Off Topic The Politics Thread

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Should the UK remain a part of the EU or leave?

  • Stay in

    Votes: 56 47.9%
  • Get out

    Votes: 61 52.1%

  • Total voters
    117
  • Poll closed .
Sure this may have been mentioned already but...

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-58582860

Not surprised to be honest. Last time I was in there the shelves were empty and there was next to no fresh produce. Enjoyed my Friday night curry box for a few years, seems I'll have to find another option from now on. So minor compared to other side effects...but cheers Brexit. :emoticon-0101-sadsm

It has a lot to do with the layer upon layer of bureaucracy the French are enjoying piling on British imports as if we are Afghanistan. M&S will find other markets but its a shame for French and ex pat consumers.
 
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What’s more surprising is that French people would want to shop at M&S for fresh food, or god forbid ‘ready meals’, when they have an abundance of locally produced stuff right at their door.
Unless of course it’s aimed at the ‘flag shaggers’ who live over there who demand their ketchup when they want it.

Curry...they don't do spicy curry. Good for everything else.

It has a lot to do with the layer upon layer of bureaucracy the French are enjoying piling on British imports as if we are Afghanistan. M&S will find other markets but its a shame for French and ex pat consumers.

Boy don't we know it...my two kids just started school and we filled in online information forms, and then on their first day they both came home with near identical paper forms that had to be filled in with the same information. So backward here in that way.
 
Now we have freedom...as a cook I make a lot of American recipes. They use cups.

I DEMAND sugar and flour and milk and fruit is all sold in CUPS.

I have bought a set of cups ..just because
 
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Does it all mean I can get my petrol in gallons now and will it be 5 bob a gallon
Of course. Remember, one bob is the equivalent of £25 in new money.

And a gallon is the same as 1.5* American cups, 3 Australian schooners, or one Russian broken bucket.



*oops, sorry, that should be one and a half American cups. Sorry for the offence undoubtedly caused.
 
Wolfgang Münchau
Aukus is a disaster for the EU
If you treat the UK as a strategic adversary, don’t be surprised when the UK does the same
17 September 2021, 10:05pm
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It is hard to overstate the importance of the so-called Aukus alliance between the US, the UK and Australia — and the implicit geopolitical disaster for the EU. The alliance is the culmination of multiple European failures: naivety at the highest level of the EU about US foreign policy; Brussels’s political misjudgements of Joe Biden and his China strategy; compulsive obsession with Donald Trump; and the attempt to corner Theresa May during the Brexit talks. If you treat the UK as a strategic adversary, don’t be surprised when the UK exploits the areas where it enjoys a competitive advantage.

The EU has outmanoeuvred itself through lazy group-think. While German political parties are still discussing the pros and cons of Nato, the Biden administration is moving beyond Nato towards a multipolar defence strategy. Nato remains a pillar but it is now supplemented by informal Indo-Pacific alliances. One of them is the quad: the US, Japan, India and Australia. Five Eyes is an informal intelligence alliance between the US, Canada, UK, Australia and New Zealand. Aukus is a nuclear submarine pact between the US, the UK and Australia. This is the variable geometry of the new international order — whereas the monolithic EU is stuck with its 27 veto-wielding members in the foreign affairs council.

https://t.co/JkmEKsTIEP?amp=1
 
Blimey, i turn my back for one minute and theres a riveting debate about metric measurements. ****in hell does anyone truly care either way? I mean really care? Did it upset people so much, does it upset people now its apparantly changing back? People will still shop where they shop, will still use the same traders etc. Traders will still sell to the same people. All a bit ****in pointless really, but i suppose it truly comes down to someone forcing us to do something over someone else forcing us to do something. Im off to eat a chicken kebab and watch Newcastle v Leeds. Got an early appointment for some bamboo tattoo tomorrow.
 
Blimey, i turn my back for one minute and theres a riveting debate about metric measurements. ****in hell does anyone truly care either way? I mean really care? Did it upset people so much, does it upset people now its apparantly changing back? People will still shop where they shop, will still use the same traders etc. Traders will still sell to the same people. All a bit ****in pointless really, but i suppose it truly comes down to someone forcing us to do something over someone else forcing us to do something. Im off to eat a chicken kebab and watch Newcastle v Leeds. Got an early appointment for some bamboo tattoo tomorrow.
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last bit of friendly fire before they left

Afghanistan: US admits Kabul drone strike killed civilians
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40 minutes ago
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image captionThe aftermath of the drone strike in the Afghan capital, Kabul
The US has admitted that a drone strike in Kabul days before its military pullout killed 10 innocent people.

A US Central Command investigation found that an aid worker and nine members of his family, including seven children, died in the 29 August strike.

The youngest child, Sumaya, was just two years old.

The deadly strike happened days after a terror attack at Kabul airport, amid a frenzied evacuation effort following the Taliban's sudden return to power.

It was one of the US military's final acts in Afghanistan, before ending its 20-year operation in the country.

US intelligence had tracked the aid worker's car for eight hours, believing it was linked to IS-K militants - a local branch of the Islamic State (IS) group, US Central Command Gen Kenneth McKenzie said.

The investigation found the man's car had been seen at a compound associated with IS-K, and its movements aligned with other intelligence about the terror group's plans for an attack on Kabul airport.

At one point, a surveillance drone saw men loading what appeared to be explosives into the boot of the car, but it turned out to be containers of water.

Gen McKenzie described the strike as a "tragic mistake", and added that the Taliban had not been involved in the intelligence that led to the strike.

media captionEmal Ahmadi: "Ten people died here... including my daughter, she was two years old"
The strike happened as the aid worker - named as Zamairi Akmadhi - pulled into the driveway of his home, 3km (1.8 miles) from the airport.

The explosion set off a secondary blast, which US officials initially said was proof that the car was indeed carrying explosives. However the investigation has found it was most likely caused by a propane tank in the driveway.

Relatives of the victims told the BBC the day after the strike that they had applied to be evacuated to the US, and had been waiting for a phone call telling them to go to the airport.


One of those killed, Ahmad Naser, had been a translator with US forces. Other victims had previously worked for international organisations and held visas allowing them entry to the US.


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The horrific consequences of the US military's miscalculation has drawn questions about the accuracy of future counter-terrorism operations in Afghanistan with a US presence no longer on the ground.

But more than that, this catastrophe exposed the dreadful human cost of a war that had been fought largely from the air for years.

That it should take place just as the Americans ended their 20-year occupation will cast an even darker stain on the chaotic US exit.

But for some in the region, it is a particularly stark example of the ongoing dangers of drone warfare.

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When the US started to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan, the Taliban managed to seize control of the country within about two weeks in a lightning-fast offensive.


President Ashraf Ghani fled to the United Arab Emirates, and Afghanistan's capital, Kabul, fell on 15 August.

It sparked a mass evacuation effort from the US and its allies, as thousands of people tried to flee. Many were foreign nationals or Afghans who had worked for foreign governments.

There were scenes of panic and chaos at Kabul airport, and some people fell to their death after trying to cling on to the side of US military planes as they took off.

The security situation was further heightened after a suicide bomber killed up to 170 civilians and 13 US troops outside the airport on 26 August. IS-K said it had carried out the attack.

Many of those killed had been hoping to board one of the evacuation flights leaving the city.

The last US soldier left Afghanistan on 31 August - the deadline President Joe Biden had set for the US withdrawal.

More than 124,000 foreigners and Afghans were flown out of the country before the deadline. But some people were unable to get out in time, and evacuation efforts are ongoing.