***** This thread is now closed, please CLICK HERE to go to Volume 21 *****
As above.*
* this site does not endorse any political party in any shape or form. Any posts/links deemed offensive by moderators will be removed
Last edited by: VxFan on Mon 23 Feb 15 at 01:02
|
As a beekeeper I quote this one:
"Many zoologists believe that neonicotinoid insecticides are implicated in the decline of bee populations. As bees are vital for the pollination of many economically important fruit-bearing plants and cereals, the commission has enacted restrictions on the use of three neonictonoids for two years."
Note the words ".Many zoologists believe."... There is NO proof - zero - nil - that neonicotiinoids damage honey bee populations.
There is evidence they MAY damage bumble bee populations.
I believe that radio masts damage my health . Will they be banned as well? Just asking.
Typical Guardian BS.
|
Banning perfectly decent lightbulbs.
I have no problems finding sources of and buying old fashioned type bulbs.
Several shops I visit stock them.
They do how ever have additional wording on the box, " heavy duty" or " Industrial use" or similar wording.
I do wonder ( for one second only) where 40 or 60 watt candle bulbs are used in such industrial locations.
Meanwhile lots of Halogen bulbs are available that do boast about a small saving in power use.
So overall not a well thought out initiative.
LEDs are obviously another option but not a pretty sight in some applications.
|
|
Typical crap from that loony leftie comic
|
|
The EU needn't have nannied with my choice of light bulbs - given efficiency data, I am perfectly capable of making up my own mind. The new types seem to be about 10x the cost of conventional bulbs, and they don't last as long as claimed.
|
>> The EU needn't have nannied with my choice of light bulbs - given efficiency data,
>> I am perfectly capable of making up my own mind. The new types seem to
>> be about 10x the cost of conventional bulbs, and they don't last as long as
>> claimed.
Now, at least, they do if you go the LED route, and finally it seems you can get LED in every form factor. I doubt we would have got this far without someone telling us what to do, you ruddy dinosaurs will be the death of us all, not just yourselves.
|
"finally it seems you can get LED in every form factor. I doubt we would have got this far without someone telling us what to do, you ruddy dinosaurs will be the death of us all, not just yourselves."
Yep - just got 12 x 6W downlighter LEDs in the new swish, mostly German, (dinosaur's?) kitchen ……. fabulous! They cost about £35(?) each, and last for 33,000 hrs. I had calculated that they should last me until I reach 92 years of age. The first one died after 6 days!
|
>> As a beekeeper I quote this one:
>>
>> "Many zoologists believe that neonicotinoid insecticides are implicated in the decline of bee populations. As
>> bees are vital for the pollination of many economically important fruit-bearing plants and cereals, the
>> commission has enacted restrictions on the use of three neonictonoids for two years."
>>
>> Note the words ".Many zoologists believe."... There is NO proof - zero - nil -
>> that neonicotiinoids damage honey bee populations.
Do you think scientists believe something randomly after a heavy session at their club or because observations are leading them to a conclusion?
How many dead bees in other peoples hives equal the evidence that constitutes proof?
|
Well lets ask the bee keeper two things
1/ Does bee colony collapse exist
2/ what causes it.
|
|
I thought there was a horrible mite that killed bee colonies.
|
|
And Contaminated water bees drink and all the other poison we spray everywhere.
|
>> all the other poison we spray everywhere.
Yup. Kill or mutilate the ecology in the name of output, tolerated short-term greed by a few wreaking desert down the line, like the Kansas dustbowl in the 1920s and 30s, except that in Kansas they had big US capitalism taking shape as well. Read Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath if you haven't. There's some car stuff in it too (he added seductively).
|
You really should not engage on a subject where I am an expert - compared to a non beekeeper (!). :-)
There has been NO confirmed case of Colony Collapse Disorder in the UK Ever. It's largely a US affair brought on- it is THOUGHT - by a mix of stress, insecticides , moving bees around for pollination often over 1,000s of miles. and crappy beekeeping..
The number of honey bees in the UK has been increasing since c 2010 as there are LOTS more beekeepers. The number of bumblebees has been in decline but significantly improved in 2014 due to a much better summer.
So all these stories of the collapse of the honeybee are - in Europe - a load of rubbish unsubstantiated by facts. But of course newspapers tend not to dwell on facts which disagree with politically motivated carp.
In order of importance problems affecting honeybees are:
1. the varroa mite which weakens bees and makes them more susceptible to virus infections.
This is THE BIGGEST cause of honey bee deaths.,.
2. the reduction n suitable forage due to monoculture and high intensity farming, removal of hedge rows, and spraying of fields to remove weeds.
3. Bad weather. Wet and cold summers as in 2011, 12 and 13.. are bad for bees .
4. The really cold winters of 2011/12
5. The ageing of the population of beekeepers and the decline of the industry due to cheap Third World imports coupled with hobby beekeepers (post WW2) dying without replacement until late 2009 approx.
Pesticides? Occasional spray deaths but localised and rare. Neonicotinoid treated seeds (Oil Seed Rape) have zero - repeat zero - reported impact on honey bee numbers.
That is not to say that soils are not being poisoned by frequent use of pesticides. They are. See the evident reduction in fly numbers and birds /frogs etc dependent on them. But conventional pesticides which are sprayed are MUCH much worse.
The Guardian is full of excrement on this subject.
Last edited by: madf on Sun 21 Dec 14 at 15:10
|
No-one beats UK govt for nannying bullcrap.
Have a look at the 'weight' of scientific evidence behind the badger cull, and its rip-roaring success so far.
|
|
Considering the article is written by a research executive at Get Britain Out, the conclusion is hardly surprising. He may be right, but not a very impartial analysis...
|
A level of analysis that wouldn't pass muster at A level never mind beyond.
EG complete disconnect between two assertions (one of which is to say least dubious)
Most other countries in Europe swap their Heads of State and lawmaking rules and regulations with alarming frequency – with the end result some European citizens lean towards a federal cohesion. However, Britain has been a huge global trading success in the past, and we now have the vision to see this again for our future.
Last edited by: Bromptonaut on Thu 25 Dec 14 at 14:04
|
Caution:
Those of a weak mind and UKIP supporters should not read this as it is deals with realism
:-)
"UKIP’s supporters show the classic signs of populism in their backing of the party. The dynamics of populism drive its beneficiaries in terms of voting support on a trajectory where surge is followed by slump. Predicting when the former will stop and the latter start is not possible as it depends on a complex set of contingent factors but that the implosion will occur for UKIP at some juncture is a racing certainty."
sotonpolitics.org/2014/12/19/when-will-ukip-implode/
|
Farage gets a rival.
I like his policy for Scotland.
thepublandlord.com
|
I like the Pub Landlord. Best pub landlord I've ever seen. Stands to reason.
Blows that Nigel Farage into the weeds frankly.
Lighten up Nige! What's with the anxious hangdog expression? Stop making that helpless Jewish Eeeeeeeh! gesture with the outspread hands! Sort of 'chap up' or whatever the hearty types are saying this week, knowImean?
|
>> Lighten up Nige! What's with the anxious hangdog expression?
In the interests of balance, I must mention the crazed, Nosferatu-like performance of my parliamentary hero tony Blair on the channels last night. I look forward to yet another résumé tonight, a few more hypnotic passes, with the tousled hair and mad staring eyes...
Give the man a pair of strap-on antlers and he'd be mixing it with the two-pronged Miliband scorpion steamroller in no time...
Great parliamentary performer in his day. Still an unpredictable force.
|
>> Farage gets a rival.
>>
>> I like his policy for Scotland.
>>
>> thepublandlord.com
I thought that was just a joke page, but he is standing
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-30819779
|
I know, that' s why I posted it. I reckon he should get a fair few votes. Should liven up the proceedings.
|
>> "UKIP’s supporters show the classic signs of populism in their backing of the party. The
>> dynamics of populism drive its beneficiaries in terms of voting support on a trajectory where
>> surge is followed by slump. Predicting when the former will stop and the latter start
>> is not possible as it depends on a complex set of contingent factors but that
>> the implosion will occur for UKIP at some juncture is a racing certainty."
>>
>> sotonpolitics.org/2014/12/19/when-will-ukip-implode/
Much the same as the support for the other parties then.
As long as people are swayed to vote by implied promises of Eldorado, lower taxes, higher benefits, free beer, honest politics or whatever other unrealistic aspirations they have then they are always going to be disappointed eventually.
|
>>
>> As long as people are swayed to vote by implied promises of Eldorado, lower taxes,
>> higher benefits, free beer, honest politics or whatever other unrealistic aspirations they have then they are always going to be disappointed eventually.
Not with FUKP. It'll be different.
pbs.twimg.com/media/B7UiQqtCAAIbSBj.jpg
|
And in case you have missed the FUKP election broadcast:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RMvSC1sXMQ
|
After seeing Al Murray a few times on t.v., I thought he was very funny - a 10 minute burst - great! Then I went to see him do a whole show live; the theatre (Theatre Royal in Bury) was packed and the first ten minutes looked very promising, but then the show became disappointingly boring and predictable as he repeated the same 'picking on someone in the audience' routine.
I guess AM needs to do something to gain publicity and revitalise his career. Like many comedians, he rapidly became very popular and suffered from over-exposure on t.v.
|
"I guess AM needs to do something to gain publicity and revitalise his career"
bit like Nigel really.
|
"bit like Nigel really."
Tell you what, CG, you're funnier than AM.
|
tinyurl.com/l3sggqo
the results suggest that Ukip voters are the most likely to question Jews' loyalty to Britain.
|
Ben seems to be a new addition to the Guardian's stable, supplementing the work of Steve Bell etc. Today's picks up on UKIP news over weekend:
www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/picture/2015/jan/25/ben-jennings-on-the-inside-of-nigel-farages-head-cartoon
|
|
Latest Opinion Poll suggests UKIP are on c21-22 % share... politicalbetting.com/
|
Most put them around 5 points lower than that:
ukpollingreport.co.uk/
|
>> www.hotwirepr.co.uk/blog-gb/news-gb/al-murray-make-better-prime-minster-ed-miliband-nick-clegg-nigel-farage-according-uk-residents/
>>
The most interesting thing about that is that someone that almost none of the respondents will have heard of before the poll (Natalie Bennett) has come out ahead of Nick Clegg.
Fun but useless.
|
Not useless at all, although perhaps not obvious.
If some not very funny comedian can show up on the political scene and within a couple of weeks be commanding a fair amount of the attention, it does rather speak to what a bunch of clowns are there already.
|
Not sure what it's useful for - who the heck did they ask?
Should the real leaders all start telling jokes?
Are we to think that Al Murray will get more votes than Farage? That the Greens will actually get a measurable share?
It's pretty obvious that most respondents weren't being at all serious, which is why I really called it useless.
|
|
Is it really that difficult to understand my point? I guess that may explain a lot about UK politics - the difficulty that one part has in explaining a simple concept and the difficulty the other has in understanding it.
|
"why I really called it useless."
Oh, thanks for clarifying - I thought you were referring to Nick and Natalie - in which case I would certainly have agreed with you! I was thrown by the 'fun' bit ;-)
|
|
I saw Cleggy on the box the other day, can't remember the context but he came across very well - surprised me. Seemed sharper than Cameron, somehow.
|
>> I saw Cleggy on the box the other day, can't remember the context but he came across very well - surprised me. Seemed sharper than Cameron, somehow.
Worth bearing in mind that all these cats are brilliant, with Oxbridge firsts and similar.
A party leader who isn't going ever to be PM barring miracles can afford to be sharp and say it more or less like it is. The Prime Minister can't though. Creative faff that can be interpreted as all things to all men is part of the job.
|
"Worth bearing in mind that all these cats are brilliant, with Oxbridge firsts and similar."
Yes - but how many of them have got first-class degrees in usefulness?
|
>> "Worth bearing in mind that all these cats are brilliant, with Oxbridge firsts and similar."
>>
>> Yes - but how many of them have got first-class degrees in usefulness?
>>
That's unkind after all eating bacon sandwich is not hard....
|
Yes - but how many of them have got first-class degrees in usefulness?
Rule 1 of being a politician, never hold a qualification in anything remotely useful. For example, Barbara Castle had a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics, and couldn't drive so was ideal for Minster of Transport. Blame her for both the breathalyser and 70 mph limit, both were introduced on her watch.
Last edited by: Slidingpillar on Wed 28 Jan 15 at 09:12
|
Don't have a problem with either of those innovations. Would you abolish them if you were Transport Minister?
What exactly would you say are the right qualifications are for a Transport Minister?
Last edited by: CGNorwich on Wed 28 Jan 15 at 09:15
|
There's absolutely no doubt that these people are clever devils - all of them; let's face it, most of them are multimillionaires with earnings from their 'part-time' roles and expenses claims.
The principle requirements for a political life are to be able to talk the hind-legs off a donkey and not to give a straight answer to a straight question. Honesty would be a positive disadvantage.
|
>> Honesty
>> would be a positive disadvantage.
And thats the problem with Farage. He tells lies, lies every bit - in fact bigger - as much as the others. Different lies for sure, but still lies.
|
>>
>> What exactly would you say the right qualifications are for a Transport Minister?
>>
Perhaps, like Ernest Marples, having financial interests in the road construction industry would be more appropriate?
|
What exactly would you say are the right qualifications are for a Transport Minister?
Er, a driving licence? Or some kind of interest/activity relating to transport. Don't think subsequently being ferried about in a ministerial car really cuts it.
|
But the portfolio for the Transport Minister isn't just cars is it. I don't see the problem with someone without a licence being Transport Minister.
When George W Bush becomes President of the USA, he didn't have a passport. Now I would expect someone with influence on that scale to have travelled a bit and be aware of the world around us. I seem to recall his geography was a bit ropey too.
|
>> When George W Bush becomes President of the USA, he didn't have a passport.
You don't really believe that, do you?
|
|
It wouldn't surprise me. A lot of American's have never left the US and have no passport.
|
>> It wouldn't surprise me. A lot of American's have never left the US and have
>> no passport.
It would surprise me a lot. Bush was a member of a wealthy family, old money in American terms, so unlikely that he wouldn't have travelled.
His geography was famously bad, which probably gave impetus to the rumour.
|
>>
>> >> When George W Bush becomes President of the USA, he didn't have a passport.
>>
>> You don't really believe that, do you?
You gonna turn the President of the USA away at Heathrow because he hasn't got a passport?
POTUS does not need one. FLOTUS might tho.
|
>> You gonna turn the President of the USA away at Heathrow because he hasn't got a passport?
'You may well be the Queen of Sheba, sir, but the EU rules on illegal entry are inflexible. Since you're here though, perhaps you would care to step into the interview room, through this door here...' (takes rubber gloves from pocket with a grim smile and stretches them noisily).
Who or what is FLOTUS?
|
|
First Lady Of The United States.
|
>> But the portfolio for the Transport Minister isn't just cars is it. I don't see
>> the problem with someone without a licence being Transport Minister.
Bit of selective vision in expecting the Transport Minister to be a driver. We don't expect the Health Minister to be a Doc or the Defence Minster to have been in the forces.
The exception was the Lord Chancellor who had to be a lawyer but that was swept away by the Constitutional Reform Act. In practice though Falconer, Straw and Clarke all were so current incumbent is first not to be in anything approaching modern times.
Retrograde step in my view as the LC still has particular functions in relation to Judges and the constitution that set him apart from other Ministers.
But perhaps I'm just a dinosaur.
Last edited by: Bromptonaut on Wed 28 Jan 15 at 17:28
|
If a driving licence is a qualification for Minister of transport, then it's only reasonable to require a commercial pilot's licence and some railway footplate certificates as well. And perhaps some sort of NASA track record. Oh, and a trophy for getting round the Isle of Man mountain circuit in under ten minutes on a screaming two-stroke Yamaha.
Last thing we need is some sort of ignoramus lardass politico screwing everything up as usual.
|
>> >> But the portfolio for the Transport Minister isn't just cars is it. I don't
>> see
>> >> the problem with someone without a licence being Transport Minister.
>>
>> Bit of selective vision in expecting the Transport Minister to be a driver.
Of course its not. How on earth can you expect to put someone in charge of something they know nothing about?
Its called complete lack of credibility. Which is why Ms Castle and her policies was universally derided in position.
>>We don't
>> expect the Health Minister to be a Doc
They will be a patient tho. A user of the service.
>>or the Defence Minster to have been
>> in the forces.
Not the same - A defence minster is only there to cut expenses, he doesn't even have the power to send the troops in.
Last edited by: Zero on Wed 28 Jan 15 at 17:41
|
If the Defence Minister was forced to fight in any war he or she agreed to, I suspect we would never had invaded Iraq or Afghanistan..
Sounds like a good idea..
Last edited by: madf on Wed 28 Jan 15 at 17:46
|
>>They will be a patient tho. A user of the service
I wonder how many members of the current cabinet go to an NHS GP.
|
>> I wonder how many members of the current cabinet go to an NHS GP.
It would be interesting to know, but I'd be surprised if many or even most weren't registered with one. There may be one or two who've been with Harley St all their lives, but not most probably.
Since the government, like Labour leaders actually, trots out the irritating expression 'our NHS' fairly often, its members probably make use of NHS facilities, or their Harley St quacks shoehorn them into one when it suits. It often does because NHS facilities are pretty damn good.
|
>> >>They will be a patient tho. A user of the service
>>
>> I wonder how many members of the current cabinet go to an NHS GP.
Camerons son was an NHS hospital patient.
|
>> Camerons son was an NHS hospital patient.
Of course he was. Private medicine's never going to deal with conditions like that lad had. Never mind getting an insurer to cover the condition.
|
>> Of course its not. How on earth can you expect to put someone in charge
>> of something they know nothing about?
>>
>> Its called complete lack of credibility. Which is why Ms Castle and her policies was
>> universally derided in position.
>>
Transport policies are always 'universally' derided hence the graffito 'Marples Must Go' which stayed on an M1 overbridge until the Brakespear to Berrygrove widening c1981.
If the 70 limit or breathalyser were credibly changeable they'd have been changed :-)
As Mrs Castle wasn't a driver she presumably used trains and buses. Arguably far better qualification for Transport Minister.
Last edited by: Bromptonaut on Wed 28 Jan 15 at 19:59
|
>> If the 70 limit or breathalyser were credibly changeable they'd have been changed :-)
I said, in position. IE they were Good policies but were derided at the time because of lack of credibility.
>> As Mrs Castle wasn't a driver she presumably used trains and buses. Arguably far better
>> qualification for Transport Minister.
Not - Buses are a LOCAL matter and they were when she was minister. There is no government policy making on bus use
|
>> Not - Buses are a LOCAL matter and they were when she was minister. There
>> is no government policy making on bus use
Are you serious?
Deregulation of buses (except in London of course) was not a matter of government policy??
You really need to get your arXe out the metropolis and think before picking an argument.
|
sigh!
>> You really need to get your arXe out the metropolis and think before picking an
>> argument.
And manchester, and glasgow, and liverpool, and and and and and and
Last edited by: VxFan on Thu 29 Jan 15 at 01:33
|
>> And manchester, and glasgow, and liverpool, and and and and and and
Buses in all those places were deregulated in 1980s with inevitable result of cut throat competition on radial trunk routes while actual needs of public were ignored. Devolution made it better sooner in Sctland but only now is it finally being realised that English metropolitan districts need freedoms London never gave up to specify services etc.
|
>> >> And manchester, and glasgow, and liverpool, and and and and and and
>>
>> Buses in all those places were deregulated in 1980s
Before which they were regulated by the local corporations. IE they set transport policy.
|
Alright lets change this round another way.
HM Gov gets considerably more revenue from motorists than they do bus passengers and ruck all from cyclists.
So, given that I would expect the Minister of Transport to have some credibility with the major source of income. Wouldn't you?
(unlike the chilean london transport minister for example ;p)
|
>> HM Gov gets considerably more revenue from motorists than they do bus passengers and ruck
>> all from cyclists.
>>
>> So, given that I would expect the Minister of Transport to have some credibility with
>> the major source of income. Wouldn't you?
Straws at clutching you are.....
|
>>
>> So, given that I would expect the Minister of Transport to have some credibility with
>> the major source of income. Wouldn't you?
>>
No. I'd expect him to know something about transport.
|
UKIP councillor Rozanne Duncan (no relation) has been expelled from the party for racist remarks.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-31565770
|
|
Old news! (And she was sacked from the party instantly)
Last edited by: Roger. on Sun 22 Feb 15 at 11:56
|
It's in the news again now because the TV programme in the context of which her racist remarks came out will be broadcast tonight.
In extracts released for morning news programmes today she's saying she has an irrational fear of Afro-Carribean men though the word she used was negroes. Don't know how much more there is but she struck me as needing help. The mystery is how she got selected for any seat on a Council never mind one that was winnable.
OTOH I suspect UKIP has a long tail of 'fruitcakes' elected to office before it got to point of being seen as more than party composed of such individuals.
|
>> OTOH I suspect UKIP has a long tail of 'fruitcakes' elected to office before it
>> got to point of being seen as more than party composed of such individuals.
........just like all the others, I reckon!
|
>>The mystery is how she got selected for any seat on a Council never mind one that was winnable. <<
It isnt much of a mystery. Had she expressed such views beforehand, she wouldnt have been selected.
Talking about how people are chosen to work in a party, perhaps a Labour supporter can fathom this one, this guy had crimes on record and one would surely expect due diligence from a party with the resources of Labour:
www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/news/latest-news/exclusive-ex-peterborough-labour-party-agent-jailed-for-sex-crimes-1-6588155
|
>> Talking about how people are chosen to work in a party, perhaps a Labour supporter
>> can fathom this one, this guy had crimes on record and one would surely expect
>> due diligence from a party with the resources of Labour:
>>
>> www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/news/latest-news/exclusive-ex-peterborough-labour-party-agent-jailed-for-sex-crimes-1-6588155
Palmer had lengthy form back to the seventies though sentences suggest recent offences were at mild end of the spectrum.
He was an electoral agent (ie footsoldier and organiser) for local government elections. Given the paucity of paid agents in Labour's winnable parliamentary seats I doubt he was anything other than a volunteer. If he'd been put forward as a candidate then no doubt diligence and/or reputation would have caught up with him.
And 'whaboutery' over Labour members doesn't give any 'cover' for racists and fruitcakes in UKIP
|
>>He was an electoral agent (ie footsoldier and organiser) for local government elections. Given the paucity of paid agents in Labour's winnable parliamentary seats I doubt he was anything other than a volunteer. If he'd been put forward as a candidate then no doubt diligence and/or reputation would have caught up with him.
And 'whaboutery' over Labour members doesn't give any 'cover' for racists and fruitcakes in UKIP<<
I know what an agent does and they work closely with candidates, trying to paint him as just some volunteer is just silly, he was out campaigning for the party.
I am not suggesting it should be 'cover', but if your lot cant spot a documented pedophile, on what basis can UKIP be expected to screen the absurd inner fears of an old lady?
|
So UKIP aren't bothered about getting something wrong as long as other parties do to.
Probably just as well UKIP never claim to be better than the others Since they appear not to be, nor bothered about it.
UKIP have always been rubbish, its just that the m3dia has startementioning it now.
|
>>So UKIP aren't bothered about getting something wrong as long as other parties do to.<<
Bothered, yes, but realistic about our ability to read minds, also yes. No matter how much vetting you do, it isnt possible to get 100% insurance against idiots. I wish it was but only a fruitcake would claim they could read minds.
|
|
They didn't need to be mind readers Stu. She almost certainly used words like negro, and probably worse, habitually. It's part of ukip's legacy that it saw sensitivity about such language as 'PC ' and welcomed people who kicked over traces on such issues. The party is going to get it's bum bitten repeatedly by these sort of revelations as the campaign heats up.
|
>>They didn't need to be mind readers Stu. She almost certainly used words like negro, and probably worse, habitually <<
What evidence of that do you have? It isnt a subject that I have ever heard spoken about before in my branch, it has nothing at all to do with politics, which funny enough is what people are there for. If someone used that language around me they would be out, end of.
Id invite you to come to a meeting and see for yourself, but critics never do. The offer stands though.
|
Very old news.
I was at a meeting the other day and the discussion was mainly about car parking charges, Sunday bus services and housing. Prob a bit boring for the Daily Wail tho...
|
Rozeanne Duncan is clearly a naive honest person who simply didn't realise what she said could be taken amiss. I doubt that she thought the remarks would be recorded. She was expressing a slightly shamefaced private feeling.
I can remember my mother once expressing very similar sentiments to me, privately in the same way: she had a visceral fear of black African physiognomy. Perhaps not fear exactly, just some alarming association. Times had changed so radically between the thirties and the late fifties that people of my parents' generation were genuinely puzzled and apprehensive about social change in this country with Caribbean and Indian immigration. My parents were suspicious of my black friends, until they met one or two of them and were charmed.
Poor Ms Duncan... a bit thick. New social minefields all over the place to fall into.
|
AC puts his finger on it admirably. Indeed Ms Duncan says as much herself, referring to her having been born in the late forties.
OTOH she's only ten years older than me. I frequently hear people of that generation use the word coloured to describe BAME folks. That is understandable; the word was formally used in that context until around 35yrs ago.
But to use the word Negroes, which has been regarded as racially offensive for all of my lifetime, knowing you're on camera takes a degree of detachment from reality.
Last edited by: Bromptonaut on Sun 22 Feb 15 at 12:49
|
>> But to use the word Negroes, which has been regarded as racially offensive for all of my lifetime, knowing you're on camera takes a degree of detachment from reality.
Really?
I was always taught 'black' and the other 'N' word were the offensive words!
From wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negro
The word "Negro" is used in the English-speaking world to refer to a person of black ancestry or appearance. Negro denotes "black" in Spanish and Portuguese, derived from the ancient Latin word, niger, "black", which itself is probably from a Proto-Indo-European root *nekw-, "to be dark", akin to *nokw-, "night".[1][2]
"Negro" superseded "colored" as the most polite word for African Americans at a time when "black" was considered more offensive.[3] This word was accepted as normal, including by people classified as Negroes, until the later Civil Rights movement in the late 1960s. One well-known example is the identification by Martin Luther King, Jr. of his own race as "Negro" in his famous speech of 1963, I Have a Dream.
Last edited by: swiss tony on Sun 22 Feb 15 at 13:04
|
"That is understandable; the word was formally used in that context until around 35yrs ago."
The trouble is that the pc-boys like to keep everyone guessing by shifting the goalposts. Only a couple of weeks ago, Benedict Cumberbatch used the word 'coloured' whilst struggling to recall what the current pc-term might be. 'Black' is now acceptable/preferred, but only a few years ago - 'black' was not-at-all pc [remember baa-baa black sheep, blackboard, blacklist, black-coffee etc?].
Interestingly, in a tv interview a few days ago, Tiger Woods referred to himself as a 'brown' man. My prediction is that 'brown' will become the new 'black' - so watch out ......... and do try to keep up!
|
>> Rozeanne Duncan is clearly a naive honest person who simply didn't realise what she said could be taken amiss. I doubt that she thought the remarks would be recorded. She was expressing a slightly shamefaced private feeling.
I can see that. she admitted to not understanding the feelings she has.
Many people of her and even my generation suffer similar feelings, that are deep within ones psyche and not what is real racism - ie the wish to cause offence, pain or injury.
My personal thoughts are that such feelings, are in fact based on lack of understanding, that is - fear of the unknown. One of her comments was there wasn't any (coloured people) here when I was brought up'
Such deep rooted feelings, especially ones that the person themselves don't understand why they feel, are very difficult to put aside, and sometimes will float to the surface.
The thing to do when they do, is to make sure they stay out of ones mouth. Not always easy, especially when under pressure.
|
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-31574817
Austin Mitchell claimed labour would win if they put up a candidate who was "raving alcoholic sex paedophile".
Nigel Farage is delighted, they have an abundance of suitable candidates,
|
"Nigel Farage is delighted, they have an abundance of suitable candidates, "
Er ..... haven't they all? Not to mention the thieves nor the corrupt.
|
>> Er ..... haven't they all? Not to mention the thieves nor the corrupt.
Yeah but... politics isn't a children's game after all. Pussy cats soon get devoured.
I'm not a Kipper but then I'm not really that much of anything else. I'll vote of course if I'm still alive, with a much hesitation and agonising, over a foregone comclusion.
Last edited by: Armel Coussine on Sun 22 Feb 15 at 20:04
|
>> a foregone comclusion.
That was ambiguous. I wouldn't predict an election result, but I know how I am likely to vote. Boringly. One has to be exact though.
|
>> I'll vote of course if I'm still alive,
>>
Now, that's a thought! How will we ever find out? Do you think that after a prolonged period of silence, we will put two and two together?
Or has Lady Coussine received instructions to send a one line post to the moderators in the event of your passing?
I mean, you have thought about it - haven't you?
|
EU Tyranny - Bromptonaut
