Off Topic The "Discuss Anything Else" Thread

Stunning.

 

The EU countries that take home big remittances from UK like Poland, Bulgaria, Romania I think will shout and ball Cameron down just enough for the charade that it all is. Then if we vote remain Dave's demands will be torn up anyways as they have no legal binding at all.

 

I know is not generally accepted to prefer covers but the Jeff Buckley version is so much better

 

Merkel's approval rating slips even further:

http://www.dw.com/en/merkels-approv...ic-mood-hardens-in-election-season/a-19026450

She only has herself to blame, surely?

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Yep, shell it out girl. After all, it's only your taxpayers' money, oder?

http://www.dw.com/de/berlin-gibt-23-milliarden-euro-für-syrien-hilfe/a-19026328

 

Thanks Oddy. Those Fact Sheets are very interesting. Also, If I lived in Britain I would read some of those books before voting. What is owed to the public is for experts to summarise those books and articles into layman terms and to present them on TV, separating out indisputable facts (the base picture) from the disputable "facts" and those that are purely views. To then show the sensitivity of those disputable "facts"/views to the base picture. In other words, however persuasive an argument is aired, an unbiased "referee" will illustrate the potential impact of various scenarios in real terms on the base picture. Then I believe the majority of voters will be sufficiently well informed to vote with their eyes wide open.

Eg The net benefit of membership is estimated (disputable) at £62bn to £78bn pa. Presumably this includes the Cost of Membership minus Rebates (around £10m). If that is anywhere near correct as a starting figure, it might be difficult to turn that into a net cost. But it would be interesting to hear/see the arguments.

 

I am sure that there are goods that we export to Europe that they do not produce themselves, so making them more expensive probably would not go down too well with European consumers. They might then realise what a disservice the political elite of Brussels are doing them.

As well as more British unemployed, there would be more European unemployed because those that have come here to work would be losing their jobs as well and having to go home. Currently British unemployment is less than half that of France, Spain and Italy even with over a third of a million migrants working here as well.

We do about 40 per cent of our trade with EU countries but that level is in decline as we increase the share of exports that we send to other parts of the World, notably Anglophone parts of The Commonwealth, who still feel they have something in common with us even though we do not run their countries anymore.

Two of the principle arguments of the Brexit campaign: we make sure that the people coming to work here are not suppressing wages at the bottom end of the market and are only taking up jobs where there is a skill shortage; and we can tear up that dreadful Human Rights Act that decrees that égalité with French peasants is the most desired state and continually usurps laws enacted by our national government.

 

The actual sums of money involved in the benefits system are pretty small potatoes in the scheme of things; however, the principle offends. The majority of people coming here to work from the EU do pay their way in terms of taxes and contribute to society. The poorer countries (most of Eastern Europe) are not going to agree to benefits pro-rata of their own economies, which would be administratively unworkable.

Cameron must now realise the huge mistake that he made offering a referendum to assuage his backbenchers’ fears about UKIP and I would say that there is no prospect of another referendum for a couple of generations as the only anti-EU party in Britain is UKIP and they are a party of protest not government (like Jezza’s Labour).

If the great unwashed choose to stay in the EU to see if they can fix it from the inside, I will have nothing for them but contempt.

 

The accounts have not been properly signed off in Brussels for over a decade, so reliable figures are a little thin on the ground. I know an accountant who worked there a few years back and apparently their bean counting system would not be considered very accurate over here. It has to be said that the European Court of Auditors have concluded that the EU finances contain errors of nearly 5 per cent even though they have still rubber-stamped them.

Anecdotally, I do believe that the £10bn figure that you stated is the one that most of the British media are happy to quote. In 2014, the UK contribution to the EU budget was €11.3bn, a figure which I believe is net of our rebate. That constituted 10 per cent of the EU budget, with Germany (€25.8bn), France (€19.5bn) and Italy (€14.3bn) making bigger contributions.

The easiest (and most appropriate) way to characterise the financial argument is to ask whether you would keep going to the Bet window every year to back a horse that was getting slower and slower every year so that the kindest gesture would be to retire it.

 

What do you make of those fact sheets QM?

 

A good reason to vote out would be that it is your only chance ever to vote out. There will be plenty of chances to vote in, until the majority have.

 

1. Why is it the only chance? Who gave us this chance? If we wanted out later, who is going to stop us?
2. That is not a very sound reason to vote out
3. If we get out and are worse off I'm sure there will be plenty saying "I did warn you idiots" and Nigel Farrage won't be seen
4. If we stay in there will be plenty maintaining we should have got out, still not knowing what would have happened had we done so

It must be made clear why we would be better off out before voting out. So far, the numbers indicate that it be wiser to stay in. The numbers need to be challenged with believable facts/arguments

 

Oh bollocks. And I had Potatos 340,341, 342, 343 and 344. I still think mine were better .
Potatos I refer to .

 

This is Orange 2385 (2016). Any offers. There is a reserve

 

Personally Ron, I'm more into barter. So if you're interested in acquiring the my friend below, I'm sure we can come to some kind of arrangement. He's semi house trained and has rather taken leg humping in a big way. He also loves watching racing on the tube, especially when he's humping. He gets really excited in a close finish. He's a sight to behold.

please log in to view this image

 

"Semi" house-trained would bother me a bit, and one would need cricket pads too, of course. Tell him to give me a call, but will have to check with the cat as she is a very clean lady, and I dread to think what she would do with some strange animal who tried to hump her.

 

I think he'd have to watch it with my cats. There are about 12 of them (half of them male) and I reckon some of them are bigger than him. Our dogs would probably look after him though.

 

Yes, Ron, after that Kevin Abosch spud photo going for a million bucks, and your excellent orange effort, maybe we should all have a go. I do not take photos, but the missus does, so here's her best effort with, wait for it, Broccoli. Erm, Cyclonic has already won the animal award!



Well, she said she took it.....

 

That's a strange thing about him Ron, other dogs think he's cool. The females see a lot of James Dean in him, and he puts a lot of himself into them. And other male dogs in our street have started wearing their hair like his. They don't have that wild eyed look that he's mastered, that allows him all the pussy (sorry doggie) he desires.