tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8966561605555037312024-03-19T12:43:42.005+01:00LitskiLiteLitskiLitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16549641203135530584noreply@blogger.comBlogger113125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-896656160555503731.post-58556068627856379532023-10-25T22:37:00.027+02:002023-10-25T22:47:09.891+02:00Life In Spain: Return Of The Smiles<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk1Ik1jSFJ1tcw-nwrcyjlMu52hPuxduKRMvlxwtp6Q_uGiTFKMhmuIyVH-QxXv7X26TA7gDBB-7kv3lgeLhlmm3rl9dtcetN4IuXde73gLZvw7N6Aa2iqNGmlVCTaJTMz7GfZm6I6fjVriSTVftsy5QbFpnEYDIH862s1U_LCHkdNTsb37Irh9_E5Pr8/s4032/20230907_065918.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2268" data-original-width="4032" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk1Ik1jSFJ1tcw-nwrcyjlMu52hPuxduKRMvlxwtp6Q_uGiTFKMhmuIyVH-QxXv7X26TA7gDBB-7kv3lgeLhlmm3rl9dtcetN4IuXde73gLZvw7N6Aa2iqNGmlVCTaJTMz7GfZm6I6fjVriSTVftsy5QbFpnEYDIH862s1U_LCHkdNTsb37Irh9_E5Pr8/w640-h360/20230907_065918.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p><br /></p>EARNING AND LEARNING. YEARNING...? NO!<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">It was the last day in August. Our holiday
in Peñíscola was almost over, but first we had to go to sign the contract for
our new apartment at the beach. The signing appointment took place in the
offices of Mercedes’ employer, a large complex of offices located in what
seemed to be a former factory, then an entertainment venue, before settling on
being a huge co-working space. It looked like a drive-in dance hall at 10 in
the morning after the cleaners had been. I would also consider having my
offices there, but there wasn’t a window except in the ceiling, and when it’s
sunny outside, the last thing I want to do is not be able to see it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">When we arrived, Kirsten took the children
to the playground across the street, and I went inside in my summer shorts and
short-sleeved shirt – it was still our holiday for another night, at least. Our
future proprietor, a sprightly lady in her nineties, was wearing full business
dress and sitting next to her carer, a classy South American woman equally as
elegant. Mercedes came in in her work suit carrying her papers and a massive
smile. I felt like a rancid residue of flatulence in a small metal box on wires
that transports people to different floors.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Anyhow, everyone ignored the fact there was
a slice of half-eaten cheese amongst all the exotic salad, and had a cosy chat
to get to know each other. Our new landlady was a very interesting and
experienced person, and it seemed little could faze her. Which was fortunate, as
I felt so underdressed, that even I disapproved of me.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Then Mercedes said that Kirsten had to sign
as well. Which would mean all three of the children would have to come in. And
the owner of the apartment would see them and they might start a fight or set
off the water sprinklers or go to the toilet on an upholstered armchair. In the end my ridiculous
misgivings were unfounded – the owner was delighted to meet the children, and
they were well-behaved. Silly Daddy!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">We were due to remain in the apartment for
ten months until the end of June, with the intention of selling our house in
Saarburg and buying a new one with the proceeds. Time will tell if that does
happen, but as of 24 September, there have been about 14 separate visitors to
the house. If by early spring there is no movement, I will start making
contingency plans for the summer.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Further plans have included renting a
container in the next town that we will fill with our furniture and belongings
when we find transport. If things go well, the idea will be that we will start
preparing our new house while we still live in the apartment, so that when we
move in, everything will be in place. It’s a tall order, but I have hope.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-GB"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzMu5wOs3tbXT0Gmg7d5_fQD7boRFpUfPNJalq_O88FlF_cnkSVFhTBu8Y0LTQYvFA-gTOnnFTqFLLqNcGXZg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></span></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">After signing, I drove us all to Mestalla
to a restaurant I visited earlier in the summer called El Rinconet, a special
place in one of the many courtyards containing a children’s playground and
shops surrounded by apartments. Their menu shows off the most Spanish foods you
can find, although it’s run by a Hungarian with his sons and a Polish maîtresse
d’hôtes. However, that’s beside the point – the excellent dinner we had truly
rounded off our holiday, and we headed back to Peñíscola for one last night. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">The following morning, we packed up the car
and headed to town for a final breakfast before taking the scenic route to our
new lives. The true sign of how your children are going to cope with the new
setting is in their initial reaction, and when they saw the beach, the swimming
pool, the ice cream bar and café, the private playground, and then the actual
apartment, all three of them were whooping for joy like Texans at a barbecue. The
second way you can tell if your children are going to cope or not is if they
start asking when they’re going “home” again. 62 days we’ve been there at the
time of writing, still no mention of the old place.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">It was a Friday, and the following Monday
they had to start their new school. I was intrigued to know how Livia was going
to get on, now her lessons would be in English and her siblings would be in
other classrooms in the same place. But first, we needed to settle in and enjoy
the final weekend of their summer holiday, which until the last two weeks had
been rather miserable due to their parents spending most days packing up their
belongings and throwing away everything that they hadn’t used in a while.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">The weekend weather was sadly very windy
and cloudy, so I took us all to the Carrefour hypermarket to buy provisions and
see a little bit of the area. I made us patatas fritas en aceite (chips in
olive oil) and some steak.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Then on the Monday, there was an open day
where we could all meet the various teachers for each child. They were
charming, efficient, friendly, caring and motivated – quite a refreshing
change. The school itself is between a hairdresser and a supermarket on
Avinguda Cardenal Benlloch, one of the many bustling thoroughfares slicing
their way through Valencia. Its façade is unrecognisable as a school, as it
looks like one of the other shop fronts that line the street, but when you walk
in, it’s a child’s dream. The walls are white, the tiled floors spotlessly
clean, the rooms ordered and equipped for each different year. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">We were greeted by the teachers for each
class at various times of the day, and given a presentation on the different
activities planned throughout the school year. It seemed ambitious and exciting:
learning to read, appointing one of the children as superhelper for a day, and
giving the children plenty of exercise in the courtyard inside the cluster of
buildings.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">The next day, we had to implement our new
daily routine, which was totally different from the one in Luxembourg, as you
will see shortly. But now that the children were in school, we could look for
an office. At the very first try, we found one at a coworking centre situated
about 5 minutes’ walk from the beach in the Cabanyal district of the city. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">When we walked in off the street to take a
theoretical look at the place, we were greeted by Cristina, the owner and
director, another of the long line of very accomplished businesswomen that we
have encountered here. Human and energetic, fun and patient, she runs the place
without breaking sweat. This is due to the efficient team behind her, who keep the place thriving.
We made some general enquiries about the possibility of becoming members, and
asked if there were any spare private offices. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Coincidentally, someone had just vacated
the only free office available, and upon viewing it, we took it immediately.
From only the fifth day of being in our new location, we had a beachside
apartment, a school for the children, and a place to go to work. Here is our
routine:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">07.30 – wake up, have breakfast <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">08.00 – get washed and dressed<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">08.35 – leave the house<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">08.55 – arrive, park and get out of the car<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">09.00 – doors open, children are welcomed
in the lobby<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">09.05 – we go for coffee across the street
at one of the cafés<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">09.30 – we drive to our office<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">09.45 – I drop Kirsten off and go to park
the car before joining her<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">13.20 – we head out for lunch at one of the
countless eateries in the area<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">14.30 – we return to the office for a
couple more hours<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">16.40 – we go to the car and drive to the
school<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">16.55 – we park, pick up the children and
hear reports of their day from their teachers<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">17.05 – we go to a café for drinks and a
treat<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">After this, we might go to the playground,
just behind the main road in a square. It is massive, and teeming with kids
from all the other local schools. There are often birthday parties in there,
and all the kids, even those not invited, are welcome to take a piece of cake
or have a drink of juice. The community atmosphere and feeling of safety is
tangible. Children just pick up toys or scooters from other kids and play with
them, parents go around and pick up their stuff once they’re ready to go home.
This would be unthinkable in the previous place we lived – where was that,
again…?!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">We would then go to the supermarket to get what
we might need – breakfast cereal, bread, cheese, juice, then head home. With the
evening still ahead of us, the children might play with some Duplo or watch
some cartoons on RTVE’s children’s channel, called Clan. It’s a perfectly
prepared recipe of animations that cater for various age groups getting older
as the evening wears on. We have a few slices of bread, some cheese, mortadella,
chocolate spread, or butter, and then wind down a little. At bedtime, they get
ready and head to their rooms with barely a complaint, having had a full day’s
activity.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">The change in lifestyle, diet, climate,
culture, and things to do has been extreme. Every day is different, every weekend
packed with action. I worked out we have a minimum of 2, maximum 3 and a half more hours a
day to enjoy our lives. In the old place, I would need an hour, sometimes an
hour and a half to get to the school and then another 30 minutes to get to the
office. The same on the way home. And if there was traffic, forget that.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">September wore on. We were keen to know how
Livia was coping in class, and how she was adapting to her learning. In the
beginning, it was evident she was still behind the rest. She was not helped by
her own inhibitions: her hypermobility made it difficult to do some simple
things; her lack of self-confidence partly due to that prevented her from
trying out some new things right away; and she was still disrupting some of the
class activities.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpOC2b_IpCodZBD_zvvxPX-sc-qXZe-TXqOsFtSn-Jt51g_4nhZo3UNZel-ugL1EjjTcR07qkU34OeWw1Ps2Nx9LQ0uUw7-SWyeIhpSltYMIZB9bJCQIp1-kSKLcXOLsYJcEN6cp0dkIFt3E4Ywo68hKm4SNkoVzF8JkFRMrYif2M8NRlS1MS7DIqx1fQ/s4000/19092023_112357_7a9dcd0bfeb2.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2252" data-original-width="4000" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpOC2b_IpCodZBD_zvvxPX-sc-qXZe-TXqOsFtSn-Jt51g_4nhZo3UNZel-ugL1EjjTcR07qkU34OeWw1Ps2Nx9LQ0uUw7-SWyeIhpSltYMIZB9bJCQIp1-kSKLcXOLsYJcEN6cp0dkIFt3E4Ywo68hKm4SNkoVzF8JkFRMrYif2M8NRlS1MS7DIqx1fQ/s320/19092023_112357_7a9dcd0bfeb2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>But as the weeks went by, we noticed some
positive changes: she was doing a lot more talking, recognising numbers,
expanding her vocabulary, and helping with minor chores. There were also a lot
of tantrums, refusals, scratching, pushing, knocking and general mayhem, but the
gradual reduction in these transgressions gives us hope that she will settle
down quite soon.<o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">On 20 September, Livia was designated Superhelper
for the day. How would she cope? We were intrigued to know. At the end of the
day, at the report, the teacher said she did really well, even telling one of
her classmates not to mess with the equipment. We had a budding responsible
citizen, and we were ready to nurture this.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMms3iRHEhIhkMOw3nfzKIaGbycD2HXxosLxptTwfCl5-gQruZZEdahDwf7uY-WOTCPXfDuphozwwE7aBu3cRKkH5tW7tK6P7ygGug3Ro3cqchf6sxtgLaKyM0JN0Z11-JXijpFGg1Lmrnsn53_BzS7TKQ8OK8KxfK-ao16kUENUtENfmt7gK4p6IOxmQ/s4032/20231007_191556.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2268" data-original-width="4032" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMms3iRHEhIhkMOw3nfzKIaGbycD2HXxosLxptTwfCl5-gQruZZEdahDwf7uY-WOTCPXfDuphozwwE7aBu3cRKkH5tW7tK6P7ygGug3Ro3cqchf6sxtgLaKyM0JN0Z11-JXijpFGg1Lmrnsn53_BzS7TKQ8OK8KxfK-ao16kUENUtENfmt7gK4p6IOxmQ/s320/20231007_191556.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>I would like to tell you a little about Valencia.
It is the most energetic and exciting city I have lived in since I left London
in 2001, and probably the best city I have ever visited, let alone had the joy
of being a resident of. Before we decided where to move to, I was worried about
being somewhere far from the places we frequent the most. The fact of the
matter is Valencia has it all: there is architecture and culture here that
reminds us of Copenhagen, London, Prague, Brussels, Liverpool. <o:p></o:p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha14rVIIFChgFcW5J0wqmL2jDHfDv-89TjV3l8R-DjtLK5KuG7GK3v6fwnvG994AsSIhMaWQCTx53Hh6xUCDTUxxotN4sKSm33j9txqbUqJZFzxbPSfc9HGGZD6jM8XtGYHUHu-QTHO56NAkPAzBtOhJp1iSP2semSHS8mQ7RzvLhlc-DE7i9unYumApM/s4032/20231001_121552.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2268" data-original-width="4032" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha14rVIIFChgFcW5J0wqmL2jDHfDv-89TjV3l8R-DjtLK5KuG7GK3v6fwnvG994AsSIhMaWQCTx53Hh6xUCDTUxxotN4sKSm33j9txqbUqJZFzxbPSfc9HGGZD6jM8XtGYHUHu-QTHO56NAkPAzBtOhJp1iSP2semSHS8mQ7RzvLhlc-DE7i9unYumApM/s320/20231001_121552.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>There is the sea, there are mountains half
an hour away, there are forests, and there are the airport and the ports. The
food at lunchtime is so good and so cheap that I have cooked barely four times
since we got here. The pedestrian streets are paved with marble, there are
ancient trees standing majestically in every corner of the city, you can find
museums that will entertain your family for weeks without going to the same
one, a children’s recreation area is no longer than a five-minute walk from
whichever part of the city you live in. It’s not Barcelona or Madrid, and we
are all thankful for that. It still feels like a city that should host an
Olympic Games or an Expo, but will probably be overlooked in favour of the other
two. However, it is European Green Capital 2024, so that’s something.<p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyyZV2kDEnf6qnYQr3452-FQQLfP9JjZEIumCz8czThyh45jEfT69W0V0bZ4FWMvdz9X_5oObid7gtQhAkALpbOXAfaXON9d0tmqQ3HnnU8Pt9d2Tsk1njHINbARJO_5c_cAq77GJx6ICLyZdWfCkEQBZdTME_GCXhPi-Gh4NoKb7AaKeBrnfEwQ3RQ94/s4032/20231007_191053.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2268" data-original-width="4032" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyyZV2kDEnf6qnYQr3452-FQQLfP9JjZEIumCz8czThyh45jEfT69W0V0bZ4FWMvdz9X_5oObid7gtQhAkALpbOXAfaXON9d0tmqQ3HnnU8Pt9d2Tsk1njHINbARJO_5c_cAq77GJx6ICLyZdWfCkEQBZdTME_GCXhPi-Gh4NoKb7AaKeBrnfEwQ3RQ94/s320/20231007_191053.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>And as for the people here, they are so
easy to relate to: you can talk to strangers without them feeling like you’re
weird. It is so safe, people of all ages walk the streets at any time of day or
night, and there are little things that make you happy, like when the neighbour
took the lift this morning. I heard him getting in it and going downstairs, but
he obviously heard us getting ready to leave the apartment, because when we
did, the empty lift was waiting for us there. He had evidently sent it back for
us. These minor gestures are what make this place what it is. Since we arrived,
I have also noticed how much more freely the children interact with kind
strangers (always in our presence, of course).<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggY7v6EPJF4s1KYDNQwY0QIUeicSHIRYObAaMszj1t4tX8rqSBsxadCSghosIsEjq1H-EYvrAG5E0bmQSoyiqBAryApTf-jESFZdFjnJvhY37gu_99DEgNlopqS6CK_xrJl4nTOpN2s83d6Esdypzl7WUWuCTzOwj6FSg5LeUgKRz1XZ_eL066ktKy5d8/s4032/20231012_183702.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2268" data-original-width="4032" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggY7v6EPJF4s1KYDNQwY0QIUeicSHIRYObAaMszj1t4tX8rqSBsxadCSghosIsEjq1H-EYvrAG5E0bmQSoyiqBAryApTf-jESFZdFjnJvhY37gu_99DEgNlopqS6CK_xrJl4nTOpN2s83d6Esdypzl7WUWuCTzOwj6FSg5LeUgKRz1XZ_eL066ktKy5d8/s320/20231012_183702.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>They are no longer shy to say hello or hold
a conversation with someone new. They are not frowned upon for shouting or
screaming in a public place – most people just laugh or roll their eyes
sympathetically, rather than come over to us when they’ve had enough and
question our parenting skills. In restaurants, nobody has bat an eyelid when Milda
has screamed her lungs out. When Livia threw one of her fits in a supermarket,
several people became concerned and helped us calm her down, rather than ignore
us or worse, complain to the manager. Because we have always believed in freedom
of expression for our kids, we had always felt inhibited, or even reluctant to
go out in public in the former place, but here, there’s no reason to – in fact,
quite the opposite. We have done more in the two months we have been here than
in the six years prior.<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So you see, in the end, it was fate.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">For that reason, I would like to thank the
director of Livia’s previous school for not having the nerve to tell us in
February that they were not going to take her, and instead waited until he
could pluck up the courage at the end of June to inform us. If it wasn’t for his
cowardice and procrastination, we would still be in the other place, rotting
away slowly without realising why. We wanted to change places, but I think we
just didn’t have the energy for it, so when he dropped his bombshell, it gave
us a kick up the backside that led us to re-arrange our lives for the better.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">On Friday 20 October, I took a brief trip
back to our previous house to check on it, pick up some important documents,
and make some arrangements for the shipping of our belongings. I flew into
Luxembourg airport and hired a car to drive back to Saarburg. Upon arriving at
my previous home, I felt a disconnect, a lack of attachment to the place,
except for the garden. And when I viewed our belongings, I also thought “well,
let’s just get rid of them, and start all over again!”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">I stayed in a hotel the first night while I
came to terms with the fact that I had lived in that house for 13 years until
22 August 2023, but also because the heating was off. I also remember how bored
I was there. The whole time I lived there, I did a lot of irrational and
unconventional things, just to keep myself distracted from the dullness all
around. I look back with some horror on a few of the dark thoughts I had. Luckily,
I have no more time for them, and so much more to live for.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">After a weekend that included having to
stay in a hotel the first night due to the heating being off, having to go for
a midnight drive and walk in order to make it easier to sleep but being wired
until 5 am due to being spooked out, having a massive headache due to lack of
sleep, not being able to hold in my food after eating a dodgy kebab the night
before, scraping the hire car against a concrete flower pot, and suffering from
the miserable cold and fog, I arrived at Luxembourg airport 3 hours before I
was supposed to, just to make myself psychologically aware that I was getting
the hell out of the place and burying the ghosts along with it. In the end, the
flight was delayed so I spent 5 hours in the airport, but I didn’t mind – it
had finally stopped the sentiment of regret that we had not left on our own
terms. Instead, I realised it was fate telling us to GTFO and prosper elsewhere.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">I don’t mean to say everything was
miserable in the old place – definitely not. There are things I miss, such as
my perfect little office in Luxembourg and the many kind people I knew there. I
also miss the lovely people at Café Nordbo, the Scandinavian café and the
ScanShop attached to it – I felt like a friend there, not a customer. I miss
the river Saar and the green trees that line it. I miss being able to pop over
to France or Belgium for a short trip or for dinner. And I miss my beautiful
garden and all the things I had planted in there – there are over 30 trees and
some extraordinary shrubs.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">But these are offset by the new life we
have here. I was so happy to be back in Valencia, that I woke the kids up when
I got home to give them hugs and have a little cry. The day after, Tuesday 24
October, despite a late arrival and the feeling of being wired and tired, I was
so disoriented by the entire experience, and by the fact there was the sun in
the sky, that by the end of the morning, I had another two car accidents to go
alongside the one I had in Luxembourg. Luckily damage was minimal, and nobody
was hurt. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Then, in the greatest coincidence of all
time, I was involved in a fourth road accident in the evening when a car
reversed into me (this time not my fault). How utterly bizarre is that? There
must be an ancient pagan rule of providence somewhere that can explain why I
went for four years without a single accident, to having four in the space of
about 27 hours…<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">To conclude this, I wanted to highlight
several things with these three articles:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">It is important to make proper
life choices and never to hesitate in changing if necessary.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Once you have kids, you don’t
matter any more – it’s about assuring their future.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">If something is making you
miserable or doesn’t feel right, don’t put it to the back of your mind and make
excuses; don't say it's too hard, or it's not the right moment, because you're just wasting time; take action.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Below are some photos of our experiences so far:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7eJUvTyXh0_9jIoIyNPk4Fdt1pHxrO9PUKF6ooIJAtUklL2XIVesJk6z-4j3rFWI5Qm0nAYzN7PlM4R6cOwxLPEeXkiT_XhBUyAxkPMlSJPwZjH9cEK2aZcrjRMKyELdQax-bwbv5RzMNKMAZHNVZUVQ0NntegmKqtPILK9oZ4_t1S702C7tdEoKCMBM/s4032/20230901_162536.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2268" data-original-width="4032" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7eJUvTyXh0_9jIoIyNPk4Fdt1pHxrO9PUKF6ooIJAtUklL2XIVesJk6z-4j3rFWI5Qm0nAYzN7PlM4R6cOwxLPEeXkiT_XhBUyAxkPMlSJPwZjH9cEK2aZcrjRMKyELdQax-bwbv5RzMNKMAZHNVZUVQ0NntegmKqtPILK9oZ4_t1S702C7tdEoKCMBM/s320/20230901_162536.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Settling in on the day we arrived</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="text-indent: -18pt;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1PaxTXeujKFV_nnk7q29647lJDYVuZHT0ftA0XwwMCOCUOfSSgA9TAwOCUBMtQjiN7bn_6npPX8X2PjSOotP8vs-upYFyJo37b57QuV3JjypucmXrS1C6bCUAha5mF1tbUtet9zVdbjjQtp8EuAOOofvNL4hYtGR2l1OIt-MbYUC3GqYRWh_UUd3hQpc/s4032/20230905_082417.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2268" data-original-width="4032" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1PaxTXeujKFV_nnk7q29647lJDYVuZHT0ftA0XwwMCOCUOfSSgA9TAwOCUBMtQjiN7bn_6npPX8X2PjSOotP8vs-upYFyJo37b57QuV3JjypucmXrS1C6bCUAha5mF1tbUtet9zVdbjjQtp8EuAOOofvNL4hYtGR2l1OIt-MbYUC3GqYRWh_UUd3hQpc/s320/20230905_082417.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wearing their school uniforms on the first day</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXja0DztxFZhM8jlnrNvt2XPLGuLKw0zDN-dnM5RZDzfx2hUoe7Kl3OWh8b0BpaVA5khQ7qges0SDCv6cS-xfzHYMgWYyvf1A4qjGt3mCKpjExkK3QEdEBmQsvAT7neKfN4omJKczjWArDxJw6wisnOkriK26adrTwmlG7mCnIFr5HAVPZqa_XigDLdlA/s4032/20230908_182339.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2268" data-original-width="4032" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXja0DztxFZhM8jlnrNvt2XPLGuLKw0zDN-dnM5RZDzfx2hUoe7Kl3OWh8b0BpaVA5khQ7qges0SDCv6cS-xfzHYMgWYyvf1A4qjGt3mCKpjExkK3QEdEBmQsvAT7neKfN4omJKczjWArDxJw6wisnOkriK26adrTwmlG7mCnIFr5HAVPZqa_XigDLdlA/s320/20230908_182339.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Playing tag on the Plaza de la Mare de Deu</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="text-indent: -18pt;"><br /></span><p></p>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvStB26DwwTyFEw-3W_ciu6wNfdyc9lnfwKhyNMmsihWSTF8M64mnK_kKLYcnEuBLaCPAI2jwF5pWmoQQyikKsGO2upTdpzxrMrPTMuyWM8Dg6d6UfLZE0PNv30YrvCA_zGHZjx3dAR3raytTdSycQtE-jrPoCk7yC_ImPb4hPOu0ju2QgZYq4An_MJac/s4032/20231009_190159.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2268" data-original-width="4032" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvStB26DwwTyFEw-3W_ciu6wNfdyc9lnfwKhyNMmsihWSTF8M64mnK_kKLYcnEuBLaCPAI2jwF5pWmoQQyikKsGO2upTdpzxrMrPTMuyWM8Dg6d6UfLZE0PNv30YrvCA_zGHZjx3dAR3raytTdSycQtE-jrPoCk7yC_ImPb4hPOu0ju2QgZYq4An_MJac/s320/20231009_190159.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The children make a new friend at the Moors & Christians Parade</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk5Os7f5HpMnQVus_xUZwMEIzzrbuTmmaGjLjlVLT_rylhNuvGsKsx6ugv2L8W47YrZnFnrsujcjRiKSLaZjW4NTwuJfIC7c2eqegTSVpQO9twNIY6mOVr2GFJwDTISSYVhNASsTEurYyJK5qVgRgCHguxX0KqQBpeXyyg8Bf3LGLNQZbV9PIwilZof9Y/s4032/20231012_170312.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="2268" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk5Os7f5HpMnQVus_xUZwMEIzzrbuTmmaGjLjlVLT_rylhNuvGsKsx6ugv2L8W47YrZnFnrsujcjRiKSLaZjW4NTwuJfIC7c2eqegTSVpQO9twNIY6mOVr2GFJwDTISSYVhNASsTEurYyJK5qVgRgCHguxX0KqQBpeXyyg8Bf3LGLNQZbV9PIwilZof9Y/s320/20231012_170312.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Livia gets sandy on the beach</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjntXoVsPYhfyNg8IjQ356QVO-AivEwBDUOf3ZaxseI6z9x_depGJQTf8tdktHiYt8ngm5vgWBp6YWjhBobsWRhU_-51f6uadhZV4FFDjFO_O86Jw6iEq6Ymk_NE8mmpsGpbZKmAaiw911EwzbERERrK2bKXh6YEsIO39kgrAJR4o6dUGSBFApVpYjkQV0/s4032/20231012_183701.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2268" data-original-width="4032" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjntXoVsPYhfyNg8IjQ356QVO-AivEwBDUOf3ZaxseI6z9x_depGJQTf8tdktHiYt8ngm5vgWBp6YWjhBobsWRhU_-51f6uadhZV4FFDjFO_O86Jw6iEq6Ymk_NE8mmpsGpbZKmAaiw911EwzbERERrK2bKXh6YEsIO39kgrAJR4o6dUGSBFApVpYjkQV0/s320/20231012_183701.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The funfair at Pobla de Farnals</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHaEEYjDRT8uLVRr7MX0fuARqmGOAzvGSpRM8o0IbM1Rp2KGSs8ku7ugcrvBVmf7I_PYqAVlzR29k7nYErMdxrifAT1F-a_kIYoIO7S4EFiIt5CAc1EkaYgljv664lth0aNAb52eR2Heyp9wjptVZPDQjUrWqSzlp17C8jOQI0hJwb6KdvprHJLOlWyKg/s4032/20231012_184624.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2268" data-original-width="4032" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHaEEYjDRT8uLVRr7MX0fuARqmGOAzvGSpRM8o0IbM1Rp2KGSs8ku7ugcrvBVmf7I_PYqAVlzR29k7nYErMdxrifAT1F-a_kIYoIO7S4EFiIt5CAc1EkaYgljv664lth0aNAb52eR2Heyp9wjptVZPDQjUrWqSzlp17C8jOQI0hJwb6KdvprHJLOlWyKg/s320/20231012_184624.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Livia goes for a drive</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfmzDxqq5D2EIIvzXDNHNww0A7OHBCiQSrHlyQo-hhGopylNGd43_8lgtB7JPmNiIudtVwy-c3r7k6UcLrzHoU43aA1hkehzor-wU_Rh5eENcTWC5pr8jJLa8W0ngxWHutm0eXLedxEyCRTrJIg2gW3h_rvVEGsshiIVlBxUU0Rew1Ibt960FOkxVifz4/s4032/20231012_185953.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="2268" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfmzDxqq5D2EIIvzXDNHNww0A7OHBCiQSrHlyQo-hhGopylNGd43_8lgtB7JPmNiIudtVwy-c3r7k6UcLrzHoU43aA1hkehzor-wU_Rh5eENcTWC5pr8jJLa8W0ngxWHutm0eXLedxEyCRTrJIg2gW3h_rvVEGsshiIVlBxUU0Rew1Ibt960FOkxVifz4/s320/20231012_185953.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Milda jumps for joy</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipvZtTAETAsowVQHDFYdeMkZvdu913TNVZT-Jgru4fDHG50hhwhBgVwIuzIfbT4Nx28TIuyhStYJm-4rF-fIJEux5qMCCk2MCdzpP98VsCWINABM_4b4kxhwGm7YBGCOySkjPoM3K6SFmzedS7JB0_f3t3vw3oXUuS7310JG33jtxlzR7uWTQM2fGEWH4/s4032/20231014_122922.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="2268" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipvZtTAETAsowVQHDFYdeMkZvdu913TNVZT-Jgru4fDHG50hhwhBgVwIuzIfbT4Nx28TIuyhStYJm-4rF-fIJEux5qMCCk2MCdzpP98VsCWINABM_4b4kxhwGm7YBGCOySkjPoM3K6SFmzedS7JB0_f3t3vw3oXUuS7310JG33jtxlzR7uWTQM2fGEWH4/s320/20231014_122922.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our little supermodel</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgakOdvYfSGQWwbpH4FSf03lMZjyfs9QElLh16rl5K1gHrUTSM8ESjA4P5Ubi-iQTXDbm4kvB_tZCmYhACDzrR7oAlHzCmx9om_ED7rLPQLmW68aW8RyR0OozcZLu2vItIkZdy6LSUoaQZzQu34NT0jm94RQydbOvlcqC9DYs6veF1PMl_DFV98SCGEtHI/s4032/20231025_175606.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2268" data-original-width="4032" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgakOdvYfSGQWwbpH4FSf03lMZjyfs9QElLh16rl5K1gHrUTSM8ESjA4P5Ubi-iQTXDbm4kvB_tZCmYhACDzrR7oAlHzCmx9om_ED7rLPQLmW68aW8RyR0OozcZLu2vItIkZdy6LSUoaQZzQu34NT0jm94RQydbOvlcqC9DYs6veF1PMl_DFV98SCGEtHI/s320/20231025_175606.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The smell of coffee is enough to put Dainoris off - thankfully</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjST_4A4CFykSA1-KE2jKfmB1kELMrYpM5WzaaTbdYQMpE8xLU9-lCLO1oWQ0a2WUEeTEU-2xlnLZDMhm8LYgzUNVz2-YhkGNWtB9YiWt5bZ2h468EGYNksZwxKhEOiNur_VTNvb_OrgrWePgbPNmx4jXBhf175zKms_p1FQQqCDFpEj_I0ffPcZwznjJ8/s4032/20231025_180504.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2268" data-original-width="4032" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjST_4A4CFykSA1-KE2jKfmB1kELMrYpM5WzaaTbdYQMpE8xLU9-lCLO1oWQ0a2WUEeTEU-2xlnLZDMhm8LYgzUNVz2-YhkGNWtB9YiWt5bZ2h468EGYNksZwxKhEOiNur_VTNvb_OrgrWePgbPNmx4jXBhf175zKms_p1FQQqCDFpEj_I0ffPcZwznjJ8/s320/20231025_180504.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The shopping centre opposite the massive City of Arts and Culture</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiXuAogIh3DapzgRYD5sJgAasX0VFdLjg3uinzWCLdOHgvOOtU8taFDeR7wNrzLQZaE28Kk9gJXf8xizXia8kr6m-zQoOJRtAEe1t4BELKY_PEntcvZ8jIW8cX6ya1vIM3LdlyFJA05YjyxGK7JAD9u4qMmXLtWtss2hEYzsVTVbSkkankMTBVaTWxGfc/s4032/20231025_181647.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="2268" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiXuAogIh3DapzgRYD5sJgAasX0VFdLjg3uinzWCLdOHgvOOtU8taFDeR7wNrzLQZaE28Kk9gJXf8xizXia8kr6m-zQoOJRtAEe1t4BELKY_PEntcvZ8jIW8cX6ya1vIM3LdlyFJA05YjyxGK7JAD9u4qMmXLtWtss2hEYzsVTVbSkkankMTBVaTWxGfc/s320/20231025_181647.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Livia likes heights</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiomJ37eaSUzR52oSJDEBA3GZNfkkIst95ZH2eVPzN-gODviAOPjCC5Q550TNlNUSPc28ux1w2Skegwnk-ArtnOFG09zjNtKfdVusUN-Ya9nfKy8RcztCRTSymUWlwPtv-60SEAb7qbJ4trw2py86L4YTVP8j1jqjBDsGKRqt4vIdp-CRwT8vZ8Uce6MN8/s4032/20231018_082333.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2268" data-original-width="4032" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiomJ37eaSUzR52oSJDEBA3GZNfkkIst95ZH2eVPzN-gODviAOPjCC5Q550TNlNUSPc28ux1w2Skegwnk-ArtnOFG09zjNtKfdVusUN-Ya9nfKy8RcztCRTSymUWlwPtv-60SEAb7qbJ4trw2py86L4YTVP8j1jqjBDsGKRqt4vIdp-CRwT8vZ8Uce6MN8/s320/20231018_082333.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunrise viewed from our terrace</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><br />LitskiLitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16549641203135530584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-896656160555503731.post-418137052928107642023-10-09T12:07:00.005+02:002023-10-09T12:07:42.149+02:00From Luxembourg to Spain: Saving Private Belongings<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4ZBZEDtIwEJ0_TW0tbw9XRvEGGhslNAxCcc9F3UAVv4qZlhrzibDOu4BYc8tgfxclvxBwTo74WE7umRM90eobhw4XOzRSPUoKZ8SaNBZlSiAPPPgO5xOLT8K_OSMRJB3VedL3RVHNyLUUYlUemjRRZX-EKsJdEvOrbSKbpGXEhYMdeZdl7dIH0BY3RM4/s4032/20230811_141924.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="2268" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4ZBZEDtIwEJ0_TW0tbw9XRvEGGhslNAxCcc9F3UAVv4qZlhrzibDOu4BYc8tgfxclvxBwTo74WE7umRM90eobhw4XOzRSPUoKZ8SaNBZlSiAPPPgO5xOLT8K_OSMRJB3VedL3RVHNyLUUYlUemjRRZX-EKsJdEvOrbSKbpGXEhYMdeZdl7dIH0BY3RM4/s320/20230811_141924.jpg" width="180" /></a></div><p>You have 6 weeks until your kids need to go
to school somewhere else in Europe. You have a house full of effects from your
life. You have kids that don’t know the meaning of the phrase “tidy up”, and
you need to make sure you can carry on your professional activities when you
get to wherever it is you’re going. What is your first emotion? If it is sheer
panic, you are probably right. But it’s the second emotion that will count, and
that is focus. Focus on what you need to do, when you need to do it, and how
you can get it done. Our list was daunting, the time frame virtually
impossible, but it had to be done if we were to make sure our three children were to carry on their education.</p><p class="MsoNormal">It went something like this:</p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-GB">Call the real estate branch of
our bank and request to put our house up for sale<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-GB">Close down our Luxembourg
office<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-GB">Make a list of countries and
cities we would be interested in moving to<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-GB">Check out their suitability:
house prices, schools and quality of life<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-GB">Single out some schools and
apartments, and start calling round (not just emailing and waiting for a reply)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-GB">Arrange a couple of days to go
to your chosen destination in order to tap on a few doors, because estate
agents don’t like to be accessible, unless they are confronted with you in
person<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-GB">Order a large container to
throw out everything we don’t want to take with us: furniture, fittings,
flooring, general waste, etc.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-GB">Gather all the other waste from
the house, sort it, and throw it out: electric, paper/carton, glass, dangerous
materials, etc.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-GB">Put all the utility services on
alert that we’re going to close them off<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-GB">Sign out of the local commune<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-GB">Get the car serviced<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-GB">Start gathering things we are
going to need, such as different sized house-move boxes, tape, markers, bin
bags, etc.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-GB">Begin washing all our dirty
clothes and then do systematic washes of used ones, so that we can pack them
easily when we need to.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-GB">Look for a person to keep an
eye on our house until we can return to get more stuff: feed the cat, water the
plants, put out the remaining rubbish on the right days<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-GB">Start looking for a storage
place or garage to get our stuff delivered to once the house is sold<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-GB">Plan our route to our destination
including booking stopovers – that would mean setting a deadline to get it all
done<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">And start doing all this as soon as we can
– no thinking “I’ll take a few more days off and then get down to it”, because
we risk being assaulted by all manner of extra tasks we never thought of. Take
this road, and you will find yourself wallowing in a massive pile-up of
uncompleted items. Also, don’t do one and then another – juggle five or six of them all at
the same time, prioritising one above the other.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">We had to do all this while in the
relatively close background, three screaming, self-obsessed kids on their
summer holidays kept picking fights with each other, sabotaging our sorting
piles, and asking us for juice, food, a push on the swing, or to fix something they'd messed up.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Anyway, first task: deciding where to go
and taking steps to organise our successful installation there. As well as
plenty of housing and affordable living, the number one priority above all else
was finding a place with more affordable international schools than where we
were currently living. I looked at various countries on the International
Schools Database: Denmark had very few options, although it was cheap. France
was OK, but we were a little wary of all the current social and economic
problems there, plus their inclusive schooling was also not very developed.
Czechia was high on the list, but its international schools were almost as
expensive as Eton or Harrow – why cater to a lot of ordinary folk, when you can
put the prices up and have smaller classes with just sons and daughters of bandits
and oil magnates? Italy was out of the question – we went there in April to
check it out and I think the hype is really exaggerated. Sweden would be tricky
to carry on working as entrepreneurs. In Ireland, we could just put them in state
schools and the system would take care of it, but when I saw the house prices
(and the weather forecast), I got cold feet. Which is, incidentally, also what
I would get if I went paddling in the Irish Sea at any time of year.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">It seemed that Spain was turning out to be
a serious contender. Or rather, the only contender. I checked out some cities
and found many had more than enough facilities, and the house prices in many
areas were quite acceptable. There were plenty of cities with international
schools and many had the right facilities.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">But where?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Barcelona would be great, but it has a
serious crime problem and it’s full of tourists. Madrid is a lovely city but
it’s a cauldron in summer. Malaga would be a wonderful place, but the driving
habits there are frightening – I think it’s where even Grand Theft Auto refused
to go. Bilbao, San Sebastian, Zaragoza, Granada, Cordoba, all utterly
marvellous places, but possibly a little too small for what we need.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Hold on… what about Valencia? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">You know sometimes when you’re looking for
something and you look everywhere else except *right there* because that’s
where it’s much too visible? It’s right under your nose, and that’s why you
can’t see it. Like when you’re in the kitchen and you’re looking for the knife
you were just using. You look around it, over it, even through it, even though it's so visible and so evidently close that you would probably put your hand straight on it if you were blindfold. Well that
was Valencia: I don’t quite know how we kept on missing it on the map, quite
frankly. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Qualities: <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-GB">A host of international schools
all vying for your business, keeping the prices reasonable and the competition
hot. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-GB">Located at the very top of the
Forbes Magazine <i>Best City To Live In</i> Index, ranked first in quality of
life and third in ease of settling in by Internations, it has everything
Barcelona has but without being Barcelona: it’s between the sea and the
mountains, it has excellent food, splendid architecture, a superb social life,
an impressive number of cultural events, and such glorious weather almost all year round. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-GB">What it has that Barcelona
doesn’t is also worth mentioning: low crime, friendly people, competent
governance, and a likeable football team come to mind, but I’m sure there are
others.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">I had that instinctive feeling that I
didn’t need to search any more. This was our next project, and hopefully the
last one: we were going south – quite a long way south. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6KS7PDqGzU11sAje0yqlruB7POAPv9So5wqxTQIJzOGqYoTuw2t46t-7npBZwX94zXjp_mNIxxqT0Nk_0H6ttaHMlhwtDqOHCzpGyCXz9Bcrw1aTXc-H58zgDya4OOM-B0VnuMYfCa_p4dEbnnOPhftRjA_cu2xcEnHlSSvBqA9fDAQGHdRmePcyPd34/s4032/20230712_185517.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2268" data-original-width="4032" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6KS7PDqGzU11sAje0yqlruB7POAPv9So5wqxTQIJzOGqYoTuw2t46t-7npBZwX94zXjp_mNIxxqT0Nk_0H6ttaHMlhwtDqOHCzpGyCXz9Bcrw1aTXc-H58zgDya4OOM-B0VnuMYfCa_p4dEbnnOPhftRjA_cu2xcEnHlSSvBqA9fDAQGHdRmePcyPd34/s320/20230712_185517.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">It was vital, therefore, that I went there
to check it out, visit a few important schools and estate agents, and see which
areas of the city would be good to live in. I booked a flight from Luxembourg
via Zurich, and found a cheap room in a student residence for a few days. We
had a Zoom call with one school, and they invited me to visit them when I
arrived, although I felt they weren’t so keen on us. I resolved to go there
anyhow, just to see the potential. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">The impressive grounds were located quite
far outside the city centre, in a plush neighbourhood surrounded by villas and
parks. When I arrived, there was a summer English camp going on and the place
was full of Spanish kids enjoying the utterly amazing facilities. But it was
more like a sports academy than a school – there were copious sports facilities
catering to basketball, football, tennis, golf, track & field. Inside there
were classrooms with every piece of technology you could ever need – every room
looked like as if the Starship Enterprise had been a children’s space ship. The
immaculate marble-and-glass corridors led to different other facilities, such
as a fully equipped air-conditioned theatre with seating for well over a
hundred, a canteen the size of Gatwick Airport’s arrivals area, tree-festooned
walkways, and a rather large trophy room displaying the school’s impressive sporting
and academic achievements over the years.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">The mouth-watering services and programme
on offer, plus the facilities, location and fee structure made me realise that
maybe back in Luxembourg we were being swindled. No, hold on, not swindled,
robbed. Pickpocketed. Mugged. Cheated. Fleeced. Ripped off. Defrauded. Conned.
Hustled. Deceived. Hoodwinked. Shafted. Taken for idiots. Imagine paying a vast
amount of money to a school to turn your child into a fully-functioning
citizen, only for them to tell you they’re not prepared to let her repeat the
year and grant you the time to put in place the appropriate professional help. What
kind of crapulous business model are you running when you ask thousands of euro
for your rather limited and unexciting services, and you act like you are the
client? What school – remember that, school – wants all of the children in its
care to conform to the system rather than to adapt the school to the
individual? The visit in Valencia had raised a whole new level of questions
that my brain was finding hard to answer. All I could think about was that we
had not yet wasted our children’s education, and it was vital that we put
everything in place by September. It was the second week of July.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">At the end of the rather hasty visit, the
head teacher said something that made me feel we needed to look elsewhere: “we
can take Livia for a week and see how she gets on.” That was never going to
work for me, but one of the advantages of Valencia is that it has more international
schools than the entire <a href="https://www.granderegion.net/en/The-Greater-Region-at-a-Glance">Grande Région</a>, which covers 5 regions in 4 countries.
So I aimed my intentions towards a lovely British school in another suburb that
had similar facilities and a powerful reputation. I called them up, they
immediately arranged a Zoom call for a few days later, we told the head about
our situation, and she sent us the enrolment forms. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">To say that this woman is a mere head
teacher is doing her a disservice. She is a ninja businesswoman and astute service
provider. Every email answered, even if only a few words, all procedures
explained, and all steps towards onboarding in September laid out in front of
us. We were in. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Next, we needed a place to live. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Another thing I did while I was in Valencia
was go to some estate agents. I had the impression there were going to be some
heavier obstacles in this area, especially as Valencia is quite a popular place
to move to. I visited a few of them, dropped my details and what I was looking
for, and never heard anything again. Except from one; and yes, another ninja
businesswoman. See the previous article for details on how we procured our
beachfront apartment.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">I also got reacquainted with the Spanish
character and way of life. I should elaborate at this point – back in the
twentieth century, my family had a strong connection to Spain. We had relatives
living in three parts of the country, and my grandparents had a holiday home in
the mountains near Malaga. They were special times – I loved the Spanish work
ethic, the positive attitude, wicked sense of humour, strong sense of
community, laid-back outlook, and ability to distinguish between fun and duty.
And I had a proper revisit to these feelings as soon as I landed. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">It was a bizarre, disorienting feeling,
though, because I had been out of this environment for well over a couple of
decades. But it all felt so very familiar, so very comforting, and so
indispensable at that point. If I was going to leave behind my house that I had
poured 15 years of toil into, I wasn’t going to take a backwards step. And
here, in this blisteringly hot climate, with the nightly wind set to <i>hair
dryer</i> status and the daytime temperatures reaching a point where even the
devils of hell had gone back downstairs to cool off, I had my epiphany. I was, weirdly,
going back to my original second home.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">But there was a daunting task awaiting us
before we got there: there was a house full of our junk that needed emptying,
we needed to throw out a lot of stuff that we hadn’t used or seen for years, deal
with some crap left over from the previous owners, and find a solution for a
grumpy, deaf, twenty-year-old cat called Baldrick. Oh yes, and I needed to plan
our route to Spain, dates and places to stay on the way.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">I arranged for a container to be delivered
to the driveway, and we started to divide all the junk that couldn't go in there into categories to take
to the dump, a 35-minute drive away at the other end of Trier. I never realised
how much utter rubbish the average household could accumulate over time. It is
amazing. I did several runs to the dump, one of them just with electric bits
and pieces: old blenders, a few outdated printers, a ton of battery-operated
gadgets, obsolete chargers, lamps, broken plugs, sections of the Internet, old
modems, clocks, and even a battery-operated oil painting. Don’t ask me what
that’s all about, I have no idea, but it was a thing left in the bowels of the
house by a previous occupier. Kirsten said she supposed it played a tune.
Nobody buys that kind of trash, unless it’s a gift from someone who hates you!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">The days went by, July finished and August
kicked in. We had boxes and boxes full of our stuff, packed high and stashed in
the flat below. I went up and down the steps carrying so much of it, I lost 4 kilos
in just 3 weeks. Our gardener, Benek, had also helped to get the place in
order, and without him I don’t know what we would have done. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">The children were on summer holiday, and
they were constantly asking us when we were going on holiday. I felt bad
because we had so much to do and so little time, but yes, we all deserved a
holiday. We were supposed to start our rental period on 1 September, so I
decided that we should finish up on 21 August and the next day make our way
southwards. I would find us a good seaside holiday home near Valencia for the week before we
needed to move in, and arrange a couple of places to stay on the way that would count
as a holiday.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">One of the best ways to experience Spain is
to go to a place where the Spanish go on holiday. The picturesque town of Peñíscola,
about an hour and a half’s drive north of Valencia, is one of those places.
It’s a quiet, unassuming resort, but it’s a beauty. Two enormous rocky
promontories, one with the old city on it, a small harbour, and some beaches
in-between that are protected from the main sea.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">I found a delightful house in a typical
urbanisation up some very windy roads with its own garage and terrace
overlooking the sea – we would stay there for our final week from 25 August to
1 September. Now I could fill in the gaps to get there. I love planning holiday
itineraries, and my first and most important tip is planning backwards is so
much easier. Book your final destination first, it’s really then just a matter
of filling in the gaps.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">I used Google Maps to search for a good
place in France to stay for a couple of nights, quite a long way south. I
decided we should leave early on 22 August, a Tuesday, and get as far as
possible towards our end point. Ambitious, but doable. I landed on Camping et
Chambres d'hôtes du Moulin d'Onclaire, near the delightful town of Privas in
the Ardèche. It had a swimming pool, and we could stay in a pavilion tent under
some trees next to a river. I thought the second leg should be less ambitious so
we could enjoy the Ardèche more and have a shorter drive. I found a delightful
little bed and breakfast in the foothills of the Pyrenees about an hour from
the Spanish border called Maury Cat Studio 66, where we would stay one night
before our week in Peñíscola.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">It was all set, but time was pressing. I
would tell you what the months of July and August were like: imagine someone
gets a fire hose and sprays you for days on end. Not with water, but with an endless
number of tasks. You need to do some more packing, but you </span>also need to collect
rubbish, but you need to sweep the toys up that the kids spread all over the
house, but you need to go shopping for food, but you need to put some washing
on, but you need to clear up the terrace, but you need to go to the council to
sign out of the community, but you need to arrange some meetings with a few
people to say goodbye, but you need to buy more boxes, but you need to occupy
the children before they turn the place into a set from Lord Of The Flies, but
you need to cook dinner, but you need to call the agent in Spain for an update,
but you need to put all these things in some kind of order of urgency so that
you don’t have to choose one of two impossible options later.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">You get the idea.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Anyhow, by way of a miracle, we managed to fit
everyone in the car on the morning of the 22<sup>nd</sup> of August. I think it
was just getting to the point where we said “we’ve done enough, we can’t look
at it any longer, let’s just go.” So we did, with the aim of returning the
following month for a few days to put the rest in order. Good intentions, good
intentions…<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">We unceremoniously sped off towards our new
life without looking back. From what I remember, we stopped at a few places as
we moved southwards, and each time, we noticed an increase in the intensity of
the heat. It was really telling that by the time we reached Lyon, we were starting
to flinch each time we stepped out into the sun.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Arriving at the first destination at about
7, we immediately went to the local town, Privas. Having parked the car, we
headed into the blazing evening light to enjoy what was left of the day, sweat
a little, and allow the children to stretch their legs. There would be no set
bedtime that night, not now we were finally able to let go of many of the
obligations. Saying that, I think it still took six weeks for us to fully expunge
the stress and tension of the summer: for a long time, we were still quite edgy
and tense, always responding to every noise or movement, and finding certain simple tasks too heavy to complete, or even start.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">The day after, we spent the day at the pool just generally trying to detoxify. However, another rather silly annoyance
crept up on us: the brakes of the car were worn and scraping metal on metal. I
was in no mood to drive all the way to Valencia with dodgy brakes, not now we
were south of Lyon, the kind of dividing line between northern and southern
driving habits (with a few southern exclaves, such as Paris and Brussels – and for
those who know, Esch-Sur-Alzette too…).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">So I drove to a number of garages in the
hope someone would be able to change them as quickly as possible. In the French
countryside. In August. In a heatwave. A woman at the only garage that said it
could fix the situation told me they would order the part and it would be there
the following day, when we had to head south. It was the only possibility, so I
took it. It was a garage about 10 kilometres from our campsite, so the
assistant, a boy of about 19, was given the task of driving me back. The car was a tiny Renault Clio from about the late nineties and I had to heave my legs
in to be able to close the door.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">That evening, we ate at the camp site’s
restaurant, a lovely courtyard terrace next to the swimming pool. There was to
be a concert afterwards, and we were encouraged to stay. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKn_OuBDBAehaD4Qc9vMPeyFI5onIj9BVf1XYHMSFMqXK3xBztUZ7Wa8oP8p4_62IlSP-ODHIde2XWhi7UamVS1BfPUguGTrfBwqcflu0tBbRkUT7feFib9lsrMvJcOek0B0EYxJrlcKOowT2jyk0h5mzg6Tzx1CTMIkpet6oZB3OmtXvqDJS-QWG5ehI/s4032/20230824_153948.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2268" data-original-width="4032" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKn_OuBDBAehaD4Qc9vMPeyFI5onIj9BVf1XYHMSFMqXK3xBztUZ7Wa8oP8p4_62IlSP-ODHIde2XWhi7UamVS1BfPUguGTrfBwqcflu0tBbRkUT7feFib9lsrMvJcOek0B0EYxJrlcKOowT2jyk0h5mzg6Tzx1CTMIkpet6oZB3OmtXvqDJS-QWG5ehI/s320/20230824_153948.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>There is something about the French and
their stomachs that I will never understand. When the French go on holiday, so
do their taste buds... and their principles. Between September and June, the
French will look down upon the Americans and the British, the Dutch and the
Germans, even the Danes, and pour scorn upon their eating habits, always dwelling on how
superior their food is (despite there being a lot of cross-over), and yet when you
go to any French holiday resort, the only thing they’ll serve is brown or
orange-coloured fried food, often straight out of the freezer. There’ll be nuggets, breaded
chicken, croquettes, fish sticks, meat balls, these thin, quick-cook fries that
crisp up if you leave them in for a minute longer, and they’ll put them all in
the deep fat fryer. There will always be loads of ketchup, an almost
blasphemous ritual that the French seem keen on keeping alive as soon as July
and August roll round. I remember my mother refused ketchup in the house, but
in France, this is the summer staple. And they’ll charge you as much for this
fattening brown pile of factory-made offal and plant-based leftovers as your
local restaurant back home would for a decent salad, followed by an entrecôte,
vegetables and potatoes roasted in garlic and rosemary, plus dessert and a
glass of decent red wine. Not to forget a proper coffee, not the powdered crap
they lazily make themselves as soon as the calendar reaches July. The French will
forever bang on about their “marvellous cuisine”, even trying to bully UNESCO
into giving it World Heritage status, yet they themselves are close to the top
of the world rankings for fast food consumption. Go figure.<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Anyway… rant over, back to the point. The
evening passed well enough, and we had a lot of fun with everyone else at the concert/party.
The performers, a man with an electric guitar and a digital mixer, and a woman
vocalist, both local, would regale us with some proper rock songs, many in
English. This, despite them not speaking a word of the language. They played really
well and their hilarious pronunciation of the English lyrics was just the tonic
I needed to cheer me up. I loved <i>Suite Homme à la Bama</i> by Aerosmith, <i>Wok Ziss Ouais</i>
by Aerosmith, <i>Ail Oué Tou'elle </i>by AC/DC, <i>Aneuze Houane Bail Tzeu Deust</i>
by Queen, <i>Aille L’oeuf Roquenrol</i> by Joan Jett, and <i>Chize Gotze Louque
</i>by Roxette. Despite that, they were a lovely pair, and they really knew how
to get us all dancing. I’d have hired them if I lived locally.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">In the morning, I called the garage to see
when I should come and get the car. They said the part would be in but they
weren’t sure when. The prodigiously long, unnecessary rural French lunchtime
came and went, no car. By 3pm, I was crawling up the walls. We should have been
gone by then – our hosts for that evening were preparing dinner for us, and it
was 360 kilometres away. Another intolerable hour ticked on, no call. The
children were having a thoroughly great time all day at the pool, so the fact
that Daddy was having an internal meltdown was immaterial.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Finally, at about half past four, the
garage called to say the car was ready, and the boy would pick me up in twenty
minutes. I told Kirsten to have all our belongings waiting outside the tent and
went there expecting to pay, pick up my car keys and get the hell out of there.
Nope. The client before me had a list of demands and gave an explanation each
time: “The front left tyre might need some air – I was driving back from
Carrefour on Tuesday – or was it Monday? Oh no, it wasn’t Carrefour, it was Leclerc,
and there was one of those potholes that you can’t avoid. The local council should be ashamed. Anyway, I didn’t see it until
too late so I was going too fast. Must have been about 40. Could have been faster though. Anyway, it hit the
pothole and my coffee went all over the dashboard, I dropped my cigarette on the floor,
and the suspension took quite a hit.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Oh please STFU, I have a bunch of kids
thinking Daddy’s hidden the car somewhere and I have to be in the Pyrenees by
8. I interrupted the conversation after a while and the chatty guy said “oh, I didn’t
see you there!” I wanted to say, “yeah, no surprise there… you’re so self-absorbed,
no wonder you hit a massive pothole. Why don’t you move your gaze away from the end of your own nose, you boring old troll, and take a wider look around you!” But instead I said “sorry for
interrupting this pleasant little conversation, but I do have quite a pressing
need for my car.” Regretfully, I held in my utter rage, because despite firstly
the little devil on my left shoulder telling me to give any idiots and time
wasters a good verbal slapping, and secondly the lack of an angel on my right
shoulder keeping me virtuous, there is a terrifying Kirsten-shaped leviathan at
home waiting to murder me for not having a placatory, well-meaning, non-confrontational attitude, even among people who really need to be told they're the main problem in their friends' and family's lives.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">It’s a weird, paradoxical, almost hypocritical situation: she has a distaste to
point out other people’s idiocies or despicable attitudes, so as not to cause a diplomatic incident, or worse, to offend the bastard, yet I might get a full half-hour
sermon on putting too much salt in the pasta water. Believe me, the feeling of
self-loathing for not telling a stranger he’s cycling in the middle of the road
by hooting my horn loudly right behind him is better than the Full Kirsten Lecture
awaiting me if I did do it. But sometimes temptation does win, and I will take the verbal fallout heading my way.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">We hit the road at twelve minutes after five.
I sent a message to the hosts with our excuses but that we were definitely on
the way, and they said not to worry, they would wait. Having committed a few
minor traffic infractions, we got there at two minutes after nine, and it was
truly worth the stress – from the front, it looked like an unassuming row house
on a very steep hill with some very dodgy surfaces, but the view on the other
side was simply breathtaking. You walked through a huge room containing a
proper, professional kitchen, passing tasteful but engaging décor, into the
adjoining entertainment room containing an immense dining table, and a circular
sofa for properly cosy moments (I’m quite sure that sofa could tell a few
stories).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Our hosts were a couple in their fifties
with the attitude and outlook of people half their age. They were in the midst
of preparing our dinner when we arrived, so we were escorted to our room. We
left through the back door, where there was a terrace overlooking the slope,
and up a metallic spiral staircase to a huge wooden platform. Our room was
through some hermetically-sealed sliding doors. It was so perfectly laid out in
a nautical style and even had a mini cinema at the back. The children’s room
was off to the side and had enough playful accessories to keep them
entertained, but it was the terrace that was the star. It was dark, the moon
was coming up, and we could make out the mountains in the back, the valley
below, and the trees straddling the river. I was impatient to see what it
looked like in the morning… <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Dinner was served – a truly impressive salad
to start with, which could have filled me up on its own. But then came a dish
of local sausages, potatoes and summer vegetables. Believe me, about five years
ago, I would have eaten the lot. But then, I was 30 kilos heavier and had a
penchant for assuring an empty plate.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Dessert was equally delicious, and we were
thoroughly impressed with the entire experience. We moved to the terrace, where
it had got a lot cooler, for cigars and a nightcap, then we went off to sleep. Our
quarters, up the metallic spiral staircase, were not to everyone’s liking…
Dainoris needed his hand held and Milda was a little sceptical to start with,
but in the light of the morning, I was sure the situation would be different. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">And yes, it was. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbqcykx8gj7MC4kpDzQdS26NN_jUgd3W7AXIOq4NvC3dSW5ahA0WniQ9bxMbIeNWBKTuSKXS8hkoFd1lKF97tmAijDFgGnoOSarJTd7JU4-uHtUw_fADPL4Ex6pvpivlQRVRWUb7Y_dy1QxQbePTXGEM7HAz8VkhUUmAHbmM7JjIRbYyxbMIAqGr4cCzg/s4032/20230825_083831.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2268" data-original-width="4032" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbqcykx8gj7MC4kpDzQdS26NN_jUgd3W7AXIOq4NvC3dSW5ahA0WniQ9bxMbIeNWBKTuSKXS8hkoFd1lKF97tmAijDFgGnoOSarJTd7JU4-uHtUw_fADPL4Ex6pvpivlQRVRWUb7Y_dy1QxQbePTXGEM7HAz8VkhUUmAHbmM7JjIRbYyxbMIAqGr4cCzg/s320/20230825_083831.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>I woke up with the anticipation of a child on
birthday morning, and went over to open the sliding doors and the shutters. I
lost the ability to breathe for a few seconds – the vertiginous rocky mountains,
the fertile valley, the length of the view along the river – it was all so
immense, so wild, so raucous in a silent kind of way. I could happily have just
decided to move in there and then, but there were three kids to take to a
holiday home in Peñíscola, and then there was the little matter of our new life
in Valencia.<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">After a proper breakfast, we thanked our remarkable
hosts and once more got back in the car. An hour passed and we crossed the
border into Spain. The borders between countries in the EU are becoming more
and more difficult to discern, and the difference in my lifetime of crossing into
Spain in the 1980s compared to now couldn’t be more stark. Back then, we had to
pull up at a huge roadside installation and show our papers to some very
strict-looking geezers in odd hats and uniforms who used to make a habit of confiscating cameras, even if they had remained in your bag the whole time. How on earth they could suffer
the heat while wearing a buttoned-up shirt and blazer was as baffling as the
procedure they put us through. On this journey, we hurtled over the frontier without
even thinking about it… it wasn’t until I saw an advert for a restaurant serving
tapas that I realised we had left France. The European Union has a lot of
detractors – but it has made our ability to move around so much easier. We
would never have been able to do what we did back then: just pick everything up
and dump it 1500 kilometres further south without even needing to show our passports.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">We drove some more through the flourishing
landscapes of Catalunya, deciding to pull off the motorway near Lloret de Mar,
where there were surely some places to stop for lunch. We found a roadside
restaurant that had ample parking and I put our long-suffering car under some
trees. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">After what was a perfect “Welcome to Spain”
lunch, we jumped in the car and headed to Peñíscola, still quite a long drive
away, passing exit signs for some of the country’s most well-known tourist
destinations: Palamos, Tossa de Mar, Calella, Blanes, Sitges, Salou, not forgetting
Barcelona, then crossing the Ebro valley before reaching Peñíscola itself. The children
were veering between quietly interested in the scenery outside, to boisterous
and annoying. So it was a particular comfort when we arrived in the town. I
just had to get the keys from the tourist bureau on the other side of the town,
and we’d be all set for our well-deserved holiday. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihyphenhyphenPIO5lv8eVfoM8VoSZDSstdtFEF0Tm9I8R17kEQMHCG_z2doVZUf5x4nDAvmsoL9t-3RNt09hIgAeg-7PMdAH3bgHqSSoeB6Gu9hrX96FjdjJo4UycrhshVnd0rf2wMIhzaC3IquvHoY4pZhQK8v1E0eWH81gEl9M5l8fRke0O6fOoCgz0hHOD0Mvlg/s4032/20230825_195028.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2268" data-original-width="4032" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihyphenhyphenPIO5lv8eVfoM8VoSZDSstdtFEF0Tm9I8R17kEQMHCG_z2doVZUf5x4nDAvmsoL9t-3RNt09hIgAeg-7PMdAH3bgHqSSoeB6Gu9hrX96FjdjJo4UycrhshVnd0rf2wMIhzaC3IquvHoY4pZhQK8v1E0eWH81gEl9M5l8fRke0O6fOoCgz0hHOD0Mvlg/s320/20230825_195028.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>The town itself is a bright, friendly and
laid-back place with a mix of restaurants and bars, tourist tat shops, and mid-range
clothes boutiques. There are two main beach fronts on each side of a huge promontory
containing the old town, with its castle on the top, seeming to rise out of the
land like a massive organ in a theatre. So the first thing we did when we
arrived at about five-thirty and got our keys was to change and head to the
beach. The evening warmth kept everyone on the beach until after half past
eight.<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">The children released a lot of energy that
evening, both there and at the restaurant we went to after, a ranch house with
a sprawling tree-speckled complex of tables and chairs, benches, chaises
longues, sunbeds and deckchairs surrounding a small raised pool with a bridge
over it. The Steakhouse El Campo is a seasonal venue open while there are enough
summer tourists, and it’s run by a German man and his son. The Vater runs the
restaurant in and around the ranch house while his Sohn runs the outdoor bar
and grill near the pool. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-f2Vm2HksltHHnQlogwQ3NJjct9H2s7HLUirwajQm5OLCxnAI9MsMgzZclvzpyyIqPMV4Iasu8eczaH1kDPOulEPxmWwK9ZOC9Q5Nibt5UyENlWXN3bvE6gXu2SPJEu84jPfhCbKhYwK3kl_46SdEcxdgYvtrHI0-S0_kH6_i2JfUiWbNweOeZ2YYXEo/s4032/20230829_203404.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2268" data-original-width="4032" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-f2Vm2HksltHHnQlogwQ3NJjct9H2s7HLUirwajQm5OLCxnAI9MsMgzZclvzpyyIqPMV4Iasu8eczaH1kDPOulEPxmWwK9ZOC9Q5Nibt5UyENlWXN3bvE6gXu2SPJEu84jPfhCbKhYwK3kl_46SdEcxdgYvtrHI0-S0_kH6_i2JfUiWbNweOeZ2YYXEo/s320/20230829_203404.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Now we really felt like we were on holiday.
During the week, we just did some typical tourist activities – visiting the
beach, going to the park, walking in the cool night air, going to bed reasonably
late, and eating local delicacies. We visited a lot of great restaurants and
other places to eat, such as Hogar El Jubilado, an old-style hostelry owned by the
local council and run by an elite team of workers. You queue up to make your
order, they prepare it there and then, and by the time you’ve paid for it, it’s
ready. There were potato salads, seafood salads, Russian salads, tortillas españolas,
meatballs, cheeses, fresh fish dishes, chicken drumsticks, and a whole 1-and-a-half-metre-long
fridge with whatever dessert you could desire. They opened for breakfast at the
crack of dawn with croissants and pains au chocolat and closed at midnight
after the last beer was poured. It was the town’s beating heart, and the people
working there were happy, mischievous and highly efficient.<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">You can tell the quality of the place by
the amount of insolence they are willing to hurl at you, and this place was
right there at the top. Their coffee was tremendous and so was their teasing.
It was here that I said to myself “I think we’re going to be all right.” I’ll
be honest with you, I was still in mourning for our old life, and I often had
moments when I just wanted to cry. Looking back, it was compounded by a deep
fatigue from all the hard work before we left, but it didn’t take away the sting
from having to uproot the entire family from everything they knew. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">All I can say is the younger three were
having the time of their lives, and the last thing on their minds was returning
to our former house in Saarburg and going back to any schools in Luxembourg.
And that was the most comforting thing. Because after this week, we were to
start our new lives and they were to go to school.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">But that is for another post. </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7R3NALOCujuDG1aFx3rtz9bLfbMYP8QUGo8fW2VNO7vl9XrrYvMQPhROlnAJmpm6A2GfjC6YS-xYPjiq1yfkjxFBMOlReg7x-MsHvVdXcenbrVOChwa1s2T8SAsKfKjohc9EJ9RafGut4I0ZbNlO2bBNHBANNYUxckNybrfgEov24bJZIxz42DeKYZhU/s4032/20230829_161407.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2268" data-original-width="4032" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7R3NALOCujuDG1aFx3rtz9bLfbMYP8QUGo8fW2VNO7vl9XrrYvMQPhROlnAJmpm6A2GfjC6YS-xYPjiq1yfkjxFBMOlReg7x-MsHvVdXcenbrVOChwa1s2T8SAsKfKjohc9EJ9RafGut4I0ZbNlO2bBNHBANNYUxckNybrfgEov24bJZIxz42DeKYZhU/w640-h360/20230829_161407.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>LitskiLitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16549641203135530584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-896656160555503731.post-7690742593238801602023-09-05T15:57:00.005+02:002023-09-05T15:57:51.968+02:00Why we moved from Luxembourg to Spain<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDSyiA6Mjktl_0H3e28RbJ8jkFDqgTda1GOgCr0dmHIuLa199jpD7mfhKK7vWiJXene1ZjBvaJpy9QMAdf4v-Ktysr8QumcdS5XqFiDQhrR9fxYPss8W2IFpJbdKQc8S85YDKNC9p5-EJ3VzOfG_cXSz_V4Lu5itoEaWufSBDB-B0gESF6WBtO7k5lXgg/s2016/371470380_962434814866386_6005291187948109137_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1134" data-original-width="2016" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDSyiA6Mjktl_0H3e28RbJ8jkFDqgTda1GOgCr0dmHIuLa199jpD7mfhKK7vWiJXene1ZjBvaJpy9QMAdf4v-Ktysr8QumcdS5XqFiDQhrR9fxYPss8W2IFpJbdKQc8S85YDKNC9p5-EJ3VzOfG_cXSz_V4Lu5itoEaWufSBDB-B0gESF6WBtO7k5lXgg/w640-h360/371470380_962434814866386_6005291187948109137_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">FOR SALE: 5 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 1600sqm land, 100m to supermarket, 200m to bus stop direct to Luxembourg, contact me for details</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">IF YOUR BACK IS AGAINST THE WALL, THE ONLY WAY IS FORWARD<br /><span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Thursday 29 June seemed like such an
ordinary day. I drove the two younger children to their crèche, then took our
five-year-old eldest, Livia, to her speech therapist. We went to the playground
a little afterwards, before I drove her to school ready for lunchtime. When I
arrived, the head teacher asked me to join him in his office. He weirdly called
me by my first name, which I found slightly unsettling. For legal reasons, I will
not mention the name of the school, or any names of those who work in there,
but you can be sure that my account of events is accurate.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Back in winter, at the parent-teacher
meeting, Livia’s teachers had come forward to tell us Livia was showing some
behavioural issues and didn’t want to speak to them in French or German.
Throughout the time, we heard reports of Livia eating leaves, stones, paper,
and taking other children’s hats and throwing them over the fence onto the
footpath that runs next to the school. Having said that, I also noticed that the staff tended to exaggerate the
severity of typical children’s behaviour, for example at the end of the school
day, all children were assembled downstairs in the canteen, and if the noise
levels went above what I would call Thursday Afternoon At A Village Tearoom Level,
the lights would be switched off until the kids went back to being dull and apathetic
zombies again.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Livia’s German teacher in the school had
suggested we send her to a “Special School” in Germany, where they would “look
after her and help her find her place”. A German doctor, at a pre-school
inspection in Trier spent half an hour in his room with her and then declared
that she had autism. We were sure this was not the case – there are certain
very large pointers to autism, and she had very few of them. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">If anything, we thought she had ADHD, but
these so-called professionals were pushing hard to make sure she ended up
isolated from the real world in an age where most education systems are closing
their separationist schools and moving towards a more integrated model. We were
quite adamant that if we reached the point where we were forced to send her to
her certain isolation, we would get the hell out of here.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">It was at about this time we started
getting letters from the local school in Saarburg. The head teacher wanted us
to visit to enrol Livia there. Considering her complete aversion to German,
this was a non-starter. We are not totally sure how she decided to reject
German, but back in 2019, she was in the local child daycare centre here, and
she absolutely hated it, which is why we moved her to Luxembourg in the first
place. So enrolling her there would be a step backwards.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">I remember very clearly, when she was just
two years and four months old, taking her back to her daycare centre in
Saarburg after Christmas. She entered her room and saw her educator, but then
she noticed the head of the school, a rather unsympathetic and businesslike woman.
Livia took one look at her and ran to me screaming. I resorted to get her out
of there and vowed never to put her in a local school again.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Fast-forward to 2023: all of this barrage
of various messages from different people in the school was leading up to
something, of course: the school was trying to expunge someone who didn’t fit
their Sound-Of-Music, Top-Of-The-League-Tables image, and the German authorities
were trying to reclaim one of their own from the clutches of the neighbouring
country.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">The nurse at Livia’s school said she
thought we should send her to the paediatric unit in the CHL Hospital in
Luxembourg to have an assessment. We went there, and the very kind doctor spent
a few sessions getting to know Livia before writing out eight (that’s EIGHT)
prescriptions for various specialists and tests: child psychologist,
ophthalmologist, speech therapist, ergotherapist, ENT doctor, blood test, brain
scan, and one other I have forgotten. These would come in very handy if the
German authorities decided to follow through with their half-hour assessment
and request us to send Livia to a Special School.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">For the next four months, I spent at least
two days in every week driving her from place to place, getting reports and
assessments done. After I told her about the German doctor’s rather rushed assessment,
the psychologist said she was convinced it wasn’t autism and found the method,
state-approved, to reach that conclusion extremely troubling. She also felt
that the school was trying to shake off their own responsibilities towards
Livia. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">The speech therapist had ten sessions with
Livia, and she has advanced very far since those early days where she found it
hard to make conversation. We are coming to the conclusion that along with a
form of concentration deficiency, she also suffers from a crushing lack of
self-confidence; an almost pure form of perfectionism. I should add that all
these appointments had taken their toll on my working life: I am paid per hour,
so I had lost about €2000 in earnings through all these appointments, and spent
about €700 on them, which I wouldn’t get back, because Livia was seeing
specialists in Luxembourg. If I took her to Germany, I would lose even more
time at work, even if the service were free.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">We came to an agreement with the school’s
head teacher that we would like to conclude her tests before we take any
action, and all this could last until way after the end of term. Our idea was,
as she was born at the end of August, it wouldn’t really harm her to repeat the
previous year while we did all the tests necessary to put in place a proper
regime. The head teacher seemed to think this was viable, but he would have to
run it past the board of directors. However, he didn’t think this was a big
issue. We even told him we would be prepared to pay more for any extra outside
help brought in.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">In early March, we had another meeting with
the teachers, and one of them came to me in private to say she thought we
should take precautions and apply to some other schools, just in case. This filled
me with panic so I did just that. We wouldn’t hear until the end of June from
the other schools, but we had to hope we would get in somewhere, or Livia would
be condemned to her solitude.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">In the meantime, Livia was struggling to
communicate with some of her teachers. A few of the after-school carers, who
spoke predominantly English, managed to have a good relationship with her,
plaiting her hair, getting her to draw and paint some elaborate pictures,
playing with the material, but the morning teachers in the learning hours
really saw her differently. They would say Livia would mess up other children’s
artworks, spread sand or soil across the classroom floor, or mix up all the
pieces from different sets of games. On occasion, she would soil herself and
have to be cleaned up. All this happened in the mornings, and was, as far as I
am concerned, a cry for help. The teachers just saw this as an annoyance, and
didn’t really relate it to her state of mind.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">We were “summoned” to a meeting at the
local school in Saarburg to discuss Livia’s options there and we informed her
that under no circumstances would we be sending her to that school. She also
wanted to send Livia to a “Special School” in Trier, which would mean Livia’s
school holidays would be different to mine and to her siblings’. We might never
have a week free where we would be able to be a family again. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">When we arrived at her office, with all
three children because I was going to take them to school directly after, Milda
walked in first. She is nearly three years younger than Livia, but this alleged
“pedagogical professional” astoundingly said “ah, this must be Livia.” I
replied “no, she’s 3 years old, and she’s called Milda.” First mistake.
Throughout the meeting, she didn’t once address Livia or even acknowledge her. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">After 45 minutes in there, the three were
understandably getting a little boisterous. It was at this moment she at long
last spoke to them, rebuking them with the following remark: “this is a school,
we don’t play games here.” Second mistake. I spoke to the children myself,
saying “you heard her, there’s no fun allowed here!” She tried to backtrack,
but I wasn’t going to let her get away with such an outburst. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">She then decided to go for the ultimate in
nonsensical power-play: “yes, well having seen her, I can definitely say she
would be better off in Trier at one of the special schools.” Third mistake. To
which Kirsten and I politely told her to take a long walk off a short pier.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">We really hoped one of the other schools,
where English was the main teaching language, would come through, but
otherwise, another year in the same school repeating the year might help her
grow in confidence while we finished having her assessed. It was the lesser of
the two evils, the other being sent to a German school where she would most
likely flounder and lose any confidence she had picked up.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">In mid-June, we received news from one of
the English-language schools we had applied to: they were sorry to inform us
that Livia had not made the cut. This was a disappointment to us, but having
filled out the enrolment questionnaire, which was clearly designed to spot a
child likely to reduce its ranking in the national table of scholarly
excellence, we were hardly surprised. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">The other English-language school wrote to
us soon after, to say that she was on a waiting list and we would be informed
when a place came free. That might not be for months or even next year, meaning
that our hopes were firmly pinned on her current school. I asked the head
teacher, and he said all the paperwork would be done and he would inform me
when the board of directors had given the green light. I presumed this meant we
were going to be all right. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">I had already planned the summer holiday to
Denmark from 20 July to 8 August down to the second, including stopovers in
northern Germany, ferries, three different rentals, and a birthday lunch for my
50th with my good friend Gustav, who had a house 200m from our rented apartment
on our final week. I had started telling the children about our impending trip,
and showing them pictures of where we were going. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">I had also planned to return to Denmark a
few weeks later at the end of August for Gustav’s wedding. On that note, our
other mutual friends had arranged his bachelor party which would take place the
same weekend as my 50<sup>th</sup> birthday, and it would be a pretty special
time – fishing, hanging around on the beach, camping, and smoking a succulent
piece of meat for 24 hours. I had even got the perfect ruse for his surprise: I
would meet him, take him out for lunch, go for a walk, while other friends
would set up a gorgeous party scene in his backyard overlooking the Baltic Sea
before taking him off to Copenhagen for a night of camping and merriment around
the fire.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">But all that was about to be pulled from
under our feet. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">On Thursday 29 June, I stepped into the
head teacher’s office. He took a deep breath, invited me to take a seat, and
began:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">“It is with the deepest regret and
frustration that I am charged with informing you that the board of directors
will not agree to let Livia remain in the school next year. They don’t think
it’s something this school can handle. We don’t have the space to cater for a
Special Educational Needs child here – as you see, we are already struggling
with the space we have. I am truly sorry, as I thought they were going to agree
to it.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">His eyes were moist and he was holding back
some emotion, but I could tell he regretted ever leading me to believe it would
get the go-ahead. I called Kirsten while I was in his office so that he could
deliver the news twice – it was the least he owed me. Kirsten gave him a
diatribe I don’t think I’ve ever heard her deliver. She went absolutely
berserk, and rightly so. She felt betrayed and let down. He advised us to write
a letter of appeal to the board of directors.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">I left the school, went to my car and let
out the most anguished sounds I have ever let forth from deep inside my soul. I
knew the road had reached its end. This was the point where Livia was sentenced
to a life of unfulfillment and ordinariness. She would never find herself – her
anxiousness would manifest itself and she would forever be stigmatised by her
so-called “condition”. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">It was just before that horrendous meeting
that the leader from the local school in Saarburg sent a menacing email telling
us “time is pressing.” Later on, I found it rather suspicious to get it at that
moment, and my suspicions were confirmed when our neighbour, who works at the
same school, said in a passing conversation that she had heard our application
had been rejected. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">In the days that followed, we decided to
fall back on other contingency plans that we had considered were unlikely to be
required, but we should have some anyway, and that included a list of countries
that would be acceptable to us both. My list was a lot longer than Kirsten’s
but we had two countries in common: Ireland and Spain. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">I looked on the International Schools
Database at various cities in Spain, and did some research on the Irish
education system. Both seemed viable, but it was the cost of living and
especially property prices that swayed us towards Spain. Also, it was going to
be a city, not a glorified village in the middle of nowhere that we would move
to – we are city people at heart, and after 15 years here, it was time to move
back to our roots.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">I stumbled on a very revealing fact:
Spain’s third city, Valencia, has three times more international schools than
the entire country of Luxembourg, and ten times more than our entire state in
Germany. This alone is an appalling indictment of the lack of educational
infrastructure and the unimaginative scarcity of choice in this area. When we
consider Luxembourg is home to almost three-quarters non-native people, it
starts to really exasperate me that the pitifully low number of educational
facilities is woefully oversubscribed. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">It is also an element of shame that one of
the pillars of European integration, the freedom of movement of people, is at
the national level, just a sham. The shining light on the hill of European
identity, that we can live and work in, fall in love in, be educated in any
other European country, is not real. It is kind of a cross between Potemkin and
Schrödinger – it’s there but it isn’t, it’s enshrined in law but it’s not
carried out. You see, in Luxembourg, if you want to work in many sectors, you
are required to have a certain level of Luxembourgish language skills, even
though French and German are also official languages, and English and
Portuguese are pretty prevalent too. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Also, many jobs require certain
qualifications to fill these posts, with some countries (let’s be honest,
everything to the west of the former Iron Curtain) making it mandatory to have
locally recognised certificates. This has caused a crisis of recruitment in
many sectors of employment. But this isn’t unique to Luxembourg: this is being
replicated all over Europe. That’s how EU member states keep immigration down,
and one of the reasons the UK was so popular: because before Brexit, it didn’t
apply such rules. Two of the sectors affected by this are education and
medicine. There are so few psychiatrists catering to youth in Luxembourg, that
they are sent to Belgium or Germany for treatment. Also, there are difficulties
recruiting native speakers to teach foreign languages. Imagine a country like
Denmark, where a qualified Spanish teacher from Spain needs to speak Danish to
teach <i>their own language</i> in a state school. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">A week after the atrocity at Livia’s
school, I came to pick her up for the final time, just before their end-of-term
party. I really didn’t feel like standing there watching the kids give the
parents a performance when I knew Livia would be a bystander. I was sure they
were quietly relieved, too, in a macabre way.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">And a few days later, I flew to Valencia on
a reconnaissance mission: I went to view a potential school for all three
children and to sign in at various rental agencies. The school itself was
ultra-modern, had bigger and better facilities including sports facilities, a
theatre, and a lot of technology. I was dumbfounded at the difference from
Livia’s school, where they weren’t even in possession of a blade of real grass
in the grounds. And it wasn’t as expensive. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Rents in the city weren’t cheap, but less
than Luxembourg for much bigger places. We would probably start off with a
short-term rent and in the meantime find a more permanent place where we could
ship our possessions to. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">I resolved to get the ball rolling.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Upon my return, I started my research. We
put the house up for sale, and started sorting out our stuff into two
categories: what we would take by car in August, and what we would leave here
packed up for when we moved in to a longer-term place. I cancelled my office
contract with the coworking place, and looked for another one in Valencia.
Another point here: there are three times as many coworking places in Valencia
as in Luxembourg. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">This is the right place to go, as I can
find another place to work much more easily if we need to shift the centre of
activity to another area of the city. Furthermore, if the school doesn’t work
out, we have so much more choice. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">I
had also planned a party on 27 August to celebrate my 50<sup>th</sup> birthday
earlier in the month, as well as our 20<sup>th</sup> wedding anniversary on 6
September, and Livia’s 6<sup>th</sup> birthday on 29 August. It was to take
place at a hillside venue with beautiful views of the Saar valley. I had
already sounded out a band to play, and we had written out the invitations.
This was also a victim of circumstance.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">The realisation that we needed to leave was
traumatising – we had finally got things sorted in our lives: the garden was
now almost perfectly how I had planned and conceived it over the last 13 years;
I had a wonderful little office to work in, where my ideas were flowing; I had
started to regain some of my pre-children and pre-Covid social life, meeting up
with old acquaintances again; and I had established a burnishing reputation in
Luxembourg for my professional services, being called on by some of the
country’s most influential citizens. I was also continuing in my active support
of Ukrainians in the country, and had some big ideas.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">All of this was swept out of the door by a
dismissive wave of a hand in a school board room. The period between receiving
this news and arriving at a new destination is an oxymoronic and multi-layered
sensation: <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">First, there is a mix of utter fury and
resentment that everything you know and have built up has been taken away from
you. You think about all the people, places and events that you will no longer
be part of.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Then there is the sheer panic about the
amount of work you need to do in such a short timeframe – find a new place to
live, arrange schools, hire a container to throw out all the stuff you can’t
take with you, pack up your belongings, call various people to arrange a house
sale, plot a way of getting to your new destination, cancel all your
subscriptions, arrange passports for your children, sign out of social and
municipal organisations, arrange for someone to feed your cat for a few weeks
until you can come back and get him, close bank accounts, and the list goes on.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Following this, there is the feeling of the
unknown: how will the children adapt? Can we find a place to live? Are we able
to cope with the stress of it all? Will we have enough time to clear out
thirteen years of life in a house and move it all to Spain?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">And finally, there is the long goodbye. You
spend more time in places you like to be: a kind of drawn-out attack of nostalgia.
We spent every evening in our garden playing with the children, or sitting in
one of the numerous seating places dotted around the garden, looking out at the
view and noticing things we never did before, such as finally seeing our
hibiscus blooming, which it hadn’t done for the past 8 years. I went to the
Danish café in Neudorf more frequently, I took a few detours in the car to see
some of the old places I used to visit, I looked more intently at everything to
try to remember it. I took a lot more photos, although it will be a while before
I will be able to bring myself to look at them.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Moving house will bring about some
difficult decisions that you have to take in cold blood. There are certain
pieces of memorabilia you collect during your lifetime that were nice to keep
at the time as a souvenir, but you maybe shouldn’t hang on to them anymore. A
bottle of very strong alcohol that I received on a hilarious trip around
Slovakia; some notes from my raucous A-Level Law class in 1991; some trinkets I
bought on various excursions.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Then there was a box of old papers and
cards from years past that linked to an occasion, such as a remarkable Georgian
restaurant in Moscow, a pub in a small Scottish village where we had a wild
night, a youth hostel in a haunted castle in the Black Forest, the bus timetable
of a route I took in the mountains of Andalusia, a page from a Polish phone
book with the number of someone I regarded as very special, a rather
flirtatious note tucked into a menu from an admirer in Prague. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">These are things I couldn’t part with, as
they are etched on my soul, but there were other things that I had to let go
of. The memories will grow fainter or even die, but you can’t keep hold of
every morsel of your existence.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">All this has made me understand the plight
of refugees. I am lucky in that I don’t have to head off in a hurry and leave
everything behind; but the feelings that they evoke and the impressions that I
have are similar: I am not leaving on my own terms, I am abandoning the comfort
and familiarity of my home, my professional and leisure activities and telling
myself it’s better where I’m going. I am trying hard to convince myself that
it’s the right thing to do. I am jumping off a cliff and hoping for a soft
landing.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Which brings me to the saga of how we found
our new home: upon hearing the news, I knew I needed to get something sorted
straight away, but I refused to compromise. I had always promised myself that
if we were going to leave our lovely house, it would have to be something very
special indeed. I would go as far as to say that the only reason we remained
here is because of our house – the garden has been my life’s labour over the
last 13 years, and has seen so many changes. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">From being just a plain parcel of grass
with a couple of walnut trees at the top, my garden now has 30 trees, including
a majestic hanging cedar, two cherry trees, four apple trees, a tulip tree, and
the queen of the garden, a magnificent two-coloured maple that provides dappled
shade on our terrace. There are blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, sloes,
redcurrants, roses, cypresses, and even a magnolia so rare, you can count the
number of species in the country on one hand. There is a pond with a bridge
surrounded by pampa grasses and syringa, and just below it a seating area made
up of slate stones in a semicircle where roses and catkin grow side-by-side. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">So as you can imagine, I’m not going to
give this place up so easily. If we were going to move, I would do everything I
could to assure we found something special. Since my youth, where I made some
awful life choices, I resolved to reverse every negative or regretful
occurrence that affected me or those around me by taking affirmative action.
This was one of those times.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">I went to the main real estate website in
Spain, Idealista, and began to search for places to rent within budget. Many of
them were really good for the rate, especially if you compare them with what is
on offer in Luxembourg for the same amount. I wrote to a few of the agents, but
I heard nothing back. Which is why I decided to go to Valencia for a couple of
days myself. Firstly, I wanted to make sure it was the right choice, but
secondly, I wanted to personally visit some of the agents myself, just to make
sure they knew I was serious.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">One of the places I had found on Idealista
was a truly splendid four-bedroom apartment in a gated community about 15
minutes north of the centre, right next to the beach, with a communal swimming
pool, children’s playground, tennis court, ice cream cafés, tapas bars, French
bakery, and its own parking spot. I would have had to be completely nuts to not
even try to apply, even though the queue for the place, if all applicants were
brought together, would probably resemble a Japanese metro station in rush
hour. I sent an enthusiastic message over the website and hoped for the best.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">It was a rent from September to end of June
only, as the owners rent it out in the summer to tourists for a higher weekly tariff
than the off-season monthly rent. Living there would be beyond our wildest
dreams: it would give the children such a fantastic kickstart to their new
lives in Spain. I imagined bringing them home from school, then heading to the
beach for a swim and having dinner in a chiringuito before we went home to bed.
Or the rush they would get hurtling down the five floors to the swimming pool.
I was picturing our ability to sit on the enormous terrace and have dinner in
short-sleeved clothes and sandals while watching the sea. In November. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiewMHWpX09yHU4M5dusv61mi9O5Jc9703la5a4Vz0v9PUx_ecvc9yHEmdajagPI2hyOcMWt-C93gRzJfESgFXOk-S9YOdqOtEROMuC4vHAM3IsM8k4M4-7Dipcbr0z9EZGqZOSWnYYpZI2aHIAWre-NZvenX2WaxohqXuGc4X0OXbXX6h_QuOXcShdAGA/s1600/365005216_1337972036800982_7611645197600402614_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1066" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiewMHWpX09yHU4M5dusv61mi9O5Jc9703la5a4Vz0v9PUx_ecvc9yHEmdajagPI2hyOcMWt-C93gRzJfESgFXOk-S9YOdqOtEROMuC4vHAM3IsM8k4M4-7Dipcbr0z9EZGqZOSWnYYpZI2aHIAWre-NZvenX2WaxohqXuGc4X0OXbXX6h_QuOXcShdAGA/w640-h426/365005216_1337972036800982_7611645197600402614_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A place worth moving to: beach access, swimming pool, parking space, entertainment facilities, children's playground</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">But I was sure I needed to jump through an
enormous number of hoops to get there. Being in Valencia and actually going
along to speak to the agent herself would surely help – I don’t think there are
many who would go so far just for an apartment, but this was different. After
my visit to a potential new school, I called a taxi driver I had befriended
called Toni to drive me to the agency near the outstanding Palace of Sciences
in the south of the city. In 38 degrees heat, I walked the final 500 metres to
the agency, located at the back of an enormous converted warehouse, only to
discover that the woman responsible was not there. Crestfallen, I left my
details and went back to my room on foot in the stifling heat for a siesta
while I figured out what to do for the afternoon.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">But to her credit, she did call me back explaining
the situation and what we would have to do. As I would discover over the coming
three or four weeks, she was a really kind, patient and happy woman called
Mercedes, but when talking business, she also did her job properly. “Are you
aware it’s available only until June next year? Why would this suit you?” I
replied that this would give us the opportunity to look for a more permanent
place to live, and if we found one in the spring, it would allow us time to
send for our stuff and set it up properly. In our conversations, she had a warm
and human approach which made me feel we were actually in with a chance. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">I wasn’t dreaming yet, but I had made
contingency plans. There were a handful of more expensive and smaller
apartments on an Airbnb-style short-term rental website and one of the places
was rather humdrum but fairly adequate for our purposes. It had no access to a
balcony, but it was big enough for us all. I would rent it for a couple of
months until we had bothered enough agents to give us a place. It was near the
beach though, which meant we could at least do something in our free time. It
was the only one perpetually vacant on that website, and it was an instant
book, which is why I considered it our place of last resort. I wasn’t even sure
it was actually real.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">As the weeks went on, Mercedes and I spoke
on a number of occasions, and each time she would prepare me for the next stage
of our application, guiding me through the process. There were times I became
quite despondent as I was getting jittery, and I nearly pressed the button to
apply for our last resort when I saw the advertisement had been removed from
Idealista. But I held on against all hope, even with the start of the school
year only five weeks away.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Three days before my fiftieth birthday, I
received a call from Mercedes, telling me that if I agreed to certain
conditions of residence set in a new Spanish law from May 2023, she would be
able to grant us a rental contract. Did we have a job to go to? I explained
that we were both freelance company owners and were going to set up an office
in Valencia once we were there. Which is true. To Mercedes, I could only say
the truth – she was that type of person.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">I misunderstood the mood slightly, as our
conversations take place in Spanish and I was in a supermarket with a rather
verbose Livia constantly seeking my attention, so following the phone call, I
messaged Mercedes to say if it was a big obstacle, it might be better for me to
find a short-term rental and once I’m there look for something else. Within an
hour, she called back and explained that all we had to do was write a reply to
an email she was sending asking us about how we were going to finance our stay
through work. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">24 hours later, two days before my Big Day,
and a month after my visit to her office, I received email confirmation that,
indeed, we had been granted a rental contract for the highly-cherished
apartment by the sea. Upon reading it, I let out a scream so full of elation
that I got a massive headache within an hour. I think it was also my body
releasing all the toxins of stress it had accumulated since the start of this
ordeal.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">To read about how things went, you’ll have
to wait a while – I need to write it first! But write it I will.</span> </p>LitskiLitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16549641203135530584noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-896656160555503731.post-46974779842710630452021-12-25T19:08:00.005+01:002021-12-25T19:10:15.462+01:00What is the true meaning of this time of year? Not what you think…<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjLaH57gsiCOzoFHShGlfqEsXOyC9fqlRImpTfdx86CbZppMZpYa0F_J1ucGeZFYDS0WEQi4K7Cok9sRfqOpsXjejOrk-UFIDNJHu-vJJXav5Z5kmyjn-XiCgB4Q_E6chi_wifosG98fWmACwKuQhWAevqO4gRjZDqfOpf05CnlR2JLjdydUqoI80sx=s600" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjLaH57gsiCOzoFHShGlfqEsXOyC9fqlRImpTfdx86CbZppMZpYa0F_J1ucGeZFYDS0WEQi4K7Cok9sRfqOpsXjejOrk-UFIDNJHu-vJJXav5Z5kmyjn-XiCgB4Q_E6chi_wifosG98fWmACwKuQhWAevqO4gRjZDqfOpf05CnlR2JLjdydUqoI80sx=s320" width="320" /></span></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><b>Anyone who insists on everyone calling this
season “Christmas” because of their own beliefs is sadly mistaken. It is
not really about Christ, in fact; it has been adapted over the years. So when someone confronts you because you said “Happy Holidays”
instead of “Merry Christmas” they need to do a bit of research. Most of the
celebrations and symbols are direct adaptations of past traditions, and the Midwinter
celebration of fire, light and long life is much older than the pastiche of Midwinter revelry it
became later on.</b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">It’s the season known by some as Christmas,
a time when people often think back to the late Bronze Age science fiction
sagas of Mary, Joseph, a donkey, and an impending humble birth. But of course,
Christmas was not the original name for the almost two-week period starting on
the night of 24 December. It took a great deal of time, planning and slow
conversion of symbolism, but many very ancient traditions remain. It wasn’t
always about that humble birth, but that particular symbolism served a very
useful purpose. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">The early Church had a problem on its hands: there were so many
huge festivals around the winter solstice that got in the way of its rising influence
and threatened its authority. By using the symbolism of the season, it managed to legitimise the hijacking of the Midwinter festivities for itself and turn people away from their original purposes. It seems, though, that we are slowly coming full-circle and that we are abandoning the religious accessories. How many similarities are there between the traditions of today's Midwinter and those before the Christian interval, and what type of festivals were there?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-GB">Saturnalia:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">There was the week-long Saturnalia that covered
the solstice period, where gifts were exchanged, slaves were served by their masters, people swapped their clothes, and lots and lots of drinking and eating took place. Because of its midwinter
setting, candles were given to symbolise light and warmth, and there were even
post-Saturnalia sales where younger family members were given some money to go
out and spend there. This particular festival was a prevalent feature
throughout most of the Roman period, and was such an important event that only
a handful of Roman emperors dared bring any changes. Some of the madder ones
tried to reduce it to five days, or even to just one evening, but most people carried
on regardless for the entire week, or even longer.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-GB">Brumalia:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">This was also a Roman festival that carried
on in one form or another until at least the 10<sup>th</sup> century in some parts
of the empire, mainly in the east, but had all-but died out by the end of the
time of Justinian in 565 CE. It celebrated the Earth and all things to do with hunting
and farming, such as sacrifices of pigs and goats, as well as the downing of
wine. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">These revels took place because it was the saddest,
darkest time of the year and it was important to remember that the light was
about to return. The celebrations meant people could say goodbye to the
increasingly darker days and welcome in the longer evening light. Different
parts of Europe had variations of these events, but they all pointed to the
main tenets of the darkness leaving and the light returning, the finishing off
of the autumn fruits that had by now turned into strong alcohol, and being with
close friends and family.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><b>Yule/Jul:</b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Further north, the winter festivities were not that different. The god Odin had various other titles, including Jölnir, from whom the name of the festival comes. Various toasts were made, such as for the success of the coming year's harvest, the rulers, the gods and the ancestors. The culmination of that festival in Anglo-Saxon England was known as Modraniht, or Mothers' Night, and was a night of fire and sacrifice. What they all had in common was that folk brought along the food they had left and shared it all out. The food, especially the meat, was blessed by the most senior chieftain and they all participated in the debauchery until nothing was left.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Adapting the old for the new:</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">And it was these types of festivals that
got in the way of any form of coherent building of Christian societies. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">What to do?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">This was an easy question to answer, and one
that Rome had a great track record of: adapt these pagan festivals through
their symbolism, and absorb them into Christianity without too many drastic
changes. The people had to be coerced into this acceptance rather than have
their already centuries-old celebrations banned to introduce this novel idea.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">So although many early Christian thinkers
were rather critical of all the winter excesses, they set out to make the
period both holy and at the same time jolly. And so the great Midwinter festivals carried on but
over time they carried more of an air of religiousness and formality. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">(By the way, the word jolly was at one time thought to have come from <i>Jul</i>, but it is most probably from the Old French, meaning pretty or nice.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">The symbolism and the adaptation of traditional
behaviour had to be perfect to convert the midwinter festivals into somehow
representing Christian beliefs, and it was telling the story of the birth of
Jesus and overlaying the imagery of his appearance that made it the most
appropriate way of coaxing people away from their original beliefs.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-GB">Symbolism<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-GB">1.</span></b><span lang="EN-GB"> <b>Decorating
houses and halls with winter foliage</b> was a way of demonstrating that there
was still life around, despite the regression of nature. Mistletoe, holly and ivy
had different connotations: mistletoe was the symbol of peace and love, hence
the kissing; the Green King’s crown and garments were made of holly, and ivy
was the representation of death, the death of the past year. Being an
evergreen, winter-hardy plant, holly was also the symbol of fertility and long
life, but it came to represent Jesus’s crown of thorns and the red berries of
his blood, and inevitably eternal life promised in his story. In order to substantiate
people’s roles in the world, the holly was a male symbol of fertility, and ivy the melancholy female representative of death. These days, of course, that would be understandably unacceptable, but the two were and are synonymous with the season.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-GB">2. Wreaths</span></b><span lang="EN-GB">,
always round, symbolised the circle of life:
winter-to-spring-to-summer-to-autumn and back to winter, as well as the life
cycle of people and families. These wreaths had nothing to do with anything concerning God or infinity, and the
candles in an advent wreath (or crown) were added to provide a visual countdown to
Christmas. Midwinter was seen as the birth of the sun deities, such as Mithras
and Sol, so it was just a matter of converting this into the coming of Jesus.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-GB">3. Midwinter singing and drinking</span></b><span lang="EN-GB"> took place to drive away the evil spirits. As Christmas was supposed
to be a celebration, it was easy to incorporate this, although it was toned
down a lot from the originally-intended decadent blowout that the Romans put
on. The Anglo-Saxon Modraniht mentioned earlier was easy to incorporate, as it meant Mother's Night, and Mary was always going to be given the role of the venerated and highly-favoured lady.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-GB">4. Even the candles are pre-Christian</span></b><span lang="EN-GB"> in origin, symbolising the rise of the sun. Many traditions around
the world have candle festivals to bring human light to the darkest time of the
year, but the idea of Christ’s light (the people sitting in darkness seeing the
light, as Matthew and Luke wrote) was too convenient a symbol to drop.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-GB">5. Gifts</span></b><span lang="EN-GB"> were
given at Saturnalia at an event called Sigillaria. They were generally small wax
or earthenware figurines of particular deities that would represent different
things to different people. Again, the gifts the Three Wise Men brought to the
manger would serve perfectly to subsume this tradition into this new hybrid
festival.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-GB">6. Dressing up and theatrical
performances </span></b><span lang="EN-GB">were the norm at Saturnalia. Traditional
roles, like masters and slaves, were reversed; men and women swapped
stereotypical clothing; later on in the Middle Ages, mummers, or guisers,
groups of actors, musicians and singers, would pass round houses and perform folk
plays. And things like carols and wassailing also took place at other times of
the year, and were greetings of the season. It was also easy to Christianise
these traditions, like creating plays that told the story of Jesus’s birth, and
carols that moved away from evoking paganistic aspects like holly, ivy, midwinter
and snow, and instead talked of angels, virgin births, stars and a plethora of miracles.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-GB">7. Fasting was not the monopoly of
Christians: </span></b><span lang="EN-GB">the period before the great feast was
given over to fasting so that it would be a much more rewarding celebration.
This of course sat very well in the new Christian narrative to get people in
the mood and looking forward to the coming festivities, even if they were now
about something totally different.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">One of the reasons there are a lot of
fruity, unctuous dishes, often a prized part of an animal to eat, and a log to
burn, were all to do with the season – something to look forward to in the
middle of the darkness.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><b>Continuity of pre-Christian traditions</b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Many of these traditions carry on today in
some form or another: </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><b>1. Pigs are big: </b>In the UK and Ireland, North America and parts of
northern Europe, it is common to eat a Christmas Ham. This came directly from
the ancient sacrifice of the Yule Boar. Even in Sweden there are cakes shaped
like pigs, all evidence of how far we have come since those days, but still a continuous line from two or three millennia ago. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><b>2. Happy music: </b>Carol singing and wassailing were for the entertainment of the guests, and this tradition of seasonal merriment in music is not exclusive to the English-speaking world in the form of <i>Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer </i>and <i>The Twelve Days of Christmas</i>. Other traditions have the same idea, such as the Czech/Moravian </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><i>Bodejž se zbrunčila bába</i></span><span style="background-color: white;"> and <i>Petit Papa Noël</i><b style="font-style: italic;"> </b>in France. There are plenty of non-Christian carols that have transcended the unsubtle Christian overtones and are staples of the period of the year.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><b>3. Dressing up: </b>Also in parts of Europe it is still common
to cross-dress and enact stories to audiences, such as in the UK with
pantomimes, where the main character is a girl dressed as a boy and his/her
opposite number is often a mature man dressed up as a lady.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><b>4. Cosy by the fire: </b>The Yule Log was actually a whole tree that
was cut up to provide warmth during the Midwinter festivities so that people didn’t
get cold and could enjoy themselves in warmth. The fermented fruit would have
helped...<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><b>5. Puddings and cakes: </b>A lot of that fermented fruit was also
mixed with the leftover ingredients, nuts, and any spices to disguise any dodgy
flavours. It slowly transformed itself into something more “gentrified”, such
as Plum Pudding in the UK, Julekake in Norway, Stollen in Germany, and
Panettone/Pandoro in Italy. Some have alcohol or nuts in them, some not, but
what they all have in common is the dried fruit and of course being served as
dessert. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">In the end, the meaning of this season is
by far more complicated than I have laid out here, but one thing we can all say
is however you reach this time of year, we should all try not to force our ideas of the festival on others, no matter which beliefs you have: relax, celebrate, enjoy the company of
your friends and family, sing, eat, get drunk, and dress up how you want – so greet
people in your own way and live and let live!<o:p></o:p></span></p>LitskiLitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16549641203135530584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-896656160555503731.post-28535328918116143032020-03-13T23:29:00.001+01:002020-03-13T23:29:14.612+01:00What is true freedom? Discuss...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjatFPY8J9e9jq3U7wYTwZ8pniBWJ9uma1igQVny3H6dX6BFpkH5xsofYe58bUOKa6Gc686-ynT8gXnLblGfb_hNgzd6k_6xkzY8BaKbv-qFAR5hkrSm3P7bzGZLHCQrPoNsFmq-KOg80/s1600/20191023_110136.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="778" data-original-width="1600" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjatFPY8J9e9jq3U7wYTwZ8pniBWJ9uma1igQVny3H6dX6BFpkH5xsofYe58bUOKa6Gc686-ynT8gXnLblGfb_hNgzd6k_6xkzY8BaKbv-qFAR5hkrSm3P7bzGZLHCQrPoNsFmq-KOg80/s640/20191023_110136.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<b><br /></b>
<b><br /></b>
<b>Freedom. Liberty. Two words thrown about as a weapon by the right against perceived state intervention and by the left against a corporate takeover of civil society. But who is right? Both? Neither? I can tell you my version of freedom, because I have recently given much thought to it. I am sure some others have already thought up the same, so I apologise for reinventing the wheel, but I wanted to cast an eye on it at this current time when politics in the Western world are in an ultra-rapid state of flux.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
I was sitting in various places in my garden and on my terrace one late-spring weekend last year, looking at the newly-planted apple trees and watching a family of blue tits flitting from branch to ground to wall and back to branch. It is one of my greatest pleasures to watch the wildlife enjoying the product of several summers' worth of planting and landscaping, experimenting and seeking advice over attracting all manner of living things with wings, hooves, antlers or tails to grace my garden and the meadow just beyond it.<br />
<br />
I rarely play music in the garden; the songbirds make its theme tune. It has been visited by deer, foxes, kites, hawks, song thrush, squirrels, wild boar, even a trio of stray cows that had broken out of their meadow on the hills above our land and fancied a nibble of our grass. Sitting out there is better than anything else. Apart from the exhilarating and highly amusing company of my children, of course.<br />
<br />
And that's when it hit me.<br />
<br />
This was freedom: the absence of worry. Here I was, sitting in the garden I had conceived, smoking a cheap cigar, listening to the sounds of nature, contemplating life's knottiest questions.<br />
<br />
But why?<br />
<br />
When I sit outside, the only things that bother me are if I see some weeds have grown back where I or my gardener had recently removed them, or when a neighbour decides to light a fire. Pretty petty stuff, really, in the general scheme of things. Freedom, to me, is the absence of worry, and the cleanness of the conscience. Let me explain.<br />
<br />
Absence of worry includes not having to think where your next meal is going to come from. Or not having to decide whether to default on the electric bill to pay school lunches. Or having utility bills low enough to not notice the payments leaving your account. Freedom is being able to walk down any street knowing you're nearly totally safe from accidents, fights, shootings, natural disasters and reckless driving, unless you do something reckless yourself; leaving a hospital after treatment without a huge life-changing bill hanging over you; the ability to jump in the car and drive across three international borders on a short road trip; not needing to worry about your children's safety in school as the only drills they practise are fire drills; and being able to sit in my garden typing my own opinions on anything I feel like.<br />
<br />
What about the cleanliness of the conscience? I don't mean piety or sinless behaviour, as I get the feeling most religious types are never free of their torment. I mean feeling not guilty for the actions and decisions you take. No regrets, in other words. I am a firm believer that not every crime is immoral and neither is every lawful action moral. I give you the example of activists, whether protesting the climate emergency, LGBTQ rights, the destruction of public land, or just supporting the opposition. In other words, those who believe in their causes to the extent that they get put into prison, not just in countries like Russia, China or Equatorial Guinea, but in Poland, Hungary, the UK and the US too.<br />
<br />
I also mean the compromising of morality for the sake of profit, for example Western countries that turn a blind eye to the horrors of Chinese brutality against Uighurs, Tibetans or Hongkongers to keep trade going, or the selling of weapons to inhumane regimes such as Saudi Arabia. Where does one sit with Israel? I deplore antisemitism, or indeed any -ism against fellow sentient beings, but I am very comfortable in saying that I am passionately, even fervently, anti-Netanyahu and everything he stands for. Peace must come, but it cannot come while anyone who believes in the right to statehood and self-determination for Palestinians is accused of being anti-Jewish. This is an overreaction designed to silence anyone who questions them and their unlawful behaviour.<br />
<br />
As I sit here typing this out on a Chinese laptop, with a Logitech keyboard made in China, I realise I am also contributing to the suffering of others, but consumption guilt at this level is only avoidable with extreme pickiness and a lot of hours spent questioning sales staff in computer shops as to the provenance of their wares. Instead, we need to make it clear to suppliers that their pursuit of profit is what is driving this enriching and rewarding of nasty regimes, and that we are willing to pay more for these products if their production is moved to a place in an enlightened and democratic nation where jobs are needed. We need to pay more for our products; bring them in-house, so to say, and create more jobs in our backyards. This means we need to communicate this loud and clear to companies who switch production to places with cheap workers to save more money.<br />
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Also, cleanliness of the conscience goes for how we treat others on a personal basis. I have done things to others that I look back on with regret. I am not alone here at all. I cannot change the past and go back to rectify it, but I can show sincere remorse and make up for it by never doing it again. There are other things I have done which others would find immoral but which I have thoroughly enjoyed. I did not harm others or even come into contact with others while doing them, or even make anyone feel uncomfortable or embarrassed. There are people who would consider them immoral, nonetheless. I really don't care what they think, as the only thing that was harmed was their squeaky-clean and vacuous imagination.<br />
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I used to be very conservative in my views on life. I used to be quite sanctimonious and I took life very, very seriously, to the point where I had no fun at all, which was mainly due to nurture, not nature, sadly. I also expected those around me to do the same, believe the same, and act the same, so as you can imagine, I had very few friends. But slowly, as I met people who loved life, tried everything out that does not kill or harm, accepted failure and celebrated success, I realised my view of the world was silly, fuddy-duddy, old-fashioned, and was not a way to keep friends. I rejected the moralistic, moralising, morale-reducing harbinger of self-righteousness that I had become, and opted for the flexibility and open-mindedness that I had learned from various people I met on the way to being me. It was a long and tortuous journey, but it led me to finding contentment and spiritual peace.<br />
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Why am I saying this? Because in the manifestation of my former self, I was not free. Freedom is in the head more than anywhere else. And it starts with how you act towards yourself, then other individuals, then society in general, in that order. Acting honestly towards yourself is where freedom begins. It means thinking those thoughts that you used to suppress, it means switching off your own internal censor and investing in your own happiness, not brushing it to the fringes of your mind.<br />
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Freedom is a concept, not only a legal item, and we need to exercise it without encroaching on others' sensitivities or causing fear, misery, discomfort or anger in them. This is why, when I read stories about Americans and their attachment to guns, I cringe. If Second Amendment zealots really want to have their weapons, they should also balance that up with the sensitivities of other individuals and general society, especially around those who have victims of gun violence in their circle, of which there are many. So compromise needs to be found. Think of it like this: I like to play golf, but I don't play it in the town centre park; I go to a golf course, a place specifically dedicated to this activity. Likewise, people with guns should balance their wishes with those who prefer to have the freedom to walk the streets or send their children to schools without worrying if they'll come back.<br />
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Likewise, religious people can have whatever views they like, but they have no right to impose them on other individuals, or society in general. If they don't agree with women's rights over their bodies, equality of the sexes, alcohol consumption, polyamory, soft drugs, euthanasia for the terminally ill, or anything else for that matter, they can believe and practise that amongst themselves, but they should leave the rest of us well alone and not impose their narrow views on the rest. This is why, in true democracies, religion and the state are kept far, far apart. Let's face it, the teachings of most religions evoke the same basic rules: look after your fellow human being, do nobody harm, live to the full, don't judge. But it is precisely that fourth one that has made its way from religion into politics. And we should slam it straight back into its box.<br />
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For this is what true freedom is - practising what you believe is right for you as a conscientious and mature citizen, and keeping your nose out of others' business, unless you can see clearly that it is having a detrimental effect on them or those around them. This is by no means an issue of keeping the state out of our affairs; this is in fact a personal and societal one, and the sooner these matters become mainstream, like public smoking did, the more effectively we can deal with those who still seek to impose their views on us all.<br />
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I find it horrific that the very same people who complain about the encroachment of the state on their daily lives also want to use the state and the law to limit people's rights in areas they have problems with. For them, it's okay to let the state take a back seat over healthcare, guns, education, corporate responsibility, youth issues and social security, but they clamour vigorously for state "intervention" in matters as diverse as abortion, bailing out failed banks and even freedom of expression when it questions their own beliefs.<br />
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To recap: freedom is not about the ability to carry weapons in public or impose your views, religious or not, on the rest of society: it is the absence of these things, and most importantly, the absence of worry. Now before you think, "well yes, but that requires earning money to a certain level". No, it doesn't. It means that, whatever your salary (or not), you should not need to worry where your next meal is coming from. Let us take social democratic countries where it is more difficult to die of hunger than not, what do they do right? They maintain the idea that we're all in it together. Part of your taxes goes directly to providing for the most vulnerable in society, and making sure they can integrate as much as possible into normal life.<br />
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In rampant capitalist countries, it is claimed that low taxes and trickle-down economics will sort out the poverty by allowing companies to invest what they would have paid in taxes to hiring more workers. But this is a fallacy, as not only do companies cream off their profits for their shareholders first and foremost, it also encourages individualism and selfishness in the fact that people start to covet their own wealth and treat colleagues, neighbours and even family members as competitors rather than team players. Another side effect is, although you can become fabulously wealthy, you can also die destitute and hungry, or rejected by your health insurance.<br />
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We need to balance the right to live in peace with the duty we have to provide for those less fortunate than us. And that means doing what is right by our fellow humans - let us give everyone the right to live without worry: let us use our taxes to support those who need it most, whether it is by providing everyone with proper medical care, adequate and affordable housing, essential supplies, or opportunities to feel useful in society. For freedom is the right to live your life without worry, and that means money needs to be much less important. Societies need to extricate themselves from their reliance on budgets and markets.<br />
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I remember in the past when I was working for a pittance and still had to pay the bills, rent and living costs. In the UK, I dared not rock the boat even one little bit for fear of losing everything. I was not permitted to have any self-pride.<br />
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In order to deliver a society free from this in the 21st century, we need to move away from our addiction to news outlets and newspapers run by media moguls, our exaggerated commercial activities, and our feelings of inadequacy brought about by comparing our lives to our peers on social media. We need to reconnect with the society we live in, be true to ourselves, and stand by our principles. But most of all, we need to drastically change the way we live: this starts with taking steps to ensure all of us fit into the society where we live and work; be less cynical about helping others; entreat our leaders to enforce the rule of law; pay more for products and commodities to ensure their ethical cleanness, and be prepared to give up outdated privileges that encroach on the well-being of others.<br />
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Finally, we need to wean ourselves off those things that destroy or harm our planet, our only home. Cars are a necessary evil, but we can do a lot more to avoid using them too much. It was once said that to gauge the level of advancement and collective wealth of a civilised society, we should not count the number of fast cars on its streets, but the number of rich people who take public transport.<br />
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In these testing times, we all need to take mental stock of what we have and what we are going to lose if we continue to let society slide further into the abyss. We should not be reacting glumly whilst watching it happen; we should be proactively stopping the cynical takeover of our cherished freedoms by those who seek to reduce or remove our rights to freedom of conscience and make us worried about everything around us.LitskiLitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16549641203135530584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-896656160555503731.post-80030627399227875512019-01-30T18:54:00.003+01:002019-01-30T19:06:54.899+01:00Livid is not the word. I am beyond apoplectic. Britain is now a basket case.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwmSNUkmum6Ggy8cSTVLd5As49DQ94T0xA9QTLz2oPx9VvO38GE8bobhov6XSeJNxCtJQ5ieR_fOJFmQiT0I3rZkMZMsGgnrgIKiBGZvxjgw8shulDPZ_a3FKqYSl-Jb5uGoeksFB90G4/s1600/corbyn-may-1068x623.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="623" data-original-width="1068" height="371" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwmSNUkmum6Ggy8cSTVLd5As49DQ94T0xA9QTLz2oPx9VvO38GE8bobhov6XSeJNxCtJQ5ieR_fOJFmQiT0I3rZkMZMsGgnrgIKiBGZvxjgw8shulDPZ_a3FKqYSl-Jb5uGoeksFB90G4/s640/corbyn-may-1068x623.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b>After two and a half years of indecisiveness, secretive meetings, blocking, kicking the can down </b><b>the road, arguing, gaslighting, throwing the subject off course, obfuscating, giving warnings of dire consequences if the vote is not respected, rejecting warnings of dire consequences if the vote is respected, we have now ended up with fewer than 60 days before we leave the EU, and we still don't have a fixed plan.</b><br />
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It could have been so much easier. If Theresa May had engaged with all parties in the negotiations to leave the EU from the very beginning, we could have had a much better consensus on our future direction. As it happened, she gave very little away and now we have a situation with less than 2 months to go where Parliament has had enough, is starting to get twitchy, and is attempting to remove the Brexit process from the government's responsibility.<br />
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Theresa May did nothing to consult anyone on the process. She just continually banged on in her robotic way about her wish to carry out the "will of the people" in the 2016 Referendum.<br />
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Firstly, a 52-48 outcome is not an adequately wide margin to accept even a minor change to the constitution of the local Women's Institute, let alone the destiny of a country of over 60 million people. Will of the people? Not to me, it isn't.<br />
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Secondly, I am furious with the opposition leadership. In fact, not just furious, I am monumentally enraged. I am incensed. Irate. Infuriated. Fuming. In short, Jeremy Corbyn's handling of the entire issue is at best misguided. At worst, it is the most blasé, nonchalant and unconcerned attitude any leader of the opposition has ever taken to a matter of such importance.<br />
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There was a time where I thought Corbyn was waiting for the PM to tie herself in knots. Now, I just think he's having some kind of 80s throwback fantasy, preferring to be in opposition, and loving this return to Tory rule where he can act out the fantasy of some Che Guevara-style action hero.<br />
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I never really warmed to Corbyn. I found him to be such a wet stick of celery. His parliamentary style, trying to take the poison out of debates with the PM, was a disaster. Theresa May, whose heart is so small and so deep black, despite not having a single idea of her own, manages to run rings around him every week.<br />
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Corbyn has spent the last two years being the "nearly man". When you consider, over a decade ago, when Gordon Brown took over from Tony Blair, it was like exchanging a Picasso for a rolled-up caricature of your grandpa made by a bloke in a tourist trap alleyway. Cameron, who is a snake oil salesman with a silver tongue and an empty soul, made Brown look like a total arse.<br />
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When Cameron won the 2010 election, and went into government with the contemplative nice guy Nick Clegg, I saw it as an opportunity to rein in the Tories' meanness. The public, with the goading of several hawkish newspapers, saw Clegg as "the guy who didn't see through his tuition fee promises", and wiped out the Liberal Democrats for probably ever. When Cameron narrowly won the 2015 election, much to everyone's surprise, he set the country on its current trajectory.<br />
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With the Lib Dems gone, that meant Britain could go back to being a 2-party state, to the delight of the dark forces in politics. With the Labour party infiltrated by left-wing entryists, its first act was to reject the statesmanlike David Miliband as leader and elect his nerdy brother Ed instead. Cameron tore lumps out of him. With the Labour Party's prodigious ability to choose totally unsuitable leaders in key areas (Michael Foot being one that springs to mind), and the grassroots membership's loathing of any leaders that actually do well (Tony Blair for example), they decided to choose someone who couldn't command a police-trained dog to sit, let alone half the House of Commons.<br />
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Step forward, Jeremy Corbyn.<br />
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Although I am by no means a Labour party supporter, it is to him I turned when I thought Theresa May was about to sell out her citizens overseas (including me). But he did nothing. All he did was waffle on about lost jobs and higher taxes, neglected communities and run-down town centres. Yes, I totally agree with the fact that the Tories have caused untold damage to poor people by ripping the soul out of their communities and flinging hundreds of thousands of poverty-stricken citizens on to the scrap heap known as Universal Credit.<br />
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But please, Jeremy, in the name of sanity, <b>DO SOMETHING!!!!!!!</b><br />
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When I see dippy old troglodytes spouting nonsense like "Britain stood alone once before, and we can do it again!" or "Let's go to WTO rules!" I truly despair. These daft souls have learned nothing in the last 3 years, and don't believe any of the warnings raised by experts and those in trade and industry. One rather idiotic old git last week said it would do the country good to miss out for a while, to see what they once had. These people get airtime on the BBC. Yet Corbyn does not take the opportunity to put anyone straight, to the delight of the ERG and their supporters.<br />
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He deflects attention, doesn't stick to any point, answers his own questions, refuses to deny in a clear way that he is an anti-Semite, and lets the Tory press walk all over him.<br />
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We thought Gordon Brown was a terrible Labour leader. Then Ed Miliband came along and we realised there were even greater depths. Then Corbyn arrived, and it turned out the bottom of the barrel was in fact quite a lot further down. We wonder who will follow him - let's hope we don't discover a new nether region.<br />
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In my opinion, the Tories have capitalised on the "niceness" of leaders of other parties - they excoriated Gordon Brown, vilified Nick Clegg, ignored Vince Cable, patronised Caroline Lucas, laughed at Ed Miliband, but there is one party whose leaders they still keep at arm's length - the SNP. They seem to be absolutely terrified of them, and with good reason. Nicola Sturgeon seems to be the only party leader whose reach is wide enough to put a massive dent in the Tories' plans. In fact, there are anti-Brexit English and Welsh people who look to her, rather than Corbyn, as the person most likely to stick up for them in public discourse.<br />
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And right they are. Nicola Sturgeon is going to be the first Prime Minister of an independent Scotland. The recent developments in Westminster have set the country on a trajectory that cannot now be reversed. I have always been British, and if you look through my posts around the time of the last Scottish referendum, I was vehemently in favour of preserving the Union.<br />
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Now, though, I would totally understand if the Scottish decided they were going to cast off the English and set sail for European climes. I am quite sure they would be fast-tracked to EU membership. Then, the Northern Irish, who are currently having a bit of an existential crisis, may choose to reunite their island. Without the Scots, who have more to do with them than the English, they won't be able to call themselves "British" any more. (As an aside, I would hope the DUP would suffer the same fate as the Lib Dems by going into government with the Tories, but politics over there are deeply entrenched.)<br />
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This will leave the English and Welsh. The once great country of empire, cradle of the Industrial Revolution, birthplace of some of the world's greatest sports, now reduced to a friendless husk of isolationist reactionaries and Blitz-spirit circus freaks. The country has been sold off and broken up by disaster capitalists all for the sake of a financial dividend.<br />
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Yesterday's seven-fold vote in the House of Commons proved one thing: Theresa May can't find a way out of the impasse, so she is setting up the EU for a fall. When they reject her approaches over this idea to revisit the Northern Ireland backstop, which they have already done, she can blame them for their intransigence and inflexibility, whereas in fact they are just protecting their own (Rep. of Ireland). They owe Britain no favours.<br />
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So yes, I am bloody fuming. The Tories always seem to find a way to blame someone else and stay in power on the backs of the gullible and the easily-led. Funnily enough, I haven't met anyone who admits voting for them, but if I did, I will not be responsible for my actions.<br />
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They wasted valuable airtime telling everyone that Jeremy Corbyn is an IRA/PLO/Chavez/Argentine Malvinas (delete as appropriate) sympathiser whilst themselves cosying up to the Saudis and selling arms to some of the nastiest dictators around the world.<br />
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They trashed the reputation of the Liberal Democrats by inviting them to form a government then hung them out to dry by rejecting the Lib Dems' flagship policy on tuition fees, almost wiping them off the electoral map.<br />
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They profess to care about the less well-off and the needy, despite raging with indignation when the United Nations criticised them for their austerity politics.<br />
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They blame immigration, especially EU immigration, for causing wages to drop over time, hospitals to become overcrowded, adequate housing to become scarce and expensive, and schools to become saturated, yet refuse to introduce simple legislation requiring everyone who comes into the country to register with the local council, making it mandatory for those nationals to leave the country after 3 or 6 months of unemployment, and counting people in and out as they come, something other EU countries have done rather effectively.<br />
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Instead, they go complaining to Brussels that they won't let the UK have concessions on free movement of people.<br />
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They are about to do the same smoke-and-mirrors trick - they are lining up their cards. When the EU rebuffs their wish to renegotiate the Irish backstop, they will blame them and turn more people against the EU, even though it is their own fault. This is the ultimate sign of a coward and a cad - if you can't own up to your faults, you are obviously a dishonourable shyster and a cheat.<br />
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Finally, when this utter catastrofuck finally gets under way, I hope it ruins the careers and reputations of a lot of Quitlings and their acolytes. They will, however, probably find a way to escape the fate that should befall them, like some Bond villain that gets out of a burning factory by sending for a helicopter, leaving the rest to perish.<br />
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In any case, the next few weeks should be programmatic for the years ahead - maybe parties will split, or new ones will be formed. Maybe someone finally gets some balls and says what everyone else knows - that the referendum was fraudulent and unconstitutional. But that's a rant for another day.LitskiLitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16549641203135530584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-896656160555503731.post-48761308223019046272018-11-06T16:12:00.001+01:002018-11-06T17:51:46.794+01:00If you don't engage in politics, you're the reason for this mess<div style="text-align: left;">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8mEBJdZi8PuXJQHoFfwSyyV0_hSvxYkiz9RMD3u4WxwZb7lyWmCNUBwCdnqKGtyTaGLtfMhbUTAHQztGIDUvjMOmG6PtD5-PLzkJmpRctS4Cy0SMP2pi8XePJWndgfVio84TevVFOT9c/s1600/2018-06-23t141043z-645173375-rc1aeab83a20-rtrmadp-3-britain-eu-march.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="403" data-original-width="620" height="416" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8mEBJdZi8PuXJQHoFfwSyyV0_hSvxYkiz9RMD3u4WxwZb7lyWmCNUBwCdnqKGtyTaGLtfMhbUTAHQztGIDUvjMOmG6PtD5-PLzkJmpRctS4Cy0SMP2pi8XePJWndgfVio84TevVFOT9c/s640/2018-06-23t141043z-645173375-rc1aeab83a20-rtrmadp-3-britain-eu-march.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: CBS News</td></tr>
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<b><b>I try to litter my Facebook posts with a variety of items from very many fields of life, but the one area that gets the least number of reactions is that of politics. Is it because politics turns people cold? Is it because politics brings them out of their comfort zone? Is it because they're just not interested? Or is it because people feel they don't know enough about it to want to contribute?</b></b><br />
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I think the answer to all those questions is "yes". And I truly think anyone who didn't vote or at least make some indent in the situation in their home countries should bear some if not a large part of the blame for the ills befalling it.<br />
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You go to the hospital with a broken arm and you wait 6 hours to be seen.<br />
Don't complain if you don't engage in politics.<br />
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Your children's school is overcrowded and their academic achievements are being eroded.<br />
Don't complain if you don't engage in politics.<br />
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The local streets are full of damaged roads and dangerous pavements that have caused a number of accidents.</div>
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Don't complain if you don't engage in politics.<br />
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You can no longer afford to buy a house in your area because the local council has sold all the available building land to developers who are only interested in erecting top-end housing.<br />
Don't complain if you don't engage in politics. </div>
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Your city centre is now bereft of shops as rents have become too high for small businesses like butchers, shoe repairers and greengrocers. All that's left are estate agents, charity shops and boarded-up windows.</div>
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Don't complain if you don't engage in politics.<br />
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Your local forest is being prepared for destruction to make way for a company involved in the extraction of fossil fuels from the ground there.<br />
Don't complain if you don't engage in politics.<br />
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The seaside resort you used to go to in happier times is now a run-down shell of itself, riddled with drugs and prostitution, where kids as young as 11 are engaging in petty crime and sedition.<br />
Don't complain if you don't engage in politics. </div>
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Your salary has stagnated and prices continue to rise to the point where certain things you took for granted are becoming difficult to afford.</div>
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Don't complain if you don't engage in politics. </div>
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You were asked by the Prime Minister to vote in a referendum to stay or leave the EU. You have no idea what the EU does, you don't spend a few moments looking it up on the Internet and in the end you don't vote. Then you lose your job as you don't want to move to Frankfurt.</div>
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Don't complain if you don't engage in politics.<br />
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Then...<br />
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People with dangerous ideas have taken over the government of your country:<br />
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<ul>
<li>they want to return any immigrants, no matter how well they have integrated; </li>
<li>they want benefits only for locals; </li>
<li>they discriminate against gays, minorities, women, the under-25s, the over-65s and those with physical and mental impairments; </li>
<li>they want to bring in draconian punishments for even minor offences; </li>
<li>they want to remove the country from any altruistic agreements with other nations; </li>
<li>they want to double spending on weapons and halve spending on education and healthcare; </li>
<li>they want to make military service compulsory; </li>
<li>they want to remove protections to the environment to make extraction of resources in protected areas easier; </li>
<li>they want to remove the financial safety net that has been the difference between your being able to remain living in the area where you were raised to forcing you to move hundreds of miles away;</li>
<li>they want to be able to check on your online activities whenever they feel like it;</li>
<li>they consider those who disagree with their ideas to be dangerous subversives and are placed under surveillance.</li>
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But you don't engage in politics, so don't complain if any of these things affect you.<br />
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There is nothing a politician likes more than indifference and ignorance of the issues. It means they can run roughshod all over you and know they can get away with it. They know they can carry out all kinds of nefarious activities, and even if they end up in the press, they have a good chance they'll get away with it.</div>
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Don't let this happen. </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Inquire. Engage. Vote. </span></div>
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INQUIRE:</div>
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Look into issues that affect you and the world around you, whether it be public transport, health, nature, or the current government and its activities, and react appropriately to injustices.</div>
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ENGAGE:</div>
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Do something positive to change things for the better, whether it be writing to your local representative, taking part in a protest, delivering leaflets for your cause or writing blogs.</div>
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VOTE:</div>
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If you don't vote, you don't make your choice, so don't be surprised when things either don't change or get worse.</div>
LitskiLitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16549641203135530584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-896656160555503731.post-82714938408844763032018-10-21T17:38:00.000+02:002018-10-21T17:38:43.125+02:00The Samhain Pagan tradition is a time to reflect on human impact on our planet<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>Samhain - pronounced sáwin - is the Pagan festival that takes place at some point around the end of October and beginning of November, and is often mixed up with Halloween. Although it is pretty certain Samhain spawned Halloween, the difference between the two is on one hand very different, and on the other hand strikingly similar. The Samhain tradition is a celebratory rite where we reflect on those who went before us, and where the curtain between the afterlife and this life is very thin, meaning there may be some overlapping of the two worlds. We also spend time contemplating our own lives. The deep autumn is an important time to understand who we are and where we are going; to remember why we are here and try to reach out to our ancestors for guidance. Understanding the past helps enormously in identifying our current paths. Halloween, as we shall read, is very far from this.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>Paganism is, for want of a better metaphor, a very broad church. There are lots of weird Pagans as well as a lot of serious ones, which means we are often targets of derision by those from what we might call the established faiths. There are no real Pagan denominations as such, like in the Christian or Muslim traditions; they are more like independent franchises without the fiscal aspect, although everyone has the same goal: to see the divine in our surroundings, and to revere and protect it.<br />
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The divine is very easy to come across in our eyes: the similarly pentacular features of many flowers; the soughing of the trees in the wind; the tides of the sea; the passing of the moon overhead and the shadows it casts; the smallest insect and the largest mammal and everything in-between; the shooting stars and the spinning planets; the incredible detail on the wing of a butterfly; the majesty of bees going about their daily work. The list goes on.<br />
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Samhain is the time of year when we witness the dying of the summer flora and fauna, and the retreat of vernal fecundity to its winter sleep, ready for the spring awakening. How do Pagans celebrate Samhain? Any way they choose, but some things remain fixed: a meal to celebrate the harvest; a fire to summon the spirits; a walk in nature (clothes are optional, depending on the time of day/night and the location); an altar with some of the features of this time of year (e.g. the skull of a wild beast, pumpkins, brown leaves or nuts) and the remembrance of those who went before us.<br />
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Why are standing stones so important to us? Because they are the permanent legacy of our forebears. One thing we have in common with our pre-Christian ancestors is the marking of the seasons and celebration of the life-cycle of the Earth. Many standing stone circles are calendars, marking the time of year. In spring, the Earth is like a youthful girl, evident in the retreat of the snow and the arrival of hatchlings, calves, lambs, cubs, seedlings and all other forms of life. She blooms into full fertility by June, where the abundance of food and fecundity is all around us. By mid-August, the Lady gives us our harvest before her fertility ends. In autumn she recedes into her grand old age, and in winter she becomes the old crone before once again dying in midwinter, allowing a new life-cycle to begin.<br />
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We are reminded of our own mission on Earth: to live, die, and live again - we can never reappear, but we can make sure life continues to do so once we have long gone. This is why I have planted a great number of trees in my garden: they, or their saplings, will live on after me, but they will also allow the birds, insects and other flora to thrive.<br />
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Our mission to maximise our efforts to spread the positive effects of nature is misinterpreted by climate deniers or sceptics as needless do-goodery. In fact, what we are doing has absolutely no bearing on the climate change debate at all: we do it anyway, because it is the right thing to do. The recent extremification of weather phenomena is worrying for us all, especially with the recent UN report that gives us a little over a decade to sort it all out before it's too late.<br />
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What is disappointing, though, is the attitude of various politicians following an agenda either dictated by their voter base or their party's biggest sponsors. I find it abhorrent that, despite the overwhelming evidence, nay proof, there are people who choose to ignore the situation for their own financial or ideological gain.<br />
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If you want to know what is driving current politics, just follow the money. If you want to know our future, take a look at the past. And let us be honest here: it does not look very good. Samhain is a time to put our flora to sleep and help them survive the winter.<br />
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As I touched on at the beginning, Samhain often gets bundled together with Halloween. The former is a commemoration of the past, the latter is a commercialised corruption of it, which has, like all other Pagan festivals, been subsumed by Christianity and/or popular culture. Halloween is a shadow of Samhain. It has in fact become the total opposite. Samhain is about remembering those who went before us, lighting fires and sitting in quiet contemplation as befitting this time of year.<br />
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Halloween, conversely, is making loud noises, disturbing the peace, and dressing up in scary costumes. Although the spiritual aspect of Samhain spawned Halloween, it was far easier to turn it into a money-making racket as a prelude to Christmas. This is, of course, a total fabrication of the original. Many Pagan festivals have turned into corruptions of the originals, mainly by the Catholic Church - Easter, Christmas and Midsummer's (St John's) Day being just three. The Catholic Church always had an ulterior motive in wanting to do away with Paganism, so it came up with ways to distract the people.<br />
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In order to vilify Pagans, and bring people into their "flock", they used the same fake-news-style tactic that is used today - take their symbols and turn them into socially unacceptable things. For example, why does the devil have a red face? Why are horns and pitchforks associated with Satan? Could it be that people from the country, farmers who obviously used agricultural implements, were more likely to be Pagan and have ruddy-red faces from the cold wind, and place horned animal skulls outside their doors to ward off evil spirits? Why did St Patrick kill all the snakes in Ireland? Could it be that the snake, the symbol of Paganism in his day, was a way to use a euphemism to say that he killed all the Pagans?<br />
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Anyone, whether from a Christian denomination or not, who dares say we are satanic should do a little more reading, as equating us with evil is like saying apples must be alien because they're green. It says more about the naïvety of their flock to believe everything fed to them by their elders than it does about us.<br />
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Finally, I will not be celebrating Halloween this year, not because of any irrational fear of some so-called Satan fellow, but because it is not who we are.LitskiLitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16549641203135530584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-896656160555503731.post-78618829977929780002018-09-18T12:28:00.001+02:002018-09-18T12:28:07.274+02:00Imagine if Leave lost and we imposed a hard Remain - there would be anarchy<b>Let me take you back two years and three months to the time immediately before the Brexit referendum. The Leave campaign promised we would remain in the Single Market and Customs Union for the sake of business. Things would more or less remain the same. The Brexit deal would be signed and sealed in one afternoon. There would be more money for schools and hospitals, and the mainland would still be there to carry on visiting and trading with.</b><br />
<b><br /></b><b>Fast-forward those twenty-six months, and now those same people are putting severe pressure on the PM to leave everything, which will most probably cause us to become more of a vassal state to the US than we ever were to the EU. They harp on about the "will of the people" and "they've had their say, there should be no more Brexit referenda," conveniently forgetting that the reason we have elections every couple of years or so is precisely to reflect the mood of the people at that time.</b><br />
<b><br /></b><b>So let's see what life would be like if the tables were turned and the British government implemented a hard Remain...</b><br />
<b><br /></b>It's the twenty-fourth of June in the Year of Our Lord, two thousand and sixteen. The people have spoken and it's a resounding victory for Remain. 52% of the electorate, a sizeable and clear majority [not, obviously!], have voted to remain in the EU.<br />
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David Cameron is delighted, and begins immediate negotiations to take the UK into Schengen and the Eurozone. By 2020, the British Pound will be obsolete, and the only monarchy in the Commonwealth where the Queen's head doesn't appear on the currency will be her own.<br />
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The gutter press, though, protests. "DON'T TAKE US INTO THE EURO", clamours the Daily Mail. The Guardian shoots back with images of Leavers including Michael Gove and Jacob Rees-Mogg under the headline "ENEMIES OF THE PEOPLE" for pleading with the PM not to join the Euro.<br />
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Remainers take to the readers' comments sections to have a good old-fashioned pitchfork and fire-on-a-stick fight over the direction of the country. They want Boris ostracised and EU flags to replace the Union Jack everywhere except on government buildings.<br />
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People like that Wetherspoon's guy and that Dyson fellow are routinely attacked on social media by hordes of Remainers, branding them all kinds of nasty names. Audiences on the BBC's political panel shows like Question Time constantly heckle the few famous guests who still dare to say they are Leavers. Katie Hopkins leaves the country to go and live in Alabama [in the end, there are pros to everything] and receives a slap on the face by several Remainers who showed up to the airport to make sure she left.<br />
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Those on the Leave side continue to campaign, saying the vote was close and there should be some compromise, rather than this total sell-out to the EU. Remainers heckle them, especially on social media saying "we won, you lost, get over it", and other cheap slogans to that effect. Leavers say "but we were told if Remain won, we would just carry on as normal, not join the euro and Schengen. We've been lied to!" Remainers say, "we knew what we were voting for", as if that was their original intention. Despite all the archived articles in newspapers and on TV, Remainers insist that was the plan all along.<br />
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Of course, this is never going to happen. Why not? Because those on the Remain side are far less vitriolic, caustic, venomous, spiteful, malicious, whatever your description, than a lot of those on the Leave side. Why so? Because, having been a member of a very large social media group actively trying to counter Brexit, I have noticed one thing: all 60,000 members are civil, decent and friendly. And being too "nice" may actually be their weakness.<br />
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It is absurd to think that the Remain half of the country would act in this way. Which is why I question a lot of the vitriol on the Leave side. It is astounding how much hate has built up when reading readers' replies in the Daily Mail and the Express. Where does all that aggression come from?<br />
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I think it stems from many different places:<br />
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<ul>
<li><b>Many people don't know why the UK gives money to the EU and think it's a waste. </b></li>
</ul>
What they don't realise is that that money is 1% of every country's national spending, and a lot of it is spent <a href="https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/politics/19-things-european-funding-done-10939396" target="_blank">doing local projects</a>. The UK, having nine of the most deprived areas in the EU, the money gets re-invested in areas which the UK government would not consider touching.<br />
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<li><b>A great number of people are conned daily into believing they are being ruled by Brussels. </b></li>
</ul>
This is an absurd notion, but one that has a lot of support from the newspapers. Many newspaper owners, living overseas or in tax havens, have alternative agendas and don't like the idea that the EU is interfering in their tax affairs, so they cook up all types of stories and twist reality to make it seem like the EU is a left-wing dictatorship. They have been <a href="https://blogs.ec.europa.eu/ECintheUK/euromyths-a-z-index/" target="_blank">doing this</a> for years. The link to the left here highlights the abominable abuse levelled at Brussels for the last 30-odd years.<br />
<ul>
<li><b>Too many people found themselves excluded from the benefits of economic development</b></li>
</ul>
Successive British governments have done little to improve the lives of a lot of people in poor areas, and more and more people have slipped below the poverty line without having been given the chance to improve and develop. Wages have declined, prices have risen, working conditions have stagnated or receded, property prices have become prohibitively expensive, and healthy food like fruit or meat is a luxury. A lot of these people voted to leave the EU to give the government a kick where it hurts, but in fact, they have hurt themselves the most.<br />
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<li><b>Apathy and ignorance</b></li>
</ul>
A great deal of the public have entered a kind of limbo world where they are happy with their lot in life (modest living, decent social life, car, a couple of holidays, maybe kids). Things like Brexit are at best a distraction, at worst an annoyance. They maybe voted in the referendum, but did so based on the last story they read and whether it was positive or negative. They don't really care either way because they only go abroad for a couple of weeks a year, don't need EU funding, and have routines that don't matter whether they care about the EU or not. When the Lambrusco price goes up a quarter, they might start wishing they had paid attention over the last 3 years.<br />
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<b>What to do about this?</b><br />
Recently, one member said he thought we should "start getting a bit French about the whole thing", which is not a bad description of where we are today: just half a year away from B-Day, and a whole raft of warnings concerning the UK's preparedness for the eventuality of no deal should be bringing the good people of Britain out on to the streets, but they are a sedate, passive kind of folk; that's why successive governments have been able to make them swallow all kinds of bad measures à la boiling frog.<br />
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Getting a bit more active in the streets, more frequently and more aggressively, would be quite a feat for the people of Britain to carry out. There are two reasons for this: firstly, most demonstrations take place on weekends unless they're strikes, because they are busy at work, and because of the British propensity to associate leave from work with bad performance, any time off is precious. Secondly, most British people don't really care enough to be out every day on the streets protesting, as they have jobs and livelihoods that are indispensable to them and they prize their private life more than they care about which people govern them.<br />
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In countries like Romania, where there have been great upheavals in recent times, whole swathes of people have been out on the streets for days, sometimes weeks, on end. The constitutional and democratic state of the country there is fragile and still in its infancy compared to that of the UK, whose institutions go back centuries. For that reason, British people still trust in the procedures and processes that flag up threats to democracy. But considering the fraudulent manner by which the Leave campaign won the 2016 referendum, all the evidence against them, and the reams of papers proving collusion with foreign hostile forces, the clamour to bring the perpetrators to justice, let alone annul the result, is unsettlingly quiet.<br />
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Why is nobody on the streets? Why are people not angry? Why does it seem that the press is more concerned with Jeremy Corbyn's views on Israel and Palestine than the crooks who are trying to take over the country by stealth? Smoke and mirrors, it seems. Keep the spotlight off the bad news of Brexit just until B-Day, then all hell can break loose if necessary. These gangsters, who have friends in Trump's White House and in Putin's Kremlin, as well as with Salvini in Rome, Orbán in Budapest and Kaczy<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">ń</span></span>ski in <span style="font-family: inherit;">Warsaw</span>, not forgetting the AfD in Germany, the Front National in France, and Geert Wilders's PVV in the Netherlands, are without doubt trying to build a coalition of strong-in-the-arm factions to take on their enemies, the so-called liberal elite.<br />
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They hate the tolerance we have garnered over the last few decades. They despise the idea of legal same-sex marriage, multi-coloured neighbourhoods, high standards in areas like food hygiene, the environment and healthcare, and seek to deregulate it all in order to sell to the highest bidder for profit and to the detriment of the little guy. So they created a word for these people: every time someone defends liberal values in public, these people accuse them of being a snowflake.<br />
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And herein lies the most basic of all the paradoxes - it's the little guy that put these people in charge in the first place. It's always the little guy who holds all the cards, but no awareness of this superpower. That's why the ones at the top try so hard to garner their support. Look at the crowds cheering Trump at his rallies - with all due respect, they are generally out-of-town, poor, religious, uneducated, or all four. The rallies have taken place in locations like Youngstown Ohio, Huntsville Alabama, and Duluth Minnesota. Their lives have never taken off and they want someone to blame. Along comes the demagogue and sweeps up their votes, even though they'll never see an improvement in their own lives.<br />
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Look at the areas that voted for Brexit in large numbers: run-down seaside towns like Redcar, Blackpool and Clacton; post-industrial towns like Stoke-on-Trent, Wolverhampton and Burnley. These are also places where the population has largely been forgotten. So these are prime places for the demagogue to ply his trade. This is where change is going to be instigated, but where nothing will ever be better for those people without firm action by the government of the day.<br />
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I am not sneering at these people, in fact I have a lot in common with them. I also spent years living from day to day without any sign of advancement in my life. I had little positiveness in my life and I was often two meals from starvation. I know what it is like down there. I grasped at anything I could that had a positive element to it, whether a potential job offer from a dodgy agency, or even a good write-up in the daily horoscope. Anything at all. So I can also understand when a person with good rhetorical skills can articulate the frustrations of the poor to the nation. The poor and downcast are so desperate that they will latch on to anything that promises to bring them out of their misery, even if it is obviously a lie. Those running the Leave campaign were very aware of that, the Remain campaign focused mainly on the negative implications of leaving without trying to demonstrate all the good that the EU does.<br />
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So if Brexit were cancelled: what would happen in the country?<br />
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I personally think the following:<br />
10% of people would be very angry indeed, and would provoke protests and riots.<br />
25% would be upset for a week before returning to normal.<br />
65% would be very glad that this was no longer filling their news feeds every day<br />
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But 100% would be livid that the government put the country through such a waste of time and money, and for what? To settle an internal dispute in the Conservative Party. I would hope this débâcle would split the main two parties enough to cause them to break apart, so that we would have four or five main parties, and we can eliminate that stupid First Past The Post "system" for good.<br />
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We can live in hope...<br />
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<br />LitskiLitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16549641203135530584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-896656160555503731.post-86637395150855721452018-09-09T16:24:00.000+02:002018-09-09T16:35:41.199+02:00The EU is the carrier of my identity now, and I will fight anyone who wants to take that away from me<b>Yesterday evening, as I settled down to watch TV (yes, it's a Saturday night, but I don't need thrills right now), I was lucky enough to behold that glorious end to the summer season of classical music on the BBC that we all know as the Proms. </b><br />
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The Last Night of the Proms in the Royal Albert Hall has a splendidly rousing finale which encompasses all that is good about being British: the spectators are not expected to be quiet, in fact they bring tooters and crackers with them; the lead violinist in the orchestra is, at times, allowed to go off-key during solos; the conductor gives a speech where he/she mercilessly mocks the audience; there are crowds gathered in four other concert locations in the UK which are also incorporated into the event, and everyone waves a flag.<br />
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It is the most patriotic outpouring of emotion you will ever see. It is like a cross between the Vienna New Year concert and a Six Nations Rugby match where everyone in the crowd is on the same side. The songs are fervently steeped in British history and culture and anyone who claims to be British should know the words to them: Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1, known as <i>Land of Hope and Glory</i>; Hubert Parry's <i>Jerusalem</i>; <i>Fantasia on British Sea Songs </i>arranged by Sir Henry Wood (during which it is a custom for the audience to pass around packets of tissues during the section known as <i>Tom Bowling</i>), which contains the <i>Sailor's Hornpipe</i>, when the audience bobs up and down, and ends with <i>Rule, Britannia!</i>, which witnesses an extraordinary display by the soloist, who is expected to do something either amusing or spectacular with his/her outfit. It never fails to please each year. It finishes with <i>God Save The Queen</i> in an arrangement by Benjamin Britten, which I think is better than the original, and everyone sings Auld Lang Syne to finish the night off holding hands.<br />
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It is the night of the year when we can see everything good about Britain: the artistic talent of its musicians and singers; the rebellious yet good-natured demeanour of many of its denizens, and the depth of affection that people hold for the little wind-swept island off the coast of Europe that once really <i>did </i>rule the waves. The season has taken place 125 times, and is a direct link to the days of Empire, yet the people who attend the concert are open-minded and cultured internationalists who understand Britain's place in the world, which is the reason why for the last three years, there has been a steady increment in the number of EU flags that have appeared at the Last Night finale. In fact, last night, the blue and yellow more or less outdid the Union Jack. So much so, it made the Daily Express explode with rage:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeuPBCuZ3bEzygxE5uDPimYcqrOvf68sVmuN53izWg6v13DIq_lWiacePKrc5gkbDJjtySpmgq96bcO4FrcK8Q-BKSLasLfudJT-ck166334ZpTGgViSeXFfH2LfLHvg4fPWZdAOSaAmA/s1600/Proms1.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="724" height="510" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeuPBCuZ3bEzygxE5uDPimYcqrOvf68sVmuN53izWg6v13DIq_lWiacePKrc5gkbDJjtySpmgq96bcO4FrcK8Q-BKSLasLfudJT-ck166334ZpTGgViSeXFfH2LfLHvg4fPWZdAOSaAmA/s640/Proms1.PNG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A cut-out from my anti-Brexit group Facebook feed</td></tr>
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Oh but it REALLY infuriated the Brextremists on the readers' replies section:<br />
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The Express reported that one very disgruntled Twit(ter user) wrote: (1) "<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Is there anything as weak, as petty or as demeaning to our nation as the waving of EU flags during Last Night of the Proms? </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Those flags should be burned, along with all other symbols of degeneracy and the power of finance."</span><br />
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A reader called Dave77 said, (2) "<span style="color: #373e44; font-family: "open sans" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Waving a much detested FOREIGN FLAG is the 100% epitome of being a TRAITOR, when you are celebrating a genuine BRITISH FESTIVAL"</span><br />
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The same bozo said in a later post: (3) "<span style="color: #373e44; font-family: "open sans" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">I truly have never heard of one single person that was PROUD to be a member of the much detested EU --That could only happen if your ancestry is somewhat diluted in a European fashion maybe."</span><br />
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And finally, this splendid self-own by someone who goes by the name Henpecked: (4) "<span style="color: #373e44; font-family: "open sans" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">The remoaners and all this EU flag waving reminds me of 1930s Germany where a certain party rode rough shod over democracy by sheer force of obsession and numbers.</span><br />
<span style="color: #373e44; font-family: "open sans" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">We must not let democracy be defeated by this shabby lot, democracy must always win."</span><br />
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Well I would like to reply personally to all of these "points" raised (if one can call them that):<br />
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(1) Firstly, the Twit - actually, my friend, the very reason people feel they should wave them is because they don't like petty parochials like you who can't see the difference between patriotism and nationalism. The ability to wave EU flags at a British event is in fact a sign of open-mindedness and openness to the world, which is what your idol, Liam Fox, is constantly seeking. He, though, makes you think you need to leave an international organisation in order to be more global, and you lot fall for it.<br />
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You know, you can go ahead and burn the EU flag if you like - you think it will trigger us in the same way setting fire to a Union Jack would trigger you. Well it won't, because we're not actually the ones who are highly-strung. The EU flag is not a symbol of degeneracy and the power of finance. To me, it is a very personal symbol of belonging.<br />
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Churchill himself said, <span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box;">"We hope to see a Europe where men of every country will think of being a European as of belonging to their native land, and... wherever they go in this wide domain... will truly feel, ‘Here I am at home.'" And that's how I feel. Just because your only foray into mainland Europe is to go and do British things on the Costa Del Sol for a fortnight a year, things you wouldn't do at home, like eat a Full English breakfast every day or sing insulting songs to non-British passers-by (although maybe you would), it doesn't mean you have to spoil it for the rest of us - those millions who have made their home in another EU country and are happily settled and integrated there.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box;">(2) and (3) Well Dave, I have news for you: I see Europe totally differently to you. You have never met one person who is proud to be a member of the EU because of the small-town circles you go around in. From the very little information I have gained from your "effort" on the Express thread, it is easy to suppose that you haven't spent too long in the company of more internationally-minded people.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;">The EU flag is not a foreign flag; it is the flag that represents 28 countries in Europe living side-by-side in peace, and that includes the UK (still). In fact, to me, nobody and nothing is foreign unless he/she/it makes a great effort to denigrate anyone not like them. For me, when I talk about "the north", I mean areas on the Baltic or North Sea, and when I talk about "the south", I mean those on the Mediterranean. I don't get infuriated if someone comes to my town and carries on with their own way of life, because it's perfectly normal. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white;">I doubt you go to Torremolinos and speak Spanish and eat pinchitos at a chiringuito, so why should a Pole speak English, drink Tetley's and go for a ride to the garden centre on Sundays? In fact, at home, I have BBC as standard TV channel (I have watched German TV for about 5 hours of the ten years I have been here) and drink Marks & Spencer tea. Integration is not what you think - it is the ability to see others as human beings, speak the local language, and not enforce your customs on them.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white;">As for calling the attendees at the Proms traitors, that is really very weak. The fact is, the vast majority of reasonably-minded, balanced people find Brexit to be a betrayal in itself. It is seen by them as a regression of the United Kingdom into a much diminished shadow of its former self. The problems causing people to vote to leave the EU are mainly inflicted on the people by the British government, and it will only get worse when the EU is not there to act as a conscience.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white;">(4) How wrong you are, Henpecked: it is the other way round. We see Brexit as a landgrab by dark and anti-democratic forces. Have you ever wondered why Brexit is being bankrolled by extremely rich businessmen? Because they care not one bit about the ordinary man or woman in the street. They will earn vast amounts of money by pulling the country out of the EU, and to make it happen, they will go to any length. But the best way to make it happen is to recruit the working man. Every revolution has been won by gaining the support of the working man, and every time the working man falls for the trick of the ringleader, which is to curtail his freedoms and get rich off the worker's back. You know the film The Producers, where the writers of a Broadway musical want to make a flop because they'll earn a lot of money out of it? That's really what Jacob Rees-Mogg and his ilk are up to. And you can't see it. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white;">I am sure you are one of those people that if the EU eradicated plastic pollution from our seas, you'd be moaning about how "Brussels" is taking away your right to drink tea in a plastic cup, even if you don't. In fact, you complain about <i>everything </i>the EU does, even if it is for the common good. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white;">No, it is not a panacea or an answer to every problem, but it is the best we have, and we should help it to grow, not attack it for everything it does to help.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white;">So finally, I would like to let you know that there is someone here who is proud to call himself a European, and I know a great deal more people like me. Maybe, Dave, it's the circles I go around in...</span>LitskiLitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16549641203135530584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-896656160555503731.post-45479098059269082352018-07-29T17:22:00.000+02:002018-07-29T17:42:18.767+02:00We have been fooled by alt-right politicians and the media. It’s time for the silent majority to take a stand.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSktpCpVIcS3M88HJTFJda8XUhJtOYgMC5GWkBbxTtLUeAFsSi7zXLVKPHsmGKaDvrrbZ3DsrVaDf6RzOGHRoaYGrxfoGet8u986dK55p_cv9DmtcODwwCHFJsZBACZ82GBvg3LScfXSU/s1600/000_CD80X-e1466896043173-1024x640.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="1024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSktpCpVIcS3M88HJTFJda8XUhJtOYgMC5GWkBbxTtLUeAFsSi7zXLVKPHsmGKaDvrrbZ3DsrVaDf6RzOGHRoaYGrxfoGet8u986dK55p_cv9DmtcODwwCHFJsZBACZ82GBvg3LScfXSU/s640/000_CD80X-e1466896043173-1024x640.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> Source: AFP / Justin Tallis</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<b style="color: #26282a;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Look around you and you will notice very little positive news. It does exist, of course: there is water on Mars; a Thai youth football team was rescued using innovative techniques despite the odds against them; the Duchess of Sussex will probably wear something stunning to a public event some time soon. None of these are political issues, of course. In this field, things seem to be in utter meltdown. Everywhere.</span></span></b><br />
<b style="color: #26282a;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></b>
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<div style="background-color: white; color: #26282a; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Theresa May’s hijacking of Brexit. Trump’s infallibility despite overwhelming evidence he’s more than likely a big-time crook and a sleazy pervert. Viktor Orbán and his illiberal democracy. Poland’s PiS party taking away citizens’ rights. Spain’s unjustifiably rough treatment of Catalan separatists. Putin infiltrating Western democracy, to the extent he was able to poison a few civilians in the English countryside. But most of all, a large number of ordinary people who either don’t believe these things are actually happening, or worse, don’t wish to know about them because they’ll just make them have to do something that will require time and effort away from their busy lives.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">People often try to remain superficially indifferent in order not to get press-ganged into something they are reluctant to do, like make a stand against injustice or read up on important issues, when they could be buying that ultra-important pair of boots on Amazon, or giving the dog a haircut. Others don't want to stick their heads above the parapet in case they have trouble further down the line. Yes, we all hate being accosted on the streets by clipboard warriors. I'm not talking about that. </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">But...</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Right now, we are about to go into a period of immeasurable darkness once again, and what are people doing about it? They're polishing their driveways or mowing the carpets. They're doing anything except confronting the most important issue facing our civilisation since 1936. The current coordinated effort by ruthless individuals like Aaron Banks, or Steve Bannon and his band of merry men and women to smash Western democracy and install right-wing regimes should be blasted all over the media in the same way the Cuban Missile Crisis was back in the sixties.</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">But it isn't. </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And the reasons are simple: firstly, people would be utterly petrified. Secondly, many news outlets are party to this invasion. And thirdly, people are more interested in things that are harmless, fun, or that raise anger and prejudice, which is why the newspapers contain stories of violent lesbians, immigrant sex predators, Polish thieves or Mexican murderers. Of course, none of </span><i style="color: black; font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">ours </i><span style="color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">acts remotely in that way, do they? Noooo... </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">These headlines stand out because they are done by people who aren't in your </span><i style="color: black; font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">tribe</i><span style="color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">. The fact is, most of the homosexual people I know are virtually incapable of violence; all the immigrants that I know are more likely to offer me a drink and a chat; all Polish people I know are hard-working, efficient and cerebral, and I know a couple of Mexicans, and they're pretty chilled out dudes. The fact of the matter is, right-wingers, and by that I mean people in the alt-right movement will say "if we can make a few in those enemy groups out to be wicked people, we can fool some in our society that the rest are like that too." </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The alt-right is pushing hard against the new 21st-century norms and standards that most of us take for granted as a society, such as women's reproductive rights, choice of gender and sexuality, freedom of movement of goods and people within a trading bloc such as the EU, international programmes such as Erasmus, acceptance of climate change, and I am almost convinced that they are experimenting with wacko ideas such as the flat earthers and creationists to see how far they can push people's gullibility. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Dividing society down very strong, defined lines of demarcation is one of the steps on the road to aggressively marginalising their enemies. Once they have cordoned them off, no matter how large their numbers are in comparison, they can try to gain power through promising certain positive measures that many will benefit from (see the PiS party's rollout of childcare payments in Poland). Then, after they have gained power, they can execute the other things in their manifestos where yes, they carry out what they said they would, but on the side introduce marginalising or restricting measures on their ideological opposites, such as gay people in Russia, or pro-choicers in some parts of the US. They may also try to manipulate the judiciary so that their policies are more easily enshrined in law, sometimes for generations to come.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">If you think my opinions are unthinkable, I advise you to check out the current situation in Poland and Hungary. Their spinmasters will say that these are necessary measures to do with the security of the people, but it is more to do with the implementation of their nefarious ideology.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And in all this, the moderate people sit back, content with their twice-yearly holidays, TV packages, family cars and visits to the park. They want life to carry on for them, so they sit there pretending not to notice. Many of them will have voted for all types of parties and both sides of the 2016 Brexit referendum. It's not about one side or another, it's about the silent majority. It is these people that need to be engaged the most, as it is these people that will decide if the nasty guys get in or not.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Think about it: how many decent folk do you know (you know the type: friendly, upstanding, clever, etc.) but wore MAGA caps or stuck a Leave.EU banner in their windows? Many of them voted for Trump mainly because they couldn't stand the thought of Hillary in the White House; many voted Brexit because they felt excluded from society; and that's fair enough. But a lot of them were bombarded with propaganda on immigrants stealing jobs, property and children. They were conned into thinking a darker skin colour is a sure sign of a troublemaker. In the Brexit referendum, there was a twist in the tail: apparently, the full hospitals, blocked roads, lack of affordable housing and overcrowded schools were due to too many foreigners, and nothing to do with government under-investment over many decades.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And this is where we find ourselves today - in this ideological battle between right-wing rule breakers and fair-minded folk. It is not too late to halt this criminal ideological takeover of our society: we can get out the message to more decent, ordinary folk who vote certain ways out of tradition or class rather than for justice. I mean, it is still incredible how many people still want to vote Tory, despite their total mismanagement of the country and the Brexit process. Surely, these people can be persuaded to vote for another party. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">We need to halt the rush backwards towards the intolerance and prejudices of the past, and we need to start now. We need to push people's buttons to make them see we are being manipulated into a new era of segregation and fear. The reality is that we have never been more prosperous or contented than now, but it does not feel like that, because it's not in the interests of the alt-right and their friends in the media to portray it so. The alt-right needs to spread misery and doom, and that is what sells newspapers, so they leech off each other.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">In order to stop this, we need to look at several aspects: firstly, who is subsidising all this activity, and why? Secondly, just how many fake profiles are there on niche Facebook groups, or the comments section of newspapers, spouting all kinds of aggressive nonsense to make out that there are so many more people out there with the same intolerant views? And thirdly, how can we make a difference in fighting back? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I have myself come up against a neo-fascist recently on Facebook, and it wasn't pretty. When I challenged his views, he accused me of being weak-willed and lacking in coherence (if anyone knows me, they know that is exactly the opposite of what I am). This was despite me banging on vehemently for long, sweeping paragraphs about why he was wrong in every single syllable of his nonsense. I provided evidence and links too. But no, it was dismissed with a figurative sweep of his hands, and a literal one over the "block user" option on his Facebook profile. Just before he did, like some super-villain getting a rush by telling his victim how he's going to kill him, he announced he was going to block me, so I had a millisecond to react, and I managed to accuse him of being a coward because he didn't want to debate.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">What happened there was what is happening everywhere at the moment. The Orwellian 2 + 2 = 5 dogma is well and truly alive in these people: it is the twisting of everything to the benefit of the lie. The fact he was the one who more or less called me a snowflake, and yet it was he who blocked me out of unwillingness to have his views challenged, demonstrates a fragility, vanity and feebleness in the minds of these people that can be used against them. By assuring you hold the truth, and enough of your allies rally round you, you can defeat these guys. But here is the catch: nearly nobody will. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I recently had a guy living below me whose premise on this Earth was to get through life without making too much of a ripple. Even if he saw an injustice, he kept out of it. He told me of his "triumphs" at escaping from having to deal with thugs and drug pushers at a bar he used to work in. He disapproved of my outspokenness, not that I took heed of that. These people need to be railed against for their utter refusal to stand up and be counted in these, the most programmatic of days. We cannot afford to just give up and let the alt-right overrun us. We need to give them a good shake to awaken their spirits and get them motivated to do something, even if it is to put their X on a ballot sheet every 4 or 5 years somewhere other than their default choice.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Just remember what John Stuart Mill said: "</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #111111;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing." </span></span></div>
LitskiLitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16549641203135530584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-896656160555503731.post-3679594399490041552018-05-23T12:38:00.002+02:002018-05-23T15:58:29.411+02:00Want to call me a snowflake? Go ahead, creep, you're dying out anyhow.<b>I've been reading a lot of total BS recently. There are some real creepy people out there. So many nasty, mealy-mouthed cynics who hide behind a computer screen and an anonymous profile, spouting off any old opinionated guff that they think will offend their opponents, who are just ordinary people with middle-of-the-road ideals. But they're in for a shock. Most reasonable people I know are thick-skinned and mature, whereas some of the right-wingers I know take offence at the smallest thing, even down to being posed a relevant question that they don't like. And they call us the snowflakes!</b><br />
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I don't know what it is about certain conservatives and their sensitivities, but they seem to think it's OK for them to spout off insensitive and (let's be honest) immature nonsense on anything they deem a target. For example, readers on a certain right-wing online newspaper (yes, I read it - got to know what the enemy is doing!) who thought the address by Bishop Michael Curry at Harry and Meghan's wedding was either boring, manic, inappropriate, untrue or just pandering to liberal ideology. One reader wrote, "I bet his wife beats him. He might as well transition now. He's not a real man anyway". Another poster said "he used the pulpit to fulfil his own self-esteem issues. Sickening." Someone agreed, saying "Why did he think he did not have to stick to his allotted 5 minutes? Outrageous!"<br />
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Anyhow, all throughout that newspaper's website, those who disagree with their vitriolic rhetoric are truly savaged. There is rarely a sensible disagreement between readers. And most of the time it is these creepy individuals who seem to revel in spouting unfriendly remarks at those they don't like (friends of the LGBTQ community, supporters of sexual equality, gun control activists, believers in climate change, advocates of free health care, etc.). I mean, it's OK to disagree, it's OK not to like what the other one says or does, but there is no need to really be so mean and abusive.<br />
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When this is pointed out, they cry "snowflake!" Well no. Actually, it is they who fear the enemy more than the enemy fears them. That is why they attack so hard. They are slowly dwindling in numbers, while the new generation is on the rise. I have seen some remarkable things in the new generation that I think will change the political landscape, as long as the lunatics don't get us all blown up. There will be less chance of a war; there will be less nationalism and fence-building; there will be more diversity in society as we see more barriers broken down; there will be less ideology of any kind, both religious or political; but most of all, many of the world's problems will be solved by a simple question: "why the hell is this still an issue?"<br />
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Change is coming, and this current wave of nastiness from the right is their last hurrah, a little like a sea monster who refuses to die after being fatally harpooned, and chooses to attack hard while it still has some breath. Now, when I say right-wingers, I shouldn't leave out left-wingers, or should I say left-whingers, as they're also a right royal pain in the jacksie. Extreme left-wingers of the rioting, property-hating mask-wearing variety, though, will slowly die off of their own accord once the new generation establishes itself more in society. We need to take care of the biggest obstacle to peace: those on the far-right who seem to be gaining in numbers.<br />
<br />
We need proper controls over extremist rhetoric, no matter which side of the political spectrum it comes. We need to balance freedom of speech with freedom to live without fear of being attacked, whether online or in reality, whether with words or with fists or with weapons. We need the reasonable, but silent, majority to take a stand. That will not happen unless things get out of control. So it is up to the rest of us, those who actively stand up to injustice and intolerance wherever we see it, and look it squarely in the eye. Change did not happen because people chose to ignore the problem.LitskiLitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16549641203135530584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-896656160555503731.post-63159710125191301132018-04-06T10:53:00.002+02:002018-04-06T18:34:09.989+02:00What has the EU ever done for us?<div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; margin-bottom: 6px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I am a proud member of The 48%, a Facebook group that aims to assist in the coordination of efforts to reverse Brexit, or at the very least lobby to reapply to the EU after leaving. The advantage of reapplying after leaving is there will have to be a period of time for British Quitters to understand how cold it is out there outside of the family. The added advantage of leaving and re-entering is that the UK and its people will probably be more engaged in the EU than it is now or has been for the last 45 years. There will be some glitches to iron out, like Spanish reticence to let the UK back in without a deal on Gibraltar, and the new rule that all new member states have to promise to join the euro and Schengen. But I'm sure it'll be OK in the long run.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Anyhow, Mr Paul Cawthorne has come up with a splendid list of reasons to stay. This is from a post of his:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">100 BENEFITS FOR THE UK OF EU MEMBERSHIP<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Why are we leaving the EU?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Can any Brexiteers come up with 100 good reasons for Brexit? Here are 100 reasons against...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">1. Membership of the world’s largest trading bloc with over
500 million consumers, representing 23% of global GDP<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">2. The UK has greater global influence as a member of the EU<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">3. The EU provides a counterweight to the global power of
the US, Russia and China<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">4. With Trump in the White House the UK’s strongest natural
allies are France, Germany and our other West European neighbours<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">5. Tariff-free trade within the EU<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">6. The abolition of non-tariff barriers (quotas, subsidies,
administrative rules etc.) among members<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">7. Participation in free trade agreements with Japan and
Canada as an EU member<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">8. The EU accounts for 44% of all UK exports of goods and
services<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">9. The EU accounts for 53% of all UK imports of goods and
services<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">10. Cheaper food and alcohol imports from continental Europe<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">11. As a member of the EU the UK maintains a say in the
shaping of the rules governing its trade with its European partners<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">12. 3.1 million jobs in the UK are directly linked to
exports to the EU<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">13. Free movement of labour has helped UK firms plug skills
gaps (translators, doctors, plumbers)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">14. Free movement of labour has helped address shortages of
unskilled workers (fruit picking, catering)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">15. The Single Market has brought the best continental
footballers to the Premier League<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">16. The EU accounts for 47% of the UK’s stock of inward
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), worth over $1.2 trillion.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">17. Access to the EU Single Market has helped attract investment
into the UK from outside the EU<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">18. No paperwork or customs for UK exports throughout the
single market<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">19. Price transparency and removal of commissions on
currency transactions across the Eurozone<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">20. FDI into the UK has effectively doubled since the
creation of the EU Single Market<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">21. The UK’s net contribution to the EU budget is around
€7.3bn, or 0.4% of GDP (less than an eighth of the UK’s defence spending)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">22. No time consuming border checks for travellers (apart
from in the UK)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">23. The City of London, as a global financial hub, has acted
as a bridge between foreign business and the EU<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">24. British banks and insurance companies have been able to
operate freely across the EU<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">25. Cornwall receives up to £750 million per year from the
EU Social Fund (ESF)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">26. Structural funding for areas of the UK hit by industrial
decline (South Wales, Yorkshire)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">27. Support for rural areas under the European Agricultural
Fund for Regional Development (EAFRD)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">28. EU funding for infrastructure projects in the UK including
£122 million for the “Midlands engine” project<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">29. Financial support from the EU for over 3000 small and
medium enterprises (SMEs) in the UK<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">30. EU funding for the British film industry<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">31. EU funding for British theatre, music and dance<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">32. EU funding for British sport, including football
apprenticeships, tennis and rugby league<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">33. Glasgow (1990) and Liverpool (2008) benefitted from
being European capitals of culture, stimulating their local economies<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">34. EU competition laws protect consumers by combatting
monopolistic business practices<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">35. Strict controls on the operations of Multinational
Corporations (MNCs) in the EU<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">36. Human Rights protected under the EU Charter of
Fundamental Rights<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">37. The death penalty can never be reintroduced as it is
incompatible with EU membership<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">38. Minority languages such as Welsh and Irish are
recognized and protected under EU law<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">39. The right to reside in any EU member state<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">40. The freedom to work in 28 countries without visa and
immigration restrictions<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">41. The mutual recognition of professional qualifications
has facilitated the free movement of engineers, teachers and doctors across the
EU<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">42. The mutual recognition of educational diplomas<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">43. The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages
(CEFR) has standardized assessment of language proficiency across the EU<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">44. The freedom to study in 28 countries (many EU
universities teach courses in English and charge lower fees than in the UK)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">45. The Erasmus programme of university exchanges (benefitting
16000 UK students a year)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">46. The freedom to set up a business in 28 countries<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">47. The ability to retire in any member state<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">48. Pension transferability<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">49. The right to vote in local and European Parliamentary
elections if resident in any member state<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">50. EU laws making it easier for British people to buy
property on the continent<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">51. The right to receive emergency healthcare in any member
state (EHIC card)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">52. Consular protection from any EU embassy outside the EU<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">53. The EU has played a leading role in combating global
warming (Paris 2015 climate change conference)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">54. Common EU greenhouse gas emissions targets (19%
reduction from 1990 to 2015)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">55. Improvements in air quality (significant reductions in
sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides) as a result of EU legislation<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">56. Reductions in sewage emissions<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">57. Improvements in the quality of beaches and bathing water<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">58. EU standards on the quality of drinking water<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">59. Restrictions on landfill dumping<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">60. EU targets for recycling<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">61. Common EU regulations on the transportation and disposal
of toxic waste<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">62. The implementation of EU policies to reduce noise
pollution in urban areas<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">63. EU policies have stimulated offshore wind farms<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">64. Strict safety standards for cars, buses and trucks<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">65. Protection of endangered species and habitats (EU Natura
2000 network)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">66. Strict ban on animal testing in the cosmetics industry<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">67. Membership of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) which
monitors the quality and safety of medicines (until recently located in London)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">68. 13% of EU budget earmarked for scientific research and
innovation<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">69. The UK receives £730 million a year in EU funding for
research<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">70. EU funding for UK universities<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">71. Cooperation in the peaceful use of nuclear energy as a member
of Euratom<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">72. Minimum paid annual leave and time off work (Working
Time Directive)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">73. Equal pay between men and women enshrined in European
law since 1957<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">74. The right to work no more than 48 hours a week without
paid overtime<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">75. Minimum guaranteed maternity leave of 14 weeks for
pregnant women<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">76. Rights to a minimum 18 weeks of parental leave after
child birth<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">77. EU anti-discrimination laws governing age, religion and
sexual orientation<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">78. EU rules governing health and safety at work<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">79. The rights to collective bargaining and trade union
membership are enshrined in EU employment law<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">80. The UK enjoys an opt out from the single currency and
maintains full control of its borders as a non-member of the Schengen area<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">81. Since 1985 the UK has received a budget rebate
equivalent to 66% of its net contribution to the EU budget<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">82. EU cross-country coordination offers greater protection
from terrorists, pedophiles, people traffickers and cyber-crime<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">83. The European common arrest warrant<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">84. Europe-wide patent and copyright protection<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">85. EU consumer protection laws concerning transparency and
product guarantees of quality and safety<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">86. Improved food labelling<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">87. A ban on growth hormones and other harmful food
additives<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">88. Cheaper air travel due to EU competition laws<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">89. Common EU air passenger rights<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">90. Deregulation of the European energy market has increased
consumer choice and lowered prices<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">91. Mutual recognition of the common European driving
licence<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">92. The introduction of the European pet passport<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">93. The abolition of mobile telephone roaming charges<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">94. The EU acts as a guarantor of the Irish Good Friday
Agreement<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">95. A frictionless Irish border<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">96. The EU acts as a guarantor of the special status of
Gibraltar<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">97. The EU helped support and maintain democracy in Spain,
Portugal and Greece from the 1970s and these countries have become major
destinations for British tourists<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">98. EU membership has helped facilitate intercultural
dialogue<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">99. UK membership of the EU has promoted the use of the
English language which has replaced French as the EU’s lingua franca<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">100. The EU has helped maintain peace in Europe for over 60
years<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="518d" name="518d" style="--baseline-multiplier: 0.17; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.84); letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-top: 29px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">To this end, Andy Bodle has begun compiling a list of reasons given by Leavers, gathered from Twitter, Facebook, comment threads, discussion forums and friends.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Here is his page: </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="https://extranewsfeed.com/50-dumb-fuck-reasons-for-leaving-the-eu-66a40c72c1da">https://extranewsfeed.com/50-dumb-fuck-reasons-for-leaving-the-eu-66a40c72c1da</a></span></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="518d" name="518d" style="--baseline-multiplier: 0.17; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.84); letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-top: 29px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: -0.003em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">1. “To reduce the length of the political food chain and bring democracy back within clearly defined borders of control.” (James Jackson, Medium)</span></span></div>
<div style="height: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--li" id="3f0c" name="3f0c" style="--baseline-multiplier: 0.17; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.84); letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-top: 29px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">2. “Because of all the EU laws that we have no say in.”</span></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="4eee" name="4eee" style="--baseline-multiplier: 0.17; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.84); letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-top: 29px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">3. “As a protest vote.”</span></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="18f3" name="18f3" style="--baseline-multiplier: 0.17; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.84); letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-top: 29px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">4. “Because I want it to be a close result.”</span></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="1703" name="1703" style="--baseline-multiplier: 0.17; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.84); letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-top: 29px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">5. “It [Sunderland] already is [a giant jobcentre]. That’s why I voted Leave, to put everyone else in the shit like us.” (Twitter)</span></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="004f" name="004f" style="--baseline-multiplier: 0.17; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.84); letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-top: 29px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">6. “To stick it to the toffs.”</span></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="eedb" name="eedb" style="--baseline-multiplier: 0.17; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.84); letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-top: 29px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">7. “To give Cameron a bloody nose.” (Express website)</span></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="0867" name="0867" style="--baseline-multiplier: 0.17; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.84); letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-top: 29px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">8. “To give Cameron a better negotiating position.”</span></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="c0f6" name="c0f6" style="--baseline-multiplier: 0.17; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.84); letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-top: 29px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">9. “Because the EU closed the coalmines.”</span></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="5578" name="5578" style="--baseline-multiplier: 0.17; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.84); letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-top: 29px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">10. “Because I thought we had been in long enough.”</span></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="56e4" name="56e4" style="--baseline-multiplier: 0.17; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.84); letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-top: 29px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">11. “Because I had the hump.”</span></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="ae39" name="ae39" style="--baseline-multiplier: 0.17; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.84); letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-top: 29px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">12. “Because now our lads will get out of prison, ‘cos there will be jobs for them.”</span></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="4ddd" name="4ddd" style="--baseline-multiplier: 0.17; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.84); letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-top: 29px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">13. “The main reason I voted out was because the EU parliament aren’t elected representatives. The second is, they pass laws that affect us, but we aren’t given a say. Third, we need to sort our own house out” (Joanne, Facebook, giving exactly the same — factually wrong — reason in three different ways)</span></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="906b" name="906b" style="--baseline-multiplier: 0.17; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.84); letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-top: 29px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">14. “Because I felt uncomfortable when a group of brown people got on the bus the other day.” (Family member)</span></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="0c9f" name="0c9f" style="--baseline-multiplier: 0.17; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.84); letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-top: 29px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">15. “Because the EU made them change Marathons to Snickers.” [That decision was taken by Mars, not the EU.]</span></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="4ac9" name="4ac9" style="--baseline-multiplier: 0.17; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.84); letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-top: 29px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">16. “Because they banned our bendy bananas.” (Express website) [The EU introduced <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="http://www.europarl.org.uk/en/media/euromyths/bendybananas.html" href="http://www.europarl.org.uk/en/media/euromyths/bendybananas.html" rel="noopener" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.54); background-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.68) 50%, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%); background-position: 0px 1.07em; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 2px 0.1em; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">a law stipulating that bananas should be given different classifications depending on their curvature</a>. No fruit was ever banned, just classified differently.]</span></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="a03e" name="a03e" style="--baseline-multiplier: 0.17; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.84); letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-top: 29px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">17. “Because fishermen now won’t have to throw fish back in the water and Muslim women will no longer be told by their husbands not to wear make-up.” (Caller to LBC) [The exact effect of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU will have on fishing waters and quotas must wait until nenotiations are complete, but we will still need agreements with out neighbours, and limits to prevent overfishing, which our neighbours will probably wish to remain broadly the same.]</span></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="5189" name="5189" style="--baseline-multiplier: 0.17; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.84); letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-top: 29px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">18. “Because I’ve lived here all my life and when I was growing up, that street over there was filled with shops.” (TV documentary)</span></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="e6d5" name="e6d5" style="--baseline-multiplier: 0.17; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.84); letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-top: 29px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">19. “To stop the Muslims immigrating here.” [Migration is unrestricted within the EU. But individual nations are responsible for setting their own limits on immigration from non-EU countries, such as those where the majority of citizens are Muslims. Leaving the EU will have no direct effect on the number of Muslims coming to the UK.]</span></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="fc76" name="fc76" style="--baseline-multiplier: 0.17; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.84); letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-top: 29px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">20. “Because I want our old lightbulbs back!” [The EU has placed restrictions on the sale of old-style incandescent light bulbs in a bid to reduce energy wastage and slow global warming.]</span></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="f062" name="f062" style="--baseline-multiplier: 0.17; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.84); letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-top: 29px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">21. “Because vaccines should not be mandatory.” [The EU has never passed any law making vaccination mandatory, even though vaccination is widely regarded as being a pretty good idea. Some European countries have done so of their own volition.]</span></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="78f0" name="78f0" style="--baseline-multiplier: 0.17; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.84); letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-top: 29px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">22. “Because the Queen said.” (Pro-Brexit Facebook group)</span></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="95ea" name="95ea" style="--baseline-multiplier: 0.17; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.84); letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-top: 29px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">23. “Because we should not be signing up to TTIP.” [TTIP is a trade deal between EU and America, which the EU has just put on hold. After the UK leaves the EU, most commentators believe it will sign up to a similar deal with the US, probably with fewer checks and balances.]</span></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="478e" name="478e" style="--baseline-multiplier: 0.17; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.84); letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-top: 29px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">24. “Because we are like Germany, and Germany isn’t in the EU.” [Germany was a founding member of the EU.]</span></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="0a04" name="0a04" style="--baseline-multiplier: 0.17; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.84); letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-top: 29px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">25. “Because the country is full.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">26. “To annoy my wife.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">27. “It will be an adventure!”</span></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="6043" name="6043" style="--baseline-multiplier: 0.17; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.84); letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-top: 29px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">28. “Because the value of the euro is going to go down.” [Even if it were true, this would not have a marked effect on the UK’s economy. Since the vote, sterling is down 18% against the dollar and 15% against the euro.]</span></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="c3a6" name="c3a6" style="--baseline-multiplier: 0.17; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.84); letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-top: 29px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">29. “So that I can get cheap photovoltaic panels from China.”</span></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="70e8" name="70e8" style="--baseline-multiplier: 0.17; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.84); letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-top: 29px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">30. “Because otherwise, 7 million Turks will come over here.” (Caller to LBC radio station) [Turkey would never have been able to join the EU so long as Britain used its veto.]</span></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="f8d0" name="f8d0" style="--baseline-multiplier: 0.17; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.84); letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-top: 29px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">31. “Because I am fed up with being ruled by unelected bureaucrats.” [The EU parliament is directly elected in regular European elections. The European commission —essentially the union’s civil service — recruits its own members.]</span></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="039a" name="039a" style="--baseline-multiplier: 0.17; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.84); letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-top: 29px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">32. “Because I didn’t want my sons to have to join a European army.” [The EU would never have formed an army so long as Britain exercised its veto. Even if it did, conscription would be a political and practical impossibility.]</span></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="9af6" name="9af6" style="--baseline-multiplier: 0.17; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.84); letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-top: 29px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">33. “Because there’s too many Pakistan [sic] people in Glasgow.” [I repeat: EU membership has no bearing on immigration from outside the EU.]</span></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="6335" name="6335" style="--baseline-multiplier: 0.17; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.84); letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-top: 29px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">34. “Because it takes more than 5 litres of water to flush my shit away.”</span></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="4660" name="4660" style="--baseline-multiplier: 0.17; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.84); letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-top: 29px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">35. “Because EU taxes are making our petrol more expensive than everywhere else in Europe.” [No, those would be taxes imposed by the UK’s government. The EU plays no part in setting national tax rates.]</span></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="2bd9" name="2bd9" style="--baseline-multiplier: 0.17; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.84); letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-top: 29px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">36. “To send them women in the headscarves back home. One of them stole my mother’s purse.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">37. “Because I don’t like what the EU is doing to Africa.”</span></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="198b" name="198b" style="--baseline-multiplier: 0.17; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.84); letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-top: 29px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">38. “Because I’m scared of black people. They’re so physical.” (Mother-in-law of member of Facebook group) [The mechanism by which leaving the EU will rid the UK of black people is unclear.]</span></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="09bc" name="09bc" style="--baseline-multiplier: 0.17; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.84); letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-top: 29px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">39. “I don’t want to send money to Greece. I don’t care about Greece.”</span></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="0264" name="0264" style="--baseline-multiplier: 0.17; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.84); letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-top: 29px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">40. “Because the EU does nothing for us.” [Estimates of the value of EU membership to the UK vary from £31bn to £92bn per year.]</span></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="c618" name="c618" style="--baseline-multiplier: 0.17; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.84); letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-top: 29px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">41. “Because the EU has devoted 26,911 words to the regulation of cabbages.” [Seems quite a minor thing to sacrifice 10% of your pay packet for, but in any case, it’s bollocks. There are at present <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-35962999" href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-35962999" rel="noopener" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.54); background-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.68) 50%, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%); background-position: 0px 1.07em; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 2px 0.1em; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">zero words</a> in EU legislation specifically governing the production or sale of cabbages.]</span></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="5f1d" name="5f1d" style="--baseline-multiplier: 0.17; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.84); letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-top: 29px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">42. “Because our prisons are full of Polish rapists.” [As of March 2016, there were <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="http://www.parliament.uk/briefing-papers/sn04334.pdf" href="http://www.parliament.uk/briefing-papers/sn04334.pdf" rel="noopener" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.54); background-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.68) 50%, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%); background-position: 0px 1.07em; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 2px 0.1em; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">965 Polish nationals in British prisons</a>. That’s out of a total Polish population of just over 800,000 — so 0.12% of all Poles here are convicted criminals. The total number of prisoners is around 95,000; about 0.14% of the population as a whole. I can’t find any figures broken down into both ethnicity and crime.]</span></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="95db" name="95db" style="--baseline-multiplier: 0.17; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.84); letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-top: 29px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">43. “Because the roads in Oxfordshire are full of potholes.” [Technically, such matters fall within the local council’s purview.]</span></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="0452" name="0452" style="--baseline-multiplier: 0.17; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.84); letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-top: 29px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">44. “Because the EU is anti-semitic.”</span></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="4294" name="4294" style="--baseline-multiplier: 0.17; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.84); letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-top: 29px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">45. “So that we can go back to the way Britain was in the 50s.”</span></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="4edd" name="4edd" style="--baseline-multiplier: 0.17; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.84); letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-top: 29px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">46. “Because they sold off the water, gas and electricity.” [Once again, that would be the work of the UK government, not the EU.]</span></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="18a1" name="18a1" style="--baseline-multiplier: 0.17; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.84); letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-top: 29px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">47. “Because I couldn’t decide, and my boyfriend voted Remain.”</span></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="031a" name="031a" style="--baseline-multiplier: 0.17; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.84); letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-top: 29px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">48. “Because schools are no longer allowed to hold nativity plays in case they offend Muslims.” [Utter crap.]</span></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="302a" name="302a" style="--baseline-multiplier: 0.17; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.84); letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-top: 29px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">49. “Because the EU spent £13m on art last year.”</span></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="9b33" name="9b33" style="--baseline-multiplier: 0.17; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.84); letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-top: 29px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">50. “Because they never vote for us in Eurovision.”</span></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="527d" name="527d" style="--baseline-multiplier: 0.17; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.84); letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-top: 29px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">51. “Because if we stop all the immigrants using the NHS, it will work properly again.”</span></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="e7b6" name="e7b6" style="--baseline-multiplier: 0.17; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.84); letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-top: 29px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">52. “So we don’t have to queue at the doctor’s.” [There is no clear consensus on the impact of immigration on the health service. Undoubtedly, more people in a country means more people to treat. But it is widely agreed that migrants to the UK are on average younger and healthier than the local population, that inward migration is good for the economy, which gives us more money to spend on the NHS, and that without migrant workers — 24% of doctors and 12% of nurses were not born in the UK — the health service would collapse. Besides, the <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="https://fullfact.org/europe/eu-immigration-and-pressure-nhs/" href="https://fullfact.org/europe/eu-immigration-and-pressure-nhs/" rel="noopener" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.54); background-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.68) 50%, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%); background-position: 0px 1.07em; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 2px 0.1em; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">ageing resident population</a> is by far the biggest strain on health services.]</span></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="6d0d" name="6d0d" style="--baseline-multiplier: 0.17; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.84); letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-top: 29px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">53. “Because I want a more powerful hoover.” (via Facebook group)</span></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="5178" name="5178" style="--baseline-multiplier: 0.17; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.84); letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-top: 29px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">54. “Because the EU is going to ban toasters, and I love toast.” (BBC interviewee) [The EU has never threatened to ban toasters. It is, however, considering a limit on the amount of energy that household appliances can use, in a bid to reduce the effect on the environment.]</span></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="0d7e" name="0d7e" style="--baseline-multiplier: 0.17; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.84); letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-top: 29px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">55. “So we can have our electrical sockets low down by the skirting rather than have to put them little higher up the wall.”</span></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="d699" name="d699" style="--baseline-multiplier: 0.17; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.84); letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-top: 29px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">56. “Because they are building houses for Filipinos and it’s blocking the view from my kitchen window.”</span></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="e652" name="e652" style="--baseline-multiplier: 0.17; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.84); letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-top: 29px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">57. “Because I don’t understand politics. This is what my friends suggested.”</span></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="960d" name="960d" style="--baseline-multiplier: 0.17; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.84); letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-top: 29px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">58. “Because there’s too much traffic in Sittingbourne.”</span></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="f7e1" name="f7e1" style="--baseline-multiplier: 0.17; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.84); letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-top: 29px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">59.”Because they tell me I need scaffolding to clean my guttering.” [Really not sure where this information came from.]</span></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="be75" name="be75" style="--baseline-multiplier: 0.17; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.84); letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-top: 29px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">60. “Because I fancied a change.” (Caller to Radio 4 programme)</span></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="040b" name="040b" style="--baseline-multiplier: 0.17; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.84); letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-top: 29px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">61. “My uncle voted Leave because his sister told him to.”</span></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="9dda" name="9dda" style="--baseline-multiplier: 0.17; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.84); letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-top: 29px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">62. “Because the European Parliament building is the same shape as the Tower of Babel, which is anti-Christ.” (Facebook group’s family member)</span></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="9627" name="9627" style="--baseline-multiplier: 0.17; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.84); letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-top: 29px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">63. “So all the fucking Chinks will leave.”</span></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="43f5" name="43f5" style="--baseline-multiplier: 0.17; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.84); letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-top: 29px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">64. “Because the ensuing recession is going to bring house prices down, and I can’t afford to buy a house.”</span></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="1797" name="1797" style="--baseline-multiplier: 0.17; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.84); letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-top: 29px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">65. “Because I want to buy sweets in ounces, not grammes.” [The UK adopted the metric system before entering the then European Economic Community. In any case, there’s nothing stopping shops selling things in imperial measures as well as metric.]</span></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="9164" name="9164" style="--baseline-multiplier: 0.17; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.84); letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-top: 29px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">66. “Because they don’t pay for NHS prescriptions in Wales and Scotland, and that’s not fair.” (Manchester resident, in TV interview) [Again, nothing to do with the EU.]</span></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="f70b" name="f70b" style="--baseline-multiplier: 0.17; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.84); letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-top: 29px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">67. “So that I don’t have to pay the bedroom tax.” [The bedroom tax was imposed not by the EU, but by … oh, can’t you guess by now?]</span></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="2243" name="2243" style="--baseline-multiplier: 0.17; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.84); letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-top: 29px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">68. “Because I’m fed up of the French burning our lamb.” (Frank, Twitter)</span></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="8243" name="8243" style="--baseline-multiplier: 0.17; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.84); letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-top: 29px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">69. “Because I want to use my teabag twice and the EU won’t let me.” (Aunt of friend of commenter) [<a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/boris-johnson-forced-admit-eu-7612519" href="http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/boris-johnson-forced-admit-eu-7612519" rel="noopener" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.54); background-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.68) 50%, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%); background-position: 0px 1.07em; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 2px 0.1em; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">This was another falsehood peddled by Boris Johnson</a>.]</span></div>
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LitskiLitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16549641203135530584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-896656160555503731.post-11106160888899201412017-08-24T18:46:00.000+02:002017-08-24T18:46:22.549+02:00There's a big reason why the UK may not actually leave the EU<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><br /></b>
<b>Switch on your TV and some politician, </b><b>no matter what side of the fence they sit on, </b><b>will say "the British people voted to leave the EU, and that's what we're going to do". There are Remainer members of the public who say "we accept the result of the referendum and we have to abide by it". But deep inside the minds of many, there is a profound sense of having made a terrible mistake. As every day passes, more and more articles in the mainstream press, including even the most rabidly fervent pro-Brexit papers, are appearing, containing bad news on the UK's withdrawal from the EU. </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>This is to me a sign that most newspapers, including the vitriolically parochial Express and the excrescent Mail, didn't really believe the UK was going to actually go through with voting to leave the EU, but had found a niche in propagating xenophobic lies for profit, and now they have fulfilled their readers' wishes, they don't quite know which way to go and seem to be hedging their bets... added to this is a fightback by the readers - lots of replies to articles expressing regret, apportioning blame and venting anger. Here, I list some recent articles to make my point:</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<br />
This article from the Mail admitting that Brexit is not yielding the bounty it was supposed to:<br />
<a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/comment/article-4784688/The-Brexiteers-lost-economic-argument.html" target="_blank">http://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/comment/article-4784688/The-Brexiteers-lost-economic-argument.html</a><br />
<br />
<br />
This article, with a link to The Spectator, detailing how the chief director of the Leave campaign admits to lying to achieving his goal:<br />
<a href="http://www.europeanscom.eu/leave-director-admitted-the-brexit-referendum-was-won-by-lying-to-the-public/">http://www.europeanscom.eu/leave-director-admitted-the-brexit-referendum-was-won-by-lying-to-the-public/</a><br />
<br />
<br />
Business Insider reports that the promise of more manufacturing jobs is also not true:<br />
<a href="http://www.businessinsider.de/commerzbanks-peter-dixon-on-uk-manufacturing-after-brexit-2017-8?r=UK&IR=T">http://www.businessinsider.de/commerzbanks-peter-dixon-on-uk-manufacturing-after-brexit-2017-8?r=UK&IR=T</a><br />
<br />
<br />
Prospect Magazine has an interesting piece on how civil servants have told the government that the UK will have to choose between the US and EU trade models as it is too small and insignificant to set up its own (it seems to have sided with the EU, unless Liam Fox has his way):<br />
<a href="https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/politics/government-ecj-paper-european-britain">https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/politics/government-ecj-paper-european-britain</a><br />
<br />
<br />
There's this piece from the Telegraph, of all places, suggesting immigration figures were exaggerated:<br />
<a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/08/23/immigration-figures-review-new-checks-suggest-numbers-far-lower/">http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/08/23/immigration-figures-review-new-checks-suggest-numbers-far-lower/</a><br />
<br />
The Daily Mail also reports this:<br />
<a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4819922/Net-migration-Britain-100-000-LOWER.html">http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4819922/Net-migration-Britain-100-000-LOWER.html</a><br />
It's OK to report these things after having voted to leave the EU - nice bit of track-covering: when Brexit blows up in everyone's faces, they can say proudly, "we told you so!" (whatever the situation).<br />
<br />
<br />
We also have a surprise entry from Putin's mouthpiece, RT, who want to inform us that people have started to regret their decisions:<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABD-EZLVeRs">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABD-EZLVeRs</a><br />
<br />
<br />
This BBC report talks about the exodus of foreign workers and the reluctance of many to go to the UK to work:<br />
<a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-41036236">http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-41036236</a><br />
<br />
<br />
It is backed up by this Reuters report:<br />
<a href="http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-economy-food-idUKKCN1B32Q1">http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-economy-food-idUKKCN1B32Q1</a><br />
<br />
<br />
The Financial Times argues that giving up influence in Europe will not enhance influence elsewhere:<br />
<a href="https://www.ft.com/content/d9e595d0-8750-11e7-bf50-e1c239b45787">https://www.ft.com/content/d9e595d0-8750-11e7-bf50-e1c239b45787</a><br />
<br />
<br />
This article from Pound Sterling Live says in a very discreet and indirect way that the pound is not going to go too much lower against the Euro (currently €1.09 to £1.00) because J.P. Morgan says it looks like hard Brexit is not going to happen (they even lower their odds from 25% to 15% on the chances):<br />
<a href="https://www.poundsterlinglive.com/gbp-live-today/7363-gbp-to-eur-and-usd-forecast-update-jp-morgan">https://www.poundsterlinglive.com/gbp-live-today/7363-gbp-to-eur-and-usd-forecast-update-jp-morgan</a><br />
<br />
<br />
Here, we see the Pound Sterling as reported in the Independent, as the worst-performing of all major currencies:<br />
<a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/uk-economy-growth-q2-2017-half-eurozone-eu-europe-second-quarter-a7909706.html">http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/uk-economy-growth-q2-2017-half-eurozone-eu-europe-second-quarter-a7909706.html</a><br />
<br />
<br />
OK, the Guardian is the most pro-EU of all the papers, but it has this interesting editorial where, reading between the lines, it seems the government has given up on its hard Brexit wishlist:<br />
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/aug/23/the-guardian-view-on-uk-brexit-policy-this-time-the-lady-is-for-turning">https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/aug/23/the-guardian-view-on-uk-brexit-policy-this-time-the-lady-is-for-turning</a><br />
<br />
<br />
This one from the Welsh Daily Post concerns the effects of Brexit that are already biting:<br />
<a href="http://www.dailypost.co.uk/business/business-news/axe-threat-nearly-100-workers-13513704">http://www.dailypost.co.uk/business/business-news/axe-threat-nearly-100-workers-13513704</a><br />
<br />
<br />
<b>These are just some of the articles reporting the slow demise of Brexit. There are also many books, speeches and reports by all types of experts, professionals and those in business claiming Brexit is gradually being dumped:</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
This book is especially poignant:<br />
<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B06Y15DBTG/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1">https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B06Y15DBTG/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1</a><br />
<br />
It is called "<span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Brexit, No Exit: Why Britain (in the End) Won't Leave Europe" by Denis MacShane, and it goes into detail about how the UK (and the West in general) reached the point of protectionism and anti-globalisation but this may be just a blip.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><b>All-in-all, it is slowly but surely becoming clear to many people that the promises made last summer to the people of the United Kingdom were based on blatant lies, false premises and pipe dreams in an attempt to make the common man and woman vote to leave the European Union without realising the full ramifications. The government is going through the motions to make it seem they are still going ahead with it, but it is becoming more and more unlikely - impossible even - by the day.</b></span>LitskiLitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16549641203135530584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-896656160555503731.post-44948120392356437912017-08-02T12:34:00.001+02:002017-08-17T11:21:56.698+02:00Witnessing the end of my family connections<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><br /></b>
<b><br /></b>
<b>My sister is a Jehovah's Witness. She got cajoled into it by her husband, who met her during a period of enlightenment when he had left the organisation. He was soon made to rejoin through the usual shunning techniques employed by members, where they take away your access to them even in an unofficial capacity, and put himself and his unsuspecting victims - I mean family - back under the Watchtower Organisation's malevolent influence. </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>This all happened when I was a young boy, and I remember the day they came out to my mother. She was in floods of tears and whisked me away for consolation to my grandmother's house, where everyone present lamented the situation and realised there was little or nothing there could be done to change it. She is still a Witness (i.e. Watchtower employee) today, and the shenanigans I have seen, and the excuses I have had to put up with are enough to prove that their organisation is nothing more than an evil and manipulative publishing company, where all the "congregation" are in fact unpaid employees who are peddling their employers' wares to the easily-led, the ignorant and the lonely. Not to mention the stupid.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
There is something in psychology called cognitive dissonance, where a person makes a choice and if afterwards all evidence disproves it, they will still stick by their choice and defend it most vehemently. The most embarrassing part about this is in the real world ordinary deluded people caught up in a lie that they still believe often resort to physical or verbal abuse, but Witnesses don't believe in violence, so they either disengage from the conversation or they change the subject. In other words, they're a bunch of easily-duped, easy-to-please, confused and disoriented pussy cats who are looking for an easy explanation for complicated matters like geology or biology.<br />
<br />
There are no single-sentence explanations, which is why they require research and academic papers that can look a little tricky to read, but are not telling you an absolute lie handily packaged in neat little bundles of simple words. Read any Watchtower publication and it is so neatly expressed, so tidily packaged, that anyone of low academic ability or low self-esteem will immediately be hooked. It sums everything up so well, and all answered so satisfyingly easily.<br />
<b><br /></b>
What experiences can I bring up that I can talk about? Well - there are many, but here are some of the highlights:<br />
<br />
<b>1. Luring me into an engaging debate</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
One of the ways I have been "preached" to is by the systematic turn-taking of my sister, her husband and two daughters to engage me in conversation on a subject that I would find interesting, and then make a segue into something pseudo-religious before attempting to link that to their organisation. I can remember 6 times when this happened - two by the brother-in-law, two by my sister, and two by the daughters.<br />
<br />
There may have been more, but I don't tend to remember all conversations of a low-to-mediocre standard. The idea of engaging in this way is to then lead into something that may make one sit up and think (if one did not do much thinking beforehand). It generally made me think, yes, but mainly "if they have answers to everything, why haven't these people done much research?"<br />
<br />
For example, they knew I was into science, so they came up with the idea to "teach" me about why Jewish males are circumcised on the ninth day. Apparently, doctors have discovered, that day is when there is the least blood in that area of the boy's body and therefore "God" made it like that to aid in the process. This is, of course, without bothering to mention that it is practically the same for the first couple of weeks of any boy's life, not just the ninth day.<br />
<br />
I was routinely bombarded with "interesting" anecdotes like this, in the hope one would make me shriek "of course!" and join them forthwith. Most of them made me chuckle inside as I waited eagerly for the next beauty to be paraded before me. I remained respectful, because she was still my sister, and my <i>elder </i>sister at that, but deep inside, I could see she had done her research on me (that I liked trivia and interesting bits of information especially on history, science and language) and was aiming her artillery at me and what she thought was my weak spot. What she didn't know was that her weapon of choice was never ever going to be adequate to penetrate my defences, which are not actually that strong, as I am always open for persuasion. I am just not the typical dopey idealist that falls for the first simplistic explanation.<br />
<br />
<b>2. Let's show 'em how cool and ultra-modern we are!</b><br />
<br />
Then there was the time I was given a rundown on how fab their meetings are. This was supposed to tell me they were just "normal" people like everyone else. Well after listening to the kind of twee things they got up to, accompanied by the occasional chuckle at their really wild stories of singing karaoke and walking in the woods, I really felt like running in the other direction. If they weren't going for the hard sell, I may have gone along to one or two events, but this was far too badly dressed up. They apparently had a party back in the nineties when the Macarena was all the rage, but they couldn't sing that word because it was taboo to them, so they sang "Margarita" instead. Because you know, an alcoholic cocktail containing tequila and triple sec is far better to sing about than a Spanish girl's name taken from a Catholic saint, lest it enrage their "God". Wild times.<br />
<br />
What annoys me most about these moments of acting up-to-date is their utter contradiction in other areas. So they dance to contemporary songs, albeit with the words changed. So they talk about fashion and celebrities. Big deal. I have also been told about illnesses and cures, or the latest in dietary science from the most qualified of medics and academics. But they deny climate change, they deny geological evidence of the age of our planet and they deny a host of other scientific facts. Why is one OK to believe and the other not? Shouldn't you then just deny them all? Why are dietitians and oncologists to be believed, but astronomers and biologists not? Are they all lying to us? Are 98% of all climatologists in on some sick joke? I don't think so, but try telling them that.<br />
<br />
<b>3. The time I was accosted with a suit and a restaurant dinner</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
At no other time in my life did I feel quite so insulted as the day my brother-in-law thought it was a good idea to come all the way to Germany by car, with my sister and my father, to spend a couple of days being nice to me, and then dressing up in a suit and buying me dinner in order to break down my resistance before spinning me a yarn about how there were two Titanics and it was all an insurance setup, which bafflingly led into some discussion on God and stuff that I don't remember much about. I was receiving the Hard Sell, to which my reply was to look disdainfully at him and shake my head. He paid for the dinner and looked resigned to his fate, that he was never going to bring me on board. Until Stephen Hawking, David Attenborough and Brian Cox all declare the JWs to be right, I will still get my news on our planet from them and not from a bland group of gullible individuals who have never seen the inside of a lecture hall.<br />
<br />
<b>4. The great shunning tactic</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
One of the most despicable aspects of life as a Jaydub is their treatment of those that leave the congregation. They think it's all right to ignore them, reject them, forget about them, pretend they never existed. This has a traumatic effect on many, both those who are sunned and those forced to shun someone who used to be close. It is effectively a permanent exercise in mourning for those involved, but is a great way to prove loyalty from those who remain and to demand loyalty from those who leave. Basically, how it works is, a JW will only engage in conversation with outsiders when they either need something or if they think there's a hope they can persuade you to join.<br />
<br />
If you don't join, you are seen as a lost cause and therefore a dangerous influence on people, so you are kept at arm's length. (I have received this treatment from my sister's family for quite a while now. In fact, I can count on one hand the number of times she has called me since I left the UK in 2001. I have called many times more, but I do it a lot less these days.) If you leave their organisation, however, you are seen as an apostate. This means you have everything cut off - your friends and family, possibly your accommodation, and anything else they can remove from your life.<br />
<br />
It's basically cold shouldering on an institutionalised, systematic and unchristian level. What effect does this have? It makes you miss the warmth and kindness you experienced while basking in the glow of their fellowship. As soon as you leave, it's suddenly very cold outside. Many return even if they don't believe, just not to lose the things they hold in importance; others leave never to return because freedom of mind is more important to them than imprisonment of the soul, no matter who they left behind.<br />
<br />
<b>5. Cherry-picking factoids</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
"How dare you have a degree? How could you defy your Lord by believing in scientifically proven fact?! Don't you know this is untrue?!"<br />
<br />
I remember the Dinner of Intellectual Insult mentioned above, and my brother-in-law sighing in utter frustration and almost contempt after we told him we believed in Evolution. "Oh no, you're not Darwinists, are you?!" I mean it was said with the same vitriol as if I had just told him I had slept with his entire family.<br />
"Well yes, I bloody well am", I replied.<br />
To which the response was, "But you know it's called the <i>Theory</i> of Evolution for a reason? It's only a theory."<br />
And then I sadly needed to mansplain what an academic theory was - in the academic world, it is based on evidence and even proof, although it is called a theory just so as not to seem too pompous or presumptuous. At least that was my abridged version.<br />
<br />
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You will find this hilarious:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
The
NWT translation committee is anonymous. No names have been attributed to them.
Except the head translator, Frederick Franz, who studied Greek for 2 years (TWO
MEASLY YEARS!!!) and was SELF-TAUGHT IN HEBREW!!!!! My own acquisition of
languages over 30 years tells me that 2 years, the equivalent of 240 academic
hours of study, is not enough to be able to hold down a job in the language
you’ve been learning, so to translate the Bible is really quite a tall order. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
It is claimed the other three people on the translation committee were not even
as far along with their own language studies as our dear Mr Franz. That is the equivalent of a bunch of students in a houseshare, newly out of the parental home,
trying to rewire the electrics and fix up the plumbing with the aid of a few
written instructions on the back of a cigarette packet from one of their dads!</div>
<br />
<b>6. Patriarchal dominance and obedience</b><br />
<br />
This is one of the most manipulative points of being a Witness - having total control over your family and congregation as a man. When I confronted my brother-in-law at That Dinner about this, as to why women were not allowed to be leaders, his astonishing replies were firstly "because every month women experience their periods, which throws their hormones off-balance and makes them subject to irrational decisions," which brought on a bout of indignation followed by mirth from me and Lady Kirsten. I countered this with the fact that females were often better leaders and academically more capable than males. His riposte was one of the most ignorant I have ever come across: "What about Margaret Thatcher? She was awful." He simply forgot Pol Pot, Mugabe, Stalin, Jaruzelski, Attila the Hun, and Uncle Adolf himself.<br />
<br />
After having regained composure, I was still unable to respond adequately due to being rendered speechless.<br />
<br />
In any case, patriarchal dominance suits the Watchtower organisation most perfectly as it allows them pretty much to ride roughshod over anyone and everyone that stands in their way. There have been incidents where the man has joined the organisation but the rest of the family hasn't, and in order to assume control over the household, he denies money to the rest until they join him. This is an organisation not so far from being a mafia-like enterprise where leaving is virtually impossible for wives and children. I have heard of teenage daughters who have left the organisation and the rest of the family have all but cut her off, down to not buying clothes, giving her lifts to the station in the rain, or even cooking dinner for them.<br />
<br />
Patriarchal dominance is different to that in the established churches in that the Catholic Church denies women the right to be priests out of symbolism, and takes away women's rights to choose a termination or contraception out of dogmatic ideology (which is also wrong), but the Watchtower has rules for women that beggar belief, like wearing headscarves when carrying out gender-based stereotypical tasks in the absence of a male to do them, or denying them decision rights in the household (they are only to be consulted).<br />
<br />
Yes, all religions were once like this, but many have gone with the times. The Watchtower is still way behind the rest.<br />
<br />
<b>7. Keeping the flock ignorant</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
A truly abominable tactic of the Watchtower is to frown upon those who go to university, on the grounds that they will become corrupted and partake in some form of sinfulness of the secular world. In other words, they might better themselves, realise what a bunch of jerks they all had been until they woke up, and never to return to the fold. Nor would I if I had been finally enlightened in the <i>real</i> truth.<br />
<br />
Mentioning the truth, that's the codeword those people use to describe their organisation. They say "are you in the truth?" meaning "are you a Witness?" without realising the irony behind that. This article has not really done more than touched on their beliefs yet, because there is so much other stuff going on away from that, but the fact of the matter remains: the less academically gifted, the better. Why? Because critical thinking is easier to manipulate if you start from scratch. It's a bit like tank drivers in the British Army - they choose 17-year-olds to drive them because they haven't yet learned to drive an ordinary car, and can be trained only for tank-driving operations. And so the Witnesses prey on those who left school at 16 or 18, because they do not have the superior academic tools necessary to make fools out of Witnesses.<br />
<br />
One of the most hilarious moments when I was growing up, was when my sister claimed that a JW could quote the Bible better than anyone else, giving the example of an outing to a book and stationery shop: she said a JW boy was listening to a conversation between two non-practising members of the general public and their argument over Bible teaching. apparently the boy stepped in and guided them to the correct passage. She then said all JW children are better at quoting the Bible than everyone else. Well then... that should be handy at the next G20...<br />
<br />
I was sent a Watchtower brochure back in 2013 by another family member of mine who was flirting with joining (he has sadly since joined). It was basically some guff about "were we created and put here?" In other words, what is the evidence for Noah's flood and that we have only been on Earth for 6000 years? Lady Kirsten and I read some paragraphs in this very colourful, clearly-explained and well-illustrated booklet, having spontaneous bouts of hysterical laughter as we read out loud some of the passages contained in it. I won't elaborate, because I don't want to waste my time, and giving detail will add credence to their barmy beliefs, but what I can say is that I wrote a 54-page reply on MS Word in size 11 Calibri font as to why that piece of "literature" (his word, not mine!) was utter nonsense. I don't know if he read it, but I never heard from him on this subject again.<br />
<br />
He was "captured" in typical JW style - a close family member had just died, and in his vulnerable state, he was starting to ask questions as to where we came from and what we were doing here. My brother-in-law was there just in time to answer him, which brings me to...<br />
<br />
<b>8. (Not) being there in times of need</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
One of the tactics employed by JWs, which fits neatly into their strategy of only speaking to people who are, or could eventually be Witnesses, is their uncanny knack of being in the right place at the right time, and then somehow hoping you'll agree that they have some dominance over you through your debt to them. This can range from simply picking you up from the airport/station when you are rushing back to see a dying family member, to taking you to the doctor. There are even larger cases of altruism I have heard of and been subject to, for which I thank them, but this does not mean I want to join them and I would hope they would expect the same in return from me, although not as a Jehovah's Witness, but as a member of the human race. Only doing favours for, or being charitable to those in their organisation or who are potential new recruits, does not correspond very favourably with the teachings of their Lord and Saviour.<br />
<br />
<b>9. Pity me and my people</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Another super ruse to make people more sympathetic to them is to play the hard-done-by card. They tell you people vilify them, that they mock them and reject them time after time. You start feeling sorry for them. You start gaining a modicum of empathy and before you know it, you're in a conversation about how good they all are and how they are so badly misunderstood. Well quite. It's not that they are misunderstood, it is that people understand them all too well. Don't be fooled by this.<br />
<br />
On this matter, the one thing I have noticed is that they all speak in the same zombified tone. There is not much intonation in their voices - someone said to me this is because once you're in, you have the high waves of happiness dragged out of you although you don't feel sad about it. People are just in a state of emotional mediocrity.<br />
<br />
<b>10. Salvation and the End Times</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
This is their calling card. They believe that God has chosen exactly 144,000 people to join Him in His Kingdom at the Apocalypse. They reject Catholic doctrine as being immersed in symbolism and Paganism (fair enough, it is) and so they don't believe in Christmas, the Trinity or sainthood. So far, so good. So why, then, in the list of all the members they consider will be saved, are they <i>all </i>Witnesses, and why are nearly <i>all </i>of them men? Surely having such a list of people considered worthy to enter Heaven is akin to the Catholic custom of canonisation or sainthood, anathema to their own doctrine. Surely, they should believe what it says in the Bible: that only the Maker can decide who enters the Kingdom of Heaven.<br />
<br />
If you believe in that kind of thing, anyhow...<br />
<br />
<b>11. Wacky ideas need clever methods to introduce them</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Their teachings and beliefs are so different from other Christian organisations that many of their doctrines are so unpalatable that they only make new members aware of them after certain hurdles have been crossed. It is a case of acceptance - if the new recruit does not seem ready to embrace a new idea or rule, it is not mentioned to them until they are mentally prepared. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If a religious organisation feels it needs to open up its views and teachings slowly, so as not to alarm new members, and if it needs to go
out looking for new members because not a lot of people go to it of their own
accord, and if there are potentially only 19 million members worldwide (the population of North Korea is 6 million bigger), then
there must be something very worrying, very wrong and very creepy about it.
Surely, if it were the panacea of the world’s ills, the doors of Kingdom Halls
would be being thumped on by wannabe recruits day and night. But they're not.
And they’re not, because like double glazing salesmen and dodgy cold callers,
who use similar techniques to sell their product, most people know a bad deal
when they see one.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>12. Sheeple will believe anything and do anything for you</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
How does a Witness stay a member of the congregation despite all the evidence against them? By being told that everyone else is evil. Simple. Scientists carry out inhumane experiments, teachers may give lessons on inappropriate subjects (like astronomy and geology) and the secular people in general, with their Instagram and Game of Thrones, are all immoral. The easiest people to con into believing and subscribing to their nefarious activities are those who see the glass half-empty. They can be told the world is becoming immoral and its people are all evil. The truth of the matter is the world has always been that way. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
J.K. Rowling sums it up best when she says: "It is perfectly possible to live a very moral life without a belief in God, and I think it's perfectly possible to live a life peppered with ill-doing and believe in God." This was what my late mother used to say, although in different words to Ms Rowling, and it is what I believe too. There is no religion that can claim a monopoly on goodness and anyone who believes they are the chosen people or the only show in town with righteousness on their side needs to get a dose of reality. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So if a whole group of people are told not to believe anything they see or read that does not come from a Watchtower-accredited source, due to it being evil, how are they supposed to believe anything at all from the real world? So they are cut off from things that affect us all. How convenient. Apparently, the BBC's Lyse Doucet and Jeremy Vine are tools of the devil... yes, I always had my suspicions about them, reporting from war zones without ever getting blown up themselves... makes sense now...</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Furthermore, if you are told not to trust anyone from outside of the organisation, because they may be evil, you can feed your flock all kinds of bogus information. You can then interpret the Bible in your own way to suit your needs. Why on Earth would you ban your congregation from life-saving blood transfusions? I'll tell you why - because if you are the prize idiot who does refuse a blood transfusion, you will be considered a hero for dying for the cause and you will be held up as proof of faith. If you don't and you accept, you will be rejected by the people you have been close to for however long you have been a member. Some would rather die a hero than live as an outcast, I can imagine.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There are other things they use to test their flock (or unpaid employees) and their loyalty. They are expected to knock on strangers' doors on a regular basis to recruit new members. This is where the boundaries of reality really get blurred - are they employees working for the company, or are they faithful servants of their deity? You see, the Watchtower company does a lot of publishing of books, brochures and pamphlets. It all costs money, and the upkeep of their upstate New York HQ must cost a pretty packet (the old one in Brooklyn was recently bought by Jared Kushner, of all people). So what better way to earn oodles of money than sell your merchandise to a captive audience? And while they're at it, get them to go out and find more recruits for you... all this for free, and they'll even pay you a tithe (10% of their earnings) to keep you going. How sweet.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>In other words...</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You have to be either an alpha male-type who is in it just for the power, or you enjoy being the submissive one in a very one-sided relationship, or you have to be one exclamation mark short of a psychopath for joining them in the first place.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I have hardly touched their core beliefs, which can lead to a fiery after-life of pain and misery, but I have so little respect for their idea that their Creator will punish everyone who ever lived except 144,000, that I will gladly take the chance at the end to be proven wrong - but I don't think I will, quite frankly.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Any God that makes up such harsh and inhuman rules leading to brutal retribution if disobeyed sounds more like Erdo<span style="font-family: inherit;">ğ</span>an, or Orbán, even Trump; some narcissistic, vengeful and paranoid Creator who is so mentally and emotionally insecure without the unconditional love and worship from his underlings that he wants to chuck them all in the fires of Hell. Except for the 144,000 on the list. And this, despite preaching a message of love. I think there's a disconnect somewhere...</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So I have kind of said goodbye to my family. I still stay in contact with other non-Witnesses, but my siblings have unfortunately made their bed, so they can lie in it. I have not stepped in the family home since my mother died in 2007 - I want to remember it the way it was. I hope one day they wake up and see they have wasted their lives, but I don't think they will.</div>
LitskiLitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16549641203135530584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-896656160555503731.post-86695868247494875842017-07-16T18:10:00.005+02:002017-07-16T19:54:33.584+02:00Removing gender from language is another step towards equality<img height="423" src="https://img.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=https://img.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/files/2017/07/tktk.jpg&w=1484" width="640" /><br />
<br />
<b>Pride is a yearly event that takes place in a host of cities around the world. It celebrates diversity of sexuality and freedom of expression in this matter. Many of the strongest critics are those who still see the world in binary (male/female), and do not wish their view of life to be challenged. But they are failing to hold back the tide. This month, the management of the London Underground decided to abandon announcements that start with "ladies and gentlemen" and instead say "hello everyone". This is a step into the future, not a left-wing language coup.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Who says we should say "ladies and gentlemen" rather than "gentlemen and ladies"? Why do we start a formal letter with "Dear Sir / Madam" rather than "Dear Madam / Sir"? Where have those standards of etiquette gone these days? Surely women should always go first, no matter how illogical the sequence? And isn't everything male or female? Why are we being told there's this new non-binary gender? It's just the current trend, obviously, being run by left-wing ideologues to subvert the world order and bring down the system.<br />
<br />
Well, not quite. In fact, not at all.<br />
<br />
This is simply the way the world has been going. For many years, anything that contradicted the status quo was disapproved of, frowned upon, buried under other news or even carried the threat of a criminal record. Lots of people who were forced into heterosexual relationships or marriage in the past because it was expected of them lived in terrible depression and anxiety because they felt pressurised into this, and a great deal of those who are now in their forties and above have seized their chances to realign more appropriately with their orientation in this newly-open societal change. Young people today realise who they are much earlier, and all to the good. In many countries this is now clearly not the case, but the proliferation of this multi-gender, rainbow-coloured society can only continue now that it does not carry quite the stigma it once did (and only recently). However, it will be harder in a lot more countries than it is in others.<br />
<br />
Why?<br />
<br />
Gender grammar in language is one of the greatest obstacles.<br />
<br />
The predominantly three-gender or common and neuter Germanic and genderless Anglophone countries are the main drivers of this new trend. Gender-neutral languages like English make it much easier to accept the idea of multiple sexuality. Latin-based languages like French and Spanish put everything and everyone exclusively into categories of masculine and feminine, even categorising more traditionally male/female objects in their grammar - <i>la table, la maison, la cuisine </i>(women in French should be in the house)<i>, le travail, le problème </i>(only men work and solve problems in French, apparently)<i>, el tiempo, el muro </i>(men only can tell the time and build walls in Spanish)<i>, la mesa, la flor </i>(women in Spanish should take care of flowers on their tables at home)<i>. </i>This happens in many languages and will not disappear overnight. So it is much harder for speakers of two-gender languages to conceive of more genders. Society puts great pressure on people to follow the herd, but we are starting to see changes brought about by changing attitudes and the raising of awareness of issues to do with gender and sexuality. Only the most judgemental of people are causing a delay in the progress and advancement of society, with language a vital tool in the battle to change hearts and minds.<br />
<br />
German and Dutch throw up oddities, like the word for <i>girl</i>, which is <i>Mädchen </i>and <i>meisje </i>respectively. Due to <i>-chen </i>and <i>-je </i>endings signifying pejoratives, which are always categorised as neutral, girls in these languages, paradoxically, are grammatically not considered female. When asking "where is the girl?" in German,<i>"wo ist das Mädchen?"</i> it is still not uncommon to hear "<b>it</b> is here" <i>("<b>Es </b>ist hier")</i> as a reply.<br />
<br />
In English, there has been a shift towards using "they" for non-binary people, and this is catching on quite rapidly. However, language has been a powerful tool in establishing norms for centuries, so it may be much more difficult for French or Spanish speakers to get used to this idea. In French and Spanish even the word "they" is split by gender: <i>ils/ellos, elles/ellas</i>. This is why the idea of gender is easier for English speakers. German and Dutch, as well as the Slavic languages, with their notions of neutral gender will also find the transition from binary much easier. I believe this is why countries like Poland have always had such a high number of women in employment, and why Scandinavia is the home of linguistic sexual experimentation, where parents in some places are encouraged not to teach gender distinction to their children.<br />
<br />
This is clearly not a phenomenon that is typical of whole countries and the speakers thereof. There are most certainly a great number of people in countries with genderless or multi-gender languages who still think in binary. They can be those who never thought of the idea before, but would not be against it, or they can be traditionalists who believe only in heterosexual marriage. They might be religious, they might be political (or both), but they are clearly shrinking in number as exposure to more and more non-binary people is becoming commonplace, especially in the big cities. All opinions and theories are there to be challenged, and now that it is becoming clearer that the pressure put on people for a very long time to blend in with established "norms" has caused untold misery and resentment down the years, we can finally do something about making amends for this. Medical and scientific research has highlighted that many children, some very young, feel uncomfortable with the gender they are born into. Fortunately, this world we are living in now is more equipped to deal with people's orientation than ever before. We just need languages to change with the times too.<br />
<br />
Some genderless languages:<br />
<br />
Afrikaans<br />
Burmese<br />
Chinese<br />
English<br />
Estonian<br />
Finnish<br />
Hungarian<br />
Japanese<br />
Korean<br />
Mongolian<br />
Persian<br />
Thai<br />
Turkish<br />
<br />
<br />
Some languages with masculine and feminine genders only:<br />
<br />
Arabic (with some exceptions)<br />
French<br />
Hebrew<br />
Hindi<br />
Irish<br />
Italian<br />
Latvian<br />
Lithuanian (with some exceptions)<br />
Spanish<br />
Welsh<br />
<br />
<br />
Some languages with masculine, feminine and neuter:<br />
<br />
Bulgarian<br />
Croatian<br />
Dutch (although with the article <i>de </i>being used for both masculine and feminine, they are barely distinguishable any more)<br />
German<br />
Greek<br />
Gujarati<br />
Icelandic<br />
Norwegian (with some regional exceptions)<br />
Russian<br />
Czech, Polish and Slovak (Western Slavic languages) have three genders, but also distinguish between the animate and the inanimateLitskiLitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16549641203135530584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-896656160555503731.post-13034129935187364662017-06-18T17:04:00.000+02:002017-06-18T17:09:14.810+02:00Why is anti-establishment sentiment thriving even after Brexit?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC8JI9p8zMh_KRXX4gk0QhrU7w73fWEvgoNw0UruZ8PR2Jmk6BhqPdL-Ie7iQ3o1rsEnTqdOv0OYrVMZU1Z1TqkpjFL3AUECXpYxasm8go2ke3OprAt7iOp5DubOHisF9vokLyNiP2Zrg/s1600/Kensington.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1600" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC8JI9p8zMh_KRXX4gk0QhrU7w73fWEvgoNw0UruZ8PR2Jmk6BhqPdL-Ie7iQ3o1rsEnTqdOv0OYrVMZU1Z1TqkpjFL3AUECXpYxasm8go2ke3OprAt7iOp5DubOHisF9vokLyNiP2Zrg/s640/Kensington.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photograph: Yui Mok/PA</span></b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>There was quite a gloating <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jun/15/britain-brexit-europe-populism-eu" target="_blank">article in the Guardian</a> this week on Brexit and its consequences on the rest of Europe. In a nutshell, it said that Europe had been revolted by the self-harm the UK has inflicted on itself and the instability it has unleashed on the British economy, its politics and society in general. Despite its "I told you so" theme, it is not wrong. But the battle for the soul of Britain has been hijacked by two opposing factions: the rich on one side and the poor on the other, with paradoxically the poor unwittingly doing the bidding of those who would like to subjugate them. Anti-establishment fever tilted the vote towards Brexit, not a genuine desire to leave the EU.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Oh David Cameron, what have you unleashed? In fact, I could replace the former Prime Minister in that sentence with a number of people, like the present incumbent (whoever that is at the time you read this), or maybe a few media moguls. But this all goes back decades. It is a seething collection of pustules that has been awaiting its time to spew its fetid contents all over the skin of public life and drag the victim into a chronic downward spiral of health and well-being.<br />
<br />
There is a correlation between the Brexit vote and the current malaise in society - let me explain...<br />
<br />
Successive governments have run public services into the ground through cutting costs, economy drives and selling off tenders to the private sector. None of this needed to happen if it were not for ideology-driven politicians whether in national government or local councils, and their chums in the private sector from lobbyists to energy conglomerates, pharmaceutical companies to building contractors. Every one of them is partly to blame for the current situation. The situation is clear: for the last 40 years, cheap is best, and to hell with the consequences. Hospitals and health workers, infrastructure building, public hygiene, education facilities and staff, police, firefighters, the military, even libraries, have been affected by the scything down of their expenses all so that governments, councils and their contractors can say to their clients (that's you), that they have been saving money in your name.<br />
<br />
Well I don't know about you, but as far as I am aware, it's the exact opposite of that method that leads to good running of public services. Money needs to be put <i>into </i>their systems, not removed. That means that instead of reducing our income tax bills, VAT payments and council charges, the powers that be should be raising them, or at least looking for ways to maximise returns. When some suited chinless wonder from the richer side of public life comes on TV and warns against voting for various politicians because "your bills will go up", people need to remember that this bozo from the landed gentry is actually worried about <i>his own</i> costs going up. He will be the first to see a reduction in <i>his own</i> income because he is earning more per year than most earn in ten or twenty years. Why is Jeremy Corbyn being picked out for special treatment? Precisely because of that. He wants public services to run properly and rich dudes fear that if they do, not only will they lose money, they'll lose the opportunity to buy into them when lobbyists have finished convincing politicians to sell.<br />
<br />
Back in the 1980s, public services were run into the ground until the public clamour to sell those services off was so loud, that this was the most logical step. It was a tactic used time and again by the then government to make the case for its sale. This was true for water, energy, gas, telephony, public transport, even security services. What we saw, though, was a change in the accountability and rights of those public services, now they were private. Trains that were before late or didn't show up at all were blamed on strikes and militant worker-related action, whereas now the services are not much better and in some cases worse, despite being sold off. Outsourcing and selling off public services has led us nowhere, except that now those services need no longer be directly accountable to the government, and ultimately, the public. It also gives carte blanche to those companies to limit pay, reduce workers' rights and entitlements, all in the name of saving money. They have effectively written themselves out of any social responsibility.<br />
<br />
It is this selfish ideology that has led to this moment in history (and yes, this is history - PhD theses will be written about this period in the not-too-distant future) where the gap between rich and poor has finally become too wide, and where injustice in society has become plain for all to see where once it was easier to sweep it aside with gimmicks and distractions, fobbing people off with standard soundbites and impersonal press releases.<br />
<br />
And things are a lot more complicated than on the face of it. Far from being a country that's full to bursting, as landowners, right-wing politicians and lobbyists will tell you, there is plenty of room. Indeed, only a very small percentage of the land has been built on. The real issue is that it is a country whose infrastructure has not been invested in for a very long time, and citizens' roles in society are becoming less and less welcome, and it shows:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>the hospitals are maybe fully equipped, but many times there are staff shortages or there are not enough beds for patients, leading to dangerously long waiting times. If real investment were made to ensure there were enough fully-staffed hospitals for everyone, we would need to delve deep into our pockets </li>
<li>you should send your child to a local school no matter its ranking, meaning that pupils are liable to be turned down if their parents try to apply for a place in what might be a more suitable school outside their catchment area, even if it is just over a designated line. This means house prices in certain areas rise, and the rules prevent any logic from being used. The fallout from this is that people are being forced to do irrational things to get their children into the school of their choice</li>
<li>the Royal Navy, once the envy of the world, is now a shadow of itself, as is the British Army and the Royal Air Force, all so the defence budget can be spent on a nuclear arsenal that nobody dare use</li>
<li>there is a huge swathe of building land that is lying unused and empty because building companies refuse to build on it, meaning prices of houses go spiralling up, but more shockingly, their untouched land turns them a huge profit</li>
</ul>
<div>
There are many more examples of this, and people have become sick and tired of being treated like commodities. They know that successive governments have cut everything to the bone, they know the country is dangerously paired back to the very limits of manageability, they just haven't joined all the dots yet, but they are slowly becoming aware of it. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Having an ideology of saving money for the sake of it has proven recently to be a myth that has badly exposed the long-term dangers of such recklessness in playing with people's dignity and respect, and nowhere has that been more evident than in the case of Grenfell Tower in West London. What has struck me is how someone came up with the idea of saving a few thousand measly pounds by choosing an inferior cladding material in a refurbishment project to make the outside of a tower block more aesthetically pleasing while neglecting the inside, where residents - who are human beings, by the way - live.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The sentiment of grief turned to anger very quickly, leading to a general feeling of ill-will towards the Prime Minister, the government, Kensington and Chelsea Borough Council, and various contracting firms. This is not surprising, but it is a microcosm of UK life in general. The protests we saw in Whitehall and at Kensington Town Hall are just a spit in the ocean of general British dissatisfaction with the <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-40320459" target="_blank">way life is going at the moment</a>, and this is manifesting itself in so many ways.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The Brexit referendum last year, in my opinion, was won by a three-way split between different sections of the public: </div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>easily-led individuals who believe everything that the right-wing press tells them, as well as unadventurous, stay-at-home monolinguals who know nothing about the wider world except the two-week drunken jaunt they undertake every summer to some touristic Mediterranean concrete jungle</li>
<li>people with vested interests in pulling out of the EU, such as some unscrupulous employers, financial investors and politicians, who have been heavily sponsored to say negative things about the EU, and finally</li>
<li>genuinely disaffected, forgotten and ignored people all around the country who wanted to vote for a change and saw it as their way to stage a protest; effectively kicking the government where it hurts for their constant overlooking of their issues (it is these people I can forgive for voting the way they did - so would I, probably)</li>
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What the last group fails to realise, is that by voting the way they did, they have done exactly what the people who are profiting from making their lives a misery wanted them to do; that is to say, they are turkeys voting for Christmas, which makes this such a national tragedy. There is also a gap between the educated and the under-educated, leading to a startling decline in trust in true facts and expert opinions, and a worrying rise in people's willingness to tie their misery to any popular movement that will get them out of the terrible hole they are in, whether that be extremist religion, militant political organisations, support groups, pressure groups or general grumbling to mates at the pub. Brexit had very little to do with many people's actual wishes and more to do with a genuine national mood of dissatisfaction with their circumstances.</div>
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What the UK needs right now is a long healing process and a coming to terms with the fact that the people have been lied to for many years for profit and nothing more. The recent election on 9th June reflected people's mistrust of the current incumbents and their handling of social matters as well as Brexit negotiations, where even the <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4614492/Wounded-knees-PM-faces-civil-war.html" target="_blank">Daily Mail has revealed</a> that 69% of people<span id="goog_2108513329"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a><span id="goog_2108513330"></span> favour a softer departure from the EU. People need to regain a modicum of trust in their politicians and their public services.</div>
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Anti-establishment sentiment is thriving in lots of little pockets like local issues, or even as a cause of adverse personal experiences with authority, but when the dots get joined up and everyone realises that it is a national issue, there will be a mass protest at the gates of the high and mighty. People just don't realise yet who is to blame, but this is slowly revealing itself now that people see that cuts in services and selling out to corporate greed have led to the situation we find ourselves in the early summer of 2017.</div>
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If you want nice roses, you do not cut at the bottom.</div>
LitskiLitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16549641203135530584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-896656160555503731.post-40721755701720317712017-06-02T17:08:00.000+02:002017-06-02T17:09:23.370+02:00UK Election 2017: tell your old folks their time is up <b>We live in an age where the source of your news will determine who you vote for and where in the social pyramid you probably find yourself. Most people will read from a news source, but there are stark differences in how those news sources treat various events and deal with diverse opinions. For one newspaper a scandal, for another an amusing anecdote. For one TV news broadcaster a waste of money, for another a long-term solid investment. Who to believe? And why does it matter to read all different sources of news?</b><br />
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My grandfather, who was also my uncle (long story cut short - my mother and her mother married two brothers), once gave me a very important life lesson. I asked him one day why he read a left-leaning newspaper but also a right-leaning one. His answer was clear: you have to know what the enemy is up to. I have never forgotten that line and I have stuck by it ever since.<br />
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Today, we live in a multi-faceted media world. We can get our news from someone's Facebook feed, or feeds from sources we ourselves have accepted. We can get it from watching Sky, Fox, ITN, or the BBC. Indeed, we can find it from a rejected newspaper in the train, or maybe we buy our newspapers at the corner shop every morning.<br />
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Newspaper readers in particular are very difficult to wean off their paper of choice. You could never give a Sun reader the Guardian and presume they will like it immediately. And vice-versa. Besides, it is not just a question of politics - it is also a matter or familiarity, intellect and taste. But it really matters. Because getting your information from one source is detrimental to acquiring a balanced opinion. Malcolm X once said, "If you aren't careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed and loving the people who are doing the oppressing." If you stick to one source of news, over time, you are likely to believe everything written in there.<br />
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I acquire my news from the BBC, the Guardian, Mail Online and the Independent. I sometimes read the Economist, the Telegraph and watch Channel Four News on their website. I also see a lot of posts on Facebook from very diverse outlets such as Al Jazeera, CNN, and France 24. Most treat issues with the same seriousness and neutrality. Some find a unique angle to report from, some give statistics, some show a non-commentary video to tell the story. But the vast majority do not try to influence you one way or the other, because most of us accept certain issues as already fact, or because the news outlet wants you to make up your own mind through what they present. That is not always the case when it comes to politics.<br />
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That brings me on to the upcoming general election in the UK.<br />
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Where to begin? Let us start with the spin and the influencing. Take Theresa May's non-appearance at the BBC Election Debate on Wednesday night. She was replaced by the Home Secretary, Amber Rudd. Predictably, the left-wing press said this was a mistake, and she was scared of meeting the people, terrified of debates and not interested in ordinary people. The right-wing press predictably said it was not worth her turning up as it was a waste of time because twice as many people were watching BGT on ITV and because she was out on the streets instead, talking to the people who matter.<br />
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Where does the truth lie here? It probably lies somewhere in the middle - Theresa May knew a few weeks ago that she was a country mile in front, so she thought it best to steer clear of controversy and stay on-message, however sterile and boring that is. Saying that, I would say this was a bad error of judgement, as it gave five of the other six debaters the chance to stick in the sword.<br />
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Then there were the debates themselves and how they were reported. I watched the last half, and I saw highlights of the rest on highlights clips on YouTube and Facebook. I thought Jeremy Corbyn, Tim Farron, Angus Robertson, Caroline Lucas and Leanne Wood were quite eloquent, but they spent a long time attacking each other and especially the Tories, and not enough time talking about their own party's credentials. Amber Rudd was robotic and smiled when the audience laughed at her comments, like "judge us on our record". It was as if she knew this was just a soundbite, and she realised the audience knew as well. Paul Nuttall was like a builder's bumcrack at a society ball. He was excess to requirements. He got nearly no applause and when he opened his mouth to speak, he came across like Sean Spicer's less talented stand-in.<br />
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<b>How did the newspapers report it?</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG3V2zg58HqOU-0posp29aVBoktTfHU100sm_Fk8oZEZbd7RpAeyA1PmdWuPTXm6FoDP_mLB9NSPSsOG28sizLWzcRhkM4wYntF7EEMi46Uswl4_C7a0BjxAzhqG6vVQzu-6m8wZipDfw/s1600/2017ElectionDailyMail1.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="883" data-original-width="809" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG3V2zg58HqOU-0posp29aVBoktTfHU100sm_Fk8oZEZbd7RpAeyA1PmdWuPTXm6FoDP_mLB9NSPSsOG28sizLWzcRhkM4wYntF7EEMi46Uswl4_C7a0BjxAzhqG6vVQzu-6m8wZipDfw/s640/2017ElectionDailyMail1.PNG" width="586" /></a></div>
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Take a look at <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/may/30/jeremy-corbyn-david-dimbleby-rightwing-bias-british-newspersap" target="_blank">this article</a> in the Guardian, on how biased the media has been behaving against Jeremy Corbyn, which seems to have a lot of credence. <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-4546912/Corbyn-shameless-apologist-world-s-men-evil.html" target="_blank">This one</a> attacks Corbyn for befriending terrorists, <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4443910/Tory-attack-ad-brands-Jeremy-Corbyn-security-risk.html" target="_blank">this one</a> shows Corbyn as a security risk, and <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4564762/Impartial-BBC-s-relentless-attack-Tories.html" target="_blank">this one</a> bemoans the left-wing bias of the BBC. They're all from the Daily Mail.<br />
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If one runs a Google search for Daily Mail articles on the Labour Party and Jeremy Corbyn, one can find hundreds and hundreds of them criticising and attacking. The same newspaper's treatment of the Conservatives and Theresa May? Pretty clement, even towards Boris Johnson, the current incumbent of the people's Naughty Step:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq7IbO1YWtf4Nw6Msly0AXn-p86gHLm_zKojk7YadO9b-aNUmnPZfBZCZHk6W_VGmICxIaKo28r2xaD5BKgYORrTSu3DbRnyrfk0QVkvIGw7X5VWvuc7Lf7Lkf95HgGJqSE3hkAgmq4fY/s1600/2017ElectionDailyMail2.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="671" data-original-width="816" height="526" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq7IbO1YWtf4Nw6Msly0AXn-p86gHLm_zKojk7YadO9b-aNUmnPZfBZCZHk6W_VGmICxIaKo28r2xaD5BKgYORrTSu3DbRnyrfk0QVkvIGw7X5VWvuc7Lf7Lkf95HgGJqSE3hkAgmq4fY/s640/2017ElectionDailyMail2.PNG" width="640" /></a></div>
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In the end, this article is about Boris Johnson's masterful handling of an ice cream known in Britain as a 99 and nothing about policy at all. Funnily enough, there were no negative stories at all, except the one on the PM's refusal to attack Trump for pulling out of the Paris Agreement, and a mild one on her decision not to go to the BBC debate. Press bias is a feature of both the left and the right, and although left-wing ones are quite strong, they don't hit nearly as hard. Nowhere is it more vitriolic and more effective in its premeditated viciousness and underhand manoeuvres than in the hands of the right-wing media. They manipulate stories, change angles and points of view depending on who they are defending or attacking. But now, the tide is turning and many reasonably-minded press outlets are calling them out. Here is one of those, handled very effectively by the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/daily-mail-daily-express-theresa-may-tory-manifesto-similar-labour-pledges_uk_591d6cdbe4b03b485caeb7d4" target="_blank">Huffington Post</a>.<br />
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So, before you put your mark on the ballot paper next week, do a lot of research and question everything. You may even end up changing your vote preferences. For that reason, we need to get the message to the old. They are the ones most heavily influenced by newspapers, especially the right-wing press, and the ones most likely to vote. Demographically, in 5 to 10 years, there will be a lot fewer of them around, and my own feeling is this time is seen by the oligarchs in charge of the UK's press as being the final opportunity to make a landgrab for more wealth and influence.<br />
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Fortunately, the young are fighting back. Hundreds of thousands of new registrations to vote have been placed recently, and mainly by the young. This has caused a massive tilt in the opinion polls and a surge towards Labour, but these young people are notoriously languid on polling day. We can only hope they do go out to vote in their droves. The UK needs an effective opposition, especially if the Conservatives win a majority.<br />
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The Internet is full of images and graphics, like this one below, debunking the myths and lies spread by the right-wing media. The problem is, old people do not see these things, because newspapers do not have the same scope as the Internet, and so many old people are unaware of these simple issues.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJW1KXD_je8LWhSYR1VQXt4V_Yzaoamof2vuRKHpoCqqTcfdDogVYmpzrhTUgQoZ0tCBgXxJo9qLPZVDWD_jXSTwrYsBCBYEUEnn292q6AidqWmyGdTDlSShzfujqYNrkz6FRl2hyphenhyphenJFf4/s1600/18672977_10158895448815454_7647434731249268417_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="942" data-original-width="1200" height="502" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJW1KXD_je8LWhSYR1VQXt4V_Yzaoamof2vuRKHpoCqqTcfdDogVYmpzrhTUgQoZ0tCBgXxJo9qLPZVDWD_jXSTwrYsBCBYEUEnn292q6AidqWmyGdTDlSShzfujqYNrkz6FRl2hyphenhyphenJFf4/s640/18672977_10158895448815454_7647434731249268417_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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These images containing meaningful messages are doing the rounds on the Internet, and so I challenge anyone with a family member over 60 who is without Internet: dig around for 5 to 10 simple yet effective memes of this kind, put it on your laptop or tablets and visit your relative to persuade him/her to vote for a party that wants to look after everyone.<br />
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Let us face it, the old have had their day. They need to be told the world will still be going on once they have departed, and it will most certainly not be the same world we have now. The elderly need to be persuaded that in fact, they do not have to put up with the decisions they make. The young do. Make way for youth, go and persuade your grandad to stand aside for the benefit of his descendants.LitskiLitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16549641203135530584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-896656160555503731.post-79780707641157902782017-02-21T02:18:00.001+01:002017-02-21T02:18:15.566+01:00The truth takes too long to explain. It's time to rectify that.<b>The problem with human beings is they only live for 60 to 90 years. That is hardly enough time to learn how to make the world a better place. The other problem with many human beings, although fortunately not all, is their laziness: they have a tendency to strive for simplicity and they like complex explanations to everything packaged in neat comprehensible bundles that they can relate to, whether they are correct or not.</b><br />
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<b><br /></b>Throughout history, humans have tried to better themselves. They have gone from a short, brutal existence in primitive conditions via controlling fire, harnessing electricity and championing human rights, to supersonic flight, connecting everybody through computer screens and curing fatal diseases. Humans have forever been improving others' <i>conditions</i>, but they have not always raised their standards on a <i>personal</i> level.<br />
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What do I mean? Well, look at the vast majority of inventions. They have been created to make our lives better, because we are as a species particularly lazy. We will go to great lengths to reduce the need to go to great lengths. What these inventions, discoveries and adaptations do <i>not </i>do, however, is raise standards of intelligence and behaviour in people. They unfortunately go for the lowest common denominator, and if that's not available, the shortest and crudest explanation. This is what we need to correct now.<br />
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<b>What has laziness got to do with it?</b><br />
Well, look around you. People strive for the latest gadgets and machines to make their lives easier. They want them so badly, they'll go out to work for 8 to 12 hours a day to earn the money to pay for them. It's quite a paradox actually, when you think of it. We invest in clothes driers so we don't have to spend twenty minutes hanging up clothes on a line and wait several hours before removing them. Some of us then hire people to iron them for us.<br />
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We buy cars to go shopping even if there is a supermarket just down the street so we don't have to cart a couple of bags of acquisitions a few hundred metres, even if a shopping trolley costs a fraction of the price and the exercise would do us good. We buy kitchen appliances so we don't have to whisk, mix, stir or beat food ourselves, and we programme a destination into a map-reading machine so that we don't have to use our brains to read maps ourselves.<br />
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We constantly seek to take the effort out of our lives but we run ourselves into the ground getting there. We strive for simplicity in everything, though, including how we consume information, which is why many people are more willing to accept a snazzy slogan from a demagogue than listen to a full-length explanation from an expert.<br />
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In fact, people seem to have grown weary of professionals and experts altogether. And this is where the danger lies - politicians, big business people and captains of industry don't get where they are today by being lazy. The cleverest and most ambitious ones use the language of the lazy consumer to persuade, cajole and steamroll their targets into buying their products or supporting their policies. They can make people dance to their tune and wear clothes according to the weather they make. They get out of bed before they've even got into their pyjamas.<br />
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I am not saying this is nefarious behaviour; I am saying that they know how to play people's tunes. And there are a lot of people willing to be led. The fashion industry is the most extreme example of this - some rich tycoon with a clothing idea sends a faithful acolyte on TV to say "this is the latest fashion accessory", and before the Y in "accessory", it is sold out and a clamour for more engulfs the shops. If many ordinary people are willing to listen to this useless information about fashion which, let us be frank, has little or no impact in the whole scheme of things, they will of course treat important topics in the same way. And this goes for voting patterns too.<br />
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I would go as far as to say that the brutal treatment demonstrated in public voting shows on TV (the hollow commiserations handed out by the hosts, the cruel wait before the announcement, the gossip on the spin-off shows and in the newspapers, etc.) have made many people collectively immune to the feelings of others. People talk about these victims of fame as if they were characters in a soap opera. Added to that, we see evidence of people filming others involved in accidents or being attacked without intervening. Our civilisation is becoming immune to people's suffering.<br />
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And this is also reflected in recent political events.<br />
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The first that I can bring to mind is the refugee crisis in the Middle East and its spillage into Europe. Leaders of countries are ordering massive fences to keep out people fleeing for their lives and accusing them of carrying diseases into Europe, or worse, of shielding terrorists in their numbers. The problem is the opposite opinion is not an effective counter-argument - that we should allow these people in regardless is not going to win over many neutrals. This whole débâcle has sunk into mud-slinging and blaming each other for either being too hard or too soft. But those in positions of power are too proud to let go of their pet hates and any productive debate is stifled by the constant accusations. Western politics is sinking to lows that will take revolutions to amend.<br />
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Furthermore, we can point to the US-Mexico wall that the current incumbent of the White House is so adamant will be an effective antidote to illegal immigration. And this is where human laziness really reaches its nadir - symbolic gestures are seen as effective solutions to people's ills. For that is what the wall on the southern border of the US will be - a symbolic gesture, nothing more. People will go over it, under it, through it and around it. And symbolic gestures are happening everywhere. They stem from human laziness and unwillingness to investigate too far into something in case it turns out to be wrong.<br />
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Take the Brexit bus.<br />
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<img alt="Image result for brexit bus" src="https://static.independent.co.uk/s3fs-public/styles/article_small/public/thumbnails/image/2016/08/31/16/pa-28104829.jpg" /><br />
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Never was such a succinctly effective untruth so widely used, and accepted, to justify an argument. The other side of the coin, though, cannot be emblazoned on the side of the bus so successfully:<br />
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<img alt="Related image" src="https://s32.postimg.org/8cgf9uyxx/bus.jpg" /><br />
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And herein is the underlying problem - the arguments for and against any subject generally have on one side an attractive soundbite that makes perfect sense to people who like their news in short paragraphs; whilst on the other, a complicated narrative with detailed explanations can confuse or bore the average reader. Guess which story is likely to garner the most supporters...<br />
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And that is the disadvantage of those who seek to explain the truth and justify their answers in more detail - they can easily be drowned out by heckling from the opposition, or mocked for their unwieldy explanations. Short, snazzy slogans are the domain of commercial retailers and sports teams, but the political classes are getting in on the act, and taking their ideologies, warped or not, to the wider public. Unfortunately, and I don't think I am going to gain many friends by writing this, but there is a large section of the population that is easily led by simplistic messages that claim to be able to improve their lives, the very basis of commercially successful strategy. Taking this out into the real world is both reckless and unfair. The truth becomes blurred by people wishing it true, no matter how false it is.<br />
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The BBC has recently set up a <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/topics/267ada11-b730-4344-b404-63067c032c65/reality-check" target="_blank">Permanent Reality Check</a> team to look into stories and claims that have been flagged as containing an element of untruth or spin. As you will see from its detailed clarifications, the answers are more complicated than the text they were originally packaged in.<br />
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If we are ever going to break the cycle of untruth, we have to simplify the message of truth. how could Brexit have been prevented? Simple, positive messages showing the benefits of the EU would have garnered a lot more support than the Osborne-Cameron fear campaign. Take the Facebook group WhyEurope - they have been developing positive slogans in support of Europe for a while now, and many of them bring the positive side of the story into a far more easily comprehensible light:<br />
<br />
"Europe because...<br />
We all have better things to do than waiting at borders."<br />
<br />
"Europe because...<br />
You receive the same medical care abroad as at home."<br />
<br />
"Europe because...<br />
I don't want to pay custom fees on Amazon"<br />
<br />
"Europe because...<br />
it's like being rich - you have 28 different places to live."<br />
<br />
"Europe is like a window...<br />
Often invisible, but you're gonna miss it when it's broken."<br />
<br />
If only this group could have got this type of message out <i>before </i>the Brexit referendum... But of course, these positive features do not ring with people who aren't as greatly affected by them as they are by more pressing needs, like their health, social security, employment and domestic lives. Which is why their disenfranchisement will lead them to seek scapegoats and form up behind a cheerleader who will promise them sunnier times ahead, even if that may clearly not be true.<br />
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Populism does not need to speak the truth; it needs to press the right buttons. Which is why Donald Trump and his team could think up non-events like the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/feb/06/kellyanne-conway-fake-bowling-green-massacre-three-times" target="_blank">Bowling Green massacre</a> that never was, and the much-derided <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-39020962" target="_blank">Sweden incident</a>. People want to believe in Area 51 cover-ups and <a href="http://www.dw.com/en/lithuanian-authorities-launch-investigation-into-fake-german-rape-story/a-37608180" target="_blank">refugee rape stories in Germany</a>. They want to believe it so badly because they are desperate to be right for a change. They have spent decades being told they are at the back end of society, misfits, plebs, rabble, and now the Establishment is teetering on the brink of self-inflicted destruction, those who get out of bed early on the opposing side are seizing their chance.<br />
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The only way for the current political class to salvage this is to shine an equally positive light on the future rather than the incessant sad music being they play while forcing through austerity policies on the poorest of society. Governments insist there is no money for schools, public transport, healthcare, welfare and job creation, yet there is ample money for defence and meaningless vanity projects. The current batch of politicians like Schäuble, May, Juncker, Rajoy, Hollande and recently Renzi and Cameron, seem (or seemed) to be doing very little on the surface to quell the fears of the impending downfall of Western civilisation, just carrying on as normal while all around ordinary people are growing tired of hearing about the closure of hospitals here and the reduction in police there, while third countries that are not so friendly to the West are now so obviously trying to infiltrate the system by subterfuge. People are looking for a sign that everything is all right and these dark times will pass.<br />
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If the West is serious about keeping up its standards then it needs to find some visionaries and statesmen and women from somewhere. The space is full of politicians acting like glorified civil servants, more worried about their own opinion poll rating than doing what is needed to re-calibrate the situation; any shining lights are extinguished by being marginalised by power-hungry politicians or disillusioned by the rigidity and intransigence of the political system.<br />
<br />
It's time someone with a positive vision and two very sharp elbows stepped up before the populists get there first.LitskiLitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16549641203135530584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-896656160555503731.post-19950433308235769972016-11-11T16:32:00.001+01:002016-11-11T16:38:19.405+01:00Don't bring your religion into politics and count on my respect<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>I have been utterly astounded by the number of people whom I have come across, on Facebook, in the media, or in person, who vote for political leaders based on one point only, no matter how relevant their other beliefs are for them. This is a very blinkered and self-defeating point of view, and the biggest share of this went to Christian fundamentalists, the vast majority of whom turn out time and time again for one party in many countries that best represents their chance to implement their ideologies, no matter what else the party believes in. We saw this in Poland, which swept the conservatives to power, and now we have seen it in the US, where the Republicans have steamrollered their way to all three houses.</b><br />
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In 2015, the Polish elected the Law and Justice (PiS) party to power, thanks to a growing dissatisfaction in rural areas with the speed of reforms implemented by the previous incumbents, Civic Platform. Although it is understandable for people to vote out a party that has ignored them, there were many who voted for PiS based purely on their sympathies with the Roman Catholic Church in the country. Since PiS was elected, it has taken a sledgehammer to the democratic institutions that were set up to assure constitutional equilibrium in the country, has tried to totally ban in-vitro fertilisation and pregnancy terminations (unsuccessfully) and tried to gag the independent media outlets.<br />
<br />
Many fundamentalist Catholics in Poland would never consider voting for another party, and most certainly not for Civic Platform, the party that upheld the right to abortion in a vote not long before the last election. On 3 October 2016, the proposal to ban abortion outright brought Polish women of all kinds out on strike in a huge act of peaceful civil disobedience. Two days later, many politicians had begun to distance themselves from the proposal and an amendment was being considered at the time of writing this.<br />
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The irony is, the PiS (standing for Law and Justice) party claims they helped overthrow the Communist regime along with the Catholic Church, so they feel a little like they are owed a debt of gratitude for bringing about democracy, and yet they themselves have the most undemocratic agenda since the fall of Communism in 1989. So much so, a group of intellectuals and moderates established the KOD (Committee for the Safeguarding of Democracy) as a counterweight to the encroaching reduction in freedoms taking place in the country. What they want is closer to a theocracy than a democracy, and the people are finally beginning to realise the consequences of their actions.<br />
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The moral (pardon the pun) of the story here is, do not force your ideology on others. If you don't want to be involved in, or even inadvertently condone, something that you fundamentally deplore, that is your right. But it does not mean you should force your view on others by voting for a party based on one point of obsession. This is not how democracy works. Democracy is inclusive, and one size most certainly does not fit all.<br />
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Now we turn to the other side of the Atlantic, where the Republican party has won the right to govern the United States for the next four years. There is a great paradox between people with Christian values and the parties they vote for, the vast majority siding with the Republicans.<br />
<br />
Let us take a look at Republicans' policies and compare them to Christian values:<br />
<br />
So, to start with, they want to keep God in the public sphere. All's well and good if you're a Christian then. But dig a little deeper and the truth is very muddy.<br />
<br />
Christian values stipulate that one should do unto others as you would do unto yourself, including:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>giving shelter to those in need; </li>
<li>providing help to the sick and the poor; </li>
<li>not killing your fellow human. </li>
</ul>
And yet the Republicans strongly oppose giving asylum to those who have come to the US for a better life, they wish to foist medical expenses back on the individual and advocate the reversal of the weapons restrictions introduced under Barack Obama. Upon further consultation of policy one can see the Democrats favoured these points. Who is more closely aligned to Christian doctrine in these areas? I know who I would say...<br />
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Then there are thorny issues like same-sex marriage and abortion, both favoured by the Democrats and opposed by Republicans. These issues are relevant to far fewer people than those in the preceding paragraph, and yet they are the Republicans' most fertile hunting grounds for opposition supporters. So what this suggests is that, despite the fact that Jesus himself is recorded as hanging around with socially stigmatised groups like prostitutes and ex-criminals, this is irrelevant when it comes to Christians' political behaviour in modern times.<br />
<br />
We can ignore the hundreds of thousands of people on the poverty line who are about to have healthcare added to their list of debts; rough up and throw out any under-the-radar immigrants who are doing all the jobs Americans don't want to do rather than give them an amnesty; and risk our lives by going out onto the street hoping not to meet a testosterone-fuelled sicko with a gun licence who can kill at a second's notice. Forget that, because hold your horses, folks... love between two people is only right and proper if they're male and female, and we shouldn't allow anyone to make sexual "mistakes". This is really rather creepy, but yes, fundamentalist (emphasis on the <i>mental</i>, and most definitely <u>not</u> on the <i>fun</i>) Christians would rather vote based on such kneejerk matters such as that rather than on the bigger issues.<br />
<br />
The same goes with the environment:<br />
It is entirely feasible that the next energy secretary will be a climate change denier. Despite all the warnings, the evidence and the fact that nearly two hundred countries have signed treaties to deal with it, the US is probably about to assign this job to a sceptic. Christians are split on this issue, although time and time again the Bible tells humans to respect the Earth:<br />
Leviticus 25:1-7 and 23; Psalm 24; Ezekiel 34:18; Matthew 6:26; 1 Timothy 4:4; the list is endless, and they all point to the need to look after our planet. So one would think, that even as a sceptic, one would at least be respectful of our Earth and Her resources. But most Republicans favour withdrawing from environmental treaties and reigniting the fossil fuel industry.<br />
<br />
Again, this is considered a side-issue by many fundamentalist Christians, because moral behaviour is a far greater threat to them than this. And to be honest, I find it at best very distasteful, at worst profoundly hypocritical. But most of all it highlights the easily-led, knuckle-headed narrow-mindedness of people (or sheeple, considering they are a flock) that:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>they would elect a party that condoned the widespread carrying of guns yet called themselves "pro-life"; </li>
<li>would listen to their priest telling them the story of the Good Samaritan and then immediately join a demonstration against Mexicans or Muslims; </li>
<li>would read from 1 Corinthians 13, which even for a non-believer like me is the best definition of love in existence, and then go and heckle an LGBTQ event. </li>
</ul>
I remember I once knew a Baptist minister's daughter who, despite the deep unpopularity of John Major's government in 1997 due to the in-fighting, the scandals, the remoteness of the ministers and the institutionalised corruption, declared she would vote for him because he went to church. Did she even pay attention to the news...? I doubt it.<br />
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And this is my problem with religion interfering in politics. You cannot blindly let yourself be guided by priests, bishops and cardinals on the very narrow moral issue of sex and love which, by the way, they don't even take part in (if you don't play the game, you can't expect to make up the rules), and at the same time have a clear conscience on other issues of a more urgent nature, like the rising oceans, civilian gun crime, free healthcare, proper education, housing the homeless and welcoming refugees. The Statue of Liberty itself has these words:<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 16px;">"Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, </span></b></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 16px;">The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. </span></b></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 16px;">To spread the light of </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 16px;"><u>liberty</u></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 16px;"> world-wide for every land."</span></b></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">If this is what you believe, then you are most definitely not a Republican, but you have probably been made to believe that you are by more eloquent people, or cajoled into voting for them by peer pressure, pressure from your elders or by your sheer blindness to the real issues.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I think it's only right to see that Bible verse in full. Learn from it, because it sums up not only what one might call "conventional" love, but also that for the Earth, for our neighbours, for our fellow humans, and our country:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
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<div class="chapter-2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span class="text 1Cor-13-1" id="en-NIV-28667" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">"If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.</span> <span class="text 1Cor-13-2" id="en-NIV-28668" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">If I have the gift of prophecy<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-28668B" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-28668B" title="See cross-reference B">B</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> and can fathom all mysteries<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-28668C" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-28668C" title="See cross-reference C">C</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> and all knowledge,<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-28668D" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-28668D" title="See cross-reference D">D</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> and if I have a faith<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-28668E" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-28668E" title="See cross-reference E">E</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> that can move mountains,<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-28668F" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-28668F" title="See cross-reference F">F</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> but do not have love, I am nothing.</span> <span class="text 1Cor-13-3" id="en-NIV-28669" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">If I give all I possess to the poor<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-28669G" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-28669G" title="See cross-reference G">G</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.</span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span class="text 1Cor-13-4" id="en-NIV-28670" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Love is patient,<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-28670I" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-28670I" title="See cross-reference I">I</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-28670J" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-28670J" title="See cross-reference J">J</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span></span> <span class="text 1Cor-13-5" id="en-NIV-28671" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking,<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-28671K" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-28671K" title="See cross-reference K">K</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> it is not easily angered,<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-28671L" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-28671L" title="See cross-reference L">L</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> it keeps no record of wrongs.<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-28671M" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-28671M" title="See cross-reference M">M</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span></span> <span class="text 1Cor-13-6" id="en-NIV-28672" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Love does not delight in evil<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-28672N" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-28672N" title="See cross-reference N">N</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> but rejoices with the truth.<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-28672O" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-28672O" title="See cross-reference O">O</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span></span> <span class="text 1Cor-13-7" id="en-NIV-28673" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-28673P" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-28673P" title="See cross-reference P">P</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span class="text 1Cor-13-8" id="en-NIV-28674" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Love never fails. But where there are prophecies,<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-28674Q" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-28674Q" title="See cross-reference Q">Q</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> they will cease; where there are tongues,<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-28674R" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-28674R" title="See cross-reference R">R</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.</span> <span class="text 1Cor-13-9" id="en-NIV-28675" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">For we know in part<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-28675S" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-28675S" title="See cross-reference S">S</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> and we prophesy in part,</span> <span class="text 1Cor-13-10" id="en-NIV-28676" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">but when completeness comes,<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-28676T" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-28676T" title="See cross-reference T">T</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> what is in part disappears.</span> <span class="text 1Cor-13-11" id="en-NIV-28677" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-28677U" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-28677U" title="See cross-reference U">U</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> behind me.</span> <span class="text 1Cor-13-12" id="en-NIV-28678" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror;<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-28678V" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-28678V" title="See cross-reference V">V</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> then we shall see face to face.<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-28678W" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-28678W" title="See cross-reference W">W</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-28678X" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-28678X" title="See cross-reference X">X</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span></span></i></span></div>
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<span class="text 1Cor-13-13" id="en-NIV-28679" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>And now these three remain: faith, hope and love.<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-28679Y" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-28679Y" title="See cross-reference Y">Y</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> But the greatest of these is love."</i></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
So on that note, if you vote based on one narrow issue of religious doctrine, don't expect me to regard you as an example of moral fortitude, for you have done nothing more than condoned a sort of "Christian Sharia" - the imposition of your religious doctrine in our law and politics, where people of other religions need to coexist. The content of Sharia law is totally different to Christian teaching in many aspects, but I don't think anyone would agree that Christianity should be applied to our laws. This is why, even in France and ultra-Catholic Italy, religious symbols are banned from state workplaces. Religion has a place inside people as individuals - it is a very personal thing. It has no place in a one-size-fits-all public sphere.<br />
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So please, keep your own beliefs to yourself, and don't impose them on others.LitskiLitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16549641203135530584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-896656160555503731.post-31303361491170573292016-06-01T16:55:00.001+02:002016-06-01T17:18:23.807+02:00Will Brexit bring about greater democracy and prosperity? Simple answer: no. More complicated answer: below<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhJXZamMfj3PQd7eVguAC-MTPXi2lEy2e1tp8hhYZlLDutHlTCpF6JPVk4r88tPjqnjLnus2p7YY92uO6nRsOPX1Ayl2pHwGWrMB9fN0_RBzbWsZboHwOIP7Vzv8kwZpM551mJORYZAfk/s1600/2014-03-11+12.14.23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhJXZamMfj3PQd7eVguAC-MTPXi2lEy2e1tp8hhYZlLDutHlTCpF6JPVk4r88tPjqnjLnus2p7YY92uO6nRsOPX1Ayl2pHwGWrMB9fN0_RBzbWsZboHwOIP7Vzv8kwZpM551mJORYZAfk/s640/2014-03-11+12.14.23.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<b><br /></b>
<b><br /></b>
<b>The first things all Brexiteers bang on about are:</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>1. The money the UK throws at the EU when it could give it to the NHS</b><br />
<b>2. The democratic deficit at the heart of the EU</b><br />
<b>3. Immigration issues</b><br />
<b>4. EU law and human rights</b><br />
<b>5. Corporate freedom</b><br />
<b>6. Independence</b><br />
<b>7. Because the UK is always isolated and never gets its own way</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>These are smokescreens for the the general consumption of those who like their news delivered in handy little soundbites that they can quote later to Bill down the pub. The real truth is somewhat greyer and a lot less savoury. As someone who lives and works on the inside, I would like to put the record straight on a few of these.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
MONEY, FUNDING AND THE NHS<br />
Firstly, let us consider a few things concerning the distribution of funds. The UK puts in a lot of money as it is one of the richest. It works a little like the tax system: the more money you make, the larger your contribution, so of course you are going to pay proportionally more than, say, Spain or Finland, but sizeably more than the Czech Republic or Slovenia. That is normal. Why are Brexiteers complaining about this? It seems they want to be clients, not team players. Where's the solidarity in that? And what the country gets in return is never discussed as it's not in their interests.<br />
<br />
Yes, the EU can be a little profligate with the funds, but the fact is: agriculture, science and research, infrastructure, education and many other aspects of life would not receive the funding they need, and I include the NHS here, because I think herein lies the rub: the EU funds these things without subjectivity, based purely on need and the effect it will have on the improvement of people's lives.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Do you really think, deep in your heart of hearts, that the Conservative/Neoliberal alliance at the top of and above the UK government really cares about those things? I don't; I think it is another chance to grab more public money. Why waste it on schools when it could be invested in private enterprises and corporate landgrabs? </b><br />
At least, with the EU, those funds get to where they are supposed to. Take it away, and watch the NHS falling and being sold off, schools getting privatised, infrastructure budgets being cut, and farms being sold off to rich landowners who can turn them into supermarket-run agri-factories.<br />
Do you trust the UK politicians to look after the NHS, farms and schools? Honestly???<br />
<br />
DEMOCRACY<br />
There is the supposed democratic deficit at the heart of the EU. Well, shall I tell you what a democratic deficit looks like? It looks like people who act in their own interests whether they are elected or not. Democratically-minded people do things in the public interest anyhow, whether elected or not. The expenses in the European Commission are incredibly stringently controlled by the Court of Auditors, and you will not see the civil servants being chauffeured about in black cars. You will, though, see the politicians (yes, those in the European Parliament too) being chauffeured about, because they are politicians and to leave them to public transport would be like asking a Yorkshire terrier to do your accounts.<br />
<br />
But the Commission is pretty apolitical and works for the benefit of all, and despite its many foibles, is actually more on the side of the people than the politicians. There is a <a href="http://www.ombudsman.europa.eu/home.faces" target="_blank">European Ombudsman</a> that anyone can use to blow the whistle on improprieties; there is a <a href="http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/consumer_rights/index_en.htm" target="_blank">European Consumer Rights and Law</a> commissioner, who makes sure we get value for money, like reducing mobile phone tariffs across the EU; and there is a scheme whereby any EU citizen can go into the embassy of another EU country when abroad and get proper representation. But you don't hear about these things because it's not in the interest of the EU's detractors.<br />
<b>But it's a terrific trick of national governments that they get the Commission to do their dirty work, taking one for the team, time after time after time, so that they don't get blamed. The fact of the matter is, though, the 28 national leaders of each country, known as the Council of Ministers, sit down around the world's most expensive table to discuss what they wish the Commission to implement. So, the Commission is, in essence, just carrying out orders of national politicians. In the words of Sir Humphrey Appleby in Yes Prime Minister, "Almost all government policy is wrong... but frightfully well carried out."</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
IMMIGRATION<br />
This is the scare story <i>du jour</i>. And it's a complete fallacy. Let's be honest, shall we? The country is <i>not </i>overcrowded; it is just underdeveloped and badly maintained. The infrastructure was built 150 to 200 years ago after the Industrial Revolution for the society then, and it has been slow to be updated. The roads in the UK are far narrower than in France or Germany, the houses smaller, the hospitals and airports built in far smaller plots. Look at Barajas Airport in Madrid - it is on a plot 5 times bigger than Heathrow. Charles De Gaulle, Frankfurt and such are massive in comparison. But the main issue is <u>housing</u>. It is not that there is no space; it is that the developers have artificially created a bubble by not building on the land they were designated, and so the demand sky-rockets and the prices go up. It is not in their interests to build because the prices will tumble and their profits too.<br />
<b>Furthermore, do you really think the country will sink into the mud because Poles, Lithuanians and Romanians, the large part of whom have a greater work ethic for less pay, are doing all the manual jobs? No. Because, sadly, Brits have become colonialists in their own country. Don't blame the new arrivals - blame mean-minded bosses for not being willing any more to pay full price for a proper day's work. Do you think this will clear up after Brexit? Do you think the gap will return and the market will be filled with British workers in the fields, on building sites and under the kitchen sinks? Rubbish. The market demand is insatiable and even if you started to train up locals <i>now </i>to take over, the full quotient would not be ready for employment for a good few years. And do you think prices and wages will remain the same? No. Because British people still expect a bargain, but workers will not accept the same payment rates as those who come to Britain for work out of necessity. What you will end up with is a skewed law where the cheapest will get all the work and hourly rates will fall everywhere in all sectors of work.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
EU LAW AND HUMAN RIGHTS<br />
It is claimed that too many people are abusing the EU's Human Rights legislation. Too many people are taking advantage of the current law to get out of prison or to get more benefit payments for themselves. This is not a falsehood, but it is an exaggeration. The UK government has suggested withdrawing from the ECHR (European Convention on Human Rights), drawn up by <i>British </i>lawyers after WW2, and implementing its own Bill of Rights. They can go ahead if they want, but the fact that all EU citizens are guaranteed the same rights is enshrined in EU law, meaning equal treatment for all.<br />
<b>Do you really think, Dear Reader, that the British government will make the situation better? I can answer that one now: of course not. If anything, it will make it easier to implement other laws that restrict the rights and freedoms of everyone in the land. I cannot imagine a more sinister power-grab than this. Imagine something simple as EU law concerning consumer rights: let us say you buy a kitchen and it is riddled with problems. EU consumer protection law dictates that the company <i>has to </i>either correct it or replace it without cost. The same goes for clothes, furniture, computers, everything. You have the right to return your goods to the shops within 14 days of purchase, all because of EU law. </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
The four very elements that the Leave campaign is highlighting are the four very elements that everyone should be worried about. It is a myth that things will improve if the UK leaves - the EU guarantees so many more freedoms to its citizens:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>The right to work in other EU countries without needing visas, residence permits or the filling of quotas</li>
<li>The right to study in another EU country for all or part of your university course (Erasmus)</li>
<li>The right to the same mobile phone roaming costs and no nasty bills no matter where you are in the EU</li>
<li>The right to the same standard of healthcare as back in your own country</li>
<li>The right to vote in local and European elections wherever you are</li>
<li>The right to live where you want and be treated by the local councils and national governments the same as locals</li>
<li>The right to the same consumer law as everywhere else</li>
<li>The right to jump on a train, plane, boat or bus to France, Belgium or wherever and not need to worry about declaring your alcohol or tobacco</li>
<li>The right to go from Lisbon to Warsaw without showing your passport</li>
</ul>
<div>
And many other things.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
THE SILENT TAKEOVER</div>
<div>
Just remember one thing: once the UK frees itself from the EU shackles (in other words from keeping it on the straight-and-narrow), there will be nobody else to keep an eye on the opportunism and impunity with which the corporate elite will act. This is your future. Nobody can tell you this because this is much more inflammatory than the stuff that the In and Out camps have been propagating thus far. The In campaign dare not say these things because some of them would be believed.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
But the time is coming for you to make up your mind. Do you want to guarantee your own subjugation to a corporate elite? Do you want to hand over the things you most cherish about social democracy to faceless (and often heartless) drones in glass towers? Would you rather your tax money went to help the landed gentry to buy up the rest of the countryside and pay for their own limousines or would you rather your taxes guaranteed a harvest? Would you rather your money went to help poor people up the social ladder a little? Would you rather your taxes paid for infrastructure and education, whether here or in the EU at large?</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>I know where my allegiances lie - and leaving the largest trading bloc the world has ever known is not going to bring <u>you</u> prosperity. It will bring more prosperity to those who already have it, while turning the country into a feudal state.</b></div>
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
INDEPENDENCE</div>
<div>
Independence from what?</div>
<div>
The UK is already independent. </div>
<div>
But I'll tell you what they want you to believe:</div>
<div>
That outside the EU "we" will be able to make our own laws. What kind of laws? Do you think it will be for the benefit of UK citizens? I don't. It will be for the benefit of the One Per Cent.</div>
<div>
Furthermore, we need to remember who we are and not who we were. We are members of a club of 28 nations, some of whom are "more European than others", so to say. It is time the UK started acting more European and stopped sniping from the sidelines. The EU is more heavily supported by smaller countries than larger ones, and the answer is simple: the President of the European Commission is Luxembourgish, the previous one Portuguese. the President of the European Council is Polish, the previous one Belgian. The thing is, it gives the chance for smaller countries to shine on the world stage like they would never be able to if they were independent. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The larger countries of the south, like Spain and Italy, are also by-and-large pro-EU because they understand the prestige membership brings them. The prosperous and fiscally careful countries of the north and central areas, like Sweden, Denmark, Poland and the Czech Republic, are more sceptical because they also like their freedoms, but none of them would think leaving the EU would solve their problems. The largest countries, like France and Germany, have found it hardest to assimilate to the EU because they have needed to shrink, or at least take on fewer airs of a large country although this is of course very difficult, especially when it seems nobody else is on your side. Just ask Angela Merkel about refugees and the "solidarity" she received. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Even Greece, the country with the biggest reason to be upset with the EU, does not want to leave. It might want to leave the Eurozone, but most definitely not the EU. So the UK is a little bit like Denmark, and a little bit like Germany. What it needs to do is just relax into its role as a counterbalance to the Eurozone's largest powers and stick up for those countries that wish to remain outside. It needs to engage more, be more understanding and empathetic, and stop thinking everyone should act like them.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Do you really think independence will guarantee self-control? I don't. I can't see how voting to leave a club but having nevertheless to pay membership fees to access it will really make the UK independent. The conditions would remain similar but the UK would not be permitted a say in any matters. Furthermore, it will take years to undo all that constitutional paperwork.</b></div>
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
Which brings me on to...</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
HAVING A SAY IN EU AFFAIRS</div>
<div>
The UK is alone and isolated in EU negotiations? Rubbish. The UK has had a great deal to say about the EU and its workings. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>For one thing, the UK was central in introducing the <a href="http://ted.europa.eu/TED/main/HomePage.do" target="_blank">call for tender system known as TED</a> to allow for a more simplified and equitable EU-wide system of provision of goods and services so any company anywhere can bid for a supply contract. </li>
<li>The UK, as the largest non-Eurozone member state, is the de facto leader of the outside pack and recently negotiated more rights for those wishing not to join the Euro. </li>
<li>The actual running of some of the EU institutions has in recent years become much more familiar to British civil servants than to French ones. The streamlining of administrative processes, the cutting of costs and bureaucracy, the accountability of every job posting, the justification of every business journey made, the pricing of every cup of coffee poured in an EU building... everything in the EU institutions is accounted for, down to the limitation of photocopies for language trainers. </li>
<li>Furthermore, English is the prevalent language these days, and French is now a more and more distant second. German is waiting in the wings to be promoted if the UK leaves the EU. And English will, in one night, become obsolete as the Lingua Franca of the EU. It will lose its status as the working language of the EU institutions, and French, German and probably Polish or Spanish will get a much bigger role to play in the EU.</li>
<li>There are disproportionately more British (and Irish) staff in managerial positions than other nationalities, although due to the geographical position of the EU institutions, French and Belgians make up a large part of the admin staff. In the Court of Auditors, English is the only language and to get a job there it is essential to speak it to a level good enough to work in.</li>
<li>In negotiations, the only reason why it seems the UK is isolated is because the UK government really does not get the EU. It acts like a yob in Torremolinos, wanting all the home comforts but without the disadvantages. It was shocking and shameful for me to see my government try to negotiate favourable treatment in the EU and at the same time refuse to play any single part in the Syrian refugee crisis. </li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>If you really think the UK is hard-done-by it is all smoke and mirrors. The government just needs to stop moaning and get on with teamwork. If you think the EU is a gravy train, try speaking to assistants and administrators in Luxembourg at the bottom of the EU pyramid, where they earn less per month than local bus drivers, gardeners and cleaners. This is because staff in all EU institutions in all cities earn the same, calculated on Brussels salaries.</b></div>
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
Finally, the EU is incredibly bad at promoting itself, which is both a good and a bad thing. On one hand, it means it is too busy doing what it is supposed to be doing rather than spending time and money advertising itself - the quiet ones are those who are getting on with the job rather than looking for reward. At the same time, it means people are malinformed and misinformed about the good it does. </div>
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
<b>Get informed before you decide.</b></div>
LitskiLitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16549641203135530584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-896656160555503731.post-42309745128696089462016-04-27T10:16:00.001+02:002016-04-27T10:17:31.316+02:00Think Brexit is a fair vote? Think again...<b>All of us have an opinion on the current situation regarding the UK's badly-conceived looming referendum on whether they wish to remain part of the EU or not. Sides are being formed and defences are being reinforced ready for the approaching battle. Unfortunately, it seems, even your allies should not be trusted...</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
David Cameron is a wilier old fox than you would give such a man who, through his parents' riches, never really needed to be talented. Some people say he is a male Margaret Thatcher (but without the balls). I think to view him so favourably to the Iron Lady is to compare suicide by messy drug overdose to a slight fever caused by a dodgy mushroom. He is a very, very cheap imitation of her, and just a sponsored high-ranking civil servant who has obviously been promised a cushy job or two on a few boards of directors once he leaves politics.<br />
<br />
Anyhow, he seems to have continued that tradition of saying one thing while doing another. Think I'm being paranoid? Let's see the facts:<br />
<br />
<b>1. They'll take anyone's vote</b><br />
Read <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/money/2016/mar/12/eu-workers-deported-earning-less-35000-employees-americans-australians" target="_blank">this little beauty</a> from the Guardian, which has arrived just in time for the referendum. In essence, it says that anyone not from the EU who wishes to remain in the country needs to earn over £35,000 to do so. It is a perfect vote-grabber. How do we stop so many of our good friends from Australia and Canada being kicked out? We vote for Brexit. Then we'll kick all the Poles and Lithuanians out and keep the Anglophones. See this in the news much? No. After the Tories' conduct in the general election, where every single vote counted, this is another one of those little toppers-up. Commonwealth citizens can vote in the election, so this is sure to help gain a few tens of thousands to the cause.<br />
<br />
<b>2. They'll upset a few people</b><br />
To get the President of the United States to come to your country and tell everyone you are going to the back of the queue (a British word), is to get up the nostrils of hundreds of thousands of people who think it's none of his business. Forget those who are persuaded by him - this is about gaining numbers on the "no" side.<br />
<br />
<b>3. They'll make it harder for those likely to vote "in" to do so</b><br />
The referendum takes place during Glastonbury and the European Football Championships, thus thousands of young people, who are more likely to vote "in" will unfortunately be away. Furthermore, the government recently changed the way people can vote - before the last general election, the PM thought it was a good idea to cancel the previous system of automatic registration, and introduce a process whereby newcomers and those who reach 18 <a href="http://www.aboutmyvote.co.uk/register-to-vote/why-should-i-register-to-vote" target="_blank">have to consciously register</a>. Out go several thousand more potential voters.<br />
<br />
<b>4. They'll put a lot of people off voting so many times in a short period</b><br />
If my theory is right, there is one way to test it - the Scottish elections are coming up, as are the London elections, the Northern Irish and Welsh Assembly elections, the Police Commissioner elections, and the local government elections in England. <a href="http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/find-information-by-subject/elections-and-referendums/upcoming-elections-and-referendums" target="_blank">They take place on 5th May</a>. Election fatigue will set in when immediately after those, the EU referendum campaign really kicks off and people will be so fed up by 23rd June that there will be very few who will really feel like voting. Except, of course, those who are really passionate about it, which would be almost entirely made up of Brexiteers... there go some more potential voters.<br />
<br />
<b>5. They'll play to Pro-independence Scots - without lifting a finger</b><br />
I can see it now - while they're upsetting a lot of Brits by getting Obama in on the act, they can also recruit hundreds of thousands of Scots by dropping a few verbal bombs on life after Brexit. And they don't need a Tory to do it for them... <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/feb/25/brexit-vote-scotland-out-uk-scottish-independence" target="_blank">Nicola Sturgeon said</a> she would think it almost certain that a new push for independence will be sought if there was a vote in favour of leaving the EU. How convenient. It is therefore in the interest of as many as 1.6 million people who voted to leave the UK in 2014 to vote Brexit and then trigger a second Scottish referendum almost immediately. What will be the result? The Scots will declare independence, apply to remain in the EU, as <i>might </i>the Welsh and Northern Irish, and the English will unilaterally leave both the UK and the EU.<br />
<br />
<b>6. They don't really care about your country</b><br />
If those seeking the UK's withdrawal from the EU had patriotism in mind, they would be wise to remember that an awful lot of Scots, Welsh, Northern Irish and indeed English, don't think they do. In fact, I personally think it is all to do with money. England would become a test ground for extreme neo-liberal policy experiments. Where better than the home of the world's banks where nearly every commodity has been privatised and the National Health Service and education system are ripe for a sell-off? If you can't see the stitch-up here, then you undoubtedly see the goodness in everyone, even a Tory...<br />
<br />
<b>Conclusion:</b><br />
So before you put your cross on the "Leave" side of the ballot paper, just remember this: what will be the <i>true </i>cost of Brexit? All the propaganda about saving money is phoney. You will not save money, and if you did, it will be minuscule - you won't even notice the difference. You think a Tory government is going to invest the money in the country? Don't make me laugh! They will invest it in their cronies and back-slapping maties in the City of London.<br />
<br />
Project Fear, as it has been dubbed, is just that, but it is focusing on the wrong things. The UK is a testing ground for the future of democracy. They are importing Viktor Orban's style of garnering votes and many are being hoodwinked by it. Don't be fooled - if you genuinely <i>are </i>tired of the EU and its decadencies, vote "Remain" and ask for - no, demand - reforms. But fight from the inside!LitskiLitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16549641203135530584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-896656160555503731.post-75023017900191386072016-01-19T12:42:00.000+01:002016-01-19T12:42:51.227+01:00Inclusiveness in immigration is very important<b>I have one or two Facebook friends that continually post the most small-minded trash about "foreigners". I should really delete them, but I get a kind of morbid kick from hate-reading their simplistic cartoons, knee-jerk videos and generalist caveman articles saying why anyone with a different skin complexion is either murderously dangerous or just here in Europe for the financial benefits. They are simply wrong, and their thinking is just as dangerous as, if not more than the revoltingly maniacal terrorists they, and indeed all of us, wish to eradicate.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
I am the grandson of a Polish immigrant, and empirical witness to the praise he heaped on his adopted country. He loved Great Britain with a passion. He worked on ship maintenance most of his life in dry docks in the East End of London and crucially, he played an important role during the run-up to D-Day and beyond, coming home some weeks after he had left, black from head to foot. My father said he slept for several days afterwards. He held a passion for his adopted country, calling it the greatest nation on Earth (and he had visited many in his career).<br />
<br />
Where I am leading to is this: if the people in my country had treated him with scorn, scepticism or segregation, or if they had excluded him from an opportunity to contribute to society, or if they had accused him of profiting from the system, I am sure he would not have stayed long. If my country's newspapers were full of stories about people like him: funny accent, strange gait, shifty eyes... he would never have said anything complimentary about my country at all. But they didn't. And he did.<br />
<br />
Why?<br />
<br />
Because if you come with a clean conscience, a smile, and a will to be useful, you will go far, provided the people give you a break. If they don't - if they put you in a box, if they don't trust you or "your kind", if they don't try to understand you, or at the very least accept you, then you may as well find a different place to settle. The reason why immigration into the UK has on the whole been successful is due to two factors:<br />
<br />
1. Indifference: as long as you're not a bastard, nobody really cares where you're from;<br />
2. The economy: it can absorb newcomers because employers take experience above qualifications.<br />
<br />
I am really upset by the country of my grandfather, the land that has been the object of imperialist expansion, whose people have suffered greatly at the hands of oppressors from all points of the compass. I am also upset by the land I call my second home, the Czech Republic, which had a similar history, if not so brutal. The people should know better than to advocate the closing of the doors to people in dire need of help. They may not be Christian, they may not be white, they may not eat pork, they may not speak your language, but they are people. They have heads, hands, hearts, and most of all they have the right to live in peace without fear of persecution or death.<br />
<br />
I agree, wholeheartedly, that if you commit a crime, you should be fittingly punished. But to forbid people from entering your country in case they do is a despicable act of heartlessness. Everyone deserves a chance. If you are so scared by people you have never met, if you remain fearful of them and if you don't try to befriend them, how else can they integrate? They will most certainly stick together, because nobody else wants to know them. It is no surprise to me that the recent arrivals do not want to go to Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia or Hungary: why would they, when they have some idea of how badly they will be treated when they get there?<br />
<br />
So next time you are faced with a person from a hotter country who looks at you without smiling, or walks past you without looking, ask yourself why - could it be because he/she has had very little contact or bad experiences with local people? Could it be he/she has been attacked by locals and is afraid? Or could it be that he/she is confused by (especially European) locals' innate behaviour of keeping people at an arm's length and mistakenly takes it personally? I have been subject of two of those cases myself, both in Germany and Belgium, so I know how it feels. And I'm white. I can only imagine how much more compounded the feeling must be if I were not.<br />
<br />
I haven't finished yet...<br />
<br />
I watched a video posted on a group called "We Are Here At Home", a Facebook page where people from the Czech Republic and Slovakia congratulate themselves on their racial purity and point out the barbarism of other nations, e.g. showing rubbish tips and slums in African cities; men in Keffiyeh headgear beating their wives; memes showing darker skinned people saying what they're really coming to Europe for (not for shopping, that's for sure). This is the type of nonsense propaganda the Communists used to distribute, just delivered for another cause. It casts doubt into people's minds and drives them to a very dark place.<br />
<br />
I agree, there are many countries in hotter climates with some serious problems with their systems, and their patriarchal ways. There are men in some countries that treat their women and children the same as their cattle. Or worse. There are also a lot of nefarious individuals that should never be allowed into Europe. We all know this. We also know the way the crisis in the summer of 2015 was shockingly badly handled. But this does not mean every single person coming out of Africa or the Middle East has a dastardly plan. Have you seen the utter devastation in the Middle East? If that happened in Europe (which it did), you wouldn't stay at home to wait to be blown up along with your house and possessions. It also doesn't mean that because some may have grown up in corrupt, disorganised or lawless areas, that they are incapable of being organised themselves; quite the opposite, in fact. How many of us, when we become adults, do exactly the opposite of the things we hated most about our past or our upbringing?<br />
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There is something sick about people unwilling to extend an olive branch to those in desperate need. There is something psychologically wrong about people who see the colour, religion or the nation before they see the person. There is something sinister about the person who propagates false information about "outsiders", or who actively looks for the opportunity to shock others, or be shocked by the behaviour of those they know little about.<br />
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Below is a list of just some of the many successful British people whose provenances lie partly or wholly elsewhere:<br />
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Art Malik (actor)<br />
Rita Ora (singer-songwriter)<br />
Asad Ahmad (BBC newsreader)<br />
Riz Lateef (BBC newsreader)<br />
Naseem Hamed (Boxer)<br />
Sajid Javid (Politician)<br />
David Lammy (Politician)<br />
Baroness Warsi (Politician)<br />
Nadiya Hussain (winner of a TV cooking show voted by the public)<br />
Mo Farah (Olympic Sportsman)<br />
Fatima Whitbread (Olympic Sportswoman)<br />
Mudhsuden Singh "Monty" Panesar (Cricketer for England)<br />
Chuka Umunna (Politician)<br />
Gabriel Agbonlahor (Footballer)<br />
Sadiq Khan (Politician)<br />
Adil Ray (Comedian, Actor)<br />
Omid Djalili (Comedian, Actor)<br />
The Saatchi Brothers (Businessmen)<br />
Anish Kapoor (Architect)<br />
Michael Marks (Founder of Marks & Spencer)<br />
Sir Alec Issigonis (Inventor, designer of the Mini car)<br />
Sir Clement Freud (Broadcaster, Writer, Politican, Chef)<br />
Lord Alf Dubs (Politician)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nadiya Hussain, winner of the Great British Bake-Off 2015<br />(c) Love Productions/Press Association</td></tr>
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Google them and you will find a very interesting story behind every one of them. Some of course suffered from xenophobic abuse (not every story is faultless), but the benignity of the system, coupled with the fact that the vast majority of people are colour-blind and take people at face value, meant they were able to make it in their chosen areas, many with outstanding results. If you treat people as you would like to be treated, you will find they will reciprocate. Only a small number would do differently.<br />
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I'll tell you something for nothing: I would never have even thought of writing such a piece as this if it were not for the necessity of putting my point across to some mindless bigots I have recently had the displeasure of discovering are actually parochial purist thugs. And that is because I have never really considered any of the people on that list above, or any other first, second, third-generation immigrant (I baulk at the word) as anything else except British. In some ways I feel like I'm patronising them by having to use them as an example. I have never seen them as anything else except British.<br />
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In fact, quite frankly, on an intellectual or human level, there are no foreigners. And I challenge any one of those propagators of hate (you know who you are) to prove otherwise. Look at the personality, the attitude, the potential, before you look at the nationality, ethnic background or religion. There are bad eggs everywhere, just don't put all their associates in the same category. If we did that, this is what we would see:<br />
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Football hooliganism = English problem in the 1980s = all English are therefore violent thugs<br />
Marc Dutroux = paedophile and child murderer = all Belgians are murderous sexual deviants<br />
Westboro Baptist Church = brutally xenophobic and homophobic Christian group = all Americans are religious nutcases<br />
Dutch law = lenient on soft drugs and prostitution = all Dutch are perverted junkies<br />
Hungarian government = illiberal and xenophobic = all Hungarians voted for them<br />
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For goodness sake, as a Pagan, I sometimes go to the forest at night and remove my clothes. It doesn't make me a flaming exhibitionist... If we peddle the line that everyone is the same because they do this or that, or come from here or there, or they believe in this or that, it tells more about us than it does about them...<br />
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I cannot believe, that in 2016, we are once again heading towards isolationism, segregation, and maybe even war. There are no reasons for it, except for those that get their kicks from the feeling they are superior to others. They generally are not - they are just unaware how ridiculous they look. I will not block these Facebook "friends" who post their nonsense, but I will try never to be in the same room as them ever again.LitskiLitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16549641203135530584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-896656160555503731.post-44357748864889128132016-01-17T13:37:00.000+01:002016-01-17T13:48:09.789+01:00The Polish politician's favourite tool: victimhoodBack in the dark days of the Cold War, people of all nations involved were fearful of "the other side". This fear was generated by the idea that "we" were superior to "them", and "they" were immoral, unscrupulous and treacherous. It worked well - indeed so well, it's been resurrected for a new public, a public that by now will have forgotten that period, and should be more or less open to psychological manipulation once again. Today's Poland is a perfect example of this.<br />
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"Us" against "them": this tool is used by so many leaders to motivate their followers, especially in hard times: listen to any post-match interview from football managers like Slaven Bilic or José Mourinho; find a speech by any of the North Korean Kim dynasty; take a look at the recruitment tactics of any wacko religion such as the Jehovah's Witnesses or even the Westboro mob; read the transcripts of any large criminal trial - what you will notice in all of them is this tendency to garner sympathy with their target audience through claiming they are being besieged and thus in need of protection, support or even encouragement.<br />
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In some contexts this may indeed be the correct action to take, but in a lot of them, shiploads of salt should be offloaded onto their pretexts before even considering their legitimacy. Take the current constitutional changes taking place in Poland right now: all the pillars of democracy have been tested and are being torn down in favour of a very pious, blinkered and ultimately vindictive government being led by an é<i>minence grise</i>, Jarosław Kaczyński, who is clandestinely pulling all the strings from a safe distance. He himself is slightly toxic to the public, but his party, at least at the time of election, was not. I think it its safe to say that if there were an election in Poland tomorrow, his PiS party would be soundly beaten by safer, more democratic politicians. <br />
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One can say that a country deserves the politicians it elects, and sorry to my Polish friends, but I think this also applies here... Poland was gripped by the migration crisis of summer 2015 and voted for the party most likely to protect its national borders from ethnic "impurities". Poland was an up-and-coming country, a progressive nation taking the lead in its region as the motor of European integration and solidarity. But the wheels came off in the summer when its people showed that they have yet to really comprehend the outside world at large. The election of the PiS, with a majority, despite its disastrous record in office, demonstrates the same old fears that Poles continue to believe: Russia and Germany are still trying to subjugate it; the EU is the propagator of multiculturalism and ultimately the dilution of Polish nationality; Putin himself caused the 2010 Smolensk air crash that wiped out many of Poland's leading lights... there are many more, but these are the perfect examples to highlight how to manipulate a country and its people.<br />
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Playing on these fears, along with the fact that Poles play victimhood very well (I cannot remember how many times I have had to explain why the British didn't show up the day after the attack on Westerplatte in 1939 and why I am personally not to blame, or listen to how all of us Brits, whether born or not, whether we voted for the leader of the day or not, are responsible for Poland being handed over to the Soviets after the War, even if we ourselves weren't actually at the Yalta or Potsdam conferences...) meant that Kaczynski and his allies could use the perfect storm created by the migration crisis, the eurozone issue and the struggle in Ukraine to play on the fears of the average citizen. Where this has led to is a disaster for European democracy and progressive politics. </div>
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I personally do not think the current Polish government will survive a year from now. But where it has been very shrewd is in very early in its term of office massively changing the country's internal set-up making it likely that, even if it does fall, there will be remnants that can continue to cause a lot of trouble: the constitutional court has over a third of its members linked to the PiS. National television and radio have been infiltrated with the party faithful, causing several high-profile resignations. There are other things that have caused widespread dismay amongst Poland's opposition, leading to the coining of a new term: "Orbanisation", named after Hungary's leader and advocate of illiberal democracy, Viktor Orban. </div>
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To conclude, this is not over; not by a long way. The chances are high that the silent majority will become irritated by this and more public resistance will bring about a friction between the ruling party and everyone else (except, astonishingly, for the Polish Catholic Church, which has so far remained impassive to the current goings-on, perhaps because it too has benefited from the new patriarchal, sexually conservative and anti-abortion regime. For the moment, the European Union is leading the way in criticising the establishment in Poland - unfortunately it is led by Martin Schulz, a German, and thus an obvious sitting duck in the victimhood propaganda war, where he, along with compatriot Angela Merkel, the Luxembourgish head of the European Council Jean-Claude Juncker, and the harmless but outspoken leader of the Liberal Democrats in the European Parliament Guy Verhofstadt all appeared on the cover of Wprost, the Polish version of Der Spiegel or Time, in Nazi uniforms under the headline "once again they want to police Poland". They chucked in Günther Oettinger, EU Commissioner for the Digital Economy and Society, for good measure, I think, just because he's German. </div>
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And this is where I go full circle. This type of headline appeared in propaganda in the old communist Poland, and is once again rearing its ugly head. It would be refreshing to think that this time people will have learned from the mistakes of the past, but time and time again people seem not to want to; they want to try once again to dream up a reason to legitimise their irrational fears and stir up a feeling of fear and paranoia. We need to encourage the Polish opposition and seek ways to undermine this Orbanisation, before it becomes mainstream everywhere.</div>
LitskiLitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16549641203135530584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-896656160555503731.post-49237595834084084532015-12-20T15:12:00.000+01:002015-12-20T15:12:20.844+01:00A Goslitski family centenary of immigration<b>This week is the anniversary of a momentous occasion, although it will go almost unnoticed. And that is probably the most fitting way to spend it. On 22nd December 1915, my grandfather planted his tree in the British orchard, paving the way for the fledgling Goslitski family to thrive. It is the beginning of a very successful immigration story.</b><br />
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Above is the registration certificate of my grandfather, Eugene Alexander Goslitski, a Russian national of Polish descent, who came on his own looking for a better life. I have done some research into his background and reasons for leaving, and there is not much to go on, but we should look at the facts: Poland had not existed since 1795, and its lands had been divided up by Prussia, Russia and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. My grandfather was a Russian simply because of where he was born. Poles in Russia were treated as outsiders and were not full citizens. Many of them were deported to Siberian camps for <i>katorga</i>, that is exile and hard labour in underpopulated areas where nobody else was available. Several people with my family name were registered in those camps, although it is still not easy to identify their connection to us.</div>
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Whoever they were, my family name is quite unique and if you have that name you can only be from that family. The internet has become a sort of calling card for me. Many times, when I don't have a business card on me, I just tell people to Google me, because I'm so easy to find. This is both a blessing and a burden. For that reason, anyone with our name mast be related to us. We are like Grimaldi, Habsburg or Rothschild, although much less illustrious. I say this because our family name is aristocratic and my grandfather spoke about it now and again. He would often tell his daughters that back in the home land they were princesses. This was an elaboration - countesses would have been closer to the mark, despite their stark diminution under occupation, where all Polish aristocrats underwent screening for Russian ancestry, and those without were removed from their titles. </div>
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It is quite likely that my grandfather left because he had no life, no opportunities and very little to keep him there. He joined the Merchant Navy and sailed around the world before settling in London, where he arrived in the middle of the First World War. This was quite remarkable, because with the war in full operation, every man was needed on the battlefield or on the sea. But come he did, and he died in the Brook Hospital in Greenwich on 22nd November 1960. </div>
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During his life, he was a marine engineer, and he worked on the other side of the River Thames from his home in Bermondsey, less than a three-iron shot from Tower Bridge and the City of London. For that reason, he made a great deal of effort for the cause during the Second World War, and was involved in the D-Day landings. My father told me he left for several weeks around that time and when he returned he was covered from head to toe in soot. He had been jumping from ship to ship maintaining and repairing the boats to get them to the other side. He slept for a very long time when he returned home.</div>
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He is one of many who were never granted full British citizenship, mainly, probably, due to that one word: "Russian". Britain and Russia were never the best of friends once the Tsar fell, despite being the first country in the world to officially recognise the Soviet Union. But without bilateral treaties, even with countries in the direct neighbourhood, every foreigner had to fulfil a certain duty to remain in the UK. My grandfather had to leave the country for 24 hours every year, and reapply for entry upon return. He didn't go to another country - he took the opportunity to go into the Thames Estuary on one of his friends' boats and get slammed for a couple of days.</div>
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And here is the main point: my grandfather, along with hundreds of thousands of deracinated people, have found new homes in their destination countries. The vast majority of immigrants and their children have contributed to society in ways that are often under-appreciated by people. Lots of them have become famous names (Sigmund Freud, Sir Alec Issigonis, Zaha Hadid, Anish Kapoor), and some have even risen to lead their country (Nicolas Sarkozy, Benjamin Disraeli). Immigration is good for any country - being a popular destination for immigrants is the best endorsement any country can have. It is a sign that newcomers can fit in, that the local population there is not bothered by change and people are considered people, no matter their origins. My grandfather, a larger-than-life character, was known locally as the Duke of Bermondsey. He made the most of his adopted country, and said it was the greatest nation on Earth. Immodestly, I cannot disagree with him. </div>
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My grandfather left his home to seek new climes. He was an international man in a local setting. He had bigger ambitions for himself and he set off to better himself. If he had stayed there in Poland, he would have experienced two World Wars, numerous invasions and would have been witness to the horrors of the Holocaust and the next Soviet occupation, leading to the People's Republic of Poland. Instead, he took the chance to find a place he and his future family could thrive.</div>
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Immigrants have one thing in common: their entrepreneurial spirit. They know how to get on in life wherever they go. They will never be the same again once they do, because once you leave, you can go <i>back</i>, but you can never go <i>back home</i>. You are seen as a foreigner in both places. But in general, there is no reason why being a foreigner should make you a stranger. And the fact of the matter remains, the children of those immigrants will most surely never be seen as foreigners. In a country like the United Kingdom, we don't really talk about foreigners, only when referring to those who have still stubbornly kept up their stereotypical façades. It is very wrong to say that people should speak the local language at home or adopt every local custom. That is too much to ask, and is totally unfair. They should keep their own home fires burning - I do. I mean the ones that refuse to do any integration at all. The ones that have little or no desire to accept local customs, who never take part in local events, who do not learn the language and who keep unswervingly to their own traditions. </div>
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As I said, being popular with immigrants is a good thing for any country, as it means the conditions are right. In the current crisis sweeping Europe, it is no wonder that so many of those refugees want to go to countries known for their tolerant attitudes to newcomers. If I were one of them right now, there are countries in Europe I would really not want to settle in. I wish some of the cynics would stop peddling the "benefits" myth. Of course I'd want good conditions for my family if I were an immigrant or refugee. Why would I say to my family, "lets go to Poldakia or Molvenia because if we can avoid being beaten by the police and rejected by the authorities, we stand a chance of getting our own room above an abattoir"? I would not. I would want to go to a country that made me feel welcome. The fact they provide me with food, money and shelter is another sign that they want me not to have to struggle with poverty upon my arrival. How horrible would it be if people arriving from war-torn countries were made to fend for themselves from day one? It would say more about us than about them, that's for sure.</div>
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Yesterday, I had the privilege of spending some time with some of the younger Syrian refugees in Saarburg at an art session at the cultural centre. They were making clay winter- or Christmas-themed figurines. I really liked their imagination. Below are some of their works. All of them, despite their torturous recent experiences, had made it to a place of safety and were adapting quite well to local life. Some were already speaking reasonable German. They all seemed well-adjusted and acted very maturely. I have a deep respect for anyone who undergoes such a harrowing journey to look for calm in their lives. Some of them will one day go back to rebuild their country, but many will stay, and having met some of them, I can safely say they will be a credit to their new society. My grandfather's life was not half as bad as theirs was back in Syria, which is why to deny them the chance of a new life and happiness is to betray everything my grandfather ever did.</div>
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Here's to another hundred years of migration!</div>
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