Hutton: Take a job or lose benefits

Two things to say here. One, this is nothing new. Jobseekers have always been required to seek and take appropriate work in exchange for benefits while they look. Two, maybe if wages were at a decent level, people would be more inclined to take work. A member of a government who is asking for a 60%+ pay rise should think carefully about this.

We are being shafted!

Animals in hospitals, country ruled by hooded yobs, do-gooders saying we shouldn't punish them, the whole social infrastructure falling to bits. And Europe telling us we can't do anything about it because we will upset their human rights!!! Ha. Ha. Ha Ha Ha. Welcome to THEIR world. Well, back to the asylum for me.

I'm back

Well, I haven’t posted for a while because there is so much crap going on in the world that I can’t decide what to post on. And to do it all would take up more time than I have. So, here is a nice little quote I read recently-

"The difference between a democracy and a dictatorship is that in a democracy you vote first and take orders later; in a dictatorship you don't have to waste your time voting."

Charles BukowskiUS (German-born) author & poet (1920 - 1994)

Gran Arrested for defending Her Property

It is reported that a grandmother who confronted rowdy youths has spent a night in police cells for defending her property. Had she telephoned the police, they would have been long gone before police arrived. I have little doubt that these youths knew this, and that any defensive action would result in arrest for her, not them. I would like to know if the youths were similarly treated for trespass and possible criminal damage. It is because they know that they will get away with it that this sort of behaviour is prevalent. While I do not condone law breaking or excessive violence, once the right to defend oneself and ones property with a swift clip around the ear is enshrined in law, these youths may think twice about violating common sensibilities.

Full story here.

Prescott's Indiscretion

So 2 jags Prescott has been outed as a philanderer. It seems every party has its adulterer. Can we believe that people who have a family home and a home in London, who have ample time and freedom to take extra marital partners are not going to take advantage of the situation? We cannot only blame the politicians. The women involved are equally guilty. We do not know the particular circumstances of Mr. Prescott’s indiscretion. But given these circumstances and the possibility of the woman involved making herself obviously available, how many of us could say, hand on heart ‘I would not do it’. I like to think if I were in a serious relationship (and surely marriage is the most serious of all) I would reject all such advances. I can put my hand on my heart and say that I would not actively seek a relationship outside of a longstanding commitment. But could I, would I reject the advances of an attractive female? While I hope so, the only test would be to be there and say ‘No’. I am not a lover of Mr. Prescott, or New Labour, but we should temper our immediate reaction to condemn with the compassion of common sense. Would I, given the same opportunities and circumstances be as moral as I expect this man to be? I rest my case.

Patches, I'm Depending On You Son.

Micro$oft has discovered more exploitable flaws in its Internet Explorer. They do not intend to release patches for them until Patch Tuesday, leaving third parties to produce patches. Thanks, Bill.

Re- Standards are Slipping!

I sent the body of this blog to BBC's letters page, and to the Radio Times. Reading the news yesterday morning, the story was still posted. However, the word ‘airplane’ had been replaced with the correct English form ‘aeroplane’. Thank you, BBC for helping to maintain standards. Maybe it wasn’t changed because of my response. But it does hearten me to think that an individual may still have some influence. To quote Citizen Smith (for those who remember him) Power to the People!

State of the Health Service

Many health/hospital trusts are trying to solve their ‘overspend’ problems by sacking staff. Unless the staff that are going are consultants or managers (which I doubt) the pitiful NHS wages saved will be a mere splash in the ocean. Here is my answer to the NHS funding problem.

• Sack all the managers whose job it is to oversee spending. Once you have someone in charge of finances, to the exclusion of other considerations that is when we see financial problems start. And it should save a considerable sum.


• Re-introduce matrons. They ensure that wards are run effectively and efficiently from a clinical point of view. The knock-on effect of this will be to see efficient use of resources, and a consequential reduction in spending.


• Raise the top rate of tax to 80% and use the extra money to fund the NHS.


• Stop using money to kill people (Iran) and use it in hospitals. It seems the NHS doesn’t have a bottomless pit of money, yet the engineered conflict in Iran does.

I doubt these simple solutions will be adopted. This would ruin the conservative plot, continued by Tony Blair to privatise the health service by the back door.

Standards are Slipping!

This morning I read on BBCi a local news story from the East Midlands region. ‘Woman’s car hit by ice from sky.’ Paragraph 3 starts ‘it is believed the ice ball fell from an airplane’. An airplane? Chambers dictionary states ‘Aeroplane is the standard form in British English’. And I always believed that the BBC was a stalwart of British conservatism. Britain is dead. Long live the 51st state.

Never Mind the Kids. Back to work!

The Liberal Democrats will force single parents back to work. As a single dad, forced out of work in 1993 due to lack help from Government and other agencies, I resent that I might be made to work. I am working part time, seeking full time employment but I resent the implication. How will this help truancy, the current trend of anti-social behaviour, and parents who already have problem kids? As single parents, we are already disadvantaged.

God will judge

Mr. Bush claims God speaks through him. Now his puppet, Tony Blair has said that God will judge the Iraq war. Which God would that be? Not Allah, I hope! What dangerous times we live in.