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Thank you for that post LadyDeliah. The media have been pretty bad at explaining the various political/ conflict reasons behind what is happening. People really do need to understand the dynamics of the current situation before making judgements on who these people are and why they are fleeing. I agree Loz. I think the shift in public consciousness is important as well. As well as accepting our share of refugees, we need to make sure they are not subjected to poor treatment by the public (or otherwise) when they so arrive here. And I think you malumbu demonstrate just how affected any decent person is by this crisis. I think the images of the drowned toddler washed up on a beach has really hit home to a lot of people who perhaps didn't really give it a lot of thought before.

Louisa, also have a look at the map at the top of this article. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-27838034 As you can see from that, ISIL have cut Syria in two. So people to the north of that line are limited in where they can travel to escape. This is why the mediterranean is the escape route. The Syrian Army still controls south of the ISIL front line. And there is absolutely no doubt that USA and UK actions in Iraq have led to this, none whatsoever.

Louisa, you have no way of knowing where and why the people of Calais have come from. But those dealing with them do and they say different to you. And did you really just suggest Isreal takes in Syrians? Do you have no knowledge of the history between Isreal and Syria?

Language is often one reason why migrants go where they do. Just on numbers, it's not practical to enforce the 'country of arrival rule' when there are so many fleeing. Do we really expect Italy to take them all for example? Just because WE don't happen to border a war torn country doesn't mean we have to behave like it's nothing to do with us. It wasn't the rest of Europe who sucked ass with America and created the void that ISIL have stepped into. * crossed post with Dave C but totally agree with him.

Louisa, Newsnight has just shown images of a toddler, a baby washed up dead on an Italian (I think) beach. FFS stop being a spoilt 'poor me' idiot. You live in a country that looks after you. You have free education and healthcare and pensions (paid from your and other people's taxes, including people who have no children or use private healthcare or pensions). 53% of all income tax is paid by just 10% of the workforce. THEY help subsidise your needs. People do not choose to be born into tyranical societies or war zones. They are ordinary human beings like you and I, and they are at the bottom of the pile, a bottom that no-one in this country has to endure. When you next turn on your light switch ask yourself this. Where does the fuel come from to provide that? Blair and Bush thought they had a perfect right to invade Iraq to protect our access to resources like oil and that's why a baby ends up washed up on an italian beach. Don't you even dare label my compassion as middle class do goodery. My compassion comes from my conscience, something you clearly don't have.

No Miga, New Labour significantly reduced the deposit for right to buy and got the desired result of less homes sold. The coalition came in and increased it again to the biggest it's ever been of ?100k. I know who is the better party on addressing housing need. Having said that, both parties have failed to replace lost social housing. And on the 4000 miga. Those ARE real figures recorded by the DWP. They know those figures because peoples claims stop when they die. Every single one of those people had appealed and were awaiting a decision or tribunal. Nothing to do with sensational journalism. Why can't you just accept the facts, that the welfare reforms HAVE harmed people. Jeremy you miss the point. These are people who were already ill and found not ill enough by ATOS in an assessment that has nothing to do with medical considerations. The person who makes the decision, is not medically trained, never meets the client, nor asks his or her doctors for information. That's why so many tribunals find in favour of the client. Atos on the other hand were paid ?500+ for every person they failed, but didn't have to pay any of it back if that decision was overturned at tribunal (as half the failures were). You really don't have any understanding of the process do you? It sets ill and vulnerable people up to fail. Miga, both Nick Stanton (Liberal) and Kim Humphries (Conservative) worked for Lendlease - that's the previous council leader btw and the councillor for housing.

Here we go again. No-one is demanding you to donate anything Salsaboy or Uncleglen, but posting comments designed to discourage others from doing so is just despicable. Meanwhile I can get 20 pairs of mens socks from Primark for a tenner and am happy to go buy some stuff to donate at the weekend. I don't know what the situation is with the French authorities, and their provision for them. Or if the Red Cross could get involved. But until something is sorted I will just remind myself how lucky I was to be born in an affluent, developed country (one that became so by enslaving half the world) and be thankful it's not me freezing at Calais.

Don't dirt bikes use the same petrol and diesel as them things we call cars and busses and lorries that drive all around us every hour of the day? Of course that group of 30 wearing balaclavas were on an antisocial pursuit (where have I said otherwise?), but you all know as well as I do that peer pressure plays a huge part in that. Early engagement does stop things getting to that point 90% of the time and youth clubs have disappeared, along with mentoring schemes and other forms of engagement that had good success rates.

Of course not ANYTHING! But equally niaive is the idea that an interest is only appealing if it has some element of antisocial or illegal behaviour. I would be willing to bet that if there were a legal scrambler track locally where things like competitons take place, that a fair number of those young people would go there instead. It's the thrill of the activity that appeals I'd argue. I grew up on a farm, and I and my friends had 50cc scramblers. But we also had land we could ride on, and do jumps and things with no issue to anyone. It's too easy in dense urban areas to demonise an activity as opposed to looking at engagement and opportunity.

The E&C deveolpment was first put together under the liberal/ con coalition council (and some of those lib and con councillors involved were given jobs by Lendlease when they lost their seats!). And there are equal examples of poor council management from parties of all colours. The processes and legal constriants are the same for all of them. That is policy set by government. When you have a government and mayor who think selling off social housing to give way to corporate private development should be favoured over social homebuilding, that's what you get. The evidence of those in the front line isn't anecdotal. There are real issues affecting millions. Three days ago, the DWP finally published the figures that the ICO ordered them to. Figures that Ian Duncan Smith stood up in parliament and said didn't exist (so a deliberate lie). 4000 people died within six weeks of being told they were fit to work by the governments work capability assessment. So these are people who had serious health conditions, not long from death, being incorrectly told they are not eligible for disibility benefits. I can not think of any other arena where the impact on so many people would not lead to a public enquiry! As for IDS, he is a proven liar, from the fictitous educational section on his CV to consistently lying in the houses of parliament about figures and data - all things widely reported by the media at the time. I don't understand why he is still in the job. He's a narcissistic sociopath.

Good points bob. The only issue here is where they choose to ride, but without legal access to some private land or a scrambling track, they are pretty stuffed. I think that anything that engages young people, especially young boys and men is to be welcomed. We just need to find a solution that doesn't endanger anyone else.

Spot on Ratty. I completely agree. Scaremongering at it's worst. And when Corbyn is leader as it certainly looks as though he will be, all the media hype will be shown for the nonsense it really is.

There have always been youths riding bikes where they shouldn't and how they shouldn't. Wheelies seem to be about the limit of their skills though..... When they can do this stuff I'll be impressed :D

Clockworkorange, edevelopment isn't solely about giving space over to private commercial interests. It can also be about council subsidised ammenities. The cinema may just be a cinema but it's affordable tickets open up a cultural avenue to people who would be priced out otherwise. There's a real discussion to be had about redevelopment and plenty of examples even within Southwark where ordinary people have been bulldozed over in favour of corporate profiteering. I think Eileen makes that point eloquently. As for housing, 'affordable' is not the same as social rent. When Southwark stops giving land to companies like Lendlease and handing over properties to housing assiciations that behave more like corporate property developers then we might see a housing strategy that address need.

Redevelopment can include a new cinema though. BUT that's why Southwark Council have to be challenged at every stage, to make sure that redevelopment is the right kind of redevelopment.

To even think we could become Greece shows how little you know about the Greek economy and why they have ended up in the mess they have.

I don't see anyone driving at 20mphr on clear main roads. All that money wasted on signs and road paint!

I would take a step back and say that the road is not mine. I would also say that I live in a big crowded city and accept that there are people and vehicles etc etc. A polite word with the neighbours about closing doors quietly etc should sort out unnecessary noise. They can't do anything about starting the engine though. I have engines starting outside my home from 5am too. It's obviously people going to work. What do you want us to say?

Someone parks a vehicle necessary for the job they do outside their home and that's an issue?

It's not jsut social media, it's the comments pages of press articles too. You only have to look in those to see how removed from reality a lot of people now are.

Not practical in terms of enforcement, unless it's the carriage next to the driver. It's not a controversial idea at all. It's only a media bias that is making it into something because they are determined to terrify the electorate as much as possible about a Corbyn leadership.

I wonder if the women only carriage idea was more to do with creating an environment that some women would feel safer travelling in, esp late at night? Whilst it's probably not a practical idea (which might explain it not being pursued), it's not a silly idea either when thought of in those terms. Someone somewhere considered there to be a need to think about addressing. Totally agree though on the hypocracy of who likes an idea!

Indeed Bawdy-nan. They have moved from a system that accounted for the diversity in employment status to one that tries to make one size fit all. They do this consciously. There is plenty of evidence now (and data, that the DWP refuses to publish, even when ordered to do so by the ICO) that their 'reforms' are causing great hardship and destitution. And now they are going after people who are working and low paid too. And yet we have to wait four years to see the living wage that is recommended NOW. Who knows what the recommendation will be in four years and that's if there are any more low paid workers or unemployed living in London.

What no Kanye West in there? I thought he was the greatest rock star ever? Seems the yoof of today beg to differ :D

They don't have to cancel several benefits though. The DWP inform HB and CT if there is a change of circumstances. And the reason for seperate applications has always been that some beneifts are independent of others and/or means tested. The form will still ask all the questions that three forms before asked. The other thing is that LAs directly took care of HB for claimants. This is important because the level of delay and incompetance experienced by many trying to deal with the DWP is not experienced with LAs in processing HB. UC might make bureacratic sense but there are downsides to it. People in part time work and in receipt of any kind of benefit will be treated like the fully unemployed. They will have to prove they are looking for more work (a job of up to 35 hours per week), attend interviews etc or risk losing their benefits. This is going to affect a lot of working single parents for example, who work part time to fit around their children. There are issues to this beyond just money management and rent payment.