The Political Thread

[sheridan]

And once again, don't confuse organisation with government. Not having organisation is bad, not having a government - well, that's not so bad, especially when it's made up of the most egregious elements of society.

I'm reminded of Belgium (I suspect that would have been a topic of conversation on this thread at the time).

[Jim_Campbell]

Whether we're in or out or part-time members of the EU makes no difference to me,

Other than in your pocket, for a start. I refer, again, to Britain's catastrophic balance of trade deficit, and the sliding value of the pound.

[The Legendary Shark]

The EU didn't stop Greece's economy from going breasts aloft, Jim, and arguably made things worse. Portugal, Italy, Spain, all in the EU, all struggling like mad.

Here's one way I'd think more about being a supporter of the EU - give it control of money creation and the money supply so it could use sovereigncy to pay for itself and the European infrastructure, thereby cutting taxes and tariffs levied against corporations and businesses to a minimum and virtually eliminating all personal taxes. But no - the EU supports the profitability of monetary creation and control to be in private hands.

The EU is a damn fine thing in principle but it is not what it pretends to be - just like most of the world's "governments" and other religions it's a tool for social control, not a mechanism for social organisation.

So, in or out of the EU in its present form makes no difference to me. Prices are going to go up anyway through one mechanism or another - it's the unavoidable side-effect of privately created and controlled money - and the EU's going to punish the UK for leaving by ratcheting up prices through tariffs and fees, which is just common or garden government bullying and nothing more.

[IndigoPrime]

There's a world of difference between inflation-based rises and British prices shooting up significantly because our currency ends up worth far less/tariffs mess up imports.

[Steve Green]

Off of twitter.

[TordelBack]

That autograph is going to cost you all a lot more than a tenner.

[IndigoPrime]

Having moved overseas twice, I shudder to think how much it'd cost to move anywhere again. And that's even if we sold all our stuff (including all my 2000 ADs).

[pauljholden]

That autograph is going to cost you all a lot more than a tenner.

€5

[TordelBack]

That autograph is going to cost you all a lot more than a tenner.

€5

Heh!

[Definitely Not Mister Pops]

This Brexit thing has caused me a massive identity crisis. Before, I always considered myself neither British nor Irish. Although most of my family lived south of the border (actually North since they were in Donegal) I was happy to be Norn Irish, and a pragmatic unionist. Yet, since last July, I've actually been thinking about a United Ireland. In my gut, I suppose I've always wanted it, but I didn't let the fire in my belly melt the ice in my head.

The notion of a hard border is horrible. I have many relatives whom I didn't get to know as a kid. The hard border tripled, even quadrupled travel times from Derry to Donegal.

The problem is, the biggest advocates for UI, Sinn Fein, have absolutely no plan for it. If they do they've kept it far to close to their chests. It's like when UKIP campaigned for Brexit, yet had absolutely no plan. Oh, there's Eire Nua, but that's an idea from the 70s. A lot of water has passed under the bridge since then, and there's a lot of blood in that water.

TLDR: United Ireland. Discuss.

[Tjm86]

Not sure if it is in the same vein but I suppose thinking about the reunification of Germany in the eighties and nineties.  The challenges were significant with different economic systems, political systems etc.  Quite a few Germans were upset at the time at the cost and impact (I was stationed in Germany in the early nineties and took the time and trouble to get to know some of the locals) on them.  Then you look at Germany now.

I'm not saying the situation is identical although I'm sure there are some who would point to similarities between the English occupation and the communist government in terms of illegal and immoral actions.  The legacy of the security services is likely to be contentious, as is that of the paramilitaries.  That said, maybe now will give the impetus to politicians to be bold and visionary.  In stark contrast to British politicians who have a tendency toward insularity and regression.

[Steve Green]

*sigh*

http://news.sky.com/story/theresa-may-vows-to-get-best-brexit-deal-for-gibraltar-10822205

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/04/02/britains-navy-far-weaker-falklands-could-still-cripple-spain/

[CrazyFoxMachine]

This feels like something the Telegraph alone are whipping up


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3BO6GP9NMY

[IndigoPrime]

You no longer wonder why Chris Morris doesn't do much these days. As for the Spain thing, that'd be 'interesting' from a NATO standpoint, to say the least.

[TordelBack]

If they're considering sending a task force against those who would undermine UK control of Gibraltar, I'm all for it. I have a list of names.