Thursday, June 07, 2007

British Firemen Fight Their Union's PC Policy

Leaders of the fire service union are facing a challenge over a system which gives special treatment to black, gay and women members. Delegate at next week's conference of the Fire Brigades Union will hear a call from two branches that minority groups should no longer have extra votes in deciding its affairs. But the leadership of the Leftwing union, including general secretary Matt Wrack, is anxious to crush the idea.

The FBU's 19-strong executive includes representatives from 'equality sections' for blacks, gays and women. Objectors say this 'political correctness' means members of those groups have more votes than other firemen. A gay black fireman, for example, has a say through his black and gay representatives as well as his regional member while a white heterosexual gets just the regional vote.

This system is under attack in motions from Nottinghamshire and Northern Ireland. Union leaders, however, point out that there are no objections to other special interest groups for officers, emergency room workers and part-time firemen. An FBU spokesman said: 'The executive has decided unanimously to oppose these motions.'

Source



Heroic Scottish fireman escapes being fired

But only because of publicity

A hero fireman who faced the sack for jumping into a river to save a drowning woman has been cleared. Tayside firefighter Tam Brown, 42, faced disciplinary proceedings for rescuing the 20-year-old from the River Tay in Perth in March because his actions contravened brigade regulations. Tayside Fire&Rescue rules state firefighters should not enter the water but throw lines and talk instead.

After the Sunday Mail exclusively revealed Tam's plight and the subsequent nationwide furore over the threat to him and his commander David Wallace, fire chiefs have now told the men that no disciplinary action will be taken.

Yesterday, Tam, a fireman for 15 years, said: "We're very relieved common sense has won the day but the regulations haven't changed. I'd still face disciplinary action because I'd still have to do the same thing tomorrow if I saw a drowning person."

Tayside fire chiefs are now establishing a working group to report on what extra measures need to be brought in.

Source



Pick your Discrimination

Are Americans ready for a black president? This is the attempt that open minded leftists use to silence any criticism of Barrack Obama. It goes unsaid that anyone who dares vote against Barrack is a "racist" and if he loses his presidential bid, our nation is still racist.

They want to say the same thing about Hillary Clinton. "Are we ready for a woman president?" Hillary not getting elected just proves that we're a sexist society where gender can still hold you back. Of course, with a black man on one side and a woman on the other will we hear about how racist/sexist liberal voters are in primary where they have to choose between one or the other? The answer is no. It's good enough that libs throw these people up as tokens so they can make outrageous accusations.

And the flip question opens: Why aren't you a racist/sexist for voting against someone who is white or male? The answer to this comes back to basic liberal philosophy. They don't really believe in equality between anything, they just want to appoint themselves referee and keep score. They think that as ref, they should be above the game. The problem is that in our society everyone has to play.

Libs have been telling us our society is intolerant and unaccepting since the sixties. After forty plus years of attempted integration, our culture is still sorely devoid of chances for minorities and women. Leftists point out that there are still places that are white only (like exclusive country clubs) and places that are male only (like various organizations.) A forty year struggle to break in to these various things is far too long. The existance of these things demonstrates how rotten we are. People should be viewed as and treated equally regardless of skin color and gender. Okay, I'll go along with all of that.

Enter the Congressional Black Congress. This is a cliche that was formed in the late 60's by blacks, for blacks. Their stated purpose is to make sure that they get better government goodies than other races. They support the equalitarian idea of affirmative action (you know, those laws insure our equality by giving some of us special perks denied to others that don't have the same skin color?)

But they're not the only hypocrits. Enter the National Organization of Women (NOW). This organization was founded in 1966 with the stated purpose of equality between the sexes. But in 41 years they've never had a male president. Talk about an "old boys club". You'd think that as zealous about sexual equality as they are, they would have had at least one male lead them. But no, in typical left wing fashion their rules and regulations only apply to everyone else. They're excluded because women have a lower score than men and thus can get away with more. Too bad this isn't equality, it's just a group of pigs living like humans and calling it better.

I guess you'd have to be lib to understand.

Source



The beady eyes of Britain's official Puritans are now focusing on wine-drinking



Middle-class wine drinkers will be the focus of government plans to make drunkenness as socially unacceptable as smoking, The Times has learnt. Under the plans published today, a fresh audit is to be conducted by the Government into the overall costs of alcohol abuse to society and the National Health Service. “We want to target older drinkers, those that are maybe drinking one or two bottles of wine at home each evening,” a Whitehall source said. “They do not realise the damage they are doing to their health and that they risk developing liver disease. We are not talking here about the traditional wino.”

The assault on Middle England’s drinking habits is part of a three-strand approach, which will also target underage drinking and heavy alcohol consumption among those aged 18-24. “There are growing numbers of people turning up in hospital with drink-related diseases and drink-related injuries. They are getting younger and more of them are turning up needing treatment,” the source added.

The move comes as The Times has been told that the British Medical Association is to investigate measures used in other countries to curb excessive alcohol consumption. Doctors’ leaders are also calling for pubs and restaurants to display warnings stating how many units of alcohol are contained in drinks served by the glass.

Today’s strategy, by the Home Office and the Department of Health, broadens the Government’s offensive against excessive drinking, with the focus moving beyond teenagers and the binge-drinkers to include those regularly sipping wine at home. As part of the strategy, ministers wish to highlight the increasing burden that drink-related disease is placing on the NHS, which four years ago was estimated to be costing between £1.3 billion and £1.7 billion. Ministers want drunkenness in public to be as socially unacceptable in ten years’ time as smoking or drink-driving is today.

Last night Ian Gilmore, President of the Royal College of Physicians, gave his full support to the focus on the health costs of heavy drinking. “We really need the spotlight more on health. While crime and antisocial behaviour is important it’s too easy to concentrate on that because it’s somebody else causing the trouble. “When you look at health it’s more uncomfortable because there’s a very significant percentage of the population already drinking at potentially hazardous levels." With alcohol costing 54 per cent less in real terms than in 1980, Professor Gilmore, a liver specialist, also called on the Chancellor to raise drink taxes. “We know from international evidence that it’s measures that tackle price and availability where one can really make a difference. There is a very clear link between price and consumption. It’s never been cheaper in real terms than it is now.”

All alcoholic drinks sold in bottles and cans will be expected to carry labels disclosing the number of units and recommended safe drinking limits by the end of next year. The strategy is also expected to require pubs, supermarkets and off-licences to display health warnings on alcohol at the bar or tills, as well as labels. But the British Medical Association said yesterday that such measures did not go far enough, adding that customers in licensed premises needed better information to raise awareness of the dangers of excessive drinking and drink-driving. Vivienne Nathanson, the head of science and ethics at the BMA, said: “It is not the nanny state. It is about informed choices. It is hard for the average person to work out how many units are in a drink these days. Glasses of wine are much larger than they used to be and many beers and wines are much stronger”.

Although ministers are seeking voluntary agreements with the £30-billion-a-year industry on safe drinking messages, there is private concern that drinks firms have been slow to act over the issue. A spokesman for the British Beer and Pub Association said: “We are in discussion with government about how to make people more aware about how much they are drinking.”

Source

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Political correctness is most pervasive in universities and colleges but I rarely report the incidents concerned here as I have a separate blog for educational matters.

American "liberals" often deny being Leftists and say that they are very different from the Communist rulers of other countries. The only real difference, however, is how much power they have. In America, their power is limited by democracy. To see what they WOULD be like with more power, look at where they ARE already very powerful: in America's educational system -- particularly in the universities and colleges. They show there the same respect for free-speech and political diversity that Stalin did: None. So look to the colleges to see what the whole country would be like if "liberals" had their way. It would be a dictatorship.


For more postings from me, see TONGUE-TIED, GREENIE WATCH, EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, DISSECTING LEFTISM, IMMIGRATION WATCH and EYE ON BRITAIN. My Home Pages are here or here or here. Email me (John Ray) here. For times when blogger.com is playing up, there are mirrors of this site here and here.

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