Election Year or Fear!

[Trickytreesreds]

OMG, this gets funnier by the minute. If ever I thought the Guardian was full of complete tossers, now I know it is.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/the-guardian-offers-staffers-counseling-over-donald-trump-s-upsetting-election-win/ar-AA1tHmkS

[Trickytreesreds]

Elections? Looks like Germany is falling apart at the seams, politically. New elections predicted in the first quarter of 2025 and the far right AfD is expected to get a landslide. The Dutch coalition is starting to fall apart. At Minister's Questions yesterday, the Immigration Minister was defending her new budget, and failing dramatically. From 2027, she's reducing the budget for the IND (Immigratie en Naturalisatie Dienst) and the COA (Centraal Orgaan opvang asielzoekers) by 80%. She failed to address the shortfall she's planning for. Over the next few years they intend to allow less immigrants, be they coming here to work, study or to apply for asylum. There's a huge backlog of asylum claims. They're stopping the funding now and laying people off who work in the 2 departments. How do they intend to clear the backlog? How are they going to fund it?

The role of the lower house in the Netherlands, is to act as a control mechanism for Cabinet plans. The Minister was unable (or unwilling) to answer MPs questions. It was a debacle. She really ought to be sacked and replaced with someone capable as she, clearly, isn't.

I've said all along that this coalition wouldn't last long. Looks like I'll be right.

For me, the biggest problem is that the far right PVV, who currently have 39 of the 150 seats and is the largest party of the 15 with 1 or more seats, will get significantly more at the election.

How many more will follow and see the EU fall apart?

I despair at the deniers as to the European rise of the right.
Folks have had enough of the same old soft left/liberal leaders, who think the everyday person on the street. is there to do as they are told and like it.

Much as this will trigger RA, the flooding of immigration in Europe has fuelled this. Crime/ poverty/ social friction has seen cultural identity eroded and the rise in crime and terrorism.
Poland says no. Hungary says no, despite EU howls of protest. They have not had one jot of the problems the rest of Europe has.
Had the EU / governments resisted/regulated it, there would be no need for AFD/ National rally/ Brothers of Italy/ Reform etc.

Keep ignoring it and watch what happens

[Trickytreesreds]

That’ll be the same Neil Oliver who described lockdown as ‘the biggest single mistake in world history’, who likened opposing the government’s anti COVID strategies to standing in defiance of Nazi Germany, who condemned the efforts to vaccinate UK children against COVID and who makes regular claims of fear mongering over climate change.

He’ll be worth listening to then, not surprised he works for GBNews.

Lock down has seen debts and taxes go through the roof. The knock on effect will go on for decades. It has since been shown that those jabs have crippled many people, in many ways.

Just to point out the flaw in your perfection logic. Sweden went down the no action route. Their deaths were less per population and their economy didn't get a kick in the nuts either.

As for climate change, no one ever says the climate isn't changing, but it always has. The fear mongering is in over drive and lots of people are getting rich off it.

Much as you hate GB news sunshine, your beloved BBC are behind alot of the fear mongering and never challenge the facts. Or they just ignore the topic completely when their agenda is in peril. Brainwashed, you really are.

[Trickytreesreds]

The irony of the smash the gangs, is that time and again, it is the very people fleeing persecution and need help. That are behind it all. It really is a joke.

https://news.sky.com/story/iranian-man-described-as-the-best-smuggler-convicted-after-helping-migrants-cross-channel-13250523

[ramAnag]

Lock down has seen debts and taxes go through the roof. The knock on effect will go on for decades. It has since been shown that those jabs have crippled many people, in many ways.

Just to point out the flaw in your perfection logic. Sweden went down the no action route. Their deaths were less per population and their economy didn't get a kick in the nuts either.

As for climate change, no one ever says the climate isn't changing, but it always has. The fear mongering is in over drive and lots of people are getting rich off it.

Much as you hate GB news sunshine, your beloved BBC are behind alot of the fear mongering and never challenge the facts. Or they just ignore the topic completely when their agenda is in peril. Brainwashed, you really are.

Hmmm…vaccines or no vaccines? BBC or GB News? Let’s think. Were you vaccinated?

Population density of Sweden…26 per square km.
Population density of UK…286 per square km. Great comparison!

[SithHappens]

Hmmm…vaccines or no vaccines? BBC or GB News? Let’s think. Were you vaccinated?

Population density of Sweden…26 per square km.
Population density of UK…286 per square km. Great comparison!

They say there was 2 reasons for the spread of covid.

Population Density and Population Density

[Trickytreesreds]

Hmmm…vaccines or no vaccines? BBC or GB News? Let’s think. Were you vaccinated?

Population density of Sweden…26 per square km.
Population density of UK…286 per square km. Great comparison!

again the ignorance kicks in. The Swedish population is mostly on the coastal areas. It doesnt matter if they live in one city or 200.
They introduced targetted measures and it worked, whilst the rest of the western world panicked like it was the black death
Your hero Starmer wanted even more draconian measures( he shows those traits today now in office) and that would have really screwed us over.

https://theconversation.com/did-swedens-controversial-covid-strategy-pay-off-in-many-ways-it-did-but-it-let-the-elderly-down-188338

NB , I jabbed for the first year and haven't bothered since. Had COVID twice, and had worse colds.

But the Orwellian west does love population control measures.

[SithHappens]

Just for clarity in case it comes up. The earth is round.

[ramAnag]

again the ignorance kicks in. The Swedish population is mostly on the coastal areas. It doesnt matter if they live in one city or 200.
They introduced targetted measures and it worked, whilst the rest of the western world panicked like it was the black death
Your hero Starmer wanted even more draconian measures( he shows those traits today now in office) and that would have really screwed us over.

https://theconversation.com/did-swedens-controversial-covid-strategy-pay-off-in-many-ways-it-did-but-it-let-the-elderly-down-188338

NB , I jabbed for the first year and haven't bothered since. Had COVID twice, and had worse colds.

But the Orwellian west does love population control measures.

Okay…daft answer, but have it your own way…I’m guessing it’ll all be the fault of either Starmer or immigrants in the increasingly wacky world of TTR anyway.

You might also want to compare the Covid death rate with other, infinitely more comparable, Scandinavian countries before holding up the Swedish model as some sort of panacea. Just a thought.

[SithHappens]

Okay…daft answer, but have it your own way…I’m guessing it’ll all be the fault of either Starmer or immigrants in the increasingly wacky world of TTR anyway.

You might also want to compare the Covid death rate with other, infinitely more comparable, Scandinavian countries before holding up the Swedish model as some sort of panacea. Just a thought.

Sweden has roughly double the population of Norway but had 5 times the deaths.

[SithHappens]

Sweden did have a different approach by not insisting on lockdowns, however they did have measures andc restrictions in place. They went though largely for a guidance approach and to a degree that worked as the population demonstrated that it was able to follow guidance and adopt a common sense approach.

Imagine the UK adopting a common sense approach, would be utter chaos. I know plenty of people from my own circle of family and friends who thought the rules were optional, including a really close friend who thinks it was all some sort of conspiracy despite another of his close friends mum dying early on.

My niece lost her grandma to covid too, there was nothing tame about it. Yes to some covid is no worse than a cold, I worked everyday I had it, both times (at home), I was lucky despite being clinically extremely vulnerable, lots weren't.

[SithHappens]

On Starmer. I think it's impossible to say if he had been in charge it would have been worse or better. I think in general he was supportive of the governments approach, the only real difference I recall was him calling for a circuit breaker lockdown early autumn in that first year.

[ramAnag]

Yes to some covid is no worse than a cold, I worked everyday I had it, both times (at home), I was lucky despite being clinically extremely vulnerable, lots weren't.

Spot on, Sith…like flu, to some it’s nothing more than a bad cold…to others it’s a killer, and the whole point of all vaccines is to stop the spread. Unfortunately some are too selfish, lazy or consumed by conspiracy theory to recognise this.

[swaledale]

Hmmm…vaccines or no vaccines? BBC or GB News? Let’s think. Were you vaccinated?

Population density of Sweden…26 per square km.
Population density of UK…286 per square km. Great comparison!

As I've said many times RA, you can't argue with a sick mind. And judging from the US election result there are an awful lot of dumb people out there who would rather believe lies, misinformation and outright fake news pushed out by the willing patsies of billionaires and yet never seem to question why these billionaires are doing it?

Frankly if a person even admits to watching GB News (other than to establish its the home of disinformation) and then defends it, then their cognitive reasoning skills are clearly lacking. I mean even the majority of the people presenting on there don't believe what they are saying, its just a paid gig.

Its pointless debating with these people, they are cult followers, swallowing then parroting stuff they hear.

[MadAmster]

I'm one of those considered vulnerable due to heart issues, high BP, ditto cholesterol and sleep apnoea. I waited a long time before deciding to go down the vax route. I was trying to find data on any relationship between my medical condition and medicine routine to the Covid vax. Spent an awful lot of hours trawling all sorts of sites looking for info. Couldn't find any. Finally, I went to my GP thinking that he might have the info I was looking for, fully expecting him to recommend the vax. He was unable to provide the info I wanted and his opinion was that the info, almost definitely, did not exist. He went on to say that he wasn't going to advise me, one way or the other. He did, however, say that the ICUs were NOT full of the vaccinated but full of the unvaxed. 2 weeks later, after much thought I bit the bullet and, down the road, also had 4 boosters. I've not had Covid. Strangely, the only 2 people in my wider family, in both the UK and NL, who haven't had Covid are my 86 (87 in 4 weeks) year old Mother in Law, the oldest female in the family and my good self, the oldest male. The last of the rest to get it was my 78 year old sister in Law.

I took the chance on the vax despite understanding that it:
1. didn't work for everybody (just like every vax or medicine)
2. some would be allergic to it (just like every vax or medicine)
3. multiple boosters might be needed
4. there were some known side effects in the short term
5. possible mid and long term side effects were unknown as they wouldn't be known for several years

A risk? Absolutely but one I calculated a reasonable one to take. If we get another pandemic, I'll go through the same, well thought out process before coming to any decision. I have never had a go at anyone who decided they didn't think it a risk worth taking. In fact, I supported them online. I also got very verbal with eejits online who had a go at me for having had it.

As it's now been downgraded to the level of a cold, I won't be bothering with any more Covid vaxes unless a new dangerous strain evolves, which I don't expect.

Flu? Some 20 years ago, due to my heart issues, I was advised by my cardiologist to have the flu jab as a serious dose of the flu could prove fatal. I took the advice. I developed a cold the next day which morphed into flu, then bronchitis and ended up as double pneumonia. Took 6 months to get back to my fitness/health levels of the day before the flu jab. Not had a flu jab since and not had the flu either. Obviously, I won't be having a flu jab this winter either. In fact, my GP no longer bothers inviting me for the annual flu jab as they know I won't be going for it.