bigtoughralf wrote:saxitoxin wrote:Jim refused to accept the offer of paying a penalty in exchange for a source.

Well jim
is the guy who thinks the UK would have joined the EU in the 1970s (even though it didn't exist at that point) if not for the US helping it stay outside the EU (even though the US Govt is on the record repeatedly pressuring the UK to stay in). Citations are his enemy when it comes to talking politics.
Yeah…not even close to what I said.
My whole idea was based on the hypothetical premise that US remained uninvolved in Post WW2 Europe, and returned to its isolationist ways.
In that scenario USSR would’ve gobbled up larger chunks of Eastern Europe… Western Europe (without a U.S. backed NATO) would’ve collapsed or been forced to form a proto-EU MUCH earlier. The UK would’ve had to join this coalition or perhaps it could’ve begged Uncle Sam for status as the 51st-5xth state spots with Canada?
I wonder how many states we’d allow if we took Canada and UK… 4 for England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland?
Would Ireland proper hop on board knowing we’d protect their rights and freedoms better than Her Majesty?
Then Canada would be what… another six? We (the US) might get indigestion absorbing such crap backwards people…with all their problems.
Our dental insurance rates would absolutely increase anyway.