Okay, so I'll try to give an impartial (and short) explanation, mate.
Brexit, ( or British exit from the EU) is either a disaster or a huge opportuntiy depending on which side of the argument you fall. It's clearly a disaster for the EU, as the UK is the 2nd largest contributor to the EU's budget (we are the worlds 5th largest economy), we have the worlds 4th largest military budget, the largest foreign and diplomatic service (even bigger than the US, I believe), we head the Commonweath and as a nuclear power, have a permanent seat on the UN security Council. We are also United States closest ally and strongest friend. All of this will be lost to the EU.
The EU on the other hand offer's the worlds largest tarrif free trading block (the single market). As current members of the EU, the UK has tarrif free access to the single market. But it cost us £13 billion last year, just to be a member !.
The referendum debate centered around the fact that the single market is good for our economy v's the the massive and uncontrolled immigration that we get in the UK from other, much poorer EU states. This is because being a member of the single market forces you to accept the free movement of people. In other words, any EU national can live, work or travel in any other EU nation. Nation states and their elected parliments have no control over the numbers. The UK for example, currently has over 3 million EU nationals working here. Thats WORKING not LIVING. The number living here is believed to be much higher.
The EU is also largely seen as being democraticaly bankrupt and unaccountable. The Commision President (Mr Junker) for example, is an unelected mandarin who cannot be removed from his position. However, the EU has been given law making powers from Nation States through various treaties. This allows them to force laws on national parliments without any consent from the electorate or their representatives.
It's also worth pointing out that the UK may not be the last EU member to leave. Anti-EU feeling is strong accross the continent. But many hope that the UK leaving may be a wake up call that things need to change.
There are far more issues than just the one's I've mentioned, but that's largely where the debate fell.
Hope that helps.
Impartial my arse. You conveniently left out the financial benefits of EU membership that go along with the "£13 billion membership fee", including the amount you receive back (£4.5bn), most of which is agricultural subsidies and support for the poorer parts of the UK. I suppose those £13 billion extra in the budget are going to go to the NHS, the farmers and the poor are they?
Let's also not forget things like financial passporting (London is a major international finance hub, home to many a multinational EU corporation), NHS staffing, skilled labourers, your already uncompetitive car industry etc and so on.
The EU being democratically bankrupt and unaccountable is also amusing to hear coming from a country that has hereditary and unelected (including religious figures) parliamentarians (house of lords), and an undemocratic election system.
Anti-EU feelings are strong across Europe because of anti-intellectual populist human sewage like Nigel Farage, who bashes the EU and Johhny Foreigner while at the same time enjoying an EU salary and all the benefits that go along with being a Member of the European Parliament.
If you notice, I never said I was for or against remaining in the EU. I also pointed out the benefits of the sinlge market as well as the cons. I'm glad you indicated that we get back £4.5 billion of our OWN money though. It's just too bad we get told how we have to spend it.
I've no intention of being drawn into an argument though. Everyone is entitled to their opinion.
Is anyone here informed of why the brexit is so devistating? its hard to understand whats going on when you dont live in europe. the only news i get about it here is this stream of one sided arguments or exagerations. so if someone can explain to me why its a major disaster i would be very grateful. what i do know is that England is a world power, they never really followed the European currency anyway, since they use the pound, they conduct alot of trade, and thats about all i know. however whenever i see internet news about whats going on in europe i always see something like "whats putin up to!" or "germany is angry at (insert country here) again!" and at the bottom of these articles, among others, is just a hot flame war of europeans from different countries getting angry at each over. so if anyone has a nice answer about whats going on with this Brexit thing i would be grateful.
Okay, so I'll try to give an impartial (and short) explanation, mate.
Brexit, ( or British exit from the EU) is either a disaster or a huge opportuntiy depending on which side of the argument you fall. It's clearly a disaster for the EU, as the UK is the 2nd largest contributor to the EU's budget (we are the worlds 5th largest economy), we have the worlds 4th largest military budget, the largest foreign and diplomatic service (even bigger than the US, I believe), we head the Commonweath and as a nuclear power, have a permanent seat on the UN security Council. We are also United States closest ally and strongest friend. All of this will be lost to the EU.
The EU on the other hand offer's the worlds largest tarrif free trading block (the single market). As current members of the EU, the UK has tarrif free access to the single market. But it cost us £13 billion last year, just to be a member !.
The referendum debate centered around the fact that the single market is good for our economy v's the the massive and uncontrolled immigration that we get in the UK from other, much poorer EU states. This is because being a member of the single market forces you to accept the free movement of people. In other words, any EU national can live, work or travel in any other EU nation. Nation states and their elected parliments have no control over the numbers. The UK for example, currently has over 3 million EU nationals working here. Thats WORKING not LIVING. The number living here is believed to be much higher.
The EU is also largely seen as being democraticaly bankrupt and unaccountable. The Commision President (Mr Junker) for example, is an unelected mandarin who cannot be removed from his position. However, the EU has been given law making powers from Nation States through various treaties. This allows them to force laws on national parliments without any consent from the electorate or their representatives.
It's also worth pointing out that the UK may not be the last EU member to leave. Anti-EU feeling is strong accross the continent. But many hope that the UK leaving may be a wake up call that things need to change.
There are far more issues than just the one's I've mentioned, but that's largely where the debate fell.
@cale: Yeah, we learned quite a lot about both WW1 and WW2 at school (along with Korea and the Cold War). There were even summer trips with the school across to France and Belgium to visit famous Battlefields and the British and Commonwealth War memorials at places like Ypres, Salient.
That was at a UK school as well, mate. Although Scotland has it's own curriculum, so it may have been a little different from what you might have had. But more importantly, it was my family who made sure that I understood the true significance of what my Grandfathers and Great-Grandfathers generations had gone through and all they had sacrificed.
@flagsdev: Cheers for that, mate. I assumed that there HAD to be something in the US schools curriculum that covered the World Wars. I totally understand that for many kids it would be about as interesting as watching paint dry, but at least you absorbed SOME of the information. I just found it astonishing that any enlightened adult would have next to no knowledge about the horrors that engulfed the World in the last century. Maybe I'm just old fashioned though. lol
@cale: I'm just genuinely perplexed as to how they can know almost nothing about probably the darkest period in human history. I wasn't trying to be funny or a smart arse when I asked if they don't teach history in US schools. I'm seriously curious.
How the hell can you guy's know so little about the First and Second World Wars ?. A period in history that cost the World close to 100 million dead and shaped the decades that followed. What on earth does the American education system teach ?.
I've been playing a fair amount of Battleborn and I'm really enjoying my time with it. It's by no means the best game ever made or even the best game Gearbox has put out, but it's not the stinker that the crew are portaying it as. I feel like Gearbox and 2K really lost control of their messaging somewhere down the line.
For those of you who are interested in the game but are unsure if it's for you, I'd recommend you check out the video that TotalBiscuit did on it. It's really well put together and covers alot of the misconceptions that folks have about it.
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