Bad beat/Moaning/Venting thread - Mammy told me not to come.

[Raoul Duke III]

So it's all down to Kayroo Geoffrey Cox to attempt to polish the turd up enough for the DUP.

It'll be a lot tighter than the January massacre but, if you voted against then, what has fundamentally changed to make you change your mind?

[DeadParrot]

Cox and the DUP.
Where there are cunts, there's Cox

[DeadParrot]

"Recall that both parties are therefore determined to replace the backstop solution for Northern Ireland by a subsequent agreement that would ensure, on a permanent footing, the absence of a hard border on the island of Ireland, in full respect of the integrity of the Union’s internal market and of the territorial integrity of the United Kingdom."

= There's a backstop until there's no backstop anymore because we (they) have found another way.

"Recall that after the end of the transition period, any dispute concerning compliance with Article 5 of the Withdrawal Agreement, Articles 2(1) and 20 of the Protocol on Ireland / Northern Ireland will be subject to the dispute settlement mechanism enshrined in Articles 167 to 181 of the Withdrawal Agreement."

= EU is the defined Court of Justice for any kind of issue.

In light of their obligation under Article 2(1) of the Protocol, the Union and the United Kingdom will start negotiations on a subsequent agreement as soon as possible after the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the Union. Those negotiations should be conducted as a matter of priority, and efforts redoubled should the negotiations not be concluded within 1 year from the date of the United Kingdom's withdrawal.

= The backstop can and will go on until a suitable solution is found.

The Protocol does not affect or supersede the provisions of the 1998 Agreement in any way. In particular, it does not alter in any way the arrangements under Strand II of the 1998 Agreement, whereby areas of North-South cooperation in areas within their respective competences are matters for the Northern Ireland Executive and Government of Ireland to determine.

= The Good Friday Agreement is paramount.

seemingly straightforward interpretation from reddit?

[Tar.Aldarion]

I am meant to be on Nadolol, but they can't get it here.

Why is your cat on betas lol?

Misa's twin sister died when she was just 2 years old. I knew there was something wrong that day as she waited for me after work every day in my bedroom window and she wasn't there when I got home. Found her dead in her cat tree hammock looking out the window of the livingroom. Misa had brought me to her from the front door when I arrived, she was freaking out so I was like wtf is going on. They had been inseparable in a hate each other but love each other kind of way and she was really depressed afterwards for months, never used that cat tree again - she had used it daily. I gave it away to a cat rescue after a few years. The death was out of the blue and sudden with no health problems, so I had the vet determine the cause of death, it was hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (heart wall thickens causing heart problems).

I brought Misa to a specialist for an ECG and sure enough she had the same condition. It should have been an easy procedure to scan her but Misa had to be sedated due to "not being cooperative", which describes her personality very well. She takes betas to thin her blood and put less pressure on her heart and she's very good so far.

[Strewelpeter]

Cox and the DUP.
Where there are cunts, there's Cox

Cunts,Cox and bollocks

[Kayroo]

Cunts,Cox and bollocks

Geoffrey Cox basically agrees with everything I said this morning.

Which is unsurprising.

Paragraph 19 for those of you too lazy to read the short letter:

However, the legal risk remains unchanged that if through no such demonstrable failure of either
party, but simply because of intractable differences, that situation does arise, the United Kingdom
would have, at least while the fundamental circumstances remained the same, no internationally
lawful means of exiting the Protocol’s arrangements, save by agreement.

[ArmaniJeans]

Oh - I'd be tempted by that if had money in the Irish account. Think it will all change in the morning when the sham about UK legal advice is issued. The attorney general will say its legal, which it is, and then they'll all pretend that changes something which it doesn't. Smog was making noises about changing his mind earlier today.


EDIT: fuck it, used the French account. But max bet was €60.

You were into 7/4 and looking good an hour ago.
Out to 11/2 now after the Geoffrey Cox clarification.

[Strewelpeter]

You were into 7/4 and looking good an hour ago.
Out to 11/2 now after the Geoffrey Cox clarification.

Crazy. Over two years since the vote and ten days from babies will die / Army on the streets level chaos and the outcome is still swonging like an in play T20

[AndyFatBastard]

Crazy. Over two years since the vote and ten days from babies will die / Army on the streets level chaos and the outcome is still swonging like an in play T20

Just think, this all comes from David Cameron choosing to flip with the chip leader.

[AndyFatBastard]

Any more strained metaphors?

[DeadParrot]

Any more strained metaphors?

What about the foreign scum?
They'll still be here my racist chum

[luckforsome]

...The ultimate LOL to the FAI today...I know it was voted for awhile ago, but looks so embarrassing...He should show up and collect it for the craic...

https://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2019/0312/1035954-declan-rice-has-won-fais-young-player-of-year-award/

[DeadParrot]

this is fucking glorious

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9uj2GY1MHQ

[KevIRL]

149

[DeadParrot]

AYES 242
NOES 391

[dobby]

Brian Kerr should be on co commentator for all the games. Great to listen to, great insight and the odd saying that gives a laugh

[Raoul Duke III]

I think the world can now start pointing at Hitch and laughing.

[6starpool]

I think the world can now start pointing at Hitch and laughing.

Start?

[oleras]

He is a very highly functioning alcoholic. Lunches well.

Have heard some great stories about him down the years from my Brussels compadres.

As i like to remind people, i am just a drunk, alcoholics go to meetings.

[Raoul Duke III]

So, request for extension it is.

Not that it would solve anything but hey, it means I get to go to Edinburgh on 29th March.

[ArmaniJeans]

I think the world can now start pointing at Hitch and laughing.

Posted against a backdrop of Ronaldo dragging his team back into contention in the CL.

[Lao Lao]

Posted against a backdrop of Ronaldo dragging his team back into contention in the CL.

He never does it in the big games...

[Flushdraw]

[Hitchhiker's Guide To...]

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[ArmaniJeans]

Well that bet didn't go as planned. Think the document being judged legal by Cox was the flip event there. Decent enough odds in that case.

I think you were guilty of thinking too sensibly on this - to use a strained metaphor (for Andy) you've seen a few people struggling in the water and someone offering to throw them a lifebelt, and a bookie offering 3/1 that they'll be saved. And thinking that 2+2 = 4 here.

Not realising that they don't believe in lifebelts and will wait it out in the expectation that a comfortable boat with a mini-bar will come to their aid eventually.

[Hitchhiker's Guide To...]

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[Raoul Duke III]

Not sure an extension is as automatic as its judged. There seems no reasonable chance of this getting through parliament, so why would EU extend?

Seems time for a gigantic game of chicken - with EU saying absolutely no extension and then UK hurriedly accepts the deal offered and says sorry to have bothered you. There's nothing an extension in itself can solve. EU has made it massively and consistently clear that this is the only deal. As Juncker said last night - its the same deal as was offered 105 days ago and its the last deal on offer.

The EU can't deal with May. She has no political authority left (hasn't for months). Why negotiate with someone who hasn't got the ability to get an agreement through parliament? Plus, she has consistently shown bad faith.

A small part of me wants to see Boris trying to bluster it out with the Eurocrats.

[Solksjaer!]

Clips of the plane crash doing the rounds . Just stalls and falls. Hairs on my goosepimples like needles

[Wombatman]

[Hitchhiker's Guide To...]

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[oleras]

Obvs watching years of Survivor has helped your social game !

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[Kayroo]

Not sure an extension is as automatic as its judged. There seems no reasonable chance of this getting through parliament, so why would EU extend?

Seems time for a gigantic game of chicken - with EU saying absolutely no extension and then UK hurriedly accepts the deal offered and says sorry to have bothered you. There's nothing an extension in itself can solve. EU has made it massively and consistently clear that this is the only deal. As Juncker said last night - its the same deal as was offered 105 days ago and its the last deal on offer.

There's also a chance that the UK asks for an extension and the EU reject it because one or more of the member states vetoes it. Spain... I'm looking at you Spain...

[Guest]

Research is a bit different here to Ireland (where it's valued but not directly important to a uni's revenue). Number of students here is directly linked to research quality. E.g. our school had a good research year last year - with maybe five more top top journal publications than last year - and those five publications will probably push us up two places in the rankings and result in about €3m extra revenue.

It's a really high stakes game, with really thin margins between annual success and failure! Makes it very invigorating - and also from a personal perspective really powerful to be able to get groups to research 'better'.

The problem with making it such a high stakes game is that people start making things up.

[Guest]

Clips of the plane crash doing the rounds . Just stalls and falls. Hairs on my goosepimples like needles

That footage is of a 747 cargo plane that crashed years ago in Afghanistan.

[Raoul Duke III]

So, they get their 'no to no deal' vote today.

And basically throw themselves on the mercy of Tusk and the EU Council.

Taking back control. It's all going wonderfully.

[Raoul Duke III]

I don't think I've ever seen such an abrogation of responsibility in a mature democracy. Certainly since pre WW2.

It's not only the politicians who have disgraced themselves. The UK media is appalling. And the ordinary punter also bears responsibility. Stupidism at work.

[Raoul Duke III]

This story is a nice summary of where the Brits are at today.

May has shown she can’t lead a negotiation, can’t lead a party and can’t run a government. It’s hard to see what she could get past parliament after this. A prime minister is nothing without the confidence of the House.

[Raoul Duke III]

There's also a chance that the UK asks for an extension and the EU reject it because one or more of the member states vetoes it. Spain... I'm looking at you Spain...

The EU is very good at brokering internal compromise.

The question the EU now has to face is 'what does an extension solve?'

There's still only one deal on the table, negotiated in good faith with the UK government. The UK parliament has twice overwhelmingly rejected that deal. There is no menu of tasty options the UK can now choose from, having rejected the deal. The deal is the deal. The solution to the impasse has to reside in London.

There is a political vacumn in London now and that's when unexpected outcomes can emerge, sometimes by accident rather than design. If there any sensible Brit politicians left, now is the time for them to stand up.

[AndyFatBastard]

None of this is May's fault. She's been put in an impossible position and has done an admirable job considering the absurdity of the task she was handed.

The only thing an extension gives is time for a second referendum. MPs are in a bizarre spot where they can't vote for No Deal in good conscience, but can't vote for the existing deal without getting savaged by their constituents.

Ireland, the EU and the rest of the world expect the British government to adhere to the terms of the GFA, regardless of the democratic mandate for Brexit.

A three-choice referendum is the only clear path forward. And it has to be made clear to the British people that leaving the customs union means breaking the GFA. If they still vote for that, that's their choice and their responsibility.

[RichieM]

None of this is May's fault. She's been put in an impossible position and has done an admirable job considering the absurdity of the task she was handed.

The only thing an extension gives is time for a second referendum. MPs are in a bizarre spot where they can't vote for No Deal in good conscience, but can't vote for the existing deal without getting savaged by their constituents.

Ireland, the EU and the rest of the world expect the British government to adhere to the terms of the GFA, regardless of the democratic mandate for Brexit.

A three-choice referendum is the only clear path forward. And it has to be made clear to the British people that leaving the customs union means breaking the GFA. If they still vote for that, that's their choice and their responsibility.

Her inability to run her party is the reason why she cannot fun the govt or negotiate with Europe. It’s her fault for not being up to the job - not an easy job and I couldn’t do better but she took it on

[Raoul Duke III]

None of this is May's fault. She's been put in an impossible position and has done an admirable job considering the absurdity of the task she was handed.

You never lost it Andy.

[Raoul Duke III]

Her inability to run her party is the reason why she cannot fun the govt or negotiate with Europe. It’s her fault for not being up to the job - not an easy job and I couldn’t do better but she took it on

Early election
Red Lines that were always going to be impossible
Boris as ForSec???
Pandering to DUP/ERG loons at every step
No clear objective in negotiations
Losing the trust of all the EU leaders

Yeah, she's a fucking political genius.

[AndyFatBastard]

Her inability to run her party is the reason why she cannot fun the govt or negotiate with Europe. It’s her fault for not being up to the job - not an easy job and I couldn’t do better but she took it on

The party is unrunnable imo.

[RichieM]

The party is unrunnable imo.

Running a group of egotistical and self interested dickheads in roughly the same direction is the first line of the job spec for any party, in any country at anytime.

[Guest]

I don't think anyone could say it wasn't an extremely difficult task and who knows perhaps they would have ended up here anyway because of the Rees-Moggs of the world.
That said she certainly hasn't made it easy on herself with certain decisions.

It was her decision to disclose her red lines quite early on which has proven to be a tactical error that immediately undermined her position.

[AndyFatBastard]

I don't think anyone could say it wasn't an extremely difficult task and who knows perhaps they would have ended up here anyway because of the Rees-Moggs of the world.
That said she certainly hasn't made it easy on herself with certain decisions.

It was her decision to disclose her red lines quite early on which has proven to be a tactical error that immediately undermined her position.

Not saying she hasn't made mistakes, I just don't think anybody else would have got a much better result than she has. The sheer number of competing, mission-critical interests is staggering.

If you look at what's been actually happening for the last 6 months, 95% of it has been nothing but bluster from all sides. The Leavers, the DUP, Labour - all know they can't have their cake and eat it, they're just trying to figure out who gets fucked. May has persistently claimed that nobody will get fucked, which everyone knows isn't true, but it's allowed her to avoid explicitly stating which group is gonna get the pointy end. That' swhy she played her hand so straight with the EU.

A second referendum is the only way to clarify the nebulous "will of the people".

[Solksjaer!]

looked into my crystal ball.

A general election and a 2nd referendum campaign. The 2nd Referendum passing by a landslide. A new political party in coalition with Labour. Brexit to disappear in the rear window.

Teresa May to Appear in Despicable me as Gru’s long lost Mammy.

[Silver-Tiger]

Don't mind fucking Brexit.

The Browns are gonna challenge for the Superbowl that is how fucked up the world is right now!

Loving what they are doing. Gonna be fun next season.

[NuckChorris]

Electric Picnic line up a bit disappointing but I won't care when it comes as it's a child-free weekend. Time to re-visit the Streets and the Strokes music - been a while. Florence and the Machine will keep the missus happy.

https://www.electricpicnic.ie/line-up/poster

[Mellor]

William tell eat your heart out...

[mocata]

I dont mind the lineup being shite tbh, it was v liberating last year not feeling the need to go see various bands. Had far more interesting experiences rambling around dipping in and out of stuff not normally on my playlists.

[Emmet]

None of this is May's fault. She's been put in an impossible position and has done an admirable job considering the absurdity of the task she was handed.

The only thing an extension gives is time for a second referendum. MPs are in a bizarre spot where they can't vote for No Deal in good conscience, but can't vote for the existing deal without getting savaged by their constituents.

Ireland, the EU and the rest of the world expect the British government to adhere to the terms of the GFA, regardless of the democratic mandate for Brexit.

A three-choice referendum is the only clear path forward. And it has to be made clear to the British people that leaving the customs union means breaking the GFA. If they still vote for that, that's their choice and their responsibility.

Fucking LOL.

Theresa May's Lancaster House speech setting out her vision for Brexit was one of the worst decisions a politician has ever made.

She set out a path that she wanted the UK to have, post withdrawal with the EU, and detailed the sunlit uplands free of all of those penny-hungry immigants, with trade policies 'taken back' from Brussels and a bucaneering new relationship with the EU and the rest of the world. No border erected in Ireland on her watch.

She literally created a trilemma that she has stuck to doggedly in the face of reality for almost 2 full years. Yes she fired the two advisers (Nick Timothy is some piece of work) who were instrumental in creating that policy, but ultimately the shit sticks to her.

That Lancaster House speech has resulted in the EU seeing what the UK thinks it wants, and showing them how to get there. Recall 'Barnier's Slide'? The WA that she cannot get her Parliament to pass is predicated entirely on what the UK wants to be in relation to the EU. The EU worked with the UK to come to this arrangement that could facilitate a change from today's position within the EU to that of the future outside.

She veered drastically to the right of the UK Parliament's wishes on Brexit (even if the majority of them voted to enact A50 to compound their earlier fuck ups under Cameron) in an effort to unite the Conservative Party around the middle ground of Euro-scepticism, kind of like saying the 'nice bit' of Cardiff, and decided to completely avoid any effort whatsoever at a consensus led exit. She alienated the opposition (who are due a serious amount of criticism for their subterfuge) to the point of making it apparent, even to those of us who believe that oppositions should sometimes support Govt business and vice versa, that opposing for the sake of opposing was probably +EV play.

She rammed through bill after bill, in a precariously balanced HoC, destroying instead of curating faith in her Govt's ability to listen to the voices around them to try to chart a realistically achievable path out.

GTFO

[Emmet]

The party is unrunnable imo.

Lance the boil, split the party, fuck them.

[Raoul Duke III]

Lance the boil, split the party, fuck them.

Except the opposition might possibly be worse.

[Emmet]

Except the opposition might possibly be worse.

If she'd told the ERG to FRO the second she won the leadership, and that if they didn't like it it would be a Labour led Brexit they'd have tapped out.

[DeadParrot]

None of this is May's fault. She's been put in an impossible position and has done an admirable job considering the absurdity of the task she was handed.
.

[shrapnel]

312 to 308 against no deal. Close but no cigar!