On 30 May 2019 at 1:45pm Green Sleeves wrote:
Let's spend the entire thread explaining Nigel Farages odious views on foreigners and exploiting fears of right wing voters who need little encouragement to blame the country's problems on outsiders. We have plenty of Nigel Farage fans here who seem to think only the best of him, and already have explained it's not xenophobic to scoff at people using other languages in private conversations on trains, and entirely downplaying immigrants contributions to this country. What was I thinking to ever suggest he wasn't a good bloke....
On 30 May 2019 at 2:26pm nancy wrote:
Did he kick your cat or something? It seems strange that you seem to only pick out the (imagined) bad points of people. Do you like anybody?
On 30 May 2019 at 2:33pm Green Sleeves wrote:
Imagined bad points? I can assure you it's not made up, and no amount of context makes his comments or claims acceptable, they often just show him out to be more ignorant than I first thought, or devious. If I overheard others making sweeping negative generalisations about Romanians, I'd criticise them as well.
As for Farage being my current hobby horse, well he does tend to get a lot of publicity recently. I'm happy to tackle other right wing politicians when they say stupid racially motivated nonsense.
On 30 May 2019 at 3:59pm Parent wrote:
Enough of this ‘Farage, hero or monster?’ Slapstick.
This is what is going on outside the internet, from the NSPCC :
Some of the harm caused by nasty right wing people
Check it out here »
On 30 May 2019 at 4:36pm Green Sleeves wrote:
Some people genuinely think there are no wider consequences for shooting your mouth off with ignorant, mostly unsubstantiated comments about minorities, immigrants etc. They just don't get the wider implications for whipping up fear through generalisations, lazy and ignorant stereotypes. It fuels the more dangerous racists in this country and emboldens them to act out. The far right are doing the same in the US as Trump is appealing to white supremacists, just as Farage is over here. It also makes some people feel afraid, unwanted and unwelcome in what maybe their own home, as with the case in the link above. It's just totally irresponsible.
On 30 May 2019 at 5:12pm Basil wrote:
Farage is a one trick pony, though very effective at that trick. A lot of us voted Leave despite Farage, not because of him. I'm sure Remainers wouldn't like to hear they only voted Remain because they are creatures of the austerity triplets Cameron, Osborne and Clegg, the City and the banks - all of whom told us to vote Remain in 2016.
On 30 May 2019 at 5:43pm Hello wrote:
ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. Here he goes again. Our resident Rick ( yes Rick ) up on his soapbox adding tones of the religious nuts who occasionally spout on Cliffe Bridge. What magnificent lunacy.
On 30 May 2019 at 6:15pm Green Sleeves wrote:
@basil - well no, I never claimed Brexiters only voted for Brexit because of Farage or all were his adoring fans, although it could be argued that he was influential enough to make the whole referendum occur in the first place through usual disingenuous and ugly tactics (moaning about migration as per usual, bleating on about a non-existent EU SUPER ARMY and lies and rabble rousing about Turkeys EU prospective membership), so I do hold him partly responsible....as well as incompetent remainers such as Cameron who thought it would be a good idea in the first place!
On 30 May 2019 at 7:04pm Hello wrote:
ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. Brilliant. May have got Greenie all wrong. I'm starting to think he/she's the most brilliant parody account I've ever seen. Wonderful humour. If Harry Enfield were doing another show he'd love to use the character.
On 31 May 2019 at 10:30am Basil wrote:
Green Sleeves - you seem to have moved on a bit. Now you're admitting you believe it is wrong for people to have a say in whether the UK is part of the EU project. Tell me, do you also think it's wrong that the Scots should have a say in whether they're part of the UK? It's fascinating that you think there is something wrong about democracy. Though I bet you would feel different if Remain had won in 2016. As Hello says, you're a parody.
On 31 May 2019 at 11:20am Green Sleeves wrote:
I generally think referendums on complex issues like membership of the EU to be a bad idea (it was always going to cause deep divisions in the country that no elected parliamentary results could ever replicate), and trying to implement the result based on a very narrow majority is unwise and actually undemocratic given that many leavers are advocating totally ignoring the 16.5m remain voters and the many more millions who either didn't or couldn't vote (including EU nationals), as well as the millions of leave voters who quite likely wanted a soft departure from the EU but with still close ties such as how Norway operate (a model that Nigel Farage broadly supported pre referendum). However, we are where we are (because of the Tories nationalist obsessions) and at an impasse because EU membership as it stands makes economic sense but too many people believe Daily Mail and Express distortions about the EU and idiotically/blindly nationalist, no deal is not favoured by our elected officials or anyone remotely wise or pragmatic and a compromise or halfway house deal makes little sense either as we still are tied to the EU, satisfying no one.
Calling me a parody doesn't diminish my opinions and views. I will never take anonymous alt-right bozos views on me seriously as they'll always be on the wrong side of history. It's perturbing to see the brexit party polling second in a recent yougov poll about a new general election, but promising to note that the remain party of lib Dems top, suggesting our next parliament (based on these recent polls) could well be a coalition of lib Dems, labour and SNP. A progressive coalition is encouraging and totally possible at this stage. Once a Tory leader is elected, they will surely call a GE, whether they brexit or not....we need a new progressive and liberal coalition government to repair the damage since 2010. That also might involve renegotiating our way back into EU membership over time as well if necessary. In the end, people learn from mistakes and bad ideas.
On 31 May 2019 at 1:36pm Hello wrote:
Comedy genius from Greenie. My hat is well and truly off and cap doffed. Was it Harry Enfield who had the DJ characters who said "chariridy"? Soon as Greenie pops up I say to myself - "parody" - at the latest display of self obsession and spin.
On 1 Jun 2019 at 10:41pm Tom Pain wrote:
I'd like to see a progressive government in this country but what I think is progressive and what other people do is unknown. It's like " hope and change" which, in the case of the Obama administration over the pond, just meant more bombs for business. My idea of progress would include a financial system that isn't just a means of making the people who manufacture money even richer. It's the reason why there is so much pointless manufacture which causes unnecessary pollution -- to pay the interest on the loans necessary to manufacture anything. Why after the 2008 crash did bankers get their bonuses? Because they had done a good job! The economy has become the opponent of trade. It's utterly ridiculous and until that's sorted out any meaningful progress is impossible.
On 1 Jun 2019 at 10:56pm Basil wrote:
Green Sleeves - the 2016 referendum didn't 'cause' divisions, it enabled them to be expressed. Politics, you see, is about making choices, not about pretending we all agree. That's what you get in one party states. You, of course, would love us to have been forced to Remain in the EU, with its ambitions to become a Euro-superstate, without any real political objection being allowed. We had the opportunity to express our view and - what a shock it must have been to you, the City and the banks - we said No thanks.
On 2 Jun 2019 at 11:27am Green Sleeves wrote:
@basil, it brought out and DID create huge divisions that have made this country worse off than pre referendum in every measurable way. A decision of this magnitude and complexity was always going to cause a problem in our society through a simplistic binary public vote, and with our government/parliament (who have no overall desire for economic self-harm), no matter what the outcome was (Farage was already talking about another ref when he assumed Remain had won on June 23rd 2016). 40+ years of EU membership needs to be taken far more seriously than a comical and farcical referendum campaign that included one leave campaign break the law and spread lies. The vote wasn't binding, and had it been, would have been made void due to the criminal actions of that campaign. Yet we should proceed with honouring the vote because it WASN'T legally binding? That makes no sense but hey "we won, so get over it", regardless of consequences and electoral fraud and manipulation.
The main problem was the way the EU membership has been allowed to be portrayed (by many parts of the media, who thrive on chaos and division) as something far more sinister than it could ever manage to become even down the line (given the actual democratic way the EU is set up, despite what brexiters would like to think, and gives every country a veto on significant issues). So when people like you make totally unsubstantiated claims of some malignant dark forces behind the EU that wishes to become some "super-state" with some "super-army", or Farages ludicrous claims that frankly are insulting to Turkey and its citizens (as well as being wholly inaccurate and designed to prey on fears about muslims/brown skinned people) or about how little control of our money, borders and laws are.....of course there will be credulous nationalists who think the worst and believe that rubbish, because the EU is not British, they are outsiders, and are easy to blame. The claims about "taking back control" now seem even more daft than they did back then.....0.8% of our GDP goes towards membership, a lot of which we gain back in rebates and re-investment, as well as reciprocal agreements in place and trade. Our borders and immigration policy was never the issue from the EU, it was the appetite of successive UK governments who NEEDED a mixture of skilled and unskilled labour to help the economy continue to thrive, and as for laws....beyond the silly bendy banana jokes, not even leading brexiters such as Tim Martin could name any EU laws that they would love to revoke and change. Its just petty small-minded nationalism, mixed with xenophobia that has led to so many misconceptions about the EU. Its NOT the Soviet Union, and its shocking how the far-right are dreaming this nonsense up and others seemingly more "moderate" are lapping it up with them.
On 2 Jun 2019 at 12:09pm Hello wrote:
More comedy from Greenie as we plough through another chapter. Does he advise cut out and keep so we can collect the entire novel. Too laborious and long winded for a stand up routine so I hope to see it as a BBC2 sit com. Wonder if he wears a uniform while writing.
On 2 Jun 2019 at 5:37pm Green Sleeves wrote:
The main source material of political comedy comes from the right and far right. Lets look at just what we have today.....
So the far right gives us the comedy gift that keeps on giving in Anne Widdecombe. An antiquated political figure from a bygone era, who both historically and recently (and double-downed on it) spouts some of the most vile homophobic nonsense possible and on a major platform.....comes back from the dead and now represents the south west in the EU. If it weren't so serious, it would be hysterical. I guess its acceptable to only be verbally hostile to gays if you're super-old and out of touch, and merely want them to understand they are sinning and should try harder to give heterosexuality a chance. 
Trump, regularly interferes with UK politics around Brexit, displaying unbelievable hypocrisy or serious memory issues, given how in 2016 he heavily criticised Barack Obama for doing a similar thing. Unfortunately, he is on the side of the hard-brexiters (quel surprise), and his advice should be taken with a hazardous warning label, given he has bankrupt casinos, and squandered his daddys wealth and standing, only salvaged by the fact he has made it as a professional troll and indebted to domestic and international gangsters. His negotiation skills are right up there with David Davis, although at least Davis didn't have to suck up to someone as odious as Kim Jong Un to get literally nowhere.
And then finally on to the Conservative Party......who's 125k membership now has the opportunity to select the next prime minister of the UK (a population of 65m+). The Conservative membership who are 71 per cent male, 97 per cent white and 44 per cent aged over 65, truly represent this country...................................
On 2 Jun 2019 at 5:54pm Hello wrote:
Fascinating humour angle that Greenie. I get it. You're using this thread to present the far left version of Mein Kampf.
On 2 Jun 2019 at 6:13pm Green Sleeves wrote:
@hello/trollio - your post is part of the reason why Right-Wing comedy never broadly works.
On 2 Jun 2019 at 6:16pm Hello wrote:
Greenie - your pseudo far left wing character is brilliant. Have you ever considered a tie up with Harry Enfield?
On 2 Jun 2019 at 6:28pm Green Sleeves wrote:
This is what happens when you give trolls a morsel, they take tedious and predictable liberties.
On 2 Jun 2019 at 7:44pm Hello wrote:
What I admire about you Greenie is that you stay in character. I've shown this thread (on my phone) to the chaps down the pub and it's given us all a good laugh and we thank you for that. Please settle a dispute for us. The builders reckon you've modelled yourself as a far left Alf Garnett while the plumbers think it's that funny little chap in wellington boots in Freddie Starr's routine. Which one is it or neither?
On 2 Jun 2019 at 11:09pm Tom Pain wrote:
I share your concern for Muslims and brown skinned people,greens,but can't understand your support for the EU which has been bombing them senseless for nearly 20 years along with the USA. The EU army even has bases in the UK just waiting to be operational which you could find out about if you'd take your head out of the sand.
On 3 Jun 2019 at 8:01am Green Sleeves wrote:
@tom, that would be NATO. Plus I seem to recall most of the international community, including most EU member states, were opposed to military intervention in Iraq, which didn't stop the US and the UK from invading illegally.
The French are certainly more hawkish in the middle East in the past decade though, but I doubt that has little to do with the EU.
And by all means provide a source and link for your claims. It won't hurt and I'd take a read, unless it's in the dark web along with a lot of right wing fake propaganda for tin foil hat wearers.
On 3 Jun 2019 at 8:52am Hello wrote:
Please settle our dispute Greenie there's money riding on it (you know how us common working men like a flutter). Own up. Are you a far left Alf Garnett or the funny little chap in wellington with a small moustache?
On 4 Jun 2019 at 8:02pm Tom Pain wrote:
First of all,thanks for your concern over my headwear. I tend to prefer a tweed cap and a straw Panama in the summer and when perusing the darkweb- a miner's helmet. I'll leave the tinsel and tinfoil to you giddy teens, g.s. As for the EU army, how about Merkel and Macron's statements in favour of it? Politicians don't mention things unless they're sure of getting them for fear of ridicule. How about PESCO, the joint notification on the permanent structured cooperation- there's the blueprint signed on 13 November 2017? The common market never mentioned it's intention of becoming the EU. Don't forget Royal Institute of International Affairs ( who drafted the EU constitution) member Arnold Toynbee's statement- " all the time we are denying with our lips what we are doing with our hands".
On 6 Jun 2019 at 9:53am Green Sleeves wrote:
You're being overly hysterical, like many brexiters, about the prospect of this "EU Army", and virtually everything else related to them (its the same old debunked fears, repeated over and over again, like a Daily Mail/Express right-wing talking points list). You think it will be any different to NATO? You think it will even happen given that Merkel is stepping down in a couple of years, and every EU Member state would have to approve such a move. It seems like fear-mongering to me....just like it was from the Leave campaigns about Turkey joining the EU and suddenly flooding the UK with 70m people.
What worries you anyway about an EU Army should your deepest fears be realised? I get that its at least remotely feasible, but what is the issue with a colloboration on defence that we currently already have through NATO? What would be the difference, and wouldn't consolidating the huge expenses of military budgets be potentially a positive thing, especially given the countries are long-respected allies and friends. Put me in the mind of a paranoid brexiter who fears anything that isn't BRITISH.
On 7 Jun 2019 at 4:23pm Hello wrote:
aaaahahahahahahahahahahaha. You're cracking me up Greenie - you do this character so well I almost believe you're real. When's the book released or is this cut out and keep?