4 ms·

You can see the EU a little bit like a microservice mesh standard; once your microservice is integrated, data flows, resource sharing, statistics/observability,

by jka 4y ago

You can see the EU a little bit like a microservice mesh standard; once your microservice is integrated, data flows, resource sharing, statistics/observability, and so on become easier in various ways, although you may have to adapt to common standards. In legal and practical terms, the UK is still currently strongly compatible with the EU, despite Brexit. Another way to look at the situation: the UK is currently in an early fork stage of the codebase, and remains more-or-less compatible. The biggest opportunity from Brexit -- which, strangely, may not only be available to the UK, but also to keen observers within the EU -- is the chance to introduce some local code changes without all the usual code review stages and interface negotiations. Will everything that the UK does as a result create improvements? No: plenty of these attempted changes will fail -- some badly -- and hopefully we'll all learn from those mistakes. But there will certainly also be policy and procedural changes that result in unquestionable improvements that are re-usable elsewhere. (disclaimer/context: I believe that Brexit was a mistake in economic and political terms, but that the UK could eventually rejoin the EU if-and/or-when the upsides are clearer to people, and that it's an opportunity to learn)

not2b 4y ago
Alternatively, parts of the UK could break off and rejoin the EU (e.g. Scotland). I can't predict whether this will happen or not.
- pavlov 4y ago
  Also the unification of Ireland might be closer than ever. Sinn Fein, the former political wing of the IRA, won elections in North Ireland yesterday: https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/northern-ireland-poised-watershed-election-result-counting-begins-2022-05-06/ https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/northern-ireland-poised-wat... I don't pretend to be an expert on Irish politics. It's unclear to me whether the Republic really even wants North Ireland given its lackluster economy. Maybe it's easier to have London keep sending billions there.
  - VictorPath 4y ago
    Sinn Féin is a political party over a century old, and in 1918 won an all-Ireland election, 73 of 105 seats, on its platform to leave the UK. That the mainstream media refers to Sinn Féin as the political wing of the IRA tells little about them but a lot about the media and other things. Sinn Féin is also tied for largest party at Leinster House in the 26 counties. Instructive is https://bbc.co.uk https://bbc.co.uk . You can barely find news of this, it is way down the page. Superhero movies, Miami Grand Prix. dating apps, pilota, carbon bicycles etc. take precedence. England doesn't care, other than the loose ends remaining snagged Brexit somewhat.
    - disgruntledphd2 4y ago
      Sigh. This is manifestly incorrect. The party that campaigns as Sinn Fein in Ireland now has very very little to do with the Sinn Fein that won the elections in 1918. That Original Sinn Fein splintered into Fianna Fail, Fine Gael, a bunch of random socialist parties, and eventually the workers party which merged with Labour 30+ years ago. The Sinn Fein that did really well in the NI assembly elections yesterday is Provisional Sinn Fein, which is an outgrowth of the civil rights movement for Catholics that started in the 1960s. This Sinn Fein was the political wing of the Provisional IRA, an armed group which engaged in violence to bring about a united Ireland. So, yes they are IRA associated (though the pIRA haven't engaged in political violence since about 1997).
- avianlyric 4y ago
  Yeah, once we’ve turn the M25 into a moat, London’s gonna leave and rejoin the EU!
  - jjgreen 4y ago
    ... and then put crocodiles in it
vixen99 4y ago
Like Mao who said (so the story goes) that it was too early to judge the effects of the French Revolution, perhaps better wait a bit before reaching a conclusion. As a terribly gross generalization perhaps it comes down to pond size. Small stroppy fish in a big pond don't get very far but in a smaller pond they feel they at least have some influence and tangible contact with government. Difficult to claim that for ordinary Europeans. Worth remembering also that the establishment (the UK Civil Service) has been firmly against Brexit from the word go and have dragged their feet significantly. This isn't just a moan from the pro-Brexit crowd; it's pretty much accepted on both sides that this is what has happened.
- jka 4y ago
  Well, personal opinion: I don't think it's clear that the UK Civil Service has been more of a blocker to Brexit than they would've been for any other earth-shattering policy change. Part of the social contract of joining that sector is, I expect, that staff will be working across successive governments and policy changes, and yes, people are going to have some personal connections to day-to-day events, but the professionalism and processes of the institutions involved are intended to minimize and overcome those biases (and apply correction when they aren't, with supporting evidence and investigation). That said, identification of weaknesses and opportunities for structural improvements are welcome. "Wait a hundred years" is always an option, although if there are shorter-term risks then I'll always be listening for those.

by jka 4y ago

not2b 4y ago

Alternatively, parts of the UK could break off and rejoin the EU (e.g. Scotland). I can't predict whether this will happen or not.

pavlov 4y ago
Also the unification of Ireland might be closer than ever. Sinn Fein, the former political wing of the IRA, won elections in North Ireland yesterday: https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/northern-ireland-poised-watershed-election-result-counting-begins-2022-05-06/ https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/northern-ireland-poised-wat... I don't pretend to be an expert on Irish politics. It's unclear to me whether the Republic really even wants North Ireland given its lackluster economy. Maybe it's easier to have London keep sending billions there.
- VictorPath 4y ago
  Sinn Féin is a political party over a century old, and in 1918 won an all-Ireland election, 73 of 105 seats, on its platform to leave the UK. That the mainstream media refers to Sinn Féin as the political wing of the IRA tells little about them but a lot about the media and other things. Sinn Féin is also tied for largest party at Leinster House in the 26 counties. Instructive is https://bbc.co.uk https://bbc.co.uk . You can barely find news of this, it is way down the page. Superhero movies, Miami Grand Prix. dating apps, pilota, carbon bicycles etc. take precedence. England doesn't care, other than the loose ends remaining snagged Brexit somewhat.
  - disgruntledphd2 4y ago
    Sigh. This is manifestly incorrect. The party that campaigns as Sinn Fein in Ireland now has very very little to do with the Sinn Fein that won the elections in 1918. That Original Sinn Fein splintered into Fianna Fail, Fine Gael, a bunch of random socialist parties, and eventually the workers party which merged with Labour 30+ years ago. The Sinn Fein that did really well in the NI assembly elections yesterday is Provisional Sinn Fein, which is an outgrowth of the civil rights movement for Catholics that started in the 1960s. This Sinn Fein was the political wing of the Provisional IRA, an armed group which engaged in violence to bring about a united Ireland. So, yes they are IRA associated (though the pIRA haven't engaged in political violence since about 1997).
avianlyric 4y ago
Yeah, once we’ve turn the M25 into a moat, London’s gonna leave and rejoin the EU!
- jjgreen 4y ago
  ... and then put crocodiles in it

vixen99 4y ago

Like Mao who said (so the story goes) that it was too early to judge the effects of the French Revolution, perhaps better wait a bit before reaching a conclusion. As a terribly gross generalization perhaps it comes down to pond size. Small stroppy fish in a big pond don't get very far but in a smaller pond they feel they at least have some influence and tangible contact with government. Difficult to claim that for ordinary Europeans. Worth remembering also that the establishment (the UK Civil Service) has been firmly against Brexit from the word go and have dragged their feet significantly. This isn't just a moan from the pro-Brexit crowd; it's pretty much accepted on both sides that this is what has happened.

jka 4y ago
Well, personal opinion: I don't think it's clear that the UK Civil Service has been more of a blocker to Brexit than they would've been for any other earth-shattering policy change. Part of the social contract of joining that sector is, I expect, that staff will be working across successive governments and policy changes, and yes, people are going to have some personal connections to day-to-day events, but the professionalism and processes of the institutions involved are intended to minimize and overcome those biases (and apply correction when they aren't, with supporting evidence and investigation). That said, identification of weaknesses and opportunities for structural improvements are welcome. "Wait a hundred years" is always an option, although if there are shorter-term risks then I'll always be listening for those.