More Hypocrites

A couple of years ago did you had a leaflet through your door telling you how to reduce your carbon footprint?  I have. Whether it was published and distributed by the Scottish Government I can't remember because it was binned within a minute.  The usual propaganda of wearing multiple layers of clothing to keep warm instead of turning up my thermostat in temperatures such as it as right now (-7), made me realise I'm very detached from these people who write and/or believe that by carrying out their orders I would be saving the world.  If I remember, there was nothing in it to warn those older people who tend to suffer from the cold or the frail who need heat, that they shouldn't take the advice so strongly given.  No, lives of those people don't matter in the great scheme of things where the supporters of humans being responsible for the changes in our climate is concerned.

The Scottish Government continue to insist that climate change is one of the most serious threats facing the world.  Nothing to do with nuclear weapons or terrorists for them, it's climate change.  They say on their website 'its people and its environment is determined to play its part in rising to the challenge'.  I'm not.  In fact I'm firmly against paying hidden taxes to fund the scam.  Yet I get no choice.

Scottish MSPs have choice though.  They're not restrained from using airplanes, taxis and cars to go about their business.

What could you do with £36,000?  That would pay the winter heating bills of perhaps 3600 of Scotland's more vulnerable residents.

It is the amount of money the Scottish Government's Climate Change Division spent on flying round the world preaching their message.  In fact most of the money was spent on regular flights to and from Edinburgh to London, with a few to Copenhagen and Brussels and even Bali was included.  Those concerned squandered even more public money paying 'carbon levy' charges in a bid to offset the emissions generated as they took to the skies.

I've spent some time today trying to identify those who belong to the SG's Climate Change Division but with no success.  They seem to be invisible yet produce much information to the media about the need for everyone to reduce their use of energy.  Patrick Harvie, the Green MSP, wasn't too pleased.  Surely as he is chair of the SG's Climate Change Committee, he should be in constant contact with this other setup the Climate Change Division?

Now there is a suggestion that the UK government purposely kept the Met Office's warning of a cold winter secret because it could affect the UN Climate conference.  I don't often believe in conspiracies, but this one has some substance.

The Scottish Government needs to reduce the amount of money promised to climate change and put in into creating jobs.  There are thousands of people who would like to work for themselves, and perhaps employ others at a later date, yet there is no help out there for them.  Scottish Enterprise isn't interested in the one person business, they want the big boys who require large loans and yet it doesn't matter to then if they are ships in the night.

Windfarms have now proved to be incompetent and excessively expensive. I've no objection to the SG continuing with their quest to find efficient wave power and I think the Scottish topography is sympathetic to hydro in many areas.  Let's pursue these ends and do away with the Climate Change Division for starters. They're a joke but one I don't find in the least amusing.

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'I'm Lucky"

I don't know about you, but I find something slightly uncomfortable about women serving in the front line.  It's possibly to do with my generation who never experienced women in combat roles.  Traditionally they were the nurses - the mothering arm of the military - and for many a male they provided a fond memory of home.  Nurses were kept away as far away from the front line as possible by their male colleagues.

The Army has changed though and women are deployed in today's wars.  They struggled to be accepted alongside their male colleagues and now they are they deserve respect for entering a profession in which, during these years of warmongering politicians, they know there's a good possibility they will be sent to war.

Hannah Campbell (pictured) decided to join the Army in 2002 to do a nursing degree.  She admits to being naive but says nine years ago there were no conflicts like Iraq or Afghanistan, where figures show that, regardless of the military surge in the past year, the situation has not improved.

She married a colleague in 2004 and had her daughter in 2005.  Her husband was scheduled to go to Afghanistan in 2007 and at the same time Hannah was offered the opportunity to go on her first tour to Iraq alongside the Royal Artillery.

"Because of Milly, only one of us would have to be away.  I was worried about Jamie going to Afghanistan where the conflict seemed to be escalating.  It felt safer for me to go."

Her welcome was a mortar alarm which warns of indirect shellfire.  The welcome never ceased.  She hadn't been prepared for the physical ache which accompanied missing her daughter dreadfully.

The day before her flight home disaster struck.  She was on guard duty when the attack came and the last thing she remembers is hearing shots fired.  A bomb hit the building burying Hannah inside. The American Special Forces helped pull her free and she woke up in hospital with serious injuries.  One of them was a smashed foot.  Her heel bone and the joints around it had shattered.  Back home, after being stabilised for the journey, she spent a considerable time in Selly Oak, Birmingham.  The medics had done their best to patch up her foot but she just couldn't escape the pain, which eventually drove her to using a wheelchair.  Her weight doubled and, combined with the pain medication, she felt no one understood her.

It was her GP who suggested she consider amputation late in 2009 and her surgeon, Professor Keith Porter, who was knighted last week for his services to the military, agreed it might be best.  To help with her decision she visited he military rehabilitation centre at Headley Court to meet amputees and she talked with Kate Philp, the only other woman who had lost a leg in active service.  Image played a big part because she says the men she met wore their war wounds with pride, but it's different for a woman.  She wanted to know if she would be able to wear high heels.

The pain made up her mind though and she had her operation last May.  "Waking up in hospital without my leg was wonderful.  The pain went instantly.  I felt like the girl I was before."

Does she have any regrets? "I wouldn't change anything.  I'm a stronger person for it."  Hannah hopes to run the London Marathon one day and has a skiing holiday and scuba-diving trip planned through Forces rehabilitation charity Battle Back.  She can wear high heels.  I wish her all the best for the future.

However, Hannah is one of many and the appalling loss of young limbs continues unabated.  Military charities have become increasingly concerned that the NHS is not adequately equipped to support amputee veterans to the same outstanding standards provided by Headley Court.  The government have announced a review into the care of former personnel who have lost limbs serving their country.  Another review, perhaps to gather dust on a shelf, who knows.

Like me, John Nicol, a former RAF officer and now writer, has also found statistics difficult to come by and the Ministry of Defence has been reluctant to offer exact figures about the numbers and types of battle injuries sustained.  I've been trying to gain information for a few months now but my efforts are in vain.  BLESMA (The British Limbless Ex-Service Men's Association) estimates that there have been more than 200 amputees of which some 50 have been double amputees and there are now around 15 servicemen who have lost three limbs. As Mr Nicol states, there is no self-pity amid those with these terrible injuries and each and every one of them that he spoke to said they were 'lucky' and that many of their colleagues' situations were far worse.

He acknowledges the Armed Forces have made great changes in the care provided for injured veterans but his concern - and mine - is that with the reduction in funding the burden will fall on military charities.  I know the military charities picked up the pieces of lives from the Falklands War.  They had no option as the MoD provided little or nothing.

A modern prosthetic limb can cost £15,000 plus and may need to be replaced or refurbished regularly.  Our wounded veterans are the nation's responsibility and the nation should be paying out of central funds.  Charities should be there to provide the 'added extras' to make life easier and not to fund the basic priorities of our wounded and compensate for care which the NHS cannot provide.

I finish with a quote from Mr Nicol's article:

Our servicemen and women have always been prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice for our country. In return, they should expect their country to look after them in their hour of need, however long it takes, and whatever the cost. They deserve nothing less.

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Bribery

For years I've been the owner of a pachira aquatica, commonly known as a money tree.  In fact I've owned several because they grow reasonably fast so I've chopped them up, given cuttings to all and sundry, then started again.  The original was given to me by an old gardener who insisted I should always keep one in the house.  Then I would always have something in my purse he said. As I held him in great esteem I've never been brave enough to test the myth.

That's really irrelevant to this post, the pachira aquatica I mean, but money is.  Money as used in bribery; defined as giving it to a person or people to influence or persuade them.  Money is used by politicians for that purpose.  There's lots of it distributed too and it's taxpayers' money - our money.

Parts of our society have become used to bribery.  We give money to teenagers to 'persuade' them to stay on at school past the age of 16.  We can pay 85% of a mature student's child care costs.  There are plenty other situations in which money is used by government as a bribe.  Some people's circumstances are worthy of support but others seem excessive.

One in particular I found simply wrong.  Whilst reading prisoners have received a 7% rise in their pay since the beginning of the recession, I noticed this snippet:

The best paid prisoners are the ones who work in charity shops and receive £18 a week, while others who work in prison catering or go on educational and training courses get £12. (source)


Why should prisoners be paid to go on educational and training courses?  I don't get paid to do that. In the years when it was compulsory to attend such courses, my company paid the fee but I had to provide the cost of travel and subsistence.  Today when I attend further education I pay the fee and the travel.

We have our priorities wrong.  Prisoners are being better cared for than a vast section of our society. Recently I wrote about new televisions which are being provided for individual prisoners and just last week about free bus passes.

Do all these handouts/bribes show positive results or have we lapsed into the attitude of DFID, which has 'lost' £1 billion of foreign aid?

Should we be paying some to attend education when others in England are being asked to pay fees up to £9,000 per year?  I think not.

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Have Your Say. The Clock Can't Be Turned Back

Sir Ian Kennedy (photo), the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority's chairman, certainly took some criticism from MPs last year once he introduced the new expenses reform.

David Cameron has already given IPSA until April to shape up or else. MPs are furious because they say IPSA leaves them unable to see their children at weekends and forces many to sleep in their offices. Poor souls. What MPs are so enraged about is that the taxpayer doesn't think they should pay for them to visit their children. What job in this country pays employees' visits to family other than the military who receive 2nd class travel to their home when they return from operational service? None, of very few, of the military have second homes within spitting distance of their base and certainly no home is paid for by the taxpayer.

But the PM wants change. A list of the new proposals is here.

Yesterday IPSA published a press release asking members of the public for their views:

05 January 2011

IPSA launches review of the Scheme Today IPSA is issuing an open invitation asking for views on the rules governing MPs’ expenses. Following the general election in May last year, IPSA, the new independent regulator created in the wake of the expenses scandal, introduced a fresh approach with greater scrutiny. For centuries, MPs and the House of Commons decided the rules for themselves. IPSA brought an end to self-regulation and intends to continue giving the public a say about what the rules should be. For the next six weeks, we are asking people to come forward and offer their views about the rules for MPs’ claiming expenses. Following preliminary discussions with the political parties and MPs, we have found that issues of concern to MPs include the impact of the rules on their family life, the definition of the ‘London Area’ and the budget for renting a constituency office. To inform this consultation, we also conducted a poll of the public. The results show that 30 per cent of respondents trust MPs to claim only for legitimate expenses. A further 35 per cent said they had some trust, but not very much. This suggests that some progress is being made but there is still a long way to go. On specific issues, like family accommodation and office costs, the survey shows that a majority of the public is reluctant to see more generous funding at this stage. Likewise there are still strong views on the use of taxis and first class travel. We will consider these findings and other feedback in the consultation but also invite all interested people – MPs, their staff and the public – to comment on any other aspect of the rules. Speaking on the launch of the consultation, IPSA’s chairman, Sir Ian Kennedy, said: “IPSA was created by Parliament to bring an end to the old, discredited expenses system and has introduced an integrity and probity to MPs’ expenses. Our new approach is working, but I know it is not perfect. We have learned many lessons in the eight months that we have been regulating MPs’ expenses and have taken them on board and acted where appropriate. But, of course, some still have concerns. We want to hear these concerns and the evidence which lies behind them. We want to hear not only from MPs but from taxpayers around the country. After all, it is the taxpayer who pays the expenses. “Our commitment to giving the public a say on the rules is an historic shift from the practices of the past. I’m proud that IPSA is making its contribution to the process of restoring confidence in our democratic institutions.” IPSA will review the rules annually, to make sure they are appropriate and keep pace with the challenges facing MPs and Parliament.

The public wanted change and Sir Ian provided it. Politicians don't like it. We have the opportunity to give our opinions. You can complete the online survey (it's anonymous and takes a couple of minutes) or email the address in the link.

MPs have to understand they are no different to any other working person who is entitled to claim expenses. Raewald says David 'Cameron is probably doing everything he can to engineer legislative changes before the public can be consulted - he may even block Sir Ian's consultation.' I too urge you to support Sir Ian in ensuring that we are given our say.

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Are You a Flasher? Be Warned

It wasn't my intention to post about this, but having watched a video I'm incensed.

I've done it - too many times to count.  Most drivers do it on a regular basis.  I'm not speaking about washing our cars but flashing our headlights to warn oncoming drivers of a hazard ahead.  As well as warning them of speed cameras, I've flashed my lights because of an accident ahead, black ice, road flooding and obstacles in the road - to name but a few reasons. It's not illegal to do so, but I did read some time ago that 'flashing' wasn't a 'code' but a friendly warning of problems ahead.

 If someone flashes their lights to me I usually slow down and become more aware of my surroundings and also check out my own car at the earliest opportunity if nothing was visible on the road within a few miles.

Have you behaved in what I consider a courtesy to fellow drivers?  Very possibly.

The photograph is of Michael Thompson.  He flashed his lights to warn fellow motorists to obey the speed limit because there was a speed camera ahead.  The policewoman who stopped him said he was to be charged. He now has a criminal record and his case has occupied the courts for the best part of a day - when courts are bulging at the seams we're told and staff can't cope with the amount of cases.

Mr Thompson states on the video in the above link that the police didn't tell the truth in court and he firmly believes he didn't break the law.

Other than our police taking up court days with non-illegal actions which are then translated into illegal actions, the disturbing aspect of this case is Mr Thompson says the police didn't tell the truth in court.  

I would hope he will contest his guilty verdict with the help of some kind lawyer who  sees justice should be done in this case but if not, I do hope he applies to pay it off his fine and court fees at 50p or £1 a month which is the 'going rate' for those who contribute nothing towards the expenses of the UK.

Be warned.  If this happens to you because you're exercising your 'civil duty' then you could be well out of pocket plus a criminal to boot.

This isn't justice.  Spending nearly a day in court at public expense, prosecuting an action which isn't currently illegal but will now be regarded as such without any Act being passed, should concern all of us.  Michael Thompson was doing the job of the traffic police insofar as he was ensuring traffic would slow down for a hazard.

PS  If the video on the BBC website isn't there, it has been removed by them.  My link is a cache which I hope works, but when I returned to the site whilst writing this, the video was missing.

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Gerry Rafferty 1947-2011

Unable to shake off his troubles with drink, Gerry Rafferty died at home yesterday.

He well deserves his place in pop history and I've listened to his music for as long as I can remember.

'Stuck In The Middle With You' is perhaps his best known song, but there were many others. Like this man I possibly have most of his recordings and will continue to play them until I'm unable to hear.

RIP.

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Eggs Ban-edict

It's some years ago, 1988 to be exact, since Edwina Currie provoked outrage by saying most of Britain's egg production was infected with the salmonella bacteria.  She angered farmers, politicians and egg producers and eventually resigned over the issue.

Throughout the western world eggs are regularly recalled because they have been shown to contain the salmonella bacteria.

Now German consumers have been warned to avoid eggs since a highly toxic substance was found in the feed of poultry and pigs last week.  The toxin is dioxin and if you thought salmonella was nasty, dioxin is nastier.

The origin of the feed contamination has been traced to a distributor of oils for animal feed production in the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein, where oils meant for industrial use in biofuels were distributed for animal feed.

Newspaper websites quoted consumer protections groups saying that people should avoid eating fresh eggs until further information was available, while it was unclear how other products such as poultry and pork meat could be affected.  Some media said organic products were not affected.

Thousands of chicken have had to be culled while 1,000 farms were ordered to stop selling their products.

In my grandparents' days there was little or no testing on eggs or any other staple food.  It's only with continuing improvements in science that we have the choice nowadays whether to eat a certain food which has been found to contain elements not suitable for human consumption.  I'm not suggesting in Scotland we should stop eating eggs at present, but this may just make us pause at the egg counter and check the labelling before we buy.

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Take Your Pick

Governments and Charities Stealing Money and Rights from Disabled Folk

Scottish Independence?

Germany Passes Energy Tyranny Act

Premature Articulation

Gazan Youth Breaks Out

An Apology

Incredibly Accurate Climate Forecast for 2011

Iain Gray - not a statesman (part two)

A flutter on Hogmanay 2010

I owe my soul to the company store

2011 Predictions - Scottish Parliament elections

Rapacious 'Charity'

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Keep Your Promise Mr Alexander

In this area most people know someone who belongs to the local voluntary Mountain Rescue service, mainly because the Grampians loom in the background.  There's no lack of support for these people either, because they risk their lives very regularly to save the lives of the unfortunate, the ill-prepared and the downright stupid who choose to go out on the mountain at any time of year.  They also respond to many other emergencies off the hill.

There are 12 rescue teams in Scotland who provide a 24 hour service and they are still almost entirely funded by public donations although the Scottish Government provides an annual £200,000 lump sum which is divided among the teams.  They're always strapped for cash, mainly because their equipment is so expensive and requires regular updating.  Fuel costs take a large chunk of their finances too.  But they seldom complain and do the best they can.  In fact the Tayside Mountain Rescue is effectively homeless and operates from temporary accommodation on a rural farm after failing to secure affordable premises.

Prior to last year's general election the LibDems promised the Mountain Rescue service would be given VAT exemption status.  They currently receive a VAT exemption on electrical items but everything else they have to buy is charged at full rate.  Rescue teams across Scotland presently face a combined VAT bill of between £150,000- £200,000 a year on other purchases and this figure is set to rise this week with the increase to the 20% rate.

The Mountain Rescue insist that their service should be free.  Not all agree, but surely such a service should have a VAT exemption certificate.

The SNP think so. Falkirk West SNP MSP Michael Matheson, a member of Ochils Mountain Rescue, has written to Danny Alexander, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, calling for the abolition of VAT on mountain rescue services.  Prior to reaching the dizzy heights of the cabinet, Mr Alexander was the PR man (head of communications) for the Cairngorms National Park Authority so he should understand a thing or two about the operation of this value service.  Will he keep the LibDems promise to withdraw VAT contributions?  I'm not rushing to the bookies.

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Lost for Words - Pete Postlethwaite and Thora Hird

Thora Hird and Pete Postlethwaite in 'Lost for Words'.  RIP.

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It's Now 2011 Mr Cameron. Where's Your Plan?

Private Joseva Vatubua, 24, a soldier from the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, 5th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland, has become the first British military fatality of 2011 after being caught in an explosion in Helmand province.

He was killed on New Year's Day during a patrol aimed at preventing attacks by 'enemy fighters'.

A total of 349 of our armed forces have been killed since operations began in 2001. David Cameron has repeatedly stated our troops could start leaving Afghanistan early this year yet no mention was made by him prior to the Westminster Christmas recess.

President Obama has already said that the 65,000 US troops will end combat operations this year although many will remain to advise Afghan forces and protect US interests.

The SNP is the only political party which has mentioned the withdrawal of our soldiers this year.  Angus Robertson, the SNP Westminster leader asks, "If the US president can offer such certainty, why are British service personnel being fobbed off with vague commitments?"  Will David Cameron reply?  I very much doubt if Mr Robertson receives anything more than the MP wants most of them home by 2015 so as their presence there doesn't affect his re-election chances at the general election.

This war in Afghanistan is proving almost twice as dangerous as Iraq where there were 179 deaths. When are we going to say enough's enough?

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Who Would You Believe?

The photograph shows Professor Julla Slingo OBE, who is the Met Office's chief scientist, posing in front of "deep black" the MO's Supercomputer (courtesy of WattsUp).

Professor Slingo firmly believes in global warming.  Well she would wouldn't she as head of the Met Office.  A fellow blogger has quoted part of an interview Prof Slingo gave to Nature magazine.

What’s the biggest obstacle to creating better, hazard-relevant weather forecasts?

Access to supercomputers. The science is well ahead of our ability to implement it. It’s quite clear that if we could run our models at a higher resolution we could do a much better job — tomorrow — in terms of our seasonal and decadal predictions. It’s so frustrating. We keep saying we need four times the computing power. We’re talking just 10 or 20 million a year — dollars or pounds — which is tiny compared to the damage done by disasters. Yet it’s a difficult argument to win. You just think: why is this so hard?

So bigger computers, costing more millions, is the answer to more accurate Met Office forecasting.

My fellow blogger wasn't at all happy with the above comment and yesterday decided to email Joe Bastardi and Piers Corbyn to ask what computers they use in their far more accurate forecasts.

Already he has received comprehensive replies from both men.  You can read them here.  It will be a few minutes well spent.

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The Blogging Burrow

JuliaM has tagged me in one of those 'memes' which asks for a description of where I type away.

If it was any other day of the year I wouldn't dream of publishing a photo of my desk and would be writing a list of what sits here, but Hogmanay is the traditional time for Scots to purge their tiny portion of the planet with frantic activity until the whole house smells of beeswax (courtesy of Pledge), glass cleaner (courtesy of Mr Muscle) and bleach (courtesy of Domestos).

The study didn't escape either and my desk received its annual polish.

Unlike this blogger I didn't remove anything prior to taking the snap.  That would be cheating wouldn't it.

Most Scotsmen, and very possibly men from anywhere, don't see the need to have their space 'visitor proof', especially when the deadline is 11.59pm on 31 December, but it all goes back to the days when Scots stayed in their homes to welcome the New Year, then they took to the streets suitably equipped with a bottle of whisky, shortbread and a few pieces of coal.  Pieces of shortbread and a lump of coal was left at any home visited and represented good wishes for a new year in which food would never be short and warmth would always be present when required.

Gone are the days when first-footing was the norm.  It never happens now.  When I first arrived here there was a neighbour who used to visit any home with a light on after midnight.  He was always welcomed and would be provided with sustinance consisting of a sandwich to a three course meal.  (Yes he did get offered that at one home way back in the 70s).  Sadly he's been gone for a few years now and has taken the tradition of first-footing with him.

As children we were usually wakened just before 'the Bells' and staggered through to the living room where we were presented with a glass of lemonade with which to toast the New Year.  For some weeks we'd been coached in our party pieces for the family get together later in the day and this small gathering was a good chance for a final rehearsal.  My brother usually played some jazz on his clarinet - much to my mother's disgust because she thought the only 'pure' music was classical - and I would do a wee turn singing and when I was older it usually involved a bit of  dreadful piano playing too.  Lots of folk had a piano in the house in those days.

Enough reminiscing. Life wasn't all good in those days but there was a sense of community which is now missing except in very small hamlets where people only survive because of the kindness of their neighbours.  New Year celebrations now involved expensive firework displays and celebrities who perform to the masses in city centres.  I tried the Edinburgh Hogmanay festivities once - never again. Standing passively in freezing temperatures while being jostled like a bowling pin wasn't my cup of tea.

Politically this year should be an interesting time in Scotland. We have the Holyrood elections in May and it would seem the SNP are the underdogs. There is little interest in Westminster's AV referendum and I can't see it being the talk of the steamie.

I'd like to tag Munguin's Republic and Caron's Musings. A description of their work space will be interesting, not least because I know Caron is clever with social networking equipment.

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Policing

The headlines today concern the policing of Scotland.  It's reported that a Ministerial Statement will be issued by the Scottish Government on 12 January to the effect that the government will be indicating in their manifesto the intent to move to a single force in the future.

Is this good or bad news for Scotland?  Labour already support a single police force and should the SNP follow then that makes a majority for the idea.  Back in October, at the SNP conference, Alex Salmond indicated a preference for three or four forces.  What has brought about this change of mind?

The Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland is against the idea.  No surprises there then.  Would the amalgamation of our current forces effect the demise of ACPOS?  If that was the case then it's certainly a plus.

The main concern about a single force has been coming from the Grampian Police and Northern Constabulary areas and that's understandable. Strathclyde is by far the biggest of the present eight forces in Scotland. Aberdeenshire is far removed from the Glasgow area and not only in distance. Both areas have differing social problems as well as a few in common and Grampian are worried that they are consumed by the much larger Strathclyde methods.

I certainly think that eight police forces is excessive, particularly now that IT has finally come of age within this public service.  It has taken years for IT to work effectively but I'm reliably informed it does now save many man hours.

Whether we could manage with a single force or would be better provided by three or four, I haven't yet decided. What I'd like to know is the reason(s) for the SNP's change of heart before I make a final judgement.

In the right-hand column I've put up a wee poll. Please vote if you have time.  The results will be interesting.

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Happy New Year

May 2011 be kind to you.

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