2019-01-15
Blog
Democratic Double Check
It seems that Theresa May pretends to protect democracy by not offering a 2nd referendum because in reality she wants to “protect” herself from having to admit that she made several big mistakes. These mistakes would become clearly visible if a 2nd referendum would take place. To Theresa May, saving her own face is more important than the future of the United Kingdom and its citizens.
Claiming that asking people for their opinion in a 2nd referendum would do harm to democracy is utterly foolish. A 2nd referendum will be based on knowledge which was not available to the voters who participated in the 1st referendum. That’s obvious. Theresa May can think clearly and knows that. Therefore not offering a second referendum is worse than foolish. It is selfish and evil.
After May's heroic failure: Check and adjust! A 2nd referendum is more democracy and smarter democracy.
Applying the Deming Cycle (plan–do–check–act or plan–do–check–adjust, https://t.co/P1r9mHxoTV) is good governance.
The UK should do it.
The EU should do it.
— Goetz Kluge (@Bonnetmaker) January 16, 2019
Good governance requires "Double Check" (actually more: a cycle of checks): https://t.co/P1r9mHxoTV .
— Goetz Kluge (@Bonnetmaker) January 15, 2019
Governments should practise good governance: https://t.co/P1r9mHxoTV
— Goetz Kluge (@Bonnetmaker) January 15, 2019
@JolyonMaugham @JMPSimor @Nigel_Farage @acgrayling @OxfordDiplomat @SPD2212 @Shortbloke @abcpoppins pic.twitter.com/Ei7leXOmKP
— 🔶 Limited Ferry Sevices without a Ferry (@Wade73605662) January 14, 2019
Trump’s Memes
https://t.co/5S7iDRSq6Chttps://t.co/qhsmJdFHDD
— Goetz Kluge (@Bonnetmaker) January 23, 2019
Trump using the Game of Thrones font for all his memes is truly fitting.
It's the story of a wall that doesn't work, and the only group that's lost more characters than Game of Thrones is the Trump Administration.
— Nick Jack Pappas (@Pappiness) January 6, 2019
Trump posted a Game of Thrones meme 'The Wall is Coming'…. last season ended this way: pic.twitter.com/5a3aaWXhVN
— Miles (@m3hnash) January 3, 2019
EU Citizens in Britain
Call in question (00:00:59) of a EU citizen to Boris Johnson: “Do you regret luring people into a false sense of certainty that their EU citizens’ friends, family, neighbours will be secure in the case of Brexit?”
This morning @antoni_UK got a chance to ask @BorisJohnson a question that all of us EU citizens ask ourselves often: whether he regrets that, during the #EUref, he lured people into a false sense of certainty re: the rights of EU citizens. Johnson’s answer is shocking. 1/ pic.twitter.com/E4B3uNuJyD
— Prof Tanja Bueltmann (@cliodiaspora) January 14, 2019
Shocking? It’s Boris Johnson. The answer was evasive.
What else can one expect?
❌ It’s not automatic.
❌ It’s an application.
❌ It takes rights away from us.
❌ Applications can be rejected.
❌ If unsuccessful deportation is a possibility.
❌ If successful it gives us special ID numbers on a special register only for EU citizens for special checks. 3/— Prof Tanja Bueltmann (@cliodiaspora) January 14, 2019
So for @BorisJohnson to simply say he doesn’t “agree” with @antoni_UK ... doesn’t see that there is a difference, and claims all will be fine ... Well, Mr Johnson: the facts are crystal clear and they tell a very different story. 4/
— Prof Tanja Bueltmann (@cliodiaspora) January 14, 2019
Those facts include your own voting record on protecting the rights of us EU citizens. What made you vote for protecting them as a one-off right after the #EUref, to them consistently vote against the protection of our rights @BorisJohnson? 5/ pic.twitter.com/yjqQKOY5p8
— Prof Tanja Bueltmann (@cliodiaspora) January 14, 2019
In any case the points @BorisJohnson made in his reply are simply wrong. That’s it. As we know from an FOI request about #SettledStatus, the Home Office does plan to use it for immigration control, so there can be no doubt anymore that the aim is to control who of us can stay. 6/
— Prof Tanja Bueltmann (@cliodiaspora) January 14, 2019
So yes @BorisJohnson: you did lure people into a false sense of certainty about what would happen to their EU citizen neighbours, colleagues, friends and family. You also did that to us directly. Your answer simply isn’t good enough and in no way acceptable. Own your Brexit. 7/
— Prof Tanja Bueltmann (@cliodiaspora) January 14, 2019
So I second the concerns and questions @antoni_UK set out in his letter to you following the show this morning. https://t.co/yPXaWUwCOi 8/8
— Prof Tanja Bueltmann (@cliodiaspora) January 14, 2019
(You also may want to try https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1084857433577664520.html. However, at least when I tried to use it, some images were not displayed.)
The Boojum Tree
In Korea, the border between the North and South is militarized. You, Mr. President, would call it "beautiful". Such fenced biotops harbor valuable samples of rare flora and fauna which you won't find in the rest of the world. But only in your border the Boojum tree will grow. pic.twitter.com/nFQYvUbd0I
— Goetz Kluge (@Bonnetmaker) January 14, 2019
Great Thoughts from the President of the USA
For what has become of the great USA and it greatest leader of all times, this Warren beer tweet is a truly presidential statement. That's all you can expect in these times. And the Republican president likes strong women. They desparately ask for his comments and advice. pic.twitter.com/8SWSmeSF8V
— Goetz Kluge (@Bonnetmaker) January 14, 2019
Steve Bannon’s Grubby Fingerpints
Johnson talked up a 'deep state conspiracy' to thwart Brexit this morning. You can almost see Steve Bannon's grubby fingerpints on his shoulders.
— James O'Brien (@mrjamesob) January 14, 2019
Huawei Is Obliged to China in the First Place
Huawei responded to recent criticism in a very carefully worded statement:
That leaves lots of space to damage anything besides business and networks. In a sense, one can take Huawei's statement as an declaration that Huawei wants to keep the option to damage the privacy of people. And they can do so without taking "requests from any government".
— Goetz Kluge (@Bonnetmaker) January 14, 2019
Technically, for a chip designer it is easy to integrate spyware on silicon into chips. As long as such backdoors are not opened by some signatures passing by in the datastreems processed by the chip, those spy modules would sleep like a mole. Therefore you cannot detect them by any external analysis or monitoring. You only can detect them by looking on the silicon itself. That can be done, but who would do that for all relevant chips? Such an analysis requires quite some effort and expensive equipment.
Huawei founder's protests mean nothing. Independent Chinese companies simply don't exist, says @METhorley. https://t.co/Kg0lgcA0H3
— The Conversation (@ConversationUK) January 17, 2019
To the CEO and to all other Huawei Chinese employees the Social Credit System (社会信用系统) has priority over any obligations to customers and business partners. Not only those who don’t cooperate with what the Chinese Communist Party expects from them are in trouble, but also their family members face difficulties. Keep this in mind when dealing with Chinese business partners. They are obliged to what their Nation expects from them in the first place.
See also: Social credit system
Theresa May’s Shameless Video
Actually, it is shameless, not shameful (as it should be).
Absolutely shameful video. Your own Chancellor has publicly stated that Brexit will leave the economy worse. Enough with the lies.https://t.co/1R2Xsm719A
— Adri Bucher (@adri_bucher) January 14, 2019
Is Trump an Russian Intelligence Asset?
The headline is stunning, and does not at all overstate the story https://t.co/Tl24jU94gw
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) January 12, 2019
And Republicans in Congress know all this — but they're covering for him anyway. Remember this whenever they claim to be more patriotic than liberals — or patriots at all https://t.co/jMWrW3Tps7
— Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) January 13, 2019