Monday 16th February 2015

AngryAsWell · Post by **AngryAsWell** » Mon 16 Feb, 2015 5:01 pm

A party insider said: “It does not take an expert to see these properties have not been built to the highest of British standards. We have many builders from Poland and elsewhere now working in Suffolk, and they are taking the jobs of British craftsmen.

http://www.suffolkgazette.com/news/suff ... -builders/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Tubby Isaacs · Post by **Tubby Isaacs** » Mon 16 Feb, 2015 5:05 pm

ohsocynical wrote:Mike Smithson ‏@MSmithsonPB 5 mins5 minutes ago
ENGLAND ONLY shares from @LordAshcroft
CON 31
LAB 31
LD 9
UKIP 18
GRN 9
At GE10 CON 11.4% ahead in England

Interesting that old nasty UKIPpy England gets high scores for the Greens.

pk1 · Post by **pk1** » Mon 16 Feb, 2015 5:06 pm

Tim Fenton on Toby Young’s Missing School Accounts

http://zelo-street.blogspot.co.uk/2015/ ... ounts.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

LadyCentauria · Post by **LadyCentauria** » Mon 16 Feb, 2015 5:08 pm

diGriz wrote:Do we usually have 57 guests?

Not usually but sometimes. And, don't forget that we once had this:

Most users ever online was 222 on Fri 07 Nov, 2014 3:46 pm

Given that we probably had 90 or fewer members, at the time, that would have given us 132 guests even if every single one of our members was signed in at the time. Mind you, it was rather an exciting (if a storm-in-a-teacup) day for the press...

LadyCentauria · Post by **LadyCentauria** » Mon 16 Feb, 2015 5:12 pm

"The truth is the computer is only a mechanism of delivery. It's actually people who are delivering..."

IDS. Moments ago on LBC – as close to verbatim as possible. Well, yes, the computer cannot cope so staff are still dealing with UC claims manually...

Tubby Isaacs · Post by **Tubby Isaacs** » Mon 16 Feb, 2015 5:26 pm

pk1 wrote:Tim Fenton on Toby Young’s Missing School Accounts

http://zelo-street.blogspot.co.uk/2015/ ... ounts.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

As spotted by Roger, and passed on by me.

It's incredible. All that time without basic accounting checks.

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Mon 16 Feb, 2015 5:30 pm

RobertSnozers wrote:
AngryAsWell wrote:A party insider said: “It does not take an expert to see these properties have not been built to the highest of British standards. We have many builders from Poland and elsewhere now working in Suffolk, and they are taking the jobs of British craftsmen.

http://www.suffolkgazette.com/news/suff ... -builders/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

There were a lot of Flemish weavers in Dedham, you know...

Flemish weavers

What were the nationalities of the builders of homes & other structures post WW2?! That's right! Polish workers been building fine quality housing in this country for decades. Probably longer after sorting out national boundaries of the nineteenth & twentieth centuries.

Scandalous remark logged in the Suffolk Gazette.

RogerOThornhill · Post by **RogerOThornhill** » Mon 16 Feb, 2015 5:34 pm

This will be an interesting read...

Adrian Hilton ‏@Adrian_Hilton 1h1 hour ago
I've submitted my piece on @Ukip's grammar-school policy to @ConHome. It'll upset a lot of Kippers (and a few Tories), but it needed saying.

https://twitter.com/miss_mcinerney/stat ... 1327502336

...given that Hilton is a Tory. (and Archbishop Cranmer by the way). You'd expect him to be pro-but the days of automatic pro-grammar school lines by Tories are long gone and the ones who are pro- them now have no idea about the evidence.

I would imagine the current support for one in Kent is merely to get Kippers back onside.

ErnstRemarx · Post by **ErnstRemarx** » Mon 16 Feb, 2015 5:45 pm

discordantharmony wrote:Hi, and good afternoon.

If my homelessness stories don't really fit in with this site, please let me know and I shall stop them.

Today's story is regarding my next door neighbour. She moved in a couple months before Christmas from shared accomodation and previous to that she was on the streets. She came round for a cuppa this morning and during our conversation we moved onto politics. Surreal does not do justice to this sentence she uttered, 'I'll be voting Conservative at the election as they are the only party that can fix the mess that Labour left behind'. This was definitely a 'tea thru your nose' moment Some people should not be allowed TV's or any other form of media .

On the subject of tax. Were I ever lucky enough to make enough money from playing music to have to pay tax I would would be shouting it from the rooftops as a badge of honor

Not the only time I've heard this sort of thing, DH. There are a lot of people out there who apparently genuinely believe the mince they're offered by the meeja. People on ZHCs, in appallingly badly paid jobs, on benefits and so on who seem to believe that if they vote Tory then the Tories, rather than laughing at their niaivety, will look upon them kindly and exempt them from the pain others go through. There're also the working class Tories, aspirational and insistent that with one more push, they too can join the 1%ers.

Absurd, of course, for the most part, but if enough people believe it, there's a big chunk of your core vote.

Tubby Isaacs · Post by **Tubby Isaacs** » Mon 16 Feb, 2015 5:46 pm

RogerOThornhill wrote:This will be an interesting read...

Adrian Hilton ‏@Adrian_Hilton 1h1 hour ago
I've submitted my piece on @Ukip's grammar-school policy to @ConHome. It'll upset a lot of Kippers (and a few Tories), but it needed saying.

https://twitter.com/miss_mcinerney/stat ... 1327502336

...given that Hilton is a Tory. (and Archbishop Cranmer by the way). You'd expect him to be pro-but the days of automatic pro-grammar school lines by Tories are long gone and the ones who are pro- them now have no idea about the evidence.

I would imagine the current support for one in Kent is merely to get Kippers back onside.

It's in Sevenoaks, not somewhere they need to worry about losing. They won it by 21 points in 1997.

Not very far away from Tonbridge, which has a girls grammar already.

Probably a media sop.

ErnstRemarx · Post by **ErnstRemarx** » Mon 16 Feb, 2015 5:47 pm

discordantharmony wrote:Hi, and good afternoon.

If my homelessness stories don't really fit in with this site, please let me know and I shall stop them.

Today's story is regarding my next door neighbour. She moved in a couple months before Christmas from shared accomodation and previous to that she was on the streets. She came round for a cuppa this morning and during our conversation we moved onto politics. Surreal does not do justice to this sentence she uttered, 'I'll be voting Conservative at the election as they are the only party that can fix the mess that Labour left behind'. This was definitely a 'tea thru your nose' moment Some people should not be allowed TV's or any other form of media .

On the subject of tax. Were I ever lucky enough to make enough money from playing music to have to pay tax I would would be shouting it from the rooftops as a badge of honor

Forgot to add - don't you dare stop posting. Your posts are worth reading, so keep them coming.

Eric_WLothian · Post by **Eric_WLothian** » Mon 16 Feb, 2015 5:52 pm

LadyCentauria wrote:"The truth is the computer is only a mechanism of delivery. It's actually people who are delivering..."

IDS. Moments ago on LBC – as close to verbatim as possible. Well, yes, the computer cannot cope so staff are still dealing with UC claims manually...

The computer is an inanimate object. The people who specified/bought it may well have bought the wrong one. Alternatively the people who programmed it are not up to the job. Either way, I suspect a private sector problem!

People who blame "the computer" really get up my nose. Computer errors occur between the chair and the keyboard. (Sorry for the rant - I blame it on a career in IT).

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Mon 16 Feb, 2015 6:01 pm

Interesting from Paul Mason:

Labour, SNP, Greens: could they do business together?
http://blogs.channel4.com/paul-mason-bl ... iness/3305

What few realise is that there is a ready made fiscal programme for an SNP-Labour (and if they want it Green) coalition – and it was quietly outlined in the green budget produced by the Institute for Fiscal Studies on 4 February.

pk1 · Post by **pk1** » Mon 16 Feb, 2015 6:14 pm

Local news channel reporting Twydall Primary in Medway will not become an academy after parents won the fight to remain under Council control.

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Mon 16 Feb, 2015 6:16 pm

How much money goes into advertising?
It's billions, isn't it?
Why? Why are billions spent on advertising?
To give advertisers jobs? Is that the reason billions are spent on advertising? To employ advertising industry personnel? No.
Billions are spent on advertising because advertising influences those who are exposed to the advertising.
I'll tell you something. I know I'm influenced by advertising. It's a hard thing for me to accept, but I do accept it because it's reality. I'd prefer to think all my education & years of study has rendered me impervious to something as prosaic as an ad broadcast through media. But my education & study has taught me I'm not impervious & the wisest thing I can do is to choose to limit the advertising I'm exposed to.
I don't watch television.
I use all kinds of ad blocks for the Internet.

I was talking with a couple of older gentlemen while waiting for a train a few months ago.
One man was a member of a trade union & a staunch Labour party member too.
The other gentlemen said,
'Miliband is a millionaire just like the rest of the Tories'
I was taught not to square off & roundly denounce inaccuracies of this kind to people a generation older than I am. I respectfully said,
'You're mistaken'.
He wouldn't have any of it from me, he closed up.
The trade union Labour party member discreetly took him a little aside & shook his head about Miliband.
'No, Miliband isn't a millionaire, he's no Tory',
he said.
The other gentleman solemnly nodded his head, accepting this as truth.

The moral of this tale is you've got to keep a trade unionist Labour party member with you at all times.

I don't know if I've mentioned her before now.
NATASHA MILLWARD (Labour) Born Tipton. Trade union officer

Dudley South against the Tory, Chris Kelly, currently holding the seat by the skin of his teeth.

http://ukpollingreport.co.uk/2015guide/dudleysouth/

spelling errors edit

ErnstRemarx · Post by **ErnstRemarx** » Mon 16 Feb, 2015 6:16 pm

I don't think we've seen this blog before, but it's a good 'un and no mistake:

https://thepoorsideoflife.wordpress.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Came via the Morning Star, and an interesting read indeed.

Tubby Isaacs · Post by **Tubby Isaacs** » Mon 16 Feb, 2015 6:19 pm

rebeccariots2 wrote:Interesting from Paul Mason:

Labour, SNP, Greens: could they do business together?
http://blogs.channel4.com/paul-mason-bl ... iness/3305

What few realise is that there is a ready made fiscal programme for an SNP-Labour (and if they want it Green) coalition – and it was quietly outlined in the green budget produced by the Institute for Fiscal Studies on 4 February.

Those are the Greens with 1 MP, fewer than Labour's existing sister party, the SDLP?

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Mon 16 Feb, 2015 6:20 pm

Ukip has been named the most hated brand in the UK, beating even Marmite which uses its ‘love it or hate it’ divisiveness as a marketing tool.
The euro-sceptic party, which was embroiled in a string of controversies last year, was followed by the Conservative Party in second place, while the yeast-extract spread claimed third.

[url]tp://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news ... 49886.html[/url]

And sometimes there's a little light relief....

Tubby Isaacs · Post by **Tubby Isaacs** » Mon 16 Feb, 2015 6:24 pm

Curse of Gove, part MDCLXVI

http://schoolsweek.co.uk/admissions-mus ... rand-told/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Durand Academy in south London has been told it has to stop giving preferential primary school places to children who have attended its nursery school.

There really need to be fines in cases where the code is breached. Not that it would have much effect if the DfE would just pay it.

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Mon 16 Feb, 2015 6:26 pm

ErnstRemarx wrote:I don't think we've seen this blog before, but it's a good 'un and no mistake:

https://thepoorsideoflife.wordpress.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Came via the Morning Star, and an interesting read indeed.

I've read all your recommends & thank you for them. The Morning Star has some of the finest writing I've read online.

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Mon 16 Feb, 2015 6:26 pm

I know that taking a positive view of Israel is deeply unpopular in some circles but I found this story encouraging. The young man, Mohammed, was so badly injured as to be thought dead.

Israeli hospital rebuilds injured Syrian man's face
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-31449362" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

AngryAsWell · Post by **AngryAsWell** » Mon 16 Feb, 2015 6:27 pm

ohsocynical wrote:
Ukip has been named the most hated brand in the UK, beating even Marmite which uses its ‘love it or hate it’ divisiveness as a marketing tool.
The euro-sceptic party, which was embroiled in a string of controversies last year, was followed by the Conservative Party in second place, while the yeast-extract spread claimed third.

[url]tp://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news ... 49886.html[/url]
And sometimes there's a little light relief....

A little light relief that make me question the polling results even more

Tubby Isaacs · Post by **Tubby Isaacs** » Mon 16 Feb, 2015 6:27 pm

Some people not writing up DWP press releases.

http://lartsocial.org/retrenchment-refo ... -coalition" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Continuity with the policies of the previous government, major fiscal retrenchment and major reform are all part of the story of working age welfare under the coalition. However reform has been a minor strand in the narrative, with all of the most difficult aspects of implementation deferred to the next parliament.

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Mon 16 Feb, 2015 6:27 pm

U.K. closes a tax gap for homeowners from abroad

Real-estate agent Robert Bailey says he fears the new capital gains tax will tarnish the London market in the eyes of international buyers. “One agent I spoke to in Monaco said that they are seeing a boom in foreigners who have been put off buying here because of the changes, going so far as to label Monaco ‘London on Sea’ thanks to all the defectors,” he said

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/uk-clo ... atest_news

Bless!

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Mon 16 Feb, 2015 6:28 pm

Tubby Isaacs wrote:
rebeccariots2 wrote:Interesting from Paul Mason:

Labour, SNP, Greens: could they do business together?
http://blogs.channel4.com/paul-mason-bl ... iness/3305

What few realise is that there is a ready made fiscal programme for an SNP-Labour (and if they want it Green) coalition – and it was quietly outlined in the green budget produced by the Institute for Fiscal Studies on 4 February.
Those are the Greens with 1 MP, fewer than Labour's existing sister party, the SDLP?

They are - but don't let that put you off reading it Tubby. What Paul Mason is expanding on is quite interesting - so try not to mind too much who the wholly prospective partners are, have a look at the dance.

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Mon 16 Feb, 2015 6:29 pm

AngryAsWell wrote:
ohsocynical wrote:
Ukip has been named the most hated brand in the UK, beating even Marmite which uses its ‘love it or hate it’ divisiveness as a marketing tool.
The euro-sceptic party, which was embroiled in a string of controversies last year, was followed by the Conservative Party in second place, while the yeast-extract spread claimed third.

[url]tp://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news ... 49886.html[/url]
And sometimes there's a little light relief....
A little light relief that make me question the polling results even more

And people hate the Conservatives more than they hate Marmite...

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Mon 16 Feb, 2015 6:31 pm

ohsocynical wrote:
AngryAsWell wrote:
ohsocynical wrote: And sometimes there's a little light relief....
A little light relief that make me question the polling results even more
And people hate the Conservatives more than they hate Marmite...

I've never tried a Tory spread on toast. Love Marmite though.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Mon 16 Feb, 2015 6:33 pm

Debbie Abrahams ‏@Debbie_abrahams 36m36 minutes ago
HMRC hounds parent 2 provide evidence NOT co-habiting Court points out flawed logic of claimant having to prove a -ve http://www.osscsc.gov.uk/Aspx/view.aspx ... GM,B9M8A,1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; …

The judges decision (last document on the list which the link goes to) is absolutely blistering in its contempt for the way HMRC has behaved - the words erred unlawfully, failed appearing throughout. There really has been one rule for the plebs being hounded (no other word for it) by HMRC for tax credits and other benefits they really need ... and those with the money and power to employ tax planners to wangle their way around the system. Makes me think we could do with a completely separate agency to pick up and carry out investigations at all levels - well away from the collecting arm of HMRC.

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Mon 16 Feb, 2015 6:36 pm

RobertSnozers wrote:
yahyah wrote:I know that taking a positive view of Israel is deeply unpopular in some circles but I found this story encouraging. The young man, Mohammed, was so badly injured as to be thought dead.

Israeli hospital rebuilds injured Syrian man's face
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-31449362" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Wow. That is impressive. I continue to condemn Israel's military conduct in Gaza and the government's self-justification but I think when people on each side remember that they are all human beings, it makes it possible to act with humanity. The rhetoric around the Arab-Israeli conflict is the most dangerous thing, because it allows either side to treat the other as 'it' and not 'who'. This story is heartening.

Yes it is heartening.
The article says ''at least 1,500 Syrians have been treated so far, about 20% of them at Haifa's Rambam Hospital'
The Israeli military finds them in the Golan Heights, deposited on the Syrian side of the fence that marks the 1967 ceasefire line.

Israeli officials are coy about how the process works, but it is clear that a degree of co-ordination now surrounds both the arrival of the wounded and their eventual return after treatment.''

PorFavor · Post by **PorFavor** » Mon 16 Feb, 2015 6:38 pm

Goodnight, everyone.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Mon 16 Feb, 2015 6:38 pm

yahyah wrote:
ohsocynical wrote:
AngryAsWell wrote: A little light relief that make me question the polling results even more
And people hate the Conservatives more than they hate Marmite...

I've never tried a Tory spread on toast. Love Marmite though.

I think I'd have to have the Tory thoroughly pounded and pulverised before it was spread on anything.

RogerOThornhill · Post by **RogerOThornhill** » Mon 16 Feb, 2015 6:46 pm

Tubby Isaacs wrote:
RogerOThornhill wrote:This will be an interesting read...

Adrian Hilton ‏@Adrian_Hilton 1h1 hour ago
I've submitted my piece on @Ukip's grammar-school policy to @ConHome. It'll upset a lot of Kippers (and a few Tories), but it needed saying.

https://twitter.com/miss_mcinerney/stat ... 1327502336

...given that Hilton is a Tory. (and Archbishop Cranmer by the way). You'd expect him to be pro-but the days of automatic pro-grammar school lines by Tories are long gone and the ones who are pro- them now have no idea about the evidence.

I would imagine the current support for one in Kent is merely to get Kippers back onside.
It's in Sevenoaks, not somewhere they need to worry about losing. They won it by 21 points in 1997.

Not very far away from Tonbridge, which has a girls grammar already.

Probably a media sop.

I've no doubt it's just sending a message and not to be taken as what they'd do if they got back in - the decision on this has been rumbling in the background for a few months.

One Tory MP (who I can't recall) said there was a danger in that it sent a message to LAs that they'd be able to open satellite schools of maintained schools and thus bypass the "must be an academy" diktat. He's right too..."If a grammar can do it for a school 8 miles away, then why can't we?"

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Mon 16 Feb, 2015 6:48 pm

yahyah wrote:I know that taking a positive view of Israel is deeply unpopular in some circles but I found this story encouraging. The young man, Mohammed, was so badly injured as to be thought dead.

Israeli hospital rebuilds injured Syrian man's face
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-31449362" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Wow. They fixed him up that well in just three months! Amazing. Moving story. I'm never able to continue hating when I have conversations with others.

We're all going to have to figure out how to get along with each other cooperatively, without violence, because doctors need to reconstruct a lot of peoples already without adding more war injuries to the list.

Ed Miliband wants Palestinians to have every justice Israelis want too. He's quite determined. I admire him for that.

I met a Palestinian man today; born in Jerusalem. Wonderful conversation we had about organic fruits & vegetables. We both agreed genetically modified organisms are an absurd idea.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Mon 16 Feb, 2015 6:52 pm

Snuff to stay
Posted at 18:38
Away from the election trail - the House of Commons authorities say that snuff distributed free of charge to MPs is here to stay. The BBC's Inside the Commons documentary suggested that "until recently" the powdered tobacco had been offered, but in response to a Freedom of Information Act request, the Commons Commission said: "Snuff is available and there is no intention to cease its provision."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-politics-31481032

It really is another world.

pk1 · Post by **pk1** » Mon 16 Feb, 2015 6:57 pm

ITV News is reporting more & more Doctors are prepared to stand for election in May for the NHAP because they are fed up with politicians using the NHS as a football.

Yup, split the vote even further - that'll help won't it......

edit: with GP's entering the political sphere, I wonder what patients with different political opinions do - stay with GP or change ?
Be willing to bet GP's don't even think about that.

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Mon 16 Feb, 2015 6:59 pm

rebeccariots2 wrote:
Debbie Abrahams ‏@Debbie_abrahams 36m36 minutes ago
HMRC hounds parent 2 provide evidence NOT co-habiting Court points out flawed logic of claimant having to prove a -ve http://www.osscsc.gov.uk/Aspx/view.aspx ... GM,B9M8A,1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; …
The judges decision (last document on the list which the link goes to) is absolutely blistering in its contempt for the way HMRC has behaved - the words erred unlawfully, failed appearing throughout. There really has been one rule for the plebs being hounded (no other word for it) by HMRC for tax credits and other benefits they really need ... and those with the money and power to employ tax planners to wangle their way around the system. Makes me think we could do with a completely separate agency to pick up and carry out investigations at all levels - well away from the collecting arm of HMRC.

I watched the broadcast of some of the inquiry into HMRC and can honestly say the three being questioned straightened up in their seats and looked very positive when asked about the difference between extracting money from the self employed and the tax avoiders/evaders. They said the TV ads have been particularly successful. Were very shifty about why they hadn't done more about the hardened avoiders.

And very ashamed to see two of the three were women plugged into the whole twisted system.

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Mon 16 Feb, 2015 7:02 pm

Rednorth wrote:No one wants to see the back of the Tories more than me but Labour's performance has been shambolic and has allowed a banking crisis to be flipped as a spending crisis. Just day-to-day piecemeal announcements.

There's no coherent narrative, no presentation skills. no chance.

Have you written to the Labour party & submitted your ideas? You don't have to tell me, I'm just throwing out ideas I've had when I get 'stuck'. Do you have a Labour party MP or one you admire? Or is there another political party you'd prefer to support? Apologies if I'm not helping. Please know I'm want to help, not hurt.

Post by **refitman** » Mon 16 Feb, 2015 7:03 pm

Eric_WLothian wrote:
LadyCentauria wrote:"The truth is the computer is only a mechanism of delivery. It's actually people who are delivering..."

IDS. Moments ago on LBC – as close to verbatim as possible. Well, yes, the computer cannot cope so staff are still dealing with UC claims manually...
The computer is an inanimate object. The people who specified/bought it may well have bought the wrong one. Alternatively the people who programmed it are not up to the job. Either way, I suspect a private sector problem!

People who blame "the computer" really get up my nose. Computer errors occur between the chair and the keyboard. (Sorry for the rant - I blame it on a career in IT).

PEBCAK - Problem Exists Between Chair And Keyboard.

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Mon 16 Feb, 2015 7:04 pm

rebeccariots2 wrote:
I think I'd have to have the Tory thoroughly pounded and pulverised before it was spread on anything.

Yuk, spit, heave, puke.

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Mon 16 Feb, 2015 7:08 pm

rebeccariots2 wrote:
Snuff to stay
Posted at 18:38
Away from the election trail - the House of Commons authorities say that snuff distributed free of charge to MPs is here to stay. The BBC's Inside the Commons documentary suggested that "until recently" the powdered tobacco had been offered, but in response to a Freedom of Information Act request, the Commons Commission said: "Snuff is available and there is no intention to cease its provision."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-politics-31481032
It really is another world.

I hadn't realised snuff still existed outside of Dickens' novels.

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Mon 16 Feb, 2015 7:13 pm

Why Is No One Talking About the GOP’s Plan to Send Millions of Disabled Americans Into Poverty

http://www.thenation.com/blog/198193/wh ... socialflow

So read this and tell me there isn't a very cosy relationship between the GOP and our Dave's bunch of shits.

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Mon 16 Feb, 2015 7:28 pm

‘INDEPENDENT RESEARCH’ UNDERPINNING TORY ATTACKS IS WRITTEN BY FORMER PARTY STAFFER

Unbelievably, the CPS even have the temerity to attack charities for refusing to reveal who funds them — despite themselves having the second lowest rating from transparency website Who Funds You.

UPDATE: More from the “independent” CPS, which was actually founded by, errr, Maggie Thatcher:

http://politicalscrapbook.net/2015/02/i ... y-staffer/

I can't help it. I do love the disclosures on Twitter. And some one commented that it's usually at least an hour ahead of any news outlet.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Mon 16 Feb, 2015 7:30 pm

Cameron government subsidising millionaire grouse shooters with taxpayers’ money
https://tompride.wordpress.com/2015/02/ ... /#comments

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Mon 16 Feb, 2015 7:36 pm

bill ‏@kingbill73 7 mins7 minutes ago Hessle, England
The stuff of nightmares tonight on @Channel4.... #UKIP The First 100 Days or I call it 3 days and then I fuck off somewhere else.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Mon 16 Feb, 2015 7:37 pm

campaign for real demonstrations
CLASS WAR and the LONDON MOB have come together to form
THE CAMPAIGN FOR REAL DEMONSTRATIONS.
General Secretary of CFRD (see above) GORDON RIOTER said today

‘Our first march will be against paying to march’ . Mr. Rioter said the inspiration behind the new movement was a sign on Dartmoor reading
‘DO NOT THROW STONES AT THISNOTICE’

DONT ASK PERMISSION/STICK NO BILLS/NO STEWARDS/NO FLOURESCENT FUCKING BIBS/NO WHAT DO WE WANT WHEN DO WE WANT IT/NO FUCKING WHO’S STREETS – OUR STREETS/ NO BOREDOM/NO DEMANDS/NO SPEAKERS/NO WHINING ABOUT THE COPS/ MOB RULE
https://ianbone.wordpress.com/

Mr Riots has been up at the top of the garden in his man shed most of the day. Perhaps I need to ask him what's kept him so busy ...?

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Mon 16 Feb, 2015 7:41 pm

david bush ‏@Davidbush 32 secs32 seconds ago
c4news Car crash interview with Ian Duncan Smith.. You're a Catholic.. why are you saying people should have smaller families...?

IDS has four. And I wonder what they think of their dad?

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Mon 16 Feb, 2015 7:43 pm

ohsocynical wrote:david bush ‏@Davidbush 32 secs32 seconds ago
c4news Car crash interview with Ian Duncan Smith.. You're a Catholic.. why are you saying people should have smaller families...?

IDS has four. And I wonder what they think of their dad?

Wonderful. I hope he was well and truly skewered - so to speak.

Post by **letsskiptotheleft** » Mon 16 Feb, 2015 7:49 pm

ohsocynical wrote:david bush ‏@Davidbush 32 secs32 seconds ago
c4news Car crash interview with Ian Duncan Smith.. You're a Catholic.. why are you saying people should have smaller families...?

IDS has four. And I wonder what they think of their dad?

I was one of 6, but a brother died when he was 10, luckily the old man had a good job, well paid, a miner. I wonder if this was now rather than then, old man had a crap job in a dead end S Wales valley rather than bringing home a wage that wouldn't look out of place now, the likes of IDS and his cohorts would silently be pleased one child was taken out of the equation, regarding benefits and so on.

I could be bang out of order, but with some of the shit flying about I am not so sure?

LadyCentauria · Post by **LadyCentauria** » Mon 16 Feb, 2015 7:50 pm

Eric_WLothian wrote:
LadyCentauria wrote:"The truth is the computer is only a mechanism of delivery. It's actually people who are delivering..."

IDS. Moments ago on LBC – as close to verbatim as possible. Well, yes, the computer cannot cope so staff are still dealing with UC claims manually...
The computer is an inanimate object. The people who specified/bought it may well have bought the wrong one. Alternatively the people who programmed it are not up to the job. Either way, I suspect a private sector problem!

People who blame "the computer" really get up my nose. Computer errors occur between the chair and the keyboard. (Sorry for the rant - I blame it on a career in IT).

You're correct, of course. It's all human error.

I should have said, the computer system/programme, as it stands, does not have the facility to deal with claims beyond those of the very simplest single-claimant-no-dependents-type JSA-only+HB/LHA so where any further complexity arises – works part-time, gives birth, adds partner to claim, etc., – the claim has to be worked out on paper although it was claimed that the computerised-system was being designed to handle complex claims. And, you're right, according to everything I've read and/or heard, the brief/specs kept changing for software and hardware, there was no clarity in what was wanted from it, there were constant changes in who was leading the project and who was supplying it. Perhaps the private sector are at fault for not saying, "No, save your money and come back to us when you know what you want."

From my, admittedly long-ago, experience in the days before off-the-shelf applications: in order to automate (give people relatively simple buttons to press) a system you really need to know what you want to achieve, what all the steps are from beginning to end of the process, what variables you need to be able to take into account, and what existing computer systems you need your new one to gather information from and feed information to. And, in the case of building something that can tie six existing complex benefits – seven when Housing Benefit and Local Housing Allowance are different beasts to start with - (and the complexity of people's lives) into one simple benefits system at the same time as re-designing all of those six benefits, it strikes me that anyone attempting it should have tried it all out on paper first, preferably running the UC idea alongside the current systems for comparison. Then, knowing what you want your new computer system to do, invite someone to provide the software and either them or someone else to provide the hardware it'll have to run on.

IDS and his DWP and the Major Projects Team (and whoever else!) seem to be making it up as they go along. "We need an adding machine." "Thanks. Oh, we need it to do algebra." "Great, we need it tied into stock-control and the world-wide banking system." "Um, I don't know whether or not the LHA areas are defined by postcodes." "We've got this in-depth 54-pages of A4 form that needs in-depth answers but we need it to be an easy-to-use app for every mobile device including feature-phones." "Oh, didn't we say yellow?"

And that's all before some poor sod, whether claimant or Jobcentre clerk/advisor/coach, has even got something [on which] they can try to find the right keys to press and boxes to type in – keys and boxes that aren't there because they weren't specified so they've got to do it on paper but the paper forms have been abolished. Oh. Better write that system off and start again by designing some forms and getting them printed and distributed, in the meantime.

"It is 'digital-by-default'™, though. We're still working out your claim and entitlements by adding it up on our fingers..." As a DWP spokesperson didn't say

Edit for formatting and at least a little bit of making better sense...

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Mon 16 Feb, 2015 7:54 pm

BoycottWorkfare retweeted
Bob Hudson ‏@Bob__Hudson 17 mins17 minutes ago
'I know all about poverty, I've studied it'. Yes it's Iain Duncan Smith just now on @Channel4News. Words fail me!