Anything Political

[DJ360 6,730]

See... you just can't sustain that gruff, insular persona for long..  

[Brew 5,420]

Shurrup when I'm trying to be cross... 

[DJ360 6,730]

22 hours ago, Brew said:

The levy system is still active. Any company with a payroll over £3 million has to pay .5% to the Apprenticeship Levy Fund. Last year the scheme had over £130 million unclaimed. The fault of government or lazy employers? You may well be right about the poaching aspect but we can hardly lay the blame for that at the door of government. The sad truth is as I've already pointed out is there no need for formal apprenticeships as in the days of yore in many industries.

 

I have to admit to being more out of touch than I thought.. having retired 6 years ago.  However.. I do think that the lack of apprentice 'take up' by employers is the same as it has always been.  Business, expects Govt. to operate an Education and Training System purely for the 'Needs of Industry'.  It does not expect to pay for it, and it was trained to expect both free training and free labour under Thatcher and gives little or no thought to the idea of at least some choice for those leaving education.

 

The idea of Apprenticeships is still valid, but they cannot be done on the cheap, or to provide cheap labour, as was tried by the Tories throughout the Austerity period.

[Brew 5,420]

The idea of apprenticeship rather depends on  what we mean. The traditional 5/7 years of low pay and learning with a 'skilled' tradesmen has gone the way of the dinosaur. In my field they have realised electricians have absolutely no need to be able to construct a vector diagram, no need for Kirchoff, Nortons, Thevenin or even Ohms law. Custom and  Practice has become so standardised in most industries a high level of underlying knowledge simply isn't required.

The days of skilled machinists are gone,  a CNC machine will be faster, cheaper and more accurate. There are many more examples and as technology makes progress the demand for in depth training diminishes.

True there are still some areas that need a high skill level but they are not usually served by traditional apprenticeships.

[trogg 2,016]

DJ and Brew lets not have you two agreeing so much , I really enjoy the banter between your selves and as a bonus it gives me food for thought on how this crazy world we live in works.

[Brew 5,420]

3 hours ago, trogg said:

DJ and Brew lets not have you two agreeing so much

 

It's just a small aberration Trogg I'm sure it won't last and normal service will be resumed as a soon as possible...    

[carni 10,094]

I haven't got a political bone in my body, BUT. Dj and Brew, I read all of your posts on the subject and though I don't understand what yeron abaaht, I thoroughly enjoy your debates. Keep it up you two. You never know, one day I will get it? Don't hold your breath.

[Beekay 5,152]

Carni, when ya do finally decipher it, gives us a call and maybe you can translate.

[loppylugs 8,429]

I don't post much on the political debates because I don't really know most of the characters or issues anymore.

Colly noted the othe day that when he visited here he noted a lot of Americans like Mr. Trump.  This is true.  I often wish he would act in a more statesman like manner, but he's what we've got for now.  I didn't want the alternative.

[Brew 5,420]

I've made my share of disparaging comments about Trump and his outrageous statements. Over there you see and hear much more about him so are better able to judge. Here we are spoon-fed with highlights and sound bites of his more outlandish comments. 

I still think he's a twonk though...

[loppylugs 8,429]

I didn't say I really liked him.  

 

I think like most polititions who run for leadership he was seen as the lesser of two evils.  The media have hated and attacked him from the moment he was elected.  He seems to have tried to do some stuff he promised and that folks elected him to do, but every time he is blocked by the PC courts, then the media call him a liar.  In the meantime things get progressively worse.  A we look at his opposition for the next election it gets even scarier.

[DavidA 153]

I don't like Trump as a person, but whatever he says, whatever he does, the media will attack him for it. When you look at the opposition, you can see why people vote for Trump.

[DJ360 6,730]

I must be looking at totally different information. 

 

Every time the Orange Clown opens his tiny mouth he dribbles out the most appalling drivel I have ever heard from any leader of a free country in my 71 years. 

 

He is self obsessed.  He is basically a spoiled child.  He cannot abide, or deal, with criticism. His latest idiocy is to halt US funding to the WHO, because he just hasn't the maturity or emotional intelligence to deal with the fact that they see the problem differently to him.

 

He is an idiot.  If he cannot defeat other arguments/opinions with his own logic, he should shut up.  The fact is that he has shown repeatedly that he cannot defeat even the simplest arguments and always resorts to trying to dismiss his opposition by claiming they are 'fake news'.  He is STUPID.

 

The only time he makes any sense is when he reads from a prepared script, but his scripts are also patent drivel and his appalling reading of them really calls into question his literacy.  Even more worrying is that he is so patently dumb that he must be getting manipulated by people who are smarter, but not necessarily benign.

 

Everything he does is 'perfect'.  every problem, every time he is caught out lying, every time (and there are many) when he fails.. is either fake news, or someone else's fault.  He has NEVER been wrong.  Everything he does is PERFECT.  Every problem he has ever encountered was someone else's fault.

He is cleverer than scientists, he is cleverer that the WHO, he knows more about business and economics than anybody else on the planet.

 

And yet this Muppet was claiming only weeks ago that he had CV beat.

 

Even now he is claiming he can get the US open in days.

 

I don't usually wish people ill.. but this man really needs to be out of office.. Yesterday.

 

[DJ360 6,730]

7 hours ago, DavidA said:

I don't like Trump as a person, but whatever he says, whatever he does, the media will attack him for it. When you look at the opposition, you can see why people vote for Trump.

 

Explain please?  What is wrong with Trump's opposition?

[DJ360 6,730]

9 hours ago, Brew said:

I've made my share of disparaging comments about Trump and his outrageous statements. Over there you see and hear much more about him so are better able to judge. Here we are spoon-fed with highlights and sound bites of his more outlandish comments. 

I still think he's a twonk though...

 

I disagree.  Being closer isn't necessarily being better informed. More likely to be carpet bombed with the local message.

 

Trumps is, has always been, and always be.. an idiot.

[DJ360 6,730]

I realise that the UK economy is quite important to the UK.

 

I also realise that the UK economy is suffering.. and likely to suffer much more.. from the CV Crisis.

 

However.. I really don't think that now is the time for Govt and others to start talking about  'balancing' damage to the economy.. with 'beating the bug'.

 

To put it bluntly, I really couldn't give a shit about the economy.  It will recover, sooner or later.

 

Putting it another way.. I'd sooner be unemployed than dead.  I've tried unemployment many times.  It was never fun... especially under Tory Govts. who made it personal...but it beat the hell out of the alternative.

 

And if some poor little rich boy is upset about how much of his excess cash is being taken to fund me not dying from starvation..  Then he knows my response...

 

**** ***

 

 

[Brew 5,420]

19 minutes ago, DJ360 said:

Trumps is, has always been, and always be.. an idiot.

 

Tsk tsk how can you say that? not only has he made America great again he is genius and the best President the US has ever had. This I know for certain, he said it himself it so it must be true.

Just a few hours ago he was saying he had saved hundreds, maybe thousand of lives, no other world leader has managed to do that.

 

All this moaning about his fake tan, fake hair and fake news is not helping. Tonight I may go outside and make a noise for President Trump...    

[DJ360 6,730]

I consider myself admonished Brew.  It was crass and unthinking of me to criticise the Greatest Man to Ever Walk The Earth.

 

When I think of all the wonderful things he says he has done for his country and the World.. I am quite literally amazed.

 

Nobody else could have said he has done so much for his country as Trump says he has done for his country.

 

In fact.. Trump is so much better at saying how much he has done for his country than anything other Leaders  say they have done for their country.. that I'm convinced that Trump is convinced that he has done more for his country than any other leader has done for their country.

 

That's pretty impressive..

[loppylugs 8,429]

They come and they go, they come and they go!   Lib, Lab, tory,  Canada, ditto.  USA Republican, Democrat.  I've experienced 'em all in my 75 years in three countries.  Some leaders reasonably statesman like.  Some more like Chimps.  Sometimes a country seems to do quite well in spite of it's leadership or lack of it.  underlying it all is a steady rot.  Root problem lies in the human condition and manifests itself periodically in wars, depressions and little permanent change for the better.  I could go on but it would be depressing and ultimately a waste of words.  So I'll shurrup and slink back into me kennel.  

[Brew 5,420]

1 hour ago, DJ360 said:

I disagree.  Being closer isn't necessarily being better informed. More likely to be carpet bombed with the local message.

Trumps is, has always been, and always be.. an idiot.

 

Note I didn't say better informed, I said better able to judge. Having a lot of information, carpet bombed as you say, doesn't necessarily mean it's right, it means you have more to choose from. - more to accept or reject depending on your political leanings and opinions. Most people seize on something they agree with and go with it. The stuff they don't agree with is dismissed out of hand and scant attention is paid to it.

 

If what someone says and does has an effect on your personal outlook or circumstances you tend to take more notice. You pay more attention. The does not always mean you agree or disagree, it means you understand more. You are part of the culture and have an insight to the nuances foreigners miss.

 

Edit:

Forgot to say the noise I will make may be something the clergy are not too familiar with...

[Brew 5,420]

27 minutes ago, loppylugs said:

 I could go on but it would be depressing and ultimately a waste of words.

 

Words are rarely wasted LL. They can be brilliant, they can be nonsense but always they will inform, entertain or add value to the sum of knowledge.  The can be descriptive, they can be seductive, they can be dismissive or inspirational and more besides - but rarely are they wasted. You are always welcome to chuck your threepen'orth in any time you like. 

[jonab 1,644]

Whilst discussing dangerous idiots, what has happened/is happening with the BoJo's (un)trained monkey Dominic Cummings? His (undignified) doings and utterances don't seem to be reported down here.

[PeverilPeril 3,284]

Just watched Stamer on Breakfast tv. Is this the 'man'? He certainly came across quite well and raised a couple of points during this short but balanced interview.

He emphasised that there could be no dates or duration periods put on how the nation gets back to normal (the new 'normal' as some call it) . Things will happen as data is gathered and decisions made accordingly. He pointed out that we need a plan from the Government to give us some idea of where we are going. Nothing specific - just engage with us please.  he quite rightly asked, where are the statistics and where are the testings? He pointed out how the NHS staff and others have been so undervalued and that this should be rectified after this crisis. He also  mentioned how important it was for the less privileged children to get back to school, them being likely to live in more crowded conditions.

Maybe he could be the 'man' that we so desperately need to lead a Labour party that can balance up the government and that I could vote for?

    

 

[Stuart.C 491]

Cummings returned to no.10 yesterday having been away for 2 weeks with the virus;

https://www.itv.com/news/2020-04-14/dominic-cummings-coronavirus/

[jonab 1,644]

Oh dear! I hope Cummings doesn't think that gives him free rein to excercise any of his bonkers ideas - bad enough with the Trump.