Westminstenders: Following the EU lead

[RedToothBrush]

Coronavirus poses a particularly Irish shaped question. How the UK responds to Irish plans for ending lockdown and whether Arlene continues to back an all Ireland plan will be fascinating to watch and see justified regardless of which way we go.

The UK for all its new found independence is looking very closely to the success / failure of EU strategies before making our own plan public. Mainly because we've yet to write one.

Johnson hasn't led much. He's delegated. Yet he gets all the praise for doing the sum total of fuck all and never being the bad guy. There always another fall guy to blame.

Economically we are stuffed and promises of a very quick bounce back don't look likely based on public confidence and willingness to return to places like pubs restaurants and shops.

Our ability to adapt to new conditions at short notice has been tested and businesses can not afford to do this again soon.

This is the background to which we go into talks. Both sides need an extension to serve their best interests. Johnson is determined to cut our nose of to spite our face for the sake of his legacy and to keep those paying the back handers and dodging tax happy.

I had thought that Trump was a shoo in for November but that both houses were on a knife edge.
I now think that Trump is on a knife edge for November and that Biden might get in as a caretaker to mend healthcare
and that the houses might go different ways and thus support improvement.
we shall see

I had thought that Trump was a shoo in for November

They've probably already printed the invitations to his inauguration ...

Hester - I was just coming on to point out what a tiny, tiny proportion of the UK's GDP fishing is (even of Scotland's GDP), but it has been blown up out of all proportion by the institutional memory of being a "seafaring nation". And that's before we get into the discussion about how the UK Government encouraged the selling off of the UK fishing quotas, didn't implement the EU scheme to support small boats and the UK lack of participation in the setting of EU fishing policy (one N.Farage was supposed to be on te committee to represent the UK ) and how the UK Government refused to let Scotland send along someone instead (because we did give a fuck) .

They've probably already printed the invitations to his inauguration ...
Another bigly crowd

There's no Jill Stein this time, but for whom Clinton would have won. Instead we shall have a right-wing libertarian candidate as a good conscience dustbin vote option for Republicans who cannot stomach Trump. The suburbs that recoiled so much from Clinton are swinging back. There is every indication that Biden will win the popular vote by an even greater margin.

What you might see is another 2000, with court cases over missing votes, improper votes and lordy knows what else, and unlike Al Gore who gracefully withdrew, his knibbs is unlikely to go quietly, and may need to be taken out of the building Assange-style.

It's amazing that a man who publicly admits to thinking that injecting bleach would benefit people is actually electable.

I'm surprised the govt haven't cashed in on GDPR from schools while they can. We've been told the teachers can't do a live classroom for GDPR purposes, but private schools can. I'm sure there's a bucketful of info they could be mining from home PC's/Laptops if they put their minds to it; who wouldn't download an app to enable their child to learn?

I should stop before I start giving them ideas, shouldn't I?

It's amazing that a man who publicly admits to thinking that injecting bleach would benefit people is actually electable.

Cup cakes ....

I'm still puzzled as to why getting "a deal" that we don't know any details of with the US is viewed as such a prize, when no-one wanted TARP which we knew a HUGE amount about only a few short years ago. Is it just that some Britons like dramatic surprises?

I'm surprised the govt haven't cashed in on GDPR from schools while they can. We've been told the teachers can't do a live classroom for GDPR purposes, but private schools can.

That makes no sense. Everyone is subject to GDPR. I don't know the details of the private vs public school situation, but I do know that sometimes people don't do things citing "security" or "GDPR" when really they just don't know what to do, or don't want to.

Over at the daily Downing St Follies, Raab says, "Not everyone has our high standards."

Lucky old us.

I'm still puzzled as to why getting "a deal" that we don't know any details of with the US is viewed as such a prize, when no-one wanted TARP which we knew a HUGE amount about only a few short years ago.

Who said "no one" wanted it ? You can bet your life that the bottom feeders this side of the pond that stood to gain from it dearly wanted it.

A deal with the US will be the last deal the UK ever does. It will include a clause which will allow the US to veto any subsequent UK trade deals with other countries that are "not in the widest interests of the US".

This isn't the fevered musings of a madman, but reporting - even the BBC have joined the dots:

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-52528821

Washington has also indicated that it wants to be able to veto the UK's ability to strike deals with "non-market economies", amid growing US tensions with China.

And "Prolonging the uncertainty over Brexit" will make the pandemic worse.

And "Prolonging the uncertainty over Brexit" will make the pandemic worse.

Well, fingers crossed.

I believe raab just said in the press conference that not persuing brexit and asking for an extension would create too much uncertainty which would be detrimental to the economy....
You could make this shit up

Sorry obviously couldn't make this shit up

"Washington has also indicated that it wants to be able to veto the UK's ability to strike deals with "non-market economies", amid growing US tensions with China."

That's far greater infringement on UK trade policy than EU membership ever was

• because the UK had a vote on EU policy and often a veto or an optout if we really didn't like something

That clause in any US deal just relegates the UK to colony status
It would be better to hold out for becoming the 51st US state - at least we'd have a vote then

Let's remember all the furore over TTIP

• which Cameron was pushing, btw - but which some confused Brexiter posters said was one of the reasons they wanted Brexit

Any US trade deal with the UK on its own, not part of the powerful EU trade bloc - would be on far less favourable terms for the UK

TTIP-on-Steroids

It wouldn't surprise me if there's also a clause effectively limiting the UKs ability to pass laws if they should be contrary to the interests of the United States.

US gun manufacturers are aware mainland Britain is a virgin market.

Fishing is a tiny part of both the Uk and EU economies

It is NI which will be the issue that makes or breaks any future UK trade deal with the EU, US, probably countries like Canada, Australia too

• anywhere a chunk of the Irish diaspora ended up

"It wouldn't surprise me if there's also a clause effectively limiting the UKs ability to pass laws if they should be contrary to the interests of the United States."

TTIP would basically have had that wrt US multinationals

• the version the USA wanted and has managed wrt some other countries

e.g. US tobacco companies being able to sue for damages caused by mandatory government health warnings

• or even just standard govt health ads on the TV or billboards

Certain US tech companies are furious at the billion-Euro fines levied by the EU Commission,
because of those tech companies deliberately stifling competition and refusing to mend their ways

Any trade deal will prevent such fines for anti-competitive practices

Returning to the App:

Reportedly it would not be GDPR-compliant, because a user cannot have their personal data deleted from the server
All data is being retained ad infinitum, allegedly for use in "research"

And of course, if the data is transferred / sold to the USA, as certain NHS patient data may be / may have been,
then UK courts and the ECHR would have no jurisdiction to enforce their decisions

Also reported here:

UK COVID-19 contact-tracing app data may be kept for 'research' after crisis ends, MPs told

Want to opt out of that part? No chance, says NHSX chief

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/05/04/ukcoviddapphumannrights_parliament/

Britons will not be able to ask NHS admins to delete their COVID-19 contact-tracking data from government servers,
digital arm NHSX's chief exec Matthew Gould admitted to MPs this afternoon.

Gould also told Parliament's Human Rights Committee that data harvested from Britons through NHSX's COVID-19 contact tracing app would be "pseudonymised"
- and appeared to leave the door open for that data to be sold on for "research".

< I wish people wouldn't have underscore in their pathnames - it buggers up MN posts ! >

PMK

Yet another reason not to download app the app . they're really selling it to us