Brexit and the waning days of the United Kingdom

[Admiral Yi]

Chicks. 

[derspiess]

Srsly

[garbon]

How outmoded.

[Valmy]

Right now, Spicy is eating some Spotted Dick.

Last night i was having beers with Kenny Anderson and Anthony Munoz thankyouverymuch

Holy shit that is awesome.

[Valmy]

Right now, Spicy is eating some Spotted Dick.

Last night i was having beers with Kenny Anderson and Anthony Munoz thankyouverymuch

Who?

Stars of Super Bowl Bengals teams.

[Hamilcar]

Right now, Spicy is eating some Spotted Dick.

Last night i was having beers with Kenny Anderson and Anthony Munoz thankyouverymuch

Who?

Stars of Super Bowl Bengals teams.

Designer cats play sports now? TIL.

[Zanza]

Why UK Brexit talk baffles Germany
By Damien McGuinness
BBC News, Berlin

Theresa May had her first EU summit in Brussels last week. But her after-dinner address to other leaders was greeted with a frosty silence and even Germany appears to be losing patience with London. Could a different understanding of some very simple words be part of the problem?

There's one thing about the German language that if you're British, you never really quite get used to.

It's how to say yes. And how to say no.

[...]

In British English, of course, no means yes, yes means no ... and "maybe," "possibly" and "would love to but" can mean either.

A group of British people trying to decide where to go to for dinner will say things like "I'm easy" or "I don't mind" - even though everyone blatantly does mind.

This is all quite straightforward to Brits, and the subtext is clear. In Germany it's baffling.

And I suspect it's a cultural difference which partly accounts for the communication problems we're seeing right now over Brexit.

Last year David Cameron tried to persuade German Chancellor Angela Merkel to let the UK have a special deal to opt out of free movement of people, while staying in the single market.

She said no. And she meant, well, no. Not "no-but-ok-if-you-push-hard-enough-maybe-yes". Just no.

When she said it again before the referendum vote, she meant no. And last week to Theresa May in Brussels, again, the answer no. She doesn't quite know how to make it any clearer.

But in the UK politicians and journalists are still asking the question: what does Merkel really think?

The chatter in Westminster is all about how Britain can persuade Germany to give up the best bits of the single market.

And amid all the talk of red lines and not revealing your hand, there is ongoing speculation about how to interpret the signals coming out of Berlin.

In fact, it's all quite simple. Merkel means what she says. And German politicians are getting increasingly frustrated by London not seeming to understand this.

For many in Berlin, you're either in the single market, with all the obligations and privileges that come with that, or you're not. And people here don't understand why Britain doesn't just say which of those two options it wants.

But, to a certain extent, the confusion is quite understandable. Germany and Britain have not only different ways of communicating, but also completely different political cultures.

[...]

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-37799805


Reminded me of this old, but still valid picture:

[Tamas]

It's not cultural and language problems.

It's wishful thinking. Merkel's "nein!" presents a big problem for the UK. It means there is no easy way out of this. Either the economy, or internal politics are going to shit. Possibly both if they mess it up.

[Zoupa]

Oh how quirky and smaht, those Brits are! It's all because we're so sarcastic and witty and the brutish Huns don't quite get our sophistication.

Get real. It's not language, it's delusional thinking on the part of Westminster.

edit: doh, Tamas posted almost the same thing lol 

[The Minsky Moment]

I agree, it's surprising that there could still be elements of the UK press that haven't figured this out yet.  The Leavers told a bunch of lies about alternatives but it's always been clear that full access to the single market requires acceptance of freedom of movement.  Draw the circle as many times as you want, it won't be a square.

[Josquius]

One of the things kippers are saying lately - "So you're complaining about hard brexit now? But the remain side were the ones that said brexit means hard brexit!"
....but by that reasoning....the leavers won and they said soft brexit

[Agelastus]

Reminded me of this old, but still valid picture:

Thanks for this, Zanza; I was looking for this picture a few months ago and didn't find it.

[Zanza]

Theresa May 'defies Brexit vote' and opts into new EU-wide security measures
Exclusive: Britain will agree to the automatic sharing of DNA samples, fingerprints and vehicle registration data, after months of uncertainty

Theresa May has risked the anger of hardline Brexit supporters by deciding to opt in to a series of EU-wide crime-fighting measures, The Independent can reveal.

Britain will agree to the automatic sharing of millions of DNA samples, fingerprints and vehicle registrations, to speed up the hunt for suspected terrorists and major criminals.

Parliament supported opting back into the so-called Prüm Convention last December – but ministers had refused to say if the decision would be derailed by the June decision to leave the EU.

Now Brandon Lewis, a Home Office minister, has revealed the Government will press ahead, in a letter sent to a Commons committee which is investigating the issue.

The decision will come as a relief to the police and security services, who have argued EU-wide co-operation is essential to catch foreign criminals and terrorists who commit offences in Britain.

Senior officers had spoken of their fear that having to renegotiate vital information sharing would take years, leaving dangerous gaps in intelligence in the meantime.

It will also raise their hopes that Britain will also remain a member of Europol – a decision that must be made by the end of the year – and continue to enforce the EU-wide arrest warrant.

But some Brexit-supporting MPs have attacked moves to tie Britain into EU police and criminal justice measures, on the grounds of cost and democracy.

They argue it will involve spending millions of pounds on new IT systems to allow EU members to search this country's DNA, fingerprint and vehicle registration databases.

Some have disputed a guarantee that only the personal details of people who have been convicted of an offence in the UK will be handed over to a foreign police force.

And they have attacked putting Britain's DNA and fingerprint databases under the control of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) – which Ms May has vowed to break from.

One Brexit-supporting Conservative MP, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, said she would be writing to David Davis, the Brexit Secretary, to demand the move was only temporary.

She told The Independent: "I have no problem with data-sharing if it's important in fighting crime, but as long as that data remains under our control.

"It will be unacceptable to the British people – who have voted to regain control of their nation – to find out that their most important data, such as fingerprints and car registrations, will continue to come under the ruling of the ECJ."

Tim Farron, the Liberal Democrat leader, said it was now crucial that the Prime Minister also "sign up to Europol and other crime fighting powers".

He said: "Organised crime and criminals do not stop at the cliffs of Dover and Britain gains from being part of the European Arrest Warrant, Prüm and Europol.

"I worry that with Brexit we will recreate the Costa Del Crime and we should do everything in our power to make sure no criminal can avoid justice."

Mr Lewis revealed the decision in a letter to the Commons European Scrutiny Committee, which assesses all draft EU legislation brought before Parliament.

He wrote: "The Government does not envisage the initial timeline for implementing Prüm being affected by the decision to leave the EU, and is continuing with the implementation of Prüm.

"We are confident that the exchange of data will start to take place in 2017."

Mr Lewis added that it was "premature to speculate" on what sort of agreement the UK would seek to reach after leaving the EU.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/theresa-may-has-decided-to-opt-into-eu-crime-fighting-measures-risking-anger-of-brexit-tory-mps-a7391666.html


I find this interesting as it shows that the British government might - at least in some areas - go for continued cooperation and integration with the EU, but that some Tory backbenchers will not accept anything short of a total break between Britain and the EU.

[derspiess]

I got business class from Heathrow to Boston yesterday & then got an early flight from Boston to CVG.  Got home early enough to change clothes and go coach football practice

[Gups]

I got business class from Heathrow to Boston yesterday & then got an early flight from Boston to CVG.  Got home early enough to change clothes and go coach football practice

How was the trip? Any decent beers?