Category: UK

Smell the desperation

An eventful week for world politics. Following his inauguration on the 20th Donald Trump has made many executive orders to try to make an impact and harassed parts of the government to have information presented in a manner that reflects well on him. In particular when his ego was hit with the lower number of attendees that for Obama’s first. A worrying week 1.

He managed to fit in a visit from Theresa May who did her best to suck up and it would appear fight for a trade deal.

She did her best to avoid any comment on his support for torture and came out with the usual trite comments about ‘the special relationship’. Any trade deal with leave the UK screwed as the UK is in a position of weakness and that is well known. As described below:

He will have seen May as that most desperate of creatures: the housebuyer who rashly sold her old house before she had found a new one. Having tossed away Britain’s keys to the European single market, she will soon be homeless – and Trump knows it. For all the niceties – May’s shrewd deployment of a royal invitation for a state visit and her compliment to the president on his “stunning election victory”, flattery which saw Trump glow a brighter shade of orange – he will have seen May as a sucker who needs to make a deal. And he will look forward to naming his price.

What would such a deal look like? Tariffs between the US and the UK are already low, so it is the dropping of a different kind of barrier that Trump would be after. That could be a softening of the food standards that have kept out hormone-injected US beef. Or granting access to the NHS to overcharging US drug companies. Or a relaxation in environmental or labour rules that, set with our onetime EU partners, proved too onerous for US firms until now.

An to add to the air of weakness and lack to principals May is not cozying up to Erdogan in Turkey– another despot in the making.

All because of cutting off ties with natural allies, being out in cold in a worse place than at present with Brexit and the necessary drive to fill in the gaps at any cost. But the proponents tell us it will be all so easy and positive. The place really is going to the dogs. Let’s hope there is some traction of changing that apparent reality.

No dream upset this time around

Branislav Ivanovic proves the unlikely star as Chelsea rout Brentford

Chelsea 4 – 0 Brentford

FA Cup
Stamford Bridge
Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic celebrates scoring their third goal.
Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic celebrates scoring their third goal. Photograph: Eddie Keogh/Reuters

Antonio Conte can do no wrong. The Chelsea manager watched his team ease into the fifth round of the FA Cup at the expense of Brentford, who did not turn up until the second half, and the icing on the cake was provided by Branislav Ivanovic – a player he had dropped from the starting line-up.

It would appear that Brentford played in keeping with a lot of this season- inadequately. Surprising that it would take them to the second half to get into the game- one that was so anticipated. I suppose all will have continue to save their dreams for another year.

Similar thoughts from JN

The rule of law…

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… is one of the basic criteria for a functioning democracy. The UK is (still) a democracy in that sense. But it looks as though the creeps who run the country’s tabloid newspapers don’t understand that.

tabloids

Which is why this statement from the Chair of the Bar Council is welcome:

“The judiciary of England & Wales is the envy of the world because it is independent of Government or any other influence. When we speak to lawyers in other jurisdictions, it is our judiciary that they particularly………

Public Aggression

MPs condemn newspaper attacks on judges after Brexit ruling

Shadow justice secretary urges lord chancellor to speak out against ‘hysterical’ headlines in rightwing press

Front pages of British newspapers on 4 November
Front pages of British newspapers on 4 November. Photograph: Benjamin Fathers/AFP/Getty Images
Guardian

So the courts rule that the Royal Prerogative cannot be used to trigger Article 50 to initiate Brexit. The fact that excessive use of Government power with the enhancement of Parliament mean nothing to these organs of power. As an article said yesterday, the English fought a civil war to enforce the supremacy of Parliament over Crown power.

The intolerance and violent atmosphere this shows is worrying.

From one of my favourite blogs

Gongs for the boys — again

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Looking at David Cameron’s ‘resignation honours’ list of people given peerages, knighthoods and other gongs either for doing their (often well-paid) jobs or for giving money to the Tories reminds me of a conversation I had recently with a friend who is a Life Peer. He is an eminent, decent, intelligent and thoroughly honourable person. I asked him how it felt being a Lord. He thought for a moment and then replied: “It’s a privilege but it’s no longer an honour, given some of the other people who now get peerages.”

Sums it up, really. Also, recall that we recently had a vote to leave the EU because we didn’t want to be governed by ‘unelected’ bureaucrats in Brussels. We are apparently still content to be governed by unelected political donors in London, though.

Source: Gongs for the boys — again | Memex 1.1