maybe rcs, but would you want to pile a bag of cash into three countries currently being mooted as bad Vlad's next land grab ? I doubt it's all plain sailing.
IIUC Estonian administration is largely online; If the Russians invaded Estonia I imagine most governments would continue recognizing the Estonian government in exile as the legitimate government of Estonia. So if you've registered your company in a virtual office there you could carry on paying your corporate taxes to a virtual country, and if you ended up in a legal dispute you could take advantage of their virtual courts.
Since Russia would have taken responsibility for all the actual citizens, I'd imagine Virtual Estonia could make their taxes even lower and their regulations even more business-friendly.
well it's a view
it would give the russian hackers something to play with before the next US election
Irrespective of Brexit we should be targetting 0% Corporation Tax anyway. Abolish it. Tax the flows of cash to shareholders or debt holders instead. Much more direct. Easier to calculate. Almost impossible to avoid or evade. No allowances or loopholes for clever accountants to play with.
You need to equalise capital gains tax and income tax then, otherwise people will create businesses, accumulate profits, and then liquidate/sell them to convert income to capital gains.
Agreed. Hammond has a golden opportunity to make a massive simplification of our insanely complex tax system.
I've come to the conclusion that can never be done. Osborne's simplification of VAT on heated takeaway food nearly brought down the government.
Brexit to the rescue? Presumably future Chancellors of the Exchequer will be free to remove VAT from pasties, tampons or, well, anything else they fancied. Whether we'd expect a Conservative Chancellor actually to cut tax is another question entirely.
Would the EMA be worth anything without Switzerland or the UK? Tbh with both nations not in the EEA a more aggressive stance might be warranted, if the Swiss were on board.
Switzerland just caved on immigration to the EU, so that ship has sadly sailed.
But specifically to the EMA/pharma industry, the UK and Switzerland have the lion's share of European industry, maybe enough to dictate terms to the EU. Might be worth looking into.
Would the EMA be worth anything without Switzerland or the UK? Tbh with both nations not in the EEA a more aggressive stance might be warranted, if the Swiss were on board.
Switzerland just caved on immigration to the EU, so that ship has sadly sailed.
Not entirely, it managed to get a rule that local Swiss workers could be given priority for jobs
Swiss job centres are allowed to put Swiss citizens forward for jobs first. I think that's just a fig leaf, don't you?
Ultimately, any EU citizen can go to Switzerland, without a job, and get one.
It is still a preference for Swiss job applicants, the job offer requirement May will push for will not be a million miles away
I employ Engineers. In the last 5 years, I have had difficulty even receiving British White CV's.
The last two I employed: one was an Australian [ British citizen who had lived in Oz since childhood ] and another UK born Pakistani. Before that two British citizens but both from India.
Most cannot even pass the very simple test we ask them to take. For example, what's Ohm's Law ? They actually have "qualifications".
The other problem I have is that the amount of work they are prepared to is terrible. If they have a customer visit at 2pm, that's the last one for the day.
I take it your company doesnt do any training then ?
Would the EMA be worth anything without Switzerland or the UK? Tbh with both nations not in the EEA a more aggressive stance might be warranted, if the Swiss were on board.
Switzerland just caved on immigration to the EU, so that ship has sadly sailed.
Not entirely, it managed to get a rule that local Swiss workers could be given priority for jobs
Swiss job centres are allowed to put Swiss citizens forward for jobs first. I think that's just a fig leaf, don't you?
Ultimately, any EU citizen can go to Switzerland, without a job, and get one.
It is still a preference for Swiss job applicants, the job offer requirement May will push for will not be a million miles away
I employ Engineers. In the last 5 years, I have had difficulty even receiving British White CV's.
The last two I employed: one was an Australian [ British citizen who had lived in Oz since childhood ] and another UK born Pakistani. Before that two British citizens but both from India.
Most cannot even pass the very simple test we ask them to take. For example, what's Ohm's Law ? They actually have "qualifications".
The other problem I have is that the amount of work they are prepared to is terrible. If they have a customer visit at 2pm, that's the last one for the day.
Would the EMA be worth anything without Switzerland or the UK? Tbh with both nations not in the EEA a more aggressive stance might be warranted, if the Swiss were on board.
Switzerland just caved on immigration to the EU, so that ship has sadly sailed.
Not entirely, it managed to get a rule that local Swiss workers could be given priority for jobs
Swiss job centres are allowed to put Swiss citizens forward for jobs first. I think that's just a fig leaf, don't you?
Ultimately, any EU citizen can go to Switzerland, without a job, and get one.
It is still a preference for Swiss job applicants, the job offer requirement May will push for will not be a million miles away
I employ Engineers. In the last 5 years, I have had difficulty even receiving British White CV's.
The last two I employed: one was an Australian [ British citizen who had lived in Oz since childhood ] and another UK born Pakistani. Before that two British citizens but both from India.
Most cannot even pass the very simple test we ask them to take. For example, what's Ohm's Law ? They actually have "qualifications".
The other problem I have is that the amount of work they are prepared to is terrible. If they have a customer visit at 2pm, that's the last one for the day.
The irony of a lefty moaning about the end products of the educational culture they have instigated is stupefying.
Would the EMA be worth anything without Switzerland or the UK? Tbh with both nations not in the EEA a more aggressive stance might be warranted, if the Swiss were on board.
Switzerland just caved on immigration to the EU, so that ship has sadly sailed.
Not entirely, it managed to get a rule that local Swiss workers could be given priority for jobs
Swiss job centres are allowed to put Swiss citizens forward for jobs first. I think that's just a fig leaf, don't you?
Ultimately, any EU citizen can go to Switzerland, without a job, and get one.
It is still a preference for Swiss job applicants, the job offer requirement May will push for will not be a million miles away
I employ Engineers. In the last 5 years, I have had difficulty even receiving British White CV's.
The last two I employed: one was an Australian [ British citizen who had lived in Oz since childhood ] and another UK born Pakistani. Before that two British citizens but both from India.
Most cannot even pass the very simple test we ask them to take. For example, what's Ohm's Law ? They actually have "qualifications".
The other problem I have is that the amount of work they are prepared to is terrible. If they have a customer visit at 2pm, that's the last one for the day.
The irony of a lefty moaning about the end products of the educational culture they have instigated is stupefying.
Only the left has not been in power during the last 30 years ! This is a typically stupid response. It's all the others' fault.
The Baltics are increasingly attractive to inward investment, and the fact that so many people speak English because they have spent time in the UK is a big part of that.
Genius Sports (the new name for Betgenius) has its largest non-UK office in Talinn.
I would expect lots of Estonians to return home in the next few years because the opportunities are great, and the cost of living low.
hmmm
maybe rcs, but would you want to pile a bag of cash into three countries currently being mooted as bad Vlad's next land grab ? I doubt it's all plain sailing.
As for Estonian homecomers, well Ive never really noticed a huge number of Irish returning once theyve left and weve been at it longer than the Estonians. While I would happily go back, my english wife sees it very differently. I suspect emigrant Balts will have similar pressures.
I'd reckon more than half the 400 people we employ in Tallinn have lived in the UK at one point or another. With senior staff it's 100%.
And why not? The cost of living is 75% less than London and the taxes are modest. The night life and restaurants are excellent.
In the era of fluid gender, race and sexuality it is strange that many people who promote such ideas pigeon hole anyone who holds a view they disagree with as 'the right'
The right believes in less regulation and low public spending. That's the way I use the term anyway.
I bet that by the end of May's premiership public spending will still be higher than in Blair's first term and while no socialist she still does not believe in unfettered capitalism either
If it's risen, it's hard to know what it's spent on given the scorched earth policy on local authority libraries, youth centres, NHS dentistry, building public and social housing for rent.
But I suppose PFI payments and HMRC lease payments to Mapeley count as public spending. So you could eventually bankrupt UK PLC by outsourcing all building projects, prison operation and job centres to companies based in overseas tax havens, while real services delivered to the public decline.
Who pushed through most PFI projects? Blair and Brown and Cameron and Osborne, not the May government
Would the EMA be worth anything without Switzerland or the UK? Tbh with both nations not in the EEA a more aggressive stance might be warranted, if the Swiss were on board.
Switzerland just caved on immigration to the EU, so that ship has sadly sailed.
Not entirely, it managed to get a rule that local Swiss workers could be given priority for jobs
Swiss job centres are allowed to put Swiss citizens forward for jobs first. I think that's just a fig leaf, don't you?
Ultimately, any EU citizen can go to Switzerland, without a job, and get one.
It is still a preference for Swiss job applicants, the job offer requirement May will push for will not be a million miles away
I employ Engineers. In the last 5 years, I have had difficulty even receiving British White CV's.
The last two I employed: one was an Australian [ British citizen who had lived in Oz since childhood ] and another UK born Pakistani. Before that two British citizens but both from India.
Most cannot even pass the very simple test we ask them to take. For example, what's Ohm's Law ? They actually have "qualifications".
The other problem I have is that the amount of work they are prepared to is terrible. If they have a customer visit at 2pm, that's the last one for the day.
You will still be able to hire workers from anywhere but they will have to have that job offer from you before they can settle here
The Baltics are increasingly attractive to inward investment, and the fact that so many people speak English because they have spent time in the UK is a big part of that.
Genius Sports (the new name for Betgenius) has its largest non-UK office in Talinn.
I would expect lots of Estonians to return home in the next few years because the opportunities are great, and the cost of living low.
hmmm
maybe rcs, but would you want to pile a bag of cash into three countries currently being mooted as bad Vlad's next land grab ? I doubt it's all plain sailing.
As for Estonian homecomers, well Ive never really noticed a huge number of Irish returning once theyve left and weve been at it longer than the Estonians. While I would happily go back, my english wife sees it very differently. I suspect emigrant Balts will have similar pressures.
I'd reckon more than half the 400 people we employ in Tallinn have lived in the UK at one point or another. With senior staff it's 100%.
And why not? The cost of living is 75% less than London and the taxes are modest. The night life and restaurants are excellent.
I wish you all the best with it rcs
Tallinn is one of those places like Riga I'd like to visit
Would the EMA be worth anything without Switzerland or the UK? Tbh with both nations not in the EEA a more aggressive stance might be warranted, if the Swiss were on board.
Switzerland just caved on immigration to the EU, so that ship has sadly sailed.
Not entirely, it managed to get a rule that local Swiss workers could be given priority for jobs
Swiss job centres are allowed to put Swiss citizens forward for jobs first. I think that's just a fig leaf, don't you?
Ultimately, any EU citizen can go to Switzerland, without a job, and get one.
It is still a preference for Swiss job applicants, the job offer requirement May will push for will not be a million miles away
I employ Engineers. In the last 5 years, I have had difficulty even receiving British White CV's.
The last two I employed: one was an Australian [ British citizen who had lived in Oz since childhood ] and another UK born Pakistani. Before that two British citizens but both from India.
Most cannot even pass the very simple test we ask them to take. For example, what's Ohm's Law ? They actually have "qualifications".
The other problem I have is that the amount of work they are prepared to is terrible. If they have a customer visit at 2pm, that's the last one for the day.
I take it your company doesnt do any training then ?
Huge. We do not let anyone even go out on the road for, at least, two months. In the meantime, they are trained internally, externally. They all go out on the road with experienced Sales Engineers.
Ironically, this "work-shy" thing has happened only recently. During the 2008/9 slowdown they were scouring the whole area. In 2015 [ I know you GDP lovers would not believe this* ], they could not be bothered. Maybe we pay too much.
I also hear the same thing from my Swedish colleagues and from Germany. But not France, Italy, Spain. In the Far East, it is still until 7pm and the same in South America.
* Our sales only turned from August and, in fact, did very strongly in Q4 and now, in January. Yet, in 2016 overall, we just crossed 2015 totals We made up more than the deficit of the first 3 quarters in Q4.
Would the EMA be worth anything without Switzerland or the UK? Tbh with both nations not in the EEA a more aggressive stance might be warranted, if the Swiss were on board.
Switzerland just caved on immigration to the EU, so that ship has sadly sailed.
Not entirely, it managed to get a rule that local Swiss workers could be given priority for jobs
Swiss job centres are allowed to put Swiss citizens forward for jobs first. I think that's just a fig leaf, don't you?
Ultimately, any EU citizen can go to Switzerland, without a job, and get one.
It is still a preference for Swiss job applicants, the job offer requirement May will push for will not be a million miles away
I employ Engineers. In the last 5 years, I have had difficulty even receiving British White CV's.
The last two I employed: one was an Australian [ British citizen who had lived in Oz since childhood ] and another UK born Pakistani. Before that two British citizens but both from India.
Most cannot even pass the very simple test we ask them to take. For example, what's Ohm's Law ? They actually have "qualifications".
The other problem I have is that the amount of work they are prepared to is terrible. If they have a customer visit at 2pm, that's the last one for the day.
The irony of a lefty moaning about the end products of the educational culture they have instigated is stupefying.
Only the left has not been in power during the last 30 years ! This is a typically stupid response. It's all the others' fault.
Oh do bugger off. Thatcher banning some pamphlets aside, left wing ideas in education have been in the ascendancy non-stop since the 1960's. The result is people leaving full time education barely being able to read and write, and certainly not capable of adding up (I myself fall into this category). And then you have the effrontery to wonder why a country like Estonia that is years 'behind' in education and education spending results in such great engineers - no doubt with lovely handwriting and can do a sum without recourse to a calculator.
Would the EMA be worth anything without Switzerland or the UK? Tbh with both nations not in the EEA a more aggressive stance might be warranted, if the Swiss were on board.
Switzerland just caved on immigration to the EU, so that ship has sadly sailed.
Not entirely, it managed to get a rule that local Swiss workers could be given priority for jobs
Swiss job centres are allowed to put Swiss citizens forward for jobs first. I think that's just a fig leaf, don't you?
Ultimately, any EU citizen can go to Switzerland, without a job, and get one.
It is still a preference for Swiss job applicants, the job offer requirement May will push for will not be a million miles away
I employ Engineers. In the last 5 years, I have had difficulty even receiving British White CV's.
The last two I employed: one was an Australian [ British citizen who had lived in Oz since childhood ] and another UK born Pakistani. Before that two British citizens but both from India.
Most cannot even pass the very simple test we ask them to take. For example, what's Ohm's Law ? They actually have "qualifications".
The other problem I have is that the amount of work they are prepared to is terrible. If they have a customer visit at 2pm, that's the last one for the day.
The irony of a lefty moaning about the end products of the educational culture they have instigated is stupefying.
Only the left has not been in power during the last 30 years ! This is a typically stupid response. It's all the others' fault.
Oh do bugger off. Thatcher banning some pamphlets aside, left wing ideas in education have been in the ascendancy non-stop since the 1960's. The result is people leaving full time education barely being able to read and write, and certainly not capable of adding up (I myself fall into this category). And then you have the effrontery to wonder why a country like Estonia that is years 'behind' in education and education spending results in such great engineers - no doubt with lovely handwriting.
"Thatcher banning some pamphlets aside, left wing ideas in education have been in the ascendancy non-stop since the 1960's."
She was in power for 11 years with huge majorities. What did she do then ? I suppose that was Labour's fault as well.
Would the EMA be worth anything without Switzerland or the UK? Tbh with both nations not in the EEA a more aggressive stance might be warranted, if the Swiss were on board.
Switzerland just caved on immigration to the EU, so that ship has sadly sailed.
Not entirely, it managed to get a rule that local Swiss workers could be given priority for jobs
Swiss job centres are allowed to put Swiss citizens forward for jobs first. I think that's just a fig leaf, don't you?
Ultimately, any EU citizen can go to Switzerland, without a job, and get one.
It is still a preference for Swiss job applicants, the job offer requirement May will push for will not be a million miles away
I employ Engineers. In the last 5 years, I have had difficulty even receiving British White CV's.
The last two I employed: one was an Australian [ British citizen who had lived in Oz since childhood ] and another UK born Pakistani. Before that two British citizens but both from India.
Most cannot even pass the very simple test we ask them to take. For example, what's Ohm's Law ? They actually have "qualifications".
The other problem I have is that the amount of work they are prepared to is terrible. If they have a customer visit at 2pm, that's the last one for the day.
Lots of questions here. I am a white British Engineer. What engineers do you employ? Mechanical? Electrical? Civil? Do you pay a good salary? Are you based in a place where people want to live? Do you offer proffessional development? All of my fellow Mechanical Engineering graduates including myself have walked into jobs.
Would the EMA be worth anything without Switzerland or the UK? Tbh with both nations not in the EEA a more aggressive stance might be warranted, if the Swiss were on board.
Switzerland just caved on immigration to the EU, so that ship has sadly sailed.
Not entirely, it managed to get a rule that local Swiss workers could be given priority for jobs
Swiss job centres are allowed to put Swiss citizens forward for jobs first. I think that's just a fig leaf, don't you?
Ultimately, any EU citizen can go to Switzerland, without a job, and get one.
It is still a preference for Swiss job applicants, the job offer requirement May will push for will not be a million miles away
I employ Engineers. In the last 5 years, I have had difficulty even receiving British White CV's.
The last two I employed: one was an Australian [ British citizen who had lived in Oz since childhood ] and another UK born Pakistani. Before that two British citizens but both from India.
Most cannot even pass the very simple test we ask them to take. For example, what's Ohm's Law ? They actually have "qualifications".
The other problem I have is that the amount of work they are prepared to is terrible. If they have a customer visit at 2pm, that's the last one for the day.
Sounds like we need some positive discrimination.
Ha.
Another data point - a couple of years back I was discussing skills in education with an expert. Who was claiming that the Free School (primary) my daughter went to was exclusionary because they were teaching programming. Rather than just how to use Excel, Word and PowerPoint.
Yes. Her vision was of a generation of PowerPoint Commandos.
It's is quite noticeable that private schools are massively ramping up their "hands dirty" technology - visiting a number of the local ones this year, new classrooms, a year or two old stuffed with lathes, CNC'd mills, electronics (real hard core level electronics) and yes, 3D printers (which I regard as an interesting toy until you get into the metal printing ones).
Would the EMA be worth anything without Switzerland or the UK? Tbh with both nations not in the EEA a more aggressive stance might be warranted, if the Swiss were on board.
Switzerland just caved on immigration to the EU, so that ship has sadly sailed.
Not entirely, it managed to get a rule that local Swiss workers could be given priority for jobs
Swiss job centres are allowed to put Swiss citizens forward for jobs first. I think that's just a fig leaf, don't you?
Ultimately, any EU citizen can go to Switzerland, without a job, and get one.
It is still a preference for Swiss job applicants, the job offer requirement May will push for will not be a million miles away
I employ Engineers. In the last 5 years, I have had difficulty even receiving British White CV's.
The last two I employed: one was an Australian [ British citizen who had lived in Oz since childhood ] and another UK born Pakistani. Before that two British citizens but both from India.
Most cannot even pass the very simple test we ask them to take. For example, what's Ohm's Law ? They actually have "qualifications".
The other problem I have is that the amount of work they are prepared to is terrible. If they have a customer visit at 2pm, that's the last one for the day.
You will still be able to hire workers from anywhere but they will have to have that job offer from you before they can settle here
I actually have never employed anyone from abroad. All were available locally.
Would the EMA be worth anything without Switzerland or the UK? Tbh with both nations not in the EEA a more aggressive stance might be warranted, if the Swiss were on board.
Switzerland just caved on immigration to the EU, so that ship has sadly sailed.
Not entirely, it managed to get a rule that local Swiss workers could be given priority for jobs
Swiss job centres are allowed to put Swiss citizens forward for jobs first. I think that's just a fig leaf, don't you?
Ultimately, any EU citizen can go to Switzerland, without a job, and get one.
It is still a preference for Swiss job applicants, the job offer requirement May will push for will not be a million miles away
I employ Engineers. In the last 5 years, I have had difficulty even receiving British White CV's.
The last two I employed: one was an Australian [ British citizen who had lived in Oz since childhood ] and another UK born Pakistani. Before that two British citizens but both from India.
Most cannot even pass the very simple test we ask them to take. For example, what's Ohm's Law ? They actually have "qualifications".
The other problem I have is that the amount of work they are prepared to is terrible. If they have a customer visit at 2pm, that's the last one for the day.
The irony of a lefty moaning about the end products of the educational culture they have instigated is stupefying.
Why are lefties to blame? Whatever you think went wrong with education, the chances are it was righties wot done it. To run through the usual betes noires of the right: it was Conservatives who abolished grammar schools, O-levels and corporal punishment, and who sold off playing fields, ended free school milk and left a shortfall in school places. Labour, on the other hand, brought phonics, sure start and academies.
Would the EMA be worth anything without Switzerland or the UK? Tbh with both nations not in the EEA a more aggressive stance might be warranted, if the Swiss were on board.
Switzerland just caved on immigration to the EU, so that ship has sadly sailed.
Not entirely, it managed to get a rule that local Swiss workers could be given priority for jobs
Swiss job centres are allowed to put Swiss citizens forward for jobs first. I think that's just a fig leaf, don't you?
Ultimately, any EU citizen can go to Switzerland, without a job, and get one.
It is still a preference for Swiss job applicants, the job offer requirement May will push for will not be a million miles away
I employ Engineers. In the last 5 years, I have had difficulty even receiving British White CV's.
The last two I employed: one was an Australian [ British citizen who had lived in Oz since childhood ] and another UK born Pakistani. Before that two British citizens but both from India.
Most cannot even pass the very simple test we ask them to take. For example, what's Ohm's Law ? They actually have "qualifications".
The other problem I have is that the amount of work they are prepared to is terrible. If they have a customer visit at 2pm, that's the last one for the day.
The irony of a lefty moaning about the end products of the educational culture they have instigated is stupefying.
Why are lefties to blame? Whatever you think went wrong with education, the chances are it was righties wot done it. To run through the usual betes noires of the right: it was Conservatives who abolished grammar schools, O-levels and corporal punishment, and who sold off playing fields, ended free school milk and left a shortfall in school places. Labour, on the other hand, brought phonics, sure start and academies.
It was Labour Minister Anthony Crosland who began the process of abolishing grammar schools
Would the EMA be worth anything without Switzerland or the UK? Tbh with both nations not in the EEA a more aggressive stance might be warranted, if the Swiss were on board.
Switzerland just caved on immigration to the EU, so that ship has sadly sailed.
Not entirely, it managed to get a rule that local Swiss workers could be given priority for jobs
Swiss job centres are allowed to put Swiss citizens forward for jobs first. I think that's just a fig leaf, don't you?
Ultimately, any EU citizen can go to Switzerland, without a job, and get one.
It is still a preference for Swiss job applicants, the job offer requirement May will push for will not be a million miles away
I employ Engineers. In the last 5 years, I have had difficulty even receiving British White CV's.
The last two I employed: one was an Australian [ British citizen who had lived in Oz since childhood ] and another UK born Pakistani. Before that two British citizens but both from India.
Most cannot even pass the very simple test we ask them to take. For example, what's Ohm's Law ? They actually have "qualifications".
The other problem I have is that the amount of work they are prepared to is terrible. If they have a customer visit at 2pm, that's the last one for the day.
You will still be able to hire workers from anywhere but they will have to have that job offer from you before they can settle here
I actually have never employed anyone from abroad. All were available locally.
Would the EMA be worth anything without Switzerland or the UK? Tbh with both nations not in the EEA a more aggressive stance might be warranted, if the Swiss were on board.
Switzerland just caved on immigration to the EU, so that ship has sadly sailed.
Not entirely, it managed to get a rule that local Swiss workers could be given priority for jobs
Swiss job centres are allowed to put Swiss citizens forward for jobs first. I think that's just a fig leaf, don't you?
Ultimately, any EU citizen can go to Switzerland, without a job, and get one.
It is still a preference for Swiss job applicants, the job offer requirement May will push for will not be a million miles away
I employ Engineers. In the last 5 years, I have had difficulty even receiving British White CV's.
The last two I employed: one was an Australian [ British citizen who had lived in Oz since childhood ] and another UK born Pakistani. Before that two British citizens but both from India.
Most cannot even pass the very simple test we ask them to take. For example, what's Ohm's Law ? They actually have "qualifications".
The other problem I have is that the amount of work they are prepared to is terrible. If they have a customer visit at 2pm, that's the last one for the day.
I take it your company doesnt do any training then ?
Would the EMA be worth anything without Switzerland or the UK? Tbh with both nations not in the EEA a more aggressive stance might be warranted, if the Swiss were on board.
Switzerland just caved on immigration to the EU, so that ship has sadly sailed.
Not entirely, it managed to get a rule that local Swiss workers could be given priority for jobs
Swiss job centres are allowed to put Swiss citizens forward for jobs first. I think that's just a fig leaf, don't you?
Ultimately, any EU citizen can go to Switzerland, without a job, and get one.
It is still a preference for Swiss job applicants, the job offer requirement May will push for will not be a million miles away
I employ Engineers. In the last 5 years, I have had difficulty even receiving British White CV's.
The last two I employed: one was an Australian [ British citizen who had lived in Oz since childhood ] and another UK born Pakistani. Before that two British citizens but both from India.
Most cannot even pass the very simple test we ask them to take. For example, what's Ohm's Law ? They actually have "qualifications".
The other problem I have is that the amount of work they are prepared to is terrible. If they have a customer visit at 2pm, that's the last one for the day.
"Thatcher banning some pamphlets aside, left wing ideas in education have been in the ascendancy non-stop since the 1960's."
She was in power for 11 years with huge majorities. What did she do then ? I suppose that was Labour's fault as well.
She did a great deal, none of which was a root and branch upheaval of the educational establishment and prevailing trends. This follows a trend of all Tory Governments, who generally make exams a bit harder, make inspections a bit tougher, and make some attempts to address 'dumbing down', all met by furious recrimination by the teaching profession and educational establishment. I'm sorry but why are we even arguing this? Teaching methods are a matter of public record.
Irrespective of Brexit we should be targetting 0% Corporation Tax anyway. Abolish it. Tax the flows of cash to shareholders or debt holders instead. Much more direct. Easier to calculate. Almost impossible to avoid or evade. No allowances or loopholes for clever accountants to play with.
You need to equalise capital gains tax and income tax then, otherwise people will create businesses, accumulate profits, and then liquidate/sell them to convert income to capital gains.
Agreed. Hammond has a golden opportunity to make a massive simplification of our insanely complex tax system.
I've come to the conclusion that can never be done. Osborne's simplification of VAT on heated takeaway food nearly brought down the government.
Brexit to the rescue? Presumably future Chancellors of the Exchequer will be free to remove VAT from pasties, tampons or, well, anything else they fancied. Whether we'd expect a Conservative Chancellor actually to cut tax is another question entirely.
Perhaps a Labour Chancellor would cut VAT to 10% whilst rasing the basic rate of Income Tax to 25%?
Would the EMA be worth anything without Switzerland or the UK? Tbh with both nations not in the EEA a more aggressive stance might be warranted, if the Swiss were on board.
Switzerland just caved on immigration to the EU, so that ship has sadly sailed.
Not entirely, it managed to get a rule that local Swiss workers could be given priority for jobs
Swiss job centres are allowed to put Swiss citizens forward for jobs first. I think that's just a fig leaf, don't you?
Ultimately, any EU citizen can go to Switzerland, without a job, and get one.
It is still a preference for Swiss job applicants, the job offer requirement May will push for will not be a million miles away
I employ Engineers. In the last 5 years, I have had difficulty even receiving British White CV's.
The last two I employed: one was an Australian [ British citizen who had lived in Oz since childhood ] and another UK born Pakistani. Before that two British citizens but both from India.
Most cannot even pass the very simple test we ask them to take. For example, what's Ohm's Law ? They actually have "qualifications".
The other problem I have is that the amount of work they are prepared to is terrible. If they have a customer visit at 2pm, that's the last one for the day.
I take it your company doesnt do any training then ?
Which British company does?
quite a lot do, but they just dont do it as thouroughly as the Germans
As MD in Germany my factory had a strong apprentice programme which fed a range of skills in to the business as they were needed
Just watched a piece on BBC about Trump. Don't know if the Beeb could have found a more partisan 'expert'. He could have been the spokesman for HRC!
The reporting of the Rep. John Lewis tweets has been extraordinary.
I've not followed the detail, but if Lewis really said that he doesn't regard Trump as the "legitimate President" that's an outrageous and inflammatory thing for a leading politician to say.
Trump's criticism is that "he should spend more time fixing his crime ridden district" - standard political knockabout, not some kind of savage attack
This is part of the liberal left holy grail which Trump stumbled I suspect unwittingly against. While mos ordinary folk have moved swiftly on metropolitan remains bereft and grief stricken, unable to see the irony in a party called the DEMOCRATS sic! denying the legitimacy of their own democratic process. Time will heal the wounds ... probably
How long can the US keep the Slobodan Milosovic rule that the candidate receiving the second highest number of votes can win the election ?
BTW, it cannot happen in any other election in the US or in most other democratic country.
Please do not come back with some historical bullshit. This is 2017.
Even with the EC system, Maine and Nebraska has split their "votes". Why can't the rest of the US ?
Each State is responsible for its own election, and the States choose the President. To change it into a straight vote count would require a constitutional amendment which is never going to happen. More states could act like Maine and Nebraska if they wished, but unless the largest states (CA, TX, FL, NY) do it it will make almost no difference to the outcome of the election.
There is a plan to get states to sign up to agree the change if enough sign up, but it's not getting anywhere, mainly because politics is highly partisan and it would mean the 'winners' in each state voting to give more represeation to the 'losers'. https://www.democracynow.org/2016/11/8/beyond_the_electoral_college_a_state
Would the EMA be worth anything without Switzerland or the UK? Tbh with both nations not in the EEA a more aggressive stance might be warranted, if the Swiss were on board.
Switzerland just caved on immigration to the EU, so that ship has sadly sailed.
Not entirely, it managed to get a rule that local Swiss workers could be given priority for jobs
Swiss job centres are allowed to put Swiss citizens forward for jobs first. I think that's just a fig leaf, don't you?
Ultimately, any EU citizen can go to Switzerland, without a job, and get one.
It is still a preference for Swiss job applicants, the job offer requirement May will push for will not be a million miles away
I employ Engineers. In the last 5 years, I have had difficulty even receiving British White CV's.
The last two I employed: one was an Australian [ British citizen who had lived in Oz since childhood ] and another UK born Pakistani. Before that two British citizens but both from India.
Most cannot even pass the very simple test we ask them to take. For example, what's Ohm's Law ? They actually have "qualifications".
The other problem I have is that the amount of work they are prepared to is terrible. If they have a customer visit at 2pm, that's the last one for the day.
The irony of a lefty moaning about the end products of the educational culture they have instigated is stupefying.
Why are lefties to blame? Whatever you think went wrong with education, the chances are it was righties wot done it. To run through the usual betes noires of the right: it was Conservatives who abolished grammar schools, O-levels and corporal punishment, and who sold off playing fields, ended free school milk and left a shortfall in school places. Labour, on the other hand, brought phonics, sure start and academies.
It was Labour Minister Anthony Crosland who began the process of abolishing grammar schools
The Tory Education Minister Edward Boyle was also strongly in favour of the move to Comprehensive Education in the mid-1960s.
Just watched a piece on BBC about Trump. Don't know if the Beeb could have found a more partisan 'expert'. He could have been the spokesman for HRC!
The reporting of the Rep. John Lewis tweets has been extraordinary.
I've not followed the detail, but if Lewis really said that he doesn't regard Trump as the "legitimate President" that's an outrageous and inflammatory thing for a leading politician to say.
Trump's criticism is that "he should spend more time fixing his crime ridden district" - standard political knockabout, not some kind of savage attack
This is part of the liberal left holy grail which Trump stumbled I suspect unwittingly against. While mos ordinary folk have moved swiftly on metropolitan remains bereft and grief stricken, unable to see the irony in a party called the DEMOCRATS sic! denying the legitimacy of their own democratic process. Time will heal the wounds ... probably
How long can the US keep the Slobodan Milosovic rule that the candidate receiving the second highest number of votes can win the election ?
BTW, it cannot happen in any other election in the US or in most other democratic country.
Please do not come back with some historical bullshit. This is 2017.
Even with the EC system, Maine and Nebraska has split their "votes". Why can't the rest of the US ?
As long as the US uses first the post. If all States split their votes like Maine and Nebraska, Trump would still win.
Another data point - a couple of years back I was discussing skills in education with an expert. Who was claiming that the Free School (primary) my daughter went to was exclusionary because they were teaching programming. Rather than just how to use Excel, Word and PowerPoint.
Yes. Her vision was of a generation of PowerPoint Commandos.
They need to do both. Politicians and educationalists really must learn to distinguish between IT and computer science. Even non-technical jobs need some degree of computer literacy, and most successful managers I've known in the past couple of decades have been hotshots with Word and Excel (and not for accountancy!) and Facebook or Trello are used to arrange weddings and funerals by many families.
All pupils should be therefore be taught IT -- basically the Office suite or (better) free equivalents, email, web safety and so on.
Computer science -- nand gates, algorithms and programming -- should be taught quite separately to any pupils with an aptitude and interest.
Would the EMA be worth anything without Switzerland or the UK? Tbh with both nations not in the EEA a more aggressive stance might be warranted, if the Swiss were on board.
Switzerland just caved on immigration to the EU, so that ship has sadly sailed.
Not entirely, it managed to get a rule that local Swiss workers could be given priority for jobs
Swiss job centres are allowed to put Swiss citizens forward for jobs first. I think that's just a fig leaf, don't you?
Ultimately, any EU citizen can go to Switzerland, without a job, and get one.
It is still a preference for Swiss job applicants, the job offer requirement May will push for will not be a million miles away
I employ Engineers. In the last 5 years, I have had difficulty even receiving British White CV's.
The last two I employed: one was an Australian [ British citizen who had lived in Oz since childhood ] and another UK born Pakistani. Before that two British citizens but both from India.
Most cannot even pass the very simple test we ask them to take. For example, what's Ohm's Law ? They actually have "qualifications".
The other problem I have is that the amount of work they are prepared to is terrible. If they have a customer visit at 2pm, that's the last one for the day.
The irony of a lefty moaning about the end products of the educational culture they have instigated is stupefying.
Why are lefties to blame? Whatever you think went wrong with education, the chances are it was righties wot done it. To run through the usual betes noires of the right: it was Conservatives who abolished grammar schools, O-levels and corporal punishment, and who sold off playing fields, ended free school milk and left a shortfall in school places. Labour, on the other hand, brought phonics, sure start and academies.
It was Labour Minister Anthony Crosland who began the process of abolishing grammar schools
The march of the comedy left through the institutions is a subject for many a PhD thesis.
Gove vs the "Blob" was interesting.
Hell, I can remember when teaching grammar in English was "Evil, exclusionary, right wing madness".
Would the EMA be worth anything without Switzerland or the UK? Tbh with both nations not in the EEA a more aggressive stance might be warranted, if the Swiss were on board.
....
Not entirely, it managed to get a rule that local Swiss workers could be given priority for jobs
Swiss job centres are allowed to put Swiss citizens forward for jobs first. I think that's just a fig leaf, don't you?
.......
It is still a preference for Swiss job applicants, the job offer requirement May will push for will not be a million miles away
I employ Engineers. In the last 5 years, I have had difficulty even receiving British White CV's.
The last two I employed: one was an Australian [ British citizen who had lived in Oz since childhood ] and another UK born Pakistani. Before that two British citizens but both from India.
Most cannot even pass the very simple test we ask them to take. For example, what's Ohm's Law ? They actually have "qualifications".
The other problem I have is that the amount of work they are prepared to is terrible. If they have a customer visit at 2pm, that's the last one for the day.
Lots of questions here. I am a white British Engineer. What engineers do you employ? Mechanical? Electrical? Civil? Do you pay a good salary? Are you based in a place where people want to live? Do you offer proffessional development? All of my fellow Mechanical Engineering graduates including myself have walked into jobs.
Mainly Electrical. But we will take anyone with an Engineering background. Since it is a sales job that is enough. They, of course, learn more on the job.
Typical starting salary in 2017. £37450 + commission + bonus. It would be difficult to earn less than £42k. Usually, they have about 150 customers in their name. Some of them can not even visit 20/30 of them in a whole year even once. "Too difficult". I know what we can do with such people. But the legal constraints, hiring difficulties, manager's resistance etc, ,make it difficult.
Interesting, the UK born Indian young chappie when asked in his second interview what sort of salary he was expecting, he said £21000. Our HR Officer asked him, isn't that a bit low ? [ this is SW London ], he said "I have not got any experience". We started him off at £28k. This year he is getting the £37450+ like anyone else. He received £2k-£3k increments every 6 months.
In 2016, he had the highest growth in the entire country. Of course, he pocketed huge commissions.
"Thatcher banning some pamphlets aside, left wing ideas in education have been in the ascendancy non-stop since the 1960's."
She was in power for 11 years with huge majorities. What did she do then ? I suppose that was Labour's fault as well.
The closure of many secondary schools and merging them into larger ones was, I think, a mistake.
However the computers for schools programme was a massive success. I have a great deal to thank that scheme for, as do many of my compatriots. It's a sadness that education later lurched away from programming into 'simple' spreadsheet and word processing skills.
This is something the Raspberry Pi and the BBC's MicroBit schemes are trying to address (even if I'm not particularly in favour of the MicroBit).
Would the EMA be worth anything without Switzerland or the UK? Tbh with both nations not in the EEA a more aggressive stance might be warranted, if the Swiss were on board.
Switzerland just caved on immigration to the EU, so that ship has sadly sailed.
Not entirely, it managed to get a rule that local Swiss workers could be given priority for jobs
Swiss job centres are allowed to put Swiss citizens forward for jobs first. I think that's just a fig leaf, don't you?
Ultimately, any EU citizen can go to Switzerland, without a job, and get one.
It is still a preference for Swiss job applicants, the job offer requirement May will push for will not be a million miles away
I employ Engineers. In the last 5 years, I have had difficulty even receiving British White CV's.
The last two I employed: one was an Australian [ British citizen who had lived in Oz since childhood ] and another UK born Pakistani. Before that two British citizens but both from India.
Most cannot even pass the very simple test we ask them to take. For example, what's Ohm's Law ? They actually have "qualifications".
The other problem I have is that the amount of work they are prepared to is terrible. If they have a customer visit at 2pm, that's the last one for the day.
"Most cannot even pass the very simple test we ask them to take. For example, what's Ohm's Law ?"
To be fair, I can understand there may be some resistance to answering that question.
Just watched a piece on BBC about Trump. Don't know if the Beeb could have found a more partisan 'expert'. He could have been the spokesman for HRC!
The reporting of the Rep. John Lewis tweets has been extraordinary.
I've not followed the detail, but if Lewis really said that he doesn't regard Trump as the "legitimate President" that's an outrageous and inflammatory thing for a leading politician to say.
Trump's criticism is that "he should spend more time fixing his crime ridden district" - standard political knockabout, not some kind of savage attack
This is part of the liberal left holy grail which Trump stumbled I suspect unwittingly against. While mos ordinary folk have moved swiftly on metropolitan remains bereft and grief stricken, unable to see the irony in a party called the DEMOCRATS sic! denying the legitimacy of their own democratic process. Time will heal the wounds ... probably
How long can the US keep the Slobodan Milosovic rule that the candidate receiving the second highest number of votes can win the election ?
BTW, it cannot happen in any other election in the US or in most other democratic country.
Please do not come back with some historical bullshit. This is 2017.
Even with the EC system, Maine and Nebraska has split their "votes". Why can't the rest of the US ?
As long as the US uses first the post. If all States split their votes like Maine and Nebraska, Trump would still win.
Really ? Has anyone done this exercise. For example, Trump would have won MI, PA and WI by just one or two votes. OK. Hillary would lose many in CA< NY and IL but gain in TX, FL, GA.
Would the EMA be worth anything without Switzerland or the UK? Tbh with both nations not in the EEA a more aggressive stance might be warranted, if the Swiss were on board.
Switzerland just caved on immigration to the EU, so that ship has sadly sailed.
Not entirely, it managed to get a rule that local Swiss workers could be given priority for jobs
Swiss job centres are allowed to put Swiss citizens forward for jobs first. I think that's just a fig leaf, don't you?
Ultimately, any EU citizen can go to Switzerland, without a job, and get one.
It is still a preference for Swiss job applicants, the job offer requirement May will push for will not be a million miles away
I employ Engineers. In the last 5 years, I have had difficulty even receiving British White CV's.
The last two I employed: one was an Australian [ British citizen who had lived in Oz since childhood ] and another UK born Pakistani. Before that two British citizens but both from India.
Most cannot even pass the very simple test we ask them to take. For example, what's Ohm's Law ? They actually have "qualifications".
The other problem I have is that the amount of work they are prepared to is terrible. If they have a customer visit at 2pm, that's the last one for the day.
"Most cannot even pass the very simple test we ask them to take. For example, what's Ohm's Law ?"
To be fair, I can understand there may be some resistance to answering that question.
Would the EMA be worth anything without Switzerland or the UK? Tbh with both nations not in the EEA a more aggressive stance might be warranted, if the Swiss were on board.
Switzerland just caved on immigration to the EU, so that ship has sadly sailed.
Not entirely, it managed to get a rule that local Swiss workers could be given priority for jobs
Swiss job centres are allowed to put Swiss citizens forward for jobs first. I think that's just a fig leaf, don't you?
Ultimately, any EU citizen can go to Switzerland, without a job, and get one.
It is still a preference for Swiss job applicants, the job offer requirement May will push for will not be a million miles away
I employ Engineers. In the last 5 years, I have had difficulty even receiving British White CV's.
The last two I employed: one was an Australian [ British citizen who had lived in Oz since childhood ] and another UK born Pakistani. Before that two British citizens but both from India.
Most cannot even pass the very simple test we ask them to take. For example, what's Ohm's Law ? They actually have "qualifications".
The other problem I have is that the amount of work they are prepared to is terrible. If they have a customer visit at 2pm, that's the last one for the day.
"Most cannot even pass the very simple test we ask them to take. For example, what's Ohm's Law ?"
To be fair, I can understand there may be some resistance to answering that question.
If someone could answer like that, they would be half way getting the job. On being able to think on his feet !
Would the EMA be worth anything without Switzerland or the UK? Tbh with both nations not in the EEA a more aggressive stance might be warranted, if the Swiss were on board.
Switzerland just caved on immigration to the EU, so that ship has sadly sailed.
Not entirely, it managed to get a rule that local Swiss workers could be given priority for jobs
Swiss job centres are allowed to put Swiss citizens forward for jobs first. I think that's just a fig leaf, don't you?
Ultimately, any EU citizen can go to Switzerland, without a job, and get one.
It is still a preference for Swiss job applicants, the job offer requirement May will push for will not be a million miles away
I employ Engineers. In the last 5 years, I have had difficulty even receiving British White CV's.
The last two I employed: one was an Australian [ British citizen who had lived in Oz since childhood ] and another UK born Pakistani. Before that two British citizens but both from India.
Most cannot even pass the very simple test we ask them to take. For example, what's Ohm's Law ? They actually have "qualifications".
The other problem I have is that the amount of work they are prepared to is terrible. If they have a customer visit at 2pm, that's the last one for the day.
"Most cannot even pass the very simple test we ask them to take. For example, what's Ohm's Law ?"
To be fair, I can understand there may be some resistance to answering that question.
Mainly Electrical. But we will take anyone with an Engineering background. Since it is a sales job that is enough. They, of course, learn more on the job.
Typical starting salary in 2017. £37450 + commission + bonus. It would be difficult to earn less than £42k. Usually, they have about 150 customers in their name. Some of them can not even visit 20/30 of them in a whole year even once. "Too difficult". I know what we can do with such people. But the legal constraints, hiring difficulties, manager's resistance etc, ,make it difficult.
Interesting, the UK born Indian young chappie when asked in his second interview what sort of salary he was expecting, he said £21000. Our HR Officer asked him, isn't that a bit low ? [ this is SW London ], he said "I have not got any experience". We started him off at £28k. This year he is getting the £37450+ like anyone else. He received £2k-£3k increments every 6 months.
In 2016, he had the highest growth in the entire country. Of course, he pocketed huge commissions.
Sounds very reasonable to be honest. Not many of my peers went into sales roles. Maybe a cultural thing?
Would the EMA be worth anything without Switzerland or the UK? Tbh with both nations not in the EEA a more aggressive stance might be warranted, if the Swiss were on board.
Switzerland just caved on immigration to the EU, so that ship has sadly sailed.
Not entirely, it managed to get a rule that local Swiss workers could be given priority for jobs
Swiss job centres are allowed to put Swiss citizens forward for jobs first. I think that's just a fig leaf, don't you?
Ultimately, any EU citizen can go to Switzerland, without a job, and get one.
It is still a preference for Swiss job applicants, the job offer requirement May will push for will not be a million miles away
I employ Engineers. In the last 5 years, I have had difficulty even receiving British White CV's.
The last two I employed: one was an Australian [ British citizen who had lived in Oz since childhood ] and another UK born Pakistani. Before that two British citizens but both from India.
Most cannot even pass the very simple test we ask them to take. For example, what's Ohm's Law ? They actually have "qualifications".
The other problem I have is that the amount of work they are prepared to is terrible. If they have a customer visit at 2pm, that's the last one for the day.
The irony of a lefty moaning about the end products of the educational culture they have instigated is stupefying.
Why are lefties to blame? Whatever you think went wrong with education, the chances are it was righties wot done it. To run through the usual betes noires of the right: it was Conservatives who abolished grammar schools, O-levels and corporal punishment, and who sold off playing fields, ended free school milk and left a shortfall in school places. Labour, on the other hand, brought phonics, sure start and academies.
It was Labour Minister Anthony Crosland who began the process of abolishing grammar schools
The Tory Education Minister Edward Boyle was also strongly in favour of the move to Comprehensive Education in the mid-1960s.
They need to do both. Politicians and educationalists really must learn to distinguish between IT and computer science. Even non-technical jobs need some degree of computer literacy, and most successful managers I've known in the past couple of decades have been hotshots with Word and Excel (and not for accountancy!) and Facebook or Trello are used to arrange weddings and funerals by many families.
All pupils should be therefore be taught IT -- basically the Office suite or (better) free equivalents, email, web safety and so on.
Computer science -- nand gates, algorithms and programming -- should be taught quite separately to any pupils with an aptitude and interest.
IMO no. Programming and algorithms can teach you much that is applicable even if you do not go into programming; not just in knowledge gained, but skills and mindsets. And you cannot get the best out of Excel or Word without some programming skills, even if it's just macros.
Also, people don't realise they have an aptitude or interest until they try. This is why I'm in favour if all pupils being exposed to music lessons, even if the subject is dropped early on.
Just watched a piece on BBC about Trump. Don't know if the Beeb could have found a more partisan 'expert'. He could have been the spokesman for HRC!
The reporting of the Rep. John Lewis tweets has been extraordinary.
I've not followed the detail, but if Lewis really said that he doesn't regard Trump as the "legitimate President" that's an outrageous and inflammatory thing for a leading politician to say.
Trump's criticism is that "he should spend more time fixing his crime ridden district" - standard political knockabout, not some kind of savage attack
This is part of the liberal left holy grail which Trump stumbled I suspect unwittingly against. While mos ordinary folk have moved swiftly on metropolitan remains bereft and grief stricken, unable to see the irony in a party called the DEMOCRATS sic! denying the legitimacy of their own democratic process. Time will heal the wounds ... probably
How long can the US keep the Slobodan Milosovic rule that the candidate receiving the second highest number of votes can win the election ?
BTW, it cannot happen in any other election in the US or in most other democratic country.
Please do not come back with some historical bullshit. This is 2017.
Even with the EC system, Maine and Nebraska has split their "votes". Why can't the rest of the US ?
As long as the US uses first the post. If all States split their votes like Maine and Nebraska, Trump would still win.
Really ? Has anyone done this exercise. For example, Trump would have won MI, PA and WI by just one or two votes. OK. Hillary would lose many in CA< NY and IL but gain in TX, FL, GA.
The Democrats win the popular vote in the House of Representatives but the Republicans have a comfortable majority.
Mainly Electrical. But we will take anyone with an Engineering background. Since it is a sales job that is enough. They, of course, learn more on the job.
Typical starting salary in 2017. £37450 + commission + bonus. It would be difficult to earn less than £42k. Usually, they have about 150 customers in their name. Some of them can not even visit 20/30 of them in a whole year even once. "Too difficult". I know what we can do with such people. But the legal constraints, hiring difficulties, manager's resistance etc, ,make it difficult.
Interesting, the UK born Indian young chappie when asked in his second interview what sort of salary he was expecting, he said £21000. Our HR Officer asked him, isn't that a bit low ? [ this is SW London ], he said "I have not got any experience". We started him off at £28k. This year he is getting the £37450+ like anyone else. He received £2k-£3k increments every 6 months.
In 2016, he had the highest growth in the entire country. Of course, he pocketed huge commissions.
Sounds very reasonable to be honest. Not many of my peers went into sales roles. Maybe a cultural thing?
You are right. But we do not sell soap powder or double glazing. Our customers are.......well, the entire British industry. In fact, my sales reflect, Manufacturing output !
Just watched a piece on BBC about Trump. Don't know if the Beeb could have found a more partisan 'expert'. He could have been the spokesman for HRC!
The reporting of the Rep. John Lewis tweets has been extraordinary.
I've not followed the detail, but if Lewis really said that he doesn't regard Trump as the "legitimate President" that's an outrageous and inflammatory thing for a leading politician to say.
Trump's criticism is that "he should spend more time fixing his crime ridden district" - standard political knockabout, not some kind of savage attack
This is part of the liberal left holy grail which Trump stumbled I suspect unwittingly against. While mos ordinary folk have moved swiftly on metropolitan remains bereft and grief stricken, unable to see the irony in a party called the DEMOCRATS sic! denying the legitimacy of their own democratic process. Time will heal the wounds ... probably
How long can the US keep the Slobodan Milosovic rule that the candidate receiving the second highest number of votes can win the election ?
BTW, it cannot happen in any other election in the US or in most other democratic country.
Please do not come back with some historical bullshit. This is 2017.
Even with the EC system, Maine and Nebraska has split their "votes". Why can't the rest of the US ?
As long as the US uses first the post. If all States split their votes like Maine and Nebraska, Trump would still win.
Really ? Has anyone done this exercise. For example, Trump would have won MI, PA and WI by just one or two votes. OK. Hillary would lose many in CA< NY and IL but gain in TX, FL, GA.
The Democrats win the popular vote in the House of Representatives but the Republicans have a comfortable majority.
But that is because of gerrymandered boundaries. What I am saying is effectively PR by States.
Would the EMA be worth anything without Switzerland or the UK? Tbh with both nations not in the EEA a more aggressive stance might be warranted, if the Swiss were on board.
Switzerland just caved on immigration to the EU, so that ship has sadly sailed.
Not entirely, it managed to get a rule that local Swiss workers could be given priority for jobs
Swiss job centres are allowed to put Swiss citizens forward for jobs first. I think that's just a fig leaf, don't you?
Ultimately, any EU citizen can go to Switzerland, without a job, and get one.
It is still a preference for Swiss job applicants, the job offer requirement May will push for will not be a million miles away
I employ Engineers. In the last 5 years, I have had difficulty even receiving British White CV's.
The last two I employed: one was an Australian [ British citizen who had lived in Oz since childhood ] and another UK born Pakistani. Before that two British citizens but both from India.
Most cannot even pass the very simple test we ask them to take. For example, what's Ohm's Law ? They actually have "qualifications".
The other problem I have is that the amount of work they are prepared to is terrible. If they have a customer visit at 2pm, that's the last one for the day.
The irony of a lefty moaning about the end products of the educational culture they have instigated is stupefying.
.
It was Labour Minister Anthony Crosland who began the process of abolishing grammar schools
The Tory Education Minister Edward Boyle was also strongly in favour of the move to Comprehensive Education in the mid-1960s.
...as was someone called Margaret Thatcher.
I am not sure that Thatcher really favoured them as such - more a case of accepting a fait accompli. Edward Boyle ,however, was a strong advocate of comprehensive schools , and had the Tories been re-elected in 1964 he would certainly have wished to go ahead with them.
They need to do both. Politicians and educationalists really must learn to distinguish between IT and computer science. Even non-technical jobs need some degree of computer literacy, and most successful managers I've known in the past couple of decades have been hotshots with Word and Excel (and not for accountancy!) and Facebook or Trello are used to arrange weddings and funerals by many families.
All pupils should be therefore be taught IT -- basically the Office suite or (better) free equivalents, email, web safety and so on.
Computer science -- nand gates, algorithms and programming -- should be taught quite separately to any pupils with an aptitude and interest.
IMO no. Programming and algorithms can teach you much that is applicable even if you do not go into programming; not just in knowledge gained, but skills and mindsets. And you cannot get the best out of Excel or Word without some programming skills, even if it's just macros.
Also, people don't realise they have an aptitude or interest until they try. This is why I'm in favour if all pupils being exposed to music lessons, even if the subject is dropped early on.
That is true, but even so IT skills should be taught to everyone, and separately from programming. They are not the same thing but the former are becoming essential to everyday life.
Would the EMA be worth anything without Switzerland or the UK? Tbh with both nations not in the EEA a more aggressive stance might be warranted, if the Swiss were on board.
Switzerland just caved on immigration to the EU, so that ship has sadly sailed.
Not entirely, it managed to get a rule that local Swiss workers could be given priority for jobs
Swiss job centres are allowed to put Swiss citizens forward for jobs first. I think that's just a fig leaf, don't you?
Ultimately, any EU citizen can go to Switzerland, without a job, and get one.
It is still a preference for Swiss job applicants, the job offer requirement May will push for will not be a million miles away
I employ Engineers. In the last 5 years, I have had difficulty even receiving British White CV's.
The last two I employed: one was an Australian [ British citizen who had lived in Oz since childhood ] and another UK born Pakistani. Before that two British citizens but both from India.
Most cannot even pass the very simple test we ask them to take. For example, what's Ohm's Law ? They actually have "qualifications".
The other problem I have is that the amount of work they are prepared to is terrible. If they have a customer visit at 2pm, that's the last one for the day.
The irony of a lefty moaning about the end products of the educational culture they have instigated is stupefying.
Why are lefties to blames.
It was Labour Minister Anthony Crosland who began the process of abolishing grammar schools
The Tory Education Minister Edward Boyle was also strongly in favour of the move to Comprehensive Education in the mid-1960s.
...as was someone called Margaret Thatcher.
I think one of her first acts was to withdraw the Crosland circular and to leave the decision in the hands of the LEAs, who then continued with the programme.
It is perhaps worth recalling why the tripartite school system was considered ripe for abolition within 2 decades of being mooted. If we fail to learn the lessons of history we are certain to repeat them. We should also consider why being in the Common market was seen as the way of modernising the UK economy.
Just watched a piece on BBC about Trump. Don't know if the Beeb could have found a more partisan 'expert'. He could have been the spokesman for HRC!
The reporting of the Rep. John Lewis tweets has been extraordinary.
I've not followed the detail, but if Lewis really said that he doesn't regard Trump as the "legitimate President" that's an outrageous and inflammatory thing for a leading politician to say.
Trump's criticism is that "he should spend more time fixing his crime ridden district" - standard political knockabout, not some kind of savage attack
This is part of the liberal left holy grail which Trump stumbled I suspect unwittingly against. While mos ordinary folk have moved swiftly on metropolitan remains bereft and grief stricken, unable to see the irony in a party called the DEMOCRATS sic! denying the legitimacy of their own democratic process. Time will heal the wounds ... probably
How long can the US keep the Slobodan Milosovic rule that the candidate receiving the second highest number of votes can win the election ?
BTW, it cannot happen in any other election in the US or in most other democratic country.
Please do not come back with some historical bullshit. This is 2017.
Even with the EC system, Maine and Nebraska has split their "votes". Why can't the rest of the US ?
As long as the US uses first the post. If all States split their votes like Maine and Nebraska, Trump would still win.
Really ? Has anyone done this exercise. For example, Trump would have won MI, PA and WI by just one or two votes. OK. Hillary would lose many in CA< NY and IL but gain in TX, FL, GA.
270 to win estimates that Trump would win the ECV 290 to 248. At present, the Republican vote is more efficiently distributed than the Democratic vote.
The most important thing I learnt at university was how to find out things myself, regardless of the subject. The amount of people I work with who don't even attempt to try and solve a problem themselves is mind blowing.
Mr. Glenn, Blair wanted to rub the right's face in diversity, which has worked as well as his plans to kill Scottish nationalism stone dead.
The 'rubbing the right's face in diversity' moment wasn't 2004 but much earlier. Look at the graph:
What kicked off immigration was Straw's withdrawal of the primary purpose measures in the late 90s.
Because primary purpose was illogical bollocks. The Primary Purpose rule required foreign nationals married to British citizens to prove that the primary purpose of their marriage was not to obtain British residency. Ever tried proving a negative ?
It is perhaps worth recalling why the tripartite school system was considered ripe for abolition within 2 decades of being mooted. If we fail to learn the lessons of history we are certain to repeat them. We should also consider why being in the Common market was seen as the way of modernising the UK economy.
It wasn't EU membership that modernised the UK economy it was the Thatcherite revolution of the 1980s.
Just watched a piece on BBC about Trump. Don't know if the Beeb could have found a more partisan 'expert'. He could have been the spokesman for HRC!
The reporting of the Rep. John Lewis tweets has been extraordinary.
I've not followed the detail, but if Lewis really said that he doesn't regard Trump as the "legitimate President" that's an outrageous and inflammatory thing for a leading politician to say.
Trump's criticism is that "he should spend more time fixing his crime ridden district" - standard political knockabout, not some kind of savage attack
This is part of the liberal left holy grail which Trump stumbled I suspect unwittingly against. While mos ordinary folk have moved swiftly on metropolitan remains bereft and grief stricken, unable to see the irony in a party called the DEMOCRATS sic! denying the legitimacy of their own democratic process. Time will heal the wounds ... probably
How long can the US keep the Slobodan Milosovic rule that the candidate receiving the second highest number of votes can win the election ?
BTW, it cannot happen in any other election in the US or in most other democratic country.
Please do not come back with some historical bullshit. This is 2017.
Even with the EC system, Maine and Nebraska has split their "votes". Why can't the rest of the US ?
As long as the US uses first the post. If all States split their votes like Maine and Nebraska, Trump would still win.
Really ? Has anyone done this exercise. For example, Trump would have won MI, PA and WI by just one or two votes. OK. Hillary would lose many in CA< NY and IL but gain in TX, FL, GA.
The Democrats win the popular vote in the House of Representatives but the Republicans have a comfortable majority.
This time round, the Republicans won the popular vote in the House, by 49% to 48%.
The closure of many secondary schools and merging them into larger ones was, I think, a mistake.
Children used to spend a good deal of time walking between different sites in the new, large comprehensive schools that had been created from two or three separate grammars and secondary moderns. I never really understood why the teachers should not move instead -- at least they had cars! Maybe LEAs and unions could not agree on extra payments or on who would cover the insurance premiums.
After that it was about efficiency (as with hospitals a couple of threads back). As pupil numbers dwindle, close schools and combine them on larger sites. Never mind improving teacher-pupil ratios or maintaining spare capacity.
The most important thing I learnt at university was how to find out things myself, regardless of the subject. The amount of people I work with who don't even attempt to try and solve a problem themselves is mind blowing.
My two moments of culture shock at university were discovering that posh areas had peaches even in winter and that arts students got to lie about in the sun reading books all day. But mainly the peaches.
Another data point - a couple of years back I was discussing skills in education with an expert. Who was claiming that the Free School (primary) my daughter went to was exclusionary because they were teaching programming. Rather than just how to use Excel, Word and PowerPoint.
Yes. Her vision was of a generation of PowerPoint Commandos.
They need to do both. Politicians and educationalists really must learn to distinguish between IT and computer science. Even non-technical jobs need some degree of computer literacy, and most successful managers I've known in the past couple of decades have been hotshots with Word and Excel (and not for accountancy!) and Facebook or Trello are used to arrange weddings and funerals by many families.
All pupils should be therefore be taught IT -- basically the Office suite or (better) free equivalents, email, web safety and so on.
Computer science -- nand gates, algorithms and programming -- should be taught quite separately to any pupils with an aptitude and interest.
Calling it "IT" when teaching about how to use Word, Excel or even Facebook (yes, really) is bollocks.
This took some horrific in fighting in the "Blob" - people were being told that their careers would be finished in education if they pushed for programming in the curriculum. It was seen as "exclusionary".
It is perhaps worth recalling why the tripartite school system was considered ripe for abolition within 2 decades of being mooted. If we fail to learn the lessons of history we are certain to repeat them. We should also consider why being in the Common market was seen as the way of modernising the UK economy.
It wasn't EU membership that modernised the UK economy it was the Thatcherite revolution of the 1980s.
Quite, the EU/EEC did nothing for our economy (apart from take money and fish from us), from 1973 onwards, as the stats show. Then Thatcher reformed us, and we began to grow. The idea the EU has greatly benefited us, or even "saved" us, is shite. We did it ourselves.
I'm not convinced it was really down to Thatcher (she helped). It just coincided with the IT revolution. The PC came to market in 1981.
I also don't discount the value of the EEC. I think we did get some benefit from joining, it's just that it is now headed in a direction that is unpalatable to me and many others.
Would the EMA be worth anything without Switzerland or the UK? Tbh with both nations not in the EEA a more aggressive stance might be warranted, if the Swiss were on board.
Switzerland just caved on immigration to the EU, so that ship has sadly sailed.
Not entirely, it managed to get a rule that local Swiss workers could be given priority for jobs
Swiss job centres are allowed to put Swiss citizens forward for jobs first. I think that's just a fig leaf, don't you?
Ultimately, any EU citizen can go to Switzerland, without a job, and get one.
It is still a preference for Swiss job applicants, the job offer requirement May will push for will not be a million miles away
I employ Engineers. In the last 5 years, I have had difficulty even receiving British White CV's.
The last two I employed: one was an Australian [ British citizen who had lived in Oz since childhood ] and another UK born Pakistani. Before that two British citizens but both from India.
Most cannot even pass the very simple test we ask them to take. For example, what's Ohm's Law ? They actually have "qualifications".
The other problem I have is that the amount of work they are prepared to is terrible. If they have a customer visit at 2pm, that's the last one for the day.
The irony of a lefty moaning about the end products of the educational culture they have instigated is stupefying.
Only the left has not been in power during the last 30 years ! This is a typically stupid response. It's all the others' fault.
Oh do bugger off. Thatcher banning some pamphlets aside, left wing ideas in education have been in the ascendancy non-stop since the 1960's. The result is people leaving full time education barely being able to read and write, and certainly not capable of adding up (I myself fall into this category). And then you have the effrontery to wonder why a country like Estonia that is years 'behind' in education and education spending results in such great engineers - no doubt with lovely handwriting and can do a sum without recourse to a calculator.
The left has been in power for 30 of the 72 years there have been since WW2. Since comprehensives first appeared in any great numbers it has been in power for less than 50% of the time.
They need to do both. Politicians and educationalists really must learn to distinguish between IT and computer science. Even non-technical jobs need some degree of computer literacy, and most successful managers I've known in the past couple of decades have been hotshots with Word and Excel (and not for accountancy!) and Facebook or Trello are used to arrange weddings and funerals by many families.
All pupils should be therefore be taught IT -- basically the Office suite or (better) free equivalents, email, web safety and so on.
Computer science -- nand gates, algorithms and programming -- should be taught quite separately to any pupils with an aptitude and interest.
IMO no. Programming and algorithms can teach you much that is applicable even if you do not go into programming; not just in knowledge gained, but skills and mindsets. And you cannot get the best out of Excel or Word without some programming skills, even if it's just macros.
Also, people don't realise they have an aptitude or interest until they try. This is why I'm in favour if all pupils being exposed to music lessons, even if the subject is dropped early on.
That is true, but even so IT skills should be taught to everyone, and separately from programming. They are not the same thing but the former are becoming essential to everyday life.
Children get homework assignments to use Powerpoint and Word to create homework for history/science/etc in many primary schools. Complete with advice on how to do various bits.
Much better than a barren "IT" led - create a heading in Powerpoint...
Would the EMA be worth anything without Switzerland or the UK? Tbh with both nations not in the EEA a more aggressive stance might be warranted, if the Swiss were on board.
Swiss job centres are allowed to put Swiss citizens forward for jobs first. I think that's just a fig leaf, don't you
Ultimately, any EU citizen can go to Switzerland, without a job, and get one.
It is still a preference for Swiss job applicants, the job offer requirement May will push for will not be a million miles away
I employ Engineers. In the last 5 years, I have had difficulty even receiving British White CV's.
The last two I employed: one was an Australian [ British citizen who had lived in Oz since childhood ] and another UK born Pakistani. Before that two British citizens but both from India.
Most cannot even pass the very simple test we ask them to take. For example, what's Ohm's Law ? They actually have "qualifications".
The other problem I have is that the amount of work they are prepared to is terrible. If they have a customer visit at 2pm, that's the last one for the day.
The irony of a lefty moaning about the end products of the educational culture they have instigated is stupefying.
Why are lefties to blames.
It was Labour Minister Anthony Crosland who began the process of abolishing grammar schools
The Tory Education Minister Edward Boyle was also strongly in favour of the move to Comprehensive Education in the mid-1960s.
...as was someone called Margaret Thatcher.
I think one of her first acts was to withdraw the Crosland circular and to leave the decision in the hands of the LEAs, who then continued with the programme.
It is perhaps worth recalling why the tripartite school system was considered ripe for abolition within 2 decades of being mooted. If we fail to learn the lessons of history we are certain to repeat them. We should also consider why being in the Common market was seen as the way of modernising the UK economy.
As one who was in the tripartite system (11+ in 1948) I would say it was extremely divisive. Certainly in the Grammar School I attended we were not ‘encouraged' to mix with boys from secondary schools. Technical schools, the supposed middle layer, barely existed.
The most important thing I learnt at university was how to find out things myself, regardless of the subject. The amount of people I work with who don't even attempt to try and solve a problem themselves is mind blowing.
This. The number of people who just stop when they hit a problem is crazy.
My sister-in-law is panicking because her bike has a flat tire. Has she got a pump? No. The suggestion that she should start by buying a pump, inflating the tire and seeing how long it takes to go down again was met with incredulity - that's what bike shops are for apparently...
It is perhaps worth recalling why the tripartite school system was considered ripe for abolition within 2 decades of being mooted. If we fail to learn the lessons of history we are certain to repeat them. We should also consider why being in the Common market was seen as the way of modernising the UK economy.
It wasn't EU membership that modernised the UK economy it was the Thatcherite revolution of the 1980s.
Quite, the EU/EEC did nothing for our economy (apart from take money and fish from us), from 1973 onwards, as the stats show. Then Thatcher reformed us, and we began to grow. The idea the EU has greatly benefited us, or even "saved" us, is shite. We did it ourselves.
The Thatcher reforms (big bang and ending currency controls) were important but the destruction of industry (which continued under Labour) and society was the other side of the coin.
Mrs Thatcher was remarkably fortunate -- not just in the hackneyed ways like the Falklands and Labour split, and not being deposed during her first term -- or even in North Sea oil and selling the family silver to cover what would otherwise have created an economic black hole -- but just in ruling during the 1980s when for reasons that had nothing to do with government, things just got better -- cars stopped rusting, mobile phones and computers appeared, police became more professional, ambulances changed from first aiders with a van into paramedics, food and wine came with foreign holidays. Someone should make a documentary about it -- how the modern world started in the 80s. TSE can advise on the soundrack.
The most important thing I learnt at university was how to find out things myself, regardless of the subject. The amount of people I work with who don't even attempt to try and solve a problem themselves is mind blowing.
My two moments of culture shock at university were discovering that posh areas had peaches even in winter and that arts students got to lie about in the sun reading books all day. But mainly the peaches.
Olives. I'm not sure I'd eaten an olive til I went to Uni. Also Jews, and Japanese food. They were new to me as well, and I mistrusted all of them at first.
And now I'm off for a Japanese lunch at Inamo with the kiddo. How we all change.
It is perhaps worth recalling why the tripartite school system was considered ripe for abolition within 2 decades of being mooted. If we fail to learn the lessons of history we are certain to repeat them. We should also consider why being in the Common market was seen as the way of modernising the UK economy.
It wasn't EU membership that modernised the UK economy it was the Thatcherite revolution of the 1980s.
Modernise and reform are weasel words that usually mean "destroy" to us social conservatives!
My point was that in the 50's and 60's entry to the Common Market was widely seen as helping cure the ills of British Industry, rather indicating that all was not rosy at the time.
Off to walk Fido now the rain has stopped temporarily.
Would the EMA be worth anything without Switzerland or the UK? Tbh with both nations not in the EEA a more aggressive stance might be warranted, if the Swiss were on board.
Switzerland just caved on immigration to the EU, so that ship has sadly sailed.
Not entirely, it managed to get a rule that local Swiss workers could be given priority for jobs
Swiss job centres are allowed to put Swiss citizens forward for jobs first. I think that's just a fig leaf, don't you?
Ultimately, any EU citizen can go to Switzerland, without a job, and get one.
It is still a preference for Swiss job applicants, the job offer requirement May will push for will not be a million miles away
I employ Engineers. In the last 5 years, I have had difficulty even receiving British White CV's.
The last two I employed: one was an Australian [ British citizen who had lived in Oz since childhood ] and another UK born Pakistani. Before that two British citizens but both from India.
Most cannot even pass the very simple test we ask them to take. For example, what's Ohm's Law ? They actually have "qualifications".
The other problem I have is that the amount of work they are prepared to is terrible. If they have a customer visit at 2pm, that's the last one for the day.
The irony of a lefty moaning about the end products of the educational culture they have instigated is stupefying.
Why are lefties to blame? Whatever you think went wrong with education, the chances are it was righties wot done it. To run through the usual betes noires of the right: it was Conservatives who abolished grammar schools, O-levels and corporal punishment, and who sold off playing fields, ended free school milk and left a shortfall in school places. Labour, on the other hand, brought phonics, sure start and academies.
It was Labour Minister Anthony Crosland who began the process of abolishing grammar schools
The Tory Education Minister Edward Boyle was also strongly in favour of the move to Comprehensive Education in the mid-1960s.
Quentin Hogg certainly was not and he was the last Education Minister under Home
Would the EMA be worth anything without Switzerland or the UK? Tbh with both nations not in the EEA a more aggressive stance might be warranted, if the Swiss were on board.
Switzerland just caved on immigration to the EU, so that ship has sadly sailed.
Not entirely, it managed to get a rule that local Swiss workers could be given priority for jobs
Swiss job centres are allowed to put Swiss citizens forward for jobs first. I think that's just a fig leaf, don't you?
Ultimately, any EU citizen can go to Switzerland, without a job, and get one.
It is still a preference for Swiss job applicants, the job offer requirement May will push for will not be a million miles away
I employ Engineers. In the last 5 years, I have had difficulty even receiving British White CV's.
The last two I employed: one was an Australian [ British citizen who had lived in Oz since childhood ] and another UK last one for the day.
The irony of a lefty moaning about the end products of the educational culture they have instigated is stupefying.
Why are lefties to blame? Whatever academies.
It was Labour Minister Anthony Crosland who began the process of abolishing grammar schools
The Tory Education Minister Edward Boyle was also strongly in favour of the move to Comprehensive Education in the mid-1960s.
Quentin Hogg certainly was not and he was the last Education Minister under Home
From the Conservative Manifesto for the 1964 general election
'The Socialist plan to impose the comprehensive principle, regardless of the wishes of parents, teachers and authorities, is therefore foolishly doctrinaire. Their leader may protest that grammar schools will be abolished ' over his dead body", but abolition would be the inevitable and disastrous consequence of the policy to which they are committed. Conservative policy, by contrast, is to encourage provision, in good schools of every description, of opportunities for all children to go forward to the limit of their capacity. ' http://www.conservativemanifesto.com/1964/1964-conservative-manifesto.shtml
Another data point - a couple of years back I was discussing skills in education with an expert. Who was claiming that the Free School (primary) my daughter went to was exclusionary because they were teaching programming. Rather than just how to use Excel, Word and PowerPoint.
Yes. Her vision was of a generation of PowerPoint Commandos.
They need to do both. Politicians and educationalists really must learn to distinguish between IT and computer science. Even non-technical jobs need some degree of computer literacy, and most successful managers I've known in the past couple of decades have been hotshots with Word and Excel (and not for accountancy!) and Facebook or Trello are used to arrange weddings and funerals by many families.
All pupils should be therefore be taught IT -- basically the Office suite or (better) free equivalents, email, web safety and so on.
Computer science -- nand gates, algorithms and programming -- should be taught quite separately to any pupils with an aptitude and interest.
Calling it "IT" when teaching about how to use Word, Excel or even Facebook (yes, really) is bollocks.
This took some horrific in fighting in the "Blob" - people were being told that their careers would be finished in education if they pushed for programming in the curriculum. It was seen as "exclusionary".
In the era of fluid gender, race and sexuality it is strange that many people who promote such ideas pigeon hole anyone who holds a view they disagree with as 'the right'
The right believes in less regulation and low public spending. That's the way I use the term anyway.
I bet that by the end of May's premiership public spending will still be higher than in Blair's first term and while no socialist she still does not believe in unfettered capitalism either
If it's risen, it's hard to know what it's spent on given the scorched earth policy on local authority libraries, youth centres, NHS dentistry, building public and social housing for rent.
But I suppose PFI payments and HMRC lease payments to Mapeley count as public spending. So you could eventually bankrupt UK PLC by outsourcing all building projects, prison operation and job centres to companies based in overseas tax havens, while real services delivered to the public decline.
It's a paradox that the welfare State has become less generous, even as overall spending has increased. It"s just that pressure on spending is relentless.
The most important thing I learnt at university was how to find out things myself, regardless of the subject. The amount of people I work with who don't even attempt to try and solve a problem themselves is mind blowing.
This. The number of people who just stop when they hit a problem is crazy.
My sister-in-law is panicking because her bike has a flat tire. Has she got a pump? No. The suggestion that she should start by buying a pump, inflating the tire and seeing how long it takes to go down again was met with incredulity - that's what bike shops are for apparently...
When I were a lad bikes came with pumps. And, so did my last bike, 8 or so years ago.
Just watched a piece on BBC about Trump. Don't know if the Beeb could have found a more partisan 'expert'. He could have been the spokesman for HRC!
The reporting of the Rep. John Lewis tweets has been extraordinary.
I've not followed the detail, but if Lewis really said that he doesn't regard Trump as the "legitimate President" that's an outrageous and inflammatory thing for a leading politician to say.
Trump's criticism is that "he should spend more time fixing his crime ridden district" - standard political knockabout, not some kind of savage attack
This is part of the liberal left holy grail which Trump stumbled I suspect unwittingly against. While mos ordinary folk have moved swiftly on metropolitan remains bereft and grief stricken, unable to see the irony in a party called the DEMOCRATS sic! denying the legitimacy of their own democratic process. Time will heal the wounds ... probably
How long can the US keep the Slobodan Milosovic rule that the candidate receiving the second highest number of votes can win the election ?
BTW, it cannot happen in any other election in the US or in most other democratic country.
Please do not come back with some historical bullshit. This is 2017.
Even with the EC system, Maine and Nebraska has split their "votes". Why can't the rest of the US ?
As long as the US uses first the post. If all States split their votes like Maine and Nebraska, Trump would still win.
Really ? Has anyone done this exercise. For example, Trump would have won MI, PA and WI by just one or two votes. OK. Hillary would lose many in CA< NY and IL but gain in TX, FL, GA.
The Democrats win the popular vote in the House of Representatives but the Republicans have a comfortable majority.
This time round, the Republicans won the popular vote in the House, by 49% to 48%.
30 states (a majority) voted for Mr Trump to preside over them - what's the problem?
The most important thing I learnt at university was how to find out things myself, regardless of the subject. The amount of people I work with who don't even attempt to try and solve a problem themselves is mind blowing.
This. The number of people who just stop when they hit a problem is crazy.
My sister-in-law is panicking because her bike has a flat tire. Has she got a pump? No. The suggestion that she should start by buying a pump, inflating the tire and seeing how long it takes to go down again was met with incredulity - that's what bike shops are for apparently...
It's the same with cars, most people would happily wait an hour on a dangerous hard shoulder than spend five minutes changing a flat tyre themselves. The vast majority of people don't even check the oil and water in their cars between services, as they're so much more reliable now than they used to be.
Another data point - a couple of years back I was discussing skills in education with an expert. Who was claiming that the Free School (primary) my daughter went to was exclusionary because they were teaching programming. Rather than just how to use Excel, Word and PowerPoint.
Yes. Her vision was of a generation of PowerPoint Commandos.
They need to do both. Politicians and educationalists really must learn to distinguish between IT and computer science. Even non-technical jobs need some degree of computer literacy, and most successful managers I've known in the past couple of decades have been hotshots with Word and Excel (and not for accountancy!) and Facebook or Trello are used to arrange weddings and funerals by many families.
All pupils should be therefore be taught IT -- basically the Office suite or (better) free equivalents, email, web safety and so on.
Computer science -- nand gates, algorithms and programming -- should be taught quite separately to any pupils with an aptitude and interest.
Calling it "IT" when teaching about how to use Word, Excel or even Facebook (yes, really) is bollocks.
This took some horrific in fighting in the "Blob" - people were being told that their careers would be finished in education if they pushed for programming in the curriculum. It was seen as "exclusionary".
The most important thing I learnt at university was how to find out things myself, regardless of the subject. The amount of people I work with who don't even attempt to try and solve a problem themselves is mind blowing.
This. The number of people who just stop when they hit a problem is crazy.
My sister-in-law is panicking because her bike has a flat tire. Has she got a pump? No. The suggestion that she should start by buying a pump, inflating the tire and seeing how long it takes to go down again was met with incredulity - that's what bike shops are for apparently...
It's the same with cars, most people would happily wait an hour on a dangerous hard shoulder than spend five minutes changing a flat tyre themselves. The vast majority of people don't even check the oil and water in their cars between services, as they're so much more reliable now than they used to be.
With car tires, there is some excuse - changing a tire and torquing the nuts correctly takes a bit of skill (setting the jack up correctly, so it lifts the car without damaging it and holds it securely). And strength.
The most important thing I learnt at university was how to find out things myself, regardless of the subject. The amount of people I work with who don't even attempt to try and solve a problem themselves is mind blowing.
That's critical when dealing with trainees. Provided that they've thought through the problem and tried some analysis, I no issue with their answer being wrong. Making the same mistake twice though...
Would the EMA be worth anything without Switzerland or the UK? Tbh with both nations not in the EEA a more aggressive stance might be warranted, if the Swiss were on board.
Switzerland just caved on immigration to the EU, so that ship has sadly sailed.
Not entirely, it managed to get a rule that local Swiss workers could be given priority for jobs
Swiss job centres are allowed to put Swiss citizens forward for jobs first. I think that's just a fig leaf, don't you?
Ultimately, any EU citizen can go to Switzerland, without a job, and get one.
It is still a preference for Swiss job applicants, the job offer requirement May will push for will not be a million miles away
I employ Engineers. In the last 5 years, I have had difficulty even receiving British White CV's.
The last two I employed: one was an Australian [ British citizen who had lived in Oz since childhood ] and another UK born Pakistani. Before that two British citizens but both from India.
Most cannot even pass the very simple test we ask them to take. For example, what's Ohm's Law ? They actually have "qualifications".
The other problem I have is that the amount of work they are prepared to is terrible. If they have a customer visit at 2pm, that's the last one for the day.
"Most cannot even pass the very simple test we ask them to take. For example, what's Ohm's Law ?"
To be fair, I can understand there may be some resistance to answering that question.
Well it's written by an American so stands more chance than most of being balanced.
A pretty good article.
Personally, I am glad that Hammond, of all people, is signaling back to the EU that threats can go both ways. Him saying it, as the 'dove' and 'soft Brexit' champion within the government, will have far more impact than Fox saying it.
Unlike the author, I think this does not necessarily increase the chances of Hard Brexit, but might work the other way - to level the playing field before the game starts, thereby giving more opportunity for a fairer game and hence a reasonable outcome.
But it could go either way. People are involved, ergo it is unpredictable.
Would the EMA be worth anything without Switzerland or the UK? Tbh with both nations not in the EEA a more aggressive stance might be warranted, if the Swiss were on board.
Switzerland just caved on immigration to the EU, so that ship has sadly sailed.
Not entirely, it managed to get a rule that local Swiss workers could be given priority for jobs
Swiss job centres are allowed to put Swiss citizens forward for jobs first. I think that's just a fig leaf, don't you?
Ultimately, any EU citizen can go to Switzerland, without a job, and get one.
It is still a preference for Swiss job applicants, the job offer requirement May will push for will not be a million miles away
I employ Engineers. In the last 5 years, I have had difficulty even receiving British White CV's.
The last two I employed: one was an Australian [ British citizen who had lived in Oz since childhood ] and another UK born Pakistani. Before that two British citizens but both from India.
Most cannot even pass the very simple test we ask them to take. For example, what's Ohm's Law ? They actually have "qualifications".
The other problem I have is that the amount of work they are prepared to is terrible. If they have a customer visit at 2pm, that's the last one for the day.
The irony of a lefty moaning about the end products of the educational culture they have instigated is stupefying.
.
It was Labour Minister Anthony Crosland who began the process of abolishing grammar schools
The Tory Education Minister Edward Boyle was also strongly in favour of the move to Comprehensive Education in the mid-1960s.
Quentin Hogg certainly was not and he was the last Education Minister under Home
Edward Boyle was Shadow Education Secretary under Heath until October 1969 when Thatcher was given the position. I recall speaking to him in the late 1970s when he brought up the subject of comprehensive schools himself. He seemed pretty passionate in his support for them.
I had to log off but I see nobody actually disproved my claim that north of Watford gap, the best comparator is Eastern Europe.
GDP is not the right metric, you need to look at PPP. And removing Prague from Czech is cheating.
Not only may Wales now be as nearly poor as Estonia but the W. Midlands (the govt.-defined region stretching to the Welsh border) is doing rather poorly. I wonder if the govt. publishes regional figures?
Northern Ireland is probably doing comparatively well, thanks to having a more government-run economy. Just a hint there of what Mrs. May could do if she cares about all the people?
@PCollinsTimes: Conservative opponents of the EU always used to say they hankered for the days it was just a Common Market. Why don't they want that now?
Because it is a shrivelling entity in terms of global economic significance.
An EU that is 30% of the global economy (1980) is not as attractive as one that is 12% (post-Brexit).
We also do the majority of our business elsewhere.
I had to log off but I see nobody actually disproved my claim that north of Watford gap, the best comparator is Eastern Europe.
GDP is not the right metric, you need to look at PPP. And removing Prague from Czech is cheating.
Not only may Wales now be as nearly poor as Estonia but the W. Midlands (the govt.-defined region stretching to the Welsh border) is doing rather poorly. I wonder if the govt. publishes regional figures?
Northern Ireland is probably doing comparatively well, thanks to having a more government-run economy. Just a hint there of what Mrs. May could do if she cares about all the people?
The "North" does not have its own monetary policy. Therefore, investment is the only solution. However this looks like it will not be on offer because Brexit.
Would the EMA be worth anything without Switzerland or the UK? Tbh with both nations not in the EEA a more aggressive stance might be warranted, if the Swiss were on board.
Switzerland just caved on immigration to the EU, so that ship has sadly sailed.
Not entirely, it managed to get a rule that local Swiss workers could be given priority for jobs
Swiss job centres are allowed to put Swiss citizens forward for jobs first. I think that's just a fig leaf, don't you?
Ultimately, any EU citizen can go to Switzerland, without a job, and get one.
It is still a preference for Swiss job applicants, the job offer requirement May will push for will not be a million miles away
I employ Engineers. In the last 5 years, I have had difficulty even receiving British White CV's.
The last two I employed: one was an Australian [ British citizen who had lived in Oz since childhood ] and another UK born Pakistani. Before that two British citizens but both from India.
Most cannot even pass the very simple test we ask them to take. For example, what's Ohm's Law ? They actually have "qualifications".
The other problem I have is that the amount of work they are prepared to is terrible. If they have a customer visit at 2pm, that's the last one for the day.
The irony of a lefty moaning about the end products of the educational culture they have instigated is stupefying.
.
It was Labour Minister Anthony Crosland who began the process of abolishing grammar schools
The Tory Education Minister Edward Boyle was also strongly in favour of the move to Comprehensive Education in the mid-1960s.
Quentin Hogg certainly was not and he was the last Education Minister under Home
Edward Boyle was Shadow Education Secretary under Heath until October 1969 when Thatcher was given the position. I recall speaking to him in the late 1970s when he brought up the subject of comprehensive schools himself. He seemed pretty passionate in his support for them.
Maybe but Hogg was the Education Secretary at the time of the 1964 election and was supportive of grammars as was the Conservative manifesto at that time, if the Tories had been re-elected circular 10/165 which Crosland introduced would never have come into being
Comments
Everything is online in Estonia and it is very easy to get things setup.
it would give the russian hackers something to play with before the next US election
And why not? The cost of living is 75% less than London and the taxes are modest. The night life and restaurants are excellent.
Tallinn is one of those places like Riga I'd like to visit
Ironically, this "work-shy" thing has happened only recently. During the 2008/9 slowdown they were scouring the whole area. In 2015 [ I know you GDP lovers would not believe this* ], they could not be bothered. Maybe we pay too much.
I also hear the same thing from my Swedish colleagues and from Germany. But not France, Italy, Spain. In the Far East, it is still until 7pm and the same in South America.
* Our sales only turned from August and, in fact, did very strongly in Q4 and now, in January.
Yet, in 2016 overall, we just crossed 2015 totals We made up more than the deficit of the first 3 quarters in Q4.
http://www.thejeremycorbyneffect.com/jeremy-corbyn-blog/open-letter-call-for-unity-in-the-labour-party#comments
Almost as common as hen's teeth.
She was in power for 11 years with huge majorities. What did she do then ? I suppose that was Labour's fault as well.
Another data point - a couple of years back I was discussing skills in education with an expert. Who was claiming that the Free School (primary) my daughter went to was exclusionary because they were teaching programming. Rather than just how to use Excel, Word and PowerPoint.
Yes. Her vision was of a generation of PowerPoint Commandos.
It's is quite noticeable that private schools are massively ramping up their "hands dirty" technology - visiting a number of the local ones this year, new classrooms, a year or two old stuffed with lathes, CNC'd mills, electronics (real hard core level electronics) and yes, 3D printers (which I regard as an interesting toy until you get into the metal printing ones).
As MD in Germany my factory had a strong apprentice programme which fed a range of skills in to the business as they were needed
http://www.270towin.com/news/2017/01/05/if-all-states-voted-like-maine-and-nebraska-trump-290-clinton-248_439.html#.WHt1iNWnzqA
All pupils should be therefore be taught IT -- basically the Office suite or (better) free equivalents, email, web safety and so on.
Computer science -- nand gates, algorithms and programming -- should be taught quite separately to any pupils with an aptitude and interest.
Gove vs the "Blob" was interesting.
Hell, I can remember when teaching grammar in English was "Evil, exclusionary, right wing madness".
Typical starting salary in 2017. £37450 + commission + bonus. It would be difficult to earn less than £42k. Usually, they have about 150 customers in their name. Some of them can not even visit 20/30 of them in a whole year even once. "Too difficult". I know what we can do with such people. But the legal constraints, hiring difficulties, manager's resistance etc, ,make it difficult.
Interesting, the UK born Indian young chappie when asked in his second interview what sort of salary he was expecting, he said £21000. Our HR Officer asked him, isn't that a bit low ? [ this is SW London ], he said "I have not got any experience". We started him off at £28k. This year he is getting the £37450+ like anyone else. He received £2k-£3k increments every 6 months.
In 2016, he had the highest growth in the entire country. Of course, he pocketed huge commissions.
However the computers for schools programme was a massive success. I have a great deal to thank that scheme for, as do many of my compatriots. It's a sadness that education later lurched away from programming into 'simple' spreadsheet and word processing skills.
This is something the Raspberry Pi and the BBC's MicroBit schemes are trying to address (even if I'm not particularly in favour of the MicroBit).
The following is quite an interesting read, 35 years later:
http://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/104609
"Most cannot even pass the very simple test we ask them to take. For example, what's Ohm's Law ?"
To be fair, I can understand there may be some resistance to answering that question.
Also, people don't realise they have an aptitude or interest until they try. This is why I'm in favour if all pupils being exposed to music lessons, even if the subject is dropped early on.
You are right. But we do not sell soap powder or double glazing. Our customers are.......well, the entire British industry. In fact, my sales reflect, Manufacturing output !
It is perhaps worth recalling why the tripartite school system was considered ripe for abolition within 2 decades of being mooted. If we fail to learn the lessons of history we are certain to repeat them. We should also consider why being in the Common market was seen as the way of modernising the UK economy.
After that it was about efficiency (as with hospitals a couple of threads back). As pupil numbers dwindle, close schools and combine them on larger sites. Never mind improving teacher-pupil ratios or maintaining spare capacity.
Teaching them a bit of Scratch is not expecting them to build an Interociter. It is now part of the curriculum (http://www.computingatschool.org.uk/data/uploads/CASPrimaryComputing.pdf), by the way.
This took some horrific in fighting in the "Blob" - people were being told that their careers would be finished in education if they pushed for programming in the curriculum. It was seen as "exclusionary".
Try Scratch - it is online, free and fun.
https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/10000036/ - a game of "Pong"
I also don't discount the value of the EEC. I think we did get some benefit from joining, it's just that it is now headed in a direction that is unpalatable to me and many others.
Much better than a barren "IT" led - create a heading in Powerpoint...
My sister-in-law is panicking because her bike has a flat tire. Has she got a pump? No. The suggestion that she should start by buying a pump, inflating the tire and seeing how long it takes to go down again was met with incredulity - that's what bike shops are for apparently...
Mrs Thatcher was remarkably fortunate -- not just in the hackneyed ways like the Falklands and Labour split, and not being deposed during her first term -- or even in North Sea oil and selling the family silver to cover what would otherwise have created an economic black hole -- but just in ruling during the 1980s when for reasons that had nothing to do with government, things just got better -- cars stopped rusting, mobile phones and computers appeared, police became more professional, ambulances changed from first aiders with a van into paramedics, food and wine came with foreign holidays. Someone should make a documentary about it -- how the modern world started in the 80s. TSE can advise on the soundrack.
https://pro.creditwritedowns.com/2017/01/hammonds-whatever-it-takes-strategy-for-a-hard-brexit.html
My point was that in the 50's and 60's entry to the Common Market was widely seen as helping cure the ills of British Industry, rather indicating that all was not rosy at the time.
Off to walk Fido now the rain has stopped temporarily.
Survation for Mail on Sunday. Second recent survey putting May ahead of Corbyn on NHS.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jan/15/michael-gove-uk-interview-tory-times
'The Socialist plan to impose the comprehensive principle, regardless of the wishes of parents, teachers and authorities, is therefore foolishly doctrinaire. Their leader may protest that grammar schools will be abolished ' over his dead body", but abolition would be the inevitable and disastrous consequence of the policy to which they are committed. Conservative policy, by contrast, is to encourage provision, in good schools of every description, of opportunities for all children to go forward to the limit of their capacity. '
http://www.conservativemanifesto.com/1964/1964-conservative-manifesto.shtml
Labour in chaos as Emily Thornberry says party will not 'die in a ditch' over freedom of movement
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/01/15/labour-chaos-emily-thornberry-says-party-will-not-die-ditch/
It comes to something when Gove's best hope for influence is reverting to posing as a respected journalist.
And, so did my last bike, 8 or so years ago.
Exclusionary is anything that might or might not be beyond the least intelligent, motivated and skilled child.
This is the ultimate evil.
NEW THREAD
GDP is not the right metric, you need to look at PPP. And removing Prague from Czech is cheating.
Personally, I am glad that Hammond, of all people, is signaling back to the EU that threats can go both ways. Him saying it, as the 'dove' and 'soft Brexit' champion within the government, will have far more impact than Fox saying it.
Unlike the author, I think this does not necessarily increase the chances of Hard Brexit, but might work the other way - to level the playing field before the game starts, thereby giving more opportunity for a fairer game and hence a reasonable outcome.
But it could go either way. People are involved, ergo it is unpredictable.
Northern Ireland is probably doing comparatively well, thanks to having a more government-run economy. Just a hint there of what Mrs. May could do if she cares about all the people?
An EU that is 30% of the global economy (1980) is not as attractive as one that is 12% (post-Brexit).
We also do the majority of our business elsewhere.