Friends in need

He founded the Samaritans. An unorthodox character for his time but his goodness must have been recognised by someone or he would not have achieved what he did.

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Dr. Chad Vara

Gadding about

The fuss about Garry Glitter's world tour is dying down. Just as a new angle develops.

I had not realised just how much compassion has emerged in the past years. Some quite serious words have been written about the rights and wrongs of what is seen as continuing his punishment by making him the subject of controls and sex offender listing. I see their point. To me, the deciding factor is whether he is bad or mad. If bad, controls will work. If mad - no chance. 

Most legal considerations about children focus on what is right for the child and that should be borne in mind. It is the right of any anonymous child yet identified not to be abused and debased by those whose tastes are unhealthy. For the greater good of that juvenile, I am content to have Glitter subjected to hassle. I do think his is an exceptional case and agree with the reformers that blanket treatment of all offenders post-sentence is undesirable.

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Follow-up or hounding?

Renaissance

Long screed I'm afraid but a good assessment as to just what hosting the Olympic Games may have done for China.

I heard a comment from someone watching the track events. "Three years time they will have recycled all this and made it into saucepans"

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Back to the Tangs?

Ah - what a shame

Seems that terrorists are complaining about the climate of fear that exists in some British prisons. They are being subjected to assaults and ill-treatment.

I have to say that even with my biggest 'love for my fellow man' hat firmly in place I do not get even a base line reading on my 'Who Gives A Toss' meter.

Sweet reasonings

If one can put aside that it is a pedophile we are talking about - and that is a subject which kills sweet reason in so very many of us - there is a lot of mileage in this blog from someone who most often speaks sensibly. Albeit with a too-frequent usage of 4 letter words.

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All that glitters is not Gadd

Farewell to a hero

This woman has devoted a lot of time and effort along with soaking up real  pain. A great competitor.

But, enough is enough. Can I make a plea (as if she reads this!) that she now withdraws from the public view. She has some sort of ability to drive the jingoistic press into what seems at times to be mass hysteria. Enough Paula, enough.

I'm a millionaire I am.

There is a report in today's Telegraph describing a new website where employees can see how much their companions are paid. The safeguards against mendacity look good but I see one problem.

Most of my employers were worried about this sort of revelation. All salary increase letters reminder staff that there was a contractual prohibition on telling anyone else of their salary. Some employers were anti-blogging by staff and this website will put a burr under their soft parts.

Well, no. Not actually. I only ever had two or so of my staff bring me evidence that their counter-parts elsewhere where better paid and seeking to use this as grounds for an increase. My response was to offer them a 5P coin and the suggestion that they go and see if they could get a job at this ideal company. I did not lose either employee.

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Let the cat out of the bag

Sexual offenders

The day that our well-endowed Home Secretary announced new plans to deal with the control of sex offenders was rather spoiled by the former Gary Glitter making a nonsense of the seemingly simple process of getting him onto a UK-bound flight.

Sort of a reverse of the government tactic of releasing bad news on a day when major world events would steal the headlines and inner page space.

It would seem, however, for it to have worked where a report into massive cock-ups on sexual offender control should have attained wider publicity. 

We are told that police boots on the pavement are restricted by the time they have to spend processing reports and other documentation. Looks as if something is restricting their efficiency in this work that keeps them off the street. Looks as if we cannot just win.

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A account of damned poor efficiency

The PM is having a tough week but it must be amongst the toughest for him to visit our troops at the sharp end and praise them. After a long period where Prudence kept her purse strings firmly tied on military spending and where the part-time Defence Minister strangled their work, to actually praise them, must have caused him real pain.

Just a small extract from his speech though is interesting:

Mr Brown spent 90 minutes at the camp, where he spoke with troops about their role in Afghanistan.

The Prime Minister told the troops from 16 Air Assault Brigade that they were in the front line against the Taliban and they were preventing terrorism coming to the streets of Britain.

Will these words come back to haunt him when the time comes - as it surely will - for him to have to bring the soldiers home? Could be he feels safe in this pronouncement as he is unlikely to be in power or have much influence when the time comes.

F f f flaming heck

I have marveled at the British performances at the Olympics. We have done so well. The government is quick to claim credit pointing to the grants that were made to the team.
Whilst financial support allows them to get stuck into their training and other preparation, it must be clear that it is discipline that pays off in those cold wet months when even selection is in the lap of the gods.
Thus, I was amused to see that the discipline slipped a little in a post-race interview with the BBC. A touch of humanity crept in.