How will you vote in the EU referendum?

There was some tosh about bananas having to be straight, but who knows who was behind that one.
Bananas had to conform to a certain size which meant that Madeiran farmers could no longer export their bananas to the EU (or so we were informed when we were there) they grew those tiny sweet bananas - are they called ladyfingers?
findery.com/skimbaco/notes/smaller-is-better-yes-in-madeira

It is not all made-up tosh!!
(even if I find Boris supremely irritating I have to put the record straight!! ).

But many of the stories turn out to have a nugget of truth, which is then often exaggerated. For example, fishermen will not be required to wear hairnets, unless they happen to work as fish processors aboard factory vessels.
And there is a directive that is hauntingly similar to the bananas story. It's about cucumbers. It does not ban curved cucumbers, but it does set up a classification system that reserves a special category for cucumbers that are perfectly straight, since they can be packed in a standard size box.

The banana story began with a page-one article last week in The Sun, which reported that "Brussels bureaucrats proved yesterday what a barmy bunch they are -- by outlawing curved bananas." The European Union had set minimum requirements for size -- 5.5 inches long and 1.1 inch wide -- and was going to ban "abnormally bent" bananas, The Sun reported.

Somewhat taken aback, European Union officials acknowledged that a regulation had just been promulgated setting standards for bananas, including the size requirements reported in The Sun. But the standards were set as a result of "pressure from the trade," applied to growers and packers and not retailers, and would change nothing since virtually all bananas sold in Britain already conformed, a spokesman said.

"It doesn't affect Mrs. Jones going into a greengrocer," insisted the spokesman, Peter Dixon. Asked about the issue of the banana's shape, he said: "The regulation says a banana should not have an abnormal shape. In no sense does it ban curved bananas because a curve is a normal shape for a banana."

I am beginning to feel almost sorry for Boris.
Almost

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/size-does-matter-for-the-euro-condom-1321626.html
Condoms have to conform to a certain length.
The British ones were shorter

I can't find anything about prawn cocktail flavoured crisps, except that that was a myth!!
Can't stand them anyway.

www.independent.co.uk/news/world/size-does-matter-for-the-euro-condom-1321626.html

sorry, if you were interested, link above (but probably not!!)

People like to talk about European unity. Reading the news this morning it looks as if the Greeks have been thrown to the wolves.
And what will happen in Greece with these huge amounts of young men from different countries with their own cultures. They will bring their rivalries to Greece.

Yes, poor Greece, no longer a holiday destination either.Although the PM there seems to have have got another job ( or is it his finance minister?) by becoming an advisor to Corbyn!

I saw Yanis Varoufakis on QT a while back and thought he was very good.

The agreement reached last year for relocating migrants hasn't been kept. Different countries agreed (reluctantly) to take an allocation of people, but only a few hundred relocations have taken place. The EU has now agreed to work with the UN on the ground inside the EU and there's a meeting on 18th to discuss the situation. That's a big step forward. It does sound like the countries that share Greece's northern border will shortly effectively create a new internal EU border, making mainland Greece a holding pen.

Greece is most definitely still a holiday destination. Migrants are only arriving on the islands nearest Turkey (3 or 4 islands) and the Greek government ferries them to Piraeus on the mainland. Holidays to Turkey are well down though and that's down to military action and terrorism as much as the refugee situation, but again we're talking about specific areas of a large country.

PS Yanis Varoufakis was the Greek Finance Minister.

Varoufakis is 'advising' Corbyn/Labour.

I keep mentioning Greece and if you are genuinely interested in the Greek problem can I reccomend a good BBC, two parter called , 'Greece with Simon Reeve' . It is well worth a watch and whilst I knew a lot of what was happening in Greece I learnt a lot. I have mentioned the conditions some immigrant workers live , worse than the Jungle/Calais and the 25% unemployment rate etc.

Greece borrowed billions and spent it on infrastructure, such as the railways. Yet Greece has lost billions due to high wages, not selling tickets etc. Greeks borrowed and squandered money and lived way beyond their means.

Greece still has national service and holds National Military Parades (proud of it's resistance against Germany). Greece has a huge army and twice as many tanks as the UK and France , combined. For years Greece was one of the biggest arms importers in 'the world '. The Greeks blame Germany for a lot of their economic problems, yet Germany is one of the biggest provider of weapons to Greece. Corruption and tax avoidence are rife.

Massive coal fields exist, one is 30 sq miles in area. It supplies Athens. 50% of Greece's energy is coal produced. We are cutting down on emmisions yet Greece isn't looking as though it is trying much. They have all that potential for solar power. I doubt if they give a stuff about EU regulations.

Greece will only recover if it can get to grips with government jobs, wages and pension age payments. Stop the corruption and start paying/collecting it's taxes. Unemployment and social welfare is terrible but the Greek governments have been prolific borrowers and spenders and it reaping the reward, as we are of overspending. The European Union has clamped down on Greece yet it was the European Union that dragged it into the borrowing and spending spree . Greece should never have been allowed to join at the time it did, it was a disaster waiting to happen.

its true Greece remains a problem but as long as the UK takes no refugees they can't point the finger at other European countries who have already taken thousands.

The EU has been accused of not being on top of the bureaucracy, but i think they do well although it is not perfect. The Uk thinks it can do so much better but so far it has not managed even the NHS. They will have far more to do if they leave and I wonder if they are competent enough.
I heard that they will have to go through all the policies and agreements they have signed and go through them one by one and I suppose pay for the work done on their behalf.
I hope common sense overrides this longing for sovereignity which they actually lost to the American way of life.

Yes well POGS if the big consulting firm - was it Goldman Sachs? - had been a bit more diligent (and actually been to Greece) they would never have recommended they be allowed to join the EU in the first place. #casheconomiesareus

The EU set important standards in pharmaceuticals, food safety, environmental regulation, water quality etc.

When in Australia I sometimes look at the water my grandkids are swimming in (a large estuary in an urban area) and wonder what the hell is going into it, in the absence of EU rules and regulations.

None of us have any right to give our children's and their children's country away to others. That will be the case if will stay in the EU. We have been told what to do for too long and where has it really got us. No where that,s where. Stand united and be proud to be British. Out out out of the EU.

Greece is fifth in the world for solar power per capita using PV.
It's 23rd for wind power.

Not really such a lost cause, considering its financial situation.

Good point about giving the country away.

I'll tell my EU children and grandchildren that I do not want them, shall I?

No, Greece is a successful country dj

About your post of 16.59pm

JessM. Yes it was Goldman Sachs (friend of Tony Blair)
When Yanis Varoufakis was last on TV he mentioned that the Greek government were trying to launch a prosecution against them.
Don't blame the Greeks for them being in the EU, they never wanted it.

Here here, Caretaker.

Why does the country you live in have to be part of the EU in order for you to want your grandkids, dj? Genuinely puzzled by your reasoning.

Should I "not want" my brother any more because he has become an American citizen? America isn't even part of the same continent, never mind economic union.

That was me putting it politely. What I'm really thinking about your last post is that it's irrelevant hogwash.

You don't have to answer, btw. I think I'd rather you didn't on the whole for fear of more hogwash.

Clutching at straws much, durhamjen?
Greece is in a complete mess, and I feel dreadfully sorry for the majority of Greek people who really are suffering.

"Greece is fifth in the world for solar power per capita using PV.
It's 23rd for wind power.
Not really such a lost cause, considering its financial situation."

Your posts appear to be lacking in balance, durhamjen.
One "good" thing ie solar power/wind negates many others.
That is how it seems to work for you in other areas too.
Not a case of black and white, but one white and many blacks is white in your eyes. Or/and vice versa.

"I'll tell my EU children and grandchildren that I do not want them, shall I?"

I don't understand this. Perhaps I am missing something?
I have relatives in France and Italy but they'll still be my loved ones if we leave the EU and I'll see them as often as I do now.