Politics Thread!

[Mayhem]

Re the smoking proposal, two things did come to mind.

1) Essentially it will become like prohibition, but legally everyone can just bring in cigarettes from abroad, so how's that going to work?
2) Revenue from tobacco tax vastly exceeds NHS spending for smoking related illnesses so there will be an income deficit to cover.

[Harlequin]

… (and I steer clear of Sky like the plague - Murdoch's getting no money from me if I can help it) …

We are allowed to watch it now that Sky Group is owned by non-Murdoch Comcast, sold off around the same time Disney acquired much that was Fox.

[PFVA]

In terms of smoking apparently they are going to forbid it outdoor spaces that are partially enclosed, and at the doors of cafés, bars, restaurants, discos, shopping centers. They are also forbidding cigarette machines in all non smoking places
except in gas stations.

That's for Jan 1st unless things change due to the recent government fall.

[rowan]

Re the smoking proposal, two things did come to mind.

1) Essentially it will become like prohibition, but legally everyone can just bring in cigarettes from abroad, so how's that going to work?
2) Revenue from tobacco tax vastly exceeds NHS spending for smoking related illnesses so there will be an income deficit to cover.

Regarding 1) I would say the chances are other countries will do similar before long.
2) has already been an ongoing situation for years with the reduction in smoking in the UK.
I'm pleased to see it mentioned though because very few people are aware and the vast majority of non-smokers trot out the "drain on the health service" far too often.

For all that, even as a smoker I think it's a good thing and probably the best way to achieve it.
That said, I kind of hate vaping & the smell of the sickly flavours. Just fucking smoke or not.

[Mat]

Suella Braverman said some truly evil, fascist shit yesterday, but the papers are reporting on what she said about pro-Palestine protests (which was bad enough).
Her comments about homelessness being a lifestyle choice have been very effectively masked by that story.

In any decent, functioning society, she would have been out of her arse for such a comment, but nope, evil is the new norm.

All of us are just one bad day away from homelessness, and with all sincerity, I hope her day is coming.

[gilesgoat]

Suella Braverman said some truly evil, fascist shit yesterday, but the papers are reporting on what she said about pro-Palestine protests (which was bad enough).
Her comments about homelessness being a lifestyle choice have been very effectively masked by that story.

In any decent, functioning society, she would have been out of her arse for such a comment, but nope, evil is the new norm.

All of us are just one bad day away from homelessness, and with all sincerity, I hope her day is coming.

So why there's still a mayority that someway keeps voting tories ?

[Mat]

Because, thanks to consecutive conservative governments, including New Labour, promoting the individual over the community over the past 40+ years, we have a society of people who only see as far as immediate family members, if that far, when it comes to empathy.

Individual wealth is now held higher by our society than almost any other ideal, and woe betide anyone who threatens the sanctity of said ideal.
And modern conservatism is all about maintaining that ideal, no matter the cost to society.

Edit:
And at a more black and white level, we have been taught that in order for someone to win, someone else must lose.

[venusian]

And that work is good. And the harder and longer you work the better you are. And if you don't work long and hard, it's because you're bad, regardless of why. And the bad people deserve nothing.

Also why AI eliminating McJobs is a threat, not an opportunity.

[rowan]

And that work is good. And the harder and longer you work the better you are. And if you don't work long and hard, it's because you're bad, regardless of why. And the bad people deserve nothing.

That's an interesting point you mention, as another relevant fact is that apart from a very very few "work jobs", more work equals more climate damage.
Sooner or later [guess which my money's on] that has to become a bigger part of the discussion.

It's often troubled me what it is we're all working for / toward philosophically with advance, technologically, artistically or whatever. I guess simply human beings get bored if they aren't doing stuff that's new.

[PFVA]

Around here.

Elections March 10. The last ones were at the beginning of this year.

The party leaders and reps are all already in campaign mode. I see a lot of TV channel switching coming up in the next months.

If it was my decision I would put everybody on trial for crimes against the Earth anyone who agrees or even suggests to give concessions to companies to blow off the top mountains, mounts, hills, etc to explore lithium or anything else. I'm sure that there is technology to do it some other way.

[Orava]

So 11. October hiiw you remember it? I am kind of neutral

[gilesgoat]

So 11. October hiiw you remember it? I am kind of neutral

There is a Bloom County comic strip where there's Milo and Binkley sit in a meadow and Milo goes all nostalgic ..

( re-created dialog by me fitting the situation )


Milo - "Remember Binkley ? Remember those times during the war ? The time we attacked that post office full of Germans ?"
Binkley - ".. no .. "
Milo - "... memories ! All that remains ... "
Milo - "Remember Binkley that time we were surrounded by German forces and we were about to destroy that tank and .. "
Binkley - ".. AND ??!! .. "
Milo - "No Binkley ! Is time to move forward !"




( Berkeley Breathed , Bloom County comic strip ) ..

[PFVA]

Around here WWI is remembered as a war that should never had happened and that we should never had gotten involved in.

They do place flowers on the monuments to the ones who died in it.

Note: when I say "WWI is remembered... " I mean the ones that have some interest in History, more than 50% of the population specially the younger ones all they know is that there was a war.

[Orava]

Watching the parade today I thought of the different aspects with the Finnish indecency marches with a hundreds of tanks a and. Towed artillery and all the troops wearing their assault riffle

[Orava]

The actual Finnish memorial is a very quiet affair you might light a candle at the military. Cemetery but is all about it