Am off to bed having seen 30 minutes of the first US Presidential debate. Anyone who wants to watch more of it should seek counselling. In terms of content it is impossible to distinguish what either of them is actually proposing on taxation policy. What comes over to me is the lack of any divergence from a neo-liberal economic model.
But in terms of style and presentation, which I presume this is about, rather to my surprise Romney is coming over the better. He is glib whereas Obama is stuttering a lot; they are both achingly dull, but Obama’s phrases seem curiously disconnected and there are gaps when you can see the gears meshing in his head. Neither of them shows any evidence whatsoever of charisma.
Four years ago Obama was talking with apparent belief about the need for change and inspiring people to follow him. He may even at the time have believed much of what he promised, but given the speed of abandonment of principle in office, I doubt it. Now Obama is just trying to present as a more managerially competent neo-con; a managerially competent neo-con competition is about the only one Romney can actually perform in.
I don’t really care who wins – debate or election.
Srangely this BBC report is more comprehensive and informative than the one in the Guardian. It is obvious that only the suckers who have no choice but to be on a payroll actually pay income tax.
MPs voice concerns about ‘off payroll’ tax arrangements
MPs believe too many public sector workers are making their own arrangements to pay tax
Related Stories
Student Loans boss to stand down
Loans boss ‘to pay tax at source’
Civil servant tax review ordered
The tax arrangements of some public sector workers – including thousands at the BBC – have been criticised by MPs.
The Public Accounts Committee says too many make their own arrangements to pay tax and national insurance, which could allow them to contribute less.
It said it was shocked to find the BBC had 25,000 such “off payroll” contracts – 13,000 for people who were on air.
/..
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-19839836.
BBC told by MPs to make presenters pay fair share of tax
Public accounts committee has criticised corporation for allowing high-profile stars to be paid through outside companies
{http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/oct/05/bbc-presenters-tax}
Anne Robinson long standing presenter of consumer rights and exposer of scams and ripoffs programme Watchdog, and also long standing presenter of the very stupid quiz programme The Weakest Link, is in the frame. Wonder if Sir James Sa Vile was also up to this tax avoidance stuff.
Alexi Mostrous@AlexiMostrous
BBC’s Anne Robinson sheltered £4million through an aggressive tax avoidance scheme called Liberty: http://thetim.es/PBxqNF
{http://twitter.com/AlexiMostrous/statuses/253988011367333888}
Strangely this BBC report is more comprehensive and informative than the one in the Guardian. It is obvious that only the suckers who have no choice but to be on a payroll actually pay income tax.
MPs voice concerns about ‘off payroll’ tax arrangements
MPs believe too many public sector workers are making their own arrangements to pay tax
Related Stories
Student Loans boss to stand down
Loans boss ‘to pay tax at source’
Civil servant tax review ordered
The tax arrangements of some public sector workers – including thousands at the BBC – have been criticised by MPs.
The Public Accounts Committee says too many make their own arrangements to pay tax and national insurance, which could allow them to contribute less.
It said it was shocked to find the BBC had 25,000 such “off payroll” contracts – 13,000 for people who were on air.
/..
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-19839836.
BBC told by MPs to make presenters pay fair share of tax
Public accounts committee has criticised corporation for allowing high-profile stars to be paid through outside companies
{http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/oct/05/bbc-presenters-tax}
Anne Robinson long standing presenter of consumer rights and exposer of scams and ripoffs programme Watchdog, and also long standing presenter of the very stupid quiz programme The Weakest Link, is in the frame. Wonder if Sir James Sa Vile was also up to this tax avoidance stuff.
Alexi Mostrous@AlexiMostrous
BBC’s Anne Robinson sheltered £4million through an aggressive tax avoidance scheme called Liberty thetim.es/PBxqNF
{http://twitter.com/AlexiMostrous/statuses/253988011367333888}
Whereas:
Almost 1.2m low paid people could see the state handouts which top up their wages reduced unless they work longer hours, according to report published today.
Under the Government’s flagship plan to streamline the benefits system, a new universal credit will replace tax credits and most working-age benefits, including jobseeker’s allowance and housing benefit, in a year’s time. The new system will encourage people to working longer hours so they are less reliant on state top-ups.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/almost-12m-low-paid-people-could-see-benefits-reduced-under-new-government-scheme-8198175.html
and:
BMA chief suggests raising taxes to help the NHS
Changing NHS ‘on high alert during change’
NHS changes: your questions answered
The challenges ahead
In graphics: New structure
Taxes may need to be raised to help the NHS avoid making cuts to front-line services, the new leader of the British Medical Association has suggested.
BBC {http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-19827931}
Cancer, heart and stroke specialists face NHS axe
Charities and doctors warn that planned reductions in teams of experts will affect fight against killer diseases
{http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/oct/04/cancer-heart-stroke-nhs-axe}
But it’s all OK for the likes of Ms Bruce and Ms Robinson who will still be able to consult a specialist in Harley Street and book into a private London hospital if the need arises.
Are we going to find a new common theme with our newspapers.
One wher truth and understanding is paramount, Papers being the spearhead in our fight against politcal and immoral dwgeneracy.
Striving for a new shared collective of rightousness.
Oh that will be the Iranian press.
Good work.
The US election is a Shakespearean tragedy, what with Shylock Adelson pulling the strings with a $100m super pac contribution to get zio Baptist Ryan on the Republican ticket. only for Romney to stop a Kennedy like magic bullet in due course. And President Othello being on the receiving end of racist disrespect from wiley coyote the 911er at the UN podium, going on to add that the goyim should be grateful to the chosen who have given them all this material progress since the first time he came to the UN 25 years ago !
At the very least, Jon, you could sit on Anders’ posts replying to sideissues on other, long-previous threads. As the guy firmly fits any definition of a spammer, I’d be inclined to ditch the rest, but it’s not my blog. Or his. Maybe he could start one?
Anders7777, 3.27 a.m. I knew Benjamin Franklin was a mason. Allegedly he was entered into the cult (craft) when he threatened to publish the goings on of masons in one of his newspapers if they did not let him join. However it would be very surprising if there was anything sinister concerning the bodies found at his former home. The Times article claims the bones were about 200 years old and the main suspect was William Hewson. Franklin was a member of the famous Lunar Society and friends with Matthew Boulton, Erasmus Darwin and other pioneers of the industrial revolution. Doctors tended to dwell in the same houses as former doctors because those with sick relatives knew where to go. The bones were likely corpses brought to the house so that the doctors could give lessons on anatomy to students and others. I know for a fact that Erasmus Darwin gave anatomy lectures in Lichfield on the corpse of a hanged man. They went on till the corpse stank. So these, in an age where children were hanged for stealing sheep, were most likely provided from prisons. Workhouses too are a probability. The fact that one of the skulls had holes trepanned in it tends to show that these were lecture specimens.
Wikipedia says Franklin occasionally went to the Hellfire Club in 1757 as a non-member, and probably as a spy. Anyway you need to make a better case if you are going to slag off one of the great minds of the eighteenth century.
@JimmyGiro – I have not time-censored your comments, and neither has any mod. The anti-spam thing here needs looking at.
For the record, a lot of disruptive material from @anders7777 has been deleted. Since I no longer have the time to sift his occasional original post from large amounts of copy-n-paste, I will just delete on sight now. On this blog, we’ve had to do that with only three or four individuals before.
The ex Auditor General for Scotland also adds his two penn’orth:
Robert Black: Free public services need ‘revisiting’
Former Auditor General Robert Black has questioned whether providing the current range of free public services in Scotland will remain sustainable.
Bark and bite from the public’s watchdog
Lamont in attack on free tuition
Lamont doubts free-for-all policy
Scotland’s former Auditor General Robert Black has questioned whether providing the current range of free public services can remain sustainable.
Decisions to offer free personal and nursing care and concessionary travel fares should be revisited, he said.
.
/..
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-19839096
His biography from the British Library website. A nice big pension pot has no doubt accrued from his previous positions.
Dr Robert Black CBE
Board member
Appointed: 20 June 2012
Robert Black stepped down as Auditor General for Scotland at the end of June 2012, a post which he had held since 2000. Dr Black was the first Auditor General for Scotland, appointed by HM The Queen under the Scotland Act which brought into being the Scottish Parliament. Previously he was Chief Executive of the Accounts Commission for Scotland. He was a local authority chief executive for 10 years, first with Stirling District Council (1985-90) and then with Tayside Regional Council (1990-1995). His earlier career was in policy planning and research with Strathclyde Regional Council, Glasgow City Council and Nottinghamshire County Council.
Dr Black was appointed to the British Library Board for his high level of expertise in the area of public administration, accountability governance and also his ‘special knowledge of Scotland’ as required under the terms of the British Library Act 1972 as amended by the Scotland Act 1998. He serves on the Board’s Audit Committee and Investment Committee.
Would it be possible that contracts determined with Iranian oil during the 40,s and 50,s
would be today legaly viable with Anglo American control of the country.
If that is the case then there is your answer to who controls.
Jimmy:
I’ll take that as meaning ‘what are the reasons for making homosexuality a virtue to be protected in law’? I’d have thought it was obvious: if two consenting adults wish to have an intimate relationship, they have the right to enjoy that relationship in peace. If marriage is to exist for straight couples, then it should exist for gay/bi/other as well. Easy!
All these elections in western democracies are great, aren’t they, Craig? No matter who we vote for-we get a Neocon!
@ Jon, Glenn, Cryptonym, and others of the morally relative Borg collective,
Each of you have argued the need to define sexual morality by synthetic law; showing disregard for the evolved social norms, as an inconvenient “constraint”, to be deposed:
With your plea to ‘moral sexual freedom’, rather than heterosexual virtue, you have accepted a society which defines right and wrong by the fait accompli of perversion, as in Gore Vidal’s quotes; hence the moral boundaries and laws are being defined by perverts:
Thus the moral boundaries drift away from virtue, as self-interested collectives, with their own agendas, place ‘moral’ pressure on change to the rest of society.
Consider the marches against ‘section 28’, and the subsequent marches, predominantly by middle-aged ‘gentlemen’, demanding equality for the age of consent for homosexuals as for heterosexuals. The sodomites wanted the law to forgive their desires to have intercourse with 16 year old children. Note that they didn’t ask that the age of consent for heterosexuals be raised to 18 years so as to achieve parity.
As with self promoting interest groups, people do not do what they believe to be wrong; hence the law imposes boundaries. And if that law drifts due to moral relativism, then it is apt to drift according to the lusts of perverts. Since who is to determine what is meant by ‘adult’ or ‘abusive’, the democratic society or the government level pederasts, and their main stream media supporters?
Homosexuality has no inherent virtue; despite it being a natural phenomena, that fact does not give it any moral credence. Indeed, pederasty is just as natural a phenomena, but who in their right mind would hold it up to be a virtue, even amongst the ranks of the ‘stop clause 28’ protesters, who had the presence of mind to limit their public predilections to 16 year old children? Any virtue regarding homosexuality, is the civility we the 97% of society bestow upon their freedom to practise their perversions amongst themselves, with the proviso that they do not compromise others.
So when they campaign for, and win, laws forbidding criticism of their perversions, they have presumed upon our civility, and by that extent, undermined our collective virtues. For how can we determine right from wrong in a social context without critical analysis; and what critical democratic discussion can there be without risking the full violence from the ‘homophobia laws’, as practised by a quota chasing, and politically compromised, police force, who are free to interpret the law according to their bent?
It is our moral duty to do the right thing according to our acquired sense of right and wrong; which is a combination of the inherent virtues, born of millions of years of evolution, and the ethical wisdom of the ages, inherited from our ancestral culture. Therefore, if synthetic laws are imposed that compromise people’s sense of moral right, it is the duty of those people to oppose those laws in equal measure.
Cameron made a plea for information about the disappearance of April Jones, aged 5, who, it is now assumed by the police, has been murdered.
He made no reference to this child who died of starvation under his watch and that of Duncan-Smith.
Charities warn of more tragedies unless flaw in transition system is fixed
Child starved to death after benefits delay
05/10/2012 | By Keith Cooper
The government has been warned it must urgently fix flaws in its support system for successful asylum seekers, after a destitute child starved to death in temporary accommodation in Westminster.
Further tragedies are increasingly likely as more asylum claims are processed while support funding dries up, organisations claim.
Details of the tragic circumstances surrounding the death of ‘child EG’ and the unrelated death of his mother ‘Mrs G’ surfaced in a serious case review and a letter sent to the government by child safety experts at Westminster Council, a flagship Conservative borough
/..
http://www.insidehousing.co.uk/care/child-starved-to-death-after-benefits-delay/6524052.article
Homosexuality has no inherent virtue; despite it being a natural phenomena, that fact does not give it any moral credence.
True. In fact because it is a natural phenomenon
Its moral dimension lies in whether or not it does harm. And that is not generalisable to homosexuals at large, but depends on the circumstances of the way each expresses his/her sexuality, just as the morality of any other natural impulse does. There is no a priori moral difference between same-sex and heterosexual acts…unless you accept that the rantings of the prechristian rabbi who wrote Leviticus for an entirely different society define morality for all time.
If you do, I see where you’re coming from. It’s immoral because Paul/Leviticus says so, regardless of whether it necessarily harms anyone. And Paul/Leviticus trumps Jesus, whose law, intended to replace Jewish dogma, was easier to remember than Leviticus. Remember it? God? Neighbour?
Baby EG.
http://www.hamhigh.co.uk/news/court-crime/st_john_s_wood_baby_boy_starved_death_cot_mother_died_hiv_inquest_1_1354765
Seems the deaths weren’t so unrelated.
Jimmy, you’ve ignored the issue previously put to you about adult consent, which is absent in paedophilia and necrophilia. Other than that, your argument is circular – “heterosexual virtue” and “homosexual perversion” are assumed from the start, with no supporting arguments.
Like Komodo, I too wondered if you might be religious. But do say: what is wrong with two men in a relationship, or two women getting married? All the right ingredients are there: they’re adults, they’re able to consent, they’re in love – what more should we ask for? Why does their private relationship offend you personally?
Given the choice, what would you do about such relationships? Can I take it as read you’d remove legal protections, annul civil partnerships, and reinstate Clause 28? Anything else?
One commentator on the BBC news channel said that Obama was out of practice regarding debating skills, since for four years he had only spoken to deferential audiences. I hope he will concentrate better on his convictions the next time. Otherwise, just think, the most powerful man in thje world will be
Jon wrote:
Indeed, and my challenge was: what difference would there be between your examples, and their justifications, for consenting homosexuals, and consenting adult siblings within a very private incestuous relationship?
Your response was: “no. But there are genetic and psychological reasons why siblings should not have a sexual relationship.”
So allow me to borrow your answer, to use against promoting homosexuality as a virtue, and point out that ‘genetically’ speaking the difference between incest and homosexuality is resolved by a condom. And psychologically, they are both deviant activities relative to the norm.
Jon also wrote:
I’m sure many a pederasts would argue that we should mind our own business regarding what they do in their ‘private’ activities. And as regarding the privacy of homosexuals, you are missing the point entirely. They are effecting the law for all, hence it is no longer a private issue; similarly the so called ‘anti-homophobic’ laws, essentially support censorship of critical moral analysis of such deviancy. I predict that many a pederast will hide behind such ‘public’ laws. For example, if anybody suspected that Elton John and his ‘husband’ were sodomising ‘their’ baby Zachary, it would be frowned upon, and dealt with by a combination of laws, including said ‘anti-homophobic’ laws.
.. mistyped key but maybe it’s as well for others to fill in the blank 🙂
I suspect the ‘spam’ filter of the “Your comment is awaiting moderation.”, is due to the inclusion of more than one ‘blockquotes’.
Testing:
Testing testing:
and again:
… our acquired sense of right and wrong; which is a combination of the inherent virtues, born of millions of years of evolution, and the ethical wisdom of the ages, inherited from our ancestral culture.
Is it? The basic principle of evolution is to kill anything that gets in the way of propagating your own, and maybe your close relatives’ DNA. While I guess you could argue that a violent homophobe with a baseball bat was obeying a moral imperative, it is not an evolutionary one. Homosexuals aren’t competing to suppress his DNA, and they won’t be propagating any of their own. It’s even possible that homosexuals benefit their community, and that evolution has not suppressed the tendency for that reason. After all, someone had to do the creative handprints on the cave walls…
As to the ethical wisdom of the ages, it rather depends whose ethical wisdom you want to choose, surely. Or what you regard as wisdom? Disguised, I can’t help feeling, in your argument, is an appeal to a lowest-common denominator consensus which accepts without comment the utterances of St Paul the Self-Promoter for no other reason than those are what it was taught at school. Not even the quality of his writing, let alone its content, suggest that his was the wisdom of the ages. And neither the Roman setting in which he lived nor its Greek predecessor in was hugely proscriptive of homosexuality…as long as we remember that not all homosexuals are, as you put it, “sodomites”. (rather revealing choice of epithet there – makes me wonder if there is any point in debating the issue in the first place)
Therefore, if synthetic laws are imposed that compromise people’s sense of moral right, it is the duty of those people to oppose those laws in equal measure.
And thank you for that. Namely, if my sense of moral right is compromised (as it is) by laws originating in Scripture, it is my duty to oppose them…but, wait a minute, you said “people”. Oh, well, back to the flock. Baaaa.
Komodo,
Your sentiments about the ‘lowest common denominator’ are why the Greeks gave up on democracy.
There is a police presence outside the ‘Royal’ Courts of ‘Justice’ as the decision about Abu Hamza’s appeal against extradition is awaited. There is a large and vociferous protest outside.
Earlier David Bermingham who was extradited to the US spoke of the harsh conditions that Abu Hamza and the others are likely to face in total isolation in the Florence Superax prison. Moazzam Begg who was incarcerated in Guantanamo also spoke to the media in their defence.
Before that news came through that the three elderly Kenyans won their appeal for the right to sue the British Government for torture. Hague needless to say is appealing the decision. Justice? Where? And a paradise for the government barristers and solicitors involved no doubt.
@JimmyG
Homosexuality is an evolved social norm as it an evolved genetic norm.
Heterosexual virtue vs. homosexual perversion? Your argument is ridiculous, founded on prejudice it falls flat effortlessly by itself, it is no consolation that the greatest evils have no doubt emanated from those virtuous heterosexuals whose bizarre (to me) sexuality in your view is all that is needed to excuse their otherwise indefensible conduct. Case closed, the defendant is heterosexual and thus virtuous.
.
Do you think or think that Vidal said heterosexuals are not constrained by social norms, everybody is, most of them are deservedly discreditable, hypocritical and void.
Rather than continue wasting my time with your hateful bile, your us and them inhumanity, I’ll leave you to wallow in your own morass of repellant fatuity and contradictions.
Jimmy – I may be old, but I’m not that bloody old, lol
Alan Turing’s cyber-legacy praised by GCHQ chief
Alan Turing only became famous decades after his death
Turing saved ‘millions of lives’
Award named in honour of Turing
GCHQ director Iain Lobban has said there were “enduring lessons” to be drawn from the work of Alan Turing.
[..]
Mr Lobban addressed another well known aspect of Turing’s life – his homosexuality.
“The fact that Turing was unashamedly gay was widely known to his immediate colleagues at Bletchley Park: it wasn’t an issue,” he said.
“I don’t want to pretend that GCHQ was an organisation with twenty-first century values in the twentieth century, but it was at the most tolerant end of the cultural spectrum.”
Later in his life Turing was convicted of gross indecency after an affair with another man. He was subsequently obliged to take injections of female hormones in an effort to dull his sex drive.
After his arrest he was no longer given an opportunity to carry out work for GCHQ.
Mr Lobban said “we should remember that the cost of intolerance towards Alan Turing was his loss to the nation”.
~~~
Does Lobban care that Turing was persecuted or it is only the loss of his contribution that mattered to the establishment?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-19834593
Dozens of statues mind!
{http://tiny.cc/7ahplw}
Cryptonym convulsed:
To the parents of Cryptonym, regarding your child’s biology homework, I’m sorry to say…