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.

Downing Street: public sector strike was a flop

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{"s" : "MPSLTD.BO","k" : "a00,a50,b00,b60,c10,g00,h00,l10,p20,t10,v00","o" : "","j" : ""} Robert Winnett, 23:12, Thursday 30 June 2011

The strike by public sector workers was yesterday described as a flop by the Government after trade union threats proved hollow and the industrial action caused minimal disruption.

Figures showed 104,000 civil servants went on strike, representing only a minority of those who were members of the unions taking part.

And only 27 per cent of schools were closed, with another quarter facing disruption far less than the nine in ten schools which the unions predicted would be affected.

The biggest impact was among Metropolitan Police 999 call handlers, where 95 per cent of workers went on strike. However, contingency plans meant that the average time taken to answer a call only increased from 10 seconds to 15 seconds.

Although ministers resisted appearing triumphant publicly, behind the scenes the lacklustre support for the strikes gave the Government renewed confidence that it can push through reforms to public sector pensions.

Ministers yesterday defended plans to increase to 66 the age at which public sector workers retire while forcing them to contribute more to the schemes. However, Francis Maude, the Cabinet Office minister, declined to say the proposals were finalised sparking speculation that the unions may win some concessions in talks next week.

Last night, Downing Street aides said there had only been a minimal impact on the public from the strike action. Our border controls are in place and Jobcentres and pension offices are open for business, said a spokesman for the Prime Minister.

Indicative figures from every government department show that, as of 12 noon today, over 75 per cent of civil servants were not on strike.

The spokesman said the figures showed that less than half of PCS [Public and Commercial Services Union] members decided to take strike action today.

Members of the National Union of Teachers and the Association of Teachers and Lecturers were also on strike yesterday.

In England, 27 per cent of local authority schools were closed, 24 per cent were partly open and 28 per cent fully open, with the remainder not having yet reported the situation.

There was a heavy police presence in central London but fewer than 40 arrests were made. Police were seen removing suspected anarchists from a march of trade unionists to Westminster.

Union leaders insisted that the strikes were a success and reiterated threats that the worst industrial action in a generation faced Britain later in the year.

Yesterday, the British Medical Association voted to consider industrial action, which would be the first strike called by doctors for more than 30 years. Andrew Dearden, chairman of the BMAs pensions committee, said many were concerned because the Government had refused to enter into talks with the union.

Mark Serwotka, general secretary of the PCS, said 85 per cent of his members had been on strike, adding that MPs (BSE: MPSLTD.BO - news) had refused to cross picket lines and staff in Downing Street had taken action.

The Government has been rumbled, and ministers are either badly briefed or they are lying, he said. Mary Bousted, general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers said: We are here because of our force of reason, not the Governments reason of force.

Several union leaders turned on Ed Miliband, the Labour leader, after he called on them not to strike

I've always wanted to be a "highly reputable business magnet". Perhaps she could give me a few hints.

:-)

Well done Greekman. You miust have beat me to all that by about an hour, I reckon. Here I am still 'thinking about it'.

It's always the early bird that catches the worm.

Hmmm? Thinks.... Hope that's all he catches.... ;-)

Hi ExecLine,

By a hour. You have to strike quicker than that for true love.
As to catching the worm. No comment.

Greek.

RE- to strikes and state of country.......

Call me Dave... were all in this together!

Altogether now...... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUeycsaEV60

As Jim Royal would say, ... altogether my arse

I just checked a thread over the road on a tiddler that I have. I'd forgotten what its like. Some of the posters over there make most people on here seem almost grown up! :-)

You have just been over the road to check on your tiddler , do you keep it in a jam jar ?

Lord Hanningfield Jailed For Expenses Fraud
1Comments
Tory peer Lord Hanningfield has been jailed for nine months for fiddling his House of Lords expenses.

The Maidstone Crown Court heard how the 70-year-old had falsely claimed 14,000 for overnight stays in London when he was not in the capital.

=================


It amazes me what you can get Psychiatrists to say.

If somebody is being charged with fraud, you wouldn't expect him to be over the moon with happiness.

Mind he is a


=============

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-News/Tory-Peer-Lord-Hanningfield-Is-Jailed-For-Nine-Months-For-Fiddling-His-Parliamentary-Expenses/Article/201107116022424?lpos=UK_News_First_Home_Article_Teaser_Region_0&lid=ARTICLE_16022424_Tory_Peer_Lord_Hanningfield_Is_Jailed_For_Nine_Months_For_Fiddling_His_Parliamentary_Expenses

Good old John Prescott, he only wasted half a billion pounds, not his money of course.
2517

What would be the best place to invest your money when Greece goes bust ? That should be before it goes bust

If it strengthens the dollar , will the price of gold fall ?

Still think Nadal will have the day.

One-nil to the Coalition - but the battle over public sector pensions has only just begun
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{"s" : "","k" : "a00,a50,b00,b60,c10,g00,h00,l10,p20,t10,v00","o" : "","j" : ""} Matthew d'Ancona, 20:38, Saturday 2 July 2011

Ministers should put the champagne on ice, says Matthew d'Ancona - for in reaching a deal over pension reforms, they face an extraordinarily delicate balancing act

There is a famous New Yorker cartoon depicting a man who is plummeting from a skyscraper and, halfway down, declares cheerfully: "So far, so good!" Well, so far, so good for the Government in the public sector pensions dispute.

When the talks resume on Wednesday, the atmosphere will have changed: inescapably so. Ministers are celebrating the fact that the industrial action taken by four unions last Thursday did not bring the country grinding to a halt. The striking unions claim that they have finally awoken the public to the alleged injustice of the proposed pension reforms, and that this was only the first skirmish. To return to the metaphor of the cartoon: only when one side finally hits the pavement, and the other is caught safely in the fireman's jumping-sheet, will we know who was right last week.

Too much attention has been paid to Ed Miliband's position on the industrial action, as if the prime significance of the dispute were to dramatise the Labour leader's relationship with the trade unions whose backing won him the job. In fact, Miliband's soundbite "These strikes are wrong at a time when negotiations are going on" was a perfectly serviceable example of the "triangulation" he allegedly deplores. He blamed the Government (repeatedly, to the point of daft self-parody) for its supposedly "reckless and provocative" conduct, but insisted that his party would always be on the side of the parents and children inconvenienced by the strikes. This was neither a moment of glory, nor one of disaster. I imagine that Miliband wanted to get off the stage as quickly as respectably possible, on the grounds that, as Napoleon said, you should never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.

But is he? Is David Cameron storing up trouble on a disastrous scale for himself? Starting a fight that he cannot win and ensuring that he will have to make a cosmically embarrassing U-turn months down the line? Certainly, there are tensions within Whitehall that reflect the anxious determination of its most senior figures to avoid such an outcome. There is anger at how Treasury sources allegedly briefed Danny Alexander's speech on pensions reform on June 17 giving rise to the risky impression that the proposals were less a discussion document than a blueprint, the essential detail of which was not open to debate.

In fact, there is still a fair amount on the table, such as the precise distribution of the contribution increase across the various pension schemes, the phasing in of the new retirement age, and the fate of the "Fair Deal" policy that mandates private sector employers to offer public sector workers comparable pension arrangements to those they have previously enjoyed. The spirit of the age is irenic and collaborative, as is the Coalition's rhetoric. Ministers want these negotiations to be recognised as negotiations rather than a thwarted stitch-up.

There are mutterings, too, about Francis Maude's performance on the Today programme last week, up against Mark Serwotka, general secretary of the striking Public and Commercial Services Union. "We need somebody to be the front man," says one of his Cabinet colleagues. "And Francis is not the man for the job." To be fair to Maude, I see no queue of ministers lining up to go over the top in his place. The Cabinet Office Minister is, as I have written before, one of the most capable senior members of this Coalition, and also one of its best strategic thinkers. One sticky interview is small change compared to the grasp Maude has of the bigger picture.

His priority has, naturally, been to keep the unions at the table but not to panic if some of them peel off for premature action of this sort. In the end, a deal will have to be done, and the PCS and the teaching unions risk making themselves look irrelevant and isolated by mounting strikes that cause inconvenience but do not spread or capture the public's imagination as a symbol of much broader injustice. No less dangerous for the unions is the contingency planning that each such strike necessitates and the lessons that it teaches government. Every time the workers march out, their managers learn a little more about how many staff they really need and what tasks could be automated. In the midst of the greatest technological revolution in history, it is dangerous to force an employer to test one's indispensability.

Where Maude's Cabinet critic is right is that this is all about public diplomacy. In search of an appropriate narrative, ministers and their spokesmen often quarry the Thatcher era and its lessons. It is true, as is often pointed out, that a government must prepare meticulously before taking on the unions. Having backed down against the miners in 1981, Margaret Thatcher built up coal stocks in anticipation of the battle against Arthur (Euronext: ART.NX - news) Scargill in 1984-5 a strategy that helped to ensure her triumph. So associated is the Iron Lady's legend with her taming of the unions that all Conservative leaders feel a filial obligation to follow suit when confrontation looms.

Yet there are limits to such analogies with the struggles of the Eighties. Partly because Lady Thatcher was so successful, there is much less militancy than there was a quarter-century ago. It was fascinating to see a middle-aged teacher on Thursday's Newsnight lamenting the fact that his younger colleagues were so much less inclined to take to the barricades. And it is true that the colours of union politics were infinitely more lurid in the days when Ronald Reagan simply fired all striking air traffic controllers and the National Union of Mineworkers was seen as the "enemy within" in one of the final chapters of the Cold War. Today, the younger generation thinks that Tolpuddle is something you step in at Glastonbury, and that the Battle of Orgreave is a scene in The Lord of the Rings .

The flipside of this is that the public's pain threshold has dropped dramatically since the Thatcher era. The new British disease is impatience. In the Seventies and Eighties, there was a powerful collective sense that these struggles were worth fighting to save the nation from terminal decline. Now, strikes inspire irritation rather than conviction. For the moment, the polls suggest that more irritation is aimed at the strikers than at the Government. But that could easily change. Boredom is the father of appeasement: months and months of intermittent strikes like Thursday's could tilt the balance of opinion so that the public starts to blame the Coalition for all the inconvenience and to ask why Cameron can't meet the strikers halfway.

The political calculus could scarcely be more complex. Ministers must get their reforms for demographic and fiscal reasons but through negotiation, rather than confrontation. The Coalition must appear reasonable and sensitive but not to the point of looking weak or "doing another U-turn". As further strikes follow, which they will, Cameron must respond with growing indignation but avoid making martyrs of mild-mannered English teachers, or, God help him, nurses. There is still a long way to fall. So far, so good.

Klitschko v David Haye (07/01/2011)
10:44 hboboxing: Haye is showing boosted confidence, using his speed to his advantage. Close round but giving it to Haye 10-9. #KlitschkoHaye [via Twitter]


Saturday July 2, 2011 10:44 hboboxing
10:43 Eurobot: Haye dives forward on the front foot and strikes over the top. That was a big hit! And Haye goes again! The bell rings but both fighters keep going for half-a-second. Is Klitschko hurt? Looks like there's a mark above the eye.



Saturday July 2, 2011 10:43 Eurobot
10:42 Eurobot: This fight is balanced on a knifepoint, with Haye still full of confidence, looking for the feint and waiting for an opening, while Klitschko's ability to jab has been ever-present without getting too much on Haye.



Saturday July 2, 2011 10:42 Eurobot
10:40 Eurobot: ROUND FOUR: Haye landed the bigger shots in that third round, landing one huge jab but it's Klitschko who strikes first in round four, only for Haye to get a glove up to deflect.



Saturday July 2, 2011 10:40 Eurobot
10:39 hboboxing: Haye is finally starting to reach Klitschko, penetrating his defenses. Fight can go either way at this point. 10-9 Haye [via Twitter]


Saturday July 2, 2011 10:39 hboboxing
10:39 Eurobot: Klitschko gets Haye on the ropes and gets close with a tiple combination. Haye takes it and responds with a smile, asking for more. Looks like Haye emerged unscathed there.



Saturday July 2, 2011 10:39 Eurobot
10:38 Eurobot: Haye pounces off the front foot, landing a right hander and forcing Klitschko to hold on briefly. The Hayemaker smells blood and forces his rival into the middle of the ring but without being able to land another significant shot. Much better from the Brit, however.



Saturday July 2, 2011 10:38 Eurobot
10:36 Eurobot: ROUND THREE: Haye's not had much of a look in yet and that may concern his corner, who would have been hoping for an early finish. Most expect Klitschko to get the verdict if it goes the 12 rounds.



Saturday July 2, 2011 10:36 Eurobot
10:34 hboboxing: Haye is looking for Klitschko to make a mistake so he can land a big shot. Hasn't happened yet. 10-9 Klitschko [via Twitter]


Saturday July 2, 2011 10:34 hboboxing
10:34 Eurobot: Haye makes his first move of the fight, connecting with two shots before just missing with an overhand right. That got the crowd going! Klitschko responds with a big jab - the best of the night so far - but Haye took it well.



Saturday July 2, 2011 10:34 Eurobot
10:33 Eurobot: ROUND TWO: This feels like a home bout for Haye, who's caught face-on with a jab early in the second round. He barely flinches and continues to try and invite Klitschko in, playing a patient game to try and find room for the killer punch.



Saturday July 2, 2011 10:33 Eurobot
10:32 hboboxing: As expected, Klitschko is leading with his jabs. Haye is able to dodge most of them, but hasn't been able to do much else. 10-9 Klitschko [via Twitter]


Saturday July 2, 2011 10:32 hboboxing
10:31 Eurobot: There goes the bell. That was a cagey start, with neither fighter landing anything significant. Haye's corner tells their man to relax and control his punching.


Saturday July 2, 2011 10:31 Eurobot
10:30 Eurobot: Haye's keeping his gloves low, relying on his superior speed and reflexes. Is that a risky strategy? You certainly don't want to receive a big one from Klitschko. One punch from that man and it could be over.



Saturday July 2, 2011 10:30 Eurobot
10:29 hboboxing: Klitschko catches Haye behind the head and pushes him down. No knockdown. #KlitschkoHaye [via Twitter]


Saturday July 2, 2011 10:29 hboboxing
10:29 Eurobot: ROUND ONE: Klitschko quickly backs Haye into the corner but the Brit works his way out, popping around on his toes. Hold on, Haye's down! Looks like the Londoner was pushed on the back of the head. Nothing to see here and we're back underway.


Saturday July 2, 2011 10:29 Eurobot
10:28 hboboxing: And it's on. #KlitschkoHaye [via Twitter]


Saturday July 2, 2011 10:28 hboboxing
10:27 Eurobot: The duo reluctantly touch gloves and we're off! Haye will need to make a quick start...

Wladimir Klitschko v David Haye (07/01/2011)
10:52 hboboxing: Klitschko looking like Klitschko in R6. Haye couldn't do much with that. 10-9 Klitschko [via Twitter]


Saturday July 2, 2011 10:52 hboboxing
10:51 Eurobot: This is another good round from Klitschko, comfortably stepping back to fend off Haye's single-punch attacks.


Saturday July 2, 2011 10:51 Eurobot
10:50 hboboxing: RT @Franklin_McNeil: Wlad has won fifth, 10-9. @EmanuelSteward is pleading with Wlad not to let Haye land the final punch of round and s ... [via Twitter]


Saturday July 2, 2011 10:50 hboboxing
10:50 Eurobot: ROUND SIX: Klitschko continues to edge forward, Haye darting from foot to foot. Klitschko's cut below his left eye but is boxing well, always looking to land the jab. Haye's not had a look-in in this round.



Saturday July 2, 2011 10:50 Eurobot
10:48 Eurobot: ROUND FIVE: Klitschko lands a big right hander with Haye catching it face-first while trying to duck into the ropes. That's left blood coming from Haye's nose! Haye holds on to regain some composure before responding in typical fashion, looking to set the agenda with his speed and pace

Wladimir Klitschko v David Haye (07/01/2011)
10:56 hboboxing: RT @mountain_goats: @badlefthook @hboboxing remember shots to the body? you wouldn't know they were an option from this fight [via Twitter]
Saturday July 2, 2011 10:56 hboboxing
10:56 Eurobot: Haye may have just edged that round. Remember, Klitschko was docked a point by the referee for pushing so Haye could well have a 10-8 round behind him.


Saturday July 2, 2011 10:56 Eurobot
10:56 hboboxing: Haye can't win unless he knocks Klitschko out. And he can't do that unless he throws more punches. 9-9 Klitschko [via Twitter]


Saturday July 2, 2011 10:56 hboboxing
10:54 Eurobot: Both men size eachother up before Haye sends a left hook over the top. That caught Klitschko but didn't have too much power behind it. Haye's still looking for the big shot.



Saturday July 2, 2011 10:54 Eurobot
10:53 Eurobot: Klitschko pushes Haye down yet again and the Brit complains to the referee, who takes a point away from the 6ft 6in Klitschko.



Saturday July 2, 2011 10:53 Eurobot
10:53 hboboxing: Another push down and Klitschko loses a point. #KlitschkoHaye [via Twitter]


Saturday July 2, 2011 10:53 hboboxing
10:52 Eurobot: ROUND SEVEN: Both men are marked - Haye on the nose and Klitschko below the left eye - but neither are suffering too badly so far.

11:00 Eurobot: Here's a few stats for you: Klitschko's thrown 149 punches, landing 61, while Haye's thrown 136, connecting with 27.
Saturday July 2, 2011 11:00 Eurobot
11:00 hboboxing: Klitschko dramatically out throwing and out landing Haye. Is Haye's opportunity for a KO going to show up? 10-9 Klitschko [via Twitter]


Saturday July 2, 2011 11:00 hboboxing
10:58 Eurobot: ROUND EIGHT: Haye has another word with the referee - is he complaining too much? Time to get on with the fighting.

11:04 hboboxing: Haye landed a couple of nice shots in R9, but not nearly enough. 10-9 Klitschko #KlitschkoHaye [via Twitter]


Saturday July 2, 2011 11:04 hboboxing
11:03 Eurobot: Haye moves into the final 30 seconds of the round with an attempted combination. He'll need to connect with more of them if he's to get Klitschko to the mat.


Saturday July 2, 2011 11:03 Eurobot
11:02 Eurobot: ROUND NINE: Klitschko shows a turn of speed to edge Haye into the corner, throwing a trio of punches without really connecting. Haye then falls on one knee and the referee's not happy with the Brit

11:08 Eurobot: ROUND 10: Looks like Haye will need a stoppage to win this fight. He's landing the occassional punch but nothing significant to wear away Klitschko's impressive defence. Klitschko ends the round with a great shot but Haye takes it well.
Saturday July 2, 2011 11:08 Eurobot
11:08 hboboxing: Klitschko is now doing what he does best - outboxing his opponent and taking zero risks. 10-9 Klitschko [via Twitter]


Saturday July 2, 2011 11:08 hboboxing
11:07 hboboxing: RT @montelll13: @hboboxing Haye is slowing, Wlad will start pouring on the damage. Left hooks, right hands, done [via Twitter]

11:12 Eurobot: After 11 rounds Klitschko's success rate is 43 per cent, while Haye's sits at just 24 per cent. Saturday July 2, 2011 11:12 Eurobot
11:12 hboboxing: Jim Lampley called it -- this is now target practice for Klitschko. 10-9 Klitschko with one round to go. [via Twitter]


Saturday July 2, 2011 11:12 hboboxing
11:11 Eurobot: Klitschko continues in robotic fashion, edging forward, jab after jab. It's frustrating Haye, who's attacks are off balance and ineffective.


Saturday July 2, 2011 11:11 Eurobot
11:10 Eurobot: ROUND 11: Haye goes down again - he's hitting the floor far too easily and the referee's had enough. He calls it a knockdown. Haye enters the second half of the round with a flurry of wild swings. He's got found minutes to make one land.

11:17 hboboxing: Haye hurts Klitschko bad with a hard right, but Wlad just wakes up and dominates. 10-9 Klitschko. Fight's over. #KlitschkoHaye [via Twitter]
Saturday July 2, 2011 11:17 hboboxing
11:16 Eurobot: There goes the bell and Haye raises his arm more in optimism than expectation. It'll go down to the judges and you can only see a Klitschko decision here.


Saturday July 2, 2011 11:16 Eurobot
11:14 Eurobot: Haye dives in with a combination and Klitschko's hurt! The Ukrainian holds on to buy some time but he's struggling. Haye's lost his momentum and is unable to follow the attack up with enough to floor Klitschko.

Saturday July 2, 2011 11:14 Eurobot
11:13 hboboxing: Jim Lampley called it - this is now target practice for Klitschko. 10-8 Klitschko with one round to go. [via Twitter]


Saturday July 2, 2011 11:13 hboboxing
11:12 Eurobot: ROUND 12: Here we go! Can either fighter end this fight before the bell?