Dutch boyband hopes to reverse Brexit through the power of music If UK MPs hoped to get through Christmas recess without mention of the "B" word, they're shit out of luck because a Dutch boyband has dropped the hottest and only pro-EU earworm of the year. Breunion Boys' debut single, "Britain Come Back", couldn't have come at a more critical time for remainers. Parliament broke up for …
Michael Habel, I should downvote your post simply for using a hashtag here. Still pondering, however, what compitant could mean. My best guess is that it's the U.S. American spelling.
Now, regarding UK's PM. I do not like her. I had despised her long before she became PM. And something inside of me breaks when I feel compelled to defend her (that would justify another downvote).
She may not be the best PM that this country has seen. But she assumed government responsibility in a hopeless time where there's hardly anything to win (for her), facing almost certain failure. If you want to point fingers at incompetence, do so at the quarrelling Tories and at the opposition with their leading prick. As of now, those bastards are absolutely unwilling or unable to act in the interest of the country.
>Indeed not the greatest leadership. Just wonder, purely hypothetical, if anyone else could have done better dealing with these barmy lots of brexiteers of different degrees and others.
She should have sent them away and refused to do anything until they had an agreed plan that stood up to more than 5 minutes of scrutiny. By that time, there is a significant chance that the universe would have suffered heat death and it would no longer be an issue.
She has enough problems with the right wing Orangemen, particularly that deal with them to prop up her government, despite everybody warning that she'd undermine the Northern Ireland peace process and make it front and centre of Brexiteers by so doing.
Personally, I find the recasting of May as some damsel in distress offensive. She was a very right wing and divisive Home Secretary, who jumped into every anti-immigration and crack down on internet freedom agenda bandwagon you could possibly think of. She's facilitated and kept on the road one of worst governments in modern UK history. They've managed to put a decades old internal Tory conflict over Europe ahead of all other interests and they don't seem to care if they crash the economy in the process, as long as their side wins.
Whatever about Brexit, creating the circumstances where the UK is now a politically unstable mess where there's no certainty about all sorts of fundementals of the economy, flow of goods and services, availability of staff and all sorts of other things is absolutely insane.
She and her Government have prioritised keeping right wing tabloids and their readers happy over all else.
When the economy nosedives, will they be grateful? Or will they just turn on the Tories as their spending power gets seriously undermined?
Yeah, Conservatives take a lot of the blame, as usual, however, this time let's not forget labour's hypocrisy. The only sane decision is to cancel Brexit and have several other people's votes on what exactly they want, because this is serious, very serious. Then, and then alone, can you leave as the Brits want ... as I wrote on here before the referendum, there is no such thing as "take back control", we already have it, not for long, but we have it ... for proof, one of us drafted article 50, FFS!
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I know this, because when I lived there I had to tune my radio - pre-DAB but had pre-set stations I'm not a caveman! So there were 2 flemish-speaking stations playing heavy rock - and then what seemed like about 10 french-speaking ones playing only the "finest" Europop. And nothing else on FM - for some reason I didn't check MW/LW. Probably post-traumatic stress from the following:
First station I tune into, in my new flat in my first foray into living in a foreign country. And I just hit the end of the ad break and the DJ comes on saying, "The next 2 hours will be dedicated to the music of Johnny Hallyday!" I did keep tuning back in, and as far as I can tell that's all they played for the next 2 hours. Ugh!
After that my radio stayed mostly dedicated to the BBC World Service - and I listened to CDs instead.
Still got bombarded with Europop at the check-outs at the supermarket though. They even had litte 15" screens so you could watch the dancing while you waited to be served.
You weren't there man! You weren't there!
There are no German FM classical music stations.
Maybe not but Classic FM is fucking awful anyway: classical music in the format of popular music. Let's the cultured bourgeoisie feel good about themselves while they listen to the same arias all the time.
German radio is generally awful, lots of Radio 2 clones but with the same playlists everyday. Mind you the traffic reports are better because there are more and longer traffic jams! But the worst thing is that, in common with most European countries, the public broadcasters also carry adverts to be played at higher volume just before the news! So it's Deutschlandfunk and Six Music for me. Don't know what this has to do with leaving the EU: British music and radio has been popular for years.
I quite like Classic FM while driving; very soothing except at this time of the year with all the Christmas carols and the like. Christmas eve is plenty early enough to play all that stuff. (Bah Humbug). However, I do find that horribly nauseating advert for laxatives annoying and instantly turn off the radio or change channel the moment it comes on. Rather like that obnoxious TV advert years ago where a double glazing company made a shouty advert. I purposely didn't ask them for a quote when I needed new windows. Some ads just turn me off completely.
"I know this because they invented sprouts."
You know, you might be on to something there regarding the EU and the Brexit vote. It can't have helped many Britons' view of the EU that they had to suppress a tiny shudder of revulsion every time they heard "Brussels" mentioned in news bulletins and frightful visions of grey, watery pellets of awfulness from Christmas dinners of yore swam before their inner eye.
Slightly off topic (if only because Iceland is EEA/EFTA and not EU proper).
TOH and I went to Iceland on holiday in Jan 2018 (watching snow storms from the sofa by the wood stove in the hotel bar - perfect!). While in Reykjavik I turned my portable radio to the only FM music station I could find (IIRC it was Atan FM). It was a bit gangsta-rap like, which isn't my usual cup of tea, but enough to wake me up early enough for a good run at the AYCE breakfast bar. One morning the radio alarm came on and I was dozing in bed thinking about getting up when this song came on, dropped the N-word a few times then the Mother-F bomb (see icon). I was certainly unaccustomed to that kind of thing before the watershed but it certainly woke me up!
All the Icelandic people were friendly and welcoming, with excellent English, but I'm not sure they quite realise the subtleties of profanity. This is perhaps best demonstrated when we went to a wool shop out in the sticks (wool is perhaps the only thing that is *cheaper* in Iceland). We were chatting to the shop keeper and noted how impressed we were at the storm a few days earlier. She responded, noting "Yes, the Fucking weather, eh(?)". We were both taken aback - its not the normal language one is accustomed to in a wool shop but it did make us laugh also.
I see your Player and raise you Leslie, Kelly & John Ford Coley's "Come Back to Me":
Do you think of me. Do you feel the cold? Or is somebody keeping you warm. Like I used to do?
I wish that you knew that I want you back here in my arms.
And if this foolishness ends... Do you think you could love me again?
J'ai besoin de partir, de nous donner de l'espace
J'ai besoin de partir, de nous donner de l'espace
Quelque part aussi beau qu'avant, qu'avant, quand on vivait
Quelque part aussi beau qu'avant, qu'avant, quand on aimait
C'est ta voix, c'est la voix, c'est ta voix que j'aimais
C'est ma voix, c'est ma voix, c'est ma voix qui te plaît
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JAOEo_sVRo0
I see your old 70's songs and raise:
"Never marry a Railroad man
He loves you every now and then
His heart is at his new train.
No, no, no
Don't fall in love with a Railroad man
If you do forget him if you can
You're better off without him"
from "Never marry a railway man" by Shocking Blue
>>>Britain's departure from the European Union cannot be legally implemented without the terms approved by the House of Commons.<<<
Any exit deal cannot be implemented without Parliaments approval. To stop actually leaving the EU requires the Art.50 letter to be pulled and there probably is't a parliamentary majority to order that either, remember - 574 MPs were elected on a manifesto for implementing the referendum result.
We've dug ourselves into the biggest political catch-22 in UK history, we can either treat all public votes as binding or we set the precedent that politicians decide which public votes they can ignore and I can't think of anything that is more important than the EU issue.
(Short of asking us all 'Do we go to war', and don't say it'll never happen, parliament has only been voting on wars since Blair decided to cover his backside over Iraq)
we set the precedent that politicians decide which public votes they can ignore
It would be parliament reasserting its much vaunted sovereignty. Wouldn't be a precedent as all referendums are advisory.
I suspect that most people won't really care that much as long as politicians start addressing some of the issues that are affecting millions of people everyday such as the abomination that is universal credit. The list is long.
Charlie Clark,
Yes constitutionally referendums are only advisory. But we've never not implemented the result of one. And as our constitution works partly by precendent, I'd argue that the EU is now a referendums only issue. We didn't have one to join, but did to retrospectively justify that. We were promised one on Euro-entry, and one on the Constitution (reneged on by Labour when they changed the name to the Lisbon Treaty). And we just had one on leaving.
This is a new Parliament, and I don't think that's ever happened between holding a referendum and implementing it. So that would give a consitutional fig-leaf. Expect both major parties stood on manifestos of implementing the result, and both increased their vote.
One Parliament cannot bind the hands of the next, after all. But I really don't think it would fly as an idea. If you want to overturn a specific people's vote on something this important, you'll have to go back and ask again.
One Parliament cannot bind the hands of the next, after all. But I really don't think it would fly as an idea. If you want to overturn a specific people's vote on something this important, you'll have to go back and ask again.
It might come to that if only to break a deadlock in parliament. I'm only saying it's not necessary. Yes, if parliament decided to go against the result of a referendum, there would be wailing and gnashing of teeth (and headlines of betrayal in a range of newspapers) but the world would go on. Especially, if it meant a government that spent time dealing with the issues of the country. It's an emotional issue but not make or break for many people.
The current situation is a complete shambles. It's possible that, if the May loses the vote, that parliament will take control and, through "indicative votes" achieve consensus over what happens next. Difficult to see the current "leader" of the opposition stepping up the task, he seems to thrive on avoiding responsibility or taking a stand. So, I won't be holding my breath. If necessary, I'm sure the other 27 will agree to an extension of the current arrangement, and this might be necessary as I suspect we will see both a referendum and general election over this. Oh happy days!
"If necessary, I'm sure the other 27 will agree to an extension of the current arrangement, and this might be necessary as I suspect we will see both a referendum and general election over this."
I've seen this comment elsewhere in British media as well, but I'm afraid it's a complete fantasy. There's no way all 27 will agree to any extension.
If the British decide to increase their own internal chaos by holding another referendum or a general election, that is not the EU's problem. You're out by 29 March, one way or the other. The EU wants this to be over, and that's the harsh reality. There is simply no reason for the EU to grant any extension.
By 'referendum', you mean the non-binding opinion poll that is two and a half years out of date? The one that gave no clear mandate for anything?
Seems like a weak excuse for sacrificing the sovereignty and economic future of the UK. Particularly since it doen't even represent the views of the British people in 2018.
>I think he means the public vote that had the highest turnout of any vote in UK history. If you cast your mind back to 2016, you'll remember that the actual opinion polls were completely wrong.
He means the public vote that had the highest turnout *since the 1992 general election* in numbers of votes cast.
Most post-war general elections up until the mid-90s had a higher turnout as a % of the voting population.
We've dug ourselves into the biggest political catch-22 in UK history, we can either treat all public votes as binding or we set the precedent that politicians decide which public votes they can ignore and I can't think of anything that is more important than the EU issue.
Helped by arch remainer Gina Miller, we now face a situation in which parliament will not approve anything the EU will agree to, leaving either reneging on the referendum or a no deal exit as the only viable ways forward.
I can't work out if it is in fact a piece of sheer genius and political chicanery, or just a massive cock-up
The EU has only itself to blame. One sop to Cerberus - one concession to Cameron - and the case for Brexit would have collapsed.
As it is, they have shown themselves in an ugly light and so has the rest of the political and media establishment
The genie cannot be put back in the bottle. Verhofstadt's bad teeth, Barnier's delusions of grandeur, Juncker's patent alcoholism and Tusk's narcissism and arrogance have had a spotlight upon them as has May's utter incompetence.
We may not do well outside the EU, but we will do better than being in. And really you have yo be pretty naive to believe in its wonderful self image any more.
Helped by arch remainer Gina Miller, we now face a situation in which parliament will not approve anything the EU will agree to, leaving either reneging on the referendum or a no deal exit as the only viable ways forward.
Anon,
Why blame Gina Miller? I didn't really approve of her legal action, and I think the court got the result wrong. But it was perfectly arguable either way - and that's what we have courts for. Of course the ruling was undermined by the ECJ just ruling that we can reverse A50 - but the government told the court they didn't believe that to be true - and nor did the Commission (or Miller's legal team).
All that ruling did was say government couldn't activate Article 50 without a vote of Parliament. It probably also means that government can't cancel without a Parliamentary vote either, but to overturn a referendum result government would at least need Parliament - if not an actual referendum. To do it by Prime Ministerial (crown) perrogative alone would be ludicrous.
"Helped by arch remainer Gina Miller, we now face a situation in which parliament"
There are 2 momentous events in the past 2 years, Gina's actions being the first, the second is the action taken by the MSP's in the ECJ, which gave the edict the UK can unilaterally cancel Article 50 - Because both have shone a light to the extensive bullshit and spin that the government has been feeding us.
@AC if you would rather be treated like a mushroom, i.e. kept in the dark and fed bullshit, then so be it, but I for one, take pride that a rag-tag group, with little to lose, have successfully held this despot government to account...
" ... The EU has only itself to blame ... "
Blame for what?
Blame for the UK leaving?
FFS! The UK voted to leave. The EU didn't vote to throw it out.
The EU wouldn't let the UK have it's way? So the UK throws a temper tantrum and votes to leave. And it's the EUs fault?
Here's a clue UK.
YOU ARE NOT THE VICTIM HERE!!!! YOU are responsible for your current cluster-eff! It's your doing. So effing deal with it.
Oh, and here's another clue for you UK. The EU will do just fine without you. You on the other hand ....
Get over yourselves.
I believe all the factual data available so far points to this being a falsehood. Can you quantify this position with actual data?
Like Europop, facts, data and music just ain't what they used to be. Problem is the 'facts' and 'data' are generally propoganda, and reliant on future outcomes that are speculative. So the effects of leaving the EU are predicated on deal or no deal.
We have some visibility of the current deal, and can speculate on the effects of no deal. So there's some.. interesting clauses, like Articles 100+ that cover EU staff, contractors and general hangers-on's immunities from paying tax and NI, and possibly other legal immunities. It also covers more interesting stuff like the ECB and EIB. Partly because thanks to years of QE, both are massive time bombs. A UK outside the EU won't be able to avoid the fallout, but inside, may be expected to contribute to the bail-outs. Again that's somewhat speculative.
What should be clearer is the way the EU's grown, both in cash terms and influence. Some issues are simple, so the 'Tampon tax'. The EU decides what stuff can be VAT exempt or zero rated. Post-EU, the UK can zero rate sanitary products. Or just cut VAT and possibly attract more tourists. Or add 50% VAT to Europop music..
The genie cannot be put back in the bottle. Verhofstadt's bad teeth, Barnier's delusions of grandeur, Juncker's patent alcoholism and Tusk's narcissism and arrogance have had a spotlight upon them as has May's utter incompetence.
Projection Much?
From my side of the water the EU has shown some well-hidden competence in the handling of Brexit and speaking of Narcissism, whats with this thing that every single time anyone from the EU utter a word, a chorus of Brexiteer newspaper articles arrive with: "They loves us, they wants us, they needs us, they don't want us to leave, ever, but we will, once they give us a better deal because they love us ... et cetera".
Donald Trump will have you lot over a barrel and you will enjoy it. And maybe thats "better than being in", however, one could also get that kind of thing for much less in Amsterdam.
I know the feeling... Is May the remainer really as inept as she has appeared, or has she deliberately manoeuvred us into a carefully crafted cancel position? I still don't know if she's that good an actress.
The question is, what will happen after Brexit finally happens or doesn't happen? I mean at the next election.
As far as I can work out all the parties have holed themselves below the water line. The Conservatives have made such a complete cock-up of this that both the remainers and the leavers will not forgive them for their incompetence for many years.
The Liberals shot themselves in both feet and then threw themselves over a cliff the moment they got a sniff of Cameron's arse in the coalition, so they're still out in the wilderness, and Labour, well Corbyn has been weak and wishy washy and his choice of shadow home secretary (Abbott) is as mad as hat full of kittens on cat-nip... I couldn't vote for them even if I agreed with 90% of what they said!
I think we're ready for Lord Buckethead to step forward.
We used to expect parliament to do the right thing morally. TB asking parliament was blame-sharing when he knew full well there was no moral case.
With brexit the mandate was given by the referendum. Again the moral course of action was clear and again, TM is sharing blame for not following the morality right course of action.
The referendum was not, "do you some border controls" it was, "do you want to leave the eu." There was no, "unless anyone has an objections or thinks they have a better plan" clause.
The referendum was not, "do you some border controls".
Very true, Cameron was so convinced remain would win that no due diligence was made, I can understand him, as he too is an Eton boy.
It's harder to understand May who still came up with all her red lines from the very beginning.
Britain is simply expected to adhere to the Belfast agreement it has signed.
As David Milliband points out:
"There are three rule-makers in the 21st century: the EU, the US and China. Opt out of the EU, and we are rule-takers."
The morally right course of action would be for all MPs (who have, after all, sworn an oath of allegiance to the UK!) to put the country first and reject Brexit completely.
Had David Milliband not been stitched up by Ed and the disproportionate power of unions* in selecting the Labour leader, I dare imagine we wouldn't have ended up with a Tory majority in 2015 and hence the referendum, or with the embittered old man Corbyn so far of step with his members that there's no mainstream anti-Brexit party despite 48% of people feeling that way when last asked. But, you know, down with Thatcher!
* I've no problem with unions in general, I should add. At least, not in the abstract.
When you say Brexit can't be implemented without Parliament having a vote, haven't they already had it? The EU withdrawal bill already passed means that we're leaving on March 29th while putting all current EU regulations into force that aren't already in UK law. So Parliament can vote down May's deal, but that doesn't change the fact that we're leaving unless they vote to amend that act which is already passed. Plus Article 50 is in the EU treaties - so again, having notified that we're offski - it happens automatically in 2 years.
Not that MPs can't vote to change this. Would be very hard to force the government to enact new legislation and very easy to fillibuster a private member's bill. And international negotiation is a crown perogative, so Parliament would struggle to force a reluctant government to do what it wants. Even withdrawing Article 50, which we now know we can do unilaterally, requires the government to write a letter to the Council of Ministers withdrawing it. So MPs can vote to do it - and would need to by what I read of that ruling - but still couldn't force May if she didn't want to. They can vote no confidence in her government and force a general election - which might persuade the EU to hold up the deadline (can be agreed unanimously by Council of Ministers) but again doesn't that need the UK government to agree? And does the Brexit bill still have us leaving if not changed?
Lots of fun and games for experts on the Constitution to play with. But anyone who gives a simple solution to any Brexit problem is almost certainly either ignorant or a liar. Or both I suppose.
Correct. The current position is that Brexit can't be *un*implemented without Parliament doing something. The status quo is to leave in March and nothing else. If we want to Remain, Parliament has to change the status quo. If we want to leave with a deal, Parliament has to change the status quo. The status quo runs until it is changed, and the status quo is to leave the EU and nothing else.
Wait just a gosh damn minute, I though Brexit was for the old and racist. This is clearly aimed at young people who didn't vote for Brexit and would love nothing more than to grow up fighting for jobs with other people lowering the wages for all in a supply and demand capitalist society.
>Nope he's dead though I doubt the philistines that voted for Brexit would know who he is anyway.
Careful taking the moral high ground and insulting people, it can make you look supercilious and deafen people to your arguments. The EU is by no means a utopia and has plenty of problems that need addressing.
Yup. You do need to make it clear if you're taking the piss when you call all the voters for one side old racist philistines. Because there's a certain kind of person who says that kind of thing as a badge of pride - to prove their committment to the cause and their contempt for people who disagree with them. See the Guardian below the line for details. Come to think of it, quite a few of their editorials are pretty close to being professional trolling nowadays. They're in serious danger of becoming The-Lefty-Mail.
It's horribly corrosive to democracy. And should be discouraged. It's as bad as the Corbyn supporters who call members of their own party "Blairite Scum", or the Brexiteers who call everyone else LibLabCon or sheeple or whatever.
Come to think of it, The Guardian like to claim the moral high ground but still sell t-shirts with "Tories are lower than vermin" slogans on them. How's that better than "Enemies of the People" headlines in the red-tops?
It's all terribly depressing. I demand enforced civility backed by the threat of punishment beatings!
That of course is what happens when people use emotional narratives because the rational ones are indefensible.
In the end you have to decide which 'scotch fun bun' (anag.) you want to urinate on you from a great height. Westminster or Brussels.
At least you can sack the Westminster lot. I know how to get rid of TM the PM, but there is no way to get rid of Juncker the Drunker.
"Your ability to sack either figure is exactly equal, as far as I can see."
Just like your ability to sack any of our cabinet. They are elected for a term of office, that's it. You do not get to choose who serves as what as soon as your input is done, so don't start with the "undemocratic EU" nonsense please.
Trollery indeed ... one needn't hate the neighbors to not wish to be ruled by them.
Well, that's the usual exiter mindset, magnified by years of voting for British MEPs who spent more time thumbing their noses than anything more constructive.
We used to have PMs that could negotiate exceptions where they felt it was necessary, but the last couple of No. 10 incumbents clearly weren't up to the task.
I'll defend the British Music Industry.
"voice of Take That, or a boyband – the best thing Britain ever gave to us"
I'm not going to cite a long list of great British songwriters, singers, artists but compared to EuroTrash, we're
miles ahead and even compete pretty well with countries 5x our population.
Keep bringing in the foreign $. One of our more successful exports. PP
Contrariwise there was a remainer who said 'I got very angry and upset and voted to remain,. But I really don't know why I did that'.
I do. The power of negative marketing is not trivial.
As one can see from the posters in El Reg
They actually believe that leavers are uneducated, elderly and did it all for emotional reasons like 'Rule Britannia' and racism or xenophobia.
Because that is what the media told them., Backed up by finding out of 1000 the only example to interview on prime time that fitted the stereotype.
Suppose it turns out to be really not much of a big deal after all. Except for re EU which declines into insignificance and te profits of a few European (not British) companies that take a nosedive?
Less a nuclear explosion, more a damp squib.
'Suppose it turns out to be really not much of a big deal after all. Except for re EU which declines into insignificance and te profits of a few European (not British) companies that take a nosedive?'
While your positive metal attitude would be commendable in a lot of situations, really, this is not one of them. In fact, it appears borderline delusional where you think that the loss of an economy and population of 66 Million from a far larger economy currently driven by a population of 742 Million would result in their demise and commercial decline.
I don't doubt you are educated, youthful,non racist and believe you have made a rational assessment. I just think you are naive.
I don't suppose my point above would make any difference to your positive and sunny outlook because you have rationalised our exit as resulting in the EU's demise.
If it were a game of poker I would love to be playing with you because you are on full tilt, sadly its not and I don't want to be part of your 'all in' strategy. When I go all in there are multiple outs, in this case, the probability is low to non existent on hitting the miracle card you are hoping for.
Sorry, you're writing the same generalisations that you complain about.
I'm irish.
Sky and UK based broadcasters, UK owned papers provide a high proportion of our media
The reasons for leave have been poorly communicated. Tabloids spout tabloid headline nonsense, and the other side echo the worst of it in an attempt to ridicule the whole of the opposition viewpoint.
Not unique to the UK, happens here. Only a handful of loudmouths claim to believe all claims by either side, but they get attention.
And in the USA it's on a whole different scale of divide and conquer.
There are some suggestions that the UK can reach more favourable trade deals with the rest of the world, than the EU did. The alternative possibility is that trading partners like China and India might press their advantage ( UK trying to negotiate trade deals with everyone simultaneously, otherwise struggling to trade on painful WTO terms ) and give the UK worse deals.
There's complaints about over-regulation. I'd guess that we'd agree that some of that is about agricultural protectionism to avoid political fallout. Will that not be present in a non-EU Britain?
For Ireland / NI the effects of UK - Continent trade restrictions will be magnified. There will likely be increased opportunity for criminals and ex-militants to profit from border running, harming both countries.
Most of the issues raised by the media regarding inter-EU immigration have been choices by our 2 governments. E.g. allowing eastern EU workers to work here while other EU countries had a temporary delay, or non-EU to patch some industry desire. Ireland have more workers from Poland than the UK, more from Brazil than France. And they integrate pretty well.
And Ireland has seen the difference since the 80s that open EU trade makes to an economy. The main two British political parties seem complacent.
It won't be a nuclear explosion, but a gradual dropping off in living standards outside the cities.
>There are some suggestions that the UK can reach more favourable trade deals with the rest of the world, than the EU did. The alternative possibility is that trading partners like China and India might press their advantage ( UK trying to negotiate trade deals with everyone simultaneously, otherwise struggling to trade on painful WTO terms ) and give the UK worse deals.
All recent EU trade deals (Canada and Japan) have clauses that mean if a third country gets a better deal than the EU, they have to start renegotiating within a time period (IIRC 3 months). So it is impossible for the UK to get a better deal than the EU, unless it is for a period of several months. The best the UK can get from those countries is the same deal as it would have got in the EU anyway.
Anyone thinking that Britain can make deals with the rest of the world better than it can within the EU is painfully naïve. The USA and China have deals with around 20 countries each. Let that sink in for a moment - the USA and China, 2 of the worlds biggest economies. The EU has deals with about 90.
"They actually believe that leavers are uneducated, elderly and did it all for emotional reasons like 'Rule Britannia' and racism or xenophobia.
Because that is what the media told them., Backed up by finding out of 1000 the only example to interview on prime time that fitted the stereotype."
Nope. I know quite a few leave voters, not one of them is racist. Every single one of them however firmly believes that the EU passes laws over us, controls most aspects of our lives and takes about a third of our tax. One of them honestly believes the EU forced JLR to sell cars in Germany for less than it costs to make them. None of them are elderly. They are all gullible and have been bombarded with decades of bullshit about the EU from the media (most of which is very right wing and does not go round telling people nasty things about its own readers) and from the UK government blaming every cock up on "Brussels", from failure to deport immigrants, charge overseas paitents for NHS care, failure to deport terrorist suspects, austerity, etc etc. All of which made headline news in rags like the Mail again and again, and you bleat about media stereotyping leave voters?
"'Your choice turns my spine grey'? So English isn't their first language..."
It's odd, but when I listened to it, what I heard was "your choice turns my sky grey". Possibly it's because my first language isn't English, but rather American.
If the official lyrics say "spine" then I guess it's "spine", but "sky" is what I heard. Of course, the official lyrics of XTC's "Sgt. Rock (is going to help me)" say "He can diffuse any bombshell" when, in fact, the correct word to use there is the homophone "defuse". But perhaps English isn't their first language, either.
I watched a UK only release (locally made) film on Amazon Prime.
Lets just say, I don't know WHO did the subtitles, but they were not the Queens English, or the words the actors spoke... even a quick Google would have told them the correct terms/brand names being used over the gibberish they typed in.
I'm a remainer.
I'm gonna remain right here across the Atlantic until British civilisation collapses and I can return to form my own republic somewhere in the North of England and stake my claim to the throne, despite it being a new republic. Just you lot wait. See if I don't.
Signed: The unborn son of Joe Totale.
'You've even got the rap verse, which begs Blighty to "(baby, come back) think of what you're leaving behind" as the boybander, amazingly, rips his shirt open and gestures towards his six-pack.'
I'd come back for that 6 pack! (That's the safest "come" back line I can post)
But, what's this have to do wit IT?
Indeed I will miss some of the tasty european beers if their supply chain becomes a victim, I'm assuming that was what it was a reference too. Or perhaps it was about our flocking to mediterranean beaches that will become slightly more difficult to arrange. Still we can always go to Gibraltar.......
It's a nice sobriety indicator.
When the audience at the pup sort of nods along to the beat, they're about rightly drunk.
When they start to dance, that is proof they've drunk to much, and should be escorted to a cab...
Anyone start to sing along, and you know attempting to cut them off will result in a fight, prep the pints of nearbeer, and call security.
Many people in France are dubious about the European Union, for the same reason as Britain: policies that require them to accept too many refugees, leading to social problems or the potential for social problems.
Thus, instead of Britain using an exit process that fairly obviously would lead to the situation we now have, because Britain didn't have enough bargaining power to get a good deal, if Britain and France had united to exit the EU together, this could have led to what would have made every nation equal: a return to the days of a European Common Market without a European Union.
Europop? Now that's sure t be a winning argument for the remainers!
(Just visited family for Christmas and found their neighbours had a huge "any deal is a bad deal" banner outside their house .... managed to resist the temptation of going up to them and saying I was glad someone else was in favour of "no deal"!)
But there is so much else.
The Beatles.
Radar.
The English language.
The law of universal gravitation.
The steam engine (since Scotland is part of Britain too).
Even Doctor Who, which is watched by some people outside of Britain.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
The Rolling Stones.
Petula Clark.
I think that several of these top Benny Hill!
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'Hello Rotterdam. Good evening. Can we have your Eurovision totals please ...'
"Thank-you and good-evening Den Haage. ; here are our results at present: -
"Great Britain ... minus 273·16 points ...."
'Thank-you Holland.'
'Hello Berlin; are you receiving us?'
(Jacob Rees-Mogg/Boris Johnson/Liam Fox) to release single to counter the Dutch youngsters
Start spreadin' the news, I'm leavin' today
I want to be a part of it
Brexit means Brexit
These vagabond shoes, are longing to stray
Right through the very heart of it
Brexit means Brexit
I want to wake up, in a country that doesn't sleep
And find I'm king of the hill
Top of the heap
These little town blues
Are melting away
I'll make a brand new start of it
In old UK
If I can make it there, I'll make it anywhere
It's up to you, UK
Brexit means Brexit
I want to wake up in a country that never sleeps
…
With thanks to the original writers of "New York, New York" and Frank Sinatra
These boys are quite unknown in the Low Countries.
The EU has been subject to two advisory national referenda in the Nehterlands. Twice did the majority vote against the EU. Twice did the government listen to the people and decide against them. Because of the resulting discontent, the government has abolished further referenda on the grounds that what the people want is undemocratic.
I don't care a lot about politics.
That said, I do think that Brexit is a bit of a cock up on both sides of the Channel.
But it's happening, you brits just carry on and I'll still come and visit somewhere next year whatever the outcome.
I'm actually really pissed that once again some internet loonies have decided to speak for all 17 million of us in a way that just makes us look fucking pathetic.
So again, I apologise for my fellow Dutchmen.
I don't know what I'm going to do... cutting my eyes out seems extreme...
Also, I think we're fucked in 2019 as I am reliably informed 'New Kids on the Block' headlined NYC's Time's Square ball drop...
Edit: 'New Kids'... ball drop... bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahahahahahaahhaa....
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