A commenter known as bullingdonmorons made this post earlier this month, and folk have been repeating it elsewhere. With any luck eventually enough people will see it for it to resonate with those who didn't already know it to be true.
Not my words, but I can't agree enough:
How to wage a war upon the poor.
Probably the most disgusting thing about this coalition has been their propaganda war against the most disadvantaged people in society. By the deliberate spreading of lies, they have facilitated a systematic assault upon the poor, the sick and the disabled. And they have knowingly misled the public for one simple reason, to enable them to totally dismantle the welfare state.
There are lies, damned lies, and then there are lying Tory bastards.
The welfare state has led to a 'something for nothing' culture?
It may be utterly repugnant to hear millionaire politicians who have never worked a day in their life telling us that they are ending the 'something for nothing culture', but it's also utter bollocks. Only 2.5% of the total welfare budget of £200 billion actually goes on unemployment, whilst the vast majority of unemployed claimants have worked, and paid taxes, for years and are now on benefits due to redundancy, sickness, disability or having to care for someone. Millions more are receiving benefits due to poverty wages. The Welfare state is actually a massive state subsidy to business which enables it to pay poverty wages and charge exorbitant rents.
Living on benefits is a lifestyle choice?
Only 0.1% of benefit claimants who have claimed for 10 years or more are actually unemployed. Less than 5,000 people, out of over 9 million 16-64 year olds who don't work, have been on Job Seekers Allowance for more than 5 years. Less than 0.1% of the 20 million working age households have 2 generations that have never had a permanent job. Despite strenuous efforts, researchers have been unable to find any families where three generations have never worked.
People won't work because benefits are too high?
In 1971, JSA equalled 20.9% of the average wage. Today, it is worth 10.9%. These people are living in poverty. There are 8.5 million people receiving benefits in this country. There are more people IN WORK who get benefits than not working. The majority of all housing benefit claimants are IN WORK. 6.1 million people classed as living in poverty are from households IN WORK.
People on housing benefit live in mansions?
Our newspapers continuously bombard us with these stories. There are around five million claimants of Housing Benefit; of which there were five families who received over £100,000 per year, all living in central London. The average award of Housing Benefit is approximately £85 a week. Only 3% of families received more than £10,000 a year support, and 0.04% received more than £30,000 a year. And no-one ever mentions that housing benefit goes straight to the Landlord and not the claimant.
And those large families screwing the taxpayer? There are around 130 families with 10 children and only 10 families with 12 children IN THE WHOLE COUNTRY who are on benefits.
Benefit cheats are bankrupting the country?
Benefit fraud amounts to about £1.5 billion a year, less than 1% of the entire budget. To put this in perspective, the bank bailout equalled 1,000 years of benefit fraud. Meanwhile, £1.3 billion gets underpaid each year and a further £16 billion goes UNCLAIMED every year.
We can no longer afford the welfare state?
So who is really bankrupting the country? Well, the richest 1,000 people now possess £414 billion between them, a sum more than three times the size of the entire UK budget deficit. The richest 1% of the population are estimated to possess wealth of about £1 trillion. The richest 10% control wealth of about £4 trillion. The Quantitative Easing programme has increased the personal wealth of the UK’s richest 20% by enough to pay for Job Seeker’s Allowance for the next 100 years.
The people of this country are being shafted, but instead of the blame being directed at the real culprits, the rich, it is being aimed at the most vulnerable, the poor, with our own Government shamelessly leading the way.
And every one who believes their bullshit should hang their heads in shame.
Saturday 30 March 2013
Friday 29 March 2013
Slightly inebriated weekend ramblings
Bit of a rambling post this one, which I won't apologise for since I'm currently three beers to the wind and counting. News wise it's been a relentless doom-and-gloomathon of coalition cruelty and lies, the weather has been snowy and 'orrible, and I've barely had a moment to myself thanks to an endless parade of sickly offspring crying off school and coughing into tissues. Nevertheless I insist on being cheerful and bollocks to it all.
I think some top tens are called for. First up, ten favourite beers of the moment, which are subject to frequent change.
In no particular order:
Wychwood Hobgoblin (a mainstream but tasty dark ale, 5.2% abv) - just because. And it is for lagerboys, if they want some. Hobgoblins all round!
Naylors Pinnacle Porter (available filtered in bottles in many discerning northern shops, 4.8% abv) A rich, dark ale full of roast and coffee flavours with a citrussy finish (Styrians?) - very drinkable. Naylors' best one in my humble wotsit.
Timothy Taylors Landlord (superlative Yorkshire best bitter, 4.1% abv bottled, 4.3% cask.) Goes without saying, I'm a Keighley lad after all!
Acorn Gorlovka Imperial Stout (bottle conditioned, 6% abv) - a rich dark, liquoricey, intensely flavoured stout from a cracking Barnsley brewery. This one will put hairs on your chest.
Youngs Double Chocolate Stout (widely available, 5.2% abv) In chilly weather I like my stouts. And I finally tried this this year after resisting for an age, as I don't have a sweet tooth really as far as booze goes - but it isn't really sweet. Just rich, smooth, a bit warming thanks to the abv and full of coffee and dark chocolate flavours. Really rather nice.
Marstons Strong Pale Ale (widely available, 6.2% abv) Unpretentious, smooth strong ale with a good hoppy bite, does exactly what it says on the tin. Even my dad likes it.
Black Sheep Riggwelter (ubiquitous in Northern supermarkets, 5.7% abv) Tasty, bitter strong ale. Satisfying on a cold night and full of flavour, good stuff!
Jennings Sneck Lifter (ditto, 5.1% abv) Another dark liquoricey one, like Riggwelter's little brother. A very nice ale and somewhat better for when you have to get up early. ;)
Saltaire Hazelnut Coffee Porter (in decent northern bottle shops, 4.6% abv) Works well, another interesting brew from Saltaire Brewery. Rich and flavoursome but not too heavy, not bad at all.
Ilkley Lotus IPA (again good northern bottle shops, 5.6% abv) - full of tasty American hops, well balanced and easy to sup. A tasty one and great cold on a warm day - if we ever get one.
Currently missing from this list are any brews from Ossett, since my favoured stop off for local ales, Keelham Farm Shop on the A644 near Denholme Gate, aren't currently stocking any. Shame - their 'Excelsior' and 'Treacle Stout' are both excellent.
Enough beer listing for now. Once I've got around to clearing out my cellar/brewing space, I will doubtless be brewing most of my own ale again soon so the above will become occasional treats.
Another top ten I hear you say? No?
Ten fantastic albums I like, and don't care whether you do or not, you tin-eared muppets:
PJ Harvey - Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea. By turns soulful, bluesy, plaintive, gutsy, world-weary, exultant. Her best album IMO, not even Thom Yorke can spoil it.
Agalloch - The Mantle. Sprawling progressive metal opus, including the brilliant 'In The Shadow Of Our Pale Companion', which is 14 and a half minutes of wow. Really.
Th' Legendary Shack Shakers - Swampblood. Just crank it up, crack a bottle of Jack and ease into it. Rootsy Southern rock at its best.
Pixies - Trompe Le Monde - Full of wit and great riffs, as well as Kim Deal's surprisingly sultry vocals as an effective counterpoint to Black Francis' shrieking.
AFI - Sing The Sorrow. Before you start this is actually good. The mix of gothic and hardcore punk aesthetics combine with some great songwriting for their best album I reckon. One of my favourite crank it up and sing along, driving in the dark albums.
New Model Army - No Rest For The Wicked. This was one of the records that woke my teenage brain - growing up in a decimated post-Thatcher Bradford, it articulates the sense of loss, anger, pride, defiance - and hope - perfectly. And the basslines are to die for. I even have a NMA tattoo, so that I can never forget my roots and values, even when (hopefully) I grow old and affluent.
The Damned - Machine Gun Etiquette. If you only buy one classic UK punk album, make it this one, the Pistols were rubbish. Full of clever, snarky, catchy tunes. They're still touring and still highly entertaining.
My Bloody Valentine - Loveless. Ambitious, delicate arrangements buried in thundering walls of noise and feedback, wispy vocals, beautiful and somehow comforting. Still a classic.
Jack Off Jill - Clear Hearts Grey Flowers. Angsty, sparky alternative rock thrashing but very catchy with compelling vocals, equal parts purring and threat. Great.
The Cure - Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me. Eclectic, sprawling double album with some fantastic songs - contains all the classic Eighties' Cure components - self-flagellating lyrics, flanging guitar riffs, evocative spidery basslines, pop hooks. Self loathing you can sing along to and somehow feel happier afterwards - needless to say this was my favourite album when I was 14.
I probably wittered on enough for one post. A final observation - people have layers. Like onions. This blog will take awhile to show off all mine. I like onions. *hic*
I think some top tens are called for. First up, ten favourite beers of the moment, which are subject to frequent change.
In no particular order:
Wychwood Hobgoblin (a mainstream but tasty dark ale, 5.2% abv) - just because. And it is for lagerboys, if they want some. Hobgoblins all round!
Naylors Pinnacle Porter (available filtered in bottles in many discerning northern shops, 4.8% abv) A rich, dark ale full of roast and coffee flavours with a citrussy finish (Styrians?) - very drinkable. Naylors' best one in my humble wotsit.
Timothy Taylors Landlord (superlative Yorkshire best bitter, 4.1% abv bottled, 4.3% cask.) Goes without saying, I'm a Keighley lad after all!
Acorn Gorlovka Imperial Stout (bottle conditioned, 6% abv) - a rich dark, liquoricey, intensely flavoured stout from a cracking Barnsley brewery. This one will put hairs on your chest.
Youngs Double Chocolate Stout (widely available, 5.2% abv) In chilly weather I like my stouts. And I finally tried this this year after resisting for an age, as I don't have a sweet tooth really as far as booze goes - but it isn't really sweet. Just rich, smooth, a bit warming thanks to the abv and full of coffee and dark chocolate flavours. Really rather nice.
Marstons Strong Pale Ale (widely available, 6.2% abv) Unpretentious, smooth strong ale with a good hoppy bite, does exactly what it says on the tin. Even my dad likes it.
Black Sheep Riggwelter (ubiquitous in Northern supermarkets, 5.7% abv) Tasty, bitter strong ale. Satisfying on a cold night and full of flavour, good stuff!
Jennings Sneck Lifter (ditto, 5.1% abv) Another dark liquoricey one, like Riggwelter's little brother. A very nice ale and somewhat better for when you have to get up early. ;)
Saltaire Hazelnut Coffee Porter (in decent northern bottle shops, 4.6% abv) Works well, another interesting brew from Saltaire Brewery. Rich and flavoursome but not too heavy, not bad at all.
Ilkley Lotus IPA (again good northern bottle shops, 5.6% abv) - full of tasty American hops, well balanced and easy to sup. A tasty one and great cold on a warm day - if we ever get one.
Currently missing from this list are any brews from Ossett, since my favoured stop off for local ales, Keelham Farm Shop on the A644 near Denholme Gate, aren't currently stocking any. Shame - their 'Excelsior' and 'Treacle Stout' are both excellent.
Enough beer listing for now. Once I've got around to clearing out my cellar/brewing space, I will doubtless be brewing most of my own ale again soon so the above will become occasional treats.
Another top ten I hear you say? No?
Ten fantastic albums I like, and don't care whether you do or not, you tin-eared muppets:
PJ Harvey - Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea. By turns soulful, bluesy, plaintive, gutsy, world-weary, exultant. Her best album IMO, not even Thom Yorke can spoil it.
Agalloch - The Mantle. Sprawling progressive metal opus, including the brilliant 'In The Shadow Of Our Pale Companion', which is 14 and a half minutes of wow. Really.
Th' Legendary Shack Shakers - Swampblood. Just crank it up, crack a bottle of Jack and ease into it. Rootsy Southern rock at its best.
Pixies - Trompe Le Monde - Full of wit and great riffs, as well as Kim Deal's surprisingly sultry vocals as an effective counterpoint to Black Francis' shrieking.
AFI - Sing The Sorrow. Before you start this is actually good. The mix of gothic and hardcore punk aesthetics combine with some great songwriting for their best album I reckon. One of my favourite crank it up and sing along, driving in the dark albums.
New Model Army - No Rest For The Wicked. This was one of the records that woke my teenage brain - growing up in a decimated post-Thatcher Bradford, it articulates the sense of loss, anger, pride, defiance - and hope - perfectly. And the basslines are to die for. I even have a NMA tattoo, so that I can never forget my roots and values, even when (hopefully) I grow old and affluent.
The Damned - Machine Gun Etiquette. If you only buy one classic UK punk album, make it this one, the Pistols were rubbish. Full of clever, snarky, catchy tunes. They're still touring and still highly entertaining.
My Bloody Valentine - Loveless. Ambitious, delicate arrangements buried in thundering walls of noise and feedback, wispy vocals, beautiful and somehow comforting. Still a classic.
Jack Off Jill - Clear Hearts Grey Flowers. Angsty, sparky alternative rock thrashing but very catchy with compelling vocals, equal parts purring and threat. Great.
The Cure - Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me. Eclectic, sprawling double album with some fantastic songs - contains all the classic Eighties' Cure components - self-flagellating lyrics, flanging guitar riffs, evocative spidery basslines, pop hooks. Self loathing you can sing along to and somehow feel happier afterwards - needless to say this was my favourite album when I was 14.
I probably wittered on enough for one post. A final observation - people have layers. Like onions. This blog will take awhile to show off all mine. I like onions. *hic*
Saturday 23 March 2013
Twats
Just a few thoughts on the utter spinelessness of the Labour party, hereafter referred to as the Pink Tories. At what point did they completely swallow the divide-and-conquer bollocks of IDS and the other arsewipes trying to draw a line between benefit claimants and 'hardworking families' - when most of us know that the two overlap? A fair day's work for a fair day's pay used to be their mantra. I guess the unemployed don't count. The thing that pisses me off the most is that workfare is not in any way beneficial to the jobseeker, other than in a small minority of cases where folk genuinely lack any work experience - how does a graduate or someone who has spent 20 years in work possibly gain from being forced to stack shelves for Poundland or Tesco for their £71 a week? Is it really going to go on their cv? The only beneficiaries are the corporations benefiting from the free labour, and the WP contractors like A4E and Ingeus getting paid thousands for each poor sod they shove into workfare. Its all about box ticking so they get paid and sod all to do with helping folk find real jobs - with the handy side effect of punishing people (who have mostly paid in during their working lives through NI) for daring to be out of work. And now we find that Jobcentres have targets for the number of people they have to sanction, i.e. leave to starve.
There must be a better way of weeding out the few who genuinely don't want to work - for a proper wage - or those few who are swinging the lead, than forcing the unemployed and the sick and disabled to jump through hoops. The situation is compounded by the inhumane ATOS assessment process for ESA, forcing the sick and mentally frail on to the Work Programme. It's no wonder there have been suicides and stress related deaths. And to their shame, LABOUR introduced the Work Capability Assessment and awarded the appalling ATOS the contract to administer it, though the rules have been brutally tightened by the ConDems. I joined the Labour Party after the last election, believing that despite their authoritarian tendencies and nannying they were at least on the side of those with the least. I no longer believe that, and have torn up my membership card.
There must be a better way of weeding out the few who genuinely don't want to work - for a proper wage - or those few who are swinging the lead, than forcing the unemployed and the sick and disabled to jump through hoops. The situation is compounded by the inhumane ATOS assessment process for ESA, forcing the sick and mentally frail on to the Work Programme. It's no wonder there have been suicides and stress related deaths. And to their shame, LABOUR introduced the Work Capability Assessment and awarded the appalling ATOS the contract to administer it, though the rules have been brutally tightened by the ConDems. I joined the Labour Party after the last election, believing that despite their authoritarian tendencies and nannying they were at least on the side of those with the least. I no longer believe that, and have torn up my membership card.
Tuesday 19 March 2013
Opposition? What opposition?
Apparently, Labour don't think they should stop IDS from weaseling out of repaying wrongly docked subsistence benefits from JSA claimants illegally sanctioned for not complying with workfare rules. Again, this is people getting £71 a week. Speechless.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2013/mar/19/labour-rush-benefit-rebates-poundland
I'll comment further later; right now I'm incoherent.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2013/mar/19/labour-rush-benefit-rebates-poundland
I'll comment further later; right now I'm incoherent.
Friday 15 March 2013
Greetings and salutations!
This is going to be fun. I should probably introduce myself; I'm Beermat Scribbler (BS for short). Not really, obviously, but due to the need to be employable I have decided to create a completely anonymous blog which isn't associated with any other online identity I've had or with my actual name. Sad that it is necessary, but these days it is now that it isn't just us dorks online - the fact that employers and others will google you is quite scary, along with the tendency for social networking sites etc to want to link everything together. Some of us like to have chunks of our lives in discrete boxes, ta. Would you share your browser history with your mother? Precisely. Yet folk think nowt of blurting stuff all over Facepalm that they might live to regret. Anyway, this hallowe'en costume is exactly for that reason, so that I can like what I want, link to what I want, and slag off what I want, and so on, without compromising my offline identity. I'm not a public figure. Just a scatterbrained Yorkshire bloke in a tin foil hat.
So what is this blog going to be about? Well, pretty much everything really. Bit of politics, beer, places I've been, musings on society or media bollocks, things I think are awesome. In other words if it doesn't refer to my occupation or personal life I'll probably witter on about it at some point. Feel free to link if you find my ramblings at all interesting... I'll see some of you in your own comment threads soon.
*rolls sleeves up*
So what is this blog going to be about? Well, pretty much everything really. Bit of politics, beer, places I've been, musings on society or media bollocks, things I think are awesome. In other words if it doesn't refer to my occupation or personal life I'll probably witter on about it at some point. Feel free to link if you find my ramblings at all interesting... I'll see some of you in your own comment threads soon.
*rolls sleeves up*
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