Sergei Karaganov, honorary chairman of the Russian Presidium of the Council on Foreign and Defence Policy:

“[Russia] will have to make nuclear deterrence a convincing argument again by lowering the threshold for the use of nuclear weapons.

"The enemy must know that we are ready to deliver a pre-emptive strike in retaliation for all of its current and past acts of aggression in order to prevent a slide into global thermonuclear war.

"But what if they do not back down? In this case, we will have to hit a bunch of targets in a number of countries in order to bring those who have lost their mind to reason."

comment by Irishred (U2539)
posted 6 minutes ago
https://www.rte.ie/news/business/2023/0621/1390401-eurostat-prices-here-46-above-eu-average-last-year/

Price’s crazy here
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Any idea how that compares to last year or to pre-pandemic levels, Irish?

comment by rosso says the time has come to unlock the unlimited Pote-ntial of the Fernançalvemiro triumvirate (U17054)
posted 7 minutes ago
comment by Irishred (U2539)
posted 6 minutes ago
https://www.rte.ie/news/business/2023/0621/1390401-eurostat-prices-here-46-above-eu-average-last-year/

Price’s crazy here
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Any idea how that compares to last year or to pre-pandemic levels, Irish?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Can’t be sure mate but our cost of living is always very high. Has been for a long time

Young people will struggle to afford houses here and that’s even before our cants build any

Prices will keep rising until retail owners are spooked enough to think that their profiteering gravy train could soon hit the buffers. Which is why the BofE will continue to raise rates until these tw@ts finally smell the coffee and put the brakes on raising prices. So yes the Bank will try and suggest a recession is coming. And this is how they do it. Its the only language these people understand.

comment by RB&W - Whiteside has done it again (U21434)
posted 42 minutes ago
Prices will keep rising until retail owners are spooked enough to think that their profiteering gravy train could soon hit the buffers. Which is why the BofE will continue to raise rates until these tw@ts finally smell the coffee and put the brakes on raising prices. So yes the Bank will try and suggest a recession is coming. And this is how they do it. Its the only language these people understand.
----------------------------------------------------------------------


Or...

We could have a government with a backbone who curb excessive profits with a tapering corporation tax rate/dividend taxes, limit price rises (especially on essential items) and be agile with things like windfall taxes.

Britain's 'toughest headteacher' Katharine Birbalsingh (left) cautioned that adult authority 'is long gone' as more children are being allowed to identify as animals in school. It comes after a 13-year-old girl at Rye College in Sussex (right) was branded 'despicable' by her teacher for rejecting her classmate's claim that she 'identified' as a cat. The 'tiger headmistress' and founder of the Michaela Community free school in Wembley, London, made the comments during a speech at NatCon last month. Mrs Birbalsingh warned that parents have 'no idea just had bad things are in schools'. She said: ''There are kids right now, in some schools, with tails and ears pinned to their heads and bottoms.'

————-

Sigh

good listen this
alot of good points made

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xW5dEtjMb-k

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIgRpBcv31k

comment by Insert random username (U10647)
posted 2 hours, 20 minutes ago
comment by RB&W - Whiteside has done it again (U21434)
posted 42 minutes ago
Prices will keep rising until retail owners are spooked enough to think that their profiteering gravy train could soon hit the buffers. Which is why the BofE will continue to raise rates until these tw@ts finally smell the coffee and put the brakes on raising prices. So yes the Bank will try and suggest a recession is coming. And this is how they do it. Its the only language these people understand.
----------------------------------------------------------------------


Or...

We could have a government with a backbone who curb excessive profits with a tapering corporation tax rate/dividend taxes, limit price rises (especially on essential items) and be agile with things like windfall taxes.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
But we dont. So interest rates it will be.

comment by Insert random username (U10647)
posted 6 hours, 4 minutes ago
comment by Sat Nav (U18243)
posted 1 hour, 45 minutes ago
comment by Tamwolf (U17286)
posted 4 hours, 21 minutes ago
Fecks me off how they blame inflation on global pressures but then say they need to increase interest rates to get a handle on it. If inflation is due to global pressures, then interest rates won't impact it.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
How come?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Because raising the interest rate won't stop the Ukraine war (they are blaming it) reverse Brexit (they are blaming it) undo COVID (they are blaming it) Nor address in any way rising wage demands as people see their quality of life fall through the floor. (They are blaming it)


It also won't stop the rampant profiteering that's actually caused this mess (clear for all to see).

----------------------------------------------------------------------
It clearly won’t stop those events from happening / having happened and their effects but it’s generally considered to be the go-to option to reduce spending and thus decrease inflation and possibly strengthen the currency.

I do also agree that there’s a clear profiteering element at play here. Prices going up to 150% then back down to 130% (of previous norms) and we’re all happy because it’s no longer 150%?

I agree with your later post in that we need a stronger government that demands that price caps are put in place and similar controls. As you know I’m not a big government advocate but there are times & places and this seems to be one (albeit there are always consequences which need to be weighed up in the mid-long term)

Let’s suppose that supermarkets say are making similar profit margins to pre-covid times, (they might not be it’s just an example) should they be making the same profits whilst the consumers make less? Overall I’d say no, of course. But any measures put in place would have to be set as temporary as long-term government control on pricing / profits is not something that I agree with. If somewhere is an absolute rip off, people will shop elsewhere. If everywhere is an absolute rip off (comparatively) then government needs to step in. But like you I’m sure, I doubt that any likely future government will do this.

I do well so I’ll be worse off like everyone else but it won’t be as impactful on me as on the majority. This is also relative as my outgoings are likely also much higher than the average person but if I have to compromise heavily, I’ll still be good. Whereas others compromise down to what? No house? Really cheap food? No car? Not even thinking about a holiday? Clothes, schooling, insurance etc etc.

That being said, I don’t think these decisions or lack of intervention is purely coming from a ‘fk the average person or poor person’ I think it’s coming from a place of keeping the economy going as well as it can and prioritising that over individual prosperity following a view that if a. Isn’t protected enough then the consequences will be even worse for the general populace later on.

Our economy is too reliant on FS and such like so much that keeping them sweet ruins most of us but we don’t have alternatives anymore such as manufacturing say.

We’re still a strong nation in several areas which help and manufacturing prowess of other nations I think will dissipate greatly over the coming decade so those nations might catch us ‘down’. But they’ll just be joining the party of the highly trained in sectors with scarcity of workforce earning very well and the sectors of more widely available talent will remain stagnant (wage-wise say).

Trades still do very well and I think will continue to do so as AI can’t really affect that but not everyone can be plumbers, sparkies etc. IT skills will probably continue to do well I think but your normal people doing normal jobs will continue to have too much competition (employee-wise) which will keep salaries stagnant whilst the few relevant sectors will blow up; hence why as a broad spectrum we see increased inequality. There are too many highly specialised positions that therefore command high wages.

I think our biggest problem is pss poor fund management, that’s not exclusive to these Tories, previous Tories, Blair Labour - the NHS is a mess and for me perfectly exemplifies this failings of government spending in our country. So much fat that could be trimmed. Extremely large entities like the NHS and the country as a whole habe way too much middle/senior management. Bloating every process and costing a fortune with little to no benefit. Look at roadworks for a cheeky example: as I understand it if the local council doesn’t spend its budget in full one year it will get less the following year, so they do unnecessary work to hit their budget? How much is spent on management in the NHS? How much on silly things like diversity officers (appreciate that this specifically won’t be billions but it’s just an example) throughout government/NHS?

Yes this bloating provides jobs but not a net benefit in my opinion. Things should be streamlined and efficient.

Like austerity (the dreaded word) instead of cutting costs, cut the fat out, get the productive processes working and remove those that aren’t really contributing. I bet we’ve all worked at companies where you look at your boss, your boss’s boss and think ‘what do they actually do? Is it directly contributing to the company’s success? Is it contributing enough to justify its cost? No probably not.

In my last two companies that I worked for they were both large companies in terms of the usual things: revenue, number of employees, global share etc and when that big obviously there’s a need for middle management roles but nowhere like what I saw and these were roles that paid an awful lot for what they actually contributed. Half of them could do what was being done, probably less than half.

I’d be surprised if you didn’t feel the same with Royal Mail - probably not now that I’ve said it.

Anyway I’ve rambled on inebriated for long enough and likely not making any sense too and up in 4 hours so I’ll depart and wish you all well 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

Justice for Adam Schiff!

Silenced by the Republicans for helping to get the truth about Russian collusion out there.

https://twitter.com/reallyamerican1/status/1671579063889084416?s=61&t=ncpdEcJLIN1zPASIYpgYDA

Now he’s been censured by the house. What a corrupt bunch of caaants.

Sat nav mate.... get preparing for my new name 🤣

comment by Insert random username (U10647)
posted 12 hours, 24 minutes ago
comment by RB&W - Whiteside has done it again (U21434)
posted 42 minutes ago
Prices will keep rising until retail owners are spooked enough to think that their profiteering gravy train could soon hit the buffers. Which is why the BofE will continue to raise rates until these tw@ts finally smell the coffee and put the brakes on raising prices. So yes the Bank will try and suggest a recession is coming. And this is how they do it. Its the only language these people understand.
----------------------------------------------------------------------


Or...

We could have a government with a backbone who curb excessive profits with a tapering corporation tax rate/dividend taxes, limit price rises (especially on essential items) and be agile with things like windfall taxes.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Strikes me that those at the head of our current government have no personal interest in controlling it at all (indeed, quite the opposite), and they lack the moral fortitude to go against those personal interests for the better of the country or its people. We serve our corporate overlords now. Where we are shouldn't surprise anyone really.

A year out from the federal election and polls in Germany are showing the neofascists of the AfD as the second most popular party in the country, level-pegging with the incumbent SPD

https://www.dw.com/en/germanys-far-right-afd-gets-a-boost/a-65803522

The (just about) left-of-centre coalition's vote share absolutely tanked in the recent regional elections, and Merkel's CDU has never looked weaker.

If things continue as they are, the only option to lock the fascists out would be a grand coalition between SPD and the CDU.

comment by HenrysCat (U3608)
posted 35 minutes ago
comment by Insert random username (U10647)
posted 12 hours, 24 minutes ago
comment by RB&W - Whiteside has done it again (U21434)
posted 42 minutes ago
Prices will keep rising until retail owners are spooked enough to think that their profiteering gravy train could soon hit the buffers. Which is why the BofE will continue to raise rates until these tw@ts finally smell the coffee and put the brakes on raising prices. So yes the Bank will try and suggest a recession is coming. And this is how they do it. Its the only language these people understand.
----------------------------------------------------------------------


Or...

We could have a government with a backbone who curb excessive profits with a tapering corporation tax rate/dividend taxes, limit price rises (especially on essential items) and be agile with things like windfall taxes.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Strikes me that those at the head of our current government have no personal interest in controlling it at all (indeed, quite the opposite), and they lack the moral fortitude to go against those personal interests for the better of the country or its people. We serve our corporate overlords now. Where we are shouldn't surprise anyone really.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I would really like to.know what those who still support this government really think about it and why they refuse to accept that things have gone so badly wrong and that the country (and the Tory party) needs a GE.

comment by rosso says the time has come to unlock the unlimited Pote-ntial of the Fernançalvemiro triumvirate (U17054)
posted 10 minutes ago
A year out from the federal election and polls in Germany are showing the neofascists of the AfD as the second most popular party in the country, level-pegging with the incumbent SPD

https://www.dw.com/en/germanys-far-right-afd-gets-a-boost/a-65803522

The (just about) left-of-centre coalition's vote share absolutely tanked in the recent regional elections, and Merkel's CDU has never looked weaker.

If things continue as they are, the only option to lock the fascists out would be a grand coalition between SPD and the CDU.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

I legit think within 5 years fascism will have its hands in control of a few countries in europe and things will get very very bad very quickly for a lot of people.

Fat bankers onlyraising the interest rates so they can get better rates on all their millions and to milk the situation

Could of done it a month ago before I done the ISA for this year ffs

Said they've done it to demonstrate control over inflation. To me it demonstrates the opposite, as they only know how to do one thing and it hasn't worked.

comment by Oscar #TeamFury. It’s Coming Homeeeee! (U12980)
posted 5 minutes ago
Fat bankers onlyraising the interest rates so they can get better rates on all their millions and to milk the situation

Could of done it a month ago before I done the ISA for this year ffs
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Banks aren’t passing the benefits onto savers.

What a shock

comment by Gingernuts (U2992)
posted 48 minutes ago
comment by Oscar #TeamFury. It’s Coming Homeeeee! (U12980)
posted 5 minutes ago
Fat bankers onlyraising the interest rates so they can get better rates on all their millions and to milk the situation

Could of done it a month ago before I done the ISA for this year ffs
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Banks aren’t passing the benefits onto savers.

What a shock
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The big banks are still livid about it having been made ever-so-slightly more difficult to play roulette with retail customers’ life savings.

Madame Ecosse, Winnie Ewing, first female SNP MP dies age 93.

Get those strike breaking soldiers on standby FFS!

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-65985756

Oceangate has just released this statement.

We now believe that our CEO Stockton Rush, Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood, Hamish Harding, and Paul-Henri Nargeolet, have sadly been lost, a statement from OceanGate says.


Poor folk, I feel for the billionaires kid for taking his son on something so facking stupid. It’s not just poor people that are thick.

You take a risk everytime you get out of bed.

If I had been offered a seat on that trip I'd have snapped their hand off.

comment by Boris 'Inky’ Gibson (U5901)
posted 48 seconds ago
You take a risk everytime you get out of bed.

If I had been offered a seat on that trip I'd have snapped their hand off.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
As would I if you were offered a seat. Just kiddin', Bo.