The FOI Act 2000 was a vital step on the road to open government. But its death knell has sounded. The FOI Act is vital to us all and it critical to our fight.

But it doesn't suit the suits ... openness is anathema to them.

And if doesn't suit the suits, it doesn't suit HMG - the two are 'bodies' are synonymous after all.

Read a few background stories here:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/10/23/nfoi23.xml

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/10/21/ninfo21.xml

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/10/17/nfoi17.xml

And then go to The Green Ribbon page and read about the E-Petition to try and curtail the ambitions of, would you believe, the Lord Chancellor and the Department of Constitutional Affairs (Falconer is head of that Dept, oddly!), to restrict our freedom. http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/freeinformation/#detail

Have a look at the signatories ... it includes none other than a Christopher Edge ... the mind boggles! (It cannot be the same man!)[/url]


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BarryF, who fought for the Right to Wear the Pingat Jasa Malaysia

And another useful link:

http://www.cfoi.org.uk/foi141206pr.html


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BarryF, who fought for the Right to Wear the Pingat Jasa Malaysia

Well, Well,

Did anyone think that it would come as a surprise that the Government would abrogate it's responsibilities to the faceless beauroprats and Civil Serpents.

Two things I would like to draw to the attention of the 'suits'

vox populi vox Dei

the voice of the people is the voice of God...Political leaders take note...the wishes of the people are irresistable.

exceptio probat regulam in casibus non exceptis
taken from the legal maxim, is, the exception establishes the rule.

Unfortunately, this is a mistaken maxim, as it's literal translation is, the exception establishes the rule. This leads the unwary to think that any self-respecting rule must have an exception. What is meant is, that the existence of an exception to a rule provides the opportunity to to test the validity of a rule. Finding an exception to that rule enables us to define the rule more precisely, confirming it's applicability to those items truely covered by the rule.

Does this bring anything to mind gentlemen and ladies of course?

Yours Aye

Arthur

BarryF wrote:

Have a look at the signatories ... it includes none other than a Christopher Edge ... the mind boggles! (It cannot be the same man!)[/url]

It cannot be that Christopher Edge.

"Our" man has just been awarded an OBE in the New Honours List, for goodness sake.

What an honour - I don't think.

Disgraceful.

I suppose he can wear his OBE?


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Merdeka, Merdeka, Merdeka,
from the HD Committee and its decision.

Chris Edge kept very quiet about that one.

I always understood that an OBE stood for 'Other Bugger's Efforts.

Obviously my 'bribe' of a fiver for a knighthood, was not considered to be enough. Oh well, there's always next year.

Yours Aye

Arthur

Arthur R-S wrote:

Chris Edge kept very quiet about that one.

As far as I was aware, Arthur, Edgey kept quiet about everything! Including his thinking into his drafting of the PJM Ministerial Statement.


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BarryF, who fought for the Right to Wear the Pingat Jasa Malaysia

Way back, in a previous lifetime, when I was still gainfully employed, it was commonly understood that any and all projects follow a similar course...as follows

The 6 stages of any project:

1 Enthusiasm

2 Disillusionment

3 Panic

4 Search for the guilty

5 Punishment of the innocent

6 Reward of the non-participants

T'would appear that a very similar process is still alive and well, within the UK Government and Civil Service.


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...................'Jock'
Paroi...Rasah...Batu Signals Troop.

BarryF wrote:

Have a look at the signatories ... it includes none other than a Christopher Edge ... the mind boggles! (It cannot be the same man!)[/url]

mmmmmmmm.......just a thought here, maybe this is the same Chris Edge as our man at The FO, perhaps he spoke his mind to those in power and got the Big E, and maybe now has an axe to grind, mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm..........


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HD Committee: Amateurs in a Professional World
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John Cooper wrote:

BarryF wrote:

Have a look at the signatories ... it includes none other than a Christopher Edge ... the mind boggles! (It cannot be the same man!)[/url]

mmmmmmmm.......just a thought here, maybe this is the same Chris Edge as our man at The FO, perhaps he spoke his mind to those in power and got the Big E, and maybe now has an axe to grind, mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm..........

No such luck! There is a Christopher Edge prominent in Northern Ireland who would follow the writings of The Green Ribbon.


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BarryF, who fought for the Right to Wear the Pingat Jasa Malaysia

Come off it gentlemen, look at the logic of it all.

Faceless Beauroprats and Civil Serpents have a predilection for not being identified...no blame...no shame...

As I have said before... the Official Secrets Act was created by them to hide their indescretions behind.

Why do you think that the Freedom of Information Act was created...not to let you know anything...or at least charge you megabucks for obtaining information that you have a genuine right to.

Governments must be seen to do something...which is totally different from actually doing something. May we never lose sight of that fact.

Chris Edge OBE, was the sacrificial lamb. He made the mistake of communicating with us and therefore identifying himself. Not de riguer in the Civil Serpents world, in fact a positive Death Knell. Like any Official who blunders and is found out... it's the express elevator to the next floor.

I will qualify that by saying that an old adversary of mine, who I have challenged in the Courts of Law over a number of years, where I gave my professional opinion on individuals psychological states, got promoted out of harm's way, because he lost too many cases to me. What price excellence now.

I read that it costs the Foreign Office £11.32 to answer a letter...ok! how much for an email then. So far, it has cost the FO in excess of £800,000 to reply to us. Fine, had they told us the truth in the first place, in one letter, it would have cost them precisely £11.32. They obviously have a lot of money to waste...and it's our money...paid for by our taxes... something that they seem to have forgotten.

Murphy's second law of buggerance states that work expands to fill the time available, likewise, how come they no longer sign themselves 'your obedient servant'. The writing has been on the wall for a long time, with regard to communication with them, only we failed to spot it.

Yours Aye

Arthur

Quote:

Murphy's second law of buggerance states that work expands to fill the time available, likewise, how come they no longer sign themselves 'your obedient servant'. The writing has been on the wall for a long time, with regard to communication with them, only we failed to spot it.

Arthur....I could not agree more!....and long ago decided that in any formal letter to a 'Civil Servant' I would invariably use as a closing salutation:

"You remain Sir, MY obedient servant!"


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...................'Jock'
Paroi...Rasah...Batu Signals Troop.

'Jock' Fenton wrote:

[
"You remain Sir, MY obedient servant!"

Jock

I shall remember this and sign all my correspondence for 2007 thus! (To the suits anyway!)


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HD Committee: Amateurs in a Professional World
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Too right Jock!

Yours Aye

Arthur

Oh Lor'....I think I may have started another insurrection?


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...................'Jock'
Paroi...Rasah...Batu Signals Troop.

Funny, I never had you pegged as an agent provocateur Jock, must be something in the porrage.

Yours Aye

Arthur