tag:dorsetpoliticalcomment.blog.co.uk,2009-11-13:/MokoFeed2009-11-13T01:32:42+01:00tag:dorsetpoliticalcomment.blog.co.uk,2007-10-13:/2007/10/13/english_heritage_and_weymouth~3130941/swisstony2007-10-13T19:41:57+02:002007-10-13T19:48:06+02:00 <p>From today's Echo.</p> <p><a href="http://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/display.var.1758017.0.heritage_praise_for_our_resort.php">http://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/display.var.1758017.0.heritage_praise_for_our_resort.php</a></p> <p>I have looked at the relevant documents on helm.org.uk and there are several questions which arise. Why, for instance, are we classified as a "set piece" resort? (see section 2.1 in the longer pdf file) What do they mean by this? Fishing and other local industry is not taken into account. What do they think happens over the winter?</p> <p>The documents are based on "vignettes" and "case studies"of various locations, one of which is Weymouth. It appears that for each place a congratulatory tone is adopted and criticism is never applied. It was not clear how the information for each location was gained. Was it simply provided by the Council to English Heritage who, in turn, congratulates each place unquestioningly on the information given? In this case we would have one emanation of the State, English Heritage, backslapping another emanation of the State, the Council. We need clarification on this matter ie did English Heritage send "assessors" or did they gain their information in another way? One has to be aware also that English Heritage has been in partnership with Councils over projects mentioned in the reports so in no way can information from this source be considered unbiased.</p> <p>I do not disagree that there have been some great improvements in Weymouth. There are, however, also significant problems and issues for this town which are not alluded to in our pretty little vignette. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://dorsetpoliticalcomment.blog.co.uk/2007/10/13/english_heritage_and_weymouth~3130941/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:dorsetpoliticalcomment.blog.co.uk,2007-06-03:/2007/06/03/poole_and_weymouth_parking_rip_offs~2386841/swisstony2007-06-03T16:37:15+02:002007-06-03T16:37:15+02:00 <p>Poole is, as it's own advertising suggests, a beautiful place. It also has a beautiful quayside with the option of taking boat trips to various lovely locations which indeed I did today. Of course, the spanner in the works is parking in Poole. It is not a problem of not enough spaces but instead the rapacious manner in which parking charges are levied. If you go on a fairly short boat trip you are likely to pay five pounds to park ON A SUNDAY! I do not know whether they are in some sort of competition with Bournemouth as to the exploitation of their populace, not to mention the negative impact on town centre businesses. As trade moves away to places like Castle Point I can only feel pity for town centre businesses who are treated by councils as if everything will be alright when patently it is not. However, if any competion over parking charges is to be held, then the runaway winner must surely be Weymouth where charges apply in the town centre even at 3am in January! Their failure to liase effectively with the RSPB at Radipole and the Fleet nature reserve demonstrates an environmental hypocracy. Pull over to look at the wildlife by all means - but don't forget to pay your 2 hours parking extortion.<br> For my readers who come from out of this area please remember that Dorset is beautiful and is a must to visit. But please, especially in Weymouth, budget in the cost of parking. I say this with shame in my heart as I love this place and hate to say things negative about it. </p> <p>Unfortunately, parking policy has been a subject of much debate in the local press over some years but all that ever seems to happen is more increases. The effects are becoming clear. In the East of the county residents are spending more time at weekends at Garden Centres or out of town shopping centres like Castle Point. In Weymouth, if you have reasonable access to Dorchester, where charges are tolerable, then you go there instead. And on top of all this we have the rise of internet shopping. So, just as town centres need the public to be there they are discouraged from going there. I can only expect that the Councils will continue to be "behind the curve" and at some time in the future they will have to react too late to the fact that peoplle do not want to go there anymore. Already we have many charity shops (great for charity, but what does it say about the health and viability of conventional businesses in the area?), a plethora of mobile phone shops (when it is cheaper and easier to get them on the 'net), a range of banks and building societies at a point in our history when more and more banking is done online, in such a way as you never need to visit a branch. What does that leave? What we need is a set of policies to suck in a variety of businesses to town centres to prevent their future demise, and I am afraid charging them the earth in order to look at mobile phone shops and walk past banks they don't need anymore is not the answer. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://dorsetpoliticalcomment.blog.co.uk/2007/06/03/poole_and_weymouth_parking_rip_offs~2386841/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:dorsetpoliticalcomment.blog.co.uk,2007-05-14:/2007/05/14/limitations_on_pigeon_racing~2270898/swisstony2007-05-14T22:05:33+02:002007-05-14T22:05:33+02:00 <p>"NEW rules which restrict movements of pigeons in the wake of the bird flu outbreak could spell the death of cross-Channel racing, an expert fancier claimed today."<br> <a href="http://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/local/display.var.1395865.0.0.php">http://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/local/display.var.1395865.0.0.php</a></p> <p>More political madness! How exactly do they plan to quarantine the thousands of migrating geese? Not to mention warblers, swifts, martins and swallows, Bewick and Whooper swans, to name just a few. Pigeon racing is a tiny proportion of bird movement in relation to what happens naturally.</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://dorsetpoliticalcomment.blog.co.uk/2007/05/14/limitations_on_pigeon_racing~2270898/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:dorsetpoliticalcomment.blog.co.uk,2007-05-14:/2007/05/14/portuguese_tragedy_hopefully_with_a_happ~2270572/swisstony2007-05-14T21:17:38+02:002007-05-14T21:17:38+02:00 <p><a href="http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article2519036.ece">http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article2519036.ece</a></p> <p>In this article there are references to blog activity that suggest that as the father is a cardiologist he should have known better than to leave his daughter in a bedroom where she could be abducted. What ignorant class hatered this betrays. Do we all have to behave ALL THE TIME as if our children are about to be imminently abducted? How unsympathetic can people be? Let us hope that the girl is found soon and that the Portuguese authorities learn important lessons for the future. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://dorsetpoliticalcomment.blog.co.uk/2007/05/14/portuguese_tragedy_hopefully_with_a_happ~2270572/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:dorsetpoliticalcomment.blog.co.uk,2007-05-10:/2007/05/10/best_dorset_village_littlemoor~2243316/swisstony2007-05-10T08:18:37+02:002007-05-10T08:18:37+02:00 <p><a href="http://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/local/display.var.1384417.0.0.php">http://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/local/display.var.1384417.0.0.php</a></p> <p>Littlemoor enters competition for best village.</p> <p>I support Malcolm and his team. I support anybody who tries to support improvement to their community. Readers must look at the aims of this contest which are in the last two lines of the artice -<br> "He added that the aim of the best village category was to highlight efforts in improving the community by a number of methods.</p> <p>These include conservation, enhancing the environment, stimulating village life and caring for all inhabitants."</p> <p> i.e. It is not for the best village but for the most improved. I do, however, consider that Littlemoor is a village, in the generally accepted sense of the term, only by a considerable stretch of the imagination. It has also appeared to me to be occasionally threatening and unsafe. But these are factors that need to be, and can be, sorted out. Best of luck. If you can fix Littlemoor it is one more step on the way to fixing Britain. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://dorsetpoliticalcomment.blog.co.uk/2007/05/10/best_dorset_village_littlemoor~2243316/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:dorsetpoliticalcomment.blog.co.uk,2007-05-10:/2007/05/10/knight_exchange_not_chess~2243300/swisstony2007-05-10T08:15:29+02:002007-05-10T08:15:29+02:00 <p><a href="http://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/local/display.var.1383629.0.0.php">http://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/local/display.var.1383629.0.0.php</a></p> <p>This looks like another "social engineering" project from Red Central Quote: "It's a brilliant idea. Down here we are by and large Anglo Saxon Christians and students don't get exposure to different ways of life and thinking about what's important." I thought that was because we are primarily an Anglo Saxon country. And the last time I looked the established religion was the Church of England (although many people do not consider themselves Christian). And what is meant by "thinking what's important?"<br> Quote "They need to be prepared, with the influx of people from all parts of the world because of the Olympics. It's going to raise all sorts of issues." Is this suggesting that if we don't let kids communicate or exchange with these other schools then there are going to be unspecified problems with the acceptance of people from different backgrounds at the Olympics? What are "the issues"? </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://dorsetpoliticalcomment.blog.co.uk/2007/05/10/knight_exchange_not_chess~2243300/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:dorsetpoliticalcomment.blog.co.uk,2007-05-10:/2007/05/10/best_dorset_village_littlemoor~2243108/swisstony2007-05-10T07:35:53+02:002007-05-10T07:35:53+02:00 <p><a href="http://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/local/display.var.1384417.0.0.php">http://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/local/display.var.1384417.0.0.php</a></p> <p>Littlemoor enters competition for best village.</p> <p>I support Malcolm and his team. I support anybody who tries to support improvement to their community. Readers must look at the aims of this contest which are in the last two lines of the artice -<br> "He added that the aim of the best village category was to highlight efforts in improving the community by a number of methods.</p> <p>These include conservation, enhancing the environment, stimulating village life and caring for all inhabitants."</p> <p> i.e. It is not for the best village but for the most improved. I do, however, consider that Littlemoor is a village, in the generally accepted sense of the term, only by a considerable stretch of the imagination. It has also appeared to me to be occasionally threatening and unsafe. But these are factors that need to be, and can be, sorted out. Best of luck. If you can fix Littlemoor it is one more step on the way to fixing Britain. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://dorsetpoliticalcomment.blog.co.uk/2007/05/10/best_dorset_village_littlemoor~2243108/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:dorsetpoliticalcomment.blog.co.uk,2007-05-10:/2007/05/10/eu_don_t_give_them_an_inch~2243024/swisstony2007-05-10T07:14:06+02:002007-05-10T07:14:06+02:00 <p><a href="http://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/local/display.var.1384362.0.ministers_use_loaves_to_save_british_bread.php">http://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/local/display.var.1384362.0.ministers_use_loaves_to_save_british_bread.php</a></p> <p>The general will of the British people is to retain Imperial measures. And that should be an end to it. Nonsense such as this coming from the EU should be regarded with suspicion and treated with ridicule. It appears more like something from Comecon than anything else. All it does is fuel anti-EU sentiment, already at high levels. The much cited argument that it would be easier for business is a fallacy. A calculator will work things out in an instant. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://dorsetpoliticalcomment.blog.co.uk/2007/05/10/eu_don_t_give_them_an_inch~2243024/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:dorsetpoliticalcomment.blog.co.uk,2007-05-10:/2007/05/10/in_statistics_we_trust~2242965/swisstony2007-05-10T07:00:55+02:002007-05-10T07:00:55+02:00 <p>From The Echo.</p> <p><a href="http://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/display.var.1384462.0.dorset_crime_on_the_decline.php">http://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/display.var.1384462.0.dorset_crime_on_the_decline.php</a></p> <p>Statistics claim crime in Dorset is down.<br> Firstly, don't blame the police for crime - it is the criminal justice system which lets criminals off, or out of prison, to reoffend. Secondly, I am highly sceptical of the figures as it just does not seem to reflect what I see and hear. Just look at the pages of The Echo. Even if crime is down, it is not down enough for us to make any celebration out of it - there are still far too many victims. Quote from The Echo : "The end-of year results are being promoted in a publicity campaign funded by some of the cash seized under the Proceeds of Crime Act." In other words paid for out of Council Tax! Instead of obtaining money that can be offset against next year's tax they are squandering it!</p> <p>dorsetpoliticalcomment.blog.co.uk </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://dorsetpoliticalcomment.blog.co.uk/2007/05/10/in_statistics_we_trust~2242965/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:dorsetpoliticalcomment.blog.co.uk,2007-05-10:/2007/05/10/in_statistics_we_trust~2242963/swisstony2007-05-10T07:00:36+02:002007-05-10T07:00:36+02:00 <p>From The Echo.</p> <p><a href="http://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/display.var.1384462.0.dorset_crime_on_the_decline.php">http://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/display.var.1384462.0.dorset_crime_on_the_decline.php</a></p> <p>Statistics claim crime in Dorset is down.<br> Firstly, don't blame the police for crime - it is the criminal justice system which lets criminals off, or out of prison, to reoffend. Secondly, I am highly sceptical of the figures as it just does not seem to reflect what I see and hear. Just look at the pages of The Echo. Even if crime is down, it is not down enough for us to make any celebration out of it - there are still far too many victims. Quote from The Echo : "The end-of year results are being promoted in a publicity campaign funded by some of the cash seized under the Proceeds of Crime Act." In other words paid for out of Council Tax! Instead of obtaining money that can be offset against next year's tax they are squandering it!</p> <p>dorsetpoliticalcomment.blog.co.uk </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://dorsetpoliticalcomment.blog.co.uk/2007/05/10/in_statistics_we_trust~2242963/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:dorsetpoliticalcomment.blog.co.uk,2007-05-04:/2007/05/04/brown_delusions~2209172/swisstony2007-05-04T13:41:02+02:002007-05-04T13:41:02+02:00 <p> I cannot believe that there are such misguided individuals out there who actually believe that things can only get better under Gordon Red Brown after Tony Bliar resigns. Let me suggest that things could in fact get very much worse! How much tax did the Taxman take in that Beatles song? We are getting there. And the rest..... As Brown cannot work in a team he has to develop his version of The Cult of The Individual. And already we are starting to see the dancing around the golden calf, as in Poussin's painting mocking the worshiping of false idols.</p> <p><a href="http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/jackie_ashley/2007/05/things_can_only_get_better_for.html">http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/jackie_ashley/2007/05/things_can_only_get_better_for.html</a> </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://dorsetpoliticalcomment.blog.co.uk/2007/05/04/brown_delusions~2209172/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:dorsetpoliticalcomment.blog.co.uk,2007-05-04:/2007/05/04/brown_delusions~2209071/swisstony2007-05-04T13:23:25+02:002007-05-04T13:23:25+02:00 <p> I cannot believe that there are such misguided individuals out there who actually believe that things can only get better under Gordon Red Brown after Tony Bliar resigns. Let me suggest that things could in fact get very much worse! How much tax did the Taxman take in that Beatles song? We are getting there. And the rest..... As Brown cannot work in a team he has to develop his version of The Cult of The Individual. And already we are starting to see the dancing around the golden calf, as in Poussin's painting mocking the worshiping of false idols.</p> <p><a href="http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/jackie_ashley/2007/05/things_can_only_get_better_for.html">http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/jackie_ashley/2007/05/things_can_only_get_better_for.html</a> </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://dorsetpoliticalcomment.blog.co.uk/2007/05/04/brown_delusions~2209071/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:dorsetpoliticalcomment.blog.co.uk,2007-05-03:/2007/05/03/pigtarts_update~2202817/swisstony2007-05-03T13:36:23+02:002007-05-03T13:36:23+02:00 <p>Who would have thought it? The pigtarts debacle for trading standards is turning into a national issue. Please visit the link below to see what is going on! Maybe if it becomes big enough change may be effected! Let us make "pigtarts" a byword for the rule of common sense over official stupidity and overblown political correctness. Let it be known that the public and businesses will expose to ridicule such decisions that invite it. At the same time we recognise that we need trading standards ; but we need trading standards run by a team that we can respect and in whose decisions we as a community can agree with. This is not a local issue but a national one and one that any citizen of our once, and yet to be again, great nation must engage with. It also goes well beyond trading standards. Either we start to regain control or we just give up and let the mad currents of a swirling sea direct our rudder. It is up to us.</p> <p><a href="http://pigtarts.blogspot.com/">http://pigtarts.blogspot.com/</a> </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://dorsetpoliticalcomment.blog.co.uk/2007/05/03/pigtarts_update~2202817/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:dorsetpoliticalcomment.blog.co.uk,2007-04-29:/2007/04/29/pig_tarts~2181275/swisstony2007-04-29T18:39:42+02:002007-04-29T18:39:42+02:00 <p>No, it is not April Fools Day!</p> <p><a href="http://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/display.var.1362517.0.0.php">http://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/display.var.1362517.0.0.php</a></p> <p>A baker in Weymouth has been told that they cannot sell pig shaped tarts called "pig tarts" because they do not contain pork! Now I would have thought that there would have been a certain level of crass stupidity below which the level of trading standards monitoring would have not allowed itself to sink below. But they have discovered new depths! Do they not realise that with such incidents they lose public respect, and in it's place they, rightly so, become subject to extensive ridicule. But the matter needs to go further than this. In our society we need a service that maintains trading standards rigorously but fairly, not this sort of buffoonery that we are subjected to now. I am hopeful that most of the time they do a good job. But please lets sort out the decision - making process and the "chain of command" so that we do not have to put up with this nonsense again. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://dorsetpoliticalcomment.blog.co.uk/2007/04/29/pig_tarts~2181275/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:dorsetpoliticalcomment.blog.co.uk,2007-04-23:/2007/04/23/dorset_pct_should_we_be_worried~2145930/swisstony2007-04-23T13:41:07+02:002007-04-23T13:41:07+02:00 <p>I have been lookint to see who is in charge of Dorset PCT - the NHS body responsible for primary health services - for example your GP or your dentist. Perhaps you would also care to have a look? PDF format</p> <p><a href="http://www.dorset-pct.nhs.uk/documents/news/press_releases/january2007/non-executive%20appointments.pdf">http://www.dorset-pct.nhs.uk/documents/news/press_releases/january2007/non-executive%20appointments.pdf</a></p> <p>How many medically trained people did you spot? I found one nurse. Most of the rest were a combination of accountants, social worker, a former policeman and an engineer. Now I am sure that these people may be very well intentioned and may well have built up substantial experience in the delivery of healthcare. I am aware that proper financial control is needed and also that there are social aspects to health care delivery. But where is the Consultant in Public Health, where is the qualified GP, where is the dentist. - ie where are the people with the experience on the ground. Medicine today is a hugely technical area. Are we to understand that those untrained have a proper grasp on the subject in hand? </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://dorsetpoliticalcomment.blog.co.uk/2007/04/23/dorset_pct_should_we_be_worried~2145930/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:dorsetpoliticalcomment.blog.co.uk,2007-04-22:/2007/04/22/home_information_packs_a_good_idea~2139422/swisstony2007-04-22T18:46:14+02:002007-04-22T18:49:19+02:00 <p>Look at this link and see what YOU think.<br> <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/04/22/nrhip22.xml">http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/04/22/nrhip22.xml</a></p> <p>It is quite clear that what we have here are the makings of yet another New Labour mess. Another trendy initiative that has been badly thought out. One would have thought that even with this bunch of cretins that they would have learnt to stop touching things by now. When you realise that everything you touch turns to failure you should also realise that the time has come to stop touching things at all. If one were to suffer from an inverse Midas-touch syndrome, as this government apparently does, then one would hope that, if nothing then at least for the benefit of your fellow men, you would voluntarily place yourself in quarantine and damned well START LEAVING THINGS ALONE. The time has come for all policies of this government to be put on hold. The further we decline into the cesspit into which they are "leading" us the harder we have to work in future to climb out of the stink. Maybe our hope is the possibility of charges over the "cash for honours" scandal. If the mud sticks, how can we accept a corrupt government? </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://dorsetpoliticalcomment.blog.co.uk/2007/04/22/home_information_packs_a_good_idea~2139422/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:dorsetpoliticalcomment.blog.co.uk,2007-04-21:/2007/04/21/olympic_spectators~2134747/swisstony2007-04-21T19:45:32+02:002007-04-21T19:45:32+02:00 <p>From the Dorse Echo : <a href="http://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/display.var.1346170.0.30_000_expected_during_olympics.php">http://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/display.var.1346170.0.30_000_expected_during_olympics.php</a></p> <p>So they have dramatically increased the estimated number of visitors to watch the locally held Olympic events. The original estimate was in the original games bid (underestimates appearing to be their speciality). The revised estimate comes from Dorset County Coucil. How Dorset Council feels that their estimate is more plausible than that in the Olympic bid is for anyone to guess. It looks to me like the whole article is a pro - relief road piece of propaganda. Now, I am pro the relief road, but I am rabidly anti having my intelligence insulted by the Council when they come up with figures which they cannot verify in order to push a Coucil agenda. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://dorsetpoliticalcomment.blog.co.uk/2007/04/21/olympic_spectators~2134747/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:dorsetpoliticalcomment.blog.co.uk,2007-04-20:/2007/04/20/gordon_brown_s_pension_rip_off~2128636/swisstony2007-04-20T17:56:38+02:002007-04-20T17:56:38+02:00 <p>This week has seen a much welcomed reopening of the debate over the raiding of UK citizens' pension funds by aboloshing the dividend tax credit several years ago. To watch Mr Brown and his dubious allies trying to defend this policy is entertainment itself, or it would be if the consequences of their actions were not so serious on peoples' lives. Watching Ed Miliband on Question Time last night was like watching Jimmy Stewart trying to explain away his giant rabbit in the film "Harvey". To him, something which is completely nonsensical to everybody else, is a reality. It may be madness, but only he, Mad Gordon, and a few others can actually see the Big White Bunny. Unfortunately this bunny was going to eat away at our pensions year on year. It was destined to become a major pest. Unfortunately, the patient, Gordon, shows no sign of improvement. In fact he has gone from bad to worse. His behaviour is now akin to a deranged woman in the attic who appears to make up policies with limited consultation. Unlike IDS last night, I will not mince my words. Gordon Brown has been disastrous as Chancellor. The hysterical rhetoric that spews forth when the labour party is challenged on this issue is always the same and always erroneous. Inflation has been kept under control - of course it has! If you keep robbing the pocket of the man in the street then you are keeping down consumer demand. What could be simpler? And at the same time you replenish Treasury coffers to spend on untested social engineering projects that we now know are destined to failure. Add to that the wave of cheap imports coming into this country from places like China and you can see that this will keep inflation down too. Nothing to do with Gordon Brown. In fact he has HAD TO rob us citizens to keep down consumer spending. Had he not done that then "the beast" would have materialised and we would have had inflation. These would have been handled by the traditional measure of higher interest rates. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://dorsetpoliticalcomment.blog.co.uk/2007/04/20/gordon_brown_s_pension_rip_off~2128636/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:dorsetpoliticalcomment.blog.co.uk,2007-04-20:/2007/04/20/increase_in_fly_tipping~2128411/swisstony2007-04-20T17:09:45+02:002007-04-20T17:28:46+02:00 <p>As I drive about this beautiful county I have noticed lately an increase in various forms of rubbish, furniture, or white goods being dumped in lay-bys etc. Why on earth would this be? Could it be to do with the victorian, infestation inviting, miasma inducing, stink that is implied by a two-weekly rubbish collection? Could it be to do with the sorting requirements imposed by the wanabee dictators from their fluffy protected sad little offices at our local councils? Might it be to do with the arbitrary rules and regulations for access to the council tip which could only be made up by someone with a profiling fetish and an otherwise worthless tact for inflexibility that would clearly be wasted elsewhere? Could it be to do with the inane requirement at certain council tips to produce your council tax billas you enter the site, as though I would drive from Nottingham to Poole specifically in order to dispose of my hedge trimmings? Could it be because we are now subject to a set of rules and regulations of which the former DDR would have been proud, administered by a shabby collection of individuals who have been promoted beyond their ability to such a degree that even by holding hands they cannot find their way out of the fog generated by their own ludicrous efforts? As the summer approaches and the temperature rises, as does the stench from my little brown bin, can we expect some sense to permeate into these sordid little policies? Unfortunately, I think not. So long as we are prepared to allow them to continue to ride along on a tide of righteousness and self-importance while they,at the same time, are quite happy to persecute the public who they are supposed to represent then nothing will happen. If,however, we are prepared to resist when we are challenged because our bin is ever so slightly in the wrong place, or we are fined because of oversights in our sorting procedures, then we have hope. We, the British people, deserve better, and we certainly deserve better representation. We are scapegoats in the consumer rubbish agenda. We should not be made scapegoats, and we should not allow ourselves to be scapegoats. Reduction of rubbish at source - excess packaging, and the modern plague that is junk mail are just a couple of starting points. But it's easier to take on the public than well organised industry isn't it? </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://dorsetpoliticalcomment.blog.co.uk/2007/04/20/increase_in_fly_tipping~2128411/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:dorsetpoliticalcomment.blog.co.uk,2007-04-20:/2007/04/20/castle_point~2128056/swisstony2007-04-20T16:14:37+02:002007-04-20T16:14:37+02:00 <p>I read in the Bournemouth Echo today that more claims have been settled for the closure of the Castle Point car park last year.</p> <p><a href="http://www.thisisbournemouth.co.uk/display.var.1342288.0.0.php">http://www.thisisbournemouth.co.uk/display.var.1342288.0.0.php</a></p> <p>I think that the whole problem was God's (if he exists) way of telling us that we should have built a park instead of this pug-ugly oversized cathedral to the cult of shopping. Castle Lane was busy before this eyesore and, of course, is even worse now. How long had they been peering through the "looking glass" when building this carbuncle started to look like a good idea? </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://dorsetpoliticalcomment.blog.co.uk/2007/04/20/castle_point~2128056/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:dorsetpoliticalcomment.blog.co.uk,2007-04-17:/2007/04/17/reflections_on_the_virginia_tech_shootin~2108097/swisstony2007-04-17T13:50:48+02:002007-04-17T13:50:48+02:00 <p>Virginia has lax gun controls. There are mad people. Some mad people live in Virginia. Mad people plus guns equals catastrophe. The reason so many people have guns in certain parts of the US is for self-defence. Gun levels are so high that if you are attacked it is likely that your attacker will have a gun. Therefore to get in a defensive pre-emptive strike you need a gun too. Result - lots of guns. Now I understand that guns were not allowed on the campus and no doubt the gun lobby will use this as an argument that if this was not the case then the assailant could have been shot back at and lives could have been saved. Whether this is true or not is impossible to tell.</p> <p>A worrying factor is the increase in gun crime in the UK. The fact that there is gun crime tells us that guns are available to those who know where to look. We also have mad people. Sooner or later it is going to happen here at a level previously not seen before.</p> <p>There are two problems that need to be addressed in order to attempt to prevent this occurring. Firstly we need to establish a proper justice system where dangerous criminals are locked away permanently and are not roaming the streets. Secondly, for those who are psychologically ill such that they represent a risk to themselves or other people, we need to reopen psychiatric hospitals, or wards, so that these people can be treated in a secure environment rather than putting the public safety at the risk of whether or not the patient has taken his tablets. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://dorsetpoliticalcomment.blog.co.uk/2007/04/17/reflections_on_the_virginia_tech_shootin~2108097/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:dorsetpoliticalcomment.blog.co.uk,2007-04-16:/2007/04/16/david_miliband~2101317/swisstony2007-04-16T13:27:13+02:002007-04-16T13:27:13+02:00 <p>In the Telegraph today <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2007/04/16/do1601.xml">http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2007/04/16/do1601.xml</a></p> <p>Irwin Stelzer in this article mentions that some Tories might see David Miliband as their last best hope instead of David cameron. Now I am no big fan of David Cameron but what I do know is that if Miliband contested with Gordon Brown and he won and became PM then we would still be lumped with, essentially, the same bunch of incompetents as we had before. I do no t think that changing the leader will make much difference to policy. In addition, David Miliband was once Blair's head of policy - and he should therefore be daubed with plenty of tar from that brush. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://dorsetpoliticalcomment.blog.co.uk/2007/04/16/david_miliband~2101317/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:dorsetpoliticalcomment.blog.co.uk,2007-04-16:/2007/04/16/justice_system~2101122/swisstony2007-04-16T12:52:42+02:002007-04-16T12:52:42+02:00 <p>I read today that the police are belatedly intending to use their powers to deal with boy racers at the Covered Market area. Why they have waited for public opinion to build up to such a level before taking any action is a mystery. However, there is a much more disturbing element apparent if you visit the comments section in relation to this article on the Daily Echo website. There are two comments calling for people to join a national vigilante organisation. This to me is abhorrent but the following has to be taken into regard.<br> A legal system is an unwritten contract (or a "convention" to use the proper term) which society signs itself up to. The reason for this is that society operates better as a whole if individual citizens forego their rights to seek justice for themselves and instead transfer these rights to the state. The state is then charged with the obligation of overseeing a justice system. All is well so long as the powers of the citizenry are balanced off by the provisions of the state. Problems are liable to arise, however, when the state is failing to uphold its side of the bargain. In this instance people are entitled to question whether the "contract" that they have with the state is equitable, or even valid. This, of course, would lead to the undermining of "the rule of law". My argument in this instance is that the present government IS presiding over the early stages of this process and without a firmer control over crime this will lead to destabilisation of our state. We need to deal with crime firmly and certain areas such as assault and burglary need to be dealt with much more harshly than at present. Only in this way can we re-equate the relationship between state and citizen with regard to crime.</p> <p>I am in no way here condoning any form of vigilante activity. But what I AM doing is highlighting the need for the justice system to be pulled into a shape that represents the general will of the people. The general will of the people, I would suggest, is for violent criminals, burglars, rapists etc to be locked away permanently. The security of our state is more important than their freedom, or even their life. Therefore they need to be removed so that society can function. This issue needs to be addressed with rapidity in order to preserve our legal process and respect for it. Legislation is nothing more than an expression of the general will of the people. I know that this (and much of the argument above, is from Rousseau. But I believe he was right. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://dorsetpoliticalcomment.blog.co.uk/2007/04/16/justice_system~2101122/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:dorsetpoliticalcomment.blog.co.uk,2007-04-16:/2007/04/16/plastic_glasses~2100939/swisstony2007-04-16T12:13:46+02:002007-04-16T12:13:46+02:00 <p>Also in the Echo today is a scheme called "drink dafe street safe" which seems to be a combined initiative of Weymouth and Portland Borough Council and the police. To me this is a sideshow. If you want to "drink safe" and "street safe" you do this by locking away thugs and other criminals and not let them out again. The initiative is also based around the transfer across from glass to plstic drinking containers as a result of serious assaults with glass in the past. So instead of incarcerating criminals on a long term basis we all have to drink out of plastic. Time for regime change I think. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://dorsetpoliticalcomment.blog.co.uk/2007/04/16/plastic_glasses~2100939/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:dorsetpoliticalcomment.blog.co.uk,2007-04-16:/2007/04/16/relief_road_under_threat~2100889/swisstony2007-04-16T12:03:09+02:002007-04-16T12:03:09+02:00 <p>I learn from the Dorset Echo website today that the much awaited Weymouth relief road is un der threat by various environmental lobbies. One point that I would like to make, and one that is rarely mentioned : If there is a traffic jam the vehicles within it are travelling at something like 10 mpg ( many cars have an option to display mpg - usually on the audio console - check it for yourself). Therefore the polution at these times is THE SAME as a constantly moving stream of vehicles with an mpg of 10. So the polution on a congested road is the same as a constantly moving stream of HGVs or drag racers! How come we never hear of "environmentalists" calling for a bypass in order to dramatically improve the average mpg of vehicles on the roads? Why are the environmental benefits rarely acknowledged by these groups? </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://dorsetpoliticalcomment.blog.co.uk/2007/04/16/relief_road_under_threat~2100889/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:dorsetpoliticalcomment.blog.co.uk,2007-04-14:/2007/04/14/title~2089611/swisstony2007-04-14T11:55:35+02:002007-04-14T11:55:35+02:00 <p><a href="http://www.britblog.com/" title="BritBlog Needs You!"><img src="http://img.britblog.com/icons/icon_kitchener_125x171.jpg" width="125" height="171" border="0" alt="BritBlog Needs You!"></a> </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://dorsetpoliticalcomment.blog.co.uk/2007/04/14/title~2089611/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:dorsetpoliticalcomment.blog.co.uk,2007-04-14:/2007/04/14/title~2089604/swisstony2007-04-14T11:54:44+02:002007-04-14T11:54:44+02:00 <p><a href="http://www.britblog.com/" title="BritBlog Needs You!"><img src="http://img.britblog.com/icons/icon_kitchener_125x171.jpg" width="125" height="171" border="0" alt="BritBlog Needs You!"></a> </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://dorsetpoliticalcomment.blog.co.uk/2007/04/14/title~2089604/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:dorsetpoliticalcomment.blog.co.uk,2007-04-14:/2007/04/14/public_transport_mess~2089489/swisstony2007-04-14T11:28:55+02:002007-04-14T11:28:55+02:00 <p>From the Dorset Echo -</p> <p>"A PENSIONER has spoken of his fears that a lifeline bus service he relies upon to get into Dorchester will be scrapped.</p> <p>George White, 71, from Tolpuddle, uses the Wilts and Dorset bus to travel to the county town to visit the bank and do his shopping.</p> <p>But now he claims he has been told the service is set to be axed as part of a transport shake-up in May.</p> <p>"Apparently there will be no buses to Dorchester at all," he said.</p> <p>"I don't own a car. The next village is two miles away and there's no pavement and some nasty bends. I do try and save money here and there but I just can't afford £30 taxi fares to get there and back, it's out of the question."</p> <p>Mr White, of Trent Close, regularly uses the 187 - which travels from Poole to Weymouth - to get into Dorchester."</p> <p>Another example of how public transport in this country fails to live up to the so - called "green agenda" of the politicians. This country needs a transport network that promotes the advancement of this country not only in economic terms but in social terms also. "Use public transport" we keep hearing, but then this is inadequate, whilst at the same time one is robbed by Red Brown for having the temerity for getting behind the wheel of a car. Let's have some sense for God's sake! What are they thinking? </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://dorsetpoliticalcomment.blog.co.uk/2007/04/14/public_transport_mess~2089489/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>