'making up facts'?
That's an oxymoron.
These are facts :
http://www.globalresearch.ca/hillary-clinton-if-im-president-we-will-attack-iran/5460484
United Kingdom/Population
64.1 million (2013)
what has the EU done for us?
sanitation- well yes there's that
aqueducts- well yes there's that to...
anyone for an Otters Nose?
I always find a dose of the Python a great tonic to make a grave conversation relax and come back to earth ;-)
oh you kidda!
I love a joke as much as the next man but...
Reading your remark I suppose that the Old Testament is no longer available for sale, otherwise people could still read in Exodus 21:25 ' …23"But if there is any further injury, then you shall appoint as a penalty life for life, 24eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.…
The Quran won't be required, as the Bible does the job
Why the US constantly support Israel in all circumstances? Israel is not a nation without faults as everyone knows.Iran keeps the Sunnis in check. The Americans have upset Irak by destroying the Sunnis specially the backbone of Sadam Hussein army and Daesh was born. Iran said Bagdadi is a former American informant trained by them. Its always the same sit
Situation
The intervention of the US destabilized the whole region and innocent people paid the price. Iran sent soldiers to defend Irak against Daesh amd they want to destroy Iran? They ally themselves with Daesh then.What a confusing mind this HClinton has! She represents what is more odious in American politics. Shoot first and think later. A dangerous politician . No strategy at all. Just mayhem.
i prefer Trump
Its available, but not required doctrine, having been ameliorated by the calming effect of the New Testament. Unlike the Quran. But having been a Quaker I tend to take most of the Bible as "of the fount (perhaps) not the fount itself"
I thought that was the Romans (sanitation and aqueducts, not Python)
did she say that to the Donald on Tuesday?
OK I get it you have a barrow you want to push. Add it to the Benghazi list.
Clinton certainly did not say she would shoot first - she said "if there was a nuclear strike by Iran on Israel".
A very different scenario. As a politician she had to say stuff like this to show the millions of US Jews that she wasn't the wish-washy pinko liberal I hope she could be. God save us from another Bush (who by the way presided over the destabilisation you refer to) and it looks like Trump would turn out to be. My impression of trump is that he'd shoot first and then just shoot again - I doubt thinking would come into it. God save us from leaders with "strong" strategies - "lebensraum" anyone?
Life or Brian Patrick .
Guess you didn't see it?
"Shoot first and think later. A dangerous politician . No strategy at all. Just mayhem."
and they say you prefer Trump?
Hows that work ?
Trump's previous role did after all require him to say "fire" so he's qualified then (at least for The Apprentice) :-) But as a potential leader of a powerful nation like the US, he terrifies me.
d'uh sorry, of course. Still, its a useful reminder of that previous "failure" at unifying Europe, how many hundred years did that last? Still, Italy had a stronger currency then. :-)
I confess I am getting very fed up with this Brexit/Remain debate and beginning not to care whether the UK decides to vote for oblivion or do the sensible thing and stay. Good luck to them. I live in France and don't constantly yearn for 'the other place'. Yes, I am undeniably english but I have mostly adjusted to all things french and I can't see that I would ever want to go back. I'd rather remember it as it was. The last time I went back it was horrendous and I spent my time wishing I was here in France. Children and Grandchildren? They know where I live and they'll always be welcome. As for Trump? Well, if he gets in as US President then a redneck hell might break loose and I guess the UK will suffer more than France.
In some respects, I wish the Brits would vote leave and that they all go back to Blighty (taking their awful greasy fish and chips, sausages et al with them) leaving those who value and have embraced the French way life some peace and solitude.. (ducks - to avoid the rubbery bread puddings and cold custard tarts)
Absolutely! We'll chuck stale baguettes and mouldy Camembert back!
Here is an email sent to me by my cousin, Robin-Edward Poulton. He knows more about international affairs than I (and, I suspect, many of the contributors here). Please read it:
Boris-the-Buffoon Johnson went too far this past weekend, comparing the European Union to Hitler’s fascist military aggression that brought the deaths of 40 million people during the Second World War. Either Boris has a few loose screws, or else his bombast has overcome his brain.
His evocation of Hitler is more than outrageous: it is an insult to our grandfathers and to my father, uncles and cousins. Most of mine survived the war (although my Dad lost his two best friends, and he he missed them throughout his adult life). They all gave up their youth to serve in uniform, to defeat Hitler and fascism.
The European Idea was created to avoid Europe going to war again: and it has succeeded. We have had a long period of peace in Europe thanks to European Union, and I pray that it will remain so. I do not want to see my grandson fighting in another dreadful war.
Nigel Farage and UKIP are an insult to our fathers’ memories, with their superficial sloganising and their immature “let’s get drunk in the pub” Public School attitudes. Brexit needs a far deeper level of thought than pub talk. I have known and distrusted so many people who looked and sounded like Nigel Farage. He was a “commodity broker” - really a gambler – and now he is an MEP, taking a fat salary from the European Union he wants to destroy. Farage is on record as boasting that he has received €2 million from the EU in salary and perks. When a female journalist asked him about UKIP campaign financing, she reported that “the interview turned nasty.”
The Leave Campaign relies on prejudice and emotion. The recent trade debate was long and pointless: no one knows which set of assumptions will prove correct. Of course trade will continue. Of course some companies will lose business as their European markets dry up: some may go bankrupt, but I do not know which. Some foreign companies will move out of Britain and into Europe, but no one knows which. The CBI predicts that Brexit would cost £100 billion and 1 million jobs. My guess is that Britain would lose 6% of GDP over ten years, and that the City of London will lose 10% of its business in the first five years. It is just a guess, but a good guess. Many financial services will move elsewhere; Frankfurt is licking its lips, waiting to take over London’s business; Ireland is waiting eagerly to host the companies who want to relocate to the EU.
This debate does not just concern Britain: President Obama in London spoke not just about British trade with America, but about future world peace and stability. I live in France where everyone has an opinion – and so they should! Hearing mediocre slogan-raisers like Farage, Jacob Rees-Mogg, Ian Duncan Smith, Michael Gove and now Boris Johnson - whom I had thought more intelligent - I conclude that they are wrong. The other side carries much more “weight”: the CBI, London Chamber of Commerce, Livery Companies and Captains of Industry, the Prime Minister, the Bank of England and all the Trade Unions believe Britain is stronger in Europe. Are they all wrong?
The economic arguments for remaining a member of the EU are overwhelming; yet I do not think the trade and investment are the most important reasons for Britain staying in Europe. The key reasons are that the EU promotes unity, democratic governance, and peace.
When Europe is united, we are all stronger. President Obama said it, and I myself have witnessed the fact in many countries overseas: Britain is stronger and better respected as a member of the EU. If the UK leaves the EU, the EU and the UK will both be losers. Brexit could also destroy the United Kingdom, because the Liberal-Social Democrat and Conservative parties have failed to win serious representation in Scotland and Wales (and Labour has been greatly weakened). If the United Kingdom breaks up, England and the other British nations will all be weaker. If England opts for Brexit, while Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland opt for Europe, these smaller countries will have a choice to make: stick with England, or stick with Europe. Many wars and a lot of blood created the United Kingdom as we know it. Splits in the Conservative Party (what an irony!) now threaten its break-up.
The EU protects our democratic values. The greatest threat to Europe’s democracy – in my view – is neither the Islamic State, nor the flow of migrants (many of whom are fleeing unnecessary and badly-run wars in which Britain was an aggressor: Libya, Afghanistan and Iraq – which directly led to the Sunni invasion of Syria). I believe the greatest threat to democratic governance are overweening corporations, and international banks that are richer and more powerful than many countries.
Corporations dominate the politics of the USA, and they threaten democracy in the UK. The European Union, with 500 million people, is big enough at least to challenge the power of Google and Amazon, of Exxon and Apple, of Monsanto and Du Pont; and the economic power of Citibank and Deutsche Bank, of Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan and Carlyle and Bridgewater. The EU is big enough to tackle financial corruption, international crime and terrorism, money laundering and tax havens: of which the British – scandalously – still have several.
In terms of competition and consumer protection – important for democracy - the EC has challenged Microsoft’s monopolistic practices, and now Google’s Android dominance with its uncompetitive “bundling” of apps that exclude competitors. Ronald Reagan unravelled America’s state-of-the-art Anti-Trust laws; the UK’s once-powerful Monopolies Commission has morphed into an enfeebled Competition and Markets Authority; modern corporations and financial institutions are subject to very few limits on their behaviour and growth, despite bringing the world’s economy to its knees in 2008. The EU is one of the few institutions strong enough to act as a brake on the abuse of unelected corporate power.
Brexit-lovers suggest the EU is ‘undemocratic’ - but on what grounds? The Commission of 28 members – mostly people who have previously held elected office in their own countries - is appointed by our elected governments, including the UK government, and for one fixed term. Britain is active and influential in all EU decisions, working through hundreds of specialist technical committees.
The EC, the European Court of Justice and the European Parliament act as valuable checks and balances for democracy. Sometimes they challenge national politicians who are financially corrupt, or reveal hidden influences over their policies. Poland, Hungary and Austria seem to be flirting with fascism right now: we should be glad that the European Commission is able to stand up for European Human Rights (for example, by criticizing Hungary’s law of January 1st, 2016 that threatens the independence of the Central Bank, of the data protection authority, of judges in criminal trials, of private pension funds, and seems to curb the rights of religious and ethnic minorities and the freedom of the press).
The EU is a slow, multi-state bureaucracy, but it is also a political force for human rights and democratic governance. Is it perfect? Of course not, nor is any government structure. The EU is imperfect, but it is vitally important to our well-being.
Most of all, the EU is a force for peace. I hear claims that NATO likes peace: but you do not create peace with weapon-stand-offs. Peace comes from good relations, trade and diplomacy with your neighbours and potential rivals. Nicholas Soames MP (Conservative), who is Winston Churchill’s grandson, challenged Boris Johnson yesterday (May 16th) on his interpretations of Europe, and Soames repeated to the BBC something that I often say: “The European Union has brought Europe more peace and prosperity than at any period since Roman times.” Peace = Prosperity = Happiness.
Prime minister David Cameron has pointed out that Britain is intimately linked to Europe, whether we like it or not. Time and again over hundreds of years, we have been drawn back into European wars. The most important thing for us and for our grandchildren, is peace. The Nobel Peace Prize committee understood the importance of the EU for protecting world peace, when it awarded the 2012 Nobel Prize to the EU. We should be proud of European peace, and hang onto it for dear life.
Brexit is a very bad idea.
Tell your neighbours and friends.
Leaving the EU would be catastrophic.
Make sure that young people are registered to vote on June 23rd.
Everyone – especially young people - must mobilize to vote REMAIN in the EU.
What a terrific reply! You are right, your cousin is indeed the expert, a well reasoned and cogent argument.