I'm glad I'm getting out of it...

[Nick]

If you talk to people from different countries about what is happening there, and what is reported in their newspapers and so on, you will find that things are completely different from the view of "foreigners" portrayed in much of the UK media - the case in point being these reports that shortages in the shops in other countries are just as bad as the UK.  This is factually untrue but think what you like.

Obviously all business meetings globally, including all the ones you ever attended, sticks 100% to the agenda - there is never any greetings or networking or general discussions, and in a global manufacturing business it's of course always completely irrelevant to discuss potential supply chain issues

I've not noticed any food shortages what so ever and would state that if asked in an online meeting, that doesn't mean there aren't any. In the SE drivers went crazy buying 3 times more fuel than they needed, in the NE where I was working it was all normal. None of it was down to actual fuel shortages though, it was down to the same buffoons that emptied the shelves of bog rolls last year.

[Nick]

Can you show me some evidence of photos that fuel shortages and empty shelves and significantly reduced choice are happening in Germany, France, and other countries? 

It's a bit strange that you and Nick seem to claim that the people who actually live there, who I speak to regularly, are telling lies (these are work colleagues not just acquantances or friends so they have no particular reason to lie about it), but people who live in the UK know better.  Not surprising though.

Also if you had read my post, you would see that I acknowledged there is a shortage of HGV drivers in other countries, but these countries are able to manage the situation using overtime, drivers from other countries, and various solutions.  Many businesses run perfectly successfully with less than 100% complement of staff - it's only when the situation becomes critical by deliberately getting rid off a large number of staff without having a plan to keep the service running that it actually results in serious impact on customers.

The UK had the same theoretical shortage even before Brexit - it was only when Brexit came that suddenly the shortages actually caused major issues for consumers.

https://www.france24.com/en/video/20210318-lebanon-closed-supermarkets-and-empty-shelves-as-crisis-hits-food-supplies


As Queen Victoria would have said, 'We are not Gemused'

[Nick]

Those pictures as it transpired on close inspection were not taken in Cornwall.

You mean these pictures that my iPhone shows where taken in Redruth on 24th August. Your denial is getting pathetic now.

[DeppityDawg]

I couldn't agree more. That chap was exonerated in the end. I thought it was very badly done and my grandson is at school there. It doesn't sit well at all. Sorry you don't post more often.

Thank you Toots, thats a kind thing to say. Tbh, I've found plenty of things to do since cutting down working hours, so I'm keeping busy, and not exclusively in the bookies or the pub either 

Anyway, we know I'm not everyones favourite poster, so perhaps its no bad thing. I pop on from time to time to make sure all you auld fogies are alreet, someone has too. And as Cromwell remarked, that's 2 posts now without swearing 

[cromwell]

Flogging doesnt seem to have worked in pats case though borkie.

While pat was being flogged to learn , i was sitting back with my feet up in class throwing rubbers about , sharpening pencils to stab in eyes , and putting pubes in the teachers tea.

I still learned enough though to understand the basic fact there isnt any such thing as a "british " education . Pat really struggles to lower himself to say the word "english" doesnt he?

My wife as you know is english , but spent part of her childhood in scotland. She always mentions the fact when she came up to school in west scotland from east englia , she was a year behind her peers in scotland in terms of education.

She also reminisces the fact the first thing she was asked , "are you english " ?

"yes " she replied , and then the second question was  "are you protestant english or catholic english."?

I know someone asked a very similar question (minus the English bit) who replied "No I'm a Christian "

[Borchester]

Ah well Borky all that proves he doesn't have manners and though disabled didn't have the wit to put on the show you did and get some daft bugger like you to give up their seat.

Snivelling old git.

Does he expect to grow younger?

When I got up an old woman offered me her seat. I said that I would take it if she sat on my lap, whereupon she wondered if with two legs out of action, could the third be relied upon. Many happy cackles and innuendoes followed.

Some folk look up and say, oh happy day, the sun is shining! Others think, oh F@@@, I am going to get skin cancer and blame the Tories.

[cromwell]

Exactly Pappy.

The guns have gone off, the two minute silence is over and all those of my family who served and who have gone before, are probably off for a pint at some drinker in Heaven above where the ale is strong and free because the Good Lord knows how old soldiers really like to celebrate. So I will apologise for telling a story that you have all probably heard before, but as Pappy has said, we can all do with a bit of training in the true meaning of being disabled.

There is a bus that runs past my place that is unofficially known as the Cripple Express. I don't know if it is deliberate but it is always full of folk with various complaints creaking their way to the Royal Free Hospital. Anyway, one day an old chap crawled on board, saw that a young woman was sitting in the disabled seat with a toddler and told her to get up.

Which she did.

So I said ignore the old fool dolly, sit down.

And he said, I am disabled.

And I said that being a cripple was no excuse for bad manners. And then I crawled out of my seat ( I don't like to brag but I reckon my performance was worth an Oscar) and said take my seat.

And do you know, the bastard did. As Pappy is inclined to say, some folk have no f**king pride.

Ah well Borky all that proves he doesn't have manners and though disabled didn't have the wit to put on the show you did and get some daft bugger like you to give up their seat. 

[Borchester]

Those are the ****holes that need compulsory disability awareness training.

Exactly Pappy.

The guns have gone off, the two minute silence is over and all those of my family who served and who have gone before, are probably off for a pint at some drinker in Heaven above where the ale is strong and free because the Good Lord knows how old soldiers really like to celebrate. So I will apologise for telling a story that you have all probably heard before, but as Pappy has said, we can all do with a bit of training in the true meaning of being disabled.

There is a bus that runs past my place that is unofficially known as the Cripple Express. I don't know if it is deliberate but it is always full of folk with various complaints creaking their way to the Royal Free Hospital. Anyway, one day an old chap crawled on board, saw that a young woman was sitting in the disabled seat with a toddler and told her to get up.

Which she did.

So I said ignore the old fool dolly, sit down.

And he said, I am disabled.

And I said that being a cripple was no excuse for bad manners. And then I crawled out of my seat ( I don't like to brag but I reckon my performance was worth an Oscar) and said take my seat.

And do you know, the bastard did. As Pappy is inclined to say, some folk have no f**king pride.

[papasmurf]

You can see it on a daily basis with mundane things like disabled parking,people looking on and muttering or even shouting loudly " doesn't look disabled to me" same with disabled toilets people don't need to be in a wheelchair to use them.

Those are the ****holes that need compulsory disability awareness training.

[cromwell]

I well remember olde europe. Another "highly educated" middle class liberal lefty snob with some strange views and ideals.
Goes back to what i was saying to borchester on the extinction rebellion thread yesterday , about these self righteous people who are so convinced of their moral superiority and righteousness of their cause they can't even begin to contemplate the public would ever dare disagree with them , and dismiss those who do on political forums like this as some extreme minority to be sneered at .

Javert probably the more reasonable of the two you mention , but quack quack is as we know the extreme illiberal anti democrat . Yep , we are in a bad place deppity. Its not the fault of the" old left " as it were , its the modern middle class loonie lefty liberal in their leafy suburbs and their extreme naive idealism.

Its like a cancer spreading out across the western world from yankland , and infecting the rest of us. Not just scotland and england , but france and many other countries are having the same problems.

Thought this was an interesting article i was reading earlier....

The University of Austin puts the rest of academia to shame

We need more universities committed to academic freedom and the pursuit of the truth.

Rarely does the establishment of a new university attract global media attention, but the University of Austin has achieved just that – and for good reason. This exciting project, based in Texas, is upfront in its commitment to academic freedom, unfettered intellectual inquiry and knowledge-based higher education. It stands in stark contrast to the majority of other academic institutions, which have grown ideologically conformist, censorious and overly bureaucratic

It's not just in the US where universities have sacrificed the pursuit of truth to other, more politically loaded goals. In Britain, the role of Stonewall in shaping institutional policies and curtailing debate on campus has rightly come in for scrutiny recently. Less noticed has been the fact that almost all British universities have also signed up to Athena Swan, a scheme that purports to be about gender equality. It requires institutions to gather and report statistics in line with its own equality and diversity recommendations. Likewise, many universities have signed up to the Race Equality Charter, which doles out awards to universities for compliance with directives inspired by critical race theory.

https://www.spiked-online.com/2021/11/09/the-university-of-austin-puts-the-rest-of-academia-to-shame/?utm_source=The+week+on+spiked&utm_campaign=7111bdcc71-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2021_11_12_06_40&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_7e9712ba33-7111bdcc71-96795965

There's nothing wrong with promoting equality in all areas,the conflict often arises when it is a directive and allows no counter thoughts.

This results in the rejection of any alternative actions or reasonable thoughts which  are shouted down or disallowed.

Sadly it's human nature to dismiss out of hand good reason or perceive some people are lesser human beings or that by some initiative others are getting better  or favoured circumstance.

You can see it on a daily basis with mundane things like disabled parking,people looking on and muttering or even shouting loudly " doesn't look disabled to me" same with disabled toilets people don't need to be in a wheelchair to use them.

Even amongst the disabled there are those who objected when the blue badge scheme was extended to those with a learning disability or mental health issues.

[Thomas]

I do indeed. And I remember you arguing with the likes of Olde Europe and Opinionated that extremists needed to be tackled head on, not "de-platformed", as the whole concept of free speech was central to democracy. We might not like what some people say, as they might not like what we say, but we must ALL have the right to express our views.

I well remember olde europe. Another "highly educated" middle class liberal lefty snob with some strange views and ideals.

Its ironic that the liberal/left (which Quack Quxk and Javert fall under I assume) who claim to be motivated by higher ideals are often those who struggle most with democracy when it produces results they don't like

Goes back to what i was saying to borchester on the extinction rebellion thread yesterday , about these self righteous people who are so convinced of their moral superiority and righteousness of their cause they cant even begin to contemplate the public would ever dare disagree with them , and dismiss those who do on political forums like this as some extreme minority to be sneered at .

Javert probably the more reasonable of the two you mention , but quack quack is as we know the extreme illiberal anti democrat .

I agree the problem is getting worse. With regard to things like critical race theory and the whole transgender subject, any kind of discussion that doesn't pander to these "theories" is being shut down - look at what happened to the Eton tutor who tried to open up a discussion about radical feminism. He ended up being sacked because he would not withdraw his critcisms of modern radical feminism. This has to be tackled. We have to have balance. We cannot have situations where a "theory" is taught to our children as FACT, without anyone being allowed to contest it for fear of losing their job or worse. I've said it before, the right will steal your money. The left wants your mind.

Yep , we are in a bad place deppity. Its not the fault of the" old left " as it were , its the modern middle class loonie lefty liberal in their leafy suburbs and their extreme naive idealism.

Its like a cancer spreading out across the western world from yankland , and infecting the rest of us. Not just scotland and england , but france and many other countries are having the same problems.

Thought this was an interesting article i was reading earlier....

The University of Austin puts the rest of academia to shame

We need more universities committed to academic freedom and the pursuit of the truth.

Rarely does the establishment of a new university attract global media attention, but the University of Austin has achieved just that – and for good reason. This exciting project, based in Texas, is upfront in its commitment to academic freedom, unfettered intellectual inquiry and knowledge-based higher education. It stands in stark contrast to the majority of other academic institutions, which have grown ideologically conformist, censorious and overly bureaucratic

It's not just in the US where universities have sacrificed the pursuit of truth to other, more politically loaded goals. In Britain, the role of Stonewall in shaping institutional policies and curtailing debate on campus has rightly come in for scrutiny recently. Less noticed has been the fact that almost all British universities have also signed up to Athena Swan, a scheme that purports to be about gender equality. It requires institutions to gather and report statistics in line with its own equality and diversity recommendations. Likewise, many universities have signed up to the Race Equality Charter, which doles out awards to universities for compliance with directives inspired by critical race theory.

https://www.spiked-online.com/2021/11/09/the-university-of-austin-puts-the-rest-of-academia-to-shame/?utm_source=The+week+on+spiked&utm_campaign=7111bdcc71-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2021_11_12_06_40&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_7e9712ba33-7111bdcc71-96795965

[cromwell]

I do indeed. And I remember you arguing with the likes of Olde Europe and Opinionated that extremists needed to be tackled head on, not "de-platformed", as the whole concept of free speech was central to democracy. We might not like what some people say, as they might not like what we say, but we must ALL have the right to express our views. They can be disseminated in the public forum as it should be for everyone - in the end, if a MAJORITY support, or better still, vote for something, be it to leave the EU or for Fiat 500s to be banned, that is the way democracy works. Its ironic that the liberal/left (which Quack Quxk and Javert fall under I assume) who claim to be motivated by higher ideals are often those who struggle most with democracy when it produces results they don't like

I agree the problem is getting worse. With regard to things like critical race theory and the whole transgender subject, any kind of discussion that doesn't pander to these "theories" is being shut down - look at what happened to the Eton tutor who tried to open up a discussion about radical feminism. He ended up being sacked because he would not withdraw his critcisms of modern radical feminism. This has to be tackled. We have to have balance. We cannot have situations where a "theory" is taught to our children as FACT, without anyone being allowed to contest it for fear of losing their job or worse. I've said it before, the right will steal your money. The left wants your mind.

And you never said feck once 

[T00ts]

I do indeed. And I remember you arguing with the likes of Olde Europe and Opinionated that extremists needed to be tackled head on, not "de-platformed", as the whole concept of free speech was central to democracy. We might not like what some people say, as they might not like what we say, but we must ALL have the right to express our views. They can be disseminated in the public forum as it should be for everyone - in the end, if a MAJORITY support, or better still, vote for something, be it to leave the EU or for Fiat 500s to be banned, that is the way democracy works. Its ironic that the liberal/left (which Quack Quxk and Javert fall under I assume) who claim to be motivated by higher ideals are often those who struggle most with democracy when it produces results they don't like

I agree the problem is getting worse. With regard to things like critical race theory and the whole transgender subject, any kind of discussion that doesn't pander to these "theories" is being shut down - look at what happened to the Eton tutor who tried to open up a discussion about radical feminism. He ended up being sacked because he would not withdraw his critcisms of modern radical feminism. This has to be tackled. We have to have balance. We cannot have situations where a "theory" is taught to our children as FACT, without anyone being allowed to contest it for fear of losing their job or worse. I've said it before, the right will steal your money. The left wants your mind.

I couldn't agree more. That chap was exonerated in the end. I thought it was very badly done and my grandson is at school there. It doesn't sit well at all. Sorry you don't post more often.

[DeppityDawg]

Do you remember years back on this forum , when the BNP and nick griffin were in the limelight in the uk media , the discussion by some on the left and the loony liberals was of no platforming him ? ( im sure the forums foremost democrat quack quack was of similar opinion reagding no platforming)

Others , the more right minded ,were saying they despised what nick griffin stood for , but defended his right to say it , and the best way to deal with him was debate him and crush his arguments one by one.

I saw that story regarding john cleese , and fully agree that education , whilst its hardly ever been "impartial" is indeed becoming more and more about indoctrination , not just in scotland or england either.

We really are in a very bad place were so called experts are being forced to teach children men or women can be whatever sex they say they are , or none at all , or that the history of subjects like slavery was all about some cherry picked period of nasty white men enslaving black men to the exclusion of all the rest of the story.

I do indeed. And I remember you arguing with the likes of Olde Europe and Opinionated that extremists needed to be tackled head on, not "de-platformed", as the whole concept of free speech was central to democracy. We might not like what some people say, as they might not like what we say, but we must ALL have the right to express our views. They can be disseminated in the public forum as it should be for everyone - in the end, if a MAJORITY support, or better still, vote for something, be it to leave the EU or for Fiat 500s to be banned, that is the way democracy works. Its ironic that the liberal/left (which Quack Quxk and Javert fall under I assume) who claim to be motivated by higher ideals are often those who struggle most with democracy when it produces results they don't like

I agree the problem is getting worse. With regard to things like critical race theory and the whole transgender subject, any kind of discussion that doesn't pander to these "theories" is being shut down - look at what happened to the Eton tutor who tried to open up a discussion about radical feminism. He ended up being sacked because he would not withdraw his critcisms of modern radical feminism. This has to be tackled. We have to have balance. We cannot have situations where a "theory" is taught to our children as FACT, without anyone being allowed to contest it for fear of losing their job or worse. I've said it before, the right will steal your money. The left wants your mind.

[Thomas]

Where is javert?

Fears of a 'Bottleneck Recession': How Shortages Are Hurting Germany

Europe's largest economy is particularly vulnerable to shortages of key parts and raw materials because of its dependence on exports.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/05/business/germany-economy.html