News29 mins ago
Steve Hedley & Nick Ferrari
I listened to this exchange yesterday with my mouth agape!
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Apparently Steve Hedley was considered too left wing to succeed the just right of Trotsky Bob Crow.
Is Steve Hedley a complete pillock, and has he damaged the already tarnished image of the RMT even further?
http://
http://
Apparently Steve Hedley was considered too left wing to succeed the just right of Trotsky Bob Crow.
Is Steve Hedley a complete pillock, and has he damaged the already tarnished image of the RMT even further?
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Clearly, Ferrari had never heard of a "loaded question". He felt it was OK for him to make such a query, but didn't know how to react when Hedley did the same to him.
The words, "Have you stopped beating your wife?" have been for generations the perfect example of such questions. It is never, by anyone rational, been assumed to be a genuine question about a person's marital behaviour.
The words, "Have you stopped beating your wife?" have been for generations the perfect example of such questions. It is never, by anyone rational, been assumed to be a genuine question about a person's marital behaviour.
That's not the point though.
Steve Hedley was there as a senior officer of the RMT, and acted like a child.
The question from Ferrari may have been 'loaded', but in the context of why Hedley was appearing on the show, it was a fair and reasonable question to ask.
Hedley's loaded question was a complete non-sequitur and showed him up for the buffoon he clearly is.
Steve Hedley was there as a senior officer of the RMT, and acted like a child.
The question from Ferrari may have been 'loaded', but in the context of why Hedley was appearing on the show, it was a fair and reasonable question to ask.
Hedley's loaded question was a complete non-sequitur and showed him up for the buffoon he clearly is.
I think Mr Hedley's deliberately confrontational and provocative stance does nothing to distance him from his reputation as a bullying union leader.
Had he debated the issue calmly, he would have been far more successful in his aim of offering the other side of the story.
Now, he has simply diverted attention away from the issue at hand to himself, which is not a desireable outcome.
Had he debated the issue calmly, he would have been far more successful in his aim of offering the other side of the story.
Now, he has simply diverted attention away from the issue at hand to himself, which is not a desireable outcome.
TTT - "I feel sorry for the misguided souls who join unions who have to lose days of pay to indulge these idiots."
Speaking as someone who was royally stitched up by a manager with a personal grudge against me, I am delighted to have been able to rely on my union membership, and their support in fighting my case, which means I remain gainfully employed. Without my union, I would have been dismissed.
Speaking as someone who was royally stitched up by a manager with a personal grudge against me, I am delighted to have been able to rely on my union membership, and their support in fighting my case, which means I remain gainfully employed. Without my union, I would have been dismissed.
well congratulations Andy, you found a use for a union, I never have. I have never been in one and all my experiences have been bad. In my first job I worked for a county council and the Nalgo rep had a go at me for not taking enough time off sick! He said that we can get away with 11 days a year with no questions asked and that I was letting the side down by not skiving enough! just one of many reasons why I'd rather jump of big ben than rely on these idiots.
TTT - "well congratulations Andy, you found a use for a union, I never have. I have never been in one and all my experiences have been bad. In my first job I worked for a county council and the Nalgo rep had a go at me for not taking enough time off sick! He said that we can get away with 11 days a year with no questions asked and that I was letting the side down by not skiving enough! just one of many reasons why I'd rather jump of big ben than rely on these idiots."
I think the stereotypical image of Unions from the '70's is well outdated now, they have moved with the times like everyone else.
I think the stereotypical image of Unions from the '70's is well outdated now, they have moved with the times like everyone else.
TTT - I know you are being sarcastic, but seriously, you need to look at the facts involved here.
The sobriety test that tube drivers take is at a far lower level than that for car drivers, so - as is the union's contention here - it is possible to register a fail on the tube drivers' alcohol level test without being remotely intoxicated.
I believe, that the level is actually set at zero - so any alcohol content will register. The union's argument is that the driver involved is taking medicine for he diabetes, and that may be sufficient for a negative reading.
That is a long way from the spin the media are trying to make us see, which is a driver rolling in too drunk to stand up, and wanting to take a train out - that appears to be a long way from what is actually happening here.
The media can spin anything - as a long deceased Archbishop Of Canterbury found on his first trip to New York.
As he stepped off the plane, a microphone was thrust in his grace's face, and a voice asked him if he was going to see the strippers on Fifth Avenue?
"Are there strippers on Fifth Avenue?" enquired his grace, keen to take an interest in his host nation's entertainments - if only to be polite.
The following day's headline read "Archbishop steps off plane and asks if there are strippers on Fifth Avenue!!!!!"
Yes, it is what he said, but context is every bit as important as a soundbite.
The sobriety test that tube drivers take is at a far lower level than that for car drivers, so - as is the union's contention here - it is possible to register a fail on the tube drivers' alcohol level test without being remotely intoxicated.
I believe, that the level is actually set at zero - so any alcohol content will register. The union's argument is that the driver involved is taking medicine for he diabetes, and that may be sufficient for a negative reading.
That is a long way from the spin the media are trying to make us see, which is a driver rolling in too drunk to stand up, and wanting to take a train out - that appears to be a long way from what is actually happening here.
The media can spin anything - as a long deceased Archbishop Of Canterbury found on his first trip to New York.
As he stepped off the plane, a microphone was thrust in his grace's face, and a voice asked him if he was going to see the strippers on Fifth Avenue?
"Are there strippers on Fifth Avenue?" enquired his grace, keen to take an interest in his host nation's entertainments - if only to be polite.
The following day's headline read "Archbishop steps off plane and asks if there are strippers on Fifth Avenue!!!!!"
Yes, it is what he said, but context is every bit as important as a soundbite.
QM - "As I said at 08.12, J, only an idiot would react to the question, "Have you stopped beating your wife?" as if it actually were a normal question!"
I am not so sure.
You mention that this is a standard question used in debate to illustrate that there are some questions that have no simple answer, and I understand that concept.
However, I have never heard of this debating device, and I suspect Mr Ferrari hasn't either, hence his somewhat taken-aback response.
Perhaps Mr Hedley would have been better framing the question as a point of illustration - "It's a similar question to Have you stopped beating your wife? There is no simple answer to that - and this is a similar position."
That would have prolonged his exchange with Mr Ferrari, who clearly thought Mr Hedley was merely being offensive, which, given the combative nature of Mr Hedley's approach thus far would a reasonable assumption for Mr Ferrari to make.
I am not so sure.
You mention that this is a standard question used in debate to illustrate that there are some questions that have no simple answer, and I understand that concept.
However, I have never heard of this debating device, and I suspect Mr Ferrari hasn't either, hence his somewhat taken-aback response.
Perhaps Mr Hedley would have been better framing the question as a point of illustration - "It's a similar question to Have you stopped beating your wife? There is no simple answer to that - and this is a similar position."
That would have prolonged his exchange with Mr Ferrari, who clearly thought Mr Hedley was merely being offensive, which, given the combative nature of Mr Hedley's approach thus far would a reasonable assumption for Mr Ferrari to make.
Andy, I have never seen or heard this Ferrari person, but I suspect he is just another media interviewer who thinks it incumbent upon him to pretend to be Jeremy Paxman in order to gain a reputation as a hard man "who tells it like it is." Even Eamonn Holmes does it occasionally, with laughable effect!
Anyone who puts these people in their place is OK by me.
Anyone who puts these people in their place is OK by me.
ferrari is a much experienced and respected journalist/media presenter..Hedley came over as a rude, ill prepared ,ignorant, beligerent activist reliant on blustering buffoonery to make a point..the days of ranting union leaders are long gone..he embarassed himself ....and did nowt positive for the driver's case...
QM - "Andy, I have never seen or heard this Ferrari person, but I suspect he is just another media interviewer who thinks it incumbent upon him to pretend to be Jeremy Paxman in order to gain a reputation as a hard man "who tells it like it is." Even Eamonn Holmes does it occasionally, with laughable effect!
Anyone who puts these people in their place is OK by me."
I take your point about Eamonn Holmes who certainly lacks the gravitas to play the hard inquisitor, but Nick Ferarri is a respected and experienced journalist, and I think he was simply using his usual style on this occasion - although not living in the capital, I don't have chance to hear him.
Anyone who puts these people in their place is OK by me."
I take your point about Eamonn Holmes who certainly lacks the gravitas to play the hard inquisitor, but Nick Ferarri is a respected and experienced journalist, and I think he was simply using his usual style on this occasion - although not living in the capital, I don't have chance to hear him.
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