Pelosi warns there will be no U.S.-U.K. trade deal if Brexit harms the Irish peace accord
LONDON — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is leading a congressional delegation to Britain and Ireland this week. What’s being discussed? “Brexit, Brexit, Brexit,” she said.
In the old days, bilateral U.S.-U.K. talks would be all about counterterrorism, intelligence sharing, NATO, Russia and China — and the special relationship.
Today, Brexit dominates. And on one particular point, Pelosi is emphatic: Don’t mess with the Irish peace accord.
The speaker said Tuesday that she had warned Prime Minister Theresa May, Conservative pro-Brexit hard-liners and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn that if the churn of Britain’s messy break with the European Union in any way weakens the Northern Ireland peace pact known as the Belfast or Good Friday Agreement, the U.S. Congress will block any trade deals Britain might seek with the United States.“Don’t even think about that,” Pelosi said she had warned. “We made it clear to all that if there were any harm to Good Friday accords, no treaty.”
[continues in the Washington Post ]
the Lady of the House hath spoken and pitched a big lob to the big blob in chief.
more from the irish times:
“This isn’t for us an issue or an agreement; it is a value,” she said of the peace agreement, saying that it was “something so elevated because of the number of hundreds of years of conflict that it resolved.”
[..]
Ms Pelosi said that it was “hard to get any trade agreement” passed in the US congress but that a trade agreement that does damage to the Northern Irish peace agreement “just can’t possibly happen.”
.
No bangers for YOU !
Some of us Irish folk know exactly what this ‘merican was doing:
“Don Jackson, CIA and Bell Labs Engineer and Technical Expert on Classified Projects
Donald Alvin Jackson, 91, a CIA and Bell Labs/DOD/SAC manager of Classified Projects, died 10 April 2019. Don served in the Army during WWII and was called up again to serve in the Korean Conflict. He earned several merits, awards, and badges over his long life, while challenging politics along the way–especially those quick to support sending young soldiers to war without truly understanding its true horrors.
In Don’s early career, he was called to Puerto Rico. While there, he supported the FBI in the prevention of hardware theft. At a social outing, he met and fell in love with a multi-lingual translator working for the FBI who would become his wife: Edna “Punch” Jackson. They married in New York, followed by living/working in New Jersey, Los Angeles, Taiwan, Washington, DC, and traveling the world together.
In New Jersey, Don worked at Bell Labs and later shared how very privileged he was to work on projects with some of the brightest minds of the century. He was proud to include having worked with Physicist Dr Gene Fubini, and Clarence “Kelly” Johnson (U-2, A11/12/SR-71 Blackbird designer). Don held Top Security Clearances, earning them at a time when it was not a matter of privilege. Don’s career included Senior roles with the DoD/CIA/SAC (Strategic Air Command), at the Pentagon, with NORAD and ELINT Staff Office (ESO). Don worked on SIGNIT Surveillance and Reconnaissance (“Project Oxcart”), and at “Skunkworks, (projects included the A-12, U-2 and SR-71 and others). When Don first announced that he had decided to leave the Agency, the Cuban Missile Crisis unfolded and the OSD asked that he remain to work with the Joint Chiefs of Staff and President John F. Kennedy to support its successful resolution (years later, he shared with family and friends, “Thank God JFK was President!”).
In pursuit of keeping our country safe, Don flew from one end of the planet to the other, sometimes stopping along the way on aircraft carriers or ballistic missile submarines. His career was deemed vital to National Security. From working with the JCS and JFK to Ronald Reagan, he operated behind the scenes in unseen, often unacknowledged but important roles, without any public acclaim. Many unsung heroes operate this way in this field of government and the military.
Don had amazing passion with his engineering and technical background, that he lent to all of his missions. Aside from his love of all things technical and mechanical,
He is survived by a daughter, two sons, and other family. [Read more: WashingtonPost/14April2019
Then may I have rashers instead? (Lay it out for them, Nancy – who I like to call Nancy)
I wasn’t aware of Don Jackson, but if he was a designer of the SR-71 he has my deepest respect.
The Brits just have a colonial nature. They should exit Ireland and Scotland
I really, reeeaally, reeeeeeaaaalllly want an SR-71.
I’ll settle for being able to afford the fuel.
I never know about Donald Jackson, and now I miss him.
Ms Cracker, OK. But, should the Brits Europe ?
Or, should they leave Wales and Cornwall ? And, how far do we take it ?
Scots Out Of The Isles !
Brythons Out Of Wiltshire !
Cro-magnons out of Saxony !
I know I’m being ridiculous, but where are the lines to be drawn in all these attempts to Balkanize non-Balkan lands ?
Hmmmm. Is this a good topic for a thread next Tuesday ?
cbsnews:
Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who formally announced his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination on Sunday, encountered some of his first hecklers of the campaign on Tuesday. During a two-day swing through Iowa, Buttigieg was interrupted by protesters in the audience at two separate events with Iowa Democrats.
The protesters at each stop were subsequently removed by members of security present. At a town hall event in Fort Dodge, Iowa, a man interrupted the mayor and began shouting at the openly gay Buttigieg, claiming he was betraying his baptism. The crowd promptly booed the man, who was escorted out, according to Associated Press reporter Alexandra Jaffe.
Buttigieg, an Episcopalian who speaks often about his faith, remained relatively silent during the encounter and proceeded to continue his speech, telling the audience, “Coffee after church gets a little rowdy sometimes.”
He added: “We’re so dug-in, in such passionate ways, and I respect that, too. That gentleman believes that what he is doing is in line with the will of the Creator. I’d do it differently. We ought to be able to do it differently.”
Later, speaking at a rally in Des Moines, Buttigieg was once again interrupted by protesters in the audience. According to Reuters reporter James Oliphant on Twitter, one of the protestors was shouting “Sodom and Gomorrah,” a biblical reference to the mayor’s homosexuality. That protester was quickly drowned out by chants of “Pete! Pete! Pete!”
[…]
Despite Tuesday’s outbursts, Buttigieg took time to field some questions from the audience at the events, including one curious voter who asked the Democrat what song best describes his life.
Buttigieg’s answer? Everlast’s 1998 hit “What It’s Like.” Buttigieg explained that the song didn’t explicitly describe his life, but describes “the way we should come to politics.”
What It’s Like
Everlast
We’ve all seen a man at the liquor store beggin’ for your change
The hair on his face is dirty, dread-locked, and full of mange
He asks a man for what he could spare, with shame in his eyes
“Get a job you fucking slob,” is all he replies
God forbid you ever had to walk a mile in his shoes
‘Cause then you really might know what it’s like to sing the blues
Then you really might know what it’s like
Then you really might know what it’s like
Then you really might know what it’s like
Then you really might know what it’s like
[continues]
Shoshone : Cheyennes out of Wyoming.
Cheyennes : Chippewa out of Minnesota
Chippewa : Sac/Fox/Hurons out of Wisconsin.
Sac/Fox/Hurons : Iroquois out of Quebec
Iroquois : Americans out of New York
New Yorkers : If X is elected, I’m moving to Denmark
X : If I’m elected, I’m coming with.
Ms Cracker,
Rereading my 2:55 post, I see that it could be interpreted as disrespectful; I didn’t mean it that way. Please accept my apology.
hmmm, wonder if this would work on the braindead now living at 1600 you-know-where
the guardian: Researchers ‘reboot’ pig brains hours after animals died
[…]
The team said the approach could provide a new way to study the brain, and even help in the development and testing of new therapies for stroke and other conditions in which bloodflow to parts of the brain is blocked, causing cells to die.
A number of studies, including those involving cells taken from dead brains, have suggested brain cells might not inevitably die after blood stops circulating.
[…]
Unlike pig brains that were left alone for 10 hours after death, the organs that had been hooked up to the BrainEx system for six hours had not decomposed, while their cells and neurons were apparently on a par or even in better condition than for pig brains analysed one hour after death.
What is more, the cells showed certain functions, including the release of various immune-response substances when triggered.After tissueswere removed from the brains and flushed of the BrainEx fluid the researchers found individual neurons were still able to function.
“What we are showing is that the process of cell death is a gradual, stepwise process and that some of those processes can be either postponed, preserved or even reversed,” said Sestan.
[…]
Prof Tara Spires-Jones from the University of Edinburgh said the research offered a new way to study the brain.
“A better understanding of brain function is important for understanding what makes us human and will also help us treat devastating diseases of the brain like Alzheimer’s disease,” she said. “However, this study is a long way from preserving human brain function after death as portrayed in the cartoon Futurama where heads were kept alive in a jar. It is instead a temporary preservation of some of the more basic cell functions in the pig brain, not the preservation of thought and personality.”
futurama is not the only place to see brains in jars, den of geek has this list for those past but not forgotten:
The Best Disembodied Brains and Heads in the Movies
We take a look at some of the most memorable and freaky floating brains and flying heads in the history of cinema…
[…here’s one they remember best..]
The briefest instance of a disembodied, talking head on this list, the one in sci-fi classic, Total Recall, deserves a mention simply because it’s so memorable. On the run from a snarling villain played by Michael Ironside, Arnold Schwarzenegger is told he must get his ass to Mars by any means necessary.
Given that Arnie’s a gigantic bodybuilder, it makes perfect sense that he’d sneak past Martian security dressed as a woman. In fairness, it’s a pretty good disguise, with Arnold’s distinctive features cunningly obscured by an electronic, fully animated mask. Then the mask malfunctions at precisely the wrong moment and goes completely nuts. Arnold, realizing the game’s up, dramatically removes the mask and throws it at a nearby guard like a hand grenade.
Admittedly, you could use CG these days to make the scene look convincing, but considering the limited resources available at the time, it’s a superb, memorable piece of special effects work, and the mask’s garbled utterance of “Two weeks…” has been endlessly quoted by film geeks since. Len Wiseman’s 2012 remake of Total Recall, although containing some pleasant sci-fi flourishes, was a far cry from its 90s predecessor. Containing several nods back to Verhoeven’s classic—including a reference to the “Get ready for a surprise!” bit mentioned above, it contained little of the earlier Total Recall’s dry humor, excitement, or filmmaking brio. It’s proof, if any were needed, that a disembodied head makes any film better.
[continues]
X-R
Not a problem — sure I forgot about Wales why not?
The Brain that Wouldn’t Die was my first brush with disembodied heads in the flicks. Prometheus is the most recent movie I’ve seen with great disembodied headage. Michael Fassbender does a great bodiless head role for a little while, but he was a cyborg or something like it, so maybe that doesn’t really count.
OMIGAWD WENDY, they’re zombie swine, and they’re heading for the pizza delivery boy !
“I know I’m being ridiculous, but where are the lines to be drawn in all these attempts to Balkanize non-Balkan lands?
Hmmmm. Is this a good topic for a thread next Tuesday ?”
X-R, sounds like a winner. plug a draft in on the trailmix dashboard and jace (or I) will push the magic button to publish it.
NEW THREAD