badgerx16

And exactly how much of the land surface was arable and capable of growing food ? And it is estimated that the the sea level was up to 200 metres above where it is now during the Cretaceous.

You can include Local Government in there as well.

Some time soon Klaatu will drop in with his giant robot companion and the Earth will be purged of the human plague. I know this is true because I saw it on TV on Sunday. ( And for the record, I broadly agree with you ).

There have always been elements of both at work, it's the balance between them that is the problem.

Typical Yorkie, tight with the money, fulsome and loud with the self-praise.

Just got Jungleland in my 'phones at the moment. RIP big man.

muck

How do you know that somebody earning less than you do does not, in fact, work HARDER than you ?

On behalf of BTF, and as I too have mentioned this, the union side of this debate includes such an assertion : http://www.unitetheunion.org/news__events/latest_news/ten_top_facts_on_local_governm.aspx

surrender

When you look in the mirror, what the f*** do you see ?

If you had told Simon Hughes then that by 2010 his party would be shackled to the Tories he would have thought you a candidate for a straight jacket.

You do understand the terms socialism and altruism, don't you ?

Too may are allowed to get into University these days - mind you the changes to tuition fees may knock that back.

Amazingly, I have found yet another point on which I broadly concur with you. The education system is the favourite plaything of politicians of all hues, and the continued changes in policy, guidelines, funding, intitiatives, frameworks, etc, only serve to further damage things and leave staff in the education sector completely bamboozled as to what they are supposed to be doing. Sometimes it is better to leave things alone rather than to constantly meddle.

fears

"There are lies, damned lies, and statistics" - Benjamin Disraeli. "There are liars, damned liars, and politicians" - (unattributed).

There was a political concensus that something had to be done to get rid of Saddam Hussein, but the foundation of that consensus was subsequently proved to be flawed. So why cannot this particular assertion be tested ?

Hutton's report is open to question : "Contribution levels have already increased in some schemes, and cost sharing has been introduced, so if people live longer than anticipated, extra costs are shared between employer and employees. And the civil service has replaced its final salary scheme with a career average scheme for people joining after July 2007. These changes reduced the value of schemes to new entrants in the four main public sector pension schemes from 23 to 20 per cent of salary. And it doesn’t end there. The Coalition have also taken action, by ensuring that employer pension contributions rise every year by the consumer prices index measure of inflation, rather than the retail prices index, which is higher because it includes housing costs. This has reduced the value of schemes from 20 to 17 per cent of salaries. So the cost of schemes has fallen from 23 to 17 per cent of salary in the last five years. When pensions experts talk about the sustainability of public sector pensions they usually measure this by looking at the cost as a percentage of national income (gross domestic product). Figures from Lord Hutton’s report show that public sector pensions are expected to account for 1.9 per cent of GDP this year, remain at 1.8 per cent for the next decade, before falling to 1.4 per cent by 2059-60. In other words, the cost of public sector pensions is expected to fall, even if no further action is taken." http://blogs.channel4.com/factcheck/factcheck-pensions-timebomb/4266 And the point I was supporting is that the Local Government scheme is self-funded - so there is NO increased burden to the exchequer: http://www.unitetheunion.org/news__events/latest_news/ten_top_facts_on_local_governm.aspx If other public sector schemes do cause such a burden then that is another matter.

How many more times Bridge, you can't go bringing facts into a debate on an Internet forum, especially when they go against the ConDem Government's justifications for it's non-manifesto based actions, or the spittle spumed blusterings of the right wing propagandists in the print media.

Can I also join the queue to point out the basic untruth of this statement. My retirement age is currently set to 66. And then as I asked Mrs B last night, who would want Police, firemen and paramedics still responding to blue light calls when over 60 ? The problem with the generic phrase 'public sector', and deriving average statistics from it, is it covers everything from the world's top neuro surgeon to the lowliest CA in a back office somewhere in Washington ( Tyne & Wear ). The armed forces are a completely different entity to the NHS, which is itself distinct from Local Govt, the civil service, etc.

This is a pussy : This is a beaver : And this is a pair of great tits : Hope this helps.

This is a bit like asking 'who is your favourite Horseman of the Apocalypse' ? Would you choose Famine over Plague ? As for the thread, I think it's a 4-way tie for last place.

I think there is a lesson in there for some of us, don't quote the Daily Mail without actually reading the entire article. :lol:

A question for the teachers and 'significant others' of teachers : How many days of the summer "holidays" do you / they work ? I know for myself that my wife probably does a minimum 2 weeks of work during this 'break'. And the proportion is similar for Easter & Xmas.