The government is spending £29.5 million training local authority enforcement officers how to police the imminent smoking ban. We are generally a law-abiding lot. We grumble, turn a few shades of purple, then get on with it. Businesses have had to create smoke-free rest rooms for a number of years and I know many smokers feel a total ban would help them give up. Since employers and pub landlords will be fined if they allow smoking, as will the smoker, this is self-policing legislation. I wonder how long it will take to recoup this money through fines they wouldn’t have had to impose had the rules been made clearer?
The need for expensive training is puzzling; presumably these officers are capable of reading the regulations? And a local authority inspector (who has powers within a workplace) does not have powers of arrest over a smoking member of the public. So, will they have to make a citizen's arrest to hold them until the police arrive? By definition, any of us can do this without the luxury of training (there is no set form of words but you must tell the person what you are doing, why and what offence you believe they are committing - while they passively submit).
This money would be better spent on more workplace inspections or catching fly-tippers, predictably increasing because of the higher costs of waste disposal.
Wednesday, 21 February 2007
Thursday, 25 January 2007
Cook the food and clean the cloths!
We are now being told to put cleaning cloths in the microwave to kill the germs.
A team of environmental engineers in Florida soaked cloths in faecal contaminated water (like you do) then cooked them in a microwave. Between 4-10 minutes is required to kill everything, but most bacteria, including E.coli and salmonella, are zapped in 2 minutes. Cloths need to be damp and 'cooked' until steaming to kill most bugs - at around 71C. Yummy.
Reports don't say at what time the sponge is likely to set alight so if, like me, you don't generally stand there watching the microwave cook, I suggest you don't go off multi-tasking!
Why do we make things so complicated? They must be laughing their socks off in Europe. We need to teach our kids to eat food that looks like food, wash their hands after going to the toilet and wash, disinfect and throw away those cloths!! Remember, the Americans spent years and $millions inventing a pen to write in space - the Russians had the sense to use a pencil.
A team of environmental engineers in Florida soaked cloths in faecal contaminated water (like you do) then cooked them in a microwave. Between 4-10 minutes is required to kill everything, but most bacteria, including E.coli and salmonella, are zapped in 2 minutes. Cloths need to be damp and 'cooked' until steaming to kill most bugs - at around 71C. Yummy.
Reports don't say at what time the sponge is likely to set alight so if, like me, you don't generally stand there watching the microwave cook, I suggest you don't go off multi-tasking!
Why do we make things so complicated? They must be laughing their socks off in Europe. We need to teach our kids to eat food that looks like food, wash their hands after going to the toilet and wash, disinfect and throw away those cloths!! Remember, the Americans spent years and $millions inventing a pen to write in space - the Russians had the sense to use a pencil.
Thursday, 18 January 2007
Big Bully Reality?
I kept being asked my opinion (that's my excuse) so switched onto Big Brother last night - helping to boost the ratings to 5 million. Damn. We're all voyeurs to some extent it's being manipulated I hate.
Anyway, I saw this massively insecure child-woman intent on humiliating and scoring points over an attractive, successful Indian woman, for precisely those reasons. Shilpa Shetty was sharp contrast to Jade Goody’s empty celebrity, built on foul mouthed ignorance.
Faced with someone who does not fit her frame of reference Jade attempts to batter them into something she understands and can relate to. She and her silly girlfriends think speaking their disgusting minds is 'honest' whilst consideration and manners are ‘phoney.’ Her foul mouthed ranting at Shilpa was crass and ignorant, jaw-droppingly nasty and embarrassing.
There was a clear social clash but to call this racism is to presume it would not be directed at someone of the same colour when we know that it is. In fact, Jody Marsh was bullied on this show but after an initial flurry of protest the general tenor was that being a dim white girl from Essex she more or less had it coming. So to call it racism suggests that one sector of society is entitled to protection whilst the rest of us must put up with it; as if it's our 'culture.'
Jade's attitude reflects that of a growing underclass that finds it easier to denigrate others than to raise its own aspirations. Bonded by insecurities these individuals attack anything that's 'different' to bolster their own self-esteem.
What I found really shameful was the cowardice and lack of support shown by older members of the house, which is probably, disappointingly a true reflection of real life. Perhaps it was edited out to increase the ratings but I did not hear anyone other than Shilpa tell Jade to shut up.
I don’t believe Shilpa Shetty wants or needs sympathy. As someone who speaks eight languages she'll laugh at Danielle's remark that she 'can't even speak proper English.' As a wealthy, intelligent woman she clearly saw advantage in appearing on this show to further her career. Perhaps she'll appear in the next James Bond? We need to remember that these people are being paid a lot of money, signed contracts to be humiliated and are not prisoners.
27,000 bothering to complain at least demonstrates that this particular reality is rejected as part of our culture.
Click here for information on bullying and work-related stress
www.quadrant-safety.co.uk
Anyway, I saw this massively insecure child-woman intent on humiliating and scoring points over an attractive, successful Indian woman, for precisely those reasons. Shilpa Shetty was sharp contrast to Jade Goody’s empty celebrity, built on foul mouthed ignorance.
Faced with someone who does not fit her frame of reference Jade attempts to batter them into something she understands and can relate to. She and her silly girlfriends think speaking their disgusting minds is 'honest' whilst consideration and manners are ‘phoney.’ Her foul mouthed ranting at Shilpa was crass and ignorant, jaw-droppingly nasty and embarrassing.
There was a clear social clash but to call this racism is to presume it would not be directed at someone of the same colour when we know that it is. In fact, Jody Marsh was bullied on this show but after an initial flurry of protest the general tenor was that being a dim white girl from Essex she more or less had it coming. So to call it racism suggests that one sector of society is entitled to protection whilst the rest of us must put up with it; as if it's our 'culture.'
Jade's attitude reflects that of a growing underclass that finds it easier to denigrate others than to raise its own aspirations. Bonded by insecurities these individuals attack anything that's 'different' to bolster their own self-esteem.
What I found really shameful was the cowardice and lack of support shown by older members of the house, which is probably, disappointingly a true reflection of real life. Perhaps it was edited out to increase the ratings but I did not hear anyone other than Shilpa tell Jade to shut up.
I don’t believe Shilpa Shetty wants or needs sympathy. As someone who speaks eight languages she'll laugh at Danielle's remark that she 'can't even speak proper English.' As a wealthy, intelligent woman she clearly saw advantage in appearing on this show to further her career. Perhaps she'll appear in the next James Bond? We need to remember that these people are being paid a lot of money, signed contracts to be humiliated and are not prisoners.
27,000 bothering to complain at least demonstrates that this particular reality is rejected as part of our culture.
Click here for information on bullying and work-related stress
www.quadrant-safety.co.uk
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