Alex Martelli wrote:

As for friendship between countries, I'm not sure how to measure it; I
do know that France is the 11th largest supplier, 14th largest customer,
and 7th largest investor (FDI) in Mexico, for example
(http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/cou...o_435/france-a
nd-mexico_3114/economic-relations_3683.html) while France's ties with
the UK are much closer (3rd biggest customer, 5th biggest supplier, 3rd
largest investor for FDI...). But do close economic ties mean
"friendship"...?

What you say here is quite important. Does trade follow the flag, or
does it follow the cheapest and highest quality.

If trade "follows the flag" then this is indeed a great distortion. The
Great and the Good (the GGs) tend rather to speak with forked tongue on
this. They pay lip service to such organizations as the WTO, yet they
insist on the "flag".

The point you made about medicinal cannabis is a good one. To be fair
though cannabis is not a pure substance. There are a large number of
Cannaboids each with a somewhat different pharmacological action. You
need to be able to produce known compositions reproducibly before you
can really use cannabis medicinally. However you are right the Right
wing states rights lobby are NOT pharmacists.

On states rights I did mention a wall round Wisconsin rather jokingly.
However the point is an important one. What freedom should people be
given to roam? Why stop at a wall between Spanish speaking and English
speaking America?

There is of course an overall EU immigation policy. I would still
however claim that economic progress in places like Morocco is the long
term answer. In any case the restriction external to the EU do not
parallel those of Mexico.

1) There is NAFTS or rather NAFF TA as I call it. The purpose of that
should be to iron out differences.

2) The US is getting MORE restictive with time. Up to the 1960s there
were NO restrictions on the Western Hemishere.

Iraq is a long way away. However if the US loses it in the Western
Hemisphere its days as a global power are numbered. Sheer arithmetic is
against it.