No Apologies

Grenfill Tower

Conservative corporate criminals 

Patently corrupt all human law

avoided fire recommendations

Cared nothing for Safety

other than a rich salary

or a knighthood, perhaps ?

It was avoidable you know 

those tides of hot dense smoke

flamed a flow of terrible anguish

ceasing as cindered corpses

or as unrecognisable dust.

All of those deaths unnecessary. 

Survivors at your feet mrs may

only wanted words of remorse

care, respect and tenderness.

Your burden. Tory truth prevented

Killed immediate contact silenced

your poisonous tongue. dead.

We know now what was hidden…

Decision to avoid action. 

Take a risk, Save a few pound.

2009 to 2017 was it worthwhile mrs may ?

Not your life gone up in smoke

and none of them your relations.

Callous Conservatives caused

Grenfill Tower deaths.

©MRL 2017

Extract from Irish Examiner 19th June 2017

Ministers in the UK were repeatedly warned that fire regulations were not keeping people safe, the BBC says leaked letters reveal.

The broadcaster said letters show ministers were warned that people living in high rise blocks like Grenfell Tower were "at risk".

The dozen letters, sent by the All-Party Parliamentary Fire Safety and Rescue Group in the aftermath of a 2009 fatal fire in Lakanal House, south London, warned the British Government "could not afford to wait for another tragedy", according to Panorama.

The parliamentary group wrote in March 2014: "Surely ... when you already have credible evidence to justify updating ... the guidance ... which will lead to saving of lives, you don't need to wait another three years in addition to the two already spent since the research findings were updated, in order to take action?

"As there are estimated to be another 4,000 older tower blocks in the UK, without automatic sprinkler protection, can we really afford to wait for another tragedy to occur before we amend this weakness?"

After further correspondence, then government minister Liberal Democrat Stephen Williams, replied: "I have neither seen nor heard anything that would suggest that consideration of these specific potential changes is urgent and I am not willing to disrupt the work of this department by asking that these matters are brought forward."

The group replied: "We're at a loss to understand, how you had concluded that credible and independent evidence which had life safety implications, was NOT considered to be urgent.

"As a consequence the group wishes to point out to you that should a major fire tragedy, with loss of life, occur between now and 2017, in for example, a residential care facility or a purpose built block of flats, where the matters which had been raised here, were found to be contributory to the outcome, then the group would be bound to bring this to others' attention."

Former cabinet minister Eric Pickles received a letter about fire regulations from the parliamentary group in February 2014, according to the BBC.

In December 2015, the all-party group wrote to the former Conservative minister James Wharton, and warned about the risk of fires spreading on the outside of buildings with cladding.

"Today's buildings have a much higher content of readily-available combustible material. Examples are timber and polystyrene mixes in structure, cladding and insulation.

"This fire hazard results in many fires because adequate recommendations to developers simply do not exist. There is little or no requirement to mitigate external fire spread."

"This fire hazard results in many fires because adequate recommendations to developers simply do not exist. There is little or no requirement to mitigate external fire spread."

Former Conservative minister Gavin Barwell, who was recently appointed British Prime Minister Theresa May's chief of staff, received further calls for action in September last year.

In November 2016 Mr Barwell replied to say his department had been looking at the regulations, and would make a statement "in due course".

In April 2017 Mr Barwell wrote to say he did "acknowledge that producing a statement on building regulations has taken longer than I had envisaged", 

IRELAND'S LITTLE PEOPLE

Going through some of unpublished photo’s that I took at the Woodfield Market last month. I came across one of them which gave me confirmation of what I have always thought and could never prove.‘The Little People’[Fairies] always wear the costumes of the present time and because they do so, they are rarely seen today.

Can you spot him ?

Look to where the arrow is pointing

I have been spending a lot of time in recent days studying media reports, from various sources, on what is happening with our nearest neighbours, those on the island that lies between Ireland and Europe.

10 reasons to be cheerful - Not

© The Times 2017

It seems to me that there is an antithesis in the association of Mrs May and the DUP because the accepted social rights of individuals within England, Wales and Scotland differ greatly from those of the DUP.

The D.U.P.

Led by Arlene Foster.

About the DUP

With a third of its members drawn from the late Rev Ian Paisley’s staunchly Protestant Free Presbyterian church, it is unsurprising that recent research found more than half of the Democratic Unionist party “would mind a lot” if a close relative married someone from a different christian sect.

THE LEADER OF DUP is Arlene Foster and their membership includes:

Ian Paisley Jr. who in 2005 described gay marriage as “immoral, offensive and obnoxious.”

Gregory Campbell, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, Nigel Dodds, Paul Girvan and

Emma Little-Pengelly. 

Little-Pengelly, the 38-year old MP for South Belfast, was endorsed last month by an organisation linked to the Ulster Defence Association, a loyalist paramilitary group. 

David Simpson, MP for Upper Bann since 2005, is strongly opposed to abortion. He has described pro-choice supporters as “anti-democratic, anti-libertarian and anti-human rights”.

Gavin Robinson, Jim Shannon, Gregory Campbell and 

Sammy Wilson, MP for East Antrim, a former lord mayor of Belfast who has said he thinks climate change is a con.

For more information https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/jun/11/dup-whos-who-party-members-prop-up-tories-theresa-may

Personally I would be very loathe to even have a cup of tea with any of them and I do wonder if Mrs May has any understanding of what these people are like.

Gross Exploitation !

Today I received an email detailing the gross exploitation of  the Samsung workers which I now share with you all.

Dear Mel,

Help bring the hidden stories of Samsung’s supply chain workers to the Mobile World Congress, happening now in Barcelona.

When airlines banned the use of Samsung’s Note 7 after its fire-prone batteries started to spontaneously combust, the public got a sense of the fear that Samsung supply chain workers face on a daily basis. 

Because beneath Samsung’s shiny exterior as global electronics giant is a corporate culture that is callously geared towards maximising profit to the detriment of the everyday lives of its workers. It’s a modern tech company with medieval labor practices, whose calling cards are union busting, poverty wages, and insecure and unsafe work conditions. 

This week Samsung’s modern face is on full display at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, where tech industry giants are gathering to unveil the latest in smartphones, tablets and mobile tech. Who’s not invited to the glitzy convention? The largely invisible workforce of 1.5 million low-paid supply chain workers from across the globe who make Samsung products under precarious and sometimes deadly conditions. 

Join with us to help bring the stories of Samsung’s hidden workers to Mobile World Congress and the attention of the world’s tech elite. Share now.

It wouldn’t take much for Samsung treat their workers with dignity and pay a living wage. Our research shows Samsung makes $10,435 in profit for every supply chain worker -- meaning if they increased wages of $50 per month (just $600 per year) to reach a minimum living wage in Asia, they would still make $9,835 per worker. A tidy sum, even for a company so ruthlessly devoted to profit. 

For Hesty, who works in semiconductor production in Indonesia, a minimum wage on which she can live from Samsung would mean being able to pay for basics for her family such as clothes, food and childcare, without having to worry about whether her wages will last until the next pay day. 

Though Samsung would have to suffer very little to raise wages across its supply chain, its workers pay a huge price for the work they do: at least 79 workers have died of cancer related diseases after being exposed to chemicals used in the Samsung production process. And did the company take responsibility? Indeed not -- they refused to name the chemical that led to the deaths, citing trade secrets. 

It’s time Samsung and other tech giants acknowledged the true cost of modern tech by shedding their medieval practices. With all eyes on Samsung at the Mobile World Congress right now, your shares right now will have maximum impact. 

Share on Facebook
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Thank you for all you do,

Sharan Burrow,
ITUC General Secretary.

DANGEROUS WATER

Would you pay for water that contains a carcinogenic ?

About 400,000 people in ten counties are being forced to pay for water that may seriously damage their health and cause cancer!

Irish Water has refused to directly inform those affected.

The particular carcinogenic a THM from Chlorine that is contained in the supply reservoirs  pipes that builds up after two or three days.

Friends of the Irish Environment recently appealed to the European Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly to compel Irish Water to directly inform 

consumers of contamination on their bills however,she said that the European Commission could not force the company to do this.

The affected water sources are in various parts of the country, with several in Kerry and Cork, Kilkenny City, Waterford, Wicklow, Meath, Mayo, Roscommon, Donegal, and Galway.

Sinn Féin's position is to:- 

• Abolish domestic water charges and dismantle Irish Water;
• Stop the metering project and redirect the remaining monies to direct investment in infrastructure; 
• Establish an independent Commission on Water Services to examine the most appropriate public ownership model 
  and to report back to Government within nine months; 
• Underpin the new model for a public water service in legislation; 
• Hold a referendum to enshrine the public ownership of Ireland’s water services in the Constitution;
• Roll out a major water conservation programme in conjunction with local authorities.

The Dundalk Debacle Continues

the ex holding site.

I was hoping not to have had to post on this subject again. Unfortunately because of the lack of common sense and total inability to have one milligram of humanity within  All of the operatives of Louth County Council, I am doing so.

Here is the latest news on this inhuman debacle.

Families who are being evicted from the illegal halting site at Woodland Park in Dunkalk say that neither of the short-term solutions proposed by Louth County Council last night are workable.

A number of families met with an auctioneer appointed by the council this morning, however they say they were told no suitable accommodation was available. 
The Louth C.C. cunningly used this auctioneer to do their dirty work for them knowing fully well what the message was going to be;lets hope it was for more than just thirty pieces silver ?

The families have also raised concerns about proposals to relocate them to halting sites outside of Dundalk.

Their concerns include the distance from where their children are in school, isolation, the fact that families may be split up and that one of the halting sites will not be ready for a number of weeks.

Local solicitor Eleanor Kelly, who represents a number of the families, sent a letter to the council this afternoon highlighting her concerns and requesting further discussions.

Louth County Council said it is continuing to work with residents and representatives to meet their accommodation needs.

Meanwhile, the last of the mobile homes at the site are being voluntarily removed by residents.

The final mobile home will be removed tomorrow morning at 8am, while the second last home is being removed this afternoon. 

Louth County Council is accommodating five families in B&Bs until Friday.
The question is what happens next L.C.C. for these people are your responsibility ?

The buck stops here....

The manager of Louth Co Council 

Philomena Poole

To obtain a better understanding of the situation please read http://leargas.blogspot.ie

A FACIST ACTION IN LOUTH

On the day that Ireland defended its actions on the rights of children before UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in Geneva. The barbaric Louth County Council took the opposite point of view and created unnecessary pain and suffering to Traveller Children.

Pavee Point calls on Environment Minister, Alan Kelly TD, to intervene as a matter of urgency to compel Louth County Council to provide alternative accommodation for 17 Traveller families evicted from a halting site in Dundalk today (15th January 2016)

The families were evicted from a Traveller local authority halting site that had been decommissioned by Louth County Council.

Pavee Point condemns these evictions as unnecessary and unwarranted. “This is one of coldest nights of the year and these people have no where to go,” said Martin Collins, Co Director of Pavee Point. “It is clear that Louth County Council has absolutely no concern for the health and safety of these families”

“Louth County Council has totally failed in its duty here. It has a policy of not providing Traveller Specific accommodation such as halting sites or group housing schemes,” said Martin Collins, “They are trying to force Travellers into social or private housing and this is in total breach of the 1998 Traveller Accommodation Act.”

“There is a demand for Traveller specific accommodation in Dundalk and these families are the living proof.

“These families have children at school in the town. Think how these children will be affected by this !

Pavee Point urges the Environment Minister to intervene to find a solution and make good undertakings that there would be no mass evictions of Traveller families as a result of fire safety audits on halting sites in the wake of the Carrickmines fire tragedy.

These evictions are confirming fears that Pavee Point had that local authorities would use the fire audits in a cynical way to evict Travellers.  It is important at this stage that Travellers engaging with the Environment Dept in its safety audit can have trust in this process.

Minister Kelly put a Community Initiative in place at his Department to deal with any issues around fire safety on Traveller halting sites and it is through this Initiative that any fire safety issues on sites should be dealt with.

January 15, 2016 at 7:45 pm

To my blog readers:
Just imagine how you would feel if your local authority were to rescind the planning permission on the house that you had lived in for years. Then arrived at your home, along with the police, on a very cold day in January to evict you.

Can you imagine how these people must feel?

Additional Information:-

Today, Eleanor Kelly, solicitor for six of the evicted families said the youngest family member is eight days old.
Four of the families stayed in B&B accommodation this weekend, while two others stayed with their families and friends.
“The youngest is eight days old, there are 17 families in total,”
“The difficulty is that they were given 48 hours to find alternative accommodation.”
She said she had been in contact with Louth County Council about the site at Woodland Park last August, but did not hear back from the council until last week when the families were being delivered 48 hours’ notice to be evicted.


A fire officer visited the site in October and deemed it to be a hazard.
“If there’s work to be done, there’s work to be done.” But she added: “I was in contact with the council last August”
“The ideal situation is to allow them to go to a halting site but there’s no other halting site in Dundalk.”
“These are Dundalk families, they want to be in Dundalk, but I’m aware the halting site in Drogheda is full anyway.”
The council met with Traveller representatives on Saturday to agree on temporary accommodation for the 17 families involved.


FOR LATEST INFORMATION PLEASE READ COMMENT NUMBER 22

Links:http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/CRC/Pages/CRCIndex.aspx
http://www.paveepoint.ie
http://www.childrensrights.ie
http://www.louthcoco.ie/en/Louth_County_Council

A HELPING HAND

As many of you are aware I am not a Christian and the path which 
I walk is that of a Druid. In a few days time on the 22nd December (this year) it will be the Winter Solstice, the shortest day and longest night of the year. Daylight will increase on the following day making our days longer but we will still be in winter and temperatures will drop.


I am very aware that these cold days are a burden and make life a lot harder for people who are without the basic necessities of life; shelter, warmth, food and enough clothing. 

Many druids and pagans exchange gifts and send cards at Solstice but rather doing this I donate money to a worthy cause which will help people who are in need.

Today I made my annual donation to Brother Kevin at the Capuchin Day Centre for Homeless People in Dublin. This year the Centre has seen a huge increase in people needing help.
Brother Kevin is well known here in Ireland, always taking time to listen to others in a non judgemental and accepting way.

http://www.capuchindaycentre.ie/Capuchin_Day_Centre_2013/Capuchin_Day_Centre_-_Donations.html

However you celebrate at this time of year may you have warmth, good food and

the companionship of friends.

HUMAN RIGHTS DAY

December 10 is Human Rights Day, a United Nations (UN) campaign that calls for people to know and push for their rights no matter where they are in the world.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was drafted between January 1947 and December 1948. It aimed to form a basis for human rights all over the world and represented a significant change of direction from events during World War II and the continuing colonialism that was rife in the world at the time. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is considered as the most translated document in modern history. It is available in more than 360 languages and new translations are still being added.
The UN General Assembly adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights at the Palais de Chaillot in Paris, France, on the December 10, 1948. All states and interested organizations were invited to mark December 10 as Human Rights Day at a UN meeting on December 4, 1950. It was first observed on December 10 that year and has been observed each year on the same date. Each year Human Rights Day has a theme. Some of these themes have focused on people knowing their human rights or the importance of human rights education.

In Northern Ireland
Two campaign groups: The Pat Finucane Centre (PFC) and Justice for the Forgotten have jointly published :-

They said it is a “sign of the anger, frustration and bitter disappointment felt by over 150 bereaved families at the abject failure of the politicians and British Government to implement the legacy proposals set out in the Stormont House Agreement (SHA)”.

They added: “Families, whether Catholic or Protestant, from both communities, are angry and grieving.”

The groups said: “With goodwill, common sense and respect for international legal standards, the legitimate wish of families to the truth that they so earnestly desire, and deserve, can be achieved."

Prevalent Attitudes

I do not call myself a Christian, a humanist is as close as I can get. 

Recently I have found my self feeling absolutely disgusted with the very shameful attitude of the settled community of the Rockville Drive residents in Carrickmines who opposed the emergency halting site; this towards their fellow citizens namely The Travellers.  

So I was glad to read the following on the RTE web site because it needed to be voiced. 

reference : http://www.rte.ie/news/2015/1021/736557-carrickmines-fire/
                  http://www.rte.ie/news/2015/1015/734924-carrickmines/

"A priest has criticised many settled people for failing to empathise with what he called their Traveller brothers and sisters following a fatal fire at a halting site.

Father Dermot Lane was speaking after the remains of five of the people who lost their lives in the fire in Carrickmines were brought to the Church of the Ascension of the Lord in Balally, Co Dublin this evening.

Fr Lane, who is the parish priest of Balally, not far from Carrickmines, urged everybody to become involved in a new consultation process embracing local authorities and the settled and Traveller communities.

He prayed that what he called the national tragedy which struck eleven days ago may become a turning point in the difficult tasks of healing, reconciliation and mutual trust that lie ahead.

Fr Lane greeted the Connors family and hundreds of other mourners at the church after five hearses bearing the coffins of Thomas and Sylvia Connors and their children Jim, Christy, and baby Mary arrived for their removal service.

Fr Lane said the grief of the Connors family is also the grief of Balally Parish because they were, and are, an important part of the local community.

Describing them as well-known and respected in the parish, he said they worshipped in its church where Thomas and Sylvia, conscientiously as parents, presented their five children for baptism over the past seven years. 

He recalled having the privilege of baptising Michael and Thomas Connors, the family's only survivors.

He said important lessons are to be learned from the national tragedy that claimed ten lives 11 days ago and which "has disturbed the consciences of us all".

Unaware of the resolution of the impasse over the local authority allocating the grieving families accommodation, which coincided with the church service, he urged that they be offered an appropriate place to live as soon as possible. 

He told the congregation: "We must learn, above all, to walk in the shoes of the other if we are to develop genuinely inclusive and pluralistic societies."

And he observed that many settled people had "failed to walk with empathy in the shoes of our brothers and sisters in the Traveller community".

Dismissing blame-games about the tragedy as unhelpful, Fr Lane urged everybody to move beyond mis-understanding, standard stereotypes and caricatures.

"If we are to move forward," he said, "all must be involved in a new consultation and a new conversation, and that means bringing together local authorities, local communities and the Traveller Communities."

Fr Lane prayed that the tragedy - which he repeated was national in character - may become a turning point in what he called "the difficult tasks of healing, reconciliation and mutual trust that lie ahead".

He said  the tragedy has raised serious questions about our priorities as a society, and searching questions about the responses or lack of responses by successive governments to a variety of reports going back 50 years, to the mid-1960s.

He said these questions touch on a number of very serious issues for all of us about the provision of adequate sites and housing for the Traveller community; about the persistent reality of social inequalities between the Traveller community and the settled community; and about deeply ingrained cultural prejudices.

In the meantime, he said, the Connors family must be allowed to grieve and to mourn the death of their loved ones.

The funeral Mass for the Connors will be celebrated in Balally at 11.30am tomorrow and they will be buried together on Friday in Wexford."

An article worth reading can be found here
http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/apartheid-hasnt-gone-away-when-it-comes-to-travellers-34137234.html

Blatant Breach of Humanitarian Law

Kunduz outrage: Medicins Sans Frontieres has asked that concerned people demand an independent investigation into the bombing of Kunduz Hospital.

The US Air Force had the GPS co-ordinates of the hospital so there is really no excuse for what happened, regardless of who called for assistance. The US said the Afghanistan troops asked for help however, the pilots were American service personnel, who we must assume are highly trained.

This is not the first time that these specialist fliers have bombed their allies. An incident occurred in the First Iraqi War

when a group of British servicemen were wiped out by friendly fire from American aircraft. The US term is I believe 'collateral damage'.

On Saturday 3 October 2015 the MSF hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan, was repeatedly bombed by coalition forces.

"The US government has admitted that it was their airstrike that hit our hospital in Kunduz and killed 22 patients and MSF staff. Their description of the attack keeps changing – from collateral damage, to a tragic incident, to now attempting to pass responsibility to the Afghanistan government." – Christopher Stokes, General Director, Médecins Sans Frontières

Please join in and demand that a full and transparent investigation into the event be conducted.

To support this plea please view the link below

http://www.msf.org/kunduz-

Further to the above

• Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres, or MSF) have called for an independent fact-finding mission into a US airstrike on a hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan that killed at least 22 people, AP said. MSF said its call would mark the first time such a fact-finding mission would be launched under the rules of the Geneva Conventions. The weekend strike“was not just an attack on our hospital, it was an attack on the Geneva Conventions,” the group’s international president, Joanne Liu, said on Wednesday, adding that “this cannot be tolerated.”

Ireland of the Welcomes

For the latest news go here http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/09/austrian-aid-convoy-heads-hungary-refugees-150906142209841.html

CITIZENS across Ireland are "pledging a bed" in their homes to house refugees fleeing war and conflict as the Irish Government comes under increasing criticism for not doing enough to deal with Europe's refugee crisis. 

In a campaign initiated by UpLift Ireland, hundreds of people from across the island have signed a pledge to take refugees into their own homes.

UpLift Founding Director Siobhán O'Donoghue said translating public anger into action is vital in order to force political leaders to respond to the crisis:

"The massive response from people across the country really shows up our Government's inaction. We need Taoiseach Enda Kenny to step up and agree to welcome more refugees into Ireland".

UpLift is also holding a number of solidarity demonstrations across the country as well as calling on the public to donate to front-line charities working with refugees.

The public reaction came as the Irish Government continues to be non-committal as to how many refugees it would take although Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald told radio stations on Friday that the Irish Government would certainly increase the number of refugees it would accept from 600 to "thousands".

In the North, Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness of Sinn Féin (pictured) said most people in the North of Ireland "would gladly welcome any moves to allow more refugees to come here."

Accepting refugees in the North of Ireland usually requires cooperation with the British Government, but the Deputy First Minister said he was looking into ways of taking unilateral action if moves by Britain's Conservative Government is not forthcoming:

"My Department has already been exploring the feasibility of how we can do that," he said, but added that cooperation with David Cameron's Government would be the "most effective" way.
© MARK MOLONEY
• Find out more or pledge a bed HERE

Currently more than 12,000 people in Ireland have  pledged beds to the refugees.

Austria & Germany accept Refugees

Long lines of buses have left Hungary's capital Budapest packed with people bound for Austria, which says it has agreed with Germany to let them in as Hungary gives in to crowds, including Syrian refugees, that had set out on foot for western Europe.

Hungary's government said on Saturday about 100 buses would pick up thousands of people camped in front of Budapest's main railway terminus and another 1,200 striding down the main highway to Vienna led by a Syrian refugee and chanting "Germany, Germany!"

Austria said they would be granted entry, regardless of European Union rules. Smiling refugees boarded the buses, waving goodbye to Hungarian volunteers and aid workers.

"Because of today's emergency situation on the Hungarian border, Austria and Germany agree in this case to a continuation of the refugees' journey into their countries," Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann said on his Facebook page.

 Viktor Orban, Hungarian prime minister, a man full of fear has had to back down and let the refugees through. Which proves that his crackdown on the refugees and his diabolical trickery of cancelling the trains the other day was stupid and deceitful.

The individual countries within the EU have to readjust their sights and policies in regards to this dreadful situation. For example Ireland needs to increase it's present allowance from 1,800 refugees to 5,000  and more.

President Michael D Higgins has said the UN has failed to deal with the conflict in Syria and it must be addressed by heads of state and government.

President Higgins told RTÉ News at One the EU has also failed in not having being able to agree an adequate figure, with an implementable regime, raising the issue of a voluntary or compulsory compliance.

He said EU countries are going to have to talk about the number of refugees they are accepting, saying it is more likely two to three times the figure that was originally suggested to them.

President Higgins said racism and xenophobia are re-appearing in some EU member countries.

He said that people should not be afraid of an influx of refugees, saying they are people fleeing persecution, slavery and smuggling.

The President said that the Irish people have to do what is right and share the responsibility of a human tragedy unfolding, adding that families in Ireland are willing to make a contribution.

He praised those in hardship who are reaching out to those in need.

President Higgins said the UNHCR has said that the EU should be discussing a figure of 200,000, but the EU figure is, as he understands, at 120,000.

"The figure of 120,000, which opens the EU ministers discussions, if that figure is revised in terms of the UNHCR's figure of 200,000,that obviously doubles the different indications that countries have been making. And that is a matter for government.

“Different member countries are going to have to talk about two-to-three times the figure that was originally suggested to them."