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The request for ideas for info on restaurants in Edinburgh reminded me of this amazing video. A kind of budget Tara Palmer-Tomkinson sloaney-type goes to Glasgow and meets an amazing, mad, drunk chef and some boys on the Buckfast.
If you want to jump straight to the Buckfast then scroll to 9:42
It is very much full of swears so NOT SAFE FOR WORK without headphones on.
But deserves many, many, more than the 1.8 million views it has so far had.
Not enough positive stories get published about sports stars but take a minute too read this and appreciate the kindness of @WatfordFC ‘s Ben Foster and his family, amazing â¤ï¸ðŸ‘🽠pic.twitter.com/aSNrnG3jJK
Over the last 48 hours the story has grown that a member of the US Intelligence Agency listening in to a call between Trump and an un-named foreign leader heard him make promises, which is illegal, and blew the whistle on him to Congress, who are investigating.
Now the BBC is reporting that the call was to the leader of the Ukraine and Trump promised him more US military protection through NATO...
...in exchange for the Ukraine digging some dirt on Joe Biden (leading the race to be the Democratic Parties Presidential candidate against Trump) and his son, Hunter.
Hot on the heels of my "out-of-the-box" Brexit solution for Brexiteers:
England and Wales to Leave, Northern Ireland and Scotland to Remain, and a free-trade agreement within the UK to be worked out. (There's more to it than that, but it saves The Good Friday Agreement and the numbers would be there as SNP would back it.)
Here is my Brexit solution for Remainers:
A vote of No Confidence on 1st November, which would initiate a 14-day period in which an alternative Prime Minister who commands a majority could emerge. There is opposition to Corbyn from many MPs of other parties, Corbyn wouldn't allow a different Labour MP, or one of the other party leaders to lead a coalition or Government of National Unity, as it would give them precedence and an advantage going into a future election. And why would such a coalition trust Corbyn to deliver Brexit negotiations and then call a new Election at the first opportunity, when he would obviously want it to be held at the time of maximum advantage for Labour.
So, my idea is:
John Bercow to lead the National Unity Government. To deliver a deal to be voted on in a second, binding, confirmatory Referendum.
And then to step down and allow everyone else to fight the ensuing Election.
Obviously all Hard Brexiteers would HATE this, but what about Remainers? Or those who want a managed Deal?
For those who may not read my long explanation in the "Alistair Burt" thread.
This is deadly serious. Whilst the sending of symbolic "viable devices" posted at the time of May's Deal being voted on was clearly a warning, things have now stepped up a level.
This is partly a response to Brexit, and the dismissive way that Johnson and Rees-Mogg have spoken of the Border issue in the past, it is also about the collapse of the Stormont Assembly and Power-Sharing Executive, which sees the Police Service of Northern Ireland now under the direct control of the British Government, primarily in the persons of the Home Secretary and Northern Ireland Secretary who have direct Ministerial powers. The British Government is of course propped up by the Loyalist community's DUP MPs, led by Arlene Foster, who was the minister responsible for the renewables scandal which caused the collapse of the Power-Sharing Executive and Stormont Assembly.
The Continuity IRA therefore considers that the neutrality of the PSNI, as guaranteed by the Good Friday Agreement, is compromised and has resumed hostilities against it.
The UK Government should have spent the past three years sorting out the collapse of Power-Sharing Executive and Stormont Assembly, instead, thanks to Cameron, we have had the Brexit omnishambles.
The basic requirement of a Government is to ensure the security of its people. Civil War has now been declared, albeit by a small Republican splinter group. But things have a habit of escalating once people start dying in Northern Ireland.
It's democratic, and doesn't break The Good Friday Agreement.
England and Wales voted to Leave.
Scotland and Northern Ireland voted to Remain.
So, England and Wales Leave. Scotland and Northern Ireland Remain. The Border on the island of Ireland stays open. The border between Northern Ireland and Scotland (and therefore the UK) remains open. The Belfast-Stranraer ferry remains border-free.
It would require the EU to make an exception on trade between Scotland and England, Wales and Northern Ireland etc, and allow zero tariffs on trade between them.
Scotland and Northern Ireland to continue to elect MEPs, and contribute to the EU budget each year. EU Law, and European Supreme Court, to continue to have primacy in those nations.
In terms of the numbers: this deal would gain the support of all the SNP MPs. May would be home and dry.
It's obviously very, very late in the day, but if this had been suggested at the beginning of the Article 50 process would it have been a possible solution?
They were clearly "warning shots", and designed to say "This can return" rather than do damage at this stage. Claiming responsibility on Brexit vote day is hugely significant.
The Good Friday Agreement is now broken in all major areas:
1. The Power-Sharing Executive is suspended. Google Arlene Foster Renewables for reasons.
2. This means that the Police Service of Northern Ireland is now under the direct control of the Home Secretary and Northern Ireland Secretary. The Northern Ireland Secretary recently blundered and politically interfered in the legal process regarding killings by British service personnel. Independence and freedom from political interference for the PSNI is a central plank of the GFA.
3. Any issue around sovereignty is supposed to be determined by a vote by the people of Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland voted substantially against Brexit, but the British passport-holders of Northern Ireland are losing their European "citizenship" by the imposition of the will of English voters.
4. A No Deal Brexit will necessitate the reintroduction of security structures and roadblock checks, whether on the Border or just beyond it. The GFA calls for the dismantling of security structures, not re-imposing them. Even May's Backstop only provides a temporary relief: a solution would still need to be found.
5. The only lasting success of the GFA which hadn't been compromised was the decommissioning of all paramilitary weapons. By sending these "bombs" (firecrackers, really) and then claiming responsibility, the IRA (or whichever faction of the IRA is responsible) is formally declaring that it is no longer bound by the GFA.
We are in a really bad position: the Peace Process is teetering, and the DUP are content for it to fall.
There's a lot more to it than just Brexit: Foster's lack of ministerial accountability, subsequent collapse of the power sharing executive and closure of Stormont, resulting "rule" over Northern Ireland by the British Home Secretary, subsequent propping up of the Tory Government by DUP.
However, Brexit really isn't helping. And comments from Tory MPs suggesting that the Irish Border is a red herring, or that The Good Friday Agreement doesn't matter are fuel to a potentially highly flammable situation.
Your end of the country and as clear a case of brutalist immigration policy as you'll ever see. Are you and your Asylum network contacts up on this case?
Lest we forget what Theresa May's "determination" to "see things through" does to real people. In this case an elderly couple who came as refugees from the Ayatollah's revolution in Iran, settled in Scotland, integrated, had a family now spanning 3 more generations, including a daughter who works in the NHS, and her autistic son.
The President invited the Clemson Tigers (University Championship winning American Football Team) to the White House for dinner to celebrate their victory.
What's your prediction for the outcome of the Brexit vote?
My prediction is that May will lose, the Government will survive a No Confidence Vote.
May will then announce her resignation, as she will say she has got the best deal she could, and did her best to respect the will of the people. Many political obituaries will be written borrowing heavily from the words written about Andy Murray in recent days: "dogged, remarkable resilience, courage, surprisingly good second serve" etc
The Tories intriguingly don't have a Deputy Prime Minister, but I think it is note-worthy that David Liddington moved over to the Cabinet Office a week ago. I predict he will take over the reins and manage a pause on Article 50 and a Second Referendum.
Well that's my crock of horse sheet, what's yours?