Interesting Links for 27-03-2018

[andrewducker]

Poll: Brits Would Rather Leave EU Than Keep Northern Ireland In The UK

(tags: uk europe NorthernIreland polls )

The defiance of an 'untouchable' New York subway worker

(tags: india usa bigotry )

Apple thinks you should have to sign up to multiple music services to get access to all music.

Make it harder for me to access music and I will stop spending £120/year on music and go back to downloading it. Frankly, I hadn't spent £120 on albums per year since I was about 25. Spotify gets me paying far more than I otherwise would.
(tags: music apple OhForFucksSake )

Microsoft Bans “Offensive Language” from Skype - can fuck off

(tags: microsoft censorship OhForFucksSake )

‘Solo’ Actor Says Phil Lord and Chris Miller ‘Weren’t Prepared’ for ‘Star Wars,’ Alden Ehrenreich ‘Just Not Good Enough’

(tags: StarWars movies )

French waiter says firing for rudeness is 'discrimination against my culture'

Somehow not satire
(tags: behaviour france food restaurant job headline )

First self-driving train launches on London Thameslink route

(tags: London trains automation transport )

All the Things the Star Wars: The Last Jedi Novelization Adds to the Movie

(tags: StarWars books )

Same-sex marriage bill for Northern Ireland to be introduced at Westminster in absence of power-sharing at Stormont

(tags: marriage equality LGBT NorthernIreland )

It all made sense when we found out we were autistic

(tags: autism life )

Fitbit Versa review: What the Pebble did next

(tags: watch technology review )

G Found in 31 Non-Western Cultures: Strong Evidence That G Is a Universal Trait

(tags: intelligence psychology )

One Strange Rock is a Cosmos for the Earth-bound that’s worth watching

(tags: TV review earth science )

Does the UK’s case against Russia stack up?

(tags: chemistry weapons spying Russia uk )

Music lessons improve children's cognitive skills and academic performance

(tags: music education children )

Neuroscientists say daily ibuprofen can prevent Alzheimer's disease

(tags: alzheimers drugs )

Global carbon emissions could be cut 3 percent by following the UK's example

(tags: UK globalwarming electricity co2 )

The 30 Best Protest Signs from the March For Our Lives

(tags: protest guns usa funny )

Arizona Government Suspends Uber's Self Driving Cars from Roads

(tags: automation driving cars usa fail )

Scientists Print All-Liquid 3-D Structures

(tags: 3dprinting water )

It's not just Facebook. Thousands of companies are spying on you

(tags: surveillance advertising business )

Prenatal stress changes brain connectivity in-utero

(tags: stress babies brain )

Irn Bru sales go up after new recipe introduced

(tags: drink scotland sugar )

Science Is Getting Us Closer to the End of Infertility

And producing whole new ways of making new life
(tags: fertility babies Technology )

Comments

[danieldwilliam]

Sadly, I'm not surprised by the preference for leaving the EU over having Northern Ireland remain in the United Kingdom. I think for lots and lots of English people the UK is synonymous with England and Northern Ireland is probably bottom of the pile when considering the constituent parts of the UK.

[alithea]

Yep.

Although in this case it might be to NI's advantage - even the diehard unionist I know is muttering about a united Ireland in preference to leaving the EU...

[danieldwilliam]

Indeed.

My expectation is that Northern Ireland will have a referendum on re-unification with the Republic of Ireland in about ten years time and I wouldn't be surprised if they voted to re-join the Republic and the EU.

Who could blame them?

[alithea]

Who indeed. I'm not sure it'll take that long tbh - they already have no government and the border issues are going to be a nightmare at this rate since the UK Gov are still burying their heads in the sand about it and making out some magic solution of a border that isn't a border is possible.

[danieldwilliam]

My thinking behind the ten years.

The vehicle for demanding a referendum is the NI Parliament. I think the Scottish experience suggests that the convention is that the devolved parliament is the body that has to request a referendum. So in order to have a referendum in Northern Ireland you need a majority in favour of holding one in Stormont. Which means you need a Parliament.

It's going to be a couple of years before the NI Parliament is back up and running. The DUP I think have no particular need to have it re-instated as they currently own the Conservative Party and Sein Fein have no leverage in Westminister because they don't turn up.

Parliamentary terms are 4 years. I don't think pro-referendum parties will win the first election after Stormont is re-started. So that's one parliamentary term. Assuming that a coalition of pro-referendum parties win a majority in the second parliament it's going to be at least a year, probably two before they get the referendum process sorted out. They'll need to get the NI equivalent of a Section 30 Order through Westminister. I guess the Irish Parliament has to give some sort of legislative consent too (it would be foolish to have a referendum on joining a country that didn't want you to join).

Then the actual referendum campaign.

So, 2 years before Stormont restarts, 4 years for the first term, 2 years for all the to-ing and fro-ing to set up the referendum, a year long campaign - 9 years, rounding up to ten.

But I fully concede that in the current climate anything could happen at any time for any reason or none.

[alithea]

Yeah, interesting times...

But your argument makes perfect sense.

Ibuprofen

[agoodwinsmith]

I doubt the Ibuprofen study. Ibuprofen was made in 1961. My Dad has been using ibuprofen daily since the 1980's (he has a foot injury from the70's that still hasn't healed properly). He is still following the trajectory of his maternal uncles.