Some animals are more equal than others: Equalities Bill.

Another poorly thought out bill from New Labour.

The government is to bring forward new legislation to outlaw all forms of age discrimination, the BBC has learned. Equalities Minister Harriet Harman is expected to announce the plan on Thursday as part of a package of measures in an Equalities Bill.[...] Travel, health and motor insurance is also expected to be included, where cover is simply withdrawn beyond a certain age or is prohibitively expensive.

Now I do hate to be cruel here but the reason that motor companies for example etc do discriminate is that they have worked out that drivers reactions slow with advancing age, thus more claims. Net result will be they will spread the costs, that is higher premiums for everyone.

Of course the free market is wrong, the state will put everything right and no matter that this will drive up costs for one and all.

It gets weirder:

Under plans to make workplaces more diverse, Ms Harman wants to allow employers to appoint people specifically because of their race or gender. The proposals would only apply when choosing between candidates equally qualified for the job. But it means, for example, women or people from minorities could be hired ahead of others in order to create a more balanced workforce. Some employers argue they already do this, while others may say these policies will need careful handling to reduce the risk of causing resentment amongst existing staff.

Ok got that, now you can discriminate. But we now have a system of doublespeak that both bans racial and sexual discrimination and allows it at the same time. Watch the court cases pour in under the Human Rights Act for this one.

Women will sue claiming they have been unfairly passed over, as will Asians, Blacks, white males, transsexuals, homosexuals, vegans... Hell what ever group you put yourself in you can now claim that you have been unfairly passed over for someone else.

Does nobody realise that life is not fair, that you have no automatic right to promotion, that a decision is often made on the basis of **shock horror** ability and being the best person to do that job.

My favorite bit:

The government has faced criticism from some quarters for presiding over a society which has arguably become more unequal.

And so after a quick read of Animal Farm, they have decided to make it official policy that all animals are equal but some are more equal than others.

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