Alpha Centauri 2

Community => Recreation Commons => Topic started by: Unorthodox on June 27, 2016, 01:26:40 PM

Title: What does the Brexit vote mean?
Post by: Unorthodox on June 27, 2016, 01:26:40 PM
http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/brexit-referendum/brexit-vote-u-k-politics-meltdown-after-referendum-n599471 (http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/brexit-referendum/brexit-vote-u-k-politics-meltdown-after-referendum-n599471)


Sounds like they voted without much of a plan to enact such a possibility of the vote passing? 

Title: Re: What does the Brexit vote mean?
Post by: Spacy on June 27, 2016, 03:34:03 PM
time is on their side I think.

I am sure the EU would rather it be quick like a bandaid, but Brit should take their time, do it right.

For everybody else, it will be a time of panic (yay wall street - grow a pair already) that will hopefully keep interest rates down for the next year or so (when I look to get my own home construction loan!)
Title: Re: What does the Brexit vote mean?
Post by: Dale on June 27, 2016, 11:24:42 PM
time is on their side I think.

I am sure the EU would rather it be quick like a bandaid, but Brit should take their time, do it right.

For everybody else, it will be a time of panic (yay wall street - grow a pair already) that will hopefully keep interest rates down for the next year or so (when I look to get my own home construction loan!)

Wouldn't EU want it to be as long and painful as possible?  Show all the other dissident states just how freakin' hard it is to leave?
Title: Re: What does the Brexit vote mean?
Post by: Spacy on June 28, 2016, 02:58:22 PM
From the little I have seen on TV (been sick and at same time recovering surgery, so not much else to do but sleep and listen to TV), it sounds like the EU want article 50 enacted ASAP so that they have a chance to see where they stand.  Right now, the EU is so discombobulated that they really have no clue what will happen when/if they go.

Britain has a few things it needs to take care of.  Setting up passports, border controls, etc, that were all basically dismantled.  So, it makes sense for Britain to take its time and make sure that things get done right.  One thing that may happen is that right now a lot of EU people are inside britain living & working - how do you address them?  Stuff like that. 

Sounds like most EU supporters are hoping to rush things to get things messed up so they can have a big "I told you so" moment, but fortunately calmer heads seam to be prevailing. 
Title: Re: What does the Brexit vote mean?
Post by: Valka on July 12, 2016, 08:53:02 PM
Well, it does mean some damage control will be necessary for some of Canada's trade treaties.

But I think that another reason for Canada to keep an eye on this is to see whatever fallout there may be so the separatists (whether in Quebec or Alberta) can see that it's not going to be an easy thing... and hopefully some of them will shut up.
Title: Re: What does the Brexit vote mean?
Post by: Buster's Uncle on July 12, 2016, 09:13:32 PM
It never seems to work that way with extremists, anything but boredom shutting them up...
Title: Re: What does the Brexit vote mean?
Post by: Kirov on July 12, 2016, 10:32:53 PM
The results can range only from bad to catastrophic. It really matters what kind and range of context you apply.

What surely happened is that one country seriously undermined its own potential and the entire bloc's in the process. Regardless of what kind of deal they strike with the EU, it will never be as good as full membership - otherwise, there would be no point in full membership at all. There will numerous blows to the UK's GDP, ranging from lower EU grants to the banks moving out from the City. Brexit politicians know this and had known before the poll, which is why they all resigned in the wake of it - they didn't want to put their name on something which simply can't go well for the UK (Theresa May was a Remainer, so she has a different start and is not expected to deliver the shamelessly false promises of Brexiteers). Have you seen the face of Boris Johnson when it turned out that he 'won'? His 'oh, crap' would be hilarious if not for the entire context.

More long run - Scotland will be quite likely to leave the UK, so there goes 'taking your country back'. Scotland, N Ireland, London and even Gibraltar currenly hate 'Little England'. Continent-wise, 'Europe of two speeds' will likely follow, with the Eurozone core integrating faster, leaving behind the marauders. Several countries (including Hungary and Poland) started to slide into not-really-democracies already and the 'two speeds' will only foster this process. No matter what the end result is, the importance of the EU on the global playing field can only diminish, Putin emerging as the biggest winner (he's probably yet to sober up after the poll).

And even bigger picture - since I can't recall a single good piece of international news since 2008, the poll is to me yet another proof that the West is currently in the process of committing a spectacular suicide. The political establishment cares only about the economic one and is unable to pull off any real changes, which triggers ordinary people to happily embrace the idea of cutting off their nose to spite the face. Between the wealth gap, unregulated financial sector, strangling of Greece, immigration crises, nationalism, bigotry and islamophobia (which is exactly the objective terrorists aim to achieve), populists probably just can't believe their luck. It would require a tremendous amount of work to solve the problems we have on our plate right now and the number of problems actually gets only bigger.

The Brexit increases the chance of [Sleezebag]'s winning, too and yes, that will be the end of the world as we know it. Unless an impeachment procedure follows soon due to some legal issues. The Western world will be upended, one way or another.

You can say that [Sleezebag]'s won't win, but to some extent, it's not the entire point. The very fact that the US is even toying with the idea of giving full power to someone more comically grotesque than most African warlords speaks volumes about the state of minds on both sides of the Atlantic. And don't be so quick on 'it's not gonna happen', too. If I had bet you USD 1000 in April that [Sleezebag] would get the nomination, I have no doubts that your wallets would be one grand thinner by now.

There is only silver lining of the Brexit, hinted by Valka - the pro-EU sentiment has risen in the EU, now that common people could see how really, really dumb was what the Brits did. Hopefully, some [Sleezebag] followers will take a look at the actual results of 'making your country great again' through discarding all the stuff which made it great in the first place. Hopefully.

But even, 'nearly avoiding a complete catastrophe' will be the biggest success of the Western community. Somehow, it fails to impress me or fill me with optimism.

I remember that one year ago, I told a friend of mine that it's 1933 all over again. Now I have no doubts that the clock is still ticking, if not even faster.
Title: Re: What does the Brexit vote mean?
Post by: Rusty Edge on July 13, 2016, 03:07:09 AM
Okay, Kirov. I won't try again to reassure you that a [Sleezebag] election can't happen.


Perhaps you can explain to me why the Brexit makes a [Sleezebag] election more likely. I doubt if even one in four Americans knows the term. Those that do seem to be putting their own worldviews upon the explanation they chose. I don't understand why it would affect the decision process of anybody voting in our election. Most of us just don't care very much about Brexit. Our stock markets are in the territory of new highs.
Title: Re: What does the Brexit vote mean?
Post by: Dale on July 13, 2016, 05:51:30 AM
I get the feeling Kirov is one of those who won't accept democracy and that a majority believe it will be better to leave EU.
Title: Re: What does the Brexit vote mean?
Post by: DrazharLn on July 13, 2016, 12:36:52 PM
I voted to remain in the EU and I'm rather annoyed that so many voted otherwise. The Vote Leave campaign was based almost exclusively on lies and I believe that many people who voted leave will be dissappointed in the eventual settlement.

Concerningly, the brexit vote has been taken by some as a license for racist and xenophobic behaviour and reports of this kind of behaviour are up by 50% or more compared to this time last year. This has the effect of alienating foreign born and foreign looking residents and many report that they feel threatened and are planning to leave the country.

I believe that the main effects of Brexit will be:

1. Massive lost growth (already the UK's economy is valued 10% lower and our currency is getting weaker)
2. Break up of the UK if the UK Government fails to negotiate a settlement with the EU that the Scots like
3. Loss of freedom of movement
4. More hostile atmosphere for foreigners in the UK
Title: Re: What does the Brexit vote mean?
Post by: DrazharLn on July 13, 2016, 12:39:53 PM
Here's the most interesting analysis of the vote itself: http://lordashcroftpolls.com/2016/06/how-the-united-kingdom-voted-and-why/ (http://lordashcroftpolls.com/2016/06/how-the-united-kingdom-voted-and-why/)
Title: Re: What does the Brexit vote mean?
Post by: Rusty Edge on July 13, 2016, 06:07:05 PM

"•Nearly half (49%) of leave voters said the biggest single reason for wanting to leave the EU was “the principle that decisions about the UK should be taken in the UK”. One third (33%) said the main reason was that leaving “offered the best chance for the UK to regain control over immigration and its own borders.” Just over one in eight (13%) said remaining would mean having no choice “about how the EU expanded its membership or its powers in the years ahead.” Only just over one in twenty (6%) said their main reason was that “when it comes to trade and the economy, the UK would benefit more from being outside the EU than from being part of it.”

Interesting. So do you think it was that 33% that made the difference ?
Title: Re: What does the Brexit vote mean?
Post by: Kirov on July 13, 2016, 08:28:12 PM
Okay, Kirov. I won't try again to reassure you that a T rump election can't happen.


Perhaps you can explain to me why the Brexit makes a T rump election more likely. I doubt if even one in four Americans knows the term. Those that do seem to be putting their own worldviews upon the explanation they chose. I don't understand why it would affect the decision process of anybody voting in our election. Most of us just don't care very much about Brexit. Our stock markets are in the territory of new highs.

Perhaps I put it in a wrong way. I’m not saying that the Brexit affects the Nov election, I’m saying it puts this election in a new light.

First of all, you’ve got the polls. It’s a common thing that imbeciles and populists are underestimated in the polls as people are ashamed to admit whom they’d actually vote for. There is a margin, bigger or smaller, which you should often add to the result of someone universally hated and panned in the mainstream media. Happened many times in history.

I looked at the Leave-Remain and Clinton-Pig polls. They almost overlap up until the voting day. First there is a long streak of 55-45 for the ‘saner’ option, then the gap is only getting smaller and smaller. And with the Brexit, the reversal eventually comes and the rest becomes history.

Oh, and the 80/20 chances predicted by that guy you linked to in the other thread? Funny thing – 80/20 were precisely the odds for Remain given by London bookies less than 24 hrs before the vote.

Secondly, the Brexit renders moot any reasoning along the lines of “people aren’t that stupid” and any variations thereof. Maybe they’re not that stupid, but they do seem desperate enough at least to try something extraordinarily stupid. I can imagine that the pig takes at least some Sanders votes, no matter what Bernie says. When people get frustrated or angry, you can’t really expect them to make rational decisions. And the pig appears to be made out of Teflon, so you can’t count on any scandal emerging as nothing really sticks to that guy. So while any non-Dem/Rep candidates or domestic issues or healthy economy or whatever else can affect my judgment of the outcome, the “he’s too cartoonish to win” mantra is of zero relevance to me right now. [Sleezebag] could vow revenge to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and still have solid chances for the office.

Thirdly, there seems to be a certain symmetry of attitudes in the Anglo-Saxon world on both sides of the pond.

https://foreignpolicy.com/2016/07/05/thatcher-reagan-blair-clinton-brexit-[Sleezebag]-boris-johnson/

(make sure to correct the pig's name in the URL)

Look, I’m not saying that the pig will win. All I’m saying is that I don’t see enough grounds to dismiss this possibility. And 20% is still freakin’ huge in my book. “Hey, Kirov, look at that cliff! Let’s jump from it, you’ve got only 20% to break your neck!”.

What I’m most concerned is the unbroken string of bad news since 2008. If you went back in time and told me all of this back then, I’d have literally asked you about your depression. What keeps happening is really a steady sequence of ‘nah, it’s too bad to actually happen’s followed by ‘hey, maybe it won’t be that bad after all?’s.

And the funniest thing is, I can’t recall the last time I wanted to be wrong so badly. I hope so much that you're right!
Title: Re: What does the Brexit vote mean?
Post by: Kirov on July 13, 2016, 08:44:22 PM
I get the feeling Kirov is one of those who won't accept democracy and that a majority believe it will be better to leave EU.

What DrazharLn said. The democratic process is all about 'informed decisions', and the Brexit was precisely the opposite of that. Read more about the blatantly false statement about GBP 350 million sent to the EU daily, and how they backpedalled on the promise to give it to the Health Service right there and then at 6 AM (!) after the voting night. Or about the role of Boris Johnson in all of this, who never actually wanted to Leave, but dreamt about improving his position in the Tory party. For that matter, the same goes for Cameron. Read about prominent Brexiteers using the word 'expert' as derogatory (!!) because how dare the economists speak about economy. And how they promised access to single market without free flow of people, which is another outrageous lie and could never happen. Or find out more about Murdoch's tabloids, which often read like Der Sturmer and Volkisher Beobachter. I mean, I understand immigration concerns - inflow of people is good for your country long-term, but it's still a social challenge to be dealt with - but there are immigration concerns and then there is rabies. Guess which one was the way of Daily Mail.

The Brexit was about as democratic as the Salem incident - the majority sure got its way, but when the insanity is over, everyone involved is in for a massive hangover.

Title: Re: What does the Brexit vote mean?
Post by: Buster's Uncle on July 13, 2016, 08:48:43 PM
Okay, Kirov. I won't try again to reassure you that a T rump election can't happen.


Perhaps you can explain to me why the Brexit makes a T rump election more likely. I doubt if even one in four Americans knows the term. Those that do seem to be putting their own worldviews upon the explanation they chose. I don't understand why it would affect the decision process of anybody voting in our election. Most of us just don't care very much about Brexit. Our stock markets are in the territory of new highs.

Perhaps I put it in a wrong way. I’m not saying that the Brexit affects the Nov election, I’m saying it puts this election in a new light.

First of all, you’ve got the polls. It’s a common thing that imbeciles and populists are underestimated in the polls as people are ashamed to admit whom they’d actually vote for. There is a margin, bigger or smaller, which you should often add to the result of someone universally hated and panned in the mainstream media. Happened many times in history.

I looked at the Leave-Remain and Clinton-Pig polls. They almost overlap up until the voting day. First there is a long streak of 55-45 for the ‘saner’ option, then the gap is only getting smaller and smaller. And with the Brexit, the reversal eventually comes and the rest becomes history.

Oh, and the 80/20 chances predicted by that guy you linked to in the other thread? Funny thing – 80/20 were precisely the odds for Remain given by London bookies less than 24 hrs before the vote.

Secondly, the Brexit renders moot any reasoning along the lines of “people aren’t that stupid” and any variations thereof. Maybe they’re not that stupid, but they do seem desperate enough at least to try something extraordinarily stupid. I can imagine that the pig takes at least some Sanders votes, no matter what Bernie says. When people get frustrated or angry, you can’t really expect them to make rational decisions. And the pig appears to be made out of Teflon, so you can’t count on any scandal emerging as nothing really sticks to that guy. So while any non-Dem/Rep candidates or domestic issues or healthy economy or whatever else can affect my judgment of the outcome, the “he’s too cartoonish to win” mantra is of zero relevance to me right now. T rump could vow revenge to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and still have solid chances for the office.

Thirdly, there seems to be a certain symmetry of attitudes in the Anglo-Saxon world on both sides of the pond.

https://foreignpolicy.com/2016/07/05/thatcher-reagan-blair-clinton-brexit-T rump-boris-johnson/

(make sure to correct the pig's name in the URL)

Look, I’m not saying that the pig will win. All I’m saying is that I don’t see enough grounds to dismiss this possibility. And 20% is still freakin’ huge in my book. “Hey, Kirov, look at that cliff! Let’s jump from it, you’ve got only 20% to break your neck!”.

What I’m most concerned is the unbroken string of bad news since 2008. If you went back in time and told me all of this back then, I’d have literally asked you about your depression. What keeps happening is really a steady sequence of ‘nah, it’s too bad to actually happen’s followed by ‘hey, maybe it won’t be that bad after all?’s.

And the funniest thing is, I can’t recall the last time I wanted to be wrong so badly. I hope so much that you're right!

I think all your mention of 2008 is entirely too kind to the Cheney Bund.  There's where the trouble started - IF you want to not provoke the know-nothings by tracing it all the way back to the Reagan movement...
Title: Re: What does the Brexit vote mean?
Post by: Kirov on July 13, 2016, 10:09:41 PM
I think all your mention of 2008 is entirely too kind to the Cheney Bund.  There's where the trouble started - IF you want to not provoke the know-nothings by tracing it all the way back to the Reagan movement...


Three times Amen. Up until 2008 I believed that despite obvious shortcomings, "it will all turn out ok in the end", and many trends concerning major stuff like global poverty, democratic principles etc. looked very promising. But then the crap hit the fan and of course the seeds had been sown much earlier, by the Reagan-Thatcher duo. I wanted to believe so much that the increasing wealth gap and social alienation would be alleviated by the technological progress... I was wrong. And the evidence was there all along. I didn't listen!

! No longer available (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vE8XJEeOpyA#)
Title: Re: What does the Brexit vote mean?
Post by: Buster's Uncle on July 13, 2016, 10:49:43 PM
The information-bubble problem of our wonderful modern mass communications via the magic TV calculating device we talk over seems obvious now - not so much even ten years ago.  Rupert Murdock's cryptofascist/trash empire was just the opening wedge.  It's too easy for stupid people to credulously find the pseudo-facts they want to feel affirmed in their wishful thinking.

-And it's a REALLY SERIOUS PROBLEM that I've heard absolutely no ideas for fixing, even in blue-sky theory, let alone that might actually work.  It's going to take some sort of "don't be a sucker" social movement, I think - or the destruction of the innerwebs, which is more likely than the social movement.
Title: Re: What does the Brexit vote mean?
Post by: Rusty Edge on July 14, 2016, 12:19:14 AM
But it goes further than the internet. It's talk radio, Satellite radio, and cable TV. You can select your own reality. Granted, some things like Bloomberg,  FOX and CNN are on all of those.
Title: Re: What does the Brexit vote mean?
Post by: Buster's Uncle on July 14, 2016, 12:26:26 AM
Last bit does not compute.

First three sentences, yes of course.
Title: Re: What does the Brexit vote mean?
Post by: Dale on July 14, 2016, 12:48:11 AM
I get the feeling Kirov is one of those who won't accept democracy and that a majority believe it will be better to leave EU.

What DrazharLn said. The democratic process is all about 'informed decisions', and the Brexit was precisely the opposite of that. Read more about the blatantly false statement about GBP 350 million sent to the EU daily, and how they backpedalled on the promise to give it to the Health Service right there and then at 6 AM (!) after the voting night. Or about the role of Boris Johnson in all of this, who never actually wanted to Leave, but dreamt about improving his position in the Tory party. For that matter, the same goes for Cameron. Read about prominent Brexiteers using the word 'expert' as derogatory (!!) because how dare the economists speak about economy. And how they promised access to single market without free flow of people, which is another outrageous lie and could never happen. Or find out more about Murdoch's tabloids, which often read like Der Sturmer and Volkisher Beobachter. I mean, I understand immigration concerns - inflow of people is good for your country long-term, but it's still a social challenge to be dealt with - but there are immigration concerns and then there is rabies. Guess which one was the way of Daily Mail.

The Brexit was about as democratic as the Salem incident - the majority sure got its way, but when the insanity is over, everyone involved is in for a massive hangover.

But at the end of the day, it's democracy.  You should accept the choice of the majority.... ill informed or otherwise.

Wasn't it Churchill, a Brit, who summed up democracy perfectly?

The best argument against democracy is a five minute conversation with the average voter. - Winston Churchill
Title: Re: What does the Brexit vote mean?
Post by: Rusty Edge on July 14, 2016, 02:22:04 AM
Last bit does not compute.

First three sentences, yes of course.

FOX and the other news networks mentioned are available on multiple, if not all mediums. AM talk radio networks feature their shows such as Hannity, Sirius XM it's channel 114, ( I think), and of course cable TV on your local FOX affiliate. So even "the destruction of the innerwebs" wouldn't solve the problem.
Title: Re: What does the Brexit vote mean?
Post by: Buster's Uncle on July 14, 2016, 02:37:56 AM
I don't have a sky-high opinion of Bloomberg, and CNN is only TV news, but that's lumping in two crappy news channels that actually try to be fair with the propaganda channel that doesn't and brazenly bald-faced lies about it.
Title: Re: What does the Brexit vote mean?
Post by: Valka on July 14, 2016, 02:59:57 AM
But at the end of the day, it's democracy.  You should accept the choice of the majority.... ill informed or otherwise.
No. There are times when the majority is completely out to lunch on some issues. There's already an argument over at CFC where one person is insisting that the majority opinion is ALWAYS the "moral" position... because it's the majority.

As I said to him, if I happened to be wearing my anthropologist's hat, I'd have to agree with him. But I'm wearing my Valka D'Ur hat (my CFC username) and when I think of all the times throughout history when the majority opinions were anything but moral (what we consider moral), I just can't agree with him.
Title: Re: What does the Brexit vote mean?
Post by: Buster's Uncle on July 14, 2016, 03:20:18 AM
It's a tricky issue - people in general are freakin' idiots and gullible to the suasions of bosses and other evil men, see the last 37 years of the Republican party, but if a democracy doesn't treat Democracy itself with almost religious reverence --- dang, that's a serious categorical error that undermines the bedrock the entire nation rests upon.
Title: Re: What does the Brexit vote mean?
Post by: Dale on July 14, 2016, 03:34:52 AM
Totally agree BUncle.

That's gotta be almost a first right?

A democracy MUST respect being a democracy or it fails to be a democracy anymore.  Like I said..... ill informed or not.
Title: Re: What does the Brexit vote mean?
Post by: Dale on July 14, 2016, 03:37:39 AM
But at the end of the day, it's democracy.  You should accept the choice of the majority.... ill informed or otherwise.
No. There are times when the majority is completely out to lunch on some issues. There's already an argument over at CFC where one person is insisting that the majority opinion is ALWAYS the "moral" position... because it's the majority.

As I said to him, if I happened to be wearing my anthropologist's hat, I'd have to agree with him. But I'm wearing my Valka D'Ur hat (my CFC username) and when I think of all the times throughout history when the majority opinions were anything but moral (what we consider moral), I just can't agree with him.

Your argument is subjective.  That's what YOU believe.  But as much as you disagree, some people believe differently.  You cannot uphold YOUR beliefs, without upholding the beliefs of others.
Title: Re: What does the Brexit vote mean?
Post by: Buster's Uncle on July 14, 2016, 03:43:47 AM
Dale, I'm going to allow that post because Valka is an arguer and can take it - but you both heat up fast in a dispute, so careful on thin ice, okay, guys?  I declare that tapping out if you feel like it is not an admission of defeat, and try not to escalate the bluntness...



And I dunno - I tend to think Leave is a terrible idea and ought to be prevented somehow --- but making a big stink until they have another referendum and winning this time is the appropriate response to the crap outcome on a referendum - in a democracy...  You end up causing infinite problems turning the system topsy because Democracy has been stupid, it still being less-worst than all the other systems that have been tried...
Title: Re: What does the Brexit vote mean?
Post by: Dale on July 14, 2016, 04:48:19 AM
And I dunno - I tend to think Leave is a terrible idea and ought to be prevented somehow --- but making a big stink until they have another referendum and winning this time is the appropriate response to the crap outcome on a referendum - in a democracy...  You end up causing infinite problems turning the system topsy because Democracy has been stupid, it still being less-worst than all the other systems that have been tried...

Again subjective.  17,410,742 Britains, 51.9% of them, don't agree with you and voted Leave.

Would you still say the same thing, "but making a big stink until they have another referendum and winning this time is the appropriate response to the crap outcome on a referendum" if the result was to your liking?

I say you would not.  In fact, I bet you would be playing the "it's a democracy, suck it up guys!" card.  You cannot uphold YOUR beliefs without upholding the beliefs of others.
Title: Re: What does the Brexit vote mean?
Post by: Valka on July 14, 2016, 07:25:29 AM
But at the end of the day, it's democracy.  You should accept the choice of the majority.... ill informed or otherwise.
No. There are times when the majority is completely out to lunch on some issues. There's already an argument over at CFC where one person is insisting that the majority opinion is ALWAYS the "moral" position... because it's the majority.

As I said to him, if I happened to be wearing my anthropologist's hat, I'd have to agree with him. But I'm wearing my Valka D'Ur hat (my CFC username) and when I think of all the times throughout history when the majority opinions were anything but moral (what we consider moral), I just can't agree with him.
Your argument is subjective.  That's what YOU believe.  But as much as you disagree, some people believe differently.  You cannot uphold YOUR beliefs, without upholding the beliefs of others.
How about you mosey on over to CFC and read the threads in question before offering an evaluation of my arguments there?

There is no way in hell that I'm going to uphold the beliefs of others if they're going to lead to basic rights being taken away from people.

Keep in mind that those threads involve discussions pertaining to abortion and religion. Also keep in mind that, as it says below my name, I argue from the POV of what's going on in Canada. There are some things that are US-centric that are going to fly right past me because I either don't hear about it or it's not relevant to my situation.

The Brexit issue is relevant in that it's a lesson in being careful what you wish for. We've had numerous referendums here connected with the Quebec separation and "distinct society status" thing they pushed for so long. The one I was allowed to vote in happened back in the 1990s, and one of the 5 parts of the Charlottetown Accord involved granting distinct society status to Quebec. Since I don't believe that it's right that one province should be more equal than the others, I voted "No"... even though another part of the Accord dealt with aboriginal self-government, which is something I was in favor of.

These votes involve a great deal of thought (or should) and a voter has to decide at what point they might be willing to hold their nose and choose the least worst of a lot of bad choices. I suspect that's what some of the people in the UK did, and now they're actually beginning to realize that they should have drawn a different line for holding their noses.
Title: Re: What does the Brexit vote mean?
Post by: Dale on July 14, 2016, 11:44:12 AM
I've learnt the hard way never try to argue with the folks at cfc, and especially topics like those. I'd rather head butt the wall.

But you missed my point. I'll say it another way.

A democracy stops being a democracy when you fail to uphold the beliefs of the majority, even if they are repugnant to you. A [poop] democracy is still a million times better than totalitarianism, such as the "socialist utopia" the extreme left dreams of.

In terms of Brexit, I'm sure some people are exaggerating in their minds eye the vocal minority and that a re-vote would still result in Leave. In votes like this, they are dominated by a strong silent mass.
Title: Re: What does the Brexit vote mean?
Post by: Buster's Uncle on July 14, 2016, 01:51:09 PM
You know, all I was saying is that, like just more speech is the correct reaction to wrong/offensive speech -not, for example,  maybe giving the wrong person any whoopin' they might deserve for saying such a horrible thing- the answer to bad democracy is more and better democracy - obey the ground rules until it hurts and beyond.  Work the system to make things right, but Thou Shalt Not Tamper with basic Democracy.
Title: Re: What does the Brexit vote mean?
Post by: DrazharLn on July 14, 2016, 02:03:50 PM

"•Nearly half (49%) of leave voters said the biggest single reason for wanting to leave the EU was “the principle that decisions about the UK should be taken in the UK”. One third (33%) said the main reason was that leaving “offered the best chance for the UK to regain control over immigration and its own borders.” Just over one in eight (13%) said remaining would mean having no choice “about how the EU expanded its membership or its powers in the years ahead.” Only just over one in twenty (6%) said their main reason was that “when it comes to trade and the economy, the UK would benefit more from being outside the EU than from being part of it.”

Interesting. So do you think it was that 33% that made the difference ?


I assume this is in relevance to my assertion that the leave campaign was mostly lies.

So, three claims:

1. decisions about the UK are not made in the UK when the UK is a member of the EU
2. the UK will have greater control of immigration outside the EU
3. the UK would have no say in how the EU expanded membership

Together, these claims underpin 95% of the stated reasoning of leave voters, as reported by the poll.

Claim 3 is the easiest. It's just not true. EU members get a veto on the addition of new members[3].

Claim 2 may become true, dependent on the exit negotiations (the EU has in all other cases required freedom of movement as a condition of membership of the european economic area (EEA), the free trade area we will want to retain access to[1]), but I believe that the underlying drive for control of immigration is based on the xenophobia and scapegoating that has been preached by the overwhelmingly right wing media and the right wing parties.

In fairness, the left has done too little to address the concerns people have about immigration, but I think they accrue less blame.

Immigrants are commonly blamed for higher stress on state resources, such as housing, healthcare and welfare and for displacing native labour. EU migrants to the UK consume significantly less from the state than natives or non-EU migrants and pay significantly more back in taxes, so they actually cause the state to have more resources, not less.

Migrants do, however, displace native labour[2] and this is a serious concern, but analysis indicates that even accounting for this, migrants have a positive effect on GDP. My view is that the government should act to manage the distribution of displaced labour and to improve training and redeployment prospects for the unemployed.

Claim 1 is the least wrong of these claims, but it's still overblown. Around 80% of EU legislation can be imposed on member states (the remaining 20% is subject to veto), and the UK has some special exceptions on some of the 80%. It is extremely difficult to assess what impact this EU legislation has on the UK and what proportion of UK law is influenced or overridden by EU law[0].

In practice the UK and especially France drag their heels or just don't implement EU legislation they don't like and there's not a whole lot that the rest of the EU can do about it.

Again, if the UK actually wants to remain a member of the EEA, it will likely have to implement 20-30% this legislation anyway (see Switzerland, Norway), but will lose its voice in the European Commision and European Parliament[1].

My view is that EU legislation is broadly beneficial and does not seriously affect parliamentary sovereignty. I challenge anyone to identify any EU legislation (other than the Common Agricultural Policy) that has a non-trivial negative impact on the UK. I'm sure some exists. I'm also sure that there's not much and that the EU passes fewer bad laws than the UK parliament.

\[0]: https://fullfact.org/europe/uk-law-what-proportion-influenced-eu/ (https://fullfact.org/europe/uk-law-what-proportion-influenced-eu/)
[1]: http://openeurope.org.uk/today/blog/what-would-a-norway-style-relationship-with-the-eu-entail/ (http://openeurope.org.uk/today/blog/what-would-a-norway-style-relationship-with-the-eu-entail/)
[2]: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/257235/analysis-of-the-impacts.pdf (https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/257235/analysis-of-the-impacts.pdf)
[3]: https://fullfact.org/europe/turkey-likely-join-eu/ (https://fullfact.org/europe/turkey-likely-join-eu/)

This post isn't sufficiently referenced, but time is limited.
Title: Re: What does the Brexit vote mean?
Post by: Rusty Edge on July 14, 2016, 05:04:50 PM
Thanks DrazharLn, I wasn't questioning your claims. I accept them. Thanks for the detail.

 To me, 1, the autonomy issue seems like a legitimate issue that might be voted upon in a democratic country. The degree of it is a matter of personal preference.  That's what I presumed Brexit was all about.

I was simply asking if that 33% of the exit vote concerned about immigration and border control was the "swing vote" that caused passage and surprised everybody, not whether they were well informed or right.

Or was that 33% faction more or less constant and noisy, and it was some other faction/reason/excuse  that allowed the measure to pass and surprise most everybody?
Title: Re: What does the Brexit vote mean?
Post by: DrazharLn on July 14, 2016, 05:51:03 PM
I don't think the anti-immigration lot were a surprise -  we've known they were there for a while and both main parties have been trying to woo them. As for the surprise, the polls were predicting a very close vote for a long time, so it shouldn't have been a surprise - though of course it was. Personally, I was complacent, didn't think people would really vote for something so big for such poor reasons.

I agree that autonomy from the EU is a legitimate aim, my objection is that the campaign for that presented false arguments for it, so the democratic process is cheapened by voters not really getting what they voted for and quite possibly getting a lot more bad stuff than they were led to believe.
Title: Re: What does the Brexit vote mean?
Post by: DrazharLn on July 14, 2016, 05:53:50 PM
Personally, I believe the anti-immigration lot are probably subject to an under-reporting bias anyway. Similar to the shy tory effect.
Title: Re: What does the Brexit vote mean?
Post by: Dale on July 14, 2016, 10:57:14 PM
Regardless of the outcome and regardless of the information supply, democracy is democracy and it should be accepted.

In politics all sides deploy lies and deception. The winner is the side who deploys them more successfully.
Title: Re: What does the Brexit vote mean?
Post by: DrazharLn on July 14, 2016, 11:13:27 PM
I don't think it is as simple as that, Dale.

Not all forms of democracy are equal, and a referendum on a highly technical topic by a deliberately misinformed electorate doesn't smack of due process to me.

I would rather that the various factions and parties present their vision for the future of the UK's relationship with the EU and then that a General Election be held. Or that negotiations be held and a referendum decide if the negotiated deal be accepted.
Title: Re: What does the Brexit vote mean?
Post by: Buster's Uncle on July 14, 2016, 11:18:03 PM
-Possibly that last thought wouldn't be fooling with the democracy of it in a bad way...
Title: Re: What does the Brexit vote mean?
Post by: DrazharLn on July 14, 2016, 11:19:10 PM
Unclear what you mean, BU.
Title: Re: What does the Brexit vote mean?
Post by: Buster's Uncle on July 14, 2016, 11:33:21 PM
Or that negotiations be held and a referendum decide if the negotiated deal be accepted.
Nigh-impossibly tricky in practice, but democratic and thinking in the right direction.

Again, I tend -STRONGLY- to think Leave was the wrong call - just, if you can't block a stupid referendum happening or win it --- it's really bad to have a thing like that not explicitly labeled NON-BINDING and then make noises about not following through.  As Dale said, you have to honor the rules if you don't want to destroy the system.

---

Anyone have any thoughts about both sides in the aftermath forming circular firing squads and generally -definitely more Labour than Tory- playing out an episode of House of 'Tards?
Title: Re: What does the Brexit vote mean?
Post by: DrazharLn on July 14, 2016, 11:59:42 PM
The Tory one is depressing but expected. The Labour situation is more complicated and it's not clear to me how much of it is centrist Labour continued attempts to retake the party and how much is MPs who were willing to work with Corbyn giving up on him.

The rules defining the electorate for the leadership election are fishy, too. No votes for party members who joined in the last 6 months, but anyone can pay £25 for a vote? Very strange thing for an ostensibly socialist party to do.

I'm interested to see if Corbyn will make any concessions or if another left candidate will appear. I don't rate Angela Eagle or Owen Smith.
Title: Re: What does the Brexit vote mean?
Post by: Dale on July 15, 2016, 12:39:07 AM
I don't think it is as simple as that, Dale.

Not all forms of democracy are equal, and a referendum on a highly technical topic by a deliberately misinformed electorate doesn't smack of due process to me.

I would rather that the various factions and parties present their vision for the future of the UK's relationship with the EU and then that a General Election be held. Or that negotiations be held and a referendum decide if the negotiated deal be accepted.

Oh I totally agree.  In 1999 we went down a similar path with a referendum on becoming a republic.  It failed, but only just (54% nationally opposed).  The Yes side suffered the same issue the Remain side suffered.  They failed to explain WHY their path is better.

And if the question were put today, we'd face the same situation Britain did the other week.  The Yes campaign (or Leave if you will), has all the ammo.  Why suffer under a Head Of State that isn't Australian?  The Queen has no relationship with Australian people.  Why should the Australian Constitution be "at the will of the English Parliament"?  When in reality, whilst technically true, a complete deceit.  Our Head of State is actually the Governor-General, who for as long as I've known has been an Australian (currently General (Rtd) Sir Peter Cosgrove, a VERY popular Australian military man and Nationalist).  The only real power the Queen has anymore under the Australia Act, is to dissolve the Executive.  The Governor-General holds all the power as HoS.  And honestly..... whilst the English Parliament could repeal the Australia Act (which enacted the Australian Constitution), do you think it would have any REAL effect?  The World Govt's recognise Australia as a sovereign nation under UN Guidelines, so Australia exists independently of any ties to English Parliament.

But how the hell is the No (or Remain) side supposed to explain all that??   ???

And after all that, in deceiving the people, getting the Yes mandate, there would be no plan on how to leave the Commonwealth, or what sort of Republic to become!
Title: Re: What does the Brexit vote mean?
Post by: Buster's Uncle on July 15, 2016, 12:48:13 AM
And why in God's name would Oz want out of the Commonwealth -as opposed to the Monarchy- anyway?  Where would you find wars to get involved in?
Title: Re: What does the Brexit vote mean?
Post by: Dale on July 15, 2016, 12:53:22 AM
And why in God's name would Oz want out of the Commonwealth -as opposed to the Monarchy- anyway?  Where would you find wars to get involved in?


Really?  You have to ask?   ;lol
http://www.defence.gov.au/whitepaper/docs/071-MarrickvillePeaceGroup.pdf (http://www.defence.gov.au/whitepaper/docs/071-MarrickvillePeaceGroup.pdf)

Quote
Executive Summary
 The US alliance is at the core of Australia’s defence strategy.
 It  has  led  Australia  into  multiple  wars  of  questionable 
benefit. 
 The invasion of Iraq in 2003 is an example. 
 An  enlightened  strategic  policy  would  keep  us  out  of 
unnecessary conflicts. 
 The US alliance compromises Australia’s independence 
 It raises regional tensions 
 It is not in Australia’s best interests. 
 Despite  these  considerations,  since  2009  there  are  many 
examples  of  how  Australia  continues  to  move  closer  to  the 
US,  militarily.   
 No  coherent  reasons  for  continuing  along  this  path  have 
been provided by the Australian government. 

Title: Re: What does the Brexit vote mean?
Post by: Buster's Uncle on July 15, 2016, 12:55:57 AM
...I believe that's a Commonwealth issue, as in the US is a British ally and 'stralia is a dependable contributor in Commonwealth military actions, but Bindi Erwin hasn't dated it, so I'm not claiming to know enough to try to hold that hill...

Admit it, though; Oz has not bent over backwards to stay out of foreign wars - Tracy Ullman said so one time...
Title: Re: What does the Brexit vote mean?
Post by: Dale on July 15, 2016, 01:13:08 AM
The AU-US alliance stems from ANZUS actually, not from UK.  ANZUS was originally setup in the 50's as a collective South Pacific security alliance.  And whilst NZ dropped out years ago due to disagreeing with the Iraq wars, the AU-US component still exists.
Title: Re: What does the Brexit vote mean?
Post by: Buster's Uncle on July 15, 2016, 01:22:49 AM
Okay.  Ugly American just assumed it was that alliance of the English speaking world thing -which I'm for, though aware being in bed with the US is riding the tiger- and assumed it was through the Commonwealth.

SO - Commonwealth; yea or nay, if Dale votes?
Title: Re: What does the Brexit vote mean?
Post by: DrazharLn on July 15, 2016, 01:36:22 AM
Britain doesn't have much power over the commonwealth at all, let alone dragging the other members into wars.
Title: Re: What does the Brexit vote mean?
Post by: Valka on July 15, 2016, 01:56:15 AM
Every time a new batch of photos of George or Charlotte (the Queen's great-grandchildren; proud parents are William and Kate), the anti-monarchists come slithering onto CBC.ca and post some of the most vile <garbage> directed at two little kids who have no idea about any of it.

I'm comfortable with Canada being part of the Commonwealth. The British Royal Family has been a part of our history for a very long time, well before we were an official country. And we're in the process of changing things now, as not only did Trudeau make a campaign promise to end FPTP voting (the committee is working on it now), but he's trying as much Senate reform as possible without actually reopening the Constitution squabbles.

Just think... if I owned $4000 worth of property, provided three letters of reference, and had a sufficiently good resume that would impress a selection committee, I could become a Senator (I meet all the other requirements). Normally they're appointed by the Prime Minister, but it's actually been thrown open for people to apply. And it's a job that's guaranteed until age 75 or until the Senator gets caught egregiously padding their expense account and hauled into court, whichever comes first. And even then it's very likely that they'll get off scot-free as happened earlier this year (and just a couple of days ago in one case).
Title: Re: What does the Brexit vote mean?
Post by: Buster's Uncle on July 15, 2016, 02:20:35 AM
You wouldn't like Ottawa, but I could see you doing a Glenda Jackson act from the back benches...
Title: Re: What does the Brexit vote mean?
Post by: Buster's Uncle on July 15, 2016, 02:21:58 AM
Britain doesn't have much power over the commonwealth at all, let alone dragging the other members into wars.
Since when has anyone had to DRAG Bruce into a barney?
Title: Re: What does the Brexit vote mean?
Post by: Dale on July 15, 2016, 03:02:27 AM
Britain doesn't have much power over the commonwealth at all, let alone dragging the other members into wars.

In terms of Britain, since 1971 after the Singapore Declaration they've had no power over the Commonwealth.  They, like all other members, are equal parties with equal voice at CHOGM.
Title: Re: What does the Brexit vote mean?
Post by: Buster's Uncle on July 15, 2016, 03:53:31 AM
Yes, but the reality is...
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