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.

An interesting read - although nothing anyone of a certain age didn't already know.

How German cars beat British motors - and kept going

The UK car industry was once one of Germany's biggest competitors; now it has become one of its biggest assets, argues author Dominic Sandbrook. How did Germany accelerate away?

ask red robbo and his ilk, coupled with some pretty appalling management at the time

==================
an extract ....
we lacked the right management, the right unions, the right priorities, and, quite frankly, the right work ethic

which of those 4 do you think played the largest part?

i'ld plump for #4 which thus allowed the militant unions to take control of the workforce and the factory floor

This sums it up Skinny........

"Instead of embracing new technology and tapping the expanding European markets, they shrank from Continental competition and preferred to sell cheap cars to Britain's former colonies".........ends

Management wouldnt re-capitalise.

Of course Bill and Ben will say its all the Unions fault but the truth is the Unions were pleading with management for new technology.

The German management went for new technology and were supported by their unions.

The management here wanted to keep old capital and sack workers as a way of trying to keep costs down.

They could see no further then the end of their noses.

Its still the same now, just look at Cameron slating the Unions at every chance he gets.

WHAT A WASTE. If he had his head screwed on hed embrase the Unions get productivity up and get this country back to work.

sticky - the conclusion you draw from the article presented is pretty tenuous ...... as for "embracing the unions", heaven forfend! .....

though i fully accept that sensible and responsible unions have an important part to play in industry, i still get the feeling that most of them are far more interested in building their own little empires and being generally "awkward" than working for the common good ..... that is certainly not to say that most management is intelligent and thoughtful, as clearly that is often not so

as an example, a good few years ago, my wife was chair of the board of governors at a small local school ...... trying to sack bad teachers was almost impossible thanks to the union and its entrenched position

unions promoting increased productivity and efficiency from their members!!!!!
what planet have you been living on???

My work here is done! :-)

Doreen Lawrence will use peerage to speak out on immigration clampdown



New Labour peer Doreen Lawrence has pledged to speak out over stop-and-check operations being carried out near railway stations in a crackdown on illegal immigration.
What waste of a peerage , I would have thought she would be all for upholding law and order and making our street's safer.

Cameron pulls of political coup

David Cameron has hired Barack Obama's campaign manager Jim Messina to help him win the 2015 general election, it has been reported.

According to the BBC, Messina will act as an adviser to the Conservative Party's campaign manager Lynton Crosby.

Messina masterminded president Obama's 2012 re-election campaign having previously served as White House deputy chief of staff. The hire is something of a coup for Cameron considering the two come from opposing political parties.

Whilst what happened to Stephen Lawrence was appalling if the police are checking for ILLEGAL immigrants then what she has to say should be in support of the police action, if it's not supportive it could be construed that she is anti police and just taking a swipe at them for letting her family down. AIMHO of course.
2517

Haystack---let's hope he stays true to his paymasters and not his political party.
2517

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlZkRF45K6M

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS
I though the extract below very interesting following the apparent arrest of 120 illegals .....


An EHRC (Human Rights organisation) spokesman said: "The commission is writing to the Home Office about these reported operations, confirming that it will be examining the powers used and the justification for them, in order to assess whether unlawful discrimination took place. ....."
A Home Office spokesman defended the tactics: "We make no apology for enforcing our immigration laws ....... Where we find people who are in the UK illegally, we will seek to remove them."


Anyone here want to stand on their soapbox to support EHRC in this instant?

Anyone in mind? :-)

fred may have a pop, as he likes to take contrary stances, even if he doesn't necessarily hold to his own arguments - i know the feeling well :-)

cynic - think skinny was referring to a poster using the name of an ocean going vessel :O)

like dogs' poo, i just avoid it

electionista ‏@electionista 3 Aug
UK - average of polls, 15-day change: CON 30.7%(+0.1), LAB 37.8%(-0.5), LDEM 9.9%(-0.1), UKIP 13%(+0.3)

vote ukip is all I hear at the 4 pubs and 3 clubs I go to
and most of them are pensioners .
my family which we are many will be voting ukip ex torys

We know!

http://www7.politicalbetting.com/index.php/archives/2013/08/05/populus-back-to-normal-following-fridays-shock-lab-11pc-lead/

Populous today Labour lead 5

Conservatives 33 + 4
Labour 38 - 2
I be 12 + 1
UKIP 9 - 3