Interesting Links for 26-07-2018

I thought WTO rules would be disastrous but simple. Turns out they're *really* disastrous and hellishly complex

(tags: wto trade UK Europe doom )

Without the Russians, Trump wouldn’t have won

(tags: politics fraud hacking usa russia wikileaks )

Big tech warns of 'Japan's millennium bug' ahead of Akihito's abdication

(tags: Technology time date japan )

Under GDPR, Data Breach Reports in UK Have Quadrupled

(tags: data hacking privacy uk )

Mearns farm loses £350,000 as fruit left to rot due to picker shortage

As noted in the article - this isn't even because of Brexit. These workers were frequently from outside of the EU. This is because our evil government believes that we should close ourselves off from the world, even when it harms us.
(tags: work farming immigration scotland )

Students with brain parasites are 1.4x more likely to major in business, 1.7x to emphasise entrepreneurship

(tags: entrepreneurship business ToxoplasmaGondii fear )

Mars has a vast reservoir of water, scientists find in major breakthrough in search for alien life

(tags: mars water )

The real reasons why British workers won't pick fruit

The entire working culture of the UK has transformed since British workers last filled seasonal farm work jobs to any significant extent. Rural communities have been transformed due to the “drift from the land” of locals, and people from cities moving to the country or buying second homes, pricing potential farm workers out of the local housing market. As a result, physically able unemployed people are now less likely to live anywhere near the farms requiring workers. Transport systems in rural areas are limited, and basic, temporary housing is unlikely to attract people away from comfortable, permanent housing situated close to friends and family.
(tags: farming UK Europe immigration work )

Fan artists explain why the wave of She-Ra fan art is subversive and uplifting

(tags: fandom art animation girls )

GlaxoSmithKline makes $300M investment in 23andMe, forms 50-50 R&D pact

(tags: genetics research )

Boris Johnson Has Been Privately Talking To Steve Bannon As They Plot Their Next Moves

(tags: BorisJohnson fascism OhForFucksSake Conservatives )

Trump and EU officials agree to work toward 'zero tariff' deal

So, how does Putin feel about this?
(tags: usa europe trade )

Mountain View’s unusual rule for Facebook: No free canteen

(tags: sanfrancisco food business law )

The year Mexico legalised drugs

Only stopped because...of the USA.
(tags: history legalisation drugs mexico )

Stockpiling food simply won't work. There's no space, money, or time

(tags: uk europe fail doom )

These are all the possible different types of Brexit people have suggested

(tags: uk europe )

UK could cancel Brexit and stay in EU on same terms, says French government

(tags: uk europe )

Why aren't Brits rioting in the streets about Brexit?

Over on Facebook, Bart asked why British people aren't rioting in the streets at the prospect of No Deal. And I think this boils down to a few reasons.

1) Despite everything, 24% of the population still think No Deal is the best way forward - and another 29% think that some sort of Brexit is worth pursuing. Only 27% of people think that Brexit should be abandoned. (Source)

2) A _lot_ of the Brexiters I see talking about this online are saying that it's all Operation Fear, and that it won't be anywhere near as bad as people are making out. And lots of this is being backed up by politicians saying exactly that, highlighting their own ignorance of things like supply chains every time.

3) A fair number of the remainers I've seen are still hanging onto the hope that the whole Brexit project will collapse under its own weight, and that they just need to hang on until it all goes away. And anyway, No Deal is so awful that _surely_ the government won't let it happen.

So, right now, the prospect of a No Deal feels remote (over six months away) and it's possible to just close your eyes and hope it goes away. It doesn't feel nearly real enough for a significant chunk of the population to start burning buildings to the ground. No doubt if this was France there would already be heads on sticks, but Brits don't tend to go in for that kind of thing. The last time was the Poll Tax Riots, and even those were (fairly) peaceful marches until police charged into the crowds.

Personally, I think that we're going to continue to see a continuation of the slow move towards Remain/Second Referendum, but not enough to cause the government to think again, until something tips the balance. Which might be the government sending advice out to people on how to cope with a No-Deal Brexit. Or it might be the new Daily Mail editor, who is a remainer, starting work in November. But eventually _something_ will trigger a surge, and people will get caught up in it.

If we're lucky, it'll happen in time to prevent rioting in the streets.