Month: March 2018

Brexit, it’s not about fish – entirely.

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AS Britain staggers toward the exit from the European Union I am constantly amazed that people in general, have lost the plot. Getting out of the European Union was never  about fishing, or silly regulation it has always been about the Federalism (exemplified by the unworkable Eurozone) which is totally alien to the British people.

The idea that the UK should be part of an organisation driven by unelected bureaucrats that rules rough shod over its so called sovereign members is and always will be untenable.  Evidenced by what has happened to Greece and the Iberian economies the EU still drives toward a federal state.  The cost of running the EU is enormous and I have yet to see a statement of the resultant value set against the costs of this sprawling bureaucracy.  UK has been a net contributor for the last four plus decades and whilst their has been ‘value’ the pendulum has swung well past the reasonable cooperation in trade and law toward to hugely catastrophic juggernaut which has lurched towards the elitist  idea of a federal Europe.

Yes, we knew that the Brexit negotiation means just that and it would be and remains difficult to project the results, but that is the nature of the beast.  Mrs May has been hesitant to draw red lines because I think she knows that getting out and resetting the agenda for a free UK is almost beyond value.  Balancing the short term interests of the economy with the long term interests of UK is intensely difficult particularly when the EU has such complex and unclear objectives of neo federalism.

Getting out is right, the future beyond that exit is surely uncertain, but at least the UK will be able to steer its own democratic future.

Messrs Major and Blair were instrumental in not halting the aspirations of the euro mini states and the likes of  Messrs Juncker and Tusk, who have been propelled into power they must only have dreamed of.

Release from the petty puppets of Brussels is worth some cost, the longer we demure the higher the cost.  So, Mrs May, I wish you the best, but don’t be bullied by left or right, remember we are fighting for the right to remain an independent democracy and that’s surely worth a lot.  We can argue interminably as to what that value is, but it will always be too much for some.

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Diversity the secret of success

manseljamesLeave a comment

I have been lucky enough to spend a good part of the British winter in warmer climes.  I walked almost unconsciously into a foreign culture quite unprepared to ‘integrate’ or make any other concession.  I was immediately struck by the welcome and kindness of the Thai people and realized for once that it was me that was different,

Recognising ‘my difference’ is hard to do.  I am so used to being the one looking out at others, making judgments and I very seldom if ever,  think about how I appear to others.  We are, like everyone else, the center of our own worlds. We tend to judge everything from the perspective of our own existence and experience.

Hence if you are rich you find it difficult to appreciate the problems of poverty, if you are white you find it impossible to imagine being black. All we can do is empathise as best we can. We have to want to understand what makes others tick though few of us do.

This lack of natural empathy is exemplified by the Rhodes issue at Oxford.  Some see the history of Imperial Britain as an ambitious exploration that brought progress to the empire and the world at large.  Others see the history of Britain built on slavery and thus created wealth on the backs of enslaved nations.

It is not long since the Christian missionaries of Europe tortured and killed in the name of Christianity. Today we have factions of various religions that have zealots and extremists who have lost sight entirely of their true religious roots. They are plainly evil but see themselves as soldiers of their perverted causes.

All these evils are brought about by our natural resistance to see ourselves as others see us.  In truth our diversity is wondrous and we have a collection of talents that could make this world a happier place. If only we could look inward and see ourselves as others see us .  Diversity then would flourish as the greatest gift of mankind.