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Started by vandermolen, May 01, 2017, 10:14:35 PM

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JBS

Quote from: Mr. Minnow on October 18, 2018, 01:46:05 PM
It says that the US regulations allow a certain amount of those things, so I'm assuming they checked their facts before saying that, as it's the sort of thing which could probably be disproved fairly easily if it were untrue. Either US regulations make these allowances or they don't. Assuming it's true, it's not a good look for any government trying to sell the merits of a trade deal with the US to the UK public, though in any case I suspect maggots and rat-hair would be the least of their/our problems.

Perhaps I was not clear. I am sure those regulations exist. But I have never  found rathairs in my food, or anything like that. The US consumer is often more fastidious than regulators are,  enough that no company could regularly get away with it if it wanted to keep its customers.  So the British consumer should not expect to be find rathairs in their vegetables if they buy American.

Hormones in beef is a real thing, but I think that reflects a difference between American and European practices.

Hollywood Beach Broadwalk

Que

#681
It's a mess..... The negotiations on the exit deal are now basically a stand off between Ireland and Britain.

It seems that Britain's imperial past is coming back to haunt it...

Taoiseach should refuse to compromise on Brexit, voters say (Irish Times)

QuoteThe EU is firmly behind Ireland. It says any "hard border" infrastructure on its frontier with the British province of the island would revive sectarian conflict. Many small EU states see the willingness of big powers to risk trade with Britain to protect Ireland as an acid test of the value of EU membership.

Take it or leave it? EU offers May few options on Brexit deal (Reuters)

Q

vandermolen

"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

Mr. Minnow

#683
Quote from: JBS on October 18, 2018, 05:19:48 PM
Perhaps I was not clear. I am sure those regulations exist. But I have never  found rathairs in my food, or anything like that. The US consumer is often more fastidious than regulators are,  enough that no company could regularly get away with it if it wanted to keep its customers.  So the British consumer should not expect to be find rathairs in their vegetables if they buy American.

Hormones in beef is a real thing, but I think that reflects a difference between American and European practices.

The problem for the likes of Liam Fox is that if the regulations allow a certain amount of such things, and we sign up to similar regulations as part of a trade deal with the US, his claim that our post-Brexit food standards will not be lowered in pursuit of trade deals will be completely discredited. Much like Fox himself. At one point he had a stab at claiming chlorinated chicken would be fine but it didn't go down too well so he keeps quiet about it now. I'm not sure he'd be too successful at defending headlines about maggots and rat-hair, though it would probably be quite amusing to watch him try.

Mr. Minnow

Interesting analysis from Robert Peston:

https://www.facebook.com/1498276767163730/posts/2189927274665339/

Quote9) She knows, because her Brexit negotiator Olly Robbins has told her, that her best chance - probably her only chance of securing a Brexit deal - is to sign up for the customs union.

10) In its absence, no-deal Brexit is massively in play.

11) But a customs-union Brexit deal would see her Brexiter MPs become incandescent with fury.

12)Labour of course would be on the spot, since its one practical Brexit policy is to stay in the Customs Union.

13) This therefore is May's Robert Peel moment. She could agree a Customs Union Brexit and get it through Parliament with Labour support - while simultaneously cleaving her own party in two.

14)It is a Customs Union Brexit, or leave the EU without a deal.


"It is a Customs Union Brexit, or leave the EU without a deal" is chilling. If Peston's info is correct, May's choice is between the option that does the least damage to the country and the one which does the least damage to her party. In which case we're pretty much screwed.

André

#685

vandermolen

#686
Quote from: André on October 19, 2018, 08:28:28 AM
From Toronto's Globe and Mail: the mad, the bad and the fools are now in charge.


https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/commentary/article-a-self-destructive-madness-grips-the-uk-as-a-no-deal-brexit-looms/


Depressing but true. I heard John Major's speech and agree with everything in it.

Churchill himself said that he looked forward to a 'United States of Europe'.
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

Que

#687
Frankly, I think the negotiations are over....  ???

Not because time has ran out, but because there is not much left to say.... ::)

And it seems that in the EU most are gradually assuming and accepting that there will be no deal.

Political fatigue has set in... no deal might now become a self fulfilling prophecy.

Q

Que

If there is nothing in the weeks before Christmas, companies are going to act....

The anticipation of Brexit already had economic effects, but this process would enter a new phase.

UK firms near point of no return for Brexit contingency plans, CBI warns

Q

Que

A new development: pretending there is almost a deal to keep a leadership challenge at bay...

EU withdrawal deal is 95% settled, Theresa May to tell Commons

???

Q

Que


The new erato

"What was once the most powerful empire on earth is now a country that can't even find its way to the door without tripping over its own feet"

http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/brexit-talks-watching-a-country-make-a-fool-of-itself-a-1234143.html

vandermolen

Quote from: The new erato on October 23, 2018, 03:03:20 AM
"What was once the most powerful empire on earth is now a country that can't even find its way to the door without tripping over its own feet"

http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/brexit-talks-watching-a-country-make-a-fool-of-itself-a-1234143.html

True but also a slightly smug example of schadenfreude.
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

Que

#693
Quote from: vandermolen on October 24, 2018, 11:10:49 AM
True but also a slightly smug example of schadenfreude.

I saw that before and found it a painful read, even if I'm not British.
It does indeed carry the sentiment of Schadenfreude, but it is also a sign of the bitterness that has been developing on the continental side.

The general feeling in the rest of EU is that of being snubbed at in a grand way, motivated by British exceptionalism.
And the fact that two successive British foreign secretaries have compared the EU with Nazi occupation and Soviet domination respectively, hasn't helped matters much either.... Yes, Britain stood its ground and saved (with the help of the US) democracy in Europe at its darkest hour. But the British political elite seems to forget how immensely the rest of Europe has suffered at the hands of the Nazis and the Soviets.

IMO the different way in which WWII and its aftermath has been experienced on either side of the Channel, explains the difference in attitudes towards the European Union.

No matter how Brexit will pan out in the end,  I think it is safe to say that it not only has severely divided British society but also has created a deep rift with the rest of Europe.

Q

Que

An interesting read on "what next?" when the present Tory government collapses - just before, or probably soon after Brexit:

Why Brexit might be as big a problem for Jeremy Corbyn as it is for Theresa May

If Corbyn is lucky (and clever), he wil have to take over after Brexit. Which saves him from making a choice about exiting the EU.
He will then probably decide to rejoin the single market (EEA), to save the economy and appease the remain oriented young supporters.

Q

vandermolen

Quote from: Que on October 26, 2018, 12:43:33 AM
I saw that before and found it a painful read, even if I'm not British.
It does indeed carry the sentiment of Schadenfreude, but it is also a sign of the bitterness that has been developing on the continental side.

The general feeling in the rest of EU is that of being snubbed at in a grand way, motivated by British exceptionalism.
And the fact that two successive British foreign secretaries have compared the EU with Nazi occupation and Soviet domination respectively, hasn't helped matters much either.... Yes, Britain stood its ground and saved (with the help of the US) democracy in Europe at its darkest hour. But the British political elite seems to forget how immensely the rest of Europe has suffered at the hands of the Nazis and the Soviets.

IMO the different way in which WWII and its aftermath has been experienced on either side of the Channel, explains the difference in attitudes towards the European Union.

No matter how Brexit will pan out in the end,  I think it is safe to say that it not only has severely divided British society but also has created a deep rift with the rest of Europe.

Q

I don't disagree although I'm not sure that there is an underestimation in the UK of European suffering under the Nazis.
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

Mr. Minnow


Que

#697
Quote from: Mr. Minnow on October 29, 2018, 10:03:59 AM
Apparently NOT a parody:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-46016359

I seriously doubted it being anything other than a prank!

"Friendship with all nations"?  I mean....really..... this must be a very, very bad joke....




Q

Mr. Minnow

Quote from: Que on October 29, 2018, 10:21:23 AM
I seriously doubted it being anything other than a prank!

So did I when I first saw it, but when the likes of the BBC started reporting it I realised that it was the latest episode in the UK's mission to turn itself into a laughing stock. First we had headlines in the press celebrating the "triumph" of having blue passports again, even though we could still have had them in the EU. And despite a French company winning the contract to make them. Then we had the announcement of May's idea of a festival of Brexit Britain (no, that's not a parody either). Now it seems we're going for the hat-trick with the 50p coin. Because when you have a deeply split and polarised country, nothing is more certain to bring people together than issuing a new coin to commemorate a decision that half the country thinks is completely bloody insane.

Quote"Friendship with all nations"?  I mean....really..... this must be a very, very bad joke....

I think there will have to be some very small print somewhere on the coin: "Please note that friendship rates may vary and may not apply to all nations, especially in the EU". For accuracy's sake.


At least it's being greeted with all the respect and reverence that such an historic announcement deserves:

     


     







JBS

Another possible design
A noseless Britannia, with a Latin motto (Latin because we must be properly Etonian) It is sweet and proper to spite one's face for one's country

Hollywood Beach Broadwalk