Orkney Council To Look At Proposals To Become Territory Of Norway
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
This is the sub-heading.
The Orkney Islands could change their status in the UK or even become a self-governing territory of Norway under new proposals.
These paragraphs outline their possible strategy.
A motion will go before the council next week to investigate “alternative forms of governance”.
Council leader James Stockan said Orkney does not get fair funding with its current relationship within the UK.
He wants to look at Crown Dependencies like the Channel Islands and overseas territories like the Falkland Islands.
He suggested another possible future could be like the Faroe Islands – which is a self-governing territory of Denmark.
Councillor Stockan told BBC Radio Scotland there were many areas where Orkney was being “failed dreadfully” by both the UK and Scottish governments.
These are my thoughts.
Has Orkney Been Failed Dreadfully By The UK And Scottish Governments?
I wouldn’t be surprised, if the legal and economic framework between the Orkney, Scotland and the UK, dates back hundreds of years and didn’t really expect to see a more independent Scotland.
This is a quote from Council leader James Stockan.
And the funding we get from the Scottish government is significantly less per head than Shetland and the Western Isles to run the same services – we can’t go on as we are.
I could argue, they should be similar.
Orkney’s Income From Oil, Gas And Wind
Orkney doesn’t have Shetland’s oil, gas and wind infrastructure, so perhaps Scotland and the UK, think Orkney is the other’s problem.
Wind Development In Orkney, Shetland And The Western Isles
This map from Cross Estate Scotland shows all the wind contracts for Orkney, Shetland and The Western Isles.
These wind farms could send wind power to Orkney.
- 7 – Ayre – 1008 MW
- 13 – West of Orkney – 2000 MW
That is a total of 3008 MW.
These wind farms could send wind power to Shetland.
- 18 – Ocean Winds – 500 MW
- 19 – Arven – 1800 MW
- 20 – ESB Asset Development – 500 MW
That is a total of 2800 MW.
These wind farms could send wind power to the Western Isles.
- 14 – Havbredey – 1400 MW
- 15 – N3 Project – 495 MW
- 16 – Spiorad na Mara – 840 MW
That is a total of 2735 MW.
On this quick look, it does appear that there is a fair balance of investment in wind power between Orkney, Shetland and The Western Isles.
The Flotta Hydrogen Hub
The Flotta Hydrogen Hub is being planned and it has its own web site.
It looks like it will be linked to the West of Orkney wind farm.
The Ferries
CouncilStockan says this about the ferries.
We are really struggling at the moment, we have to replace the whole ferry fleet which is older than the CalMac fleet.
And it is well-known, that the Scottish Nationalist Party got into a muddle with ferries.
Conclusion
If you read the Wikipedia entry for Orkney, the islands would appear to have a sound future, based on hydrogen, tourism and wind.
I would hope that a discussion around some good local food and the local whisky could sort out Otkney’s worries.
Teen’s Killing Raises A French Policing Issue That Dare Not Be Named
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on France24.
This is the sub-heading.
The killing of 17-year-old Nahel M. during a police traffic stop this week was a depressingly familiar addition to France’s list of police brutality cases. But when the UN called on the government to address racial discrimination in its police force, the official reaction was just as familiar and depressing for France’s minorities.
These are the first five paragraphs.
On Friday, just a few days after a French police officer shot dead a teenager during a traffic stop in a Paris suburb, the UN Human Rights Office urged France to tackle racial discrimination.
“We are concerned by the killing of a 17-year-old of North African descent by police in France,” UN human rights office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani told a press briefing in Geneva.
“This is a moment for the country to seriously address the deep issues of racism and discrimination in law enforcement,” she added.
Shamdasani’s comments echoed innumerable statements released over the past few years by international rights groups, such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, calling on the French state to address “systematic discrimination” particularly “the use of ethnic profiling” during identity checks.
If the UN human rights office believed the police killing of the teenager of Algerian descent, named Nahel M., could be the “moment” for an official French reckoning, it proved to be mistaken.
These are a few choice paragraphs.
Many Cases
Nahel’s killing in the western Paris suburb of Nanterre was the latest in a string of cases of police violence in France’s deprived, multi-ethnic banlieues, or suburbs. These include high-profile cases, such as the 2005 deaths of two young men in Clichy-sous-Bois, a Paris suburb, and the 2016 death of Adama Traoré in Val d’Oise, a banlieue further north. The victims were all non-white young males.
France And America
“Of course France and America are very different countries, but they have a common enemy: racism,” a demonstrator told FRANCE 24 at a June 2020 “Justice for Adama Traoré” protest. “Nothing will ever change until people are educated about racism. Starting with the police.”
One Bad Apple, Not The Orchard
Several French officials and security experts conceded that the video footage appeared to show the policeman acting in breach of procedures. But they insist it’s a case of one bad apple, not a rot in the orchard.
French Police And Military Voting
A July 2019 study by the left-leaning Fondation Jean-Jaurès found that more than 50% of French military and law enforcement personnel said they voted for far-right politician Marine Le Pen’s party in recent elections.
In the first round of the 2022 presidential election, 39% of police and military personnel voted for Le Pen while 25% voted for another far-right candidate, Éric Zemmour, according to polling institute Cluster17.
France Police Union Tweet
“Congratulations to the colleagues who opened fire on a young 17-year-old criminal. By neutralising his vehicle, they protected their lives and those of other drivers. The only ones responsible for this thug’s death are his parents, who were incapable of educating their son,” it read.
France’s “Licence To Shoot” Law
The law, which was passed following a spate of terror attacks in France, has been slammed as a “licence to shoot” legislation. In 2022 alone, 13 people were shot and killed by police in cases of non-compliance. While French authorities have not released the racial or ethnic identities of the victims, sociologist Sebastien Roche told a local French daily that there was an “overrepresentation of ethnic minorities among those killed during refusals to obey” police traffic stops.
The article is worth a full read.
Riveting Television
I’ve just watched an episode of Fred Dibnah’s Made In Britain, which was entitled Mechanics and Riveters.
It was fascinating stuff, but how do you decarbonise an industry like the making of rivets without using hydrogen?
An Art Installation In Front Of Moorgate Station
Today, a new sculpture was installed in front of the new entrance to Moorgate station.
I took a few pictures.
Note.
- The sculpture, which is in bronze and entitled Manifold (Major Third) 5:4, is by Conrad Shawcross, who I talked about briefly in Job Done – I’ve Now Had My First Covid-19 Vaccination.
- Conrad is the guy in red t-shirt, who can be seen in several images.
- I’ve never seen a large sculpture installed before and everything went smoothly!
I have some thoughts.
More On The Sculpture
This page on Art On The Underground is entitled Manifold (Major Third) 5:4, where this description is given.
Manifold (Major Third) 5:4 by British artist Conrad Shawcross RA will be found outside the western entrance to the Elizabeth line station at Liverpool Street later this year. The artwork is a vast bronze sculpture representing a chord falling into silence extrapolated from observations of a Victorian pendulum-driven drawing machine known as a harmonograph, which was instrumental in the birth of the science of synaesthesia. This sculpture is the physical incarnation of the mathematics within a chord.
Note that I am of Conrad’s father’s generation and had a large Meccano set, like many of that generation. I must have built four or five Meccanographs, which were a harmonograph, built out of Meccano.
Bronze
The sculpture is in bronze, which is mainly an alloy of copper and tin.
My uncle; Leslie was an artist, who had won a scholarship to the Slade before the Great War, although he earned his living as an engineer. I do have two of his drawings, of my mother and his wife.
But he was also a capable sculptor, and sculpted and cast a bronze of a Hanoverian horse, which would probably be, the family possession, that C and myself would have loved to have owned. It is now owned by his granddaughter, who was also one of our bridesmaids, when we got married in 1968.
I also have another link to bronze. My father was a letterpress printer and his largest customers was a company called Enfield Rolling Mills, who rolled copper and other non-ferrous metals including bronze into various shapes.
I don’t know whether they invented the process. but sometime around 1960,Enfield Rolling Mills started to continuous cast bronze. I seem to remember that their bronze tubes were used in the original UK nuclear power stations.
Because of my father’s long-established friendship with the owner of Enfield Rolling Mills, I used to earn money there for my studies.
3D Printing
Bronze, other metals and even concrete can now be 3D printed.
I suspect we’ll see 3D printed sculptures appearing with greater regularity.
Other Materials
These pictures show Conrad Shawcross’s sculpture outside the Crick Institute.
It appears to be made out of weathered steel, which is often seen used in railway bridges and other structures.
In Denmark Hill Station – 4th September 2021, I talk about how the roof at Denmark Hill station is made out of steel covered with solar panels.
Could outdoor sculptures be made with steel covered in solar panels?
Southern Baptists Expel US Churches With Female Pastors
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
This is the sub-heading.
The US’s largest Baptist denomination has voted to expel two churches for having female pastors.
These paragraphs outline the article.
A vote by Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) members found Southern Californian megachurch Saddleback and Kentucky’s Fern Creek Baptist Church were “not in friendly cooperation” with SBC, the Baptist Press reported.
SBC’s mission statement says the office of pastor should be “limited to men.”
Fern Creek’s pastor told CBS News it was a “sad day for Southern Baptists”.
I must admit I’m not religious and only enter rarely enter a church, cathedral or other place of worship.
I suspect that the last few religious services, that I have attended have been funerals and I can’t remember one with a male celebrant.
In the parish, where I live, we used to have a female vicar but she has been promoted and we now have a male vicar.
Should the change either way matter to anyone? It’s surely about the quality of the work they do!
Don’t Call Them illegal Immigrants, Sadiq Khan Tells Civil Servants
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article in The Times.
These three paragraphs outline Khan’s new instructions to civil servants.
Sadiq Khan has told civil servants not to use the term “illegal migrants” but instead use “undocumented” migrants or those “with insecure immigration status”, according to internal guidance.
Produced for City Hall workers, the leaked inclusivity guide tells employees that instead of using “men and women’” they should say “people” or “Londoners”. It also advises the estimated 1,300 people who work for the Greater London Authority that the terms “male” and “female” are “dated and medicalised”.
“Similarly, instead of ‘ladies and gentlemen’ say something that doesn’t exclude non-binary people,” it reads.
In the 1970s, I can remember C and myself listening to a magnificent play on BBC Radio 4, by Václav Havel called The Memorandum.
The Wikipedia entry says this about the play.
The play is a black comedy that parodies bureaucracy and conformity. Havel wrote it prior to the Prague Spring of 1968 as an ironic satire dissenting against communist rule. Despite its veiled themes, the play was approved by government censors and published. The Memorandum centers on the introduction of a new language, “Ptydepe”, that is meant to make work more efficient despite having the opposite effect. Sam Walters considers The Memorandum to be Havel’s masterpiece.
Khan has obviously seen the play and feels he should sharpen up his act.
North Korea: Residents Tell BBC Of Neighbours Starving To Death
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
This is the sub-heading.
People in North Korea have told the BBC food is so scarce their neighbours have starved to death.
These are the first two paragraphs.
Exclusive interviews gathered inside the world’s most isolated state suggest the situation is the worst it has been since the 1990s, experts say.
The government sealed its borders in 2020, cutting off vital supplies. It has also tightened control over people’s lives, our interviewees say.
How long are we going to let Kim Jong Un starve his people?
The Lady In A Sari With A Fag
She was standing in Leicester Square watching people with a partner.
It just didn’t go!
Merseyrail Saw Over 90,000 Extra Journeys Made As Eurovision Revellers Travelled Across The Region
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Rail Advent.
These two paragraphs outline the story.
Merseyrail has reported an approximate increase of 24% in journeys made when compared to the same period in 2022 with an extra 90,000 trips made with the rail operator whilst Liverpool hosted Eurovision.
Special strategies were put in place to facilitate the increase in passengers, including late-night services to support the two busiest nights with trains running into the early hours following the Grand Final.
Sounds like Liverpool had a result, even if the UK didn’t.
The Anonymous Widower 