Thought Id start this one going because its rather dead on this board at the moment and I suppose all my usual muckers are either at the Stella tennis event watching Dim Tim (lose again) or at Henly Regatta eating cucumber sandwiches (they wish,...NOT).

Anyway please feel free to just talk to yourself blast away and let it go on any company or subject you wish. Just wish Id thought of this one before.

cheers GF.

Cynic,

Stop prodding him.

Leaked universal credit memo shows jobcentre staff struggling with rollout

Jobcentre whistleblower tells Dispatches that computerised benefits scheme is ‘unworkable, poorly designed and out of date’



The Guardian, Monday 27 October 2014 12.14 GMT



A leaked staff memo at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) appears to show the government is still struggling to roll out its flagship welfare programme, universal credit (UC), across the UK.

The memo, seen by the Guardian and titled: “Ideas please: Sinking”, appears to be a plea from a jobcentre manager to her staff for solutions to tackle an ever-growing workload brought about by the new system for delivering social security to more than 7 million people.

The internal email, sent in late September and uncovered by Channel 4’s Dispatches as part of an investigation into UC to air on Monday evening, appears to show that one of the 60 centres where the scheme has been rolled out is generating such a substantial backlog of claims, centre staff will have to work three times more than their limit to clear it.

UC, which is projected to generate £7bn in economic growth to the UK, will combine six benefits, including jobseeker’s allowance and housing benefit, into a single payment, which will rise and fall more smoothly with people’s circumstances.

The DWP had promised to have 1 million people on the scheme by April 2014 but, dogged by delays and tens of millions of pounds of IT write-downs and write-offs, the original timetable has been scrapped. Just 15,000 people are on the system.



"He added that UC’s IT for staff on the ground is “completely unworkable, badly designed”, and already “out of date”."




more shambles here: http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/oct/27/universal-credit-leaked-memo-scheme-rollout

MrT ..... please show me the post where you claim, "you posted saying the eu had brought jobs to the uk"


fred - promise i'm not taking up where sticky left off :-)

The Swiss are p!ssed off because there's a half million Swiss living in the EU and a million EU citizens living in Switzerland. They've seen a 10% population increase over the last 10 years, and now they're being asked to take in a whole load of eastern Europeans who they don't want.

The SVP is the Swiss equivalent of UKIP, and its support is growing. I keep saying that resentment towards muslim immigrants has been growing in the towns around the shores of the lake.

Could Russell Brand become Mayor of London?

Russell Brand is doing nothing to quell rumours that he’s planning to run as Mayor of London in 2016. What would the capital look like under him and how does he compare to Boris Johnson?

By Helena Kealey

2:21PM GMT 27 Oct 2014
Comedian, author and tousle-haired recovered sex addict Russell Brand has refused to comment on suggestions that he’s planning a bid to become Mayor of London.


A spokeswoman for the celebrity has held her tongue, despite suggestions that the comic told close friends he wants to succeed Boris Johnson when the Mayor’s second term comes to an end in 2016.


If the rumours are true, then Russell’s decision to step into an active roll in politics, though perhaps surprising given that he believes voting is a "waste of time", follows on neatly from the recently publication of his book (in perfect time for the Christmas sales): Revolution.


Boris Johnson has said he would be “thrilled” if Russell Brand tried to become Mayor of London.


He said Brand was one of few people who could “strike a chord” with disaffected young voters. Though he predicted his political theories would likely end in “total global chaos”, the Mayor said the comedian “genuinely seems like a nice chap”.

So what might Brand’s manifesto look like, should he ever decide to run as Mayor? And how might be compare to Boris? Here's our prediction:

The manifesto:

• Economic policies: Unfortunately Brand has said that he “can’t get [his] head around economics.” But that doesn't mean that he lacks a vision for the economy - one that he would seemingly like to do away with. Brand recommends “total disobedience, total non-compliance and also total organisation” and doesn't think you should pay your mortgages or taxes. He would also like to cancel all private debt and take away corporate power. He doesn't believe in promoting car exports as "other countries have their own f***ing cars" and instead believes people should run their own communities, filled with not-for-profit cafeterias, with people working (for free?) in maintenance and trades. You will also be encouraged to grow your own food.

• Religious policies: Meditation, spiritualism and pantheism would be encouraged under Brand. Although a slight re-write of religious texts might be necessary in order to include Brand's conviction that no religious fountainhead has ever promoted homophobia or oppression but only the "union of all mankind".

• Drug policies: Drugs would be legalised and regulated, and drug addiction would be treated as "the health issue that it is no as a judicial criminal issue that exacerbates the problem and places a very potent economy in the hands of criminals".

• Removal of the monarchy: Brand is an anti-monarchist, so perhaps as Mayor he would have Kate and Wills removed from Buckingham Palace. Under Brand, Prince George might be able to lead a private life. He could become a doctor, or an estate agent, or even an air steward.


Boris vs Brand

So now we know vaguely what a political system under Brand might look like, how does he compare with the bouffant-haired incumbent?

Experience: Before running as Mayor of London in 2008, Boris Johnson worked as an elected MP for Henley for seven years. Before that he had been editor of The Spectator.

Though he's averse to voting, Russell Brand did appear in Parliament to talk about drug addiction back in 2012, and has endured the ordeal of most political wannabes, of being grilled by Jeremy Paxman. In his own words: “I may not have overthrown a government. But [I have] navigated myself from one set of feelings where drinking and drugs were my only solution to a state where I never drink or take drugs" - a feat Brand reguarly uses in his book to suggest that change is possible.

Scandals: Brand has quite a long list of scandals. Consider the time he played a nasty joke on Andrew Sachs, gave a Nazi salute at the GQ awards, turned up to work dressed as Osama bin Laden (as he did the day after 9/11), or stripped naked to cover the May Day protest for MTV - to name but a few.

But then Boris isn't exactly free of them either, having committed a few "extramarital adulterous liaisons" in his time, been investigated by the police for theft of a cigar case (naturally) and once agreed under pressure to supply a former schoolmate, Darius Guppy, with the private address and telephone number of a journalist.

Humour: Brand is a comedian by profession, so you might expect him to be funny on the topic of politics. Hosting an MTV awards show in the US in 2008, before Obama had been elected, he said: “People say America will never elect a black president, but I know America is an advanced equal opportunities kind of country. After all, you’ve had that retarded cowboy in the White House for eight years. In my country, he wouldn’t be trusted with a pair of scissors.”

Although not a comedian, Boris is known for his witty manner. He recently wrote a poem to raise money to help those with depression, which includes a humorous swipe at Ed Miliband:

"When you’ve been stopped from leading Labour

By your brother’s bad behaviour

Read some Wilfred Scawen Blunt

And forget the little ----"


The Telegraph

Hilary, sorry I didn't mean to jump over your post - which is far more important than the piece of nonsense I pasted from The Telegraph!



hilary- 27 Oct 2014 15:16 - 48652 of 48654

The Swiss are p!ssed off because there's a half million Swiss living in the EU and a million EU citizens living in Switzerland. They've seen a 10% population increase over the last 10 years, and now they're being asked to take in a whole load of eastern Europeans who they don't want.

The SVP is the Swiss equivalent of UKIP, and its support is growing. I keep saying that resentment towards muslim immigrants has been growing in the towns around the shores of the lake.

I can't see much difference between Boris and Russell,

(Although, both seem to be gradually their hair.

and both are liars and low life scum

Cameron now on tv bbc listen to him now

so MrT, you can't substantiate your claim then .... why would that be? .... perhaps because i never posted anything of the sort

reminds me ... i watched The Hill on the flight yesterday .... it may be an old film, but it's very good indeed .....

as was Mutiny on the Bounty with Trevor Howard, Marlon Brando and a young Gordon Jackson

Cameron as not answered one question ,

well we now know that the uk voters will not have a in out vote it will be something totally different the man is a very dishonest liar

seemingly nor can you
can your goldfish memory remember this? .....

MrT ..... please show me the post where you claim, "you posted saying the eu had brought jobs to the uk"

Individuals with Paranoid Personality Disorder falsely believe that they are being victimized by others. They are highly critical of others, yet hypersensitive to criticism of themselves. They bear grudges and are unwilling to forgive the insults that they think they have received. Minor slights arouse major hostility, and the hostile feelings persist for a long time. Their combative and suspicious nature may elicit a hostile response in others, which then serves to confirm their original expectations. They may be pathologically jealous.

Cynic,

"you posted saying the eu had brought jobs to the uk"

MrT reckoned i had posted that

In view of the incident this am, I think Cameron's security costs should be cut back after all, "we are all in it together" and he is having protection to an unnecessary level in these harsh times!

The idiot who "bumped" into him is lucky he is still alive, if that had happened in America he would be in a mortuary right now.