Brexit

[Orval Wintermute]

[gaggedLouise]

I actually e-mailed a British state agency the other day and told them that I hoped Boris does break the law in his role as PM and refuses to make any bid for extension when he meets the EU leaders - "then he can be arrested by Scotland Yard and marched out of 10 Downing Street in handcuffs". ;)

Not an altogether realistic scenario perhaps, but it does catch how some of us feel, in the words of Corbyn last night, that "this government is a disgrace".

[Beorning]

I actually e-mailed a British state agency the other day and told them that I hoped Boris does break the law in his role as PM and refuses to make any bid for extension when he meets the EU leaders - "then he can be arrested by Scotland Yard and marched out of 10 Downing Street in handcuffs". ;)

You did what???  :o  :o  :o

[Mechelle]

As is usual when a Prime Minister retires or loses power, Theresa May has produced her resignation honours list.
Some of the recipients are very worthy such as the knighting of former England cricket captain Andrew Strauss, who was a successful player and administrator as well as performing charity work some of which was linked to his wife's early death from cancer.  Some are amusing such as Kim Darroch, the former ambassador who irked Trump and Johnson, being raised to the peerage.

However, some are dubious. I think of her former special advisers, Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill, who were sacked following their advice to seek an election in which she lost her majority (with a complete lack of self-awareness, Timothy has been very critical of her failures), but above all, I think of her favourite cricketer, Geoffrey (now Sir Geoffrey) Boycott, who was a leading player in the 60s, 70s and 80s.
He has been a very controversial man. In his lengthy playing career, he was successful, he was renowned for being very difficult to get out, although he was also a very slow scorer. Theresa May had said she would like to emulate his staying power and stubbornness, but she could also have considered how his concern was always for his own score, not his team's, and he was famous for running out his team mates to protect his own wicket. These might be odd terms, but I am sure you get the gist.

After he retired, it gets worse, as, after being a very divisive figure in his county team, he went into media punditry, where he is very knowledgeable. However, he was convicted of domestic violence against his then partner in France in 1998. He has denied the allegations, although he was convicted in a court of law, saying that the experience made him pro-Brexit as he was convicted in France, and that he "didn't give a toss" when it was brought up today. Later, when Cornish England cricketer Marcus Trescothick had mental health problems, he said he should man up, and said that he thought he should "black up" when some West Indian cricketers were getting honours before he was. He did apologise for the last statement, to be fair to him.
Anyway, that is our new knight of the realm.

[gaggedLouise]

Appeals Court of Scotland rules unanimously: Boris' act of suspending parliament BROKE THE LAW

https://edition.cnn.com/2019/09/11/uk/scottish-court-uk-parliament-prorogation-intl/index.html?adkey=bn

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/sep/11/scottish-judges-rule-boris-johnsons-prorogation-unlawful

Downing Street will appeal of course, but this is a major moral and legal thumbs-up for Parliament, and for the opposition against Boris

[Orval Wintermute]

but above all, I think of her favourite cricketer, Geoffrey (now Sir Geoffrey) Boycott, who was a leading player in the 60s, 70s and 80s.

Well he is 78 and a Knighthood only is a lifetime appointment, so the PR problem should resolve itself.

[Mechelle]

Well he is 78 and a Knighthood only is a lifetime appointment, so the PR problem should resolve itself.

I thought the Queen should knight him in the speedy way that he played and communicated with his teammates. Tap him on shoulder, shout "Yes, no! Wait, run!" a few times and then, an hour later,  tap him on the other shoulder.

In more senior news, the government have just been forced to release the Yellowhammer documents which cover preparation for a no-deal Brexit. In what they describe as a reasonable worst case scenario, they predict disruption to food and medical supplies. Remember, this is the government's own document.

This might concentrate minds and make a deal more likely, but then the government would face opposite from the Brexit party who want a clean break Brexit. The Brexit Party had been hoping for a non-aggression pact, but the Conservatives have turned them down, saying that Banks and Farage are unfit for public office. As somebody said, even a stopped clock is correct twice a day.

[Orval Wintermute]

The Government has really released the Yellowhammer documents, what they have released is a 5 page executive summary. Even that has bits redacted, but based on the leaks a few weeks ago that redacted part is about having to shut down fuel refineries. Oh and they changed the title from "Base Assumptions" to "Reasonable Worst Case"

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/831199/20190802_Latest_Yellowhammer_Planning_assumptions_CDL.pdf

And the Government has refused to release the communications from the SPAD's about prorogation.

[Callie Del Noire]

Well shit, that is a tight concise memo of doom an gloom. The ND Brexit will suck for a lot of folks. I imagine a year from now the Brexiters will be crying a lot about this

[Orval Wintermute]

Well shit, that is a tight concise memo of doom an gloom. The ND Brexit will suck for a lot of folks. I imagine a year from now the Brexiters will be crying a lot about this

At the minute it's cries of "Project Fear!" and "Old News" and "It's just the worst case", I even had someone trying to tell me the document is a fake even though couldn't explain how this "fake document" got on to a .gov.uk server.

6 months from now it's all going to be fault of Remoaners and the EU, nothing to do with the people that wanted to leave.

[Orval Wintermute]

The crossword compiler is letting their feelings on Brexit slip.

https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/27924

[Sara Nilsson]

The crossword compiler is letting their feelings on Brexit slip.

https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/27924

chuckles. Very clever

[TheGlyphstone]

What am I missing?

[Sara Nilsson]

What am I missing?

The top and the bottom reads out as an interesting message. If you click on the solve thingy button you can read it. I don't want to spoil it if anyone actually wants to do the puzzle

[Oniya]

And here I was looking at the actual clues.  (Sadly, it's been too long since I've done a proper cryptic, and had to resort to The Button.)

[TheGlyphstone]

Me too. That's funny...

[Mechelle]

Boris Johnson has had quite a torrid time in the north of England today. Dominic Cumming's cunning plan seems to be that he should promise things to Northern towns, especially ones in marginal constituencies, as their ill-educated, racist, xenophobic inhabitants will vote for him. As a northerner, can I say how offensive this caricature by the southern elite is.
More to the point, it doesn't seem to be working in the polls as Labour leave voters seem unwilling to shift to the Conservatives for historical reasons, although they may be more willing to vote for the Brexit Party; I wonder if that will still be the case if the two parties form an alliance. Johnson faced some very public heckling, calling for him to go back to Parliament and calling him out for his hypocrisy on austerity measures, which he never opposed at the time, but is now throwing money at everything.

David Cameron, who is publishing a book, has broken his silence to be critical of Johnson, who he says has behaved appallingly, and the "mendacious" Gove. He also says he doesn't regret the vote, but "I'm sorry. I failed."

In better news for the right, "Tommy Robinson" has been released from prison and the Brexit Party have taken control of Hartlepool - they didn't win an election, but had a mass detection from other parties.

[Orval Wintermute]

The most surreal thing about today's events is when Johnson was asked by a journalist if the PM stood by his "spaffing up the wall" comments. Johnson's reply is that he didn't say that, pity there's video evidence that says otherwise.

https://www.lbc.co.uk/radio/presenters/nick-ferrari/boris-johnson-historial-child-abuse-investigation/

[Oniya]

The most surreal thing about today's events is when Johnson was asked by a journalist if the PM stood by his "spaffing up the wall" comments. Johnson's reply is that he didn't say that, pity there's video evidence that says otherwise.

https://www.lbc.co.uk/radio/presenters/nick-ferrari/boris-johnson-historial-child-abuse-investigation/

I had to look up that phrase.  Of all the idioms to use!

[Mechelle]

I had to look up that phrase.  Of all the idioms to use!

Oh, yes, I meant to mention that too, but forgot among all the other things. I did wonder at the time how familiar the word would be - I think he is the only person I have ever heard use it.

[Oniya]

I found a thing on Quora that said it was a phrase 'only an educated onanist would know'.  I translated that in my head to 'a really smart wanker.'  ;D

[Orval Wintermute]

To put the cherry on the cake of the "spaffing" story. The journalist who asked Johnson if he stood by the remarks was from a Rochdale newspaper and the event was in Rochdale. Rochdale just happens to be one of the towns most associated with historic child exploitation cases.

[gaggedLouise]

I found a thing on Quora that said it was a phrase 'only an educated onanist would know'.  I translated that in my head to 'a really smart wanker.'  ;D

Remember Scaramouche's comments about what he didn't do, unlike Steve Bannon? :)

Headline of the day: "Boris is Trapped in a Brexit Prison He Helped Build" - and on the front page of the site, it's coupled with a photo of a grumpy Boris standing behind a metal bar crossing his forehead. Brilliant! :)

https://edition.cnn.com/2019/09/14/uk/boris-johnson-is-trapped-in-a-brexit-prison-he-helped-build-intl-gbr/index.html

[Callie Del Noire]

I find myself wondering what Teresa May is thinking these days when she is watching this utter shit on the news

[TheGlyphstone]

I find myself wondering what Teresa May is thinking these days when she is watching this utter shit on the news

"Thank God it's his problem now."