If you love someone, set them free

Anyone that has suffered a bereavement in their life knows how difficult it is to let go of the one you love. Denial and anger are part of the stages of the grieving process. But eventually one comes to terms with the death of a loved one.

I admit that I have been following the tragic case of Jahi McMath with a morbid fascination since I saw a news report on Sky just before Xmas. Jahi was a 13 year old girl in Oakland, California. On 12th December 2013, following complications after surgery, she was declared 'brain dead', I am not going to go into details about this case, Doc Bastard provides excellent information on his blog about the medical aspects, including an FAQ of what brain death really means.

I do not know if the family were offered any sort of bereavement counselling at this stage. What I do know is that an unscrupulous ambulance hearse-chasing lawyer called Christopher Dolan got involved shortly after. His firm specializes in injury claims - the sort of vultures that harass people outside supermarkets and whose tv ads harp on about 'no win no fee' claims. Hell, I've even seen ads for their services in A&E departments!

Now this is when this gets totally bizarre - the family, advised by this douchebag of a lawyer - are not suing the hospital for 'wrongful death' but rather the fact that Jahi has suffered a 'massive, life-altering brain injury'!!! In other words they are not accepting the fact that she is dead, because her heart is beating (albeit due to the fact that she is hooked up to a ventilator!). They ask that Jahi be moved - not to a funeral home but to a facility that cares for brain injured people. Even weirder is that the facility that comes forward is run by someone that used to be a hairdresser!!! The family also insist that the hospital carry out further surgical procedures so that Jahi can have a feeding tube, which the hospital rightfully refuse as she is legally dead. She hasn't got a massive life-altering brain injury, she is DEAD.

The family also set up a panhandling donation site to get the money to be able to move her to this new facility, where she can be sustained on 'life support' indefinitely. The story then explodes on  the worldwide stage. Even today, nearly a month into this tragedy, this is still making international headlines.

When I first heard the story, my heart went out to the family, as they appeared to be unable to cope with their grief. But as this macabre charade develops, their motives are now starting to become clear. This is not about having difficulty grieving for a dead child. This is not about faith and hoping for a miracle, although there are many posts doing the rounds on social media from religious fanatics who think that their God is going to make her wake up, even though the decomposition process of her body has already started - check this document (*warning - extremely graphic description of how Jahi's body is decomposing*). The rabid right wing press have also jumped on the bandwagon, using Jahi for their pro-life agenda.

No, their real motive is money, and how much Jahi's life (or death) is really worth. The maximum that can be awarded for death due to negligence under California law is apparently $250k, but hey, that's just 'chump change' when you can get an unlimited amount for a life-altering brain injury!! Uncle Omari (the beast - his words, not mine) mentions an amount of $30 million. You can hear him for yourself towards the end of this video.

Jahi's body is now in an undisclosed location, apparently a Catholic facility,after the coroner gave the family permission to remove it from hospital. According to  Dolan, she is now being 'treated' as a person and referred to as 'Jahi' instead of the body. But he admits that she is in a worse shape than they originally thought she would be - duh, she's been dead for nearly a month!!!

Now let's just put the facts aside for a minute and imagine that Jahi is not really dead (which she is) but her brain injured to such an extent that she would be in a permanent vegetative state, and would need round the clock care. She would never sing, dance, fall in love, or have any quality of life whatsoever. She would just be lying lifelessly on a bed being maintained by machines and fed through a tube. Is this really the quality of life a mother would want for her child? Or would she not rather remember her beautiful smile and treasure the happy memories?

As a mother myself, I know what any human being with an ounce of dignity would choose. A precious child is worth much more than all the money in the world. A child is not to be used and abused to further one's career and make a name for oneself (take note, Dolan!). Hell, I wouldn't even put one of my PETS through this, let alone a child!

But the family and their scumbag of a lawyer have already shown the world that they have no shame or dignity whatsoever. How this train wreck is going to end is still yet to come. But I guess that it wont be pretty. Unfortunately, the memory of this sweet little girl has already been tarnished by this gruesome insanity.

Rest in peace, Jahi McMath

Died 12 December 2013, aged 13 years

My ongoing saga with EDF Energy

I have dual fuel with EDF, and right now I have a massive problem with them which is spiralling out of control because of the sheer and utter incompetence of this company.

It all began after Xmas this year, when I received a huge bill for around £700, even though I had been making regular payments by direct debit. I cancelled the DD because the bill stated that they were going to be taking out the full amount....money I did not owe them and which I did not have in my bank account anyway!

I phoned up EDF who assured me it was an error and my account was in credit. So I thought no more of that and carried on making regular payments via online banking (I did not reinstate the DD,  and I'm glad I didn't now.

Forward on to April and I received another massive bill - queried it again, get told its an error blah blah blah. Thinking back, I should have asked them to put it in writing.

So....when I got another massive bill for around £800 in July - and again with none of my payments being taken into account, I had enough and decided to go to the Citizen's Advice Bureau, and that's when things took a turn for the worse. Fair play to the CAB, they are being marvellous, but there is only so much they can do as they are manned by volunteers and have limited opening hours.

The advisor from CAB phoned EDF on my behalf and requested a full statement on my account, taking into consideration meter readings and payments made. He also pointed out a number of discrepancies in the meter readings, and EDF actually asked me to read my meter every day for a week and send them the readings, which I did.

But....instead of sending me a statement as requested by CAB, the blundering idiots at EDF sent me a 'bill' for the past year for around £1,700 plus a load of incorrect meter readings and none of my payments included - of which I have proof via bank statements. Chap at CAB advises me it's time to make a formal complaint. That was 2 weeks ago.

On Monday I had a call from a company calling themselves Grosvenor Services calling on behalf of EDF about my debt of £1,700. I was absolutely fuming and told the woman that I did not owe this money and I was seeking advice from CAB about this disputed amount. Said extremely rude woman did not appear to listen to a word I said because she kept insisting it was a live debt and I needed to make a payment.....I had to put the phone down in despair.

This evening, I see someone park a black car outside my house and walk up my drive. A hand written envelope with my name and address gets shoved in my letterbox. It's from Grosvenor Services.....threatening to cut off my gas and electric and get a warrant so that they can gain access to my property and recover the money!!!!!!!

I am really really fed up of this whole thing. A few weeks ago I suffered a major breakdown and ended up having an emergency psychiatrist appointment. It has even got to the point where I have contemplated suicide a few times (and the thought has fleetingly crossed my mind today). The fuckwits at EDF are well aware that I am registered disabled because of mental health issues. But I can't let them do this to me or my family. That's the only thought that keeps me going because I'm getting sick and tired of this fight.

Oh well, it's time to start the legal action ball rolling....

No excuse for child abuse

Eddie Shah is a disgusting and vile excuse for a man for suggesting that under age girls are to blame for abuse if they consent. He was recently cleared of raping an underage girl between 12 and 15 in the 1990s, and is quoted in various newspapers today (11th August 2013) as saying in a BBC Radio 5 interview:

     "Rape was a technical thing - below a certain age. But these girls were going out with pop    groups and becoming groupies and throwing themselves at them. Young girls and young men have always wanted a bit of excitement. They want to appear adult and do adult things...If we're talking about girls who just go out and have a good time, then they are to blame. If we talk about people who go out and actually get 'raped' raped, then I feel no - and everything should be done against that."

WHAT THE HELL!!! An underage girl MAY APPEAR TO CONSENT TO SEX but that doesn't mean that an adult should take advantage of this.

For all they know, the child may have such a low self esteem that makes him or her feel totally worthless, and equates sex to love. Or could be under the influence of drink or drugs. Or have mental health issues. Or feel pressurised. Or feel in awe of an older person's celebrity status, and this celebrity happens to be a pervert. Or have been groomed by the pedo.

Even if the girl flings herself stark bollocks naked at the older person and begs for sex, if she is UNDERAGE, it is up to the adult to do the right thing and say NO. Sex with a child below the age of consent is STATUTORY RAPE.

Eddie Shah may have been cleared by the law of the accusations against him. According to the law, the offence of which he was accused of did not take place. However, his comments are absolutely revolting.

These come in the same week that the judge a similar trial, Nigel Peters QC, called the 13 victim in this other case a 'sexual predator', and described her as looking and acting older than her age. The child was playing truant from school, and approached Neil Wilson and asked him for cigarettes. He gave her a whole packet and then took her back to his flat for coffee. She was dressed in her school uniform, so it was obvious that she was still a child, even though she initiated sex. Wilson abused the child for 2 weeks, and he also kept calling her and sending her text messages.

The lawyer for the prosecution, Robert Colover, said during the trial that the sexual activity was 'not of Mr Wilson's doing', and 'you could say that it was forced upon him, despite being older and stronger than her'.

Despite being found guilty, the pervert, Neil Wilson, was only given an 8 month suspended sentence, even though sick images of child abuse AND bestiality were found at his home during a police search.

Mr Colover has now been barred from prosecuting any sex cases by the Crown Prosecution Service, and the Judge, Nigel Peters QC is also being investigated by the Office for Judicial Complaints.

The attitude of the judge and prosecutor in Neil Wilson's case makes me think that, if this is the sort of opinion that our judiciary share, it calls into question other cases in which the accused been acquitted.