Tuesday 3rd November 2015

HindleA · Post by **HindleA** » Tue 03 Nov, 2015 5:33 pm

RIP Colin Welland
http://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/no ... lland-dies" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Tue 03 Nov, 2015 5:41 pm

Can sympathise with him...The 'favourite' button although not perfect was just about okay for acknowledging when someone replied to a post...Clicking the heart, which also throbs doesn't feel right.

HindleA · Post by **HindleA** » Tue 03 Nov, 2015 5:48 pm

http://touchstoneblog.org.uk/2015/11/th ... lM.twitter" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The poverty gap between disabled and non-disabled people has got worse

HindleA · Post by **HindleA** » Tue 03 Nov, 2015 5:50 pm

FWIW I have got a signed copy of A Kestrel for a Knave (Kes)by the writer Barry Hines.

howsillyofme1 · Post by **howsillyofme1** » Tue 03 Nov, 2015 5:54 pm

HindleA wrote:FWIW I have got a signed copy of Kes by the writer Barry Hines.

Wonderful book and also, for once, a film that didn't disappoint

The football match seen is the best ever representation of football in a film to my view.....

" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Tue 03 Nov, 2015 5:55 pm

Owen JonesVerified account
‏@OwenJones84
The Labour party and politics should not just be for elites. Here's my video response to Tristram Hunt! " onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; …

Tom Wilson ‏@feedthedrummer 2h2 hours ago
Tom Wilson Retweeted Owen Jones
And my rebuttal to the National Press coverage as the student journalist who reported it: " onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; …

HindleA · Post by **HindleA** » Tue 03 Nov, 2015 5:56 pm

Just read that Hines has got Alzheimers

TobyLatimer · Post by **TobyLatimer** » Tue 03 Nov, 2015 5:58 pm

Cool, I read that around 1970, i was ten years old. The first time I had seen profanities anywhere in print.

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Tue 03 Nov, 2015 5:58 pm

Talking of films, has anyone seen the new Macbeth ?

Am going tomorrow. Reviews weren't bad, Kermode gave it four stars, but most posters BTL at the Guardian panned it.

We're going to 'silver screening' £5 matinee with a free cup of coffee.
Us baby boomers living the high life eh ?

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Tue 03 Nov, 2015 6:11 pm

yahyah wrote:Talking of films, has anyone seen the new Macbeth ?

Am going tomorrow. Reviews weren't bad, Kermode gave it four stars, but most posters BTL at the Guardian panned it.

We're going to 'silver screening' £5 matinee with a free cup of coffee.
Us baby boomers living the high life eh ?

As long as you're not playing bingo and having a pint afterwards yahyah. Wouldn't want you conforming to a government stereotype (ha I mistyped 'stereotripe' first time round - that one should stand) of any sort.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Tue 03 Nov, 2015 6:15 pm

Have just had the first of, no doubt, many flying visits from our bullet speed tiddler cat who belts through the cat flap straight up onto this desk and does a crazed smearing with her chin of my hand, the lap top corner, the mouse and the side of the desk - then prances across the keyboard before being swiftly ejected by me.

This will be repeated for as many times as she comes in the cat flap tonight.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Tue 03 Nov, 2015 7:16 pm

CRAFTY CUMMINGS: ‘POLL-SPINNING’ VOTE LEAVE DIRECTOR DOTH PROTEST TOO MUCH
http://politicalscrapbook.net/2015/11/c ... more-55373" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The eurosceptic campaign Vote Leave have reported a leading business group for the use of alleged dodgy polling. The Times (£) reported yesterday:

“The CBI is facing an embarrassing investigation by the British Polling Council, amid claims that its survey showing that eight out of ten businesses supported staying in the EU was rigged.
“The row centres on the sample used by YouGov, which Vote Leave claims was “wholly unrepresentative” of Britain’s 5.2 million companies. For example, only 20.5 per cent of the respondents had fewer than 50 employees, despite the fact that 99.2 per cent of British businesses employ fewer than 50 people.
The matter of the complaint from Vote Leave’s campaign director (wonky bruiser Dominic Cummings, above) was compounded when British Polling Council officer Nick Moon accidentally pressed ‘reply-all’ on an email intended solely for his colleagues:

“Bugger – at first glance the odious Cummings might be onto something.”...

There's more to the story if you read on.

I saw a tweet earlier saying that Dominic Cummings has taken to signing off emails as 'the odious Cummings' - now I understand the reference.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Tue 03 Nov, 2015 7:28 pm

SNP and Labour MSPs unite to vote against Trident renewal
All but one of Labour’s MSPs vote for motion opposing renewal of nuclear weapons system based at Faslane submarine base
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015 ... nt-renewal" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Eric_WLothian · Post by **Eric_WLothian** » Tue 03 Nov, 2015 7:47 pm

rebeccariots2 wrote:
SNP and Labour MSPs unite to vote against Trident renewal
All but one of Labour’s MSPs vote for motion opposing renewal of nuclear weapons system based at Faslane submarine base
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015 ... nt-renewal" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The Scottish Parliament must be underemployed. There really is no excuse for them wasting time on non-devolved matters when there are so many devolved disasters (police, state guardians, falling standards in education and NHS etc) which need attention.

Jackie Baillie (the single Labour dissenter) is, imo, the only constituency MSP with a legitimate interest:

Jackie Baillie, whose constituency includes Faslane, was the only Labour MSP to support Trident renewal.
Ms Baillie said about 13,000 jobs could be affected.
“Faslane is the single biggest site employer in Scotland,” she said.
“More than a quarter of West Dunbartonshire’s full-time workforce are employed there in good-quality well-paid jobs.

http://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/t ... z3q9iPkM1M

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Tue 03 Nov, 2015 7:52 pm

Eric_WLothian wrote:
rebeccariots2 wrote:
SNP and Labour MSPs unite to vote against Trident renewal
All but one of Labour’s MSPs vote for motion opposing renewal of nuclear weapons system based at Faslane submarine base
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015 ... nt-renewal" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
The Scottish Parliament must be underemployed. There really is no excuse for them wasting time on non-devolved matters when there are so many devolved disasters (police, state guardians, falling standards in education and NHS etc) which need attention.

Jackie Baillie (the single Labour dissenter) is, imo, the only constituency MSP with a legitimate interest:

Jackie Baillie, whose constituency includes Faslane, was the only Labour MSP to support Trident renewal.
Ms Baillie said about 13,000 jobs could be affected.
“Faslane is the single biggest site employer in Scotland,” she said.
“More than a quarter of West Dunbartonshire’s full-time workforce are employed there in good-quality well-paid jobs.
http://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/t ... z3q9iPkM1M

I am very surprised by Kezia Dugdale voting for non renewal. Saw her on QT the other night declaring herself as a multi-lateralist. Very quick turnabout.

Eric_WLothian · Post by **Eric_WLothian** » Tue 03 Nov, 2015 8:05 pm

rebeccariots2 wrote:
Eric_WLothian wrote:
rebeccariots2 wrote:
The Scottish Parliament must be underemployed. There really is no excuse for them wasting time on non-devolved matters when there are so many devolved disasters (police, state guardians, falling standards in education and NHS etc) which need attention.

Jackie Baillie (the single Labour dissenter) is, imo, the only constituency MSP with a legitimate interest:

Jackie Baillie, whose constituency includes Faslane, was the only Labour MSP to support Trident renewal.
Ms Baillie said about 13,000 jobs could be affected.
“Faslane is the single biggest site employer in Scotland,” she said.
“More than a quarter of West Dunbartonshire’s full-time workforce are employed there in good-quality well-paid jobs.
http://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/t ... z3q9iPkM1M
I am very surprised by Kezia Dugdale voting for non renewal. Saw her on QT the other night declaring herself as a multi-lateralist. Very quick turnabout.

She's in an impossible position - the Scottish Labour conference voted to scrap Trident.

http://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/t ... z3q9iPkM1M

Personally, I think it was crazy to put reserved matters on the agenda. Scottish party members could have made their views known at their national gathering. As it is, trying to separate Scottish Labour from UK Labour, which seems to be Kezia Dugdale's goal, can only lead (imo) to disaster.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Tue 03 Nov, 2015 8:13 pm

‘Crack and Cider’ to help the homeless
http://www.thecanary.co/2015/11/03/crac ... -homeless/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Crack and Cider, the “world’s first shop for the homeless”, will open in Hackney on Wednesday. Customers will be able to purchase useful items for rough sleepers, such as jumpers and jackets, which will then be distributed via a network of local shelters in time for Christmas.

The pop-up shop, located within lifestyle store One Good Deed Today, will be open for a month. Those unable to visit in person can purchase goods online until 12 December. The initiative was developed by Charlotte Cramer and Scarlett Montanaro as a way for people to help the homeless without directly giving cash.

The name of the enterprise was inspired by a conversation the creators had with a local rough sleeper, who told them:

'People don’t give me money because they just think I’ll spend it on crack and cider'.
This suspicion is not uncommon in the public when faced with rough sleepers, and Crack and Cider is an attempt to overcome that barrier to giving.

Homelessness has risen massively under the Conservatives. Government figures show a 55 per cent rise since 2010, with local agencies reporting that 7,581 people slept rough in London throughout 2014/15...

Eric_WLothian · Post by **Eric_WLothian** » Tue 03 Nov, 2015 8:23 pm

yahyah wrote:Talking of films, has anyone seen the new Macbeth ?

Am going tomorrow. Reviews weren't bad, Kermode gave it four stars, but most posters BTL at the Guardian panned it.

We're going to 'silver screening' £5 matinee with a free cup of coffee.
Us baby boomers living the high life eh ?

Well, I hope you're going to behave yourself

:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... cuits.html

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Tue 03 Nov, 2015 8:31 pm

http://blogs.channel4.com/gary-gibbon-o ... rity/31746" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

... The snappish quality of the No. 10 response on Syria owes itself to another factor too. The Autumn isn’t going to plan. The tax credits crisis has worried senior figures in No. 10 who thought they could safely franchise out economic policy to a Chancellor who was on the case. A full-fat government obesity strategy was supposed to have been published by now but seems stuck in the digestive system. The political antennae of the government operation don’t seem to be working well in the Commons or in the Lords. The insistence that the government would not weigh in on Europe until the renegotiation is complete has been abandoned under pressure from opinion polls.

At the moment of his maximum political authority, after an outright election victory few predicted, the Prime Minister is discovering the limits of his authority on several fronts.

David Cameron’s dream, discussed with his inner circle, is to win a Europe Referendum in September 2016 and then relaunch his leadership at the October Tory Conference with a policy-packed speech, banishing all questions about whether he’s a lame duck. But you wonder how easy such a glide-path will be when the first 5 months of majority government are so bumpy.

- See more at: http://blogs.channel4.com/gary-gibbon-o ... EdveF.dpuf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Tue 03 Nov, 2015 8:39 pm

Jeremy Hunt offers junior doctors 11% pay rise in bid to end dispute
Exclusive: Health secretary makes dramatic concessions in effort to break impasse with England’s 45,000 trainee doctors and avert strike action
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015 ... CMP=twt_gu" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

... Hunt hopes that the 11% uplift will persuade junior doctors to accept him scrapping the banding system, which dictates how much juniors are paid, depending on their responsibilities, hours worked and how often they are on call.

Banding currently gives junior doctors 40% to 50% more money on top of their basic salary. Hunt will argue that trainees will still be able to earn the same money as now, despite banding disappearing, by still receiving extra money from the on-call supplement, out of hours payments, “flexible pay premia” – financial inducements to persuade juniors to choose certain branches of medicine suffering from major shortages of doctors – additional rostered hours and the extra 11%.

In a further climbdown from his original hardline position, Hunt will also concede that in future only Saturday morning will count as part of a junior doctor’s normal working week, for which they receive basic pay. That is a further retreat from his initial plan to extend the hours in which trainees get only basic rates to include all day Saturday from 7am to 10pm.

In a further concession the health secretary will also guarantee that flexible pay premia will be extended to more specialties than originally intended. Until now Hunt only promised that young doctors opting to specialise in general practice or A&E care would receive them.

But his new offer extends that to medics working in other areas of acute and emergency medicine in hospitals which involve regular on-call or out-of-hours work, such as those on acute medical wards, where many of the sickest patients end up after being admitted through A&E, and in psychiatry...

Lots of climb downs and concessions going on at present. Tidbits re the TU bill - talks of court charges going - the tax credits debacle - and now this. Will it be enough?

LadyCentauria · Post by **LadyCentauria** » Tue 03 Nov, 2015 8:39 pm

BBC News showing Mandelson on HardTalk, now. Don't know if it's a repeat but he started by repeating the 'unelectable' guff and South American leaders, £3 memberships, etc.,

HindleA · Post by **HindleA** » Tue 03 Nov, 2015 9:38 pm

From BTL on the Hunt article:
Chinese_Whispers 10m ago

That's quite entertaining - 11% "pay rise" to mirror his own 11% actual pay rise? I do enjoy Mr Hunt's choice of symmetry, it's almost as if he's taunting doctors.

An 11% increase in basic pay may still equate a pay cut (I'll explain) when the hours deemed as "antisocial" or "banded" are lowered. You have to work antisocial hours as a junior (it's a mandatory part of training and is not what is considered overtime, we have to cover hours 24/7 and take turns), and because these hours are antisocial (late evenings and weekends) they are more expensive hours for the Trust (the trust has to pay a slightly higher rate for these hours than normal hours) and the Trust gets penalised for making doctors work too many hours and/or too many antisocial hours, found by regular audits (known as Safeguards). He wants to take away the safeguards, allowing Trusts to abuse their staff as rota hours will be unmonitored under the new contract.

Clever Jeremy wants to extend "plain" time (thereby decreasing the number of hours deemed "antisocial") and he argues that increasing base pay compensates for it. Firstly, there's no way of knowing that as he has declined to release any actual pay models (and when politicians play sneaky games, you know it's nothing good), and secondly, still no dice as giving the Trust free licence to rota me in for every Saturday from here to the end of my training spells the end of my personal life. Allowing it to rota me for unhealthy strings of on calls may well spell the end for my own health.
Nevertheless, NI contributions are increased for base pay hours as are pension contributions (and lower for the antisocial pay hours). That is, base pay hours are taxed more. So, he's increasing our base pay hours, increasing the taxes paid, increasing the money fed back to his hungry treasury to pay his state-funded Chinese lessons. That's after being generous enough to consider that he's not lying through his teeth as he has done since he became SoS for *anything*.

So, tell me again why doctors should agree to a contract that makes them unsafe doctors due to tiredness (try continually switching between day, twilight and night shifts - you feel physically ill and unable to concentrate), decreases take home (net pay), extends their antisocial hours, compromises their training and allows them to be abused at the behest of the Trust?

Furthermore, this is probably an attempt to demonise doctors further - "Look at those greedy bastatds! 11% pay rise is apparently too little!". It's headline fodder, and it's deliberately provocative.

I personally wish Jeremy Hunt would keep his mouth shut: he only pollutes the air every time he opens it.

LadyCentauria · Post by **LadyCentauria** » Tue 03 Nov, 2015 9:51 pm

Genius DWP vid re-voicing there, @TobyLatimer!

Very late edit: formatting...

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Tue 03 Nov, 2015 9:54 pm

Yes, HindleA, a quick look BTL on the Hunt article is very educational about the reality of the 'offer'. Most seem to think it's just smoke and mirrors, game playing ... and doesn't change much about the deal for the junior doctors.

It's also, surely, a complete kick in the teeth for other public sector workers. I know the 11% isn't really a rise (just about makes up for what many of them lose but not all of it and not for all of them) but imagine how the soundbite will appear.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Tue 03 Nov, 2015 10:14 pm

Mirror Politics ‏@MirrorPolitics 13m13 minutes ago
BMA slams Jeremy Hunt for sharing details of pay deal with media before telling doctors. http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/je ... rs-6762546" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; …

Nice.

Just what you'd expect from him.

RogerOThornhill · Post by **RogerOThornhill** » Tue 03 Nov, 2015 10:40 pm

rebeccariots2 wrote:
Mirror Politics ‏@MirrorPolitics 13m13 minutes ago
BMA slams Jeremy Hunt for sharing details of pay deal with media before telling doctors. http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/je ... rs-6762546" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; …
Nice.

Just what you'd expect from him.

Government by media would be a hard habit to break. Wouldn't it be great if they told the media second and those who need to know first?

If Nicky Morgan had simply given her speech today which the media then reported, she wouldn't have had to appear on Newsnight last night to try and sort out the muddle brought about having had it leaked to the media over the weekend.

Edit - oh, and giving the Sunday Times exclusives is a really bad habit since most people don't have a sub so can't actually know what the policy is.

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