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04147832824325749618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7235571460697942901.post-29108741618106515602009-04-01T12:55:00.000-07:002009-04-01T13:23:26.823-07:00Crime and PunishmentI want to raise the tragic case of Kevin Tripp who was unfortunately in the wrong place at the wrong time. Mr. Tripp was killed by Tony Virasami, by mistake. Virasami actually wanted to hit a completely different man but poor Mr Tripp happened to be in the way. Why was this poor man killed because some other person thought that they didn't have to queue and objected to being told off.<br />The instigator received 18 months and Virasami recieved four years. I am sorry but this is hardly a deterent. This poor man has lost the rest of his life. Its not something that is bankable. It is irreplaceable and priceless and now it is no more.<br />The justice system in this country has yet again failed to protect the innocent. The violent man, the killer be it accidental or not, will in four years be able to go on with his life, while Mr. Tripp will not have that option.<br />Violence in any kind of society cannot be tolerated in any shape or form. Two things come out of this. The cameras that survey our streets are reactive and not proactive. So that if the light is good and they get a clear picture they might be able to make an arrest. It doesn't stop people from committing the crimes in the first place. That is why we need a strong deterrant. Strong sentences for crimes of violence. What gives these people the right to be violent just because they can't get their own way. The casualness of violence has become part and parcel of the young.<br /><br />The other thing is that the BNP could jump on this. Who would note vote for a party that promises that the streets would be safe and retribution would be hard as a warning to others?<br /><br />We have resources pouring into a war that we cannot win, while incidents like this happen. We now live in a violent world which is getting more violent. I suggest bringing back hard labour. I know it sounds harsh and victorian, but then either we help the prisoners or we are make prison a deterent not a rite of passage.<br /><br />There are lots of areas which need cleaning, canals which need clearing, coastal defences which need repairing. The whole of the East Anglia will be under water unless something is done about it, so here we have a ready made work force that would cost nothing. Human rights? Well that works both ways. Where is my human right to sit on a bus and feel safe, to walk down a street without having to keep one eye on a group of lads, that might just take it into their head to attack me for no reason, to be able to go to a supermarket without the fear of being killed. Where are Mr. Tripps human rights now.<br /><br />Amazing that we seem to ignore human rights if it involves upsetting our allies but only to happy to invoke them if it is on our own back door.<br /><br />Cases like this will lead to vigilanties. The whole purpose of the law is for the population to believe in it and have faith that justice will be done. This case has failed us all, especially the family of Mr.Tripp and all other people who may complain that someone is pushing in the queue. Wait for the next time. They may have a gun. What will the justice system do then? I don't know only that it will be too late for Mr. Tripp and others who have died because they have been subjected to casual violence.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16423469181248733208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7235571460697942901.post-83769504471995640262009-02-24T12:37:00.000-08:002009-02-24T13:06:30.733-08:00The Royal MailFirstly let me congratulate Peter Mandelson on actually speaking his mind over the comments from the Head of Starbucks. It was a refreshing act of truth and emotion.<br />Now let me condemn him as well over the sale of the Royal Mail to a private company, well 30% of it. Two things come to mind, the first being where the hell has he been for the past ten years? Has the debacle of the privatised companies passed him by? Did he not notice the rise in energy prices by private companies? Energy that we once owned and we were the share holders. Now it seems that that has been overlooked. The energy companies didn't need to make a profit as there were no shareholders to placate. The railway system has never been in a worse state. It costs over a hundred pounds to travel from Birmingham to London on the same day and its slower than it was a hundred years ago and it is still subsidised by the tax payer. If you run state based economies and companies on anything but altruistic means then you are going to be in serious trouble.<br />This brings me to the main point. Isn't about time that the government stopped relying on experts and civil servants and actually started asking the people who do the job their opinion? Any junior school child can tell you that sats don't work, most of the teachers would agree but all these years later they have decided to have a review. If you want to know about the post office ask a postman, the railways a train driver and you will hear more sense in one afternoon than any amount of government committees.<br />After all it was the experts that got us into an unwinnable war and a spiralling economic system. Just because someone is the MD or CEO of a large company doesn't follow that they know anything about that company or even the industry. They maybe there because of the shares they own, or perhaps its part of another company that they own. Just an aside don't you think it might be a good idea that if the MD or CEO has a knighthood and the company goes bust putting people out of work that he might lose it. It's a small thing but even small punishments count. My advice is make it compulsory for every cabinet minister to watch Back to the Floor. Its not just about everyday life but its about my life and every other individual's in this country. You stop thinking about people as human beings and only as statistics then two things happen, you get dictatorships and people start getting locked up without trials and start to disappear.Sound familiar?<br />How is it that education can't have enough money but we can sustain a war in two counties and MI5 can double its members of staff. The two submarines that collided, well the damage to the British sub is estimated at £50 million. How many Hospital wards could be staffed with decent wages and fitted out with the latest equipment, how many schools could be fully staffed with good teachers teaching smaller classes. I don't think we even realise how near and how lucky we are it wasn't worse. Just remember that there are countries in the world that don't even have our expertise.<br />Just one final point before I go. This is a labour government, a government dedicated to equality and state ownership. I never saw selling off the post office as part of the manifesto and yet there seems a lot that was in it that seems to be again overlooked. Keir Hardy would turn over in his grave, but I think that under this regime he maybe trade marked, branded and sold to the highest bidder. One clean conscience going to the highest offer, though a consortium would be considered.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16423469181248733208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7235571460697942901.post-48492287153728394242008-12-30T01:35:00.000-08:002008-12-30T02:48:12.126-08:00psychological not physical or fiscalAs my friend pointed out in the last blog it only takes a little bit of thought to solve what seem to be insolvable problems. It just needs a bit of joined up thinking. I was amazed that the CEO of Barcklays was telling us all that the recession was going to get worse and more people would have their houses repossessed. Well maybe he can explain why in this state of credit shortage, ( I hate the expression credit crunch as it sounds more like a chocolate bar. It has been invented by a media spin doctor to make it seem easier to ignore), that as a head of one of the largest banks in the world doesn't he help by reducing the interest rate on credit cards. The interest rate is about 2% but credit cards are still charging in double figures. Why should they do this because of the domino effect. If they charged less interest then consumers would be able to pay off the amount quicker and like most people be able to spend more. Just because consumers are given the opportunity to pay off something doesn't mean that they will stop using it. In fact they could actually spend more, so helping the high street, which in turn would mean that more shops would not close, that more manufacturers could produce more and believe it or not but the mood of the country would have a sense of optimism. Instead of having a country that is looking forward to unemployment and poverty, it could be a counrtry that would actually spend its way out of misery. I know there is always inflation, but that has to do with money supply not the cost index. We now have a situation where private compnaies, stragely the ones that used to be government owned can now raise their prices regardless of inflation, countires can restrict the supply of oil, because the price is going down and yet the government seems to be obsessed by keeping inflation down. Its not wage demands that pushes prices up but the singlemindedness of ensuring the shareholders don't unlike, the rest of us, suffer.<br />I am always amazed that with the prospect of hordes of people who are about to be made unemployed and living off benefits that this could be solved by simple edicts. Isn't this why we pay the Bank of England, isn't this why we have a chancellor. You cannot have the double standards. Why should a bank be saved but a high street chain not? If you profess market economics then you should live by it.<br />Which brings me to the (yet again) idea of privatising the post office. Now let me see, when privatisation was first muted, it was going to be more efficient, cheaper and better for everyone. Well the trains are still not running on time, ticket prices go up every year above the cost of inflation and still have to survive on government money, energy prices have risen faster than anything and as far as I can tell the only people who have benefitted are the banks who took the commision for the sale in the first place. Now the post office. Are these policy makers mad? What will happen when it can't survive, will the government buy it back or become its major investor like the banks?<br />I understand that our nuclear weapons manufacture is now owned by a private company based in California. Well what is going to happen when they go under and decide to close the factory? We will have to buy our defence from a private investor. Has no one in the Ministery of defence ever read Catch 22. Its about the war being run by private enterprise. The days of imperialism to advance the aims of private companies are over. Some governments have not realised this yet but they will.<br />The air attacks on this mornings news in retaliation for the rocket attacks is the same as the economy. Its no good the Isreali government trying to validate their position as they have caused the situation. You cannot force people over decades into a corner and then expect them to curl up and ignore you. After years of demoralisation even an old prize fighter will still fight in some sort of self worth. The Palestinians don't have an army so they fight the way they can. The bombing of innocent people is wrong. It cannot be validated under any circumstances. David Ben Gurian said that the death of a martyr will bring a hundred recruits. Each death this morning will be a martyr. Peace like the recession isn't fiscal or political, its psychological. Its like learning to swim, if you believe the water will hold you up it will. If you believe that you will drown you will. Survival isn't about the physical its about a state of mind. If they want peace they can have it. All it takes is to change the mood from depression to optimism. We seem to have lost that understanding.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16423469181248733208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7235571460697942901.post-12428696413497418882008-12-15T05:46:00.000-08:002008-12-15T05:56:04.125-08:00The Energy of EffortOil will run out (sooner rather than later) and last night on Top Gear James May drove a Honda 4 door saloon using a hydrogen fuel cell. If only someone else could see the line. Wave power (because it's free and we're an island. Wind power, because the places of natural beauty will be lost anyway without an alternative to fossil fuel (is there a reason we can just stick a small wind turbine on top of every single pylon in the UK and tap it straight into the national grid?). Solar power, because the sun still shines. Kinetic power, caused by millions of feet and cars and trains. Expended power (why aren't all gyms attached to the national grid, just look at all the energy being wated on those cycle machines, rowing machine and treadmills. Thermal energy for the millions of miles of black tarmac roads that criss-cross the country and are continually being resurfaced. Energy from solar collectors, bacteria feeding on sugar..... A journey of 1000 miles begind with a single step. If any Government or industry seriously cared enough then they would see the future and invest now. What a shame that short term greed and the lust for power outway the good of the people and the planet. I weep.plasfanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04147832824325749618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7235571460697942901.post-34734357129258383512008-11-30T06:40:00.000-08:002008-11-30T07:28:56.408-08:00MP ArrestSo Damien Green was questioned for 9 hours and then let go home. Questions have been raised in the House, David Cameron and various members of the front benches on both sides are demanding an enquirey. Good thing he wasn't black or a muslim then. After all with such a serious subject as passing government information to another could be construed under the present climate as terrorism. In which case he could have been held for up to 42 days or actually even longer if the authorities so want, but as an MP he was let go.<br />I hope the various political parties learn from this the next time they decide to erode our civil liberties any more. If it had been someone else they may still be languishing in prison. Waiting for a trial where no evidence would be produced but it would taken as read that it would endanger the country's security.<br />We now live in a climate of privelidge. If you work in a bank then we will help you out, if you work in Woolworths then it is market forces. Thats comforting for the 25,000 employees of Woolworths that are about to lose their jobs. Surely there has to be some consistency in these decisions.<br />I am also getting furious about the fuss that the government has dropped VAT. Great! They should have done this months ago when they were telling us that the recession was coming. Economic policy should have been put into place then not now. The idea that somehow paying 45pence in the pound is so bad, well it would be to all the newspaper editors who earn salaries in excess of £150,000. The trouble is that they still wont pay the full amount because they can afford accountants to get them out of paying. Of course they are all patriots as long as it doesn't cost them money.<br />How are we going to pay for all this borrowing the media cry? Well how about floating the shares of all the banks that we now own when the economy gets better. Simple economics really, so why does it take someone like me to know this but far more qualified people don't. I am expecting a new reality show to hit our screens soon; "I'm a wealthy banker get me out of the shit that I made for myself"<br />The trouble is that its not just us. Everybody throughout Europe and America is having a bad time. The world is falling apart because of a simple lack of common sense. Doesn't anybody realise that a housewife would prefer to pay an extra 2p on her tin of beans than have the threat of losing her house and job. Its up to her to buy or not to buy. Don't tell me about inflation when the utility companies, and the transport companies can put up their prices, the oil producing nations can hold back oil production because the price is too low. Not for us but for them. We have to pay the price for others greed, so its about time that the government and the financial services agency started having teeth and fining or even sequestering financial institutions that are being too reckless, and stop other institutions from profiteering.If you haven't realised that economics is the new weapon where have you been. Do you think that Putin is really just good mates with Chavez. Its imperialism by another name and that name is economics.<br />There are statutes to allow the government to do this. Thatcher brought them in in her religious war against the unions. Lets see a bit of muscle. Its ok to arrest and detain an MP, lets see some of the CEO's from the banks get arrested and have to argue their mistakes.<br />Just one final note. With all these economic problems going on, one of the services to get hit, because it always does is the Social workers. They have a shitty job and do it remarkably well in often very trying conditions. Occasionally and tragically things go wrong, as baby P. This is where we need investment, because if he had survived he would have grown up knowing only violence and the consequences of that with him as an adult do not bear thinking about. Three things.<br />1) more investment and communication with all the agencies. It wouldn't take much to have a single department made up of social workers, doctors and the police that social workers in the field could go to if they have any second thoughts but feel unable to progress the investigation any further.<br />2) Any act of violence that results in the permanent scarring or broken bones of a child be subjected to serious investigation. If it is proven that it was done on purpose then they should arrested and have a minimum sentence of 10 years. Those around the child are guilty if they have not reported or intervened. The French have a law which makes it so that if you see a crime happening and do nothing you can be prosecuted. It only takes one phone call and it could save a life.<br />3) lastly and by far the hardest thing is to start creating communities again. Everyone is so insulated. The way to do this is by stop having the climate of fear of repercussions. If a young person does something and you tell them off and they attack you, then they get 10 years in prison. If you are subjected to harrasment from family and friends then they will get 15 years in prison. There will always be those that won't take any notice, but I wouldn't like to go to prison for my mate's act of stupidity especially a longer sentence than the one he got.<br />Finally.<br />Let baby P be known by his name. Not an initial. He deserves that after so many have failed him, he should have at least his name. I suppose they don't want to use it because it will embarass those connected with the family. Well maybe it should then it might not have happened in the first place. Resposibility should be rewarded those that shirk it should be despised.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16423469181248733208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7235571460697942901.post-5606225698755903202008-10-26T04:24:00.000-07:002008-10-26T05:04:48.983-07:00recessionWhy is it that so many people in both the government and the media are promoting the idea of a coming recession? We have had the govener of the Bank of England telling us for months that one is coming, the chancellor predicting that this is going to be the worse for years and all the economic pundits on tv and in the press rubbing their hands with glee at the prospect. Could it be that by telling everybody that they may lose their homes and jobs unless they curb their spending, though I think that even the the most stupid person in the street would realise that has nothing to do with the state of the economics of the world or the country. Its a really good distraction from the fact that capitalism is starting to implode. We are now seeing a state run banking system along the lines of a nationalist run mixed economy.<br />You see the big problem I have is that yes share prices are as low now as they were five years ago but no body mentioned a recession then in fact it was a state of elation. Now we have a state where in years first time buyers can afford to buy a house at a price they can afford. Isn't that what the government wanted a few years ago, so they were going to build affordable housing. Well now they don't need to.<br />The another problem I have is where has all the money gone? You just can't wake up one morning to find $60 billion gone and you don't know where it is. I understand that they have lent money as mortgages to people who can't pay it back but then don't they have the value of the house, that one presumes they own and then can't they rent it out to people who can pay a realistic rent so that some of the money can be recouped, if not perhaps instantly but certainly over a longer period.<br />The banks are still lending each other money at extreme interest rates. Surely there has to be a stop to this unless of course I am going to get my own investment through the government paid with a high rate of interest. Surely there has to be a unilateral ruling by governments to stop the same thing from happening again. While we are on interest rates why do credit cards have to be so high. Surely if the rate was lower then borrowers would be able to pay it off quicker so lessening the risk and then being able to use the card sooner to buy more things so helping the economy by keeping the shops alive.<br />I am concerned that the government can raise money to fund the banking system but have to rely on people selling poppies in the street to look after servicemen and women, who need to be treated with dignity and care. These men and women have put their lives in the hands of governments who for whatever reason have got themselves emersed in a war, and then when these brave people return they are treated like used consumer units. This attitude is so prevelent throughout the country. Soldiers sailors workers nurses teachers are all treated as units, not as living people. There has to be a shift in the mental picture of those in power and stop treating people, the citizens of this country as nothing more than statistics.<br />What do I mean by this, well the air ambulence service is kept in the air by charitable donations, yet we can spend millions on buying equiping and manning military helicopters? Its not just a single figure on a piece of paper its someones son, daughetr ,husband and wife that need to treated quickly and it is that person who may or maynot survive. Children are in danger from abuse yet the NSPCC is a charity. We are surrounded by sea and yet the lifeboatmen are volunteers.<br />I can understand why they probably want to stay out of the government hands as the first thing that would happen would be a whole set of rules enforced about what they can and cannot do, the costs would have to be looked at by a government inspector and they would have to have their own minister whose wages would buy a new boat for the RNLI. And then of course in a turn down in the economy there would have to be cut backs.<br />There has to be a radical shift in thinking. We cannot rely on the boom and bust of economics, or try to live by technology yet still maintain the victorian attitudes to workforce and employability. Workers now thanks to the last economic debacle are now serious stakeholders in the running of the banks and the country's economic affairs and if the chancellor and the banking giants think that the unions are content with being told thet there is no money to pay workers or expand the national areas of concern such as health and education, then they may just ask for their investment back. The government could always go and ask the ex chief of Lehmans. Poor thing after all he only has $310 million in the bank. I am assuming it wasn't his own bank.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16423469181248733208noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7235571460697942901.post-5048423367333820672008-09-11T12:00:00.000-07:002008-09-11T12:36:09.701-07:00wierd and wonderfulAs far as I understand it, fuel prices are going up because of the cost of oil, but OPEC announced that they are slowing down production of oil to stop the fall in price. Yet again its the the poor old man/woman in the street who is subsidising the shareholders. What's the government's great plan? Well they are getting the power companies and the tax payer to subsidise energy saving devices. A nice idea but with a flaw. If the householders can't afford to pay for the energy bill of £1000 a year then how are they going to afford double glazing even if it is subsidsed because they still have to fork out for the energy bill as well as the double glazing.<br />The prices should be capped and if the companies don't like it threaten them with nationalisation. You remember that. When we the taxpayer owned the company but then it was sold back to us even though we now owned it on the idea that the services would be more efficient and cheaper. Well that was a false economy and another blatent short term political expedient.<br />We have the chancellor and the head of the Bank of England and the head of the CBI all telling us that there is a recession coming, well what are they going to do about it. We pay them very large salaries to avoid these kind of situations not to state the obvious. If they can't do the job, or if they haven't got the correct experts to solve the problem , then get some.<br />I would like to know how it is that after the war in the 1950's, when there was very little, we had an education system to be proud of, a national health service that cared about its patients, streets that were safe, people that were polite and kids who repected their elders. Bus drivers weren't attacked and there was a minimal amount of paperwork. We are supposed to have progressed and in some ways we have. I can now order a variety of products on line, I can listen to any kind of music and the variety of foods and consumers goods are endless, but we seem to have lost our way somewhere along the way. We have exchanged our ethics for the equivilent of a pot noodle. We are supposed to be better off now than ever. No it just means that we can buy more things, but are lives are now hollow.<br />We have global warming, a mountain of rubbish that won't go away, a highly dangerous power source that we can't stop or close down, yet governments all across the globe are ignoring the facts because of political expediency. The idea that if we cap companies that are making too large a profit and that they will go away is rubbish. When America put the oil embargo on Cuba, it changed its whole policy on energy. I hope we might actually start thinking with our brains and not with our calculators.<br />The energy crisis is man made therefore it can be solved by man. The alternative technology has been around for decades but has been subdued by companies that have their own interests at heart. The food crises is not a new situation. Over the years poor wages and political policy has destroyed the farming across the country. This country can and has been self sufficient in food. The farmers have had a poor deal but they have also brought it upon themselves. They were quite happy to accept the European hand outs based on a policy of stupidity and progress. The same progress that has us now in the midst of an energy and food shortage.<br />Do you know what I doubt if any of the power company executives are going to turn their fires off and put on extra jumpers because they can't afford to heat their houses. Just remember when the government sit in their warm offices with computers on stand by and their ministers are driven home in their large cars, we the taxpayer fund that lifestyle. Not the bosses of the power companies but the man and woman in the street.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16423469181248733208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7235571460697942901.post-65338145810813309002008-07-17T12:47:00.000-07:002008-07-17T12:57:12.874-07:00Sophie LancasterTwo teenagers were given life sentences today for murdering 20-year-old Sophie Lancaster because she was a goth.<br />Passing sentence the judge called the murder a "hate crime" against completely harmless people because of their appearance.<br />Ryan Herbert, 16, who had pleaded guilty before the trial started last month, was jailed for life today at Preston crown court and ordered to serve a minimum of 16 years. His accomplice, Brendan Harris, 15, who was found guilty at trial, was given a life sentence with a minimum of 18 years.<br />Passing sentence today, Judge Anthony Russell QC, told the defendants he thought their behaviour in court had been unacceptable and described it as "swaggering".<br />"I noticed the wink that one of you exchanged with the public gallery when the murder charge was not proceeded with against you and that one of you thought it appropriate to shout out 'love you mum".'<br />Detectives investigating the murder criticised the conduct of the defendants and their families throughout the criminal proceedings as "appalling".<br />Harris and his mother were said to have been "laughing and joking" when they were first interviewed about the incident.<br />Harris, of Spring Terrace, Bacup, had denied the murder charge but pleaded guilty to assault causing grievous bodily harm to Maltby.<br />Herbert, of Rossendale Crescent, Bacup, pleaded guilty to murder and assault.<br />During the trial it also emerged that Harris had been convicted of kicking and stamping on a 16-year-old in April 2007. He and Herbert, who was also involved, were given six-month community sentences.<br />Brothers Joseph, 17, and Danny Hulme, 16, both of Landgate, Whitworth, near Bacup, and Daniel Mallett, 17, of Rockcliffe Drive, Bacup, all pleaded guilty to grievous bodily harm with intent on Maltby. They did not take part in the attack on Sophie, the court was told.<br /><br />This article was first published on <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/" name="&lid=" lpos="{historyByline}{2}">guardian.co.uk</a> on Monday April 28 2008. It was last updated at 17:35 on April 28 2008.<br /><br />I have posted this section of the article because I do not want the names of these evil monsters to be forgotten. Sophie is dead and will never have the opportunity to experience all the joys and sorrows that life may bring. The chances are that all the convicted will be back out on the streets at some point, in the case of those who pleaded guilty to GBH probably in not more than 5 years. They will still have the opportunity to laugh and cry and experience. Will they ever feel regret? I doubt it. Will they ever feel remorse? Unlikely. So what will have been gained? Very little. This makes the whole situation even sadder. It also demands that we as a society look into our hearts and decide once and for all what the value of a life is. I, for one, hope that all those who were involved in this viscious, callous and cowardly attack have miserable lives full of pain and suffering.plasfanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04147832824325749618noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7235571460697942901.post-51479979193692230622008-06-30T04:03:00.000-07:002008-06-30T04:47:39.744-07:00Positive DiscriminationFrom the very outset there is no such thing as positive discrimination. If one group is being favoured it negatively discriminates against all others. The idea that women and ethnic minorities should be put above other groups is wrong. It creates a feeling of injustice. I agree that the world is an imperfect place but you can only gain a utopian society of equality through education, by the abolition through practice, that what we call bigotry, but really is just another word for ignorance.<br />All positions have to be based on the ability of a person to do the job. Being a woman does not mean that they have any special insight into how to run a company or be an MP than a man does, but its their ability to do the job in hand that counts. This new law does two of the most divise things that have happened in recent years. It discriminates against middle class white men, the majority of the working population, more by historical factors than anything else and it allows the ignorant to claim a racial argument. I agree that all people should be paid the same as anybody else for the same job, but introducing a quota system as they have in Norway can only create a feeling of unrest and disharmony. I bet the BNP could not believe their luck when this new law was first muted. This is their next election campaign already written for them.<br />This is not a utopian society, in fact as every day goes by it becomes more and dystopian, but this law will not help. Unless of course you take it to the fullest extent.<br />After all surely its discrimination for MP's to be paid for a second home. I don't and as I'm paying for theirs surely they could pay for mine. In a world of equality which this law pretends to be a key text, where does equality start and end. Surely all people who work in the public sector should be given the same opportunity to have their second home expenses paid by the state. I actually can't see why the government don't buy a block of flats or a gated community and house the MP's in it, so that when they are unelected they can take over from the previous incumbent. One in as one goes out.<br />I know this seems to be on the trivial side of things but actually its not. A great many people cannot afford to pay for the single dwelling that they are living in, without MP's bleeting about how hard done by they are. Their is a choice of profession like everybody elses. I know several people who live in one part of the country and have to travel regularly on business to other parts. Their company does not pay for a second house for them. They have to stay in a reasonable priced hotel.<br />Students have to stay in a hall of residence provided for by the university which they pay for. An obvious template if ever I saw one. They are secure and affordable housing for people to sleep, eat and study.<br />Students come in for a bit of bad press. It has been said that they are all too thick so that the degrees are being devalued, but then if universities are devaluing the degrees to keep their figures up due to market forces then why should the government complain. Its exactly what they wanted, that market forces dictate the level of the product. You can't complain on one hand that universities are manipulating results to keep student numbers up when funding comes from the government who dictate how much funding is allocated based on student numbers.<br />The governemt have to decide if education is going to be a degree factory or if its going to be something that is worth while and an investment in the future on behalf of the country. The government have lost the point of education. They know how much it costs but they seemed to have lost its value.<br />Education is now driven by paperwork and league tables and statistics. The trouble with all these things is that they are all perceptive based.<br />A school may well achieve high standing in the league tables, but some schools are producing some really good members of society who will build our houses, dig our roads, get up at 3 in the morning to enable others to get to work. They don't get involved in crime, drugs, or violent acts. They will go unflinchingly to war if asked but according to the governemt figures they are failures.<br />It seems very strange that in their strive to achieve excellence through legislation that ordinary people like me never seem to come into the good figures, in fact ordinary people like me are discriminated against, because we just get on and do the job, don't make fuss or expect anything other than we get. Now thats positive.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16423469181248733208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7235571460697942901.post-74039955835882611842008-06-12T13:38:00.000-07:002008-06-12T14:05:00.658-07:00PetrolAs far as I understand it, the problem is that we are in a credit crunch and are trying to avoid rising inflation at the same time. As far as I understand it it was to avoid this kind of situation that the Bank of England became independent of government. So tell me why is everybody in such a bad way. When I first bought a fridge it cost an enormous part of my wages now it cost the same as filling my car twice with petrol. You can't ask people to keep their wages down while allowing prices to rise.<br />Gordon could ease the pain of the fuel crises by stopping the duty on the vat that we pay for the petrol. He could stop it for the time while petrol is above the pound mark. Ah I hear you say that means that we the tax payer will be susidising petrol companies. Well if you start making it law that imported cars must have bio-fuels only. If cars start to not use petrol then the petrol that would be used to run cars would become a surfiet and consequently cheaper. I realise that this may be fantasy in the short term but how about having some form of integrated thought, in other words joined up government.<br />There are riots in the streets in Europe due to food shortages, caused by the transport system falling apart due to the increase in petrol;. I hate to remind the students of history the last time there was a food shortage in Europe. If you think that the BNP are not going to take advantage of this failure in government, you are mistaken.<br />The answer lies in the governments hands. Reduce duty, get the Govenor of the Bank of England to resign. He should have done so after the Northern Rock debacle, and get someone in with radical ideas, after all how worse can it get, I suppose the trouble is in the past its always been the ploy to get out of an economic slump by having a war, well we've got one so we can't start another.<br />What the public ned to see is confident action. Stop keeping to a moribund policy that is obviously not working and adapt to the situation. I am sorry but when people are in threat of not being able to pay their bills,affording their mortgage and having to cut back on food, while a footballer has been rumoured to be offered 300,000 a week, something is radically wrong. If football clubs can offer such sums then two things are obvious, they are not paying enough tax or they are living on credit that they will never be able to pay back.<br />By the way can someone tell me what we are going to do with all the extra nuclear waste that the new stations are going to produce when they come on line. We can't cope with the ordinary waste that we produce. For the cost of one of the new power stations how about supplying every house with solar panels. Cheaper and healthier in the long term.<br />Though I do criticise Gordon Brown a lot, I must praise his unflinching stance on Robert Mugabe. The situation in Zimbabwe is unforgivable and should be ended, not by us but by the other African nations who should act not for economical reasons but humanitarian ones.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16423469181248733208noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7235571460697942901.post-90635583398459816982008-06-02T10:48:00.001-07:002008-06-02T11:22:25.290-07:00The economics of terror.Now as far as I understand it Gordo wants to increase the holding period of terrorism suspects for a longer period. Why? Is it to prevent terrorism or to find out information. I am all for protection of people, all people civilians or military, but surely holding someone for a greater period of time will not prevent this. I remember the Bobby Sands fiasco, turned into his martyrdom, and how many recruits did the IRA get then. Surely the way to combat the kind of fundamentalist terrorism is to win hearts and minds, not lock people away.<br />But what kind of terrorism. The inmates of Guantenemo Bay, those who have been incarcerated fro years without trial, did they supply evidence to prevent a terrorist attack. The information they have must actually be well out of date now. By allowing this new law to go through it does nothing for the security of the country, though I think that bringing the troops out would go a long way to stop acts of terrorism on these shores. But it does bring me to a fine point of when is intellegence good. After all the whole point of us going into Iraq in the first place was based on intellegence gathered by the security forces that told of weapons of mass desrtuction, but that proved to be totally untrue. So if we beat someone to a pulp, put them before a military tribunal and try them is the information they give going to be any more relaible than that which the public were given to get us into the war?<br />Its a lovely diversion though isn't it. After all the economy is collapsing around our ears, food prices are going up, fuel bills are going up, the economy policies of the banks are proving to be more suspect than we could ever imagine, but what do the labour backbenchers complain about the detention of suspected terrorists for longer than 42 days. The whole idea of this being the most important subject in a world of chaos, is spin. We cannot afford to feed our old, we cannot afford to educate our young, but we can afford to fight an unwinable war and have our civil liberties eroded. When midwives are being made redundant in a baby boom,the security services have doubled their staff.<br />The problem is the hyperreality of the situation. We are so entwined with the idea of our civil liberties being taken over by Islam that we are more than happy to have a continuous war to defeat a strategy thatn any schoolboy historian will tell you is undefeatable. You want to defeat terrorism then persude the ordinary well meaning caring people of islam to ask questions of their elders. Please lets not forget that there are more Christians in Pakistan than Muslims here and if they start a jihad from the way they are being treated then all the large economies that have invested heavily in the third world will fall apart. Communism could never defeat capitalism, capitalism will defeat capitalism because it will eat itself, followed and encouraged by religious fundementalists who will show a better way. Why be poor and unhappy when a better world waits for you without the trappings of a western society. Afghanistan didn't just happen. Taliban didn't just appear one night and take over. It was a systemiatic mind shift by a people who had been betrayed by everything. After all Milton said he would rather be a master in Hell than a servant in heaven.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16423469181248733208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7235571460697942901.post-27311623210412277062008-04-21T12:18:00.000-07:002008-04-21T13:24:11.814-07:00BankersI find the whole credit crunch crisis a bit of a fiasco. The banks who lent money to people they knew couldn't pay it back if there was a downturn in the economy are now standing waving their hands in the air and with a look of suprise on their faces. Lets get this straight, there was a problem in the American mortgage market, that our banks invested in, so now the British taxpayer has to fork out money so that the banks can get their house in order and not go under. The poor low income workers who have had their tax doubled from 10 to 20 pence are subsidising the six figure salaried bankers whose fault it was in the first place, not because of them making an error of judgement but because of their greed. I see there are quite a few people in Wall Street who have lost their jobs over this but I bet none of them are the top MD's or CEO's. But of course if they leave having thrust the western world into financial chaos they will get a pay off that will be more than most of us earn in a lifetime.<br />We are constantly being told that we now have to be competetative on the world markets, though of course that doesn't include the railways which are still being subsidised by the taxpayer, or the building of nuclear power plants paid for by the tax payer, or the arms industry; so when the bank says sorry but your small shop has to go under because you can't meet your repayments, or your business is going under because of the interest rate rises we can expect a handout from the government can we? Don't forget that a couple of years ago some of the banks were making a $1billion profit. Where's that gone and why did they want so much more they were risking the whole of the western banking system to get it. They keep saying that tnhey didn't know that it would happen this way. Really that's what they are paid to do, as well as the governments experts.<br />Its about time that governments stopped looking at encouraging all these millionaires from Eastern Europe to settle here, or American billionaires to buy up football teams, as those kind of people will go where the best deals are anyway, but to start looking at us, the native population. I am tired of being told that I need to pull in my belt again and again, because of the economy, I don't see Manchester United or Chelsea having a wage cut for their players, I don't see the CEO's of the power companies having their wages cut. I know that Gordon Brown said that the MP's had to have a wage rise lower than inflation, but then I wish someone would give me £10,000 for a new kitchen, £6,000 for a new bathroom, plus expenses so I can employ my family to do my office work. What I do see are rising fuel costs both domestic and travel, rising food costs, I see a rise in the cost of actually getting to work by bus, train or car. I also see the government doing nothing about it except by hitting the ordinary man in the street.<br />Its not just economics its everything. Education may have two ministers but they still can't get enough common sense together to see that it makes more sense to get 10 teachers for the cost of a new superheadmaster, ( oh by the way when the idea was muted the salary was going to be £100,000 now its £200,000, Hows that for inflation?)<br />How about making the streets safe, by employing more policemen on the beat and paying them a decent wage (If MI5 can double its staff because of the terrorist threat then I think a local police station could get a few more coppers to combat the terrorism that goes on outside my house)<br />Stop spending money on Trident, (Does it work? Tell me when are you going to find out? And what will happen to the old missiles that are being replaced hardly green is it?) and start spending money on the NHS.<br />When I was a kid I really was proud of my country being first, the first to discover so many wonderful life changing inventions, things that helped us win the war like radar, micro surgery, Concorde. Now we are first in that we work the longest hours pay the highest for petrol, pay the most for food, prison population, alcoholic abuse; so many things that we are first at, that make me unhappy, though of course there is one thing that we are not first at, literacy, we come second to bottom on that after the USA. The country that got us into the economic mess we are in now. Dont tell me this is good for me, because I remember every prime minister telling me that we are in a strong position but we need to make cuts and pull in our belts for the future. Well the future is now, so don't piss down my back and tell me its raining anymore. Get your act together because what are you going to do when China's economy starts running out of steam and their is a civil war or a revolution. Its history repeating itself, look at France, at Russia, even to the revolution in Germany in the 20's which lead to the rise of the Nazi's. No good asking for a hand out then because you invested in China, because it will be all of us sinking.<br />Just one thing more, the colleges and universities will be able to charge what they want, some want to charge £7000 a year. Now if the government wants toget 50% of the population in higher education each paying £7000 per year then after three years with fees and living costs they will owe about £35000 or perhaps even more which they will have to pay back,on credit, which some wont be able to do so causing a shortfall in the credit supply causing another credit crisis. Now tell me how are these students who have to pay back these loans going to find the money for a deposit on a house,save for their pension,get their children through school and actually find enough money over for food? Of course they will get jobs because they will be a graduate. So will 50% of the population so the extra money a graduate should get by the mere fact they will have a degree will be devalued in a supply and demand market. Does nobody in the government read history. I realise that it's a diary of other peoples mistakes but look at the wall street crash, where the investors were out stripping the supply. If that happens then we will have meltdown within the education system like the banking system now.<br />To have the opportunity for education is a good thing, but some people don't want it and those that can't get it are going to be even more alienated than they already are. For some kids an ASBO will be their only qualification. Stop charging for education and putting ridiculous restrictions on funding, the RAE policy gives plenty of researchers lots of money but they can't teach and if anybody has read the most recent figures will know that law suits against colleges and Universities has rocketed over the past year, mainly due to the lack of teaching.<br />The army discovered that when it stopped having conscription they started to develop a better, more aware and smarter army, actually I am proud to say the best in the world, shame about the equipment, but thats another blog. Education should be the same. Its not about numbers its about quality. Its about investing in the future and lets not treat education like the mortgage market becuase if it goes bust there won't be anybody clever enough to bail us out.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16423469181248733208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7235571460697942901.post-87714286939252471772008-03-17T14:19:00.000-07:002008-03-17T15:02:44.337-07:00Taking responsibiltyone of the problems that we have in this country is that people do not take resposibilty for their actions. The young have not been taught how to. Since we have given way to the idea that school children aren't being told when they fail, they have no idea when something is wrong. Everything is a level of being correct. Consequently they do not realise how to fail, and take the responsibilty for failing and violence is a failure.<br />An act of violence regardless of its cause in the 21st Century is wrong, but it seems to be growing. Acts of thoughtless violence through drink, drugs or even the pressure of life is often given as a reason. It's not, its an excuse. When I was young and I drank to excess, or even when I had one of the most stressful jobs going in publishing I didn't go out and hit someone, try to kill them, cut them up in my car or celebrated my obnoxiousness. I coped with it.<br />When I hear that some kids get into trouble because there is nothing to do, I just can't accept it. There is more for kids to do now than ever. When I was a kid, on Sunday's everything was closed, at some points during the day even the TV closed down. I didn't go out and cause trouble or vandalise anything.<br />When I see the kids who get into trouble at the age of 14, I think that my parents were both out working at that age. Both were learning their trade because it was impossible to keep them on at school because of the lack of money. They had to be responsible, to keep the job, to turn up on time to do a good and sometimes long days work.<br />I saw a programme about a woman who wanted to get everyone to stop using their cars for just one day. The answer from some of the parents was that they couldn't give up their cars in case it rained. I walked to school in the rain, the snow, the fog and believe it or not I didn't get a bad cold or seriously ill, I actually got used to bad weather, dressed accordingly and also got fit. These are the same parents who wont let their kids in a few years take responsibility. They will be the same parents who actually lie to their kids about their talents and then let them suffer a huge fall on talent shows. I actually like Simon Cowell and I would like to see more teachers take a page out of his book and be honest with the kids.<br />When I did teacher training I gave a boy a detention slip which had to be taken home to his parents for them to give permission for him to have detention. How ridiculous that was. When I was at school we had a detention that night straight after school. It was a punishment, instant and effective. The teachers took the responsibility for the punishment, not the parents and the kid took the responsibility for the crime.<br />We have become so intwined with political correctness that we now cant see the problems through the phrasiology. The idea that you can't mark a pice of work for a child in red in case it upsets them. Or as I heard recently you can't even mark the actual piece of work itself but supply a seperate piece of paper with the comments on, because otherwise it would be disrespectful to the student. Crap. It means they know its wrong and need to get it right next time. Learning to fail, which is something we all do, is a valuable lesson.<br />On that note I don't completely blame the kids, but I do blame the parents and actually I blame the governments as well. They lie, manipulate the statistics,give reasions that are only half truths and the deny they have done it, so where is the hope for the young when the people running the country can't take responsibility for their actions.<br />We live in a world where violence is celebrated, through films, sport, television especially reality tv and on the football pitch particularly, and then we say to the kids that violence is wrong. For some of the kids who see and take this kind of culture in, it is their only way of getting what they think is respect but is in fact derision. These are the future unless something is done. The idea that teachers and parents should be afraid of physical attacks from children is appalling. The parents should take responsibility for their children and the local councils should have to take control of those parents who think that its always up to someone else. Those kids that are sent to jail should meet the victims families and explain why they did it. Their parents should have to attend parenting classes to try an understand where they went wrong. Those that don't attend get arrested and are made to do community work. Not helping in a shop but maybe driving around a victim of violence for a week, getting their shopping, cleaning their house, or maybe being a bodyguard to some elderly resident who is afraid of being attacked. They created the problem now they must start cleaning it up.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16423469181248733208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7235571460697942901.post-2740567032041757312008-03-13T04:25:00.000-07:002008-03-13T04:41:14.155-07:00The trial of those charged with the murder of Sophie Lanacaster has begun. For anyone who doesn't know Sophie was kicked to death in August last year by a group who had already kicked her boyfriend to the point of coma. The reason for this viscious and sustained attack was apprently because Sophie and her boyfriend were 'goths'. The defendants are all teeenagers bewteen 14 and 17.<br /><br />One defendent has admitted murder and several GBH, but one is denying murder, hence the trial.<br /><br />I am sad for Sophie's family; that any parent should lose a child is heartbreaking, but the circumstances are tragic.<br /><br />I am incredulous; that any group of people could carry out such a cowardly and pointless attack.<br /><br />I am angry; that there has not been a national public outcry.<br /><br />It is time to take action. We cannot allow this kind of violence to continue. We seem to be breeding a generation that includes a class of individual whose only purpose is to inflict pain and suffering on others. Clearly they are being failed by their parents who must take responsibility for the moral welfare and consequently values expressed by these young people. It is time to either force this responsibility onto parents or remove their children from what is effectively an abusive environment. All agencies, school, Government, parents, voluntary groups must blanket children from an early age with the continuous message that violence is wrong. No ifs, buts or maybes; just wrong. The punishment for violence must be remedial and if the individual is unable to reform then the ultimate sanction must be removal from society.<br /><br />If we cannot see the need to address both cause and outcome then we are inviting the onset of chaos; a society where violence rules and the brutal make life for everbody else miserable.<br /><br />Action needs to be taken now. If you agree then write to your MP, or your local newspaper. Demand that those with the power raise this issue as a priority and involve all agencies in devising a planned approach to eliminate this problem.plasfanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04147832824325749618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7235571460697942901.post-72478421195502505492008-02-07T12:13:00.000-08:002008-02-07T12:45:55.719-08:00My colleague is correct in that anti-social behaviour should go punished. Don't forget that if they are not shown the errors of their ways then they will be anti-social parents of anti-social children. The idea that the police cannot do anything is prepostorous. With that amount of vandalism and anti-social behaviour going on then why not a task force to lay in wait and grab them in the act. If you show that any crime will not be tolerated then the community will follow. The idea that a thug can use violence to promote a level of fear for racist ends and yet the police take no action, is horrendous. Not got the resources then get them. They can keep soldiers in war zones thousends of miles away why can't they get the same resources to solve the problems in war zones here.<br />The new law about prostitution is obtuse. Lets make a disadvataged group even more scared of the police. I would love to know what the actual definition of prostituion is? Is it money or could it be in kind? If so then half of the women in the celebrity pages, ( yes we really have a lot in common even though I'm in my 20's and he is in his 80's, but just happens to be a billionaire), but joking aside, the problem, if there is one,of prostitution is that it is never going to go away. It needs to be properly looked at so that prostiutes can feel safe, from their clients, from pimps, organised crime and infection.<br />By fining the prostitute and the man never solves the problem. They should be given counselling and the opportunity to find alternative employment. Fining someone who has a drug habit doesn't make them give up they just need to work that much harder to get the money.<br />Its similar to the problem above, it needs a thoughtful approach to the problem. There should not be a no go area for anyone and the victims, in this case householders and prostitutes alike should be given protection and support.<br />I heard today that Gordon Brown is having a serious re-think about the super casinos in Manchester. Hooray. We live in a world where people are in serious debt and what do we want to do, give them an even easier way of getting into further debt?<br />I am unsure about the idea of the Mac A level, partly because it legitimises the idea of private education which is wrong, but it does allow for the whole aspect of the paperwork and qualifications that go with teaching to be brought into focus. I cannot wait until Offsted go to Mac College and ask to see lesson plans, programme reviews, marks and procedures let alone the documentation for the pastoral care. Like the police, education has become a self feeding buracracy. In the golden age of british education, the majority throughout the whole system from the infant to the graduate was free, the teachers most of which weren't qualified didn't take any lip, punishment was instant and without parents consent but had a discipline that enabled them to teach and more important for the children to learn. Now you have to pass qualifications that say you are a teacher, though it seems that most of these have very little to do with teaching but a lot about paperwork.<br />By the way, for those government ministers who think that health care should be going towards the American system, think of this, In this country we have to pay alot to keep our pets well. When my cat died it had cost me a small fortune in medication to keep him alive, until it was kinder to have him put down. That cost me £80. When grandad gets really ill and you can't afford the medication what are you going to do then, its not like a cat is it? I bet visits to Austria and Switzerland go up with a lot of old people going out but not coming back. Get my drift. I know the governement would say that wouldn't happen, but remember purchase tax that became VAT, that was only in place to pay for a war that eneded 60 years ago. Think on.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16423469181248733208noreply@blogger.com0