What have we become?

Thousands of elderly people are being abused and neglected in their homes by the very staff meant to care for them. In some cases the treatment is so appalling that frail and vulnerable pensioners have been left ‘wanting to die’, a report reveals today. It comes after studies exposing the shocking standard of care for old people in hospitals and care homes across the country. In one example, a care worker forced a 76-year-old cancer victim to struggle to the kitchen to heat up a meal – because it was claimed health and safety rules meant a helper could not operate a microwave. Another was put to bed at 2.45pm – while some were even left to starve by refusing help with their meals.

As we live longer more and more of us will need some help to get by. But what sort of people are presenting themselves as “carers”? How can one human being treat another with such wanton neglect, and indeed cruelty as indicated in the report?

I know that there are many genuine carers out there but there are also some callous people who simply take the cash and could not care less about their poor frail and vulnerable patients. Such is the human condition, some decent caring people and some monsters. But if you are at the receiving end of the latter group, life ain’t going to end too well. That’s a worry as one day, dear reader with a bit of luck, you will be old. Who will take care of you?

This story has caused quite a furore today south of the border;

THE mayor of Naas Darren Scully bowed to pressure this evening and resigned his position on the Town Council after he warned in a radio interview that he would refuse to represent members of the black community.

The Fine Gael councillor, was reported to gardai after he told the Kfm radio station he found “black Africans” to be aggressive and bad mannered. Naas Town Council called a special meeting this evening in the wake of the racism controversy.

Cllr Scully was accused of racism after the interview in which he said: “I’ve been met with aggressiveness, I’ve been met with bad manners and I’ve also been played the race card. ”It’s been said, ‘You would help white people but you don’t help black people’.” He went on to say: “After a while of this I made a decision that I was not going to take on representations from Africans. I’ve said that I would be very courteous to them and that I would pass on their query to other public representatives who would take their concerns.”

Now then, was he right to resign? Is he a racist? I think he had little choice to resign given the fact that he did not stand on a manifesto of only helping friendly people. On the other  hand, IF he finds a particular group aggressive and ill-mannered, hasn’t he the right to direct them elsewhere? Is this an example of intolerance from ALL sides but the loser is the Mayor?

The Eurozone crumbles in front of our eyes even as Merkel pretends all will be well if only every Euro nations bows down..

Portugal may need a further 20-25 billion euros in rescue funds to finance public companies that have had their access to market funding cut off, a former government official who negotiated the country’s bailout earlier this year said on Tuesday. Carlos Pina, who as treasury secretary in the previous Socialist administration was a key official involved in negotiations for Portugal’s 78-billion-euro bailout in April, said the loan from the European Union and IMF did not reckon with the closure of markets for public companies. ”There is a risk that the 78 billion euros will not be sufficient,” Pina told a conference. “There may be a shortfall of 20 to 25 billion euros.”

Well, what’s 25 BILLION Euros between friends? Why need treat yourself and go for 30 Billions – why even stop there? Power up the ECB printing presses and let’s all charge forward – Zimbabwe here we come…

This should prove an interesting one;

The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor has accepted that Muammar Gaddafi’s son Saif al-Islam will be tried in Libya, not The Hague. Luis Moreno-Ocampo said the ICC had issued an arrest warrant for Saif al-Islam on war crimes charges because Libya’s justice system was not up to it. He said this was no longer the case, but that the ICC would help. The visit comes as a new cabinet is expected to be announced.

Given the horrendous crimes Gadaffi Minor has undoubtedly committed against fellow Libyans, it seems  more than likely he will be found guilty as charged. The penalty for his war crimes under Libyan law is…yes, the death sentence. But nations like France and the UK are dead against the death penalty, I wonder how they feel about creating the circumstances that enable it to brought about? Do YOU think Saif should be save from a fate no worse but no better than death? He is the original poor little rich boy now caught in the jaws of death. In one way you can feel sorry for him – having witnessed the death of his father and brothers but then again, if you live by the sword…..

I know Pelosi is a fully qualified moonbat but like Biden, but she can still surprise.

According to LifeNews.com, Nancy Pelosi is upset that the U.S. Catholic bishops wouldn’t approve if the Obama administration did, in fact, decide to force insurance companies to cover birth control, contraception and drugs that could cause abortions. The bishops say that, under such a decision, some religious groups might have to provide the insurance against their moral and religious views.

Given the Catholic Church’s ban on contraception, the bishops’ position shouldn’t come as a surprise to Ms. Pelosi — but she still manages to be baffled by their concern for conscience protections for health insurers who might not want to have to cover birth control just to be able to provide other types of health insurance. Similarly, she was skeptical earlier this year that Republicans would fight for conscience protections for health care providers out of any noble motive. Republicans must want women to “die on the floor,” she said, just because they don’t want to compel health care providers to assist with abortions.

She still thinks that — only more so, if that could possibly be. “[Those who disagree] may not like the language,’’ she told The Washington Post, “but the truth is what I said. I’m a devout Catholic and I honor my faith and love it . . . but they have this conscience thing [that puts women at risk.]”

Yes, so she is “a devout Catholic” but that pesky conscience thing just gets in the way, right? Way to go, Nancy. Perhaps you are just…jealous?

You may be familiar with “The Maiden’s Prayer” – it’s a joke!

“O Lord make me chaste, but not just yet”

This appears also represent the wishes of the Italian electorate..

“Italians are overwhelmingly in favour of cutting their country’s enormous debts, as long as they do not have to make personal sacrifices to achieve it.

An AP-GfK poll showed that 93% consider public debt a priority, but only about a quarter favour reforming employment laws to make it easier to fire workers or approve of raising the retirement age to 67. Those reforms are considered critical to curbing Italy’s public spending and boosting its economic growth.”

So, austerity reigns so long as La Dolca Vita can carry on regardless? It’s like herding cats – one almost pities Merkel’s Gaulieter, Super Mario!

Here’s a great example of the almost criminal contempt the political class have for OUR assets;

“A military site gifted to the Northern Ireland government to boost the peace process was sold for £1 million below its estimated value, only to be resold the same day by the new owner, an audit report has revealed.

The Malone Road barracks was situated in the leafy south Belfast suburbs, where luxury apartments built on the site set a new high for property pricing at the time.

But the report by the Northern Ireland Audit Office found that the deal failed to maximise the potential benefits of the sale, or include a “clawback” measure to secure a share of future profits. The former army base, one of a number handed to the Stormont Executive by the British Government, was sold for £3.8 million in October 2003 around seven months after the site was transferred to the Office of First Minister Peter Robinson and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness., despite having been valued at between £4.3 million and £4.6 million.

I am sure the gentleman who made a fortune in one day is a big supporter of the peace process.  It certainly enriches some lives. Surely there should be prosecutions brought against those “officials” who made such a calamitous miscalculation, to be KIND about it.

There has been a lot of chatter in the UK media today about what is being presented as “the corrosiveness” of high pay. Here’s a taster;

The high salaries of UK executives are “corrosive” to the economy, the High Pay Commission has argued. The commission – set up by a pressure group – says the disparity between what top executives and average workers earn has been building for 30 years. Its study lists a 12-point plan to stop “high pay creating inequalities last seen in the Victorian era”. Vince Cable, the Business Secretary, said he would be looking seriously at the proposals. These include forcing companies to publish a pay ratio between the highest paid executive and the company median.

The High Pay Commission is an organisation set up by the left wing think thank Compass and the left-leaning Rowntree Foundation. The Head of Compass, Neal Lawson, is a member of the TGWU and a speech writer for Gordon Brown. Think that might be a CLUE? Read on;

Have a look at the CVs of the members of the HP Commission: Chair is Deborah Hargreaves, former business editor of the Guardian, a post she held from 2006 to 2010. Lord Newby is co-chair of the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Treasury Committee, having been the Party’s Treasury spokesman in the Lords since 1999. And Frances O’Grady became TUC Deputy General Secretary in January 2003, the first woman ever to hold this post. About as impartial as Neal Lawson, wouldn’t you agree?

The thing that unites these lefties is ENVY. It annoys them that some people are more successful than others. That’s why they keep seeking to bring everything down. Their hatred of high earners does not seem to extend to those working for the State, earning vast fortunes; to those on faux Charities, also living the life; to trade union barons on six figure salaries. Not a word about them even though THEY are ripping the taxpayer off. Let’s cut to the chase – these are cultural Marxists who resent success. They use a variety of nom de plumes but at the heart of each of them is their peculiar idea that “fairness” must be enforced, no matter who doesn’t like it.

Hi all. Well then, I’ve just off the phone with President Ahmadinejad / Boy Bashar / Obama / Rihanna (delete as you deem appropriate) and he/she/it has apologised for the ATW outage and has promised it will not happen again! Seriously, there was a technical glitch that happened this morning and to be fair to the party concerned, they were very good at fixing it! I hope your day has not been entirely spoiled and normal service will be resumed..with a vengeance. Brace yourself…..

It seems all is well now at Planet ATW. I’m sure all will become clear about last night’s blackout. Anyone still hot for that internet kill switch right now?

Have yourselves an open thread, garnished with a Russian newsreader babe’s eloquent opinion of the American president. Or maybe she was just reaching for the reset button?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=E7jKKZTpzh4

House rules apply, so play nicely.