holystove

But more people as ever get their news via social media, where 'fake news' spreads quickly.. so it is a more pressing issue in this age. Misinformation through fake news and lies ("alternative facts") is a real danger to western democracy, imo.

watching ajax vs Lyon, hoping to be impressed by Klaasen as Everton are said to be interested in him. so far he's only confirmed my opinion he's not good enough. ajax as a whole are looking good though.

He's as much an English speaker as he is a French speaker. He grew up in the Flemish (Dutch speaking) part of Belgium. So I don't think the language angle plays.

surely it's over now .. again need to score 3 goals now.

Woodward and Bernstein's source was a senior FBI official outraged at Nixon's treatment of the FBI. If there are any real Trump-Russia links, Trump has now made sure they will be leaked to the press. Hope you guys have fun with 10 years of FBI director Giuliani.

and the Austrians .. although that was still a fairly close one. In Holland and France, the alt-right was pretty much blown away.

He was always going to win, but noone expected it to be this big of a landslide. I love the story that came out recently about how they expected to be attacked by hackers, so his campaign planted false information on phishing pages to confuse the hackers. Also love he came onto the podium to give his victory speech while 'Ode to Joy' was playing EDIT. this is pretty great too: Nigel Farage, former leader of British anti-EU party UKIP, who backed Le Pen, said on Twitter: 'A giant deceit has been voted for today. Macron will be Juncker's puppet.' In The Netherlands, Dutch far-right leader Geert Wilders commiserated with Le Pen, saying in a tweet: 'Well done anyway @MLP-officiel millions of patriots voted for you! You will win next time - and so will I!'

From a EU-constitutional-law point of view, Germany is just one of 27. Procedurally, Germany, althought the biggest EU-member state, can be blocked on any issue. Why did Juncker phone Merkel? I don't know.. I assume he has a great relationship with her as they have been working together for decades now, in the same political group .. Did he call any other MS27-leader? Maybe he hoped May would be more inclined to listen to Merkel than to him? Merkel is an impressive political leader who believes in a strong EU. She seems like a natural ally of Juncker. I am quite certain that from now on Macron will be one of the first people he calls on politically sensitive issues. The real question is, could they have decided something in that phone call that would have an effect on all member-states.. easy answer: no.

Just had my "Bachelor weekend" (getting married in August) with friends in Rotterdam. One of the activities was Bubble Football; highly recommended as a fun activity with friends or colleagues.

Celta not looking good so far

fucking bureaucrats .. sign him anyway

pretty sure Holland asked him a month ago and he turned them down. he says because of his contract with Everton, but more likely because Holland is a complete mess.

I really enjoyed testdriving the BMW, but after telling my wife how great it was, we both agreed, having two young children, we don't need a car that is "fun", we need one that is safe and big enough to take all the crap with us that comes with having a one and a two year old. Long story short, I have bought a VW Tiguan.

Two different sources today say the EU has made its proposal. John, why is she not signing? I assume it's because there are clauses in it she doesn't agree with. Doesn't imply she's "playing silly beggars with peoples lives". I understand the EU27 don't agree with May saying it's enough she tranfers EU citizen rights into a UK law, because there's nothing stopping her from repealing that law in 5 years time. May on the other hand, is opposed to any mechanism of oversight that could protect the rights of both immigrants in the UK and on the continent, as she doens't want anything that is out of British control. So who has the moral high ground?

I'm glad Belgium is one of the main pushers for a quick trade deal. As May correctly pointed out before the referendum, the UK exports twice as much to Belgium as to India. The biggest Belgian party is actually in the same eurosceptic group as the Tories in the European Parliament. The Belgian minister you quote is of this party and consequently quite eurosceptic. (mind that eurosceptic doesn't mean anti-EU, to them it means reformed-EU) I think you will find the member states have a very firm hand over the Commission in these negotiations. The Council Guidelines, which bind the hands of the Commission, were written by and approved by the national governments. Spain pushed for inclusion of Gibraltar, Poland pushes to up the "brexit bill", Ireland wants the land border with the UK to be top of the list, .. these are all demands of national governments who use the EU to further their national intrest. This is the very point of being in the EU. There is no European Elite agenda, as you call it, there are 27 different agenda's which resulted in a very strict mandate for the Commission to start negotiations. Michel Barnier, and Juncker, do not set the agenda, in the same way that Tim Barrow doesn't decide the UK's position.

I hope you are right about the Juncker-May dinner, John. I doubt it though. However there's still a chance of success if "drunk" Juncker and dim-witted May surround themselves with the right people. I'm sure May was sincere when she proposed a quick solution but is not aware of the legal etc. difficulties. It's like May going to NASA and saying that if humans want to get to Mars we need to build a big rocket. If NASA then says it's not that easy and you need to consider a lot of other stuff, I'm sure the Telegraph will defend her by saying she was very clear about the need of a Mars mission but those NASA elite refuse to cooperate.

Couple more days until French election. LePen now backtracking on EURO exit, because polls show French massively against exit. Before week is over she'll be talking about the benefits of immigration.

Just watch him play for Belgium with Hazard and Debruyne playing behind him. Doesnt make Rom look good, tbh.

If that happens it will be because of poor leadership. Nothing against May personally but she seems a bit dimwitted and as a result we all might suffer. I have nothing against brexit in principle, to the contrary, but it needs to be handled competently. A choice between May and Corbyn is in that sense disasterous.

flash forward 2019. from today's FT (behind pay wall so I'll c/p). most likely scenario right now? Sitting on the Heathrow Express last week, returning from a short trip to Berlin, I found myself composing a speech for Theresa May — to be given the day after the Brexit negotiations have broken down irretrievably. The prime minister is seated behind her desk in Downing Street. A Union Jack is visible in the corner of the room. Mrs May tells the British people that, despite the unstinting efforts of her government, the UK and the EU have been unable to reach an agreement. She has to warn her fellow countrymen that difficult times lie ahead. There will be severe disruption to trade and travel for an extended period of time. There is likely to be a serious recession. Britain had made a democratic decision to leave the EU. But the EU has proved unwilling to accept that decision and negotiate a fair deal. Instead, it is determined to punish the UK. Now comes the Churchillian riff. Lowering the timbre of her voice and staring straight into the camera, Mrs May says that some European politicians seem to believe that they can humiliate Britain and bend the country to their will. Clearly, they have no knowledge of the history or nature of the British people. A country that has defeated Hitler, the Kaiser, Napoleon and the Spanish Armada has no reason to fear the bureaucrats of Brussels, or the governments of Malta and Slovakia. A quick reference to Shakespeare and the ­“sceptred isle” and an appeal for national unity, and the speech would be over. I was rather shocked to find how easy it was for me to compose a speech like that, on a short train ride. After all, I am a “Remoaner”, who voted against Brexit in the EU referendum, and I still cling to the hope that it will never happen. If I can reach effortlessly for the language of nationalism while stone-cold sober on the Heathrow Express, what could the journalists of the Daily Mail do or the backbenchers of the Tory party? All this could be dismissed as idle ­fantasy. But the danger of a slide into nationalism and confrontation is real — on both sides of the channel. The Brexit negotiations are starting with the two sides miles (or possibly kilometres) apart. After meeting Mrs May last week, officials from Brussels briefed that the UK prime minister’s demands are “completely unreal” and that she is living in a “different galaxy”. The British, for their part, regard the EU’s demand for a €60bn divorce settlement as outrageous. The EU says that trade talks cannot begin until the Brits have agreed to pay up. But that position is also seen as unjustified and punitive in London. Senior figures in the British ­government may eventually conclude that they have no option but to play by the EU’s rules. It is possible that, fortified by a large majority in the next election, Mrs May can find the political space to make painful concessions, and face down the resultant rage in the media and her own Conservative party. But it is more likely that what Brussels regards as indispensable, London will find impossible. That means talks will inevitably break down — and then angry rhetoric will surge on both sides of the channel. Popular culture and the education system have produced a fairly pronounced “finest hour” reflex in most British people, which is susceptible to an appeal to glorious isolation. (It is epitomised in the David Low cartoon from 1940 of a soldier on the cliffs of Dover, captioned: “Very well, alone”). That means that if and when negotiations with the EU go badly wrong, it will be easy for nationalists in Britain to blame the French and Germans, and to make an appeal for sacrifice and national solidarity that will drown out the appeals to reason of the remaining Remainers. And while the Europeans like to argue that their position is dictated by reason and law — and not by any desire to punish Britain — there are, of course, some on the other side of the channel who will enjoy the opportunity to humble the arrogant Brits.

that's why I stressed it was wrongly named. it is just a settling of accounts. UK has both assets and liabilities in EU. the EU position at this time is that UK owes money, but maybe the UK can make the case it is the other way around. it is not a fee related to exiting a supranational organisation, it is only one of the aspects of ending a communal project. why I am frightened by todays news and what is the cause of concern is not that May/UK and Juncker/EU disagree but, frankly, how pathetic and ill-briefed the UK points are. I personally live in a country that has a great stake in May being competent, and it appears it's so bad I now have my hopes set on David Davis.

Terribly frightening account of the dinner of Juncker and May last wednesday. Story today in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Summary: (by Jeremy Cliffe) If it continues like this it won't matter one bit that countries like Belgium, Netherlands, Denmark and Ireland push EU to start trade talks as soon as possible.. May is even too incompetent to deal with the easy stuff first (such as the wrongly named "brexit fee"). I hope Davis and May don't have a falling out, because Davis seems to be the only one to understand that at one point we'll have to move beyond soundbites.

In november 2016 rights of British immigrants on the continent were guaranteed by FOM rules, with no date in sight of when, or even if, article 50 will be triggered.. Germany has zero competence to make any decisions union wide; after Tusk realised at the time there was no consensus among EU27 this issue was left on the table. The EU now asks in the Council Guidelines for real guarantees for citizens, which tells you all you need to know about the May proposal of November 2016. Seeing how there are many more EU citizens in UK than UK immigrants in the EU, the UK has the upper hand on this issue.. as evidenced by the ridiculously tough standards the home office has set to grant permanent residency. I guess after threatening to withhold security information, not respecting the rights of EU nationals in the UK is just par for the course. ☺

It has been UK foreign policy for centuries to make sure it doesn't have to face a single bloc united against it in Europe. https://t.co/lnQP3qcXwD Theresa May ::applause::

the guy who replaced her, now himself replaced by some new guy. this is like when farage quit as head of ukip and not a week later MEPs for ukip were throwing punches in parliament. the far right quickly becomes pathetic once you cut off its head.