Posts Tagged ‘Government’
Posted by Shirley Anne on March 22, 2012
Automobiles are among the most commonly used engine-powered vehicles (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Ever since I started to drive, that is when I passed my driving test way back in 1967, I have seen our roads getting more and more congested each year. I hear from our governments that our roads are insufficient to take the amount of traffic expected of them. The argument is always that there are too many vehicles on the roads and that the number is increasing year upon year. They tell us that there are more than thirty-million vehicles but actually it isn’t about the numbers of vehicles on the roads as much as it is the numbers of drivers for any driver can only drive one vehicle at any one time. This means that we should be building the roads that will take that many drivers! So why not build enough for forty-million drivers and at the same time re-instate long distance goods transport on the rail system? This would take most of the long-distance goods vehicles off the motorways and free up space for smaller vehicles and their drivers. It would also contribute towards easing congestion. there are probably many more things that could be done but whatever is decided we need it to be aggressive. There is also the possibility to regulate times when certain vehicles use motorways so that for instance, goods vehicles should make more use of the motorways and highways during the night. I tire of hearing that there are too many vehicles on the road and the fact that government think the solution is to tax everyone to the hilt in an effort to resolve the situation when there are far better and fairer ways of doing things.
Shirley Anne
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Posted in Driving, Government | Tagged: Government, Road, Roads and Highways, Toll road, Vehicle | 2 Comments »
Posted by Shirley Anne on October 26, 2011
- Image by Jonathan Herbert via FlickrImage via Wikipedia
We live in a society which seemingly looks after us from the time of our birth until the time we die. If we cannot find work or cannot work we get benefits. If we are ill we can get treatment. If we need housing by and large something will be available. All we need to do is conform to the laws, regulations and etiquette of that society. There will be those who abuse the system of course. In essence our lives are made far easier than they would otherwise be but we have to conform in order to gain anything from the system, we become part of that system. It isn’t foolproof though, things go wrong, and some people suffer when that happens. Things can begin to get out of hand, we get bogged down with bureaucracy and too much interference from government bodies. Most every day we read about some government project or council department decision that simply beggars belief and wonder why or how they got in a position of authority in the first place. Some ideas are good, some are bad and some are just plain ridiculous. We have to go along with it all and somehow survive as best we can. Too many laws, too much interference isn’t a good way of running things. Society is one big machine with no singular person in control but nevertheless manages to keep running reasonably smoothly. Yes? Maybe! In the absence of a perfect system we will have to make do with what we’ve got and keep nibbling away at the edges until it fits to our requirements. When that will be is anyone’s guess but I for one am not holding my breath waiting. Personally I don’t think we’ll ever get it right and by the time I make my departure I think it will be just the same old system but with different problems.
Shirley Anne
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Posted in Government, Society, Sociology | Tagged: Cradle to Cradle Design, Government, Sociology | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on August 22, 2011
Image via Wikipedia
I sometimes watch a program on television called ‘How it’s made‘. Each half-hour episode gives an audio/visual explanation of how everyday objects are made, usually three separate items are covered in each program. They show the various and diverse processes that are involved in the different stages of manufacture. Almost anything that is manufactured can find its way on to the program. I find it very interesting but then I have always wanted to know how things work and how they are made. It’s a sort of electromechanical inquisitive curiosity I have built-in and hard-wired into my brain. It sits there with all the other strange and wonderful things that make up my psyche. I also like cosmetics! I digress. In our modern societies the things we use have to be produced using machinery and usually electrical machinery. What factory doesn’t use electricity? From computers and control equipment and the automated production machinery electricity is the essential driving force, the only driving force, apart from the boss, in a factory today. What would we do without it? There is almost nowhere in the modern manufacture and processing industry that doesn’t involve the use of electricity. Even in our homes we find electricity an indispensable commodity. We use it to cook with, to drive our entertainment equipment, our televisions, radios, computers, games consoles, telephones, lighting and security systems. In fact the whole infrastructure of society depends upon this commodity being available. Imagine our world without it. How long would we last? I remember hearing how we could have an almost free supply of electricity about forty-five years ago. It was suggested that if everyone used electricity to power their needs it could be produced more efficiently. What went wrong with that suggestion? Today prices are soaring and yet there are ways of producing electricity at a low-cost to the consumer. Most of our electricity is produced by using coal to make the steam for the turbines attached to which are the electricity alternators. Unfortunately coal or rather the burning of it produces a lot of pollution and in the early years of its use the air we breathed was highly contaminated. Todays coal-fired burners are much more efficient but still they produce some undesirable pollution. There are enough stocks of coal in this country, the UK, to last more than three hundred years which makes it a tempting source of power. There are other sources of power too, gas for instance and also nuclear. As gas is used elsewhere besides generating electricity it would seem logical not to use it for that purpose except that if we switched completely to using electricity there would be no argument. Nuclear power generation has its own problems too, the danger of a leakage of radiation and the disposal of the more dangerous waste products which produce even higher levels of radiation. There may be a future for nuclear powered generation if these issues can be overcome to the satisfaction of the population. Legislation and the dictates of the European Community have restricted the amount of pollution that any member state can produce without severe penalty. This is to encourage producing electricity by other means. One of the best ways of producing electricity is by using water to turn the turbines, the hydro-electric generating system. All that is needed is a constant flow of water and this usually comes from huge man-made reservoirs or natural lakes where the natural flow of water is governed by the use of a dam. It is a way of producing electricity without pollution and one would think its use would be widespread. Unfortunately it isn’t. There can be no excuse for that when there are numerous lakes around that could be utilised, even more than once if the lakes are at altitude. There seems to always be objections to this sort of suggestion and yet the generators (alternators) can be hidden from view underground. It is the same problem with wind-powered generation, no-one wants to see them dotted about the country or even at sea if it spoils the view! Everyone wants electricity but not everyone is prepared to see their environment spoiled by the equipment needed to produce it. It need not be that way and indeed government has dictated in some situations that the need far outweighs the objection. Personally I agree. Does it really matter if when we look out of a window we see the blades of wind turbines rotating gently in the breeze especially as they are usually situated far enough away from residential areas? Most objections are raised by people who seldom visit areas in which wind turbines are placed anyway. If we cannot live without electricity then we must be prepared to put up with some inconvenience or stop moaning about it.
Shirley Anne
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Posted in Community, Energy, Environment, Government, Nature, People, Politics | Tagged: Coal, Electricity, Electricity generation, Energy, Environment, Government, Politics, Pollution, Utilities, Wind power | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on February 17, 2011
We have a television program here in the UK called Rip off Britain and it brings to light various complaints from viewers regarding their experiences with being ripped off by certain companies and organisations. I am of the opinion that we, as a nation, are being ripped off in all sorts of ways. A few years ago we something called the Poll Tax whereby every adult individual in the country had to pay a fixed sum of money which paid for amenities such as the police, fire brigade, water sewage, waste removal and other services that we each use. Many people did not like the tax as it was the same amount for everybody irrespective of their income. That resulted in an even more unfair system called Council Tax which is essentially the same a Rates. This system places a levy on each house and apartment in the country the amount of which is determined by the size of the property, irrespective of how many people living there. This means that two people living in a large house (as in my own case) can be charged more than six people living in a smaller house. How can that be fair? We each of us use the same amenities by the same amounts irrespective of the size of the property. A fairer system would be to re-introduce the Poll Tax but link it to a persons income so that the more that is earned the more that is paid. Place a fixed percentage on the taxed amount. This is only one example of the way people are ripped off, there are probably hundreds more.
About forty years ago I remember a television program called ‘Tomorrows World‘. It was a program about technical and medical inventions and progress with an outlook on future developments. On one particular program they showed a method of mixing petrol (gasolene for our american friends) with water using a sonic device. It was tested in a car and proved efficient, without any detrimental effect on the car’s performance. The ratio of the mixture was 25% petrol and 75% water! This would have cut fuel charges by almost 75% assuming there would be little water charges involved. What happened to that device? You can be certain that the inventor was bought out! In an age where we are desperately trying to cut fuel charges and emissions inventions such as these would be really valuable. Of course the government would lose a lot of revenue should such a device become available. Makes me wonder.
No doubt the reader will know of other incidences where we as a nation are being ripped off. Can you?
Shirley Anne xxx
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Posted in Community, Money, Morality, Politics | Tagged: Gasoline, Government, Politics, Poll tax, Rip-off Britain, Television program, Tomorrows World, Water | 2 Comments »
Posted by Shirley Anne on February 15, 2011
In everything that concerns the exclusively earthly order of things, the Orthodox Christian is obliged to obey the law, regardless of how far it is imperfect and unfortunate. However, when compliance with legal requirements threatens his eternal salvation and involves an apostasy or commitment of another doubtless sin before God and his neighbour, the Christian is called to perform the feat of confession for the sake of God’s truth and the salvation of his soul for eternal life. He must speak out lawfully against an indisputable violation committed by society or state against the statutes and commandments of God. If this lawful action is impossible or ineffective, he must take up the position of civil disobedience (see, III. 5).
This statement forms part of a larger document issued by the Russian Orthodox Church which explains the standards by which the true Church of God scattered throughout the world are obliged to conform.
The whole document can be viewed here http://www.mospat.ru/en/documents/social-concepts/about/
I heard on the news today that the British Government is proposing a new law which will allow ‘gay’ couples, that is same-sex marriages or rather a civil ceremony to be conducted in churches throughout the land. Whether a church is allowed the freedom to refuse or not is not clear to me as yet. Depending on your stance this can either be a good thing or a bad thing. As a Christian I would disagree with such proposals and say that any church group allowing such ceremonies is not being faithful to God and His Laws. If you read fully the above document you will find that although all laws originated from the same source some are merely allowed by God because He allows us the freedom to choose. Naturally therefore, the secularists see no problem in conforming to the proposal. Personally I uphold the right for others to do as they please within secular law but for the Christian it is a matter between them and God. I do not agree however that secular law should be imposed on their religious right to conform to Gods Law within their own establishments. This should also be the rule for other faiths too. It would appear that secular society can try to impose its ideas on Christians but not the other way round. This is democracy at work! The real truth is that Christians are under pressure to conform, comply and one day even deny their faith. This is all written in Scripture as prophecy.
Shirley Anne
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Posted in Law, Morality, Politics, Religion | Tagged: Christianity, Civil disobedience, Eastern Orthodox Church, God, Government, Government of the United Kingdom, Religion, Russian Orthodox Church, Salvation, Secularism | 2 Comments »
Posted by Shirley Anne on January 12, 2011
One of the most annoying things in my life is advertising. Necessary up to a point but often taken to extremes. In view of the fact that we are in a recession and many people are finding it difficult to survive or will do financially, wouldn’t you think there would be less advertising where money is involved? Oh, silly me! That is what advertising is all about. We see people short of money so they advertise gambling sites, holidays, financial investments and all sorts of things geared to encourage spending! Spending what? I think that at least during these lean times there should be a curb on high-pressure selling and encouragement to spend. Advertise if you must but take a low profile approach. Simply show what is available without the constant unnecessary added pressure that seems to pervade the advertising industry. The news is replete with stories of hardship, people having to rely on State handouts or support of one form or another. It is symptomatic of a democratic society I suppose though that the poorer among us have to have their faces rubbed in the affluence of those who are financially well off. They could do without watching adverts that promote the sale of vehicles costing £30,000, £40,000 or even more when they cannot even afford the price of bus fare sometimes. There will always be poor people in our societies but it shouldn’t be that way and need not be that way either. We cannot avoid the repercussions of a world-wide recession and we must all endeavour to tighten our belts and try to survive in these worrying times. It just seems to me that the world goes about things in some crazy ways sometimes.
Shirley Anne
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Posted in Advertising, Economy, Government, Money, Morality, Philosophy, Politics, Values | Tagged: Advertising, Advertising and Marketing, Government, People | 2 Comments »
Posted by Shirley Anne on January 7, 2011
This week we had a rise in VAT (value added tax for those outside the UK) from 17.5% to 20%. That’s 20% or 1/5th extra on the purchase of goods and services that we buy or use. There are some exceptions to the rise, certain goods and foodstuffs. However even these are affected in some way; the fuel used to transport them will have risen in cost. That is another rise. Fuel has not only risen in price due to the cost of raw fuel and other costs but also in the extra revenue imposed through VAT. It has been suggested that VAT should have dropped to 15% to encourage spending and in a round about way production of goods which is argued would improve the economy by increasing the circulation of money. There always remains the fact that we are in a global recession and we have a National Debt to reduce, something in the order of £13 billion. In any event we are going to have even less expendable income unless we have unlimited resources. So what does the public make of all these increases in taxation whilst earnings are being maintained at low levels? What are your opinions on the subject? How will your circumstances be affected?
Shirley Anne
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Posted in Government, Money | Tagged: Business, Business and Economy, Ed Miliband, Financial Services, George Osborne, Government, Money, Taxation, Value added tax, VAT | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on September 28, 2010
Smokers are a dying breed
And so are they who take the weed
Alcohol is not much good
As is eating the wrong food
We might indulge in some of these
Whilst never feeling ill at ease
But some take things a little far
And end as ash inside a jar.
Copyright Shirley Anne 28 Sep 2010
I was just sitting quietly after lunch doing nothing in particular and the above thought, the whole poem, popped into my head. It got me thinking about how many of us abuse our bodies by indulgence or over-indulgence in some things we perhaps should not if we are truly concerned about our health. Some things we imbibe can be very harmful to us and can cause irreparable damage either in the short-term or gradually over the passage of time. We live for the moment sometimes when perhaps we should be more careful. Now I am not a kill-joy and I can stand accused with the rest in certain indulgent habits, too much wine for instance but I do take stock and try not to overdo things. I consider myself to be reasonably fit for somebody my age. I have an active job, when I get the work that is and I take exercise a couple of times a week. I try to eat sensibly, low-fat, plenty of fruit and vegetables and so on and I avoid eating foods I know are bad for me. I see people stuffing themselves with all sorts of junk and I wonder if they realise the damage they are causing to themselves in the process. Today for instance I saw a rather large lady, very much overweight, sitting at a bus-stop smoking a cigarette. I saw three things wrong in that. One, she was way too far overweight, two, she was smoking and three, she was waiting for a bus when she could perhaps have been walking instead. In today’s society there is no excuse for not being aware of the dangers to our health through bad lifestyles. Some people are concerned about their health whilst others are seemingly not bothered. Here in the UK it has been suggested recently that people who are overweight or who smoke or who are on drugs be given a financial incentive to quit their habits or lose weight. That money would come from the government‘s coffers, actually from the taxes the rest of us contribute. Personally I think it an ill-conceived idea and a unecessary burden on the rest of us who do look after ourselves. I’m not saying here that those in dire need because of problems they have no control over shouldn’t be helped but there are many spongers about who think society owes them a living. They couldn’t care less how they treat their bodies and expect the Health Service to make things right for them when they begin to suffer as a consequence of their own indulgences. They should worry about their health and take more care of themselves in the first place. What say you reader? Take care of yourselves now won’t you?
Shirley Anne
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Posted in Health, Lifestyle | Tagged: addiction, Cigarette, Government, Health, Quitting, Smoking, Substance Abuse, Tobacco | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on January 2, 2010
Sitting listening and watching the news on television this morning I have come to the conclusion that I don’t like this country anymore. I don’t like some of the laws we have and the tax burden we bear. I am fed up with politicians who claim their way is best and how the country needs change. A change from what? Nothing basically will change, what we have may take on another form but essentially it won’t change. I don’t like the society we have become, selfish, isolated, brutal and in some cases anti-social. I don’t like the crime we see today which threatens to get out of hand. I don’t like the resulting weak penalties that are handed out to perpetrators. I don’t like the measures those in authority sometimes take when solving problems which on occasion go directly against common sense. Simply put, I am fed up with all the pressure we as a society are put under just to live out our lives. The moral state of this country leaves much to be desired what with drug culture, alcohol abuse and subsequent violence, vandalism and disrespect for people and their belongings. There is gun crime and knife crime all about us and the attitude of steal it if we cannot otherwise have it. In essence we have turned away from God. People follow their hearts but if their hearts are focused on the wrong thing, chaos ensues. We are supposed to be a civilised country but are far from being so in reality. I don’t like it anymore.
Shirley Anne
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Posted in Behaviour | Tagged: Behaviour, Government, People, Politics | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on November 20, 2009
When I returned home from work this afternoon I had some mail to open. The first letter was pretty easy to tell what it was without opening it. It was my weekly invoice for my newspaper advertisement. No payment is required as I pay in advance for a block of six months’ worth of weekly adverts but they send out the invoices weekly. The next letter was also easy to guess it’s contents. It was a birthday card from one of my sisters living in France. It is my birthday tomorrow. The final letter I couldn’t figure out. A brown envelope usually signifies an official document inside but the senders’ return address was unfamiliar. I immediately thought it was something from the tax office! It wasn’t. I opened it and it was from the Government Pensions Department. The letter was informing me of my annual winter fuel subsidy allowance which will be paid automatically into my current account. As a ‘senior citizen’ over 60 I am entitled to a tax free allowance from my Government to help pay for heating bills over the winter months. This year they are paying me an extra £50 and tell me I will be getting £250. Now that is a nice surprise don’t you agree?
Shirley Anne
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Posted in Energy | Tagged: Government, Money | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on November 6, 2009
I am sitting here writing this and there are explosions going on outside. It is that time of year here in the UK. We are a strange lot over here (stop laughing), we celebrate the attempted blowing up of our Parliament building some 400 years ago by setting off fireworks and lighting bonfires. The plot itself was organised by a group of men in order to kill the King and members of Parliament because of the oppression of Catholics at that time. I personally cannot see the reason why the tradition still persists and to be honest it becomes a nuisance when the celebrations go on sometimes for days.
Shirley Anne
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Posted in Government, History | Tagged: Government, History | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on October 9, 2009
Tonight and feeling a bit cold, I lit my gas fire for the first time since early Spring. Daytime temperatures are just about bearable now but as night falls it is dropping to 10 deg. where I live. That is too cool to sit around in. I don’t mind cool weather personally or even cold weather but when I am at home sitting I don’t want to be wearing an overcoat! It will get colder though and it will be next year before I can turn down the heat. Here in the UK we have just been informed on the news that we can expect our fuel bills to rise by possibly 60% (relatively) over the next ten years. That will be a considerable rise. It isn’t really surprising though, we are used to mad price rises here. I find it strange that more effort isn’t being applied in developing sustainable electrical energy before it is too late. We have many wind turbine ‘farms’ producing ‘free’ energy. The only cost is the initial outlay and maintenance but the use of this kind of energy should drive down the cost to the consumer. There is a long way to go to make this and other systems such as hydro-electric stations really viable alternatives to nuclear or coal systems which have a negative impact on the environment. I may never see prices coming down in my lifetime, has anyone? One day things might improve but in the meantime, the fire’s lit to keep me warm!
Shirley Anne
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Posted in Energy | Tagged: Energy, Government, Life | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on September 29, 2009
In the news today there is talk about asbo’s (anti social behaviour orders) and their effectiveness in society. Recently a mother and her disabled daughter died in a car at the hands of the mother who had dowsed herself and her daughter in petrol before setting themselves alight. This was the sad ending of a mother and daughter who had been persecuted and tormented by a group of youths over a period of a couple of years. Police had been informed several times but little or no action was taken. There are calls for an inquiry on that score but today one of the parents of the young tormentors was asked whether he thought his son (and the others) should be brought to account over the affair! ‘That’s up to the authorities’, was his reply. What kind of a parent is that? What kind of society even has to think about doing something?
Again in the news a 14 year old girl has just died as a result of an anti-cervical cancer drug injection and two others are gravely ill. One woman (who might have been her mother) could not understand the need for these injections as she put it, ‘There are several other options for protecting against cervical cancer. It is alright for Governments to say everything is safe when promoting these kinds of (preventative) treatment but the fact is they are not’.
I ask myself do any of those in authority know what they are doing? This world has gone mad.
Shirley Anne
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Posted in Behaviour, Government | Tagged: Behaviour, Government | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on September 23, 2009
There have been developments in the area concerning whether people who assist their loved ones, that is accompany them to a foreign country where they can arrange their own death, will no longer be liable to prosecution here in the UK. Suicide still remains illegal in the UK. Personally I don’t agree with suicide and that is because of my religious beliefs. People will say, ‘Why shouldn’t anyone be allowed to commit suicide if they are suffering pain or severe disability from an incurable ailment’? I guess it is because the majority rule and whatever laws have been passed are there for the benefit of the majority. Do you consider this fair? Should we, as a country, give way to the desires of the minority when they conflict with those of the rest? It wasn’t that long ago that laws were passed to protect the rights of the transgendered amonst us and those who are ‘gay’. No doubt there are many other examples. Is suicide going too far?
Shirley Anne
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Posted in Law, Politics | Tagged: Government, Law, Politics | 5 Comments »
Posted by Shirley Anne on September 14, 2009
So there I was sitting at home on a Sunday afternoon with lap top on my, well, where else? Sitting there and sort of watching the tv at the same time….aren’t women supposed to be able to multi-task? I heared an unusual vehicle pull up outside the house and a minute later the doorbell rang. My ex. answered the door and I could hear male voices and people going upstairs. I looked out of the window behind me to see a fire tender parked. My instincts told me that they were surveying the potential fire hazards in the house but I was to be proved wrong. Ten minutes or so later the front door closed and they departed. We live in a four storey house, that is a basement or cellars and three floors for living above. It transpired that they had fitted a smoke detector on each floor in the stairwell area which meant four detectors. These are completely self contained and last ten years without a change of battery then are disposed of and replaced. We had been told they were ‘on the house’, ‘free’, ‘ex-gratia’. Of course the expense is covered by our taxes. Previously this service was offered only to senior citizens but it appears to have been made available to every household. Very nice. One small problem was the fact that the one they’d installed in the basement needed re-fitting as it had become loose on the ceiling. I fixed that problem myself.
Shirley Anne
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Posted in Government | Tagged: Government, Safety | Leave a Comment »
