In my experience it's quite common for private sector firms to use contractors instead of permanent staff for some work, or to contract out catering or cleaning rather than employing cooks and janito… (View Post)

One year's Reith Lectures just before the fall of the Soviet Union (the 1988 ones) is on the topic of Gorbachev's Russia. One of the reasons I found it interesting to listen to recently is that the e… (View Post)

Ah, this must be the "carry on and hope that something will turnip" strategy... (View Post)

Surely this depends on whether you (and perhaps the group) see the areas of disagreement as fundamental to the group's identity and principles, or as a secondary area where you might be able to be pe… (View Post)

This is of course not a coincidence...much easier to be a loon if you're not worried about the risk of your more centrist constituents taking a disliking to you. (View Post)