Thought Id start this one going because its rather dead on this board at the moment and I suppose all my usual muckers are either at the Stella tennis event watching Dim Tim (lose again) or at Henly Regatta eating cucumber sandwiches (they wish,...NOT).

Anyway please feel free to just talk to yourself blast away and let it go on any company or subject you wish. Just wish Id thought of this one before.

cheers GF.

Wait for it, a lot more wind forecast -------------------------

Our GDP is increasing!

This is France

French GDP shrinks in third quarter
Wednesday, 25 December 2013

The French national statistics bureau Insee on Tuesday confirmed a negative performance of Europe's main powerhouse during the third quarter of the year on weak exports and poor investment.

For the July-September period, France's gross domestic product (GDP) shrank 0.1 percent, compared to a 0.6 percent growth for the previous quarter, the agency added.

Investment in the eurozone's second largest economy declined by 0.4 percent with cash of non-financial firms down by 2.1 percent for the third quarter.

French exports fell by 1.3 percent after having expanded 1.9 percent in the second quarter while imports grew by 0.9 percent, contributing to a negative trade balance.

The growth of households' expenditure slowed by 0.3 percentage points to stand at 0.1 percent in the third quarter, the report added.

Insee lowered the 2013 full-year growth forecast of the French economy to 0.1 percent from a previous estimation of 0.2 percent, adding more pressure on the government to recover with rampant unemployment exceeding 10 percent.

MailOnline - news,politics.. Saturday, Dec 28 2013 3AM

"

fossy - now tell us your views on hollande and explain how his wonderful left-socialist policies are so brilliant and are benefitting france

Typical pathetic "Con" party tactics of desperately trying to deflect the "evidence" away from themselves, from the usual suspects alert!

Britons ready to welcome migrants from Bulgaria and Romania, poll finds

Ipsos Mori survey shows 72% of people aged 35-44 support rights of east European workers to live and work in UK


Daniel Boffey, policy editor


The Observer, Saturday 28 December 2013 19.15 GMT

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/dec/29/bulgaria-romania-migrants-uk-poll


Romanians and Bulgarians coming to the UK on New Year's Day will be welcomed by more than two-thirds of Britons if they integrate and work hard, a new poll suggests ahead of restrictions on them being lifted.

In spite of a surge of anti-immigrant rhetoric from leading politicians, British people are happy to accept migrants from the east of Europe who learn English, get a job, pay taxes and become part of their local community.

As many as 68% of those asked said they would be happy for migrants to come on those terms. That sentiment was particularly strong among people aged between 35 and 44, with 72% supporting their right to come to live and work in the UK.

The Ipsos Mori poll for the thinktank British Future comes in the wake of an intervention in the Observer by the president of Bulgaria, Rosen Plevneliev, who warned the British government not to abandon its traditional tolerance of immigrants in favour of isolation.

The business secretary, Vince Cable, responded to Plevneliev by accusing David Cameron and members of the Conservative party of adopting harmful "populist" immigration policies, such as a potential cap on EU migration and a proposed block on taking in migrants from countries with a GDP less than 75% of the UK's.

Yet, despite a barrage of negative publicity about the arrival of migrants from Romania and Bulgaria, the new poll finds that only one in four Britons (24%) believe that restricting the free movement of people, while staying in the EU, should be one of the government's priorities. A similar proportion (26%) said leaving the EU should be a priority if it does not change its rules on allowing people to come to the UK.

Nearly half (45%) said that enforcing the minimum wage was one of the most important ways of stopping business undercutting British workers by paying European workers less. Around one in five (22%) believed in the importance of managing the impact of immigration by, for example, giving more support to areas heavily affected.

The polling also showed that, while a significant majority did want a tightening of the welfare system (63%), just 2% of those asked believed that there was nothing migrants from Romania and Bulgaria could do to be accepted. This compares with 69% who said that learning the English language should be a priority for migrants, and 64% who said getting a job and paying taxes were among the key things to do.

Sunder Katwala, director of British Future, said: "I think the findings show that Romanian and Bulgarian migrants coming to work and play by the rules are welcomed; that coming to work, and not claiming before they've paid in, seems more important to people than rewriting the free movement rules or getting out of Europe, though both are legitimate long-term debates."

Meanwhile a YouGov poll of opinion leaders, organised by the all-party campaign group British Influence, also found that 81% did not feel that Cameron was talking enough about the benefits of EU membership ahead of a possible referendum in 2017.

Lord (Geoffrey) Howe, who served as chancellor and foreign secretary to Margaret Thatcher, said: "Sadly, by repeated concessions to the Eurosceptics, the government made its own position on Europe, and in Europe, more difficult."

The Bulgarian minister of labour, Hassan Ademov, told the Observer he believed the prime minister was being led into nationalistic rhetoric by the popularity of the UK Independence party. He said he did not believe there would be an influx to the UK, but revealed that the Bulgarian and British governments have agreed to work together to ensure that companies registered both in Bulgaria and the UK are prevented from exploiting the potential for cheap labour. They have also agreed to clamp down on any potential welfare fraud in a new "letter of intention" signed by both governments.

Ademov, who met employment minister Esther McVey this month to discuss the terms of the agreement, said the UK government's attitude to Bulgarian and Romanian citizens so far had been "categorically unacceptable".

He added: "My view is that the main explanation for what has been happening is that it is party election rhetoric and there is a race between the parties. God and the European commission between them have given Bulgaria and Romania the honour of having the transitional controls lifted just six months before the elections for the European parliament."

http://www.britishfuture.org/

As the public see Wavey Davey and crew,

Content of Post 34658 shows how out of touch the deluded elitist bunch the present Con party is.

Wavey Dave useless as a PM and and useless as a PR agent and cannot flog his policies to the voters.

Yet, despite a barrage of negative publicity about the arrival of migrants from Romania and Bulgaria, the new poll finds that only one in four Britons (24%) believe that restricting the free movement of people, while staying in the EU, should be one of the government's priorities. A similar proportion (26%) said leaving the EU should be a priority if it does not change its rules on allowing people to come to the UK.

Nearly half (45%) said that enforcing the minimum wage was one of the most important ways of stopping business undercutting British workers by paying European workers less. Around one in five (22%) believed in the importance of managing the impact of immigration by, for example, giving more support to areas heavily affected.

No wonder I keep putting on weight. I am going to stop using shampoo. Just the jobbie for my New Year Resolution.

It says on the back of the bottle, "For extra body and volume".

I have decided to use dishwashing detergent instead. On the back of that bottle it says, "Cuts straight through fat to help with its easy removal".

Simples.

You don't take that article seriously do you Fred?

For Fred. Become 'Sir Fred' ready for the New Year:

Titles for Sale - only £14

The Lord of Nowhere At All.

Never had that ambition.
--------

Leave medals and gongs for the elitists who need them to bolster their opinions of themselves.

===========

The Romanians and Bulgarians are coming and the Cons are being found out and UKIP are saying:

and still fossy (rather pathetically) ducks telling us his views on hollande and his left-socialist policies, yet hollande should surely be fossy's idol on how to manage an economy with such policies

fossy's silence is deafening and likely to remain that way

Another poll showing the opposite

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/immigration/10540590/Britain-must-keep-Romanian-and-Bulgarian-restrictions.html

Britain must keep Romanian and Bulgarian restrictions

Public overwhelmingly in favour of keeping restrictions on Bulgarian and Romanian migrants even if it means breaking EU law

Seven in 10 Britons believe David Cameron should retain restrictions on Romanian and Bulgarian migrants even if it means breaking European Union laws, according to a new poll for the Sunday Telegraph.

The ICM survey found that the public overwhelmingly backs a call by dozens of Conservative rebels for the Government to ban migrants from both countries coming to Britain for at least another five years.

The findings come amid fears that hundreds of thousands of migrants could arrive from Romania and Bulgaria – the poorest countries in the EU – when current restrictions are lifted on January 1.

More than 70 Tory rebels have called on David Cameron to ban migrants from both countries coming to Britain until at least 2019 amid concerns over the pressure they will put on the NHS, the jobs market and the welfare state.

Funny how the last poll was the Guardian and this one is the Telegraph.

the labour party admit, though rather sotto voce, that they completely screwed up with their immigration policies

unfortunately, it is that nasty mess that now needs to be dealt with though it is a very fair criticism that the current crew should have put in place the road towards much tougher policies many months or even a year or two ago

i fear that what will now be produced will be something pretty wishy-washy so as not to run foul of the courts in brussels

halt immigration in its tracks?
no; that would just be damn silly and indeed counter-productive

a tough but realistic points system + restrictions on an immigrant's right to assorted welfare benefits, running the full gamut from health through housing and everything else?
most assuredly

will the latter be imposed and applied and immediately?
fat chance!