More Farage wisdom

[mos]

I don't know, but that wasn't my point; my point is that while Farage points out genuine problems, I don't hear any solutions from him and I don't think his idea of leaving the EU gets anyone a step closer to dealing with very difficult issues.

One thing the EU has achieved is that while business has had the freedom to move jobs around the world for some time, 'workers' now at least have the freedom to follow opportunities around Europe, but not yet the world. Not enough, but it's a start. But then your earlier posts suggest you favour freedom for capital flows without freedom for workers to follow the capital flows, so you wouldn't see this as an achievement. But even then, I'd say the free movement of labour is an attempt to balance the free movement of capital. What is Mr Farage's approach to solving the problem that all sorts of low end (and high end in fact) jobs can be shifted to another part of the world very easily, while Britain (like most western economies) has a big problem of long term unemployment at the bottom of the labour market? Hmm? How's he hoping to deal with that? Or is he just another populist offering false hope to people who are having a hard time already?

Interestingly, only now, after national wealth of Poland was picked to the bone, Farage got the full support of the establishment to his racist ideas, and whats worse, he is trying to anchor Polish people at the bottom end of the market. That is truly racist.

[Gittins Gal]

"Everybody in London and Brussels and Washington assumed [the sarin gas] had been used by Assad. And Putin said, 'Hang on a second, don't be so sure.' It turns out it's more than likely it's the rebels that used the gas. If Putin had not intervened, we would now be at war in Syria."

He's quite the Putin fan.

Well, let's not forget that there a telephone conversation was tapped between Baroness Ashton and the Estonian Foreign Minister discussing the probability that the sniper fire that killed the Ukrainian protesters came from agents provocateurs from their own side and that the bullets weren't from that nasty Mr Putin after all.

[sasguru]

Farage got the full support of the establishment to his racist ideas, and whats worse, he is trying to anchor Polish people at the bottom end of the market. That is truly racist.

Yes at the expense of Indians, eh? He loves Indians, that Farage bloke.

[darmstadt]

That's your prejudice talking, there's nothing racist in that statement, helmet.

Yep, just using the word 'white' doesn't make him 'racist', however that term is defined. It's a bit of an inconvenience for people adamant on pushing the 'racist' label that Eastern European and Mediterranean immigrants are Caucasian. Doesn't stop them from throwing the term around, usually without bothering to define it. It's the equivalent of the word 'heretic' in the 'modern' PC lingo, or 'denier' in the lingo of another cult. Just a pejorative used to induce a visceral unthinking reaction in others.

A more charitable reason would be that those immigrants will grow the size of the 'underclass' by joining it. Agree or disagree, there's little 'racist' about his statement as quoted.

Imagine if he had said black or yellow or brown? What he should have done is used the word British, he's just showing his bigotry towards those who don't fit his ideal...

[Old Greg]

Well, let's not forget that there a telephone conversation was tapped between Baroness Ashton and the Estonian Foreign Minister discussing the probability that the sniper fire that killed the Ukrainian protesters came from agents provocateurs from their own side and that the bullets weren't from that nasty Mr Putin after all.

Of course! So you then invade part of a sovereign country. That is admirable.

[darmstadt]

Yes at the expense of Indians, eh? He loves Indians, that Farage bloke.

He does, that's why instead of the EU and British employers subjugating Eastern Europeans he wants the return of the Commonwealth so they can continue the glorious Raj days

[MicrosoftBob]

He does, that's why instead of the EU and British employers subjugating Eastern Europeans he wants the return of the Commonwealth so they can continue the glorious Raj days

Much cheapness, plenty quickness

[darmstadt]

As for the point about racism; the German chappy says what he thinks; personally I haven't accused Farage of racism because I don't think he's a racist.

Okay maybe not racist but definitely has a clear case of xenophobia. It makes me wonder if he insists on British tradesmen

[Old Greg]

Okay maybe not racist but definitely has a clear case of xenophobia. It makes me wonder if he insists on British tradesmen

Does it make much material difference whether it's racism or xenophobia?

If you deny someone a job, a service etc. because they're black it's racism but if it's because they're Italian it's not racism. Seems much of a muchness to me.

[Gittins Gal]

There might well be a pont in that but 'working class people' is a very broad and ill defined group; are you talking about skilled crafts and tradespeople, unskilled labour or somewhere in between.

Plus, I don't see how moves that would restrict British 'workers' from moving around would really help them. Farage might be good at pointing out problems, and indeed it's going to be difficult if not impossible to keep everybody in work, but I don't hear any solutions that really show me he's taking account of global developments like faster and easier globalisation of production, quicker and easier capital flows, large trade blocs being developed in Asia, Africa and Latin America, hence increased competition, more and cheaper automation of low end jobs and so on. Having said that, I don't hear those solutions from other party leaders either, but these are issues that are being discussed at EU level.

Mich, a lot of your posts talk about the economic reasons for remaining in the EU but what you fail to address is the undemocratic nature of the EU.

I mean, I'm sure I don't need to mention the way referenda have been repeatedly held in member states until they give the right answer. And as for the lies. The Treaty of Lisbon in no way resembles a constitution we were told. Yeah right. Ditto there will be no European Defence Force - again, we all know where that's headed.

Screw the economics - I'd rather be free and live in a sovereign nation where the government of the day is accountable to the people.

And Mos, once again, this is nothing to do with racism. Immigration isn't even at the top of my list of priorities.

What is at the top is the integrity of the democratic process and in that respect the EU is inherently flawed and UKIP offer the only credible alternative to our continuing membership.