So I might escape having to witness even greater catastrophe

 

 Author Iain Banks a month before his death

The author Iain Banks, who died a week ago, made the following statement in a Guardian interview with Stuart Kelly.  

 

"I won't miss waiting for the next financial disaster because we haven't dealt with the underlying causes of the last one. Nor will I be disappointed not to experience the results of the proto-fascism that's rearing its grisly head right now. It's the utter idiocy, the sheer wrong-headedness of the response that beggars belief. I mean, your society's broken, so who should we blame? Should we blame the rich, powerful people who caused it? No let's blame the people with no power and no money and these immigrants who don't even have the vote, yeah it must be their fucking fault."

 

Maybe Iain's impending death heightened his sense of outrage at this government's shambolic attempt at governance; or the fact that we've learned nothing from the economic downturns of the past, other than to find scapegoats - whether they be immigrants or home grown disabled people.

 

"So I might escape having to witness even greater catastrophe."

 

Let's hope Iain Banks' wasn't as good a prophet as he was an author.

RIP Iain Banks

All I want is a Sober Printer

My current machine, an HP Photosmart Premium C309a series refuses to work ever since I poured some non-HP ink into its delicate gregory - the only reason I bought the cheaper ink was because the bloody printer had a drink problem!

Oh, it may look sweet as though butter wouldn't melt. But this machine drinks like a fish!

So now I'm looking for a three-in-one colour printer with automatic duplex that is tee total. The printer is to be used mainly for text, but I will be doing some colour printing of images. My budget is £200-£250, any suggestions?

Cost of Social Housing Rises in Westminster

"Data obtained through freedom of information requests shows that at Westminster council – one of the wealthiest areas in the country – the bill for homelessness has shot up by 63.5% since last year as new temporary accommodation has had to be found for those hit by cuts. The figures show that it has cost Westminster more to place thousands of people in temporary accommodation, including hotels, than the council has saved through the government's welfare clampdown."

This is exactly what we can expect when government policies are so obviously driven by party and class ideology instead of making good economic sense. Just as Thatcher judged high unemployment a price worth paying to keep down inflation, etc, so this government will 'suffer' the additional cost of homelessness as this will free up housing in areas such as London while driving the poor out of London.

Many of us remember how Dame Shirley Porter carried social housing cleansing of Westminster in 1980s. Porter presided over the clearing out and selling off of council estates in order to attract Tory voters. This form of Gerrymandering became known as Shirleymandering. I wonder whether  today's social cleansing will gain as much notoriety as the disgraced Dame Shirley Porter.