Sunday 17 July 2016

Thinking about our relationships with the world.

Post Brexit.   We voted and overall 52% of us in the United Kingdom voted leave.   Interestingly Scotland and Northern Ireland want to remain, in fact last year Scotland voted to keep the United Kingdom intact partly on the understanding that it was the way they could retain their membership of the EU.   It is no surprise then then that Scotland now wants a re-run of their vote, and I think we should allow this.

During the Brexit campaign we were warned that our channel border in France might be closed by the French forcing us to open it on UK spoil.   The leave party said nonsense will not happen and it is scare mongering.  I had considered it a possibility before it entered the public debate, in my mind it is still a real possibility especially with the pressure put on France by terrorists.   Easier for them then to allow the refugees passage through to Great Briton.

Who will these incomers be, mostly homeless, stateless victims of the conflicts in Africa and the Middle East.  Why will they come here?   Firstly because their homes have been destroyed and it is unsafe for them to remain in the countries of their birth.   They need somewhere safe and secure to live.   We want the world to see us as successful and bountiful, why else would they want to come somewhere as alien to them as Great Briton is to North Africa?

Picture credit Independant.co.uk 


Some of those who voted to leave believed that they were voting to keep these people out.   Cannot imagine why but they did.   The probability is that we will see fewer people coming from EU member countries, people who are more closely related to us!   Another argument is that 'they' take British jobs and work for low pay making things tougher for British people.   Have you seen the working conditions these people work in?   Have you seen how hard they are expected to work?   We have been teaching our people for decades that they don't have to do dirty grimy smelly hard labour.   We are not the fruit and veg pickers, we do not work in recycling centres sorting our dirty smelly recycling.  We do not stand all day long Summer and Winter washing cars.   It is the EU workers who do a lot of these jobs, non EU immigrants making up the rest.  What do we do? curse them to their faces, our treatment of incomers is disgraceful and shames us all.

Thats enough for today, food for thought if we close our borders to anyone and everyone except the talented what message does it send about us?   Who will then do those dirty jobs?  Your sons and daughters?   My son kinda already is he is a chef, basic wage for un-social hours and long days.  Not all chef's are the kitchen king and certainly not all are TV stars.

Saturday 16 July 2016

Confused of Grimsby

I do not know if anyone else will see this or if they do are interested enough to read it but I need to write it.

The world is becoming an increasingly dangerous place to live while at the same time seemingly in denial about responsibility.   So this is a place for me to try to make sense of it all at least for myself.

To my way of thinking we are in the middle of a world war, one that started in 2011.  Who started it is debatable there was the terrorist attack on America following that the invasion of Iraq.   This seems to have led directly to the Arab Spring.  Syria a recent centre of violence used by both Russia and 'The West' to have a really good scrap without taking chunks out of each other.   The population of Syria have been the worst hit so many of them left homeless and hopeless.   These poor people are streaming out of their country with no where to go facing danger and rejection at every turn.

Back in Iraq and the capital Baghdad violence is an every day occurrence as different factions rip each other apart in the name of power.   Into this volatile mix Islamic Extremists  are planing and executing acts of terror here there and everywhere.  Why?

I suspect the answer to that is that the Islamic populations want self government they are rejecting the western influence, and why shouldn't they?   Oil the west is dependant  on oil and wants to control it. So instead of negotiating and finding a peaceful way for us all to co-operate and work together we, The West, assumes it can just take what it want and is then surprised when other people disagree and find ways of making themselves heard.

Was the Arab world ever a threat to us?  Yes and No think that is an exploration for another day.

In the midst of all this violence and disquiet we vote to leave the EU and start our own little internal drama.  So much easier than looking outward and facing up to our part in the world wide turmoil.

So I need to rant a little and try to understand a world that I do not understand.