I like some of her stuff too, but she's like Farage, every now and then she goes over the top and makes me wince!
The Great Gatsby Curve, showing the likelihood of being at the same income level as your parents and overall wealth inequality. The higher up the curve the less social mobility and the greater the gap in wealth. No real surprise for the UK, the gap has always been there and always been entrenched. But it’s bad for the US, where not only have they moved right up the curve over the last 40 years, but the underlying ethos of ‘high inequality is acceptable because everyone has the realistic opportunity to improve their lot’ is shown to be false. If you are born poor, you are likely to stay poor (though it’s not inevitable). Gotta luv them Scandis. To be fair if you plot some less developed countries there is even more immobility and inequality.
A surprisingly bold move by the government to reduce the maximum stake on FOBTs (fixed-odds betting terminals) from £100 to £2 per spin. These machines have been described as the 'crack cocaine of gambling' and have caused untold harm. Those already addicted will find other ways to gamble their lives away, of course, but this move might well stop a good number becoming addicted in the first place.
Another interesting piece about people self trolling for attention. https://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/article/05e9991d-4713-4ad4-b9af-eecd47d7dfd7 online abuse is terrible but it really is a way to get the public on your side (not directly related to the article). I wonder how many politicians and famous people do this or whether there are really people out there with nothing better to do than throw abuse (ironically we see one here on the PL board)
Diane Abbott allegedly told Jeremy Corbyn's former wife to 'get out of town' Professor Jane Chapman says Ms Abbott confronted her at her London home in the late 1970s please log in to view this image Diane Abbott allegedly told Jeremy Corbyn's former wife Jane Chapman (R) to "get out of town" Photo: Geoff Newton/Martin Pope By Nicola Harley Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn's former wife claims MP Diane Abbott told her to "get out of town" during her relationship with him. Professor Jane Chapman, who married Mr Corbyn in 1974 and was with him for five years, says Ms Abbott came to her home in London after she had separated from him in the late 1970s and asked her to leave the area, according to the Mail On Sunday. She told the paper it was "a shock" when Ms Abbott appeared at her London home, where she was a local councillor. "She wasn’t very nice when she called on me, but I’m not going to go into that," she said. please log in to view this image James Corbyn and his first wife Jane Chapman pictured in the Hornsey Journal in 1974 "She told me to get out of town. That was basically how the conversation went. But I was still a councillor. I had been elected for years and that hadn’t expired, so I still had responsibilities. And I was still going to meetings and Jeremy and I were still seeing each other there." Revealed: Jeremy Corbyn had a second relationship with a Labour politician Jeremy Corbyn's 'shame' over Queen slur Mr Corbyn and Ms Abbott are said to have had a sexual relationship and even went on a motorbike tour of East Germany following the break-up of his first marriage. A source close to the Labour leader confirmed the tryst after he failed to step in and reprimand Ms Abbott following a row with a fellow female Labour MP. Ms Abbott is reported to have verbally attacked new MP Jess Phillips after she criticised Mr Corbyn’s lack of top female shadow ministers, warning her: “You’re not the only feminist in the parliamentary Labour Party”. please log in to view this image Diane Abbott and Jeremy Corbyn in a Westminster cafe earlier this month Photo: Paul Grover Ms Abbott has been a fierce defender of the new leader throughout his campaign and was one of just 36 MPs who nominated him to run in the election. The spat comes amid reports that Mr Corbyn also had a relationship with a second Labour MP in the 1980s – they are said to have got together when both were members of parliament. Asked about the claims Mr Corbyn’s spokesman refused to comment, but a number of high-ranking Labour sources confirmed the relationship to the Telegraph and one added it was “common knowledge” among staff
has this been on the conspiracy thread yet Labour candidate Mandy Richards faces calls to stand down please log in to view this image Image copyright Mandy Richards A Labour activist chosen by the party to fight the next general election is facing calls to stand down after making a string of controversial comments. Mandy Richards, chosen last month to fight the Worcester seat, cast doubt on the evidence for the Manchester bombing and the murder of Labour MP Jo Cox. She also claimed the security services had her under surveillance and were opening her mail because of her views. She has insisted she is defending her rights and is not a "fantasist". In a tweet, Ms Richards said those who made "such taunts" would rather "have women and black people suffer in silence". Skip Twitter post by @Mandy4Labour Report please log in to view this image Mandy Richards @Mandy4Labour If being a victim of domestic harassment and standing up for my rights makes me a fantasist then shame on those levelling such taunts, as it is clear they would rather have women & black people suffer in silence than seek advocacy and resolution 4:42 AM - Apr 24, 2018 19 69 people are talking about this End of Twitter post by @Mandy4Labour But the city's former Labour MP, Michael Foster, has said Ms Richards must now withdraw while Labour MP for Barrow John Woodcock said the party needed to get "its house in order". Worcester is a marginal seat which the Conservatives hold by a majority of less than 2,500. It was held by Labour between 1997 and 2010. Ms Richards, a London-based former teacher and youth worker, was selected by the local constituency party last month to fight the next general election, scheduled for 2022. please log in to view this image Image caption Worcester is a marginal seat which is a potential target for Labour She currently has two "extended civil restraint orders" taken out against her after a judge ruled that she had repeatedly sought to take a range of government organisations to court without due grounds. Asked in a Facebook thread whether she had attempted to sue up to 20 organisations, she replied: "I asked them for the issues to be investigated. There was an inadequate response, hence the court action." Ms Richards also reportedly wrote on Facebook that she could assure the Worcester party that the cases brought were "all above board". It emerged on Monday that she questioned, in the aftermath of the Manchester arena bombing last year, whether the attack had even taken place - asking why no footage had emerged of damage to the building. And after the death of the Yorkshire Labour MP Jo Cox in 2016, she also wrote on Twitter "glad someone's asking right questions about terror coverage. Jo Cox incident conveniently bereft of evidence too". The Worcester Labour Party, which is expected to meet to discuss the issue in the coming days, has said its members were not aware of any of the court proceedings. It is understood that Labour, which no longer vets its candidate nationally, believes it was Ms Richards' responsibility to declare relevant information during the candidate selection process.
So Trump is promising to make the NHS pay more for drugs so that Muricans can pay less. Excellent, bring on the new UK-US trade deal. USA! USA! USA!
Could be worse - we could be in Japan, where the rail operator has had to apologise as the train left 25 Seconds early - for the second time in 4 months!!! Japanese train departs 25 seconds early - again - BBC News http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-44149791
The US patient has been subsidising our drug prices for years, but there is nothing they can do about it, whatever the Don thinks. His problem is that the ‘non socialised’ and very fragmented US healthcare system has loads of groups in the supply chain with an interest in keeping prices high, whereas in ‘socialised’ European systems you have one strong central buyer, with an interest in keeping prices low. But without the profits that the US brings, the Pharma industry couldn’t take on the huge risk of developing new stuff, hence the US patient subsidises innovation for the rest of us. Trump could change things by having a central pharmaceutical price negotiation mechanism for the US, but that smacks of socialism so he can’t do that. I’ll give you a lecture on international pharmaceutical pricing over a few pints (it will probably take at least six) some time. It’s rather complicated and totally insane, but it’s given me a living for 17 years so I can’t really complain.
Yeah, I thought it must be down to buying power. The thing is, Trump seems to have a major downer on anything we have that we consider to be superior to theirs, like gun laws and the NHS. It burns inside him. I dread to think about this government trying to negotiate a trade deal with the Trump administration. He would undoubtedly insist on access to the NHS and they would give it away. PS I'm a bit old for lectures, but a few beers would be good.
An excerpt from Nicholas Nickleby...……. “The general impression seemed to be, that as an explanation of Mr Gregsbury’s political conduct, it did not enter quite enough into detail; and one gentleman in the rear did not scruple to remark aloud, that, for his purpose, it savoured rather too much of a ‘gammon’ tendency.” “’The meaning of that term – gammon,’ said Mr Gregsbury, ‘is unknown to me. If it means that I grow a little too fervid, or perhaps even hyperbolical, in extolling my native land, I admit the full justice of the remark. I AM proud of this free and happy country. My form dilates, my eye glistens, my breast heaves, my heart swells, my bosom burns, when I call to mind her greatness and her glory.” Perfect.
