Friday, 30 April 2010
Still Hugely Relaxed.
In fact tomorrow I think I might take a stroll through London to check out my new property portfolio.
It's Hard to be Sad on a Day Like Today
But I could give thousands of people totally undeserved headaches. For example I could start an argument about the spelling of all the different synonyms of "relaxed" that describe how totally unstressed I am feeling.
So this me keeping a dignified silence.
So this me keeping a dignified silence.
Thursday, 29 April 2010
Should Explain
My father interpreted the instruction "find a compromise" as "Do your little war dance by shouting and waving your arms about for several hours." That meant I spent the evening doing the well worn traffic warden routine of nodding gently while saying "Yes sir, I understand sir, if you've got a problem sir you should probably fill in the form sir." So yes it's being a long evening.
Going back to the Peter Harvey case I should point out that he has been very hard done by by being put on trail and certainly defamed by being compared to this solicitor. The point that the Brits are trying to make in the comparison is that this solicitor had no intent to behave improperly. That means they are going to attempt to argue that he accidentally filled in a form, waited two months for the heat to die down and then accidentally filed the form in triplicate. Good luck with that one.
Going back to the Peter Harvey case I should point out that he has been very hard done by by being put on trail and certainly defamed by being compared to this solicitor. The point that the Brits are trying to make in the comparison is that this solicitor had no intent to behave improperly. That means they are going to attempt to argue that he accidentally filled in a form, waited two months for the heat to die down and then accidentally filed the form in triplicate. Good luck with that one.
Yesterday's Details
I'm sorry but they were so insignificant that I processed them, dealt with them and forgot about them. Unfortunately I forgot to tell anyone else about them. So here's what happened;
Because he thinks he's politically well connected within the confines of the small, parochial back water of Croydon this solicitor advised my grandmother as the donor to contest this case on the grounds that she's "happy with the result." He thinks that this will be enough to stop the process which under normal circumstances it may well be. However if it can be demonstrated that the donor does not understand the process (which in this case it can) or that there is reasonable suspicion of improper practice (which in this case there is) then the judge is under an obligation to use their discretion to best protect the donor's interests by ignoring them.
So this morning (Thursday) I was in an almost identical position to the one I was in on Tuesday night. The only difference is that now I've got a slightly stronger case that will take longer to come to a conclusion. Therefore I refer you to my earlier statement;
There are only two ways that the Brits will get away with this. Either they will intimidate me into backing down or they will sacrifice a bent judge and give me grounds to appeal.
You could tell just how screwed they are by the speed at which they brought out the verdict in the Peter Harvey case who is a shaky lookalike for this solicitor. In fact it's got so bad from them that my father has been ordered to "seek a compromise to prevent this from going to court." Personally I can see no need for a compromise. All that needs to happen is that the guilty need to punished and their assets signed over to the innocent as compensation.
Because he thinks he's politically well connected within the confines of the small, parochial back water of Croydon this solicitor advised my grandmother as the donor to contest this case on the grounds that she's "happy with the result." He thinks that this will be enough to stop the process which under normal circumstances it may well be. However if it can be demonstrated that the donor does not understand the process (which in this case it can) or that there is reasonable suspicion of improper practice (which in this case there is) then the judge is under an obligation to use their discretion to best protect the donor's interests by ignoring them.
So this morning (Thursday) I was in an almost identical position to the one I was in on Tuesday night. The only difference is that now I've got a slightly stronger case that will take longer to come to a conclusion. Therefore I refer you to my earlier statement;
There are only two ways that the Brits will get away with this. Either they will intimidate me into backing down or they will sacrifice a bent judge and give me grounds to appeal.
You could tell just how screwed they are by the speed at which they brought out the verdict in the Peter Harvey case who is a shaky lookalike for this solicitor. In fact it's got so bad from them that my father has been ordered to "seek a compromise to prevent this from going to court." Personally I can see no need for a compromise. All that needs to happen is that the guilty need to punished and their assets signed over to the innocent as compensation.
Job Done
I've just come home after filing papers to have this solicitor excluded from this Court of Protection business. The papers used were a COP-9 utility form supported by a COP-24 witness statement form. The MP of the day was Labour's Jeremy Corbyn campaigning in his constituency. And No I didn't recognise him at first either.
Obviously I don't want to disclose the exact details of the application to the solicitor until it becomes necessary. However I will say that I have used the conflict of interest argument. That is to say because the solicitor has a (IMHO intense) personal interest in the proceedings it would be improper of him to act on behalf of another party in the proceeding.
As this is a well established legal argument and the purpose of the court is to protect vulnerable people from this type of sharp practice I would be absolutely astounded if the application is not granted.
While I remember once the politicans have finished having their fun remind me to tell you the story of Croydon's Queens Hospital. It's not at all important and not really hugely relevent. It it though rather funny so remind me.
Obviously I don't want to disclose the exact details of the application to the solicitor until it becomes necessary. However I will say that I have used the conflict of interest argument. That is to say because the solicitor has a (IMHO intense) personal interest in the proceedings it would be improper of him to act on behalf of another party in the proceeding.
As this is a well established legal argument and the purpose of the court is to protect vulnerable people from this type of sharp practice I would be absolutely astounded if the application is not granted.
While I remember once the politicans have finished having their fun remind me to tell you the story of Croydon's Queens Hospital. It's not at all important and not really hugely relevent. It it though rather funny so remind me.
Wednesday, 28 April 2010
My Grandmother's Really Upset.
No doubt will be telling this to anyone who will listen. What he will fail to tell them why she's upset.
She's upset because my father took around £100 in cash without her knowledge and hid it in his house.
So like I said the number 1 priority is making sure this vile man has no legal rights over my grandmother's property.
She's upset because my father took around £100 in cash without her knowledge and hid it in his house.
So like I said the number 1 priority is making sure this vile man has no legal rights over my grandmother's property.
The Gordon Brown Incident.
I'm sorry for the delay but I've been operating in reality all day so it was hard for me to make the connection.
Today the British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown was recorded in a private conversation with an aide in his car referring to a constituent as a bigot. In itself this isn't news because politicians are recorded all the time making comments about people they'd prefer not to have made public. Apart from the obvious electoral damage it does to Gordon Brown and the assistance it gives to the British National Party the purpose of this incident being blown up into a scandal is twofold;
Firstly it allows the Brits to circulate information so mis-informed it borders on delusional fantasy about my exploits in this court business.
Secondly it meant to make me and other people paranoid that their cars are being bugged. Although I know as fact that in my case this is untrue it doesn't worry me because I'm actually a bit offended when I'm not being bugged.
Today the British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown was recorded in a private conversation with an aide in his car referring to a constituent as a bigot. In itself this isn't news because politicians are recorded all the time making comments about people they'd prefer not to have made public. Apart from the obvious electoral damage it does to Gordon Brown and the assistance it gives to the British National Party the purpose of this incident being blown up into a scandal is twofold;
Firstly it allows the Brits to circulate information so mis-informed it borders on delusional fantasy about my exploits in this court business.
Secondly it meant to make me and other people paranoid that their cars are being bugged. Although I know as fact that in my case this is untrue it doesn't worry me because I'm actually a bit offended when I'm not being bugged.
Quick Fact Check
On this Court of Protection business the lesbian grouping within the British Establishment have been circulating the rumour that in order for action to be taken against this solicitor he needed to be provoked into fighting me. This is completely false.
The primary objective of this action is to get these LPA's cancelled in order to prevent my father making a bad situation worse. The ideal way to do this is to have the quickest and cleanest CoP action possible. I can then open a discussion with the Law Society into the professional conduct or lack thereof of the solicitor in question. This discussion will carry more weight if the CoP rule that proper procedure has not been followed in the registration of these LPA's.
All that has been achieved by the solicitor fighting me is that a large sum of money has been sucked out of my grandmother's account while prolonging the conflict. It also potentially increases the length of time my father is hanging on to papers that purport to be valid LPA's.
This is all still very much in hand but if you want to know what certain people look like when they're lying think back to when they told you this would help me.
The primary objective of this action is to get these LPA's cancelled in order to prevent my father making a bad situation worse. The ideal way to do this is to have the quickest and cleanest CoP action possible. I can then open a discussion with the Law Society into the professional conduct or lack thereof of the solicitor in question. This discussion will carry more weight if the CoP rule that proper procedure has not been followed in the registration of these LPA's.
All that has been achieved by the solicitor fighting me is that a large sum of money has been sucked out of my grandmother's account while prolonging the conflict. It also potentially increases the length of time my father is hanging on to papers that purport to be valid LPA's.
This is all still very much in hand but if you want to know what certain people look like when they're lying think back to when they told you this would help me.
Oh What a Suprise(!)
My grandmother has just been advised by her solicitor on this Court of Protection business. Guess what, he's advised her to fight it every step of way at a cost to her and a profit to him of £250 per hour.
I guess that means I'll be filing a motion to have him expelled from the proceedings. This makes things a tiny bit more complicated and a tiny bit more stressful but if I'm being honest I starting to enjoy these little trips to north London.
I guess that means I'll be filing a motion to have him expelled from the proceedings. This makes things a tiny bit more complicated and a tiny bit more stressful but if I'm being honest I starting to enjoy these little trips to north London.
Tuesday, 27 April 2010
Lets hear it for that man in the Middle with the Open Necked Shirt.
Because that annoying little blond child asking the last question on ITV1's Campaign 2010 with Jonathan Dimbley was indeed my younger brother.
So anyway under Britain's election rules any broadcaster providing information on political issues should give equal time to all political parties.
On this blog I feel I've met this obligation by giving equal time to those three political parties that actually stand a chance of winning. However if you think that I've not given equal time to insulting the political party of your choice feel free to drop me an email because I'm sure I'll be able to come up with something.
So anyway under Britain's election rules any broadcaster providing information on political issues should give equal time to all political parties.
On this blog I feel I've met this obligation by giving equal time to those three political parties that actually stand a chance of winning. However if you think that I've not given equal time to insulting the political party of your choice feel free to drop me an email because I'm sure I'll be able to come up with something.
I'm Sorry Were You Expecting Conflict?
I know. I serve my father with court papers then we go to the traditional Tuesday night drunken dinner so you'd expect bloodshed or at least a little bit of shouting. I'm sorry to disappoint you but it all went quite pleasantly. At the end of dinner my father did try to broach the subject but after two words from me he crumpled into an unsightly mess which proves that on this issue he's trying to play way out of his depth.
In better news the people of Britain can look forward to no more nonsense from their postal service. This is because the Communication Workers Union (CWU) have agreed a deal with Royal Mail by a vote of 2:1. So if they've got any complaints about their pay and conditions in the future then they've got no-one else to blame but themselves.
Away from that I urge you all to check out "Campaign 2010 with Jonathan Dimbleby" on ITV1 at 22:35 because my little brother will be making his TV debut in the audience.
In better news the people of Britain can look forward to no more nonsense from their postal service. This is because the Communication Workers Union (CWU) have agreed a deal with Royal Mail by a vote of 2:1. So if they've got any complaints about their pay and conditions in the future then they've got no-one else to blame but themselves.
Away from that I urge you all to check out "Campaign 2010 with Jonathan Dimbleby" on ITV1 at 22:35 because my little brother will be making his TV debut in the audience.
Time For a Roger Moore Impression
because this should raise some eyebrows.
Today (27/4) Britain's Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) have released a report into the death of a man named Blair Peach. This report had been kept as an official state secret for the last 30 years. The report refers to the events of April 23rd 1979 when Mr Peach, a 27 year old New Zealand born teacher attended an demonstration against the racist National Front (NF) in Southall, London. As was common at the time this demonstration ended in violence that left Mr Peach dead and another protester in a coma for five months At the time it was widely accepted that Mr Peach had been murdered by a member of the MPS's Special Patrol Group (SPG) and once the debt had been settled by PC Blakelock the matter was forgotten about.
It was forgotten about until April 2009 when a demonstration against the G20 London Summit left another man, Ian Tomlinson, dead after being beaten by the police. This caused a lot of people to realise that despite the change of name there was no difference whatsoever between the Special Patrol Group (SPG) and their replacement the Territorial Support Group (TSG). This prompted the British State to start a campaign with itself to release the report into Blair Peach's death. This went some along the lines of;
The State: "No matter what you say we won't release the Blair Peach report!"
The People: "We never asked."
The State: "We don't care. You're all scum and the police must be protected. We won't release the report!"
The People: "No really it's OK. We already know what happened."
The State: "Well if you insist we must release the report. We are a democracy after all!"
The People: "Eh, you what now?!"
So today the report has finally been released and to the surprise of absolutely no-one it reveals that not only did the MPS know that one of their officers murdered Mr Peach they knew exactly which one it was and spent the next 30 years helping him to escape prosecution.
Choosing today to release the report shows spectacularly bad timing on behalf of the MPS. It comes just four days before the Mayday protests. This is expected to be the first meeting between a large number of anarchist protesters and the TSG since the death of Ian Tomlinson and reminding everyone that the police are allowed to get away with murder is only going to raise tensions and increase the risk of serious disorder.
As if this wasn't bad enough the release of the report comes nine days before Britain goes to the polls in the General Election and on the very day that the Conservative party launched it's policies on Law and Order that are designed to "fix broken Britain." Obviously being Conservative policies this blames all the nations problems on lefty-wefty liberals like Blair Peach who have destroyed the traditional family and tied the police up in legislation that makes them accountable to the public. Being forced to launch into this sales patter just hours after the public have been reminded that the British police are nothing more then a criminal gang who treat the ideals of Law and Justice with contempt just makes the Conservative party leader, David Cameron look like a complete idiot.
In the interests of political balance I should also point out that release of this report and it's consequences have caused the Labour party to suffer a complete nervous breakdown. Today they were planning to launch their manifesto on helping working families with the help of the popular children's TV character, Peppa Pig. Unfortunately they hadn't got permission from the creators of Peppa Pig and the event had to be cancelled at the last minute. As "Pig" is also a insulting term for a police officer this confusion has left the Labour party crying in a corner and unable to provide a guest for the BBC's Daily Politics Election discussion program. I should probably then tell then to calm down and not to worry after all everyone already knows they don't have a coherent plan on this or indeed anything.
Now I'm going to attempt to end on a joke so brace yourselves;
Q. Why do the TSG love the liberals?
A. Because they're all yellow.
Today (27/4) Britain's Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) have released a report into the death of a man named Blair Peach. This report had been kept as an official state secret for the last 30 years. The report refers to the events of April 23rd 1979 when Mr Peach, a 27 year old New Zealand born teacher attended an demonstration against the racist National Front (NF) in Southall, London. As was common at the time this demonstration ended in violence that left Mr Peach dead and another protester in a coma for five months At the time it was widely accepted that Mr Peach had been murdered by a member of the MPS's Special Patrol Group (SPG) and once the debt had been settled by PC Blakelock the matter was forgotten about.
It was forgotten about until April 2009 when a demonstration against the G20 London Summit left another man, Ian Tomlinson, dead after being beaten by the police. This caused a lot of people to realise that despite the change of name there was no difference whatsoever between the Special Patrol Group (SPG) and their replacement the Territorial Support Group (TSG). This prompted the British State to start a campaign with itself to release the report into Blair Peach's death. This went some along the lines of;
The State: "No matter what you say we won't release the Blair Peach report!"
The People: "We never asked."
The State: "We don't care. You're all scum and the police must be protected. We won't release the report!"
The People: "No really it's OK. We already know what happened."
The State: "Well if you insist we must release the report. We are a democracy after all!"
The People: "Eh, you what now?!"
So today the report has finally been released and to the surprise of absolutely no-one it reveals that not only did the MPS know that one of their officers murdered Mr Peach they knew exactly which one it was and spent the next 30 years helping him to escape prosecution.
Choosing today to release the report shows spectacularly bad timing on behalf of the MPS. It comes just four days before the Mayday protests. This is expected to be the first meeting between a large number of anarchist protesters and the TSG since the death of Ian Tomlinson and reminding everyone that the police are allowed to get away with murder is only going to raise tensions and increase the risk of serious disorder.
As if this wasn't bad enough the release of the report comes nine days before Britain goes to the polls in the General Election and on the very day that the Conservative party launched it's policies on Law and Order that are designed to "fix broken Britain." Obviously being Conservative policies this blames all the nations problems on lefty-wefty liberals like Blair Peach who have destroyed the traditional family and tied the police up in legislation that makes them accountable to the public. Being forced to launch into this sales patter just hours after the public have been reminded that the British police are nothing more then a criminal gang who treat the ideals of Law and Justice with contempt just makes the Conservative party leader, David Cameron look like a complete idiot.
In the interests of political balance I should also point out that release of this report and it's consequences have caused the Labour party to suffer a complete nervous breakdown. Today they were planning to launch their manifesto on helping working families with the help of the popular children's TV character, Peppa Pig. Unfortunately they hadn't got permission from the creators of Peppa Pig and the event had to be cancelled at the last minute. As "Pig" is also a insulting term for a police officer this confusion has left the Labour party crying in a corner and unable to provide a guest for the BBC's Daily Politics Election discussion program. I should probably then tell then to calm down and not to worry after all everyone already knows they don't have a coherent plan on this or indeed anything.
Now I'm going to attempt to end on a joke so brace yourselves;
Q. Why do the TSG love the liberals?
A. Because they're all yellow.
Monday, 26 April 2010
April 9th Letter.
This is the letter I received from the Court of Protection (CoP) on April 12th.
Unusually it comes with a security classification - PROTECT. This is the lowest level of security classification coming below even Private or Confidential and translates as "don't just throw this away." However if you didn't know that you might find it intimidating to find something like that printed on a document and be careful about who you show it too. That would make it difficult for any impartial advisor to check that the ensuing legal proceeding was carried out fairly and accurately. That said I'm not actually going to post the letter up on this blog. That's not because I'm afraid to it just that's a lot of hassle and apparently when I post letters up here they're so small no-one can read them anyway.
The contents of the letter is actually quite pedestrian. It merely informs me that the COP-7 application has been accepted and I therefore have to serve my grandmother and father with copies of the COP-7 form and the COP-5 form within 21 days of the date the application was issued. It also informs me that after those forms have been served I then I have 7 days to return two COP-20 to inform the court that the other forms have been served. It also informs me that once all the forms are in their right place the court will consider the application as soon as is practical but in any event the Court will give further direction within 21 weeks if no oral hearing is required and within 15 weeks if a oral hearing is required. Although it doesn't mention it in the letter an oral hearing is normally carried out in the Judges chambers so is more like being summoned to the headmaster's office then an episode of Law & Order. Finally the letter gives the Courts contact details which is basically their website; http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk.
While we're on the subject of letters I also received one from the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) dated April 12th. After re-stated the methods and time limits required to raise an objection this letter goes on to conceded that an objection was raised in December 2009 but was not included in the case file. However it does not admit that the OPG were at fault in not doing that. In short they've accepted that an error has been made but have stopped short of admitting responsibility for that error. Assuming the law is allowed to run its course free of interference, which should go with out saying, the best outcome the OPG can hope for is that the Judge overturns their decision but doesn't do so in such a way as to allow me to sue them for costs and damages. That's why the Brits have been pushing very hard about how dangerous it will be for me to proceed and I should probably back down. You see me backing down is the only chance they have of winning here.
As for my father he's finally reached that stage where he's accepted that realistically there's nothing he can do about this. That conclusion was helped by the realisation that if these LPA's haven't been properly registered then they don't exist and anyone, including Croydon Council can challenge them. The worst case scenario for him is that if he uses them to obtain money he could be charged with theft by deception which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. In short he's been stitched up by those around him. Sadly this realisation will do nothing to shake his faith in those who've been abusing him for all these years.
Unusually it comes with a security classification - PROTECT. This is the lowest level of security classification coming below even Private or Confidential and translates as "don't just throw this away." However if you didn't know that you might find it intimidating to find something like that printed on a document and be careful about who you show it too. That would make it difficult for any impartial advisor to check that the ensuing legal proceeding was carried out fairly and accurately. That said I'm not actually going to post the letter up on this blog. That's not because I'm afraid to it just that's a lot of hassle and apparently when I post letters up here they're so small no-one can read them anyway.
The contents of the letter is actually quite pedestrian. It merely informs me that the COP-7 application has been accepted and I therefore have to serve my grandmother and father with copies of the COP-7 form and the COP-5 form within 21 days of the date the application was issued. It also informs me that after those forms have been served I then I have 7 days to return two COP-20 to inform the court that the other forms have been served. It also informs me that once all the forms are in their right place the court will consider the application as soon as is practical but in any event the Court will give further direction within 21 weeks if no oral hearing is required and within 15 weeks if a oral hearing is required. Although it doesn't mention it in the letter an oral hearing is normally carried out in the Judges chambers so is more like being summoned to the headmaster's office then an episode of Law & Order. Finally the letter gives the Courts contact details which is basically their website; http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk.
While we're on the subject of letters I also received one from the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) dated April 12th. After re-stated the methods and time limits required to raise an objection this letter goes on to conceded that an objection was raised in December 2009 but was not included in the case file. However it does not admit that the OPG were at fault in not doing that. In short they've accepted that an error has been made but have stopped short of admitting responsibility for that error. Assuming the law is allowed to run its course free of interference, which should go with out saying, the best outcome the OPG can hope for is that the Judge overturns their decision but doesn't do so in such a way as to allow me to sue them for costs and damages. That's why the Brits have been pushing very hard about how dangerous it will be for me to proceed and I should probably back down. You see me backing down is the only chance they have of winning here.
As for my father he's finally reached that stage where he's accepted that realistically there's nothing he can do about this. That conclusion was helped by the realisation that if these LPA's haven't been properly registered then they don't exist and anyone, including Croydon Council can challenge them. The worst case scenario for him is that if he uses them to obtain money he could be charged with theft by deception which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. In short he's been stitched up by those around him. Sadly this realisation will do nothing to shake his faith in those who've been abusing him for all these years.
Sunday, 25 April 2010
There is a Fire Truck Outside
So I think I should give the Henhouse notice;
Most people in the UK work 9-5 Monday to Friday. Therefore if you throw a loud party on a Friday night you should be OK and if you throw a loud party on a Saturday night you should also be OK. However if you throw a loud party on a Thursday night you will be pushing your luck and if you dare to throw a loud party on a Sunday night you will most probably be killed.
This is because Sunday night has been agreed by the vast majority to be quiet time.
Most people in the UK work 9-5 Monday to Friday. Therefore if you throw a loud party on a Friday night you should be OK and if you throw a loud party on a Saturday night you should also be OK. However if you throw a loud party on a Thursday night you will be pushing your luck and if you dare to throw a loud party on a Sunday night you will most probably be killed.
This is because Sunday night has been agreed by the vast majority to be quiet time.
Good Evenings. I am so Very Drunk.
but don't worry because it is a good drunk.
This morning my father was still very angry over this court business so, although I'm under no obligation to disclose, I gave him copies of the April 9th letter* I received from the Court of Protection (CoP) and the COP-24, witness statement form outlining the argument I've been posting here for many weeks.
He didn't bother read these and instead chose to put them with all the other paper work (COP-7, COP-5) in a big envelope marked "for the solicitor to sort out." Therefore he has reached the "denial" stage and I was happy to let him remain there for the time being. As a result by the time my brother turned up for dinner we had such a relaxed and pleasant evening that I totally forgot to mention the whole court thing to my brother. Instead I was much more concerned with reveling to him the secrets of the new Dr Who.
Students of the game should want to take note of the fact that I timed the delivery of this paperwork for Saturday morning giving me the maximum time available in which everyone was cut off from conversation with the outside world. So basically what I'm saying is that while I'll live with out it what I'm looking for now is applause.
Elsewhere a Catholic Pope will be visiting a Protestant state later this year. You knew it was a scam then the Brits suggested that the people in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office had brains to storm.
* Yes I'll post that tomorrow when something resembling sobriety has returns although I promise you it's really not that exciting regardless of what the security classification may say. Protect.
This morning my father was still very angry over this court business so, although I'm under no obligation to disclose, I gave him copies of the April 9th letter* I received from the Court of Protection (CoP) and the COP-24, witness statement form outlining the argument I've been posting here for many weeks.
He didn't bother read these and instead chose to put them with all the other paper work (COP-7, COP-5) in a big envelope marked "for the solicitor to sort out." Therefore he has reached the "denial" stage and I was happy to let him remain there for the time being. As a result by the time my brother turned up for dinner we had such a relaxed and pleasant evening that I totally forgot to mention the whole court thing to my brother. Instead I was much more concerned with reveling to him the secrets of the new Dr Who.
Students of the game should want to take note of the fact that I timed the delivery of this paperwork for Saturday morning giving me the maximum time available in which everyone was cut off from conversation with the outside world. So basically what I'm saying is that while I'll live with out it what I'm looking for now is applause.
Elsewhere a Catholic Pope will be visiting a Protestant state later this year. You knew it was a scam then the Brits suggested that the people in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office had brains to storm.
* Yes I'll post that tomorrow when something resembling sobriety has returns although I promise you it's really not that exciting regardless of what the security classification may say. Protect.
Saturday, 24 April 2010
Update.
I think it's fair to say that the old male ego has taken a battering today so my father is still ranting and raving.
His latest idea is that with his shield of justice and sword of truth he is going to battle me to the end of this and after he's won he's going to sue me for all the costs. Unfortunately he hasn't yet worked out how he's going to be doing that but seems to be looking towards contesting the case by attacking my character.
My character of course has absolutely no bearing on the facts on which the case will be decided so should be ruled irrelevant. If the court does take the highly unusual step of allowing that argument it of course puts his character up for discussion which is something he really doesn't want to have happening.
If my father had a true friend in this world I think they should be pulling him to one side and explain that he's basically got three options;
1. Don't contest the case and lose.
2. Contest the case on his own, embarrass himself and lose.
3. Instruct a solicitor to contest the case on his behalf, embarrass himself, cost himself a lot of money and lose.
I'd explain this to him myself but do you ever get the impression that someone's really not listening to a word you've got to say.
His latest idea is that with his shield of justice and sword of truth he is going to battle me to the end of this and after he's won he's going to sue me for all the costs. Unfortunately he hasn't yet worked out how he's going to be doing that but seems to be looking towards contesting the case by attacking my character.
My character of course has absolutely no bearing on the facts on which the case will be decided so should be ruled irrelevant. If the court does take the highly unusual step of allowing that argument it of course puts his character up for discussion which is something he really doesn't want to have happening.
If my father had a true friend in this world I think they should be pulling him to one side and explain that he's basically got three options;
1. Don't contest the case and lose.
2. Contest the case on his own, embarrass himself and lose.
3. Instruct a solicitor to contest the case on his behalf, embarrass himself, cost himself a lot of money and lose.
I'd explain this to him myself but do you ever get the impression that someone's really not listening to a word you've got to say.
BANG! It is Done.
The papers from the Court of Protection arrived with my grandmother and father this morning. I have to say that the reaction has been nowhere near as bad as I expected. My father is frothing at the mouth with anger however this is more sort of grieving rather then rage. That's because, even if he won't admit it, he knows exactly what he's been up to and deep down knows that he really doesn't have a leg to stand on.
My grandmother doesn't seem to understand any of what is going on which is sort of the point of the argument. The strategic response my father is currently considering is to totally mis-inform my grandmother of what is going on and use that to stoke up anger against me in order to get my grandmother's permission to kick me out. Like so much else in his life he really hasn't thought that one through yet.
The solicitor is turning up on Wednesday (28/4) over another matter and my father will be seeking his opinion. It will be interesting to see if the solicitor gives them honest legal advice or merely advises them to pay him some more money.
My grandmother doesn't seem to understand any of what is going on which is sort of the point of the argument. The strategic response my father is currently considering is to totally mis-inform my grandmother of what is going on and use that to stoke up anger against me in order to get my grandmother's permission to kick me out. Like so much else in his life he really hasn't thought that one through yet.
The solicitor is turning up on Wednesday (28/4) over another matter and my father will be seeking his opinion. It will be interesting to see if the solicitor gives them honest legal advice or merely advises them to pay him some more money.
Thursday, 22 April 2010
And There's the Terror.
Oh how I've missed it.
My favourite solicitor has been back sniffing around my grandmother no doubt looking for another large fee. This has forced me to bring all this court of protection (CoP) stuff forward by a week. So today, narrowly avoiding Malcom McClaren's funeral, I went and delivered the COP-20's by hand. I then went and posted the COP-5's and the COP-7's. This means that in the event that they don't arrive I've covered. However I suspect this is one set of forms that isn't going to get lost in the post meaning that this should all blow up on either Saturday (24/4) or Monday (26/4).
Also on my travelsI bumped into Conservative foreign secretary, William Hauge. Well I say bumped into he was more sort of hurriedly crossing the road while trying to avoid eye contact.
My favourite solicitor has been back sniffing around my grandmother no doubt looking for another large fee. This has forced me to bring all this court of protection (CoP) stuff forward by a week. So today, narrowly avoiding Malcom McClaren's funeral, I went and delivered the COP-20's by hand. I then went and posted the COP-5's and the COP-7's. This means that in the event that they don't arrive I've covered. However I suspect this is one set of forms that isn't going to get lost in the post meaning that this should all blow up on either Saturday (24/4) or Monday (26/4).
Also on my travelsI bumped into Conservative foreign secretary, William Hauge. Well I say bumped into he was more sort of hurriedly crossing the road while trying to avoid eye contact.
Tuesday, 20 April 2010
Lightweights!
As you may have heard a volcano in Iceland has erupted spewing volcanic ash into various levels of the atmosphere. This cloud, which has been described by scientists as non-specific, organic crap, has grounded all flights in UK airspace and most of northern Europe creating travel disruption on a far greater scale then the Sept 11th attacks.
Today the airline, British Airways (BA) decided to challenge the British no-fly zone by attempting to land ten long haul flights at UK airports. This prompted an emergency meeting of senior government figures headed by the Labour peer, Lord Adonis. Rather then dispatching the Royal Air Force to do what they normally do with aircraft that threaten British airspace the government rolled straight over and lifted all restrictions on UK airspace effective 21:00 GMT 20/04/10. Hence the title of this post.
So just out of interest is there anyone left on this planet who still thinks that BA is winning it's current industrial dispute?
Today the airline, British Airways (BA) decided to challenge the British no-fly zone by attempting to land ten long haul flights at UK airports. This prompted an emergency meeting of senior government figures headed by the Labour peer, Lord Adonis. Rather then dispatching the Royal Air Force to do what they normally do with aircraft that threaten British airspace the government rolled straight over and lifted all restrictions on UK airspace effective 21:00 GMT 20/04/10. Hence the title of this post.
So just out of interest is there anyone left on this planet who still thinks that BA is winning it's current industrial dispute?
It's That Time of Year Again.
Spring has sprung and May will surely follow bringing with it the traditional Mayday protests. While there will be events held across the world in the UK the largest protest has been called by a group calling itself Election Meltdown; http://meltdown.uk.net Apart from the usual calls to destroy capitalism and the banks, end all wars and protect the environment Election Meltdown want to destroy the British parliamentary system and replace it with a system of "peoples assemblies." To make this alternative more attractive Election Meltdown are also calling for people to vote for a Hung Parliament and the inevitable paralysis of government that this will bring.
As for the physical demonstration itself protesters are being called upon to meet up with one of the four horsemen of the election apocalypse which will collect effigies of four political leaders at their party headquarters. The meeting up points are;
As for what will actually happen on the day the anarchic nature of these protests makes that quite hard to predict. There are though several possible outcomes. If not enough people turn up then the whole thing will quickly turn into a repeat of 2006's Sack Parliament debacle. Here around 500-800 people assembled in Parliament Square on the day of the State Opening of Parliament calling for Parliament to be sacked. They were met by around 1200 police officers who promptly picked them up and removed them from the square much to the embarrassment of everyone involved. Secondly if 3000-5000 people attend the police will simply place them in a cordon using the "kettling" technique made famous during 2009's G20 Summit, London. This will see the protest getting squeezed onto the grass at the centre of the square. This will allow the police to begin opening roads with a priority being placed on Westminster Bridge, St Margret street and then Whitehall. Once any assembled media have got bored and gone home by around 18:00 the Territorial Support Group (TSG) will meter out their usual brand of extra-judicial punishment before people are let out of the kettle one by one to have their photographs taken and personal details recorded for future reference.
There is also a Reclaim the Street Party demonstration being called for May 1st. There is no website available for this but people are being asked to assemble on the Southbank of the Thames near Waterloo railway station at 16:00. They are also being told to be prepared to make some noise and bring beer so I dread to think how that will turn out. However the location will make it very tempting for them to go and punch a hole in any kettle in Parliament Square.
As for the physical demonstration itself protesters are being called upon to meet up with one of the four horsemen of the election apocalypse which will collect effigies of four political leaders at their party headquarters. The meeting up points are;
- The Black Horse. This will be the first to start meeting up at Clarkenwell Green, EC1 at 13:00. Ironically this horse will collect an effigy of Nick Griffin, leader of the racist British National Party.
- The Red Horse. This will meet up at the Labour Party's HQ on Victoria Street, SW1 at 14:00. It will collect an effigy of Gordon Brown, leader of the ruling Labour Party.
- The Green Horse. This will meet up at the Liberal Democrats HQ on Cowley Street, SW1 at 14:00. It will collect an effigy of Nick Clegg, leader of the Liberal Democrat Party.
- The Silver Horse. This will meet up at the Conservative Party's HQ at Millbank Tower, SW1 at 14:00. It will collect an effigy of David Cameron, leader of the Conservative Party.
As for what will actually happen on the day the anarchic nature of these protests makes that quite hard to predict. There are though several possible outcomes. If not enough people turn up then the whole thing will quickly turn into a repeat of 2006's Sack Parliament debacle. Here around 500-800 people assembled in Parliament Square on the day of the State Opening of Parliament calling for Parliament to be sacked. They were met by around 1200 police officers who promptly picked them up and removed them from the square much to the embarrassment of everyone involved. Secondly if 3000-5000 people attend the police will simply place them in a cordon using the "kettling" technique made famous during 2009's G20 Summit, London. This will see the protest getting squeezed onto the grass at the centre of the square. This will allow the police to begin opening roads with a priority being placed on Westminster Bridge, St Margret street and then Whitehall. Once any assembled media have got bored and gone home by around 18:00 the Territorial Support Group (TSG) will meter out their usual brand of extra-judicial punishment before people are let out of the kettle one by one to have their photographs taken and personal details recorded for future reference.
There is also a Reclaim the Street Party demonstration being called for May 1st. There is no website available for this but people are being asked to assemble on the Southbank of the Thames near Waterloo railway station at 16:00. They are also being told to be prepared to make some noise and bring beer so I dread to think how that will turn out. However the location will make it very tempting for them to go and punch a hole in any kettle in Parliament Square.
Sunday, 18 April 2010
The Hen House's Been Clucking Tonight.
That's because last night, this morning and quite a bit of this afternoon they'd been hosting a small social gathering.
If I didn't know better I would say that Croydon Council has finally realised that quite soon it is going to find it very difficult to meet it's legal obligation to house young, single, homeless people. Therefore they're looking for any reason to evict people out of that legal obligation.
Apart from that it's been good. I watched CSI does F1 in New York which was much less stabby then other, Albert rd, party that went on in Croydon.
If I didn't know better I would say that Croydon Council has finally realised that quite soon it is going to find it very difficult to meet it's legal obligation to house young, single, homeless people. Therefore they're looking for any reason to evict people out of that legal obligation.
Apart from that it's been good. I watched CSI does F1 in New York which was much less stabby then other, Albert rd, party that went on in Croydon.
Net Neutrality.
In the United States on April 6th 2010 the District of Columbia Appeals Court ruled on case brought by Comcast, an Internet Service Provider (ISP), against the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Although the case was won by Comcast on a narrow and technical point of law regarding the FCC's jurisdiction the purpose of the case was to bring an end to something called Net Neutrality.
As one of the founding principles of the Internet, put simply, Net Neutrality states that ISP's must treat all data on the Internet equally and move it around at the same speed regardless of what it is or where it has come from. This gives Internet users the freedom to go and look at what they want when they want by forcing the ISP's to act sort of like a taxi driver who has to take a customer to the door of their destination. The ISP's hate this because it would be much more profitable for them to act more like bus drivers. That is to say rather then letting the customer choose exactly where they want to go the ISP's would set up fixed routes to certain websites and only allow the customer to travel along those fixed routes. Obviously this also gives the ISP's huge control over what sites their customers can visit on the Internet turning the ISP's into de facto Internet censors. Under those circumstances it is easy to imagine a world where the customers of one ISP would be banned from visiting websites that tell them just how much they're being overcharged by their ISP.
This distorted Internet model has actually been attempted before. Back in the 1990's when the Internet was just starting to emerge as a consumer technology AOL set up their ISP operation. The main difference between AOL's service and the Internet as we know it today is that AOL didn't actually allow their customers to log onto actual websites. Instead they logged onto the AOL website and AOL website then went out into the Internet and brought back, to the customer, websites that AOL approved of. Using the "AOL Keyword" system a clear preference was given to web pages that promoted products made by AOL Time Warner, the largest media conglomerate ever created that at the time seemed to be on a mission to own everything.
Very few people were prepared to pay to access the Internet like this so the expansion of the Internet was painfully slow and the technology was almost lost to consumers. Fortunately people soon learned that by using very simple computer programming (i.e typing in http://www. theweb-address.com) they were able to access any website they wanted regardless of whether it suited AOL's corporate interests or not. As a result AOL's service quickly became known as "The Internet for people who are too stupid to use the Internet!" and Time Warner dumped the AOL part of their business in 2009.
More importantly this shift in the Internet market model led to the creation of search engines like Google and Yahoo and saw the Internet explode into the vast library of news sites, online retailers, technical information, social networking sites, video on demand sites and online music services that it is today. In short the Free Market was given a choice on the shape of the Internet and the Free Market chose Net Neutrality.
As Net Neutrality increases competition and drives down prices it hurts the profits of the ISP's. Therefore they despise it and have promised a marathon of litigation to do away with it. This would allow them to vary the speed at which data moves around the Internet meaning that some websites would load faster then others and access to some sites would be blocked entirely. As a result the ISP's would be able to change the way that customers pay to access the Internet and make it more like the way that customers pay to access Pay (cable/satellite) TV services. That would mean that rather then paying for a fixed amount of bandwidth that can be used as the customer wants, as it is now, Internet users would be forced to pay for Internet service packages. So for example you could pay for a basic packages that gives you access to a couple of news sites along with an email account and a less then good social networking site run by the ISP. Or you could pay a bit more for a Sports package that would give you access to sports websites that over the next couple of years will start showing events live. Or you could get the researchers package, the movies package or the music lovers package and so on.
Obviously this creates the problem for Internet users that Pay TV users already suffer from; If you don't have the right package you don't get to access the content. That will totally crush competition on the Internet and will drive up prices as the content generators (Amazon, the BBC, iTunes, Facebook etc) are forced to pay the ISP's potentially huge fees to be included in their service packages.
So in conclusion while the FCC might not be the right body to regulate the Internet but Net Neutrality and the Free Market it creates need to be protected even if it has to be enshrined in law.
As one of the founding principles of the Internet, put simply, Net Neutrality states that ISP's must treat all data on the Internet equally and move it around at the same speed regardless of what it is or where it has come from. This gives Internet users the freedom to go and look at what they want when they want by forcing the ISP's to act sort of like a taxi driver who has to take a customer to the door of their destination. The ISP's hate this because it would be much more profitable for them to act more like bus drivers. That is to say rather then letting the customer choose exactly where they want to go the ISP's would set up fixed routes to certain websites and only allow the customer to travel along those fixed routes. Obviously this also gives the ISP's huge control over what sites their customers can visit on the Internet turning the ISP's into de facto Internet censors. Under those circumstances it is easy to imagine a world where the customers of one ISP would be banned from visiting websites that tell them just how much they're being overcharged by their ISP.
This distorted Internet model has actually been attempted before. Back in the 1990's when the Internet was just starting to emerge as a consumer technology AOL set up their ISP operation. The main difference between AOL's service and the Internet as we know it today is that AOL didn't actually allow their customers to log onto actual websites. Instead they logged onto the AOL website and AOL website then went out into the Internet and brought back, to the customer, websites that AOL approved of. Using the "AOL Keyword" system a clear preference was given to web pages that promoted products made by AOL Time Warner, the largest media conglomerate ever created that at the time seemed to be on a mission to own everything.
Very few people were prepared to pay to access the Internet like this so the expansion of the Internet was painfully slow and the technology was almost lost to consumers. Fortunately people soon learned that by using very simple computer programming (i.e typing in http://www. theweb-address.com) they were able to access any website they wanted regardless of whether it suited AOL's corporate interests or not. As a result AOL's service quickly became known as "The Internet for people who are too stupid to use the Internet!" and Time Warner dumped the AOL part of their business in 2009.
More importantly this shift in the Internet market model led to the creation of search engines like Google and Yahoo and saw the Internet explode into the vast library of news sites, online retailers, technical information, social networking sites, video on demand sites and online music services that it is today. In short the Free Market was given a choice on the shape of the Internet and the Free Market chose Net Neutrality.
As Net Neutrality increases competition and drives down prices it hurts the profits of the ISP's. Therefore they despise it and have promised a marathon of litigation to do away with it. This would allow them to vary the speed at which data moves around the Internet meaning that some websites would load faster then others and access to some sites would be blocked entirely. As a result the ISP's would be able to change the way that customers pay to access the Internet and make it more like the way that customers pay to access Pay (cable/satellite) TV services. That would mean that rather then paying for a fixed amount of bandwidth that can be used as the customer wants, as it is now, Internet users would be forced to pay for Internet service packages. So for example you could pay for a basic packages that gives you access to a couple of news sites along with an email account and a less then good social networking site run by the ISP. Or you could pay a bit more for a Sports package that would give you access to sports websites that over the next couple of years will start showing events live. Or you could get the researchers package, the movies package or the music lovers package and so on.
Obviously this creates the problem for Internet users that Pay TV users already suffer from; If you don't have the right package you don't get to access the content. That will totally crush competition on the Internet and will drive up prices as the content generators (Amazon, the BBC, iTunes, Facebook etc) are forced to pay the ISP's potentially huge fees to be included in their service packages.
So in conclusion while the FCC might not be the right body to regulate the Internet but Net Neutrality and the Free Market it creates need to be protected even if it has to be enshrined in law.
Friday, 16 April 2010
I Got a Really Scary Letter From the NHS Today.
I got one, my father got one, my grandmother got one and all my neighbours seem to have got one. Therefore I think it's a fair bet that everyone the Borough of Croydon got one. The letter informs us that in the next 12-18 months we will all be added to the NHS's Healthspace care summary record program. Basically this is the government's interesting plan to put everyone in the UK's medical records up on the internet.
Obviously it should come as no surprise that I will be opting out of this scheme. I will be doing this by downloading the opt-out form from;
http://www.connectingforhealth.nhs.uk/systemsandservices/scr/documents/optout.pdf
filling it out and returning it to my GP by July 13th 2010.
If for any reason it turns out that I don't have a GP I would be writing to the Local Health Authority at; Croydon Health Authority, Knollys House, 17 Addiscombe Road, Croydon, Surrey, CR0 6SR including my name, address, date of birth and NHS number if I have it and ask them to appoint me a GP.
I only bring this up because the letter sort of forgot to include those details.
Obviously it should come as no surprise that I will be opting out of this scheme. I will be doing this by downloading the opt-out form from;
http://www.connectingforhealth.nhs.uk/systemsandservices/scr/documents/optout.pdf
filling it out and returning it to my GP by July 13th 2010.
If for any reason it turns out that I don't have a GP I would be writing to the Local Health Authority at; Croydon Health Authority, Knollys House, 17 Addiscombe Road, Croydon, Surrey, CR0 6SR including my name, address, date of birth and NHS number if I have it and ask them to appoint me a GP.
I only bring this up because the letter sort of forgot to include those details.
I've Been Busy.
Long story short I've been trying to get a digital TV signal in two rooms. This involved splitting one antenna cable into two and wiring them both up to TV's. The good news is that there is absolutely no problem on my side of the antenna but sadly some broadcasters, who shall remain, nameless are too cheap to broadcast a stronger enough signal. I also took the opportunity to fix my grandmothers TV so I think today I've earned myself some major nerd points.
Unfortunately though not enough nerd points to impress the people who've spent the day having earnest arguments about the behaviour of non-uniform particles over the north Atlantic. So my advice then is to take two aspirins and call me in the morning. After all if one thing is certain from today it's that Iceland's Eyjafjallajoekull volcano is officially the coolest volcano in history.
Unfortunately though not enough nerd points to impress the people who've spent the day having earnest arguments about the behaviour of non-uniform particles over the north Atlantic. So my advice then is to take two aspirins and call me in the morning. After all if one thing is certain from today it's that Iceland's Eyjafjallajoekull volcano is officially the coolest volcano in history.
Thursday, 15 April 2010
Response From the Court of Protection.
I've finally read through the response I received from the Court of Protection (CoP) yesterday (14/4) and it's not so much complicated as written out in triplicate. I should start by explaining why this is the absolute last thing I wanted to be getting involved in during the Copenhagen COP-15 Summit. All the forms relating to the CoP carry the prefix COP. Therefore you have a COP-1 form, a COP-2 form etc. You even have a COP-15 form.
The forms that are relevant to me are the COP-7 form for raising a objection within this infamous five week time limit and the COP-1 form for raising an objection outside of the five week time limit. All the correspondence I received from the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) informed me that I needed to fill out the COP-7 form so this is what I did. It was only after I'd filled it out, made copies and was about to file it that I realised that I probably needed to fill out a COP-1 form instead but I decided to file the COP-7 form anyway. After all the worst that would happen is that the CoP would send it back and I would have to re-file using the COP-1 form. As the two forms are almost identical and this five week time limit is central to the argument the CoP have obviously kindly used their discretion and allowed the submission of the COP-7 form. In doing so they've also managed to sidestep a potentially nasty argument over the controversial changes being made to the Legal Aid system that were announced in 2009's Pre-Budget Report under the heading of "efficiency savings."
What happens now is that I have to separately serve both my father and grandmother with copies of the COP-7 form and a COP-20 form that will allow them to apply to join the proceedings. Once that's done I need to send the CoP two COP-5 forms acknowledging that I've served both my father and grandmother. This stage is going to be entertaining at best and something I will need to think carefully about. However it must be done within 21 days of the date the CoP issued the papers (April 9th). That means that this is probably going to kick off on or around Friday April 30th.
Assuming we all live through that stage the CoP then has 21 weeks from April 30th to consider the case, decide if there needs to be an oral hearing and make a ruling. At the risk of prejudicing the case and antagonising a judge I think this should be a mere formality. As the objection has been made on procedural grounds neither my father or grandmother actually have any scope to challenge the submission so there shouldn't be a need for an oral hearing. At the paper hearing the judge will only have to consider a simple logic 1 or logic 0 or yes/no question as to whether December 11th 2009 occurred after March 27th 2010 meaning that the correct procedure was followed or whether it occurred before meaning that proper procedure was not followed. Obviously it is not my place to prejudge the court but I think it is unlikely that it will be able to find in anything other then my favour.
The forms that are relevant to me are the COP-7 form for raising a objection within this infamous five week time limit and the COP-1 form for raising an objection outside of the five week time limit. All the correspondence I received from the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) informed me that I needed to fill out the COP-7 form so this is what I did. It was only after I'd filled it out, made copies and was about to file it that I realised that I probably needed to fill out a COP-1 form instead but I decided to file the COP-7 form anyway. After all the worst that would happen is that the CoP would send it back and I would have to re-file using the COP-1 form. As the two forms are almost identical and this five week time limit is central to the argument the CoP have obviously kindly used their discretion and allowed the submission of the COP-7 form. In doing so they've also managed to sidestep a potentially nasty argument over the controversial changes being made to the Legal Aid system that were announced in 2009's Pre-Budget Report under the heading of "efficiency savings."
What happens now is that I have to separately serve both my father and grandmother with copies of the COP-7 form and a COP-20 form that will allow them to apply to join the proceedings. Once that's done I need to send the CoP two COP-5 forms acknowledging that I've served both my father and grandmother. This stage is going to be entertaining at best and something I will need to think carefully about. However it must be done within 21 days of the date the CoP issued the papers (April 9th). That means that this is probably going to kick off on or around Friday April 30th.
Assuming we all live through that stage the CoP then has 21 weeks from April 30th to consider the case, decide if there needs to be an oral hearing and make a ruling. At the risk of prejudicing the case and antagonising a judge I think this should be a mere formality. As the objection has been made on procedural grounds neither my father or grandmother actually have any scope to challenge the submission so there shouldn't be a need for an oral hearing. At the paper hearing the judge will only have to consider a simple logic 1 or logic 0 or yes/no question as to whether December 11th 2009 occurred after March 27th 2010 meaning that the correct procedure was followed or whether it occurred before meaning that proper procedure was not followed. Obviously it is not my place to prejudge the court but I think it is unlikely that it will be able to find in anything other then my favour.
Wednesday, 14 April 2010
Quick Detail.
I've not got round to reading that response from the CoP so that will have to wait until tomorrow. The important thing is that my father is still completely oblivious about it. Therefore the social worker who's decided to jeopardise my sisters recovery by sending her up to London tomorrow on a fact finding mission needs to be sacked for two reasons. Malpractice and not being very good at it.
Incidentally my sister in and is under the care of Guildford council. Another battleground seat at the General Election.
Incidentally my sister in and is under the care of Guildford council. Another battleground seat at the General Election.
Nuclear Security Sumit.
Yesterday (13/4) delegates from 50 countries completed a two day nuclear security summit in Washington. I have to start by pointing out that if it hadn't been for the antics of RIRA this would actually have been a very tame and pedestrian summit.
It was called to address the problem that worldwide there is quite a lot of nuclear material and actual nuclear bombs just sort of laying around. This has been caused by new Eastern European nations that inherited nuclear arsenals when the USSR collapsed. Countries like South Africa that were trying to develop nuclear weapons but have now stopped. Countries like Chile who have done a lot of research into developing nuclear weapons as a way to develop their science and technology capabilities. There are also quantities of non-weapons grade material from nuclear medicine. As a consequence of these various factors there are now ample supplies of the components of nuclear weapons just sitting around in warehouses doing nothing.
Obviously this creates a massive security problem because it means all terrorists need to do to obtain nuclear weapons is break into one of these warehouse and simply steal one. Building a dirty bomb is even easier because all the terrorists need to do is scour garbage dumps in places like Nigeria* and get lucky. Therefore the summit set out to agree a minimum security standard for storing nuclear material and set up a mechanism that would allow countries that are unable to meet that standard to transfer their nuclear materials to countries that can. The solution offered was perfectly reasonable and quickly accepted because it's in every one's best interest.
Although it wasn't officially on the agenda the summit also provided the United States and the Russian Federation to hold a sort of question & answer session on the START treaty they signed recently. Again this wasn't particularly dramatic because obviously both parties were happy with the agreement and it's not really relevant to the current nuclear threat in the modern world. There was also some discussion on Iran's nuclear program but because there haven't been any developments in that area since the last time the was an actual summit on Iran's nuclear program there wasn't really a lot to say.
The part of the summit that may have put a lot of people on edge was that it featured a face to face meeting between the US President and the Chinese President. Even this wasn't that dramatic because these days the two meet a couple of times a year making it more a gradual blurring into one rather then a contest with winners and losers. It would though be unwise for me go trampling my feet over what is still a tense and complicated relationship by going into detail. However if I was forced to score it I would say that China won it with a late earthquake deep into stoppage time even though no-one really knew what they were playing for.
On the subject of things that sound a lot more dramatic then they really are my father and grandmother have made their visit to the House of Lords. While I haven't got all the gory details yet there doesn't appear to be any cause for concern. After all neither of them are exactly civilians and this wasn't the first time they've visited the upper house. In fact I get the impression the purpose of some of the previous visits was to keep the Peers in line.
While they were out I received a response from the Court of Protection (CoP). As with all letters from courts it's about three inches thick so I can't go into more detail until I've actually read it. However the important part is that the court have agreed to hear the case. That's a little unusual because I was pretty sure I'd submitted the wrong form.
*"Welcome to Lagos" - BBC2 21:00 15/4. Check it out.
It was called to address the problem that worldwide there is quite a lot of nuclear material and actual nuclear bombs just sort of laying around. This has been caused by new Eastern European nations that inherited nuclear arsenals when the USSR collapsed. Countries like South Africa that were trying to develop nuclear weapons but have now stopped. Countries like Chile who have done a lot of research into developing nuclear weapons as a way to develop their science and technology capabilities. There are also quantities of non-weapons grade material from nuclear medicine. As a consequence of these various factors there are now ample supplies of the components of nuclear weapons just sitting around in warehouses doing nothing.
Obviously this creates a massive security problem because it means all terrorists need to do to obtain nuclear weapons is break into one of these warehouse and simply steal one. Building a dirty bomb is even easier because all the terrorists need to do is scour garbage dumps in places like Nigeria* and get lucky. Therefore the summit set out to agree a minimum security standard for storing nuclear material and set up a mechanism that would allow countries that are unable to meet that standard to transfer their nuclear materials to countries that can. The solution offered was perfectly reasonable and quickly accepted because it's in every one's best interest.
Although it wasn't officially on the agenda the summit also provided the United States and the Russian Federation to hold a sort of question & answer session on the START treaty they signed recently. Again this wasn't particularly dramatic because obviously both parties were happy with the agreement and it's not really relevant to the current nuclear threat in the modern world. There was also some discussion on Iran's nuclear program but because there haven't been any developments in that area since the last time the was an actual summit on Iran's nuclear program there wasn't really a lot to say.
The part of the summit that may have put a lot of people on edge was that it featured a face to face meeting between the US President and the Chinese President. Even this wasn't that dramatic because these days the two meet a couple of times a year making it more a gradual blurring into one rather then a contest with winners and losers. It would though be unwise for me go trampling my feet over what is still a tense and complicated relationship by going into detail. However if I was forced to score it I would say that China won it with a late earthquake deep into stoppage time even though no-one really knew what they were playing for.
On the subject of things that sound a lot more dramatic then they really are my father and grandmother have made their visit to the House of Lords. While I haven't got all the gory details yet there doesn't appear to be any cause for concern. After all neither of them are exactly civilians and this wasn't the first time they've visited the upper house. In fact I get the impression the purpose of some of the previous visits was to keep the Peers in line.
While they were out I received a response from the Court of Protection (CoP). As with all letters from courts it's about three inches thick so I can't go into more detail until I've actually read it. However the important part is that the court have agreed to hear the case. That's a little unusual because I was pretty sure I'd submitted the wrong form.
*"Welcome to Lagos" - BBC2 21:00 15/4. Check it out.
Monday, 12 April 2010
Northern Ireland Bombing.
At around 00:20 this morning (12/4) a car bomb exploded outside the MI5's headquarters in County Down, Northern Ireland. The attack has been claimed by the Real IRA (RIRA) and everything is exactly as it seems. There are a group of Republican terrorists who call themselves the RIRA and occasionally they like to blow things up.
Rather then being an attempt to endanger life or damage property the purpose of this attack was purely symbolic and therefore in terrorism terms utterly pointless. As the explosion occurred almost to the moment that policing and justice powers were devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly it's purpose was to raise the question of why do MI5 have a huge headquarters in Northern Ireland now that the Northern Irish are meant to have control of their own security? Although they didn't realise it the attack also draws the Crown's attention to MI5's attitude towards the peace process. That is if the peace process works then MI5 are going to look like right idiots for building a new multi-million pound headquarters in completely the wrong place.
RIRA also didn't realise that the devolution of policing and justice powers was timed to kick in during the closing stages of the US Masters Golf tournament and just before the US hosted an important global summit on nuclear disarmament. Kind of makes you wish we could have the proper IRA back.
Rather then being an attempt to endanger life or damage property the purpose of this attack was purely symbolic and therefore in terrorism terms utterly pointless. As the explosion occurred almost to the moment that policing and justice powers were devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly it's purpose was to raise the question of why do MI5 have a huge headquarters in Northern Ireland now that the Northern Irish are meant to have control of their own security? Although they didn't realise it the attack also draws the Crown's attention to MI5's attitude towards the peace process. That is if the peace process works then MI5 are going to look like right idiots for building a new multi-million pound headquarters in completely the wrong place.
RIRA also didn't realise that the devolution of policing and justice powers was timed to kick in during the closing stages of the US Masters Golf tournament and just before the US hosted an important global summit on nuclear disarmament. Kind of makes you wish we could have the proper IRA back.
Polish Plane Crash.
On Saturday April 10th a Polish aeroplane crashed in Smolensk, Russia killing all on board. As this death toll included the Polish President, the head of the Polish central bank, the head of the Polish military, the head of the Polish security service and the head of the Catholic church in Poland the crash, in an instant, wiped out the highest level of the Polish establishment.
As the Soviet era aircraft was less then modern and the conditions at Smolensk were not ideal for flying I'm in little doubt that this was just a plane crash. That meant I should have spent Saturday afternoon writing an obituary for Lech Kaczynski that balanced his truly courageous fight against Communism with his less then noble politics since its fall. Unfortunately a few hours after hearing of the crash my sister turned up with her long history of mental health problems forcing me to successfully move onto the next problem.
The reason I felt comfortable to put the crash on the back burner is because I a confident it was just an accident. Given the history of the situation and the huge loss to Poland it was a spectacular accident but an accident none the less.
As the Soviet era aircraft was less then modern and the conditions at Smolensk were not ideal for flying I'm in little doubt that this was just a plane crash. That meant I should have spent Saturday afternoon writing an obituary for Lech Kaczynski that balanced his truly courageous fight against Communism with his less then noble politics since its fall. Unfortunately a few hours after hearing of the crash my sister turned up with her long history of mental health problems forcing me to successfully move onto the next problem.
The reason I felt comfortable to put the crash on the back burner is because I a confident it was just an accident. Given the history of the situation and the huge loss to Poland it was a spectacular accident but an accident none the less.
Friday, 9 April 2010
As Expected
Letters have turned up from the Office of the Public Guardian confirming the registration of those LPA's. This isn't big news because it's just the beauracy failing to keep with the reality. These letters did though emboldened my father slightly which led to a little bit of an argument between him and my grandmother this afternoon. Again this isn't much of a issue because shouting is pretty much how they communicate. In an attempt to sum up the situation I think it's best to say that I'm risk aware but I don't see a problem.
Apologises for the lack of detail but I don't see any of you stepping in to make this situation better.
Apologises for the lack of detail but I don't see any of you stepping in to make this situation better.
Thursday, 8 April 2010
I'm Home Safe From That there Brighton.
Apparently it's quite an achievement because according to the local Argus that whole city's got a drink problem. So it seems a good excuse for me to tell you a story that I've been trying to tell for a while but avoiding because quite frankly it sounds wrong.
The Court of Protection (CoP) is located pretty much in the Highgate area of London which is a very Jewish area. That meant on Maunday Thursday I was escorted into court by a group of very obviously Jewish children and their equally obviously confused parents. I'm sorry about that but it has to be the first time in history that someone has gone to Camden in order to tone down the weirdness.
The Court of Protection (CoP) is located pretty much in the Highgate area of London which is a very Jewish area. That meant on Maunday Thursday I was escorted into court by a group of very obviously Jewish children and their equally obviously confused parents. I'm sorry about that but it has to be the first time in history that someone has gone to Camden in order to tone down the weirdness.
British Airways Strikes
On Tuesday March 30th British Airways (BA) cabin crew and check in staff completed their second round of strikes. This round went to the BA management and played out pretty much how I predicted it would after the first round of strikes.
Having gathered a clearer intelligence picture of which staff would strike and which staff would work BA used this information to refine their contingency plan. This mainly involved rostering non-striking staff onto short haul flights and potential strikers onto long haul flights where the up to twelve day tours of duty prevented them from taking part in the four day strike. BA also followed through on their threat to remove discounted travel perks from staff who participated in the strike which encouraged some strike breaking but is now obviously a spent threat. The result of the refined contingency plan was that BA was able to move around 10% more BA passengers on BA aircraft reducing their reliance on chartered vanilla aircraft. This reduced BA daily losses on strike days from around £7million to around £5.5million. BA was also able to clear its backlog quicker then I was able to clear mine.
Away from the actual strikes BA have been going to great lengths to convince the stock market that it is coping just fine with the strikes. This mainly involved widely spreading the rumour that the full seven days of strike action would cost BA a frankly ridiculous £70million. That meant that when they announced yesterday (7/4) that the strikes had only cost £47million it sounded as if BA had won even though that figure is still slightly above the realistic estimate. Today BA have also announced that they expect to complete a merger with the Spanish airline, Iberia by the end of 2010. This sort of business expansion is not what you would expect from a company that is in the serious financial troubles that BA is telling Unite the Union that it is in.
Since Friday, April 2nd there have been very hush hush talks between BA management and the Unite leadership. This is the moment where BA had planned to be accepting Unite's unconditional surrender. Provided that Unite's leadership remember which side they're meant to be on I don't think that will happen now because the union still have plenty of scope to broaden the length, frequency and therefore impact of any future strike action.
Having gathered a clearer intelligence picture of which staff would strike and which staff would work BA used this information to refine their contingency plan. This mainly involved rostering non-striking staff onto short haul flights and potential strikers onto long haul flights where the up to twelve day tours of duty prevented them from taking part in the four day strike. BA also followed through on their threat to remove discounted travel perks from staff who participated in the strike which encouraged some strike breaking but is now obviously a spent threat. The result of the refined contingency plan was that BA was able to move around 10% more BA passengers on BA aircraft reducing their reliance on chartered vanilla aircraft. This reduced BA daily losses on strike days from around £7million to around £5.5million. BA was also able to clear its backlog quicker then I was able to clear mine.
Away from the actual strikes BA have been going to great lengths to convince the stock market that it is coping just fine with the strikes. This mainly involved widely spreading the rumour that the full seven days of strike action would cost BA a frankly ridiculous £70million. That meant that when they announced yesterday (7/4) that the strikes had only cost £47million it sounded as if BA had won even though that figure is still slightly above the realistic estimate. Today BA have also announced that they expect to complete a merger with the Spanish airline, Iberia by the end of 2010. This sort of business expansion is not what you would expect from a company that is in the serious financial troubles that BA is telling Unite the Union that it is in.
Since Friday, April 2nd there have been very hush hush talks between BA management and the Unite leadership. This is the moment where BA had planned to be accepting Unite's unconditional surrender. Provided that Unite's leadership remember which side they're meant to be on I don't think that will happen now because the union still have plenty of scope to broaden the length, frequency and therefore impact of any future strike action.
Wednesday, 7 April 2010
Election Fever: Day 2.
Today I put six months of strategic planning and saving into effect and finally brought a new television. That meant I spent most of the day setting it up and trying to find a level of brightness that didn't give me earache and yes I mean earache. As a result I don't really have a clue what's been going on in the world of electioneering.
I did also managed to have a quick chat with my mother and discovered why my father appeared to take the visit from the social services so well. Straight afterwards he went round to the hospital where my mother works and threw an almighty tantrum. That means he is now on very thin ice with hospital security. As I got the impression that my visit caused quite a bit of tension obviously I haven't made my self clear on the issue. While I don't want to tempt fate by going into too much detail the whole strategy was dependent on me behaving in a certain way so when I didn't behave that way the whole thing was starting to unravel. Therefore I wouldn't be getting overly excited about it because I won't be worrying that much.
I did also managed to have a quick chat with my mother and discovered why my father appeared to take the visit from the social services so well. Straight afterwards he went round to the hospital where my mother works and threw an almighty tantrum. That means he is now on very thin ice with hospital security. As I got the impression that my visit caused quite a bit of tension obviously I haven't made my self clear on the issue. While I don't want to tempt fate by going into too much detail the whole strategy was dependent on me behaving in a certain way so when I didn't behave that way the whole thing was starting to unravel. Therefore I wouldn't be getting overly excited about it because I won't be worrying that much.
Tuesday, 6 April 2010
As the Broadcasting Restrictions Have Kicked In....
....and there are also local council elections scheduled for May 6th I think I should declare an interest.
My local council, Croydon, is a Conservative controlled council. On a national level this means that the ward in which I live, Croydon North, is held by the Labour party and Croydon South is held by the Conservatives. The Croydon Central seat is though more interesting. At the 2005 General Election this seat was won outright by the Conservatives. Unfortunately the MP question, Andrew Pelling, was later discovered to be such a carpet chewing lunatic that the Conservatives were forced to throw him out of the party and he saw out the rest of his term as an independent.
In light of that I would hate for the problems that I going to suffer over the next four weeks to be blamed on the Conservative party. After all the guys who are causing my problems have followed me through three counties and make the Conservatives look good. Hell those guys even make the BNP look good.
My local council, Croydon, is a Conservative controlled council. On a national level this means that the ward in which I live, Croydon North, is held by the Labour party and Croydon South is held by the Conservatives. The Croydon Central seat is though more interesting. At the 2005 General Election this seat was won outright by the Conservatives. Unfortunately the MP question, Andrew Pelling, was later discovered to be such a carpet chewing lunatic that the Conservatives were forced to throw him out of the party and he saw out the rest of his term as an independent.
In light of that I would hate for the problems that I going to suffer over the next four weeks to be blamed on the Conservative party. After all the guys who are causing my problems have followed me through three counties and make the Conservatives look good. Hell those guys even make the BNP look good.
Oh Yes, Croydon Social Services Have Been Round
To investigate my father. Well they didn't even manage to do that properly. Instead they sent my grandmother's care manager, Enid to assess the situation and guess what? They can't find any problems in their conduct whatsoever.
In order too maximise the impact of this thorough investigation they also chose to print out a letter that I had sent to the GP and marked Private and Confidential and showed it to my father. That provoked such a massive backlash that it lasted for a whole minute before it was forgotten about.
On a related note that does sort of demonstrate the completely self absorbed vacuum that my father operates in my grandmother has again been summoned to the House of Lords. My father decided to organise all security passes etc involved in this by telephoning the House of Commons at around 10:00 this morning. I mean it's not as if they were going to be busy at that point what with the General Election being called and everything.
So yes I think the recurring message from this blog for the duration of the election campaign is going to be;
Either way, you're F****d!
In order too maximise the impact of this thorough investigation they also chose to print out a letter that I had sent to the GP and marked Private and Confidential and showed it to my father. That provoked such a massive backlash that it lasted for a whole minute before it was forgotten about.
On a related note that does sort of demonstrate the completely self absorbed vacuum that my father operates in my grandmother has again been summoned to the House of Lords. My father decided to organise all security passes etc involved in this by telephoning the House of Commons at around 10:00 this morning. I mean it's not as if they were going to be busy at that point what with the General Election being called and everything.
So yes I think the recurring message from this blog for the duration of the election campaign is going to be;
Either way, you're F****d!
Oh, Do We Have To ?
Today (06/04) the British Prime Minister called a General Election for May 6th 2010. That means that for the next month politicians are going to be everywhere. They're going to be knocking on your doors, putting up billboards and falling over each other to get their ugly mugs on TV.
Already the quality of political discourse has fallen so low that the leader of the Conservative party has been compared to a character in a popular TV show and the state of the economy has been compared to England footballer Wayne Rooney's injured knee. Over the next four weeks it's only going to get worse.
I'm just going to console myself in the fact that while they're all busy trying to convince us that they're the best people to run the country none of them will actually be running the country.
Already the quality of political discourse has fallen so low that the leader of the Conservative party has been compared to a character in a popular TV show and the state of the economy has been compared to England footballer Wayne Rooney's injured knee. Over the next four weeks it's only going to get worse.
I'm just going to console myself in the fact that while they're all busy trying to convince us that they're the best people to run the country none of them will actually be running the country.
Thursday, 1 April 2010
Today I Was Looking For an Excuse...
...to avoid cooking dinner.
So instead I filed papers with the Court of Protection (CoP) to cancel those Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPA's). I decided to file on the grounds that the statutory instrument(s) no longer exist because they were created without a valid objection being considered. That oversight was caused in part by an clerical error on the part of the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) and in part by a "change of heart by the solicitor in the two months it took for him to register the LPA's." I chose this procedural argument because it is an issue of law that does not call into question anyone's suitability to hold an LPA. It also gives me the opportunity to use the suitability argument as a fall back position in the unlikely event that this course of action should fail.
While this process only involved filling in a form the form in question was 10 pages long, needed to be filed in triplicate and carried all the usual warnings about making false or inappropriate statements. I think then that the vast majority of people would have found the form quite intimidating and I guess that was the Brits second gamble.
It is fortunate then that this isn't the first time that I've been forced to represent myself in court. I believe the last time when I was fighting that eviction notice that caused the Brits to very generously bail me out of my troubles. On that occasion I remember that the conversation with the District Judge went something along the lines of;
Him: "I think you're clearly not disabled.";
Me: "Well this report by a court appointed doctor thinks that I am."
Him: "I'm not going to bother read that so you lose. Bad luck(!)"
Based on that experience I have no choice but to think that this current case could go either way especially as the Brits are probably 'phoning round "appropriate" Judges as we speak.
* Just for the record the papers were received by the court at around 14:38. Since then I've been in the pub hiding from the 19:00 dinner deadline whilst desperately searching for the MAKE INTERNET WORK!! button on my mobile 'phone.
So instead I filed papers with the Court of Protection (CoP) to cancel those Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPA's). I decided to file on the grounds that the statutory instrument(s) no longer exist because they were created without a valid objection being considered. That oversight was caused in part by an clerical error on the part of the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) and in part by a "change of heart by the solicitor in the two months it took for him to register the LPA's." I chose this procedural argument because it is an issue of law that does not call into question anyone's suitability to hold an LPA. It also gives me the opportunity to use the suitability argument as a fall back position in the unlikely event that this course of action should fail.
While this process only involved filling in a form the form in question was 10 pages long, needed to be filed in triplicate and carried all the usual warnings about making false or inappropriate statements. I think then that the vast majority of people would have found the form quite intimidating and I guess that was the Brits second gamble.
It is fortunate then that this isn't the first time that I've been forced to represent myself in court. I believe the last time when I was fighting that eviction notice that caused the Brits to very generously bail me out of my troubles. On that occasion I remember that the conversation with the District Judge went something along the lines of;
Him: "I think you're clearly not disabled.";
Me: "Well this report by a court appointed doctor thinks that I am."
Him: "I'm not going to bother read that so you lose. Bad luck(!)"
Based on that experience I have no choice but to think that this current case could go either way especially as the Brits are probably 'phoning round "appropriate" Judges as we speak.
* Just for the record the papers were received by the court at around 14:38. Since then I've been in the pub hiding from the 19:00 dinner deadline whilst desperately searching for the MAKE INTERNET WORK!! button on my mobile 'phone.
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