Daniel Hannan compares American and British/European politics

[Valerean]

Which other ones have you met?

Well known ones that I have met: Charles Kennedy (really nice and genuinely funny, chatted privately for about 20 minutes at an insurance do - my boss asked if I'd pulled), Boris Johnson (very briefly, he said hello when he was campaining for Mayor of London the first time whilst I was at Waterloo), Ken Livingstone (surprisingly likeable, met him in a queue and chatted briefly about Greenwich - don't recall why we did that), and Keith Vaz (unsurprisingly slappable, who I showed around my department of our offices and who only spoke to the Asian employees).

I met Boris (weirdly enough in Lloyd's of London at an insurance function) - guy was hilarious, but also very, very sharp. The other was Nick Clegg who I had to endure sitting next to at a performance of "We're Going On A Bear Hunt" (the things we do for our kids...)

[Deleted]

Without a second front, Russia may not have had the ability to defeat Germany.

Despite the loathing for it now, the bombing campaign launched from Britain by the RAF and USAF (not sure they were called that then), was one of the key instruments in defeating the industrial might of Germany - Russia wasn't capable of doing that at the time, so the Luftwaffe would have been able to devote their entire resources to blowing the crap out Russia.

That's not counting the infantry divisions in Western Europe, or that the German Navy wouldn't have been stretched over the Atlantic as they were forced to be.

The North African campaign, pitting the charisma of Rommel against the sheer bloody-mindedness of Montgomery, was another important win for the Allies by denying resources for the Axis.

What eventually happened on the Eastern Front was largely due to what the Western Front forced on the German resources.

the War was largely sealed with Kursk, in 1943, the second front (i.e D-day was launched in ´44) that's not to say that the north african campaign was pointless (nor the Mediterranean one), but largely speaking the British and American contributions was money, resources and intelligence.

[Doktor Faustus]

Lots of hate for Gordon Brown.

This unjust stigma is why Ed Milliband and not David Milliband is leader of Labour, and failing (Blairite Vs Brownite).

Blair was the snake in the grass, Brown was fucked from the get go, but did implement some sound policies.

The gold issue is slightly more complex than the media reported, some suggested it was a deliberate move to lower the price of gold to assist certain banks in diversifying their assets (as indeed was the stipulated reason for the UK government doing so).

This was then countered (on purpose) by the Washington Agreement on Gold which pushed the price up, and naturally inflated those institutions that required inflated assets that could not then be sold off in large quantities to lower the price... nudge, nudge, wink, wink.

Also, the demand for gold is not particularly high, it is not like you can simply offload it easily at its peak price.

[mvaliz]

Great...now a Nakura Chambers has self-declared himself a Libertarian instead of a Republican Tea Partier and is further twisting Libertarian beliefs to match his own...

[Nakura Chambers]

Great...now a Nakura Chambers has self-declared himself a Libertarian instead of a Republican Tea Partier and is further twisting Libertarian beliefs to match his own...

Where did I call myself a libertarian.

[Thage]

I'm not sure what I expected when I clicked on a Nakura thread, but I have to thank him for the laughs and our UK posters for the enlightening look into UK politics.

[Deleted]

Though Nigel Farage, a British classical liberal,

AHAHAHA! Farage is only a liberal inside your head.

[Jackmoves]

I would like to know how the UKIP could be considered a classical liberal party? They seem quite conservative on a number of issues. Its just a "brand name" to them, they dont seem like the real thing to me.

[Deleted]

I would like to know how the UKIP could be considered a classical liberal party? They seem quite conservative on a number of issues. Its just a "brand name" to them, they dont seem like the real thing to me.

They are more conservative than the actual conservatives.

[BLCalliente]

What I always enjoy reading is different people's takes on why the Allied powers were victorious in WWII.

A lot of times, people have very strong opinions on this subject without really having any knowledge or understanding.

The best part (and kind of a Godwin 2: Electric Boogaloo) is "If it weren't for the US you (whoever) would be speaking German now (so let us do whatever we want)".

[Butler to Baby Sloths]

The best part (and kind of a Godwin 2: Electric Boogaloo) is "If it weren't for the US you (whoever) would be speaking German now (so let us do whatever we want)".

Actually, the best part is when they inadvertently say that to a German

[Jackmoves]

They are more conservative than the actual conservatives.

Yeah thats kind of the impression Ive got as well. A lot of people throw around the term libertarian and classical liberalism. In UKIPs case it just seem like another party(and its supports)doing some re-branding. Not sure why people buy into it, oldest trick in the bag.

True, pure, classical liberalism is a fringe movement in most countries.

[Masark]

Actually, the best part is when they inadvertently say that to a German

We got off with only speaking about a quarter German. =)