Monday 3rd April 2017

[Willow904]

Little this Tory government has done can be justified. When people vote for cuts to welfare alongside tax cuts for the wealthy, for the most part they know what they are doing and know that it isn't justified and all the bullshit about "scroungers" is just a story they tell themselves so they can sleep at night.

Meanwhile, from the G live blog:

A Guardian/ICM poll suggests that at least two thirds of voters would oppose the UK paying an “exit bill” to the EU of £10bn or more. Voters would also oppose another compromise Theresa May may have to accept as part of the Brexit deal, giving the European court of justice continuing control over UK law during the transition period. (See 4.16pm.)

Although continued free movement of people during the transition period would be acceptable for a majority of people, apparently.

Maybe the assumptions about who voted for Brexit and why need to be revisited. Who hates paying taxes and thinks laws shouldn't apply to them like other people?

[PorFavor]

Why the ESA cut cannot be justified

Oh, I don't know. Someone's got to take the hit or what would happen to the really deserving cases:

Tory donor Lycamobile in £26m tax dispute

Phone business that gave £600,000 to Conservatives last year is being pursued by HMRC in a row over VAT

https://www.theguardian.com/business/20 ... ax-dispute

[citizenJA]

Maybe the assumptions about who voted for Brexit and why need to be revisited. Who hates paying taxes and thinks laws shouldn't apply to them like other people?

(cJA edit)

Tories, Tory donors

[citizenJA]

I love you all very much.
I'm going to read a book and call it an early night.
You're never far from my thoughts, my friends.
love,
cJA

[HindleA]

https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/ ... ed-britain" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


Disability report: Being disabled in Britain

EHRC report.

[Willow904]

I've been trying to get my head around this new 2 child limit.

So a loving monogamous couple with two children who experience a failure of contraception and end up having a third child, won't be able to claim child tax credits for that third child?

What about people who have children they don't live with though? What about a guy who fathers two children with one mother, leaves her for someone else and fathers a third child? Does the unfaithful dad who abandons his family get to claim tax credits for his third child when the loving father who stays and helps raise all three of his kids doesn't?

This seems like a penalty for responsible caregivers as far as I can see. Just as our society seems to want to punish single parents who take responsibility for their kids, rather than the partners who abandon them, now we are financially penalising parents who raise their multiple children together as a family unit while less monogamous fathers of multiple children who have children with several partners don't face the same penalty by virtue of not being bothered to help look after them.

Is this seriously an actual real policy measure the Tories are introducing? It seems completely f****d up.

[Willow904]

And then there are divorcees.

Not all marriages last, however good the intentions. Two divorcees with two children each fall in love. Their kids want to live with them rather than their other parents. After all the stress of a divorce, how are kids going to cope with being told they can't live with this or that parent because there isn't enough money available for them all to live together?

[tinyclanger2]

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/busin ... 64241.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Franco Manca: UK pizza chain to open restaurant in Italy
New location on the island of Salina, north of Sicily, will train up Italian pizza-makers with the aim of bringing them to work at branches in the UK

uhm....?

[tinyclanger2]

The UK will also need to be mindful of its other associated territories that aren’t in the EU but may be affected by Brexit. These include the crown dependencies of the Isle of Man, Guernsey and Jersey, plus the remaining possessions from Bermuda to the Falklands to the Pitcairn Islands
http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/spa ... 62661.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[PorFavor]

An example of some of the weird e-mails I receive from the good ol' US of A (on account of my having a namesake, presumably some sort of relative, over there). I must assume that we would have very little else in common, going by the things that they are signed up to.

(I also know that they attend tuna-bake fundraising lunches. Amusingly, they're also the local go-to source for indigestion remedies.)


Edited to add -

And, of course, I forgot to include the example - which is:

Prayers for Neil Gorsuch

[tinyclanger2]

The row about Gibraltar and Spain’s opportunistic grab for more power over the Rock reminds us of one very important thing – that there is still such a thing as the British Empire and the UK should honour its obligations to these territories – political, moral and military.

No. There isn't.

[gilsey]

Starmer making himself useful.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/201 ... ker-labour" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[HindleA]

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... hare_btn_t" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


Steve Bell on the government's welfare cuts

[PorFavor]

By the way, my automatic log-out problem (that I was waxing lyrical about the other day) seems to have righted itself without any intervention by me. But - there's always (probably) tomorrow . . .

[Tubby Isaacs]

The row about Gibraltar and Spain’s opportunistic grab for more power over the Rock reminds us of one very important thing – that there is still such a thing as the British Empire and the UK should honour its obligations to these territories – political, moral and military.

No. There isn't.

There is.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_C ... lonization" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Lost Soul]

The row about Gibraltar and Spain’s opportunistic grab for more power over the Rock reminds us of one very important thing – that there is still such a thing as the British Empire and the UK should honour its obligations to these territories – political, moral and military.

No. There isn't.

There is.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_C ... lonization" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Pitcairn Island....


Population....






Forty-nine....

[NonOxCol]

Well, the S*n has gone with a front page of "Up Yours Senors"... next to a promotion for cheap holidays to European destinations such as, er, Spain.

Going well everybody.