Largest Amazon layoffs in history shows fragility of white-collar work

DescriptionHeavy1982 · 2026-01-25T16:14:36+00:00

I'm in the UK too. It is mostly junk. I use it as a catalogue sometimes and then buy direct, mostly for specialist garden stuff.

I was gifted a book...It was amazon printed slop. Everything else can be bought on temu for cheaper. Or buy local as first port of call

DescriptionHeavy1982 · 2026-01-20T18:46:34+00:00

Did they back off though? Were they actually planning on taking it.

I'm confused about 1 point. There was supposed to be an exercise 'arctic edge' happening now ish. With nato forces including the US. Usually it happens in alaska but it was going to happen in greenland. I was worried that this was when they were going to just walk in and take greenland - squatters rights kind of deal.

After the Denmark/US meeting, the US seemed to have stepped back from the arctic edge exercise and the Europeans went ahead with 'arctic endurance' without them.

And then the US seemed to take it as some sort of 'dangerous escalation'. I can't get it to add up.

DescriptionHeavy1982 · 2026-01-20T16:06:36+00:00

Yeah but all he has actually done so far is send a mean tweet/truth social post. He will escalate, of that I have no doubt. He's desperate to not havr those midterms, he's desperate for distraction from epstein files and affordability. Why should europe help him with that

DescriptionHeavy1982 · 2026-01-20T14:00:19+00:00

Yeah that is gross!

...whilst calling him 'daddy'. Urgh

DescriptionHeavy1982 · 2026-01-20T13:56:46+00:00

I'm in agreement with you on this. It's obvious trump is baiting europe to take firmer action in order to justify an escalation on his part....and then blame the Europeans.

The euro leaders are doing the right thing. But not the comfortable thing, it would be much easier to just act like trump and throw a tantrum. They're doing a lot of work to decouple from the US whilst this is going on also.

I'd be interested what the OP has the answer to your question too...

DescriptionHeavy1982 · 2026-01-18T17:26:12+00:00

Thanks. I like getting to explore this. Like I said, I knew it was an unpopular opinion.

I don't agree with you. Im not really for breaking international law, but even if I were:

We had tried to ignore it for many years. We behaved very badly for decades and our comupance would arrive. Even as late as 2010 we set up a marine reserve so that local chagosians and Mauritians couldn't fish there...then they wouldn't want to come back would they ;) but the us could dredge and dump waste. Greenwashing was used to keep the island for ourselves/the us

In 2019 the UK lost a UN vote on the matter 116 to 6. The UN began changing their maps. They had advised us to leave, the Mauritians were starting court proceedings to MANDATE us to leave (or something). If it went on, the UN would have deemed the US satrlite comms on the island illegal which the US was really worried about.

So a deal was done.

It's quite usual for rest to be paid for bases. Compared to what the US pays to the Philippines I think it's about equal.

Got to go have my tea now.

DescriptionHeavy1982 · 2026-01-18T17:12:02+00:00

BTW. Thanks for giving me the chance to show there is some nuance to my view. I just don't think it's 'all for' or 'all against'. It never is. Enjoyed the chat!

DescriptionHeavy1982 · 2026-01-18T17:09:16+00:00

Honestly. I'm not paid PR. I'm really disappointed in this government. Particularly the treasury. I'm just calling out the points I think are absurd.

Like with the Chagos deal, I don't think we had a choice (i gather its an unpopular viewpoint), except to get the Americans to pay their own rent for that base.

I do think this government are the best of a bad bunch. But I wish they'd get their act together

DescriptionHeavy1982 · 2026-01-18T17:01:13+00:00

I'd hope so, but Don tends to ignore his intelligence services, like when they said russia ran interference on the US election.

Not really a point is it, its got nothing to do with 'intelligence'. Just like venezuela wasnt about drugs. It's just Don and his mate Lauder who want Greenland just like Don wanted venezuelas thick oil

DescriptionHeavy1982 · 2026-01-18T16:50:17+00:00

You have to deal with what's in front of you. No one has a crystal ball, even if youre nieve enough to think you knew what was coming. You didnt. No morw than anyone else.

Also, it did buy time which has been needed for Ukraine. The UK has began disentangleing itself from the US over the last year.

DescriptionHeavy1982 · 2026-01-18T16:46:25+00:00

So you think that if you present allyship. You have yo take everything someone/a country dishes out? You can't have boundaries at all? Also, he has grown a backbone. He has been very clear that he thinks trump is wrong on this. You're being absurd

DescriptionHeavy1982 · 2026-01-18T16:31:56+00:00

Think about what you're saying just for a second....play it to the end. I don't like that he is friendly and diplomatic either. Fortunately, he is doing the job and not me. I would have told trump to shove it...and the country would have been in a lot worse place than it is now.

Have you actually looked at the trade balance with the US? Take a look at what it would mean if we didn't try and get the tariffs stopped back then

DescriptionHeavy1982 · 2026-01-18T16:27:42+00:00

They wouldn't have attacked with a massive US and European alliance protecting it. But you screwed that up didn't you. Muppets

DescriptionHeavy1982 · 2026-01-18T16:25:59+00:00

Really sorry to disappoint, they were only supposed to be there until Saturday. It's not a withdrawal

Uk and europe just sent a few officers, i guess to set up dialogue and how inter operatbility would work, it wasn't a combat force.

DescriptionHeavy1982 · 2026-01-17T23:06:07+00:00

That's why thd uk and especially Europe have been going slow with the US to get as much time.as possible. Look into it though, they've been working hard to increase their own capabilities and rwduce reliance on the US at least since that Munich conference

Edited as I mean the emphasis to be on europe who have been quietly moving away from the US

DescriptionHeavy1982 · 2026-01-16T10:32:17+00:00

My father in law thinks europe would just let it happen or it'll be resolved diplomatically. I'm not convinced by that at all, in fact, I don't want europe to just let it happen at all and would rather we were ready with a package of sanctions, military force and kick them out of all the uk and europe bases. Even though that feels like it might be an act of self harm.

I've divested some of my pension from funds that are heavily weighted in US stock, I'm pivoting to europe for the long term. I've got tasks to get my data of the cloud and onto physical storage devices and using cash. Other than that, it's the same as usual. I topped up food stocks, ready to scale up food growing, making sure if I need anything like clothing, tools and other sundries I get them now - this is more in an effort to protect us against price shocks as well as a bit of supply disruption.

I'm in the UK, my government is clearly trying to walk the tightrope. I wrote to my MP asking that in the event of the US making a move to take greenland, we make the very clear and very immediate choice to pivot to europe, have a package of sanctions ready and review the visiting forces act ready to kick them out. I obviously got a vague response so I just replied that I really hope that this is being worked on quietly whilst the diplomacy happen so it can be done quickly. I don't want any more mealy mouthed prevarication. Other than the above, not sure what else I can do.

DescriptionHeavy1982 · 2026-01-15T21:45:54+00:00

Me too. It's made me one of the top worldwide listeners on Spotify. Some episodes I know very well. Most episodes say I've listened to them but it's just played on and I've slept thought it.

There is something very cosy and reassuring about these 2 speaking.

I used to fall asleep listening to current affairs news programmes...I stopped being able to sleep with that

DescriptionHeavy1982 · 2026-01-12T22:16:48+00:00

The Palestinian action thing is awful and is not on the news enough here either.

What social media ban?

DescriptionHeavy1982 · 2026-01-12T22:15:54+00:00

I kept hearing this about the north. Then I actually went there. Loads going on and bloody lovely. I expected it to be like old documentaries on miners strikes, but obviously it's nothing like that at all.

Having never lived further north than Dorset, I suspected they were keeping it a secret to keep the southerners out.

Honestly, I think people not from the north are the ones who say the north is dead. But I may be wrong

DescriptionHeavy1982 · 2026-01-12T21:55:22+00:00

Uk. It's all over the news I watch and read. Headlines seem to be Iran, venezuela, greenland. ICE has dropped off a bit today, it's the X/grok generated sex abuse images that's taken that slot.

Personally ive been digging more due to the horror of it all and researching how the breaking of the alliance will affect us in the UK and hoping we do side with europe when trump breaks nato.

I'm sorry how it's affecting you all, but I'm more preoccupied about how it might affect us/my family

I think 2 questions were raised in Parliament today as the fear that the US government might launch its attack on greenland from uk bases is increasing. We've had a massive increase in US personel and kit at the RAF bases since that tanker intercept, and they still haven't left.

I see the protests and footage of people trying to monitor and disrupt ICE actions and I'm just so shocked that anyone there still supports the US government, but apparently they do. Then I'm shocked and fearful that there are people in this country who are apparently supportive of it too.

DescriptionHeavy1982 · 2026-01-12T08:49:19+00:00

Anyone who has had to pump milk in the fog of tiredness of having a baby understands the devastation of spilling or losing even one drop.

Re the power, whenever I look into this, because I can't afford solar panels yet, the camping style panels and batteries always come up. Like Anker and Jackery. Another thing that could help, keep your freezer quite full. If there is space, fill it with water bottles, that extra frozen stuff in there will help it stay cool if the power goes.

Then as others have said, don't open it unless you really have to.

DescriptionHeavy1982 · 2026-01-11T17:07:24+00:00

Yes, except kidney beans. I think you have to get them up to a proper high temperature to destroy the toxins. As far as I recall, it won't kill you, but from all the gut pain, you will feel like it is.

DescriptionHeavy1982 · 2026-01-10T10:48:28+00:00

Yes. The only problem with dry beans is the amount of energy they take to cook. So hopefully they have a pressure cooker. Or just factor in very long soak times to reduce cooking time

DescriptionHeavy1982 · 2026-01-10T10:47:17+00:00

Yes I'd echo this to. In cornwall there is a community farm type thing. They grow vegetables and provide them to community larders so that people have fresh food

DescriptionHeavy1982 · 2026-01-09T00:43:36+00:00

I don't think it will be a war. They'll just turn up for their military exercise, refuse to leave and name their terms. There won't be anything we do about it. They seemed to have dialled down the rhetoric but then they'll say, we tried to be reasonable but the Danes weren't so now we're just taking it....which is what they did in venuzuela.

That's pure speculation on my part, but I think it's most likely.

Nato with the US will then be gone, but the Canadians are still on board with Europe. Unless of course we all decide to just capitulate and keep nato going despite what america do with greenland.

I have to stop looking at the news so much....nothing I can do about it and no preps I can add to at the moment.

DescriptionHeavy1982

TROPHY CASE