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Did I misunderstand something? Did the article talk about the EU as just "the bloc"? Maybe I've been reading a bit too much about past communist countries late

Did I misunderstand something? Did the article talk about the EU as just "the bloc"? Maybe I've been reading a bit too much about past communist countries lately... Is that expression common to be used for EU, or groups of countries in general, or is that just the Telegraph being the Telegraph?

avar 9y ago
In the sense of a "trade bloc" it's common parlance that has nothing to do with communism: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trade_bloc https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trade_bloc
jonathonf 9y ago
> is that just the Telegraph being the Telegraph? Yes. It has its nickname for a reason.
- B1FF_PSUVM 9y ago
  "Fog in Channel - Continent Cut Off" (An old joke, usually said to be a Times headline.)
Fnoord 9y ago
The Independent ran this story on January 29 2018 [1], and doesn't have a paywall (for me). They're also using the "bloc" terminology. Given [2] they're likely referring to political bloc, not "Eastern Bloc". There's also the term "Western Bloc" [3]. Clicking the "political bloc" item on [2] leads to political alliance [4] and reads: "A political alliance, also referred to as a political coalition, political bloc, is an agreement for cooperation between different political parties on common political agenda, often for purposes of contesting an election to mutually benefit by collectively clearing election thresholds, or otherwise benefiting from characteristics of the voting system or for government formation after elections." Not sure how appropriate the terminology is in this context... [EDIT: "Trade bloc" is probably the correct terminology, but I'll leave my post as-is.] PS: I also found a video about the subject on The Independent from March 22 2018 about this subject [5] but I cannot listen to it right now so I don't know the contents. [1] http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/gibraltar-brexit-veto-theresa-may-eu-deal-terms-chief-minister-fabian-picardo-spain-border-a8183946.html http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/gibraltar-brex... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloc https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloc [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Bloc https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Bloc [4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_alliance https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_alliance [5] https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-latest-gibraltar-uk-eu-talks-david-davis-spain-border-customs-a8267911.html https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-latest...
sebow 9y ago
Besides the fact that Telegraph is being "Telegraph", i can also say that EU is becoming year by year more like "the bloc", though only in few countries right now even if the EU policies "must" apply to all member countries. Also you have to keep in mind the bias from MSM when it comes to brexit and similar topics, besides from few UK outlets it's not even questionable at this point.
petraeus 9y ago
Its a common term, just because a communist used it doesnt make the word commie

avar 9y ago

In the sense of a "trade bloc" it's common parlance that has nothing to do with communism: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trade_bloc https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trade_bloc

jonathonf 9y ago

> is that just the Telegraph being the Telegraph? Yes. It has its nickname for a reason.

B1FF_PSUVM 9y ago
"Fog in Channel - Continent Cut Off" (An old joke, usually said to be a Times headline.)

Fnoord 9y ago

The Independent ran this story on January 29 2018 [1], and doesn't have a paywall (for me). They're also using the "bloc" terminology. Given [2] they're likely referring to political bloc, not "Eastern Bloc". There's also the term "Western Bloc" [3]. Clicking the "political bloc" item on [2] leads to political alliance [4] and reads: "A political alliance, also referred to as a political coalition, political bloc, is an agreement for cooperation between different political parties on common political agenda, often for purposes of contesting an election to mutually benefit by collectively clearing election thresholds, or otherwise benefiting from characteristics of the voting system or for government formation after elections." Not sure how appropriate the terminology is in this context... [EDIT: "Trade bloc" is probably the correct terminology, but I'll leave my post as-is.] PS: I also found a video about the subject on The Independent from March 22 2018 about this subject [5] but I cannot listen to it right now so I don't know the contents. [1] http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/gibraltar-brexit-veto-theresa-may-eu-deal-terms-chief-minister-fabian-picardo-spain-border-a8183946.html http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/gibraltar-brex... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloc https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloc [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Bloc https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Bloc [4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_alliance https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_alliance [5] https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-latest-gibraltar-uk-eu-talks-david-davis-spain-border-customs-a8267911.html https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-latest...

sebow 9y ago

Besides the fact that Telegraph is being "Telegraph", i can also say that EU is becoming year by year more like "the bloc", though only in few countries right now even if the EU policies "must" apply to all member countries. Also you have to keep in mind the bias from MSM when it comes to brexit and similar topics, besides from few UK outlets it's not even questionable at this point.

petraeus 9y ago

Its a common term, just because a communist used it doesnt make the word commie