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The Future of Europe


maqroll

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I have the good fortune (IMO) to have worked all over the world with a very high % of it in and / or with European colleagues. My work week involves dealing with people from Europe on a daily basis and I always find it interesting to understand a bit more of the culture of each of the areas - note use Germany as an example where you cannot say that all of it acts in the same way hence the reference to area rather than the artificial borders that are countries.

 

Religion pays a big part for example when I am dealing with customers and colleagues in the US, especially the south. In Israel, religion is obviously a key part of that state and you have to understand this. Italy has this catholic stance for obvious reasons. Russian customers and colleagues have a totally different way of working (this in Moscow certainly).

 

The point is we concentrate far too much on grouping people into categories without understanding the circumstances that motivate their lives and the areas they live in

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http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/dcp171778_361188.pdf

 

4000 less Romanians and Bulgarians working in the UK since employment restrictions were ended. 

 

 

Wouldn't the staple bigoted response to that be that they're on the ponce rather than working?

 

That's something I find confusing about this immigration thing.  They're either taking all our jobs or hijacking our benefit system.  Surely they can't be doing both?

 

 

I'm sure that would be the normal response, but then they've had the right to live here for years, it's only the employment restrictions that ended on Jan 1st. And I'm pretty sure there are still significant restrictions on what they can claim in terms of state benefits (although I don't have a reliable source for that!) 

 

Edit: a quick look at the ONS stats shows employment rates for Bulgarians and Romanians went up since employment restrictions were ended. To me that suggests that those that have stayed here are here working (and paying tax, contributing to the economy etc) and those that couldn't find work have left. There may be other explanations but that would seem the obvious answer to me. 

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Agree with Ingram that it's extremism and terrorism that are the enemy, regardless of how they're excused by the perpetrators.

 

Islam is just the threat du jour.  As recently as 1996 Irish Christians did this to Manchester city centre -

 

BBC_picture_Arndale_centre_after_1996_bo

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I think it has everything to do with immigration here, but obviously the EU provides the gateway to the biggest influx. The Sun and the Heil have been harping on about the Bulgarians and Romanians for a long time now and the masses take it all in and get into a needless frenzy. They think these people are coming to destroy the country and claim free mansions.

When in fact there are less Bulgarians and Romanians in the country now than there were before the "floodgates opened".
Please provide an accurate source that backs up this claim.

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/dcp171778_361188.pdf

4000 less Romanians and Bulgarians working in the UK since employment restrictions were ended.

Cant find the part where it mentions the reductions in Romanians and Bulgarians, although I only skimmed through it, but I did read an increase of 178,000 non uk citizens entering the UK which is a staggering amount.

 

 

It's on page 54. Shows 144k Romanians and Bulgarians working in the UK from Oct-Dec 2013 (working restrictions still in place) and 140k from Jan-Mar 2014. 

 

178k really isn't a very large number over the course of a whole year, certainly not "staggering". 

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Agree with Ingram that it's extremism and terrorism that are the enemy, regardless of how they're excused by the perpetrators.

Islam is just the threat du jour. As recently as 1996 Irish Christians did this to Manchester city centre -

BBC_picture_Arndale_centre_after_1996_bo

That's very nice of the Irish to decorate Manchester and make it look a bit more attractive.

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I grew up with Muslims living next door to us. Nice people, no problems at all. The father was never around, just the mum and the two sons, one of whom later in life became schizophrenic, a big giant of a guy, too.

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I have the good fortune (IMO) to have worked all over the world with a very high % of it in and / or with European colleagues. My work week involves dealing with people from Europe on a daily basis and I always find it interesting to understand a bit more of the culture of each of the areas - note use Germany as an example where you cannot say that all of it acts in the same way hence the reference to area rather than the artificial borders that are countries.

 

Religion pays a big part for example when I am dealing with customers and colleagues in the US, especially the south. In Israel, religion is obviously a key part of that state and you have to understand this. Italy has this catholic stance for obvious reasons. Russian customers and colleagues have a totally different way of working (this in Moscow certainly).

 

The point is we concentrate far too much on grouping people into categories without understanding the circumstances that motivate their lives and the areas they live in

That pretty much describes my working life and view so, as is the case from time to time, we are in agreement.

Except that you appear to be a headlong into an EU federal state type of guy, and I am pro-EEC but anti-EU.

One of my best life friendships (with a Frenchman) has its roots in a strong debate, which became semi-public, about EU expansionism that long pre-dated UKIP and Mr Farage coming into the public eye.

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  • 4 months later...
  • 1 month later...

About 15,000 people have taken part in a march against "Islamisation of the West" in the east German city of Dresden.

Click

Interesting article

wonder what colour symbol the Germans will make the " enemy " wear this time around

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  • 10 months later...

Portugal has entered dangerous political waters. For the first time since the creation of Europe’s monetary union, a member state has taken the explicit step of forbidding eurosceptic parties from taking office on the grounds of national interest.

Anibal Cavaco Silva, Portugal’s constitutional president, has refused to appoint a Left-wing coalition government even though it secured an absolute majority in the Portuguese parliament and won a mandate to smash the austerity regime bequeathed by the EU-IMF Troika.

He deemed it too risky to let the Left Bloc or the Communists come close to power, insisting that conservatives should soldier on as a minority in order to satisfy Brussels and appease foreign financial markets.

Telegraph

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Blimey!. That's not going to end well.

And on top of that the Poles have just elected a Euroscepticalist gov't haven't they?

So. it's all not going to end well.

In British terms they would be the eurosceptic wing of the Tory Party. Though it staggers me that anyone in Poland is eurosceptic

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