BBC local radio

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Don't forget the large number who simply want to give offence - then hide behind saying things like 'it's an old word, and I want to keep its original meaning'. Plenty of examples on here.

[Tim Streater]

Precisely why the EU will fail. The same sort of pressure to conform and integrate is being applied to people who don't want to. And if they try to do it by stealth, which is increasingly the case in the EU, then it will end in tears.

[The Natural Philosopher]

The EU will fail because although people are perfectly happy to give sovereignty away if they end up fat and comfortable as a result, when it means they are getting poorer every day and the EU cant fix it, they begin to ask whether or not it was such a good idea after all.

[Robin]

Ahem, IIRC the majority of people in the EU *do* gain financially from it. There were massive transfers of wealth first to Spain, Portugal, Greece and Ireland; then to the Eastern European accession states; and then to the next lot of accession states. The French and many farmers also gain from it - not to mention the wine makers (unlike the CAP you never even hear about the subsidies to them as they are politically untouchable). Even the Germans gain financially when you factor in the massive export market (not to mention the political domination). Who loses? Well the idiots who had a relatively efficient agricultural sector, obeyed all the EU rules and pushed for enlargement which led inexorably to majority voting.

[The Natural Philosopher]

******

The key is in the 'were'

Now everybody is fscked except the Germans and the East Europeans, and even they are beginning to wonder.

Meanwhile the rise of far right fascism, the thing the EU was supposed to get rid of, is being created as a reaction to it instead ...

[Bill Wright]

You mean that there has to be a consensus. But this is about whether a small group can dictate how the rest of us use language. That isn't a consensus.

Bill

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Strange the way you only seem to be worried about it when it involves words used as racial insults.

[Huge]

How is this possible?

[Adrian]

Synergy. Together with the EU as a whole being more effective and successful in international trade than a bunch of small countries on their tod.

[Adrian]

You're living up to your posting name surprisingly early today.

[The Natural Philosopher]

On the button. Except it is not 'how we use language' I am very happy to have a small group set a standard - any standard - call it 'standard English' or 'ANSI C' or whatever and simply learn it.

No its about what we are allowed to SAY in that language.

[The Natural Philosopher]

It Isn't. Its a Ponzi scheme.

Germany says 'you join, we lend you money, you but German cars, we all do well' until it's 'we now ask you to bail out German banks that lent you all the money' or 'we pwn your country because you owe us more than it is worth, you do what we tell you or else your government your social security your public sector jobs are all belong to us, and we can shut them down'

[The Natural Philosopher]

International Big Lie Of The Year.

[whisky-dave]

early, not sure what you mean by that, but can you explain to me why we have special races for women ? Mastermind, stricly dancing, X-factor we don't have seperate catogories for men and women.

[Robin]

Another possibility is simply that the winners outnumber the losers, much as a CPS study last year claimed more than 50 per cent of households in the UK received more in benefits than they paid in taxes in 2010/11.

Admittedly a crude calculation counting the total populations of States which are net contributors/beneficaries does *not* show more winners than losers. IIRC it is roughly 3 losers to 2 winners.

But that ignores the way there are many winners *within* countries which are in total net contributors - eg all the French farmers, German farmers (remember the Mercedes Benz workers who kept a cow for the subsidies?), wine growers, .......

[harryagain]

It's not. A small minority of the poorest countries benefit. The ones that are now up shit creek because they borrowed too much & can't pay it back.

The Germans are up shit creek because they will never get their money back.

All the "money" created by bankers did not in fact exist. It has predictably now disappeared, but the debt remains.

[harryagain]

Bollix. It was all built on fake money and debt. It is near to collapse.

The banksters will walk away laughing and the various taxpayers will be left with a mountain of debt.

[Bill Wright]

That's really because racial insults are at the focus of PC fascism.

Bill

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Depends on your particular hobby horse. Many would say it's more about male/female equality (of opportunity)

[Bill Wright]

My own hobby horses are age discrimination, disability discrimination, and mental health discrimination. The very PC BBC comedians think nothing of making unkind jokes about the elderly, the disabled, and the mentally ill.

Bill