Friday 31 July 2009

Is that all Commissar Shaw?

A promise of a few hundred jobs for the Kent and Thanet Soviets?

We’ve had this before.

Billions of Euros promised form the Central Bank by Mr Brown. And indeed it was. But dole money not regeneration money.

And the cardboard jobs of bureaucracy or cigarette butt collectors.

And last time as Regional Minister you came down to Ramsgate and smashed our fishing boats.

The promise of jobs is welcome: we need new lungs to filter the air from Infratil and we need fresh kidneys to filter the Thor water.

But you’re in the Thanet poorhouse now not Chatham’s Dickensworld.

This is thin Government gruel of promises.

Please can we have some more meat?

Dry ship’s biscuit from the rubble of Chatham Dockyard and a thin slice of SEEDA cheese in TDC’s accounts and nothing in the Ramsgate pantry.

Mayor Dave has an appetite for regeneration. We need to feed him.

Send us some meat Minister Shaw.

KCCC sends over £100M on bank charge processing – for the banks the Government bailed out.

Send us that meat.

The 20,000 jobs we need for East Kent not never-never promises of a few hundred.

Send us that meat.

Treasury funds from the dark holes of SEEDA and GOSE’s paperclip budget.

Send us that meat.

New industries to revive the battered towns of Medway and Thanet.

Thin Government gruel needs some meat in it.

Please Sir can we have some more?

Thursday 30 July 2009

Manston. Corporate Criminals. Council criminals

What do you do with corporate criminals like Infratil?

Criminals because they are a £1Bn airport company. Their Directors removed the noise and air monitors from Manston.

Airport Directors of $1Bn corporations know not to do that. Especially an airport slated for expansion.

Planes repeatedly breach the 106 even EU-banned Russian and African cargo planes. The most dangerous planes flying.

Well, the EU is investigating the sale of Infratil Lubeck in Germany to ensure that State Aid wasn’t wrongly used.

The UK and EU are pretty strict on State Aid. Only where needed: when the private sector or public sector needs developing.

Not funding an airport for one of the world’s largest airport companies.

That’s merely giving tax breaks, tax funds and infrastructure support for what a multi-national airport company itself does.

Rather like giving State Aid to Tesco to open another supermarket.

Infratil can’t even fund the noise monitors or radar at Manston.

It can’t even stop polluting the drinking water or sea.

And SEEDA and KCC and TDC fund car parks and permits of passenger terminals that become cargo sheds.

A cargo airport by stealth.

The public’ll never know. Tell ‘em it’s passenger flights. Sounds better. If we hustle it through then it’ll all be too late. Any problems just flannel ‘em

Jim Braithwaite Chair of SEEDA has moved on.

You can’t arrange a deal in Kent with a UN Poverty Agency to help the poor of Bangladesh or India or China and expect to continue.

A UN Poverty Agency for Kent.

For a Kent airport.

Idiot.

And an EU investigation means we won’t be seeing the Kiwi Criminals operating airports in Europe again.

And Council Criminals?

Well the last time I looked good governance was about serving the greatest number for the greatest good.

I don’t remember helping remove noise and air monitor from a tower block or school by Brian White and Richard Samuel being ideal.

I don’t remember KCC and TDC covering up the lack of noise monitoring – each month for years being ideal.

I don’t remember Sandy and Roger giving a nod and a wink to not bother with noise or air monitors being ideal.

I don’t remember the councillors staying silent when they knew being ideal.

KCC Cabinet is silent.

The legal team at KCC is silent.

The Environment Agency is silent.

The MP’s are silent.

I don’t remember any of that being good governance.

Do you?

The organisations have turned in on themselves and serve themselves and their careers. Not the public they were created to serve.

And now the Gang of Four are stuck. Thrashing around behind closed doors to explain themselves.

They can’t say they weren’t monitoring. They can’t say they are monitoring. Airports cause cancer.

This isn’t painting the yellow line wrong. Or forgetting to issue a road closure notice.

This isn't even fixing the error.

This is a series of jumbo jets, chemical factories, drinking water pollution for 100,000 people.

All we have is silence.

Because they know they’re wrong and the game is up.

And meanwhile the planes fly over the towns and poison the people.

Still more planes for a defunct airport.

The airport limps on giving us just a little bit of cancer.

A Thor mercury factory closed in 1988 for poisoning the public and the water.

Still open.

Giving us just a little bit of mercury poisoning.

An 11 year early death rate in Thanet.

Dying at 69 years old not 80.

Councillors and civil servants that are so foolish they don’t even realise they’re poisoning their own water, their own air, their own families, their own neighbours.

Cancer jobs for everyone who wants one. And cancer for their families and your families too.

And for this we pay them to look after Thanet and Kent.

The Corporate Criminals I admire for poisoning the public and then walking away.

Wipe your own kidneys down with a discharge permit, they cry.

Dumped jumbo jets as roosts for owls was their suggestion. And New Zealand and its water and air and families and neighbours is far away.

But do we really need to begin a Court action against the Council Criminals?

A £15 legal fee gets the ball rolling. The Judge might even waive it in the public interest. Certainly it’s tax deductible against council services not provided.

But do we really have to sue our own Council Criminals for killing the public in Kent?

They do in Corby: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/environment/5930985/Corby-children-win-High-Court-birth-defects-claim.html

They did at Thor: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/mercury-poisoning-victims-win-pounds-13m-in-landmark-case-1266578.html

Wipe your children’s kidneys down with the money.

KCC’s 86 lawyers could bash the typewriters to say they’re liable-but-not-liable. It’s TDC’s fault not KCC’s.

Public money to defend themselves against the public they employ and are killing.

What shocking incompetence and deceit.

At least we know.

We can’t trust TDC. We can’t trust KCC. To act in the public’s best interests.

Just career jockeying and incompetence and glory quick-fix projects.

A shortfall of 20,000 jobs in the area? What about an airport with 20,000 jobs? We’ve got an airport. Make it a big one. Tomorrow.

Planning permission for a passenger terminal but cargo sheds built.

Idiots.

Do the public really have to line up at the next Council meeting and hand over Court summons to the each of the Gang of Four?

Do we really have to do that?

In England? In Kent?

Do we really have to do that?

It’s not worth the bus fare or shoe leather is it?

Just go.

Resign.

Time’s up for the Gang of Four.

Time’s up for Sandy and Roger. You’ve tried. You’ve failed. Enough.

Time’s up for Richard and Brian. You’ve let us down. Enough.

Time’s up for Ladyman and Gale and Sandys. You’ve been sat in your jobs too long. Thanet hasn’t improved. It’s gone backwards. Enough.

Time’s up for TDC’s councillors. Too many pensioners. Too much pointless bickering. Too many of you. Enough.

Time’s up for the Environment Agency. Memos and permitting of some of the worst pollution in Europe. P45’s from the top down. Enough.

Time’s up for KCC. East Kent the cesspit of the County. Enough.

What shoddy governance and public services we have.

An 11 year death rate like Iraq or Bolivia. In Kent.

Do we really have to take Court action against the Gang of Four for failure to protect the public?

Having to sue our own politicians and civil servants for killing their own people – like it was Nazi Germany?

Is this the best Kent can offer?

Time’s up for the Gang of Four. The cronies, fools and brown-nosers around you too.

Every day is a waste of your time and ours now.

You can’t improve the towns.

Resign.

No later than 7th September please.

Flush out the last deceit and corruption from the Audit.

Hand over to Messrs Bunnett and Gideon.

Issue the closure notices to Infratil and Thor and Water Protection Orders.

A no-blame summary of existing problems and omissions would help.

Leave the place tidy.

Time to start again.

The airport must close to protect the water and the people in the towns.

The water must be cleaned.

The death rate must be reversed.

The three are inter-connected.

Failed. Failed. Failed.

Time for Change.

Monday 27 July 2009

3rd RTC meeting: action agenda

3rd Ramsgate Town Council meeting: 7th September

Let’s hope there are some developments - beyond the filing cabinet - from RTC at the next meeting around:

11 year early death rate: update
Top 5% SOA areas: update
Thor mercury pollution
Cleaner drinking/bathing water
Infratil pollution: drinking water/overflights/night flights/training flights
Air, Water, Noise, Drains monitoring
EA report water pollution: petrol stations, buried pipes
Infratil: 6 dumped jumbo jets clearance/MOD pollution
Derelict Richboro site
ChinaGate update
Contaminated land register and plan
Pleasurama clearance
Port/Foot Ferry/Marina update
Town Centre/Silver Mile update
Refuse/recycling/beach and street cleaning rotas and aims
Street furniture repairs/design styles
Derelict/Burned properties/land register and plan
Monthly Town/District Reports: NHS, Police, Fire, Education, Ambulance, Coastguard
Mayor/Committee reports
Tourism Festivals: Xmas and 2010 (season 1St April-1st October)
Forward plan: 2009 and 2010
TDC/RTC costs/accounts: civil servants £22M and councillors £356k costs
MP and MEP and Quango costs update/reports
Eastcliff Bandstand/Loggia/Lido/2x lifts
Toilets/allotments: derelict and existing
Drugs/Knife crime/Language schools
Political/civil service exams/service standards
Conservation area: existing and future boundaries
Town Utilities update: gas, water, electric, phone, broadband
Meetings: real-time web broadcasts/minutes within 24 hours
AOB: 0% salaries fraud/ChinaGate political donations/ Tesco Bag expenses
Public Questions
Next Meeting

It seems astonishing that TDC are wasting their time on bumf, removing flowerbeds and other foolish policies simply to avoid discussion of their policies and salary costs.

While, the water is poisoned, toxic factories continue to pollute and the Gang of Four remove Mnaston's air and noise monitors or go forth to China with dodgy developer deals.

It's like a council of ther 1970's: secrecy, corruption, incompetence and idle.

Let's hope RTC can do better: the Gang of Four certainly can't.

FOI and EIR (the "Public Right to Know" legislation) means all local government information is available to the public - and it should actually be published as a matter of routine.

No exemptions: not commercial confidentiality, not emails, not notes, not airports, not salaries, not investments. Nothing. As MP's have seen it's public money and policy and needs to be transparent and accountable.

Because government is too incompetent and secretive. As we can see at TDC. A mere tax collection authority.

The councillors should raise a vote of no confidence: the Audit Commission shirks around ChianGate and reveals a wealth of waste that only closing the museums rather than sacking the Gang of Four seems the only choice.

What idiots would have a "Pilot Test" on broadcasting council meetings when Parliament and KCC already do this? Seeming to do a little bit while delay and defer is the reality. Marginally better than the Gang of Four's fake consultations or "emergency" council sessions to hustle policies through the sheep-councillors. They don't even have monthly council meetings usually.

Councils - both civil servants and politicians -simply restrict public involvement through bumf and delay until no-one trusts them. Hence the dramatic falls in elections.

And TDC is rated one of the worst councils in Britain. Stuck right down at the bottom for years.

They can't do it can they?

Failed. Failed. Failed.

Time for Change.

Friday 24 July 2009

The Gang of Four can't do it can they?

Running towns.

Improving services.

Reducing costs.

They can't do it can they?

Utter incompetence from Messrs Samuel, White, Latchford and Ezekiel:

* polluted drinking water with Infratil and Thor

* £60M council tax; £40M sent to KCC, £20M council salaries: £2M reserves: £3M left for the towns and services

* now they seem to be approving Pleasurama via a British Virgin Islands company with mystery Directors

Any old rubbish will do for Thanet it seems for the Gang of Four.

Bumf, flannel and bullshot is all they offer.

Mere dodgy developer deals r us.

If only they'd spare us their grand political views and get the towns smartened.

They can't do it can they?

And the sheep-councillors seem unable to exercise scrutiny and control of council costs.

Mere cheerleaders rather than community leaders.

Along with the 0% salary fraud it's the kind of thing the Audit Commission would be all over like a rash.

It goes beyond slipping and sliding around good governance and veers into mismanagement of public funds.

Sheer incompetence again.

Just like the ChinaGate dodgy deals and previous unanimous viote.

And Planning to build above the clifftop.

Airports on the drinking water. Out-of-town-shoping-centres-near-the-town-centres.

Foolish glory projects and quick fix white elephants.

Idiots.

They can't do it can they?

The Gang of Four are simply wasting time and services to improve Thanet.

Sack 'em.

Sack 'em hard: no payoffs, no pensions, no more responsible public sector jobs.

If the councillors are too incompetent or mere National Party sheep or County brown-nosers then the public can do it by refusing to pay council tax, paying council tax slowly, blocking access to Pleasurama, boycotting council meetings, creating a Voluntary Council, voting off with "recall" failed councillors.

11 year early death rate in Thanet.

12% unhemployment in Margate.

The burning down and falling down of the towns.

And then the most foolish plans to attempt to reverse the failure.

The Gang of Four are simply incompetent.

They can't do it.

Failed. Failed. Failed.

Time for Change.

Thursday 23 July 2009

TDC costs from Audit Commission auditor

In response to the information you have requested, I am able to provide the following details. Please note that all figures relating to 2008/09 are currently subject to audit.

1:Thanet District Council bank account details and investments: As at 31 March 2009 (the current year of audit), the Council has reported in its draft accounts short term investments of £6.936m, and a balance at bank of £988,000.

2: The East Kent internal audit report re Deal Council: I am not the auditor of Deal Council and do not have a copy of this report.

3: TDC payroll costs by department 2008/09: Please find analysis below.
Directorate
Amount
Chief Executive Directorate
1,051,127

Environmental Services Directorate
6,962,256

Customer Services and Business Transformation Directorate
4,006,333

Finance and Corporate Services Directorate
2,388,911

Community Services Directorate
3,397,946

Legal and Democratic Services Division
561,959

Regeneration and Economic Development Directorate
3,680,221

22,048,755

4 TDC Members' allowances: Total Members' allowances for 2008/09 are recorded as £356,000.

5 Costs relating to CGP/ Pleasurama: I do not hold this information.

6 Tram Shelter insurance money: I understand that the Tram Shelter insurance issue was dealt with approximately five years ago (before I was appointed as auditor) and there are no entries in the 2008/09 accounts.


The unusual thing is the salary costs are detailed as £15M in the report and accounts not the new figure of £22M.

I've asked the auditor to advise on this and also the staffing levels per department: there seems to be 500-700 staff at TDC.

With £60M in tax collected then - as a glance around the towns will show - the public are paying for the council to fund itself not provide services. For years and decades.

We seem to have the civil servant running rings around the councillors and the councillors acting as cheerleaders for the civil servants rather than the public.

And none of them seem capable of running a council and towns well.

Poisoned water.

Stealth airport development.

Noise and air monitors removed.

Failed. Failed. Failed.

Time for Change

Tuesday 21 July 2009

Please don't poison us Leader Carter

Not all of us.

Could you poison some of us?

Maybe not.

Less voters. Less council tax. Fiddly to get rid of the bodies.

Don’t poison all of us.

Building a stealth cargo airport on the drinking water supply doesn’t really work.

Except for poisoning all of us. In a 24 mile radius at least: Ramsgate, Broadstairs, Margate, Herne Bay, Canterbury, Dover, Deal, Sandwich.

That’s why the water is polluted for 250,000 people in East Kent.

That’s why there’s an 11 year early death rate.

We’d die at 80 years old in the rest of Kent and UK but at age 69 in East Kent.

Is it the cargo airport with flights at low levels dumping aviation fuel on the people and over the towns?

Is it the Thor mercury factory banned in 1988 and in Africa but still operating?

Is it Infratil and TDC and the Environment Agency not enforcing the 106 requirements to dump fuel into the sea?

Our politicians and civil servants haven’t quietly agreed amongst themselves to loosen the safety regime at Manston have they? Not for a big glory regeneration project?

And lots more early deaths?

Tell us again why Boris Island is a good idea but Manston is a bad idea - or is it the other way round.

An airport in the sea or on the drinking water supply.

And next to KCC Business park.

But please don’t poison us.

That’s what our councillors and civil servants and MP’s are for.

That’s why Richard Samuel and Brian White removed the noise and air monitors from a school and tower block with Infratil over months and years.
That’s why our councillors and MP’s never say anything.

It’s as if Manston and Thor and the missing monitors didn’t exist.
That’s why council meetings are on the dropping of cigarette butts or fake consultations or fake payrises.

That’s why all of us are being poisoned. And not too slowly either.

Best do nothing though.

In fact, pretend there is no problem.

No contaminated land register. That would list all the problems. Best not.

Too expensive to clean up. Too difficult. Impossible.

What should KCC’s £2Bn income be spent on? Or the Environment Agency’s revenue? More paperclip jobs.

Hire Thor to clean up Thor. That makes sense.

Phone Infratil to ask them if they’re polluting. They’re not they say? Put phone down. Job done.

Better to issue permits to continue discharging into the water supply and sea.

Don’t waste it on cleaning the water. After all, Geoff Wild says KCC are liable-but-not-liable doesn’t he?

And over the next 69 years the problem will take care of itself.

Except for the gift that keeps giving to future generations: kerosene and aviation fuel and mercury.

You can’t wipe your kidneys or your lungs clean with a permit.

Should there be more meetings? Could it all be slowed down for a few decades?

Close the airport Leader Carter.

Do it now.

Arrest the Kiwi criminals who are deliberately poisoning Kent and its people.

Sack the Gang of Four.

Police at the gates.

There and Thor.

Water filters.

Blood tests for mercury.

Public water tests.

GP and NHS alerts.

Chem-hazard clean up teams.

Removal of petrol stations on the water supply.

Air tests.

You’re poisoning us through inaction Leader Carter.

Please don’t poison us.

TDC and KCC have failed us enough already.

An 11 year death rate comparable to the Third World. In Kent.

Thanet. Open for pollution business.

Time for Change.

Monday 20 July 2009

11 year early death rate in Thanet

It’s worth remembering that Thanet has the highest lung cancer rate in Kent. And a specialist cancer ward for specialist cancers such as leukaemias and the like.

And an 11 year early death rate.

11 years.

So in most parts of Kent and UK you’d die at around 80 years of age. But in Thanet you’d die around age 69.

That’s a massive statistical skew for just 100,000 people on a Kent population of 1.3M.

Off the scale.

Those are Third World death rates: Kazakhstan, Bolivia, Iraq - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_life_expectancy

Why is that?

Coal mines probably have something to do with that. Smoking wouldn’t really do it. But throw in an airport and a mercury factory and the most polluted drinking water in South East England and you’ve a toxic cocktail that endangers you. And kills you 11 years earlier.

Throw in removing the air and noise monitors by Infratil and Richard Samuel and Brian White and your councillors for unregulated airport expansion built on the water supply and you have to wonder what has been going on.

Add the former MOD fire safety range setting fire to jumbo jets near the water supply.

It's pretty clear isn't it.

Thanet. Open for pollution business.

And shortening the lives of the people around them.

Even KCC have walked away from the problem now.

But your children and elderly relatives lungs are more fragile, so the genetic effect of drinking polluted water and breathing polluted air, (the figure is a 57% higher chance of asthma and c.28% for other serious breathing difficulties for living near airports - let alone under the low-level flight paths) is a gift to pass on to their children and grand-children.

Our politicians and civil servants aren't loosening the safety standards are they? Of course they are.

Failed. Failed. Failed.

Time for Change.

Sunday 19 July 2009

Do you cough up blood?

Never a good sign. Best see a doctor.

Such symptoms are usually for breathing difficulties: imagine asthma multiplied a thousand times.

As your lungs are contaminated or damaged and struggle to draw oxygen you cough harder and harder. Either because of damaged tissue or your lungs gradually fill with water or phlegm.

As you cough harder and harder you eventually break down tissue and cough up blood.

Small amounts at first.

The damaged tissue then pulls further blood into the lungs and you cough harder and harder…

Few natural diseases in Britain these days have these symptoms.

Heavy smoking severely damages your lungs. Some industries too such as coal mines. Often with such coughing up of blood you’ll find tar or coal dust mixed in there.

One major factor though is living or working next to toxic sources. Such as airports. Which, nuclear reactors or waste dumps or very large chemical factories aside, are the largest man-made polluters.

That's why the workforce have to wear ear protectors and masks as repeated exposure causes cancer etc.

That's why air and noise monitors are required around airports.

As we know there has been no monitoring of air and noise by Infratil and TDC – in fact the noise and air monitors were removed from a school and tower block or not even supplied: over months and years.

Brian White and Richard Samuel were tasked with ensuring proper public safety at an airport slated for expansion for cargo flights.

No monitors. No data. No problem.

But there’s survey in USA around Seattle airport for the effects between districts near and further from the airport:

"What kinds of health effects may be occurring to the population in your neighborhood can be seen from a report, dated June 20, 1997 to the Georgetown Crime Prevention and Community Council by the Seattle-King County Department of Public Health. Georgetown is an area of Seattle, and surrounds the King County International Airport (Boeing Field), King County, in turn.

When comparing hospitalization rates for Georgetown (Zip Code 98108) to those of King and North King Counties, the following, alarming statistics resulted:

a 57% higher asthma rate
a 28% higher pneumonia/influenza rate
a 26% higher respiratory disease rate
an 83% higher pregnancy complication rate
a 50% higher infant mortality rate
genetic diseases are statistically higher
mortality rates are 48% higher for all causes of death: 57% higher for heart disease, a 36% higher cancer death rate with pneumonia and influenza among the top five leading causes
average life expectancy 70.4 years (the same as in many developing nations) compared to Seattle’s of 76.0

Neither of the previous articles mentioned another impact of aviation.

Currently airports do virtually no reporting of large volumes of de-icing fluids (which are comprised of several toxic chemicals), fuel spills, oils, greases and other pollutants which regularly flow from airports and are shed from flying planes into nearby streams, lakes and aquifers. In addition to chemicals formed in exhaust, de-icing fluids are significant pollutants in surprisingly large amounts, not only during winter weather, but also in unexpected times such as summer, when some aircraft types are sprayed to prevent formation of ice on upper wing surfaces in cold, high-altitude operation.

De-icing fluids represent hazards to water tables, streams and waste water treatment plants. As they are shed from planes, the fluids are corrosive to paint"

The above report outlines a radius of 24 miles for the impact of such pollution: from Manston up past Canterbury and almost to Dover. Or from Herne Bay down to Manston.

It’s worth remembering that Thanet has the highest lung cancer rate in Kent. And a specialist cancer ward for specialist cancers such as leukaemias and the like.

And an 11 year early death rate.

11 years.

So in most parts of Kent and UK you’d die at around 80 years of age. But in Thanet you’d die around age 69.

That’s a massive statistical skew for just 100,000 people on a Kent population of 1.3M.

Off the scale.

Those are Third World death rates: Kazakhstan, Bolivia, Iraq - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_life_expectancy

Coal mines probably have something to do with that. Smoking wouldn’t really do it. But throw in an airport and a mercury factory and the most polluted drinking water in South East England and you’ve a toxic cocktail that endangers you.

And kills you 11 years earlier.

Throw in removing the air and noise monitors by Infratil and Richard Samuel and Brian White and your councillors for unregulated airport expansion built on the water supply and you have to wonder what has been going on.

Even KCC have walked away from the problem now.

But your children and elderly relatives lungs are more fragile, so the genetic effect of drinking polluted water and breathing polluted air, (the figure above is a 57% higher chance of asthma and c.28% for other serious breathing difficulties) is a gift to pass on to their children and grand-children.

So you coughing up blood may be the least of your worries.

What have our councillors and civil servants and MP’s been doing to endanger us all for so many years.

And still the planes fly over the towns at the lowest and most polluting level and land on a runway built over the drinking water supply.

What have they been doing - and does anyone know how to scrub chemicals out of the water supply or your lungs?

It could be left – or done very slowly - and the problem will sort itself out as the people die off.

And all those wasted years backwards and forwards to the hospital, the specialist cancer ward and lying awake at night coughing and coughing as your lungs gasp for an extra breath.

Too late then. Damage done.

What have our councillors and civil servants been doing?

Failed. Failed. Failed.

Time for Change.

Wednesday 15 July 2009

How's your kidneys?

Well I hope.

Don' t want to lose those I'd guess.

Back and forwards to the hospital. Maybe a dialysis machine at home. If things are really bad then waiting for a donor.

Even worse for children or your elderly relatives.

Ask a councillor how their kidneys are doing. Or an MP. Or a civil servant.

You see, mercury poisoning tends to rot the kidneys first.

While aviation fuel - which is essentially kerosene - wouldn't be too good for you either.

That's why Thor mercury should have closed in 1988 as it poisoned the water table and several workers. Then they did the same thing in Africa.

And what do you think would happen to all the aviation fuel discharge at low level on towns and then into the drinking water supply at Manston?

Or all the petrol stations that surround the airport and drinking water supply?

Still no news from the Environment Agency on the toxin results at Thor: clearly they haven't done any for Thanet's water which is the most polluted in the South East.

Here's a link for a similar problem in USA: http://archives.chicagotribune.com/2009/apr/19/local/chi-crestwood-water-bd19-apr19

Any councillors or civil servants been to Thor or Infratil for a taste test?

We could pay them an extra bonus payment if their kidneys were damaged.

£40M in council tax sent to KCC but we can't manage to provide clean water for the towns.

And an aiprort that can only expand by Brian White of Broadstairs and Richard Samuel of Wye from the Gang of Four hiding the noise and air monitors so the real cost to Toxic Thanet can' be revealed: already one of the highest lung cancer rates in the UK.

Smoking doesn't do that. Lots of people smoke.

Old coalmines or a cargo aiport on the edge of the towns won't help.

An 11 year early death rate: the highest in Kent. That's a statistical skew off the scale. A large mercury factory polluting the water for 20 years too long won't help.

And outr councillors all keep schtum. Obviously they knew about the airport noise monitors but they chose to remain silent.

Our MP's assure us there's nothing to worry about during a chemical fire and that the water's polluted because the public pour paint and oil down the sink.

What have our councillors and MP's and civil servants been doing?

Anyone know how to remove mercury and kerosene from the water and your kidneys?

Or it it too expensive?

Failed. Failed. Failed.

Time for Change.

Tuesday 14 July 2009

Audit Commission inquiry and TDC

The Audit COmmission is the GOvernment'sauiudiot or for TDc and KCC accounts.

Until now each year in Jully the public had a one-time chance to request copy invoices, bills, statements etc for a council's accounts - and object to them.

WIth FOI and EIR this is largely irrelevant as the public can request them at any time on emial, a visit in person or by post.

Here's my ojection to Andy Mack, the AC auditor for TDC:

Hi Andy

Can I object to TDC’s accounts as there seems issues around:

#rating and collecting airport fines
#arms length organisations funded/staffed by TDC eg EKO and £70k salaries
#drinking water and sea water contamination costs
#publicly stated 0% salary increases that were actually £25k increases
#cost of preparing the contaminated land register especially for Thor mercury and Richboro
#Is a £2M reserve on a £20M budget too high?
#What are the 3 year financial strategies: there seems only generic statements on providing annual plans at some stage – and target measures over the previous 3 years
#Can I have copies of TDC bank account details and investments
#Also The East Kent audit sleaze report of Deal Council
#TDC payroll/ all costs by department
#TDC councillor expenses/all costs
#CGP China trip costs funded by the developer: receipts and reimbursements and timesheets
#Details of Pleasurama/SFP Ventures tax haven costs to date: expenses, timesheets etc
#Tram Shelter missing insurance money

Can you email copies of these please given Word and Excel usage. These are requested under the AC Act and FOI and EIR.

If you'd like to raise any issues with Andy or request copies of invoices, timesheets, bills, payments, bank accounts etc etc then email him on amack@audit-commission.gov.uk

And unlike in previous years you can do that at any time.

You are paying £15M in salaries for TDC after all. No council tax paid. No salaries for TDC paid.

TDC's accounts are pretty good in recording most of the informatiuon although there's some shennanigans in listing sites that are accounted but not derelict or non-operational sites in the area - like toilets, that sort of thing.

TDC maybe able to shred complaints or issue false or misleading statements but they do have to account to the AC if concillors are unable to effect proper scrutiny.

Andy's given me an iterim reply that I can' t object to the accounts for some reason and I'll publish the details here as I've asked him to confirm what wording he requires.

A £5 bonus (he is charging TDC £145k for the audit) if he can find the noise monitors removed by Infratil and the Gang of Four and still operating apparently.

Saturday 11 July 2009

Poisoned water. Emergency council session.

None of us know exactly how polluted the water is: ask Harvey: Harvey.bradshaw@environment-agency.gov.uk as the EA and TDC and KCC seem unable to confirm.

It is the most polluted in SouthEast England by the EA's own admission so some dat amust exist.

Based in Allingham I’m sure East Kent's future is less of a concern for Harvey.

Unless the public-funded (by you and me) Kent Tops Travel coaches could bus loads of Thanet people up there to look through the Environmental Registers or to County Hall for the next Cabinet meeting.

Or Harvey could come to us at an emergency session of TDC or Ramsgate Town Council.

Funny how all the emergency council sessions are to rush through night flights or the ChinaGate no-one-can-say-exactly-what-it-is but it's the largest-ever Planning application.

Warehouses. Dozens of cargo warehouses. For a huge cargo airport built opposite Ostend cargo airport and on the drinking water.

But why doesn't Harvey email the toxin reports under EIR the Public Right to Know environmental legislation that unlike FOI has few if any exemptions – unless approved by a Public Interest Test ie in the public’s interest not to know.

Polluted water could be such an interest: if it’s in the public’s interest not to know how polluted the water is because many of them would die or suffer illness.

Thnaet has one of the worst lung cancer rates in the UK and a death -rate discrepancy of 11 years(!): a huge statistical skew for a population of 100,000 in a county of 1.2 M.

Steve Ladyman MP and Roger Gale MP believe the EA that the water pollution is down to the public pouring oil or paint down the sink. It’s definitely not due to a mercury factory or cargo airport built on the drinking water supply.

Roger has been MP for Margate for 30 years. Steve has been MP for Ramsgate for 10 years.

And now we have RTC and TDC councillors paying themselves twice for the same duties and only attending 10 council meetings per year. Isn't the water poisoned the other 2 months?

What have our councillors and civil servants been doing for all these years?

Failed. Failed. Failed.

Time for Change.

Thursday 9 July 2009

Thor mercury and EA. Testing, Testing...?

Those nice people at Wagtech http://www.wagtech.co.uk/ have sent me a quote for their HM1000 Heavy Metals Analyser which tests for mercury, arsenic, lead. copper and other nasties in the water.

It analyses them down to 0.1 parts per billion and gives a printout or computer graph. As you'd expect these days: full information displayed online almost instantly.

Shouldn’t Andrew Pearce at the Environment Agency buy a dozen or two of these and not only get the EA to actually used them (where are the toxin results from 20 years of EA supervising a factory that closed-but-didn’t-close in 1988 despite being banned in the UK and Africa after poisoning workers and the water table) and also hand them out to schools, hospitals, volunteer groups?

I’m not telling my granny how to suck eggs but if the toxin results are covered up and even EIR requests ignored then the EA hasn’t done any and, given the expertise of TDC’s Planning Dept and councillors, no-one’s being checking there either.

The Gang of Four: Messrs Latchford, Ezekiel, White ands Samuel really are a busted flush aren’t they? Let’s hope when they move on to other jobs they’re not running towns or anything with people in it.

Nor our MP’s who stated that the chemical fire was “nothing to worry about just close your windows”. Sure. And don’t breathe in the mercury cloud.

It’ll rot your lungs.

And that the water pollution, from the EA briefing, was due to “paint and oil down the sink” while the EA now claim that there’s huge improvements to the water in oil and paint recycling – only how would they know?

Oil and paint recycling wouldn’t affect the water supply. The problem is putting the stuff in the water supply.

If that is the problem. And none of the recycling plants take paint while oil has only just begun.

No news either from KCC and Geoff Wild with his 86 (!) KCC lawyers (isn’t that about £3M in tax-salaries and removing income from the private sector?) on removing the 4 dumped jumbo jets at Manston.

The lazy boys at EA only realised there was 4 dumped jumbo jets at Manston last month. Site visits are so difficult. Especially to pollution sites like airports. So very difficult.

It occurs to me that either they’re very thick and in which case we shouldn’t be employing them. Maybe not. Benefit of the doubt.

Or they’re lazy. Possibly.

Or they simply don’t care. Possibly.

Or they’ve been nobbled by the politicians who want to expand the airport but any costs to Infratil or proper regulation would actually make the airport untenable. Probably.

I can’ t explain why Brian White and Richard Samuel removed the noise and air monitors with Infratil and refused to provide mobile monitors. And for 5 years have pretended at each KIACC meeting even when Richard was Chair that there was monitoring.

And of course our councillors are silent. Many of them know about it. But a nod a wink a weak smile and the public’ll never know. Give ‘em a pay rise and move them sideways to count pencils.

Would Geoff as County lawyer be personally liable-but-not liable if there was an accident or widespread pollution? He can’t after all claim that he didn’t know? Would it be Paul Carter? Would it be Peter Gilroy?

Would it be Steve Ladyman or Roger Gale?

Who would carry the can and help bury the bodies?

But EA gave a “Noddy presentation” to TDC last month on “Please don’t pollute your water supply as it tends to kill you and the people around you. Some of them may get annoyed and venture forth to Allingham or County Hall or Cecil Sq.” with helpful guides such as “petrol stations on the water supply are not good” and “aviation fuel in the sea while issue a discharge permit”.

Bizarrely the presentation didn’t actually mention the mercury factory, solvent factory and airport on the water supply that is Thor, Sericol and Infratil.

What have the EA and TDC’s councillors and civil servants been doing?

They’re so stupid they’re even poisoning themselves and don't know what to do.

If you’d like, email Andy: Andrew.pearce@environment-agency.gov.uk and ask for the EIR results and if HM 1000’s can be provided for schools, hospitals and community groups.

Maybe not. Too expensive. Too difficult. Impossible.

Tuesday 7 July 2009

Julian Brazier MP opposes Manston night flights

Julian Brazier MP for Canterbury and Herne Bay wrote to me to confirm he is opposed to night flights.

He cannot explain how noise and air monitors were removed or the mobile monitors failed to be provided for 5 years. Even with CCC and KCC as consultees.

He was "astonished" to hear the airport is built on the East Kent drinking water supply.

He understands the Environment Agency carries out pollution testing at Infratil and Thor mercury. As if.

Steve Ladyman remains silent - yet last week in Parliament asks for "Route Development Funds" presumably as a taxpayer abilout for the $1Bn Infratril.

Silence was the reply.

Laura Sandys remains silent.

Roger Gale remains silent.

TDC's councillors remain silent.

Paul Carter is a no-show.

Brian White is a no-show.

Richard Samuel refuses to answer questions.

What have they been doing to allow repeated major breaches of the 106, the most polluted drinking water supply in South East England and still the pollution continues.

Policy #1: Sack the Gang of Four: Messrs Samuel, Latchford,. Ezekiel and White: no payoffs, no pensions, reclaim the fraudulent 0% pay risies

Policy #2: Close Manston: safeguard the water supply, arrest Infratil Directors, recharge cleanup

Policy #3: End ChinaGate - tear up EKO and any Planning agreements or assumptions wih CGP et al

Policy #4: Axe Pleasurama: start again

What have ouit councillors, civil servants and MP's been playing at?

They simply havce no idea on spending Thanet's £60M council tax reduced to £2M after their salaries and funding KCC.

Failed. Failed. Failed.

Time For Change.

Monday 6 July 2009

£350,000 for councillors...

...to poison the drinking water.

Dumped jumbo jets on the drinking water.

The whole airport built on the drinking water supply - and slated for expansion as a cargo airport. Doh!

Allow repeated breaches of the 106.

Allow Messrs Samuel and White to remove the noise and air monitors.

What have our councillors and MP's been doing?

And who are the Thor and Manston councillors?

The civil servants must be running rings round them: they can't even produce the expenses and costs for the civil servants.

They allow fraudulent 0% but 30% payrises.

£60M in council tax. £40M sent to KCC. £15M out of the remaining £20M in TDC salaries and expenses. £350k for councillors. £2M reserve.

Isn't that barely £2M to run the towns? From £60M?

A council funding itself to record its own decline and failure.

Rated one of the worst in Britain by the Government itself - and Kent councils.

Time for P45's. Clear out the rat's nest of incomeptence and deceit.

Sack the Gang of Four: they have no idea on running towns or safeguarding the public. Only their careers and empty or false public statements.

Failed. Failed. Failed.

Time for Change

Friday 3 July 2009

28 reasons why Margate burns and Ramsgate Rises

1. With the 2nd Ramsgate Town Council (RTC) meeting upon us soon isn’t there unfinished business for Mayor Dave to drive the agenda forward?

2. Axe Pleasurama – end the waste of time and funds on mystery tax haven developers. For all we know they could be funding councillors or civil servants. A building above the cliff-top and below the floodline is typical of TDC but let’s hope not for RTC

3. Axe ChinaGate – only the Gang of Four have benefited from the developer donations and trips and Tesco bag of receipts

4. Suspend Manston cargo flights to protect the water supply and enforce the 106: clearly night flights and loop training flights and overflights are not acceptable to the public and jobs in and around the flightpaths/towns across East Kent

5. When will the Eastcliff Bandstand be properly finished?

6. All council votes recorded by councillor for transparency?

7.Recall the fraudulent 0% but 30% salary increases

8.Recall of failed councillors and civil servants and MP’s – as in USA: 10% petition

9. Where is the Election Ferry and foot passengers on TEF?

10.When will Ramsgate Town Hall be repaired and open to the public?

11. VIC opening hours: none of this swapping with Margate nonsense each election

12. When will all TDC costs by department: salaries, expenses, pensions, cars etc be made public?

13.All meetings and documents automatically public/FOI/EIR “the Public Right to know” – no exemptions for press and public: where are the previous minutes, agendas and accounts; agendas circulated 2 weeks in advance – bring your mobile camera/video camera for footage

14. Where is RTC’s budget? On £20M for TDC that makes c.£6M for each of the towns. When is the £2M reserve spent?

15. Why no flags flying from our flagpoles – has the town died?

16.When will the Eastcliff Loggia and concrete-filled fountains be repaired?

17When will the Westcliff Lift be working – it’s not built to be derelict

18Where is the missing Tram Shelter insurance money and repairs?

19When will then Military Arches repairs and lamps and lightbulbs be finished?

20All the seafront shelters and benches repaired?

21.When will the new Bandstand toilet be replaced – hasn’t there been enough “death by council” for Ramsgate: reducing amenities or not repairing them?

22.Where are the street cleaning rotas? Garden, flowerbeds and roundabout rotas? Tourist signs?

23.Where are the drinking water and sea water and air and noise records?

24.Who are the councillors for Thor and Sericol and Infratil pollution?

25How many derelict or disused properties in Ramsgate

26Where is the Contaminated Land Register?

27Is the water supply now protected from further contamination?

28How much council tax rebate and reduction is required for the failures to repair the towns?

29Where are the representatives of the Police/Fire/Coastguard/Ambulance/NHS/Education on their work in the towns: shouldn’t there be elections of officials against policies?

With 80% of council tax provided to KCC and Police/Fire etc: c.£60M – why is TDC operating on only £20M – and raising council tax? Why is £15M of the £20M spent on TDC salaries. Plus a £2M reserve that leaves only £3M to fund councillors and repairs to the town.

Time for RTC to fly the flag as Ramsgate Rises from the corruption and incompetence of TDC’s 35 years of failure.

Do we really need so many paid councillors and civil servants if the town's aren't improved?

What have they been doing? 90% of copuncil tax spent on nothing except funding a council to poison the drinkign water and remove all the safety measures from a cargo airport by stealth.

Failed. Failed. Failed.

Time for Change.

Thursday 2 July 2009

No airport for East Kent. Poison for citizens.

Julian Brazier opposes night flights.

Paul Carter isn't sure until Boris tells him.

Geoff Wild and Stephen Dukes take the council dollar and keep schtum.

Brian White and Richard Samuel confirm they have been monitoring but not monitoring. Pay rises all round voted from our sheep-councillors.

Steve Ladyman and Silent Sandys aren't sure but they'll say what you want to hear.

Matt Clarke and Rowland Gunn of Infratil know that noise monitors are required at aiports but removed them.

Tell me again why we're paying £60M for TDC to send £40M to KCC and of the £20M left spend £15M on their own salaries.

And of the £5M left hold £2M in reserve.

Isn't that 90% of council tax spent on nothing.

Except to poison their own citizens.

Wot! No noise monitors. Manston. Redacted.

Geoff Wild the County Legal advisor funded by the taxpayer - and his 86 KCC lawyers - have been aware of 4 dumped jumbo jets on the drinking water supply at Manston.

But do nothing to remove them.

Why?

They're certainly aware of them.

They know it's both wrong - and endangers the public.

Nobbled by the politicians or idle?

Geoff's a legal big-wig according to the Legal Society and with 86 public-funded lawyers they can't all be idle.

Maybe they think their role is to give wriggle room to the politicians.

Ask Geoff: geoff.wild@kent.gov.uk

You're paying for him. And his 86 lawyers.

Can't the private sector provide 86 lawyers far cheaper and better? Is the first duty of government to grow itself?

Or are the faked noise reports from the noise monitors removed by TDC and Infratil redacted?

Filed with the Lydd noise reports.

Are we witnessing the death throes of democracy in Kent to be replaced by pseudo-bureaucracy funded by the public but working against it.

Answers on a blank cheque to EKO, c/o TDC/KCC, Manston.

Wednesday 1 July 2009

6 cargo flights per week from Manston. 8 officials too many?.

Planestation bust with a multi-million pound accounting fraud

EUJet bust within 4 months stranding 30,000 UK citizens abroad

Infratil: night flights and loop training flights

And now only 6 cargo flights scheduled each week - presumably from Ostend International cargo airport just over the Channel

With Manston built on the underground water supply for East Kent, polluting the sea and Infratil and TDC removing noise monitors from a school and tower block what have our councillors and civil servants been agreeing to?

A cargo airport by stealth: planning permission for a passenger terminal but cargo sheds built, and a EU border freight post.

And now even that's collapsed even with removing all the safety controls.

Surely Britan White and Richard Samuel as Planning Director and former KIACC Chair when Infratil removed the nosie monitors will also be no-shows at TDC?

While MP's Julian Brazier Shadow Air Secretary supports Manston but opposes night flights and didn't realise it was built on the drinking water.

Roger Gale thinks a "2012 airport" in 3 years time is a good idea.

Steve Ladyman., former Transport Minister isn't quite clear on the potential but asks Parliament for "route development funds" (made-up phrase) for South East airports.

Laura Sandys is silent.

Paul Carter is a no-show.

Geoff Wild the County Legal Officer knows there are 4 dumped jumbo jets on the water supply but refuses to remove them although he can't explain why: geoff.wild@kent.gov.uk

The Environment Agency for 4 years has been monitoring the effluent and pollution.

For 6 cargo flights in the aiport that can't even provide noise monitors or working radar.

Looks like we're paying for politicians with foolish ideas that endager the public for their careers.

No wonder even the Election Ferry can't even turn up for the election.

Anyone heard from them about Thor yet?

Failed. Failed. Failed.

Time For Change.