One gets the impression that Brexit Britain is like a wild animal caught in a steel trap, driven wild with pain and frustration, gnawing at its own limbs in order to escape while growling and snapping at those who would try to free it. Except in this scenario, the beast laid the trap itself and knowingly stepped into the jaws, having convinced itself that somehow it could manage to pass through unharmed. The latest news from the BBC gives more evidence of the United Kingdom’s frenzied thinking, as unnamed officials warn their opposite numbers in the European Union that they must adopt a more flexible position, conceding to the UK’s withdrawal proposals, however fantastical, if good relations are to be maintained between both parties:
“The risk is that, if they follow down this track, putting conditions on our unconditional offers and trying to insult us, the EU will end up with a relationship with its third biggest economy and largest security partner that lets down millions of citizens in the EU and UK.”
This is Trumpian-style diplomacy, complete with plaintive whining about “insults” and injured national pride, not to mention vague threats of future repercussions if certain demands are not met. Speaking of inane politics, from the “Crimea” of Western Europe, the ultra-right Democratic Unionist Party is reviving the dispute over the maritime boundary line between Ireland and the UK in the Irish estuary of Lough Foyle. Also from a report by the BBC:
…the DUP has blamed Dublin for the stalemate.
The party’s Foyle MLA Gary Middleton said it was “time Dublin respected the UK waters”.
“Dublin needs to take a step back because the UK government has always taken the stance that its waters run right up to the high-tide mark on the Donegal shore and that should be the way its maintained,” he said.
To be clear, the DUP and the British authorities are claiming that the United Kingdom’s territorial waters in the locality run literally up to the high-water mark on the shore of County Donegal. Which of course lies in the sovereign and independent nation-state of Ireland. So, not only is the UK continuing to occupy the north-eastern Six Counties but it insists that the occupation extends to the neighbouring beaches of Donegal in the west!
Did I say the politics of Donald Trump? More like the politics of Vladimir Putin.
AN SIONNACH FIONN 
I think you’re being a bit unfair to Vladimir Putin. I don’t imagine he’s any nicer than most multi-millionaire politicians, but he is doing his best to protect the interests of his own country against a “Western” alliance which wants to control and/or exploit Russia again as it did under Yeltsin. Unlike the DUP and tory parties, which are merely interested in promoting their own members at the expense of their fellow-countrymen (country people?)
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Putin intervened in tow neighbouring countries, Georgia and Ukraine. The fear that he and Russia will use the pretext of protecting Russian speaking minorities in the Baltic countries binds these countries to NATO. (Oh I think NATO should be dissolved. Every regime in every country claims to be protecting their countries interests. We should only support countries that are not empires. This excludes the USA, Russia et al.
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The usual howls of jealousy and hatred from IRA groupies If Leo thinks the UK will provide or pay for the non existent Irish border he is mistaken He would do better to demand the EU provide and pay for the non existent border, they wont they’ll just add it to the bill they will shortly present to the south and the south, such obedient little cretins will pay Germany and France rule the EU the English are kinder and more generous…
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And how is the UK going to abide by the rules of the WTO, unless it is going to walk away from that international organisation as well? Who is it going to take up the slack on 44% of UK exports if it is squeezed out of the European Union’s common market through disadvantageous trading agreements, or worse, launches a trade war with the bloc?
The UK market is worth 17% and falling to the EU. You think it won’t find replacement markets in Australasia, China, India and so on? All of which are eager for reciprocal agreements with the post-Brexit EU.
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Repeating the Daily Express waffle
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+1 PG. As ASF says, and this was said by Ivan Rogers only this week, time people wised up about what the WTO requires. And that means the British cannot walk away from their responsibilities. Though I can well imagine that fantasy land is more congenial to some pro-Brexit proponents than the messy and contradictory reality that is opening up.
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Write run on sentences much? I find it fascinating russian bots infect even sites such as this. Learn to use a period, Vlad.
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Just on a lighter note, Boris Johnson Pranked by Russians in 18 minute phone call, shows the slimy side of Boris
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Móran taing dhuibh, a Shionnaich! This post along with all the useful links is IMO very helpful in getting a balanced (is that even possible?!) view of the totally shooglie clusterthingy the UK have got themselves into. All the links are well worth reading. Maybe in the end Ireland will Foyle Brexit? You know, this might even be fun 😉
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May I add another useful link, that I’m reading just now :
https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/politics/take-it-from-the-swiss-the-brexit-referendum-wasnt-legitimate
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“David Cameron drew up a textbook example of a referendum done wrong: asking an ill-informed electorate to choose between a costly and constraining EU marriage full of unsavoury compromises and a fantasized Brexit-with-benefits. The utter vagueness of the Leave option allowed their campaign to cast the widest net of all, encouraging each voter to keep their most favourable version of Brexit in mind, however far that may be from the Leave politicians’ intentions.”
“This was an act of political genius. It allowed hard and soft Brexiteers, free-market fundamentalists and protectionists, open-door internationalist and xenophobes to all joyously add their votes together and stick it to the EU.”
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