The General Political Thread

[Edwin]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-44272326

Based Northern Ireland

[StevenChilton]

More of this please (and less of this: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/oct/18/theresa-may-plans-to-let-people-change-gender-without-medical-checks)

[McPero]

More of this please (and less of this: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/oct/18/theresa-may-plans-to-let-people-change-gender-without-medical-checks)

Can't wait to visit gynecologist, to check my vagina, because my clitoris is really huge it is like a cellular organ and my lips are like two giant balls.

[Edwin]

More of this please (and less of this: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/oct/18/theresa-may-plans-to-let-people-change-gender-without-medical-checks)

What on Earth do you mean, Steven! These are the issues that should be atop the agenda of any conservative government!

[Edwin]

Has the EU ever been closer to death? Lol

[StevenChilton]

Has the EU ever been closer to death? Lol

It has a while to go yet, but in current form it's not going to last...wouldn't be the first time the Italians brought down a German empire either (Otto III, Frederick II).

[Duuring]

In what universe do you people live?

[Theodin]

In what universe do you people live?

-Carl Sagan, probably

[StevenChilton]

In what universe do you people live?

The universe where one of the EU 'big four' are leaving, another is on a collision course with Brussels, and the other two have weak and unpopular leaders. Eastern Europe is in revolt, the White House is no longer a friend to Brussels but in fact an opponent (there's even a good chance of a trade war), while terrorism and economic instability still wreck the Continent. Euroscepticism has never been a more powerful force.

What universe are you living in Duuring?

[McPero]

What universe are you living in Duuring?

Safe Space.

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/05/trump-told-wealthy-doors-about-classified-syria-battle.html

[Furrnox]

In what universe do you people live?

The universe where one of the EU 'big four' are leaving, another is on a collision course with Brussels, and the other two have weak and unpopular leaders. Eastern Europe is in revolt, the White House is no longer a friend to Brussels but in fact an opponent (there's even a good chance of a trade war), while terrorism and economic instability still wreck the Continent. Euroscepticism has never been a more powerful force.

What universe are you living in Duuring?

If the EU ever falls apart it would be terrible for everyone involved, not sure why you're so happy about it.
Europe would more than likely not be able to keep it's economic dominance, we'd be more divided again nationalism have already been rising and we know where that's been leading in the past.

The EU have issues no doubt about it but we're way better of with it than without it.

[Duuring]

I wonder what it must be like, becoming excited at every event and political crisis and being sure that this time, it surely will signal the end of the EU. Wasn't the French election supposed to that? Or the German? Or the Dutch? Or the Austrian? Or the Italian? Because there isn't a crisis because Italy wants to leave the EU, or even wants to leave the Euro, but because one party wants a minister that considers leaving the Eurozone an option.

'Eastern Europe is in revolt'. I literally had the Polish deputy Ambassador to the Netherlands tell me a week ago Poland loves her European identity, will never leave the EU and just wants more power to the memberstates. Also the EU shouldn't do more, but should do more in Defence and border control (without doing more, got it?).

[StevenChilton]

My position has always been that the EU will die slowly, and by a thousand cuts. It's a process not an event. From migration to the Iran deal Poland ain't exactly showing much EU solidarity is it? 'Just wants more power to the member states'? You say that in such a sanguine way given the words 'ever closer union' are deeply embedded in the EU treaties. If Eastern Europe is not in fact in revolt then please explain to me why the Commission is trying to punishing them by proposing cuts of c25% in their EU funds?
https://euobserver.com/economic/141933

I'd prefer a world without the EU. It's a crap plan from the 1920s that was opportunistically implemented post-1945, and mainly built around the idea that democracy needed to be constrained by an element of technocracy. European economic integration can easily be replaced by UNECE (which is already happening anyway, part of my job is guessing which UNECE standards will be converted into EU regulation) while those countries that want to integrate politically with Berlin can still be free to do so.

[Duuring]

So when is the EU dead?

[StevenChilton]

Depends on what you think 'death' looks like.