buctootim

Not criticising but I do find it incomprehensible that people wont pay £5 for a year for something that they want and use.

Thats because Portillo got a first from Cambridge - a better degree from a better university!

AA's position is increasingly bizarre. I cant work out if he is incompetent or corrupt or both. Either way I find it hard to see him having a career after this. Perhaps someone has deposited £1m in a Virgin Islands account for him to break his fall.

No-one that I can see is saying they shouldnt have the right to strike - simply that they are incredibly stupid to do so given the state of the company and that the timing of the strikes is calculated to inflict maximum inconvenience to passengers thereby guarenteeing a loss of public support - you know - those people they will need to pay their wages in the years to come.

Yes but always taking the pro 'workers' and 'more public spending' line on every issue regardless of the circumstances devalues your arguments. Im on the centre or left more often than not - but its plain to see this is ludicrous strike with BA cabin crew throwing their toys out because the golden piggy bank is empty.

It all goes back to the same issue - you cant compete on exisiting routes or expand to new ones if your costs are too high. BA used to have an extensive regional based network, flying out of Southampton, Manchester, Glasgow and others but they have slowly closed. BA now carry fewer passengers than 15 years ago whilst the number of people flying from the UK has more than doubled.

Two low rent celebs have a spat at a puff event for an airheads magazine.

Its great Abbot is standing. There is now a much wider range of middle class, Oxbridge educated career politicans to choose from.

Approaches and contract negotiations should be conducted in strict secrecy. The last thing I want is for a fans forum to know every embryonic detail of possible signings. I agree that ideally we need a settled side in place for a good pre-season - and there are three weeks left for that to happen.

So who won?

So they do have income greater than the £600,000pa you claimed then, its just that its repackaged and sheltered.

You'd have to be a total cretin to not be able to get a return of 6%pa - £60million pa income for someone with just 1 billion

Its always amusing how many little englander tory voters condemn 'spongers', moan about how much tax they pay on their average incomes whilst doffing their cap to rich people. Perhaps companies shouldn pay corporaton tax either - after all they employ lots of people. VAT is a tax on sales and puts pressure on shops.

There is always another country prepared to offer soft tax regimes to rich people from other nations. Thats why Scandinavian billionaires migrate to the UK whilst UK billionaires go to Monaco / Switzerland.

21 Goals from 142 appearances at five clubs in four countries by the age of 20. Should be great for team morale.

I know of one tax exile worth £4.8bn who, after claiming all kinds of tax allowances on his staff, deer herd etc paid £33,000 in tax last year. Yes its immoral that someone with £4.8bn pays the same tax as someone on £100,000 but as wEs says. Grant Thornton and the like make a very healthy living shifting peoples money around the world to avoid tax.

What has happened to the assets bought with the £200bn created out of thin air. Can they be sold for a (100%) profit later on?

No its about being prepared to accept 100 uglies cycling past because the one hot fittie makes it worth it. And it doesnt turn children into traumatised drug adicts as far as I can see.

This has been a fixture in Brighton for five years, now some councillors want to ban it. Just a harmless way of drawing attention to a dull but important road safety issue imo. Is a naked human body in public indecent? http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/8182113.Brighton_s_naked_bike_ride_branded__indecent____by_council/?ref=mr

I dont see the problem with Walsh. He has been a pilot, union negotiator and CEO of an airline (Aer Lingus) which had all the problems of BA. He took over a slowly sinking airline which was heading directly into the worst recession for a generation. The fact he hasnt insulated them from all the fallout doesnt mean he isnt competent.

The LDs are exerting a measurable impact on the direction of the government and getting some LDs ideals / views implemented for the first time in 80 years. I cant see why any LD voter would be disappointed. Whats the point of being an absolute purist but impotent.

I agree with you GM. BA remains one of the better carriers and I prefer to fly with them when I can. Makes it an even greater shame that this strike is hastening their contraction and possible demise.

Of course jetting off across the world every week and staying in very good hotels isnt a job for someone with a young family - but its a great lifestyle if youre single.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/ba-to-increase-retirement-age-471101.html

Of course. Those on very high salaries are on on the old contracts, and they continue to get increments year after year. Management did change the terms and conditions for new entrants. The problem is that the salaries of staff on the old contracts are so ridiculously high they dont leave through natural wastage, so the wage bill remains massive.