Theresa May Poised To Fly To Brussels To Sign Brexit Deal – But DUP Could Yet Scupper Plans

A Brexit ‘divorce’ deal is so close to being agreed Theresa May is reportedly poised to fly to Brussels on Friday morning to sign the agreement – though the Democratic Unionist Party could still block the package.

Reports were surfacing late on Thursday that the UK and Ireland could reach agreement within hours on how to run their post-Brexit Irish land border.

This would pave the way for a deal that would remove the last obstacle to opening free trade talks with the EU, and draw a line under talks that collapsed earlier this week.

May, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and European Council Chairman Donald Tusk could meet early on Friday to seal the border deal, the European Commission’s chief spokesman said.

couple of hours with the UK government to close this off. I say hours because I think we are very close.” 

But the DUP, which stalled the deal earlier in the week, could yet put a spanner in the works. 

It insists that Northern Ireland, as part of the UK, must leave the EU in the same way as the rest of the UK – so no ‘special’ deal for Northern Ireland alone.

All sides say they want to avoid a return to a ‘hard’ border between EU member Ireland and the British-ruled province of Northern Ireland, which might upset the peace established after decades of violence.

May get the support of the DUP, which is propping up her minority government.

Moving to talks about trade and a Brexit transition are crucial for the future of May’s premiership, and to keep trade flowing between the world’s biggest trading bloc and its sixth largest national economy after Britain leaves on March 29, 2019.

The EU will only move to trade talks if there is enough progress on three key issues: the money Britain must pay to the EU; rights for EU citizens in Britain and British citizens in the EU; and how to avoid a hard border with Ireland.

As speculation swirled about whether London, Dublin and Brussels were about to clinch a border deal, Tusk’s office said he would brief reporters at 6.50am.

The EU says May has an effective deadline of Sunday night if she wants to seal a deal and hope to have agreement on trade talks in time for the EU summit on December 14.

www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/may-brexit_uk_5a29ba0ae4b0a290f04f57c6

White Male Officer Informed of ‘Privilege’: ‘I Was Racially and Sexistly Slurred’

An Indiana police officer filed a discrimination complaint against a colleague who informed him of white male privilege during a training on transgender awareness. 

www.advocate.com/people/2017/12/07/white-male-officer-informed-privilege-i-was-racially-and-sexistly-slurred

‘I, Tonya’ revisits the skating scandal that rocked the world. Prepare to gag.
You think you know, but you have no idea.

www.queerty.com/tonya-revisits-skating-scandal-rocked-world-prepare-gag-20171207?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29

Trump Supporter Peter Thiel is Funding a Members-Only LGBTQ Social Club in SF Called ‘Yass’

A venture capital firm co-founded by Peter Thiel, the gay conservative who donated $1.25 million to Trump, is the sole backer of Yass, a new members-only LGBTQ “co-working space and social club.”

Yass is set to open in San Francisco’s Mission District in the spring. But it already has expansion plans, given a poll on its homepage asking if visitors want a “Yass” in their city.

The Guardian reports:

Yass, announced last month and set to open in the spring, will provide LGBTQ people who pay membership dues access to events and a co-working space and social club, according to founder and CEO Brian Tran.

The ties to Thiel and Silicon Valley and the decision to open in the Mission, a historically Latino neighborhood that has rapidly gentrified amid the tech boom, means Yass is sure to be controversial. Even before its physical launch, the project is already inspiring backlash in San Francisco, a city that is known internationally as a gay mecca, but has the most expensive real estate market in the country, leading to the rapid displacement of cultural spaces, LGBT nightlife and longtime queer residents.

Critics of the project cite dues which they feel will keep lower-income queers out, the need of existing organizations for financial support, the appropriation of the term “Yass” from drag ball culture, and of course, Thiel:

“The LGBT community in San Francisco, we need a space. But we don’t need a space that is tainted by the hate of Donald Trump,” said David Campos, a former elected supervisor who represented the Mission and is gay. He said the neighborhood should reject a project linked with Thiel, who infamously funded a lawsuit that destroyed the news organization Gawker.

RECENTLY: New Orleans is About to Break the Next Drag Superstar and It’s One of These 7 Fierce Queens

Membership fees will range from $50 to $300 based on income level. Its founder promises Thiel isn’t involved and promises diversity and accessibility:

Tran, 25, said Thiel was not involved in the project, which he said was being funded by Cyan Banister, another partner at Thiel’s firm Founders Fund. Tran insisted that Yass, financed through FF Angel, the firm’s early stage investment vehicle, was dedicated to being inclusive and accessible to a diverse group of queer people, not just tech workers.

“My commitment is to serving the queer community and their needs. And that is separate from what individuals at Founders Fund believe,” he said, adding that although Thiel is a “controversial figure”, “I don’t know what his real intentions are, and it’s hard to make a judgment … Undeniably, he has made a large impact in our economy.”

Read the full article HERE.

Would you belong to a social club and working space funded by Peter Thiel?

The post Trump Supporter Peter Thiel is Funding a Members-Only LGBTQ Social Club in SF Called ‘Yass’ appeared first on Towleroad.

Trump Supporter Peter Thiel is Funding a Members-Only LGBTQ Social Club in SF Called ‘Yass’

Guess which ‘Will & Grace’ fan favorite is about to return with a vengeance?
She’s baaaaack.

www.queerty.com/guess-will-grace-fan-favorite-return-vengeance-20171207?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29