Paying the price of Brexit?

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Francois Hollande amongst others have recently been saying that the “UK must pay price for Brexit”. Similar things were said before the Brexit vote and they puzzled me then and continue to puzzle me now. Mr Hollande has reportedly said that:
“There must be a threat, there must be a risk, there must be a price”
and also that:
“other countries or other parties will be minded to leave the European Union in order to have the supposed benefits and no downsides or rules”

Now if being part of the EU is an awesome deal then just leaving the EU, no matter what terms you negotiate could surely never be as good as being in the EU. On the other hand if a country can negotiate a better deal for itself by being out of the EU but with appropriate terms, and this is possible for a multitude of countries – then surely this tells us that the EU is not actually the optimal solution. If the majority of the people of Europe would be better off if their countries left the EU and negotiated different terms, then surely the EU needs to reform itself along the lines of whatever those terms might be to best serve the peoples of Europe. Surely after all the countries that would be better off on different terms have left, the remaining members of the EU will be in an even better position as they’ll be able to more easily optimize the terms of the EU for the good of their people.

Now if the above isn’t the case, and that the EU actually depends upon there being net winners and net losers, then it’s surely beholden on the governments of every country that is a net loser to leave the EU for the betterment of their own people. Which rather leads me to the conclusion that as the great and good of the EU are talking about making sure that the UK “pays the price” for leaving the EU that price the UK would be better off. This in turn suggests that the UK is in fact worse off by being in the EU.

There might be another explanation, but it seems to me that the only logical conclusion to be drawn from the EU needing to punish the UK for leaving to discourage others from leaving is that both the UK and other countries would be better off out and that it’s the EU that would suffer from a free association of trading countries.

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Vested interest in the NHS exploiting the developing world

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Bloody Money AcceptedIt’s good to see that the Junior Doctors have called off their strike for the time being, but it’s worth remembering that the shortage of doctors in this country is entirely artificially created and maintained by the doctors union the BMA. Why does the NHS depend upon poaching Doctors from other countries robbing them of skilled professionals that those countries need? The BMA. Why are there so few Junior doctors, such that they have to work unrealistically long hours endangering patients (except when they’re paid enough)? The BMA. Why can’t we just train more doctors? The BMA.

Being a Doctor in the UK requires you to join a closed shop where the numbers are limited, accreditation is by the BMA a trade union which negotiates pay, sets the regulations and controls the numbers of people allowed to do the work to ensure high wages and job security. This is of course exactly what a trade union should be doing, but as a country we shouldn’t be allowing our entire health service to be forced to dance to the tune of such blatant self interest. Why do we depend upon foreign doctors to ensure the health service can work? Because the BMA repeatedly votes to limit the number of medical students in the UK to ensure high wages and job security.
2008
“Delegates at the annual BMA conference voted by a narrow majority to restrict the number of places at medical schools to avoid “overproduction of doctors with limited career opportunities.” They also agreed on a complete ban on opening new medical schools.”
2016
“Recommendations to reduce the number of medical students could help alleviate the risk of unemployment among newly qualified doctors, the BMA has agreed.
A government-commissioned report advises a 2 per cent reduction in medical school intakes in England from next year, with the situation revisited in 2014 and reassessed every three years.”

So whilst we’re being told that the NHS is under staffed, under funded and utterly dependent upon us poaching doctors from other countries the BMA is working to reduce the number of people in the UK that can become doctors to ensure high wages and no competition. These are not the actions of people acting selflessly for the health and good of their community. This is blatant rent seeking and regulatory capture. In almost all other fields the destruction of the closed shop has lead to an improvement in standards and a reduction in costs – so no wonder the BMA are so dead set against it.

The myths spun by the BMA are so effective that when talking about the “privatisation of the NHS” the fact that every GP’s surgery is a private enterprise sub-contracted to the NHS is completely ignored. GP’s the part of the NHS that we interact with the most are privatised and always have been. If we want to nationalise the NHS perhaps we should start with the GPs and by abolishing the BMAs immoral strangle hold on our health services that robs other countries of vital medical staff?

For utter brass neck we are expected to believe that the NHS is dependent on foreign doctors working over here, and thus on remaining part of the EU (EU immigrants make up 10% of registered doctors) whilst at the same time we’re told to fear that training more doctors might mean they work abroad.

According to the General Medical council 36.1% of doctors in the UK trained abroad and yet the BMA are reducing the number of doctors that can train in the UK!! We’re dependent on poaching over 15,000 doctors from other countries, but are planing a “reduction of 124 students from this year’s target of 6,195.” So next time the BMA or a junior doctor tries to claim the the Government are trying to impose unrealistic conditions on them and that we’re short of doctors – remember that they’re the ones limiting the numbers to line their own pockets, and when they complain against the privatization of the NHS it’s the BMA’s own members who are quite happy to run private businesses that charge the NHS for their services.

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When is a tutu like a burkini?

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Enforcing the Burka There has been quite a lot of talk about the French ban on the “Burkini” in recent weeks thankfully it has for now been ruled illegal. There have also been comparisons with rules in other countries which dictate how women should dress, arguing along the lines of “well if they insist on it, we can ban it fair’s fair”. Now whilst I suspect most people reading this will consider that nonsense, I will none the less point out that saying “they do bad stuff, so we can as well” is a really really dumb argument. Really do you want to mimic the behaviour of people whose behavior you find objectionable. Now some women in Europe may be being forced to wear burqa’s when they don’t want to, but as the ex-muslim observes, banning it won’t help those women, they’ll just lose what freedoms they currently have. Not only will it not help them and will further enforce their marginalization it decays our freedoms.

“The burkini ban is ridiculous and bad. This I agree on, unequivocally. My reasoning for this boils down to it defeats its own purpose by only isolating a marginalized group further, and policing the clothing of others is bad On Principle because it violates bodily autonomy.”

If we declare burkini’s unacceptable what else should also be declared unacceptable? Also if the French argument for banning the burqa is secularism, why no ban on turbans, nuns, priests collars, Hasidc hats etc etc. In certain places and circumstances it’s reasonable to insist that people have their faces uncovered, say for instance in a bank but that’s not specific to a particular style of face covering and doesn’t apply to the wider world. If we decide that the dress of a particular culture should be restricted what makes that mode of garb so uniquely different from any other that such rules couldn’t be extended to almost anything. It’s the same slippery slope as presented to us by calls to treat “hate” crime more severely depending on the sub culture in question. Any law or legislation that singles out one group over another either for preferential or disadvantageous treatment is not a route we should ever think about going down. The argument that seems so reasonable today to deal with one group is all to readily reused tomorrow to oppress us all. So to answer the question posed in the title of this ramble – because when we start saying we can dictate what one group of people can wear we give legitimacy to the sort of arsehole who thinks it reasonable to tell a 3-year-old they shouldn’t wear a tutu. What better way is there to crush creativity and joy and erode the liberties we’re meant to be standing up for than to start telling people what they can and can’t wear?

So let people wear burkini’s (it’s an improvement on the mankini) , tutu’s or whatever the hell they like. If you don’t like it tough just say nothing, but if it’s as awesome as this kids tutu, take a risk and tell someone they look ace (or not it’s a free country and I’m not going to tell you what to do).

Awesome kid

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