Mondrian's Blog

[Stephynbouby]

A jehova’s witness knocked on my door. I invited him in, sat him down in a comfy chair and made him a nice cup of tea. ‘Well’, I said, ‘what have you to tell me?’ ‘I don’t know’, he said, ‘I’ve never got this far’.

[Stephynbouby]

A brunette and 5 blondes went mountain climbing.

Half-way up the mountain the brunette noticed that the rope was fraying and said that if one of the six didn’t let go of the rope, it would break and they would all die. This meant that one of them would fall to their death but the other 5 would survive.

After some time, the brunette said that she would let go and made a long and emotional speech, after which all of the blondes applauded.

[Stephynbouby]

Little boy: My father designed our house.

Little girl: My father designed and built our house.

Little boy: My father has a degree.

Little girl: My father has several degrees.

Little boy: Undoes his trousers and states "You haven't got one of these".

Little girl: Pulls her pants down and says "My mum says that because I have one of these, I can have one of those any time I want".

[Stephynbouby]

What did Pope Benedict XVI, who was once part of the Nazi Youth, say to the woman who jumped over barricades and fell on top of him?

"Wait, you’re not an altar boy!"

[Stephynbouby]

I asked my girlfriend if she was game.

She said 'Yes'.

So I shot her.

[Stephynbouby]

Missionary: “How are you?”

Cannibal: “I’m having a ball”.

[Stephynbouby]

Farting in a lift is just wrong on so many levels.

[Stephynbouby]

I went to the corner shop this morning and bought 4 corners.

[Stephynbouby]

I’m not going to post any more jokes for the day. I've run out of the jokes that I knew and am now having to go to web sites to find new ones. Quite frankly, some of them aren't funny. Therefore, it’s time to move on.

My next thread will, in effect, be a blog and I’ll be commenting on anything topical or of interest to me.

I very much hope that some of you will join in.

[Stephynbouby]

My first blog is about the UK EU Referendum.

This referendum has brought out the best and the worst in the UK voting population. Joe Cox showed us just how violent and extreme part of our society has become. RIP Joe. On the other hand, it has shown just how generous and caring the rest of our society really is. Overall, I’m disappointed with the UK voting public though, quite frankly, I'm not surprised.

This referendum has shown that the voting public is incapable of understanding multiple complex issues. There has been complaint after complaint that the UK populace hasn’t been given any facts. They complain about the tactics used in order to sway voters in a particular direction too. Yet, they aren't prepared to find things out for themselves. It appears that they want the facts handed to them on a plate. Then, when they are and they aren't what they want to hear, they accuse the messengers of not telling the truth.

Well, here’s some facts:

No country has ever left the EU before. Therefore, there are no precedents and no history that we can draw on that will indicate how, in overall terms, we will fare as a nation if we leave. The majority of the economic arguments are therefore purely speculative. Some people would argue that the UK will fare better within the EU. Others would argue that the reverse is true. What are the facts? There are no facts, only speculation. But, the UK populace want facts. In this area, there are none. It doesn’t stop the UK populace wanting them though. I find this strange. Guys, you can’t have what doesn’t exist.

Immigration is one extremely hot potato and appears to be the main issue in this referendum. The UK, if truth be told, doesn’t want any immigration at all. In public, the UK populace claims that they just want less immigration. So what are the facts?

Until a few years ago, the UK population was decreasing. More people were dying than were being born. We also had an aging population. It was quickly getting to the point where there were too few people of working age to support those who had retired. We therefore needed the UK populace to have more babies, suffer incredible amounts of National debt, face a massive increases in taxation or throw open our borders to young immigrants who would have children. The UK populace didn’t want any more children, nor to suffer more debt nor more taxation and so our borders were largely thrown open. Now the UK populace are up in arms at the levels of immigration. I despair, especially as 3 million UK citizens have retired abroad and 2 million choose to work in Europe rather than in the UK. It appears that the UK populace want the right to live and work in a country of their choosing without let or hindrance and yet are not prepared to reciprocate. Tien.

The one issue that I’ve heard least about but may have the most impact is Sterling. Perhaps this is because it is the least understood and the most speculative.

When it became clear, a few days ago, that the UK would probably vote to leave the EU, Sterling began to fall. For the uninitiated, the UK is a net importer. To keep our import bill low, we need a strong currency. That means that we need to defend the currency when it drifts too low. That means that the UK needs funds to do this. The UK, as a nation, is effectively bankrupt. We owe the world £1.56 trillion. If there was a sustained run on Sterling, the UK would need to borrow even more than it already has. Our National Debt already exceeds 80% of our GDP. To take it any higher would amount to financial suicide. We can’t afford any more destabilising influences. The currency markets are sensing that leaving the EU would not be good for the UK and are reacting appropriately. What people forget is that one man, George Soros, and his Quantum fund, single handedly attacked and severely battered Sterling in 1992. It was forced to exit the ERM and, effectively, devalue. Sterling is an inherently weak currency and is supported by a government that is effectively bankrupt. A sustained run on Sterling will almost certainly lead to devaluation and, given that we are a net importer, the cost of goods and services in the shops will increase. This will place families, which are already under financial pressure, under even more. The response from the EU out lobby is that they would simply put up UK interest rates if Sterling is attacked. However, yet again, the UK populace would suffer because the cost of borrowing would rise, especially mortgages, which would place even more financial pressures on UK households. Increasing interest rates would also stifle an increasingly fragile economy. There is no doubt that if the UK left the EU, Sterling would come under pressure. Regardless of whether we devalue or raise interest rates, the working man will suffer.

The bottom line is that the UK populace wants definitive answers. In most cases, there are only probabilities and unknowns. It would appear that this isn’t good enough. Well, it may not be good enough but it’s the way things are. People want certainty. There’s no such thing with this referendum.

One thing is for certain. The financial markets like certainty. In this referendum, there is none. The financial markets are jittery. For this reason alone, voting to stay in the EU is a no-brainer.

[Stephynbouby]

Oh, my God. What have the idiots of the UK done?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7CG9YvYDcg

And so, as the pound sinks slowly in the West, it's time to bid farewell to a recovery, slow though it may be, and welcome the dawn of a disaster befitting a nation suffering from myopia.

[Stephynbouby]

Moody cut the UK Credit Rating to negative this morning. This says it all.

My partner and I are now planning our exit from the UK.

I have no wish to be a part of this xenophobic, small-minded, inward-looking island.

Thursday's referendum result took the Great out of Great Britain and put in the Grate.

[Stephynbouby]

Ryanair have announced that they will not be progressing with their planned UK investment.

4 banking groups have announced that they will or will think seriously about relocating their European headquarters from London to continental Europe. Paris has been mooted as has Frankfurt.

Brussels have announced that they want the UK out of the EU as soon as possible. It is now beginning to emerge that the 'UK Out of the EU' brigade had a plan to achieve their aim. However, it is now apparent, laughably, that they don't have an EU exit plan. We have now become the laughing stock of Europe.

The PM has already resigned. Half of Jeremy Corbyn's shadow cabinet resigned today.

Reports are emerging that parts of the referendum were based on hatred and xenophobia. I personally saw and heard some of this.

Reports are now emerging that migrants no longer feel welcome in the UK. I have personally spoken to some.

It is possible that the UK will become uninvestable. Moody's have already down-graded the UK's Credit Rating.

I was once proud to be British. I am now ashamed.

[Stephynbouby]

Yesterday, 11 of Jeremy Corbyn's shadow cabinet resigned and 1 was sacked. Today, 3 more resigned. Many have called for Corbyn's resignation. It appears that there will be a secret no-confidence ballot of the parliamentary Labour party members later this week. Corbyn has refused to resign and has vowed to remain as opposition leader, even if he loses the vote. Reports suggest that Corbyn may have sabotaged the Remain campaign.

This morning, Sterling lost more ground to the Euro falling another 1.17% and forecast to fall even more.

That's worrying enough. What's even more worrying is the wave of racial abuse and hate crime that has broken out. It appears that some may think that, now that we have voted to leave the EU, it's OK to hate 'Johnny Foreigner'. Well it's not. Here's the latest report: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/ho ... 04191.html

At least Brussels, in the shape of one Angela Merkel, is no longer calling for the UK's immediate departure from the EU and is now accepting of a more leasurely and controlled departure. Personally, I think that she's right. A hurried departure would not only harm the UK, it would harm the EU too.

An online petition calling for the UK Government to hold a second EU referendum has now attracted more than 3 million signatures. It appears that if the leave or remain vote is less than 60% based upon a turnout of less than 75%, then there should be another referendum. Well, the turnout was less than 75% and the exit vote was less than 60%. So what now? A second referendum? If the government does go ahead with one, how will those that voted to leave react?

There's also the Scottish and Irish questions. They both voted, overwhelmingly, to remain in the EU. Will they call for referendums to leave the UK? If they leave and join the EU, will they need to erect borders between what will be left of the UK and their countries?

I'm sure that the UK populace didn't vote for all of this uncertainty and change. I'm sure that many didn't even consider any of this. They just voted against the government because of the austerity that they were having to face and cope with. They wanted someone to blame. They blamed the government and immigration for their woes and so voted for an EU exit. However, the issues they face weren't caused by Brussels or by the government or by immigration. They were caused in 2007 by an emerging China and a world-wide banking sector that was greedy and out of control. They created CDOs and CDSs which were associated with sub-prime lending and which turned toxic and caused the demise of companies such as Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns. The CDOs and CDSs created in 2007 had a life-span of 25 years. They will not fully unwind until 2032 and, until that date, we will continue to suffer the fall-out. Before 2008, before the Credit Crunch, the world had one hell of a party. We are still suffering the hang-over and will do so for the forseeable future. Leaving the EU will only make matters worse. The good times that we enjoyed before the 2008 credit crunch will not be returning any day soon.

[Stephynbouby]

Other members of Jeremy Corbyn's shadow cabinet have resigned since my last post. Only one third of his original cabinet remain. IMHO, his position is untenable. However, he refuses to resign and has stated that if he loses the vote of no confidence from his parliamentary's colleagues, he will stand for reelection.

This makes no sense at all UNTIL one takes into account a statement made by one of Corbyn's supporters on Sunday, the outcome of Thursday's referendum and the way in which the Labour Party elects its leader.

Firstly, let's consider the referendum. One of the reasons why it went the way it did was because what started out as a vote about Europe ended up being a negative Westminster vote. The voters believe that Westminster is out of touch with the voters. This doesn't only apply to the present government, it applies to all MPs. Within hours of the referendum result being announced, the MPs who claimed that the £320m that went to Brussels would be diverted to the NHS were saying 'Well, of course, not all of the £320m can be directed to the NHS'. Also, the MPs who claimed that the UKs borders would be closed to immigrants then said, 'Well, of course, we can't do that right now.' And so the two big promises that caused the UK to vote to leave the EU were exposed as lies within hours of the result being made known. Little wonder that people don't trust politicians.

Secondly, let's consider the manner in which the Labour Party elected Corbyn. New Labour wheeled out Brown, Blair, Straw, Milliband and Cambell in an attempt to kill off Corbyn's chances of winning stating that, with Corbyn at the helm, Labour would be unelectable. In spite of this, Corbyn won a land-slide victory on the first round of voting from 3 other candidates. He was given a massive mandate to lead the party. I can't remember one greater.

Lastly, let's consider Sunday's statement. In it it claimed that Labour MPs have more in common with Conservative MPs than they have with the Labour voters. It has to be said, Corbyn isn't your typical Labour MP. It could be that Corbyn and his supporters are right and that MPs have lost touch with the electorate - a situation that Corbyn intends to correct. Most of his cabinet has resigned and probably saved him the bother of sacking them.

In this light, Corbyn refusing to resign makes a lot of sense. Provided that his huge mandate is still largely in place, he will be reelected, and easily at that. His refusal to resign may radically change the Labour party and may even cause a major split and spawn a new party. Maybe this is a good thing. Maybe politics does need to change.

Meanwhile, a vastly over-paid England football team with an over-rated and over-paid coach lost 2 - 1 last night to a motley crew of no-hopers from Iceland - an island of only 300,000 inhabitants with no professional football team. I mean no disrespect to Iceland. This is how they were viewed by the media this morning - a view largely shared by the UK betting fraternity according to the pre-match odds. After the match, the coach, Roy Hodgson, resigned - before he was sacked. It may have been acceptable to the English FA and the country for England to have lost to Italy, Spain, Germany or France but not to lowly Iceland. And there, right there, may be England's problem. Respect all nations or pay the consequences. The pre-match odds reflected the theoretical outcome. The score line reflected reality.

The Referendum rhetoric reflected the theory. Now, the UK is going to have to deal with the reality of what it, as a nation, has done to itself.

England voted not to be part of Europe on Thursday. Last night, England got its wish. Where's the problem?