Interesting Links for 10-09-2019

Beware, gentle reader, for gazing within this cursed property has freed me from the bonds of sanity and set my mind to the very depths of the abyss

(tags:wtf horror housing )

Deplatforming works

(tags:internet politics business )

The UK's National Grid presents five future energy scenarios

(tags:thefuture electricty uk viaDanielDWilliam )

Only one in five voters back PM's demand for general election before Brexit deadline

(tags:UK elections )

Dinosaur extinction: Asteroid hit with force of 10 billion atomic bombs and deposited 'hundreds of feet' of material in hours, new research says

(tags:asteroids dinosaurs extinction )

How to Chair an Academic Committee

(tags:academia organisation funny ViaDrCross )

Bercow resignation: He was the right man in the right place at the right time

(tags:politics history uk parliament )

Johnson confirms to Commons that he will break the law.

(tags:politics law Conservatives BorisJohnson uk europe )

EU puts Ireland's commissioner who called Boris Johnson 'unelected' in charge of negotiating trade deals (including with Britain, if it leaves)

(tags:uk europe trade ireland )

Wherein I am boggled by the stupidity of the DUP

My lovely friend Dr Cross passed me this article about Boris Johnson wanting to build a bridge between Northern Ireland and Scotland.

Now, that in itself is a bloody stupid idea. As detailed here it would cost £15-20Bn, be miles away from anywhere anyone actually lives, and go over a trench in which over a million tonnes of explosives were dumped at the end of WWII.

But it's not the stupidest idea in the article. The stupidest idea is that the DUP "believes a bridge could break the Brexit impasse by removing the need for a border in the Irish Sea."

Which is just so completely out of touch with reality that I'm not even sure where to begin!

The "border" in the Irish Sea isn't being proposed because Northern Ireland is entirely separate from the rest of the UK - but because it's entirely attached to the rest of Ireland! The problem is the Northern Ireland/Republic border. Building a bridge connecting Northern Ireland to Scotland doesn't change that border at all! You still have to deal with the two countries having a border!

I am at a loss. Is there something I am missing that makes their statement make any sense? Or would mean that anyone would take it even slightly seriously? Is there some kind of masterplan going on in the background? Or is Boris Johnson just trying to make people's heads explode as a distraction tactic?