Comments by "TheEvertw" (@TheEvertw) on "A Different Bias" channel.

  1. Why is this a thing in the UK? It is a politician's job to enter into conversation with opponents etc., and to do things to draw attention to his message. It is a bit weird to think everyone writing in the Sun does that to slight Liverpool.
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  2.  TheNewblackdog  I.e. when pigs learn to fly 😂
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  3. No it could not. Bozo has maneuvered himself soundly in a corner that he could not get out of except through a no-deal, by on the one hand committing to the 2019 WA in order to win the GE, and on the other hand promising the ERG to renege on that deal at his earliest convenience. That he showed up at the negotiations in feb 2020 without a proposal was proof positive that he was acting in bad faith. His mission has all along been to crash out of the EU without a deal, and his posturing has only been in the hope the Party would not be blamed. Sane people hope that he now will be disposed by back-benchers who know they will be held to account by their constituents if this goes any further. How likely that is, is anyone's guess.
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  4. +1 for the "Yes, Minister" reference. At the time it aired, I was young and shocked at how everybody treated the Minister and later PM. Now, I see the script writers were understating reality.
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  5.  @timelwell7002  You assume that things are not pushed to a head by an economic collapse -- Argentina-style. Argentina tried to direct blame to the UK (hence the Falklands war), but when that failed things were sorted pretty quickly (politically, not economically)... We need to hope for a moment where the Tories overstep, and do something for which blame can not be shifted. Like Trump with his 6-1 insurrection, Argentina for the invasion of the Falklands.
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  6. Your remark about the difference between the old Fascists and the current crop is insightful. Power for power's sake, that is the name of the game with these people. The have no principles, no policies, are not interested in actually doing something for the good of the nation. They just want to be in charge, and will jump on any bandwagon that promises more votes and/or more power. A dead giveaway on their character was the failure to answer what Brexit was going to mean for the people.
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  7. I prefer the analogy of the train driving off a cliff edge. The cab is hitting the bottom right now, but most passengers are still enjoying the view.
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  8.  @garychesters6994  The job opportunities are for work that most Britons consider beneath them, like driving lorries or picking fields or slaving in a restaurant. For most, working those jobs would mean a serious reduction of income compared to their previous one, even apart from the investment needed to learn to drive a lorry or work as a nurse or cook in a restaurant. Those are not unskilled jobs. Even for a job like picking fields you need to be much fitter physically than the average Briton is. So that is how there can be unemployment and a labour shortage at the same time.
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  9. Right. France implementing its law is justification to break the North-Ireland Protocol? Great example of clear reasoning.
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  10.  @mikez2779  I doubt Scotland will want opt-outs. Certainly not out of the Euro, as the Pound is a symbol of the UK.
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  11. The prospect of an independent Scotland being welcome to join the EU is very real indeed. Part of the process of becoming a full member will include finalizing their breakup with England, though, and that will probably take some time, but there certainly are things that can be done before that, like joining the Euro and the single market.
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  12. European fishermen fishing in "British" waters is about 4 centuries older than the concept of a 200-mile economic exclusion zone. The UK has never had exclusive rights in those areas. Completely ridiculous that the UK thought they could simply change that unilaterally with a stroke of the pen.
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  13. That is what they call trickle down economics...
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  14. You mean statistics ;-) Stochastics are concerned with chance and likelyhood.
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  15. I am sure there are people at Labour already listening to Phil and rewrapping some of his ideas as their own. (This is not intended as critique: it is what I would do, were I active in Labour)
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  16. It will be. Spain, as a PIGS nation, was doing very poorly a decade ago. Seeing its recovery compared to the downfall of the UK will highlight the effect the EU can have on your economy. Also, Spain has been one of the hardest hit by Covid in the Euro zone.
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  17. With politicians, that rule "don't ascribe to malice" doesn't usually apply. All politicians are ambitious, goal-oriented people. Everything they do or say will contribute towards those goals. If their actions or words don't match up with their professed goals, that always is because they have a hidden agenda. And that hidden agenda is invariably nefarious. Otherwise they wouldn't hide it.
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  18. ​ @barrywebber100  If the BBC were impartial, they would have had economic experts comment on these statements. If the BBC had done its damned job, Brexit would not have happened.
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  19. More than 800 euro for the water company? That is a bit steep. Here in the Netherlands we pay about €350 euro per household for our water management & treatment, plus about €250 for drinking water, for a total of about €600 per household per annum. So what Thames is asking is a bit on the high side (35% higher than what I am paying). Add to that the service they are delivering is extremely bad, in no way comparable to what the Dutch are achieving.
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  20.  @ulfosterberg9116  The EU has lost patience with the Tories, not the UK. But I agree its situation is very bad indeed. It is on a course to a failed economy, but that will take some years. Sadly, the Tories will be allowed to destroy the country for a at least a few more years. Hopefully the voters will have come to their senses by the next election, but then it will take decades to clean up their mess, with things getting worse before they improve. I hope the voters will denounce the Tabloid press and the Tories who caused these problems, and accept radical change. But I am afraid they will continue to let themselves be brainwashed, and that the Tories will destroy democracy to create a Russia-like dictatorship. 2019 may have been the last open election the UK has had.
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  21. "if only to exact revenge" Self-preservation is a much stronger motivator for these people. Like the latest defector who had noticed a radical shift to Labour in his constituency. Most if not all of them stand to be wiped out due to Tory scandals in the next election.
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  22. Yet another example of the British media lying to stir anger against the innocent and defending the perpetrators. There is one solution: stop buying them.
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  23. The biggest problem with the current hit on export, is that it takes some time for the repercussions to percolate through the economy. Now, Brexiteers can say that it is OK to sacrifice certain businesses that impact the economy in a limited way. But also the suppliers of those businesses will be hit. And then the suppliers to those suppliers. UK economy is in a tail-spin, but people haven't realised it yet.
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  24. Don't forget employment.
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  25. Neo-conservatism is always bad for the economy.
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  26.  @alanheyes694  They do understand selfishness and looking after #1...
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  27.  John Russell  No they are not. These red lines are linked to the fundamental principles underpinning the EU. Suggesting they can be moved is a sign of delirium. Note that I am not talking about fishing. This whole fishing thing is a red herring, not a red line.
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  28. Tories want the status and trappings of governance, but not the responsibility. In their eyes, the liberal principle of "small government" means government should do as little as it can get away with -- which is not very much at all. How they continue to manage to con the nation is beyond me.
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  29. Keep pumping truth into the UK, Phil! Change will come.
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  30. ​ David Riffon  The 25th amendment provides for the situation where a president is (temporarily) incapacitated, e.g. by a mental illness. It is not the same as impeachment, where a president is permanently removed from office for committing "High Crimes or Misdemeanors". Considering the events of the last few years, Trump qualifies for both.
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  31. We can drink pints as well in the Netherlands ("een pintje pakken"), but pint refers to the beer not the amount. When I first came to the UK, it baffled me no end to talk about a pint of milk.
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  32. It is amazing that all these Brexiteers agree it is a good deal when the text of 2000 pages has only been available to a limited group for two days...
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  33. Funneling aid money out of a vital refinery: time to nationalise it, and give the owners of said refinery a hefty claim for maladministration, equal to the value of money funneled out.
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  34. I think a debt solution is exactly what Truss will do, because the alternatives will cause massive political problems NOW. It will take several years for a debt crisis to develop, by which time the Tories most likely will no longer be in power. And then they can happily blame Labour for the hardship. Slash-and-burn politics at their worst.
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  35. England will also need to meet the Stockholm criteria this time around. That will require massive reform of your political and economic systems and the way the government is organised. For starters you will need to get rid of FPtP voting and the House of Lords and write a constitution. That in itself will take a decade once there is the political will to do that. The big question is when will the political will to change be there. When will people turn en-masse against the Express, Mail, Sun, etc, etc? When will people demand change through massive strikes and protests? When will they hold the Tory party accountable for the evil they have done? When will the gammons realise they have been conned?
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  36. Taking back control, eh? Seems like all the arguments for Brexit are one by one turning into a huge deception. All except this one: the weaking of the UK and the EU to benefit Putin. Can't say we didn't warn them.
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  37. Blame it on the French, LOL. Though I am appalled at what may happen to the citizens, it may be for the best to let a no-deal run its course. Let time and circumstance teach the lazy, gullible voters to take responsibility and vote for their own well-being. But there is the considerable risk that the Tories will try to aim the coming anger and turmoil to external entities, a war even to keep the UK united. They will say that this war will be of limited scale and duration....
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  38. The Tories let the likes of the ERG bully them. They are learning the hard way that bullies don't go just away, but instead take everything they can from you. Bullies need to be confronted & stood up to. Democracy is not a game for the cowardly.
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  39. My thoughts exactly. The bozo did claim that Brexit was done, didn't he? Time to have his cake and eat it, as promised.
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  40. Also in higher management roles there are no probations. That is because of the disruption uncertainty about the leader would cause. And who would evaluate their performance? The employees? Nonsense. The performance of such leaders is evaluated every single day, and as soon as stakeholders (or Parliament in this case) lose confidence, the man is out.
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  41. Also, it was an advisory referendum. Yet the Tories (and Labour) took it as the final word by the People. One of the reasons other EU members won't be overly enthusiastic in welcoming the UK back, is how such incredible BS could be accepted by the People.
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  42. This episode is not only great advertisement for Labour, but also for a constitutional reform. PR will make it much less likely that a single party will get the majority, and with coalition governments you will never have the situation that 0.2% of the population, who also happen to be barking mad, get to decide the country's leadership.
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  43. I noticed that when the Ever Given made its return voyage to Asia, it was (mostly) empty...
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  44. So sad we can't get an actual preview of what Hell will be like for these clowns.
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  45.  @nicodesmidt4034  No more rabbits, no more badgers or foxes or stoats or hedgehogs, no more butterflies, no more birds. No doubt Hedge Funds will join the buying spree. They should rename them, serious!
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  46. So, the only reason the Tories did what they did was to play domestic political games. That is sure to make them friends internationally.
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  47. Too early, mate. As they say, never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake. At the moment, only the right-wing press has any influence on what the government does.
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  48. Not at all. Supermarkets are fully stocked. But then, I live in the NL.
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  49. That was an EXCELLENT summary of the Dutch government. Populists getting some power is usually a blessing in disguise in a PR system. They won't get enough power to be truly dangerous, but enough to show their supporters how utterly untrustworthy they are.
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  50. I know a true Brexit benefit: it will destroy the conservative party and the right-wing media.
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