So the correct thing to do for those Google employees is to turn it into a January 6th?

Because the US gives less of a toss about the Suez canal than it would about the Panama canal. The Panama canal has the ability to keep its Atlantic and Pacific military apart if it becomes impassable. Sure, the carriers can't pass, but the transporters can.

Supply of anything in the Indian Ocean doesn't happen via Suez but from the SEA bases. So why would the US give a damn that Suez isn't exactly a safe passage right now?

Yes, Europe does care a lot more about it. And, lo and behold, it has a bunch of ships there, but even that's a half-assed "yeah, we do something" approach rather than the will to get involved in the whole mess.

Panama is a very special case due to the canal. Panama doesn't need a military because anyone who dares to attack would instantly become the primary target of a lot of very powerful nations that would lose a lot of commerce if that canal is no longer safe to use.

The spice MUST flow!

I find the ".com" hilarious.

You do understand that Washington didn't stage a protest but started a revolution, yes? I don't have to explain the difference, do I?

Please understand that a legal framework for what forms of protest are permitted also protects you from abuse. Would you like some idiots to be allowed to put up their political slogans in your windows and if you tear them down, you get slapped with a fine for infringing on their freedom of speech?

Also, please note that there are specifically provisions that keep corporations, you know, the entities that have more money and power than you, or the deity of your choice, from forcing you to put up support posters around your home for political candidates that want to eliminate your worker's rights and make it look like you support that.

Please think twice before you cry that certain forms of political protest get "legalized", because I can reassure you, you would not be the one profiting from it.

In general, laws protect you from far more powerful entities. And yes, they'd gladly see them eliminated.

Glad you see it that way. Mind if I come around and stand on your front lawn to propagate my political views? They may or may not coincide with yours.

The point is, I have to stage a protest on my own dime. On my ground, or on public ground.

That's the thing, though, realize the way the market is set up right now. If the money is really important to them, they'll leave for a company that pays it.

In this market, it also doesn't mean you look bad if you tell your new employer "I quit because they wanted to dock my payment for using the home office option they offered". Because if they can accept you working from home, they will not care. We are currently pretty desperately looking for staff. That would certainly not discourage us from hiring them, if anything, we'd reassure them that this will not happen here so they sign up.

That's something you might want to ask the Dutch tax office. I'm certainly not qualified to give any advice concerning how to save taxes when dealing with countries in Europe and the USA, you really should get an expert for that because otherwise you'll be paying more than need to.

That's pretty much what I wanted to say.

They care about it. They're status-symbol driven and want some prestigious toys. People who actually need to get shit done don't give two fucks about it.

A little anecdote: A former boss of mine was one of those status-symbol gods. Had to have a Blackberry (yes, the story is that old) because he's really important. And he got that huge ass Sony monitor that he was incredibly proud of because, well, it was expensive and bigger than ours. Only problem: It was more useful as a shaving mirror than as a monitor, because its glare trumped its luminosity by some magnitudes. Additionally, his office windows were towards SE/SW (because really important people of course have an office that has sunlight all day long) and of course you can't just close the blinds because then people couldn't admire their sunlight-flooded office.

The idiot couldn't get any shit done between April and October when the only thing he could see on his screen was his own mug. But he was important.

All the while, we laughed our ass off about this idiot who had to check his mail and read documents on his phone because his computer was pretty much useless.

Tell me again why I, or anyone who actually has to get shit done as part of their job, would want that crap?

We have actually arrived at the point where someone with a rare skill set in high demand can get someone who is allegedly his superior fired. I have shown this on two separate occasions, where my superior's boss decided my "him or me" meant he wants to keep me.

My current manager is a keeper, though.

I'm the last person to side with a corporation, but the right thing to do, if your conscience doesn't allow you to accept what the company you work for does, is to quit.

and goodbye.

I wonder how you'd like to find it out. You think someone would come to your front door and sniff your armpits?