Local residents in an uproar after learning their tax dollars might fund a gay fisting festival
The Kiwifist happens each year as part of this Auckland’s annual Pride festival.
Monthly Archives: February 2018
Hope Hicks, Donatella Versace, Chvrches, Robert Wagner, Sarah Jessica Parker, Dumbledore: HOT LINKS
Hope Hicks, Donatella Versace, Chvrches, Robert Wagner, Sarah Jessica Parker, Dumbledore: HOT LINKS
HOPE HICKS. Former Trump lawyer will tell Robert Mueller about obstruction of justice: ‘Mr. Corallo is planning to tell Mr. Mueller about a previously undisclosed conference call with Mr. Trump and Hope Hicks, the White House communications director, according to the three people. Mr. Corallo planned to tell investigators that Ms. Hicks said during the call that emails written by Donald Trump Jr. before the Trump Tower meeting — in which the younger Mr. Trump said he was eager to receive political dirt about Mrs. Clinton from the Russians — “will never get out.” That left Mr. Corallo with concerns that Ms. Hicks could be contemplating obstructing justice, the people said.’
FREDERICA WILSON. Russians “have something” on Trump: “The House and Senate voted on all kinds of sanctions against Russia. Now, the president yesterday announced he wasn’t going to impose those sanctions,” she said just before a press conference with the Miami media inside an Overtown church. “They have something on him. And if he imposes sanctions against Russia, they’re going to tell what they have on him.”
FORMER OUT/ADVOCATE EDITOR BRUCE STEELE. Why we did not out Kevin Spacey in 2001.
PERSON OF INTEREST. Robert Wagner now officially fingered by LA County Sheriff in Natalie Wood death: “As we’ve investigated the case over the last six years, I think he’s more of a person of interest now,” Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Lieutenant John Corina said in an episode of 48 Hours, which will air this week. “I mean, we know now that he was the last person to be with Natalie before she disappeared.”
COSTA RICA. Gay marriage clash throws presidential race wide open: “Costa Rica’s debt and deficit have risen to the highest on record, and its credit rating has been cut repeatedly in recent years. But, forget all that: It is the prospect of legalizing gay marriage that dominated the debate and threatens to turn the Feb. 4 presidential election on its head.”
NEW YORK. Human Rights Campaign backs Cuomo for reelection.
FANTASTIC BEASTS 2. Why can’t they just let Dumbledore be gay? “So the film-makers of this Potter-adjacent franchise that nobody had foreseen are in a spot of bother, since for obvious reasons it would be politically and financially savvy if the new films could also somehow get away with him being gay while never stating it, like the seven books and eight films we’ve already had. That’s the thing with coming out, or being an ally: you might actually have to run the risk of taking some sort of personal hit, or having to stand up for yourself.”
NEW TUNE OF THE DAY. Chvrches “Get Out”.
SARAH JESSICA PARKER. On Kim Cattrall’s claim they were never friends: “I found it very upsetting because that’s not the way I recall our experience. It’s sad, but I always think that what ties us together was this singular experience. It was a professional experience but it became personal because it was years and years of our lives, so I hope that that eclipses anything that’s been recently spoken. That many years spent doing something so special that people had a connection with it is such a privilege.”
73 QUESTIONS OF THE DAY. Donatella Versace on the biggest misconceptions about her, and many other random facts.
THIRSTY THURSDAY. Jefferson Alves.
The post Hope Hicks, Donatella Versace, Chvrches, Robert Wagner, Sarah Jessica Parker, Dumbledore: HOT LINKS appeared first on Towleroad.
Hope Hicks, Donatella Versace, Chvrches, Robert Wagner, Sarah Jessica Parker, Dumbledore: HOT LINKS
Wie die Bewohner auf Lesbos mit der Flüchtlingskrise auf ihrer Insel umgehen
Wie die Bewohner auf Lesbos mit der Flüchtlingskrise auf ihrer Insel umgehen
- Etwas mehr als 86.000 Menschen leben auf Lesbos, zusammen mit rund 8000 Geflüchteten
- Viele der Inselbewohner sind wegen der Flüchtlingskrise wütend – und doch herrscht auf Lesbos eine Stimmung des Wohlwollens
Blut und Fliegen übersähen den Boden unter den Stiefeln des griechischen Bauern Vasili.
Die Sonne brennt auf über ein Dutzend Kadaver nieder, die um ihn herum verstreut liegen. Ihnen wurden die Köpfe und Füße abgeschnitten, übrig geblieben sind nur noch das Fell und die aufgeblähten Eingeweide.
Vasilis Schafweiden und Olivenhaine liegen auf Lesbos, direkt westlich von Moria, dem verwahrlosten Flüchtlingslager, das von innen und außen wie ein Gefängnis wirkt.
Jede Nacht, erklärt der alte Grieche der HuffPost, würden sich Menschen aus dem Lager auf seine Ländereien schleichen. “Sie schlachten meine Schafe ab”, sagt Vasili. Dabei fährt er sich mit der Hand über den Hals. “Sie ziehen ihnen das Fleisch von den Knochen, den Rest lassen sie hier liegen.”
Er senkt den Blick auf eines der Tiere, das in einer noch frischen Blutlache liegt. “Sie ruinieren mich”, sagt er.
Wut ringt mit Verständnis
Es ist ein Gefühl, das auf Lesbos bei vielen Menschen wahrzunehmen ist – auch, wenn die meisten von ihnen nicht so direkt von der Flüchtlingskrise betroffen sind wie Vasili.
Da sind die Passanten, die den bettelnden Flüchtlingsgruppen am Hafen verächtliche Blicke zuwerfen. Da sind die Bar- und Restaurantbesitzer, von denen Flüchtlingshelfer berichten, dass sie keine Migranten in ihre Geschäfte lassen wollen.
Da ist der Taxifahrer, der behauptet, dass es früher auf Lesbos keine Verbrechen gegeben habe und erst mit den Flüchtlingen Drogen, Prostitution und Gewalt auf die Insel gekommen seien.
► Doch es ist eine stille Wut.
Eine, die sich nicht direkt gegen die Flüchtlinge richtet, die auf der Insel festgehalten werden – sondern vor allem gegen das politische System. Denn es ist die Politik, die Ungewissheit und Leid zur Last der Bewohner von Lesbos gemacht hat.
Außerdem handelt es sich nicht um eine blinde Wut, wie man in Gesprächen merkt. Sondern um eine Wut, die mit dem Verständnis für das Leid der Flüchtlinge ringt.
So auch bei Vasili.
Mehr zum Thema: Mord, Folter, Vergewaltigungen: Wie die EU-Flüchtlingspolitik in Libyen versagt
“Die bleiben unter sich genervt, kein Problem”
Das lässt sich beobachten, als der Schafshirte und Olivenfarmer auf einem gegenüberliegenden Hang eine kleine Gruppe von Geflüchteten entdeckt.
Zunächst wird Vasili rasend. Er brüllt den Eindringlingen über die Landschaft hinweg in einer Mischung aus Englisch und Griechisch zu, dass sie sofort verschwinden sollen. Dann stapft er wutentbrannt los.
Doch bei der Gruppe angekommen, bricht kein Streit aus. Auf einmal diskutiert Vasili ruhig, er erklärt der Familie, die es sich auf einer Decke gemütlich gemacht hat, dass sie seine Sachen nicht anrühren dürfen. Selbst mit einem Trunkenbold, der sich dazu gesellt, hat er Geduld.
Genau das macht auf Lesbos den Umgang mit den Geflüchteten aus: Ruhe und Geduld.
“Wir haben viele Menschen hier, die wegen der Flüchtlingssituation extrem genervt sind”, sagt Jula, ein Mitarbeiter des Flüchtlingszentrums Mosaik in Lesbos’ Hauptstadt Mytilene der HuffPost. “Aber: Die bleiben unter sich genervt, das ist kein Problem.”
Auf anderen griechischen Inseln habe es in der Vergangenheit schon Anschläge auf Flüchtlingsunterkünfte gegeben. “Hier passieren solche radikalen Dinge nicht”, sagt Jula.
Eine Frage der Balance
Glaubt man der Sozialpädagogin Katerina Varela, könnte das an einer Eigenart der Bewohner von Lesbos liegen. Varela arbeitet in einem Projekt des Flüchtlingscamps PIKPA, in dem die Kinder von Griechen und Flüchtlingen gemeinsam in den Kindergarten gehen.
Sie sagt, auf Lesbos gäbe es eine besondere Art, mit Problemen umzugehen: Die Leute seien schlichtweg stoisch. “Die Dinge werden gesagt und dann werden sie getan.”
Im Umgang mit den festsitzenden Flüchtlingen zeigt sich dieser Pragmatismus der Menschen auf Lesbos deutlich. Die Neuankömmlinge auf der Insel werden im Grunde einfach hingenommen.
► Wut und Wohlwollen gegenüber den Geflüchteten wechseln sich ab. Ohne, dass die eine oder andere Emotion die Oberhand gewinnen würde.
Es ist ausgerechnet der massige Taxi-Fahrer, der sich so über die angebliche Kriminalität der Flüchtlinge aufgeregt hatte, der dieses Gemüt der Einwohner von Lesbos auf den Punkt bringt.
“Wir hatten hier eine Balance”, sagt er ernst. “Die haben sie uns kaputt gemacht.”
Und dann fügt er hinzu: “Aber diese Menschen, die haben auch eine Balance verdient. So wie wir. ”
Dieser Artikel ist Teil einer HuffPost-Serie über die Arbeit von Flüchtlingshelfern auf Lesbos. Die ersten beiden Reportagen der Serie könnt ihr hier lesen:
► Vor einem Jahr strandete er in Griechenland, jetzt rettet ein junger Afghane auf Lesbos Flüchtlinge
► Tausende Flüchtlinge auf Lesbos leben im Elend – ein Lager zeigt, dass es anders geht
(ll)
www.huffingtonpost.de/entry/lesbos-fluechtlinge-wut-mitgefuehl_de_5a72f48fe4b0146e59448d2a
‘Auntie’ Theresa May Meets ‘Uncle Xi’ Jinping To Talk Chinese Tea And Trade
‘Auntie’ Theresa May Meets ‘Uncle Xi’ Jinping To Talk Chinese Tea And Trade
She’s been greeted as “Auntie May”. He’s been dubbed “the First Gentleman”. And both of them just love drinking Chinese tea.
Beijing’s Communist Government certainly rolled out a carpet as red as the national flag on Thursday when Theresa May and her husband Philip were hosted by President Xi Jinping and his wife as part of their three-day tour.
The state-run media was keen to highlight the warm reception apparently given to the couple on the social media site Sina Weibo, with members of the public praising the PM’s “beautiful marriage” and her “very handsome” spouse.
One article published by the Xinhua News Agency (and shared on China’s equivalent of Twitter) said: “He is the man who loved her, supported her, and protected her, who has been there for 40 years.”
China Plus, the government-owned English language channel, carried uncannily uniform footage of young people heaping on the praise. One paid tribute to May for not being “a stereotype of a female politician” because she has “a good sense of fashion”, adding “she loves leopard print!”
A particularly enthusiastic youngster listed the PM’s achievements, declaring “She made great efforts to solve terrorism, disputes with Northern Ireland, and Brexit.”
And all of the students revealed the British guest’s new nickname. “’Auntie May’ is a warm expression, just like we call Xi Jinping ‘Uncle Xi’ to show our fondness,” one said. “They all call her ‘Auntie May’, so do I,” said another. And in case we hadn’t got the message, yet another added: “It’s a friendly name we feel close to.”
After the Mays visited Beijing’s ancient Forbidden City, an interviewer from state-run Chinese television – the aptly named CCTV – told the PM of her new moniker, pointing out it was unusual for foreign politicians to be granted such informality.
“A lot of Chinese people would affectionately call you, in Chinese, ‘Auntie May’,” the interviewer said. “That’s really a kind of a call for Chinese – you’re one of the members of the family. Do you like that?”
Clearly unused to such plaudits, a slightly surprised Prime Minister replied: “Oh thank you, thank very much indeed…I’m honoured by that. Thank you.” Her gratitude was so earnest, she named it thrice.
May then held an 80-minute bilateral meeting with President Xi in the Diaoyutai State Guest House.
The pair agreed a joint trade and investment review that British sources later suggested was the first step towards a post-Brexit deal, though the details were unclear.
China’s markets would also be further opened to the UK, including in sectors such as beef (banned since the 1990s because of BSE fears), dairy and other agricultural goods.
The President himself couldn’t resist a bit of flattery for his guest, quoting Shakespeare to hail the growing links between China and the UK. “What’s past is prologue,” Xi said, citing The Tempest.
Afterwards, the Mays were treated to a traditional tea ceremony with the President and his wife Peng Liyuan. As they were shown different varieties, the British media – starved of hard news about the trip and thirsty for anything resembling a story – spotted a new fact.
When Madame Peng pointed to Lapsang Souchong, a smokey speciality from the Wuyi region, both the PM and her husband said almost in unison: “We drink that!”
So, to add to her Waitrose-shopping habit, the Prime Minister is now a drinker of ‘posh’, loose-leaf tea. It’s not quite PG Tips or a ‘builders’’ brew, and for her critics it will be yet more proof that she’s out of touch with the average voter.
As the old Marxist joke goes, all proper tea is theft. But China is a unique mix of Mao and money these days.
The main thing was that Chairman May’s hosts were impressed. And after all, they are the ones with the big bucks and trade the UK is hoping to target after Brexit.
www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/theresa-may-meets-xi-jinping-tea-ceremony-auntie-may-lapsong-souchong-philip-may_uk_5a73698fe4b01ce33eb0e9b3
The Gay Community’s Fear and Loathing of Asian Men Must End
The Gay Community’s Fear and Loathing of Asian Men Must End
Being mixed-race, actor-producer Lee Doud has heard unbelievably ignorant comments from gay and bi men for much of his adult life.
www.advocate.com/commentary/2018/2/01/gay-communitys-fear-and-loathing-asian-men-must-end
Surveying the kingdom of decay
Surveying the kingdom of decay
Karsten Fatur posted a photo:
Instagram: @karstenfatur
www.facebook.com/filmgrainphotography
Twitter is not having Trump’s lie about his State of the Union address
Twitter is not having Trump’s lie about his State of the Union address
This is one lie Donald cannot get away with.
Judith Light Was the Best Part of Last Night’s ‘American Crime Story’ [RECAP]
Judith Light Was the Best Part of Last Night’s ‘American Crime Story’ [RECAP]
Last night’s episode of The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story tackled one of the most mysterious elements of the Andrew Cunanan killing spree: the gruesome murder of Lee Miglin.
As part of the saga tracing Cunanan’s exploits leading up to Versace’s killing, it makes sense to chronicle Miglin’s murder. However, so little has been confirmed about the nature of Andrew and Lee’s relationship prior to the tragedy, the show leans heavily on artistic license. That’s fine, in terms of dramatic storytelling.
Where this episode suffers is in the writing. Ho boy, were Ryan Murphy and co’s most ham-fisted impulses fully indulged. (At one point, someone actually ate a fistful of ham, and it was the most apt metaphor in all of tonight’s episode.) It was all tell and no show. So much telling. And telling in ways no one would ever actually speak.
“You’re so dominant out there, but so submissive in here,” Andrew tells one of his victims before dropping the only thing more heavy than the hand behind that metaphor — a bag of cement. This is the same team that in American Horror Story: Asylum had one character put lipstick on a Virgin Mary statue while screaming “Whore!”
Subtlety isn’t always their strong suit.
Luckily, the hour of television was significantly buoyed by another knockout performance from Darren Criss and a special guest appearance from the incomparable Judith Light. Thank goodness Ryan Murphy attracts such top-tier talent, because in lesser hands things could get schlocky real quick.
Knowing that we’re taking the details of this story with an extremely large grain of salt, let’s dive into what went down in our recap below.
Spring 1997
Lee Miglin and his wife Marilyn are attending a fancy fundraising function. Marilyn introduces Lee to the stage by describing him as emblematic of the American Dream. He got his start selling pancake batter out of a beat-up car, and now he’s responsible for building some of the most famous buildings in Chicago. He was also instrumental in launching Marilyn’s perfume and cosmetics Home Shopping empire.
Back home, Marilyn dramatically removes her makeup — she’s taking off her brave face, get it, GET IT?
Meanwhile, Lee gets a call from Andrew telling him that he’s going to be in town for a few days. As luck would have it, Marilyn has to travel for business. That’s convenient! Lee joins Marilyn in bed and rests his hand atop Marilyn’s. She squeezes his. There’s clearly love here, but distance too.
With Marilyn out of the house, Lee preps for Andrew’s visit (including a stop at his in-home altar because HE IS CONFLICTED, IF THAT WASN’T CLEAR ALREADY). Andrew parks nearby. He comes into the house, and it seems as if this is a rendezvous they’ve played out many times before.
Lee’s excited to show Andrew plans for a new building he’s working on that’ll be the tallest in the world. He wants to call it the Sky Needle, but Andrew, suddenly very cranky, points out that he might as well call it the Miglin Tower, because it’s clearly all about him.
It’s a tense moment between them, until Andrew plants a hard, passionate kiss on Lee. He asks about that old Pretty Woman rule: Do the other escorts kiss him on th mouth like that? Of course, they don’t. “I’m not like most escorts. I’m not like most anybody,” Cunanan says out loud to Lee like people do.
The quick turn from cutting Lee’s aspirations down to the passionate kiss is to help gain back Lee’s trust. Andrew leads him to the garage, stuffs a glove in his mouth and then proceeds to do that weird tape mask thing that is extremely creepy and for sure going to keep a generation of gay men from hooking up with anybody that keeps a roll of tape in plain sight.
With Lee’s eyes and mouth covered and legs tied, Andrew tells Lee his entire evil plot, Bond-villain style. He already killed two people close to him. Now, he’s going to kill Lee, dress him in women’s underwear and leave gay porn all around him so everyone knows he was gay. “What terrifies you more, death or being disgraced?” (How about option C: Recapping overwrought dialogue?)
Andrew tortures Lee, including dropping huge, heavy bags of cement on his septuagenarian chest. (“Concrete can build, but concrete can kill” — oof!) He stabs him and slits his throat. Then he burns the plans for the Sky Needle at Lee’s altar.
Marilyn arrives home from her business trip and can immediately tell something is amiss. She stands on the front stoop until two neighbors stop by to help her investigate. They notice some things off (including ice cream melting on the counter and a knife stuck inside a ham on Lee’s desk) and call the police.
The cops find the grisly scene in the garage. Andrew is long gone in Lee’s Lexus, but Marilyn refuses to entertain the idea that Lee and Andrew had any kind of pre-existing relationship (a fact the Miglin family maintains to this day). Instead, she tells the police this was an opportunity killing. Lee was old, alone and hard of hearing. It wouldn’t take much to surprise and overcome him. She’s a powerful woman with a lot of political influence. The implication is that she pushed this narrative on the authorities (and it may have hampered the investigation that could have prevented Versace’s murder).
She also rattles off a list of items Andrew took: suits, cash, those gold coins we saw Andrew pawning in previous episodes. Through it all she maintains a calm, collected demeanor. It’s not until she’s alone with someone she trusts later that she allows the grief to fully wash over her.
Light is a powerhouse, carrying the majority of the hour on her shoulders, but here she too suffers from some incredibly heavy-handed writing: “How can someone who cares so much about appearance appear not to care?” She’s holding it together for her family, including her son, an aspiring actor set to appear in the upcoming film, Air Force One. (There’s another theory that Andrew actually had a relationship with Lee’s son, not Lee. The Miglins also deny this.)
Despite all the pressure to keep the story contained, news leaks that the cops have been tracing Lee’s car phone in the stolen Lexus. Andrew hears this on the radio and immediately looks for a way to ditch his ride. He follows a solo trucker, eventually robbing him. He forces the man at gunpoint into a basement. The man pleads to see his wife and child again, but Andrew kills him anyway.
We may never know what really transpired between Andrew and Lee. Maybe Lee’s killing, like the pickup truck owner, was random. However, the narrative American Crime Story is painting is how the closet not only led to getting Lee killed, but the shame around being outed as a gay man at the time was enough to impede an investigation that could have stopped a serial killer. Whether or not this particular element of the story they’re telling is factual, there is certainly some truth to that.
What did you think of last night’s episode?
The post Judith Light Was the Best Part of Last Night’s ‘American Crime Story’ [RECAP] appeared first on Towleroad.
Judith Light Was the Best Part of Last Night’s ‘American Crime Story’ [RECAP]
“Kroatien-Krimi: Messer am Hals”: Darum geht’s im Donnerstagskrimi
“Kroatien-Krimi: Messer am Hals”: Darum geht’s im Donnerstagskrimi
Im neuen im “Kroatien-Krimi” steht in der Küstenstadt Split die Bürgermeisterwahl bevor, und ein Kandidat geht mit populistischen Sprüchen auf Stimmenfang. Dann wird auf ihn ein Mordanschlag verübt.
Ein selbstverliebter Rechtspopulist mit sadistischer Ader entkommt knapp einem Anschlag – und nutzt das medial für seine Zwecke im Wahlkampf. Der “Kroatien-Krimi” persifliert das Auftreten populistischer Politiker.
Zu sehen ist die neueste Episode mit dem Untertitel “Messer am Hals” am Donnerstag (1. Februar) um 20.15 Uhr im Ersten.
Schauspieler Dominik Raacke hat ganz offensichtlich großen Spaß daran, den dreisten Bürgermeister-Kandidaten zu spielen. Dessen unverfrorene Ego-Show gibt dem unterhaltsamen Krimi (Regie: Michael Kreindl) unterhaltsam-groteske Züge.
“Split First” lautet der Wahl-Slogan des eitlen Rechtspopulisten Ivica Strugar (Dominik Raacke) – und die Anlehnung an “America first” des US-Präsidenten Donald Trump ist kein Zufall.
Egal, ob es sich um Flüchtlinge, Kriminelle oder Kinder handelt: Strugar teilt mit markigen Sprüchen aus. Dabei stellt er klar: “Je unkorrekter, desto besser», denn “so hat es der Ami mit dem gelben Toupet auch gemacht”. Seine Wahlkampfmanagerin Nada (Edita Malovcic) ist dabei ganz auf seiner Seite.
Es gibt noch mehr Ähnlichkeiten mit Trump: “Strugar ist Unternehmer, der sogenannte Baumarktkönig, der jetzt ‘König von Split’ werden will. Er hat also keine politische Vorgeschichte”, sagt Raacke. Strugar appelliere an das Heimatgefühl und die Angst vor Fremden. Dem Politiker gehe es nur um den eigenen Erfolg. Und der wächst.
Als Strugar in der Tiefgarage niedergeschlagen wird, erschießt er den Angreifer in Notwehr. Ein zweiter Mann flüchtet. Ein Anschlag politischer Gegner?
Strugar nutzt die Gunst der Stunde und macht damit Werbung für sich. Kommissarin Branca Mari? (Neda Rahmanian) lässt sich vom grenzenlosen Selbstbewusstsein des Politikers jedoch nicht beirren – schließlich leidet sie selbst auch nicht gerade an einem Minderwertigkeitskomplex.
Im Gegenteil: Mit ihrer direkten und forschen Art setzt sie sich im Job und privat immer wieder durch.
Mari? und ihr Team stellen schnell fest, dass der Anschlag einen völlig anderen Hintergrund hat: Strugar arbeitete einst in einem Waisenhaus als Aufseher und quälte seine Zöglinge auf sadistische Weise. Haben jetzt zwei Opfer versucht, späte Rache zu üben?
Erneut gelingt es Strugar, das Geschehen für sich zu nutzen. Er habe die Kinder “hart angefasst”, um sie zu “echten Kroaten” zu machen. “Lügen und Vertuschen wird bestraft. Ehrlichkeit, auch wenn sie grausam ist, wird belohnt. Das ist eine Art von Machtinstinkt, die Populisten wie Strugar nutzen”, sagt Raacke über die Strategie des Politikers.
Dann gibt es einen zweiten Toten. Die Ermittler arbeiten sich tiefer in Strugars Vergangenheit ein. Und dann vergreift sich der an seiner Wahlkampfmanagerin. Die war ihm bislang zwar ergeben, doch dieses Mal könnte er einen Schritt zu weit gegangen sein.
Brexit Briefing: Steve Baker Rises
Brexit Briefing: Steve Baker Rises
The Brexit story which should have dominated this week was the European Union publishing its guidelines for negotiations around the post-March 2019 transition period. Instead, thanks to a top scoop by BuzzFeed News (all credit to them), it was about the economic impact of Brexit on the UK.
The document, titled ‘EU Exit Analysis – Cross Whitehall Briefing” and dated January 2018, analysed three potential outcomes of the Brexit negotiations: joining the European Economic Area; a comprehensive free trade deal; and ‘no deal’. Each analysis predicted stunted growth compared to the UK staying in the EU.
As soon as it was published a round of smearing, dismissing and ignoring began by Brexiteers.
The highlight was Steve Baker, minister in the Department for Exiting the EU which produced the document, telling MPs to pay no heed to the draft, incomplete analysis because forecasts are “always wrong.”
He then proceeded to claim that the forecasts predicted growth anyway.
A few minutes after saying forecasts are always wrong.
This shall hence forth be known as The Baker Doctrine.
One of the key questions about the whole debacle was who ordered civil servants to carry out a piece of work analysing Brexit outcomes which aren’t Government policy.
Downing Street wouldn’t 100% confirm it was a Minister who ordered the work, saying instead that civil servants were “empowered” to carry out such analysis.
The Brexiteer sense that the supposedly politically-neutral civil service has been compromised was articulated by Jacob Rees-Mogg in the Commons on Thursday, when he asked Baker if he had heard the rumour “that officials in the Treasury have deliberately developed a model to show that all options other than staying in the customs union are bad, and that officials intend to use the model to influence policy?”
Baker confirmed he had heard the rumour, but while he considered it “implausible”, he did not outright reject it.
Back to the document itself, and despite Theresa May telling reporters that making the draft report public would be wrong, she didn’t order her MPs to vote down a Labour motion to have it handed over to MPs.
Talk about being in Government but not in power.
For one Tory minister, it was all too much. Justice Minister Phillip Lee took to Twitter to argue it was time for the Government’s Brexit plan to be led by “evidence, not dogma”. Airing that view in public earned him a dressing by the Chief Whip, although Lee has not deleted the tweets.
In contrast, when Jacob Rees-Mogg and other hardline-Brexit Tories were invited in by Chief Whip Julian Smith on Tuesday to discuss their criticisms of the Government’s apparently softening position on the implementation phase, they were given home-made Victoria Sponge.
That really is having your cake and eating it too.
2) In A Shock To No One, The EU Wants Something Different To The UK From The Implementation Period
Over in Brussels, and on Monday EU negotiators agreed the bloc’s demands for the post-Brexit transition period.
Two differences from the UK’s position leapt out of the document immediately.
One is that the EU wants the UK to abide by all new laws passed by Brussels during the transition period, even though Britain will have no say in those directives. David Davis made it clear in a speech on Friday he wanted there to be a way of “resolving concerns” over laws which affect the UK during the two-year period – although many will want Britain to ignore them completely.
The other difference is the EU wants everything agreed in the first phase of talks to be “translated faithfully in legal terms as quickly as possible.” This demand would lock down the financial agreement, citizens’ rights and Irish border issue before the final trade deal is known, and goes against the long-running Brussels edict of nothing is agreed until everything is agreed.
Putting the phase one agreement in a legally binding form would further rile up Tory backbenchers who worry the EU is calling all the shots in this negotiation, meaning this could prove another sticking point for the talks.
3) Freedom Of Movement, But Not As We Know It
One area that has particularly wound up the right of the Tories is that freedom of movement will continue during the two-year implementation period.
During a visit to China, Theresa May tried – yet again – to appease that wing of her party, saying new EU migrants coming to the UK after March 2019 should not expect to be granted full citizens’ rights.
The Prime Minister said those who arrived after Brexit would have to be treated differently from their predecessors “because they will be coming to a UK that they know will be outside the EU”.
May has already stressed that three million European nationals currently living in the country will be guaranteed voting and residency rights once Britain formally quits the 28-nation bloc.
But critics – including former Labour minister Lord Adonis – dubbed the move a “big step back for civilised European conduct”, asking what the government will do if the EU starts “mistreating” British citizens.
Some campaigners have claimed that up to two million migrants could head to the UK during the two-year transition period before the country formally severs its existing ties with the EU.
EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier last week sparked Tory claims that he wanted to unpick parts of a deal agreed with May late last year.
Instead of ending EU citizens’ rights to vote or reside in Britain after the spring of next year, Brussels now says it wants full protections to be extended to the end of 2020, its own deadline for the end of the transition period.
Asked if the EU had “torn up” the deal on citizens’ rights she thought she had agreed in December, May replied: “No.”
“It was right that we have made an agreement that ensured they [new EU migrants] could continue their life in the way they had wanted to,” she told reporters.
People will be free to work and live in the UK during the two-year transition period after 2019, but they will be required to join a registration scheme.
However, the PM felt the “principle” of differential treatment between those who arrived before and after Brexit was worth maintaining.
4) Who Says The Germans Don’t Have A Sense Of Humour?
The laughter is falling flat in the UK though, with ants-in-yer-pants syndrome spreading through the Government. One Minister told me this week May really needs to make a decision on what Brexit deal she actually wants – and soon. “It’s not going to get easier with time,” they said.
Don’t Get Angry, Get Blogging…
At HuffPost we love a good blog, and here are the finest Brexit-penned entries from this week. Have a read, and if any of them provoke an urge in you to speak your brain, send a blog to [email protected] and you could find yourself in this very newsletter.
Maike Bohn and Axel Antoni on how Theresa May is “adding to the woes” of EU citizens in the UK
Anand Menon and Alan Wager on how, 18 months on, the referendum is still increasingly dividing the nation
Keith Taylor MEP on why the idea of a green Brexit is a ’comic book fantasy;
George Kassimeris on the ‘political elegance’ of Emmanuel Macron
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www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/brexit-briefing-steve-baker_uk_5a734e30e4b06ee97af086a1
