Wednesday, February 18, 2015
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
Fire Services cuts will cost lives.
From Tony Morris - retired firefighter and still fighting!
There is a facebook page to "like"
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1468972996713053/
There is a facebook page to "like"
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1468972996713053/
Dear All,
I am writing to as many organisations as possible to highlight the dangers of planned fire service cuts in West Sussex.
It is in everyone's interest to sign the Stop fire engine and firefighter cuts in West Sussex online petition to show the County Council that it is a step too far.
These
cuts will result in longer response times, more deaths, more injuries
and more property damage. For example, the removal of second fire
engines from Midhurst, Petworth and Storrington will, according to
WSCC's own figures, cost an extra loss of life every 3 years and £67,000 extra damage. Yet it will only save £63,000. Other cuts mean
an extra death every other year and £80,000 extra damage.
Things are already bad with the availability of retained
(part time) crewed fire engines dropping 16% below standard last year.
Some stations are actually not available more often than they are available.
This and previous cuts have seen response times increase, and latest
figures show that West Sussex had the most fire deaths and injuries, per
head of population, of any area in the southeast, including London, for
the second year running.
If
we get at least 3,000 signatures the Council will have to debate the
petition at a public meeting. Please note that that the Council say only
signatures from people living, working or studying in West Sussex and
showing a valid West Sussex post code will be counted. If you live
outside the County please use your West Sussex work or study address and
postcode instead.
Please circulate this as widely as possible.
Tony
Saturday, February 07, 2015
Tax Dodgers on the number 7 bus
Tax dodgers cost us an estimated £3.6 billion pounds. We have all felt the cuts in health and welfare which result. The dynamic government response has been, for example, to put some adverts on the number 7 bus route in Durrington warning tax dodgers that the government is watching them.
It may have escaped their attention that Stefano Pessina does not take the number 7 bus - it does not go to Monaco where this worthy preaches the gospel of tax dodging. Pessina attacks the mild attempts of the Labour Party to tackle tax dodging. Stopping the tax dodgers will "ruin the country" apparently. I assume he refers to Monaco. This is a man who makes us pay his taxes for him and he has the cheek to lecture the government.The Daily Mail has the cheek to quote him as a business man when his only business seems to be monkey-business with the tax system.
There is a worthy petition online from War on Want,
However if you want the millionaire tax-dodgers expropriated you might be better off voting for the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition. They are proposing rather more than a few pathetic posters on the number 7 bus.
#socialistreviews
Pensioner suicide over benefit cuts. Cameron remains smug
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/the-tragic-tale-of-the-pensioner-who-killed-himself-after-begging-for-help-over-benefit-cuts-10029754.html
Malcolm Burge killed himself after being hounded for a bill of 800 pounds. He did not borrow 800 pounds. No. Incompetent bureaucrats at Newham overpaid his housing benefit. Then the same incompetent bureaucrats started hounding him to repay the money. This was a man who had never had800 pounds in his life. His housing benefit had been halved but the incompetent bureaucrats failed to catch up with the change for six months.
He killed himself by setting himself on fire. There are more details of the story in the Independent and the Guardian.
The Daily Mail which brands all benefit claimants as "fat frauds" does not seem interested in the story.
Cameron remains smug.
#socialistreviews
Malcolm Burge killed himself after being hounded for a bill of 800 pounds. He did not borrow 800 pounds. No. Incompetent bureaucrats at Newham overpaid his housing benefit. Then the same incompetent bureaucrats started hounding him to repay the money. This was a man who had never had800 pounds in his life. His housing benefit had been halved but the incompetent bureaucrats failed to catch up with the change for six months.
He killed himself by setting himself on fire. There are more details of the story in the Independent and the Guardian.
The Daily Mail which brands all benefit claimants as "fat frauds" does not seem interested in the story.
Cameron remains smug.
#socialistreviews
Monday, February 02, 2015
Life on Planet Nicky Morgan
This sounds very good: "We will expect every pupil by the age of 11 to know their times tables off by heart, to perform long division and complex multiplication and to be able to read a novel,"
Now who could possibly object to that? If this doesn't happen then clearly it will be all the fault of the teachers.
She laid particular emphasis on the 12 times table in her Andrew Marr show interview because as we all know there are 12 pennies in a shilling so the 12 times table is vital for life. What Marr failed to do was to test her with some Maths questions - that usually silences Tory MPs. It almost silenced Boris Johnson but he was soon his obnoxious blustering self.
I am getting a class set of Ulysses because obviously the government requires them to read a novel and they don't come more novel than that. Unless she defines "a novel" it remains a piece of nonsense and an unmeasurable target.
And rote learning of tables? This is a nod to UKIP's back to the 1950s stance. In those days pupils could recite the tables and frequently didn't understand what they were saying. That is why teachers revolted against parrot learning. Only polly-ticians believe in it. (sorry)
And all of Nicky Morgan's insubstantial promises refer to 2020. By then Nicky Morgan will be a distant memory. Five years is a long time in politics. Do the Maths.
Now who could possibly object to that? If this doesn't happen then clearly it will be all the fault of the teachers.
She laid particular emphasis on the 12 times table in her Andrew Marr show interview because as we all know there are 12 pennies in a shilling so the 12 times table is vital for life. What Marr failed to do was to test her with some Maths questions - that usually silences Tory MPs. It almost silenced Boris Johnson but he was soon his obnoxious blustering self.
I am getting a class set of Ulysses because obviously the government requires them to read a novel and they don't come more novel than that. Unless she defines "a novel" it remains a piece of nonsense and an unmeasurable target.
And rote learning of tables? This is a nod to UKIP's back to the 1950s stance. In those days pupils could recite the tables and frequently didn't understand what they were saying. That is why teachers revolted against parrot learning. Only polly-ticians believe in it. (sorry)
And all of Nicky Morgan's insubstantial promises refer to 2020. By then Nicky Morgan will be a distant memory. Five years is a long time in politics. Do the Maths.
Based on 16 years answering pleas for help from stressed teachers.
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