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Steven A. Cook

From the Potomac to the Euphrates

Cook examines developments in the Middle East and their resonance in Washington.

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Turkey. At War. With Itself.

by Steven A. Cook
October 12, 2015

Gray clouds over Istanbul (Photo by Steven Cook). Gray clouds over Istanbul (Photo by Steven Cook).

In his famous and much-criticized 1993 Foreign Affairs article, “The Clash of Civilizations,” the late Samuel Huntington described Turkey as a “torn country.” For Huntington there is an irreconcilable difference between the Western-style political institutions of the Republic of Turkey and the Islamic cultural and civilizational foundations of Turkish society. It was a controversial assertion in a controversial article, though Turkey’s current prime minister (and political scientist), Ahmet Davutoglu, made a similar claim in his 1984 dissertation. I disagree with both professors. Turkey may not be “torn” in the way that Huntington and Davutoglu believe, but it is tearing itself apart in a war with itself.

The background for Saturday’s horrific bombing is about another seemingly irreconcilable difference, that between Turkish and Kurdish nationalism. Ever since Mustafa Kemal Ataturk founded the Republic after the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in World War I on a specifically ethno-nationalist basis that made “Turkishness” a singular attribute of identity, expressions of Kurdish identity have been suppressed, often violently. In return, Kurdish alienation has often been expressed through force. The most recent example is the three-decades-long war between the terrorists of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the Turkish state. There are, of course, many Kurds who are well integrated in the political, social, and economic life of Turkey. This has considerably less to do with any flexibility or accommodation on the part of the state or the dominant social group—Turks—than an apparent willingness on the part of the Kurds to accommodate themselves to the mainstream culture and negotiate their way in it.

That the conflict between nationalisms is the central drama of Turkish politics does not mean that one could not imagine its resolution. The problem has always been politics and the way that politicians—leftist, rightist, centrist, Islamist, secular, and Kurdish—have leveraged the conflict to advance their own agendas. And so the “Kurdish question” has become a permanent feature of Turkey’s politics. And yet this conflict is only the toxic context for a series of other struggles—some well established, some new—that have contributed to the current moment in which bodies are piling up on Turkish streets at an unprecedented rate (even by the bloody standards of the late 1970s when violence between leftist and rightist political forces wracked the country, killing about 4,500 people). Today, the conflicts roiling Turkish society include:

  • The Justice and Development Party (AKP) vs. the Republican People’s Party (CHP);
  • The AKP vs. the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP);
  • The AKP vs. the People Democratic Party (HDP);
  • The AKP vs. the Gulenists;
  • The HDP vs. the PKK;
  • Everyone vs. the PKK;
  • The MHP vs. the HDP;
  • Everyone vs. the self-proclaimed Islamic State (though there are persistent questions about the government’s position on this group and other extremists); and
  • Alevi Muslims vs. orthodox Sunni Muslims.

Beyond the immediate tragedy of the Ankara bombing, this is an environment rife with hard-to-resist opportunities for politicians to deepen Turkey’s instability. This is particularly so as November 1 approaches—the date set for the rerun of the country’s June national elections.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s opponents would have it that he and the AKP caused Saturday’s violence and the Suruc and Diyarbakir bombings before it. This seems unlikely, though “cause” can be an expansive term. At the very least Erdogan’s political strategy going back to the run up to elections last spring, but actually further back to the local elections of March 2014, is a testament to how the combination of unbounded ambition, the political conflicts outlined above, and identity can radicalize a society. No matter who is directly responsible for Saturday’s bombing—the Islamic State, the PKK, or some other group—Kurds, who have overwhelmingly been the victims of these kinds of attacks, have been portrayed as collectively subversive. They are terrorists or terrorist sympathizers who seek to undermine Turkey’s unity. None of this is new, but it has taken on a new urgency especially since the June elections when the legal Kurdish-based party, the HDP, earned 13 percent of the popular vote. This vote total denied the AKP a parliamentary majority and a pathway for Erdogan to force a new constitution that would give him his coveted “executive presidency.” Erdogan’s nationalist gambit and the bloodcurdling rhetoric that has gone with it, which seeks to connect the HDP with the terrorists of the PKK in order to push the former below Turkey’s 10 percent parliamentary threshold, has made Kurds—all Kurds—a target.

The PKK has a role to play in creating an environment of violence. The murder of two police officers while they slept in Sanliurfa on July 22 was reported to be the work of a PKK youth wing only marginally under the control of the organization’s leadership. Be that as it may, the PKK was itching for a fight as the peace process, which began in 2013 between the group and the Turkish government, faltered. Also, the organization’s leadership seems unwilling to countenance the rise of the HDP with is own charismatic leader who is committed to playing by the existing rules of the Turkish political game and has been successful at it. It seems that the AKP, the nationalist hardliners of the MHP, and the PKK have an abiding political interest in cutting the HDP down to size. Needless to say, the cycle of violence Turks and Kurds are currently enduring serve that purpose.

The unfortunate reality is that Turkish society is now made up of mutually distrustful camps. The political sniping between the AKP and the HDP as well as the CHP’s disingenuous call for the resignations of the justice and interior ministers and accountability are little more than preelection posturing that only reinforces the political polarization that is contributing to Turkey’s bloody impasse. Accountability would be welcome and likely advance Turkey’s ever-elusive search for national unity, but the set of conditions necessary for this kind of leadership simply do not currently exist. All of the political incentives for Turkish politicians actually run in the opposite direction, encouraging them to use the deaths of more than a hundred people to delegitimize their opponents and win votes. This does not make Turkish politicians any more craven than politicians elsewhere, but in the context of Turkey’s encounter with Kurdish nationalism and its myriad of related political struggles, the resulting suboptimal outcome is more blood.

I was in Istanbul very briefly last week; about thirty-six hours. I spent part of the time chatting with my Turkish friends about the elections, the war in Syria, and the conflict with the PKK. The profound sense of unease and uncertainty was revealing. No one knew where Turkey was headed after November 1, but it was also clear that the principles and ideals of democratic politics and the importance of Western-inspired political institutions had become embedded in their minds. So much for Huntington. I spent the other part of my time wandering around Kadikoy on the Asian side of the Bosphorus, eating and snapping photos of everyday life, including AKP, CHP, and HDP activists electioneering. It was fun to play tourist for a day and it all seemed so normal, even if there was a war going on in the country. After Saturday, that is the part that is so worrying. The normality of a country at war with itself.

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  • Posted by Omerli

    Nicely done Mr. Cook. You are right about the competing nationalisms and other identity based conflicts within Turkey. However, it must also be said that personalities matter as do morality. Think for a moment of a Turkey without the brutally divisive hand and rhetoric of Erdogan. An AKP with Abdullah Gul or Bulent Arinc at the helm would have been a very different proposition I dare say. In Erdogan we have a mad driver unable to slow his furious race into further dividing the country because of his fear of his passengers jumping out and him having to face justice. Needless to say he doesn’t care if the country crashes so lone as he can keep running. Yet he wont be able to hide and we will try this morally and intellectually shallow character sooner or later.

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Twitter For the Enterprise

by Tony Kontzer One thing I learned on Day 1 of The Twitter Conference: Twitter has no plans to adapt its platform for the corporate market. It turns out that the financial promise of secure, business-friendly micro-blogging would only get in the way of the altruistic Twitter's larger goals.

"There's still so much to do on the broader consumer-facing product," Twitter's lead developer, Alex Payne, told me. "The founders are interested in enabling a big, global conversation."

It's hard not to admire sticking to one's ideals, but once the VC funds run out, the lack of a revenue-generation plan is going to force Twitter's hands. Nonetheless, for the time being, Twitter is content to let others do the corporate bidding.

And that brings us to the second thing I learned on Day 1 of The Twitter Conference: There's a large community of third-party, social networking software developers that will bring (or, in a couple of cases, are already bringing) Twitter-type tools into the enterprise. I was introduced to a few interesting ones today.

Let's start with CoTweet, a "social CRM" service delivered via the cloud. It enables a company to track Twitter posts about its products, brands and competitors; assign Twitter posts to employees for follow-up; and track Twitter conversations with case management functionality. Sounds like a nice addition to any customer service operation.

Next on the list is Yammer, an enterprise-ready, Twitter-style micro-blogging service that lets a company's employees keep informed of what others are working on via a secure, private network. It also creates a directory where each participating employee's expertise and Yammer history can be accessed. As someone who's written a lot about knowledge management over the years, this sounds like a dynamite research tool, especially for any business in which intellectual property plays an important role.

Both of these services have already proven themselves to be ready for prime time: CoTweet's customer list includes Coca-Cola, Ford, JetBlue Airways, and Starbucks, and Yammer is in use at AMD, Deloitte and Nationwide Insurance, among others.

Then there's the third company that was brought to my attention, SocialWare, which is perhaps the most ambitious of the group. It's been working on a management tool designed to make social media enterprise-friendly by letting companies apply access controls, data management policies and the like to Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and other social networking services. It's still in the pilot stage, but SocialWare seems like it's onto something big, namely, helping to establish social networking as a business tool that doesn't pose a threat to all that is sacred in the purview of IT.

This is by no means intended to be a complete list. There are undoubtedly more companies with business-friendly social networking tools out there. The point, which I believe I've been making perfectly clear of late, is that if you're not at least thinking about how social networking is going to affect your IT mission in the coming years, you were probably also one of the IT types who proclaimed the sky was falling when instant messaging first began to appear on workplace desktops.

And we all know how that went.

Follow my Twitter feed for random posts from the conference, as well as my ongoing perspectives on social networking, cloud computing, and other things technological.

What we at Know It All want to know (there's irony for you!) is, do you have micro-blogging or social media strategies? Do you officially allow or prohibit its use? And do you expect to have to support it in the relatively near future? Please let us know in the comments field below.

4 Comments for "Twitter For the Enterprise"

  • Tony Kontzer October 21, 2009 2:38 am

    Steve, I can't help but feel your characterization of my post as "unfair and a little smug" is a bit harsh. The truth remains that Twitter does not have a revenue-generation model, and it will one day have its hands forced. I wasn't suggesting that there isn't a potential consumer revenue stream in the offing, but what I gathered from my discussion with Alex Payne is that it's simply not a focus of the company right now. Isn't if fair to point that out? For more fodder for my position, here's the latest revenue non-commitment from Twitter CEO Evan Williams: http://www.ubergizmo.com/15/archives/2009/10/evan_williams_twitters_ceo_still_no_revenue_model.html

  • Steve Balistreri October 10, 2009 11:36 am

    Your comments about Twitter's revenue model are unfair and a little smug. All the Twitter engineer said is that they want to focus on building a consumer-focused product, not that they're not interested in revenue. There are plenty of successful consumer-focused businesses. Twitter has $150 million in the bank. They have plenty of time to figure it out.

  • Tony Kontzer September 28, 2009 1:26 pm

    Anne, sounds like you (or someone in your IT department) would be a good source to keep in mind. Email me at tony@goodink.com and we'll establish a dialog. Hope to hear from you!

  • Anne Wood September 25, 2009 1:45 pm

    We use both Yammer and Twitter at The Carphone Warehouse. Both are proving very effective especially for customer service and support. We're also exploring LinkedIn for corporate use. At present we're using the free applications but our Emerging Technology team are investigating enterprise versions. Anne

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July 3, 2007

Total People in Discussion: 2

Just a quick note to say that I made a mistake in the Lehigh Valley Notebook on C2 of today's Sports Section. The Philadelphia Force will hold Lehigh Valley Hospital Night on Saturday, not Friday. Anyone with a hospital ID can get in for $5, half price of the regular general admission.

The Force has special stuff going on throughout its four-game series with New England, which begins Wednesday night (yes, they're playing on the 4th of July). On Weds. night between 5:30-6:30, fans can hear the Green Mountain Rebels Band as they perform classic rock.

Singing the national anthem will be 15-year old Bioni Cordero, who was a second place finisher in the Mayfair Idol at Cedar Beach back in May. Plus, there's a few other goodies -- bracelets, glow sticks, etc. -- for those who decide to skip the fireworks for women's softball.

I can't guarantee it, but I also believe that if the game is still going on at 9:15 (and most Force games last close to three hours) fans should be able to see some of the fireworks being shot off from nearby J. Birney Crum Stadium.

I have to give credit to the Force PR dept. for getting advance word out on some of these things. I took them to task for not doing a good job at all at spreading the word on a recent appearance by a bunch of mascots, including the Phillie Phanatic and Penn State Nittany Lion, and I can see improvement already.

By the way, even nine months before they throw out the first pitch, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs continue to do a good job of generating interest and whetting the appetite for Triple-A minor league baseball coming to the Lehigh Valley. Today's announcement about having the national anthem sponsored and conducting tryouts for anthem singers has created a buzz.

The IronPigs have also announced a construction update tour for the media later this month.

These guys have got it right -- If there's no news to report, generate some. PR will definitely not be a problem for our new team.

Just wondering what the next thing to be sponsored will be.

How about the Brass Rail "Run to the Bathroom" between innings? Or the Yocco's "Yawn of the Night" when the opposing team changes pitchers? Or, to mention a traditional East Side Allentown joint -- how about the Stahley's "Stare of the Game" when the TV cameras locate an attractive young lady in the stands and put her picture up on the Jumbotron scoreboard screen?

Sound far-fetched? Believe me, these guys will leave no stone --  or advertising opportunity -- left unturned.

See you around the corner.

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Current Comments

I realize these guys are paying a pretty good premium to bring this team here, but dont you think they are playing a little hardball via season tickets? No sunday season tickets. They will offer 4 different 18 game plans but in order to be in position to select the best 18 game plan, you must commit to 4 or 5 years..yikes

Keith, I could not think of a better way for you to spend a beautiful Friday July night than sitting with myself and Tim Fisher at Limeport Stadium. If not, it won't be long before the playoffs.

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Timing the next bull market in stocks

November 18, 2011

Markets are down again today (MSCI world index down 0.7 pct so far this morning) and the market overall is nearing a bear market territory again (from a three-year high hit in May).

But asset managers are starting to look forward.  JPMorgan Asset Management reckons that if one assumes the current bear market for most equity indices started in 2000 and that the the trend of the previous experiences is to be repeated, then the current environment should be ending around 2014 (By the way, those who predict stock market cycles with sunspots activity reckon the year 2012 or 2013 is the bottom, but that’s a different story.)

But 2014 does seem a long way off.

“While this may sound depressing from 2011, we hasten to add that we are not expecting the ongoing bear market to result in continued downside, but rather in persistence of broad range-trading prior to a sustained breakout to the upside,” Neil Nuttal of JPM AM writes.

Nuttal says that since 2000 the  S&P 500 average level is close to 1,200 (compared with Thursday’s close of 1,216.13) , meaning the market has not slid too far out of range.

“At present, the wall appears to be very much in evidence while providing very little opportunity for ascent, notably in Europe, but not exclusively so… The majority of investors are light of risk, meaning that the pain trade (the development that would cause the most pain to the most people) would be a sharp rally in risk assets,” he adds.

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Things to do in Sacramento and Beyond

The Bee's guide to events, activities, arts and entertainment

May 21, 2007
Flipping out

PINK-SLIDE.jpg I totally have been in love with flip flops since I was a kid. My grandmother used to buy them for me (a pair a month, or until the straps broke) when she took me to "town" and Woolworth's.

She was always impatient because I had a tough time picking a color. Back then (a hundred years ago!), flip flops were one style - flat with a white bottom and colored straps. It was a big decision!

I still love them, but a bout last summer with plantar fasciitis made me rethink the style of flip flops that I was wearing. I have high arches, and the flat ones were "foot flops."

Even the American Podiatric Medical Association is toes down on flip flops. But, because they're relatively inexpensive, are nice on a hot day and you can walk through the sprinklers while wearing 'em, I figured there had to be a pair that wouldn't wreck my feet.

I checked out Fleet Feet and Swanberg's on J Street and J.Crew in the Downtown Plaza. Each of these stores had either sporty or fashionable styles with enough arch support for at least a couple of hours.

Another brand that's super comfy - and totally stylish - are the Bonjour Fleurette flip flops, which actually look more like dress shoes than their casual cousins. To order online, or for a list of local retailers, click here.

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The Children’s Literary Cafe: Fantasy in New York

Re: The tardiness of this announcement, better late than never.

The new Children’s Center at 42 nd Street is pleased to announce our May event:

Saturday, May 2 nd , 2009

  @ 2:00 PM

Lurking in the darkest corners of New York are secrets you’ve never thought to discover.   Imagine fairies in Central Park, ghosts whizzing through Grand Central Station, and a team of delinquent girl scouts discovering another world beneath our very feet.  Three of the brightest stars in middle grade fantasy and fiction join us to discuss their three very different but equally enthralling stories of the New York that you never knew existed.   Katherine Marsh is the author of The Night Tourist, a scintillating tale of the ghosts that haunt the metropolitan area, and its recent sequel The Twilight Prisoner.   Kirsten Miller has penned Kiki Strike , a series in which girl spies team up to defeat evil and uncover the secrets all around us.   Finally, Delia Sherman’s book Changeling takes the city and turns it on its head, showing us the fairies, vampires, and mermaids we always knew were hiding somewhere.   Her sequel The Magic Mirror of the Mermaid Queen is due out in June.   A rare copy of a Viele map from the New York Public Library’s Map Division will be on display along with this amazing trio.

The Children’s Literary Café is a monthly gathering of adults who are fans of children’s literature.   Professionals, librarians, authors, illustrators, publishers, booksellers, teachers, and anyone else interested in the field are welcome to attend our meetings. The Literary Café provides free Advanced Readers galleys, a rotating series of talks with professionals in the field, and great conversation.   This program is for adults only.

New York Public Library
The Children’s Center at 42nd Street
5th Avenue and 42nd Street
New York, NY 10018

About Elizabeth Bird

Elizabeth Bird is currently the Collection Development Manager of the Evanston Public Library system and a former Materials Specialist for New York Public Library. She has served on Newbery, written for Horn Book, and has done other lovely little things that she'd love to tell you about but that she's sure you'd find more interesting to hear of in person. Her opinions are her own and do not reflect those of EPL, SLJ, or any of the other acronyms you might be able to name. Follow her on Twitter: @fuseeight.

  1. Jennifer Knode says:

    I love Kiki Strike, maybe I can sneak out of my branch in the afternoon.

  2. Ellen Kushner says:

    I have been waiting 4 weeks, now, to find out what a Viele map is. So happy the end is in sight!


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T-Mobile and MetroPCS: The Washington Angle

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski

T-Mobile and MetroPCS want to get hitched, but federal regulators will decide when and if there will be a wedding. Nothing is certain in Washington, D.C. except debt and taxes, but the WSJ’s Amy Schatz and Brent Kendall tell Corporate Intelligence that this mobile phone deal is likely to encounter less static than the ill-fated ATT/T-Mobile combination.

The Federal Communications Commission and the Justice Department will review the T-Mobile/MetroPCS deal. The FCC gets a say because there would be a transfer of control over MetroPCS’s spectrum licenses to T-Mobile, a unit of Deutsche Telekom AG. Justice handles the competition review.

On the FCC front, Amy Schatz says:

 - The agency will aim to review the deal swiftly, as it did with the recent spectrum purchase by Verizon Wireless of airwaves held by a group of cable companies. That deal closed within 180 days, which is the FCC’s official “shot clock,” or deadline for action. Unlike pro basketball refs, the agency can and does reset its shot clock when its review of a deal bogs down.

- The T-Mobile/MetroPCS deal promises to create a stronger player in a mobile market dominated by AT&T and Verizon. That’s a goal the FCC supports. The FCC was pleased that Verizon swapped and sold some airwaves licenses to T-Mobile during the recent deal with the cable companies. When Verizon cut the T-Mobile deal, FCC concerns about the cable airwaves purchase mostly evaporated.

-  Last week, the FCC began looking at whether it should impose caps on the amount of airwaves that large wireless carriers (AT&T and Verizon Wireless) can hold so that smaller carriers (like T-Mobile and Sprint) can get enough airwaves to stay competitive.  Another good sign for T-Mobile.

- The presidential election is unlikely to make much trouble for this deal, since it is already likely to get Democratic support. A Romney win might make it easier for the deal to get thru with fewer conditions. But a change of administration could slow approval if Congress dawdles over confirming a new, Republican FCC Chairman.

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High Court Takes a Pass, End is Near for Virginia Woman

It’s looking increasingly like nothing is going to stand in the way of Virginia’s plans to execute Teresa Lewis on Thursday night.

As we wrote earlier this week, Lewis’s likely last hope was an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court. Any hope she had was dashed on Tuesday when the court said no to her plea. In this two-paragraph order, the court denied her petition for cert. Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor, however, voted to grant a stay of the execution. Click here for the Washington Post story; here for the NYT story.

Lewis conspired with two men to carry out the 2002 murders of her husband and stepson. Her supporters have argued that she does not deserve to die because she is mentally impaired and was manipulated by a much smarter conspirator.

If executed, Lewis would be the first woman executed in the U.S. since 2005, and the first in Virginia since 1912.

“She said she is leaving it in the hands of Jesus,” her lead defense lawyer, James E. Rocap III, of Steptoe & Johnson in Washington, said on Tuesday, before she heard of the Supreme Court’s decision. [End of post.]

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Will You Check Out ‘Clerks III’?

Writer-director Kevin Smith has started work on his best film ever–at least according to his own social media feed. The filmmaker, who has focused on books, television, live shows, podcasts and Twitter over the last few years, had an image posted on his Facebook page that is apparently from his latest project: “Clerks III.” Smith also posted a note on his page reading: “20 years ago today, we started shooting CLERKS. 20 years later, with no plan or provocation, I jumped out of bed at 4:20 this morning and started writing CLERKS III. It’s been like hanging out with old friends. And after 2 hours of tapping the keys and giggling, I have come to a conclusion… CLERKS III will be the best film I’ll ever make.”

Will you check out a new “Clerks”? Are you as excited about the project as Smith seems to be? Leave your thoughts in the comments.

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Priyanka Chopra vs Parineeti Chopra at Box Office
Priyanka Chopra vs Parineeti Chopra at Box Office

Shuddh Desi Romance (SDR) is having a dream run at Indian Box office whereas the much-talked about and hyped remake of Amitabh Bachchan’s 1973 Zanjeer is falling drastically. The Sushant Singh Rajput and Parineeti Chopra starrer romance has received a tremendous response on a limited number of screens on Box office. On the other hand with double amount of screen count, the Ram Charan Teja and Priyanka Chopra starrer Zanjeer is loosing race with a huge margin.
Released on 1050 screens on with Zanjeer, Shuddh Desi Romance opened to a tremendous response with occupancy of around 30% – 35% in the morning shows on Friday and as the day progresses and with positive word of mouth the movie picked up really well in later shows, taking its first day collection to 6.45 crores which is a really good figure considering a new star cast and low budget of the movie. The movie showed even more improvements on Saturday and ends up with 7.15 crores, thus taking it two days total collection to 13.6 crores. The movie is expected to earn around 7 to 8 crores on Sunday(3rd day) which would make it total weekend collections to around 20 crores.

On the other hand Zanjeer,which was released on around 2100 screens in the country, opened to a terrible response on Friday.The movie was rejected by critics as well audiences all over and ends up with a feeble collection of around 3.58 crores on Friday.The movie further slumps on Saturday and managed only 2.89 crores, thus taking total 2 days collections to 6.47 crores which is a really poor show especially on 2100 screens.With such terrible response Zanjeer may ends up with only 10 crores on Sunday.

Its almost crystal clear that Parineeti Chopra has won the race this time and that too with a low budget movie released on almost half screens as compared to much hyped and talked about Zanjeer.

Stay Updated more Bollywood updates and don’t forget to show your love for movies.

  1. I really like your website.. pleasant colors & theme. Performed anyone design this website yourself or even did a person hire an attorney to make it work for you personally? Plz act in response since I!|m planning to style and design my personal weblog and also would want to realize wherever you became that from. thanks


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Re: Mattie Brammer

Posted: 18 Aug 2013 3:11PM GMT
Classification: Query
Mattie Brammer Stone, died 4-17-1939, was born around 1888. I have her death certificate. This is a very old message, hope it gets to you and helps!

SubjectAuthorDate Posted
cingram179 15 Mar 2005 4:27AM GMT
VictorBray 18 Aug 2013 9:11PM GMT
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Reanier- Hickok 1862 marriage

Replies: 3

Re: Reanier- Hickok 1862 marriage and Chauncey HIckok.

Martha (View posts)
Posted: 22 Jul 2001 1:21PM GMT
Classification: Query
Edited: 23 Jul 2001 5:59AM GMT
Surnames: Hickok
Emma Hickok was the daughter of Alanson and Sarah Hickok from Cato, WI. She was born in Monroe County, New York in 1847. Her Grandfather was Chaucey Hickok and her grandmother may have had the name Tryphena. For a while they lived in the Brighton, NY area before coming to Wisconsin about 1852. I am looking for futher information on her grandfather, Chauncey. He had children by the names of Alanson, James and Carter B. Hickok and a few more.
SubjectAuthorDate Posted
Bonnie 27 Jun 2000 12:00PM GMT
Martha 22 Jul 2001 7:21PM GMT
smkelly551 17 Apr 2010 10:27PM GMT
SSHickok 15 Mar 2013 9:12PM GMT
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I beg your pardon. You can't base a sweeping conclusion on a sample size of one. Pizza Magnate schools equip young leaders with a broad range of fine skills. They turn out not only jerks, but also bozos. Evidence: Herman Cain.

I rest my case.

I seriously LOL'd. My business partner asked what was so funny. I told him nothing, but we should get pizza for lunch. Cottage Inn it is.
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No. of Recommendations: 4

Oh so you have funds that cost "nothing". Nothing means no annual expenses. I hate to tell you all funds have expenses. If they are on a platform, it's like a 12b-1 fee.

Are you really this thick? Or are you just pretending for me?
I said that I don't buy funds through a BROKER that charges to buy the funds -- NEITHER do I buy funds that charge a 12b-1 fee.

Try reading that once again. I'm sure you will finally understand it if you just give yourself a little time.

I know that all funds have management fees. Those are different from 12b-1 fees. And they are different from BROKER's fees. Got it? Some funds have pretty high management fees. Others have quite low management fees.

I buy funds with quite low management fees. And I buy them directly from the fund company itself. I don't need a BROKER to do this for me.

Understand now?

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Wedding Venue RI/Southeastern MA

posted 3 years ago in Rhode Island
Post # 3
23 posts
  • Wedding: June 2014

Colt State park is SUPER CHEAP. You just can’t have booze on site, and I think the weddings need to end early, but there have been many weddings there.

Post # 4
5 posts

We are getting married at Aldrich House in Providence. For a 150 person wedding it has everything we need- we can have a tent outside with a nice backyard feel, there are indoor bathrooms, a full kitchen, and best of all the price tag is just right!  We are paying $2,000 for the venue which is reasonable from what I have seen.  You can pretty much use any caterer you want and they all let you BYOB if that’s important to you.

Here’s a pretty wedding at Aldrich House:

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Shahid’s loss, Ranveer’s gain

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He is one movie and 3 days old into the showbiz, but Ranveer Singh, who debuted in Band Baaja Baaraat over the weekend, is becoming a sought after name in Bollywood. In a case of opportunity lost, an upcoming project by Shaad Ali (of Bunty & Babli fame) has gone from Shahid Kapoor’s kitty to newbie Ranveer Singh.

Shaad, who is working on a youth based script, was pursuing Shahid for his project. But after Shahid did not reciprocate to calls and messages from the filmmaker, Shaad roped in newcomer Ranveer instead. The fact that Ranveer assisted Shaad earlier & their association goes back couple of years further helped the director finalize his choice of the leading man. Ranveer on the other hand considers Shaad as his mentor.

Though Ranveer is under a three year contract with Yash Raj Films (producers of Band Baaja Baaraat), he is not restricted to picking additional offers. While Ranveer is busy accepting accolades for his fantastic performance in Band Baaja Baaraat, comparisons with other Gen Y stars like Ranbir and Imran are apparent. However the young lad is taking it in his stride and enjoying his new found success in tinseltown.

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$1,000 Bonsai from Scratch Contest

Pomegranate from the cover of Bonsai Today issue 83. Of all the Bonsai Today covers, this one seems most like a bonsai from scratch; though you’d be lucky to find untrained nursery stock this good at your local garden center. It’s not too late There’s still time to enter our $1,000 Bonsai from Scratch contest. True, mid-summer is tricky and you might not be able to put your tree into a bonsai pot, but that’s okay, you can enter it in a nursery container if you’re not comfortable root pruning. Or, you can gamble and stick it into a pot. … Continue reading $1,000 Bonsai from Scratch Contest

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This majestic old pomegranate (Punica granatum) was styled by John Naka. After John died, his wife Alice donated it to the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum in Washington DC. You can view it and a host of other masterpieces first hand if you’re up for the journey; a trip well worth the trouble, especially if you’ve never experienced the power of a large world class bonsai first hand. No matter how good the photographer, or how expensive the camera, a photo will never capture the full dramatic force of a living bonsai. I’ve been a fan of the National Bonsai … Continue reading A trip well worth the trouble


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The Emergence Of Indigenous Politics

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Indigenous politics in Guatemala has been a highly diverse political practice shaped by the historically contingent needs and demands of social actors and the context in which they have mobilised. At the time of the return to civilian rule in 1986, civil actors were characterised by their previous experiences of mobilisation, mainly at the local level, around both popular and culturalist platforms. By 1990 the indigenous movement, comprising both popularistas and mayanistas, had developed sufficiently to generate public space and debate and it began to launch its most effective activity in preparation for the 1992 ?celebrations?. The national and international socio-political climate reinforced processes taking place in Guatemala and precipitated further events critical to the evolution of indigenous politics shortly after the Encuentro. Distinctions based on strategy and social constituency still continued to differentiate popularista and mayanista movements.

Keywords: Encuentro; Guatemala; indigenous movement; indigenous politics; mayanistas; popularistas ; social actors

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4 Hellenistic Moralists and the New Testament

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The affinity between Christian ethical teaching and that of the Hellenistic moralists was recognized by the early church. Some of them were heavily indebted to Hellenistic moral teaching, especially to that of the Stoics, without making explicit reference to their sources, while others openly acknowledged their debt. A considerable amount of work has been done to clarify the relationship between the New Testament (NT) (especially the Pauline letters and the Epistle of James) and the moral philosophers. During the last quarter of the nineteenth century and the first two decades of the twentieth, great interest was shown in post-Aristotelian philosophy. One type of material that appears frequently in moral propaganda and is also found in the NT is the topos, the stock treatment of subjects of interest to the moralist.

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Combat Engineers are the most common infantry unit deployed by Hyperion in Borderlands 2.

Combat engineers are equipped with submachine guns and use these at short to medium range. Should an engineer be approached by an attacker, the engineer will attempt to retreat and fight from a safe distance. They are comparatively weaker than most Hyperion personnel, but are effective in small groups, and they are usually deployed alongside more dangerous enemies as support troops.

  • "On the clock, boys!"
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May 1, 2011

SpeedMetal Builder Video

SpeedMetal - Coming to Born Free 3 from Kris Bennett on Vimeo. These video's pretty much sum up why we are doing the show...there are so many of us out there that love this stuff we need to be together!

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Mad Planet

Mad Planet is created by Hamumu Software for Boys’ Life magazine.
Like it? Click here to try their other BL games.

40 Comments on Mad Planet

  1. COOLGUY, you need to use Pedro and Mad Monkey and repeatedly bomb his claw when he throws it.

  2. 🙂 totally

  3. dredd speedd // April 16, 2011 at 1:49 pm // Reply

    I need some tips. please help!

  4. how do you get to the top buttons on tractor beamer?

    • you gotta jump into the center of the tractor beam and u will activate the button as u fall. u r welcome 🙂

  5. i need help on how to beat the corkscrew.
    can anybody helpme?or give me some tips?

    • u gotta attack corkscrew’s blue part.use the spikes he thrusts out to climb up. if u play as dredd speed,u can get up there fairly faster.u r welcome 🙂

    • When he fires out his spikes,get to the top spike.STAY THERE,and you might get inside.If you do,bomb him wiht pedro.If not,try agin.

  6. this game rocks

  7. I like it lotz

  8. hat-on-head is soooo easy! 8D

  9. Asome I rule playing as pedro

  11. smart aleck // April 10, 2011 at 12:51 pm // Reply

  12. i like fluterguy the best because he heals you

  13. How do you get the butterfly’s upgrade on the last level?!

  14. unsuperwoman // April 9, 2011 at 7:40 am // Reply

    i dont get it

  15. starwarsman552 // April 7, 2011 at 6:39 pm // Reply

    the keyboard is going wacko but the game is great!with pedro

    • starwarsman,this is how to stop the keybord when its going wacko: you press the p on the keybord then again

  16. starwarsman552 // April 7, 2011 at 6:38 pm // Reply

    the keyboard is going wacko but the game is great!!!!!!!! with pedro

  18. with pee wee fully loaded and with lots of power ups I killed lugnut in one shot!

  19. This game is AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!

  20. i realized that dredd speed is the best and flutterguy too

  21. I was almost done with the 1st level! How do you defeat the big robot at the end (I’m guessing it’s the end) of the level?

  22. Beat the game!

  23. This game really is mad!

  24. This game is hard and I will never play again!

  25. I beat the game, it was amazing!!! but I hate those birds, and Hat-On-Head was easyer than all the bosses except Lugnut. Over all it was an awesome game!!!!!!!!!!

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Wednesday, 8 June 2011

Subway madness!

A guest post by Dan Haycocks

Firstly, I'd like to thank Daz for allowing me to make a guest post on the Bracknell Blog.  I don't run a blog myself, and I admire the effort and commitment it takes to keep a blog current as Daz and many others do, so having the opportunity to reach a wider audience through his hard work is very much appreciated.

Right, on to the story at hand.  Regular readers might remember me – I'm the amateur film maker/thorn in the side of the elected, who stood in the general election against MP's abusing their expenses, and in particular, our ex local MP who helped himself in royal style.  I've been concentrating on work since then, but something recently caught my eye, so I had to investigate.

Visitors to Bracknell town centre might be delighted to note the new mural that has been painted on the subway between the town centre and Bracknell and Wokingham College.  Much like a visit to Sea World in Florida but without leaving Blighty, residents can enjoy an 'undersea tunnel' of fish, turtles, sharks and rays as they make their way through to the shopping area, and I'm sure the children in our community enjoy it greatly.  What follows calls into question the wisdom of this work, but I want to be clear from the start – I have no objection at all with making our environment a nice place to be – if we have the funds of course.

One thing puzzled me, though – when cuts are being made to social care for the elderly, teaching places for local schools, social support for the vulnerable and many other services that I think most compassionate residents would consider 'essential', is it right that we're spending big money painting subways with such elaborate paint schemes?  So, inevitably, a Freedom of Information request was submitted, to understand what the cost to the taxpayer was.  Here's the initial response: FoI1 LINK

From my observations, it took the company performing the painting about 4 weeks to complete the job, and there were between two and four decorators working at any one time.  I calculated that if it took four people four weeks, and they were paid £500/week each, it would come to around £6,000 in wages, and then some more for the materials and paint – still a silly amount of money to spend, but I thought I must be overestimating.  You can imagine my surprise, then, when the final figure came through - £16,635.  Or, in real terms, a teaching assistant for a year, a community nurse, or perhaps two part time carers for the elderly or vulnerable.  And all for one subway?!

Now, I could do a Victor Meldrew as I did with the Andrew 'Fingers' Mackay episode and have a good rant about the stupidity of this and try and shame the council, but I don't think that would make any difference.  In the cold light of day, it's pretty clear that this funding was allocated to the responsible department, and they were spending their budget, as they're told to, in isolation from other departments.  So I thought to myself, do something positive – get a meeting with the head of the department responsible, explain in simple terms how I understand things to be working with regards to departmental budgets, ask him or her to acknowledge that spending this much decorating a subway while we're reducing the 'essential' public services seems a bit loopy (a polite way of acknowledging the madness), and then ask him or her to join me in making an effort to change the way council funding is controlled.  Clearly, if departmental budgets are the reason that spending this much renovating a subway is OK during times of austerity, then the process has to be changed.  I can't, as a compassionate human, believe anyone would think that having our elderly die alone through lack of resources, children not getting the education they need, or social workers being too busy to save the abused child, is acceptable when £16,635 is spent painting a subway.

I did pass the FoI response to a few friends and asked them to comment.  My good friend Dom suggested alternative ways of achieving a revamped subway, such as allowing the art department in the college to take ownership of it and allow the students to use it as a gallery for their work.  I loved this idea, and it reeks of 'Big Society' so I contacted Lorraine Zutshi, the head of the Arts team at the college.  She informed me that they used to be invited to decorate the subways, but this time round they weren't consulted at all.  She also noted that she'd be delighted to be given the opportunity again, as they have a Community Art element to their syllabus – perfect!

Or perhaps having the long term unemployed engaged to paint them, allowing them to gain work skills, a bit of confidence, the feeling of doing something worthy with their time, and something to add to their CV's.  I also had many people comment that a coat of paint would have sufficed, if indeed the subway painting is that important.  Some also suggested using Community Service to get the job done and get them giving something back to the community.

For me, however, this issue runs deeper.  I do appreciate that this is one small spend the council have made that seems to defy logic – I'm sure there are plenty more, and to be frank, I don't have the time or patience to uncover them all.  But that doesn't matter – the important thing here, in my opinion, is to have the council think about how they organise their budgets, and make sure that this type of spend occurs after those services we all need (rather than those we would like) are funded.  I think most other taxpayers would feel the same – at least my straw poll seems to suggest that's the case.

I therefore made an appointment to meet with Steve Loudoun, the Head of Environment and Public Protection, on Monday 6th June at 3pm.  I took my camera along, and a copy of the memo sent by Bob Neill MP, the Under Secretary of State for the Department for Communities and Local Government, a link to which is here.  In his memo, Bob makes clear that for open, transparent politics, it's perfectly acceptable for local bloggers and citizen journalists to film meetings with council staff, and to publish the film online.  I genuinely had no intention of putting Steve on the spot, so I asked him for permission to film the meeting, which he declined.  I then brought up the memo and he dismissed that straight away too.  When I then asked if we could plan a subsequent meeting where he would be happy to talk to camera, he also refused.  Hmmmm – so much for transparency and open government!  Perhaps I broke the rules by filming him refusing to be filmed, but I did do the right thing and switched it off once it was clear he was not going to agree to be filmed that day.  I wanted to be sure I'd given him every opportunity to decline and meet at a later date if that was his preference, with evidence of the same.

One other oddity with the brief meeting I had with Steve – he presented me with a response to question 4 of my FoI (FoI2 LINK), after the compliance officer had declared that the data wasn't held by the council and couldn't be provided – why is it one has to insist and be pushy to get answers to FoI requests?  Or are they just routinely dismissing requests as a matter of course, showing more contempt to the residents of the borough?  I think he probably thought he could hand over that answer to question 4, and that was his final word on the matter.  Why are questions so difficult to deal with for public servants?  You can see for yourself that there's nothing in his response to suggest he's thinking of anything outside his own remit.  Oddly enough, he also mentions that 'there is no specific budget to repaint any other underpasses in the current fiscal year', yet the same company are painting the one outside Easthampstead House as I type!  Has he got a grip on his own department?  Who knows….

I don't want to get on the bad side of Steve.  I'm convinced that as a compassionate man, he can, in his heart, see that spending £16,635 on subway decorating is madness when we're cutting essential services, but he's doing what he needs to do to be an effective Head of Environment and Public Protection.   He might have a family, children to feed, the pressures we all have in our daily lives, so maybe he doesn't feel he can make that much difference without risking his position.

However, what he's not doing, along with other departmental heads at his level, is arguing that if the system allows this to happen, then the system must be broken and needs to be fixed.  I wanted to suggest to him that this wasn't a witch hunt, or an embarrassing episode online to shame him into acting, but he refused me that opportunity.  I honestly wanted to find an ally in the management hierarchy at BFBC who I could work alongside to try and change the systems and processes that can allow this to happen, and simply out of what I think is a reasonable, responsible, mature and compassionate need to see the right thing being done with the limited resources the council has, but Steve had decided before I'd even been given the chance to explain that he wasn't going to play ball.

I should know by now – video cameras and those spending tax payers money aren't happy bedfellows, and I can appreciate that he might not want to be 'on the record' with this somewhat controversial FoI response, but then what about open government?  What about accountability?  If Steve is comfortable spending this much money in times of austerity, why isn't he happy to talk about it on camera?  I'm assuming he has nothing to hide?  And lets not forget who actually pays for this – you and me, and Steve if he lives in Bracknell!!

I'm going to send Steve an email, asking him for another meeting, this time on camera.  I'll also send him the memo from Bob Neill in the hope that he'll have a change of heart, and join me in a campaign to redress the processes that can allow this to happen.

I'm also not daft – if Steve isn't happy about talking on camera, then obviously he feels uncomfortable with being accountable and transparent which, as a public servant, is his responsibility, so I'm also planning to write to Bob Neill, and ask him to remind Steve of his obligations.  Anything less than complete openness would be an insult to those who have lost essential services, contempt for the council taxpayer, and ignorance of central government policy.  And I can't believe Steve is naïve to all that!

If you'd like to join me in an effort to turn the big BFBC ship round to serving the community, rather than it's own processes and methods, then please pipe up and drop me an email – the more of us shout about this, the more BFBC can't ignore, dismiss and refuse to engage.  After all, do you feel happy losing your important public services so that you can have fancy subways?  Me neither….

  1. Perhaps you can help by identifying what is an essential service and what services are not?
    Taking on a council official is not perhaps not the way to go.
    The direction of the council is set by the Elected Members - They are the one to hold responsible, including me.
    I and other are making sure that we do not jepordise out front line services. We want to see our residents put first.

    Crime is certainly something that need tackling, and the prevention and removal of graffiti is part of the deal.
    It has been shown by studies that a good envrionment resluts in less crime e.g. see Graffiti and litter lead to more street crime>
    I will look into the costs of the anti-grafitti type stuff, and what is involved in creating a surface that is write proof or whatever.
    Graffiti costs everyone money - just put "cost graffiti councils" into Google and see what you get.

    I blogged some time back about what it is that Councils "Have" to do.
    Here(Local services - What is needed?) and Here
    What it is that a council must do? What a good council should do, and what could be left out, if residents don't want it?
    Councils are legally obliged to fulfil their "Statutory Duties". (there are at least 1,294)

    The questions I asked before were:
    What sort of things should your council be obliged to do?
    How much do you want to pay for those things?

    What other questions should we be asking?
    Please do engage with BFC.

  2. I assumed £2k per underpass. The point that the 'big society' could of been involved is a good one. Surely if they could be supervised by someOne from the arts centre or college then this would of been a much better use of resources.

  3. Dan - a brilliant post. You state your case so well.
    The arrogance of the unelected BFC officials who randomly spend our money is breathtaking. You are right to bring them to account.
    Electors just do not believe that elected Councillors have any control over the BFC whatever. It is apparent in the way BFC ignore consultations and reject local campaign aims.
    The repost by Alvin is so parochial, it is beyond credibility, and his arrogant statements indirectly support your case against the spend-thrift unrepresentative and out-of-control bureaucrats and councillors running Bracknell.
    In fact I enjoy the current 'paintings' on the subways as I walk or cycle through to the degenerate Bracknell towncenter. I do like public art, and would sponsor reasonable projects from my own over-taxed pocket.
    However that may not be necessary because talented local artists would do work to enhance our environment for the price of materials, a pint of beer/glass of wine and a good write-up in the News/Times.
    Why does art cost so much when local government gets involved? Quarter of a million pounds subsidy from BFC to SHP -do me a favour! SHP has all the assets to be a commercial enterprise in their own; but that is more challenging than just taking the subsidy isn’t it?
    We must stop BFC spending just coz there is a pile of cash from tax-payers for them to disperse.
    Keep up the good work Dan.
    Regards Realaler
    (Realaler has stood for election to BFC three times, so it’s not just a random blog reply)
    (MacKay expenses meeting 2010 – Kerith centre-Sky TV-I was there -right behind you on the balcony)

  4. "parochial, it is beyond credibility, and his arrogant statements"
    Explain please?

  5. Alvin

    I do see where you're coming from on the reducing crime bit, but what would reduce crime more - a subway paint job, or a police constable for 6 months? I'd imagine at a time when the police are having to make savings of £12m, and only yesterday it was reported that 82 front line officers are being lost, they'd also find your justification for this a little hard to swallow.

    As for what I think are essential services, my broad definition would be this; if a reduction in spending will directly cause suffering in the community, then it's probably an essential service. You might be able to argue that reducing crime reduces suffering, but then my point above applies. You might also ask if education falls into this definition, and maybe it doesn't, but I think most people recognise that education is a vital service.

    Finally, if you are indeed playing some part in the budget decision process, really, you should be ashamed of the statement 'we put residents first' when clearly, given this story, that's not the case. Please, take this opportunity, drop your ego and defensiveness - call all your councillor colleagues, and ask them to read this, then act, and do it now.

    Oh, and every time I do try and engage with BFC, I'm either ignored or dismissed. Look at the Mackay thing - 21 registered letters and not one reply - in fact, threatened by the police for harassment of the local conservatives, just for asking awkward questions. It simply goes to show how BFC and those who are elected will pretend to be open and transparent, when really it's a closed shop, and woe betide anyone who might criticise,

  6. Dan - a belated "well done" for trying to shame our expenses-fiddling ex-MP Andrew Mackay and his cronies. I still don't understand why he wasn't prosecuted given the clear-cut nature of the fiddling (claiming the 2nd home allowance for both family homes) and the amount involved (£140,000). I'm deeply suspicious of the motives of politicians and that includes our local councillors. Mackay's fiddling was blatant and on an industrial scale but I didn't hear a word of criticism or remorse from the local Conservative party, I can only conclude that they didn't see anything wrong in what he did! Not sure that I trust people who can't tell right from wrong with large amounts of public money.

  7. I think the problem here is simply the madness in which council appear to operate against how the public would run a business. there must be a better way of spending budgets and getting out elected officials to reallocate the spend in a more sensible way. Same all the way up to national government.

  8. Whoever Anonymous is, please do give me a call, and we can discuss things.

  9. Alvin, I think the point of commentating on a Blog is to have a conversation in a public forum. I, as I'm sure others, would very much like to her your responses to some of the concerns raised on here.

    Please may I ask, for the sake of coherent and reasonable debate, that you address some of the very reasonable, concise and well articulated points that have been made in this Blog - rather than debating adjacent or umbrella policies which evade the points at hand.

    Come on Alvin, please engage with this debate in an open circle with us, not dismissive and evasive on the outside.

    Kind Regards,

  10. Trying to comment. But unable

  11. Sheep? Or is it "Anonymous"
    I am trying to give a response to the issues here, but, there are a lot of interrelated items.

    The council does not control the Police. The TVP issue a precept to the council which then appears as a separate item on the council tax bill. There is a proposal that Thames Valley police merge with Hampshire, and as far as I am aware this might at the most mean 82 posts going over a number of years, but the forces working together means that efficiencies of scale could be obtained.
    What the council does do, is to participate in the Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP). There has been a reduction in crime year on year in Bracknell. This is in part to due to proactive measures such as removing graffiti as soon a possible
    The council passes money on to schools, who set their own budgets and manage their own situations. Currently schools can buy into services provided by the council. The schools budget is basically set by the government, and the council contributes educational services. I am not sure what will happen in the future. If all schools decide decide to take the academy route then the council would be out of the loop entirely. A problem might be that as each school stops taking up services by the council that the remaining schools become very expensive to support.

    It was asked if was possible to allow the art department in the college to take ownership of subways and allow the students to use it as a gallery for their work. Yes. This probably is possible, but would need someone to coordinate it. As I said above, I will look into what is needed to make paint graffiti proof. Someone would have to own this, cost it and implement it. Thing do not get done by wishes. Again having the long term unemployed do the above would require someone to coordinate that, buy the right materials etc.
    South Hill Park: The council provides them with a grant. SHP is not controlled by the council, but manages itself. The arts council is to withdraw all funding from SHP. Should BFC do likewise? Is it something that we can do without? Can we do without the grass cutting? Are libraries essential? How else could they be run? Have you considered how much time and resource is taken up with FOI requests?
    Please take a look at the "Transparency" section of the BFC website - You can see there what the council pays for.

  12. Cont...

    I am hoping that with the passing of the Localism Bill that BFC will be able to do its job even better.
    "Local authorities' powers and responsibilities are defined by legislation. In simple terms, they can only do what the law says they can. Sometimes councils are wary of doing something new - even if they think it might be a good idea - because they are not sure whether they are allowed to in law, and are concerned about the possibility of being challenged in the courts."
    "The new general power will give councils more freedom to work with others in new ways to drive down costs. It will give them increased confidence to do creative, innovative things to meet local people's needs. "

    "Sheep" said:

    "Please may I ask, for the sake of coherent and reasonable debate, that you address some of the very reasonable, concise and well articulated points that have been made in this Blog."
    If I am not addressing the points that you would like addressing please state them one by one, so that I can then reply to each.

  13. I'm sorry Alvin but you've merely explained some adjacent processes. There are, or should be, competent, capable and qualified human beings involved in these processes - I believe that's necessary so that we don't make basic common sense mistakes. I appreciate your explanation as to how this situation may have evolved but non of this belies the very simple question right at the heart of it......and it is a very simple question.

    Is £16,000 a reasonable amount of money to spend on painting a subway ?

    The next simple question is:

    Have the people managing the spend processes failed in their duty of care to spend our money wisely ?

    And the final, less simple, more debate topic is:

    Is it appropriate, for responsible, well paid, public officials or those managing our spends to simply hide behind process or procedure and not use common sense to execute their duties ? I'm afraid most of the excuses from the expense council seemed to be swept under the carpet under the banner of "Well I never broke any of the rules we invented"

    I rather imagine you will engage better with the 3rd point here as it's a more ambiguous debate than the other simple questions which so far have evade an answer ?

  14. Q. Is £16,000 a reasonable amount of money to spend on painting a subway?
    A. I don’t know until I can get a breakdown of what had to be done.

    Q. Have the people managing the spend processes failed in their duty of care to spend our money wisely?
    A. I don’t know until I can get a breakdown of what had to be done.

    Q. Is it appropriate, for responsible, well paid, public officials or those managing our spends to simply hide behind process or procedure and not use common sense to execute their duties?
    A. If that is the case. No.

    Q. I'm afraid most of the excuses from the expense council seemed to be swept under the carpet under the banner of "Well I never broke any of the rules we invented".
    A. As I said we need to get rid of a lot of the rules and duties imposed over the last few years by the previous government, when councils were given ring fenced money to spend as they were told.

  15. I cant believe that much was spent on a subway when as was pointed out there are many talented local artists who would no doubt lend their talents for such a worthy enterprise.

    Re Light Fingered Larry or rather Andrew Mckay - well he has got off relatively scott free but at least he is no more.

    What is troubling is that many of his acolytes remain - and on the council.

    One such person is Mary Ballin whose main job appeared to be keeping the diary for Mr Mckay and keeping constituents from ever getting anywhere near him.

    What is the situation with the new man Dr Lee?
    Does he hold surgeries as his predecessor never did is Mrs Ballin still holding the fort or rather pulling up the drawbridge if a constituent should show any interest in trying to talk to their Mp face to face?
    Rather on the lines of the a doctors receptionist who wishes to know all your symptoms before she allows you access to a Doctor?

    I hope and trust that the new broom has or will sweep out these old battleaxes and let some new thinking and manners onto BFC.

  16. I see on Dr Lees home page that there is no mention of surgeries you have to write phone or email him.

    Why is it that Bracknell always gets MPs that a) dont live in Bracknell or
    B) have an aversion to actually meeting their constituents face to face?

    I note too that there is not one member of BFC that actually lives in Bracknell.

  17. Alvin

    Its afair and understandable mistake to make, but you have again answered a different question. I have not referred to the Bracknell subway in question - so getting a breakdown of what had to be done is largely irrelevant.

    I'm trying to establish whether you are aligned to the thoughts of most the people here - I want to understand if you are in touch.

    I'll try again. Is £16k a reasonable amount to spend on PAINTING a subway ?

    I'm not asking whether the £16k spent on the Bracknell project was fair. As you say, we're not sure of the details.......yet. But that will come, so while this debate is happening I'd simply like your thoughts on that, as yet, unanswered a very simple question.

    So, let's test ones moral compass and ability to judge appropriate spend:

    Is £16k a reasonable amount to spend PAINTING a subway ? Not, all sorts of other work, let's asumme it was just painting.

    If you find that it was just painting in the Bracknell subway and no structural work, will you join in the condemnation and lead a charge for reform to the best of your abilities ?

  18. Reform is exactly what I am looking for.
    The way things work needs a complete overhaul.
    That is what I was asking in my blog post on the 9th March.
    Local government bureaucrats have had to follow 74,000 pages of new rules and instructions handed down by Whitehall over the past decade.
    The council needs to do be doing what the people of Bracknell Forest want it to do.

  19. Alvin

    Seriously, why won't you answer ?

    One last time. Please answer, it's really not difficult. I think I've been clear, polite and respectful - and I certainly don't think it's an unreasonable question to ask.

    "Is £16k a reasonable a reasonable amount to spend on PAINTING a subway"

    I was marginally impressed when you engaged with this blog but you are now being blatantly evasive around this very simple request and, dare I say, resorting to type. You even managed on the earlier posts to copy and repost my other questions whilst providing a response to them, so please, just answer the question.

    All it needs is a binary response "yes" or "no"

    "Is £16k a reasonable a reasonable amount to spend on PAINTING a subway"

    And forgive me Alvin, but do I think, given your position, that posting a blog asking what services should be provided is "leading a charge for reform" ?

    Maybe you could start the reform by answering the question.......

  20. If it was PAINTING - No.
    A major subway in the town centre cannot be just PAINTED.
    Once I have the details of what had to be done in addition to PAINTING, I can decide whether the work was done for a reasonable cost.

  21. I've got to pitch in here again. I agree, and I'm very grateful that Alvin is willing to engage in a public forum - my experience in pretty much every other interaction with the council has been the opposite, so I think Alvin should be thanked for at least giving his thoughts, and the frank, albeit qualified, No.

    However, I still feel the essential element to this is being missed - it doesn't matter what other work might have been needed, and might have contributed to the £16.635. It doesn't even matter if £16,635 was a reasonable cost for the work performed.

    The issue is simply - is it right we're paying that much money to decorate a subway, when we're laying off social workers, teaching assistants etc? Surely we should be thinking about either doing it at a fraction of that cost using the community, or not doing it at all, perhaps postponing the work until essential services are restored?

    Is subway decoration one of the statutory duties imposed by central government?

  22. e are trying to market Bracknell to various investors in the Town centre,
    thus keeping the town in good order is critical at a time when we are trying to attract this investment.
    This subway is part of the gateway to a multi- million pound new building.
    As I said above there is also the "Broken Window" theory.

    "The Council seeks to keep the Borough clear of graffiti in the best interests of the economic vitality of the area and to help reduce the fear of crime."
    It may not be a statutory duty, but it is a very desirable aim.

    I understand that the council did send an e-mail to the college to get help from students with the mural.
    Apparently the college said they would get back.
    Someone also spoke with a person from the art dept about students designing the mural but nothing materialised.
    A previous time that students were used to paint walls took the entire summer holidays to complete,
    but the council still had to make the surface ready, and complete the graffiti covering.
    It seems that monitoring the health and safety of students came at no small cost.
    There are also public safety issues in a busy thoroughfare that the council HAS to consider.

    We have lost no essential services.
    The issue is not simple.
    It has been shown that a good place to live keep people in good health.
    We have to spend money on prevention as well as cures.
    Spending money on preventing stuff happening is so much cheaper than spending money on the mess that would ensue.

    I have not yet got the costs for the thing, but I suspect that it was probably far cheaper to use professionals totally,
    rather than employ people to supervise whoever might be involved, and implement the Health and Safety stuff that we have so come to love.(not)

  23. How does painting a subwway bring investors to Bracknell?
    The whole town centre is a disaster still awaiting it regeneration neither fish nor fowl.
    When is this suposed to get off the ground?

  24. Dan, Fantastic Blog and a point well made. Bracknell Conservative Councillors are returned every election and are safe seats and are fairly conplacement in their attitudes. We need to constantly challenge their decision making to achieve good value for money for our rates payable. I had until recently a conservative councillor as a neighbour until they moved. Whilst they lived in our street we had the most manicured common gardens and regularly cleaned streets. Since they moved its all stopped? When you asked the question of the council when will they clean our road, they say soon! and no one turns up

    Keep up the good work Dan

  25. Someone was asking about our new MP Dr. Philip Lee. The latest edition of Private Eye has a article about him. Oh dear, it doesn't make pleasant reading. Apparently he is still earning a packet as a doctor as well as picking up his generous MP's salary and allowances. The ghost of Andrew Mackay still hangs over Bracknell...

    Perhaps Dr. Lee would like to comment on the private Eye article, or perhaps he'd like to voice an opinion on the NHS changes, or comment on anything at all...

  26. Richard, Sandhurst25 June 2011 at 12:13

    I've seen the Private Eye piece (page 8 of the June 24th edition). I'm not impressed. Earning an extra £40,000 as a freelance doctor working in Wokingham and Farnham surgeries seems to go against his pre-election promise to do the best for his Bracknell constituents.

    Perhaps his website banner should be changed from:
    "Caring for Bracknell Constituency"
    "Caring for Wokingham Constituency"
    "Caring for (myself at the expense of) Bracknell Constituency"

    If you want to be a doctor, be a doctor. If you want to be an MP, be an MP. Or is the Private Eye article all lies?

  27. 16K for painting an subway? What should councillors be obliged to do? You could start by building some stocks and then locking yourselves into said stocks so taxpayers can hurl rotten vegetables at you for wasting our money. The same goes for the huge sums that are wasted "polishing a turd" which is the way I think of all of the plastic flower boxes that adorn the town every year. I've been here almost 10 years and every year, more empty offices spring up and the council spends more money on temporary tat when for the amount it takes in tax revenue, it could be making slow incremental improvements of a more permanent nature.

  28. Hi Alvin

    Any updates on your findings? I'm keen to understand if your colleagues have any reasoning behind the £16k?


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