Saturday 6th & Sunday 7th September 2014

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rebeccariots2
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Saturday 6th & Sunday 7th September 2014

Post by rebeccariots2 »

Morning all.

Just spotted a major typo before posting this. You would have all been very shocked to find it was 3014 on FTN .....

But at least Cameron wouldn't have been Prime Minister (unless cryogenics had made a major leap backwards.)
Working on the wild side.
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rebeccariots2
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Re: Saturday 6th & Sunday 7th September 2014

Post by rebeccariots2 »

Hugo Dixon ‏@Hugodixon 23m
Cameron again paying price of sending unknown man to Brussels. EU set to spurn UK for key economic post: http://on.ft.com/Yi1I3F" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; #FT
Cameron's diplomatic and people picking judgement bear sad fruits again. I'd have loved to hear what that Polish minister had to say in the discussion about this!
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rebeccariots2
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Re: Saturday 6th & Sunday 7th September 2014

Post by rebeccariots2 »

Here's the Lib Dem Voice piece trying to justify the party's U turn on bedroom tax. Please suspend all belief in anything principled and sane well before you read it. Some commentators BTL are giving them the spanking they deserve for trying to pretend it's because they only now have proof of what hardship and misery the policy is causing ........... others are still trying to defend their actions and accusing those who criticise this late move as curmudgeons who are never satisfied.
‘Bedroom Tax’: Lib Dem Andrew George’s Affordable Homes Bill wins key Commons vote backed by Lib Dem / Labour MPs
http://www.libdemvoice.org/bedroom-tax- ... 42306.html
...
Q&A

Why are you doing this now?

We have been monitoring the introduction of the policy carefully. The results of the interim evaluation have now been published and they show some concerning findings such as that 57% of claimants reported cutting back on household essentials. We have protected the vulnerable so far but we now want to reform the policy to protect those people for the long term.
Don't you wish they were a football you could kick across the UK and then hurl far out into the channel - having put a hole in it and attached a suitably heavy weight?
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rebeccariots2
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Re: Saturday 6th & Sunday 7th September 2014

Post by rebeccariots2 »

MrsMorgansLessonPlan.jpg
MrsMorgansLessonPlan.jpg (67 KiB) Viewed 34362 times
Retweeted by Liam Byrne
Tristram Hunt ‏@TristramHuntMP Sep 4
The Tories have let the cat out of the bag on for-profit schools. Say you're with us: pic.twitter.com/49QwwxOVew pic.twitter.com/3wku9Kowuf
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refitman
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Re: Saturday 6th & Sunday 7th September 2014

Post by refitman »

rebeccariots2 wrote:
MrsMorgansLessonPlan.jpg
Retweeted by Liam Byrne
Tristram Hunt ‏@TristramHuntMP Sep 4
The Tories have let the cat out of the bag on for-profit schools. Say you're with us: pic.twitter.com/49QwwxOVew pic.twitter.com/3wku9Kowuf
Hunt's got a piece on CiF.
Nicky Morgan isn’t continuity Gove’ – she’s even worse
A change of education secretary has done nothing to disguise the scale of the Tory threat to education

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfre ... -secretary" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
HindleA
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Re: Saturday 6th & Sunday 7th September 2014

Post by HindleA »

rebeccariots2 wrote:Here's the Lib Dem Voice piece trying to justify the party's U turn on bedroom tax. Please suspend all belief in anything principled and sane well before you read it. Some commentators BTL are giving them the spanking they deserve for trying to pretend it's because they only now have proof of what hardship and misery the policy is causing ........... others are still trying to defend their actions and accusing those who criticise this late move as curmudgeons who are never satisfied.
‘Bedroom Tax’: Lib Dem Andrew George’s Affordable Homes Bill wins key Commons vote backed by Lib Dem / Labour MPs
http://www.libdemvoice.org/bedroom-tax- ... 42306.html
...
Q&A

Why are you doing this now?

We have been monitoring the introduction of the policy carefully. The results of the interim evaluation have now been published and they show some concerning findings such as that 57% of claimants reported cutting back on household essentials. We have protected the vulnerable so far but we now want to reform the policy to protect those people for the long term.
Don't you wish they were a football you could kick across the UK and then hurl far out into the channel - having put a hole in it and attached a suitably heavy weight?

Morning.
Pure nonsense of course,Webb,whom you probably gathered I have particular disdain for was justifying penalising a room for dialysis on the basis of fairness because others can't,that he wasn't even convincing himself makes him more culpable IMHO.It wasn't even his brief,but repeatedly stepped up to the mark to defend for the Government and policy.They knew what the affects of the policy would be(we all said such things some years ago-worth looking back at our concerns -tragically coming into fruition as we warned),Watching carefully,my arse-excuse me.
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ephemerid
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Re: Saturday 6th & Sunday 7th September 2014

Post by ephemerid »

Eight months from today we will be voting in the General Election!

(Unless Our Glorious Ronsealed Fish-pointer General finds a way (Scottish Independence, war anywhere he can pretend is necessary, etc) to avoid facing the electorate.)
"Poverty is the worst form of violence" - Mahatma Gandhi
HindleA
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Re: Saturday 6th & Sunday 7th September 2014

Post by HindleA »

ephemerid wrote:Eight months from today we will be voting in the General Election!

(Unless Our Glorious Ronsealed Fish-pointer General finds a way (Scottish Independence, war anywhere he can pretend is necessary, etc) to avoid facing the electorate.)

A week is a long time in politics,so they say.Eight ####ing months will feel like an eternity,but that is probably an attitude problem I have,Esther is there to "help"
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AngryAsWell
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Re: Saturday 6th & Sunday 7th September 2014

Post by AngryAsWell »

ephemerid wrote:Eight months from today we will be voting in the General Election!

(Unless Our Glorious Ronsealed Fish-pointer General finds a way (Scottish Independence, war anywhere he can pretend is necessary, etc) to avoid facing the electorate.)
In which case, 8 months from today I shall be out on the streets doing serious protest......... they aren't getting away with that!
Morning :)
letsskiptotheleft
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Re: Saturday 6th & Sunday 7th September 2014

Post by letsskiptotheleft »

Morning, Matthew Parris it seems has written a rather sneeringly piece about Clacton, where horror of horrors you can buy a three bedroom bungalow for 95 grand, not that you would want to live there, it's full of people with tattoos waiting to die, now I doubt Clacton would be top of my list of places to move to, but can you imagine the vitriol if a Labour leaning journalist wrote such a nasty piece, anyway, Tim Stanley has vented his spleen, and aside from the One Nation Tory reminisces he make a few valid points.

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/timst ... lose-2015/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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ephemerid
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Re: Saturday 6th & Sunday 7th September 2014

Post by ephemerid »

I have just re-read the Telegraph article from yesterday on "attitude tests"
(I was so cross yesterday I couldn't comment on it for fear of resorting to excessive profanity)

Fester McVile has shown yet again that she is utterly incapable of stringing a coherent sentence together. The woman is a moron.

Now that we have been informed by this stupid harpy that youth unemployment is caused by lack of experience thanks to the "death" of Saturday jobs and paper rounds (both of which still exist), the (clearly foolish) "focus on school work", and that workfare is now "highly sought after", when will we see zero youth unemployment?

If this is to be rolled out to anyone who claims any benefit, what happens if the "attitude" is wrong? Who decides that?
More cod-NLP dangerous crap like the mandatory sham psychometric testing - no doubt to be delivered by some private provider who will call
their staff "counsellors" and who will report back to DWP with negative results of their non-tests so that a sanction can be imposed.

This bloody bunch of fuckwits at DWP should be made to endure what the claimants have to suffer - and all for a pittance which is not enough to live on and which gets taken away in chunks by sanctions, bedroom tax, fines, caps, anything they can dream up to punish us.

God I am sick of it.
"Poverty is the worst form of violence" - Mahatma Gandhi
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TheGrimSqueaker
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Re: Saturday 6th & Sunday 7th September 2014

Post by TheGrimSqueaker »

Isn't "sneering" Parris' default setting? I've never taken to him, too obsequious. That response piece is beautifully judged, in marked contrast to the foam flecked comments below it.

Ephe, whenever I hear McVey spouting her drivel I console myself by thinking that, in just eight months time, she will be unemployed. If there is any justice in this world no media outlet will touch her with a bargepole, so she will end up gaining practical experience in the operations of the DWP.
COWER BRIEF MORTALS. HO. HO. HO.
PorFavor
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Re: Saturday 6th & Sunday 7th September 2014

Post by PorFavor »

Good morning.

Re the vote, yesterday -
Labour leader Ed Miliband said: "Alex Salmond tries to con people into thinking he stands up for social justice. What happened today is that the majority of his MPs did not even turn up.

"They could not be bothered to turn up to abolish the bedroom tax. It says it all about how Alex Salmond is trying to con people.

"By contrast every Scottish Labour MP was in the House of Commons voting to get rid of the bedroom tax. It is a down-payment of what Labour will deliver in government in just eight months' time: abolishing the bedroom tax, freezing energy prices, raising the minimum wage and getting young people back to work."

Scottish Labour leader Johann Lamont said: "Far from standing up for Scotland, the SNP have stayed at home and let Scotland down.")(The Herald, Scotland)
Much noise should (and probably will) be made about this.

And -
Dr Whiteford, the SNP's work and pensions spokeswoman, said: "This was a defeat for the UK Government but it doesn't end the bedroom tax, which has caused misery for so many people.

"Every single Scottish MP could vote against the bedroom tax and we would still be faced with it because we can be outvoted by Tory votes from the south.

"Labour's hypocrisy on this issue is simply breathtaking - every single one of their Scottish MPs is working hand in glove in the No campaign with the Tory government who have given us the bedroom tax in the first place." (Herald, again)
Talk about blinkered, short-sighted, irresponsible, and one-track minded. Suppose they lose the Independence Referendum vote? Alex Salmond and his party have demonstrated that they were prepared to do a grave disservice to everyone who is affected in the cause of their (the SNP's and Alex Salmond's personal) self-interest. (Notwithstanding the "special arrangements" - which may, or may not, be affordable - which Scotland has on the issue.)

Edited to add link:

http://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/ ... x.25252467
letsskiptotheleft
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Re: Saturday 6th & Sunday 7th September 2014

Post by letsskiptotheleft »

PorFavor wrote:Good morning.

Re the vote, yesterday -
Labour leader Ed Miliband said: "Alex Salmond tries to con people into thinking he stands up for social justice. What happened today is that the majority of his MPs did not even turn up.

"They could not be bothered to turn up to abolish the bedroom tax. It says it all about how Alex Salmond is trying to con people.

"By contrast every Scottish Labour MP was in the House of Commons voting to get rid of the bedroom tax. It is a down-payment of what Labour will deliver in government in just eight months' time: abolishing the bedroom tax, freezing energy prices, raising the minimum wage and getting young people back to work."

Scottish Labour leader Johann Lamont said: "Far from standing up for Scotland, the SNP have stayed at home and let Scotland down.")(The Herald, Scotland)
Much noise should (and probably will) be made about this.

And -
Dr Whiteford, the SNP's work and pensions spokeswoman, said: "This was a defeat for the UK Government but it doesn't end the bedroom tax, which has caused misery for so many people.

"Every single Scottish MP could vote against the bedroom tax and we would still be faced with it because we can be outvoted by Tory votes from the south.

"Labour's hypocrisy on this issue is simply breathtaking - every single one of their Scottish MPs is working hand in glove in the No campaign with the Tory government who have given us the bedroom tax in the first place." (Herald, again)
Talk about blinkered, short-sighted, irresponsible, and one-track minded. Suppose they lose the Independence Referendum vote? Alex Salmond and his party have demonstrated that they were prepared to do a grave disservice to everyone who is affected in the cause of their (the SNP's and Alex Salmond's personal) self-interest. (Notwithstanding the "special arrangements" - which may, or may not, be affordable - which Scotland has on the issue.)

Edited to add link:

http://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/ ... x.25252467
I just read somewhere that no SNP MP voted in favour of the NMW, now I realise it was quite a few years ago, and I don't know how many MPs the SNP had at the time, I haven't checked yet, but when I read things like and how supposedly left wing they are the two somehow don't marry? Sorry, but I don't trust the guy, his preening and fawning over Trump was enough for me, a man to the right of Atilla the Hun.
PorFavor
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Re: Saturday 6th & Sunday 7th September 2014

Post by PorFavor »

letsskiptotheleft wrote:
PorFavor wrote:Good morning.

Re the vote, yesterday -
Labour leader Ed Miliband said: "Alex Salmond tries to con people into thinking he stands up for social justice. What happened today is that the majority of his MPs did not even turn up.

"They could not be bothered to turn up to abolish the bedroom tax. It says it all about how Alex Salmond is trying to con people.

"By contrast every Scottish Labour MP was in the House of Commons voting to get rid of the bedroom tax. It is a down-payment of what Labour will deliver in government in just eight months' time: abolishing the bedroom tax, freezing energy prices, raising the minimum wage and getting young people back to work."

Scottish Labour leader Johann Lamont said: "Far from standing up for Scotland, the SNP have stayed at home and let Scotland down.")(The Herald, Scotland)
Much noise should (and probably will) be made about this.

And -
Dr Whiteford, the SNP's work and pensions spokeswoman, said: "This was a defeat for the UK Government but it doesn't end the bedroom tax, which has caused misery for so many people.

"Every single Scottish MP could vote against the bedroom tax and we would still be faced with it because we can be outvoted by Tory votes from the south.

"Labour's hypocrisy on this issue is simply breathtaking - every single one of their Scottish MPs is working hand in glove in the No campaign with the Tory government who have given us the bedroom tax in the first place." (Herald, again)
Talk about blinkered, short-sighted, irresponsible, and one-track minded. Suppose they lose the Independence Referendum vote? Alex Salmond and his party have demonstrated that they were prepared to do a grave disservice to everyone who is affected in the cause of their (the SNP's and Alex Salmond's personal) self-interest. (Notwithstanding the "special arrangements" - which may, or may not, be affordable - which Scotland has on the issue.)

Edited to add link:

http://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/ ... x.25252467
I just read somewhere that no SNP MP voted in favour of the NMW, now I realise it was quite a few years ago, and I don't know how many MPs the SNP had at the time, I haven't checked yet, but when I read things like and how supposedly left wing they are the two somehow don't marry? Sorry, but I don't trust the guy, his preening and fawning over Trump was enough for me, a man to the right of Atilla the Hun.

Yes - I'm not keen on him, either. Oleaginous self-server - and becoming more so (or more obviously so) as time grinds on. The Donald Trump stuff which you mentioned, and the corporation tax plans put the tin lid on it for me.
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Re: Saturday 6th & Sunday 7th September 2014

Post by PorFavor »

I'm just wondering - did the hard-working Mike Hancock manage to drag himself in for yesterday's vote, I wonder? Anyone know, please?
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Re: Saturday 6th & Sunday 7th September 2014

Post by pk1 »

Striking poster
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Re: Saturday 6th & Sunday 7th September 2014

Post by pk1 »

PorFavor wrote:I'm just wondering - did the hard-working Mike Hancock manage to drag himself in for yesterday's vote, I wonder? Anyone know, please?
He did !

What a guy....
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rebeccariots2
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Re: Saturday 6th & Sunday 7th September 2014

Post by rebeccariots2 »

pk1 wrote:Striking poster
Thanks for posting it PK. And anyone who can go and protest - please do. There's also a fringe event about badger culling at the Labour party conference - should be worth a visit.

If my presence on FTN diminishes over the next couple of months - you know why. The fields, woodland, copses and hedgerows call - and their need is urgent.
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TechnicalEphemera
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Re: Saturday 6th & Sunday 7th September 2014

Post by TechnicalEphemera »

pk1 wrote:
PorFavor wrote:I'm just wondering - did the hard-working Mike Hancock manage to drag himself in for yesterday's vote, I wonder? Anyone know, please?
He did !

What a guy....
Good old Mike.

Standing up for the poor and vulnerable, on the off chance he can make a pass at one of them.
Release the Guardvarks.
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TheGrimSqueaker
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Re: Saturday 6th & Sunday 7th September 2014

Post by TheGrimSqueaker »

RobertSnozers wrote:
TheGrimSqueaker wrote:Isn't "sneering" Parris' default setting? I've never taken to him, too obsequious. That response piece is beautifully judged, in marked contrast to the foam flecked comments below it.

Ephe, whenever I hear McVey spouting her drivel I console myself by thinking that, in just eight months time, she will be unemployed. If there is any justice in this world no media outlet will touch her with a bargepole, so she will end up gaining practical experience in the operations of the DWP.
Quite right (on both counts). Moreover, Parris is sorely misguided on several basic levels. First of all, Clacton, as with most of the Essex seaside towns, were a hotbed of the aspirational working class that flocked to Thatcher's banner. These places have always been conservative with a small c, and most often with a capital C too. Moreover, the Clacton constituency also contains large swathes of rural land, with villages and agricultural communities that have been traditional Tory heartlands since time time immemorial. I don't like it one bit - being a lefty and coming from a place like that is no fun - but the idea that some Tories might cut adrift some of their previously most loyal advocates I find chilling in the extreme. Of course, one nation Tories both let down this part of the world and took it for granted, as did the Thatcherites. Parris' view seems to be that former Tories registering their disgust with Cameron and co, and finding (wrongly, in my view) Ukip more attractive should be cut adrift, not won back.

I can't see the Tories winning in 2015 if this is the level of discourse. It's actualy beginning to look as though Ukip might tear chunks out of the Tories at the GE, and while that partly horrifies me, anything that makes a Tory government less likely has to be a good thing.
They've done themselves a lot of damage in East Anglia (I lived there for 15 years and still have contacts), and not just to the benefit of UKIP; for example, Gove's railroading through of the Beccles Free School has ensured that Waveney will vote Labour next year, and that isn't an isolated example. Arrogance has, and will, cost them dear; just a shame the rest of us had to pay so much of the price.
COWER BRIEF MORTALS. HO. HO. HO.
PorFavor
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Re: Saturday 6th & Sunday 7th September 2014

Post by PorFavor »

pk1 wrote:
PorFavor wrote:I'm just wondering - did the hard-working Mike Hancock manage to drag himself in for yesterday's vote, I wonder? Anyone know, please?
He did !

What a guy....
Thanks. I can tell you're impressed . . .
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Re: Saturday 6th & Sunday 7th September 2014

Post by PorFavor »

rebeccariots2 wrote:
pk1 wrote:Striking poster
Thanks for posting it PK. And anyone who can go and protest - please do. There's also a fringe event about badger culling at the Labour party conference - should be worth a visit.

If my presence on FTN diminishes over the next couple of months - you know why. The fields, woodland, copses and hedgerows call - and their need is urgent.
You've come over all "Wind in the Willows"!

Thanks for all the work you do on this front, by the way.
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AngryAsWell
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Re: Saturday 6th & Sunday 7th September 2014

Post by AngryAsWell »

rebeccariots2 wrote:
pk1 wrote:Striking poster
Thanks for posting it PK. And anyone who can go and protest - please do. There's also a fringe event about badger culling at the Labour party conference - should be worth a visit.

If my presence on FTN diminishes over the next couple of months - you know why. The fields, woodland, copses and hedgerows call - and their need is urgent.
Happy to say Labour have said since at least 2013 that they would abandon badger cull policy.
http://www.westernmorningnews.co.uk/ll- ... story.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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Re: Saturday 6th & Sunday 7th September 2014

Post by TechnicalEphemera »

PorFavor wrote:
rebeccariots2 wrote:
pk1 wrote:Striking poster
Thanks for posting it PK. And anyone who can go and protest - please do. There's also a fringe event about badger culling at the Labour party conference - should be worth a visit.

If my presence on FTN diminishes over the next couple of months - you know why. The fields, woodland, copses and hedgerows call - and their need is urgent.
You've come over all "Wind in the Willows"!

Thanks for all the work you do on this front, by the way.
I ride a cob with a particular fondness for eating hedgerows. I am sure she would lend a hand if asked.
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Re: Saturday 6th & Sunday 7th September 2014

Post by TechnicalEphemera »

I see the Guardian has to go somewhere else for its click-bait now the celeb hacking story has started to die down.

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle ... hotography

Without wishing to trivialise the mass broadcast of stolen photographs, one thing did strike me. All of the people involved have probably only appeared heavily airbrushed in their usual media photographs.

Perhaps all A listers should be photographed wearing relatively little and have the photos published un-edited.

Might help modern day body image issues.
Release the Guardvarks.
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rebeccariots2
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Re: Saturday 6th & Sunday 7th September 2014

Post by rebeccariots2 »

Ignore the typical Daily Mail screaming headline treatment - and carry on reading past the first bit and this report carries some disturbing detail of what is going on ... which seems in direct contrast to the other versions I've heard of the majority of Scottish people participating in a lively but respectful debate. Some of the instances cited re intimidation of those who have spoken on behalf of the No campaign or said they are going to vote No are particularly nasty. Being pelted with eggs seems the least of it.
Homes vandalised, accused of stealing jobs and an atmosphere of discriminatory intimidation: The savage racism turning Scotland into a no-go zone for the English
Alison and Ken Porter are selling their bungalow on the outskirts of Stirling
They moved from Yorkshire but are going to return after being 'driven out'
In few years their home was vandalised twice and accused of stealing jobs
Under a fortnight until independence referendum and polls have narrowed
Labour MP Jim Murphy pelted with eggs on Kirkcaldy High Street last week

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... glish.html
If this is part way accurate there will be work to do to mend rifts and tensions whichever way the vote re independence goes.
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rebeccariots2
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Re: Saturday 6th & Sunday 7th September 2014

Post by rebeccariots2 »

TechnicalEphemera wrote:
PorFavor wrote:
rebeccariots2 wrote: Thanks for posting it PK. And anyone who can go and protest - please do. There's also a fringe event about badger culling at the Labour party conference - should be worth a visit.

If my presence on FTN diminishes over the next couple of months - you know why. The fields, woodland, copses and hedgerows call - and their need is urgent.
You've come over all "Wind in the Willows"!

Thanks for all the work you do on this front, by the way.
I ride a cob with a particular fondness for eating hedgerows. I am sure she would lend a hand if asked.
Love that thought. Wish we could do what is needed on horseback - that would be great.

We saw the most beautiful - and I mean the most beautiful - young pony yesterday. And I wasn't a horsey youngster ... unlike my sisters.
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rebeccariots2
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Re: Saturday 6th & Sunday 7th September 2014

Post by rebeccariots2 »

WiganCasinoPlaque.jpg
WiganCasinoPlaque.jpg (39.73 KiB) Viewed 34214 times
Glad to see Paul Mason appreciating Wigan Casino (or where it was). I already rate him highly - and he has just gone up in my estimation.
Paul Mason ‏@paulmasonnews 1h
Just unveiled. Blue plaque to commemorate Wigan Casino, greatest dance club in world 1973-81 #ktf #northernsoul pic.twitter.com/cyA96i9cJC
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Re: Saturday 6th & Sunday 7th September 2014

Post by refitman »

rebeccariots2 wrote:
WiganCasinoPlaque.jpg
Glad to see Paul Mason appreciating Wigan Casino (or where it was). I already rate him highly - and he has just gone up in my estimation.
Paul Mason ‏@paulmasonnews 1h
Just unveiled. Blue plaque to commemorate Wigan Casino, greatest dance club in world 1973-81 #ktf #northernsoul pic.twitter.com/cyA96i9cJC
Did you see the episode of the Culture Show he did on the history of Northern Soul? He went back an re-learnt the old dance moves for a night out.

[youtube]JMtaEASd2LI[/youtube]
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rebeccariots2
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Re: Saturday 6th & Sunday 7th September 2014

Post by rebeccariots2 »

refitman wrote:
rebeccariots2 wrote:
WiganCasinoPlaque.jpg
Glad to see Paul Mason appreciating Wigan Casino (or where it was). I already rate him highly - and he has just gone up in my estimation.
Paul Mason ‏@paulmasonnews 1h
Just unveiled. Blue plaque to commemorate Wigan Casino, greatest dance club in world 1973-81 #ktf #northernsoul pic.twitter.com/cyA96i9cJC
Did you see the episode of the Culture Show he did on the history of Northern Soul? He went back an re-learnt the old dance moves for a night out.

[youtube]JMtaEASd2LI[/youtube]
I don't think I did. Thank you - I will watch that later on and savour....
Working on the wild side.
Temulkar
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Re: Saturday 6th & Sunday 7th September 2014

Post by Temulkar »

Caroline Lucas doing well on Any Questions.
Tubby Isaacs
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Re: Saturday 6th & Sunday 7th September 2014

Post by Tubby Isaacs »

This good on Scottish Independence (and on George Monbiot) by Simon Wren-Lewis:

http://mainlymacro.blogspot.co.uk/2014/ ... dence.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
This seems to me like utopianism at its worst. Why should we presume that an independent Scotland would be free of all the things we dislike about the UK? He talks about the UK economy being about “speculation and rent”, “beholden to a corrupt financial centre”, compared to a Scottish economy based on “enterprise and distribution”. Does this assume that much of the Scottish financial sector leaves on independence? If they do not, how long will it be before they use their influence (and the threat of leaving) at Holyrood?
He writes “The monetary policy committee is based in London and bows to the banks.” That really is nonsense. He is right that plenty of small countries with their own currencies thrive, and I have argued that an independent Scotland would be better off with its own currency. But that is not the policy of the Scottish government. Are they lying to attract votes, or do they want to be beholden to the interests that Monbiot derides? Either way, that does not reflect too well on Scotland’s future rulers.
Or what about newspapers? The UK “is dominated by a media owned by tax exiles, who, instructing their editors from their distant chateaux, play the patriotism card at every opportunity.” I have a lot of sympathy with that view. But in Scotland the largest selling newspaper is the Scottish Sun, owned by guess who. And no Scottish political leader would play the patriotism card, would they?!.
Last edited by Tubby Isaacs on Sat 06 Sep, 2014 2:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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rebeccariots2
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Re: Saturday 6th & Sunday 7th September 2014

Post by rebeccariots2 »

Temulkar wrote:Caroline Lucas doing well on Any Questions.
She did very well. And you will be pleased to hear that we heard Natalie Bennet outlining Green Party policies on minimum citizens income on the radio the other day as we were driving home and Mr Riots said to me 'how good it is to hear some genuinely radical policies for a change'.
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TheGrimSqueaker
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Re: Saturday 6th & Sunday 7th September 2014

Post by TheGrimSqueaker »

rebeccariots2 wrote:I don't think I did. Thank you - I will watch that later on and savour....
Loved Paul Mason's programme, very evocative. There was another good one on BBC 4 a couple of months back, "Living For The Weekend", made to celebrate the release of Elaine Constantine's film (well worth looking out for a repeat); it was dedicated to Fran Franklin, one of the stalwarts of the scene and who features heavily in Mason's programme, who sadly passed away earlier this year.
COWER BRIEF MORTALS. HO. HO. HO.
Tubby Isaacs
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Re: Saturday 6th & Sunday 7th September 2014

Post by Tubby Isaacs »

rebeccariots2 wrote:
WiganCasinoPlaque.jpg
Glad to see Paul Mason appreciating Wigan Casino (or where it was). I already rate him highly - and he has just gone up in my estimation.
Paul Mason ‏@paulmasonnews 1h
Just unveiled. Blue plaque to commemorate Wigan Casino, greatest dance club in world 1973-81 #ktf #northernsoul pic.twitter.com/cyA96i9cJC
Better than clubs of the time in New York?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gallery_(disco" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danceteria" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradise_Garage" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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AngryAsWell
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Re: Saturday 6th & Sunday 7th September 2014

Post by AngryAsWell »

:lol!: Was looking for something about the Badger cull on Labour's web page and got this message
Well, this is rotten.
But, a 404 Error is still better than five more years of Tory government.
http://www.labour.org.uk/listen-to-the- ... adger-cull" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
letsskiptotheleft
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Re: Saturday 6th & Sunday 7th September 2014

Post by letsskiptotheleft »

Do you reckon on the 18th of this month all campaigning will cease, like it does on the day of the GE?

If so, 11 days, and counting down. ;)
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Re: Saturday 6th & Sunday 7th September 2014

Post by AnatolyKasparov »

rebeccariots2 wrote:
Temulkar wrote:Caroline Lucas doing well on Any Questions.
She did very well. And you will be pleased to hear that we heard Natalie Bennet outlining Green Party policies on minimum citizens income on the radio the other day as we were driving home and Mr Riots said to me 'how good it is to hear some genuinely radical policies for a change'.
In two minds about all this.

Firstly, it is of course easy for the Greens to promise all sorts of nice stuff when there is absolutely no chance of their ever being called to account on it. And, undoubtedly, Bennett remains deeply underwhelming personally - the difference in class whenever one hears Lucas speak is obvious.

Having said that, having a party putting radical ideas out there to an electorate who all too rarely get them in the mainstream media is surely a good thing - and a strong and relevant Green party helping keep Labour honest has to be welcome too. When challenged about his lurch to the right, Blair often waved away his leftwing critics as having "nowhere else to go". With a viable Green option out there, that is less true than ever :)
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ohsocynical
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Re: Saturday 6th & Sunday 7th September 2014

Post by ohsocynical »

I am fuming.

My granddaughter has just started senior school.
I was talking to my son today. He said it's cost nearly two hundred pounds to get her uniform, and on top of that they've had to shell out £23 for use of a locker at school for a year.
It's a private company that runs it. My d-in-law had to pay online.

That sounds like a cynical ploy to make money! Roughly eight hundred kids [could be more] at £23 each = £18,400.
Once you've provided the lockers, it's money for old rope. Another head teacher who needs a lesson on the reality of living in Tory Britain when you're working class.

My son said she has a lot of books and stuff to carry around. I replied I'd have made him keep it all organised at home. They wouldn't get money out of me like that.
We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office. – Aesop
Tubby Isaacs
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Re: Saturday 6th & Sunday 7th September 2014

Post by Tubby Isaacs »

Laura McInerney ‏@miss_mcinerney 1m
Gove's King James' Bible was an example of "ministerial whim" says @samfr. (This is NOT perfect policy making, apparently).
Samfr (Sam Freedman) is an ex-advisor to Gove. Might be more to come.
ohsocynical
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Re: Saturday 6th & Sunday 7th September 2014

Post by ohsocynical »

I am so relieved I don't have to deal with bureaucracy too much these days, and when I do it takes all my willpower and then some to stay polite.

We are turning into a nation of angry people and once you've hit that point, it's hard to go back.
We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office. – Aesop
ohsocynical
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Re: Saturday 6th & Sunday 7th September 2014

Post by ohsocynical »

Is anyone else following the DWP Twitter feed? If so is it the genuine article, because if it is, it's absolutely disgraceful....
We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office. – Aesop
Tubby Isaacs
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Re: Saturday 6th & Sunday 7th September 2014

Post by Tubby Isaacs »

Laura McInerney ‏@miss_mcinerney 35s
.@samfr reveals the Ebacc was prepped to give something to announce on the Andrew Marr show & name decided on a whim
Christ almighty.
That is awful.
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adam
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Re: Saturday 6th & Sunday 7th September 2014

Post by adam »

Tubby Isaacs wrote:
Laura McInerney ‏@miss_mcinerney 1m
Gove's King James' Bible was an example of "ministerial whim" says @samfr. (This is NOT perfect policy making, apparently).
Samfr (Sam Freedman) is an ex-advisor to Gove. Might be more to come.
I've said this several times before, but will just mention again that every school was given a complete set of the Everyman library as a Millennium gift, which included a copy of the King James Bible - never mind how many copies there would have been out there in schools anyway.
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refitman
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Re: Saturday 6th & Sunday 7th September 2014

Post by refitman »

ohsocynical wrote:Is anyone else following the DWP Twitter feed? If so is it the genuine article, because if it is, it's absolutely disgraceful....
Unfortunately it is the official twitter account.
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refitman
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Re: Saturday 6th & Sunday 7th September 2014

Post by refitman »

adam wrote:
Tubby Isaacs wrote:
Laura McInerney ‏@miss_mcinerney 1m
Gove's King James' Bible was an example of "ministerial whim" says @samfr. (This is NOT perfect policy making, apparently).
Samfr (Sam Freedman) is an ex-advisor to Gove. Might be more to come.
I've said this several times before, but will just mention again that every school was given a complete set of the Everyman library as a Millennium gift, which included a copy of the King James Bible - never mind how many copies there would have been out there in schools anyway.
Yes, but they didn't have a personal forward from Gove and were therefore not worth the paper they were printed on :roll:
ohsocynical
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Re: Saturday 6th & Sunday 7th September 2014

Post by ohsocynical »

refitman wrote:
ohsocynical wrote:Is anyone else following the DWP Twitter feed? If so is it the genuine article, because if it is, it's absolutely disgraceful....
Unfortunately it is the official twitter account.

Right. In that case it's time I turned my bad temper onto a deserving cause.
We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office. – Aesop
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TheGrimSqueaker
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Re: Saturday 6th & Sunday 7th September 2014

Post by TheGrimSqueaker »

refitman wrote:
ohsocynical wrote:Is anyone else following the DWP Twitter feed? If so is it the genuine article, because if it is, it's absolutely disgraceful....
Unfortunately it is the official twitter account.
And it is absolutely disgraceful. It must breach so many civil service rules on politicization but I'd guess the DWP mandarins know they have no choice now; if (no, when) Labour gets in next May they know it is the high jump for them - expect a rash of 'early retirements'.

Anybody seen Helm's latest poke at Ed, the McCluskey 'warning'. I'm beginning to wonder if Len is a Tory Party sleeper, he seems so determined to rock the boat.

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/201 ... nick-clegg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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ohsocynical
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Re: Saturday 6th & Sunday 7th September 2014

Post by ohsocynical »

Aimlessly following incidental links as you do on a Saturday afternoon, I came across this beauty...

http://insidecroydon.com/2014/09/03/tor ... -pay-hike/

Well done that local paper. What makes me think they don't like the Tories :clap:
We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office. – Aesop
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