The Politics Thread

[Hoboh]

President Traian Basescu, a noted critic of Moscow, said Romania and Moldova should end the partition that was placed upon them during a pact between Stalin and Hitler at the beginning of World War II.


His invitation came as Moldova is expected to sign an important free trade association agreement with the European Union at the organisation's Eastern Partnership summit in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, on Friday.


The move will bring the former Soviet satellite state further into the West's embrace, and is expected to be the pre-cursor to eventual membership of the Brussels club.


But it is bitterly opposed by the Kremlin, which wants to retain influence among countries in its "near backyard" by getting them to join a Russian customs union instead. Earlier this week, Ukraine bowed to Russian pressure and scrapped plans to sign a similar free trade agreement with the EU, a move that sparked pro-Western street protests in the capital, Kiev.


Mr Basescu's comments are likely to irritate Russia by making it clear that he sees Moldova's future as part of the European Union, which Romania joined in 2007.

The two countries already enjoy close ties, with most Moldovans speaking Romanian. In 2009, Romania offered citizenship to any Moldovans who could prove recent Romanian ancestry, an offer that around a million of Moldova's five million strong population are believed to have taken advantage of.

"When a nation has the opportunity to be together, it should not give up," said Mr Basescu. "It may not happen straightaway, but it will happen one day, because blood is thicker than water.

"I think this is the right time to say that we have this objective, if Moldovan people want this. I am convinced that if Moldova wants to unite, then Romania will accept."

Not all Romanians share Mr Basescu's aspiration. Moldova is the poorest country in Europe, and many Romanians question whether their own economy could bear the strain and cost of a reunification.
The proposal would also likely run into opposition from Brussels until Moldova had formally been granted European Union membership on its own account. Aside from opposition in Moscow, that prospect is complicated by the breakaway republic of Transdniester, a Russian-speaking enclave of eastern Moldova that wants to retain ties with Moscow.

Well, well, well, seems we are not alone in fearing mass migration or intergration.

All the political unrest with this, the Ukraine etc, I thought the EU was set up for peace in Europe? I hope for somes sake Putin is a patient man.

[Lost Leopard Spot]

^ what?
You have no idea about the ethnicity or politics of the Romanian-Moldovan-Bessarabian polity. None. Shut the fxck up.

[Hoboh]

^ what?
You have no idea about the ethnicity or politics of the Romanian-Moldovan-Bessarabian polity. None. Shut the fxck up.

I don't give a flying fook what some four legged creature with measles thinks thank you!

One shower of shits that says we are wrong or 'nasty' because we don't want it's scrotes is quite happy to play at what we are wrong about on someone else, simples.

I really, really, hope Putin takes back control of these backwater hick countries, OK.

[William the White]

^ what?
You have no idea about the ethnicity or politics of the Romanian-Moldovan-Bessarabian polity. None. Shut the fxck up.

TBH - I don't have any idea about this either. I don't even know what Bessarabian refers to. Can you enlighten?

[Hoboh]

More meddling!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... ettes.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[thebish]

^ what?
You have no idea about the ethnicity or politics of the Romanian-Moldovan-Bessarabian polity. None. Shut the fxck up.

TBH - I don't have any idea about this either. I don't even know what Bessarabian refers to. Can you enlighten?

i'd never heard the term either - but apparently it's a real thing!

[Bruce Rioja]

Hmmm. I've been to Bucharest, Slatina, Galati and Oradea several times without ever knowing which region I was in. Have met some truly wonderful, life-enriching Romanians as a result. Most of them run highly successful businesses when they're not out thieving. Fancy that?!

[Lost Leopard Spot]

^ what?
You have no idea about the ethnicity or politics of the Romanian-Moldovan-Bessarabian polity. None. Shut the fxck up.

TBH - I don't have any idea about this either. I don't even know what Bessarabian refers to. Can you enlighten?

Sorry, missed this.

Bessarabia is to the east of Moldova and southwest of Ukraine. It is split between the two countries, although 95% of the population is Romanian.
The geo-political situation of Romania-Moldova-Bessarabia is further complicated by the Dniester Republic, Transnistrian, Bukovinan and the Budjak regions which all claim autonomy - not on racial or linguistic grounds, but on pro and anti Soviet political grounds.

[bobo the clown]

More meddling!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... ettes.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I don't smoke, I never have smoked, I don't like being in the vicinity of people smoking these days (far more so than when it was more commonly done, oddly), I hated the way my clothes smelt after a night out. My father & brother died of smoking related illness. My mother has smoking related CPOD despite quitting 30 years ago. It costs an absolute fortune (I was stunned recently at seeing the price of 20) and must have terrible impact on people's spending power. Workers taking "smoke breaks" while non-smokers get on with their jobs is an irritant. Smokers leave ash & stubs & empty packets & burn marls all over the place.

So ... I'm not a fan.

However, the way smokers are treated amazes me.

[Hoboh]

More meddling!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... ettes.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I don't smoke, I never have smoked, I don't like being in the vicinity of people smoking these days (far more so than when it was more commonly done, oddly), I hated the way my clothes smelt after a night out. My father & brother died of smoking related illness. My mother has smoking related CPOD despite quitting 30 years ago. It costs an absolute fortune (I was stunned recently at seeing the price of 20) and must have terrible impact on people's spending power. Workers taking "smoke breaks" while non-smokers get on with their jobs is an irritant. Smokers leave ash & stubs & empty packets & burn marls all over the place.

So ... I'm not a fan.

However, the way smokers are treated amazes me.

And when the EU is finished with smokers, What group is next?

[Lost Leopard Spot]

Personally, I'm all for it. Next Hoboh, would be gun owners - all of them. Then, I don't know, let me think... Kilt wearers...

[Lost Leopard Spot]

Porridge sandwich makers, Wigan supporters, iPad users, kindle users, x-box users, everybody over the age of 61, everybody under the age of 56, 4x4 drivers within the bounds of Greater London, lager drinkers, Count Arthur Strong fans, Daily Mail readers, Sun readers, people who fly more than twice a year, fat food critics, acupuncturists, homeopathy practitioners...

[Lost Leopard Spot]

...TNT fishermen, Conservatives, Pipers Crisp manufactures, Ronaldo, burglars, wrestling fans, Cornish seperatists, Maoists, running dog lackeys of the military-industrial complex, people who like Miro, Telegraph readers, owners of 'exotic' pets, people with Prada handbags...

[Lost Leopard Spot]

...moustachioed personages, anybody who could be described as a celeb, Ronaldo, people who confuse dwarves with midgets, onanists, metaphysicians, Yorkshire seperatists, Ronaldo, ailurophobes, copraphiles, surviving Neanderthals, Ronaldo, Europhobes...

[Lord Kangana]

All Yorkshiremen?

[Prufrock]

Saw this today. Gratuitous biblical quote aside, it's a powerful polemic for the legalisation of drugs.


http://www.upworthy.com/every-war-on-dr ... ce-captain" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Athers]

Not a lot of crucial stuff today, summed up by

Osborne: "All the numbers are better than last forecast"

Balls "but worse than 2010 forecast init!"

cue shouting.


I wish they'd bugger orf with this married couples tax break though. Many more people live by themselves these days and that is obviously a costlier thing to do than share a house, yet the sharers get the benefit.

[thebish]

Not a lot of crucial stuff today, summed up by

Osborne: "All the numbers are better than last forecast"

Balls "but worse than 2010 forecast init!"

cue shouting.


I wish they'd bugger orf with this married couples tax break though. Many more people live by themselves these days and that is obviously a costlier thing to do than share a house, yet the sharers get the benefit.

i've yet to hear a logical argument for a married couples tax break that makes any kind of sense....

[boltonboris]

Not a lot of crucial stuff today, summed up by

Osborne: "All the numbers are better than last forecast"

Balls "but worse than 2010 forecast init!"

cue shouting.


I wish they'd bugger orf with this married couples tax break though. Many more people live by themselves these days and that is obviously a costlier thing to do than share a house, yet the sharers get the benefit.

You could argue that married people do and have put more into the economy, so could be more than entitled to a little bit extra back

[Lost Leopard Spot]

Not a lot of crucial stuff today, summed up by

Osborne: "All the numbers are better than last forecast"

Balls "but worse than 2010 forecast init!"

cue shouting.


I wish they'd bugger orf with this married couples tax break though. Many more people live by themselves these days and that is obviously a costlier thing to do than share a house, yet the sharers get the benefit.

i've yet to hear a logical argument for a married couples tax break that makes any kind of sense....

*cough* maybe it's because a certain political party wants to shore up the institution of marriage, and that political party thinks the best way of shoring things up (in fact the reason d'etre or whatever the French is for the whole of life) is through financial advantage.