Danwichmann

Scary, isn't it?

Can you still have someone vote in proxy?

Could have been worse. Imagine getting the job and having to work with the cretin. *shudder*

Gove is an idiot of the highest order. He's completely poisoned the relationship between teachersand government and done damage to the profession that will take years to repair. He's narrowed the curriculum and reduced everything to the most irrelevant type of testable knowledge. I will say this for him however, he is consistent. He didn't listen to experts then, and he still won't listen to anyone who has a clue.

I don't have much respect for politians either, but the thought of this referendum being decided by people who have made their minds up based purely on sensationalist headlines and social media posts, frankly it's terrifying. It's true that people vote in general elections equally uninformed, but at least we can change government every 5 years, and there will always be an opposition to somewhat mitigate the ruling party. In the case of an out vote, the effect will be irreversible, and far more serious than any single genera election.

You're quite right that the UK has a very flawed democracy. No democracy is perfect, but I find the 'EU is undemocratic' argument coming from people who are happy with the monarchy, house of lords, FPTP and safe seats more than a touch hypocritical. The British public are woefully ill informed about what the EU is and what is does. The EU has massive cross party support, both in commons and lords. This is not a decision that should ever have been left to the public.

This is the same for most of Europe, they can use a government issued national identity card. As a visa isn't needed, a passport would only to confirm the identity and citizenship of the holder, and the ID card serves the same purpose. People from the UK need a passport to travel to Europe only because we don't have national identity cards.

I'm sure we all have questions we would like politicians to answer, and I think the ones you have mentioned are very valid ones. But have the leave side really got a plan for how to minimise the impact of losing CAP subsidies, for example? These are questions that need to be answered by domestic politicians, not the EU, whether we are in or out. I'm not sure they would influence many voters, and probably shouldn't.

Schengen is a little more than passport-free travel, it is the complete removal of border controls. As I'm sure you're aware, this means anyone in, for instance, France right now can move into Germany, Spain etc without passing through a border control. This applies whether they are an EU citizen or not, criminal or not, carrying illegal goods or not. Countries within the Schengen Area have given up control of their internal borders (although it must be recognised that they have strengthened their external borders). The UK has control of its borders, as you must pass through passport control to enter. There, non-EU citizens can be identified, we can know who is in and out of the country, and security checks on goods / luggage are carried out. That is control of the border. We have given up control over the number of people from the EU who can enter the country, but that is not the same as giving up control of our borders.

All the non-EU countries that are part of the EFTA not only have to accept freedom of movement but have also had to become part of the Schengen Area. If that were extended to a post-Brexit Britain, then we would genuinely lose control of borders. At the moment, despite what the newspapers love to tell us, we have full control of our borders. Sadly, the press, and therefore most of the country, fail to grasp that free movement of workers and the Schengen Area are two completely different things.

SME's are too diverse to say it's universally good or bad. For the many that export, import or do business in Europe, full access to the single market and the alignment of product standards and removal of non-tariff barriers is hugely beneficial. There is also a wider pool of potential employees and access to the skills and workforce needed for business. The negative side for most would probably be workers rights such as maximum working weeks. For me, that is much needed protection for employees, but doubtless many employers would like to get rid of it.

If we can move them on we should, even it means paying them up. But if they are still here next season, then they get another chance from me. It would be the best thing for Villa at that point, as much as I wouldn't like it. However, may patience with those players would be short should they continue where they left off last season.

Fair point, every now and the the player left out actually is the answer. But in Villa's case, they are mostly all just different shades of shite.

It's only 4 But yes, players who don't play always emerge as 'the answer' at some point or another.

I've no idea what he does is training, but my point is that he has to be willing to give everything whatever he is asked to do, whether starting, training or on the bench. Lescott and Bacuna are clearly absolute shite, but that's neither here nor there. He's employed by Aston Villa, and if the manager tells him he;s on the bench, then he sits on the bench. It doesn't matter if the manager has only 3 brain cells (two of which are on the blink) and the Chuckle Brothers are playing in central defence with their legs tied together.

Refusing to sit on the bench is not my definition of 100% It's not enough to give 100% on match day if you coast through training and think you're too big to do your bit for the team off the pitch as well as on it.

Such terrible things as campaigning to have refugees treated like humans and wanting to remain part of the EU. She spent years working for Oxfam and other charities before becoming an MP. Of course in the aftermath of tragedies like these, only good things are ever written about the victim, but from what I've read this afternoon it would seem she was one of the few 'good ones'. A truly shocking murder and absolutely tragic for her family.

Many said the same about #outthedoor74 etc. We have a new owner now. The actions of people do cause change. I would go so far as to argue that only the actions of people can cause change, and we absolutely should try.

Yes, some truth in that. Many Nepali's who work in Qatar are able to comeback and build houses (although I'm yet to see anyone build a mansion), the price of that is being away from their families and children for, typically, 3 to 5 years at a time, with no opportunity to come back under any circumstances (including post-earthquake). I doubt whether they truly have a higher quality of life for the most part, being away from families and working long hours, with little disposable income. While life at home is often difficult as well, many people manage to live a simple but reasonably happy existence. Those coming from Nepal often don't know what they are getting into. The employment agencies are unscrupulous and exploitative on the Nepali side, and newspapers don't carry lots of investigative reporting (for those able to read them), so the working conditions and having passports confiscated does come as a shock to many. Most Nepali's have to work 12 months just to pay off the agency fees. No doubt it goes for a lot of other countries (and there are about a quarter of a million people in slavery in Nepal itself), I picked on Qatar because the I was making the point about human rights vs football, so it was relevant.

That's a very fair point, and as far as possible I try to give my business to companies I believe are ethical (or at least take my business from companies that I have reason to believe are not ethical), although there isn't always the transparency to make informed decisions.

I'm married to a Nepali girl, a have a number of relatives working in Qatar on World Cup stadiums and other construction projects. I have no doubt what so ever that the working conditions are a huge violation of human rights for these unskilled labourers, and the kafala system is nothing short of modern day slavery for many workers. And that is nothing to do with the media.

I really hope we're not owned by the Chinese government in any way, shape or form. I put human rights before football, which I why I won't be watching the World Cup in Qatar. I'd hate to have to stop watching Villa for the same reason.

It would be irrelevant if he'd shown a significantly better attitude / work ethic since then, but there have continued to be incidents and he doesn't appear to have changed, so it remains relevant.

What merit can you possibly see in keeping Lescott? A higher standard of cars at the training ground raising the profile of the club? Or to make our other players look faster?

If he has I missed it (which is entirely possible), and I'm not sure I'd believe him as Black certainly said he'd refused. Neither our players nor Black have that much credibility to make either easily believed.