I know a few five year olds that are brighter than a few 60 year olds
So an IQ threshold would be preferred?
Hardly, I know several geniuses (I sometimes help out at a school for gifted children) and some of them are the stupidest people I know. Plenty of intellect, not the slightest hint of commonsense.
BIRMINGHAM, England — As a Sikh and second-generation Briton running a public school made up mostly of Muslim students, Balwant Bains was at the center of the issues facing multicultural Britain, including the perennial question of balancing religious precepts and cultural identity against assimilation.
But in January, Mr. Bains stepped down as the principal of the Saltley School and Specialist Science College, saying he could no longer do the job in the face of relentless criticism from the Muslim-dominated school board. It had pressed him, unsuccessfully, to replace some courses with Islamic and Arabic studies, segregate girls and boys and drop a citizenship class on tolerance and democracy in Britain.
“I suppose I was a threat, giving these children more British values, for them to be integrated into society,” Mr. Bains said in his first interview since the controversy over his departure.
Just when you think it might be safe to vote Tory.... ;-)
True, true. The Tories aren't even prepared to properly step in when thousands of kids are getting raped by Muslims. They certainly won't bother doing anything to stop the Islamicisation of schools in a big way.
A pretty pathetic smear. Its not the government holding up an enquiry.
Mr. Ajob, against the Mancunian decision certainly.
People had rejected a Mancunian mayor in a referendum. Then some council leaders and Osborne's colluded to impose one (yes, the areas covered are slightly different. No, that doesn't matter).
BIRMINGHAM, England — As a Sikh and second-generation Briton running a public school made up mostly of Muslim students, Balwant Bains was at the center of the issues facing multicultural Britain, including the perennial question of balancing religious precepts and cultural identity against assimilation.
But in January, Mr. Bains stepped down as the principal of the Saltley School and Specialist Science College, saying he could no longer do the job in the face of relentless criticism from the Muslim-dominated school board. It had pressed him, unsuccessfully, to replace some courses with Islamic and Arabic studies, segregate girls and boys and drop a citizenship class on tolerance and democracy in Britain.
“I suppose I was a threat, giving these children more British values, for them to be integrated into society,” Mr. Bains said in his first interview since the controversy over his departure.
Just when you think it might be safe to vote Tory.... ;-)
Whats this got to do with voting tory. The school is under inspection from Ofsted and the local authority - its Lab controlled. Your comment might be better adressed to Liam Byrne
Because there isn't the faintest chance of Nicky Morgan telling Ofsted to take a firm line on anything, thats why she got the job.
“But I never got a single congratulation” from the school’s governing board, a mix of elected parents and other people from the community and members appointed to represent the staff and the local government, Mr. Bains said. “It was emotional harassment.”
The chairman of the governing board took to challenging his day-to-day decision making, Mr. Bains said. In one instance he was required to justify every decision he made during a three-month period, Mr. Bains said, including why he had students walk on the right side of the corridor instead of the left, what he said at assemblies and why he made changes to the school website. He had to print and distribute the resulting 300-page document to each of the 15 members of the governing board.
When a student threatened six classmates with a knife, he expelled the boy, a Muslim, in a decision supported by parents and the local authority. But governors reinstated the boy. Because Mr. Bains did not suspend another student, a white boy who had surrendered the weapon, talk spread among staff that he was racist and Islamophobic. He discovered a Facebook post and text messages calling on parents and students to protest against him, he said, and later learned that the message had even been circulated among local mosques.
Conservative Muslims are trying to take over our schools and local governments from Birmingham to Tower Hamlets to teach their exclusionary, intolerant, hateful view of the world. And supposed liberals either do nothing, or criticise those drawing attention to it.
I am sure that any investigation into such activities will be welcomed by the left
"Ken Livingstone was accused of inciting a lynch mob mentality after he urged protesters to go to the homes of Whitehall officials sent into a controversial local authority and ‘make their lives intolerable’.
The former London mayor made his call at a rally for supporters of the mayor of Tower Hamlets, Lutfur Rahman.
Mr Livingstone told the meeting in Mile End: ‘When these commissioners turn up, find out where they live and then have a peaceful demonstration outside their homes so their neighbours know these are the kind of people who overturn a democratically elected mayor. Make their lives intolerable.’
BIRMINGHAM, England — As a Sikh and second-generation Briton running a public school made up mostly of Muslim students, Balwant Bains was at the center of the issues facing multicultural Britain, including the perennial question of balancing religious precepts and cultural identity against assimilation.
But in January, Mr. Bains stepped down as the principal of the Saltley School and Specialist Science College, saying he could no longer do the job in the face of relentless criticism from the Muslim-dominated school board. It had pressed him, unsuccessfully, to replace some courses with Islamic and Arabic studies, segregate girls and boys and drop a citizenship class on tolerance and democracy in Britain.
“I suppose I was a threat, giving these children more British values, for them to be integrated into society,” Mr. Bains said in his first interview since the controversy over his departure.
Just when you think it might be safe to vote Tory.... ;-)
True, true. The Tories aren't even prepared to properly step in when thousands of kids are getting raped by Muslims. They certainly won't bother doing anything to stop the Islamicisation of schools in a big way.
A pretty pathetic smear. Its not the government holding up an enquiry.
The enquiry you're talking about doesn't have a mandate to look into the grooming gangs.
Morris - it does matter because the areas are VASTLY different. Gtr London vs Westminster. Salford voted for a mayor, so your argument is invalid here!
On balance, I'm in favour of giving 16 and 17 year olds the vote.
Why?
I can't see the case myself.
We are about to move to compulsory education/training until the age of 18 anyway. So there will be fewer under 18s in employment. With regards to 16 year olds being able to get married and serve in the Armed Forces - well that is quite easy to fix. Remove the right to marry at the age of 16 with parental consent - and only allow people to join the services once they are 18.
We should be doing more to preserve childhood rather than rushing young people into adulthood.
16 year olds need parental consent now to get married. Well in England anyway. In Scotland, if you are aged between 16 and 18 you do not have to have parental consent to get married. Serving in the Armed forces is a job. Its legal to work at 16. Its a bit silly to get all emotive about specific jobs which do not lead you to being shot at. Whether people aged 16 should be allowed to commit to serving 6 years is an open question and one perhaps more correctly linked to responsibility for voting.
Mr Livingstone told the meeting in Mile End: ‘When these commissioners turn up, find out where they live and then have a peaceful demonstration outside their homes so their neighbours know these are the kind of people who overturn a democratically elected mayor. Make their lives intolerable.’
So he was inciting intentional harassment, alarm and distress then ? I assume no one felt his collar.... no of course not.
Mr. Nabavi, good hunting, but the very fact that we're discussing whether it 'might' affect things for a stupid law coming into effect in just 3 weeks is indicative of the uncertainty and poor communication surrounding it.
Quite, and also it is ludicrous that there isn't a clear, unambiguous and legally watertight statement by the government and/or the Commission on whether it is OK to restrict sales to the UK only or not on the basis of the hassle. Can't be hard, can it? A one-sentence statement will do.
Pragmatically, I would work on the basis of "not". The Metric Martyrs went uncrucified.
Not true. A number of them were prosecuted, criminalised, lost their businesses and, in one case, driven to an early grave by the stress.
Whether people aged 16 should be allowed to commit to serving 6 years is an open question and one perhaps more correctly linked to responsibility for voting.
Incidentally, how do they make that commitment, when as a minor you are supposedly not competent to sign a binding contract ?
Double by-election today in the house of lords in the crossbencher category. As mention last month the process is two consecutive AV elections, but with one voting paper. That is run the count and elect the first peer, then run the count again with the elected peer excluded and their votes transfer to the next peer on the ballot paper.
Further details on the attached together with short candidate statements.
Mr. Nabavi, good hunting, but the very fact that we're discussing whether it 'might' affect things for a stupid law coming into effect in just 3 weeks is indicative of the uncertainty and poor communication surrounding it.
Quite, and also it is ludicrous that there isn't a clear, unambiguous and legally watertight statement by the government and/or the Commission on whether it is OK to restrict sales to the UK only or not on the basis of the hassle. Can't be hard, can it? A one-sentence statement will do.
Pragmatically, I would work on the basis of "not". The Metric Martyrs went uncrucified.
Not true. A number of them were prosecuted, criminalised, lost their businesses and, in one case, driven to an early grave by the stress.
Double by-election today in the house of lords in the crossbencher category. As mention last month the process is two consecutive AV elections, but with one voting paper. That is run the count and elect the first peer, then run the count again with the elected peer excluded and their votes transfer to the next peer on the ballot paper.
Further details on the attached together with short candidate statements.
BIRMINGHAM, England — As a Sikh and second-generation Briton running a public school made up mostly of Muslim students, Balwant Bains was at the center of the issues facing multicultural Britain, including the perennial question of balancing religious precepts and cultural identity against assimilation.
But in January, Mr. Bains stepped down as the principal of the Saltley School and Specialist Science College, saying he could no longer do the job in the face of relentless criticism from the Muslim-dominated school board. It had pressed him, unsuccessfully, to replace some courses with Islamic and Arabic studies, segregate girls and boys and drop a citizenship class on tolerance and democracy in Britain.
“I suppose I was a threat, giving these children more British values, for them to be integrated into society,” Mr. Bains said in his first interview since the controversy over his departure.
Just when you think it might be safe to vote Tory.... ;-)
True, true. The Tories aren't even prepared to properly step in when thousands of kids are getting raped by Muslims. They certainly won't bother doing anything to stop the Islamicisation of schools in a big way.
A pretty pathetic smear. Its not the government holding up an enquiry.
The enquiry you're talking about doesn't have a mandate to look into the grooming gangs.
I do not understand your unwillingness to accept the nature of the enquiry May has announced. The existance of gangs is not secret - many members are now in jail. Many affected children are subject to council care and this is the start. It could be working now if the victims could agree on a Chairman. Pickles has already started one into Rotherham. There is I think a police enquiry into S Yorks Police. There is no shortage of enquiries. But you have to find some way to exploit it all to attack the Tories.
Whether people aged 16 should be allowed to commit to serving 6 years is an open question and one perhaps more correctly linked to responsibility for voting.
Incidentally, how do they make that commitment, when as a minor you are supposedly not competent to sign a binding contract ?
I don't think junior service personnel are allowed let alone required to sign on for a number of years. Certainly in the army a recruit aged between 16 and 18 can leave at any time, I assume the RN and the Crabs run to similar rules.
P.S. A junior serviceman or woman can only join with the written consent of their parents or guardian.
Perhaps apposite to this discussion is a report in the FT that Birmingham Council faces being taken over by Whitehall after a devastating report into how it is run.
BIRMINGHAM, England — As a Sikh and second-generation Briton running a public school made up mostly of Muslim students, Balwant Bains was at the center of the issues facing multicultural Britain, including the perennial question of balancing religious precepts and cultural identity against assimilation.
But in January, Mr. Bains stepped down as the principal of the Saltley School and Specialist Science College, saying he could no longer do the job in the face of relentless criticism from the Muslim-dominated school board. It had pressed him, unsuccessfully, to replace some courses with Islamic and Arabic studies, segregate girls and boys and drop a citizenship class on tolerance and democracy in Britain.
“I suppose I was a threat, giving these children more British values, for them to be integrated into society,” Mr. Bains said in his first interview since the controversy over his departure.
Just when you think it might be safe to vote Tory.... ;-)
True, true. The Tories aren't even prepared to properly step in when thousands of kids are getting raped by Muslims. They certainly won't bother doing anything to stop the Islamicisation of schools in a big way.
Is this a problem with the system of school governors? They seem to have got themselves a pretty radical bunch of people on that board.
Nicky Morgan was put in to replace Gove specifically to be someone that doesn't rock the boat, and to eased back on any of the changes that might be in danger of offending anyone, so dont bank on anything useful happening there.
What do you know about that? Nothing. This has nothing to do with Gove or Morgan but with Ofsted and the Labour local authority. Plus a head and governors at odds. The school is under inspection along with its governors. But never mind lets just throw in another kipper inspired anti tory smear. Pathetic cr@ppy garbage. Don't bank on anything useful changing there.
“I suppose I was a threat, giving these children more British values, for them to be integrated into society,” Mr. Bains said in his first interview since the controversy over his departure.
Just when you think it might be safe to vote Tory.... ;-)
True, true. The Tories aren't even prepared to properly step in when thousands of kids are getting raped by Muslims. They certainly won't bother doing anything to stop the Islamicisation of schools in a big way.
A pretty pathetic smear. Its not the government holding up an enquiry.
The enquiry you're talking about doesn't have a mandate to look into the grooming gangs.
I do not understand your unwillingness to accept the nature of the enquiry May has announced. The existance of gangs is not secret - many members are now in jail. Many affected children are subject to council care and this is the start. It could be working now if the victims could agree on a Chairman. Pickles has already started one into Rotherham. There is I think a police enquiry into S Yorks Police. There is no shortage of enquiries. But you have to find some way to exploit it all to attack the Tories.
The 2011 enquiry you mention was due to report in 2013, yet it's not under the publications section of the website. Do you have the final report? Does anyone?
It's worth bearing in mind that when the celebrity grooming scandal came out, there was a national police investigation to get to the bottom of every case. Where is the equivalent here? The scale of abuse is far, far larger. There's thousands of rapists out there involved in this stuff, if we go on the Jay report. Only a tiny fraction of them have gone to jail - and the vast, vast majority were out on the streets in less than a decade.
Mr. Indigo, I contacted HMRC, Amazon and Smashwords about this. All seemed to say that Amazon and Smashwords (best place for royalties, but mostly about distribution) would handle VAT stuff. It seems very likely to be true for Amazon and probably for Smashwords.
But, as you say, if things turn out differently it'll be me stressed out over registering for VAT in France. So, my plan is to suspend my Smashwords books, and withdraw from Amazon markets in the EU (outside the UK) and see what happens and if horror stories emerge. If not, I'll put them back up. [I may also need to increase prices as it seems the change in the law will increase the tax and reduce the royalty per e-book].
Amazon (or Kindle Direct Publishing) will deal with the VAT business as far as I know. They seemed to have got off the mark pretty quick. My understanding is that all the self publishing bodies will handle VAT. Re Kindle -- ''Starting January 1st, for any titles already published in KDP, we will make a one-time adjustment to convert VAT-exclusive list prices provided to us to VAT-inclusive list prices. Subject to minimum and maximum thresholds, we will add the applicable VAT based on the primary country of the marketplace to the VAT-exclusive list price provided. For example, if an author had previously set £5.00 as the VAT-exclusive list price for amazon.co.uk, the new VAT-inclusive list price will be £6.00 because the applicable VAT rate in the UK is 20%. Please note, if an author had set a consistent VAT-exclusive list price for all Euro based Kindle stores, those prices will now be different due to varying VAT rates for the primary country of each Kindle store. For example, if an author had previously provided a €6.00 VAT-exclusive list price for amazon.de, amazon.fr, amazon.es, and amazon.it Kindle stores, the list prices including VAT will be €7.14 (19% VAT), €6.33 (5.5% VAT), €7.26 (21% VAT), and €7.32 (22% VAT) respectively. ''
Nicky Morgan was put in to replace Gove specifically to be someone that doesn't rock the boat, and to eased back on any of the changes that might be in danger of offending anyone, so dont bank on anything useful happening there.
What do you know about that? Nothing. This has nothing to do with Gove or Morgan but with Ofsted and the Labour local authority. Plus a head and governors at odds. The school is under inspection along with its governors. But never mind lets just throw in another kipper inspired anti tory smear. Pathetic cr@ppy garbage. Don't bank on anything useful changing there.
And what makes you the expert ? You bluster and you froth and throw around insults but your pretty thin on evidence when it comes down to it.
The inquiries are in trouble, the victims are on the verge of walking.
The giddy vanity of attaining high political office seems to have robbed Nicky Morgan of good sense. Can she not see the dangers and inherent contradictions of this reckless adventure into the outer reaches of political correctness? The requirement to “actively promote” tolerance of other faiths and lifestyles is going to cause some real problems. Its effect will be to heighten intolerance. Same sex marriage, for example, is unacceptable to a number of religions. How are faith schools of this persuasion supposed to respond to the new rules? How tolerant is it to punish sincerely held religious conviction?
Nicky Morgan’s answer, it seems, is that we need to promote tolerance of beliefs and ideas even if we strongly disapprove of them. So where does that leave us? Will schools have to promote tolerance of the beliefs and actions of ISIS or Boko Haram in the cause of the new tolerance agenda put together by a coven of liberal fascists at the Department for Education?
Yes, and here's a shock the Education Secretary controls Ofsted Policy.
One the men jailed as part of the Rotherham sex abuse scandal has boasted on Facebook about "living the high life" after he was released from jail early.
Umar Razaq was sentenced to four years in 2010 for grooming and sexually assaulting a child.
However he was released after just nine months after he appealed the length of his sentence and the time he had spent on remand was taken in to account.
Mr. Flightpath, indeed, I believe Amazon will do that. However, the whole point of the law was to get tax from Amazon, not harm SMEs.
To scrape a little money from the big boys of the internet, the little guys have been hammered. I'm fortunate in that I seem to be ok, but others will have to curtail their direct sales or stop trading altogether. Or, they can use Amazon et al., which bolsters the position of large marketplaces rather than diminishing it.
Mr. Indigo, I read that tolerance nonsense fairly recently and the same thought immediately popped into my head.
Mr. Flightpath, indeed, I believe Amazon will do that. However, the whole point of the law was to get tax from Amazon, not harm SMEs.
To scrape a little money from the big boys of the internet, the little guys have been hammered. I'm fortunate in that I seem to be ok, but others will have to curtail their direct sales or stop trading altogether. Or, they can use Amazon et al., which bolsters the position of large marketplaces rather than diminishing it.
Mr. Indigo, I read that tolerance nonsense fairly recently and the same thought immediately popped into my head.
I sense a business opportunity creating a payment system that correctly charges and remits the right VAT, and then supplies all the paperwork back to the user.
Is that evil of me?
As an aside, the big purpose of this was to stop Amazon doing what it used to do - that is charge 5% VAT on physical goods that had been nowhere near Luxembourg. As Amazon no longer does that (presumably because many different tax men turned up at their door and said "No"), it does raise the question of why the law still exists. Ah, the dangers of inertia...
Mr. Flightpath, indeed, I believe Amazon will do that. However, the whole point of the law was to get tax from Amazon, not harm SMEs.
To scrape a little money from the big boys of the internet, the little guys have been hammered. I'm fortunate in that I seem to be ok, but others will have to curtail their direct sales or stop trading altogether. Or, they can use Amazon et al., which bolsters the position of large marketplaces rather than diminishing it.
Mr. Indigo, I read that tolerance nonsense fairly recently and the same thought immediately popped into my head.
I sense a business opportunity creating a payment system that correctly charges and remits the right VAT, and then supplies all the paperwork back to the user.
Is that evil of me?
As an aside, the big purpose of this was to stop Amazon doing what it used to do - that is charge 5% VAT on physical goods that had been nowhere near Luxembourg. As Amazon no longer does that (presumably because many different tax men turned up at their door and said "No"), it does raise the question of why the law still exists. Ah, the dangers of inertia...
People have already launched such services and more to roll out shortly that hook up with Paypal, Stripe etc.
Mr. Flightpath, indeed, I believe Amazon will do that. However, the whole point of the law was to get tax from Amazon, not harm SMEs.
To scrape a little money from the big boys of the internet, the little guys have been hammered. I'm fortunate in that I seem to be ok, but others will have to curtail their direct sales or stop trading altogether. Or, they can use Amazon et al., which bolsters the position of large marketplaces rather than diminishing it.
Mr. Indigo, I read that tolerance nonsense fairly recently and the same thought immediately popped into my head.
I sense a business opportunity creating a payment system that correctly charges and remits the right VAT, and then supplies all the paperwork back to the user.
Is that evil of me?
As an aside, the big purpose of this was to stop Amazon doing what it used to do - that is charge 5% VAT on physical goods that had been nowhere near Luxembourg. As Amazon no longer does that (presumably because many different tax men turned up at their door and said "No"), it does raise the question of why the law still exists. Ah, the dangers of inertia...
Not relevant to "physical goods", only applies to digital ones.
The hardest part of the problem for micro business is recording all the details from the customers (e.g. IP address, customer address, bank location), which they may not have access to; also registering and reporting for VAT even before they get off the ground.
And they have to keep every transaction and all proof for 10 years.
If you wanted to design a law to make it hard for small business (non-VC funded) to get going, this would be it.
A lot of people wanting to do "supplemental" style businesses are just giving up, and they will never find out if they would have grown into anything else.
On balance, I'm in favour of giving 16 and 17 year olds the vote. The idea that it's going to correct the current disengagement with democracy is, however, far-fetched.
I'd give everyone a vote, with the proviso that their parents cast it on their behalf up to 18. Clearly the parents can take their child's wishes into account when they are mature enough. Not sure about a solution where the parents disagree, though. Half-votes feels thoroughly un-British.
I was a fellow guest with a very senior judge this weekend. Believe me they are doing stuff. Just not talking about it.
On balance, I'm in favour of giving 16 and 17 year olds the vote. The idea that it's going to correct the current disengagement with democracy is, however, far-fetched.
I'd give everyone a vote, with the proviso that their parents cast it on their behalf up to 18. Clearly the parents can take their child's wishes into account when they are mature enough. Not sure about a solution where the parents disagree, though. Half-votes feels thoroughly un-British.
I was a fellow guest with a very senior judge this weekend. Believe me they are doing stuff. Just not talking about it.
On votes for 16-17 year olds? Or did you misquote?
Mr. Flightpath, indeed, I believe Amazon will do that. However, the whole point of the law was to get tax from Amazon, not harm SMEs.
To scrape a little money from the big boys of the internet, the little guys have been hammered. I'm fortunate in that I seem to be ok, but others will have to curtail their direct sales or stop trading altogether. Or, they can use Amazon et al., which bolsters the position of large marketplaces rather than diminishing it.
Mr. Indigo, I read that tolerance nonsense fairly recently and the same thought immediately popped into my head.
I sense a business opportunity creating a payment system that correctly charges and remits the right VAT, and then supplies all the paperwork back to the user.
Is that evil of me?
As an aside, the big purpose of this was to stop Amazon doing what it used to do - that is charge 5% VAT on physical goods that had been nowhere near Luxembourg. As Amazon no longer does that (presumably because many different tax men turned up at their door and said "No"), it does raise the question of why the law still exists. Ah, the dangers of inertia...
Not relevant to "physical goods", only applies to digital ones.
The hardest part of the problem for micro business is recording all the details from the customers (e.g. IP address, customer address, bank location), which they may not have access to; also registering and reporting for VAT even before they get off the ground.
And they have to keep every transaction and all proof for 10 years.
If you wanted to design a law to make it hard for small business (non-VC funded) to get going, this would be it.
A lot of people wanting to do "supplemental" style businesses are just giving up, and they will never find out if they would have grown into anything else.
Luckily, people are providing software solutions to this, but it is just extra start-up cost plus ongoing monthly cost to being the VAT police. It hassle that isn't needed if you are just starting up and seeing if you can make some money out of an idea, I should know, I am doing this right now.
As somebody said further down thread, my next start-up will probably all go through amazon or similar online retailer, just because it will be easier to try it out. So basically just bolstering the big companies coffers further and cutting my margin.
On balance, I'm in favour of giving 16 and 17 year olds the vote. The idea that it's going to correct the current disengagement with democracy is, however, far-fetched.
I'd give everyone a vote, with the proviso that their parents cast it on their behalf up to 18. Clearly the parents can take their child's wishes into account when they are mature enough. Not sure about a solution where the parents disagree, though. Half-votes feels thoroughly un-British.
I was a fellow guest with a very senior judge this weekend. Believe me they are doing stuff. Just not talking about it.
One the men jailed as part of the Rotherham sex abuse scandal has boasted on Facebook about "living the high life" after he was released from jail early.
Umar Razaq was sentenced to four years in 2010 for grooming and sexually assaulting a child.
However he was released after just nine months after he appealed the length of his sentence and the time he had spent on remand was taken in to account.
Probably not - but it is I think dangerous for poititcians to get involved in setting blanket or manditory sentances. Its not allowed is it? The judges do not like it. You could argue any involvement deserves a lengthy sentance (and that boasting about early release ought to nullify the early release) but if he did appeal against the sentance and was successful. Why was that? This is it must be said something of an old story in that he was released quite some time ago and brought to life because of his comment about his holiday. A further issue might be what he has been doing since his release by allegedly 'following' victims on Facebook. I'm not sure what else this involves but in the modern age maybe there ought to be more restrictions on behaviour after realease. Presumably he is only going abroad now because his parole period is up.
Yes. All the non-Muslim governors left. There was a deliberate campaign of hostility and intimidation to the non-Muslim headteacher among the wider community, including the board of governors, local community associations and local mosques.
We need to stop letting people like this in our country.
There are already in this country and many were born here.
If it is a local authority controlled school, the local council can sack the board of governors.
The truth is that our political class has capitulated to these people and Muslims damn well know it.
Whether people aged 16 should be allowed to commit to serving 6 years is an open question and one perhaps more correctly linked to responsibility for voting.
Incidentally, how do they make that commitment, when as a minor you are supposedly not competent to sign a binding contract ?
Contracts of service and apprenticeship are exceptions to that rule.
Natasha Bolter was a member of the Labour Party not long ago. I always thought it was a bit of an odd decision to parachute her into one of UKIP's best prospects instead of a locally selected candidate.
Maybe UKIP have dodged a bullet in Basildon South.
I thought UKIP had been investigating this for weeks... so erm, what's going on?
Dan Hodges@DPJHodges·8m8 minutes ago London, England I'm no Ukip fan. But if those texts are genuine, Roger Bird has been stitched up big-time.
If I were The Times Editor I would be on to M'Learned Friends right now finding out how much this was going to cost me if these tweets are real.Alot of money would be the answer I would be getting I suspect.
It is worth remembering - of course - that 99.9% of small companies selling digital products on-line will use a payment processor such as Stripe, Paypal, Digital River, etc. Six months from now, all these payment processors will handle the addition of VAT themselves: they will use geo-IP, plus the requirement to enter the delivery and billing address, and will remit accordingly.
Natasha Bolter was a member of the Labour Party not long ago. I always thought it was a bit of an odd decision to parachute her into one of UKIP's best prospects instead of a locally selected candidate.
Maybe UKIP have dodged a bullet in Basildon South.
If they have, they've walked in to another if they've parachuted in Neil Hamilton instead....
It is worth remembering - of course - that 99.9% of small companies selling digital products on-line will use a payment processor such as Stripe, Paypal, Digital River, etc. Six months from now, all these payment processors will handle the addition of VAT themselves: they will use geo-IP, plus the requirement to enter the delivery and billing address, and will remit accordingly.
From what I understand, Paypal claim they wont, same with Stripe. There are already online services providing the add-ons (for a cost of course).
It is worth remembering - of course - that 99.9% of small companies selling digital products on-line will use a payment processor such as Stripe, Paypal, Digital River, etc. Six months from now, all these payment processors will handle the addition of VAT themselves: they will use geo-IP, plus the requirement to enter the delivery and billing address, and will remit accordingly.
I haven't the faintest idea what this paragraph means, nor will millions of other people !
On balance, I'm in favour of giving 16 and 17 year olds the vote. The idea that it's going to correct the current disengagement with democracy is, however, far-fetched.
I'd give everyone a vote, with the proviso that their parents cast it on their behalf up to 18. Clearly the parents can take their child's wishes into account when they are mature enough. Not sure about a solution where the parents disagree, though. Half-votes feels thoroughly un-British.
I was a fellow guest with a very senior judge this weekend. Believe me they are doing stuff. Just not talking about it.
On votes for 16-17 year olds? Or did you misquote?
Misquote - talking about Socrates
@Watcher: not talking in detail. There were a couple of comments about some stuff that is in the public domain, but nothing inappropriate about the other stuff they are doing.
Natasha Bolter was a member of the Labour Party not long ago. I always thought it was a bit of an odd decision to parachute her into one of UKIP's best prospects instead of a locally selected candidate.
Maybe UKIP have dodged a bullet in Basildon South.
If they have, they've walked in to another if they've parachuted in Neil Hamilton instead....
I thought UKIP were always boasting about the tip top vetting procedures designed to weed out these 'difficulties' before they had any chance of becoming a problem?
It would seem to be easily bypassed with the aid of a flashy dress and a waltz around the snooker table.
One the men jailed as part of the Rotherham sex abuse scandal has boasted on Facebook about "living the high life" after he was released from jail early.
Umar Razaq was sentenced to four years in 2010 for grooming and sexually assaulting a child.
However he was released after just nine months after he appealed the length of his sentence and the time he had spent on remand was taken in to account.
Probably not - but it is I think dangerous for poititcians to get involved in setting blanket or manditory sentances. Its not allowed is it? The judges do not like it. You could argue any involvement deserves a lengthy sentance (and that boasting about early release ought to nullify the early release) but if he did appeal against the sentance and was successful. Why was that? This is it must be said something of an old story in that he was released quite some time ago and brought to life because of his comment about his holiday. A further issue might be what he has been doing since his release by allegedly 'following' victims on Facebook. I'm not sure what else this involves but in the modern age maybe there ought to be more restrictions on behaviour after realease. Presumably he is only going abroad now because his parole period is up.
I would much rather judges set stiff punishments of their own accord. But, given they're not doing that, I think mandatory terms are necessary here. If you have been centrally involved in forcing child into sex slavery - and that includes anyone that raped them as part of a gang - you should get a minimum of 50 years in prison, in my opinion.
The hardest part of the problem for micro business is recording all the details from the customers (e.g. IP address, customer address, bank location), which they may not have access to; also registering and reporting for VAT even before they get off the ground.
And they have to keep every transaction and all proof for 10 years.
If you wanted to design a law to make it hard for small business (non-VC funded) to get going, this would be it.
A lot of people wanting to do "supplemental" style businesses are just giving up, and they will never find out if they would have grown into anything else.
I've started - what - five business. One of them, the excellent PythonAnywhere (http://pythonanywhere.com) is negatively affected by the legal change. Something designed to prevent companies from playing the VAT tax arbitrage gain is - as you say - a complete pain in the arse for many smaller companies.
What should have happened (but didn't) was a straight exemption for companies with sales under (say) £1m or so.
The problem with mandatory jail sentences is that juries will acquit if the mandatory sentence seems too harsh.
My understanding is that if a judge deviates from sentencing guidelines he will be (a) hauled in front of the Lord Chancellor, and if it continues then (b) he will lose his job.
The hardest part of the problem for micro business is recording all the details from the customers (e.g. IP address, customer address, bank location), which they may not have access to; also registering and reporting for VAT even before they get off the ground.
And they have to keep every transaction and all proof for 10 years.
If you wanted to design a law to make it hard for small business (non-VC funded) to get going, this would be it.
A lot of people wanting to do "supplemental" style businesses are just giving up, and they will never find out if they would have grown into anything else.
I've started - what - five business. One of them, the excellent PythonAnywhere (http://pythonanywhere.com) is negatively affected by the legal change. Something designed to prevent companies from playing the VAT tax arbitrage gain is - as you say - a complete pain in the arse for many smaller companies.
What should have happened (but didn't) was a straight exemption for companies with sales under (say) £1m or so.
Even sales of £75-100k i.e in the region of current UK VAT threshold is probably enough to ensure all those micro-businesses can continue unaffected. However, other parts of Europe, the thresholds are significantly smaller, and so clearly the EU paper-pushers have said, right screw all this, zero rate threshold.
One the men jailed as part of the Rotherham sex abuse scandal has boasted on Facebook about "living the high life" after he was released from jail early.
Umar Razaq was sentenced to four years in 2010 for grooming and sexually assaulting a child.
However he was released after just nine months after he appealed the length of his sentence and the time he had spent on remand was taken in to account.
Probably not - but it is I think dangerous for poititcians to get involved in setting blanket or manditory sentances. Its not allowed is it? The judges do not like it. You could argue any involvement deserves a lengthy sentance (and that boasting about early release ought to nullify the early release) but if he did appeal against the sentance and was successful. Why was that? This is it must be said something of an old story in that he was released quite some time ago and brought to life because of his comment about his holiday. A further issue might be what he has been doing since his release by allegedly 'following' victims on Facebook. I'm not sure what else this involves but in the modern age maybe there ought to be more restrictions on behaviour after realease. Presumably he is only going abroad now because his parole period is up.
I would much rather judges set stiff punishments of their own accord. But, given they're not doing that, I think mandatory terms are necessary here. If you have been centrally involved in forcing child into sex slavery - and that includes anyone that raped them as part of a gang - you should get a minimum of 50 years in prison, in my opinion.
Anytime anyone mentions the idea that Parliament should set minimum sentences for serious crimes the criminal bar goes into a fit of the vapours and the idea is, if not killed off, then at least dropped from public discourse for a while.
Criminal lawyers will tell you that it would be the end of civilisation as we know it if parliament said, for example, a person convicted of burglary shall go to prison for a minimum of three years. However those same lawyers see nothing wrong with the idea of a minimum sentences for driving offences, even for such serious matters as drink driving. Why is that? The actual principle of minimum sentences is not objectionable, only their use in non-motoring offences.
Could it be that speeches of mitigation and getting a client a lenient sentence is actually financially regarding for the barristers involved but few barristers are employed in driving cases?
I see today that the release of the torture report found that the CIA repeatedly lied to the secretary of state, lied to the Senate's oversight committee, and lied to the American public. Lies range from claiming torture helped them get Bin Ladin, which wasn't true at all, to claiming that the interrogators were vetted to be the most conscientious people, when they actually included people that had admitted to sexual assault. In one case, a man died from pneumonia after he was forced to sleep naked in a freezing cold dungeon.
And yet the usual suspects on here will claim our own intelligence agencies must be able to spy on all of us because they trust us to give an honest assessment of the threats we face.
That's NOT true according to the BBC, its was because his offence was in 2004 and not in 2005 (might have got the dates wrong) but the essence is was that his crime was committed before the law came in so can't be held indefinitely, I feel sure they is a PB lawyer who can set the scene.
O/T but interesting - it's now the Tory Party members who are supporting the Labour Party in Scotland, or more accurately Mr Murphy, as they are publicly stating (to their credit: no hidden entryism). Northumbria Party is one thing, but the Tories?! I shouldn't have been surprised, though, given how many Tories here and in the DT, Speccy, etc., love Mr Murphy.
That's NOT true according to the BBC, its was because his offence was in 2004 and not in 2005 (might have got the dates wrong) but the essence is was that his crime was committed before the law came in so can't be held indefinitely, I feel sure they is a PB lawyer who can set the scene.
The problem with mandatory jail sentences is that juries will acquit if the mandatory sentence seems too harsh.
My understanding is that if a judge deviates from sentencing guidelines he will be (a) hauled in front of the Lord Chancellor, and if it continues then (b) he will lose his job.
That doesn't seem like a bad compromise.
You think juries will let off a child rapist because they don't want him to go to prison for several decades?
O/T but interesting - it's now the Tory Party members who are supporting the Labour Party in Scotland, or more accurately Mr Murphy, as they are publicly stating (to their credit: no hidden entryism). Northumbria Party is one thing, but the Tories?! I shouldn't have been surprised, though, given how many Tories here and in the DT, Speccy, etc., love Mr Murphy.
That's NOT true according to the BBC, its was because his offence was in 2004 and not in 2005 (might have got the dates wrong) but the essence is was that his crime was committed before the law came in so can't be held indefinitely, I feel sure they is a PB lawyer who can set the scene.
Must be Cameron's fault.
I always thought an "indefinite" jail term was an affront to English justice. By all means sentence people for life, but you should not be held at the whim of the Executive.
O/T but interesting - it's now the Tory Party members who are supporting the Labour Party in Scotland, or more accurately Mr Murphy, as they are publicly stating (to their credit: no hidden entryism). Northumbria Party is one thing, but the Tories?! I shouldn't have been surprised, though, given how many Tories here and in the DT, Speccy, etc., love Mr Murphy.
The problem with mandatory jail sentences is that juries will acquit if the mandatory sentence seems too harsh.
My understanding is that if a judge deviates from sentencing guidelines he will be (a) hauled in front of the Lord Chancellor, and if it continues then (b) he will lose his job.
That doesn't seem like a bad compromise.
You think juries will let off a child rapist because they don't want him to go to prison for several decades?
Yes, of course they will. In the same way they let murderers off when they thought the death penalty was inapproporiate.
Let me give you an example. A 13 year old girl, sexually active with her 15 year old boyfriend, gets drunk one evening on the estate and sleeps with a 25 year old guy. He says he thought she was 16 (and to the jury she looks like she could be). Some witnesses claim she initiated it. She says she was too drunk to consent.
Is a jury going to acquit or send the man to jail for 50 years? I'd bet the latter.
On the other hand, if they thought he'd get five years, they'd probably convict.
The problem with mandatory jail sentences is that juries will acquit if the mandatory sentence seems too harsh.
My understanding is that if a judge deviates from sentencing guidelines he will be (a) hauled in front of the Lord Chancellor, and if it continues then (b) he will lose his job.
That doesn't seem like a bad compromise.
You think juries will let off a child rapist because they don't want him to go to prison for several decades?
Yes, of course they will. In the same way they let murderers off when they thought the death penalty was inapproporiate.
Let me give you an example. A 13 year old girl, sexually active with her 15 year old boyfriend, gets drunk one evening on the estate and sleeps with a 25 year old guy. He says he thought she was 16 (and to the jury she looks like she could be). Some witnesses claim she initiated it. She says she was too drunk to consent.
Is a jury going to acquit or send the man to jail for 50 years? I'd bet the latter.
On the other hand, if they thought he'd get five years, they'd probably convict.
The problem with mandatory jail sentences is that juries will acquit if the mandatory sentence seems too harsh.
My understanding is that if a judge deviates from sentencing guidelines he will be (a) hauled in front of the Lord Chancellor, and if it continues then (b) he will lose his job.
That doesn't seem like a bad compromise.
You think juries will let off a child rapist because they don't want him to go to prison for several decades?
Yes, of course they will. In the same way they let murderers off when they thought the death penalty was inapproporiate.
Let me give you an example. A 13 year old girl, sexually active with her 15 year old boyfriend, gets drunk one evening on the estate and sleeps with a 25 year old guy. He says he thought she was 16 (and to the jury she looks like she could be). Some witnesses claim she initiated it. She says she was too drunk to consent.
Is a jury going to acquit or send the man to jail for 50 years? I'd bet the latter.
On the other hand, if they thought he'd get five years, they'd probably convict.
Natasha Bolter was a member of the Labour Party not long ago. I always thought it was a bit of an odd decision to parachute her into one of UKIP's best prospects instead of a locally selected candidate.
Maybe UKIP have dodged a bullet in Basildon South.
If they have, they've walked in to another if they've parachuted in Neil Hamilton instead....
But do you think most ordinary people even remember the 1994 Neil Hamilton cash for questions affair? I'd be surprised if they do.
The problem with mandatory jail sentences is that juries will acquit if the mandatory sentence seems too harsh.
My understanding is that if a judge deviates from sentencing guidelines he will be (a) hauled in front of the Lord Chancellor, and if it continues then (b) he will lose his job.
That doesn't seem like a bad compromise.
You think juries will let off a child rapist because they don't want him to go to prison for several decades?
Yes, of course they will. In the same way they let murderers off when they thought the death penalty was inapproporiate.
Let me give you an example. A 13 year old girl, sexually active with her 15 year old boyfriend, gets drunk one evening on the estate and sleeps with a 25 year old guy. He says he thought she was 16 (and to the jury she looks like she could be). Some witnesses claim she initiated it. She says she was too drunk to consent.
Is a jury going to acquit or send the man to jail for 50 years? I'd bet the latter.
On the other hand, if they thought he'd get five years, they'd probably convict.
Actually I am not sure that is true. Juries did indeed tend to give suspects more of the benefit of the doubt when the death sentence was still possible. But that was because it is, to say the least, a rather final decision. Once someone was executed there was no way of saying sorry if it later turned out they were innocent.
I have seen no evidence reported that the same applies to long prison sentences. Indeed it strikes me that the biggest concern (rightly or wrongly) is that sentences are too short and I certainly don't see anyone saying they will let someone off a very serious crime because they might spend a long time in jail.
The problem with mandatory jail sentences is that juries will acquit if the mandatory sentence seems too harsh.
My understanding is that if a judge deviates from sentencing guidelines he will be (a) hauled in front of the Lord Chancellor, and if it continues then (b) he will lose his job.
That doesn't seem like a bad compromise.
You think juries will let off a child rapist because they don't want him to go to prison for several decades?
Yes, of course they will. In the same way they let murderers off when they thought the death penalty was inapproporiate.
Let me give you an example. A 13 year old girl, sexually active with her 15 year old boyfriend, gets drunk one evening on the estate and sleeps with a 25 year old guy. He says he thought she was 16 (and to the jury she looks like she could be). Some witnesses claim she initiated it. She says she was too drunk to consent.
Is a jury going to acquit or send the man to jail for 50 years? I'd bet the latter.
On the other hand, if they thought he'd get five years, they'd probably convict.
Actually I am not sure that is true. Juries did indeed tend to give suspects more of the benefit of the doubt when the death sentence was still possible. But that was because it is, to say the least, a rather final decision. Once someone was executed there was no way of saying sorry if it later turned out they were innocent.
I have seen no evidence reported that the same applies to long prison sentences. Indeed it strikes me that the biggest concern (rightly or wrongly) is that sentences are too short and I certainly don't see anyone saying they will let someone off a very serious crime because they might spend a long time in jail.
On third strike offences in the US, guilty verdicts are returned significantly less often than for earlier offences, which suggest the effect is alive and well.
The problem with mandatory jail sentences is that juries will acquit if the mandatory sentence seems too harsh.
My understanding is that if a judge deviates from sentencing guidelines he will be (a) hauled in front of the Lord Chancellor, and if it continues then (b) he will lose his job.
That doesn't seem like a bad compromise.
You think juries will let off a child rapist because they don't want him to go to prison for several decades?
Yes, of course they will. In the same way they let murderers off when they thought the death penalty was inapproporiate.
Let me give you an example. A 13 year old girl, sexually active with her 15 year old boyfriend, gets drunk one evening on the estate and sleeps with a 25 year old guy. He says he thought she was 16 (and to the jury she looks like she could be). Some witnesses claim she initiated it. She says she was too drunk to consent.
Is a jury going to acquit or send the man to jail for 50 years? I'd bet the latter.
On the other hand, if they thought he'd get five years, they'd probably convict.
The 50 year sentence I was talking about was if they were part of a gang that repeatedly raped the girl. If you were one of those rapists that knew what was going on, then you deserve 50 years and juries would surely not let that prevent them from sending such bastards down.
The problem with mandatory jail sentences is that juries will acquit if the mandatory sentence seems too harsh.
My understanding is that if a judge deviates from sentencing guidelines he will be (a) hauled in front of the Lord Chancellor, and if it continues then (b) he will lose his job.
That doesn't seem like a bad compromise.
You think juries will let off a child rapist because they don't want him to go to prison for several decades?
Yes, of course they will. In the same way they let murderers off when they thought the death penalty was inapproporiate.
Let me give you an example. A 13 year old girl, sexually active with her 15 year old boyfriend, gets drunk one evening on the estate and sleeps with a 25 year old guy. He says he thought she was 16 (and to the jury she looks like she could be). Some witnesses claim she initiated it. She says she was too drunk to consent.
Is a jury going to acquit or send the man to jail for 50 years? I'd bet the latter.
On the other hand, if they thought he'd get five years, they'd probably convict.
Actually I am not sure that is true. Juries did indeed tend to give suspects more of the benefit of the doubt when the death sentence was still possible. But that was because it is, to say the least, a rather final decision. Once someone was executed there was no way of saying sorry if it later turned out they were innocent.
I have seen no evidence reported that the same applies to long prison sentences. Indeed it strikes me that the biggest concern (rightly or wrongly) is that sentences are too short and I certainly don't see anyone saying they will let someone off a very serious crime because they might spend a long time in jail.
On third strike offences in the US, guilty verdicts are returned significantly less often than for earlier offences, which suggest the effect is alive and well.
But three strike sentences are typically for things like shoplifting and drug dealing. Not child rape.
My youngest lad is 15, and is so politically aware, that we call him Trotsky! He got into politics at the start of the strike, he's always hung around when work colleagues have been over, watching football or parties and BBQs and likes to get involved, asking questions and making comments. His interest really took off when we were discussing cuts. He sees things in black and white, and was worried when he found out that my, and people who I work with and he likes and respects, jobs, were under threat, but also confused as to why cuts were necessary. He's researched a lot, and has joined us on rallies, meetings, and on the picket line. He's young, idealistic (gets his musical kick from young, leftwing bands like Enter Shikari or ecolefties like 30 Seconds To Mars), naive and a little politically unformed, but so what? He's got to live in this chaotic world that we're creating, why shouldn't he get a say in who runs it, once he hits 16, and has rights and responsibilities that that age now brings?
"The irony of this all is that a Labour victory in Scotland means ..."
My contacts in Scotland tell me that though there is limited enthusiasm for Murphy's politics among his own supporters he's considered head and shoulders above any of the current crop of Scottish politicians and they expect quite a bounce for Labour
The problem with mandatory jail sentences is that juries will acquit if the mandatory sentence seems too harsh.
My understanding is that if a judge deviates from sentencing guidelines he will be (a) hauled in front of the Lord Chancellor, and if it continues then (b) he will lose his job.
That doesn't seem like a bad compromise.
You think juries will let off a child rapist because they don't want him to go to prison for several decades?
Yes, of course they will. In the same way they let murderers off when they thought the death penalty was inapproporiate.
Let me give you an example. A 13 year old girl, sexually active with her 15 year old boyfriend, gets drunk one evening on the estate and sleeps with a 25 year old guy. He says he thought she was 16 (and to the jury she looks like she could be). Some witnesses claim she initiated it. She says she was too drunk to consent.
Is a jury going to acquit or send the man to jail for 50 years? I'd bet the latter.
On the other hand, if they thought he'd get five years, they'd probably convict.
The 50 year sentence I was talking about was if they were part of a gang that repeatedly raped the girl. If you were one of those rapists that knew what was going on, then you deserve 50 years and juries would surely not let that prevent them from sending such bastards down.
Are you going to have hundreds of very specific laws as regards child rape?
Which will, of course, end up with a game between defence lawyers and the prosecution about what exactly people get charged with. "Yeah, this might definitely be a gang related child rape thing... if you're thinking about pleading guilty, then maybe we could prosecute you for x"
The problem with mandatory jail sentences is that juries will acquit if the mandatory sentence seems too harsh.
My understanding is that if a judge deviates from sentencing guidelines he will be (a) hauled in front of the Lord Chancellor, and if it continues then (b) he will lose his job.
That doesn't seem like a bad compromise.
You think juries will let off a child rapist because they don't want him to go to prison for several decades?
Yes, of course they will. In the same way they let murderers off when they thought the death penalty was inapproporiate.
Let me give you an example. A 13 year old girl, sexually active with her 15 year old boyfriend, gets drunk one evening on the estate and sleeps with a 25 year old guy. He says he thought she was 16 (and to the jury she looks like she could be). Some witnesses claim she initiated it. She says she was too drunk to consent.
Is a jury going to acquit or send the man to jail for 50 years? I'd bet the latter.
On the other hand, if they thought he'd get five years, they'd probably convict.
Actually I am not sure that is true. Juries did indeed tend to give suspects more of the benefit of the doubt when the death sentence was still possible. But that was because it is, to say the least, a rather final decision. Once someone was executed there was no way of saying sorry if it later turned out they were innocent.
I have seen no evidence reported that the same applies to long prison sentences. Indeed it strikes me that the biggest concern (rightly or wrongly) is that sentences are too short and I certainly don't see anyone saying they will let someone off a very serious crime because they might spend a long time in jail.
On third strike offences in the US, guilty verdicts are returned significantly less often than for earlier offences, which suggest the effect is alive and well.
But three strike sentences are typically for things like shoplifting and drug dealing. Not child rape.
Nevertheless, the example I gave was very clearly a case of child rape.
The problem with mandatory jail sentences is that juries will acquit if the mandatory sentence seems too harsh.
My understanding is that if a judge deviates from sentencing guidelines he will be (a) hauled in front of the Lord Chancellor, and if it continues then (b) he will lose his job.
That doesn't seem like a bad compromise.
You think juries will let off a child rapist because they don't want him to go to prison for several decades?
Yes, of course they will. In the same way they let murderers off when they thought the death penalty was inapproporiate.
Let me give you an example. A 13 year old girl, sexually active with her 15 year old boyfriend, gets drunk one evening on the estate and sleeps with a 25 year old guy. He says he thought she was 16 (and to the jury she looks like she could be). Some witnesses claim she initiated it. She says she was too drunk to consent.
Is a jury going to acquit or send the man to jail for 50 years? I'd bet the latter.
On the other hand, if they thought he'd get five years, they'd probably convict.
The 50 year sentence I was talking about was if they were part of a gang that repeatedly raped the girl. If you were one of those rapists that knew what was going on, then you deserve 50 years and juries would surely not let that prevent them from sending such bastards down.
I certainly wouldn't want you on my jury If I had committed an offence. You belong to the hangem and flogem brigade and no sentence in your mind is harsh enough.
Well thats quite a falling out...Wetherspoon no longer will sell Heineken, Fosters, John Smiths, Strongbow or Murphy's. Some will say good riddance to bad beer, but I bet that forms a huge % of their current customers preferred cheapo options.
My youngest lad is 15, and is so politically aware, that we call him Trotsky! He got into politics at the start of the strike, he's always hung around when work colleagues have been over, watching football or parties and BBQs and likes to get involved, asking questions and making comments. His interest really took off when we were discussing cuts. He sees things in black and white, and was worried when he found out that my, and people who I work with and he likes and respects, jobs, were under threat, but also confused as to why cuts were necessary. He's researched a lot, and has joined us on rallies, meetings, and on the picket line. He's young, idealistic (gets his musical kick from young, leftwing bands like Enter Shikari or ecolefties like 30 Seconds To Mars), naive and a little politically unformed, but so what? He's got to live in this chaotic world that we're creating, why shouldn't he get a say in who runs it, once he hits 16, and has rights and responsibilities that that age now brings?
I think your own post answers your question pretty clearly.
My youngest lad is 15, and is so politically aware, that we call him Trotsky! He got into politics at the start of the strike, he's always hung around when work colleagues have been over, watching football or parties and BBQs and likes to get involved, asking questions and making comments. His interest really took off when we were discussing cuts. He sees things in black and white, and was worried when he found out that my, and people who I work with and he likes and respects, jobs, were under threat, but also confused as to why cuts were necessary. He's researched a lot, and has joined us on rallies, meetings, and on the picket line. He's young, idealistic (gets his musical kick from young, leftwing bands like Enter Shikari or ecolefties like 30 Seconds To Mars), naive and a little politically unformed, but so what? He's got to live in this chaotic world that we're creating, why shouldn't he get a say in who runs it, once he hits 16, and has rights and responsibilities that that age now brings?
Try telling him you can't spend what you don't have on an indefinite basis. I'm sure he'll be able to discern the black and white logic in that statement.
Comments
People had rejected a Mancunian mayor in a referendum. Then some council leaders and Osborne's colluded to impose one (yes, the areas covered are slightly different. No, that doesn't matter).
"Ken Livingstone was accused of inciting a lynch mob mentality after he urged protesters to go to the homes of Whitehall officials sent into a controversial local authority and ‘make their lives intolerable’.
The former London mayor made his call at a rally for supporters of the mayor of Tower Hamlets, Lutfur Rahman.
Mr Livingstone told the meeting in Mile End: ‘When these commissioners turn up, find out where they live and then have a peaceful demonstration outside their homes so their neighbours know these are the kind of people who overturn a democratically elected mayor. Make their lives intolerable.’
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2835484/Red-Ken-stirs-lynch-mob-Former-London-mayor-urged-protesters-homes-Whitehall-officials-make-lives-intolerable.html#ixzz3LPoKDpTI
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
"
Further details on the attached together with short candidate statements.
http://www.parliament.uk/documents/lords-information-office/2014/Lords-notice-list-of-candidates-Allenby-Cobbold.pdf
http://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/content/press_release/content_443
I do not understand your unwillingness to accept the nature of the enquiry May has announced. The existance of gangs is not secret - many members are now in jail. Many affected children are subject to council care and this is the start. It could be working now if the victims could agree on a Chairman.
Pickles has already started one into Rotherham.
There is I think a police enquiry into S Yorks Police.
There is no shortage of enquiries. But you have to find some way to exploit it all to attack the Tories.
P.S. A junior serviceman or woman can only join with the written consent of their parents or guardian.
It's worth bearing in mind that when the celebrity grooming scandal came out, there was a national police investigation to get to the bottom of every case. Where is the equivalent here? The scale of abuse is far, far larger. There's thousands of rapists out there involved in this stuff, if we go on the Jay report. Only a tiny fraction of them have gone to jail - and the vast, vast majority were out on the streets in less than a decade.
My understanding is that all the self publishing bodies will handle VAT.
Re Kindle --
''Starting January 1st, for any titles already published in KDP, we will make a one-time adjustment to convert VAT-exclusive list prices provided to us to VAT-inclusive list prices. Subject to minimum and maximum thresholds, we will add the applicable VAT based on the primary country of the marketplace to the VAT-exclusive list price provided. For example, if an author had previously set £5.00 as the VAT-exclusive list price for amazon.co.uk, the new VAT-inclusive list price will be £6.00 because the applicable VAT rate in the UK is 20%. Please note, if an author had set a consistent VAT-exclusive list price for all Euro based Kindle stores, those prices will now be different due to varying VAT rates for the primary country of each Kindle store. For example, if an author had previously provided a €6.00 VAT-exclusive list price for amazon.de, amazon.fr, amazon.es, and amazon.it Kindle stores, the list prices including VAT will be €7.14 (19% VAT), €6.33 (5.5% VAT), €7.26 (21% VAT), and €7.32 (22% VAT) respectively. ''
The inquiries are in trouble, the victims are on the verge of walking.
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/dec/06/theresa-may-child-sexual-abuse-inquiry-panel-accused-victims-letters
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/11274387/Child-sex-abuse-inquiry-Theresa-May-faces-make-or-break-meeting-with-victims-groups.html
and as for Nicky Morgan, that well known bastion of Kipper thought "Conservative Women"
http://conservativewoman.co.uk/chris-mcgovern-morgans-uber-pc-agenda-spells-trouble-will-tolerate-boko-haram/ Yes, and here's a shock the Education Secretary controls Ofsted Policy.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2787236/Ofsted-scraps-plan-schools-snap-inspections-Nicky-Morgan-axes-second-Gove-education-policy.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/11063854/Rotherham-sex-abuser-boasts-about-living-the-high-life-after-release-from-jail.html
One the men jailed as part of the Rotherham sex abuse scandal has boasted on Facebook about "living the high life" after he was released from jail early.
Umar Razaq was sentenced to four years in 2010 for grooming and sexually assaulting a child.
However he was released after just nine months after he appealed the length of his sentence and the time he had spent on remand was taken in to account.
Geologically speaking.
To scrape a little money from the big boys of the internet, the little guys have been hammered. I'm fortunate in that I seem to be ok, but others will have to curtail their direct sales or stop trading altogether. Or, they can use Amazon et al., which bolsters the position of large marketplaces rather than diminishing it.
Mr. Indigo, I read that tolerance nonsense fairly recently and the same thought immediately popped into my head.
Bugger....
Is that evil of me?
As an aside, the big purpose of this was to stop Amazon doing what it used to do - that is charge 5% VAT on physical goods that had been nowhere near Luxembourg. As Amazon no longer does that (presumably because many different tax men turned up at their door and said "No"), it does raise the question of why the law still exists. Ah, the dangers of inertia...
I just built a new PC, and am testing the cooling (i.e, the processor fan) is working correctly. It's an Intel core i7 (not overclocked),
I've had all cores at full load for 10 minutes now and the CPU package is currently running at about 70 degrees (and peaked at 76).
Is this too high and should I get a different fan/cooler solution?
http://www.buildcomputers.net/cpu-temperature.html
The hardest part of the problem for micro business is recording all the details from the customers (e.g. IP address, customer address, bank location), which they may not have access to; also registering and reporting for VAT even before they get off the ground.
And they have to keep every transaction and all proof for 10 years.
If you wanted to design a law to make it hard for small business (non-VC funded) to get going, this would be it.
A lot of people wanting to do "supplemental" style businesses are just giving up, and they will never find out if they would have grown into anything else.
As somebody said further down thread, my next start-up will probably all go through amazon or similar online retailer, just because it will be easier to try it out. So basically just bolstering the big companies coffers further and cutting my margin.
Would coalition forming negotiations be held at the Axis Cafe in Minehead?
You could argue any involvement deserves a lengthy sentance (and that boasting about early release ought to nullify the early release) but if he did appeal against the sentance and was successful. Why was that?
This is it must be said something of an old story in that he was released quite some time ago and brought to life because of his comment about his holiday.
A further issue might be what he has been doing since his release by allegedly 'following' victims on Facebook. I'm not sure what else this involves but in the modern age maybe there ought to be more restrictions on behaviour after realease. Presumably he is only going abroad now because his parole period is up.
If it is a local authority controlled school, the local council can sack the board of governors.
The truth is that our political class has capitulated to these people and Muslims damn well know it.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/ukip/11282327/Roger-Bird-text-messages-that-he-says-prove-relationship-with-Natasha-Bolter.html
Wonder if when she actually tore up her Labour membership card..
Dan Hodges@DPJHodges·8m8 minutes ago London, England
I'm no Ukip fan. But if those texts are genuine, Roger Bird has been stitched up big-time.
Maybe UKIP have dodged a bullet in Basildon South.
It is worth remembering - of course - that 99.9% of small companies selling digital products on-line will use a payment processor such as Stripe, Paypal, Digital River, etc. Six months from now, all these payment processors will handle the addition of VAT themselves: they will use geo-IP, plus the requirement to enter the delivery and billing address, and will remit accordingly.
@Watcher: not talking in detail. There were a couple of comments about some stuff that is in the public domain, but nothing inappropriate about the other stuff they are doing.
It would seem to be easily bypassed with the aid of a flashy dress and a waltz around the snooker table.
Doesn't make anyone look good.
http://www.clarejosa.com/articles/from-passion-to-purpose/what-you-need-to-know-if-youre-relying-on-your-payment-processor-to-dig-you-out-of-the-vat-moss-mess/
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/serious-risk-children-paedophile-jeffrey-8256049
What should have happened (but didn't) was a straight exemption for companies with sales under (say) £1m or so.
The problem with mandatory jail sentences is that juries will acquit if the mandatory sentence seems too harsh.
My understanding is that if a judge deviates from sentencing guidelines he will be (a) hauled in front of the Lord Chancellor, and if it continues then (b) he will lose his job.
That doesn't seem like a bad compromise.
And it may that the trappers are themselves trapped!
It's all trivia, but could fun to watch.
Criminal lawyers will tell you that it would be the end of civilisation as we know it if parliament said, for example, a person convicted of burglary shall go to prison for a minimum of three years. However those same lawyers see nothing wrong with the idea of a minimum sentences for driving offences, even for such serious matters as drink driving. Why is that? The actual principle of minimum sentences is not objectionable, only their use in non-motoring offences.
Could it be that speeches of mitigation and getting a client a lenient sentence is actually financially regarding for the barristers involved but few barristers are employed in driving cases?
And yet the usual suspects on here will claim our own intelligence agencies must be able to spy on all of us because they trust us to give an honest assessment of the threats we face.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-east-wales-30396520
O/T but interesting - it's now the Tory Party members who are supporting the Labour Party in Scotland, or more accurately Mr Murphy, as they are publicly stating (to their credit: no hidden entryism). Northumbria Party is one thing, but the Tories?! I shouldn't have been surprised, though, given how many Tories here and in the DT, Speccy, etc., love Mr Murphy.
http://wingsoverscotland.com/the-conservative-and-labour-party/#more-64362
The irony of this all is that a Labour victory in Scotland means ...
Aye, one way to look at it. Here's another take on life in Kelvin and Maryhill I've just found - and I see SLAB still won't admit membership fgures.
http://blogs.channel4.com/gary-gibbon-on-politics/scottish-labour-leadership-contest-general-election/29853
Let me give you an example. A 13 year old girl, sexually active with her 15 year old boyfriend, gets drunk one evening on the estate and sleeps with a 25 year old guy. He says he thought she was 16 (and to the jury she looks like she could be). Some witnesses claim she initiated it. She says she was too drunk to consent.
Is a jury going to acquit or send the man to jail for 50 years? I'd bet the latter.
On the other hand, if they thought he'd get five years, they'd probably convict.
I have seen no evidence reported that the same applies to long prison sentences. Indeed it strikes me that the biggest concern (rightly or wrongly) is that sentences are too short and I certainly don't see anyone saying they will let someone off a very serious crime because they might spend a long time in jail.
Why not simply allow the jury a role in sentencing?
They could come back with "Guilty, but with grounds for clemency" if they felt the mandatory sentence was too harsh.
He got into politics at the start of the strike, he's always hung around when work colleagues have been over, watching football or parties and BBQs and likes to get involved, asking questions and making comments. His interest really took off when we were discussing cuts. He sees things in black and white, and was worried when he found out that my, and people who I work with and he likes and respects, jobs, were under threat, but also confused as to why cuts were necessary. He's researched a lot, and has joined us on rallies, meetings, and on the picket line.
He's young, idealistic (gets his musical kick from young, leftwing bands like Enter Shikari or ecolefties like 30 Seconds To Mars), naive and a little politically unformed, but so what? He's got to live in this chaotic world that we're creating, why shouldn't he get a say in who runs it, once he hits 16, and has rights and responsibilities that that age now brings?
"The irony of this all is that a Labour victory in Scotland means ..."
My contacts in Scotland tell me that though there is limited enthusiasm for Murphy's politics among his own supporters he's considered head and shoulders above any of the current crop of Scottish politicians and they expect quite a bounce for Labour
Which will, of course, end up with a game between defence lawyers and the prosecution about what exactly people get charged with. "Yeah, this might definitely be a gang related child rape thing... if you're thinking about pleading guilty, then maybe we could prosecute you for x"
I certainly wouldn't want you on my jury If I had committed an offence. You belong to the hangem and flogem brigade and no sentence in your mind is harsh enough.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-30396012
Official National Grid figures show 43% of Britain’s homes were powered by wind last Sunday"
http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/dec/09/british-wind-farms-set-new-record
Wind power is currently generating 6.68GW which is a lot higher than I've noticed before:
http://www.gridwatch.templar.co.uk/