Friday 14th November 2014

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 4:29 pm

Maria Eagle MP retweeted
Labour Environment ‏@LabourDefra 1h1 hour ago
"It's appalling that the Government has spent millions on scientific evidence which they’ve then ignored"- @meaglemp http://www.westernmorningnews.co.uk/Bad ... story.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; …

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 4:36 pm

14th November 2014

Joint Badger Trust and Care for the Wild Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Leaked Badger Cull Costs Miss £3.5million Police Price Tag

Leaked figures from Defra published today have revealed the cost of the 2013 badger cull – but missed out £3.5 million spent on policing the operation.

The front page of Daily Telegraph today says that each badger killed during last year’s cull cost £3000, with 1,879 badgers being killed at the cost of £6.3 million. However, a glaring omission from the figures is the £3.5m cost of policing the cull. When this is added on, the cost per badger is actually £5,200.

Dominic Dyer, CEO of Badger Trust and Policy Advisor Care for the Wild, said: “If every badger killed last year cost the taxpayer £3000, that would be a horrendous waste of money on a policy that leading scientists say won’t work. But the reality is that every badger killed actually cost £5,200 – and that is simply beyond belief.

“The government claim they have to do something as bovine TB costs the country a lot of money, and they say that ‘doing nothing is not an option’. But just over the border in Wales, they have looked at the problem, thoroughly tested their cattle so they really understand how many actually have the illness, and brought in more frequent testing and better movement controls. By doing that, they have brought down the number of cattle slaughtered for bTB by 48% in five years. Wales has a policy that is far from doing nothing, and is actually working. England has a policy that is inhumane, unscientific and is throwing money down the drain.”

The cost of policing was included in Defra’s cost/benefit analysis prior to the 2013 cull, so should clearly be included in the cost of the cull. Defra had to pay for the policing costs, charged to them from the Home Office, so the true cost of the cull is much higher than has been reported.

Following the Defra figures release and this Badger Trust PR ... other people who have received information from Defra have come forward to say that based on information they received previously they are not sure that Defra's released figures include all the costs incurred directly by them ... let alone the police costs cited above. If so - this could mean the true costs are astronomical - and these figures, appalling though they are, are actually a damage limitation exercise.

I expect a lot of research, pulling together of FOIs etc to be going on as I write this. Will update you if there are any further developments.

ephemerid · Post by **ephemerid** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 4:39 pm

RobertSnozers wrote:

Cyberknife is an overpriced sack of shit peddled by a gang of profiteers.

Really?

So why does the Royal Marsden use it, why do some patients prefer it, and how come it's considered safer in terms of the protection of close vital organs than standard radiotherapy?

I've read a bit about this, but I'm no expert - this is a genuine question, Robert - why do you think it's "a sack of shit"?
I would really like to know.

TheGrimSqueaker · Post by **TheGrimSqueaker** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 4:44 pm

A bit of humour/appeal for perspective from comedian Nathaniel Tapley (aka Sir Ian Bowler MP) looking at why we on the Left should "learn to love Katie Hopkins".

http://usvsth3m.com/post/why-the-left-s ... ie-hopkins" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

ephemerid · Post by **ephemerid** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 4:46 pm

The very splendid Simon Duffy has Tweeted a photo of a Tory mayor cutting a cake to "celebrate" a "successful" year at a food bank.

Lovely.

Starve the people, leave charity to feed the people, have a fucking party to celebrate.

I hope they choke on their bloody cake.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 4:52 pm

ephemerid wrote:The very splendid Simon Duffy has Tweeted a photo of a Tory mayor cutting a cake to "celebrate" a "successful" year at a food bank.

Lovely.

Starve the people, leave charity to feed the people, have a fucking party to celebrate.

I hope they choke on their bloody cake.

I hope it was a cake similar to those made by the fair hand of Letitia Cropley (played by Liz Smith) of the Vicar of Dibley ... and that the Tory mayor was forced to have seconds, and thirds, and fourths.

Eric_WLothian · Post by **Eric_WLothian** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 4:56 pm

ephemerid wrote:
tinyclanger2 wrote:http://www.politics.co.uk/comment-analy ... -fight-bac?

This more or less made me cry, not because it is so nasty - though certainly that didn't help - but because it is just such terrible terrible "journalism". If a sixth former handed this in as an analysis - or even essay - surely it would go straight to "fail" ?

I had a look at the website the article links to.

James, apparently, is touting for business to instruct people on communication.

Do you want to impress at a Select Committee Hearing? Want to knock 'em dead with your CEO communications?

James, is your go-to guy! (He's been to university and everything.....)

I went a stage further and googled 'James Hutchinson Actor'. Here's the British hit:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2022356/

Of course, it might not be the same person, but the acting career shown (3 out of the 4 credits are for chorus parts in Gilbert & Sullivan operas) is no more notable than the article!

Still, if you want to address a select committee dressed as Pooh Bah, he might be your man.

ephemerid · Post by **ephemerid** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 4:57 pm

RobertSnozers wrote:
ephemerid wrote:
RobertSnozers wrote:

Cyberknife is an overpriced sack of shit peddled by a gang of profiteers.

Really?

So why does the Royal Marsden use it, why do some patients prefer it, and how come it's considered safer in terms of the protection of close vital organs than standard radiotherapy?

I've read a bit about this, but I'm no expert - this is a genuine question, Robert - why do you think it's "a sack of shit"?
I would really like to know.
Royal Marsden uses it because some fucking idiot was persuaded to leave a bequest to pay for a cyberknife and only a cyberknife.

Some patients prefer it? How the hell would they know what kind of targeted radiotherapy is working on their insides?

Considered safer than standard radiotherapy? It isn't an alternative to regular radiotherapy, it's an alternative to surgery in cases where regular radiotherapy isn't appropriate. And it isn't reasonably considered safer than anything unless the evidence has got an awful lot better in the last few years. When my PCT considered an application for this there was virtually no evidence to support its use, especially at the vastly inflated cost.

It's a sack of shit because it does the same job as the much cheaper Gamma Knife, and because it is pushed by a bunch of avaricious scum who have put far more resource into lobbying and PR than into actually proving their product works, at vast public expense.

I hate everything that Cyberknife stands for on the basis of experience that I don't want to repeat in public because they'd probably pursue me in court with money better spent on proper trials.

OK - fair do's.

I'll do a bit more digging.

Thanks, Robert.

Rebecca · Post by **Rebecca** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 5:01 pm

rebeccariots2 wrote:
ephemerid wrote:The very splendid Simon Duffy has Tweeted a photo of a Tory mayor cutting a cake to "celebrate" a "successful" year at a food bank.

Lovely.

Starve the people, leave charity to feed the people, have a fucking party to celebrate.

I hope they choke on their bloody cake.
I hope it was a cake similar to those made by the fair hand of Letitia Cropley (played by Liz Smith) of the Vicar of Dibley ... and that the Tory mayor was forced to have seconds, and thirds, and fourths.

On the subject of cakes,mine are in the oven.But I have 3/4 of a bottle of brandy left.
What to do.....

Tizme1 · Post by **Tizme1** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 5:02 pm

rebeccariots2 wrote:
Mike Smithson @MSmithsonPB · 9h 9 hours ago
@jameschappers @BethRigby Next LD leader could be the 4 x elected mayor of Watford Dorothy Thornhill who's standing at GE15.
The stuff of nightmares for Tizme ... hope it does not come to pass.

Argh! I'm already having nightmares at the thought of her being our MP. Next LD leader - the very thought of it makes me shudder. Truly, in a world's greatest liar competition, it would be a toss up between her and the fish pointer...........

ephemerid · Post by **ephemerid** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 5:02 pm

Something a bit weird happened on Twitter just now.

I was commenting on a post from someone I follow about IDS's jobs fair in Chingford. Apparently he ran away before the punters turned up - many of whom had been mandated by the jobcentre to go or face a sanction.

I posted - "Any of them got a job" and a few snide remarks....I got a message saying it looks like I need a job and to join our team....etc.
From a hashtag entitled Get Hired Today.

Wankers.

LadyCentauria · Post by **LadyCentauria** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 5:03 pm

rebeccariots2 wrote:
Madeleine Moon ‏@MadeleineMoon 35m35 minutes ago
MOD's flagship reforms stalling as Army Reserve numbers increase by just 20 last year... http://www.madeleinemoonmp.com/speaking ... med_forces" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; …
I knew it was bad, but not that bad ...

Sheesh, that's on a par with IDS's claims of success for UC rollout and Paterson's for the badger cull.

Just saw the headline on the TImes front page, in the newsagent window: Dads Army. Apparently they are now inviting applications for the Reserve Army from people aged over 50...

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 5:03 pm

Andy Burnham puts Nigel Farage on the spot over his views on NHS privatisation

Andy Burnham MP, Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary in a letter to Nigel Farage sent today said:

Dear Mr Farage,

Yesterday you claimed “Ukip will keep the NHS free at the point of use”. Why should anyone believe this is anything but an opportunistic attempt to cover up your and your party’s longstanding conviction that the NHS should be privatised?

Will you answer the following specific questions about the NHS:

1. Did you tell a meeting in September 2012: “I think we are going to have to move to an insurance-based system of healthcare. Frankly, I would feel more comfortable that my money would return value if I was able to do that through the market place of an insurance company than just us trustingly giving £100bn a year to central government and expecting them to organise the healthcare service from cradle to grave for us”?

2. Can you confirm that your Deputy Leader congratulated the current Government on “bringing a whiff of privatisation into the beleaguered National Health Service” and warned that “the very existence of the NHS stifles competition”?

3. Do you disagree with your new recruit Douglas Carswell who in 2012 called for “open market” in healthcare contracts and in 2013 he supported the Government’s catastrophic top-down reorganisation of the NHS, even calling it, of all things, “modest”?

4. Will you instruct Douglas Carswell, who voted for the Health and Social Care Act, to support Clive Efford MP’s Bill to stop the privatisation of the NHS?

5. Why did you endorse a 2013 article from Jonathan Stanley – in the process describing him as “A UKIP health spokesman” – in which he suggested allowing GPs to “charge a flat fee to see non-emergency cases”?

6. Did you, in 2013, when speaking specifically about jobs in the NHS say, “there is plenty of room for cuts and efficiencies”?

It is clear you have long believed cutting the NHS even further, increasing privatisation and charging patients for vital health services.

Labour, by contrast, has a costed plan to boost the frontline, which you refuse to match.

Yours sincerely,

Andy Burnham MP

Shadow Health Secretary

http://press.labour.org.uk/post/1026101 ... t-over-his

ephemerid · Post by **ephemerid** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 5:05 pm

rebeccariots2 wrote:
ephemerid wrote:The very splendid Simon Duffy has Tweeted a photo of a Tory mayor cutting a cake to "celebrate" a "successful" year at a food bank.

Lovely.

Starve the people, leave charity to feed the people, have a fucking party to celebrate.

I hope they choke on their bloody cake.
I hope it was a cake similar to those made by the fair hand of Letitia Cropley (played by Liz Smith) of the Vicar of Dibley ... and that the Tory mayor was forced to have seconds, and thirds, and fourths.

I don't.

I hope it was laced with bloody arsenic.

Disgusting.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 5:05 pm

Rebecca wrote:
rebeccariots2 wrote:
ephemerid wrote:The very splendid Simon Duffy has Tweeted a photo of a Tory mayor cutting a cake to "celebrate" a "successful" year at a food bank.

Lovely.

Starve the people, leave charity to feed the people, have a fucking party to celebrate.

I hope they choke on their bloody cake.
I hope it was a cake similar to those made by the fair hand of Letitia Cropley (played by Liz Smith) of the Vicar of Dibley ... and that the Tory mayor was forced to have seconds, and thirds, and fourths.
On the subject of cakes,mine are in the oven.But I have 3/4 of a bottle of brandy left.
What to do.....

Make sure you get the bloody cakes out of the oven at the right time ... before you let rip with that irritating leftover brandy.

Tizme1 · Post by **Tizme1** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 5:06 pm

mikems wrote:I think this must be Tizme's campaign :

http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/a-dc ... or-Victory" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Hi,

Yes, that's the Farm Terrace Allotments campaign. We had a celebratory bbq at the allotments on Wednesday. Fire works, champagne etc. Some of it was filmed by the One Show. Probably going to air on Tuesday.

ephemerid · Post by **ephemerid** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 5:07 pm

RobertSnozers wrote:Sorry about my tone on the Cyberknife posts. I gather things have moved on since my experience with them but it is still raw and I am physically trembling with anger to recall it even after nearly five years. I shall sign off for the rest of the day.

I'm sorry if I upset you. Truly.

It really wasn't my intention. I genuinely wanted to know.

TheGrimSqueaker · Post by **TheGrimSqueaker** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 5:08 pm

Eric_WLothian wrote:
ephemerid wrote:
tinyclanger2 wrote:http://www.politics.co.uk/comment-analy ... -fight-bac?

This more or less made me cry, not because it is so nasty - though certainly that didn't help - but because it is just such terrible terrible "journalism". If a sixth former handed this in as an analysis - or even essay - surely it would go straight to "fail" ?

I had a look at the website the article links to.

James, apparently, is touting for business to instruct people on communication.

Do you want to impress at a Select Committee Hearing? Want to knock 'em dead with your CEO communications?

James, is your go-to guy! (He's been to university and everything.....)
I went a stage further and googled 'James Hutchinson Actor'. Here's the British hit:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2022356/

Of course, it might not be the same person, but the acting career shown (3 out of the 4 credits are for chorus parts in Gilbert & Sullivan operas) is no more notable than the article!

Still, if you want to address a select committee dressed as Pooh Bah, he might be your man.

I doubt it is the same person. His Linkedin profile has him at UCL from 1998-2001, then LAMDA from 2001-2004 (i.e. at the same time as those G & S parts); if he'd had three film roles, however minor, while he was at LAMDA I doubt he'd have been so quick to give up on the acting - I suspect that I can make as much of a claim to be a former actor as him, with a good few amateur roles under my belt.

Tizme1 · Post by **Tizme1** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 5:08 pm

Afternoon all btw.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 5:08 pm

ephemerid wrote:
rebeccariots2 wrote:
ephemerid wrote:The very splendid Simon Duffy has Tweeted a photo of a Tory mayor cutting a cake to "celebrate" a "successful" year at a food bank.

Lovely.

Starve the people, leave charity to feed the people, have a fucking party to celebrate.

I hope they choke on their bloody cake.
I hope it was a cake similar to those made by the fair hand of Letitia Cropley (played by Liz Smith) of the Vicar of Dibley ... and that the Tory mayor was forced to have seconds, and thirds, and fourths.

I don't.

I hope it was laced with bloody arsenic.

Disgusting.

Not sure you are that familiar with the kind of cakes made by Letitia - Ephemerid.

Letitia Cropley was a Parish Council member and the Dibley church organist. Geraldine once referred to her as "The Queen of Cordon Bleurgh", and David Horton called her "The Dibley Poisoner". She was the creator of such revolting "delicacies" as "Bread and butter pudding surprise" (a recipe for which she was breeding snails), Marmite cake (which she served for Frank's birthday), orange cake with Branston Pickle icing (which she served at the cake stall at the Dibley autumn fayre), parsnip brownies, plain pancakes "with just a hint of liver," and chocolate spread sandwiches made with cod roe.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ch ... _of_Dibley

Any of those would have done nicely.

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 5:11 pm

Good (late afternoon) everyone. Just logged in without checking anything but my e-mail.

TheGrimSqueaker · Post by **TheGrimSqueaker** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 5:11 pm

Rebecca wrote:
rebeccariots2 wrote:
ephemerid wrote:The very splendid Simon Duffy has Tweeted a photo of a Tory mayor cutting a cake to "celebrate" a "successful" year at a food bank.

Lovely.

Starve the people, leave charity to feed the people, have a fucking party to celebrate.

I hope they choke on their bloody cake.
I hope it was a cake similar to those made by the fair hand of Letitia Cropley (played by Liz Smith) of the Vicar of Dibley ... and that the Tory mayor was forced to have seconds, and thirds, and fourths.
On the subject of cakes,mine are in the oven.But I have 3/4 of a bottle of brandy left.
What to do.....

Are they Christmassy-type cakes? If they are, you'll need that brandy to feed them; if not, I'm sure you'll find another use ......

diGriz · Post by **diGriz** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 5:13 pm

citizenJA wrote:Good (late afternoon) everyone. Just logged in without checking anything but my e-mail.

I'd assume your computer entered a saved password before it had time to show the ****** graphic in the password box.

Eric_WLothian · Post by **Eric_WLothian** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 5:17 pm

Latest on the Scottish leadership contest:

http://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/t ... -1-3605489

Rebecca · Post by **Rebecca** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 5:18 pm

TheGrimSqueaker wrote:
Rebecca wrote:
rebeccariots2 wrote: I hope it was a cake similar to those made by the fair hand of Letitia Cropley (played by Liz Smith) of the Vicar of Dibley ... and that the Tory mayor was forced to have seconds, and thirds, and fourths.
On the subject of cakes,mine are in the oven.But I have 3/4 of a bottle of brandy left.
What to do.....
Are they Christmassy-type cakes? If they are, you'll need that brandy to feed them; if not, I'm sure you'll find another use ......

They are absolutely christmas cakes,the usual Delia.
Will need some for suetless mincemeat too,but I bought a large bottle as it was on special and only £3 more than a half sized one.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 5:21 pm

Alex Andreou ‏@sturdyAlex 3h3 hours ago
@paulmasonnews. I could totally get on board with a weekly C4 item entitled Paul Mason Loses It About...

Make it happen

Paul MasonVerified account
‏@paulmasonnews
@sturdyAlex I based it in what happens when my puppy takes a dump on my Persian rug, so there are endless variations ...

Morven Crumlish ‏@MorvenCrumlish 2h2 hours ago
@paulmasonnews @sturdyAlex Does your puppy then try and sell your shitty rug back to you for a profit?

Alex Andreou ‏@sturdyAlex 2h2 hours ago
@paulmasonnews It was fabulous.

TheGrimSqueaker · Post by **TheGrimSqueaker** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 5:23 pm

rebeccariots2 wrote:
ephemerid wrote:The very splendid Simon Duffy has Tweeted a photo of a Tory mayor cutting a cake to "celebrate" a "successful" year at a food bank.

Lovely.

Starve the people, leave charity to feed the people, have a fucking party to celebrate.

I hope they choke on their bloody cake.
I hope it was a cake similar to those made by the fair hand of Letitia Cropley (played by Liz Smith) of the Vicar of Dibley ... and that the Tory mayor was forced to have seconds, and thirds, and fourths.

Ah, Letitia Cropley; I was never a massive VoD fan, but Liz Smith was great in whatever she did. For somebody who didn't start acting until she was 49 (courtesy of the inimitable Mike Leigh, who has nurtured so many fine talents) she had a helluva career. I hope she is enjoying her well earned retirement.

RR2, just wanted to say thanks for the continued updates on the badger culling; during my time in Peterborough I knew a fair number of people in the farming community and have always felt that the culling was more about them getting their rocks off than anything meaningful. Another good reason to hope Labour win next year.

pk1 · Post by **pk1** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 5:24 pm

This graphic is by Populus who collate the news stories most noticed when polled. It rather points to the vast majority paying no heed to Labour's internal wrangling over the past week:

pk1 · Post by **pk1** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 5:27 pm

RobertSnozers wrote:Sorry about my tone on the Cyberknife posts. I gather things have moved on since my experience with them but it is still raw and I am physically trembling with anger to recall it even after nearly five years. I shall sign off for the rest of the day.

Yikes, must have been bad to have brought on this rage after all this time.

Don't stay away too long though - we rely on you !

TheGrimSqueaker · Post by **TheGrimSqueaker** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 5:28 pm

Rebecca wrote:
TheGrimSqueaker wrote:
Rebecca wrote: On the subject of cakes,mine are in the oven.But I have 3/4 of a bottle of brandy left.
What to do.....
Are they Christmassy-type cakes? If they are, you'll need that brandy to feed them; if not, I'm sure you'll find another use ......
They are absolutely christmas cakes,the usual Delia.
Will need some for suetless mincemeat too,but I bought a large bottle as it was on special and only £3 more than a half sized one.

Ah, if it is the Delia cake then you will definitely need it for feeding! I've made that one a few times, always well received especially, and rather oddly, by a cat I used to own; you could leave a plate of food next to her on the floor (long story) and she wouldn't touch it, but she would fight me for a piece of Delia cake!

AnatolyKasparov · Post by **AnatolyKasparov** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 5:29 pm

My weekly review is over there - if anybody can find it amongst all the CyberNat guff

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 5:29 pm

TheGrimSqueaker wrote:
rebeccariots2 wrote:
ephemerid wrote:The very splendid Simon Duffy has Tweeted a photo of a Tory mayor cutting a cake to "celebrate" a "successful" year at a food bank.

Lovely.

Starve the people, leave charity to feed the people, have a fucking party to celebrate.

I hope they choke on their bloody cake.
I hope it was a cake similar to those made by the fair hand of Letitia Cropley (played by Liz Smith) of the Vicar of Dibley ... and that the Tory mayor was forced to have seconds, and thirds, and fourths.
Ah, Letitia Cropley; I was never a massive VoD fan, but Liz Smith was great in whatever she did. For somebody who didn't start acting until she was 49 (courtesy of the inimitable Mike Leigh, who has nurtured so many fine talents) she had a helluva career. I hope she is enjoying her well earned retirement.

RR2, just wanted to say thanks for the continued updates on the badger culling; during my time in Peterborough I knew a fair number of people in the farming community and have always felt that the culling was more about them getting their rocks off than anything meaningful. Another good reason to hope Labour win next year.

I so agree with you about Liz Smith - superb. And that some farmers (not all) get their rocks off killing badgers and the like. The culling fetish has certainly got very little to do with bTB - it's been shown to be utterly futile as a measure for that.

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 5:30 pm

Rebecca wrote:
rebeccariots2 wrote:
ephemerid wrote:The very splendid Simon Duffy has Tweeted a photo of a Tory mayor cutting a cake to "celebrate" a "successful" year at a food bank.

Lovely.

Starve the people, leave charity to feed the people, have a fucking party to celebrate.

I hope they choke on their bloody cake.
I hope it was a cake similar to those made by the fair hand of Letitia Cropley (played by Liz Smith) of the Vicar of Dibley ... and that the Tory mayor was forced to have seconds, and thirds, and fourths.
On the subject of cakes,mine are in the oven.But I have 3/4 of a bottle of brandy left.
What to do.....

Oooh. You are naughty....But the left over brandy is the best part of making Christmas cakes I like mine with Roses lime juice.

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 5:35 pm

Rebecca wrote:
TheGrimSqueaker wrote:
Rebecca wrote: On the subject of cakes,mine are in the oven.But I have 3/4 of a bottle of brandy left.
What to do.....
Are they Christmassy-type cakes? If they are, you'll need that brandy to feed them; if not, I'm sure you'll find another use ......
They are absolutely christmas cakes,the usual Delia.
Will need some for suetless mincemeat too,but I bought a large bottle as it was on special and only £3 more than a half sized one.

Have you tried making your own mincemeat? I believe there are recipes without suet. I think they use olive oil instead.

AnatolyKasparov · Post by **AnatolyKasparov** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 5:40 pm

Meanwhile I note over there that Deborah Orr, a card carrying LibDem, thinks that Ed's message is too miserable. Diddums

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 5:40 pm

Andy Burnham challenges Nigel Farage over NHS 'cover-up' in open letter
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/po ... 62159.html

Indy now reporting on this (I believe we had it here first btw).

Surprised there aren't already a few comments from followers of Cure the NHS btl slagging Burnham off for things he didn't do or have responsibility for. Are they still very active on Twitter or has it quietened down of late?

Rebecca · Post by **Rebecca** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 5:41 pm

ohsocynical wrote:
Rebecca wrote:
rebeccariots2 wrote: I hope it was a cake similar to those made by the fair hand of Letitia Cropley (played by Liz Smith) of the Vicar of Dibley ... and that the Tory mayor was forced to have seconds, and thirds, and fourths.
On the subject of cakes,mine are in the oven.But I have 3/4 of a bottle of brandy left.
What to do.....
Oooh. You are naughty....But the left over brandy is the best part of making Christmas cakes I like mine with Roses lime juice.

Blimey!

ephemerid · Post by **ephemerid** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 5:42 pm

There is a very good article about Maximus who are Atos who are....etc.etc.

http://www.opendemocracy.net/ourkingdom ... or-purpose" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Along with a very good summary of what has happened with ESA and the WCA since the new benefit was introduced, there's this -
All the staff working for Atos on the WCA are to be TUPE'd across to Maximus. As we expected.
Atos have a brand new £10 Million contract to provide IT services to Maximus.

Now I don't know if this is because Atos still owns the LIMA software, or if Maximus can't do the IT, or what - but Maximus have a £500 Million deal over 3 years, which comes to £166 Million a year (Atos used to get £115 million a year)

Now we have Atos in the mix too, the total annual cost of the WCA has gone up by £61 Million a year - and Atos are still there, both in running the IT and in the management of Maximus - the head of which used to work for Unum.

Is there anything we can do to publicise this?

It absolutely reeks.

Post by **refitman** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 5:43 pm

AnatolyKasparov wrote:My weekly review is over there - if anybody can find it amongst all the CyberNat guff

Got it, do I win a prize?

AnatolyKasparov wrote:Away from Caledonia for a moment, seven local council byelections this week:

Derbyshire CC - Tory hold of a fairly safe division in the rural west of the county, with UKIP second and Labour not far behind (even they will be pleased to have taken over 26% of the vote in not "natural" territory for them) Curiously, all three parties saw their vote share increase modestly since last 2013 - the only election since boundary changes - as the 8% the last placed LibDem got then was shared out between them.

Mid Sussex DC - Tory hold of a normally super-safe ward (around two thirds of the vote in 2011 and 2007, more than that in 2003) but they saw their share crash to the low 40s this time. The main beneficiaries were UKIP, a poor third in 2007 and 2011 but getting over 30% now - but even the LibDems, relegated to third despite coming second (albeit distantly) in every previous election since 2003, saw their poll increase to over a quarter this time. Tory complacency with the next elections only 6 months away, maybe?

Dartford DC - two vacancies here in a council that has seen a fair few since 2011; the first saw the Tories holding a ward that was marginal in 2003 but has been safe since, though their share was down as they lost out more from UKIP intervening and taking 24%; Labour also down a bit but keeping second and getting a small swing overall. The other contest saw a Labour hold, though they lost more to UKIP this time as they took second with over 30%; this was the seat of the former council leader who was first elected in the 1960s, and also has a bit of a history of right-wing activity - with a splinter group that later became the English Democrats taking one of the two seats back in 2003 and the EDs polling well later, as in other parts of Dartford (though they are in meltdown locally now) Tories relegated to third here, but their share only slightly down.

Wokingham DC - Tory gain from LibDem in a ward that has been swapped around in recent years - once a safeish LibDem area, Tories nearly won it in 2010 and actually did so a year later - then LibDems held on in 2012 but Labour then moved into second and actually won it (their first councillor here for some time) in May of this year. No such luck this time though as their share dropped by 10% since then whilst the Tories saw a healthy increase - whilst the LibDems whose vote crashed earlier this year, saw a small recovery. UKIP 4th with 13% and Greens last, both slightly down on May.

Wigan - Labour hold, beating UKIP by roughly 2 to 1 - virtually no swing since May when UKIP polled over 30% when they stood here for the first time. This ward has always voted Labour since the 2004 all-outs, though they were run close then by the local Community Action party who polled well here in some subsequent years. They have pretty much disintegrated recently, though - losing their last council seat in 2012 - and this time came last, being beaten not just by the Tories (even though they were down a bit on earlier this year) but also the Greens.

Cambridge DC - LibDem gain from Labour, though that maybe does not quite tell the whole story here; this is a normally safe LibDem ward (which actually lies outside the Cambridge parliamentary seat, it is in the S Cambs constituency) which voted Labour once in an almost freakish result in 2012. Given that the sitting councillor also resigned from the council in acrimonious circumstances, whilst a win is a win the LibDems may not be that happy that there was a modest but significant swing to Labour (who, to put things in context, until recent years regularly came a poor third here and on a few occasions even 4th behind the Greens) compared to May when the LibDems held on easily. They were not helped by the Tories also advancing since then to almost a quarter of the vote, though the Greens in 4th fell back slightly.

Three contests next week - though more eyes will of course be on Rochester.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 5:49 pm

Hundreds of asylum-seekers ‘wrongly deported’ on drug smuggler’s evidence
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/po ... 59903.html

Did we spot this revelation yesterday? Appalling.

Theresa May is facing fresh embarrassment amid allegations that the Home Office has for years been relying on the work of a convicted drug smuggler who lied about his qualifications to help it determine sensitive asylum cases – which may have resulted in hundreds of people being wrongly deported. ... Allegations have now surfaced in Sweden suggesting that the man is a convicted criminal who fabricated parts of his CV. Several independent linguistic experts have also cast doubt on the quality of his work, which earlier this year was criticised by the UK’s Supreme Court as offering “wholly inappropriate” views on whether an asylum-seeker sounded convincing...

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 5:52 pm

Are We All Asleep ? ‏@demindblower 10m10 minutes ago
Michael Portillo predicts David Cameron will be booted out at General Election

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/to ... ts-4629741

Rebecca · Post by **Rebecca** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 5:52 pm

ohsocynical wrote:
Rebecca wrote:
TheGrimSqueaker wrote: Are they Christmassy-type cakes? If they are, you'll need that brandy to feed them; if not, I'm sure you'll find another use ......
They are absolutely christmas cakes,the usual Delia.
Will need some for suetless mincemeat too,but I bought a large bottle as it was on special and only £3 more than a half sized one.
Have you tried making your own mincemeat? I believe there are recipes without suet. I think they use olive oil instead.

I always make my own mincemeat,with cranberries,apricots and walnuts added.No oil,just 100ml brandy,delicious.Very boozy.

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 5:55 pm

Rebecca wrote:
ohsocynical wrote:
Rebecca wrote: They are absolutely christmas cakes,the usual Delia.
Will need some for suetless mincemeat too,but I bought a large bottle as it was on special and only £3 more than a half sized one.
Have you tried making your own mincemeat? I believe there are recipes without suet. I think they use olive oil instead.
I always make my own mincemeat,with cranberries,apricots and walnuts added.No oil,just 100ml brandy,delicious.Very boozy.

I made my own a couple of years ago...It was lovely. Might do again this year if I'm in the mood.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 5:55 pm

Zoe Williams @zoesqwilliams · 4h 4 hours ago
That MPs think ppl are disillusioned with politics because of the method of casting a vote, or bc it's not a bank holiday, tells you e/thing

She's right.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 5:57 pm

ohsocynical wrote:Are We All Asleep ? ‏@demindblower 10m10 minutes ago
Michael Portillo predicts David Cameron will be booted out at General Election

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/to ... ts-4629741

Do you think he really would like someone else to suffer an equally ignominious political smacking as he did?

AnatolyKasparov · Post by **AnatolyKasparov** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 6:09 pm

rebeccariots2 wrote:
Zoe Williams @zoesqwilliams · 4h 4 hours ago
That MPs think ppl are disillusioned with politics because of the method of casting a vote, or bc it's not a bank holiday, tells you e/thing
She's right.

She is if that is what they are actually saying - or is it, perish the thought, a bit of straw-mannery on her part?

Some of their proposals are sensible and worth implementing anyway. As MPs reports go, I have seen a lot worse.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 6:14 pm

: YourGreedIsHurtingTheEconomy.jpg (66.39 KiB) Viewed 15425 times

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 6:19 pm

ScottishPower faces ban over customer service
http://www.scotsman.com/news/scotland/t ... -1-3605515
... Ofgem has told the Glasgow based firm that it has to answer all customer queries promptly, reduce billing backlog and resolve all outstanding Ombudsman complaints - or it will be banned from continuing sales and marketing activities to prospective customers...

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 6:27 pm

diGriz wrote:
citizenJA wrote:Good (late afternoon) everyone. Just logged in without checking anything but my e-mail.
I'd assume your computer entered a saved password before it had time to show the ****** graphic in the password box.

I meant that I'd not looked at any news prior to coming here.

My news came from the posts I've read here so far. Some of the news flagged up here causes me a lot of pain. I'm glad to know you, friends. Let's carry on...what else can we do? I've got an early morning tomorrow. West Midlands Labour Regional Conference.

Spacedone · Post by **Spacedone** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 7:09 pm

rebeccariots2 wrote:
Hundreds of asylum-seekers ‘wrongly deported’ on drug smuggler’s evidence
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/po ... 59903.html
Did we spot this revelation yesterday? Appalling.
Theresa May is facing fresh embarrassment amid allegations that the Home Office has for years been relying on the work of a convicted drug smuggler who lied about his qualifications to help it determine sensitive asylum cases – which may have resulted in hundreds of people being wrongly deported. ... Allegations have now surfaced in Sweden suggesting that the man is a convicted criminal who fabricated parts of his CV. Several independent linguistic experts have also cast doubt on the quality of his work, which earlier this year was criticised by the UK’s Supreme Court as offering “wholly inappropriate” views on whether an asylum-seeker sounded convincing...

Blimey that is indeed appalling. We send back hundreds of asylum seekers to the countries they fled from, potentially back to whatever horror it was they came here to escape, and it's reported as an "embarrassment"? Criminal negligence would perhaps be more appropriate.