Off Topic Politics Thread

It's a combination of things. They're trying to move to TX to foil the various legal cases against them and head off an attempt by NY to strip them of their charitable status. But also, they're pretty broke. They have been hemorrhaging money, beyond what they spend on the private expenses of their board, naturally. Years of being run basically as the personal slush fund of Wayne LaPierre has caught up to them, and they were barely present in the 2020 election.

 

Quite horrific reading personal stories of some of the police at the Capitol ...

Capitol riots: Police describe a 'medieval battle' https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-55679623

 

The government get to grips with food parcels.

 

Apologies if already posted:

 

So if you want to build houses for the comfortably off in the countryside, than call it a Garden City and go ahead

But if you want to move a statue of a slave trader off the street you’ll need planning permission and ministerial approval

Just a little reminder of who is running your government if it was needed

Baying Mobs !!!

Statues to get protection from 'baying mobs' https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-55693020

 

We do live in a democracy though and our shared history should be questioned as a society and statues taken down through an appropriate process. The statue in Bristol was seen by many as an appropriate gesture, but its removal also helped the right to establish their idea that BLM is a military, anarchist organisation.

It would be nice to re-establish norms of debate and finding middle ground again at some point in our society. This thing is bad and only bad. This thing is good and only good. Once upon a time you could actually discuss it - and maybe agree that the thing is pretty bad and needs to come down.

 

The woman who accused a Tory MP of rape is pushing for a legal review, claiming that the police didn’t take her allegation seriously and failed to speak to 14 potential witnesses.
Other claims are:-
Relevant documents from four sexual violence organisations weren’t collected.
Key evidence such as texts and phone calls were ignored.
Officers dismissed her claims because “she was in a relationship with the MP”.

She is being advised by a top internationally renowned QC, so hopefully she will get what she and the law considers a fair hearing.

 

I imagine that one of the, what, 400,000 records “mislaid” may well contain this one ........

 

The Fire Fighters have been pitching in to help the NHS with the Covid needs, and have remained fairly free of the virus, because when they returned to their station to work at their “proper” job, they needed to take a Covid test first.
Their employer is now telling them that they don’t need to take the test and should return to working, and living with colleagues, without knowing that they are free of the virus. Why would any employer do that?

This report from the Tribune.

As over a 100,000 lie dead from Covid-19, and more die by the day, the importance of protecting workers and communities from this deadly virus has never been more vital. But on Wednesday night, bosses in the fire and rescue service pulled the rug from underneath the very firefighters who have been helping the NHS and care sector through the pandemic.

For ten months, an agreement between the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) and employers has allowed firefighters to safely assist their communities through this crisis. Across the country, while many firefighters continued to tackle fires, floods, and other hazardous incidents, we helped firefighter volunteers to swap their fire engines for ambulances, step in to stem infections in care homes, deliver essential items to the vulnerable, and move the bodies of the deceased.

Throughout, our union has worked with the National Employers (comprised of councillors from fire authorities in England and Wales and fire board appointees from Scotland and Northern Ireland) and the National Fire Chiefs Council (representing Chief Fire Officers) to ensure the highest safety standards possible.

Despite losing the first firefighter to this deadly disease earlier in January, there have been relatively few infections in the fire and rescue service compared with other frontline services. And that’s down to the work of FBU reps in every fire and rescue workplace ensuring safety measures are properly implemented.

Crucially, firefighters returning from high-risk environments must receive a negative coronavirus PCR swab test before they re-join their colleagues at their fire station. This has stopped firefighters from spreading the disease to the members of the public they assist and has prevented mass outbreaks among staff, protecting community fire cover.

But in recent weeks, it has become clear that bosses have no interest in protecting firefighters from spreading the disease. They decided they did not want firefighters to have to wait for a negative test result before returning to normal duties. The FBU proposed a range of alternative safety measures, but employers rejected every single one.

And then on Wednesday evening, while FBU officials were still trying to find a compromise, fire service employers unilaterally withdrew from the agreement.

In my many years in the fire service and as a trade unionist, I have seen plenty of reckless actions from employers. But to see a national employers’ body suddenly decide to remove agreed national safety standards and abdicate responsibility for firefighter safety in the middle of a pandemic must be a new low.

Make no mistake, this is a blatantly political action. Employers have been advised by the National Fire Chiefs Council, who in turn are in close communication with the Home Office. This is a case of bosses and the Tory government choosing a time when communities are most vulnerable – and when firefighters want to do all they can to help – to stick the boot into a trade union.

They don’t like having to meet basic safety standards. They don’t like having to negotiate before throwing firefighters into dangerous situations. Fundamentally, they don’t like having to work with the democratic voice of those on the frontline. They want to water down standards nationally to allow a race to the bottom locally.

The great tragedy is that this agreement was, until now, a model of how unions and employers can work together to ensure workers are safe – even in the most dangerous of situations. We are proud to have supported firefighters to safely volunteer to help the NHS and care sector. But employers seem all too happy to throw it all away.

FBU officials are trying to keep negotiations alive and revive the agreement. But we need the support of the entire labour and trade union movement to get there. There are Labour Party councillors within the fire service’s National Employers and there are Labour fire authority members across the country. They can and must speak up for this agreement.

We need employers to urgently get back around the negotiating table and stop a free-for-all on safety protections. These may be the darkest days of this global pandemic. Never in modern history have our health and social care systems been under such strain. And the FBU wants firefighters to keep up this life-saving work. But it must be safe for them, for their families, and for the public.

 

That's truly shocking. My stepson is a fire fighter in Bristol, I'll try and get the gen from him.

 

Indefensible words fail me.

 

Interesting. Predicted seats at 2024 General Election if parties work together.
I would love to see the left of centre parties do this on a pledge that proportional representation would then become law. Something needs to be done to create a fairer society.

 

Hopefully the public will start to wake up to the dangers of the increasing right wing politicians and those masquerading as journalists and see what is happening in this country for what it is. More articles like this will help to bring a little balance to things.


Revealed: Tory MPs and commentators who joined banned app Parler

https://www.theguardian.com/politic...and-commentators-who-joined-banned-app-parler

 

Please watch this if you can, it’s brilliant:

https://fb.watch/34o3SCI0RB/

 

It was obvious as hell that a Lab/Lib pact like this last election would have stopped Johnson.

Corbyn and Swinson utterly failed to oppose the Conservatives beyond words and platitudes and are both somewhat responsible for where we are.

Hopefully Starmer and Davey possess more intelligence, we probably wont find out until May 2024 though.

 

The 2019 election shouldn't have taken place.

 

Reading this morning that if the vaccination programme goes well, and relying on the short memories of some voters, with regards to the poor leadership causing an unnecessarily high death count and the disastrous Brexit, Johnson is already considering an early election for 2022/23.
He thinks the voters might be overwhelmed with gratitude at receiving a vaccination and give him another 5 years to complete the destruction of workers rights.
He, and the rest of us, have to hope that his gamble in not giving the second vaccination in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions, doesn’t backfire, but the thought of him getting another 5 years in charge doesn’t bear thinking about.

 

He is probably relying on a brief general feel good factor that will probably emerge once people start to reclaim their normal lives (in some cases what is left of them).

I actually very cautiously believe the Conservatives will fall short next time around I.e they will be the largest party but be unable to find the numbers to govern.

So that leaves either a Labour-SNP coalition or an arrangement between Labour, the Lib Dem’s and/or the Greens, which would need support from a pre arrangement before an election to boost the numbers for all three.

I think Labour need to start seriously considering what path they want to follow.

 

FairPlay Rufus