Cameron: "Cuts will change our way of life"

[Strontium]

That's weak even by your standards.

[Nomad]

Anyone watching public v private sector programme in itv now. Seems very very one sided about, perks, benifits of public sector.

 

One example of job security was that only 17 teachers had been sacked for gross misconduct in so many years.

 

What has that got to do with job security im sure teaches all round the uk have lost jobs with schools shutting, merging etc.

[Section_31]

The things which private sector staff consider examples of public sector excess show you how shit our lives are in general. "She gets flexi time and is able to pick her kids up from school." "He's got a reasonable pension". Pathetic.

[dennis tooth]

That's weak even by your standards.

 

Jus my advice but it might help for you to make an actual counterpoint rather that weakly hiding behind the word weak but thanks for sharing such insight. Metal.

[Stu Monty]

The things which private sector staff consider examples of public sector excess show you how shit our lives are in general. "She gets flexi time and is able to pick her kids up from school." "He's got a reasonable pension". Pathetic.

 

They want the private sector employees to think that the public sector employees are their enemies, and not to look at the bastards pocketing the millions that could help us all. Sadly, control of the mass media narrative seems pretty easy to get a hold of for them.

 

The economic logic is like something you'd have drummed into you at some sort of fucked up cult.

[JER]

That's weak even by your standards.

 

As soon as medicine is about profit, then the needs of patients suffer. Simple economics. Up to half of the NHS beds will be given to private patients under these shitty proposals.

[Section_31]

What do people make of these new policing commissioners? Apparently people like John Prescott and Simon Weston have applied for the roles, they're elected by 'the people' but have influence over policy and can hire and fire chief constables. You'll get people like Helen Newlove taking the job and calling for 'more bobbies on the beat' while other aspects of policing suffer because, quite simply, they don't know shit about shit.

 

Can't shake that line from The Wire where Daniels is being put under pressure by Carcetti's number two to cut crime, and says that what he's asking for 'more cops on patrol, doesn't work, what works is community policing and high end enforcement'.

 

The country's future feels like it's been written on the back of a napkin. Squaddies starting free schools, Kerry Katona being made police commissioner for Cheshire, and BUPA giving you a cut price hip replacement made out of tin.

[Whelan]

It is about accountability, a police commissionaire will be accountable, the government will not. Riots, and the subsequent reaction would not be the responsibility of the government it would be the commissionaires.

 

Every aspect of life is being devolved from central government to an easily replaceable elected body, or person and it is being done so under the guise of democracy.

[JER]

Johnny Marr says Smiths will reform if coalition government falls

Guitarist tells NME awards he will reform band if David Cameron's coalition government steps down

 

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Sean Michaels

guardian.co.uk, Friday 2 March 2012 11.46 GMT

Article history

 

Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr has offered to reform the band if David Cameron's government steps down. Photograph: Gareth Davies/Getty Images

Johnny Marr has offered to reform the Smiths, on just one tiny condition: David Cameron's coalition government steps down. "How's that?" he quipped at the NME awards. "I think the country'd be better off, don't you?"

 

Marr was appearing at the awards to salute the "godlike genius" of Noel Gallagher, and to receive a prize for the Smiths' Complete box set. Asked the obligatory question about a Smiths reunion, he offered up this new, patriotic suggestion. "Maybe if the government stepped down ..." he said. "If this government steps down then I'll reform the band. How's that? That's a fair trade, innit?"

 

To some, it would seem like much more than a fair trade: two miracles for the price of one. But the question is whether one particular Smiths fan – the prime minister – takes notice. As part of a 2006 appearance on the BBC's Desert Island Discs, David Cameron hailed the Smiths' song This Charming Man. Five years later, Marr demanded that Cameron drop out of the figurative fan club. "Stop saying that you like the Smiths, no you don't," he wrote. "I forbid you to like [them]." On this point even Morrissey agreed.

 

With Marr's new offer, Cameron has an extraordinary opportunity to reunite one of his teenage favourites. Marr even said that he and Morrissey are in touch. "I don't not-speak to Morrissey, because that implies a certain kind of stand-off," he said. "He's doing his thing and I'm doing mine."

[Strontium]

As soon as medicine is about profit, then the needs of patients suffer. Simple economics.

 

 

"Simple" is definitely the word I would use, yes.

 

Medicine is already about profit. Most of the NHS budget goes on wages. Our GPs earn twice as much as GPs on the continent.

 

What do people make of these new policing commissioners?

 

 

It's an awful idea, but it's in the coalition agreement. I suppose it was only fair to let the Tories have something of theirs in there, since they were good enough to let us put three-quarters of our manifesto in :whistle:

[JER]

"Simple" is definitely the word I would use, yes.

 

Medicine is already about profit. Most of the NHS budget goes on wages. Our GPs earn twice as much as GPs on the continent.

 

 

 

 

It's an awful idea, but it's in the coalition agreement. I suppose it was only fair to let the Tories have something of theirs in there, since they were good enough to let us put three-quarters of our manifesto in :whistle:

 

Claiming three quarters of the credit for this government is a brave boast. How about going retro and claiming credit for the Poll Tax, and the pit closures?

[Stu Monty]

"Simple" is definitely the word I would use, yes.

 

Medicine is already about profit.

 

Medicine might be about profit, the NHS shouldn't be.

 

Someone has plonked a massive Greek horse oustide the gates with "Efficiency" smeared on the side of it. Only a fucking idiot would decide to bring it inside.

Edited March 2, 2012 by Stu Monty

[dennis tooth]

Tyrannosaurus Rex got mad respect

02-03-12

 

THE T-Rex received bare respect back in the day because of its powerful jaws but was not immune to haters, experts have claimed.

 

As new research shows that Tyrannosaurus Rex had the strongest bite of any creature in history, scientists believe any dinosaurs fronting up to the mighty beast would have gotten instant bad man beat downs.

 

Dinosaur street credibility expert Stephen Malley said: "Despite his physical prowess, the Tyrannosaurus Rex, or T as he would have been known, was basically safe. T would not go around merking other dinosaurs just because of some petty beef, or for jokes."

 

But it was not always easy for the king of the dinosaurs to keep shit on point.

 

Malley added: "Sometimes packs of velociprators or an allosaurus - another large but lesser-know theropod of the Jurassic era - would get up in T's grill.

 

"But the mighty king would just do a screwface, showing all his big teeth and they would instantly back the fuck up, realising that T was a non-pettance bredrin. In that respect the Tyrannosaurus Rex was much like Ray Liotta.

 

"Triceratops would often front, chatting stupidness and boying T, making him proper vexed because dinosaurs of the therapod and ceratopsid genuses have had beef since time.

 

"But when the two clashed, triceratops would invariably get bruk up."

 

However scientists remain divided on which, if any, of the saurians smoked draw.

 

Malley said: "Probably brontosauruses smoked once in a while, but only when weed was easily available. They still would have had grazing, seasonal migration and other general shit to do, so it's likely they blazed a milder 'day weed' rather than mad hydro shit, which would also have made them all paranoid about the impending Ice Age."

 

He added: "They would not have done any Class As though. You couldn't get them back then."

[JER]

So what is it that attracted you to the highly lucrative NHS bill, Prime Minister?

 

 

NHS reforms D-day: 40 peers have "financial interest" in NHS privatisation, Mirror investigation shows

 

DAVID Cameron’s bid to dismantle the NHS and open it up to greedy profiteers faces its final hurdle today with a House of Lords vote.

David Cameron makes a speech about NHS reforms at University College Hospital in London (pic: AP) David Cameron makes a speech about NHS reforms at University College Hospital in London (pic: AP)

 

DAVID Cameron’s bid to dismantle the NHS and open it up to greedy profiteers faces its final hurdle today with a House of Lords vote.

 

But as a worried nation puts its faith in peers they hope will bring the PM’s dangerous reforms to a shuddering halt, it was claimed yesterday 40 members of the chamber have a vested interest in seeing hospitals privatised.

 

People hoping for a fair and objective vote based on what is best for patients could be in for a *disappointment over the *revelations that lords and baronesses carry out a variety of work for health firms that could cash in on the changes.

 

Among them is former Tory Health Secretary Virginia Bottomley who is a director of Bupa and Lord Naseby, chair of Invesco Perpetual Recovery Trust – investors in pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.

 

Mr Cameron’s Health and Social Care Bill could open the floodgates for a host of private firms to cash in on sickness, leaving poorer patients to make do with second-rate care. Spinwatch, a group which campaigns for more transparency in government, branded the claims a major concern and warned the impartiality of the vote is at risk.

 

Under the Lords code of conduct, peers must “declare when speaking in the House, or communicating with ministers or public servants, any interest which is a relevant interest in the context of the debate or the matter under discussion”.

 

But Spinwatch claimed that has not always been followed to the letter. It cited the example of Tory Lord Hunt of Wirral, who started the first NHS reform debate last October.

 

While he *operated within the rules, by declaring his work for legal company Beachcroft, campaigners insisted he should have gone further.

 

Spinwatch said: “Hunt reminded his fellow peers during the debate only that he is ‘a partner in the national commercial law firm *Beachcroft’.

 

“However, he does not mention that Beachcroft also offers lobbying *services to private healthcare companies.”

 

Beachcroft says it provides “expert support for clients seeking access to key policy makers or developing campaigns to influence the development of *regulation”.

 

A brochure advertising its health *advisory services said: “In David Hunt and Charles Clarke, Beachcroft has two former senior Cabinet ministers with unrivalled knowledge of the workings of *Westminster.” The Mirror yesterday approached the Tory party press office and left a message with the House of Lords *switchboard as well as sending a message to an email contact on Lord Hunt’s web page, but he did not respond.

 

Lord Naseby also spoke in the October debate. He praised “the coalition Government’s strategy for the NHS” as “clear and very welcome”. There is no mention of Invesco Perpetual Recovery Trust in the Hansard record of the debate. Another Tory peer, Lord Higgins holds shares worth more than £50,000 in Lansdowne UK Equity Fund. It is a major investor in private hospital group Circle Holdings.

 

Circle, the first firm to get a contract to run an entire NHS hospital, is looking to expand its *operations under the reforms.

 

Another former Tory health minister, Julia Cumberlege, runs a political networking firm that works “extensively” with the pharmaceutical industry.

 

Tony Newton, a Conservative health minister in the 80s, is an advisor to dental chain Oasis Healthcare.

 

Ex-Labour health minister Norman Warner was until September 2009 an adviser to Apax Partners, one of the leading global investors in the health sector.

 

He has since set up Sage Advice to provide “public affairs aid” to, among others, IT giant Dell, which is expanding its market share in British healthcare.

 

Lord Darzi, who was also a Labour health minister, is an adviser to medical *technology firm GE Healthcare. Other Tory peers with an interest include Baroness Hogg, chair of Frontier Economics, a consultancy that advises private sector clients on the impact of healthcare reforms.

 

Lord Lang of Monckton is director of a group of firms that “help hospitals, insurers, pharmaceutical firms, and industry associations understand the implications of changing policy *environments and how best to respond to them”.

 

And Lord Wakeham is a paid advisor to a *consultancy firm which helps private healthcare companies identify “Growth and New Business *Development” and “opportunities with the Government”.

 

The peers

Virginia Bottomley (Pic: Wire) Virginia Bottomley (Pic: Wire)

 

Baroness Bottomley of Nettlestone: The former Conservative Health Secretary Virginia Bottomley is a Director of BUPA, the health insurance, private hospital and care group.

 

Lord Naseby: Chairman of and a share-holder in Invesco Perpetual Recovery Trust. One fifth of their investments are in pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.

 

Lord Wakeham: Advisor to L.E.K. Consulting, which specialises in helping private healthcare companies identify "growth and new business development" and "opportunities with the government".

 

Lord Hunt of Wirral: Partner in Beachcroft, a law firm that offers incisive analysis on the full range of government, parliamentary and regulatory matters in the health sector.

 

Lord Lang of Monckton: Director of Marsh & McLennan Companies that "help hospitals, insurers, pharmaceutical companies and industry associations understand the implications of changing policy environments".

 

Lord Darzi: Former surgeon drafted into government as a health minister by Gordon Brown when he was PM. Now an adviser to medical technology firm GE Healthcare.

 

Baroness Cumberlege of Newick: Former Tory health minister, runs Cumberlege Connections, a political networking firm that works "extensively" with the pharmaceutical industry.

 

Baron Higgins of Worthing: Holds in excess of £50,000 of shares in Lansdowne UK Equity Fund, backers of private hospital group Circle Holdings.

 

Baron Newton of Braintree: Advisor to Oasis Healthcare on dentistry and general healthcare matters.

 

Baroness Hogg of Kettlethorpe: Chair of Frontier Economics, a consultancy that advises private sector clients on the impact of healthcare reforms and how "to shape regulatory environments".

 

Lord Freeman: The ex-health minister is chairman of the Advisory Board of *PricewaterhouseCoopers, which claims to have “been at the heart of shaping *[healthcare] reforms and working with clients to respond to the opportunities they present”.

 

Lord Ribeiro: Adviser on hospital reorganisation to PricewaterhouseCoopers.

 

Lord Blackwell: Chairman of Interserve, consultancy to NHS and private healthcare firms.

 

Lord Blyth of Rowington: Senior adviser to *investment bankers Greenhill.

 

Lord Forsyth of Drumlean: Senior adviser to *Evercore, bank involved in huge healthcare deals.

 

Lord Garel-Jones: MD of UBS bank, whose healthcare division earned the firm over $1billion since 2005.

 

Lord Griffiths of Fforestfach: Director of Goldman Sachs bank, provider of services to healthcare firms.

 

Lord Howard of Lympne: Senior adviser to *Hawkpoint Partners, a corporate finance firm.

 

Lord Tugendhat: Adviser to Trilantic Capital Partners, a private equity firm “active” in healthcare.

 

Lord Coe: Director of AMT-Sybex Group, IT supplier to the NHS.

 

Lord Magan of Castletown: Director of the SISK Group of healthcare companies.

 

Lord Ballyedmond: Chairman of pharmaceutical company Norbrook Laboratories.

 

Lord Chadlington: Chief executive of Huntsworth communications group with several lobbying firms.

 

Lord Bell: Chairman of Chime Communications group, whose lobbying clients include Southern Cross, BT Health and AstraZeneca.

 

Baroness Hooper: Until July 11, chairman of Advisory Committee of Barclays Infrastructure Funds, one of the most experienced investors in hospital PFI deals.

 

Lord Ashcroft: Until 2010, held investments in two private healthcare groups.

 

Lord Leitch: Bupa chairman.

 

Lord Filkin: Adviser to outsourcing giant Serco, heavily involved in .

 

Lord Harris of Haringey: Senior adviser to business services giant KPMG.

 

Lord Hutton of Furness: Ex-health minister is an adviser to law firm Eversheds. Clients include care homes and private hospitals.

 

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: Self-employed “consultant on NHS and wider health issues”.

 

Lord Puttnam: Director of Huntsworth *communications group.

 

Lord Warner: Former adviser to Apax Partners, one of the leading global investors in the healthcare sector. Current director of Sage Advice Ltd,

 

Lord Evans of Watford: Director of *healthcare property firm Care Capital.

 

Baroness Morgan of Huyton: Ex-director of failed care home firm Southern Cross.

 

Lord Clement-Jones: Partner in DLA Piper, a global law firm providing lobbying services to “clients in the health and social care sectors”.

 

Lord Taverne: Chairman of private health insurer Axa Sun Life’s monitoring board.

 

Lord Patten of Barnes: Adviser to private equity firm Bridgepoint.

 

Lord Currie of Marylebone: Chairman of Semperian, an investment vehicle, which owns a portfolio of mature Public Private Partnership investments, including hospitals.

 

Lord Hameed: Chair of private secure mental health hospital group Alpha Hospitals, which is investing in a new acute private hospital in central London.

[dennis tooth]

BBC News - Police invite security firms to bid for roles

[Section_31]

Wonder how long it'll be before the likes of Blackwater as was are taking chunks of the military. It'll be tough that thoug, the British army is the last true cornerstone of 'the establishment'. That would actually be quite amusing to watch.

[dennis tooth]

BBC News - UK needs bold government, Cameron tells Tory spring conference

 

UK needs bold government, Cameron tells Tory spring conference

 

The government needs to take "tough and bold action" to make Britain "stronger and fairer", David Cameron has told the Conservative Party spring conference.

 

He told the gathering in London that compassion meant taking long-term decisions "that will really change our country for the better".

 

The PM said it would have been easier not to address an "invisible crisis" in the National Health Service in England.

 

fairer for whom David?

for the better for whom David?

 

As for the last line, its just hilarious. These fuckers are so transparent you can see right through the rhetoric to see just who they are referring to. The rest of us arent people so we dont count.

[dickie mint]

UK needs bold government, Cameron

 

 

 

So why doesn't he fuck off then.

[lifetime fan]

I suppose it was only fair to let the Tories have something of theirs in there, since they were good enough to let us put three-quarters of our manifesto in :whistle:

 

Well you can't complain when the libs get royally fucked at the next election then can you?

[Stu Monty]

He's right about cuts changing your way of life. How crimes are followed in Surrey will now depend on how profitable the method is.

 

Which is definitely a positive thing for society.

 

Maybe A4E could bid for it and then they'd get to investigate their own fraud? If we're really lucky we could get corporations LITERALLY policing themselves. Cool.

[Section_31]

When a copper gets shot now though, they will quite literally be taking one for the company.

[lifetime fan]

He's right about cuts changing your way of life. How crimes are followed in Surrey will now depend on how profitable the method is.

 

Which is definitely a positive thing for society.

 

Maybe A4E could bid for it and then they'd get to investigate their own fraud? If we're really lucky we could get corporations LITERALLY policing themselves. Cool.

 

And there is no financial benefit to stitch someone up is there?

 

None whatsoever.

[Section_31]

And there is no financial benefit to stitch someone up is there?

 

None whatsoever.

 

One of my favourites.

 

Judge guilty of taking bribes from private prison, sending juveniles to for-profit lock-up | News | CCPOA California Correctional Peace Officers Association

 

A former Juvenile Court judge was convicted Friday of racketeering in a case that accused him of sending young offenders to for-profit detention centers in exchange for millions of dollars in illicit payments from the builder and owner of the lockups.

[The Bugged Out]

[Strontium]

Does anyone even in their wildest dreams honestly believe that the government wants to privatise the police?

 

This fucks me off for two reasons. Firstly, it's a gross perversion of the reality, and I hate seeing lies perpetuated. Secondly, because I want an effective opposition in this country, and when they're spending all their time scaremongering with this shit, they're not doing their job.