Comments by "Edmund Bell-King" (@edmundbell-king4538) on "AFP News Agency" channel.

  1. Its their own thinking that needs to change. Stop blaming others for their own shortcomings would be a good start.
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  2.  @panchovilla5940  Calling the majority of Welsh people 'turkeys' just because they hold a different view to your own. Not so smart.
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  3. You think the Democrats work on behalf of blue collar workers in the US? Since when did that happen?
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  4.  @tumblefatboy  Is it too much to ask the Welsh Government to take responsibility for its own affairs and stop blaming Westminster? Hold on, I forgot, the Welsh Assembly is controlled by Labour - so forget I just said that.
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  5.  @panchovilla5940  Yes, and so was Tony Blair. He took us into two unwarranted/unnecessary wars - Iraq and Afghanistan - with the justification for both based on political lies. 1. Iraq - Weapons of Mass Destruction, and 2. Afghanistan - that Al-Qaeda both planned and then executed 9/11 - the most successful act of mass terrorism in history - all from within a cave complex in the Tora Bora Mountains. Really? Both wars were illegal in the international context and were prosecuted against the wishes of the vast majority of the British electorate. Were they idiots then as well?
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  6. No, the EU didn't oblige at all. They fought tooth and nail to keep the English in the EU as they knew they had the money they needed. The EU is all about capturing national treasury wealth from its EU member states and then redistributing it on wasteful projects. The EU itself makes nothing and earns nothing. We don't need the EU to do that, we have our own incompetent national governments for that.
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  7. @Saturnz The people of Wales, traditionally Labour in the majority, voted to Leave. Are they all stupid as well?
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  8. I think Poland is at the exit door.
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  9.  @Bulletguy07  So who took us to war over that MI6 'Doggy Dossier' that said Iraq had the capability to use Weapons of Mass Destruction? All a lie by Tony Blair's Labour government, that's who. We never found those Weapons of Mass Destruction because they never existed. It was all a lie to get at those Iraqi oil reserves. Then who was it that took us into Afghanistan over another lie? You know, the one that said Al Qaeda planned and then executed the greatest act of mass terrorism in history on 9/11. All from a cave complex in the Tora Bora Mountains in Afghanistan. Every independent security expert suggests this was, and still is, a ridiculously false claim as it was not within their capability to pull such an operation off on their own. Again it was Tony Blair's Labour government insisting we needed to go into Afghanistan to destroy Al Quada after 9/11 - and that we'd then leave. Another lie, because Afghanistan had $1 Trillion worth of untapped mineral reserves, so once in, the West wanted to stay to mine these reserves. Beginning to see a pattern?
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  10.  @Dan210871  Except it wasn't detrimental. Not subsidising other EU nations and cancelling Freedom of Movement are two benefits. You can't argue that we put more money in than we got back out.Now we can decide where we want to put our money. BTW, so can the Welsh Government. Additionally, with the end of Freedom of Movement, a lot of those jobs taken by EU nationals willing to take much lower wages than Brits will again become available to UK workers - and average salaries will rise - as we are already seeing. That is pure economics. As an example, salaries for HGV drivers are on the rise, as they we artificially pushed down by lower cost EU workers who have exited the country. There are currently around 80,000 HGV qualified UK drivers that left the sector as salaries were pushed down by foreign workers in the past. There will be a period of re-balancing, and that is what we're entering now. However, market forces will push up salaries in sectors with shortages of workers. These businesses have little choice now, as they don't have the lever of importing cheaper labour any more. I call that another Brexit benefit. If you are in any way on the side of the average UK working class, you should not be expecting them to compete with low cost imported workers just to stay in the EU club which works against the interests of our working class. Labour didn't understand that point and sat on the fence at the last election in regards to Brexit. They just couldn't understand why the 'blue wall' in the North massively voted for the Tories. You seem to be similarly confused.
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  11.  @Dan210871  No where nearly as amusing as you describing yourself as an economist - which you most certainly are not.
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  12.  @keithd26  When was the last time Wales had a Conservative government? Labour have been in power in Wales for the entire 21st Century.
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  13.  @nicklaskowalski  With the Welsh Labour Party still holding the line in the Welsh Assembly, things ain't going to get any better, either.
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  14.  @harrymackintosh1874  You do know that Wales has its own (currently Labour led) Welsh Assembly? Where is their innovation/leadership to get Wales moving forward. Don't blame London for Wales not delivering. It's a Welsh cultural/economic problem that can only be solved by the Welsh themselves. The EU is just handing you our own money back. As a supra-national institution they produce nothing themselves.
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  15. ​ @lesmarsden2058  They shouldn't have got the uplift in the first instance. It was not justified - they are NOT a special interest group and were not hit any harder than others in society. I would rather have seen that money going to the very elderly living alone who were very isolated during lock-down and had little access to medical care.
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  16.  @Dan210871  Yep, could've guessed you say that you're an economist - that supposed 'science'. The folks who can always predict the downturn that never happens and miss the real ones. Thanks for your 'service' Oikophobe.
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  17.  @Dan210871  Obviously, you have a lot of time on your hands Danny boy. I take it back, you must be an economist ;-)
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  18.  @Threxis  So, you don't think the Welsh Government has any responsibility in this at all? Ever wonder why Wales voted 'Leave'? Why can't Wales raise its own funds and not be sponging off the English? Where are all the Welsh entrepreneurs?
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  19. Lie the EU will be around then. The Paddy's will be out well before then as well.
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  20.  @shirleylangley6804  The laugh is on those communities that cannot flourish in the real world. All the ERDF funding crutch did was redistribute other peoples wealth to nonviable 'paper' projects. Thank GOD for Brexit.
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  21. ERDF has only ever kept unenviable projects going that should never have been funded. If they were viable, they wouldn't have needed ERDF funding, would they? The EU does not create wealth, it just taxes at the member nation level and then reallocates that wealth to those that can't create their own - the usual communist crap heads deciding what pet project they should fund without any real world business experience. What is needed is to put in place an environment that allows entrepreneurship to flourish.The EU never has, can't and never will create such environments. Thank GOD for Brexit.
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  22.  @williampatrickfagan7590  The EU isn't working. Do the research yourself.
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  23. Someone so disconnected from reality that they think others should provide for their needs, rather than doing it for themselves. If you're not getting what you want get yourself a new MP. Remember who is in power in the Welsh Assembly? A clue, it's not the Tories.
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  24. You thought an EU statue might, somehow encourage outsiders to make an investment in a welsh town? Yep, you're a civil servant all right.
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  25. The EU funds nothing. That money comes from member states.
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  26.  @paulcarruthers2431  Obviously you need to be educated. The Tories are not in power in Wales, Labour is. The same Labour Govewrnment that wanted the people of Wales to vote to stay in the EU. Wow, they're really in touch with the Welsh people.
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  27.  @panzerkami2381  That is why their is more chance of others leaving now than ever before. You really think everything is rosy in the EU garden? Go educate yourself.
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  28.  @kanedNunable  Troubles in funding things in Wales? Where is the Welsh government in all this? Oh, forgot, that would be Labour, so they just want 'rich' peoples money to carry on the waste where the EU left off. Not big surprise then that the Tories won't give them any more money. Of course, the Welsh Labour Party could try being original, stop blaming everyone else and try to fund these things themselves.
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  29.  @shirleylangley6804  Who's money do you think the EU is actually spending?
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  30. Nothing to do with Boris. The Welsh Assembly is controlled by Labour. Go ask them where those funds are.
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  31.  @russellwaterhouse3457  Maybe not true for Wales. Ultimately, the UK as a whole, funded more than it got back from the EU pot - but Wales, Scotland and N.I. obviously got a better return than than did regions within England. However, it was English taxpayers that funded most of our contribution to the EU. If we look at this from a Brexit standpoint, overall, there is more money to go around within the UK regions - or, at least there was, until COVID came along.
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  32.  @operationgoldfish8331  Wow, its a good thing you think logically and are in no way politically biased.
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  33. They don't need any funding from the Tories. There is plenty of money in South Wales communities. The issue is how can it be attracted into REALISTIC community entrepreneurial funded projects. They need to put in place local solutions to local problems. A good start would be to honestly look at themselves and stop blaming others for their own shortcomings.
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  34. As slim as that chance is, it is far more likely than the Welsh (Labour) government stopping the blame game with Westminster, then get off its backside and try to do something to help its own people. Its very easy to blame everyone else for your woes. Wales has its own future in its hands. Start behaving like that and you'll be free.
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  35. Obviously, you're not a very smart Civil Servant. Who's money do you really think the EU was actually 'pumping in? Not theirs, but ours - and most of that was English taxpayers money. The difference when the UK was in the EU was that back then Wales had to compete with the whole of the EU for ERDF funding. Now, they have 'only' have to compete with the rest of the UK. However, the real question should be why can't Wales get themselves off of this 'hand-out' mentality and start to fund its own companies. You've have a Labour-led Welsh Assembly in power for a good while now, but yet this type of funding is all the Tories fault. You need to start thinking for yourselves and work together to create your own future. A good start would be to get rid of the Welsh Labour Party (AKA Welsh Politburo) who certainly want to continue to only provide crumbs from the funding table.
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  36.  @operationgoldfish8331  So, how do you explain the Israeli state, only created in the late 1940's, got to where it is today? They didn't have a pot to piss in back then - or do you think they magically brought their wealth with them from the death camps? Nope, their wealth was between their ears. All wealth creation starts with an idea - and more importantly, the understanding that government itself is NOT the creator of wealth, just a (poorly managed) regulator of it. YOU are responsible for YOU and your immediate family. Nobody else.
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  37.  @nikoladd  Wrong. The ECJ was sovereign and could overule UK lawmakers if a UK law contradicted EU law. That alone is a good enough reason to leave the EU.
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  38.  @debugstore  Not subsidising other EU nations and cancelling Freedom of Movement. That is two two benefits. You can't argue that we put more money in than we got back out.Now we can decide where we want to put our money. BTW, so can the Welsh Government. Additionally, with the end of Freedom of Movement, a lot of those jobs taken by EU nationals willing to take much lower wages than Brits will again become available to UK workers - and average salaries will rise - as we are already seeing. That is pure economics. As an example, salaries for HGV drivers are on the rise, as they we artificially pushed down by lower cost EU workers who have exited the country. There are currently around 80,000 HGV qualified UK drivers that left the sector as salaries were pushed down by foreign workers in the past. There will be a period of re-balancing, and that is what we're entering now. However, market forces will push up salaries in sectors with shortages of workers. These businesses have little choice now, as they don't have the lever of importing cheaper labour any more. I call that another Brexit benefit. If you are in any way on the side of the average UK working class, you should not be expecting them to compete with low cost imported workers just to stay in the EU club which works against the interests of our working class. Labour didn't understand that point and sat on the fence at the last election in regards to Brexit. They just couldn't understand why the 'blue wall' in the North massively voted for the Tories. You seem to be similarly confused.
    1
  39. The real question is why aren't these communities creating their own wealth. Any funding, either EU or UK is wasted on communities that have a socialist mindset that is just 'gimme the money now' without having any realistic plan to create locally owned companies that can create local jobs and long-term wealth. That socialist mindset has, is and will continue to stop them thinking for themselves.
    1
  40. Any town that needs 'hundred of millions' of other peoples money just to stand still is not a viable option.They need entrepreneurs, not hand-outs.
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  41.  @debugstore  I'm in business, so I need to work with FACTUAL numbers every day. I'm certainly not deluded because I can't allow myself that 'luxury'. I knew what Brexit meant and arranged my affairs accordingly well in advance. Financially, the UK was not a net, or indeed, even a social beneficiary through its membership of the EU. That is easy for you to find out by just doing a little research. By the sounds of it, you truly believe that is not the case, so won't do the research. That suggests you may well be self-deluding. Hopefully not.
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  42.  @Threxis  The Labour government in Wales was, and still is, pro-EU. You're not telling me that the working class masses of Wales didn't believe their own Labour government and would rather believe those terrible Tories on Brexit, are you? Surely not?
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  43.  @Threxis  You don't seem to place much value on their capability to decide their own future. I think you are likely very Left, where as is usual for those that are, democracy is just an inconvenience.
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  44.  @Threxis  Wales has a Labour, not a Tory government, remember? It also has its own Assembly.
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  45.  @debugstore  Yes, 3D automotive parts and software services for agriculture. If Brexit is damaging your business, then you didn't plan properly. We've had five years to work through the various scenarios. Otherwise, you could have considered also selling your business - if it was worth anything.
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  46.  @Threxis  Well, you need to ask yourself why Wales does not go independent, if its so very bad with Westminster? You do have that choice. If you take money from another nation, you can't have total freedom, it comes with certain caveats. The monarchy and the House of Lords are a completely different argument. Personally, I would abolish both of these anachronistic institutions. I'd have a senate based on PR and a President as our head of state, elected directly by the people through a four nation vote.
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  47.  @debugstore  I also happen to be a livestock farmer - deer. I'd still vote for Brexit wearing my farming hat. Most UK farmers got so used to subsidies they forgot about the market. Sheep and Dairy farmers were totally in the pockets of the EU and the big retailers. The best thing that can happen to UK agriculture is for these ' subsidy sitting' farmers to exit the UK farming industry and get some fresh blood in. There was no luck involved in our case - we planned for it and set up a subsidiary in Holland.
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  48.  @debugstore  All our work is done in the UK using only UK workers. If, as you suggest, you care about the UK and its people, you wouldn't be in the mess you're obviously in now. If you cared about UK workers, you'd want them not to have to compete with EU low-cost workers. I've NEVER employed non UK workers and take pride in up-skilling our small workforce, rather than take the easy option and getting in cheap EU labour. By sitting back, not planning and just hoping Brexit never happened you've put your business at risk.
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  49.  @Threxis  Nope, its playing the EU at its own game. The work is still all done in the UK, under contract from the Dutch company. So, no lay-offs, short-time working or wage reductions for our UK only work-force. Get it now?
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  50.  @debugstore  John, the EU made it more expensive to trade, not us as they didn't want 'Treasure Island' to leave the EU. Over time, relationships will normalise. In the meantime, business have to think ahead and plan for every contingency. We did.
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