Agenda 2019

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/apr/29/jeremy-corbyn-sets-up-inquiry-into-labour-antisemitism-claims Jeremy Corbyn sets up inquiry into Labour antisemitism claims. The “antisemitism” controversy currently the main media focus, is not about antisemitism. It is about certain individuals within the Parliamentary Labour Party, sections of the media and a few vested interests who have taken this opportunity to attack the leadership of the Labour party and seek an election to challenge the leader. What these cynical opportunists have actually achieved is the very opposite of that which they claim they are trying to prevent, namely the local elections for next Thursday resulting in losses for Labour at the polls. It remains to be seen whether or not these "predictions" actually materialise, It is despicable that a relative small number of members of my own party are eager form a duplicitous conspiracy to oust the party leadership, a conspiracy wh...

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/video/2016/apr/28/john-mann-calls-ken-livingstone-a-nazi-apologist-video?CMP=share_btn_fb John Mann chased Mr Livingstone up the stairs at the BBC's offices in Millbank, shouting and calling him a "f****** disgrace". In an extraordinary outburst of venom, questionable language and clearly stage managed indignation, John Mann “confronts” Ken Livingstone in the street and on the stairway of the BBC's offices in Millbank. It is perhaps by coincidence that the witnesses to this verbal assault were, apart from the passing public, cameramen, reporters and hacks from the Mail, Telegraph, Independent and all the usual suspects from the television media and newspapers, eager to grasp any opportunity to attack and discredit the Labour party no matter how tenuous the link may be. The allegation is already doing the rounds that this whole altercation was no more than an opportunistic stunt engineered for the invited audienc...

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/apr/26/hillsborough-families-27-year-struggle-for-truth-vindicated Hillsborough families' 27-year struggle for truth vindicated After 27 years, the families of the victims achieve justice as the truth is finally revealed. South Yorkshire police, the South Yorkshire ambulance service, Sheffield Wednesday football club and its engineers, Eastwood and Partners, Sheffield city council and other authorities are all criticised in the jury verdicts, particularly the West Yorkshire police and , South Yorkshire Chief Superintendent  David Duckenfield. The conspiracy of lies, cover up and perversion of the course of justice is a scandal of colossal proportions, which demands speedy investigation and prosecution of those individuals, organisations and public bodies involved.Notwithstanding the apologies already made in some sections of the press, the role of the media and the part they played, particularly Kelvin McKenzie and the Sun new...

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/apr/25/junior-doctors-strike-defeated-jeremy-hunt#comments Hospitals braced for walkout as Hunt says doctors' strike must be defeated Hunt says doctors' strike must be defeated. At the general election, o nly 11.3 million people voted conservative out of the 30.6 million people casting a ballot (66.1%). To state that, “the British people”, voted for the manifesto promise, is stretching the boundaries of legitimacy a bit far . H ow many manifesto promises have been abandoned by governments the day after polling day should it be expedient to do so in any case . ? There have been two recent opportunities for Hunt to avert this strike and to resume negotiations, but both have been dismissed with the same arrogance and inflexibility on the part of the Secretary of State for Health that has been the case since this dispute started. A dispute created and engineered by a government with a hidden agenda. T he real reason...

http://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/14448714.Tonnes_of_rock_plunge_50ft_in_massive_landslip_on_Dorset_coast/?action=success#comment_16076340 Tonnes of rock plunge 50ft in massive landslip on Dorset coast Another landslip on the Dorset coast, this time in Bournemouth, brings tonnes of the cliff down onto the promenade and the East Cliff rail lift. My wife immediately thought of this poem which she wrote some years ago. ‘ Dominion ’ So long before my life began Around these shores Your waters ran. You dark, untamed, You vagrant Sea. Pounding, mighty, vibrant Sea: While riding on Your pewtered breast, Your ally, moon, Your tides impressed To seize this once unconquered land And flow, incessant, to demand. So long before my life began Around these shores Your waters ...

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/apr/24/nhs-hospitals-finalise-plans-to-cope-with-unprecedented-strikes?CMP=share_btn_fb#_=_ Jeremy Hunt rejects  another compromise Last week, Hunt dismissed a proposal from the BMA to call off the strike in exchange for the removal of the threat to impose the new contracts. I noted at the time that " As if his handling of this dispute were not incompetent enough already, Hunt compounds his ineptitude by rejecting a proposal from the BMA which would have allowed them and the Health Secretary to step back from an all out strike." Hunt now rejects a compromise proposal by an all party group of MP's ,which includes  the Lib Dem MP and former coalition health minister Norman Lamb; Dr Dan Poulter,(like Lamb a member of Hunt’s ministerial team until last May); and Dr Philippa Whitford, an SNP MP who is also an NHS breast cancer doctor. and which would have led to the strike being called off, with the extraordinary remark t...

https://paper.li/f-1346065353 Good Morning everyone. In this time of the government backed publicity drive for healthy eating, we learn this week that McDonald's is preparing to experiment with an all-you-can eat French fries option. Personally, on the very few occasions that I have actually entered one of these fast food outlets, I have been less than impressed with the circular piece of brown processed “plastic” hidden among layers of relishes and soggy salads accompanied by a few sticks of what alleged to be potato. To now be offered an “all you can eat” option for these “chips”, (I hate the American phraseology of French fries), ensures that my infrequent visits to McDonald’s will now become even rarer. In any case, I must watch my waistline. Chris Grayling was in Dorset this week and happened to visit Weymouth. In the obligatory press interview and photo importunity he said, Weymouth will "continue to fl...

http://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/14446658._Weymouth_would_continue_to_flourish_outside_the_EU___Commons_leader_Chris_Grayling_visits_Dorset/?action=success#comment_16066943 "Weymouth would continue to flourish outside the EU":   says Chris Grayling Chris Grayling The choice of "continue to flourish"  seems a strange choice of words for Chris Grayling to use in describing Weymouth. Even a short stroll around the town reveals a rather different reality. The number of empty shops with "To let" signs continues to increase, as does the amount of derelict or run-down buildings. Many of the back streets of the town have become increasingly seedy over the past years and the Park and Ride facility at Mount Pleasant remains closed since before Christmas last and now the site seems destined to be sold (provided of course that a buyer can be found). Hardly the signs of a "flourishing" seaside economic community. Closed and ...

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/apr/22/barack-obama-brexit-uk-back-of-queue-for-trade-talks “The UK is going to be in the back of the queue.”  "go to the back of the queue" Barack Obama, has gone too far in this latest outpouring of support for Cameron and the "Remain in the EU" campaign. There is a very fine line between a Presidential personal opinion and a United States Presidential instruction to the people of another country to "do the right thing" and vote in a particular way. Coupled with the threat that the United Kingdom would "go to the back of the queue" (a strangely "English" word not usually used by Americans who prefer "the line"), Obama has thrown his weight into the into the remain lobby, with a script which could and probably was influenced if not written, by Cameron and his team. The British people do not respond well to threats and intimidation from what ever source, but the e...

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/junior-doctors-strike-bma-tells-jeremy-hunt-walk-outs-will-be-scrapped-if-contract-imposition-halted-a6991101.html Jeremy Hunt rejects BMA offer to cancel walk-out if he halts contract imposition Jeremy Hunt: How long can he avoid the blame? As if his handling of this dispute were not incompetent enough already, Hunt compounds his ineptitude by rejecting a proposal from the BMA which would have allowed them and the Health Secretary to step back from an all out strike. However, Jeremy Hunt continues on the course which he has pursued from the beginning of this dispute. He has demonstrated a determination to pick a fight with the BMA and Junior Doctors and to take the most provocative position available to him on all of the disputed points. The latest aggressive miscalculation emanating from the Department of Health and seeking to impose by force, new contracts which had already been rejected by the BMA, was guaranteed...

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/analysis-and-features/does-the-treasurys-brexit-equation-stand-up-to-scrutiny-a6989356.html Does the Treasury's Brexit equation stand up to scrutiny? Osborne looking puzzled? Osborne forecasts that families will be £4300 by 2030. He also announces that wages will be lower, prices will be higher and living standards will fall. To "prove" this highly speculative piece of nonsense he points to  The Treasury's "Brexit" equations, which seems to be little more than Algebraic gobbledegook, scribbled on a  "Post it" pad page and offered to the British people as irrefutable evidence that everyone should vote "Remain" in the forthcoming referendum. (How many people actually understand the Algebra in any case?) The Treasury "Brexit" equation. During his tenure as Chancellor of the Exchequer, Osborne's (and the Treasury's), "forecasts" have been wildly ...

https://paper.li/f-1346065353?edition_id=63727820-04a5-11e6-8e99-0cc47a0d164b&utm_campaign=paper_sub&utm_medium=email&utm_source=subscription Good Morning everyone. In a puzzling development Mars bars and some other food products have been reported as containing too much sugar, salt and unhealthy fats and should only be consumed once a week. We might expect some health watchdog or other medical group to issue such advice but this “Do not but this product” warning came directly from the horses mouth. It is a strange world where the manufacture of very popular confectionery or food products warns their customers not to buy it. It is reported that 2 private companies, ATOS and G4S, paid no Corporation Tax last year. These two are amongst the biggest private contractors in this country and carried out £ billions of tax payer funded work for the government last year alone. Now wh...