So what's so bad about this Coalition anyway?

Er... let's see, here's a quick list off the top of my head of some of their best "achievements"





Let's hope the government changes in May. Things I've found the worst off the top of my head. I will not forget all this about 2010-2015!




*Only providing one bedroom housing benefit for over 35's as opposed to 25's


* Bedroom Tax

*I hadn't actually heard of foodbanks before 2010!


*Massively increased use of sanctions on JSA, upping the maximum length that somebody could go without any benefit at all to 3 years


*A culture of Job Centres having targets to sanction as many people as possible. Leading to some ex employees with a conscience setting up their own website to advise claimants.


*Increasing the time that they will not give JSA to someone who has voluntarily left a job or been sacked for misconduct to 6 months.


*Constant attempts at workfare and community slave labour schemes that usually never get off the ground.


*All but abolishing the Educational Maintenance Allowance paid to young students in college (FE) in England.


*Allowing councils to make decisions about how much council tax claimants have to pay and making more people on benefit pay some council tax, effectively just a reduction in benefit!


*Attempting to axe all Housing Benefit for young people


*Attempting to scrap the Human Rights Act


*Replacing DLA with PIP and making the criteria stricter to get it.


*Selling off lots of parts of the NHS to be run by private companies

*Privatising the Post Office


*Massively increased student tuition fees to around £9000 a year in England, the only concession being you now don't have to start paying the student loan back until you somehow earn £21000 PA, rather than the £15000 PA it was previously. Previous tuition fees were typically around £3000 a year.

*Sharing just 20% of Coalition power it is for this reason the Lib Dems are particularly disgraced in coalition and have dropped to just 5th in popularity behind The Green Party and UKIP!


* Removed ESA assessment rate forcing claimants to claim JSA whilst waiting for an ATOS medical when first claiming ESA.



*Making life harder for the BBC and making them fund the World Service on existing money and encouraging them to make cuts leading to the loss of BBC THREE and put on a networked evening show on BBC Local Radio.



"Increasing the probation period for new employees from one year to 2 years during which time they have virtually no rights of course!



*Next to no new social housing built.




*The deficit didn't actually go down, it went up!



*They spent more on Housing Benefit AFTER the Bedroom Tax came in!



*Despite wanting more disabled people in work they closed the Remploy factories which put thousands of disabled people out of work.



*Imposing a benefit cap of £26000 a year, it might sound a lot, but it's essentially an eviction notice for those without money who dare to live in London, despite the fact that their family and closest friends and all their community and connections might be from the city too. The cap mostly applies to Housing Benefit in reality and of course London has the craziest private and even social rent levels in the whole country!




GOOD THINGS!

*Maybe I would have to count allowing low earners to not be taxed under £10'000 PA!



THINGS THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN!

*They didn't cut off peoples internet connections off for torrenting, as was proposed to happen by 2011!


*They didn't change all benefits such as JSA & ESA over to Universal Credit by 2013!


*The National ID Card scheme was scrapped but that was a Labour policy!


*On the other hand, not that I could directly called a Labour supporter, some of the things they achieved seem quite a bit better from 1997 - http://www.general-election-2010.co.uk/50-labour-party-achievements.html

*This isn't a political blog that tries to influence you in any way at all,


VOTE FOR COALITION DEMOLITION MAY 2015!

50 Shades Of Attempted Censorship!

Nowadays I get really irritated by people whose cause is "I don't like this content so it should be banned for everyone" The conservative morals who appeared on channels like "Fox News" and hopelessly tried to restrict the GTA games just adding more street cred to them as they did so, Islamists about drawings of their precious Mohammad (if he's so good why don't they welcome such attention!) and films like this which moralists don't approve of, but the fact that the movie version of 50 Shades was made indicates that we are still a relatively healthy democracy.

Could modify Voltaire slightly for 50 Shades "Whatever you have to make I might find a bit crap, but it would be more than a bit crap if I didn't defend your right to make crap"

Inevitable, but as we are a relatively free country, we have a thing called "freedom of expression" if you've ever heard of it, that means the creative freedom exists for people who would be into the likes of 50 Shades Of Grey to enjoy it and for people who don't to respect the right of those that do and move on to something else. I don't like the sentiments of The Darwin Awards of the violence in many movies and games that are just over the top but I don't seek to ban them! take note domestic violence campaigners, you are campaigning against domestic violence not someones right to make a film about bondage etc. Lots of women enjoyed the book and most likely will enjoy the movie which is why it will no doubt be commercially successful.

Universities are now being criticised for being overly censorial which is why I would disagree with a student union banning the playing of Robin Thicke - Blurred Lines, they might think of themselves of being all young and progressive but they are just Mary Whitehouses,

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/movies/news/a628628/50-shades-of-grey-london-premiere-gets-domestic-violence-protest-group.html#~p4bVPs8yJ8kRVY

Comment - Muslim protest group gathers to protest against the principle of freedom of thought/expression & speech.

Saw this article and it incensed me, people of a religious persuasion (how original, everybody conform baaah, baaah!) demonstrating AGAINST freedom of speech!

If I sat down on the sofa watching reruns of Friends with an almost going off cheese sandwich with my hands down my pants all Sunday Afternoon than I would be having a less sad weekend than this bunch of controlling fascists. In a free country magazines would be able to publish any images they want, but these people want everybody to conform to Islam whether they are Islamic or not and that of course is more than overstepping the mark, I'll never conform to what they want.

That they think that the cartoons are actually important is pretty disturbing and shows pretty low intelligence on their part.

"Crowd of thousands assmbles to issue ‘stark reminder’ freedom of speech is ‘regularly utilised to insult personalities other consider sacred’, yes them in other words, most others are not so perpetually offended.

Controlling mindsets from a religion that cannot take any dissent or critical thinking, Islam like many religions is about boring conformism, if this prophet Mohammed is so sacred and special then why would they not want people to draw him anyway.They don't condone the Charlie Hebdo attacks but they sure as heckfire believing in restricting freedom of thought when it comes to the borefest that is their islamic religion. You can't say what you want when it comes to Islam, so officially I haven't said any of this, but actually I have!

 - http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/feb/08/british-muslims-london-protest-against-muhammad-cartoon-charlie-hebdo

QUESTIONING "QUESTION TIME" In WREXHAM - Thursday 29 January 2015

QUESTIONING "QUESTION TIME" In WREXHAM - Thursday 29 January 2015

Anti fracking campaigners gathered outside the Glyndwr University campus on a bitter cold wind chill packed Thursday evening as people queued up to watch and take part in a recording of the BBC's Question Time debate which was to go out later that evening.

In pictures.

There is a nearby "peace camp" set up outside a potential fracking site which is fairly close to the Wrexham suburb of Borras. A former "peace camp" had been set up directly on the proposed fracking site last year but it was forcibly removed, the new "peace camp" is now on nearby land so a watch can be kept on the potential fracking site.

Maybe Fracking isn't needed after all, the Shell petrol station opposite the Glyndwr campus offered the lowest price for petrol I'd seen yet since the recent slight relief on the price.

Liverpool Anglican Cathedral - We Need Sanctuary

WE NEED SANCTUARY - A PROTEST INSIDE LIVERPOOL ANGLICAN CATHEDRAL.. UPDATED.
Saturday 7 February 2015

Just as the Archbishop of Canterbury did

The Anglican Church & the church officials in Liverpool should do more to publicly condemn the cuts and austerity that the City of Liverpool and the country in general is having to go through, which include benefit sanctions for not searching for jobs on Christmas Day, a benefit cap of £26000 a year which sounds a lot but just means those without money cannot live in London at all whether they have heritage there or not, or the need for more and more foodbanks, most people hadn't even heard of the concept of a foodbank before 2010.


The pressure for the Church to condemn austerity and speak out following last weeks occupation of the cathedral might just be working - http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/bishop-liverpool-condemns-benefit-sanctions-8645667

The slightly surreal protest took place last weekend in Liverpool, whilst it would most typically be the streets of the city centre themselves or various shops and businesses who for one reason or another are seen as part of the problem when it comes to the bitter austerity that we all now increasingly face it was Liverpool's Cathedral's turn to see some activism.

Protesters descended on the vast Anglican Cathedral's interior and waited for Saturday Afternoon's Choral Evensong to conclude before unfurling a large banner from a position high in the rafters above the main cathedral floorspace, worshippers and anyone else present saw the words “we need sanctuary” draped from high above them and listened to a protest speech bellowed from the balcony that wasn't drowned out by security guards or police but rather the extreme acoustics of the cathedral that made it a pretty big challenge to decipher a single word that was said.

Officials from Liverpool Anglican Cathedral would go on to say that they didn't "condone" the protest in the article by the Liverpool Echo but the Dean listened to what the protesters had to say about the increasingly dire conditions for the poor in Liverpool, the diminishing right to protest at all and why the Cathedral could offer "sanctuary".

Ruby Sands holds the protest letter

The banner that had been draped from the high balcony was later placed across the floor near the large altar.

VIDEO COVERAGE - Coming Soon!

for more 107 News Clips see http://www.youtube.com/channel107radio/

AUDIO - Discussion between the protesters and the Dean - Coming Soon!

ELLESMERE PORT wants IGas to Frack Off!

OVER 100 PEOPLE DESCEND ON A SMALL INDUSTRIAL ESTATE ON A SUNDAY AFTERNOON TO TELL IGAS TO “FRACK OFF”.

What looked like more than 100 people descended on a small industrial site in Ellesmere Port on Sunday 14^th December to protest against a controversial proposed fracking site which would burrow over a mile under the town. Perhaps they thought in such a heavily industrial area it wouldn't be noticed but already there has been a “peace camp” set up and protests held. Only less half a mile away from the site is the start of the town of Ellesmere Port itself and it is around a mile away from all the various heavy industrial illustrations that make up the visibly dramatic Stanlow complex.

This according to one environmental campaigner I interviewed for 107talk was to be considered particularly dangerous due to the shape of the fracking drill which is potentially to be used at Ellesmere Port.

Due to the shape of the nearby Merseyton Road which links the M53 motorway with what used to be called “The Boat Museum” they couldn't apparently physically get a straight drill which is most often used for fracking actually round the corner and they were forced to compromise. I was told that due to the fact that the fracking drill to be used is not straight it will apparently frack in a more unpredictable way underground and may disturb methane which could be a dangerous combination due to the oil refinery located relatively close by.

However actual fracking itself at the site has not started as it is currently a “test drill” to see if actual fracking for shale gas would actually be viable. Without going into too many technical details this would cost a bunch of money so it has to be considered very much worth it by the investing company (IGas) so there is every possibility that the company involved (Igas just in case you forgot the name already) won't actually go ahead.

Pictured here are all the colourful protest signs and of course Cheshire Police who have to become keen protest visitors. One photographer got very close to the drill itself.

PICTURES

AUDIO – 
What is fracking anyway and why would it be bad for Ellesmere Port? -

Ellesmere Port Frack Free Protest & Interview - 107Talk by 107talk on Mixcloud

MORE _ http://www.mixcloud.com/107talk

VIDEO – 
107 News - Where the site is and the concluding speech - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1x3Bfe8x8kU

Your Driving Licence could be ripped up within the first 2 years.

The 2 year probation, is it really fair?

Hey I’ve come to the end of my 2 years driving probation. The authorities backed up by the arguments of those who wanted to put a spanner in the works of so called boy racers and anybody else that wants to drive in a way that’ll put them at odds with the law of the roads as they stand or are just plain inexperienced or anything else, decreed that from 1997 that anyone who passes their driving test doesn’t just get to think, “oh that’s it now I can drive, time to put that test nightmare behind me”, instead they have to live in fear of amassing what in most cases would be just TWO driving offences for fear of having their whole driving licence revoked and having to actually start again as a learner with all the L Plates and going out with somebody in the car, taking the theory test again and having to try and pass the driving test again as well.

Because if in 2 years, a “new driver” gets 6 points, their licence is actually ripped up. This for me meant that I never fully felt confident in the roads for 2 years, because if I misjudged my speed and got nicked for a speeding offence anywhere, I would only have to do that once more and it would be curtains for my licence, the same would apply if I misjudged some traffic lights somewhere and was unfortunate enough to get a red light camera offence. And points can also cover things such as bad tyres, or getting caught talking into a mobile phone, so you’ve really got to watch yourself for 2 years because the authorities are right onto you.  The more self-righteously minded law abiding motorist makes what they think is a perfectly valid point that it’s easier to avoid this unfortunate situation by just obeying the damn law, but I take some issue with that. How many times do you try to keep to the limit, but then have your mind go into other things as you think about all the things that we all carry in your head, you realise you’ve now crept up to 35 in a 30 zone, and was that someone in a hi-vis jacket back there, too bad I was lost in my own thoughts there huh.

Lights are on green, the self-righteous will tell you you shouldn’t be going fast enough not to be able to stop when they go amber, because that’s when you should stop, so you don’t get that so-called “amber gamble” situation where you’ve got to think about whether you can get through or not or slow down, sometimes with a bit of a slam on I have to say. Sounds quite easy in theory, but so often I’ve found on a fairly fast road quite particularly, that you are one of many cars doing 50mph+ and lights in front of you suddenly go amber, if this is an unfamiliar area and you don’t think you’ve got time to stop, if you misjudge that you might end up with a second or two of the light actually going red before you even get to the line, if that happens and there is a camera, that is a 3 pointer and you all know all too well that you’re only allowed to get 6 of the things! So next time it really is game over!

New Drivers are out there gaining experience every time they drive, and are more likely to make silly mistakes, so I do wonder if it’s worth punishing people so severely with an actual loss of licence, if it’s targeted at boy racer types the irony usually is they tend to know exactly where all the cameras are, they’ve got it all sussed, they’ll speed if they want to and usually never get done for it, the more innocent ordinary driver tends to fall foul of something they don’t intend to and then gets kicked off the road to boot. And when they say 6 points they actually mean 2, there’s only a couple of offences listed that give 2 points and nothing at all as far as I can see that only gives 1, so the idea of giving 3 for the most standard offences such as speeding has to be to make them seem more psychologically serious.

It’s all behind me now as I write this having made the fateful 2 year anniversary of the driving test marking the end of the dreaded probationary period, I have the licence that my parents have, that entitles you to drive until you amass 12 points, but hopefully I can avoid that just as easily as I avoided the dreaded 6.

AJ.