will it fail to such an extent the european union has to disband?
it looks like greece will at some point renage on its loan payments, while spain with 20% unemployment looks set to collapse economically speaking, portugal is fairing no better and dublin is asking for lower interest on it's loan.

there has to come a point when everyone says , i've had enough. at present it seems a lot of money in the form of loans is flowing one way...downhill. if greece does decide to stop payments then i think we'll see some countries at least (germany, france) etc pulling stakes and going it alone. if that happens i think collapse would be imminent

any thoughts on the matter.

i have heard of talkes that germany,holland and austria have plans ready to go it alone if need be,however i don't think they'll give up that easy,there must still be profit made by business

the writings on the wall, most defiantly, for the UK also if the snp get there way in a year or to (but they may think twice if Europe collapses), personally I'm all for Europe being dissolved cause right now we need to lower our taxes to encourage growth but European rules mean we cant, we cant lower fuel or energy costs because of it either.

i just heard greece is getting the next payment, i really can't see them paying even the first loan back without a big restructuring.
as for the uk in the eu. while it's still going, i think we need to be in it in order to actually have some kind of say.

(06-04-2011, 03:16 PM)billy Wrote:  i think we need to be in it in order to actually have some kind of say.

true, but its one very expensive say

@vf, you know the various monarchy's of Europe prevent the republican element going in to overdrive but Europe as a whole being standardized and unified to me is a sin cause there are lots of interesting places and people who's cultures get watered down for no real reason, hope it fails on the federal principle but the trade block remains as that's what people originally voted for.

we already match and outdo the usa on imports and exports, many member states have a better form of government.
standing on the outside, the usa isn't the powerhouse it was, and it gov is noticably less than it was. if debt is an indication of how well a fed cov works then the usa is screwed.

gemany which is seen as the power house of europe is more of a federal gov than the usa ever is.
thankfully that all we need in terms of strong federalism. we get any more fedism we need from the european parliament.
that said, i'm surprised greece got the 2nd payout

(06-05-2011, 10:36 AM)billy Wrote:  we already match and outdo the usa on imports and exports

I didn't know that, why we all broke then?

we're not, germany is rich, gdp-wise and export -wise, and as a whole we're less in debt than the yanks.
ie, china doesn't own as much of us

as it was done to the usa with bird flu and the same e coli.
lets not forget sally small pox (was that her name (and the right disease?)) (nope sorry, i was thinking of typhoid whats her name,)

international flights mean the same veg in europe can also be in the usa in only a few hours. that said, with e coli, the the strain dies with the patient and the food once it's destroyed. as it isn't air born.

(06-06-2011, 08:24 AM)velvetfog Wrote:  We grow our own.

Where I live, fresh fruit and vegetables arrive daily year round in large refrigerated trucks from Imperial valley in southern California.
On the return trip, the refrigeration units are turned off, and the trucks are usually filled with locally made wood furniture for the U.S. market.

We as Canadians need to do a whole lot better at producing for ourselves.

the thing is e.coli and other pathogens can be propogated and found in almost all places on earth.
kath;
i think better farming practices and more arable farming should be done world wide.

get to the same level, the eu which has a free trade agreement has a 500 mill plus population,
it also has 4 more minor non eu countries who are also part of the free trade agreement.
the states have a 200 mill pop.
the eu has a more productive and wide base manufacturing platform. sorry vf but from where i stand it's the usa whose free trade market is almost on par with the eu

which is still leaves a 200 mill difference.

(06-06-2011, 12:43 PM)velvetfog Wrote:  That is why the EU can not afford to build its own navy with multiple aircraft carrier based task forces, like the one the U.S. has.

The UK has 2 quite large carriers under construction but has a fleet of 2 at the moment although helicopters use them, France has 1 carrier task force with airplanes and Italy has another 2 so that's 5 to the US of 10, quite a big difference but the US has never used more than 4 at once.

oh see, it's a pissing contest

ok, in europe (if you're working on a per capita basis)
there some countries have a higher per capita GDP. as for the uk. we'd still kick the ass of any yank who tried to mess with us. what we are not, is an iraq or an afghanistan. we could and at a push would wipe out most of the usa should they bring it on. we have what we need
to defend ourselves. we don't want to rule the world. as far as canada's navy goes, two kayaks and a squadron of crop sprayers doesn't cut it.
all that aside. either of us in any state of depression would kick canadas ass. even the greeks could beat canada. and i'm being serious.

that's the most absurd statement i heard in a very long time,that coming from aircraft carrier nr.1

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my style

(06-13-2011, 02:15 PM)velvetfog Wrote:  You ought to read this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Can...Navy_ships

Its interesting that Canada includes there replenishment ships in there navy fleet, if the UK did that we could say the Royal Navy was the largest navy...................