shurlock

Not sure what point this is trying to make.

So why are you criticising BBC News Pidgin? It’s part of the World Service, part of the UK’s soft power and cultural diplomacy. All the noises from No.10 are that more money and effort should be going into initiatives like this, especially as the UK is pushing for deeper ties with Africa post-Brexit. The BBC has 40 language services, unmatched among news organisations around the world, providing independent news and analysis in many countries with weak governance - I think that’s a reason to celebrate the BBC, not denigrate it. It’s something that would never survive on a purely commercial basis - hence why we have a licence fee to protective distinctive programming while acknowledging that the BBC would get slaughtered by the government and media if it simply prioritised distinctiveness over audience numbers and reach.

If the UK doesn’t secure frictionless trade and passporting (now renamed permanent equivalence) and all the other things that Brexiters claimed were perfectly feasible, the UK will have failed in its negotiations. Time to deliver instead of climbing down pal.

Edit

See it kicked off in Germany overnight.

Thicker by the day. By bespoke, Barnier simply meant that the UK wouldn’t be able to cherrypick the best bits of EU and that the more redlines the UK insisted on, the less market access that it would enjoy. That’s all the PowerPoint ever meant - that the UK’s redlines, as envisioned by the Lancaster House speech, pushed it towards a basic FTA - examples including (but not limited to) Canada and South Korea. Basic FTAs that focus on tariff and quota elimination will have certain shared features but that doesn’t mean that each one will literally be the same (a MLG-type nonsequitur). Of course, at the time, you completely rubbished Barnier’s ppt and the suggestion that there was a trade-off between market access and sovereignty. After all, the UK’s alleged upper hand meant it could have its proverbial cake and eat it - that fighting talk looks idiotic, embarrassing and delusional by the day as now recognised by members of the government. Don’t say we didn’t warn you. Let’s be clear, from 2017 onwards, Barnier made it clear that the size and proximity of the UK meant it would not be treated like Canada. That’s been repeated at various stages, including the Political Declaration last October which the government signed up to -along with various level playing field conditions. The PD is not legally binding (unlike the NI Protocol which incidentally has some nasty little surprises on state aid not just for NI but the entire UK that may come back to haunt you https://www.ft.com/content/c606c934-4a72-11ea-95a0-43d18ec715f5). Still it has more authority than the disingenuous whining from No. 10 which you’ve bought quicker than a Laura Kuennsberg fake news tweet See Peter Foster of the Daily Telegraph who has tweeted on the subject and demolished your little case. Let’s also be clear that the UK isn’t even asking for a Canada FTA. It wants market access that is much more extensive, including tariff-free, quota-free trade on all products — even for sensitive parts of the agriculture sector such as beef and dairy. By definition the EU will demand more concessions for that additional access. Regarding your final point, all Johnson has done by pretending the political declaration doesn’t exist and downplaying the commitments in the NI protocol (no checks in the Irish Sea) is signal to the EU that the UK cannot be trusted, leading it to believe it needs to take a more hardline position (I expect it to soften, though not massively). Along with the refusal to extend the transition under any circumstance, the UK has reduced its room for manœuvre and made a suboptimal outcome for all more (the EU included) likely even before negotiations have started. Ultimately it’s all moot. It’s a negotiation and each side can demand what it likes as it perceives its own interests. If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen little fella.

He’s an absolute mess. But who knows - now that we’re threatening to go WTO (and really we mean it), I’m sure the EU will cave and give UK the frictionless trade and the cake that the Brexiters promised.

Deliberately sidestepping the point I see. But hey climbdowns are painful things.

So you’ve moved on from having your cake and eating it - preserving a similar trading relationship with the EU without being part of it and the obligations of membership? What happened Les? The German carmakers got lost on their way to Merkel’s office?

Yes, I’ll drive up there and bring him back myself.

Take a class in 101 economics and educate yourself on market failures such as externalities.

Like when Les and fellow swivels were obsessed with Canada +++? Whatever happened to +++?

I was led to believe that the Barnier PowerPoint was a load of ****. We’re the UK, we hold all the cards, we have German carmakers and Italian Prosecco producers on our side, we’ll get a bespoke deal, we’ll get a better deal than the Canadians while giving up less. Where’s all the fighting talk gone lads? #climbdown

I’m still waiting for frictionless trade, a similar trading relationship outside the EU as inside it, permanent equivalence and all those wonderful things we were promised. Canada just seems like a massive anticlimax.

Les are you a fan of eugenics?

Cant speak for DJs specifically but for many high profile on- and off-air roles, salaries in the public sector broadcasting (PSB) arm of the BBC are significantly discounted against the commercial sector.

Only four weeks? Obviously the government hasn’t seen the incredible expertise on these threads - embodied by Baldrick, Les and John; otherwise it would have done a proper public consultation. Or maybe not

I see Les is still angry (the emojis are also back). It goes without saying he’s talking complete gibberish regarding the relative difficulties of convergence vs. divergence. Still he is trying his best as he embarrassingly attempts to climb down from 3.5 years of cretinous claims and delusional fantasies that we could have our cake and eat it and enjoy similar trading relations outside the EU as inside it. Now we’ll be lucky to get a Canada-style deal with all its frictions and economic costs on the same terms as little Canada. Oh dear Les and fellow swivels. Emoji. Emoji. Emoji.

The atmosphere at Palace a few weeks ago was dire - as bad as any PL ground. Which is to say it’s easy yet lazy to hold up saints fans to standards that very grounds in the PL meet. In that respect, I agree with you. I’ve been to Sunderland loads of times - nobody would say their fanbase is s**t or entitled but the atmosphere there in the last few seasons they were in PL is very similar to SMS: nervous, impatient, reactive, resigned (pick your adjective) mirroring the woeful performances on the pitch and lack of direction off it. It’s hard to avoid the conclusion that most fanbases -regardless of demographics- won’t react in a similar way. As for Saturday, lunchtime games are notoriously subdued, even before accounting for the weather.

Didn’t see anything specifically about us (though may have missed it). Just something about The Sun, Caroline Flack and social media trolls.

Glasgow been trolling Caroline Flack too?

No need to try so hard pal. You can be yourself here.

Who’s your favourite member of the Village People?

Agreed