Interesting Links for 14-03-2019

[andrewducker]

I linked to something by Jesse Singal. I won't be doing that again.

(tags:fraud transgender lgbt OhForFucksSake )

Online activists are silencing us, scientists say

(tags:research abuse )

Six positive ways drones are used

(tags:drone Technology )

The EU Is Telling European Leaders There Are Only Three Reasons They Should Allow Brexit To Be Delayed

(tags:UK europe viaDanielDWilliam )

Suicide , austerity and the Troubles

(tags:suicide austerity history NorthernIreland )

Dwarf Fortress coming to Steam {and itch.io) - with updates graphics

(tags:games )

Labour abandons support for referendum on Theresa May's deal

(tags:UK europe labour doom )

An old rule means Bercow could take drastic action on Brexit | Politics News | Sky News

(tags:UK europe politics parliament )

May loses a vote against herself in a crazed night of parliamentary drama

(tags:politics uk )

UK to phase out gas heating in new homes by 2025

Electricity is about five times the cost of gas, so that's going to be painful for some.
(tags:gas heating uk globalwarming )

Comments

[aldabra]

We're going to get at most one more referendum. We want it to be used to ratify a coherent deal, which has been approved by Parliament, before it gets implemented. We absolutely do not want to use it up on the current pile of incoherent piffle. (Apart from anything else, we can't rely on the Great British Public not to vote for a pile of incoherent piffle; if we get as far as a referendum, we have to be in a position to implement either Yes or No.)

Labour is quite right that the current proposal does not merit a referendum.

[andrewducker]

This is the only deal we're getting.

The EU have been really clear on this for quite some time.

And with our exit being negotiated before the future relationship is, I'm not sure what people would want to (or be able to) change in the agreement.

They aren't going to say "Yay, it's Labour negotiating, we don't need a backstop." because they totally still do until we sign up for something coherent afterwards.

[doubtingmichael]

I might well be wrong about this, but whenever the EU says "This is the only deal on offer", I have been thinking they actually meant "This is the only deal on offer given your red lines". If Labour rubbed those out, other deals might well be possible. Admittedly, not without an extension given how much time the Tories have thrown away.

There might still be a backstop implied in a temporary deal, but if Labour said "We're going for a Norway-style arrangement", it would become a technical detail only.

I think.

[andrewducker]

The "Future Relationship deal" depends very much on the red lines. I'm not sure the Withdrawal Agreement does.

And yeah, the backstop could be a temporary detail in either case - it depends on the future relationship, and we have no idea what that's going to be yet.