erd Posted June 9, 2006 Share Posted June 9, 2006 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/devon/5063574.stm A Devon seaside resort's signature palm trees have been branded a potential hazard by the area's local authority. Torbay Council officials said in a letter to Torbay's Chamber of Trade that the trees had sharp leaves which could injure people's eyes or faces. You couldn't make it up, what next? warning labels for hedgehogs! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Its time to buy Posted June 9, 2006 Share Posted June 9, 2006 (edited) We have been told we are not allowed WATER or any DRINK on the shop floor for health and safety rules..... WTF ??? if anybody can guess the reason i ll give em a HPC gold star So its 30 degrees inside in the height of summer, and your stuck on a 4 hour shift till tea break, KEEP SMILING AT THE CUSTOMERS COS THE AIR CON IS FKKED :angry: :angry: :angry: Emigrating to a less PC devloped society seems more attractive day by day Edited June 9, 2006 by notanewmember Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackholeshine Posted June 9, 2006 Share Posted June 9, 2006 (edited) For 2,000 or more years common sense has slowly been evolving out of the human race. For example, 800 years ago Genghis Khan pushed captured prisoners ahead of his advancing front line so when the enemy shot at you the prisoners would take the arrows saving the lives of your own soldiers. This is 100% the sensible thing to do. If the advancing British has done this with German prisoners in the First World War how many countless British lives would have been saved. But no, captured prisoners, nearly 100 years ago, (never mind today) had all these rights which meant the men on your own side had to die as a result of these rights. In history you could find a hundred examples like this where the sensible thing is now an extinct possiblity. Another example, the Roman's built perfectly straight roads -- is this sensible, or would you say that is a stupid thing to do? Who allows non-straight roads to be built? Yes --the council Edited June 9, 2006 by Padiham Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest grumpy-old-man Posted June 9, 2006 Share Posted June 9, 2006 choose your section of pc madness from this site: more pc madness Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marina Posted June 9, 2006 Share Posted June 9, 2006 How come something about palm trees in Torbay is on-topic when a thread about organizing a protest about BTL and second home owners pricing a generation out of property ownership was moved, very promptly, off-topic. See the off-topic section and see for yourselves. Is it off-topic? Get it moved back where it belongs. Why did the mods want to bury it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brassfarthing Posted June 9, 2006 Share Posted June 9, 2006 Re the OP, much of the impetus for this sort of silliness comes from people's willingness to sue for personal injury if they hurt themselves. There's no such thing as an unfortunate accident anymore. Someone has to be to blame. Result? Those in authority try to reduce the possibility of accidents. I have friends who are teachers who tell me that the weekend away with pupils in Snowdonia or the cheap week's ski-ing at Easter are things of the past. If someone slips and sprains their ankle it's an automatic claim for negligence against the local education authority. They've just had to give up. I suspect this is what's behind the concern of the Torbay LA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest grumpy-old-man Posted June 9, 2006 Share Posted June 9, 2006 How come something about palm trees in Torbay is on-topic when a thread about organizing a protest about BTL and second home owners pricing a generation out of property ownership was moved, very promptly, off-topic. See the off-topic section and see for yourselves. Is it off-topic? Get it moved back where it belongs. Why did the mods want to bury it? you following me around today I would imagine that admin might be seen as endorsing a potentially volatile meeting, that might turn into a nasty violent mob that starts flag burning & storms into number 10, etc etc.......... & when questioned they say "we all met through this website"........ don't worry about it, the english don't vote with their feet anymore, we have been tamed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marina Posted June 9, 2006 Share Posted June 9, 2006 you following me around today I would imagine that admin might be seen as endorsing a potentially volatile meeting, that might turn into a nasty violent mob that starts flag burning & storms into number 10, etc etc.......... & when questioned they say "we all met through this website"........ don't worry about it, the english don't vote with their feet anymore, we have been tamed If the mods had got off their respective @rses two years or so ago when they had a bit of media attention, and done the job properly, organising people to bombard the media and politicians etc - a protest march would not be necessary. Spineless lot - lucky for us our forbears had the bottle to form unions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brassfarthing Posted June 9, 2006 Share Posted June 9, 2006 If the mods had got off their respective @rses two years or so ago when they had a bit of media attention, and done the job properly, organising people to bombard the media and politicians etc - a protest march would not be necessary. Spineless lot - lucky for us our forbears had the bottle to form unions. Pretty much proving what I was talking about (in another context) a few minutes earlier. SOMEONE ELSE MUST BE TO BLAME. The reason there hasn't been massive IR rises and a HPC yet is all the fault of the 'mods' who didn't work hard enough to spread the word 2 years ago. If only this "spineless lot" had pulled their finger out while we surfed the net on a Friday night, all our troubles would have been over now. It's their bl00dy fault. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AFineMess Posted June 10, 2006 Share Posted June 10, 2006 How come something about palm trees in Torbay is on-topic when a thread about organizing a protest about BTL and second home owners pricing a generation out of property ownership was moved, very promptly, off-topic. See the off-topic section and see for yourselves. Is it off-topic? Get it moved back where it belongs. Why did the mods want to bury it? I was just about to have a go about you cross posting this issue in every topic... but then I went and had a look, and I agree. It's not off topic, it's completely relevant to our main discussion about house prices. Put the thread back where it belongs mods. In the main discussion forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golden Shower Posted June 10, 2006 Share Posted June 10, 2006 Re the OP, much of the impetus for this sort of silliness comes from people's willingness to sue for personal injury if they hurt themselves. There's no such thing as an unfortunate accident anymore. Someone has to be to blame. Result? Those in authority try to reduce the possibility of accidents. I have friends who are teachers who tell me that the weekend away with pupils in Snowdonia or the cheap week's ski-ing at Easter are things of the past. If someone slips and sprains their ankle it's an automatic claim for negligence against the local education authority. They've just had to give up. I suspect this is what's behind the concern of the Torbay LA. Yep and some parents aren't beyond getting their kids to feign injury. Must be costing councils a fortune. Aren't they trying to pass a law which loads all the costs onto these types if they lose? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowrentyieldmakessense(honest!) Posted June 10, 2006 Share Posted June 10, 2006 We have been told we are not allowed WATER or any DRINK on the shop floor for health and safety rules..... WTF ??? if anybody can guess the reason i ll give em a HPC gold star So its 30 degrees inside in the height of summer, and your stuck on a 4 hour shift till tea break, KEEP SMILING AT THE CUSTOMERS COS THE AIR CON IS FKKED :angry: :angry: :angry: Emigrating to a less PC devloped society seems more attractive day by day because if you missed your mouth someone could slip on it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichB Posted June 10, 2006 Share Posted June 10, 2006 because if you missed your mouth someone could slip on it A distinct possiblity with many of the shop workers around here... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erd Posted June 10, 2006 Author Share Posted June 10, 2006 Re the OP, much of the impetus for this sort of silliness comes from people's willingness to sue for personal injury if they hurt themselves. There's no such thing as an unfortunate accident anymore. Someone has to be to blame. Result? Those in authority try to reduce the possibility of accidents. I have friends who are teachers who tell me that the weekend away with pupils in Snowdonia or the cheap week's ski-ing at Easter are things of the past. If someone slips and sprains their ankle it's an automatic claim for negligence against the local education authority. They've just had to give up. I suspect this is what's behind the concern of the Torbay LA. I am sure lawyers everywhere are trying to work out how to sue mother nature! It's a tree, wind blows, leaves fall from trees. I can understand if a tree is diseased and falls over because the owner has not taken steps to remedy the situation. That can cause damage/injury which is aviodable, but this is part of the normal process of nature! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dog Posted June 10, 2006 Share Posted June 10, 2006 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/devon/5063574.stm You couldn't make it up, what next? warning labels for hedgehogs! How did we end up with such dysfunctional public services? Despite their huge salaries, they seem to lack any shred of common sense. Do they realise that this obsessive culture of risk avoidance has heavy penalties for society as a whole. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AFineMess Posted June 10, 2006 Share Posted June 10, 2006 How did we end up with such dysfunctional public services? Despite their huge salaries, they seem to lack any shred of common sense. Do they realise that this obsessive culture of risk avoidance has heavy penalties for society as a whole. That's what we get when we put beurocracies in charge of things. They are innately risk averse. It's no accident in the civil service that you call someone "brave" when they do something they probably shouldn't be doing (according to the culture of the organisation anyway). We should get rid of this whole planning system we have now. It's slow, unresponsive and like most beurocracies is mostly concerned with making sure they don't look like they do anything wrong, rather than making sure that their responsibilities are carried out efficiently. The incentives are in the wrong places. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dog Posted June 10, 2006 Share Posted June 10, 2006 That's what we get when we put beurocracies in charge of things. They are innately risk averse. It's no accident in the civil service that you call someone "brave" when they do something they probably shouldn't be doing (according to the culture of the organisation anyway). We should get rid of this whole planning system we have now. It's slow, unresponsive and like most beurocracies is mostly concerned with making sure they don't look like they do anything wrong, rather than making sure that their responsibilities are carried out efficiently. The incentives are in the wrong places. Totally agree! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest grumpy-old-man Posted June 10, 2006 Share Posted June 10, 2006 How did we end up with such dysfunctional public services? Despite their huge salaries, they seem to lack any shred of common sense. Do they realise that this obsessive culture of risk avoidance has heavy penalties for society as a whole. I think a lot of it has to do with the age of managers, which now appears to be about 17 years old allright, perhaps 25-30 years old is more truthful, then they are given a team of 20 people to manage & make business critical decisions when they have no experience..BUT they have a degree whilst living in France we noticed all the shop staff were a lot older & generally the people in charge of the marie (equivalent to our local councils) were in their 40's & 50's.....loads of real life experience & common sense. obviously there will be other economic factors but I do honestly believe that it is that simple. Why have we sidelined workers over the age of 40 now ? it's really bizarre my reply was probably aimed more for the private sector... regarding public sector, probably the fact that local descision making has been taken away & centralised by government. you can't beat local knowledge when making important choices ? you agree ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AFineMess Posted June 10, 2006 Share Posted June 10, 2006 I think a lot of it has to do with the age of managers, which now appears to be about 17 years old allright, perhaps 25-30 years old is more truthful, then they are given a team of 20 people to manage & make business critical decisions when they have no experience..BUT they have a degree whilst living in France we noticed all the shop staff were a lot older & generally the people in charge of the marie (equivalent to our local councils) were in their 40's & 50's.....loads of real life experience & common sense. obviously there will be other economic factors but I do honestly believe that it is that simple. Why have we sidelined workers over the age of 40 now ? it's really bizarre my reply was probably aimed more for the private sector... regarding public sector, probably the fact that local descision making has been taken away & centralised by government. you can't beat local knowledge when making important choices ? you agree ? I think older workers are sidelined in the private sector because younger workers are cheaper and are easier to control than people with more experience, who might actually pipe up if things aren't being directed well. I agree that local knowledge is better than central planning, but I don't agree that local beurocratic planning is the way forward either. I'd prefer to see a more free market approach, coupled with some tighter legislation on nuisance factors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest grumpy-old-man Posted June 10, 2006 Share Posted June 10, 2006 (edited) I think older workers are sidelined in the private sector because younger workers are cheaper and are easier to control than people with more experience, who might actually pipe up if things aren't being directed well. I agree that local knowledge is better than central planning, but I don't agree that local beurocratic planning is the way forward either. I'd prefer to see a more free market approach, coupled with some tighter legislation on nuisance factors. fair comment on the latter bit (in bold if it's worked), but depends if your looking from a financial aspect only ? far too many things decided purely on money......sack all the f00king bean counters if you ask me. would you rather run a long term very succesful, respected business on a 50% profit margin or short term, very successful business on an 80% profit margin ? since when should local authorities be run like money making businesses trying to withhold development money & delibrately underspend so that they get fat bonuses ? schools now have job titles that emulate private sector business managers !! Edited June 10, 2006 by grumpy-old-man Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AFineMess Posted June 10, 2006 Share Posted June 10, 2006 fair comment on the latter bit (in bold if it's worked), but depends if your looking from a financial aspect only ? far too many things decided purely on money......sack all the f00king bean counters if you ask me. would you rather run a long term very succesful, respected business on a 50% profit margin or short term, very successful business on an 80% profit margin ? That's true - but a free market accomodates both. Long term businesses do exist - it's not always a race to the bottom. Sometimes it makes sense to run a short term business with high margins. A beurocratic system isn't responsive to the needs of either of them, and prevents people easily taking advantage of changing economic conditions to supply things that are locally in demand, even if only for a short time. since when should local authorities be run like money making businesses trying to withhold development money & delibrately underspend so that they get fat bonuses ? schools now have job titles that emulate private sector business managers !! I agree here too. Just adopting corporate speak and job titles does not a business make! Incentives in the wrong places again, as usual. The outward surface changes but the underlying problems remain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest grumpy-old-man Posted June 10, 2006 Share Posted June 10, 2006 That's true - but a free market accomodates both. Long term businesses do exist - it's not always a race to the bottom. Sometimes it makes sense to run a short term business with high margins. A beurocratic system isn't responsive to the needs of either of them, and prevents people easily taking advantage of changing economic conditions to supply things that are locally in demand, even if only for a short time. I agree here too. Just adopting corporate speak and job titles does not a business make! Incentives in the wrong places again, as usual. The outward surface changes but the underlying problems remain. right then, now we have agreed & formulated an agreed business proposal that will solve all the current local & central goverment problems, what shall we solve next, that was far too easy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AFineMess Posted June 10, 2006 Share Posted June 10, 2006 right then, now we have agreed & formulated an agreed business proposal that will solve all the current local & central goverment problems, what shall we solve next, that was far too easy Great You can be the "Planning Reassignment Change Management Coordinator" and I'll be "Change Planning Management Reassigment Coordinator". Next we can tackle where all the socks, coathangers and biros go. That would be a profound contribution. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest grumpy-old-man Posted June 10, 2006 Share Posted June 10, 2006 Great You can be the "Planning Reassignment Change Management Coordinator" and I'll be "Change Planning Management Reassigment Coordinator". Next we can tackle where all the socks, coathangers and biros go. That would be a profound contribution. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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