Current Affairs 2024

[david63]

Let's start a new topic for a new year

[Stephen]

Who else gets fed up with company’s wanting a pat on the back every time you purchase something, as in fill in a survey or write a review.

[Manoverboard]

Not at all ... I enjoy deleting them

[Onelife]

Who else gets fed up with company’s wanting a pat on the back every time you purchase something, as in fill in a survey or write a review.

In theses days where companies can get slaughtered by disgruntled customers for bad service, I think its only fair good companies get a pat on the back when they provide good service…I recently posted one for “First Tunnels”

[Onelife]

Not at all ... I enjoy deleting them

Old habits die hard Moby...I forgive you!

[towny44]

Who else gets fed up with company’s wanting a pat on the back every time you purchase something, as in fill in a survey or write a review.

Me, me,me, I get really p****d off and mainly just ignore them.

[CaroleF]

I don't mind completing a survey if I've had exceptional service, or on the contrary, bad service, or if an item I've purchased I think is worth praising. What I will not do is to complete the survey which after a few questions about the delivery etc. goes on to ask how I was 'feeling'. Was I excited, sad etc. etc. What on earth has that to do with anything. The majority of requests I just delete.

Carole

[Stephen]

And half the time the questions are irrelevant.

And another thing, when getting insurance quotes, why do they always ask what your marital status is. If your house catches fire or you have a car accident how the hell is being married or single going to make a difference.

[Manoverboard]

They could be checking in case you are intending to murder the wife ... just a wild guess

[Stephen]

They could be checking in case you are intending to murder the wife ... just a wild guess

Does that affect the premium......asking for a friend.

[Onelife]

Sir Keir Starmer has said he is "up for that fight" over accusations Labour is embracing the "nanny state" as he announced proposals for supervised toothbrushing in schools.

I’m not sure this will be desirable or effective in a school environment.

I don’t suppose it will be teachers directly supervising the kids, this, I presume will more than likely be left to school assistants, either way I think their time would be better spent teaching kids’ basic hygiene as part of the physical and health education lessons and not being marched down to the school toilets to have their morning wash and brush up.
How will they tell which of the primary children have brushed their teeth and which haven’t? I have read that overbrushing teeth at a very young age can cause gum and enamel problems?
I think Keir’s plan for more dentists in deprived areas is the right way forward but this could also be said about the rest of the country were getting an NHS dentist has been a major problem for years.
From my observation most newly, qualified dentists use the the NHS until such time that they have gained enough experiences then go private….this I believe is the root cause of the decay in not filling the cavity which is left behind.

[Mervyn and Trish]

My concern is this must be the fifth thing he says is going to be funded by ending non dom status.

[towny44]

I watched Sir Keir this morning on TV, and he is so boring, for all their faults Blair and Boris could not be considered boring, but unfortunately he seems destined to be our next PM.
His main thrust this morning was to revitalise the economy and reduce taxes, I hope in vain that those persuaded to vote for him, will examine this comment seriously, and realise that to grow the economy requires investment, and that needs money, and the only places a government can obtain this is either via more taxes or more borrowing.
So it's likely to be the latter, which of course is what all Labour govts have done in the past, which following the massive borrowing the current govt had to do during Covid, is probably the last thing the markets want to see from a UK govt at present.

[Chalgrave4]

towny44
Your comments re Government borrowing raise a point I have re the medias current reporting of the "Financial Crisis". In view of the huge amounts spent to provide support during Covid how do people think this is to be funded. A situation not of the Governments making required support - we as a country now have to pay for that - there is no magic money tree.

[oldbluefox]

I didn't hear many complaining when they were furloughed and dealing with the pandemic..................least of all the opposition party politicians. Some very short memories out there.

[Mervyn and Trish]

Looking abroad again to Gaza, when Hamas kicked this off in October by killing 1200 Israelis my sympathy was almost entirely with Israel, even if their actions in the North Bank and Gaza had built up the resentment that led to that moment.

Bit by bit my sympathy has ebbed away and I am now pretty much the polar opposite. Israel says it has eliminated the Hamas control structure in Northern Gaza by killing 8,000 militants. The total death toll has reached more than 22,000. That means they've killed 14,000 innocents, many of them women and children. More than ten times the total killed by Hamas. Who are the terrorists now?

Extremists in Israel say the Palestinians should be expelled entirely from Gaza. Isn't that pretty much the Nazi line in WW2?

I am not anti-Semitic. I have nothing against the vast majority of Jews. But I am very much anti the Israeli government at this moment. They are committing genocide.

[Slapstick]

Looking abroad again to Gaza, when Hamas kicked this off in October by killing 1200 Israelis my sympathy was almost entirely with Israel, even if their actions in the North Bank and Gaza had built up the resentment that led to that moment.

Bit by bit my sympathy has ebbed away and I am now pretty much the polar opposite. Israel says it has eliminated the Hamas control structure in Northern Gaza by killing 8,000 militants. The total death toll has reached more than 22,000. That means they've killed 14,000 innocents, many of them women and children. More than ten times the total killed by Hamas. Who are the terrorists now?

Extremists in Israel say the Palestinians should be expelled entirely from Gaza. Isn't that pretty much the Nazi line in WW2?

I am not anti-Semitic. I have nothing against the vast majority of Jews. But I am very much anti the Israeli government at this moment. They are committing genocide.

In an idyllic world there would be no war, however innocent people have been killed in all wars for hundreds of years and more.

Do we consider British soldiers and governments terrorists, after all countless innocent Germans, Iraqis, Afghans etc, etc have killed been during our conflicts, and a lot more than the figures we are seeing here?

Bearing in mind Hamas are deliberately using hospitals and other public buildings to fight the war knowing full well innocent people will be killed, I believe Israel had to and need to continue take this action, I believe that in the understanding mistakes will be made and targets wrongly identified leading to innocent people being killed.

Terrorism and extremism cannot be allowed to win out at any cost.

[oldbluefox]

I think it's time for a ceasefire, release of all the hostages, humanitarian aid allowed in and a multinational solution to the Israeli Palestinian conflict which is easier said than done. Let's face it they're so entrenched neither side will be willing to back down.

[Slapstick]

I think it's time for a ceasefire, release of all the hostages, humanitarian aid allowed in and a multinational solution to the Israeli Palestinian conflict which is easier said than done. Let's face it they're so entrenched neither side will be willing to back down.

"Entrenched" exactly what it is, war and violence has been in this region since the year dot.

As much as I would like to see peace in the region it's simply not going to happen until Hamas are effectively eliminated, problem now is with Iran backing the rebels, Houthis and Hamas it's only going to escalate following last nights air strikes.

[Onelife]

Looking abroad again to Gaza, when Hamas kicked this off in October by killing 1200 Israelis my sympathy was almost entirely with Israel, even if their actions in the North Bank and Gaza had built up the resentment that led to that moment.

Bit by bit my sympathy has ebbed away and I am now pretty much the polar opposite. Israel says it has eliminated the Hamas control structure in Northern Gaza by killing 8,000 militants. The total death toll has reached more than 22,000. That means they've killed 14,000 innocents, many of them women and children. More than ten times the total killed by Hamas. Who are the terrorists now?

Extremists in Israel say the Palestinians should be expelled entirely from Gaza. Isn't that pretty much the Nazi line in WW2?

I am not anti-Semitic. I have nothing against the vast majority of Jews. But I am very much anti the Israeli government at this moment. They are committing genocide.

In an idyllic world there would be no war, however innocent people have been killed in all wars for hundreds of years and more.

Do we consider British soldiers and governments terrorists, after all countless innocent Germans, Iraqis, Afghans etc, etc have killed been during our conflicts, and a lot more than the figures we are seeing here?

Bearing in mind Hamas are deliberately using hospitals and other public buildings to fight the war knowing full well innocent people will be killed, I believe Israel had to and need to continue take this action, I believe that in the understanding mistakes will be made and targets wrongly identified leading to innocent people being killed.

Terrorism and extremism cannot be allowed to win out at any cost.

Hi Slapstick, your post echo’s my views entirely. If Israel backs off now it will result in two things…the first would be that Hamas would proclaim a victory and the second would be that they would reform only to exact the same heinous brutality sometime further down the line. We should not forget Hamas’s proclamation about wanting to kill every “Jew”

I do take on Sir Merv’s point about Hamas’s resentment and I do think there is some justification in that view... but the way Hamas went about making their point falls way outside what most people would consider acceptable.

[towny44]

Looking abroad again to Gaza, when Hamas kicked this off in October by killing 1200 Israelis my sympathy was almost entirely with Israel, even if their actions in the North Bank and Gaza had built up the resentment that led to that moment.

Bit by bit my sympathy has ebbed away and I am now pretty much the polar opposite. Israel says it has eliminated the Hamas control structure in Northern Gaza by killing 8,000 militants. The total death toll has reached more than 22,000. That means they've killed 14,000 innocents, many of them women and children. More than ten times the total killed by Hamas. Who are the terrorists now?

Extremists in Israel say the Palestinians should be expelled entirely from Gaza. Isn't that pretty much the Nazi line in WW2?

I am not anti-Semitic. I have nothing against the vast majority of Jews. But I am very much anti the Israeli government at this moment. They are committing genocide.

I believe quite a lot of Israelis don't really agree with the hardline policies the current govt had been pursuing prior to the Hamas massacre, but the Hamas massacre and hostage taking has subdued their voices, and possibly increased the likelihood that the hard right govt may continue in power for some time.
However I do agree that the continued killing of innocent civilians in Gaza will never lead to peace in the area, but the extremist right wing bigots in the Israeli govt seem hell bent on making life in Gaza in future almost impossible.

[Onelife]

The only way this conflict is going to be resolved will be when Israel feel they have eliminated any future threat from Hamas. Any form of lasting peace will come when the 48% of those who oppose Hamas are able to form a new government without the threat of getting their heads cut off.

[Slapstick]

The only way this conflict is going to be resolved will be when Israel feel they have eliminated any future threat from Hamas. Any form of lasting peace will come when the 48% of those who oppose Hamas are able to form a new government without the threat of getting their heads cut off.

Agreed Onelife, but unfortunately I think that's a long way off

20 years and United forces couldn't eliminate the Taliban, look at them now.

[david63]

The only way this conflict is going to be resolved will be when Israel feel they have eliminated any future threat from Hamas

I would not disagree - but do you seriously believe that Hamas will ever be eliminated. Look at other groups around the world (https://www.dni.gov/nctc/groups.html.) they all still exist and are a potential threat.

[oldbluefox]

How do you eradicate an ideology when it seems if you defeat it in one area it surfaces again somewhere else.