One should not underestimate the value of optimism.
I have lost track of the number of times May has been written off as completely useless...yet here she still is, wading grimly on through a mess largely not of her making.....
So completely useless we have full employment in this Country for this first time in my 50 years
Full employment is what we had from 1945 - late 1960s when the jobless figures were well under 500,000 in most years.Moreover , when account is taken of the many 'adjustments' to the figures ,unemployment today remains well above mid-1970s levels - indeed on a like for like basis we are probably still looking at circa 2 million unemployed.
Are we? Our employment ratio (15+) on World Bank numbers is 60%, and I suspect it wasn't that high in the 1970s.
Many of those in work are in reality only partly employed - working barely in excess of the 16 hours per week required to keep them off the registers and earning very little.
If I were feeling malicious I could make such a brutal comment about civil servants at the Department for Education...
Time for a repeat of that very informative chart that shows that most new employment since 2010 is FTE PAYE positions.
Was it Mr Eagles who found it?
But that does not contradict the fact of there being hundreds of thousands of people forced to work part time in a way that was not true back in the 1970s. Similarly many have been 'encouraged' to declare themselves self employed and earn peanuts - the Government is not bothered because it gets them off the unemployment register.
I think what's changed is that there are far more women in the workforce now than 50 years ago, and they find that part time jobs suit them.
There is an element of that but there are many people in part time employment on an involuntary basis who would like longer hours and more secure jobs - including a significant proportion of those forced to accept Zero Hours Contracts.
I don't know what would be more exciting, the Gov't being defeated or passing all these amendments. Amusing* Labour is willing to sell out Northern Ireland
As was explained in the Jewish Chronicle, all the internationally recognised definitions allow for criticism of Israel, Labour decided in their wisdom to hack those paragraphs out and replace them with their own...its like they don't take this antisemitism stuff seriously or something.
It's worse than that. They are even resiling from what the Chakrabarti report recommended and Corbyn agreed to implement, namely, that using "Zio" and "Zio-Nazis" were wrong. This definition will permit this.
Essentially, they are saying that the Jewish desire for a homeland is ipso facto illegitimate. That is pretty damn close to saying that Israel should not exist at all and, frankly, if Corbyn were to become PM I would not be at all surprised if he were to withdraw recognition of Israel.
More worryingly, if having a Jewish homeland is ipso facto racist, why isn't the claim for a Palestinian homeland also racist, not least because the Palestinians have made it crystal clear that Jews, even those born and living within the area to be covered by a Palestinian state would not be allowed to live there?
It also rather ignores the fact that not all Israelis are Jews. According to Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics, the Arab population in 2013 was estimated at 1,658,000, representing 20.7% of the country's population. The majority of these identify themselves as Arab or Palestinian by nationality and Israeli by citizenship. There are also about 161,000 Israeli citizens practising Christianity, together comprising about 2% of the total population. It's a curious definition of a racist country for it to have as citizens with an equal right to vote, stand for Parliament etc people who do not belong to the majority race. It is, in fact, rather less racist than the position in many Arab countries.
(And, yes, I'm well aware of the utterly deplorable position in the Occupied Territories where Palestinians are not citizens and treated appallingly. But those territories are not part of Israel and the continuation of settlements there is wrong and will make a peace deal very difficult indeed if they continue.)
It is curious that Irish nationalism and Palestinian and Kurdish nationalism, for instance, are beloved by the current Labour leadership but Jewish nationalism is not.
The immediate issue is getting a Withdrawal Agreement in place so there is a somewhat orderly Brexit. This in turn depends on the UK signing a NI backstop for customs, which today's amendments formally exclude. So we will hit full-scale crisis this autumn. Either the EU backs down on the backstop (unlikely), or we will have a chaotic Brexit, or we cave into EU demands in the most humiliating circumstances, or Brexit will be delayed indefinitely.
I suspect Mrs May carries on because she knows all the realistic outcomes are disastrous for her and the conservative party and she is sticking her finger into the dyke to keep the flood waters bursting for as long as possible, while hoping someone or something will come along to make the problem go away.
Replacing May by someone competent won't work. It isn't an issue of competence. The problem is Brexit itself.
Since no government will accept an internal customs border, and since this is a deal-breaker for the EU, would it not be best for both sides to acknowledge that there cannot be a deal, and plan accordingly.
I don't know what would be more exciting, the Gov't being defeated or passing all these amendments. Amusing* Labour is willing to sell out Northern Ireland
* Corbyn lol
I think it's fairly obvious by this point that Northern Ireland isn't a real place, it's just some abstract token to be abused for the purpose of political point scoring.
It's not like it has a history of internecine civil strife that could be exacerbated by this sort of callousness.
One should not underestimate the value of optimism.
I have lost track of the number of times May has been written off as completely useless...yet here she still is, wading grimly on through a mess largely not of her making.....
So completely useless we have full employment in this Country for this first time in my 50 years
Full employment is what we had from 1945 - late 1960s when the jobless figures were well under 500,000 in most years.Moreover , when account is taken of the many 'adjustments' to the figures ,unemployment today remains well above mid-1970s levels - indeed on a like for like basis we are probably still looking at circa 2 million unemployed.
Are we? Our employment ratio (15+) on World Bank numbers is 60%, and I suspect it wasn't that high in the 1970s.
Many of those in work are in reality only partly employed - working barely in excess of the 16 hours per week required to keep them off the registers and earning very little.
If I were feeling malicious I could make such a brutal comment about civil servants at the Department for Education...
Time for a repeat of that very informative chart that shows that most new employment since 2010 is FTE PAYE positions.
Was it Mr Eagles who found it?
This one?
The one that shows George’s golden economic legacy.
Do you think it is anti-Semitic to believe that the denial of self determination to the Palestinians was racist? Or to say that the mass ethnic cleansing of Palestinians was racist?
Self-determination to the Palestinians was not denied. In 1948 the world - via the UN - offered them a state of their own - see Resolution 181(II).
Was the mass ethnic cleansing of Jews from Egypt, Iraq and other Middle Eastern and North African countries where Jews had lived for thousands of years racist or anti-semitic? Or does that not matter?
The immediate issue is getting a Withdrawal Agreement in place so there is a somewhat orderly Brexit. This in turn depends on the UK signing a NI backstop for customs, which today's amendments formally exclude. So we will hit full-scale crisis this autumn. Either the EU backs down on the backstop (unlikely), or we will have a chaotic Brexit, or we cave into EU demands in the most humiliating circumstances, or Brexit will be delayed indefinitely.
I suspect Mrs May carries on because she knows all the realistic outcomes are disastrous for her and the conservative party and she is sticking her finger into the dyke to keep the flood waters bursting for as long as possible, while hoping someone or something will come along to make the problem go away.
Replacing May by someone competent won't work. It isn't an issue of competence. The problem is Brexit itself.
Since no government will accept an internal customs border, and since this is a deal-breaker for the EU, would it not be best for both sides to acknowledge that there cannot be a deal, and plan accordingly.
There is a clear alternative. The public votes to stay IN
The immediate issue is getting a Withdrawal Agreement in place so there is a somewhat orderly Brexit. This in turn depends on the UK signing a NI backstop for customs, which today's amendments formally exclude. So we will hit full-scale crisis this autumn. Either the EU backs down on the backstop (unlikely), or we will have a chaotic Brexit, or we cave into EU demands in the most humiliating circumstances, or Brexit will be delayed indefinitely.
I suspect Mrs May carries on because she knows all the realistic outcomes are disastrous for her and the conservative party and she is sticking her finger into the dyke to keep the flood waters bursting for as long as possible, while hoping someone or something will come along to make the problem go away.
Replacing May by someone competent won't work. It isn't an issue of competence. The problem is Brexit itself.
Since no government will accept an internal customs border, and since this is a deal-breaker for the EU, would it not be best for both sides to acknowledge that there cannot be a deal, and plan accordingly.
There is a clear alternative. The public votes to stay IN
Since no government will accept an internal customs border, and since this is a deal-breaker for the EU, would it not be best for both sides to acknowledge that there cannot be a deal, and plan accordingly.
Preparing accordingly means, among other things, scheduling a border poll in Northern Ireland.
Since no government will accept an internal customs border, and since this is a deal-breaker for the EU, would it not be best for both sides to acknowledge that there cannot be a deal, and plan accordingly.
The question is, does May know what she's doing?
If she does, today marks a sharp shift in May's thinking towards a probable no-deal brexit.
The more likely explanation, however, is that she's lost control, has no idea what she's doing, and has simply given up all hope and cast herself unto the tender mercy of the Fates.
The immediate issue is getting a Withdrawal Agreement in place so there is a somewhat orderly Brexit. This in turn depends on the UK signing a NI backstop for customs, which today's amendments formally exclude. So we will hit full-scale crisis this autumn. Either the EU backs down on the backstop (unlikely), or we will have a chaotic Brexit, or we cave into EU demands in the most humiliating circumstances, or Brexit will be delayed indefinitely.
I suspect Mrs May carries on because she knows all the realistic outcomes are disastrous for her and the conservative party and she is sticking her finger into the dyke to keep the flood waters bursting for as long as possible, while hoping someone or something will come along to make the problem go away.
Replacing May by someone competent won't work. It isn't an issue of competence. The problem is Brexit itself.
Since no government will accept an internal customs border, and since this is a deal-breaker for the EU, would it not be best for both sides to acknowledge that there cannot be a deal, and plan accordingly.
There is a clear alternative. The public votes to stay IN
Do you think it is anti-Semitic to believe that the denial of self determination to the Palestinians was racist? Or to say that the mass ethnic cleansing of Palestinians was racist?
Self-determination to the Palestinians was not denied. In 1948 the world - via the UN - offered them a state of their own - see Resolution 181(II).
Was the mass ethnic cleansing of Jews from Egypt, Iraq and other Middle Eastern and North African countries where Jews had lived for thousands of years racist or anti-semitic? Or does that not matter?
An arguable case could be made that it was Jordan and Egypt, by their invasion and annexation of the West Bank and Gaza, that denied the Palestinians self-determination. The Israelis exploited the situation with great skill to enable the capture of far more land than they would otherwise have been allotted, and to cover the expulsion of Palestinians from the areas they captured.
As terrible as Brexit is (and political meltdown was one of the clearly predictable outcomes of Leaving), at least our Head of State is not commonly assumed to be in the pay of the Russians.
You read these kinds of things on Twitter, and half discount them, thinking them to be so much hysteria, then you check and discover the author was CIA Director for 4 years.
The immediate issue is getting a Withdrawal Agreement in place so there is a somewhat orderly Brexit. This in turn depends on the UK signing a NI backstop for customs, which today's amendments formally exclude. So we will hit full-scale crisis this autumn. Either the EU backs down on the backstop (unlikely), or we will have a chaotic Brexit, or we cave into EU demands in the most humiliating circumstances, or Brexit will be delayed indefinitely.
I suspect Mrs May carries on because she knows all the realistic outcomes are disastrous for her and the conservative party and she is sticking her finger into the dyke to keep the flood waters bursting for as long as possible, while hoping someone or something will come along to make the problem go away.
Replacing May by someone competent won't work. It isn't an issue of competence. The problem is Brexit itself.
Since no government will accept an internal customs border, and since this is a deal-breaker for the EU, would it not be best for both sides to acknowledge that there cannot be a deal, and plan accordingly.
There is a clear alternative. The public votes to stay IN
Let's suppose, for the moment, that the referendum is rerun and the question includes an option to remain. Neither is likely to happen for a huge number of reasons, but as a hypothetical scenario we'll entertain it.
What happens if - probably when - the country votes to leave again?
Since no government will accept an internal customs border, and since this is a deal-breaker for the EU, would it not be best for both sides to acknowledge that there cannot be a deal, and plan accordingly.
The question is, does May know what she's doing?
If she does, today marks a sharp shift in May's thinking towards a probable no-deal brexit.
The more likely explanation, however, is that she's lost control, has no idea what she's doing, and has simply given up all hope and cast herself unto the tender mercy of the Fates.
I don't necessarily agree with that conclusion. Perhaps May genuinely has advice that these amendments don't inhibit her existing plan, whatever it is.
The immediate issue is getting a Withdrawal Agreement in place so there is a somewhat orderly Brexit. This in turn depends on the UK signing a NI backstop for customs, which today's amendments formally exclude. So we will hit full-scale crisis this autumn. Either the EU backs down on the backstop (unlikely), or we will have a chaotic Brexit, or we cave into EU demands in the most humiliating circumstances, or Brexit will be delayed indefinitely.
I suspect Mrs May carries on because she knows all the realistic outcomes are disastrous for her and the conservative party and she is sticking her finger into the dyke to keep the flood waters bursting for as long as possible, while hoping someone or something will come along to make the problem go away.
Replacing May by someone competent won't work. It isn't an issue of competence. The problem is Brexit itself.
Since no government will accept an internal customs border, and since this is a deal-breaker for the EU, would it not be best for both sides to acknowledge that there cannot be a deal, and plan accordingly.
There is a clear alternative. The public votes to stay IN
Let's suppose, for the moment, that the referendum is rerun and the question includes an option to remain. Neither is likely to happen for a huge number of reasons, but as a hypothetical scenario we'll entertain it.
What happens if - probably when - the country votes to leave again?
As an aside, the customs amendment is totally toothless. The EU would love to collect customs duties for us at Rotterdam for UK bound containers. They already do this for the Swiss (and the deal works efficiently for both parties).
Obviously recipricocity is essential, though there is the small matter of needing some sort of customs authentication at the border to ensure honesty. We do have form in that area:
Seems unnessicarily bureacratic, but I suppose that is the flipside of sovereignty. Each party having authority is a good job creation scheme for petty officialdom.
Since no government will accept an internal customs border, and since this is a deal-breaker for the EU, would it not be best for both sides to acknowledge that there cannot be a deal, and plan accordingly.
The question is, does May know what she's doing?
If she does, today marks a sharp shift in May's thinking towards a probable no-deal brexit.
The more likely explanation, however, is that she's lost control, has no idea what she's doing, and has simply given up all hope and cast herself unto the tender mercy of the Fates.
I don't necessarily agree with that conclusion. Perhaps May genuinely has advice that these amendments don't inhibit her existing plan, whatever it is.
There is no way you, I, or she believes that.
This explicitly tells the EU to shove their backstop up their arse, one of the vanishingly few things the UK government has managed to achieve agreement on.
We're now further behind in the "negotiations" than we were last December.
Since no government will accept an internal customs border, and since this is a deal-breaker for the EU, would it not be best for both sides to acknowledge that there cannot be a deal, and plan accordingly.
The question is, does May know what she's doing?
If she does, today marks a sharp shift in May's thinking towards a probable no-deal brexit.
The more likely explanation, however, is that she's lost control, has no idea what she's doing, and has simply given up all hope and cast herself unto the tender mercy of the Fates.
I don't necessarily agree with that conclusion. Perhaps May genuinely has advice that these amendments don't inhibit her existing plan, whatever it is.
No one on here has convincingly suggested they don’t. I’m with Carlotta. It’s the heat, driving people mental.
That, and the forthcoming economic collapse, subversion of the media by the Russians, and the dissolution of the Union.
The immediate issue is getting a Withdrawal Agreement in place so there is a somewhat orderly Brexit. This in turn depends on the UK signing a NI backstop for customs, which today's amendments formally exclude. So we will hit full-scale crisis this autumn. Either the EU backs down on the backstop (unlikely), or we will have a chaotic Brexit, or we cave into EU demands in the most humiliating circumstances, or Brexit will be delayed indefinitely.
I suspect Mrs May carries on because she knows all the realistic outcomes are disastrous for her and the conservative party and she is sticking her finger into the dyke to keep the flood waters bursting for as long as possible, while hoping someone or something will come along to make the problem go away.
Replacing May by someone competent won't work. It isn't an issue of competence. The problem is Brexit itself.
Since no government will accept an internal customs border, and since this is a deal-breaker for the EU, would it not be best for both sides to acknowledge that there cannot be a deal, and plan accordingly.
There is a clear alternative. The public votes to stay IN
Let's suppose, for the moment, that the referendum is rerun and the question includes an option to remain. Neither is likely to happen for a huge number of reasons, but as a hypothetical scenario we'll entertain it.
What happens if - probably when - the country votes to leave again?
I think what's changed is that there are far more women in the workforce now than 50 years ago, and they find that part time jobs suit them.
Indeed.
And it's not just women. If I was to go back to work, then I could probably only realistically work part-time: even with only one child, childcare in holidays and before/after school makes things difficult, even if I went back to contracting.
In t'olden days, family would have helped with childcare. In my case, family are elderly and live two hours' drive away; in Mrs J's case they're in another country. We're fortunate that we could afford a babysitter or childcare for those periods (and they're blooming expensive), but instinctually we don't like that.
Part-time working can be a good choice for many people; it allows them to keep their hand in the workplace whilst kids are growing up (and therefore not have a blank space on their CV), and brings a little money in. It's not all the oppressed peasants Justin's trying to make out.
The Telegraph is bigging up its column from Johnson, just published, "a rallying call to the nation". Since I pay them nothing I can't read it, but maybe someone can post the key bits?
Russian pro-gun activist linked to NRA charged with spying in US for Moscow
Maria Butina, 29, arrested on Sunday and appeared before a magistrate in Washington on Monday, according to the DoJ.
A Washington-based pro-gun activist affiliated with the National Rifle Association (NRA) has been charged with spying in the US for Russia.
Maria Butina was charged with conspiracy to act as an agent of the Russian federation within the US without prior notification to the attorney general.
Butina, 29, was arrested on Sunday and appeared before a magistrate in Washington on Monday, according to the US justice department.
She is known as a protege of Alexander Torshin, a Russian former state banker, who met Donald Trump Jr for dinner at the NRA’s 2016 convention. Torshin was placed under sanction by the US in April this year.
A Justice Department press release said Butina had been “developing relationships with US persons and infiltrating organizations having influence in American politics, for the purpose of advancing the interests of the Russian federation.”
The immediate issue is getting a Withdrawal Agreement in place so there is a somewhat orderly Brexit. This in turn depends on the UK signing a NI backstop for customs, which today's amendments formally exclude. So we will hit full-scale crisis this autumn. Either the EU backs down on the backstop (unlikely), or we will have a chaotic Brexit, or we cave into EU demands in the most humiliating circumstances, or Brexit will be delayed indefinitely.
I suspect Mrs May carries on because she knows all the realistic outcomes are disastrous for her and the conservative party and she is sticking her finger into the dyke to keep the flood waters bursting for as long as possible, while hoping someone or something will come along to make the problem go away.
Replacing May by someone competent won't work. It isn't an issue of competence. The problem is Brexit itself.
Since no government will accept an internal customs border, and since this is a deal-breaker for the EU, would it not be best for both sides to acknowledge that there cannot be a deal, and plan accordingly.
Even I think the NI backstop is a reach. But the UK government isn't serious about customs arrangements and the Irish border specifically,. Which is why the backstop looms ever larger. The context of course is that government doesn't have the numbers, it has a powerful "Taliban" faction to appease and it has to respect a democratic but profoundly stupid referendum decision. None of this is of any concern to the EU.
The Telegraph is bigging up its column from Johnson, just published, "a rallying call to the nation". Since I pay them nothing I can't read it, but maybe someone can post the key bits?
Sure:
blather blather blather THE QUEEN blather blather blather FISH AND CHIPS blather blather I AM VERY IMPORTANT blather blather BIG WORD blather blather LAND OF HOPE AND GLORY blather blather Lord Nelson, Lord Beaverbrook, Sir Winston Churchill, Sir Anthony Eden, Clement Attlee, Henry Cooper, Lady Diana, vi har slått dem alle sammen, vi har slått dem alle sammen! We have beaten them all, we have beaten them all! Maggie Thatcher, can you hear me? Maggie Thatcher ... your boys took a hell of a beating! Your boys took a hell of a beating!
Since no government will accept an internal customs border, and since this is a deal-breaker for the EU, would it not be best for both sides to acknowledge that there cannot be a deal, and plan accordingly.
The question is, does May know what she's doing?
If she does, today marks a sharp shift in May's thinking towards a probable no-deal brexit.
The more likely explanation, however, is that she's lost control, has no idea what she's doing, and has simply given up all hope and cast herself unto the tender mercy of the Fates.
I don't necessarily agree with that conclusion. Perhaps May genuinely has advice that these amendments don't inhibit her existing plan, whatever it is.
There is no way you, I, or she believes that.
This explicitly tells the EU to shove their backstop up their arse, one of the vanishingly few things the UK government has managed to achieve agreement on.
We're now further behind in the "negotiations" than we were last December.
Bear in mind that my assumption has always been that the moment she gets a withdrawal agreement text agreed with the EU she'll call a referendum with an option to Remain. In that case she can tell the ERG where to stick their amendment because in the event that the deal were approved, the "will of the people" would ensure any legislation required to implement it would sail through Parliament.
Since no government will accept an internal customs border, and since this is a deal-breaker for the EU, would it not be best for both sides to acknowledge that there cannot be a deal, and plan accordingly.
The question is, does May know what she's doing?
If she does, today marks a sharp shift in May's thinking towards a probable no-deal brexit.
The more likely explanation, however, is that she's lost control, has no idea what she's doing, and has simply given up all hope and cast herself unto the tender mercy of the Fates.
I don't necessarily agree with that conclusion. Perhaps May genuinely has advice that these amendments don't inhibit her existing plan, whatever it is.
No one on here has convincingly suggested they don’t. I’m with Carlotta. It’s the heat, driving people mental.
That, and the forthcoming economic collapse, subversion of the media by the Russians, and the dissolution of the Union.
Ignoring the hyperbolic final sentence, I agree with you and Carlotta - I don’t see how these amendments affect Chequers deal at all. If anything, they enhance the British hand (‘can’t accept that change Juncker, as I won’t be able to get it passed my parliament’); they render useless the ‘Irish backstop’ dead cat which was an attempt to nullify Brexit or split the UK. A bonus, as far as I can see it - because the Irish backstop isn’t necessary if Chequers is accepted.
The Telegraph is bigging up its column from Johnson, just published, "a rallying call to the nation". Since I pay them nothing I can't read it, but maybe someone can post the key bits?
It's deluded nonsense. He says that we will trade with the EU more than ever before after Brexit, that Global Britain means using our hard and soft power to open new markets, and that elites around the world look on in awe at the prospect of Brexit Britain being unleashed.
Russian pro-gun activist linked to NRA charged with spying in US for Moscow
Maria Butina, 29, arrested on Sunday and appeared before a magistrate in Washington on Monday, according to the DoJ.
A Washington-based pro-gun activist affiliated with the National Rifle Association (NRA) has been charged with spying in the US for Russia.
Maria Butina was charged with conspiracy to act as an agent of the Russian federation within the US without prior notification to the attorney general.
Butina, 29, was arrested on Sunday and appeared before a magistrate in Washington on Monday, according to the US justice department.
She is known as a protege of Alexander Torshin, a Russian former state banker, who met Donald Trump Jr for dinner at the NRA’s 2016 convention. Torshin was placed under sanction by the US in April this year.
A Justice Department press release said Butina had been “developing relationships with US persons and infiltrating organizations having influence in American politics, for the purpose of advancing the interests of the Russian federation.”
Russian pro-gun activist linked to NRA charged with spying in US for Moscow
Maria Butina, 29, arrested on Sunday and appeared before a magistrate in Washington on Monday, according to the DoJ.
A Washington-based pro-gun activist affiliated with the National Rifle Association (NRA) has been charged with spying in the US for Russia.
Maria Butina was charged with conspiracy to act as an agent of the Russian federation within the US without prior notification to the attorney general.
Butina, 29, was arrested on Sunday and appeared before a magistrate in Washington on Monday, according to the US justice department.
She is known as a protege of Alexander Torshin, a Russian former state banker, who met Donald Trump Jr for dinner at the NRA’s 2016 convention. Torshin was placed under sanction by the US in April this year.
A Justice Department press release said Butina had been “developing relationships with US persons and infiltrating organizations having influence in American politics, for the purpose of advancing the interests of the Russian federation.”
What is rather more disturbing is that the US President (who is suspected, not absurdly, of being a puppet of Putin) is parroting the talking points of the Russian head of state.
The immediate issue is getting a Withdrawal Agreement in place so there is a somewhat orderly Brexit. This in turn depends on the UK signing a NI backstop for customs, which today's amendments formally exclude. So we will hit full-scale crisis this autumn. Either the EU backs down on the backstop (unlikely), or we will have a chaotic Brexit, or we cave into EU demands in the most humiliating circumstances, or Brexit will be delayed indefinitely.
I suspect Mrs May carries on because she knows all the realistic outcomes are disastrous for her and the conservative party and she is sticking her finger into the dyke to keep the flood waters bursting for as long as possible, while hoping someone or something will come along to make the problem go away.
Replacing May by someone competent won't work. It isn't an issue of competence. The problem is Brexit itself.
Since no government will accept an internal customs border, and since this is a deal-breaker for the EU, would it not be best for both sides to acknowledge that there cannot be a deal, and plan accordingly.
Even I think the NI backstop is a reach. But the UK government isn't serious about customs arrangements and the Irish border specifically,. Which is why the backstop looms ever larger. The context of course is that government doesn't have the numbers, it has a powerful "Taliban" faction to appease and it has to respect a democratic but profoundly stupid referendum decision. None of this is of any concern to the EU.
It will be if UK walks away - disaster for everyone but a move that could receive backing from the UK electorate who will see the EU as the cause
The immediate issue is getting a Withdrawal Agreement in place so there is a somewhat orderly Brexit. This in turn depends on the UK signing a NI backstop for customs, which today's amendments formally exclude. So we will hit full-scale crisis this autumn. Either the EU backs down on the backstop (unlikely), or we will have a chaotic Brexit, or we cave into EU demands in the most humiliating circumstances, or Brexit will be delayed indefinitely.
I suspect Mrs May carries on because she knows all the realistic outcomes are disastrous for her and the conservative party and she is sticking her finger into the dyke to keep the flood waters bursting for as long as possible, while hoping someone or something will come along to make the problem go away.
Replacing May by someone competent won't work. It isn't an issue of competence. The problem is Brexit itself.
Since no government will accept an internal customs border, and since this is a deal-breaker for the EU, would it not be best for both sides to acknowledge that there cannot be a deal, and plan accordingly.
There is a clear alternative. The public votes to stay IN
What if they don't?
People already voted once, to trigger article 50 and leave the EU.
As much as I might like to remain in the EU, having campaigned to remain, and seen the amount of passion about leaving the EU (vs the complete lack of enthusiasm for it), I would take a no deal brexit over an engineered reversal of the referendum result via another vote. It would take us to the brink of a civil war.
It strikes me that the government need to get on with preparing for no deal, and trying to facilitate a transition to it, because the two sides are so far apart that there is no reasonable prospect of any agreement.
The Telegraph is bigging up its column from Johnson, just published, "a rallying call to the nation". Since I pay them nothing I can't read it, but maybe someone can post the key bits?
It's deluded nonsense. He says that we will trade with the EU more than ever before after Brexit, that Global Britain means using our hard and soft power to open new markets, and that elites around the world look on in awe at the prospect of Brexit Britain being unleashed.
Bear in mind that my assumption has always been that the moment she gets a withdrawal agreement text agreed with the EU she'll call a referendum with an option to Remain.
I appreciate that politically this would suit you, but (1) do you have any evidence that has allowed you to infer this is May's super-cunning plan, (2) do you think if she suddenly pulled this trick out of the bag, she would be leader of the Conservative Party and Prime Minister, say, one week after announcing her proposal?
I think what's changed is that there are far more women in the workforce now than 50 years ago, and they find that part time jobs suit them.
Indeed.
And it's not just women. If I was to go back to work, then I could probably only realistically work part-time: even with only one child, childcare in holidays and before/after school makes things difficult, even if I went back to contracting.
In t'olden days, family would have helped with childcare. In my case, family are elderly and live two hours' drive away; in Mrs J's case they're in another country. We're fortunate that we could afford a babysitter or childcare for those periods (and they're blooming expensive), but instinctually we don't like that.
Part-time working can be a good choice for many people; it allows them to keep their hand in the workplace whilst kids are growing up (and therefore not have a blank space on their CV), and brings a little money in. It's not all the oppressed peasants Justin's trying to make out.
Indeed Mrs Foxy enjoys her ZHC. she works an average of 3 days per week, but can take as much time off as she wants, and can within reason pick her working days. It is much easier with the smoothing effect of my salary mind you.
The Telegraph is bigging up its column from Johnson, just published, "a rallying call to the nation". Since I pay them nothing I can't read it, but maybe someone can post the key bits?
It's deluded nonsense. He says that we will trade with the EU more than ever before after Brexit, that Global Britain means using our hard and soft power to open new markets, and that elites around the world look on in awe at the prospect of Brexit Britain being unleashed.
The big Boris reveal was his speech at Chatham House in October last year. It was flagged as the Brexit vision.
Instead, Boris guffawed his way through jokes about what happens on wedding nights.
As was once said about LA, the thing about Boris is there’s no “there” there.
How many of my fellow posters believe TM is lining herself up to walk out if the EU try to reject her deal
I think she might be after the sympathy vote. The French can't deal with a tearful woman even one over 60. A few tears and Barnier will melt then sign on the dotted line
Bear in mind that my assumption has always been that the moment she gets a withdrawal agreement text agreed with the EU she'll call a referendum with an option to Remain.
I appreciate that politically this would suit you, but (1) do you have any evidence that has allowed you to infer this is May's super-cunning plan, (2) do you think if she suddenly pulled this trick out of the bag, she would be leader of the Conservative Party and Prime Minister, say, one week after announcing her proposal?
It is William altering the narrative to suit his cause. He is entitled to his opinion but the way no 10 put down Justine Greening' move for a second referendum today was withering and TM would be out the minute she tried it
The Telegraph is bigging up its column from Johnson, just published, "a rallying call to the nation". Since I pay them nothing I can't read it, but maybe someone can post the key bits?
It's deluded nonsense. He says that we will trade with the EU more than ever before after Brexit, that Global Britain means using our hard and soft power to open new markets, and that elites around the world look on in awe at the prospect of Brexit Britain being unleashed.
He is right. Many, many are looking on in awe...
Certainly, talking with other nations football fans in Russia has met with complete bafflement as to what Brexit is for. I have sadly been unable to enlighten them!
Much interest in wider British, European and American culture here. On the corner of my hotel is a retro US Diner called Beverly Hills, and a decent pizza parlour.
Bear in mind that my assumption has always been that the moment she gets a withdrawal agreement text agreed with the EU she'll call a referendum with an option to Remain.
I appreciate that politically this would suit you, but (1) do you have any evidence that has allowed you to infer this is May's super-cunning plan, (2) do you think if she suddenly pulled this trick out of the bag, she would be leader of the Conservative Party and Prime Minister, say, one week after announcing her proposal?
It is William altering the narrative to suit his cause. He is entitled to his opinion but the way no 10 put down Justine Greening' move for a second referendum today was withering and TM would be out the minute she tried it
If there's a second referendum it's absolutely not going to be May's decision, though I'm sure May knows this.
BREAKING: Southgate’s achievements with England have been recognised by TfL with Southgate tube station being temporarily rebranded as ‘Gareth Southgate’ for 48 hours from Monday.
BREAKING: Southgate’s achievements with England have been recognised by TfL with Southgate tube station being temporarily rebranded as ‘Gareth Southgate’ for 48 hours from Monday.
I’m not even talking lost investment. I’m talking about the fact that it has consumed the entire machinery of government (and media, too).
Although in a sense it doesn't matter whether we're in the EU or not, I'm ashamed that our legislature is spending an unlimited time on something that is essentially unnecessary, while we have an ever increasing number of people living on our streets.
The immediate issue is getting a Withdrawal Agreement in place so there is a somewhat orderly Brexit. This in turn depends on the UK signing a NI backstop for customs, which today's amendments formally exclude. So we will hit full-scale crisis this autumn. Either the EU backs down on the backstop (unlikely), or we will have a chaotic Brexit, or we cave into EU demands in the most humiliating circumstances, or Brexit will be delayed indefinitely.
I suspect Mrs May carries on because she knows all the realistic outcomes are disastrous for her and the conservative party and she is sticking her finger into the dyke to keep the flood waters bursting for as long as possible, while hoping someone or something will come along to make the problem go away.
Replacing May by someone competent won't work. It isn't an issue of competence. The problem is Brexit itself.
Since no government will accept an internal customs border, and since this is a deal-breaker for the EU, would it not be best for both sides to acknowledge that there cannot be a deal, and plan accordingly.
Even I think the NI backstop is a reach. But the UK government isn't serious about customs arrangements and the Irish border specifically,. Which is why the backstop looms ever larger. The context of course is that government doesn't have the numbers, it has a powerful "Taliban" faction to appease and it has to respect a democratic but profoundly stupid referendum decision. None of this is of any concern to the EU.
It seems to me that for EU negotiators to use the threat of renewed violence in Northern Ireland as a way of trying to extract concessions from the government is irresponsible in the extreme. Terrorism is not something you can confine to one locality.
How many of my fellow posters believe TM is lining herself up to walk out if the EU try to reject her deal
I think she might be after the sympathy vote. The French can't deal with a tearful woman even one over 60. A few tears and Barnier will melt then sign on the dotted line
I do not expect her to do that at all.
I expect Barnier himself is going to face serious questions if we walk out.
And maybe the 27 will see sense but maybe not, who knows
BREAKING: Southgate’s achievements with England have been recognised by TfL with Southgate tube station being temporarily rebranded as ‘Gareth Southgate’ for 48 hours from Monday.
How many of my fellow posters believe TM is lining herself up to walk out if the EU try to reject her deal
I think she might be after the sympathy vote. The French can't deal with a tearful woman even one over 60. A few tears and Barnier will melt then sign on the dotted line
I do not expect her to do that at all.
I expect Barnier himself is going to face serious questions if we walk out.
And maybe the 27 will see sense but maybe not, who knows
The EU27 isn't about to interrupt an enemy when it's making a mistake.
BREAKING: Southgate’s achievements with England have been recognised by TfL with Southgate tube station being temporarily rebranded as ‘Gareth Southgate’ for 48 hours from Monday.
It seems to me that for EU negotiators to use the threat of renewed violence in Northern Ireland as a way of trying to extract concessions from the government is irresponsible in the extreme. Terrorism is not something you can confine to one locality.
We started it threatening Europe's security for a good Brexit deal.
Theresa May warned European leaders that failure to reach a comprehensive Brexit agreement will result in a weakening of cooperation on crime and security, triggering accusations that her remarks amounted to blackmail.
Senior figures in Brussels complained about the prime minister’s remarks, while critics in Westminster also piled in, arguing that the prime minister had issued a “blatant threat” and was treating security as a “bargaining chip” in negotiations.
As terrible as Brexit is (and political meltdown was one of the clearly predictable outcomes of Leaving), at least our Head of State is not commonly assumed to be in the pay of the Russians.
You read these kinds of things on Twitter, and half discount them, thinking them to be so much hysteria, then you check and discover the author was CIA Director for 4 years.
The difference between Brennan and 99.999999% of people commenting about this issue is that Brennan would have seen the intelligence from the CIA and other agencies (US and allies) when this whole issue of Russian interference and collusion kicked off.
Since leaving office Brennan has be unequivocal in his condemnation of Trump, but he can't talk about classified information. Taking that into account, and what Brennan has been saying, the things he will have seen about Trump must be absolutely damning.
It's also worth bearing in mind the intelligence doesn't generally turn into evidence that can be used in a court of law, for a host of reasons. So Brennan may have seen intelligence that is worse than anything we are ever likely to see disclosed.
People who ought to be "in the know" are essentially saying the US President is acting in the interest of Russia and against his own goverment.
If the alarm bells aren't ringing now I dread to think what it will take for them to sound.
If I was to go back to work, then I could probably only realistically work part-time: even with only one child, childcare in holidays and before/after school makes things difficult, even if I went back to contracting.
In t'olden days, family would have helped with childcare. In my case, family are elderly and live two hours' drive away; in Mrs J's case they're in another country. We're fortunate that we could afford a babysitter or childcare for those periods (and they're blooming expensive), but instinctually we don't like that.
Was having a discussion about this in the comments thread over on another blog earlier today. Someone else was suggesting that a lot of social problems including support for young parents would be cured if we lived as extended families, either in bigger households or living next door or thereabouts.
I pointed out that children these days tend to live further from their parents (particularly if they move away for uni/college and then a job), that for many people family relations with their parents are complicated by family breakup, and the housing stock is not well-suited to that kind of arrangement. Moreover, the fact that people are having their children later in life means that grandparents are even older too, as you pointed out.
Nevertheless I can't help thinking that they had a point....
It seems to me that for EU negotiators to use the threat of renewed violence in Northern Ireland as a way of trying to extract concessions from the government is irresponsible in the extreme. Terrorism is not something you can confine to one locality.
We started it threatening Europe's security for a good Brexit deal.
Theresa May warned European leaders that failure to reach a comprehensive Brexit agreement will result in a weakening of cooperation on crime and security, triggering accusations that her remarks amounted to blackmail.
Senior figures in Brussels complained about the prime minister’s remarks, while critics in Westminster also piled in, arguing that the prime minister had issued a “blatant threat” and was treating security as a “bargaining chip” in negotiations.
It seems to me that for EU negotiators to use the threat of renewed violence in Northern Ireland as a way of trying to extract concessions from the government is irresponsible in the extreme. Terrorism is not something you can confine to one locality.
We started it threatening Europe's security for a good Brexit deal.
Theresa May warned European leaders that failure to reach a comprehensive Brexit agreement will result in a weakening of cooperation on crime and security, triggering accusations that her remarks amounted to blackmail.
Senior figures in Brussels complained about the prime minister’s remarks, while critics in Westminster also piled in, arguing that the prime minister had issued a “blatant threat” and was treating security as a “bargaining chip” in negotiations.
The immediate issue is getting a Withdrawal Agreement in place so there is a somewhat orderly Brexit. This in turn depends on the UK signing a NI backstop for customs, which today's amendments formally exclude. So we will hit full-scale crisis this autumn. Either the EU backs down on the backstop (unlikely), or we will have a chaotic Brexit, or we cave into EU demands in the most humiliating circumstances, or Brexit will be delayed indefinitely.
I suspect Mrs May carries on because she knows all the realistic outcomes are disastrous for her and the conservative party and she is sticking her finger into the dyke to keep the flood waters bursting for as long as possible, while hoping someone or something will come along to make the problem go away.
Replacing May by someone competent won't work. It isn't an issue of competence. The problem is Brexit itself.
Since no government will accept an internal customs border, and since this is a deal-breaker for the EU, would it not be best for both sides to acknowledge that there cannot be a deal, and plan accordingly.
Even I think the NI backstop is a reach. But the UK government isn't serious about customs arrangements and the Irish border specifically,. Which is why the backstop looms ever larger. The context of course is that government doesn't have the numbers, it has a powerful "Taliban" faction to appease and it has to respect a democratic but profoundly stupid referendum decision. None of this is of any concern to the EU.
It seems to me that for EU negotiators to use the threat of renewed violence in Northern Ireland as a way of trying to extract concessions from the government is irresponsible in the extreme. Terrorism is not something you can confine to one locality.
The only way I can make anything akin to sense of the government's approach on a number of issues is if following Brexit on WTO terms they intend to carry out their threat to make the UK the Singapore of Europe, with complete free trade with everyone including the EU.
At that moment, the EU requirement for NI to be in the same Customs system as the EU is met, as the border checks will be zero. However, that leaves the EU with an extremely nasty problem as they will be unable to impose customs arrangements of their own in the Irish Sea without our help and cannot do so on the land border without breaking their word. Simultaneously they cannot do nothing or they will have to open the borders with Russia too.
I don't think it's a good plan, in fact as plans go I think any British Prime Minister would be insane to even attempt it. Sadly, for that very reason I'm rapidly coming to the conclusion it is indeed May's plan.
It seems to me that for EU negotiators to use the threat of renewed violence in Northern Ireland as a way of trying to extract concessions from the government is irresponsible in the extreme. Terrorism is not something you can confine to one locality.
We started it threatening Europe's security for a good Brexit deal.
Theresa May warned European leaders that failure to reach a comprehensive Brexit agreement will result in a weakening of cooperation on crime and security, triggering accusations that her remarks amounted to blackmail.
Senior figures in Brussels complained about the prime minister’s remarks, while critics in Westminster also piled in, arguing that the prime minister had issued a “blatant threat” and was treating security as a “bargaining chip” in negotiations.
So it is OK for the EU to threaten us but not for us to hit back
The real difficulties in Brexit negotiations began when the Council ceded control to the Commission, which they did by waving through Barnier's appointment when they should have vetoed it and told Juncker to start observing these things we have called 'laws.'
The Commission are both bullies and ideologues (and also less than brilliantly intelligent). Not a good combination. They whine and posture, often at the same time, and blame everyone else for the shambles they themselves have created. Cowardice and stupidity are making matters worse than they need to be, and they were bad enough to start with.
So yes, from the EC's point of view they should be allowed to threaten us and run howling to mummy when we reciprocate.
Was having a discussion about this in the comments thread over on another blog earlier today. Someone else was suggesting that a lot of social problems including support for young parents would be cured if we lived as extended families, either in bigger households or living next door or thereabouts.
I pointed out that children these days tend to live further from their parents (particularly if they move away for uni/college and then a job), that for many people family relations with their parents are complicated by family breakup, and the housing stock is not well-suited to that kind of arrangement. Moreover, the fact that people are having their children later in life means that grandparents are even older too, as you pointed out.
Nevertheless I can't help thinking that they had a point....
I think they do - albeit a minor one.
Take my family. My parents had three kids. One is involved with farming, so has to live in the country (and near their farming contacts in Staffordshire). Another is in engineering and can base himself pretty much anywhere. I went into tech and was pretty much Cambridge or M4-corridor bound. As it happens, my siblings live close to one another, whilst I am relatively far away.
It would be hard for my parents to be in two different places 100 miles or so apart, and living near them would have been restrictive for all of us kids in terms of jobs.
I accept this as a consequence of the job I wanted (and the job my wife now has). It was a choice.
TMay doesn't have a plan ERG don't have a plan Tory Remainers don't have a plan Labour doesn't have a plan The Lib Dems don't have a plan If the SNP have a plan I certainly don't know what it is I#'m starting to doubt the E Commission have a plan, just so far they haven't needed one
TMay doesn't have a plan ERG don't have a plan Tory Remainers don't have a plan Labour doesn't have a plan The Lib Dems don't have a plan If the SNP have a plan I certainly don't know what it is I#'m starting to doubt the E Commission have a plan, just so far they haven't needed one
The immediate issue is getting a Withdrawal Agreement in place so there is a somewhat orderly Brexit. This in turn depends on the UK signing a NI backstop for customs, which today's amendments formally exclude. So we will hit full-scale crisis this autumn. Either the EU backs down on the backstop (unlikely), or we will have a chaotic Brexit, or we cave into EU demands in the most humiliating circumstances, or Brexit will be delayed indefinitely.
I suspect Mrs May carries on because she knows all the realistic outcomes are disastrous for her and the conservative party and she is sticking her finger into the dyke to keep the flood waters bursting for as long as possible, while hoping someone or something will come along to make the problem go away.
Replacing May by someone competent won't work. It isn't an issue of competence. The problem is Brexit itself.
Since no government will accept an internal customs border, and since this is a deal-breaker for the EU, would it not be best for both sides to acknowledge that there cannot be a deal, and plan accordingly.
Even I think the NI backstop is a reach. But the UK government isn't serious about customs arrangements and the Irish border specifically,. Which is why the backstop looms ever larger. The context of course is that government doesn't have the numbers, it has a powerful "Taliban" faction to appease and it has to respect a democratic but profoundly stupid referendum decision. None of this is of any concern to the EU.
It seems to me that for EU negotiators to use the threat of renewed violence in Northern Ireland as a way of trying to extract concessions from the government is irresponsible in the extreme. Terrorism is not something you can confine to one locality.
The EU is not using the threat of renewed violence as a negotiating tactic.and it is rather more irresponsible of our side to imply it is.. The Irish border is a genuinely tricky issue that the UK government thinks it can make go away by downplaying the implications. The EU is running with the issue because it is the key concern of Ireland, a continuing member state whose interests the EU represents. The moment the UK comes up with a solution satisfactory to the Irish the EU will sign off. The UK would be advised to engage the Irish but is not doing that at all.
On the practicalities a customs border on the Irish Sea makes more sense than on the land border. Most people in Northern Ireland agree. But I do think that decision is for the UK to make.
BREAKING: Southgate’s achievements with England have been recognised by TfL with Southgate tube station being temporarily rebranded as ‘Gareth Southgate’ for 48 hours from Monday.
Benjamin Mendy won A Premier League Winners Medal A Caraboo Cup Winners Medal A World Cup Winners Medal and The Legion of Honour and he only played in seven games all season. If they named an Airport after him I wouldn't be at all surprised.
The immediate issue is getting a Withdrawal Agreement in place so there is a somewhat orderly Brexit. This in turn depends on the UK signing a NI backstop for customs, which today's amendments formally exclude. So we will hit full-scale crisis this autumn. Either the EU backs down on the backstop (unlikely), or we will have a chaotic Brexit, or we cave into EU demands in the most humiliating circumstances, or Brexit will be delayed indefinitely.
I suspect Mrs May carries on because she knows all the realistic outcomes are disastrous for her and the conservative party and she is sticking her finger into the dyke to keep the flood waters bursting for as long as possible, while hoping someone or something will come along to make the problem go away.
Replacing May by someone competent won't work. It isn't an issue of competence. The problem is Brexit itself.
Since no government will accept an internal customs border, and since this is a deal-breaker for the EU, would it not be best for both sides to acknowledge that there cannot be a deal, and plan accordingly.
Even I think the NI backstop is a reach. But the UK government isn't serious about customs arrangements and the Irish border specifically,. Which is why the backstop looms ever larger. The context of course is that government doesn't have the numbers, it has a powerful "Taliban" faction to appease and it has to respect a democratic but profoundly stupid referendum decision. None of this is of any concern to the EU.
It seems to me that for EU negotiators to use the threat of renewed violence in Northern Ireland as a way of trying to extract concessions from the government is irresponsible in the extreme. Terrorism is not something you can confine to one locality.
The EU is not using the threat of renewed violence as a negotiating tactic.and it is rather more irresponsible of our side to imply it is.. The Irish border is a genuinely tricky issue that the UK government thinks it can make go away by downplaying the implications. The EU is running with the issue because it is the key concern of Ireland, a continuing member state whose interests the EU represents. The moment the UK comes up with a solution satisfactory to the Irish the EU will sign off. The UK would be advised to engage the Irish but is not doing that at all.
On the practicalities a customs border on the Irish Sea makes more sense than on the land border. Most people in Northern Ireland agree. But I do think that decision is for the UK to make.
Given 80% of NI trade is intra UK, this isn’t a sensible solution.
The immediate issue is getting a Withdrawal Agreement in place so there is a somewhat orderly Brexit. This in turn depends on the UK signing a NI backstop for customs, which today's amendments formally exclude. So we will hit full-scale crisis this autumn. Either the EU backs down on the backstop (unlikely), or we will have a chaotic Brexit, or we cave into EU demands in the most humiliating circumstances, or Brexit will be delayed indefinitely.
I suspect Mrs May carries on because she knows all the realistic outcomes are disastrous for her and the conservative party and she is sticking her finger into the dyke to keep the flood waters bursting for as long as possible, while hoping someone or something will come along to make the problem go away.
Replacing May by someone competent won't work. It isn't an issue of competence. The problem is Brexit itself.
Since no government will accept an internal customs border, and since this is a deal-breaker for the EU, would it not be best for both sides to acknowledge that there cannot be a deal, and plan accordingly.
Even I think the NI backstop is a reach. But the UK government isn't serious about customs arrangements and the Irish border specifically,. Which is why the backstop looms ever larger. The context of course is that government doesn't have the numbers, it has a powerful "Taliban" faction to appease and it has to respect a democratic but profoundly stupid referendum decision. None of this is of any concern to the EU.
It seems to me that for EU negotiators to use the threat of renewed violence in Northern Ireland as a way of trying to extract concessions from the government is irresponsible in the extreme. Terrorism is not something you can confine to one locality.
The EU is not using the threat of renewed violence as a negotiating tactic.and it is rather more irresponsible of our side to imply it is.. The Irish border is a genuinely tricky issue that the UK government thinks it can make go away by downplaying the implications. The EU is running with the issue because it is the key concern of Ireland, a continuing member state whose interests the EU represents. The moment the UK comes up with a solution satisfactory to the Irish the EU will sign off. The UK would be advised to engage the Irish but is not doing that at all.
Presumably that's what next week's meeting is about.
Comments
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MC9AjN5l4Gs
The gift that keeps on giving
Amusing* Labour is willing to sell out Northern Ireland
* Corbyn lol
Essentially, they are saying that the Jewish desire for a homeland is ipso facto illegitimate. That is pretty damn close to saying that Israel should not exist at all and, frankly, if Corbyn were to become PM I would not be at all surprised if he were to withdraw recognition of Israel.
More worryingly, if having a Jewish homeland is ipso facto racist, why isn't the claim for a Palestinian homeland also racist, not least because the Palestinians have made it crystal clear that Jews, even those born and living within the area to be covered by a Palestinian state would not be allowed to live there?
It also rather ignores the fact that not all Israelis are Jews. According to Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics, the Arab population in 2013 was estimated at 1,658,000, representing 20.7% of the country's population. The majority of these identify themselves as Arab or Palestinian by nationality and Israeli by citizenship. There are also about 161,000 Israeli citizens practising Christianity, together comprising about 2% of the total population. It's a curious definition of a racist country for it to have as citizens with an equal right to vote, stand for Parliament etc people who do not belong to the majority race. It is, in fact, rather less racist than the position in many Arab countries.
(And, yes, I'm well aware of the utterly deplorable position in the Occupied Territories where Palestinians are not citizens and treated appallingly. But those territories are not part of Israel and the continuation of settlements there is wrong and will make a peace deal very difficult indeed if they continue.)
It is curious that Irish nationalism and Palestinian and Kurdish nationalism, for instance, are beloved by the current Labour leadership but Jewish nationalism is not.
It's not like it has a history of internecine civil strife that could be exacerbated by this sort of callousness.
...
Oh.
Self-determination to the Palestinians was not denied. In 1948 the world - via the UN - offered them a state of their own - see Resolution 181(II).
Was the mass ethnic cleansing of Jews from Egypt, Iraq and other Middle Eastern and North African countries where Jews had lived for thousands of years racist or anti-semitic? Or does that not matter?
If she does, today marks a sharp shift in May's thinking towards a probable no-deal brexit.
The more likely explanation, however, is that she's lost control, has no idea what she's doing, and has simply given up all hope and cast herself unto the tender mercy of the Fates.
It has become the party of Trump, and really doesn’t care if he’s sold out to a foreign adversary.
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/07/16/trump-aides-resignation-putin-meeting-724368
You read these kinds of things on Twitter, and half discount them, thinking them to be so much hysteria, then you check and discover the author was CIA Director for 4 years.
https://twitter.com/johnbrennan/status/1018885971104985093?s=21
https://twitter.com/VP/status/1018937949738582026
What happens if - probably when - the country votes to leave again?
https://www.google.ru/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/08/uk-faces-2bn-fine-over-chinese-imports-scam-say-eu-anti-fraud-investigators
Seems unnessicarily bureacratic, but I suppose that is the flipside of sovereignty. Each party having authority is a good job creation scheme for petty officialdom.
This explicitly tells the EU to shove their backstop up their arse, one of the vanishingly few things the UK government has managed to achieve agreement on.
We're now further behind in the "negotiations" than we were last December.
That, and the forthcoming economic collapse, subversion of the media by the Russians, and the dissolution of the Union.
And it's not just women. If I was to go back to work, then I could probably only realistically work part-time: even with only one child, childcare in holidays and before/after school makes things difficult, even if I went back to contracting.
In t'olden days, family would have helped with childcare. In my case, family are elderly and live two hours' drive away; in Mrs J's case they're in another country. We're fortunate that we could afford a babysitter or childcare for those periods (and they're blooming expensive), but instinctually we don't like that.
Part-time working can be a good choice for many people; it allows them to keep their hand in the workplace whilst kids are growing up (and therefore not have a blank space on their CV), and brings a little money in. It's not all the oppressed peasants Justin's trying to make out.
Maria Butina, 29, arrested on Sunday and appeared before a magistrate in Washington on Monday, according to the DoJ.
A Washington-based pro-gun activist affiliated with the National Rifle Association (NRA) has been charged with spying in the US for Russia.
Maria Butina was charged with conspiracy to act as an agent of the Russian federation within the US without prior notification to the attorney general.
Butina, 29, was arrested on Sunday and appeared before a magistrate in Washington on Monday, according to the US justice department.
She is known as a protege of Alexander Torshin, a Russian former state banker, who met Donald Trump Jr for dinner at the NRA’s 2016 convention. Torshin was placed under sanction by the US in April this year.
A Justice Department press release said Butina had been “developing relationships with US persons and infiltrating organizations having influence in American politics, for the purpose of advancing the interests of the Russian federation.”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jul/16/maria-butina-charged-spying-russia-us-doj
https://twitter.com/jameschappers/status/1018912615752523776?s=21
blather blather blather THE QUEEN
blather blather blather FISH AND CHIPS
blather blather I AM VERY IMPORTANT
blather blather BIG WORD
blather blather LAND OF HOPE AND GLORY
blather blather Lord Nelson, Lord Beaverbrook, Sir Winston Churchill, Sir Anthony Eden, Clement Attlee, Henry Cooper, Lady Diana, vi har slått dem alle sammen, vi har slått dem alle sammen! We have beaten them all, we have beaten them all! Maggie Thatcher, can you hear me? Maggie Thatcher ... your boys took a hell of a beating! Your boys took a hell of a beating!
As much as I might like to remain in the EU, having campaigned to remain, and seen the amount of passion about leaving the EU (vs the complete lack of enthusiasm for it), I would take a no deal brexit over an engineered reversal of the referendum result via another vote. It would take us to the brink of a civil war.
It strikes me that the government need to get on with preparing for no deal, and trying to facilitate a transition to it, because the two sides are so far apart that there is no reasonable prospect of any agreement.
Many, many are looking on in awe...
Instead, Boris guffawed his way through jokes about what happens on wedding nights.
As was once said about LA, the thing about Boris is there’s no “there” there.
I’m not even talking lost investment. I’m talking about the fact that it has consumed the entire machinery of government (and media, too).
Much interest in wider British, European and American culture here. On the corner of my hotel is a retro US Diner called Beverly Hills, and a decent pizza parlour.
https://twitter.com/SportPesa_UK/status/1018808648661954561
We have to follow this rabbit hole of stupid all the way to the bottom. It's the only way to lance this boil.
I expect Barnier himself is going to face serious questions if we walk out.
And maybe the 27 will see sense but maybe not, who knows
Theresa May warned European leaders that failure to reach a comprehensive Brexit agreement will result in a weakening of cooperation on crime and security, triggering accusations that her remarks amounted to blackmail.
Senior figures in Brussels complained about the prime minister’s remarks, while critics in Westminster also piled in, arguing that the prime minister had issued a “blatant threat” and was treating security as a “bargaining chip” in negotiations.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/mar/29/brexit-eu-condemns-mays-blackmail-over-security-cooperation
Since leaving office Brennan has be unequivocal in his condemnation of Trump, but he can't talk about classified information. Taking that into account, and what Brennan has been saying, the things he will have seen about Trump must be absolutely damning.
It's also worth bearing in mind the intelligence doesn't generally turn into evidence that can be used in a court of law, for a host of reasons. So Brennan may have seen intelligence that is worse than anything we are ever likely to see disclosed.
People who ought to be "in the know" are essentially saying the US President is acting in the interest of Russia and against his own goverment.
If the alarm bells aren't ringing now I dread to think what it will take for them to sound.
Plus it will screw the Leaver voters as their tax credits are abolished as the government cannot afford them any more.
What's not to love?
I pointed out that children these days tend to live further from their parents (particularly if they move away for uni/college and then a job), that for many people family relations with their parents are complicated by family breakup, and the housing stock is not well-suited to that kind of arrangement. Moreover, the fact that people are having their children later in life means that grandparents are even older too, as you pointed out.
Nevertheless I can't help thinking that they had a point....
At that moment, the EU requirement for NI to be in the same Customs system as the EU is met, as the border checks will be zero. However, that leaves the EU with an extremely nasty problem as they will be unable to impose customs arrangements of their own in the Irish Sea without our help and cannot do so on the land border without breaking their word. Simultaneously they cannot do nothing or they will have to open the borders with Russia too.
I don't think it's a good plan, in fact as plans go I think any British Prime Minister would be insane to even attempt it. Sadly, for that very reason I'm rapidly coming to the conclusion it is indeed May's plan.
That passes for news these days, eh?
The Commission are both bullies and ideologues (and also less than brilliantly intelligent). Not a good combination. They whine and posture, often at the same time, and blame everyone else for the shambles they themselves have created. Cowardice and stupidity are making matters worse than they need to be, and they were bad enough to start with.
So yes, from the EC's point of view they should be allowed to threaten us and run howling to mummy when we reciprocate.
Take my family. My parents had three kids. One is involved with farming, so has to live in the country (and near their farming contacts in Staffordshire). Another is in engineering and can base himself pretty much anywhere. I went into tech and was pretty much Cambridge or M4-corridor bound. As it happens, my siblings live close to one another, whilst I am relatively far away.
It would be hard for my parents to be in two different places 100 miles or so apart, and living near them would have been restrictive for all of us kids in terms of jobs.
I accept this as a consequence of the job I wanted (and the job my wife now has). It was a choice.
ERG don't have a plan
Tory Remainers don't have a plan
Labour doesn't have a plan
The Lib Dems don't have a plan
If the SNP have a plan I certainly don't know what it is
I#'m starting to doubt the E Commission have a plan, just so far they haven't needed one
Maybe they should not come back
On the practicalities a customs border on the Irish Sea makes more sense than on the land border. Most people in Northern Ireland agree. But I do think that decision is for the UK to make.
Make it within my lifetime, please.
n.b. The Spanish sent a young general called Franco to the Canary Islands to keep him out of trouble...
https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/britishirish-intergovernmental-conference-set-to-take-place-next-month-37061723.html
I think 27 is pretty good for the gov't - not too many Tory Remainers voting with Labour