RNLI

[prv]

I observed that, of all the possibilities in the world for saving lives, it was perhaps odd that both that were publicised are benefitting muslims.

It’s not odd in the slightest. The Daily Mail knows perfectly well that publicising those ones in particular will best serve their aim of whipping up the required daily hatred amongst their readership.

Pete

 

[dom]

I think I detect the "advice" of HMG behind these foreign adventures of the RNLI.

You may well be right. Ultimately the problem with this kind of ambiguity is that it splits opinion; a bit like a cycle charity promoting bicycles to women in countries where they are forbidden to drive.

”Hey, they’re getting fit and helping the environment at the same time; what’s not to like?”, might be the cry. “Well quite a lot actually”, many would say.

 

[Kukri]

On a practical note, so far as I am aware, the RNLI sell all (?) their retired boats to their equivalent orgnaisation in China. I know this because we carry them. China has lots of coastline, lots of fishing boats and lousy weather...

 

[Juan Twothree]

I think I detect the "advice" of HMG behind these foreign adventures of the RNLI.

Not at all. The RNLI wants to reduce drownings worldwide. In the UK, that involves education visits to schools, safety campaigns, Swimsafe, throwbag training etc, and, ultimately, rescuing people if necessary.

Worldwide, they looked for somewhere where a relatively small amount of money would have the greatest effect.
Turns out that 40 children a day drown in Bangladesh. Why? Because parents have to go out to work all day, leaving the kids to play on their own. And there's a lot of riverbanks in Bangladesh.
So the RNLI pay for creches, thus keeping children supervised, and removing the risk of drowning.

Similarly, the idea of providing burkinis. Not to promote Sharia law, as someone has suggested, but as a cheap, practical way, of teaching people to swim.

 

[Seajet]

On a practical note, so far as I am aware, the RNLI sell all (?) their retired boats to their equivalent orgnaisation in China. I know this because we carry them. China has lots of coastline, lots of fishing boats and lousy weather...

Minn,

as the Chinese can make their own nuclear propelled aircraft carriers and submarines plus a pretty good space programme, I'd have thought just give them the plans for decent lifeboats - the actual boats must have more deserving recipients around the Med' for a start.

 

[Tomahawk]

They are trying to make up for the failure of the varios governments across the world to look after their own populations. As such there is no limit to what needs to be spent "worldwide".

I would suggest this course of action is outside their core activity of saving life around the UK. If they want to persue it, they should set up a separate and dedicated charity whose sole purpose is foreign intervention. They can compete in the market with all the other charities showing pictures of starving children who need just £3.00 a week.

 

[Tomahawk]

Minn,

as the Chinese can make their own nuclear propelled aircraft carriers and submarines plus a pretty good space programme, I'd have thought just give them the plans for decent lifeboats - the actual boats must have more deserving recipients around the Med' for a start.

Like all the migrants trying to get into Europe?

 

[Seajet]

I was thinking more on the lines of deserving yotties and fishermen in trouble, the people selling dinghies for imigrants to get across need a short sharp military solution.

 

[RichardS]

This is what the RNLI said at the time:

"We do not stand volunteers down lightly. We recognise the years of dedication and the skill involved in becoming a crew member, helm or Coxswain. We fully understand and respect the close bond and camaraderie of our crew and other volunteers. We know that friendly banter is a key part of this.

But to be clear – we simply will not tolerate lifeboats being taken for joyrides in rough weather without full crew. We don’t accept that hard core, graphic pornography has any place at a lifeboat station. We will not tolerate threats of violence towards our volunteers or staff. We will not stand for bullying or aggressive behaviour."

And as a long-serving crew member, I have to agree.

The catalyst for last year’s dispute was when the then Harbourmaster, Captain Phil Buckley, made an informal complaint to the RNLI chief executive that Mr Hibbs had ‘self-launched’ the inshore lifeboat on 28 October 2016 without being requested by the Coastguard.

The RNLI investigated and found that proper procedures had mostly been followed and the complaint was dismissed. However, during the investigation the charity found that ‘significant breaches of the volunteer code’ had occurred, leading to a ‘serious breakdown in working relationships’, and Mr Hibbs was stood down. The crew then walked out in protest.

And independent report into the entire affair says: The investigation, by Guernsey Harbourmaster Captain Chad Murray, found that the UK-based RNLI failed to properly manage the station for years and should never have investigated an informal complaint about coxswain Andy Hibbs which ultimately triggered the breakdown in the relationship between the charity and local crew.

https://jerseyeveningpost.com/news/2018/03/15/rnli-and-coxswain-share-blame-in-lifeboat-report/

Richard

 

[Blue Sunray]

As I mentioned on here last year when the story originally broke, no one got sacked for having a naughty mug in a cupboard, or for any other minor transgression. The tabloid press portrayed them as such, as it made a better story.

This is what the RNLI said at the time:

"We do not stand volunteers down lightly. We recognise the years of dedication and the skill involved in becoming a crew member, helm or Coxswain. We fully understand and respect the close bond and camaraderie of our crew and other volunteers. We know that friendly banter is a key part of this.

But to be clear – we simply will not tolerate lifeboats being taken for joyrides in rough weather without full crew. We don’t accept that hard core, graphic pornography has any place at a lifeboat station. We will not tolerate threats of violence towards our volunteers or staff. We will not stand for bullying or aggressive behaviour."

And as a long-serving crew member, I have to agree.

Hear, hear

 

[westhinder]

They are trying to make up for the failure of the varios governments across the world to look after their own populations. ...I would suggest this course of action is outside their core activity of saving life around the UK.

Would I be wrong to conclude that the RNLI makes up for the failure of the UK government to look after its own population?

 

[dom]

Not at all. The RNLI wants to reduce drownings worldwide.

Worldwide, they looked for somewhere where a relatively small amount of money would have the greatest effect.

...Similarly, the idea of providing burkinis. Not to promote Sharia law, as someone has suggested, but as a cheap, practical way, of teaching people to swim.

This is what the RNLI said at the time:
But to be clear – we simply will not tolerate lifeboats being taken for joyrides in rough weather without full crew. We don’t accept that hard core, graphic pornography has any place at a lifeboat station. We will not tolerate threats of violence towards our volunteers or staff. We will not stand for bullying or aggressive behaviour."

Laudable objectives. The trouble is Bangladesh was ranked as 149/180 on the global corruption index. In this context, failing to work with the competent UK government authority seems naive:
https://www.transparency.org/country/BGD

Re the RNLI's response to "joyrides", bullying" and so on. It does sometimes feel a tad sanctimonious and self-serving, but their stated objectives nevertheless seem entirely solid.

In which light, why has it chosen to wade into the ultra-sensitive burkini debate with seemingly so little care? And how does the RNLI square lending its esteemed status and principles in kow towing to a Tanzanian regime described by Human Rights Watch thus?

Children’s Rights
Girls in Tanzania continue to face discrimination in education following Magufuli’s 2017 ban on pregnant girls and young mothers in schools. Many secondary school officials routinely subject girls to forced pregnancy testing as a disciplinary measure to expel pregnant students from schools.
Corporal punishment remains a serious problem in Tanzanian schools. In August, a 13-year-old schoolboy died after being beaten severely by his teacher.

Women’s rights
In September, the government announced that it was suspending United States Agency for International Development-supported birth control-related messaging. Magufuli has argued women should give up contraception, that family planning information is unnecessary and that people should work harder to provide for their families.
Thousands of Tanzanian women working as domestic workers in the Middle East face pervasive labor rights violations and other abuses. Tanzania has no legal framework to protect migrant workers from being recruited into abusive employment situations overseas, and this facilitates the abuse of workers.

Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
Tanzanian law makes consensual adult same-sex conduct punishable with up to life in prison. The crackdown on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people initiated by Magufuli’s government in July 2016 continues unabated. On October 31, Dar es Salaam Regional Commissioner, Paul Makonda, announced plans to round up suspected gays and subject them to forced anal examinations and conversion therapy. Four days later, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statementthat the campaign by Makonda represented “his opinion and not the position of the government” and pledged to “continue to respect and protect” internationally recognized human rights.​

 

[Tomahawk]

Would I be wrong to conclude that the RNLI makes up for the failure of the UK government to look after its own population?

A very fair comment.

As a one time donor, I supported them in their work around the UK.

Sadly, their PC approach and events like this have lead me to remove them from our wills. I am vert saddened to have found myself doing that but I can't support an organisation that has lost it's way.

 

[penberth3]

The catalyst for last year’s dispute was when the then Harbourmaster, Captain Phil Buckley, made an informal complaint to the RNLI chief executive that Mr Hibbs had ‘self-launched’ the inshore lifeboat on 28 October 2016 without being requested by the Coastguard.....

I think the "joyride" incident quoted by JuanTwoThree refers to Scarborough, which was reported at about the same time as the Whitby incident.

 

[flaming]

You know a story is cutting close to the bone when the humorous websites start parodying it...

Can't help but feel that they took a lot of inspiration from this thread though....

https://newsthump.com/2019/09/16/rn...7pvz-90w3arz9F4fVNoH1lATkb7w_sUwiLug6iXdgnb_M

The RNLI is facing a funding crisis this morning after they let slip that a significant proportion of their budget is pissed away hauling gammons out the Solent.

Cash reserves were already at a record low after Daily Mail readers withdrew their meagre donations on learning the organization allocates a tiny fraction of its budget to prevent black foreigners from drowning.

But the latest revelation has caused shockwaves throughout the prevention-of-water-related-deaths industry, with many Britons prepared to accept some measure of moribund, floating racists interrupting an otherwise pleasant game of beach volleyball.

Inspite of this, super-hydrated, lifeless Mail readers are among the least popular things to be found on aquatic-style holidays, ranking well below jellyfish, eels and chance meetings with Peter Stringfellow and one of his girlfriends.


A report concluded that the belligerent are often returned to the shore by the RNLI, where they are able to propagate their hatred towards minorities while drying themselves off with a towel.

The RNLI’s financial woes represent the biggest threat to the water safety of UK residents since someone decided it would be a great idea to put Rolf Harris in a swimming pool full of kids.

RNLI spokesman, Simon Williams, said, “Daily Mail readers will often ignore expert advice on high tides and get into difficulty because they think rising sea levels are part of the liberal Global Warming conspiracy.”

He added, “The sad irony is: of all the various semi-literate demographics within the UK, Daily Mail readers are the ones who most frequently find themselves out of their depth.”

 

[Seajet]

Would I be wrong to conclude that the RNLI makes up for the failure of the UK government to look after its own population?

Yes you'd be wrong, we mostly look after ourselves but the REAL RNLI unpaid volunteers look after casualties very well indeed, they're brilliant - it's the parasites sitting in offices paying themselves jolly well who are the problem.

 

[Dutch01527]

One man’s “naught mug” is another man’s “hard core pornography” I guess.

If one of my staff bought another member of staff a inappropriate mug as a laugh, and it was on company premises, I would have a word and tell them it was not acceptable and to remove it. Job done. They would not lose their job unless they has upset other staff members.

If they ever engaged in real sexual harassment, bullying, racism ect they would be gone.

That ability to use judgement is called leadership. Many organisations are now so politically correct that they have lost a sense of perspective. I do not know the details of the RNLI cases maybe there is more to the story than has been reported but at a surface level it does not look like good management. It is certainly poor PR management.

 

[Kukri]

I can't support an organisation that has lost it's way.

Well, quite. Her Majesty might say the same.

When are you emigrating - unless of course you have already done so?

 

[Kukri]

The reason why retired modern RNLI all weather boats are shipped to China is because China pays the best price for them. It’s a market based export transaction, with the proceeds going to RNLI funds.

Gammons should be happy with that.

 

[Juan Twothree]

One man’s “naught mug” is another man’s “hard core pornography” I guess.

If one of my staff bought another member of staff a inappropriate mug as a laugh, and it was on company premises, I would have a word and tell them it was not acceptable and to remove it. Job done. They would not lose their job unless they has upset other staff members.

If they ever engaged in real sexual harassment, bullying, racism ect they would be gone.

The mugs were not as depicted in the tabloids. I seem to remember they were captioned in The Sun as "how the mugs might have looked". They wouldn't have been able to print what was actually on the said items.

But the mugs were just a very small part of the reason that the crew were stood down.

As is usual, the papers only concentrate on what makes a good headline, and is most likely to get their readers outraged.