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Showing posts from September, 2010

Kent’s civil service cockroaches need the boot.

Here’s details of Spain’s corruption trial for Malaga council that left the “once-charming beach resort carpeted in concrete” and “developers bungs for cash for votes”. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/27/spain-biggest-corruption-trial-marbella But silence from our cockroach civil servants. Nothing on the mysterious Pleasurama tax haven with no viable construction plans – who was the civil servant in charge of Kent’s largest seafront development? Silence on the 0% payrise frauds for m the Toxic Two of Samuel and White – where are the before and after payslips? Nothing on the fake noise and air monitoring at Manston – removed 4 years ago from a school and tower block and repeatedly lied to the public. Silence on the Double Donation to both parties for ChinaGate and Ramsgate Labour’s largest-ever donation. For Thanet’s largest-ever construction project. With plans released one week before a vote. Repeated breaches of the design guidelines for construction, breaches of building fo...

Manston cancer.

The NHS Cancer summary document for East Kent has been sent to me: cancer the biggest cause of death, and East Kent in the lowest quarter of cancer treatments. Seems to me the NHS hasn't been doing its job very well. And Infratil and TDC allowing breaches of the flight paths and removal of monitors have allowed unnecessary increases in cancer deaths, ill-health etc. Seems to me TDC have deliberately endangered the public. After all, that's why flight paths and monitors are specified around airports isn't it? Yet since 2006, Infratil and the Gang of Four and Ladyman and Gale and Sandys remained silent. Enforcing the 106 is but a matter of a phone call to stick to the routes - yet for 5 years this has been ignored. For an airport funded by KCC and TDC and slated for expansion. And silence from our 56 councillors. Maybe they thought a cargo airport was a good idea. And one on the drinking water supply too. Not one public statement on the removal of the monitors. Who exactly of...

KCC Chair and "shaped agendas" on Thor etc

A note below to Bill Hayton KCC Chair for the local KCC meeting: as always more interesting for what's left off the agenda and avoided. Why the silence from our councillors and civil servants on Thor and Manston - not one public statement. How bad is the pollution? And so much for democracy eh? 10 tonnes of grit and waster in the Ramsgate waterpumps last week according the Southern Water cleanup chaps - no wonder the drains flood and how long since the drains were checked and cleaned? 10 tonnes. Now only the Toxic Two of Samuel and White remain with former Deputy Leader of ManstonGate and ChinaGate retiring from politics at the elections in May. Why don't you write to Bill Hayton though: bill.hayton@kent.gov.uk and ask for not just these items to be discussed - but copies of the toxin reports and a KCC Cabinet discussion. And add your comments to the night flights petition: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/nonightflights/signatures?page=12 Hi Bill Can you advise on the points...

Manston: "shot down in flames" warning

Manston: "shot down in flames" warning of Infratil and council failings on front page of newspaper http://edition.pagesuite-professional.co.uk/launch.aspx?referral=other&refresh=7y1Bg0Y85s1X&PBID=84956776-5fe0-4064-a733-83aabf1dd4b7&skip= Fake consultations, repeated 106 breaches, public endangered, removal of noise and air monitors from a school and tower block over years, failure to replace etc etc. And an airport built on the drinking water supply. How stupid would you have to be to do that. And then want to expand the airport. And criminal to do it by removing all the safety measures. No monitors. No data. No problem. Delay it for weeks and monhts and years. That's a lot of people with cancer, asthma and so on because of Infratil and the Toxic Three and the silence and collusion of Gale and Sandys and our 56 councillors. When the monitoring would have revealed all the the dangerous spikes in air and noise quality. They knew monitoring was required. They kn...

Missing public funds

Aren’t there several missing gaps in Thanet’s public finances whitewashed by our senior civil servants and councillors: 1. Where are the Ramsgate Town Council accounts and staffing costs? 2. Where are the £1M EKO accounts/million pound memo and invoices and staffing costs and expenses? 3. Where are the details of the missing or waived fines for night flights and overflights by Infratil? 4. Where are the Infratil control tower flight log and radar transponder details to check their claims? 5. Where are the before and after payslips of the 0% payrise fraud for Messrs White and Samuel? 6. Where are the Pleasurama costs and contracts after the tax haven mystery 7. Where are the Vattenfall windfarm and building contracts and revenues? 8. Where are the Turner £1M running costs allocated and over how many years? 9. Where are the missing disabled grants and costs: spent instead on office refurb? 10. Where are the Ramsgate Tram shelter monies and repairs? 11. Where are all Messrs Gale and Sandy...

More boils for Ramsgate

I see the glass carbuncle for the harbour slipway has been provisionally approved. Along with the Granville Folly and glass stump for developer profit. And glass B&Q Turner Centre, in Margate. And Halfords Big Box for Vattenfall. We seem to have incompetent councillors and civil servants who having destroyed the towns are unable to put sensible policies in place without grasping at anything and shouting "jobs" or "land sales" before the election. As with the jiggery pokery of trying to sell Albion House to safeguard civil servants pensions and then sleight of hand with the public petition to preserve it we have the collapse of Socialism or Conservatism and the rise of Cretinism. Imagine if Bath was peppered with these boils - our stale councillors and civil servants couldn't even run a bath. Let alone safeguard listed buildings.

Toxic Thanet. Toxic KCC. Toxic Airport.

A sudden agenda announcement for a meeting all about Manston: 3 ways to describe the same thing: KIA, Manston and a Manston Parway rail station of some sort. The usual charade for decisions taken – even Roger Gale doesn’t bother mentioning the Parkway now. And “Bold Steps” is some vague nonsense of linking Kent planning to Essex in another quango – and nothing done in the meantime. No mention of overflights and 106 breaches endangering the public. No mention of missing monitors. No mention of the drinking water supply under the runway and contamination. No mention of 18 year death rate. No mention of Thor mercury and water pollution which is Andrew Pearce’s responsibility with permits to pollute and discharge from Manston and Thor etc – and copies of toxin levels, maps etc. No mention of KCC and TDC staffing levels and costs. No mention of 0% fraud. No mention of recall and local referendums. No mention of why KCC are investing public funds in tobacco, booze and guns. Mere c...

East Kent death rate

East Kent has a health differential 18 years younger than the rest of Kent – similar to Burma or Haiti. Also with: • An airport on the drinking water supply • Removal of noise and air monitors • Airport runoff draining into the road system and sea at Pegwell Bay • Thor mercury banned in 1988 but still operating 20 years later • Richboro power station derelict for 15 years • Asbestos in buildings • Oil tankers refuelling close to shore Clearly this is a major failure of public health - if not the “Kent system” of public health protection. How has this happened? When were Kent Public health briefed on these issues? What action has been taken? Should there be a coverup or should there be dismissals and/or jail sentences? Why the silence from Gale (other than assuring the public the airport and Thor was well run and any water pollution was due to the public pouring paint down the sink), Sandys, Latchford, Samuel, White and 56 councillors: is it not important? Looks like Party and Civil ser...

What is the Port for?

Last night not one but 3 security guards stand looking at a car park of HGV's funded on the rates - and then another half dozen lorries parked on the nearby promenade. No doubt having the usual crap in a bag and throw it on the beach. What is it for? To tax-fund a lorry park and derelict promenade? Should the Police be diverted for lorries parked a dozen feet from a specially-provided HGV park? And why is the proposed Vattenfall building nothing more than an office block. Weren't these alrady built and stand empty? And you hardly need a warehouse for deliveries of turbines that stand in the sea. Retail parks. Business parks. Car parks and lorry parks. But no park parks. Stretches of tarmac. No proper paving. No grass verges. No flowerbeds. Certainly cheaper and easier for the council to repair. Maybe add some bits of offcut fencing from a motorway centrasl reservation. All these things that aren't just for beautification but important for Climate Change. And even more so in...

BBCTV: Thanet in bottom 10% of UK districts

BBC TV rates Thanet as 295th out of 324 areas of England as “least resilient to economic woe”. weblink http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-11164337 The debate on the spending review last Thursday night on BBCTV highlighted the terrible state of Thanet and the likes of Paul Carter of KCC and Laura Sandys MP were there to discuss public services etc. Nobody could quite explain how even through the good times, and several decades, Thanet, and East Kent, has been the Third World part of Kent: the bottom 10% of UK councils for TDC worst drinking water in South East and Southern Water: Manston airport and derelict Manston RAF Fire Station highest lung cancer rate in South East collapse of glory projects such as Manston cargo airport and EKO pollution of Pegwell Bay and derelict brownfield contaminated sites Thor mercury – banned but open Ships polluting Margate and the Blue Flag beaches 3,000 empty homes: dying 18 years earlier than the rest of Kent In a nutshell it seems to me: an ab...

9/11 or 999 for Kent?

Kent’s faced a strange set of anniversaries this week: the beginning of the Blitz 70 years ago on Tuesday and tomorrow the anniversary of the New York 9/11 attacks. The Blitz has still left its scars on Kent – whether it’s the folk memories of the raids on Ramsgate and Canterbury or still bomb-sites. But AlQaeda? What’s that to do with Kent? Suicide Attacks such as 100 dead in Pakistan this week or incidents in Iraq are confined to the Middle East. Islamic insurgents such as Jemaah Islamiah are confined to sporadic attacks across the Thai-Malay border, Indonesia or the Philippines. And the networks dismantled to a few hundred prisoners in Britain and even less in Guantanamo. But Kent certainly boasts rich pickings though for a Jihadist: whether it’s Dungeness, Dover Europe’s largest Port or even the birthplace of Christianity at Canterbury Cathedral. Perhaps more disturbing is Kent’s open front door at Manston. The last few years have seen banned aircraft flying into Kent from Ostend a...

Dig toilets not graves

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3ObqcRAh9M Arts event in Trafalgar Square today to highlight 10 years on from UN Millennium Goals to end poverty and disease by 2015. Over 167 children die from diarrhoea fronm dirty water and cholera - every hour. 100 years of democracy and £60M in council tax-take each year and "Third World Thanet" has Manston airport and Manston Fire on the drinking water supply. Derelict Richboro power station and pollution of Pegwell Bay. Thor mercury toxic site near Hornby unknown. Broken and blocked drains with excrement. Padlocked public toilets - closed, demolished and shorter opening hours. If you told me I wouldn't believe you. In Kent. In England. In the 21st century. I wouldn't believe you. Time for Change. Time for every public body to adopt the UN Millennium Goals. Time to clean our grubby towns. Time to open and increase our toilets. Time to demolish and clear Richboro. Time to plant trees and flowers and grass verges. Time to publish ou...

Goodbye Manston? Goodbye Richboro? Hello Cancer.

Not mentioned by councilors or civil servants or MP's at all. No statements about Manston built on the drinking water. Nothing. There is the front page of Your Thanet about banned aircraft flyting onto Manston - so much for UK airspace etc. And why was there a Jumbo jet flying into Manston at 2am and 3:30 am on Sunday/Monday? the airport closes at 11pm. Do they just fly in or did Infratil know? Did TDC know? The ERA newlsetter features 4 pages on overflights and asks for a "Planespotting report" for Octobber: eraeditor@yahoo.co.uk I think Manston will be bust by then: there's only Cargolux and a couple of presumbly half-empty Flybe. And it is built on the water supply. But our councillors never mention that. There is a useful "Who are the Guilty Men" article in ERA for the next election Airport Committee: Mike Harrison Alasdair Bruce Peter Campbell Richard Nichioloson Jo Roberts Cabinet: Robert Bayford Roger Latchford Simon Moores Chris Wells Martin Wise Not...

Thor water. Thor kidneys. NHS scrutiny?

With widespread concerns over water quality, when will TDC – or NHS - publish the toxin reports and pollution damage for Thor mercury, Richboro and Manston? As well as the raw data for seawater quality and sewage discharges. As with removing the noise and air monitors with Infratil and banned and illegal overflights of the towns, it’s as if our politicians and civil servants are deliberately endangering the public by remaining silent. No wonder the death rate for East Kent is a shocking 18 years earlier than the rest of a Kent - and on a par with Haiti or Burma. Our pensioners are not even making to enjoy their pension by dying off at 63 years old rather than 81 - leaving 3,000 empty homes and dozens of shops. Elections, P45’s, pension removals and jail may be some incentive for our failed public services to improve but it will be the public that bear the cost in early deaths and ill-health – and paying for the privilege through normal taxes as well as the toxic cleanup and extra hospi...

Manston: illegal overflights and silence.

Manston: front page of the newspaper the illegal overflights. No mention of the cancer cost. Where are the grandmothers of the dead? Where are the mothers of the dead? Where are the coroners reports? Silence. On Thor. On Manston - the drinking water and dumping in Pegwell and missing monitors. On Manston Fire station. On Richboro. Silence from Gale and Sandys and 56 councillors and KCC. The resignation of the Chairman of Southern Water. And more red alerts on bathing water quality. It's meant to be like this.

Where is Sandys?

It’s been 3 months since the lection and Parliament has been on hols for a month or two. What has been done in Thanet? Where are the Thor toxin results or are MP’s not allowed to see those or make them public? Where are the Richboro toxin results? Why is Manston Fire station lighting fires and putting them out with drinking water? Has an extradition request been put in for the criminal Infratil Directors? Where are the payslips to compare before and after the 0% payrise. We seem to have only silence. And to be fair silence from Roger Gale. And silence from 56 Thanet councillors. How strange. Unless they’re mere Party hacks. MP’s for their Party rather than the public of Thanet. Thor mercury or the civil servants don’t come before the public. Nor the Party. And we fund all these people to highlight public concerns – especially major problems. Even basics like MP’s expenses being published or Ramsgate Town Council accounts being available on the website haven’t been done. How can the pub...