Murderous dictator, murderous democracy.
What’s the moral difference if people like you and me aren’t making the decisions?
And that’s where you and I differ, Pap. But like I say, I’m bailing. I genuinely find it depressing.
Originally posted by @Coxford_lou
And that’s where you and I differ, Pap. But like I say, I’m bailing. I genuinely find it depressing.
That’s fair enough. I leave the question open to other takers, because I’m having trouble seeing the difference between deaths caused as a result of Western intervention.
I’ll leave you with a thoroughly depressing story, which I’m sure I’ve told before.
I arrived at one of my regular haunts in the US, and something was awry. People were standing with their backs against the wall, or congregating in groups stood outside, peering in. Sprawled on the floor was a man mountain, shaved head, bawling his eyes out and wailing. Even my barkeep mate who is normally cool as a cucumber looked wary.
I walked up to him, got him on a barstool, and got him talking. Twenty minutes later, the bar was its usual self, but I wasn’t. I had just found out what “clearing a room” actually meant. Women. Kids. Babies. This guy had cleared a lot of rooms. I’ve since had the same definition confirmed by British officers when discussing this story.
I honestly didn’t hate him. Felt sorry for the dude; it was not his fault - got sold one thing and ended up doing another, causing a breakdown in public. I can’t condone what he was ordered to do though, which is why I have a lot of trouble making the distinction.
Some local news. Simon Letts, leader of Southampton City Council, has written to George Osborne explaining why his cuts in social care will end up costing more money overall.
_ To summarise not only are cuts bad news for the individuals they effect but they fail in their own terms. Cutting Social Care and Public Health now will cost you more money later. Austerity in this area is counterproductive._
_ In your reply can you resist the temptation to suggest that this Council should find unmentioned efficiencies instead of making cuts? My challenge to you is that if you think we are inefficient then you dispatch your best civil servants to Southampton so they can tell us how to find further savings without cutting services._
The Echo?
Their lead story today is that the sun came up.
Really, it is.
1 Like
What’s all this shouting?
Local news for local people!
We’ll have no trouble here!
1 Like
Tax Credit U turn - Blimey, didnt see that coming. Apparently as the economy is performing better that forecast, he can do this.
That is fucking brilliant news. Well done Osbourne, and the Conservatives.
-
No change to Tax Credits prior to 2020.
-
Surplus in 2019.
Originally posted by @Chertsey-Saint
Originally posted by @CB-Saint
Tax Credit U turn - Blimey, didnt see that coming. Apparently as the economy is performing better that forecast, he can do this.
That is fucking brilliant news. Well done Osbourne, and the Conservatives.
You mean “well done Labour” and Jeremy Corbyn, surely.
Who said we didn’t have an effective opposition? Oh, almost everyone 
1 Like
With a little help from the Lords
The other takeaway from this is that the commentators are saying that GO can get away with such a massive U Turn because of a weak opposition.
Sorry, was it not the Lords who did this?
Apparently, John McDonald got out Chairman Mao’s little red book and started quoting from it - #makingarodforhisownback
2 Likes
Originally posted by @KRG
Originally posted by @Chertsey-Saint
Originally posted by @pap
Originally posted by @Chertsey-Saint
Originally posted by @CB-Saint
Tax Credit U turn - Blimey, didnt see that coming. Apparently as the economy is performing better that forecast, he can do this.
That is fucking brilliant news. Well done Osbourne, and the Conservatives.
You mean “well done Labour” and Jeremy Corbyn, surely.
Who said we didn’t have an effective opposition? Oh, almost everyone
Sorry, was it not the Lords who did this?
Everyone, apparently.
Classic.
Originally posted by @KRG
Originally posted by @Chertsey-Saint
Originally posted by @pap
Originally posted by @Chertsey-Saint
Originally posted by @CB-Saint
Tax Credit U turn - Blimey, didnt see that coming. Apparently as the economy is performing better that forecast, he can do this.
That is fucking brilliant news. Well done Osbourne, and the Conservatives.
You mean “well done Labour” and Jeremy Corbyn, surely.
Who said we didn’t have an effective opposition? Oh, almost everyone
Sorry, was it not the Lords who did this?
Everyone, apparently.
Ha, that really is excellent.
Still too many benefits cuts in this parliament for my liking, bit this makes it ultimately more palatable.
Here’s how it breaks down for me.
Gideon deserves credit for finally realising that his really shit idea is a really shit idea, even though we’ve already probably spent millions in consultation fees and tons of Parliamentary time on his really shit idea.
Corbyn deserves credit for having the balls to front a proper opposition. We saw what the extreme moderates did in the face of many of the benefit cuts the Tories floated last campaign. They were shit scared of being seen as soft on benefits and weren’t far off agreeing with them.
Who are the Lib Dems again? Get back to me when they can field a Parliamentary XI.
Can’t agree with that, but anyway.
You must be very happy about the Stamp Duty increase for second properties? Should kill off some of the Buy to Let sector.
Good job there’s no shortage of nurses, eh? 
Student nurses are to have their grants cut and will instead have to take out loans to pay for their tuition fees, George Osborne has revealed in his Autumn Statement.
The students will stop receiving bursaries in the hope the move, which has been described as “devastating”, will save up to £800m a year for the government.
People tend to study nursing later than your typical student. I think the average age is something like 29, which makes this cut very ill-advised. Deterring people that’ll already have financial priorities from pursuing a career that is massively in demand (and we’re already paying through the nose for) is not a good move.
Originally posted by @Chertsey-Saint
Can’t agree with that, but anyway.
I know, Cherts. I know. But every single point is true, especially the one about the Lib Dems not being able to field a Parliamentary XI.
You must be very happy about the Stamp Duty increase for second properties? Should kill off some of the Buy to Let sector.
I suspect you’re coming from a viewpoint where you equate buy-to-let landlords getting whacked as something that’d make me happy, in keeping with the idea that lefties only want to drag people down by taking from the rich. Not really interested in punitive for punitive’s sake.
If it results in more affordable prices for everyone, then I am all for it. Personally, I suspect it’s just a mechanism to get a bit of cash for something that people will plough on with anyway. An extra 5K is not going to make a great deal of difference to the sector - it might just remove some of the marginals.
I’d sooner see price controls on rents, commensurate with what people are actually earning, taking into consideration the dough people need to live comfortably.