Westminstenders: The Tunnel or Bridge

[RedToothBrush]

Apparently negotiations are in the black hole of the EU tunnel or should that be on the back of the fantasy of the Boris Bridge?

Another week closer to complete meltdown.

I'm guessing that our world beating customs solution will be based on blackboard and chalk.

Watching the 2nd series (filmed in 2017, so Ds informs me) and last night they dropped in a reference to Brexit. A small protectorate of the Great US of A was wanting independence. Then it got hit by the aforementioned Tsunami. Then it needed help, so changed it's mind. But the line that got me was: US politico to protectorate politico: 'binning off a longstanding larger union that is beneficial to you is not always such a great idea - look at the UK and Brexit!' (I paraphrase but that was roughly it) Ds and I nearly fell off the sofa: so prescient!!

The Union of the US (famously) doesn't allow for secession, as the EU does.

Surprised it wasn't censored or banned like the ST:TNG episode that predicted Irish unification in 2024

memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Irish_Unification_of_2024

PMK

Pmk

Thanks, red 💐

The thread title sounds like a particularly vacillating Scandi Noir title.
Featuring what bodies in which bridge or tunnel? The vainglorious, hubristic politician stifled by his own self importance or the frustrated and exhausted electorate driven to despair by endless gaslighting and manipulation by said politico and associates?

Re Bridges and Tunnels
listening to R4 Extra replaying bits of Chaz and Di's wedding
distraction is dangerous stuff

Babbling Boris

Well Von der Leyen has 7 kids, so she must be used to stopping toddler tantrums
Ve haff vays of shutting you up

No time for anything like CETA, even if BJ suddenly got real about LPF:

CETA was a mixed treaty, requiring ratification by all 27 Parliaments plus several regional Parliaments - like Walloon !

The Canadian resource-based economy is very different to the UK's service-based one,
which means Canada is much less of a potential rival in a "race to the bottom" and produces some resources the EU needs

CETA gave limited benefits to Canada - which was fine for them as the EU is not their main trading partner - but these same terms would be totally inadequate for the UK's very different exports to the EU, nearly half of the Uk total.

Also being thousands of miles away both reduces the damage a "race to the bottom" can do and
gives time during long sea voyages to deal with all the documentation and additional checks, whereas a 25-mile ferry trip requires all documentation to be completed beforehand

Worth reading in full

www.politics.co.uk/comment-analysis/2020/10/05/the-break-up-of-the-uk-is-coming-but-will-it-be-violent-or-p

...
The UK has a Catholic/Protestant fault line too. In Northern Ireland it was active for 30 years and killed 3,500 people - equivalent to 200,000 for the UK as a whole.
...

I wouldn't be sure that the current government wouldn't quite happily see 200,000 dead as a price worth paying for Brexit given how their approach to Covid has been.

Thinking of NI:
maybe the super hightech border control fantasised by DD, legatum and others would in practice rely on Excel and crash out !

I fully admit that at the time of the Brexit vote, Northern Ireland was Nowhere in my calculation.
I remember IRA bombs in the 70's
a very dear friend had a VERY close shave and I heard a couple of bombs go off
BUT
My understanding of the reality of Northern Ireland and what the British had done to Ireland was zero
until DH and I spent a couple of weeks in the Republic over a couple of years.
And since then my view on Brexit hardened even more
is that possible

Thank you to Redtoothbrush and the regular posters. Following as always as you really make sense of some very complicated issues. Your discussions are fascinating And I thoroughly enjoy your place marking pictures too!

pmk

hey.

btw can people not compare the copy & paster to squid ink, I might take offence...

Squid4 we all know that squid do not copy & paste, they do exquisite calligraphy.

How are you doing squid ?
You are on the right side of history. Be strong.

btw can people not compare the copy & paster to squid ink, I might take offence...

So sorry squid 🦑

@pointythings

Squid4 we all know that squid do not copy & paste, they do exquisite calligraphy.

Pretty flowers from my "cutting bed" just for squid4 in appreciation of her work (especially after ds was treated so well by the NHS last week )

Hi, I am finding things a bit hard but who isn't, right!
Mood in hospital is anxious.
It is busy.
COVID19 is back. Sent 3 covids to ITU today.
Everyone says we "cannot" shut down the stuff we did last time (elective surgery etc)
Emergency rotas have been mentioned , burnout is a worry (this is going to be a long haul)
ITU is full, we can physically expand but staffing is an issue (we redeployed from shut down areas last time)
Think my local area is about to go into lockdown. It won't affect me that much as I will go to work anyway
I feel very sad for the students, what a shitshow.
Someone tested positive at work today after going home with symptoms and the exposed people are not going to self isolate because how can we have no entire surgical team? We wear PPE but we also have tiny cramped changing rooms and eat food sometimes!
Tough tough winter ahead
Cannot watch gaslighting government congratulating itself on this failed state, sometimes I read & catch up, but can't watch them speak.

awwww thanks for flowers, and I read about your DS so glad he was treated promptly and is doing ok x

Late catch up - the 15hr/17hr landbridge/ferry comparisons needed to add in the dublin/Rosslare travel time (~2hr) minus whatever fraction of traffic from Cork and surrounds would have a shorter journey, horse traffic permitting, though I believe most traffic from elsewhere would route via dublin.

Squid Power to the SuperSquid 🦑 !
with Lindt choc 🍫 for fuel

#ToryCronyism costs lives

I think the Trump covid twist was a bit obvious and hope the writers of 2021 up their game a bit.