Luminous Landscape Forum
The Art of Photography => The Coffee Corner => Topic started by: Slobodan Blagojevic on February 26, 2016, 12:39:00 pm
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You can surely see why by yourself.
I will voluntarily surrender my Canon 580EX to the authorities, rather than risk a citizen arrest or be surrounded by anti-flash mob and have it confiscated by force. Rumor has it that the Burning Man this year will have a bonfire made of all the confiscated racist flashes.
In a related Harvard news: http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2016/2/18/house-master-title-change-awaiting-approval/
MBA and MSci titles seem safe (for the time being).
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Is anybody actually surprised?
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Several years ago, when we last owned a car that had drum brakes on the rear, I went to the auto parts store to buy parts to rebuild rear brakes. I went to the counter and told the clerk that I needed a slave cylinder kit for that car. He leaned down onto the counter and looked me in the eye and said, "you mean wheel cylinder don't you?" I said yeah that's what I meant.
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It's the madness that's called political correctness.
Unfortunately, the time to develop an active resistance seems to have passed: the lunatics have taken control of the asylum, and we can't get out and away from them.
It's like Europe: every single politic¡an knows the answer to the migrant crisis: solve the problem in the middle-east. But they won't say that; it might offend somebody somewhere. I do believe that it will destroy the so-called European Union, as more and more countries pull up the drawbridge they'd forgotten they owned. It's a shame, really, because with sanity it could have been a wonderful way to create and manage trade.
But never mind migrants: when I was an apprentice engineer we worked a 44 hr week and nobody thought anything about it; I even did a few regular stints at night shift. Today, France has a 35 hr week and they still go on strike, block motorways...
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Stupidity knows no bounds
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You can surely see why by yourself.
I will voluntarily surrender my Canon 580EX to the authorities, rather than risk a citizen arrest or be surrounded by anti-flash mob and have it confiscated by force. Rumor has it that the Burning Man this year will have a bonfire made of all the confiscated racist flashes.
In a related Harvard news: http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2016/2/18/house-master-title-change-awaiting-approval/
MBA and MSci titles seem safe (for the time being).
Slobo,
I think you can get your flash past the censors if you simply paste two little stickers onto the offending words, each saying "Person."
My solution to the "House-Master" problem would be to rename half of them as "House-Mistresses," and once yearly reverse the designations.
-Eric
P.S. I guess today's Harvard students have too much time on their hands. In my day I did heavy intellectual work for the Harvard Crimson by helping to distribute their parodies of both the Yale and Princeton student newspapers at a Yale-Princeton football game.
And the only riot that my class produced was protesting the change from Latin to English on the diplomas.
I should add that I managed to get through Harvard with out ever taking a required English course. I consider that to be verging on criminal conduct by a "prestigious" college.
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... My solution to the "House-Master" problem would be to rename half of them as "House-Mistresses,"...
:D
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I thought it was just kinky.
+1. I wonder when that usage started and who thought it up.
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Several years ago, when we last owned a car that had drum brakes on the rear, I went to the auto parts store to buy parts to rebuild rear brakes. I went to the counter and told the clerk that I needed a slave cylinder kit for that car. He leaned down onto the counter and looked me in the eye and said, "you mean wheel cylinder don't you?" I said yeah that's what I meant.
David,
A slave cylinder is used on a vehicle with manual transmission and a hydraulically operated clutch. The clerk wasn't being a wiseass, simply factual.
Rich
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In protest I shall take my flash into the store and photograph the row of 'Coon' cheese from Kraft and send that to my
brainy friends at Harvard.
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I took down my Rebel flag (which you can't buy on Ebay anymore) and peeled the NRA sticker off the front door.
I disconnected my home alarm system and quit the candy-ass Neighborhood Watch.
I bought the Pakistan and Afghanistan flags, and put one at each corner of the front yard. Then I purchased the black flag of ISIS (which you CAN buy on Ebay) and put it in the CENTER of the yard.
Now, the local police, sheriff, FBI, CIA, NSA, Homeland Security, Secret Service and other agencies are all watching the house 24/7.
I've NEVER felt safer and I'm saving $69.95 a month that ADT charged me.
Plus, I bought burkas for my family when we shop or travel. Everyone moves out of our way and security can't pat us down.
Safe at last – only in USA!
(But coming soon too, to the Disunited States of Europe!)
;-)
Rob C
P.S.
I wonder what wil happen to the Brits Awards, as they clearly offend everyone...
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I didn't know that Harvard had it's own version of the Onion.
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David,
A slave cylinder is used on a vehicle with manual transmission and a hydraulically operated clutch. The clerk wasn't being a wiseass, simply factual.
Rich
Bollocks. The cylinder that commands is the master cylinder, whether it be for brakes, clutch or industrial hydraulics. Similar for slave cylinder: a hydraulic clutch is just one more slave cylinder.
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Bollocks? You mean Bullshit don't you?
What exactly, in my post, is bullshit? In the US, in any automotive parts store, independent or dealer, if you ask for a slave cylinder the parts person will think "clutch".
I spent forty years working on the unforgiving beasts and have replaced or rebuilt unknown numbers of cylinders. I therefore believe I am qualified to speak as I did,
to quote "The clerk was not being a wiseass, just factual."
Yes your "statement" is factual, any first semester engineering student learns this. Elementary my dear Watson.
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...The clerk wasn't being a wiseass, simply factual...
Pardon my ignorance, gentlemen, but aren't "wheel cylinder" and "slave cylinder" simply synonyms? If so, there is no way to know if the clerk was a wiseass or factual. However, given the additional description ("He leaned down onto the counter and looked me in the eye"), it is highly probable he was a wiseass.
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It's the madness that's called political correctness.
But never mind migrants: when I was an apprentice engineer we worked a 44 hr week and nobody thought anything about it; I even did a few regular stints at night shift. Today, France has a 35 hr week and they still go on strike, block motorways...
I just love the way your mind works Mr C. Anyone who can jump from this thread's topic to their apprentice worh hours has a brain to marvel at!
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Pardon my ignorance, gentlemen, but aren't "wheel cylinder" and "slave cylinder" simply synonyms? If so, there is no way to know if the clerk was a wiseass or factual. However, given the additional description ("He leaned down onto the counter and looked me in the eye"), it is highly probable he was a wiseass.
Hi Slobodan,
Synonyms....yes.....no. A wheel cylinder IS a slave cylinder technically, wheel denotes its position on the vehicle. Therefore if one wanted to get really anal retentive
one could call it a brake slave cylinder. The name "wheel cylinder" derives from the very first hydraulic brakes fitted to automobiles some 70 to 80 years ago. Each
wheel had a cylinder. Wheel cylinders are found in the brakes section of the parts catalogue, clutch slaves are found in the transmission section. Therefore it helps to
know where to look for the correct part. Looking in the eyes is just good manners plus when the customer does not know what they want and you hit on the part, the
eyes are the first to tell you. Most parts people are a model of patience.
Anyway, this is based on my tenure doing what I loved for forty years, and my opinion.
Rich
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I just love the way your mind works Mr C... a brain to marvel at!
No opportunity is too small for you to engage in another personal jab, Mr. O'Neill?
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Time for Nelson to retreat.
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I just told a funny story. That's all. I would happily accept your correction except that I had bought slave cylinder rebuild kits at auto parts stores for a long time. Happily now they're calipers. 8)
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But never mind migrants: when I was an apprentice engineer we worked a 44 hr week and nobody thought anything about it; I even did a few regular stints at night shift. Today, France has a 35 hr week and they still go on strike, block motorways...
Well, yes. And 50 years before you were an apprentice engineer, how long a week did apprentice engineers work, I wonder, and what might any survivors have said about your generation. I unsure exactly what to make of the combination of the reduced work week and the increased stroppiness of the apprentices and their masters. They could fit into plausible narratives of progress or decline. I think I know which one you would choose (but you do sometimes surprise me). I am unsure, myself.
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It's like Europe: every single politic¡an knows the answer to the migrant crisis: solve the problem in the middle-east.
Remind me again how we do that ... ?
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Remind me again how we do that ... ?
Bang! But with a big bang. Of heads together; with locked borders, and the unavoidable realization that their fate lies firmly in their own hands, to make the change domestically. It's what all of society ends up having to do, or live a life that's forever a mess. The secret is not to allow that mess to become somebody else's.
But you knew that; you're just winding me up.
;-)
Rob
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Remind me again how we do that ... ?
Stop the regime-change policies?
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Bang! But with a big bang. Of heads together; with locked borders, and the unavoidable realization that their fate lies firmly in their own hands, to make the change domestically. It's what all of society ends up having to do, or live a life that's forever a mess. The secret is not to allow that mess to become somebody else's.
But you knew that; you're just winding me up.
;-)
Rob
Rob - I like looking at your photos, and am slightly entertained by your anecdotes about the photography business. Politics? Not so much.
http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/think-syrian-refugees-should-take-up-arms-and-sort-out-their-own-country-you-need-this-pub-brawl-a6862526.html
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That bar brawl analogy holds water (or is it beer?) as long as it is framed as desperate, responsible fathers worrying about their families and small children. The reality, however, is that there is a huge, disproportionate number of single, military-grade males among the refugees. Plus plenty of sides to pick, even for the pickiest of them. What is puzzling, however, is that pool is also the primary recruiting source for ISIS, so that generation is willing to fight, just not for the side we root for (do we even know who we are rooting for, or we only know who we are rooting against?).
Come to think of it, it is hard to blame the youngsters for their choice. Faced with a dilemma of dying in a bloody, senseless war, or the milk & honey life in the promised land, with easily available, scantily clad western women, already frustrated with metrosexual sissies the western men have become, waiting for real men to show up, I guess the answer is easy ;)
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A friend of mine lived in Beirut and taught at the American University there during much of the Lebanese Civil War. At the time of the truck bomb that killed so many US Marines, he went to the leader of the militia that controlled the area of the city where he lived and ask if he was an embarrassment to them. The militia leader said oh no we would kill 10 men to protect you. He asked what it was that that militia was fighting for and the militia leader responded we fight only for the justice of our cause. At that time there were over 100 armed militias in Beirut. How can you possibly serve the justice of 100 competing militias? There in lies the problem of the Middle East.
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No opportunity is too small for you to engage in another personal jab, Mr. O'Neill?
c'mon you have to admit its a fantastic jump from the thread topic to Mr C.'s worries about European migration issues and from there to his engineering apprenticeship. However, I stand corrected. I promise never to criticise Mr C. again. I understand that is not alowed here. There are consequences to disturbing the cosy little club!
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Come to think of it, it is hard to blame the youngsters for their choice. Faced with a dilemma of dying in a bloody, senseless war, or the milk & honey life in the promised land, with easily available, scantily clad western women, already frustrated with metrosexual sissies the western men have become, waiting for real men to show up, I guess the answer is easy ;)
A bit of stereotyping here. Maybe, for one or two of them, "faced with a dilemma of dying in a bloody, senseless war, or a chance at an ordinary life with a job and a home that might allow them to bring out their families once they are settled". Or is it unthinkable to attribute ordinary decency to young Moslem {Edit: or in some cases Christian} [/size]men? It has been commonplace throughout Australia's history of migration for the men to come first, with the firm and almost always fulfilled plan that the rest of the family will follow. This might sometimes have happened in America as well. I am sure that some or the refugees coming into Europe from the Middle East have bad intentions, but the story being peddled by some people, on this thread and elsewhere, that the young men are all draft dodgers who should, instead, be joining one side or the other to kill people is unpersuasive, IMO.
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I wish to nominate this thread for "silliest of the year." Although, I realize, it is only February, and this LuLa.
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... Maybe, for one or two of them, "faced with a dilemma of dying in a bloody, senseless war, or a chance at an ordinary life with a job and a home that might allow them to bring out their families once they are settled". Or is it unthinkable to attribute ordinary decency to young Moslem... for the men to come first, with the firm and almost always fulfilled plan that the rest of the family will follow...
Which decent man leaves his family in such a bloody war while he "lives ordinary life and comfortably settles"? Besides, I was clearly talking about single men. Comparing it to Australian or American immigration is unpersuasive just as well.
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... I promise never to criticise Mr C. again. I understand that is not alowed here...
Oh, on the contrary. After all, we are all descendants of the same humanity that gave us gladiator games. You, however, have presented yourself as a crusader against discourtesy, which you (or was it your father?) defined as to "win arguments by destroying your opponent's case, not attacking his person." So, by all means attack, just do not squeal when counter-attacked.
As for Rob C' meandering style... He built a reputation and quite a number of fans here precisely because of his style of narration, characterized by the stream of consciousness, out-of-the-left-field comments, quirky associations, etc. A lot of us find it quite a refreshing departure from otherwise dominant engineering-mind style of dry, factual, humorless delivery, deprived of any personality (but rich in graphs and brick walls).
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As for Rob C' meandering style... He built a reputation and quite a number of fans here precisely because of his style of narration, characterized by the stream of consciousness, out-of-the-left-field comments, quirky associations, etc. A lot of us find it quite a refreshing departure from otherwise dominant engineering-mind style of dry, factual, humorless delivery, deprived of any personality (but rich in graphs and brick walls).
I have no doubt his meanding into topics dear to his heart that have no connection whatsoever to the topic is endearing but it looks like the axe of disapprobabtion falls on anyone foolhardy enough not to be enchanted?
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... no connection whatsoever to the topic..
Hardly correct. The topic of this thread is political correctness run amok (I assume you read the linked Harvard article). Striking, rioting, boycotting, complaining, constantly being "outraged" and "offended," always blaming somebody or something else, is just a part of the repertoire of the PC ethos.
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Which decent man leaves his family in such a bloody war while he "lives ordinary life and comfortably settles"? Besides, I was clearly talking about single men.
Maybe in the fog of civil war, and made aware of the dangers of the journey by media images of, eg, drowned children, a decent man might make the difficult decision to go ahead to prepare the way for his family, particularly if the family weren't in immediate danger but would be if the war took a different course. Seems at least a possible scenario. Of course, he would deserve contempt if he simply left them behind. And in your universe, don't single men have families that they care for (grandparents, parents, siblings, nephews and nieces) and try to help when they can? Might not extended families sometimes send an unmarried young man ahead of them to scout the way? Apparently not. Single male refugees in Europe are driven by greed and sexual fantasy. Too easy.
Comparing it to Australian or American immigration is unpersuasive just as well.
The point of comparison is that families can't and don't always migrate together and that men sometimes go ahead to try to arrange safe passage for their families. It seems to me plausible that some of this might be happening in the current exodus from Syria and Afghanistan, as it did in Australia and America. I would want to hear from one or two of the men in question before reaching stereotypical conclusions about their motives.
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I would want to hear from one or two of the men in question before reaching stereotypical conclusions about their motives.
You mean ... use FACTS and LOGIC instead of prejudice and hysteria? How on Earth do you expect THAT to work?
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You mean ... use FACTS and LOGIC instead of prejudice and hysteria? How on Earth do you expect THAT to work?
Depends whose facts, whose logic. That's the thorny point, isn't it? Nope, it ain't absolute; nobody has a hold on the single, divine right: all you have is the vague abilty to do something to protect your own tribal position. And mine suggests keeping Charity at home, with her knickers held firmly and tightly upwards, and with the added precaution of exchanging elastic for cord.
Rob C
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Rob - I like looking at your photos, and am slightly entertained by your anecdotes about the photography business. Politics? Not so much.
http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/think-syrian-refugees-should-take-up-arms-and-sort-out-their-own-country-you-need-this-pub-brawl-a6862526.html
But that's just another little article written to justify the author's own political expedient - or job.
Anyone can summon up that sort of silly, and false analogy - it's simple to do, and all it takes is a sympathetic audience to translate it into creed. It's basic political mechanics, used all the time in all the various places where opinion gets expressed. It's currently being employed to great public effect (and possibly entertainment) both in the States and in Britain, for totally different motives - on the face of it - but for the same one in the end: imposition of one idea/ideal.
The fact remains: only you can clean your own house, exactly in the same way that only you can be held responsible for your own failures. Why are we willing to be held responsible for success but not its alternative?
Rob
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It's currently being employed to great public effect (and possibly entertainment) both in the States and in Britain, for totally different motives - on the face of it - but for the same one in the end: imposition of one idea/ideal.
That idea being that if in doubt it's better to save people's lives than condemn them to death.
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That idea being that if in doubt it's better to save people's lives than condemn them to death.
No, the idea being to win elections next time round.
In the UK the argument isn't about immigrants/refugees at all: it's about staying or not staying within the European Union (on the face of it) but actually about securing the next prime minister job when Dave gives up - he's already indicated this is his last throw.
It's strange to hear miserable, disappointed old Blues talking about Britain standing alone and winning, references to past wars - yeah, with the USA, much of the Commonwealth and others behind her! Times change; we need mutual assistance and help. Everybody does, which is why we get together in 'suitable' groups where we can. Just like the ghettos, then; same idea but with a prett¡er public face on it.
In the States, it's similar, AKAIK, in that they (the politicians) are fighting to get control of America next time round. Mexico paying for a wall? Really? That's for the rednecks to believe, just as we have our own great unwashed to convince/delude in the UK. Ditto every other country that holds elections.
We are ever condemend to be, at best, two steps behind events. And with all politicians apparently being self-serving careerists, what can anyone expect? Who else would want such a dirty job? Who else could be so naturally duplicitous? There is truth in the old saw: anyone wanting to stand for office should be barred from taking office.
Rob
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No, the idea being to win elections next time round.
Hardly - the flood of immigrants is not exactly a vote winner.
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Hardly - the flood of immigrants is not exactly a vote winner.
I must be losing my touch.
I am trying to say - thought that I had - that it is not about migrants and not about Europe: it is about becoming the next party leader.
When Cameron finishes - sooner or later - Boris wants to take over. He has to create distance between the two (at least!) political philosophies within the party, and by trying to do that now, he may be able to force a vote of no confidence, force Cameron out, and bring his own coronation forward by a few years. There seems, currently, no other firm(ish) favourite amongst the existing MPs. Of course, he may have miscalculated, and it will blow up in his face, as I suspect the actual public isn't exactly behind him, and neither is the business world with his threat on the City. I wonder what the new tie-up with Germany will do for the Stock Exchange - hedging bets?
It's incredible that personal ambition can push anyone to these lengths; but history in the Blues is full of similar episodes, most of which happen at a point when the incumbent has been doing a good job of it. Think Maggie and the knives-in-the-back of her final period in office. I mention the Blues because they matter to me; however, the usual alternatives have fared little better in that respect: party unity and party success has always been second-choice where career opportunity presents itself, or is thought to have so done.
Rob
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I am trying to say - thought that I had - that it is not about migrants and not about Europe: it is about becoming the next party leader.
You did say that, but it was a complete non sequitur. One thing is about the Tory party squabbles, another thing is about migrants. The two things are not the same thing.
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You did say that, but it was a complete non sequitur. One thing is about the Tory party squabbles, another thing is about migrants. The two things are not the same thing.
Heysoos!
Let me try to make it very clear: they are not the same, but are inextricably connected.
Politics has never been a simplistic operation or concept: within and around it revolve all the dreams of avarice, naked power or control that can be imagined by the human mind. Trying to reduce such discussions to single-feature ones is less than pointless: it requires the perfect issue-vacuum within which to operate, which simply doesn't exist. Of course, blinkers help... if you're a horse.
;-)
Rob C
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Heysoos!
Let me try to make it very clear: they are not the same, but are inextricably connected.
Politics has never been a simplistic operation or concept: within and around it revolve all the dreams of avarice, naked power or control that can be imagined by the human mind. Trying to reduce such discussions to single-feature ones is less than pointless: it requires the perfect issue-vacuum within which to operate, which simply doesn't exist. Of course, blinkers help... if you're a horse.
;-)
Rob C
Just to be clear - in your world is putting up fences to prevent refugees coming a vote winner or a vote loser?
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Just to be clear - in your world is putting up fences to prevent refugees coming a vote winner or a vote loser?
In my world, whatever boundaries you may imagine for it, the direct answer to the above question has to be this:
coldly, yes, it will win votes;
morally, it may or may not be the right thing to do;
practically, it's the only choice open that will protect one's own pitch.
Those people coming in - they hope - are never going out again; they almost never find a reason to do so. It's been the history of migrants: how many that passed through Ellis Island went back to wherever?
But hey, my life is grown too short now to spend playing ping-pong in interminable games where the last man standing is simply the one with less better things to do.
Please feel free to have as many such 'last words' as you wish!
;-)
Rob C
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It's the madness that's called political correctness.
Today, France has a 35 hr week and they still go on strike, block motorways...
I know i risk being roughed up like a Black Lives Matter protester at a Strumpf rally by MR C. fans but I have to correct this gross simplification. Please don't shoot the messenger! Mr C. has fallen victim to the doltish, ill-informed and prejudiced sections of the British Media who dont let an ignorant opinion stand in the way of real facts!. If you want to know the truth about the French working week it's worth reading
http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20140312-frances-mythic-35-hour-week.
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Hardly correct. The topic of this thread is political correctness run amok (I assume you read the linked Harvard article). Striking, rioting, boycotting, complaining, constantly being "outraged" and "offended," always blaming somebody or something else, is just a part of the repertoire of the PC ethos.
Ah thank you.. I can clearly see the connection with Mr C.'s personal history as a mechanic! Sorry for being so dim as to miss that!
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In my world, whatever boundaries you may imagine for it, the direct answer to the above question has to be this:
coldly, yes, it will win votes;
Are you sure that's what you think? Or do you think:
"It's like Europe: every single politic¡an knows the answer to the migrant crisis: solve the problem in the middle-east. But they won't say that; it might offend somebody somewhere."
Which is the complete opposite.
Please feel free to have as many such 'last words' as you wish!
Thanks, I will.
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...Sorry for being so dim...
No problem, I've always had compassion for the disabled.
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all you have is the vague abilty to do something to protect your own tribal position
I think we all sometimes have the vague ability to do better than that.
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No problem, I've always had compassion for the disabled.
I appreciate that... my grandson is actually intellectually disabled so it will maker his parents feel so much better that someone can use his condition to make cheap jibes.
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No problem, I've always had compassion for the disabled.
If you substitute the word 'black' or 'crippled' or 'jews' in the above sentence it sort of reveals the mindset.
I very rarely get angry in a forum and use irony and satire to make points.
For someone to use the condition of people who are really disabled to score points is frankly abhorrent.
Please think carefully about how offensive your mindless cheap words can be to those who have a real experience of what being disabled means.
Ohh sorry.. I get it....!! It was a JOKE wasn't it? Sorry, I take it all back. If it's a joke or a little jibe then its perfectly OK isn't it?
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Are you sure that's what you think? Or do you think:
"It's like Europe: every single politic¡an knows the answer to the migrant crisis: solve the problem in the middle-east. But they won't say that; it might offend somebody somewhere."
Which is the complete opposite.
Thanks, I will.
Not at all: people 'may get offended' in public, but voting's done privately. Hence, people say one thing to sound PC (if they give a shit about that nonsense, and many are so insecure that they do make the pretence) but act as common sense tells them in private. Why else do you imagine the Conservatives had a landslide victory at the last UK general election when all the polls and pundits predicted a Socialist victory?
Rob
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If you substitute the word 'black' or 'crippled' or 'jews' in the above sentence it sort of reveals the mindset.
I very rarely get angry in a forum and use irony and satire to make points.
For someone to use the condition of people who are really disabled to score points is frankly abhorrent.
Please think carefully about how offensive your mindless cheap words can be to those who have a real experience of what being disabled means.
Ohh sorry.. I get it....!! It was a JOKE wasn't it? Sorry, I take it all back. If it's a joke or a little jibe then its perfectly OK isn't it?
Oh, is that what you were trying to do?
Reminds me of the Annie Leibovitz Life Through a Lens show where, talking about her early life, she relates that she'd wanted to be an art teacher and then realised: "oh, first I'd have to be an artist!"
You see your difficulty?
Now, was it you or your quasi-biblical buddy had to have last word?
:-)
Rob C
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Oh, is that what you were trying to do?
Reminds me of the Annie Leibovitz Life Through a Lens show where, talking about her early life, she relates that she'd wanted to be an art teacher and then realised: "oh, first I'd have to be an artist!"
You see your difficulty?
Now, was it you or your quasi-biblical buddy had to have last word?
:-)
Rob C
OUCH! That one really hurt Rob! You knnow how to throw a mean punch. Well done! I can see whay your fans admire you so much.
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OUCH! That one really hurt Rob! You knnow how to throw a mean punch. Well done! I can see whay your fans admire you so much.
;-)
Rob C
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Not at all: people 'may get offended' in public, but voting's done privately. Hence, people say one thing to sound PC (if they give a shit about that nonsense, and many are so insecure that they do make the pretence) but act as common sense tells them in private. Why else do you imagine the Conservatives had a landslide victory at the last UK general election when all the polls and pundits predicted a Socialist victory?
Rob
So, here you are again, looking for the last word, having flounced off just a few days ago.
Perhaps you have been too busy to notice that anti-immigrant policy is a significant vote-winner throughout Europe, from the excesses of Hungary, via Slovakia to our own witless loons of UKIP. It is simply not the case to say that politicians are afraid to say that the Syria problem should be "solved by keeping Syrians out of Europe - the very reverse is true.
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Dear Jeremiah,
Should you stop to think about it, you'll realise that 'overt' forms of racism or anti-immigrant sentiment can indeed be vote winners within a certain group, and just as likely to lose votes within another. People like our Farage have realised there is little political future for them within larger, more established political groupings and so they attach themselves to the more fringe ones where they become tall poppies. It's just another verison of being the local hero. With the emphasis on local.
For the larger groups/parties, they may think one thing but have to appear to be thinking a medium-level strategy if only to be embraced by a wide range of voter - especially of the floating kind without real convictions or belief in one way or another. Hence, the problems that face all mid-road parties. Blair had some great ideas but wound up being derailed by his own side; witness, too, my own heroine Mrs T, and now David Cameron. That's politics: the business of self-preferment. And that's where the end appears: from the self-seeking actions of your own people. Which of course, is where the delightful Boris comes in: our very own Trump in a Union Jack.
"So, here you are again, looking for the last word, having flounced off just a few days ago."
That's sweet! Thank you for the vote of confidence on my youthful, athletic possibilities!
Lazarus must be your rôle model.
;-)
Rob C
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Dear Jeremiah,
Should you stop to think about it, you'll realise that 'overt' forms of racism or anti-immigrant sentiment can indeed be vote winners within a certain group, and just as likely to lose votes within another. People like our Farage have realised there is little political future for them within larger, more established political groupings and so they attach themselves to the more fringe ones where they become tall poppies. It's just another verison of being the local hero. With the emphasis on local.
For the larger groups/parties, they may think one thing but have to appear to be thinking a medium-level strategy if only to be embraced by a wide range of voter - especially of the floating kind without real convictions or belief in one way or another. Hence, the problems that face all mid-road parties. Blair had some great ideas but wound up being derailed by his own side; witness, too, my own heroine Mrs T, and now David Cameron. That's politics: the business of self-preferment. And that's where the end appears: from the self-seeking actions of your own people. Which of course, is where the delightful Boris comes in: our very own Trump in a Union Jack.
"So, here you are again, looking for the last word, having flounced off just a few days ago."
That's sweet! Thank you for the vote of confidence on my youthful, athletic possibilities!
Lazarus must be your rôle model.
;-)
Rob C
Your comments address only the situation in the UK. In the wider continent the vote-winning value of anti-immigrant sentiment is even clearer. I mentioned already Hungary and Slovakia - add Austria, Finland, Poland and who knows where the electorate in Germany will end up - certainly Merkel's open-door policy is not looking very popular at this point.
Jeremyrh
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Your comments address only the situation in the UK. In the wider continent the vote-winning value of anti-immigrant sentiment is even clearer. I mentioned already Hungary and Slovakia - add Austria, Finland, Poland and who knows where the electorate in Germany will end up - certainly Merkel's open-door policy is not looking very popular at this point.
Jeremyrh
I totally agree; in the case of Germany, the poor woman shot herself painfully in both feet. I can't actually see your problem with my points - I think we are saying the same thing.
Rob C
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New style of argumentation, now featured here on LuLa!
A: "I agree with you, B."
B: "No. I'm the one who agrees with you, A."
A: "You've got it backwards, B! I agreed with you first!"
B: "No, no, no! I..."
etc. :D
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New style of argumentation, now featured here on LuLa!
A: "I agree with you, B."
B: "No. I'm the one who agrees with you, A."
A: "You've got it backwards, B! I agreed with you first!"
B: "No, no, no! I..."
etc. :D
Ah, Eric: that's a demonstration of pure Political Correctness in action, at the very highest level.
Was I being misled when told that all those shades of grey were about that very thing?
;-)
Rob C
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:D
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I totally agree; in the case of Germany, the poor woman shot herself painfully in both feet. I can't actually see your problem with my points - I think we are saying the same thing.
Rob C
Well, sometimes we are, as you have contradicted yourself :-)
"It's like Europe: every single politic¡an knows the answer to the migrant crisis: solve the problem in the middle-east. But they won't say that; it might offend somebody somewhere"
As I said - no politician is refraining from saying that with the possible exception of Merkel. On the contrary, a lot of politicians are saying exactly that, and reaping the electoral rewards. Indeed, it now seems to be EU policy, to the extent that that bunch of craven fools can be said to have a policy.
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Well, sometimes we are, as you have contradicted yourself :-)
"It's like Europe: every single politic¡an knows the answer to the migrant crisis: solve the problem in the middle-east. But they won't say that; it might offend somebody somewhere"
As I said - no politician is refraining from saying that with the possible exception of Merkel. On the contrary, a lot of politicians are saying exactly that, and reaping the electoral rewards. Indeed, it now seems to be EU policy, to the extent that that bunch of craven fools can be said to have a policy.
And here start again the circles!
The middle-east solution I alluded to wasn't migration: the solution is muscle, and that's not going to happen on the ground. And it would have to be immense, brutal and absolute. Pretty much total genocide, and we can't have that. Or Israel and Trump could build us a wall; one has the experience and the other the funds (maybe). Or alternatively, China could do it, as she is building everything else in Africa. But I jest.
I said that Merkel had shot herself in the feet by openly embracing migration; the rest of 'em in the 'first world' bits of Europe are saying yes, we'll let them in, but doing their utmost to do the opposite, especially the French! The Brits are clucking about but also using their non-Shenken(?) position to exclude anything like that from happening in reality - as far as their power extends to non-European migrants. The latest 'deal' with Turkey is, in its first part, an example of where they all really stand, though that deal may end up being illegal. However, as the offer seems to be one that also includes readmitting to Europe as many as Turkey boots back out, it seems pretty daft overall, as we end up in the same position, numerically, all over again. Maybe they all read Coffee Corner.
In reality, it seems nobody beyond Germany has granted staying powers to any great number of migrants, quite possibly because none of them wants to stay in wider Europe; they selectively opt for Germany and Britain, defeating the idea (legally binding) of refugees going to the first safe place outwith their own country! Not fools, they know which places are the softer touch, could they but enter. Funny they don't want to remain in France, where thouands already are... The Balkan lot know nobody wants to stay in their areas, but they also know that as the other part of Europe has little intention of admitting anybody in great numbers: those Balks know they'd end up being stuck with the problem on their hands, as it backs up, so their borders slam shut.
If you want a better insight into the ever more complex European situation you must check out France 24 tv, they do it in depth.
But from myself, enough already; I hardly want to switch on the news, not relive it endlessly here...
Rob
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The middle-east solution I alluded to wasn't migration:
Which is a bit odd considering you previously wrote:
"It's like Europe: every single politic¡an knows the answer to the migrant crisis: solve the problem in the middle-east"
I can't be bothered trying to work out what you actually think, or what position you are trying to defend. If you have some photos to show, I'll enjoy looking at them.
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Which is a bit odd considering you previously wrote:
If you have some photos to show, I'll enjoy looking at them.
He does. You will.
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Oh holy shit. A few weeks ago my wife made me a birthday present of a Fein Multimaster (https://fein.com/multimaster/). Until now I was very exited...
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Somebody please tell me how to reword this appropriately:
"It can be difficult to master the intricacies of Politically Correct speech." ???
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Somebody please tell me how to reword this appropriately:
"It can be difficult to master the intricacies of Politically Correct speech." ???
Not difficult at all if you are a slave to PC ;)
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Not difficult at all if you are a slave to PC ;)
You mean I should have bought a Mac? ;)