(3) Sheffield wants a continental style café culture. Is a public space protection order the answer?

‘They’re desperate and broken and need help — not just moving along to somewhere else’

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To solve any problem the root cause has to be solved and if it isn’t then the problem will never be solved and will get worse.
Being homeless is the last rung of the Society ladder, well not because the last rung is death, however, homelessness is about the lowest one can get before death occurs.

Solve the root problem and the homeless and begging will be drastically reduced, but there will always be some element of it.
So, assuming a public space protection order (PSPO) comes into place ‘If the PSPO does come in, the people who will have to enforce it are the police and the City Centre Ambassadors. The consultation document says enforcement will “enhance and not work against” current harm reduction initiatives and will be used to identify and address the support needs of people breaching the PSPO. It adds that fixed penalty notices will be “used where appropriate” but will not be the default response. A helpful City Centre Ambassador tells me much of what the PSPO covers is already illegal, but that the order would give them new powers, meaning they could issue civil penalties themselves. If this is refused, they can then get the police involved. “The idea is that it is meant to be the council and police working together to enforce it,” he tells me. Is that something the City Centre Ambassadors support? “No comment,” he says.’

So, a fixed penalty notice could be issued or the person could move on, but move on to whereas moving on is not solving the problem but allowing it to reappear in another place. If a fixed penalty notice is issued to what avail as the person to whom it is issued will, more than likely not be able to pay the fine or to do so will require more begging. If police assistance is required where will the police assistance come from we already are aware there are insufficient police. Or there appears to be for in many instances when police are called no one comes at all or too late to be of assistance.

Homelessness in many instances is due to insufficiencies in Society or lack of financial resources so any accommodation is lost thus causing to be homeless. But it could be down to not being able to cope with all that is happening causing mental problems and then there is an insufficiency for the NHS to deal with mental stresses and the resulting outcomes. However, there is also an accommodation shortage and thus no accommodation for the homeless to move into assuming that they could afford to do so.

Therefore creating PSPO is dealing with one outcome, but in no way solving the initial problem.

In many respects funding is the main problem, insufficient funding for those who then become homeless, and insufficient funding for LAs to deal with the initial problems of insufficient housing. Then insufficient funding for the NHS to deal with any mental health issues which could have been the cause for being homeless.
Most of the funding is from the government which since 2010 has been inflicting austerity cuts on LAs so leaving them short of much finance to provide for adequate services to be in place in many different areas. The austerity cuts have not been reversed and now there is more likelihood for more funding cuts to LAs by this government or future governments.

It is arguable if before 2010 LAs were sufficiently funded.
On top of all that, there is substantial underfunding of the NHS and even greater insufficient funding for social care.

The costs of inflation may be being reduced but there is still inflation albeit at a lower rate and while some form of tax cuts are promised, no increase in the Tax Allowance levels is expected. This means the lowering of National Insurance rates means more taxable income is there as does anyone lucky enough to get salary increases, but all this means greater numbers are coming into areas of income being taxed, if already being taxed more income to be taxed on and if near a taxation band then moving into a higher rate taxation band. Additional revenues for the Chancellor while the Chancellor is indicating people are better off for he gives one inch in one hand and takes two or more inches away with the other.

If you are lucky to have more income or savings than you really need then you will be better off than those who don’t and those who don’t are more likely to be in greater numbers and in greater need than those who are seen to be better off. Also, those who are already suffering from a lack of finances will always be hurt more when living costs rise no matter what rate.

The homeless will always be the worse off and people with disabilities won’t be any better the welfare benefits that are supposed to be there to help the disabled to be more equal are also not sufficient as the costs related to being disabled are rising more than the benefits to offset the costs. Also, some of the benefits paid are also liable to be taxed, so an insufficient benefit could be made even lower by tax being deducted.

But it looks more than likely that PSPOs will be introduced while the government gets off apparently free from any criticisms.

Source: (3) Sheffield wants a continental style café culture. Is a public space protection order the answer?

Rage, relief and recognition: the TV version of my book Breathtaking has opened a floodgate | Rachel Clarke | The Guardian

During the Covid pandemic, NHS staff were treated as expendable, says Rachel Clarke, a palliative care doctor and the author of Breathtaking

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I didn’t want to watch Breathtaking, but I knew I had to because it would upsetting for me. During COVID I lost both my wife and our disabled daughter not with COVID, but to other causes. I knew some of the pressures the NHS was under, but in watching Breathtaking I realised there was much more I wasn’t aware of.

Many now believe that COVID has gone and some still believe it was never here, but COVID is still with us and will be for years, if not ever.

The NHS hospital staff had to contend with so much and it was only their resolve and training that brought them through, however, many are still suffering in many ways and in varying degrees.

Neither the government nor NHS England was supporting the NHS staff, even though they led everyone to believe they were and to some extent are still not fully supporting NHS Staff and the NHS.

After all the NHS and NHS staff as well as patients and their families went through you will hope the the government and NHS England will have learned all the lessons that they need to, however, I so doubt that they have and may never do so.

At least another pandemic will be coming and we all need to be ready for it, but I doubt the government and NHS England will be to any degree.

With the mess we now know the government was making during COVID, I really doubt that the UK public will believe anything the government says now and in the future.

So the government and NHS England will not be ready and many of the UK population will have no wish to listen to anything, so I am very worried about the future.

Our only hope is that the current COVID inquiry will cover everything and in publishing its conclusions there will be honesty, transparency and much accountability and that those in power will implement everything the inquiry states has to be and also anything they suggest is guidance.

But that should never be the end for criminal prosecutions will be necessary and required and every one of them should be undertaken to their full conclusion.

In the past lessons have never been learned, but they have to be and it is extremely needed that honesty, transparency and accountability will always be there. Politics and other areas can’t be allowed to get in the way.

The whole of the NHS and the UK population has to be treated as a priority and also other areas, especially social care and Public Health with many other areas included.

Our futures depend on it.

 

Source: Rage, relief and recognition: the TV version of my book Breathtaking has opened a floodgate | Rachel Clarke | The Guardian

NHS crisis: Sewage, floods and rats underscore NHS repair task | BBC News

This is nothing new and not just restricted to the NHS, with certainly education and others. It is due to years of underfunding again not restricted to the NHS, but every area of the UK services, education, Roads, railways, social care, Police, Local authorities, housing, utility companies, especially water, climate change, flood resources and river maintenance, the list is endless.

While most people in the UK are well underpaid where they work is also in serious decline and all down to insufficient investment. I say it is nothing new as it has been around for well over 50 years or longer, but became much worse with the Tory austerity cuts starting in 2010 and now we are told of more coming. So it is going to get very much worse, before any signs of improvements, if ever.

Employment is very important as it is the lifeblood to recovery, but where people work is of equal importance for working in poor environments is not only bad for morale it can have serious impacts on aspects of health, mental, physical and other, even leading to deaths in some instances.

When it comes down to it, while the UK is better than some countries it is far worse than many others and poor investment is one of the major causes.

It many areas there is a view to reinstigate various industries to be re-nationalised, but for much of my early life I was subjected to many nationalised industries and can’t name one that was any good. Not only were they in many respects starved of much needed investments, practices within those industries were also severely restricted with the customers having virtually no choices whatsoever you had to have what was there or nothing.

Privatisation was supposed to bring in more competition which it did to some respects, especially telecommunications, for there was much choice available, not being restricted to rental telephones, but still rental of landlines, now there is much choice of telephones and many different companies, not just British Telecom or now known as BT. There is choice of energy companies but they all seem to be much similar, when they shouldn’t be so is there some colusion between them which Ofgem seems to allow.

While there are a number of water companies there is no choice for it depends which company is there for the area in which you decide and the vintage Victorian systems of pipework is not only so dated, but population growth is showing it is in great need of replacement, but so little is being replaced. This leads to the virtual consistency of illegal waste disposals into rivers and seas, which Ofwat seems to allow but shouldn’t. Even though the water companies were to some extent funded to replace the pipework systems much of it hasn’t been so where did the funding go, perhaps to shareholders and Chief Executives. But I doubt if re-nationalising will bring the more investments required.

So in effect both privatisation and nationalisation are both ineffective and will continue to be until there is real honesty, transparency and much needed accountability and so similar is required within government and Local Government (LA), but I doubt will occur for that would require the agreement of Government Ministers and MPs and LA councillors so relingushing some of their power.

The UK is deemed to be a democracy but in many respects it isn’t, yes more democracy than a dictatorship, but needs to be much more.

Restricting funding anywhere when it is really needed is not progressive, but regressive and just delays what is required. But we have already had more than 50 years of aggressiveness with no prospects of any progressiveness now or in the future no matter which Party is in government.

Lack of investment was a major reason for the chaos in the COVID 19 pandemic and as lessons have not been learned the next pandemic will be at least just as bad and will more likely be much worse due to the extensive mistrust created through many areas of the Tory governments.

Unfortunately in all areas lessons are never learned for to learn there has to be a degree of wishing to learn and in UK governments that wish is never there no matter how many promisesare given that it will be.

No one trusts the government perhaps even the government. This again is a disaster waiting to happen and happen it will do.

A massive reorganisation of the UK government process is required and by that I mean more than the abolishing of the House of Lords, for no matter how we feel about the Lords and its many problems at least it is some area to endeavour to restrict major problems the Commons brings before it.

Party politics should have no say in elected government and non-elected government as it should be focusing on what is best for the entire UK and not what suits one Party over another Party.

The UK government is not fit for purpose but then what government of any country is so the UK is not alone.

That, unfortunately is not good for anyone.

Source: NHS crisis: Sewage, floods and rats underscore NHS repair task | BBC News

Ukraine outnumbered, outgunned, ground down by relentless Russia | Reuters

As the Ukraine war enters its third year, the infantry of 59th Brigade are confronting a bleak reality: they’re running out of soldiers and ammunition to resist their Russian invaders.

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Putin has to be defeated, but not necessarily Russia for this is Putin’s war under the name of Russia. Putin has and is conning the Russian population for his own ends for he has no compassion or feelings for the Russian population for like all dictators all is about him.

So, no matter what it takes, Ukraine must be supported in all required ways. Sanctions are hurting Russia to some extent, but for sanctions to be really effective all countries have to be with the sanction process and they are not for their own reasons. So defeat of the Russian forces in all of Ukraine is the only way to defeat Putin and Putin is aware of this and why he is relentless in using all the Russian forces against the Ukrainian forces no matter what the expense is in deaths and injuries of Russian forces.

But the invasion of Ukraine is not the only weapon at the disposal of Putin for there is his relentless propaganda of information to the Russian population and his removal of all sources of the Russian population to receive any information to counter his propaganda.

Then there are the unseen forces of Putin being used against resources in other countries the Cyberattacks on other countries’ infrastructures and also his agents in those countries who will do his bidding to kill anyone whom Putin wishes them to kill.

We see it all the time for no one is safe from Putin wherever they are.

Any, even a slight element to not show full support is a ‘green light’ to Putin to push on further with all of his relentless attacks no matter what the costs are, not only monetary but all others.

Even defeat in Ukraine may not be sufficient, but it would be a severe blow and could stop him in his wish to invade more countries. For, no matter what he says any degree of Russian success in Ukraine will be an opportunity to do similar in any country he wishes to too for you can’t believe Putin if he says he won’t invade for he will.

By all means increase the sanctions as any will be of some help, but a seen defeat for Putin in Ukraine will be much more. So, any help Ukraine requires has to be given without any further delays, otherwise, Putin will do as he pleases and more deaths and destruction will be the result. These deaths and destruction will then be the fault of anyone or any country that is not fully supporting Ukraine.

Time is not on our side and certainly not on the side of Ukraine, it is only on the side of Putin.

 

Source: Ukraine outnumbered, outgunned, ground down by relentless Russia | Reuters

Israel-Hamas war: Palestinian siblings see parents killed in IDF raid | World News | Sky News

Our team in Gaza has spoken to a young brother and sister who watched their parents killed by Israeli troops and their disabled sibling blinded in one eye by a grenade, a fragment of which remains lodged in his brain.

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All this to this family and many other Palestinian families appears to be acceptable to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his IDF forces and sections of the American Republican-controlled Senate when it shouldn’t be. However, this is the current state of politics in a Republican America and if Trump becomes the next president it will become much worse.

For, this is State-owned terrorism and the State is the Israel of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Source: Israel-Hamas war: Palestinian siblings see parents killed in IDF raid | World News | Sky News

GoFundMe launched for Donald Trump’s ‘unjust’ $350m fine in civil fraud case

GoFundMe launched for Donald Trump’s ‘unjust’ $350m fine in civil fraud case – ‘I stand unwaveringly with President Donald Trump in the face of what I see as unprecedented and unfair treatment by certain judicial elements in New York,’ Elena Cardone wrote

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Who is conning who for someone is?

Trump states he is a billionaire, so if he is why does he need funds, well we only have his word to some extent and that word appears to change with what areas of wealth he wishes to prove and to who.

He is also a serial non-payer to people and organisations who state he owes them money for various services rendered. He has also declared his businesses bankrupt around 6 times, so is that the actions of a good businessman, well perhaps not one you can trust.

However, his supporters appear to trust him and believe every word he speaks, well even that is ridiculous as who is correct every time?

That is what conmen do and how they keep being able to exist, until, of course, the legal processes catch up with them. Is this not what the legal process appears to be currently doing, well not according to Trump, but, if he is a conman then you would expect him to say that for that is what conmen do. They dupe those they speak to and he speaks to his supporters, well not really speak to, but delivers a sermon to them, just like many Evangelical preachers are said to do.

Now what a coincidence for the Evangelical Church also appears to support him. So is Trump conning the Evangelical Church or are they conning their congregations or perhaps both the Church and Trump are. Who knows but somewhere someone is conning someone.

Conmen usually just con individual people or groups of people, but, if Trump is a conman and has other disagreeable qualities he is conning a Country. Conning a country once is bad enough, but if it is more than once, what does it say about the country.

Source: GoFundMe launched for Donald Trump’s ‘unjust’ $350m fine in civil fraud case

For the first time in my life, I’m now beginning to think Britain is finished

The country’s self-image as tolerant, decent and hard-working is being smashed. It’s only going to get worse

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Britain could well be finished, but then many other countries could be and the days of being alone are well gone.

World events many of which are behind the control of individual countries rule more than we believe for governments are not truthful. Whether the untruths are more these days we will never know for we have never been sure when past governments have ever been truthful. We have believed they were, but in the past, we were more willing to believe than we are today.

To say anything has gone is wrong for it may appear to have, but in reality, nothing goes for it just appears to, for it will always be there underneath waiting to rise whenever circumstances are there.

We see the rising many times in many different areas. Racism being one for it is always there but many of us may not notice it, but those many communities who have experienced racism will see it in its many forms.

Then we have health, currently measles which we all thought was eradicated, but now see that it hasn’t been for it has reappeared in some communities.

We tend to take our ‘eyes off the ball’ but the ball is always there.

Governments are ace at ignoring or taking their eyes off the ball as they always wish to cut costs, so when they see money being spent on areas that appear to not require as much money, they divert the money to other areas. However, the areas where the money has been taken from will continue to fester and break out when governments are least expecting them to.

Nothing ever should be taken for granted, but it is.

To overcome what is happening we all need to come together and be there for everyone and not as it is just for ourselves.

Source: For the first time in my life, I’m now beginning to think Britain is finished

Trump faces a $370m fine in New York fraud trial. How would he pay it? | BBC News

Trump is in trouble, but then when is he not for Trump courts trouble and has done for most of his life.

He is a serial non-payer of debts and has forever used the court system to get away with non-payment of his debts, but now it is the courts after Trump, but he is still doing what he feels he does best, use delaying techniques. In the past, this has worked for he has been against other people with limited funds and finance available. Now the courts have the time and finances to take him on. But with his delaying tactics, he wishes to delay until he hopes he will be re-elected President again and then he will use that position to endeavour to get the court cases withdrawn or just pardon himself.

Should the cases finish before the Presidential election, he will need to find the finances, which could put his business empire at some risk. However, he has his supporters who believe that Trump can do no wrong and will finance him every time he requests them to do so, but will even they have these amounts of finance available.

Maybe not and this could cause Trump some financial headaches and he hopes everyone will feel sorry for him, but he only has himself to blame and his years of bending the law could be becoming home to roost with him, something he has not experienced before. He is a wheeler-dealer, a con man of some expertise as well as many other unsavory aspects.

This will not be the end of Trump, but he could be seriously damaged and it is all of his own making, but that, he will never agree with as he really believes that he does no wrong.

Will it affect his chances of becoming President again, well it should do, but that has been believed many times before and it proved false due to the unbelievable trust his supporters have in him, how can they be so blind.

Source: Trump faces a $370m fine in New York fraud trial. How would he pay it? | BBC News

Politics What a Shambles

Politics who would have it, well we do, but wherever you look it is a shambles especially in the UK and USA.

In the USA where it appears the choice for President will be between 2 geriatrics either Biden or Trump. Age should not be a factor but ability should.

Biden on his record is not a bad President but there does appear to be some degree of senility there, but other than that all appears good. Good policies with possible some dithering on Israel or more on its Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his policy on Gaza. But otherwise Biden has turned around the American economy from the shambles left by the former President Donald Trump. Biden has also improved many other areas left in a shambles by Trump.

Then we come to Trump, well where do you start for even with him there could be some degree of senility, but there is much worse his views on women, disability, American military, American Law and Order, the American Constitution and many others, none of which is supporting America and Americans but he is so popular with his base supporters. Unfortunately this says more about his supporters who appear to have lost, if they ever had some, of reality, human rights and mainly what is good for America. For Trump will never and never has been good for America only good for Trump, but his supporters believe he is their Messiah, how so wrong they are.

Well, that to a large extent is American politics but what about UK politics for in the UK it is not much better.

In the UK the Tories have been the government since 2010 and this has l through, is it 5 Prime Ministers starting with David Cameron in 2010 then Theresa May, then Boris Johnson, followed by Liz Truss and finally Rishi Sunak and most have or are a disaster. Boris was bad because he had no reality of the truth much like Trump in America, but then Truss who bombed the UK economy in the spate of 45 days. Sunak is somewhat better and has brought down the rate of inflation, slightly reduced the boat illegal immigration from France but nowhere completely as promised but is making the crisis in social care and the NHS much worse mainly down to insufficient funding. However insufficient funding is mainly the main problem area in all areas of the UK.

As in America it is also election year in the UK and the choice of Prime Minister is just as bad to some degree as in America not with senility but certainly trust.

There is a complete lack of trust in Sunak and the Tories but unfortunately some similar in Starmer and Labour.

Indecision is the order of the day with Starmer, recently his Green policy of £28 billion, yes, we will for months, then suddenly no we won’t. We all knew it wasn’t sustainable apparently except by Starmer, but he saw Green wasn’t his colour eventually as Labour is Red which is generally red for danger or not to go on. 

Now we have his Rochdale by-election fiasco where the Labour candidate was to stay until a last minute decision but a decision was too late to remove him from the ballot paper. So on the ballot paper will still show Azhar Ali as the official Labour candidate when he is not  so more untruths in politics.

But the ballot paper problem could for the future be solved by removing Parties from the ballot paper. Why should the Party be shown as you are supposed to be voting for a person and not a Party. For you are told your MP is your MP whether you vote for them or not. That is until Party politics come in when the Party dictates how they should vote in Parliament so your MP is only your MP when it suits the Party and not you.

Take the Party off the ballot paper and maybe make all MPs technically Independents in Parliament so they always do what their constituents wish and not the MPs Party. Then make all MPs accountable to their constituents so if the MP goes against what constituents want they can get rid of and a by-election called.

That would be the true voice of the people.

Here the UK could set a precedent for all countries governments.

This would certainly get rid of the chaos in America between Republicans and Democrats.

Perhaps in the UK we should separately vote for the Prime Minister and not just let it be the leader off the party who wins the most MPs. This would have solved the situation of the number of Tory Prime Ministers after Boris as with the going of Boris a Prime Minister election be held so the UK population would decide and not just the Party MPs and Party Members.

Big changes but may be changes for the better for at least there could be more accountability when currently there is none.

We may even get transparency and honesty but perhaps that is asking too much, when it should be there. We may even start to trust politics!!!, But do we believe in miracles.

Disabled woman forced to crawl up steps because of faulty lift | UK News | Metro News

‘The way I’m treated always seems to surprise me the most.’

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Unfortunately, this is far from a one-off and is more usual than should be, not only not functioning equipment, but staff attitudes.

Something can be done about staff attitudes being improved or get rid of the staff. Servicing and maintenance of essential equipment needs to be better and more than ever needs to be available 24/7.

All this can be done if organisations accept their responsibilities and are then accountable if not. However, the disabilities people have are more than likely to be with the person for life. The problem is not the disability but the problems that are around, caused by some organisations and employees of the organisations.

Apologies are one thing, but not the answer as these barriers are forever occurring when they shouldn’t be. Those who have mobility are rarely inconvenienced, but persons with disabilities regularly are and it is not their fault, but lack of consideration, thought and more is never acceptable, attitudes have to change for it is far too easy to apologise rather than ensure problems don’t occur.

This is not equality when equity should be always present irrespective of cost, but equality legislation always allows cost to be the get-out clause. That is for the government to deal with, that is when we do get a government that is there to listen and then action.

Source: Disabled woman forced to crawl up steps because of faulty lift | UK News | Metro News