Friday 11th December 2015

HindleA · Post by **HindleA** » Fri 11 Dec, 2015 1:20 am

Morning.
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultat ... escriptors" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Personal Independence Payment: aids and appliances descriptors-consultation

In short,they are not reducing support for the prerequisite savings(without regard to actual need)The miracle of Societal advancement in the 21st Century has made extra costs disappear for many.

HindleA · Post by **HindleA** » Fri 11 Dec, 2015 1:45 am

A disgraceful,if not obscene amount of money has been pissed away in attempts to deny.My definition of a Tory is the willingness to exercise freely misanthropy no matter what is costs.

HindleA · Post by **HindleA** » Fri 11 Dec, 2015 1:58 am

I don't think this has been mentione,apologies if so :-
http://www.parliament.uk/business/commi ... nch-15-16/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Universal Credit "in-work progression" inquiry launched

HindleA · Post by **HindleA** » Fri 11 Dec, 2015 2:05 am

FWIW with some benefits they tell you about the Xmas Bonus,others not:

‘qualifying week’ - this is normally the first full week of December:

Armed Forces Independence Payment
Attendance Allowance
Carer’s Allowance
Constant Attendance Allowance (paid under Industrial Injuries or War Pensions schemes)
Contribution-based Employment and Support Allowance (once the main phase of the benefit is entered after the first 13 weeks of claim)
Disability Living Allowance
Incapacity Benefit at the long-term rate
Industrial Death Benefit (for widows or widowers)
Mobility Supplement
Pension Credit - the guarantee element
Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
State Pension (including Graduated Retirement Benefit)
Severe Disablement Allowance (transitionally protected)
Unemployability Supplement or Allowance (paid under Industrial Injuries or War Pensions schemes)
War Disablement Pension at State Pension age
War Widow’s Pension
Widowed Mother’s Allowance
Widowed Parent’s Allowance
Widow’s Pension

I get it on the basis of the last,hurrah they haven't updated it to Bereavement Allowance,I can safely wear that dress.

StephenDolan · Post by **StephenDolan** » Fri 11 Dec, 2015 6:46 am

Morning all.

Well this will help take the eye of the media off the Heathrow fiasco.. .

https://www.politicshome.com/party-poli ... ntum-their" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Fri 11 Dec, 2015 8:14 am

Beaker smirking at his knighthood for services to the Tory party ceremony.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Fri 11 Dec, 2015 8:21 am

Ooh yahyah. It's too early to have to see that.

Groggy morning to you.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Fri 11 Dec, 2015 8:29 am

I found myself watching QT last night - despite Quentin Letts - and was rather surprised by the Bath audience. They seemed rather appreciative of Jeremy Corbyn to Dimbleby's discomfort. Caroline Flint seemed to have read the general mood and kept her voiced opinion 'moderate' - in the proper sense of the word. And the avowed Conservative audience member who was asked for her opinion and who declared him and anyone who supported him 'closet Communists' was laughed at.

Good questioning on the decimation of renewable energy by the Tories ... Greg Clarke very poor in his responses. Mary Beard a delight as usual. Flint on her best behaviour.

TobyLatimer · Post by **TobyLatimer** » Fri 11 Dec, 2015 8:37 am

yahyah wrote:

Beaker smirking at his knighthood for services to the Tory party ceremony.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Fri 11 Dec, 2015 8:38 am

Don't repeat it - please Toby. Once was bad enough.

TobyLatimer · Post by **TobyLatimer** » Fri 11 Dec, 2015 8:39 am

I know we already have a vomiting emoticon, but I thought he deserved one of his own for being such a sell out.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Fri 11 Dec, 2015 8:45 am

BBC Question Time Audience Member Answers All Those Jeremy Corbyn Syria Critics
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2015/12 ... 77174.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

... The interjection came just before the programme's audience became more vocal in its support of Jeremy Corbyn, which prompted presenter David Dimbleby to ask: "Is this audience entirely supportive of Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader?"

A woman's suggestion that those supporting Corbyn amount to "closet communists" drew ire from the majority of those around her...

It's a pretty good account of what went on. Says Greg Clark was effectively shut up by the woman's response re the Syria vote.

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Fri 11 Dec, 2015 8:45 am

Just looking at the front page of the Guardian and the pic of Hilary Clinton looking good in pink made me wonder how old she was compared to myself.

Surprised to find she is 68, older than Corbyn.
Wonder if she gets described as 'too old' to stand for president by the US media ?
Fellow Democrat contender Bernie Sanders is 74.

Trump is 69, Jeb Bush 62, Fiorina 61, Carson 64, Pataki 70.

Wonder why the US accepts that older people can be up to the challenge of one of the most powerful jobs in the world, yet Corbyn gets it in the neck for daring to be over 65 ?

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Fri 11 Dec, 2015 8:49 am

Wasn't it odd that Beaker's neck, and general girth, increased in size all the while he preached Tory austerity and belt tightening to the rest of us ?

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Fri 11 Dec, 2015 8:50 am

Mary Creagh ‏@MaryCreaghMP 2m2 minutes ago
Looking for stop the war blog saying ISIS embody spirit of international brigades?cached version here. http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/s ... clnk&gl=uk" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; …

She's gone right down in my estimation. If STW have removed that blog - removed the person that wrote it - and formally distanced the organisation from the views expressed - why would you feel the need to direct people to it? Why as a Labour MP would you feel the need to do that?

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Fri 11 Dec, 2015 8:54 am

And having just heard this on Radio 4 ...

Patrick O'Flynn ‏@oflynnmep 9m9 minutes ago
Lab MP losing a debate with someone from the ultra leftist Stop The War. How does that happen? Maybe prepare better next time...

he's right - the Labour MP did lose the argument. The STW spokesperson had to keep calling them out as saying things that were not truthful ... it didn't sound good.

Really don't like having to agree with O'Flynn again.

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Fri 11 Dec, 2015 8:55 am

Who was the Labour MP ?

TobyLatimer · Post by **TobyLatimer** » Fri 11 Dec, 2015 8:58 am

yahyah wrote:Just looking at the front page of the Guardian and the pic of Hilary Clinton looking good in pink made me wonder how old she was compared to myself.

Surprised to find she is 68, older than Corbyn.
Wonder if she gets described as 'too old' to stand for president by the US media ?
Fellow Democrat contender Bernie Sanders is 74.

Trump is 69, Jeb Bush 62, Fiorina 61, Carson 64, Pataki 70.

Wonder why the US accepts that older people can be up to the challenge of one of the most powerful jobs in the world, yet Corbyn gets it in the neck for daring to be over 65 ?

I was reading this earlier, Ronald Reagan was no spring chicken

Age was issue for Ronald Reagan in 1980, will be for Hillary Clinton in 2016 http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/age-w ... le/2547752" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

TobyLatimer · Post by **TobyLatimer** » Fri 11 Dec, 2015 9:00 am

yahyah wrote:Wasn't it odd that Beaker's neck, and general girth, increased in size all the while he preached Tory austerity and belt tightening to the rest of us ?

His double chin is sprouting bingo wings.

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Fri 11 Dec, 2015 9:01 am

Thanks Toby, for the link on Clinton. Oh well, it was a nice idea while it lasted !

TheGrimSqueaker · Post by **TheGrimSqueaker** » Fri 11 Dec, 2015 9:08 am

rebeccariots2 wrote:
Mary Creagh ‏@MaryCreaghMP 2m2 minutes ago
Looking for stop the war blog saying ISIS embody spirit of international brigades?cached version here. http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/s ... clnk&gl=uk" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; …
She's gone right down in my estimation. If STW have removed that blog - removed the person that wrote it - and formally distanced the organisation from the views expressed - why would you feel the need to direct people to it? Why as a Labour MP would you feel the need to do that?

Solely playing devil's advocate, for the same reason that people look for cached/archived versions of the stuff the Tories deleted? But you are probably right, I suspect she is just mischief making.

Re. your comment about the people of Bath and their seeming support for Corbyn; Miles Jupp took over running The News Quiz on Radio 4 (Ms Toksvig has moved on to higher pursuits) and was, at times, out left-winging Jeremy Hardy!! Somehow it was more effective being delivered in the posh, well-modulated tones of Mr Jupp (aka Damian Trench).

SD, Mr Dugher may be using somewhat intemperate language, but he does have a point. pk1, sometime of this parish, has been trying to get some answers from Momentum on Twitter; the questions she asks are by & large reasonable - who is funding them, is there anybody behind them, where are the based etc - but, despite asking the questions 2 1/2 weeks ago (and asking again a few times) has yet to receive even an acknowledgement, let alone answers to the questions.

Their own website is very light on detail, some woolly paragraphs about "we will be building an organization locally across the country", but zero info on who is organizing it now!! I'm not surprised that Abby Tomlinson and all those others felt the need to form Open Labour, Momentum is certainly making me feel more than a little twitchy.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Fri 11 Dec, 2015 9:16 am

yahyah wrote:Who was the Labour MP ?

Emma Reynolds I believe.

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Fri 11 Dec, 2015 9:18 am

It feels very difficult to get to the source of what is true, what is spin, smear etc at the moment.

When so many in the Labour party seem to be joining in the 'reds under the beds' scares, it doesn't seem a lot different from the old Tory 'commies are out to get us' stuff.

(That is not aimed at you Grim, but people in the party who have the ready ear of the media or are taking cash for their efforts to make anyone to the left of David Blunkett look bad).

I signed up to Momentum this week to be kept in the loop on what they do believe/want to do and how they want to do it, rather than automatically believe smears and scares that circulate about them.

frightful_oik · Post by **frightful_oik** » Fri 11 Dec, 2015 9:21 am

yahyah wrote:Who was the Labour MP ?

Emily/Emma Reynolds yahyah. She got owned despite Naughtie's constant haranguing of the STW guy.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Fri 11 Dec, 2015 9:21 am

TheGrimSqueaker wrote:
rebeccariots2 wrote:
Mary Creagh ‏@MaryCreaghMP 2m2 minutes ago
Looking for stop the war blog saying ISIS embody spirit of international brigades?cached version here. http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/s ... clnk&gl=uk" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; …
She's gone right down in my estimation. If STW have removed that blog - removed the person that wrote it - and formally distanced the organisation from the views expressed - why would you feel the need to direct people to it? Why as a Labour MP would you feel the need to do that?
Solely playing devil's advocate, for the same reason that people look for cached/archived versions of the stuff the Tories deleted? But you are probably right, I suspect she is just mischief making.

Re. your comment about the people of Bath and their seeming support for Corbyn; Miles Jupp took over running The News Quiz on Radio 4 (Ms Toksvig has moved on to higher pursuits) and was, at times, out left-winging Jeremy Hardy!! Somehow it was more effective being delivered in the posh, well-modulated tones of Mr Jupp (aka Damian Trench).

SD, Mr Dugher may be using somewhat intemperate language, but he does have a point. pk1, sometime of this parish, has been trying to get some answers from Momentum on Twitter; the questions she asks are by & large reasonable - who is funding them, is there anybody behind them, where are the based etc - but, despite asking the questions 2 1/2 weeks ago (and asking again a few times) has yet to receive even an acknowledgement, let alone answers to the questions.

Their own website is very light on detail, some woolly paragraphs about "we will be building an organization locally across the country", but zero info on who is organizing it now!! I'm not surprised that Abby Tomlinson and all those others felt the need to form Open Labour, Momentum is certainly making me feel more than a little twitchy.

Respect all your devils advocate points TGS. But I am frankly amazed at the amount of time certain MPs are putting into campaigns against organisations and members of their own party. The energy seems to be going into attacking themselves ... because that's the effect as far as I'm concerned.

My take on Momentum is more that they are very much in the setting up / emerging stage and that's why the answers aren't formed yet - the organisation isn't formed in its post Corbyn election shape yet. And there are many different branches of Momentum from what I've understood ... suspect they will all be a bit or a lot different at the present time.

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Fri 11 Dec, 2015 9:28 am

Think you are right RR.
But it'll be a no win situation whatever.

If Momentum are slick, and tightly organised, that will be used against them as showing they are dictatorial and hard left.

If they are laid back and let things emerge, as grass roots things often do, they will be criticised for being shambolic and disorganised.

TheGrimSqueaker · Post by **TheGrimSqueaker** » Fri 11 Dec, 2015 9:36 am

yahyah wrote:If Momentum are slick, and tightly organised, that will be used against them as showing they are dictatorial and hard left.

If they are laid back and let things emerge, as grass roots things often do, they will be criticised for being shambolic and disorganised.

Point is, they are slick & tightly organized; now I'm not using that to say they are "dictatorial and hard left", I'm simply saying it isn't unreasonable to ask who is doing that organizing and who is funding that slickness. Is it unreasonable?

ephemerid · Post by **ephemerid** » Fri 11 Dec, 2015 10:17 am

TheGrimSqueaker wrote:
yahyah wrote:If Momentum are slick, and tightly organised, that will be used against them as showing they are dictatorial and hard left.

If they are laid back and let things emerge, as grass roots things often do, they will be criticised for being shambolic and disorganised.
Point is, they are slick & tightly organized; now I'm not using that to say they are "dictatorial and hard left", I'm simply saying it isn't unreasonable to ask who is doing that organizing and who is funding that slickness. Is it unreasonable?

No, it's not unreasonable, TGS.

It's also not unreasonable to want to know who is behind all the other factions, too.
Progress, Labour First, Compass, Socialist Campaign Group, Tribune, Open Labour......

Open Labour claims to be following in the traditions of the Tribune Group.
As yet, there are no MPs involved, just CLPs and local politicians.

What annoys me is that Momentum (perceived as "hard" left) is accused of entryism, when Progress (perceived as "Blairite" and funded in large part by Lord Sainsbury) is not - just because Progress defined itself as "Labour's mainstream" don't make it so.

I just wish it would all stop. I'm sick of all the in-fighting, of factions claiming to be the One True Labour, and Labour MPs pratting about with all these arguments when they really do have more important stuff to be getting on with.

AnatolyKasparov · Post by **AnatolyKasparov** » Fri 11 Dec, 2015 10:48 am

yahyah wrote:Just looking at the front page of the Guardian and the pic of Hilary Clinton looking good in pink made me wonder how old she was compared to myself.

Surprised to find she is 68, older than Corbyn.
Wonder if she gets described as 'too old' to stand for president by the US media ?
Fellow Democrat contender Bernie Sanders is 74.

Trump is 69, Jeb Bush 62, Fiorina 61, Carson 64, Pataki 70.

Wonder why the US accepts that older people can be up to the challenge of one of the most powerful jobs in the world, yet Corbyn gets it in the neck for daring to be over 65 ?

Tbh I think its a combination of JC's age and lack of experience. And the age of the leading candidates has certainly been discussed in the US.

TheGrimSqueaker · Post by **TheGrimSqueaker** » Fri 11 Dec, 2015 10:59 am

ephemerid wrote:It's also not unreasonable to want to know who is behind all the other factions, too.
Progress, Labour First, Compass, Socialist Campaign Group, Tribune, Open Labour.......

Absobleedinglutely.

AnatolyKasparov · Post by **AnatolyKasparov** » Fri 11 Dec, 2015 11:01 am

rebeccariots2 wrote:
yahyah wrote:Who was the Labour MP ?
Emma Reynolds I believe.

No surprise, then - she's crap.

RogerOThornhill · Post by **RogerOThornhill** » Fri 11 Dec, 2015 11:35 am

Marvellous.

Lord Nash admits academies have been ‘untouchable’ due to funding agreement issues

http://schoolsweek.co.uk/untouchable-ac ... into-line/

Junior schools minister Lord Nash has admitted that early funding agreements have blocked the government from delivering “strong and swift” intervention in some underperforming academies.

But proposed legislation will allow the government to step in. In a letter sent to academy trust leaders this week, seen by Schools Week, Lord Nash said the government’s inability to intervene had led to “criticisms of the academies programme” and frustrated academy trust chiefs. The “few cases of high-profile failure” also tarnished the whole programme.

“Introducing consistent formal powers to take action in underperforming academies seems the right thing to do.”

Good to see that they're finally admitting that they made a huge cock-up in allowing so many schools to convert in the early days.

Utterly shambolic.

tinybgoat · Post by **tinybgoat** » Fri 11 Dec, 2015 11:40 am

rebeccariots2 wrote:
Mary Creagh ‏@MaryCreaghMP 2m2 minutes ago
Looking for stop the war blog saying ISIS embody spirit of international brigades?cached version here. http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/s ... clnk&gl=uk" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; …
She's gone right down in my estimation. If STW have removed that blog - removed the person that wrote it - and formally distanced the organisation from the views expressed - why would you feel the need to direct people to it? Why as a Labour MP would you feel the need to do that?

It's worth looking at the blog of Matt Carr,
who wrote the original article.
He's apologised for the clumsy writing in the article. For some reason, his apology never gets referenced.

http://infernalmachine.co.uk/my-life-as ... mpathizer/

AnatolyKasparov · Post by **AnatolyKasparov** » Fri 11 Dec, 2015 11:51 am

It was still a stupid thing to say, only possible with a certai mindset.

(ie that the West is responsible for *all* evil in the world, and everyone else are mere helpless puppets without any agency of their own)

Maeght · Post by **Maeght** » Fri 11 Dec, 2015 12:05 pm

frightful_oik wrote:
yahyah wrote:Who was the Labour MP ?
Emily/Emma Reynolds yahyah. She got owned despite Naughtie's constant haranguing of the STW guy.

I heard this interview as well and was really irritated by Jim Naughtie. I thought Emma Reynolds was terrible. After it was pointed out to her that her accusations were false and that there was evidence, she said something along the lines of - well I bet they do agree with it anyway.

But, and this is a genuine question, can anyone tell me whether Stop the War is good or bad? I just don't know enough about them. Have been on the website and most of the names don't mean much to me. Was surprised to see Mark Rylance was a patron but probably shouldn't be.

Lately they are portrayed a bit like the spawn of the devil and just read an article by Tariq Ali in the Independent, who said it's all aimed at Jeremy Corbyn

http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/com ... 68651.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

AnatolyKasparov · Post by **AnatolyKasparov** » Fri 11 Dec, 2015 12:14 pm

StW were getting stick long before this summer. Not least from several who agree with their general positioning.

I suggested myself, more than once, that they should be renamed the "Victory to the Other Side Coalition"

And of course there is the prominent presence within them of the utterly repellent SWP - total poison to whatever it touches.

Yes, they are a problem for Corbyn - even if the MSM predictably exaggerates the scale of it.

RogerOThornhill · Post by **RogerOThornhill** » Fri 11 Dec, 2015 12:32 pm

Two odd things about the Blair appearance before the Foreign Affairs select committee this morning.

One was picked up by AS.

The committee is holding an inquiry into Libya but its decision to invite Blair is slightly odd because mostly it is investigating British policy towards the country since David Cameron’s intervention in 2011. Blair, of course, left office in 2007.

The other is that today is Friday. Hardly anything happens in Parliament on a Friday.

Someone noted that they're were no Labour members present - maybe they thought that this was an irrelevance.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Fri 11 Dec, 2015 12:35 pm

Anushka Asthana ‏@SkyAnushka 13m13 minutes ago
Delighted to be joining the Guardian as political editor jointly with @heatherstewart3 Can't wait to work for the formidable @KathViner

Anyone got views on this appointment?

AnatolyKasparov · Post by **AnatolyKasparov** » Fri 11 Dec, 2015 12:40 pm

At present a political correspondent for Sky News, before that a Times journalist. Has come across OK in both places tbf, certainly more so than certain others.

TobyLatimer · Post by **TobyLatimer** » Fri 11 Dec, 2015 12:40 pm

Thought Wintour was Political Editor ?

RogerOThornhill · Post by **RogerOThornhill** » Fri 11 Dec, 2015 12:42 pm

rebeccariots2 wrote:
Anushka Asthana ‏@SkyAnushka 13m13 minutes ago
Delighted to be joining the Guardian as political editor jointly with @heatherstewart3 Can't wait to work for the formidable @KathViner
Anyone got views on this appointment?

Used to write for the Observer according to her wiki biog.

Here's the profile page with links to articles. Looking at the dates I'd say she left them in Jan 2011.

http://www.theguardian.com/profile/anushkaasthana

RogerOThornhill · Post by **RogerOThornhill** » Fri 11 Dec, 2015 12:44 pm

TobyLatimer wrote:Thought Wintour was Political Editor ?

Moving to be the Diplomatic Editor.

http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/content/s ... matic-role

TheGrimSqueaker · Post by **TheGrimSqueaker** » Fri 11 Dec, 2015 12:57 pm

Maeght wrote:
frightful_oik wrote:
yahyah wrote:Who was the Labour MP ?
Emily/Emma Reynolds yahyah. She got owned despite Naughtie's constant haranguing of the STW guy.
I heard this interview as well and was really irritated by Jim Naughtie. I thought Emma Reynolds was terrible. After it was pointed out to her that her accusations were false and that there was evidence, she said something along the lines of - well I bet they do agree with it anyway.

But, and this is a genuine question, can anyone tell me whether Stop the War is good or bad? I just don't know enough about them. Have been on the website and most of the names don't mean much to me. Was surprised to see Mark Rylance was a patron but probably shouldn't be.

Lately they are portrayed a bit like the spawn of the devil and just read an article by Tariq Ali in the Independent, who said it's all aimed at Jeremy Corbyn

http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/com ... 68651.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Bless 'im, Rylance is his generation's Vanessa Redgrave.

PorFavor · Post by **PorFavor** » Fri 11 Dec, 2015 12:59 pm

Britain criticised for praising China on UN Human Rights Day

Activists attack ‘unacceptable’ statement by UK embassy, which lauds Beijing over civil and political rights but overlooks crackdown on critics

The British pronouncement stood in stark contrast to criticism that the US, Germany and Canada levelled at Beijing this week over its human rights record. (Guardian)

As I said yesterday, things are just getting worse and worse.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/d ... rights-day

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Fri 11 Dec, 2015 1:00 pm

Private investors are being enticed to purchase rooms in UK care homes on a ‘buy-to-let’ basis with the promise of large profits and rental income, an investigation for The Independent reveals.

The Bureau of Investigative Journalism has found hundreds of rooms being offered for sale for as much as £85,000 each. They offer “guaranteed” rental income of around 10 per cent annually and a total return on investment of up to 188 per cent over 10 years.

The largest player in the market is a company whose managers include a struck-off solicitor, a disqualified director and a chief executive who was once the sole director of a company that held a strip club licence – and who says his involvement in the sector will allow him to buy fast cars and diamonds for his wife...

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style ... 68606.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Speechless.

PorFavor · Post by **PorFavor** » Fri 11 Dec, 2015 1:14 pm

rebeccariots2 wrote:
Private investors are being enticed to purchase rooms in UK care homes on a ‘buy-to-let’ basis with the promise of large profits and rental income, an investigation for The Independent reveals.

The Bureau of Investigative Journalism has found hundreds of rooms being offered for sale for as much as £85,000 each. They offer “guaranteed” rental income of around 10 per cent annually and a total return on investment of up to 188 per cent over 10 years.

The largest player in the market is a company whose managers include a struck-off solicitor, a disqualified director and a chief executive who was once the sole director of a company that held a strip club licence – and who says his involvement in the sector will allow him to buy fast cars and diamonds for his wife...
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style ... 68606.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Speechless.

Venal and not even bothering to pay lip service to what most people accept as any form of morality (re China).

This government is sickening.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Fri 11 Dec, 2015 1:19 pm

Nicholas Watt
‏@nicholaswatt
Obv disappointed but look forward to welcoming @SkyAnushka back to @guardian + to working with @heatherstewart3 #formidableduo

Watt's the one that didn't get it - the job that is.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Fri 11 Dec, 2015 1:22 pm

Craig Bennett ‏@CraigBennett3 27m27 minutes ago
A negotiator from another EU member state just said to me "We now see Cameron as Greenwasher in Chief" #COP21

Does that mean what I think it means?

ephemerid · Post by **ephemerid** » Fri 11 Dec, 2015 1:23 pm

HindleA wrote:Morning.
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultat ... escriptors" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Personal Independence Payment: aids and appliances descriptors-consultation

In short,they are not reducing support for the prerequisite savings(without regard to actual need)The miracle of Societal advancement in the 21st Century has made extra costs disappear for many.

Having read this - and thanks for the link - I am horrified.

Basically, the idea seems to be that if you are disabled and/or debilitated by illness, and one of the descriptors which qualifies you for a PIP award can be ameliorated by the use of an appliance, once that appliance has been provided there is no further need for a payment.

It give an example of a man with COPD who needs help with washing and cooking. The assumption in that case is that if he has a thing called a "perching stool" he will have no need for any other assistance. He'll still be breathless and ill, but he can "perch" while washing.

It goes on to ask if it is better to make a one-off award to a claimant to purchase their "perch" or whatever, or to continue to award a small monthly payment.
It says that continuing to pay an allowance when the descriptor has been dealt with by the appliance is what happens with DLA, and that the point of PIP is to target the most needy for higher awards - presumably the lie is that by removing the care awards for people once they have their fucking perches they'll dish out more to people whose problems can't be cured by having one.

No mention of what people actually spend their care component on - care.

This is sick.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Fri 11 Dec, 2015 1:34 pm

My doubts about the ability of our 'coalition' developing a sound strategy for a political solution and restructuring of Syria post airstrikes / war on ISIS were magnified considerably by learning via Newsnight that the chief buyer of oil from ISIS is ... Assad. In the words of the bloke whose job it is to monitor the financial resources / systems of ISIS - 'they each have something the other wants'. ISIS wants money - Assad wants oil.