28 Mar 10
1 edit
The UK government needs to be "less deferential" towards the US and more willing to say no to Washington, a group of MPs have said.
The Commons Foreign Affairs committee also said it was wrong to speak of "the special relationship" with the US, as it was fostering other alliances.
However, the MPs did agree that the link between the countries was "profound and valuable".
The Foreign Office said the two nations share a "unique" bond.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/uk_news/8590767.stm
The debate topics:
To what extent is this 'special relationship' real and to what extent is it a malleable and lopsided figment of geopolitical rhetoric?
What have been its advantages and disadvantages to both sides?
Is it 'over' or has it got legs yet?
28 Mar 10
Originally posted by FMFTo what extent is this 'special relationship' real and to what extent is it a malleable and lopsided figment of geopolitical rhetoric?
[quote]The UK government needs to be "less deferential" towards the US and more willing to say no to Washington, a group of MPs have said.
The Commons Foreign Affairs committee also said it was wrong to speak of "the special relationship" with the US, as it was fostering other alliances.
However, the MPs did agree that the link between the countries was "p ...[text shortened]... advantages and disadvantages to both sides?
Is it 'over' or has it got legs yet?
The former: none
The latter: all
What have been its advantages and disadvantages to both sides?
The US allies itself with the UK to the extent it deems so to be to its advantage and vice versa. Assuming anything else is naive. "Special relationship" is sentimental nonsense... bunkum for the masses.
Is it 'over' or has it got legs yet?
To the extent that it's in the countries' best interest to cooperate (which is usually is), they will. To the extent it's not in the countries' best interest to cooperate, they never have and won't start. Tony Blair didn't play Bush lapdog because of a special relationship. He did so because he thought it was in the UK's best interest to play Bush lapdog. In general, the UK tends to defer to the big boys in recent years.
Naturally, the US and UK are going to remain allies. Being of similar ethnic makeup and of similar economic and social philosophy, that would tend to happen naturally. But that's about the extent of it. The "special relationship" didn't save the Brits from US excoriation in 1956 and the "special relationship" didn't make the UK boycott the Moscow Olympics in 1980.
28 Mar 10
1 edit
Originally posted by FMFWhat he said --> Originally posted by sh76
To what extent is this 'special relationship' real and to what extent is it a malleable and lopsided figment of geopolitical rhetoric?
What have been its advantages and disadvantages to both sides?
Is it 'over' or has it got legs yet?
28 Mar 10
Originally posted by FMFhold on a sec ... are y'all still P'O'd about that DVD set?
[quote]The UK government needs to be "less deferential" towards the US and more willing to say no to Washington, a group of MPs have said.
The Commons Foreign Affairs committee also said it was wrong to speak of "the special relationship" with the US, as it was fostering other alliances.
However, the MPs did agree that the link between the countries was "p ...[text shortened]... advantages and disadvantages to both sides?
Is it 'over' or has it got legs yet?
28 Mar 10
1 edit
i bought a pair of training shoes yesterday, 'sneakers', you guys call them, to cement the relationship. A fine pair of Adidas superstar II metallic silver retro basketball shoes. The fact that i could buy them from the Sates and have them shipped to the U.K. cheaper than i can get them from a retailer here is a matter of wonderment. Long live America 🙂
28 Mar 10
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Originally posted by robbie carrobieHey! We're officially not friends any more! Take those sneakers off, limey!
i bought a pair of training shoes yesterday, 'sneakers', you guys call them, to cement the relationship. A fine pair of Adidas superstar II metallic silver retro basketball shoes. The fact that i could buy them from the Sates and have them shipped to the U.K. cheaper than i can get them from a retailer here is a matter of wonderment. Long live America 🙂
Wait, are Scots considered limeys?
28 Mar 10
Originally posted by robbie carrobieMade in China?
i bought a pair of training shoes yesterday, 'sneakers', you guys call them, to cement the relationship. A fine pair of Adidas superstar II metallic silver retro basketball shoes. The fact that i could buy them from the Sates and have them shipped to the U.K. cheaper than i can get them from a retailer here is a matter of wonderment. Long live America 🙂
28 Mar 10
1 edit
Originally posted by AThousandYoungwhat are you talking about? It was the nobility that sold us down the swanny without a paddle, that is why we were shipped off in droves, from farms and villages where we had lived for generations to make way for more profitable sheep farming. You may traverse the highlands to this day and the little houses and villages are still extant and deserted! I myself am both Scots and Irish, my grandfathers having come from Donegal to stave off famine but three generations ago, my mother bearing the name MacGregor, a name not to be taken upon the lips, lightly!
You're a traitor to the Celtic ethnicity, Scot! Sold your souls to the English devil and decided to turn against your own kin in Ireland!