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Questions Of The Day (Politics)
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Grant



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The EU really is run by idiots. First they announce that they are going to reduce how much Russian gas they are going to buy. Then the Russians turn the supply down for them and the EU screams, “the Russians are weaponizing the gas!”
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Mick Harper
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In: London
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I am more than usually dumbfounded by the spectacle of billions of Britons dying because there are no ambulances to take them to hospital on account of the ambulances queuing up outside casualty departments because the casualty departments are full of patients because there are no hospital beds to put the serious cases in because the beds are filled by bed-blockers that the hospital has treated but have nowhere to send. Given that the state pays for trillions of people to stay in care homes one would have thought it might occur to someone to say

"I know, why don't we send them to a care home?"
"We can't, there's a shortage of care homes."
"So build some more care homes"
"We can't, it's not part of the NHS budget."
"So put it under the NHS budget."
"We can't because it's not part of the national budget."
"Who pays for the care home provision?"
"Local authorities."
"Who pays the local authorities to do this.?"
"The national budget, only it's a different department."
"What's the real reason?"
"Governments get praised for increasing NHS spending, they get criticised for increasing local government subsidies."
"So, it's all down to the daftness of Britons. Let 'em die, that'll teach 'em."
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Wile E. Coyote


In: Arizona
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Wiley wrote:

There are no logical business reasons for the German companies who use Russian gas to see this currently reduced. These companies are not responsible for Putin invading Ukraine. Nor was German foreign policy antagonistic towards Russia in any way prior to the invasion. In fact most of Europe is now condemning German Ostpolitik as something akin to appeasement.

Mick wrote:
I wholly agree.

Nord Stream 2 was seen as a cheap, sustainable future way to ensure both German and European energy security. The Germans were aware of Gerasimov doctrine, i.e. Russia was basing its defence/imperial ambitions increasingly around hybrid warfare, but did not think they would be caught up in this as, surely, they thought, it would never be directed at Russia's most helpful partners. The Germans miscalculated. Gazprom customers now know they will always be caught up with Russian foreign policy.

They were told. Which makes it all the more painful.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LLZBVTid4I
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Wile E. Coyote


In: Arizona
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Mick Harper wrote:
I am more than usually dumbfounded by the spectacle of billions of Britons dying because there are no ambulances to take them to hospital on account of the ambulances queuing up outside casualty departments because the casualty departments are full of patients because there are no hospital beds to put the serious cases in because the beds are filled by bed-blockers that the hospital has treated but have nowhere to send. Given that the state pays for trillions of people to stay in care homes one would have thought it might occur to someone to say

"I know, why don't we send them to a care home?"
"We can't, there's a shortage of care homes."
"So build some more care homes"
"We can't, it's not part of the NHS budget."
"So put it under the NHS budget."
"We can't because it's not part of the national budget."
"Who pays for the care home provision?"
"Local authorities."
"Who pays the local authorities to do this.?"
"The national budget, only it's a different department."
"What's the real reason?"
"Governments get praised for increasing NHS spending, they get criticised for increasing local government subsidies."
"So, it's all down to the daftness of Britons. Let 'em die, that'll teach 'em."


Yet, during a pandemic when the NHS was provided with massive additional bed spaces within Nightingale Hospitals and (less well known) a huge number of bedspaces within private sector hospitals, these went largely unused. The NHS used roughly a third of the additional private sector capacity, leaving two thirds paid for but unused. More bedspaces might be a solution, but not if they go unused.
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Mick Harper
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In: London
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This confirms my basic assumption that the NHS is run wholly for the benefit of the NHS. If such a simple solution was adopted (or the one I advanced) it would markedly increase the workload of the NHS. People dying are a lot less bother. By the way, what happened to seven-day working?

Newsnight listed the current NHS vacancies. You know the form
100,000 nurses
50,000 medical personnel
2000 masseuses for consultants

I kept saying to myself, "Well, they seem to be managing." Though when I was last in an NHS hospital, I mainly said to myself, "Good grief, I thought they were short of staff, why have they got three of those..."
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Mick Harper
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In: London
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Step One: Building. in Donetsk demolished. Many dead. Routine

Step Two: 'It was a Ukrainian missile,' say the Russians. Routine

Step Three: 'This is Russian misinformation,' say the Ukrainians. Routine

Step Four: 'The Russians blew up the building themselves,' say the Ukrainians. Routine

Step Five: 'The casualties were Ukrainian prisoners-of-war,' say the Russians. Not routine

Step Six: 'They were mainly from the Azov battalion,' say the Russians. Not possible if Step Two is correct

Because that would make the prisoners the unluckiest prisoners in the history of warfare: to be threatened with death by their captors only to be killed by friendly fire from their own side first. This could be a real problem for the world.

It will be obvious from forensic evidence how they died. Either it was separatists carrying out unofficial reprisals or Russians carrying out official policy. But even if the former, it requires Russian intervention for the cover up. It is a war crime that puts both beyond the pale.
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Mick Harper
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In: London
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Step Seven: The Russians have 'invited the Red Cross in'

This puts a completely different spin on things. 'Inviting the Red Cross in' is tantamount to 'we have clean hands on this one'. If they were dirty it would have been some variant on 'the Russians have agreed to a Red Cross inspection when local conditions make it safe to do so'. There is a small possibility that the visit will be put off sine die but this would be unusual.

Assuming then that this is a Ukrainian missile and (let us say) they have hit a Russian military emplacement where PoW's (including some Azov battalion) were being used as human shields then it is serious but not so serious. Why serious at all? Because this would the first example of Ukraine being caught in a direct lie. They have hitherto used the western model of sticking to the truth, albeit the PR wartime truth. Well... they are Russians.
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Mick Harper
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In: London
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Rishi has a tricky decision to make: pull out now and be accused of being frit or bitter-end it and be accused of splitting the party unnecessarily. Very similar to how he got to be a billionaire's son-in-law.
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Mick Harper
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In: London
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Five days later. The critical test case of the POW bombing continues to intrigue (not least because the media seems to have moved on)

The Olenivka facility is a few miles from the front line in Donetsk, where fighting has intensified following a brief pause in July after the Russians gained control over nearly all of the neighboring Luhansk Province.

In other words, well within range of engaged Ukrainian artillery

“We are ready to deploy to Olenivka,” the I.C.R.C. said, adding that it already had medical, forensic and humanitarian teams in the vicinity. “It is imperative that the I.C.R.C. be granted immediate access to the Olenivka facility, and other places where the wounded and dead might have been transferred.”

They are taking enough time about it that the value of Russian clean hands reduces by the day.
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Mick Harper
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In: London
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Truss has just done a Theresa. For younger readers: Theresa May was winning the 2017 general election in a canter when she announced a much needed reform of Social Care. This of course aroused intense opposition -- it wouldn't be 'much needed' otherwise -- and Theresa caved. She never recovered. Everyone knew she was 'frit'.

Theresa Mark II has just (a) announced a much needed reform of regional pay bodies (b) run into intense opposition and (c) caved. This is a double whammy since Lizziekins has also been exposed as politically daft. Front-runners do not announce controversial policies.

Why it is much needed. Back in the sixties trade unions had enormous powers but some unionists could not take advantage of this because withdrawing their labour didn't inconvenience anybody. So they came up with 'national pay boards'. This meant that whoever had to be paid most to attract staff (normally London) set the benchmark for what everybody else got paid. Result: Middlesbrough schoolteachers living the life of Reilly.

It all got so mad that now they are to be replaced with regional pay bodies. Result: Middlesbrough schoolteachers living the life of Harrogate schoolteachers. What should happen is that Middlesbrough schoolteachers are paid whatever it takes to staff Middlesbrough schools which since Middlesbrough schoolchildren all hang out in arcades eating chips is not very much.
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Mick Harper
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In: London
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On the news yesterday I heard the first reference to monkey-pox sufferers being mostly gay. I was a bit staggered. Not at the news, at this being news. If it is true (and I have no idea whether it is) why haven't I been told? Well, I know the presumptive answer to that: the health nazis have been behaving politically correctly all this time. Which is all very well and noble in its way but I would have thought the health implications outweigh the liberal ones on such a reasonably important matter.

Once again my own choice between men and women has been proved triumphantly correct even though I would have had more sex going the other way.
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Ishmael


In: Toronto
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There is much you have not been told.
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Grant



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Some of the health Nazis have been campaigning to change the name from Monkey Pox because they believe it reflects badly on Africans, the people who were most likely to get it before it jumped to white gays. The implication is that the health Nazis believe that Africans are indeed monkeys
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Mick Harper
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And Latin Americans. People often forget there are monkeys in South America. And in Japanese hot springs. In fact wasn't that how AIDS got started? And Indian temples with erotic wall carvings. 'Nuff said.
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Wile E. Coyote


In: Arizona
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Mick Harper wrote:
On the news yesterday I heard the first reference to monkey-pox sufferers being mostly gay. I was a bit staggered. Not at the news, at this being news. If it is true (and I have no idea whether it is) why haven't I been told? Well, I know the presumptive answer to that: the health nazis have been behaving politically correctly all this time. Which is all very well and noble in its way but I would have thought the health implications outweigh the liberal ones on such a reasonably important matter.

Once again my own choice between men and women has been proved triumphantly correct even though I would have had more sex going the other way.


The problem is that some gay folk remember the mantra "it is not a sin" but then are unable to carry out, or choose to ignore, what is really a very simple health and safety risk assessment. Net result: Monkeypox will continue to spread in liberal, metrpolitan cities where young gays congregate, and like the thrill of lots of sex.
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