Westminstenders: Pah International Law. Who needs it?

[RedToothBrush]

I mean its not as if trade deals and human rights are relevant is it?

(sorry eating my dinner so must be brief)

Does anyone know if that company with the supersonic test has donated to Vote Leave / Tory party ?

If so, they can look forward to a massive payout for the "moonshot"
If not .... they'll have to really turn on the charm

It's important not to forget the loyalist paramilitaries.

I thought the RUC had been disbanded ?

.

Great article from Spain - thanks for sharing.

For me it summarused the supreme arrogance of the Tories. They did the same re the Scotish ref, but now.

Totally delusional tbh.

@DGRossetti

It's important not to forget the loyalist paramilitaries.

I thought the RUC had been disbanded ?

"The loyalists have previously limited their activities to the island of Ireland."

I vaguely remember one UDA bombing in England - but no details, so I could be wrong ?

This is a useful article on Loyalist terrorist organisations in Scotland & NW England during the Troubles,
based on far right politics - politics not religion in England -
and how they sent money & arms to Loyalist terrorist in NI

The Orange Order as in NI, ostensibly rejecting terrorism, but with a suspicious number of terrorist connections

writingthetroublesweb.wordpress.com/2019/04/01/paramilitary-loyalism-in-england-and-scotland/

umph

Beta max also failed.

There were no eggs in Lidl yesterday. Soon that will be common place.

Anyone watching PMQs?

Yup.

The UVF planted two bombs in Glasgow in 1979, injuring 5 people, but to quote Wikipedia, the Provisional Irish Republican Armyy^ (IRA) veto[ed] on bombing operations in Scotland [which] prevented the situation from escalating.

Talking to Dad yesterday about History education. He said they did history and political history up to 1914. (He's in his mid 60s). I did selected highlights - Aztecs, Tudors, feudal system, ww2. So, his history education focuses on Empire era. And mine is patchy at best and largely irrelevant. Many Prime Ministers and events I know nothing about aside what I have read as an adult - e.g. the politics of this country over time, The Troubles, Thatcherism...

But that highlights the root of the problem. His generation will have nostalgia for Empire, and mine are too ignorant of political history at all. 🤦🏻‍♀️

[quote BigChocFrenzy]"The loyalists have previously limited their activities to the island of Ireland."

I vaguely remember one UDA bombing in England - but no details, so I could be wrong ?

This is a useful article on Loyalist terrorist organisations in Scotland & NW England during the Troubles,
based on far right politics - politics not religion in England -
and how they sent money & arms to Loyalist terrorist in NI

The Orange Order as in NI, ostensibly rejecting terrorism, but with a suspicious number of terrorist connections

writingthetroublesweb.wordpress.com/2019/04/01/paramilitary-loyalism-in-england-and-scotland/[/quote]
I can't find any details on a UDA bombing in England but according to this Irish Times article in 1996, the only loyalist group with bomb making skills was the UVF. Maybe it was the UVF? Although I can't find anything on that either with a quick google.

According to www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/brexit/brexit-unionists-condemn-threat-from-loyalist-paramilitaries-to-implement-violence-38589894.html, the UDA are making contingency plans in case the position of NI within the union is diluted.

The Orange Order as in NI, ostensibly rejecting terrorism, but with a suspicious number of terrorist connections

Yes. The level of sanctimonious claptrap from the likes the orange order has always grated. Ian Paisley, while claiming to be a man of god and not responsible for any violence, actively encouraged it with his speeches and sermons. There is also some evidence he financed a UVF bomb.

However, in fairness to Paisley, he did eventually see the writing on the wall and took the path of peace. While finding his past utterly repugnant, I have a lot of respect for him doing that and recognise the GFA would not have happened without him.

I'd hope the pIRA (I assume the IRA are still of the same mind ?) would work smart, not hard. By now they know that the British government has no qualms sacrificing thousands of subjects on the altar of their power, and that the British public will happily queue up to be blown to bits rather than try to understand and engage with the problem.

There are are much more effective ways, I'm sure.

Who knows ? Maybe they played a very long game, and infiltrated British politics and started this whole Brexit thing ? Since it seems to be achieving their end goals with uncanny efficiency. You really could not have planned it better.

Not only are the Unionists losing. They've been played like a fiddle. Presumably a nice Irish jig ?

@prettybird

The UVF planted two bombs in Glasgow in 1979, injuring 5 people, but to quote Wikipedia, the Provisional Irish Republican Armyy^ (IRA) veto[ed] on bombing operations in Scotland [which] prevented the situation from escalating.

That would explain why I couldn't find it - I was searching for England.

@DGRossetti

I'd hope the pIRA (I assume the IRA are still of the same mind ?) would work smart, not hard. By now they know that the British government has no qualms sacrificing thousands of subjects on the altar of their power, and that the British public will happily queue up to be blown to bits rather than try to understand and engage with the problem.

There are are much more effective ways, I'm sure.

Who knows ? Maybe they played a very long game, and infiltrated British politics and started this whole Brexit thing ? Since it seems to be achieving their end goals with uncanny efficiency. You really could not have planned it better.

Not only are the Unionists losing. They've been played like a fiddle. Presumably a nice Irish jig ?

The Continuity IRA and the Real IRA are not currently on ceasefire. However, they are much smaller and less effective the Provisional IRA and currently not sting enough to do much. I suspect the more hardline member of the PIRA have moved to one to those groups.

I agree the provos are currently playing the long game and it's working very well. The CIRA and the RIRA are the ones likely to retaliate if the loyalists start up again.

Not only are the Unionists losing. They've been played like a fiddle. Presumably a nice Irish jig ?

I nearly feel sorry for them.

I knew it was Glasgow, which helped with searching for details

Anyone notice that earlier in the day The Guardian had sets its article about Hitachi alongside this one?

www.theguardian.com/business/2020/sep/16/scottish-green-hydrogen-scheme-gears-up-to-fuel-ferries-buses-and-trains

Goldman Sachs: Brexit could worsen the economy on top of Covid, more than people think

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/09/15/brexit-costs-would-be-higher-than-coronavirus-for-the-uk-goldman-says.html

“We are sceptical of the argument that the sheer scale of the economic fallout from Covid-19 will obscure the economic impact from a breakdown in Brexit negotiations,”
they said in a research note Monday.
< Tory Brexiter strategy is obscuring the facts >

The investment bank argued that the industries hit hardest by the coronavirus - such as recreational, food and drink, and wholesale businesses -

are different from the sectors mostly likely to be punished by the U.K.’s departure from the European Union,
which include chemicals, textiles and electrical equipment businesses.
....
“The world’s worst performing major currency, stock market and economy have all been located in Britain since Boris Johnson was re-elected last December,”
Anatole Kaletsky, founder and co-chairman of Gavekal Research, said in a note Monday.

Speaking to CNBC on Tuesday, he added that he was
“very worried about the performance of the U.K. economy going forward.
< you're not the only one, mate >

“I’m afraid that next year is going to be even worse because of this combination of Covid, which is still very much out of control
^ and this additional blow from actually almost anything that comes out of these Brexit negotiations,”

Thanks for the info, Pretty

@prettybird

I knew it was Glasgow, which helped with searching for details

Those were awful days. It was just a question of who had killed/attempted to kill and how many on the news each evening. I don't know what the British coverage was like but it felt like it was the lead headline on RTE most days.

I'm not sure it was on the main (BBC) news that much at the time - after all, it was "only" Scotland and no-one was injured - as even I only have a vague recollection of it.

Although to be fair, I was in my 1st year at Uni, on the other side of Scotland, so perhaps was out gallivanting wasn't reading/watching the news quite as much as I do now

@prettybird

I'm not sure it was on the main (BBC) news that much at the time - after all, it was "only" Scotland and no-one was injured - as even I only have a vague recollection of it.

Although to be fair, I was in my 1st year at Uni, on the other side of Scotland, so perhaps was out gallivanting wasn't reading/watching the news quite as much as I do now

I would hope you were out gallivanting.

Although in my day (two years later than you), we were much more informed in uni than current students. We used to take it in turns to buy the Irish Times every day and read it in the canteen. And I was an engineering student so not exactly renowned for having notions.

twitter.com/seanjonesqc/status/1305787185443082240?s=21

One potential upside might be the UK economy is so crippled we're forced to look at radical solutions of simply disappear in a sea of chaos.

It's heartening that the market forces that Thatcher fetishised are pushing back hard against Boris and the Boys (yes, I do include Priti Patel in that) most determined efforts to buck the system.

You really cannot game the market it seems.

[quote mrslaughan]twitter.com/seanjonesqc/status/1305787185443082240?s=21[/quote]
I'm absolutely sure he's right. We'll expand zero hours contracts as a way to fiddle employment figures, we'll change wage laws to encourage employers to hire staff etc etc. Utter shit.