Joe Macare on Brexit, Rory O’Connor on the Danny Award

Comments

1. Steve Hawkins

   July 2, 2016 at 2:35 am

   Hi Janine,

   I have to say I usually come to FAIR expecting to hear an alternative and more realistic view of World events, but listening to your Joe Macare interview I find it hard to believe he has ever been to this country or read anything about its demography and the radical changes that have been imposed on it by successive governments: not obsessed with xenophobia, but obsessed with construction development as a substitute for improving its economy by improving the living standards of a naturally stable population.

   At around the turn of the century UK population growth was coming to a standstill and migration was roughly balanced. We were coming to the point when there was no longer any need for continuous construction, or ‘job creation’ for large numbers of people. Accordingly, there was soon a market crash, and banks who had gambled on continuous building collapsed.

   Instead of making the necessary changes to a sustainable steady state population and economy, our governments have continued to pull out all the stops, and changed the fundamental purpose of all policy and town planning, to remove all remaining impediments to construction development, and removed all means that existed for the general public to rein in and stop development they didn’t want, or that was environmentally damaging. (This is going to get worse without EU environmental regs to hold them back from the worst crimes against Nature.)

   As this madness was going on in the UK, the EU was being enlarged to admit countries in which there were lower levels of economic activity than the construction crazy UK. Obviously this was going to create a large attractive force for the young and mobile toward the UK from all over the continent and from outside the EU.

   The movements of population were unprecedented and have continued growing for over a decade. We have gone from a near stable population to one that is growing at about half a million per year, 3/5 of which is from excess migration, and the rest from births minus deaths, and about half the births are, in themselves, due to the recent migration.

   Half a million population is roughly equivalent to needing to accommodate a major new city the size of Bristol *every year*. It can’t be done, but there is no sign that any political party is ever going to call a halt to the demand for growth for growth’s sake, end the attractive force, and give our people a chance to enjoy what little space and environmental assets we still possess.

   This is the context in which you have to see the public vote to get out of the EU (Incidentally the EU Parliament just put out a newsletter with a poll showing much higher concern about migration than was shown in the UK referendum poll–and several of their countries have *declining* populations!). The public–at least those who don’t look at real statistics and know nothing about the EU that didn’t come out of a Tory newspaper–thought that this referendum was the only chance they had to slow down the really huge influx of migrants that –through inertia– is way beyond what even the rampaging construction industry can keep up with. Had they looked more carefully, they would have seen that the influx cannot just be stopped, and will not be able to stop, while both sides of the in/out debate are still determined to outdo the other on ‘economic growth’.

   The imbalance of migration is so absurd, that Eurostat statistics predict that over this century EU population will decline by about 3million, while UK population will increase by over 30million! Think about that against a background of climate change, soil loss, vanishing fish stocks, and massive sub-Saharan population growth, and ask yourself: “Who can guarantee the UK will be able to feed itself in 50y time?”.

   What the UK is doing, essentially, is to set fire to its own house, and invite people to come and warm themselves by it, and help us throw on more and more resources as fuel.

   Many people, from all walks of life, are desperate for this to stop, while we still have a recognisable country left. That is why, last year, there was a massive popular vote for a change to a real Labour party, and massive vote of disapproval to the right wing Parliamentary parties that are building this huge bonfire of our natural assets whilst imposing ‘austerity’ on ordinary people at the same time.

   Yes, there are xenophobes and racists here, but they have always been a small if vociferous minority, they don’t realise what is drawing migrants here, and they certainly did not make up the bulk of the people who voted for ‘leave’. The English people, primarily, voted for change: any change. If there was the slightest chance of slowing things down: it was worth the gamble. Now they are furious they were lied to: but they will try to make the best of a bad job.

   Hopefully, if the propaganda war against Corbyn can be thrown off, we may get a positive change yet. But, even then, we still have to get his party away from the inferno of ‘growth’ that drives this whole nightmare, and is completely unnecessary.

2. John Ellis

   July 3, 2016 at 7:49 pm

   For an absolute, as mainstream media news is 100% owned by the corporate rich, for an absolute it is 100% pure propaganda fiction.

3. John Ellis

   July 3, 2016 at 9:28 pm

   John Pilger — Why the British said no to Europe

   “The majority vote by Britons to leave the European Union was an act of raw democracy. Millions of ordinary people refused to be bullied, intimidated and dismissed with open contempt by their presumed betters in the major parties, the leaders of the business and banking oligarchy and the media.”
   http://johnpilger.com/articles/why-the-british-said-no-to-europe

   • Steve Hawkins

     July 3, 2016 at 10:06 pm

     That is very right. Pilger always was very good at seeing through the spin. Thanks for the link: I had missed him. (y)

4. Michael Fish

   July 5, 2016 at 5:17 pm

   xenophobia and racism have been given a voice along with the Reagan doctrines that taxes are bad, and that you government is your enemy. Add that to the propaganda that Brussels is somehow harmful, and that NATO is protecting Europe America and Canada from the Russians, and that the lesser evil of Hillary Clinton is the best choice for the next American president and you have the perfect storm. Welcome to the opening salvoes of World War Three. Which will go down in history, if there is a history after it as the Ninety Minute War.

5. Paul Avila

   July 9, 2016 at 7:07 pm

   Thank you CounterSpin for your necessary journalism. I will share this episode with a lot of friends!