Westminstenders: What the winds bring

[RedToothBrush]

The next few weeks are crucial. Eu talks, covid handling, the US election and any other unexpected events (its nearly November, lets face it will probably be the weather).

It feels a little like the car crash in slow motion is about to hit the wall of reality. I guess that just means all there is left to do is to brace for impact.

From the Vice article, linked earlier:
Isaacson noted there are important differences between Colombia and the United States. In Colombia, the conflict happened mostly in the country and the different sides took and held territory. “In America, it will be more urban. It’s not going to be about controlling territory,” he said. “A lot of it will be, like terrorism, an effort to display a show of force and make a statement. It’ll be more performative than what you’d see in Colombia where the guerillas really did intend to take over the country.”

I disagree with that analysis. I think there are serious people out there who are going to target cities, in particular Washington, DC, with the purpose of disrupting the process of swearing in Joe Biden and Kamala Harris if (when?) they win.

Trump has stated several times that he believes there is massive voter fraud and has flirted with the idea of not leaving the White House regardless of the result of the election. He has been stoking fear since he announced his presidency. The militias are going to claim that their action is defensive.

I also think the analysts quoted have vastly underestimated the length of time in which the US has been experiencing a quiet civil war. It has been quietly brewing since at least the 1960s.

A big issue in Ireland is transport to school from rural areas.

If you have masks and some ventilation this probably isn't a big issue. Is there much evidence of widespread transmission on public transport, where people wear masks?

The issue in France is that you can't wear a mask while eating and all the pupils pile into school canteens at lunchtime.

I was wondering whether they'd consider allowing packed lunches in France, but I doubt it.

They should move to 100% packed lunches, prepared by the school cantine if they really want to be French about it.

Quite honestly in two weeks the FR government has managed to go from a position where I broadly supported or was agnostic about their covid response, to a position where I have lost all confidence in them. I don't intend to respect the lockdown rules either - I'm not staying in my house all day when teenagers are roaming the town all day. I'll game the attestation system to carry on exercising outdoors as normal.

The main point about Croydon is that local politicians were making incredibly risky investments without the necessary insight because of a misplaced faith 'in the market' and to replace funds lost due to years of austerity and cutbacks by central government and some wanted to pretend to be hedge fund managers.

I have to take DS1 back to his lycée on Sun evening, so I looked at the attestation for transporting DC to school. It's supposed to have the school's stamp on it. And you're meant to print it off each time if you use the paper version.

And I am going cycle to the shops, to get beyond the 1km limit.
I regularly cycle for 1-2hrs here and never come within 5m of anyone for the few minutes I'm in town, then pass no one at all once I'm in the countryside.
A lot of people are going to be more flexible with the rules than last time. A friend from Marseille told me yesterday he thinks there'll be a booming trade in fake work certificates.

Suddenly the old song "Nice legs, shame about the face" popped into my mind

@ListeningQuietly

Suddenly the old song "Nice legs, shame about the face" popped into my mind

Permasmirk - can be seen from space.

Looks to me like she has hyper-mobility.

There's an acid observation on freedom of movement in there, somewhere.

@DGRossetti

Looks to me like she has hyper-mobility.

There's an acid observation on freedom of movement in there, somewhere.

Actually I think Priti Patel is quite an apt name for her.
It's her mind that I worry about.

Gosh, she's tiny. I hadn't realised before.

@HoneysuckIejasmine

Gosh, she's tiny. I hadn't realised before.

And they say it's men that feel they need to make up for something ...

How many days ?

And they say it's men that feel they need to make up for something ...

mrdsneighborhood.com/2011/05/17/lords-of-lilliput-history’s-greatest-tiny-tyrants/

Though many of our most terrible rulers could tower over us, some [of] humanity’s greatest horrors were perpetrated by those whose size gave them a serious chip on their shoulder.

I read a profile of her in the Guardian or Observer. At the same time as it outlined her hideous political views it kept emphasising how charming she was. I couldn’t decide whether she has some secret charm very well hidden by an obnoxious face or they just felt they had to say something nice or not say anything at all....

At the same time as it outlined her hideous political views it kept emphasising how charming she was

For some people, a smirk is all it takes.

It's impossible to unsee that smirk when you read of the tragedy in the channel earlier this week. That was on her face as she read the news of it.

Bang on as usual
chrisgreybrexitblog.blogspot.com/

LQ good link. Re BJ waiting to see who wins the US election, we might not find out until January. Which will be too late.

@ICouldHaveCheckedFirst

LQ good link. Re BJ waiting to see who wins the US election, we might not find out until January. Which will be too late.

I think that's unlikely.

re-reading the reporting on the 2000 election, what is much more likely is that it will emerge in January that the person who is POTUS isn't the person who won the election. By which point it's too late. And unlike the supine English, who would probably complain about queue jumping on the way to the gas chambers, there's a much darker and deeper streak of revolutionary in Americans. They are, after all, a nation built on overthrowing the tyranny of the British.

Still, in the event of a comprehensive US-UK trade deal, I am looking forward to taking up the pastime of being a gun nut. And while Bidens advice "for the ladies" may have been a shotgun is all you need, I wouldn't be happy with much less than an AR-15. If IKEA are all they are cracked up to be, they should already be preparing the brochure for the "BillyBoy" gun cabinet. With drawers for ammunition. Of course.

Plenty of time between election and inauguration to get it sorted I hope.

@HoneysuckIejasmine

Plenty of time between election and inauguration to get it sorted I hope.

As far as I can see once the determination is made - irrespective of it's validity - it's made. There is no process for walking it back.

Same as in the UK, really. No amount of court cases or rulings that an election was invalid is ever going to unseat the government. At best it might trigger a fresh general election. However that isn't possible under the US constitution. Possibly the single example where it's £too rigid" compared to the UKs "what day is it ?" method for choosing rules.

It's the way of history. Despots find the chinks in the system of protections and slowly lever them open to let the poison in. Until you have a nation divided and either descend into civil war, or unite to fight a perceived enemy.

Still, I hope Ken Burns is ready to rake in some fresh royalties from his excellent series on the US civil war in future.

I wonder where the first shot of the second US civil war will be fired ? Is Fort Sumter still in use ? (googles)

Phew - as journalists start talking about the possibility of civil war in the US, Americans can still buy guns and ammunition at Walmart:

"Walmart says it has removed ammunition and firearms from displays at its US stores, citing “civil unrest” in some areas.

The nation’s largest retailer, based in Bentonville, Arkansas, sells firearms in about half of its 4,700 stores.

“We have seen some isolated civil unrest and as we have done on several occasions over the last few years, we have moved our firearms and ammunition off the sales floor as a precaution for the safety of our associates and customers,” Walmart said in a statement emailed to The Associated Press.

The retailer said the items remain available for purchase by customers."