On the
subject of Christmas, this is a good time for everyone to remember that Jesus,
Mary and Joseph were Palestinian Jews around 2,000 years ago.
Were they to travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem today they would find a Palestinian
town completely surrounded by Israeli tanks and Israeli check points which
control everything that happens to Palestinians in the town, it is a huge open
prison. The occupiers 2,000 years ago were the Romans and today the occupiers
are the Israelis. The difference between these two is that the Israelis make
the Romans look like Butlin’s redcoats. This is “The Holy Land” where
Palestinian lives are cheap and of no consequence, children, women, the old and
the sick are being randomly shot and killed in full view of the rest of the
world which does nothing. Crimes against
humanity are being wantonly committed by one of the planets greatest ever
military powers against a population who are armed with stones and kitchen
knives.
Hope however springs eternal and there are growing signs
that the tide is slowly beginning to turn against the war criminal state of
Israel, not least among their own people and their great shield America. Among
the people of Israel courageous groups of people are defying their brutal
government and protesting against what is being done to the Palestinians. Ex
members of the Israel Defence Force are coming forward in increasing numbers to
tell the truth about what is happening, the truth about the destruction of
family dwellings, the arrests and torture of Palestinians of all ages and the pitiless
treatment of the indigenous people.
Looming larger by the day is the growing success of an
international campaign called BDS which stands for BOYCOTT, DIVESTMENT and
SANCTIONS against Israel. This crusade urges people to Boycott Israel in every
way they can, To refuse to invest in anything Israeli and remove any existing
investments that you have associated with Israel and to demand that our
government introduces Sanctions against the Israeli State immediately. If this
reaction sounds familiar to any of you it is probably because this tactic was significantly
important in destroying the Apartheid State of South Africa. We did it then and
we can do it again, remember, BDS.
“I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come
round, as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable time; the only time I know
of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to
open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they
really were fellow passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures
bound on other journeys”. ~Charles Dickens --- He wasn’t talking about
the Palestinians but he could have been.
5 comments:
"Next on the list of shame we saw the SNP / Lib. Dem. cabal awarding an increase of 16.7 % to the highest paid workers in the council, yes we have to print that again, 16.7 % to the already highest paid group on the council, the dept. heads and executives"
Terry Kellys words on 26 June 2008.
And only last week we see Labour awarding the Chief of Renfrewshire Leisure a MASSIVE 14% pay rise whilst numbers attending her facilities have dropped by over 400,000 people.
Yes I have to print that again 14%. Talk about rewarding people for failure.
The very same person who is being given a 14% pay rise by Labour is also closing down the daytime operation of a Renfrewshire Leisure Centre to cut costs, or possibly to fund her pay rise.
I wonder what kind of pay rise other council workers can expect from Labour this year.
Hide your head in shame Labour!!!
Alan said...Monday, December 21, 2015 1:45:00 pm
The SNP/Lib.Dem. Cabal gave a rise of 23% over two years to ‘all’ of their department heads and complained spuriously last week that Labour had given one! person a 14% rise that on it’s own is crass hypocrisy but it is made worse by the snp’s ignorance. Renfrewshire Leisure, the company who gave the raise is a standalone company and Renfrewshire Council do not set their wage structures. Their profits have risen substantially and no facilities will be closed. The changes in opening times are as a result of the numbers who attend being so little that they decided that they could not justify the cost of providing the facilities for so few attendees. Perhaps you should be a little less lazy before you leap into print and make a fool of yourself.
If Renfrewshire Leisure are a stand alone independent company can you advise if they competitively tender for the services that they provide for Renfrewshire Council and if not - why not?
Alan
There is no "if" about it, Renfrewshire Leisure are a standalone company, any information you want about them will be available under FOI.
I think that you'll find that the Council does have some influence over Renfrewshire Leisure - for example Objective g of the company is:
"g. To ensure that service aims meet the Council’s corporate objectives in the delivery of leisure and cultural services."
It is also constituted as a charity, and is not intended to create 'profits', but to carry out its objectives, of which the first one is:
"a. Meeting the Specification of Service as agreed with Renfrewshire Council."
Don't really need to go to the effort of a FOI request... http://www.renfrewshireleisure.com/about-us
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