Enda

You're upset about Spain's handgun, but have no problem with their tanks. Clear as day.

Your suggestion was that the UK don't engage in negotiations until the EU removes reference to a veto that Spain will retain anyway... cool, let's not get into that again.

Accessible if you click via Google - https://www.google.com/search?q=Juncker%3A+UK’s+Brexit+bill+will+be+‘scientifically+calculated’

Too right, seeing as Spain -- and every other member state -- already have a veto on whatever they want. So yes, I'd be very surprised if Spain forego their veto.

Yes. Don't be so Glib. What are the odds, Awol, that in a couple of years you're going to be upset at the deal you lot end up with?

1. The single market is not protectionist in the slightest; it's the customs union that keeps out foreign competitors. (Theresa May has indicated she wants out of single market, but in customs union.) 2. The problem with Gibraltar is that Spain are taking advantage of the situation, for what the Spanish government believe is in their best interest. In other words, they're doing exactly the sort of thing the U.K. government has done for decades, and the sort of thing the Telegraph applauds. See the UK's rebate, exclusion from Schengen, non-membership of the Euroarea, and derogation from the "ever closer union" clause, for just a few examples. You lot have been bending and shaping the EU to your self-interest for decades. Interesting how "the EU's democratic deficit" and "the rights of member states to push their own narrow agendas" are basically the same thing, innit? 3. With the exception of us all agreeing to have VAT at least 15%, member states have complete control of tax rates within the EU. There's no such guarantee for special trade deals for non-members like the USA or Future UK. If I were German, I wouldn't be a bit unhappy if Merkel insisted the U.K. have reasonable VAT and corp tax rates before signing a free trade deal with them. German self-interest, why wouldn't they demand it? Wouldn't Der Weltograph applaud such a strategy? Look, Brexiteers, you chose this path for (what you believe to be) your own self-interest. It's **** hypocritical to complain about EU member states doing the exact same thing now.

We've a Senate, and a President. Give it a few years and I'm sure you'll be welcome to apply to join the United Republic of Ireland and Great Britain. We should be able to work a deal with the Germans to get you back into the EU as well.

Two small but important points: first, industrial protection is prevented by international trade in general, not the EU. Look at China's below-cost selling of solar panels to try and get themselves a head-start in that market. There was war over that, and that dispute was settled by the WTO, so obviously had nothing to do with the EU. So ye can still run afoul of industrial protection laws even outside the EU. Second, contrary to popular belief, there's absolutely nothing stopping London from introducing e.g. a flat 10% tax on all income (personal or corporate) tomorrow. The EU has basically no say on the UK's tax rates.

The funny thing is this encapsulates the so much of Leave thought-process pretty well. It's not "You know what, I think the cost of the single market is too much". No, the logic is "Red, white and blue Brexit. We're British, we've won wars, f*ck yeah." As a rational person, I find the whole thing amazing.

Yeah, but it warrants repeating: Plan B is pretty miserable. 30% tariffs on agricultural products (before the decline in sterling), 10% tariffs on cars, product checks on any exports to the EU, and restrictions on flights to the US. I'd say, pre-referendum, 55% (more?) would have voted Remain over Plan B. Apologies for the clusterbomb of Tweets, but I think this is insightful and might actually be what's happening:

Dead right we don't, we'd very much like you to remain in the single market with us, and you're welcome to do so.

Have you ever thought about how a cup of tea might be cold by the time it gets down to a giraffe's stomach? No, no you haven't, because you only ever think about yourself.

A good question! The short answer is that, historically, the Border is a boon to people who like to kill other humans. Leaving the Customs Unions will require a border. The sentiment is capture pretty well in this Guardian article, calling border police "sitting ducks". But I'm really bad at giving short answers so will waffle on for another couple of paragraphs. Many elements of the Good Friday Agreement are reliant on pan-European agencies, in particular the EU's funding of "peace initiatives", but also the explicit recognition of the European Convention of Human Rights as a baseline for civil rights up there, so a departure from these agencies could cause further trouble. A couple of weeks ago, the UK Parliament rejected a vote that would require the Brexit terms be consistent with previous commitments under the GFA. Pull out the hundreds of millions of pounds the EU is pouring into Derry to keep people happy, "disrespect the wishes of the NI electorate" by pursuing Brexit, unilaterally back out of basic civil right mechanisms agreed to under the GFA, reinforce the partition mentality by having a hard border... it doesn't take much to undo the great progress our two countries have worked so hard on to improve relations. I think the UK is blindly walking into a very dangerous situation. As I don't like seeing ordinary English people being killed or injured by IRA bombs in pubs, I think the way Brexit is proceeding is really very regrettable. And, of course, I really hope I'm wrong. But I don't think I am. I think there will be violence.

From RTE, There's no chance this will spread to England. Everything is going to be all right.

As you're not seeing a difference between a prominent Leave campaigner and your mate Dave down the pub, I don't think you should be throwing stones.

She was one of the leading campaigners in a referendum that copper-fastened the government's agenda.

It's also inevitable, given the understandable/stubborn nature of humans, that if something very bad happens again (bombs in pubs and the like), the response will be just another lurch to the right. Not one person will stand up and say "Well, to be fair, we could have predicted this would happen if we ignored the troublesome nature of the Northern Irish border". No, the dialogue will be about the need for security and tightening the borders even further... which will make the situation even more unstable.

From the BBC, "Brexit: Good Friday bill fails" -- the Parliament has rejected an amendment requiring the government to make sure Brexit is done in concordance with its commitments to Northern Ireland. Ye're backing off from the deal that brought peace to the north, despite the people of Northern Ireland voting convincingly to Remain. This is not going to end well.

Just a quick reminder what the British reaction was:

And it's primed to grow, just like Ireland was in the 1980s. The Poles, a great bunch of lads, as Dave O'Leary would say. Tangent: Barry Eichengreen on the future of the euro. Short version: he thinks it'll be fine. Edited to add: an excellent analysis of the implications for the NI border. It really does look inevitable that it'll be policed again. Annoying, very problematic for border towns like Newry and Derry, and ultimately extremely dangerous if e.g. economically disenfranchised young men in Derry decide they don't like that border.

What's the difference between a lentil and a chickpea? Trump wouldn't pay $1000 to have a lentil on his face.

Ms May has already said you're leaving the single market (= barriers to trade) precisely because she doesn't want free movement But aside from that, let's say I move to the UK. Happily pay my taxes, but after 3 years I get cancer. Do you expect me to move back to Ireland for treatment (where I haven't paid into the public health system)? Doesn't seem right.

Just like the euro would be sunk by 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, and every other year people have predicted this. Look, clearly the eurozone is not an optimal currency area, and its future is uncertain. (The same was said of the US dollar when it was introduced in 1780, under much less sophisticated and coordinated government mechanisms.) But to suggest it's certain to fail is just madness. It has survived through the de facto abolition of the SGP, it has survived through largest financial crisis seen since 1929, and it has survived the election of Nuclear Option Varoufakis in Greece. All the while, it has implemented constitutional structural deficit rules and binding guidelines for season-long forewarning on national budgets. In 2012, Marty Feldstein wrote that the euro should be seen as "a failed experiment". That was five years ago, almost to the day. If you're so sure that the end is nigh, what odds will you give me on the euro lasting another five years?