Westminstenders: Exit 2020 Vision

[RedToothBrush]

Yet it is a great mistake to suppose that the only writers who matter are those whom the educated in their saner moments can take seriously. There exists a subterranean world where pathological fantasies disguised as ideas are churned out by crooks and half-educated fanatics for the benefit of the ignorant and the superstitious. There are times when this underworld emerges from the depths and suddenly fascinates, capturers and dominates multitudes of usually sane and responsible people, who thereupon take leave of sanity and responsibility. And it occasionally happens that this underworld becomes a political power and changes the course of history.
Norm Cohn ‘Warrant for Genocide’ 1970

(As referenced by Nick Cohen).

We have a deal (or bits of a deal). Bino til Dec 2020. Then the cliff?

Still a long way to go. It sounds better than it could be. But worse than it initially seems.

Carles Puigdemont the Catalan leader has been arrested in Germany

Police Scotland @policescotland
We can confirm that we are in possession of a European arrest warrant for Clara Ponsati. We have made a number of enquiries to try to trace her and have now been contacted by her solicitor, who is making arrangements for Ms Ponsati to hand herself into police.

Also one of the Catalan parliament.

@IanBlackfordMP
I will be writing to the Spanish Ambassador in London, asking for a meeting and an explanation for the arrest warrant for Clara Ponsatí. Spain needs to think carefully, arresting politicians in such a situation is not the right thing to do in a democracy.

@faisalislam
Conservative MEP calls for Government to use security forces to deal with threat of “anti-democratic forces” [at C4?] colluding over Cambridge Analytica and Vote Leave stories...

@DCBMEP
Does anyone think it’s coincidence far fetched Cambridge Analytica & Channel 4 Vote Leave stories are unveiled at same time? This is coordination by anti democratic forces trying to overturn Brexit result. Govt needs to have security forces investigate this collusion as a threat

@Ian_JohnsonGaz
Grabbed a quick chat with Lord Adonis as he left the rally. Wouldn't be drawn on Corbyn/Owen Smith, but did say if there was a referendum on the terms of leaving the EU, it's the new 2m young voters who could derail Brexit.

Board of Deputies of British Jews@BoardofDeputies
#EnoughIsEnough We call on members of our community and all those who oppose antisemitism to join us in Parliament Square at 5:30pm to show solidarity.

Vote leave:Does anyone think it’s a coincidence far fetched
*
Yes it’s far fetched -but sometimes the cold, hard truth is.

I can’t believe that anyone is trying to cast doubt on what has finally emerged more widely about the vote leave campaign. Here is my hopefully logical summary.

Did the Cambridge Analytica group use its “psychographic” tools to target voters online for the Leave campaign? Yes absolutely it did.

Did CA get information about 50 million Facebook users, to make 30 million psychographic profiles about voters? Yes it did.

Did a donation of £625,000 from Vote Leave to BeLeave. violate election rules? Yes it did.

Did members of the Tory party know how the psychographic profiling worked? Yes almost certainly.

Which politicians knew election rules were being breached ? We don’t know this yet do we? Gove, Priti Patel and Johnson had meetings with some of the whistleblowers didn’t they?

Did the psychographic profiling successfully influence voters to support Vote Leave ? This we don’t know yet. It is very hard to prove voter influence.Given the closeness of the result, it is logical some voters were influenced.

Jo Maugham QC
@JolyonMaugham
Use the police to prevent the media uncovering illegality says Tory MEP. Inch by inch, Brexit moves us towards fascism.

pain It's even more sinister than that:

"security forces" include not just police - Special Branch probably - but also MI5, maybe military intelligence too, since CA has military connections and psy ops contracts.

So that MEP is calling for

the mighty apparatus of the State to be used to try to quash investigations into possible election-rigging by elements of the Tory party and foreign oligarchs

instead of protecting the state and the people from them

I hope there's a good turnout at Parliament Square on Sunday to protest against Labour anti-semitism, woman,
with support from all races & religions

< fist bumps from a British Arab woman agnostic >

www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/mar/25/senior-labour-figures-defend-corbyn-row-antisemitic-mural

I wonder how / if the Brexit Broadcasting Corporation will report it

Yes you’re right, it is even more threatening. Similar vibes to trump insisting the doj investigate the people that produced steele’s dossier and the FBI agents who are witnesses to his obstruction of justice rather than actually dealing with the problem (as confirmed by all the intelligence agencies) of Russia interfering in future elections.

ert Walter
@bobwalteruk
#Brexit reality ..... So sad to read today that after 42 years based in London the European Union Youth Orchestra will move to Italy later this year and that 15 British musicians are “overwhelmingly unlikely” to remain. Ted Heath was its first President. #brexitmadness

Well at least we have still got a National youth orchestra and a National youth brass band of Great Britain oh and a National children's orchestra and a National children's brass band.

Sure the 15 musicians can find a position in one of the National orchestras.

Oh just to add ALL of our National youth musicians are world renowned. I know, because I was in them in my youth.

Jonathan Freedland @Freedland
Corbyn statement says "I will be meeting representatives from the Jewish community." That's come as news to Jewish communal leaders, who tell me there's been no invitation or approach (yet)

Ladbrokes should offer a book on this. Will Corbyn meet with them, or will he hope that it will all go away.

He said he would meet with concerned feminists on national tv at the start of last month. Despite their efforts to try and arrange this... nothing.

Do you really feel that is OK Sostenueto? Sorry you 15 children, try out for a UK only operation instead, assuming that arts funding for any of those UK music groups is maintained going forward.

Been out all day but just wanted to comment on the "numbers at protests" that the BBC reports on if it reports them at all

This was something that we learnt during the Indyref: for example, when there were protests at BBC Scotland complaining about their bias, they would claim under a 100, when photographs clearly showed several thousand

Ditto with the big Indyref supporting rallies in George Square or on the Buchanan Street steps

I learnt to distrust anything the BBC said then.

Really should have learnt my lesson after the marches against the Iraq War

Yes Sos but we also had musicians in the youth orchestra who will now lose their place and the opportunities that brought. They may gain a place in one of the national orchestras - but only by displacing somebody else. Some British youngster somewhere will lose out because of this... and many more in the future. That is cause to be saddened.

The loss of culture we are facing due to Brexit doesn't get brought up often - as the loss of trade and security is so very dire and more pressing. But it is still important and it is still heartbreaking. We will be a culturally poorer place for Brexit, a more ignorant and uglier place, and maybe it's terribly middle class of me to care about that, but I do.

If those 15 belong to a European Youth Orchestra, that's much more prestigious than just belonging to a national orchestra.
So it's not a matter of them "finding a place" in a UK orchestra, but wanting the best to develop their international career
hence likely to move abroad.

Like the British scientists who have left, or are leaving:
We could find somewhere in the UK to work - very unlikely to be unemployed or low level job - but we don't want to stay when our opportunities are reduced.

< fist bumps from a British Arab woman agnostic >
fist bump back bigchoc
Similar vibes to trump
Yup
They are rattled about CA pain it can't be playing well with regretful leavers.

The funding will always be maintained for our youth musicians, besides when they reach 18 they can no longer play in a youth orchestra/brassband. There are opportunities in this country to join a world renowned group of youth musicians. You just have to audition for them. If it was the whole European orchestra affected it would be a shame, although its a shame for the British lot but they can still go and play in Italy as they obviously tour anyway and would have their courses in different countries each year as do our National groups. It will cost a little more but there will be funds made available to them as is in our National groups.

^So it's not a matter of them "finding a place" in a UK orchestra, but wanting the best to develop their international career
hence likely to move abroad^

How old are members of the youth orchestra? they may not be in a position to move abroad for several years. And by that time, they're looking at needing visas, and competing against musicians who don't. It really could just be a lost opportunity for them - the end of their career before it ever really began.

The funding will always be maintained for our youth musicians

Post Brexit we will no longer be able to fund the NHS, education, transport or security services. but you are absolutely right. The funding for youth orchestras will always be maintained.

Well let me see...bigchoc, as far as I am concerned our National Youth Orchestras/brass bands are world renowned as I remember never having a concert with under 2000 people listening in all the countries we visited including the whole of Europe, America, Canada and other numerous and prestigious venues. So I won't argue with you as I know the calibre of our National youth musicians.

That's right pretzel because the music industry already funds them mostly and realise the future of adult orchestras/ bands lay in the youth musicians.

Funding for youth music has been slashed over the last 20 years by various governments. I'm baffled that anyone seems to think it's exempt from cuts. If national income falls post Brexit it's highly likely that spending on culture (including youth music) will be cut yet again.

But is it not just terribly sad that it has come to this? Are you not saddened that opportunity is being curtailed, even if just a bit?