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Post by beef on Apr 20, 2022 10:24:12 GMT
Hi All. A little while ago I started following Garry Kasparov on Twitter. I then purchased a copy of a book that he wrote in 2015 - "Winter is Coming", after the first Ukraine invasion. Reading the book (not yet completed) I recall the things that Putin has been responsible for in the last 20 years. I remembered hearing how Putin managed to become the dictator that he is ... the complete and utter bully that he is, and how he can be compared to Hitler. The contents of the book are disturbing, but not just from what Putin has done ... but also what "the West" has NOT done to stop / prevent his onslaught. Kasparov is based in New York now, and has been involved with Human Rights for a long time. Whilst sometimes perhaps he leans a little too far to typical Western views / values, he has solid knowledge of how Putin and his Kremlin works. The end has to be that Putin's power is somehow removed from him, but quite how that is going to happen I don't know. It should be the citizens of Russia that do that, but whilst Putin controls "law" and "order" so directly it is unlikely that that will happen, it probably has to happen from within the Kremlin. Meanwhile, if the Western democracies are too scared to directly intervene, then they / we owe Ukraine all of the hardware that we have to help defeat Putin in this battle that Ukraine is fighting on our behalf. If you want be more thoroughly depressed about the current state of the World then read this book! When I have finished it I have a couple of books about the history of Ukraine to read, and then perhaps I'll get one specifically about Holodomor ... Another aspect of reading the book is that it lends credence to everything that I have read about (mostly) members of the UK Tory party being funded in quite a big way by the Russian oligarchs. The links with those people and Brexit ... the links with those people and Trump being elected. That Brexit would de-stabilise the EU, and that Trump would take the US out of Nato that would allow Putin to rub his hands with glee. The situation in France is indeed also disturbing ... and being helped by Russian money. The World is such a mess  . In a similar vein, this is worth a listen - explains the complex histories involved in the current situation and the part the west has played - aca.st/3de822 |
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Post by mikey on Apr 20, 2022 11:58:26 GMT
If only we could have the full and proper investigation into Russian interference, and maybe the ones who accepted the Tsar’s Roubles (like Aaron Banks) to be tried for Treason!
I also thought it was hypocritical of BJ to visit the Ukraine and not to apologise for his recent comments comparing their fight for freedom with the Brexit result, or that we happily handed Putin a major victory in 2016,
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Post by beef on Apr 20, 2022 13:07:33 GMT
If only we could have the full and proper investigation into Russian interference, and maybe the ones who accepted the Tsar’s Roubles (like Aaron Banks) to be tried for Treason! I also thought it was hypocritical of BJ to visit the Ukraine and not to apologise for his recent comments comparing their fight for freedom with the Brexit result, or that we happily handed Putin a major victory in 2016, Here's a lovely fantasy... And Lambchop's the man who loved beer sees the world clearly and asks... Leonard lays it on the line... |
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Post by mikey on May 17, 2022 16:40:57 GMT
What a day, absolutely lost it with a colleague at lunch time. Started off with homophobic comments over the ‘gay pride’ day and which flag should be flown (the rainbow is out of date, apparently) but was just an excuse for him to bang on about LGBQT should be ‘weirdo’ as it includes Q for queer and when are we going to have a heterosexual day, this morphed into racism with another colleague pointing out that we have to have different shades of plasters in the chemists (from white to dark brown!). To my shame I was keeping quiet until he starts pointing out that we have a Nazi flag outside the offices (yes, he meant the Ukraine flag, because he gets all his fake news direct from the Kremlin). I say no it is not Nazi, he keeps banging on that they are all Nazi’s and I need to know my history. As I said, lost it at that point which meant he called me an idiot and I called him a c*** (as I said not my finest moment).
It was awful on so many levels and I should not have to come to work to to hear homophobic or racist remarks. Knowing what is going on in Ukraine, I am not going to sit and let anyone imply that they deserve it due to being Nazi’s, when there are girls being raped and murdered. even if the Jewish president of a country was a fascist (and there are no shortage of them around the world) it is still no reason to commit horrific war crimes. My father had to fight in both the Second World War and Korea and the worst horror was seeing children maimed or killed (including incinerated by Napalm). In a way, I am glad he is no longer with us as he would hate knowing what was happening and his memories would haunt him again.
What a shit world we are part of. Roll on Womad and I will be with lots of wonderful people and we can wave our ‘Nazi’ flags in support of Ukraine when we gather to watch Folknery perform.
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Post by olirow on May 17, 2022 19:54:42 GMT
Not sure what you do Mikey but would be surprising if these nice people haven't expressed extreme views before - in which case HR will already be aware so that when you report your concerns some action may actually be taken... although to be fair, your use of the c word may not help:)
Guess you are right there will be flag waving when Folknery play though misplaced national pride is a large part of the problem here (so I won't be joining in).
Hope you have a better day tomorrow:)
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Post by sc on May 17, 2022 20:20:45 GMT
Not sure what you do Mikey but would be surprising if these nice people haven't expressed extreme views before - in which case HR will already be aware so that when you report your concerns some action may actually be taken... although to be fair, your use of the c word may not help:) Guess you are right there will be flag waving when Folknery play though misplaced national pride is a large part of the problem here (so I won't be joining in). Hope you have a better day tomorrow:) Totally agree with your advice in your first paragraph and yes I too hope Mikey has a better day at work tomorrow |
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Post by beef on May 18, 2022 18:19:26 GMT
Not sure what you do Mikey but would be surprising if these nice people haven't expressed extreme views before - in which case HR will already be aware so that when you report your concerns some action may actually be taken... although to be fair, your use of the c word may not help:) Guess you are right there will be flag waving when Folknery play though misplaced national pride is a large part of the problem here (so I won't be joining in). Hope you have a better day tomorrow:) Totally agree with your advice in your first paragraph and yes I too hope Mikey has a better day at work tomorrow Really sorry to hear about what happened Mikey - hope today was better? I don't think there's much you can do or say when someone expresses such deranged opinions like that - at best your words will be ignored, at worst will inflame further. How successful reporting the incident will be will depend on your workplace culture - but it's probably all you can do. Sounds like there were others who witnessed this and could support you in reporting it? It's shocking when you directly experience this kind of behaviour and attitude - especially when you know that they are only one of the many dangerously warped idiots out there. |
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Post by mikey on May 21, 2022 13:43:03 GMT
Well, had an ‘informal chat’ with my line manager and someone from HR. Yes it was a serious incident but they emphasised the importance of my own well-being in all of this and appreciated my honest account that I had provided. Confirmed that I will not get dragged into arguments no matter how homophobic or racist but will say stop, otherwise will report what is said to an appropriate manager. I realise now that to call the Flag of Ukraine ‘Nazi’ is bordering on being a hate crime and if this is repeated I will go to most senior Manager to report it such.
Not nice and still waiting on whether there will be a formal investigation.
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Post by Zenrider on May 27, 2022 5:36:26 GMT
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Post by beef on May 28, 2022 18:40:54 GMT
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Post by Zenrider on May 28, 2022 22:33:23 GMT
I wish we used the Imperial Gallon for gasoline and Diesel in the USA. It takes nearly a gallon and a third of a US gallon to fill one Imperial Gallon. It would get rid of the illusion European vehicles get better fuel economy. They don't. It also adds to the confusion of fuel prices. The USA's is often worse than it looks, though rarely the worst in the world. |
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Post by mikey on May 29, 2022 10:01:12 GMT
Oh, and then perhaps we can go back to pounds shillings and pence (a system that made no sense at all in comparison to decimal). Of course that would set us back to pre technology of the 70’s as spreadsheets etc would not cope with the maths of it all without additional software design and I am sure all our banking systems would a) not cope without billions of (old) pounds is invested on rewriting the software and b) we would be excluded from much international trade and the financial industry as, well let’s face, who can be bothered to calculate different monetary systems. |
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Post by mikey on Jul 5, 2022 20:18:37 GMT
It is all kicking off forBoris Johnson’s cabinet since Chris Pincher was caught out and had to resign etc.
Looks like only a matter of time (days or even less), before Johnson finally goes AND we all now know what Nominative Determination means. Now that is a double whammy!
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Post by beef on Jul 5, 2022 21:37:45 GMT
It is all kicking off forBoris Johnson’s cabinet since Chris Pincher was caught out and had to resign etc. Looks like only a matter of time (days or even less), before Johnson finally goes AND we all now know what Nominative Determination means. Now that is a double whammy! ... the village vicar where I grew up was called Mr Vickery... and the absolute sadist of a dentist...? Mr Mercy... I grew up with the idea in my head that your name describes your occupation. Anywsy, am enjoying watching the long overdue unravelling - but I want the Tory party to implode rather than have the chance of s "fresh start" with the next useless twat they elect as leader. Just look at what these bastards have done to this country over the last 12 years. |
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Post by Zenrider on Jul 5, 2022 23:34:47 GMT
It is all kicking off forBoris Johnson’s cabinet since Chris Pincher was caught out and had to resign etc. Looks like only a matter of time (days or even less), before Johnson finally goes AND we all now know what Nominative Determination means. Now that is a double whammy! ... the village vicar where I grew up was called Mr Vickery... and the absolute sadist of a dentist...? Mr Mercy... I grew up with the idea in my head that your name describes your occupation. Anywsy, am enjoying watching the long overdue unravelling - but I want the Tory party to implode rather than have the chance of s "fresh start" with the next useless twat they elect as leader. Just look at what these bastards have done to this country over the last 12 years. Same with the Republican Party in the US. We don't need any version of that anymore. |
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