The ever-onward march of the Jobsworths continues! Give a power-crazed little Hitler with a clipboard under his arm a bit of authority and you can bet your life he will do his utmost to abuse it. Now, we are told, Three Rivers District Council is thinking of fining residents who officers believe are disposing of too much rubbish. What next? The proverbial spy-in-the-litter-bin?
Who on earth do these council bullies and neo-fascists, running rampant up and down the country, think they are? We are increasingly being controlled by these morons and automotans. They are people with very tiny and totally unimaginative minds who probably couldn't get a job anywhere else. I suspect some are failed coppers, failed prison officers and probably even failed traffic wardens who, nevertheless, feel the urge to demonstrate their power over others. So what do they do? Become the Rubbish Police! Roll on Nazi/Soviet Union Britain.
The people who will enforce these fines are the kind who would have been first in line to pull on the jackboots, had the Germans won WWII. Has no-one told them they are our SERVANTS, not our masters? We pay their wages. We keep them in a job, even though a great many of them are utterly incompetent and incapable of doing it. Nor are they accountable and answerable to anybody.
But there is a way of fighting back. When the fines start arriving, I suggest people use Freedom of Information legislation to discover who these anonymous, faceless bureaucrats are, find their home addresses and harass them as they intend to harass innocent people. I suggest we make their lives a misery until they understand the error of their ways.
Posted by: The Plinth of Darkneth at 10:35pm on Fri 9 May 08
Nice to see you back Roy - I am sure the usual suspects that haunt this forum have been wondering where you've been.
Anyhow, you are quite right - this country is rapidly becoming similar to how East Germany was under the Stasi regime.
In fact there was a story on the ITV news only this evening involving police stopping and questioning youngsters only to photograph against their will for their records.
It won't be long before the government will be offering people incentives to spy and snitch on their fellow neighbours for their own gain.
The story that you have highlighted above is indicative of just where this country is heading I am afraid.
Nice to see you back Roy - I am sure the usual suspects that haunt this forum have been wondering where you've been.
Anyhow, you are quite right - this country is rapidly becoming similar to how East Germany was under the Stasi regime.
In fact there was a story on the ITV news only this evening involving police stopping and questioning youngsters only to photograph against their will for their records.
It won't be long before the government will be offering people incentives to spy and snitch on their fellow neighbours for their own gain.
The story that you have highlighted above is indicative of just where this country is heading I am afraid.
Posted by: Roy Stockdill at 12:40am on Sat 10 May 08
Yes and thank you, Plinth of Darkneth. George Orwell's 1984 is indeed upon us!
Sadly, the little Hitler officials who are perpetrating this offensive against ordinary people are probably so ignorant and stupid that they don't even realise what they are doing. All they care about is their own self esteem and a bit of kudos from their bosses for pulling in as much cash as they can in the form of fines from people over-filling their bins. Can you seriously imagine anyone doing a job like that? They must be extremely sad little nobodies without any purpose in life.
Yes and thank you, Plinth of Darkneth. George Orwell's 1984 is indeed upon us!
Sadly, the little Hitler officials who are perpetrating this offensive against ordinary people are probably so ignorant and stupid that they don't even realise what they are doing. All they care about is their own self esteem and a bit of kudos from their bosses for pulling in as much cash as they can in the form of fines from people over-filling their bins. Can you seriously imagine anyone doing a job like that? They must be extremely sad little nobodies without any purpose in life.
This rant is aimed at the wrong target. Anyone opposed to such a scheme should direct their complaint to the policy makers. And ultimately councillors who ignore majority opinion can be removed.
Might I suggest that before any of us start to throw out accusations of ignorance and stupidity we pause for a quick glance in the mirror.
This rant is aimed at the wrong target. Anyone opposed to such a scheme should direct their complaint to the policy makers. And ultimately councillors who ignore majority opinion can be removed.
Might I suggest that before any of us start to throw out accusations of ignorance and stupidity we pause for a quick glance in the mirror.
Posted by: The Plinth of Darkneth at 11:50am on Sat 10 May 08
[quote][bold]Mike Ribble[/bold] wrote:
This rant is aimed at the wrong target. Anyone opposed to such a scheme should direct their complaint to the policy makers. And ultimately councillors who ignore majority opinion can be removed.
Might I suggest that before any of us start to throw out accusations of ignorance and stupidity we pause for a quick glance in the mirror.[/quote] You sound like a sympathiser Mr Ribble.
Perhaps you relish the idea of being scrutinised to the point of harassment?
Or perhaps you feel that this is an acceptable method to waste the hard earned taxes that the likes of you and I pay to local government?
Mike Ribble wrote:
This rant is aimed at the wrong target. Anyone opposed to such a scheme should direct their complaint to the policy makers. And ultimately councillors who ignore majority opinion can be removed.
Might I suggest that before any of us start to throw out accusations of ignorance and stupidity we pause for a quick glance in the mirror.
You sound like a sympathiser Mr Ribble.
Perhaps you relish the idea of being scrutinised to the point of harassment?
Or perhaps you feel that this is an acceptable method to waste the hard earned taxes that the likes of you and I pay to local government?
PoD I believe the photography you refer to is jackie smith's new policy of harassing anti social youths. this involves investigating the familiy's social security claims, car insurance, tax etc the idea is to harass them as much as they harass hoest, decent living members of our society.
I'm all for it, it's about time we gave them a taste of their own medicine.
PoD I believe the photography you refer to is jackie smith's new policy of harassing anti social youths. this involves investigating the familiy's social security claims, car insurance, tax etc the idea is to harass them as much as they harass hoest, decent living members of our society.
I'm all for it, it's about time we gave them a taste of their own medicine.
Posted by: The Plinth of Darkneth at 8:50pm on Tue 13 May 08
[quote][bold]JohnBoy[/bold] wrote:
PoD I believe the photography you refer to is jackie smith's new policy of harassing anti social youths. this involves investigating the familiy's social security claims, car insurance, tax etc the idea is to harass them as much as they harass hoest, decent living members of our society.
I'm all for it, it's about time we gave them a taste of their own medicine.[/quote] But surely the individuals that you refer to are a minority in our society JB?
So for the sake of 'harassing' this small section we should all pay the price?
I believe that is called cutting your nose off to spite your face.
JohnBoy wrote:
PoD I believe the photography you refer to is jackie smith's new policy of harassing anti social youths. this involves investigating the familiy's social security claims, car insurance, tax etc the idea is to harass them as much as they harass hoest, decent living members of our society.
I'm all for it, it's about time we gave them a taste of their own medicine.
But surely the individuals that you refer to are a minority in our society JB?
So for the sake of 'harassing' this small section we should all pay the price?
I believe that is called cutting your nose off to spite your face.
Posted by: Roy Stockdill at 11:02am on Wed 14 May 08
We learn from the papers today that Norwich Council has bullied and harassed a man of 95, a war veteran who is almost blind, for putting a bottle in the wrong box. He was confused by the rules but binmen refused to empty the box and shoved a note through his door warning him not to do it again.
And down in Poole - where the council spied on a couple for 3 weeks to see if they were breaking the schools admissions procedure - the same council are using the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act, designed to combat terrorism and serious crime, to catch fishermen gathering shellfish from prohibited parts of Poole Harbour.
Does anyone seriously doubt that council jobsworths are the new Hitlers and Stalins?
We learn from the papers today that Norwich Council has bullied and harassed a man of 95, a war veteran who is almost blind, for putting a bottle in the wrong box. He was confused by the rules but binmen refused to empty the box and shoved a note through his door warning him not to do it again.
And down in Poole - where the council spied on a couple for 3 weeks to see if they were breaking the schools admissions procedure - the same council are using the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act, designed to combat terrorism and serious crime, to catch fishermen gathering shellfish from prohibited parts of Poole Harbour.
Does anyone seriously doubt that council jobsworths are the new Hitlers and Stalins?
Posted by: John Howard Norfolk at 10:33pm on Wed 14 May 08
Well done Roy.
You are so right to encourage your readers to combat bureaucracy.
I suspect the damage is caused by council managers setting targets. How much better it would be if there was a pride in doing a job well rather than earning brownie points for spotting public misdemeanours. An example of this would be the traffic warden (civil enforcement officer?) we detest for the ticket, but how much better it would be if we remembered with a smile the traffic warden who helped us with advice or directions? Sadly such behaviour wont count towards his target of tickets!
Well done Roy.
You are so right to encourage your readers to combat bureaucracy.
I suspect the damage is caused by council managers setting targets. How much better it would be if there was a pride in doing a job well rather than earning brownie points for spotting public misdemeanours. An example of this would be the traffic warden (civil enforcement officer?) we detest for the ticket, but how much better it would be if we remembered with a smile the traffic warden who helped us with advice or directions? Sadly such behaviour wont count towards his target of tickets!
Some of you may perhaps have seen the letter in today's printed WO from Dr S Halls, the chief executive of Three Rivers Council, criticising my comments here. I have submitted the following letter to the Observer and it will be interesting to see whether they publish it in next week's paper.
"Sir
"Obviously I touched a raw nerve with Dr S Halls the chief executive of Three Rivers Council, by pointing out in my blog on your website that bullying council jobsworths are becoming the new Hitlers and Stalins, equipped with clipboards and box-ticking forms instead of guns.
"Who do they think they are? We, the taxpayers, pay their salaries to provide us with services such as emptying our dustbins. They are rubbish collectors, not the Rubbish Police threatening innocent people with fines! Council officers are public servants, not our masters, and should be told so in no uncertain terms.
"The action of Three Rivers Council comes hard on the heels of Norwich City Council harrassing a 95-year-old war veteran, almost blind and having difficulty in understanding the rules, for putting one bottle in the wrong bin.
"And before that we had the case of Poole Council in Dorset using a law meant only to be applied in cases of terrorism and serious crime to spy on a couple who they suspected were breaching the rules on schools admission because they simply wanted the best for their child. We also learn that the same council is using these powers to catch people taking shelfish from prohibited parts of Poole Harbour.
"How much longer before people wake up and realise that we are living in an increasingly neo-fascist, Soviet Union-style state in which these puffed-up jobsworths, full of their own self importance, are grossly misusing their powers to criminalise citizens for very minor and trivial breaches?"
Some of you may perhaps have seen the letter in today's printed WO from Dr S Halls, the chief executive of Three Rivers Council, criticising my comments here. I have submitted the following letter to the Observer and it will be interesting to see whether they publish it in next week's paper.
"Sir
"Obviously I touched a raw nerve with Dr S Halls the chief executive of Three Rivers Council, by pointing out in my blog on your website that bullying council jobsworths are becoming the new Hitlers and Stalins, equipped with clipboards and box-ticking forms instead of guns.
"Who do they think they are? We, the taxpayers, pay their salaries to provide us with services such as emptying our dustbins. They are rubbish collectors, not the Rubbish Police threatening innocent people with fines! Council officers are public servants, not our masters, and should be told so in no uncertain terms.
"The action of Three Rivers Council comes hard on the heels of Norwich City Council harrassing a 95-year-old war veteran, almost blind and having difficulty in understanding the rules, for putting one bottle in the wrong bin.
"And before that we had the case of Poole Council in Dorset using a law meant only to be applied in cases of terrorism and serious crime to spy on a couple who they suspected were breaching the rules on schools admission because they simply wanted the best for their child. We also learn that the same council is using these powers to catch people taking shelfish from prohibited parts of Poole Harbour.
"How much longer before people wake up and realise that we are living in an increasingly neo-fascist, Soviet Union-style state in which these puffed-up jobsworths, full of their own self importance, are grossly misusing their powers to criminalise citizens for very minor and trivial breaches?"
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