Disability Hate Crime - Cameron has blood on his hands

More than 1,700 disability hate crimes were recorded by police in
England and Wales in 2011-12. The Joint Inspectorate report published
on 21 March said that disability hate crime was in fact under-reported
and blamed the reluctance of police officers to ask callers whether
they were disabled or not.

The largest disability hate crime has been the behaviour of the
Department of Work and Pensions who contracted ATOS to reduce the
number of claimants for Disability Living Allowance. Many
well-publicised cases have ATOS insisting that for example a man in a
coma, and another claimant who was blind and deaf and unable to walk
were "fit for work" and clearly just scroungers.

And the accomplices of this crime are the gutter press who have waged
an unceasing campaign against "scroungers" and fuelled the hatred
which allows disability hate crime to take place.

Fiona Pilkington killed herself and her disabled daughter Francecca
Hardwick in 2007 after repeated complaints to police about harassment
by youths.

However the police were quick enough to act when anti-ATOS campaigner
Beth Tichbourne took part in a peaceful protest and yelled at Cameron
"you have blood on your hands."

On the 30 November 2012 David Cameron was booed as he came on stage to
turn on the Witney Christmas Lights. You can watch a video of him
trying to drown out any criticism by awkwardly getting the crowd to
cheer for everyone from themselves to the Queen on YouTube. Kind of
funny. Also, kind of not funny.

Beth Tichbourne told the Black Triangle Campaign:

'I find it very weird watching the video, because while this was going
on I was being beaten up by the police on the other side of the stage.

'I have never been so scared: my face was being pushed into the
ground, I could feel blood coming from my nose, there was someone
putting their whole weight on my back while someone else was stamping
on my knees, along with various people grabbing and twisting my limbs.
And then the officer on my back moved a knee up onto the back of my
neck.'

Beth received a fine of £747. Small change in the pocket of a
millionaire like Cameron. It is more than a month's income for her.

So as you can see the police can act hard enough when the issue is
important enough. When it comes to dealing with disability hate crime,
it seems they are too embarrassed.

A website http://calumslist.org/ lists 30 deaths attributable to the
Tory/Liberal one-sided war on the poor called "Welfare Reform."
Cameron actually does have blood on his hands. Quite a lot of it!


http://classroomteachermanual.blogspot.com

Waiting for New Labour

Only go to the doctor if you are not ill.

The definition of a banker is someone who will lend you an umbrella so long as it is not raining. The Demos Think Tank has decided to adopt the same approach to health care and welfare.

A report published on 12 March has called for patients who exercise regularly and avoid fatty foods to go to the front of the queue. They have also suggested that welfare claimants should be penalised for not "behaving responsibly."

So anyone who is unwell is to blame for their condition and should be punished. People in wheelchairs ought to go out jogging. People who can only afford Sainsbury's basics should be penalised for not buying fresh vegetables. Demos have also suggested that the supermarkets should help to spy on claimants "with the claimant's consent". And if they withhold their consent? Back to the end of the queue!

This is not a million miles from the antics of ATOS who said that a man in a coma was "fit for work". In both cases the "all sick people are scroungers" and "it's all their own fault anyway" philosophy prevails.

It came as no surprise when Westminster Tories suggested that people on benefits who they judged to be too fat (or too thin or too tall or too short presumably) were not entitled to benefits. What is surprising perhaps is that Demos describes itself as a "left of centre" think tank.

I wonder where Demos think "the centre" is. Somewhere to the right of the Daily Mail perhaps. Nothing signals the degeneracy of New Labour more than the "tough on scroungers" rhetoric which is now emerging. Tough on scroungers except MPs. Tough on scroungers except the bosses of corporations who vote themselves massive bonuses. And tough on scroungers except the filthy rich who live on unearned income.

And of course Demos members and New Labour ministers can always get to the front of the queue for health care by going private. Old Labour used to object to that sort of thing - New Labour has a more flexible morality.

What's wonga with the Office of Fair Trading?

Will self-regulation work for bloodsuckers?

Like a drugged watchdog, the Office Of Fair Trading has finally, very slowly, woken up to the disgusting behaviour of the short-term high-interest loan sharks.



One wonders why on earth they have taken so long. One wonders why they are so painfully slow to do something about it, or more precisely to threaten that they might do something about it.



If you or I were guilty of extortion the police would not give us 12 weeks to improve our performance, they would bang us up right away.



The OFT has rattled its rusty sabre and warned the loan sharks that they just might do something if they do not regulate themselves.



I might mention that the food industry 'regulates itself' and you can't say neigh to that!



A cynical person might think that the half million donation to the Tory Party of Adrian Beecroft, the major shareholder in Wonga.com has something to do with it.



Wonga are very kind people who will help you out of a tight spot financially and then quite reasonably charge you 4,000% for the trouble ...



Yes, that is 4,000 percent. A lot of money. The most recent estimate is that Beecroft's company has gone from a capital of £17 million to a nice fat £384 million, mainly at the expense of people on low incomes who can only get credit from loan sharks.



Now if Wonga were to reduce their eye-watering interest rates to one which is merely extortionate the OFT will be able to claim a major victory.



Other payday loan sharks manage on a mere 2,000%. This is still enough to make your blood boil but that is no bad thing in the cold weather. After all, it is the only heating you will be able to afford, isn't it?

The ARK Swimarathon Team

Eight swimmers, 188 lengths in 55 minutes,

Go ARK!

Fundraising for the ARK Horsham. An estimated 500 pounds.

Ken Loach on Question Time

Ken Loach on Question Time was applauded when he said we need a broad movement of the left to fight against the sell-off of the NHS and privatisation.
He was interrupted by Dimbleby telling a time-worn lie that a party of the left will lose votes.
Wiseacres like Dimbleby were actually certain that Labour could not win the 1945 election because their programme was so radical. When Labour did win they developed amnesia and now Dimbleby pretends it did not happen at all because it was impossible.
This is the election Dimbleby pretends did not occur http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom_general_election,_1945