So It Seems That Brexit Has Become a Category 5 Shitstorm

[Munch]

Buh Bye europe, at last I can tell my nephews, the soul sucking wrath angela merkel will no longer come after them.

[Mr.Obvious]

Have to hand it to Boris; that's finally over with.

Now for the transition period.

Brexit truly is the gift that keeps on giving.

[Baruch]

Buh Bye europe, at last I can tell my nephews, the soul sucking wrath angela merkel will no longer come after them.

Don't worry, MI6 etc watches everything y'all do.  GB is still a police state.  The Stazi have nothing on them.

[Baruch]

Have to hand it to Boris; that's finally over with.

Now for the transition period.

Brexit truly is the gift that keeps on giving.

Nobody knows how the next 11 months will work out.  Tories you know.  The problem for the EU is ... will they lose fishing rights in UK waters ... and will Germany suck up the lost income from GB (1 billion pounds per month) or will your Berlin overlords charge it on the small members.  I don't think that GB finance will be moving to Frankfurt anytime soon.  Deutchebank has some bad loans to clear itself.

[SGOS]

Have to hand it to Boris; that's finally over with.

Now for the transition period.

Brexit truly is the gift that keeps on giving.

I haven't been following recently, so I had to look at something from the BBC to see if it's actually over.  The way I read it is that Brexit is now done, except it's not.  I thought Jan 31 would be it, and it is, except it's not.  From what I read, there could be another 2 years of Brexit, either fallout or aftermath, and while I didn't read this, I'm imagining more deals sought, agreements just out of reach, disenchanted UK citizens, extended deadlines, transfers of political powers, and more wrangling.  This is the kind of stuff I expect in the US, but apparently things do get lively in Europe too.

[Munch]

I haven't been following recently, so I had to look at something from the BBC to see if it's actually over.  The way I read it is that Brexit is now done, except it's not.  I thought Jan 31 would be it, and it is, except it's not.  From what I read, there could be another 2 years of Brexit, either fallout or aftermath, and while I didn't read this, I'm imagining more deals sought, agreements just out of reach, disenchanted UK citizens, extended deadlines, transfers of political powers, and more wrangling.  This is the kind of stuff I expect in the US, but apparently things do get lively in Europe too.

its just basically building the foundation of brexit which is now complete, all that comes after now is whats being built up though negotiations without the complications of 'will it won't it' thrown in.

[Shiranu]

At this point... as long as it doesn't respark conflict between the Irish and the colonizers, let the U.K. shoot itself in the foot as much as it would like. They avoided a hard border, so hopefully things over there can remain mostly business as usual.

[Baruch]

its just basically building the foundation of brexit which is now complete, all that comes after now is whats being built up though negotiations without the complications of 'will it won't it' thrown in.

Still possible for no-deal Brexit between now and end of 2020.  Hopefully the EU won't self immolate.

Militant IRA looking for any excuse.  They already said, the partial border is a declaration of war by GB.  This is why the British Empire used to shanghai all the young men into the Royal Navy and British Army, and send them to India.

[Baruch]

"Negative Rates Are Forcing German Banks To Hoard So Much Cash They're Running Out Of Space" ... the failing German economy ;-(

[trdsf]

Okay, UK, you're out.

Betcha you'll be back inside 20 years.  This is without question the dumbest foreign policy move by the UK since Chamberlain went to Munich.  So good luck, you're gonna need it.

[Mr.Obvious]

Okay, UK, you're out.

Betcha you'll be back inside 20 years.  This is without question the dumbest foreign policy move by the UK since Chamberlain went to Munich.  So good luck, you're gonna need it.

Not so sure, the transition period alone may take well over 20 years at this rate. They might not be truly out by then.

No but seriously, I honestly believe all partners will be worse off when the dust settles. But not sure if GB will want to return ever. even if it means being 'worse off'.
As long as you believe you are better off or have some high ground you may not wish to return to how it was. Animal farm comes to mind as an extreme and perhaps too harsh example.

[Baruch]

Okay, UK, you're out.

Betcha you'll be back inside 20 years.  This is without question the dumbest foreign policy move by the UK since Chamberlain went to Munich.  So good luck, you're gonna need it.

Communism is inevitable - Karl Marx

If they want to be proper communists, don't join the EU, join China.  China has competent communism.  EU does not.

[Baruch]

Not so sure, the transition period alone may take well over 20 years at this rate. They might not be truly out by then.

No but seriously, I honestly believe all partners will be worse off when the dust settles. But not sure if GB will want to return ever. even if it means being 'worse off'.
As long as you believe you are better off or have some high ground you may not wish to return to how it was. Animal farm comes to mind as an extreme and perhaps too harsh example.

"End of history" takes infinity years.  Let us define "out" as "end of history".  This is essentially a Marxist definition of history (it is the economy stupid, as defined by French Revolution), with a realistic timeline ;-)  Yes, Belgium needs more class war.  Who is King Leopold I?  You aren't even a republic.  Status quo (28 years of EU) usually holds, except when it doesn't.  GB leaving is a black swan (not being in the Euro helped).  Depending on how the Reich responds to the pain coming, more countries will leave.  Germany may leave.  The British Empire was usually a net negative ... the colonies cost more than they were worth.  German demographics and productivity is why GB declared war on Germany, twice.  The German Empire is the same, even the French are an albatross around the neck of Germany.

Unfortunately, if the point is "my people better off economically" you can either work harder and cheaper than China (at the butt end of the New Silk Road) ... or you need to colonize an inferior country.  Can Belgium conquer Slovenia, enslave its population like Catalonia?  It isn't inevitable you will be socialist, let alone prosperous.  The Marxist idea is that Capitalism is run by Scrooge McDuck, and the commissars just need to distribute all the gold in Scrooge's vault.  This is why Germany wants to confiscate all the private gold in Germany, and strangle Switzerland to death.  France also has a lot of private gold, and Germany won't let Italy leave unless it gives up its "state" gold supply.  Gotta back that Deutchmark with something more real than Bitcoin.

PS regarding Gibraltar.  Good thing the Germany army is like the US army in 1939.  The most recent German Army exercise, too many of their military vehicles were in need of repair.  And some Wehrmacht had to do the maneuvers in their private cars.  In 1939, the US army used logs for cannon and brooms for guns.

[SGOS]

I honestly believe all partners will be worse off when the dust settles. But not sure if GB will want to return ever. even if it means being 'worse off'.
As long as you believe you are better off or have some high ground you may not wish to return to how it was. Animal farm comes to mind as an extreme and perhaps too harsh example.

I don't know who will be better off if anyone, but I think your description of the psychology involved is spot on.  And I'll speculate that the psychology holds true across all world cultures.  The problem is that politics is not based on reality.  It's based on human desires.  OK, that human desires exist is a reality, but it's one step away from actual reality.  It's perception, not reality.  Also, I think it will get worse with the internet and other forms of communications that promote fake news, fake facts, conspiracy theory, and does not differentiate between reality and any hair brained thought that farkles  through the mind of any cognitively impaired dumb ass. 

With that kind of information pervading the media, I wouldn't expect anyone to know who actually benefits from Brexit, if anyone.  In the end, people only care if they feel like they benefit. 

[SGOS]

https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2020/01/britain-brexit-boris-johnson-influence-control/605734/?utm_source=pocket-newtab

I had to slog through this article from the Atlantic, because like the NY Times, the Atlantic does not lend itself to skimming.  Call it confirmation bias, because it confirms my right to be confused.  No one knows if Brexit is good or bad for the UK.  There may be things to gain, but things that are lost.  But "maybe" pervades any and all conclusions.  I watched in wonder when the EU was formed, but only with an interested curiosity.  Most of the limited input I got from others was enthusiastic glee.  The unbounded enthusiasm itself, made me skeptical.  Too me, it was an experiment, that would only be judged later as a success or failure.

The conclusion reported by the Atlantic was that the result of Brexit would probably not be a catastrophic collapse for the UK, but at worst a slow puncture.  I guess this paints a picture of net loss, but I don't think it was the Atlantic's intention to support that opinion.  The slow puncture analogy was based on a quote from a former conservative supporter of British autonomy, now turned in favor of the EU, and to me that suggests an opinion from someone who is not quite sure about what is happening.

But another perception of mine is that things which cannot be proven true or false become the most hotly contested debates leading to outright contempt for the opposing ideas, which themselves cannot be proven true or false.   Most people can agree to some degree on facts, but will defend their opinions with unusual vigor.