Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Jersey Budget Protest - Royal Square 15 December 2015

REFORM JERSEY organised a public demonstration in the Royal Square outside the States' Building to greet the government members as they arrived to discuss the Budget on 15 December.

The video that follows in three parts shows just some of the footage and amply shows the anger of the public towards this government which is applying an austerity policy and making widespread "cuts" to reduce costs.

Those on the lowest incomes are inevitably the most affected and pensioners are being especially targeted but the removal or curtailment of services as well as axing of jobs are all part of the package too.


With the approach of Christmas and the Royal Square being decorated accordingly the timing of this austerity Budget seems especially poignant the more so since this is the very historic heart of Jersey. Here the Government and administration buildings sit alongside the main church of the Island and are intermixed with Christian and Crown beliefs as integral parts of the political processes.

Thus the videos pick-up on signs and symbolism in and around the square which inevitably guide so much that goes on within the political forum and affect everybody in the Island.

Although some will claim that politics and "religion" are separate matters and it is s private matter whether an elected representative is a Christian or otherwise, the fact is that Christian prayers are said at the commencement of every States Assembly and oaths are routinely sworn by the Members of the States in the name of the "Sovereign" and of a Christian God.

A few Members choose to opt out of that process so far as they are able but when questions of morality, charity, generosity, care of the aged and such like arise it is necessary to understand something of the philosophical basis upon which decisions of government are made.

I suggest here that the Christian imposition amounts to hypocrisy - "humbug" - but I am not a Christian so have no difficulty in divorcing its involvement from my chosen political activities and I do not believe that it is appropriate for the States Assembly to operate as a "pseudo church" either.

Part One video above


Part Two video above


Part Three video above

Friday, November 13, 2015

Andy Sibcy (JEP) Part 1 Jersey Farming Conference - 12 November 2015

The JEP has been backing the "Keep Jersey Farming" campaign.
Here Andy Sibcy (Editor) explains why.

This presentation is about 11 minutes long and is posted in two parts.

A DVD showing all the speakers at the Conference will be produced in due course and will be available to anybody interested at cost.

Andy Sibcy Part 1 below;


Andy Sibcy Part 2;

Jersey Farming Conference 12 November 2015 - presentation of John Vautier

There were about a dozen speakers at the Jersey farming Conference at the RJA&HS building in Trinity on 12 November 2015.

I plan to produce a DVD of all these and copies will be available to anybody interested at cost.

Meanwhile I shall be posting a few selected talks that seem  most interesting to me for various reasons.

Here is the 18 minutes talk of John Vautier "Agricultural Consultant" in 3 parts.

This appeals to me as an attempt to analyse the political context and history of "farming" in Jersey and  he challenges some widely held and expressed views.

Part One below;


Part Two;

Part Three;

The cosy lighting at the conference was not good for video recording but the sound was good enough.

Thursday, October 8, 2015

Jilly Spruyt and Mongolian up-date Jersey October 2015

We met up with and interviewed Jilly Spruyt several years ago about her NGO activities in Mongolia.
Her work continues so we have recorded this up-date in Jersey.

Jersey's Overseas Aid Department is not currently funding her school building  and related projects but she continues to work with others such as a French group (described in the video that follows) and the Catholic Church etc but she always needs more money.

Now she is developing her Tours business to raise funds and many Channel Islanders have already visited this remote country with her.

See www.mongoliatours.co.uk for more information or Mongolian Outreach Mission on Facebook to discover more and to make contact.

M.A.D. Mongolia Newswire is also an interesting site to look at - and if you want to invest in Mongolia you should look here first.

An interview  in two parts with Jilly follows - watch both.

Part One above

Part Two above....

Business Connect "Migrants Debate" St Helier Jersey 7 October 2015 speakers CM Sen Gorst and Mark Baker



Chief Minister Senator Ian Gorst above (video about 5 minutes)

Mark Baker above (video about 5 minutes)

Saturday, October 3, 2015

JAB 15 Arthur Grayson talk 16 September 2015 organised by the Association of Jersey Architects


This posting appears in 8 parts and was recorded at the CCA Gallery, St Helier.

Part One

Part Two
Part Three
Part Four
Part Five
Part Six
Part Seven
Part Eight (Final)

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

JAB15 - 14-18 September part talk by Mike King CEO of EDD on "The Shard, Development, Jersey and 250 million years of history"



Mike King is the CEO of the States of Jersey Economic Department.
This is the second half of his talk given at the Radisson Blu, Jersey on Tuesday 15 September 2015 as part of the Jersey Architecture Biennale.


First Part above

Second Part above which includes and answer to a question about the desirability or otherwise of trading with Qatar and other Middle East countries at this time.

More information about JAB15 can be found on the Association of Jersey Architects Facebook site or  Mike Dun Facebook site or Tom Gruchy YouTube.