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Two Years After
Two years have passed since the referendum said "screw you" to Europe. Donald AMERICA FIRST Trump is now the President, and clearly is not a man to negotiate with given his defiant AMERICA FIRST outlook, and his desire to start a trade war in some misguided delusion of protecting American jobs - if he really feels that way, he ought to first go and talk at a shareholder meeting in California. The bottom of my iPad says it all:
Meanwhile Australia and India have both said that they are willing to talk trade if the UK talks easier rights for citizens. Which, of course, is a giant Tory red line. The Brexiteers are in complete denial over the fact that few (if any) countries need to trade with Britain. In fact, given the political backstabbing, delusions, and Tory infighting taking precedence over any talks with the EU, not to mention blaming the lack of anything happening on the EU (guys, if everybody in the world is supposed to speak English, don't you realise that some of them are capable of reading the British media?), it is less and less a question of who would like to trade with the UK and more a question of who has enough trust in the UK to enter into any arrangement? But don't worry... Trump will come to the rescue, right? A great trade deal will be set up in one tweet and torn down five minutes later with another tweet. America is indeed willing to deal with Britain. On America's terms. The terms of lower food standards, the terms of unfettered access to push private enterprise into the NHS. Is this what the British people want? And now, with Citizens Rights barely sorted out (the recent statement of intent - all sixty pages of it - is only slightly improved from the earlier draft that the EU deemed unacceptable; and regardless of what Sajid Javid says, it's the UK being the obstruction here). With Ireland and the border also in disarray (and the government having bought the support of the DUP that would never accept any border between the mainland and Northern Ireland). With a hundred thousand other things to negotiate and the original Three Questions not satisfied. Yes, Brexit and the process of sorting out the separation is likely to take a long time. It is simply ridiculous to undo decades of agreements in a mere few months. Yet the Brexiteers will not accept this. Out means out, as many a stupid old fart has said. The democratic will of the people, as many a Tory has said. Despite losing a majority on the platform of a hard Brexit and despite rubbishing the input of the Lords (they appear to want a sovereign parliament, except when it disagrees with them), the so-called illusion of democracy in the UK is barely maintained when the leading Brexiteers are warning others to expect a hard Brexit.
And, yes, I will call Brexit supports stupid. I have yet to hear one decent reason to support Brexit.
- Immigration - all those council houses for slacker migrants living on the dole
Probably sounds good as an anti-foreigner article in The Daily Mail; but in the real world it is utter bollocks. The EU rules do not obligate a country to provide such facilities for any citizen of another country until they have resided in a stable manner for five years (continuous). This is how France treated me. The first five years I was here, officialdom were not even remotely interested. After proving the required five years residence (with tax declarations), that's when I got into the system. 2002-2007 I pretty much didn't exist, in 2007 I received a small allocation for food and such plus medical cover. In 2008 I got a job. I'm still working in that company as a full time employee.
That's entirely and completely within EU immigration rules. Anything else is a failing of the British government.
Of course, if you people had ID cards, it might be easier to tell who is who...
- Sovereignty of parliament...
Remind me not to wet myself laughing when judges who unhold the law are branded "enemies of the people", when the Lords (not elected but a functional part of the governing of the country since forever) are not threatened with dissolution every time they vote down the idiotic nonsense coming out of The Commons, when the SNP would rather walk out than be a party to the ridiculous shambles of leadership that Westminster has become. When populist mantras count for more than understanding what the issue involves. When the attitude of "it'll be alright" is placed against large companies threatening to pull out of the country if the government doesn't do some actual governing and decide what it wants (but it cannot, the majority is so slim that the topic du jour is usually appeasing whoever is shouting the loudest). And, of course, when the MP that puts forward a motion to question what is currently going on and then votes against his own motion because of the delusion of strengthening May's negotiating position (I wonder which red top had dirt on him?), leaving May to substitute a "meaningful vote" by saying that it'll be the Speaker Of The House who can decide. You know, the former right-wing hardliner. Oh yes, we all know how that's going to go...
- ...and freedom from unelected officials
A total failing of understanding of how the EU operates. The citizens do not get to vote for every position in the EU. They vote for MEPs who than appoint people to positions. Pretty much exactly like how the UK works. Your elected MPs oversee civil servants. The people in the Home Office? You didn't vote for them, you didn't vote for Javid (or Rudd before), nor did you even vote for May as Prime Minister. You voted for MPs. This gave a party with more MPs (thanks to a coalition of sorts). The party chose May (after every other contender got stabbed in the back) and May appointed a cabinet from her MPs, who generally oversee a hierarchy of unelected civil servants (who may not even change if the government changes). That's how it goes. None of this is a surprise.
Thinking that the EU is full of beurocrats doing as they like, this shows not only a failing to understand the structure of the EU but also a failing to understand what the MEPs are for.
And talking of unelected officials, remind yourself of this the next time the media give as much time to Farage as other elected politicians. He is an MEP, yes. However he is not an MP, having failed to win placements in five general elections and two by-elections - a twenty year span of failure to be democratically elected into Commons.
- all these wonderful trade arrangements
It's been two years since the referendum result was known. Name one.
While you Brexit supporters are trying to name one single great trade arrangement, it would take me very little effort to point out the organisations and companies leaving the UK. From research to manufacturing to pharmaceutical. Some have already gone and they won't be coming back - ever (having relocated to other parts of the EU) while others are hoping that things will calm down and sense will prevail but time is running out...
- The many employment opportunities, it's never been better
It's easy to lie about employment figures when Zero Hour Contracts are counted as "employment". It's harder to spin the job losses as a result of those leaving the UK because of Brexit. You know if Airbus does leave, that's 16,000 job losses...
- More power to negotiate our future
You've been hoodwinked. Badly. Taken for a ride. The political elite are happily pushing through a change of legislation that will permit ministers to enact laws in a way that effectively bypasses the normal functioning of parliament and the law making process. Under the guise of releasing the government from the shackles of Europe, you've just allowed the political elite to destroy the sovereignty of parliament from within. Given the characters involved in this debacle, we all know this can't end well. Let's have a slow handclap for Brexit.
As far as I can see, there isn't one single convincing reason to support Brexit. To support withdrawing from the world's largest trading bloc in favour of... what? To try to go it alone in a global economy where you definitely don't call any shorts. To take the fairly bright future of the country (pre-Brexit, the UK was rated second in the EU) and trash it because of xenophobia, racism, and horrifically misplaced national pride.
In short, people who still support Brexit are stupid. I'll await a coherent explanation of why this is not the case, but I won't hold my breath. The comments pages of the likes of The Daily Mail, the headlines of The Express, and the past comments on this very blog all point to a rampant hatred of anything "foreign" and repeated failure of the education system to instil any sense of an ability to question critically and not believe everything you are told. You wanted to slap down the "elite" and used the referendum to give Cameron a kicking? Guess who was pulling the strings. You got played. And best of all, you are the ones that are going to get screwed when the reality of Brexit hits home. Think the harsh reality of Brexit will hurt the elite? Rees-Mogg has set up his investment (hedge) fund in Ireland (out of the trouble The City might find itself in), and it's the same Rees-Mogg whose market investment company stands to profit quite handsomely in the event of a hard Brexit. How this isn't a conflict of interest that should get him booted out of parliament just goes to show how corrupt the system is.
Longest Day
It's a tradition. To get up and watch the sun rise on Longest Day.
Here I am, with a tea fresh from the coffee maker, waiting for the show to begin...
Waiting for the sun to rise...
You could see it coming as the tops of the trees started to glow...
Here it begins, lighting up everything with a wonderful golden light...
It took a mere four minutes from the first glimmer to the sun being entirely visible...
The light was really quite something. And, given the sun's position in the sky, quite markedly different in feel to the evening sunset...
And also...
I wonder if I would get in trouble if I followed the advice written on the front of this album?
At any rate, "System Of A Down" isn't my thing. I picked up Nightwish's "Century Child" priced at €11-something. Turns out that it was on a 50% sale, though nowhere was this mentioned. Hey, not that I'm complaining... ☺
What I would complain about is this:
Sounds good, doesn't it? Pineapple and banana purée. There's going to be some apple in it (to pad it out) because you can see an apple in the drawing on the front. But it's pineapple and banana, right?
Wrong.
You don't need to be as big a cynic as me to realise that apple and apple pieces were probably listed separately to obfuscate the fact that this product is a shocking 81% apple. That pineapple and banana mentioned on the front, the flavour it's supposed to be? That counts for 15% and a paltry 3% respectively.
Products should be legally obliged that if they are going to mention the constituents on the front of the packaging, to list all of them (not just the ones they want you to see) in a type size that accurately reflects the amount of each in the product.
Which in the case of this product pictured, would look like:
I didn't get it. I got some real bananas (100% pure banana!) and a brick of pineapple juice (actual pineapple juice, not from concentrate) instead.
Your comments:
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| BrexitBoy, 25th June 2018, 13:36 |
You are a remoaning remoaner. You need to understand. We are OUT. Get it yes? Out. Not half in half out. Out. Absolutely. In 2019 we leave. END. GOODBYE.
There are so many excellent reasons I voted OUT. And that is what I want. OUT. |
| Rick, 25th June 2018, 14:01 |
I'm not a remoaner. I didn't get to vote in your pitiful excuse of a democratic referendum.
Loads of excellent reasons? Okay - name ONE. |
| BrexitBoy2, 25th June 2018, 14:02 |
For someone who doesn't even live in the UK, it's a bit rich you being a remoaner. It's not your business. |
| Rick, 25th June 2018, 15:55 |
Typical selfish Brexit attitude there. As a proud European AND BRITISH CITIZEN, I think the likelihood of being screwed by Brexit makes it very definitely my business. It's a bit rich you suggesting otherwise. |
| BrexitBoy3, 29th June 2018, 11:17 |
I hope one of those millions of fucking migrants kills you you ugly faggot. |
| Rick, 29th June 2018, 16:35 |
Charming. |
| JB, 1st July 2018, 19:22 |
Great article Rick. Pay no attention to the clueless neanderthal. Brexit is a colossal perversion and failure of democracy. Setting a 50%+1 threshold for a massive constitutional change was inept. The marginal vote for brexit means a divided country when we need to be united. Reflecting the nation at large, we have a divided commons, and even a divided cabinet. If it was that marginal, it's a massive failure of governance to push it through. |
| RickIsTheBest, 29th July 2018, 01:58 |
Rick, don't pay any attention to that brexit idiot. He's got small testes. Rick, you have the largest PENIS of all the RISC OS users, hands down. By the way, I voted remain. |
| RickIsTheBest, 30th July 2018, 23:58 |
I apologise if my previous comment was inappropriate. |
| Rick, 31st July 2018, 00:43 |
I'm not sure that there have been any useful studies correlating intelligence and/or geek-fu with the dimensions of other anatomical parts, as such the size of mine didn't seem particularly relevant to the discussion.
By the way, the really depressing thing is that the Brexit Boy users all have quite different IP addresses, so it looks like there are three of them, not just one. As for the size of their body parts, I'd start with the squishy grey entity between the ears... |
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