Polite Politics

[SnarkyGoblin]

7 minutes ago, roadtonowhere08 said:

I cannot pass judgement on any of this unless it is known what led to the strike.  Was it justified or was it excessive?  Some French strikes are one and some are other.

I will say that the airline industry is not known for caring about worker or passenger comfort or needs.  Their race to the bottom in everything has led to all of this.  Air travel and razor thin margins are not exactly a good combination.

ATC is not the same as corporate airlines.  This is a government job just like ours in the US.

They get pensions, have good social programs (like all the French), lots of time off (like all French), and are paid fairly well (100k euros).

They ended up getting what they wanted I guess cause it got called off after the threat.

[roadtonowhere08]

Just now, SnarkyGoblin said:

ATC is not the same as corporate airlines.  This is a government job just like ours in the US.

They get pensions, have good social programs (like all the French), lots of time off (like all French), and are paid fairly well (100k euros).

They ended up getting what they wanted I guess cause it got called off after the threat.

I know, I was making a separate point.  I will edit that.

Sounds like a last second strike call-off.  Bad communication I guess.

[SilverFallsAndrew]

1 hour ago, SnarkyGoblin said:

I know @roadtonowhere08 might disagree, but this is what I mean when I say I get frustrated with France's work culture.

France's air traffic control strikes ground flights across Europe | Reuters

My sisters flight from Detroit got cancelled and we were planning to meet at about the same time to go in the same rental car.

Yeah, the French have no work ethic. Really pathetic excuse of a country. Nothing but contempt for that society. 

 

2 hours ago, SnarkyGoblin said:

AKA I don't care about our laws.  What makes it a Kangaroo court other than that's what your King tells you?

He was literally an unindicted co-conspirator in Cohen's Federal indictment that he pleaded guilty and went to jail for.  The current NY trial is about Trump falsifying business records to hide his aforementioned accused federal crimes of illegal campaign contributions.  So ya, it's fair to say it isn't the same thing.  But certainly related.

What's your point?  Immunity is immunity and you have not made distinguishes between his criminal accusations.  You just scream crucifixion. 

Let's be real. Not one other person on this planet would be charged with a crime for doing what Trump did. Do you really think it's a crime? Do you really think he defamed EJ Carroll, you know he didn't, you know he wouldn't touch that thing with a 10 foot pole in the first place. Do you really think he "defrauded" the state of New York? You know he didn't, there were no victims, he paid all his debts. You are just a DJT hater and haters are gonna hate. 

[SilverFallsAndrew]

There is no justice in this country, and we know in the end this means there will be no peace. 

[SilverFallsAndrew]

Drudge has sure taken an anti-Trump turn. I think it's where HawksTwelve gets most of his source material. Going to be a shock to loyal Drudge readers if Trump wins. 

[Chewbacca Defense]

3 hours ago, SnarkyGoblin said:

ATC is not the same as corporate airlines.  This is a government job just like ours in the US.

They get pensions, have good social programs (like all the French), lots of time off (like all French), and are paid fairly well (100k euros).

They ended up getting what they wanted I guess cause it got called off after the threat.

French benefits are friggin ridiculous.  Granted, they pay insane taxes but yeah...I work for a French owned company, and every once in a while I throw out "so when is the company going to pass down their work hours/vacation/holiday rules."

I get a chuckle and the meeting moves on to the next topic.

 

[roadtonowhere08]

14 minutes ago, Chewbacca Defense said:

French benefits are friggin ridiculous.  Granted, they pay insane taxes but yeah...I work for a French owned company, and every once in a while I throw out "so when is the company going to pass down their work hours/vacation/holiday rules."

I get a chuckle and the meeting moves on to the next topic.

 

And I bet none of us would scoff at them if they were offered to us.

To your point though, I agree that some are very much ridiculous.  It can lead to a culture of entitlement and laziness.  Having said that, I have spent a lot of time in both urban and rural France, and I can say for certain that the work ethic of the French is not unlike that of Americans. They just have better benefits.

It's all a question of national priorities.  For the French, they have made it a point to emphasize more leisure time and a larger safety net at the expense of overall productivity and business opportunity.  Americans have increasingly voiced their desire to edge closer to that emphasis, but we have a much smaller voice compared to corporations, and so we as a nation sacrifice leisure time and a national safety net to gain overall productivity as a more business friendly nation.  More money in general, but less time to enjoy it.

[hawkstwelve]

2 hours ago, SilverFallsAndrew said:

Drudge has sure taken an anti-Trump turn. I think it's where HawksTwelve gets most of his source material. Going to be a shock to loyal Drudge readers if Trump wins. 

I get my news from a variety of sources. Drudge, Fox News, Axios, Politico, The Hill, Ground News, CNBC, RealClearPolitics, etc. Hell, I'll even go see what CNN has up occasionally just for the hell of it. Sometimes it's pretty funny. 

Where do you get your "source material" from?

[TT-SEA]

Jon Stewart skewers the media for its coverage of Trump trial...

 

 

[SnarkyGoblin]

1 hour ago, TT-SEA said:

Jon Stewart skewers the media for its coverage of Trump trial...

 

 

Did you watch him before he left the first time?

[TT-SEA]

9 minutes ago, SnarkyGoblin said:

Did you watch him before he left the first time?

Yes.

[SnarkyGoblin]

6 hours ago, SilverFallsAndrew said:

Not one other person on this planet would be charged with a crime for doing what Trump did

If I found someone that did, would that change your mind?

[roadtonowhere08]

2 hours ago, TT-SEA said:

Jon Stewart skewers the media for its coverage of Trump trial...

 

 

He's dead on.  The media is hopeless.  Good to see Jessica back.  She's up there with the best correspondents.

[SilverFallsAndrew]

3 hours ago, hawkstwelve said:

I get my news from a variety of sources. Drudge, Fox News, Axios, Politico, The Hill, Ground News, CNBC, RealClearPolitics, etc. Hell, I'll even go see what CNN has up occasionally just for the hell of it. Sometimes it's pretty funny. 

Where do you get your "source material" from?

Usually realclear. I enjoy reading both sides. Obviously I read drudge because I see all the articles he links that you parrot in the same context he displays them with. 

[SnarkyGoblin]

8 hours ago, SilverFallsAndrew said:

Usually realclear. I enjoy reading both sides. Obviously I read drudge because I see all the articles he links that you parrot in the same context he displays them with. 

Don't forget Breitbart.

[Andie]

21 hours ago, roadtonowhere08 said:

 

 

Three replies to the same post!  You must really like that one 

You love to taunt. It’s pretty much all you have here. 
But you might watch your online back.  What goes around comes around.  There’s always a bigger bear. 
It’s people like you that make me want to walk away from all this.  You love to piss in the punch bowl but come back for a second glass.
I’ve dealt with some real online masters at this and find they stand on feet of clay. 
 

[Chewbacca Defense]

16 hours ago, roadtonowhere08 said:

And I bet none of us would scoff at them if they were offered to us.

To your point though, I agree that some are very much ridiculous.  It can lead to a culture of entitlement and laziness.  Having said that, I have spent a lot of time in both urban and rural France, and I can say for certain that the work ethic of the French is not unlike that of Americans. They just have better benefits.

It's all a question of national priorities.  For the French, they have made it a point to emphasize more leisure time and a larger safety net at the expense of overall productivity and business opportunity.  Americans have increasingly voiced their desire to edge closer to that emphasis, but we have a much smaller voice compared to corporations, and so we as a nation sacrifice leisure time and a national safety net to gain overall productivity as a more business friendly nation.  More money in general, but less time to enjoy it.

Very true.

The crazy thing is that as an American, I have seen my vacation time actually DECREASE since being bought out by a French Company.  The site I worked at got closed and folks got absorbed into another division, and in the process my almost 6 weeks of PTO (I worked there 18 years) with a 6.5 week cap, got cut down to 4.5 weeks.

The biggest thing I would love to see (not necessarily a French thing) would be a 4 day work week.  My previous tenure at the company, I was salary and working with a Japanese customer.  Since our Friday was their Saturday, we usually cut out about 1-2pm on Fridays.

I worked briefly for a refinery services company and they did the same thing, working 9-ish hour days Monday through Thursday, then on Friday we would check in for a few hours in the morning then the rest of the day was ours.

My current role, everything happens at 5pm on Friday.

[roadtonowhere08]

3 hours ago, Andie said:

You love to taunt. It’s pretty much all you have here. 
But you might watch your online back.  What goes around comes around.  There’s always a bigger bear. 
It’s people like you that make me want to walk away from all this.  You love to piss in the punch bowl but come back for a second glass.
I’ve dealt with some real online masters at this and find they stand on feet of clay. 
 

What are you talking about?  I'm not taunting you at all.  You are way off base here.

[SilverFallsAndrew]

Idle hands are the devils plaything. 
 

Good column about the slow motion crucifixion in Manhattan. 
 

https://www.spiked-online.com/2024/04/24/trump-is-on-trial-for-the-crime-of-being-trump/

[SnarkyGoblin]

53 minutes ago, SilverFallsAndrew said:

Idle hands are the devils plaything. 
 

Good column about the slow motion crucifixion in Manhattan. 
 

https://www.spiked-online.com/2024/04/24/trump-is-on-trial-for-the-crime-of-being-trump/

Why should we care about a no-named author from a no-named source of opinions on legal matters?  I doubt that guy has a bachelors degree let alone a law degree.

Read better people.  You might as well be linking us your friends' facebook posts.

[SilverFallsAndrew]

5 minutes ago, SnarkyGoblin said:

Why should we care about a no-named author from a no-named source of opinions on legal matters?  I doubt that guy has a bachelors degree let alone a law degree.

Read better people.  You might as well be linking us your friends' facebook posts.

Spiked is a great site. Analysis only matters if it’s from a left wing source and the author has been properly indoctrinated?

Edited April 27 by SilverFallsAndrew

[Hoosier]

Call me crazy, but I have confidence in this Manhattan jury.  In general, jurors take things seriously and want to do the right thing based on what is presented in court.  I would grant that there's a higher than usual chance of shenanigans on the jury because the defendant is controversial and arguably the most famous person in the world, but hopefully the jurors just focus on what's important.  

Trump's behavior in court could matter, and so far it seems like he's been behaving well in court (I'm assuming his lawyers have drilled this point home repeatedly).  If somebody on the jury is on the fence about guilt or innocence, acting like an a-hole could sway them.  Respect the process even if you feel like it's totally ridiculous.   

[Andie]

9 hours ago, roadtonowhere08 said:

What are you talking about?  I'm not taunting you at all.  You are way off base here.

I’d like to answer that but it dives into something real personal re: health. 
Just ignore it and go on.  
I don’t mean any harm or foul. 
I may be lowering my profile on the forum as time goes by.  

[roadtonowhere08]

2 hours ago, Andie said:

I’d like to answer that but it dives into something real personal re: health. 
Just ignore it and go on.  
I don’t mean any harm or foul. 
I may be lowering my profile on the forum as time goes by.  

I see.  I'm sorry to hear about this.  We're good.

[SnarkyGoblin]

13 hours ago, SilverFallsAndrew said:

Spiked is a great site. Analysis only matters if it’s from a left wing source and the author has been properly indoctrinated?

I will rarely ever share op-eds on here. 

But I personally read people who know the subject content they're opining about.  You should try it.

[SnarkyGoblin]

I see @SilverFallsAndrewdiscovered Photoshop and tried his hand.  Still needs some practice.

[Andie]

Is there a global population collapse on the horizon?

Greece is experiencing lower birth rates.  But no one should be surprised considering high costs and weak economic outlooks of some nations. Enlarging one’s family would be considered an act of courage. 
https://www.wnd.com/2024/04/greece-expected-first-nation-face-population-collapse/

[SilverFallsAndrew]

4 hours ago, SnarkyGoblin said:

I will rarely ever share op-eds on here. 

But I personally read people who know the subject content they're opining about.  You should try it.

Oh I see. Trust the “experts” right? An expert in your eyes is anyone who’s closed their eyes and decided the science is settled. 

[SilverFallsAndrew]

Oh no. Not another biased right wing poll! 

[Andie]

As dissatisfied as so many were with Trump, I amazed at these numbers.  I thought surely the Dems would really rally for their guy.  
Either way, I wish we had better choices.  

[SilverFallsAndrew]

Just now, Andie said:

As dissatisfied as so many were with Trump, I amazed at these numbers.  I thought surely the Dems would really rally for their guy.  
Either way, I wish we had better choices.  

Jill Stein is making NEWS. 

[Andie]

That’s good. Others need to jump in.  
Surely there are far less “lightning rod” leaders to be had?

[Andie]

13 hours ago, roadtonowhere08 said:

I see.  I'm sorry to hear about this.  We're good.

It happens to us all.  
Just keep being that “voice in the wilderness”.  
The country was founded on people with dissenting opinions.  I’ll back you to the hilt to disagree!

[Hoosier]

3 hours ago, SilverFallsAndrew said:

Oh no. Not another biased right wing poll! 

Interesting.  Poll implies that RFK is pulling quite a bit from Trump... because in a binary choice between Trump and Biden, probably almost all of the West/Stein voters would go for Biden.  

[SilverFallsAndrew]

Just now, Hoosier said:

Interesting.  Poll implies that RFK is pulling quite a bit from Trump... because in a binary choice between Trump and Biden, probably almost all of the West/Stein voters would go for Biden.  

Good point I didn't think about. I saw Trump went on the attack against RFK this week. 

[Hoosier]

10 minutes ago, SilverFallsAndrew said:

Good point I didn't think about. I saw Trump went on the attack against RFK this week. 

I'm definitely in the "I'll believe it when I see it" camp as far as RFK actually polling in the teens come election day, but he is headed toward being the most successful 3rd party candidate since Ross Perot in 1996.  He has the name ID and a lot of dissatisfaction with Trump and Biden in his favor.  No 3rd party candidate has gotten at least 5% of the vote since 1996.

[Andie]

36 minutes ago, Hoosier said:

Interesting.  Poll implies that RFK is pulling quite a bit from Trump... because in a binary choice between Trump and Biden, probably almost all of the West/Stein voters would go for Biden.  

I just came across a similar article.   They’re saying he only needs to pull 4 or 5 States away from Donald and the election will go Democrat.   
So, he knows he’s a spoiler. Is he a closet Democrat “stealth bomber”?

[Iceresistance]

4 hours ago, SilverFallsAndrew said:

Oh no. Not another biased right wing poll! 

Except that was from CNN!

[Andie]

A poll I saw had a large percentage of devotees now polling to the Right.  I think that by parading Biden out to “campaign” has exposed his weaknesses as well as his strengths.  
I’m not so sure it will go in the Incumbent’s way.  

[TT-SEA]

Portland is finally making encampments illegal.     But they have to offer the people shelter first.   Seattle Times reported they went to an encampment sweep awhile back in Seattle and everyone was offered shelter and every single person refused it.    Also in this story is reference to Vancouver BC testing out de-criminalizing drug use.   It should be no surprise how badly these progressive ideas that accelerated during COVID have failed so horribly up and down the West Coast.    Remember defund the police?    The lack of foresight amongst city leaders from CA to BC is astounding.   Anyone with a brain could tell you letting people camp and use drugs wherever they want is really bad idea and voters will push back hard when the reality of that situation becomes clear.   Give people an inch and they will take a mile and it spirials completely out of control.  

https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/even-portland-now-is-banning-camping-part-of-the-west-coast-retreat/

According to my opposite number at the Vancouver Sun, columnist Vaughn Palmer, there have been some “shocking,” unexpected consequences — namely the widespread use of fentanyl and other drugs in, of all places, hospitals.

A leaked hospital memo in the province suggested nurses should help patients use hard drugs in the hospital rooms, in pursuit of “harm reduction,” Palmer reported.  

This past week, some elected officials in the province called to end the decriminalization experiment — as Oregon now has.

“I have never seen this kind of open drug use … this level of encampments … this amount of suffering,” one Vancouver area city councilor said.