Huguenot

So if the PubCo makes being a landlord economically unrewarding by charging too high prices for the beer, then they get no rent? Isn't this then just a classic labour dispute? Strikes me that the landlords need a union?

The fact that it's widespread doesn't mean that it's always good unfortunately DaveR, just like gonnorhea. The other thing people get confused about with 'no win no fee' is that it's perceived to be a no lose gamble. It's not. If you lose, you may be liable for your opponents expenses, and any other disbursements made in bringing the case. To cover these you may have to take out insurance policies, and may have to take out loans to cover the premium. You could easliy find yourself 1,000 to 2,000 pounds out of pocket for a losing a 'no win no fee' case. In fact, since you won't hear it from me, here's the Citizen's Advice Bureau.... "Few consumers seem to understand the risks and liabilities they are exposing themselves to as the risks of conditional fee agreements have not been clearly explained to them at the outset by salesmen. Consumers are misled into thinking the system will be genuinely ?no win no fee? but can often find that costs are hidden and unpredictable. Loan financed insurance premiums, in addition to other legal costs, can often erode the value of claimants? compensation. In some cases consumers even owe money at the end of the process. This turns the whole claims process into a zero-sum gain for consumers and denies effective access to compensation."

On a technical point, streaming shouldn't be confused with pigeon-holing. Good streaming systems allow for mobility based on performance.

That's very sad, I had some great times at the George. I don't quite understand the PubCo thing. Have the publicans borrowed money off the PubCo, or do the PubCo own the pub, or what? If the publicans are independent and created the tie for other benefits, well.... you can hardly blame the devil if you're entering into some sort of Faustian pact can you?

The commitment to cut personal carbon emissions by 10% in 2010. Cue the wallys who say "I don't need to because I'm not the one who's poisoning the world, it's everyone else..."

Be terribly careful with no win no fee lawyers, because they do exactly what it says on the can. If you win, their fees need to be paid. Surprisingly often, cases will be won, but only with minimal compensation. This means that you'll win 1,000 pounds damages, and be faced with a lawyer's bill of 10,000 to 15,000. It'll make you cry.

Well I went to what would be considered a well-to-do school under most schemes. A great record at Oxbridge etc. My peers are all architects, bankers, surgeons, actors etc. But I don't recognise any of those things DM identified as the hallmarks of 'quality' education. We had no lessons on A-level selection, no squad of work-placement gurus, nobody writing supporting statements, nobody sitting us down and persuading us to do worthy rather than easy tasks. Mostly the influence was cultural, the school was full of upwardly mobile middle class kids who wanted to do well. In that sense it had nothing to do with the aspirations of the school, and everything to do with the aspirations of the parents. My Dad (as PGC nominated up earlier, and the ex-head of a 1,600 pupil state school) would observe that this thread smacks of the greatest challenge to education: the desire to lay the problems of the children at the door of the school. You don't need a special type of school, you need a special type of parent. If Macroban is right, and ED is bursting with aspirational middle class families, then that is what your local school will be, regardless of what you imagine the school's aspirations to be. Great education should be streamed, competitive and balance risk and reward. Any parent who doesn't welcome that is merely demonstrating their own inadequacy by trying to bring everyone down to the perceived level of their own child. They not only reveal a lack of belief in their kids, but also a dirty desire to undermine the success of others.

"Just can't reconcile myself with the taking of a life, whatever a person has done. " Exactly mate, and there's the rub. It just doesn't work, does it? That's the point on assisted suicide. All of the 'examples' quote black and white hypotheticals, but it just doesn't work in practice.

What does a school with higher aspirations do that one with lower aspirations doesn't?

I couldn't quite make out what an academy was from that site. Does it mean that an academy is a school partly funded by sponsors, that follows the national curriculum, that has standard entry conditions, but is free to dedicate part of the schooling - the 'philosophy' - to issues that reflect the sponsors agenda? I can't make out if academies are allowed everywhere, or only in 'deprived' areas? It strikes me that this approach is most likely to appeal to those groups with an agenda who set out to twist the minds of the young and brainwash the elders: churches?

I'll happily retract that private opinion on the pervasiveness of evil if it oils the wheels of debate. However, as with capital punishment law I will hold my position that if even one individual dies before their time because of abuse of this law then that is one too many - ergo that law should not exist. Interestingly, my support of our current legal position on capital punishment is at odds with my views on whether it's a valid punishment. I believe that if people murder people, then they enter into a two-contract on the sanctity of life. By depriving another of it, they deprive themselves. I just don't think a capital punishment law is either workable or reliable. I don't think suicide law is either.

Oddly enough, Boothby Graffoe is an anagram of.... Offbeat Hob Orgy Now isn't that worth knowing? Maybe a tip off on what Sean really has in mind?

DM, you know that boys are much better than girls at exams? I didn't know you were so down on the fairer sex?

Quite right indeed, but you may be missing the point. Every pro-suicide argument contains the same emotive examples of people who would be helped by it's implementation. They're all missing the point. They all go on about "my rights, my rights, my life". They're all missing the point. The law preventing assisted suicide isn't to spite people in these examples, but to prevent abuse of the law. Whether you like it or not, there are more people in this country who would abuse such a law than there are those who would benefit from it. Admitting that is half the challenge. It's the same as capital punishment. The law doesn't query whether some fecker should be terminated for their crimes, it allows for miscarriages of justice to be rectified that can't be done if you've broken some innocent blighter's neck.

Well yes and no BN5, you're calling into question the entire nature of appraised sexuality. All the usual cliches about men looking for women who are young, healthy and child bearing, whereas women look for men that are established, wealthy and respected in their authority. Pretty young men in their twenties don't have a chance of reading the news. That's discrimination too I guess. The evidence suggests that most women don't want Pitt-a-likes anywhere but in sexual fantasies.

In the greater feminist perspective your arguments are quite sound annaj. Newsreaders should not necessarily be employed because they're young hotties (although that does kind of beg the question what a newsreader is: if you're in the entertainment business you need to be easy on the eye). However if you do choose to elevate yourself professionally as celebrity totty (with the colour supplements that entails) then you're somewhat hoist by your own petard if people publish unflattering photos alongside. In much the same way, criticising me for being crap at the javelin is valid if I claimed to be an international javelin impressario. Your argument smacks of the dirty no good hypocrisy toiled out by celebrities who court press attention when it suits them, and then cry foul when they don't like the coverage given to their self-indulgent divorces. If female journalists want to be famous for their intellect and insight, I suggest they do a Pilger and naff off to somewhere grimy and do some reportage. For the record, I am no oil painting, but neither do I try and make money out of being one.

Ontopication.... How about 'God-bothering gun budgies'? The budgie needs some work, but monkey's already gone. The alliteration helps.

Dear Stan Many thanks for the advice. Still troubled by the Ghingers up north, all full of impotent rage. Decided to shag their wives for them on their wedding night, just to make the point like, but they don't half whinge. Would have thought they'd be pleased with a bit of French pork. With some befuddlement I see they blame it on the English, which makes me laugh. Works for me. Norm

This Gok Wan? http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/01_04/EmilyMaitlisDM_468x386.jpg

I don't agree with SimonM's views about parochial justice. I'd like to see some of those Russkie phishers and spammers extradited to the UK to face justice. Or for that matter some of those Russkie poisoners.

*chuckles*

Sure thang Brenda, a few people made the comment. I'm not sure that we've strayed from the original debate, to paraphrase: Amongst many hypotheses, one correspondent suggested that absenteeism may be part of a general malaise involving a lack of reward for good performance and lower pay. Recent correspondents have refuted that by observing that the entire remuneration (including post-employment pensions) needs to be taken into account, not just the monthly salary. I'm thinking the argument needs to revolve around the differences between the NHS environment and others, but can't agree with Timster that the lack of funding for more senior roles is unique. It's exactly the same in the private sector. We can't all be managers!

Darn it. Damned spuriosity. I'll get that Quids.

I was quite struck by one of the posters earlier who suggested that one influence on under-performance (if it existed) could be the lack of opportunities for NHS workers to improve their career, salary or bonuses based on good performance. I guess that this could be a way of describing the NHS as an outfit that has neither carrot nor stick. There would of course be massive irony in this, in that the situation has been created by collective pay bargaining and unionised negotiations on working environment and benefits. So, by extension, the workers would have created this unsatisfying and demotivating experience themselves.... and yet they blame the management. On another note, I do get extremely p*ssed off with public sector workers who claim that they don't get as much money or benefits as private sector workers, when the private sector workers would need to save a million quid to get the pension that public sector workers are going to reap.

T'would be a sad day BBW, if we were to ban satire on the grounds that public ridicule brings succour to the insane. :'(