Emrys
Emrys's JournalLet Trump Handle Brexit: Explosive Leak Reveals Johnson's Private Views About Foreign Policy
Let Trump Handle Brexit: An Explosive Leaked Recording Reveals Boris Johnson’s Private Views About Britain’s Foreign Policy
“I am increasingly admiring of Donald Trump. I have become more and more convinced that there is method in his madness.”
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BuzzFeed News has obtained an audio recording of a closed-door gathering at the Institute of Directors in London, where Johnson treated about 20 Tories to an extraordinarily unguarded and wide-ranging assessment of the UK’s foreign policy strategy – and his private thoughts about Brexit, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.
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Speaking about Brexit, Johnson gave a remarkably candid rundown of the arguments that have bitterly divided May’s cabinet.
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Johnson insisted he won’t compromise on the final terms of Britain’s future economic relationship, but said the Brexiteers were at risk of getting a deal far worse than they’d hoped for. The government is so terrified of short-term economic disruption that it’s at risk of throwing away the opportunities presented by Brexit. He ridiculed the concerns about disruption at the borders as “pure millennium bug stuff” and said it’s “beyond belief” that the Northern Ireland border has become an obstacle in the negotiations.
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He said the debate about solutions to the Northern Irish border had been blown completely out of proportion. “It’s so small and there are so few firms that actually use that border regularly, it’s just beyond belief that we’re allowing the tail to wag the dog in this way. We’re allowing the whole of our agenda to be dictated by this folly.”
https://www.buzzfeed.com/alexspence/boris-johnson-trump-brexit-leaked-recording
More at the link, including audio excerpts.
How many have to die before this rises to your threshold of "slaughter"?
Mealy-mouthed parsing from the comfort of a computer can't gloss over the horror and loss, and the lasting resentment that will only fuel further atrocities (and I can find no other sensible word for this).
It reminds me of "An Interactive Guide to Ambiguous Grammar" - https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/an-interactive-guide-to-ambiguous-grammar
As a thought experiment, let’s examine in extremely close detail a set of iterative changes that can be made to a single simple grammatical structure, turning it from a statement taken at face value into one loaded with unrealized implication. This makes for rich writing which rewards – or even demands – close scrutiny.
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
[A longish read, IMHO well worth following to the end]
We have finally fully arrived at the ultimate in passive voice: the past exonerative tense, so named because culpability is impossible when actions no longer exist. For the most extensive erasure of direct communicative value, the original object can now even be removed entirely.
Speed was involved in a jumping‑related incident with a lazy dog while a fox was brown.
Amber Rudd resigns as home secretary after Windrush scandal
Amber Rudd has resigned as home secretary after repeatedly struggling to explain her role in the unjust treatment of Windrush generation migrants.
The home secretary had faced mounting pressure over her role in setting the culture and policies that led to long-term residents of Britain from Caribbean countries being denied healthcare, pensions and benefits and in some cases being threatened with deportation.
Rudd had been due to appear before parliament on Monday to explain apparent discrepancies between her evidence to the home affairs select committee last week and a memo leaked to the Guardian that linked her to targets for removing migrants.
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Downing Street sources said that in preparing for her Commons statement on Monday, new information had become available that convinced her she must resign. However, they continued to insist that the “ambition” for a 10% increase in removals mentioned in a separate leaked letter was not a formal target.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/apr/29/amber-rudd-resigns-as-home-secretary-after-windrush-scandal
Yeah, he first came to my attention during the Boston bombing aftermath a few years ago.
His posts at the time didn't give me any cause for concern and he gave out some useful information, as he still does from time to time.
Mensch and he had a very public and bitter falling out last year, so the claim that ""He was all over the place, so she dropped him" is a laughable gloss on what actually happened. Mensch was claiming repeatedly in the media that she and The Jester were collaborating more closely than he was happy about and making outlandish claims he didn't feel were helpful or factual. If anybody did the "ditching", it was The Jester, and she took it very, very badly, in the way only she can.
As for "outing" his .ru email address, that "revelation" has been doing the rounds since at least 2010 (do a Google search for it if you're short of rabbit holes to fall down - many of them are circular, and the screencap in your OP doesn't have a date stamp or any other confirmatory information). Numerous attempts have been made to doxx The Jester and discredit him over the years, none successful.
The Jester's recently also fallen out with John Schindler. Schindler's set up a paid-for private Twitter space, and The Jester felt he was exploiting his position for gain. The Jester had already set up his own private, supposedly secure, online discussion venue, so I guess you could put it down to rivalry if you were so inclined. Counterchekist and Schindler seem pretty close, to add to the mix.
I know a hell of a lot less about Counterchekist and haven't paid him/she/it/them much attention, but once you take a look at some of these social media personas (Schindler included), you learn to take everything and everybody with a pinch of salt.
Thanks.
I found some more to add to the mix earlier today (thought I'd add it here as these arguments come up time and time again), which is less wishy-washy than I was above.
Jean-Claude Piris is, to quote his Twitter bio, "French. Consultant EU law and International law. Former Director General of the EU Council’s Legal Service from 1988 to 2010" (he's been a lot more, but it's a bit of a mouthful, so see below*):
https://twitter.com/piris_jc/status/962802993665101824
I've always argued that withdrawing Art50 notification successfully was (unusually) primarily a political rather than a legal question 5/
JC Piris @piris_jc
But it is legally possible to!nobody could expel the U.K. if it decided to remain according to its constitutional practice before 29th March 2019. Unilateral choice. The 27 cannot impose any condition
Juho Romakkaniemi, current Head of Cabinet for the Vice-President of the European Commission, chimed in:
https://twitter.com/Romakka/status/962816330926841856
Of course. If Britain decides and notifies before March 31st 2019 that it does not want to leave, that’s enough: #Brexit van be cancelled by a single letter. It’s in the end of the day a political, not a judical decision. https://twitter.com/guitarmoog/status/962804603065700353 …
* "Jean-Claude Piris served as the Legal Counsel of the Council of the EU and Director General of its Legal Service from 1988 to 2010. He is an Honorary French Conseiller d'Etat, a former diplomat at the UN and the former Director of Legal Affairs of the OCED. He was the Legal Advisor of the successive intergovernmental conferences which negotiated and adopted the treaties of Maastricht, Amsterdam and Nice, the Constitutional Treaty and, finally, the Lisbon Treaty. He was also Senior Emile Noel Fellow and Straus Institute Fellow at New York University."
I don't know where you think you got your info, but it's nowhere near as clear-cut as you claim.
Not least because we may have triggered Article 50, but we haven't left the EU yet.
According to the guy who actually drafted Article 50, we can reverse the process, but then, what would he know, right?
The former diplomat who drafted article 50 says the UK could opt to reverse Brexit up to the moment we leave, even if a date for the country’s departure from European Union were added to the withdrawal bill, as Theresa May plans.
Guardian Today: the headlines, the analysis, the debate - sent direct to you
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Lord Kerr, a former UK ambassador to the European Union, said Brexiters in May’s cabinet were suggesting Brexit was irreversible and thereby misleading the public.
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Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme Kerr, now a crossbench peer, said the UK could still opt to stay in the EU. “At any stage we can change our minds if we want to, and if we did we know that our partners would actually be very pleased indeed.”
He added: “The Brexiters create the impression that is because of the way article 50 is written that having sent in a letter on 29 March 2017 we must leave automatically on 29 March 2019 at the latest. That is not true. It is misleading to suggest that a decision that we are taking autonomously in this country about the timing of our departure, we are required to take by a provision of EU treaty law.”
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/nov/10/brexit-date-is-not-irreversible-says-man-who-wrote-article-50-lord-kerr
There's much legal debate (usually focusing on whether the UK could reverse course unilaterally), and if it did happen, it would most likely require the consent of the other EU members (and no doubt a punitive quid pro quo to stop the UK any other member using such a declaration as a bargaining tool in future), and since there's no precedent, possibly decisions by European courts on the matter. Here's four legal opinions by European law experts:
Kenneth Armstrong, professor of European Law at Cambridge University, says this is the "dominant legal opinion" on the subject and the authors of the Article are in agreement.
However, Article 50 is not very well written. There is no explicit provision for this. Equally there is no precedent for withdrawing from the European Union, so there is little to go on. Jan Komarek, a lecturer at the London School of Economics' European Institute and Department of Law, says that, as Article 50 is "silent" on whether a withdrawing member state could change its mind during the negotiation period, lawyers would have to look for other examples in international law. Under the Vienna Convention, for example, a "fundamental change of circumstances" is grounds for withdrawing from an international agreement, provided "the existence of those circumstances constituted an essential basis of the consent of the parties to be bound by the treaty".
In other words, if the UK no longer consents to being part of the EU, it may leave the EU. If that situation changes and the UK decides to remain, it may remain. "When a state which is party to an international agreement wants to revoke the agreement and then wants to revoke the revocation of the agreement, that is possible according to the Vienna Convention," Komarek says.
http://www.politics.co.uk/comment-analysis/2016/12/12/can-we-withdraw-article-50-once-we-trigger-it-probably-yes
This is also allegedly the finding of a controversial legal opinion the government's trying hard to keep secret because democracy and the Will of the People:
Jessica Simor, of Matrix Chambers which was co-founded by Cherie Blair, has said she believes the document that signalled the withdrawal process from the European Union can be reversed.
She also claims to have been told by two sources that Theresa May has been advised Britain is not legally bound to quit the EU.
Writing in the Observer Ms Simor said: “Article 50 provides for the notification – not of withdrawal but of an ‘intention’ to withdraw.
“In law, an ‘intention’ is not a binding commitment; it can be changed or withdrawn. Article 50(5) is, moreover, clear that it is only after a member state has left that it has to reapply to join. Had the drafters intended that once a notification had taken place, a member state would have to request readmission.”
http://www.theneweuropean.co.uk/top-stories/it-s-official-article-50-can-be-withdrawn-1-5229073
This is also the opinion of the European Commission:
The EU has confirmed the UK cannot unilaterally reverse Brexit – while simultaneously leaving the door open for Britain to remain part of the European Union.
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In a fact sheet released on Wednesday, the European Commission stated that “it was the decision of the United Kingdom to trigger Article 50. But once triggered, it cannot be unilaterally reversed”.
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Indeed, French president Emmanuel Macron said last month that the door was “always open” for Britain to remain in the EU.
His comments were echoed by German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, who said that “If they wanted to change their decision, of course they would find open doors, but I think it’s not very likely”.
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/eu-confirms-article-50-can-reversed-just-not-britain-alone-212840345.html
Late last year, a Brexit Minister was forced into an embarrassing apology to the House of Lords for making a claim like yours:
Lord Callanan, who was appointed a Brexit minister last month to replace Lady Anelay, who stood down for health reasons, has just apologised in the House of Lords for telling peers last week that article 50 could not be revoked.
Asked a week ago today to confirm that the supreme court, in the Gina Miller case, said article 50 was irrevocable, he said: "I can confirm that. It is also stated by the European commission that article 50, once invoked, is irrevocable unless there is political agreement on it."
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And today Callanan did apologise. In a statement to peers, he said that his statement last Monday was incorrect. That was a result of “a misunderstanding of the question”, he said.
"To reiterate, for the avoidance of any doubt, the supreme court proceeded in the Miller case on the basis that article 50 would not be be revoked, but did not rule on the legal position regarding its irrevocability. It was, and remains, the government’s policy that our notification of article 50 will not be withdrawn ... I recognise that my comments have caused confusion and I apologise to the House."
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/blog/live/2017/nov/20/brexit-bill-voters-will-go-bananas-if-uk-offers-40bn-to-eu-former-tory-minister-warns-may-ahead-of-key-meeting-politics-live?page=with:block-5a12f26160526906e8cba106#block-5a12f26160526906e8cba106
In an attempt to clarify the situation, the EU Parliament drafted a resolution:
Britain will have the option to reverse Brexit, European Union lawmakers are set to announce.
The European Parliament is drafting a resolution as a response to Theresa May triggering Article 50 and beginning the formal process of exiting the EU.
The resolution will provide the UK with an option to halt the Brexit proceedings as long as other members agree.
Donald Tusk, the European Council President, said he was sure the other member states would support Britain if it had a change of heart.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-stop-article-50-leave-eu-politicans-donald-tusk-philippe-lamberts-michel-barnier-european-a7655166.html
Clickbait from Quincy, huh? Disappointing.
Anybody who makes claims like The Beatles "were the worst musicians in the world" can't ever have tried to actually play the parts they came up with, and does a grave disservice not just to their abilities, but to how influential what they did was to contemporary and later musicians (vastly more influential than Jones, I'll wager, but I'll try to steer away from getting caught up in pointless backbiting).
The Beatles were never slow to acknowledge their own influences - unlike some other bands, they were very respectful of black musicianship, having been steeped in it by exposure to early records imported via Liverpool docks, and also took a strong stand against racial segregation among audiences during their American tours - from classical music, jazz, showtunes or other bands and artists that were developing as the same time as them.
All of the components - the guitar parts, basslines, drum parts, vocal harmonies, and also the production techniques - were always in service of the song, not technical virtuosity or gimmickry for the sake of it, not least because they were generally working within industry- and self-imposed limits on song length (it didn't hurt that they generally started out with strong song ideas to dress up in various ways).
However, there was abundant technical virtuosity, nevertheless.
Harrison started out playing short rockabilly-like solos in the early years, drawing on influences like Chet Atkins. Later, he progressed to lyrical solos like those on "Something" and "Let It Be", which are works of art in themselves, and continued to expand on this when he went solo.
Contrary to what was written by somebody above, it wasn't that Harrison couldn't have played a decent solo on "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" (he was an excellent slide guitar player, with a unique tone he developed by detuning harmony strings), Clapton was a close pal whose chops he loved and respected, and the two influenced and sparked off each other. Harrison was typically unegotistical enough to hand Clapton the chance to shine spectacularly (I know a lot of people love Prince's live version of the solo, but to me it's extended cliched technical noodling to no great purpose, whereas the original solo was soaked in emotion and very concise).
Ravi Shankar certainly didn't seem to have any complaints about Harrison's musical abilities when he began his education in Indian music and sitar. Other bands (like the Stones) used the sitar as more or less an exotic sound effect, just playing standard Western musical lines, whereas Harrison took the trouble to learn about the hinterland of the instrument (and went on to groundbreakingly meld Eastern and Western musical ideas and theory in songs like "Within You, Without You").
Neither McCartney nor Lennon were slouches either (I'll focus on their guitar playing, but they also developed into competent self-taught keyboard players, and McCartney was a good enough all-rounder to play most of the instruments, including drums, on the album Band On The Run).
Lennon was, unusually for him, quite humble about his guitar abilities, but as a rhythm/lead player, he was up there with Pete Townshend (listen to the brief, searing solos on "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band", for just a few examples). He also developed, after tuition by Donovan, a decent clawhammer folk fingerpicking style, in evidence on songs like "Dear Prudence".
Here's Donovan recounting this:
Here's a take on Lennon's (and, under his influence, McCartney's) developments in fingerpicking style: https://www.guitarplayer.com/technique/john-lennon-style-fingerpicking
And here's one technical look at some of The Beatles' guitar techniques:
McCartney and Starr are too well respected by renowned players of bass and drums over the years to need any serious defending, so I won't bother here, or this will be a very long post indeed.
None of them were classically trained, just self-taught, but this bred a humility that meant they were receptive to a wide range of influences and willing to learn from others, and they were blessed with excellent natural ears and sensibilities. They'd also happily bring in session payers when they'd add to a song (it's a great shame Billy Preston only joined them at the very tail end of their career).
Nevertheless, classically trained composer Howard Goodall has broadcast numerous times dissecting in awe The Beatles' composition techniques. If you can spare the time, any of his analyses online are well worth watching. Here's one:
Largely at McCartney's prodding, The Beatles embraced not just classical influences, but avante-garde ones, which came to spectacular fruition on "A Day In The Life", which I consider their masterpiece and listen to with fresh joy each time to this day. This then developed into still-startling songs like "I Am The Walrus", "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "Tomorrow Never Knows".
When you consider the musical and technical advances (and let's not forget George Martin's invaluable contribution to both those aspects) packed into a band recording career that didn't even span a decade, it's just ignorant to dismiss the important contribution of these musicians to all our cultures. And on past form, they were never slow to acknowledge that they were just one bunch of guys among many others who were stretching boundaries during that period.
It's a shame Quincy Jones apparently doesn't rate them. It's entirely his loss.
Ruth Davidson to REPLACE Theresa May? Poll reveals Tory is 'best option for Brexit'
(A continuation of what has been described as my preoccupation with the idea of Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson standing for UK Tory leader. I also figured we could do with some light relief in these grim times, but didn't imagine I'd find it in the pages of the Express.)
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WPI Strategy Director Nick Faith said: “All the other potential candidates - except for Ruth Davidson - are seen as more likely to drive support away from the Conservatives.
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As a current member of the Scottish parliament, the senior Tory is unable to run for the position.
However, with veteran colleague Sir Nicholas Soames rumoured to be readying himself to stand aside as the MP for Mid Sussex, there could be an opportunity for Ms Davidson to make a move down south.
https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/912246/Ruth-Davidson-Theresa-May-Brexit-general-election-Boris-Johnson-David-Davis-Amber-Rudd
The YouGov poll (commissioned by the Westminster Policy Institute Strategy PR consultancy) offers some lukewarm comfort to Theresa May, as it seems 41% of respondents thought she should stay put. Unfortunately, this seems to be because her suggested possible replacements are seen as even greater liabilities.
Respondents thought Boris Johnson and David Davis would each lose the Tories 9% of the vote and Amber Rudd would cost them 10% (for some reason, Brexit darling Jacob Rees-Mogg didn't figure in the poll). They thought that Davidson, by contrast, would equal May's performance in the last general election, which was such a roaring success for the party.
I hate to discourage this wave of excitement, but there are at least a couple of snags. Davidson's Tories' support in Scotland is sagging, and they've fallen back into third place behind Scottish Labour, as the latest Survation/Daily Record poll showed:
Then there's the question of Soames generously bequeathing his seat. There have indeed been recent persistent rumours in the right-wing press that he's ready to spark a by-election by resigning and retiring to the Lords. But most of those spreading the rumours haven't checked with the man himself. Well, until a couple of days ago ...
https://twitter.com/NSoames/status/958621334992547841
https://twitter.com/NSoames/status/958622248398618626
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@tnewtondunn
Poll reveals @RuthDavidsonMSP is voters’ front runner to replace Theresa May as the most popular senior Tory. Will @NSoames stand aside to give her a seat?https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/5462108/ruth-davidson-now-voters-number-one-replace-may/ …
Nicholas Soames
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@NSoames
#Tomyouknowthststotalballsgetagrip
Tom Newton Dunn
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@tnewtondunn
Replying to @NSoames @RuthDavidsonMSP
It’s a great rumour...
Nicholas Soames
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@NSoames
#butitsbollockslowgradebullshit
Leaked Government Brexit Analysis Says The UK Will Be Worse Off In Every Scenario
The assessment, which is titled “EU Exit Analysis – Cross Whitehall Briefing” and dated January 2018, looked at three of the most plausible Brexit scenarios based on existing EU arrangements.
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The assessment seen by BuzzFeed News is being kept tightly guarded inside government. It was prepared by officials across Whitehall for the Department for Exiting the European Union (DExEU) and is reportedly being presented to key ministers in one-to-one meetings this week ahead of discussion at the Brexit cabinet subcommittee next week.
Asked why the prime minister was not making the analysis public, a DExEU source told BuzzFeed News: "Because it's embarrassing."
https://www.buzzfeed.com/albertonardelli/the-governments-own-brexit-analysis-says-the-uk-will-be
It's actually even worse than that.
UK governments, especially in recent years, have made a habit of criticizing the EU for EU rules and legislation the UK was responsible for supporting, or even championing!
See this reproduction of a Twitter thread from Steve Analyst (@EmporersNewC) for a vast number of examples
https://politicalscrapbook.net/2017/07/american-tells-bizarre-story-of-how-britain-went-from-leading-the-eu-to-leaving-it-in-one-epic-twitter-plea-to-rethink-brexit/
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