Should the UK remain a member of the EU

[Gnasher]

2 hours ago, SasaS said:

There are also many forms of slavery. Brian Ferry was famously a slave to love, whilst Grace Jones was enslaved by the rhythm.

Grace Jones is boss.

[Gnasher]

3 hours ago, No2 said:

I said either because that article, like plenty of previous ones you posted didn't say anything like what you claimed it did. Unlike most on here I occasionally click on your links.

 

Secondly don't misquote me please. I didn't say you and your mates, I know you didn't vote for the one thing you never shut up about, hence the reason I said just your mates.

"Unlike most on here" chuckle. You and your other posters again eh kid? You seem to think you know what other posters do or in this case dont do dont you?  Jog on.

[Gnasher]

4 hours ago, AngryofTuebrook said:

They have the right to be protected by the Council, health authorities and the Police - as demonstrated by that article. 

 

They are not slaves. 

Oh come on Angry. Some are some are not. You buy a ticket and take your chance. Exploitation is rife on these farms and most people know it. 

 

Many landowners know and turn a blind eye. 

 

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-hereford-worcester-49396728

 

It's all over Southern England.

[Gnasher]

Pretending modern day slavery does not exist only helps the enablers.

 

 

https://www.fwi.co.uk/news/shocking-extent-of-modern-slavery-in-agriculture-revealed

 

These licences gangmasters are little more than thugs who help in the exploitation of poor people. Many landowners turn a blind eye.

[AngryOfTuebrook]

44 minutes ago, Gnasher said:

Oh come on Angry. Some are some are not. You buy a ticket and take your chance. Exploitation is rife on these farms and most people know it. 

 

Many landowners know and turn a blind eye. 

 

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-hereford-worcester-49396728

 

It's all over Southern England.

"Some are, some are not" is the truest thing you've said on this subject.  It's important not to blur the distinction. 

[AngryOfTuebrook]

42 minutes ago, Gnasher said:

Pretending modern day slavery does not exist only helps the enablers.

Who does that?

[Gnasher]

18 minutes ago, AngryofTuebrook said:

"Some are, some are not" is the truest thing you've said on this subject.  It's important not to blur the distinction. 

Ok far too many are is more accurate. The exploitation of the poorest workers in the eu is off the scale. The eastern European farm workers are this centuries cotton pickers. The landowners have the money and have the subsidies there was no excuse.

 

I'm just repeating myself so I'll leave it there. 

[AngryOfTuebrook]

5 minutes ago, Gnasher said:

Ok far too many are is more accurate. The exploitation of the poorest workers in the eu is off the scale. The eastern European farm workers are this centuries cotton pickers. The landowners have the money and have the subsidies there was no excuse.

 

I'm just repeating myself so I'll leave it there. 

There you go again.

The exploitation of the poorest workers is a massive problem (and by no means one that's unique to the EU, or even worse in the EU).

Slavery is also a massive problem. 

The two things shouldn't be conflated. 

[Gnasher]

15 minutes ago, AngryofTuebrook said:

There you go again.

The exploitation of the poorest workers is a massive problem (and by no means one that's unique to the EU, or even worse in the EU).

Slavery is also a massive problem. 

The two things shouldn't be conflated. 

One last time  I have not said modern day slavery is unique to the eu I'm pointing out that eu freedom of movement added to EU expansion has provided fertile ground and optimum conditions for slave masters and people traders. The results are there to see in every city, the eu are complicit.

[AngryOfTuebrook]

10 minutes ago, Gnasher said:

One last time  I have not said modern day slavery is unique to the eu I'm pointing out that eu freedom of movement added to EU expansion has provided fertile ground and optimum conditions for slave masters and people traders. The results are there to see in every city, the eu are complicit.

You are absolutely wrong to say that. 

 

If you want to argue that free movement of people has opened up opportunities for bad bosses to exploit workers (not slaves) from a wider pool, then at least you might have grounds to argue on.

 

If you're arguing that free movement promotes slavery, then you make yourself look stupid, because the opposite is self-evidently true.

[SasaS]

24 minutes ago, Gnasher said:

One last time  I have not said modern day slavery is unique to the eu I'm pointing out that eu freedom of movement added to EU expansion has provided fertile ground and optimum conditions for slave masters and people traders. The results are there to see in every city, the eu are complicit.

I think it is the illegal African migrants working on fruit and vegetable plantations round Almeria in Spain who are much worse off than the in-Union labour.

[Gnasher]

18 minutes ago, SasaS said:

I think it is the illegal African migrants working on fruit and vegetable plantations round Almeria in Spain who are much worse off than the in-Union labour.

Yeah there are. As number 2 said up thread the slavery in Qatar for the upcoming world cup is atrocious.

[Gnasher]

12 hours ago, AngryofTuebrook said:

You are absolutely wrong to say that. 

 

If you want to argue that free movement of people has opened up opportunities for bad bosses to exploit workers (not slaves) from a wider pool, then at least you might have grounds to argue on.

 

If you're arguing that free movement promotes slavery, then you make yourself look stupid, because the opposite is self-evidently true.

Not slaves? Oh they're modern day slaves alright, it might make your  justification easier if we just turn our cheeks and pretend it's a bit of exploitation but unfortunately for the victims window dressing the issue only enables the slave masters. 

 

 

https://www.politico.eu/article/labor-trafficking-exploitation-modern-day-slavery-on-the-rise-in-europe-report/

 

 

The report below is a fucking shocker, cant defend this shit...

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/11/world/europe/eu-farm-subsidy-lobbying.html

[Paulie Dangerously]

The £80 dog passport I got last year is now useless and I need to get documentation for £100 everytime we take our dog away. Thanks Brexit 

[Bruce Spanner]

45 minutes ago, Paulie Dangerously said:

The £80 dog passport I got last year is now useless and I need to get documentation for £100 everytime we take our dog away. Thanks Brexit 

From the vets, isn’t it?

 

Also needs to be planned months in advance.

[Jairzinho]

6 minutes ago, Bruce Spanner said:

From the vets, isn’t it?

 

Also needs to be planned months in advance.

Yes, I'm about to start planning a trip for August.

[Bruce Spanner]

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/mar/03/supermarkets-may-get-more-time-to-adapt-to-northern-ireland-trading-rules-brexit

 

Idea breaks international law, world beating pariah state...

 

’The British government has been accused of breaking international law for a second time by the European commission after ministers said the UK would unilaterally act to give Northern Ireland businesses time to adapt to post-Brexit rules.

 

In a damning statement, Maroš Šefčovič, the vice-president of the commission, said a move announced by Northern Ireland secretary Brandon Lewis to exempt goods coming from Great Britain from checks amounted to a “violation” of the withdrawal agreement.

 

This is the second time that the UK government is set to breach international law,” the statement said. “This also constitutes a clear departure from the constructive approach that has prevailed up until now.”

Lewis announced a “new operation plan” for sending goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland to the Commons on Wednesday.

 

The UK has asked for a two-year extension to all grace periods for Irish Sea border checks including those on food, parcels, plants and medicines, but so far Brussels has resisted. Lewis said the government had to act to protect the interests of Northern Ireland and keep shelves stocked. “We are taking forward a series of further temporary operational steps which reflect the simple reality that there is more time needed to adapt and implement new requirements as we continue our discussions with the EU,” he said.

The commission said it had not been informed of the decision in advance of Lewis informing parliament and suggested the move would be a hammer-blow to trust between the two sides after an already bruising period.

 

The two sides have been seeking to rebuild relations on the joint committee responsible for implementing the withdrawal agreement, although Michael Gove has recently been replaced by Lord Frost, the former Brexit trade negotiator, who has a record for upsetting the EU side with his robust stance.’

 

Just that wee bit of not having a fucking clue.

 

It’s like when Jonestown folk drank the Kool-Aid...

[AngryOfTuebrook]

Great, isn't it. 

 

Proper political and media scrutiny 5 years ago would have shown that none of the Brexit charlatans had a clue - or gave a fuck - about stopping the risk of Northern Ireland getting shooty again. 

[SasaS]

They are just going to honour what suits them in the withdrawal agreement, aren't they and act as if UK left with no deal with what doesn't.

[Bruce Spanner]

Intersting analysis of anti-immigration/asylum seeker rhetoric in the press in the build up to the referendum.

 

No real surprises, but it's always nice to see where idiots get their parroted lines from.

 

https://www.theneweuropean.co.uk/brexit-news/anti-immigration-rhetoric-the-poisonous-xenophobia-of-our-press-16986

[Rico1304]

 

[Bruce Spanner]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.ft.com/content/5b8028a7-edaf-4488-8e96-3761ba8b015f

 

The FT did a piece the other day, looks bleak.

 

‘Brexit disruption took its toll on Anglo-French trade volumes at the start of this year, mirroring declines in commercial activity between the UK and other large EU countries.

 

French exports to the UK were down 13 per cent in January compared with the average of the previous six months, while French imports from the UK fell 20 per cent, according to the French customs office. “Trade with Britain is disrupted due to Brexit,” it said. 

 

The volume of French exports and imports from other countries rose in January compared with the previous month. Anglo-French trade had recovered from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic last year, rising for the second consecutive year, boosted by companies stockpiling before the UK left the EU single market at the end of December.

 

But the new French figures indicate that the frictional barriers and uncertainty created by Brexit have dealt a heavy blow to commercial activity between the UK and the EU, its biggest trading partner.

 

Even though the UK and EU agreed a last-ditch trade deal to avoid tariffs on most goods which came into force on January 1, trade was still disrupted by higher shipping costs, transportation delays, health certificate requirements and more complex customs requirements at the border. 

Some of the recent collapse is due to teething problems Gabriel Felbermayr, Kiel Institute for the World Economy Some tariffs are still levied on goods that are imported into the UK and then re-exported to EU markets with little or no further processing.

German exports to Britain in January were downabout 30 per cent year on year, continuing a trend of declining trade between the two countries since the Brexit referendum in 2016, according to figures released by the federal statistical agency this week.

 

Separately, Italy last month reported a 38 per cent year-on-year drop in exports to the UK and a 70 per cent drop in British imports in January — both much steeper declines than those with other countries. “The latest available data shows that overall freight volumes between the UK and the EU are back to their normal levels,” the UK government said in an emailed statement. “This has been possible thanks to the hard work put in by traders and hauliers to prepare for the end of the transition period.”

Economists said it was still unclear how much of the decline in UK-EU trade was the result of Brexit and how much was caused by the fallout from the pandemic, which dealt a heavy blow to global trade in the first half of last year.

“I have a hard time deciding what is the impact of Brexit and what is simply down to the impact of coronavirus,” said Gilles Moec, chief economist at French insurer Axa.

 

Before the UK left the EU single market at the end of last year, many UK and EU companies had built up their inventories in preparation for higher costs and disruption from Brexit, which may have contributed to the fall in January as they drew down their stocks, Moec added.

“There were so many stories about companies that had trouble exporting or importing after Brexit and a lot of hauliers were reluctant to deal with the customs issues, so there must have been an impact,” he said, adding that it was “still too early” to say how much of the drop in trade with the UK would be permanent.

 

The UK has been steadily declining as a trading partner for the rest of the EU. Its share of overall exports from the 27-country bloc has fallen from 17 per cent to 14 per cent since the 2016 Brexit referendum, according to Eurostat.

Overall figures for EU trade in January are due to be published later this month. But last year exports from the bloc to the UK fell 13.2 per cent, while EU imports from the UK were down 13.9 per cent. 

 

While the pandemic caused overall EU trade to fall, the UK had a steeper decline than the EU’s three other main trading partners — the US, China and Switzerland.  Gabriel Felbermayr, president of the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, said research it did for the German government found the country’s exports to the UK were likely to remain 12-15 per cent below pre-Brexit levels. “Some of the recent collapse is due to teething problems,” said Felbermayr. “The major new trade barrier in goods trade are rules of origin that are costly to document and to abide by; however, traders will learn how to deal with them.” He said there was evidence that “many of the bigger [German] firms have planned for Brexit and have reorganised their operations” to adapt to the likely disruption, while smaller companies have done less.’

 

 

[AngryOfTuebrook]

This isn't the work of a sarcastic Leftie comedian.  This actually is from the Daily Express.

 

[Captain Howdy]

“Clear eyed approach” to human rights record? The fuck does that mean?

[Mudface]

42 minutes ago, Captain Howdy said:

“Clear eyed approach” to human rights record? The fuck does that mean?

They completely ignored it.