A Political Thread pt. 2

[General Melchett]

Boris off to Belfast today no doubt with the objective of taking credit for getting the power sharing arrangement back up and running. His aides must try and fill his day with political capital boosting opportunities. Guess he's visited enough NHS hospitals and was only in Kiev about a month ago.

 

[General Melchett]

Affects other parts of the economy ie passing/foot trade for pubs/cafes/shops etc in the city/town centres, which then affects tax revenues etc.

I think this is the primary reason. Working in offices is generally better for the economy and also creates jobs in supporting sectors. People spend money on transport, meals, drinks and office attire etc. People sitting home working in their pyjamas every day ain't good for GDP and growth stats.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Tories answer to cost of living crisis? Don't be poor peasant! I mean FFS the idea you can tell people to just "work more hours" or "get a better job" is so detached from reality, so condescending and so arrogant. It's essentially saying that people on lower paid jobs who actually want to have some sort of life deserve to get ****** over.

Tories accidentally letting the mask slip and admitting they think there are industry sectors that should be living in poverty, shock horror

Back to work, serfs!

 

[Bada-Bing!]

I think this is the primary reason. Working in offices is generally better for the economy and also creates jobs in supporting sectors. People spend money on transport, meals, drinks and office attire etc. People sitting home working in their pyjamas every day ain't good for GDP and growth stats.

I have not missed the commute - saved myself like £150 per month during lockdown. It's the time and cost especially for those commuting into London and those militant Unions striking whenever they want. WFH from that POV has been bliss.

 

[Ragey Erasmus]

Anyone know why the government is trying to start a culture war over working from home? I like the 3/2 split we've moved to and I find beneficial stuff from doing both. Its not like productivity or anything goes down from observed changes over the past 2 years by most accounts. It just feels really odd.

I think it's a combination of factors
1) Control. A fair chunk of higher ups have no faith in their workforce. I suspect quite a lot wouldn't hesitate to screw over those who work for them if they think it would be beneficial and so assume those that work for them will look to do the same. When working from home, it is more difficult to keep tabs on what someone is doing.

2) Divide and conquer. The playbook of politicians is always to portray another part of society as the ones causing the problems and get people to direct their anger at them rather than politicians. People who can work from home are ones with office based jobs that, on average, are better paying. People who can't work from home will usually be in jobs that are less well paid as they tend to require some sort of physical presence. It feeds on that sense of injustice at some people being able to work from home when others can't, although.

3) Appearances. Empty offices just look worse, regardless of the productivity of the company

4) Conservatism. Little more than good old "we have always done things the old way and I will resist change." By their very nature Conservatives are conservative.

 

[Reiser99]

Turkey extorting Finland and Sweden in exchange for them joining NATO. Tbh under Erdogan, Turkey isn't far removed from Russia. I'd say kick out Turkey in exchange for Sweden and Finland.

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

IMO a lot is to do with fuel tax and VAT the Government takes what 80-90 pence per litre currently.
It's easy money for them, it's why they only lowered it by 5p which has already gone.

Then I guess the worry that if you could work from home how many people would move from London?

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

Think before seeking pay rise, says £575,000-a-year bank chief

‘It’s a societal question but I am not preaching about this’ says governor Andrew Bailey

www.independent.co.uk

 

[Reiser99]

So get a new job or work more hours, but don't ask for a pay rise because it could hurt the economy more.

 

[Ragey Erasmus]

Turkey extorting Finland and Sweden in exchange for them joining NATO. Tbh under Erdogan, Turkey isn't far removed from Russia. I'd say kick out Turkey in exchange for Sweden and Finland.

This, Tukey is more likely to be a thorn in NATOs side than an aid. However Erdogan, being the vindictive **** he is, will almost certainly look to ally with whoever NATO opposes if kicked out just to get revenge. I think the rules on countries joining NATO need to change and let Turkey leave of their own accord if they don't like it. That country is marching down the route to dictatorship and economic collapse as it is.

If Turkey plays silly buggers and for whatever reason can't be kicked out or the rules change, NATO members should just unilaterally guarantee the protection of Finland and Sweden to bypass that. Maybe even create a new status for countries in which they aren't formally a member of NATO but will receive protection, just to get around Turkey being stupid. Theoretically you only need 1 NATO member with forces in Finland that the Russians could attack to trigger article 5 and bring in the rest of the alliance.

 

[Bada-Bing!]

How Australia became the anxious country

Australians will vote in an election on Saturday amid much nervousness, writes Nick Bryant.

www.bbc.co.uk

And Down Under.

Pocock going for seat in the Senate.

Former Wallabies star David Pocock eyes a seat in the Australian senate

Recent polling numbers see David Pocock's vote nearly double, as the former Wallaby pushes for stronger action on climate change.

www.stuff.co.nz

 

[Which Tyler]

 

[Bada-Bing!]

 

[Ragey Erasmus]

Conservative MP arrested on suspicion of rape

The Metropolitan Police confirm a man is in custody over allegations dating back to the 2000s.

www.bbc.co.uk

Another Tory in trouble for sexual offenses...

It's staggering how the host is still pushing the party line that Russia was "forced" into it and that it's their existence being threatened, not them threatening the existence of another.

 

[Reiser99]

I didn't think the EU would actually follow the protocol.

 

[Which Tyler]

Staggering poll shows 94% of readers believe ‘we haven’t got the Brexit we voted for'

BREXIT promises have not been delivered, according to a new poll of Express.co.uk readers.

www.express.co.uk

 

[Bada-Bing!]

It's staggering how the host is still pushing the party line that Russia was "forced" into it and that it's their existence being threatened, not them threatening the existence of another.

Crazy isn't it? Like warching a parallel universe.

 

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

If the subtitles are correct this is clearly a man with nothing to lose! In fairness, despite the obvious discomfort of the others present, he was allowed to say his part even though he is more negative of Russian prospects than I am. I've seen a clip (I assume in the same show) of him saying that even if Russia mobilises more soldiers they'll have rubbish weaponry and it will take time (months/years) to manufacture the higher end weaponry, whereas Ukraine are beginning to get trained up on and supplied with state of the art NATO equipment and so the relative situation will only get worse for Russia. The man has balls of steel if he said that on Russian TV and the fact this appears to have even been broadcast gives me some hope that Russia isn't yet completely lost to totalitarianism.

Some outlets reporting Putin has sidelined some commanders and is deploying his own experience of military command (i.e. nil) to the war strategy. Politically that'd be incredibly risky if he ties himself to it personally and it's a failure. Its like he has never heard of what happened when Tsar Nicholas did that in WWI!

And despite the object of the exercise reportedly being to prevent NATO on Russia's border he says he has no problem with Finland and Sweden joining NATO (although on the same day a Kremlin spokesman said both countries must face consequences, so go figure!).

 

[Ragey Erasmus]

Some outlets reporting Putin has sidelined some commanders and is deploying his own experience of military command (i.e. nil) to the war strategy. Politically that'd be incredibly risky if he ties himself to it personally and it's a failure. Its like he has never heard of what happened when Tsar Nicholas did that in WWI!

Or Stalin at the start of WW2, or Hitler at the end.

 

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

A more detailed article basically backing up the Russia on ex-colonel's pessimism. It doesn't say it in the article but I had no idea howitzers could fire artillery 25 miles away. My mind can't really compute that. Maybe Ukraine doesn't need jets after all.

Analysis: Putin takes Mariupol, but wider Donbas victory slipping from reach

Even as the Kremlin prepares to take full control of the ruins of Mariupol city, it faces the growing prospect of defeat in its bid to conquer all of Ukraine's eastern Donbas because its badly mauled forces lack the manpower for significant advances.

www.reuters.com