POLITICS CORNER

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Re: POLITICS CORNER

Post by Stanley »

I see Rosemary Carroll hit the BBC news last night.
I agree totally with you Tiz.
P, I think you are on the right track but if I may say so, two years for austerity is very optimistic. So much ground has been lost in lower incomes and the problem of debt is going to loom much larger.
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Re: POLITICS CORNER

Post by PanBiker »

We had John Mcdonnell the Shadow Chancellor in Barlick yesterday. We spent a nice afternoon at the Civic Hall with members of Pendle Constituency Labour Party. John delivered his vision for the future based on his economic plans and then we had a half hour or so of questions from the floor.

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Civic Hall gathering

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We posted the event on Barlick Talk Facebook site and of course have stirred up all the right wing and Tory keyboard warriors, some of who's comments are downright insulting and bordering on libel. None of them were there of course so par for the course, media and right wing press driven. If the only argument you have is an insult you have already lost it.
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Re: POLITICS CORNER

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I'm kicking myself because I had forgotten he was here. I like his views, they seem far more practical than those we are suffering at the moment. You're right Ian. insult and vilification make handy sound bites but in the long run don't cut it. I remember Churchill calling Labour 'Gestapo'......
It's high time Labour went into full-blown opposition based on practical ideas like these, the Tories have been allowed to dig a big enough hole, time to push them into it and do a bit of backfilling......
Meanwhile in the fantasy playground which is the Tories and Brexit the 60 Brexiteers renew their attack on T May and her cunning customs wheeze which on the face of it has already been shot down in flames by the EU.
How long can this pantomime last? It becomes more and more obvious that allowing the Tories to dominate and control the process is a calamity..... Let's not forget who started this hare running!
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Re: POLITICS CORNER

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I was expecting you to tip up and I think you would have enjoyed it. He is a very approachable bloke, plain speaking and will take any question from the floor and reply honestly with what the situation planning is at the moment, can't really ask any more from a Shadow Chancellor. He needs to get into power to really show what he can do.
Having seen him deliver twice on consecutive days over the weekend it should be noted that both presentations were different, pure economic comments obviously the same but the rest certainly not a repeat soundbite of the day before. Makes a refreshing change from what we normally get from the other side.
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Re: POLITICS CORNER

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Good, I have always liked his ideas and the way he puts them over.
Watching the antics of the Pretenders to the throne, Johnson and Gove, as they attack their 'leader' it strikes me that May ought to do the John Major 'put up or shut up' speech. Come to think, you can include quite a few other Tories in that bracket. Meanwhile, the Brexit chariot rolls on with no visible sign of any progress at all.
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Re: POLITICS CORNER

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I'm beginning to think on the Irish border question Mrs May is following one of Baldrick's (Blackadder) cunning plans. The idea is that you do nothing to control the imports / exports and just sit back until the situation gets that bad that the truckers organize a massive break out on the lines of C W McCall's 'Convoy'. At this point the tariffs are equalized. Problem solved.
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Re: POLITICS CORNER

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Or the North secedes and once more we have the only sensible solution, a united Ireland.
The clock is ticking and I suspect a degree of panic is setting in. Richard was spot on all those years ago.....
'Events Dear Boy...... The economic indicators are not good, the oil price is rising, growth in the UK is 'subdued', growth in the first quarter was dire at 0.01% and the forecast for the year is 1.5%. This would have been regarded as almost a recession ten years ago but today the politicians see this as acceptable. Trumps Tantrums are injecting even more uncertainty. The consequence is that any possible advance in interest rates is unlikely in the near future. This is not a vibrant performance! Perhaps this is why Phil Hammond is so quiet.....
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Re: POLITICS CORNER

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It would now appear that the world is run by two people 'Trump' and 'Benjamin Netanyahu'. Trump pulls out of the nuclear watchdog deal with Iran not because they have been seen to have broken the agreement but because Netanyahu doesn't trust them. Then Trump threatens the rest of the world but mainly Europe with illegal sanctions if we don't drop our trade deals with Iran. Mrs May thinks we should continue with the inspections but is very quiet about sanctions. Could this be because of our 'special' relationship with America, Do as you're told! Meanwhile just to help matters along Israel bombs Syria. Russia won't be too happy about this just when things may be settling down. The question arises who is pulling the strings in Israel, Netanyahu or Trump?
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Re: POLITICS CORNER

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I too thought of Russia when I heard the Israel/Iran/Syria news. How is Israel able to shoot up and bomb Syria when the Russians are protecting the country?
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Re: POLITICS CORNER

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plaques wrote: 10 May 2018, 07:37 Meanwhile just to help matters along Israel bombs Syria.
...in response to Syria firing shells into Israel.
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Re: POLITICS CORNER

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chinatyke wrote: 10 May 2018, 11:21 ...in response to Syria firing shells into Israel.
Probably a bit more complex than that. I don't profess to be an expert but but didn't the shelling take place in the Golan Heights. Isn't that the bit of Syria that Israel annexed in the 6 years war. Syria has always wanted this part of their country back and has been a source of friction between the two countries for years. The whole thing gets more complicated now that Iran is helping Syria. Iran being Israel's number one enemy. I doubt if anyone can sort this mess out.
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Re: POLITICS CORNER

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Islam reminds me of well known Chinese tale of long ago:-
A scorpion asks a frog to take him across a flooded stream.
The frog says 'No because halfway across you will sting me.'
The scorpion says 'Trust me, all I want to do is get to the other side and if I sting you we will both drown.'
The frog agrees, but near to the far bank the scorpion stings the frog.
The frog turns to the scorpion 'You lied. You promised that you would not kill me.'
The scorpion smiled and said 'Sorry frog but it is in my nature'
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Re: POLITICS CORNER

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I like that China.....
Remember also that Trump has moved the US embassy back into Jerusalem on the anniversary of the founding of Israel. Jewish vote in US is very important.
Like Ireland, the Israel /Palestine interaction is a can of worms and you can construct all the theories that you want but it still adds up to Jews v. Arabs. Two opposing mind-sets, think Prots v. Rome in Ireland.
Everyone with any sense knows that the cure in both cases is moderation and integration but I see no signs of it ever happening.... I see no need for Russia to intervene, the Iranians are doing a good job of promoting instability in the region and as in Crimea and the Ukraine this helps Russia to increase influence. Go back to China's fable.....
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Re: POLITICS CORNER

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I see the BofE says that the economy has hit a 'soft patch'...... Surprise surprise!
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Re: POLITICS CORNER

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...BofE speak for `We've fallen into the brown stuff!' :extrawink:
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Re: POLITICS CORNER

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My impression is that everything is on hold at the moment, nobody has the slightest idea where we are going to be in six months time. So expect more royal weddings and other trivia to keep us 'informed'!
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Re: POLITICS CORNER

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Don't be silly Stanley, We are banning the use of cotton buds and the next target is wet wipes. Grammar schools for the elite and with a bit of luck secondary moderns for the rest. Brexit is already signed up for we just have to sort out these border issues and trade deals. No problems there! Trump has laid the first foundation brick on another war on Islam. See Bernie Sanders Link. warning America that things are not too rosy. Sanctions and trade deals, who can trust America? Still waiting for what Mrs May thinks about it. On the black side, the European song contest tonight. Glad I don't watch TV.
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Re: POLITICS CORNER

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Sorry P. You are quite right, I should be less cynical.....
Bernie Sanders is dead right. There are good sensible politicians still in the US. What a pity that their lousy selection process allows someone like Trump to buy his way in. (Mind you, ours isn't any better....)What struck me particularly about the nakedly elitist funding of the grammar schools is not only how much good that money would have done in state schools but the fact that by bypassing the will of the people like that they make statements about having to pursue Brexit because the people have spoken sound very hollow.
Later..... T May is under pressure, in response all she can do is parrot her mantra, she is committed to taking us out of the customs union but solving the border and immigration problems at the same time..... Great! So that's all right......
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Re: POLITICS CORNER

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I'm an optimist and I'm still predicting that Brexit won't happen. Besides the Lords I've now got the students on my side demanding another referendum. They are in revolt because they know that Brexit will do great damage to the UK and they will have to live with it for the rest of their lives. They also point out that since the EU referendum 1.4 million young people who were not elgible to vote then are now eligible and should have their say before it's too late. Students Another interesting fact in that same article is that Momentum are now going to put pressure on J Corbyn to demand another referendum.

While reading that Guardian article I noticed another one and it chimed with something that has been troubling me in recent days - the fact that the hard Brexiters, the European Research Group (the ones I call Moggles after their leader, Jacob Rees-Mogg) are hypocritical. On the one hand they they claim to be True Brits, saving the UK and all that, yet on the other hand they are are calling British institutions, such as the Lords and the BBC, traitors. Now here's an article today on exactly that contradiction:
`The incontinent fury of the Brexiters who rage against everything British' LINK
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Re: POLITICS CORNER

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Que sera, sera.
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Re: POLITICS CORNER

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Tiz I heard the interview with the student as well. As for the Moggles being anti-British, of course they are. They are simply selfish and bigoted, are ignoring everyone who doesn't agree with them and it is part of the fact that this is all becoming beyond surreal. Surely something has got to crack shortly?
Part of the general campaign of misinformation to reassure the voters is the role of the Bank of England. See THIS Guardian report which questions the optimistic statements that are put out and then action on the 'improvement' like interest rate rises is not taken. You can only spin for so long and then reality strikes. The student representative could be right!
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Re: POLITICS CORNER

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Our MI5 chief blaming the Russians for not being able to pin point their involvement in the Skripal poisonings. Link.. It would appear that they were completely blindsided by the propaganda and misinformation that the Russians put out. Quote "The UK government and intelligence services were wrong-footed by the scale of a Russia media campaign following the attack". Where has this man been? Every event that countries, especially Russia, are involved with is swamped with briefings and newspaper headlines. Putin and Trump are like two peas in a pod. Disinformation is the name of the game. Anyone who really knows what is going on is a very rare animal. Mrs May is perhaps an exception, she genuinely doesn't know what is going on and shows it.
To quote Richard Feynman
"I wonder why. I wonder why.
I wonder why I wonder
I wonder why I wonder why
I wonder why I wonder!"
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Re: POLITICS CORNER

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The same thought struck me P. My conclusion is that he was acting more as a representative persuading the EU they need us for some things even after Brexit than a senior intelligence boss. I don't think I am alone in that ALL statements from certain elements of the political scene are automatically disbelieved and even the ones that have a basis of truth are selectively quoted. This is why independent commentators in free media are so valuable to us proles. It's why I love PE!
Is it my imagination but do I detect a slightly shrill note of panic in the latest pronouncements coming out of the Westminster Village re. the vexed question of the Customs Union? Msr. Barnier tells us that there has been 'no progress since March' in any of the negotiations. Moggy tells us that this is the last squeak out of the Remainers. Really? My assessment is that there is a good chance of complete melt-down in the Cabinet unless someone backs down very shortly. The clock is ticking.....
In another part of the forest, the oil price is rising and some experts can see it getting close to $100 a barrel again. "Events Dear Boy".
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Re: POLITICS CORNER

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Have a read of THIS BBC report on the news that the PM has promised us a definitive White Paper on our negotiation position for Brexit in June. About time to but hold on a minute.... Before this 100 page document can be written the Cabinet needs to have a united position. No real signs of this yet and in addition, the resulting agreement has to be agreed with all government departments.
It seems to me that in order to get this done, T May is going to have to cut through any counter-arguments and impose her view. In the present state of affairs this sounds to me like Mission Impossible! Then there are the matters dealt with in the Lords' amendments that have to be ironed out. I understand about deadlines being needed to focus minds but this sounds ridiculous to me but it has to be ready in time for the EU meeting on June 28/29.
I noticed a footnote in another report, the White Paper will not include any definitive proposals on the Customs Union and hence the Irish problem..... I thought this was what was holding everything up. My message is don't hold your breath!
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Re: POLITICS CORNER

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Chris Grayling to scrap the East coast franchise and possibly restructure it to a non-profit set up.Link.. Anything but re-nationalize it. Quote, "Grayling announced in November the franchise would be replaced in 2020, three years earlier than expected, allowing the companies to escape large payments". In my simple mind if the franchise is currently running at a loss with the potential for big fines at the end of the period how can it be making a profit? To formalize the non-profit status is to say 'business as usual' but without penalties. Any business can run non-profit, just carry on paying bloated salaries to the top people and accept an under-performing service. Another handout to his pals while Joe Public can go and hang.
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