Email to Mr Cameron and Mr Johnson

Dear Mr Cameron,
I was very impressed by the swift reply i received before. Unfortunately, this cannot be said of Boris Johnson. As a member of the public, I expect at least a reply. I would like to bring the issue I sent to Boris Johnson to you because I feel it is very relevant to make our country healthier. I understand that David Cameron is a busy man but I do hope that theses issues are passed on to him. Could you tell me the procedure that is undertaken for these issues to be sent to Mr Cameron? Below is the email I sent to Mr Johnson:

_____________________________
Dear Mr Johnson,
I remember you suggested an idea about parking wardens helping to keep the streets of London safe. I think that this is a good idea but I fear that their image will not help. You may say that helping to keep the streets safe will balance things out. I fear that by associating yourself with these people (as they are not all people of scruples) will be bad for you and ultimately for London. Please allow me to briefly tell you my story.

I parked a car unknowingly in a residents permit holders only space (I was in a rush to meet my pregnant wife in hospital). I passed a traffic warden who was issuing a penalty charge notice to a car next to mine. I said please don't issue one for me whilst I get a parking ticket. I thought all was well but on the way back with my wife, I find a penalty charge notice. I explained the circumstance to the council but they were not interested. I later find that there is a possibility that the traffic warden was acting unlawfully. This is because they are, by law, meant to be helpful like the police.

Do you not find any problem employing such people to make the streets of London safe? They may exploit their new powers by for example bribing. One should not employ people of unscrupulous nature. I voted for you to become mayor and I would be worried if you are going through with this proposal.

Your idea can work but it needs a lot of time. Firstly, traffic wardens should not be paid on a commission basis (they are currently paid by the number of tickets being issued). This is because it is not under the control of the council but private companies who are money hungry. This set up could still work as long as the wardens are not getting paid on a commission basis. They may not do their job well enough? Well, let the locals decide if the parking enforcement is not up to scratch. Make it easy for people to complain about the parking enforcement. This I hope will make the public see the wardens in a new light. Then your idea has a much better chance for it to work.

Yours faithfully,
Dr Julian Hartley

PS I am passionate about the Conservatives and our country. I have other ideas on education, crime prevention and ways to make our country a better place. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you would like my help.
______________________________

_________--

Furthermore, I am deeply saddened by the treatment I have received from the Camden Council on this matter. They have yet to reply to me. Another issue I would like to point out is the uncooperative nature of local councils. They do not evoke an image of supporting a community. The least they can do is to give me a reply. By the mere fact that they are not responding suggests that they do not care, not to mention being rude. How can moral standards be maintained if local government and the main Government act in this manner? This can be seen throughout society from the BBC programmes (including cbeebies) through to the explicit evidence of knife crimes. Moral issues must be dealt with from an early age through to institutions. I have some ideas on these matters but I am digressing. For institutions to improve, they must listen and so they must at least reply. This includes the police. They are meant to be serving the community so why not let the police become closer to the community? I am digressing again but why not have mini police stations that serve areas of communities instead of just having one large police station serving a wider community? This sort of arrangement will make the community stronger.

Back to the point about the above email, the law is also a problem. Where do I turn to about an issue that concerns the law? Many people cannot afford the fee that lawyers charge. The law is for everyone and at the moment, it is only properly served by people who can afford the fees. Is this morally right? Is this a reason to feel at least something against the law? In my case, I just happened to come across an article on the internet which to me suggested that the council had acted inappropriately. If the council ignores me, who do I turn to without having to pay a substantial fee? Make the law work for everyone equally.

I have too many issues on our country to mention here. I do want to make our country a better place to live but when voices are not heard, you can easily despair and one starts to think about the prospects of one's children. Too many people are emigrating because they feel they cannot be heard.

Yours sincerely,
Dr Julian Hartley

PS Do you remember the "BREAKDOWN BRITAIN A guide to our broken society and how to fix it" publication. I and everyone around me were not very impressed by this. Firstly, it appeared to miss important issues. I would very much like to help you on this matter. Secondly, you brought all these issues to the people and you want the people's opinion on it. Many people are too busy to do such things. I am writing this out of despair and because I work at home although I have children to look after. You are in the position to make the difference and you really need to find what is best for the country yourself rather than asking the public who are already busy.

PPS The inequalities I mentioned above exists on your very doorstep. You send out paper to ask me to become a member of the Conservative Party where the first three months are free. Why do you only let people join if they are capable of paying? Why do you let these inequalities exist? It makes me think that you are not able to gauge the problems that the public have.

May I remind you what I wrote at the beginning? I do hope it is you Mr David Cameron that replies to this. I do hope you agree that what is contained here is highly important to building a better community and a better future.

CBeebies advertising next program

CBeebies have started to advertise their next program upon nearing the end of a program. I am not too sure on the merit of this from the perspective of a parent. I cannot write from experience but wouldn't children be more inclined to stay and watch the television? If there are clear breaks between programs, children will not be as influenced.

Children knifed to death

News these days feature a lot of incidents of children getting stabbed to death by other children. It is important to ask why some children can so easily stab someone let alone kill someone. One thing that springs to mind is the low moral values. I cannot think that children who carry knives have no intention of killing someone. They just don't seem to care enough about life.

Why have the moral values of some children disappeared? I am tempted to say that the violent video games, films and music are the problem. They do not influence everyone but I think certain children are easily influenced. It would be nice if game manufacturers could produce an entertaining game that can educate good moral values. The market for such games is wide open compared to the violent games. More points for players who show a good moral character.

There is perhaps hope for this because I read the other day that hip hop or rap music is not as popular as before. My explanation for this is to do with the children who have parents that grew up on such music. Since children like to rebel against their parents, these children cannot easily rebel with rap music They are perhaps ready to rebel by becoming morally good.

Welfare system that favours single parent families

Contrast the following two scenarios.

1. Single parent with 2 children under the age of 11, works 16 hours a week on the minimum wage, receives 487 pounds (with the aid of tax credits).
2. 2 parent family with 2 children under the age of 11, must work in total 116 hours a week on the minimum wage to receive the same amount of pay.

This clearly shows that remaining single is better than getting married if you are trying to make ends meet.

It would be interesting to know if there are any other equally ludicrous welfare systems around the world?

Guerrilla marketing ethics?

The idea of marketing is to make your product or service well known. The marketing can be negative but it can command a lot of publicity. Is it worth it? I don't believe that the following advertisers had any intention of negativity. Surely the best thing would be to have a positive marketing campaign that reaches out to as many as the negative?

Take for instance, Sony Ericsson who wanted to get the public to try out some functions of the mobile phone. They got people to look like tourists who wanted their picture taken with the phone and attractive women who sat in bars to start a conversation about their purchase. Once the people found out that they were not genuine, the campaign became negative. The moral seems to be, if you are advertising, make sure you are upfront about it. Especially when you are, in effect, invading their space.

IBM decided to chalk symbols on the streets of San Francisco. Some technologically minded people liked it but others thought it as graffiti. Although the chalk was biodegradable, it took weeks for the stuff to be removed. The moral is to try and be in the good books of everyone.

Some offensive images can arouse suspicion. For instance, Cartoon Network decided to place these images. Some residents in Boston thought they were bombs. I remember the news showing the city grid-locked. The moral is to be aware of the past incidents that could have changed people's sentiments.

Smells and sounds are a relatively new medium to be exploited. They have been used to try and gain a bigger impact but the more unusual and unknown it is, the more people would be scared. Paramount Pictures teamed up with the Los Angeles Times to trigger the theme music of Mission Impossible whenever a newspaper was baught at a newspaper rack. People had thought it to be a bomb. Sending smells through an underground system to advertise a drink did not go down too well because it could be thought of as poisonous gas. Besides, forcing someone to smell something is not a good idea. The moral again is to consider the sentiments shaped by recent events. And don't force something upon the unsuspecting public.

Examples from BusinessWeek: http://images.businessweek.com/ss/07/02/0209_guerrilla/index_01.htm

Petition: Dog DNA database

On the 10 Downing Street website for petitions, I have found someone who has started a petition. Follow the link below if you would like to sign up to the petition.

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/K9DNADatabase/

The website states that you must be a British citizen or resident to sign the petition.

DNA analysis to identify dog owners who leave a mess

The idea of creating a database of dog DNA to clean the public areas does not seem to be new. A Freakonomics article in the New York Times (another link), a remarkable 12 year old girl's proposal, and Vienna and Dresden have proposed the same idea.

The idea is pretty simple. Firstly make sure that every dog is licensed. During this licensing process, the DNA can be collected through the saliva of the dog (existing dog owners' dogs can be included perhaps the next time they go to a vet). The data can be stored in a database. Now if a dog owner decides to leave the mess behind, the dog dirt can be collected and DNA analysed. A suitable fine should be imposed and sent to the dog owner's address.

I do hope that the health of our children can be protected with this simple idea. No more risk of blindness. The initial cost may be high but it will be a fraction of the cost of setting up the equivalent for us humans.