International relations thread

[lamrobhero]

Crikey, nearly spat out my coffee!

Sorry to hear that. I remember listening to some vox pops from mainland Europe of people saying that they loved the EU. I guess that we are too wedded to our colonial past. But that is the point it is the past.

 

[tavyred]

Sorry to hear that. I remember listening to some vox pops from mainland Europe of people saying that they loved the EU. I guess that we are too wedded to our colonial past. But that is the point it is the past.

Plenty of countries, including in Europe are happy to exist outside of a formal supranational trading bloc that has pretensions for political Union.
I literally only hear about Britain’s colonial past from declinist lefties who seem obsessed with the subject.
I’m within a few short years of my 60th birthday, I have no memory whatsoever of the U.K. being an imperialist nation, yet I hear people way younger than me constantly citing it. It’s weird.

 

[Banksy]

Religious bigots of Afghanistan at it again. Will the world ever be free of these clowns be it in this poor country , Iran or wherever?

Afghanistan: Parks become latest no-go areas for women in Kabul

With new restrictions imposed by the Taliban, Afghan women fear what could come next.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Avening Posse]

Plenty of countries, including in Europe are happy to exist outside of a formal supranational trading bloc that has pretensions for political Union.
I literally only hear about Britain’s colonial past from declinist lefties who seem obsessed with the subject.
I’m within a few short years of my 60th birthday, I have no memory whatsoever of the U.K. being an imperialist nation, yet I hear people way younger than me constantly citing it. It’s weird.

The bit about imperialism resonates and I’ve often thought that myself. And it’s not as if it’s uniquely British either, and a fair few EU nations are the same, France being a good example. But that usually gets missed when people choose to bring it up (again)

 

[lamrobhero]

I brought it up (again) because I believe it relevant to the situation in Ukraine. The EU offers Ukraine the possibility of a democratic prosperous future under the EU umbrella. The post Brexit UK offers nothing like that.

 

[tavyred]

I brought it up (again) because I believe it relevant to the situation in Ukraine. The EU offers Ukraine the possibility of a democratic prosperous future under the EU umbrella. The post Brexit UK offers nothing like that.

The EU offers Ukraine the opportunity to access billions of euro’s worth subsidies/funding, nothing wrong with that of course but I suspect once they’ve been in for a few years and benefited greatly from that, they’ll probably join the Eastern European awkward squad with the likes of Poland and Hungary and want no part of the long term goal of closer political Union.
Brexit by definition means that the U.K. offers to Ukraine nothing but being a strong ally and a willingness to trade and of course no interference in their internal affairs.

 

[Avening Posse]

I brought it up (again) because I believe it relevant to the situation in Ukraine. The EU offers Ukraine the possibility of a democratic prosperous future under the EU umbrella. The post Brexit UK offers nothing like that.

Oh okay, I thought you were suggesting the UK exit from Europe was linked to lots of Brits who voted being influenced by our colonial past. I’m with you 100% on potential benefits to Ukraine by joining the EU. Not sure about equality though, and even less sure when the EU will let them join

 

[RaeUK]

I do hope that it was a good old traditional UK style coffee (Wetherspoon's finest with a dash of Devon Red cow-juice and a couple spoons of good old British Sugar. Not that fancy "continental-style" rubbish!)

Like many, sadly, you (deliberately?) conflate a dislike for the EU as being a dislike for continental Europe. I fear it may only be in the heads of the weak-minded that such things are thought of as synonyms.
Still, for the record, ...
My instant coffee is Kenco, a British brand I believe. Though my ground coffee is usually a French or Italian blend.
The milk currently in my fridge, oddly, hails from Cornwall.
The sugar, like most cheap sugar in the UK, is from British beet.
And I understand 'Wetherspoons' is a chain of popular pubs, I rarely (if ever) visit public houses.
Hope that helps clarify matters for you, m'duck.

 

[DB9]

Putin demands annexations recognised before any possible talks, Erm No chance imo, Also in a report today by the BBC, Russia has lost over half the territory they grabbed since their invasion began, This is good news on Ukraine's part and bravely fought for, Sadly the cost in lives, Soldiers and civilians is into its thousands.

 

[Phil Sayers]

This from today is from an area of Syria (populated by the Druze minority near the Jordanian border) that was never out of the regime's control throughout the whole war (although it is adjacent to Daraa province in which an insurgency is raging, killing scores of people each month). There is boiling anger just beneath the surface in all areas now controlled by the Assad regime including in those that never took up arms against it:

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1599346550261456896

The Assad regime will never change, killing is all it knows how to do:

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1599372272044634117