Off Topic Politics Thread

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Disappointed that the RAF assisted the Americans in vimbing the Houthis last night. Don't recall this being debated in parliament.

America first means we do not assist the Yanks. They are in their own. We need to remain neutral at best.
Ian, I'm unsure why you seem to be so anti-American. Anti-Trump, yes, fair enough. But the US are key allies, have been for a long time and will continue to be well after Trump has left office. We can't destroy that relationship just because of their president.
 
And you don’t think that those in charge of fossil fuels offer incentives to counter those made by the renewable camp? :emoticon-0105-wink:

They do 100%! However, the way most governments approach it IMO just fuels the conspiracy theorists and detracts from what is needed to do.

It is tough though, as to change people over they need incentives. Unfortunately 'saving the planet' isn't enough.
 
Ian, I'm unsure why you seem to be so anti-American. Anti-Trump, yes, fair enough. But the US are key allies, have been for a long time and will continue to be well after Trump has left office. We can't destroy that relationship just because of their president.
Half with you and half not. We don't want to destroy the 'special relationship', but we can put it on hold for 4 years.
 
If we are going to bomb a country , it should be debated in Parliament.

Tom

Not sure if you were aware that one of the recent US presidents culpable for bombing other countries was Obama. I am admittedly hostile towards Trump but so feel America is often not the force for good it pretends to be. Ask the families of civilians bombed by American drones in Pakistan how they feel about this. American foriegn policy is often a disaster and especially militarily.
 
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Yep not saying IOAG is wrong, but there may be more to the story than a first glance looks at.

I am very much in the 100% renewable energy camp, but know there are issues.

The main one IMO is that those in charge try to offer financial incentives to go renewable, that penalises fossil fuel to the extent that it gets people’s backs up. They then look for an ulterior motive that maybe is there. ie grab more money from the populace in the name of ‘it’s greener’.
And you don’t think that those in charge of fossil fuels offer incentives to counter those made by the renewable camp? :emoticon-0105-wink:
Add the history of mis/disinformation and downright lies from the fossilers who provide the biggest lobby at environmental conferences and parliaments world wide.
 
Disappointed that the RAF assisted the Americans in vimbing the Houthis last night. Don't recall this being debated in parliament.

America first means we do not assist the Yanks. They are in their own. We need to remain neutral at best.
Half with you and half not. We don't want to destroy the 'special relationship', but we can put it on hold for 4 years.
If we are going to bomb a country , it should be debated in Parliament.

Tom

Not sure if you were aware that one of the recent US presidents culpable for bombing other countries was Obama. I am admittedly hostile towards Trump but so feel America is often not the force for good it pretends to be. Ask the families of civilians bombed by American drones in Pakistan how they feel about this. American foreign policy is often a disaster and especially militarily.
This from https://www.theguardian.com/world/l...mas-palestine-south-africa-genocide-case-icj? posted 12 Jan 2024. It's a multinational force in place pre Trump.
"Ten countries involved in Yemen strikes
The White House has also issued a joint statement from the government’s of Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, United Kingdom, and the United States saying they will “not hesitate to defend lives and protect the free flow of commerce in one of the world’s most critical waterways”.

"Here’s some of that statement:

In response to continued illegal, dangerous, and destabilizing Houthi attacks against vessels, including commercial shipping, transiting the Red Sea, the armed forces of the United States and United Kingdom, with support from the Netherlands, Canada, Bahrain, and Australia, conducted joint strikes in accordance with the inherent right of individual and collective self defence, consistent with the UN Charter, against a number of targets in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen. These precision strikes were intended to disrupt and degrade the capabilities the Houthis use to threaten global trade and the lives of international mariners in one of the world’s most critical waterways."
 
Yep not saying IOAG is wrong, but there may be more to the story than a first glance looks at.

I am very much in the 100% renewable energy camp, but know there are issues.

The main one IMO is that those in charge try to offer financial incentives to go renewable, that penalises fossil fuel to the extent that it gets people’s backs up. They then look for an ulterior motive that maybe is there. ie grab more money from the populace in the name of ‘it’s greener’.

That was my point No7, there are issues. BlackAndAmberGambler puts up a post, admittedly a bit flippant but relevant nonetheless. Whether true or not, it has been suggested that the reason for Spain's blackout was relying totally on renewable energy. Something they were apparently bragging about only a week before.
His post was met with dismissive responses and Shoot Spiderman's reply suggesting because renewables are used in the countries he listed, BAAG's comment was without any merit. So I checked them out because posting a list of countries that are using 100% renewable energy is only half the story.
I'm not against renewables, far from it, but the attitude on here towards opposing views rears it's head again. No acceptance that, at this stage, totally relying on renewables is a risky strategy.
 
That was my point No7, there are issues. BlackAndAmberGambler puts up a post, admittedly a bit flippant but relevant nonetheless. Whether true or not, it has been suggested that the reason for Spain's blackout was relying totally on renewable energy. Something they were apparently bragging about only a week before.
His post was met with dismissive responses and Shoot Spiderman's reply suggesting because renewables are used in the countries he listed, BAAG's comment was without any merit. So I checked them out because posting a list of countries that are using 100% renewable energy is only half the story.
I'm not against renewables, far from it, but the attitude on here towards opposing views rears it's head again. No acceptance that, at this stage, totally relying on renewables is a risky strategy.

I agree. I think we need to transition to 100% renewable, but not at the risk of a poorer service. Maybe the targets set by governments are unrealistic. The important thing IMO is to be trying to do it and have an end goal to when it can be realistically be achieved.

People like Trump throw a real spanner in the works as he goes against the rest of the world's consensus in the name of scoring political points. Unfortunately, this leads to people listening to his rhetoric and going down some climate change denial rabbit hole (not saying this is you BTW).
 
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Half with you and half not. We don't want to destroy the 'special relationship', but we can put it on hold for 4 years.


I agree with this. And Trump going rogue should remind us that our closest ties always will be, and always should be, with our closest neighbours; who happen to be across the Channel, not across the Atlantic.
 
Disappointed that the RAF assisted the Americans in bombing the Houthis last night. Don't recall this being debated in Parliament.

America first means we do not assist the Yanks. They are on their own. We need to remain neutral at best.

If we had gone to a debate in Parliament it would have gone ahead without us, this was decided at a higher level than a local Parliament.
 
The point is that Climate Change is inevitable, anything that Humans do to reduce it, is a mere pinprick in the Global scale of things and will have little actual effect!

I don't think that is true. We can make a sizable difference, but not as one nation, but it needs the whole world buy in. There lies the issue as there will always be others with there own agendas.
 
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That's not an opinion that's backed up by science. David Attenborough, Chris Packham et al disagree with your pinprick theory so do I.

They are probably right, but I don't know for sure. My opinion is not based on any researched fact or influenced by any other poster...
 
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St Jabbo

In the light of Hegseth's comments , the Uk needs to be very careful offering military aid to the US. The fact that the UK continues to aupport Israel makes our shipping a target for the Houthis too.

Everyone may be trting to suck up to Trump but we should grow some balls and stop assisting America and Israel or naybe have our ships sail under a Palestinian flag to show support for the good guys ? Maybe our shipping would then be safe if we did not side with America.
 
St Jabbo

In the light of Hegseth's comments , the Uk needs to be very careful offering military aid to the US. The fact that the UK continues to aupport Israel makes our shipping a target for the Houthis too.

Everyone may be trting to suck up to Trump but we should grow some balls and stop assisting America and Israel or naybe have our ships sail under a Palestinian flag to show support for the good guys ? Maybe our shipping would then be safe if we did not side with America.

Double edged sword, if we don't support them they could turn on us instead could they not?
 
St Jabbo

In the light of Hegseth's comments , the Uk needs to be very careful offering military aid to the US. The fact that the UK continues to aupport Israel makes our shipping a target for the Houthis too.

Everyone may be trting to suck up to Trump but we should grow some balls and stop assisting America and Israel or naybe have our ships sail under a Palestinian flag to show support for the good guys ? Maybe our shipping would then be safe if we did not side with America.
I think you're well wide of the mark there Ian. military aid is not the correct description at all. Go back and read my post re the multinational force involved open the link, and follow others which deal with Houthis attacks on shipping.
 
Fascinating as the discussion is I must get busy in the kitchen. We've a surfeit of veg at the mo so spinach soup and cauliflower cheese with bacon and mushroom with the addition of some Asian spices to get done before Mrs Jab gets home and we head off to the sunny terrace for a couple of cold ones.
 
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