Doing things differently today. Optimising use of two solitary socks; Going out to plant nursery to buy plants; then actually planting a significant proportion of them. Exhausted by unusual activity.
The full text of the European Council guidelines on Brexit negotiations agreed yesterday is available here: http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2017/04/29-euco-brexit-guidelines/. The Express gives a typical response "Theresa May slaps down Juncker as she REJECTS Brussels' hardline Brexit demands". The UK manages to irritate the rest of the EU by blocking EU budget talks because of the upcoming general election. The rationale for not being able to agree/make a decision, is given as the purdah on making sensitive political decisions during a general election. Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood thinks that, with an extreme Brexit,
“If Scotland becomes an independent country then the UK will no longer exist. The danger to us is the merging of England and Wales, almost like a disappearance of the country really".
In the past few days economists suggested that the Brexit slowdown has begun, with the UK's economic growth more than halved to its lowest rate since the EU referendum, now just 0.3% in January to March, 0.7% lower than the previous quarter."
The main news today in the UK concentrates on the different tax stances of the Tories and Labour, the former being cagey on whether taxes will rise, whilst Labour has categorically stated it will not change VAT or National Insurance in the coming years.
Watched the Jeremy Paxman Panorama report on President Trump's first 100 days, and did not really hear anything new. He has taken action, successfully in some quarters and been blocked in others. The important news for me regarding Trump was that the EPA was undergoing changes - as it said in the press release on the site on Friday:
"WASHINGTON – EPA.gov, the website for the United States Environmental Protection Agency, is undergoing changes that reflect the agency’s new direction under President Donald Trump and Administrator Scott Pruitt. The process, which involves updating language to reflect the approach of new leadership, is intended to ensure that the public can use the website to understand the agency's current efforts. "
The page on Climate Change is still "being updated". Thousands marched in the US on the anniversary of President Trump' first 100 days in office to protest that climate change is real.
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