God bless the Prince of Wales?

Monday night’s Dispatches program on Channel 4 had the title “Charles: The Meddling Prince”.

Let me make my views on the Royal family perfectly clear - I am not a Royalist. If there is to be a Prince of Wales, it should be a honorary position probably held by a member of the Wales Rugby Team. Past holders would have been: Phil Bennett, Barry John, Gareth Edwards, etc. I hope when Wales play England on Saturday Shane Williams will qualify for the title.

Returning to the Channel 4, its own description of the program, quote:

“Prince Charles will one day be crowned King of England - a position which by constitutional convention is politically neutral. But in this six-month investigation, Dispatches reveals a number of serious concerns: the extent of his political ambition and interference, the measures his office have employed to silence critics and questionable financial arrangements, which raise questions about his suitability for the throne and the future of the monarchy.”

unquote.

It has been some time since I have seen such a biased and onesided presentation of a case. It was amusing to see (unelected) members of the House of Lords complaining about Prince Charles campaigning activities. The main complaint being he has undue influence over Government Ministers. If this is true, then I would be extremely concerned, to think the Ministers are so easily influenced. Are we to believe that if Charles was against the invasion of Iraq Tony Blair would have told Bush, “Hu sorry and all that, but the Prince will not let me come out to play”. If he is writing too many letters to Ministers, the solution is simple - they should treat his views as they do public opinion, and ignore him.

The program accused the Prince’s senior aid of making an official complaint against Professor Edzard Ernst of Exeter University as a result of which he nearly lost his job. The Professor was asked by the Prince’s Foundation for Integrated Health to review a draft report on whether alternative remedies were cost-effective and should be funded by the NHS. The Professor was asked and readily agreed to sign a confidentiality agreement not to disclose the content of the draft to third parties. He broke that agreement when he discussed the report with the Times Newspaper - and that was the reason for, in my opinion, a legitimate complaint.

There can not be a critical program about the Royal family without some reference to their extravagant life style, the rules which allow members of the Royal Family to avoid paying tax and whether they are value for money. Are they any different to any other wealthy family?

The program did not have a single interview with a supporter of the Prince’s case. They did however make selective reference to a document prepared by the Prince’s aids denying the charges made by the program. If there is to be trial by TV then let it at least be fair and unbiased, with both sides allowed to give evidence and importantly question and examine the validity and accuracy of the evidence presented against them.

I have recently been the victim of summary justice. When the verdict and sentence was made public, even before I was informed that I was accused of a misdemeanour. Subsequently I was informed I could make a defence case but I was denied access to any evidence.

Is this the future of justice in the UK?

Greenpeace demonstrate against Trident renewal.

This afternoon, at enormous expense, YesBut sent Grumpy & Farting’s ace photographer with his box camera to London to photograph the demonstration at the Houses of Parliament.


Three Greenpeace demonstrators have taken up residence on the boom of a crane used by the project to repair Westminster Bridge. They are demonstrating against tomorrow’s debate to renew the Trident missile system.

The banner reads “Tony loves WMD”

At The Going Down Of The Sun And In The Morning We Will Remember Them

Viewers watching last nights news broadcast were privileged to witness a scene filmed on the arid planes of Afghanistan. As flag draped coffins were loaded onto a Hercules transport plane, ranks of soldiers stood to attention paying respect to two fallen comrades. In turn soldiers paid tribute to two fallen heroes. As the transport plane flew over the assembled forces the pilot dipped its wing in salute.

In the First World War the British Army were described as lions lead by donkeys. Fortunately they are still lions; unfortunately they are still lead by donkeys. The British Army is poorly paid, inadequately equipped and their families are housed in substandard houses. But the greatest indictment against the donkeys is the way they have fail to look after wounded soldiers.

The armed forces are poorly served by both the Civil Servants and Ministers of the Ministry of Defence. This Whitehall office block remains in a time warp. It always prepares and plans for the previous war. In the opening months of WW1 soldiers were expected to charge on horseback German artillery. It is a recognised fact that in Iraq and Afghanistan British soldiers are sent out on patrol in Land Rovers - perfect for the Yorkshire dales, but not when coming under hostile fire and roadside bombers.

Tomorrow the House of Commons will debate the replacement of the Trident System. A system designed to meet the needs of the Cold War. Again the Government want to spend £30 Billion on a system designed to fight a previous war, (it is estimated the system will cost £100 Billion over 50 years). In the future, who will the Trident missiles be used against? They say rogue states, such as Iran and North Korea. In the future rogue states will not have to develop nuclear bombs and intercontinental missiles.

Look at one event in November 2006, Alexander Litvinenko, the Russian ex-spy was poisoned with polonium -210. Traces of the highly radioactive metalloid were found in several locations in London. A rogue state could bring any city in the UK to a stop by simply having a suicide bomber walk its streets. No bomb would be detonated but the radio active source they carried would contaminate everyone they came into proximity. Over the next few days, people will start to feel lethargic and nauseous; soon the hospitals would be overwhelmed by people suffering from nuclear radiation poisoning. Under those circumstances a nuclear submarine with a missile system patrolling the Atlantic or Indian Ocean will be as useful as a sieve to carry water.

But don’t worry the Government is putting in place a system to prevent such an event - Identification Cards!

I get my dessert.

I am totally opposed to bribary, I consider it unethical. It must be opposed at all costs. But it must be recognise people have their price.

Meadow is one of the founder members of Exiles Exiles message board http://exilesexiles.eamped.com/

Meadow was delighted when she entered exilesexiles in Google to see reference to YesBut’s blog Grumpy & Farting, which mentioned Meadow and Exiles Exiles.

I’m pleased Meadow was delighted. In fact Meadow is so delighted she is prepared to give me ice cream if I mention her again in this blog. Well OK I’ve been bought for the promise of an ice cream; but according to my count Meadow has been mentioned six times, so I reckon that’s worth more than a measly ‘99’. Now shall I ask for a Fresh Fruit Strawberry Sundae with whipped cream or . . .?

Comic relief?

It started last week; continuing each night this week at least one hour of BBC1 programming will be devoted to the Comic Relief fundraising event. It will culminate on Friday night with an eight hour spectacular.

In 2006 £30.7 million was collected and the costs of generating the funds was reported at £6.8 million. Fundraising costs of 22% is good compared to some charities. It is unclear from published accounts whether TV production costs are included.


Two questions:
How much do all the TV events cost? How are the programs funded?

I have no answer. All I know is for nearly a month, there has been a TV Production Village encamped on the south side of the old GLC County Hall, London, producing Comic Relief programs.

Setting aside the Comic Relief organization, how affective are charities in providing sustainable benefits to beneficiaries?

Firstly how much money actually gets through to the targeted groups?

In general 20% or more is spent on fundraising. Another 50% can be spent on administration and management costs. So for every £1 collected about 20 ~ 30p is spent directly for the benefit of the targeted group. At least some money gets through to make peoples lives more bearable, raises the standard of living and improves the quality of life.

Unfortunately worldwide, with respect to community development projects, 90% of all projects FAIL. So for every £1 donated only 3p is spent effectively! What a waste. But why the high failure rate? There are many reasons:

Incorrect projects. A charity or aid organization visits a village; they consult with the locals and then decide what will benefit the village. Notice the Outsiders take the decisions - so from the very start villagers do not have a sense of ownership. In the absence of ownership there is no commitment to making the project succeed - that remains with the Outsiders. Far too often the problem being addressed is incorrectly identified or an inappropriate solution chosen.

For example a charity dedicated to providing water supply to villages set up a program to assist 9 villages. They brought in their drilling equipment and a drilled well and installed a pump in each village. Within six months all the wells were abandoned. Why, surely providing a clean supply of water was a worthwhile project that would benefit all the villagers? The Charity failed to notice the layout of the villages. They were not made up of closely located dwellings; rather the houses were dotted along river banks and in the forest. So a central well only served less than 10% of the community. 90% of the villagers continued to get their water from the rivers and streams.

There was a problem existing in the village. But it wasn’t a shortage of water; rather it was the poor health of the children due to water born diseases. Rather than an expensive well drilling program, all that was required was a campaign to encourage the villagers to boil their drinking water.

Even when the correct project is chosen, they fail. Returning to the well project, no one was made responsible for the maintenance of the pumps and no spare parts were provided. Far too often sufficient funds are made available to cover the costs of setting up a project, with no consideration given to the ongoing maintenance and operating costs. Hospitals are built and equipped and left empty because either there is no trained staff or there is no money to pay their salaries. X- ray equipment breaks down, but there are no trained technicians to repair or if there are technicians no money to buy spares.

Roads are built for villages. Would villagers in the UK be able to organise to maintain their roads? Yet aid organizations build roads in poor villages in Africa, South America and Asia and then expect the villagers to find the finances to maintain them.

Do I give to charities that provide aid to Third World counties? What do you think?

Inexplicable

It has been one of those weeks, where the only reaction to it is having a general rant - so here goes

Either inexplicable or incongruous would be an appropriate description. It’s all down to appropriate language.

I received my energy bills this week, gas & electricity, from British Gas, they were accompanied by a booklet entitled:

“Esbonio eich datganiad ynni”

“Your energy statement explained”

Know why you might ask were they accompanied by a 6 page brochure in both Welsh & English?

The subtitle explains it all: “We’ve redesigned your energy statement so that it’s easier to read and understand.”

So if they are easier to understand, why is it necessary to provide a booklet to explain it?

Out for a walk yesterday morning, I was handed a pamphlet published by NO2ID - only one pamphlet, no need for a second to explain what they were saying in the first.

I’m still to be convinced by the Governments case for having Identification Cards. At first they said it was due to national security, to protect us from suicide bombers. It was pointed out the 21/7 London Suicide Bombers were British Nationals and would have been entitled to an ID card. So the Government switched their argument to the case for their use to prevent social service benefit fraud, but as the pamphlet points out “Almost all benefit fraud is lying about circumstances, not who you are”.

So why is it necessary for me to carry an ID card? The introduction of which the Government admits will cost a minimum of £5.8 Billion.

I thought at least I would finish the week on a high note with Wales beating Italy in the 2007 RBS Six Nations Rugby Championship. But such was the week - no chance. Its not the fact they lost which has left Wales stunned but the events of the final minute of the game. Wales were losing 23 - 20, when they were awarded a penalty. They knew there was only a short time left. They had two options they could take a penalty kick which if successful would give 3 points and so draw the game. Or they could kick to touch close to the Italian try line, and from there score a try and win the game. The Welsh team followed normal procedure; they asked the referee if there was enough time to take the second option. He could clearly be seen saying, yes there were 10 seconds left. So the ball was kicked into touch. Immediately the referee blew his whistle bringing the game to an end and handing victory to Italy. For a few seconds the Welsh team stood there stunned, then their faces changed to anger as they confronted the referee.

I must end this week on a positive note. Despite their anger, frustration and all the other emotions they must have been feeling, they behaved as good sportsmen and congratulated the Italian players on their victory. So I guess there is hope.

Where are they now?

I said never plan nor predict - very true.

Yesterday morning, who would have predicted that by lunch time Jezza’s Exiles message board, would be taken off line. Without prior notification, members were left dumfounded.

They started to drift off to the new board Exiles Exiles http://exilesexiles.eamped.com/

And the older message board Points Aspew http://www.mfbb.net/speakerscorner/index


Jezza’s Exiles board http://jezzasexiles.eamped.com/
is back on line, but closed.

Who really knows what happened last week. Some people have posted various comments regarding the behaviour of Jezza’s Exiles Site Administer, which I will not repeat. Based on the phrases used and the tone of the emails I received from her, and this is pure speculation, I have the feeling she feels her efforts to setup and administer the board was not fully appreciated. As I wrote two days ago, we all create the world we live in. We make assumptions and judgements, some may be valid others aren’t; but we have to bear the consequences.

I really hope Jezza’s Exiles board reopens. It had over 300 members, 50 of who were active posters. People had formed friendships on the board and it truly was a community. To keep the board closed would be equivalent to bulldozing a country village knocking down its church, pub, village hall, schools and sports field.

I would encourage members of Jezza’s Exiles who have the Site Administrators email address, to contact her and provide words of encouragement to reopen the board.