tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44370600280351862562024-03-05T21:03:33.968+00:00crapaudpinionCrapaud-pinion or cr** opinion? You decide!crapaudmatichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08692668436150329927noreply@blogger.comBlogger54125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4437060028035186256.post-14114545068100699832016-06-19T00:01:00.001+01:002016-06-20T07:45:41.676+01:00Senator apologises after devastating Varley Report on Jersey Care Service failings<h2>
<b>Devastating report criticises Jersey care services</b></h2>
<h2>
<b>Health Minister apologises</b></h2>
<h2>
<b>Story ignored by island's other online media </b></h2>
<br />
The BBC reported on 17th June 2016 (<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-jersey-36532561">http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-jersey-36532561</a>) that children were left in harmful situations by a <b>range of problems</b> with Jersey care services, according to <b>damning and disturbing reports</b> seen by the BBC. The documents show that half of children assessed were not taken away from harmful situations in good time, Jersey's service <b>"failed to consider" the needs of young people</b>, and children left in the community received care below minimum standards in some cases, <b>as recently as last year.</b><br />
<br />
The 2015 report was commissioned by the then temporary head of children's services
Jo Olsson and produced by former Ofsted inspector Mary Varley. Details only came out during the Independent Jersey Care Inquiry in April 2016, and were only released to the BBC some <b>4 months</b> after a Freedom of Information request.<br />
<br />
Mrs Varley's findings:<br />
<ul>
<li> Poor practice; "basic building blocks" of management oversight were not in place</li>
<li> Failures to respond appropriately to allegations of physical and emotional abuse by three children</li>
<li> Half of the children sampled who were taken into care had experienced "significant" delays in being removed from situations where they were being harmed</li>
<li> A large proportion of children being harmed in the community - perhaps by their own family members - were still being let down <b>as recently as 2015</b></li>
</ul>
The Jersey Care Leavers Association said the reports highlighted lessons that should have been learnt a long time ago.<br />
<br />
Jersey's minister for health and social services, Senator Andrew Green, was interviewed live on BBC Radio at 7:11-7:19am on the 17th June, admitted the report was devastating and apologised - "We did, as a society, let the young people down".<br />
<br />
<b>"I have to apologise again to those from the past, I can't undo it, I'm really sorry."</b><br />
<br />
<i>This blogger wonders why a reputable report finds such failings, the current Health Minister apologises, but the rest of the media turns a blind eye and no-one seems to be talking about it... and yet if you turn the clock back to 2007 you may recall the Health Minister of the time, poll-topping Senator Stuart Syvret, was hounded out of office for exposing exactly the same kind of findings concerning the failings of Jersey's care services! When will the island ever wake up and admit that Senator Syvret was correct?</i><b> </b><i>A highly intelligent, articulate and capable man, genuinely caring and not out to feather his own nest, in a position of power with an ear to the ground hearing exactly what was going on, and STILL the establishment and local trolls seek to discredit him for trying to bring serious problems to the fore and address them? Difficult not to despair, sometimes :(</i><b></b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<iframe frameborder="0" height="160" src="https://clyp.it/yiqg0vay/widget" width="100%"></iframe>
<br />
<br />
<br />
In the other media, there is still nothing online from the JEP, so that, as usual, we're keeping this to ourselves and not washing our dirty linen in public (i.e. covering it up).<br />
ITV Channel Islands mentioned the initial story the week earlier<a href="http://www.itv.com/news/channel/2016-06-07/childrens-services-do-not-fully-understand-needs-of-vulnerable-jersey-youngsters/" target="_blank"> http://www.itv.com/news/channel/2016-06-07/childrens-services-do-not-fully-understand-needs-of-vulnerable-jersey-youngsters/</a><br />
and Channel 103 too <a href="http://www.channel103.com/care-issues-for-vulnerable-children/">http://www.channel103.com/care-issues-for-vulnerable-children/</a><br />
<br />
The JEP did cover the story in print, after the BBC's initial story the week before the minister's apology :<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1pN1S9MTDO5-WPLfAnco9lO2shyJjZVkN7LAI8eO0pdvTNSAluA-PcArEaztHZ9uyG6ZKrbkuO2AAIJinmoB82N6I8_By6S-Mbd9zeTo9XEq9P3iXj4jt1MbRD6BAPN1MOr1mfeO3TfM/s1600/seriousfailures.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1pN1S9MTDO5-WPLfAnco9lO2shyJjZVkN7LAI8eO0pdvTNSAluA-PcArEaztHZ9uyG6ZKrbkuO2AAIJinmoB82N6I8_By6S-Mbd9zeTo9XEq9P3iXj4jt1MbRD6BAPN1MOr1mfeO3TfM/s320/seriousfailures.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
.. but nothing online, and will there be any mention of the apology?crapaudmatichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08692668436150329927noreply@blogger.com2St Helier, Jersey49.183635441333308 -2.105222940444946349.183473441333305 -2.1055379404449464 49.183797441333311 -2.1049079404449462tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4437060028035186256.post-52923607597435001332016-04-16T11:50:00.000+01:002016-04-16T11:50:43.062+01:00Mossack Fonseca in the JEP, 4 days before the Panama Papers story broke<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0j9qYFDPPiU7_0AlJLVIJMY39eBORlEuRgJpno2fcOaDLBs-sHVdshDoiF_DgwD33kBAjozN6yaZiM9JYmliqWF8eTXs0-i4Plx7hQTMYMRPnywIgzQO6JyTMGyn5pFJVakza2c3oVJk/s1600/mossfon1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0j9qYFDPPiU7_0AlJLVIJMY39eBORlEuRgJpno2fcOaDLBs-sHVdshDoiF_DgwD33kBAjozN6yaZiM9JYmliqWF8eTXs0-i4Plx7hQTMYMRPnywIgzQO6JyTMGyn5pFJVakza2c3oVJk/s200/mossfon1.jpg" width="136" /></a></div>
The story of the "Panama Papers" leak broke on the 3rd of April, 2016. Here was a little article in the JEP just 4 days earlier.<br />
<br />
I love a good coincidence, don't you?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbAOhWCwJXU6j3pEdcpUA7bJ3j9YzqmbE3xS54voz5TQy9tzM4lJPKWPwfB8ioNYJfb8JRczebIXN0rEWf6cDSgLekSxbHReYypw1VpXeehwUFPuitbY-hf7zYlkxYHoPE8pOnBJUD-2A/s1600/mossfon2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="131" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbAOhWCwJXU6j3pEdcpUA7bJ3j9YzqmbE3xS54voz5TQy9tzM4lJPKWPwfB8ioNYJfb8JRczebIXN0rEWf6cDSgLekSxbHReYypw1VpXeehwUFPuitbY-hf7zYlkxYHoPE8pOnBJUD-2A/s320/mossfon2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />crapaudmatichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08692668436150329927noreply@blogger.com0St Helier, Jersey49.186472022229594 -2.109238207340240549.186391022229593 -2.1093957073402403 49.186553022229596 -2.1090807073402407tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4437060028035186256.post-16390257753255819892016-02-12T20:08:00.000+00:002016-02-12T20:08:00.347+00:00Department of Expensive Cock-UpsHow often does a States department have to change its name? <br />
<br />
States Main Roads Department<br />
Department of Public Buildings and Works<br />
Public Works (Dept)<br />
Public Services<br />
Transport and Technical Services<br />
Department for Infrastructure<br />
<br />
I feel I really don't have to say any more!crapaudmatichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08692668436150329927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4437060028035186256.post-59435199523862287562014-09-16T22:08:00.000+01:002014-09-16T22:08:45.317+01:00Price, Beckham, and the value of opinionsOn the State Radio this morning, we were treated to the illogical utterances of Matthew Price again. Apparently a Mr Beckham had been reported elsewhere in the media as having given his point of view about the Scottish independence referendum. Price questioned why anyone should care what Beckham thinks on the matter. Beckham's opinion is neither here nor there, according to Price.<br />
<br />
Yet, strangely, we are forever being given the benefit of Price's views on so many things. We are constantly reminded that he likes show tunes, grammatical pedantry, but not chocolate or curry - something of an own goal <i>(excuse the football reference in the circumstances)</i> because, by constantly reaffirming how proud he is to be so very different to most of us, he is reinforcing our beliefs that he really is a very odd bloke.<br />
<br />
So it's OK for Price to weigh in on just about anything that's up for discussion during his show, yet it's not OK for Beckham? Beckham being the rich, good looking (apparently) and successful man with whom many of us would be quite happy to trade places <i>(I can't tell you how much my teeth were on edge typing "with whom" - no-one talks like that except human oddities)</i> and Price is the guy for who many of us would say "err, no thanks" for the offer of a life swap, I suspect. Very strongly suspect..... but maybe I'm wrong? :) <br />
<br />
Having seen the fascinating documentary of Beckham's travels through a jungle with his friends, and liking the revelation of what the man is really like <i>(away from the distortions purveyed by the 'accredited' media of the world)</i> ...... I know who I'd rather spend an evening with, over several pints in a comfortable bar.<br />
<br />
The Price isn't right!crapaudmatichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08692668436150329927noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4437060028035186256.post-31148629703722458722014-03-07T18:47:00.000+00:002014-03-07T18:47:35.335+00:00Leah McGrath Goodman loses credI saw this on Clever Trevor's blog comments, after having read about it already on my usual daily news sites.<br />
<br />
<i>"It would appear that Leah McGrath Goodman has either just broken one of
the biggest stories on the planet, or seriously overplayed her hand.</i><br /><br /><a href="http://mag.newsweek.com/2014/03/14/bitcoin-satoshi-nakamoto.html" rel="" target="_blank">http://mag.newsweek.com/2014/03/14/bitcoin-satoshi-nakamoto.html</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/mar/07/satoshi-nakamoto-denies-inventing-bitcoin" rel="" target="_blank">http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/mar/07/satoshi-nakamoto-denies-inventing-bitcoin</a><br /><br />On the sites where people get to comment, there has been a strong backlash against Leah, saying this was a very low thing to do. On one site I even found a predictable reference to HDLG :<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"The journalist was sniffing around the island of Jersey because of
alleged financial malfeasance and, more bizarrely, supposedly murdered
children at the now infamous Haut la Garenne childrens home. I know from
my reading on this matter that this is abject bollocks, and made me
question her wisdom."</i><br />
<a href="http://forums.theregister.co.uk/forum/1/2014/03/06/bitcoin_inventor_satoshi_nakamoto_revealed/" target="_blank">http://forums.theregister.co.uk/forum/1/2014/03/06/bitcoin_inventor_satoshi_nakamoto_revealed/</a><br />
<br />
( a second story on The Register is about Nakamono's denial : <a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/03/07/nakamono_man_denies_inventing_bitcoin/" target="_blank">http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/03/07/nakamono_man_denies_inventing_bitcoin/</a> )<br />
<br />
The evidence for him being the inventor seems to be a matter of opinion, hardly anything concrete. Even if he <i>was</i> behind BTC, what right does Leah have to expose him? From being a champion of truth and justice, it seems she has immediately sunken to gutter press levels of self interest. So that's a big "Whoops!" and a blow for the cause of the abuse victims. How sad.crapaudmatichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08692668436150329927noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4437060028035186256.post-56356663604004648682013-05-16T14:27:00.000+01:002013-05-16T14:27:25.042+01:00Maison de Ville in the sloppy newsMore sloppy reporting again - the Maison de Ville care home is to close - but where is it? Would it kill them to actually say, for those of us who may be hazy on such things?<br />
<br />
Does the basic journalism of "Who, what, why, when, where?" no longer apply to our local media?<br />
<br />
It's here on <a href="https://maps.google.com/?ll=49.19368,-2.10489&spn=0.007432,0.019119&t=m&z=16&layer=c&cbll=49.193804,-2.104117&cbp=13,302.22,,0,-0.81" target="_blank">Google Maps (Streetview)</a>, up La Pouquelaye.<br />
<br />
(btw, look at the website for the home at <a href="http://www.sthelier.je/residential-homes/maison-de-ville-residential-home/" target="_blank">www.sthelier.je</a> and compare the photo they've used with the view Streetview - looks familiar?! Can we wonder "copyright theft"?) <br />
<br />
Oh, and as for the "nearby" St.Ewold's <i>(maybe on the map, but it's still a long-ish indirect walk for even the fittest youngsters)</i> that involves <a href="https://maps.google.com/?ll=49.196086,-2.099681&spn=0.000936,0.00239&t=m&z=19&layer=c&cbll=49.196086,-2.099681&cbp=13,9.87,,0,-7.58" target="_blank">taking a right from Trinity Hill here (Streetview)</a> and it looks like <a href="https://maps.google.com/?ll=49.196282,-2.098882&spn=0.000936,0.00239&t=m&z=19&layer=c&cbll=49.196282,-2.098882&cbp=13,41.37,,0,-0.3" target="_blank">this (Streetview)</a>.crapaudmatichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08692668436150329927noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4437060028035186256.post-76169471584838441562013-05-14T14:25:00.000+01:002013-05-14T14:25:40.332+01:00Digital Jersey Divide<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0b3fhg9_kwx0bQF2ar54-zqBvj8xSZVzmfQ3xG_VTixtbv_onNf7AG8xDMjRlBP49B_6vrAmTeC-edmzMvqpB8abE1u7G1rVvBPubyHUwYYmEGNRQxJQi5w-ncMjrFbZl5UzUlIWWvjQ/s1600/DIGIJER.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0b3fhg9_kwx0bQF2ar54-zqBvj8xSZVzmfQ3xG_VTixtbv_onNf7AG8xDMjRlBP49B_6vrAmTeC-edmzMvqpB8abE1u7G1rVvBPubyHUwYYmEGNRQxJQi5w-ncMjrFbZl5UzUlIWWvjQ/s400/DIGIJER.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
Digital Jersey was set up to promote the island's digital economy and make the most of future IT opportunities. Would you expect membership to be open to anyone interested? No...... from a look at their <a href="http://www.digital.je/membership/register/" target="_blank">website's registration </a>page, we see that you have to be a Jersey-based company, partnership or sole trader.<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>What if you're retired from the industry but still interested, wanting to have some input and pass on some of your wisdom accumulated over the years?</li>
<li>What if you're currently out of work, hoping and waiting for the next IT job to come along - and would benefit from being able to attend their events to network and get your face known?</li>
<li>What if you're 'just' an employee, not management?</li>
<li>What if you work in another industry but want to switch, or are keenly interested for any reason? </li>
<li>What if you're a student or school leaver also eager to embark on a Digital Jersey career?</li>
</ul>
<br />
Sorry.... but it looks like you're not welcome! Jersey's legendary lack of inclusivity strikes again. Just another one of those "them and us" divides that crop up all too often.
crapaudmatichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08692668436150329927noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4437060028035186256.post-5506656641934918472013-04-30T14:15:00.000+01:002013-04-30T14:15:57.368+01:00Stuart the Prophet of Doom - was he right?On a day when the radio this morning mentioned the decline of Jersey's Trust Industry and the 2000+ unemployed are growing in number all the time, I vaguely remember back when Stuart Syvret started blogging in 2008 that he forecast the collapse of Jersey, mass unemployment, etc.<br />
<br />
I have found it hard to find the real foretelling of doom, it may have been on other forums or website comment sections, but it's worth re-reading his earliest blog entry -<br />
<a href="http://stuartsyvret.blogspot.co.uk/2008/01/introduction-to-microcosm-it-seems.html">http://stuartsyvret.blogspot.co.uk/2008/01/introduction-to-microcosm-it-seems.html</a><br />
<br />
.. and others -<br />
<a href="http://stuartsyvret.blogspot.co.uk/2008/01/growing-problems.html">http://stuartsyvret.blogspot.co.uk/2008/01/growing-problems.html</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://stuartsyvret.blogspot.co.uk/2010/11/in-your-name.html">http://stuartsyvret.blogspot.co.uk/2010/11/in-your-name.html</a><br />
<br /><a href="http://www.blogger.com/%20http://stuartsyvret.blogspot.co.uk/2008/10/jersey-election-special-7.html"> http://stuartsyvret.blogspot.co.uk/2008/10/jersey-election-special-7.html</a><br /><i>"an island so wrecked, expensive, and economically knackered that your children and grandchildren all emigrate."</i><br />
<br />
So far we haven't had a total collapse, but one has to wonder just how close are we to a runaway "tipping point"?<br />
<br />Far too many people are out of work, and finding it impossible to find any, facing the loss of their home and the slide towards the state of having almost nothing left - the point at which Income Support may finally help you; once you've finally lost your home and seen your savings dwindle to 20% of sweet F.A. and need a States flat because you're out on the street, but sorry there's a waiting list as long as St.Catherine's breakwater.<br />
<br />
All this, while reading in the paper that there are bucketloads of jobs available if only you were qualified enough to tick all the many boxes on the forms pushed around by the HR dept in question, and apparently jobs are easy to come by if only we weren't so lazy and were prepared to do those menial seasonal jobs that the European imports are so happy to do.<br />
<br />
All very well doing a 'summer job' .... what happens in the autumn then? What use is that to someone with a mortgage to pay? Everyone I know says they are struggling, and there doesn't seem to be an end in sight.<br />
<br />
So I'm wondering, how much of Stuart's Doom and Gloom was correct, 5 years ago, and can anyone provide any links to support their views?<br />
<br />
Fire away!<br />
<br />
<br />crapaudmatichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08692668436150329927noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4437060028035186256.post-53212249670838808982013-04-25T10:39:00.000+01:002013-04-25T10:39:03.305+01:00Landslide 74% victory for Vote DSo, very nearly 3/4 of the voters supported the Option D that I promoted in my last post here - don't vote - showing their disdain for the flawed and risable electoral commission.<br />
<br />
I win! :)<br />
<br />
Except that I don't really win. The Establishment's hijacked commision <i>(what happened to "independent"?!)</i> will convince themselves that people who turned up to vote have more sway than those who made the decision not to legitimise the whole farce by making an appearance at the polling stations, so the results <i>(that they rigged in their favour with the way the options and voting system were arranged)</i> will be taken as a ringing endorsement of change. They will get their way, there will be less opposition to their domination of the States with the drop to 42 members, the popular and widely supported Senators will go <i>(don't tell me support for Senators has just vanished into thin air since the last opinion poll showed a strong desire to keep them)</i>..... their <i>me-me-me</i> right-wing "strong governement" will carry on downtreading the less fortunate while the gap between rich and poor widens even further.<br />
<br />
WTF does "strong government" even mean, Mr Shenton? The most powerful group gets to bully the oppostion and get their own way no matter what? Is that really the best that democracy has to offer? <br />
<br />
Jersey will remain apathetic to what the States manages to achieve. When all is said and done, politicians are still mainly loathsome creatures supported by the fools who vote for them. The correct way to handle politics is to stand well back and observe from a distance, then join specific campaigns for issues you really care about.<br />
<br />
Politics in general is a seething mass of irrelevance that we just don't feel empowered to influence except for very specific areas of life where we have a chance of supporting a movement calling for some direction we want. That's the best we can hope for. We are resigned to letting them do what they do, and hoping that they don't mess things up so much that we have to demonstrate in the Square<i> (not that even that helps much, either)</i>.<br />
<br />
For me, the most amusing part of this charade was the proof that Ian Le M supporting something (Option C) was only enough to convince 19% of the electorate to visit the booths. He didn't do much to atttract voters to his point of view, did he? And, as Senator, his career in the States seems a little doomed.<br />
<br />
Oh well. Life goes on. At least we still get to moan about it, whether people think we have a right to, or not.crapaudmatichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08692668436150329927noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4437060028035186256.post-55477489540593118232013-03-14T21:40:00.000+00:002013-03-15T10:23:17.297+00:00Referen-dumbOn the 24th April we are invited to get tricked into -<br />
<ul>
<li>losing the 8 remaining Senators from the States</li>
<li>seeing an overall drop in numbers from 49 down to 42 <i>(with a drop in the backbenchers' power to outvote the ministerial bloc)</i></li>
<li>losing the parish system and get six new meaningless 'super' districts instead (still unequal).</li>
</ul>
<br />
All of this is rolled up into both of the main choices A and B, dressed up as an apparent say in whether we lose <i>les Connetables</i> too, or keep them in.<br />
<br />
I make that <b>4 different issues</b>, but with 3 in common between <b>just 2</b> so-called 'choices' A and B.<br />
<br />
Or we have choice <b>C</b> : keep things the same as they are now.<br />
Or <b>D</b> : <i>Don't</i> turn up. <br />
Or <b>E</b> : <i>Express</i> Protest - actively go and spoil the paper.<br />
<br />
As I don't want any of the 3 changes they're trying to sneak in, and don't really care about the constables either way, that leaves me with a problem. Do I turn up and vote C, or spoil the paper, or stay well away from the whole hijacked waste of time?<br />
<br />
Tough choice. Your opinions are welcomed ... what I should do, given my resistance to A and B <i>(which won't be changing, so don't try to persuade me on that)</i>?<br />
<br />
<h3>
Voting <b>C</b> </h3>
This can be interpreted as <i>"I'm happy with things as they are"</i> - and I'm not. In addition to the proposed changes that I disagree with, I'm also just as concerned about -<br />
<ul>
<li>the unelected Bailiff's conflicted role.</li>
<li>the quality of the idiots that get in, regardless of who votes for them (not much we can do, there).</li>
<li>the Dean sitting in there, unelected. </li>
</ul>
But none of that is addressed by this referendum.<br />
As far as the issues in question -<br />
<ul>
<li><b>Island-wide mandate, Senators</b> - I want them to remain. It's all I feel that I can actually have an effective say in.</li>
<li><b>Numbers</b> - the more the merrier - and I was mildly angry about the drop from 53. If we sort out the pay issue it doesn't matter how many there are. <i>(I'd say don't pay them, most of them don't need it, let Income Support top up their income like the rest of us)</i></li>
<li><b>Districts</b> - I'd rather keep the parish voting districts as they are - and the small St.Mary 'problem' could be sorted out by having more Deputies everywhere else, especially if the Constables go...</li>
<li><b>Constables</b> - they can stand as Deputies if they want, what's the problem? The automatic seat doesn't feel right. What the point of a referendum on this? They can just go! It's not worth bothering the public asking us.</li>
</ul>
<h3>
Voting <b>D</b></h3>
<i>Don't</i> go - is tempting, but gets counted as Apathy. That still gives them a message, but seems like a waste somehow.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Voting <b>E</b></h3>
<i>Express</i> Protest - can mean many things, so you have to hope they understand if you mean <i>"You've wasted everyone's time, and I've made the effort to come here to say Go away and do it properly next time!"</i>.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Voting <b>F</b></h3>
A variation on voting E, but a bit more forceful, would involve an expletive written on the paper, or perhaps a pictogram of an inflated phallus. But that's not advisable considering that the papers are numbered and can be cross referenced to your electoral roll number :)<br />
<br />
<h3>
Tough Choice</h3>
So C,D and E all give mixed messages, are all open to misinterpretation. It's a little difficult to choose!<br />
<br />
I suspect that the turn out will be very low. So I'm not concerned about any of A,B or C winning out of less than half of the electorate. The slimeball politicos will use whatever result they get as a justification to get what they wanted, regardless.<br />
<h3>
</h3>
<h3>
The misguided A campaign</h3>
The 'A team' seem to have bees in their bonnets about equal numbers of votes, and getting rid of the constables. In their eagerness to grasp what they mistakenly think will make a difference <i>(it won't!)</i> they will be hoodwinked into achieving the classic "throwing out the baby with the bathwater".<br />
<br />
As I've said, the constables don't really bother me enough to be an issue here. Ideally they should go, but not at the expense of the more vital things that we'd lose if we vote A. And yes, I've seen them vote "en bloc" and not "en bloc". It's not surprising that 12 people of the same personality type, with the same parish role, should agree fairly often. With their ear to the ground, connections and experiences, they are often more down to Earth and in touch with reality than the more "Despicable Right" of the super priviledged.<br />
<br />
The A Team can't be argued with about the Troy Rule, the smaller number of 42 members meaning that the ministerial bloc <i>(all the Big Cheeses and their lackeys)</i> will outnumber the backbenchers, making opposition impossible. They naively think that will all work out fine in the end - despite depending upon the very outnumbering that will have happened in the meantime! So let's not dwell on that.<br />
<br />
As for the representation, again I think that the A Team are making mountains out of molehills. <i>So what</i> if a St.Mary deputy has fewer votes behind them than a St.Clement one? It's just an opinion poll, with a smaller sample size. The greatest proportion has their way, regardless of numbers. The A Team might need to read up on statistics and poll sampling.<br />
<br />
But the worst thing is, <b>with Vote A we actually get less representation!</b> I used to be able to vote for 14 <i>(12 Senators, 1 Constable, 1 Deputy)</i> out of 53 members - <b>24.6</b>% of The House. This has dropped with the loss of 4 Senators to 10 of 49, which is now just <b>20.4</b>%. With this 6 districts plan, I would get just 7 votes of the 42 - an all time low of <b>16.7</b>% ... why should I even bother to turn up to the polling station for that? I would have to <i>really</i> believe in my 'opinion poll sample size' reasoning and trust my fellow islanders to do the right thing in the other 5 districts. Whatever happens, the same old opinionated bores will get in, with all their massive arrogance, blinkered against reality. Votes A or B won't change that in the slightest!<br />
<h3>
</h3>
<h3>
So... what?</h3>
What do I do? Turn up, don't turn up, write something sarcastic on the paper, or Vote C?<br />
<br />
I want my action to be counted amongst the most likely actions of other people who feel like I do. I suspect most of them will vote C or stay away, and a spoilt paper will be a minority action that will get overlooked and ignored.<br />
<br />
I think that staying well away from the whole charade will have the greatest impact. That way the entire referendum means less, because it's less representative. Let's face it, the whole thing is weighted against common sense, it is a pointless waste of space, so let's treat it that way.<br />
<br />
It was bad enough that the 'independent' electoral commission was taken over by the Establishment <i>(and with He Who Would Be King at the helm too!)</i>, but the 'choice' they have presented to us is anything but.<br />
<br />
For my vote to count for something, it seems I'll have to treat this farce with the contempt it deserves. Which is a lot.crapaudmatichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08692668436150329927noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4437060028035186256.post-65466696803235922182013-03-13T17:04:00.001+00:002013-03-13T17:04:15.094+00:00Rag gleefully peddles coconut myth again<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxeyxKMEPFxyQxrt30h_p6IC-HSV4f-zuzDbQTOTMmvd6QGliSAjnO3vwTVmVemOewQ3C5abcOSpWl3BYczKI0jW-U83sg9rJSOSmF-Dq4a2-8ygfjE-oVK814B6ESfGwQLLmbJseLWRo/s1600/bguide.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="134" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxeyxKMEPFxyQxrt30h_p6IC-HSV4f-zuzDbQTOTMmvd6QGliSAjnO3vwTVmVemOewQ3C5abcOSpWl3BYczKI0jW-U83sg9rJSOSmF-Dq4a2-8ygfjE-oVK814B6ESfGwQLLmbJseLWRo/s200/bguide.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
On the 28th February 2013, the JEP published a Ramsay Cudlipp article about cartoonists Ben Robertson and Oli Nightingale.<br />
<br />
Included in the center-page spread was a humorous map of Jersey - A Beginners Guide.<br />
<br />
Yes, there are some amusing parts. "Local spotted, 1987" is good. And "Syvret's hideout" is neither offensive or inoffensive. I imagine Stuart and his most ardent supporters would take that in good humour. Strange though, how of all the things you could take the mickey out of, that Stuart should be targetted.<br />
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But what are we to make of the people emerging from tunnels from Poland and Madeira? A hint of racism, perhaps? <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibNEKevl3GoW6tGnZBpHOfPxsQ8ReO9vK-jimLvUEg3jqRmlUMakx-W-Nuqu-4Ri-thZbLexh6jACJmxWfZnGn7-5bXqYyRSyzqOCZoHX0qWb5GBcwg2eOjBKS1MiWMusGOZCw_g1SSpE/s1600/cocon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibNEKevl3GoW6tGnZBpHOfPxsQ8ReO9vK-jimLvUEg3jqRmlUMakx-W-Nuqu-4Ri-thZbLexh6jACJmxWfZnGn7-5bXqYyRSyzqOCZoHX0qWb5GBcwg2eOjBKS1MiWMusGOZCw_g1SSpE/s320/cocon.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
But this really made me wince. At the location of the former children's home HDLG investigated for 'Historic Child Abuse' - "Ancient Coconut Shell Burial Ground". Isn't that in rather poor taste?<br />
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How many more times must this myth be wheeled out before it can be finally laid to rest?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH4_Ll8GVFCVBo3FZTq_bq6vhx13SBAw3b0tDx5mfzGet_Y8xcUFZmsFliL18ODjBJJtsyWi_xBMqHHls6T9-g-cB4GruSmDMzhBOeRKJdswJj9GKc-C8cGbzzAQKWOQxFXmS3vn-bn4M/s1600/jep28fev13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="122" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH4_Ll8GVFCVBo3FZTq_bq6vhx13SBAw3b0tDx5mfzGet_Y8xcUFZmsFliL18ODjBJJtsyWi_xBMqHHls6T9-g-cB4GruSmDMzhBOeRKJdswJj9GKc-C8cGbzzAQKWOQxFXmS3vn-bn4M/s200/jep28fev13.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
These are the cartoonists, should you ever meet them and you wish to have words with them.
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>The truth?</b></span><br />
If anyone really wants to know, it's all out there on other blogs.<br />
<a href="http://stuartsyvret.blogspot.com/2009/09/lenny-harpers-guest-posting.html">http://stuartsyvret.blogspot.com/2009/09/lenny-harpers-guest-posting.html</a> is as good a place as any to get a good idea. From the horse's mouth, as it were - Lenny Harper the CIO.<br />
<br />
23 February 2008 - fragment JAR/6 found, recovered from Context 011 Trench 3. Degraded fragment of bone thought to be human skull, probably from a child (see full inventory for details). Associated with mixed debris including animal bone, buttons and a leather “thong”. Discussed findings with SIO Lenny HARPER and Forensic Manager Vicky COUPLAND. It was decided that the bone should be sent for C14 dating.”<br />
<br />
On 8 and 9 April 2008 I re-examined JAR/6. Since I initially examined the fragment it had dried out considerably and changed in colour, texture and weight. These changes caused me to reconsider my initial observation that the fragment was human bone, although I cannot reach a definite conclusion without conducting further chemical analysis. I reported my findings to Forensic Manager Vicky COUPLAND and SIO Lenny HARPER and we discussed a number of options regarding how to proceed with the fragment. Our conclusion was that as the fragment had been found in the pre 1940’s phase of the building, no further work would be conducted on it.”<br />
<br />
I detail below the sequence of events relating to the examination of the fragment. This is fully corroborated by copy e-mails from the lab which examined the fragment. I am not aware that it has ever been identified as a coconut. Anthropologists are trained to identify human remains. The only anthropologist to examine it thought it part of a child’s skull. On seeing it later when it had changed its appearance she was not so sure. People carrying out Carbon Dating are trained for that process, not identifying the matter. Even then, they gave contradictory and confused information to us. When reading below, bear in mind that collagen is found only in mammals, not wood, not coconut.<br /><br />We sent the fragment off for dating around the 3rd or 4th March. If Gradwell and Warcup are to be believed I already knew it was hundreds of years old. Why would we send it off for dating if we already knew? However, my remarks above and the Anthropologist’s worksheet make it clear this was not true. The accompanying form completed by the Forensic Services Manager which went with the fragment also makes it clear that we did not know its age when we sent it off in March. Why would Mr. Gradwell claim that we did? There are also e-mails which must still be within the SOJP system which make it clear that we did not know the age of the fragment when sending it off, particularly those sent by the Forensic Services Manager.<br /><br />On 28th March we received an e-mail from a Ms Brock at the Laboratory in relation to the fragment. Here are some excerpts from the e-mail.<br /><br />“Hi Vicky. Here are the details of the Jersey skull as discussed on the phone earlier. As I said, the chemistry of this bone is extremely unusual – nothing I am familiar with.”<br /><br />“During the first acid washes we often get a lot of fizzing as the mineral dissolves. The Jersey skull didn’t fizz at all, which suggested that preservation was poor, and which led me to test the nitrogen content of the bone.”<br /><br />“The Jersey skull had 0.60 nitrogen, which suggested that it contained virtually no collagen. Once we had this result, Tom phoned you and told you it would be unlikely that we could date the sample, but that we would continue with the pre-treatment just in case.”<br /><br />“Very surprisingly, the sample yielded 1.6% collagen (our cut off for dating is 1%).”<br /><br />“As there is no nitrogen it cannot contain collagen unless it is highly degraded. The chances are it is highly contaminated and any date we get for it might not be accurate. I have e-mailed the director and asked if we should proceed with a date.”<br /><br />Now, if you look at that e-mail, it makes clear a number of things. Firstly, they, the experts on dating, are not sure they can date it. Secondly, they make it clear they have found more than enough collagen (only found in mammals) to date the fragment, but then change their mind again and say it is too badly degraded. Also, note the use of the terms ‘skull’ and ‘bone.’ If the experts cannot be sure on 28th March, how can anyone say that I knew on 24th February? On 31st March, Ms Brock e-mailed again. In this e-mail, headed, “Re: Jersey Skull for C14 Dating,” she said that ‘the Director had now expressed concern about what the fragment was. The Technician (who is not an Anthropologist) who was carrying out the process commented that it ‘looked like a coconut husk.’ She went on to say “If it isn’t bone I am really sorry,” but then finishes with “although it could well have been poorly preserved bone as I described it.”<br /><br />It is clear from those e-mails that the lab did not know what the fragment was. Why, then, have Messrs Simon, Gradwell, and Warcup insisted that the fragment was identified as a coconut by a person qualified to do so? By the time I retired, the only person to suggest the item might be a fragment of coconut was a technician who was trying to date it. No Anthropologist has ever identified it as such. One way to clear this would be to have it further examined, and I am not aware if that has ever been done. I am told, rightly or wrongly, however, that it has been lost. If true, how convenient.<br /><br />At the time, I e-mailed the laboratory and asked them two questions. The first was “Are you saying definitively that this is not bone?” The second was “If you do not think it is bone how can you explain the presence of more collagen than is usually needed to date bearing in mind that collagen is found only in mammals?”<br /><br />In answer to the first question they told me they did not think it was bone but the only way we could be sure was to have it re-examined by someone qualified to do so. I am still waiting on an answer to the question about the collagen.<br /><br />I am therefore at a loss, given the above, which is all documented and evidenced, how either Mr. Gradwell, Mr. Warcup, or Diane Simon can say that I knew at a very early stage that the fragment was definitely old and that it was definitely a piece of coconut. The truth is that, as I left the island, we did not know what it was. The Anthropologist who declared it a piece of a child’s skull could not be as certain after seeing it six weeks later when it had changed pretty substantially. Even then she said it would need further examination, which in effect is what the lab said. Why would anyone try to make out this was not the case?<br /><br />I have had to explain those details in response to so much nonsense which has been peddled by the Jersey Establishment – but we shouldn’t be diverted by the issue of this, one fragment.<br /><br />The crucial fact – that the powers-that-be in Jersey don’t want people to understand – is that the single fragment in question had been discounted from the investigation.<br /><br />The important thing of course is not what it is. That stopped being important when we found out how old it was. Gradwell, Warcup, and Ms. Simon have totally ignored that fact. They have tried to tell the public that I knew it was coconut and/or too old to be of interest very early on, but nevertheless pursued the investigation solely on the basis of that, one, fragment. Their story is a total fabrication.<br />
<br />
....<br />
<br />
Firstly, they, the experts on dating, are not sure they can date it. Secondly, they make it clear they have found more than enough collagen (only found in mammals) to date the fragment. However, they then change their mind again and say the fragment is too badly degraded. Also, note the use of the terms ‘skull’ and ‘bone.’ If the experts cannot be sure on 28th March, how can anyone say that I knew on 24th February?<br />
<br />On 31st March, Ms Brock e-mailed again. In this e-mail, headed, “Re: Jersey Skull for C14 Dating,” she said that ‘the Director had now expressed concern about what the fragment was. The Technician (who is not an Anthropologist) who was carrying out the process commented that it ‘looked like a coconut husk.’ She went on to say “If it isn’t bone I am really sorry,” but then finishes with “although it could well have been poorly preserved bone as I described it.”<br />
<br />Now, how Wiltshire, in the light of Brock’s final comment, can say that anyone knew what JAR/6 was can only be answered by Wiltshire themselves. As they have ignored these e mails perhaps that gives a clue. Furthermore, it should also be pointed out, that the letter which this lab e mailed me three weeks after they allegedly sent it, was no more conclusive and ended up by advising me that if I wanted to know what JAR/6 was, I should have it re-examined by an Anthropologist in a Laboratory.<br />
<br />
By then of course, we knew it was irrelevant and would be a waste of money to do so. Why then, did Gradwell et al send something labelled as JAR/6 off to Kew Gardens when they not only knew it to be irrelevant, but would also have known that the careless way they and the Oxford Lab had handled the item, meant that <b>no court in the land would have accepted that it was beyond doubt the same item that we had originally labelled JAR/6?</b> Seems a waste of money, but as Gradwell refused to give evidence to the Scrutiny Panel about financial matters we may never know!!! Lenny Harper<br />
<br />
.....<br />
<br />
There should be no problem whatsoever with accounting for the movements and whereabouts of this fragment, JAR/6, at any time. Each time it moves from or to the police store it should be carefully logged. We found the item on 23rd February. It remained with us, until from memory, the 6th March when it was taken to the Carbon Dating Lab in Oxford. We logged it out. We logged it back in again on 8th April when our Anthropologist again examined it and noticed that its appearance had changed considerably, and she was now not so sure of her verdict, although she could not reach a definite conclusion.<br />
<br />
The item should have been in the presence of the Oxford lab throughout the time it was there but it seems, that in breach of the rules of evidence they 'passed it around.' They seem to have got themselves into a real tangle, first of all stating it was too old for finding collagen, then finding it, then saying it was too degraded to date.<br />
<br />
Somewhere in all of this, a lab technician made the throwaway comment that it looked like a piece of coconut. (Funny how it was an unqualified technician and none of the experts who had examined it closely) This is the origin of the "ILM coconut" theory and of course encouraged by Warcup and Gradwell, along with their other public declarations such as the cellars not being cellars but only three feet voids. The item JAR/6 came back to us without a log of its movements from Oxford. As soon as it returned then we commenced again logging its movements and it should be no problem whatsoever to account for it from there on. Lenny Harper<br />
......<br />
<br />
If you read the full list of what was recovered from HDLG, and all the allegations from the victims, it's astonishing that attempts were made to discredit the investigation and focus on 'the coconut'. But this is Jersey......crapaudmatichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08692668436150329927noreply@blogger.com3St Saviour, Jersey49.199990005156472 -2.079033851623535249.19739600515647 -2.0840763516235352 49.202584005156474 -2.0739913516235351tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4437060028035186256.post-88888298142460017372013-03-11T18:52:00.000+00:002013-03-11T18:55:04.270+00:00Restore our heritage or widen the road<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQPOVemkvBO6mKnON9qaYo5lZ6sytf2lRtpi91FkNfY75cANcNfOjNGvpY6CY72yDBd4KAznBzdw8TufAjX6TM3-s-BBKCmGZlHvLYeMerRa8O1ETL7EK47AlQiTjGhuyfPqbxBTPOnYQ/s1600/dumar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQPOVemkvBO6mKnON9qaYo5lZ6sytf2lRtpi91FkNfY75cANcNfOjNGvpY6CY72yDBd4KAznBzdw8TufAjX6TM3-s-BBKCmGZlHvLYeMerRa8O1ETL7EK47AlQiTjGhuyfPqbxBTPOnYQ/s400/dumar.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The CoOp <i>did have</i> a reasonable plan to do up this row of heritage buildings, but the scheme was too overbearing in height and Planning wouldn't pass it. So now they want to demolish the lot, and they say they have no other choice.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I say : refuse to accept this! It makes me ashamed to be a shareholder, if this is what they want to do to our townscape. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The answer is simple. If we <i>have</i> to lose the buildings, then there's no good reason to keep this road so narrow. It's a danger to pedestrians. I have found, in several instances, people trying to cross the road from the narrow lane and having difficulty with limited visibility of oncoming traffic. A shop on the other side of the lane has suffered damage from lorry collisions a few times too.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">So, sorry CoOp - but you can't have it both ways. If you insist upon taking these buildings away from us, then we should insist upon having a wider and safer road. I wonder if that would make any difference to their plans?</span></div>
crapaudmatichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08692668436150329927noreply@blogger.com1St Helier, Jersey49.185469244598 -2.108978033065795949.184820744598007 -2.1102385330657958 49.186117744598 -2.107717533065796tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4437060028035186256.post-42057588264010083092012-11-08T12:30:00.000+00:002012-11-08T12:34:40.953+00:00Meddling with "the machinery of government"<i>You can tune up the car, but still, no-one's going to want to drive the rusty old Skoda.</i><br />
<br />
The proposed changes are a waste of time. You can fiddle all you want but it will change little, apart from throwing the baby out with the bathwater.<br />
<br />
I'm not bothered by the Constables being in there automatically. I can see arguments for and against, and would probably - if I really had to - say that they were elected to run their parishes <i>(a busy job that few sensible people would want to take on)</i> and if they want to be in the States too then they should stand for election for that purpose in addition. But really, for all the difference it makes, it's hardly worth worrying about.<br />
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Having 6 'super constituencies' electing 7 Deputies, for a total of 42 members? Utterly pointless.<br />
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Many people will be horrified at the end of the direct link to individual parishes. Me, I just think this place is small enough <i>(drive anywhere in less than half an hour - if there isn't some impaired driver slowing you down to a crawl)</i> and with only circa 100,000 people involved - every issue affects us all. Artificial boundaries are ridiculous when you can easily live in one parish, spend most of your waking+working hours in another, pass through others regularly and spend what leisure time you're blessed with all over the island. Why do we need politicians to be tied to a few thousand people in a couple of square miles - as if they're rooted to the spot and never see the rest of Jersey?<br />
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I can't see any good coming from this. The lowering of numbers is worrying, because by the time the brown-nosing toadies find themselves taken into little groups aligned with the ministers <i>(especially attractive to those seeking more pay, if such a thing comes about too)</i>, automatically following the 'party' line - it leaves far fewer spare members for scrutiny and 'opposition'. The 'establishment' will be able to get their own way whenever they want, without any effective way to prevent it. That's probably what they're after in proposing these changes, and what we should guard against sleepwalking into.<br />
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But, all that aside, if the changes go ahead... ask yourself this : will it increase electoral turnout? Will any of this pointless and expensive messing about actually change the opinions of those who don't vote already? How about surveying the punters, asking why they don't vote - and see if the changes will have any effect at all? Frankly, it will even make <i>me</i> throw in the towel. We'll be going from 10-13 votes per elector <i>(8 Senators, 1 Constable (possibly uncontested), 1-3 Deputies depending upon parish. Or is it 4?)</i> to only 7. What can I realistically hope to influence by turning up at the polling booth?<br />
<br />
I know loads of people who don't vote. They say policitians are ********s, ruin everything, only care about themselves and their peer group. Nothing short of mass homelessness and starvation would shake these people into rising up and making themselves heard. And the changes will make ZERO difference. Nada. Nil. Zip.<br />
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Stop wasting time!crapaudmatichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08692668436150329927noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4437060028035186256.post-86115830894322059332012-10-05T11:00:00.000+01:002012-10-05T11:00:53.063+01:00It's good, it's bad, it's good, it's badThis is getting ridiculous. I've lost count now, how many times the 'mainstream' media have happily parroted what they've been given from the States as 'news'.<br />
It seems that every couple of weeks there's a story about how the numbers of jobless have fallen, and then a few days later the opposite comes along with job losses, gloom and doom.<br />
<br />
For instance, just 9 days ago on 26th Sept, the JEP headline was "Drop in number of jobless".<br />
<a href="http://www.thisisjersey.com/news/2012/09/26/drop-in-number-of-jobless/">http://www.thisisjersey.com/news/2012/09/26/drop-in-number-of-jobless/</a><br />
<i>"UNEMPLOYMENT fell last month with 70 fewer people out of work than in July - one of the biggest drops in the last two years."</i><br />
Good.<br />
<br />
Then along came The Bad last night, with Condor Logistics closing, and <br />
<i>"THE number of job vacancies in the private sector hit a 13-year low in June, according to figures released today."</i><br />
<a href="http://www.thisisjersey.com/news/2012/10/03/labour-figs/">http://www.thisisjersey.com/news/2012/10/03/labour-figs/</a><br />
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MAKE YOUR FREAKING MINDS UP! It's been flip-flop for the last couple of years. First it's hopeful, then it's not. Can you stick to the truth for once?!<br />
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Look, we all know it's bad. The media told us a recession was coming, so we all tightened our belts and stopped spending, firms laid people off or stopped hiring in preparation, and voila - a self-fulfilling prophesy came to pass.<br />
<br />
There are a couple of thousand people looking for work, wondering how they will manage, many with no experience of life without a job before, hoping against hope that they can still provide for their loved ones while fearing losing everything that they have worked for all their lives. Homes at risk. Relationships under massive stress. Income Support not forthcoming until you've lost it all and you're on your knees. Social Security contributions grudgingly covered but with the threat that your entitlements may be hit in years to come.<br />
<br />
Jobseekers are told off weekly by smug Social Security staff (from the comfort of their safe desks) for not trying hard enough despite competing against 2000+ other hopefuls for every job available. Ignorant idiots <i>(with a nice comfy lifestyle so **** the rest of us!)</i> post comments online about 'benefits culture' as if it makes any difference whatsoever until we every have full employment. Until there's a job for everyone, all it means when one person finally gets a job is that someone else has to go without!<br />
<br />
Employers increasingly insist upon a degree for jobs where aptitude and experience would be far more likely an indicator of value, leaving those without further education on the scrap heap. And if you're past a Certain Age, forget it. You'll be in a menial job <i>(unless you know the Right People of course and your face fits)</i> on terrible pay for the rest of your life. Probably Part-Time, or even a Zero-Hours Contract so there's no obligation to give you work on a dependable basis.<br />
<br />
Some jobs are advertised when the post is already filled, and they're only going through the motions of making it look like it's fair, when in fact they already knew all along that their old friend has the job in the bag.<br />
<br />
People are scared. No wonder the spending is going down, making things worse of course, a self-perpetuating cycle of slippery slope - something like that - so typical of bad government. Even people with relatively safe jobs are cutting back, just in case, and prices are rising, taxes biting hard, is there any way out?<br />
<br />
And all the time the idiots in charge of this mess believe that pouring petrol on the fire is the best way forward! Poor economy? Bring more people in! Come on in, Europeans, Jersey's lovely! Jobs galore, the locals don't mind!<br />
<br />
So that's even <i>more</i> outsiders placing even <i>more</i> demands upon the infrastructure, more traffic, more use of publicly provided services, making things more expensive and crowded for everyone and taking away jobs that the locals could do!<br />
<br />
When will we learn that Jersey is <b>FULL</b>, (stupidly congested now) and we should sort out life for our own people before letting in even more to make things worse? How hard can it be to licence each job and insist upon x years of residence before anyone can apply? Immigration is killing Jersey, because it's leading to mass unemployment, the <i>FEAR</i> of unemployment, lack of spending is taking fuel from the fire of the economy, and the whole thing is slowly imploding!<br />
<br />
And the happily-wealthy just shrug -<i> they</i> are OK - and they simply assume it will get better.<br />
<br />
I despair.crapaudmatichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08692668436150329927noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4437060028035186256.post-62634834445019137562011-11-11T10:15:00.002+00:002011-11-11T10:32:13.230+00:00Review of the Review of the Abuse Inquiry<b>Scrutiny Review - Issues surrounding the BDO Alto Review of financial management of Operation Rectangle</b><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The whole thing is a long read, so let's just start with the end 3 paragraphs from the Chairman's Forward, to sum it all up. I was going to highlight in <span style="font-weight: bold;">BOLD</span> all the most eyecatching words, but really I would need to do that to the entire three paragraphs!</span><br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Chairman’s Foreword</span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> - </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Deputy Trevor Pitman - summing up -<br /><br />"... can it really be credible that within a case of unprecedented scale and complexity only two individuals ‘got it all wrong’ and deserve to be scrutinized <span style="font-style: italic;">(many would likely use the term ‘trashed’)</span> within the public eye again and again whilst those at Home Affairs and the senior politicians of the day who also bear significant – if not equal – responsibility attract no such condemnation whatsoever? The sub-panel believes the answer to this first question is no.<br /><br />"Secondly, and perhaps of even more fundamental concern for us if we are the caring and civilised society that we like to believe: when and how did purely financial matters, no matter how undoubtedly serious, become more important than turning our focus and attention to discovering how our most vulnerable children - instead of being protected and cared for by the States - could actually be systematically assaulted and abused over a period of decades?<br /><br />"If this review leads to nothing else other than a re-focussing by government, media and society on to this final question then all of the obstruction and sniping that we as a Scrutiny team have been subjected to these past months will have been well worth it."<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Read the whole government Scrutiny Review at</span><br /><a href="http://ricosorda.blogspot.com/2011/11/srutiny-sub-panel-review.html">http://ricosorda.blogspot.com/2011/11/srutiny-sub-panel-review.html</a><br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" class="Apple-style-span" >children</span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" ><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" class="Apple-style-span" >systematically assaulted and abused</span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" ><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" class="Apple-style-span" > period of decades</span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" ><br /><br />review obstructed and sniped at<br /><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" > government, media and society<br />cover-ups<br /><br />A good journalist would be all over this!<br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">Is the world watching? Does it care?<br /><br />Jersey. Beautiful island with great people. Ruined by some ignorant selfish a-holes!<br /></span></span>crapaudmatichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08692668436150329927noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4437060028035186256.post-44935648158360994522011-11-07T09:02:00.001+00:002011-11-07T10:24:03.752+00:00Coastal crash - more sloppy reportingThe story from Channel 103 radio -<br /><p><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"Three teenagers are being treated in hospital after the car they were in plunged over a cliff in St Martin.</span><br /></p><p><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">It went over the side of the road between Anne Port and Archirondel just before midnight.</span><br /></p><p><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">It came to rest upside down against a tree - which stopped it rolling over the sea wall onto the rocks below.</span><br /></p><p><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Paramedics and firefighters attended, and two boys aged 19 and 17, and a 15 year old girl were taken to A&E.</span><br /></p><p><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The driver suffered a suspected broken wrist but the two passengers are believed to have suffered more serious injuries, although Police have told us they're not critical.</span><br /></p><p><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Watch Commander Chris Love said. "These 3 youths have been involved in a very serious incident. However, it would have been a lot worse had their vehicle rolled from its final resting place onto the rocks below."</span><br /></p><p><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"Had that been the case specialised rescue equipment and extra resources would have been called for. Emergency crews would have been faced with a more difficult and prolonged extrication, increasing the risk of injuries already sustained"</span><br /></p><p><br />BBC Jersey also says "between Archirondel and Anne Port".<br /></p><p><br />Only Channel TV correctly reported "near Archirondel".<br /></p><p><br />If you're a radio listener you'd think it had happened near the BBQ area on the headland near La Crete quarry. The only recent damage to the roadside banks that I can see is actually well before that area.<br /></p><p><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4yiW0MsCB80CTxKwh_1a38P3erohQSOWnIBHoqd51GXTPPfFLim6z7xi1rxw3sQpPZH4N_j-aHkcYQEm8vgNq5TiZSYEkV1ZHFNB_giCphV-mtPNUDLA1TVu4lB3YUXD3WFTjnoQCvK8/s1600/Z31.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 115px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4yiW0MsCB80CTxKwh_1a38P3erohQSOWnIBHoqd51GXTPPfFLim6z7xi1rxw3sQpPZH4N_j-aHkcYQEm8vgNq5TiZSYEkV1ZHFNB_giCphV-mtPNUDLA1TVu4lB3YUXD3WFTjnoQCvK8/s200/Z31.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5672192610573079618" border="0" /></a>It looks like, heading from St.Catherine's towards Gorey, the driver took this bend (by the old Les Arches) too fast, over-corrected, and failed to straighten up quickly enough to stay on the road.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_6zs4ZiNU-8qt5PAS1D5OeWlcK0dX_VgOCsZnKNDH6HATaixIagbcFTp-gGAytM6fLQkLB_2ljGrR97huc6rUm907Ga-s_YIJrMcCmcn0_NSVEr6w6CDVn9ZdKlBkqwue2cfXvCDviRQ/s1600/Z32.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 124px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_6zs4ZiNU-8qt5PAS1D5OeWlcK0dX_VgOCsZnKNDH6HATaixIagbcFTp-gGAytM6fLQkLB_2ljGrR97huc6rUm907Ga-s_YIJrMcCmcn0_NSVEr6w6CDVn9ZdKlBkqwue2cfXvCDviRQ/s200/Z32.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5672192604785657890" border="0" /></a>It's actually on a straight, just after the left-hander, and not where previous accidents have happened at the headland farther on, or just past Jeffrey's Leap on the other side of Anne Port!<br /><br />On some news website comments pages people are criticising the lack of barriers here, and it does appear to be in the same place (from the same direction) as <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-jersey-12050639">another from 2010 (BBC)</a>.<br /><br />All in all I'm left with the sour taste of sloppy journalism again - there was no mention of the direction in which they were travelling, or the precise location. And it's sensationalism again too, accidents happen all over the island, but just because it's on a coastal road and <span style="font-style: italic;">NEARLY</span> ended up in greater fall onto rocks, this somehow seems more spectacular and may be more likely to lead to knee-jerk over-reaction.</p><p> The fact that several accidents in this region in recent years have all been survived without death shows how much safer it is to crash here compared to hitting walls and large trees at the roadside elsewhere!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></p>crapaudmatichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08692668436150329927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4437060028035186256.post-55870775531356051742011-10-18T23:27:00.005+01:002011-10-18T23:35:18.520+01:00Businessmen not fit to governI'm both amused and bored by hearing opinions that we need more businessmen in government - as if their talent for organising one thing translates into organising something entirely different!<br /><br />I'm sure there will be some of you who disagree, impressed by a flashy businessman's apparent success - in the single endeavour of acquiring wealth. But let's look at some inarguable definitions of business and government -<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Purpose of Business</span><br />Make money from providing goods or services, squeezing every last possible profit from resources such as assets, staff and customers, employing any means fair or foul (that they can get away with) to beat competition.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Purpose of Government</span><br />* Provide regulatory framework for a fair and functional society, making sure laws are suitable and fit for purpose.<br />* Set tax policy, deciding who to tax, how much, and for what - and how to spend it.<br />* Provide Public Services to Best Practice standards, balancing the quality of service and needs of the staff against the requirement for best value for money to the taxpayer.<br />* Regulate and resolve conflicts of interest, such as the wishes of property developers versus the public good.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">* Lawmaking is difficult to get wrong to any huge degree - just extend UK legislation to this island and copy anything else sensible. Not many complaints are heard on that one.</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">* Taxation seems to suit enough people most of the time that it isn't enough of an issue to cause riots or revolutions. People may realise that Zero-Ten and GST are a pain but we know it's complex and if it seems to work for most people, the politicians will get away with it.</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">* Wastes of public money are what get most of us fired up, unbelievable decisions of Planning, and other conflicts resolved in the favour of friends and accomplices.</span><br /><br />Businessmen don't do anything like most of that government work <span style="font-style: italic;">(if any of it!)</span> in their line of profiteering.<br /><br />Government is entirely a balancing act, always needing to consider multiple conflicting requirements.<br />Businessmen are only focused upon one side of an equation - making profits for themselves with disregard for any consequences.<br /><br />It therefore follows that successful businessmen are wholly unsuitable for government! We need fair and wise people who understand that quality of life is more important than pursuit of gross wealth at the expense of others. Our politicians should only have a vested interest in benefiting <span style="font-style: italic;">(along with everyone else)</span> from a happy and healthy society, ensuring that the young are educated enough to perpetuate a sustainable system in an unpolluted environment.<br /><br />By 'businessmen' <span style="font-style: italic;">(with 'men' in the broad sense ignoring gender)</span> I don't mean small business owners. I have respect for someone who is confident and assertive enough to set up their own business doing what they love, expanding when they can to take on staff who they know well and look after. Those who know that they have a small place in their market and compete fairly to provide a fair product/service and make an honest living from it. I was lucky to be employed by one of these angels myself for many years and appreciated it. Even if they eventually have their heads turned by the temptations of extravagant houses and shiny expensive status symbol motors, on the whole I say fair play to them if they earned it in the long run without trampling upon others to get there.<br /><br />No, my wrath and disgust is aimed at the Scum In Suits who stab their peers in the back to claw their slimy way up the filthy ladder of boardroom excess. Intelligence misdirected, talents squandered, these wretched creatures are smart enough to appear respectable and articulate, appealing to an easily led electorate conditioned to look up to these 'alpha males' who profit from the misery of others. Their confidence trick is to walk the walk and talk the talk enough to impress the gullible, but their apparent qualities of extreme capability are just a smokescreen for self-serving greed.<br /><br />Even the Farce blog pointed out : "Unfortunately, business people often struggle in politics simply because they are used to getting things done by issuing instructions to employees, rather than by establishing a consensus of understanding with fellow elected representatives. They also have further cultural problems between business ethics and profit motive and the broad principles of public service."<br /><br />When you vote, consider the candidates' motivations. Why are they putting themselves forward for the job? Are they driven by a wish to right the wrongs of centuries of mismanagement, exploitation and oppression, outraged by unfairness, keen to steer the island to a better future for all? Or are they just thinly disguised weasels hell-bent on keeping the working class exploited for their elite extravagances?<br /><br />Remember : <span style="font-weight: bold;">"No vote - no moan!"</span>crapaudmatichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08692668436150329927noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4437060028035186256.post-35488732811377651442011-09-21T09:45:00.000+01:002011-09-21T10:06:44.793+01:00Your ruination of Portelet<span style="font-style: italic;">(Updated Wed 21-Sept-11 with BEFORE photos)</span><br /><br />It's in your name. You vote for these greedy idiots!<br /><br />The holiday camp may have been large but it never dominated the landscape like this.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoKJt2NlXtgLHWdGKewQUMOI0Zteh_98EAmHNBdiCD9NwXci6da62C4gb-RyD2uUr9djHHXSd8G3truuGJQRpvw7zoxOwQyUcE-pCxyEPaQabaJTWOaw7qUsf9jBWFrgGnEHMAyJgRvuE/s1600/Z1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 181px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoKJt2NlXtgLHWdGKewQUMOI0Zteh_98EAmHNBdiCD9NwXci6da62C4gb-RyD2uUr9djHHXSd8G3truuGJQRpvw7zoxOwQyUcE-pCxyEPaQabaJTWOaw7qUsf9jBWFrgGnEHMAyJgRvuE/s320/Z1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5653451061440230194" border="0" /></a><br />The wide angle view they don't show you in the media - it looks like a town has expanded to the bay and is about to spill over the cliff.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2lMW9vStZ5gVIJYEjaDTe9R64NIXCA7HqX9GxCXPEfO37hsuBHh_4YM58cs-qNOpeAcL1P6vfNYyAlw2PWnYLMQddEDlnVOHuDajaTkGz5thyphenhyphenkIul67zaIHA-59iMLJbdfU0GXKBmmb4/s1600/Z2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 198px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2lMW9vStZ5gVIJYEjaDTe9R64NIXCA7HqX9GxCXPEfO37hsuBHh_4YM58cs-qNOpeAcL1P6vfNYyAlw2PWnYLMQddEDlnVOHuDajaTkGz5thyphenhyphenkIul67zaIHA-59iMLJbdfU0GXKBmmb4/s320/Z2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5653450932965734194" border="0" /></a><br />So out of place it looks like it was photoshopped - sadly this is a genuine photo.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid9QpOTRmh76hR9QwLuUzwn-KhqxoyQrKmkI2cuOpM6PGHjIaF_t3CEHbtVwH5qXtWRWWncTH8mTKBTCQ0Wk6F7QRfj-ThJePlHe93tL6Gdcnb8gDZHzxccAASZzRoXs0Y8ReIpfcXujU/s1600/Z3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 189px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid9QpOTRmh76hR9QwLuUzwn-KhqxoyQrKmkI2cuOpM6PGHjIaF_t3CEHbtVwH5qXtWRWWncTH8mTKBTCQ0Wk6F7QRfj-ThJePlHe93tL6Gdcnb8gDZHzxccAASZzRoXs0Y8ReIpfcXujU/s320/Z3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5653450793456317506" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />The old holiday camp was set back from the edge, with a swimming pool in front, and wasn't so high and overbearing.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDJwFnAmDy5SunYzpg9fLvMMDU3zzGoQPEzj_VwXOzgvj2AhsNOL0TYipRatF581351O4SetMZJdppXwha68nx49F2VfkvYLnTPmR3-rYbIJVcjkwH6RdAYExTsIMPN0CCHtRVmBdEQI0/s1600/Z4.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 202px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDJwFnAmDy5SunYzpg9fLvMMDU3zzGoQPEzj_VwXOzgvj2AhsNOL0TYipRatF581351O4SetMZJdppXwha68nx49F2VfkvYLnTPmR3-rYbIJVcjkwH6RdAYExTsIMPN0CCHtRVmBdEQI0/s320/Z4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5653450638535553890" border="0" /></a><br />I quite like the interesting design but this really isn't a fitting place for it. It's a travesty to spoil the bay like this.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><hr /><br />A few years earlier ...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5-Oi6RMiEA7WDzrUMAt-RRQYy55rjNo78LRX88hg4J-LEd25XpHD0K5K9lNXXjSvMICVXWEn93O079o4vkdasZvdYP28wQiFM64cl4A5t4Kztc3gc-3v8Z188Dtcmf9lbhnBZnM2VLWo/s1600/Z12.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5-Oi6RMiEA7WDzrUMAt-RRQYy55rjNo78LRX88hg4J-LEd25XpHD0K5K9lNXXjSvMICVXWEn93O079o4vkdasZvdYP28wQiFM64cl4A5t4Kztc3gc-3v8Z188Dtcmf9lbhnBZnM2VLWo/s320/Z12.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5654734483671181666" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The holiday village was far less stark, natural colours and no large flat areas...<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAeVypB8tku4VY60B4HNdC-wwBP34aASA1Z4tLWkp1q8cIh09pB0IuG_LzJltHL5Y71nHb3qQ1k8pC9iXqbF3Cv2n5aS_gYaxpB-7C8gkCBirv2Qrvj6NAK5x9LgwN1OoDND55LBJ36VM/s1600/Z11.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 198px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAeVypB8tku4VY60B4HNdC-wwBP34aASA1Z4tLWkp1q8cIh09pB0IuG_LzJltHL5Y71nHb3qQ1k8pC9iXqbF3Cv2n5aS_gYaxpB-7C8gkCBirv2Qrvj6NAK5x9LgwN1OoDND55LBJ36VM/s320/Z11.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5654734488100913394" border="0" /></a><br /><br />.. so it sat comfortably in the landscape without drawing undue attention to itself.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Xwx8fNkxxzyvydT6Lc8UMHNL7GnOwSPVNqhOTZg9-7y1U3yQIUdPCkPT2d2WrzT8FAVJmqIGHVf3ADM6ONEGBIO5Olf33PGs860khwigGhM5-cxczRfz04VXPO-h-FzPUnwhnfyJbik/s1600/Z13.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 204px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Xwx8fNkxxzyvydT6Lc8UMHNL7GnOwSPVNqhOTZg9-7y1U3yQIUdPCkPT2d2WrzT8FAVJmqIGHVf3ADM6ONEGBIO5Olf33PGs860khwigGhM5-cxczRfz04VXPO-h-FzPUnwhnfyJbik/s320/Z13.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5654734483534484610" border="0" /></a><br /><br />You could see the top of the cliff face behind the flat roof, and there was copious greenery all around...<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkRqM1IzoNlvWAUjZ9s5IXt6neNa9_MJFsTOd0CyPInx8auyoJy-7EvhP02VO-W4f2eWaMyV5Gx3BK8gm8Kv0cdZl2qv-LbTYyz8OHLzNDgC7EZ_8wvyN-N5Qd2YtppulReCl_GSks9QM/s1600/Z14.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 198px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkRqM1IzoNlvWAUjZ9s5IXt6neNa9_MJFsTOd0CyPInx8auyoJy-7EvhP02VO-W4f2eWaMyV5Gx3BK8gm8Kv0cdZl2qv-LbTYyz8OHLzNDgC7EZ_8wvyN-N5Qd2YtppulReCl_GSks9QM/s320/Z14.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5654734480077141554" border="0" /></a><br /><br />.. closer - and no ugly buildings right on the skyline either.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixdhrBpQXxkz79TXp5gzYg6wL6NQlQ93vrYkRxNdkADicT5afizbQTau8OpQ0Ypmrj5Yvpda8bJ8siyFePkew6JyZT1FOeGDkOl-gtEsqxlxHvI4aDhNau1FQAVlBNR4cQNJUmJX-SZI8/s1600/manarola-cinqueterre.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 258px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixdhrBpQXxkz79TXp5gzYg6wL6NQlQ93vrYkRxNdkADicT5afizbQTau8OpQ0Ypmrj5Yvpda8bJ8siyFePkew6JyZT1FOeGDkOl-gtEsqxlxHvI4aDhNau1FQAVlBNR4cQNJUmJX-SZI8/s320/manarola-cinqueterre.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5654734476917623826" border="0" /></a><br /><br />If we're going to over-develop the bay, call in the Italians for some aesthetic guidance!<br /><br />(Manarola, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinque_Terre">Cinque Terre</a>)<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><hr /><br />After all the Line In The Sand and fuss over Plemont, you'd think they'd learn, wouldn't you? This is what you get when you vote for the money men to look after the island. All they care about is making more money.<br /><br />The government you deserve. The planning you deserve. The environment you deserve.<br /><br />Jersey, you voted (or failed to vote) last time for the clowns who will always ride roughshod over the wishes of the real islanders, promoting their interests above ours.<br /><br />This is a disgrace. A disgusting disgrace. Hang your heads in shame, those responsible. That includes YOU if you never bother to use your vote, or if you choose the 'safe pair of hands' who obviously know what's best because their selfish drives and psychopathic absence of empathy for anyone but themselves has led them to positions of wealth and 'success'. Out of proportion wealth and success comes from greedily leaching inordinate amounts of money from other people - remember that. The rich get richer at the expense of others. Is that a quality that makes for good leaders?<br /><br />For f***'s sake vote wisely next month or there'll be even more of this selfish rape of our island.crapaudmatichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08692668436150329927noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4437060028035186256.post-31982195748457438692011-07-28T09:00:00.001+01:002011-07-28T10:40:33.086+01:00An unconvincing united front.I'm amused and bemused -<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">(as usual - Jersey politics is only good for amusement, it doesn't work effectively for its intended purpose of running the island very well, and those of us with lives too busy to devote 100% to politics haven't a hope of influencing anything meaningful with our feeble minority voting 'power', so we can only watch helplessly from the sidelines and let off steam by running down the States at social gatherings - which, if you believe the Ministers, doesn't happen. Maybe because they don't mix with normal people like I do)</span><br /><br />- intrigued, even - by the curious (or not) new found support that Deputy Trevor Pitman is showing for Ted Vibert. Having stood near Ted at a husting or two, hearing his views, observing his demeanor and manners, I would rather let one of those four inch and orange-striped garden slugs crawl along my stomach than vote for the guy to represent me in the Ego Chamber.<br /><br />Ted, if you recall, caused a rift amongst the 'progressives' at the time of the last by-election <span style="font-style: italic;">(for ex-Senator Stuart Syvret's 'vacated' seat)</span> to such effect that the only political party - the JDA - fell apart with calls of 'Ted being a liability', leaving us the rib-tickling spectacle of Geoff Southern being a party of one! Trevor being one of those who left, for ideological reasons.<br /><br />Yet we are now supposed to believe that the progressives can all pull together to defeat the Goliath of the Establishment?! Granted, the progressives usually vote the same way on many issues that are perceived to be <span style="font-style: italic;">The Workers v The Priviledged</span>, but they just don't seem to be able to get on - certainly not <span style="font-style: italic;">BETWEEN</span> elections! They make no attempt to draw up a simple manifesto of supporting the underclass, and then stick to it, in a strongly cohesive party. Divided by clashes of politcal personalities (the worst kind!) and subtly different outlooks and motivations, whether it be pure idealism, bleeding heart niavety, union-led sabre rattling, or the Green movement.<br /><br />They don't even seem to be capable of pulling together in support of the most crystalised issue of the day, when it comes to fighting the system - Stuart's attempt to prove that the island's management is as bent as the road around Westmount Hill. Some of them pick up some aspects of the case and doggedly fight that part of the cause, others pick their parts while barely concealing the personality clashes, and others stay silent for fear of reprisals or losing their seat. There are newcomers who promised at the last election to fight the incompetence of <span style="font-style: italic;">The System</span> who have ended up voting along with the crazier of the ministerial propositions - I have to wonder at their chances of re-election. It would be soul destroying to watch, if I actually believed that there had been a real chance to change anything for the better, but that these hopes had come to nothing. I expected nothing, and haven't been disappointed. It's a shoulder shrugfest as usual. The world is mad, Jersey even more so. I feel helpless, so I just watch and sigh.<br /><br />While I can see that presenting a unified face to the electorate - divided we fall and all that - is the only way to fight a stronger power, isn't it fundamentally dishonest to con the voters that there's a cosy togetherness that can save the day, when there plainly hasn't been - and won't be once the election is over, once the hustings chairs have been re-stacked and the parish hall floors swept clean?<br /><br />If Trevor and Ted share a contempt for Stuart's approach, and are close in outlook again, why not rejoin the JDA and be honest about it? Why not work to reform the party <span style="font-style: italic;">(or form an alternative if that's too hard)</span>, change its internal systems so that they can come up with a joint manifesto that pleases the majority, and get on with a more believable united front. We would have more faith in an opposition party than we ever can in a mottley collection of bristly and unpredictable individuals all pulling in different directions and in the same heading only now and then, seemingly at random?<br /><br />Nothing will ever change unless there's a really strong party in which we can have faith. Politicians are, by and large, either selfish slime or more selfless but too complex to work well with others<span style="font-style: italic;"> (combined with a massive arrogance personality defect on the whole)</span>. It's only when they bury their differences and work together towards a common cause that we can have just a little more belief in any possible effectiveness/efficacy <span style="font-style: italic;">(delete as pedantic)</span>.<br /><br />Come on, provide us some real political entertainment, while we watch here from our comfy chairs with a beer in the hand. Party on!<br /><br />Hmmm. Yeah. Nothing will ever change.crapaudmatichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08692668436150329927noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4437060028035186256.post-54229479095074337572011-04-09T11:02:00.002+01:002011-04-09T11:09:38.774+01:00A Depressed ElectorateIt's hard to explain depression to someone who has never "been there", but those who have will know just how bleak it is. You can get into a state where it simply doesn't seem possible that you'll ever feel happy ever again. Everything seems pointless, frivolous and futile - the concept of enjoying life may work for other people but somehow it can't work out that way for us.<br /><br />At the extreme, people take their own lives, unfortunately. Nobody really ever wants to kill themself, yet tragically, people do - because they just cannot imagine climbing out of the pit of despair that they've arrived at. Those of you in a happier place imagine that whatever your problems, if it came to the worst you could just walk away from everything - everything you own, everyone you know, jack in that sucky job, and start again. Difficult, to say the least, but better than dying - why give up when you could have another chance at life by starting out all over again, avoiding the mistakes you made last time? Get a flat from our caring States, a simple life with a simple job, make new friends, climb up the tree all over again. How hard can it be, free from previous cares and worries?<br /><br />A depressed person wouldn't see the point of trying that. To them, life is unfair, lonely, pointless and cheerless, and they believe they would be better off out of it. Reject any chances, because it's all dark and grim and what's the point?<br /><br />Is it their fault?<br /><br />Do they deserve it?<br /><br />If you've never suffered depression I can almost accept the viewpoint that people should just "buck their ideas up" and "pull themselves together" - because that's what it looks like to an outsider. It should be simple enough to just get on with life and weather the storm, shouldn't it? In reality I'd avoid anyone who thinks like that - like the plague. If you've got that little empathy for other people, I don't want you in my life!<br /><br />Most of us do understand that <i>anyone</i> can find themselves (without seeing it coming) so overloaded with stress and anxiety - if enough things go wrong in our life - that we can find ourselves down in that pit. And most of us are enlightened enough to understand that real depression can be regarded as an illness. Nobody in "their right mind" would ever choose to feel like that. Nobody feeling that bad would ever refuse a way out of it if they seriously believed it would work. If you're constantly suffering and can't help yourself out of it, that sounds like an illness to me.<br /><br />Depression is about not seeing the true reality, not believing there's a way out. It's a trap. A trap of the mind.<br /><br />Which brings me on to the state of politics in Jersey, and the seemingly apathetic electorate.<br /><br />I believe that when it comes to what people think of the States of Jersey and how we're governed, we've had years and years and years of the same old incompetent, self-serving, corrupt government. A politician is someone who combines the normal belief that we know best <i>with</i> such strong conviction and self-confidence that they are prepared to stand for election and inflict their opinions very publicly onto the rest of us.<br /><br />We don't like that.<br /><br />We don't respect politicians (not like they think we should!).<br /><br />We don't like them, we don't like what they do, we don't like how they seek glory, we don't like their arrogance, we don't like them ignoring what we ask for and doing the opposite because only they know better than us with the benefit of their massive insight and understanding which we don't have.<br /><br />Ugh.<br /><br />Why would most sensible decent people want to get involved with any of that?<br /><br />Occasionally a genuinely caring AND self-confident person will come along and put themselves forward in an altruistic attempt to help us all and right the wrongs of the world. Arguably they are charmingly naive, but never mind. On the whole, politicians are deeply flawed people you wouldn't want to be friends with. It's not normal to be so very certain that you know best, to the point of wanting to dictate to others how they should run their lives.<br /><br />To assess a politician, just ask them whether they want to represent the electorate or vote the way that they feel is right, even if it's in the other direction. Will they ignore petitions? Are the public so stupid? Once they are there in the States Chamber with a mountain of reports of background information at their disposal, they can see and understand issues that the rest of us are too thick to understand, so they must do what's best for us and take those "difficult decisions" because they alone are wise enough to help us in ways we just don't comprehend.<br /><br />Being voted into power gives them, automatically, the brain power to see The Big Picture - and vote for things we don't want. Apparently we can be trusted to vote for them, giving them legitimate power, having assessed them worthy of election, yet we can't be trusted to understand anything else!<br /><br />Now, faced with that, you could say that the electorate is depressed. We don't see the point of voting, because we simply don't believe there's any point. Human nature won't change any time soon. Politicians will always be slime-balls (mostly), and the rare decent ones will always be outnumbered, outvoted and ineffectual.<br /><br />Like a depressed person, we just don't believe anything will ever change for the better, so what's the point?<br /><br />It doesn't matter that the truth is: that anything is possible if only enough people would get off their backsides and actually make that trip to the polling station. It won't happen because the non-voters are too politically depressed to believe that it could happen that way.<br /><br />So we get, apparently, "the government we deserve".<br /><br />I'm hoping you'll get my point now - maybe we don't deserve the government we get. That's way too simplistic, too "black and white". You'd have to be really mentally inflexible to write off the whole situation as one thing or the polar opposite, without seeing the actual reality of the reasons for the grey in between.<br /><br />Sometimes we DO NOT get the government we deserve. Millions of people around the world certainly don't, their lives blighted by cruel dictatorships and regimes that stifle their freedoms. And it's not always the case that weaponry would be needed, to change matters - recent world events (before Libya) proved that. A dictatorship that isn't totally insane will know when their time is up, given a clear enough hint. An unarmed populace can indeed rise up and change their country, when they believe that it is possible. But it requires that belief, before positive action can happen.<br /><br />Jersey may appear to offer the so-called democracy that allows us to self-determine the way this place is run, but in reality we're kept in place by those with power, and a political depression that keeps us in our place, unable to believe that there's a way forward.<br /><br />The government we deserve? It's really not that simple! Nice, decent people can get depressed. Who really deserves that?<br /><br />And telling us we deserve it? That doesn't really help either! We'll need to believe in a way forward before we can help ourselves.<br /><br />Until we're ALL, REALLY, mightily annoyed, it's Business As Usual. Helpless as I am, I don't believe it's my fault. So please don't tell me it is!crapaudmatichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08692668436150329927noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4437060028035186256.post-6626957518897644902010-10-14T14:36:00.006+01:002010-10-15T14:16:02.330+01:00Jersey - Now 22.7% less "democratic"So, after yesterday's vote in the Fun House, we are to <span style="font-style: italic;">(by 2019)</span> lose four of our island-wide elected Senators, bringing down the number of States Members from 53 to 49.<br /><br />Previously, (as <a href="http://crapaudpinion.blogspot.com/2008/11/our-so-called-democracy.html">noted here</a>), many islanders had a say in the vote for the 12 Senators, a Parish Deputy and a Parish Constable - which is just 14 out of the total 53 politicians - which is <span style="font-weight: bold;">26.4%</span> of them that we can vote for <span style="font-style: italic;">(some larger parishes have 2, 3 or even 4 Deputies, just to make things even less democratic against single-Deputy parishioners)</span>.<br /><br />Now it will be 8 Senators instead of 12, making it 10 out of 49 we can vote for - now just <span style="font-weight: bold;">20.4%</span> of them.<br /><br />A drop from 26.4% to 20.4% means that those voters in single-Deputy Parishes now have a say in the make-up of <span style="font-style: italic;">The Bad Decision Factory</span> which is just 77.3% of what is was - a <span style="font-weight: bold;">comparative drop of 22.7%<br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;">(or if you prefer, the drop of 6 from 26.4 is 6/26.4 = 22.7%)</span><br /><br />I believe it's an attempt by the Ministers and their foot stamping followers to shift the balance of power even more in their own favour. Considering the number of Ministers, and Assistant Ministers eager to move up the chain and not ruffle any feathers, it leaves the number of back benchers (our only opposition) even lower and less able to vote effectively against ministerial plans. It leaves the ministers in a position where they can get away with anything they like, as there simply won't be enough members on the opposite side of the political spectrum to prevent votes going their way.<br /><br />This is, I believe, the beginning of the end for Senators. The same day vote for all posts, and same 4 year term of office for all, means that there is no point standing for Senator - having to please the entire island instead of being able to concentrate on one parish. The Senators & Deputies posts will be switched around in effect, so that the newcomers try to get in as Senator, it will be seen as a beginner's post, no longer seen as a promotion. Eventually, it will fall into such disfavour that it will be done away with.<br /><br />All this meddling with the system won't put me off voting. I'll still vote for those rare politicians who are blessed with common sense, courage, and self<span style="font-style: italic;">less</span> motivation... as and when we get some! No amount of tinkering with the electoral process is going to change <span style="font-style: italic;">that</span> particular problem!crapaudmatichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08692668436150329927noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4437060028035186256.post-20360638526440385602010-09-15T15:45:00.002+01:002010-09-15T15:53:49.878+01:00End of School Milk, end of Jersey<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-jersey-11314875">States votes to cut school milk</a><br />Jersey's government has voted to stop providing free milk in school as part of spending cuts.<br /><br />I have always thought that this issue served as a useful barometer of whether the States of Jersey <span style="font-style:italic;">(and the minority of voters that elect them)</span> actually cares about the welfare of children and our society in general. With this decision we have finally arrived at the position where it's plainly obvious that we're beyond hope, slipping down a greased slide into oblivion. What hope is there for an island which used to have "money coming out of its ears", that is now so badly mismanaged that we can't even afford to give our youngsters free milk from our world famous dairy herd?<br /><br />Last one to leave, don't bother switching off the lights, they won't be working by then anyway.crapaudmatichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08692668436150329927noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4437060028035186256.post-66767273107105314682010-08-24T21:17:00.002+01:002010-08-24T21:26:24.893+01:00Fireworks or not?<!-- <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN07sfLeGCZsrtNoCOIXW0GrW-TEXi_U8YX-zeXKw7XM2xtZvY9Nsa323Nf_SfJt43IWtWBhPk1_RVnWyT5ibXzVEH42oqA71R09EVY-nF3G49A31CpolmC8UEIjiJMGU8_VIFYsEjzNM/s1600/fworks.jpg"> --><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 248px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN07sfLeGCZsrtNoCOIXW0GrW-TEXi_U8YX-zeXKw7XM2xtZvY9Nsa323Nf_SfJt43IWtWBhPk1_RVnWyT5ibXzVEH42oqA71R09EVY-nF3G49A31CpolmC8UEIjiJMGU8_VIFYsEjzNM/s400/fworks.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509073311759971410" border="0" />Would a bit of consistency be too much to hope for?<br /><br />Fireworks rounded off the Battle of Flowers Moonlight Parade <span style="font-style: italic;">(a little too soon, and a little too far away, but never mind)</span> and also the Gorey Fete.<br /><br />But hang on - didn't we decide that fireworks are environmentally unsound and best avoided? Didn't the island mess about Terry Macdonald considerably because his record breaking attempt was called off due to green concerns?<br /><br />Terry has been treated disgracefully <span style="font-style: italic;">(google it if you're unfamiliar with the story!)</span> so I have to wonder - are we happy with fireworks or not?!crapaudmatichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08692668436150329927noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4437060028035186256.post-43546823164914525172010-08-17T11:44:00.000+01:002010-08-17T13:59:39.566+01:00How the other half live<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg12JKnWdd1wBf6cEWilMqb8XSKy5HraFymkO4brFo0VXux26K-7oDp0v0e4cbM7wJUzNqGyIWtojumh4tMhJ1ilCIQNjkeJdeTsDhnpJkiYrKo_o2DMteVSgRlScrZcLk0bbwtVX0-hwE/s1600/fred.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg12JKnWdd1wBf6cEWilMqb8XSKy5HraFymkO4brFo0VXux26K-7oDp0v0e4cbM7wJUzNqGyIWtojumh4tMhJ1ilCIQNjkeJdeTsDhnpJkiYrKo_o2DMteVSgRlScrZcLk0bbwtVX0-hwE/s320/fred.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506359153491417074" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />Here's where the Planning Minister lives.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJAbnxv9vTzv6gO_e5BZuaRY_wmn44SiNuqWXGNV6oFII0v0IZ_W9oL1RG0s8TW33zDgMXizRDk5ZIdVB4DN71FcEKxz8RTknRz8aqwbGoShaL0YijrthHii500B-q9CRRBfk6MN5NvGo/s1600/squez.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 199px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJAbnxv9vTzv6gO_e5BZuaRY_wmn44SiNuqWXGNV6oFII0v0IZ_W9oL1RG0s8TW33zDgMXizRDk5ZIdVB4DN71FcEKxz8RTknRz8aqwbGoShaL0YijrthHii500B-q9CRRBfk6MN5NvGo/s320/squez.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506359157554694690" border="0" /></a><br /><br />- and here's where other Jersey people live.<br /><br />Note the contrast?<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Nobody said life was fair!<br /><br />One man has the power to blight our lives by approving the building of monstrosities to ruin the charm of the island so that the rich minority can get even richer.<br /><br />And today on the BBC phone-in it was made very apparent that lots of less fortunate islanders are enduring poorly heated States-provided housing, freezing in the winter in damp and mouldy conditions. For an island with money coming out of its ears thanks to the finance industry, and more flashy sports cars and status symbol 4WDs than you could comfortably count, and mansions aplenty, it must be obvious that something has gone very wrong with this island!<br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Privacy?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">I did wonder about publishing this blog entry, but with the visit of the Google "Street-view" car in the news, I thought it was timely. The Senator's address is freely available, it's on election papers and it's in the phonebook. I took the photo from a public road, and it's a view anyone can see by going there for themself. I don't have an issue with Google photographing where I live - why should I? I believe in the power of the internet to show us as much as we want to see, within reason.</span></span>crapaudmatichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08692668436150329927noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4437060028035186256.post-67161929175112346572010-07-01T15:23:00.003+01:002010-07-01T15:25:30.372+01:00Broken Memorial<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLFHrl6H6Folrh35wrftV2wy2uBaeECqNZnAGAHt_pv3T1WVzc5KRSRW0ZlcTPnng53yB1KXe1ZPv5DGIdsORndNEHdysMKbAbyyQImMLqtod2Gs7nHOHxFzJrsBJXGYQU1edGToxlJ6E/s1600/vega.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 206px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLFHrl6H6Folrh35wrftV2wy2uBaeECqNZnAGAHt_pv3T1WVzc5KRSRW0ZlcTPnng53yB1KXe1ZPv5DGIdsORndNEHdysMKbAbyyQImMLqtod2Gs7nHOHxFzJrsBJXGYQU1edGToxlJ6E/s320/vega.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5488943489338253314" border="0" /></a>Does anyone care that the Vega memorial on Albert Pier is damaged?<br /><br />Can we afford to fix it?crapaudmatichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08692668436150329927noreply@blogger.com2