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politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » My 66/1 long-shot bet for the 2020 White House race: Democrati

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  • Options
    Scott_P said:

    @GuardianHeather: PM's spox offers strong defence of Boris Johnson for his WWII comments: "he was not saying anyone was a Nazi".


    What is a spox?

    Spokesperson on Brexit?

    As in a pox on both your houses?
  • Options
    OllyTOllyT Posts: 4,917

    TOPPING said:

    Edit: 169 job vacancies for forklift truck drivers. In Stevenage.

    A moments inspection of which will show you that many of the jobs are the same job being advertised by different agencies.

    A further moments inspection will show you most of those jobs are not in Stevenage, unless Harlow, Watford and Bishop Stortford suddenly moved when I wasnt looking

    Give me strength, if someone can come from Warsaw to London, learn a new language and get a job and do it with a smile on their face I'm sure your forklift driver could manage the 19 miles to Harlow in order to find a job.
  • Options
    logical_songlogical_song Posts: 9,724

    Scott_P said:
    Keep going Scott - you are not persuading anyone
    Maybe he's trying to educate.
    Admittedly it's a triumph of hope over experience.
  • Options

    How about the new 'silk road' train arriving from China at Barking.

    Quicker than sea and cheaper than air cargo

    Fantastic

    Will it return empty or full of British exports?
  • Options
    Scott_P said:

    How about the new 'silk road' train arriving from China at Barking.

    Quicker than sea and cheaper than air cargo

    Fantastic

    despite being part of the EU
    And now for our own trade deal with China
  • Options
    CarlottaVanceCarlottaVance Posts: 59,785

    How about the new 'silk road' train arriving from China at Barking.

    Quicker than sea and cheaper than air cargo

    Fantastic

    Livestream on the BBC now...
  • Options
    TOPPINGTOPPING Posts: 41,389
    edited January 2017

    TOPPING said:

    TOPPING said:

    Edit: 169 job vacancies for forklift truck drivers. In Stevenage.

    A moments inspection of which will show you that many of the jobs are the same job being advertised by different agencies.

    A further moments inspection will show you most of those jobs are not in Stevenage, unless Harlow, Watford and Bishop Stortford suddenly moved when I wasnt looking

    Thank you, so you agree that there are plenty of jobs for forklift truck drivers in Stevenage and its environs.
    The claim that there is 160+ jobs in Hertfordshire and the surrounding counties (including many duplicates from different agences) is slightly less impressive than the original suggestion that there was than many in Stevenage I think you will agree.

    Even were this the case, how does this compare to the wages a couple of decades ago, and how many are full time jobs compared to a couple of decades ago.

    The issue you continually dodge is that the number of semi skilled and unskilled workers in part time work is 5 times the number it was a couple of decades ago, and yet with more work all around due to the wonders of the single market, pray tell why that is ?
    So what? There is no proof and only @isam and presumably your supposition that there is a link between increasing part time work (a 20-yr trend) and immigration.

    As for forklift truck drivers there are plenty of jobs at all wage levels for all levels of qualification which means there is an excessive demand for labour in this sector and therefore no wage pressure but rather the reverse.
  • Options

    How about the new 'silk road' train arriving from China at Barking.

    Quicker than sea and cheaper than air cargo

    Fantastic

    Will it return empty or full of British exports?
    One would hope it was full of UK goods. This is a remarkable development and should be expanded to more services direct London to China.

    There must be a demand for a trans siberian style service to China

  • Options
    Scott_PScott_P Posts: 51,453

    What is a spox?

    spokesperson
  • Options
    Scott_P said:

    Angela Merkel responds to Tezza's "threats"

    Come ahead if you think you're hard enough...

    @CharHayward: Merkel: I'm not afraid. I think we’ll stick together. Europe must not be divided.

    Ve vill not be divided. You will all follow ze orders.
  • Options
    AlsoIndigoAlsoIndigo Posts: 1,852
    edited January 2017
    Dromedary said:

    Lee Kwan Yew's dictatorship in Singapore and Augusto Pinochet's in Chile have long been the ideal dream regimes in Tory minds, just as certain ones on the European continent were in the 1930s. Are you aware that about 40% of people living in Singapore are foreigners who aren't citizens of that country?

    Yes, as I mentioned I worked there on and off for five years. I don't remember a gun being pointed at my head and forcing my to work there, or to stay.
    Dromedary said:

    Singapore is the place that I believe will be first in requiring compulsory mass microchip implantation. Whether in the first instance that will only be for "workers" or whether it will extend to those whom the regime and its media designate as "talents" is an open question.

    "I believe" ? Other than your apparent dislike for Singapore, do you have any evidence to support this assertion ?
    Dromedary said:

    Lee Hsien Loong, who took over from pater Lee Kwan Yew, was Senior Wrangler at Cambridge (top in the undergraduate maths finals - for more than 200 years a highly respected achievement) one year in the early 1970s. He was allowed to sit the exams in a room on his own. Why? Because when he was doing them he shouted a lot.

    and...
  • Options
    williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 48,116
    David Davis to be made Foreign Secretary might be a good bet.
  • Options

    David Davis to be made Foreign Secretary might be a good bet.

    He is certainly the most impressive of the 3 'Brexiteers'
  • Options
    Who thought the Third World War with Germany would be fought on trade?
  • Options
    AlsoIndigoAlsoIndigo Posts: 1,852
    OllyT said:

    TOPPING said:

    Edit: 169 job vacancies for forklift truck drivers. In Stevenage.

    A moments inspection of which will show you that many of the jobs are the same job being advertised by different agencies.

    A further moments inspection will show you most of those jobs are not in Stevenage, unless Harlow, Watford and Bishop Stortford suddenly moved when I wasnt looking

    Give me strength, if someone can come from Warsaw to London, learn a new language and get a job and do it with a smile on their face I'm sure your forklift driver could manage the 19 miles to Harlow in order to find a job.
    I am sure lots of very able people can travel all sorts of distances, it has no relevance to the issue at hand. Its just the claim that there was 160 such jobs in Stevenage was bullshit.
  • Options
    AlsoIndigoAlsoIndigo Posts: 1,852
    TOPPING said:

    TOPPING said:

    TOPPING said:

    Edit: 169 job vacancies for forklift truck drivers. In Stevenage.

    A moments inspection of which will show you that many of the jobs are the same job being advertised by different agencies.

    A further moments inspection will show you most of those jobs are not in Stevenage, unless Harlow, Watford and Bishop Stortford suddenly moved when I wasnt looking

    Thank you, so you agree that there are plenty of jobs for forklift truck drivers in Stevenage and its environs.
    The claim that there is 160+ jobs in Hertfordshire and the surrounding counties (including many duplicates from different agences) is slightly less impressive than the original suggestion that there was than many in Stevenage I think you will agree.

    Even were this the case, how does this compare to the wages a couple of decades ago, and how many are full time jobs compared to a couple of decades ago.

    The issue you continually dodge is that the number of semi skilled and unskilled workers in part time work is 5 times the number it was a couple of decades ago, and yet with more work all around due to the wonders of the single market, pray tell why that is ?
    So what? There is no proof and only @isam and presumably your supposition that there is a link between increasing part time work (a 20-yr trend) and immigration.

    As for forklift truck drivers there are plenty of jobs at all wage levels for all levels of qualification which means there is an excessive demand for labour in this sector and therefore no wage pressure but rather the reverse.
    Now you are completely missing the point. It doesnt matter what I think. It matters what the forklift driver that voted for brexit thinks. I am not sure you are convincing him.
  • Options
    williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 48,116

    Who thought the Third World War with Germany would be fought on trade?

    Their natural global ally in the 'Axis of Export' is logically China.
  • Options
    felixfelix Posts: 15,125
    TOPPING said:

    Listening to PMQ's week by week labour MP's seem only to ask questions on the NHS.

    Welcome to the past seven years. Good Lab strategy.
    Is that why they won the last election and are so far ahead in the polls?
  • Options
    TOPPINGTOPPING Posts: 41,389
    When you look up "mellifluous" in the dictionary you see there a picture of Emily Thornberry.
  • Options

    TOPPING said:

    TOPPING said:

    Edit: 169 job vacancies for forklift truck drivers. In Stevenage.

    A moments inspection of which will show you that many of the jobs are the same job being advertised by different agencies.

    A further moments inspection will show you most of those jobs are not in Stevenage, unless Harlow, Watford and Bishop Stortford suddenly moved when I wasnt looking

    Thank you, so you agree that there are plenty of jobs for forklift truck drivers in Stevenage and its environs.
    The claim that there is 160+ jobs in Hertfordshire and the surrounding counties (including many duplicates from different agences) is slightly less impressive than the original suggestion that there was than many in Stevenage I think you will agree.

    Even were this the case, how does this compare to the wages a couple of decades ago, and how many are full time jobs compared to a couple of decades ago.

    The issue you continually dodge is that the number of semi skilled and unskilled workers in part time work is 5 times the number it was a couple of decades ago, and yet with more work all around due to the wonders of the single market, pray tell why that is ?
    Automation. In 5-10 years almost all forklift trucks will be driven by robots.

    But only British ones.

  • Options
    OllyTOllyT Posts: 4,917

    Scott_P said:

    Angela Merkel responds to Tezza's "threats"

    Come ahead if you think you're hard enough...

    @CharHayward: Merkel: I'm not afraid. I think we’ll stick together. Europe must not be divided.

    Ve vill not be divided. You will all follow ze orders.
    O how we laughed
  • Options
    OllyTOllyT Posts: 4,917

    David Davis to be made Foreign Secretary might be a good bet.

    He is certainly the most impressive of the 3 'Brexiteers'

    It's not a very bar though is it?
  • Options
    TOPPINGTOPPING Posts: 41,389

    TOPPING said:

    TOPPING said:

    TOPPING said:

    Edit: 169 job vacancies for forklift truck drivers. In Stevenage.

    A moments inspection of which will show you that many of the jobs are the same job being advertised by different agencies.

    A further moments inspection will show you most of those jobs are not in Stevenage, unless Harlow, Watford and Bishop Stortford suddenly moved when I wasnt looking

    Thank you, so you agree that there are plenty of jobs for forklift truck drivers in Stevenage and its environs.
    The claim that there is 160+ jobs in Hertfordshire and the surrounding counties (including many duplicates from different agences) is slightly less impressive than the original suggestion that there was than many in Stevenage I think you will agree.

    Even were this the case, how does this compare to the wages a couple of decades ago, and how many are full time jobs compared to a couple of decades ago.

    The issue you continually dodge is that the number of semi skilled and unskilled workers in part time work is 5 times the number it was a couple of decades ago, and yet with more work all around due to the wonders of the single market, pray tell why that is ?
    So what? There is no proof and only @isam and presumably your supposition that there is a link between increasing part time work (a 20-yr trend) and immigration.

    As for forklift truck drivers there are plenty of jobs at all wage levels for all levels of qualification which means there is an excessive demand for labour in this sector and therefore no wage pressure but rather the reverse.
    Now you are completely missing the point. It doesnt matter what I think. It matters what the forklift driver that voted for brexit thinks. I am not sure you are convincing him.
    He has an environment in which there are plenty of jobs for him. Not a huge ask to convince him all is well.
  • Options
    [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 0
    edited January 2017
    Presumably this China trade train is also slower than air and more expensive than sea.
    Seafreight is good for large (low value density) items or ones that aren't too time critical.
    Air is good for time critical or very high value density.
    Train freight usually works for short distance or landlocked bulk.
    Genuinely interested to see which categories of goods make commercial sense to transport in the value density / time urgency middle ground that long distance trains offer.
    Middling value density stuff that can arrive in a few days. What is that? Electronics? Cars? Textiles? Maybe the return journey works for agricultural stuff (cheap to refrigerate as it trundles across Siberia). Pork?
  • Options
    TOPPINGTOPPING Posts: 41,389
    felix said:

    TOPPING said:

    Listening to PMQ's week by week labour MP's seem only to ask questions on the NHS.

    Welcome to the past seven years. Good Lab strategy.
    Is that why they won the last election and are so far ahead in the polls?
    I didn't say it was effective just that it's the only play they have.
  • Options
    Scott_P said:
    No decisions yet taken.
  • Options
    AlsoIndigoAlsoIndigo Posts: 1,852
    TOPPING said:

    When you look up "mellifluous" in the dictionary you see there a picture of Emily Thornberry.

    Certainly more so than Argclu!
  • Options
    felixfelix Posts: 15,125

    President Barack Obama will leave office Friday with his highest approval rating since 2009, his presidency largely viewed as a success, and a majority saying they will miss him when he is gone.

    A new CNN/ORC poll finds Obama's approval rating stands at 60%, his best mark since June of his first year in office. Compared with other outgoing presidents, Obama lands near the top of the list, outranked only by Bill Clinton's 66% in January 2001 and Ronald Reagan's 64% in January 1989. About two-thirds (65%) say Obama's presidency was a success, including about half (49%) who say that was due to Obama's personal strengths rather than circumstances outside his control.

    http://edition.cnn.com/2017/01/18/politics/obama-approval-rating-cnn-orc-poll/index.html

    What do they know compared to right wing posters on a UK betting blog? Brainwashed by Huffpo and CNN I daresay.
    Sadly it just highlights the utter foolishness of the democrats in offering HRC as his replacement.
  • Options
    JonathanDJonathanD Posts: 2,400
    Patrick said:

    Presumably this China trade train is also slower than air and more expensive than sea.
    Seafreight is good for large (low value density) items or ones that aren't too time critical.
    Air is good for time critical or very high value density.
    Train freight usually works for short distance or landlocked bulk.
    Genuinely interested to see which categories of goods make commercial sense to transport in the value density / time urgency middle ground that long distance trains offer.
    Middling value density stuff that can arrive in a few days. What is that? Electronics? Cars? Textiles?


    "The rail connection is with fast trains, and it is developing quickly,” he said. “It is finding acceptance among many customers.”

    Dismissing as “myth” that the only goods carried by rail from China were low-margin products typically carried by ocean, he said that secure, electronically sealed, as well as temperature-controlled, containers meant that high-value goods and lifescience products could now be safely transported on the ever-improving rail services."

    http://theloadstar.co.uk/china-europe-rail-threat-to-other-modes/
  • Options
    TGOHFTGOHF Posts: 21,633
    TOPPING said:

    When you look up "mellifluous" in the dictionary you see there a picture of Emily Thornberry.

    Do they print dictionaries on A0 format ?

  • Options
    AlsoIndigoAlsoIndigo Posts: 1,852
    edited January 2017
    TOPPING said:

    TOPPING said:

    TOPPING said:

    TOPPING said:

    Edit: 169 job vacancies for forklift truck drivers. In Stevenage.

    A moments inspection of which will show you that many of the jobs are the same job being advertised by different agencies.

    A further moments inspection will show you most of those jobs are not in Stevenage, unless Harlow, Watford and Bishop Stortford suddenly moved when I wasnt looking

    Thank you, so you agree that there are plenty of jobs for forklift truck drivers in Stevenage and its environs.
    The claim that there is 160+ jobs in Hertfordshire and the surrounding counties (including many duplicates from different agences) is slightly less impressive than the original suggestion that there was than many in Stevenage I think you will agree.

    Even were this the case, how does this compare to the wages a couple of decades ago, and how many are full time jobs compared to a couple of decades ago.

    The issue you continually dodge is that the number of semi skilled and unskilled workers in part time work is 5 times the number it was a couple of decades ago, and yet with more work all around due to the wonders of the single market, pray tell why that is ?
    So what? There is no proof and only @isam and presumably your supposition that there is a link between increasing part time work (a 20-yr trend) and immigration.

    As for forklift truck drivers there are plenty of jobs at all wage levels for all levels of qualification which means there is an excessive demand for labour in this sector and therefore no wage pressure but rather the reverse.
    Now you are completely missing the point. It doesnt matter what I think. It matters what the forklift driver that voted for brexit thinks. I am not sure you are convincing him.
    He has an environment in which there are plenty of jobs for him. Not a huge ask to convince him all is well.
    Some how all those financiers and CEOs that Remain trooped out seem to have failed in that regard ;)
  • Options
    SimonStClareSimonStClare Posts: 7,976
    edited January 2017
    TOPPING said:

    felix said:

    TOPPING said:

    Listening to PMQ's week by week labour MP's seem only to ask questions on the NHS.

    Welcome to the past seven years. Good Lab strategy.
    Is that why they won the last election and are so far ahead in the polls?
    I didn't say it was effective just that it's the only play they have.
    So if it's not effective but the only thing they have, it's hardly a "Good Lab strategy" then..
  • Options
    felix said:

    President Barack Obama will leave office Friday with his highest approval rating since 2009, his presidency largely viewed as a success, and a majority saying they will miss him when he is gone.

    A new CNN/ORC poll finds Obama's approval rating stands at 60%, his best mark since June of his first year in office. Compared with other outgoing presidents, Obama lands near the top of the list, outranked only by Bill Clinton's 66% in January 2001 and Ronald Reagan's 64% in January 1989. About two-thirds (65%) say Obama's presidency was a success, including about half (49%) who say that was due to Obama's personal strengths rather than circumstances outside his control.

    http://edition.cnn.com/2017/01/18/politics/obama-approval-rating-cnn-orc-poll/index.html

    What do they know compared to right wing posters on a UK betting blog? Brainwashed by Huffpo and CNN I daresay.
    Sadly it just highlights the utter foolishness of the democrats in offering HRC as his replacement.
    Obama's rating is fairly good, but all outgoing presidents get a boost (as the article suggests), i.e. look at the relative ranking not the overall level.
  • Options
    williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 48,116

    TOPPING said:

    felix said:

    TOPPING said:

    Listening to PMQ's week by week labour MP's seem only to ask questions on the NHS.

    Welcome to the past seven years. Good Lab strategy.
    Is that why they won the last election and are so far ahead in the polls?
    I didn't say it was effective just that it's the only play they have.
    So if it's not effective but the only thing they have, it's hardly a "Good Lab strategy" then..
    Given that the NHS is now indelibly linked with Brexit, it may be a better strategy than it appears.
  • Options
    felixfelix Posts: 15,125
    TOPPING said:

    felix said:

    TOPPING said:

    Listening to PMQ's week by week labour MP's seem only to ask questions on the NHS.

    Welcome to the past seven years. Good Lab strategy.
    Is that why they won the last election and are so far ahead in the polls?
    I didn't say it was effective just that it's the only play they have.
    No you said "Good Lab strategy" - maybe check out the dictionary next time?
  • Options
    nunununu Posts: 6,024
    We haven't left yet......


    So glad to see the fewer E.U migrants coming to work here has led to faster wage growth. This is exactly what I voted for!!!!!!
  • Options
    nunununu Posts: 6,024

    TOPPING said:

    TOPPING said:

    Edit: 169 job vacancies for forklift truck drivers. In Stevenage.

    A moments inspection of which will show you that many of the jobs are the same job being advertised by different agencies.

    A further moments inspection will show you most of those jobs are not in Stevenage, unless Harlow, Watford and Bishop Stortford suddenly moved when I wasnt looking

    Thank you, so you agree that there are plenty of jobs for forklift truck drivers in Stevenage and its environs.
    The claim that there is 160+ jobs in Hertfordshire and the surrounding counties (including many duplicates from different agences) is slightly less impressive than the original suggestion that there was than many in Stevenage I think you will agree.

    Even were this the case, how does this compare to the wages a couple of decades ago, and how many are full time jobs compared to a couple of decades ago.

    The issue you continually dodge is that the number of semi skilled and unskilled workers in part time work is 5 times the number it was a couple of decades ago, and yet with more work all around due to the wonders of the single market, pray tell why that is ?
    Automation. In 5-10 years almost all forklift trucks will be driven by robots.

    But only British ones.

    British jobs for British forklifts!
  • Options
    Stark_DawningStark_Dawning Posts: 9,317
    edited January 2017
    Scott_P said:
    Nissan-style 'reassurances'? That sounds troubling like a euphemism for 'inducements'.
  • Options
    CharlesCharles Posts: 35,758

    JonathanD said:

    The curious thing about yesterday is where all the Vote Leave so we can join the EEA voices have gone. Are they happy the with way they've been used?

    I asked this on a thread last night.

    I got one answer which said that EEA had proven itself to be not possible and was only a transitional point anyway.

    @Charles of this parish who I think was an EEAer is now justifying Brexit because "we're just different."
    I've not posted on Brexit for a while and don't intend to maintain a running commentary because I've got more interesting things to do.

    (Please all come to my Surrealism exhibition that opens next week)

    We are fundamentally different to Europe in many critical ways - legal systems, philosophical traditions, structure of the economy, etc. We 're not a good fit for what they want to do. But sure, happy with a trade based relationship.
  • Options
    eekeek Posts: 25,014
    JonathanD said:

    Patrick said:

    Presumably this China trade train is also slower than air and more expensive than sea.
    Seafreight is good for large (low value density) items or ones that aren't too time critical.
    Air is good for time critical or very high value density.
    Train freight usually works for short distance or landlocked bulk.
    Genuinely interested to see which categories of goods make commercial sense to transport in the value density / time urgency middle ground that long distance trains offer.
    Middling value density stuff that can arrive in a few days. What is that? Electronics? Cars? Textiles?


    "The rail connection is with fast trains, and it is developing quickly,” he said. “It is finding acceptance among many customers.”

    Dismissing as “myth” that the only goods carried by rail from China were low-margin products typically carried by ocean, he said that secure, electronically sealed, as well as temperature-controlled, containers meant that high-value goods and lifescience products could now be safely transported on the ever-improving rail services."

    http://theloadstar.co.uk/china-europe-rail-threat-to-other-modes/
    The actual point of the train service is to provide an export route for the part of China that is furtherest away from a port to the extent that its quicker to send the goods to Europe directly rather than sending them through China to a sea port to then be transported by ship.
  • Options
    JosiasJessopJosiasJessop Posts: 39,060

    TOPPING said:

    TOPPING said:

    Edit: 169 job vacancies for forklift truck drivers. In Stevenage.

    A moments inspection of which will show you that many of the jobs are the same job being advertised by different agencies.

    A further moments inspection will show you most of those jobs are not in Stevenage, unless Harlow, Watford and Bishop Stortford suddenly moved when I wasnt looking

    Thank you, so you agree that there are plenty of jobs for forklift truck drivers in Stevenage and its environs.
    The claim that there is 160+ jobs in Hertfordshire and the surrounding counties (including many duplicates from different agences) is slightly less impressive than the original suggestion that there was than many in Stevenage I think you will agree.

    Even were this the case, how does this compare to the wages a couple of decades ago, and how many are full time jobs compared to a couple of decades ago.

    The issue you continually dodge is that the number of semi skilled and unskilled workers in part time work is 5 times the number it was a couple of decades ago, and yet with more work all around due to the wonders of the single market, pray tell why that is ?
    Automation. In 5-10 years almost all forklift trucks will be driven by robots.
    Veering slightly off topic here, but:

    No chance. Absolutely no chance. Robots will take over in specific circumstances - but they'll already be there in most cases, e.g. large automated warehouses. But robots are nowhere near replicating the flexibility that forklifts with a human driver can do, especially when you take safety factors into account.
  • Options
    JonathanDJonathanD Posts: 2,400

    Scott_P said:
    Nissan-style 'reassurances'? That sounds troubling like a euphemism for 'inducements'.
    The only question is whether it will be the government that pays, or the Toyota worker. Probably both.

    From now on Theresa May's only answer to a company telling her to jump is to ask 'how high'.
  • Options
    williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 48,116
    Charles said:

    We are fundamentally different to Europe in many critical ways - legal systems, philosophical traditions, structure of the economy, etc. We 're not a good fit for what they want to do. But sure, happy with a trade based relationship.

    We are fundamentally central to what makes Europe Europe. We are indivisible from it, and to the extent that we represent a unique branch of European history, we have influenced the rest of the continent in our turn. It is a narcissistic delusion to think that what makes us British (or English) means that we are not recognisably, definitively European.
  • Options
    AlsoIndigoAlsoIndigo Posts: 1,852
    eek said:

    JonathanD said:

    Patrick said:

    Presumably this China trade train is also slower than air and more expensive than sea.
    Seafreight is good for large (low value density) items or ones that aren't too time critical.
    Air is good for time critical or very high value density.
    Train freight usually works for short distance or landlocked bulk.
    Genuinely interested to see which categories of goods make commercial sense to transport in the value density / time urgency middle ground that long distance trains offer.
    Middling value density stuff that can arrive in a few days. What is that? Electronics? Cars? Textiles?


    "The rail connection is with fast trains, and it is developing quickly,” he said. “It is finding acceptance among many customers.”

    Dismissing as “myth” that the only goods carried by rail from China were low-margin products typically carried by ocean, he said that secure, electronically sealed, as well as temperature-controlled, containers meant that high-value goods and lifescience products could now be safely transported on the ever-improving rail services."

    http://theloadstar.co.uk/china-europe-rail-threat-to-other-modes/
    The actual point of the train service is to provide an export route for the part of China that is furtherest away from a port to the extent that its quicker to send the goods to Europe directly rather than sending them through China to a sea port to then be transported by ship.
    Indeed. The distance from the China/Kazakhstan border to say Shanghai, is about the same distance as it is to Warsaw. China is huge.
  • Options

    President Barack Obama will leave office Friday with his highest approval rating since 2009, his presidency largely viewed as a success, and a majority saying they will miss him when he is gone.

    A new CNN/ORC poll finds Obama's approval rating stands at 60%, his best mark since June of his first year in office. Compared with other outgoing presidents, Obama lands near the top of the list, outranked only by Bill Clinton's 66% in January 2001 and Ronald Reagan's 64% in January 1989. About two-thirds (65%) say Obama's presidency was a success, including about half (49%) who say that was due to Obama's personal strengths rather than circumstances outside his control.

    http://edition.cnn.com/2017/01/18/politics/obama-approval-rating-cnn-orc-poll/index.html

    What do they know compared to right wing posters on a UK betting blog? Brainwashed by Huffpo and CNN I daresay.
    UNIONISTS 55%
    BRAVEHEARTS 45%

    :innocent:
  • Options
    TOPPING said:

    TOPPING said:

    Edit: 169 job vacancies for forklift truck drivers. In Stevenage.

    A moments inspection of which will show you that many of the jobs are the same job being advertised by different agencies.

    A further moments inspection will show you most of those jobs are not in Stevenage, unless Harlow, Watford and Bishop Stortford suddenly moved when I wasnt looking

    Thank you, so you agree that there are plenty of jobs for forklift truck drivers in Stevenage and its environs.
    Forklift 'andles. 'Andles for forklifts.
  • Options
    AlsoIndigoAlsoIndigo Posts: 1,852

    TOPPING said:

    TOPPING said:

    Edit: 169 job vacancies for forklift truck drivers. In Stevenage.

    A moments inspection of which will show you that many of the jobs are the same job being advertised by different agencies.

    A further moments inspection will show you most of those jobs are not in Stevenage, unless Harlow, Watford and Bishop Stortford suddenly moved when I wasnt looking

    Thank you, so you agree that there are plenty of jobs for forklift truck drivers in Stevenage and its environs.
    The claim that there is 160+ jobs in Hertfordshire and the surrounding counties (including many duplicates from different agences) is slightly less impressive than the original suggestion that there was than many in Stevenage I think you will agree.

    Even were this the case, how does this compare to the wages a couple of decades ago, and how many are full time jobs compared to a couple of decades ago.

    The issue you continually dodge is that the number of semi skilled and unskilled workers in part time work is 5 times the number it was a couple of decades ago, and yet with more work all around due to the wonders of the single market, pray tell why that is ?
    Automation. In 5-10 years almost all forklift trucks will be driven by robots.
    Veering slightly off topic here, but:

    No chance. Absolutely no chance. Robots will take over in specific circumstances - but they'll already be there in most cases, e.g. large automated warehouses. But robots are nowhere near replicating the flexibility that forklifts with a human driver can do, especially when you take safety factors into account.
    Your a bit behind the times.

    http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/business/china-sets-up-first-unmanned-factory-all-processes-are-operated-by-robots/articleshow/48238331.cms
  • Options
    nunununu Posts: 6,024

    President Barack Obama will leave office Friday with his highest approval rating since 2009, his presidency largely viewed as a success, and a majority saying they will miss him when he is gone.

    A new CNN/ORC poll finds Obama's approval rating stands at 60%, his best mark since June of his first year in office. Compared with other outgoing presidents, Obama lands near the top of the list, outranked only by Bill Clinton's 66% in January 2001 and Ronald Reagan's 64% in January 1989. About two-thirds (65%) say Obama's presidency was a success, including about half (49%) who say that was due to Obama's personal strengths rather than circumstances outside his control.

    http://edition.cnn.com/2017/01/18/politics/obama-approval-rating-cnn-orc-poll/index.html

    What do they know compared to right wing posters on a UK betting blog? Brainwashed by Huffpo and CNN I daresay.
    UNIONISTS 55%
    BRAVEHEARTS 45%

    :innocent:
    Less brave and more frit.
  • Options
    PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 75,970

    TOPPING said:

    TOPPING said:

    Edit: 169 job vacancies for forklift truck drivers. In Stevenage.

    A moments inspection of which will show you that many of the jobs are the same job being advertised by different agencies.

    A further moments inspection will show you most of those jobs are not in Stevenage, unless Harlow, Watford and Bishop Stortford suddenly moved when I wasnt looking

    Thank you, so you agree that there are plenty of jobs for forklift truck drivers in Stevenage and its environs.
    The claim that there is 160+ jobs in Hertfordshire and the surrounding counties (including many duplicates from different agences) is slightly less impressive than the original suggestion that there was than many in Stevenage I think you will agree.

    Even were this the case, how does this compare to the wages a couple of decades ago, and how many are full time jobs compared to a couple of decades ago.

    The issue you continually dodge is that the number of semi skilled and unskilled workers in part time work is 5 times the number it was a couple of decades ago, and yet with more work all around due to the wonders of the single market, pray tell why that is ?
    Automation. In 5-10 years almost all forklift trucks will be driven by robots.
    Veering slightly off topic here, but:

    No chance. Absolutely no chance. Robots will take over in specific circumstances - but they'll already be there in most cases, e.g. large automated warehouses. But robots are nowhere near replicating the flexibility that forklifts with a human driver can do, especially when you take safety factors into account.
    A warehouse where you can control the external enviroment is surely an easier challenge than real driving from a software/monitoring point of view though ?

    I'd have thought automated forklifts wouldn't be beyond the reach of Google/Tesla/Amazon or so.
    Though Amazon can and will be their own customer for the tech.
  • Options
    PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 75,970

    TOPPING said:

    TOPPING said:

    Edit: 169 job vacancies for forklift truck drivers. In Stevenage.

    A moments inspection of which will show you that many of the jobs are the same job being advertised by different agencies.

    A further moments inspection will show you most of those jobs are not in Stevenage, unless Harlow, Watford and Bishop Stortford suddenly moved when I wasnt looking

    Thank you, so you agree that there are plenty of jobs for forklift truck drivers in Stevenage and its environs.
    The claim that there is 160+ jobs in Hertfordshire and the surrounding counties (including many duplicates from different agences) is slightly less impressive than the original suggestion that there was than many in Stevenage I think you will agree.

    Even were this the case, how does this compare to the wages a couple of decades ago, and how many are full time jobs compared to a couple of decades ago.

    The issue you continually dodge is that the number of semi skilled and unskilled workers in part time work is 5 times the number it was a couple of decades ago, and yet with more work all around due to the wonders of the single market, pray tell why that is ?
    Automation. In 5-10 years almost all forklift trucks will be driven by robots.
    Veering slightly off topic here, but:

    No chance. Absolutely no chance. Robots will take over in specific circumstances - but they'll already be there in most cases, e.g. large automated warehouses. But robots are nowhere near replicating the flexibility that forklifts with a human driver can do, especially when you take safety factors into account.
    Your a bit behind the times.

    http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/business/china-sets-up-first-unmanned-factory-all-processes-are-operated-by-robots/articleshow/48238331.cms
    Robot arms, a solved engineering problem.
  • Options
    rural_voterrural_voter Posts: 2,038

    Charles said:

    We are fundamentally different to Europe in many critical ways - legal systems, philosophical traditions, structure of the economy, etc. We 're not a good fit for what they want to do. But sure, happy with a trade based relationship.

    We are fundamentally central to what makes Europe Europe. We are indivisible from it, and to the extent that we represent a unique branch of European history, we have influenced the rest of the continent in our turn. It is a narcissistic delusion to think that what makes us British (or English) means that we are not recognisably, definitively European.
    Of course we are. In 1960, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Portugal, Austria and Switzerland chose to join the UK in EFTA (7 members). They didn't join France, Germany, Italy, etc in the EEC (6 members).
  • Options
    AlsoIndigoAlsoIndigo Posts: 1,852
    Pulpstar said:

    TOPPING said:

    TOPPING said:

    Edit: 169 job vacancies for forklift truck drivers. In Stevenage.

    A moments inspection of which will show you that many of the jobs are the same job being advertised by different agencies.

    A further moments inspection will show you most of those jobs are not in Stevenage, unless Harlow, Watford and Bishop Stortford suddenly moved when I wasnt looking

    Thank you, so you agree that there are plenty of jobs for forklift truck drivers in Stevenage and its environs.
    The claim that there is 160+ jobs in Hertfordshire and the surrounding counties (including many duplicates from different agences) is slightly less impressive than the original suggestion that there was than many in Stevenage I think you will agree.

    Even were this the case, how does this compare to the wages a couple of decades ago, and how many are full time jobs compared to a couple of decades ago.

    The issue you continually dodge is that the number of semi skilled and unskilled workers in part time work is 5 times the number it was a couple of decades ago, and yet with more work all around due to the wonders of the single market, pray tell why that is ?
    Automation. In 5-10 years almost all forklift trucks will be driven by robots.
    Veering slightly off topic here, but:

    No chance. Absolutely no chance. Robots will take over in specific circumstances - but they'll already be there in most cases, e.g. large automated warehouses. But robots are nowhere near replicating the flexibility that forklifts with a human driver can do, especially when you take safety factors into account.
    Your a bit behind the times.

    http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/business/china-sets-up-first-unmanned-factory-all-processes-are-operated-by-robots/articleshow/48238331.cms
    Robot arms, a solved engineering problem.
    In the plant, all the processes are operated by computer- controlled robots, computer numerical control machining equipment, unmanned transport trucks and automated warehouse equipment.
  • Options
    isamisam Posts: 40,971
    edited January 2017
    Can't believe I backed the Lib Dems at 20/1 and am almost underwater on Betfair!

    18 to back, 27 to lay!

    @logical_song told me it was s good bet at 7/1

    Kippers 2.72-2.84 quite a lot of 2/1 9/4 w bookies for arbers
  • Options
    John_MJohn_M Posts: 7,503
    Apropos of machines taking over the world, I did enjoy this article (it's rather long).

    https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/14/magazine/the-great-ai-awakening.html?_r=0
  • Options
    logical_songlogical_song Posts: 9,724
    isam said:

    Can't believe I backed the Lib Dems at 20/1 and am almost underwater on Betfair!

    18 to back, 27 to lay!

    @logical_song told me it was s good bet at 7/1

    Kippers 2.72-2.84

    I said it was down to 7 to 1 from 50 to 1.
    I don't recall making any recommendation.
  • Options
    isamisam Posts: 40,971
    edited January 2017

    isam said:

    Can't believe I backed the Lib Dems at 20/1 and am almost underwater on Betfair!

    18 to back, 27 to lay!

    @logical_song told me it was s good bet at 7/1

    Kippers 2.72-2.84

    I said it was down to 7 to 1 from 50 to 1.
    I don't recall making any recommendation.
    Sorry I said it drifted from 7/1 to 10/1

    You said "buying opportunity"
  • Options
    FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 76,291
    edited January 2017
    Pulpstar said:

    TOPPING said:

    TOPPING said:

    Edit: 169 job vacancies for forklift truck drivers. In Stevenage.

    A moments inspection of which will show you that many of the jobs are the same job being advertised by different agencies.

    A further moments inspection will show you most of those jobs are not in Stevenage, unless Harlow, Watford and Bishop Stortford suddenly moved when I wasnt looking

    Thank you, so you agree that there are plenty of jobs for forklift truck drivers in Stevenage and its environs.
    The claim that there is 160+ jobs in Hertfordshire and the surrounding counties (including many duplicates from different agences) is slightly less impressive than the original suggestion that there was than many in Stevenage I think you will agree.

    Even were this the case, how does this compare to the wages a couple of decades ago, and how many are full time jobs compared to a couple of decades ago.

    The issue you continually dodge is that the number of semi skilled and unskilled workers in part time work is 5 times the number it was a couple of decades ago, and yet with more work all around due to the wonders of the single market, pray tell why that is ?
    Automation. In 5-10 years almost all forklift trucks will be driven by robots.
    Veering slightly off topic here, but:

    No chance. Absolutely no chance. Robots will take over in specific circumstances - but they'll already be there in most cases, e.g. large automated warehouses. But robots are nowhere near replicating the flexibility that forklifts with a human driver can do, especially when you take safety factors into account.
    Your a bit behind the times.

    http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/business/china-sets-up-first-unmanned-factory-all-processes-are-operated-by-robots/articleshow/48238331.cms
    Robot arms, a solved engineering problem.
    Not true. Far from it in fact.
  • Options
    logical_songlogical_song Posts: 9,724
    isam said:

    isam said:

    Can't believe I backed the Lib Dems at 20/1 and am almost underwater on Betfair!

    18 to back, 27 to lay!

    @logical_song told me it was s good bet at 7/1

    Kippers 2.72-2.84

    I said it was down to 7 to 1 from 50 to 1.
    I don't recall making any recommendation.
    I said it drifted from 6/1 to 7/1

    You said "buying opportunity"
    That's not a recommendation.
  • Options
    isamisam Posts: 40,971

    isam said:

    isam said:

    Can't believe I backed the Lib Dems at 20/1 and am almost underwater on Betfair!

    18 to back, 27 to lay!

    @logical_song told me it was s good bet at 7/1

    Kippers 2.72-2.84

    I said it was down to 7 to 1 from 50 to 1.
    I don't recall making any recommendation.
    I said it drifted from 6/1 to 7/1

    You said "buying opportunity"
    That's not a recommendation.
    Bloody good job it wasn't!
  • Options
    TOPPINGTOPPING Posts: 41,389
    felix said:

    TOPPING said:

    felix said:

    TOPPING said:

    Listening to PMQ's week by week labour MP's seem only to ask questions on the NHS.

    Welcome to the past seven years. Good Lab strategy.
    Is that why they won the last election and are so far ahead in the polls?
    I didn't say it was effective just that it's the only play they have.
    No you said "Good Lab strategy" - maybe check out the dictionary next time?
    Ooh get you dearie.

    OK let me explain. There is a large number of problems with Lab, not least their approach to the deficit, to tax, to public spending, and, latterly, to the IRA and other assorted terrorists.

    In that context, banging on about the NHS is good because it is where they are strongest (admittedly Corbyn has rewritten the rules about where Lab is strong).

    So is it good per se? Well no of course given they are still in opposition, but it is good in the context of any other form of attack.
  • Options
    logical_songlogical_song Posts: 9,724
    isam said:

    isam said:

    isam said:

    Can't believe I backed the Lib Dems at 20/1 and am almost underwater on Betfair!

    18 to back, 27 to lay!

    @logical_song told me it was s good bet at 7/1

    Kippers 2.72-2.84

    I said it was down to 7 to 1 from 50 to 1.
    I don't recall making any recommendation.
    I said it drifted from 6/1 to 7/1

    You said "buying opportunity"
    That's not a recommendation.
    Bloody good job it wasn't!
    OK, thanks for backing down.
  • Options
    Interesting article
    http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2017/01/unlike-merkel-trump-understands-islamist-threat-west/
    and very worrying. They're our neighbours. Not sure it's any better here though.
  • Options
    Casino_RoyaleCasino_Royale Posts: 55,503
    The “single market” is a single regulatory regime. It is not about tariffs as such. Tariffs are eliminated through membership of the customs union; the common commercial policy and common external tariffs. It is about eliminating non-tariff barriers - hence the rules and regulations on product standards, services regulation, environment, labour and employment markets etc.

    Being a 'member' of it means you both have a chance to vote upon, and influence, those rules, and that you are treated with equivalence and non-discrimination in trading with any other part of it, if you're in it. In theory at least: it works to some extent, but not perfectly by any means.

    Not being a member of it means you have to comply with the relevant rules to sell into it, most obviously in goods, but you may also be at a competitive disadvantage in providing services as you will have to clear extra regulatory and non-tariff hurdles, including bureaucracy around staffing, local approvals and certification. And in any dispute with the EU on fairness you risk being ruled against by the ECJ. This is why many non-EU businesses have found they need to set up a subsidiary within the EU such that this is avoided. Barriers to direct trade from the non-EU country can be mitigated through a general free trade agreement with the EU on goods and services, and Canada got rather a good deal, hence the talk about 'access', but, you won't have a say in the rules in any event.
  • Options
    isamisam Posts: 40,971

    isam said:

    isam said:

    isam said:

    Can't believe I backed the Lib Dems at 20/1 and am almost underwater on Betfair!

    18 to back, 27 to lay!

    @logical_song told me it was s good bet at 7/1

    Kippers 2.72-2.84

    I said it was down to 7 to 1 from 50 to 1.
    I don't recall making any recommendation.
    I said it drifted from 6/1 to 7/1

    You said "buying opportunity"
    That's not a recommendation.
    Bloody good job it wasn't!
    OK, thanks for backing down.
    What did you mean by 'buying opportunity'? It does seem awfully like saying you think it's a good bet
  • Options
    williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 48,116
    Birmingham City Council goes on 'post-Brexit' trade junket to Qatar, because why not?

    https://www.yahoo.com/news/britains-biggest-council-seeks-post-brexit-qatari-cash-150730049.html
  • Options
    Scott_PScott_P Posts: 51,453
    New Thread
  • Options
    Casino_RoyaleCasino_Royale Posts: 55,503
    The trouble we (in the UK) have had is:

    (1) The EU can (and has) argued that an awful lot of things are barriers to completing the single market: social and employment laws, professional standards, weights and measures, national currencies, taxes, rights, immigration controls. And those harmonisations have then created a driver for further integration: for example, at the point of leaving, single markets on energy, transport, digital and capital markets were planned. For the Eurozone there was a desire to go even further - with banking, social and fiscal union all on the table.

    (2) These single market integrations have been accompanied with the EU adding very visible symbols of statehood to itself - the passports, the driver licences, the number plates, the big billboards with the EU flags in the fields etc. – not to mention the tone, rhetoric (and reality) of anthems, foreign ministers, “Presidents”, and a diplomatic and foreign service.

    (3) In conjunction with that the ECJ has felt increasingly comfortable ruling on (what most people would consider) non “single market” issues: human rights, social and employment matters, and areas of crime and justice. And a number of those rulings –particularly with such cases as “votes for prisoners” - have had a high profile in the UK.

    (4) A lot of this crossed a line for us in the UK and pissed us off. We didn’t much care for aspects of what had happened so far, felt increasingly constrained by the existing set-up ‘as is’ and weren’t clear where exactly we’d end up. In theory, the EU could have argued anything was a barrier to the single market- perhaps even criminal laws, income taxes, healthcare systems, and argued for a common legal jurisdiction – and the scope of ECJ jurisdiction may have spread even without new treaties.
  • Options
    Casino_RoyaleCasino_Royale Posts: 55,503
    (5) We didn’t feel there had ever been a real hard look at what the 'red line' should be between member states powers, and the EU, on the single market – and the rest -because the driving objective of “ever closer union” only ever asked the question one way: where can we add 'more Europe'? Just removing that clause in respect to the UK wasn’t enough because it didn’t make clear how it’d apply to what the EU would do in future and how that’d affect us

    (6) It felt unbalanced anyway. And this struck at the British sense of fair play. The level of diligence applied to EU regulations and standards was often noticeably lower to Britons visiting or working in countries like Hungary, Slovakia, and even some of the PIGS nations compared to the UK. Further, it felt the UK was out of balance on two of the freedoms: services and people. The UK has for years tried to 'complete' the single market in services -largely to its advantage as we have a significant services surplus – but has failed to do so. With the notable exception of financial passporting. In tandem with that the UK has been historically accommodating with free movement of people – partly a victim of its own success, but it’s had huge political effects here - and the EU was very slow to respond on both.

    (7) The EU and UK political cultures were so far apart that both were unable to reconcile the disparity: the EU thinking the UK had been given quite enough special favours as it was and was insufficiently committed to the European project overall; that you don’t get the economics without the politics. The UK Government viewing the single market as an economic tool in the national interest – and also feeling EU membership helped the UK to leverage its political influence – but also increasingly frustrated at the EU’s inflexibility and inability to recognise that most Britons were ultimately uncomfortable with its vision.

    (8) We had other options open to us: with less than half of our trade going to the EU “as-is”, the forecast of the non-EU global economy to be 85% in future, our own currency, our speaking of the global language, our attractive legal system, and having political ties worldwide it felt like the consequences of leaving were a long way from being catastrophic.
  • Options
    Casino_RoyaleCasino_Royale Posts: 55,503
    So we are leaving. This is for political reasons mitigated by the fact we have alternative economic options. We are doing so because in the end - in the absence of a solution to the political/economic conundrum of our EU membership listed above – a majority of Britons had assessed that the cost/benefit analysis of our membership (on both) had just tipped to leave and – as demonstrated through putting our entire membership on the table - our differences were irreconcilable. It turned out (from the EU’s perspective) that the politics were inseparable from the economics, and that was the dealbreaker for us, even though we didn’t want it to be so.

    Unfortunately I see no sign this has been recognised by the EU yet, as they still fail to understand the vote, thinking we’re both ungrateful and a bit nasty, so I think a very basic exit deal is likely.

    We are likely to take an economic hit in the short-medium term (over where we’d have otherwise been) but in the longer term as the regional and global economies of both the UK and the EU adjust to the new political realities I don’t expect very much difference at all.
  • Options
    williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 48,116

    (3) In conjunction with that the ECJ has felt increasingly comfortable ruling on (what most people would consider) non “single market” issues: human rights, social and employment matters, and areas of crime and justice. And a number of those rulings –particularly with such cases as “votes for prisoners” - have had a high profile in the UK.

    That was the ECHR was it not? The ECJ actually upheld the right to deny votes from convicted criminals
  • Options
    JosiasJessopJosiasJessop Posts: 39,060

    TOPPING said:

    TOPPING said:

    Edit: 169 job vacancies for forklift truck drivers. In Stevenage.

    A moments inspection of which will show you that many of the jobs are the same job being advertised by different agencies.

    A further moments inspection will show you most of those jobs are not in Stevenage, unless Harlow, Watford and Bishop Stortford suddenly moved when I wasnt looking

    Thank you, so you agree that there are plenty of jobs for forklift truck drivers in Stevenage and its environs.
    The claim that there is 160+ jobs in Hertfordshire and the surrounding counties (including many duplicates from different agences) is slightly less impressive than the original suggestion that there was than many in Stevenage I think you will agree.

    Even were this the case, how does this compare to the wages a couple of decades ago, and how many are full time jobs compared to a couple of decades ago.

    The issue you continually dodge is that the number of semi skilled and unskilled workers in part time work is 5 times the number it was a couple of decades ago, and yet with more work all around due to the wonders of the single market, pray tell why that is ?
    Automation. In 5-10 years almost all forklift trucks will be driven by robots.
    Veering slightly off topic here, but:

    No chance. Absolutely no chance. Robots will take over in specific circumstances - but they'll already be there in most cases, e.g. large automated warehouses. But robots are nowhere near replicating the flexibility that forklifts with a human driver can do, especially when you take safety factors into account.
    Your a bit behind the times.

    http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/business/china-sets-up-first-unmanned-factory-all-processes-are-operated-by-robots/articleshow/48238331.cms
    I'm not at all behind the times. I actually look at the reality, not the media artifice. ;)

    As an example:
    https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/feb/26/mercedes-benz-robots-people-assembly-lines
  • Options
    JosiasJessopJosiasJessop Posts: 39,060
    Pulpstar said:

    TOPPING said:

    TOPPING said:

    Edit: 169 job vacancies for forklift truck drivers. In Stevenage.

    A moments inspection of which will show you that many of the jobs are the same job being advertised by different agencies.

    A further moments inspection will show you most of those jobs are not in Stevenage, unless Harlow, Watford and Bishop Stortford suddenly moved when I wasnt looking

    Thank you, so you agree that there are plenty of jobs for forklift truck drivers in Stevenage and its environs.
    The claim that there is 160+ jobs in Hertfordshire and the surrounding counties (including many duplicates from different agences) is slightly less impressive than the original suggestion that there was than many in Stevenage I think you will agree.

    Even were this the case, how does this compare to the wages a couple of decades ago, and how many are full time jobs compared to a couple of decades ago.

    The issue you continually dodge is that the number of semi skilled and unskilled workers in part time work is 5 times the number it was a couple of decades ago, and yet with more work all around due to the wonders of the single market, pray tell why that is ?
    Automation. In 5-10 years almost all forklift trucks will be driven by robots.
    Veering slightly off topic here, but:

    No chance. Absolutely no chance. Robots will take over in specific circumstances - but they'll already be there in most cases, e.g. large automated warehouses. But robots are nowhere near replicating the flexibility that forklifts with a human driver can do, especially when you take safety factors into account.
    A warehouse where you can control the external enviroment is surely an easier challenge than real driving from a software/monitoring point of view though ?

    I'd have thought automated forklifts wouldn't be beyond the reach of Google/Tesla/Amazon or so.
    Though Amazon can and will be their own customer for the tech.
    Automated forklifts have existed for years, and are frequently used in specialist applications. That's a world away from the original claim: "In 5-10 years almost all forklift trucks will be driven by robots."

    The problem is that, without real AI (instead of the shallow, sham AI we have at the moment), robots and automated machines don't have flexibility. That's particularly important where machines and people have to interact. Heck, from reports I've read it's difficult enough where robots have to interact.

    People are really going overboard and believing the media hype over AI. SeanT even claimed that the Turing test was virtually solved.
This discussion has been closed.