The injured horse, the vet and Bristol police

I read with horror this morning about the plight of a horse in Bitton, near Bristol, who was forced to suffer and die slowly because police insisted that only a vet could put it down.

A girl was riding the animal in Golden Valley Lane when the pair were hit by a car.

The rider was thrown clear, but the horse suffered horrific injuries after hitting and rolling over the car.

Police arrived on the scene, along with a local licensed firearms owner, within a few minutes.

With at least one badly broken leg, suspected internal bleeding and going into shock, those on the scene had to hold the horse on the floor, but police officers would not allow the gunsman to put the animal down.

They insisted that only a vet or slaughterman could do the job and almost an hour went by, when the horse finally died in agony.

Insensitive, inhumane and frankly pathetic.

There have been several incidents of speeding cars hitting horses in Bristol recently, leading to calls for lower speed limits and harsher penalties.

Bristol City Council Refuse Strikes – Claim Compensation!

Bristol City Council’s sub-contractor for waste collection and street-cleansing, SITA, finally agreed a 3-year pay deal with its workers in the Unite union yesterday (Wednesday), that will enable them to end the industrial action of the last few weeks.

Waste and recycling will now be collected as normal and roads and pavements will be swept again.

But how did it get this far anyway?

Unite believes that SITA was using the recession as an excuse to effectively cut workers’ pay. The union calculated that SITA was making a healthy profit from the council, but not sharing.

Because the council services for which we pay so much each year were interrupted, we are within our rights to claim compensation.

Write, quoting your council tax account number and requesting a rebate to: 

Local Taxation Officer
Bristol City Council
PO Box 968
Amelia Court
Pipe Lane
Bristol
BS99 1ZG

or email: council.tax@bristol.gov.uk

The more of us that do it, the more likely they are to listen.

Can Black People be Racist? (or the Bristol Councillor who called her colleague a Coconut)

We heard last week that Bristol City Councillor of Afro-Caribbean origin has apologised after calling an Indian colleague a ‘coconut’.

Liberal Democrat Councillor Shirley Brown (nee Marshall), who is councillor for the Ashley ward in Bristol (comprising St Pauls, St Werburghs and Montpelier), used the racist term to criticise her Conservative colleague Jay Jethwa, who arrived in Britain in the mid-1980s, and is now councillor for Stockwood.

Before using the term ‘coconut’, Brown even explained that it refers to people of Asian origin who are ‘brown on the outside and white inside’, which amounts to criticising people who try to turn their backs on their own culture and adopt the outlook and trappings of the majority white community in Britain.

Councillor Jay Jethwa said, “I have never come across such a personal and upsetting racial comment directed at me. All I was doing was exercising my democratic right to speak and express my opinions, so to have those kind of words directed at me was a real shock and very upsetting. It’s a huge insult to me.

“I knew exactly what it meant as soon as I heard it. It means someone who is black on the outside and white on the inside and definitely racially related.

“For this to have come from a black person, who uses this term specifically for people who come from my background, is just unacceptable and uncalled for.”

Brown said during the heated debate, “In our culture we have a word for you and before I go into what I want to say and my statement, is that we have a word for you and, which any in this city would understand, is a coconut.”

Other councillors, members of the media and the general public were, obviously, outraged by the comments. At least one complaint was made to the police and Brown may face criminal charges. The council’s Standards Committee is also investigating and will discuss the matter behind closed doors on 9th April.

Conservative councillor John Goulandris said, “Everyone should be offended by Shirley Brown’s use of this profoundly unpleasant racist remark. Ironically, this ugly utterance has come from someone who proclaims herself something of an expert at recognising racism in others.”

Brown has since made an apology to Jethwa, suggesting that she had not intended to be insulting, but added – and here’s the incredible bit: “How can I be a racist when I’m black?”

What could she have meant by that?

Perhaps we should all remind her that being black doesn’t automatically indemnify someone to make racist remarks about others.

In true local authority style, it is possible to contact Shirley Brown to let her know what you think on the subject: Contact details for Bristol’s Racist Councillor.

Shirley Brown has also been in hot water recently for only attending the minimum number of council meetings required to receive full pay for the role – she spends the majority of her time at home in the United States.

Sources:

The original story is here at the BBC Bristol and The Sun websites.

The update about police action is here at thisisbristol.co.uk.

Thanks to the Bristol Blogger for this – brilliant!

Bristol’s Broad Plain Boys: Sexist

A Bristol sports club has been forced to change its name after being branded sexist.

Bristol City Councillors warned Broad Plain Boys could lose funding.

The club is based at the Riverside Leisure Club in Easton and had held the title since 1894.

Now the complex, which does have girl members, calls itself Broad Plain Working With Young People Group.

Is it me, or is that political correctness gone mad? Given the current economic climate, don’t Bristol City Councillors have anything better to do?

Business Grants for Switching to Renewable Energy

Businesses in the West are being offered grants to help them switch to renewable sources of energy.

The South West Regional Development Agency (SWRDA) is injecting an extra £2m into a fund called Regen SW, which offers money and advice to help firms go green. SWRDA has now invested more than £5.3 million in Regen SW since 2002. 

The extra money will allow Regen SW to beef up its support to businesses.  It will also look at speeding up the transition to a low-carbon economy in the South West by promoting sustainable energy.

One local business that has already benefited from a Regen grant is The Mendip Centre at Blagdon, near Bristol. It is the headquarters of Holt Farm and the Yeo Valley dairy. It is currently installing a 130kW biomass boiler, which generates renewable heat. It is estimated it will save them £11,000 a year.

Sainsbury’s to Stop Selling Battery Eggs

UK supermarket giant Sainsbury’s has announced that it will stop selling battery farm eggs from caged birds from early next month.

The plight of caged hens has been well-known for decades in the UK – it’s barbaric, cruel and unnecessary to keep birds in conditions that make their lives short, painful and miserable.

Like most people I know, I have been buying only free range eggs as long as I can remember. The extra 20p or so per 6-pack is a small price to pay to live in the knowledge that those creatures that provide us with food are not suffering.

How refreshing that a major supermarket is finally taking the step forward.

Now it’s time to put pressure on Tesco, ASDA and Morrisons to do the same.

You just lost The Game

Came across The Game last night.

The aim is to beat the Prime Minister or the President of the US.

And the sole objective is not the think about The Game.

You just lost The Game