I did see on twitter today an extract from a Times article that reported that the American's were giving us an "America first" deal that would not include agriculture meaning that in addition to your post, we'd also have to drop EU Food Safety standards to accept sub-par hormone and chlorine filled American trash

Open Skies between the UK and US would be greatly inferior to the deal currently in place between the US and EU, which will raise prices on transatlantic flights.

 

All logic and rational thinking has long since departed the building. Ideology is seriously damaging this country

Our 'free press' is a joke.

 

Daily Mail, SUn, etc, are NOT newspapers. They are propaganda rags. The MCCarthy-era communist mud slinging recently, all to prop up a failing Tory government and stop Levinson 2, is absolute vile. The fact the Tory boy MPs get in on it, as they're all in it together, just fosters this image of a fake democracy. With a rpess full of government, right-wing propaganda sheets, it becomes less and less a democracy.

You couldn't make it up (post-referendum version) part 196,037

 

Remember the Act passed under Cameron which said there had to be a referendum to ratify any legislation changing our relationship with the EU? Turns out lawyers are advising that this may apply to the EU (Withdrawal) Bill. So, just in case, the government are trying to sneak through repeal of the Act. However, to add to the fun, it could be argued that repeal of the Act would itself require a referendum.

 

Anyone still think this government has a clue what it is doing?

 

I think that the lawyers are just looking to get as many billable hours as possible...

 

One of the UKIP MEPs was on twitter today bemoaning the EU standing up to Trumps trade war nonsense by complaining about the number of tariffs the EU has. Oblivious to the fact that nearly every country in the world shares the same set of tariff codes. It literally underpins world trade. I’m not saying there should be an IQ test to be an elected official, but if there was not a single UKIPer would pass

 

Very droll.

 

Fortunately politicians need to represent, and *be representative of*, all their voters, not just the ones with above average IQ...

 

 

I did see on twitter today an extract from a Times article that reported that the American's were giving us an "America first" deal that would not include agriculture meaning that in addition to your post, we'd also have to drop EU Food Safety standards to accept sub-par hormone and chlorine filled American trash

 

You make it sound like they are all dropping dead of eating their own food... :lol:

 

Our 'free press' is a joke.

 

Daily Mail, SUn, etc, are NOT newspapers. They are propaganda rags. The MCCarthy-era communist mud slinging recently, all to prop up a failing Tory government and stop Levinson 2, is absolute vile. The fact the Tory boy MPs get in on it, as they're all in it together, just fosters this image of a fake democracy. With a rpess full of government, right-wing propaganda sheets, it becomes less and less a democracy.

 

What's the alternative - have Corbyn vet everything the media prints? :rolleyes:

 

Seriously though, it is crucial for the media to encompass a wide range of political stances, otherwise it really would degenerate into the sort of one=party propaganda you mistakenly claim we now have.

Edited March 7, 20187 yr by vidcapper

They are. America has the highest rates of obesity and antibiotic resistance in the western world. Their food is terrible for you.

I think that the lawyers are just looking to get as many billable hours as possible...

Very droll.

 

Fortunately politicians need to represent, and *be representative of*, all their voters, not just the ones with above average IQ...

You make it sound like they are all dropping dead of eating their own food... :lol:

What's the alternative - have Corbyn vet everything the media prints? :rolleyes:

 

Seriously though, it is crucial for the media to encompass a wide range of political stances, otherwise it really would degenerate into the sort of one=party propaganda you mistakenly claim we now have.

 

We have that now.

 

There are few left wing papers, and those publish a WIDE RANGE OF VIEWS. The tabloids and Sky News/ BBC just follow a POLITICAL NARRATIVE AND BIAS. The tabloids especially are just mouthpieces for a handful of oligarchs.

 

That is not freedom of the press. It isn't news. It is propaganda. Time we treated it as such.

 

Also, American food is WOEFUL.

 

 

They are. America has the highest rates of obesity and antibiotic resistance in the western world. Their food is terrible for you.

 

Obesity is related more to the *amount* you eat, rather than the quality.

Number of CALORIES, not amount of food*

 

Also, American food is dangerously processed and unhealthy. EU food is the opposite. Which to choose, which to choose... Mediterranean diet, or chlorinated chicken. Crappy copy of Open Skies with a weak country, or a far better agreement with a super economic block. Decisions, decisions.

We have that now.

 

There are few left wing papers, and those publish a WIDE RANGE OF VIEWS. The tabloids and Sky News/ BBC just follow a POLITICAL NARRATIVE AND BIAS. The tabloids especially are just mouthpieces for a handful of oligarchs.

 

That is not freedom of the press. It isn't news. It is propaganda. Time we treated it as such.

 

I point you to this article : https://yougov.co.uk/news/2017/03/07/how-le...uks-newspapers/

 

Yes, there may be more papers that are perceived as being right-leaning, but you can't pretend there are *none* seen as left-leaning.

 

As for *treating 'propaganda'*, I have great trepidation as to what you have in mind to do so? Hard to imagine any way of doing so that wouldn't impact on the freedom of the press...

You are talking about PERCEPTION

 

Perception does NOT supersede reality

 

End

 

There are VERY simple ways to curb press propaganda. We have discussed them before. What we have right now is not press. It is propaganda. Press freedom does not apply.

You are talking about PERCEPTION

 

Perception does NOT supersede reality

 

End

 

But everyone's perception is different - IMO your starting point is very left wing, so then even what others would call 'centre-left' *feels* right-wing to you.

 

There are VERY simple ways to curb press propaganda. We have discussed them before.

Banning foreign newspaper ownership, you mean? Even if that happened, it wouldn't prevent new British owners from having the same right-wing editorial stance.

 

What we have right now is not press. It is propaganda. Press freedom does not apply.

 

What we have is market forces - if people wanted more left-leaning newspapers, they would buy them.

Edited March 7, 20187 yr by vidcapper

Another day, another sign of mind-boggling incompetence by this dreadful shower that calls itself a government. And, in a development even less surprising than Tuesday being followed immediately by Wednesday, it's our old friend Davey Davy again.

 

Yesterday he faced another session in front of the Commons committee overseeing this whole nonsense. He was asked about areas of disagreement with the EU in the negotiations and answered that there were so many that he couldn't remember them all. He then said that the number, far from being several hundred as that remark might have suggested, was actually about eleven.

 

Call me naive, but shouldn't remembering things like that be part of his job, particularly in situations where he is bound to be asked about it? Even if he is so stupid that he can't remember them, couldn't he have brought a list of them to the meeting? Still, this is the man who turned up tho the first negotiations without a single note. Perhaps he can't read.

But everyone's perception is different - IMO your starting point is very left wing, so then even what others would call 'centre-left' *feels* right-wing to you.

 

Banning foreign newspaper ownership, you mean? Even if that happened, it wouldn't prevent new British owners from having the same right-wing editorial stance.

What we have is market forces - if people wanted more left-leaning newspapers, they would buy them.

 

There really is no point in continuing this discussion if you won't acknowledge the overwhelming rightwing bias in the press. It would be like discussing Arsenal's poor form with someone who won't acknowledge that they have lost their last four matches.

Yes, there may be more papers that are perceived as being right-leaning, but you can't pretend there are *none* seen as left-leaning.

 

 

There really is no point in continuing this discussion if you won't acknowledge the overwhelming rightwing bias in the press.

 

I take it my above comment wasn't enough for you, then? :teresa:

 

Why do people almost always ask for clarification on anything I write?

 

Suffice to say, any right-wing bias in the media doesn't bother me as much as it does others here.

Edited March 7, 20187 yr by vidcapper

I take it my above comment wasn't enough for you, then? :teresa:

 

Why do people almost always ask for clarification on anything I write?

 

Suffice to say, any right-wing bias in the media doesn't bother me as much as it does others here.

Number of papers slavishly following the Tory line - 3 (excluding the Star and the Telegraph)

Ditto the Labour line - 1

Ditto the Lib Dem line - 0

 

Broadly supportive of the Tories but less slavish and/or hysterical - 3

Ditto the Labour line - 1

Ditto the Lib Dem line - 0

 

Largely unaligned - 1 (excluding the FT)

 

That's a reasonable summary of the daily market. Not exactly a broad spectrum of opinion is it?

 

Papers that slavishly follow one part line are, in general, a ban thing. It is even worse when that party is the party in power because it means that most of the press are doing nothing to hold the government to account. They also help to create an atmosphere where the broadcasters are afraid to ask ministers difficult questions (or insist on a proper answer if they do ask such a question).

A good example of the blindingly OBVIOUS bias is the proposed cap on energy bills and legislation forcing developers to stop 'land banking' (see below).

 

The Mail called the first 70s socialism (when proposed by Ed Miliband) and then a 'crackdown on energy rip-offs' (when proposed by Theresa May).

They called the second a 'Stalinist land grab' (when proposed by Ed Miliband) but now tackling the housing crisis (when proposed by Theresa May).

 

But you can see from the 2017 election survey how readers vote and therefore why the publications have this editorial stance- however the Mail does seem (along now with regrettably, The Telegraph) to take this too far and to a level of propaganda and fake news. I was always told it is good practice to buy one paper you disagree with so that you get a balance of challenging views and opinions but I'd never read either because quite frankly most of what is written is complete bollocks.

 

http://infographic.statista.com/normal/chartoftheday_9897_general_election_voting_by_newspaper_readership_n.jpg

Another day, another sign of mind-boggling incompetence by this dreadful shower that calls itself a government. And, in a development even less surprising than Tuesday being followed immediately by Wednesday, it's our old friend Davey Davy again.

 

Yesterday he faced another session in front of the Commons committee overseeing this whole nonsense. He was asked about areas of disagreement with the EU in the negotiations and answered that there were so many that he couldn't remember them all. He then said that the number, far from being several hundred as that remark might have suggested, was actually about eleven.

 

Call me naive, but shouldn't remembering things like that be part of his job, particularly in situations where he is bound to be asked about it? Even if he is so stupid that he can't remember them, couldn't he have brought a list of them to the meeting? Still, this is the man who turned up tho the first negotiations without a single note. Perhaps he can't read.

 

I have to say, I'm not remotely Davy Lamp can barely recall 11 things in his tiny brain at once. Either that or he is a habitual liar when faced with questions he doesn't like that will show him up to be a liar....

Interesting article in the Guardian :

 

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2...minority-ethnic

 

A worthy idea, but hardly a problem that can be fixed overnight. :thinking:

Just in case you thought Davey Davy's embarrassing performance in front of a Commons committee this week was a one-off, here's what happened in January.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/j...awkward-moments

 

Either the man is unbelievably thick or he has an utter contempt for parliament and the concept of accountability. The choice is yours.

I have to say, I'm not remotely Davy Lamp can barely recall 11 things in his tiny brain at once. Either that or he is a habitual liar when faced with questions he doesn't like that will show him up to be a liar....

I don't think that's a very good name for him.. Davy lamps can be quite bright.