Top Diaries

by Cat on Thu Dec 12th, 2019 at 05:18:46 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: PFEFFLE'S EXIT (none / 1)

Who wins the manspreading contest?

Things are going to slide, slide in all directions
Won't be nothing, nothing you can measure anymore
L. Cohen

by john_evans (john(dot)evans(dot)et(at)gmail(dot)com) on Thu Dec 12th, 2019 at 07:34:25 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: PFEFFLE'S EXIT (none / 1)

The spade. DUHHHHH.

by Cat on Thu Dec 12th, 2019 at 09:42:08 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Boris Johnson announces plans for spreading spree in north
stimulus package: "This week's Queen's speech is expected to see the government pledge the first law ensuring increased NHS spending - another attempt to reassure new Tory voters that their concerns are being heard. The Tories have pledged an extra £33.9bn a year for the health service by 2023-24."

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Sun Dec 15th, 2019 at 03:37:36 PM EST
[ Parent ]

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR)independent analysis of the UK's public finances.

Boris Johnson's tax plans face squeeze as public finances worsen
"The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) warned that government borrowing was on course to be about £20bn higher than previously expected in each year to 2023-24, dramatically cutting the government's room for manoeuvre after Boris Johnson's election victory."

reference
OBR, "Offce for Budget Responsibility: Welfare trends report," Jan 2019
"Presented to Parliament by the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury by Command of Her Majesty"

by Cat on Mon Dec 16th, 2019 at 10:36:20 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Britain gives U.S. investor go-ahead to buy Cobham for $5 billion

17 Dec: Swearing in of Members of the House of Commons
19 Dec: State Opening of Parliament and the Queen's Speech

20 Dec: Boris Johnson to legislate to rule out extension of EU 'transition', reveals Robert Peston
"So the option of extending the transition by two years will be eliminated in UK law. ...The revised Withdrawal Agreement Bill is expected to have its second reading in the Commons on Friday."

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue Dec 17th, 2019 at 04:44:02 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: PFEFFLE'S EXIT Letwin (none / 0)

Brexit: parliament passes withdrawal agreement bill by 124 majority
"After comfortably passing its second reading by 358 votes to 234, the withdrawal agreement bill is on track to complete its passage through both houses of parliament in time to allow Britain to leave the European Union at the end of January."

reference
Tue Oct 22nd, 2019 at 08:59:32 AM EST in Duplicity

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Fri Dec 20th, 2019 at 06:08:32 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: PFEFFLE'S EXIT M&A (none / 0)

"In Cobham, we stand to lose yet another great British defense manufacturer to foreign ownership," said Nadine Cobham, whose late husband was a son of the company's founder.
"In one of its first major economic decisions, the government is not taking back control so much as handing it away," she said, adding that the announcement on the weekend before Christmas had been timed to avoid scrutiny.
[...]
Advent has already won approval from regulators in the European Union, United States and Finland for its acquisition of Cobham, which was backed by shareholders in September. The U.S. private equity group also bought British electronics company Laird for $1.65 billion last year.

The Atlantic from 1909

by Cat on Sat Dec 21st, 2019 at 09:29:49 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: PFEFFLE'S EXIT M&A (none / 1)

The first of many I'm sure. Right now US hedge fund are probably sharpening their knives for the NHS sell off next year.

We are so fucked.

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Sun Dec 22nd, 2019 at 04:50:53 PM EST
[ Parent ]

nations of shopkeepers (none / 0)

boosted by religion and gov "policy"

archived
Government giveth, and government taketh away.

by Cat on Mon Dec 30th, 2019 at 06:56:25 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: PFEFFLE'S EXIT M&A (none / 1)

Boris Johnson pledged in the election that the NHS was not for sale.

He has already broken that promise.https://t.co/ZKSPXqSwCh
— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) December 29, 2019

Reorganisation of the NHS in England, 2010

For many healthcare professionals and managers working in the NHS, last week's publication of the white paper Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS brought unwelcome but familiar news--that the new government plans to reorganise the NHS in England.1 Despite having promised just two months ago in the coalition government's agreement to "stop the top-down reorganisations of the NHS that have got in the way of patient care,"2 the new secretary of state, Andrew Lansley, announced plans to abolish strategic health authorities and primary care trusts; to create about 500 new general practitioner consortiums to handle healthcare commissioning; to hand over public health responsibilities to local authorities; to strip the Department of Health of many of its functions and to create an independent NHS board to take them on; to force all NHS providers to become NHS foundation trusts; and to restructure arrangements for healthcare regulation. Little of the current architecture of the NHS will survive these changes unscathed. The white paper, written at breakneck speed in about six weeks, is long on rhetoric but short on detail and specifics. It promises at least seven further strategy or consultation papers on various topics and another white paper, on public health, in the autumn. ..,

Blair welcomes private firms into NHS, 2006

by Cat on Mon Dec 30th, 2019 at 07:17:14 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: PFEFFLE'S EXIT M&A (none / 0)

Heterosexual couples form 1st civil partnerships in England
effective 31.12.2019: "The Supreme Court ruling means that civil partnerships, which have been available to same-sex couples since 2005, will be available to everyone."

reference
Steinfeld and Keidan, [2018] UKSC 32
US Library of Congress, unexpectedly, sort of, but not really

archived public property
How family law will change our lives
"degendered" ECJ "matrimony"
Isle of Man

by Cat on Tue Dec 31st, 2019 at 11:43:52 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Ricky Tomlinson has asked me to post this for the voters of Weaver Vale because he doesn't have Twitter. Here's the big man... pic.twitter.com/QT8V71EKsH
— Ralf Little (@RalfLittle) December 12, 2019

by Cat on Thu Dec 12th, 2019 at 09:41:27 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Labour is losing seats??

parliament.uk | This was the state of the parties at the dissolution of Parliament on 6th November 2019

by Cat on Fri Dec 13th, 2019 at 12:46:56 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Belfast Telly | How the people of Northern Ireland did (or didn't) vote

Non-voter
Unionist
Nationalist
First-time voter
Tactical voter, Sarah Laverty (28) is originally from Ballymoney, Co Antrim

"I voted tactically in South Belfast for the SDLP's Claire Hanna. I'm a Green Party member, from a traditionally unionist background but Claire Hanna was the only choice for me.
"Northern Ireland voted Remain in the Brexit referendum. South Belfast voted Remain overwhelmingly, and I felt Claire Hanna had the greatest likelihood of being returned in South Belfast. I want a Remain MP to represent my constituency.
"Whatever happens next, it will not be straightforward, and the complicated Brexit negotiations are going to go on in Westminster and across Europe.
"But I want the true feelings of the people in Northern Ireland to be reflected. I've never voted in this way for a nationalist party like the SDLP or Sinn Fein before, but I'm actually fine with it....

by Cat on Fri Dec 13th, 2019 at 12:57:38 AM EST
[ Parent ]

BBC | UK results: Conservatives win majority

One might suppose, the discrepancy between Nov and Dec (-59) might be explained by the intervening period of NEW! party creation, MP "defections", and parliament.uk clerical error. OTOH, NGO exit polling unexpected Tory "landslide" is vindicated by MOE, until further notice.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Fri Dec 13th, 2019 at 11:08:00 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Johnson threatens BBC with two-pronged attack
Biting the hand that feed him. Trump must be envious.

by Cat on Mon Dec 16th, 2019 at 01:48:24 AM EST
[ Parent ]

McDonald piles on: Vilification of Corbyn in broadcast media 'fuelled election defeat'
"unfairness of the BBC and other broadcasters should make people 'worry about our democratic processes'."

by Cat on Mon Dec 16th, 2019 at 08:49:39 PM EST
[ Parent ]

18 Dec 2019

by Cat on Sat Dec 21st, 2019 at 05:06:56 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Guardian | SNP turns focus back to independence after election boost
"Alongside publishing her referendum paper, Sturgeon will write formally to Boris Johnson asking his government to give Holyrood the legal powers [!] to stage an independence vote. Johnson told Sturgeon on Friday he would refuse, setting up a constitutional standoff that could end in the courts."
Belfast Telly | 'Now is the time' to get Stormont up and running says Coveney [!] as DUP and Sinn Fein leaders call for cash injection
"[Northern Ireland Secretary Julian Smith] appeared to rule out the suggestion that some of the big ticket issues could be parked, or moved into a separate process, to enable the restoration of devolution immediately."

archived
Brexeternity & the Five Chieftains
No-deal Brexit would lead to direct rule in Northern Ireland

by Cat on Mon Dec 16th, 2019 at 11:47:36 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Aiken says UUP taking legal advice as chief electoral officer rejects claims votes were lost over NI registration processes
'pact' zero: "The chief electoral officer Virginia McVea has dismissed the claims, which were made by a temporary helpline operator to the BBC's Nolan Show." < wipes tears >

by Cat on Sat Dec 21st, 2019 at 01:10:21 AM EST
[ Parent ]

London Will Never Give Independence - We Must Take It

Yesterday the Scottish Government published "Scotland's Right to Choose, its long heralded paper on the path to a new Independence referendum. It is a document riven by a basic intellectual flaw.
[...]
Both propositions cannot be true. Scotland cannot be a nation with the right of self-determination, and at the same time require the permission of somebody else to exercise that self-determination.
I was trying to find the right words to discuss the document.

The situation here is pretty psychotic? simile suicide? misplaced precision? cognitive dissonance?

I am frequently told that this paper is all just a cunning ploy, and that when the Tory Government rejects - as it will reject - this servile request to grant Scotland the powers to hold a referendum, the Scottish Government will go to court to say it has the right to a referendum.
[...]
The truth is there is no route to a referendum by legal challenge in the UK courts. The UK Supreme Court has already ruled that Westminster, the "Crown in Parliament" is sovereign, that the Sewell Convention has no legal force and that any powers that the Scottish parliament has, and indeed the very existence of the Scottish Parliament, is entirely at the gift of Westminster. The clue is on the tin.[?!] It is the UK Supreme Court.

archived
Sat Dec 14th, 2019 at 08:51:49 PM EST

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed Jan 1st, 2020 at 02:09:35 AM EST
[ Parent ]

SIMILE SUICIDE (none / 1)

'Singapore-on-the-Thames' Rival to Europe

Writing in Il Corriere della Sera the day before the pivotal British general election on Dec. 12, Beppe Severgnini feared a win by pro-Brexit Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his right-wing Conservative cohorts would tempt the Tories to "transform Great Britain into a buccaneer's ship off Europe's shores."

meaning, super-secret "circumnavigation of the globe" in search of "rival" flagged galleons loaded with clove, "cotton," tobac, potatoes, "corn," and ~~slaves~~ indentured servants, for example.

Severgnini had a warning: "This would be a big mistake. This is no longer the era of the pirate Sir Francis Drake and the European fortress is strong and its defenders have powerful cannons at their disposal. The idea of -- metaphorically -- firing upon our English friends is repugnant. But, if they force us to, we will."

How in hell is that "enterprise" related to the city-state Singapore, past or present?

In other words, akin to Singapore, the U.K. will be able to reduce taxes to attract corporations and investment, deregulate to increase production, inject state funds to bolster U.K. enterprises over European competitors, strike new trade deals and allow only the people it wants into the country.

sort of Hong Kong SAR but not

She said the Singapore-on-the-Thames comparison is "an illiterate analogy" because Singapore's system of government and economy are so different from the U.K.'s. [!]
For example, Singapore, a ["]tiny country["] in Asia, is run by an authoritarian and illiberal [!] government where much of the real estate is owned by the [COMMUNIST-ish] state and the economy depends on manufacturing [?!] and state ~~intervention~~ subsidies.

by Cat on Wed Jan 1st, 2020 at 11:37:22 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: SIMILE SUICIDE (4.00 / 2)

UNDP and the making of Singapore's Public Service
This partnership commenced when Dr Albert Winsemius (1910-1996) first visited Singapore as the leader of an UN mission in October 1960. After studying the nation's prospects, he delivered a report that proved to be a roadmap for Singapore's development. Former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew recalled two pieces of advice that Winsemius offered when presenting him with the report: "Don't remove Raffles' statue" and "Get rid of the communists". Prime Minister Lee remembered being "left speechless ... at the absurdity of this simple solution", but then came to appreciate his clarity of vision. Winsemius' judgement and advice was increasingly trusted, and in due course he became one of the 'old guard'.

So BoJo is already half-way removing the "Communist" leader Jeremy Corbyn from British parliamentary soil. Is the UK searching for their Winsemius?

○ Dutch economist Albert Winsemius' legacy to Singapore remembered

Global Warming - distance between America and Europe is steadily increasing.

by Oui on Thu Jan 2nd, 2020 at 12:01:29 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: SIMILE SUICIDE depends on manufacturing (none / 0)

Hong Kong reinforces financial hub position with HKEX topping global IPO market
despite "democracy" protesters

Banking Regulation 2019 | Singapore
despite "communist" ray-geem

by Cat on Thu Jan 9th, 2020 at 01:49:22 AM EST
[ Parent ]

When you've lost WoS ...

by Cat on Fri Jan 17th, 2020 at 04:09:24 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Brexit: Scottish Government frozen out of Westminster talks

[Secretary for Government Business and Constitutional Relations Michael] Russell stated: "We have the absolute right and must be involved to deal with devolved competencies, and it's important for us to give opinion on reserved competencies, even though there is no absolute obligation.
"One of the ways we can protect our position is to diverge as little as possible from the European Union. We have the right to do that but the UK Government is very uncomfortable about it.
"That affects areas like the habitats directive and workforce rights, and the loss of freedom of movement will have a big impact on devolved areas."

archived
EU (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill , Oct
henry viii clauses identified in EU (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill

by Cat on Mon Jan 20th, 2020 at 05:39:44 PM EST
[ Parent ]

wut: "We have much to offer African nations."

by Cat on Tue Jan 21st, 2020 at 12:52:24 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Stormont Assembly returns after deal to restore power-sharing, 11 Dec

First Min: Foster
Deputy Min: O'Neill
Speaker: Maskey (SF)
Deputy Spkrs: Stalford (DUP), Beggs (UU), McGlone (SDLP)
Justice: Long (Alliance)
Economy: Dodds (DUP)
Fin: Murphy (SF)
Ed: Weir (DUP)
Infrastructure: Mallon (SDPL)
Communities: Hargey (SF)
Health: Swann (UU)
Ag: Poots (DUP)

The Bastid Queen] said she was "deeply humbled".
[...]
Northern Ireland Secretary Julian Smith wished the parties good luck ahead of today's sitting of the Stormont Assembly on Twitter.

by Cat on Sat Jan 11th, 2020 at 04:00:30 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Councils under huge pressure as number of children in [foster] care soars
"Official figures show there are now 78,150 children in care in England, up from 75,370 in 2018 and almost 20,000 more than in 2009 when 60,900 children were looked after."
Black British history 'missing from school curricula in England'
"Stennett was motivated, in part, by her own education in south London, where she found Black History Month focused mainly on slavery, Martin Luther King [?], and the American civil rights movement [?], with little attention paid to black British history. ...but in 2018 a row occurred after a number of local authorities scrapped the name, rebranding it "diversity month"."

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Thu Jan 9th, 2020 at 12:31:54 AM EST
[ Parent ]

BBC | EU withdrawal bill clears final parliamentary hurdle

parliament.uk | Lords examines European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill
20-21 Jan 2020 proceedings, amendments' dispositions: "The bill passes to the Commons for consideration of Lords amendments."
RUSSIA! | Brexit Bill Clears UK Parliament, Set to Become Law After Royal Assent

The Brexit Bill has cleared the UK parliament [3rd reading] and is now set to become law as soon as it signed by the Queen.
[...]
The legislation was approved after the House of Lords decided to back down after its five amendments [?] were rejected by the House of Commons.

Earlier, MPs overwhelmingly rejected all five changes - including on child refugees - made by peers to the bill. It then returned to the Lords where peers backed down, despite some anger at their voices being "dismissed".
[...]
A total of five amendments to the bill were sent to MPs for consideration from the Lords, including on [1] EU citizens' rights, [2] the power of UK courts to diverge from EU law and [3] the independence of the judiciary after Brexit.
Another, the so-called [4] Dubs amendment - which reinstated a guarantee that unaccompanied refugee children could continue to join relatives in the UK after Brexit - was also demanded by peers.
A fifth amendment called for the bill to be changed to take note of the [5] Sewel Convention, which states that Parliament should not legislate on devolved issues without the consent of the Scottish Parliament, the Welsh Assembly and the Stormont Assembly in Northern Ireland.

, prodedural chart!

by Cat on Thu Jan 23rd, 2020 at 12:18:34 AM EST
[ Parent ]

GBP:USD is 1:1.34
GBP:EUR is 1:1.19

So BAU, "certainty," until further notice.

by Cat on Fri Dec 13th, 2019 at 10:42:17 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Scale of Boris's Brexit win electrifies financial markets
"Irish shares surged to a five-year high, with Bank of Ireland up almost 9pc at one stage yesterday, in a dramatic post-election trading session."

by Cat on Sat Dec 14th, 2019 at 11:16:35 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Heh. Living under a death cult sure is fun.

by generic on Sat Dec 14th, 2019 at 11:33:52 PM EST
[ Parent ]

NAMA will rise again, chile. Have no fear!

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Sun Dec 15th, 2019 at 01:46:14 AM EST
[ Parent ]

["]Hard Brexit["] fear brings sterling leap to quick halt
"Mr Krpata said the decline in the value of the pound, which had rallied strongly on the Conservative election win, marked the end of any election-related 'hope premium'."

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed Dec 18th, 2019 at 05:57:29 PM EST
[ Parent ]

UPDATE 1-Pound falls 0.3% as ["]hard Brexit["] risk overshadows [econic] news
"Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government on Tuesday ruled out an extension to the December 2020 deadline for negotiations on a trade deal with the European Union, creating a new Brexit ["]cliff-edge["] and cutting short sterling's post-election rally."

oh. well. profit taking. unprecedented. egregious. simile suicide. again.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed Dec 18th, 2019 at 05:51:39 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: PFEFFLE'S EXIT (4.00 / 2)

saved you reading the guardian over the next 6 months pic.twitter.com/B5olnD7UwO
— ▀▀▀▀▀▀ (@immolations) 14. Dezember 2019

by generic on Sun Dec 15th, 2019 at 01:08:14 PM EST
[ Parent ]

spot on. The Graun has been doing everything to undermine Corbyn since the day he was elected. Their concern trolling has been desperately annoying

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Wed Dec 18th, 2019 at 07:25:06 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Well (none / 1)

Hi Duncan. I don't like the referendum result either, but we lost. The Tories are offering a hard Brexit, Labour a customs union. If Labour oppose the referendum result they'll lose dozens of seats in the North and Midlands, giving a hard right Tory Brexit a majority.
— Owen Jones🌹 (@OwenJones84) 2. Mai 2018

by generic on Tue Dec 17th, 2019 at 01:14:32 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Well (none / 0)

The Mother of all UK General Election Results Rants
by George Galloway (podcast)

by Cat on Tue Dec 17th, 2019 at 06:09:13 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Well (none / 0)

wut: "Queen Elizabeth II's only daughter, Princess Anne, was the hardest-working royal for at least the third year in a row, putting in a total of 167 days."

by Cat on Mon Dec 30th, 2019 at 08:44:48 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Well (none / 0)

wut: "Harry and I are now separate entities"

by Cat on Sun Jan 12th, 2020 at 06:04:53 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Well (none / 0)

Does this mean that Prince Charles and Prince Andrew are still one entity?

by gk (gk (gk quattro due due sette @gmail.com)) on Sun Jan 12th, 2020 at 06:31:01 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Well (none / 0)

Business Oriented Objects.

Things are going to slide, slide in all directions
Won't be nothing, nothing you can measure anymore
L. Cohen

by john_evans (john(dot)evans(dot)et(at)gmail(dot)com) on Mon Jan 13th, 2020 at 08:02:20 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Well (none / 0)

Born on third manual commentary, US-style.

by Cat on Tue Jan 21st, 2020 at 12:45:32 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Well (none / 0)

wut: "Labour should consider A REFERENDUM on the royal family"

by Cat on Sun Jan 12th, 2020 at 06:06:59 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Well (none / 1)

"defection" and "exile," chile, and a joke: "Lord Mayor of London"

by Cat on Thu Jan 23rd, 2020 at 02:38:29 PM EST
[ Parent ]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! (4.00 / 2)

Brexit deal done

"Johnson's plan is essentially the same as May's, but replaces her Northern Irish backstop mechanism with a de facto customs border in the Irish Sea between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK, which was a sticking point in May's deal."

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

fuck you DUPs

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

She believed in nothing; only her skepticism kept her from being an atheist. -- Jean-Paul Sartre

by ATinNM on Thu Jan 9th, 2020 at 09:01:49 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! (none / 0)

"In a very profound way, you know, we're all the Irish Sea Border" pic.twitter.com/AOQzpGkbGh
— The Irish Border (@BorderIrish) January 7, 2020

by Cat on Sun Jan 12th, 2020 at 01:48:01 AM EST
[ Parent ]

What we have learnt about Brexit's next stage, short thread based on my Economist piece this week.

tl;dr: the EU is driving the negotiation and the UK can suck it.

She believed in nothing; only her skepticism kept her from being an atheist. -- Jean-Paul Sartre

by ATinNM on Sun Jan 12th, 2020 at 06:17:09 PM EST
[ Parent ]

From which crypt did this imbecile exhume his phone?

Oh, nevermind.

## Misplaced precision.

by Cat on Sun Jan 12th, 2020 at 06:33:15 PM EST
[ Parent ]