Brexit, for once some facts.

Zlatan

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Spain,Italy,Greece,Portugal and Ireland have needed to devalue currency for years. Its impossible for them to do so and highlights one of main problems with eu and its fiscal control/ policy.
 

oldtom

Esteemed Pedelecer
But like it or not, the right wing as you call it, is rising right across Europe.
That part is correct Mike but Marine Le Pen is not as popular as the British media would have you believe. Part of my family is French, live in Paris and keep in touch with us regularly.

Like the UK, there is a deliberate media distortion of the political arena, engineered to produce exactly the same kind of xenophobic claptrap we have witnessed from Farage and the other fascist extremists in the UK. It is not possible to predict how Le Pen may do come election time although if I had to guess, I'd say good sense will probably prevail and the reactionary, right wing will be ignored. Sadly, the French at the present time are between a rock and a hard place with regard to their political options.

Tom
 

anotherkiwi

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The European Union
Spain,Italy,Greece,Portugal and Ireland have needed to devalue currency for years. Its impossible for them to do so and highlights one of main problems with eu and its fiscal control/ policy.
Corruption, tax evasion, dark economy and giving huge tax breaks to multinational companies. Fighting those would mean no need to devalue in any of those countries... Those problems are nothing to do with the EU.
 

oldgroaner

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Nov 15, 2015
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Flecc
Yes the programme was reporting around the topics you mentioned but it was totally impartial in doing so. This situation was not portrayed pre June...Government would not have allowed it. It gave reasons behind rise of certain elements, painted a picture of both the economic devastation and the unrest across Europe. Blaming Brexit on for any of that ( as OG suggests) is ridiculous.

Tillson
We know the enemy is desperate when they start stealing ammunition, especially when they don't have the equipment to fire it..( not that OG is really the enemy but you get my drift)
AS usual you persist in failing to understand: these sentiments existed before Brexit, but have been grossly aggravated and encouraged after the referendum, even wearing your "I newly remember voting for Brexit" goggles you should be able to understand that.
 
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tillson

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May 29, 2008
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Stopped air travel when my father died. I do have about 4 times around the world in flying miles however, a quarter of those miles being on internal flights in NZ. I don't have many regrets but one of those is that I don't have my light aircraft licence. I won a flight in a essay contest when I was 12 and thanks to a little cunning got in line to get on the plane last and into the front seat. I got to "fly" the Cessna for the whole time except for take off and landing. I have dreamt of flying light aircraft ever since.

I purchase goods from China like everyone else when I have no other choice, most of my food however comes from the EU so isn't imported. IKEA furniture made in the ex eastern block countries, Korean fridge and washing machine, clothes Intex, electronics from all over Asia... I do look at labels but budget dictates choice except for food. 90% of my food is sourced from inside a 100 km radius around my home.

I've just remembered that I have a fridge made by a company called Fisher Paykel. I think they are a NZ based appliance company who started out supplying the medical industry. Leek everyone, they probably manufacture elsewhere now using slaves. Very good product though, well designed and thought out.
 
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Zlatan

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Nov 26, 2016
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Corruption, tax evasion, dark economy and giving huge tax breaks to multinational companies. Fighting those would mean no need to devalue in any of those countries... Those problems are nothing to do with the EU.
Ofcourse you are absolutely correct but those issues are simply compounded by not being able to devalue currency when required.
 
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Zlatan

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Nov 26, 2016
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AS usual you persist in failing to understand: these sentiments existed before Brexit, but have been grossly aggravated and encouraged after the referendum, even wearing your "I newly remember voting for Brexit" goggles you should be able to understand that.
No I did not. Stop presuming OG. You don't have equipment for it.
 
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flecc

Member
Oct 25, 2006
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Flecc
Yes the programme was reporting around the topics you mentioned but it was totally impartial in doing so.
Yes, that I agree with, and also agree with Woosh and KudosDave that it was a good, well made program, presenting the right wing anti-EU view across four and a bit countries and some selective ill effects in those countries. Ill-effects in many cases due to their own governments inadequacy or globalisation, rather than the EU.

That is no basis for any judgement about the EU.

There are 28 countries in the EU, not just 4 or 5, and many of those 28 countries are doing fine within the EU, some with the ability to afford supporting the poorer countries. A program could equally be made solely about the successful countries with glowing reports from those supporting the EU, and that too would be just as misleading.

I will end though with one criticism of the program. It lumped together the right wings of Italy, France, The Netherlands and Germany, when they are in fact very different animals. On the one hand there's the right wings of Italy and France for example which are largely based upon their suffering economies. On the other the hand the right wings of Germany and The Netherlands based solely on overt racism since their economies are very healthy indeed.

That important distinction should have been made clear, since it shows there is no unity on the right of the EU.
,
 
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mike killay

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Feb 17, 2011
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That part is correct Mike but Marine Le Pen is not as popular as the British media would have you believe. Part of my family is French, live in Paris and keep in touch with us regularly.

Like the UK, there is a deliberate media distortion of the political arena, engineered to produce exactly the same kind of xenophobic claptrap we have witnessed from Farage and the other fascist extremists in the UK. It is not possible to predict how Le Pen may do come election time although if I had to guess, I'd say good sense will probably prevail and the reactionary, right wing will be ignored. Sadly, the French at the present time are between a rock and a hard place with regard to their political options.

Tom
Tom, all that I can say is that you and OG are tired old lefties completely out of touch with the people (as usual for the left)
You spray out 'Fascist 'like a scatter gun and equally inaccurately.
Obviously you both hate right wing politics, you fail to understand that populism means that people like it, but no, you demand the same old Stalinist medicine, the people must do as they are told to reach the so called left wing utopia.
But people don't want that.
You have to denounce UKIP as right wing and Fascist when you know full well that there is a new paradigm. Ukip contains members from both the old left and right The left is fading and you are behind the curve of history.
 

anotherkiwi

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Ofcourse you are absolutely correct but those issues are simply compounded by not being able to devalue currency when required.
The most efficient way of fixing a problem is tackling the cause, not the symptoms. Devaluation would only lead to an increase in the root causes of those countries problems.
 
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flecc

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Oct 25, 2006
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there is a new paradigm. Ukip contains members from both the old left and right
Which simply cannot work, the two are incompatible, so it ends up at one extreme, usually the right.

Remember, the Nazi party's correct title was the National Socialist Party. Huh, some socialism when it was the most extreme right wing party the world has ever known.

If UKIP were ever given full power, heaven help us after what they'd eventually become.
.
 
Bringing it back to Brexit related facts...

There have been 75 chances for people to vote in district and county elections since about the time of the referendum last year.

The pro EU lib dems seem to be doing rather well. They took another 2 seats from the Conservatives last night, in big swings.

The next few years of political maneuvering is going to be very interesting.

 

Zlatan

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Nov 26, 2016
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The most efficient way of fixing a problem is tackling the cause, not the symptoms. Devaluation would only lead to an increase in the root causes of those countries problems.
History shows otherwise...but you are correct , devaluation is not a cure, but it has proved on many many occasions to be a necessary short term solution. At times there is little else ( quantitive easing? but that has its faults too)

A short term boost , attracting tourism, investment, fostering business is better than nothing. Ask Greece,Italy,Spain..
Our current rise inFTSE has been attributed by many ( including yourself?) to our lowered currency value...? Imagine predicament we would be in if tied ( or had) euro... Cant have it both ways Kiwi. Lowering currency value promotes business...you know full well it does.
Yes, it creates inflation but that is not as consequential as claimed. Relatively small inflation is healthy for economy...deflation is the real threat. ( or massive inflation, accepted)
 

flecc

Member
Oct 25, 2006
53,197
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The pro EU lib dems seem to be doing rather well. They took another 2 seats from the Conservatives last night, in big swings.

The next few years of political maneuvering is going to be very interesting.
Following tne collapse of the Lib-Dems at the last general election I argued that they would quickly bounce back, returning to their former strength. Many wrote them off far too quickly.
.
.
 
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Spain,Italy,Greece,Portugal and Ireland have needed to devalue currency for years. Its impossible for them to do so and highlights one of main problems with eu and its fiscal control/ policy.
The only issue with this statement is that you're describing the € zone, not the EU. They do over lap, but they are not the same thing. We're in the EU and not the € zone, as an example.
 
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anotherkiwi

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jan 26, 2015
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The European Union
History shows otherwise...but you are correct , devaluation is not a cure, but it has proved on many many occasions to be a necessary short term solution. At times there is little else ( quantitive easing? but that has its faults too)

A short term boost , attracting tourism, investment, fostering business is better than nothing. Ask Greece,Italy,Spain..
Our current rise inFTSE has been attributed by many ( including yourself?) to our lowered currency value...? Imagine predicament we would be in if tied ( or had) euro... Cant have it both ways Kiwi. Lowering currency value promotes business...you know full well it does.
Yes, it creates inflation but that is not as consequential as claimed. Relatively small inflation is healthy for economy...deflation is the real threat. ( or massive inflation, accepted)
France has enough private savings to cover its national debt. Elect the National Front to power and watch that money flow from the country like a river! In Greece, before the austerity measures imposed, most hotels and restaurants evaded VAT, now 100% of them do...
 
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oldgroaner

Esteemed Pedelecer
Nov 15, 2015
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Tom, all that I can say is that you and OG are tired old lefties completely out of touch with the people (as usual for the left)
You spray out 'Fascist 'like a scatter gun and equally inaccurately.
Obviously you both hate right wing politics, you fail to understand that populism means that people like it, but no, you demand the same old Stalinist medicine, the people must do as they are told to reach the so called left wing utopia.
But people don't want that.
You have to denounce UKIP as right wing and Fascist when you know full well that there is a new paradigm. Ukip contains members from both the old left and right The left is fading and you are behind the curve of history.
Did you make any of that up yourself?
Typical right wing second hand views trotted out as if they are gospel, full of stereotypes and mistaken assumptions.
If you cannot see what sinister politicians are doing, you are no wiser than a donkey following a carrot on a string

Sent from my XT1032 using Tapatalk
 

mike killay

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Feb 17, 2011
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Did you make any of that up yourself?
Typical right wing second hand views trotted out as if they are gospel, full of stereotypes and mistaken assumptions.
If you cannot see what sinister politicians are doing, you are no wiser than a donkey following a carrot on a string

Sent from my XT1032 using Tapatalk
There are no stereotypes or assumptions.
There is little point in arguing, you believe what you want.
 

flecc

Member
Oct 25, 2006
53,197
30,602
I wonder what would the EU have done if we said we are going to control immigration but stay in the EU,I bet they would have blustered but do nothing.
They would have done exactly what they did to Switzerland whan it attempted to control immigration. To hear what that was, listen for 2 minutes starting from 20 minutes 30 seconds in the radio program I started this thread with:

Here's the link
.
 
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