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Last update June 2024

 

Jersey

June 24

Website administrator Maurice R. Troy

If you have any comments you would like to add about anything on this website please contact the website administrator.

 

 

 

maurice@troyfamily.co.uk

More of my observations and thoughts.

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Jean Charles de Menezes death the Brazilian electrician killed by the British police of which no one has been held accountable, even though the police have been found guilty and we are told  “lessons will be learnt”. Mistakes happen we all know but when an innocent life is taken someone must be responsible and accountable for the sake of the deceased family. 

The reason, we are told, for the huge salaries Police Commissioners get is because of the overall responsibility they have to carry, but this is meaningless as they are never ever held responsible.

 

 

Here in Jersey we had a police officer who pleaded guilty to five offences and this is the report in our local paper.

‘It is the court’s view that the conviction is punishment enough.’

He ( the Magistrate) suggested that xxxxxx would be given an absolute discharge — meaning that he would be found guilty but not punished any further — when he was sentenced.

Makes you wonder what’s going on doesn’t it!

 

 

 

 

Is the strict building laws working here in Jersey as once passed plans can be changed by the developers in the hope they go unnoticed. If they do get noticed by the public a retrospective plan is submitted and they are passed.

I remember a retrospective application was required over height of the new Royal Yacht hotel building. Planning Officer said this happens from time to time. “Sometimes the parties may not be aware that they have exceeded the required consent.”

 Makes you wonder how many times this is happening and not noticed because this also was the case on a huge property at Corbiere.

 

I know of two houses that were built in the wrong position (years apart) exactly where the owners wanted them to go but the planners had refused. Because the houses were too advanced by the time it was noticed the owners paid a small fine but kept them in the position they wanted, both were pleased.

 

 

Our past Chief Minister  some time ago patrolled our streets in St Helier at night flanked by two large police officers. All wore stab proof jackets and the public were reassured by the Chief Minister that all is well, he never saw any trouble at all and declared St Helier safe at night.

 

Then three months later…..

 

THE police cannot cope with increasing violence and disorder in St Helier on their own, according to States police chief . Officers are being pulled out of other units in order to keep the streets safe at night. The latest crime figures show that they may be losing the battle. overall recorded crime is down, but violence and drunken disorder are up.

 

Top heavy.

 

It appears to me that Jersey’s administration of all departments are over loaded with non productive managers including the ones that they are major shareholders in. At Telecoms I knew a really nice old guy whose advice was to always walk around with papers in your hand, look important and be good at talking and you can do no wrong. When cuts are required it is always the workers at the bottom of the scale as managers are afraid and desperate to protect their positions. Becomes like a little club for them really.

 

 

Have you noticed that when we are young up till the age of about twelve we are generally told what to do and your opinions are not taken seriously. After the age of sixty a similar experience seems to happen. In the years between we all unconsciously behave this way and it is more noticeable when amongst old people. This is a problem with staff in retirement homes and luckily there is a lot more training nowadays for carers to show more respect for their patients.

I read a survey once which showed that people who did not know their true age, when asked how old they were always thought they were younger than they really were. Old people are still themselves within and to be called “love” and “be a good boy/girl” can be hurtful to a proud person. This can be illustrated by this lovely poem “See me”, read it and take it in.

 

See Me
What do you see, nurses, what do you see?
Are you thinking, when you look at me --
A crabby old woman, not very wise,
Uncertain of habit, with far-away eyes,
Who dribbles her food and makes no reply,
When you say in a loud voice -- "I do wish you'd try."

Who seems not to notice the things that you do,
And forever is losing a stocking or shoe,
Who unresisting or not, lets you do as you will,
With bathing and feeding, the long day to fill.

Is that what you're thinking, is that what you see?
Then open your eyes, nurse, you're looking at ME...
I'll tell you who I am, as I sit here so still;
As I rise at your bidding, as I eat at your will.

I'm a small child of ten with a father and mother,
Brothers and sisters, who love one another,
A young girl of sixteen with wings on her feet.
Dreaming that soon now a lover she'll meet;
A bride soon at twenty -- my heart gives a leap,
Remembering the vows that I promised to keep;
At twenty-five now I have young of my own,
Who need me to build a secure, happy home;
A woman of thirty, my young now grow fast,
Bound to each other with ties that should last;
At forty, my young sons have grown and are gone,
But my man's beside me to see I don't mourn;
At fifty once more babies play 'round my knee,
Again we know children, my loved one and me.

Dark days are upon me, my husband is dead,
I look at the future, I shudder with dread,
For my young are all rearing young of their own,
And I think of the years and the love that I've known;
I'm an old woman now and nature is cruel --
'Tis her jest to make old age look like a fool.

The body is crumbled, grace and vigor depart,
There is now a stone where once I had a heart,
But inside this old carcass a young girl still dwells,
And now and again my battered heart swells.

I remember the joys, I remember the pain,
And I'm loving and living life over again,
I think of the years, all too few -- gone too fast,
And accept the stark fact that nothing can last --
So I open your eyes, nurses, open and see,
Not a crabby old woman, look closer, nurses -- see ME!

This poem was found among the possessions of an elderly lady who died in the geriatric ward of a hospital. No information is available concerning her -- who she was or when she died. Reprinted from the "Assessment and Alternatives Help Guide" prepared by the Colorado Foundation for Medical Care.

 

 

 

The justice system should be part of the solution, but instead they are part of the problem. Too much pandering to "I had a bad upbringing" “ I was drunk” and similar nonsense. 
Fines are imposed that never get paid, and they get written off. The offenders see this as a badge of honour.
The disparity between sentences handed down for the same crimes is alarming. Steal gold ring and you get 3 years jail. Steal a tradesman's tools and vehicle, depriving him of making a living, and it’s a slap on the wrist with a wet bus ticket.

Bring back the chain gangs, hard labour, clear headland paths so at least the tax payer will get something for his/her £160,000 annual cost per prisoner.

 

Make certain parents responsible for their children’s actions and not the community as a whole. That would improve society and our way of life.

 

.A Minister changed his mind about GST at a public meeting but this upset the Jersey’s past Chief Minister  as we learned he had the ministers pledge their support for him at a meeting before the States debate. Surely this is wrong to decide behind closed doors and makes a farce of the States so called democratic debate that the public listen to. I learnt that the Constables have closed meetings before debates and I wonder if they do the same. We are told there are no Party Politics. Are we being hoodwinked?

 

If only the tunnelled vision of some of our ministers who live only for the finance world, broaden their sights and could see how unique Jersey was in not having GST/VAT. They should try to manage our finances as if running a happy family for the benefit of all of us not the privileged few, then the respect of the Islanders would return

 

Still after all that Jersey is still a great place to live, we just need a little more transparency in government to stop all the whinging including mine!.

 

The States of Jersey do have a difficult job running the island and keeping everyone happy and Jersey has prospered by mostly good government of which we islanders should all be grateful.

 

 

 

Christianity began in 32AD when Jesus Christ was crucified, died and rose again. Of the twelve Apostles there were four Evangelists Matthew, Mark, Luke and John whose Gospels make up the New Testament. This is the Bible that the Catholic Church is based on and there is recorded history that these events really happened. All other Christian Religions are man made branches of the Catholic religion and based on these facts but tend to mostly use the Old Testament. It’s important to remember all Christians religions worship the one and the same god. 

Roman Catholics understandably make up the largest branch of Christianity. There are over one billion followers of Roman Catholicism worldwide the Church became the Roman Empire's official religion in 380AD. In 1054AD the Eastern Orthodox Church separated from the Roman Catholic Church but is closely connected and Catholics can attend their services and vice versa.. The origin of the Catholic Church is from Jesus Christ himself and many consider it be one of the oldest religious institutions in history. The word “catholic” means universal.
The church was founded by Jesus Christ through Peter the Apostle. Three days after Jesus died and rose again; he established the religion and named Peter (meaning rock) as the first Bishop (later known as Pope). Matthew 16:18-19 says Jesus said, "Now I say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it. And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you lock on earth will be locked in heaven, and whatever you open on earth will be opened in heaven."
In AD 69, Peter was martyred and was succeeded by Saint Linus as Pope and although there were some splits the line has continued to the present day Pope, who is Pope Francis. The word Catholic is first used around 110AD in a historical letter from Ignatius of Antioch.

 

Other Christian Religions were founded later by:

 

King Henry V111 1491-1547 was Catholic who then founded his own Church of England / Anglican religion for reasons we all know.

 

Martin Luther 1483-1546 was a German Catholic monk who is also considered to be the founder of  Protestantism at the time of the Reformation. Luther's theology  challenged the authority of the  papacy by holding that the Bible  is the sole source of religious authority.  A sad but interesting life which coincided with Henry V111’s break away from the Catholic Church in England

 

John Knox 1510-1572 a former Catholic priest who then went on and founded of the Church of Scotland or Presbyterians

 

George Fox 1624-1691 was a Church of England minister who then founded then Religious Society of Friends or Quakers.

 

John Wesley 1703-1791 who was an Anglican minister who then founded the Methodist movement.

 

Joseph Smith 1806-1844 was an American religious leader who then founded the Later Day Saints Movement also known as Mormonism.

 

Charles Taze Russell 1852-1916 was an American Evangelist who founded the Jehovah’s Witnesses.

 

 

 

Go to snippets page 5 for a good laugh and cheer yourself up.

A while ago when listening to the States Committees fund allocations  and budgets on Radio Jersey I heard the Housing Departments spending. Everything was in millions which is understandable but at the very end Senator Le Main said there was £21,000 unaccounted for which he said was quite acceptable considering the total budget involved. They were not the only department like this and I remember thinking that can’t be right, that’s more than many people earn in a year and is not good housekeeping

 

 

Right: Christian religions explained.

Do we ever pay attention or is the world only as we believe it to be?

 THE Thatcher government tried to make every citizen pay for the running of the country Jack Anarchist and his pals, never having paid a penny for anything, responded by rioting in London. So the government had second thoughts. They decided to take the money not from Jack Anarchist, who would smash things up, but from respectable little old ladies who would die of shame rather than fail to pay a bill. And so council tax was born and politicians learned the valuable lesson that little old ladies can be milked for every penny without making too much fuss. It was deeply immoral and, nearly 20 years on, it is happening again. The shattering drop in interest rates is today reducing the income of little old ladies, and little old men, by hundreds or thousands of pounds. If they were Jack Anarchist they would riot, if they were the banks they would threaten to bring down the economy. But they are quiet, respectable people whose hard-saved money is now paying for the failings of City crooks and useless politicians.

 

 

Peter Rhodes JEP

A group of US servicemen are preparing to testify over human-rights abuses (i.e. cold-blooded massacres) in Iraq. It was only a matter of time. If you go to the internet video site YouTube you will find dozens of clips of US soldiers and mercenaries casually killing (they call it ‘smoking’) Iraqis. A car comes too close to a convoy? Smoke it. A group of Iraqis are detected on a helicopter gunship’s thermal camera two miles away? Smoke ‘em. One of the Iraqis survives the burst of cannon fire and is writhing wounded on the ground? Smoke him. If this happens with the cameras rolling, God knows what happens in private.

 

Peter Rhodes JEP

The total 2007 wage bill for the public sector work force in Jersey (area 45 sq miles) was just over £245M

States members remuneration amounted to £2.2M in 2007 (population 100,000)

A man who fears no truths has nothing to fear from lies.

 

Thomas Jefferson

Sad to say I have no faith in religions anymore but I do believe in God.

Never, ever, argue with an idiot. They'll drag you down to their level and beat you with experience

"Animals of the world exist for their own reasons. They were not made for humans any more than blacks were made for whites or women for men."

 

Alice Walker

Forgiveness does not change the past but it does enlarge the future.

 

 

 

 

GST/VAT Tax.

This tax is a very easy option for governments to really boosts their income especially in countries like NZ where it is also imposed on essential items. After paying tax on all your income you then have to pay the government 15%  every time you spend with the poor obviously being the hardest hit.

A Poll tax would be much fairer if done properly.

When you were born you were crying and everyone around you was smiling.

 Live your life so that when you are dying everyone around you is crying and you are smiling.

A TOTAL of 198 public employees received annual packages worth more than £100,000 in 2012 – a rise of 33 on the year before. The Bailiff and Deputy Bailiff were the public sector’s top earners last year, receiving total packages worth almost £600,000 between them, newly published figures show.

Think about this.

 

There does not necessarily have to be a god for there to be life after death.

Now at last the proposed new legislation aims to scrap ‘collective responsibility’, a principle meaning that all members of the Council of Ministers must vote the same way, even if they strongly disagree with doing so.