Moles

I understand that my former colleagues and all the new Councillors were flame grilled by the Vice-Convener yesterday at their not away day, to try to find the source of my previous posting.

Why limit your suspicions to the elected members?

As always, my lips are sealed about my sources, and I look forward to receiving a copy of the response from John Swinney in due course.

Note to BBC and Gazette: please read the copyright notice, and mention my Blog when you lift stories!

Capital budget

Would any Councillor be able to forward a copy of the letter from the Vice-Convener to John Swinney which suggests that the Comhairle capital budget could be cut by 30% under the new formula?

And a copy of the Committee papers would be nice too.

Enjoy your 'away day' tomorrow, which I understand is away in the sense of being held in the Members dining room, rather than in the Council Chamber. Any good gossip arising from this session will be gratefully received.

Update 2 hours later: Thanks to sources for the copy letter, which shows that permitted Capital Expenditure may drop from £11.3m to £4.3m, which will have a major impact.

It appears that the formula is based on population and road length, meaning that peripherality and the costs of service delivery to small and rural populations are not only excluded, but penalised. And the winners are???

I've also been sent a copy of the Committee papers, which I'll need time to digest.

Unbelievable, but sad

Thousands of Pakistanis have fled into Afghanistan with the security situation deteriorating in Pakistan's tribal regions over the past week. Hundreds of families, comprising some 6,000 mainly women and children, have been crossing the border.

According to the BBC, 'our strongman' in the region who is there to bolster the fight against terrorism and Al-Qaeda is presiding over a state that is in such a state that the citizens are going to Afghanistan to be safe.

With 'friends' like that .....

Sunday ferries - the end game?

I understand from reports from the highest levels, that the CalMac Board will recommend that a Sunday ferry run between Stornoway and Ullapool be operated from the commencement of the 2008 Summer timetables.

This is claimed to be in response the aspirations of those who want a late Saturday night ferry to allow sportsmen and women to take part in events on the mainland and get home before the Sunday; and, to level the increased traffic flows across all seven days when RET (or what passes for RET) is introduced on this route.

Of course, all this has to be approved by the Minister, who has already indicated that he has no intention of making any kind of decision about such a contentious decision - which in terms of the relevant legislation is by default an approval.

Other informants advise me that the Lord's Day Observance Society, headed by the Rev Coghill
will be seeking to arrange an anti-SNP vote at the next elections from their supporters. Which places a number of the signatories on the petition into a difficult position.

There is a very poisonous undercurrent of anti-Catholicism from a few of the LDOS supporters with Angus MacNeil MP - as a good Barra Catholic - being ascribed a central machiavellian role in the whole affair. Personally, I think such accusations are wildly wrong, but his failure to take any kind of stance on the issue is being taken as 'evidence' of his guilt.

One thing is for certain, the media will have a field day portraying the islands as backward, isolationist and obsessed with religion, whilst the real issues remain a mystery to the majority.

Nuclear plans awry. Again!

The dishonest way in which Tony Blair tried to force new nuclear power stations on the public hit the buffers last year when the Courts ruled that it was "seriously flawed" and "misleading".

You will remember that his strategy was not to do anything until there were no options BUT nuclear, and then present it as a fait accompli. Tony being Tony, he lost interest in his plans half way through and ended up driving to get someone else to drive through his plans, but without enough thought and planning going into it.

Thankfully.

Now the latest review of the review has - according to the BBC - concluded that "Poor consultation practice wastes people's time and can seriously undermine people's trust in government", and that the whole process should start again, and this time address the real issues - which they detail.

It looks like the Government are now on a hiding to nothing with this, but because alternatives have been strangled at birth to try to make nuclear the only option, we face a serious energy problem in this country in the coming years. This will leave us reliant on other countries to meet our energy needs, and entirely at the mercy of the markets, whilst wave, wind and hydro are virtually ignored by Ministers and every new application meets with barrages of opposition.

Can anyone tell me what we are going to do for power if every alternative is unacceptable?

An inter-connector?

The news that the Scottish Government plan to include an inter-connector as a key element of the infrastructure plans has to be welcomed by all and sundry.

Unless you happen to be our MSP.

Instead of seeing this as an opportunity to develop renewable energy in the Western Isles, he has taken a totally negative stance and states that it doesn't mean that the big windfarms being approved.

Having conspicuously failed to do anything to support the plans for an inter-connector, our MSP and MP have continued to take the stance that it is A Bad Thing, as it may been seen to support the big windfarm applications.

This total absence of foresight; the failure to understand the big picture; the attempts to prevent the island moving forward; and, the inability to see past their obsessions have left the local SNP positioned as anti-renewable energy, and this was one of the key reasons why I said I refused to stand again as an SNP Councillor.

This inter-connector should be actively pursued by everyone and used as a tool to encourage the development of community windfarms; to encourage the hydrogen project at Lews Castle College; to attract the development of wave and tidal power of the west coast; and even to have the Pelamis built, tested and developed in the islands.

No. The local SNP would rather just be negative about the whole idea, instead of campaigning to have the sectoral opportunities located here. The saddest part is that many people from the islands will be working in the renewable sector - just commuting and working in Aberdeen, Orkney or even Nigg, when they would much rather be at home with their families building a secure future for their children.

(BTW, there is already a fibre-optic cable running from the Western Isles. Unfortunately it is a military one, and consequently "doesn't exist")

Wishes for 2008

My very best wishes for 2008 to all my readers, friends and family.

My hopes for the coming year include the usual aspirations for world peace, joy and happiness throughout the world and Scotland to win the Six Nations rugby.

However, I would like to thank the politicians at every level who have been the target of my observations, abuse and mischief that I have perpetrated in 2007.

This blog wouldn't be worth anything without your stupid comments, inconsistencies, self-importance, omissions and sporadic lack of ability. Indeed, some of the targets demonstrate a consistent lack of ability which provides much material.

Long may it continue.

But most of all, I'd like to thank everyone who comments - whether that be to attack or support anything I have said - as you are the ones who keep me right. Even if it is embarrassing when I get it wrong.

Thank you all.

Unidentified Floating Object

The mysterious object found on the shore at the well named Stinky Bay, in Benbecula, has turned out to be an empty brewing vessel for Coors which was being shipped from Germany to the US.

So far so interesting, and it makes a nice story for the press to cover at what is normally a quiet time of year.

The question we should be asking is "Who is going to pay for it's disposal?"

The answer is: the Comhairle.

At present neither the shipowner, the customer, nor the supplier have any responsibility for anything lost overboard (although they can be liable for losses caused by the flotsam) and aas a consequence, once it is off the ship, nobody cares about recovery, removal or cleaning. Except the local authority who have to do the clean-up.

Last year, there was a proposal to add responsibility for losses from ships inside the EU back onto the shipowner (and they would presumably provide loss insurance for the customers), to ensure that funding for beaches and seas to be cleaned could be simple and clear.

Unfortunately, the UK (egged on by the shipping industry) vetoed this proposal, and the opportunity to pass this into law was lost. All of which explains why the shipowners never notified the Coastguard (or Lloyds?) of the loss - when, where, how? - as they have no obligation to do so. Indeed, doing so might create an obligation on them.

If we want to legislate against dropping litter on streets, why do we allow this kind of fly-tipping to continue?

Air Discount Scheme

The ADS gives residents of the Scottish islands a 40% discount of the cost of flights, as travel costs are so high and travel is so important.

The scheme was started in April 2006 for a period of 2 years, and that expires at the end of March, which is why I have a countdown banner at the top of the page.

For quite some time I have been wondering what was happening with the scheme, with renewal coming closer and closer and I was disappointed at the absence of any comments from politicians, so I took the opportunity to find out what was being done on our behalf by the simple expedient of an FoI request asking for copies of all correspondence between our MP and MSP and the Transport Minister, together with other relevant documents.

I was astonished at the limited correspondence that there was:

• A letter in June about a constituent, and associated response
• Another letter in August about another constituent, and another reply
• And a briefing note for a meeting arranged after I put in my FoI

The substance of the correspondence is interesting, mainly due to the contradictory nature of the responses which can be summarised as:

• The extension of the scheme needs approval by Europe
• The scheme doesn't need European approval, but the Government need to get approval from Europe that this is the case

There is an expected announcement date of 2007 for an update on the scheme, but this has obviously been missed.

Not very reassuring that anyone knows what they are doing.

The scheme was due to be extended, but the Government appear to be very evasive on this with a Google search showing nothing definitive, and efforts by the MSP for Shetland reaching the same brick wall of a non-answer.

Having found out what our MP and MSP had done, I then spoke to the Council and was dumbfounded to find that they knew nothing about any of the correspondence or promises by the Minister, least of all the expected announcement by the end of 2007. Suffice to say, they were somewhat annoyed at the lack of information from the Government and lack of communication from the MSP, but the Councillors have promised to pursue this matter.

The complete and utter absence of any positive public comment about the scheme by the Minister since he was appointed has worried me for some time.

It is time for all our politicians to pursue this matter vigorously, as time is limited, and for us as the public to ensure that they do so.

In the meantime, I recommend booking any flights for AFTER March, as soon as possible.

Pakistan - nuclear anarchy

The murder of Benazir Bhutto robbed Pakistan of one of the best chances to return towards democracy, and one of the best opportunities for the West to stop Al-Qaeda at source.

But much nonsense has been written, and the 'Great Game' has claimed another victim who was being manipulated from abroad, leaving the Indian sub-continent in turmoil and Pakistan in a lawless state.

Ms Bhutto was never going to be the greatest Prime Minister, mainly due to the perception of her dirty hands through corruption charges brought against her husband. Which, although she denied, she intended to resolved by changing the law to prevent similar charges being brought against political leaders. If that doesn't ring alarm bells then what would.

Pakistan has been described as "the cornerstone of the fight against Al-Qaeda" on a number of news programmes last night, but that is so far from the truth as to be ludicrous.

The 'tribal areas' of North Waristan which are on the border with Afghanistan are effectively separate states, where Al-Qaeda rules with the tribal leaders, and the border is not just porous but non-existent. There has been no central government rule here ever, unless it has suited the tribal leaders.

The Taliban (which means 'religious students') were nurtured in the Saudi-financed madrassas of Pakistan where they learned the oppressive and poisonous tenets of Wahhabism, including Jihad against the West. At this time they were fighting the Soviets in Afghanistan, so Osama Bin-Laden and his mates were being actively armed and supported by the West.

The madrassas of Pakistan also trained both sets of London Tube bombers, and continue to be highly active in training new militants.

Pakistan is probably better described as "the cornerstone of Al-Qaeda", something the West cannot say aloud as they are still manoeuvring around to get the Government they want, without thought of the likely consequences.

President Musharraf of Pakistan is our strongman in region, and the West fully support him in his very modest attempts to clamp down on terrorism. Fully support him in the sense of encouraging Ms Bhutto to come in and replace him with a strongly pro-Western and anti-extremist Government that would invite in the US to help root out Al-Qaeda. The poor woman was sent into the country with a target painted on her forehead, and Musharraf was asked to provide protection to the person who was there to undermine him. The consequences were almost inevitable.

Were the military (and Musharraf) behind the assassination? They probably turned a blind eye, and were not as diligent as they could be, and the first assassination attempt clearly had state input, as the attack happened in the only area where the street-lights weren't working.

Now the West is faced with continuing to give support to a President they openly tried to undermine, to fight a dangerous battle on their behalf which will cause much turmoil in his country. I think we can expect to see his level of commitment waning.

Meanwhile, Pakistan continues to illegally export nuclear technology to Iran and North Korea, provoking turmoil elsewhere and we support the regime on one hand and undermine it on the other. How long before they are passed to Al-Qaeda?

All the time, Pakistan and India sit there with nuclear weapons glowering at each other as they battle in Kashmir whilst Pakistan disintegrates as a viable state.

The solutions? I don't know, but I think that the outpouring of national grief that this murder has caused needs to be tapped into by the politicians, and I was pleased to see that the biggest opposition party has pulled out of the elections due on 8 January, to mourn the loss. It now appears the elections are going ahead anyway, on the instructions of Musharraf to meet his international promises, which leaves him with (at very best) a new PM without a real mandate, the politicians fighting about what could have been, a nation in shock and no real constraints on his authority. It is almost like he planned the best possible outcome for himself and the Army.

In the meantime, we should mourn the loss of a woman who was not scared to take her chances, despite threats, warnings and being set-up by the West.

Christmas duties

With three young children, Christmas is always an exciting and fun time with the constant need to keep the kids entertained during their holidays; the ever present threat of internecine warfare breaking out; finding time to wrap and hide the presents; and, cooking. And eating and drinking.

We had a lovely time, with the kids thoroughly enjoying themselves, and the two head chefs cooking up a (if I say so myself) delicious spread whilst the traditional angst and worry about cooking times and co-ordination of courses for 9 guests somewhat eased with a couple of bottles of champagne.

I topped and tailed the meal with soup and dessert being my responsibility - broccoli and cream cheese soup and a whisky fruit tart - surrounding the usual turkey, ham and all the trimmings. All washed down with a nice glass of wine or two.

Ionad Spòrs Leòdhais Swimming Pool Notice

From the Comhairle's website:

“Ionad Spors Leodhais [The Lewis Sports Centre] swimming pools and spa will be closed from 8pm on the 31st December 2007 until mid February 2008 for remedial works. Management apologise for any inconvenience this may cause. All other facilities will be open as usual.”

With statistically more people joining a gym in January than any other month - all those New Year resolutions - this is a decision on par with closing the local Museum just before the tourist rush. And with as little notice.

I sincerely hope that:

• The contractors are paying for the works
• The contractors are reimbursing the Comhairle for lost income
• The Comhairle are reimbursing season ticket holders (£60pm) for the absence of facilities

I would like to be able to answer these questions, but the Comhairle Minutes which are on the web are badly out of date, with nothing appearing since June. As the Comhairle slogan has it, without the slightest hint of irony .... "Working Together For The Western Isles".

Can any Councillor or Council Officer provide the public with any more information, beyond the bland press statement?

42-day detention limit

Thank goodness for people in power who have integrity, foresight and independence and as a consequence can say what they see.

Sir Ken MacDonald, the Director of Public Prosecutions, said on the World at One:-

"The basic point is whether you want to legislate on the basis of hypotheticals or whether you want to legislate on the basis of the evidence that we have acquired through practice.

"It seems to me that if you are legislating in an area which is going to curtail civil liberties to a significant extent, it is better to proceed by way of the evidence and the evidence of experience."

He added: "We have found that a period of 28 days does work for us as prosecutors. "We can charge on the basis of a 'reasonable suspicion' within that period so long as we anticipate that sufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction will be forthcoming within a reasonable period."

Sir Ken said if it had not been possible to get enough evidence to provide reasonable suspicion in 28 days, then it would be hard to convince a judge that it could be achieved in 35 or 42 days.

Who do you trust more, the prosecutor or the politicians shouting "Trust us!"?

Afghan expulsions

Is it just me, or do the expulsions of two UN officials seem to be surrounded by an absence of substance about what they have done, or denials of what they might have done?

We are told that a 'British' official is being expelled, but of course he is actually an UN official and as such has to all intents and purposes traded his nationality for a supra-national role with the UN.

Mervyn Patterson is described as having lived for 10 years in Afghanistan and having developed good relations with the Taliban before their overthrow in 2001. In his role as a UN Political Officer, it would be surprising if he were not involved with Afghani politics at every level - both pro-Karzai and pro-Taliban.

It seems his real crime is to be able to travel freely through Helmand Province and meet with anyone and everyone; all the better to assess the real mood and needs of the country one would think.

It seems that petty jealousies have forced the Afghan Government to expel him because of his knowledge, experience and ability to criss-cross the country. And in turn the British Government are playing the jingoistic card, rather than backing the UN, and it is likely that this will box in the Afghanis rather than encourage them to reconsider.

The outcome? The permanent loss of skills, knowledge and ability and an undermining of the efforts to understand - and then win - the hearts and minds of the ordinary Afghani.

Dawn Primarolo

Regular readers will know that I have nothing but goodwill and charity to all men and women irrespective of their political affiliation, but with deep regard to their ability to perform the tasks to which they have been appointed. Usually well above their abilities.

It was with some surprise that last night I found myself desperately trying to find a big enough object to put through the TV to blot out the image and sound of Ms Dawn Primarolo MP, Minster of State for Public Health. When none was forthcoming I considered self-immolation to escape the banalities, triteness and self-satisfied ability to emphasise the wrong word in every sentence.

As she informed bored the arse off the interviewer by repeating parroting the same ill-understood meaningless drivel to justify her non-involvement in the loss of the NHS records as the matter was the responsibility of the NHS Trusts for whom she had no responsibility. Despite being Minister of State for Public Health. (More on this to follow)

I was saved from an early death by the realisation that the tilted head and patronising tones were a professional taught 'sympathetic' look, obviously adopted from barely qualified hospital/prison visitors who think that asking "And how are you?" is the epitome of sensitivity and skilful inter-personal skills.

Now I want to find the departmental trainers, and those who authorised this waste of public money, and have them hung above the doors of Whitehall pour encourager les autres.

And, of course, the cause of all this appalling patronising tones is Dawn's previous boss - Patricia Hewitt, the queen of oozing insincerity.

Slimey, oleaginous waste of space

Mike Hukabee's Xmas card

The US presidential candidate and his wife are at the front, and their most attractive Stepford children are blissfully unaware of the families crimes against fashion.

And he expects respect and votes after this.....

Blair's conversion

I struggled to come up with a title that excluded the words "Bears" and "Woods", as this entire subject is ripe for abuse, mocking and cynical comment.

And quite right too, as our ex-PM has repeatedly cast himself as one of the most overtly religious leaders we have ever had, whilst obviously totally and utterly unclear about what he actually believed in. As Catholic commentators are noting, his voting record and political stance is close to anathema to the Catholic faith on issue such as abortion, civil partnerships and the war in Iraq.

Yet he is welcomed with open arms, as he is a 'big scalp' for the Church.

The history of mixing religion and politics - or more accurately the attempts by a religion to create a theocracy - are littered with the dead and mutilated, be it in the odious and extremist Saudi Arabia, the role of Muqtada al-Sadr in Iraq, Ahmed Yassin and Hamas, or even the agnosticism of Stalin.

All of which begs the question of how the St Tony can perform his job as UN Envoy to the Middle East when he seems unable to understand his own religious faith, whilst trying to defuse a running sore that is all about religion.

For those who weren't paying attention, he was appointed to the role on 27 June, just after stepping down, and - as far as I can tell - has yet to travel to the Middle East or meet with the leaders of any of the countries/states/nations/slums that make up the disputed areas.

According to the Independent, his current solution is to encourage more tourists to visit the Palestinian territories as if this will somehow solve all the problems in the region.

Tourists usually have to find a good reason to visit somewhere, and four-hour security checks to get from A to B, the lack of an international airport, the risk from suicide bombing or Israeli retaliation, the absence of good hotels, and the real risk of kidnapping being shipped to Iraq and ending up as a blurred mobile-phone filmed beheading on al-Jazerri TV make this not a high priority destination.

I'll think about going when Thomas Cook do trips; not SAS rescue squads.

Anyway, St Tony clearly is out of his depth, has little or no interest in the region, and is angling for another lucrative offer.

He managed a speaking tour of China for the modest fee of £250,000, so what has he done for peace on earth?

This is where it gets farcical.

He went to Saudi Arabia to talk to King Abdullah to talk about the security of the Two Mosques, which as far as I am aware, are not anywhere near the trouble spots he is supposed to be fixing. But what was he doing and why? Arab News lets the cat out of the bag.

“We feel the need to keep the pressure to get action and to get the changes we need to make the peace process work,” said Blair, speaking during a reception hosted by the Riyadh branch of the Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS), which was inaugurated here amid great fanfare.

The London-based RAeS, which is the world’s only professional body dedicated to the entire aerospace community, has set up a branch in Riyadh to locally support the society’s projects. [...]

This is Blair’s third visit to Saudi Arabia in the last few months, since he became the International Quartet’s envoy to the Middle East.

Yes, he was off to Saudi to give the after sales service to the Al-Yamamah jets deal, and to persuade the Saudis to buy more weapons they don't need and to export their vicious brand of fundamentalism to a volatile area. That alone should disqualify him from his UN role, but this is compounded by his greed - earning £500,000 to £1,000,000 per month from his speeches around the world, such as the one to the British Aerospace fan club detailed above.

Still, it is slightly better than having him here and having to listen to his sanctimonious and trite drivel.

New Lib Dem front-bench announced.....

A leaked memo

Comhairle nan Eilean Siar
Sandwick Road
Stornoway
HS1 2BW

18 December 2007

All employees
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar


Dear Comhairle Employee

As a result of the reduction of money budgeted for department areas, we are in the position where we must cut down on our number of personnel. However, we must ensure the retention of younger people who represent our future, Therefore, a programme to phase out older personnel by the end of the current fiscal year will be put into immediate effect.

This new programme is known as SLAP (Severance of Late-aged Personnel). Employees who are slapped be given the opportunity to look for jobs outside the comhairle. Slapped employees may request a review of their employment records before actual retirement takes place. This review phase of the programme is called SCREW (Survey of Capabilities of Retiring Early Workers). All employees who have been slapped and screwed may file an appeal with senior management.

This new appeal process is called SHAFT (Study by Higher Authority Following Termination). Under the terms of the new policy, an employee may be slapped once, screwed twice but may be shafted as many times as the comhairle deems appropriate. If an employee follows the above procedure, heor she will be entitled to contract HERPES (Half Earnings for Retired Personnel's Early Severance) or CLAP (Combined Lump-sum Assistance Payment).

As HERPES and CLAP are the new benefit plans, any employee who has received HERPES or CLAP will no longer be slapped or screwed by the comhairle. Management wishes to assure the younger employees remaining on board that the comhairle will continue its policy of improving staff capabilities through our Special High Intensity Training (SHIT). We take pride in the amount of SHIT our employees get. We have given our staff more SHIT than any employer in the Western Isles. If any employee feels they do not receive enough SHIT on the job, see your immediate supervisor. Your line manager should already be fully equipped to make sure you get as much SHIT as possible.

And once again, thanks for all your years of service.

Yours etc

M Burr
Chief Executive

---
Thanks to whoever you are for copying this to me.

Peerages rule change

At last a small step forward for democracy, as the political appointees in the Lords are to be abolished, and an independent commission will take the decisions. And with Gordon Brown's backing, what could possibly go wrong.

This, of course, was one of Tony Blair's (who?) pieces of 'unfinished business' where he came up with a good idea, didn't think it through, announced it and then lost interest.

No word - yet - on whether the inbred hereditary peers are to be removed, but in who can possibly support the entitlement of those whose sole reason for being their is due to having had a royal mistress in the family at some time in the past. Sleeping with the Monarch is hardly the basis for having a perpetual right to set the laws and be a member of the most self-important club in the world.

And the Bishops will have to go to, in the spirit of multi-culturalism.

I think the commission should look at appointing independently minded people who are not affiliated with any political parties, after taking account of geographic location to ensure diversity, and looking at relevant experience in Councils and in finance.

I shall graciously accept any nominations that my readers deign to submit.