Huguenot

UDT, the 'free schools' model is effectively subsidised private education - is it recommended as a solution to the pensions crisis? It may help if the teachers don't receive state pension, is this your recommendation? No toxic debt has yet been sold for a profit in the UK, I look forward to the day that it is. Is it also suggested as an answer to the pensions crisis? I have never used the Greek financial model as justification for an attack on the public sector. In fact I have not attacked the public sector since I support it. I have only criticised the ridiculousness of the current pensions dispute. At 46.4%, Swedish tax as a proportion of GDP is the second highest in the world (beaten only by Denmark). At 12% points higher than the OECD average, that's the definition of a high taxation policy. Any other rubbish to clarify?

"I would suggest that your assertion that Britain can be successful by removing worker security, decent pensions and pay rises would be an equal falsehood." I have made no such assertion. Have you taken to fabricate arguments to win now?

We've already discussed how inappropriate comparisons between countries with populations of less than 10 million are with the UK and its post industrial population of over 60m. You like to claim that these countries are successful because they have high taxation and left wing social programs. In fact they're successful in spite of these policies.

Increased taxation to pay for early retirement, inflated pensions, longers holidays, fewer working hours and more admin isn't productive either. It's a dangerous task throwing Krugman about - he's talking about infrastructure, productivity and consumption.

I don't think he mentions keeping public sector early retirement and making more private sector workers pay their premiums. I can see the argument and am persuaded by it, but investing during crises refers to economically productive activities, not pensions and retirement ages.

"That must tell you there are some serious problems that hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of reasonable people feel so strongly about" NO! YOU'RE KIDDING!! Serious PROBLEMS at the MOMENT!! ;-) Of course there's some serious problems, but they aren't going to be solved by the public sector striking with unreasonable demands.

If you think resignation is the minimum penalty for a meaningless and disinteresting slip of the tongue, what is your proposal for those who drive the economy back ro 1930 by decimating the public sector before putting in place systems to empower private business?

It may surprise you to consider that he wasn't being politcal at all. He was simply being a naturalist commenting on the vast changes in the natural world and the impact man is having upon them. Conversely, your own views are based on absolutely no scientific expertise at all. Your comments are founded entirely on politcal motivations, and a wilful conviction that you can do whatever you want because your 'gut feel' tells you so.

I used to have loads of kids invited to my parties when I was a youngster, whether I got on with them or not. It would have taken a very peculiar guest who asked my mother to start justifying the black faces though. Thankfully we didn't get that many racist guests.

That sounds low. The typical 6 sheet sales period is 2 weeks. i.e. they sell them at 2 weeks at a time. In Southwark that contract says 90 boxes with 4 faces in each - so 360 faces in total. 360 6 sheet faces means that Southwark are only getting 8.50 per face per two weeks. Typically the sales rate of an 'average' 6 sheet nationslly (e.g could be in a low income suburban town) would be 60 per two weeks. A premium London 6 sheet should get 100 quid plus per two weeks. So if I were a premium London council I'd want more than 8.5% of that revenue unless JC Decaux were bringing something else to the table.

90 scrolling 6 sheets with four faces each across Southwark. I reckon they might get 200 quid per 6 sheet 'face' per month in ad revenue - so that's around 900k per year in revenue. Southwark might get 60% - so that would be around 500k per year, probably netting 10k per year from the location outside ED station. Quite an important budget contribution.

Is it really worth it?

It sounds like one of these: http://www.jcdecaux.co.uk/assets/static/site_products6sheets_overview_4col.jpg Councils often swap them with other street furniture - i.e. you get 6 sheets if we get new bus stops. Might be useful to find out what the quid pro quo is?

Daily Mail correction

That shows you kids behaving like kids, that's why we don't treat them as adults. It's a part of the learning process to recognise that the poppy that has meaning and importance to other people that can involve changing our behaviour in respect of their views. Everyone's a winner here BB100

The fact that you're hearing it in more that one place suggests it's tinnitus. When I was a young chap I used to run around the house disconnecting every piece of electrical equipment. Eventually it became so loud I had to accept it was all in my head.

I think that's an overly simplistic interpretation of what consititutes racism Mick Mac. For example, we're all allowed to criticise our own families, but woe betide anyone else that does; or black people describing themselves usuing racially divisive words, or subcontinental people hailing each other as 'Paki'. In this case the term white trash is being used in the sense of mutual shame, not as an attack on someone for their skin colour. This is not saying there's one rule for white people and one rule for black people, it's just to highlight that racism depends on what the context is, who is using the term, and what the intent was.

Well since d_c wasn't averse to calling me a Berkshire Hunt earlier on the thread, I'm sure his skin is thick enough to take a bit of ideological disagreement. The 10% cut in public sector workforce appears drastic, but is only reducing it to the levels it was in 2000. It wasn't as if the public sector was 'dead' at this point, so there's no justification for calling this a 'fatal' blow. Whether it makes sense or not remains to be seen, dependent upon where thos cuts are applied. From what I have seen most public sector grunts would be overjoyed to see a drop in admin and lots of 'useless managers' getting the boot? If public sector workers want to retire earlier than everyone else on large pensions they should have that choice by increasing their voluntary contributions, not by fleecing private sector workers in SMEs to leave them without enough money to pay for their own... I believe in central government services including welfare, education, health, security and infrastructure. The question is how far this goes. I don't believe the privatisation of national industry has been a failure, I believe it has been a raging success in the most part, with a few silly ones like the railways along the way. So me question is what peripheral services could also be delivered outside the public sector.

yep - [ignore]

In the Stephen Lawrence enquiry, Sir William Macpherson described insitutional racism in the Met police as follows: "the collective failure of an organisation to provide an appropriate and professional service to people because of their colour, culture or ethnic origin", which "can be seen or detected in processes, attitudes, and behaviour, which amount to discrimination through unwitting prejudice, ignorance, thoughtlessness, and racist stereotyping, which disadvantages minority ethnic people". I don't think that's describing an organisation that needs a white police association to push white interests. In the absence of any justifcation I would not support it. The BPA is there to help adddress discrimination, and to do it in away that strives for equality and fairness for all. It is not pushing a black agenda - it's offering a balancing perspective in an organisation that needs the help. You can't see that because all you can see is their skin colour.

'Claudia', here's where you 'invented scenarios where offensive white women are on the verge of being attacked on a tram': "I'm simply trying to achieve some balance. I'm also appalled at the media's witchhunt of this woman. And although I share in her exarsperation, to a degree, she put her child at risk by saying what she said, where she said it. Because from where I'm sitting it looked as though the young man behind her was about to assault her." Can you not remember what you said? Do you remember you wrote it down?

Sorry, my mistake - I meant 95% of the companies in the UK are small companies, I hadn't checked it as it was from a previous conversation about SMEs I had. Having said that... your 'perfect' figure of 59.1% says it all! It's a huge number in it's own right!

I don't feel in the least discomforted by your opinion 'Claudia'. I'm disgusted by it. You've invented scenarios where offensive white women on trams are on the verge of being attacked. You've deliberately misquoted claims of anti-white immigration strategies to whip up racial prejudice. You've now presented a reasonable and universally welcomed association designed to ensure equitable and even tratement for all with the pejorative term 'an undeniably racist organisation'. Far from my own discomofort, I suspect your increasingly aggressive tone underlines an essentially weak and skulking personality who uses racism as a crutch for a fragile ego.

It was a diagnosis 'Claudia' not an insult. 'Mental retardation is a generalized disorder appearing before adulthood, characterized by significantly impaired cognitive functioning and deficits in two or more adaptive behaviors. Once focused almost entirely on cognition, the definition now includes both a component relating to mental functioning and one relating to individuals' functional skills in their environment.' Please feel free to explain what part of that definition doesn't apply to your views 'Claudia'? You fabricate without foundation wildly speculative scenarios to reposition the 'white woman' as the oppressed individual in this encounter, and conjure up one dimensional interpretations of international incidents to back up your prejudice. I think "impaired cognitive functioning" just about covers that. You imagine that an unforgivablly abusive offensive aggressive and racist verbal assault signals the right moment to air this grievance. "Deficits in two or more adaptive behaviors" just about covers that. Your pretended hurt feelings are a thin veneer on your motivation 'Claudia', it's shameful.

This is a joke. 95% of UK employees work in companies with less than 100 staff, not bloody Unilever. There is this completely delusional image that's been built up of a private sector populated by mega-coporates, bankers and billionnaires. It's insane - it's completely divorced from reality. The UK runs on SMEs and little guys. These are the guys you're asking to pay for public sector early retirement.