COLLECTIVE MADNESS


“Soft despotism is a term coined by Alexis de Tocqueville describing the state into which a country overrun by "a network of small complicated rules" might degrade. Soft despotism is different from despotism (also called 'hard despotism') in the sense that it is not obvious to the people."

Monday, June 27, 2016

Brexit - Who will blink first?


Merkel says no formal or informal talks before UK triggers Article 50 to withdraw from EU

© John MACDOUGALL, AFP | French President François Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Italy's Prime Minister Matteo Renzi ahead of Brexit talks in Berlin, on June 27, 2016 
Text by NEWS WIRES
Latest update : 2016-06-27

The leaders of Germany, France and Italy vowed Monday "a new impulse" for the EU as it reels from Brexit and told London that the bloc would make no deals before Britain formally decides to leave.

The EU's three most populous continental nations signalled that the UK must first take the plunge of invoking Article 50 to exit before it can negotiate its future trade and other ties with the bloc.
Chancellor Angela Merkel -- hosting French President Francois Hollande and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi in Berlin -- said that "we agreed on this, that there will be no informal or formal talks on the exit of Britain until an application has been filed to leave the European Union".
British finance minister George Osborne had said earlier that his country should only activate Article 50 when it has a "clear view" of its future relations with the bloc.
Merkel also stressed that "there must be no period of uncertainty" that is prolonged, and that the EU must counter "centrifugal forces" in other EU countries pushing to leave the union.
Hollande, somewhat more bluntly, urged Britain to "not waste time" in triggering the process to leave, arguing that it was to all parties' benefit to move forward quickly.
"Being responsible means not wasting time -- not wasting time in dealing with the question of Britain's departure, not wasting time too in putting in place the new stimulus that we need to give to the European Union, that is to say, the 27 members."
"Because nothing is worse than uncertainty," he added. "Uncertainty generates often irrational behaviour. Uncertainty also leads financial markets to act irrationally."
'Delivering prosperity'
In a joint statement the leaders said they "regret that the United Kingdom will no longer be our partner within the European Union" but said confidently that the EU "is strong enough to find the right answers".
On the eve of a Brussels summit, they urged steps among the remaining 27 members to jointly boost cooperation on internal and external security as well as the economy and programmes to help youths.
Merkel vowed that the remaining members would push on with the European project, saying that "we will suggest to our (EU) colleagues that we should put in place a new impulse ... in the coming months".
She called for unity and urged a new collective push for cooperation in areas that included "defence, growth or jobs and competitiveness".
The focus should be on internal and external security, counter-terrorism and protecting the EU's external borders, she said, adding that "a second focus is on the economy, growth and competitiveness".
Renzi said that "it is clear that we have to respect the sovereign decision of the British people but at the same time, there has to be a strategy for the months to come".
"We are a big family and we need to reassure the members of the family. But there is also a great need to remodel the European project in the coming years... Things need to move forward."
In their joint statement the three leaders said they would push for greater cooperation on security issues, including "developing our European defence and taking necessary engagements on joint operations".
They also said Europe must "keep its promise on delivering prosperity to its citizens".
To do so, eurozone nations should "take new steps if necessary to reinforce growth, competitiveness, employment, and convergence including in the social and fiscal areas".
A key target group would be to reduce massive youth unemployment in several EU nations, they said, stressing that "Europe would not succeed unless it gives hope to its youth".
The proposed reforms would be the subject of a September summit, with a view to the implementing them within six months.
(AFP)

13 comments:

  1. I'm sure by now most of you have heard the racist rant by the mixed race Jesse Williams while accepting his BET award. A racist award and racist event in itself. Where is our resident race Nazi when we need him? Poor blue-eyed Jesse is the victim of "Whiteness." My Goodness......

    ReplyDelete
  2. "Frexit" is what has them scared to death.

    Polling suggests that it would also pass.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm hoping for "Swedix". Might help the Swedes, the idiots, get their immigration disaster under control, if it's not already too late.

      Delete
  3. The Pew survey shows a split in EU favorability, but that doesn't tell the entire story. EU approval is still fairly high in parts of Eastern Europe where it's seen as a bulwark against Russia.

    ...

    But in France, the question isn't one of national autonomy. There's a lot of support for returning powers to the national government, but less so than in many pro-EU nations.

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  4. As long as NATO continues why get excited if the EU implodes ?

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    Replies
    1. RISE OF GERMAN SUPERSTATE:
      EU MEMBERS TO DISSOLVE ARMIES
      SURRENDER ECONOMIC POWER....DRUDGE


      Perhaps Frau Fuhrer Merkel will fulfill Adoph's dream of a European continent under the Hunish boot.

      Napoleon failed, Hitler failed but Merkel may succeed.

      Delete
  5. Quirk was a member of this group, in fact claimed to be the engineering supervisor of the project, and painted some of the murals himself. This was in what he called his 'secret time' aka his 'DSL' time, as he also referred to it, before he rejoined society at large, and began contributing to The Elephant Bar.

    ***************


    Inside the Nine-Room Temple Buried Beneath the Italian Alps

    Exploring Damanhur's Temples of Humankind

    In 1978, the followers of Oberto Airaudi, founder of a cult-like group the Federation of Damanhur, began secretly digging at the foothills of the Italian Alps. When police raided the site in 1991, they were stunned to find a series of underground chambers ornately decorated with psychedelic new-age paintings. The nine rooms, some with 25-foot-high ceilings, were built over a 15-year period with the help 150 people, none of whom had architectural experience.

    After Airaudi failed to cooperate with local authorities in navigating the underground structure, the local prosecutor threatened to demolish the structure only to be persuaded later to allow the followers of Damanhur to continue construction. Today, the Temples of Damanhur has five floors and reaches 100 feet below the surface at its deepest point. Located about 30 miles north of Turin, it has become a tourist attraction and is often referred to as “the 8th wonder of the world.” Take a short visual tour of the temples below and then watch a video on Damanhur at the bottom to learn more.

    http://www.realclearlife.com/2016/06/27/inside-the-nine-room-temple-buried-beneath-the-italian-alps/

    ReplyDelete
  6. UNDER DAVID Cameron’s leadership, Britain’s importance as a U.S. ally has steadily diminished. His government was slow in joining the campaign against the Islamic State and has played no significant role in resisting Russian aggression in Ukraine.

    ...

    In the meantime, the United States can best support Britain, and Europe, by becoming a more active and vocal leader of the NATO alliance, which will retain Britain as a member. If the European Union is weakening or even in danger of crumbling, to the delight of Vladi­mir Putin, Mr. Xi and other adversaries, then one antidote is a reinforced transatlantic military partnership that bridges the incipient gap between London and the continent.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I disagree and would say:

      Under O'bozo's leadership, Britain's importance as a U.S. ally has steadily diminished.

      Delete
  7. Federal Judge: Constitution Outdated, 'No Value' Studying It....DRUDGE

    If The Criminal gets in, soon the majority on the Supreme Court will be saying exactly the same thing.

    We're hanging by a slender thread.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dem Party Platform Calls For Prosecuting 'Global Warming' Skeptics....DRUDGE

      "If totalitarianism comes to the USA it will come from the left not the right"

      from 'The Immortal Sayings of Farmer Bob'

      Delete
    2. Idaho rape: Obama prosecutor 'silencing Americans with threats of arrest'....DRUDGE

      Repeat after me:

      If... totalitarianism... ...to the... USA... it... will... come... from... the... left... not... the... right...

      Delete
  8. The Greens have announced a $200 million policy to set-up a specialist firefighting unit within the Australian Defence Force.

    ...

    "The science is clear - global warming means hotter, drier summers, with more dry lightning strikes, and therefore more bushfires," Senator Nick McKim said in Hobart on Tuesday.

    ReplyDelete