Thought Id start this one going because its rather dead on this board at the moment and I suppose all my usual muckers are either at the Stella tennis event watching Dim Tim (lose again) or at Henly Regatta eating cucumber sandwiches (they wish,...NOT).

Anyway please feel free to just talk to yourself blast away and let it go on any company or subject you wish. Just wish Id thought of this one before.

cheers GF.

I think it was future liabilities for pensions.


Pensions are again thorny.

Partly they appeared good in the public sector but initially were as an incentive, along as other "benefits" to get people into and stay in the public services.

I think many stayed because of the "safety" or "security" of the jobs.

(Many, in periods from the late 60s and 70s migrate from Universities and some professions into industry and abroad due to salaries being pegged back and lower than they could get abroad.)

When you consider the tax advantages of "private" pension of some in failing businesses to-day, I think the government is attempting scapegoat and demonise the public sector for the structural changes it wishes to make.

The price of doing so, may be higher than they expect.

I am not thinking that reforms are not necessary, but evolution is better than revolution.

-------------------------------


Is our Merve a sign up member of the tory party as he seems to be trying to take over the chancellor's job and save faces:

Extract from Digital Look's extract from Sunday times:

Sir Mervyn King has told Britain’s banks to run down their cash reserves in a surprise U-turn that will raise the value of last week’s rescue package for the economy to close to 300bn pounds. The governor of the Bank of England has quietly given permission for banks to release part of the huge cash piles he has ordered them to build up over the past three years. Analysts estimate the radical shift in policy could see 150bn pounds — most of which is now invested in gilts — released for loans to companies and households. It comes on top of two headline-grabbing schemes unveiled last week under which the government will lend up to 140bn pounds to banks, The Times reports.

North America - now who would have thought that!

Global weight gain more damaging than rising numbers

Researchers say that increasing levels of fatness around the world could have the same impact on global resources as an extra billion people.

The team estimated the total weight of people on the planet and found that North America had the highest average.

Although only 6% of the global population live there, it is responsible for more than a third of the obesity.

Alan Turing: why the tech world's hero should be a household name

The life and achievements of Alan Turing - the mathematician, codebreaker, computer pioneer, artificial intelligence theoretician, and gay/cultural icon - are being celebrated to mark what would have been his 100th birthday on 23 June.

To mark the occasion the BBC has commissioned a series of essays to run across the week, starting with this overview of Turing's legacy by Vint Cerf.

I wonder what he would have made of this story:-

US's IBM supercomputer overtakes Japan's Fujitsu as world's fastest

Staggering - "The computer is capable of calculating in one hour what otherwise would take 6.7 billion people using hand calculators 320 years to complete if they worked non-stop."

Hi Davai,

I think you have hit the proverbial nail on the head.
Most big problems that desperately need to be sorted, would put the incumbent party in a no win position if they did what was required.
Financial policy (banks especially), pensions, long term care, health, crime, immigration etc etc, all require a vast change of direction, which no political party is prepared to take.
And when it comes to cleaning up our still, corrupt political parties and the EU, no party, in power or not, will do anything more than political tweaking, as stopping the gravy train would be like turkeys voting for Xmas.

Chuckles,

If I thought you had any chance on getting your policies through, you would get my vote.
But seriously, most of what you advocate makes 100% sense.
I say most because forcing Rebeca Brookes to have her haircut is going a tad too far, as I can't see this improving her looks one iota.

Greek

Staggering - "The computer is capable of calculating in one hour what otherwise would take 6.7 billion people using hand calculators 320 years to complete if they worked non-stop."

I read that if you started a computer counting from zero when it reaches a number [ can't remember what number ] it start's back counting from zero.

Maybe God or what created the cosmos stop's science treading on its toes.

Probably 42! :-)

Antonis Samaras begins Greece 'national coalition' talks

The leader of the party that narrowly won Greece's election has begun talks to form a coalition, saying he wants to forge a "national consensus".

Antonis Samaras, of the New Democracy party, on Monday met President Karolos Papoulias to be given a formal mandate.

Mr Samaras said he would seek changes in the terms of a bailout agreement reached with the EU and IMF.

http://cplus.about.com/od/learnc/ss/csharptutorial_7.htm

Why people especially politicians find it difficult to understand the EU and the failure of the current bail outs, I have no idea.

If your in a boat that has a hole in its bottom, you try to save it by bailing out.
Eventually if the hole becomes so big that the water is coming in quicker than you can bail it out, it matters not how big the bucket is, eventually you have to abandon boat and swim for it.
The hole in the EU boat reached the water coming in quicker than being bailed out stage long ago.

Simples.

aldwickk - its quite interesting to see how analogies change - from your link -

"Think of a spaceship. It has weapons, crew, shields, velocity and location in 3 dimensions. "

When I was a techie I used analogies based around morris minors and slow lanes on the M1!

greece must be kicked out of the EURO .the rest are paying for them to buy products
for free it is time to let go . the rich greeks could not give a shite they are cleaning up on germanys money and getting very rich . greece needs to take a way the passports of the rich who will not pay there taxes and ever country should do the same then destoy monaco

My local hospital has been thinning out their managerial staff.

Ten members of staff have been given average pay-offs of £79,000 each after they were made redundant by Northampton General Hospital.

Health bosses revealed numbers had reduced by a net total of 56 staff since last year’s cutbacks began, as the hospital aims to save £30 million over two years.

Ten of them were made compulsorily redundant and collected ‘exit packages’ of at least £10,000 each.

Three of them pocketed golden goodbyes worth between £100,000 and £150,000.

The remaining 46 positions were axed through a combination of retirements and voluntary redundancies.

In the latter case, it is understood that no payments have been offered by NGH bosses, with workers simply getting basic statutory redundancy. The hospital also implied that more positions may be cut, as the process “will continue in the years to come”, but added it did not believe services would be adversly affected.

kick out greece the country is a waste of time coruption is rife .let them sink stop all
flights to greece and give it to the immigrants to make it work

Tanker,

Postings 17166 and 17168


Could you simplify your arguments a little more.

I find difficult to understand how you obtain the solution to the present economic problems of Greece, Spain and ultimately UK by your proposals.

Mind I suppose a devalued European currencies in France, Greece, Spain and Italy will certainly help British Exports.

RIP to Brian Hibbard, lead singer of 'The Flying Pickets', who has just succombed to prostate cancer.

Fred
"a devalued European currencies in France, Greece, Spain and Italy will certainly help British Exports"

No. Devalued courrencies in those countries will make their imports cost more and be worse for us. They will benefit as ther exports will be cheaper for everyone else to buy. That is why Chian keeps its currency artificially low.

Go back to school Fred

Hays,

I was taking the "P" and pointing to the cloud cuckoo land the some are living in when jumping for easy solutions such as "Kick the Greeks and Spanish out! "Let the dogs out!

But really I was having a dig at the Euro-phobics who are calling for or delighted at the thought of a collapse of the Euro-zone and have little thought of the problems which will occur.


Edited!

8-)

Wandering, but what will be the effect of the Egyptian military coup on the Palestinians?

Ummh!

Has there been one ?

Breaking news :-)

Birmingham Balti curry seeks EU protected status

Curry houses in Birmingham are applying for the city's famous Balti dish to be given protected EU status.

If the application is successful, the name "Birmingham Balti" would be given EU protected name status.

Adas, the agency which helps in the application process, said it would be a big advantage for the city's so-called "Balti Triangle" district and "pin down" its recipe and cooking method.