kevinjohnsonmbe

Not this call sign Mull.... I'm inclined to agree - what a state to have gotten ourselves into. I did start a reply to Mr B's earlier post about having the press all over everything you do as a politician, and (perhaps even worse) every swinging dick with an ill informed opinion picking holes in every thing they do, or don't, do. It has to take a certain type of person to even want to subject themselves to that level of dissection - no wonder Westminster is full to the gunnels with weirdoes..

Who knows, but my guess would be no - because he'd still be what he was before the 2003 war - a colonel in the Iraqi army, but not a Ba'ath party member nor and Sunni and from the historically despised (by Saddam) SE region of the country. Depends who you ask I guess... One of the dinner guests that was fed to the lions by Uday (if they weren't already dead) (I visited his palace, saw those cages and walked those passageways - put a reet chill into your soul) might have a similar view as someone that was starving to death in the South who, conversely, might have an entirely different view to someone from within the privileged inner circle of the Ba'ath party in Baghdad... Like Mick said earlier, depends who you ask I guess.

Noooo... That would have been the war on drugs, which they 'forgot about' when the war for oil started... ? Then when they remembered again (a bit too late) it had a entirely different imperative... Hey ho, things change - so long as the pals in Halliburton et al keep a steady stream of government contracts etc etc...

North Korea - has the resident regime caught up or exceeded the US inflicted death toll yet? Vietnam - haven’t got a reply to hand for that one Iraq - I stay in contact with the deputy major of Basra and I am in no doubt that the majority of that region are eternally grateful for the removal of Saddam. Afghanistan - I wasn’t there long enough to benefit from the type of personal relationships established in Iraq but I can make an educated guess that there is considerable relief at the demise of ISIS (maybe a ½ decent example of the medieval chaos which inevitably follows in the absence of a bad ass?)

Now that’s just plain Saturday night, 2nd bottle, completely unthinkable nonsense! There’s NO WAY I’m going across the river to Devon! ????

Interested to hear why you think Balfour declaration is central to US foreign policy (if I’ve understood what you meant?) and perhaps where in the equation global oil dependency sits as an influence. Maybe, just maybe, nations declaring zero carbon by 20XX will fundamentally change the dynamic?

I’m not for a second suggesting it’s an ideal situation Mick, and neither am I blind to the flaws. There’s no eagerness on my part for subjugation but there’s even less for the sort of chaos which is inevitable in the void which invariably ensues.

Whadayamean ??

Sooooooo..... Who would you rather see in the big chair then? China? Russia? India?

If that’s the way you see it Mick - and I can certainly understand some of the apparent contradictions which might be presented in support of such a mindset. Human nature being what it is, things do tend to go to shit pretty quickly when there ISN’T a dominant bad ass. If we accept that the US is the current dominant bad ass, and that some actions can, in hindsight, be viewed as counter productive, it still leaves the question, if not the US, which would be your preferred dominant bad ass? (and you can’t answer “we don’t need one” because there are more than enough historical references to demonstrate that that kind of utopia is not coming anytime soon)

You didn’t specifically say it was a US black op, but you did highlight the tanker attacks and said “America is ramping things up “ - as if to suggest the attacks were US initiated to achieve the aim of going to war, a theory you then supported with a video supposedly to illustrate the point. Fair play, I’d certainly agree that there are some really peculiar world events being directly influenced by illuminati style non governmental players, and I’m not averse to considering the odd conspiracy theory, but I’m really not convinced on this one. Just maybe it IS as simple as the Iranian regime are screaming nut jobs with responsibilities for financing, facilitating and directing global terrorism, a stated desire for the destruction of Israel, a history of regional conflict with global impact and a known aspiration to achieve nuclear weapons. I guess you could say (excluding the Israel bit) similar parallels could be drawn from recent US (& UK) foreign policy - but seriously, if I had to choose 1 over the other - as a place to live for example - I’d choose the US every time. I’m coming down on the side of it not being a conspiracy at the moment, but I’ll keep an open mind

I must be part Scot... ?

Cornish foreplay: ”...awake are ‘ee...”

What with the other one on recall, things is looking bleak! I don’t mean bleak as in I’m a Tory fan (haven’t voted for ‘em in over a decade) but bleak as in the alternative is Corbyn! Or worse still, a Labour /Lib Dem coalition! ?

It’s a Scottish thing... You can never quite know what they really mean..?

I’m not so sure it’s what he did, but rather who he is that’s caused the shit storm eggs.

All I’m suggesting is, take the politics out of the judgement call and see where it leaves you.... Fink it was Ian Dale who what had a Labour Cllr (whossum was on same table) said he was terrified by the protesters... Now it would be SO inappropriate if I were to suggest he was a spineless tnuc for NOT standing up because he’s Labour and the bloke that DID stand up was Tory. You see how ridiculous that would be...

Except, a black tie dinner, chances are I’d be leathered and fall for a sucker punch ?

Hang on, never mind the munters at the top table, did you notice the person sat to his right was female? His wife maybe? Protester, regardless of their cause, whether I personally supported or sympathised with it or not, nobody barges past me when my wife is next in the firing line - not while I’m still standing. Would you feel the same, or different, if the known politics of it was not known?

First part is pure speculation, second part, agree. Lets see how it plays out.... What are your thoughts on the drone issue Mark? Apparently T was locked & loaded but stood down at the last minute. Are you still of the mind that the tanker hit was a US black op designed to start a war?

Should have gone to Specsavers.... She’s got some balls saying ‘she’ doesn’t want to press charges mind.... Proper nut job!

He should have copped for a 20 pointer really - but I can see why he didn't ?

Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994

Alton Towers more likely!

She should be arrested - acts or threats designed to influence a government = a terrorist act.