Castle Mill Boatyard, Jericho, Oxford
From:
Julia Gasper
Date:
Oct 10 06:45 UTC
Short link
I heard on the TV news that the battle to save Castle Mill Boat-yard in Jericho
has been successful. If so, I am delighted.
Congratulations to all of you who put so much effort into the campaign!
And good luck with the next step which is, I hear, purchasing the site.
Post Office Closures - who is to blame?
From:
Julia Gasper
Date:
Oct 02 13:29 UTC
Short link
Factors such as internet competition exist equally elsewhere - if they have
reduced Royal Mail's business why is the German Mail service so profitable?
Because in Germany and other major European countries, the market in delivery
was not opened up to competition as it was here in Great Britain. The EU
legislation was responsible for introducing competition in some countries,
while leaving monopolies elsewhere! That is completely unfair. Where is the
British company that is delivering German mail? It is also a complete waste of
fuel and working-hours to run four or five rival delivery services to every
house and street in the country.
If I post a letter in Paris or Rome addressed to Corsica or Sardinia, it costs
me no more than to send it elsewhere in Paris. So the single tariff works well.
The main income of the local post offices - which are long separated firm
the Royal Mail - comes from handling other services, not from selling stamps.
They used to be financed by profits from Royal Mail but that was abolished long
ago. Many other countries never had such a convenient network of small local
post offices, but in France where they had quite a lot, the EU budget-capping
is having exactly the same result - local post offices in villags where they
are much appreciated are being closed down.
The fact is that the EU has dictated a reduction in the financing of our local
post offices, this is proved by existing documents tha the public can and shuld
read for themsleves, and even if the Royal Mail were making a vast profit, that
would not save them.
Somebody recently sent me an item supposedly by the APC "overnight courier".
The overnight courier arrived at 4 pm when I was out. It was a Friday and they
do not work at weekends. So I had to wait until the following Monday to request
re-delivery. They require a day's notice. So they didn't re-deliver until the
Tuesday when they arrived at three in the afternoon. So their overnight service
actually took five days. They had nothing but excuses to offer, and said "Well,
that's the service,". No apology. I don't call that a welcome alternative to
the Royal Mail and a good reason for local post offices to be closed down.
Bonn Square
From:
Julia Gasper
Date:
Oct 02 07:56 UTC
Short link
After six months of protracted correspondence, our collective complaint to the
Local Government Ombudsman has now reached what appears to be the final stage.
The LGO, J. R.White, has decided that he is simply not going to investigate the
complaint at all, because he recognizes that we think the City Council acted
undemocratically, he does not consider that this constitutes a "significant
personal injustice".
He also says that I live too far away from Bonn Square for it to "have
materially affected" me.
He apparently believes that one's concern about the environment should be
limited to a radius of about a mile from wherever one happens to live.
So after all those months of patiently striving to have our complaint heard, it
has been considered for about five minutes and then dismissed without
investigation. Can anyone really say that they are surprised?
The other people who co-signed the complaint are of course welcome to see the
letter, which arrived here by post this morning.
It reminds us that the Audit Commission exists for complaints about City
Councils misusing public money, and we still have the option of putting a
further complaint to that commission. If anybody is willing to put their
signature to such a complaint, please contact me.
Oct. 1 Forum Pub Gathering with E-Democracy - 19:00
From:
Steven Clift
Date:
Oct 01 14:12 UTC
Short link
Just a quick reminder about the pub gathering this evening at the
Black Boy in Headington from 7:00 p.m. on.
They just re-opened yesterday, so the kitchen is not yet open.
Also, we certainly welcome any last minute attendees tomorrow at any
or all of the sessions:
http://pages.e-democracy.org/Oxford_meeting
If you are interested in building up forum membership or starting a
neighbourhood Issues Forum in an area not currently covered in Oxford,
the first session at 9:30 a.m. sharp is for you!
Steven Clift
E-Democracy.Org
On 9/18/08, Steven Clift <<email obscured>> wrote:
>
> Thanks to Abigail Rose pointing out that she will be working at the Black
> Boy
> pub (91 Old High St, Headington)that evening, why don't we meet there @
> 19:00
> for an informal neighbourhood forums meet and greet.
>
> This will be a great chance to put faces to the e-mails of participants and
> for
> me to get to know the neighbourhood passions across Oxford.
>
> As a reminder, you may RSVP for our events on Oct. 2 from here:
> http://pages.e-democracy.org/Oxford_meeting
> The morning intro training will be of most interest for those looking to
> build
> participation in their local forum.
>
> Cheers,
> Steven Clift
> E-Democracy.Org
>
Post Office Closures - who is to blame?
From:
Nicholas Newman
Date:
Oct 01 11:19 UTC
Short link
Julia, as to who is to blame about the demise of local branch post offices. I
would suggest we are all to blame to some extent.
Decline in usage of the post office is for a number of reasons. These include:
1. Increased competition from alternative providers of similar services in the
availability of services e.g. banking and financial services.
2. The rise of the internet to send messages and conduct business e.g. texting
and internet banking to pay bills.
3. The failure of the post office to adapt to the new more competitive business
environment.
4. Changes in market behaviour.
5. The failure to end the geographical uniform tariff. E.g. It costs more for
the post office to deliver to rural Oxfordshire than it does to Oxford.
Blaming Europe as the cause of the current state of the British post office is
too easy. The European Union postal services reforms were approved by member
governments, our elected Members of the European Parliament and supported by
many interest groups. These reforms have turned the German post office who own
TNT into the most profitable and efficient post office in Europe. The real
question is why the British post office failed to make the necessary reforms in
time to prepare it to operate in the new more competitive business environment.
Richard Dawkins to speak in Oxford despite efforts to ban him in Turkey
From:
Julia Gasper
Date:
Sep 30 10:21 UTC
Short link
Professor Richard Dawkins will be speaking again on Thursday 23rd October, when
he is giving the Charles Simonyi Lecture at the Oxford Playhouse in Beaumont
Street.
It starts at 5.30pm and tickets are £3.50.
The subject is "The Purpose of Purpose".
This is much less than people were paying to hear him speak at the last Sunday
Times Oxford Literary Festival!
Richard Dawkins to speak in Oxford despite efforts to ban him in Turkey
From:
Nicholas Newman
Date:
Sep 29 19:05 UTC
Short link
Date For Your Diary
Fixed Point Foundation is sponsoring a discussion entitled "Has Science Buried
God?" between Prof. Richard Dawkins and Dr. John Lennox (of Green College,
Oxford) on the main floor of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History at
7:00 p.m. on the 21st of October. Dawkins and Lennox will be discussing
matters of science, the Christian faith, and their respective books: The God
Delusion and God's Undertaker: Has Science Buried God? These men met for the
first time in Birmingham , Alabama this past October for another event
sponsored by Fixed Point, The God Delusion Debate. The debate, moderated by
United States Federal Judge William H. Pryor, followed six theses from Dawkins'
book The God Delusion. Garnering the attention of Fox News, Wall Street
Journal, London Times, and BBC Radio, the event took place in front of a sold
out crowd of almost 1,400. Fixed Point is seeking to generate even more public
interest on this topic by taking the two men back to their hometown for another
event.
Fixed Point itself is a non-profit organization functioning as a think-tank and
teaching resource for the community. Tackling issues where Christianity and
culture tend to clash, it is our objective to create an environment conducive
to open discussion, much like the Greek agora or the proverbial old town
square. This is done through university symposiums, public debates, radio
programming, documentaries, luncheons, and lecture series. For more about
Richard see http://www.oxfordprospect.co.uk/richarddawkins.htm
Post Office Closures - who is to blame?
From:
Julia Gasper
Date:
Sep 29 08:35 UTC
Short link
Anybody who still doubts that the EU is responsible for Post Office closures in
this country can find the evidence by going to the website
http://oxfordshire.ukip.org/
They will find a link to a page which sets out the facts. There are some
people, of course, who prefer to rely on dogged denial and refuse to look at
the evidence and the arguments. However, for the reasoning percentage of the
public there are ways of getting better-informed.
Turkish Court Bans Richard Dawkins Website
From:
Nicholas Newman
Date:
Sep 19 14:04 UTC
Short link
A Turkish court has censired access to Oxford scientist Richard Dawkins
website.No doubt, this court action puts another nail in the coffin of Turkey's
hopes of joining the EU. It is also another example of the efforts of
creationists to wipe out the forces of logic, justice and reason as led by
Richard Dawkins. To read more see
http://www.oxfordprospect.co.uk/europeannews.htm#Turkey_bans_biologist_Richard_Dawkins_website
We in Oxford must support Richard in his fight for readon, logic and justice.
Oct. 1 Forum Pub Gathering with E-Democracy - 19:00
From:
Steven Clift
Date:
Sep 18 17:21 UTC
Short link
Thanks to Abigail Rose pointing out that she will be working at the Black Boy
pub (91 Old High St, Headington)that evening, why don't we meet there @ 19:00
for an informal neighbourhood forums meet and greet.
This will be a great chance to put faces to the e-mails of participants and for
me to get to know the neighbourhood passions across Oxford.
As a reminder, you may RSVP for our events on Oct. 2 from here:
http://pages.e-democracy.org/Oxford_meeting
The morning intro training will be of most interest for those looking to build
participation in their local forum.
Cheers,
Steven Clift
E-Democracy.Org
Worth seeing is new play at the Old fire Station
From:
Nicholas Newman
Date:
Sep 13 09:56 UTC
Short link
A Tender Mother premiers at the OFS Studio.
Julia Gasper. Thursday, September 11, 2008
There are many good things about the new play A Tender Mother, by local Oxford
writer Kit Hyrst, showing this week at the Old Fire Station Studio. to read
more http://www.oxfordprospect.co.uk/OxfordReview.htm#A_Tender_Mother
Bonn Square
From:
Julia Gasper
Date:
Sep 10 14:15 UTC
Short link
PS The extreme ugliness and invasiveness of the hoardings surrounding the site
are part of the ongoing complaint, together with the fact that the council is
using these hoardings to propagandize its scheme. It is severely undemocratic
to use public money for propaganda, to promote a particular policy to which
many tax-payers are strongly opposed.
That is a serious ethical issue.
Bonn Square
From:
Julia Gasper
Date:
Sep 10 14:15 UTC
Short link
Our complaint to the Local Government Ombudsman has now reached the third stage
- that of being considered by an assistant who has decided that the case is not
worth pursuing because it does not involve significant "injustice" to members
of the public.
We are told that we can still use the square, so that's fine. Rather like
shooting someone's beloved Labrador dog and telling them they can now have a
horrid little pekinese puppy instead. Great.
We have a chance to appeal against this and assert that it does constitute
injustice, because of the less than candid way that the council carried out
planning procedures. I will of course be doing so, as unless we do the case
will get as high as the Ombudsman. I imagine that all cases go through this
barrier and only the persistent ones get to the Ombudsman's attention.
Please will all those who still support the complaint get in touch and add
something personal to the next stage of this correspondence. There is no saying
of course that we will succeed, but it is worth using every tool at our
disposal.
Bonn Square
From:
Chris R
Date:
Sep 10 09:56 UTC
Short link
This forum needs a lot more people to take part in it.
I suggest that every member e-mails the web-page's address to at least two
other people living locally, in the hope that they will find time to partake
and contribute to the discussion.
What I see in Oxford is a lot of woeful apathy. If we want to get democracy
back we need to change that.
Of course we need to be civil and polite. It is clear that some members are
inclined to overstate their opinions. But Paul Wilson (who, like many people,
does not quite understand the meaning of the word "appreciate") is going a bit
far to complain of "abuse". Abuse has to be addressed to an individual and
would consist of calling them, for instance, "scum", "slag" or "smeghead", or
such terms that we hear every day on TV.
What I would like to see is a wider range of contributors putting their point
of view. Where are all those three thousand people who signed this petition?
Informal gathering for Oxford forum participants Oct. 1?
From:
Steven Clift
Date:
Sep 09 16:54 UTC
Short link
In addition to the open invitation to join our network-wide input meeting on
Oct. 2: http://pages.e-democracy.org/Oxford_meeting
(Just come for the opening Issues Forum training hour if you want tips on how
to build membership in the CSW forum.)
Would any of you be interested in getting together the evening of Oct. 1 for a
pint or two? Putting faces to e-mails is something people have enjoyed in local
forums around the network.
Based on my travel schedule, 7:30 p.m. would be a safe time.
I've posted a similar invite with the Headington and Cowley forums.
Also, I'd like to try and stay in the heart of your neighbourhood (or another
neighbourhood with a forum). Can anyone recommend a B&B or have other
suggestions?
Steven Clift
E-Democracy.Org
http://stevenclift.com
Oxford prepares for St. Giles Fair.
From:
Tony Joyce
Date:
Sep 08 09:50 UTC
Short link
I asked one of the small newsagents in St Giles what he thought of the Fair.
He said that while it was on, his takings increased fourfold!
Tony
On 7/9/08 23:45, "Kaihsu Tai" <<email obscured>> wrote:
> Just went to the service of blessing at the carousel, with the Lord Mayor
> reading the lesson from the scripture. As usual, a very enjoyable (if
somewhat
20 m.p.h. limits in Oxford
From:
Julia Gasper
Date:
Sep 08 07:08 UTC
Short link
We can be sure that the outcome of this pubic consultation will be just as
democratic as the outcomes of consultation were regarding the introduction of
parking charges in Headington, or indeed the felling of the trees in Bonn
Square. In other words, whatever the public says, the city council and county
council will bulldoze ahead with the plans they are determined to enforce.
What we have under Oxford's Lib-Lab Council (and under the EU) is phoney
democracy. Anybody who is not yet aware that must be pretty naive.
.