Brexit

[AndyinPA]

Brexit isn't helping these people, but travel, and especially at a lot of airports and customs, is a real travel nightmare for almost everybody these days.

[noblepa]

Speedometers in the US have had KPH alongside MPH since at least the early 80's when I started driving and probably earlier (70's which would follow the change in Canada). I suppose this could have been a regional thing as having KPH is helpful in Michigan should you happen to take trips into Canada.

With the digital ones now, I can just set it for either one. There's no option to change to furlong per fortnight, however.

Edit: I thought I remembered our 1978 Chevy Nova having KPH available on the speedometer. I checked only photos and yes, it did.

I have had cars like that, but I currently drive a 2008 Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder, made in Illinois. The speedometer is an analog dial with only a mph scale. There is a small lcd below the dial that shows the speed in kph. I don't know why they did it that way. It would be easy to simply print the dial with mph on the outside of the dial and kph on the inside.

My wife's 2017 Chevrolet Malibu has an entirely digital speedometer and, as you say, either mph or kph can be selected.

[RTH10260]

‘There’s no quick fix’: Brexit could spark potato shortage in Ireland, experts warn
‘It will be a big issue unless something is done with the seed industry,’ grower warns

Andy Gregory
4 days ago

Brexit could lead to a significant shortage of potatoes for Irish consumers by 2023, experts have warned.

Prior to the UK’s departure from the EU, the majority of potato seed used by Irish farmers for varieties such as Kerr Pinks, Golden Wonders and British Queens had been imported from Scotland.

But under post-Brexit rules and following the UK’s departure from the single market, exports of seed potatoes – those not consumed but used to plant other potatoes – from Scotland to Ireland are no longer allowed.

While many in Ireland are hopeful that the changes will spark a revival of home-grown Irish seed potatoes, experts warned this week that there is likely to be some disruption in the years ahead.

“It’s a bit of a conundrum to be honest; we’ve limited seed crops growing here and UK potato seed imports aren’t approved,” Shay Phelan, a potato specialist at Ireland’s Agriculture and Food Development Authority, told the Irish Times.





https://www.independent.co.uk/news/worl ... 91107.html

[Volkonski]

Brexit, the gift that keeps on giving.

[Suranis]

Personally, the idea that Ireland has to, and has been importing seed potatoes from the UK is just precious. Feck sake.

Luckily you can chop up a single potato and every one of the pieces will grow a potato plant, as long as each piece has an "eye."

[chancery]

I suspect that proposed(?) “reversion” to imperial measurements is the same nonsense that the media has been spreading for years. Although (almost all) measurements are legally required to be shown as metric there has never been a requirement to not show imperial measurements alongside them if a “little-englander” really wanted too, just as there has never been a prohibition on putting the crown symbol on a pint glass.

a little off topic: I’ve always been a little curious why the U.S. liquor industry went metric in the 1970s, when the country’s tepid metrication efforts were mostly poorly received.

Apparently the industry was enthusiastic about getting rid of the existing system with 38 sizes of bottles “in so many shapes and designs that a bottle could look larger and actually have less content.” https://www.nytimes.com/1976/10/11/arch ... ry-is.html /a little off topic

[RTH10260]

Personally, the idea that Ireland has to, and has been importing seed potatoes from the UK is just precious. Feck sake.

Luckily you can chop up a single potato and every one of the pieces will grow a potato plant, as long as each piece has an "eye."

I guess modern potatoe breeds will also be protected by patents and trade marks. Plus contractual obligations that will prohibit commercial grade replication by farmers. Remember Monsanto going after farmers that never used their pesticides and accidentiall did regrow airborn resistant crops and Monsanto sued them and won ... I guess that potatoes seedlings will have the correct forms and diameters for mechanical planting while homemade chopped chunks will be no good for the automation. Apart where to get workers for manual DIY tasks.

[RTH10260]

I suspect that proposed(?) “reversion” to imperial measurements is the same nonsense that the media has been spreading for years. Although (almost all) measurements are legally required to be shown as metric there has never been a requirement to not show imperial measurements alongside them if a “little-englander” really wanted too, just as there has never been a prohibition on putting the crown symbol on a pint glass.

a little off topic: I’ve always been a little curious why the U.S. liquor industry went metric in the 1970s, when the country’s tepid metrication efforts were mostly poorly received.

Apparently the industry was enthusiastic about getting rid of the existing system with 38 sizes of bottles “in so many shapes and designs that a bottle could look larger and actually have less content.” https://www.nytimes.com/1976/10/11/arch ... ry-is.html /a little off topic

more offtopic: may have been influenced by EU (then EC) requirements for all beverages incl wine to go to standard sizes, outlawing traditional broken fraction of a litre sizes.

[RTH10260]

Brexit adding £1.50 to price of bottle of European wine, leading importer calculates
Cost of extra paperwork, charges and delays being passed on to consumers, says businessman

Andrew Woodcock Political Editor
17 hours ago

A leading wine wholesaler has calculated that Brexit is adding an average of more than £1.50 to the cost of every bottle of European wine he sells to consumers.

The warning comes as the UK faces a cost of living crisis, with inflation running at 9 per cent and expected to top 10 per cent by the end of the year.

Daniel Lambert, whose south Wales company was named International Wine Challenge small agent of the year in 2019, said that Brexit had caused “huge disruption” to his business since the UK transitioned out of the EU at the start of 2021.




https://www.independent.co.uk/independe ... 94054.html

That's a US$ 2 surcharge.

[raison de arizona]

The US is the dumbest country? Hold my pint…

ED451038-D294-4F35-8B94-E82BA591FC1E.jpeg (130.72 KiB) Viewed 896 times

[Reality Check]

I think my sympathy meter is off scale low for those poor Brits.

[RTH10260]

It's the EU that is punishing them for leaving the EU


PS. around 2015 the UK was taking part in defining the 3rd country rules for the EU....

[raison de arizona]

It's the EU that is punishing them for leaving the EU


PS. around 2015 the UK was taking part in defining the 3rd country rules for the EU....

Is it really "punishment," or is just the consequences of the UK's decision? Are they singling out UK citizens somehow, or simply subjecting them to the same rules any non-EU country faces?

[RTH10260]

It's the EU that is punishing them for leaving the EU


PS. around 2015 the UK was taking part in defining the 3rd country rules for the EU....

Is it really "punishment," or is just the consequences of the UK's decision? Are they singling out UK citizens somehow, or simply subjecting them to the same rules any non-EU country faces?

The British pro-Brexit press has been pushing that meme.

The Brits simply get to feel the effects of the regular 3rd country rules. EU citizen pass the borders without passport checks in separate lanes. The Brits need to get their passport stamped for proof of max 180 days in the EU within the last 360 days.

[raison de arizona]

It's the EU that is punishing them for leaving the EU


PS. around 2015 the UK was taking part in defining the 3rd country rules for the EU....

Is it really "punishment," or is just the consequences of the UK's decision? Are they singling out UK citizens somehow, or simply subjecting them to the same rules any non-EU country faces?

The British pro-Brexit press has been pushing that meme.

The Brits simply get to feel the effects of the regular 3rd country rules. EU citizen pass the borders without passport checks in separate lanes. The Brits need to get their passport stamped for proof of max 180 days in the EU within the last 360 days.

Thx, that's what I figured.

[northland10]

I have not looked at the complaints but I bet some of the Brits are yelling that other countries should have increased their staffing in anticipation of having more 3rd country entries after Brexit. The brits vote to leave but want the EU to pay more so they are not inconvenienced.

[AndyinPA]

At least at this moment in time, everyone is having problems at a lot of the European airports.

[Suranis]

Ya Dublin Airport is in a mess at the moment.

[Sam the Centipede]

Ya Dublin Airport is in a mess at the moment.

Elsewhere in Europe too. It's a mess in both airlines and airports.

The "EU travelers given looks that could kill" bit is probably lazy journalism. Everybody in a passport queue of any non-trivial length is bored, often tired, wondering how long it will take, sick of staring at the back of the person in front, so when they look around just to give their eyes some relief nobody would mistake them for audience members at a comedy club.

[RTH10260]

Irish passport holders sail through as Brits left fuming in huge queues in Spain
"Massive queues for non-EU passport control at Malaga Airport yesterday morning. In less than a minute we Irish passport holders were waived through with a smile. If looks could kill!"

Joe Mellor
2022-06-04 08:00

Travel chaos is being reported in many airports across Spain with some holidaymakers facing long queues after they touch down, reports The Mirror.

It seems the Irish people getting through checks quickly while Brits are held up in queues has got some people angry.

The Transport Secretary is risking travel chaos by rejecting calls for an emergency visa for aviation workers, industry bosses have claimed.

Sources speaking to the BBC said Grant Shapps has ruled out filling gaps in the sector by amending the Government’s Shortage Occupation List.

It comes after travellers hoping to get away for the half-term break faced hour-long queues and missed flights, with experts blaming understaffing at airports.

The government is blaming the aviation industry and the airline businesses are pointing the finger right back at the government.




https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/trave ... in-325085/

[RTH10260]

Spain entry rules: All travel restrictions scrapped for tourists in the EU

By Lottie Limb & Hannah Brown •
Updated: 06/06/2022

Spain has now removed its COVID-19 entry requirements for anyone arriving into the country from the EU or Schengen area.

Holidaymakers from the UK still need to show a negative test to enter the country, but the increasingly relaxed rules are “excellent news” for the tourism industry according to Spanish minister Reyes Maroto.



https://www.euronews.com/travel/2022/06 ... ed-in-full

[Volkonski]

[Volkonski]

[RTH10260]

farmers to produce more while the government has opened borders to cheap competition and while government hinders farmers from recruiting foreign workers

‘Worse than half-baked’: Johnson’s food strategy fails to tackle cost or climate
Labour says leaked white paper suggesting more fish farming and venison ‘borders on preposterous’

• Analysis: Strategy shows no stomach for bold action
  The white paper proposes an increase in the use of ‘responsibly sourced wild venison’.

Helena Horton, Rowena Mason and Patrick Butler
Fri 10 Jun 2022 19.35 BST

Boris Johnson’s new food strategy for England contains virtually no new measures to tackle the soaring cost of food, childhood hunger, obesity or the climate emergency, a leaked version of the white paper shows.

The strategy, seen by the Guardian and due to be published on Monday, was supposed to be a groundbreaking response to recommendations from the restaurateur Henry Dimbleby, who wrote two government-commissioned reports on obesity and the environment.

Dimbleby made a number of high-profile suggestions, including the expansion of free school meals, increasing environment and welfare standards in farming, and a 30% reduction in meat and dairy consumption.

But the slim 27-page document makes few recommendations, and declines to address the contribution of food prices to the cost of living crisis or address calls for consuming less meat and dairy.

Among its few policy proposals are the suggestion there could be more fish farming, which is environmentally controversial, and an increase in the use of “responsibly sourced wild venison”.

The strategy was described as “bordering on preposterous” by Labour over its lack of concrete proposals on food prices and “worse than half-baked” by the environmental campaign group Greenpeace.




https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... or-climate

[raison de arizona]

Is wild venison a major food source in the UK? I didn't know that was a thing.