My Reasons For Voting Yes.

 Articles, Opinion  8 Responses »
Sep 122014
 

SaltireJack2By Fin Hall – Writer Photographer, Realist.

I am rapidly approaching my 62nd birthday; in fact by the time that I cast my vote on the 18th of September, that milestone will have passed.
My views on independence has never changed since I first was eligible to put a cross on my first voting paper. It has always been an easy choice to be a yes voter.

When I was 18 I voluntarily joined the army, not any of the Scottish regiments, that would involve too much, hard, physical work, but The Royal Signals, as a radio operator.

When I was filling out my application form, two things rankled me. One was the fact that it was not permissible to put the word ‘atheist’ in the box for my religion. The other being, that I wasn’t allowed to enter ‘Scottish’ in the section reserved for nationality.

I have never been anti-English, nor, on the other hand, have I ever been a Braveheart style nationalist. Both of these options are narrow minded, and potentially dangerous characteristics.

Not long after enlisting, there was an election of some sorts in Aberdeen. I remember getting my dad to vote by proxy for me, something I don’t believe one can do now. This is where I am not sure of my facts, but spurred on by the application form, I seem to recall getting him to vote for the SNP candidate. I am not sure who that would have been, but it was the start of the road to where I am now.

In the seventies when Jim Callaghan’s Labour Government ( remember them? Real labour) cheated us out of our right to devolution, by stating that we needed to get at least 46% of the population to cast their vote for the victory to be assured, I was devastated that our proud people, couldn’t drag themselves along to the polling stations in the appropriate numbers.

Fast forward to Tony Blair and his New Labour posse riding into town and delivering the promised, no strings attached, devolution referendum, the result of which is the position we find ourselves in just now. Getting the chance to decide our own future, hopefully the chance to stand on our own two, or should I say five million feet in a few weeks.

There are many reasons why I cannot for the life of me understand why anyone, I mean anyone, could even consider not voting to be 100% in complete control of their own lives, whilst still being in a close relationship with their partner.

Scotland is not, and never will be a third world country. We have no need to have to go cap in hand to Westminster, no need for charitable aid donations.

Technology has advanced in leaps and bounds since then, and will develop even further in the future

We have vast oil resources, and despite the fact that Alistair Darling and David Cameron call it ‘volatile’ and that it will run out eventually, I always argue the fact that they have had oil in the a Gulf of Mexico area since 19th century and in the Middle East since somewhere in the middle of the 29th century.

I realise it is different geological circumstances, but it shows no sign of running out there.

I have been hearing this in Aberdeen since it first started coming ashore in the seventies.

Technology has advanced in leaps and bounds since then, and will develop even further in the future, meaning it will be possible to get even more out. Never mind the Clair Ridge recent discovery. So why is it volatile here and not in other parts of the world? How come our oil-sharing neighbours, Norway, aren’t tearing their hair out worrying about the successful country they are?

I have friends that continuously spout out about supporting local businesses as opposed to putting money into the pockets of the multi-nationals, and then support the Better Together side of things, not getting the irony in what they are doing and saying.

By forever being beholden to a power other than our own is like living at home as an adult, in a great, well paying job, handing over all your salary to your mum, getting some pocket money back, and still having to do your own laundry and make your own tea.

In my day job, or should I say my afternoon and evening job, I am a self employed taxi driver. I have been for 37 years, and all but one of non Scottish people I have had in my cab, and discussed the referendum, have stated that they would have voted yes, or will vote yes, for those eligible.

None of them can understand why any one would vote no. They just don’t get it. In fact one Indian guy stated that independence is in their blood from birth.

The one who said she was voting no was a young English born girl of Romanian descent. Her reason was that when Romania became a free country, it didn’t fare well to start with.

this isn’t set up to be a slight on our southern neighbours, but more showing our standing in the world

I asked her if she had the chance back then, would she have voted to remain under the control, effectively of USSR? She thought I was asking a stupid, irrelevant question. Totally failing to get the point, that, because of the fall of the aforesaid communist empire, she wouldn’t necessarily be free and here in Scotland just now.

I have travelled to well over 30 different countries, and generally what happens is, that locals ask if you are English; when you point out to them that you are Scottish, a smile as wide as the Firth of Forth come across their countenance.

This happened to us in August in Northern a France, when in a pizza restaurant ( don’t ask, it was all that was open) when the owner came over and introduced himself to us, and asked that very question. When we told him we were Scottish, he apologised, and got even more friendlier.

Now this isn’t set up to be a slight on our southern neighbours, but more showing our standing in the world, despite the Better Together campaigners saying we are only good because we are conjoined to England via the Westminster umbilical cord. And despite the Better Together rampagers spreading fear and loathing about currency, our pound, pensions, (safe) health service. ( safe unless Westminster cuts funding, which they could do) and other spurious tittle tattle,every day more people are turning our way.

We are a rich and diverse country fill of artists, inventors, discoverers etc. By saying that, I am not implying that we are unique in such a thing, there are many countries the same. The only difference is that they are independent and stand and fall on their own choice, unlike us, who have the burden of paying the price of Westminster’s failings and bullying.

I am voting yes because I come from a proud country, and would like to leave the future totally in the hands of our own decisions, so my grand children and my soon to be born great grand daughter, and for generations to come, can be proud that we, Scotland the Brave, made the right decision, for the right reasons, and not immediately thinking of the penny in our pocket at thus precise moment, and not because we were fearful of being ejected from the EU the rest of the UK may vote to stay in anyway, and not because we hate anyone, but because we are a nation ready for independence and have no wish to still live with our parents, paying our board and living off handouts .

We are not a third world country, but a globally successful one.

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[Aberdeen Voice accepts and welcomes contributions from all sides/angles pertaining to any issue. Views and opinions expressed in any article are entirely those of the writer/contributor, and inclusion in our publication does not constitute support or endorsement of these by Aberdeen Voice as an organisation or any of its team members.]

We Need To Talk About The Police – Part 1: Over-Policing

 Aberdeen City, Featured, Opinion  2 Responses »
Sep 122014
 

Policing in Britain is changing, and not for the better. Almost every newspaper seems to carry a new tale of corruption, custody death, wrongful arrest, over-policing, wrongful stop and search, ignoring reports of crimes, criminalising young children and/or institutionalised racism within the police are some of the worrying developments. When police are caught in misdeeds, sometimes of enormous magnitude, there seems to be immunity – they are the police after all.

The suggestion is not that all police are corrupt. The questions that need to be addressed include the increased powers the police have been given, often under the sweeping broad brush of ‘preventing terrorism’, how they are doing their job, and what the scope of investigation should be. Additionally, Police Scotland seems to be granting itself the right to carry guns on routine patrols.

This has happened in the Highlands without recourse to elected officials and institutions, let alone seeking a mandate from the people who are largely against this change. There are far too many problems for them to go unanswered or the situation to go unchecked. ‘Protect and Serve’ is becoming a thing of the past.  We need to talk about the police. By Suzanne Kelly.

UTG event entry securityIntroduction.

This series will look at some recent police scandals, both high and low
profile.

Police decisions, police powers (and the misuse of same), institutionalised racism, custody, cover-ups and illegal activities will be addressed.

This first in the series will look at what should have been a simple, brief (less than a few hours in duration) bright and breezy event in Aberdeen’s Union Terrace Gardens: the Queen’s Baton Commonwealth function.

This is on the one hand a very minor chapter in the problems we have with the police. On the other hand, it illustrates what some of the underlying serious issues are.

A walk in the park?

On 30th June 2014 Aberdeen was filled with police and private security. If you tried to go about your lawful business on Union Terrace such as going into your hotel or a restaurant, you were prevented from doing so before your ID and your story was checked out by private security or police. High steel partitions blocked anyone from looking into Union Terrace Gardens.

If you wanted to see into the gardens, you may as well have tried to look over the Berlin Wall. If you wanted to go in the gardens – which are common good land, owned by the people and merely managed by the city on the day? If you had a pet, a drink, or heaven forbid a plastic folding chair, you would not even have been allowed to queue in the serpentine crowd barrier maze at the only entrance that hadn’t been blocked off.

I witnessed people turning away in disgust and disappointment. What was going on?

This level of security was laid on to protect the Queen’s baton, a former commonwealth winner, some musicians and local dancers for a two hour concert. Some would say this was slight overkill. On another level, this was a display of police power over the law abiding individual, a removal of basic rights without sufficient cause, and an expenditure that was far from justified.

Fun for all the Family?

Aberdeen City  Council’s press announcement started out cheerfully enough:

“An exciting programme of dance, music and song will showcase the cultural vibrancy of Aberdeen as the Queen’s Baton Relay’s journey across the city culminates with an end-of-day celebration in Union Terrace Gardens, on Monday 30 June.” http://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/CouncilNews/ci_cns/pr_QBReveningcelebration_250614.asp

The press release soon gets ‘round to the details of what  you are going to give up, like it or not, for this brief event and other concurrent events such as an international market and a parade or two (my comments in square brackets):

“To support the safe management and delivery of this event, a secure event arena will be constructed in and around Union Terrace Gardens from Sunday 29 June. On Sunday [29 June] the east side footway on Union Terrace will be closed to pedestrians to allow the construction of temporary fencing to ensure public safety, to protect the balustrade surrounding the gardens and to create a corridor for emergency services.  

[This temporary fencing/secure arena was a steel curtain over 6’ high – cost:  unknown at present. Why does a little local event need a secure arena?  In the event, it was clear that it didn’t. The city made a meal out of claims the balustrades around the park are unsafe during a referendum on building a horrendous giant, purposeless granite ‘web’ over the gardens. Thankfully this £140 million pound plan eventually met its match. The city finds the balustrades dangerous when it suits them; they are otherwise unguarded, repair specifics remain unknown, and the city happily allows market stalls in the arches directly under the deadly balustrades.]

“…In the interests of public safety, the pavement on Union Terrace will be available for through foot traffic only – no viewing will be allowed from this area. [First of all this was untrue:  No one was allowed to walk down Union Terrace:  it was completely shut off for free access.  I witnessed people being asked to explain why they wanted to walk down this hotel and restaurant lined street. It had been turned into an ‘overflow area’ – which proved to be wholly unneeded. ]

“Union Terrace Gardens will be closed to the public on Monday 30 June to allow preparation work including the construction of a stage. It will re-open at 5pm. [it is a large park; there would have been every chance to have people use the park, but avoid the stage-construction area. But that is far from the worst unnecessary use of muscle in this poorly managed event].

“To ensure public safety the following temporary road closures will be in place [a host of road closures were done for some parades on Union Street lasting a few hours, the baton ‘celebration’ caused closures spanning at least two days for an event which lasted a few hours, and for a market.  How public safety would have been jeopardised is unclear.  What is clear is that ‘to ensure public safety’ is now a stock phrase used whenever the police want carte blanche to carry out any operations, big or small.]

“The public is advised that:

  • there will be no disabled parking in the gardens but disabled spaces will be available at the Denburn car park on a first come, first served basis; [it is just as well the event was so very poorly attended]
  • there will be a disabled viewing area near the front of the stage on a first come, first served basis;
  • both auditoriums in the gardens and on Union Terrace are standing only – no chairs or picnic style furniture will be allowed; [a great boon to the infirm; did the police fear a plastic chair fight? Was the performance of a local choir going to be so inflammatory that rioting would break out?]
  • No animals including dogs except guide dogs will be allowed in Union Terrace Gardens or on Union Terrace during the event; [People were turned away who had dogs with them, they hadn’t seen the city’s press release and sought to use the gardens as per normal. They were in violation of now law, but this arbitrary whim stopped them exercising their rights.  I do like this phrase though ‘no animals including dogs’:  one might think it was given that ‘no animals’ included dogs.  One might also wonder if someone had planned to take their Shetland pony, cats or goldfish.]
  • the public drinking byelaw in Scotland has not been relaxed for the purposes of this outdoor, family event so no alcohol will be permitted within the event arena;
  • keep your belongings safe and close to you and ensure handbags are fastened securely;
  • the weather is changeable so remember to wear appropriate clothing; [for those Aberdonians who need nannying for a two hour event in the city centre]
  • there are no catering facilities at the evening celebration; [off topic, but this was hardly festive, was it?]
  • Aberdeen City Council, Police Scotland and event stewards reserve the right to refuse entry to anyone deemed unfit to participate safely in the event. [no explanations needed; the police and private stewards could have refused anyone entry for any reason at will.]”

The business of security.

It would seem these days that no event in Aberdeen can take place without crowd barriers, private security stewards and a host of police on foot, in cars and vans, and on horseback – and a stack of rules. It is the same in some other cities as well, but this over-policing is very much an Aberdeen phenomenon.

UTG security wallIt is no surprise that the International Festivals for literature, film and performing arts thrive in Edinburgh, not Aberdeen: you would be hard put to have our police allow swarms of tourists to wander vast areas, drink at tables outside pubs and restaurants in busy streets, crowd small public squares and in general allow crowds to freely move.

Local residents may remember the enjoyable Jubilee Tea Party (thanks to the Bothwell family) in Union Terrace
Gardens.

There was a good deal of rain, but lots of music, food and fun: over 3,000 people attended – more than this brief event by all accounts, as the Union Terrace overflow area went virtually unused. There have been other recent events that went off smoothly without as much security.

What entities were responsible for agreeing to the level of security hired in, the police man-hours approved, the steel barrier erected the night before, the decision to turn Union Terrace into an overflow area for 8000 people? Who approve the budget, and how much was actually spent?

One thing is certain, whether on policing, police overtime, and/or private security steward costs:  some stakeholders must have made a fair bit of money for this overly-secured event.

Private security firms are gaining more and more foothold in the public policing sector – running prisons, providing security, escorting prisoners to trial and running young offenders homes: there are millions to be made in the larger arena of private security, and the outcomes are often not good ones. More on that in a future piece.

Another Freedom of Information Failure.

Not a single entity involved in planning the baton event is willing to put its hands up and say how the security arrangements grew so gargantuan, how much of the taxpayer’s money was wasted, how it was agreed to temporarily take away our rights to go about our business and walk our streets or use our gardens.

The City Council, Police Scotland, and the Games organisers were all asked to supply their answers to straightforward questions about budget, numbers of police and private security used, how the private firm was chosen, and so on. Not one of these entities is letting the requested information out.

What correspondence took place to allow this event to be blown out of all proportion?  Aberdeen City Council at present finds it far too wide a question to answer. They were asked questions in mid-July, and there has been no movement from their 24 July position:-

“Under our duty to advise and assist, we would like to take this opportunity to advise you that the following question will likely be refused by ACC under Section 12 – Excessive Cost of Compliance  – of the FOISA, as the relevant services are concerned that the scope of this question would likely exceed the £600 limit.”   (Email from ACC to S Kelly)

The City has recently admitted in a separate FOI request that it has NO document management policy in place, despite there being a statutory duty to have one. Lack of suitable procedure in place notwithstanding, precisely  how a half-day event would have generated so much paperwork that in this electronic age it is not possible to supply the relevant correspondence for less than £600 is hard to understand.

Still, my group and I saw at least 20 police of different ranks, several cars and vans, and at least 20 private security guards. If the lowest-paid police officer is on £ 23,493 pa , the lowest-band for sergeants is £ 36,885 (£768/week), and the lowest pay for an inspector is £ 47,256 (£984/week), we can do some estimations. If that lowest paid officer was on an hourly rate it would be c. £13.97 (£489/week).

Even assuming no overtime rate was paid, then if 20 police spent say 2 hours before the event, 2 hours at the actual event, and one hour after the event (and that’s being rather conservative), then 20 officers at £13.97 per hour for 5 hours equates to  £1397 in salary.

If they had one sergeant and one inspector, at 5 hours that would be £105 for the sergeant and £140 for the inspector.   This minimum total salary figure would then be £1642. The odds are that the real cost will be far, far higher for the police – once we’re finally told what it is.

The police were once forced to disclose that it cost the taxpayer thousands when Donald Trump cancelled a visit to Aberdeen:  the actual cost of police escort from the airport to a hotel or his Menie Estate therefore must be considerably more.  However, the police have never had to explain this further.  How the police manage to skirt many Freedom of Information Requests will be looked at in a future article in this series.

Aside from the cost, it is undeniable that police were milling about to ensure the safety of a stick and some performers from threats such as pet dogs and plastic chairs, while elsewhere in the city crimes go uninvestigated, and people are told ‘there is nothing we can do’ by police when it comes to investigating thefts. Something is wrong. We do need to talk about the police.

Attendance estimates? An 8,000 over-estimate

On the day, people were harassed for trying to get into restaurants and the hotel on Union Terrace. The police had set up an arbitrary no-go zone.

UTG security railings

This was, one has to assume, based on the bizarre projection (god knows made by whom) that some 10,000 people would want to listen to Giz Giz, and see the stick.

Apparently the gardens would close after hitting 2,000 attendees, and up to 8,000 people would be so eager with anticipation for this event that they would want to fit into the giant metal fence enclosure created on Union Terrace with a giant screen on which they could see that baton, or listen to those singers.

It would be interesting to know how those claiming their desire was ‘to ensure the public safety’ thought corralling up to 8,000 people in a giant outdoor wire pen with only one access point was a great idea, or that having only one entrance to the garden open was clever.

One might have thought that some of the dozens of under employed police and guards near HMT could have manned an extra entrance or two rather than standing around idly.

It would be interesting to know how much the giant screen [which Orwell would have shaken his head at] cost the taxpayer as well.

The group I was with on the perimeter of this circus peered down into that veritable cage, and didn’t see a single person. We asked one of the private stewards (who seemed as bemused as we were and agreed it was overstaffed as events go) about it; they had a counter in their hand.  When asked how many people had gone into the overflow area, by the time the event was more than half finished, the steward replied:  15.

Fifteen people in the overflow area; and all around it probably as many more were trying to exercise the freedoms the police had decided to take from them to stage this non-event.  Even those who enjoyed the event would have to admit this was a hugely over-policed, vastly overly regulated waste of resources, namely taxpayer money.

But it served its purpose.  Police Scotland had succeeded in:

*  demonstrating their absolute power over the legitimate rights of ordinary citizens trying to go about their normal, legal business;
*  overestimating greatly the crowd size and security needed – and getting the stakeholders (ACC, games organisers) to allow them to run the show, serving to increase their perceived power and importance;
*  making decisions  impacting on the public purse without the need to explain or justify their obvious overestimation of any possible rational risk assessment;
*  having a hand in recommending private security stewards which were vastly overstaffed on the day;
*  making those who did want to attend the event comply with unnecessary, draconian demands and ingraining obedience above freedoms;
*  having a  hand in unnecessary road closures and having their advice taken, seemingly without question by the local organisers;
*  exercising an apparent desire to take more control than necessary from the public, and having this go unquestioned.

Are the police seeking to get more and more control over our movements, or did they genuinely think that terrorists were going to come to Aberdeen to make a show of power at an event of nearly no significance? If so, what was the evidence?

If security was their one and only goal, which I am sure is the argument they would make, then you have to wonder about the wisdom of corralling people into enclosed spaces with only one access point.

If anything like 4,000 people had gone into the Union Terrace enclosure, and a problem had erupted, it would have resulted in serious injury from any panic as people sought to get out of the space:  this is a very basic safety observation, backed up by past events – and yet not one the police identified. Safety? To some it might seem more like exerting control for the sake of it.

As someone put it to me on the night, ‘they do take the jolly out of everything.’

This has been a brief look at excessive use of muscle and expenditure at our expense. In fact, some of it might seem comical in a way. The following articles in this series will seem far less so.

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Old Susannah No.161 Physicians, Police & Parents

 Opinion, Satire and Humour  2 Responses »
Sep 052014
 

Voice’s Old Susannah takes a look over the past week’s events in the ‘Deen and beyond. By Suzanne Kelly.

DictionaryTally ho! It’s all happening in the Deen and Shire. The Fyvie Festival was last weekend, offering a nice day out including the chance to look at the priceless Tiffany window in Fyvie Kirk. Celebrate Aberdeen took place, rain and shine, across the city. Acts such as Youse Dancin’, The Black Gold Bandits, Iron Broo and The Gerry Jablonski Band entertained the soggy crowds.

Anthony Baxter’s film will open in cinemas across Scotland on Friday the 5th. Alex Salmond has been invited to the premier in Aberdeen with a Q&A session and panel.

He’s also been invited to visit the Menie Estate residents; it’s a shame he’s been too busy to visit his constituents there, but give him another few years to fit it in, and I’m sure he will. No word on whether Sarah Malone of Trump will attend.
This week I had planned to write about the menace the city is bravely tackling. Drunk Driving? The few slightly tipsy people occasionally seen in the city centre on weekend nights? Fuel or food poverty?

No, the problem we have all been afraid to face is finally in the spotlight: the sandwich board. These dangerous, frightening health menaces lurk outside sandwich shops (appropriately enough), restaurants, pubs and more: it’s a wonder anyone’s still alive.

The council is taking decisive action against these horrendous trip hazards, you’ll be delighted to know. Of course, the sign draws attention to itself (that’s its purpose you see), and you’d have to be as drunk as an ex-councillor not to see the signs.

A hardened cynic might ask the city why it’s going after sandwich board signs, given that one or two other cities round the world somehow manage to co-exist with these signs. I propose we sent our officers and provosts off on a round-the-world fact-finding mission; they are good at that sort of thing.

I suppose that since the city has smoothed every square inch of pavement and street that it is responsible for, it’s now time to turn its attention to the scourge of society, the sandwich board. I for one feel safer knowing that something will be done about the sandwich board plague. Chalk up another one for ACC; the writing’s on the wall for signs.

However, there is something nearly as important as the city’s challenge to the sign menace. This isn’t an Aberdeen or even a Scottish story, so we really should pay it no attention at all. However, I thought looking at the story of little Ashya King and how the police and Southampton Hospital had nobly gone to his rescue would be of interest this week.

A brain tumour landed this child in Southampton General Hospital; which would not fund a particular treatment his parents decided they wanted to try. It could prove life-saving. The hospital were certainly not able to guarantee that the treatment they offered would be the best or the only option.

The parents did their own research (kind of like those meddling parents who invented Lorenzo’s Oil when their child was ill ), and wanted their son to be treated at a clinic abroad, which said they would do the treatment now and worry about payment later (which in itself is rather a strange concept, almost as if treatment and medicine should be available to those who need it regardless of money concerns.I wonder if this might catch on in the UK?).

The parents had a crazy idea, and decided to get their son treated at this clinic, and moved to take Ashya there.

Well, Southampton General Hospital reacted in the only manner open to it: they instantly moved to take Ashya into custody, issued press releases saying that Ashya was in grave danger, called in the police and demanded Ashya’s return so they could get custody of him and continue to deny him the desired treatment.  Sounds perfectly reasonable and measured to me.

Obviously the hospital and its staff know best, just like they do up and down the UK. There might not be a specific law that says you have to keep your child in a hospital which refuses to pay for a treatment which might well help him. However, the police were only too happy to go on a Spanish vacation – sorry – suffer the hardship of going to Spain — to have the sick child put in isolation and his parents locked up, unable to visit.

(You might think that the Spanish police assisted by the dashing, intelligent, sensitive UK police force would be sufficient to stop two distraught parents from absconding from a hospital visit to their cancer-stricken son, but you would of course be wrong).

For some reason (perhaps the outcry of one or two people in the UK) the parents have been released from custody, an extradition order to the UK has been lifted, and if the hospital agrees, he may get treatment after all. We’ll see what happens next in due course; perhaps some related definitions will shed some light on the goings-on to date.

Neglect: (English Noun) to treat an individual or an animal in such a way their needs are not met; to ignore, fail to assist.

Of course, hospitals will only ever care about the patient’s welfare. Money, targets, shutting up whistle blowers and defending lawsuits never enter into it. If Southampton moved to take a boy with cancer away from his parents, it was only for his own health and happiness. I’m sure it consulted its best child psychologists in advance, and confirmed that no mental or emotional harm would come from their actions.

That’s why hospitals call the police on anyone who would disobey them, and that’s why the police and hospitals turn involved families into criminals – all for the patient’s welfare.

Southampton accused the parents of ‘suspected neglect’ for taking their son to get treated.

It may seem strange that in one part of the UK suspected neglect of one child results in police jetting off to Spain, and in another part of the UK like Rotherham it results in 1400 or more young people being sexually abused and absolutely nothing being done about it despite people coming forward, abuse accusations being swept under the carpet and victims discredited, but there you go. I guess you have to expect these minor regional variations in policing.

But let’s look at the august, professional men and women who run things at Southampton General Hospital, and why they have the right to accuse the King parents of neglect.

In 2010 a boy named Matthew Kenway, of Fareham, Hampshire, died at Southampton General Hospital ; he was going to have a routine kidney operation. No one checked his heart was still working; they didn’t hook up a heart monitor. Eventually they realised there was a problem, and still there seems to have been a delay in getting him help. A fatal delay, but it could have happened to anyone really. So, no negligence there then.

With the tiny amount of things that go wrong in the medical profession, and with the support and encouragement given to whistle-blowers (on the rare occasion they are needed), you wouldn’t think there would be such a thing as a website called www.clinical-medical-negligence.com – yet somehow there is. According to it:

“The family’s solicitor Patricia Wakeford, of Blake Lapthorn, said: “Evidence heard at the inquest raised grave concerns about the quality of care that Matthew received and the processes that were in place at Southampton General Hospital at the time of Matthew’s death. Shortly after 3am, the oxygen monitor probe appeared not to be recording his oxygen levels. The nurse initially thought the machine might be faulty, but it transpired that Matthew’s heart had stopped.

“Eventually, a cardiac arrest call was put out and the arrest team then attempted, for 40 minutes until 4.20am, to resuscitate Matthew but they were unsuccessful and he died. During the course of the two-day inquest, a series of key findings emerged suggesting there were serious shortcomings in the care Matthew received. At post-mortem it emerged that the stent placed in the left kidney was not in the correct place.”
http://www.clinical-medical-negligence.com/2014_02_01_archive.html#.VATNj8J0zIU

These are just the sort of people you want wresting legal control of your son away from you.

I guess anyone can make a mistake. Except Southampton General. This might not be neglect, but there was a wee matter of apparent experimenting on patients. Southampton seems to have been involved in a trial of a new antibiotic made by Bayer; it must have been very exciting for the patients who got this drug.

Doubtless they were all made perfectly aware of the risks of this trial taking place in the hallowed surgical wards of Southampton; to do otherwise might have looked like neglect. Alas, one website isn’t that happy about it:

“This information [about the experimental drug] was not revealed to the hospitals before up to 650 people had undergone surgery, violating their human rights. The trials resulted in nearly half of the people at one test centre in Southampton developing potentially life-threatening infections. At least one patient died, and another developed an infection so severe that his relatives were initially told he would not survive. Nearly half the patients at Southampton Hospitals Trust developed post-operative wound infections requiring emergency therapy. Infection and mortality rates at the five other trial sites were never revealed on grounds of “confidentiality”

“Stephen Karran, a retired consultant surgeon from Southhampton, was concerned about the trial. He pointed out the flaw in the earliest possible stage, and contacted the press after the trial went ahead unaltered anyway. Bayer has confirmed that it knew of absorption problems with the drug before the study began. However, they still used the dangerous drug for two years, are still keeping trial results secret, and have not paid compensation to the relatives of patients injured or killed in the course of its unapproved trials.” http://www.corporatewatch.org/company-profiles/corporate-crimes-3

It might have been Bayer’s drug trial, but Southampton Hospitals Trust ran with it. I’d not want to be thought cynical, but often these drug trials involve a wee bit of money going to the institutions involved. The mega international pharmaceutical sector is every bit as benevolent as you would think.

I’m sure Southampton will be happy to explain more about people being experimented on, how informed consent was obtained, when they stopped the trials and how many people were at risk – oh, and how much money they got for this and other experimentations. Keeping people from risk and preventing neglect: that’s what Southampton is all about, as the King family will tell you.

It will be interesting to see what evidence there is that taking the little boy to be treated at a different hospital is tantamount to neglect.

If this ever reaches a courtroom, I hope no serpentine defence lawyer will ask the hospital any questions about neglect past and present. After all, the hospital wasn’t to know the boy was gone for 6 hours, despite his supposedly needing constant care and attention. You and I are of course laypeople, but to some that 6 hour gap in a young child’s cancer nursing might seem ever so slightly neglectful on the part of Southampton.

Communication Breakdown: (English compound noun) A deterioration or cessation of dialogue (also an excellent Led Zeppelin song)

According to the BBC:

“Dr Michael Marsh, medical director at University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, said he regretted that their communication and relationship with the King family had ‘broken down’.”
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-29009883

The hospital was great at communicating. They communicated to the police and other authorities that they wanted custody of this boy, that he was possibly neglected, and that he was at great risk because a battery in a feeding tube system might die.

What a pity then that their paid in-house media people never noticed the video which spread like c-difficile across facebook showing a happy Ashya and his parents abroad, with no feeding or other problems. They would of course have backed off.

Old Susannah was trying to find out a few things about this feeding tube at the centre of the hospital’s attempt to get custody of the boy: what kind of battery did it have, how often did it need to be replaced, were the parents aware the battery had to be changed, did they try to call or text the parents to tell them about the battery?

Obviously they did all that and didn’t just run to the media and the police, complaining that communication had broken down. I will be very reassured to know how much effort the hospital made to tell the family about the feeding system when they had left.

I also was going ask other questions (What did the hospital think Ashya would be going through stress wise because of the hospital and police actions and how would that affect his emotions and health? Why was there a 6 hour gap between anyone visiting this ill child before they realised he was gone? – and a few other minor points).

Alas! There is indeed a communication breakdown. The hospital’s media team has failed to answer its phone on any of the many times I phone it. I left 3 messages on 2nd September with my email and my mobile number. Yes, a communication breakdown is a serious problem.It’s very good of Southampton to regret having one.

Obviously they don’t regret criminialising a family, adding to their anxiety, having people arrested, refusing to fund treatment, and trying to take custody of someone’s sick child. If they did, they’d have apologised for it. They are sorry however for the communication breakdown. Old Susannah can almost hear that familiar refrain so often given to the media: “we don’t discuss individual cases.”

Except when it suits them.

They told the world the age, sex, condition name of Ashya; they shared his and his parents’ images. It will be a breeze for them to prove in court that they only breached the data protection act after taking every other step possible. The phone log of their calls to the Kings will be a very reassuring document indeed.

Heroic: (English adjective) Having qualities of braveness, courage fearlessness and strength.

In this whole saga, the shining heroic actions of a few people show through. Not only was Southampton brave enough to issue press releases claiming the child was in grave danger and take custody away from the parents to the state, the police showed heroism as well.

They bravely lept to conclusions; they bravely got on a plane to Spain, they courageously raided Ashya’s grandmother’s house for a much-needed intensive search. A Belfast Telegraph article reports:

“Assistant Chief Constable Chris Shead said last night: “We have been told by medical experts that the battery life on the machine that administers his food is now likely to have expired. We don’t know whether the King family have any spares, the knowledge or any way of recharging the battery. If they don’t without properly administered food, Ashya’s condition will deteriorate very quickly. With each hour that passes our concern for him grows.””

If I didn’t know better, I’d start to wonder if the UK’s police have a shoot/arrest/taser/search/criminalise first and don’t ask questions later approach.

How come the hospital couldn’t tell the police whether or not the family knew how to work the apparatus? When it was shown that the boy was fine and happy wasn’t that the end of it? Thank goodness other such breaches in the Inspector Morse-like investigation techniques of the police are once in a lifetime.

Old Susannah also guesses that, like the hospital, no one at the police was quite heroic enough to call the family or leave them a message about the battery; doubtless we’ll find out what they did about the battery in due course. It would be cynical to suggest this was all a witch hunt. Much better it turned out the way it did. Let this be a lesson to other parents (or to people in the past who have tried to interfere with hospitals, like these people ).

Mrs King, the grandmother had this to say after her flat was searched (perhaps they would have found the family hiding in the chiller cabinet or under a bed?):

“They (the authorities) are the ones who are cruel because they have taken poor little Ashya who is dying of a brain tumour and they won’t let the parents, my son and daughter-in-law, they won’t let them see him at all.

“It’s terrible, it is so cruel it is unbelievable.”

She added:

“To try and make out that he has been neglected… Why haven’t we got any human rights? They keep on, the EU, about human rights. Where are our human rights? We have got none.”
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/ashya-king-brother-of-fiveyearold-boy-defends-parents-actions-in-new-video-9702977.html

Before ending this definition of heroics, the police and hospital might well have got away with it, if it weren’t for some meddling kids. Naveed King, elder brother to Ashya has been spending his time campaigning, raising awareness, looking after his other siblings, dealing with the media, raising funds, posting updates on Facebook and other such activities.

Surely he should have been doing his homework instead or playing video games? The other King children held fast as well. Let’s see whether there isn’t some bureauocrat out there ready to criticise Naveed’s impertinence. We can’t have young people running around criticising authorities and sticking up for their families now, can we?

Next week: don’t expect answers from Souuthampton, but I’ll keep asking.

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Scottish Salmon’s Secret Seal Killers

 Environment, Opinion  No Responses »
Sep 052014
 

With thanks to Don Staniford Director, Global Alliance Against Industrial Aquaculture.

friendly looking sealThe Scottish Government is set for another bloody battle with Scotland’s Information Commissioner after refusing to disclose how many seals have been killed by salmon farmers.

On Thursday 21 August, GAAIA filed a formal review seeking to over-turn the Scottish Government’s refusal to disclose the information.

In May last year the Scottish Government were finally forced to publish the names of salmon farms in Scotland killing seals – with data made available online for 2013, 2012 and 2011. 

This week’s refusal to disclose data for 2014 runs counter to rulings made by the Scottish Information Commissioner in November 2012 and April 2013. The Global Alliance Against Industrial Aquaculture is now calling for a boycott of Scottish farmed salmon.

“It’s shameful that the Scottish Government is once again protecting the predominantly Norwegian-owned salmon farming industry from public scrutiny rather than protecting Scotland’s seals,” said Don Staniford, Director of the Global Alliance Against Industrial Aquaculture. 

“Surely the public have a right to know which sites are killing seals and make an informed decision about the salmon they are buying? 

“Judging by previous rulings, the Scottish Information Commissioner should force the Government to name and shame those salmon farmers with blood on their hands. In the meantime, consumers wanting to avoid seal-unfriendly products should play it safe by boycotting all Scottish farmed salmon.”

John Robins of Animal Concern added:

“Marine Scotland and the Scottish Government are continuing to treat Freedom of Information legislation with total contempt,”

“At the moment there are a number of cases where they have either totally failed to meet time limits for responding to FOI requests, refused FOI requests or have released paperwork with so many redactions that it is incomprehensible.

“Alex Salmond and his Ministers are bending over backwards to protect netsmen who are killing thousands of wild salmon before they can swim upriver and breed and a mainly foreign owned factory fish farming industry which profits from damaging the Scottish marine environment and killing the creatures which inhabit that environment.”

Read GAAIA’s request for a review (21 August 2014) of the Scottish Government’s refusal to disclose seal killing salmon farm information online here – the review request includes:

“The real reason the Scottish salmon farming industry does not want data on seal killing salmon farms to be disclosed is market success and the future certification of farmed salmon. In December 2012, the SSPO wrote to the Scottish Government claiming that the release of the names of the seal-killing salmon farms would “have a direct impact on the market success of their products” (read the SSPO’s letter in full online here).”

More info:

Sunday Times Article 24.08.2014: “End Secrecy Over Seal Deaths”
Scottish Information Commissioner’s rulings in 26 November 2012 and 23 April 2013 and press statement in April 2013.
Letters to the US Government calling for ban on imports of farmed salmon – online here
Humpback whale was killed by a salmon farm off the Isle of Mull in July – read more via “Salmon Farming Kills Whales“.
More background via “The Killing Farms” and “Scottish Salmon’s Seal Killers!“

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Big Sandy Urges You To Vote Yes And Get Rid Of Trident

 Aberdeen City, Opinion  No Responses »
Sep 052014
 

Big SandyWith thanks to Jonathan Russell, Aberdeen CND.

Scottish Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament’s giant, Big Sandy, will be visiting Aberdeen to encourage people to vote Yes between 2-4pm this Saturday 6th September in the square outside Marks and Spencer’s.
Big Sandy is a ten feet tall puppet. He first appeared at the West End Festival in Glasgow in June.

Since then he has helped the Yes campaign on the streets and at major public events all across Scotland.

Jonathan Russell Chair of Aberdeen and District Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament stated:

“Central to the Independence debate is the getting rid of Nuclear Weapons from Scottish Soil. A non-nuclear Scotland will also be enshrined in a Scottish Constitution Getting rid of Nuclear weapons from Scotland will make it exceedingly difficult for the remaining UK to place the existing or new era missiles anywhere in the remaining UK “

Also attending on Saturday, North East MSP Christian Allard said:

“Weapons of mass destruction have no place in a modern Scotland. Labour and the coalition parties at Westminster are committed to the irrational and costly renewal of the UK’s nuclear weapons system – only a Yes vote in September will guarantee Scottish waters are Trident free.  I urge any undecided voters to come along to the St Nicholas Centre on Saturday and learn about the opportunities for an independent Scotland.”

For more information contact:

John Ainslie, Coordinator, Scottish CND,
john.ainslie@banthebomb.org
0141 357 1529 07442 500476

or Jonathan Russell, Aberdeen CND
jhamiltonrussell@hotmail.co.uk
tel 01224 586435
Mobile 07582456233

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In Conversation With Elaine Pirie, A Dog’s Best Friend

 Aberdeen City, Featured, Opinion  No Responses »
Sep 052014
 

Elaine Pirie is involved with numerous issues concerning animal welfare, more often than not centring on canines. Her dogged determination across a host of initiatives and issues is impressive. By Suzanne Kelly.

elaine dogs 1Elaine and I meet appropriately at BrewDog; she arrives with two marvellous rescued pooches, which are well received. Her knowledge of dogs is only surpassed by her clear passion for them. She is involved and has been for many years with charities, campaigns, welfare issues. After we yapped for a while, several themes, issues and organisations came to the fore.

The Dog Walkers Association:

Aberdeen Dog Walkers Association is a collective of dog walking professionals who seek to implement standards of care, in order to safeguard the well-being of dogs, and let pet owners know what service and level of care they should be getting when entrusting a beloved animal to a relative stranger. Elaine has been involved with Pamela Rutherford to get the association up and running.

Elaine said:

“We have also recently been contacted by another group, the Scottish Dog Walkers Association and we hope to really get things moving now with their help and involvement. Pamela also runs the Pets Info North east Facebook page.”

More can be learnt about this organisation, events, shows, talks and more here.

Walking The Dog:

People who can’t leave work, people with health or mobility problems, busy people need to know they can rely on a professional, reliable dog walker to take care of their pet when they can’t do so. Elaine told me about the Aberdeen Dog Walkers Association, which has a code of ethics for dog walkers.

This includes any van having separate crates/kennels/spaces for individual dogs should a walker take out more than one animal at a time. Elaine explained an unfortunate story of a weak dog left in the back of a van with other dogs. The outcome was fatal. If you are going to use a service, make certain they are insured at the very least; dog walkers in this scheme will not take more than 6 dogs out at a time, and will look after their welfare.

As an aside, walking your dog should be a chance for you and your pet to enjoy each other’s company, to exercise, to spend time together. When a dog wants to stop and sniff something, why not let it do so. When a dog is doing its business, wait patiently until it has finished – don’t start dragging it away. And by all means, obey the law and clean up after your dog.

Don’t leave your dog alone in a vehicle:

Elaine is among other things a professional dog walker, and while you might think that must be a simple thing to do, it requires knowledge and attention to detail as well as an overriding dedication to animal welfare. (I mentioned a tragic case from Canada – a dog walker who would take multiple dogs for walks reported them stolen one day. After a while she confessed: she forgot about her charges, left them in her van – and as dogs do in vehicles which may not seem hot to you – all of them died).

elaine dogs 3Like so many other people, she was only going to leave the dogs for a little bit of time: she got involved with other things; she forgot them. She didn’t think it was too hot: it was for animals that do not sweat and therefore can’t cool down any car, however comfortable to you or to me, can be a killer.

She didn’t think a few minutes (which turned into a few hours) could do any harm.

Every person who winds up killing their pet dog when it dies in a car has the same story.

This is one of the reasons that the Scottish SPCA has issued the advice: do not leave your dog alone in a car, truck or van. End of. There is another worrying reason not to leave your dog unattended in public, a reason that is increasing in frequency.

Dog theft:

Elaine and I discussed many anecdotes, including the guide dog ‘Tess’ which ‘went missing’ in Nairn. Coincidentally, a leading animal charity informed me that at the same time in the same area, 3 horses were stolen.

Dog thefts are a reality and they are increasingly frequent. In our area, dogs have mysteriously disappeared from back gardens (police theorise the garden gates weren’t shut or the dogs opened them – claims owners disagree with). The Police did issue a warning about thefts of dogs tied up in front of stores, malls and supermarkets. Tess is a curly coated black retriever and is micro chipped.

If she just went missing, she will still have her guide dog collar and harness on. If you see the dog or have any ideas where she might be, call 0800 6888 409.

On Aberdeen Beach a man was letting his dog run around without being on a lead; a stranger appeared from a sand dune, and started waving food at the dog; the dog went for it.

When the owner finally got to the scene, the stranger was trying to take the dog, using the excuse he somehow thought it was his dog. The owner got a description of the man who quickly made off. Going to the local police, you might have thought there would have been an investigation or even a report made. The police told the owner since nothing was stolen, they were not interested.

If anyone knows anything about animal theft, please get in touch with the Scottish SPCA on 03000 999 999 – and do let Aberdeen Voice know as well.

Lost or stolen dog? Act immediately:

If you lose your dog – let’s hope it’s not been stolen, and let’s hope it is micro chipped – call your vet and local vets, and let them know. I found a dog a month ago at the Cove Bay roundabout; while I put details of it on the Lost and Found pets Aberdeen City and Shire Facebook page, my colleague called the two nearest vets: one of them had just been called by the frantic owners.

Dog and owners were soon reunited. Micro chipping does help reunite lost pets and owners. Leave flyers in the area where the animal went missing; conduct thorough searches – cats especially wander into buildings/sheds which are then locked behind them.

elaine dogs 2Stolen pets wind up in a variety of situations –some are used for breeding – and illegal puppy mills mean money for unscrupulous people and lots of suffering for bitches and puppies. Exhausted, badly treated bitches are kept pregnant; the pups are sold as soon as they can be for large sums in some cases.
Some stolen animals are sold on websites such as Gum tree (which should know better, but that’s another story).

And some have a far worse fate.

If you see any lost or stray animals, try and rescue them if you can do so safely. If not, call the Scottish SPCA. Animals are being abandoned by people who simply get tired of them, who have no idea how to cope with illnesses or behaviour issues, or who have problems continuing to afford pets.

There is no excuse for dumping a pet at a roadside, in a box, in a park: domestic animals do not fend for themselves; they will be cold, hungry and frightened – and nothing good can come of it. Call someone to get help with your problems – don’t make your pet suffer for your lack of ability to cope.

Help is again available from many sources; start with some of the Facebook links in this article, or call the Scottish SPCA. Do not leave your animal alone to fend for itself.

Dog Fighting:

Dog fighting is real, it is increasing, and it happens in Aberdeen city and shire.

Dog fighting is – obviously barbaric and illegal. It is also a means for some dangerous, cruel people to make a quick bit of money. The dogs are forced to fight against their nature by torture. They are forced to exercise until they drop; bitches are used for breeding and then discarded / killed when exhausted. Smaller dogs, cats and other animals are fed to starved would-be fighting dogs to give them a blood lust.

A woman approached a man in Kincorth some years back; he had been walking a Staffordshire pit bull terrier. She told him he could make good money by fighting his dog. An anti dog-fighting campaign led to a tip off that dog fighting not only takes place in ‘the Gramps’ in Aberdeen, but indoors in parts of Torry.

If you know anything and do nothing about it, you are guilty of serious cruelty. If you think dogs like to fight, they most definitely do not. If you hear any dogs or animals crying in pain anywhere, please call the Scottish SPCA.

To avoid your animal getting caught up in this horrendous crime, do not leave them alone in public, get them micro chipped, keep an eye on cats, and report any suspicious activities.

Let’s not forget that a few years ago, two men in the north part of the city held down a girl’s pet cat, and encouraged a dog with them to savage it. Let’s not forget that a dead dog was found inside a suitcase in Torry which had been badly treated and starved. Let’s not forget that a dog with injuries was found in the city.

they want to and need to fit into your family to be well adjusted

It would be nice if the police led the way with an awareness campaign, but that’s not happening. If you want to distribute flyers in your area, get in touch with Aberdeen Voice, and we will send you some.

And if you want a pet? Please don’t contribute to the suffering involved in puppy mills; please take an animal that is already here – adopt.

Dog Rescue Charities:

Elaine Pirie supports and volunteers with ‘Friends of Bianca’ a Portuguese charity caring for and rehoming strays. Strays are a huge problem the world over; Elaine’s advice for every pet owner? ‘Fix your dog!’ Neutering your animal can help the growing problem of strays.

Elaine’s charity in Portugal is careful about rehoming animals, but she is concerned that so many foreign dog rehoming charities do no follow up. In fact, Elaine advises that many dogs rescued from overseas charities wind up unwanted and abandoned in the UK.

“People receive animals from abroad and then are dumping them here – or are not given a support network in the UK.”

The idea of owning a dog (or any pet for that matter) may be appealing – but if you don’t have the time and patience to make sure it is well trained, that you will feed it adequate portions of dog food, that you will exercise it and make it part of your family, then don’t get one. Dogs are pack animals; they want to and need to fit into your family to be well adjusted.

Studies have shown that dogs left along for long periods of time in a house spend most of that time by the door, awaiting the return of the owner.

If you are one of those people who think that you get a dog, chain it in your back yard and leave it alone, please think twice about doing anything so cruel and, well, nasty. Why get one if you don’t want to be with it? The Scottish SPCA is constantly rescuing neglected animals who are treated this way; again if you know of a dog which is neglected, underfed, badly treated, the Scottish SPCA wants to know about it.

Training:

Dogs require patient, kind and consistent training. There is never, ever a need to hit any animal. Your tone of voice, your commands will be all that a dog needs to know it has behaved badly – if you use one of the area’s excellent dog training services.

We unfortunately have a problem of people owning dogs, often status symbol powerful breeds, which have no idea how to control or train them: the many stories of children and adults mauled by dogs will often have bad training at the root.

This is not training; this is cruel bullying

We also have cases of dogs attacking other dogs in Aberdeen city parks. Guide dogs have even been attacked.

Avoid gimmicky trainers. The so-called ‘Mexican dog whisperer’ has been outed: he uses cruel electric shocks and spike chokers to get his ‘magical results’. The electrical shock devices are the same thing used by dog fighting gangs to get the dogs to attack other dogs.

The spike chokers consist of having two metal rods jab your dog in their throat every time you pull the leash. Neither item has any purpose other than to hurt and make a dog obey out of pain and fear. This is not training; this is cruel bullying. Campaigns are being waged to stop the sale of all such torture devices.

But enough of the bad stuff, back to the happy side of having a dog.

Dog Events:

Having a dog might be work – but it is also potentially a great way to have fun and keep fit. There are many charity walks, obedience competitions and dog and owner days out to be found in the city and shire. Next month there will be a fly ball event in Seaton Park. Dogs train to jump over hurdles and retrieve balls; it’s competitive – but the emphasis is on fun.

Friends of Bianca (a registered Scottish Charity) will have a fun walk on 28 September From Westburn Park on the Deeside Railway line.

Pet Information North East is another resource for information about dogs, dog-related events and talks, and to communicate with other dog owners.

Elaine’s two dogs are ready for home; another dog has entered BrewDog, and the excitement is just too much for this pair. Elaine takes her leave.

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Further Conversation With Anthony Baxter

 Environment, Featured, Opinion  30 Responses »
Sep 022014
 

Anthony Baxter talks to Suzanne Kelly about golf, human rights, Robert F Kennedy Junior, politicians, and Glenfiddich. By Suzanne Kelly.

dangerous game hare2

‘A Dangerous Game’ will be on general release as of Friday 5th September in Scotland.

Anthony Baxter and Richard Phinney set out some years ago to make a documentary. Their subject was Donald Trump building a golf course on the Menie Estate, and what life was like for the residents. The filmmakers didn’t expect to be arrested for their investigative journalism. Then again, they didn’t expect to win virtually every documentary prize worldwide for the resulting film, either.

But that’s what their first film, ‘You’ve Been Trumped’ did.

‘A Dangerous Game’ is the sequel, and unusually for a documentary, it will be on general release as of Friday 5th September in Scotland, with English cinemas following on the 12th September.

The film premiered in Canada, Sheffield and at the Edinburgh International Film Festival to great acclaim. Anthony Baxter will hold a Question and Answer session and panel discussion after the 5th September 18:30 showing at Cineworld in Aberdeen’s Union Square. On the cusp of its general release.

A brief history of Trump

It was June of 2011 when as a new contributor to Aberdeen Voice I went to Aberdeen’s Belmont Cinema to see the brand new documentary ‘You’ve Been Trumped’, and to interview its makers, Anthony Baxter and Richard Phinney.

By way of background, Trump was initially turned down by the Aberdeenshire Council for his grandiose scheme, until Alex Salmond, who had wined and dined with The Donald on both sides of the Atlantic, sashayed in and took the normal planning process away from the shire.

Salmond, who to this day has not visited the Menie residents despite their being his constituents, had the Scottish government hold an inquiry which led to the green light for Trump, concluding that there would be thousands of jobs and that environmental protection was less important than these jobs, jobs which never materialised. Donald Trump got his way.

Perhaps that should that be ‘The Don’ and not the Donald: the BBC has linked him to organised crime in the USA.

The bulldozers moved in, residents refused to move out, even when Trump-employed tricksters tried to buy their homes under false pretences.

Residents were then under siege. Property was destroyed: David Milne’s fence, Michael Forbes’ boat and other possessions. Their water supply pipe was ‘accidentally’ broken by Trump diggers, police threatened residents with arrest if they went through newly erected gates, and private security illegally demanded frequent identity checks.

Susan Munro’s cottage was veritably surrounded by high mounds of earth which blocked the light and blew dirt and dust into her home, also ruining automobile engines. The once wild area became a veritable personal dictatorship with the blessing of the government.

A Dangerous Precedent

So is The Trumpster alone in seeking greenbelt land to manicure into submission? Not at all, as Anthony and ‘A Dangerous Game’ explain.

While much of the new film is concerned with the Menie Estate, it is largely set in Dubrovnik, a beautiful, UNESCO heritage site with a long, important history.

Naturally it is now in the crosshairs of international property developers who want to create a golf resort. These developers will, it seems, get to turn the wilderness area above the city into a resort for the rich golfer, with considerable local government collaboration and contempt for democracy and rule of law easing their path.

This undemocratic modus operandi is happening in many places. What’s wrong with turning legally protected wild areas into golf courses? Nothing, aside from losing public green spaces, wildlife habitat and biodiversity, greenskeeping chemicals which do leech into the water table, and corruption in governments leading to exploitation of resources and contempt for the electorate.

Part of the film shows how towns like Montrose manage to encourage golfing without the environmental destruction, architectural aberration or megalomania. Not so at Menie, not so at Dubrovnik.

A Dangerous Film

The film talks to environmental campaigners, and to Trump and his son. Father and son taped the interviews independently of Anthony, so as to prevent them from being badly edited or being made to look foolish. Heaven forfend.

The new film is again beautifully filmed and edited. However, there are rich and powerful people in several countries who won’t be coming out of this looking very good at all. If ‘You’ve Been Trumped’ stirred the pot, ‘A Dangerous Game’ is potentially explosive.

Playing Catch Up

Anthony has been working nearly non-stop for months, if not years now. We finally get to speak at some length.

“I’m very excited to get the film out, to get the story to the audience.”

He explains:

“I want to get across the important message about democracy and how it breaks down when those who are supposed to represent us don’t do so. 

“It’s unusual to have a documentary released in cinemas. There will be a Q&A session and panel discussions. ‘A Dangerous Game’ will be in cinema multiplexes as well as art house theatres.”

We inevitably discuss the Scottish Referendum. Anthony says:

“This film is not about independence, but it is about our democracy. We have a responsibility to be vigilant, whichever side wins on September 18th.”

The film steers clear of the concurrent Scottish independence referendum debate, but it does not steer clear of criticising those who have earned criticism. It is undeniable that Alex Salmond’s intervention and previous enthusiasm for Trump’s megalomaniacal plans trumped, if you will, due process, existing environmental protection legislation, and the rights of Menie Estate residents.

It somehow feels as if the Menie Estate’s environment and people are being forgotten by the government behind the walls of dirt and sand that Trump had built up around the properties which he called ‘eyesores’ and ‘wanted pulled down’. Alex Salmond is meant to represent the Menie residents, it’s his constituency.

He’s turned down many invitations to come and watch ‘You’ve Been Trumped.’ He has been asked to visit the estate prior to the sequel’s premiere on the 5th September, and to come to the premiere too. Answer comes there none. (I’m still waiting Alex; do come to the Aberdeen screening on the 5th and/or the after party: there are people who would love to speak with you).

Anthony elaborates:

“The residents live in Salmond’s constituency, and even after the public outcry and outpouring of sympathy, the Trump organisation continues to make life difficult for them.”

Anthony mentions resident Mickey Foote, who wonders about the ‘duty of care’ or lack thereof, shown by his elected representatives.

 “Alex Salmond is of course busy, but in eight years of driving past the area, he has never once visited the residents in their homes.” 

Anthony quotes Robert F Kennedy Jr. in the film and to me:

“Wherever you see environmental injury you also see the subversion of democracy. The two things go hand in hand. They always do.”

 If it can happen in Scotland in the 21st century, it can certainly happen to Dubrovnik too.

Anthony continues:

“Something in our democracy is broken and we have to fix it.”

Resident David Milne tried to fix it by starting a petition, among many other actions, to ask for a full inquiry into how the police, Scottish National Heritage, the local government’s planning people and other organisations behaved during and after the controversial planning application favoured Trump’s plans.

No fewer than 19,000 people signed this request, and the Scottish Government petitions committee, seven people, had to take the matter up. Their methodology? To ask all of the organisations in the firing line for grave failures whether they should be investigated or not.

Unsurprisingly, these organisations, all caught in undemocratic actions, declined to be investigated. Clearly confused, the petitions committee also seemed to think that the hearing to grant the planning permission was enough of an investigation to hold, even though actions such as the police failings clearly, obviously occurred after planning was granted.

Many people including me contacted the committee. They refused to explain anything on the matter and it is now permanently closed. When we discuss this, Anthony’s voice changes slightly; he sounds rightly angry.

“David Milne is an ordinary person, he’s not a lawyer and he’s been forced by circumstances to spend great amounts of time just trying to protect his rights and to have this investigation. It’s shocking how he was treated by the committee.”

We discuss the unfairness of this decision and many other issues. He tells me:

“We have every right to expect there will be logic in our democracy.”

I can’t argue, but it’s clear we don’t have much logic going around these days. The bunds blocking light from the Munro house were never part of the planning permission; they are still standing at full height despite what the law says. Gates are locked, stopping people exercising their right to roam.

The Government may not have wanted this issue looked at, despite the request of 19,000 people. However, people power came to the fore in spades when Michael Forbes was voted Top Scot of the Year by the public in Glenfiddich’s annual awards.

The awards night is beautifully captured in ‘A Dangerous Game’, and like the events in Dubrovnik that Anthony and Richard have documented, it serves to show that people can still make a difference when they act together. Baxter and Phinney have demonstrated that even one or two people can make a world of difference as well.

Continuing on the theme of awards, we talk about the nature of Trump the man, and Anthony brings up the award Trump ‘won’ – captured in the film. Trump proudly threw a press conference to announce he received a ‘six diamond award’ and that these ‘aren’t just given out’.

Except they are, if you are connected to the awarding organisation.

“It was a bogus award ceremony held on the Trump course – not a single person there did anything to find out why a 90-year-old woman still has no proper water supply.” 

I am completely taken aback: I had no idea that the water pipe broken by the Trump people’s operations so many years ago, leaving them with no running water, has not in all this time been repaired correctly. I am writing again to the Trump organisation; and will advise what the reply is. The web page trumpeting this six diamond award includes two Press & Journal congratulatory articles.

But where was the local press when Molly Forbes was carrying water from a stream in buckets, and Michael and Sheila Forbes were without water as well? In bed with the Trump administration literally, as Evening Express beauty queen ‘face of Aberdeen’ Sarah Malone married Aberdeen Journals Ltd’s Damian Bates; she is a Trump VP at Menie, despite having virtually no relevant previous experience.

Coincidentally, Baxter’s award-winning film concerning a local problem has received virtually no coverage, the residents and politicians standing up to Trump were mocked in the local printed press. We discuss the importance of having a free press that is not beholden to the rich and powerful and which lets people know what is really going on.

Since the Edinburgh premiere, Trump’s been busy. He’s now active in Ireland, and has turned Turnberry into Trump Turnberry. I ask if Anthony will be using any of these developments.

“We’re just tweaking a few details, there is the purchase of the Irish resort. We’ll add some pictures.”

Anthony’s taken time out to speak to me on the morning of his birthday; I don’t want to eat into his day, and we leave it there, for now. The film will be in Aberdeen at Cineworld Union Square and at the links. We will catch up further then.

‘A Dangerous Game’ – Release date 5th September 2014

Starring ….

Donald Trump, Michael Forbes, Alec Baldwin, Karine Polwart, Robert Kennedy Jr.

The 6:30 p.m. screening on the 5th September at Aberdeen Union Square has a Q&A with Director Anthony Baxter and characters from the film. A funny and eye-opening documentary exploring the environmental impact of luxury golf courses around the world.

Three years ago, Anthony Baxter released his entertaining ‘You’ve Been Trumped’. It followed US tycoon Donald Trump’s controversial plan to build a golf resort on Scotland’s beautiful, unspoilt north-east coastline. This was hailed as the best documentary of the year by renowned film critic Mark Kermode.

Now Baxter’s follow-up finds out what happened to Trump’s scheme – and to local farmer Michael Forbes, who refused to sell his land to the billionaire.

This time, Trump agrees to a full interview, which proves to be a memorable encounter! Baxter also broadens his scope to take a look at the ecological cost of similar luxury resorts being constructed for the super-rich in other countries. His travels take him as far afield as China, Las Vegas and Dubrovnik in Croatia. Contributors include environmental lawyer Robert F. Kennedy and actor and activist Alec Baldwin.

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[Aberdeen Voice accepts and welcomes contributions from all sides/angles pertaining to any issue. Views and opinions expressed in any article are entirely those of the writer/contributor, and inclusion in our publication does not constitute support or endorsement of these by Aberdeen Voice as an organisation or any of its team members.]

When Richard Thompson Came To Town

 Aberdeen City, Articles, Featured, Opinion  No Responses »
Sep 012014
 
Richard Thompson by Julie Thompson (4)

Richard Thompson – Image Credit: Julie Thompson

Suzanne Kelly reviews. Photographs by Julie Thompson.

You would be very hard pressed to think of another musician who plays like Richard Thompson, let alone sings or writes like him. You simply won’t find another singer/songwriter/guitarist that even approaches his calibre that has had a career spanning 6 decades, from his days with Fairport Convention through to the present day.

Seeing him over the years has been astonishing in another respect as well, for his voice, vocal range and playing aren’t ageing at all.

In fact, the consensus reached by musicians and fans on his Aberdeen Music Hall performance is that he’s not getting older, he’s getting better (and that’s saying something). It was quite an evening.

The night was always going to be a generational celebration of acoustic guitar. Steve Milne from local act The Little Kicks opened the show. He was, as he admitted, a bit nervous – how could he not have been? His playing and vocals didn’t betray any nervousness as he grew comfortable quickly on stage.

Not only was he opening for a legendary acoustic performer – but his granny was in the audience as well. I hadn’t really thought of the acoustic abilities of the guitarists in The Little Kicks; I’ve enjoyed their electric shows (they have become a fixture at BrewDog AGMs and brewery parties for one thing, and have always gone down a storm).

The lyrics in Milne’s works evoked love, loss, uncertainty and anticipation. He said:

“I was generally really pleased with the set and once I had conquered my initial nerves I felt like I gave a fairly good account of myself and the band/ the songs. The audience were lovely and firmly on side, and I got a lot of kind words at the interval and end, which was really nice.

“Obviously as a local loon the opportunity to play the Music Hall is a massive personal dream of mine and I will as I said always remember that night. Here’s to many more shows there and to hoping it’s not a one off and that I can do it again some time!”

Steven_Milne by Julie Thompson (2)

Steven Milne – Image Credit: Julie Thompson

Steve’s set was: Call Of Youth, Girl, Heartbreak Pt 1, Don’t Give Up So Easily, Often (new song), Heartbreak Pt 3, Before Today. All the songs aside from the newbie are available on the last two LKs albums ‘Put Your Love In Front Of Me’ 2013 and ‘The Little Kicks’ 2011 – I picked up the 2013 album on the night.

Richard came out; he opened with Stony Ground – a rousing, rowdy folk rock number.

It always amazes me how he can make a six string sound like there are other musicians on stage with him.

After we walked on stony ground; he had us walking on a wire, a sad, slow number. Richard moved to Valerie which evokes a 1950s rockabilly sound, with some caustic lyrics. The playing is amazing; the lyrics in his works have great twists and turns, assuredly one of the reasons his music is so compelling.

Before long the audience were singing along to a sea-shanty inspired tale of fidelity (or lack of it) in the family life of a travelling ceilidh band musician. The introductory patter has us all laughing; the song’s lyrics are humorously dark and paint a vivid portrait of a dysfunctional couple; Thompson has us singing along on the chorus (which we do enthusiastically, but alas, not all that musically).

He tells us we were marginally better than Tokyo (which is generous of him).

An audience member starts a (slightly too long-winded) chat with Thompson about his recent live appearance on a television cricket programme. Thompson has us all laughing again, and then we’re back to the music.

For me – for many in Aberdeen’s audience – the outing of new song Fergus Lang is a highpoint. This song concerns an <ahem> fictional overblown real estate magnate:

“Fergus Lang is a beast of a man, he stitches up and fleeces
He wants to manicure the world and sell it off in pieces…
Fergus Lang he builds and builds,
but small is his erection…
Fergus has a fine head of hair
When the wind’s in the right direction.” – Richard Thompson

I have no idea why this is so popular with the audience; it’s almost as if there were some local issue or character that this new work hits squarely on the head. (I later discuss the track with Richard, who advises it’s about a fictional character whose self-satisfied, self-indulgent egotism comes at the expense of the environment.

Somehow, that rings a bell. It also reminds me of the excellent TV Smith song, March of the Giants. Both are recommended listening; Richard’s song will be released in the near future).

Richard Thompson by Julie Thompson (1)

Richard Thompson – Image Credit: Julie Thompson

Richard has been doing protest songs for decades; he treats us to Genesis Hall. Safe to say the art of protest is alive and well.

The saying goes, ‘make the impossible possible, the possible easy, and the easy beautiful’.

We are more than an hour into a rich, varied set, and Richard has made the most complex playing and singing seem absolutely effortless and completely fresh. And everyone’s loving every minute.

As we reach the end, Richard explains he is involved in a collaborative Arts Council project concerning World War I.

He plays a slow, pain filled song; its words are taken from letters and cards written by those caught up in ‘the war to end all wars’.

He later tells me of his research in the Imperial War Museum and how moving it was. His grandfather had been in the war, and had been gassed.

Drawing to the close of the set the audience is calling out songs it wishes to hear; he plays Good Things Happen To Bad People, a personal favourite, from the 2013 album Electric, which entered the UK Independent chart at No. 1 when it was released.

Stony Ground is also on this album. We are treated to Saving the Good Stuff For You, which everyone sings along to.

There is a new album out, also in the UK charts; Acoustic Classics contains many of the anthems we’re about to hear. The cheering I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight is tempered by the stinging Beeswing.

As the Proper Distribution website reminds me as I brush up on my Thompson discography:

“Thompson was named by Rolling Stone Magazine’s as one of the Top 20 Guitarists of all time and considered one of the UK’s most outstanding songwriters and musicians. The recipient of a BBC Lifetime Achievement Award, Mojo’s Les Paul Award and curator of the prestigious Meltdown Festival at the Southbank in 2010, Thompson was most recently honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award for Songwriting by the Americana Music Association.”

The night really couldn’t have been better (although close to where Julie Thompson – no known relation – was sitting, there were a few incessant chatterboxes who were more interested in speaking than in Richard). It was also quite refreshing to be in an audience and see the performer instead of a sea of disembodied arms rising from the dark theatre holding aloft smart phones recording the show.

There are people of all ages; they’ve responded enthusiastically to Steve and Richard, and the atmosphere was a very positive one.

Richard’s off to York for his next show tomorrow; we’ve all had an amazing evening – old favourites; great banter, young talent, and the protest spirit from the 60s is still there, along with that voice and that playing. I’m off home to listen to my newly-purchased Acoustic Classics, and book another date on this tour.

Acoustic Classics can be found at the usual record outlets, or at http://richardthompson-music.com/ where info on tour dates, news and other merchandise can be found.

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The Sixty Fower Sparra Question

 Creative Writing, Opinion  2 Responses »
Sep 012014
 

sparrow-426961_1920 cropBy Bob Smith.

Leuk’t oot ma upstair’s winda
T’wis jist the ither day
A great flock o sparras
War aa aroon on es braw day

A coontit sixty fower at least
Atap the hedge far a cwid see
Some war sittin quairt like
Ithers in oor big tree

Syne doon ti the seed hudders
Squabblin as tho wee geets
Hoverin aroon demintit like
As they tried ti git some eats

Ti the hedge back they flew
Chirpin ten ti the dizzen
Soonin like auld fishwives
Fa war weel an truly fizzin

Time fer ‘em ti hae a dook
Bird bath wis fair owerflowin
Some war haen a sand bath
Ithers jist tae’n an fro’in

A leukit at the seed tubes
They war impty eence again
Fat bas they war nae mair
Greedy buggers? aat is plain

Wis’t sixty fower or ninety?
Fegs a cwidna really say
Bit wi fair git enjoymint
The spurdies mak oor day

© Bob Smith “The Poetry Mannie” 2014
Image Credit: http://pixabay.com/en/sparrow-bird-fence-alone-freedom-426961/
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Aberdeen 2 Partick Thistle 0 – Pittodrie Stadium 30.08.14

 Aberdeen City, Sport  No Responses »
Aug 312014
 

merkalndpic2It took Aberdeen a while to get going in terms of being clinical in the final third, but they got there eventually, says Voice reporter Andrew Watson.

The Dons had plenty of possession in the first half and passed the ball around Partick’s box very well, though except for a few chances, they never really bothered the Firhill men too much.
In the second half though, things changed significantly.

Two minutes in, Nicky Low hit a menacing ball from outside the box.

1-0 to Aberdeen!

The rain from the North Sea began to soak all upon the pitch. Thistle then tried Jamie Langfield with a drive, but he expertly palmed it away.

At the 66-minute mark, Niall McGinn found himself in a similar position to Low, though just in the box this time, and struck a shot which emphatically beat the keeper.

2-0 to Aberdeen!

Jonny Hayes came off for Barry Robson after 75 minutes.

Low was then substituted on the 79-minute mark, replaced by Cammy Smith. At 88 minutes Peter Pawlett was taken off, with manager Derek McInnes bringing on Adam Rooney.

Hopefully this result gives an incentive to seek more consistency in what’s been an indifferent start to the current season.

Final score:  2-0.

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