I have always felt that when giving to charity you should seek no praise and no acclaim. it should be done inconspicuously and with a warm glow in your heart. knowing that you have helped and improved another life.
It appears the wealthy think differently.They need to be incentivised. They want to be treated as deities. They want tax incentives that are denied to basic rate tax payers. They want to decide how their taxes are spent and where. That is undemocratic and a privilege also denied to basic rate tax payers. I ask just one thing. Stop acting like spoilt brats just because your little tax avoiding scheme has been uncovered.It's great you give to charity. But do it for the right reason and Just shut up whining!
Employment Minister is a nasty little bureaucrat.
Chris Grayling has difficulty with statistics. You get the impression he finds them inconvenient. He trumpets the recent slight drop in unemployment but fails to recognise that the drop is in people finding part-time work and that most,if not all, of these new jobs fail to provide a living wage. Add to that the change in tax credits from 16hrs to 24hrs before qualification and statistics show that thousands more people are being pushed below the poverty line. This is a disgrace. Especially when you add it to the Governments Back to Work scheme which was nothing more than a forced labour programme which enabled business's to fatten their bottom lines whilst trampling on the dignities of the unemployed.
I know that the Tories love to demonise those on benefits. I get the feeling that they downloaded a load of propaganda material used by the Third Reich, crossed out the word 'Juden' and replaced it with 'Benefit Claimant'. Although it is ironic when you consider that some Tory MPs are probably in receipt of Child Benefit which makes them someone who is living on benefits. The clue's in the name.
Friday, 20 April 2012
The Bogus Arguments of the Racing Set
Bogus argument no 1: All horses involved in racing are well cared for.
Truth: Successful horses are well cared for. Unsuccessful horses are goaded into trucks and sent on journeys of hundred of miles with no food or water. When they finally reach their destination, having been subjected to hours of fear and terror, they are goaded into an abattoir and then slaughtered. If you want to see the so called 'care' they receive, go online, You will not sleep for days.
Bogus argument no 2: Horses enjoy racing and jumping fences. When the jockey falls off, the horse continues to run.
Truth: Horses are prey animals. They run in herds. If a horse see's other horses running it too will run. Running is often a sign of danger to horses. It is no different to a flock of birds on the ground. When one suddenly takes to the air all the others will follow as it is often a sign of alarm. And if horses enjoyed jumping fences how would you keep them in a field. Surely they would see the fence surrounding the field and just jump over it if they enjoy it so much.
Bogus argument no 3: Horses dying on race courses is just unfortunate. That's life.
Truth: Horses rarely suffer fatal injuries on race courses or when they are out in a field. They do,however, suffer injuries that are considered not cost effective to treat. Horses are rarely fatally injured on race courses but many are killed by human hand.
Bogus argument no 4: Owners and trainers care deeply for the horses.
Truth: Except when treatment of the horse will affect their bottom line.
After the last Grand National the trainer Paul Nichols threw a hissy fit during a radio interview and said that people should grow up.
Growing up: ( A definition) Being accountable for your actions and accepting that your actions can affect the lives of others and that you must moderate your selfish tendencies because the world does not revolve around you.
He also commented on the fact that a jockey was lying on the ground injured, but nobody seemed to care about him. I expect, Mr Nichols, nobody cared about him because he was there of his own volition ( definition: choice, self determination) and that he was not minutes away from getting his brains blown out.
Horses are majestic and beautiful animals. They should not be abused, mistreated and, when it suits, tossed to one side. They should be respected. Do I need to define 'respect' for you Mr Nichols? I think I probably do.
Yates of the Yard.
I see that Yates of the Yard, having scurried away from the Met, is now plying his trade with the Bahraini government.The Police are often referred to, in some circles, as 'the filth'. I wonder why?
The Chancellor and Gordon.
It is said that Osborne considers himself successor to Cameron. I sense that there is a touch of the Gordon Browns about Osborne. He has that same glowering, unfriendly and slightly unhinged look about him. I think I will now think of him not as 'Cameron's Successor' but as 'Son of Brown'.
Truth: Successful horses are well cared for. Unsuccessful horses are goaded into trucks and sent on journeys of hundred of miles with no food or water. When they finally reach their destination, having been subjected to hours of fear and terror, they are goaded into an abattoir and then slaughtered. If you want to see the so called 'care' they receive, go online, You will not sleep for days.
Bogus argument no 2: Horses enjoy racing and jumping fences. When the jockey falls off, the horse continues to run.
Truth: Horses are prey animals. They run in herds. If a horse see's other horses running it too will run. Running is often a sign of danger to horses. It is no different to a flock of birds on the ground. When one suddenly takes to the air all the others will follow as it is often a sign of alarm. And if horses enjoyed jumping fences how would you keep them in a field. Surely they would see the fence surrounding the field and just jump over it if they enjoy it so much.
Bogus argument no 3: Horses dying on race courses is just unfortunate. That's life.
Truth: Horses rarely suffer fatal injuries on race courses or when they are out in a field. They do,however, suffer injuries that are considered not cost effective to treat. Horses are rarely fatally injured on race courses but many are killed by human hand.
Bogus argument no 4: Owners and trainers care deeply for the horses.
Truth: Except when treatment of the horse will affect their bottom line.
After the last Grand National the trainer Paul Nichols threw a hissy fit during a radio interview and said that people should grow up.
Growing up: ( A definition) Being accountable for your actions and accepting that your actions can affect the lives of others and that you must moderate your selfish tendencies because the world does not revolve around you.
He also commented on the fact that a jockey was lying on the ground injured, but nobody seemed to care about him. I expect, Mr Nichols, nobody cared about him because he was there of his own volition ( definition: choice, self determination) and that he was not minutes away from getting his brains blown out.
Horses are majestic and beautiful animals. They should not be abused, mistreated and, when it suits, tossed to one side. They should be respected. Do I need to define 'respect' for you Mr Nichols? I think I probably do.
Yates of the Yard.
I see that Yates of the Yard, having scurried away from the Met, is now plying his trade with the Bahraini government.The Police are often referred to, in some circles, as 'the filth'. I wonder why?
The Chancellor and Gordon.
It is said that Osborne considers himself successor to Cameron. I sense that there is a touch of the Gordon Browns about Osborne. He has that same glowering, unfriendly and slightly unhinged look about him. I think I will now think of him not as 'Cameron's Successor' but as 'Son of Brown'.
Friday, 13 April 2012
Chancellor in tax shock
When I read that the Chancellor of the Exchequer was shocked at the level of tax avoidance, I at first thought that the level of avoidance was not as high, given the circles he moves in,as he expected and that is why he was shocked. After all, I'm sure he must know people who have had trust funds set up for them in order for them to avoid Inheritance Tax. I heard of an example where approximately 4 million in Inheritance Tax has been avoided by that very means. I think the family run a home decorations business. I'm sure the Chancellor must know them. But apparently he was shocked at how much was being avoided. I think the Chancellor must have a very low opinion of the public if he thinks he is going to get that one past us. He's the Chancellor of the Exchequer for crying out loud! He is supposed to have his finger on the pulse and know what the tax take is for the country. That's his job! So I can only presume that either he is incompetent or he is crying crocodile tears and thinks we are all idiots.
The Titanic
When I read about the Titanic, it comforts me. I think it is a great advertisement for shipbuilding and demonstrates how safe it must be to travel by ship. I base this on the simple fact that given the amount of coverage the Titanic receives, no other ship has ever sunk.Or is it that the lives lost on the Titanic are considered more important than say, the lives lost in the sinking of a ferry in Indonesia or a ship full of immigrants trying to reach the European mainland. What it is really all about is class. I know there were poor people,mainly poor Irish, travelling in steerage. But they are treated as extras in the story, ignored, portrayed in a cartoonish manner as a bunch of jolly Micks, Paddys and Colleens enjoying the 'craic' down below. When I see and hear more about the lives and deaths of the people in steerage then I might show a bit more interest in the posh privileged people up on deck.
MPs and jobs.
You should not be allowed to become an MP until you have worked in another job or jobs for at least 10 years. Cameron and Osborne are classic examples of politicians who have no understanding of ordinary lives. They come from a privileged entitled upbringing that leaves them out of touch with the ordinary person and breeds in them a contempt for anybody that is not of their ilk. To them running the country must be like playing a computer game where there are no personal consequences to their actions. The only difference being, that when they have trashed the country they will not be able to reboot and start again.
Nurses
A tip: If you are in Hospital and you are trying to get the nurses attention but failing. Do not continue to ring the buzzer, they can ignore it. Do not shout and scream, they can ignore it. Do not lob a bedpan down the ward, they can ignore it. What I suggest, is you light up a fag, sit there puffing and wait. They will come, oh yes, they will come.
The Boat Race
Come on admit it. When Trenton Oldfield swam out and stopped the Boat Race you didn't think 'oh the humanity' and wept a tear for the broken dreams of 16 strapping six footers and 2 very small people. I know what you did. You laughed. I laughed. We all laughed. I'm still smiling now. But not at Trenton's high jinks but at all the pompous, indignant and self regarding nonsense that has been written and spoken about it since.
The Titanic
When I read about the Titanic, it comforts me. I think it is a great advertisement for shipbuilding and demonstrates how safe it must be to travel by ship. I base this on the simple fact that given the amount of coverage the Titanic receives, no other ship has ever sunk.Or is it that the lives lost on the Titanic are considered more important than say, the lives lost in the sinking of a ferry in Indonesia or a ship full of immigrants trying to reach the European mainland. What it is really all about is class. I know there were poor people,mainly poor Irish, travelling in steerage. But they are treated as extras in the story, ignored, portrayed in a cartoonish manner as a bunch of jolly Micks, Paddys and Colleens enjoying the 'craic' down below. When I see and hear more about the lives and deaths of the people in steerage then I might show a bit more interest in the posh privileged people up on deck.
MPs and jobs.
You should not be allowed to become an MP until you have worked in another job or jobs for at least 10 years. Cameron and Osborne are classic examples of politicians who have no understanding of ordinary lives. They come from a privileged entitled upbringing that leaves them out of touch with the ordinary person and breeds in them a contempt for anybody that is not of their ilk. To them running the country must be like playing a computer game where there are no personal consequences to their actions. The only difference being, that when they have trashed the country they will not be able to reboot and start again.
Nurses
A tip: If you are in Hospital and you are trying to get the nurses attention but failing. Do not continue to ring the buzzer, they can ignore it. Do not shout and scream, they can ignore it. Do not lob a bedpan down the ward, they can ignore it. What I suggest, is you light up a fag, sit there puffing and wait. They will come, oh yes, they will come.
The Boat Race
Come on admit it. When Trenton Oldfield swam out and stopped the Boat Race you didn't think 'oh the humanity' and wept a tear for the broken dreams of 16 strapping six footers and 2 very small people. I know what you did. You laughed. I laughed. We all laughed. I'm still smiling now. But not at Trenton's high jinks but at all the pompous, indignant and self regarding nonsense that has been written and spoken about it since.
Thursday, 5 April 2012
Kirchners Colonial Hypocrisy
A few facts for the Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner to chew on.
The first settlement created on the Falkland Islands by a colonial power was in 1764 by French navigator Louis Antoine de Bourgainville.
The first English settlement was created in the name of King George III by British Captain John Byron in 1765.
The first Spanish presence on the islands was recorded in 1767.
Spain began to colonise what is recognised now as modern day Argentina in 1527.
The ethnic breakdown of the Falkland islands is as follows: 0.6% Japanese, 6.5% Chilean/others, 2.65% Spanish, 29% British and 61% Falkland Islanders.
So here's the deal. You cede Argentina back to the indigenous tribes your Spanish colonial ancestors stole it from and Britain will cede the Falkland Islands back to the French who were its first inhabitants.Or perhaps we will allow the Falkland Islands their right of self determination which is the cornerstone of any Liberal democracy. What'd'ya think.
Regional Pay Rates.
I agree with the Tories. There should be regional pay rates for Public sector workers. I believe that a Teacher working on Moss Side in Manchester or a Social Worker working in Toxteth in Liverpool should be paid more, not less than their counterparts working in the leafy suburbs of say, Godalming or Dorking. I believe the task of teaching at an inner city school in the north east is far more challenging that teaching in Horsham or Basingstoke. So bring it on if you believe in fairness for all. But in truth the Bullingdon boys couldn't give a stuff about fairness. All they care about is themselves.
The first settlement created on the Falkland Islands by a colonial power was in 1764 by French navigator Louis Antoine de Bourgainville.
The first English settlement was created in the name of King George III by British Captain John Byron in 1765.
The first Spanish presence on the islands was recorded in 1767.
Spain began to colonise what is recognised now as modern day Argentina in 1527.
The ethnic breakdown of the Falkland islands is as follows: 0.6% Japanese, 6.5% Chilean/others, 2.65% Spanish, 29% British and 61% Falkland Islanders.
So here's the deal. You cede Argentina back to the indigenous tribes your Spanish colonial ancestors stole it from and Britain will cede the Falkland Islands back to the French who were its first inhabitants.Or perhaps we will allow the Falkland Islands their right of self determination which is the cornerstone of any Liberal democracy. What'd'ya think.
Regional Pay Rates.
I agree with the Tories. There should be regional pay rates for Public sector workers. I believe that a Teacher working on Moss Side in Manchester or a Social Worker working in Toxteth in Liverpool should be paid more, not less than their counterparts working in the leafy suburbs of say, Godalming or Dorking. I believe the task of teaching at an inner city school in the north east is far more challenging that teaching in Horsham or Basingstoke. So bring it on if you believe in fairness for all. But in truth the Bullingdon boys couldn't give a stuff about fairness. All they care about is themselves.
Tuesday, 3 April 2012
Bradford By-election
The Bradford By-election was a shock to Labour. They had an Asian Muslim as a candidate. They probably thought that was enough. They were complacent, failed to focus on local issues and treated the eventual winner, George Galloway, with contempt.. It was a shock result that probably will not be repeated in any other constituency but if it does it may be the Conservatives who are on the wrong end when you consider the relative support of the Respect party with that of UKIP. If it did happen it would probably be a marginal defeat rather than the landslide that occurred in Bradford West.
However, it was a wake up call for Labour.
For labour to win the next election, unless the conservatives continue on this downward slide of incompetence and ineptitude they are currently 'enjoying' they will have to make a radical change. They need Ed Milliband to fall on his sword and allow his brother to step up. Not only would that give a strong message to the public that labour are serious about winning the next election it will also scare the 'bejesus' out of the coalitions current complacency.The first job David Milliband should do is swap Ed Balls with Yvette Cooper. Balls is toxic and will find it impossible to shake the poisonous cloud that constantly engulfs him in relation to the economic collapse that he oversaw alongside Gordon Brown.
The coalition is intellectually weak. Ministers such as Maude,Gove, Clegg,May and Lansley are incredibly mediocre.And that is just a short list. But Labour will not succeed unless they mobilise the vote. They must attempt to include the disenfranchised. They must stoke the fires of people who currently feel undervalued and disconnected from the political process. People need to be woken up to the hard cold facts that this current government are ideologically driven to implement policy that benefits themselves, their family and their friends and that the good of the nation comes very low on their agenda.Just below the repealing of the Hunting act.
Labour need to get down and dirty. They need to bring class into every aspect of challenging Conservative policy, as a hatred of the working class is what drives the party so beholden-ed to investment bankers, Hedge fund managers and city spivs.The Conservatives of course refer to them as uncle James or the Father-in-law.
So come on Ed step up to the plate for the good of your country and do the right thing Do not put personal ambition or pride before the interests of your country. You will be widely respected by the electorate, it will throw the ConDems into panic and you may have saved this nation from becoming a USA-lite country where poor people are denied access to free healthcare, where spree killings at educational facilities become regular occurrences and where patients with mental health issues are taken by taxi from one hospital and dumped outside another, so the hospital can avoid the cost of treatment.
You know it makes sense.
However, it was a wake up call for Labour.
For labour to win the next election, unless the conservatives continue on this downward slide of incompetence and ineptitude they are currently 'enjoying' they will have to make a radical change. They need Ed Milliband to fall on his sword and allow his brother to step up. Not only would that give a strong message to the public that labour are serious about winning the next election it will also scare the 'bejesus' out of the coalitions current complacency.The first job David Milliband should do is swap Ed Balls with Yvette Cooper. Balls is toxic and will find it impossible to shake the poisonous cloud that constantly engulfs him in relation to the economic collapse that he oversaw alongside Gordon Brown.
The coalition is intellectually weak. Ministers such as Maude,Gove, Clegg,May and Lansley are incredibly mediocre.And that is just a short list. But Labour will not succeed unless they mobilise the vote. They must attempt to include the disenfranchised. They must stoke the fires of people who currently feel undervalued and disconnected from the political process. People need to be woken up to the hard cold facts that this current government are ideologically driven to implement policy that benefits themselves, their family and their friends and that the good of the nation comes very low on their agenda.Just below the repealing of the Hunting act.
Labour need to get down and dirty. They need to bring class into every aspect of challenging Conservative policy, as a hatred of the working class is what drives the party so beholden-ed to investment bankers, Hedge fund managers and city spivs.The Conservatives of course refer to them as uncle James or the Father-in-law.
So come on Ed step up to the plate for the good of your country and do the right thing Do not put personal ambition or pride before the interests of your country. You will be widely respected by the electorate, it will throw the ConDems into panic and you may have saved this nation from becoming a USA-lite country where poor people are denied access to free healthcare, where spree killings at educational facilities become regular occurrences and where patients with mental health issues are taken by taxi from one hospital and dumped outside another, so the hospital can avoid the cost of treatment.
You know it makes sense.
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