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by Andrew Shipley

Andrew Shipley, ATL Isle of Man Branch Secretary says the news about cuts across the education service are a real blow to all involved in education and fly in the face of the high regard we supposedly put on it in the Isle of Man.  “The Department of Education and Children is in an impossible position. Statutory provision must be maintained and for cuts to be made the axe has to fall on non-statutory areas which include the library services, pre-school provision and the Primary Modern Languages.  It is now up to politicians to show some leadership and resolve, to say no and reverse these decisions”.  The ATL recognises that cuts have to be made but there are other areas, which have less of a social impact.  “Staff are devastated by the decisions that have been made and the ATL echoes the IOMTUC call that “if government has any social conscience at all, it will stop proposing cuts in inappropriate areas of public spending””.

“Instead of cutting the pre-school services, these should be extended to enable the economically active population to get on with the jobs that bring income to the island”.  “These cuts will disproportionately hit women, the vulnerable and the less well off”.  “Aspects of education, such as playing an instrument will become the preserve of those who can pay”.
The ATL is concerned, not only for the immediate future but also in the long term.  “While politicians may see the difficulties we face now, the longer term implications of their decisions need to be considered.  What will the effect be when these children, affected by the closure of nurseries, get to secondary school?  How will reducing the staffing at “Health Education” affect the physical and sexual health of our young people, and what cost will there then be to health and social care budgets?  Can we truly say that we aspire to be a global player when we cut back on provision for modern foreign languages?  What does the decision about the libraries say about us as a civilised country and the high regard we should have for the written word?  “Possibly another body can show some leadership and take on responsibility for the library service instead of it being a government funded service?”

The English coalition government recognises the importance of nursery education and in spite of massive budget problems has found the money to extend provision to 15 hours per week, while we are reducing our publically funded provision.  The ATL calls on the Government to find the money, delay the changes, look at the issues carefully and thoroughly and make appropriate provisions so that if changes have to come in they can be properly managed without the uncertainty and angst that is faced at present.

-ENDS-

In Other Isle of Man News

If you'd like to send any information or news releases to us then please feel free to do so and we would be more than happy to consider sharing your news with the Isle of Man!

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© Manx Telecom Ltd 2012

Manx Telecom Ltd, Isle of Man Business Park, Cooil Road, Braddan, Isle of Man IM99 1HX
Registered in the Isle of Man Reg no.5629V Vat Reg no GB 003-2919-12

See the article here:
ATL Press Release – Review Cuts to Education

by Richard Parslow

AN officer who has played a pivotal role in maintaining a stable industrial relations climate in the Isle of Man is set to step down from his post in April.

Senior Industrial Relations Officer Ian Cochrane is retiring after 15 years of providing impartial advice to local employers, employees and trade unions.

Mr Cochrane, who joined the Manx Industrial Relations Service (MIRS) in November 1996 from ACAS in the UK, has been instrumental in resolving a number of high-profile and complex employment-related issues.
The search is now on to appoint a successor to continue the wide-ranging remit of the independent, Government-funded service.

The organisation’s main objectives include promoting a clear and practical understanding of legislation, encouraging a non-adversarial approach, and offering conciliation on complaints to the Employment Tribunal
Mr Cochrane says he can look back on his career with a great deal of satisfaction after overseeing a period of significant change for MIRS in terms of increased workload and public expectation.

‘The role is all about helping people to avoid problems and confrontations by finding a solution to their issues. One of the most important aspects is to remain impartial in challenging situations, as building up the trust of the parties involved is crucial,’ he commented.

Mr Cochrane, who works alongside Deputy Industrial Relations Officer Julie Bradley, added: ‘I’ve very much enjoyed working for MIRS and believe it is a well-respected element of the employment services provided in the Isle of Man.’
Chief Secretary Will Greenhow said: ‘I’d like to wish Ian a very happy retirement and place on record my thanks for his commitment and dedicated service over the past 15 years.’

The post of Industrial Relations Officer is currently being advertised and the closing date for applications is Friday, March 2.

Further information is available at http://www.gov.im/cso/publicappointments/employment.xml

-Ends-

In Other Isle of Man News

If you'd like to send any information or news releases to us then please feel free to do so and we would be more than happy to consider sharing your news with the Isle of Man!

Send your Isle of Man news to:webmaster@manx.net

© Manx Telecom Ltd 2012

Manx Telecom Ltd, Isle of Man Business Park, Cooil Road, Braddan, Isle of Man IM99 1HX
Registered in the Isle of Man Reg no.5629V Vat Reg no GB 003-2919-12

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Industrial Relations Officer Retires After 15 Years

by Mount Murray Hotel

In a new joint initiative for 2012 Hospice Isle of Man and Mount Murray Hotel and Country Club are introducing a “Penny For Your Thoughts” charity scheme.  The Hotel will place Guest Comments cards in all of their 103 bedrooms, Mallards and Murray’s Restaurants as well as the Golf Club. For every completed card they will donate 10p to the Children’s Hospice, Rebecca House.

Mike Marshall, General Manager for the Hotel commented: “We are very keen to be involved with the community and feel such a worthwhile charity like Rebecca House is the perfect way to do this, we will also gain invaluable information from our Guests as we strive to improve our standards and quality of customer service”.
Jason Hand, Operations Manager added “During 2012 we will be displaying information concerning the tremendous work Rebecca House carries out to raise their profile and, through a range of events such as a Super Hero ball on Friday 18th May 2012 as part of children’s Hospice week and a golf day to be held on Friday 29th June, we will be showing our support in monetary terms”.

PR and Marketing Manager for Hospice, Mary Doyle added: “We are delighted to be working with the team at Mount Murray Hotel and Country Club and look forward to a successful community partnership during 2012.” Over the last couple of years we have worked with the Hotel and Golf club but this is a step up that will make a huge difference in every way.”
Pictured left to right is Jason Hand, Operations Manager at the hotel with Mary Doyle, PR and Marketing Manager for Hospice Isle of Man and Rebecca House and Mike Marshall, general manager at Mount Murray.

-Ends-

In Other Isle of Man News

If you'd like to send any information or news releases to us then please feel free to do so and we would be more than happy to consider sharing your news with the Isle of Man!

Send your Isle of Man news to:webmaster@manx.net

© Manx Telecom Ltd 2012

Manx Telecom Ltd, Isle of Man Business Park, Cooil Road, Braddan, Isle of Man IM99 1HX
Registered in the Isle of Man Reg no.5629V Vat Reg no GB 003-2919-12

Read the original here:
Fund Raising for Rebecca House

By: Douglas French | Guest columnist
Published: February 20, 2012 Updated: February 20, 2012 - 6:00 AM

Alabama’s primaries are March 13, and this year the race is competitive, and it will matter.

When the talking heads on TV wanted to anoint Mitt Romney as the Republican nominee, Newt Gingrich won in South Carolina. When it looked like Gingrich had the upper hand, Romney won Florida and Nevada. When it’s declared a two-man race, Rick Santorum ran the table, winning Minnesota, Missouri and Colorado. In the meantime, Ron Paul continues to quietly pick up delegates.

So while many voters don’t want to “waste their vote,” who can properly judge whether a vote for this one or that one is a waste? The Opelika-Auburn News recently ran a Doonesbury comic strip concerning Ron Paul’s campaign. Paul is famous for wanting to end the Fed, return to gold, and bring home the troops. His preferred income tax rate is zero.

“The fact is your philosophy is pure utopianism,” says Gary Trudeau’s cartoon TV talking head. “No modern society could function under a libertarian government, which is why none exists.”

But as far out as the mainstream media wants to make Paul’s ideas, all Dr. Paul advocates is a return to the Constitution. No war has been declared in the Middle East, so in Paul’s view these current wars are illegal. Money coined by the United States government is to be gold and silver. The Constitution makes no provision for a central bank and fiat money.

Modern political commentators make the founding fathers out to be lunatics or maybe just naïve country bumpkins who didn’t know any better. But Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin are said to have both had IQs of 160. The idea of personal freedom, property rights and sound money wasn’t crazy to them but something to fight for.

The founders viewed government with suspicion for good reason. But now it is individuals who believe in freedom that are viewed with suspicion. Reuters reports that the FBI is keeping its eyes on “extremists, sometimes known as ‘sovereign citizens,’ (who) believe they can live outside any type of government authority. “The extremists may refuse to pay taxes, defy government environmental regulations and believe the United States went bankrupt by going off the gold standard.”

These individuals who believe that nobody has the right to take their property and that money should be gold and silver are considered dangerous by the FBI. "We are being inundated right now with requests for training from state and local law enforcement on sovereign-related matters," said Casey Carty, an FBI supervisory special agent.

“Sovereign members often express particular outrage at tax collection, putting Internal Revenue Service employees at risk,” reports Reuters.

The founders of this nation weren’t utopians, but they weren’t keen on forming a government that would confiscate their property via taxation. Thus, there was no income tax until much later — 1913, the same year the Federal Reserve came into being.

When you think about it in light of the facts, a vote for Paul is not a waste, but sends a message that freedom is to be celebrated and encouraged, not viewed with suspicion and stifled.

Douglas French is president of the Mises Institute in Auburn.

See the rest here:
Freedom should be celebrated, not stifled

Q: I just wanted to write to you because I have a few questions regarding the online "traffic cams" around the Capital District.

Question No. 1: Why is it that every time there is a traffic accident on, say, the Northway or 787, when I try to view the camera nearest the accident, almost without fail that particular camera feed says: "Camera Temporarily Unavailable?" Is it that the DOT or whoever controls the cameras is trying to protect us from seeing the "carnage" on our Capital District highways? (I'm half-joking with this question, of course.) However, on numerous occasions, for example, I'd be listening to a radio or TV traffic report, and then immediately I'd check the camera closest to that incident, but the "Camera Temporarily Unavailable" picture is shown. What gives here?

Question No. 2: In most other metropolitan cities such as Philadelphia, NYC, etc ... the Internet traffic cams show real-time streaming (or close to real-time) video of the traffic cam feeds. However, here in the Capital District, we only get one still image every few minutes. Why is this the case? On local TV stations they show streaming video from those exact same traffic cam feeds; why do all the Internet feeds only show a still picture? This just doesn't make any sense to me.

Question No. 3: Why are there no traffic cams between exits 23 and 24 of the Thruway? I should hope that with the new widening of the Thruway to six lanes, that cameras will be installed near the more heavily traveled sections, such as near the Delaware Avenue overpass or at the overpass of Route 85.

— Anthony B. Martino, Cohoes

A: We'll tackle your questions as you asked them, one at a time.

As to the first question, the camera angles may change for police purposes or to protect privacy.

"Typically, during an incident involving an accident our camera operators will work with State Police to determine the severity of the accident and to evaluate if injuries are present," she said. "This may involve moving the camera from its wide-angle view and zooming in close to the accident scene. Operators may at this point restrict the camera to the NYSDOT 511 website because they are prohibited from transmitting any personal identifier information. For privacy reasons, traffic cameras cannot show images that: identify an individual, driver or passenger; identify license plates of vehicles; identify contents of the enclosed interior of passenger vehicles; or track the individual travel pattern of a specific vehicle."

Once an assessment has been made, Breen said, the camera operator will zoom back out to the original wide angle view so no identifying information can be seen. The image would then return to unrestricted.

"If an image is deemed disturbing, or inappropriate for public view, the camera image will be restricted until the incident is cleared," she said.

R.W. Groneman, spokesman for the Thruway Authority, agreed the main purpose of the camera is not for public consumption.

"The reason we put the cameras up is for traffic control and management," he said.

The camera shots are provided on the web as a public benefit, he said, but the chosen angles and views are meant to help control traffic. The views shown are for the benefit of traffic engineers and may differ from what the public might want to see at any moment.

As for your second question, Breen said, the reason for the still images on the 511 site is that the technology is old.

"The video system for the Capital Region was first installed more than a decade ago before many of the advances in streaming video were available," she said. "Recently, we have upgraded the roadside traffic system with fiber-optic cabling and network cameras, reducing maintenance costs and increasing stability. An added advantage has been high-quality video that is easily delivered to local TV stations on their video network. Getting video to the 511 system on the NYSDOT network is a bit more complex due to information security concerns. We are reviewing the 511 feeds as part of our total system upgrade, and plan a system update later this year."

And to answer your final question, Groneman said a new camera will be added on the Thruway.

"As part of the reconstruction of the Thruway between Exit 23 and Exit 24 in Albany, a new traffic camera will be installed near the Delaware Avenue overpass," he said. "It should be operational in the near future."

"Getting There" is compiled by staff writer Tim O'Brien. Do you have a question about transportation? Call 454-5020 or email gettingthere@timesunion.com. Please include your name, town and telephone number.

Read more here:
Traffic cameras protect privacy by not showing victims