Absolutely Anything Else

SimonTrew wrote:

...No "leave" did win decisively. That was the whole point of the referendum. It was a decisive vote, and we voted to leave. It was a straight majority not two thirds majority, I voted "leave" as it happens, but the UK voted to leave. The referendum, as all referenda are in the UK, not binding in law, but that is what the vox populi said, they said "leave". It is not your opinion, those are the facts.

It's the use of the word I used,  "decisive".

If it had been 60-40 or 70-30 I'd have called that decisive. 

Even though "leave" won, the actual results of 51.9% vs 48.1% "remain" could not be called decisive.

I'd call that marginal as the majority result was held by very few people who could have been persuaded with sufficient campaigning.

Same as George Dubya's election to being El Presidente - I'd call that marginal. But if you don't agree, just ask Chad.

SimCityAT wrote:

In Hungary, a child's name must be chosen from a list of pre-approved names. If the intended name is not on the list, the parents need to apply for approval. Applications are considered by the Research Institute for Linguistics of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences following a set of principles. Children born to a foreign citizen may have their name chosen according to foreign law.

I thought that was all over.

fluffy2560 wrote:

SimCityAT wrote:

In Hungary, a child's name must be chosen from a list of pre-approved names. If the intended name is not on the list, the parents need to apply for approval. Applications are considered by the Research Institute for Linguistics of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences following a set of principles. Children born to a foreign citizen may have their name chosen according to foreign law.

I thought that was all over.

Might be law, but unless its really offensive or plain stupid they might just turn a blind eye to it as its just too much hassle?

SimCityAT wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

SimCityAT wrote:

In Hungary, a child's name must be chosen from a list of pre-approved names. If the intended name is not on the list, the parents need to apply for approval. Applications are considered by the Research Institute for Linguistics of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences following a set of principles. Children born to a foreign citizen may have their name chosen according to foreign law.

I thought that was all over.

Might be law, but unless its really offensive or plain stupid they might just turn a blind eye to it as its just too much hassle?

Seems like a pointless law.  I think Austria has the same law if I'm not mistaken.

I think a lot of European countries have similar ones. But then I know the UK doesn't have restrictions other than they can't be offensive or misleading like King, Prince, Lord, Earl etc...

SimCityAT wrote:

I think a lot of European countries have similar ones. But then I know the UK doesn't have restrictions other than they can't be offensive or misleading like King, Prince, Lord, Earl etc...

Sounds like too much interference.

As Tim Vine said....

"Apparently, 1 in 5 people in the world are Chinese. And there are 5 people in my family, so it must be one of them. It's either my mum or my dad. Or my older brother Colin. Or my younger brother Ho-Chan-Chu. But I think it's Colin."

fluffy2560 wrote:

I am sure Fiona  would agree. 

I'd like to show her my ... office. I'm thinking the sliding part, bare legs and no drawers.

*I'm not objectifying Fiona

Yeah, that's what you say. Does Mrs Fluffy know about this? I only watch Antiques Roadshow for the bit where you get a woman with an enormous pair of jugs.

Preferably Xing dynasty.

SimonTrew wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

I am sure Fiona  would agree. 

I'd like to show her my ... bureau. I'm thinking the sliding part, bare legs and no drawers.

*I'm not objectifying Fiona

Yeah, that's what you say. Does Mrs Fluffy know about this? I only watch Antiques Roadshow for the bit where you get a woman with an enormous pair of jugs.

Preferably Xing dynasty.

Fiona's a fan of magic tricks. Now you see it now you don't.

But actually it's that smooth plummy dark brown voice that's the draw.   

Everyone loves Fiona - or would like to.

fluffy2560 wrote:

SimCityAT wrote:

....I would say that picture is a writing desk?

Yes, some people might call it that but I think that's more without the fold down part.   

With the fold down part, I'd call it a bureau.

If you Google bureau with images, it brings up lots of pictures.

The old style school desks would be more like writing desks.

You are thinking of an escritoire. And I doff my chapeux.

fluffy2560 wrote:

Everyone loves Fiona - or would like to.

This seems to be taken from a statistical sample of 1.

where i used to live, one oof my feollow lodgers was a big fan of darts, so had a darts board on the bacck of the door

were i to knock  for sayoing here is your washing, or whatever, he would say come in, but forgot that now you do not have a darts board but my forehead. That hurt. but since he had scored a treble tewnty he would throw the other two as well.

SimonTrew wrote:

...
This seems to be taken from a statistical sample of 1.

I have a high degree of confidence that a greater sample size would prove my point. I don't think you'd find anyone who doesn't like Fiona or the idea of Fiona.  She's a class act - independently minded, intellectual and smooth as silky milk chocolate RP.

Just to go off at a tangent and to lay my cards on the table, I quite like Monica Lewinsky and Stormy Daniels too.  Both are class acts in a way too.  Monica has been a force for good since her 15 minutes of fame.  And you have to admire Stormy just for the audacity of taking on Donny.

fluffy2560 wrote:

And you have to admire Stormy just for the audacity of taking on Donny.

Indeed, the audiences at the Doncaster Palais are not the friendliest.

SimonTrew wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

And you have to admire Stormy just for the audacity of taking on Donny.

Indeed, the audiences at the Doncaster Palais are not the friendliest.

No such place as far as I recall. 

Stormy was due on Big Brother and Loose Women (UK TV shows) and didn't turn up.  Her BB appearance would have earnt $950K for at least a week in the house which is money for doing nothing. 1 week and almost $1M, incredible!

Apparently Stormy does private performances.  Her agent can be reached here:  Stormy's manager +1 202-456-1414

Donny's manager can be reached here: Donny's Manager

I just checked the link for Donny's manager but somehow seem to have ended up  buying ten million cubic litres of natural gas for import into Hungary. The chap on the other end wanted some kind of baksheesh and I had already struck the price, I suppose I should have done a bit of a backhander but I am an honest English gentleman. Yet I made it back on a little future I had set aside for Brent Crude.

Fuels rush in where angols fear to treat.

But oil wells, that ends swell.

When I banked in England it was at Lloyds Bank, on Lloyd's Lane in London. Lloyds lost the apostrophe in the mid eighties but the lane still has it. It was rather a pleasure, though, working on Lloyd's Lane, to take my lunch break each day and walk across Tower Bridge and back again for a bit of exercise, although the job was awful.

My brother owned an old double decker london bus that all the family helped restore.. Now that was fun to take around Chiswick skid pan. It is odd isn't oit as we get older, these kinda experiences you have that can never come again, and yet at the time you never think of them as anything unusual. That is perhaps rather philosophical I don't know, carpe diem or whatever, but I have done so many weird things in my life. I will not win an Oscar or a Nobel Prize, or the Kentucky Derby or whatever, yet I have just done these rather peculiar, not outstanding but a bit eccentric, things. And my life is all the richer for it. It must be terribly boring to be "normal".

In British English you have the word "lacing" that is used to mean the way the head of a pint of beer clings to othe side of the glass as you drink it. I suppose it comes from an allustion to lace stocking, lace curtains and so on.

These new styles of IPA in Hungary, Soproni's and Dreher's, they are not quite the same as an English IPA but are pretty good and have that "lacing" although they are not cask conditioned like a proper English IPA would be,

I am just wondering what the Hungarian word for "lacing" would be. Translation dictoinaries seem no help, of course I get shoelaces and poison and thngs like that. My Hungarian wife doesn't know.

I was once asked  in an interview "tell me how you tie your sholeaces": I believe this is a stock question for companies I don't want to work for. I replied "The same way I tie my bowtie".

Didn't get the job......

fluffy2560 wrote:

Even though "leave" won, the actual results of 51.9% vs 48.1% "remain" could not be called decisive.

I call it decisive,. The country made a decision, they decided, it was decisive. You are now just playing Humpty Dumpty, "when I use a word, it means just what I choose it to mean, neither more nor less". Decisive means you have made a decision. I cannot think of anything clearer than a public referendum. You may not like it, but it is decisive.

fluffy2560 wrote:

Just to go off at a tangent and to lay my cards on the table....

Why don't you lay them straight rather than at a tangent?

I have never quite  understood that idiom, go off at a tangent. I know you know, but just in popular use it means like go off in a completely different direction, which is not what tangents do. That would be to go off at a normal, or perhaps a cosecant. Going off at a tangent (onto the curve) is hardly going off at all, really, at least at small angles. I think it is one of those things that Fowler tends to call "sturdy indefensibles", that really make no sense but we just know what they mean idiomatically

1 day a week, I get to stay up and listen to a friend play live on his website, Youtube or Facebook. House Music, so not everyone's cup of tea, that I know. But my taste in music is varied. Being brought up in a music household I enjoy pretty much everything. I take the line these days- "I, Listen, I Like, I Buy."

What is your taste?

SimonTrew wrote:

.....carpe diem or whatever, but I have done so many weird things in my life. I will not win an Oscar or a Nobel Prize, or the Kentucky Derby or whatever, yet I have just done these rather peculiar, not outstanding but a bit eccentric, things. ....

What weird things?

SimonTrew wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

Even though "leave" won, the actual results of 51.9% vs 48.1% "remain" could not be called decisive.

I call it decisive,. The country made a decision, they decided, it was decisive. You are now just playing Humpty Dumpty, "when I use a word, it means just what I choose it to mean, neither more nor less". Decisive means you have made a decision. I cannot think of anything clearer than a public referendum. You may not like it, but it is decisive.

My point was that it was not decisive within a margin of error.  I don't know what the margin was,  I expect it was significant.  Was it significant to change the result? No idea, but the fact that it was that close would cause one to dig deeper.

The last thing politicians want is a referendum.  It's just effectively a survey.  History is littered with examples of survey based decisions that have gone the wrong way or misjudged the public mood or even asked the wrong question (as in Brexit).   Many people wanted reform, not leave, but faced with a dumb question of in or out, they obviously would take the out. Reform wasn't offered.

fluffy2560 wrote:

The last thing politicians want is a referendum.

Unless the topic is their idea, and they can manipulate the question and the campaign (i.e. propaganda) to get the results they want. Then they can use the referendum "results" to co call claim they are doing the "will of the people".

Whatever next, you watch Youtube videos in the kitchen, look inside your fridge and freezer without the door because there are 3 cameras inside.

Food Cam & Food Reminder
Recipes App & Entertainment Center
Family Planner & Message Board

klsallee wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

The last thing politicians want is a referendum.

Unless the topic is their idea, and they can manipulate the question and the campaign (i.e. propaganda) to get the results they want. Then they can use the referendum "results" to co call claim they are doing the "will of the people".

Sure but you know, "the people have voted, the bast***ds".

They tried that with Brexit and it went the wrong way for the powers that be and the UK PM had to resign. 

It's also beenshown in Ireland that sometimes referendums go the wrong way until you get the question right.

I'm not going to get into failed referenda in Switzerland (particularly the rejection of equality based voting for women in Alpenzeller local elections - just one I remember).

And then there's here....but is that a fair example.  We often discuss politics here and amongst people who are relatives and contacts. It's absolutely stunning how ill-informed people are.  Things have got worse now HirTV has gone to the OV controlled camp.  There's no non-OV oriented media left. Balance is gone, governmentally it's going like Venezuela but without the oil.

I was once told the story of the Ford Edselmarketing campaign, a failure to "manipulate" the market sufficiently.

SimCityAT wrote:

[img align=C]https://www.ascasa.de/images/product_images/popup_images/50079_0.jpg[/url]

Whatever next, you watch Youtube videos in the kitchen, look inside your fridge and freezer without the door because there are 3 cameras inside.

Food Cam & Food Reminder
Recipes App & Entertainment Center
Family Planner & Message Board

Ah but does it have FB so everyone knows where you keep the pregnancy testing kits, your vaccines and stuff for nasty diseases and tomatoes?  Social media Nazi fridges? Or have I already lost the argument by invoking Godwin this early?

Reading further, you can link your computer, tablet or phone to the fridge. Maybe if you are doing a shop and what to remind yourself whats in it you can check? Maybe it's a good idea?

fluffy2560 wrote:

Sure but you know, "the people have voted, the bast***ds".

They tried that with Brexit and it went the wrong way for the powers that be and the UK PM had to resign.

And I would say that that it went very well for the powers that be. That is, the powers that be were those in the pro-exit fraction backing Cameron and were required by him to get backing to become PM in the first place, dependent on his agreement such a referendum. After they got the referendum, Cameron was disposable to them.

Don't assume that the powers that be must represent an actual numerical majority. They can work on the side, or in the shadows but still hold important and significant power; often excessive power irrelevant of their actual numbers. Or in other words, the real king makers, the real powers that be, are actually often a minor political group.

And also, Brexit continues, because the current politicians in power, that is the current powers that be, still say "the people have voted".....

SimCityAT wrote:

Reading further, you can link your computer, tablet or phone to the fridge. Maybe if you are doing a shop and what to remind yourself whats in it you can check? Maybe it's a good idea?

What's wrong with the centuries old pencil and paper?

klsallee wrote:

.....
And also, Brexit continues, because the current politicians in power, that is the current powers that be, still say "the people have voted".....

It was more about uniting the party as there was a danger half would join UKIP.  Cameron believed he could put Brexit to bed once and for all by winning a referendum vote. Unfortunately it didn't go his way and he had no option but to resign as it was a effectively a vote of no confidence.  Now we've got a lot of bickering on a sub-grouping on leaving under WTO trading and other camp in variously soft and hard Brexit.  In other words, Teresa May is faced with the same kind of divisions regardless of the details.  Nothing has been solved. More than nothing in fact as we have nothing on the details.  Teresa May will probably not survive post-Brexit as PM.  I expect she'll resign on the 1st April 2019 leaving her successor to blame her for everything and that successor  to get the PM job - without the baggage of what went before.

A weird new thing was in discussion yesterday.  Giving all 3.5 M EU citizens in the UK the right to stay regardless of what the 27 remaining countries say about the British living elsewhere -  more than a million.  So actually they are pushing us lot (in other countries) off a cliff and abandoning us. 

I think a more interesting and radical solution is to grant all the EU citizens currently present in the UK, British citizenship and then, the whole thing goes away and that leaves the other countries in a fait accompli of some sort.   I am not sure what it does to them but certainly is an idea.  If it goes reciprocal, then we'd be in for some very strange political issues -  there's something like 1M Polish people in the UK, 10s of thousands of French, thousands of Hungarians - all with dual nationality.

fluffy2560 wrote:

It was more about uniting the party as there was a danger half would join UKIP.

And that half was then the powers that be. By Cameron even agreeing to a referendum made that fraction the king makers at that time. Simple as that. His (wrong) assumption that he could out maneuver them during the referendum vote is and was irrelevant. Because they dictated the party's direction at that time. And that alone was enough.

Post Brexit bickering is only an extension of the powers that be fighting for real, numerical and idealogical control.

fluffy2560 wrote:

thousands of Hungarians

I correct you. Tens of thousands. According to Wikipedia.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungarian … ed_Kingdom

klsallee wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

thousands of Hungarians

I correct you. Tens of thousands. According to Wikipedia.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungarian … ed_Kingdom

I'm clearly way out of date living in my own UK/HU bubble.

Still, be an interesting development, in a vein similar to the granting of HU citizenship to those in the surrounding countries.  While they are at it, they could fix all the categories of British citizenship too - I find them an affront to people's rights.

klsallee wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

It was more about uniting the party as there was a danger half would join UKIP.

And that half was then the powers that be. By Cameron even agreeing to a referendum made that fraction the king makers at that time. Simple as that. His (wrong) assumption that he could out maneuver them during the referendum vote is and was irrelevant. Because they dictated the party's direction at that time. And that alone was enough.

Post Brexit bickering is only an extension of the powers that be fighting for real, numerical and idealogical control.

Not sure I could agree to that. 

They weren't defacto king makers in some sort of Machiavellian way.   They wanted the leadership to go in their direction pretty much on that one issue and on everything else they would have followed the manifesto/party line. 

He gambled on the referendum (which no amount of massaging would make it a foregone conclusion). And he lost.  If he had won and had to fall on his sword. He'd still be PM as he'd have been proved right (i.e. the voters had no stomach for Brexit). 

Post-referendum a new set of potential leaders have emerged, none of which were on the radar previously.  Time moves on. BTW, almost 14M people didn't vote.

Brexit still continues to be a hot issue and the leadership issue is not resolved. Hotter than today in Balaton (33 C today).   

Thursday is a key day - publication of the no-deal plan I believe.

fluffy2560 wrote:

Not sure I could agree to that.

So thought the Republican party when it embraced the Tea Party. Which then morphed the party into Trumpism. So called "compassionate conservationism"? Phft. Gone with the wind. If it ever even existed.

So thought President Hindenburg and the German political elite when they thought they could contain the National Socialists.

So thought the Hungarian liberals who did not anticipate Orban and his minority party partners (Sunday store closers was their idea) that combined gives him extreme powers (and the liberal left still does not know how to really deal with that).

Etc. Etc. Etc.

History repeats itself.

That is, it is always about those in power thinking they can embrace and contain a raising ideology so those in power can still keep their jobs in government. It really is that simple, and that selfish, and that despicable. And that political behavior never turns out well.

But, overall -- Meh. I assume we can agree to disagree*.

*But based on History, I am right. 

klsallee wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

Not sure I could agree to that.

So thought the Republican party when it embraced the Tea Party. Which then morphed the party into Trumpism. So called "compassionate conservationism"? Phft. Gone with the wind. If it ever even existed.

So thought President Hindenburg and the German political elite when they thought they could contain the National Socialists.

So thought the Hungarian liberals who did not anticipate Orban and his minority party partners (Sunday store closers was their idea) that combined gives him extreme powers (and the liberal left still does not know how to really deal with that).

Etc. Etc. Etc.

History repeats itself.

That is, it is always about those in power thinking they can embrace and contain a raising ideology so those in power can still keep their jobs in government. It really is that simple, and that selfish, and that despicable. And that political behavior never turns out well.

But, overall -- Meh. I assume we can agree to disagree*.

*But based on History, I am right. 

Oh, in that "bigger picture", I can definitely agree with you even though I am not 100% on your Cameron and Brexit analysis. 

But since we're on the subject, is Trump really a Republican?   I would say he's more like independent whatever label he tries to align or legitimise his policies with . Trump is at odds with a lot of them even if they are part of the same rightest scheme, e.g. Paul Ryan is not seeking office in the next round (another run at the Presidency?) and Trump is building a formidable opposition in those he distrusts like the ex-CIA and FBI directors, ex-Admirals etc.   So, looks to me, Trump is building his own intolerant base out of the ruins and disarray he's caused. 

But in the end, we are talking about is agency theory - i.e.  no-one acts fully out of altruism.  Shame but true.

But returning to OV and even Trump, we know what happened to the other Hindenberg or indeed the National Socialists.  A reich of thousand years.  In your dreams, Adolf.

Hello everyone
Hopefully moving to Hungary quite soon. My main worry is stray dogs and Rabies. I have a little Chihuahua, and I am possibly overreacting, but I am beginning to worry about his safety this worrying has started after hearing about so many stray dogs being rescued from pounds and sent to England and other countries to be adopted after being treated so badly. Is it that bad?
Lyndielou

Lyndielou wrote:

Hello everyone
Hopefully moving to Hungary quite soon. My main worry is stray dogs and Rabies. I have a little Chihuahua, and I am possibly overreacting, but I am beginning to worry about his safety this worrying has started after hearing about so many stray dogs being rescued from pounds and sent to England and other countries to be adopted after being treated so badly. Is it that bad?
Lyndielou

I wouldn't worry too much since your dog is so tiny and probably not going to be out and about on his own. In the city I never really see any stray dogs.
Most all the city dogs oare on leads.
People let their dogs run free in the park or dog parks but they seem under control.