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UK formally leaves European Union after 48 years

rte.ie

81–90 of 251 posts

Re: UK formally leaves European Union after 48 years

#81

A great day for the UK, able to now chart their own path instead of obediently marching along to the neoliberal EU apparatus. The big question is whether they will do anything worthwhile with their newfound freedom.

Remain high on the inequality index, I assume. The UK got destroyed by Thatcher, and hasn't recovered since. > “She destroyed too many good things in society, and created too many bad ones, then left a social and moral vacuum in which the selfishly rich and unimaginatively fortunate could too easily destroy still more of what they don't need and can't see that everyone else does need,” said author Emma Darwin. https:…

wow, considered worse than Neville Chamberlain

Re: UK formally leaves European Union after 48 years

#82
post #18

If they decide to rejoin at some point, perhaps the EU could demand elimination of the pound.

The Euro has done huge damage to the EU project - because of it Greece is stuck in debt, smaller countries can't support their economies in the middle of the pandemic, etc. Even the most ardent europhiles have come around to realise gow problematic it is.

The real sovereignty of a country is not in it's armed forces - its the currency. Without control over the press and interest rates, all you can do is tax and spend in a region with no borders, its like running an oversized city councill. However the amount of solidarity and coordination in EU is not high enough that you can rely on it - you can see that in Dutch ministers refusing to back COVID bonds, and the amount of EU-level economix stimulous being miniscule for the economy size

Re: UK formally leaves European Union after 48 years

#83
post #9

.

People on Hacker News, being in general the knowledge workers and (at least in our minds) the intelligentsia that we are, have particular disdain for democracies doing things they disagree with.

I remember the day after Brexit passed my high school friend who was then working on her PhD in international theory asking how the government could revert such a decision. It seemed like the most out of touch ivory tower thing to say, and made me suspect of what educational institutions are teaching people these days.

Re: UK formally leaves European Union after 48 years

#84

This will prove to be the worst geopolitical decision of all time.

That's harsh (I would rate the failure of the Russian experiment after '91 as worse), but it's certainly the worst thing we've done since Suez.

David Cameron - what a legacy!

Re: UK formally leaves European Union after 48 years

#85

Such a waste. A once great nation dragged into obscurity by OAPs, handout addicted farmers and racists.

Not wanting to be in the EU makes you a racist how exactly? Are we using the word “racist” in the same way as it was applied in the last four years in America?

Re: UK formally leaves European Union after 48 years

#86
post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Arguably the best country name trade deal abbreviation since renegotiating NAFTA to CAMUS (I know they use a different order but this suggestion is too good).

Ironically I like EU better, kind of sounds like an ambulance approaching.

Good for an EU-E.U. agreement.

Re: UK formally leaves European Union after 48 years

#87
post #38

Time to emigrate from the U.K. to a more enlightened country. What countries would you go to as an English expat for a better life? Where can you change a useless English citizenship for another?

Wouldn't Ireland be your best bet? It's close, English-speaking, culturally similar and some UK citizens are eligible for Irish citizens to boot.

Re: UK formally leaves European Union after 48 years

#88
post #23

This could be very bad or it could be very good. The chains of EU centralized bureaucracy are off, now the UK can chart their own destiny (hopefully for the better).

The chains are still on because the UK still needs to trade with said bureaucracy, and of course the fault of that lies with the EU's bureaucratic nature itself instead of the UK's decision to exit.

Ultimately we should want the EU to be eliminated entirely and replaced with a multilateral free trade treaty, and UK's exit is a very productive step in that direction.

Re: UK formally leaves European Union after 48 years

#89
Brexit was a triumph of evil men. We were foolish and naive, and did not expect these craven lies to have such dire effect. This tidal wave of pent up hatred unleashed from these deep and forgotten pools of animus and fear.

Nonetheless -- the world keeps on turning.

Evil may win a battle here and there, but it cannot be allowed to win the war. What these vandals destroy can always be built up anew.

Re: UK formally leaves European Union after 48 years

#90
post #80
post #15

Yay. Now we're free. Oh wait, no, it's just that absolutely everything got harder, more expensive, more nationalistic, more pathetic and sad. It's all incredibly depressing. Here's hoping our kids manage to vote us back in as soon as those Tory f's are out.

At least your representatives are not about to have a vote on if your democracy should pay attention to the results of its own elections.

But look at all the no evidence!
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