General Election views

[Boac]

"I think they are done, for many a year" - I hope not - we do need a viable opposition or you will finish up with a Trump situation where the Tories can do anything they like, 'legal' or otherwise and no-one can stop them. I hope they rebuild under a sensible leader and policy.

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

To be fair, socialists can't be logical and still be socialists..as socialism does not work in reality

[AtomKraft]

Boac.
Sure, we need an opposition, but it doesn't have to be Labour.
In the US they have the very right wing republicans, and the ever-so-slightly-less right wing democrats.
I don't fancy that much.
Labour are in the grip of the far left. It would be quicker for the Lib Dems to replace Labour as the official opposition, than for Labour to rid itself of the commies.

Mind you, the need for an opposition varies with the wickedness of the Government.
I don't have Boris down as very wicked at all.

Labours self induced illness is serious. It's going to take the patient a long time to recover, and a lot longer before they are again ready for government. I wouldn't be surprised if this patient dies.

[Boac]

Of course not, but the LD's are now an extinct species. The choices are a bit limited!

[llondel]

Sure, we need an opposition, but it doesn't have to be Labour.
In the US they have the very right wing republicans, and the ever-so-slightly-less right wing democrats.

This is why I always laugh when Americans scream about socialism. The political centre of the US Democratic Party is still to the right of the centre of the UK Tory Party even with the measures they're proposing.

Healthcare for all isn't socialist, it's called investing in your assets and is a sound capitalist principle. You maintain your aircraft, your road vehicles, your machinery, why not your people? Same with some of the other basic safety net measures. Provided the net isn't too deep and padded, it'll catch people but they'll have incentive to get out and be able to climb far enough.

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

The Liberal Democrats are extinct because they weren't the slightest bit liberal or democratic.

Healthcare for all is socialist. Capitalists will not logically invest in healthcare for anyone not in employment with them, nor for any healthcare not related to the job spec, nor where workers are easily replaced, and won't invest in it if they can get someone else to pay for it. Ditto training, and everything else. We see this happening everyday.

The main problem appears to be political parties. Firstly, they are effectively dependent on donors for the funds to win elections, and therefore corruptable. In practice they are all corrupt. Secondly, the selection process for candidates, ministers, etc, places loyalty far above any other qualities, especially morality and intelligence. This is essential given the first point, since they will be required to do corrupt things for the benefit of donors. Bribeability and browbeatability are the best means to ensure they will follow orders. Since MPs have power, it therefore follows that they will make d@mn sure no one with any brains, strength of character, or morals gets into the party, or any positions of public responsibility, since this risks runing the whole thing.
Yet the vast majority of people will only vote for an established party. So the real main problem is your fellow electors.

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

Frisby's song has a new final verse, about the election
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_cont ... 2zJ8vaB5jo

[Pontius Navigator]

Fox, at one time BA had its own recruitment and training organisation. One of our Navs got his licence and was an instructor at Prestwich. If someone was trained by BOAC but then went elsewhere they had to repay their training.

Lufthansa found it was cheaper to poach than train their own.

[llondel]

I've been in situations where a company has invested money in me and I've agreed that if I buggered off within a couple of years then I'd be liable for a proportion of that cost. I was happy with that because I had no intention of leaving. Wit the last one I'd gained enough savvy to insist that one of the terms were that if they decided my services were no longer needed within that timeframe then they would eat the cost. Of course they have to agree to that otherwise it's tantamount to telling someone they intend to fire that person before time.

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

When I got my last teaching contract, I noted that I was required to give the standard term's notice, but they were only required to give me half a term's notice. This was utterly unheard of in the profession. To say I was focused on the Bursar (head of personnel) with laser-precision from that point forward would be an understatement. When she fired my friend who was the Estates Manager on trumped-up charges, and attempted to dump all responsibility for defective school vehicles onto the drivers thereof, I made it my mission to get rid of her, which took 8 weeks. Contributory to that was that she had screwed up the notice requirements by not amending what counted as a term from ancient days. I duly let myself into the school building and deposited my resignation on the day before Easter Day (when the entire place was on holiday). This neatly meant that when they discovered it, their half-term's notice would have completed on the term's notice I'd given anyway. FURNC.

[CharlieOneSix]

At one organisation I worked for in the mists of time, pilots had to give 3 month’s notice of resignation but the Company only had to give us 1 month’s notice. One pilot put in his 3 month’s notice and the bitter and twisted MD gave him a month’s notice in return for daring to resign. I can’t remember how the change came about but the terms were subsequently revised to a more realistic 1 month’s notice on each side.

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

I think the ultimate was at the University of Prince Edward Island, where you had to apply to lecture 10 months before the course started. They were obliged to inform you of acceptance 9 months beforehand, but in pratice gave you 2 days notice on a deliberately undated contract. This was so they could cancel the course at very short notice without having to pay you for the prep work you'd already done. It was deliberate (abuse of) policy right from the University President. Well, when I decided to leave, they found out on the day the course started when their contract wasn't returned. And the relevance to elections is that the President's next job, by acclamation, was Premier of the Province. The existing Premier stepped down "unexpectedly", the Prez was acclaimed party leader immediately despite not being a party member the day before. An apparatchik MP stood down in a safe seat immediately after that and the Prez won the by-election = instant Premier. I decided keeping a low profile would be a good idea

[Sisemen]

The guy who writes the rules for the RAF is wonder worker...I had to give 3 years notice to get out!!

[k3k3]

When I tried to PVR from the RAF they told me I could leave in 18 months on a date two weeks after the end of my engagement...

[om15]

It is normal practice in engineering organisations to bond individuals for a three year period for all type rating training costs, this can be a sliding scale over three years or full cost up to the last day of the three year period.
Mythology claims that this is illegal, but if you sign the agreement it is binding, a typical cost these days for say a Falcon 2000 Ex easy course including accommodation and so on is about 60,000 Euros, it is possible to have over £100,000 on bond, this does discourage people from moving around, however a new employer can pick up the existing bond, I left one organisation with a fag end of an Airbus course bond of a few thousand, I paid it, the new employer reimbursed me and I signed a new bond for the sum.
With training costs so high this is pretty fair, however there are occasions where the manufacturers courses for pilots and engineers come free with a new aircraft, in this case one has to be wary that the bond only reflects the cost of accommodation and travel and not the total.

[Pontius Navigator]

We had one nav who walked out during a refresher course prior to joining a sqn. Lots of huffing and puffing but he was a Russian linguist and a civil service job came up in Berlin. There are some special rules of you can find them.

Son in Law was an Army SSgt. They would not promote or commission him as they needed his skills. He jumped to the RAF and retired as a wg cdr.

[AtomKraft]

Must say I'm very chuffed with the outcome of the election.
It's fair cheered me up!

Merry Christmas to remainers and leavers alike, but it's better being on the side that wins!
On the other hand, maybe we all won this time.

It's enough to restore ones faith in democracy!

[ian16th]

This delightful lady appears to be the ideal Leader of the Labour Party.

If elected she should ensure that Boris is in office until he chooses to retire!

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

So this will be the second Labour leadership election in a row where members of the opposition join the Labour Party in order to make sure that the Labour loyalists' first choice gets in!
How stupid are these people?
And on this occasion I will be happy for them to take that as a challenge rather than a rhetorical question.

[Pontius Navigator]

This delightful lady appears to be the ideal Leader of the Labour Party.

If elected she should ensure that Boris is in office until he chooses to retire!

Salford docks would have closed as it was easier to unload containers at Seaforth than limit the ship size so they could use the canal. Masts had to be lowered, funnel tops removed and ships locked in and out. My father took one of the largest ships up there, he lost fender after fender in the locks.