** The thread for Rants & Odds and Sods **

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Cugel
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Re: ** The thread for Rants & Odds and Sods **

Post by Cugel »

windmiller wrote:Bottled water with a ph of less than 7 should be banned. Xylitol should be added to tap water supplies, that would drastically cut mouth butchery, infuriate most dentists and save the population a fortune.


I have warned the potentially furious dentists of your cunning plan. Even now they may be planning, in response, to defang you as an inhibition to your dentist-impoverishing intent! On the other hand, they may feel your facts are awry and so remain calm, apart from Mr Pullem, who will use any excuse to become vicious with the extractor.

Cugel
“Practical men who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual influence are usually the slaves of some defunct economist”.
John Maynard Keynes
mercalia
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Re: ** The thread for Rants & Odds and Sods **

Post by mercalia »

Labour anti-Semitism row: MPs attack decision on Chris Williamson

The Derby North MP was suspended after saying Labour had "given too much ground" in the face of criticism over anti-Semitism in the party.


https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-48790803

I just cannout understandwhats going on here and in particular Watsons cooments

I can understand if you are a member of the Labour Party andin a position of influence you may break rules if what you say offends parts of the elctorate "bringing the party into disrepute" etc but Watson and those 100 Labour MPs/Peers seem to be saying if you refute the claim ( by Margaret Hodge and others ) that the Labour Party is rife with anti-Semitism , or is institutionaly anti-Semitic ( which I get impession Chris Williamson and others refute ) you are being anti-Semitic, especially if you go onto say that the people who are making such claims should be strongly resisted? Watson seems rather confused on this matter? That really surprsies me. Cant make him out. Seems like being a jew and a bigot are incompatible, you have to tippy-toe around them.
mercalia
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Re: ** The thread for Rants & Odds and Sods **

Post by mercalia »

On Williamson

well not sure Williamson is an anti semite, He was just kicking back at the extreme accusations being made by some very vocal Jews eg Hodges, Berger? On the other hand probably not a good line to take given the trouble the issue is causing in the Labour Party? viz Confrontational approach rather than conciliatory. There was an interesting article was it in the Guardian or some where that gave some background to this guy. It seems he lost the 2015 election by about 40 votes then in the 2017 got it back by 4000 I think it was. It seems at one time he was a friend to the tiny jewish community in I think it is Birmingham but seems to have cut him self adrift from them. it seems he was never really much concerned with middle eastern politics before, was at one time a loyal Blair supported now re invented him self as an ardent Corbynite. The author of that article described him as a leaf blowing in the wind. I cant help but think he wants to garner support to keep his rather nicley paid MP job and sees whoever supported his return in 2017 they werent Jews as his jewish community was in the 100's.
mercalia
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Re: ** The thread for Rants & Odds and Sods **

Post by mercalia »

An unfortunate pun?
Britain's oldest building firm collapses

Maybe they should have moved on from wood and timber to bricks and mortar?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-48868113
mercalia
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Re: ** The thread for Rants & Odds and Sods **

Post by mercalia »

so look at one of the torys flagship policys - Universal Credit.

Seems like it is being scammed out of £millions. Its sickening all that much needed cash being stolen


Tens of millions of pounds of public money is believed to have been stolen, with claimants left owing hundreds, after fraudsters targeted Britain's main welfare benefit, universal credit.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-48887753
mercalia
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Re: ** The thread for Rants & Odds and Sods **

Post by mercalia »

and a sad case of an old lady being pursued by her local authority for saving too much of her pension over 20 years

https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/11538 ... s-benefits
Bonefishblues
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Re: ** The thread for Rants & Odds and Sods **

Post by Bonefishblues »

mercalia wrote:and a sad case of an old lady being pursued by her local authority for saving too much of her pension over 20 years

https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/11538 ... s-benefits

Thing is, this is pretty common knowledge these days, and relatively easy to avoid, given a modicum of forward planning - there are even companies that specialise in it
mercalia
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Re: ** The thread for Rants & Odds and Sods **

Post by mercalia »

Bonefishblues wrote:
mercalia wrote:and a sad case of an old lady being pursued by her local authority for saving too much of her pension over 20 years

https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/11538 ... s-benefits

Thing is, this is pretty common knowledge these days, and relatively easy to avoid, given a modicum of forward planning - there are even companies that specialise in it


how do you avoid it? spend it ? what companies and what do they do? surley illegal?
Last edited by mercalia on 16 Jul 2019, 2:44pm, edited 1 time in total.
Bonefishblues
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Re: ** The thread for Rants & Odds and Sods **

Post by Bonefishblues »

mercalia wrote:
Bonefishblues wrote:
mercalia wrote:and a sad case of an old lady being pursued by her local authority for saving too much of her pension over 20 years

https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/11538 ... s-benefits

Thing is, this is pretty common knowledge these days, and relatively easy to avoid, given a modicum of forward planning - there are even companies that specialise in it


how do you avoid it? spend it ?

Lots and lots of hits for a search, such as:
https://www.farleydwek.com/mitigating-s ... are-costs/
mercalia
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Re: ** The thread for Rants & Odds and Sods **

Post by mercalia »

Bonefishblues wrote:
mercalia wrote:
Bonefishblues wrote:Thing is, this is pretty common knowledge these days, and relatively easy to avoid, given a modicum of forward planning - there are even companies that specialise in it


how do you avoid it? spend it ?

Lots and lots of hits for a search, such as:
https://www.farleydwek.com/mitigating-s ... are-costs/


well thats not for housing benefit or council tax? which is the issue here
Bonefishblues
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Re: ** The thread for Rants & Odds and Sods **

Post by Bonefishblues »

mercalia wrote:
Bonefishblues wrote:
mercalia wrote:
how do you avoid it? spend it ?

Lots and lots of hits for a search, such as:
https://www.farleydwek.com/mitigating-s ... are-costs/


well thats not for housing benefit or council tax?

It's ways of diminishing an individual's assets legally and therefore falling under a means-tested threshold.
mercalia
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Re: ** The thread for Rants & Odds and Sods **

Post by mercalia »

Bonefishblues wrote:
mercalia wrote:
Bonefishblues wrote:Lots and lots of hits for a search, such as:
https://www.farleydwek.com/mitigating-s ... are-costs/


well thats not for housing benefit or council tax?

It's ways of diminishing an individual's assets legally and therefore falling under a means-tested threshold.


none seem appropriate in this case.
The crux of the story is that the lady in question hasnt received any more than some one else with the same pension who spent all his/her pension and who would be entitled to the above beneifits
Bonefishblues
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Re: ** The thread for Rants & Odds and Sods **

Post by Bonefishblues »

mercalia wrote:
Bonefishblues wrote:
mercalia wrote:
well thats not for housing benefit or council tax?

It's ways of diminishing an individual's assets legally and therefore falling under a means-tested threshold.


none seem appropriate in this case.
The crux of the story is that the lady in question hasnt received any more than some one else with the same pension who spent all his/her pension and who would be entitled to the above beneifits

She has assets. It's as binary as that. She'd have been better off spending it in the most feckless way imaginable - or doing something more creative.
mercalia
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Re: ** The thread for Rants & Odds and Sods **

Post by mercalia »

Bonefishblues wrote:
mercalia wrote:
Bonefishblues wrote:It's ways of diminishing an individual's assets legally and therefore falling under a means-tested threshold.


none seem appropriate in this case.
The crux of the story is that the lady in question hasnt received any more than some one else with the same pension who spent all his/her pension and who would be entitled to the above beneifits

She has assets. It's as binary as that. She'd have been better off spending it in the most feckless way imaginable - or doing something more creative.


you are a hard person.
Bonefishblues
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Re: ** The thread for Rants & Odds and Sods **

Post by Bonefishblues »

mercalia wrote:
Bonefishblues wrote:
mercalia wrote:
none seem appropriate in this case.
The crux of the story is that the lady in question hasnt received any more than some one else with the same pension who spent all his/her pension and who would be entitled to the above beneifits

She has assets. It's as binary as that. She'd have been better off spending it in the most feckless way imaginable - or doing something more creative.


you are a hard person.

No, I'm really not - or trying to be, it's the system that's as (ostensibly) sharp-edged as that - although its application by local councils does seem to be very variable.
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