Blair Sells out UK

[Rich]

I said it being reduced; please read my post with the same accuracy with which they are written.

Like your version of history, you really should research the subject more thoroughly

U.S. cotton production has increased by a third during the past five years, and this year’s harvest is expected to equal last year’s record of 11 billion pounds. That means a bumper crop of subsidies as well. From 2001 through 2004, farmers got nearly $10 billion in direct payments from the U.S. government

 

[The Stoat]

So in a sense, the EU is buying up countries?

That is an interesting statement. In one sense yes it is. If the long term goal is total political and financial integration then the more countries who join the better. But that is very long term. The new members have some of the poorest countries in the northern hemisphere amongst their number. It will be a long time before they are able to join the Euro and be net contributors to the EU. It is possible, Spain is a good example. However the EU is split along many lines about just how much political and financial union there should be. It tends to be the politicos who want more union and the people less. Even the French and the Dutch people rejected the proposed EU constitution [a design for a new system to allow the greater number of countries to work together]against the wishes of their politicians and they are amongst the most pro EU countries.

 

[KenHigg]

That is an interesting statement. In one sense yes it is. If the long term goal is total political and financial integration then the more countries who join the better. But that is very long term. The new members have some of the poorest countries in the northern hemisphere amongst their number. It will be a long time before they are able to join the Euro and be net contributors to the EU. It is possible, Spain is a good example. However the EU is split along many lines about just how much political and financial union there should be. It tends to be the politicos who want more union and the people less. Even the French and the Dutch people rejected the proposed EU constitution [a design for a new system to allow the greater number of countries to work together]against the wishes of their politicians and they are amongst the most pro EU countries.

Hum... Sorry if that came across as insolent - I didn't mean it that way.

So are there any reporting mechanisms available to the general public to see if thing are / will balance in time so they can see if the efforts are worth while? I would think that in time, with a successful program, no CAP would be required at all...

 

[The Stoat]

Hum... Sorry if that came across as insolent - I didn't mean it that way.

So are there any reporting mechanisms available to the general public to see if thing are / will balance in time so they can see if the efforts are worth while? I would think that in time, with a successful program, no CAP would be required at all...

Didn't sound like that at all sorry if my reply sounded like it was a reply to an insolent question

The EU does produce reports but i doubt anyone bothers to read them - well not anyone who wants to stay awake - Generally people go with their gut instinct. It is perhaps one of the few times when national sterotypes are applicable as we do tend to react to the EU along the lines of long held beliefs and resentments. The EU is actually a bureaucratic mess - or paradise if your a Bureaucrat - and would imho not be a good model for closer ties between countries. It stands by principles that are no longer valid in the 21st Century such as CAP but the system is too corrupt and unwieldy to change. Personally i'd love to see the UK -or England at least- leave and watch the whole sorry mess fall apart from a safe distance. I love Europe it has some great cultures, people and places, Italy is a personal favourite, i love it for it's differences I don't want us to be the US of Europe.

 

[jsanders]

Would someone please tell me what the hell IMHO means?

 

[Mile-O]

In my honest opinion, IMHO means something I couldn't possibly impart.

 

[jsanders]

In my honest opinion, IMHO means something I couldn't possibly impart.

Well that's interesting.

 

[Kraj]

Cute, SJ.

In my honest/humble opinion.

 

[jsanders]

In my honest opinion, IMHO means something I couldn't possibly impart.

Here we go with that communication problem again. I thought you meant you didn’t have the capacity to explain it properly.

My bad.

 

[The Stoat]

IMHO it's often written by someone who is neither honest or humble. But I try my best.