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.

Nigel Farage: David Cameron’s EU benefits diatribe fools no one

It’s not welfare abuse by immigrants but the number of them that is a drag on the nation




The European Commission has already said it will investigate the new policy statement from the Prime Minister to see if it complies with European law Photo: REUTERS


By Nigel Farage

6:20AM BST 30 Jul 2014

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/nigel-farage/10998115/Nigel-Farage-David-Camerons-EU-benefits-diatribe-fools-no-one.html


The Prime Minister has scored a brilliant summer hit with the headline writers. “EU migrant benefit curbs fast-tracked”; “Government announces limits on EU migrants’ benefits access”; “New rules on migrant benefits to be announced as UK makes system more robust against abuse”; and “Further curbs to migrant access to benefits announced”.


Except, of course, these headlines are from December, January, February and April respectively. His latest announcements on Europe and welfare are just a matter of the Government still trying to play catch-up with public opinion.


And while moves towards making our benefit system less open to abuse are welcome, there are serious questions as to their legality. According to European legislation, it is quite clear that all EU citizens must be treated equally when it comes to benefits. Dotted through the European treaties are references to this: Articles 9 of the Treaty on European Union and Articles 18, 20, 45 and 48 of the Treaty on the Functioning of The European Union. The most explicit, Article 48, states very clearly that this equality includes the “payment of benefits to persons resident in the territories of Member States”.


Beyond the treaties themselves, there are EU laws that specify, “nationals of an EU country and persons residing in that country without being nationals of it are equal in terms of the rights and obligations provided for by the national legislation. The provisions of this Regulation apply to all the traditional branches of social security” including, but not exclusive to, unemployment and family benefits. In other words, anything Mr Cameron does to European immigrants, he has to do to British people, too.


This isn’t a matter of opinion. This is European law. It means that any legislation that a UK government brings in to change benefits entitlement must apply equally to UK citizens, or face the fiercest opposition in the European courts. Put simply, the European Union in its current form will not allow the British Government to do the things that the Prime Minister says he wants to do to European migrants’ claims, without also applying those changes to his own people.


If you want an illustration of where power lies in the EU, proof of how impotent our membership of the union renders our government, remember that the European Commission has already said that it is investigating this new policy statement from the Prime Minister to see if it complies with European law.

I cannot believe that Mr Cameron is seriously suggesting that these restrictions apply to UK citizens as well. So it looks like an enormous hostage to fortune.

That’s not the only problem with Mr Cameron’s promises. He casts the spotlight on EU immigrants who come to the UK and claim unemployment benefits. He does not address the far greater problem of in-work benefits such as tax credits.

It is the case that migrant workers are less likely to claim unemployment benefit than British people. However, they are more likely to claim the far more costly in-work benefits. This is due to the simple fact that they are, in the main, at the lower end of the wage scale.

And this brings me to the real issue, the one that Mr Cameron and the rest of the political class repeatedly skirt around, the one that makes his benefits promises just so much window-dressing.

The problem with mass migration is not so much the misuse of benefits by a minority – though that is wrong – but is the impact of mass, low-waged and unskilled labour upon the wages, employment opportunities and services in this country. I have been campaigning for years, not on the point of benefits, but the impact of the sheer numbers.

Even Mark Carney, the Governor of the Bank of England, couldn’t help but allude to the subject last week as he talked about a “staggering” 25 per cent slump in demand from Europe for British exports, combined with what he described as the effects of “more labour supply than we had previously thought”. He went on to comment that we have “severe” structural problems due to a “chronic” shortfall in housing. Yes, these things are related.

Just look at the way that growth is disproportionately helping the rich, who benefit from cheap labour supply, while the low-waged see pay cuts and freezes. The Local Government Association tells us that there will be a shortfall of 130,000 primary school places in the next three years, caused almost entirely by migration and a soaring birth rate among first-generation migrants.

Open-door immigration from ex-communist countries with GDPs wildly different from our own has resulted in a situation where the lives of millions of our citizens are affected by an issue over which, due to our membership of the European Union, we have no control. But the Prime Minister is promising to bring in measures that will affect a few thousand people, rather than deal with an issue that impacts on the lives of millions.

What Mr Cameron’s article in The Telegraph yesterday really shows is the fear in this Government of the public’s anger, and its impotence in the face of its obligations to European law.

No amount of warm words or glib promises will provide any confidence that the Government has either the will or the desire to act effectively on migration. Nor will they change the fact that such action is impossible while Britain remains a member of the European Union.

Hmmmmm makes a good case for getting out of Europe.

Camorons been exposed yet again though as a cheat on the National News yesterday when he said his measures yesterday ie, cutting benefit period from 6 months to 3 months would save £500 million pounds over 5 years. (unlikely to get the law through though anyway)

Policy would only affect around 7,000 immigrants..... a lot of them single.

The benefit bill would come to nowhere near £500 million, little wonder Conservative Central had to quickly jump in and correct Camorons figure with the BBC.

Update - Labour lead at 1
by YouGov in Political Trackers and Politics
Wed July 30, 2014 6 a.m. BST

Latest YouGov / The Sun results 29th July - Con 34%, Lab 35%, LD 8%, UKIP 12%;

It's not only Cameroon gf, we know where he stands (for his rich mates and cheap labour)

Cleggy is all for more of the same.


But the real question is.

Where is Millibum and even newer labour?

Labour is supposed to stand up for the working class, yet cant shaft them quick enough. The unions are very quiet too. They're own supporters discarded and ignored.


Any ideas?

Very silly trivial political stereotyping. Looking after workers in terms of pay totally dependent on the economy. The size and efficiency of the economy affects all areas of life. The NHS, defence, infrastructure, benefits an all the things that people want come from money the government has. The ONLY source of money for the government is taxes of various types such as VAT, income tax, corporation tax, national insurance (it is a tax) etc.

The ONLY source of these taxes is businesses. Successful businesses produce more tax. Only the Conservatives have ever created an environment for business. Vote for others at your peril.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/nov/24/israel?CMP=twt_gu

An Israeli army officer who repeatedly shot a 13-year-old Palestinian girl in Gaza dismissed a warning from another soldier that she was a child by saying he would have killed her even if she was three years old.

The officer, identified by the army only as Captain R, was charged this week with illegal use of his weapon, conduct unbecoming an officer and other relatively minor infractions after emptying all 10 bullets from his gun's magazine into Iman al-Hams when she walked into a "security area" on the edge of Rafah refugee camp last month.

A 'clean kill' then? So that's nice isn't it? NO IT IS NOT!!!!!!!

These guys are surely sick in the head! As an Israeli army officer, one wonders if he is a typical example?

Apparently according to the Gazan Health Ministry, the Palestinian death toll stands at 1280 in 22 days of conflict.

Israel, too has lost 53 of its soldiers since conflict with Hamas began on 8 July.

Also, two civilians and a Thai national have died.

Don't these idiots realise, that the only way to ever end this conflict is by talking to each other and through negotiation? And negotiation means 'give and take' and surely must mean conceding points.

The whole area must be a hot bed of utter hate. With each side utterly despising the other it has to mean there is absolutely no chance of any peace deal happening any time yet.

lets face the real facts on gaza the PALESTIAN PEOPLE VOTED IN HAMAS .
a terrorists org who do not give a toss about the people in gaza .
hamas firing rockets from hospitals schools . they are cowards hiding behind children and women facts not fiction it is hamas that is killing the gaza people .
hamas are terrorist scum cowards covering their faces ,as for the leader he is fleecing has much money to retire in luxury like the ;leader before him .

tell me this is not fact .

Meanwhile our Government has sent £3million extra in humanitarian aid to Gaza, to top-up on the £7million already dished out by British taxpayers.

It helps with the bomb bill.

Vince has found a nu way of pissing money up the wall.




Driverless cars get green light for testing on public roads in UK


Vince Cable announces £10m fund for driverless car research and road law changes



Samuel Gibbs

theguardian.com, Wednesday 30 July 2014 10.09 BST



Self-driving cars like Google’s prototypes could be seen on UK roads in 2015. Photograph: Eric Risberg/AP



The UK is to encourage the development of driverless cars on its roads, it was announced on Wednesday, with a multimillion-pound research fund and a review into the relevant laws around road safety.

The business secretary, Vince Cable, said a £10m fund will be made available for driverless car researchers in the UK, joint funded by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Bis) and the Department for Transport (DfT).

“The excellence of our scientists and engineers has established the UK as pioneers in the development of driverless vehicles through pilot projects,” said Cable. “Today’s announcement will see driverless cars take to our streets in less than six months, putting us at the forefront of this transformational technology and opening up new opportunities for our economy and society.”



More twaddle here: http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/jul/30/government-driverless-car-self-driving-car

£10m is peanuts and not worth worrying about. Having said that, it is a waste of money. Driverless cars are not coming here in our lifetimes. Once again IT people are overestimating their abilities to solve and automate a complex problem. I remember going to a lecture in 1969. The head of the artificial intelligence department of one of the leading universities said that computers would be dealing in concepts to complex for humans within 10 years.

£10m on a nonsense system that will never work unless there is limitless money to throw at all the problems such a system would throw up.

Can you imagine how much a computer driven car would cost by the time you have installed all the sensors, actuators, fail safes etc?

They cant even get the sat-navs to work properly.

I like driving too much and I would not want to sit inside and be driven about by a driverless car.

The lady 'next door but one' is possibly a good candidate. I've often followed her in my 'sexist pig Merc Sport machine' and seen that she leaves the house at somewhere near to the speed of light - and then tries to filter into the 70mph dual carriageway at 35 mph.

Driverless cars are right up her street - but not mine, although we do live on the same one, IYSWIM.

And who the hell would you talk to?

eg,

"Hello driverless car. How are you today?"

"Feeling wicked! Fasten your seat belt a bit tighter!"

Tanker
Don't forget that the founders of Israel were terrorists who blew up British troops when the area was still Palestine. Then they became Prime Ministers and Presidents of Israel. Hamas are only 'terrorists' in relation to Israel. The original Israel also blew up innocent civlians. Unfortunately, that's what freedom fighters do. When and if Palestine become a proper state, these terrorists will be its leaders. Just compare to Northern Ireland, the war of Independence in the US, the pre independence struggles in Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, the Ottoman Empire, Rhodesia, South Africa pre apartheid and India. The list is huge.

Israel has a limited window to talk to Hamas before life gets much worse for them. Hamas now has long rage missiles that are not accurate. The next development is accurate missiles and surface to air weapons. If ISIS get into Gaza, the West Bank and Israel then expect chaos in Israel and the collapse of their society.

I have seen increasing numbers of intelligence reports relating to ISIS targetting Israel.

hays - you are incorrect; please refer to your history books re the original jewish founders and settlers which I think was about 20 years earlier than the official foundation of the state of israel in 1948

I know what you mean, but I am talking about the founding of the state of Israel and not the settlers who were peacefully living in the area. The people I am talking about are Irgun, Haganah, the Stern gang operating from 1945.

Here is a list of some of their work

http://www.timripley.co.uk/terrorism/terrorism1.htm

The leaders of these groups became the leaders of Israel with the last of them going recently.

your initial post was singularly misleading by omission
the original settlers and their arab neighbours too were totally appalled by the subsequent war waged on them by other arabs - I'm sure I'm right - and the IDF or whatever you want to call it, came into being as a result of that

subsequent actions are a different matter entirely, but if you want to put across an argument, you would be wise not be economic with the facts

I was really just showing the transition from terrorist to politician and the hypocrisy of Israel in particular to brand Hamas as terrorists.

A man bought a farmhouse, which had lay vacant for many years, for himself and his wife. There was a bit of a problem in that it came with a barn which was completely welded shut. No one knew what was inside.

He took a chance and bought the Portuguese property at a knock down price and then picked up a grinder to open the barn door....................

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/man-buys-house-locked-barn-3937043#ixzz38yczCZBN