I don't like being too serious, but with thousands of Americans sleeping rough in New York and Los Angeles, Greece going bankrupt, soup kitchens springing up around the world and Obama trying for a second term against the odds, something obviously needs to be done.

We need a nice war to sort it all out, to return the feel-good factor to the West. We can't bomb the bankers because it will empty the cash points, but the target is so obvious it hardly needs an explanation:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011...attack-nuclear

I read that with growing concern.

First off, they are relying on the same intelligence systems (I use the words in their loosest possible sense) that told us there were WMDs in Iraq. I'd suggest that until they can show where they were (oh, hang on, they admitted there weren't any) their claims about Iran should be taken with a container load of salt rather than the traditional pinch.

I see this as the beginnings of the US plans to screw Iran at the prompting of the Israelis, who would like nothing better than to see Iran getting a hammering.

You've got it exactly right. The West propaganda machine will concentrate on the poofs being hanged, adulteresses being stoned to death and the big one, the holocaust denial.

If the Shah was still around, we'd want him back. The options appear to be just to bomb the f'uck out of the place, and hope for the best. The Saudis have already promised to turn up the oil taps and Russia and China will be reminded that big brother is watching them.

Sadly, I don't see too much wrong with it.

Yeah, great.

"Say look guys, the Middle East is in a right state, so why don't we go down and really put the boot in...."

"Hang on, wasn't that a WMD?"

Well one thing's for sure, it'll keep you guys happy with enough material for your regular rants.
I seem to sense your increasing frustration that there isn't quite sufficient bloodshed and mayhem at the minute.

You know what my fantasy is? Being left alone. I want a world where everyone like me who just wants a peaceful easy life, and cause no grief to anyone else, we should be allowed to do just that.

I'm on your side bil

I remember a coach load of us going to Newmarket races just as our peaceful country was starting to make noises about the Falklands. We were in the crowded long bar when the singing started. To the tune of the Trevor Brooking song, the entire crowd of happy race goers sang, 'We're gonna bomb Argentina . . .'

Well, we did, Maggie won the election and the country was happy for a while.

War concentrates the mind.

I was in Estepona at the time and the locals made us far from welcome

Even more satisfying to those inclined more than a little to the left of centre, is a war involving Uncle Sam.
What a superb opportunity for them all to rant all day long from their soap boxes or riot to their hearts content in various city centres.
This last affair must have been something of an anticlimax with the US walking away from proceedings early on.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm certainly not in any way condoning their unjustified incursions into foreign lands nor wishing to play the devils advocate, but simply trying to figure out why so much never ending monotonous repeated emphasis is placed on their wrong doings seemingly at the expense of generally ignoring or rarely mentioning the many much worse abominations occuring on a daily basis around the globe.

Come to think of it,I suppose the thread starter could be taken as further evidence of the point I'm trying to make.

I'm not in favour of war either, but I'm in favour of discussing world events, especially when they are highlighted in responsible newspapers like the Guardian and Telegraph, one left and one right.

And as Fred pointed out when talking about anti-British feeling in Estepona in 1982, your country going to war could affect where you live.

If I was a German living in Greece, I would start to get nervous; I've long ago cancelled my travel plans to the Holy Land and the Middle East; if I won the lottery and got the boat I promised myself I would stay well clear of the Somalian coast, and I haven't been back in the Queenburger in Torrevieja since ETA bombed it.

Major world events like wars do affect us, wherever we live.

The invasion of Iraq killed 670,000 civilians in the first 2 years alone. What wars over the last few years have been worse that that? All wars are wrong, but the Iraq war was morally corrupt and based on a lie. Just like the Vietnam war which killed millions of Vietnamese and had nothing to do with the US.

There are lots of bad countries and regimes, but the US is one of the worst. Thats not just the fault of the US though because the international community, Spain and the UK included, do nothing to disuade them and actively support them if they think they'll get a dolar or two of the winnings. Although dont forget that the UN voted NO for a war in Iraq, it was an illegal war and those countries who supported it should have faced international sanctions, but of course the US can do what it likes anyway.

What did Gandhi say? There is no such thing as Western civilisation? I agree

Cricketman, you say "all wars are wrong" do you agree some wars are necessary?

I could write a 100 page essay on this, it depends

You could say from a British point of view, WWII was justified - and yes from the situation we were in in 1945 it most certainly was

However, blame and cosequence is a different matter. Germany were badly treated after WWI. France, the US and UK stuck their boot in when WWI really wasnt Germany's fault. So in the early 30s Germany was in a terrible state, people dying of hunger, hyperinflation etc. An authoritarian despot like Hitler was kind of a natural consequence.

So there are situations where war is the only solution left, but it should never get to that point. The equivalent would be if you got in an argument with a work colleague and you felt the only way to settle it would be to reach for a baseball bat

So let me get this straight. We shouldn't criticise Unca Sam, because their are worse countries in the world.

I'm sure there are, in the sense of countries where they eat babies and worse, but these tend to be localised hell holes who are unable to export their particular brand of nastiness to the rest of the world.

Count up the countries where the uS has trashed their elected government and interferred in a sovereign state's business. It's a bloody big number.