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peoplepowerparty

Listed below are comments made by peoplepowerparty between Tuesday, 13th May 2008 and Wednesday, 25th June 2008.

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Deferred for reports 7:41pm on 25 Jun 2008 #21 - kaybraes

It is not irrelevant. If they are all at it, then they should all go!

It is time for the public to kick the estbalishment in the hee-haws and make them all live by the same rules that we have to.

I know us poor folk are supposed to protect the rich, but their are limits.

If every single MSP was caught breaking the law/fiddling like this then I would get rid of them all.

This should not be about getting rid of Wendy because she is a 'Labour scalp'. It is about cleaning up our Parliament and getting rid of those who show no regard for the laws and regulations that exist.

Thankfully, we are nowhere near as bad as the sleaze in Westminster, but we still have to stop Alexanders and others from bringing their toon cooncil approach to regulation into the Scottish Parliament!
Deferred for reports 7:34pm on 25 Jun 2008 Another point before I go off to have my tea.

I have worked for many companies where I have seen managers dismissed from their job, losing their income, pension etc, because they were caught fiddling their expenses, often for no more than 50 quid!

The reason that they were sacked was that the company (in my view, rightly) took the view that, even if it was a mere pound that the manager took, the trust had gone. They did not want to employ people whom they could no longer trust - and definitely did not want them holding management positions within the company.

Many people found the policy of dismissal unfair. Watching friends and colleagues lose their 55k a year job over a 40 quid discrepancy was hard to do!

But it happened, and more than once!

You see, these things are never about the money - it is 100% about the integrity and ethics of the individual. When you blow it and the trust is gone, you go!

Ah, the good ol' days when people had to play by the rules!
Deferred for reports 7:08pm on 25 Jun 2008 # 7 - Mr Smith

Whilst I can understand your annoyance at the agressive and hostile arguments put forward by a lot of posters on this forum (both 'unionist' and 'nationalist'), it is sad to see that you have chosen to join their ranks with an equally irritating tirade!

As regards the other point you make (storm in a teacup), I think you are completely wrong on that.

1. Wendy Alexander DID personally benefit from these donations - it is just plain ridiculous to suggest that anyone receiving money to help them further their career had no personal benefit.

2. The point of declaring gifts etc is to allow us to monitor and police the personal and business interests of our politicians and those who seek favour from them and the parties they represent. It is not all about us knowing how many free dinners they all get. Try to look at the bigger picture here.

3. Conflicts of interest and poor standards in public life are nothing new. We can go back to the Thatcher government to see examples of politicians with their snouts in the trough in modern political times. Wendy was one of those who were 'swept to power' on a manifesto that was all about eliminating sleaze and having open and transparent political system.

4. Does a leader of a political party really have to ask a clerk if they should register a gift? My view is that, if she did ask, it was driven by a determination to find a reason for not registering. Any normal person, with nothing to hide, would have just registered the gifts!

5. Since being caught breaking the law, Wendy has been true to form and blamed everyone but herself for this. When my team screw it up at work, I get hacked off and say a few bad words. But after the bad words have come out, I then accept the blame for the issue as it is my team, working under my leadership and direction. Why is the Leader of one of this countries main political parties exempt from adhering to basic ethics and standards? Is this not Scotland? She acts like we are in Thailand, the Phillipines, Zimbabwe or some other mickey mouse democracy where politicians can stick two fingers up to the people who elected them!

I, for one, do not want people like this holding leading posts in Scottish public life. I do not care which party they come from. She is a devious, manipulating person who has responded to this whole affair in a totally unacceptable manner. For the good of the country, she should go.

This is not a storm in a teacup for those of us who are fed up with thirty years where political sleaze has been allowed to become perfectly acceptable!
Not ticking boxes 4:03pm on 11 Jun 2008 I am not sure what worth a report from oneself saying that one is imnpartial has any real credibility. And the immediate evidence is that there are quite a few people in the BBC News squad who are bit definitely not able to remain impartial. Just look at Kirsty Wark, Jeremy Paxman and Gordon Brewer for starters. They might think that they are being 'challenging' but far too often for comfort end up pursuing a line that seems more related to their personal politics, friendships and beliefs than it is to rooting out the facts and truth of the matter in hand.

My biggest gripe with BBC News is that the Corporation has slowly but surely eroded it so that it now has far too much in common with light entertainment than it does with serious journalism. Breakfast news is a bloody joke. The main news output seems obsessed with celebrity status and the Westminster clique. Some political reporters come across as though they are part of the story. The BBC should give some thought to actually honouring the pledges that is gave on news content before its Royal Charter was renewed.

Like any large beauracracy, the BBC's productivity/output reflects the needs of its "Head Office" personnel. This report on its news output is probably going to prove to be another great waste of time. To ensure that the output preoperly reflects the demographics of the country, the BBC's own structure and the allocation of responsibility and authority will have to be radically changed to empower those who are best placed to produce good quality news output relevant to their viewers.

That aint gonna happen any time soon as the BBC, UK government and the greater establishment have no appetite for giving the people what they are told that they are paying their licence fee for.

I used to be aggresively in favour of the BBC and the licence payer system. There was a time when it truly represented the best value for money that you could imagine. Those days are long gone and I would not shed a tear if the BBC was cut loose and left to fund its determined effort to dumb down the news from money received from anywhere other than the public purse.

There is very little for anyone working in BBC News to be happy about. Collectively, you are letting down the licence payers on a monumental scale.
Reserve strength 5:08pm on 04 Jun 2008 My goodness, Brian. You are a cheeky chappie. You know what floodgate this blog entry is going to open up.

I am off for a cup of tea and a scone. Good luck to the blog moderator in this one :-)
Obeying the law? 03:44am on 04 Jun 2008 #39 Blackivar:

Many disabled people approach the their local council about parking around their home. Invariably, the council will paint a car park space (with white lines) outside the individuals home and put up a sign to indicate that the space is needed by a disabled person.

These type of spaces have no legal standing and, in effect, is just the council asking people to be decent and polite and leave the space for a person who has a greater need for it.

When people park in these spaces, there is NOTHING that the police or traffic wardens can do as the road markings and signs have no legal standing.

If the police are refusing to act then it is highly likely that we are talking about 'suggested' disabled parking bays as opposed to a space that is deemed to be restricted under the Road Traffic Act.

If we are going to legislate for council's to be able to categorise any piece of the public highway as a disables parking spot then we are in effect giving the beauracrats a blank cheque to fund even more red tape.

As I said in an earlier post, I strongly believe in disabled people's rights but I am not going to support legislation for matters such as this. A decent society does not need legislation for such issues. Business and individuals should just take some responsibility for their own environment and start challenging those who show disrespect.

The law for disabled people parking on public highways is already very liberal and I have yet to see anyone here put up a convincing argument for legislating on this issue.

In my mind, Ms Baillie appears to be one of those politicians who would be better suited fussing over Gala day arrangements on the Community Council. Her hare-brained scheme has potentially sky-high cost to the exchequer and, it seems, very little benefit for disabled people and society as a whole.
Obeying the law? 3:59pm on 03 Jun 2008 I cannot believe that people are linking disabled parking spaces with parent and child spaces.

Let's all try to get some clarity here. Parent and child spaces are nothing more than a marketing gimmick, invented by supermarket companies who'd do absolutely anything to part you with your cash. These people would sell their grannies for an extra buck.

Speaking of grannies, I remember mine reminiscing about how, in the old days, she had to:

- wash the floors by hand and then threaten my mum and her brothers with death if they trailed mud in the hoose,
- beat the rugs in the backgreen
- wash and wringe the clothes by hand, including countless dirty nappies
- clean the communal stair to stop folk from talking about her
- watch over 10 bairns, terrorising them with the thought of a granny kiss
- walk across town as the fascists (aka bus conductors) wouldn't allow prams on the buses
- walk back across town to home again to get her man's tea on.

But the thing that really upset my Granny was not being able to park her Vauxhall Astra right outside the supermarket door whilst she ran in to get some ready made meals, mouton cadet and ferrero roche for that night's tea!

Please don't insult those people who need a disabled parking bay by comparing their legitimate need with those parent and child spaces that the supermarkets have created a demand for!
Obeying the law? 2:45pm on 03 Jun 2008 Before I make my point, I would just like to say that, whilst not disabled, I have given years of voluntary service to help organisations whose work was to help disabled people live good lives and to campaign for government to do more to help people living with disabilities lead comfortable lives.

There is no doubt in my mind that Scotland can and should do a lot more to help people living with disabilities and their carers.

Having said that, here is my view on Ms Baillies proposed Bill.

It drives me to despair to see our society resorting to legislation and regulation at every turn. When oh when will we learn that government legislation is not the way in which to tackle every single issue that pops up? We are bringing the country to its knees with all these ridiculous laws that do nothing other than place demands on our taxation system.

Why on earth should be have to have legislation to tackle those who abuse this system? What is happening in our country when we people like Ms Baillie are being praised for proposing legislation that is tantamount to taking a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

Sure those who abuse the blue badge system need to be tackled, just like every other person that engages in anti-social behaviour. But maybe we should just try to get Scotland back to a place where the people tackle anti social behaviour through good old fashioned peer pressure and shaming.

There are many, many thing that people like Ms Baillie could do to help those people living with a disability. For starters, how about putting some real money and resources into building proper barrier free housing for them? I do not recall her making a song and dance about the lack of funds for housebuilding when that is something that DOES not attention from politicians.

As usual with our politicians, they are more concerned about sound bites and publicity than they are about standing back, looking at the bigger picture and then seeking consensus on how to deal with the REAL issues that affect the people, in this instance those with disabilities.

I will not support any more nanny state Bills such as Ms Baillies and would urge others to knock it on the head too. They sounds great but they achieve little other than giving councils more reasons to increase the burden of taxation and let the police off the hook when it comes to tackling serious crime.

Please, please, please, can one of our politicians please take a more holistic view of Scotland and its legislative needs?
Dearie me 1:20pm on 13 May 2008 #106 brigadierjohn

Pointing out your arguments and questions are daft and ill thought out is not rude. Neither is drawing a comparison to those in public life who are also 'spinning' similar yarns.

It is interesting that you seem to expect the SNP to fix in 12 months the 50 odd years of neglect from the Tories and Labour.

I am not a member of the SNP and my vote is up for grabs by any party that can do better for Scotland. But, like many ordinary people, I am sick to the back teeth of people who can do nothing other than talk Scotland down.

I am happy to proceed on the basis that Scotland is able to steer its way through the 21st Century and look after those that choose to live here. The UK is a busted flush and, in my opinion, those who continue to defend it are defending the decades of neglect that we have suffered.

The social problems that Scotland face today are the creation of the union! Only the SNP is proposing ways in which to deal with these. They are a minority government and have the shackles of Goldie, Stephens and Alexander around their neck. Despite this, they are making inroads into changing the way in which Scotland sees itself. Just imagine what a government in an independent state could do.

I am off now but hopefully you will take some time out to reflect on your postings and see that they are ill thought out and partisan. You are guilty of spouting the scaremongering spin of eejits like Brian Wilson, Douglas Alexander and Dr Johgn Reid. Good afternoon!
Dearie me 12:35pm on 13 May 2008 #99 brigadierjohn

Somewhat like Gordon and Wendy this last week, you really must be taking the mickey. How on earth can any individual or group quantitfy the costs and benefits of dealing with administration issues arising from independence at this stage?

Get a grip man and jump back on the first spaceship to planet earth.

When there is a negotiated settlement and we know how things will pan out then of course it is reasonable to expect the government to set out their expenditure plans. But hopefully the people of Scotland will be focused on the larger, more important issues, such as spending on tckling social issues and also improving the quality of life for all those residing in Scotland. Your obsession with the cost of Admin arrangements is quite ridiculous.

In any event, if you are going to persist with your argument on dealing with government Admin then perhaps you should find examples of where there is no established service in existence within Scotland.

The DVLA and tax office all have a significant presence in Scotland at the moment, funnily enough, to deal with Scottish business.

As for the armed forces (which is more than the army) perhaps you can enlighten the government as to what Scotlad's commitment to other European states, NATO and the other British Isles country is? Again, your question seems to be advocating crystal ball budgeting!

It is interesting that underlying your argument is a suggestion that everything is going to cost more just because Scotland is independent. It is as though the post independence SMP/Labour/Tory government is going to be bound by the Westminster government's policy and spending commitments. Quite laughable but Fatty Foulkes will no doubt be pleased that his nonsensical ranting has got through to someone!

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