DonPeffers Posted September 24, 2020 Share Posted September 24, 2020 https://www.thelocal.de/20200923/why-is-germany-doing-better-than-the-uk-at-fighting-a-resurgence-of-covid-19 "On Tuesday UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson was asked by opposition Labour MP Ben Bradshaw if "the reason Germany and Italy have far lower Covid rates than us" is because their contact tracing and testing programmes work. Johnson rejected the argument, adding: "Actually there is an important difference between our country and many other countries around the world, that is that our country is a freedom-loving country." "If you look at the history of this country over the last 300 years, virtually every advance from free speech to democracy has come from this country. "And it is very difficult to ask the British population uniformly to obey guidelines in the way that it is necessary." Let me get this right.......Italy and Germany are NOT democracy loving countries BUT we are. Also I must be wrong in thinking the Greeks invented democracy over 2000 years ago as UK invented it 300 years ago. This would be laughable if it weren't so serious. What post-covid effects is Boris suffering from? Disclaimer-----This is not meant to severely reprimand HM Government. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonPeffers Posted September 24, 2020 Author Share Posted September 24, 2020 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatman Posted September 24, 2020 Share Posted September 24, 2020 25 minutes ago, DonPeffers said: Let me get this right.......Italy and Germany are NOT democracy loving countries BUT we are. The German population, for certain, is more likely to obey government instructions. The same is true for several other countries, althiugh they are mostly to the east of the Greenwich Meridian. The Italians I'm not so sure. 27 minutes ago, DonPeffers said: Also I must be wrong in thinking the Greeks invented democracy over 2000 years ago as UK invented it 300 years ago. Boris says "every advance, from freedom of speed to democracy...". So he's not claiming we invented it, but he is claiming we "advanced" it. Whatever that means. A bold claim... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonPeffers Posted September 24, 2020 Author Share Posted September 24, 2020 Boris' actual reply to Ben Bradshaw is "Actually there is an important difference between our country and many other countries around the world, that is that our country is a freedom-loving country." "If you look at the history of this country over the last 300 years, virtually every advance from free speech to democracy has come from this country. And it is very difficult to ask the British population uniformly to obey guidelines in the way that it is necessary." The phrasing does not indicate to me suggesting 'advancing democracy' especially when 300 years ago we were involved heavily in the slave trade which ended with the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 some 187 years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatman Posted September 24, 2020 Share Posted September 24, 2020 2 hours ago, DonPeffers said: The phrasing does not indicate to me suggesting 'advancing democracy' I guess we read it differently. The modifier is dangling so it can be interpreted at least two ways. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatman Posted September 24, 2020 Share Posted September 24, 2020 23 hours ago, Blatman said: Boris says "every advance, from freedom of speed to democracy..." Blatters, your Freudian slip is showing me old fruit... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonPeffers Posted September 25, 2020 Author Share Posted September 25, 2020 I totally forgot to mention The Highland Clearances, less than 300 years ago, contribution to advancing to democracy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatman Posted September 25, 2020 Share Posted September 25, 2020 44 minutes ago, DonPeffers said: I totally forgot to mention The Highland Clearances, less than 300 years ago, contribution to advancing to democracy. Yeah well I'm not as old as you... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonPeffers Posted September 26, 2020 Author Share Posted September 26, 2020 22 hours ago, Blatman said: Yeah well I'm not as old as you... Very true. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lyonspride Posted September 27, 2020 Share Posted September 27, 2020 I don't know about Italy, but Germany are extremely conformist, it's part of how Adolf Hitler came to power and why WW2 happened. In Germany if your expected to do something then you do it, and the majority of German people are extremely intolerant of people who fail to conform, a prime example of this is their attitude to motorbikes and MCs. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatman Posted September 27, 2020 Share Posted September 27, 2020 1 hour ago, Lyonspride said: a prime example of this is their attitude to motorbikes and MCs. Never experienced that in Germany, but then I ride a BMW... They are conformist though and actually when working out there, I quite their conformist attitude in the workplace. Makes for a VERY safe environment and as I spend a LOT of my time around heavy(ish) industry, it is most welcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart Posted September 27, 2020 Share Posted September 27, 2020 Yea I worked in heavy industry too. Once visited a brand new production line in Dortmund and was astounded by the lack of guarding on conveyors. I asked. Answer was that if you tell a German not to put his hand in there then he won't put his hand in there. And it's true. The populations of some countries see it as being about responsibilities. Others see it as being about rights Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Colonial Posted September 28, 2020 Share Posted September 28, 2020 10 hours ago, Stuart said: Yea I worked in heavy industry too. Once visited a brand new production line in Dortmund and was astounded by the lack of guarding on conveyors. I asked. Answer was that if you tell a German not to put his hand in there then he won't put his hand in there. And it's true. I was unfortunate enough to be at a body panel manufacturer when an “accident” happened. They used a massive hydraulic press from the war updated with guards and a laser system that stopped the press if it wasn’t clear. The men who operated it had to keep feeding it at a high speed or face disciplinary action. In addition, if they didn’t get a piece of sheet metal in square and the pressing was defective, they were fined. This predictably led to a perfect storm that day when they had a misfeed. The worker had learned how to reach around the guard without tripping the beam and did so as the press came down and got his arm caught under the die. His colleague pressed the STOP button but as it was an ancient press, it had no reverse. Paramedics came, morphined the hell out of him, put a tourniquet around his upper arm and after two hours of torture, finished the press which messily severed his arm above the elbow. I could regale you with dozens of stories similar to that and worse from the waste industry, where work to task creates hundreds of ways to make a hazardous and lethal working environment. As mentioned, the Germans would never dream of risking themselves that way and have created working environments so safe that they have beer vending machines on site. My favourite German training video - it gets really interesting about 3 minutes in: 😄 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatman Posted September 28, 2020 Share Posted September 28, 2020 Proper B movie horror show Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arm Posted September 28, 2020 Share Posted September 28, 2020 Not much of a comparison between Germany and the UK. Worked there a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.