British politics

[Unchained]

Can one British person bring me up to speed please..Trump was late..him and his old lady didn't do anything for the formal greeting..but instead stood there like a dope w an unbuttoned jacket ..then he walked in front of the queen..
Because the queen has depth and class..she didn't break stride..
Does this signal that the Trumps won't be invited back or is it kind of expected from Donald..
I really don't think either or any staffer inquired about the etiquette while greeting the queen..not even Google..just lint of winged it..

[ferryman]

I don't understand why so many in Britain didn't see this coming two years ago.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jul/14/brexit-britain-out-of-options-humiliation-painful

We did in Scotland, with 62% voting remain with not one of our 32 council areas voting leave despite of the 38% who did vote leave. Thank fook after Indy ref 2 we will be welcomed back into the EU with open arms:) Latest polls 52% no for Independence 48% YES. It's a shoe in...

Is there a correlation between voting for or against Brexit and being pro or anti independence?

No, I don't think so. It's a tricky one eh;) Tick tock for the Acts of the 1707 Union though:)

[macbindle]

Eventually, probably yes, but I'm not sure it will be any time soon. Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't there expected to be a Unionist majority on the way in the Scottish parliament? The SNP lost their majority in the last election didn't they, and now rely on the Greens?

The issue of Scottish independence has been reignited with Brexit, hasn't it, so I guess we'll have a better idea what will happen in Scotland after next March.

Whatever happens with a vote, I hope the Scots learn from the shambles of the Brexit referendum and have the important discussions before the vote rather than after.

[King Boonen]

Can one British person bring me up to speed please..Trump was late..him and his old lady didn't do anything for the formal greeting..but instead stood there like a dope w an unbuttoned jacket ..then he walked in front of the queen..
Because the queen has depth and class..she didn't break stride..
Does this signal that the Trumps won't be invited back or is it kind of expected from Donald..
I really don't think either or any staffer inquired about the etiquette while greeting the queen..not even Google..just lint of winged it..

The Queen is a figure-head and does what she’s told, and rightly so. If the Government invite him then he’ll be back. Maybe next-time they’ll find a way to enforce etiquette.

It’s quite funny to see my friends who usually moan about the monarchy and want it abolished now complain about the way Trump behaved with the Queen. To be honest, Trump might well have done it on purpose. We have a giant Trump baby balloon doing the rounds. Maybe he thought if they won’t respect the President I won’t respect the Queen. Although that assumes he is capable of that level of thought...

[Robert5091]

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/uks-theresa-trump-told-sue-eu-brexit-56596443

In the midst of a messy political crisis at home over Britain's impending exit from the European Union, Prime Minister Theresa May revealed Sunday that Donald Trump gave her this piece of advice: Sue the EU, don't negotiate.

The man might as well write idiot on his forehead ...

[macbindle]

By the way @King Boonen Ferryman

Any idea what the midge situation is? Heading to West coast next week

[Armchair cyclist]

By the way @King Boonen Ferryman

Any idea what the midge situation is? Heading to West coast next week

My wife's up there at the moment: not as bad as she had feared, but still more than a "normal" south of England summer.

[King Boonen]

By the way @King Boonen Ferryman

Any idea what the midge situation is? Heading to West coast next week

Afraid I’m not there and haven’t ridden out that way for a couple of weeks. When I last did it wasn’t too bad. You had to watch where you stopped but was fine while moving. Pretty sure there is a website somewhere that tracks the amount in locations but I’ve never looked at it. I accept midges in summer the same way I accept rain all year round

[macbindle]

By the way @King Boonen Ferryman

Any idea what the midge situation is? Heading to West coast next week

Afraid I’m not there and haven’t ridden out that way for a couple of weeks. When I last did it wasn’t too bad. You had to watch where you stopped but was fine while moving. Pretty sure there is a website somewhere that tracks the amount in locations but I’ve never looked at it. I accept midges in summer the same way I accept rain all year round

Just found one run by Smidge.

I'm thinking maybe we'll go to Harris, so at least there will be a breeze to keep them away. I can't accept midges, they drive me mental. Inland seems worse than coast, funnily enough the worst ones I've seen were by a lake in Snowdonia. I'm praying for no rain. Last summer in Scotland was really sh1t.

[del1962]

My mate was up the West last weekend, saturday no midges, sunday terrible

[macbindle]

Ta

[King Boonen]

By the way @King Boonen Ferryman

Any idea what the midge situation is? Heading to West coast next week

Afraid I’m not there and haven’t ridden out that way for a couple of weeks. When I last did it wasn’t too bad. You had to watch where you stopped but was fine while moving. Pretty sure there is a website somewhere that tracks the amount in locations but I’ve never looked at it. I accept midges in summer the same way I accept rain all year round

Just found one run by Smidge.

I'm thinking maybe we'll go to Harris, so at least there will be a breeze to keep them away. I can't accept midges, they drive me mental. Inland seems worse than coast, funnily enough the worst ones I've seen were by a lake in Snowdonia. I'm praying for no rain. Last summer in Scotland was really sh1t.

Inland is always much worse. I send a lot of my time riding in the lanes south of Glasgow and you can get eaten alive if you’re unlucky.

It’s something I’ve learned to deal with from my mountain biking days, although I don’t get bitten/react as much as most. Hopefully the weather will hold for you, I was up around Aberfoyle and the Dukes Pass recently and it was unbelievably nice.

[macbindle]

I suspect we'll get changeable weather....which in Scotland can mean 4 seasons in one day.

As long as it's not overcast and rainy I don't care too much.Fish and chips in Glencoe on the way up. Sorted.

[Merckx index]

Midges aren't well known to Americans, except to baseball fans:

In all his years as New York's catcher, Jorge Posada has made thousands of trips to the mound.

This was his first holding a can of bug repellant.

Posada's fogging of Yankees closer Mariano Rivera was one of many bizarre sights during an AL playoff game against the Cleveland Indians that turned when millions of insects infested Jacobs Field.

"They just came out of nowhere," Posada said.

They helped beat the Yankees.

Tiny flying insects called "midges" bombarded the Bronx Bombers at the worst possible time, covering and rattling rookie reliever Joba Chamberlain, whose two wild pitches in the eighth inning sent the Indians to a 2-1 win in 11 innings.

"It's like somebody let them go," Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter said. "Just when you think you've seen it all - that's home-field advantage."

Midges 1, Yankees 0.

Where was the Sultan of Swat when they needed him?

Travis Hafner hit a bases-loaded, RBI single with two outs in the 11th to score Kenny Lofton as the Indians, who trailed 1-0 before the flying pests invaded in the eighth inning, took a 2-0 series lead with a victory their fans will never forget.

Unreal. Surreal. Hitchcockian. October baseball has rarely witnessed something like this.

At times, it was like watching a low-budget, late-night horror flick: "The Bugs Who Ate The Yankees."

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-bugs-who-ate-the-yankees/

That win might have cost the Yankees that postseason series, their manager his job, and the pitcher his career.

[ferryman]

By the way @King Boonen Ferryman

Any idea what the midge situation is? Heading to West coast next week

Can't comment on the midge situation I'm afraid. Pretty much non existent here in the civilised East Coast;) That said go prepared, worse midgey experience I had was on Barra, Mrs F dropped me off for a couple of hours of trout fishing, at one one point I had to literally run in to the Loch to escape them. No fishing done, luckily I had 20 Regal to keep the buggers at bay. Looked like a child with measles by the time I was picked up. The locals in the pub that night just laughed at me:( ps Avon Skin so Soft doesn't really work but you will see it in every wee shop you go in to...

[Robert5091]

3 votes? Phew! Sweaty tense ...

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-44854597

The government has narrowly avoided a defeat on its Customs Bill after agreeing to Brexiteers' demands to change its wording.

It twice survived by just three votes after a backlash from pro-EU Tories who accused Theresa May of "caving in" to the party's Eurosceptic MPs.

Defence Minister Guto Bebb resigned so he could vote against the government.

MPs will carry on debating Brexit on Tuesday when the Trade Bill comes to the Commons.

[King Boonen]

I see the Labour anti-semitism row is still going on and judging by what I heard on the radio it seems that most of the people arguing still haven't read the NEC code or tried to understand it. There's a very good article here that is well worth reading:

https://www.opendemocracy.net/uk/brian-klug/code-of-conduct-for-antisemitism-tale-of-two-texts

I don't agree with all of the NEC code, or this article, but it's clear that anyone who dismisses the whole thing out of hand has no actual interest in combating anti-semitism and has different motives for taking up the fight. Or they're an idiot.

[Robert5091]

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/cycling-law-conservatives-jesse-norman-bike-chris-boardman-dangerous-careless-jeremy-vine-a8488956.html

Cyclists have reacted angrily to a post from the Conservatives official Twitter account that suggested new laws would protect "our most vulnerable road users" from bike users.

Olympic medallist Chris Boardman, whose mother was killed by a truck when cycling in 2016, said he felt "genuinely sick" after seeing the message on the Tories' official feed.

BBC radio presenter Jeremy Vine said: "When I'm on a bike, I'm a vulnerable road user. In 2016 there were 1,700 road deaths; three were caused by cyclists."
...
The message on the Conservative Twitter feed said: "We're launching a consultation into dangerous cycling so that our most vulnerable road users are protected."

Tories not worried about the MAMIL vote?

[aphronesis]

https://aeon.co/essays/hume-is-the-amiable-modest-generous-philosopher-we-need-today

[Robert5091]

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/aug/30/jeremy-hunt-plays-down-brexit-progress-michel-barnier-poland

Hunt downplays signs of Brexit progress as Poland offers support

Trench warfare, chicken race or messy divorce?

Edit- https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-08-30/u-k-business-confidence-slumps-as-brexit-tarnishes-outlook

Joe Staton, client strategy director at GfK, said that consumers might have developed “an immunity to the Brexit babble.”

“We are just months away from the Brexit crunch but there is no sign yet of any crash in consumer confidence,” he said. “Yes, the core index continues to muddle along in negative territory, but Armageddon seems a distant prospect.”

Not Armageddon, but I remember pre-EU UK, and it'll be back to only the well-to-do who have anything to do with France and the EU. It'll be back to day trips across the Channel to buy cheap plonk and cigerettes!