Economically illiterate?

RAENORTH · **Posted:** Sat Jan 31, 2009 2:30 am

Amazingly, it is The Independent which is giving the elephant in the room its outing, telling us that the British strikers "protesting against the use of foreign workers" are up against one of the basic principles enshrined in European Union law. The piece, however, is a cut-and-paste from the Press Association's Geoff Meade.

He tells us that when the UK joined the then Common Market in 1973, "the country" (which does not, I hasten to add, include me) accepted the right of nationals of any other member state automatically to live and work in Britain. However, at that time "there were only eight other member states, all of them prosperous and unlikely to trigger mass migration to the UK to look for jobs."

View full article here

Guest · **Posted:** Sat Jan 31, 2009 4:35 am

Here, left and right, national and international, the Liberal and the liberal, the Conservative and the conservative, have all collided.

iciparis · **Joined:** Thu Aug 10, 2006 3:37 pm **Posts:** 184

Quote:

From the Telegraph

International forecasters say that Britain is heading for the deepest recession of any advanced economy, with unemployment predicted to pass 3 million, but Mr Brown appeals against “talking the country down”.

In a striking show of optimism, he declares: “I am absolutely confident about Britain’s future. I have utter confidence in our ability to come through this. I have utter confidence not only in the British people’s determination to come through this, but that people will work together to make sure Britain emerges from this.

“The British spirit is to see a problem, identify it, and get on with solving it. Once a problem hits us we are determined and resolute and we are adamant that we are going to deal with that problem.

“And that is the resolve, not just of the Government, but the resolve of the whole people.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/davos/4404491/Gordon-Brown-All-Britain-needs-is-confidence-in-itself.html

The Dear Leader at his inspirational best.

Don't you just love all the 'utter', 'absolutely', 'resolve', 'resolute', 'determined', 'determination', 'adamant', 'whole people' stuff?

However, I deplore the use of 'utter' twice in the same paragraph. Maybe the crisp Swiss air had gone to his head, possibly the lack of oxygen at such altitudes. Adjectives like 'all-fired, complete, consummate, downright, entire, flat-out, out-and-out, perfect, pure, sheer, thorough, total, unmitigated, unqualified' clearly momentarily slipped his mind.

And why only the 'resolve' of the people and the goverment given the richness of our language? What about our 'boldness, courage, decidedness, earnestness, firmness, fixed purpose, intention, objective, purpose, purposefulness, purposiveness, resoluteness, steadfastness, will, willpower'?

If you're going to talk Britain up, talk it up with aplomb.

Gorgon McBruni for Minister of Jackanory.

Stuart · **Posted:** Sat Jan 31, 2009 9:32 am

"It is to secure our rights that we resort to government at all."
--Thomas Jefferson to Francois D'Ivernois, 1795.

A government who do not protect our rights...

gareth · **Joined:** Wed Jul 23, 2008 12:59 pm **Posts:** 1862

Quote:

The only thing is, I wonder what sort of piece The Times leader writer would go for if Mr Murdoch decided to fire all the newspaper's staff and hire in some cheaper foreign labour. Come to think of it, what would he say if we outsourced our government to a foreign country, like er … Belgium.

Outsourcing is meant to make things cheaper, more flexible... Better. Our Government has been stolen from us and Europol won't even give us a Crime Number.

iciparis,

I like how Brown says it is the British way to identify a problem and then get on with solving it.

The man buried his head in the sand over the credit boom, has spent the last 18 months blaming it on the US and done very little except splash taxpayer's money over his chums in the North and in The City. Brown clearly is not British.

the man from UNCLE · **Posted:** Sat Jan 31, 2009 11:40 am

Could these strikes (as British workers realise that the 'government' is powerless to stop EU 'nationals' taking jobs that could be filled by British labour) be one of the many blue touch papers that light the fireworks under the EU? I certainly hope so.

iciparis · **Joined:** Thu Aug 10, 2006 3:37 pm **Posts:** 184

Quote:

I like how Brown says it is the British way to identify a problem and then get on with solving it.

Sure Gareth, he's so British he didn't even see the problem coming. The sooner this waste of space walks the plank the better.

SandyRham · **Joined:** Sun Jul 03, 2005 11:11 am **Posts:** 6700

Quote:

The sooner this waste of space walks the plank the better.

To be replaced by another waste of space.

I do wish the UKIP would show some intellectual backbone.

permanentexpat · **Posted:** Sat Jan 31, 2009 12:37 pm

Quote:

I do wish the UKIP would show some intellectual backbone.

Wherever one looks there's a vertebrae deficit...and not only intellectual. It will be a brave chap/ess who pulls the plug on EU membership. It's eerie to think that that person has already been born & walks among us, unaware of his/her destiny.
"Abrogation" PDT_Armataz_01_36

SandyRham · **Joined:** Sun Jul 03, 2005 11:11 am **Posts:** 6700

Quote:

It will be a brave chap/ess who pulls the plug on EU membership. It's eerie to think that that person has already been born & walks among us, unaware of his/her destiny.

Boris J. has to be odds on favourite. Hannan and Hague in the field too.

comet · **Joined:** Tue Apr 11, 2006 9:17 pm **Posts:** 1384

SandyRham wrote:

Quote:

It will be a brave chap/ess who pulls the plug on EU membership. It's eerie to think that that person has already been born & walks among us, unaware of his/her destiny.

Boris J. has to be odds on favourite. Hannan and Hague in the field too.

I don't think there's anyone likely to become leader of a government in power who would strike out and redefine our relationship with the EU, right off the bat. There are too many vested interests, too many local distractions and it's too easy to drift with the flow towards integration.

The circumstances would need to come about where they were cornered into action. When everything is going well, there's little appetite to defy the EU, in a recession when emotive issues like jobs going to foreign workers are important, it starts to look different.

AlanC · **Posted:** Sat Jan 31, 2009 2:53 pm

Who will be the British Lech Walesa?

Um, guys, my wife is going to be visiting a bereaved friend in Norwich in Feb. could you please keep the transport systems running till March? Thanks. PDT_Armataz_01_18

permanentexpat · **Posted:** Sat Jan 31, 2009 3:05 pm

Sandy, Comet:

Not convinced about the mentioned personae...in my musings I was thinking of someone in their(gr) early twenties, but who knows.
The whole shebang may accelerate if (current) recession becomes a full-blown depression which is very much on the cards.
There are encouraging...huh...signs that the slough of apathy & despond is fast falling away as jobs are lost (although few if any in the sinecured labour-voting public sector, hoodathortit). Maybe this is the 'wake-up call' at very long last & the blinkers will fall away.

dhboater · **Posted:** Sat Jan 31, 2009 3:55 pm

[quote="permanentexpat"][quote]I do wish the UKIP would show some intellectual backbone.[/quote]

Wherever one looks there's a vertebrae deficit...and not only intellectual. It will be a brave chap/ess who pulls the plug on EU membership. It's eerie to think that that person has already been born & walks among us, unaware of his/her destiny.
"Abrogation" PDT_Armataz_01_36[/quote]
The party called UKIP,is a busted flush,corrupt,and in the pay of the EU and the present Liebor Government. The only party to offer this withdrawal is the BNP,but that needs the backbone of the British people to stiffen up,realise that they have been shafted,and vote BNP.

Peter · **Posted:** Sat Jan 31, 2009 4:45 pm

“The British spirit is to see a problem, identify it, and get on with solving it. "

Immediate problem the parish council,run by the Fat Controller,we need an election.
Yes I know the EU is the main problem,but one step at a time and there needs to be punishment for those who sold us into this scam.

Economically illiterate?

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