Daily Mail posits terrifying new European war
- Thread starter RedRalph
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Haseri
Emperor
I remember quite soon after the royal wedding they had an article detailing 35 years or so in the future. King Wills and Duchess Kate had to sell Buckingham Palace 'cause the reds had got in charge again, and we keep having to shell out for Europe and apologising for everything.
And they just love to pretend the muslimist takeover is imminant.
In my opinion, they're the least patriotic paper I can think of. Nobody who thinks that British culture, whatever that means, is so frail that it is mere years away from collapsing can be patriotic. They're just nationalists.
Who needs Super Carriers if he has allies in fishing boats, right?
Verbose
Deity
Somehow I come away feeling the least realistic bit of the scenario is France somehow popping up as The New Hegemon of and authoritarian Europe. Not really because of the authoritarianism, but because of the blatantly British weird lingering view of France and the UK as Great Powers. They're not.
The EU is made up of small nations, from a global perspective. It's just that some of the have yet to realise it, and apparently none more so than the UK, which oddly enough is still keeping around a seriously inflated view of the importance of France along with itself,. This at a time when the French seem to have much better come to terms with the fact that it is after all a middling power, clearly inside and dependent on the EU to make itself tell.
The EU is made up of small nations, from a global perspective. It's just that some of the have yet to realise it, and apparently none more so than the UK, which oddly enough is still keeping around a seriously inflated view of the importance of France along with itself,. This at a time when the French seem to have much better come to terms with the fact that it is after all a middling power, clearly inside and dependent on the EU to make itself tell.
While I can see conflicts arising in the future, I don't think European countries have the ressources to fight such a big war. Take energy supply and the dependence on imports as an example. And what is going to happen to the nuclear plants? As far as I know they're supposed to be shut down in the event of a major war. But how are you going to fight a war when your electricity production is down to 25 % (in the case of France)? Not to mention that they really make nice targets, giving even non-nuclear countries an option for nuclear warfare.
innonimatu
the resident Cassandra
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Ridiculous! Yes, the EU is likely to crumble, but no, there' won't be any war. Russia may well reassert its dominance over its traditional space, but that's it. European governments will be lucky to manage to maintain themselves in power within their own countries. Sending "peacekeepers" into others? 
Even the french dwarf wouldn't be that dumb... would he?
Even the french dwarf wouldn't be that dumb... would he?
useless
Social Justice Rogue
The Daily Mail doing what it does best; inspiring fear, be it of: Homosexuals, Immigrants, Asians, Blacks, Women and other people they dislike.
Skwink
FRIIIIIIIIIITZ
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You forgot Europeans. Which is good, they hate everyone and nobody is excluded.
Tahuti
Writing Deity
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I don't see how the EU would crumble in any way. The benefits in matters of trade are just too big to send the entire EU to hell. The EU might get downsized in its powers (for example, the Eurozone might go bust) but it doesn't spell the end for the Common market.
warpus
Sommerswerd asked me to change this
It's the Daily Mail..
Isn't that the newspaper that prints stuff like "Batman and Robin give birth to Pamela Anderson" ?
Isn't that the newspaper that prints stuff like "Batman and Robin give birth to Pamela Anderson" ?
Well to be honest, the dog was the bigger threat there, not the fishing boat.Who needs Super Carriers if he has allies in fishing boats, right?
So according to this story, somehow in the next decade US EUCOM with its quarter of a million troops are supposed to close up shop, the US Mediterrian Fleet is supposed to sail home, and the US Atlantic Fleet is supposed to keep to the western half of the Atlantic? Not to mention US CENTCOM and AFRICOM are going to close up shop and fly home? In the next decade? All I say is this story is a joke, though it may make a decent movie.
Counterclaw
Prince
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Maybe his study of the influence of H.G. Wells on Doctor Who spilled over into his political writing. (http://dominicsandbrook.com/wordpress/portfolio/doctor-who-the-ark/)
I'm definitely going to watch this movie!
Sounds like the European version of Red Dawn.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bgoc7MqkbUQ
- Soviet Union suffers worst wheat harvest in 55 years
- Labor and food riots in Poland. Soviet troops invade
- Cuba and Nicaragua reach troop strength goals of 500,000. El Salvador and Honduras fall
- Greens Party gains control of West German Parliament. Demands withdrawal of nuclear weapons from European soil
- Mexico plunged into revolution
- NATO dissolves. United States stands alone.
FriendlyFire
Codex WMDicanious
Don't you have like three wars to fight already ? (And lets not forget American civil war 2 that's in the works)
If there is a serious financial meltdown, could we afford to maintain those forces in Europe (with no cold war to justify them)? Won't we bring them home and decommission most of them as we did in the past? Won't politicians from a certain political party call for this? Won't we promise to support NATO but fail to maintain our strength as in the 1930's?
Also, I don't know why we always think the last war will be the last war. WW I was originally the "War to End All Wars", until financial collapse and political upheaval contributed to WW II.
Why do you Europeans on the thread feel there can't be another war? Read History much?
Singularity
Infinite Density
Contemporary politics and international relations are so interwoven and complicated that you simply can't predict anything past a very obvious and limited timeframe. This article was a waste of paper, ink, bytes and the time I spent reading it.
We live in a time of unprecedented safety and welfare; Despite the financial crisis. We have no historical data to compare our present situation with since we've never "been where we are now". EU will either partially dissolve the monetary union or they will strengthen the ties around it with a unified financial policy of the nations within it. Either way life will inevitably go on in a very recognized form and shape to the life we've had for the last 20-30 years. That's my prediction.
We live in a time of unprecedented safety and welfare; Despite the financial crisis. We have no historical data to compare our present situation with since we've never "been where we are now". EU will either partially dissolve the monetary union or they will strengthen the ties around it with a unified financial policy of the nations within it. Either way life will inevitably go on in a very recognized form and shape to the life we've had for the last 20-30 years. That's my prediction.
Peck of Arabia
Sociable Recluse
I know the first rule of Daily Mail journalism in "don't let the facts get in the way of a good story" but this...
Apart from the fact it's not even really speculation, let alone newsworthy, as speculation needs some grounding in reality and a believable chain and cause of a events, it's just bad.
I've come up with better situations when making scenarios for various strategy games I've played, and believable story-lines are not my strong point (actually I had no strong point when it came to scenario design I'm just awful at it)
Apart from the fact it's not even really speculation, let alone newsworthy, as speculation needs some grounding in reality and a believable chain and cause of a events, it's just bad.
I've come up with better situations when making scenarios for various strategy games I've played, and believable story-lines are not my strong point (actually I had no strong point when it came to scenario design I'm just awful at it)
