How About 'No'!

BBC News should be on streaming sites and social media to justify a new universal levy, the head of the corporation has said.The BBC is predominantly funded by the £180 annual licence fee, which is currently under review. Director-general Matt Brittin, the former head in Europe of Google, believes the corporation is 'held back' by the fee, which is 'no longer fit for purpose', and has suggested a household levy could be an alternative funding option.

So, to combat the fact that fewer and fewer people are paying for your service (legitimately or not) you want to force everyone to pay for it instead by putting it on general taxation? Congratulations on beating big Hollywood stars, young socialists and trans men to the top of the entitlement charts.

He told the BBC's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme: 'What we need to look at is the current model. 'You pay the licence fee if you watch live TV or you're on iPlayer. I'd like to see reform that allows us to be where audiences are. 'I think BBC content should be on Netflix, on YouTube, on TikTok, on Spotify, and Instagram, and everywhere where audiences are. 'Particularly news, actually, which I think is part of disinfecting misinformation. It's our job to be everywhere.'

The BBC claiming to be against misinformation is a sick joke. 

Mr Brittin clarified that the universal household bill is just one of a number of ideas that are being discussed during the renewal process. He said that the model has been used in many other countries to fund public media and would ensure a level of fairness.

Are you considering a subscription model, so those who want your service can buy it? That’s the fairest option, surely? 

And when asked why everybody should pay the proposed charge, Mr Brittin said: 'Ninety-four per cent of households every month are consuming BBC content. That's incredible, yet only 80 per cent are paying. 'So there's a fairness issue there in terms of how we fund the BBC and I think that the principle is if we want a BBC that's for everyone, then it needs to be funded by everyone, and how you get that modernisation is critical.'

I'm not as hopeful as Longrider that the green paper conclusions will be heeded in the face of such rapacious entittlement. What say you, Reader? 

Well, You Are How You Feel, Eh?

Being sent a shiny new phone in the post that you were not expecting may sound great, but it could well be a sign you have just been scammed. Criminals might have got into your account, added a new handset to your bill, before asking you to "return" it - to their address. Nearly 30,000 cases like this were recorded last year of what a telecommunications boss described as "at scale, organised crime".

Organised, yes, but like any good scam, reliant on the naivety and/or greed of the mark. As Longrider has frequently pointed out...

So, what sort of greedy naive idiot has fallen for this one? 

The Reverend Jenny Seggar, rector of the Two Rivers Benefice near Ipswich, fell victim to this type of fraud last year and told the BBC's Scam Secrets podcast how the "very plausible" technique unfolded.

There follows a story few people wouldn’t have smelled a rat with! 

When Seggar contacted Tesco Mobile, staff told her the QR code led to a private address - meaning the fraudsters had bagged themselves a brand new iPhone and Apple Watch. "I got back into the car and I thought, 'Oh, I think I've just been really stupid. I don't like how this feels'," Seggaar added.

Yes, you have. 

Seggar's experience is part of a pattern of increasingly sophisticated scam activity across the telecommunications industry. 

Not really that sophisticated at all  

I Thought 'The Vulture' Was Just A Spiderman Villain...

...but turns out there's a lot more of them at Marvel Comics. Whole flocks are gathering...

In a row that began before Lee died, his chief artistic collaborators, Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, always claimed they had far more of a hand in the comics than the illustrations they were credited for. Last week, after the release of the documentary, the family of Kirby, who died in 1994, said Lee had “the fortunate circumstance to have access to the corporate megaphone and media” and made himself “the voice of Marvel” – overshadowing the parts other people played.

He founded the company. Of course he was its voice! 

Kirby’s son Neal told the Observer: “If you were to look at a list and timeline of Marvel’s characters from 1960 through 1966, the period in which the vast majority of Marvel’s main characters were created, you will see Lee’s name as a co-creator on every character, with the exception of the Silver Surfer, solely created by my father. Are we to assume Lee had a hand in creating every Marvel character?” Are we to assume that it was never the other co-creator that walked into Lee’s office and said, ‘Stan, I have a great idea for a character!’?”

Do you understand the term 'co-creator'...? It doesn't sound to me as if you've really grasped it, have you? 

The families of both Kirby and Ditko – who died a few months before Lee in 2018 – have been calling for more formal recognition for their part in creating the characters, especially now that Marvel is owned by Disney.

And this is purely motivated by concern for their legacy. And not, heaven forfend, filthy lucre...

One person gets it: 

Mark Millar is a Scottish writer who worked for both Marvel and its rival DC in the 1990s. For the former, he created with artist Bryan Hitch the series The Ultimates, which was heavily borrowed from for the first Avengers movie.

For Millar, his generation of comics creators went in “with their eyes open”. He says: “We knew that if we were working on characters owned by a company, we would never have any claim on them. It’s like if a decorator comes into your house. It’s their work and it looks great, but they don’t own your house!

Nice analogy. Accurate, too. 

“For people who came on board at the same time as me writing for Marvel was satisfying a childhood dream, but it also gave us an audience so we could create our own comics.”

Why did Kirby and Ditko not do that? Perhaps they didn't feel as aggrieved as their relatives do. It's funny how their relatives waited until they died, isn't it? 

But Not Of Their Money...

Water companies have apologised for repeated sewage spills and pledged to invest £10bn this decade in an attempt to quell public anger over pollution in seas and rivers.

...of ours. Of course.  

Shareholders in water companies will initially fund the investments. However, the costs will be recouped from customers through unspecified increases in their bills determined by regulators, in a move which threatens to add further pressure to household costs.

Is anyone surprised? You shouldn't be. 

Giving The Greens And Lib Dems A Run For Their Money...

Canterbury City Council is proposing to divide the city into five different districts, with drivers unable to cross between zones without being fined. Instead, the council is asking residents to drive along a new bypass, which along with other A roads, would create a ring-road style approach.

To do so, they would have to leave their current neighbourhood and re-enter their chosen location via specific, newly permitted routes. Anyone breaking the new driving rule would be hit with a fine when their movement is captured on number-plate recognition cameras, under the proposals.

What with this and the London Mayor's barmy plans, you could be forgiven for thinking the usual suspects see motorists as sheep to be fleeced anytime. Still, I suppose that's typical of the Greens or the Lib Dems or whichever crazy out of touch politicians are pushing this... 

Last week Liberal Democrat councillor Nick Eden-Green said the council has 'no real idea of what it's going to cost', adding that it could total 'about £100million'.

'The government certainly is not going to stump up the money and we can't either,' he told Canterbury City Council's cabinet at a meeting, Kent Online reported.

Oh! So, who..? 

The plan was modelled on the Belgian city of Ghent, which launched a Circulation Plan in 2017 that divided the city into six areas to cut the number of cars in the city centre. It was defended by Conservative council leader Ben Fitter-Harding, who said 'that doing nothing is not an option'.

/facepalm 

Shouldn't Someone Else Be In The Dock With Her..?

The single mother-of-three bought her own home before claiming she had been made homeless and was then given a flat by her local council, a court heard.

So far, so 'ho hum'. But...read on: 

Owoeye, 49, who is Nigerian, is thought to be the first person in London to be convicted of fraud after receiving payments while under ‘no recourse to public funds’ (NRPF) immigration status. She pocketed more than £114,000 over five years.

An immigrant with this status cannot access the mainstream benefits system, homelessness assistance from a local authority or social housing.

Then...why did a council officer approve the application? If they'd done their job right, she wouldn't have been able to do what she did.

Judge Mann praised the investigators who uncovered Owoeye’s fraudulent behaviour.

Perhaps they'd like to do some more investigation? 

"We Want Our Share!"

Employees who continue working from home after the pandemic should be taxed for the privilege, with the proceeds used to help lower-paid workers, according to a new report.

Economists at Deutsche Bank have proposed making staff pay a 5% tax for each day they choose to work remotely.

They argue it would leave the average employee no worse off because of savings made by not commuting and not buying lunch on-the-go and fewer purchases of work clothing.

God forbid anyone saves any money when they could be forking it over to people who - unlike them - know just how to best use it. eh? 

Alternatively, the report suggests the tax could be paid by employers who do not provide their workforce with a permanent desk.

Cue all sorts of shenanigans to try to prove that this desk is really Karen's even when she's not sitting in it... 

Coronavirus has “turbocharged” the popularity of remote working, which was growing rapidly before the pandemic, according to Deutsche Bank strategist Luke Templeman. “For years we have needed a tax on remote workers – Covid has just made it obvious,” Templeman said.

I looked up the definition of 'need' and I agree with Colossus...  

“A big chunk of people have disconnected themselves from the face-to-face world yet are still leading a full economic life. That means remote workers are contributing less to the infrastructure of the economy whilst still receiving its benefits. That is a big problem for the economy.”

I don't know about you, Luke, but I work to live. I don't live to work. 

Surely This Is Impossible?

Can they 'scale it back' more than they already have? 

And given they are currently not providing the service they are paid for, why are they taking on this tas...

Oh. Right. 

GPs will open at least 1,260 mass vaccination centres across England, 12 hours a day, seven days a week. They will be paid £12.58 each time they or a practice nurse administers one of the two doses every recipient will be expected to have, several weeks apart...

Say no more. 

Walkies!

Oh, wait!

A fraudster who claimed he could barely leave the house and was unable to cut his own food was caught running a dog walking business while claiming benefits.

Colin Sage was overpaid £24,673.92 in Personal Independence Payment by the Department of Work and Pensions during his three-and-a-half-year con.

The payment was initially correct, due to him suffering strokes and having to give up his job with Royal Mail. But when he recovered, he failed to signal that the money tap should be turned off.

Investigators then looked at his social media and found pictures of him walking dogs in the snow and up and down steep hills. Surveillance on his home proved he was well enough to be out with the pooches and would go cycling.

Imagine what it cost to prove all that...

Frank O’Toole, mitigating at Chelmsford Crown Court, said Sage, of Oxley Parker Drive, Colchester, was still not in the best of health but realised he had done wrong.

“He was aware of his obligation the mention any change in circumstances,” he said. “He is thoroughly ashamed of himself.

“It is right to say he did recover to some extent and following the improvements in his health he should have said so – all he can do is apologise.”

Well, no. That's not all he can do, is it?

Judge David Turner QC handed him seven months in jail suspended for two years. He must do 200 hours of unpaid work and pay £300 costs.

Sage has paid back £800 but is likely to have to pay back the full amount.

Judge Turner criticised him for failing to sell one of the two properties to pay back his debt.

He said: “Your deception was mean-spirited and shameful.

“This con went on for three-and-a-half years and was motivated not out of need, but out of greed.

“You say you are remorseful but I would believe you more if you had made serious moves to pay some of this money back.”

Nice to hear not all judges fall for the sob story...

It's A Small Price To Pay, I Suppose...

Cornwall Council rented 45 caravans on the Monkey Tree Holiday Park near Newquay when the government told local authorities to house the homeless.

Gosh, what could go wr...

Oh. Right,

A shop has had several thefts, a worker had ribs broken in an alleged assault and police have also responded to numerous incidents at the holiday park.

But the caravan park said the temporary stability had helped many people.

While the (hopefully temporary) instability had harmed many. Including your own paying customers.

Pitch holders at the holiday park have reported having items including water sports kit and computer equipment stolen from their caravans and advertised for sale on local social media pages.

So, holiday park owners, was your virtuesignalling greed worth it?

Well, yes. After all, you can just take the money and wash your hands of the consequences:

A spokesman for the holiday park said: "The supervision of the occupants is solely the responsibility of Cornwall Council. We are aware of some anti-social behaviour in the Goonhavern area, but unfortunately the council or ourselves do not have any jurisdiction over the behaviour of people when they are not on the park."

How handy! All of the reward, none of the responsibility...

What about our representatives in local politics? Surely they will stick up for the hard working taxpayer?

Cornwall councillor Andrew Mitchell said: "Where laws are being broken and somebody is being physically attacked, that needs to be urgently addressed. We don't want to put up with actions like that, and smaller communities certainly shouldn't."

Some have been threatened with eviction, but Mr Mitchell said: "If they are evicted where will they go? Probably back on to the streets and at this time with covid-19 we really need to make sure everybody is protected."

By making sure some aren't.

A necessary sacrifice, Andrew? Still, I'm sure you live far enough away you know full well it's not going to affect you.

H/T: Peter Ward via email

The Only Ones 'Targeted'....

...are the ones who deserve no help:

Pedestrians in High Street North have been parting with £20 at a time in a gambling ruse known as the shell game.

Played since Ancient Greek times, the swindle involves a small ball being shifted between one of three identical containers with players having to guess where it ends up.

Small groups have been operating up and down the high street for several months, often outside WH Smith and across the road from KFC.

Well, yes, that's where you'd expect the terminally dim to cluster, wouldn't you?

There are fears that the criminals involved are using fake players who ‘win’ to hoodwink unsuspecting people.

No, just greedy people. And thick people!

Responding, a council spokeswoman said: “The problem of illegal street gambling in the borough is a matter for the local police, however council officers are aware of the issue and have been lending support, with our CCTV team monitoring, and passing on information to the police.

“Tackling this problem requires significant police resources, as these criminal gangs are extremely well organised.”

And is this really where we want to target police resources? I really don't think so.

How To Get Publicity 101...

Packham’s latest venture is the design of a range of free to download T-shirt motifs including ‘Killing Wildlife for Fun is a Dying Business’ and ‘Safer in Outer Space’, which relates to the declining tiger population.

“I doubt whether there is a single safe enclave on earth for the tiger,” he explains.

“Maybe we should spend all that vast sum of charitable cash to send the last few to the moon”.

...say something so daft the media just has to advertise your latest money-making scheme. Lesson over.

He is, however, confident that is it only ‘a matter of time’ before the mistreatment of animals comes to an end – and he won’t stop until it does.

“I feel positive and optimistic at the moment, as I feel we’re making progress more rapidly. I want to make a small difference before I die, we can’t rest until everything is sorted.”

The 'small difference' being to his bank balance, as is the reference to getting everything 'sorted'...

No, You Are Just Asking For Free Energy...

Mr Rogerson, who bought his Leaf just under a year ago because of the financial savings possible, said: “It is quite frustrating, really, because they want people to use electric vehicles but then don’t give you any help for it. We are not asking for the world.”

TANSTAAFL, Mr Rogerson.

So you won't be driving your SmugCar at the Bradford taxpayer's expense, any more...

Form Of Worship, I Suppose…

The government is facing defeat over its plans to liberalise Sunday trading laws in England and Wales after the SNP decided to vote against the measure.

And…why would they do this? Some ultra-religious sentiment?

The SNP, which rarely votes on matters at Westminster that are unrelated to Scotland, has decided to oppose the reforms on the grounds that they could drive down the wages of Scottish workers who enjoy a special Sunday premium.

Ah, I see. ‘Honour the Sabbath day, and keep it holy. Unless you slip us a big wedge, when we’ll totes man those tills!’.

And What Sort Of Range Would This Be…?

Two years ago developers gained permission to turn the Grade II listed, East Street site into 13 flats and a restaurant, but no one has taken on the running of the eatery. Now architects BB Partnership are trying to convert the empty ground floor space and basement into three flats.

“They’ve obviously had difficulty in finding suitable tenants and so they want to have flats there as well,” said Tony Richardson, 78, who has lived in Barking since 1954.

“There are a lot of places selling junk food, but we could do with a really nice, decent restaurant with a range of foods to suit a range of religions,” said the Wilmington Gardens resident.

I suspect that’d be hard to find. Especially if we throw Jains into the mix.

And, c’mon, it’s Barking. It’s hardly surprising no-one in their right mind says ‘Oh, yeah! The place with the great cuisine!’, is it?

Mr Richardson also opposed the loss of original features that the first application would have entailed, but was reconciled to the second amended one that was approved. The latest submission for changed useage and listed consent, though, is the final straw for the retired law lecturer.

“It’s completely inappropriate, the applicants should not be permitted to depart from the authorised use,” he said.

“Suitable tenants can almost certainly be found if the applicants will curb their greed so that the lease and the rent reserved by it are such as to make a restaurant a viable proposition.”

In other words, they should be prepared to accept a lower return on their investment just to suit some old codger who happens to live in the area. I can’t imagine why they don’t, can you?

A Woman Scorned…

I am one of eight women currently taking legal action against the commissioner of the Metropolitan police.

Oh?

We were all deceived into long-term intimate relationships with undercover police officers who were infiltrating environmental and social justice campaign groups.

From 1995 until 2000 I was in a relationship with Mark Jenner, who I knew as Mark Cassidy – a joiner from Birkenhead.

Ah. These women are outraged, OUTRAGED! that a man lied to them.

*yawn*

For four years we lived together in what I believed was a monogamous relationship. I have since found out he was married with children at the time.

You’re hardly the first. And you certainly won’t be the last.

But let’s hope you aren’t the first to be able to dip your greedy, sweaty hand in the taxpayer’s pocket as a result.

Shakespeare Was Right…

Blitz USA is based in Miami, Okla., and is the largest manufacturer of portable gas cans in the country.

…

But Blitz has filed for bankruptcy and will shut its doors at the end of the month. Why? Because it can no longer afford product liability insurance, Marketplace’s Sally Herships reports.

And why should they need it?

Well…

Consumers have accused the company of making faulty cans that explode when used to pour gasoline onto fires.

But wait! Surely that’s not the fault of the company?

Blitz says its cans carry warnings that say you should never use gasoline to start or accelerate a fire.

And yet, even being in the right doesn't save them. This is, after all, America, the land where no matter how dumb your cause, it's not too dumb for a lawyer to take it on:

Even winning is expensive. Blitz beat one lawsuit in Texas, Marketplace reports, but the fight still cost the company about $2.5 million.

H/T: Protein Wisdom (via comments)

You Have Got To Be Kidding Me..!?

A woman who was mauled by a dog while at work in Lincoln has been awarded £11,500.

Ruth Henderson suffered multiple injuries including a fractured neck, broken hand, and permanent scars on her left thigh.

It happened when the 68-year-old was carrying out a market research survey at a house in Tower Avenue on February 23, 2010.

Hurrah! It’s about time the irresponsible owners of dangerous dogs faced massive bills. This, along with the news that a dog owner who wouldn’t admit fault for his dog biting a postman is having to fork out an eye-watering sum of money, is very welcome news.

Oh. Wait a minute…

Employers IPSOS Mori were ordered by Northampton County Court to pay Ms Anderson £11,500.

Her…employers?!? Just how were they at fault?

Jayne Campbell, personal injury lawyer at Slater and Gordon, said: “Ruth was the victim of a terrifying dog attack which resulted in serious injuries to her hand as well as severe emotional trauma.

“This injury may have been avoided if her employers had given her the correct training to deal with the situation.”

*speechless*

Sympathy Meter Reads 'Zero'

A woman claims being mistaken for a shoplifter and questioned in a windowless room at Marks and Spencer left her so traumatised she is still unable to leave the house 20 months later.

Pearly Kanagaratnam says she is being treated for depression and post-traumatic stress disorder …

I...

I just...

The 52-year-old, who broke off several times in tears whilst recounting the ordeal, said: "It has totally affected my life. I can’t go out by myself now.

"When I'm out, I feel really emotional.

"I'm trying to go out more to get over it but it’s really hard. I can’t go in that store now or any stores really."

Oh, well, it's Internet shopping for you then, I guess?

She explained: "I had the receipt with me for the trousers I’d returned so I wasn't worried, but then they took me into this room at the back without windows.

Oh, not the comfy chair room without windows!

The Sri Lankan self-employed hospitality worker (Ed: Hmmm...) added: "I was really upset and was in tears. I couldn't understand why this was happening to me at this age when I hadn't done anything.

"At the end the operations manager came in and said they’d made a mistake because another woman wearing the same colour cardigan to me was thought to have shoplifted. "She apologised but she didn't look at my face and it didn't feel like she was really sorry."

Well, that's the modern non-apology for you. You must have seen enough government ministers using it to be aware of the concept, surely?

After writing a complaint letter, she was invited back to the store and offered £400 in vouchers but she refused to accept them.

Wow! Maybe she does have agoraphobia after all? Maybe if they'd posted 'em?

But no. She wants more:

Mrs Kanagaratnam is now suing Marks and Spencer for a personal injury claim and the civil case takes place next month.

How unsurprising...

A Marks and Spencer spokesman said: "As legal proceedings are taking place, it would be inappropriate for us to comment at this stage."

Clearly, not something that concerns the plaintiff, who feels quite free to run to the local paper to highlight her shame and suffering..

Ah, The ‘Margaret Moran Defence’! Unsuccessful, This Time…

A former Oxford University lecturer has been jailed for five years at the Old Bailey for destroying a design consultancy after being hired as maternity cover. Maria Di Natale, 45, squandered the proceeds of a £436,000 fraud on designer clothes, holidays and hiring a private jet.

Now, the company certainly bears a lot of responsibility for the laxness of their checks. But she was quite determined and went to extreme lengths to carry out this fraud, and cover it up.

When she realised the police were on her tail, Di Natale tried to have two incriminating computers stolen from the company offices.

But the scheme eventually caught up with her and she pleaded guilty to fraud by abuse of position and attempting to pervert the course of justice on the first day of her trial.

However, once caught, it was a quick diagnosis of ‘too ill to be punished!’, but an effort that was for naught:

John Carl Townsend, defending, claimed Di Natale, previously a lecturer at Oxford University with a degree from the London School of Economics, was suffering from bipolar disorder.

She should have got two five year sentences then!