So It's Confirmed We Are Ready For No Deal, Even The Cbi Think We Are Not....

[ToraToraTora]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-49142762
on the basis that the CBI thinks the opposite of reality is there no better indicator that we are ready?

[naomi24]

Jim, if you think people are gaining the wrong impression of your posts perhaps you should take a very serious look at what you’re posting. We’re only responding to what you’re saying.

[jim360]

Thanks for the suggestion, but I am happy that what I say reflects what I think accurately and honestly already. So if you think I'm trying to fool anyone then that's for you to address rather than for me. I can only continue to repeat the truth about what my intentions are.

[jim360]

And I don't need you to tell me to read what I post, either. I've never failed to do otherwise.

[naomi24]

Jim, If you’re happy with what you post you can’t complain about the response it produces.

[jim360]

Of course I can: especially when it's a blatant misrepresentation of not only what I say but my motivations for saying it.

[naomi24]

Yep. We’re all wrong and you’re right. No change there then.

I can only repeat we respond to what you’ve written.

[jim360]

I know what I write, and I know why I write it. If you think I am trying to fool anyone then you're wrong. What else am I supposed to say? It's a nonsense assertion based on nothing.

Still, I suppose it keeps you busy and saves you from having to actually make any points of your own, eh? :)

[naomi24]

Give it up Jim. What’s done is done.

[Ellipsis]

Only a few people seem to have trouble understanding Jim's posts ...

[jim360]

I'll take what NJ and Ellipsis read into my posts -- that is, honest disagreement -- over your twisting of them any day, N. Give it a rest.

[jim360]

(Or, in Ellipsis' case, honest *and* more or less in agreement, which is a rare double success :) )

[andy-hughes]

Jim - the impression I gain from your posts is that you are a committed Remainer, which is a position I find difficult to understand, given the history that shows Europe behaving less and less as a trading co-operation, and more and more as a gigantic federalist state.

But neither of us can see into the future (I was going to say neither of us has crystal balls, but that will lead us into off-thread sniggering!) so we will wait to see which if us is correct in our interpretation of the situation we are moving into as a nation.

[jim360]

I don't enjoy these meta-arguments. All I hope is that, whether or not the reader agrees with me, they at least have the decency and the good sense to agree that I mean what I say honestly. That, at least, is something that I think all but a handful on AB actually do see. It is a shame that those who do not, who seem determined to grab hold of the wrong end of the stick no matter how many times I point to the right end, are so vocal about it, so determined it seems to question the motives behind it, based on absolutely no substance whatsoever.

AB is a bad place to come if you're one to shy away from an argument, and an even worse place if you're a Remain supporter -- but I have no intention of backing down in sharing my views and opinions, honestly, and as I see them. Most of the time, the debate ends with neither side changing their views, but at least opinions are shared on both sides in good faith. I've never had cause to doubt the convictions or the passion of any of the Brexit supporters on this site. I thank most of them for extending their opponents the same courtesy.

[andy-hughes]

Jim - I am sorry to read that you appear to feel under a degree of persecution for your views.

As an experienced AB debater, I can assure you that there have always been, and always will be, some who come on purely to provoke and stimulate mischief and unrest, and you can either meet them head on with relish, as I do, or simply sidestep them and continue to debate with like-minded contributors who may not share your view, but do share the enjoyment of an exchange of opinions.

I hope you are not put off by the activities of the mischief-makers, they do love to wind people up, and the best response is to deny them the oxygen of response.

Good night - see you tomorrow.

[naomi24]

Jim, no twisting. On the day you told us that democracy doesn’t mean what we think it means we gave it a rest.

[jno]

we gave it a rest

lol...

[naomi24]

Jno, you misunderstand. I should have made it clearer for latecomers. We gave taking Jim’s posts seriously a rest. In fact some of us abandoned the exercise altogether.

[fiction-factory]

I don't share jim's views but I respect his opinions. I don't respect patronising posts though nor those that misrepresent the views of others.

[fiction-factory]

^I meant I don't share jim's views on Brexit issues (but I do have a lot of time for what he says on other issues and can see that I may be wrong on Brexit and he may turn out to be right

[jim360]

There needs to be at least some context for quoting that "democracy doesn't mean what you think it means". If I remember correctly, it was in the context of whether holding a further referendum on the Brexit issue could ever be seen as democratic. You argued that it was not, arguing that a second vote by nature destroys the legitimacy of the first one. I argued that it is, because democracy implies that the electorate cannot be permanently bound by its past.

I don't wish to revisit the argument in full, but up until that point it was a perfectly reasonable debate. But, as best as I can remember, neither side in the debate was pulling their punches (I can be pretty sure about this -- when have you ever minced words about what you personally think, N?), so as far as I'm concerned the worst that I can be accused of is giving as good as I got. I stand by my quote, in its proper context.

But, in any case, as you can see, you seem rather isolated in your judgement. Perhaps you're using the royal pronoun, because otherwise arguing that "we" don't take my posts seriously is, clearly, wildly optimistic. *You* might not, but stop pretending to speak for anybody more than yourself (and possibly Pixie).

And, now that you've made your opinion clear, multiple times, I am perfectly aware of it. Attacking someone's character, in lieu of any substantial points, gets old quickly. Find something new to say, and I'll be happy to continue to cross swords with you in future.