BRFR Cake Stop 'breaking news' miscellany

[briantrumpet]

I worked in the charity sector for years. One thing that always stuck with me is a colleague that said the main aim of any given charity should eventually be to no longer be necessary. You identify the need, you address and eradicate it. However, as we also discussed most charity is born out of inequality so should not be necessary in the first place. The fact that it is renders it unlikely that you will ever fully address the need.

My major issue is how much the state now relies on charities and goodwill to address social issues that one could argue should be addressed by government; mental health, unemployment, recidivism and so on. In a properly funded democracy, these are the kinds of challenges that govt at local and national level should be resourced fully to address. Look at something like mental health and how terrible public services are through lack of money, and just how much they are propped up by charitable interventions. If you suddenly took all charities away it would be calamitous.

Not least hospices. Shamefully they've had their grants severely reduced and most are now running at a deficit and having to make cuts.

 

[briantrumpet]

People's doorbells in the UK aren't working because some computer problem on the East Coast of America.

 

[Ian H]

People's doorbells in the UK aren't working because some computer problem on the East Coast of America.

I just checked ours and it seems to be fine.

 

[briantrumpet]

I just checked ours and it seems to be fine.
View attachment 10610

That's a smart doorbell.

 

[briantrumpet]

Odd that Starmer was so quick to comment on the Maccabi football 'fans' when he was calling out antisemitism, but we've not heard a peep from him since Israel banned the match because of their hooliganism. Maybe he's asking McSweeney how it's polling this morning and what Farage has said about it.

 

[C R]

Odd that Starmer was so quick to comment on the Maccabi football 'fans' when he was calling out antisemitism, but we've not heard a peep from him since Israel banned the match because of their hooliganism. Maybe he's asking McSweeney how it's polling this morning and what Farage has said about it.

I suspect that the police concerns were about hooliganism from the israeli fans, but didn't dare say explicitly it lest they were accused of antisemitism. The ambiguous language allowed the professional semites to claim that Jews were being banned to placate "antisemitic" demonstrators, and we are where we are.

 

[Ian H]

I suspect that the police concerns were about hooliganism from the israeli fans, but didn't dare say explicitly it lest they were accused of antisemitism. The ambiguous language allowed the professional semites to claim that Jews were being banned to placate "antisemitic" demonstrators, and we are where we are.

When they were looking to reverse the ban, the Midlands Police said they could manage if they were given additional resources, e.g. from the Met.

 

[PurplePenguin]

Using snails as a tax dodge.

https://www.londoncentric.media/p/terry-ball-the-snail-farmer-his-mafia

 

[Psamathe]

My major issue is how much the state now relies on charities and goodwill to address social issues that one could argue should be addressed by government; mental health, unemployment, recidivism and so on. In a properly funded democracy, these are the kinds of challenges that govt at local and national level should be resourced fully to address.

Many years ago I noticed how charities seemed to be filling in what Government should have been doing. Back then I particularly noticed the far too common "Scanner Appeals". Local groups setting up charities to raise funds to buy their local NHS hospital a scanner. Back then always struck me that if the NHS hospital needed a scanner Government should be providing one not relying on charities. Plus such "provision" creates a postcode lottery as local charities in better off areas would raise needed funds and their local hospital get the equipment they need whereas charities in less wealthy areas would struggle and their local hospital wouldn't be getting any needed scanners.

 

[Psamathe]

Not least hospices. Shamefully they've had their grants severely reduced and most are now running at a deficit and having to make cuts.

Particularly after so many MPs (including Mt Streeting) who were against the Assisted Dying Bill were saying how hospice should "cover the need" and be properly funded.

 

[briantrumpet]

There was a tornado in Northern France today, with one dead and eight injured.

https://bsky.app/profile/alt31.bsky.social/post/3m3niix2xoc24

https://actu.fr/ile-de-france/ermon...-apres-le-passage-d-une-tornade_63327350.html

 

[Psamathe]

(Unrelated to other topics in this thread)

Low participation in medical trials puts millions of young people at risk
Millions of young people risk missing out on new treatments for health conditions and having to use medicines that are unsafe, ineffective or inappropriate because so few take part in medical research, experts have warned.

I used to be a participant in several medical trials but withdrew after the organisation those trials were using to store medical data started passing confidential data to 3rd parties (eg insurance companies).

It's privacy and confidentiality that stopped me and continues to stop me participating in most. I am still listed as "available" but only respond and participate to those that don't associate your data with you (which in practice seems is very few and not very significant research).

 

[Psamathe]

There was a tornado in Northern France today, with one dead and eight injured.

https://bsky.app/profile/alt31.bsky.social/post/3m3niix2xoc24

https://actu.fr/ile-de-france/ermon...-apres-le-passage-d-une-tornade_63327350.html

This year I didn't manage to head of on my normal France then round north (BE, DE, NL) cycle tour. And end of each month I could have gone I looked back and felt "lucky escape" as there had been miserable and destructive weather across where I'd have been cycling. I'd probably have lost several lightweight tents in the storms they suffered, as well as many days stuck in a small tent sitting out rain, enduring wet sleeping bags, etc. Frustrated that I didn't get away but reflecting I consider it might not have been much fun anyway.

Weather has been very unusual this year.

 

[briantrumpet]

This year I didn't manage to head of on my normal France then round north (BE, DE, NL) cycle tour. And end of each month I could have gone I looked back and felt "lucky escape" as there had been miserable and destructive weather across where I'd have been cycling. I'd probably have lost several lightweight tents in the storms they suffered, as well as many days stuck in a small tent sitting out rain, enduring wet sleeping bags, etc. Frustrated that I didn't get away but reflecting I consider it might not have been much fun anyway.

Weather has been very unusual this year.

Yep indeed. The worry in my bit is extreme hailstorms in the summer months, and they seem to be getting more frequent. I'm very glad I'm not nearer the Med coast as that seems to be even worse for the frequency of 'extreme precipitation events', caused, I assume, by a vary large body of water that is getting increasingly warmer than normal and releasing the energy via violent storms.

 

[briantrumpet]

A tale from a real-world wealth tax: a 4% surcharge on income over $1m in Massachusetts. I don't think Bloomberg is renowned for being left-leaning, though of course US taxes aren't high to start with.

https://archive.ph/J7VH5