They want to play a meaningful part in a united Europe by going bust and getting bailed out.

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Bob Smith
Member of Seti PIPPS (Pluto is a Planet Protest Society)
Somewhere in the (un)known Universe?

You did say, "Write your answer on the back", didn't you?

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The Kite Fliers

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Kite fliers: An imaginary club of solo members, those who don't yet
belong to a formal team so "fly their own kites" - as the saying goes.

Yup, just write 1 or 2. If you put an X they will think you're sending them best wishes :-)

You do know that here in the states that No.1 and NO.2 do mean something:)

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[/quote]

Old James

I was in Zagreb in 1990 as an employee of Honeywell-Bull. The Croats and the Serbs, all my colleagues, would not talk to each other and they spoke through me, an Italian, in English.The next year the war broke out. I hope now, after all the bloodshed, they will talk to each other.
Tullio

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Slovenia has already entered the European Community. Now it is the time for Croatia. Next is Serbia.Maybe a kind of Yugoslavia is being rebuilt in peace.
Tullio

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Slovenia has already entered the European Community. Now it is the time for Croatia. Next is Serbia.Maybe a kind of Yugoslavia is being rebuilt in peace.
Tullio

Could be these countries that force the breakup of the Union???

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The Kite Fliers

--------------------
Kite fliers: An imaginary club of solo members, those who don't yet
belong to a formal team so "fly their own kites" - as the saying goes.

No, not at all. Only a big country financial collapse could do that.
Tullio

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No, not at all. Only a big country financial collapse could do that.
Tullio

...wont necessarily require a financial crash to end it all?

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The Kite Fliers

--------------------
Kite fliers: An imaginary club of solo members, those who don't yet
belong to a formal team so "fly their own kites" - as the saying goes.

It's the most probable cause. But I am not a magician and cannot foresee the future.
Tullio

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Sooooo at what point are we going to stop calling those countries, countries and calling them states. It seems that they have a unified flag much like the 13 colony flag the US had at one time.

They tore down the borders to teh EU members a good while back. How about mixing the countries up. Make yourselves a melting pot. once intertwined the bonds of each state not being separate but equal and each holding power in the gov't.

BTW the EU is going to continue to fail. Please read the US Articles of the COnfederation. The states had all the power and the Main Gov't was weak. The EU is not able to do much other than Create its own money and dictate the economic will of its weaker partners.

The main thing is they don't have a unified military.

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In a rich man's house there is no place to spit but his face.
Diogenes Of Sinope

I agree that we need a Federal Government and a unified defense force. That was the dream of De Gasperi, Adenauer and Schuman, but it was sunk by France. Now I think it was Ireland which objected to the idea of a Federal Government. Maybe they still think they are part of the British Islands.
Tullio

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Are you sure you really want a federal government???
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2348225/MEPs-caught-camera-turning-work-just-minutes-day-order-claim-300-expenses.html

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The Kite Fliers

--------------------
Kite fliers: An imaginary club of solo members, those who don't yet
belong to a formal team so "fly their own kites" - as the saying goes.

We cannot have a common money and a European Central Bank without a government setting its guidelines. Are we going to be governed by bankers we have not elected?
Tullio

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and if that central gov't doesn't carry weight over the "states" then it cannot lead.

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In a rich man's house there is no place to spit but his face.
Diogenes Of Sinope

We cannot have a common money and a European Central Bank without a government setting its guidelines. Are we going to be governed by bankers we have not elected?
Tullio

Odd since Brussels is run by a whole heap of none-elected Commissioners. The
Government you would like to see in place is not the kind they want to have
in operation.

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The Kite Fliers

--------------------
Kite fliers: An imaginary club of solo members, those who don't yet
belong to a formal team so "fly their own kites" - as the saying goes.

Got me to think about the state of the former Tito Republic with the name of Slovenia.

Probably a very nice place today. You could have lunch in Milano, Italy and eat dinner in Slovenia the same day if you would wish to do so.

I will check it out using Google.

Got me to think about the state of the former Tito Republic with the name of Slovenia.

Probably a very nice place today. You could have lunch in Milano, Italy and eat dinner in Slovenia the same day if you would wish to do so.

I will check it out using Google.

When working in Trieste Area Science Park I used to go to Lipica (where the white horses are being trained) to fill my tank of gasoline. I went back to my home near Milano on Saturday and returned to Trieste on Monday to start working.
Go visit the Triglav National Park and the Valley of the 7 lakes, near the Bled lake.
Tullio

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The F35 Joint Strike Fighter is a very costly aircraft. I've read on theregister.co.uk that the US Marine Corps has bought 74 Harrier aircraft from the UK Defense Ministry.
Tullio

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I think they are costing about $100million each. But for that money you are getting a state of the art stealth fighter. But what is so ridiculous is the UK MOD faffing about on which version to buy. Initially they went for the F35B the STOVL version, then they thought it was cheaper to buy the F35C carrier version. Then they discovered how much it was going to cost to convert the new carriers to cat & trap operation, and went back to the STOVL version again.

When the Harriers were scrapped as part of the Defence review in 2010, the USA bought the whole lot of 74 and a pile of spares. My opinion of that is unprintable.

I would think that your experience with the Harrier it would have been a no brainer to get the same in the F-35. Is your new carrier a full fledged carrier or just a modern version of the kind you retirerd?

As for the Harriers you sold the Marines Rest assured they are in good hands. The marine pilots love them, But Who knows when they will start phaseing them out.

The US still suffers a good deal from the not invented here syndrome, But we sure made good deals on the Harrier and the B-57 Canberra .

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[/quote]

Old James

Italy has two new carriers, the Garibaldi and Cavour, with curved jet ramps and no catapults. They are using the Harrier now and they could have bought a few ones from UK at a moderate cost.
The F35 costs about 150 million dollars. Our Gov has made an order of 30 jets for the Navy (F35b) and 60 for the Air Force (F35a). The issue will be discussed in Parliament.
Tullio

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