Random Politics Thread

[Virtual ghost]

German election: Candidates spar on economy, Ukraine, Vance

There was just election debate in Germany (election day is in 7 days).
Mainstream was represented by 3 men and hard right by a lesbian woman (kinda surreal sight by American standards).

 

[Totenkindly]

Now I'm feeling really stupid for not seeing this before:
Do these morons firing people thinking that "probationary" means "on probation as a disciplinary/merit action?"

Because in USA fedgov, a ton of jobs typically have a one-year "probationary period."
It has nothing to do with your ability nor does it suggest you are below par in any way.
It just means that for the first year, the government has flexibility to remove and/or move you to another position IF you DO struggle to do the work.
It's simply meant to give the government flexibility in case someone has issues or they need someone elsewhere.
it's one of the safeguards for government, to remove low achievers, and then once you prove yourself, you gain additional protections.

But it certainly doesn't mean you ARE LACKING MERIT, because everyone has the year to learn the job and prove they can do it.

The probationary term applies to people new to fedgov (so, their first job in fedgov, in any agency).
It also applies to people who have transferred from another job.
It also applies to people who have been promoted (DUE TO MERIT!) from another position to the new one.
Note that ALL THREE of these categories, all these people just beat ALL THE OTHER APPLICANTS to get the position and enter the probationary period.
So they are the top of the pool, not the bottom.

When I started fedgov as an analyst, I had a one-year probationary period.
When I got promoted (due to MERIT) six years ago, I also had to redo a one-year-probationary period.
I exceled at my work and thus my probation period became full vestment in the role.

If I was in a probationary period today, though, apparently I could be at risk of firing?

I'm really starting to think these morons are firing all these probationary workers now because they think they are subpar yet being retained.
Are they really this stupid and/or too ignorant to ask a simple definition that would take 30-60 seconds to understand, before proceeding with all these firings?

 

[Totenkindly]

There was just election debate in Germany (election day is in 7 days).
Mainstream was represented by 3 men and hard right by a lesbian woman (kinda surreal sight by American standards).

If she was a TERF, we would not be surprised at all, honestly.

 

[The Cat]

 

[Virtual ghost]

 

[Totenkindly]

No, 150-Year-Olds Aren’t Collecting Social Security Benefits

Elon Musk claims to have found rampant fraud in the Social Security Administration. There’s a much simpler explanation.

www.wired.com

A bit of highlight of the problems with Musk's claims.

Also, this guy who replaced our temp acting commissioner (because she refused to give DOGE access) is just like the OPM replacement, who was also a branch chief. They have probably no exec training or knowledge of running an org from top level, they are essentially supervisors.

in military terms, he's basically a sargeant who just got promoted to four star general in command of that service's entire military.

iow, there were 40-50 people or perhaps more who were better qualified to serve -- plus if the issue in their minds is that the agency is not performing fraud checks well enough, why reward a guy from the fraud area that is in their mind deficient?

 

[The Cat]

in military terms, he's basically a sargeant who just got promoted to four star general in command of that service's entire military.

Sergeants work for a living though.

 

[Totenkindly]

This is their typical bs. No one is responsible or can be held responsible. Note that none of the Resign letters from OPM were signed -- this runs counter to actual official correspondence, everything typically has a name attached to lend weight to the order.

They are completely opaque.

 

[Totenkindly]

From a friend's fb feed:

Edit: looks like the temp lease on the Obama Presidential library was also cut.

 

[The Cat]

This is their typical bs. No one is responsible or can be held responsible. Note that none of the Resign letters from OPM were signed -- this runs counter to actual official correspondence, everything typically has a name attached to lend weight to the order.

They are completely opaque.

View attachment 32241

It's like a bad joke. Don't Trust your eyes. Don't trust your ears. What you're seeing and hearing, no you're not. I mean sure it looks and sounds like an unelected billionare has been given illegal access to our nations most sensetive data, but that can't be true, becase it's not Data, it's just Lore. Elon is literally fucking a wedding cake in the background and the white house is trying to tell us he couldn't make it to the wedding.

 

[The Cat]

RW news outlets are reporting about what they're calling a "transgender cult" of "Radical Vegans" The comment sections are about what you would expect for Ministry of Truth and Peace propaganda. They're really ramping up the trans erasure stuff and its beyond concerning. If they can erase and turn large chunks of the population against someone else, they can do it to you... There doesnt seem to be much enlightened self interest coming from this side of the tracks.

 

[chubber]

I don't know what to say. The writing was on the wall when he bought twitter. Like Napoleon, he ventures on the front line of technology with his businesses, while it all appears oligarchy like. It is truly bizarre to see it unfolding. I would have thought it would be slowed down. But no.

 

[Virtual ghost]

It's like a bad joke. Don't Trust your eyes. Don't trust your ears.

Something like that.

Russia and US eye joint Arctic energy projects after Saudi talks

 

[The Cat]

​

 

[ceecee]

​

Uhhh...have been for years.

 

[The Cat]

Uhhh...have been for years.

Tell me about it. I have a feeling the dollar signs have been in their eyes for the last 8 years at least.

 

[The Cat]

 

[The Cat]

Pass it on to your lost loved ones...​

 

[Virtual ghost]

I deliberately didn't want to post it right away to see what will happen in the incoming hours. In other words if this is all true then this the end of the world as we know it (and that isn't an overstatement). The post WW2 era had it variations but this seem to be the dawn of completely new era. The headlines aren't what is important, it is the content of the articles/stories.



Trump’s America is Putin’s ally now

The leaders of the center-right European People’s Party, the Socialists and Democrats, the liberal Renew Europe and the Greens declared: “Europe can no longer fully rely on the United States to defend our shared values and interests.” European countries must now act urgently to secure their own defenses, with more spending on military and more support for Ukraine, the statement added.


“Ukraine’s security is Europe’s security,” the parties said. “The European Union and its member states have no choice but to take immediate action, with NATO and likeminded non-EU allies, to invest in a more efficient and integrated European security and defense architecture.”

In other words the entire EU mainstream has openly said that the close alliance with US doesn't exist anymore.






West’s ‘crisis’ coalition grows as Trump rails against Zelenskyy

Forget about NATO and the EU. Western leaders are building a new diplomatic framework to deal with the White House’s alignment with Moscow.

As I said, in this case what remains of the democratic world wouldn't have much of a choice but to get together. What in a sense means EU-NATO merger into a new international coalition. Because most member states of both groups are members in both groups. The only real and major exception is Canada (that seem interested due to all circumstances).



Surreal stuff.

 

[Totenkindly]

Freshman Congressman tells constituent he is powerless to stop Musk's budget cuts

At an open house in Fairbanks on Monday, Alaskan Congressman Nick Begich (R) told constituents that there was nothing he could do to stop agency budget cuts being implemented by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and Elon Musk.

open.substack.com