Off Topic The Politics Thread

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Should the UK remain a part of the EU or leave?

  • Stay in

    Votes: 56 47.9%
  • Get out

    Votes: 61 52.1%

  • Total voters
    117
  • Poll closed .
Arguments about the relative merits of US and European/British food standards are raging as the US makes clear it wants its chicken and beef included in any future trade deal.

The British/EU argument against chlorinated chicken is not that it doesn’t work, but that it encourages abattoirs to be lazy and dirty. Easy way to compare, salmonella rates by country.

US 16.7 per 100,000
UK 14.4
EU 23.4 with a massive range from 3.4 in Portugal to 121 in Czech Republic. High rates in Germany, France and Spain as well.

Of course it’s not necessarily accurate, all depends on how well recorded stuff is. And not all salmonella comes from chicken. Apparently we treat a lot of fruit and vegetables with chlorinated water in Europe, so the issue isn’t really chlorine, however repellant it sounds.

I think the argument against hormone treated beef is stronger, if only because these hormones get into the water supply and interfere with lots of things as a result.
There was a funny fact about the way we treat eggs compared to the way the septics treat eggs
Will find and post
 
Arguments about the relative merits of US and European/British food standards are raging as the US makes clear it wants its chicken and beef included in any future trade deal.

The British/EU argument against chlorinated chicken is not that it doesn’t work, but that it encourages abattoirs to be lazy and dirty. Easy way to compare, salmonella rates by country.

US 16.7 per 100,000
UK 14.4
EU 23.4 with a massive range from 3.4 in Portugal to 121 in Czech Republic. High rates in Germany, France and Spain as well.

Of course it’s not necessarily accurate, all depends on how well recorded stuff is. And not all salmonella comes from chicken. Apparently we treat a lot of fruit and vegetables with chlorinated water in Europe, so the issue isn’t really chlorine, however repellant it sounds.

I think the argument against hormone treated beef is stronger, if only because these hormones get into the water supply and interfere with lots of things as a result.

I think that does summarise it. I've never understood the outrage at the words chlorinated wash since we all grew up swimming in chlorinated wash at the local swimming baths and it didn't kill us. Furthermore there are small amounts of chlorine in drinking water. It's only a poison in concentrated form.

Animal welfare does bother me, on moral grounds more than safety. Perhaps the UK can bring pressure to bear on US agriculture, and buy from approved US sources
 
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Controversial peer Lord Ahmed charged with child sex offences
Andrew Norfolk, Anasudhin Azeez
March 1 2019, 12:01am, The Times
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Lord Ahmed is one of three men facing linked criminal chargesALAMY
A high-profile peer is to stand trial accused of three sex attacks on children. Lord Ahmed, 61, was charged yesterday with two attempted rapes and an indecent assault. His alleged victims were a girl and a boy aged under 13.
The alleged offences are said to have taken place in Rotherham in the 1970s, when Lord Ahmed was a teenager. He is one of three men facing linked criminal charges after a lengthy investigation by South Yorkshire police.
Born in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, Nazir Ahmed came to Britain aged 12, joined the Labour Party aged 18 and later became Rotherham’s first Asian councillor. He was also the town’s youngest magistrate. Married and a father of three, he was made a peer by Tony Blair in 1998…
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Britain's economy is set to boom and become the largest in Europe - because of Brexit

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Clear-sighted, grown-up analysis shows the economic doom-mongering is wrong
The public finances are on the mend, recording a healthy surplus in January on booming tax receipts. Employment is at record levels, with real wage growth at a two-year high. Despite a global slowdown, Britain expanded 1.4 per cent last year, recording just 4 per cent unemployment. Yet Germany and France are on the brink of recession, the Italian economy is contracting and eurozone joblessness is twice as high.
The UK has economic problems – and let no-one say we don’t hear about them, given the relentless drumbeat of anti-Brexit media negativity. Just as the economy held up after the 2016 referendum, though – belying Treasury warnings of “an immediate and profound economic shock” – there are...
 
This knife crime stuff is getting seriously out of hand. Two more completely atypical victims this weekend. Nuts.

Obviously unconnected, but youth services funding has been cut by a third since 2010. There are 20,000 fewer police too, but that hasn't had any impact either.
 
Britain's economy is set to boom and become the largest in Europe - because of Brexit

You must log in or register to see images

Clear-sighted, grown-up analysis shows the economic doom-mongering is wrong
The public finances are on the mend, recording a healthy surplus in January on booming tax receipts. Employment is at record levels, with real wage growth at a two-year high. Despite a global slowdown, Britain expanded 1.4 per cent last year, recording just 4 per cent unemployment. Yet Germany and France are on the brink of recession, the Italian economy is contracting and eurozone joblessness is twice as high.
The UK has economic problems – and let no-one say we don’t hear about them, given the relentless drumbeat of anti-Brexit media negativity. Just as the economy held up after the 2016 referendum, though – belying Treasury warnings of “an immediate and profound economic shock” – there are...
Great. Though I don’t really understand why the UK is immune to a global slow down. Presumably because our economy is run by magical time travelling elves.
 
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Obviously unconnected, but youth services funding has been cut by a third since 2010. There are 20,000 less police too, but that hasn't had any impact either.
Round my way the police are upping the level of stop and search, very publically and explicitly. I’m not necessarily against this as from personal experience it’s clear they can’t detect anything after a crime has been committed.
 
This knife crime stuff is getting seriously out of hand. Two more completely atypical victims this weekend. Nuts.

Which ones you talking about ?
The ones who died ? Been two more tonight that are in life threatening condition and I would bet my last pound there have been many, many more that won’t get reported.....it’s already out of hand
 
Which ones you talking about ?
The ones who died ? Been two more tonight that are in life threatening condition and I would bet my last pound there have been many, many more that won’t get reported.....it’s already out of hand
The girl in Essex and the young lad in Manchester. There was one in SoHo which seemed like a domestic. Obviously you are right. It’s a ****ing nightmare, stay safe Stainsey. Do they give you Kevlar vests?
 
Round my way the police are upping the level of stop and search, very publically and explicitly. I’m not necessarily against this as from personal experience it’s clear they can’t detect anything after a crime has been committed.

I'd say more stop and search would be a good thing, but you need beat police for that. I can't remember the last time I saw police walking the street.
 
The girl in Essex and the young lad in Manchester. There was one in SoHo which seemed like a domestic. Obviously you are right. It’s a ****ing nightmare, stay safe Stainsey. Do they give you Kevlar vests?

For example G, I was a night shift last Friday and over the radio there were a total of 7 reported stabbings in our area.....none were reported in the local media or news ‘cos the victims didn’t die, however these can be life changing injuries that affect the victim dramatically.

Yes mate, stab and bullet proof vests are provided......allegedly it can stop bladed attacks and some ballistic (up to and including 9mm I’m told).....wouldn’t wanna put it to the test though :)
 
For example G, I was a night shift last Friday and over the radio there were a total of 7 reported stabbings in our area.....none were reported in the local media or news ‘cos the victims didn’t die, however these can be life changing injuries that affect the victim dramatically.

Yes mate, stab and bullet proof vests are provided......allegedly it can stop bladed attacks and some ballistic (up to and including 9mm I’m told).....wouldn’t wanna put it to the test though :)
Jesus wept.

I’m kind of ambivalent about the gang related stabbing, though ideally I could do without them if people like you have to spend time and resources on it, but a knife now seems the instant response to any disagreement, where a couple of years ago it would have been a fist.

Thank god for our gun laws.
 
Jesus wept.

I’m kind of ambivalent about the gang related stabbing, though ideally I could do without them if people like you have to spend time and resources on it, but a knife now seems the instant response to any disagreement, where a couple of years ago it would have been a fist.

Thank god for our gun laws.

I was talking to a crewmate the other week who told me about a job he had a while back where he attended a guy who had been stabbed 15 times in the body and head.....with a POTATO PEELER !!!
Said the fella had Crescent type wounds all over him and looked....different.
We have to laugh at these kind of things or we’d go mad....all in a days work :)
 
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I was talking to a crewmate the other week who told me about a job he had a while back where he attended a guy who had been stabbed 15 times in the body and head.....with a POTATO PEELER !!!
Said the fella had Crescent type wounds all over him and looked....different.
We have to laugh at these kind of things or we’d go mad....all in a days work :)
as shaw taylor used to say
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