THE VIEW FROM HEIMBU
JULY 2004
What is going on with the weather? Summer in June, then autumn in the beginning of July with gales and rain and temperatures barely into two figures.
The Home Secretary, David Blunkett, has just hosted a meeting of EU ministers where there was agreed that a ban on freedom of association was neccessary. A massive expansion all across Europe of databases, DNA testing, biometric identity cards and restriction on free movement was also discussed. Bin Laden and al-Qa'ida has been a godsend for various Governments who has been itching to control the common herd (that is you and me.) And they are getting away with it. We will live with the consequences long after "terrorism" is just a footnote in history.
Ever wondered why the NHS is a bottomless pit that devours any money thrown at it without much improvement in services? (Every year 9 billion pounds is spent on medication in the UK, 100 billion pounds in America). Ever wondered why the drug companies allocate £10,000.- to wine and dine every single doctor in the country? Ever wondered why doctors prescribe medicines that can cost up to £20.- when better drugs are available for pennies? Ever wondered why we are all suffering from a range of "syndroms" that we hadn't noticed until we were told and that all need medication. Ever wondered why the pharmaceutical companies spend more money advertising a single drug than Coca-Cola and MacDonald spend together? Ever wondered if the health industry actually should be called the sickness industry, as it sure is not to their interest to make you healthy?
The Prince of Wales has again put his head above the parapet, and the Government's tame scientists are getting ready to ridicule him. Tony Blair and senior figures in industry are still smarting after their GM defeat, and are furious that Charles has in an article in the Independent on Sunday questioned the safety of nanotechnology. Comments like "a classical wooly thinker and a luddite that should go back to school and get a few A-levels" are among the more restrained ones. Which as usual begs the question why does the Government not want the technology tested for safety before we are all exposed to it, or even just have a public discussion about it? What is all the Prince has asked for.
As we were watching the 6 o'clock news on the telly the other day a miserable-looking little black and white cat peered in through the patio door. At first it didn't click for me, but Kiyoko recognized him at once, and run out in the garden calling his name. So Deshi is back at Heimbu after having gone A.W.O.L for more than a year. He is totally wild, but he does come into the boot room to eat when we leave the door open, though any sign of Smokey is enough to send him into complete panic. Smokey, of course, has that effect on all the cats in the neighbourhood.
The Chancellor published his spending review for the next 3 years last week. The main point was that he is going to sack 100,000 civil servants to avoid putting up taxes after the General Election expected next spring. (always assuming that the People's Party will remain in power) Predictably the Whitehall Trade Unions are up in arms, but somehow I have the feeling they don't need to worry too much. Going the intended cuts a little more closely after in the seams, it turns out that the intension is not sacking vast numbers of pen pushers which is what most people got the impression that he is going to do. Instead he is proposing to slow down the growth of the Civil Service. Since 1997 the public sector has grown by a staggering 344,000 and 360,000 more are deemed needed by 2006. It is among the last figure that the proposed cuts are being aimed. But somehow I have my doubts whether even this will be achieved. Another tax rise is probably in the cards after the Election.
The East Riding of Yorkshire is in open rebellion. The Home Secretary, David Blunkett, has ordered the local Police Authority to fire our Chief Constable because of the Soham mess. They point blank refused and have the general support of the public after it was pointed out that Chief Westwood had actually not been appointed until after a lot of the problems in the force occured. The feeling here is that the buck actually should stop one step up, but calls for the resignation of Blunkett has not gone down well with the Government.
The recent unseasonable storm split our old quince right down the middle, and I've been busy with the loppers for days now, cutting the branches into more managable pieces and carting them off to the dump. The tree actually looks fine from the house, but it is completely hollow when viewed from the back of the garden. Hopefully it will survive.
Talking about cuts in the Civil Service; 2 years ago the Chancellor announced that that he was going to axe 18,000 jobs in the Department of Work and Pensions. Since the "cuts" began the number of staff has increased by 3,500.
I see that the Healthcare Commission is looking for a Head of Complaints - "Salary up to £85,000.- (more may be available for an exceptional candidate). He will have interpersonal skills combined with gravitas and political sensitivity. He will help to create a first-class independent, customer-orientated service and lead a 70-strong team that will achieve a paradigm shift in patients' experience of healthcare". I don't know about you, but I'm scared stiff; someone obviously is expecting things to go pear-shaped in a big way.
The Governments plans for homeowners aren't excactly cheerful news either. The fact that the Council tax has gone up on an average of 70% the last few years is not enough; they're planning to tripple that. I've figured out that I will probably have to fork out between £3 and 4,000.- a year soon, and a lot of people can look forward to maybe another £2,000.- on top of that. That's more than a lot of pensioners make in a year so we might see a tax of up to 120% of income. When I pointed this out to a member of the People's Party the other day, he saw no problem with this; people could just sell their house and move into a small flat. Right. In other words we are seeing another version of state confiscation of property. I'm looking forward to the rehabilitation of Stalin.
Another institution in town has thrown in the towel. Beverley Bookshop closed this month; as it could no longer compete with the supermarkets, the internet and the multiples, especially since the Council has jacket up the business rates way above inflation. So no more browsing among obscure books that you would never find anywhere else, no more a place to order books that don't show up on internet searches, no more publishing of local books that sold in only double figures, if that. We are all steadily getter poorer.
In the 13 years since I moved to the UK I have seen great changes in the way we live. What strikes me most is the overpowering feeling of fear; a fear that is not really understood, but is there nonetheless. There is the fear of violent crime, of course; not just the fear of being hurt, but also the general feeling of that you will be in trouble if the police is told, especially if you have fought back in any way. Then there is the fear of getting old and having to survive on what is left of your pension after the Government's raiding of the pension funds. The fear of having to go into hospitals which are no longer cleaned properly, and where paperwork is now seen as vastly more important than the patients which are just regarded as a drain on resources by health care managers. The fear by teachers, doctors, nurses, farmers and council staff of little men from the ministry that are checking up on anything and everyone; the fear of having to prove your innocence if you are accused of malpractice even if you are often not told what you are accused of. The fear of the Health and Safety inspectors whose clammy hands stiffle any initiative. The fear among anyone working with children of being accused of being a peadophile. The fear of losing your home, your children or your livelyhood if you in any way are noticed by the authorities. No-one dares to make decisions anymore, everything is being decided by groups so no-one is responsible.
Several people who have spent up to 20 years in jail for murders they did not commit have been awarded compensation for "loss of earnings" during the time they were inside. Fair enough you would say, except for one little thing. The authorities deducted 25% of the money awarded to cover food and lodging during their imprisonment, arguing that they had saved a consideable sum by being guests of the state. Can terrorists in Iraq now charge the Ministry of Defence for the upkeep of hostages between the time when they are abducted and and then either set free or executed?
What is the People's Party's view on democracy? This month they have cancelled the referenda on regional assemblies in Yorkshire and in the North-West, but it is going ahead in the North-East, which is the only place where polls indicate that the result will favour the Government. So the message is clear; you're allowed a vote if you're expected to agree with your masters, but you'll be disenfranchised if you are not.
Most people with any sense would agree that the British National Party represents the bottom feeders of society, and the recent BBC program has exposed their true face to the world. But what seems to have been forgotten is that it is still a legal political party whose representatives on several councils were democratically elected. Now pressure is being put on employers by the authorities to sack any member of the party, and the trade unions refuse to take up their cause for unfair dismissal. We're starting to see a very dangerous pattern emerging here; you're free to support any party you like, but don't expect to be able to be able to work unless you can show a membership card from the People's Party.
The Prince of Darkness has risen from the Grave. Peter Mandelson has been appointed as the new British Commissionor in Brussels. He should fit right in, actually, in a place so corrupt that the Commission of Auditors has refused to sign off the EU accounts for 9 years on the trot now, not that anyone seems to care one iota.
"Notwithstanding anything hereinbefore contained no partial surrender may be affected unless both the sum payable on the partial surrender and the total after the surrender of the Participating Sum Assured and the Related Bonuses thereon and of all Further Participating Sums Assured and Related Bonuses thereon exceed a minimum sum which the Society shall determine at the time of the partial surrender."
I presume that after having read the above 62-word sentence it is now crystal clear to you all why the customers of Equitable Life could not get their invested money back.
The Japanese call it "Decent from Heaven", the system where senior Civil Servants upon retirement are given a well-paid job with the companies that they had dealings with. This has until now been seen as unethical in the UK, as it will open the Civil Service to accusation of corruption. No more, unfortunately. According to the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments, senior officials can now retire with the expectation of employment by the companies they are dealing with at the moment. Upon complaining to the Government that this is now taking place, the Committee was told in no certain terms to get lost, as the Dear Leader had personally ruled that it was all in the wider national interest.
As the recent events have shown the Civil Service is no longer apolitical, but just another arm of the People's Party.
The Stav Fair on the last day of the month started brilliantly at 10 a.m. It had been advertised by sending out several thousand flyers, and by articles in the local papers. There were a bouncy castle, swingboats, an ice cream van, a burger stand and lots of other fairground attractions at the soccer and handball pitches that we have built for the local kids. David Watkinson and his students gave a demonstration of unarmed Stav, and Graham Butcher and I followed showing the use of weapons. There were also several stalls were charities were selling things. People were arriving in droves, but around noon the rain started and the crowds melted away. We're hoping for better luck with the weather next year.