text:
Sue Marsh from Diary of a Benefit Scrounger, reports on a concerted effort in the right-wing press to prevent any real debate over benefits.
Sue Marsh blogs at Diary of a Benefit Scrounger
Today, the Daily Express and Daily Mail are full of cheating, scrounging sick people.
The Express screams: "Blitz on Britain's benefits madness", contrasting those on "sickness handouts" with "hard working taxpayers".
According to the the Express, Tory MP Philip Davies joined the outcry, saying:
"People are sick to the back teeth of being taken for a ride by people sponging and scrounging and abusing the system."
While the Mail screams:
"Scandal of 80,000 on sickness benefits for minor ailments… including diarrhoea."
To accompany the claim that "drug addicts" have been allowed to claim, they included a picture of someone snorting white powder through a rolled up note.
The papers go on to list "blisters", "headaches", "depression", and "problems with scholastic skills" as evidence that there are hundreds of thousands of people living the good life at "taxpayers" expense who have nothing really wrong with them.
For a moment, let's forget the fact that only the first ailment a person lists on their claim form is taken into account in these figures. Let's ignore the fact that someone with "nail disorders" might also have cancer or kidney failure. Let's ignore the fact that someone classified under "drug abuse" might also suffer from schizophrenia or multiple sclerosis..
I have "diarrhoea" but why? Well, because of the 32 growths I've had to have removed from my guts and the seven major operations to remove rotten lengths of bowel, leaving me with half as much intestine as your average ill-informed hack.
My friend has "blisters." She suffers from the rare skin disease Epidermolysis Bullosa. Her skin blisters and comes away at the lightest touch, leaving her scarred and in constant, terrible pain.
"Headaches?" Cluster headaches (also referred to as "suicide headaches") are thought to be one of the worst pains known to man, not something to be confused with a hangover.
I could go on, but I'm sure you're beginning to see why these horrible articles, fuelled by "statements" today from Chris Grayling, minister for Work and Pensions and our very own prime minister, only serve to turn a sensitive, delicate subject into a form of attack. They aim to pitch one condition against another whilst asking more fortunate citizens to view those who are unwell with mistrust and contempt.
Perhaps there is a legitimate debate to be had over which conditions "hard working tax-payers" are willing to support. There is certainly some validity in the claim that many sick or disabled people would love help and support to find a job.
However, surely none of us agree that this is the way in which to conduct that debate? Surely allowing our politicians and our media to whip up hate and prejudice against a particular group of society is something we should all be ashamed of?
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148 Responses to "Right-wing hate campaign clouds debate on benefits"
Sue Marsh
Anon E Mouse – I do wish you wouldn't be so aggressive. I thought I DID answer your question with my example – but just to be very clear, yes, I do think that alcoholics should be treated the same was as down's syndrome children. Alcoholism IS a genetic condition, so to the other comment yes, you can be born with it. Very few alcoholics stay ill for ten years without some underlying abuse or mental health problem, that was my point.
If you want to debate with me, so you think you could acknowledge when I DO make a point and engage with it rather than your "typical Labour" this and that?
You say,
"Discriminatory? You are saying that people who commit crimes against other people in order to freely and illegally participate in the taking of prohibited substances should be treated equally to people who have disabilities.
"Why wouldn't there be discrimination in that case? Do you not care about criminals and their victims at all?"
"Are you really saying that the position of the Labour Party activists is that criminals choosing that lifestyle and harming others should be treated equally as law abiding people not choosing their lifestyle and not hurting others?"
First point, is we all are, or should be, equal before the law. Whether you believe a person who smokes a joint is a criminal is an individual opinion. The law, at this point, regards this person as a criminal. However, when we use that criterion as the correct basis for denial of fundamental rights, whether in the extreme case of rendition, torture or other abuse, to obtain confession or information even if it saves other victims, we risk becoming as bad or worse than those we incarcerate.,
Rights are universal, to deny them to a sector of the population, or to an individual, reflects back upon those who implement the denial as well, regardless of the justification purported to rationalize the implementation.
Ed's Talking Balls
I'm quite happy that you have contempt for my attitude. I can live with that.
It won't surprise you in the least to hear that I hold your views in contempt also.
People are different; conditions are different; the causes of these conditions are different; discrimination does occur in society and, in many cases, this is perfectly right, precisely because people are different; healthcare is a very difficult term to define; money is finite; there are competing demands of this limited pool of money; funding all treatments for all people at all times is absolutely impossible; some people (successfully) attempt to defraud the system; some people exacerbate their conditions and make no attempt to help themselves.
Given that I firmly believe the statements above to be true, I stand as firmly as ever behind my opinion.
And, for the record, I never once attempted to label all benefit claimants as the same (i.e. lazy, greedy, looking for a quick buck, etc). That would be nonsense. I have been very consistent in believing them to be entirely different and that is precisely my point.
joe kane
Where I live has nothing to do with my arguments about the problems of a modern society needing modern approaches to solving using modern health service.
Conservatives have no idea how to run a modern society or how to deal with its modern problems. They live in the Victorian past of rich philanthropists blaming all societies ills on the individual. How convenient they make a packet exploiting modern advances in science, technology and management then, when their money-grubbing exploitation leaves social chaos and social problems in its wake, they take refuge in defunct moralisms and blame the victims they are largely to blame for creating.
Hence the reason they call themselves 'conservative', as they live in the morality of an extinct past, but are more than willing to take advantage of modern society when it suits them, except when it comes to paying their taxes of course, which go towards cleaning up the damage their selfishness and greed causes.
"And you believe these people should be treated the same as someone with MS. Charming."
– It's not a question of either, or. It's both. This is a modern society with modern problems. There are plenty of resources and skills to solve all or most of society's afflictions. Only small-minded readers of the right-wing British tabloids 'think' otherwise, for want of a better verb to describe their utterly petty vindictive anti-social attitudes towards their fellow human being.
Sue Marsh
Now, here we go. Our dear leader, DID make an awful lot of speeches about getting treatment for drug abuse. This treatment is VERY costly.
There wouldn't be a problem at all in throwing alcoholics off benefits if all the rehab centres had been built, if all the counsellors and funding were in place to help them, but they're not are they?
Anon E Mouse
joe kane – From your response I would guess you have never lived in an inner city council estate where you hold your breath every time you get home hoping you haven't been robbed by a drug addict. Again.
Regarding treating everyone the same please explain to me why criminal drug addicts should be treated the same for the illegal criminal choices they make in life as a person with disabilities? Why should they? You are rewarding criminality by claiming it is an illness instead of unacceptable behaviour.
This attitude is the reason that disability campaigners are just not taken seriously by governments, either left wing or right wing like Labour and the Tories. My reason for questioning your living situation is your response is typical of someone who hasn't walked the walked and just forwards some psycho babble theory without any practical thought into the matter…
Anon E Mouse
Sue Marsh – I do find your posts entertaining. It's why I follow your personal blog.
The trouble is you keep answering questions you are asking yourself not the ones I put forward and your responses are typical of Labour supporters trying to avoid directly answering a question – that was my point about Gordon Brown made earlier. Instead of just saying he liked Hob Nob biscuits he waffled for hours instead of answering the question. Yvette Cooper is another one who throws this and that into the mix instead of answering a question.
As I have said before your possibly valid points are wrecked by this approach and it's a shame. Anyway.
Alcoholics can be "cured" by stopping them drinking. They are certainly less deserving than someone with a disease with no known cure. The two things are completely different.
Nothing will convince me that a heroin addict, robbing peoples houses to feed a habit, should be treated the same as a law abiding person with crippling arthritis. Sorry. And believe me Sue, my opinion is held by the majority in this country. And rightly so.
You describe my posts as aggressive. That's just because they advocate an opinion you disagree with and with the title of this piece being " Right-wing HATE campaign clouds debate on benefits" you can hardly be described as a passive contributor…
Anon E Mouse
scandalousbill – If someone wants to smoke a joint the only person that is affected is the smoker.
If someone robs houses to feed a heroin addiction other people are affected. And you believe that person who chooses to engage in illegal activity should be supported with taxpayers benefits, treated the same as genuinely ill people and have their addiction classified as a disability?
Come on.
Working with the elderly and disabled really humbles people "There but for the grace of God go I" springs to mind daily and it is incomparable to choosing to take drugs. The cure is to stop the drug taking. Job done. Truly disabled people would do anything to cure themselves that easily.
You see, leaving aside the am-dram in your remarks about rendition and stuff (which a Labour government allowed through our airports btw, not the Tories) the way people are cared for is not a fundamental right – it is the sign of a decent society that looks after the less advantaged but a line simply has to be drawn.
Ask the old person being robbed for the twentieth time that the criminal is doing it to feed his habit and society actually pays him benefits for an "illness" and I can imagine the response. I'm in the majority in agreement there.
I would say you and I have conversed regularly on this blog scandalousbill and it is clear that Sue Marsh has the ability to vitalise people with her articles. They are always buzzing. I just think if she took a second so see the wood for the trees and then blogged on her thoughts, she could advance her cause far further without the obvious tribalism…
Anon E Mouse
scandalousbill – Finally (have a good weekend btw dude) check this link on arthritis:
Should a person eating as many pies as John Prescott really be treated the same as those wretched individuals?
You say,
"Should a person eating as many pies as John Prescott really be treated the same as those wretched individuals?"
Did you mean Eric Pickles?
Enjoy the sunshine!
Sue Marsh
Anon E Mouse – You asked me a straight question and I gave you a straight answer. Your incessantly antagonistic responses do nothing to further your arguments.
Anon E Mouse
scandoulousbill – Actually both as I posted earlier!
Have a good one…
Anon E Mouse
Sue Marsh – Have a good Easter – hope the kids and the chicken pox have cleared up.
(Actually the question was about the heroin addict but hey…)
SSP Campsie
RT @leftfootfwd: Right-wing hate campaign clouds debate on benefits: http://bit.ly/gBMkmR writes @suey2y
Sue Marsh
Thanks Anon E Mouse you too.
Heroin addicts have just as many reasons for A) Falling into dependency and B) Remaining addicted as alcoholics. If you've ever known anyone battle with heroin demons (as I have) you'd know that nothing is ever clear cut.
Surely we're talking about failures of society here? The ONLY way to sort them out is to address them and tackle the route causes. Throwing them off benefits will not help at all – you'll just have the same people living on the streets and committing more crimes.
They need rehab, counselling, support and understanding. However much people may want to pillory them, it won't stop a single person drinking or taking drugs.
joe kane
"joe kane – From your response I would guess you have never lived in an inner city council estate where you hold your breath every time you get home hoping you haven't been robbed by a drug addict. Again."
– Where I live has nothing to do with my arguments – in the same way, these right-wing corporate newspaper propaganda fantasies you choose to parrot have nothing to do with the reality of the problems created with living in a modern society, which can be solved by that self-same society, if it so chooses in a responsible and caring way because it already has the wealth, skills and resources to do so.
As for psychobabble, I'll leave that to you and your nostrums about what is and isn't unacceptable behaviour, and what is and isn't criminal behaviour. The most lethal drug in history is tobacco, which is perfectly legal. The next most lethal is alcohol. Again, perfectly legal. The problems they create have nothing to do with illegality of use. The problems associated with modern processed food having nothing to do with criminality. Same with sedentary living.
"This attitude is the reason that disability campaigners are just not taken seriously by governments, either left wing or right wing like Labour and the Tories."
– I don't know anyone who supports criminals and their illegal activities. To claim that addiction, which is an illness, is about morality is the ethics of the medieval world, which associated illness, plagues etc, to morality and the presence of devils and witches. Hence the witch-hunts and scapegoating of sick and disabled people today by the usual right-wing loony-bin corporate press.
I also know that the ConDem Government's policies are making people poorer, and their plans to make public service workers unemployed is going to create huge social problems associated with increasing poverty. Claiming this isn't so is nothing but more right-wing lies.
The government does take seriously disabled campaigners otherwise it wouldn't indulge in vast government-news media campaigns of lies, demonisation and scapegoating. If it was a simple matter of using arguments which stick to the facts, the government and its obedient chorus in the right-wing corporate news media would be silent, as they have no arguments which stand a moments scrutiny, as your intellectually bereft comments more than illustrate.
If there is one thing that can be said about modern western society is that many of its greatest social problems are directly associated with unequal distribution of wealth and justice. Hence the reason Britain is almost in a league of its own compared to other Western European states in terms of wealth distribution and the scale of its poverty and the problems that come with it. The largest area of deprivation in Western Europe is just up the road from me, East Glasgow, which has social indicators comparable to some Third World countries. It has such social and medical problems precisely because of deprivation and neglect, not because of the personal morality of the people who live there.
Claiming the British government's has no responsibility when it comes to the social well-being and welfare of its own citizens, that it can be left to some kind of self-regulation, I would have thought to have been discredited given what such neoliberalism has done to the property and then the financial markets.
Mason Dixon, Autistic
Mouse accuses me of misinformation but doesn't point out what except to say that I am the one making assumptions about people.
It is Anon E Mouse who is making assumptions about obese IB claimants, of which there are 2,060 if you include ESA and SDA. There are between 4,000 to 5,000 people with Prader-Willi Syndrome in the UK; they will make up a significant portion of those listed under obesity in the figures.
The Mail, Sun, Express and Coalition narrative on these figures relies entirely on assumptions about those claiming for those conditions. The bubble is popped by unmentioned facts which when mentioned make people like Mouse throw a tantrum because their passive-aggressive charade falls apart.
@ Sue Marsh.
Good article! … and in general you do a great job in speaking out as you do.
Very briefly, may I share a few thoughts :
a) it wouldn't harm disability groups to talk about the Tax & Benefits system, as one entity with two arms to it. This government has chosen to have fewer HMRC Inspectors and to take a soft line on tax avoidance (with the odd piece of tough rhetoric on tax evasion). This reveals the Conservatives' true attitude to the "hard-working taxpayer", about whom they claim to care.
b) The Conservatives have a commitment to reduce Inheritance Tax, and a desire to reduce the 50p top-rate Income Tax, Corporation Tax and Capital Gains Tax, to help the very rich to become even richer. To achieve their aims later in this Parliament, this government first has to reduce spending on the low-paid, people with a disability or chronic ill-health, the unemployed, the middle class, women, children, teenagers & students – and accordingly it chooses the areas for cuts (welfare and public sector services, in particular). The talk about reducing the deficit is merely a smokescreen, an attempt to minimise the amount of unpopularity their agenda would otherwise create.
c) from comments made below blogs, it appears that there are hard-working taxpayers out there who think, very naively, that any reduction in the total welfare bill would mean a reduction in taxes for the many. No, it won't. The tax burden on the middle classes and employed workers will still be what it is, including the VAT increase and the various other measures taken by Osborne. Those who stand to gain tax advantages from welfare cuts will be the wealthy. So, in real terms, what is planned is a transfer of monies (yes, out of the hard-earned taxes of the many) from the poorest and most disadvantaged members of society to the wealthiest. Thus, rather than a specious discussion of "deserving poor" versus "undeserving poor", the real debate should be "adequate welfare system" versus "less taxes paid by the very wealthiest".
Anon E Mouse
joe kane – If you feel the urge to respond why don't you respond to what I've said instead of just incoherently ranting here.
I subscribe The Times and read the comments sections of Guardian and Independent – I do not read or subscribe to the views of The Daily Mail and not just because of Gordon Browns links to it. It just so happens that my view coincides with the majority view in this country. I do not believe heroin addiction is as valid a "disability" as an MS sufferer.
Tobacco and alcohol are both legal substances on which taxes are paid on consumption. To attempt to bring these items into your post is fine but has nothing to do with illegal drug addiction. If my Grandmother hadn't died they wouldn't have buried her. It's the same thing and meaningless. You are answering points only you have made.
I never mentioned the government making people poorer you did.
Prove the government is involved in what you describe as "lies" by the right wing media please.
The gap between rich and poor increased under Labour – this government raising the Tax threshold does exactly the opposite. Labour removed the 10p tax rate so I assume you must detest that party eh?
Finally I never mentioned the responsibility of the government in these matters. You did…
Anon E Mouse
Mason Dixon, Autistic – You are still posting misleading comments regarding claims I haven't made then criticising me for those same things.
To be clear it was you that claimed that people with PWS were the same as the ones I mentioned. I didn't mention those people. It was you who compared those with a genetic disorder to those choosing obesity by their life style choices.
I think to compare the two in unfair on the PWS sufferer and you devalue their illness with such spiteful comparisons. I even illustrated my point by mentioning the number of pies eaten by John Prescott and Eric Pickles – very considerable I feel.
What is disappointing is that you believe that self inflicted conditions should be treated equally as unfortunate people with disabilities, including the genetic disorder you introduced and I responded to.
I believe in personal responsibility and do not think the two cases are equal, otherwise the position is that people could simply start troughing the pies and be treated the same as faultless individuals with genetic disorders.
You display a very uncaring attitude Mason Dixon, Autistic…
Mason Dixon, Autistic
You're a caricature Mouse, projecting every fault you have onto others.
I quoted you saying you didn't want to hear about "the reasons they eat to much" and pointed out a very clear example of why you don't want to hear it: it's inconvenient.
I am not the one making assumptions about people; I am not the one making sweeping assumptions that people with addictions and obesity on IB are cases of 'self-inflicted' problems. Some will be, some won't be; but neither of us have the information available to determine by what degree. So why assume? Ass.
joe kane
Obviously you don't want to be taken seriously and are just a right-wing troll, but I'll just make a few points for the benefit of others.
"joe kane – If you feel the urge to respond why don't you respond to what I've said instead of just incoherently ranting here."
– Such personal attacks are typical of internet trolls, so is ignoring their own accusations and then responding as if they didn't believe them.
"I never mentioned the government making people poorer you did."
– Well spotted. It is part of my argument that many modern ailments are caused by poverty and not by personal morals, as you and your fellow pre-industrial, pre-modern Conservatives claim. The social problems that come with a modern wealth technologically advanced society can also be solved by it quite easily if it so chooses to do so. Ignoring them or blaming them on individuals doesn't make them go away.
"Tobacco and alcohol are both legal substances on which taxes are paid on consumption. To attempt to bring these items into your post is fine but has nothing to do with illegal drug addiction."
– Just to remind you, it as you seem to have forgotten, it was the ConDem Government which brought drug addiction into the debate about welfare. It is that I am responding to. Maybe you don't believe such right-wing lies and propaganda after all. Who knows what you're talking about, as you can't seem to keep up a coherent and consistent argument from one comment to the next.
"I never mentioned the government making people poorer you did."
– Again, well spotted. I make this point for a reason which you will find in my arguments if you care to address them instead of letting me know what it is I have written.
Increasing poverty through deliberate government policy will only cause more crime. More poverty causes more ill health. If Cameron is so concerned about either then why is he doing so much to make sure both will increase?
"Finally I never mentioned the responsibility of the government in these matters. You did…"
– I know I did, again well spotted. This is supposed to be a discussion about government policy choices and government propaganda disseminated in support of thought policies, or maybe you hadn't noticed and thought it was all about you and your barely coherent thoughts.
Anon E Mouse
Mason Dixon, Autistic – You are still doing it. Please tell me where I mentioned anything about the reasons people eat too much.
You attempted to use an unchosen genetic disorder to forward your flawed position that a lifestyle choice was the same thing. No one reading this blog believes it is the same thing because it obviously isn't.
Your initial comment was a stupid remark. Everybody reading it knew that was the case. Anyone with an ounce of common sense would have immediately withdrawn the comment and apologised. For some reason you seem unable to admit you are wrong and continue flapping around, clutching at straws and looking silly in the process.
To be clear Mason Dixon, Autistic: You may consider that genetic disorders are the same as lifestyle choices but in common with everybody else I do not.
It is offensive to compare unchosen medical disabilities with lazy, fat, pie eaters and unfair on PWS victims…
Anon E Mouse
joe kane – This government will decrease poverty by changing the tax system in the opposite direction to Labour to the benefit of the worker. Removing 10p Tax by Labour hit minimum wage workers like myself, in the pocket. I now have more of my own money and if an unemployed person finds work so will they.
Since you consider my responses barely coherent please feel free to ignore them – I won't be offended….
George Lamb
Anon and others who support "Personal responsibility" or the idea of any Fraud being despicable waste of tax payers money.
Lets cut the bull shall we and jump to the conclusion of this discussion. Some not all (and I will not get in to emotive use of stats that frankly do not exist) will under your regime be judged "fit to work" as a result of having a condition that is more to do with how they live their life than any outside factors. They will lose benefit from the DWP and local authority, depending on a huge number of factors including where they live, if they have support networks, access to non work related income, the provision of effective and adequate work and personal related support, in short become in the old meaning of the word "destitute".
I would contend that some of these after a period of time will die, a significant number choosing to do so through suicide. Others will die through complications from their already existing health issues; others will spiral out of control dying as a result of new diseases and health problems. The main point is that they will be dead. Is this the policy that you advocate yes or no?
You may try to obfuscate with arguments that suppose my outcomes will not take place. However you already argue that some people are so weak morally or in personnel integrity that they claim benefits for "non illnesses" so to extrapolate your own theory some of the benefits cheats will not posses what it takes to find and hold employment. Hence they will die probably only after being a drain on other state resources, like health care, police, and charities that receive funding from central or local government in other words your pocket and the pocket of other tax payers. So go on explain why these people need to die, and then explain why you and other hard pressed tax payers should get to choose who dies.
Mason Dixon, Autistic
"You are still doing it. Please tell me where I mentioned anything about the reasons people eat too much."
You didn't and I never said you did; my point was the opposite, that you ignore the reasons and openly stated you didn't want to hear about them. Helps if you actually read what people write rather than parse text and fill in the blanks with your imagination.
At no point here have I stated however that lifestyle choices are comparable with genetic conditions. That is entirely your invention projected onto me. You accuse others of exactly your own faults.
joe kane
"Since you consider my responses barely coherent please feel free to ignore them – I won't be offended…."
– Now you're merely repeating what I say about you back to me. The mark of a troll.
I'll say it again, I care about the victims of right-wing propaganda spread by abusive anti-social internet trolls. What your feelings are are of no consequence.
What the Labour Government did or didn't do is of no consequence in this thread about the ConDem Government's policies of blaming the increasing social problems it is creating on the victims of its unnecessary welfare spending cuts.
Economic inequality in the West has been on the increase ever since Thatcherite-Reagan neoliberalism was introduced.
To claim this government "will" decrease poverty with its continuation of the exact same neoliberal economic policies which has only increased poverty and inequality and produced vast public and personal debt balloons is arrant nonsense and right-wing propaganda.
You claimed 'addiction' had nothing to do with this discussion about Tories claiming drug addicts are sponging off the taxpayers – now you are claiming the tax system will decrease poverty and increase employment. What changes to the tax system has to do with ConDem Government propaganda designed to justify its welfare spending cuts aimed at sick, ill and disabled people I've no idea.
Anon E Mouse
joe kane – This government has already taken more people out of poverty with it's tax changes than the party I supported my whole life pre Gordon Brown did in 13 years.
You can rant and rave about about markets and waffle on about Reagan blah blah. You can even use sixth form student terms like ConDems (please) but the facts speak for themselves and minimum wage workers like myself have more of our money than we did under Labour.
Anon E Mouse
Mason Dixon, Autistic – Comment 21 you said: "Like those with Prader-Willi Syndrome?" with reference to my obesity comment.
Your remark was a crude attempt to try to undermine my perfectably reasonable remark about obesity caused not by a genetic disorder but by overeating. That's why I mentioned the fat, croquet playing Lord Prescott and the number of pies he eats.
There is a saying about being in hole and stopping digging Mason Dixon, Autistic. It's probably time for you to stop now and move along. There's nothing to see here and a PWS sufferer would not like you to compare their condition with a person eating the pies….
Oh dear.
Anon E Mouse doesn't do stats.
That clanging sound is Mouse's credibility being chucked in the trash can.
donald james pearl
RT @leftfootfwd: Right-wing hate campaign clouds debate on benefits http://bit.ly/f9qXNM
Anon E Mouse
BenM – The clanging sound was of people's jaws hitting the table in expressions of incredulity at your remark.
(I guessed it couldn't have been your intellect rattling in your skull). I love stats BenM and regarding the last election on this very fine blog I recently posted:
Labour's worst performance in a general election since 1918.
More seats were lost than at any general election since 1931.
The Conservatives achieved their second biggest swing from Labour since Thatcher in 1979.
2% more than Michael Foot in 1983 – 3% less than John Major in his landslide defeat of 1997.
Over 4000 councillors lost since Tony Blair's election as Labour leader.
No government has lost so many votes/ percentage points as Labour 1997 and 2010.
Five million voters lost since 1st May 1997.
More people voted Conservative in Wales than Labour for the first time ever.
Gordon Brown was the least popular Prime Minister since records began.
The PLP never elected Brown or Miliband. Or the Labour Party members.
The biggest budget deficit in British peacetime history was inflicted on this country under Labour.
The Labour Party owes in excess of £24million – it's bust.
I don't do stats? Please. The remark was about Mason Dixon, Autistic claiming eating as many pies as Lord Prescott was no different than the genetic disorder, PWS. I say it is very different.
Anyway normally you avoid my questions on this great blog BenM but do you think self inflicted obesity is equivalent to a genetic disorder?
Clare Fernyhough
The point of the article above was to demonstrate how accurate facts are withheld in order to manipulate public opinion. By all means, we should know all of the statistics, including those concerning alcoholics and drug users, but let them be accurate at least. Moreover, we need a completely different and positive approach to welfare that does not stigmatise any claimant. I apologise in advance for the length of comment, but it is something I feel passionate about.
Whether you have a genuine health problem, you are unemployed, or you have an alcohol/drug problem, the idea of 'welfare' is that it achieves just that. A dictionary definition of welfare states: 1: The good fortune, health, happiness, prosperity, etc., of a person, group, or organization; well-being: to look after a child's welfare; the physical or moral welfare of society. 2: Financial or other assistance to an individual or family from a city, state, or national government. 3: A governmental agency that provides funds and aid to people in need, especially those unable to work. There is much more to the concept of welfare than financial aid, and the current and proposed system will continue to fail because it does not address this concept. For example, I don't think anyone would have a problem with people receiving benefits, whatever their circumstances, if those benefits and the systems in place to administer them empowered people to change their life course, providing the individual with happiness and good fortune, and in doing so benefiting communities as a whole: this would be genuine welfare reform.
There is no doubt that there is a small percentage of claimants who have been able to trick the system, but how they have actually been able to do so remains a mystery to me. As someone with a genuine health problem, I can assure people that there is absolutely no way that someone would have been signed off work long term with some of the trivial health problems described. Anyone who has been through the process both during the period under the Labour Government and this Government, will tell you just how difficult it is to obtain any support even when you have legitimate health problems. I have been chronically ill for 14 years and I have suffered much deprivation as a result. At the beginning I was given full support, but then after 18 months, despite my condition becoming worse, that support was removed (I have an undiagnosed neurological condition). I kept trying to go back into work, but after only a few weeks I would be very ill, and after a few months I would be near to collapse. I would then try to claim disability benefits again, but without success even though my G.P. made it clear that I was not capable of working. I was allowed 'income support at a sick person' which was no more than JSA, but at least it meant that I was spared having to look for work; often I had to sell anything of value in my possession in order to buy food however. Eventually I was forced back into work out of desperation since I would be in arrears with all utilities and I was basically starving. The cycle just continued until finally I had a massive deterioration 5 years ago. I was left without any income for 2 months; often I just had bread to eat. At that point I called social services and asked to be put into a care home. It was then that they stepped in and I finally received the practical and financial support I needed. With that support I was able to finish a degree and work professionally part time doing jobs that were less strenuous than the unskilled jobs I had before. Unfortunately, I had another deterioration 2 years ago that made it impossible to continue working. The point I'm making here is that it has never been easy for the disabled to obtain disability benefits, let alone someone with no apparent health problem.
During those 9 years of absolute hell when I was trying to work and obtain a degree, I was aware of individuals in my community who gained full disability benefits for drug and alcohol abuse. I can't tell you how hurt and angry that made me feel; it just wasn't fair. I was working and studying, and spending the rest of the time in bed. I rarely even had the energy to bathe. Nevertheless, many of these peoples' addictions are rooted in serious depression, which we should take account of if we are truly serious about peoples' 'welfare'. I knew one of these people personally from a time years ago when I was canvassing in the area. He was a drunk yes, but a very damaged and tormented soul. He was a gentle and kind young man. Unfortunately, he died about 5 years ago, as many alcoholics do. The other woman I have in mind was a close friend at one time. We worked together as waitresses in a motorway café. She was married to a farm hand and had her own house and car. Her marriage fell apart and she lost everything. She fell in with a bad crowd and ended up a drunk and a heroin addict, regularly beaten by partners. She will probably die early too. No one helped that man or enabled him to change his life; similarly the woman. She is vilified in the community; no one cares or even if they do, they don't know how to help.
On the other hand though there must be many addicts out there who play the system, and many who just don't want to work. Whatever their backgrounds, rather than removing their benefits, successive governments should have made rehab and counselling a condition of receiving them, helping them work towards becoming independent adults. Most will never work again however because of the physical damage drink and drugs cause. If these people are then migrated onto JSA though, as anyone will understand who has attempted to live on it, the money barely pays utility costs let alone food and other personal necessary items. The temptation for many would be to slip back into a life of crime; many former prison inmates face just the same problem. It is a cycle which is hardly ever broken.
Governments are not willing to invest in the programmes to enable such people to re-engage with society, partly because these programmes cost so much. For example, there have been trial projects where social workers and mentors work intensively with problem families and they have achieved great success, but in these times of austerity, it is unlikely that the government will approve further funding for such projects as they are very expensive. Even before the current cuts, rehab places were very limited; no doubt many centres will close over the next few years. It does make you wonder what would happen if we were to invest in such projects all over the country as opposed to bearing the long term cost of keeping people in prison, costs to the NHS, costs to communities in terms of policing problem estates and repairing the damage caused, cost to insurance companies due to robbery , and of course, the long term cost to the state in terms of welfare payments.
The whole idea of what 'welfare' stands for could be changed within current systems, which would completely remove the idea that the majority of claimants are somehow 'scrounging'. I detest how successive governments threatened and initiated all sorts of 'work programmes'. I remember friends in the 80s who were forced to work full time on pointless projects that did nothing to advance their employability. They were treated with a great amount of disrespect within communities and by those who oversaw the work programmes. Currently, they want to force people to work full time for what would amount to less than minimum wage, which is tantamount to slave labour. As it stands, claimants are paid by the government for doing nothing. Why can't this just be seen as an actual wage, not a benefit? A wage in return for an equal amount of work, perhaps a couple of days per week, whatever work that may be. No one would be considered unemployed. Communities across the country need improvements and again, even before the cuts this was the case. There is so much in my community that needs attending to. If claimants were mobilised to provide such help, keeping in mind that they shouldn't actually be used to replace traditionally paid positions, real progress could be made. Couple that with training or education in areas of employment that this country requires (the 'green revolution' perhaps?) and self employment support for those not suitable for such training for another couple of days a week and each claimant would be engaged in something worthwhile. Since no one can live on JSA they should be allowed to earn something on top of that to supplement their incomes. I am chronically disabled and housebound. Time and again on disability forums we have said that we all have computers or laptops and a phone, and would be prepared to work even from our beds for an hour or two a day in return for our benefits if suitably flexible work could be found for us. People have even written to the DWP to ask if this would be possible; they have received no reply.
In conclusion if we are allowed to earn this 'government wage', we wouldn't be scroungers; we would have a sense of dignity and purpose. Imagine over a generation how this could transform our country. I sometimes feel that successive governments would rather encourage the status quo so that benefit claimants become the natural scapegoat for this country's ills, and in doing so, it redirects peoples' focus away from the continual incompetencies of Governments in general, and away from those in society who are really to blame for the financial nightmare we now find ourselves in. We also should note that even in boom times, there are never millions of jobs available. At the moment there are only around 500,000 UK job vacancies (600,000 during boom periods), so there will never be enough jobs for the millions of unemployed and disabled. Governments are aware of this of course, but there has never been a serious attempt at solving this dichotomy. It is about time then that we had an honest debate about welfare especially since another million people are about to join the ranks of the unemployed. Has no one even thought of offering some of these people who work in the public sector an opportunity to continue to work in the job, albeit at much reduced hours equivalent to the JSA amount? I know of people prepared to do this so that they can maintain their workplace skills and because they love their job. If that were not possible they also have many skills that could be used to train the unemployed, which would save the government money since they wouldn't be paying excessive amounts to private companies that are about to take over the administration of the work programmes. There are real opportunities here then to use the unemployed to administer their own programmes and save the government money to boot.
People are being manipulated by the media every day with regard to this issue and it is only right that people like Sue Marsh continue to expose such propaganda so that we can have a candid debate in regard to the facts, not the fiction designed to divide us.
Mason Dixon, Autistic
"Your remark was a crude attempt to try to undermine my perfectably reasonable remark about obesity caused not by a genetic disorder but by overeating. That's why I mentioned the fat, croquet playing Lord Prescott and the number of pies he eats. "
No, my remark was in response to your statement that you were not interested in the reasons why people with 'self-inflicted' conditions as I have explicitly made clear and you have repeatedly preferred your own made-up version of what my opinion is to my actual stated opinion. The full facts are inconvenient to your entire case which presume that those with addictions or obesity are mostly undeserving when you do not have the evidence on hand to make such a presumption.
You have lied repeatedly and when caught out, your response is to lie even more.
Anon E Mouse
Clare Fernyhough – It would be hard to disagree with an awful lot of your post and personally I don't – particularly your last couple of paragraphs where you articulate a possible solution to this problem.
The main problem is there is simply no money available in this country to look after everybody who claims disability benefits. The last government has left the country bust with it's reckless spending on public services and now we have to pick up the tab for that.
All right wing governments, Labour or Conservative, are in the same position. The only reason things looked good for Labour was the worldwide economic boom benefitted them on the tax take.
I would far rather the country spend it's money on looking after the genuinely disabled than on stupid non jobs like Climate Control Outreach Project Co-ordinators – whatever they are.
But I would also like those in genuine need, clearly like Sue Marsh and yourself, to be differentiated from people such as the obese who can be "cured" by eating less. That self inflicted obesity devalues real disabilities people suffer from.
Finally people need to realise that papers like the Daily Mail or The Sun are the most popular on sale in Britain – The Daily Mirror and The Guardian are only read by a tiny minority (I refuse to read The Guardian because of the tax avoidance it engages in whilst criticising the bankers for less avoidance than they themselves commit).
Therefore unless an appeal is made which chimes with those readers, it simply will not work. It's why Blair did so well and Miliband will do so badly.
Sue Marsh's daft headlines to her otherwise thoughtful articles and the worthy subjects on which she writes, devalue the otherwise excellent points she makes. In fairness she doesn't always write these headlines, just the articles.
I feel there needs to be a discrimination between those in genuine need and those with "curable" self inflicted illness such as obesity or illegal drug addiction. What is disappointing though is that some of the contributors here seem more concerned with the formation of some childish socialist state which hands out money to people than real care and help for those less fortunate than ourselves…
Anon E Mouse
Mason Dixon, Autistic – You attempted to compare peoples weight problems through straight forward gluttony (like Lord Prescott eating all the pies) with people suffering from the genetic disorder PWS which can present as obesity.
Please reread the post you made at Comment 21 and explain where I have "been caught out" lying as you so rudely put it.
My position is fat, pie eating inflicted obesity, exemplified by the likes of Lord Prescott or Baroness Billingham is not the same as a genetic disorder. One can be cured by eating less food and taking exercise and the other cannot…
Mason Dixon, Autistic
Anon E Mouse, I did no such thing and that is where you are being caught out being a blatant liar.
Having explained to you what part of your ramblings I was responding to, you've rejected this and given no reason except to keep re-asserting your strawman.
My position is that your argument in relation to the addiction and obesity figures for IB that were the recent news item rely on a presumption about those claimants. I pointed out the very obvious reason why you expressed that you had no wish to hear about the reasons why they might engage in 'self-inflicted' behaviour; which was that a more fuller picture of the facts was inconvenient to your argument.
This is demonstrably true, which is why you have resorted to lying about what my position is.
Anon E Mouse
Mason Dixon, Autistic – You continue to be openly dishonest.
A person suffering from the genetic disorder PWS will not be receiving IB for anything other than that condition.
Please read what Sue Marsh wrote regarding people's first claim on the form, reread what you wrote in Comment 21 and stop comparing big fat pie eaters like Lord Prescott with a serious disability (instead of a lack of willpower where fattening food is concerned).
You keep acusing me of something I haven't said and YOU presume that pie eaters like Lord Prescott would list obesity rather than a genuine genetic illness on a claims form. You have no evidence they wouldn't tell the truth about their situation and the suggestion is ludicrous.
Someone either has a genetic disorder or they do not. To suggest you know better than individual suffers shows an arrogance that is frankly shocking.
You should stop your posts now Mason Dixon, Autistic because your comparison of PWS and obesity is a disgrace and you should feel shame for making your remarks. This isn't a game you know. Real people's lives are affected and people with your attitude belong in another era frankly. I have no intention of continuing a debate whilst you hold such horrible views belittling genuine people with disabilities…
Anon E Mouse
One stat I like is this one: Conservatives 307 seats. They couldn't muster a small majority against a Prime Minister generally regarded as awful.
Now Brown is gone and the Lib Dems have sold their soul, Labour are in the strange position of simply being able to out poll the Tories without really doing much. That would be a delicious irony.
After all, the Tories struggle to poll much above 37pc even now – against an opposition you class as useless.
Sure, the Tories are hell bent on gerrymandering the seat boundaries, but that would seal the Lib Dems failure and their electoral fate too.
As for your other query – I don't particularly much care for distinctions between self inflicted injury or not. All I know is we are human beings, with all attendant flaws attached. And that we are more than capable of collectively mitigating against stupidity and sheer bad luck through a strong welfare state and health service.
Rightwing propaganda that only pretends otherwise is not grounded in evidence, economics or finance.
Mason Dixon, Autistic
Anon E Mouse,
"A person suffering from the genetic disorder PWS will not be receiving IB for anything other than that condition. "
This is patently incorrect and as I have already told you, you do not have the evidence on hand to make this kind of presumption about IB claimants. I for one would not list Autism as primary disability unless specifically directed to do so and I did not on my DLA form; listing instead sensory issues specifically. People with genetic or pervasive neurological disorders will tend to do this because they can't distinguish their condition from themselves, just their difficulties as they experience them.
Your passive-aggressive crocodile tears aside I have quoted exactly what you said, that you do not want to hear about the possible underlying causes of a condition, which may in fact turn out to be a symptom of something else:
"Why on earth wouldn't you want more money to go to those in genuine need like MS sufferers and less to greedy fat self inflicted obese people.
And please don't start the "let's look at the reasons they eat to much" stuff."
You however have not been able to directly quote what you claim I have said because I never did say anything at all resembling your strawman. Despite repeatedly correcting you on my position, with evidence, you believe you know my opinion better than I do. It is hard to believe you a genuine contributor here in good faith for debating purposes, rather than persistent troll with nothing better to do.
Anon E Mouse
Mason Dixon, Autistic – Why you continue this I do not understand. Please reread your comment at 21 – you brought up PWS not me. Let's not drift off onto another illness like autism please – your post was made regarding PWS – it's your discussion Mason Dixon, Autistic and you are quite simply wrong.
You continue to suggest that someone with a genetic disorder would make an IB claim for another illness, in your example obesity.
That is frankly a stupid suggestion and the only reason I can see is that you want to be awkward and try to look clever. By continuing to reinforce your silly position you are having the opposite effect.
I believe that people with genetic disorders would make a claim based on that disability and not something else. Why would they?
I believe that people are usually honest but your suggestion, without any evidence whatsoever, is that they would try to claim for something other illness and I just don't believe that.
You can flounder on and on about this and that but you made the initial stupid comment not me. Please reread your comment at 21 – you brought up PWS not me…
Anon E Mouse
BenM – Nice for you to acknowledge that I do do stats – thank you. Maybe the clanging noise was you slapping your forehead in resignation when you realise I'm right? (again).
You say that Labour are polling ahead of the government and so they should. Leaving aside Blair polled 20% ahead without the cuts, pointing out the minuscule lead Labour has shows just how bad Miliband is.
You are right on the boundary changes – they will benefit the Tories and my favoured choice, the Lib Dems. So Labour has an even bigger mountain to climb but without a 10% minimum lead and without voters in the South East and Worcester Woman, they are doomed.
The SNP is going to cane them in Scotland and the latest IpsosMori Poll puts Labour neck and neck with the government: http://www6.politicalbetting.com/index.php/archives/2011/04/20/the-tories-reach-post-election-high-with-mori/
That is 3% higher than the Tories polled at the General Election.
How long before Labour Party members wake up and realise that without the hapless and unelectable Ed Miliband they may have a chance because as it currently stands there is no credible opposition to the government in this country. And btw Mori's latest poll agree with me on Ed Miliband and say:
"Ed Miliband (36%) is less popular than Nick Clegg (41%)! They're both equal on 51% for the proportion of the public who do not like them. The common narrative is that Nick Clegg is the most reviled man in Britain – this poll tells a different story"
The link is: http://www.totalpolitics.com/blog/153397/eyebrow-raising-poll-figures-for-ed-miliband-and-george-osborne.thtml
If you need any more stats just holler and perhaps instead of denying the truth do you think Labour activists and supporters may be better being positive about the party instead of all this anti government stuff which clearly isn't working…
Roxanne Persaud
RT @leftfootfwd: Right-wing hate campaign clouds debate on benefits http://bit.ly/f9qXNM
joe kane
You can rant and rave about about markets and waffle on about Reagan blah blah. You can even use sixth form student terms like ConDems (please) but the facts speak for themselves and minimum wage workers like myself have more of our money than we did under Labour.
Don't forget that the Tory Party in Scotland is on 10% of the vote.
joe kane
"You can rant and rave about about markets and waffle on about Reagan blah blah."
– I wouldn't expect any other response but such animal noises from someone like mouse, who because they can't understand simple arguments about the effects of decades of Reaganite-Thatcherite neoliberal economics and social problems associate with them, can't answer arguments based on such simple correlations.
"You can even use sixth form student terms like ConDems (please) but the facts speak for themselves and minimum wage workers like myself have more of our money than we did under Labour."
– If your facts speak for themselves then where are they to prove that economic inequality in the UK has, all of a sudden, reversed itself under the ConDem Government after decades of growth, and economic stagnation for most people, since Thatcher and Reagan?
Just to remind the ever forgetful mouse, that the Tory Party in Scotland is on barely more than 10% of the vote. It used to get 50% once upon a time.
So much for other parties getting a 'cane' from the SNP when your own has been effectively destroyed in Scotland and the Labour Party is three times more popular. I think the Scottish Tories would be quite satisfied with the kind of support the Labour Party gets in Scotland.
Anon E Mouse
joe kane – The only animal noises I hear are the low groans of disbelief at your remarks regarding Reagan and the fact that he turned round the US economy with his ideas – Reaganomics if you like (Along with finishing the hated Soviet Union by putting arms along their borders).
Whilst you complain about that system – capitalism basically – why aren't you livid that Labour, with the kind of majority governments can only dream of, continued along that path?
Being a Labour voter I was more than happy up until 2001 when it became apparent that Labour didn't actually have a clue on the economy. Not just from continuing the hopeless PFI or increasing public services beyond any economic sustainability, or even the selling of our gold reserves at a historic low but because of the blatant lies from the terminally useless Gordon Brown.
This country was lead on a merry dance by Brown with the support of the right wing press (Daily Mail in particular) and crazy comments like "Ending Boom and Bust" along with rewarding more financial "experts" with honours than any government in history says it all.
Any complaints you have regarding your "neoliberal economics" should be aimed directly at Labour and their lack of ideas about how to run an economy.
"ConDem" is just childish – almost as much as your comment about "economic stagnation" – what planet are you living on joe kane? Did you actually miss the economic bubble the world has just gone through?
PS Just to remind the ever delusional joe kane of two easy statistics. In either the UK government or the Scottish government Labour is not in power and with the leaders in each party it is unlikely they will be. As a (now) Lib Dem supporter I really don't care what the Tories in Scotland poll just the fact he is more popular than the hapless Ed Miliband:
"Ed Miliband (36%) is less popular than Nick Clegg (41%)! They're both equal on 51% for the proportion of the public who do not like them. The common narrative is that Nick Clegg is the most reviled man in Britain – this poll tells a different story"
The link is: http://www.totalpolitics.com/blog/153397/eyebrow-raising-poll-figures-for-ed-miliband-and-george-osborne.thtml
Verdict of the British people: "Long to reign over us" | Left Foot Forward
[…] about. We have welfare reform being carried out by a ministerial team that plays up to the worst prejudices of the tabloid press. A health reform, concocted by political elites in collaboration with think […]
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subset: commoncrawl


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"Bruce Almighty" makes the message perfectly clear; everything has a consequence. Every choice, every reflex has a consequence and everyone pays for it in the end. Bruce is taught that there are people far worse than he could ever imagine though he refuses to see beyond his own self-centered self obsessed world to discover that. He pulls in the moon and creates stars for his girlfriend one night and ends up causing a massive monsoon on the other side of the world, he grants everyone's blessings with a "yes" answer thus causing chaos, even granting everyone the win in the lottery and people only getting 17 to 20 dollars. It's never that simple, it can't be that simple and Bruce discovers that with terrible results.
Upon viewer's first glance Bruce Nolan has it pretty damn good. He works at the local news station as a reporter, not a respected one, but it's good work, he has a nice looking apartment, his girlfriend is Jennifer Aniston and he works at the station alongside the ridiculously hot Catherine Bell, but to Bruce his life stinks and it only gets worse when he loses a potential position as an anchor at his station to another reporter (Steve Carrell), and then his car breaks down and he's nearly beaten to death by a gang. While his girlfriend Grace, a very kind-hearted woman, insists things could have been worse he's finally had enough and screams at god that he's had enough of his bad luck.
Soon he begins getting pages from a mysterious caller and when he calls is given instructions from an automated machine beckoning his call to an address. When he arrives he stumbles upon a man who says he's God but looks an awful lot like Morgan Freeman. God manages to convince Bruce that he is in fact the almighty one and tells Bruce he's sick and tired of his complaining and is bestowing upon him his powers to see if he thinks the job is so easy. So Bruce is now given god's powers and begins performing tasks for his own benefit never realizing that his tasks are affecting other people and now realizes he must help others outside his own world stop thinking about himself when the world begins becoming chaotic under the results of his decision making.
"Bruce Almighty" sets the way for some truly philosophical questions about god and life and blessings and the message is learned loud and clear. Morgan Freeman does his best with his role as the Christian God and comes off as sophisticated, witty and subtle. He's the level-head of the story while instilling some sense of wit and texture to the story helping Bruce to realize in the end that people can't always depend on higher forces for good luck, sometimes they have to make their own luck and be their own miracle. And did I mention the delicious Catherine Bell has a small but excellent role here? I'm praying that we meet someday. The character Bruce is not a likable character; he's self-centered, self-absorbed, whiny, and obnoxious at times and he has a hard time appreciating the good things he has, so god decides to give him a taste of his own medicine by giving him his powers.
Jim Carrey makes a return to physical comedy after doing the pretty charming drama "The Majestic", which a lot of people disliked, but I appreciated its intentions, and his return is less than graceful. While "Bruce Almighty" makes room for some interesting commentary and messages to the audience about life, and god, and about appreciating what you have, it tries really hard to be laugh out loud funny, but is basically a very bland entry into Carrey's repertoire. The main reason for "Bruce Almighty"'s bland humor is the awful script which consists mostly of Carrey delivering terrible one-liners and forced dialogue almost as if the writer's desperately set out to create some memorable catch-phrases for Carrey but fail rather badly, hell even Carrey doesn't look like he's committing to the one-liners. The situations with his god-like powers can make way for some rather humorous and funny situations but many of the tasks he commits as god are unintentionally pretty creepy.
Like when he sets it up for a K-9 to stumble upon Jimmy Hoffa's body in a field which leads to his comeback scoop. And when Bruce makes a monkey come out of a gangster's butt, one of the more creepy scenes in the film, all the while, there are no redeeming qualities for Bruce who seems utterly self-involved until the end with his chaotic decisions as the stand-in god. Ultimately while the film does convey some interesting theories it's unfunny and often very bland committing to obvious gags like walking on water, and parting a bowl of tomato soup. It fails to really use Carrey's comedic ability and it ultimately wastes the potential it reaps. While "Bruce Almighty" sparks some interesting questions and arguments for the religious about life, power, and faith, its bad screenplay, unfunny antics of the cast, and bland story make this hardly a classic, though.


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The mismanagement, misdirection and normal shenanigans that has befallen the craft workers of The Waterford Glass Company in Eire is one for the record books. Beneath are my weekly classes for weeks 20 – 22: The American Industrial Revolution. Please see my different lenses to see my full lesson plan guide. Please visit my Procedures and Common Ideas for eighth Grade American History Squidoo Lens to see my classroom arrange, procedures, grading, use of textbook, examination concepts, and many others.
One of the sources of Dell's preliminary competitive benefit will be attributed to its famous direct promoting and construct-to-order strategy. This simply-in-time (JIT) strategy allowed it to operate with the lowest inventory degree within the trade. Lowering excess inventory provided Dell with a significant price benefit as component prices depreciate as much as 1{06173b6d57ad0a1e50c000a24262bcc84a4e90fb2979bce0d566e830beb03e51} weekly in the electronics business. Direct promoting has also allowed Dell to bypass intermediaries resembling wholesalers and retailers, lowering prices even further. In addition, Dell provided customizable choices that proved to be customer-centric and enticing.
Howdy Mustafiz, my article is just a easy method to operating the business. Clearly my article relies on very limited experience. I do consider the market is now over saturated and one must run a more sophisticated business than the one I have outlined.
Learn and familiarize your self along with your manufacturing unit recommended maintenance positioned in your house owners handbook BEFORE going to the dealership for service so you may know exactly what you want. Do not let dealership workers tell you that the area during which you reside and drive has irregular driving circumstances on account of climate, terrain etc. as a result of its nothing greater than a scare tactic. Until you might have a truck by which you do loads of towing it just doesn't really matter. You don't want flushes, you do not want gasoline additive, you don't need fluff and you need not spend extra money on one thing of no value.


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Coming home from a long day, you're ready to sit back and relax. As you hit the bed or couch, you grab your phone. The life of friends, family, and strangers alike appear on the newsfeed. Time flies by as new posts pop up after refreshing the app. It may seem harmless, but this vicious cycle is doing damage to you psychologically.
Daily Comparison
It's human nature to compare your life to another person. Many people use this as competition or to follow the footsteps of their role model. Unfortunately, this isn't the case for numerous people. After it's launch in October 2010, Instagram captivated people all around the world. It became the norm for modern life with over 800 million users.
Depression has become an epidemic and social media is a part of the cause. You have the power to peek into a person's life in a matter of seconds with the tip of your finger. People start to compare their likes and followers and use that to judge their self-worth. Another side effect that causes negative consequences is instant gratification. With this, a minute of receiving no likes can cause you to become discouraged and disappointed.
Behind the Screen
All you see on the newsfeed are the good times. Posts containing vulnerability don't come often. People have become so accustomed to this that they are blind to sadness being a normal part of life. Every person in the picture deals with their own stress and insecurities. Some users of Instagram are so busy attempting to paint their life as perfect that they forget to live it.
You have to realize that "average" is okay. All these videos and pictures show that having a perfect life or having talent seems normal when it isn't. Don't waste your life playing catch-up and embrace the things you have at this moment. People are running their own personal race, so go at your own pace.


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Nature's bounty
Mike Popovich of UD's Garden for the Community offers advice
11:13 a.m., July 25, 2011--This is the time of the year when vegetable gardeners are enjoying the full bounty of their harvest…or not.
Late July is peak season for produce in Delaware, with crops ranging from sweet corn to watermelon ripe for the picking. In some home gardens, it's hard to keep up with the bounty. But in other plots, the corn is stunted, watermelon anemic and tomatoes full of worms.
Campus Stories
From graduates, faculty
Doctoral hooding
No matter which description more closely matches your garden, Mike Popovich has some good advice, gained from two years of managing UD's Garden for the Community.
UD's garden, which is a mere one-third of an acre, produced a whopping three tons of vegetables, fruits and herbs last year, all donated to the Food Bank of Delaware. Popovich is well on his way to meeting – or exceeding – that yield this summer.
If your backyard garden is of similar size, don't bother dreaming about such bounty. Popovich is the first to admit he has advantages over the home gardener. For one thing, undergraduate intern Renee Connor helps with planting, weeding, harvesting and other chores.
And then there's the large group of garden volunteers. "I have about 200 names on my volunteer email list; some help once, others come back frequently," he says. "Every Saturday morning, I can count on five to 10 regulars to weed and harvest."
Not to mention that Popovich has a steady stream of Cooperative Extension professionals and UD agriculture researchers popping by to give advice and lend a hand.
But even without Popovich's advantages, you should expect a half-pound of edibles from every square foot of vegetable garden, according to stats from the National Gardening Association.
If you're not getting a half pound, there are a slew of possible reasons, including pests, disease, weather and hungry critters. But the single biggest culprit, says Popovich, is poor soil.
"Plants need soil, water and sun but soil quality is paramount," says Popovich. "The quality of a soil is determined by examining its fertility and texture. Basic nutrients required by plants include nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium."
"In terms of texture, soil with a lot of sand – such as in Sussex County -- and soil with a lot of clay – like New Castle County -- both have their issues. Water moves too freely through sandy soil; in clay soil roots can have trouble growing."
Popovich does a soil test twice a season, once in spring and again in fall. He recommends a soil test for every home garden. "Too many people just grab fertilizers and amendments without any idea of the soil's deficiencies."
Even now, in mid-season, you can do a soil test. You may not be able to resolve all deficiencies but some problems can be successfully addressed during the middle of the growing season.
Novice gardeners frequently forget how important it is to scout to stay ahead of problems, says Popovich. "We practice integrated pest management (IPM) at the Garden for the Community," he says. "The most important tenet of IPM is scouting. Get out in the garden every day to check for pests and diseases. It's much easier to control a problem when it's small than when it's large."
As for those of you having a banner year and finding it hard to keep up with your garden's bounty, Popovich has three words of advice: give it away. The Food Bank of Delaware is always looking for additional donations of fresh produce, says Kim Kostes, community relations manager of the Food Bank of Delaware.
Support the Garden for the Community
UD's Garden for the Community will hold its second annual Evening in the Garden Aug. 11, from 6-9 p.m. Enjoy garden-fresh food, fine wine and live entertainment at this benefit for the Food Bank of Delaware. Cost is $40 per person. RSVP by Aug. 6. Call Kim Kostes at 302-444-8074 or email her at email@example.com.
Garden Line
Get your vegetable questions answered from UD's Master Gardeners. Call the Master Gardeners' Garden Line in New Castle County at 302-831-8862. In Kent and Sussex, call 302-856-2585, ext. 535.
Article by Margo McDonough
Photo by Danielle Quigley


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"Histoire Du Tango" by Astor Piazzolla
By: Samuel Ortiz
Categories: Historical Background on Repertoire
When you think about Astor Piazzolla you certainly think about "Tango". And you are right; Piazzolla dedicated his life to the promotion and the development of the "Tango". In case you are not familiarized with the "Tango"; the tango is a partner dance that originated in Argentina in t ...Read more →


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Financial Maths, as the name suggests, is mathematics involving finances and money. This has applications in the fields of commerce, banking, finance, loan repayments, retirement savings, setting up annuities, etc.
Financial maths involves the study of two types of interest paid on money, viz. simple interest and compound interest. It also deals with other aspects of financial maths like hire purchase, depreciation of goods, discounts and best buys, capital appreciation, etc.
You will also learn the various skills required to manage your money in different aspects of your day-to-day life like, budgeting your finances, managing your credit card, mortgage and loan repayments, investments in shares, annuities and future value of your savings, etc.
You will also be able to work out your taxable income, tax payable on your income, and any deductions to manage your income and budgets.
An understanding of government fees, property tax, goods and services tax or value added tax, sales tax, etc will provide you with a better understanding of the various taxes payable in your country.
Click on any of the following topics to learn more about financial maths:


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As promised Odd Future's Tyler, The Creator releases a wrestling inspired visual for the first offering from WOLF, titled "Domo 23". The hilarious video was directed by Wolf Haley and teases the Frank Ocean featured track "Bimmer" at the end. WOLF in stores April 2nd.
Previously: Tyler, The Creator Reveals Three "Wolf" Album Covers


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[Updates (10 September 2012): Douglas A. Anderson has noted some additional information and corrections about Robert J. Lee's illustrations over at his blog "Tolkien and Fantasy". (23 October 2013): Some additional images and notes can be found at MyTolkienBooks.com.]
In January 1967,
Tolkien's secretary Joy Hill sent him a copy of The Children's Treasury of Literature (edited by Bryna and Louis
Untermeyer, first published in 1966 by Paul Hamlyn), which includes the chapter
"An Unexpected Party" from The Hobbit.
The chapter as published in The
Children's Treasury of Literature (appearing on pp. 463–86, with an editors'
introduction on p. 462) features 18 illustrations by Robert J. Lee (1921–1994):
4 in full colour, and 14 in monochrome or duotone.
On 5 January 1967,
Tolkien wrote to Hill, describing his reception of the anthology:
"I think a
great many of the illustrations are very good, including some of the modern
ones. Illustrations to The Hobbit extract seem to me worst of all, vulgar,
stupid, and entirely out of keeping with the text which Robert J. Lee does not
seem to have read with any care" (Reader's
Guide, pp. 421–2).
I bought a copy of the
anthology about a week ago, and below I will identify all of Lee's illustrations
for the chapter from The Hobbit. I
have also provided a scan of three illustrations, and I will finally offer a brief
1. Duotone illustration in
blue and black (p. 462), depicting Bilbo, Gandalf, three dwarves, Smaug, and
two goblins.
2. Full-colour
illustration (p. 463), depicting Bilbo outside his house.
3. Monochrome
illustration (p. 464), depicting Belladona Took.
4. Monochrome
illustration (p. 465), depicting Gandalf.
5. Full-colour
illustration (pp. 466–7), depicting Bilbo and Gandalf outside Bag End.
6. Monochrome
illustration (pp. 468–9), depicting Bilbo and ?Dwalin.
7. Full-colour
illustration (pp. 470–1), depicting four dwarves
eating and drinking at Bilbo's table.
8. Duotone illustration
in blue and black (p. 472), depicting an angry Bilbo rushing
towards his door.
9. Duotone illustration
in blue and black (p. 473), depicting Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, and Thorin.
10. Full-colour illustration
(p. 474), depicting two dwarves balancing
columns of plates, with a worried Bilbo in the background.
11. Duotone illustration
in yellow and black (p. 477), depicting four dwarves playing music on their
instruments. From left to right: a dwarf (Dwalin or Balin) with a viol, Bombur
with a drum, a dwarf (Dori, Nori, or Ori) with a
flute, and Thorin with his harp.
12. Monochrome
illustration (p. 479), depicting Bullroarer Took on his horse, knocking goblins
with a wooden club.
13. Monochrome
illustration (p. 480), depicting Gandalf reading Thror's Map, in the light of a
lamp, with four dwarves in the background.
14. Monochrome
illustration (p. 481), depicting the head of Smaug protruding behind a hill.
15. Monochrome
illustration (p. 482), depicting a dwarf having
found gold and jewels.
16. Monochrome illustration
(p. 483), depicting a flying Smaug.
17. Monochrome
illustration (p. 484), depicting Smaug wreaking havoc on Dale.
18. Duotone illustration
in blue and black (p. 486), depicting three dwarves
sleeping on pieces of Bilbo's furniture.
As can be seen in the
illustrations collected in J.R.R.
Tolkien: Artist and Illustrator and The
Art of The
Hobbit, Tolkien preferred to draw landscapes (especially in his pictures for The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings); there are very few actual portraits, and when people
occasionally appear in a landscape, they are often very small and in the
background. Meanwhile
Robert Lee focuses on the characters
in his illustrations for
"An Unexpected
Party"; at best the sense of an environment is peripheral and serves only to
highlight the actions of the characters.
Tolkien's dislike of the
work of the Disney Studio is well documented, and maybe the comical style of
Lee's illustrations was off-putting to Tolkien. In comparison, the
illustrations of Tolkien's favourite artist, Pauline Baynes, showed an elegant style,
often inspired by
"medieval manuscript illuminations" (Reader's Guide, p. 76).
Another source of
disapprovement was perhaps Lee's use of colour. In describing a hobbit to his American publisher, Tolkien wrote
"Clothing: green velvet breeches; red or yellow waistcoat; brown or green
jacket; gold (or brass) buttons; a dark green hood and cloak" (The Art of The Hobbit, p. 140). These earth
tones are naturally in stark contrast to Lee's 1960s psychedelic colours:
saturated shades of pink, violet, orange and blue (e.g., see illustration nr.
These differences may point to reasons why Tolkien found Lee's
illustrations to be
"vulgar" and
"stupid". However, I would personally say that
the remark about the illustrations being
"out of keeping with the text" to be too
harsh. Lee's close reading can perhaps most clearly bee seen in illustration
nr. 5. Bilbo's feet have "natural leathery soles and thick warm brown hair", and
he smokes
"an enormous long wooden pipe that reached nearly down to his woolly
toes", blowing
"out a beautiful grey ring of smoke". Gandalf is portrayed as a
"little old man with a tall pointed blue hat, a long grey cloak" and having a "long white beard" and
"immense black boots". The picture also shows Bag End's
"perfectly round door like a porthole, painted green, with a shiny yellow brass
knob in the exact middle". A detail is Bilbo's hat; as far as I can see, there
is no mention of Bilbo having a hat in the first chapter of The Hobbit. But in the beginning of the
second chapter,
"Roast Mutton", it is written:
the end of his days Bilbo could never remember how he found himself outside, without a hat, [emphasis
mine] walking-stick or say money".
It is possible that Lee drew
inspiration from this remark!
Furthermore, in illustration nr. 11, Lee has taken care to include only those instruments mentioned
by Tolkien.
Tolkien had strong
opinions about art, and was often sceptical towards illustrations
inspired by his works, especially when these deviated from descriptions in his
textual passages (Reader's Guide, pp. 418–22). Robert J. Lee, however,
was more-or-less faithful to the original text and it appears that Tolkien's
dislike for Lee's work stems from a profound divergence in artistic taste and
style between the two individuals.
I am grateful to Daniel Helen for various comments and suggestions.
Hammond, Wayne G. & Scull, Christina (2011). The Art of The Hobbit. London: HarperCollins.
Hammond, Wayne G. & Scull, Christina (2004; first published 1995). J.R.R. Tolkien: Artist and Illustrator. London: HarperCollins.
Peng, Leif.
"Storybook Illustration", at http://todaysinspiration.blogspot.se/2006/09/storybook-illustration.html (dated 4 September 2006, accessed 31 July 2012).
Scull, Christina & Hammond, Wayne G. (2006). The J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide: Reader's Guide. London: HarperCollins.
Tolkien, J.R.R. (1999; first published 1937). The Hobbit. London: HarperCollins.


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I've been using this for a couple of months. The only problem I've had, is that condensation on the dome will sometimes leak out when you move the tray. Other than that, it works well and is priced well.
I own eight of these, so obviously I like them a lot. I start a lot of my garden plants inside since our summers are on the short side. This germination station provides heat under your seeds, a dome to get them germinated, and a nice tray for holding water. Many seeds don't need the extra warmth to start, but I use my basement which is a little cool, and this helps a lot. Of course, I also use the hydrofarm grow lights.
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I couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong! Turns out the heat
mat is what I needed. Now I have vigorous young seedlings ready
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I spent months trying to sprout different kinds of seeds, from brugmansias to palms...with a very low success rate. Then I decided to give this product a try and I finally began to see the results!! The constant heat is a must. I have also bought the big dome station which I prefer for its space and included ventilation on top. I'm really happy with these items. If handled with care they will last over and over.
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Boehret: Are Catalogs Better on the iPad?
Katherine Boehret join digits to discuss how well three free catalog-aggregating apps replaced paper versions.
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
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text:
Benzinga's Top Upgrades, Downgrades For July 9, 2018
Top Upgrades
- Credit Suisse upgraded Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU) from Neutral to Outperform. Baidu shares rose 2.57 percent to $258.25 in pre-market trading.
- Oppenheimer upgraded Capital One Financial Corporation (NYSE: COF) from Perform to Outperform. Capital One shares rose 0.69 percent to $93.54 in pre-market trading.
- Analysts at BMO Capital upgraded Anthem, Inc. (NYSE: ANTM) from Market Perform to Outperform. Anthem shares fell 0.79 percent to $240.23 in pre-market trading.
- Morgan Stanley upgraded Delphi Technologies PLC (NYSE: DLPH) from Equal-Weight to Overweight. Delphi Technologies shares rose 2.4 percent to $44.00 in pre-market trading.
- Piper Jaffray upgraded FireEye, Inc. (NASDAQ: FEYE) from Neutral to Overweight. FireEye shares rose 5.13 percent to $16.80 in pre-market trading.
- Stephens & Co. upgraded Tractor Supply Company (NASDAQ: TSCO) from Equal-Weight to Overweight. Tractor Supply shares rose 2.07 percent to $78.31 in pre-market trading.
- JP Morgan upgraded Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) from Underweight to Neutral. Archer-Daniels shares rose 0.92 percent to $47.14 in pre-market trading.
Top Downgrades
- Jefferies downgraded The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE: PG) from Buy to Hold. Procter & Gamble shares fell 0.71 percent to $78.75 in pre-market trading.
- Susquehanna downgraded Oasis Petroleum Inc. (NYSE: OAS) from Positive to Neutral. Oasis Petroleum shares fell 0.60 percent to $13.13 in pre-market trading.
- Citigroup downgraded Arsanis, Inc. (NASDAQ: ASNS) from Buy to Neutral. Arsanis shares fell 4.97 percent to close at $3.63 on Friday.
- Raymond James downgraded American Tower Corporation (REIT) (NYSE: AMT) from Outperform to Market Perform. American Tower shares rose 0.10 percent to close at $145.81 on Friday.
- Citigroup downgraded C&J Energy Services, Inc. (NYSE: CJ) from Buy to Neutral. C&J Energy shares rose 1.26 percent to close at $23.30 on Friday.
Top Initiations
- Analysts at Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on U.S. Xpress Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE: USX) with an Overweight rating. The price target for U.S. Xpress Enterprises is set to $25. U.S. Xpress Enterprises shares closed at $15.77 on Friday.
- Bank of America initiated coverage on Charah Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: CHRA) with a Neutral rating. The price target for Charah Solutions is set to $12.50. Charah Solutions shares closed at $11.46 on Friday.
- H.C. Wainwright initiated coverage on RXi Pharmaceuticals Corporation (NASDAQ: RXII) with a Buy rating. The price target for RXi Pharmaceuticals is set to $3. RXi Pharmaceuticals shares closed at $1.97 on Friday.
- Citigroup assumed coverage on Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ: WBA) with a Neutral rating. The price target for Walgreens is set to $69. Walgreens shares closed at $63.30 on Friday.
- Cowen & Co. initiated coverage on PTC Inc. (NASDAQ: PTC) with an Outperform rating. The price target for PTC is set to $112. PTC closed at $96.21 on Friday.
- Analysts at RBC Capital initiated coverage on Cision Ltd. (NASDAQ: CISN) with an Outperform rating. The price target for Cision is set to $20. Cision shares closed at $15.39 on Friday.
- Berenberg initiated coverage on Teladoc, Inc. (NYSE: TDOC) with a Buy rating. The price target for Teladoc is set to $72. Teladoc shares closed at $63.35 on Friday.
- HSBC initiated coverage on Michael Kors Holdings Limited (NYSE: KORS) with a Buy rating. The price target for Michael Kors is set to $88. Michael Kors shares closed at $66.97 on Friday.
- Analysts at Jefferies initiated coverage on GameStop Corp. (NYSE: GME) with a Buy rating. The price target for GameStop is set to $18. GameStop closed at $15.15 on Friday.
© 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Posted-In: Initiations top upgradesUpgrades Downgrades Initiation Pre-Market Outlook Analyst Ratings


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These Plain thermal transfer scale labels measure 58mm x 60mm and come on a roll of 500 labels. The core size is 25mm. This pack contains 10 rolls which is 5,000 labels. The price per roll is £3.15
If unsure of application please give us a call on 01482 485005


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Insects in Spanish
This free audio lesson is on insects in Spanish. Spanish insects like bugs, slugs and creepy crawlies are just as common in Latin American countries as they are in your own.
Factor in the biodiversity of the Amazon Jungle and there is probably no end to the wriggly things that you can find whizzing about in Spanish speaking countries. In the interest of expanding your vocabulary ever further and moving steadily towards mastery of Spanish, here are some of the more common words for insects that you will find.
Since many people have at least a disdain for insects and in many cases a full blown fear, this is how you say I am scared of _____ Tengo miedo de ______. To make a plural, you simply add an "s" to the end of the insect words.
Talking about Insects in Spanish
By now your mouth should be starting to feel much more comfortable with the Spanish words and pronunciations when you vocalize them. Are you beginning to feel more at ease with the uniquely Spanish sounds such as the "ñ" and the "ll" that you saw in a couple of the words above? Keep practicing and soon the pronunciations will be second nature. If you want more on Spanish words then check these out!
- Discover common terms for the internet in Spanish.
- Looking to explore the outdoors in Spanish? This is the lesson for you.
- Talking about professions in Spanish is a great way to start a conversation.


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When to start preparing a child for the 11 Plus test is a subject of much discussion but general consensus is that there's no need for tutoring to start before the autumn term of Year 5. This will allow a year to prepare for the test which now happens early in the autumn term of Year 6. It is common for tutoring agencies to start getting enquiries about hiring an 11+ tutor in the spring before a child starts Year 5.
There are a number of reasons for not starting exam preparation too early, one of which is that children could become bored and unmotivated by the time the test comes around. There is more chance that a child will be enthusiastic about the process if they are still relatively fresh to it. The 11 Plus test in some areas only involves two parts - verbal and non-verbal reasoning – and therefore tuition could even be started a little later, in the January of Year 5 for example.
Some children will get the required preparation for the exam at home especially if a parent has done their research and is well informed. It is usually possible to find out about the format of the test and get an idea of what it will contain although some areas are particularly secretive. Some children will even be coached for the 11+ at school although the amount of time teachers can devote to this will vary. At the very least children will gain familiarity with the type of questions they will come up against. Practice exam papers are an important part of the test preparation.
Sessions with a private tutor are often the best way to guarantee a child is preparing correctly for the 11 Plus. This is not just in the material they are learning but also in the format of the exam itself. The verbal reasoning for example is not something that children will necessarily be doing at school. One or two hours of private tuition a week should be sufficient for most pupils so booking in with a tutor is the best way to ensure this dedicated time. Even if a parent has good intentions to devote this time to tutoring their child life often gets in the way and other commitments may take priority.
In a year of weekly private tutoring sessions a great deal can be achieved. Skills and knowledge will be developed and acquired steadily rather than resorting to cramming in the final weeks. A tutor will be able to set a small amount of homework each week to consolidate the week's learning, and tutoring sessions can continue over the holidays depending on the requirements. It is particularly advisable that a student continues having sessions with a private tutor during the long summer holiday before the test itself.
Fleet Tutors have a wide network of tutors across the UK who have experience of the different 11 Plus exams in their area. They create individual programmes of learning for each child they tutor to prepare them not only for the exam but also for life ahead in year 7 at a grammar school.
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