Interesting Links for 14-11-2021

[andrewducker]

Patel’s plan to push back migrant boats in Channel thrown into doubt by Home Office’s own rules

(tags:migration UK France asylum law )

Edinburgh heritage group concerned over outdoor eating areas

(tags:Edinburgh restaurants )

Nuclear fusion power is much further away than I thought

(tags:video fusion OhForFucksSake fraud )

UK tourism is crashing. Here's why

(tags:uk tourism pandemic europe doom )

I see the Tories are adding bigots to the equalities committee

(tags:LGBT transgender bigotry UK conservatives )

Mandy Patinkin on the saddest part of filming The Princess Bride

(tags:movies sadness PrincessBride swords )

Comments

[cmcmck]

And this they call 'equalities'?

The Tories scare me as I see myself on the road back to being an unperson with zero rights. I wouldn't put it past them to ignore an ECtHR judgement which is how we got to where we are. :o(

They also forget that they would be taking away the rights of other people, to wit, my husband and those who call me 'Sister', 'Sister in Law', 'Aunt' and 'Great Aunt'

However, we survived then so..............

[dewline]

We already know the Brexiteers are looking to "liberate" - their probable word choice - the UK from the ECHR's jurisdiction. It's been one of their goals all along, so I doubt they're forgetting any of the rights they'd be taking away. The cruelties you describe and predict are themselves the Brexiteers' end goal. The cruelties are what they want.

[cmcmck]

They seem not to understand that the ECtHR is NOT an EU but a pan European organisation!

[dewline]

I think the richest and most fervent Brexiteers do understand this distinction, and see the ECHR as part of the same Problem: human rights protections are defeating the will of the money-laundering crowd, by preventing the UK from going full-autocracy.

[calimac]

3) This is what I always say about nuclear fusion power: We've got fusion power. We have a functioning, pretty reliable nuclear fusion reactor which can supply all the power we need. And it's 93 million miles away, which is a minimum safe distance for it. So it's sensible that we should devote more of our energy-research attention to developing methods of storing and transmitting that power, over trying to jury-rig ways of replicating bits of the reactor on the surface of the Earth.

4) So if most Europeans can't travel to the UK now because they don't have passports, not needing them to get around the EU, what has been the status of Britons? Were they, when the UK was in the EU, more likely to have passports than other EU citizens? I've heard of eligible Britons rushing to get Irish passports, but is that just a feature story or has there been a mass movement of Britons getting passports (Irish or UK) so that they can travel to the EU that hasn't been replicated in the other direction?

Incidentally: despite the lowering of commercial barriers between the US and Canada, travel barriers have gone up. Before 9/11 a passport was not required for US citizens to visit Canada, but a rule was instituted afterwards. And since the pandemic started, casual and vacation travel across the border has been completely prohibited, a rule only now, I think, beginning to be rescinded. (For most of this, for "Canada" also read "Mexico" but I rarely visit Mexico so I know less about it.)

[cmcmck]

Brits don't have ID cards so the answer to your question is yes, they were and are way more likely to have passports.

[dewline]

That's a change you can expect to have imposed.

[cmcmck]

Doubt it

They tried to introduce them a while back and got a resounding no.

Our Tory friends don't like them at all.

[jack]

When I was a young child I visited the science museum and a security guard told me fusion power was about 50 years away, so I guess we don't get it until like 2070 :(

Ps. That's a reference to "70 million and 20 years old dinosaurs" joke, not actually happened :)

Mr. Patinkin re: fight scenes

[dewline]

I can empathise with both Mr. Patinkin and the director on this one. In the latter's case, getting it done on time and on budget is a Good Thing. Especially if you can get all the camera angles right. And getting a fight scene done in a single take is a thing of wonder.

And on the other, when the actors and crew are truly enjoying the work of the moment?

Yeah. The cruellest words for such people can indeed be "Cut! Print!"