30 October 2006
Letter: Ignorant comments
In response to councillor Jim Irvine’s reported anger directed at the
anonymous complainer to the EU about possible breaches of state aid
regulations by the SIC.
As an environmental campaigner / activist in Shetland for several years, I
use and advocate the right of any individual to complain, object, whistle
blow, report failures in our democratic system, wrong doing, miss-conduct,
corruption, poor service and a host of other dubious practices. I would like
to point out 2 very significant facts regarding anonymous complaints or
whistle blowing.
Firstly, anonymous complaints, tip offs, reporting, whistle blowing etc are
deemed very important & encouraged by a host of government & non-government
agencies. The police, local authority environmental & public health
departments, the health & safety executive, inland revenue, customs, public
& industry watchdogs to name only a few. Some even offer rewards as in the
case of anonymous calls to the police where there is a successful
prosecution for drink driving and health & safety contraventions.
Secondly, there is the issue of intimidation and in a small community like
Shetland it is very significant. Between 2000 and 2004 Shetland was probably
at the peak of factory farmed salmon production. During this time I was an
active & outspoken anti salmon farming campaigner with my activities,
comments & beliefs - then & now open & fully documented. I remain an active
social & environmental campaigner due to the lack of opposition, scrutiny or
accountability in certain parts of our local democratic structure & economic
development systems.
During 2000 and 2004 I was threatened several times anonymously for being
publicly outspoken, I was confronted on the street, at weddings, concerts,
Sunday teas etc & received numerous anonymous abusive phone calls. I was
turned down for several job applications for reasons outside the ability to
do the job and experienced various unsavoury experiences. Not at all
pleasant but expected as I knew the territory & fully aware of what goes
with the work of a campaigner.
During this period I used information that came to me by folk directly
involved in the salmon farming industry, given to me by folk that had very
serious concerns about what was going on. Without exception these folk were
also very aware of the intimidation at play & could not speak out themselves
for fear of reprisals either against them or members of their family. An
example of this intimidation goes like this: -
Mr X works on a salmon farm & was deeply worried & concerned about what he
was told to do. His brother was a shell fisherman in the area & what Mr X
was told to do would cause a potential pollution problem that would affect
his brothers business. Mr X's mother, wife, sister & 3 other relatives
worked for the same company and stood to loose their jobs if Mr X blew the
whistle.
There are other examples of this & not just in salmon farming. All small
communities like Shetland are rife with this problem with many local people
intimidated into silence. Jim Irvine’s comments are totally ignorant of the
democracy we live in & what happens in the real world. It is not at all
surprising to me that people choose to make their complaints in an anonymous
manner. It matters not who complains, it is the substance of the complaint
that is important and the SIC & it’s investment arms have lost £ millions of
public funds with (so far) little accountability.
For the record, it wasn't me that complained. I don't do things in anonymity
but I was thinking about it & a pat on the back to who ever did, there are
so many unanswered questions to the lost Shetland millions!
Vic Thomas
Sandwick
Shetland
vic.thomas@btopenworld.com
28 October 2006
More common sense
Well they say what goes around comes around. Been there, done that, and
very useful it was too, until the powers that be decided otherwise.
Social work had an office in the Brae Hotel in the 90's which was very
useful for folk living in the north isles, as I was then. It meant shorter
journeys for meetings, from and to the isles and Northmavine.
So it's not so radical Bill (Manson) just common sense, something that is in
short supply sometimes.
Sincerely Mrs S. Willshaw
susanne.willshaw@btinternet.com
26 October 2006
Inefficient wind turbines?
Some time ago I suggested that the capacity factor of wind turbines has been
exaggerated by a factor of two.
I was wrong and now wish to apologise unreservedly for an error in my
calculations.
The capacity factor of wind turbines has, in fact, been exaggerated by a
factor of four!
If any of your readers wish to view proof of this, they can send an email
requesting the information with an explanation of how this information will
be used.
My email address is
solutions@greenheating.com
Kind regards,
Andrew H Mackay
Causewayside
Glenaldie
TAIN
Ross-shire
17 October, 2006
Don’t ignore us Tories
LAST week you reported that SNP, Liberal and Labour MEPs had written to
the EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes about the current dispute with
Shetland Islands Council.
I would like to point out that I was also a signatory and in fact
participated in the drafting of the letter.
As vice-chairman of the Parliament’s Economic & Monetary Committee, which
has jurisdiction in this area, it is likely that my involvement could be
very relevant.
You might wish to put the record straight as to Conservative MEPs being
concerned and involved as much as the other parties’ MEPs. It is because we
all work together in such cases that we are consistently much more
effective.
Yours sincerely
John Purvis MEP
3 October 2006
Who cleans the Street?
I'm a regular visitor to Shetland and am glad to have daily updates via
Shetland News.
Recently I was in the deserted 'Street' about 5.45pm, deserted that is apart
from two young people, a boy and girl perhaps 12/14 years of age.
The young man was gently rolling an empty Coke bottle with his foot, at the
top of a lengthy run of stone steps.
When it fell, scattering broken glass all over the place, I asked him why
he'd done it. Shrugged shoulders! And when I asked who was going to clean it
up, he said it would be "the people who clean the streets in the morning."
Mary Swain
Jeanannecharkham@aol.com
3 October 2006
Nature reserves need attention
Your report on the plans for Unst is most encouraging and I write to
list one or two things that need attention, which may well be in mind. But
better to emphasise their importance rather than they be forgotten or put
down the priority list.
The Hermaness Nature Reserve is currently a gem in the Unst offering. I
visited there recently after an interval of 20 years and found that the area
had deteriorated alarmingly. There is a new visitor centre but it is not
manned and there is no gift shop for maps and souvenirs. Some one arriving
wanting to know the distance in miles and time to reach the view over Muckle
Flugga will be left without any information.
In the visitor centre there was a notice asking visitors to use the duck
boards in order to prevent erosion. Well the reality is that the duck boards
are isolated in a severely eroded pathway. You have to climb onto the duck
boards from the path which is eroded up to 18 inches in many places. It will
become much worse as more and more people use the route.
Some thought needs to be given to protecting the unique Keen of Hamar. It is
another gem but is at great risk from dozens of tourists walking over it
regularly on a daily basis.
Near Haroldswick, there is the fine Viking ship, which could be a unique
attraction if only the various public bodies whose names are on the plaque
would progress the restoration.
Visitors are asked not to climb aboard but most ignore the plea probably not
having read the notice. There is a skip beside it which is full of rubbish
and I hope it has now been removed.
A tidy environment is a prime requirement and there is no excuse for not
maintaining such an attractive landscape. Keeping the place tidy will
improve morale and attract the visitors to appreciate the lovely scenery.
After all Unst is really Scandinavian in character and it should be as well
presented as is Norway and Sweden .
John Blanche
Daldrishaig
Aberfoyle
Tel: 01877 382 223
Email: john@jjblanche.co.uk
