Blah Blah

We're just watching it now. Great task lol. Did anyone on here employ them?

'Basically he's a Cameron ally who is probably gutted this has been leaked.' That all makes sense Otta. I did wonder. It surely makes sense, given that we have one of the lowest income tax rates in europe and have gone through eras when tax rates were much higher to put 1p or 2p back on the basic rate of income tax. No party dare mention it though. National Insurance has been increased but people don't seem to see that as income tax, although it goes into exactly the same coffers as income tax - so income tax has effectively been raised from time to time. I don't know how much that would bring in but we all benefit from services, even if it is just refuse collection and income tax seems the fairest way to raise revenue, and also the easiest way through which to help those on low wages. So I think that puts me in agreement with rahrah. In part, the pressures on the NHS are dominated by longer life expectancy. And this is going to be a growing problem. Whilst it might sound like a great solution to raise the retirement age, the problem is that whilst we live longer we don't age slower. I suspect many people will find themselves on other forms of benefit before the new threshold for retirement. I certainly wouldn't want to see 65 year olds being put through the benefits system we have at present where some people are being bullied by the DWP. The rises in diagnoses of dementia for example are directly related to people living longer. I.E they develop conditions because other conditions that would have affected their mortality in the past are now more effectively treated or avoided completely. What concerns me about those who want to change the model of the NHS is that they are looking to probably the worst model of healthcare in the world, ie America, when they should be looking to what works in Europe, where healthcare combines private and public models. And this is why TTIP has to be fought also. There have been several recent cases of corporations buying up the patents and licenses of vital medication as soon as they expire in the US, and then increasing the price by anything up to 1000% (and that is not a typo). So people should be extremely wary of privatising healthcare. Even in the uk, the NHS costs about 70% less than the private equivalent (operations etc) so we will end up paying more for healthcare if the model isn't right. What we don't want to happen is what happens in America, where millions of people don't have access to healthcare and many die unable to afford the medication they need. Healthcare in the US is a business first. People and their health definitely come second.

I'm inclined to agree with you.

We'll have to agree to disagree. It's a forum. People have different views. I don't see anything wrong with moralising about 5k blown on a wedding dress.

Interesting letters between Cameron and his local authority there. What I find most revealing is how Cameron actually thinks that some of the cuts mean an increase in spending! My department is a front line service (of the NHS) and we have seen significant cuts at the same time as seeing a huge increase in demand for services. This is not rocket science. There are no more efficiency savings to be made, and there haven't been for a while. Noted that there is no reply to the excellent reply from the leader of his council. The other thing that stands out is that Camerons letter is not really the letter of an MP. Most MPs are fully aware of what is happening in their constituencies, because they spend most of their time there engaging with real people. Cameron doesn't (for obvious reasons) which begs the question of whether a prime minister can actually still serve the constituents who elected him/her in the first place.

I'm suprised at you Otta. You don't usually lower yourself to those kinds of sneers. Since when does a view on spending 5k on one item of clothing translate to spending more than a tenner? That's the kind of bs that drives people from engaging in debate on forums.

When we bought our house it was far cheaper to buy than housing is now. We also bought it as a home to start a family, not as an investment and came to this area because it was a place we could afford to live rather than a place we prefered to live, and it's a modest home at that. So we are subject to the same market restraints on that one as everyone else. It's not really a good example to challege my overall point with though. There is no comparison between something used by four people every day and an item used by one person for one day only. People need somewhere to live, whether they own or rent. That is a necessity. I think Londonmix we can question the value of some things. Clothing is a good example of that. The whole designer thing is so vacuous and whilst you might disagree with me Dave on that wedding dress, many don't. Most people don't need a 5k dress to have a great wedding and I question the values of someone who does. If people are so brainwashed to think that a nike trainer has some magical value over a cheaper one of equal build quality then that is something to question. There is no religion more successful than the advertiser. We are bombarded in all ways by companies trying to get us to see how spending huge amounts of money on their products will enhance our life, and it's bs.

Nothing constructive to say then Azira?

I too agree Louisa. You only have to look at the differences between generations in any culture to see that. And perhaps that is really the issue. We as a species on the whole like things to stay the same, when in reality they are always changing, even within our own cultures, social and ethnic groups.

That's the difficult part isn't it. As consumers, we could change many things in the world with a collective shift in thinking. Take something like an expensive brand trainer, particularly fashion trainers. They are over priced to the consumer and the people that make them are underpaid. The label makes a killing. Well, if the public refused to buy the trainer unless the labour used to make it was better paid, we would be doing something to reduce poverty. That's a simplistic scenario I know, but you get the drift. I guess what I'm arguing for is an ethical approach to consumerism. And the choices to be made on that will vary for every person according to what they need/ don't need. I see it with my kids. They see an advert for something and then say I want that. And I always reply, but do you 'need' that? And that makes them think a little, for about 2 minutes, and then they want something else :D

I think the problem sometimes LondonMix is that integration is misundertood for assimilation. Many migrant cultures integrate perfectly well but that's not enough for racists or xenophobic people. They want migrants to be like them in every respect including culture. That expectation is the real barrier to integration. It's an unreasonable expectation of course and would lead to a very boring world if it actually happened.

No one is saying that Coco at all. But some people really do have no choice but to live with the heating off, wear 2nd hand clothes and eat stuff that may as well be a pot noodle. It's worth remembering that before using it as a parody to ridicule peoples objections to fiscal obstentatiousness.

And that figure becomes less clear given that some of those are over 65 and so exempt anyway because of age. It's just a really poorly thought out policy at the end of the day, that hasn't really saved any money either. And a small number of people have been pushed to suicide over it. Even one suicide is one too many.

TE44 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Otta I don't think it is a small number, trouble > is, we have a goverment who refuses to make > public, how bad the situation is. Around two thirds of those affected are disabled according to figures. Cameron did claim that the disabled would be exempt, but it hasn't been the case for many. Councils have been issuing discretionary housing payments to cover the tax of those hardest hit. And tenants who have never had arrears find themselves in arrears for the first time ever. There's no logic to this government. They are determined to make it as difficult as posible for councils to build and at the same time seek to tax those who have absolutely no options to be moved because the LA has a shortage of suitable properties.

The problem Jeremy is this. Many local authorities do not have smaller properties to move people into, so what does the tenant do? Pay the bedroom tax or move into private rented accomodation where the bill to Housing benefit will be twice as much? It is probably one of the most poorly thought out policies ever, and every party but the Tories vowed to scrap it at the last election for that reason.

This is why my wife doesn't let me anywhere near the Christmas decorations. I probably would set fire to the house, inside and outside (yes I'm one of those useless blokes). If there's a tag on the wiring and a serial number, maybe a google search might find the answer?

My point is this numbers. Using the words charity (and there's some debate as to how much of this shops proceeds went to charity) and an expensive dresss to make a point about charity makes no sense to me. Why not give 5k directly to a charity that will use every penny of that for charity? Beyond a certain proportionate value, items just become status symbols. I think there is a discussion to be had about that and find it dismaying that so many of you are trying to shoot that down.

edcam Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I'd quite like a list of Blah Blah's possessions > and their price, so we can make a moral judgement > about whether he should have spent what he spent > on each item. Why are you making this into petulant nonsense? I think I've made a valid point and made is concisely. You don't have to agree with it. If you want to have a debate then stick to the point. Btw the most expensive thing we have is the house and we haven't finished paying for that yet. Probably the next thing is the kids (they cost a furtune) and we haven't finished paying for them yet either :D

I'd never spend that on a car either Jeremy :) I just have a different perspective redjam, that's all. Yes I have strong views on inequality, poverty etc (as does my wife). But we both work in professions that see the impacts of those things. I'm not trying to single out anyone, just to make people think about what really matters in the world.

Not sure they are all middle class though. Take a look at today's 'Daily Politics' for a poor example of the kind of people they attract - not pleasant at all - although he was from 'Class War' so perhaps not the best spokesperson to invite on the programme. Anonymous emerged originally as a group of hackers didn't it? Attacking big business? And from what I understand the hackers didn't know who each other were.

'Do you have an issue with someone spending nearly 5k on a wedding gown?' Yes because it's an obscene amount to spent on a dress for one day. 5k is min wage for someone for FIVE months. I won't even go into what 5k means to the poor in other countries. To me, and it is just my view, it typifies a lot about what is wrong in our values. I stand by that view and whilst people on a forum that is predominetly middle class might not agree, there are billions of people around the world who would. They don't even know who Lagerfield is and really couldn't care less either. Also to be fair, the poster didn't say she got a discount. She said it cost nearly 5k, to make some kind of point. The vast majority of weddings around the world have no need of expensive designer gowns. It a consumer con that some people are daft enough to be sucked into.

Have a look at where the bulbs are on the lights. If water can get in and short the bulb then I would guess they are for indoors? Or maybe post some pics. I'm sure someone will be able to say one way or the other at a glance?

Yes the hippocampus and hypothalamus are different areas but they have a bearing on each other. The hypothalamus links between the endocrine and nervous systems and some thinking now suggests that imbalances in the endocrine system, brought on by stress, brings about the depressive neurology and not the other way round. That of course links into diet and lifestlye. But the hippocampus also feeds into the autonomic nervous system and has a bigger role in our emotions. The reason why it figures so prominently in PTSD research is because it's also the centre for memory (and learning). That is where traumatic events will impact most. My area is within a clinical environment, but even there, an open mind is to be found regarding holistic approaches. We know for example, that acupuncture works for some patients, if not always why. And some forms of Cognitive Behaviour therapy now incorporates meditation, because that too raises treatment success rates in some patients.

Sue, I'm pretty sure that led lights are safe outdoors. We used to have outdoor icicle lights, and they were just strings of little led lights. They tend to be completely rubber sealed to the wiring so no water ever can get in. Ours we just ran through the window as the wiring was so thin that it could fit under the frame.

Is it only me that finds an irony in someone spending 5k on any piece of clothing and then accusing others of not being charitable enough?