Author Topic: Points to Ponder  (Read 214300 times)

0 Members and 2 Guests are viewing this topic.

Offline Merddin Emrys

  • Ad Free Member
  • *
  • Posts: 4426
Re: Points to Ponder
« Reply #435 on: January 21, 2015, 04:52:33 pm »
No I would not, who knows what they could do with it in the future!
A pigeon is for life not just Christmas

Offline DaveR

  • Administrator
  • Posts: 13712
Re: Points to Ponder
« Reply #436 on: January 21, 2015, 05:38:04 pm »
No I would not, who knows what they could do with it in the future!
Are you worried about being cloned, ME?  :laugh:


Offline Merddin Emrys

  • Ad Free Member
  • *
  • Posts: 4426
Re: Points to Ponder
« Reply #437 on: January 21, 2015, 07:17:34 pm »
Who knows what they could do with it in the future, I do not want them to make a clown of me!  :laugh:
A pigeon is for life not just Christmas

Offline Ian

  • Administrator
  • Posts: 8949
Re: Points to Ponder
« Reply #438 on: January 21, 2015, 07:18:54 pm »
We could never have too many of you, ME :-))
Nothing is so firmly believed as that which we least know.  ― Michel de Montaigne

Si hoc legere scis, nimis eruditionis habes.

Offline Fester

  • Ad Free Member.
  • *
  • Posts: 6660
  • El Baldito
Re: Points to Ponder
« Reply #439 on: January 22, 2015, 12:34:00 am »
Would any members voluntarily give submit to DNA testing for the process of elimination in a murder enquiry?
I ask this because of the previous arguments whereby DNA samples have been kept against the will of many for years after giving samples.
This is happening somewhere in England at present to eliminate men in a murder investigation.

Yes, without hesitation, because if you have nothing to hide, what's the problem?

I have the same opinion about the Govt wanting to give law enforcement agencies access to phone records etc...
Terrorism is a MASSIVE threat, therefore we should arm ourselves with all means possible to thwart it.
Fester...
- Semper in Excretum, Sole Profundum Variat -

Offline Ian

  • Administrator
  • Posts: 8949
Re: Points to Ponder
« Reply #440 on: January 22, 2015, 07:17:29 am »
Quote
Yes, without hesitation, because if you have nothing to hide, what's the problem?

Probably because it's like any information the government holds about you. If 'the government' never 'mislaid' any information, never allowed it to be used in any way other than for stopping terrorism and had rock-solid computing systems that could never be hacked, breached or compromised, and the government employees and politicians consisted of only totally honest people who never lied, committed any crime whatsoever and never harboured ulterior motives, then your DNA is probably totally safe...

Oh, and research has shown that a person's DNA changes slowly over their lifetime. And identical twins or triplets bent on crime sprees might pose a problem. Other than that, there's probably no issue...

 Z@@
Nothing is so firmly believed as that which we least know.  ― Michel de Montaigne

Si hoc legere scis, nimis eruditionis habes.

Offline Hugo

  • Management board member
  • *
  • Posts: 13885
Re: Points to Ponder
« Reply #441 on: January 22, 2015, 11:08:54 pm »
Would any members voluntarily give submit to DNA testing for the process of elimination in a murder enquiry?
I ask this because of the previous arguments whereby DNA samples have been kept against the will of many for years after giving samples.
This is happening somewhere in England at present to eliminate men in a murder investigation.

Yes, without hesitation, because if you have nothing to hide, what's the problem?

I have the same opinion about the Govt wanting to give law enforcement agencies access to phone records etc...
Terrorism is a MASSIVE threat, therefore we should arm ourselves with all means possible to thwart it.

I'm with you on this and wouldn't have any objection to having a DNA test if it helps the authorities to catch the culprits quicker.  It just doesn't make any sense for anyone not to cooperate with the Police, unless of course they have something to hide.
« Last Edit: January 23, 2015, 07:37:44 am by Ian »

Offline Ian

  • Administrator
  • Posts: 8949
Re: Points to Ponder
« Reply #442 on: February 05, 2015, 07:42:44 am »
More than a year ago the Williams report recommended urgent change in the Welsh council structure. Their key points were interesting:

Quote
The following local authorities should merge:

    Isle of Anglesey and Gwynedd
    Conwy and Denbighshire
    Flintshire and Wrexham
    Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire
    Neath Port Talbot and Bridgend
    Rhondda Cynon Taf and Merthyr Tydfil
    Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan
    Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly and Torfaen
    Monmouthshire and Newport

and some councils did follow the suggestions and discussed mergers with those shown. Although the reforms would cost money, as the BBC correspondent said at the time

Quote
There may be some scepticism about the potential costs, and it is always tricky to explain how different structures might lead to better services. But fewer politicians? That will be the easiest part of the package to sell to the public.

However, the WA Local Government minister has now proposed more fundamental changes, which include

Quote
    Council elections every five years, not four as at present
    Maximum five terms - 25 years - for councillors
    Maximum two terms - 10 years - for council leaders and cabinet members
    Pay councillors in line with those on similar sized councils elsewhere in the UK
    Public sector employers to give staff unpaid leave to carry out duties as councillors, and other employers encouraged to do the same
    Council leaders and chief executives given a duty to promote and respect diversity
    Youth councils to be set up by each authority

While fewer politicians might well be desirable (and I've long argued that parochiality is not a good roadmap for politics) isn't the fundamental issue that of trust?

We no longer trust any politician, from those on the gravy train of the EU down to local community councillors in some cases, yet it's hard to see how reducing Council numbers will improve that situation. Putting greater distance between the elector and the elected only serves to increase mistrust.

Why did we ever think it was a good thing to start paying councillors? At one time all councils were run by unpaid volunteers, and the argument for paying the Cabinets was simply that you'd get people more qualified for the job if they were paid a living wage. But that ignored the incestuous nature of party politics and those making the recommendations stopped short of identifying one major issue: party allegiance.  Perhaps if all councils were composed of Independents, accountability might be increased, although it's hard to see how that could be legislated and the WA would certainly not want to go down that path.

So what's the solution? How should councils be formed and should they be paid at all, other than out-of-pocket expenses?

Nothing is so firmly believed as that which we least know.  ― Michel de Montaigne

Si hoc legere scis, nimis eruditionis habes.

Offline Yorkie

  • Member
  • Posts: 5255
Re: Points to Ponder
« Reply #443 on: February 05, 2015, 10:46:26 am »
No matter what group you get together be it any form of Club or Council there will always be nepotism, cronyism and corruption.

We see it amongst the most senior members of Society and, unfortunately, it is becomig just another accepted feature of our lives.

 $walesflag$
Wise men have something to say.
Fools have to say something.
Cicero

Offline Yorkie

  • Member
  • Posts: 5255
Re: Points to Ponder
« Reply #444 on: February 07, 2015, 03:54:38 pm »
Just a few words

Wise men have something to say.
Fools have to say something.
Cicero

Offline Ian

  • Administrator
  • Posts: 8949
Re: Points to Ponder
« Reply #445 on: February 07, 2015, 04:45:55 pm »
Not sure it was a Judge. Walt Burville wrote to The Huffington Post and identified multiple sources that confirm his mother, Doris S Burville, originally authored "Letter to a Teenager" in 1955. At any rate this has been doing the rounds for longer than the internet.

But it's a blunt weapon - like all these aphorisms it neatly ignores the vast majority of hard working, decent, honest teenagers who do a lot for their communities in countless ways.
Nothing is so firmly believed as that which we least know.  ― Michel de Montaigne

Si hoc legere scis, nimis eruditionis habes.

Offline Yorkie

  • Member
  • Posts: 5255
Re: Points to Ponder
« Reply #446 on: February 08, 2015, 08:21:06 am »
I've never seen it before but thanks for the additional info.   $thanx$
Wise men have something to say.
Fools have to say something.
Cicero

Offline SteveH

  • Management Board Member & Newsgroup Editor
  • *
  • Posts: 12989
Re: Points to Ponder
« Reply #447 on: June 04, 2015, 07:10:04 pm »
I saw this headline on a news stand today, had a closer look on Google......No smoke     Without fire.... ???

Tories 'paying benefits to deported criminals': Millions sent abroad to people kicked out of Britain


Foreign criminals who have been kicked out of Britain are still receiving benefits, a whistleblower has claimed.

MORE...http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/tories-paying-benefits-deported-criminals-5818965

Offline Hugo

  • Management board member
  • *
  • Posts: 13885
Re: Points to Ponder
« Reply #448 on: June 04, 2015, 10:43:57 pm »
I read the article in the Daily Mirror today and it's just unbelievable that the Government could be so stupid.   The Cons have got no excuse for things to happen like that and it needs urgent and immediate reform.
I read in that paper some time ago that any illegal immigrant caught  that "volunteer" to be sent home can expect to receive an amount of money for resettlement and a figure of between £500.00 and £3000.00 was mentioned.
It also mentioned that if these illegal immigrants came back into the UK and "volunteered" to go back home they would receive a resettlement fee again.
Apparently it was their human right to be paid again.       :rage:

Offline Merddin Emrys

  • Ad Free Member
  • *
  • Posts: 4426
Re: Points to Ponder
« Reply #449 on: June 04, 2015, 11:00:11 pm »
The sooner this human rights nonsense is scrapped the better! They only ever seem to apply to the wrong people!  $angry$
A pigeon is for life not just Christmas