Brexit

[KScience]

So its all over the news here on a daily basis, pundit after pundit weighing in.....

Wondering what views are held abroad about the whole Brexit rigmarole

[Guest MormonGator]

I'm for it. No apologies. The EU needs major reform and those reforms will never happen. I'm hopeful that other European countries follow the lead. 

I've noticed that Americans are in a weird position. If we have an opinion about Brexit, people say "It doesn't concern you shut up." If we don't have an opinion on Brexit, people say "Ha ha ha look at the stupid Americans." 

Not saying you are doing this @KScience, just what I've seen.  

Edited November 18, 2018 by MormonGator

[KScience]

The media coverage here is terrible - so much energy going into reporting "both sides" of the debate, very difficult to know what is actually going on. 

Are the US media generally for or against?

 

[Guest MormonGator]

13 minutes ago, KScience said:

The media coverage here is terrible - so much energy going into reporting "both sides" of the debate, very difficult to know what is actually going on. 

Are the US media generally for or against?

 

Generally speaking, the MSM is against it, the conservative leaning media is for it. But even that's a generality. 

[let’s roll]

I’m a realist when it comes to the sophistication of Americans when it comes to foreign politics.  When only 1 in 4 Americans can name the three branches of the U.S. government, it’s clear the general populace knows very little about its own government, let alone foreign politics, so you have to be wary of any polling data of Americans on Brexit.

IMHO, like most populist initiatives, Brexit seems to be an example of ready, fire, aim (or try to).  In order to get sufficient consensus to gain approval for Brexit, the tent had to include all who were pro-Brexit for any reason.  That loose coalition accomplished getting Brexit approved but isn’t likely to realize all the changes its supporters hoped would be realized via Brexit.

Edited November 18, 2018 by let’s roll
Grammer

[let’s roll]

17 minutes ago, KScience said:

The media coverage here is terrible - so much energy going into reporting "both sides" of the debate, very difficult to know what is actually going on. 

Are the US media generally for or against?

 

Much of the MSM here portrays it as driven by nationalism, which is their shorthand for jingoism.

[Vort]

[KScience]

@Vort 

[Sunday21]

I witnessed the high unemployment and the consequent  desperation & despair of my first cousins in the 70s in Scotland. As time went on, the economy improved and what a difference in the lives of my family. When you make drastic changes quickly, you can really destroy the economy. Unemployment is a tragedy. 

I remember when the Soviet Union fell apart and economists were recommending a ‘Big Bang’ for Russia. I had many friends and family who were academic economists. I attended a lot of talks held for Russian factory owners who came to Universities begging for investors. Not long after that the Mafia took over the factories. I spent a lot of time with Russian academics bemoaning the mess that had been made of their country.

Economies are fragile. Tread carefully. 

[let’s roll]

15 minutes ago, Vort said:

So many good ones, hard to pick a favorite...but I really had a chuckle when I saw Oui out.

[zil]

1 hour ago, let’s roll said:

the three branches of the U.S. government

Let's see, there's the Olive Branch, the Palm Branch, and, er, um the Elm Branch?

[zil]

1 hour ago, KScience said:

Wondering what views are held abroad about the whole Brexit rigmarole

Noodler's (AKA Nathan Tardiff, an American) thought it was worth celebrating by making a special ink (apparently still in stock at Pure Pens - a UK company):

[dogwater]

I think they were better served belonging to the EU.

[let’s roll]

2 hours ago, zil said:

Let's see, there's the Olive Branch, the Palm Branch, and, er, um the Elm Branch?

Not bad, two out of three. The third branch is, of course, the Spanish-speaking Branch. 😇

[Vort]

14 minutes ago, let’s roll said:

2 hours ago, zil said:

Let's see, there's the Olive Branch, the Palm Branch, and, er, um the Elm Branch?

Not bad, two out of three. The third branch is, of course, the Spanish-speaking Branch. 😇

You forgot the Branch Davidian.

[KScience]

5 hours ago, zil said:

Noodler's (AKA Nathan Tardiff, an American) thought it was worth celebrating by making a special ink (apparently still in stock at Pure Pens - a UK company):

Tory Brexit Blue how apt

[zil]

5 hours ago, KScience said:

Tory Brexit Blue how apt

With the bottle depicting a little jab about how, the British finally decided having a ruler in another country wasn't a good idea after all.

[anatess2]

In the US... the same people who are in the Trump base are in support of Brexit due to the same reasons they support Trump - anti-globalism.  They believe the EU economic policy has failed due to the unfettered migrant crisis that is now too late to correct and therefore, breaking out of the EU is the only viable option to save the UK economy from EU irresponsibility.

After Macron gave that speech about militarizing the EU (going beyond its economic-union-only objective) to defend themselves from the US, they're getting much applause from the Democrat-leaning American Media who has expressed joy at Mexico, Canada, and even North Korea antagonizing the US.

Meanwhile, this speech is making the rounds around alternative media and generally getting high-fived:

 

 

Edited November 18, 2018 by anatess2

[unixknight]

The attempt at Brexit is the mechanism by which British subjects are being disabused of the notion that they have any actual say in their own government.

[Emmanuel Goldstein]

We knew you Brits would come around, 242 years later. 🤠

[Traveler]

On 11/17/2018 at 6:48 PM, KScience said:

So its all over the news here on a daily basis, pundit after pundit weighing in.....

Wondering what views are held abroad about the whole Brexit rigmarole

I do not understand why anyone would support Brexit and their monarchy.  😖

 

The Traveler

[NeuroTypical]

On 11/17/2018 at 6:48 PM, KScience said:

Wondering what views are held abroad about the whole Brexit rigmarole

My take: It's important for Europe to avoid doing what Europe often does - start attacking and killing each other, sometimes dragging the entire world into it.  A good way to do that is to be linked together economically.  Especially Germany.  You let 'em be off on their own, you're asking for trouble.  I figure that was one of the main reasons behind the EU in the first place - prevent future wars. 

All that said, you can be bound together economically regardless of how the whole EU works out.   If Greece and Spain won't either reform, or leave, or get kicked out, then the decent countries are going to leave.  Kind of like how you don't find prosperous upwardly mobile people living in low-rent government housing with all the alcoholics and people who get payday loans to go shopping for food.

 

Edited November 30, 2018 by NeuroTypical

[Ironhold]

This isn't actually the first time anyone has floated the prospect of someone leaving the EU. 

Some years ago, when the global recession was at its worst, there was speculation that Greece would leave. Greece was in severe financial crisis, and having the Euro as its currency wasn't helping. Had Greece retained the Drachma, then it would have experienced the usual inflation and deflation that goes with such a situation on the way to recovery. But since the Euro is a fixed rate, the people in Greece saw their purchasing power - and thus ability to pay their debts - erode badly. 

As it is, the EU is getting pretty monarchic in nature. The powers-that-be are largely not subject to any checks or balances, which is how things like Article 13 (which would essentially destroy both Fair Use and Safe Harbor as we know it) were able to plow on through despite opposition from even major communications powers and corporate entities. That they were threatening consequences for any EU state that wasn't willing to accept the free flow of immigrants didn't help the cause any, as it made the powers-that-be look like bullies. That the nations who did accept immigrants are dealing with an extended series of horror shows the other nations aren't is rather proving the point. 

Hence why the globalists are fighting tooth and nail to keep Brexit from going through: they rightly fear that if the UK is able to break away, those nations that had been bullied earlier will break off as well and perhaps even Greece. Once that happens, the curtain will be pulled back and the whole world will be able to see what's really going on.