Well, I woke up today (June 24) to find out that the world has changed: Britain’s citizens voted to leave the EU in the Brexit referendum (technically, the result isn’t legally binding) and David Cameron has resigned as prime minister. Matthew has a few choice things to say about that, so hold your comments and discussion until I put up his post. In the meantime, let us first console ourselves with kittens listening to music:
On this day in history, besides Brits voting themselves into a disaster (2016), we have the first performance of the song O Canada in 1880. And, in 1916, the deadly battle of the Somme began.
Those born on this day include Fred Hoyle (1915), Anita Desai (1937), Mick Fleetwood (1947) and Lionel Messi (1987). Those who died on June 24 include Grover Cleveland (1908), Jackie Gleason (1987) and Paul Winchell (2005; who remembers him?) Meanwhile in Dobrzyn, the dialogue between cat and dog is puzzling. I asked Malgorzata for clarification and got this:
Cyrus probably mixes up “threshold value” with the concept of a threshold of pain. Hili answers that she can tolerate everything which doesn’t demand from her a swift action with her paw.
Ergo:
Cyrus: What is the threshold value of a cats’ tolerance?Hili: Anything below a pat with a paw is OK.
Cyrus: Jaka jest wartość progowa kociej tolerancji?
Hili: Wszystko poniżej pacnięcia łapą.
Yes – Brexit – possibly the end of a United Kingdom, with a united Ireland perhaps & Scotland to divorce from the union as well…
Yes, the UK has decided to become crazy town.
Yes, how dare the citizens of a country decide they’d like to govern themselves rather than be dictated to by a corrupt clique of unelected oligarchs.
Brexit is just the first step in the downfall of the EU. The unsolvable euro crisis and the equally unsolvable (within the EU) migrant crisis will hopefully cause the whole rotten structure to crash within a decade, possibly much less.
As a pro-Brexit Englishman I say that if the Scots want to go it alone, good riddance – and please take Northern Ireland with you when you leave.
Welcome to the monkey house.
Not like Ireland isn’t going to try an poach companies and jobs on the back of this….
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/morgan-stanley-brexit-eu-referendum-jobs-dublin-frankfurt-a7100911.html the first of many
It reminds me of the old adage “monkey see, monkey poo”.
So many Little Englanders left. When I moved to Canada, many years back, I had regrets. No more. I see what is left of the UK declining into irrelevance and am sorry for it but happy in my choice of a new home for my family. Egalitarian and forward looking. Most of the time anyway.
And I have chipmunks popping up every time I go into the garage, wanting more seed.
“What’s left of the UK….”
Just to remind you, England is many times bigger and richer than Scotland, Wales and Ireland put together. Wales voted Leave, alongside England, and will manage just fine together, whatever the Scots and Northern Irish decide to do.
I note that young people voted 75% to ztay. They could see the advantages of freedom of movement and employment. I read kon England and Wales will be sorry for what they have done. Little England rules.
The rise of English nationalism is both scary and sad. But it seems to be a reflection of a similar rise throughout Europe. Do we have to go through another European war to remind ourselves that working together is better. Because, and I dearly hope I am wrong, war is what I can see at the end of the path if the EU breaks up.
Personally I think the Disjointed Kingdom will fit its disinterested members.
But how populism, which is dictated by an even more corrupt clique of ‘unelected’ oligarchs than democracy could ever be, would be the answer for them is a mystery to me.
Oh well, this can only strengthen EU.
[What “migrant crisis”? Yes, it is a humanitarian crisis for them, but there isn’t any more immigrants this last decade than the one before.
And the refugees has been shown to generate more capital than they cost wherever they are, interestingly also when located in camps, so not welcoming them is doing ourselves a disfavor.
More populist ‘answers’, I guess.]
If refugees indeed generate capital, then it is a mystery why Ms. Merkel, after inviting them, is now trying to dump them on other countries, threatening the unwilling with stratospheric fines.
+ 1. I am shocked by the poor arguments and hostile emotions expressed towards the people of England and Wales for exercising their freedom.
Nonsense. Nobody is complaining of them “exercising their freedom”. People are complaining about their poor judgement. I trust you will acknowledge the difference.
Exercising freedom, by definition, includes the right to make a poor judgement about one’s own life. Hence, respecting other people’s freedom includes accepting their judgements, unless they affect you or a 3rd party.
I am amazed that there are so many opponents of a vote that affects only the voters (i.e. the British), while 2 months ago, a EU nation cast a vote specifically to harm another nation, victim of military aggression – and not a peep!
There is no need to respect the judgements of others if you think the judgement is really bad. One can respect the right to make bad judgements without respecting the results of votes like this. To argue as you are doing is to equate “majority” with “correct”. Majorities often make bad choices and we have no obligation to pretend bad decisions are good.
I should add that this vote affects many more people than the British. A crashing UK economy will not be limited to the UK.
Not that there aren’t winners. An American tourist in the UK right now would probably be rather pleased by the change in the exchange rate.
Clever cat.
Don’t be redikerous! How could I forget the voice of Tigger, Jerry Mahoney, and Knucklehead Smith?!?
I was pleased and surprised to learn from the Wikipedia entry (if accurate) that, in addition to his entertainment career, Winchell was an inventor with 30 patents, one of these being an early version of an artificial heart! On the negative side, Wikipedia also states that he worked as an acupuncturist and as a medical hypnotist, and had a rather unhappy personal life.
This despite the joy he gave to millions with his boisterous and delightful voice acting.
Jackie Gleason – the great one. More talent there than most remember. Wish he had not found it necessary to be in a couple of very low class movies after he got old. Maybe he needed the money?
Gleason’s movie with Tom Hanks was spot on. For me, it was a sad, accurate picture of an uncommunicative, alcoholic father just like mine.
Agree, I was thinking more of those smoky and the bandit things.
I would disagree with the disaster moniker.
The EU has become an ever more intrusive, undemocratic and unelected authoritarian structure. Brussels (or rather technocrats in Brussels) decided what’s best for everyone (including, BTW, internet censorship).
There is an economic price to pay in the short term, but in this case I agree with Trump, the Brits are getting their country back.
The bombardment on the Somme started today. The catastrophic first day was on July 1