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from the Betteridge-says-No...-how-about-you? dept.
Boris Johnson recently suggested that the UK could construct a bridge to France, which would cross the English Channel and span at least 20.7 miles (33.3 km):
Mr. Johnson, the British foreign secretary, raised the notion in a summit meeting with French officials on Thursday, according to people briefed on the talks. The two nations agreed to convene a panel to explore big projects, and Mr. Johnson wrote on Twitter: "Our economic success depends on good infrastructure and good connections. Should the Channel Tunnel be just a first step?" The idea generated extensive news coverage and even more ample mockery on social media, where the hashtag #BorisBridge quickly gained popularity.
[...] In 1930, the British Parliament only narrowly rejected a proposed tunnel, and in the 1960s, officials in both countries confidently declared that construction of some kind of crossing was imminent.
But in an island nation whose best defense against continental armies has always been the Channel, generations of military and political leaders saw proposed bridges and tunnels as potential invasion routes. Lately, the Channel Tunnel has beckoned intruders of a different sort: migrants from Africa and the Middle East hoping to reach Britain.
The Channel Tunnel already exists:
Proposed Channel bridges have, at various times, been dismissed as possible threats to navigation. (The Dover Strait, at the Channel's narrowest point, is one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, currently used by over 400 commercial vessels a day, according to the British Maritime and Coastguard Agency.) And even when the political will existed to build a crossing, coming up with the money was always a challenge.
The Channel Tunnel, opened in 1994, cost more than $10 billion to build, and was not heavily used at first, raising questions about whether it was worth the expense. But it now carries more than 10 million passengers and more than 20 million tons of freight annually.
Also at BBC, The Guardian, Channel 4, and CNBC.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 23 2018, @07:48AM (14 children)
Why are refugees/migrants trying to flee France for Britain?
(Score: 4, Informative) by tonyPick on Tuesday January 23 2018, @07:58AM (9 children)
From http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-29074736 [bbc.co.uk]
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 23 2018, @08:14AM
Why can't they just learn French like the rest of France? They're already in France.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 23 2018, @08:50AM (7 children)
You missed out:
Because the French are lying to them that they would be better off in the UK, and
Because the grass is greener on the other side.
(Score: 5, Interesting) by TheRaven on Tuesday January 23 2018, @10:37AM (6 children)
Someone is, but not the French. My mother now lives in France and one of her friends works at one of the refugee camps. They're convinced that when they arrive in England that anyone who arrives will get a free house and a well-paid job. I've no idea where this idea comes from, but apparently it's very common. It's like 'Get to England' is a gameshow and there's a massive prize for anyone who wins.
I suspect that they've been fed post-collonial anti-English propaganda about how everyone in England lives well without having to work and oppresses the rest of the world to get it and have subconsciously translated this into England being some kind of heaven substitute that they can get to without dying.
sudo mod me up
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 23 2018, @10:48AM
It is easy to forget how Britain was made great. Life gets good, fighting is icky so don't bother... and before long you are overrun with savages.
Kill, or be killed. This is the way of the world.
I suggest having left-handed women feed the invaders to pigs. If this is the method of death, then the invaders have 3 simultaneous reasons to believe that they will be rejected from Heaven. They go straight to Hell.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Nuke on Tuesday January 23 2018, @10:51AM
That's why a priority should be to kick at least some immigrants back into these camps and to their place of origin so they can pass the message that this is not true.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by GreatAuntAnesthesia on Tuesday January 23 2018, @11:46AM (2 children)
They are fed this bullshit by the people traffickers who charge them exorbitant fees to cross the Med in rickety death-trap boats.
(Score: 0, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 23 2018, @02:04PM
Same with Germany as their destination. Many of them didn't need to be in mortal danger if it were not for their greed to get free money, housing, food and pussy.
Though the German government was similarly greedy by thinking these hordes would provide cheap labor and somehow disappear when they were no longer needed.
(Score: 2) by arslan on Tuesday January 23 2018, @10:10PM
Or maybe, maybe, it came out of the how-to-groom-a-suicidal-jihadist playbook:
Brainwash the fools with high hopes and expectations, when the get disillusioned and their hopes crushed, swoop in and offer them an easy exit into paradise.
P.S. For those with family and loved ones left behind, offer mourning aid to increase chance of conversion.
P.P.S. Success rate is low but when applied en-mass, probability of a few wins increase dramatically.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 23 2018, @02:00PM
Just goes to show you how ignorant these people really are. Good luck EU, good luck....
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 23 2018, @10:15AM (2 children)
Britain offers great welfare. While the natives are suffering high taxes and high housing costs, the migrants get free housing and lots of other benefits. Britain seems to hate itself.
These migrants are neither Catholic nor Anglican, which makes them heretics. Back in the day, before the country got all wimpy, the punishment for heresy was public burning at the stake. Reintroducing that law would put an end to the migrant problem, one way or another.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 23 2018, @07:06PM (1 child)
Not totally a Troll...
This is actually quite true (Sources: direct observation, the hit on my fscking taxes and a relative who works in the DWP dealing with these 'refugees/migrants/whatever')
remind me again, what percentage of the native UK population don't follow any of this Judeo-Christian sky fairy nonsense either?
Ok, so this bit is trolling, besides, as we've cut down most of our ancient forests and what's left of them shouldn't be touched...period., there's not enough wood left to go around....
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 24 2018, @12:03AM
I suppose we could widen up the acceptability. We could tolerate all Christians, Buddhists, and atheists.
I suppose we could substitute a method of execution that is cheaper, faster, or more agonizing. The 12-gauge shotgun is effective. Feeding live to hungry pigs is nice. Dehydration in a prison cell without any water would nicely reduce corpse weight. We could go back to the breaking wheel.
The essential truth remains. People stuck with a 7th century mindset need to receive a 7th century punishment.
(Score: 2) by moondrake on Tuesday January 23 2018, @03:28PM
Despite what some people tell you, most do not want to go to the UK.
But language, and family ties, is probably the nr 1 reason for those that do go there.