Personally, I draw the line at covering your face, in public, as a matter of course.
I don't buy the "whatabouttery" arguments about Balaclavas.
Why is it whatabouttery? It looks like something I sometimes wear, and with good reason, would be banned for no good reason. And that's just one side effect of this sort of terrible legislation.
Let's criminalise activities that hurt people, not harmless lifestyle choices.
I find burkhas distasteful. But the fact that I find them distasteful does not mean they should be criminalised.
Then there are the side evils of such legislation, in that it disenfranchises many women.
Bollox, no-one has any excuse for running about with their face covered unless it is on a bike/motorbike , ie crash helmet. Nobody is going to stop someone wearing a balaclava or scarf if they are out walking in public but not even a bellend would go into an office or building wearing one. No excuse whatsoever for having faces covered.
Huh? Of course it is an example - a private company failed to meet its obligations on the East Coast line and pulled out. A public company stepped in.
Whilst all train operating companies are subsidised when the cost of infrastructure is added in - the net subsidy for East Coast was lowest at 1% vs. an average of 32% for other companies:
Managing the infrastructure is a different job to TOC - chalk and cheese.
The massive growth in numbers we have seen since privatisation is because of a whole bunch of factors... urbanisation, cost of property, GDP growth etc.
It's not because the service is now so wonderful.
AIUI the situation at EC was very different after the takeover than it was before, esp. in regards to payments to the ROSCOs and the work NR had been doing on the line.
What do you think of all the privatised TOCs who are returning, in total, returned over £800 million to the taxpayer from operations ? Why are they not positive examples?
Your example of the EC fails to show how renationalisation will in any way improve the network for users, both passenger and freight. It also ignores the experience of Southern, and particularly the Gibb report. Failures in a network are often much more complex than just bland cries about ownership.
As for your last sentence: the privatised companies are running far more services than BR ever (I think, and certainly post-Beeching) did. Being able to get a train every fifteen minutes rather than waiting an hour is quite wonderful . This is just one of the changes that BR failed to do.
Personally, I draw the line at covering your face, in public, as a matter of course.
I don't buy the "whatabouttery" arguments about Balaclavas.
Why is it whatabouttery? It looks like something I sometimes wear, and with good reason, would be banned for no good reason. And that's just one side effect of this sort of terrible legislation.
Let's criminalise activities that hurt people, not harmless lifestyle choices.
I find burkhas distasteful. But the fact that I find them distasteful does not mean they should be criminalised.
Then there are the side evils of such legislation, in that it disenfranchises many women.
Bollox, no-one has any excuse for running about with their face covered unless it is on a bike/motorbike , ie crash helmet. Nobody is going to stop someone wearing a balaclava or scarf if they are out walking in public but not even a bellend would go into an office or building wearing one. No excuse whatsoever for having faces covered.
How about freedom of choice? Or don't you care about that?
Comments
No excuse whatsoever for having faces covered.
What do you think of all the privatised TOCs who are returning, in total, returned over £800 million to the taxpayer from operations ? Why are they not positive examples?
Your example of the EC fails to show how renationalisation will in any way improve the network for users, both passenger and freight. It also ignores the experience of Southern, and particularly the Gibb report. Failures in a network are often much more complex than just bland cries about ownership.
As for your last sentence: the privatised companies are running far more services than BR ever (I think, and certainly post-Beeching) did. Being able to get a train every fifteen minutes rather than waiting an hour is quite wonderful . This is just one of the changes that BR failed to do.