Brexit Day

At 12 AM (midnight) CET tonight, January 31^st, 2020, the United Kingdom leaves the European Union.

In commemoration of this solemn occasion Bock MacMillan, the Much Honored Laird of Southern Charm, prince of Cascade Falls, etc, etc, has issued the following statement.

"A slim majority of Britons voted to leave the European Union in a referendum in 2016 (51,89%) and again in the general election 2019, which was to a great extent focused on the Brexit issue. The Conservative party (who supported Brexit), won 365 of the 650 seats in the Parliament, thus a very comfortable majority. 

In my opinion, it is a sad occasion which I believe the Brits will come to regret. To me, the EU has always mainly stood for a peace project. An effort to bring together "the usual suspects" (i.e. Germany, France United Kingdom, and Italy) and the smaller European countries to work on joint projects and solutions of common issues with the goal of peaceful coexistence in the longterm. 

It is unfortunate that the UK now leaves the community due to a resurgence of nationalism, populism, and isolationism. The question of whether the Brits have been misinformed or lead astray is now moot. We must accept the results of their will as it has been clearly expressed. 

I wish the Brits all the best for the future."

Notre-Dame de Paris

Yesterday evening we got the devastating news that the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, France, was aflame. The fire was initially so ferocious and violent that it was feared that the cathedral would burn down completely.

Firefighters inside the cathedral
Photo by Yoan Valat

Today we received the sad news that the spire and the oak roof had collapsed, but also the wonderful news that both towers were safe, the structure of the building undamaged and the rosetta windows still intact. All the treasures and artifacts had been removed safely and the copper statues that were normally a part of the collapsed spire had been removed a week prior. It seems the stone ceiling of the cathedral prevented burning timbers from falling into the cathedral. The heroic efforts of the 400 firefighters had been successful.

Of course, the usual Islamophobic ghouls came out yesterday and declared that this was yet an example of Islamic terrorism in its war against Christianity. The cause of the fire is awaiting an inquest, but it is believed that it can be attributed to ongoing renovation work around the collapsed spire.

Two French billionaires have already announced plans to pledge a total of €300 million towards renovation and repairs.

The Notre-Dame is a unique treasure of immense cultural and historical value for Europe and the World.

G7 Summit

Mhmmmm my dear friend Angela posted picture this on her official Instagram yesterday. Which is in itself an example of when a picture tells us more than a thousand words.

The Guardian informs us:

"Donald Trump has left the G7 network of global cooperation in disarray after he pulled the US out of a previously agreed summit communique (my embolding), blaming the Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau whom he derided as “dishonest and weak”.

The US president, who arrived at the summit in Canada late and left early to fly to Singapore to prepare for his summit with Kim Jong-un, shocked fellow leaders with a bellicose press conference on Saturday in which he attacked the trade policies of other countries." 

Today Reuters published this.

PARIS (Reuters) - France and Europe are maintaining their support for the Group of Seven communique and anyone departing from the commitments made at the summit would be showing their “incoherence and inconsistency”, a French presidency official told Reuters.

The official was reacting after U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement on Saturday that he was backing out of the G7 communique drawn up at a summit in Canada.

“International cooperation cannot depend on being angry and on sound bites. Let’s be serious,” the official, speaking on condition of anonymity, added.

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As I've said before, we live in exciting - if not downright scary - times! Then again, simply the thought of Trump, Putin, Xi and Kim in an unholy alliance is terrifying.

3M+1T=?

In these troubling times a quartet of four world leaders have stepped up to ward off the powers of evil and have vowed to protect "Truth, Justice and the way of life of Western Democracies".

They are, from left to right,
Angela Merkel, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany,
Emmanuel Macron, President of the French Republic,
Bock McMillan, Laird of Southern Charm and
Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada.

The four are collective known as "The League of Truth, Trust and Justice".

The montage was created by Abobe Spark free photo collage maker.

Laird: "Prachtig Nederland!" (Updated)

The Much Honored Bock McMillan, laird of Southern Charm, prince of Cascade Falls etc., etc., today commented on the results of the Dutch elections.

"The people of the world, and especially Europe, should thank the Dutch voters for putting a stop to the growth of the Islamophobic and anti-EU populists. 

Hopefully the results of this election will break the onslaught of the growing populism in Europe, I even dare to wish that it may set a trend for the upcoming national elections in Germany and France. 

The Dutch example gives us all hope and shows the political leaders of Europe that it is possible to quell the rise of populism, even after Brexit and the American presidential election. Prachtig gedaan, Nederland!"

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Update
I found this quote by Jesse Klaver, leader of the GreenLeft party, that I cannot withhold from you. On polling day he said that the left’s answer to the far right’s rise in Europe was to stand up for its ideals. “What I would say to all my left wing friends in Europe: don’t try to fake the populace. Stand for your principles. Be straight. Be pro-refugee. Be pro-European. We’re gaining momentum in the polls. And I think that’s the message we have to send to Europe. You can stop populism.”

Bock & The Russians (Updated)

I am probably a Russophobe. I have a profound and insistent belief that president Vladimir "Little Father" Putin, his fanboy prime minister Dmitry Medvedev and the rest of the present Russian leadership wish to expand the Russian hegemony over their neighboring countries (like Ukraine, Finland, the Baltic states and also Sweden).

Trump & Putin by Liutauras Strimaltis

In 2013 the (then) Supreme Commander of the Swedish Armed Forces admitted that in 2023 Sweden would not be able to defend itself longer than seven days against a concerted attack by an enemy (and "an enemy" for your information is Swedish code for the Russians) against any given target, until 2023 the time frame was shorter.

The Russian people, as a collective, seem to share the notion of being Biggest, Best and Most Beautiful with a god given or historical right to subjugate the rest of the world, much like the Americans today. (Just as the British and French people in the 18th and 19th centuries and perhaps also the Swedish people - in the time of our former glory - in the 15th and 16th centuries.)

Although Sweden has never been a part of any alliance, our defense policy has hitherto always relied on an intervention by NATO in the event we were attacked. Our defense policy has been built upon the reliance that we only need to see to it that an enemy cannot just roll in over us without expecting any losses or delays until the NATO - in it's own interest - would come to Sweden's protection if nothing other than keeping a buffer between NATO and the Russians.

After Trump's victory in the presidential election that defense policy is being jettisoned, because president-elect Trump is perceived as not abiding by formerly accepted rules, seems disinterested in in NATO and is a fan of Putin. So as a result we are now getting signals that the Swedish defense budget must be severely increased.
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Update, later the same day
The more I think about it, the more absurd it seems for a country consisting of some nine million inhabitants to keep up a defense against a country with 146+ million inhabitants.

Perhaps we should do as the Danish populist politician Mogens Glistrup (1926-2008) once suggested, that we replace our defense ministry and weapons with an answering machine that says "We surrender!", in Russian of course.

CR7 Rules!

Okay, okay, I very graciously admit it, Christiano Ronaldo rules!

We are talking football here - the real kind, i.e. not American football.

CR7 and his mates have taken Portugal to the finals of the European Championships 2016. Who they are to meet in the final has yet to be determined, but at the publishing of this post France leads against Germany with 1-0 (halftime score).

ESC 2016 - Swedens Contribution

This is Sweden's contribution to the Eurovision Song Contest this year.

The 2016 Eurovision Song Contest will be held at the Globe Arena in Stockholm, starting with two semifinals on May 10th and 12th, followed by the grand final on May 14th.

As hosts of this year's competition Sweden is directly qualified for the final together with "The Big Five" (France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy and Spain).
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The ESC is considered to be the most fabulotastic and absofuckinglutely gayest event in the history of mankind, at least in Europe and Australia in our present days.

#JeSuisCharlie

Charlie Hebdo is a French satirical weekly newspaper, featuring cartoons, reports, polemics, and jokes. Irreverent and stridently non-conformist in tone, the publication is strongly anti-religious and left-wing, publishing articles on the extreme right, Catholicism, Islam, Judaism, politics, culture, etc. The magazine is published every Wednesday, with special editions issued on an unscheduled basis.

Due to controversial Muhammad-themed cartoons published in 2011, the magazine has experienced two terrorist attacks. A firebombing in 2011, and another shooting attack yesterday on Wednesday January 7, 2015. Twelve people were killed, in the attack by three young male terrorists armed with Kalashnikov's.

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Social media has reacted strongly against this terrorist attack on free speech, 

Sometimes a picture says it better than any writer could. #CharlieHebdo pic.twitter.com/OP6h1YZUWs
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) January 7, 2015

A terrible day for all cartoonists. #JeSuisCharlie pic.twitter.com/Ksbl89WLsE
— Magnus Shaw (@TheMagnusShaw) January 7, 2015

Can't sleep tonight, thoughts with my French cartooning colleagues, their families and loved ones #CharlieHebdo pic.twitter.com/LqIMRCHPgK
— David Pope (@davpope) January 7, 2015

#CharlieHebdo pic.twitter.com/jIBbrIShe8
— Francisco J. Olea (@oleismos) January 7, 2015

"More cartoonists tomorrow" ! by Banksy #JeSuisCharlie (via #banksy fb page) pic.twitter.com/C2cGXUFnXn
— Pierre Morel (@pierremorel) January 7, 2015

In Anticipation of a Punitive Attack

The Americans and the French have said that they are planning an attack to punish Syria for using chemical weapons in a "crime against conscience" that killed 1,429 people on August 21, 2013. This action is expected to take place during the weekend.

In response to this Vladimir "Little Father" Putin, President of Russia, has urged the Americans and the French to rethink their plans and consider the future victims that may follow on such a military action.

This is totally absurd and hypocritical coming from a bigoted bastard who has supported the murderous Bashar al-Assad, President of Syria, and his clansmen during the last two years while they have been slaughtering close to 150,000 of their own countrymen.

Putin and Russia have throughout the two years of bloodshed successfully blocked any action being launched by the United Nations against the atrocities and thus made the world stand helplessly by and witness the continued murdering and butchering going on, day after day, week after week, month after month for two whole years. 

Joyeux Quatorze Juillet!

Thoughts on France´s expulsion of Romani

Reverend Martin Niemöller (1892–1984), a pastor in the German Confessing Church who spent seven years in a concentration camp, said in hindsight:.


"First they came for the Communists,
and I didn’t speak up,
because I wasn’t a Communist.

Then they came for the Socialists,
and I didn´t speak up,
because I wasn´t a Socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn´t speak up,
because I wasn´t a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn’t speak up,
because I wasn’t a Jew.

Then they came for the Catholics,
and I didn’t speak up,
because I was a Protestant.

Then they came for me,
and by that time there was no one
left to speak up for me."

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Evil wrongdoings usually don´t just suddenly happen. There are warnings but we are not willing to act or react out of complacency, cowardice or just pure laziness.

The good reverend could of course also have added mental patients, disabled, romani and homosexuals at the start of his list. And if he had lived in this day and age he would surely have added muslims.