E.U: Leave or Stay? Your thoughts.

People don't connect the dots like that.

The New York Times just did an article on how Austerity has affected child poverty in the UK. It gives a poignant account of how tears well up in a working, but financially struggling father's eyes as he describes how he struggles to provide his son with some of the basic things in llife --like fresh vegetables, new clothes and haircuts-- as he is hounded by rent arrears and utility bills.

Nevertheless he voted Conservative in past elections and said he would do so again if an election were held tomorrow. Despite his troubles he supports the Tories' approach to state spending, and he thinks "there are too many people expecting handouts for nothing".

The electorate never votes to have less money, but they sure vote for other people to have less money, the assumption being that there will then be more for them. Except that they forget that everybody is other people to everybody else.

 

Forgive the facebook video embed...

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1996384930401790

 

Genius

 

That video is a far more succinct way of describing what I've been noticing a lot of these days, it seems more people are saying that we made a choice so no matter what we have to see it through. I'm guessing it stems from leave voters who were having qualms about their choice and are attempting some form of self-justification.

It even seems people who voted remain have cottoned onto the same trope as it appears they see it as some form of the will of the people, as democratic, and that's just crazy IMO. If you choose a course of action that you later discover to be harmful you don't just keep going and say consequences be damned.

If you decided to take up smoking when you were a teenager you don't keep going when you discover it causes 9 out of 10 lung cancers just because you made a decision decades ago. If you decide to do 100Mph in your car you don't keep doing that if there's stationary vehicles up ahead, not unless you've got a death-wish.

 

I take issue with the phrase 'highly skilled'

 

I think that's the joke.

Spoiler: .......

that a points-based immigration system would only let in more skilled immigrants etc etc....

 

I think so too...

Edit: Disclaimer - I sometimes write unnecessary posts

 

The Wall Street Journal has an interesting take on events:

 

She is completely hopeless.

 

To be fair, wouldn't any PM charged with implementing Brexit be? It seems so.

 

Anyone care to explain how blockchain is going to solve the NI border problem?

 

It won't, just smacks of someone talking about something they know nothing about.

 

Because blockchain.

 

Actually any new leader would have to do that. He would need to say: "The negotiations are stuck, there is no way anything sensible can be sorted out in time and it's in no-one's interest to have them end in chaos. We propose a new leaving date and will be back next week with a plausible negotiating position."

 

Oh, OK. I remember Mr Halfacree talking about how blockchain can be used for more things than just mining a while ago so thought maybe some adviser had told Mr Hammond that it could be used for tracking goods, people or something. Instead it seems the person responsible for the countries accounts is just pulling ideas from his rear in the hope they'll bamboozle people like me.

 

It has been looked at for some serious applications such as settlement systems. Probably customs documentation would be a suitable case.

 

Its basically a more secure way of recording transactions that doesn't require a central database, its not the miracle technology its made out to be.

 

Not requiring a central database would be absolutely crucial when it comes to using technology to track good and people across a border as it would mean neither country involved would have to allow the other to hold the database.

The problem is of course that using a technological solution for a border doesn't get rid of manual checks as you would still need to manually verify that things are registered properly because otherwise you end up with people registered as nails and sheep registered as cucumbers or whatever happens to be most convenient for customs purposes.

 

Except that the EU may well say "Sorry, no. Deadline is deadline; Brexit is Brexit." There is no way that the UK can formulate a plausible negotiating position within a week. It didn't manage to in two years. The EU is unlikely to want to spend an interminable period negotiating with an ever-changing UK government with an ever-changing position on what sort of unicorn Brexit it wants.