Oddly it appears that this attitude is being supported, nay encouraged, by legal firms - now there's a surprise - and so perhaps this thought is also their mantra:
Showing posts with label accountability. Show all posts
Showing posts with label accountability. Show all posts
Friday, 28 March 2014
Blue Sky Thinking - Blame
Listening to the radio today it seems that some are looking at the Malaysian air disaster and asking the question, 'Who is to blame - who can we sue?'
Oddly it appears that this attitude is being supported, nay encouraged, by legal firms - now there's a surprise - and so perhaps this thought is also their mantra:
Oddly it appears that this attitude is being supported, nay encouraged, by legal firms - now there's a surprise - and so perhaps this thought is also their mantra:
Monday, 7 May 2012
MPs and accountability
Or perhaps this should be 'lack of accountability'?
Since the division over whether or not Rupert Murdoch was fit to run News International and Newscorp in the house of common's culture committee I decided that I would seek to find out the facts regarding this. On one side we had Paul Farrelly telling us that the 'not fit' clause was tabled and discussed whilst, on the opposite side, we had Louise Mensch telling us that this was untrue.
Obviously we had three scenarios before us:
Both Farrelly and Mensch were mistaken in their understanding of what had been tabled and when,
Mensch was wrong in stating that the clause had neither been tabled and discussed, or
Farrelly was wrong in stating that it had.
So to find out what had happened I wrote to Farrelly and Mensch. Having heard nothing I also wrote to Whittingale (the chair of the committee) and to Tom Watson but to date - I have heard nothing from them. I have also contacted my local MP to ask if he could provide some clarification.
Obviously it's holiday time and so I'll leave it another few days and then take the game up the ladder a bit, but I do find this rather sad that the select committee looks flawed, biased and dare I say it, just a little corrupt. That said I find it more worrying that MP look as if they are not accountable to the electorate!
In case you are wondering who the members of the committee were, a little help:
Still waiting out (now who do I write to next?)
Pax
Since the division over whether or not Rupert Murdoch was fit to run News International and Newscorp in the house of common's culture committee I decided that I would seek to find out the facts regarding this. On one side we had Paul Farrelly telling us that the 'not fit' clause was tabled and discussed whilst, on the opposite side, we had Louise Mensch telling us that this was untrue.
Obviously we had three scenarios before us:
Both Farrelly and Mensch were mistaken in their understanding of what had been tabled and when,
Mensch was wrong in stating that the clause had neither been tabled and discussed, or
Farrelly was wrong in stating that it had.
So to find out what had happened I wrote to Farrelly and Mensch. Having heard nothing I also wrote to Whittingale (the chair of the committee) and to Tom Watson but to date - I have heard nothing from them. I have also contacted my local MP to ask if he could provide some clarification.
Obviously it's holiday time and so I'll leave it another few days and then take the game up the ladder a bit, but I do find this rather sad that the select committee looks flawed, biased and dare I say it, just a little corrupt. That said I find it more worrying that MP look as if they are not accountable to the electorate!
In case you are wondering who the members of the committee were, a little help:
Still waiting out (now who do I write to next?)
Pax
Saturday, 18 June 2011
More Time Off Vicar?
That's the question I was asked yesterday and it irked me (which is odd because the last couple of weeks haven't been the hardest I've ever known)!
Looking back on the last week there are many highlights in the shape of funerals, funeral visits, BCP Evensong, praying with people, counselling, visiting, training course, midweek communion, coffee morning and more besides. There were a few stressors in the shape of paperwork and ecumenical stuff. So why did the question leave me smiling, but deep down and out of sight, wounded, frustrated, niggled, disturbed (I can't actually name the emotion, I just know a light came on somewhere)?
It might have been that it was Friday and having managed time for breakfast, walking the dogs and the whole family watching a film together that I was chilled (even Kid's Club was laid back and fun). My day off had happened (hope you're reading this bishop, I've had a day off. Well sort of!) and I was relaxed and pretty much horizontal, so why and what was the problem?
Been praying about it and recall the wise words of an extremely experienced dog-collar. "Never explain why or where, just tell them you're not available!" I had breached the Hugh Wilcox rule and the response was exactly as he warned all those years back. "All they will see is that you are not available for them and your response will confirm their misconception. If they contact you more than once on your day off and you tell them you're off having lunch with your wife, they will assume that you're always having lunch with your wife (I wish!)."
Living over the shop is a blessing and a curse. You are there when needed. You are there when you aren't available (ie. Day off) and can be grabbed whenever you come and go. Friends who are detached and distant tell me that the opposite is true for them. They are too far from the church building and so rarely get disturbed.
On balance I like where I am and perhaps need a thicker skin (or more time off) and to remember the 'Wilcox Rule', after all a colleague told me that they took lots of 'personal time' but never told anyone and so they assumed their absence and I ability to answer the telephone meant they were always busy. The other side of my coin perhaps
Hey ho. 06:56 and office done, day planned. Prayed and (internal) supervision session completed (thank you for listening) and time for 07:00 Radio Four news.
Thanks guys
Looking back on the last week there are many highlights in the shape of funerals, funeral visits, BCP Evensong, praying with people, counselling, visiting, training course, midweek communion, coffee morning and more besides. There were a few stressors in the shape of paperwork and ecumenical stuff. So why did the question leave me smiling, but deep down and out of sight, wounded, frustrated, niggled, disturbed (I can't actually name the emotion, I just know a light came on somewhere)?
It might have been that it was Friday and having managed time for breakfast, walking the dogs and the whole family watching a film together that I was chilled (even Kid's Club was laid back and fun). My day off had happened (hope you're reading this bishop, I've had a day off. Well sort of!) and I was relaxed and pretty much horizontal, so why and what was the problem?
Been praying about it and recall the wise words of an extremely experienced dog-collar. "Never explain why or where, just tell them you're not available!" I had breached the Hugh Wilcox rule and the response was exactly as he warned all those years back. "All they will see is that you are not available for them and your response will confirm their misconception. If they contact you more than once on your day off and you tell them you're off having lunch with your wife, they will assume that you're always having lunch with your wife (I wish!)."
Living over the shop is a blessing and a curse. You are there when needed. You are there when you aren't available (ie. Day off) and can be grabbed whenever you come and go. Friends who are detached and distant tell me that the opposite is true for them. They are too far from the church building and so rarely get disturbed.
On balance I like where I am and perhaps need a thicker skin (or more time off) and to remember the 'Wilcox Rule', after all a colleague told me that they took lots of 'personal time' but never told anyone and so they assumed their absence and I ability to answer the telephone meant they were always busy. The other side of my coin perhaps
Hey ho. 06:56 and office done, day planned. Prayed and (internal) supervision session completed (thank you for listening) and time for 07:00 Radio Four news.
Thanks guys
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