taper

"The most obvious way to do that is to scrap all Public Sector pensions" Perfect. The race to the bottom is afoot.

SPOTY is blazer bloke beery hack hell. Nonsense that Brownlee and Wellington aren't there. If Cav doesn't win I'll do a mental.

This assumes public sector workers add no economic value through the work they do. You know that's not quite right, don't you?

That's a straw man. There will be a new deal on pensions. This dispute is about how good the deal is. At the moment, for most of us, it involves working longer, paying more and getting less. You would need to be madly philanthropic to not be a little bit miffed. And all this on top of pay freezes, job cuts and diminishing job security. It really is easy to understand why unions that have never come out on strike, or who haven't done so for decades, will be out on strike next Wednesday.

It is about contracts in so far as there is no question that what people have accrued under their current contracts will be preserved. I think that differs from private pensions. I might be wrong.

David I'm in the exact same position (and same union!) as you. See you around a brazier somewhere next Wednesday? PS Grateful you took time out to dismantle Huguenot's sub-Daily Mail cant. I thought this blog piece in the Telegraph struck the right note: "The Unions Would Be Mad Not to Strike http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/danhodges/100119563/the-unions-would-be-mad-not-to-strike/ Key quote: "The depth and breadth of this anger is underlined by the names of the unions participating in next week?s action. The Chartered society of Physiotherapy. The Society of Radiographers. The First Division Association. The National Association of Headteachers. Next Wednesday?s strikes aren?t being led by the angry brigade. They?re being fronted by Sir Humphrey and Mr Chips"

The title, a vile pun, is clearly anti-Semitic and the post is larded with anti-Semitic slurs and insinuations (money grubbing and so on). Admin was boneheaded not to spot it. The issue of German reparations, and the cod historical approach adopted by the OP, is reminiscent of 'revisionist' holocaust denial organisations such as the institute of Historical Review.

I watched the latest Tyson Fury fight last night. He got floored, got up and then stopped a very durable and previously unbeaten opponent in the third. I do like him, even though he's terrible to watch. Can't see him ever being World class though.

Ryman premier and the Conference south above them before the Conference .

Two stories. Are the Hamlet fuelling a bidding war ? Good move if so.

Nice one. Not Francis Duku then! Hope they get a good fee.

It's the Winter of discount tents.

Frazier's only good eye was shut by the end, and Ali p1ssed blood for a month afterwards (I heard). The first Ali fight is Frazier at his peak though. Relentlessly tough. Ali picking him off with jabs and right crosses. Frazier barely flinching, laughing and hooking to the body and head. Ali is spent by the end and is well beaten.

Superb fighter. The Manila fight was brutal. Both Ali and Frazier were well past their peak. But each gave every ounce of fight they had. I saw him interviewed late in life and he remained very bitter about Ali's treatment of him.

Chiropractors make claims well beyond the fact that spinal manipulation can help with backache. That 's where the quackometer goes off the scale. Google Simon Singh. Plenty of background around that case.

Saffron Aren't you confusing your osteopathies? It's cranial osteopathy that looks very quacky to me. There's more evidence that osteopathy has its uses. As for Evans et al, buggered if I know.

The Jury is well and truly out. There remains no evidence that it works. The Mullinger study was very preliminary and as far as i can no further (double blind?) investigation has been carried out.

"...proven to work" Links?

No, cranial osteopathy is quackery. It sounds as if it's based on science, but read a little around the subject and it's clearly not. There's a good discussion below this Ben Goldacre article, with arguments from all sides. http://www.badscience.net/2004/09/cranial-osteopathy/

Not a chiropractor; that's Quakery. Osteopathy is legit, but has limited application(although Nb cranial osteopathy is quackery). Physios are legit. Best place to start is with your GP probably.

"...the political element only influenced the rate of sign-up" That's a very big "only". I'm not at all antipathetic to the idea of the Euro, or indeed the UK being in it (Oliver Kamm of The Times is good on this). It seems bizarre to say, but the thing has been a huge success hitherto. But the strength of the idea has been fatally undermined by allowing in countries who are not up to the discipline it requires.

Isn't the issue with the Euro that basket case countries such as Greece by being in it (for political reasons; there is no economic rationale) transmit and amplify their parochial and otherwise irrelevant economic problems to the extent they undermine one of world's major currencies? I think the euro could work if solid currencies such as the DMark, Franc and Sterling were in it. But when peripheral and weak economies are allowed in for political reasons, the whole edifice is undermined.

Ridiculous. Shelford loved it when the opposition faced up to them. The irb are arses.

Tualagi the only possibility (bench). And Corbs maybe had he played much!

you've got to find space in there for: Healy Servat O Connell Dussatoir Pocock