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Home Articole si opinii Value-Based Healthcare: state of play in the European Union and its implementation in the Member States
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Europuls – the Centre of European Expertise is organizing a panel of discussion at Eurosfat 2018, the sixth edition of the largest forum of European affairs in Romania, focused on the subject of Shifting to Value for Patients. In this post we would like to offer you a broad presentation of the Value-Based Healthcare concept and useful insights on its state of play and implementation at the EU level and the Member States. A second part of this article will be published soon with conclusions and recommendations following the discussions at Eurosfat 2018.
Conceptualisation: history, definition, measurement, indicators, benefits and examples of good practice
New demographic challenges and changing lifestyles are significantly contributing to change in the health of the world population, with citizens benefiting from a longer lifespan that triggers with it a rise of more complex chronic conditions. In countries all over the world, the cost of healthcare is rising faster than their economic development, with the US, France, and Japan spending more than 10% of their GDP on healthcare.
Healthcare spending is therefore expected to climb up exponentially in the years to come in the context of an ageing population and growing public expectations on the accessibility and quality of care. Given the context, value, more than volume, should become a key element in health care systems across the world and the shift to an explicit cost-benefit approach should become mandatory.
Thus, in this new context, a link between healthcare costs and outcomes needs to be established and become mandatory in order deliver high quality care for patients and eventually help healthcare providers manage cost increases.
Value-Based Healthcare (VBHC) is a healthcare model in which providers, including hospitals and doctors, are paid based on patient health outcomes. From a value-based system's perspective, providers are recompensed for helping patients improve their health and reduce the consequences and incidence of chronic diseases in an evidence-based way. Value-based care differs from the current fee-for-service approach, in which providers are paid based on the amount of healthcare services they deliver. The key element in value-based healthcare means "explicitly prioritising health outcomes that matter to patients relative to the cost of achieving those outcomes".
Implementing the VBHC model requires a paradigm shift from a supply-driven model to a more patient-centred system and implies a complete re-thinking of deeply-rooted policies and practices. This also triggers a radical shift in culture for all stakeholders. Taking into account the culture of fee-for-service and supply-driven models, in which payments are made for every consultation or treatment, introducing the VBHC will take time.
Measurement and indicators/ or how do we define and measure value?
In a study made by The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) to define the standard of evaluation for value-based healthcare systems and establish the key components of the right environment for VBHC, they identified 4 key elements of VBHC and 17 qualitative indicators of this specific system. In this study they evaluate the presence of the infrastructure, outcome measurement and payment systems that support value-based care. However, they also include priorities such as improving quality and increasing access to basic health services, often specific for lower income and developing countries.
The 4 identified components of VBHC which we believe should also be endorsed in Romania and other EU MS while implementing the VBHC system are the following:
An enabling context, policies and institutions for value in healthcare (8 indicators);
Countries need institutional and policy structures to support value-based approaches. This includes ensuring the healthcare system covers the vast majority of the population, and having the buy-in of suitably driven healthcare professionals;
Measuring outcomes and costs (5 indicators);
The ability to conduct cost-benefit analyses and to implement and have access to patient outcomes data are a key element to a successful adoption of VBHC. Disease registries represent an important component in this schema in order to create patient outcomes data.
*In the US, for example, a number of applications and websites now allow patients to compare costs for different treatments. In the UK, the NHS Choices website publishes reviews and ratings on health and social care services. Meanwhile, the pressure to develop interoperable electronic health records is rising as they enable healthcare to become more patient-focused and track outcomes and costs to allows countries to gain more comprehensive views of how their health systems are delivering value to individual patients.
Integrated and patient-focused care (2 indicators);
Instead of the medical fee-for-services, the focus should be shifted towards overall/general health outcomes, as they can reduce duplication, cut costs and provide better care to patients. Thus, systems that have long paid for each consultation and treatment need to be reconstructed to create financial incentives for coordinated approaches.
Outcome-based payment approach (2 indicators).
Incentive structures that pay providers based on outcomes achieved, and mechanisms to identify and stop funding low value interventions.
*For example, bundled payments cover end-to-end procedures, such as one payment for all treatments that takes place in a hip replacement, from consultations and the procedure to rehabilitation, as opposed to paying for each intervention. Countries also need mechanisms for withdrawing resources from treatments, drugs or other interventions that are not proving cost-effective.
Benefits of a value-based healthcare system
Firstly, through a well-implemented VBHC system, patients spend less money to achieve better health: patients recover from illnesses or avoid chronic diseases in the first place, face fewer doctor's visits, medical tests, and procedures, and spend less money on prescription medication.
Providers achieve greater efficiency and patient satisfaction: while the time needed on prevention-based patient services increases, providers will spend less time on chronic disease management.
Payers control costs and reduce risk: "risk is reduced by spreading it across a larger patient population. A healthier population with fewer claims translates into less drain on payers' premium pools and investments".
Suppliers align prices with patient outcomes: suppliers benefit from being able to align their products with positive patient outcomes and reduced cost.
Lastly, society becomes healthier while reducing overall healthcare spending: "Less money is spent helping people manage chronic diseases and costly hospitalizations and medical emergencies".
Examples of VBHC good practice
Value-Based Care Models: Medical Homes and Accountable Care Organisations
The Patient-centered medical home (PCMH) are not real homes but consist of a integrated approach to patient care, coordinated by a patient's primary doctor who directs the entire care team of the patient. PCMHs rely on sharing of electronic medical records (EMRs) among all providers on the coordinated care team, to put patient information at each each other's disposal, allowing individual providers to see results of tests performed by other clinicians on the team. This data sharing has the potential to reduce redundant care and associated costs.
Like PCMH, in an Accountable Care Organization (ACO), doctors, hospitals, and other healthcare providers work as a networked team to provide the best possible integrated and coordinated care at the lowest possible cost. According to the study "each member of the team shares both risk and reward, with incentives to improve access to care, quality of care, and patient health outcomes while reducing costs". This approach differs from fee-for-service healthcare, in which individual providers are encouraged to order more tests and procedures and manage more patients in order to get paid more, regardless of patient outcomes. ACOs encourage coordination and data sharing among team members to help achieve these goals among their entire patient population. Clinical and claims data are also shared with payers to demonstrate improvements in outcomes such as adverse events r patient engagement.
Value-based Healthcare at European level: state of play and implementation
Just like in Japan, the healthcare systems of EU member states are under huge pressure to meet the growing demand for care and simultaneously support innovation in the sector. Europe's current approach towards health care systems is still focused on cost-containment in order save its affected public health system and the fragmentation of EU healthcare is risking its long-term sustainability. In this context, a people-centric and integrated healthcare approach would be more auspicious and welcomed on the European continent – one that emphasizes on return on investment, specifically on the improvement in patient-relevant outcomes and one that thinks differently, in a more collaborative way.
However, there are signs of progress. The European Cooperation on Health Technology Assessment (HTA) – a Member States initiative that measures the added value of a new health technology compared to existing ones (medicinal products, medical equipment, diagnostic and treatment methods, rehabilitation, and prevention methods), lies among the promising initiatives to push for a shift in health system approaches. From 21/10/2016 to 20/01/2017 HTA was under review by the EC through public consultation on strengthening cooperation at EU level. The traditional of HTA is to inform national decision-making in health care, however recently HTAs have been given a different role, one to rethink the way health systems function and provide access to innovations valuable for the patient.
In 2016, the EC started work on strengthening EU cooperation through a Health Technology Assessment in response to calls from EU MS countries, the European Parliament, and interested parties, to ensure its sustainability beyond 2020. In its 2017 Work Programme, the European Commission announced that this would extend to improving the functioning of the single market for health technologies.
A legislative proposal was adopted by the EC on 31 January 2018 that amended directive 2011/24/EU/ and has been sent to the European Parliament and the Council with the aim of adoption by 2019. It is expected that once it is adopted and enters into force, it will become applicable three years later. Following the date of application, a further three-year period is envisaged to allow for a phase-in approach for Member States to adapt to the new system.
This proposal emphasizes on greater transparency that would give patients access to information on the added clinical value of a new technology. For national authorities, this would trigger the possibility to be able to formulate policies for their health systems based on more robust evidence. Furthermore, manufacturers will no longer have to adapt to different national procedures.
Member States will be able to use common HTA tools, methodologies and procedures across the EU, working together in four main areas: 1) on joint clinical assessments focusing on the most innovative health technologies with the most potential impact for patients; 2) on joint scientific consultations whereby developers can seek advice from HTA authorities; 3) on identification of emerging health technologies to identify promising technologies early; and 4) on continuing voluntary cooperation in other areas.
The proposal was presented after 20 years of voluntary cooperation in this area: "following the adoption of the Cross-border Healthcare Directive (2011/24/EU), a voluntary EU-wide network on HTA composed of national HTA bodies and agencies was established in 2013 to provide strategic guidance to the scientific and technical cooperation at EU level. This work, complemented by three consecutive Joint Actions[1] on HTA, has enabled the Commission and Member States to build a solid knowledge base on methodologies and information exchange with regards to the assessment of health technology".
The ongoing EU cooperation on HTA is implemented through the EU co-funded Joint Action EUnetHTA, which is unlikely to be funded and continued after 2020. To facilitate the way forward, the European Commission has launched the above mentioned initiative that envisages five possible scenarios:
The status quo; (Non-legislative / voluntary)
Long-term voluntary cooperation; (Non-legislative / voluntary)
Cooperation on collection, sharing and use of common tools and data; (Legislative / voluntary + mandatory)
Cooperation on production of joint REA reports; (Legislative / voluntary + mandatory)
Cooperation on production of joint full HTA reports. (Legislative / voluntary + mandatory)
If the legislative proposal would come into force, joint clinical assessments, economies of scale, greater business predictability would be achieved, triggering with it other desired types of VBHC approaches consisting of increased quality and improved transparency for patients.
However, some questions are still pending among the actors involved whether HTAs would fit in the effort to make public health systems future-proof and whether the different interpretations of value would prevent Europe from effectively deploying value-based health care.
For the moment, in the context of the overall health deficit in the health sector, which severely affects the capacity of most Member States, especially those of Central and Eastern European countries, the issues can be addressed more effectively by increasing voluntary cooperation to improve the availability of skills and resources throughout the European Union and to bring better outcomes for patients and health professionals, towards a more value-based healthcare system.
A short introduction to the Romanian healthcare system
Moving towards a concrete example of VBHC implementation in a MS, we will focus on the Romanian case. To shed light on the VBHC system in Romania, we will give a short introduction to the Romanian healthcare system.
According to the 2017 health profile of Romania, developed by the OECD and the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, in cooperation with the European Commission and as part of a larger study consisting of a in-depth analysis of health systems in Member States, Romania recorded the following findings:
Romania registers the lowest healthcare expenditure among MSs, with the lowest per capita spending as a share for the GDP in the EU;
The healthcare system in Romania registers low funding and inefficient use of public resources;
Access to services by the population in rural and urban areas is disproportionate, and for vulnerable groups, the inequality is even bigger. Recent proposals include the creation of community care centers to improve access for these groups, such as the Roma population;
Personal spending, out of pocket, represents a fifth part of total patient spending and includes direct and unofficial payments. The latter are widespread but difficult to estimate because of their informal character, thus preventing calculations to be used in order to assess the real cost of private health spending.
The shift from hospitalization nursing services and hospital care to ambulatory and primary care is significantly delayed, which limits the efficiency of the health care system. Primary care services are still insufficient and under-utilized and inadequate use of hospitalization nursing services and specialized ambulatory care services, including emergency care in hospitals, continues to exist.
Lack of information makes it harder to improve the system: there is not enough data to assess the quality of assistance, and the assessment of medical technology is still at an early stage.
There are no clear criteria for allocating resources and there is insufficient evidence available to improve the cost-effectiveness ratio. There is also no system in place to ensure a fair distribution of health institutions and human resources across the country to overcome inequalities between rural and urban areas.
However, there seems to be a number of initiatives to improve the health system in Romania: the National Health Strategy which sets strategic objectives in the field of public health and healthcare services. It aims to reorganize medical services and direct investments to disadvantaged areas and promotes the voluntary exchanges programs in Member States to discuss best practices.
Overall, Romania presents a health profile of a developing country where the main priorities remain improving quality and increasing access to basic health services.
Value-based Healthcare in Romania/how to implement VBHC in Romania
The concept of VBHC in Romania is relatively new both in terms of stage of implementation and studies conducted so far. Based on the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) Healthcare briefing from 2017 on VBHC in Romania, it was noted that the health system shows signs of willingness to change, although numerous elements are still missing entirely. To cite only a few, the processes to support integrated care or systems to measure costs and outcomes are missing from the schema.
The findings underline that "Romania has an active Health Technology Assessment (HTA) programme that however needs to develop new methodologies which will allow it to focus more on national needs and priorities, notably economic conditions". At the moment it relies on foreign HTA mechanisms and findings made in countries such as France, Germany or the UK. Thus, the system would be more productive if it were to estimate the impact of technologies based on local data – rather than on decisions taken elsewhere. Additionally, the system relies on very little academic collaboration compared to its peers and is under-resourced. On a positive note, training in health economics and HTA concepts is provided to medical students.
On the negative side, the lack of national level disease registries and the system limitation of its ability to measure outcomes and costs as data are fragmented, becomes an even higher burden on the system. While there are efforts to implement integrated care, there is only a small number of therapy areas, such as diabetes.
The Romanian Health Observatory released a study in 2018 regarding a small branch of VBHC approach, specifically patients' satisfaction regarding public hospitals in Romania in 2017.
The Romanian state judges and rewards financially the performance of public hospitals, especially in terms of quantity (number and complexity of treated cases), but not qualitatively (patient satisfaction or quality of life after hospital treatment). Patient satisfaction with the quality of healthcare received is one of the most important indicators that show the true performance of a hospital. By the end of 2016, this indicator was deeply flawed in Romania due to its data collection and assessment methods. With the introduction of the electronic questionnaire, the results were arguably closer to reality. This report analyzed the 122,423 satisfaction questionnaires completed by Romanian patients through SMS and web form, between December 2016 and January 2018, via the feedback mechanism from the Ministry of Health.
The number of hospitals which entered patient contact data in the National Health Insurance House's electronic platform for patients to receive the satisfaction questionnaire via SMS was worryingly low. More than 20% of healthcare facilities have not introduced a single patient into the system, and 82% has introduced contact data for less than 5% of their patients.
Therefore, an adoption of value-based healthcare in Romania where the main healthcare priorities remain improving quality and increasing access to basic health services, would involve changes for all stakeholders in the wider healthcare system. While most patients and payers will embrace the move towards value, "providers and suppliers may find some aspects of its implementation challenging – such as changes in pricing pathways, market access constraints and the investment needed to build the necessary data infrastructure". Nevertheless, the value from the point of view of the patient needs to be taken into account. It is important that payers, providers and professionals realize that increased value needs to be put into patients' healthcare.
What should Romania do to speed up the alignment of its health system with this new approach?
For starters, the authorities need to take into account and endorse the 4 key component of VBHC identified by EIU listed and explained above.
The transition from a volume-based system to one that recognises value requires the Romanian healthcare system to put these elements in place, while continuing to improve quality and access to basic health services and cross-border voluntary exchanges.
In the context of the overall health deficit in the EU health sector, which severely affects the capacity of most Member States, especially those of Central and Eastern European countries, and with Europe's current approach toward health care systems focused on cost-containment, value-based care has the promise to significantly reduce overall costs spent on healthcare and improve the health of patients in an evidence-based way.Transforming our current models into value-based healthcare is far from easy, and we are still in the early stages of putting together the enabling context, policies and institutions. Nonetheless, the case for countries to align their health systems with value-based approaches has never been stronger and we must build on the current momentum.
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Antonín Mores (24. května 1908 Skoronice u Kyjova – 1. února 1997 Olomouc) byl český lékař, pediatr a vysokoškolský pedagog.

Působení
V letech 1939–1959 byl přednostou dětské kliniky Fakultní nemocnice Olomouc.
Roku 2000 mu byla udělena Cena města Olomouce v oblasti lékařství in memoriam.

Odkazy

Reference

Související články
 Lékařská fakulta Univerzity Palackého

Externí odkazy

 Cena města Olomouce za rok 2000

Čeští lékaři
Čeští pediatři
Vyučující na Lékařské fakultě Univerzity Palackého
Narození v roce 1908
Narození ve Skoronicích
Úmrtí v roce 1997
Úmrtí v Olomouci
Muži
Absolventi Klvaňova gymnázia

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


One of Maui's token female big wave surfers, Paige Alms is self-taught and self motivated. A jack-of-all-trades, the twenty-seven year old maintains a career in surfing by working. A lot. Odd jobs like ding repair, house painting, construction work, surf lessons and catering supply Paige with the funds to travel, compete and surf. When this down-to-earth female isn't surfing or working, or doing intensive physical training at her local gym DRATC and Inspiration Heath Maui, you can find her making art and being creative, organic gardening, or playing ping-pong in friendly tournaments at her home in Haiku.
Born on the island of Victoria B.C. Canada, Paige Alms relocated to the warmer island of Maui when she was 9 years old after traveling the entire breadth of Australia in a van with her mom. Ho'okipa became the stomping grounds at age ten and by the age of 15, Paige's first big wave session had her instantly hooked. "I was 14 or 15 and it was to an outer reef here (on Maui). I was with Chris Vandervoort, who took me out on his borrowed 9-0 and I remember that day like it was yesterday. I was hooked from that day forward." the regular footer recounts.
It's no surprise that Pe'ahi is where this athlete honed the skills for riding mountains, having the famous big wave spot only five minutes from her house. She has been nominated 4 years in a row at the XXL Awards and just recently won the "Women's Best Overall Performance" for 2014-2015 season. She continues to push herself to ride the biggest waves possible alongside her peers and hopes by doing so she can inspire other people to push their limits and live their dreams! She also has a documentary coming out at the Maui Film Festival on June 7th, "The Wave I Ride", check out the trailer at thewaveiride.com.


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Energy Production – Scots Are Getting Ripped Off By Westminster and it will Get Worse Unless We Gain Our Independence
Scottish Electricity Generation – The Black Start
Scotlands increasing reliance on renewable electricty generation places the Scottish grid at risk of "blackout" in the event of a prolonged period of calm conditions.
The risk is partially reduced by the output from the Peterhead gas power station (0.55GW) which is capable of sustaining the grid, but at a very basic level preventing Scotland's two nuclear power stations from tripping, but its capacity is insufficient to maintain an adequate level of emergency power (3.00GW).
Emergency planning indicates that the projected shortfall in supply in the event of the threat of a "blackout" would be covered by the output from Torness (1.25GW) and HunterstoneB (1.15GW) Nuclear Power Stations……. But HunterstoneB is currently out of action due to safety concerns and the situation is unlikely to improve for some time.
In any event both power stations are scheduled to close by 2023 with result that responsibility for providing "blackout" back-up has transferred to England.
This situation would have been avoided had the coal fired Longannet Power Station been retained since its output (2.60GW) would have provided sufficient electricity, preventing a "blackout" under any circumstance.
But Westminster decides since powers previously devolved to Scotland were withdrawn by the "House of Lords" a few years back. The Sewell convention??
Ofgem, the energy regulator, reviewed the cost to coal fired power stations of pumping their power into the national grid.
For many years this cost was heavily biased towards encouraging electricity generation near where it was consumed, in cities, mainly English cities.
This meant that power generated near to London and along the English south coast attracted a generous subsidy from Ofgem.
But electricity generated in Scotland was subject to a heavy charge for the privilege of supplying electricity to the grid.
Longannet Power Station was subsequently refused an operating licence by the Westminster government and shut down forming part of its plans to switch to greener energy.
Westminster then introduced the rising carbon tax, the so-called "carbon price floor" charging power plants for burning fossil fuels.
The tax was intended initially to phase out the use of coal – the dirtiest fuel – in favour of more environmentally-friendly gas plants, and eventually restrict all fossil fuel plants in favour of green technologies such as wind farms and nuclear power.
But the entire levy was passed on to the consumer pushing up wholesale power prices, costing every household between £5-£10 each year, increasing to an estimated £32 a year by 2020.
And all revenue gathered from the "carbon Tax" is passed to the Treasury.
Goodness knows what happens to the finance after is anyone's guess.
The Capacity market – Provision of "Blackout" Facilities
But the gross incompetance of the Westminster government was then revealed with the introduction of a policy totally at odds with "Going Green".
The "Capacity Market", was introduced to ensure there were enough reliable operating fossil fuel power plants to prevent grid "Blackout".
So, dirty old coal power stations in England and Wales are now being paid subsidies to the tune of £650m a year to stay online for longer, including coal plants that were otherwise at risk of closure from the carbon tax.
But not Longannet which, had it been kept open, until other arrangements were in place would have provided full "blackout" protection for Scotland removing the need for support from England.
Method in their madness no doubt.
The full cost of the policy (£1bn) has also been levied on Scots customers' bills, alongside the cost of the "carbon price floor" which was designed to encourage switching away from coal.
So Scottish consumers are forking out up to £32 annually for the "carbon tax" and £100m for the "capacity tax".
The "carbon price floor" and the "capacity market" are working together ensuring the policy is neither green nor affordable.
It is now accepted that the additional costs of renewable power production are low and ever reducing since the generating equipment is already in place.
A research paper issued by Sheffield University, indicated that wind and solar power reduced the total cost of electricity by £1.55 billion in the UK in 2014.
The Committee on Climate Change recently estimated that by 2020 the cost per megawatt hour of electricity should be less than £10.
The agreed "strike Price" for nuclear generated electricity is £92.50 per megawatt hour, fixed for the early years of the contract.
The provider EDF has not yet installed a safe fully operational "super fast" nuclear plant anywhere.
The cost of building the much-delayed Flamanville prototype reactor in France has increased by €2bn, to €8bn.
The Paradox
Scotland supplys the National Grid with very cheap electricity generated from renewable energy sources.
Costs are absorbed into the overall cost of electricity production in the UK.
Electricty unit charges reflecting the inclusion of the greater cost of electricity production in England and Wales is then averaged across the UK.
Addition of the cost of the output of the yet to be built new Nuclear Power Plants in England will markedly increase the cost of electricity to Scots households.
But this unwelcome scenario would be avoided if Scotland was an independent country.
An independent Scotland would be guaranteed secure and cost effective energy without the need to be reliant on a supply from England.
This will be achieved through the North Sea Link (NSL) which is scheduled to be fully operational by 2021.
What is the North Sea Link (NSL)?
The UK and Norway are constructing a European Community financed electricity link between Kvilldal in Norway to Blyth in the UK.
The link will connect the electricity systems of the UK and Norway via high voltage subsea cables from .
Linking Nordic and the UK energy markets will bring a number of benefits, including:
Providing opportunities for shared use of renewable energy – helping both countries to meet domestic and international renewable and climate change targets.
Increasing the security of electricity supplies.
Providing additional transmission capacity for electricity to be traded, supporting economic growth in Norway and the UK.
Passing through Norwegian and UK waters, North Sea Link will be operational in 2021 and will be the longest subsea interconnector in the world.
http://northsealink.com/
Author caltonjockPosted on May 30, 2018 May 31, 2018 Categories Uncategorized3 Comments on Energy Production – Scots Are Getting Ripped Off By Westminster and it will Get Worse Unless We Gain Our Independence
Better Together "Bash Street Kids" Team Resurface 3 Years After the 2014 Scottish Independence Referendum – Tory Party Policy Exchange Think Tank Expose'
Policy Exchange
Better Together "Bash Street Kids" Team Resurface and Cause Mischief 3 Years After the 2014 Scottish Independence Referendum
On 22 May 2018 "Policy Exchange" hosted a major conference in London considering the future of the United Kingdom. Keynote speeches were delivered by:
Ruth Davidson, Michael Gove, Arlene Foster, Brandon Lewis, Alistair Darling, Jim Murphy and Theresa Villiers.
A report on the conference and addresses (for anyone interested in gaining an awareness of the thinking of right wing politicians) can be found at:
https://policyexchange.org.uk/pxevents/the-union-and-unionism-past-present-and-future/
Ruth davidson
Arlene Foster
Alistair Darling and his friend Ruth
What Is Policy Exchange?
The "Exchange" is a London based, Tory think tank, created in 2002. It is described as "the most influential think tank of the right". Key Figures:
Archie Norman
Archibald John Norman
Commonly known as Archie Norman, is a co-founder of "Policy Exchange".
A businessman and former Tory politician, he is best known for cutting 5,000 jobs and creating enormous profits and growth for Asda which he then sold to Walmart for £6.5 billion, giving shareholders a 1,000 per cent return.
He became Chairman of Marks & Spencers in September 2017 and true to form very soon set about cutting back on employee benefits by abandoning the "deferred benefits" scheme.
He followed up 6 months later announcing the closure of up to 100 stores in the UK reducing staff by around 7,000.
And that is just for starters. Much more to come since Norman is quoted as saying that the retailer has been "drifting" and promising too speed up changes.
The company has an annual revenue of nearly £11bn. Rich pickings for Mr Norman and his business associates.
As the Tory government's Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy lead he represents the Tory government on the "Red Tape Initiative" board.
Francis Maude
Maude's long and often controversal parliamentary career as a Tory MP started in 1983 and ended in 2016 when he retired from active politics.
He was made a "life peer" in 2015.
Together with Archie Norman, he co-founded Policy Exchange and was employed by him as a non-executive director of ASDA.
Nick Bowles
Nicholas Edward Coleridge Boles:
Commonly known as Nick Boles, a former flatmate of Michael Gove, he is a hard line Tory MP and was the first director of "Policy Exchange."
He is also a signatory of the statement of principles of the ultra right wing Henry Jackson Society Project for Democratic Geopolitics.
Following his election as Mayor of London Boris Johnson appointed Boles as his Interim Chief of Staff.
Smith, a senior Conservative Party strategist, was a founding member of "Policy Exchange".
It was he who introduced the infamous, morally-focused Tory "back-to-basics" policy, that John Major preached to the nation in the 1997 General Election campaign that ended in disaster for the Tory party.
He has also acted as an adviser to several senior right-wing figures, including the late Sir James Goldsmith and has written speeches for a number of leading Conservative MPs and fulfilled the role of speech writer and advisor to David Cameron.
In the early Eighties, Smith worked for the Adam Smith Institute, the free-market think tank, while pursuing a career in the Federation of Conservative Students as a prominent member of a Right-wing, libertarian faction. Indeed, he was elected in 1985 as an FCS vice-chairman.
However, it transpired that his claim to be a student at Napier College was erroneous and his election was declared null and void by Conservative Central Office following an inquiry.
Smith's later exploits included being arrested by the police for allegedly threatening to kill FCS member Toby Baxendale, although he was released after spending a night in the cells, and working for Right-wing millionaire David Hart's Committee for a Free Britain.
He started the "Fever Club" (feverparties.com) in January 1998 with a debauched launch party in a Central London penthouse.
The 2,500 worldwide members included captains of industry, celebrities and multi-millionaire tycoons.
Critics accused the secretive organisation of being a sinister networking organisation.
Fever Party orgies for the rich and beautiful are still hosted throughout Britain and there are additional parties over the summer in New York and Ibiza.
Fever receives over 400 applications for each party and the vetting process is extremely strict with an upper age limit of 40.
In 2003 Smith was forced to cut his links with Fever by the Tory party head office.
He is married to Munira Mirza.
Munira Mirza
Mirza was recruited from Policy Exchange by Boris Johnson and was appointed , Advisor for Arts and Culture Policy of the Greater London Authority under the Conservative administration.
She is associated with the libertarian anti-environmental LM network which advocates policies benefitting corporate interests with a significant focus on influencing youth. A report on the activities of the secretive network can be found at:
https://www.gmwatch.org/en/?option=com_content&view=article&id=3876:interview-with-monbiot-on-the-lm-group
Theresa Villiers
A hardline Brexiteer, and direct descendent of King Edward 2, Villiers is the Tory MP for Chipping Barnet.
She has a perchant for submitting weird and wonderful expense claims.
She claimed almost £16,000 in stamp duty and professional fees on expenses when she bought a London flat, even though she already had a house in the capital.
She is accused of courting media attention and has been described as "divorced, dogmatic and dreadful."
Oliver Letwin
The Grenfell Tower Fire Disaster Debacle and the Unbridled Power of Policy Exchange and Its Offshoot the Red Tape Initiative
The Grenfell Tower fire broke out on 14 June 2017 at the 24-storey Grenfell Tower block of public housing flats in North Kensington, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, West London.
It caused at least 72 deaths, and over 70 injuries. Occupants of 23 of the 129 flats died.
Even before the public inquiry into the Grenfell Tower disaster had begun, it looked like a stitch-up, its initial terms of reference set so narrowly that government policy remained outside the frame.
An inquiry that honoured the dead would investigate the wider causes of this crime. It would examine a governing ideology that sees torching public protections as a sacred duty.
An example. On the morning of 14 June, as the tower blazed, an organisation called the "Red Tape Initiative" convened for its prearranged discussion about building regulations.
One of the organisation's tasks was to consider whether rules determining the fire resistance of cladding materials should be removed for the sake of construction industry profits.
what is the initiative is and who runs it?
It is a perfect cameo of British politics. A government-backed body, established "to grasp the opportunities" that Brexit offers to cut "red tape" – a disparaging term for public protections.
It is chaired by the Conservative MP Sir Oliver Letwin, who when launching the Red Tape Initiative on 19 April 2017, said:
"We need to grasp the opportunities that Brexit will give us to cut red tape in sensible ways. And we mustn't lose any time doing that.
So the point of the "Red Tape Initiative" is to identify "early wins" that can command cross-party support in both Houses of Parliament immediately after we leave the EU."
Letwin also claimed that; "the call to minimise risk is a call for a cowardly society".
It is confirmed therefore as a forum in which exceedingly wealthy people help decide which protections should be stripped away from lesser beings.
Among the members of its advisory panel are Charles Moore, who was editor of the Daily Telegraph and the chair of an organisation called "Policy Exchange." He was also best man at Letwin's wedding.
Sitting beside him is Archie Norman, the former chief executive of Asda and the founder of "Policy Exchange". He was once Conservative MP for Tunbridge Wells – and was succeeded in that seat by Greg Clark, the minister who now provides government support for the "Red Tape Initiative".
Until he became Environment Secretary, Michael Gove was also a member of the "Red Tape Initiative" panel. Oh, and he was appointed by Norman as the first chairman of "Policy Exchange". (He was replaced by Moore.) "Policy Exchange" also supplied two of Letwin's staff in the Conservative policy unit that he used to run.
"Policy Exchange" is a neoliberal lobby group funded by dark money, that seeks to tear down regulations.
The Red Tape Initiative's management board consists of Letwin, Baroness Rock and Lord Marland. Baroness Rock is a childhood friend of the former Tory chancellor George Osborne, and is married to the wealthy financier Caspar Rock.
Marland is a multi-millionaire businessman who owns a house and four flats in London, "various properties in Salisbury", three apartments in France and two apartments in Switzerland.
The "Red Tape Initiative" is a self-serving clique of old chums, insulated from hazard by their extreme wealth, whose role is to decide whether other people (colloquially known as "cowards") should be exposed to risk.
Letwin's initiative appointed a panel to investigate housing regulations. It includes representatives of trade unions and NGOs, though they are outnumbered by executives and lobbyists from the industry. And there – surprise, surprise – is a man, called Richard Blakeway, from Policy Exchange.
"Policy Exchange" financed by opaquely funded groups and individuals has imposed policies on Britain designed no only to empower corporations and the very rich, but actively to disempower everyone else, through austerity, outsourcing and privatisation.
There is an urgent need for an independent commission whose purpose is to decide when inquiries should be called, what their terms should be, and who should chair them. Governments should have no influence over any of these decisions.
A blinkered inquiry ordered by a government that chooses charges, judge and jury, threatens to clad the origins of a great crime, shielding their embarrassing ugliness from public view. We cannot, and must not, accept it.
Author: George Monbiot, of The Guardian.
wikispooks.com/wiki/Document:Here's_why_the_Grenfell_inquiry_will_be_a_stitch-up)
Author caltonjockPosted on May 28, 2018 Categories UncategorizedLeave a comment on Better Together "Bash Street Kids" Team Resurface 3 Years After the 2014 Scottish Independence Referendum – Tory Party Policy Exchange Think Tank Expose'
Scottish Secretary of State – David Mundell MP – Clueless Bunch of No-Hoper -Tory MSPs Still in Place Despite Purge – Indicative of a Dearth of Tory Political Talent
March 2007: Tory MSPs Are Clueless No-Hopers – According to Conservative MP David Mundell.
Murdo Fraser MSP had raised the spectre of a split from Westminster control so that the Party in Scotland would be able to decide upon policy.
Countering the Fraser challenge Mundell delivered a damning statement in a four-page memo to leader David Cameron revealing that Tory chiefs had lost confidence in the Holyrood team claiming there was a "lack of thinkers" among the Tory MSPs and that they were incapable of coming up with new policies.
He added: "There are more obvious problems than solutions emanating from Scotland from a party point of view. And I see little in the short term that can be done to improve the MSP group situation."
And he was scathing about Tory MSPs' abilities saying: "Whilst it is possible to agree in principle that the party in Scotland can make its own policy on devolved matters, the simple lack of thinkers is apparent."
He urged a purge of lame-duck MSP's and the speedy appointment of a new Scottish party Chairman, new Scottish party leader and new management team comprising strategic thinkers.
His advice prevailed and the Scottish Tory party was subjected to a brutal putch which brought Ruth Davidson, and her team of wanabee's into the Scottish public domain.
9 February 2008: Former Spy Appointed To Top Scottish Tory Job
Former high ranking MI6 intelligence officer, Prof Andrew Fulton, was identified as the most effective "agent for change" available and it was agreed he would be appointed chairman of the Scottish Conservative Party and apply himself and the extensive resources of the secret service to the tasks of completing a root and branch reorganisation of the party in Scotland removing anyone who did not fully commit to Westminster Party ideal.
He would also put in place a long term strategy and resources undermining the SNP government ensuring any referendum for independence would fail.
It was believed that the SNP would fall apart in the aftermath of a failure to gain independence.
But a number of lame-duck MSPs' all incapable of "strategic thought" survived the clear out and continue to occupy key positions within Davidson's team;
Jackson Carlaw, Murdo Fraser, Margaret Mitchell, John Scott and Elizabeth Smith.
The emasculated Scottish Tory party in Holyrood and the inexperienced Davidson and her team of lame-duck gophers have not evolved a single new policy since its appointment. And secret agent Fulton, has moved back to London.
So what next for the Scottish Tory party and its lame-duck MSPs' if Davidson decides to get-out of Scotland?
Author caltonjockPosted on May 27, 2018 Categories UncategorizedLeave a comment on Scottish Secretary of State – David Mundell MP – Clueless Bunch of No-Hoper -Tory MSPs Still in Place Despite Purge – Indicative of a Dearth of Tory Political Talent
Scottish Press the Labour Party in Scotland and BBC Scotland Conspiracy Pact Exposed
BBC – Labour Party Bias – Not Us!!!
In denying the Scottish public their right to active promotion, through broadcasting of cultural diversity with other parts of the United Kingdom the UK government and its centrally controlled BBC is in breach of the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights – Article 11 – Freedom of expression and information.
A well respected and truly impartial journalist was asked if the perception that BBC Scotland was anti-SNP was, in his view, justified said "Put it this way, it probably comes more naturally to them to attack the nationalists than to attack the union."
Just had to include Lord John
A wee bit of history;
From 1946 to 1991 media affairs in Scotland were subject to the moderating influence of a BBC Scotland Controller who effectively reported to the, "Broadcasting Council for Scotland", on which many distinguished Scot's served over the years.
But following a reorganisation control of BBC output in Scotland was transferred to the Board of Governors of the corporation in England then onto the BBC trust in London.
Macquarrie
The way in which BBC Scotland is run, the quality of care it shows for the many good people who work for it, the standard of what it does, the public service in Scotland ethos it supposedly represents are some of the more important questions facing the Scottish nation.
But it is doubtful they can be successfully addressed within the control systems that prevail at the present time.
The result is that the BBC is failing Scots when they need it most.
The primary blockages are firmly implanted the minds of those who retain control of the state media output:
1. That the BBC, is part of the glue that holds together the concept of a United Kingdom.
2. Weaken the corporation and the United Kingdom will fall apart. So weak is the quality of the paste.
3. The BBC dictates the daily agenda for the Queens subjects, how they talk to each other and what about.
4. It is of prime importance that Scots trust the BBC and feel they have a personal investment in it, otherwise it will be lost and the United Kingdom with it.
Boothman
Is the bias in BBC Scotland endemic or confined to a few employees?
The huge number of unresolved complaints and public demonstrations all voicing concern and anger about a blatant lack of impartiality by the news reporting/discussion teams in the course of the 2014 independence referendum and since gives support to the public perception that there is an on-going agenda within BBC Scotland ensuring support to Labour Party ideals, to the exclusion of other political parties in Scotland.
BBC Scotland needs to be taken away from London so that it can be truly independent and the over arching Scottish body, including members of the public, should be re-established.
Up Yours – BBC Scotland senior managers refuse to meet with MSP committee
Ken MacQuarrie, Head of BBC Scotland and his enforcer, Head of News and Current Affairs and Labour Party supporter bully boy Boothman refused to appear before the Scottish Education and Culture Committee at Holyrood stating that the BBC in Scotland was not accountable to the Scottish Government.
They were subsequently ordered to appear by the Chairman of the BBC Trust and finally did so but stonewalled every question put to them.
Boothman (finally exposed as a bully) was later removed from his post as Head of News and Current Affairs after a protracted struggle with staff and trade unions and transferred his employment to the private sector.
BBC Scotland News & Current Affairs Team
A Labour Party pedigree is a predominant requirement within the BBC Scotland senior management team and line managers and reporters in place are appointed through nepotism.
This needs to eradicated so that the BBC can be enabled to be truly impartial and accountable to the Scottish public.
The current "modus-operanti" cannot be allowed to remain in place.
There needs to be a cull of management and media correspondents that have abandoned the "Journalist's Code" in favour of their politically minded colleagues. (https://www.nuj.org.uk/about/nuj-code/)
Nepotism/Cronyism within BBC Scotland & protection of the Labour Party (1991-2017)
John Boothman headed News and Current Affairs and was the Editor of Elections and Political Output.
In 1979 he was the Chairperson of Strathclyde University Labour Club, Chairperson Scottish Organisation of Labour Students in 1980 and Chairperson of the National (UK) Organisation of Labour Students 1981.
According to former BBC broadcaster Derek Bateman, Boothman questioned the political output of radio broadcasts after receiving complaints from Paul Sinclair.
Sinclair, (SPAD to Johann Lamont) was said to enjoy a special relationship and regular contact with Boothman through both men's links with the Labour party.
Writing on his blog, Bateman claimed that Boothman was "famous for his unrivalled network of contacts in the Labour movement".
Adding "Sinclair had a name for trying to interfere in BBC news decisions to influence output." and, according to the former BBC presenter, Sinclair and Boothman developed an unhealthy relationship with the Labour advisor calling the shots.
Bateman added: "But what I didn't like about Sinclair – Boothman relationship was the informal and insidious way it developed, so instead of old pals, it became almost one of master and servant. Sinclair seemed to assume the right to call the BBC head of news to account".
Bateman also claimed that Boothman had, on more than one occasion, questioned him about the political content of his radio programme after receiving complaints from Sinclair.
John Boothman is married to Susan Deacon: Former Chairman of Scottish Labour Students.
She served on the Scottish Labour Party's, National Executive. MSP and was a Scottish Labour Party government minister.
Boothman, Margaret Curran and Johann Lamont when students were actively and closely involved in Labour Party politics at Glasgow and Strathclyde Universities.
Curran is a Labour Party Executive member and MP.
At university she was Secretary of Glasgow University Labour Club, Secretary of the Scottish Organisation of Labour Students, Chair of that organisation, and Vice-Chair of the Labour Club (the biggest of its kind in the UK) at the time.
Lamont is an MSP and former leader of the Labour Party in Scotland.
At university she was an active member Glasgow University Labour Club.
Sarah Boyack; Labour Party List MSP also attended Glasgow University and active in politics as a student, she was mentored by Margaret Curran (Chair of the National Organisation of Labour Students in 1985-86)
Catriona Renton: Reporter for the BBC Politics Show and BBC Presenter.
Renton is a former Glasgow Labour Councillor, who represented Kelvindale before losing her seat to the Lib/Dems in 2003.
She was "Glasgow's Youth Tsar" and is a product of Balliol College, Oxford.
She was a Labour Party candidate in the 2003 Holyrood election and the 2004 European election.
She was recruited by BBC Scotland's parliamentary unit in 2006, when Boothman, husband of Labour MSP and ex-Health Minister Susan Deacon, was a senior producer.
Her Facebook account lists as friends: Jackie Baille Labour MSP, Yousuf Hamid Labour Activist, Tom Harris Labour MP, Mike Dailly Labour Activist, David Martin Labour MEP, Frank McAvetty Labour MSP, John Robertson Labour MP John Park Labour MSP, Steven Purcell Labour Glasgow Leader, Dave Watson Vice-chair of the Scottish Labour Party.
At the centre of yet another bias storm in 2009 when attending the SNP conference in Inverness, she claimed on BBC Scotland's Politics show that Alex Neil had confirmed the SNP's desire to see David Cameron become the Prime Minister at the next general election. Views he had not expressed.
The BBC were forced to issue a personal apology to Alex Neil.
the Joker and Flashman
Tom Connor; BBC Head of Online News and Sport.
A friend and colleague of Boothman he was responsible for introducing and enforcing the continuation of censorship and blockage of comments to BBC Scotland political blogs.
No viewers comments or contrary views with the likes of Brian Taylor or Douglas Fraser accounts any-more.. Yet, in England, Wales and Northern Ireland BBC blogs actively encourage viewr feedback.
Conner and Boothman were censured a number of years ago for providing Labour candidates with media training using BBC Scotland facilities.
Coke King Purcell
The compliant Scottish Media & Glasgow – the labour Party Fiefdom
The Labour Party in Scotland's abuse of Glasgow citizens was finally revealed to the public in March 2010 by newspapers published in England, the East of Scotland and Rebecca Gordon Nesbitt (http://www.variant.org.uk/37_38texts/1ed_2manifest.html) who headlined the very public downfall of Gordon Brown's protege Steven Purcell.
The dearth of mainstream media reporting had led to online speculation of Purcell's very cosy relationship with sectors of the Scottish media and its failure to fulfill its elusive role of holding power to account – namely, the press's part in a regular Friday drinking date, dubbed 'The Ritz Club', which, Mandy Rhodes, the editor of Holyrood Magazine toyed,
"Did a misguided loyalty to a regular Friday afternoon drinking date, dubbed 'The Ritz Club', which included the editors of rival red tops, the Herald's editor-in-chief and Purcell himself…influence reporting of the unravelling scandal?"
So there is no news in the truth / no truth in the news.
But still the complex network of Councillors, businessmen and public sector chiefs, all with connections to the Labour Party, in Glasgow's iconic 'redevelopment' misadventure went for the time largely untroubled.
A prickled Sunday Herald driven to comment, responded to the suggestion of acquiescence towards the Labour Party;
"The absurd suggestions of a network of powerful figures working behind the scenes to influence the workings of the city and that this so-called network including leading figures from the media is now threatening to undermine public confidence in the integrity of the Scottish press"
"The hints that some Scottish newspapers pull their punches on the controversy because editors have been too close to Purcell or, worse, they have been cowed into submission by Peter Watson and PR firm Media House."
Jack and Bridget- the knowing look??
And what about Bridget McConnell?
In 2006, she spearheaded the controversial devolution of Glasgow City Council's Cultural and Leisure Services to form the company/charity known as Culture and Sport Glasgow with a separate trading arm, Culture and Sport Glasgow (Trading) CIC. Since March 2007, she then held the post of Chief Executive of both companies.
In 2008, Culture & Sport Glasgow were awarded a long term contract to catalogue and manage the text archive and research department for Newsquest (Herald, Sunday Herald, Evening Times).
Another link established.
Those interested in the rudiments of democracy might wish to ask how a notionally privatised arm of Glasgow City Council could be allowed to become so tightly interconnected with Glasgow's dominant media group.
More remarkable with the NUJ's Vice-President-come-President also being the head of PR for spin-off Culture & Sport Glasgow at the time?
I previously researched and published a comprehensive report cataloging the disgraceful abuse of the Glasgow electorate by the Scottish Labour Party aided and abetted by the BBC and Scottish Press in the first decade of the new millenium.
Careful reading will reveal conspiracy, at all levels of those involved in the financial asset stripping of the poorest people in Western Europe
https://caltonjock.com/2015/01/06/the-sin-of-silence-in-sin-city-glasgow-part-1-up-to-2008-read-it-and-weep/
https://caltonjock.com/2015/01/06/the-sin-of-silence-in-sin-city-glasgow-part-2-2010-a-year-of-turmoil-and-scandal/
https://caltonjock.com/2015/01/06/the-sin-of-silence-in-sin-city-glasgow-part-3-2011-2012-years-of-scandal-massive-pay-offs/
https://caltonjock.com/2015/01/06/silence-in-sin-city-glasgow-part-4-2013-a-year-of-misconduct-and-scandal/
https://caltonjock.com/2015/01/06/silence-in-sin-city-glasgow-part-5-2014-2015-city-council-in-need-of-clear-out/
Author caltonjockPosted on May 24, 2018 May 24, 2018 Categories UncategorizedLeave a comment on Scottish Press the Labour Party in Scotland and BBC Scotland Conspiracy Pact Exposed
Tory Placeman Tomkins Asks the Scottish Parliament to Trust the Westminster Government and Support Their Centralising of Devolved Powers – History Indicates Such Support Would be Folly
The Application of Laws in England and Scotland before 1707
The principles of Roman Law, a system of 'rights' and 'obligations' prevalent in European countries was used to develop Scots law over many hundreds of years before 1707.
Whilst, in England, lawmaking evolved by writing "Common Law" into statute, using the decisions of judges as precedence. The two systems are not entirely compatible.
The Treaty of Union (1707)
Article 19 of the 1707 Treaty of Union with England stated that the laws of Scotland would remain in place and the authority of the Scottish College of Justice, Court of Session and Court of Justiciary would be retained by Scotland.
But the merging of the two parliaments brought with it (in direct contravention of Article 19 of the Treaty) the move to England of Scottish politicians and lords and with them the removal of legislative power to Westminster which was finalised by the transfer of the "right of appeal" from the Scottish judiciary to the House of Lords.
Essential reading: The Union and the law. – David M Walker former Regius Professor of Law in the University of Glasgow (1958-1990.) http://www.journalonline.co.uk/Magazine/52-6/1004238.aspx
Illegal replacement of Scots law with English law.
Despite assurances to the contrary from Westminster and a legal commitment in the 1707 treaty, there have been many reforms to the Scottish judicial system and legal procedures over the years so that it conforms with English practice.
The Home Secretary in the 1820s, Robert Peel sought to justify changes on the grounds that the Scottish system was "totally different from English practice and repugnant to English feelings".
In the mid Nineteenth century the industrial revolution brought with it new areas of public policy such as public health, working conditions and many other practices and these were legislated for by Westminster, without consultation with the Scottish judiciary, further challenging the uniqueness of the Scottish system.
And in the later part of the nineteenth century, commercial law was assimilated and Scottish law replaced by English-based measures such as the Partnership Act 1890 and the Sale of Goods Act 1893.
The weakening of Scots Law by the Westminster political establishment became so overtly routine that Lord Rosebery, in 1882, speaking in the House of Lords voiced Scottish fears of the creeping Anglicanisation of Scottish law stating that legislation was framed on the principle that "every part of the United Kingdom must be English, because it is part of the United Kingdom".
Acts of the Westmnister parliament imposed on Scotland
The Treason Act – 1708 – This harmonised the treason laws of England and Scotland, effective from July 1709.
The English offences of high treason and misprision of treason were extended to Scotland, and the treasonable offences then existing in Scotland were abolished.
When the Scottish Parliament was set up in 1998, treason and treason felony were among the "reserved matters" it was prohibited from legislating about, ensuring that the law of treason remained uniform throughout the United Kingdom.
Disbandment of the Privy Council – 1708 – The Privy Council, and the great offices of state, including the chancellor, secretary and treasurer, were abolished after the Acts of Union 1707, with rule direct being implemented from London.
The Scottish Runrig System of land ownership
Up to mid eighteenth century land tenure in Scotland was maintained using the "runrig system."
Agricultural land was divided into towns or townships, comprising an area of cultivable "in-bye" land and a larger area of pasture and rough grazing. The "in-bye" was divided into "rigs" which were periodically reassigned among the tenants of the township so that no individual had continuous use of the best land.
Tenants would have a few rigs under their tenure, and it would be their job to fertilise the earth using dung from their own animals. Ploughing, planting and reaping, the farmer cultivated and cared for the land producing crops to feed the family, and hopefully have some left over to barter with.
The "rig" was a strip of ploughed and cultivated land usually 20 feet wide, and high. Only the crown of the rig was ploughed and half the width between them was taken up by huge "baulks" or open spaces filled with briars, nettles, stones and water separated from the next Rig by a "run", which was left uncultivated.
The high rigs served as a method of water drainage for the crop, given the prevalence of rain in Scotland.
The "baulks" provided shelter from the buffeting winds and a rich habitat for beneficial insects and birds that, in the absence of chemical pesticides, did a good job of eating many of the pests that would damage a crop.
The Scottish Society of Improvers
The Society of Scottish Improvers was founded in 1723 and included in its 300 members the Dukes, Earls, Lairds and Landlords of Scotland.
Exports to England increased from 1707 and the Society members were determined to increase agriculture output improving their profit margins.
Haymaking was introduced along with the English plough and foreign grasses, the sowing of rye grass, clover, turnips and cabbages was introduced.
lime was put down, roads built and woods planted.
Drilling and sowing and crop rotation was introduced and the introduction of the potato to Scotland in 1739 greatly improved the diet of the peasantry.
The Lothians became a major centre of grain, Ayrshire of cattle breading and the borders of sheep.
The Enclosure Acts – 1707-1860
The Enclosure Acts were a series of Westminster Acts of Parliament displacing rigs, free pasture and common land in Scotland, creating legal property rights to land.
Between 1707 and 1914, thousands of individual Enclosure Acts were legislated encompassing millions of acres of Scotland.
The joined land was divided into crofts and initially given over to tenants under fixed tenancy based on the amount of land that they owned before the act.
But often the land was uncultivated and useless and owners, who were required to to fence the land in order to live on it, couldn't afford to do this forcing them to sell or give up the land and move into urban areas.
Authorities also forcibly implemented the enclosure acts through the eviction of crofters that did not own land.
They also evicted people who said they owned land, but who could not prove it.
This resulted in tens of thousands of displaced and homeless people who were forced to leave Scotland to take up their lives in the new colonies of Canada and the Americas.
Many thousands of Scots died due to the appalling conditions on board inadequate overloaded shipping and the Westminster parliament and Lords will be forever dammed by their actions
So, after stealing the land from village farmers, the landed aristocracy forced poor labourers off the "village commons" land and enclosed it as their own property.
The increase in their landholdings enabled them to cultivate ever larger fields.
The entitlement to land enjoyed by landowners in present day Scotland was built on the imposition by Westminster of a a brutal feudal system.
Over half of Scotland is owned by less than 500 people which equates to the most concentrated pattern of land ownership in the developed world.
Further reading: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/aug/10/scotland-land-rights
The Disarming Act – 1716:
After the inconclusive Battle of Sheriffmuir the 1715 Jackobite rebellion withered and the clansmen drifted back to the glens.
English reprisals were swift and brutal. Many estates were forfeited and thousands of Clansmen were imprisoned and or sent as slaves to the plantations in the English colonies.
The purpose of the 1716 Disarming Act was to remove all weapons from Scotland.
It failed in its purpose as the bulk of weapons handed in were old, rusty and useless the Scots preferred to hide their weapons away to be used another day.
Disarming Act – 1725
There was a further unsuccessful Jacobite uprising in 1719 in which the Earl of Seaforth and other Jacobite chiefs, supported by a body of Spanish soldiers, were defeated by General Wightman and the Royal Navy.
This affair led to more determined legislation: "An Act for more effectual disarming of the Highlands in that part of Great Britain called Scotland, and for better securing the peace and quiet of that part of the Kingdom by which the men of the clans are required to surrender their – "…broad swords, targets, poynards, whingers or durks, side pistols, guns or any other warlike weapons."
The man given the job of enforcing the measure was Major General George Wade, Commander in Chief of his Majesty's Forces in North Britain.
Wade (an Irishman) estimated that there were, at that time, some 20,000 clansmen capable of bearing arms in the Highlands.
Half of that number, he advised, were potential Jacobites… but only around 2,500 weapons were surrendered.
Letters of an English Gentleman in the North of Scotland – 1730
There is an account of the attitude of English outsiders towards the Highland people and their culture in the writings of Captain Edmund Burt, a government engineer, who wrote his "Letters from a Gentleman in the North of Scotland" in the 1730s.
Recording first-hand experiences of his time with Wade in the Highlands he had this to say:
"Various reasons are given both for and against the Highland dress. Against it is that it distinguishes the natives as a body of people distinct and separate from the rest of the subjects of Great Britain, and thereby is one cause of their narrow adherence among themselves, to the exclusion of all the rest of the kingdom…"
He continued "…but the part of the habit chiefly objected to is the plaid, which is calculated for the encouragement of an idle life in lying about upon the heath, in the daytime, instead of following some lawful employment and that it serves to cover them in the night when they lie in wait among the mountains, to commit their robberies and depredations and is composed of such colours as altogether, in the mass, so nearly resemble the heath on which they lie, that it is hardly to be distinguished from it until one is so near them as to be within their power, if they have evil intention…"
The implications of Burt's writings are that, south of the Highland Line, among folk who were properly dressed, there was an absence of idleness and criminality.
His words also expose the political dimension and racial prejudice against the highlanders, of English thinking "…that it renders them ready at a moment's warning, to join in any rebellion, as they always carry their tents with them."
Burt provides further evidence of the prejudice in another of his letters "…there are some among the English who are so prejudiced, that they will not allow there is anything good on this side of the Tweed."
Burt's observations, sixteen years before the introduction of the 1746 dress act is a harbinger of the racial and cultural intolerance of England against Scots, expressed in the years that followed by the legislation against highland clothing.
The Dress Act – 1746:
On the 2nd of August 1745, Prince Charles Edward Stuart, eldest son of James (VIII & III – the "Old Pretender"), landed on the isle of Eriskay with seven companions.
When the standard of Royal House of Stuart was raised at Glenfinnan, Highland clans rallied to the cause.
The subsequent course of the 'Forty-Five Rebellion has been so oft recorded, and is so well known, that suffice it to say, the army of "Bonnie Prince Charlie" looked for a time set to victory, with the Jacobites reaching Derby by December.
There was panic in the House of Hanover, with King George II preparing to flee to the Continent.
But when the promised french force, crucial to the success of the rebellion failed to materialise, Lord George Murray, counselled a Jacobite retreat and on the 16th of April 1746, the army of Charles Edward was defeated by that of the Duke of Cumberland on Culloden Moor, outside Inverness.
There followed a bitter excess of reprisals –
As Commander-in-Chief, Cumberland was responsibile for the many atrocities committed in the aftermath of the rising, for he instigated them, actively assisted by his Generals – Hawley in particular – and junior officers, whose brutish behaviour, especially when, as they frequently were, drunk, is well documented.
This was an era when murder, rape, pillage and burning were common to the losing side in any fight but, even so, the reprisals against the ordinary highland people were, to any normal mind, excessive and left an evil memory" (The Highland People – James D. Scarlett)
This was the mood against which the Dress Act of 1746 was drafted and passed by Lord Chancellor Hardwicke:
The purpose of it was to eradicate the military threat, to the Westminster government, of the Jacobite Highland clans, and to eliminate the culturally separate identity of the Highland people.
"From and after the first day of August, 1747, no man or boy, within that part of Great Britain called Scotland, other than such as shall be employed as officers and soldiers in his Majesty's Forces, shall, on any pretence whatsoever wear or put on the clothes commonly called highland clothes (that is to say) the plaid, philabeg, or little kilt, trowse, shoulder belts, or any part whatsoever of what peculiarly belongs to the highland garb and that no tartan, or party-coloured plaid or stuff shall be used for great coats, or for upper coats. and if any such person shall presume after the first day of August, to wear or put on the aforesaid garments, or any part of them, every such person so offending, being convicted thereof by the oath of one or more credible witness or witnesses before any Court of Justiciary shall suffer imprisonment, without bail, for six months, and on being convicted for a second offence, shall be liable to be transported to any of his Majesty's plantations overseas and to remain there for seven years."
The Westminster parliament in London, with breathtaking arrogance, laid down the law dictating how Scots might clothe themselves in their own land.
As might be expected, in each instance the law was treated, in large part, with the contempt it deserved and in 1782, thanks largely to the efforts of the Duke of Montrose, the hated 18th century Dress Act was repealed.
Acts against Roman Catholics
The failed Jackobite rising of 1715 brought with it an Act appointing commissioners to inquire into the estates of popish recusants with a view to confiscating two-thirds of each estate.
The scope of "An Act to oblige papists to register their names and real estates" added an additional expense of all transactions in land, the more galling as Catholics were doubly taxed under the annual land-tax acts.
In 1722 an act was passed was passed "Granting an aid to his Majesty through the levy of a tax upon Papists" by which the sum of one hundred thousand pounds was wrung from the impoverished Catholics.
These punitive acts and other legislation against catholics remained in place throughout the reigns of, George II and his successor, George III.
Repealing the acts was a long, slow, gradual, and complicated process, the chief measures of relief being;
The First Catholic Relief Act of 1778, which enabled Catholics to inherit and purchase land repealing the Act of William III, rewarding the conviction of priests.
The second Relief Act of 1791, which relieved all Catholics who took the oath therein prescribed from the operation of the Penal Code.
The Catholic Emancipation Act of 1829 which removed punitive anti-catholic legislation.
Disqualifications against Catholics still in force are those which prohibit the sovereign from being or marrying a Catholic, or any Catholic from holding the offices of Prime Minister or Lord Chancellor.
The Scotland Act – (1998)
The Westminster parliament passed a law (the Scotland Act 1998) which stated that Scotland could set up and run its own parliament and in 1999, a Scottish Parliament was convened for the first time in nearly 300 years.
This was a major development for Scottish politics and Scots law since it returned some powers to make their own laws on certain topics to the new Scottish Parliament.
It is of note therefore that the Scottish Parliament only exists because of a recent law passed by the UK parliament which means that Westminster retains ultimate control of the Scottish Parliament, including the power to dismantle it at will.
An important rider highlights that Acts passed by the Scottish Parliament can be challenged.
Sections 28 and 29 of the Scotland Act 1998 set out the competencies of Holyrood and state that legislation will be ultra vires if it relates to matters reserved to the UK Parliament or would be incompatible with EU law or the European Convention of Human Rights.
Questions over the legitimacy of Acts of the Scottish Parliament are known as 'devolution issues'.
These can arise in any court but the ultimate court for determining these issues is the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London.
This highlights the importance of Scots retaining an awareness that Scotland is not separate from the rest of the UK, only some legislative powers been devolved and the UK parliament still makes the bulk of laws affecting Scotland contrary to Article 19 of the 1707 Treaty of Union.
Credit to wikipedia
Author caltonjockPosted on May 15, 2018 May 15, 2018 Categories UncategorizedLeave a comment on Tory Placeman Tomkins Asks the Scottish Parliament to Trust the Westminster Government and Support Their Centralising of Devolved Powers – History Indicates Such Support Would be Folly
1820 Scottish Rising – Scots Betrayed Yet Again By Unionist Spies Acting for their Westminster Paymasters – 22 Scottish Martyrs Sentenced to Death For High Treason and Sedition
The 1820 Scottish Uprising
James Wilson, Andrew Hardie & John Baird (all weavers) were accused by the Crown of being leaders of the "1820 Rising", a group of Scots campaigning for universal male suffrage, better working conditions and a Scottish parliament.
They, together with 19 others, mostly weavers: Thomas M'Culloch, Benjamin Moir, Alex Latimer, Alex Johnstone, Andrew White, David Thomson, James Wright, William Clackson, Thomas Pink, Alex Hart, John Barr, William Smith, Thomas M'Farlane, John Anderson, John M'Millan, Andrew Dawson, Allen Murchie, Robert Gray, William Crawford and James Cleland were tried for the crime of " high treason" at Stirling high court on 14 July 1820.
All 23 were found guilty as charged and on 4 August 1820 were sentenced to death by hanging.
Martyrs Monument Glasgow
The Executions of James Wilson, Andrew Hardie and John Baird
James Wilson was executed on 4 August 1820 in Glasgow.
On mounting the cart that was to take him to the scaffold, the headsman was seated before him, cloaked in black, his face covered, holding a large axe in his right hand and a knife in his left.
"Did you ever see sic a crowd as this?" Wilson remarked casually to his executioner.
At five minutes to three, he mounted the scaffold and several minutes later his body was convulsing on the end of a rope, where it remained for half an hour, before being lowered and decapitated by the masked executioner, who held the bloody head aloft and proclaimed: "This is the head of a traitor."
The crowd jeered and shouts of, "It is false, he has bled for his country!" were heard and reported in the Glasgow Herald the next morning.
Barely a week later, on 8th September 1820, Andrew Hardie, from Glasgow, who told the spectators, ('I die a martyr to the cause of truth and injustice') and John Baird, from Condorrat, met the same fate in Stirling:
The death sentence on the other 19 was changed to penal servitude for life and on the 15 August 1820 they were transported to the colony of New South Wales in Australia.
Westminster Government Conspiracy
It later transpired that the Westminster government, through the agency and double-dealing of spies, actually incited the rising in the first place.
But why would a government, gripped by fear of a popular revolution, incite a general strike in Scotland?
To answer this question, we must unearth the roots of the 1820 Rising.
In 1795, following the public stoning of King George III's carriage as it travelled to Westminster, parliament completely redrew the laws for treason, with the effect that holding public meetings in support of reform could lead to the stiffest penalties that the courts were at liberty to dispense.
The period following the American Revolution was a time in Scotland when groups including enlightened aristocrats, members of the rising middle classes, professional people, calling themselves "Friends of the People" pushed gently for reform.
The weavers in Scotland were skilled and literate people who traditionally worked to commission, chose their own hours, and managed their own lives in a way that was denied to many factory workers and along with other skilled artisans, they formed an aristocracy of labour and were proud, independent, and increasingly radical in their outlook.
After the Battle of Waterloo a wicked recession gripped the UK and 1816 was a particularly black year for Glasgow, resulting in major bankruptcies across the city and its environs.
This sparked a gathering of tens of thousands at Thrushgrove near Glasgow, demanding but not gaining reform and the situation worsened over the next four years so that by 1820 the stage was set for the rising that would result in the deaths of James Wilson, Andrew Hardie and John Baird and penal servitude for 19 other Scottish martyrs.
The Committee for Organising a Provisional Scottish Government
There existed in Scotland a covert group called "the Committee for Organising a Provisional government," which consisted of committed radicals, elected by their respective unions, who would assume responsibility of organising the new social structure of Scotland in the aftermath of a successful rising.
However, it seems clear in retrospect that the committee had also been infiltrated by Westminster government spies, who were rife at the time, being one of the government's most important defences against underground radical activities.
The committee had the misfortune to convene in Marshall's Tavern in Glasgow's Gallowgate on March 21 1820, in the presence of a spy. John King, a weaver from Anderston.
King left the meeting early, just before the entire committee was arrested and detained in secret by the authorities.
This is a vital point in relation to the events that unfolded over the next few weeks, because the organising committee, the body of people who would be the centre of any radical rising, were off the streets and obviously not able to organise very much from their prison cells.
Glasgow Remembering the Martyrs of 1820
King and Other Unionist Spy's Activate the Rising
The very next day, King was present at another meeting of important radicals in Anderston in Glasgow.
It was also attended by another three men, also government government spies: John Craig, a weaver, Duncan Turner, a tin-smith, and Robert Lees, described only as "the Englishman."
King took the initiative at this meeting and reported that a large-scale rising was imminent and that all those present should make themselves ready for armed conflict.
The 1820 Proclamation
The following day, on March 23, the spy, Duncan Turner, unveiled plans for a provisional government and revealed a draft of a proclamation, inciting widespread revolt, that was to be posted around the city for the public's attention.
This proclamation is pivotal to the whole history of the rising, and, given that the real "Committee for Establishing a Provisional Government" was in jail, the proclamation was later identified as the work of government agents, and part of larger plan to sink the radical movement in Scotland once and for all.
The events that transpired provides the evidence against King and his associates, all pointing in the direction of the Westminster government treachery and entrapment.
On April 1 1820, the citizens of Glasgow awoke to find the proclamation posted around the city, urging them all "to desist from their labour from and after this day…and attend wholly to the recovery of their Rights…"
The proclamation opened with a rousing ideological plea for liberty: "Equality of Rights (not of property) is the object for which we contend, and which we consider as the only security for our Liberties and Lives."
The plea continues to the soldiery, asking if they could really, "plunge…Bayonets into the Bosoms of Fathers and Brothers at the unrelenting Orders of a Cruel Faction…"
Strong words, and if the proclamation had been a government plan to draw underground radicals out into the open, they would have perhaps been shocked at the level of response from ordinary people and workers all over West and Central Scotland.
The following Monday, people from many different trades, but especially weaving, stopped work.
They were not only refusing to work, but were in many cases preparing for war.
Reports flooded in of groups of men engaged in military drills, and making weapons such as pikes from any material that could be obtained. Revolt was in the air.
On Tuesday 4 April, the spy, Duncan Turner, the issuer of the proclamation, was mustering a group of about 60 men in Germiston, and using all his arts of persuasion to convince the men to march to the Carron Works in Falkirk, where they could obtain arms for the coming battles.
Not all were convinced, but he rallied those that would go with promises of meeting more men on the way to help them in their mission.
He himself would be engaged in organising other initiatives and wouldn't accompany them on their long march.
The leader of the group was the ill-fated Andrew Hardie, and Turner gave him half a card, which, he assured him, would match exactly with another half card held by a man waiting for him in Condorrat; a man at the head of another group of fighters.
In this way the group would grow, swelling its ranks until it arrived at Carron.
The Carronshore Ambush
Waiting in Condorrat was John Baird, at the head of five men, holding his half card that had been given to him by none other than John King in one of his many guises.
Both Hardie and Baird were no doubt expecting to unite with a small army when they matched their cards, and were obviously disappointed when they did match cards in the early hours of the morning.
However, John King promised more support before they reached Carron, and he himself would ride ahead to rally these supporters.
It is known that by this time the army already knew of a plot to take Carron, as a Lt. Hodgson had set off from Perth to protect Carron from an attack expected that day, Wednesday 5th April.
Also, the band of radicals were spotted and reported twice following their departure from Condorrat, confirming for the authorities that trouble was afoot.
The next time the band met King, they had been marching all night, and King told them to leave the road and wait at Bonnymuir while he mustered support from Camelon.
This was the last the group were to see of King.
Nor did they see more armed men rallying to their cause: instead they were shortly to meet opposing troops, with Lt Hodgson at their head, who had also left the road and incredibly found their way straight to Hardie and Baird's band on Bonnymuir.
The ensuing battle was nothing more than a skirmish, whereby Hodgson's force of 32 soldiers, after a volley of shots from the radicals, easily overpowered them with a cavalry charge.
Two soldiers and four radicals were wounded. In total, 19 of the radicals were taken prisoner and sent to Stirling Castle.
The event in itself hardly constitutes a major rising, but other isolated disturbances were taking place across West and Central Scotland, and the journey of Hardie and Baird showed that at the fore of radical thinking was union with other groups in different parts of the country.
However, the government seemed always to be one step ahead of the radicals, with inside knowledge at every step; also, the core organisers had been in jail since March 21st, without public knowledge, and some very suspicious men were acting on their behalf.
The whole event was a plot hatched by Westminster government agent provocateurs in order to draw the radicals into open battle.
On the fateful day of April 5th, troops took up position all over Glasgow, and although radical movements were reported all day, no attack was forthcoming.
Betrayal of James Wilson
Also on April 5th, the awful fate of James Wilson was starting to unfold.
Again, one of the spies was involved, this time the "Englishman" Lees, who sent a message to the Strathaven radicals that the rising had started.
Wilson left with a small force of 25 the following morning, carrying a banner that declared "Scotland Free or a Desert."
By the time they neared East Kilbride, they were tipped off that an army ambush lay between them and their destination at Cathkin.
Wilson returned to Strathaven, while his men avoided the ambush and reached their destination to find no action at all at Cathkin.
By the following evening, the authorities had discovered the identity of 10 of the group, including Wilson, and held them under lock and key.
New Lanark 1820
English Soldiers Massacre Citizens of Greenock
The worst violence against civilians occurred on Saturday 8th April when the authorities tried to move a group of the prisoners from Paisley to Greenock.
The citizens of Greenock attacked the soldiers who had been ordered to move the prisoners.
Even after they had completed their task, the soldiers still had to fight their way back out of the town as the crowd pelted them with stones.
The army opened fire, killing eight people, including an eight-year-old child, and injuring 10 others.
The government's retribution was harsh, examples were to be made, and they took the form of the executions of Wilson, Hardie and Baird and the transportation to the colony's of 19 others.
The rising was over.
There are some who regard the tragic events of 1820 as minor and of little historical importance in comparison to other Scottish rebellions.
But they marked an intensification of the desire of Scots for human rights reform and their own government and the martyrs, James Wilson, Andrew Hardie and John Baird serve as examples to those who feared that nothing can be done in the face of such a powerful centralised state as Westminster governance. Further reading:
BBC Archives
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/1820/1820_rising.htm
https://www.academia.edu/1632963/_Betrayed_by_Infamous_Spies_The_Commemoration_of_Scotlands_Radical_War_of_1820
Author caltonjockPosted on May 10, 2018 May 10, 2018 Categories UncategorizedLeave a comment on 1820 Scottish Rising – Scots Betrayed Yet Again By Unionist Spies Acting for their Westminster Paymasters – 22 Scottish Martyrs Sentenced to Death For High Treason and Sedition
The BBC is the Most Powerful Government Mouthpiece in the World and Its Biased Output it is Capable of Deciding the Outcome of any Election or Referendum – More Powerful Than Governmet It Needs to be Neutered and Soon
1 May 2018: BBC Bias is Well Capable of Swinging an Election or Referendum
The BBC is an immensely powerful organisation and the way it presents news could potentially have significant effects on election/referendum results.
In 2017, Patrick Kennedy and Andrea Prat, economists from the Columbia Business School, analysed 18 countries' news media markets to develop a "power index".
Across all countries, the UK had the most concentrated media sector, mainly due to the BBC.
Over all mediums, the BBC reaches 81 per cent of people who consume news, and has a 36 per cent attention share.
It has the most power to affect public opinion of any news organisation worldwide.
According to the researchers, it would require just five per cent of the BBC's audience to be completely trusting of its output to give it the power to swing a close election by one percentage point.
It could swing an election by two points, if 10 per cent of consumers were naive.
This makes it much more powerful than, any major UK newspaper.
To achieve the same result would require in excess of 38 per cent of a major newspaper's readers to be trusting.
Poll after poll suggests that the BBC is the most trusted news source in Britain, and therefore the combination of its reach and reputation means its output could have substantial impacts on elections and public opinion.
Of course, trust in the BBC has arisen in part, no doubt, because it is perceived to be trustworthy whilst newspapers have editorial viewpoints and priors, and the BBC claims to make big efforts to be impartial.
But with great power comes great responsibility and the issue of bias is critical, as it only requires a small proportion of people to take the presentation of an issue at face value to really affect public opinion.
(Ryan Bourne occupies the R Evan Scharf Chair in the Public Understanding of Economics at the Cato Institute in Washington DC.)
The Westminster government controls and directs the content and bias of the media output of the BBC.
And is accurately reported as requiring the management of the corporation to ensure subjects pertaining to Scottish affairs eg. independence and SNP Scottish governence are presented in a negative format or not reported on at all.
The media content share of the distribution of the annual licence fee finance collected is very unfavourable to Scotland since only about 20% of money collected from Scot's for the BBC coffers finds it's way back to Scotland.
Broadcast media policy is retained by the Westminster government which is unfair to Scotland and this needs to change so that a balanced output can be achieved.
As a start media matters applicable to Scotland should be devolved perhaps with international news output being retained by Westminster.
Without change the outcome of any independence referendum in the future will be prejudiced against "Yes" voters distorting the outcome as it did in 2014.
Author caltonjockPosted on May 8, 2018 Categories UncategorizedLeave a comment on The BBC is the Most Powerful Government Mouthpiece in the World and Its Biased Output it is Capable of Deciding the Outcome of any Election or Referendum – More Powerful Than Governmet It Needs to be Neutered and Soon
Wow!!! Hows This For An Exclusive? - Nurse Claire Austin - The Disgraceful BBC Ambush Of Nicola Sturgeon - This Questions Credibility

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


I got out of the car in the supermarket parking lot, habitually clipped my key-ring to my fashion backpack and breezed through the sunshine toward the doors. All of a sudden, I felt a curious little tap on my derriere and turned around.
On the ground was my key-ring; I hadn't snapped it properly on. As I picked it up, I thought how nice it was for my keys to potch me on their way down, I surely didn't hear them fall. How lucky for me. I must have an angel on my shoulder. Another moment of gratitude for small things, a small thing that could have turned into a world of hassle, but didn't.
Not to waste the moment: gratitude for the car, the market, the pretty backpack, the shoes, the sunshine and the rain. For health and wealth and love, for Cable TV, cappuccino and a scenic second story window to look out of while I write. For work and friends and loving family, for freedom from worry and pain, even if just for this moment. There is nothing but this moment. And that's the key.
Last Thursday I was so preoccupied that I not only left the keys in the car, I left the car running. In Venice Beach, where I used to live, that car wouldn't have lasted 72 seconds. When I got back from my errand, there was my fine old Dolly, grumbling at me. Or was she chuckling? After my chagrin at how inattentive I was, I counted yet one more blessing. I find my self under a benign protection from the elements, from the slings and arrows, and, most importantly, from myself.
Home again. I unpack the luscious groceries. Everything is new. The keys are in my pocket, I take them out and place them into their home at home, in a precious small bowl my mother made that sits on a quirky red jelly cabinet near the door.
A squirrel darts across the driveway.
A hummingbird comes to the window.
The key glows in my mind.


As the icy winter weather sets in, Specsavers in Isle of Man are advising local residents on how to protect their eyes from the harsh effects of cold winds and central heating which often leave eyes feeling dry, gritty and bloodshot.
At what can be a truly uncomfortable time for many, Adrian Higgins, store director at Specsavers on the Isle of Man, is offering a few helpful tips and facts which will help prevent eye soreness.
Reducing the setting on your central heating, avoiding car heaters, especially at face level, and sitting away from direct heat such as gas or electric heaters are just a few ways of reducing the irritation of dry eyes this winter. The gritty sensation and dryness we sometimes experienced in our eyes during the winter months can also be made worse by dehydration.
Of course, at this time of year many people suffer from the common cold and flu. These are respiratory infections and can inflame your conjunctiva, the clear membrane covering the whites of your eyes, leaving them feeling irritated. You can help prevent cross infection from bacteria in coughs and sneezes by washing your hands before touching your eyes.
The winter is an ideal time to get your eyes tested as poor light conditions can make you susceptible to eyestrain and everyone should get their eyes tested once every year, or sooner if you are experiencing problems.


text:
CWI pays tribute to Gordon Brooks, photojournalist who covered West Indies for 40 years
June 30, 2021, 9:16 p.m.
ST JOHN'S, Antigua – Cricket West Indies (CWI) today paid tribute to Gordon Brooks, the outstanding photojournalist, who passed away on Tuesday night. Brooks covered West Indies cricket at all levels for over 40 years, from the 1970s. Throughout that period he worked alongside noted journalist Tony Cozier, and many of his photographs graced the pages of the West Indies Cricket Annual.
Brooks travelled on several international tours and to global events, chronicling the fortunes of the West Indies team. His action and team photographs also appeared in print and online publications around the world. One of his most famous images was Brian Lara celebrating his world record 400 not out against England at the Antigua Recreational Ground in 2004.
He was a founder of the Nation Newspaper in Barbados and also a founder of the Brooks/LaTouche Photo Agency. His son, Randy Brooks, is among the leading cricket photographers in the region.
Jimmy Adams, Director of Cricket at Cricket West Indies paid tribute to Mr Brooks. He said:
"Gordon Brooks was a truly remarkable photographer which was reflected in the quality of his work. He had a great love and passion for the game of cricket and for all who were involved whether players, officials or fans. Over and above his professional skills, he was highly regarded and respected by all the players for his genuineness and humility.
He achieved excellence off the field while capturing excellence on it. On behalf of CWI and all the players who knew him, I want to offer sincere condolences to his wife Ira, his sons Enrico and Randy, his daughter Makeda, grandchildren as well as other family and friends."