The Euro Crisis

[Angelo]

NO !

[Thesheriff]

Oh for the days gone by when the only cost to the UK Tax Payer regarding Europe was the charge to change sterling into the Foreign Currency you needed for your holiday - not only do you still have to pay this now to obtain €uros - but 100's of Millions every year for the upkeep of the EC.

Being a member of a United Europe may have brought peace & stability between countries - but it does seem to have brought the exact opposite inside those same countries - with protesters all over the place  against the conditions being a member nation is costing them.

There may be ' World Peace ' in Europe but the beloved Leaders have still managed to find other places where they can stick their unwanted Noses in { Well not theirs } it the Soldiers they put in the firing line - while they hide in the H of Parliament.
 

[Angelo]

The question is of course is it worth the price, from the Peace in Europe point of view ?
I think I would prefer it to the utter useless carnage of the 2 world wars. We are still paying the price for them.
Perhaps we have learnt to be at peace, but we haven't learned how to handle the peace.
The other thing is,could this be just a fluke and we revert to our old ways when things go wrong ? Scary because things appear to be going wrong ! Stability first then ???
A good example is Yugoslavia,peace prevailed under TITO,  but as soon as freedom was introduced they started hacking pieces out of each other,again.
Just another cynical thought, I wonder if there is OIL in Afghanistan ???
One thing for sure there is no progress without peace.

[Thesheriff]

Angelo,

According to scientific reports there is supposed to be more Oil in Afghanistan than in the whole of the middle eastern oilfields together ?

Maybe that's why Russia was so keen to get a toehold there in the first place ? 

[Angelo]

There you go Sherriff, that says it all ??

[Papaumau]

Woo hooo...the words "cat" and "pigeons" comes quickly to mind here !

All of you Scotland-haters cannot really help yourselves as I suppose that jingoism can penetrate even the most sentient of minds. I will not get angry or fall out over your attacks on my nationhood.

What I will say - and re-iterate - is that there is more good done by nations who are part of alliances with other nations than there are by the few who are driven by those that prefer to be nationally insular and protectionist.

As Europe IS Britain's greatest trading partner in the world it is in our interest to ensure that it does not get into trouble and by growing ever-closer with Europe we are going to actually protect ourselves against the other rapacious trading partnerships that we are NOT part of.
 
Be certain-sure that greater Europe WILL come out of this dangerous time as Germany and France cannot allow it to fall apart and if we are sensible we will also be at the heart of this "monster" as it solidifies its partnerships - OR NOT - if Britain is not willing to join fully.

[Maisie]

Angelo,

According to scientific reports there is supposed to be more Oil in Afghanistan than in the whole of the middle eastern oilfields together ?

Maybe that's why Russia was so keen to get a toehold there in the first place ? 

Is it not the case that Afghanistan is strategically important to Russia because it provides a barrier between the Russians and politically volatile and powerful countries in the region?

[Angelo]

Funny that Russia sort of lost interest in Afghanistan when they discovered all their own Gas & Oil. I don't really think they are much worried by having a gap between themselves and the west. After all one rocket and its all over anyway.
According to Wikipedia, the EU economy as a whole is bigger than the USA by a significant margin. Making it the bigest in the world. It would be foolhardy to leave such a club and go it alone just for economic reasons alone. Politically, because of the diverse countries, major decisions are probably prone to be more measured and better because of the concensus needed to come to them. I reiterate probably,not definitely. Where as Uncle Sam is an inpreportiante right wing country with self interest of paramount importance. Regardless of what is right and just for the rest of us.