In The News

[Blacklabel]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjC3ycS_2js#ws

[Eva]

Gotta love Ayoade's dry wit.

[Hubbs]

So it's an all-out or all-in scenario?

Spoiler

(I really should know all this myself)

[close]

I don't think you can present it like that. What I'm saying is, that if Cameron is preparing the British population on a possible referendum on the issue (if he's re-elected) under the guise that they can negotiate a much better deal for Britain with Merkel, Sarkozy etc., then the man is an even bigger fool than I originally thought. The other European leaders will not get a mandate from their respective parliaments to just give Britain a free pass. Not a chance in Hell. The EU would collapse if they did, because then everybody wants to re-negotiate their terms.

With that promise of a referendum, he might have put things in motion he can't possibly control. He doesn't really want a referendum and he certainly doesn't want Britain to part from the EU. And yet it seems he is painting himself into a corner, making very anti-EU comments like the ones a few days ago, ultimately paving the way for the real anti-EU lobby that really wants Britain to leave, like UKIP.

Eva seriously listen to yourself, you're basically saying its the EU way or no way...what kind of situation is that??!! The UK wants a choice, a lot of us don't want to be under the control of the EU anymore its as simple as that. Did you even read what I said?? and what country are you in? I'm guessing a country that isn't having any issues right now huh.

What anti-EU comments? about this huge new bill for 1.7billion? so not obeying strict EU taxes is being 'anti-EU'. Is your country having to pay 1.7billion? feck me! This is almost like a ransom for Christs sake! pay or else!

I might point out that Switzerland, Iceland and Norway get along perfectly fine without the EU. I might also add that the EU actually demands a payment from these countries like a tax/fine for not being in the EU and trading with EU countries! The strangle hold the EU has on Europe is mind-boggling! Even though they do not wish to be in the EU they still have to pay into it and abide by strict EU laws (to a degree) like some kind of dictatorship...and were does all this money go??!!

The UK entered the EU around 40 years ago (I think), the situation was very different 40 years ago, a lot has changed, the UK wants a referendum on this situation. We have a general election next year which is now being seen by the public as pointless. Why? because our own Parliament cannot govern us, we are dictated too by a group of unelected Euro bureaucrats in Brussels.

I'm afraid its things like this that will see the UK leave the EU very soon. We are trying to fix our country but are blocked, why on Earth Merkel won't help I have no clue. EU backhand dealings again 

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/10/25/uk-britain-germany-immigration-idUKKCN0IE0T720141025

[Crazy Rich]

Women on the frontlines in Syria and Iraq against ISIS.

http://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/other/isis-fight-women-battling-militants-on-the-front-lines-in-syria-iraq/ar-BBbanTa?ocid=ASUDHP

As ISIS preach an extreme form of Islam in which women may only leave the house if absolutely necessary, since April more than 10,000 Kurdish women have enlisted to fight in all female combat units, an unusual phenomenon in the Muslim world in which warfare is often associated with manhood, and have proven their selves just as brave and tenacious as any man in their major role against the ISIS.

Afshin Kobani, a teacher just over a year ago is now a commander of a mixed gender unit in the battle for Kobane that has raged for over a month now, surrounded by ISIS on the east, south and west and with the Turkish border on the north.

"I lost many friends to this, and I decided there was a need to join up," said Kobani, who declined to reveal her birth name. "This is our land — our own — and if we don't do it, who else will?"

Deilar Kanj Khamis, better know by her military name as Arin Mirkan, earlier this month outside Kobane took her own life with explosives, killing 10 ISIS fighters. The Kurdish fighters had to withdraw from the strategic hill south of the town, but Arin Mirkan stayed behind, attacking ISIS fighters with bullets and grenades as they closed in, and just as they surrounded her she set off the explosives strapped to her body. The Kurdish fighters then retook the hill, but lost it again Wednesday.

"It's not strange that women are fighting," said Wahida Kushta, an elderly woman who recently helped prepare the body of a young female fighter, 20-year-old Hanim Dabaan, for burial. "There is no difference between a lion and a lioness."

You can find more in the link.

[Eva]

Eva seriously listen to yourself, you're basically saying its the EU way or no way...what kind of situation is that??!! The UK wants a choice, a lot of us don't want to be under the control of the EU anymore its as simple as that. Did you even read what I said?? and what country are you in? I'm guessing a country that isn't having any issues right now huh.

What anti-EU comments? about this huge new bill for 1.7billion? so not obeying strict EU taxes is being 'anti-EU'. Is your country having to pay 1.7billion? feck me! This is almost like a ransom for Christs sake! pay or else!

I might point out that Switzerland, Iceland and Norway get along perfectly fine without the EU. I might also add that the EU actually demands a payment from these countries like a tax/fine for not being in the EU and trading with EU countries! The strangle hold the EU has on Europe is mind-boggling! Even though they do not wish to be in the EU they still have to pay into it and abide by strict EU laws (to a degree) like some kind of dictatorship...and were does all this money go??!!

The UK entered the EU around 40 years ago (I think), the situation was very different 40 years ago, a lot has changed, the UK wants a referendum on this situation. We have a general election next year which is now being seen by the public as pointless. Why? because our own Parliament cannot govern us, we are dictated too by a group of unelected Euro bureaucrats in Brussels.

I'm afraid its things like this that will see the UK leave the EU very soon. We are trying to fix our country but are blocked, why on Earth Merkel won't help I have no clue. EU backhand dealings again 

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/10/25/uk-britain-germany-immigration-idUKKCN0IE0T720141025

I'm not saying that you can't or shouldn't have a choice, if that's what you want. What I'm saying is that you have to be aware of the potential consequences to the British economy if Britain exits the EU. That's the aspect where I'm addressing the honesty (or lack of it) of the British politicians.

In my experience, EU regulations and the EU parliament becomes an easy scapegoat when national parliaments and governments implement laws that their respective populaces don't necessarily like. They are called 'Euromyths'; it's very convenient for politicians to exclaim: 'oh, it's because some EU bureaucrats decided to implement these new regulations - we had nothing to do with it. In fact, we were against it...!' Fact remains that most laws passed in the various national parliaments, are entirely designed and proposed at home with very little or no input from the EU.

PS: here's the CER report, mainly written by British economists, professors and industry officials, projecting and estimating the outcome of an EU exit from an economic point of view. No political bias.

http://www.cer.org.uk/sites/default/files/smc_final_report_june2014.pdf

[Cvalda]

Wealthy Chinese are literally eating this exotic mammal into extinction
http://www.salon.com/2014/10/25/the_chinese_are_literally_eating_this_exotic_mammal_into_extinction_partner/

MONG LA, Myanmar — "It's delicious," the Chinese waitress says, pointing at the three metal cages on the pavement. Inside each is a pangolin — an odd-looking creature that, over the past decade, has become the most heavily trafficked wild mammal in the world, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

At the moment, each pangolin resembles a ball about the size of a melon, covered in crocodile-like scales.

Sensing danger, the three animals have instinctively curled themselves into tight balls. In the wild, this reflex protects them from predators like bears and large cats. But there's little defense against wildlife traffickers and well-heeled diners hoping to taste a rare and exotic meat.

In Mong La, pangolins are openly sold in restaurants to border-hopping Chinese tourists. Nearby wildlife boutiques sell pangolin skins and scales immersed in rice wine. At the open-air central market, one Chinese trader offers to sell me the skin of a Sunda pangolin, listed as "critically endangered" by the IUCN, for 200 yuan (about US$32). "Here, feel how soft it is," she says, running her hands over the grey scales.

A shy, nocturnal animal, the pangolin has a long snout, tough outer scales, and snaking tongue, which it uses to lick up insects. In China, where it is known as lingli, or "hill carp," in reference to its scaly exterior, pangolin meat has long been prized. The creature's scales — made from keratin, the same substance as human fingernails and hair (as well as Rhino horn) — are also prescribed by traditional doctors to treat skin disorders and other ailments — despite lacking medical benefits.

Sad.

Reminds me when I worked for a Malaysian corporation that sold "health supplements". You wouldn't believe the idiotic things they sold under that banner, and which gullible people buy up. Elk antler to cure erectile dysfunction... because elk antlers are a symbol of masculinity and that energy will transfer to your penis, somehow

[Hubbs]

Eva seriously listen to yourself, you're basically saying its the EU way or no way...what kind of situation is that??!! The UK wants a choice, a lot of us don't want to be under the control of the EU anymore its as simple as that. Did you even read what I said?? and what country are you in? I'm guessing a country that isn't having any issues right now huh.

What anti-EU comments? about this huge new bill for 1.7billion? so not obeying strict EU taxes is being 'anti-EU'. Is your country having to pay 1.7billion? feck me! This is almost like a ransom for Christs sake! pay or else!

I might point out that Switzerland, Iceland and Norway get along perfectly fine without the EU. I might also add that the EU actually demands a payment from these countries like a tax/fine for not being in the EU and trading with EU countries! The strangle hold the EU has on Europe is mind-boggling! Even though they do not wish to be in the EU they still have to pay into it and abide by strict EU laws (to a degree) like some kind of dictatorship...and were does all this money go??!!

The UK entered the EU around 40 years ago (I think), the situation was very different 40 years ago, a lot has changed, the UK wants a referendum on this situation. We have a general election next year which is now being seen by the public as pointless. Why? because our own Parliament cannot govern us, we are dictated too by a group of unelected Euro bureaucrats in Brussels.

I'm afraid its things like this that will see the UK leave the EU very soon. We are trying to fix our country but are blocked, why on Earth Merkel won't help I have no clue. EU backhand dealings again 

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/10/25/uk-britain-germany-immigration-idUKKCN0IE0T720141025

I'm not saying that you can't or shouldn't have a choice, if that's what you want. What I'm saying is that you have to be aware of the potential consequences to the British economy if Britain exits the EU. That's the aspect where I'm addressing the honesty (or lack of it) of the British politicians.

In my experience, EU regulations and the EU parliament becomes an easy scapegoat when national parliaments and governments implement laws that their respective populaces don't necessarily like. They are called 'Euromyths'; it's very convenient for politicians to exclaim: 'oh, it's because some EU bureaucrats decided to implement these new regulations - we had nothing to do with it. In fact, we were against it...!' Fact remains that most laws passed in the various national parliaments, are entirely designed and proposed at home with very little or no input from the EU.

PS: here's the CER report, mainly written by British economists, professors and industry officials, projecting and estimating the outcome of an EU exit from an economic point of view. No political bias.

http://www.cer.org.uk/sites/default/files/smc_final_report_june2014.pdf

I simply don't see how the UK leaving the EU will cause these predicted calamities I'm sorry. Yes its easy to say this all bs from UK politicians but you can quite easily say its all bs from EU leaders and so called independent economists. Personally I don't think there will be a problem, I do think it will be a problem for the EU because the UK is one of the key players in their club and the EU takes a lot of money from us....so they don't want it for sure. Hell the EU survives via France Germany and the UK so the EU needs us.

I also don't get why people seem to think that with the UK not being in the EU that means all trade stops or somehow becomes harder...why would it?? Only the EU can make things hard for countries, think about it, they pull the strings over 28 countries.

What Cameron is saying is basically if you want the UK to remain in your boys club then things have got to be fairer. The entire of (poor) Europe cannot be allowed to come and live in the UK, the UK is small and we cannot cope anymore. The UK cannot be drained like a bottomless pit of money and we do want to be able to govern ourselves without EU intervention. Yes I'm afraid many situations of EU intervention crop here and it really pisses us all off.

[tavianini19]

Wealthy Chinese are literally eating this exotic mammal into extinction
http://www.salon.com/2014/10/25/the_chinese_are_literally_eating_this_exotic_mammal_into_extinction_partner/
http://media.salon.com/2013/09/Screen-Shot-2013-09-20-at-2.07.07-PM.png

MONG LA, Myanmar — "It's delicious," the Chinese waitress says, pointing at the three metal cages on the pavement. Inside each is a pangolin — an odd-looking creature that, over the past decade, has become the most heavily trafficked wild mammal in the world, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

At the moment, each pangolin resembles a ball about the size of a melon, covered in crocodile-like scales.

Sensing danger, the three animals have instinctively curled themselves into tight balls. In the wild, this reflex protects them from predators like bears and large cats. But there's little defense against wildlife traffickers and well-heeled diners hoping to taste a rare and exotic meat.

In Mong La, pangolins are openly sold in restaurants to border-hopping Chinese tourists. Nearby wildlife boutiques sell pangolin skins and scales immersed in rice wine. At the open-air central market, one Chinese trader offers to sell me the skin of a Sunda pangolin, listed as "critically endangered" by the IUCN, for 200 yuan (about US$32). "Here, feel how soft it is," she says, running her hands over the grey scales.

A shy, nocturnal animal, the pangolin has a long snout, tough outer scales, and snaking tongue, which it uses to lick up insects. In China, where it is known as lingli, or "hill carp," in reference to its scaly exterior, pangolin meat has long been prized. The creature's scales — made from keratin, the same substance as human fingernails and hair (as well as Rhino horn) — are also prescribed by traditional doctors to treat skin disorders and other ailments — despite lacking medical benefits.

Sad.

Reminds me when I worked for a Malaysian corporation that sold "health supplements". You wouldn't believe the idiotic things they sold under that banner, and which gullible people buy up. Elk antler to cure erectile dysfunction... because elk antlers are a symbol of masculinity and that energy will transfer to your penis, somehow

Not the pangolins. I love those guys. They're like ebpven cuter armadillos. 

[Kimarhi]

Wealthy Chinese are literally eating this exotic mammal into extinction
http://www.salon.com/2014/10/25/the_chinese_are_literally_eating_this_exotic_mammal_into_extinction_partner/
http://media.salon.com/2013/09/Screen-Shot-2013-09-20-at-2.07.07-PM.png

MONG LA, Myanmar — "It's delicious," the Chinese waitress says, pointing at the three metal cages on the pavement. Inside each is a pangolin — an odd-looking creature that, over the past decade, has become the most heavily trafficked wild mammal in the world, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

At the moment, each pangolin resembles a ball about the size of a melon, covered in crocodile-like scales.

Sensing danger, the three animals have instinctively curled themselves into tight balls. In the wild, this reflex protects them from predators like bears and large cats. But there's little defense against wildlife traffickers and well-heeled diners hoping to taste a rare and exotic meat.

In Mong La, pangolins are openly sold in restaurants to border-hopping Chinese tourists. Nearby wildlife boutiques sell pangolin skins and scales immersed in rice wine. At the open-air central market, one Chinese trader offers to sell me the skin of a Sunda pangolin, listed as "critically endangered" by the IUCN, for 200 yuan (about US$32). "Here, feel how soft it is," she says, running her hands over the grey scales.

A shy, nocturnal animal, the pangolin has a long snout, tough outer scales, and snaking tongue, which it uses to lick up insects. In China, where it is known as lingli, or "hill carp," in reference to its scaly exterior, pangolin meat has long been prized. The creature's scales — made from keratin, the same substance as human fingernails and hair (as well as Rhino horn) — are also prescribed by traditional doctors to treat skin disorders and other ailments — despite lacking medical benefits.

Sad.

Reminds me when I worked for a Malaysian corporation that sold "health supplements". You wouldn't believe the idiotic things they sold under that banner, and which gullible people buy up. Elk antler to cure erectile dysfunction... because elk antlers are a symbol of masculinity and that energy will transfer to your penis, somehow

China needs to utilize better their horny goat weed supplies.

[Ratchetcomand]

U.S. Marines End Afghan Operations, Prepare Withdrawal

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/26/afghanistan_n_6049084.html

Something tells me that it not over til the fish jumps.

[Kimarhi]

Marines always leave early because they aren't meant for sustained land operations. 


I think they left in 2009 from Iraq while the Army is still there.


Just like the Army is still in Afghanistan. 


We've already signed a status of force agreement with Afghanistan that will keep some US troops there through 2015.  11,000 plus.  And it will be the Army because Afghanistan and Iraq are in the Army's wheelhouse. 

[First Blood]

U.S. Marines End Afghan Operations, Prepare Withdrawal

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/26/afghanistan_n_6049084.html

Something tells me that it not over til the fish jumps.

Well its about goddamn time.

[Eva]

I simply don't see how the UK leaving the EU will cause these predicted calamities I'm sorry. Yes its easy to say this all bs from UK politicians but you can quite easily say its all bs from EU leaders and so called independent economists. Personally I don't think there will be a problem, I do think it will be a problem for the EU because the UK is one of the key players in their club and the EU takes a lot of money from us....so they don't want it for sure. Hell the EU survives via France Germany and the UK so the EU needs us.

I also don't get why people seem to think that with the UK not being in the EU that means all trade stops or somehow becomes harder...why would it?? Only the EU can make things hard for countries, think about it, they pull the strings over 28 countries.

What Cameron is saying is basically if you want the UK to remain in your boys club then things have got to be fairer. The entire of (poor) Europe cannot be allowed to come and live in the UK, the UK is small and we cannot cope anymore. The UK cannot be drained like a bottomless pit of money and we do want to be able to govern ourselves without EU intervention. Yes I'm afraid many situations of EU intervention crop here and it really pisses us all off.

That's an opinion and you are entirely entitled to have it.

As for what's really draining British economy's growth, how about looking into the massive corporate tax avoidance issue that is particular for especially Britain, Ireland and Luxembourg with all their tax legislation loopholes?

http://www.independent.co.uk/money/tax/britains-missing-billions-counting-the-true-cost-of-corporate-tax-avoidance-8341096.html

According to those estimates, British tax loopholes (which I assume are the result of British politics, not EU politics) costs the British tax payers the equivalent of financing +150,000 public workers. £4-12 billion. Annually.

Or is this also some shrewd evil master plan do destroy Britain's economy, secretly carried out by chief puppeteer Angela Merkel?

[Hubbs]

I simply don't see how the UK leaving the EU will cause these predicted calamities I'm sorry. Yes its easy to say this all bs from UK politicians but you can quite easily say its all bs from EU leaders and so called independent economists. Personally I don't think there will be a problem, I do think it will be a problem for the EU because the UK is one of the key players in their club and the EU takes a lot of money from us....so they don't want it for sure. Hell the EU survives via France Germany and the UK so the EU needs us.

I also don't get why people seem to think that with the UK not being in the EU that means all trade stops or somehow becomes harder...why would it?? Only the EU can make things hard for countries, think about it, they pull the strings over 28 countries.

What Cameron is saying is basically if you want the UK to remain in your boys club then things have got to be fairer. The entire of (poor) Europe cannot be allowed to come and live in the UK, the UK is small and we cannot cope anymore. The UK cannot be drained like a bottomless pit of money and we do want to be able to govern ourselves without EU intervention. Yes I'm afraid many situations of EU intervention crop here and it really pisses us all off.

That's an opinion and you are entirely entitled to have it.

As for what's really draining British economy's growth, how about looking into the massive corporate tax avoidance issue that is particular for especially Britain, Ireland and Luxembourg with all their tax legislation loopholes?

http://www.independent.co.uk/money/tax/britains-missing-billions-counting-the-true-cost-of-corporate-tax-avoidance-8341096.html

According to those estimates, British tax loopholes (which I assume are the result of British politics, not EU politics) costs the British tax payers the equivalent of financing +150,000 public workers. £4-12 billion. Annually.

Or is this also some shrewd evil master plan do destroy Britain's economy, secretly carried out by chief puppeteer Angela Merkel?

I have no idea as I've not heard about this Doesn't surprise me though, the UK is in such a state right now. Put it this way the extra 1.7billion the EU is demanding won't help either way.

No clue why Merkel won't back up Cameron, Germany has a large immigration problem just as we do and I'm very sure German folk aren't happy about it either. Like I said there are probably EU backhand deals going on behind closed doors...that might sound like paranoid conspiracy nonsense but who's to say, God knows what these politicians get up too.

How does Denmark get on (now I know), what's going on in Scandinavia? are there immigration problems? are local folk OK with EU rules and interventions? are there any EU interventions on anything? Just curious

[SM]

Welcoming returning Danish jihadists - what say you, Eva?