Bob Shields

I guess he has been lobbied by the Moroun family who own the Ambassador Bridge.

Nothing to do with his mate Richard Tice renting office space to businesses then?

I saw some entitled types on a Youtube vid on the Costas. No idea of the concept of treaties.

No concept of reciprocity.

Brits wanted to end freedom of movement for non Brit-Europeans in the UK (especially Eastern Europeans). I can remember plenty of Brexiter Brits wanting to retain their FoM (no sense of reciprocity) because EU locals needed Brit money.

I see Farage getting in power. A much harder Brexit (the type like Brexiters say has not happened) is in the pipeline. Denial is a helluva drug even when you are breaking things for other people.

Barnier did mention a Norway style solution but it was firmly rejected. Brexit devolved into a fight among the British about FoM.

Facebook is ending up bad as X. Prolly due to the DSA, which in turn is why Musk wants the EU gone. Saved this from FB this morning. Notice the unintendedly ironic use of dollars.

Brexit, as it stands, puts the UK more at risk of being an American Overseas Territory, like American Samoa, than rejoining the SM or the EU.

I think it's been cleared up.

I don't necessarily see that.

True if you accept that England tend to be more 'Brexity' however England still has a significant proportion of rejoiners (or those who want single market membership). As an American, for example, I loathe MAGA.

The EU specifically works as a peace club and a wealth creation club if everyone follows the same set of rules (which in turn reduces red tape).

Because it goes beyond tariffs with regards to security and geopolitical status. There are also efforts to gradually integrate Morocco into the single market.

Yes a DCFTA (Deeper Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement), which the EU currently has with Morocco, could well be established with Canada.

Have there been any wars between members of the European Club going back to the ECSC?

Eh?

Go back to the European Coal and Steel community. Why was that founded?

And yes the EU helped create peace on the island of Ireland. Let's not forget that too. It was Britain's choice to piss that up the wall.

True. But let's not lost sight of that when petty populist nationalism is on the rise across Europe.

Yes and I stand corrected on the current status of the EU with respect to Europe as Niall rightly pointed out. However the European Coal and Steel Community (forerunner of the EU) was specifically setup to prevent a repeat of the slaughter of WWII.

Well yes. If a country sees other advantages then they join (my statement was sweeping). However... Europe became a joint political concept in order to prevent the slaughter that Europe had recently encountered.

Now you understand MAGA. 8 years of a black president and the worst people in America lost their collective shit.

You were minded to post this but we all know that you're right anyhow.

The biggest threat to free speech in the US is Trump.

As an American, Trump and MAGA are about as far as you can get from American values.

Then why reject Morocco specifically because they were not part of Europe? There are/were arguments for why the places you mention were considered part of Europe.

The purpose of the EU is to stop the historical slaughter of people in Europe. If countries leave the EU and this improves the EU then so be it. If those countries finally embrace the concept of not slaughtering people as the raison d'etre of the EU then invite them in.

YouTube video by AJ Trotter Souter lighthouse fog horn

That lighthouse is Souter Point in Marsden, South Tyneside. I grew up near it and remember the sound of its foghorn.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGrw...

Canada should not be part of the EU even though that prospect is tempting. Morocco tried to apply to the then EEC in 1987 and its application was refused based on the fact it was not in Europe. Morocco and the EU have a very good relationship so the same rule should apply to Canada.