Interesting news topics.

[Webbo]

You do not believe other people have friends and relatives and socialise and interact with each other?

How sad.

It's quite possible to have friends and relatives without having them stop in your house.

[Rincewind]

I find Estonia's stance on the digital native quite interesting:

 

From the looks of it, the system seems to be rather effective and cost-cutting, helping and assisting every Estonian in order to generate a better and more efficient country.

Good for them. Nice to see some positive thinking that helps all/

[Julian Joachim Jr Shabadoo]

Having guests round to stay over is a luxury not a necessity and should absolutely not be incorporated into the spare bedroom tax. What a mental idea, everyone knows other people so every sponge would claim to be entitled to bigger houses. The welfare system needs a massive shake up to cut wasteful gifting to those who provide bugger all to society. That's not having a dig at those genuinely looking for work, but let's be honest, if you're half decent at anything and willing to work, chances are you will find a job pretty quickly.

[Steven]

A 51-year-old male schoolgirl? Meet Tokyo's inspirational cross-dresser

 

 

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/07/19/world/asia/japan-inspirational-cross-dresser/index.html?eref=edition

[Steven]

Having guests round to stay over is a luxury not a necessity and should absolutely not be incorporated into the spare bedroom tax. What a mental idea, everyone knows other people so every sponge would claim to be entitled to bigger houses. The welfare system needs a massive shake up to cut wasteful gifting to those who provide bugger all to society. That's not having a dig at those genuinely looking for work, but let's be honest, if you're half decent at anything and willing to work, chances are you will find a job pretty quickly.

No, no, no. The tax system needs a massive shake up.

[Rincewind]

A 51-year-old male schoolgirl? Meet Tokyo's inspirational cross-dresser

 

 

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/07/19/world/asia/japan-inspirational-cross-dresser/index.html?eref=edition

 

Is he on Tinder?

[Julian Joachim Jr Shabadoo]

No, no, no. The tax system needs a massive shake up.

Someone needs a slap, that's all I know. I don't tend to get involved in political debates but the spare bedroom tax is so clearly a good fair idea for everybody, arguments against it are ridiculous. "What if I want guests over to sleep the night?" They can kip in your kitchen, your living room, your attic, or you can earn money by working, save up until you afford to buy/rent a property with excess bedrooms, then your friends can stay around in said bedrooms.

[Steven]

Someone needs a slap, that's all I know. I don't tend to get involved in political debates but the spare bedroom tax is so clearly a good fair idea for everybody, arguments against it are ridiculous. "What if I want guests over to sleep the night?" They can kip in your kitchen, your living room, your attic, or you can earn money by working, save up until you afford to buy/rent a property with excess bedrooms, then your friends can stay around in said bedrooms.

100% true. Doesn't help you though.

[Rincewind]

[ozleicester]

George Harrison Memorial Tree Killed by Actual Beetles

 

 

 

http://www.spin.com/articles/george-harrison-memorial-tree-killed-beetles-beatles/?utm_source=spintwitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=spintwitter

[Vacamion]

And now for an article on the way in which Thomas the Tank Engine is representative of the racist white, male, homophobic kleptocracy.

 

http://www.theguardi...ents?CMP=twt_gu

 

The article is sooooooo "Guardianista", it's almost funny.

 

[kingcarr21]

Baby P boss Sharon Shoesmith secures £680,000 payout

Sharon Shoesmith said she "did not recognise" the amount being reported

 

 

The former head of Haringey children's services Sharon Shoesmith has been awarded £679,452 following her unfair dismissal claim.

Ms Shoesmith was sacked after a damning report into the 2007 death of Peter Connelly, known as Baby P, who was subjected to months of abuse.

The payments, previously established to be a six-figure sum, were confirmed in the London council's accounts.

But Ms Shoesmith told the BBC: "This is not a figure I recognise."

She added: "I have made a confidential agreement with Haringey that prevents me giving the actual figures."

However, the council's draft accounts for 2013-2014 show Ms Shoesmith was awarded £377,266 for salary, fees and allowance, £217,266 in compensation for loss of office, and £84,819 for employer pension contributions.

Peter Connelly died in August 2007 at the age of 17 months

Peter Connelly had more than 50 injuries, despite being on the at-risk register and receiving 60 visits from social workers, police and health professionals over eight months.

Baby Peter's mother, Tracey Connelly, her boyfriend, Steven Barker, and his brother, Jason Owen, were jailed in May 2009 for causing or allowing the child's death.

Continue reading the main story Baby Peter timeline

• 3 August 2007: One-year-old Peter Connelly (Baby P) found dead in his cot
• 11 November 2008: Peter's mother, Tracey Connelly, her boyfriend Steven Barker and his brother Jason Owen convicted of causing his death
• 13 November 2008: Ed Balls orders inquiry into role of the local authority, the health authority and the police
• 8 December 2008: Ms Shoesmith is sacked with immediate effect
• 22 May 2009: Connelly, Owen and Barker all get lengthy jail sentences
• 15 September 2010: Ms Shoesmith asks a House of Commons committee why the police and health services had not also been made to take responsibility
• 27 May 2011: The Court of Appeal rules in favour of Ms Shoesmith
• Oct 2013: Ms Shoesmith agrees a six-figure payout with Haringey Council
• June 2014: It is revealed Ms Shoesmith was awarded £679,452 in compensation.

• Ms Shoesmith was sacked in December 2008 by the then children's secretary Ed Balls.

She claimed she had been unfairly dismissed and the Court of Appeal ruled in her favour in 2011, saying she had been "unfairly scapegoated".

Haringey Council previously revealed it had spent £196,000 fighting Ms Shoesmith's case for unfair dismissal.

The compensation package is more than the minimum suggested by senior judge Lord Neuberger in the 2011 ruling.

He gave the opinion Ms Shoesmith was entitled to a minimum of three months' salary plus pensions contributions, which would have amounted to about £33,000.

However, last year a government source told BBC Newsnight the cost to Haringey Council could be as high as £600,000.

In a statement, the local authority confirmed it had reached a settlement with Ms Shoesmith.

It said: "The terms of the settlement are confidential. We are unable to comment further on this matter."

Kerry Underwood, an employment lawyer, said confidential settlements like Ms Shoesmith's "should not be allowed" when they involve public money.

Such payouts should also be subject to extra scrutiny, he added.

"When local authorities are cutting back hard then it should go back to tribunal or court to be approved," Mr Underwood said.

"That would not cost a lot of money, it would be a relatively short hearing."

Dont quite know what to think about this

[Vacamion]

Stuff about Baby P boss Sharon Shoesmith

 

 

 

In all fairness, Sharon Shoesmith didn't kill him, the poor lad's parents did.

 

Hard to see what exact actions or omissions on Ms Shoesmith's part (notwithstanding mistakes made by her department) contributed to the death. From the outside and without knowing the full facts, it looked like she was being made a scapegoat when there was a media frenzy about it and a court seems to have found subsequently that she was unfairly dismissed.

 

Whether in the first place someone doing her job should be earning such astronomical wages & benefits at the taxpayer's expense is an entirely different argument and, I would suggest, pretty impossible to justify.

[purpleronnie]

You must not have read the article kenbo because it says:

"the practical truth is that almost all of us need a spare bedroom because we do not live isolated lives in neatly demarcated social spaces. In other words families have blurred edges and being able to have people to stay –children, grandchildren, brothers, sisters, parents, friends is part and parcel of life."

Which is frankly a ludicrous argument. Probably the most ridiculous argument against the spare room subsidy I've heard and that's saying something. What's more, the article doesn't mention disabled people once. Not even once.

Hey Moosey, stop sitting on the fence and tell us what you really think.

[Rincewind]

Social mingering is only allowed for the rich. Us peasants have to stay in our hovels leaving only to do 12 hour shifts at poundland.

People with sons and daughters at University should immediately barracade their room after they have left just in case they want to return during the holidays. Peasants should be crammed into a small a unit as possible in tower blocks. Being sick, disabled or seperated is not permitted. If your partner has an illness that keeps you awake at night just shrug your shoulders and put up with it because you are not permitted a room to yourself.

 

Just kidding.

 

piece below deleted.

Edited 26 July 2014 by Rincewind

[Webbo]

 

"the practical truth is that almost all of us need a spare bedroom because we do not live isolated lives in neatly demarcated social spaces

 

a)The practical truth is most of us manage quite well without one.

b) Wtf is "Social mingering"

Edited 26 July 2014 by Webbo

[Nick]

a)The practical truth is most of us manage quite well without one.

b) Wtf is "Social mingering"

 

I really appreciate the efforts of the mods, especially Webbo.

[Rincewind]

This is the closest thread for this story without starting a new one. I don't know about anyone else but I think it is an amazing tale of guts and endurance of a man who had served his country and then a successful career only to see his life fall apart when he became ill. Too ashamed and proud to ask for help he struggled on and still is.

 

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/david-tovey-has-weathered-cancer-cardiac-arrest-hiv-and-homelessness--and-hes-only-39-9624156.html

[Julian Joachim Jr Shabadoo]

b) Wtf is "Social mingering"

 

A minge-ring is a vaginal piercing, no idea how it can be a social thing though

[Rincewind]

Thought I had edited the post. Why carry it on? Just move on to the next story and moan about that. I missed an 'L' out in the middle of the word. Big deal.

[MooseBreath]

This is the closest thread for this story without starting a new one. I don't know about anyone else but I think it is an amazing tale of guts and endurance of a man who had served his country and then a successful career only to see his life fall apart when he became ill. Too ashamed and proud to ask for help he struggled on and still is.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/david-tovey-has-weathered-cancer-cardiac-arrest-hiv-and-homelessness--and-hes-only-39-9624156.html

Let me guess, you haven't read it?

[Rincewind]

I  have read it. Have you? or more to the point have you taken any of it in and thought about it with an open mind?

 

To summerise A man who had served in the armed forces  with the catering corp took a job as head chef. Worked his way up till he was running a restaurant. Then he suffered a stroke. He did not know why or the cause. He became more and more ill and as a result his ability to work suffered. He gave it up and took an art course  at college but his money was running low. He was told he was not entitled to benefits as he was a student despite having to pay student fees. He even took work in his old restaurant washing dishes. . Eventually he had to pack it in as he could not afford the travel costs. His depression grew worse and he attempted suicide more than once. In the end somebody gave him contact with a charity who gave him somewhere to live. He is gradually recovering and trying to get his life back together. He is thankful to those that helped. He said when he was not working he felt ashamed living on benefits and did not like to ask for help. He thought having served his country he would receive more help when he was ill but was brushed away as if he did not matter.

That is how I read it. I expect your interpretation would be two words 'All lies'

If that suits your way of thinking fair enough but you cannot dismiss every similar case as lies without proving otherwise. You can do this by contacting this man yourself and going to talk to him.

But the story was not just for you so I do not expect others to mock it. The majority are open minded so your opinion does not bother me.

Edited 30 July 2014 by Rincewind

[Merging Cultures]

I don't understand the claim that the Government didn't help him. He is in a shelter, he is getting subsidised education and free healthcare for his numerous health problems, including the self inflicted ones such as syphilis and HIV (despite saying he has no idea how he got them).

When he lost his flat, he had a choice. Continue my art foundation course or get even more work to pay for everything. He chose to lose the house. We all have choices to make. I'd love to start my own business, but I have to pay bills and I want the regular income employment brings.

Why would anyone owe me anything if I chose to pursue a business, or art course, and couldn't pay my bills?

[Rincewind]

It is hard to believe he was not offered help but it happens. It is not the sort of thing Government Depts shout from the rooftop.

He had severe depression which is not something you take a couple of aspirins for and shrug off. It is not visible from the outside and can affect rational thinking.

[Merging Cultures]

It is hard to believe he was not offered help but it happens. It is not the sort of thing Government Depts shout from the rooftop.

He had severe depression which is not something you take a couple of aspirins for and shrug off. It is not visible from the outside and can affect rational thinking.

He was offered help.

He had subsidised education, free healthcare and is living in a shelter.

He chose to do an art foundation course rather than pay his rent.

Edited 31 July 2014 by BaltimoreBlue