Davkaus Posted August 8, 2011 Share Posted August 8, 2011 "...But, but, I bet you're a tory" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterms Posted August 8, 2011 Share Posted August 8, 2011 It makes sense to have staff with them, and I would rather that than have someone buzzing up a Tuscan track on a Vespa with a telegraph for Mr C. I don't know. Cinematographically, I rather like the image. Very Merchant Ivory - I see James Wilby (in earlier days) playing Cameron. Simon Callow as Ken Clarke perhaps. How about a Star Wars version? Osborne as R2D2 wearing Darth Vader's helmet and cloak. Beaker as the messenger, on a decommissioned 50cc Starfighter. Eric Pickles as Jabba the Hutt. Clegg as Princess Leia. Boris as Chewbacca. Cable as Yoda. I'm not quite sure what Cameron could play. Possibly selling ice creams in the foyer at half time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowychap Posted August 8, 2011 Share Posted August 8, 2011 Boris as Chewbacca. He he. We need some sort of Boris/Chewbacca photoshop job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gringo Posted August 8, 2011 Share Posted August 8, 2011 dr who might be easier than star wars........... + ==> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowychap Posted August 8, 2011 Share Posted August 8, 2011 Chuckle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Posted August 8, 2011 Share Posted August 8, 2011 Apparently Boris is away on holiday also and has refused to come back from them even though there is major unrest and rioting in London - they really do not give a shit do they At least Teresa May has come back! :winkold: Our saviour! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterms Posted August 8, 2011 Share Posted August 8, 2011 What will Teresa do, I wonder? Meet the acting head of the Met to "demand answers". Condemn the "lawless thugs". Meet the family of the dead man to enlist their support in calling for calm. Have a televised walkabout of the affected areas, looking grave, and wearing sensible, even serious, shoes. Deny that this has any connection at all with deprivation or policing. Praise the bravery of the police and fire brigade. Explain why cutting police budgets shouldn't result in cutting police numbers, and call for more front line policing and less bureaucrats. Despite this, have a quiet word with George to make the case for the cuts in her department's budget being phased in over a longer period. Search for a new way to use the phrases "appalling economic position we inherited", "mindless violence", "stand firm in the face of"... Discreetly ask for a review of the security arrangements for her office and home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davkaus Posted August 8, 2011 Share Posted August 8, 2011 I'm now looking forward to Drat criticising Teresa May returning from her holiday due to the problems in London. Bloody shameless publicity seeking, if you ask me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drat01 Posted August 8, 2011 Share Posted August 8, 2011 I'm now looking forward to Drat criticising Teresa May returning from her holiday due to the problems in London. Bloody shameless publicity seeking, if you ask me. :-) - bloody hilarious. That's woke me up :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted August 8, 2011 Share Posted August 8, 2011 Seems politicians are damned if they do not come back and damned if they do. Still I suppose it's even handed. Besides which not sure they would be able to get a word in edgeways as David Lammy appears to be doing his best to get his face on everything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterms Posted August 8, 2011 Share Posted August 8, 2011 Besides which not sure they would be able to get a word in edgeways as David Lammy appears to be doing his best to get his face on everything. Yes, shameful self-publicising. Just imagine, the MP for Tottenham agreeing to be interviewed in the wake of riots in, er, Tottenham. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blandy Posted August 8, 2011 Moderator Share Posted August 8, 2011 Seems politicians are damned if they do not come back and damned if they do. Still I suppose it's even handed. Besides which not sure they would be able to get a word in edgeways as David Lammy appears to be doing his best to get his face on everything. Damned if he talks to the media, damned if he doesn't? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LondonLax Posted August 8, 2011 Share Posted August 8, 2011 Look out. Boris is on his way home to sort it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowychap Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 Atos doctors could be struck off Twelve medics at the disability assessment centre are under investigation by the GMC over allegations of improper conduct Twelve doctors employed by the firm that is paid £100m a year to assess people claiming disability benefit are under investigation by the General Medical Council over allegations of improper conduct. The doctors, who work for Atos Healthcare, a French-owned company recently criticised by MPs for its practices, face being struck off if they are found not to have put the care of patients first. The Observer has found that seven of the doctors have been under investigation for more than seven months. The other five were placed under investigation this year following complaints about their conduct. It is understood that the majority of allegations concern the treatment of vulnerable people when the government's controversial "work capability assessments" were carried out, but the GMC refused to comment on individual cases. The development will add to fears over the pace and radical agenda behind the government's welfare-to-work policy, which led to protests in Westminster in May by thousands of disabled people. It will also raise concerns about ministers' commitment to Atos Healthcare, which was recently granted a three-year extension on its contract. The government has repeatedly publicised figures showing that the "vast majority" of claimants for employment support allowance (ESA), which has replaced incapacity benefit, are fit for work. But four out of 10 of those who appealed the decision by Atos - whose parent company is run by a former French finance minister, Thierry Breton - to deny them benefits are successful on appeal, a process that costs the taxpayer £50m a year. Last month Atos, whose staff assess around 11,000 benefit claimants a week, was savaged by the cross-party work and pensions select committee after it found that many people had "not received the level of service from Atos which they can reasonably expect". MPs further claimed that a combination of the company's conduct and the test itself had prompted "fear and anxiety among vulnerable people". One GP who attended an Atos recruitment fair told the Observer she feared doctors could become "agents of the state" who were deprofessionalised by involvement in a system that did not make patient care its first concern. Campaigners for the disabled seized upon the development, claiming the government needed to go back to the drawing board. Richard Hawkes, chief executive of the charity Scope, said: "If the government wants to get disabled people off benefits and into work then it needs to get its assessment right. The test should be the first step on the road to employment. But disabled people's confidence in the work capability assessment is extremely low – and today's news will send it to rock bottom. "The test is massively flawed. Now it appears that it is being carried out by a large number of doctors who are under serious investigation." Neil Bateman, a solicitor who handles ESA appeals, said on two occasions his clients had been successful because, among other reasons, the doctor assessing them had qualified in Romania and registered with the GMC but had not been licensed to practise in Britain. Citizens Advice told the Observer it was compiling a dossier showing the problems being faced by those assessed by Atos staff, who can be nurses or physiotherapists in cases where there are no potential neurological disorders. It said it regularly found inaccuracies in many of the medical reports featured in ESA appeal papers that could affect people's chances of receiving benefits. It also found a lack of consideration for those being assessed. A spokesman said a barrister who was unable to practise because of cancer and lymphoma had described the assessment as being like an "interrogation" led by a computer. The assessor moved the client's legs, which caused her great pain, even though the client had warned that this would happen. In another case a claimant with learning difficulties who went for an assessment was found fit for work because he had found his way to the assessment centre on his own. When asked about this by Citizens Advice, he reluctantly explained that he had got up very early, taken the bus to the town centre, and then kept asking passersby for directions. He couldn't follow their instructions, so he would show the letter, walk in the direction they pointed, then ask again until he arrived. Two doctors employed by Atos have already been taken by the GMC to an independent panel for adjudication on their fitness to practise. Dr Alexandros Mallios, who it was claimed had not carried out a proper examination of his patient during an assessment, was cleared by the panel last October. Dr Usen Samuel Ikidde, who qualified in Nigeria, was given a formal warning in January, to lay on his records for five years, after he was found to have worked for Atos while on sick leave from an accident and emergency department. An Atos spokesman said: "Atos Healthcare is committed to providing a high-quality, professional service and requires these standards of all its employees. While we cannot comment on individual cases, any complaint made about an employee is taken extremely seriously. "In addition to our own rigorous internal investigations we will co-operate with any external investigation to ensure all facts are properly established and the appropriate action taken." The Labour government introduced work capability assessments in 2008 when it replaced incapacity benefit and income support for new claimants with employment and support allowance. The government has accelerated the changes and started retesting all 1.5 million incapacity benefit claimants to see whether they are eligible for the new benefit. A GMC spokesman said: "We can and do take action to remove or restrict a doctor's right to practise if there have been serious failures to meet our standards." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowychap Posted August 15, 2011 Share Posted August 15, 2011 Anyway, if banks can create their own supply of money what is to stop a greek bank extending a line of credit to the greek government to the tune of some 200billion euros with a low interest rate thus solving the Greek debt crisis? Interestingly, Stiglitz claimed in his interview with Newsnight tonight that this was just what was happening in some places in the eurozone (he didn't mention Greece or, indeed, any country specifically). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drat01 Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 So Cameron is off on holiday for the 5th (!!!!!) time this year link Never mind that we have major financial issues to resolve or we as a country are still sorting out the mess when he was away last time. The bloke is a complete and utter tosser Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davkaus Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 Well he's not achieved much while he's been in the country, it can't hurt for him to leave for a while. I think it might help if we routinely just send some of the politicians away for extended periods, at least they can't make things any worse that way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ads Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 So Cameron is off on holiday for the 5th (!!!!!) time this year link Never mind that we have major financial issues to resolve or we as a country are still sorting out the mess when he was away last time. The bloke is a complete and utter tosser What are you whinging about? He’s sticking a few quid into the tourist industry. If you’ve got cash, spend it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterms Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 So Cameron is off on holiday for the 5th (!!!!!) time this year link Never mind that we have major financial issues to resolve or we as a country are still sorting out the mess when he was away last time. The bloke is a complete and utter tosser Does it actually matter whether he's on holiday or not? He's a complete irrelevance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 so, as bollitics appears to have dropped of the VillaTalk radar completely for some reason, I thought i'd bump with a: The dodgy doc. Not content with name stealing .... Dodgy? homer-sexshual? both? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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