Priorities, Economies and Social Justice

Here's a selection of public sector jobs being advertised this week:

- Single Front Office Development Officer
- Deputy for Governance and Competitiveness
- Capacity and Change Policy Manager
- Head of Engagement and Partnerships
- Scrutiny and Equality Support Officers
- Supporting People Commissioning Manager
- Civil Contingencies Strategy Manager
- Dual Diagnosis Practictioner (part of the Assertive Outreach Team)
- Reparation Co-Ordinator

What do they have in common?? They are all offering significant salaries (funded by the taxpayer), and the job titles are complete nonsense, giving no possible clue of what the job involves. Why am I highlighting this, and bear in mind this is just a selection from over 500 similar jobs that are being advertised? Well, at the same time, consider the following:

- Many NHS trusts are freezing recruitment of nurses, and in some cases have made nurses redundant.
- One healthcare trust in London has (on at least one occasion) in the past two years been "technically bankrupt"
- Our local Childrens hospice, which has an annual operating cost of £2.6million, is receiving just £25,000 in funding from the state, and relying on public donations for the balance of £2,575,000.
- We have the highest rate of teenage pregnancies than any other country in the Western world.
- We have a generation of young people who feel disaffected and disenfranchised. They are also less literate on leaving school than any other country in the Western world. (no reflection on those who work in the education system, more on the lack of investment from the state)
- Levels of crime are rising, our prisons are overcrowded, and upon release prisoners are more likely to re-offend than in any other European country.

Added to this, on a global scale, we have the following:

- Human trafficking continuing on a massive scale whilst Western Governments pat themselves on the back for "abolishing" slavery 200 years ago.
- Someone dying every three seconds in Africa as a result of malnutrition, the massive Aids epidemic, or illnesses that would be laughed at if described as "life threatening" in the Western world. Meanwhile, governments continue to avoid answering questions regarding dropping Third World debt, and pharmaceutical companies continue to resist providing cheap, simple drugs that could save countless lives, whilst pulling in billions of pounds in profits each year.

Makes you wonder about the priorities, and moral values of the people that make the decisions doesn't it?????

Impossible?Pah! Impossible is nothing!

Found this, thought others might want to give it a try:

www.notdoppler.com/theimpossiblequiz.php (hopefully link will work, if not copy and paste into the address bar!)

Think I've made it up to question 36 so far. Some questions require varying degrees of lateral thinking, some are just plain baffling you just have to take a guess!!

Wonder who can get the furthest

(P.S - Warning! One of the questions I have done had some slightly dodgy language, don't know about any further on as haven't got that far yet!!)

A Tribute

Forgive me this indulgence, but going to use my blog today to pay tribute to my Nana. I realised this morning that it's 15 years ago today that she passed away.

Nana was, without doubt, the biggest single influence on me as I was growing up. The balance of reason when my crazy teenage ideas and dreams ran away with me, and the "still, small voice of calm" in conflict.

I spent a lot of time with her as a child, and a teenager, not because I had to, but because I wanted to. Life moves on, I know, but I would love for her to have been here to know Eloise and Maisie (and obviously, Melissa too!!).

So here's to you Nana, I miss you.