the EU & the UK

[MyNameIsTerry]

Mez… that’s my very point. I wouldn’t use the word ‘bigot’ or ‘bigoted’ because they’re open to interpretation and probably much misused in modern context (like the word ‘hate’ also is). Take this sentence, for instance:

“He blindly and obstinately refused to acknowledge any other club was as good as Drumcondra FC and hated everyone who argued otherwise.”

Does that make him a bigot or guilty of a ‘hate’ crime?

Remember Gordon Brown referring to that poor woman – a lifelong labour supporter – as a bigot? I think he regretted it, but only after he was made to think about what he’d said. A fair few words have gained a loaded judgment value in modern parlance which they never used to have. (No lecture intended; I sometimes get myself accused of being a pedant over stuff like this.)

A certain Hollywood actor might be learning this lesson right now.

"And the award for Putting Your Foot In Your Mouth and Poor Judgement goes to..."

[sees political powder keg, doesn't think comments might be divisive and just wants to promote new film...lights match]

[MyNameIsTerry]

I don't know, I think hell is for much worse things especially special places. But then I think Tusk is prone to this with his little comments.

I always smile anyway at an ex Polish PM commenting. The country that has made such a significant contribution to Brexit even being a thing. A country that takes the most out of the EU to feather it's nest. We get cheap workers and our German friends get some of the military they won't invest in too. But that cheap workforce is only good for the fat cats who save money and force wages down. Sure, consumers benefit from that (it's not full on since the fat cats will extract their wedge out first) and you to wonder how far we will fall before we pay more? Maybe all the sweatshops will become acceptable for cheap costs to consumers in the future? Then the cheap EU labour might find themselves in a similar boat.

He was much more sheepish commenting on his own country and the appointment of judges. The corruption too. Poland tends to be much higher up on the international hate crime list too

A poll today from one union. I noticed it mentioned it was a Momentum backing union, so at odds with the other main unions who have been fighting to stop Momentum stealing their hold over Labour. Something like 17% would back a new centrist party if Labour endorses Brexit and a further 27% would back a centrist party anyway. Hmm, now that does paper over some cracks doesn't it? I thought out Momentum friends wanted a more left leaning Labour? Well, if Labour goes more centrist, which has always been seen as back to being more Blairite, something Momentum types tend to despise as being "Tory lite", does that mean they are so opposed to Brexit they will attach themselves to those who want Corbyn booted out because he is "too Momentum"?

We are back to strange bedfellows again.

Or maybe it's just bollox.

It must be a very southern union. I can't imagine union members in Labour strongholds that are also Leave voters would be backing anyone who will stop Brexit. But then we had all the union poll guff about how Labour union voters are Remain in majority...which really doesn't tally with the Midlands and North. I can only assume that was fiddled somehow in favour of a more metropolitan, farther left style view. Either that or unions aren't well represented up here.

Still, Captain Picard is going to "make it so" by reducing voting age each year if it gets his party of choice in. Soon they will be signing up Momentum members with palm prints as they won't have learnt to write yet Is it because he wants the youth to be involved or is it because they poll as voting his way? And will they also be able to have sex legally, drink, drive, join the army (including front line), apply for loans, etc? Of course not, we just want your vote then you can go away again. Perhaps let them get through their exams, growing up, etc a bit more rather than dump the horrible world of politics on them and more pressure.



---------- Post added at 04:58 ---------- Previous post was at 01:52 ----------

Was said actor being sincerely truthful and honest, or did he really think (naively) it would be good publicity? I saw some of the reportage on this and the BBC, in their wholly predictable fashion, went for the vox pop angle. Strangely, those folks who were asked only represented one particular section of the general public (I was going to use the word ‘ironically’ instead of ‘strangely’, but realised there was nothing ironic about something deliberately set up).

Anyway… back to Nissan. I caught a bit of the BBC’s House of Lords coverage (I didn’t have any fresh paint to watch drying) and, by chance, my lords and ladies happened to be discussing this very subject. It turns out there will be no jobs lost over Nissan’s decision not to proceed with their new diesel SUV, but there won’t now be the [notional] 740 jobs created which supposedly were on their way to the factory. However, back in 2016, to secure Nissan’s commitment to this development & manufacture, the Government had to offer the company not only at least sixty-million quid as an ‘incentive’ but also an assurance it would not allow Brexit to create ‘difficulties’. Now hang on a minute! Our Government (yes, the one that reposes in Westminster) had already decided that diesel cars were a bad thing and needed to be got off our roads, but still they wanted to invest our money in them…. Double standards! Then, because other UK-based motor manufacturers would almost certainly have felt a distinct unfairness in the nature of this hand-out, the whole matter had to be kept secret…. One bloke (sorry, lord) then said he could reveal this arrangement now (on the 5th Feb) because it was no longer “sensitive”. Too right it wasn’t! It had already been leaked a few days earlier. Our lords and ladies then continued, without any apparent awareness of their own ridiculousness, to say that this matter highlighted the perils of getting Brexit wrong…!

Mr Rees-Mogg (amongst others) succinctly picked out the bones of this, mentioning that Nissan’s decision was “…nothing to do with Brexit” but has everything to do with diesel-engined cars, Japan’s economy and its very recently-completed trade deal with the EU.

Apparently, Nissan will continue to develop/make a hybrid version of its popular ‘Cashcow’ (well that’s what it sounded like in posh bloke-speak) at Sunderland, so we can all breathe a sigh of relief…. until Nissan decides it no longer needs to be in the UK at all .

So he was just whinging about not getting his extras after his private meeting at no 10? I wonder what the staff think of this bloke playing with their jobs? They've had stick for being a Leave area and mocked for potentially losing their jobs. Funny really because voting because of money like that would also be a bit "alright Jack" if not caring about the plights of others, a bit Tory. So, you can't win really

Yes, said actor though it would be good if he had Taken the time to prove that whilst he may now be getting on a bit, and joining The Grey, he was also a bit of a Darkman when it came to his Next Of Kin. He should have known better that vigilantism is how Batman Begins and people are divided over his honesty, even in Hollywood, where it is creating some Star Wars, and he may now find himself in an actors style Dead Pool.

(I did try to work Krull in but...)

The BBC did what everyone else did and missed the mark so badly if this was Bullseye it would be out of the board and in Tony Green's head. But add certain words into any statement and it stokes the flames. It is kind of odd that out of all of this some bad thoughts become worse than a terrible sexual assault and a possible revenge killing but that's the times.

[MyNameIsTerry]

Has Corbyn really stated there should be a permanent Customs Union? Locking yourself into an agreement with any country is bad news. There should always be the option to withdraw.

Someone must be pulling his strings on this one, he's a Eurosceptic. Jobs are one thing but you don't know how things will change into the future and surely a permanent agreement would be unconstitutional anyway so expect legal challenges?

[MyNameIsTerry]

I agree with you, it's hard to vote for anyone at the moment.

I just can't understand Corbyn calling for a permanent solution. That will be subject to legal tests as it's not only unlawful in Parliamentary rules regarding lock ins but the EU's own laws about domestic constitutional decision making.

Maybe it's one of his word blunders? Although it's hard to justify use of the word permanent in anything but the correct context. How he can push for something we can never choose or vote on is just bizarre, even more so given his supposed learnings unless his is veering even further? Perhaps he red it in a little red book or something?

I'm sure the EU would love a permanent lock in from a troublesome member who can never say boo to a goose anymore. Isn't it what they have assured by financing certain countries into oblivion only to push austerity on them?

---------- Post added at 02:30 ---------- Previous post was at 02:15 ----------

As a born and bred Londoner with cockney roots, I feel I have to give my view on Brexit.
First, I voted for Brexit. I am not racist or a bigot.
I've never been to a march or protest.
My decision for brexit was not an impulse choice and as Terry says, I was in the minority in my home town of London and following the results of the vote, faced verbal attacks on a regular basis from fellow residents in my town and beyond.
Mezzaninedoor, I have also lived in Norfolk, in fact your home town and learned very quickly the feelings to newcomers in the area. In fact it took many years before I was accepted in to the community.
My point is.....
Don't class or label people for the area they live in.
And don't think all the people that voted for brexit are racists.
If anyone is prepared to listen, we want control back of our country, to be asked about decisions that affect our future, to have housing, hospitals and food for our children, to grow more produce. I am currently surrounded by miles and miles of unused fields that could provide us with more home grown crops.

I met a chap quite recently in an upmarket village in Suffolk who was a remainer who turned out to haved lived abroad for most of his life and returned in latter life to benefit financial support with the added bonus of the NHS. These were his words, "I don't even class myself as British anymore". My thoughts, "So what are you doing back here?" ahh, yes, Britain can support you in your old age.
We have to think about the Country and its people as a whole. Some familes are counting their pennies to eat each week and on the other hand you have the chap popping over to the South of France and collecting a pay cheque from the Britsh government.
Charity begins at home and we have a major problem with our own kind being homeless. From people sleeping in the doorway of the old M & S in your home town mezzaninedoor to the street around the corner from 'Harrods' in London.

That's a very selfish attitude that guy has. I wonder if his statement regarding not classing himself as British anymore is because he feels more attached to where he went to or because of the self loathing many seem to possess about their nationality? It's a very British trait for some, so many will give other countries a free pass for their transgressions too.

All very good points. Homelessness on the rise, disabled people struggling and the elderly needing massive improvements to social care. This needs lots of inward investment but we just can't keep pace. We've had Labour in during this time and it still existed in one form of another.

The issue is the economy, if that suffers so will everything else. But we can't argue it's already going in the right direction either. And we are not the only country with dissent over this.

Something else that is worth mentioning is his use of language over the Customs Union. Didn't he say "a Customs Union" and not "the Customs Union"? He was picked up on this when he mentioned a CU when he first came out with ages ago. The question is, which one? The EU have various. So, has he really said anything or anything more? Sounds like more everyman fence sitting to me. Until he gets in you won't know which CU. Remains could worry he wants a the weakest one possible (Turkey?) and Leavers could worry he wants the one we are in now which brings the full lock in.

Watch out though, Nige launched a new Brexit party

[MyNameIsTerry]

As part of our discussions with Japan, and the EU's discussions with them, perhaps they could point out the hunting of wales is something they should not be returning too?

[MyNameIsTerry]

Tony Blair is warning of devastation from a No Deal. Well, perhaps we should listen because he is certainly an expert on causing devastation.

No Deal probably went up in the polls then, anything Blair attaches his name to suffers doom to some level.

[Carnation]

Tony Blair he really has got some balls, hasn't he?
You could throw darts at that guy and he'd probably ask when the next round is.

[Carnation]

Probably a penthouse in Highgate. Or was it a three storey house in Richmond Hill?
No, I think it's a semi detached in Kensington, no, wait a minute, I am now thinking it might be a detached house with electronic gates in Ham.

---------- Post added at 10:22 ---------- Previous post was at 10:07 ----------

Terry, I meet a lot of self absorbed people, especially when it comes to brexit.
I have to remember I am lady sometimes, because inside I want to grab them by the scruff of their neck and throw them back to where they constantly tell me where, (abroad) they love it so much.
You would not believe how many people I know of who pop back to Britain for their free medical entitlement and then return to their chateau in the South of France while a ice bucket of champagne awaits them.
The poor bloke living in one room with only his dog for companionship has to then wait up to 2 years for his treatment.
And that's not being racist, it's a point about free riders!

[MyNameIsTerry]

As part of our discussions with Japan, and the EU's discussions with them, perhaps they could point out the hunting of wales is something they should not be returning too?

Terry… I, as a bloke with Welsh ancestry, don’t think the hunting of wales should ever be permitted at all – but spiking a Welshman in Chester with an arrow…? Or were you referring to the royal bloodline? Let’s go out on to the Sandringham estate and bag us a prince (oops, sorry, close season on princes at the moment – they’ve become a self-endangered species).

Which brings us back to Toxic Tony – Carnation, are you saying we can throw darts at him? Where can I partake in this?

I don't think Welshmen are registered on the endangered list so it might be ok Perhaps the Japanese don't appreciate all that baritone? A culling of princes would be a good idea, we have too many anyway and surely shoving an apple in a spitted Andy's mouth would save the Queen telling him he can't have any more pocket money each year?

I we can throw darts at Tony then I suspect there will be a very long queue with millions of Iraqi's happily smiling with us in it.

---------- Post added at 18:17 ---------- Previous post was at 18:09 ----------

Probably a penthouse in Highgate. Or was it a three storey house in Richmond Hill?
No, I think it's a semi detached in Kensington, no, wait a minute, I am now thinking it might be a detached house with electronic gates in Ham.

---------- Post added at 10:22 ---------- Previous post was at 10:07 ----------

Terry, I meet a lot of self absorbed people, especially when it comes to brexit.
I have to remember I am lady sometimes, because inside I want to grab them by the scruff of their neck and throw them back to where they constantly tell me where, (abroad) they love it so much.
You would not believe how many people I know of who pop back to Britain for their free medical entitlement and then return to their chateau in the South of France while a ice bucket of champagne awaits them.
The poor bloke living in one room with only his dog for companionship has to then wait up to 2 years for his treatment.
And that's not being racist, it's a point about free riders!

I know what you mean, Carnation. To be fair I have seen Remain voters who have a social conscience, people like Tony on here who have more socialist views, but I've seen a fair few of them who are moaning about losing access to cheap labour, not making as much profit out of their business, even saying they may lose their cleaners (oh, how posh ). I seriously doubt they give a toss about the plight of we common people. I've seen them laugh at the ex pats in Spain and then moan they will come back and bleed the NHS.

Of course, there are plenty on the Leave side too who are ignorant unpleasant people.

[MyNameIsTerry]

Can you believe it, even the emojis have a bus