25-Sep-10 News -- Japan kowtows to China over boat captai

[John]

25-Sep-10 News -- Japan kowtows to China over trawler captain

Sarkozy declares victory over striking labor unions

** 25-Sep-10 News -- Japan kowtows to China over trawler captain
** http://www.generationaldynamics.com/cgi ... 25#e100925

Contents:
"Japan kowtows to China over arrest of fishing trawler captain"
"Sarkozy declares victory over striking labor unions"
"Additional links"
Young officers are taking over China's military
Friction is rising between China and its Asian neighbors
Two cosmonauts and one astronaut are stuck in space
Mideast peace talks may collapse on Sunday when freeze ends
Britain is facing threat from Irish-related terrorism
U.S. and South Korea to hold new joint naval exercises

[The Grey Badger]

Fact check about the French retirement rate. The "They retire at 60, poor widdle fingies" meme that's been blatted all over Fox News etc is apparently not the age of full retirement. That's 65 like everybody else and is about to go up to 67, like everybody else. 60 is the age of early retirement-and-take-a-loss, just like us. And early retirement is usually used for people with medical conditions, intolerable bosses, or those who have been forced out of the work force by people like my own unlamented Boomer "Get-Rid-Of-The-Deadwood" ex-boss.

Now, I had this on NPR, which is as far to the left as Fox News is to the right (except in the eyes of those who define Fox et. al as center and Eisenhower on as Looney Far Raging Socialist Left) but in this age of go-for-the jugular politics I would be very, very skeptical of any factoids used to bash anyone. The truth quotient is likely to include a huge dollop of truthiness, as is appropriate for something designed to be used as a verbal weapon.

Just updating you....

Pat, who managed to hang in there in the teeth of the fire-all-the-seniors boss. Just barely.

[John]

Dear Pat,

> Fact check about the French retirement rate. The "They retire at
> 60, poor widdle fingies" meme that's been blatted all over Fox
> News etc is apparently not the age of full retirement. That's 65
> like everybody else and is about to go up to 67, like everybody
> else. 60 is the age of early retirement-and-take-a-loss, just like
> us. And early retirement is usually used for people with medical
> conditions, intolerable bosses, or those who have been forced out
> of the work force by people like my own unlamented Boomer
> "Get-Rid-Of-The-Deadwood" ex-boss.

Fox News??? I actually don't listen to Fox news all that much, but
when I do these days, they're consumed with the coming election and
the expected Republican victory, like all the rest of the U.S.
mainstream media.

I really have to laugh, Pat. I'm thinking of Jimmy Carter this past
week on CNN blaming all the world's troubles on Fox News. I guess
you're in that camp, Pat, but it just makes me roll my eyes.

At any rate, on the French retirement issue, I get almost all my
information from international mainstream media sources. In this
case, I heard quite a few BBC interviews with French union members
whining because it's so unfair that they can't retire at 60.
I've criticized the BBC in the past for being so anti-American,
but this year they seem to have changed, still anti-American at
times, but anti-everyone else at other times.

As for NPR, in many ways they're the worst of all. They're way on the
left, but it's all damped down with such a heavy layer of gooey
political correctness that they rarely say anything at all.

You really should consider switching to the BBC. You'll feel
generally at home there, but at least they won't treat you like an
idiot as NPR does.

> Pat, who managed to hang in there in the teeth of the
> fire-all-the-seniors boss. Just barely.

I hear you sister. It's an unbelievably bitchy world for anyone
over 60.

John

[Raynote]

All the people I know retire at 60 or before. My neighbor who was a fireman retired last year at the age of 58, a friend of mine who was a nurse retired 3 years ago at the age of 57 and her husband who was a teacher hasn't worked since about the age of 55 for "medical" reasons.
That's probably why the French can't bear the prospect of working until 62: everybody here is so eager to reach that symbolic age of 60 to start enjoying life, travelling, and so on...