My charming personality hasn't quite alienated everyone :P Or they at least tolerate me because I am an ocean away
Dang.
I never thought of that.
Apparently I need to move.
My charming personality hasn't quite alienated everyone :P Or they at least tolerate me because I am an ocean away
Hey you nerds...the Penguins scored (for the bare handful of you who have a clue...)
Wow. INGO must really suck. I'm so shocked that people of your high intelect would bother to bless us with your presence. Perhaps gawker would be more suitable.Sure, you're part of the bare handful. Just look at this thread and look at INGO's numbers.
Europe didn't have an internal war for 70 years after WWII because:
a) there were only two countries with economies and militaries capable enough to fight a war, and it probably helped that neither one was European.
b) even after some European countries achieved a level of economic reconstruction that permitted the fielding of a serious military capability, they were happy to largely cede their military sovereignty to a big brother who could be criticized and condescended to in public about their war-like/cowboy attitudes and lack of political acumen and nuance (plays will with left wing press) while privately thanking God and big brother that they didn't really have to be responsible for anything.
In the long term -- shoot in the short term -- the EU is a disaster for Europe, and the Brits would be better off in the long run. If they go, it could very well be the straw that breaks the EU camel's back. There were more than one European country dragged into the EU against its popular will via political shenanigans of its leaders, and many of the populations are getting restive about the EU's disastrous policies, with the immigration policy giving energy to the discontent.
But I think it is probably too late for Britain, and they will probably elect to miss this opportunity. The goal of the Left in Britain has long been to destroy Britain, and I think they have succeeded. There may be some islands there with that name in the future, but it will be unrecognizable as any thing British as we have known it.
The same in America. Britain is farther just farther along the path that many in America want to take.
So, since interest in this is, frankly, higher than I thought, there's a somewhat interesting wrinkle to this. (At the risk of running afoul of the angst directed at mrj, I didn't start a thread about this because I just didn't think people would be interested.)
Russia.
With a resurgent Russia, wouldn't you think Europe would be relatively united? Yes, the Muslim immigration issue is tricky, but not really an existential threat in a military way. Doesn't it seem to make more sense for a united-we-stand-divided-we-fall mentality?
I think it is plausible, to a certain extent, that Russia has been pulling strings politically to keep parts of Europe deadlocked on issues that need to move forward to keep the Union intact. The rise of right-wing nationalists, gas and oil leverage to keep the EU divided on certain new members, etc. It is easy to paint them as the familiar bogeyman, and I'm not saying Russia actively worked to get the referendum on the Brexit. Rather, I"m just saying Russia has a great deal to gain from a divided Europe and Putin is more than capable of acting covertly to help achieve it.
It is a combination of direct elections and appointments. And employment.How do the leaders of the EU attain their positions of power? Elections, appointments, random lots?
And what has Russian President Vladimir Putin said about Brexit?
Absolutely nothing. The Kremlin has been keeping silent on the matter.
That has not prevented Russia from being sucked into the Brexit debate. Prime Minister David Cameron said recently that Mr Putin "might be happy" if Britain left the EU.
UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond was even more direct. "The only country, if the truth is told, that would like us to leave the EU is Russia," he said. "And that should probably tell us all that we need to know."
Maybe we are all intimidated by your intellectual abilities.Sure, you're part of the bare handful. Just look at this thread and look at INGO's numbers.
Maybe we are all intimidated by your intellectual abilities.
You weren't included in the list of the elites, so....I know I am.
With a resurgent Russia, wouldn't you think Europe would be relatively united? Yes, the Muslim immigration issue is tricky, but not really an existential threat in a military way.
You're right, not sure what I was thinking.