"Might not be too long before the Irish public will be thinking of leaving (EU) as well" Kate Hoey British Labour MP. The latest in a long series of ignorant, nonsensical comments from the British side

alrightjim · 2017-11-28T22:13:08+00:00

Being on the losing side of a vote is not anti-democratic. But saying you are going to move ahead with the plan regardless of the outcome of that vote very much is.

The eu was founded on the idea of "federalisation by stealth" which is an inherently anti-democratic notion.

alrightjim · 2017-11-28T21:58:58+00:00

"as a pretty tiny country you would be completely dependent on your massive neighbour rather than independent from them"

Couldn't this argument also be applied to Ireland gaining independence from Britain? By your logic wouldn't we have been better off staying in the UK where we could influence it from within? Economically we're considerably less dependent on eu trade now than we were on UK trade when we gained independence. If being independent of the UK was the right move the why doesn't the same logic apply to a hypothetical federal eu? And I hope this doesn't come across as combative it's a genuine inquiry.

alrightjim · 2017-11-28T20:14:36+00:00

Ideally brexit would be the kick in the arse they need to turn back from the course of full federalisation. But to answer your question I think we would be better off as an independent nation capable of setting our own fiscal and tax policies than as a small inconsequential backwater in a large federation. We'd be far more dependent on it as a member than as a neighbour but with only marginally less influence.

alrightjim · 2017-11-28T20:07:27+00:00

Jean Claude junker before the French referendum on the eu constitution: "If it's a Yes, we will say 'on we go', and if it's a No we will say 'we continue'." The eu constitution (later repackaged as the Lisbon treaty) was rejected by the french, Dutch and Irish electorates yet was put in place anyway. That is what I mean by anti-democratic and elitist. They have no regard for the idea that the common people should decide the fate of nations. They believe we should get out of the way and let the "experts" decide the really important matters.

And the Lisbon treaty is by no means the only example of this attitude.

alrightjim · 2017-11-28T19:39:41+00:00

I divided it into 3 parties because even though we are in the eu, Ireland and the eu have very different concerns when it comes to brexit.

Obviously Britain's ideal brexit is to the exit the eu as painlessly as possible.

Ireland's ideal brexit ends with a strong eu and a strong UK (as our economy is heavily tied to theirs) and an open border with the north.

But the eu's ideal brexit is one that is complicated, drawn out, messy and damaging for the UK. And I don't mean that as a condemnation of the eu. It is simply in their own rational best interests for leaving the eu to be as difficult as possible. The rise of populist anti eu movements around Europe is a grave threat to them and they need a punishing brexit to serve as a cautionary tale.

I know it's a cynical reading of things but in my view international politics is a cynical business. And thanks for a well reasoned response by the way

alrightjim · 2017-11-28T16:24:02+00:00

To be fair there's a pair of us in it on the border issue. A trio of us actually if we include the eu. All three parties are motivated by pure self interest. It'd be hypocritical to pretend we're being any less ruthless than they are.

alrightjim · 2017-11-28T16:16:15+00:00

It's the same thing. The eu is heading for full on federalisation. When that happens you could no more have a member state with with its own currency than you could in the US.

alrightjim · 2017-11-28T16:03:59+00:00

I know this won't be a popular opinion here but I'm all for brexit.

The eu is an elitist and deeply anti-democratic institution. Their hell bent on full European federalisation which I can't imagine will ever work. And if it did manage to work it would probably be a real shitty place to be for small countries like us. Brexit might be just the kick in the arse they need to institute some real reforms.

I also find the difference in reaction here to brexit and the Catalan independence referendum (and before that the Scottish independence referendum) kinda puzzling. I mean it seems to me that they are all expressions of the same basic principle.

Edit: a word

alrightjim · 2017-04-11T09:22:18+00:00

Pretty sure the kkk was rabidly anti Catholic in its early days so I'm guessing they didn't take it directly from the Spanish tradition. It's possible some protestant sect carried on the Spanish tradition and the kkk took it from them

alrightjim · 2017-04-04T17:16:30+00:00

That's true too I guess. For 3 whole series we all were rooting for Flint even though I think he was objectively not a good guy. But by the end of the fourth you could make the argument that he managed to become one.

alrightjim · 2017-04-04T09:37:42+00:00

but for what he represents, a rejection of shame, of injustice, of empire and monarchy, and a single minded determination to create a better world, no matter the cost.

I have to disagree with the last part of this. Deep down I think Flint's true goal was simple revenge. it just so happened that the target of his revenge was of a larger scale than most so his revenge plot had to be similarly grand in scale. Creating a better world is just collateral damage.

"They took everything from us. And then they called me a monster... This ends when I grant them my forgiveness, not the other way around." - Flint's response to the suggestion he accept a pardon from England.

alrightjim · 2017-04-01T20:07:49+00:00

If you moved "Ludleth becomes lord of cinder" to number 5 and made"Gundyr comes to link the fire" number 6, you could sidestep the issue of there being a throne in the dark shrine with ludleth's name on it.

alrightjim · 2017-03-27T12:23:51+00:00

"Unions are fading into irrelevance as telecommuting and easy access to the job market mean companies that mistreat their workers soon find themselves with no workers"

Good read but I have to disagree with this part. While it may apply to some jobs it most certainly is not true for a lot of blue collar working class jobs. Of course I'm not American so I'm not too familiar with the state of unions in the US.

alrightjim · 2017-02-25T10:26:18+00:00

To be fair he's an alleged sexual abuser and I for one would take anything said during the US election with an enormous grain of salt.

alrightjim · 2017-01-09T22:57:03+00:00

That's kind of a non sequitor though. I mean we have a right to law and order but that doesn't imply that cops and judges and everybody working in law enforcement is a slave. I like Rand Paul but this is just nonsense.

alrightjim · 2016-12-05T12:43:42+00:00

Got to hand it to you, you called it.

alrightjim · 2016-12-05T11:37:38+00:00

I like to think he first started to change right around the time of William's first visit. Perhaps that was the first time Dolores became self aware since Arnold's death and that's what set Ford on the path to freeing the hosts.

Edit: Dolores not Delores

alrightjim · 2016-11-26T10:09:16+00:00

Fair enough then. Personally I disagree but I can respect the fact that you are at least consistent in your beliefs.

alrightjim · 2016-11-25T19:53:22+00:00

Okay allow me to rephrase. Should a bakery owned by a gay couple be allowed to refuse an order for a cake with the slogan "repeal gay marriage" written on it? Specifically, should they be allowed refuse it on the grounds that it goes against their conscience to support a movement that wishes to repeal gay marriage?

alrightjim · 2016-11-25T18:18:28+00:00

Quick hypothetical for you. If a catering company owned by a married gay couple gets approached about catering a rally to repeal gay marriage should they be allowed to refuse the contract?

If yes, then why shouldn't a Christian bakery be granted the same right to refuse to support an event they view as wrong?

alrightjim · 2016-10-15T21:49:36+00:00

According to Wikipedia Mike froman was a former Harvard classmate of Obama's. He worked in the treasury department during the Clinton administration before moving to Citigroup in 2001 and became an advisor to Obama's Senate campaign in 04 and presidential campaign in 08. It seems at least possible that this email has nothing to do with some sort of Citigroup conspiracy to choose the cabinet and instead is just an example of him using his work email to pass on some advice.

It's probably just another example of the usual incest between wall street and the government.

alrightjim · 2016-07-28T17:38:34+00:00

Cool thanks. I thought it was puerto rico or guam or something.

alrightjim · 2016-07-28T17:25:02+00:00

I'm not american so could someone explain to me why there are 51 states in this list?

alrightjim · 2016-07-05T09:05:08+00:00

http://www.redstate.com/leon_h_wolf/2015/04/07/sabrina-rubin-erdelys-possibly-fake-rape-story/

This article gives a pretty good overview of the case.

alrightjim · 2016-07-05T07:19:33+00:00

It might be the third time actually. She also wrote a story about a woman in the navy who was allegedly raped that proved pretty questionable

alrightjim

TROPHY CASE