Tuesday, June 14, 2016

Sunday Globe Special: Brexit, Stage Left

"Young Britons favor staying in EU but aren’t big on voting" by Kimiko De Freytas-Tamura New York Times  June 11, 2016

LONDON — Holding the attention of young voters — and getting them to turn out on June 23 — is one of the biggest challenges for both sides in the campaign over Britain’s place in Europe, especially for the advocates of remaining in the European Union.

Polling suggests that younger people are more favorable to continued British membership in the bloc than are older voters, and in a close race could decide the outcome.

The problem for the pro-European forces is that young people are historically less likely to vote.

In this case, some analysts say, it could be particularly hard to motivate them, not just because many of them will be immersed in summer activities, but also because they are being asked to embrace the status quo rather than to take up an idealistic cause of change of the type that typically energizes young people.

“It’s hard to get them passionate about remaining,” said Scott Townsin, 26, who recently directed a campaign video urging young people to vote in favor of staying in the European Union.

Older voters tend to decide based on information they get from traditional media. But with young people, Townsin said, “you’ve got to be loud, you’ve got to compete with brands, favorite friends, Instagram, whatever, to get their attention.” 

Look at all the stereotyping coming from the pre$$

As long as you stay out of MySpace I'm happy.

Some of the efforts to get young people to vote are paying off.

Since March 1, more than 1 million people have registered to vote, with big gains among those 18 to 34 years old, according to figures published recently by the government....

Setting up the narrative to steal the vote like they did in Scotland when they had a vote to secede.

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Related:

UK’s Cameron says leaving EU would be ‘economic self-harm’ 

You kids would only be hurting yourselves, yup!

Why the UK needs the EU

Britons will be poorer if they leave EU, government warns

At least Boeing won't be poorer.

"Radek Sikorski, a former Polish foreign minister with long ties to Britain, sees Brexit dangers."

They fear loss of trade.

The UK should bid adieu to the EU

So says John R. Bolton, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and former US ambassador to the United Nations. 

Almost makes you want to vote to remain, doesn't it?

"Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain warned Monday that isolationism has historically led to war in Europe and urged his country to stay in the European Union, saying it has helped keep the continent at peace. His argument, by focusing on security and not just economics, brought his campaign to persuade his country to remain in the 28-nation bloc into a new phase. While he said he recognized that some Britons’ “heads and hearts are torn,” Cameron said that threats from a “newly belligerent Russia” and from the Islamic State meant that cooperation and “unity of purpose” with allies were vital to the nation’s security interests."

Where is the peace on the continent with all the terrorists running around motivated by interventionism and not isolationism, according to conventional myth narrative?

"The British and Chinese governments have spoken of a new “golden era” of relations between the two countries. Xi’s state visit was supposed to symbolize the strengthening of ties, especially commercial ones. Xi posed for photos with Prime Minister David Cameron at a pub in Buckinghamshire. The two men held pints of beer up to their lips."

That's what did it. Red man, yellow man, brown man can't hold their liquor.

So what did they have as a chaser?

"London mayor to fight hard to avert Brexit" Associated Press  June 12, 2016

LONDON —  ‘‘We’ve got to campaign together — door to door, street to street, city to city — to persuade our fellow citizens why this is so important to our future,’’ London’s mayor Sadiq Khan said Sunday speaking on the sidelines of Queen Elizabeth II’s birthday celebrations,

Related: "The drive in the ‘‘queen mobile’’ was the highlight of the party on The Mall, the road leading to Buckingham Palace. Tickets cost $214 each. Charities were asked to pay for the passes themselves, but for the price of entry, the participants feasted on Scottish salmon, Northern Ireland roast beef, pork pies, and cheese — little bits of the United Kingdom on a plate."

I'm so glad the elite and privileged had a nice party while the common people of England are lashed with austerity.

Khan’s remarks reflect the perception that the race has grown ever tighter as the vote draws near. Though Khan, of the Labor Party, has campaigned with Prime Minister David Cameron, of the Conservatives, such high-profile efforts have been rare.

It's to provide the narrative for a stolen and rigged vote, folks.

Much of the frustration of ‘‘remain’’ campaigners has been directed at Labor Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, who is seen as a less-than-enthusiastic supporter of the cause. In a Channel 4 interview, Corbyn put his commitment to remaining in the EU at seven on a scale of 10.

Labor for its part, on Sunday pledged extra support for communities facing pressure from migration as part of an effort to push more voters toward ‘‘remain.’’

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So how you liking the new mayor over there?

Danvers company acquires British firm

British receptionist wins her fight over flats

You can scroll through the rest of the countryside if you want more regarding the Brexit.

Did you see who will be entering, stage right?

NEXT DAY UPDATE: 

Britain exit from EU more likely in latest poll

That doesn't mean it will happen.

"The Remain campaign, made up of the corporate establishment, arrogant europhiles and foreign banks, have set out to terrify us all about life outside the EU. Their “Project Fear” strategy predicts mass unemployment, soaring interest rates and inflation, plummeting house prices, even world war...."

And what is the new mayor of London worried about?

"London mayor bans Tube ads that promote unhealthy body image" by Dan Bilefsky New York Times   June 15, 2016

LONDON — The young, thin model wore a bright yellow bikini and stared seductively at passers-by.

“Are you beach body ready?” asked the ad for Protein World, a maker of dietary supplements. The ad was defaced in subway stations across London when it appeared in April 2015, and it drew strong protests.

London’s new mayor, Sadiq Khan, moved on Monday to ban such ads — which critics call “fat-shaming” — from London’s public transportation system starting in July, saying the messages encourage unhealthy body images for young women. 

I remember when a pro-Palestinian ad raised hell with the T over here.

“As the father of two teenage girls, I am extremely concerned about this kind of advertising, which can demean people, particularly women, and make them ashamed of their bodies,” Khan said in announcing the ban on Monday.

“Nobody should feel pressurized, while they travel on the Tube or bus, into unrealistic expectations surrounding their bodies.”

I guess we know where the feelings for a wrap or burka come from.

The move is the latest effort by the authorities in Europe and elsewhere to address concerns about unrealistic or unhealthy body images in advertising, and the effect impossibly thin models can have on the self-esteem and health of consumers.

France, Israel, Italy, and Spain have enacted policies aimed at preventing models with stick-thin bodies from working in the industry.

Wouldn't that have sort of a reverse effect and ostracize thin women?

The mayor, who said he wanted to send a “clear message” to the advertising industry, said the new guidelines would apply to any form of transit run by Transport for London that could create body-confidence issues.

Getting past your body type, and you are all beautiful, ladies, I'm tired of having messages sent to me by authority for whatever agenda they happen to be pushing at a given moment. Not trying to be offensive, but I'm wondering what kind of body mass issues all the refugees across the planet are dealing with, etc, etc. The millions upon millions of underfed and starving people, etc, etc. I'm not particularly worried about a poster on the train right now.

An estimated 12,000 ads appear annually on London’s transport network, and Khan was following through on a campaign pledge in imposing restrictions on them.

Let's hear some big cheers for small favors!

Transport for London said in a statement that it would not allow ads that “could reasonably be seen as likely to cause pressure to conform to an unrealistic or unhealthy body shape, or as likely to create body-confidence issues, particularly among young people.”

Plenty of war propaganda out there in the form of new$papers.

Graeme Craig, the agency’s commercial development director, said the new rules were necessary because transit passengers were a captive audience.

Your a hostage when you use public transport!

Unlike ads that appear in other forums, like television, online, and print, he said, passengers on public transportation “cannot simply switch off or turn a page if an advertisement offends or upsets them — and we have a duty to ensure the copy we carry reflects that unique environment.”

They can not look at it and ignore it!

The announcement of the ban inspired mixed reactions, with some saying that Khan, a member of the Labour Party, had performed a public service by fighting the regular portrayal of unrealistic body types.

“A great start for London’s ‘feminist Mayor’” Women’s Equality Party wrote on Twitter.

(Blog editor shakes head. Where are these feminist groups when it comes to the women being widowed by drone strikes anyway?)

But some critics suggested that Khan, a Muslim, was using the ad ban to clamp down on racy images of women because they were counter to the norms of conservative Islam. Khan’s office declined to comment when asked about that line of criticism. 

That is where my print ended upon a glance, and it subtly leaves the feel of Islamaphobia, doesn't it?

Gotta love the Jewi$h War Pre$$ of AmeriKa.

Khan is the son of a bus driver who grew up in public housing, and his religion drew attention in the mayoral race, with a rival candidate, Zac Goldsmith, accusing him of giving “oxygen and cover” to extremists. 

The campaign was a real muddle.

Ian Twinn, a spokesman for the Incorporated Society of British Advertisers, which represents around 450 British companies, said he had no problem with the regulation as long as it focused solely on not promoting unhealthy body images.

“Parents don’t want their children to see ads of models who are unhealthily thin children, and send out a message that this is what you should look like,” he said. “Equally, we don’t want people who are comfortably chubby threatening to ban perfectly reasonable ads. We are not meant to go around with excessive fat on our waists. If fat is the new normal, we don’t want that to be the reason to censor people who are not fat. That seems barmy.” 

Forget the ads, what of the starving children of the world with dissented bellies? Instead I'm getting this shit. 

Related: Obesity is $eriou$ Bu$ine$$ 

Sort of explains itself as well as the rotten food products offered up by corporate conglomerates.

Twinn said the model in the Protein World ad had a toned and athletic body, a perspective that was echoed by the Advertising Standards Authority.

After receiving 378 complaints last year about the ad, the advertising board ruled that it was not offensive or irresponsible. It did, however, ban the ad because of concerns about its health and weight loss claims.

Protein World, for its part, told the board that the phrase “beach body” was commonly used and understood to mean looking at one’s best.

It said the model in the ad had a “healthy figure” and that the company “did not believe that the ad implied everyone should look like the model or that the text and image were irresponsible.”

Last year, the French Parliament approved measures aimed at preventing modeling agencies from hiring models deemed dangerously thin.

Under the law, models need a doctor’s certificate to certify they are fit to work, and employers are at risk of jail or fines of 75,000 euros, or about $85,000, if they breach the rules. 

Well that stinks.

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I overate.

Related: 

"British politicians won’t be the only ones settling in for a long night as the polls close on June 23. JPMorgan Chase & Co., Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC, Morgan Stanley and Lloyds Banking Group PLC are among banks in London that plan to keep traders overnight to monitor the markets and handle client trades as results of the referendum on European Union membership trickle in, people with knowledge of the plans said. Currency traders, whose market stays open 24 hours, are among those most likely to remain in the office as they grapple with moves in the pound that have grown more volatile as the vote approaches."