Future War Cultist wrote:
Yeah it's stupid. We should be focusing on the real issues, like the future tariffs. If the EU insists upon putting tariffs on our services then I'm not sure if we should let them get away with tariff free goods.

GoatboyBeta wrote:
His definition of Zionism does seem a bit too broad. Its a bit like saying Briton first support an Islamic caliphate because they want to get all Muslims out of the country

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
I'll be coughing up to get my God Daughter private tuition should she need it - her parents and I likely won't be able to fund a private education, but I can damned well do my best to see she gets into a Grammar School. I may not like that system. I may not particularly approve of the snobbery and elitism that surrounds it - but I'm also rational and sensible enough to know that, however much I dislike it, it's an advantage I need to ensure she has.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
What's more important?

My socio-political standpoints, or doing what I can to give the wee chubster as solid a start in life as I can?

(though I suspect your post was in jest)

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
In the meantime, I'll be coughing up to get my God Daughter private tuition should she need it - her parents and I likely won't be able to fund a private education, but I can damned well do my best to see she gets into a Grammar School. I may not like that system. I may not particularly approve of the snobbery and elitism that surrounds it - but I'm also rational and sensible enough to know that, however much I dislike it, it's an advantage I need to ensure she has.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:


The One Size Fits None comprehensive system isn't failing - it's failed. Big time. We need to overhaul it, offer a wider choice of education (hey kid, good with practical, but struggle with the theory? There's a specialised school for that).

 Whirlwind wrote:
Lets suppose all teachers were paid £50k per year. How likely it that there would a be a teaching crisis. Local doctors get paid £100k per annum and yet realistically most only deal with the elderly that have colds. From a purely societal impact on a influence over a lifetime a teacher likely has much more of an affect on a person than a doctor does.

 Kilkrazy wrote:
There hasn't been a vote since 2015.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:

And some thoughts on Corbyn's proposed VAT on private school fees to pay for free school meals.

No, but Yes in that precise order.

I'll deal with the Yes. We absolutely need free school meals made available, ideally for all students. But that's yet another symptom of our State Schools not being properly funded.

VAT on Private School fees? Now, don't get me wrong. I kind of object to some of the fringe benefits of Private Schooling, such as the 'Old Boys Club', and the favouritism still shown by top universities for applicants from Private Schools. That stuff is dead wrong, and has no place in a modern society, where educational options should be based on a meritocracy.

But, that's not to say I disagree with Private or Public schools actually existing. Choice is good, after all. But whacking 20% VAT on the fees is a bad, bad move. Why?

Contrary to public perception, relatively few Public School Students are hooray-henries, chinless wonders just waiting for a fat inheritance. Quite often, they're the kids of parents who give up a lot to try to get the best start in life for their kid. Put it this way - I don't make a massive amount of money, but I'm comfortable. If I find a wife and we have a sprog, if the Mrs earns the same as I do (and assuming my income doesn't go up massively - which it may well do, pots on the fire and that), then we could, with a few lifestyle sacrifices, stump £3,000 a term for private schooling.

But, with 20% VAT on top of that? Nope. Just been pushed out my price range. So for the most part it would only increase educational segregation.

Me, I'd love to see State Schools funded, equipped and staffed to the point that the very noticeable difference in educational quality is massively reduced to the point where there's less need for Private Schools, and they risk losing their monopoly on top education. But to do that we need to put taxes up across the board, and not just make private schooling more expensive. In the meantime, I'll be coughing up to get my God Daughter private tuition should she need it - her parents and I likely won't be able to fund a private education, but I can damned well do my best to see she gets into a Grammar School. I may not like that system. I may not particularly approve of the snobbery and elitism that surrounds it - but I'm also rational and sensible enough to know that, however much I dislike it, it's an advantage I need to ensure she has.

 Do_I_Not_Like_That wrote:

 Kilkrazy wrote:
There hasn't been a vote since 2015.

They won a by election a few weeks ago.

 Haighus wrote:

Whilst I agree with the majority of what you have said, I think it is somewhat unfair to bash GPs in this way. Yes, teachers should definitely get more pay for what they do, but GPs do have a very involved role too, and unfortunately there is a lot more to the job than managing colds. Most of the elderly visits involve really complex interactions with multiple diseases, that take a lot of experience to manage effectively, and can kill the patient (or put them in hospital and therefore costing a lot more than treating them in the community). It certainly isn't a simple role and the wage is supposed to represent the degree of background knowledge and experience, as well as responsibility required for the job. There is also a large business aspect, which is diminishing as more and more GPs go the salaried route. Of course there are a lot of straight forward consultations in GP practices, which is why an increasing amount of consultations are being done by nurse practitioners and other, similar clinic roles on a lower pay band, with a lower degree of responsibility.

 filbert wrote:
Yeah, my daughter doesn't get free school meals next year (they only get them for the first couple of school years) but me and the wife are going to stump up the £40 odd a month to ensure she gets the. I think it is important for them to have a hot meal at school.

New Mexico Outlaws School ‘Lunch Shaming’

What is “lunch shaming?” It happens when a child can’t pay a school lunch bill.

In Alabama, a child short on funds was stamped on the arm with “I Need Lunch Money.” In some schools, children are forced to clean cafeteria tables in front of their peers to pay the debt. Other schools require cafeteria workers to take a child’s hot food and throw it in the trash if he doesn’t have the money to pay for it.

In what its supporters say is the first such legislation in the country, New Mexico has outlawed shaming children whose parents are behind on school lunch payments.

On Thursday, Gov. Susana Martinez signed the Hunger-Free Students’ Bill of Rights, which directs schools to work with parents to pay their debts or sign up for federal meal assistance and puts an end to practices meant to embarrass children. It applies to public, private and religious schools that receive federal subsidies for students’ breakfasts and lunches.

The law’s passage is a victory for anti-hunger activists, who have long been critical of lunch-shaming practices that single out children with insufficient funds on their electronic swipe cards or who lack the necessary cash. These practices can include making the child wear a wrist band or requiring the child to perform chores in exchange for a meal.

In some cases, cafeteria workers have been ordered to throw away the hot lunches of children who owed money, giving them alternatives like sandwiches, milk and fruit.

“People on both sides of the aisle were genuinely horrified that schools were allowed to throw out children’s food or make them work to pay off debt,” said Jennifer Ramo, executive director of New Mexico Appleseed, an anti-poverty group that spearheaded the law. “It sounds like some scene from ‘Little Orphan Annie,’ but it happens every day.”

State Senator Michael Padilla, a Democrat and the majority whip, said he introduced the bill because he grew up in foster homes and experienced shaming tactics as a child.

“I made Mrs. Ortiz and Mrs. Jackson, our school lunch ladies, my best friends,” he said. “Thank goodness they took care of me, but I had to do other things like mop the floor in the cafeteria. It was really noticeable that I was one of the poor kids in the school.”

New Mexico is not alone in dealing with school meal debt. According to the School Nutrition Association, over three-quarters of school districts had uncollected debt on their books at the end of the last school year. In a survey by the association, districts reported median lunch debt of a few thousand dollars — but some were far higher, as much as $4.7 million.

Once debt is deemed uncollectable, school nutrition departments must write it off, but they may not offset the loss with federal dollars. Instead, they must dip into other forms of revenue, such as profits from the sale of full-priced snacks and meals, or they must seek reimbursement elsewhere, usually from the district’s general fund.

Most districts try to collect outstanding balances through automated calls, texts or emails, and they may also hire an outside collection agency. The New Mexico law will still allow schools to penalize students with steps such as withholding a student’s transcript or revoking older students’ parking passes.

Lunch shaming can take a toll on the adults enlisted to carry it out as well as on children. A Pittsburgh-area cafeteria worker made national news when she quit her job rather than deny hot lunches to students.

Some school employees reach into their own pockets to pay for meals. Sharon Schaefer, a former chef at a high school in Omaha, said one cashier asked to be removed from her position because of the school’s “no money, no meal” policy. “She had been secretly paying for students’ meals,” Ms. Schaefer said, “and couldn’t afford to keep it up.”

Even those outside the cafeteria may be moved to help. Private individuals have sometimes paid off the entire outstanding balance at local schools, and last December, a single tweet inspired hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations around the country.

“I don’t think the main intention of the school meal debt policies is to humiliate,” said Ms. Ramo of New Mexico Appleseed, who said the group worked closely with school nutrition departments in drafting the bill. “Mostly, school nutrition directors are trying to balance their budgets and they see this is a necessary but effective evil.”

Nonetheless, she said, “We have to separate the child from a debt they have no power to pay.”

In 2010, the Department of Agriculture was directed to examine the feasibility of establishing national standards for dealing with meal debt, but in its report to Congress last summer, the department concluded that the matter should remain under local control. Accordingly, it directed state agencies to establish a formal payment policy by July 1 or to allow districts to set their own policies by that date. Texas and California have also introduced anti-shaming legislation.

In its official guidance, the Agriculture Department discourages the use of alternate meals and other stigmatizing practices. If an alternate meal is offered, the department suggests bringing it to the child’s classroom in a paper sack so it looks like a home-packed lunch, or offering the same cold meal on the lunch line so it’s available to all students.

In Alabama, a child short on funds was stamped on the arm with “I Need Lunch Money.” In some schools, children are forced to clean cafeteria tables in front of their peers to pay the debt
People on both sides of the aisle were genuinely horrified that schools were allowed to throw out children’s food or make them work to pay off debt,

Spoiler:

...hmmm..












earlier in the week

The son and brother of President Bashar al-Assad’s alleged chemical weapons chief have been granted UK citizenship even though he is under international sanctions.

Amr Armanazi’s youngest son, Bisher, and older brother, Ghayth, were allowed British passports after he had been blacklisted in 2012 by the US government for running a facility in Syria allegedly involved in the production of sarin nerve gas and other weapons of mass destruction.

Armanazi’s eldest son, Zayd, a British citizen since 2009, works with his younger sibling at an investment bank in the City.

 Kilkrazy wrote:

 Do_I_Not_Like_That wrote:

 Kilkrazy wrote:
There hasn't been a vote since 2015.

They won a by election a few weeks ago.

And they lost one a few weeks before that.

 reds8n wrote:
earlier in the week

 Do_I_Not_Like_That wrote:

 Kilkrazy wrote:

 Do_I_Not_Like_That wrote:

 Kilkrazy wrote:
There hasn't been a vote since 2015.

They won a by election a few weeks ago.

And they lost one a few weeks before that.

Labour holding on to Stoke was hardly front page news, but the fact that the Tories stole a seat from Labour, the first government to do so for decades, tells its own story.

 Steve steveson wrote:

 Do_I_Not_Like_That wrote:

 Kilkrazy wrote:

 Do_I_Not_Like_That wrote:

 Kilkrazy wrote:
There hasn't been a vote since 2015.

They won a by election a few weeks ago.

And they lost one a few weeks before that.

Labour holding on to Stoke was hardly front page news, but the fact that the Tories stole a seat from Labour, the first government to do so for decades, tells its own story.

Let's see what happens in 4 weeks... The next local elections should be telling. The lib dems are campaigning hard in my area, Cameron's old constituency. I have only ever seen UKIP before.