[arista]

Both Conservative and Labour
say they will renew the Weapons based in Scotland
using Billions of tax payers money.


Many do not want them
as they say we no longer need them etc?

[MTVN]

Yes I think so, we should accept that peaceful international relations do rely on a balance of power and our possession of nuclear weapons is a part of that balance, else we leave France as the only western European power who holds them. Of course ideally we'd live in a nuclear free world but you can never be rid of the technology and the knowledge that gave birth to them, and even if you could convince every present government to give up their weapons - which would not happen anyway - we can never know what the next generation of leaders will do

[arista]

Originally Posted by MTVN

Yes I think so, we should accept that peaceful international relations do rely on a balance of power and our possession of nuclear weapons is a part of that balance, else we leave France as the only western European power who holds them. Of course ideally we'd live in a nuclear free world but you can never be rid of the technology and the knowledge that gave birth to them, and even if you could convince every present government to give up their weapons - which would not happen anyway - we can never know what the next generation of leaders will do

Yes France
a Nation that would use them
more than us

[Nedusa]

No .........I think we should adopt the Green Party's defence plans, that is to say we should scrap all Nuclear weapons preferring instead to build a very large hedge that follows the perimeter of the UK

[arista]

Originally Posted by Nedusa

No .........I think we should adopt the Green Party's defence plans, that is to say we should scrap all Nuclear weapons preferring instead to build a very large hedge that follows the perimeter of the UK

That would help the NHS

[kirklancaster]

Originally Posted by arista

That would help the NHS

You are most wise Arista - if you mean the New Hedge Society.

[JoshBB]

Originally Posted by Nedusa

No .........I think we should adopt the Green Party's defence plans, that is to say we should scrap all Nuclear weapons preferring instead to build a very large hedge that follows the perimeter of the UK

i was with you until i detected the sarcasm on the large hedge thing.

my opinion on defence is this:

have what we need for DEFENCE (eg. a sufficient army, whatever the technical stuff is)

nuclear weapons are NOT defence and cannot be justified, they are dangerous not only to other innocent lives but to our own country as well. what if they were to malfunction?

100bn pounds on nuclear weapons is really not justified when we have things like a 8bn nhs gap, also we could use that to reduce the deficit and improve other public services, give some working class people lower taxes. help the starving kids in africa.

[arista]

Originally Posted by JoshBB

i was with you until i detected the sarcasm on the large hedge thing.

my opinion on defence is this:

have what we need for DEFENCE (eg. a sufficient army, whatever the technical stuff is)

nuclear weapons are NOT defence and cannot be justified, they are dangerous not only to other innocent lives but to our own country as well. what if they were to malfunction?

100bn pounds on nuclear weapons is really not justified when we have things like a 8bn nhs gap, also we could use that to reduce the deficit and improve other public services, give some working class people lower taxes. help the starving kids in africa.

Why is that our problem?

[JoshBB]

Originally Posted by arista

Why is that our problem?

because they are human beings and we shouldn't stop caring for people just because they were born in a different country and aren't as lucky as us

[arista]

Originally Posted by JoshBB

because they are human beings and we shouldn't stop caring for people just because they were born in a different country and aren't as lucky as us

Under Corrupt African Leaders



So No Way

[bots]

Originally Posted by JoshBB

100bn pounds on nuclear weapons is really not justified when we have things like a 8bn nhs gap, also we could use that to reduce the deficit and improve other public services, give some working class people lower taxes. help the starving kids in africa.

A fantastically funded NHS will not be much good when we've been nuked by Iran and North Korea to name but a couple. The reason countries listen to what the UK says is for one reason, and one reason only - we are a nuclear power

[Nedusa]

Originally Posted by JoshBB

i was with you until i detected the sarcasm on the large hedge thing.

my opinion on defence is this:

have what we need for DEFENCE (eg. a sufficient army, whatever the technical stuff is)

nuclear weapons are NOT defence and cannot be justified, they are dangerous not only to other innocent lives but to our own country as well. what if they were to malfunction?

100bn pounds on nuclear weapons is really not justified when we have things like a 8bn nhs gap, also we could use that to reduce the deficit and improve other public services, give some working class people lower taxes. help the starving kids in africa.

Actually this official Green Party defence policy.....

[joeysteele]

Originally Posted by JoshBB

i was with you until i detected the sarcasm on the large hedge thing.

my opinion on defence is this:

have what we need for DEFENCE (eg. a sufficient army, whatever the technical stuff is)

nuclear weapons are NOT defence and cannot be justified, they are dangerous not only to other innocent lives but to our own country as well. what if they were to malfunction?

100bn pounds on nuclear weapons is really not justified when we have things like a 8bn nhs gap, also we could use that to reduce the deficit and improve other public services, give some working class people lower taxes. help the starving kids in africa.

I have to say you talk amazing sense,I love reading your posts,you have a great sensitivity as to issues.

I would myself, prefer to keep Trident, I don't see why it needs to be house in Scotland however if the Scots don't want it there.
had the Scots voted for independence, they should have been able to insist it was moved, take it down to the affluent South, who like all these things on others doorsteps but not their own.

I also think it could be looked at as to whether we need all 4.
Savings on it,even without getting rid of it altogether, could as you point out, help massively in other areas of issues affecting UK citizens.
Really good points from you again JoshBB.

This govt; has done shocking and actually in my view, dangerous things as to our defences with probably more cuts to come too,as you indicate also, that needs addressing too.

[kirklancaster]

Originally Posted by Nedusa

No .........I think we should adopt the Green Party's defence plans, that is to say we should scrap all Nuclear weapons preferring instead to build a very large hedge that follows the perimeter of the UK

YEW must be joking.

[Crimson Dynamo]

i think we should keep them in Ireland as they have space and it would be cheaper

[arista]

Originally Posted by LeatherTrumpet

i think we should keep them in Ireland as they have space and it would be cheaper

Northern Ireland could hold them
but it costs so much

[Crimson Dynamo]

Originally Posted by arista

Northern Ireland could hold them
but it costs so much

use the south where their are no cities or wifi

[arista]

Originally Posted by LeatherTrumpet

use the south where their are no cities or wifi

Do not Upset the Irish Mods

[kirklancaster]

Originally Posted by LeatherTrumpet

use the south where their are no cities or wifi

What about all the Racecourses?

[Crimson Dynamo]

Originally Posted by kirklancaster

What about all the Racecourses?

no, give them courses on cooking, pugilism and ploughing

these are useful for their agrarian feudal lifestyle

[Kizzy]

maybe that's why the tories cosy up to hedge fund bosses? we're building a hedge around the UK and they're funding it

[Vicky.]

Nukes are going to end human life (and possibly everything bar cockroaches) completely IMO. Dont see why anyone has them...

[kirklancaster]

Originally Posted by Vicky.

Nukes are going to end human life (and possibly everything bar cockroaches) completely IMO. Dont see why anyone has them...

I agree that the entire concept of nuclear weapons is complete insanity, but unfortunately - as Matt says - they exist, and if the 'bad guys' have them, then we too must have them - "A knife is a pretty useless weapon in a gun fight".

Considering all the wars and violence that has ravaged this planet since 1945, when the first nuclear bomb was detonated in New Mexico, it is total stupidity for anyone to claim that; 'The Nuclear Bomb Has Kept The Peace', but for us to 'Unilaterally Disarm' ie; do away with our nuclear defence system without other ALL other countries doing the same, is sheer suicidal folly, and by ALL other countries, I mean our current allies as well as our current enemies, because - as history as taught us - 'today's friends' can often be 'tomorrow's enemies'.

Also as Matt says, even if other countries DID agree to 'Multilateral Nuclear Disarmament', there really is no method which guarantees that they will actually do so, or that even if they do, that they won't at some future time covertly restore their nuclear arsenals.

The thought of certain 'crackpot regimes' having nuclear weapons terrifies me because it is akin to baboons wielding 'AK 47's, and I firmly believe that the very first nuclear warhead launched in hostility will not hail from any of the Western democracies or Russia, but from one of these regimes.

This probability alone is all the justification needed to renew or upgrade our Nuclear DEFENCE Capability whatever the cost in sterling.

[Kizzy]

[Kizzy]

Have ours gone out of date then?