thaibeachlovers

Something else to think about is that the US will not be manning the Patriots for obvious reasons, and the Ukrainians need to be trained. So now that the Russians know they have a window before the Patriots are functional they are IMO likely to launch even more drone and missile attacks on infrastructure, just as winter is getting really cold. Given the offensive on Russians in the east seems to be stalled, the possibility of a winter offensive by the Russians and the possibility of a new front on the Belorussian border towards Kiev, it could be getting even worse for the Ukrainian people.

Re the Patriots, before anyone starts claiming it is a winner in the war, according to what I saw on Al Jazeera, one Patriot missile is 4 million US$ and one Iranian drone is 250,000 US$, so all Russia has to do is use up all the Patriot missiles in attacks with massed drones. Depends on how many new missiles the US is prepared to pay for, and from the 3rd of January the GOP control the money. Apparently they are somewhat reluctant to have a blank cheque policy for Ukraine. There was a comparison with WW2 when the US loaned Britain weapons, which had to be paid for after the war, but I don't know if that is the same with Ukraine, or if the US taxpayer is going to pay.

I assume you are talking about Afghanistan. There are many successful invasions in history. Britain is an example of that, with the Saxon majority being absorbed into a society run by the Normans.

Are you claiming that Fergie was having fun in public, or going on tv to rubbish the royal family?

I agree, which is where the Falklands comes in useful. If they knew they'd be going there if can't be returned to home country IMO the number attempting to cross would be significantly less. Surely no one is claiming that a person without a valid visa should be allowed to choose where they live on British territory?

Early days, so let's give the cops time to find the extent of the rot and whom is involved.

After a ferry sank many years ago ferries suddenly acquired loads of life jackets. Perhaps it's changed, but on the car ferries it used to be obvious that the life rafts were not capable of being used. I always had a personal inflatable flotation device of my own that I used when traveling by ferry in LOS.

Why is it always Britain's responsibility to "rescue" them? Surely the French also have a responsibility to rescue them if in trouble and take them to a French port?

Surely the international thing only takes effect if the voyagers were in distress? As long as the boat was seaworthy and had enough fuel to get back to France that should negate any responsibility of Britain's.Are you saying a seaworthy small boat not in distress in the channel is the responsibility of the British government to bring into a British port? That is a nonsense. After all they chose to get on it of their own free will and it was good enough to leave safe harbour on. They didn't magically appear in British waters, did they? They are indeed humans and chose to leave their own country, and pay criminals to get them to the French coast and to get on a rubber boat, so why have they become a British responsibility?

Once the Australian solution was started the boats seem to have stopped. IMO Rwanda is the British version of the Australian solution, but surely there is still a British island far away that could be used instead? As long as they are on British territory no legal problems and far away from all the goodies is probably enough of a disincentive to stop the boats from France. Perhaps the Falklands could yet prove useful.

It's not even "proper" Islam, but a version of it. Even Saudi ( the birth place of Islam ) allows women to be educated, and become doctors.

Legal or not, they are the government.

Indeed, but watching is about as far as any influence an outside government has on the taliban, IMO. They can impose sanctions, which don't make any difference to the girls, but short of re invading, what else can they do, except watch?

Given that there was IMO no real reason for the allied troops to be there once al qeda was destroyed there, it was IMO a waste of allied lives. Making it safe for Afghan girls to go to school is IMO not a valid reason for a single allied soldier to die. History tells us that it has never been a place for outsiders to succeed.

While I was a fan of looking for an hotel/ resort to stay at when I arrived at the islands, I never tried at this time of year when full hotels could be expected. As for having to wait 2 days to catch a ferry, unless one had a confirmed hotel booking, would that not warn tourists that elsewhere might be a better option. It's not like there are not hundreds of other places to go.

No idea why that is relevant. Only the British can make Jeremy toast. Do you not comprehend that "Every time they whine about the royals on US tv they lose British people's support" has nothing to do with American's opinion of the British royals?

If Russia stops sending gas, are the other nations that will be expected to do so be agreeing to a low price for their gas? If not, Euro citizens can comfort themselves with good intentions as they pay large for gas next winter.

If that is true, then Britain needs to become more like France.

Perhaps they knew what she was going to say about them. If anyone deserves throwing under the bus it's the whining couple for attacking their family in public.

The idea that Clarkson is toast for mocking her is so silly that I had a good laugh over that one. Every time they whine about the royals on US tv they lose British people's support.

People actually camped out to get a good view of the carriage after the wedding. The couple had all the good will of the British people to start with. That they lost it is down to them.

IMO what anti Trumpers don't understand is that many GOP dislike Trump as much as any Democrat. He promoted himself as anti Washington, which includes politicians of both parties. I'm not at all surprised that some GOP people spoke against him, or are on the biased committee.

IMO they don't "worship Trump" but he is the only one out there attacking Washington that can't be ignored. If they do, it's only in the same vein as some "worship" musicians or sportspeople. I think anti Trumpers don't have a clue how much hatred there is for Washington and the establishment in the areas that support Trump.

Thank you. I knew a few Drs that were corrupt and grew very rich off the NHS but they were consultants. The average Dr is not corrupt IMO. I have zero respect for any of the hospital managers I served under- need I say more?

I doubt that most that voted for Trump didn't know what he was, but given a choice between bad and worst they went for bad.