What Do You Think Today?

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It's a classic tactic too. "Ignore the internal problems, look, we have an external threat."

--A

[Sorus]

"Who needs infrastructure when we could be buying new toys to blow things up on the other side of the world?"



Better be careful, or I'll end up in the 'Tank.

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Come to the 'Tank Sorus...

--A

[peter]

I have a feeling that the law of unintended consequences is beginning to take effect in post Brexit UK in a way that should make us all sad if not even worried. In an almost perfect storm of timing for the Union, the Scottish Leadership are requesting a new referendum on independance within a year or two - and one that given the Scottish vote to remain in the EU, they would this time very likely win - and the Northern Irish Parliament has gone into meltdown prompting the quite possible scenario of the Irish being given a vote on unification with the South (one that would quite possibly be passed and that the UK government has since the 1980s been clear that should it become the will of the majority it would not stand against). Cameron's game of trying to win back votes from UKIP by promising that Brexit referendum has opened a Pandora's Box that generations of Brits will possibly pay the price for.

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Wouldn't mind seeing a united Ireland. Still not sure if Scotland can hack it on its own...

--A

[I'm Murrin]

The UK government's strategy on Scotland seems to be to try and force them to hold any referendum after they leave the EU - which would make independance much more painful and difficult (making a No win more likely) and is exactly what the referendum's meant to prevent.

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Sneaky.

--A

[peter]

If they held another referendum before the exit would Scotland (assuming an independance vote was passed) then stay in the EU by default?

[I'm Murrin]

I think the hope would be to take over the UK's membership, but we don't know if that'll be how it actually works.

[peter]

No wonder they talk about 'information overload' in our fully connected modern world - an enquiry as to what is currently showing at my local cinema yielded 43,300,000 results!

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I try not to think any more.

--A

[aTOMiC]

Think make head hurt. Want go sleep but boss say no.

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Boss mean.

--A

[peter]

You have no friends on Facebook.

[peter]

It would be naive to believe that there is no connection between Theresa May's recent suggestions that the Tories may drop the 'triple lock' protecting state pension payments in the UK and the unrolling of the new measures encouraging workers to enroll in workplace pension schemes, particularly given that the Tories enjoy much financial support from the very financial institutions that will hoover up this increased pension contribution. Meanwhile foreign aid levels are to be maintained, the huge failures in social care at home notwithstanding - but then the huge construction businesses that hoover up the bulk of this aid in the large projects it is spent on are also big party donors, so again no surprise there. It appears to be business as usual at Tory Party Headquarters.

[p.s. Am I the only one who hates that picture of Einstein with his tongue sticking out down his chin? Is that for real - if so perhaps he missed out on a potential second career as ........ no, forget that. ]

[peter]

Prime Minister Theresa May was interviewed yesterday and questioned in respect of her intended policy of cutting unemployment benefits if re-elected on June 8th. She said that in her view work was the best route out of poverty and that the unemployed had to be 'incentivised' to get out and find jobs. What she did not say, and what neither of her interviewers thought to ask her, was where this would leave people if there were no jobs to find or if those that were available were so low grade and irregular in terms of guarenteed hours as to be not worth taking.

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You have no friends on Facebook.

No, no I don't.

--A

[peter]

Theresa May's recent comments that Mr Junker is just about to find out how 'bloody difficult a woman I am' and that the EU should stop trying to interfere in our election illustrate just how 'zero sum' her attitude is in respect to the forthcoming Brexit negotiations. Her complete inability to see the talks in terms of a 'non-zero sum' game in which both sides can emerge the better from is as clear a demonstration of her unfitness to lead the talks as one could need.

[peter]

The British people should be furious - incandescent with rage at the 'pup' they were sold by the pro-Brexit campaign and which they voted for in their droves. At no point in time was it ever - not once - suggested by them that the Brexit process was a high risk venture in which Britain's future interest could be irreparably damaged if the exit negotiations were not handled with the greatest of care and by the right person. Yet now we are told that a poor deal could be calamitous for us, and in order to prevent it being so we must vote for the very same people who neglected to mention the fact to us prior to the exit referendum. Similarly with our health service, this morning on the Andrew Marr show Tory health secretary Jeremy Hunt told us that if poorly handled, the Brexit negotiations could damage the NHS beyond repair, failing to mention the huge ******* bus going around prior to the referendum promising billions of pounds going straight into the health service instead of to Brussells in the event of our voting to leave. The duplicitous bastards. The duplicitous bastards!

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Just saw a documentary talking about how, under a reciprocal health care agreement, UK citizens in the EU get their healthcare subsidised by the NHS.

However, if that ends, and all those ex-pats come home because that's the only way to get health care, it will actually cost the NHS more than it does to subsidise them in the EU.

--A