Pilton Sucks dotCom

There comes a time in every ones life when they see the light and view things in a different way.Well it may come as a shock to you but the light has been beaming into this community for quite some time,the only problem is that it has been clouded out by  those who would not benifit from the clarity that the light would give you. As our sky lines disappear under the high rise luxury of the Waterfront development the existing community is none the wiser to what is going on.

This my friends is a organisation clouded in secrecy with little chance of light getting in. Shame that because by isolating the existing community from inclusion[the trendy name for it] we become a form of leper colony-to be kept apart from the incoming clean community.

Is there any sign of change,fraid not and not likely to be. So we are reduced to mere bystanders as it all takes place.Of course we can if we want are or able access their web site,but this is coloured lights and moving pictures,which paints a picture of contentment and the future.Let us hope that the light comes in soon and we are able to share in the future,we may well represent the past and the present,but we should be a big part of the future as well.    

Does it not strike you as odd, that something comes over the population this time of year. We are sold the dream of tinsel and fairy lights coupled with clean white snow and its a wonderful life on the telly,AGAIN. This dear friends is the sprit of Christmas, and how it is sold to the masses. True it represents an historic event on the Christian calender but that is where the similarity ends. This most holiest of Christian ethos has been well and truely hi-jacked by corporate UK limited.

The sheer anticipation and greed of those who part us from our money with second rate overpriced crap,most of which is either broken or bored with the following day is breathtaking. Just take a look at our own fair loads of money city. A festive feast of playtime delights awaits us lucky punters if we are prepared to pay for it. It makes you wonder who this festive season is for,are we celebrating a birthday or feeding the greed of ever hungry vultures who prey on the gullible public.

There is no kill-joy mentality here,but a small reality check,or a little warning,enjoy this time and find time for others,but be careful that the old saying of,a fool and his/her money are easily parted does not apply to you.

When managers of any description overstep the acceptable bounds of authority and when they terrorise staff with their tyrannical behaviour towards others,the psychological effect has been professionally likened in many cases to that of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

So where bullying is tolerated by any organisation,employers must be made aware of the potential damage they are doing to employees health,morale,productivity and indeed the image this represents should it become publicly known that those supposedly responsible for staff well-being,care so little for their employees that they allow an oppressor to run riot with peoples lives from within.

It is amazing to us that any organisation is prepared to condone an atmosphere of infectious fear simply through inaction.

Demeaning and devaluing someone when they go to work is hardly an effective way of managing,especially if they no longer enjoy doing their job. We all know that if we enjoy our job we tend to work well. A failure to recognise bullying at work is certainly an expensive mistake for management at a time when,presumably none of us can afford to be ignorant.

Bullying is bad for business. It also involves : A risk of being taken to court or industrial tribunal by a disaffected employee. A threat to the image of the organisation

 Bullying in the workplace can place an intolerable strain on the emotional and physical health and well-being of an employee who is subjected to bullying by a manager at work. This can cause loss of confidence,loss of self esteem,tiredness an inability to sleep.lack of appetite,panic attacks,depression and a dread of going to work.

Bullying in the workplace can take many forms including:

constantly criticising an employee,often in front of other employees.

Spreading nasty rumours and remarks about an employee.

Using bad,obscene aggressive, threatening language to an employee.

Shouting at,intimidating and harassing an employee.

Taking away responsibility from an employee unnecessarily.

Asking the employee to do trival and menial jobs which the employee is not responsible for.

Withholding important information from an employee which the employee needs to have as a part of their job.

Isolating an employee by ignoring him/her and excluding an employee from conversations and communications which are relevant to his/her area of responsibility.

A manager passing off an employees ideas and work as his own.

Expecting an employee to produce work in an unrealistic and/or impossible time scale.

Blaming an employee for the managers mistakes.

These are some of the overt ways of bullying there are of course covert ways of bullying and a serial bully will be well versed in these. Deception through charm to his seniors is the most common method of denial of wrongdoing,shift the blame to the victim is another,keeping well in with senior management is another tried and trusted method, so if or when the heat gets turned up you will seen to be the good guy,but that cloak of deception can be seen through,it just takes someone with a clear view to realise that this is just a mirage and the reality shows something all together sinister.

Ther is no doubt that in todays workplace bullying is rife. Many companys and organisations have decided to take firm action against workplace bullying,by putting into place policys and proceedures which ensure although not 100% effective that bullies are brought to account and punished for their crime.

As for the victims in all this. sometimes the damage done to them is beyond repair and their trust in people is for ever shattered. Gone is any kind of confidence in doing their job,and they are left to pick up the pieces of their broken lifes. That is the reality of workplace bullying if allowed to go unchecked.Trades unions alongside organisations now have a better understanding of the crime of workplace bullying and trauma that victims suffer.The message is loud and clear workplace bullys are being caught up with and will be punished for crimes against others,there can be no other way if all who feel frightened in the workplace are to have any hope of  leadind a normal working life.

If you take a walk down the soon to be leafy suburbs of Waterfront Broadway,you will see behind barbed wire and some portocabins the old Granton station house. A magnificent building which at the moment the public cannot get access to.

This building is crying out to be a museum to at least retain some of the history of this community. Why we cannot get access to it,well it might need some strutural work to make it safe,we do not know,but whatever the reason is, get it fixed and open it out to the public so they can enjoy a little history.We just dont want a sanitised development with no character which is the way it is going.

With any necessary work that is needed, done there is no reason not to open it up to the public,in fact it could be also used as a meeting place for some of the community groups giving them a sense of ownership.

We shall see what happens. Let us hope it does not go the way the lighthouse project seems to be going  

Once again the party season is almost upon us and many people will be going to parties of one sort or another. Of course it looks like the parties that were going on alledgedly at the Lighthouse in the Shore Road will be no more,so there will be no more spanking times there then.

One of our associates remarked that all that was left from what was alledgedly going on there,was aunty Lesleys knee high Prada boots tied to a whip which was hanging from one of the rafters.

But on a slightly more serious note,this time of year seems to cause a number of people to party to excess and in doing so open themselves up to potential problems. The festive season allows us to let our hair down and forget for a little while the every day drudgery that befalls most of us.

The police will be out in force to make sure nobody is stupid enough to drink and drive,it is a great pity the police do not take this view of all crime,but hammering the motorist is easy and cheap and looks good on the statistics.

We feel anybody caught drinking and driving should be banned for life and fully support the police come the festive blitz. But do not forget other crime takes place and the public have a right to be protected,so while the war on the motorist is upped over the festive period,vigilance should also be upped elsewhere.

Do not be stupid and take a chance it is not worth it for you risk other lives apart from your own. Look out for the frail and elderly and try to make sure they to can enjoy this period. So as the fireworks and xmas extravaganca get in to full swing and the shops gear up to rip you off take a moment to reflect and realise that your health comes first and everything else is a poor second.

Over at Edinburgh Sucks we read there is a problem with the bus service.Funny thing that because it seems we might have the same problem over here in Greater Pilton. One of our associates was asked to sign a petition with regard to the changing of the route and service of the number 32 bus.

Donald a comunity activist was asking people to sign up in protest at the proposed change,he felt it was the thin end of the wedge and that this was only the start of the run down of local services. Anne asked why and donald replyed it could well be to allow the new tram system free access to routes without competition.

If this is the case then this is a sinister underhand move by the council to slash bus routes and allow a private operator to come in and have a free run. Of course the council will tell us that they have little or no say in public transport,but correct us if we are wrong but does the council not have a golden share in Lothian buses allowing them a big say in transport issues.

We have noticed a sea change in bus services to the outer parts of Edinburgh.There seems to be no shortage of buses to  ocean Terminal in Newhaven,but try to get one to Greater Pilton and they are few and far between. There is no shortage of buses in the city centre,in fact the congestion caused by the overkill of city centre buses is something to see.

So once again this council run by the Labour group is punishing the least able to fight back,those with the weakest voice and least financial clout. We understand from Donald that Royston/Wardieburn community council is taking up the fight in defence of local bus services and we wish them well.

Edinburgh Sucks got it bang on. Come May vote these chancers out.  

Has anybody noticed the high volumn of road works there are right now in this most pot-holed of cities. We noticed new road works towards the top of Crewe Road North. Was anybody told about this does anybody know why they are there. Did you want them there or were you even given the choice.

No these workpeople in yellow vests just set up shop put up squint traffic lights and disrupt traffic causing yet another log jam,and that is before you get to the round about of death at the top of Crewe Road North. So why were we not informed, the streets belong to the people the pavements belong to the people,god knows we pay enough for them.

No once again our thoughts and wishes are ignored,in fact not even taken into consideration we are just put upon. Nothing of this kind should be done without at the very minimum peoples knowledge,and in reality with their permission.

Afton terrace has been closed for weeks-for what we ask? nothings happening there,just barriers to cause traffic problems in the next street. We firmly hold the view that local politicians have a duty to inform the local public what is happening and when and by no means least how much it is costing the local tax payer. that is accountability not the silence you get from our lot.they dont tell you because they probably do not know. What a farce the blind leading the blind.

Councillor Fitzpatrick will tell you it is nothing to do with him. Councillor Mcginnis is to busy swaning around trying to look important while consolidating her stratagy for empire building. Aunty Lesley well as a leading fashion icon she has much more important matters to concern her than a few moans and groans from her punters Lesley its party time Hinds is more at home in the closeted atmosphere of Harvey nics and such.

So once again the punters are just like mushrooms,you know kept in the dark and fed bullshit. When will we ever learn we the people are the real power but lie dormant waiting to be shown the devine light and way. We are not on the road to Damascus Councillor Mcginnis will not by chance or miracle let, you in on what is going on,no chance.

So what to do where to go and who with. We say and have consistently said they have to go,they have been there to long and have become the establishment,where in their opinion it is your duty to vote them back in,and then go back to the hole you crawled out of. We sense a wind of change sweeping through this community.it may only be a slight breeze,but we hope it blows into a gale and sweeps the old guard out of office,and replaces them with those who stand ready to change in favour of people power.   

As the debate rumbles on at a snails pace as to whether scrape the very unfair local tax and/or what to put in its place.

Not an easy decision,should the powers that be carry on screwing those least able to make this gross payment,or replace it with a local charge which reflects your ability to pay.

This badly thought out scheme which robs the poor to let the rich off the hook,should have at the very best been a temperary scheme has in itself created poverty amongst the working poor.Of course you can apply for relief or help with the community charge,but one look at this extremly intimidating form,puts you right off,and you might argue that is the desired effect.

Our very own peoples party the rulers of this great and alledgedly rich city are quite happy to rob the least able to pay and argue that services need to be paid for. Yes quite true but paid by whom. The bulk of the charge is paid by working class people struggling in an already overpriced city.

We think everybody should contribute to quality services within the city,and by that we mean tourists,with a minimum of 5% levy on trips to this city,to be put into the local coffers. Next there is a strong argument and one we advocate ourselves that those seeking to enter this country are subject to local taxes again on a percentage basis and those refusing to pay or caught dodgeing the tax will not be allowed to live in this city. We are after all not a charity.

The next step we believe is to individually charge people on what they earn. It is madness to charge four potential wage earners the same as a person living on a fixed income,absolute madness. We have a national insurance scheme,we have an income tax scheme,it is not hard to relate peoples income to paying.

We have a distintive class system in this city,it is distintive by the part of the city you live in.So for instance if you live in the fur coat and no knickers land of Morningside,you are somehow better off than those that live in a maisonette in say somewhere like Muirhouse. Okay if that is the case then you will contribute far more to those least able to enjoy the wine and cheese lifestyle of the chattering classes.

The balance of who pays what in this city has swung in the favour of those who can afford to pay more and they can enjoy the jolly super duper time to be had in this most cosmipolitan of citys where according to our city fathers the streets are paved with gold,that is of course if you do not venture to the wild west of the council schemes,where the streets are full of holes.

This absurd penal tax is long overdue a major reform,it hits the poorest families and causes hardship,which goes un-noticed,those struggling to buy their own home those who have young children and there is only one wage earner,the long term sick and those perpetually stuck in the poverty trap.

Who does that leave-the jolly hockey stick brigade,the people that drop their kids off at their private school in the four by four,and then off to the exciting gossip that is the coffee morning. Do they care that the poorest have to pay to keep them in their comfortable surroundings,no of course not.

The executive has a moral and ethical duty to reverse this ludicrous situation which compounds socio/economical problems. Will they do it. it would not be popular with the Cramond sailing set or the cricketers of the Carlton club in the Grange,but it would be right,and that is something that politicians are not good at doing the right thing.

We are told by the great and the good that Scotland is short of people to fill the job vacancies so we welcome people from other countries to work here,we have to as the government has lost complete control over migrant workers. As well as welcoming new people to our land and before the do-gooders get their overpowering mits on them, these people will be subject to all the local taxes which the existing population has to pay.

So registered foreign worker will pay his or her fair share of local taxes whether they are here for a short stay or permanent. We must also look seriously at what amounts of money is being sent overseas and by whom. A local export tax should be levied on those foreign workers who send money out of this country,as they are here we are told to contribute to society,so contribute they should.

We need to look at city departments and the need for so many overpaid fatcat directors looking after our interests.Again the very weak and see through excuse used is,you have to pay more to get the best. Do you believe that rubbish. A limit on the maximum you can earn within the upper tier of local Government,we believe a fair figure to be £50,000 per annum,and if you do not like it you know where the door is.

A proper accounting system not bland statements which tells us of the mesmerising sums of money which comes into this city every year only to disappear into the back pockets of the greedy. The city should become the banker in all this. Example if the new year celebrations bring in £40million pounds to the city the bank/city takes a percentage off the top then we all know where we are.A figure of between 10-15% or 4 to 6 million pounds before we take into consideration any other local charges. That means the city coffers are guaranteed at least that amount before we start.

That would be the same with any other jolly the city puts on. Some or all of these methods if put into place would ease the burden on the hard pressed working families of this city,instead of the empty promises they hear instead. 

Do our rulers have the courage to change and right an obvious wrong. Certainly not this lot.no imagination no guts no sense of what is right and decent,just a mouthful of platitudes of pay up and shut up  

Does anybody out there in North Edinburgh remember an organisation called NETE[North Edinburgh  Training And Employment] We ask because we came across a former employee who told us a strange tale indeed.

Alec told us that NETE had been a successful training agency helping a number of people get back or into employment offering a number of different schemes with which to do so. We have to say that one of our associates has since told us he had used NETE as a stepping stone to employment and thought they were very helpful and constructive. He Told us that Tracy the then manager was dedicated to making NETE a real success and was popular with the service users and the staff.

So what was the problem that caused NETE to shut up shop. We dug a little deeper asking around about NETE and talking to people in Muirhouse we found some interesting detail, it was a little sketchy,so we sat down and tried to do, A RAY HARRIS and join it all up.

We discovered NETE had a board of directors and was a company limited by guarantee. So we tried to discover who was on the board we got one name and suprise suprise guess who nowght to do with me Fitzpatrick. Now we know that there was more than him and if you want to come forward feel free.

Anyway it seems that Tracy was not popular with everybody and in particular Councillor Mcginnis,who we were told had it in for NETE. Now we can deduce from this that she had a hand in its demise alongside Councillor Hinds who dragged councillor Fitzpatrick alongside. Information was very hard to come accross as no-one was prepared or knew much about the final days of NETE. Again we dug deeper and found the hand of the Pilton Partnership involved. Why,well we found that the partnership had some hand in the fundng of NETE and low and behold Councillor Mcginnis chairs the Partnership.

Co-incidence dont think so do you. This is where the trail goes cold and re-appears when a meeting was held in the housing department.At that meeting we are informed was Betty lapdog Stevenson Ian Cooke Caroline Pickering and some others whose names we do not have. It transpires at this meeting a decision was taken to shut NETE and bring in a private organisation called Working Links,and grant them the astonishing figure of £250,000 as a start up. This organisation has close links[no pun intended] to a large banking organisation.

So it seems NETE was done in and replaced by a private conglomerate which was put in place on the instructions of Messers Mcginnis and Hinds,with Fitzpatrick bringing up the rear.

So in summary NETE was wound up because they upset a couple of elected members empress Mcginnis and Aunty Lesley,so they set about the destruction of a sucessful  training agency which helped a lot of local people  and employed local people as well. So what about Working Links. They are based in a shop in Ferry Road Drive and does anybody locally know anything about them. Thought not. So they replaced NETE in very dubious circumstances just to satisfy the political gratifications of our rulers.

So what happened to accountability,disappeared in  this case as has most of the evidence has,wonder why?  

One of our associates happened to be in the Muirhouse area last week and made the mistake of walking through the covered area which leads to the Muirhouse Arts Centre and the library. She was horrified to be shouted at by some of the tennants of the centre,you know the ones who hang about the place on a regular basis getting pissed on cheap booze sold to them by the asian shop which is within the centre.

How do these people get away with it. Alcoholism is an illness and these shopkeepers are profiteering on the back of people who do not know any better. It seems incredible in this day and age that real help is seemingly unavailable to help these poor wretches stay away from the demon drink. What does aunty Lesley think, or does she care,probably not as long as it is not outside her front door.

And what about joe average who just wants to pass through or use one of the shops for something other than cheap booze. We have a duty of care to all our citizens but this pocket of resistance seems to be neglected. You cannot throw money at the problem and hope it goes away,it wont. What is the law doing to prevent unscrupulas shop keepers from cashing in on sickness,these are the same shops who sell cigarettes to under age children,have sold fireworks to children and seem to be above the law. Are the powers that be afraid to do anything in case they are called racist. Thats just absolute crap. these asian shop owners are not above the law,if they break it,and break it they do.

We watched the shop on Monday afternoon and schoolchildren were going in to buy fags and being sold them. This cannot be tolerated our children must be protected even if is from themselves.

So the powers that be should get up off their lazy politically correct backsides and sort this out,it has been going on for far to long. The public need protected from these crooks regardless of their ethnic origin.