UK Government just released 70 pages of case studies today, showing how the borders will operate after 1 January 2021.

They're essentially hardcore porn for red tape fetishists.

Doomed, we are. Doomed.

(e.g. exporting fish; exporting mechanical goods)
https://t.co/zWpkdGJeim

This is exactly what should have been presented years ago so that firms could prepare.

Or, arguably, before the Brexit referendum. Just the 70 pages of case studies released TODAY could have tipped the result the other way. Not everyone is blinded by sovrinty & hating forrins.

Going back to the examples...

The person in France buying (say) UK mechanical goods will take one look at the procedures involved, and Google an alternative supplier inside the EU instead.

As for the fish, they could probably swim to their intended destination faster of their own accord than following the new process, if only they had water in between to traverse.

The purchasers will smell them coming a mile away.

Auto parts. I am practically weeping at my keyboard.

Scoop: FULL TEXT of @StateDept Dissent Cable I obtained, signed by over 100 officials: 1/many

1. On January 6, 2021, the United States witnessed an unprecedented effort by American citizens to violently subvert the democratic will of the American people...

After months of promoting baseless claims of voter fraud, which were rejected by the judiciary in dozens of cases, President Trump encouraged supporters, some armed, to storm the U.S. Capitol while Congress was certifying the results of a free and fair presidential election...

His incitement led to a violent riot in the U.S. Capitol, five deaths, untold injuries, destruction and vandalism of government property, and incalculable damage to our democratic system and our image abroad...

He played an integral role in breaking the 220-year streak of peaceful transfer of power between political parties during U.S. elections. (End of point 1).

Continuing....

STATE DEPARTMENT DISSENT CABLE POINT 2:

The Department of State should explicitly denounce President Trump's role in this violent attack on the U.S. government. Just as we routinely denounce foreign leaders who use violence and intimidation to interfere in peaceful democratic...

1)Absolute proof of voter fraud in Georgia via #ProjectVeritas ...

My wife and I attended the “Stop the Steal” Trump Insurrection on Wednesday (as observers, NOT participants) and there are FIVE big take-aways from what we witnessed and heard outside the Capitol that I'd like to share. (We took all the pictures below). 1/22

!!Thread - Thoughts on SCOTUS Decision

I’ve talked with several friends, family, and looked at statements on Twitter. It’s Very Clear We are ALL unhappy with the SCOTUS Decision tonight on the Texas Case vs the Swing States for their Violation of Election Laws

...

My friend’s father went to the Virginia Military Institute, which is as hardcore as the name implies. He tells a story that has always stuck with me:

[THREAD]

1/ The school had a rivalry with another school, I can’t remember which. My friend’s father was one of three cadets guarding the school’s canon during the big football game. The rival school thought it would be a funny prank to steal and/or deface the canon.

2/ A dozen or so drunken students came upon the three of them, guarding the canon. My friend’s father was a bit scared, because they were badly outnumbered. But the cadet in charge was not scared. At all. He stood there with his rifle, holding it as if to bludgeon.

3/ The drunk students approached, rowdily demanding that the cadets move so they could deface the canon.

“Stand down,” the cadet said.

The students got closer, grew rowdier. Now they were taunting.

“Stand down.”

4/ The taunting grew. The drunk students fanned out, surrounding the three cadets. My friend’s father was now terrified.

Again: “Stand down.”

"National Security Directive-1" What the hell? A short

Listen, there has been a simple pattern for my entire lifetime. When Nixon and Ford issued presidential directives, they we called National Security Decision Memoranda or NSDMs.

When Carter took office, he renamed those documents "Presidential Directives." This kicked off a process in which Republican and Democratic Presidents used different naming conventions for presidential directives. It was childish, sure. But so what?

Republicans always started with "National Security." So, naturally Reagan changed it back:
National Security Decision Directives (Reagan)
National Security Directives (GHW Bush)
National Security Presidential Directives (GW Bush)
National Security Presidential Memoranda (Trump)

Democrats, by contrast, never ever used "National Security."
Presidential Directives (Carter)
Presidential Decision Directives (Clinton)
Presidential Policy Directives (Obama)

Here is the full document. I am going to go through it now.

Yep. This is also a point strongly made in @andrewdoyle_com's new book on Free Speech which I am halfway through and am pretty sure I will be recommending as a primer for the alarming number of people who seem confused about what free speech is & why it is good.

Well, good! Conservatives have not been great at this historically so I must give credit where it is due. I really wish this were a left-wing government taking this progressive stance.

(Areo has a piece forthcoming on why supporting FoS is inherently progressive, btw)

Yes, sadly this is true. I currently have half a dozen cases where people are being penalised for trying to express unorthodox views in the academy.

However, I should also say that one case in which I helped a student prepare for an ethical review when she had already been made aware her views were problematic (she wanted to treat people as individuals) was a resounding success & she passed it. So there is still hope.

MINI-THREAD: 1) Tea Pain has never been more ashamed of our government than he is now. Over 100 Republican members of the House and a dirty dozen GOP Senators are throwin' in with Trump's seditious attempt to overthrow a certified election.

2) True enough, Republicans don't believe America is a Democracy, rather a Republic, but by definition a republic is where "sovereignty rest with the people through their elected representatives." Republicans also believe in "States Rights" rather than centralized power.

3) Sadly the GOP are lookin' at these two foundation principles in their rear view mirror. Trump has transformed (more like deformed) the Republican Party into a cabal of sycophants ulceratin' to crown an authoritarian as their "Unitary Executive". In other words, a king.

4) Remember all those years GOP have stood on their little soap boxes and wept big crocodile tears for the weakenin' of "States Rights?" This Wednesday they are gladly, gleefully ready to overthrow 50 state-certified election results and circumvent the will of the people.

5) So, what is the Republican Party now? It's simple, because it can be defined by a new, single overridin' principle. "Power at all cost."

The rule of law has been forsaken in lieu of the "ends justify the means. "

“Donald Trump is nothing less than a threat to the American way of life. His term in office comprises an existential threat to the republic, the gravest since the Civil War. Not since 1860 has the future of the Union itself been in such doubt.”

[THREAD]

1/ I wrote that in DIRTY RUBLES the spring of 2018. This—right here, right now—is what I was worried about—although I will confess that things have gotten scarier and uglier than I could ever have imagined.

2/ On 1/6, we came within a hair’s breadth of a full-on overthrow of our federal government. This is not hyperbole. Trump & his disciples organized, instigated, and carried out a coordinated attack on the Capitol, for the purpose of subverting democracy. People died.

3/ This is NOT time for business as usual. We have to IMMEDIATELY discard outmoded forms of thinking to get through the next eight days. Hard ball. Here. Now.

4/ Calls for “unity” from Republican collaborators are cynical & hallow. Unite with the United States, or join the Trump insurrection. There is no middle ground. You’re with America, or you’re with Trump. Period.

#BREAKING
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo

Al-Qaeda has a new home base. It is the Islamic Republic of #Iran. We ignore this Iran/al-Qaeda nexus at our own peril.

Al-Qaeda has had a relationship with Iran for nearly three decades.

NEW: A former US Marine, Donovan Crowl, stormed the Capitol as part of an organized militia. My latest for @newyorker, on what he reveals about the role of far-right groups last week and beyond:

Crowl, whose name and role in last week’s events are being reported for the first time in this story, is fifty years old and served in the Persian Gulf in 1990.

Crowl was wearing the crest of the Oath Keepers, a far-right group that recruits former and current law enforcement and military officials. He is also a member of a local Ohio militia that has shown up at political events, sometimes armed.

These are among a number of sometimes overlapping extremist groups that were present last week.

Far-right militias have deep roots in American history, and while several experts I spoke with said Trump had ignited those groups, they also did not believe their fervor would wane after Trump’s departure.

A brief review of the goings-on in #GOP #Indiana:

Our senators are too busy telling the #BigLie to tell the truth about the former president's attack on our democracy.

My rep isn't standing up for much of anything but wants Nancy Pelosi to answer for the breach of the Capitol.

The #GOP super majority in the #IN legislature is now

eliminating gun permits.

removing protections from our few remaining wetlands.

limiting charitable cash bail.

taking over the Indianapolis police force.

removing the few protections Indy tenants have from bad landlords

continuing to allow 'fun' coyote hunts for prizes.

limiting the governor's ability to deal with emergencies like COVID19 - because of course! Indiana only has 12000+ #COVID19 deaths so overreach is an issue.

trying to undo Indy referendum's to upgrade our bus routes.

while continuing efforts to limit women's access to reproductive healthcare, w/ a forced ultrasound law going into effect just a couple weeks ago.

And then there are the coal ash ponds.

@IndyStarSarah reports on our water quality being up for

from the article by @IndyStarSarah:

"Ash from Indiana's coal-burning power plants is contaminating groundwater across the state, rendering it unsafe to drink. But unlike some other states, Indiana is not requiring utility companies to remove the toxic ash from leaky pits."

🇺🇸🇺🇸Rep. Gohmert sues Pence to grant the Vice President the authority to save the republic from a rigged election.

Since it all comes down to what Congress decides to do on Jan. 6 concerning the legitimacy of the Dec. 14 Electoral College vote, Trump-supporting Republicans like

Based on the latest info I could find, here's why what happened on Jan. 6th was worse than we thought.

It was coordinated. This was not merely a crowd of protestors accidentally incited to storm the Capitol by the intemperance of the President & other speakers at the rally.

Security experts are combing through the online chatter leading up to the rally and have found extremist groups planning violence. People came w/ malice aforethought, thus armored insurrectionists pushing to the front of the crowd, pipe bombs, & so

But it gets worse. The feds seem to be investigating several Republican members of Congress for connections to the organizers of the rally. (The FBI has warned lawmakers in closed door hearings that they may be shocked with what comes out.)

Indeed, at least one member of Congress, Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) alleges that these GOP members gave some of the insurrectionists tours of the Capitol building on January 5th, the day before.

The implication is that these GOP congressmen used the walkthroughs to familiarize the insurrectionists with the building layout so that they could push into the building and confront their colleagues who were opposed to overturning the electoral ballot count.

Interesting parapo meeting today, anger, lots of 'THEY' vs 'US'. The zoom meeting was well attended. People threatening fire, thunder, tagging those of us calling for calm "Traitors".

Then I asked, how many of your children were involved in the Ibadan killings today? SILENCE!

Then one of my "Comrade" himself and his wife are always jumping from @channelstv to @ARISEtv. I asked him, aside your television rounds, have you ever handled an AK47? Simple question, he called me a bastard.
I asked will your Ibadan radio station host 100 Eso's? SILENCE!

Then another one, he was Afenifere lackeys, during the Ajegunle crisis, the same one who chopped money meant for young Yoruba who were defending their streets, mane died needlessly. I asked when last he visited Eso zones across Yoruba land. SILENCE! He kept ranting Fulani bla bla

Then practical questions to another, do we have a list of our vulnerable settlements? Any attempt to activate our fighting organisations so that all manner of people don't go about attacking innocent non Yoruba. SILENCE!

That one pretended he had poor network. No answer!

Then another one, he said I had 'changed'. I told him, you cant have witnessed a wicked Yoruba ruling elite, hype up sons and daughters of the poor and personally attended the burial of many of those unsung heroes and not call for extreme caution and the need to truly be prepared