Quote (ferdia @ 2 Feb 2024 15:05)
the general standard of living in Ireland, as in all western countries (even in the UK) is quite good.
Yes definitely, Western Europe has enjoyed a century of prosperity coming back from the lows of the devastation of world war 2. There is a mild recession unfolding caused by a multitude of factors starting with forced energy transition, socialist agendas and proxy wars funded by debt, but in the grand scheme of things there is a lot of human capital and great geographical position that virtually guarantees long term prosperity.
Still one Ireland has fared much better than the other, which in my opinion has to do mostly with the ability to make their own decisions in their own best interest without a foreign hegemony deciding what’s best for their protectorates and subjects.
Quote (ferdia @ 2 Feb 2024 15:05)
In terms of the middle east, one should remember that Qatar is in the Middle East and Ukraine is in Europe. Qatar is not ravaged, Ukraine is. I think the middle east, as with most places, would do just fine if certain countries were not hell bent on destabilizing the region, as is what happened to Ukraine.
I did not mean Qatar or the UAE or the Saudis. These are not democracies and never had freedom bombs liberate their citizens from oppression of basic necessities such as drinkable water and food security.
What i had in mind as I was typing this out was Black Hawk Down movie which I loved as a kid growing up on all stuff American. It’s based on a real story that took place in one of those fuckaluckistans ravaged by “US foreign interests in global stability”. The tragedy is that 30 years have passed and folks liberated of their possessions then, still don’t have it quite as well as folks in a war torn Ukraine of 2024.
I’ve recently had a dinner with a former foreign minister of one of those fuckaluckistans (that said minister has had a pleasure of meeting POTUS and Mr Putin personally). The comment I got was “the things we could have done back home and the lives we could have saved if only the western countries gave us 1% of the foreign aid they are giving Ukraine every year…”.
This post was edited by Malopox on Feb 2 2024 08:46am