Off Topic Thread 5.0

prawnsambo

This is an ongoing thread that started yesterday. It's like a serialised story that's unfolding in real time. Absolutely hilarious and well worth following. The subject is introduced in this tweet and is continuing on an hour by hour basis

sydthebeat

i just had a read of that thread..... priceless !!

sydthebeat

sydthebeat wrote: »

i just had a read of that thread..... priceless !!

I saw it the other day and felt it eventually started to read more like fiction.

There is an interesting point there though. I think the success of recent right wing movements has been down to an electorate that pay little attention to detailed political discussion nor have any interest in a more substantive debate around policy.

I've no doubt there are plenty of 'it will be worth it in the end' brexit supporters but I feel there is a far greater number who have no idea what they've agreed to in their own names and are going to be astonished at what they've actually given away.

I already view England as a country bordering on destabilisation and I think it's going to get a lot worse if their government continue to act so irresponsibly.

irishbucsfan

I felt it read like fiction as well. But I wouldn’t be surprised whatsoever if it is completely true.

I’m surrounded by British ex pats here and the things I’ve seen alone and the stories I have heard from locals and normal ex pats in the last few weeks would suggest there are thousands of people like this.

Have an English friend here (IE a normal person who is completely aware of what Brexit does to his status in Europe) and we were in a bar soon after lockdown and there was this older couple saying horrific stuff about the Portuguese staff in the town (including of that very establishment) and I nearly had to pull him off them after it got quite heated (those staff being friends of ours). But they were on about “can’t wait for brexit”... they live in Portugal and have no intention of leaving... as if Brexit is going to change anything here. Morons. To be fair there are horrific Irish/German/Russian ex pats here as well, this is just a particularly dumb variety. Same crowd are the ones who refuse to wear face masks etc

prawnsambo

Deleted User wrote: »

I saw it the other day and felt it eventually started to read more like fiction.

There is an interesting point there though. I think the success of recent right wing movements has been down to an electorate that pay little attention to detailed political discussion nor have any interest in a more substantive debate around policy.

I've no doubt there are plenty of 'it will be worth it in the end' brexit supporters but I feel there is a far greater number who have no idea what they've agreed to in their own names and are going to be astonished at what they've actually given away.

I already view England as a country bordering on destabilisation and I think it's going to get a lot worse if their government continue to act so irresponsibly.

I've wavered between it being true and fiction tbh. But either way. it's immensely entertaining. The whole idea of ending freedom of movement being 'for them and not us' is a very deeply held belief among the brexity bunch. Those who already live in Spain or France have some chance of getting permanent residency, while those (like the subjects of the story) will not and many of them probably don't realise this yet.

Squidgy Black

I think there's probably some truth to it in terms of his neighbours being ex-pats and being naive in terms of what Brexit means for them, but the whole deal with him being so close to the mayor, staff changing days of leave to witness it, and the neighbour's son's boss texting him all seems like a bit of creative writing considering he's not a solicitor or anything like that. And the rest of his Twitter profile is littered with anti-brexit tweets.

Podge_irl

prawnsambo wrote: »

I've wavered between it being true and fiction tbh. But either way. it's immensely entertaining. The whole idea of ending freedom of movement being 'for them and not us' is a very deeply held belief among the brexity bunch. Those who already live in Spain or France have some chance of getting permanent residency, while those (like the subjects of the story) will not and many of them probably don't realise this yet.

They want to end free movement for immigrants, not expats.

:rolleyes:

prawnsambo

Squidgy Black wrote: »

I think there's probably some truth to it in terms of his neighbours being ex-pats and being naive in terms of what Brexit means for them, but the whole deal with him being so close to the mayor, staff changing days of leave to witness it, and the neighbour's son's boss texting him all seems like a bit of creative writing considering he's not a solicitor or anything like that. And the rest of his Twitter profile is littered with anti-brexit tweets.

To be fair, him being a point of contact makes sense since he's bilingual. I have a friend who lives near Carcassonne and has ended up in pretty much the same role for Brit migrants (I refuse to call them ex-pats ) in his village. Right back to the days after the brexit vote. They haven't a word of French and he's a teacher, not a laywer. So that bit reminded me of his stories.

swiwi_

As much as Covid is a disaster for certain countries, as tourists in Italy it’s a godsend. There are us...and a few Italians. Went to Pompei today. No queuing, just straight in, follow the arrows (set routes) and out the other side. Our host said Sorrento is like it was 30 years ago.

Tdlr: Italy is a good choice for a summer holiday. I imagine France and Spain are similar. But the Italians are way friendlier than the French.

Synode

Tony H and the WHO are recommending Irish people cancel all foreign holidays this year

Stheno

Synode wrote: »

Tony H and the WHO are recommending Irish people cancel all foreign holidays this year

The WHO specifically said Ireland or was it more general?

Podge_irl

swiwi_ wrote: »

As much as Covid is a disaster for certain countries, as tourists in Italy it’s a godsend. There are us...and a few Italians. Went to Pompei today. No queuing, just straight in, follow the arrows (set routes) and out the other side. Our host said Sorrento is like it was 30 years ago.

Tdlr: Italy is a good choice for a summer holiday. I imagine France and Spain are similar. But the Italians are way friendlier than the French.

I'm off to Alba in mid August. Can't wait.

You fly there?

jacothelad

Deleted User wrote: »

I saw it the other day and felt it eventually started to read more like fiction.

There is an interesting point there though. I think the success of recent right wing movements has been down to an electorate that pay little attention to detailed political discussion nor have any interest in a more substantive debate around policy.

I've no doubt there are plenty of 'it will be worth it in the end' brexit supporters but I feel there is a far greater number who have no idea what they've agreed to in their own names and are going to be astonished at what they've actually given away.

I already view England as a country bordering on destabilisation and I think it's going to get a lot worse if their government continue to act so irresponsibly.

We are watching Cummings and his underlings in Downing Street stealing the country and it's democratic process. Staying silent is to be complicit in their theft. They are crooks. They are thieves . They are intent on the destruction and emasculation of the country for their own lunatic ends. Neo-fascism usually includes ultra nationalism, racial supremacy, populism, authoritarianism, nativism, xenophobia ..Now you can see where we have been delivered. How can so many millions in this country be so blind and deaf to the rape of past heritage and future prospects by a few neofascist b*stards.


Most people are familiar with this or a variety of it.


First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist


Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist


Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist


Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew


Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me.


I would like to add this about the current Conservative party and what passes for 'policy'


First they came for truth and we closed our eyes to it and the lies they used.
Then they came for honesty and we ignored them for they have no conscience.
Then the came for honour and trashed it for they have none.
Then they came without conscience for the old in the care homes and we sat back.
Now they have come for the impartial Civil Service and we scratch our heads as if it doesn't matter.
Then they came for our voice and we let them take every sound.
Shame on us. All of us who stay dumb.

Synode

Stheno wrote: »

The WHO specifically said Ireland or was it more general?

Im not sure, it was on the radio earlier and I was only half listening.

swiwi_

Podge_irl wrote: »

I'm off to Alba in mid August. Can't wait.

You fly there?

No I wasn’t too keen on flying tbh. Last year we went to Spain and on one day we drove 13h. So we learnt our lesson. First day we went to Siena. Then to Sorrento. And tomorrow off to Puglia. The Italian roads which are not major highways are pretty shocking TBH but the motorways are fine.

Compared to Switzerland everything is cheaper. Which is not difficult in all honesty.

irishbucsfan

There is a decent argument that countries with little to no community transmissions should allow travel between them. The problem is legalities and politics make that difficult. And there are very few of those countries that are traditional summer holiday destinations. There would be next to no extra risk in Irish people travelling to Andorra for example, if we were the only ones going there, but there would be considerable extra risk if Irish people were going there while French, Spanish and particularly now Portuguese were going there and that'll almost always be true.

Greece is often given as a safe example but the countries around them are starting to get out of control now and that is a concern. Good luck shutting down travel between Greece/Macedonia/Bulgaria/Serbia.

pickarooney

I'm staying in France for holidays but taking an 11 hour flight.

irishbucsfan

https://twitter.com/thehill/status/1277959343082811392?s=21

I wonder if tests in South Dakota might be hard to come by for the next couple of weeks...

Stheno

irishbucsfan wrote: »

https://twitter.com/thehill/status/1277959343082811392?s=21

I wonder if tests in South Dakota might be hard to come by for the next couple of weeks...

In a rational world these people would be jailed for murder

errlloyd

What do you reckon the chances of Ireland taking stricter action against U.S. travel in the next few weeks are?

My GF has booked to go home. Rn in Dublin she's unemployed, the weather sucks, and she hasn't seen her family for 9 months. In summary, she's incredibly homesick. But she's worried she'll get stuck outside Ireland, or harshly judged on social media if she returns here in early August.

jacothelad

Stheno wrote: »

In a rational world these pe oi ple would be jailed for murder

.....alongside Bunter Johnston, Sunak, Raab, Gove, Hancock, Patel, Sharma and Williamson and a special vat of boiling hate for Cummings.

prawnsambo

errlloyd wrote: »

What do you reckon the chances of Ireland taking stricter action against U.S. travel in the next few weeks are?

My GF has booked to go home. Rn in Dublin she's unemployed, the weather sucks, and she hasn't seen her family for 9 months. In summary, she's incredibly homesick. But she's worried she'll get stuck outside Ireland, or harshly judged on social media if she returns here in early August.

Ireland are likely to follow EU exclusions on travel from the US. And the way things are going over there, it's not looking good for the foreseeable future. She can likely travel there, but coming back would depend entirely on how well the US manages to contain the spread. And that's not boding well.

I wouldn't give a fig for social media reactions. Why would she feel the need to inform on herself there? Just stay away from it.

b.gud

This is probably my favourite tweet of that thread https://twitter.com/archer_rs/status/1277979549972615169

errlloyd

errlloyd wrote: »

What do you reckon the chances of Ireland taking stricter action against U.S. travel in the next few weeks are?

My GF has booked to go home. Rn in Dublin she's unemployed, the weather sucks, and she hasn't seen her family for 9 months. In summary, she's incredibly homesick. But she's worried she'll get stuck outside Ireland, or harshly judged on social media if she returns here in early August.

As others have said - getting home won't be an issue - getting back into Ireland on the other hand could be out of the question for the foreseeable.

Even if she is from a low infection state the entire country will be quarantined to avoid loophole travel and I honestly think the US is going to go straight from this current surge into whatever is in store for us all in the Winter. I think it's going to be an extremely rough year for the States with a highly contentious election in the middle of it.

In a nutshell - her family should move here.

errlloyd

Deleted User wrote: »

As others have said - getting home won't be an issue - getting back into Ireland on the other hand could be out of the question for the foreseeable.

She has a residency permit. So it would require a fairly heavy escalation of policy.

I mean, at the moment I am fairly sure a person from the US can fly to Ireland for tourism reason (we'd just rather they didn't).

Yeah_Right

prawnsambo wrote: »

This is an ongoing thread that started yesterday. It's like a serialised story that's unfolding in real time. Absolutely hilarious and well worth following. The subject is introduced in this tweet and is continuing on an hour by hour basis

That is a good laugh. It almost makes me want to sign up to Twitter. Almost.
I don't know if its true or fiction or embellished but unfortunately it is believable. I'm sure we all know people like this couple and their son.

dregin

prawnsambo wrote: »

This is an ongoing thread that started yesterday. It's like a serialised story that's unfolding in real time. Absolutely hilarious and well worth following. The subject is introduced in this tweet and is continuing on an hour by hour basis

That is class. Any idea what the actual issue is they're facing because of brexit?

Neil3030

errlloyd wrote: »

She has a residency permit. So it would require a fairly heavy escalation of policy.

I mean, at the moment I am fairly sure a person from the US can fly to Ireland for tourism reason (we'd just rather they didn't).

Do the Irish rules specify a time period?

E.g. right now non U.S. nationals can't enter the U.S. if they've been in EU/UK/China etc in the last 14 days. Makes me wonder if they could just quarantine for two weeks somewhere like Canada or Mexico, then enter the U.S.

Perhaps Irish rules specify something similar and there could be a loophole back into the country if needs be.

errlloyd

Neil3030 wrote: »

Do the Irish rules specify a time period?

E.g. right now non U.S. nationals can't enter the U.S. if they've been in EU/UK/China etc in the last 14 days. Makes me wonder if they could just quarantine for two weeks somewhere like Canada or Mexico, then enter the U.S.

Perhaps Irish rules specify something similar and there could be a loophole back into the country if needs be.

She is a US national and Irish residency permit holder. So pretty sure she can land in the USA, step off the plane and go to a bar. When she returns to Ireland she has to self quarantine for 2 weeks.

As for the USA. I am pretty sure I could fly to Mexico and hang out for 14 days before going to the USA. But we are still not allowed in Canada AFAIK.

Neil3030

errlloyd wrote: »

She is a US national and Irish residency permit holder. So pretty sure she can land in the USA, step off the plane and go to a bar. When she returns to Ireland she has to self quarantine for 2 weeks.

As for the USA. I am pretty sure I could fly to Mexico and hang out for 14 days before going to the USA. But we are still not allowed in Canada AFAIK.

Right. Point I was trying to make was, even if we impose stricter rules (e.g. what the U.S. currently have with many countries), there could still be a loophole back in.