Monday 27 June 2016

Boris the Spider

the web of deception. - Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive

Boris Johnston says:
"This year the US is projected to grow by 2.4 per cent, China by 6.5 pc, NZ by 2 pc, Australia by 2.5 pc and India by 7.5 pc. The Eurozone – 1.5 per cent."

He sometimes adds his joke,  the only continent with lower growth than the EU is Antarctica

But what does GDP measure ? The size of the entire size of the economy. It can grow simply because the population grows. It can shrink because natural resources are depleted or fall in value. And % increases tell us very little when comparing countries with each other as opposed to comparing them with themselves in previous years.

Lets look at a more meaningful measure - GDP per person (also called per capita). Methodology (the way of working out the figures) varies, but roughly speaking, they are similar whatever method is used.
In 2015 they were: 

UK $43,940             China $14,107        India $6,162

So the India economy grew by 7.5% in 2015, or $403 per person
If the UK economy grew by 1.5% , that would be $649 per person
In fact the UK economy grew by 2.2% in 2015, or $946 per person

Funny how even when the India economy growing at more than 3 times the % rate of the UK economy, in cash terms, the UK economy grew more than twice as fast as the Indian economy and the gap between the two countries has widened.

So Boris does this usual thing with liars, he doesn't tell a direct lie, so much as not tell the truth and deliberately gives a misleading impression.  He claims if only we left the EU the UK could have a 7% growth rate like India. Well no it couldn't. 

Similarly, will Boris be moving to China because their economy is booming ? No, because the average UK citizen is about 3 and half times better off than a citizen of China.

Setting aside the fact that Boris doesn't support the economic polices of China or even the USA, the truth is that he is again misleading people with bogus statistics.





Free Eye test


 

 
 
Above is a photo from http://www.voteleavetakecontrol.org/

I think it is part of an adult literacy campaign.

Or perhaps Specsavers or just one of those optical illusions that take the internet by storm,
 
Where some people can see the hidden words such as “the lions share” “this is a mistake, I haven't authorised it” “No, not me I knew nothing about it" or "Nay, nay and thrice nay, not on your nelly will you see a penny of that £350 million"
 
Most worryingly, Michael Gove used to be in charge of UK Education !
 
Boris Johnston, is well known for his quote "It is an inverted pyramid of piffle. It is all completely untrue and ludicrous conjecture. I am amazed people can write this drivel." but of course that was about the allegation that he had had an affair, which turns out, he was lying about.
 

Sunday 26 June 2016

When someone says your like Hitler, how do you react when they want you to give them a good deal ?

Boris Johnson, the possible next prime minister, caused genuine and grave offence by likening the European project to the ambitions of Hitler. His declarations that Brexit will trigger events that unravel the entire project is


The UK has next to no trade negotiators, and will need hundreds, to replicate the market access it currently has with 50 states around the world .

Britain has made clear it doesn’t want free movement – and so any deal on those grounds would be so impossibly fragile as to be a waste of time. Frankfurt and Paris would certainly like our banks. clearing houses that trade in Euros and generate billions for the Exchequer will have to be domiciled in the Eurozone.

A Canadian-style trade deal, that will set tariffs on imports and exports. That may be fine for German manufacturers. But Britain’s service economy will be cut up like an old car. British graduates are about to learn what it's like to use an Australian-style points system. 

If a deal covering trade arrangements isn’t struck once the two-year period expires, Britain is  simply released from the EU treaties and left on crippling WTO terms - something the Treasury terms  a "severe shock scenario" and which it envisages would likely result in a cut in GDP of six per cent and increase unemployment by 800,000, not including the risks presented by emergency spending cuts, or the "tipping points" presented by the crystallisation of financial stability risks.


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/06/26/the-eu-will-treat-britain-like-greece/

Monday 20 June 2016

It will be easier to leave the EU later than it will be to rejoin

In the rather awful EU membership Referendum draws top a close, the obvious point has not been made. This isn't a once in a lifetime opportunity to leave the EU. The UK can leave anytime Parliament votes to leave.  So if there comes a time when the EU admits Turkey, creates an EU army and forces the UK to pay for a bailout of euro zone countries or any of the other 'predictions' the likes of Farage make - then the UK will be able to leave. Some might even think that would be a more intelligent time to have a vote. 

Friday 17 June 2016

Jo Cox - Tim Farron writes

This morning with my kids all I could think about was the family who’ve woken up with their lives changed forever.
Yesterday a mum, who left home to do her job to serve her constituents, was cruelly and brutally taken from them. Her husband and their children are in my thoughts and prayers.
When something terrible happens, I feel it. I am not one of those who shies away from emotion. And I, like so many others, am really feeling it today.
In Orlando, when all those people were massacred for simply being themselves, the hurt was overwhelming. And here in Britain, we have seen terror on our streets and lost an incredible woman. 
Grief, sorrow, anger, frustration, confusion.
Jo Cox was a wonderful MP. Much will be written about her and she deserves all the tributes that are being paid.  
Very few politicians had her vision and courage when it came to standing up for Syria and for refugees. She was really affected by their plight and when she spoke in Parliament I was deeply moved.   She came to the Commons to make a difference, for something she believed in.  
For too long we have allowed division and hatred to thrive. Vitriol has risen, and only yesterday we saw the shameful and sickening sight of England fans taunting child refugees, while public figures went out of their way to fan the flames of prejudice. 
I am angry and upset at all those politicians, public figures and newspapers who wilfully stir up fear and hatred.  
Political debate has become a nasty place where personal attacks, blaming foreigners, migrants, the poor, the different, have become palatable.
Where has all the hope, and optimism, and decency gone?  It will be quoted many times over, but Jo’s words in her maiden speech couldn’t be clearer and couldn’t be more poignant – ‘we are far more united and have far more in common with each other than things that divide us.’ 
Today I won’t be campaigning in the referendum, but I’m going to be in my constituency doing what MPs do; I will be holding an open-air surgery. 
This is how I, in my small way, can pay tribute to Jo.  
This is what I encourage all people in politics to do today. Be in your constituency, be in your ward. Be part of your community. Reach out, lend a hand, support, listen, comfort and help. This is what we’re here to do.
Tomorrow I will begin again to make the positive case for Europe.  
I am fed up with the anger and the hatred. It’s gone on for too long. I am a passionate believer that being part of Europe is better for our country, yet this debate has been suffocated by ego and dirty politics. 
We must turn a corner.  
Let this be a turning point for our country. When the world around us is fearful, confusing, and clouded, let us be the beacon of tolerance and hope.
Tim Farron