PPRuNe Forums - And so it begins...

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- - And so it begins... (https://www.pprune.org/fragrant-harbour/644420-so-begins.html)

That was a really large soapbox. Hopefully nothing was pulled or sprained whilst climbing down.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Diogenes. (Post 11172510)

'Back to TikTok'?! How dare you, you arrogant old fool?! Come on then! Tell the World why it was so wonderful, flying with the ‘Hamsters’, and not so wonderful flying with Cathay’s own cadets.

For those who don’t read ancient history, the ‘Hamsters’ were British Airways ab initio cadets who got their CPL at a flying school called Hamble. They had no war stories to tell because they were civilians and they weren’t ex-Annset either. Indeed, they weren’t even Austranauts and hadn’t droned around the outback like Sky Gods of the Dreamtime! A direct background comparison of the so-called ‘Hamsters’ would be Cathay cadets, except the Hamsters were exclusively white, male, A-Scalers. And its the word ‘exclusively’ that you should take note of.

I flew with a couple of Hamsters myself, and as I recall, they were indeed gentleman of the highest calibre. It’s a shame the same couldn’t be said of the A-Scalers in general. I put it to you Mole that you look upon those halcyon days because you fantasise that the Hamsters were somehow a reflection of yourself, but the sad fact is, pilots of 'my generation' won’t need to be reminded of the story of Narcissus gazing lustfully into his pool. At least Uncle Rod got one thing right, the A-scalers were just a bunch of ‘millionaire morons’. His words not mine, but then again he never flew with the A-scalers. I would have said the A-scalers were just a bunch of 'sad, spiteful, multi-millionaire, misogynistic, masonic malcontents', who were only ever interested in feathering their own nests. Nests, which by the way, were already the most highly feathered nests since archaeopteryx. They took, took, took and gave nothing back to their junior colleagues but contempt. And the archive of this very forum is a comprehensive testament to that fact.

There is now a very real prospect of Cathay failing. Literally thousands of good men and women out of a job through no fault of their own. Young professionals who put an application in to Cathay in good faith, and who had every right to expect to treated as fellow professionals. But, irrespective of whether Cathay fails or not, it’s already over. Cos18 is already a reality, and the blame for that abomination can be laid firmly and squarely at the feet of the A-scale leadership, or lack there of. Don’t blame the Swires, they’re just a bunch of dopes who couldn’t organise a piss-up in a brewery. All the Swires ever did was take advantage of A-scale greed and cowardice. The only strategy that the A-scalers ever employed to defend their COS was to be nasty to their junior colleagues in the beleaguered hope that enough would resign to bother the Swires. Well, how did that work out Mole? Proud of yourself? Were you one of the more than 50% of the A-scalers who deserted the AOA when you had to put your hand in your pocket? The A-scalers broke the Union, not the Swires. The rest is now history.

Cathay Pacific, founded in 1946 didn’t employ Hong Kong pilots until 1989, and only then because it was becoming politically untenable. Women weren’t employed until some time in the mid to late nineties, and most of the trailblazers subsequently resigned because of the treatment they received, FROM THE A-SCALERS. To this day, Cathay doesn’t employ a single pilot from North of the border, and I only use the word ‘border’ because it happens to be closed at the moment. 'One country, two systems’ is now dead! Hong Kong is now China and, as always, Cathay is wayyyy behind the times, not in small part because the A-scalers tried so desperately to maintain Flt-ops as a closed shop. Cathay was never a professional outfit; it was nothing more than an old boys flying club. And, it hasn’t maintained the highest failure rate this industry has ever seen because it has high standards. Cathay has the highest failure rate because it has NO standards! The trouble with ’standards’, (look it up in the dictionary), is that if applied consistently and fairly, ’standards’ can always be met through hard work, dedication, and professionalism, at which point the gatekeepers lose control. In Cathay ’the cream doesn’t rise, sh!t floats’.

The Titanic has already sunk and it had an A-scaler at the wheel when it went down, supported by his minions in C&T. If it ever reemerges it will only be because the Chinese see fit to dredge the carcass up from the deep, melt it down, and transform it in to something totally unrecognisable. But why bother?

My heart truly goes out to all those dedicated professionals who now find themselves caught between a rock and a hard place. Hang in there. There’s life after Cathay.

What a tragic story?!

Just a small chip on that shoulder

Quote:

Originally Posted by kenfoggo (Post 11172020)

”Kill the Hamsters!” If the Chief Executive of Hong Kong accidentally stumbles into the real world she will have to acknowledge that there citizens with enough intelligence to realise the true farce her administration has become. Are her actions for the health of the population? No! If it were then vaccination would have been a priority ,or even compulsory. Are her actions for the benefit of the population? No! Her actions are destroying the economy of Hong Kong and people are losing their jobs. It seems to be much more about control. It has even become accepted that her administration can take you and your family from the safety of your own home and incarcerate you all in a state run concentration camp at Penny’s Bay for any incursion , such as shopping at a pet shop for instance. Madness.

She is just obeying her communist masters.

People seem to hold onto this false reality that HK will remain a separate system…

This is now a communist province that is trying to imitate capitalism for the sake of western investors.

Im sure ICAC still holds an important part of the corporate landscape in HK. The problem now for ICAC is the definition of corruption in a communist system..

Quote:

Originally Posted by KABOY (Post 11172597)

“Only following orders” was no defence for the Nazis at Nuremberg nor for William Calley for the My Lai massacre. She has authority and responsibility and she is overseeing the destruction of Hong Kong. And with no exit strategy. Madness.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kenfoggo (Post 11172605)

This was only after the fall of their government.

So you believe there is a system? You think HK is still one country, two systems?

The focus has shifted somewhat to the #hamstergate Little boss pet shop cluster and away from the cabin crew debacle.
If successful, Cathay should consider changing the teddy-bear in pilot uniform you can buy in the inflight magazine to a hamster in a pilots uniform, with a teeny tiny facemask.

The hamster should be the new CX mascot.
Fitting as a hamster is always spinning in its hamster-wheel, not going anywhere, kinda like the airline at the moment.

Doesn't take much to trigger people these days.... :rolleyes:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oasis (Post 11172829)

Rate it 1-10
imgur.com/a/KdNcaFk

10. good effort!

in other news..
-Hong Kongers are letting their hamsters go free! Can you imagine the covid positive hamster plague over the next few months?
...added bonus, they will eat all the cockroaches.
Law of unintended consequences.
- Cases are on the rise again.. 18 yesterday (non-imported). In Europe it doubled every 3 days approximately. At what point will they give up on contact tracing?

I see CX270/271 Hong Kong to Hamsterdam has been cancelled until further notice.

Are jellyfish being culled too?

It was reported, yes really, that the infected pet shop rodents had been shipped in from the Netherlands. Another reason to condemn CX, for lax livestock checks.

'Hamsterdam'

Thank you for the smile in these bleak times.

100 plus preliminary cases now, is it finally taking off?

How are the lines at the vaccination centres?

Now that we know that omicron just slices though the vaccinated community like it is nothing, at least we also know that the vaccine will protect that same community from serious disease and death.

The only way Hong Kong and China will open to the world is by large scale outbreaks.

What would be the point of a quarantine, if the situation inside the country is just as bad as outside?

But that would be using common sense, something I haven’t seen displayed for quite some time.

And that for a territory with the highest IQ on the planet.

The banality, and indeed outright cruelty, just shows how far Hong Kong has descended in to a complete rolling goat fark.
Vamos muchachos; whilst you still can.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bueno Hombre (Post 11173600)

neither of those caps could fit you , our esteemed Oasis..

I have been called many things, but never esteemed! Finally

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oasis (Post 11173573)

100 plus preliminary cases now, is it finally taking off?

The only way Hong Kong and China will open to the world is by large scale outbreaks.

Doubt it, Curry herself said today that they are opening to China first. After that quoted that the north has a 90% vax rate and how it was unpatriotic that the 70+ older generation are refusing the vaccine.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. government said Friday it would suspend 44 China-bound flights from the United States by four Chinese carriers in response to the Chinese government's decision to suspend some U.S. carrier flights over COVID-19 concerns.

Apparently a 40 hour wait at the airport to be transferred to Penny Bay, Joy!

Crikey, no wonder they're culling the little blighters. Projectile vomit is one thing, projectile turds quite another. :ooh:

Another 100 plus preliminary positive. Get your shots, old people!

Holy **** it’s been 2 years of this bollocks already. I feel as though I’ve aged about five in that time.

When will this current lockdown end? August 2022?

Quote:

Originally Posted by YeahNahYeah (Post 11174325)

Holy **** it’s been 2 years of this bollocks already. I feel as though I’ve aged about five in that time.

When will this current lockdown end? August 2022?

You got the month right.

Expect things to get a whole lot worse running up to the 25th Anniversary. Big political birthday party.

I'm a Yank in Washington state and have been, of course, following COVID. I am fully vaccinated with a booster shot. The situation in Hong Kong (and China) has been much in the news here with analyses re endemic vs. pandemic strategies and responses. Here we are obviously into the endemic phase with about 800,000 deaths over the last 2 ± years. How long can your total suppression phase last? I ran across an article that seemed to sum up the situation in HK accurately and was curious for a response from you who are there.

https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/...virus-sweeping

Quote:

Originally Posted by Winemaker (Post 11177998)

You should avoid reading propaganda, there is not much to be gained from it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Winemaker (Post 11177998)

Hard to say, the answer will be a combination of factors:

- How much/quickly omicron will spread in Hong Kong.
- How quickly the elderly will vaccinate.
- How serious the covid cases will be.
- What will China do.

Nope, that wouldn't suit the objective Winemaker - to utterly destroy Hong Kong as punishment for the cheek of protesting against the bastards to the north in 2019.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Winemaker (Post 11177998)

I don't see a hidden agenda by China. Why destroy what you own? Makes no sense. Plus the public order has long been restored, there is no more uprising, no more resistance, all gone. Same goes for circulating conspiracy theories regarding a secret plan to take over Cathay. As if that would be worth the effort, plus they own a third already anyway.

Cathay and Hong Kong are simply a collateral of the current Zero- Covid policy. Just a side note of history, nobody really cares about us in Beijing. We are completely irrelevant in the grand scheme of things.

While the current policy is obviously extremely harmful for some industries, obviously the Beijing government has decided it is worth the price. Think of China as 1.4 Billion more or less unvaccinated people ( by Western standards). As long as they haven't found a solution for that, borders will remain closed. My guess is a Chinese development of an improved vaccine needs to materialise first, then consider the distribution problem given the massive population size.Or maybe they lose the battle earlier, infections will rise exponentially and they are forced to give in eventually. Given the possibility the latter could backfire and lead to loss of control or at least face, this is not probable in my opinion. Rather more draconic lockdowns, which could happen in Hong Kong as well.

There might be a slim chance the HK gov gets the approval by China to change course and to open up. Building a gateway to the world might be of some benefit for China, but again this is not very likely. Most predict no change in 2022 or even beyond..

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....f895759038.png
Local unknown cases following an exponential path.

It's science vs the ccp, who will win?

It’s a long bow to draw to extrapolate that curve into the future. If nothing is done, science wins. If there are draconian lockdowns and other brutal bureaucratic reactions to prevent spread the CCP wins.

On past performance, the CCP never loses. Read into that what you will.

Linear regression on that data generates y = 1.51x-2.54 with r = .9213 and r^2 = .8488. IMHO this data set is too small to affirm it is exponential.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....40127044d4.png
Today's new data 30 local unknown source.
Still looking exponential.
Get your shots, old people.
77 year old lady in the ICU right now, with underlying conditions, not vaccinated.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oasis (Post 11178661)

Just get it up to 10000 or so. And watch the panicky little bastards a) run for their vaccinations and b) start withdrawing all their cash from the local
banks c) start hoarding again.

I think reality is finally knocking on Hong Kong's door.
The government was very effective at keeping the virus out for so long, but at great cost.
They should have used this time to vaccinate the weak, but were unable to effectively do so.

We use the words 'Fat, dumb and happy', and that is the correct way to describe the demeanor of the ones in charge over the past year.

$1000 Wellcome voucher and a Vaccine Mark Six draw ticket with each jab and the whole population will be done by the end of February.
Just do it already.

The appalling lack of incentives and "nudge" social pressures last year left HK, and especially their elderly, in a poor position for the current virus wave.

The HK government have failed to keep their people protected, and the prescribed intervention of Beijing in the recent months is too little too late.

STW I thing Flying clog has it right. It is about punishing the HK people for being the errant child. The CCP has good previous on this as you remember, Tibet, Mongolia, Beijing students, Xinjiang and even the movement of the little old ladies on the pedestrian bridge in Wanchai, which we still cannot write for fear of the bot (and the half million human, English speaking email interceptors) who read our emails.

I am very sad to see my adopted country go this way. On a recent (full) flight to HKG a friend reported that nearly all the people she spoke to were coming to clear out their offices and homes.

It is what Beijing wants. Less foreign toxic influences of social democratic liberalism or Republican hands-off government. Neither is in the scope of President Xi's wishes. A Chinese city for the Chinese people.

I suppose if China had a city like San Francisco under Chinese control in the USA, Congress might get upset about it and try to move the Chinese out. Oh, wait...

anxiao:

Nail. Hammer. Head.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flying Clog (Post 11178938)

anxiao:

Nail. Hammer. Head.

Doesn’t the hammer come first ?

anxiao, there is no special treatment or punishment of HK, we just perceive it that way. HK is been treated as what it is now, another Chinese province. Look at Macao, no protests, same treatment as Hong Kong. Imagine the catastrophic impact on the casino business. Consider the hospitality industry all over China. Or compare HK to the mainland cities under draconic lockdown rules. Check out the quarantine rules in mainland China for foreigners, the restrictions of movement, the surveilance, all even tougher than in Hong Kong. We just feel like being singled out because we are not yet used to being part of China.