Snotty nosed drivers

I just had to post this one because I don't think I have heard anything more ridiculous since the concoction of mistruths lies and betrayal levied towards me and mine by those who sought to wreak havoc with our lives. Something which gladly, or sadly depending on who's side you are on did not happen. In fact we are alive and doing extremely well with more work than we know what to do with. This suits us both because it is the way that it has already been with us. We thrive on work and it is so nice to find like minded people in our sector who respect and appreciate us and are more than happy to syphon a shed load of it our way.

Any way the story.

Well here is some guy (Michael Mancini) who gets caught in a traffic jam. You know what it's like in those cases. Sometimes it gets so boring you begin to wonder what to do with yourself. Should you find something on a different radio station, put a cd in? Maybe get a butty out of the box? In Michael's case he decided to blow his nose, and what did he get for his troubles. Yes you have guessed 3 points and a £60 fine. Now before you get to thinking that he was free wheeling down a hill balancing the steering wheel between his knees whilst honking into his hanky you would be mistaken. Oh no! his vehicle was stationary with the handbrake on. However according to Strathclyde police this meant that he was out of control of his vehicle.



Michael himself thought the whole thing was a wind up at first. But when he told them he was not going to pay the fine he was told pay up or go to court. According to Mr Mancini he is willing to take it all the way, and good for him I say. Have you ever heard anything more ridiculous in your life. I hope it gets to court and gets laughed out of court. I hope the police officers (who clearly do not have enough to do and are worried about hitting their targets) are made the laughing stock of the force. I hope that common sense prevails and this gets squashed. Hope, but with my fingers crossed because this is just one more example of the rampant stupidity and bullying suffered by the decent citizens of this country.



It seems to me some stern words need to be said in Strathclyde cop shop along with timely reminders that if some coppers need a nanny running after them wiping their snotty noses perhaps they would be better suited to working in the world of the primary school teacher, they could make lots of playground friends and influence people with the threat 'I'm gonna tell on you...... GROW UP! GET A LIFE!

The fugitive – Episode one – In the beginning

This man is on the run from British justice. Would you like to guess the crime which he has been accused of? Did he murder a child in its bed? Did he extort money from some little old lady? Did he master mind a bank robbery? No, none of these things. Howard Fredrics is guilty of holding an opinion.
At least that is what British justice has meted out to him this past month. To understand how this all happened we need to go right back to the beginning. What I present here is no more than an abridged version of what has been happening in reference to this case and I recommend that you investigate further by taking a good look at a website called www.sirpeterscott.com while you still can, because it is quite possible that this site may well be removed in the future. For now let us begin at the beginning.

Dr Fredrics is a composer and sound designer, not the type of person one would normally associate with the acts of aggression he has been convicted of. He is well respected within his profession and has had a distinguished career in education in the USA for the past twenty years and more prior to his appointment as Senior Lecturer of Music Technology at Kingston University – London which is where the story starts.


In June 2005 11 members of staff at Kingston University were persuaded to file a collective grievance against Howard Fredrics. It would appear that this grievance was compiled in response to various questions raised by Dr Fredrics about some of the internal verification processes of the University. There was also the question of Dr Fredrics refusal to sign a grievance against another member of staff early in 2003. Howard was unhappy with the way this grievance was solicited and in fact asked questions about the legality of putting a grievance together in this way asking whether or not the University had contravened its own policies in handling the matter in this way.

Howard Fredrics was formally dismissed from his position as Senior Lecturer at Kingston University in 2006. It is not quite clear if the website www.sirpeterscott.com was born before or after Dr Fredrics dismissal. What is clear is that Dr Fredrics and other contributors to the site have not been shy about publishing facts about Kingston University which paint a very ugly picture of malcontent and misadventure. In an attempt in May 2009 to shut down the site Sir George Peter Scott (Professor) the vice chancellor of Kingston University appealed to the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organisation) on the basis that the name sirpeterscott was protected as a trade mark however the WIPO ruled that his complaint was not upheld and the ownership of the domain name remains with Dr Fredrics. Having spent four thousand pounds of tax payers money on trying to block the website you can understand Sir Peters disappointment at the ruling although the HEFC’s decision that this was an acceptable use of public funding must have softened the blow. However it didn’t stop there, and soon Dr Fredrics was about to received a summons to answer an accusation of harassment.

Strike kills woman in childbirth

Nobody can deny that life in Zambia is harsh, this is a country in which people often don't have enough to eat, leave alone tapping into an infrastructure that is geared around providing the best service possible. In recent months Zambia's medical staff went on strike for better pay and money.

Unfortunately this left one women giving birth on the street just outside of the hospital. Her family were so distressed by this event they sent a photograph of the baby, clearly in the breach position with its legs sticking out of her vagina while both mother and child struggled for life.

The recipient of this photograph a doctor forwarded the photo to the president of Zambia urging that the strike reach an amicable end quickly since it was costing lives. What do you think happened? Was she commended for her humanitarian act. NO CHANCE! This poor woman has been arrested on a charge of distributing pornographic images. Since when did giving birth become pornographic. Neither mother nor baby are experiencing any sexual gratification for the act. The photograph has been described a obscene, completely side stepping the issue that what is obscene is that any woman in this day and age should be forced to give birth in the street.

What sickens me about this event is that it is a 7 day wonder. After the press have done with it this poor Doctor is likely to be jailed for 5 years for committing an illegal act and the rest of us will forget about her. Another clear example of the powers that be using double talk to get themselves out of an embarrassing and tricky situation. I hope that common sense prevails and this woman is given an apology for the appalling treatment she is receiving and a commendation for trying to put an end to this despicable state of affairs.




News article

Workplace Bullying

When we talk about bullying in the workplace people can quite often state those obvious inflagrations such as being shouted at in front of others or having credit for their work stolen by a colleague or boss. Actually I think workplace bullying starts in much more subtle ways.

Top of my list comes the implication that if you have time off work for sick you are 'giving in to it'. A phrase that I have heard more than once from manangers and colleagues alike directed at both myself and others. The idea that the common cold is a piffling little matter and that one should adopt an attitude of stoicism, coming in to work ignoring the cough and the red eyes despite the inevitability that you will pass it on to others is ridiculous. The common cold is a high invasive virus that affects many of the organs in the body, along with th mucous membrane, connective tissue, muscle and bone. You'd be amazed at the number of people who have a heart attack while fighting or whilst recovering from a cold. Just because it is common, doesn't mean it's not dangerous. Yet this attitude is sanctioned by law where a person can be sacked for having more days of sick than is stipulated in their contract of employment. We are no talking big numbers here. People have been sacked for taking more than 8 days of sick in any one year. Ridiculous!

The next on my list is discounting of feelings. You know what I mean. When you tell someone you feel you have been treated unjustly and they say "oh, it's only work, don't let it get to you" or telling you that life is too short to talk about it. Nine times out of ten when people preach to you in this way you can be sure that the reason why they are so keen to discount it, is that it is not happening to them, and possibly never has.

Belittleing. This is done in a very subtle way and is similar to the one above. You are given to understand that you are a bit over emotional. Not handling it in a professional way. This happened to me in my place of work. You have to have it in context to really see the full picture. After a period of intense bullying in my work place culminating in my having a disasterious interview with the most senior member of staff in which I was shouted at and told I had no credibility. (A bullying incident in it's own right) I along with some others was informed by email that if I wanted to continue to carry out the duties of my enhanced post that I needed to reapply. I'd had a rough year so I decided not to bother. One morning I arrived at work and there were just two people in the office. One of which had had quite a meteoric rise up the ranks. She asked me how I was and I replied OK. She asked again because she thought I didn't sound ok. I again replied I'm ok. She asked again was I sure I was ok. This time I said, well what do you expect****. I've been told to reapply for my management job, I have been told I have no credibility, I've let the job go because I am not being supported by management. How do you think I should feel? For this I was summonsed back to the office from 20 miles away later that day to be told by my manager that this form of communication was unacceptable. I was being belittled by the first colleague , and when I stuck up for myself I was bullied by my boss
.
Leaving out. A little trick going on in the workplace these days are buddy groups. Little cliches of people who 'get on really well together' These people will agree to meet up at certain times, slap each other on the back with their hail fellow well met and then go off together to enjoy a chat and a drink. (Networking) naturally what this tends to do is leave behind a smaller number of people who are not in the cliche.

Witholding knowledge. Little things like not telling you a meeting has been cancelled. Or not letting you know that they date for expenses claims has been changed. Not notifying people that resources have come into stock creating a free for all in which case some people get all the resources and some never get any.

These are just some of the experiences that I had and that I saw happening in the workplace that as far as I'm concerned constitute that low level of bullying. Make no mistake though. Companies that use this kind of bullying have always got higher level stuff going on that is even worse.

If you want to access a free course on workplace bullying register on this site.
www.onlinecoachingpartnerships.co.uk

Honey I'm home!!!

Well, I'm back. After spending nearly one month in the wilderness (and close to a thousand pounds)I've paid my dues and I'm back in the blogging room and raring to go. You may have already gathered that my first attempt at satire didn't go too well. Or did it? My contacts at Private Eye tell me that they get sued for libel every other day. Thing is they just pay up because they have a 'fund'. I wish I had known that before I spent my £750 quids worth. I might have taken some legal advice about what I can and can't say before I posted. Still at least PE are now very interested in the case You see I got it all wrong. Apparantly you can write that someone is a complete and utter tosser and nothing can be done. But if you say someone is a complete and utter tosser breeding a new generation of toadies that is not allowed. Or at least that's what Adam Porter says. Oh dear silly me. I guess I shouldn't tell what I think of that programme the apprentice. That for me it epitomises all that is wrong with management in the so call civilised world. Grubby little narcissists creating nasty little products that no one needs and selling them for ridiculous prices. They'd kill each other stone dead just for their 15 minutes of fame or a few bob in the bank. How cynical is that?

Still lessons have been duly learned and it is onwards and upwards.Keep your eye's peeled. I plan to bring you some exciting news about what is going on in the world of academia. The war on malignance continues and is stronger than ever!

The wolf and the lamb

Once upon a time a Wolf was lapping at a spring on a hillside, when, looking up, what should he see but a Lamb just beginning to drink a little lower down. 'There's my supper,' thought he, 'if only I can find some excuse to seize it.' Then he called out to the Lamb, 'How dare you muddle the water from which I am drinking?'

'Nay, master, nay,' said Lambikin; 'if the water be muddy up there, I cannot be the cause of it, for it runs down from you to me.'

'Well, then,' said the Wolf, 'why did you call me bad names this time last year?'

'That cannot be,' said the Lamb; 'I am only six months old.'

'I don't care,' snarled the Wolf; 'if it was not you it was your father;' and with that he rushed upon the poor little Lamb and 'WARRA WARRA WARRA WARRA WARRA' ate her all up. But before she died she gasped out

'Any excuse will serve a tyrant.'


Borrowed from Australian story telling. Hope you don't mind guys, it just is very apt at the moment. I will probably take it off later.

Finding meaningful interventions.

According to Marlene Snyder of Clemson University's Institute on Family and Neighborhood Life and the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program, finding out that bullying is hardwired into the brain is an opportunity to "find meaningful interventions". Is she kidding me! This research has dicovered that when people who bully other people, or who are behaving in an antisocial way, do what they do a part of their brain lights up which proves that they are experiencing pleasure out of it.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/11/081107-bully-brain.html


Not exactly a surprise to those that have been bullied or on the receiving end of the bad behaviour. At some level we all knew it was because this particular maladjusted personality was just getting a rise out of it. About a year ago I posted on a well known forum that bullying was hard wired into the brain, needless to say a couple of people disagreed with me, and if it is true that bullying isn't hard wired into the brain then maybe some of us are just waiting for the bully to 'develop a different mind set'. Hoping that something akin to humanity and integrity will kick in at some point. Dream on baby! Since when have people given up something they enjoy doing until such time as it becomes detrimental to their health, wealth, and well being. You try and get a smoker to give up his cigs or a substance abuser to give up their substance, their comforter, their mothers little helper. It's like trying to push butter up a porcupines arse with a hot needle.

So what interventions then. A cattle prod would be out of the question because the adminstrator is likely to get a rip out of it. Nailing them to a cross would simply make martyrs out of them. Sitting and reasoning with them is going to go a long way towards stopping them isn't it. About as helpful as trying to disuade a teenager from having sex before marriage. What next. Frontal Labotomy. I mean! Come on! how do people get paid good money for this stuff. Don't get it, they are bullies because they want to be. Because they are twisted and cynical and don't share the same values as the rest of us. Get real! Interventions. How about giving them a psych evaluation before you put them into positions of power. Thats your best intervention. Do you think Bernard Madoff is begging forgiveness for his sins. Not likely, apart from maybe lamenting a few years in jail, if it gets that far, after all he is 70. They will probably just give him a good talking to and send him home to die in opulence. Don't imagine him crying for the victims of those gullible people who trusted him. If this research it to believe his is probably getting his biggest hard on for years just imagining the pitiful look on their bewildered features. This kind of sociopathic narcissist understands nothing of other peoples pain and suffering. That your best intervention. To my way of thinking there is little hope for change. The only way of stopping a bully is to avoid them like the plague,

Chronicles from the cat

I have my contacts in my ex place of works. The word on the
grapevine right now is the new enrolment form that they have created
which contains a tick box by the number 15. This being the number of
hours contact with the student that the college should have done
before it qualifies for a certain level of payment. This number
directly contradicts the number of hours staff can do, the
management expects them to finish in which is 12 maximum, and the
targets make that many impossible if you calculate it. Staff are
being told that if they do not tick the box, they will have more than
the allotted 80 candidates per year to make up their financial target.

On a lighter note though. Princess Tippee Toes has been a naughty
girl. Recently a pool car was caught on speed camera, but no one
could identify the driver because procedure for filling in the take
out log were not followed. So TT got the college to pay the fine and
took the three points on her licence. tut tut tut. False
Decloration. Although bunch of us did have a belly laugh when we
recognised that if we all took out a pool car and didn't sign the
book we could have her licence off her in the next few
months.......or better still should we just dob her in.. Votes
please!!!!

Anti Bullying at Work Day

Here is the UK the 7th of November was anti bullying at work day. The week beginning 17th of November is Anti Bullying Week.


Just to do my little bit I purchased fifty wrist bands at my own expense and stood under the clock in my local town to give them away. Along with an explanatory note. It was a very interesting a rewarding exercise. It only took me half an hour to give away fifty bands and although some people wouldn't take them (perhaps they were too busy or have never had the experience of being bullied) fifty other people were more than happy to wear the bright blue coloured bands in the name of the cause.

At first sight it may seem as though bullying is a non issue, but research has shown that in the UK 19 million sick days are taken a year and the HSE reckons that a lot of those are down to workplace bullying. This is a matter of great importance since the national cost rolls into the millions. Bullying is a problem on a global scale. From the invasion of one country by another to the dictators or heads of government to the common early exeperience of bullying in the play ground. Bullying can be easily defined at "a way of getting ones own way by aggressive or manipulative means without taking into account the targets feelings". Seriously folks, bullies are not well known for having finer feelings themselves so is it any wonder that they just can't empathise with how other people think and feel. We lose 16 children a year to suicide as a result of the stress that bullying causes. It's hard to stand up against. After all there is no actual law against bullying, especially not in the workplace where bullies are often protected by the management they serve by the excuse of over zealousy applying managment strategy.



Still I have done my bit this year. Next year I will get more nowse about me and invite the local papers to take a pic and maybe do a little piece on me. I am after all a lowly one person business desperately trying to scratch a living