Jon Posted January 14, 2013 Share Posted January 14, 2013 Peter You know you've incurred the wrath of the snowster when he uses your full first name. It's like when you're in trouble with your Mom ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyh29 Posted January 14, 2013 Share Posted January 14, 2013 (edited) You know you've incurred the wrath of the snowster when he uses your full first name. It's like when you're in trouble with your Mom ... he he Edited January 14, 2013 by tonyh29 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterms Posted January 14, 2013 Share Posted January 14, 2013 Ditto their views on defence - I'm fine with reducing exports and so on, it's the bit in bold above that's daft, their view on the consequences of their policy. It's utterly ridiculous, but does enough to tickle the button of anyone who doesn't know anything about what's actually involved Are the skills and resources used in the defence industries completely unable to be transferred to other uses? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blandy Posted January 14, 2013 Moderator Share Posted January 14, 2013 In keeping with the spirit and dismissive tone of this line, Peter, perhaps you ought to have spent more than a few seconds on it. I'm not saying that it's necessarily practical or that it would be an easy thing to implement but I don't think it's a bonkers idea and I think it is an idea worth looking at. As an example, here's a post from Dillow on the subject from a number of years ago: Another possible resource. Not meant to be dismissive, just to reflect I hadn't spent much time thinking it through. Sorry if it came across as rude - I hoped by the bit about would wages go up or down you'd see I only half thought about my post. That said, the link you provided - ha ha!. Exactly why it's mad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowychap Posted January 14, 2013 Share Posted January 14, 2013 *Shrug* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blandy Posted January 14, 2013 Moderator Share Posted January 14, 2013 Are the skills and resources used in the defence industries completely unable to be transferred to other uses? At least you're still speaking to me Some of them clearly are, as with many industries. On the plus side, there's all the ones you'd pick, I guess - things like perhaps aerodynamic design for wind turbine blades, or machining techniques, or electrical (though it's a different branch of electrical engineering, being much much higher voltage) and some of the kit that might monitor or communicate status . Then there's catering, cleaning, procurement (shopping, as I call it) and so on. And advanced materials, and stress (structural fatigue) - all kinds of little areas. So far so good. But....The site I work on is a huge airfield, all the machinery is geared towards aircraft. The tooling is not that for wind turbines (or any other wave or renewable form) so that'd all have to go, and be replaced. That's a heck of a cost. Then there's the numbers of people. Retraining. Costs a lot. And the numbers and balance of the people would be very different. Lots of redundancies. Costs a lot. And all that would put the "new" BAE at a massive compettive disadvantage against existing renewable manufacturers. And no orders to pay for it, on day 0. Of course you would have to shut the airfield. There are airports near us already. I suppose all the people who have swappable skills could move wherever, take their kids out of school and just move to all the vacancies in the current Green industries...except there aren't anywhere near the 15,000 for everyone at my site to go to. It's like something Paulo posted a while ago about old mining towns - they're still lagging in employment from the "old" days of mining. There's merit in saying some skills are transferrable, but it's pie in the sky to say that such a change as the Greens are proposing would be a realistic proposition. It's would actually be a destruction of something this Country is good at, which keeps people and their families in house and home, and all the local businesses it supports from pubs to shops to schools to services. You might as well say lets get rid of car making and everyone in the car industry could go to work in the aircraft industry (Rover shutting down....), or all nurses could become teachers. It's glib and impractical. The vacancies, the need for employees in the new host industry, the burden doing it would place on the new host companies....as mad as the one snowy likes about give everyone enough money to live on, for free, every year. Where the Greens are good is in their highlighting things we could do differently that are of long term benefit for the world and our environment. Lots of areas you quoted, but there's a few that are mad as a box of frogs, IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Awol Posted January 14, 2013 Share Posted January 14, 2013 ^*like* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowychap Posted January 14, 2013 Share Posted January 14, 2013 (edited) ...as mad as the one snowy likes about give everyone enough money to live on, for free, every year. *sigh* I'd rather you didn't include me in your discussion if you can't be bothered to devote more than a second or two of your time to think about the idea put forward or to actually consider what I said about it. Please don't bother to respond if it's going to more of the same. Edited January 14, 2013 by snowychap Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blandy Posted January 14, 2013 Moderator Share Posted January 14, 2013 *sigh* I'd rather you didn't include me in your discussion if you can't be bothered to devote more than a second or two of your time to think about the idea put forward or to actually consider what I said about it. "can't be bothered" is wrong. Took the courtesy of (in the brief time available to me, earlier) trying to type something quickly to answer a question, I'd say, Snowy. As for including you in a discussion - you are already in it, of your own choice. You made a post. I disagree with you, and you with me. That's fine. As I already said, no offence was intended on my part, and I apologise for any I have caused you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowychap Posted January 14, 2013 Share Posted January 14, 2013 Forget it. I'm sorry but this exchange is worth as much effort as you appear to have given to understanding the idea in the first place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterms Posted January 14, 2013 Share Posted January 14, 2013 Where the Greens are good is in their highlighting things we could do differently that are of long term benefit for the world and our environment. Lots of areas you quoted, but there's a few that are mad as a box of frogs, IMO. So, you resist re-education. In that case, you shall till the fields, with the peasants. Likewise your expatriate chum, once we lay our hands on him. We are watching the ports. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blandy Posted January 14, 2013 Moderator Share Posted January 14, 2013 You'll never take us alive, yoghurt knitter! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Risso Posted January 15, 2013 Share Posted January 15, 2013 Did anybody see Blandy on Piers Morgan the other night? He looked a bit cross! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyh29 Posted January 15, 2013 Share Posted January 15, 2013 I'd be cross if my parents had called me Piers as well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bickster Posted January 16, 2013 Author Moderator Share Posted January 16, 2013 Did anybody see Blandy on Piers Morgan the other night? He looked a bit cross! If Blandy was on Piers Morgan, I hope he had the good sense to land a few early blows Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blandy Posted January 16, 2013 Moderator Share Posted January 16, 2013 WTF! No idea what you're on about, but Risso watches Piers Morgan. Blimey. I thought he was a man of good taste (albeit a bit twee, musically) and refinement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterms Posted January 16, 2013 Share Posted January 16, 2013 WTF! No idea what you're on about This? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyh29 Posted January 16, 2013 Share Posted January 16, 2013 WTF! No idea what you're on about, but Risso watches Piers Morgan. Blimey. I thought he was a man of good taste (albeit a bit twee, musically) and refinement. maybe the extra digit on his hand makes it cumbersome for him to change channels on the remote ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingfisher Posted January 16, 2013 Share Posted January 16, 2013 (edited) This? OMG that blowhard actually had me rooting for Piers! I've come across this asshole before accidentally when searching for a picture of the one show's Alex Jones boobies. Edit - when I say come across... Edited January 16, 2013 by Kingfisher Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted January 16, 2013 Share Posted January 16, 2013 How many people afraid to swim because of the great white shark? Perfectly valid question but to be honest I know my local baths have modernised and introduced fun activities but great white shark chasing isnt one of them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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