Soden for Ireland becoming the 51st state

PeterIanStaker · 24-10-2010 04:47PM

Great idea, sure wouldn't it be great to become part of of a country that isn't dominated by outdated partisan Civil War politics, doesn't have religious nutjobs trying to control society, and has an unbiased media . . . . . . .

ejmaztec · 24-10-2010 05:11PM

On the upside, we will be able to join the militia of our choice, and blow up government buildings.

Nodin · 24-10-2010 05:19PM

The Agogo wrote: »

I barely even glance at this ragpaper, but this caught my eye:

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/soden-lets-quit-eu-and-join-us-2392427.html

Are we to see a future United States of America and Europe?

............

This doesn't strike me as a very coherent argument by Soden....As yer man has some level of respectability I reckon the Sindo is to blame for cherrypicking quotes.....However, on the face of it -

This Soden head.... wrote:

If we are in search of a solution and Europe finds it difficult to accommodate the needs of the Irish electorate, should we look elsewhere?" Mr Soden asks in his new book on the financial crisis, Open Dissent.
Expanding on his argument, the 63-year-old career banker adds that: "Our membership of Europe has to have balance in all aspects, particularly in relation to our culture, our sovereignty and the price we pay for economic and financial independence.
"Have we unwittingly surrendered these precious aspects of our society as the price of European Union membership?"

What the jaysus does he think would happen if we joined the US? We're overflowing with US media output as is....

fontanalis · 24-10-2010 05:43PM

Originally Posted by This Soden head....
If we are in search of a solution and Europe finds it difficult to accommodate the needs of the Irish electorate, should we look elsewhere?" Mr Soden asks in his new book on the financial crisis, Open Dissent.
Expanding on his argument, the 63-year-old career banker adds that: "Our membership of Europe has to have balance in all aspects, particularly in relation to our culture, our sovereignty and the price we pay for economic and financial independence.
"Have we unwittingly surrendered these precious aspects of our society as the price of European Union membership?

What a pile of meaningless shyte? So the country had potential to do well and blew it liek a 16 year old who found their daddys credit card and turned into snobbish morons who got in way over their head in debt and now expect not to pay for it!

Celly Smunt · 24-10-2010 05:55PM

PanchoVilla wrote: »

It doesn't make a damn bit of difference as long as the likes of the Rockefellers, Rothschilds, and Morgans are calling the shots worldwide with the G20, Bilderberg, Trilateral, CFR, IMF etc. That's the real power behind the scenes.

sure it is.

saywhatyousee · 24-10-2010 06:00PM

i hate the E.U with a passion.I cant understand why Irish people defend it so much.it robbed ireland out of 70bn euro.It made farming and fishing impossible to make a living out of.we should ask for our money back and leave quitely

Celly Smunt · 24-10-2010 06:03PM

saywhatyousee wrote: »

i hate the E.U with a passion.I cant understand why Irish people defend it so much.it robbed ireland out of 70bn euro.It made farming and fishing impossible to make a living out of.we should ask for our money back and leave quitely

i guess we should just pack up all the infrastructure into containers and ship it off to brussels and say we don't want it anymore also?

saywhatyousee · 24-10-2010 06:10PM

pmcmahon wrote: »

i guess we should just pack up all the infrastructure into containers and ship it off to brussels and say we don't want it anymore also?

but we really paid for that ourselfs the E.U gave ireland 50bn in funds but took 120bn in fish and other resources

fontanalis · 24-10-2010 06:15PM

saywhatyousee wrote: »

but we really paid for that ourselfs the E.U gave ireland 50bn in funds but took 120bn in fish and other resources

How did it take the fish, and what were the other resources and how did it make farming unprofitable (I don't know how small farmers could get by without subsidies)?
Irish boats can also fish EU waters, and don't worry they plundered their own waters.
Overall baffling.

galwayrush · 24-10-2010 06:20PM

I don't mind joining if it means the death of FF .:D

saywhatyousee · 24-10-2010 06:20PM

fontanalis wrote: »

How did it take the fish, and what were the other resources and how did it make farming unprofitable (I don't know how small farmers could get by without subsidies)?
Irish boats can also fish EU waters, and don't worry they plundered their own waters.
Overall baffling.

the irish waters where the best to fish in europe if not the world.
then the spainish and french came with there small nets and wiped the whole place out

galwayrush · 24-10-2010 06:22PM

saywhatyousee wrote: »

but we really paid for that ourselfs the E.U gave ireland 50bn in funds but took 120bn in fish and other resources

Wow, our Government have almost given as much as we've ever received from Europe to bail out their friends in NAMA and the toxic banks............:mad:

fontanalis · 24-10-2010 06:29PM

saywhatyousee wrote: »

the irish waters where the best to fish in europe if not the world.
then the spainish and french came with there small nets and wiped the whole place out

Norway is just as good (that's where irish boats are landing now because of fish prices), and Ireland is very seasonal. Believe me I worked in a fish factory and the size of fish being killed by irish boats was completely unsustainable. It's all to easy to blame the Spanish. Look at irish salmon fishing, ruined by irish over fishing.
You mentioned other resources and the farming, could you explain those please?

saywhatyousee · 24-10-2010 06:31PM

galwayrush wrote: »

Wow, our Government have almost given as much as we've ever received from Europe to bail out their friends in NAMA and the toxic banks............:mad:

ya but we have to pay that money back for nama with interest
we wont get our 70bn back

fontanalis · 24-10-2010 06:36PM

saywhatyousee wrote: »

ya but we have to pay that money back for nama with interest
we wont get our 70bn back

What 70 bn? And imagine having to pay back money with interest, Ireland is different.

Nodin · 24-10-2010 06:52PM

saywhatyousee wrote: »

but we really paid for that ourselfs the E.U gave ireland 50bn in funds but took 120bn in fish and other resources

We've gotten far more out than we ever put in. To the CT forum with you.

Kivaro · 24-10-2010 09:01PM

Sanjuro wrote: »

I don't dislike America. Or Americans. The many Americans I've met have been very pleasant people. But there is absolutely no way in hell I'd want to live in their idea of democracy. We have our problems. And they are many. But when you look at the US' medical system, their judicial system, their electoral system, then there's something to be said about our way of running things. Badly.

So how long how you lived in America to know all this?

southsiderosie · 24-10-2010 10:19PM

Sanjuro wrote: »

I don't dislike America. Or Americans. The many Americans I've met have been very pleasant people. But there is absolutely no way in hell I'd want to live in their idea of democracy. We have our problems. And they are many. But when you look at the US' medical system, their judicial system, their electoral system, then there's something to be said about our way of running things. Badly.

The American judicial system gets a lot wrong, but there are very strong perjury and public corruption laws, and politicians do get convicted and stripped of their benefits. So as the 51st state under federal law, a number of FF big wigs would most likely be facing a series of federal corruption charges. Hell, even Al Capone was done in by the tax men in the end.

Plus look at things from the American perspective: we already have enough crooked politicians, religious nutjobs, and public debt to last two lifetimes, thank you very much. We don't need yours as well. :P

Killer Pigeon · 24-10-2010 10:25PM

Keep jew-run America out of Ireland.

yyaaarr zionists yyaaarr 9/11 yyaaarr!!

Absurdum · 24-10-2010 10:33PM

the amount of racist hate in this thread is astounding!

oppenheimer1 · 24-10-2010 11:10PM

I'd like to congratulate Ronald Quinlan for cherry picking quotes to make a story more sensational. This is at least better than the Independents usual ploy of making up quotes to unattributable sources (See main headline article today for a perfect example of this).

Mr. Soden merely put forth an argument but does not state his own opinion. This is rather a discussion on the pros and cons of such a move. This is of course utter pie in the sky nonsense and is only a theoretical possibility. Politically, socially and economically we operate differently. Convergence to the US model would be next to impossible.

southsiderosie · 24-10-2010 11:21PM

oppenheimer1 wrote: »

I'd like to congratulate Ronald Quinlan for cherry picking quotes to make a story more sensational. This is at least better than the Independents usual ploy of making up quotes to unattributable sources (See main headline article today for a perfect example of this).

Mr. Soden merely put forth an argument but does not state his own opinion. This is rather a discussion on the pros and cons of such a move. This is of course utter pie in the sky nonsense and is only a theoretical possibility. Politically, socially and economically we operate differently. Convergence to the US model would be next to impossible.

You could probably get by with being the lost county of Massachusetts.

oppenheimer1 · 24-10-2010 11:28PM

southsiderosie wrote: »

You could probably get by with being the lost county of Massachusetts.

I don't get the reference, can you explain?

old_aussie · 24-10-2010 11:29PM

It will not happen, the US is pretty right for potatoes.

old_aussie · 24-10-2010 11:30PM

It will not happen, the US doesn't have a shortage of potatoes.

southsiderosie · 24-10-2010 11:35PM

oppenheimer1 wrote: »

I don't get the reference, can you explain?

Massachusetts is a state on the far Eastern coast of the US that is full of third and fourth generation Irish people. Between the political machines, the bars, the overpriced infrastructure projects, the Catholicism, and Southie, Ireland could easily be the lost county of Massachusetts; sure it's only a five hour flight anyway.

starre · 24-10-2010 11:39PM

Ireland joining the USA used to be a regular opinion piece trotted out in the newspapers back in pre celtic tiger days. I remember debating it in school.

johngalway · 25-10-2010 12:09AM

"maybe an annual payment for a number of years to get our finances back in balance"

Ah now, what have you been smoking Mr Soden?

The USA, where "In God we trust, everyone else pays cash" giving us a handout.

They'd need their heads examined.

Plus I'd strongly object to being under the, ahem, "leadership" of Obama, who's as bad as Cowan any day of the week.

*waits for the rabblerabblerabble of our own left wing nutjobs*

Don't believe me? Wait for the mid terms, then we'll talk about it.

ei.sdraob · 25-10-2010 10:01AM

"We were always at war with EastAsia"

I for one welcome our new Oceanic overlords :P

jokes aside, the indo just went down a further notch (if that was even possible!), the quality of writing in the media which pays the likes of this guy and Alison is one of the reasons this country is where it is, but yeh as long as people keep buying their rag and they keep selling adspace....

southsiderosie · 25-10-2010 10:06AM

starre wrote: »

Ireland joining the USA used to be a regular opinion piece trotted out in the newspapers back in pre celtic tiger days. I remember debating it in school.

Really? What were the arguments back then?

Soden for Ireland becoming the 51st state

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