Brexit Vote Today

"An Englishman, a Scotsman and an Irishman walk into a bar. The Englishman wanted to leave so they all had to go."

https://inews.co.uk/light-relief/jokes/best-brexit-jokes/

 

Yawn.

 

OK then, please proceed to the nearest Brexit

https://www.foxnews.com/world/british-lawmakers-approve-boris-johnsons-brexit-plan-uk-to-leave-eu-by-january-31

 

Well, it looks like it's really going to happen. I guess.

https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/brexit-happening-today-but-britain-remains-divided-over-leaving-european-union-2020-01-31/

 

Well...sort of. For now, not much changes. I rather suspect not much will ever change now that the political fact of the exit seems accomplished. The sturm und drang is over. It's up to the technocrats to minimize the economic damage which they will do in a calmer, less emotional time. I think it will look a lot like Norway in the end.

 

Northern Ireland. Whatever trade arrangements the UK makes, the stark choice remains. If the UK reaches some deal with Canada it had better be identical with the EU's deal with Canada or there will have to be a hard border in Ireland or the North Sea. Maybe Boris will shove a border down the Northern Irish collective throat but it could turn ugly

 

So it's a good thing there is such a long solid history of good relations between Northern Ireland and the rest of the island.

 

Interesting perhaps that there's a general election in Ireland happening right now

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/ahead-of-irish-election-leo-varadkar-is-struggling-while-sinn-fein-surges/2020/02/07/263324b4-4821-11ea-91ab-ce439aa5c7c1_story.html

 

I guess Varadkar lost and the Sinn Fein folks won big. I'm not big on Irish politics so I don't really have a good understanding of the implications.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/irelands-left-wing-nationalists-surge-in-historic-but-inconclusive-election/2020/02/09/6df56f36-4926-11ea-8a1f-de1597be6cbc_story.html

 

OK, so it's a little off-topic, but let's talk about Vexit

https://religionnews.com/2020/01/28/liberty-universitys-falwell-throws-support-behind-vexit/

 

The nature of the union. Scotsman had his vote cast to stay in the union. The husband leaves the bar, his partner lives with him as well, or should she stay for a few more "drinks" with the gentleman from Germany and his partners?
So the rest of the story is that the Englishman is going to a little farther bar to have a drink with uncle Sam or is it great grandkid Sam ;-) - well maybe or maybe not.

 

Is this a situation where now Britain is kicking themself for Brexit?

https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/04/09/831395411/eu-finance-ministers-reach-590-billion-coronavirus-rescue-deal

 

DOES "that money have to come from somewhere"? It seems obvious that it does but we've created trillions of dollars since the 2008 Crash and so far interest rates are dismally low and there's little sign of even the 2% inflation that the Fed would like to see. Very strange. What's even weirder to me is that interest rates remained essentially zero, negative in some banking systems, even as the various stock market indices were shooting ever upwards. Why was there no flight from government bonds to equity?

I do NOT understand money. At all.