deanb Posted June 22, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 22, 2012 Is it me or do Cameron, Clegg and Milliband all kinda look the same. Not that you'd be unable to tell them apart but they're fairly similar age n looks n style n all that. Say what you will about Brown, Kennedy n Howard they at least looked different. I loved todays episode of Simpsons was the one where Krusty get's done for tax avoidance And blurb was in the paper printed for last Tuesday too. I will agree you have to know you're doing something generally considered fairly wrong, even if legal, if you're reducing your tax rate down to 3%. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanb Posted June 24, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 24, 2012 http://www.bbc.co.uk...litics-18567855 This was on BBC News 24 just now (where the Tory interviewed about it repeating the same 2-3 lines several times). Seems kinda stupid to me. What should really be done is to completely revamp how the housing benefit system works because atm it only encourages landlords to continually push rent up higher n higher and the gov't then stupidly go n meet that. They seem to be wanting to put a spin on this as it keeping family together, but it ultimately puts a burden on the family directly. rather than allowing the young to leave the home and go where the work is. Bit of a big F-U to anyone in rural areas where local jobs can be very slim on the ground. Under their plan if I was to get this web dev job I'm eyeing up, but it was further afield, I'd be fucked cos it doesn't pay enough to live off independently, so I'd have to turn down this "First step on the job ladder" unless in the same area at the same time I was able to get a second job on top. Given the difficulty in getting even a first job bit of a fat chance. Rather than going "here's £2billion we can easily just cut off" maybe play a long term plan n see how that £2billion could not be straight up cut but be better redirected in getting young people into work. Too many "entry level" jobs that require years of experience. Too many specialist jobs that require training. When the gov't is able to offer these workers to employers for free suddenly they have these positions that need filling, but otherwise they don't exist (probably cos the gov't is filling these positions with free workers) Oh n Rowan Williams had a bit of a go at Camerons "Big Society" but I've not looked into that one much yet http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/jun/23/rowan-williams-big-society-cameron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanb Posted June 26, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 26, 2012 How does an an NHS Trust do anything but accrue debt? Anyone able to explain the difference between the usual NHS debt n the one at this place heading for insolvency. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheFlyingGerbil Posted June 26, 2012 Report Share Posted June 26, 2012 Trusts are set budgets which they should use to buy the basics (staff, cleaning etc) and then with what's left can try to improve their servies. If the trust is overspending so they cannot pay for the necessities, the Government will have to bail them out as obviously they can't let the patients suffer, but the trust shouldn't be in debt if it sticks to its budget. I'm sure they will be problems from time to time where some unforeseen circumstance means a trust goes over budget (e.g building work going over cost) and that would be covered by the Government and that would be that but if a trust frequently cannot stay within its budget that is a sign that the trust is being badly run, and the Government will send in administrators to sort out the problem. That's what's happening here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanb Posted June 26, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 26, 2012 But how does a Trust end up £60million over budget? That's surely something that should have been noted of once it hit a few million. I assume administration will be much the same as if it was a regular company? In other news: This is now Elizabeth tower. Which complements the west tower which is "Victoria Tower". Oh and I'm kinda bummed that the response to the money shortages within local gov't due to the strain of elderly is "find more efficient ways to do things". That pretty much seems to be how the current gov't thinks the worlds works. Take away the source of money and people will magically find other ways of doing things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheFlyingGerbil Posted June 26, 2012 Report Share Posted June 26, 2012 Oh and I'm kinda bummed that the response to the money shortages within local gov't due to the strain of elderly is "find more efficient ways to do things". Instead of a telegram from the Queen you get a ticket to Switzerland. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheFlyingGerbil Posted June 26, 2012 Report Share Posted June 26, 2012 with regard to the trust thing - it's the stupid PFIs which were a New Labour idea that are a major problem specifically for that trust. £1m a week in interest being paid to private companies. so thats £52m a year of the £60m you mentioned. They were trying to keep up with the current obligations is why they got in such a big hole, just like people with debts they can't keep up with eventually they have to go about restructuring the debts to be able to carry on. PFIs are the biggest con of the last decade and are just one of the reasons the current Government is having to make so many cuts. New Labour despite what they wanted you to believe (and apparently a lot of people still do) were just as bad as old Labour in not having a clue how to balance spending with taxation and consequently left a flaming bag of turd on our doorsteps when they lost power and people are complaining that the coalition have got crap on their shoes, It really gets on my nerves. New Labour on purpose set a load of spending bombs to be set off during the current Government because they new they had no chance in hell of getting back in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WTF Posted June 27, 2012 Report Share Posted June 27, 2012 @Dean the tower might be called the Elizabeth tower but the bell remains Big Ben unless I'm mistaken so we'll continue to call it Big Ben and not be factually wrong . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted June 27, 2012 Report Share Posted June 27, 2012 The tower itself was just called the West Tower or some shit before, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WTF Posted June 27, 2012 Report Share Posted June 27, 2012 Most people just refer to it as the clock tower really. Honestly it's not a major thing but they're trying to make it sound like it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanb Posted June 27, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 27, 2012 I never said the bell had changed name... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanb Posted July 2, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 2, 2012 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18662531 Theresa May is someone who I tend to read what she sez n disagree but I guess the UK test could do with some tweaks (Though most likely not in the way she's suggesting but at least this time it's about people and past of UK instead of the folks that came over here...srsly why do immigrants need to know what percentage if immigrants in the 70's were Caribbean?) I find it stupid that some are opposing making the national anthem part of the test as it would be "unfair" and "against their religion". It's stupid, if folks don't want to deal with the issues of living under a country that has a state religion of Chrisitanity and state langue of English then maybe find a country to immigrate to that has a matching language and religion? Here's a practice version of the old test http://www.ukcitizenshiptest.co.uk/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thursday Next Posted July 3, 2012 Report Share Posted July 3, 2012 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18662531 Theresa May is someone who I tend to read what she sez n disagree but I guess the UK test could do with some tweaks (Though most likely not in the way she's suggesting but at least this time it's about people and past of UK instead of the folks that came over here...srsly why do immigrants need to know what percentage if immigrants in the 70's were Caribbean?) I find it stupid that some are opposing making the national anthem part of the test as it would be "unfair" and "against their religion". It's stupid, if folks don't want to deal with the issues of living under a country that has a state religion of Chrisitanity and state langue of English then maybe find a country to immigrate to that has a matching language and religion? Here's a practice version of the old test http://www.ukcitizenshiptest.co.uk/ Agree with pretty much everything you said. No one is asking them to change faith. It's not North Korea, so you won't be forced to sing to your God-Queen every morning. You just need to learn what the words are. I can understand criticisms that having to read, write and speak English in a country with a perceived pretty crappy literacy level is unfair, but at the same time they are very important skills. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Posted July 3, 2012 Report Share Posted July 3, 2012 If literacy levels are that poor, the solution is not to import more people who can't read. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hot Heart Posted July 24, 2012 Report Share Posted July 24, 2012 Interesting... http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18913397 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanb Posted September 4, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 4, 2012 Cabinet reshuffle. Jeremy Hunt is now Health Secretary. As Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt was one of the guys probed in the Leveson Enquiry as part of his work in the BskyB bid. On the Health front he's pro-homoeopathy, and has voted for reducing the abortion time limits in the past too. There's also some stuff floating about that he's not very pro-NHS either but I can't find much solid on that one. It'll be fun to see how quickly he advances Camerons plans to dissolve NHS, or at least sabotage it beyond repair. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted September 4, 2012 Report Share Posted September 4, 2012 pro-homoeopathy I know I use this far too often, but 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Posted September 4, 2012 Report Share Posted September 4, 2012 Can we challenge him to a test? He gets injected with a lethal overdose of some medicine. If there is no effect, he's right. When he dies from the overdose, you guys get to pick a new health dude. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted September 4, 2012 Report Share Posted September 4, 2012 I'm glad that we're not the only ones who put idiots in charge of departments that they either know nothing about or are actively hostile to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thursday Next Posted September 4, 2012 Report Share Posted September 4, 2012 My favourite quote of the re-shuffle is: "Yes, Ken Clarke has been given a "roving economic brief", which essentially means he's lost his job but not his salary and car." via https://twitter.com/Queen_UK/status/242900290611855360 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanb Posted September 17, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 17, 2012 English Bacalaureat eh? I do agree that GCSE needs reform, and I'd have loved to have had a more vocational qualification. But I think the methods of the tories are suspect and badly fleshed out. They have ran this without any consultation with the rest of parliament, and as Blunkett said back in the 90's he was brought into the fold of the tories of the time for plans on GCSE reform. And there's still the issue that there's still the past plans of the two tier of O-level/CSE types and the current plans do have a sort of implication that the plan is to push in a two tier examination despite the assurances that's not the plan. I think the single exam idea is a crappy idea and most likely won't work in practice, probably screwing tons over tons of pupils. I also found it funny that he goes on about how in the 80's there wasn't IT and internet and that's part of a reason for the change, then promptly leaves ICT out of his "core" subjects. I think it would have gone over a lot better if it was compared with the other world leading education systems, as it stands there was no such comparison just pointing out the fact other countries have better secondary education examinations than we do. In other news I think the photos of Kate Middleton has been blown up well beyond the scope of issue it actually is. Not really a good plan to try to hide it by pointing out all the magazines and papers printing the photos and continually going on about it. And I think the photos are well within the right of law and it's only been made as big as it is because it's the potential future queen consort. Any other celebrity it'd be just a shrug n moved on. In other news (that I thought long settled, but turns out not) Simon Harwad has been found guilty of gross misconduct. Yet been found innocent of manslughter previously. So which is it? He committed gross misconduct in attacking a non-protester with a baton, yet was not involved in Ian Tomlinsons death... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted October 2, 2012 Report Share Posted October 2, 2012 http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/10/02/uk-tax-breaks-for-culturally-british-games-only/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanb Posted October 8, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 8, 2012 Can someone explain this "give up employment rights, get shares in company" thing to me. I don't understand what is meant to be good about it for the employee. I also want to know if/when I'd potentially signing a contract with those terms in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanb Posted October 18, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 18, 2012 Oh Nick Griffin. Ever the upstanding example of a fine MP. And this too: https://es.twitter.com/nickgriffinmep/status/258972760355782656 bit after the top one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanb Posted October 23, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2012 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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