OneGuyFromBarlick

Later.... See THIS and reflect on the fact that I don't think we have anything quite as bad here in the Lords..... Sounds like a lovely woman!

I noticed a warning to Nicola Sturgeon that if Scotland goes independent and then asks to join the EU it will be refused because Spain (like every EU member) has the power of veto and wouldn't want Catalonia to get any more agitated than it already has. Also a claim that polls show a majority of Scots are against independence.

That's a very complicated subject at the moment I think Peter. Who knows what pressures would be put on Spain by the other EU members if Scotland was in a position to apply to return to the fold.
At the moment we Remainers have to admit that the Brexiteers have scored a valuable goal. Leaving the EU got us out of the mess that is EU health policy on vaccines. This is the reason why we are in front of the pack and leaves Ursula saying that the way we did it was by not being as safety conscious as the EU. Macron says our jabs are no good anyway. Bottom line is that Brussels has cocked up big time and is trying to cover its arse.
This has an effect on any poll of what the Scots want, we don't know how long this effect will last. Personally I think that contrary factors caused by Brexit are going to increase as we bed into being a 'Sovereign Nation' again and these could impose strains on the Union.
There is also the long term and unpredictable actions of Northern Ireland and Wales to take into account. All we can be sure of is the the integrity of 'The Union' is no longer a given. There are cracks in the structure.
Later. See THIS. Canada has declared The Proud Boys and associated organisations Terrorist organisations. Good!

Later I hear that there are mutterings on the Tory back benches about Johnson sounding as though the reopening of schools on March 8th is not a done deal and calling for plans to be adhered to. Don't they realise that a lot has happened and there is a lot that has to be right before any relaxation. It's not just a case of sticking to a time table.

Stanley wrote: ↑04 Feb 2021, 04:01 At the moment we Remainers have to admit that the Brexiteers have scored a valuable goal. Leaving the EU got us out of the mess that is EU health policy on vaccines. This is the reason why we are in front of the pack and leaves Ursula saying that the way we did it was by not being as safety conscious as the EU. Macron says our jabs are no good anyway. Bottom line is that Brussels has cocked up big time and is trying to cover its arse.

I take a different view. If in 2016 we had chosen to stay in the EU and to continue exercising our influence there Britain would have been turned to for leadership on the pandemic. We have more and better scientists, highly respected especially in the medical and pharmaceutical areas. SAGE would have been advising the EU and I believe the combination of SAGE and the scientific experts in other EU countries would persuaded the Commission to act faster and more effectively than our UK leaders did.
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I heard a lot about this lady on Americast recently - a nasty piece of work yet the GOP want to keep her. We'll find out who wins tomorrow.
`Marjorie Taylor Greene: House Republicans resist pressure to oust lawmaker' LINK

But there's an interesting extra bit at the end of that article...
`On Wednesday night, Liz Cheney, the third-highest ranking Republican, survived a vote to oust her from her leadership position after she enraged Trump supporters by joining 10 Republicans in breaking ranks last month to impeach the former president. She rode out the secret ballot by 145-61. "I won't apologize for the [impeachment] vote," the Wyoming lawmaker, who is a daughter of former Vice-President Dick Cheney, told the closed-doors House Republican meeting earlier in the evening. During a pause in that private meeting, Mr McCarthy told reporters he had defended Ms Cheney. "People can have differences of opinion," he said. "That's what you can have a discussion about. Liz has a right to vote her conscience.".'

You could be right about what might have been if we had been a participant Peter. However, the view that 'it was Brexit wot saved us' is circulating widely in the chattering classes in Westminster.
As for Marjorie Taylor Greene, I have been watching that saga for a while. She has recently consulted with Trump and many are making the connection between her survival in the GOP and the fact that Trump still carries weight in the party. Not to put too fine a point on it, many Republicans still fear the damage he could do to their careers.
The scale of Liz Cheney's win in the ballot shows what sentiment is running like when it can be expressed in a secret ballot. That margin is probably a better expression of the feeling in the party about Trump than any reluctance to publicly oppose Marjorie Taylor Greene.
Meanwhile in our neck of the woods. See THIS BBC report about the latest in what is a confused picture about border controls. Johnson says Hancock will rule, Hancock evidently says "Not me Guv". Grant Shapps equivocates but broadly backs his boss. Yvette Cooper tweets asking for someone to take control and Keir Starmer hedges his bets by saying that not imposing more control could be dangerous. Sort that lot out.....

Later... See THIS BBC report of the vote in the House of representatives which has sanctioned Taylor Greene and removed her from two influential committees. Note that Republicans voted with Democrats to oust her.

I notice she didn't apologise or `roll back' on having `liked' a Facebook post calling for Nancy Pelosi to get "a bullet to the head" and replying to another calling for Barack Obama to be hanged.

A good illustration of the extra work due to Brexit...
`Brexit: 71 pages of paperwork for 1 lorry of fish' LINK

Taylor Green is a qualified lawyer who has apologised for being misled into thinking it was correct. Pull the other one, no doubt her local caucus rating has gone through the roof. For the Republicans politics is about money and how they can get their hands on more of it. A lot of the right-wing Democrats are not far behind in this thinking. Trump and his toxic politics has brought the rich / poor divide more into the open and its not looking too good for America if they continue down this route.

The fishing industry has been caught out by the rules of Brexit that come into play on leaving, the same applies to exporting shell fish. After !2 months of discussions its clear that the UK doesn't understand the rules that would apply on leaving the EU. Boris Johnson has sidestepped all these issues by saying that there will be no extra taxes to pay. Perhaps he thought we could bend rules and work loopholes like we do within the UK. The EU is having none of it. Can't blame them one bit.

The evidence is slowly building against the 'advantages' of Brexit and being a 'sovereign nation'. The fishermen have been sold down the river..... End of story.
Later... I have listened to the news about the proposed NHS reforms and if my understanding is correct and they are intended to reverse the disastrous policies imposed by Andrew Lansley I am all in favour of them. we wait and see...

See THIS Telegraph report that the Road Hauliers say that cross channel traffic is down 68% compared with last year. They complained to Gove and his department says they are wrong.
Lord Lamont (former Tory Chancellor) warns that because of the bureaucratic mess trade between the UK and N. Ireland is now not profitable. The Government insisted "goods are flowing effectively" between Britain and Northern Ireland.
Who is right? Are things as rosy as the government suggests?

Stanley wrote: ↑06 Feb 2021, 03:36 Later... I have listened to the news about the proposed NHS reforms and if my understanding is correct and they are intended to reverse the disastrous policies imposed by Andrew Lansley I am all in favour of them. we wait and see...

It was leaked to The Times and made a front-page exclusive story on Saturday morning. Jeremy Hunt has welcomed the news.

Tizer wrote: ↑07 Feb 2021, 11:08 It was leaked to The Times and made a front-page exclusive story on Saturday morning. Jeremy Hunt has welcomed the news.

Getting rid of the burden of competitive pricing for cherry picked items sounds promising. Putting control of budgets into a single authority sounds a bit like controlling the purse strings to reign in any recalcitrant local areas that may have the audacity to pay nurses more money.

Stanley wrote: ↑07 Feb 2021, 06:24 cross channel traffic is down 68% compared with last year.

So we probably won't need the inland clearance areas at Ashford, and the parking on the M2 and at Manston? From plethora to dearth in a month.

I think they are busy David, or at least they were, but for Covid reasons more than Brexit.

I'm sat here listening to the litany of woes coming in from Northern Ireland about trade across the Irish Sea which is being strangled by bureaucracy. The paperwork that Johnson and Gove denied was anything more than a transient problem. It isn't pretty listening, this is a cock up and a nightmare for many businesses including the hauliers.

This is Church of England politics rather than the sort we usually get annoyed about! The Times yesterday ran a long article about big changes proposed to the `management' of Britain's churches. Lots of bishops and priests will be thrown on the scrap heap and - wait for it - they'll be replaced by managers whose function is to draw people back to the churches and to improve their image. The Times quoted a range of silly job titles and salaries ranging from about £30k to £70k. The job titles are so daft I can't even remember them - they're on a par with supermarkets calling their checkout staff financial executives. I can't find anything about it on the web yet but it'll soon cause a stir - I hope!

Tizer wrote: ↑07 Feb 2021, 15:46 I can't find anything about it on the web yet but it'll soon cause a stir - I hope!

You're not looking in the right places.
I saw a better link than this yesteday. Can't find it now of course, but this is similar. Lament for the C of E.

"Moreover, the administration of today’s Church is as cumbrous and costive as that of the NHS. It is also voluminous. When I was ordained to a Yorkshire curacy in 1970, the Diocese of Ripon was managed by Squadron Leader Driver and his assistant Elsie. In my last Cure of Souls at St Michael’s, Cornhill, I opened the Diocesan Handbook and discovered the names of ninety-three functionaries. So many accountants and so little money. And most of them are paid more than the parish clergy."

The CofE is in trouble all round, protecting paedophiles, messing up church funds with bad investments and the latest scandal over the 'safeguarding' measures. On top of that dwindling numbers at services. Answer? Simples! Impose a new modern management structure.

Here's a snipped bit from that article in The Times on Saturday about the proposed job titles for new Church of England appointees. I knew the world had gone mad, now I know the C of E has gone mad too!

Stanley wrote: ↑08 Feb 2021, 03:35 The CofE is in trouble all round, protecting paedophiles, messing up church funds with bad investments and the latest scandal over the 'safeguarding' measures. On top of that dwindling numbers at services. Answer? Simples! Impose a new modern management structure.

Answer? DIVERSIFY! Why stick to one imaginary person in the sky when you can scam millions using the internet? Virtual services for virtual deities. Invent a few more entities, branch out into demonology and witchcraft, sell ouija boards or snake oil, the opportunities are endless. Employ the Mormons or Jehovah's Witnesses to do a bit of door-knocking and cold-selling. Sell the assets. God botherers unite, one flavour fits all.

chinatyke wrote: ↑08 Feb 2021, 11:08 Answer? DIVERSIFY! Why stick to one imaginary person in the sky when you can scam millions using the internet? Virtual services for virtual deities. Invent a few more entities, branch out into demonology and witchcraft, sell ouija boards or snake oil, the opportunities are endless. Employ the Mormons or Jehovah's Witnesses to do a bit of door-knocking and cold-selling. Sell the assets. God botherers unite, one flavour fits all.

Shame on you China. You missed of Toxic Trump the biggest deity in America. MAGA baseball hats and t-shirts.
In defense of the 'NEW' CofE they do organise visits taking young people to various parts of the world to look at their culture and religions. An acquaintance of mine has taken parties to Israel twice been given a good welcome but not impressed by the way they treated the Palestinians. All this needs an access to funds from philanthropists that are not available to the local vicar.

If the outcome is a more peaceful world why knock it.

On God, my view is 'I don't know' like a lot of things I'm quite happy to answer 'I don't know'.

Stanley wrote: ↑07 Feb 2021, 06:24 Road Hauliers say that cross channel traffic is down 68% compared with last year.

Here are some 'alternative facts'. Dover Port traffic

Tripps wrote: ↑08 Feb 2021, 13:43

Stanley wrote: ↑07 Feb 2021, 06:24 Road Hauliers say that cross channel traffic is down 68% compared with last year.

Here are some 'alternative facts'. Dover Port traffic

Very interesting but reading the article it is a PR puff for the port and doesn't actually give any comparative figures for traffic now and a year ago. Until I see those I'll believe the road hauliers before the Dover Port Authority publicity department.
Funny thing is that if you go and search you'll find a dearth of current figures for traffic levels but plenty of howls from traders who have had to stop EU exports.