Excuse me if I have this wrong, but checking the UK press, this is my hypothesis.
During a hugely important time in the history of the UK where there is a worldwide pandemic and a looming Brexit transition the PM is now being advised by his girlfriend and she is calling the shots. Before that an unelected guy in Dominic Cummings was calling the shots and even had the power to conduct his own press conference on the lawn of 10 Downing Street to ‘apologise’ but not actually apologise for breaking his own covid rules.
I’m sure other countries have gotten it wrong too during the Covid crisis but is the UK in a situation where the most powerful person in the country is now the PM’s girlfriend? How many innocent people have died due to this shocking level of high school power scheming?
🙄
Is the UK a laughing stock?
posted on 15/11/20
Think I've mentioned my family ar from south asia ways. Here is my experience of what I see people view of Britain from that neck of the woods.
Truthfully people over there held britian up to a certain standard. Almost copied in day to day life what they thought Brits were likely to do. The sense of justice and integrity of Brits was something I heard when very young.
Over the years that view wasn't shared as much. But overall british politicians were still seen as something to look up to. Even the likes of Imran Khan are lauded as he is well spoken and "looks like a politician" over any substance his policies may have.
The presidency and PM of Trump and Boris is what's made people think WTF? And has made not just Britain but America also a laughing stock.
Note here it's not their policies etc but just the person. The likes of modi and nawaz sharif were "expected" for India and Pakistan. These two are placed in the same category.
Basically they are seen as third world politicians
posted on 15/11/20
comment by Vidicschin (U3584)
posted 1 hour, 42 minutes ago
comment by Edinspur (U1109)
posted 2 minutes ago
Congrats to Vidicschin for being in the running for stupidest comment on ja606 2020
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Congrats to Edinspur for being the thickeston the Spurs board.
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Annapolis’s most notorious nonce strikes again
posted on 15/11/20
comment by Jinja Ninja (U19849)
posted 1 minute ago
Think I've mentioned my family ar from south asia ways. Here is my experience of what I see people view of Britain from that neck of the woods.
Truthfully people over there held britian up to a certain standard. Almost copied in day to day life what they thought Brits were likely to do. The sense of justice and integrity of Brits was something I heard when very young.
Over the years that view wasn't shared as much. But overall british politicians were still seen as something to look up to. Even the likes of Imran Khan are lauded as he is well spoken and "looks like a politician" over any substance his policies may have.
The presidency and PM of Trump and Boris is what's made people think WTF? And has made not just Britain but America also a laughing stock.
Note here it's not their policies etc but just the person. The likes of modi and nawaz sharif were "expected" for India and Pakistan. These two are placed in the same category.
Basically they are seen as third world politicians
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This is the impression I get from my colleagues from India.
posted on 15/11/20
comment by Devonshirespur (U6316)
posted 5 minutes ago
comment by Clockwork Red (U4892)
posted 28 minutes ago
comment by Bales (U22081)
posted 28 minutes ago
From my experience, as a Brit that left a couple of years ago.. yeah we're a laughing stock. I've lost count the amount of times I've been asked about Brexit and had to go 'yeah, I know, it's dumb..'.
Cambridge Analytica really did a number on us.
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The phrase is used a lot, but we have literally voted to impose economic sanctions on ourselves and to be, at best, a bit poorer than we were, and we have done so for no tangible benefit (tangible to the majority of voters) that I know of. Why would you not laugh just a little bit at that?
If (God forbid), Joe Biden passed away just as he was about to enter office, and they decided to keep him as president for four years because “it’s what we voted for”, then I think you’d have the beginnings of a workable comparison with Brexit. I don’t support a second referendum, but not because I think it’s “I don’t believe that what was offered is available, so why offer it again? It’s too late to do anything about it now, but if Brexit isn’t workable without ridiculous upheaval and disruption, then even the fact that “people voted for it fairly” is not, I’m afraid, a good enough reason to go ahead with it. We tried and we can’t deliver it: simple.
I don’t complain about the 2016 result, because what’s the point? I do think it shouldn’t have gone to a referendum (and, if it did, only an advisory one), though I don’t really talk about it on social media because, again, what’s the point? But it will give me something to think about when I’m queueing outside the supermarket to fill my basket with a meagre selection of what’s available, or waiting for medical treatment I might otherwise have had, or sitting at home simply to save money because my disposable income has been whittled down.
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There are many sound reasons why leaving the EU is a good thing. Whether they out weigh the negative and the upheaval is the debate, but dont just focus on the draw backs. Of course it will be an upheaval, its how it works out in the end that matters. Like leaving a poor relationship. Divorce is often messy and costly but long term it usually leads to better things
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Yeah. I would think that everyone at this point is hoping for the best however they voted.
Thing is, to use your analogy, it's like divorcing your wife of 40 years who has always been there and despite the odd row everything was going along fine. Then one day you wake up and decide you're going to try Tinder and tell her you want a divorce while sending out a bunch of d!ck pics to whoever matches with you. Probably after a while you'll get a new 5hag and enjoy it, but everyone else is going to think you've gone a bit mental. Will you be happier in 5 years? Maybe? In the short term is eating microwave dinners in a one bedroom flat better? Either way you've fuct it with the wife and you're to proud to go back. So yeah. Fingers crossed eh.
posted on 15/11/20
Annapolis’s most notorious nonce strikes again
.......
?
posted on 15/11/20
comment by What would Stuart Pearce do? Rampant (U3126)
posted 46 minutes ago
comment by manusince52 (U9692)
posted 1 minute ago
comment by What would Stuart Pearce do? Rampant (U3126)
posted 3 minutes ago
comment by manusince52 (U9692)
posted 30 minutes ago
comment by Bales (U22081)
posted 1 minute ago
YMMV of course. You asked my experiences and that's the truth.
I'm on the West Coast so only Americans I've met have been from Washington, Oregon and California. Like I say, these aren't dumb people I meet (though interestingly the Italians I met playing football), they regularly know more about it than I do.
The Swiss guy I met was brutal about it. He's got a crazy CV of books on European politics, he's regularly on TV here, and is helping to write BCs new human rights legislation. He thinks it's facking stupid and I'm inclined to agree.
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Yet Switzerland is not a member and they do OK
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https://www.efta.int/about-efta/european-free-trade-association#:~:text=The%20European%20Free%20Trade%20Association%20(EFTA)%20is%20an%20intergovernmental%20organisation,trading%20partners%20around%20the%20globe.
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Any specific reason we can't join EFTA?
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The government ruled it out in 2016 as per their interpretation of the referendum result. The UK was actually a founding member of Efta.
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Yes, I knew that through work. I didn't know if we could rejoin. The then government said no, but a new one may say differently, after we haven't had a vote on that.
posted on 15/11/20
I was curious to see if I'd guaged Canadian opinions wrong.
https://ipolitics.ca/2016/07/23/canadians-overwhelmingly-think-brexit-will-be-bad-news-ekos/
https://newsroom.carleton.ca/2019/carleton-led-study-investigates-canadian-attitudes-towards-brexit-united-kingdom-and-european-union/
Interesting that the second, later article has a similar 'Brexit disapproval' rating but notes the political divide. Probably if I was in Alberta I'd have a different reality.
posted on 15/11/20
comment by manusince52 (U9692)
posted 1 hour, 7 minutes ago
comment by What would Stuart Pearce do? Rampant (U3126)
posted 46 minutes ago
comment by manusince52 (U9692)
posted 1 minute ago
comment by What would Stuart Pearce do? Rampant (U3126)
posted 3 minutes ago
comment by manusince52 (U9692)
posted 30 minutes ago
comment by Bales (U22081)
posted 1 minute ago
YMMV of course. You asked my experiences and that's the truth.
I'm on the West Coast so only Americans I've met have been from Washington, Oregon and California. Like I say, these aren't dumb people I meet (though interestingly the Italians I met playing football), they regularly know more about it than I do.
The Swiss guy I met was brutal about it. He's got a crazy CV of books on European politics, he's regularly on TV here, and is helping to write BCs new human rights legislation. He thinks it's facking stupid and I'm inclined to agree.
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Yet Switzerland is not a member and they do OK
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https://www.efta.int/about-efta/european-free-trade-association#:~:text=The%20European%20Free%20Trade%20Association%20(EFTA)%20is%20an%20intergovernmental%20organisation,trading%20partners%20around%20the%20globe.
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Any specific reason we can't join EFTA?
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The government ruled it out in 2016 as per their interpretation of the referendum result. The UK was actually a founding member of Efta.
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Yes, I knew that through work. I didn't know if we could rejoin. The then government said no, but a new one may say differently, after we haven't had a vote on that.
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Efta (along with Customs Union) would have protected the economy (and mitigated the Irish border problem).
However the government placed 'sovereignty' ahead of everything, which (IMO) will be remembered as one of the most illiterate decisions ever made by any UK government.
posted on 15/11/20
Im sick of tired been abroad and locals coming up to me and asking me basically the same question...
Brexit? WTF?
posted on 15/11/20
Rather naive to suggest or allude to the idea that elected parliamentary representatives create policy.
Not withstanding the reality that we live in a pluralist democracy anyway, policy is influenced, agended, designed by etc., a diverse range of groups including: public servants, pressure groups, scientists, academics, special interest parties, employee affiliations/federations, CBI etc, etc. The list is as long as long can be.
But mostly by the link between 'corporation's that sponsor the privately-owned 'mainstream media' outlets.
Johnson's a puppet. And that's not a judgement on his personality, because they all are.