MORE than six million workers’ pension pots are at risk under Treasury plans to create so-called “megafunds” to siphon off into national infrastructure projects, GMB warned today.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has said she wants to pool assets from the 86 separate local government pension schemes (LGPS) into eight funds, worth about £50 billion, by 2030.
She is due to announce her plans, which the government claims will be part of the “biggest pension reforms in decades,” in her inaugural Mansion House speech as Chancellor before City leaders tonight.
Alongside these are plans to combine smaller defined-contribution schemes across the country into pools of £25bn to £50bn.
GMB union has raised “strong reservations” over the annoucements, warning megafunds should not be used as “slush funds” for the Treasury.
The LGPS represents one of the world’s largest defined-benefit schemes, with 6.5 million members and some £360bn in assets.
GMB national pensions organiser George Gergiou told the Morning Star: “Our view is the Treasury have seen that and said we want a bit of that to fund some of our great infrastructure projects.
“This is not spare money, this is not a slush fund for people to dip into.”
I’m aware that formatting is messed up on the desktop on the first page. Looking for the problem, might not find it, posting this just might fix it. We’ll see.
Call for industry reform as latest results support belief that products are being bulked out with cheaper sugar syrup
The honey industry faces new demands to overhaul its supply chain after more than 90% of sampled products bought from large British retailers failed pioneering authenticity tests.
The UK branch of the Honey Authenticity Network sent 30 samples last month from Britain for a novel commercial test based on the DNA profiles of genuine honey. Five were from UK beekeepers and 25 from big retailers, including supermarkets.
The tests found that 24 out of the 25 jars of honey from retailers were considered suspicious.
…
An EU investigation published last year found 46% of imported sampled products were suspected to be fraudulent, including all 10 honey samples from the UK.
The EU is working on advanced testing techniques to detect honey fraud and has passed new legislation to provide improved labelling of country of origin on jars of honey.
Amnesty Iran called for the immediate and unconditional release of the student who reportedly stripped down in protest against the university’s strict dress code law.
An Iranian woman has been arrested after she stripped partially naked on a university campus, reportedly in protest against the strict dress code after she was physically harassed by security officers for wearing her hijab incorrectly, according to Amnesty Iran.
Video circulating on social media platform X, filmed by other university students in a classroom overlooking the Tehran Islamic Azad University campus, has attracted a lot of attention online, with many people applauding the woman for her “boldness” and “courage”.
No further information has been released about the identity of the individual.
In a post on X, Amnestry Iran pressed for her immediate and unconditional release.
The organisation called for the protection of the woman from “torture and other ill-treatment” pending her release and demanded that she must be granted access to family and a lawyer.
Human scabies sarcopte seen under an optical microscope (x20). CC licensed, author Arthur Goldstein at Wikipedia.
Dr. dizzy returns with some advice for treating scabies and similar parasites. Give the same treatment a try if you’re getting eaten by annoying non-human parasites like crab lice, bedbugs, bird mites, rat scabies, fox scabies, etc. Parasites are similar in being attracted to Carbon Dioxide (CO2) so they find you through your breath, follow scent tracks, etc. I would expect it to work but it’s worth a try even if it doesn’t.
There are news stories that particularly students are suffering from scabies in the UK. Dr. dizzy gives his advice. At your own risk: I have not had any medical training.
Scabies. This is not advice you’ll get from a doctor or pharmacist. They’re only repeating what they’ve read anyway. You may as well try my advice, you have nothing to lose but your scabies …
Traditional treatment is Malathion from the pharmacist. It’s expensive at about £12/13 for a bottle which is good for 2 treatments. You can buy it repeatedly because – the secret is – you get re-infected.
What you need instead is a spray bottle and some essential oils. The spray bottle is a bottle of Kitchen or Bathroom cleaner repurposed. Buy one for 99p from the cheap supermarket if you can’t find one and clean the kitchen or bathroom really well. Kitchen Cleaner can be used everywhere of course, not just the kitchen.
Essential oils are a matter of choice. A mix of Red Thyme Oil and Clove Oil works well. Be careful to dilute the Clove Oil well. It’s a good choice with a reputation for repelling parasites but can sting. Avoid Lemongrass Oil, I think that it attracts bugs instead of repelling them. Cedarwood Oil smells nice.
Try to get quality essential oils, some are probably fake. Use a thumbnail or small spoon to remove the plastic dropper insert – you can always replace it. Small bottles of 100ml should last weeks or months – use well diluted.
So, you dilute your essential oils in water and put them in your spray bottle. You need to avoid reinfecting yourself so you spray your mattress directly and then your clean bedding. Don’t bother with a mattress encasement for any reason, a waste of time and money. Spray your shoes, coat, canvas bags, clean and spray your car or a car you use so you don’t reinfect yourself.
Take a bath or shower. Shower with purpose following a routine – hands and wrists first, clean them well. Then your hands and wrists again, your arms, then top to bottom so you’re clearing your parasites away. Use a clean towel to avoid reinfection. Dip a flannel or teatowel in your diluted essential oil mix and get it all over your body. This is what you’re using instead of getting the Malathion all over you. You don’t have to be so careful about getting it absolutely everywhere, just a very good effort. Traditional medicine will tell you that scabies don’t go for your head but I’ve seen scabies tracks on someone’s face and forehead. You want to get rid of them, why risk it?
Follow the procedure as soon as you suspect that you may have been exposed.
It’s female scabies that burrow and lay eggs, the males are on the surface. They congregate at the inside of the wrists and you can often see tracks there. Pay particular attention to keeping your wrists and hands clean and ankles to a lesser extent. Some people can have scabies without realising, some people are in psychological denial, I think that there may also be asymptomatic scabies possibly for people taking certain drugs e.g. strong painkillers. You can catch scabies from seats, bus seats, chairs in scummy pubs, toilet seats, etc. Be very suspicious of blankets or towels in a police cell.
[9/12/24 I was in a police cell for four hours yesterday as a victim of road rage. My comments were based on experiences twenty or more years ago. The cells and the regime have changed a great deal for the better since then.
A car driver deliberately drove into me so that there’s a dent in his wheel arch from the end of my bicycle handlebars – car wheels more than a metre in height. He then blamed me for damaging his car. I stayed a safe distance from him while waiting for police. I gave him a smack when he started jumping on my bicycle wheel. Unfortunately I also hit his missus when she jumped in the way to protect him.
*Welsh slang “give him a smack” means far more than literally one slap.]
[About criticising the police: I am recounting my experiences. I’m not going to self-censor to sugarcoat my experiences. This article is about avoiding and treating scabies and similar parasites. I’ve experienced filthy crawling with parasites towels and blankets in police cells which must have been put there deliberately by people i.e. police, who must have been wearing protective clothing. They probably thought that it was very amusing at the time. There are other examples of me criticising the police in this blog e.g. where I say that I was scared for my life when a fat policeman sat on me and I was put in the back of a dog van. It doesn’t mean that I am opposed to the police, it means that these events happened and that I now have a platform.]
[5 Nov 2024: 3 or 4 different essential oils seems to work well. It’s worth cleaning your home using either the 99p cleaner or your essential oil mix. Inaccessible cavities that can’t be cleaned are ideal for parasites e.g. in cavity walls, behind kick plates and between units and walls in kitchens. Wipe laptops and keyboards over – bugs home in on Carbon Dioxide (your breath) and you’re breathing over your laptop or keyboard.]
