I wonder would it be possible to settle on an uninhabited island somewhere on this planet, create a new state and have no connection with the multinationals, EU, WHO, and all the other bodies that claim they do everything 'for our own good' but actually simply bleed us dry, Probably not, as satellite photography would show us up and some well meaning government would insist in helping us weather we wanted it or not.
Interesting to note that the human race has survived for many thousands of years without any government intervention, but now with freely available web access to information our leaders are telling us what to eat, how to clean one’s teeth etc. do they think us all complete morons, well yes I think they do. But at the end of the day it all seems to come down to profit and power.
Lets go back to being an island, have our own rules and laws, price our goods in imperial units, sell petrol by the gallon, after all cars are quoted in MPG not kilometres per litre so why can't fruit and veg not be sold by pounds and ounces, and bananas that are not as straight as German ones not be sold. why should a small company of more than six people be forced to have a 'health and safety’ executive. Insist on expensive scaffolding to replace the simple ladder that has served so well for the past hundred or so years. I read a story some time ago about a church caretaker who would replace the church light bulbs with a pole and rubber sucker, they were 250W bulbs and are now illegal as is his method of changing them. Even my brother was incensed at having to put 'no smoking' signs on a beautiful church door as no one ever smoked in a church.
Now this gets me onto some real gripes, road signs are rarely in metric units, bridge heights, width barriers etc. are these not far more important than pricing veg by the pound, all these silly EU laws seem to have no connection with 'common sense' but simply create unnecessary laws that have no meaning or reason.
I say lets get out of the EU, lets be an island again and lead the world in innovation and invention after all we seem rather good at it, I think this country is great as it has created more original thought and ideas than the rest of the world put together, why I don’t know but it has, maybe simply because we are a small island. Or maybe because we think, too pretty important inventions, the telephone and the jet engine come to mind here oh and the hovercraft.
Yep! I'd like to have utopia in my own backyard. I want protection from others but not controlling.. I'd like good commonsense not gobbledygook and nitpicking laws. I prefer our criminal laws "not guilty unless proven otherwise" ... but Codex seems to have shifted the sense law to guilty unless already pronounced allowable".... and as John has mentioned an onerous task for producers to prove something if it's no included... another time and money wasting exercise if everything has to tested individually... and only possible for the global players.
The global economy - the rapid movement of money make everything easier for the bigger companies and tough whatever for everyone else... Genuinely think we've all been selling out for years and it's gone past extricating ourselves from the global grip....we'd need a global spirit of intent/will to do that.
Plus side for me is that all powers so far in history have over stretched their mark..- been unable to maintain their gain. I think Napoleon. Russia, Germany... getting the land is EASY in comparison to the ongoing pressure of sustaining control. Toppled by their own ambition.
Even dare I say Maggie Thatcher with the "Poll Tax"... implemented too hurriedly People saw it's monetary shift coming ....a graduated introduction would have solved it But shows the possibility that the law changed by imperceptible minutiae also unoticably U-turned.
You're right John. We have a great pool of "Intellectual" know how....We have been world leaders and still are in many ways technologically with ideas marketed overseas.. Do we ensure we are adequately renumerated? It takes me back to education..do we ensure that those who can get the help they need as individuals?
The new laws have restricted the possibilities for one man businesses and the smaller enterprises... and yet the government reckon they are the one's who will kick start the economy..the local DIY stores..virtualy empty.. the local mechants... no better... the small men (family men usually) are easy to track down ... and accountable. Are the big corporations?
I don't know about selling herbs it's ridiculous... but we've already lost seeds and the opportunity to grown other older and odd varieties becuse of the smll companies couldn't do the testing...and have been bought out by the "big" companies who don't bother..Mara
Hi Mara, all very interesting and an insight that seems almost 'out of order' in society generally.
Sorry to say IMO Maggie did much to decimate this country, although I'm sure she did it with 'the best will in the world', selling off council housing at half price is really simply halving the value of a major asset and therefore wiping millions from a council's value. The changes to poll and then council tax were badly thought out, difficult to implement, and caused no end of problems.
But my biggest gripe was for her to suggest that we should become a service led economy rather than a manufacturing one, the area that we led the world in and the only route to actually generate wealth. In my simplistic view there are very few ways to actually generate wealth, dig it out of the ground (mining), grow it (farming), manufacture it (adding value), design and innovation (create something new). Maybe I never did grow up but it seems to me that no other occupation can actually generate wealth even though many look good on paper.
A few more originals from this country that many may not realise, the humble vacuum cleaner, the steam engine, Stirling engine, but now the big ones, TV, and the computer, satellite transmission, even the wind up clock not to mention the wind up radio.
So with all this innovation at home why the hell should we join the EU and get dictated to by a body that has no comprehension of our way of thinking. IMO one of the worst decisions any government has ever made, or was it part of the ’New world order’, maybe I am overstepping the line here.
To sum up, why not return to being an island, after all that is what we are, but sadly it is being diluted by the many overseas companies running massive business ventures here and taking the profits back home, Santanda comes to mind here but there are many others.
We do have resources here but the ‘greens’ want to ban their use like coal, does it really make sense to grow rape seed for bio fuel and then import food, I think not, does it make sense to ban the farming of hemp, not only is it an incredible material but one that improves the ground it is grown in. It is one of the most strong yarns ever made as in rope and canvas, hence the word cannabis, not only that but it’s oil can produce new plastic materials and it’s fibre can be used as a building material with good insulation properties.
John and Mara I have been doing some research into to origin of some of the problems we are experiencing in today's society and I found THIS , it is from a Catholic point of view so it is best to filter out some of the bias , but there is a lot of truth here .
Wow Electro that certainly was a long one, so am I to understand that any freedom we might feel is actually engineered in some way, that is scary. But what I can't appreciate is WHY, who benefits from controlling minds and altering concepts. I really do believe that if we were able to live without all the petty laws and EU restrictions this country would be far better for it. Kids allowed to grow with their parents guiding, (allowed to visit on sports days and photograph them) who could think that wrong. Unfortunately much of what is said in that link does seem incredibly true, would the powers that be prefer us to be a bunch of complete morons, unable to think or be original and totally reliant on a means tested handout system. It simply doesn’t make any sense to me at all.
Just what is the purpose, maybe they don’t even know. Simply control and devalue there must be a reason somewhere.
I shudder to think of the reasons behind this form of control and social engineering and what the end result will be , when I first read this I was shocked at the content , but the more you read the more it all makes sense of what is happening in today's western society , it also fits in with your worries about Codex and the enormous rise in global control by large multinationals , all I know is my prediction of 50 to 100 years of almost hell on earth before the next phase of human existence is looking more and more likely !
John, Electro ..reading with interest. there has been a pogressive reacion against th restrictive, often in UK religious authority of schools..but in general, the overall authoritarian attitudes whcih have hung over from the Victorian era. rules V liberty.. We need both...but tend in society to vascillate between the two...
I am wary of any authoritarian system.. However, I also believe that Law brings order...and Liberty where everyone makes decisions in isolation is a free for all and no freedom at all. It's chaos.
What is happening here is to get the general populace to concentrate purely on themselves and here own needs/wants etc... Education is centred on self awareness/gain... We can all reach the top..of course not! it sets us all on a course of self attainment and ultimate disillusionment. We fight over everday nothings. The power people..with money/land/influence....are orchestrating their own agenda. laws get passed which manipulate the people without us even being aware...worse still for own good.
I don't believe the individual is powerless. We're just not happy out from the crowd. I am seriously guilty of this. Mara
H Mara, you remind me here of a time when I played badminton with a school mistress and her family, they seemed horrified at the idea of me winning a game but someone had to, should I have compromised my play to allow someone else to win? They claimed to be playing ’socially’ and not though actually learning the game and playing better for it. I took the game very seriously and had two years evening classes behind me and an intensive three day course, should I have forgotten all that and played like a beginner simply to comply with their social values.
It reminds me of friends tee shirt.. paraphrased it's FRONT "Plays badly with others" BACK " The others don't like losing" suits him perfectly.. people say i should have it when playing cards... I don't throw games but if they're intrested enough, I will spend hours with them working through "hands" until they have mastered the art...I want to play on equal terms
So NO I wouldn't through the game... But some parents can't face the fact that their kids aren't best/perfect..etc. Having said that, for that reason I have deliberately for my own sake thrown games etc but that was different.
Earlier, the comment about Maggie Thatcher wasn't as a supporter. I have no political allegiance, only a wary watchfulness and a vote... I wish that politcal parties would look into the future long term and implement the necessary expenditure on projects rather than making short-term plans which reap votes and undermine our long term prospects. Energy being a particular point, if we'd invested more sooner ..and I am comnvinced that government officials have been well aware of the imminent problems for years.... we'd be less cornered into making quick decisions now. Mara
I wish that politcal parties would look into the future long term and implement the necessary expenditure on projects rather than making short-term plans which reap votes and undermine our long term prospects. Energy being a particular point, if we'd invested more sooner ..and I am comnvinced that government officials have been well aware of the imminent problems for years.... we'd be less cornered into making quick decisions now. Mara
Mara.
Mara, you have done it again hit the nail firmly on the head and summed up the main problem with our political system.
In the future perhaps we could get rid of political parties and vote for the individuals that would make up a political 'team' to run the country . Each section of that team could be assessed on its performance and voted out if not up to scratch . There would be no fixed terms for any section , the only deciding factor would be how they performed for us all . That way we could keep the good bits of a government and get rid of the useless bits without having to start again with a fresh 'team' every four years with all the problems and short term thinking that brings.
This is just the basic formula for a new system ,if anyone has a better solution or can add to my idea all comments are welcome.
Mara in reply, re throwing games. When I started I found the game fun but failed to understand tactics or really how to play and got asked to leave several clubs for not being up to their minimum standard. In those days I had a 'get up and go' attitude and did something about it and since played in several clubs. Untill one day I simply could not be bothered to walk across the road to a local club and have never played since, shame really.
Blame history..It's taught me a lot... I fear that there is a power which wants the continual shift system.....it leads to chaos. It wastes our resources with puny little adjustments to taxes and allowances (budget time) which just shift everyone's understanding rather than wealth... costs a "public" fortune and achieves nothing. I resent them.
The idea of voting for individuals reminds me of the EU... which 'Im not in favour of because accountabiity is too far removed from my door step..and another layer of bureaucracy.
But a rolling system of appointment does appeal...got me thinking.. Thanks Mara
You've convinced me so far to buy local, British goods.... to even consider a different lifestyle conpletely....even start campaigning for a new poltical system......BUT this has really made me angry.
This I don't no know how to tackle... I have a friend who's being hounded out of his own home over similar incidents.... I'm talking about a law abiding man who's worked hard, is now ill and should be repected for his age if nothing else. He's replaced the glass to his windows so many times they are now permanently boarded. He's told to sell his house.. It's worthless because of the damage they've done...
I want to restrict entrance to schools to kids with sufficient social skillls the others being segregated until they've learnt to co-exist.... They priority of all parent's, school's etc...has to be that.
Surestart funding might be threatened...lack of results. They run classes such as parenting skills/ computing starter sessions/ dietary advice ... some young families have no one else to help...and don't know where to get help... and who else puts on courses with chld care readily available? it might be the only respite a single parent gets (or the kidds). Families don't aways support you...
That is a most tragic and agonising story, and to think the police never put two and thirty together is unbelievable, and whilst many (not police) do good work to help others they are becoming hampered with ever more silly rules to hinder them. Have just read a report about winding a church clock that involved climbing an 8' ladder, that’s the way it has been done for 200 years, never an accident. Yet now H&S come along and say 'too risky', you cant be doing that, I wonder when did 'common sense' get outlawed.
But at least there is a political party who believe in it, and family values, the sooner he gets into power the better.
When I used to visit the high rise tower in London, simply to check on how the lift display worked in a very finished part of the building, I still had to don a hard hat and hi res jacket, just how daft is that. H&S rules I was told. Even some guys working at the top of Nelsons coulomb had to do the same.
When I think of some of the doggy experiments I did during school time, melting lead, chemical experiments like growing crystals, blowing glass, playing with fire and very high voltages, all fascinating in their own way. I really should not be around to tell the tale. I bet no one would ever be allowed to do those things today and all with no parental guiding or safety goggles no, they just left me to play and that is what I was doing, simply playing with physics. Even a MW radio transmitter to call a mate not far away.
I've laughed at the absurd and despaired at the sense...it reminds me of friend told to wear his safete gear...which meant he couldn't do all the job wearing the hat (opening not large enough).... and the "private house" occupied had to suffer his work boots without dustsheets (though he quibbled none were provided). I'll give the rest further thought later..Mara
This country is becoming a sad and disturbing place to live , unfortunately it is all to common to hear of similar stories to the one mentioned the majority going unreported, but they did not end with the suffering and appalling tragedy this one did.
I have been on the receiving end of these sort of thugs in the past but because I am physically fit and strong I was able to show them the error of their ways but still ended up with 2 broken ribs courtesy of repeated blows with a piece of 2x4 wielded by a thug who was so angry that I had the audacity to take the problem to his front door , well actually through his front door while it was closed !
I never had any problem again from him or any of his hangers on because they thought that I was a complete nutter and there was a very good chance that it was them that would be getting hurt .
After this incident they had a strange sort of respect for me, some actually being quite polite to me when they saw me in the street .
I still feel ashamed that I had to stoop to their level and my injuries could have been far worse but I talked to them in a language they understood !
Press gives the impression that she was clueless about how to get the help she needed.... but having helped others I find that it's all a minefield of bureaucracy and geting the right departments...and then an advisor who really knows... It takes a lot of time and effort and patience and a nigh on Krypton factor brain.... then, the system is overloaded... You've got to be strong to fight your way through it
Everyone I know who've attempted to right the wrong... have been reported to the police and been cautioned...but it's usually kids that have provoked the situation. The worse situation I've seen was a kid kicking/damaging a guy's car, The police stood and watched. The police then manhanding him when he tried to restrain the kid... this was in front of a MP and witnessed by a horde of children...the jeers and triumphant cheers was sickening.... the police often tried to "mingle" later but the attitude of the kids to them was deriisive.
On the plus side..when it's a "real" emergency they are excellent...it's the ground level, gaining respect which seems to be lacking..
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