Headline of the year (so far)

Today is 20200202, a very special date for Chinese and other numerologists. Why? Because it's a palindrome. Geddit? We will not see another one until... errr... we won't see another one.

32 days have passed into history. The funniest "news" headline I've seen so far this year is this one, from the Babylon Bee:

Boris Johnson Blows Conch Shell,

England Carried Away By Herd Of Manatees

And here's the illustration that goes with it.

Guess it has something to do with Brexit! Please keep in mind, dear readers, that the Babylon Bee is a purveyor of "fake news you can trust".

Breaking news: The latest real news from Old Blighty is that "a man" was fatally shot by armed police officers in south London, after a "terrorist-related", according to the Metropolitan Police. In a tweet Sunday morning, Inspector Knacker of the Yard said a "number of people" had been stabbed at Streatham High Road, but that the attacker had been killed. Nothing, of course, about the attacker's nationality, ethnicity or religion. "Allahu akbar!"?

Further reading: "London terrorist identified as Muslim. Sorry, suckers!", WWW 30/11/19... just over two months ago. That's why I'm not even going to bother reporting these "incidents" any more.

Marine Le Pen calls EU "failure", recommends "Frexit"

Regular readers will know that I have lots and lots of time for Marine Le Pen, the president of the French Rassemblement National (= National Rally), a power in French politics for over a decade, resisting globalism and promoting the growing movement to make France France again.

Madame Le Pen weighed in yesterday on Brexit -- the official withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union -- which finally took place on January 31st, at the stroke of midnight, western European time, in accordance with documents previously signed by both parties. In a Tweet, Mme Le Pen called the British exit from the EU the beginning of the collapse of the European Union and the formation of independent European states.

Mme Le Pen wrote (translated), "Brexit Day should mark the beginning of the construction of the European Alliance of Independent Nations, which we wish for." She believes the vast majority of Europeans want independence from the EU, which she predicted will go down in history as an "epic failure."

Inspired by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's success in "getting Brexit done", Mme Le Pen vowed to return France to "common sense". Millions of Frenchmen and women wish her well.

Boris pulls it off! Brits OK Brexit, reject EU, hard-left socialism

Yes, folks, another step on the road to the status quo ante, and another defeat for the liberal, progressive one-worlders. In yesterday's "Brexit election", the British Conservative Party, led by Boris Johnson -- Britain's version of Donald Trump -- won a commanding majority of seats in the UK Parliament.

Mr Johnson now has a clear and strong mandate to fulfill his plan to take Once-great Britain out of the European Union next month. In other words, he will, as promised, "get Brexit done!" Speaking to his supporters last night, the Prime Minister said, and I quote, "We pulled it off!" In his speech last night he said he would work "flat out" and lead a "people's government". Gotta love that expression of populism!

With just one constituency (St Ives, in Cornwall) left to declare, the Conservatives have 364 MPs, Labour 203, the Scottish National Party 48, Liberal Democrats 11 and the Democratic Unionist Party (Ulster Protestant baskets) 8.

Labour was swept aside by the Conservatives in its traditional heartlands in the Midlands and north-eastern England, and lost six seats in Wales. The increase for the Scottish Nationalists is interesting, as they have promised to push a referendum on Scottish independence. Mr Johnson has suggested he might allow that, keeping in mind what happened in Canada when the Québécois were given a chance to opt out of confederation, and decided they'd rather keep their Canadian passports and Canadian dollars.

In a result which I found very satisfactory, Nigel Dodds, the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party at Westminster, lost his Belfast North seat to Sinn Fein. Sinn Fein has 7 MPs, Plaid Cymru (the Welsh nationalist party) 4, and the Social Democratic and Labour Party (= Páirtí Sóisialta Daonlathach an Lucht Oibre -- a social-democratic, Irish nationalist political party in Northern Ireland) 2. The Green Party and Alliance Party have one each. Nigel Farage's Brexit Party, which triumphed in the summer's European Parliament elections, failed to win any Westminster seats.

Jeremy Corbyn, the neo-Marxist leader of the Labour Party, did not resign, but said he would not fight another election as Labour leader. Britain's commentariat, along with many in his own party, lay the blame for last night's defeat squarely at Mr Corbyn's feet. He steered the party hard aport (= to the left, landlubbers!), and was accused of tolerating, if not abetting the wave of anti-Semitism which has splashed Britain in recent months. Strange for a party covertly funded by George Soros, but the cliché -- politics makes strange bedfellows -- is true enough.

All in all, a very satisfactory result. Walt congratulates Mr Johnson, and suggests that American Dumbocrats take note. The Prez was not wrong when he said recently (see "Featured Post") that the majority of Americans will not support a party which espouses extreme socialism. Let's see if any of the Democratic presidential wannabes are paying attention.

Further reading, including a comment on the sudden resignation of Canadian "Conservative" "leader" Andrew Scheer: "Boffo Boris", by our old friend Mark Steyn, 12/12/19.

Wot? Brexit ain't done yet? Walt explicates the muddification

The story so far... Way back in June 2016, the people of the so-called United Kingdom got a rare chance to vote on an issue, as opposed to for or against a political party. After years of dithering, the Conservative government of the day, led by the Rt. Hon. David Cameron, called a referendum on whether or not the country should remain in the European Union. This was the result.

Instead of "country", let's say countries. London, the capital region (and (((international banking))) centre) voted to stay in the EU. So did Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The rest of England and Wales voted to take back control of Britain's affairs (particularly her borders) from the globalist Euro-weenies. Since there were more non-London English voters than all the others combined, the overall result was nearly 52% in favour of what became known as Brexit.

The first lesson the British people learned -- should have known already -- is that the people don't actually rule or govern anything. The ruling is done by governments, not the people wot put them there. So it fell to the government of Theresa May (who succeeded Mr Cameron, who had unwisely campaigned on the "remain" side) to make a deal with the other 27 (or so) members of the EU to put the borders back in place and disentangle the great ball of red tape devised by the Brussels sprouts.

A coalition of one-worlders, loony lefties and minor parties clamoured for a do-over of the referendum, and generally obstructed Ms May's efforts, so she called a snap general election in June 2017. It resulted in a Conservative minority government supported by the Ulster Protestant baskets who call themselves the Democratic Unionist Party.

Subsequent UK–EU withdrawal negotiations resulted in a withdrawal agreement in November 2018, but the UK parliament voted against ratifying it three (count `em, three) times. The Labour Party wanted any agreement to maintain a customs union, while many Conservatives opposed the agreement's financial settlement on the UK's share of EU financial obligations, as well as the "Irish backstop" designed to prevent border controls between Ulster and the Republic of Ireland.

Ed. here. I don't understand that last bit. You mean the Protestant Ulstermen refuse to be part of Catholic Ireland, but they don't want a hard border between the two parts of the island? Exactly.

In March 2019, the UK parliament voted for May to ask the EU to delay Brexit until October 31st, so a better deal could be sought. Having failed to pass her agreement, Ms May resigned as prime minister in July and was succeeded by the Rt. Hon. Boris Johnson. He sought to replace parts of the agreement and vowed to leave the EU by the new deadline, with or without an agreement. On October 17th, his government and the EU agreed on a revised withdrawal plan, with provisions for a special status for Northern Ireland. The British parliament approved the new agreement, but rejected plans to pass it into law before the Hallowe'en deadline, and forcing Mr Johnson's government to ask for a third Brexit delay, to 31 January 2019.

So everything's fine now, right? Ed. Errr, no. Having suffered a couple of defections along the way, Mr Johnson heads a minority government, dependent on the support of the DUP. With no guarantee that the enabling legislation will be passed by March 31st... or ever... Mr Johnson wanted an election to put an end to the uncertainty, one way or the other. The head of the Labour Party, Jeremy Lenin [Corby, shurely. Ed.] refused, but on Tuesday did a flip-flop and directed his members to join the Tories in approving an early election to break the deadlock. Brits will go to the polls on December 12th. Merry Christmas! [Happy Holidays!, shurely. Ed.]

Brexit has turned into a tussle for the soul of the country, and will be the main issue on which weary voters will have to decide. Mr Johnson's Conservatives tout his deal with the EU and claim they can get Brexit done at last, while Comrade Corbyn's Labourites are promising to negotiate a "softer" Brexit, following which they will give the British public the final say by... wait for it... holding a second referendum!

Will this vote break the Brexit deadlock? Who knows? [Certainly not you! Ed.] The rise of smaller parties means the possibility of a hung parliament is greater now than in previous decades. If the December election fails to deliver a party with an overall majority, Brexit could go in a number of different directions. A hung parliament with a minority Conservative government would likely mean more of the same paralysis that has dogged British politics for the past year. If Labour emerges as the largest party, that makes a second Brexit referendum more likely, given that's also the ambition of the Liberal Democrats and the Scottish National Party.

And even if the Conservatives won a majority on the back of their promise to "get Brexit done," the saga won't be over. Mr Johnson would be able to get his deal through Parliament by the next deadline, but that's only the start. Months of negotiations with the EU about a future trading partnership would certainly follow, and the risk of a no-deal Brexit could return all over again if a trade deal isn't concluded by the end of the Brexit transition period in 2020. So while this vote will likely set a new Brexit course for Britain, it would be naive to think the issue will be off the agenda by the beginning of 2020. We wish all our British readers a Happy New Year!

Right-wing populism on the march: today Estonia, tomorrow ???

Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are three countries on the Baltic Sea that no-one has ever heard of who is not from there or has family there. For most of their recent history they have, against their will, been part of some other country: Poland, Russia/USSR, or sometimes each other.

They were independent between 1918 and 1941, then had to spend a half-century under the heel of the Soviet Union before being let loose on the fall of Communism. Then they were welcomed into the European Union, only to discover that they exchanged dictatorship from Moscow for dictatorship from Brussels.

The example of Brexit seems to have woken up the Estonians, if not the others, to the possibility that if they had a new government -- of the right rather than the usual centrist coalitions -- they might just be able to get out of the EU, to mount an "Estxit", if you will. A referendum on whether to stay or go was one of the campaign promises of Estonia's right-wing Conservative People's Party of Estonia (EKRE), which came close to a major upset in today's parliamentary elections.

First place went to the centre-right Reform Party, led by Kaja Kallas, who is on track to become Estonia's first female prime minister. The Reformers got 28.8% of the vote, upsetting the ruling Centre Party (centre-left, in reality, like Canada's Liberals) who got 23%. The EKRE more than doubled their share of the popular vote, finishing with 17.8%, good for third place.

As in the USA, the lamestream media and pollsters were surprised and embarrassed by the surge of the EKRE, who capitalized on growing anti-immigrant sentiment and concerns that the tiny nation (pop. 1.3 million) could be swallowed up by a federalised EU.

Today's Telegraph quotes a 65-year-old voter from Tartu, Estonia's second-largest city, as saying he voted for EKRE over fears that the country was losing its identity. "The EU has forced quotas on us, to attract thousands of migrants. Members of our parliament just push buttons, rubber stamping all the laws that come out of Brussels. I voted EKRE because they stand for the preservation of our nation, and our Estonian culture and language."

The success of the EKRE mirrors that of right-wing, populist parties throughout the length and breadth of Europe, not to mention the Excited States of America where liberals are whistling past the graveyard more loudly than ever these days. Last week, a torch-lit march through the Estonia capital, Tallinn, drew some 10,000 patriots in a spectacle which the Telegraph says "bore a striking resemblance to the Unite the Right 'Tiki torch' marches held by Trump supporters in Charlottesville in 2017."

The rise in support for EKRE is sweeping away smaller parties that traditionally make up a centrist coalition in many European countries. The Telegraph quotes Dr Allan Sikk [sic] of the UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies as saying "uneasy bedfellows" from across the political spectrum may need to work together in order to keep EKRE out of power, just as they kept Marine Le Pen's Front National out of power in France.

Ms Kallas is going to face difficult negotiations to form a ruling coalition, particularly if she tries to do so without the EKRE. The other Estonian parties have ruled out any sort of coalition with the EKRE. Ms Kallas says everything is on the table, including a possible deal to give the EKRE a seat at the cabinet table. Today Estonia. Tomorrow? Stay tuned!

Memo to Mad Max Bernier, leader of the People's Party of Canada: Did you note the English translation of EKRE? Conservative People's Party of Estonia! Don't you think "Conservative People's Party" has a nice ring to it? It couldn't be confused with a left-wing "people's party", eh. Sounds right to me!

Footnote: Attractive blonde right-wing politicians, like Kaja Kallas and the PPC's Lauara-Lynn Tyler Thompson, seem to attract not just attention but votes! If I were a Republican [Aren't you? Ed.] I'd be encouraging Melania Trump to run against... ohhh... Nancy Pelosi or Fauxcahontas or Hellery... hell, any of those hagged-out liberal bitches. Get the male votes and forget about the wimmin!

British election too close to call?

I can work up but little interest -- and less excitement -- about the UK general election. Polling day is less than 24 hours off. I won't be voting, don't even know how to bet.

Theresa Maybe (as The Economist dubbed her) called the snap election after only two years in power, hoping to run a bare majority in the House of Commons up to awesome numbers. The thinking (?) behind doing so appears to have been that the UKIP had effectively disbanded itself after the Brexit referendum, and the Labour Party had all but committed suicide by choosing a leader -- Jeremy Corbyn -- from the loony left. [But he's on the right in the picture! LOL Ed.] The Liberal Democrats, the party of the mushy middle, look like being reduced to only a handful of seats, and the Green Party have yet to elect a member of parliament.

As recently as a couple of weeks ago, Mrs May looked to have the winning strategy. The polls had her Conservative Party well ahead, with most of the betting being on the spread. Then came the Manchester massacre. Then, just last weekend, the London Bridge terrorist attacks. As if those things weren't enough to shake one's faith in Mrs May's leadership, she flip-flopped on a pledge to end the cap on social care bills. The Reds [Labour, surely! Ed.] and even some of her own supporters said the financial impact on seniors -- very determined voters, that lot -- amounted to a "dementia tax". As for fighting back against Islamic terrorism, Mrs May is having trouble living down massive cuts to the police budget when she was Home Secretary, and her party's failure to cut immigration to under 100,000 per year, as they had promised.

So here we are, less than 24 hours out, and a projected Tory win by over 20% has dwindled to 6% or less, depending on which poll (if any) you believe. It's possible (but not probable) that Labour may win, making Mr Corbyn Prime Minister. That would really shake things up. Mr Corbyn appeals to the naïve young people who, in America, supported Bunny Sanders. But Mr Corby is way way to the left of Mr Sanders. He is an avowed Marxist, who, under previous leaders, defied the Labour whip 428 times. Among other things, he opposed anti-terrorist legislation (!) and the invasion of Iraq. His inner circle is even more hard-line. His shadow chancellor (= minister of finance) is an admirer not only of Marx but also of Lenin and Trotsky.

For many reasons, British politics has become almost as polarized (and polarizing) as that of the Excited States of America. Realistically, the choice for voters is between the right (Conservatives) and the hard left (Labour). There is no more "moderate centre". That means the real losers of tomorrow's election will be the "progressives" and liberals, and for that, much thanks.

Question from Ed.: Are you going to call this or not?
Answer from Walt: Not. Lifetime pct .988.

British general election: why now?

Under Britain’s Fixed-Term Parliaments Act, passed to get rid of the uncertainty under the unwritten constitution, under which an election could be called at any time, elections are now to be held every five years. BUT (and it's a big one) the prime minister can call a snap election if two-thirds of lawmakers vote for it. Today, the Rt Hon Theresa May announced that she would ask the House of Commons to back her call for an election to be held on June 8th, three years before the next scheduled date. Opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn said he would support the request.

Walt wonders why. Ms May was never elected Prime Minister, inheriting the position from David Cameron, who resigned shortly after the majority of English and Welsh Britons (but not Scots or Ulstermen) voted for Brexit -- secession from the European Union. But then, the British PM is not directly elected anyway. He/she is simply the leader of the party with the largest number of seats in the House of Commons, which happens to be Ms May's Conservatives. The June election is highly unlikely to result in a change of government.

Ms May's explanation is that since Britons voted to leave the EU in June, the country has come together, but politicians have not. She said the political divisions "risk our ability to make a success of Brexit.... Our opponents believe that because the government's majority is so small, our resolve will weaken and that they can force us to change course" on getting out of the EU. "They are wrong," she said. "They underestimate our determination to get the job done and I am not prepared to let them endanger the security of millions of working people across the country."

That doesn't sound right to me. The real opposition to Brexit comes not from Mr Corbyn's Labour Party, which is even more divided than Ms May's Tories, but from the liberal one-worlders who dominate the British meeja and are strong in both parties. These anti-Brexit forces, aided and funded by George Soros, were in the streets (literally) immediately after the referendum, demanding a do-over. Petitions bearing millions (literally) of signatures have been presented to Parliament. But, as in the USA, the people have spoken and there will be no redo.

But what if, what if Ms May's party loses the June election, or finds itself in a minority position in the next House of Commons? Ms May, who is personally opposed to leaving the EU, but obliged to follow the expressed will of the people, has asked for a mandate to negotiate the type of Brexit that many pro-Leave MPs desire: i.e., the UK remains in the single market but does not sign up to the Freedom of Movement Act which was the reason the majority of Britons voted to take their country out. If she doesn't get that mandate, she could interpret the loss as a signal that the British people have changed their mind about Brexit, and call a halt to the whole thing.

The water is muddied further by the upcoming French presidential election. See "Marine Le Pen criticizes Pope, Church for interfering in French politics", posted here yesterday and "'Vote for civilization!', Marine Le Pen tells French", WWW 5/2/17. The election of Marine Le Pen would be widely viewed as a precursor to a "Frexit" -- the withdrawal of France from the EU. If France goes, what would be the point of Britain staying in. The future of Europe should be much clearer by the summer solstice.

VIDEO: Mark Steyn: Is Canada the exception to a worldwide trend?

It's been a while since we had some straight talk from Mark Steyn. Last week the erstwhile citizen of the Anglosphere was in Canada for the Manning Conference, a conservative get-together akin to the CPAC conference in the USA. The Rebel's Brian Lilley cornered him for a wide-ranging interview on Trump, Brexit, Le Pen, and the trend to populism. How much longer will Canadians stand for the Trudeau government's liberal elitist nonsense? Check it out. Running time: 13 minutes.

VIDEO: Vote NO MA'AM!

There's a lesson for American voters in the current brouhaha between Canada and the EU over free trade. A couple of years ago, when Canada was under the dictatorship of Steve Harpoon, the Dear Leader drank the koolaid of globalization and started work on making a free trade deal with the European Union. The Canada-Europe Trade Agreement (CETA) was worked out, and endorsed by the Gliberal government of Justin Trudeau, which took power a year ago. Open trade and open borders are the kind of thing liberals love, and CETA fits their one-world agenda perfectly.

Fast forward to October of 2016, when CETA is due to be ratified by the member states of the EU, all 28 of them. 27 countries fell into line without any fuss. And then there was Belgium. That country is divided more or less in half by language and ethnicity. The southern half, Wallonia, is home to French-speaking Walloons. (Gotta love that name.) The Walloons, it turns out, think increasing globalization is not a good idea. Gives too much power to multinationals, you see. The parliament of Wallonia passed a resolution against CETA last Friday, so Belgium's federal government is unable to give its consent.

Enter Canada's International Trade Minister, Chrystia Freeland, who was sent to Brussels to tweak the deal a little bit and so persuade the stubborn Walloons to change their minds. As Walt pointed out in April, Ms Freeland is a certified and certifiable member of the liberal elite. She is the spoiled child of privilege, the type who feels she is entitled to her entitlements, such as spending $6000 of taxpayers' money to hire a photographer to record her presence at a trade summit in Paris, or swanning around the world -- first class, of course -- preaching the benefits of globalization, free trade agreements and helping all the poor people of the Third World.

When the Walloons failed to succumb to Ms Freeland's charm (?) offensive, she threw a hissy fit, storming out of the meeting room to tell the meeja "These people are impossible! I'm going home to my children!" Well, at least she didn't call the Walloons "deplorable", but she's the sort of liberal feminist who might have used that word. Just like... you know who!

Walt asks the MEN of America, do you want to be ruled for the next four years by the gender warriors --  WIMMIN like (((Madeleine Albright))), Elizabeth Warren, Justice (((Ruth Bader Ginsburg))) and... you know who?! NO?! Better join NO MA'AM -- the National Organization of Men Against Amazonian Masterhood. When the existence of this organization was revealed on Married With Children (watch the video below), you probably thought it was just a joke. It's no joke now! Vote accordingly!

Why the Brits voted to leave the European Union

The dust has not settled yet. Arguments rage as to what Brexit means. Was it the beginning of a populist revolution against the elites, or a triumph for xenophobia and suicidal narrow-mindedness? Or both? Walt will try to sort it out, and divine some lessons for North American politicians.

To begin with, it wasn't "the British" who voted to leave the European Union. The people of Scotland voted overwhelmingly to remain. The people of Northern Ireland also chose the "in" side, although not so decisively. It was the English and the Welsh who wanted out of the dysfunctional European "community".

That doesn't mean, though, that the Scots and Ulsterpersons voted against resurgent nationalism. The Scots now appear to be in favour of separating from the Disunited Kingdom. A second refendum on the issue is expected in due course, giving the Scots an opportunity to stay in the EU and take control of their country back from the English. The people of Northern Ireland voted along nationalistic and sectarian lines, with the pro-UK Protestants voting with their compatriots in England, and the Catholics voting to remain in the EU, which might well entail uniting Ulster with Eire, at last. Sinn Fein has already called for a vote on that proposition.

So we see that nationalism was one of the key factors motivating the voters on both sides. Those who voted "Out" had other things in mind. This week's Economist cites polling done by Lord Ashcroft (a Conservative peer) which suggests that "opposition to multiculturalism, social liberalism, feminism, the green movement, the internet and capitalism all translated into votes for Brexit."

Euroscepticism is about more than immigration, says their columnist. "It is unmistakably cultural, ineffably emotional. There is a feeling, he writes, "that the world is increasingly unknowable and uncontrollable.... It also has to do with the wider world: fears of terrorism, the erosion of national identity, the erasure of borders (and) politicians in the grip of shadowy international forces." Hence the Leave campaign's winning slogan "It's time we took back control."

There would seem to be some hard lessons in there for the political and other elites of North America -- the USA more so than Canada, since Canucks won't get a chance to upchuck the Trudeau Koolaid until 2019. So let's see if any of the issues identified by Lord Ashdown are in play in the Land of the Free(?).

Nationalism versus globalism? Not a problem for La Clinton, since Americans don't seem to want their country to be great again. What about multiculturalism, social liberalism, feminism? What right-thinking person could be against those things? Look at all the "progress" that's been made under 7 years of Obama's maladministration. Who could want to undo that?

How about that green movement? Ah yes. Let's all put solar panels on our roofs, charge up our battery-powered cars and wind up our radios and TVs. Leave the oil in the ground. Decommission the nuclear power plants. (We know from The Simpsons how risky they are!) And will the last treehugger to leave the room please switch off the lights... Oh... wait...

I confess that I didn't understand Lord Ashdown's finding that those who voted "Out" were against the internet, unless he meant that to be a metaphor for "progress" generally. I'm all for the internet, insofar as it empowers the likes of YVT to get our ideas out there, in spite of the control of the lamestream media by the PC police and "shadowy international forces".

As for being against capitalism, if by that is meant resenting being in the thrall of the said "shadowy international forces" -- Hello Goldman Sachs! -- then I'm against that too. What about you? If you too are opposed to liberal globalism in all its guises, who are you going to vote for in November? The choice couldn't be more clear!

Further reading (on the last point, about globalization and capitalism): "Not just bigots and boors oppose trade deals" by Linda McQuaig in the Toronto Star.

Austrian Freedom Party wins do-over of disputed election

On May 23rd, Walt told you how Austria's nationalist Freedom Party lost that country's presidential election -- to the leftist Greens, no less! -- by a mere 31,000 votes out of more than 4.6 million ballots cast. It was the absentee votes, mailed in from goodness knows where, that provided the margin of victory. Before the postal ballots were counted, the FPÖ's Norbert Hofer was leading the Greens' Alexander Van der Bellen by 51.9% to 48.1%.

Something outta whack there? Some possibility of election fraud? Herr Hofer's supporters thought so and brought a case before Austria's constitutional court, which agreed. On July 1st the court annulled the election because of a string of violations in the counting of postal ballots, which made up 16% of the total.

In a televised announcement, the high court’s president, Gerhart Holzinger, said there was no evidence that votes had been altered or manipulated. But he cited legal precedents, going back almost 90 years, ruling that even the possibility of foul play requires that the election be scrapped. If all the disputed ballots had gone to Herr Hofer, he would have edged out the Greens' Alexander Van der Bellen. The judge dismissed the option of a rerun limited to the disputed districts, ruling that the whole election must be done over.

Austrian voters have already shown themselves sick and tired of the centre-left coalitions that governed the country for two generations. And the anti-immigrant backlash which marked the British "Brexit" referendum is even stronger in Austria. So there's every chance that the rematch between the Austrian versions of Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders will have a different outcome. (Lifetime pct .991.) To the people of Austria, Walt says:
Defeat the elite! Power to the real people!

Seriously, this time: Ron Paul explains why Brexit matters to us

If you skipped over yesterday's post -- "Catholic prelate says South Sudan 'ruled by monkeys'" -- because you thought it was just about Africa, please click on the link and check out the first couple of paragraphs, because I started with some musings about Brexit.

A revolution against the prevailing orthodoxy of globalism strikes me as being a Good Thing. The idea of one big happy worldwide family is the veriest bullshit, contrary to human nature. Everyone knows this, but the liberal elites who dominate our media, universities and political parties refuse to admit it. Now we "ordinary people" are starting to get up on our hind feet and say we've had enough. About time!

A couple of days earlier I posted a piece on American reaction to Brexit, the gist of which was that Merkans were struggling to understand why a democratically elected head of government -- British PM David Cameron -- would relinquish control simply because he had been shown to have made a spectacularly bad judgment call. That post, dear readers, was lifted from The Onion, as I thought I made clear. It was satire, a joke, funny haha.

Apparently some of you mistook it for a real op-ed piece, so, to get serious, I refer you to "After 'Brexit', Can We Exit a Few Things Too?" by Ron Paul. As usual, Mr Paul has some very common-sensical things to say about why the Brits voted themselves out of Europe, and what lessons America might usefully learn from their decision. Here's are key excerpts. The emphasis is mine.

Last week’s UK vote to leave the EU may have come as a shock to many, but the sentiment that led British voters to reject rule from Brussels is nothing unique. In fact it is growing sentiment worldwide. Frustration with politics as usual, with political parties that really do not differ in philosophy, with an economy that serves the one percent at the expense of the rest of society is a growing phenomenon throughout Europe and in the United States as well. The Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump phenomena are but one example of a frustrated public sensing something is very wrong with society and looking for a way out....

Is Brexit the first victory in a larger freedom movement? Can we get out of a system that creates money out of thin air to benefit the ruling class while impoverishing the middle class? Can we get out of a central bank that finances the wars that make us less safe? Can we exit Executive Orders? Can we exit the surveillance state? The PATRIOT Act? Can we exit NDAA and indefinite detention? Can we exit the US worldwide drone program, that kills innocents overseas and makes us ever-more hated?...

The act of exit is liberating. We should make a longer list of those things we would like to get out of. I am only getting started.

Note from Ed.: I trust Mr Paul won't mind my showing his words in blue. Unlike in the Excited States of America, blue is the colour of conservatism in Britain, Canada and many other democratic countries. Red is the colour of socialism, communism and the extreme left. Think The Red Flag. The reversal of these colours in the politics of the USA is yet another example of "American exceptionalism". Think weirdness.

The Onion explains American reaction to Brexit

I've never reposted in toto anything from the Onion [Well, hardly ever. Ed.] but couldn't resist this very witty piece, headed "Americans Confused By System Of Government In Which Leader Would Resign After Making Terrible Decision".

In the wake of Prime Minister David Cameron’s announcement that he would leave office following the United Kingdom’s vote to exit the European Union, tens of millions of Americans expressed their confusion to reporters Friday about a system of government in which a leader would resign after making a terrible decision.

“Wait, so he made a really awful choice with far-reaching negative consequences and now he’s just stepping down to let someone else take over? What?” said Colorado Springs, CO resident Evan Austin, echoing the sentiments of citizens across the United States who were left struggling to understand why a democratically elected head of government would relinquish control simply because they had been shown to have made a spectacularly bad judgment call.

“So he jeopardized the future of his country, and instead of spending the next several years remaining in power while trying to paper over his mistakes, he’s just gone? Where’s the part where he denies any wrongdoing or tries to blame somebody else? This is absolutely crazy.” The American public noted, however, that they completely understood the part where voters who had made a demonstrably terrible decision continued to double down on it.

Seems the Brits themselves were confused before, during and after Thursday's vote to leave the European Union. Top question of google.uk: "What's the EU?" Ah democracy, ain't it grand? But as Churchill said -- paraphrasing here -- bad as it is, it's better than the alternatives.

Memo to the publishers of The Onion from Ed.: Don't lawyer up and threaten to sue Walt, because: (1) We gave you credit and printed the link. (2) We're not making any money out of WWW. (3) Walt doesn't have any money anyway, except maybe his UK pension, which is now worthless.

Anti-immigrant backlash leads to Brexit

The people of Britain -- well, England and Wales at least -- gave the two-fingers-up sign to their kingdom's elites. (For our American readers, two fingers up is the British equivalent of flipping the bird.) In yesterday's referendum on the European Union, the Brits voted by a margin of 52% to 48% to head for the Brexit -- leave the failed experiment in one-worldism and go back to their old xenophobic ways.

Walt was able to watch the rolling commentary on ITN, and was greatly amused by the expressions of shock and horror on the faces of the analysts, experts, pundits, celebs and other members of the chattering classes. How, they asked, could the hoi polloi have been so stupid as to ignore the pleas of the Davids -- Cameron, Beckham et al. -- to remain in the (soon to be) Islamic States of Europe? Why, they must be nothing but a bunch of narrow-minded racists!

Well, no! IMHO the majority of Brits simply wanted to take back their country from the overbearing, out-of-touch Eurocrats. One of the leaders of the "Leave" campaign
Former London mayor Boris Johnson, said Britain will continue to be a "great European power" even when it leaves the EU. "We cannot turn our backs on Europe. We are part of Europe," he said, "but there is simply no need in the 21st century to be part of a federal system of government based in Brussels.... It was a noble idea for its time. It is no longer right for this country."

Mr Johnson was being rather diplomatic. In fact Britons have never really wanted to be part of Europe. They have never really felt like Europeans. The English Channel might as well be 1000 miles wide, for in the minds of the average Brit "the wogs [foreigners] start at Calais". Today that is more true than ever as British border guards patrol the outskirts of Calais -- that's in France -- to turn back the hordes of African and Arab "refugees" waiting there for a chance to jump on a truck bound for Britain.

Make no mistake about it. The influx of millions of foreigners -- symbolized by the ubiquitous "Polish plumber" -- provoked the anti-immigrant backlash which was the chief factor which propelled the "Brexiteers" to victory. John McDonnell, deputy leader of the Labour Party, who campaigned for the "Remain" side, said "A lot of people's grievances are coming out and we have got to start listening to them." Britons want out of the EU, and they want the foreigners out of Britain. Or at least, they don't want any more allowed in, and that's why they voted to regain control of the country's border.

Donald Trump saluted the Brexit vote as he arrived at his golf course in Scotland today, saying the British " took back their country; it’s a great thing." He said, "People are angry all over the world," and that the UK vote was driven by worries about "the borders". Mr Trump also said that people were angry about similar things in the United States. He suggested that other counties may follow the UK's lead. "This will not be the last," he added.

Indeed. The politicians who should be listening now to the voice of the real people are the leaders of Germany, France, and the USA. Walt is somewhat bemused by the anti-immigrant feelings of the Brits, considering that most of the Polish plumbers are white, Christian and able and willing to work. It could have been a lot worse, as has been the case in France and Germany, now being overrun by Arab and African Muslims who know no "work" other than begging, stealing and waging jihad against their hosts.

Nationalism is resurgent, not just in Britain but in the rest of Europe, and America too. Leaders who are in touch with their people are listening. One of the first to congratulate Britain's Leave campaign on the win and the pending separation was Geert Wilders, leader of the Dutch Freedom Party, who tweeted, "Hurrah for the British! Now it is our turn. Time for a Dutch referendum!" And Marine Le Pen, leader of France's Front National, called Brexit "a victory for liberty". And so it is. Well done, John Bull. Let the rest of the world take note.

Brexit referendum: the British establishment vs the British people

Tomorrow the people of the Disunited Kingdom (or Formerly Great Britain) go to the polls to decide whether their country should remain in the European Union or leave it. For Walt's American readers, who (like Donald Trump) don't know what the fuss is all about, "Brexit" stands for "British exit". The referendum was promised -- rather foolishly, as it turns out -- by British Prime Minister Donald Cameron in the last general election campaign, to quell voter anger over ever-closer ties to Europe and, particularly, ever-increasing levels of immigration.

The Donald and Marine Le Pen are about the only non-British politicians to say that the Brits might just be better to get off the road to One World Government. All the other "world leaders", including the Prez and Hellery Clinton, say no, the Brits should stay in. A vote to leave, they say, would be a vote against liberalism and progress. And of course it would be a vote for racism, Islamophobia, and all the other things that the liberal elite think are politically incorrect.

Never mind the chattering classes. What do the real people think? In his final rallying call for voters to back Brexit, United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) leader Nigel Farage branded the EU referendum a contest "between the people and the Establishment". He said Brexit voters would "crawl over broken glass to get down to that polling station tomorrow", and called on those who have never voted before to grasp the "opportunity to make a difference." Tomorrow's result "may be tight, may be narrow," he said, but "I genuinely believe we are going to win this."

Today's polls show a statistical dead heat, and I'm not going to hazard a guess, let alone a bet. In fact, although my heart tells me that any move away from One World Government -- the EU and the UN are great examples of how well that works -- my head for business tells me a Brexit will cause nothing but economic turmoil not just in Europe but throughout the world. I'm holding my breath.

Absentee votes deny Freedom Party victory in Austrian election

The final results from Austria's presidential election are now in. With Austrian voters apparently sick and tired of the centre-left coalitions that governed the country for two generations, the hard-fought campaign pitted the right-wing populist Freedom Party (FPO) against (believe it or not) the Green Party. It was like watching Donald Trump vs Bernie Sanders, but in German of course.

The Freedom Party campaigned on an "anti" platform -- anti-immigration, anti-Muslim (although they don't say so as directly as does The Donald), and -- very significantly -- anti-European Union, which is to say they're against the One Rainbow World Agenda. The Greens? Well, they're for all the rainbows and unicorns, alternative energy, Willkommenskultur and the brotherhood of man. [Ed., can I still say "brotherhood of man"?]

A key campaign issue was Europe's migrant crisis, which has seen the number of mostly Muslim asylum-seekers and "refugees" soar into the millions. Unlike their German kith and kin, Austrians have been decidedly unwelcoming to the Muslim hordes. Although only 90,000 or so people claimed asylum in Austria last year, that's equivalent to about 1% of the country's population, and many Austrians -- the majority, apparently -- feel that enough is enough!

As of last night, the Freedom Party's presidential candidate, Norbert Hofer, was leading the Greens' Alexander Van der Bellen by 51.9% to 48.1%. The actual margin was 144,006 votes, but there are some 750,000 postal ballots yet to be counted. Projections indicate the postal votes could favour Herr Van der Bellen, and sure enough, the final tally showed Herr Hofer with 49.7% of the vote and Herr Van der Bellen the president-elect, with 50.3%. The difference is only a little more than 31,000 votes out of more than 4.6 million ballots cast.

If Norbert Hofer had won, he would have been the first "far-right" head of state in the European Union. The implications -- not just for Austria but for all of Europe -- of the FPO's very narrow loss are enormous! Although the "antis" lost a close one, the result still adds momentum to the surge in support for populist and far-right parties in other European countries. As well, it gives impetus as well to the "Quit Europe" side in the UK "Brexit" referendum, coming next month. The forces of "progress and enlightenment" are more nervous now than ever... and rightly so!