How Google has ripped me off

Posted on May 22, 2013 | 1 Comment

I AM a published author and a journalist, so therefore not earning very much money, at all. But I have to say Google Books has really taken the proverbial biscuit this time round.Schmidt triggers

About 35-40 years ago, I spent an immense amount of time researching into the mysteries of Tripurasundari – s0me of my results are on shivashakti.com – a site that Time Magazine thought was equivalent to the Vatican! This is my ebook that Google has ripped.

I must say that I have never made a pice out of this stuff – my motives were and are to give information for free so people can wake up.

But the surpassing Google has astounded me. It has, more or less, published the entire e-book of the Mysteries of the Red Goddess, including original artwork, without even asking me.

The day Eric Schmidt, chairman of Google, apologises for this gaffe is probably in another aeon. Does Google really think that poor authors, academics and others will take this shit forever? I am thinking legal action. Yeah, Google is a giant and I am a pictish soul, but Google, watch out for your bollocks!  I have sharp teeth. ♣

And this is what I got from Go Ogle:

Hi,

Thanks for reaching out to us!

We have received your legal request. We receive many such complaints each day; your message is in our queue, and we’ll get to it as quickly as our workload permits.

Due to the large volume of requests that we experience, please note that we will only be able to provide you with a response if we determine your request may be a valid and actionable legal complaint, and we may respond with questions or requests for clarification.  For more information on Google’s Terms of Service, please visit http://www.google.com/accounts/TOS

We appreciate your patience as we investigate your request.

Regards,
The Google Team

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Oxford Council’s Mill Street “Wall” blunder cost a fortune

Posted on May 12, 2013 | Leave a comment

giant
Last year, a government planning inspector, Mrs Miles, met with interested parties over an appeal for an egregious plan to erect a three storey building between the back of gardens at numbers 19 to 41 Mill Street, here in Oxford.

Unfortunately, the Council forgot to notify all of the interested parties – including homeowners – to the planning meeting with the result that the original meeting was adjourned.

Oxford City Council had to pay for this. At the subsequent meeting, where residents did attend, Mrs Miles told Tony Brett, the councillor present at the meeting, that the council would be fined for the cock-up.

We placed a freedom of information (FOI) request a few weeks ago asking how much Oxford City Council was fined.

Here’s the reply:

“Dear Mr Magee

“Further to the acknowledgement below, I can respond to your FOI request of
23^rd April 2013 as follows:

“The Council paid a total of £8,792.76 inclusive of VAT in costs for the
appeal in respect of the proposed three-storey building between Mill
Street and the railway line.

“Yours sincerely

“Michael Newman
Corporate Secretariat Manager”

Naturally, Oxford council tax payers will pick up the bill for the blunder.  ♣

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Oxford City Council appears “inept or corrupt”

Posted on April 23, 2013 | 1 Comment

HERE ON Mill Street, I take a long and hard look at the local Mick's Cafe, the Botley Roadcommunity and now that even Jocks like me have suffrage in England, I will be voting on the 2nd of May next.

So when a leaflet popped through my door from the Green candidate, Sushila Dhall of Green Oxford arrived with some allegations about the infamous Roger Dudman Way development, I read it with some interest.

I wrote to Ms Dhall – see correspondence below.  In other news, had a lovely breakfast at Mick’s New Cafe this morning. BBC Radio Oxford was outside the Westgate Hotel conducting a vox pop about St George’s Day. Unfortunately, I am no good – because I am a sweaty sock. ♣

——————————————————–

Dear Mike,
I am referring to the fiasco surrounding the Roger Dudman way development, where a vital report from the City Council Heritage Officer was suppressed by the city council planning department after 1.5m of the apex of the roof was removed, as if this answered the concerns, which it did not at all, soil contamination surveys were not carried out, an Environmental Impact Assessment was deemed uneccessary (by the planning dept), which included a lighting survey and the impact on the view, trees were said to be able to be planted where they cannot, the plans were misleading in that they showed the view cone (meant to be protected) would not be affected, which it is, severely, the wording of the report said that the buildings would be visible as ‘glimpses from parts of the Meadow’, consultation which was said to have taken place did not. The whole things was pushed through on the basis of a number of misleading statements and pictures. Now the planning department is standing by it despite the errors and misleading statements made by them. With the proposed Blavatnik building on Walton St the proposal is for a building far taller than should be approved according to City Council documents and yet planning officers have not required it to be lowered, again drawings are misleading, local people not consulted (except in as far as local people have taken it upon themselves to spread the word and organise a meeting), and there appears already to be a bias in favour of approval, although given the level of publickly expressed discomfort this may change.
Re the Roger Dudman way buildings; a legal challenge against teh City Council is currently ongoing.
I hope this is helpful.
With best wishes,
Sushila

On Mon, Apr 22, 2013 at 11:48 PM, MIKE MAGEE <mike.magee@btinternet.com> wrote:
Hi Sushila, and thanks for bunging your leaflet into Mill Street, which is where I live at number 27  as a registered voter.

When you say that the Labour dominated City Council “appears inept or corrupt”, can you give me some more evidence, please?

If the officers are corrupt, I would like to have them prosecuted for what they are doing for Oxford.

I look forward to your reply.

Mike Magee

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Mick of Mick’s Cafe returns

Posted on April 18, 2013 | 2 Comments

And it’s even closer than it wasmicks.  At the Westgate Hotel. Which is just down at the end of the wonderful Mill Street. ♦

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Mill Street denuded but the telegraph pole remains

Posted on April 9, 2013 | Leave a comment

It is a bleak sight out there after, after
The developers deprived the wee creatures and
The small human beings too of anything apart from
A lone telegraph pole to see.
The birds have nowhere to nest, nor have the bees.
The apparatchiks of the developers ruthlessly routed out
Most trees and plants and ploughed it all up, leaving, let’s be fair
A few wee trees that don’t disguise the devastation caused.
Ah, the lone telegraph pole. The apparatchiks must have felt
That this was a “tree” too far to chop.♠

millthree

milltwo

millone

 

 

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Posted on March 30, 2013 in Uncategorized

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Volesoft interviews Jeremy Paxman’s dog. Come on, come on!

Posted on March 28, 2013 | Leave a comment

A Loidensian, it transpiresNewsnight celebrity Jeremy Paxman is a national celebrity. An English national celebrity, of course – he has written a number of books celebrating England. He was born in Leeds in 1950. I was born in Aberdeen in 1949 but spent my time between 1961 and 1973 in Leeds, going to possibly the worst Jesuit school in the known universe, the now demolished St Michael’s College. Paxman’s Wackypedia entry doesn’t say which school he attended.

Nor does it say whether Paxman has a dog.

We mention the dog because we watch Paxman interrogate students on University Challenge. Sometimes, we watch him interrogating politicians on Newsnight, too.

If he has a dog, and he has had a bad day at the orifice, we imagine this conversation when he gets home.

Paxman to dog: “Stop barking at me, Fudo, you remind me of myself.”

Fudo (in high voice): “Have you had a good day, master?”

Paxman (in mock surprise): “You are a talking dog! So I have some questions to ask you Fudo, Wien College Austria and for you Fido Doggywoggy College Braemar!

“It is your starter for 10. What is the Bessemer Process?”

[Fudo, Wien, buzzes]
”It is to do with steel.”

[Paxman looks smug because he has the answers on a card. He slaps one down, with a contemptuous look at the poor stude.]

Paxman: “This is the music round.” [Paxman looks triumphant]

[Wien College Austria, Shoshtakovich] “Bach.”

Paxman: “Well done!” [patronisingly]

[Paxman’s Dog] “Come on, come on. Feed me, now! [barks loudly]

[NUJ representative enters stage left, says there’s a strike on and perhaps Jeremy might, with his reputed million quid a year salary, buy his dogs the equivalent of cats’ Dreamies]

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