Portugal is weeping, Geert Wilders Says Netherlands Would Be Better Off if It Left 28-Nation Bloc, France can't compete with Germany, Merkel is pissed at Obama, Belgium is ousting Afgans. Is anybody happy?

Doctors should go by the Hippocratic oath - aim to preserve life at all times.

Exactly.

At a broader perspective, I simply don't recognize to Governments legitimacy for legislating about putting citizens to death under any circumstance. Our Constitution is very clear:The state shall respect and protect human life, which is inviolable.

I must say ersi that you I am afraid are near to talking guff.

Coming out with this stuff that all immigrants are out into ghettos is head shaking and would-be liberal thinking. Here in Great Britain they wanted to stay in their own communities and this happened right across England. Up here in Scotland although a smaller population there are examples. In my city just west of the city centre and southside of the River Clyde when you walk through Pollokshields which has property owning ones, etc you would think you were in Muslimland! Even the local primary school depicts that on passing the playground. Down south whole areas which are not ghettos have been taken over and that they have political representatives confirms the same.

Last week on tv Channel 4 a voice over intro to the next programmes said she was celebrating a Muslim festival and all that stuff. Does anyone come on and do that for other religions - say Christianity? Nope. May I also remind you of Sweden which by nature does NOT have ghettos but where these people want to be and what do the Swedes get. Hell from them even though as a State and people they have been generous. You have also ignored the level of numbers on the Continent and in the UK because they have bigger families and also that every few weeks we are arresting for planned terror attacks. They are NOT vanishing and numbers still going up and neither Europe nor Britain is going to have a balanced or reasonable future. My country's population is getting too high and will the experts tell us pass 70 million on this island. On top of that they give no sign that will decline and overcrowding will not just be traditionally for the unfortunate Dutch but head gradually towards 100 million. All of this effects housing, health, services and so on right now and is going to be hell by then..

Here in Great Britain they wanted to stay in their own communities and this happened right across England. Up here in Scotland although a smaller population there are examples. [...]

May I also remind you of Sweden which by nature does NOT have ghettos but where these people want to be and what do the Swedes get. Hell from them even though as a State and people they have been generous. You have also ignored the level of numbers on the Continent and in the UK because they have bigger families and also that every few weeks we are arresting for planned terror attacks.

You are ignoring everything, as usual.

The fact that immigrants tend to congregate in ghettos is exactly what I said. But I am also saying that the country that takes them in has all the means to not allow this to happen. To let it happen is negligence.

And yes, the immigrants tend to breed in greater numbers, but when you don't let them congregate in their own ghettos, when you make sure that the next generation is integrated, there will be no problem. The integration is largely up to you, not to them. They may want their separate thing, but I assume you are a country with your own customs and you will have to enforce your own customs. Otherwise they will not integrate and you will get a problematic bunch like terrorists.

And the most important thing that you ignore: You think all immigrants are Muslim, or that they immigrate because they are Muslim. No, they immigrate for various reasons. The most steady flow of them, apart from the Syrian crisis, are sub-Saharan Africans. And in my own country, the problematic bunch of people are overwhelmingly Russians - that's the only obstinately unintegrated bunch that keeps causing problems.

Last week on tv Channel 4 a voice over intro to the next programmes said she was celebrating a Muslim festival and all that stuff. Does anyone come on and do that for other religions - say Christianity? Nope.

In Sweden at least there is a compact minority of Syrian and Lebanese Christians. I'm sure they are in UK too, you will just have to take note of your Channel 4 when they talk about Christians.

At a broader perspective, I simply don't recognize to Governments legitimacy for legislating about putting citizens to death under any circumstance. Our Constitution is very clear:The state shall respect and protect human life, which is inviolable.

Unfortunately there is no general outcry to recognise not-yet-born human life as human life. Abortion has now been part of the system for generations.

Things written down can be interpreted in a bunch of ways. It takes a good formulation accompanied with a solid tradition to enforce a specific interpretation. Take this GDPR thing, for example. Max Schrems (NOYB) says,  "It's simple: Anything strictly necessary for a service  does not need consent boxes anymore. For everything else users must have a real choice to say 'yes' or 'no'."

He is wrong of course. It has been the exact opposite ever since the cookie directive - the companies enforce a popup on you and the only option you get is to click OK to make it vanish. The EU has not moved a finger to say or imply otherwise, or to correct the prevailing practice.

The GDPR is the cookie directive overstretched so that the websites now demand your consent for everything. Each time you purge cookies and the website does not recognise you, you have to give consent again and again forever. This is how it will be from now to eternity. The EU websites do the same thing, so this is the real intent and effect of the GDPR. Max Schrems is wrong; he is only exacerbating confusion.

Right now there is this "Oath" group. Many tech sites have joined this group. The websites of this group are among the worst offenders. They don't let you see or do anything on their website unless you click OK. Just OK - to everything. A few years ago, this used to be known as obvious malpractice, bugging and trolling, but the EU has formulated it so that is now interpreted as a legal requirement.

Portugal considers allowing euthanasia, assisted suicide

After legalizing abortion and same-sex marriage in recent times, Portuguese lawmakers will decide Tuesday on another issue that has brought a confrontation between faith and politics in this predominantly Catholic country: whether to allow euthanasia and doctor-assisted suicide.

Tomorrow is Tuesday.

Update: Euthanasia was "chumbada" in Portugal. Debate to resume after parliamentary elections in 2019 https://www.dn.pt/portugal/interior/eutanasia-chumbada-nova-votacao--so-depois-das-eleicoes-9391730.html

For goodness sake ersi. I am ignoring everything as usual? Your would-be open mind is so open nothing is registering properly boy. What you do not want to hear is waffled into nonsense. I was very direct in the indication of the enormous rise of Islam in Europe and in my country. That every few weeks another arrest and#or investigation becomes under way. I was very direct in what I said about numbers, violence and danger. You waffle about Sweden when the tiny groups of Christians are NOT a problem the violence, intimidation and danger is wherever Muslims are. Sweden is modern and it did not build ghettos but the new lots got good accommodation and anything needed. The police have their hands full and Germany has had trouble - oh and look at France. Yu are living in cloud cuckoo land and throw in in that utterly stupid comment about Channel Four and the voice over I mentioned. That is FACT and was BROADCAST. Did the channel do anything similar at ester ? No it damn well did not. Everywhere Islam has flooded in their is an issue and fine you damn know it but does not fit in with your ignoring factuals.

At the rate Europe is being flooded in which is a massive cost to the place and to here it is going to get even worse.  I live on an island where the population has ramped away up and not by traditional residents as they have unfortunately lumped into below 2.4 kids. The massive housing problems, health pressures, welfare and so on are doing us no good at all and we will become overcrowded and become even more  damnable. Now the latest negative is in England where pressure on water supplies are getting to be the latest news worry. When I said that our population that decades ago was over 66 and expcted to pass 70 where the heck are they all going to live? Instead of silly immature bleatings face the hard facts that Birtian and over there in Europe there is NOT going to be a rosy future.

http://www.pewforum.org/2018/05/29/being-christian-in-western-europe/

Long study didn't read it in depth.

http://www.pewforum.org/2018/05/29/being-christian-in-western-europe/

Finland is counted to be in Western Europe, but Greece is out. Interesting choice of geography.

For your information, in the city of Rio, the Southern sector is located West.
Geography is amazing.

You'd think I didn't grow up in the north of the Netherlands speaking to many people, because supposedly the north is in the (north) east. I'm originally from what's officially called the safety region of North Holland North, which sounds pretty northern to me. Historically it's known as West Frisia.

People are often quite surprised that it is in fact just as northern as the other north... except maybe for some of the extremes, but it's at the same latitude as the big northern cities like Leeuwarden and Groningen.

Finland is counted to be in Western Europe, but Greece is out. Interesting choice of geography.

That study is made by an American think tank and it's about Christianity. Americans thinks that Greeks still believe in many Gods.

Hhhm. Have just a passing interest in mainland Europe but never regarded myself as European. Visited Ireland. France once and the Netherlands twice. Hope to be back there again in the not to long future.

President of Estonia about the Netherlands, "Our businesses, students and scientists work together, which for me is a clear sign that we think similarly."

Sounds a bit like a non-sequitur.

Good news first.
Pablo Llarena did withdraw (again) the European detention order against Puigdemont.
source

Now the bad news.
Not exactly news but rather rumors coming from supposedly well informed sources.
Julian Assange might get handed over to the UK soon.

The EU and the Brexit situation is becoming a farce especially the way Europe is acting. They ignore the loss that is going to happen in that mess club and that they are going to lose the membership fees of a very active country. Even making the Irish Border thing a difficulty.

I'd say the EU is acting quite charitably. Didn't the UK say they wanted to leave the customs union without pursuing membership?

Charitable? Nah they are being damn awkward because someone is leaving the club that can never get it's books balanced at every check. The IMF has in passing mentioned the problem of GB leaving has on the EU. It has said that the EU is going to lose out financially on the British leaving.  The whole thing started decades ago as a business thing and grew into a political farce Although there may well be Border problems for Southern Ireland that is Dublin's unfortunate position. We are quite prepared to have some kind of "nice" thing over a free Border but it is Dublin's pals who will mess Dublin up. European countries will get some suffering business problems but that is the club they are in and those in the EU who are trying to get an even more unified US of Europe will also continue to have countries who are dragging heels on that nonsense.

It is the unbelievable groaning stretching going on by Euro brain deads. This country wants out and Brussels is going hell on leather to make it difficult. So much for democracy and rights, etc. Ireland hastened into Europe because it was incapable of doing much itself and needed the doffing of hats and stretching out the begging bowl.  In many ways it has improved itself from the days it's Dublin controllers used to treat them but there is still a Border with Britain and although we have been generous re that border they are still another country and depend on the Brussels money and control freakery.  We have been physically separated by the English Channel and as much as we like places in Europe we are fed up with being hamepered from global opportunities rather than the Brussels control freaks.

In a normal negotiation the parties would start with the position if everything went their and then negotiate their way towards somewhere both parties would find reasonable and acceptable. Obviously Britain would lose--it's the geography, stupid--but the loss could be contained and acceptable. 

You would expect that facing a crisis of this magnitude Britain would put national interest first, and you would be wrong. They spend far more time squabbling among themselves than solving the issues. Enlightened self-interest should lead to something relatively reasonable, but the enlightenment is mostly missing. It's ironic because usually it is the EU that is charged with being disorganised ("If I want to call Europe, who should I call?", but in the negotiation between 1 country and a conglomerate of 27, it is the 1 country that can't get its act together.

You re making too much of an excuse for the Remainers you seem to be with. It IS the EU who are making this mess going on here. Imagine a democracy having the nerve to want to leave the EU lot> A Continent farce that cannot even get it's books balanced year in and year out legally? Nit-pick and interfere. Countries there now even going against EU stances - Italy, hungary, Poland for example - and a start! We voted out and because Eurpope is in a damn huff because we want out you carp along those lines? tut, tut. I would also remind you that there WILL be repercussions for countries in Europe as well who will suffer when we leave the thing.

Europe is making it obvious they re being bloody minded not just huffy because we as a strong economy are leaving but practicing democracy.

I'd say the EU is acting quite charitably.

Adriano, a Roman Emperor, built a wall to prevent such savages of ever entering the Continent.
I hope that the Brexit puts them again behind the wall.
Isn't that beautiful...

Well there were enough savages in Europe without that wall to stop those north of England getting in, etc. The Huns were a mass lot for example......!

I like this hierarchy of savages, Huns being more savages than the British ones...
Unfortunately we don't have too many Huns around to answer properly.

 

Adriano, a Roman Emperor, built a wall to prevent such savages of ever entering the Continent.
I hope that the Brexit puts them again behind the wall.
Isn't that beautiful...

Sometimes the historical analogies don't quite work out, but the flip version could. The Roman province of Britannia comprised roughly today's England and Wales, while Spanish-born emperor Hadrian built a wall against Caledonia (Scotland), and they never tried to occupy Hibernia (Ireland).

The EU famously started as the Treaty of Rome. A possible outcome of the Brexit thing is that (pro-EU) Scotland and Northern Ireland will rejoin EU as a new member country (Caledonia) and re-united Hibernia. Then those parts of UK that were part of the Roman empire would outside the EU, while those parts outside the Roman empire would be in the EU.

One more analogy. The Spanish emperor Hadrian built a wall against the Caledonians, while the Spanish prime minister Rajoy (preoccupied with those pesky Catalan separatists) would veto a Scottish EU membership.