Brexit: Finally a Clean Brexit?

 Well, it seems the negotiations are over and we are heading for a full and complete exit from the EU in the New Year. 

Unless the posturing is all smoke an mirrors and some orchestrated chicanery of a "miracle/hard negotiated/last minute" deal is "pulled out of the hat". 

If the latter is the case, I call bullshit on the "deal".

Right now, businesses across the country should be getting letters to state the position they will find themselves in 10 weeks from now. Those letters should state categorically the trading terms in place for European trade. Notwithstanding the "Kent Passport", we should know what VAT rates apply, what tariffs if any apply on importation of goods etc. 

Businesses cannot be expected to go to the wire and change their systems overnight. IT systems need to be carefully programmed so that no errors creep in. So the rules need to be available and programs changed to accept them and then those systems need to be tested to confirm compliance with the rules and also to confirm no bugs are introduced anywhere else in the programme by the new code.

10 weeks is not a long time. Any less and we'll seriously face issues and errors arising out of ill-preparedness. And if the situation in Kent is anything to go by, it looks like the government is going down the "fine companies if they get it wrong, even if the rules aren't available" route, which is completely unfair.

Basically I see an inevitable hiatus in the trade between the UK and the EU while companies (once they get detailed information on the rules applicable) change their IT systems to cope and deal with the changes.

That's just the issues within the UK, never mind any issues thrown up on the EU side like even more rules  (compatible with UK rules or not), required paperwork, prohibitions on certain items and the blockage of port by disgruntled French fishermen.

2021 will have an interesting start to the year i think.

COVID-19: Wales in Lockdown.

 The Welsh government has announced a short sharp lockdown beginning November 9th. 

Who exactly is paying for all of these Welsh people to sit at home? I hope that the devolved government will be footing the bill and any damage to the Welsh economy will be paid for out of the Welsh pocket.

Otherwise I think the UK government should be quite right to overrule any decision like this that the English have to foot the bill for.

Also, what are they going to do about people in England not under lockdown rules crossing the border into Wales? Are they going to sit Police on every single road between the two countries stopping traffic?

When are they going to accept that it's past the time for lockdowns? They're good for stalling the inevitable, but once you have the extra capacity in place like the Nightingale hospitals, the lockdowns are not a positive measure. Instead they only prolong the length of the infection. 

Now we have the extra capacity available, let the country go about it's business and hospitalise those that need hospitalisation. Only if the nightingale hospitals are at serious risk of being overtopped should we start to restrict movements and meetings.

Common sense realy, which seems to be in very short supply in political circles these days. It seems emotions and posturing for political effect totally outweigh common sense.

The Biden Fiasco and the Blatant Censoring of Online Commentary

 Well, I think this time Facebook and Twitter have really done it. I really think they have signed their own death warrants. 

They are openly and blatantly refusing to even countenance publication in any form of the accusations laid out by the New York Post regarding Biden, his son and Ukraine. Or even any commentary on the accusations.

Now, here comes the killer blow for those "platforms". If they are censoring content, if they are actively suppressing even commentary of the accusations, then they must fear a lawsuit for doing so. In that case they are thinking like publishers. They are acting like publishers. They are publishers, not platforms. 

The distinction is complete and therefore previous "platforms" given immunity under section 230 of the CDA does not apply because they are now thinking and acting like publishers. 

Which then opens the gleeful opportunities for citizens to sue said former platforms/now publishers for the laws that apply to publishers: defamation, libel etc.

You cannot have the ability to act like a publisher without de facto being a publisher. If you act think, edit, suppress and manipulate content like a publisher, then you are a publisher. If you think and therefore act like a publisher, then you already accept the fact. Whether the entity doing the publishing is a person or a corporation, there is no difference. 

The opportunity to sue arises merely because in can be argued in court that the "platforms" are no longer acting as such. By there mere actions, they become de facto publishers and lose section 230 immunity.

I'm rubbing my hands now waiting for the first big lawsuit to drop.

Facebook and Twitter, by their actions have opened themselves to this. Jack Dorsey has realised this and has gone on record trying to justify the censorship: it's not proven, the information was obtained illegally, yadda-yadda, even using the usual management weasel-word phrases like "we didn't communicate correctly". It doesn't matter. A platform would not censor and suppress on any grounds other than possibly public safety. 

The Biden revelations do not constitute public safety and there are grounds for public interest arguments in defence of allowing commentary on them.

These so-called platforms were on shaky ground previously. I think this is the final nail in the coffin for any protections availed to them under section 230.