text:
Dear Mr Naysmith
I am writing to you with my criticisms of the draft 2nd UK Framework
Convention Compliance report. I have to say that, after waiting almost three
years for sight of this document and after having made repeated requests to
see it, it was iniquitous of your department to circulate the document
immediately prior to the Christmas/New Year break, allowing individuals and
NGOs effectively only a couple of weeks in which to formulate their
responses before the deadline for comment expires on 20 January 2007. That
notwithstanding, a local member of parliament, Andrew George M.P., has
received a letter from the Minister, Mr P Woolas, M.P., dated 18 December
2006, informing him of his intention to submit the UK Compliance report to
the Council of Europe by the end of January. If this is an accurate
reflection of the time scale involved, then doubt must be cast on the
government's intention to take this public consultation exercise seriously
since it would appear that insufficient time is available for it to make any
adjustments or alterations to its current position as a result of NGO input.
Furthermore, your e-mail to me, dated 8 January 2007, in response to a
Freedom of Information Act request for information, on 7 December 2006,
gives me great cause for concern. It seems that certain correspondence that
I have requested in regard to the government's application of a Council of
Europe Convention, is classified as exempt information and is now subject to
a public interest test that will take a further 20 working days to complete.
You will, no doubt realise that this important information relating to the
decision making process will not be available to me until 7 February, some
time after the expiry of the deadline for submissions, thereby prejudicing
my opportunity to comment. I am reminded of my criticisms later in this
report of the Duchy of Cornwall, and its possible role in the government's
application of the Framework Convention, and now that information that could
be related to it has been officially classified as exempt, my fears about
these matters have most certainly not been assuaged. Since this information
is deemed to be a potential state secret, I shall draw my own conclusions as
to why this might be so and I shall articulate them in this shadow report
that I intend to widely disseminate.
Bearing in mind the time limitation imposed on the public consultation
exercise and the subsequent Freedom of Information Act obstruction, my
comments are somewhat fore-shortened.
The government's draft report is unacceptable as it is seriously flawed in
regard to a number of issues, which I intend to raise in the same order that
they arise in the draft report, as follows (the emphasis, in the main,
refers to statements made by the government in it):
The Draft Report states that,
"the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 has come into force, bringing
public services fully with in the scope of the Race Relations Act and
placing a positive duty on bodies to promote race equality"
The draft report does not make it clear to British subjects and the Council
of Europe that the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 has been superceded
by Statutory Instrument 1626 to bring it into line with European Union
Directive 2000/43/EC (the EU Race Directive). However, it does state, in the
following paragraph that,
"the EU Race Directive and the elements of the EU Employment Directive
relating to religion or belief have been fully transposed into domestic law,
providing an important additional protection against discrimination"
That notwithstanding, a comparison between the Statutory Instrument 'fully'
incorporating the Directive into English Law and the EU Race Directive
itself reveals that Paragraph 3 of the Directive 'recitals' (amongst other
components) has been omitted from the Statutory Instrument. Bearing in mind
that the government was involved in the formulation of the 'recitals' of the
Directive, without which its operative articles are placed out of context,
the failure to include a similar text, or 'recital' in the Statutory
Instrument 1626, in the light of the revelations that follow in this
document, leads one to conclude that it was a deliberate act to protect the
powers, rights and profits of the Duchy of Cornwall, based on feudal,
inequitable legislation, and to facilitate anti-Cornish discrimination by
it. To suggest or imply to the Council of Europe, i.e. that equality before
the law does exist in domestic English law, is nothing less than
disingenuous and a downright lie.
Furthermore, it should be born in mind that the government's own special
advisor on the Human Rights Act has confirmed to me in an e-mail, dated 6
July 2006, that English law does not provide for equality before the law.
She stated that, "you are right about no statutory guarantee of equality
before the law" but she continued to state subsequently that, " but Article
14 in conjunction with Article 5/8 ECHR can be, and has been, read that way
to some extent. The ECHR Preamble refers to "Rule of Law", Protocol 12,
which the government has refused to ratify, gives a general right not to be
discriminated against on any ground, not just in relation to ECHR rights,.."
The professor's wording here is clear and it is fair to say that, even if
there is a theoretical presence of equality before the law in English law,
it is questionable and open to wide interpretation and is by no means
certain or universal.
In addition, the statement in the draft report that,
"also in 2006, an Equality Act was introduced which prohibits discrimination
on grounds of religion or belief in the provision of goods, facilities and
services and public functions in Great Britain"
is similarly misleading since it neglects to mention that the new Equality
Act similarly does not contain a provision for 'equality before the law'. If
British subjects do benefit from the principle of equality before the law,
why on Earth does this statute not make it perfectly clear that it really
does exist, so there can be no doubt in the public's and legal profession's
mind, and dispel any possible myth that it is just an illusory concept? The
absence of this important principle in the legal system, despite
international treaty obligations to provide it, means that equality is a
subjective, rather than an objective, concept in the UK. I shall return to
this matter later.
The draft report states in
"Practical arrangements made at the national level for following up the
results of the first monitoring cycle on the implementation of the Framework
"the Government undertook a wide-ranging consultation as part of the process
for preparing this 2nd report on the Framework Convention."
It must be said that this was not a pro-active exercise on the part of Her
Majesty's central government departments and it is clear that, had the
Cornish not threatened a legal action against the government early in 2004,
the opportunity to be consulted in the process would not have arisen,
despite the fact that the Council of Europe recommended dialogue with
Cornish organisations at the end of the first monitoring cycle.
The draft report states subsequently in Paragraph 10 that,
"the Government routinely consults the non-governmental sector when
developing policies or legislation".
In so far as the Cornish National Minority is concerned, this is another
incorrect statement. Despite the 2004 threat to sue the Home Office and
subsequent repeated requests for various government departments to discuss
issues relating to the status of the Cornish national minority and its
relationship with the Duchy of Cornwall, no opportunities for discussion
with representatives of this ethnic group, apart from one meeting with the
Race Equality Unit of the Home Office and one with the Commission for Racial
Equality, both in regard to the threatened legal action against the
government in 2004, have arisen.
The non-governmental sector in Wales would not appear to have been consulted
in regard to the government's application of Article 16 in the principality.
In recent years, there has been considerable disquiet in Welsh-speaking
areas about the massive decline in the proportion of Welsh speakers in those
communities. The marked decline is due to the affects of unrestrained inward
migration from other parts of the UK and the population proportions are
rapidly changing. The draft UK Compliance Report does not include a single
government comment on this Article of the Framework Convention.
In regard to the section dealing with Article 3:
a) The draft report states that,
"the term "national minority" has no legal meaning in the UK and so there is
no mechanism under any of the UK's legal jurisdictions to grant "national
minority status" to any particular group nor is it proposed to introduce any
such mechanism."
Yet, Article 14 of the Human Rights Act 1998 states,
"the enjoyment of the rights and freedoms set forth in this Convention shall
be secured without discrimination on any ground such as sex, race, colour,
language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin,
association with a national minority, property, birth or other status."
The term, 'national minority' is also frequently used in official government
publications for the benefit of the public. It is inconceivable that the
legislature could enact legislation using terminology it doesn't recognise.
The Draft Report states,
"the Government has considered the arguments put forward for the inclusion,
(i.e. of the Cornish) but has not been convinced that a move away from the
RRA formula can be justified."
Mr Naysmith will recall the reaction of the former Head of the Home Office's
Race Equality Unit, Mr Bruce Gill, when members of a Cornish delegation
briefed them both, prior to the threatened legal proceedings against the
Home Office in 2004. Mr Gill stated that he could not understand why the
Cornish minority had not been formally recognised under the Framework
Convention. He went on to state that he would raise the issues immediately
with the then Minister when he said, "leave it to me!"
One week after making this assertion, Mr Gill was transferred to other
duties. In the meantime, the department has failed to maintain any dialogue
with the Cornish national minority and has yet to offer even basic reasons
why your department has so far "not been convinced", despite being presented
with a considerable quantity of information.
Almost three years later, despite the obvious Breach of Article 25 of the
FCPN, the Cornish are still not included within the Convention and the
Council of Europe is still waiting for the UK Compliance Report.
"The Government considers that the UK's enormous diversity, embracing
individuals of many different (and sometimes multiple) ethnic, national,
cultural and faith identities is a matter for celebration and a source of
national strength."
Unless, of course, you happen to be Cornish.
"The fact that the UK does not recognise "national minorities" as such as
(sic) not been a barrier to the UK's many communities being able to maintain
their distinct identities."
The maintenance and protection of a valuable, threatened minority culture
requires resolute action in the form of sound financial input from central
government. It must be emphasised at this point that a recent (January 2,
2007) attempt to bring an anti-Cornish discrimination Race Relations Act
court case (using the government's own Race Relations Act "formula") was
recently thwarted by a judge who refused to accept that the action was a RRA
case and suggested that the applicant instigate potentially costly judicial
review of a plethora of individual specific public authority decisions.
Indeed, the judge also refused to accept the relevance of the EU Race
Directive, and refused to grant a remedy for the state's failure to provide
a guarantee of equality before the law. It is, therefore, patently
fallacious to imply to the Council of Europe that the Cornish National
Minority (as per Article 14 Human Rights Act 1998) are able to maintain
their own distinct identities.
In the above instance of the English judiciary's reaction to what should
have been a clear cut case of anti-Cornish discrimination, involving the
difference of treatment between the Cornish, subject to the Duchy of
Cornwall Management Act 1863 - 1982, and the rest of the UK that is subject
to the analogous Crown Estates Act, the government's Race Relations Act
"formula" clearly does not work and is irrelevant to the Framework
Convention for the Protection of National Minorities.
"The Government is very much aware of the strength of feeling about Cornwall's
separate identity and distinctiveness."
Despite such awareness, the government still insists on specifically
excluding the Cornish National Minority from the provisions of the Council
of Europe's Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities
and refuses to facilitate access to the courts as it has done with other
ethnic/national/racial groups. No other group is meted out with similar
treatment and other analogous groups receive central government funds and
Framework Convention benefits without having to satisfy a court under the
Race Relations Act (the government's Race Relations Act "formula"). Examples
of these excepted groups quoted in the draft report include 'black',
'minority ethnic', 'Chinese', 'asylum seekers' 'refugees' and 'Scottish
travellers'. Recent RRA cases have determined also that "foreigners"
constitute a racial group for the purposes of the Act and, under the
government's Race Relations Act "formula" this group can be considered under
the scope of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National
Minorities. Such a determination renders the government's practical efforts
to comply with the terms of the Convention, virtually useless.
"In this context the Committee may wish to note that, in 2002, the
Government recognised the Cornish language under Part II of the Charter for
Regional or Minority Languages."
Then why does the government not facilitate the recognition of the culture
and people with which the Cornish language is very closely associated, by
treating them in the same manner as it did in the case of the three Irish
Travellers who were refused entry to a pub and who were unable, as a
consequence, to purchase an alcoholic drink? In this case, access to the
courts was swiftly facilitated under the Race Relations Act, leading to the
recognition of Irish Travellers as an ethnic group under the Act, despite
Irish Travellers being unable to satisfy Lord Fraser's earlier judgement on
ethnicity as set out in the 1983 case of Mandla Dowell v. Lee. There can be
no doubt that, in this instance, the courts were being used politically to
remedy a situation arising from the difference in the status of this group
in England and its status in Northern Ireland. In the process, the standard
criteria for the determination of ethnicity, set as a precedent by Lord
Fraser, were dispensed with by the judge.
"The Advisory Committee may also wish to note that, in June 2005, the
Government announced the provision of £240,000 over three years to support
implementation of the adopted Cornish Language Strategy. This funding is
part of a package totalling £600,000, including EU Objective 1 funding
approved in January 2006, and support from Cornwall County Council. "
In analogous areas in which minority languages are recognised, considerably
larger sums of money have been supplied from central government sources to
support these languages. Ulster Scots is, perhaps, the best example. In this
case, millions of pounds of government money has been allocated over the
same period in which Cornish has received comparatively little. Moreover,
Cornwall being the recipient of European Objective One funds, is now
expected to provide language support from that award, with the consequence
that less money will now be available for vitally needed affordable housing
projects in Cornwall. Ulster does not receive Objective One funds and Ulster
Scots receives substantial funding from central sources. This is another
example of difference of treatment between analogous groups.
Whereas there is a demonstrable need for affordable housing for local people
generally throughout Cornwall, there are many proposed developments, made
under the guise of urban regeneration and funded by European Objective One
money, that do not include adequate provision for this need. It has become
clear that the current massive move to regenerate Cornwall's economy is
driven almost entirely by the construction of new houses, the vast majority
of which will be occupied as either holiday or second homes. It has been
suggested by local authorities that much of the remainder of the properties
not occupied by second home owners or tourists, will be available for people
from outside the Duchy who have the expertise to drive the regeneration in
any new employment opportunities that are created in the process.
Such a policy, bearing in mind that thousands of new homes are currently
proposed or are already being constructed in Cornwall, an area in which
there is a relatively low demand from local people, except, perhaps, in the
low cost sector, fuels the rapidly increasing levels of inward migration
from other areas of the UK, especially from England. Due to the massively
high costs of property in Cornwall and with average incomes way below the
national average, the Cornish are effectively being denied access to the
property market. Were the Cornish to be included under the Framework
Convention, this policy would, undoubtedly, be a breach of Article 16.
"The Advisory Committee may wish to note that the ethnic identity questions
to be included in the 2011 census will be subject to review and consultation
by each of the UK administrations. This will help to ensure that the
questions are acceptable and relevant when 2011 is reached."
The Advisory Committee may also wish to note that, because a specific
Cornish tick-box was not included in the 2001 Census, Cornish subjects were
forced to choose between ticking a box that reflected their citizenship and
their racial (as opposed to their ethnic) group, i.e. "White British", and
one that did not immediately reflect their ethnicity, i.e. "Other". They
were entitled to tick just one box. Statistics obtained from such a flawed
analysis did not reflect the true position on the ground as subjects were
grossly confused between their nationality, citizenship, ethnicity and
racial group. The 2011 census, as far as I am aware, does not intend to
address this point. Bearing in mind the government's attachment of great
importance to the amount of work it is doing in support of the Cornish
language, one might be excused for thinking that, now the Cornish language
is a recognised UK language under the Council of Europe's Charter for
Regional or Minority Languages, the government would be keen to gauge
accurate numbers of Cornish speakers, in order to assess its own performance
in regard to the Charter and service provision, by including a specific
Cornish language tick-box in the 2001 census. This has already been ruled
out by the Office for National Statistics, despite the two main users of
Cornish Census information, the Government Office for the South West and the
Cornwall County Council, requesting specific information on this subject.
Such an approach to its census categorisations, all of which are legally
undefined, together with a flippant approach to its indigenous minorities,
as opposed to its new minorities, together with its 'laissez faire' approach
to its international responsibilities to the Council of Europe, is not at
all apparent in the draft UK Compliance report.
"Bearing in mind the statistical purpose of the census, the value of
comparability with previous data and the availability of space on the form
it may not be practical nor necessary to have all identities pre-listed. "
The availability of space for 'Cornish' on a census form, or lack of it, is
a cop-out and, more importantly it is an excuse for institutional racial
"The review may involve research (to improve understanding of a range of
related issues, such as language, religion and discrimination), consultation
and piloting."
The fact remains that, for the foreseeable future, at least, the Cornish
will remain unprotected and statistically invisible because of a combination
of government incompetence and government deference towards the Duchy of
Cornwall, so-called 'private estate' which derives its income on feudal,
anti-Cornish discriminatory legislation, a topic that is regarded officially
as being so 'sensitive' and beyond criticism that it can neither be raised
in open court nor can questions be raised in the House of Commons by elected
members of parliament because of a legal injunction in both houses of
parliament on questions that, 'cast reflections on the royal family'.
(Letter to Andrew George, M.P. 1997)
Whilst these official feudal structures and deference to the inequitable,
discriminatory constitutional rights of an individual who, by accident of
birth, derives the whole of his not inconsiderable income independently of
the majority tax-payer, from assets held or derived from profits generated
over the centuries from the Cornish mining industry by feudal means, are
maintained and unchallengeable, the Cornish will continue to bear the
unacceptable burdens of institutional racism, notwithstanding that these
structures represent a serious violation of Article 14 of the European
Convention on Human Rights.
"Article 4"
See above for evidence of a complete lack of "equality before the law" in
English law.
"19. The United Kingdom has strong and effective laws against
discrimination, which protect all individuals against racial discrimination,
not just members of minority groups. The UK's anti-discrimination laws have
been strengthened since the Government's 1st Report to the Advisory
Committee, and are being strengthened further."
In practice, if by accident of birth or ethnicity, one happens to be
Cornish, the laws are ineffective and the avenues for redress blocked. All
demands for the Cornish to be given access to the courts and to be treated
fairly, in the same manner as other analogous ethnic groups, such as Irish
Travellers, have been thwarted by either the Commission for Racial Equality,
who refuse to support such actions, or by the courts themselves, as was
recently the case in Truro on 2 January 2007.
"21. Legislation on racial discrimination in Great Britain and Northern
Ireland was further strengthened in July 2003 with the transposition of the
EU Race Directive into domestic law. The principle changes were a change to
the definition of indirect discrimination, the introduction of a definition
of harassment, a shift in the burden of proof and the introduction of "a
genuine and determining occupational requirement" as the only exception to
the employment provisions of the legislation. "
As was explained earlier, the EU Race Directive has only been partially
implemented into the domestic legal system. The instrument of transposition,
Statutory Instrument 1626, omits the Directive requirement for "equality
before the law". The court in Truro, on Tuesday 2nd January 2007, refused to
take note of this Directive and failed to provide a remedy for the
government's failure to provide this Enforceable Community Right. Other EU
Directives with specific provision for minorities, particularly significant
to the Cornish National Minority, are similarly disregarded. In the massive
regeneration process that is currently underway in Cornwall, public
authorities, under the supervision of the Department for Communities and
Local Government (the same department that is producing this draft report to
the Council of Europe) regularly and routinely flout EU Directives relating
to Environmental Impact Assessment and Race Equality Impact Assessment.
Unlike the Crown in the rest of the UK, the Duchy of Cornwall, in Cornwall
only, continues to be exempt from the planning regulations. Moreover, the
Duchy of Cornwall acts as an advisor to the Objection One Programme and is
also a recipient of Objective One funds. An arms length charitable company
of the Duchy of Cornwall also acts as advisor to the Camborne-Pool-Redruth
Urban Regeneration Company, established under the remit of the government
departments known as English Partnerships and the Government Office South
West. The Duchy of Cornwall currently has plans to construct over 1,000 new
homes in the Newquay area, for which planning permission is not required
because of the planning exemption and whatever the Duke does it must be
considered to be lawful. Large areas of what were formerly territorial
assets of the Duchy of Cornwall now lie under thousands of tons of concrete,
the profits arising being the 'private' income of the Duke of Cornwall,
rather than to Cornwall itself.
Such behaviour is a manifestation of the official "harassment" that
Cornu-British subjects receive at the hands of the UK government that
amounts to direct and indirect discrimination..
"22. It is important to note that discrimination law in the UK protects all
individuals from racial discrimination, not just people who consider
themselves as members of an ethnic minority."
Incorrect. Another lie. Discrimination law in the UK does not offer any
protection, if one happens to be Cornish.
Of course, if the Duchy of Cornwall is the discriminator, current domestic
legislation is not capable of stopping the practice, in fact, it positively
encourages it. Public authorities, including the courts, must pay due regard
to the Duchy of Cornwall Management Acts 1863 - 1982 which make a provision
for the maximisation of Duchy profits. It is inconceivable that deferential
government departments, consumed with the demands and burdens of 'royal
protocol', would not be aware of this important legal duty. However, if that
weren't enough, and things go wrong for him, the Duke of Cornwall can
exercise: "the right to control or otherwise intervene in proceedings
affecting its (his) rights, property or profits". (Crown Proceedings Act
1947, Section 40, 2g ).
The government has yet to explain, in its draft UK Compliance Report, how
this aspect of the current law fits in with the Race Relations Act "formula"
in so far as the Cornish National Minority is concerned and whether it could
be, as Professor Klug intimated, consistent with "Article 14 in conjunction
with Articles 5/8 of the ECHR" if that really does provide for equality
before the law in English law. Moreover, this legislation has not been
tested for compatibility with the Human Rights Act (1998) or the ECHR
Section 40, 2g of the Crown Proceedings Act does, perhaps, offer a
tantalising clue as to why repeated attempts by members of the Cornish
community to discuss these matters with government officials, and to bring
such issues to court, routinely fail.
A further clue to the cause of these Cornish difficulties would appear to
lie in the oaths of allegiance to the Crown made by members of the
legislature, the executive and the judiciary.
The oath taken by a judge is that, "I [NAME], do swear that I will well and
truly serve our Sovereign Lady Queen Elizabeth in the office of [OFFICE
SPECIFIED], and I will do right to all manner of people after the laws and
usages of this realm, without fear or favour, affection or ill will."
The oath taken by ministers and M.P.s is that ".I will be faithful and bear
true allegiance to HM Queen Elizabeth, her heirs and successors, according
to law."
Clearly, there is a conflict with these undertakings and justice in cases
that question the very essence of the state and legal system and their
relationship to the Monarch and her heir, the Duke of Cornwall. It is not
surprising, therefore, that successive Ministers of the Crown and judges
have taken the course they have regularly taken in regard to the Cornish
National Minority whose territory has provided Dukes of Cornwall with vast
"private" incomes for the past six hundred years, incomes that are based on
discriminatory, feudal constitutional legislation. In fact, it should be
said that such legislation constitutes a breach of Article 17 of the
European Convention on Human Rights as they are laws that appear to be
deliberately designed to deny Cornish subjects access to their convention
Should the government persist in its policy towards the Cornish and maintain
its current, flawed Race Relations Act "formula" in regard to its
implementation of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National
Minorities, then members of the Cornish National Minority will have no
option but to seek judicial review of the administrative procedures employed
by the government to reach its decision in regard to the Cornish National
Minority, in the High Court. However, serious doubts arise about the
independence of the judicial review process in circumstances of this nature,
bearing in mind the failure of the government to provide UK subjects with
a) a written constitution to limit the power of public authorities,
including the Duchy of Cornwall
b) equality before the law,
c) Article 13 of the European Convention on Human Rights which is missing
from the Human Rights Act 1998,
together with the implications of the
i) judicial oath of allegiance,
ii) the Crown Proceedings Act, 1947, Section 40, 2g
iii) the Duchy of Cornwall Management Acts 1863 - 1982 mentioned earlier.
"Human Rights Commissions
Great Britain
40. The Equality Act 2006 also establishes a new Commission for Equality and
Human Rights in Great Britain. The Commission will have as part of its
the promotion of understanding of the importance of human rights;
the encouragement of good practice in relation to human rights;
the promotion of awareness, understanding and protection of human rights;
the encouragement of public authorities to comply with section of the Human
Rights Act 1998 (the prohibition of action incompatible with ECHR rights)."
As long as the promotion of equality before the law is NOT included.
As long as 'good practice' does not include the provision of 'equality
before the law'.
Very little is currently done by government to promote UK public awareness
either of human rights or of the work and function of the Council of Europe.
It should be born in mind that the current Duke of Cornwall has, on a number
of occasions publicly questioned the importance that government currently
pays to human rights. Out of deference to this individual, who is the
recipient of a plethora of rights, profits, privileges and exemptions under
the law on account of an accident of birth, public authorities usually
acquiesce to this person's point of view.
That notwithstanding, since Article 13 of the ECHR has been omitted from the
Human Rights Act 1998, public authorities are not constrained by thoughts of
having to provide a remedy in the event that violations have been committed
by those acting in an official capacity.
In an e-mail to me, dated 6 July 2006, the government's own special advisor
on the Human Rights Act, Professor Francesca Klug, Professorial Research
Fellow, the London School of Economics, stated that Article 13 ECHR was "not
incorporated because the government's view (with which I did not agree) the
HRA itself is the domestic remedy it guarantees."
"Promotion of equality
England and Wales
48. The March 2003 Strategy Unit report on Ethnic Minorities in the Labour
Market examined and analysed the extent, nature and causes of ethnic
minority disadvantage in the labour market. The Government's strategy to
raise the ethnic minority employment rate addresses the three main factors
in the ethnic minority employment disadvantage."
The UK draft Compliance report is riddled with many similar meaningless
statements. It should be born in mind that the government's earlier
statement that, "there is no comprehensive list of 'recognised' groups and,
in the UK, rights are individual and universal", casts doubt upon the
government's ability to properly comply with its FCPNM duties since, without
a definitive list of UK minorities, how on Earth is it possible for it to
treat the various ethnic groups that typify the diversity of the UK, fairly?
As a result, government policy, far from being even-handed, is almost always
centred upon the rights of those it has classified, for political reasons,
as belonging to the legally unrecognised (i.e. without having passed through
the Race Relations Act "formula") and somewhat nebulous "black and minority
ethnic", new minority group, together with the two non-indigenous groups,
that have successfully solved the Race Relations Act "formula", the Gypsies
and Irish Travellers.
In practice, it would appear that the courts and the government's Race
Relations Act "formula", have been dispensed with in favour of a system
which is more politically correct and based upon arbitrary, un-defined,
legally unrecognised, political criteria, determined by the Executive. This
system, it can be argued, promotes racial equality between the various
racial groups but does little to promote equality of culture, especially if
one happens to be a member of a "white" minority group. In this way,
although the government is able to assert that it does a great deal for its
new minorities, in reality the indigenous "white" minorities, such as the
Welsh, Scottish, Manx, Cornish and Ulster Scots remain largely hidden and
"63. A number of other projects have been taken forward in Scotland
an analysis of ethnicity data in the 2001 Census. "
The Council of Europe's Advisory Committee might, at this juncture, be
unaware that the ethnic categorisation employed by the UK state authorities
is not based upon legally recognised definitions and, as a consequence, one
finds such bizarre "ethnic" classifications as, "white", "black", "white
British", "black", "black Caribbean", "Indian", "Pakistani", "Chinese",
"Bangladeshi", "minority ethnic" and "black minority ethnic" all of which
are based upon racial characteristics and/or geographical origin.
The Cornish have been specifically excluded from the FCPNM on the grounds
that they have so far been unsuccessful in obtaining Race Relations Act
caselaw precedent in the courts. In complete contrast, the "ethnic" or
racial groups to which I referred above have NOT been subject to a similar
requirement to submit their credentials for judicial scrutiny. Decisions
relating to ethnicity have not been made in the courts, as has been
suggested in the draft report, but are based entirely on arbitrary and
politically correct motivated criteria, dreamed-up by the Executive.
At this juncture, the Advisory Committee might care to note that the only
groups to have successfully won a RRA case so far, thereby satisfying the
government's Race Relations Act "formula", are the "Sikhs", "Irish
Travellers", "Gypsies", "Welsh", "Scottish", "English" and "Jews". In the
draft report to the Council of Europe by far and away the groups with the
most references are "black" and/ "minority ethnic" neither of which has
satisfied a court on their ethnic/racial/national credentials. Moreover,
only two groups that have satisfied the Race Relations Act "formula",
Gypsies and Irish Travellers receive significant attention in the draft
report, whilst the other recognised groups receive little if any. It should
be noted that, in a UK context, Irish Travellers and Gypsies, as in other
parts of Europe, do have severe social problems and in the largely
uninformed British public's eye, they are a political hot potato.
The draft report makes it perfectly clear that these legally undefined
groups which have not been subject to the Race Relations Act "formula" are
in receipt of government (Strategic, Community and Project - parag. 71)
grants that must be, because they are mentioned in the draft report, awarded
in a context of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National
Minorities. Furthermore, it seems also that 'asylum seekers' and 'refugees'
are being afforded protection under the FCPNM (Parag. 76) without having to
first satisfy a court.
93. The Government recognises that an important barrier to economic
fulfilment and employment is the low level of basic skills in literacy and
numeracy demonstrated by many adults (currently estimated at 1 in 5 of the
adult population). The Adult Basic Skills Strategy will aim to improve the
literacy, numeracy and/or language skills of at least 750,000 adults by
2004. Scotland's Adult Literacy Strategy aims to help 150,000 people improve
their literacy and numeracy skills by 2006. The Department will be targeting
key priority groups where the biggest and most rapid impact can be made.
These include jobseekers, benefit claimants, prisoners, workers in
low-skilled jobs, people at risk of exclusion and people who live in
disadvantaged communities."
This has no relevance to the implementation of the Framework Convention in
the UK.
96. The Department of Health is committed to transforming the NHS so that it
produces faster, fairer services with equity of access for all. The creation
of more equal access for the Gypsy and Traveller community is an integral
and vital aspect of the Department's programme of investment and reform.
97. There is no place in the NHS for discrimination, harassment and
stereotyped or prejudiced treatment on grounds of race or ethnicity, age,
gender, sexual orientation, disability, religion, class, nationality, income
or employment status. Nearly 8% of staff employed in the NHS are from black
and minority ethnic groups, making the NHS the largest employer of minority
ethnic staff in the country. Black and minority ethnic staff make an
immensely important contribution to ensuring the Health Service provides
high quality healthcare and that services are accessible, equitable, and
capable of responding sensitively to the needs of the diverse communities
The Advisory Committee should be aware that the NHS public authority does
include provision for those who wish to self-identify as "Cornish" on ethnic
monitoring forms. However, it has become widely accepted that, once the
statistics have been collated centrally, those forms on which a Cornish
ethnic background has been asserted are ignored and the information altered
to one of the other non-Race Relations Act "formula" categories.
This is a very serious practice since citizens should be able to self
identify and have the expectation that the state will not interfere in the
process by recording this information incorrectly. Similar practices occur
in the Pupils level Annual Schools Census (PLASC) surveys and those pupils
that have asserted a Cornish ethnic background on the official form for the
purpose are entered as "white" or "white British", by school enumerators on
the computer whose PLASC software cannot accept a 'Cornish' entry.
Since there are many serious social problems in Cornwall occasioned by the
generally low levels of income in the Cornish sector of the community,
depressive illness and illnesses linked to poor dietary intake tend to have
higher prevalence in Cornwall than they do in the more affluent parts of the
UK. Moreover, there is a specific medical condition known as Malignant
Hyperpyrexia, with life-threatening consequences, that occurs in significant
pockets in Celtic communities, and more instances of this condition occur in
Cornwall than anywhere else. As a result of the failure to recognise the
Cornish centrally in statistical analyses, a distorted picture in the
epidemiology of these conditions is much more likely. The practice of
ignoring or interfering with such important statistical data might very well
have disastrous implications for some individuals.
Gypsies/Travellers and Race Equality
116. The Scottish Executive's Equality Strategy and Race Equality Scheme
both identify Gypsies/Travellers as a minority group vulnerable to prejudice
and discrimination. Race relations legislation is reserved to UK Government.
Case law in England has ruled that Roma Gypsies and Irish Travellers are
protected by the 1976 Act. No Scottish test case has ever established that
Scottish Gypsies/Travellers are a racial or ethnic group for the purposes of
the Act; the Scottish Executive nevertheless treats them as such. The
Executive has acknowledged that all Gypsy/Traveller communities in Scotland
have specific needs and require the same protection from potential
discrimination and abuse as do any of Scotland's minority ethnic
communities. However it is outwith the Executive's remit to recognise
Gypsies/Travellers as ethnic groups within equal opportunities legislation."
Here we have the ludicrous example of how the UK government applies its Race
Relations Act "formula" - whereas the Cornish are required to pass through
the formal hoops of a Race Relations Act court case, there is clearly no
such requirement for "Scottish Gypsies" to do the same, prior to being
included within the terms of the Framework Convention. To treat analogous
groups differently is an offence under the Race Relations Act and yet that
is precisely what the UK government is condoning and encouraging in regard
to the Cornish National Minority.
"Article 5
1 The Parties undertake to promote the conditions necessary for persons
belonging to national minorities to maintain and develop their culture, and
to preserve the essential elements of their identity, namely their religion,
language, traditions and cultural heritage.
2 Without prejudice to measures taken in pursuance of their general
integration policy, the Parties shall refrain from policies or practices
aimed at assimilation of persons belonging to national minorities against
their will and shall protect these persons from any action aimed at such
The government has a tradition of ignoring demands for Cornish recognition
and, apart from knee-jerk reactions when, for example, it has been
threatened with legal action, government policies towards the Cornish, in
deference to the Duke of Cornwall and to protect his income, have attempted
to marginalise Cornish culture. At the same time, it has presented
bureaucratic barriers to those who wish to assert their Cornish identity and
have it recorded officially in an exercise that can only be described as
forced assimilation. (See observations on Census practices.)
It is fair to repeat at this juncture that the government's policies towards
the Cornish and the laws supporting the Duchy of Cornwall are deliberately
interfering with their rights under the ECHR - a breach of Article 17.
Promoting the value of diversity
149. In addition to exercising its statutory powers, the Commission for
Racial Equality (CRE), also works to promote equality by seeking to educate
and inform the public, to influence attitudes and so encourage good race
It should be noted that the CRE and other government departments routinely
treat members of what is described as the "White" ethnic group as being
homogeneous in nature, in which there is no ethnic diversity. In complete
contrast, broad ethnic diversity is accepted in the new minority groups, as
the 2001 Census examples clearly demonstrate. This distinction leads to
differences in treatment between the new minorities and the indigenous
national UK minorities..
150. To this end, the CRE runs public education campaigns to raise awareness
of race issues, and to encourage others to play their part in creating a
just society. The CRE has collaborated in a number of high profile campaigns
to promote racial tolerance and cultural diversity. Examples include:
· the "Would I.?" television advertisement. Leading celebrities donated
their time and images for the CRE to produce a unique advert celebrating
diversity. The advertisements challenged negative stereotypes in a thought
provoking way by "changing" the ethnicity of leading sports persons,
musicians, and media personalities.
· the annual "Race in the Media Awards" established to encourage informed
coverage of race relations across all media in the UK.
· the "Sporting Equals" three-year programme developed with the English
Sports Council to promote racial equality in sport."
This statement is made for politically correct reasons - the indigenous
national minorities of the UK are ignored in these respects since the
government's emphasis is on race and NOT on ethnicity.
Article 7
The Parties shall ensure respect for the right of every person belonging to
a national minority to freedom of peaceful assembly, freedom of association,
freedom of expression, and freedom of thought, conscience and religion.
Article 8
The Parties undertake to recognise that every person belonging to a national
minority has the right to manifest his or her religion or belief and to
establish religious institutions, organisations and associations.
223. The rights to freedom of expression, association, peaceful assembly,
and thought, conscience and religion are all guaranteed under the Human
Rights Act. "
Of course,, despite the government's assertion that. ""the term "national
minority" has no legal meaning in the UK ", Article 14 of the Human Rights
Act 1998 states,
The statement, 223, is therefore economic with the truth.
"Article 10
1 The Parties undertake to recognise that every person belonging to a
national minority has the right to use freely and without interference his
or her minority language, in private and in public, orally and in writing.
2 In areas inhabited by persons belonging to national minorities
traditionally or in substantial numbers, if those persons so request and
where such a request corresponds to a real need, the Parties shall endeavour
to ensure, as far as possible, the conditions which would make it possible
to use the minority language in relations between those persons and the
administrative authorities.
3 The Parties undertake to guarantee the right of every person belonging to
a national minority to be informed promptly, in a language which he or she
understands, of the reasons for his or her arrest, and of the nature and
cause of any accusation against him or her, and to defend himself or herself
in this language, if necessary with the free assistance of an interpreter."
The Draft report fails to give information on the Cornish language. There
is, at this time, no air time devoted to the language on the state-run BBC
and ITV television services. BBC Radio Cornwall provides a 3 three minute
news broadcast once a week on Sunday in the Cornish language. One regional
newspaper provides a limited column partially in Cornish, once per week.
Local newspapers, all of which are owned by big news corporations, often
report on the Cornish language in derogatory terms.
The remainder of the draft UK report, a not inconsiderable proportion of the
total, is devoted to religious and so-called faith groups under the
Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. These groups
are not within the remit of the Convention and they have not, with the
exception of 'Jews' successfully solved the government's Race Relations Act
Finally, there can be no doubt that the government has breached Article 25
of the FCPNM by failing to provide the Council of Europe with its UK FCPNM
Compliance Report in the proscribed period. This report is now almost three
years late, three years in which the Cornish National Minority have
continued to have been discriminated against on account of feudal
legislation that is designed to protect the income of the heir to the
throne, Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, Duke of Cornwall.
The almost three year overdue UK draft Compliance Report gives the
superficial impression that the state has been highly active in promoting
the interests of its minorities. Closer analysis reveals that it is riddled
with inaccuracies, half-truths and in some instances, downright lies. Even
superficial inspection will reveal that the report is highly detailed in
regard to the so-called 'new minorities', i.e. what the government refers to
as 'black' or 'black minority ethnic' groups, none of which have satisfied a
court under the government's Race Relations Act "formula" and none of which
fall within the strict scope of the Framework Convention for the Protection
of National Minorities. The inclusion of such groups within the report,
although an admirable concept, has occurred simply because of the fact that,
historically the UK has had a bad record in dealing with its racial
minorities, a fact highlighted by the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry which has
fostered an atmosphere of political correctness in which the UK's indigenous
minorities have been vary largely neglected.
Despite the fact that the government creates an impression that it is
bending over backwards to help its minorities, it is clear that it there are
only two minority groups that have satisfied a court under the Race
Relations Act "formula" that receive detailed attention under the
Convention. These are the 'Gypsies' and 'Irish Travellers'. Whereas these
two groups are mentioned as being the recipients of much government support
and action, the indigenous groups that have similarly achieved success under
the Race Relations Act "formula" i.e. the 'Welsh' and 'Scottish', receive
detailed attention only in regard to provision of their languages, most of
the detail of which is a regurgitation of the government's position in
regard to the Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.
The Race Relations Act "formula" clearly does not work as it is not being
properly and fairly applied by the courts (as in the case of the Cornish)
and the government is arbitrarily giving Framework Convention benefits to
other groups without the necessity for them to first obtain successful Race
Relations Act case history..
The lack of a constitutional or statutory guarantee of the fundamentally
important European principle of 'equality before the law', contrary to the
European Union Directive 2000/43/EC, affects all UK minorities, especially
the Cornish National Minority that is subject to feudal influences.
For this reason, the Cornish National Minority is a special case. It is the
only European national minority that is subject to feudal, constitutional,
discriminatory laws that relate to the rights of the heir to the UK throne,
his allegedly 'private' estate and his 'private' income. The Duke of
Cornwall obtains his income from legislation that directly and indirectly
discriminates against those people who reside to the west of the River Tamar
alone. There are legal injunctions in both houses of parliament that prevent
the asking of Duchy related questions and the legislature, the executive and
the judiciary are subject to oaths of allegiance to the Crown in which the
Duke is part of Her Majesty in her private capacity. Together with the
provision in law that the Duke has "the right to control or otherwise
intervene in proceedings affecting its (his) rights, property or profits".
(Crown Proceedings Act 1947, Section 40, 2g ), the Cornish are likely to
languish in the cultural doldrums with no prospect at all of a just outcome
in the domestic courts.
The government's behaviour is clearly irrational in nature, unreasonable in
a practical sense and blatantly unfair in excluding a group who is unable to
establish the full extent of the unequal treatment that arises from
Government's de facto, arbitrary selection method. It is, therefore,
contrary to the provisions of administrative law.
In the year 2007, what justification can there be for such official
attitudes, as have been displayed to the Cornish, by the Executive,
Judiciary and Legislature who seem to take the view that deference and
acquiescence towards one privileged individual is more important than their
obligations towards international institutions of which this country is a
Yours faithfully
Dr Nigel Hicks
The Federal Union of European Nationalities
Trackback URL for this entry: http://cornishstannaryparliament.co.uk//resources//trackback.php?id=20070118175652689
Cornish stitched up by UK justice - World Affairs Board
Tracked on Tuesday, January 30 2007 @ 11:30 AM GMT
News from Wikipedia » Blog Archive » Cornish conspiracy theory
Tracked on Thursday, June 05 2008 @ 10:06 PM BST
Wikipedia en news » Blog Archive » Cornish conspiracy theory
Tracked on Friday, June 06 2008 @ 12:06 AM BST


text:
WASHINGTON, April 30 (UPI) -- As India's colossal election -- more than 800 million voters casting ballots for more than a month -- enters its final phase, its international reach is clear.
Through social media, cell phones, trips to India to help in campaigns and even election tourism packages, Indian expatriates and adventurous, civic-minded travelers are contributing to the cacophony that is the world's largest election to date.
More than 814 million people are eligible to vote this spring, more than the entire population of Europe. Registered voters have cast or will cast ballots at more than 900,000 polling stations in one of nine phases between April 7 and May 12. Results are expected by May 16.
The sheer scale of this year's election has attracted a lot of attention from the rest of the world -- from civic boosters to those looking to profit from the attention.
Election Tourism India 2014, an initiative launched under India's Tourism Development Board, combines both motives. The group offers packages such as the "Democratic Triangle" or the "Political Rajasthan Royals," where guests can familiarize themselves with India's national parties and candidates and get a taste of the country's electoral process.
Tours cost between $1,200 and $1,600 for everything but the plane ticket, and intersperse the campaign stops with trips to India's most famous landmarks such as the Taj Mahal. Groups from the U.S. and Europe have booked trips with Election Tourism India, a spokesman said in an email, and countries from just about every continent are showing interest.
India's roughly 1.3 billion people make it the world's largest democracy. In a visit as secretary of state, Hillary Clinton underscored the country's importance. "We understand that much of the history of the 21st century will be written in Asia, and that much of the future of Asia will be shaped by decisions" made in India, she said.
Some Americans wishing to get more directly involved with the election process in India have bucked the tourist route, opting instead for a more direct role campaigning for a candidate. Many are nonresident Indians who live in the U.S. but maintain dual citizenship. More than 3 million Americans identify as having Indian ancestry.
Emblematic of expat Indian interest in the election is Bharat Barai, a doctor of oncology and former chairman of the Medical Licensing Board of Indiana. Barai returned this month from a two-week trip to India.
Barai's duel-citizenship status makes him ineligible to cast a vote in India's election. But that doesn't mean he can't be involved in the process. Joined by men from Houston, Los Angeles, Chicago and Boston, Barai flew to Gujarat, a state in Northwest India that is home to Narendra Modi, who experts say is likely to be India's next prime minister. Modi is now chief minister of Gujarat, the equivalent of a U.S. governor, and a leader in the Bharatiya Janata Party, one of India's two largest political parties.
He's the reason Barai traveled to India, and why he plans to go back again.
Barai and the others paid for their trip themselves, calling it "a service to the country and a service to our conscience." In Gujarat, they traveled with local candidates to more than 15 villages, urging crowds as large as 200 to vote, and, specifically, to vote for Narendra Modi, Barai said.
Barai added that he knows of more than 700 people across North America who have called friends and relatives in India, encouraging them to vote for Modi and his party.
"To be honest," Barai said, "I haven't found any [non-resident Indian] who is against Narendra Modi, and I'm active in lots of social circles in Northwest Indiana and Chicago."
One of the factors that motivated Barai to get involved was a sense that Indian elites across the globe have publicly voiced their resentment of Modi, he said. "If they are against Modi, then I'm going to stick out my neck saying, 'Here is a clean, decent, honest man who needs to be elected on his own merits – and this false propaganda against him needs to stop,'" Barai said.
But famous Indian-born writers such as Salman Rushdie have written open letters condemning Modi for his role, or lack of role, in Hindu-Muslim violence in Gujarat in 2002.
Modi was one year into his tenure as chief minister when approximately 1,200 people—mostly Muslims—were killed in riots. Multiple reports said that the police did nothing to stop the violence, and some accused Modi of allowing or even encouraging it. Indian courts, however, have cleared Modi of any wrongdoing. Nevertheless, the U.S. has not lifted a ban on Modi's travel visa that it put in place in 2005.
Some Americans are concerned that Modi's baggage could exacerbate religious tension and friction between India and Pakistan.
"Those concerns are widespread in the American Muslim community, and particularly with those of South Asian descent," said Ibrahim Hooper, communications director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization.
But like Barai, not everyone sees it that way. Prashant Patel, president of Gujarati Samaj in Washington, a nonprofit that sponsors cultural events from the state of Gujarat, said that most club members support Modi.
"They seem to be very proud of his achievements in Gujarat," he said. "As you know he's been elected three times [since the 2002 riots] with 70 percent of the vote in Gujarat, so you can look at the question that way."
Modi's opponent is Rahul Gandhi of the Indian National Congress Party, but even that party thinks it will lose this round of the election, said Teresita Schaffer, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, a left-leaning think tank. The question is how badly, she said.
"The most dangerous outcome would be this rickety coalition," Schaffer said, which would mean neither party received enough votes to run the country on its own. This kind of government, she said, could be another "prototypical weak government that hasn't been able to deal with issues like peace with Pakistan."

subset: commoncrawl


text:
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text:
While summer is my real reading time (here's my summer cookbook review), I manage to sneak in some cookbook reading into the cold winter days. Here are a couple of my new favorites.
I would want a another cookbook like nechama cohen, each recipe w/nutrition facts!
Don't want to give too much away since I would like to write my own cookbook one day :) but lots of pictures!!!
I would be interested in unique ways to prepare kosher fish.
i love cookbooks that have a picture for each recipe.
I would love a kosher cookbook for a busy mom of very picky toddlers!
I would love a cookbook that focused on supper menu ideas with grocery lists at the beginning of each one.
I would like a kosher cookbook about biscuits.
I am looking forward to Levana's new cookbook, and I would like to see her tackle some New Orleans Southern favorites.
I would LOVE to win
I'd like a vegetarian kosher cookbook
I would love a kosher cookbook that provides recipes and entertaining ideas for all kinds of parties
I am sure that a regular, kosher american style cookbook that uses only ingredients and baking supplies that are readily available in Israel is sorely missing from the market! I know my friends and I would all buy that! (Down with condensed milk!)
I'd like a cookbook with healthy parve desserts; NO margarine! Thanks for the giveaway.
I would like a cookbook on kosher stews
I am currently studying to become a Pastry Chef and am planning to enter the Kosher world upon graduation. I have been practicing making pareve desserts that taste great and would LOVE to learn more ways to do so. I also LOVE baking bread, especially Challah! I would love to win a free copy of the cookbook so that I can learn new things and create new delicious desserts and meals for my family.
I would love for a cookbook to come out that has loads of salad recipes. I find that's one thing I'm always looking for new recipes of.
I would like to see a diabetic Kosher cookbook.
I love to see a picture for every recipe which thankfully most cookbooks have now. I would also like nutrition facts with each recipe and recipes that don't rely on processed ingredients.
this cookbook sounds right up my alley! i'd love to learn all about pastries and the like! pick me please!
I would like a cookbook with gluten free recipes
I'd love a cookbook that has lots of easy chicken bottom recipes- I can never get enough! Also a Jewish cookie/cupcake cookbook with lots of decorating ideas!
I love cookbooks that are geared to the busy mom with easy-to-make recipes, universally accepted ingredients that don't scare off kids (or husbands for that matter!). Gourmet cookbooks just sit on my shelf - i need user friendly ones! Lots of photos are a huge plus too!
I love cookbooks that have main dishes with low-no sugar, and lo carb, very hard to find!
To RGLevy, I too, have very picky eaters and I found the cookbook Fresh and Easy by Leah Schapira great. My boys just look through the cookbook and they find lots of recipes which they like on paper for sure. I made numerous chicken recipes and they were a big hit by their difficult standards! All the recipes are clear and easy to prepare and taste delicious.
I'd love to see a cookbook with pics for every recipe and ingredients that are found in every home.
I own so many cookbooks, I am not sure I'm missing anything! But my favorite sort is one with stories and anecdotes about each recipe. And pictures.
I love brisket - there's a certain recipe I learned, and it comes out just right, tender and well, words can't describe.
me too!
I love cookbooks with easy, healthy, and low fat recipes to make during the week.
I'd love to win a cookbook that has nothing but Kosher recipes. I just started cooking Kosher and need A LOT of ideas!!
A book that would have "perfect" recipes: easy, delicious, frugal and healthy. Can you really have it all?
I would love a cookbook with pictures and pictured directions for baking.
I would love a cookbook with healthy and easy recipes!
A cookbook with precise pictures of old tradition foods from across the globe.
I wish I had a cookbook with menu ideas, including the recipes, for Shabbos, Jewish holidays and everyday dinners!
levana's new one (quoted here!) is definitely my new fav, but i would absolutely love a vegan kosher cookbook...
I would love a cookbook of kosher breads and deserts!
I'm always looking for great appetizers. A cookbook with kosher appetizers, particularly pareve ones would be perfect for me. Elegance is the key word.
I'd like a cookbook that includes low fat recipes without sugar substitutes and incorporates whole grain flour!
I would love a cookbook with easy yummy recipes, that has a picture by each one. Or step by step pictures with the recipe!
i would love a cookbook of quick, easy and kid friendly shabbas foods that would please everyone in the family with suggested menus and pictures.
I would love a cookbook that lays out the 'rules' for baking that will be assumed throughout the rest of the book. Does 'eggs' always mean room-temperature eggs? Does 'salt' mean table salt or kosher salt (and does it matter)? Do bread recipes assume you've 'proofed' your yeast or will it explicitly say how to do so?
I'd love for someone to write a cookbook with a wide array kosher crock-pot suppers. I always dream of putting up supper before I head to work and coming home and being able to focus on my kids and not have to worry about supper!
I would like a cookbook that not only saves me time in the kitchen, but time in the grocery store, too: Recipes with FIVE OR LESS INGREDIENTS! (not including the assumed staples: salt, pepper, and oil for cooking).
I wish someone would write a kosher cookbook for people that don't live in New York or other big cities and therefore don't have access to every kosher ingredient, cut of meat, etc.
I would LOVE a cookbook with easy, simple recipe's ( 5 ingredienst or less) that took 30 min or less & had nutrtion facts. I also would love for it to include things that were easy to shop for in a regular grocery store. I dont have easy access to a kosher butcher or other completely kosher stores.
I would love a cookbook which is low in calories, and low in carbs---but high in taste! And everything is easy to prepare.
I would love a cookbook for pesach that has more healthy recipes. It would be a plus if it was a totally nut free cookbook.
I would love to see a gourmet kosher cookbook aimed at diabetics.
I would love to have a new cookbook. I am always looking for new recipes.
I like cookbooks w/ simple & ez ingredients & directions, take fast to prepare yet look gourmet!
would love a new kosher cook very hard to get where i uses to live in West Texas, gathering them up since I live in Dallas now
My favorite recipe is Matzo Ball Soup!!
I would love to have a kosher cookbook that I could use on a daily basis that not only would teach me something new as well as have easy & fast to challenging and slow recipes!!
Would love a cookbook that has fast simple easy recipes that are kid friendly, for those of us who just don't have the time to patchke with a bunch of little kids in the house.
I'd love an eclectic ethnic cookbook, with authentic recipes made kosher. I want to taste the foods of the world, but kosher of course. There is no reason why kosher cooks should be denied the flavors of the world
I want to win! I love fresh and easy recipes! ;)
I wish someone wrote a cookbook of tasty yet healthy and simple recipes! maybe that's high expectations, though.
I would love more cookbooks with food presentation included... Food should look as pretty as it tastes - but need more ideas.
I would like a cookbook that shows you how to make a kugel for 2 people and also for 6. The kids have moved out, but sometimes they come home, I don't need to cook as much for shabbat, but we still need to at times.
I would like a Kosher dietetic cookbook.
I wish someone would write a cookbook about making beautiful relationships: with new people you meet, with relatives and family, with co-workers, with your spouse, with your children, with your community, and of course, with HKB"H.
To YehuditW, one way we can create beautiful relationships with our children, spouse and family is by cooking their favorite foods or for that matter any delicious food. Cookbooks help us with that! The way to anyone's heart is through their stomach!


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Unable to Understand Customer's Business Needs
Fund: Accel Partners
Posted by Anonymous on 2007-12-13
Overall, they were good and spent a fair amount of time. But they couldnt transcend the prevailing shallow "IT" and application orientation of enterprise software to a business context or purpose oriented one.
"What space are you in...""There isn't one. This is an emerging area - something that allows storage, organization, communications, and access through search in a unified way. For emails - data, and documents! It is the future!.
"No - it cant be; you've got to decide are you in emails" or Document management" or data management"" But we are all of that and process automation...
"No, that is a different space ...."
Anyway, thats how the conversation went for about 4 or 5 sessions and then we got the no-phone call no-email brush off. I wonder how new ideas can florish if they must fit into a specific shoe box in a pigeon holed cupboard.


text:
Editor's note: Mel Robbins is a CNN commentator and legal analyst. She is the founder of Inspire52.com, a positive news website and author of "Stop Saying You're Fine," about managing change. Robbins speaks on leadership around the world and in 2014 was named outstanding news talk radio host by the Gracie Awards. Follow her on Twitter @melrobbins. A version of this commentary first appeared in May.
(CNN) -- "My name is Monica Lewinsky. Though I've often been advised to change it." With humor and grace, anti-cyberbullying crusader Monica Lewinsky on Monday stepped back into public life with her first speech -- an emotional and powerful one about her role in the world's most infamous sex scandal. The theme of her remarks at the Forbes Under 30 Summit: public humiliation, privacy and cyberbullying.
Lewinsky briefly acknowledged her affair with former President Bill Clinton but mainly brought detail to its fallout, which, she said, left her "shattered" and wanting "to die." She also discussed the recent spree of celebrity nude-photo thefts, warning "anyone can be next." She should know; she was humiliated and shamed on a global scale.
As she put it, she "I was patient zero." By the looks of it, she's no longer suffering. She's cured herself. Vanity Fair ran an article by Lewinsky, "Shame and Survival," in June, and what I wrote about it then, I stand by now: We could all learn a few things from Monica Lewinsky, particularly about ourselves.
As many will recall, when her affair with Clinton came to light in 1998, it became a global story. It almost took down the President -- he was impeached -- and sent Lewinsky into such an isolated state of hell, she wrote, that she had suicidal thoughts at times and a "fear that I would be literally humiliated to death."
It was a powerful account to read, but it's way more powerful to hear and see someone tell her personal story in front of you. As Forbes writer Jeff Bercovici tweeted while attending, "@monicalewinsky fighting tears telling her story at #under30summit. Turns out the butt of all those late-night monologues is a human person."
Frankly, when you consider just how intense, relentless and abusive the Lewinsky bullying has been for 16 years -- by the media, the politicians, the public and trolls on the Internet, it's a wonder she had the psychological stamina to resist those early suicidal thoughts. And thank God she did.
Lewinsky on Clinton affair: 'Time to burn the beret and bury the blue dress'
You can't underplay how huge the news of the Lewinsky-Clinton affair was at a time when the Internet wasn't only used for trolling celebrities; it had such an impact in the public arena that there are people who are still making money off it. The founder of the Drudge Report, Matt Drudge, broke the story of the affair on his then-mostly unknown website in 1998; the story put him on the map. In 2014, the site averages more than 1 billion page views a month.
Another view: Monica Lewinsky is shameless
When Barbara Walters interviewed Lewinsky in 1999 on "20/20," a record-breaking 70 million viewers tuned in. While the media pointed fingers at "that woman," they were taking advantage of the hottest story in presidential scandal history and squeezing every dollar they could out of Lewinsky's demise.
Heck, when Beyoncé "dropped" her album in December, she cashed in as well -- reducing Lewinsky to a line in "Partition" as a reference to ejaculation. Lewinsky replied in her essay: "Thanks, Beyoncé, but if we're verbing, I think you meant 'Bill Clintoned all on my gown.' "
Sexual affairs are happening all over the world at this very moment -- with politicians, world leaders, famous actors and people you know personally. Yes, affairs and other indiscretions are disgusting and immoral, but you can hardly be surprised anymore when you hear about them (looking at you Vance McAllister, John Edwards, Anthony Weiner, Donald Sterling). After all, you don't publicly execute people for these everyday offenses between two consenting adults, and yet that's basically what the world did to Lewinsky.
In 2014, it appears that Lewinsky is finally claiming both her freedom and the new identity she deserves: survivor and crusader.
The powerful story here isn't the cigar and the blue dress with semen on it, it's that after 16 years of relentless bullying and a past that won't go away, Lewinsky has figured out a way to use the experience to help others by taking ownership of it.
Lewinsky spoke about the fact that she may be the first person ever at the center of an Internet cyberbullying event, and that it was the case of another victim of similar bullying, Tyler Clementi, that made her own suffering "take on a different meaning."
Clintons' relationship with media still testy after all these years
"Perhaps by sharing my story, I reason, I might be able to help others in their darkest moments of humiliation." In the same way that a sitting President can sooth a community struck by a hurricane, mudslide or mass shooting, I have no doubt that Lewinsky could help a victim of cyberbullying get through the pain and humiliation -- and be instrumental in encouraging him or her to stay strong.
One of the most powerful tools you have in life is the truth, and here's the truth: Regardless of what she says, people will judge. Pundits will pontificate, project and wonder aloud about political motivations in the timing. We will wonder if this will hurt Hillary Clinton in 2016 or if Lewinsky was paid by the Republican National Committee to unburden herself like this. Go down that road and you miss something way more powerful than politics -- a lesson in humanity and personal power.
In Vanity Fair, she wrote that it's time to "stop tiptoeing around my past -- and other people's futures. I am determined to have a different ending to my story. I've decided, finally, to stick my head above the parapet so that I can take back my narrative and give purpose to my past."
By telling her story, she's doing exactly that. It takes remarkable courage to confront your humiliating mistakes and painful past, and still hold your head high.
It's in our failures that we often find our strength. Good for you Monica Lewinsky, you found your strength. I for one will be cheering you on.
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Chocolate covered candied clementine peels
This was a lesson in ingredient substitution!
Darn WordPress ate my post. I'll recreate later. But suffice it to say, you can substitute a LOT of things and still have a recipe turn out.
This was a lesson in ingredient substitution!
Darn WordPress ate my post. I'll recreate later. But suffice it to say, you can substitute a LOT of things and still have a recipe turn out.
Recipe, such as it is, in a bit. Now, to eat!
OK, I'm back. It's not so much a recipe as it is a "throw some stuff in a pan and see what happens" sort of a dish. I'm flexible in cooking, more precise in baking. I am also not opposed to using shortcuts, like Minute Rice.
In this case, I cut up a boneless skinless chicken breast into bite size chunks, since it was just my daughter and I eating dinner at home. I salted the pieces and set them aside to come to temp while I fixed a couple of cups of instant rice. In the microwave. Hey, when you've got a starving tween, sometimes you're in a hurry. 😉
I preheated a sauté pan, added some peanut oil, and browned the chicken very well. Then I poured in some teriyaki sauce, stirred the chicken around, and turned the heat way down to keep it warm and reduce the sauce a bit.
In the meantime, I heated another, larger pan with high sides. More peanut oil, and then dumped in the rice, along with some onion powder, garlic powder, and fresh pepper. I let that cook for a bit, stirring occasionally. I added half a package of frozen stir fry vegetables, and let those warm through. I pushed the rice mixture to one side, and scrambled a couple of eggs in the pan. Mix it all together gently, and pour in some soy sauce, sesame seeds, the chicken and sauce, and a tiny bit of sesame oil (hoisin too, if you like – my kid didn't like the smell, so I left it out).
Taste it, see if it needs anything, and voila! It took about 20 minutes total, and it was yummy.
No more pics because I only have two hands.
My version turned out way more pink than the gorgeous dark purple in the recipe. But very, very tasty! It definitely has the taste of yogurt. Fortunately, I like that, so it's all good. Simple and easy. I had more base than would fit in the ice cream machine. So popsicles!!
More pics coming shortly. I had an unexpected extra hour, and I haven't taken anything to work lately, so . . . I followed this recipe, and the kids went nuts over the batter, so that's a good sign.
I subbed greek yogurt for the sour cream, because I don't keep that on hand. Seems to have worked out ok. I'll let you know tomorrow when my coworkers try it, I guess!
I have been working every night for the last couple of weeks. Between that and the kids' activities, I can't remember the last time I actually cooked. This makes me sad beyond words. 😦
I'll be back when I can.
Things have been a little hectic around here lately, so there hasn't been much time or interest in cooking. But I was looking around Pinterest and my Diigo bookmarks, and I got inspired.
First up, the chicken. This recipe looked so good, and Elder Child loves anything with garlic. She will actually eat a clove of garlic raw. Which I guess is bad for her breath, but she's protected from any vampires out there. 😉
This was a really easy, and also delicious recipe!
I've been wanting to try duchess potatoes, and today was the day, since I had the time. It's really hard to go wrong with a recipe from Pioneer Woman. These were no exception. I should have baked them longer, but I had a child who was super hungry and wanted dinner to be ready already. These were delish, and something I'll definitely make again. Probably not on a weeknight, unless I make them in advance.
Also on the menu was peas, which were nothing fancy, but one of the girl's favorites. Tasty.
Lastly, I made a strawberry cake that's actually pretty healthy. It uses Greek yogurt and water in place of the oil and eggs, along with a box mix. Apparently devil's food cake is the best, but I had strawberry. It's a hit! As is typical, the top got a little too brown, and I had forgotten to thaw some buttercream frosting, so I sprinkled powdered sugar on top and called it a day.
Now, I rest.
Pics below:
Mine ended up far more pink than red, probably because I was using frozen strawberries and had to add some vanilla soy milk. I also used honey, because I don't have any agave syrup at the moment. It's on the grocery list though! But I'm sure it's tasty, and I've got breakfast covered for the next four days.
Here's the recipe. I know it sounds weird, but it's filling, super healthy, and very, very tasty.
These are yummy, and quick too. Here is the recipe.
I used 2 eggs, spinach, some leftover turkey bacon, shredded cheese, greek yogurt, salt, pepper, garlic, and tabasco. Yummy!!!!
A note – my mini muffin tin holds six, so I had a little more egg mixture in each one. The original recipe calls for eight wonton wrappers. So I had to cook mine a couple of extra minutes to get the egg cooked through. Just watch that the edges don't burn.
More pics:
This is one of my daughter's favorite snacks. And it's so easy to make – I can customize it exactly how she likes it. I use this very flexible recipe from Baking Bites.
My girl likes lots of fruits and nuts, and she likes very clumpy granola rather than little pieces. To accomplish that, I add a little extra honey/maple syrup and applesauce. It you short those ingredients, you should get a drier end result.
Today, I used almonds, and a package of dried mixed fruit. I used honey and golden syrup, because we didn't have any maple syrup. Sometimes I use dried cranberries, but I didn't have any today. I added chia seeds and protein powder, along with some PB2 powder.
I usually throw the dried fruit in at the beginning instead of at the end, so it's not separate from the rest. I've never had any problems doing it that way. Also, I am lazy.
It's delicious.
More pics:
There is no recipe today, because my friend Anna sent me a copy of the new cookbook by Joy the Baker, and this is the first recipe I've tried.
All I can tell you is that you should buy this cookbook when it is in stores.


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Toshiba may halt production of its HD DVD format for high definition video, a move that would leave Sony's competing Blu-Ray technology victorious in the next-generation video format wars.
Following earlier reports by the Japanese public broadcaster NHK, Reuters reported Saturday that Toshiba will cease manufacturing HD DVD equipment:
A source at Toshiba confirmed an earlier report by public broadcaster NHK that it was getting ready to pull the plug.
"We have entered the final stage of planning to make our exit from the next generation DVD business," said the source, who asked not to be identified. He added that an official announcement could come as early as next week.
No one answered the phone at Toshiba's public relations office in Tokyo.
Other news reports are less definitive. The BBC reports that Toshiba has yet to decide:
"There have been media reports that Toshiba will discontinue its HD DVD business," a Toshiba spokesman said.
"In fact, Toshiba has not made any announcement or decision. We are currently assessing our business strategies, but nothing has been decided at the moment."
But there's little doubt that the rumors have pleased investors. Bloomberg reports that Toshiba shares jumped 5.7 percent on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Monday, hitting a seven-week high. Sony's stock rose by 1 percent.
Whatever Toshiba decides, it is clear that support in the US for Toshiba's format has been eroding quickly. Wal-Mart, the nation's largest DVD retailer, announced Friday that it would stop selling HD DVD discs and machines in June. Earlier, Best Buy, the nation's largest electronics retailer, and Netflix, the largest online DVD rental service, each announced that they would be backing Blu-Ray.
Through 2007, the two formats were evenly matched. But some analyists say the tipping point came on Jan. 4, 2008, when Warner Bros. announced that it would move exclusively to Blu-Ray, leaving Universal and Paramount as the only remaining major movie studios to support HD DVD. With Warner's decision, Blu-Ray locked in about about 70 percent of the high-definition video market.
Toshiba responded by slashing prices on its HD DVD players to as low as $150. But that did not stop rumors that one of the format's biggest backers, Microsoft, could be jumping ship. The Australian tech site Smarthouse reported that Microsoft is working on a Blu-Ray Xbox 360 gaming console. The Xbox 360 currently supports the HD DVD format, while its competitor, the Sony Playstation 3, supports Blu-Ray.
For the general public, the end of the hi-def format wars could mean an end to consumer confusion. Reuters predicts that shoppers will be less reluctant to buy now that a clear winner has emerged.
The Blu-ray win means consumers seeking sharper movies on high-definition DVDs no longer have to choose between rival incompatible formats and run the risk of being stuck with a 21st century equivalent of Betamax -- Sony's videotape technology that lost out to VHS in the 1980s.
Having one format should also help accelerate the shift to the new technology in the $24 billion (12.3 billion pound) home DVD market.
The Associated Press notes that 1 million people around the world who already have purchased HD DVD players will be disappointed.
Blu-Ray seems to have prevailed, but Wired magazine is not impressed. Their gadget blog argues that movie downloads will render the competition between disc formats "irrelevant":
This leaves Blu-Ray as the presumptive victor in the irrelevant optical disk format war. It now must face up to the real competition: the continuing success of DVD and the growing popularity of downloads, both on the internet and on-demand cable TV.


text:
with the third quarter 2005 filings, all New Jersey sales and use
tax returns and payments must be submitted electronically. The paper
ST50/51 coupon booklet is no longer issued. To file, you may use the
Division of Taxation's "NJ S&U EZFILE " program
which provides both Webfile and Telefile services. In addition, software
will become available to file the sales tax documents.
are the names of software vendors that have been approved by the Division
of Revenue to electronically transmit sales and use tax returns. Both
the quarterly return (ST-50) and the monthly return (ST-51) may be
filed using this software.
Software vendors appearing
on this list have products that have passed the review and testing
procedures established by the Division. The review, however, does
not include the accuracy of the software program or the program's
calculations. The Division is not liable and does not assume any responsibility
for the accuracy of these income tax filing products or programs.
Vendors as of 10-29-09


text:
2000 Dodge Ram 2500 Reviews and Ratings
Sweptline Heavy Duty
Expert Reviews
Dodge Ram backs up its bold looks with powerful engines. It boasts excellent street manners with a smooth ride, quick steering and excellent brakes.
And it comes with a host of significant changes for the new model year: more powerful engines; new front suspensions and steering systems for improved ride, directional stability and steering precision; new brake systems. Two new options have been added to the lineup for 2000, a special off-road package and a luxurious leather SLT Plus package.
Like all other American full-size pickup trucks, the Dodge Ram offers an enormous breadth of choice.
Ram is available in three load ratings: 1500, 2500, and 3500. Five engines are offered: 3.9-liter V6, 5.2-liter V8, 5.9-liter V8, 8.0-liter V10 and a Cummins 5.9-liter diesel inline-6. Every engine comes with a choice of 5-speed manual or 4-speed automatic transmission. Rams come with either two- or four-wheel drive. Short and long beds are available.
Both of the popular V8 engines were upgraded last year. The 5.2-liter V8 produces 230 horsepower; the 5.9-liter V8 generates 245 horsepower and an impressive 335 pounds-feet of torque. For 2000, buyers will be able to get either a V10 gasoline engine or a Cummins turbo diesel in a 2500 or a 3500 series truck.
Standard, Club Cab and Quad Cab bodies are available in LT, Laramie SLT, and SST trim levels. Regular-length beds are 6 1/2 feet long, optional long beds are 8 feet long; short and long wheelbase versions are available.
A Sport Plus package comes with 17-inch wheels and tires, suspension upgrades and a 5.9-liter V8 with sport exhausts.
The Ram Off-Road 4x4 packages a recalibrated suspension and LT275/70R17 all-terrain tires mounted to 17-by-8-inch cast aluminum wheels, a unique steering gear for low-speed agility, and a limited-slip differential; the package includes an upsized battery and alternator, auxiliary transmission oil cooler, a larger radiator, front tow hooks, skid plates, fog lamps, heavy-duty service equipment and unique Off-Road decals. This package is available in regular cab and Quad Cab 1500 short-bed four-wheel-drive models.
The upscale SLT Plus package comes with a leather interior, new front driver and passenger power-adjustable heated seats, a rear under-seat storage compartment, CD player with Infinity speakers and remote audio controls in the steering wheel, illuminated vanity mirrors, keyless entry, security alarm, fog lamps and anti-lock brakes.
Four-wheel anti-lock brakes are now standard on all 3500 models. For 2000, Dodge Rams are available in three new colors, including Dark Garnet Red, Sierra Bronze and Patriot Blue.
For the most part, its looks haven't changed. The bold design of the Dodge Ram is reminiscent of big Freightliners steaming down the road with a full load of logs. It is arguably the best-looking pickup on the market.
A number of under-the-skin upgrades have been made including electrocoated frame paint. The Sport package comes with a body-colored grille and front and rear bumpers, decals, fog lamps, outline white letter tires, and cast aluminum wheels. This year there is an even bolder front end with a new grille design and clear-lens lamps on the Ram Sport.
The Quad Cab four-door pickup truck design is said to be as strong as a conventional pickup body shell even though it does not have a pillar between the doors. To improve structural rigidity, Dodge designed a beam that runs laterally under the truck, and reinforced both the A and C pillars. Side door guard beams were also added to improve protection from side impacts.
The Ram Quad Cab is about cavernous space. It offers buyers a roomy interior with conventional front doors and rear-hinged rear doors. The absence of a B-pillar makes it much easier to get in or out of the rear seat; it also makes it much easier to stick something behind the front seats. The door handles for the rear doors are integrated into the front interior face of the door, providing a more secure dual locking system for all four doors when the rear door is locked.
The Dodge Ram's big, wide instrument panel has a more modern layout than the original design. This includes a new steering wheel design, a big storage compartment, an extra power point, and new cupholders designed to handle any commercially available drink container. For 2000, the Ram comes with reduced-force air bags with a lockout for the passenger side. Other improvements include a new keyless remote entry system, an upgraded base sound system, a new cassette and CD sound system option and a new center console. The instrument pod features vacuum-fluorescent odometer and trip odometer that are tamperproof, and there are new driver-programmable keyless entry key fobs. Other interior features include heated power mirrors, illuminated power door locks and window switches, and an optional security alarm system.
The front seat in all Rams is divided 40/20/40, with a huge fold-down center section that doubles as armrest and writing table. The cloth-covered seats in our test truck were nicely upholstered, plush, supportive and comfortable. When no one is sitting in it, the center position provides a large storage box, with divided spaces for coins, cassettes, maps or a laptop computer. For 2000, the designers have integrated the front seat belts into the seats themselves, which gets rid of messy hanging belts -- a particularly nice improvement for the wide-open Quad Cab doorway.
The Quad Cab rear seat is the same one used in other extended cab versions. It's handy for children, pets and petite adults, but it is not very comfortable for adults on long trips. The bench portion of the seat flips up out of the way effortlessly from either side for hauling tools or cargo. The power window option comes with an express-down switch on the driver's side. Steering wheel mounted radio controls are optional. There are two new overhead console designs; one with and one without trip computer. A rotary headlamp switch replaces the former pull switch design on the left side of the dash.
Our Ram 1500 was fitted with the 5.9-liter V8 and 4-speed automatic transmission. This engine has a ton of torque and a broad power band, which makes it a great deal of fun to drive. This is a great engine for heavy-duty use, the best choice if you need to pull a trailer, but don't want the diesel or the higher fuel bills generated by the V10.
A V8 pickup truck is great fun for cruising. Passing is effortless. The manual transmission can add flexibility in off-road situations, but we recommend the automatic for street use. The low-end torque of the engine and the low gearing in first and second gears make it easy to get around in all driving situations.
Front suspension on a Ram is a coil spring setup with four leading arms, a track bar and a stabilizer bar to keep the front axle assembly located fore and aft and side to side. Rear suspension is a conventional live axle with leaf springs designed to carry heavy loads. The suspension in our 1500 model was smooth and quiet on the street, aided by big, soft Goodyear tires. The Dodge V8 pickup truck has for years had a special kind of presence on the street, and the Ram backs up that presence with excellent street manners and ride.
A new steering gear design along with new steering geometry make steering much more precise than earlier models. Steering in the earlier Rams was light and quick, but had a lot of dead space on-center and seemed to require constant left-right adjustments.
Braking, with discs in front, drums in rear, is exemplary. The Ram stops quickly with superb straight-line stability. The brakes have been redesigned with dual-piston front disc brake calipers and a more responsive brake booster for improved braking performance.
The other thing that may have improved is the build quality. Our truck was free of squeaks, rattles and shudders, and everything about it seemed a bit tighter, a bit smoother, a bit more high-quality than previous models we've driven.
This four-door Ram is so terrifically easy to use for a group of four or five people that we no longer think of trucks solely as work vehicles. Four-door pickups make so much sense for so many families that they'll be as common as minivans in a few years. Dodge was the first to offer four doors, but its success has forced Ford, Chevy and GMC to follow.
Dodge offers an excellent package. Improvements to the instrumentation, new powertrain and body combinations have made it better. For cruising around town or going to the beach, the Ram offers loads of room, loads of power and loads of style.


text:
The Toronto Maple Leafs canned general manager Brian Burke on Wednesday. We're not sure what it took for Burke to get fired immediately after the end of a lockout. If team brass didn't like the direction he was taking Toronto, they should have fired him before free agency and the draft; otherwise, they should have let him stay to see how his team did. He'll stay on as an advisor to the club, although one imagines he won't get his old job back should the Leafs do well.
In any event, the Toronto Star's Damien Cox got the first post-firing interview with Burke, and it is pretty dreary:
This was his second visit to his favourite Starbucks of the morning—he was up at 4:30 a.m. to work out, then out for his first coffee at 5:30 a.m.—and came after a neighbour had pointed out to him that the back window of one of his cars had been smashed in.
On Thursday, without the responsibilities of running the Leafs any longer, he went to an afternoon matinee of the film Jack Reacher, choosing that movie over Hyde Park on the Hudson and Lincoln.
"It was great," he smiled. "First time in my life I've ever been to a midweek matinee. First time I've ever gone to a movie alone."
Oh, poor Brian Burke. A smashed car window and Jack Reacher in the afternoon. We hope he owns a large flask.


text:
Hall of Fame Blues
Sunday, 3-5pm
- Hosted by Shakin' Dave Hussong
It's hard to recall a time when I didn't listen to Blues music.
Oh sure, I can remember the pop onslaught of the early 50s,and it was fine because that's all I knew. Things changed in rapid succession after I received a transistor radio somewhere towards the middle of that decade.
One night I was twisting the dial and stumbled across WLAC 1510 am in Nashville. After 9pm the station became a 50,000-watt "clear channel" voice which meant that it operated without any other stations,east of the Mississippi River on that frequency. It was a strong signal in more ways than one! Characters with names like "Big Hugh" and "John R" filled up the airwaves with great soul & blues performers whose music was every bit as funky as the personalities that spun the discs.
The "Wolf," "Muddy," "T-Bone," "Jimmy Reed," "BB," "Elmore" – these colorful figures became a part of my adolescent musical lexicon. I've never outgrown those players.
I've added many to the list through the years, but the magic they presented to me oh so long ago is as sweetly intangible to me today as it was way back when. I'm still a professional guitarist playing the music that I love, and for the many years I'm doubly blessed by being able to play this great American art form we call "The Blues" on WYSO on a program known as the "Hall Of Fame" show.
On one little promo I stated that we would "take you to the four corners of the blues, and check out all it's different hues," and that's what we try to do, with our focus being on the classic "Hall Of Fame "performers.
I'm proud to be a part of "Public Radio for the Miami Valley" and am eternally thankful to you, the listener, for affording the support to keep the "H of F" program alive and kickin' through all those years.
Keep it "locked" as they say, 'cause if you do, we'll keep the Blues coming at ya!
Thanks again,
"Shakin Dave" Hussong