First it was politicians now it's policemen - Abuse of expense claims. Who will be next?

Scotland Yard chiefs have agreed a secret amnesty for more than 1,000 officers and staff who misused corporate credit cards, it has been revealed.

An internal audit discovered 1,183 Metropolitan Police employees broke rules governing the use of American Express charge cards.

Senior officers were so overwhelmed by the number of cases they decided the card holders would not be punished - deciding instead that the staff, the vast majority of whom worked in counter terrorism and other specialist crime inquiries, would be given "training and guidance".

More than 300 people were initially referred to anti-corruption detectives when evidence emerged their claims were potentially fraudulent.

Of these cases, 50 were passed to independent investigators. Three officers have since been convicted of criminal offences and two more await trial.

Jenny Jones, of the Metropolitan Police Authority, said training and guidance is "not enough" and some disciplinary action should be taken. She said: "I find it unacceptable that the police have just let these officers go with guidance. They must have known what they were doing was wrong."

Members of the MPA, the force watchdog, have been told privately how an initial sift of accounts exposed the scale of the problem.

Internal auditors decided 1,183 people who used a card, but did not break the law, should be put to one side and labelled "category B". These cases included those who purchased personal items and later repaid the money or bought equipment that should have been purchased by other means.

Meanwhile, claims found to be "potentially unacceptable", including cases of suspected fraud, were labelled "category A" and passed to anti-corruption detectives. Inquiries into abuse of the credit card system by officers are expected to continue until next March, two and a half years after they first began.

A total of 3,533 officers and staff were issued with the cards and at one point £3.7 million of public money was unaccounted for. The majority of this money has been paid back, but legal action is expected against two officers who owe £82,000 and £1,100.

Puritanical, pragmatic, proselytizing pratt!?

I have just been paid the biggest compliment of my blogosphere experience! Robert "Bob" Mercer of South Australia has been moved to post the below item on his blog with the title has shown above. I have been called some names in my time but nothing as interesting as this! I believe he expected me to censor his link but, on the contrary, I was pleased to publish it within my comments section. I have never had a full posting devoted to me on any blog so far! It resulted in greatly increased traffic to my site. I rarely reach a hundred hits per week but already I have received 144 visits and there is still tomorrow to go before I receive my weekly update. Thanks very much Bob! This is what he wrote;

Came across a blog which I found interesting particularly the page ….link http://old-plod-of-plympton.blogspot.com/2009/08/this-man-would-get-my-vote.html More people like this mayor are needed not only in the UK but also in Australia…….please!

Unfortunately whilst some of the articles were interesting the “discussion” options were somewhat limited by the somewhat puritanical attitude of the “Old Plod” the ex-policeman who owns the blog. His profile includes the statement

” I consider myself to be a pragmatic and deeply spiritual person. I will endeavour to avoid unnecessary censorship on this Blog. However; I will not accept any xenophobic, homophobic, racist, sexist or indeed any other form of extreme bigotry within comments posted on this blog. Measures to prevent postings of this nature are in place.”

Well, what a puritanical, pragmatic pratt! His listing is in itself a form of bigotry, since the word means intolerance or narrow-mindedness. Perhaps as an ex-plod he has become mired in the upper echelon bigotry that exists within the police forces of the world. One can be xenophobic, racist, sexist etc., without being a bigot! [I do not include the non-word "homophobic" since it is the most stupid meaningless concoction ever. A mishmash of homo meaning "the same" and phobia meaning "fear" hence a fear of the same!? Rubbish!]. Perhaps his spirituality is obtained from a bottle of sorts. However, that being said, how come he allowed the article to which I referred originally, namely “This man would get my vote” since it is definitely anti-pervert [I refuse to use the word "gay" and say it as it is!] and is surely xenophobic since he is advocating telling the EU where to stick it!

If he is so sensitive [and after 33 professed years as a copper I doubt that] and becomes lachrymose when people post such anti-pervert or xenophobic comments, has he never heard of censoring comments? If he so desired he could edit or delete what he deems “unsuitable” wording.

He does have a suggestion to link to his blog or any particular page but……………somehow I don’t think my link would be too welcome!

If you would like to view Bob Mercer's blog and leave him a comment in defence of me or support of him here is the address;

http://rhmercer.com/blog/?p=398

I feel we could develop an interesting debate here. LOL! I warn you though he has some pretty strong views on many subjects. I shall certainly be paying him a few return visits in the future! G'day Bob!!!!!

A Pastor with great courage!

This took courage (although it shouldn't have) It is absolutely great ! ! !There might be hope yet!

A Pastor with GUTS!
I thought you might enjoy reading this interesting prayer given in Kansas at the opening session of their Senate. It seems prayer still upsets some people.. When Minister Joe Wright was asked to open the new session of the Kansas Senate, everyone was expecting the usual generalities, but this is what they heard:

Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask
Your forgiveness and to seek your direction and
Guidance. We know Your Word says, 'Woe to those
Who call evil good,' but that is exactly what we
Have done.

We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed
Our values.

We have exploited the poor and called it
The lottery.

We have rewarded laziness and called it
Welfare.

We have killed our unborn and called it
Choice.

We have shot abortionists and called it
Justifiable.

We have neglected to discipline our
Children and called it building self esteem..

We have abused power and called it
Politics.

We have coveted our neighbour's possessions
And called it ambition.

We have polluted the air with profanity and
pornography and called it freedom of expression.

We have ridiculed the time-honoured values
Of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.

Search us, Oh, God, and know our hearts
Today; cleanse us from every sin and set us free.
Amen!
The response was immediate.A number of Legislators walked out during the prayer in protest.In 6 short weeks, Central Christian Church,where Rev. Wright is pastor, logged more than 5,000 phone calls with only 47 of those calls responding negatively. The church is now receiving international requests for copies of this prayer from India , Africa and Korea.

Commentator Paul Harvey aired this prayer on his radio programme, 'The Rest of the Story,'and received a larger response to this programme than any other he has ever aired.

With the Lord's help, may this prayer sweep over our nation and wholeheartedly become our desire so that we again can be called 'one nation under God.'

My thanks to Mr.Brian Eastwood for sharing this with me.

This man would get my vote!

I LIKE THE SOUND OF THIS MAN
A maverick mayor elected after promising to slash council spending, clear the streets of yobs and ditch politically correct services is the torchbearer for how towns should be run.

On his first morning as Mayor of Doncaster in South Yorkshire , Peter Davies cut his salary from £73,000 to £30,000 then closed the council’s newspaper for "peddling politics on the rates".
Now three weeks into his job, Mr Davies is pressing ahead with plans he hopes will see the number of town councillors cut from 63 to just 21, saving taxpayers £800,000.
Mr Davies said: "If 100 senators can run the United States of America , I can’t see how 63 councillors are needed to run Doncaster ".

He has withdrawn Doncaster from the Local Government Association and the Local Government Information Unit, saving another £200,000. Mr Davies said, "They are just talking shops".
" Doncaster is in for some serious untwinning. We are twinned with nine other cities around the world and they are just for people to fly off and have a binge at the council’s expense".

The mayor’s chauffeur-driven car has also been axed by Mr Davies and the driver given another job. Mr Davies, born and bred in Doncaster, swept to power in the May election with 24,244 votes as a candidate for the English Democrats, a party that wants tight immigration curbs, an English Parliament and a law forcing every public building to fly the flag of St. George.

He has promised to end council funding for Doncaster ’s International Women’s Day, Black History Month and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender History Month.
He said, "Politicians have got completely out of touch with what people want.
"We need to cut costs. I want to pass on some savings I make in reduced taxes and use the rest for things we really need, like improved children’s services".
Mr Davies has received messages from well wishers across the country and abroad as news of his no-nonsense approach spreads.
Now it’s your chance to spread this most sensible way to run a town council.

Do not eat chicken sandwiches!

Don't Eat Chicken Sandwiches no matter What.......................

A little boy and a little girl attended the same school and became friends.
Every day they would sit together to eat their lunch. They discovered that they both brought chicken sandwiches every day! This went on all through the fourth and fifth grades, until one day he noticed that her sandwich wasn't a chicken sandwich. He said, 'Hey, how come you're not eating chicken, don't you like it anymore?' She said 'I love it but I have to stop eating it.'

'Why?' he asked. She pointed to her lap and said 'Cause I'm starting to grow little feathers down there!' 'Let me see' he said. 'Okay' and she pulled up her skirt. He looked and said, 'That's right. You are! Better not eat any more chicken.' He kept eating his chicken sandwiches until one day he brought peanut butter. He said to the little girl, 'I have to stop eating chicken sandwiches, I'm starting to get feathers down there too!' She asked if she could look, so he pulled down his pants for her! She said

'Oh, my God, it's too late for you! You've already got the NECK and GIBBLETS!!!

My thanks to Ruth for sharing this little gem with me. I am surprised at you naughty lady!!!!!!LOL !!!!

Wisdom of a Retiree

I've often been asked, 'What do you old folks do now that you're retired? Well, I'm fortunate to have a chemical engineering background, and one of the things I enjoy most is turning beer, wine, Scotch, and margaritas into urine!

What more can I say!

My thanks to Jim Doney for sharing this gem with me.

Marketing the Church

A must-see television advertisement chronicling the significance of the Catholic Church now and throughout history. http://CatholicsComeHome.org

I am grateful to Thom Curnutte of Anglican Wanderings for drawing my attention to this advert. ...but what do you think about Christian "marketing?" Positive or negative? Necessary or wasteful? Your views would be appreciated.

PS. I am disappointed to learn that the Anglican Wanderings blog has come to an end. It has been of enormous interest to me and has taught me a great deal about many aspects of my Anglo-Catholic faith. I have, for a very long time, carried a link to Anglican Wanderings in my list of Favourite Blogs to the left of this posting. I started following it soon after Rev'd Andrew Teather first launched the site. I shall miss the postings but wish Andrew, Fr. Lee Kenyon and Thom Curnette every good wish for the future and I hope to see them blogging again sometime in the future. Many congratulations on a job well done. Your Online ministry has been greatly appreciated. Come back soon!