Category Archives: European Union

Berlin, Brexit, European Union, politics, vision

How dumb is Davis?

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A negotiator with no notes?

This week we saw David Davis arrive in Brussels in order to make a serious start on the details of the Brexit negotiations. As we can see from the above photograph, unlike his French counterpart, Michel Barnier, he has absolutely no documents with him!

Most people would not even set up a cell phone contract or an insurance policy, let alone buy a car or a house, without the relevant documentation. This UK politician turns up to the most significant international contract negotiation in my lifetime, responsible for the fates of 65,000,000 people, with not one piece of paper.

What’s more, after just half a day, he flew back to the UK.

What does this tell us about David Davis?

  • there is no way that he can be taking these critical negotiations seriously and that he has already disqualified himself for the job
  • that he is unbelievably arrogant if he thinks that he can achieve the best for the UK after just half a day and with no briefing materials
  • that he has absolutely no notion of diplomacy since his actions are insulting to his European counterparts, also his hosts in this case, in a field where relationships are already very tense
  • that he is insulting also the British people who have, at least in their peculiar concept of democracy, delegated an enormous amount of responsibility to this man
  • that he is co-responsible for defaming the word “politician”, which not only insults those who try their best to perform this difficult role with integrity but also reduces the chances of gaining the respect of younger people whose understandable political apathy led in part to the disastrous Brexit in the first place
  • that the man is a complete idiot, bringing him closer to his ultimate goal of becoming the next prime minister, since all of the above makes him the ideal candidate both to lead the UK Conservative Party and replace Theresa May, n’est-ce pas ?

 

 

Berlin, European Union, politics, society, vision

Democracy cannot be bought

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As the months go by, it becomes increasingly uncomfortable to say that you are British if you have the privilege of living in Europe. So much of what is happening in the UK at the moment, in particular the consequences of the latest election and the handling of Brexit, simply beggar belief.

This week has also seen Theresa May literally purchase a tiny minority in the House of Commons for the sum of one billion pounds Sterling. And yes, she has given this money to a group of nationalistic, misogynistic, homophobic dinosaurs known as the DUP .

If I ever needed conclusive evidence, as I wrote in this blog a few months ago, that the UK is not really a democracy, then here we have it.

True democracy, irrespective of the precise details of its format, is of such a high value that it cannot be bought. It requires lengthy dialogue, diplomacy, exhaustive dialectic, a humble willingness to compromise, cultural understanding and a sensitivity to linguistic subtleties.

Oh dear, Mrs May, it seems that you know the price of everything and the value of nothing. Along with the rest of us Europeans, I do hope your days are numbered.

Berlin, Children, European Union, God, politics, refugees, vision, war

God’s revenge on the USA

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So, very sadly, I was right yesterday. Trump has already after only a few months in office gone down in history as the world’s biggest ever mass-murderer. Thankfully, his crass stupidity has opened up much bigger opportunities with other nations like China, leaving the US behind as a future “third-world” nation.

Maybe Almighty God will now spit the USA our of His mouth, just as He has promised to do with many others who do not obey His commands and just as He allowed to happen to His chosen people on account of their disobedience during the Holocaust (Deuteronomy 28, especially verse 49!)

Below is an account from Sky News today, who, for the first time ever, have taken a pro-European, as opposed to a pro-UK/US, perspective.

Mark Stone, Europe Correspondent in Brussels

 I was in the vast Paris convention centre late on that December night back in 2015 when the climate change accord was agreed.

The jubilation among the delegates was palpable. Politicians, scientists, activists were all ecstatic.

They were surprised too. After the total failure of the previous summit, five years earlier in Copenhagen, they had finally achieved what they had thought was impossible: almost every nation had signed the accord.

Nearly a year later, in November 2016, I was in a US rust belt town in Pennsylvania as America prepared to vote. Out of work and with their factories shut, the people of Johnstown, Pennsylvania chose Donald Trump.

:: Trump announces US will withdraw from Paris climate deal

His promise to “make America great again” had resonated across large swathes of the country largely because he promised to get their jobs and their industry back.

Mr Trump’s pledge to pull out of the Paris accord meant, they believed, that their factories would reopen, their jobs would be returned to them.

It was a cruel populist tactic and it has now been compounded. In an hour long statement on Thursday evening Mr Trump held true to his word.

“In order to fulfil my solemn duty to protect the people of the United States we will withdraw from the climate accord,” he announced from the Rose Garden of the White House with a jazz band and fake applause.

The factory workers are thrilled, naturally. But it’s impossible to see how, ultimately, it will make their lives better, let alone reignite their factories.

Far from putting America first, leaders globally now believe that he has put America last.

It will be left behind as other countries accelerate, with unprecedented enthusiasm, their green energy initiatives. That will have an economic impact.

The flurry of condemnation from around the world was a hint of how big a deal the Trump decision is.

In their joint statement, Italy, France and Germany expressed their regret and said they believed the climate deal gave substantial economic opportunities for prosperity and growth.

It’s true that the accord unlocked significant low carbon investment and innovation globally creating more and more jobs.

France’s President Emmanuel Macron, in a rare 11pm live televised statement, said: “I want to express myself a few hours after the declaration of the President of the United States of America because this is serious.”

“The US has turned its back on the world.”

“France will not turn its back on Americans,” he said, before inviting American scientists to come and work in France.

He ended with: “Make the planet great again”.

The EU Commissioner for climate action and energy, Miguel Arias Canete, issued a lengthy statement condemning Mr Trump’s decision and concluded: “Today’s announcement has galvanised us rather than weakened us, and this vacuum will be filled by new broad committed leadership.

“Europe and its strong partners all around the world are ready to lead the way.

“We will work together to face one of the most compelling challenges of our time.”

John Kerry, the former US secretary of state who was instrumental in ensuring success in Paris in 2015, described the decision as “an ignorant, cynical appeal to an anti-science, special-interest faction far outside the mainstream”. (Ed: Of course a veiled reference to Christians).

He added: “If the world doesn’t press forward faster, we’ll see stronger storms, longer and more intense droughts, more wildfires, a swell of climate refugees and intensified conflict around the world.”

China, once the climate change villain, is now seen in an altogether different light.

While Mr Trump was speaking in the Rose Garden, the Chinese Premier Li Keqiang was dining in Brussels with EU leaders.

It is China’s enthusiastic commitment, along with India and Japan, to stick to the Paris Accord that will, it is hoped, mitigate the decision by Mr Trump.

While there is significant disappointment and dismay at the decision, there is reserved confidence among politicians, scientists and activists that the pledges made in Paris in December 2015 can still be met.

So maybe there are a few silver linings to Mr Trump’s toxic cloud.

The world, minus just America, will now have new impetus, willingness and resolve to implement the Paris accord and ensure the fight for the environment can continue.

Already, extra support for developing nations to help them meet their goals has been pledged.

New bonds are being formed as old ones fray. The European Union and the world’s largest emitter, China, releasing a joint statement on fighting climate change is significant.

The European Union sees this as an opportunity to reassert itself globally.

And given that significant portions of the American electorate are against Mr Trump’s decision, it seems certain that climate change will now be a key theme in the next US election.

It’s not often that climate change features highly in election campaigns.

I fear ,though, that the silver linings won’t stretch as far as places like Johnstown, Pennsylvania.

America’s rust belt workers will be disappointed.

Ed: I rest my case.

Berlin, European Union, God, politics, vision

Christians and our climate

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So it looks as if Donald Trump may pull the US out of the Paris Climate Agreement today. In this context there was a fascinating interview with an American coal mine owner yesterday evening on the German news.

He said, “I am pleased that I can open my coal mines again. There are lots of good Christians around here and they deserve a good job.”

Let’s analyse the implications of this short statement:

  1. Christians deserve good jobs, ergo  non-Christians do not deserve good jobs.
  2. There are good Christians in the world and bad Christians in the world  (totally contradicting Christian theology, by the way) and good Christians have more right to a good job than bad Christians.
  3. It is perfectly legitimate to contribute actively to the creation of the world’s greatest weapon of mass destruction (i.e. a climate that kills millions of people per year)  provided that you are a Christian earning a good wage.

On a micro level, this statement is already pernicious enough. On a macro level, it is catastrophic.

Why is it that Christians have so little regard for our precious and beautiful environment?

There are two main reasons for this. First, they believe that global warming and even so-called natural disasters, such as earthquakes and tsunamis, are a consequence of human sin and entered history with the Fall of Man (Genesis 3). Therefore, they are only indirectly a consequence of modern human action and there is nothing that can be done now to change that.

Secondly, they believe firmly that God is going to create a new earth (Revelation 21) when Jesus comes again. Naturally this leads to a careless attitude when it comes to the environment because it is all going to be renewed by Almighty God anyway. Of course, this new earth will only be enjoyed by Christians while all Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists and non-believers will be burning in eternal hell.

Somewhere along the way, I suspect that these attitudes influence the mindset of Donald Trump who has stated that there is no link between human action and global warming.

So, if Donald Trump goes ahead with his plans to pull the US out of the Paris Climate Agreement later today, the American people will have legitimised and become responsible for a veiled global war on a scale that puts every other war into the shade. This egotistical and religious jingoism will absolutely and unavoidably result in the unnecessary suffering and deaths of more children, women and men than the Holocaust and Donald Trump will deservedly go down in history with a similar reputation to that of Adolf Hitler.

Berlin, European Union, God, new writer, politics, refugees, society, vision

Ban the burka?

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Recently I listened to a speech given by Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the new German President, in which he spoke with such passion, factual accuracy and clarity about the importance of the European Union. It was an outstanding speech, almost on a level with Obama’s rhetorical skills, in which he pointed out, amongst many other things, the long-lasting peace, the abolition of dictatorship in certain key nations and the social advantages of being together as a union of nations. The financial advantages were barely mentioned. All of which goes to show how little the current UK government understands about the raison d’être of the EU, a fact that does not bode well for the current Brexit negotiations.

All the more surprising, therefore, is the recent EU decision to ban the wearing of the burka within its member nations. As I know from many of my friends here in Berlin, the majority of women wear headscarves and burkas for cultural, not religious reasons, and I am disappointed that the EU has not displayed its usual cultural tolerance in this issue. I do not think we should go down the line of “When in Rome, you absolutely have to do what the Romans do”, rather as Europeans have to do when they visit Muslim nations. Such a tit-for-tat attitude does nothing towards furthering cultural understanding and international co-operation.

I must admit, however, that the burka crosses a, let’s say “common sense” line, since it enables people to hide their identity when they are, for example, opening a bank account, registering with a local authority or crossing an international border. Yet this common sense issue surely has nothing to do with nationality, culture or religion. There are obvious, practical solutions to this issue if mutual human respect is to take precedence over cultural prejudice and racism.

To conclude, it occurred to me recently that the biggest problem with regards to the burka is that the wrong people are wearing it! How many beautiful women are daily hidden from our sight, when, actually, we would all benefit so much more, if only it were worn by people like Theresa May, Marine Le Pen and, for that matter, Donald Trump.

Berlin, European Union, management, new writer, politics, society, vision

What? The UK, democratic?

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Thank you so much for your ongoing feedback. I read and replied to most of your e-mails personally and in this blog entry I’d like to respond to the issue in your e-mails that provoked me the most.

Several of you made the point that, if a political party lays out its plans for the country’s education system in its manifesto and then this party is elected by a majority of the population, then that party has every right to make any changes to the education system that were outlined in its manifesto. The fact that I personally don’t like those changes does not mean that the party is playing ping-pong with the schooling of the nation’s children and I simply need to accept the results of the democratic process.

At this juncture I feel compelled to point out that  the UK government does not really consist of a genuine democracy, but rather a hostile, point-scoring oscillation between just two parties, set in stone by the construction of the debating chamber with its two opposing benches. Compare this with the circular construction of the German Reichstag or the European parliament!

Secondly, the UK  is not a genuine democracy because it has a large group of completely unelected representatives, known as the House of Lords, consisting of church bishops and peers who were simply born into their privileged position and not elected. If anyone thinks that this unelected body has no power, just look at the way that it has twice defeated the government in the last two weeks on the issue of implementing a referendum that was voted for by a majority of UK voters. Democracy? Get real.

Thirdly, there is the issue of proportional representation. We have read in the news this week how the complete absence of any degree of proportional representation leaves vast swathes of the voting public feeling disenfranchised and alienated. The result of this could well entail the dissolution of the United Kingdom as Scotland pulls away from the UK and strengthens its links with Europe. Of course I realise that no system of democracy can fulfil every requirement, but this is no excuse for not having the kind of hybrid model that many other countries have around the world. Neither is the age-old, British argument that any kind of proportional representation would lead to a coalition and therefore a weak government. An argument that is even used to justify moving the electoral boundaries shortly before an election in order to ensure a majority in key constituencies for the party that is in power.

True democracy, irrespective of the precise details of its format, is very costly. It requires lengthy dialogue, exhaustive dialectic, a humble willingness to compromise, cultural understanding, a sensitivity to linguistic subtleties, and much more besides. And there are no shortcuts. Democracy has sadly become a value that we increasingly have to fight for against a backdrop of racism, isolationism and terrorism. The Dutch, today, can be very proud of themselves.

So, write that book, post that blog, take to the streets, however you want to do it, but let’s agree to fight together to keep true democracy alive. And let’s also never forget, there can be no democracy without the freedom of speech.

“A free press is the unsleeping guardian of every other right that free men prize.”  Winston Churchill.

 

Berlin, Education, European Union, new writer, politics, society, vision

Bad grammar

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So, the latest UK budget includes £320 million to fund the return of the good, old-fashioned grammar school. Personally – and speaking as a teacher – I am in favour of a selective secondary education system – provided that it has some safety mechanisms built in so that, for example, late developers can switch schools if they need to.

There are, however, two issues that I find ridiculous about these latest proposals to mess around yet again with the British education system.  First, there is still no hint of any politician with a passionate, innovative, forward-looking vision for schooling that better prepares young people for the unstoppable advances of technology and globalization. A vision that might include, for example, deconstructing the obsolete modernist division of the school timetable into discrete subjects taught in narrow blocks of time. Secondly, I am disappointed by the appalling way that the education system has for the whole of my lifetime been used as political football, demoralising educationists and screwing up the destiny of millions of children.

Hence, as usual, the conservative party blames the labour party for blocking the re-introduction of grammar schools and selective education, as if to forget that it was the conservative party that abolished grammar schools and brought in non-selective, comprehensive education in the first place!

Yet the politicisation of education in the UK is only the tip of the iceberg. The real issue – which seems to receive almost no attention – is that nearly all the children of politicians attend private schools, known actually as “public” schools. (See Footnote 1).

Even to this day, the majority of Oxbridge students  still come from the private schools and go on to be senior politicians (e.g. David Cameron, Theresa May, Tony Blair), civil servants, journalists, diplomats, doctors, lawyers and businesswomen and men. For as long as this is the case in the UK, why should any politician be seriously concerned about the state education system? More than anywhere else in Europe, the UK education system is no more than a socially constructed set of keys that unlock the door of future financial security. It has very little to do with either academic or applied knowledge, applicable skills or life-enriching culture.

A very brief comparison with other European countries, where politicians’ children predominantly attend state schools, serves to confirm this opinion as fact.

Marx was right when he observed that capitalism can only thrive when there exists within its ranks an alienated underclass. Surely Theresa May must know deep-down that her pontificating about meritocracy and access for all is no more than empty, political posturing? Or maybe she doesn’t? After all she went to an independent Roman Catholic school and then on to St Hugh’s College, Oxford.

I rest my case. For today. Have a nice weekend.

Footnote 1: I hate to sound cynical, but maybe the reason this issue receives little attention has something to do with a) that fact that these private schools are called public schools as if to disguise their identity and to imply that they are accessible to all children and b) because many of the most successful journalists also attended public schools and are either blind to the issue or are happy not to disturb a stable, self-perpetuating status quo.

Berlin, European Union, politics, refugees, society, vision, war

The epitome of hypocrisy

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Quite apart from not having a single leadership bone in her body, Theresa May is increasingly turning out to be an incompetent, undemocratic and undiplomatic hypocrite. No wonder she gets on so well with Boris Johnson and Donald Trump.

Today she has had the absolute effrontery to lecture the Scottish First Lady and Scottish Parliament that they should focus more on “raising standards in education, taking care of the health service, reforming criminal justice, helping the economy proposer, improving people’s lives.” How outrageous! These are exactly the areas where May’s government has the worst track record in living history!

She also said, “A tunnel vision nationalism, which focuses only on independence at any cost, sells Scotland short.” Hello? She added, “There is no economic case for breaking up the United Kingdom, or of loosening the ties which bind us together.” Hello? So how come none of these arguments applied to the singularly nationalistic, economically disastrous breaking away of the UK from Europe?

Alex Salmond replied, “The days of Scotland being lectured to by high-handed prime ministers at Westminster, these days are over.” Let’s hope he’s right.

Funny how world politics ultimately relies a lot on chance and the influence of the gutter press as opposed to democracy, sound reasoning and moral values. Theresa May is only in power because David Cameron made a serious miscalculation and the leaders of the former Labour Party (we can obviously forget Corbyn) and the Liberal Democrats had no balls and stood down. I guess Shakespeare understood that when he wrote:

“There is a tide in the affairs of men.
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.
On such a full sea are we now afloat,
And we must take the current when it serves.                                                       Or lose our ventures.” Julius Caesar, Act 4, Scene 3.

I only hope that this same tide will as soon as possible sweep the likes of May, Johnson, Trump away into an ocean of oblivion and that the new tide will bring in some real leaders like Obama who understand the importance of human rights, democracy and unity and who can articulate these values with supreme eloquence. He was clearly much too good for the Disunited Sates of America and the Disunited Queendom of Not-so-Great-Britain minus Northern Ireland and Scotland.

Berlin, European Union, politics, prison, refugees, society, vision, war

Freedom of movement?

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Freedom of movement is something that many of us in the West take for granted. Most of us can get up and leave our home in the morning and travel to work, go shopping or visit a restaurant after work with friends. We can travel around the country without let or hindrance, and, if we have a passport and enough money, we can travel freely to many other nations of the world.

Imagine for just one moment, however, that you woke up tomorrow morning and you were told by the state authorities that you will no longer have the freedom to move around. You will no longer be able to travel to other countries. You cannot leave your town. In fact, you cannot even leave your house. You are to remain imprisoned there until you die, even though you have done nothing wrong. It is simply a legally binding decision made by your government. Failure to comply will result in immediate execution.

How would we feel then? Cheated? Outraged? Infuriated?Rebellious?

Why? Because any restriction in movement is a contravention of a basic human right. It is also at the root of what started the first war. “This is my property, the boundary to my land, and if you set food on it, I will kill you.” It is also a main reason as to why prison is considered an effective form of punishment.

All this is something that Ms. May, Mr. Johnson, Mr Trump, Mr Corbyn et al. cannot understand. In attempting to maintain free trade of goods whilst restricting the movement of people, they are placing material gain higher than human rights.  This is supremely unintelligent and morally despicable.

All in stark contrast to Angela Merkel who understands that you cannot have the one without the other. She also understands that no wall will ever be able to stop unwanted crime and terrorist attacks. She understand that walls simply provoke isolation and racial hatred, not prevent them.

Racism and evil do not run along national borders. They run through the heart of human beings. This is where it all starts and this is where we as individuals can choose to end it.

 

Berlin, European Union, new writer, politics, refugees, society, tourism, war

Berliner

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It has taken me a couple of days to write again. I have been so upset by what has happened in my city, even though we are still waiting for details to emerge.

Last night I went to the Breitscheidplatz Christmas market which is right next to where I used to live. There was an eery silence while hundreds of people laid flowers and lit candles. Very faintly in the background I could hear Christmas music and a vacuous sermon from the Gedächtniskirche, totally out of kilter with the prevailing mourning.

When I went into the KDW, the largest department store in the EU, it was empty. Three days before Christmas. Surreal.

My main concern is the sadness for those who had their lives so unexpectedly and tragically taken from them, for the injured and for all those who are close to them. This tragedy will affect the most relaxed capital city in Europe for many years.

My secondary concern is that a possible act of terrorism will achieve the goals of those who carry it out. Society becomes divided. Acts of mercy are described as treachery. Racism rules. Trust is undermined. Faiths are divided although believers worship the same God. An ominous fear prevails. Democracy is hijacked by extremists.

This morning on the way to work there was a very large holdall unattended on the station platform. As I got nearer, an Asian guy approached it and I asked him if it was his. “Yes,” he replied. For the first time in my life I realized that the question was meaningless: if he was a suicide bomber, it would make no difference.

On the train, I then read about that (excuse me) fucking idiot, Nigel Farage, saying that this event in Berlin was Angela Merkel’s fault. Horst Seehofer and the AfD are following suit.

In Berlin we have the first ever ruling red-red-green coalition. Last week, it looked as if Berlin was going to pioneer the political future model for Germany. As just one minor example: they have up-to-now rightly stood against increased video surveillance of our city. Will all that change now?

I hope against hope that my adopted city and country will not give in to the aims of terrorism. I hope that democracy and freedom and racial tolerance will prevail. And I trust that, in spite of all current appearances, the pen will triumph over the gun.