MPs Brexit Divorce End of Term Report, Grade; D – Must Try Harder

Into the Valley of Stupidity Rode the 600, MPs

Warning – Contains Humour, flashing lights and insults for BOTH Labour and the Conservative Party – It is Insult Inclusive!

Must Try Harder – Poor Communication

600 MPs campaigned for the UK to remain in the EU. They did so because it made sense for trade, defence, jobs and the NHS.

And they did such a poor job of campaigning that, evil marketing genius, Dominic Cummings and the Leave campaign, easily kicked their collective arses and won. Ouch.

Must Try Harder – Arrogance

Before getting D – for communication skills, they cockily assumed that no one would be exposed to 1000,000,000 Facebook adds containing, persuasive, attractive but wholly untrue slogans – Take back control, Britain for the British, A Leave vote will save the NHS, We will get back our lost UK Sovereignty, Save the bendy banana, etc. MPs assumed an easy referendum victory and then overcommitted – The Government did not set the bar high enough requiring a 66% result before a constitutional change was triggered – Even, not-so democratic Turkey, managed that. They said that this vote would be final, thus changing an advisory referendum into a vehicle allowing the educationally deprived British public to make direct British law for the first time in history – INSANE.

Must Try Harder – Rat-Ification

And then the Labour leadership got behind job reductions, economic recession, loss of foreign investment, NHS staff shortages and the Tory and right wing media ideological coup that is Brexit, saying they would deliver a secret rainbow, paradise and unicorn version of Brexit where Bambi’s mum would be brought back to life and everyone would go to work on hover-scooters. (You can’t say that I am wrong because no one has ever seen their plan!)

Must Try Harder – Forget Britain

And whilst this shaming and shameful charade has been playing out, like the end of the Roman Empire – None of the real British issues have been dealt with. We have lost time, money and the political will to sort out key systemic UK problems because these very British issues have all now been blamed on Brussels – INSANE.

It was not Brussels that made some regions of the UK poorer than others – The EU offered salvation to these troubled poor spots with regional EU investment money. After Brexit, that cash lifeline will now disappear. They did not cut Government support for local councils by 60% – The UK Government did that to top up the coffers after bailing out failed UK banks after the 2007 – 2008 UK / US Sub-Prime bank scam. It was the UK Government that chose to let in all the EU workers in 2004 – They were needed then and are needed now to fill jobs, work hard and make a net positive tax contribution to this country – We could have controlled the flow of incoming hard workers at ANY time. There has never been a Brussels / EU legal directive that Britain has disagreed with. Why should there be? Why would 27 reasonable states cook up a law that was repellent to us? They wouldn’t. And we have always had a veto on adopting new EU laws anyway. Even the UKs stupidest negotiator, Dumb David David David Davies admits that we have never disagreed with any new EU laws, “It is the principle”, he says with the sort of simple arrogance that makes you want to cry, laugh and puke, all at the same time.

Must Try Harder – Selfish Selfish Selfish

MPs and Head MPs continue to put job security and their personal ambitions before country. This is, morally…treasonous. TMPM just and only wants to hold on to her job for another week, and another week, and another week. That is all – She does not want consensus, a great deal for business, solutions for the regions, or a safe and protected NHS. No – Just her job, for one more week. Last week was proof of that with, “I will go off to Brussels to ask them to re-open the closed UK-EU negotiations and remove the backstop, which took 2 long years to agree upon.” Impossible (or as the right wing press would tell you – A great victory of TMPM) All she wants is the PM job… for another week.

My Local MP

Must Try Harder – Jezza

F knows what he wants. A not so secret Euro super sceptic, he has played an awful tactical long game, hoping not to be PM (he never wanted that) but for labour to walk over the bombed out Tory rubble of a failed Brexit, into power and Government. A fairly avoidant strategy, based, not on his successful leadership (there hasn’t been any) but depending on Tory humiliation and British people leaving their Brexit CULT of their own free will (Maybe he needs further education on Cults to realise that people trapped on the inside of them almost never leave of their own free will.)

Oops – What he didn’t reckon on was the uselessness of MPs, the power of the media to make Brexit still seem like a reasonable option (Brexit was at no time a better economic plan than staying in the EU. There was never a Brexit plan. There couldn’t be one, and, there is not going to be a better choice than trading from WITHIN the EU, any time soon.)

God knows why JC wants an election – TMPM would probably get an outright majority by the time the press has made Jezza into Soviet Satan and the majority of good British people finally admitted that they STOPPED THINKING, READING OR CARING about Brexit, sometime in Autumn 2016 and now, simply, wanted it all to be over.

Must Try Harder – Facts Fact Facts

All the facts are against what 600 MPs are going to do next – MPs will now be fully complicit in grinding out some sort of half-cock divorce with the EU, and, then grinding grinding out 5 to 10 years of post divorce EU trade negotiations with 27 states, where UK PLC will move either from, our current, First Class and Beneficial EU trade agreement to a Second or Third Class Non-Beneficial Agreement. – MPs will now “help” their 70 million constituents by deciding whether we shoot ourselves only in one foot, in booth feet OR, in the head! That is what our 600 MPs will decide for us. Well worth their £77,000 salary, topped up with some dodgy expense claims. And, well worth our votes and continuing support…?

OMG.

 

The Case for BRETURN – We Can Clear Up This Mess And It Won’t Take 5 More Years.

When we were IN, we wanted the additional benefits of being OUT. Now both parties want us OUT with the benefits of being IN – BRETURN – An Opinion Piece by Interculturalist, Matthew Hill Enough is enough of “Brexit means …

Intercultural Communicative Competence Conference, Prague, 22nd to 23rd June 2017

Intercultural Communicative Competence Conference, Prague, June 2017

In the highly competitive environment of the globalised world, higher education necessarily faces ever-present challenges such as linguistic and extra-linguistic communication barriers, cultural stereotyping, cross-cultural prejudices, identity conflicts and/or L2 deficiency, which compound the lack of skills to interact successfully. The acquisition of intercultural communicative competence becomes a key professional skill and a primary success factor for university educators, graduates, and researchers in the field, as well as business professionals, international employers, or HR specialists.

Addressing these concerns, the ICCAGE conference will contribute to the on-going debate on intercultural language/ communicative skills, and various innovative teaching and training approaches to ICC including global mobility, intercultural mediation and telecollaboration, and in and out-of classroom methodologies. The conference will offer an opportunity to share/present experience, develop interdisciplinary networks, and foster cooperation by sharing knowledge and best practices essential for further development and innovation.

Presentations will be on…

• Perspectives on intercultural language learning/teaching

• Current theories of language and intercultural communication

• ICC best practices

• Innovative ICC content, course activities and materials

• Tellecolaborative practice and research 

• Trans-national mobilities​

  The conference is free for registered participants thanks to the funding by the Erasmus+ KA2 Programme No 2015-1-CZ01-KA203-013992.

  The conference is held under the auspices of prof. Ing. Petr Konvalinka, CSc, Rector of the Czech Technical University in Prague, and doc. Ing. Lenka Švecová, PhD, Director of MIAS School of Business and Interdisciplinary Studies, Czech Technical University in Prague. Contact: Contact: iccage.conference2017@muvs.svut.cz 

What is a citizen and how do I become one? by Daphne Laing

We are all global citizens now, but what does this actually mean?

If we accept that an individual can have multiple non-opposing identities, it would logically follow that it is possible to have multiple citizenships, as indeed many of us do…yet this multiplicity seems only to mean that we can use different passports to facilitate travel from one political system to another….and has nothing to do with sharing values, rules etc. Having looked at the questions for the UK citizenship test and scored a big fat zero on history, just scraping through, I am having an(other) identity crisis…… a UK passport holder born, brought up, educated and tax paying in UK for most of my working life, having taught English, acculturation and intercultural communication for 35 years, I am somewhat surprised at the criteria for citizenship of “my” country.

multiple non-opposing identities

Multiple non-opposing identities

For the first time I ask myself “Do I want to be a citizen?” Though I feel a strong connection with my home culture and I understand that on a deep level I probably make assumptions and bear prejudices that would link me to membership of a group of “people like me”, I have long preferred to introduce myself to “others” as a European- thus avoiding the Westerner (i.e USA) or the British (i.e. football hooligan) labels. I am proud of the values which underlie the formation of and continuance of EU, and believe passionately that the institution, for all its faults, has gone a long way to building bridges, to signalling a third way of “doing things”; an alternative to purely money or military oriented politics…. And a clearly stated definition of citizenship.

Yes, I like that…….

To note the ease with which I can explain my choice of association and acknowledge the possibility of duality here may go a long way to explaining my utter bafflement at recent events; but does this also indicate that EU citizenship as a concept is doomed to be more divisive than inclusive? A Them or Us sense of belonging which by its very nature hints at republicanism?

This brings me to a third model: global citizenship, whose qualities seem to be espoused by international NGOs like Oxfam and which is defined as a quality a person demonstrates whose identity is linked more with a common humanity than with any political or other allegiance- but if citizenship means to be held to account by a system; history; shared values, how can any of us possibly call ourselves global citizens except as representing an academic intellectual stance?….

Recent developments have forced me to reflect on what it means to belong….to an organisation at odds with my personal values; to a country hurtling towards xenophobia and isolationalism……

Am I the only one to feel like le Petit Prince?

“To establish ties?”

“Just that,” said the fox. “To me, you are still nothing more than a little boy who is just like a hundred thousand other little boys. And I have no need of you. And you, on your part, have no need of me. To you I am nothing more than a fox like a hundred thousand other foxes. But if you tame me, then we shall need each other. To me, you will be unique in all the world. To you, I shall be unique in all the world….”
― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

About the Author – Daphne Laing is a renowned education professional in the field of culture, language and citizenship.

Brexit Exit – It is easy to be a Critic. Less easy to stay and LEAD by Matthew Hill

Laughing through the tears…

(Reader Warning – This is a opinion piece that takes a helicopter ride over a complex subject and contains ironic humour. People with Breximitosis should stop reading  and rush to their nearest chemist for ointment, now.)

Looking back on the dramas of the last 3 years in this Dis-United Kingdom, there are some things that have now become clearer and other things that we may never know.

Five + Issues – It seems that there were multiple “Don’t Wants” being voted AGAINST  in 2016, leading to ONE big and problematic result on 24th June. The issue NOT headlining in any informed or effective way was the benefit of British reform in Britain and EU reform in Europe, whilst, continuing our First Class and Beneficial trade agreement with the EU – Remember, this First Class Ticket was, is and will always be, much better than downgrading  to a delayed second class or third class non-preferential deal, and then, going out, cap in hand to beg China, India and the US for scraps from their table.

When we divorce the EU on 29th March, we will go to the back of the queue and start again from zero. This could take 5 or 10 years to complete.

Sad

Perhaps it was one of the quieter issues that was to prove the most profound – the voiceless hard working good people of regional England and Wales protesting at the referendum box against the powerful and monied London elite and their pursuit of personal and corporate gain, whilst continuing to marginalise the existence of the regional population. Enough is enough came the message from the forgotten and economically excluded.

New luxury flats in the centre of London

The disenfranchised voted and hoped to be heard. Tragically their genuine and severe needs will now be ignored. Austerity was not an EU initiative – Deep British problems are not being dealt with as we invest hours stirring up xenophobia about EU workers – Good hearted people for the most part, diligently working in shops, picking lettuces or painting walls. It was a Conservative Government policy to strip local councils of 60% of their funding to refill empty coffers after key banks were bailed out following the 2008 Sub-Prime trading scam in London and the US.

Irony – It was the poorest parts of the country that wished to distance themselves from the EU. Despite the fact that they were the greatest beneficiaries of EU largesse when it came to being awarded valuable Regional Development Grants. I was in Cornwall this week – They will lose £60,000,000 in support.

Fisheries – We heard a lot about “loss of control of our country” – The one concrete example was UK fishing grounds (should that be water?) The depleted fishing fleet of the UK will now, theoretically be able to fish more freely in the UK 12 mile zone without competition. And, what do good British fishermen hope to do with their catch? Export the majority of that fish to Spain! And that will be much more difficult on 30th March 2019. Or, this, our only small benefit, will be traded away by a UK Government Brexit negotiation to France and Spain for some other concession, because the Brexit trade deal will not be done on 29th March. Did I mention? We will have extracted ourselves from our First Class and beneficial terms and, then go back to the back of the queue and start negotiating for all or some of the rights we have won over the last 47 years, all over again. – Brexit is like a very expensive Groundhog Day.

Racism – The police are reporting a spike in verbal racial abuse, physical racially motivated attacks and, we see, a general increase in xenophobic rhetoric. This harks back to the extremes of the UKIP campaign and the ethnocentric chant of “Give us our country back” (from Whom and to Whom?) Scapegoating the Polish for coming over here and displacing us with their intelligence and positive work ethic, seems to have found resonant favour with the mob. These shouty but poor students of history, have dulled their senses to facts and our shameful British past (we are all immigrants. Britain robbed, stole, enslaved and killed in the name of empire AND the British Government (not the EU) gave right of abode to the 800 million people of empire in 1931. And, the right to work in the UK to 507 million people in the EU in 2004 – The UK chose to do this whilst other countries in the EU did not.) BTW – The sacrifice of Polish and Czech pilots during WWII is conveniently forgotten in the heat of the moment as fear fuelled emotions spill out. The first thing lost in a Populist war is truth.

The lies – the Leave campaign talked of a two year divorce, our £350 million a week contribution to the EU becoming available to fund NHS hospitals, the EU having taken our UK sovereignty, 60% of British laws coming from Europe, an immediate halt to all immigration, EU directives about bendy bananas, and, that the EU would beg us to continue trading on terms of our own choosing as they needed us SO MUCH. (David David Davies and his BMW trope.)

Unfortunately none of this was true.

And, the Remain / Stay In campaign was not above telling vast fibs in support of their cause. Their message though, was undermined more by internal conflict, an arrogant complacency based on the notion that not that many people were crazy enough to want to leave, and, that they would be OK to still win, even as they continued to fight internal political battles with each other instead of devoting enough time and their full concentration to produce an agenda leading and honest campaign for reforming Britain for Britain and fighting for EU reform within the EU. And, cock up time – They only chucked out old school messages using old school means whilst Leave’s evil marketing genius, Dominic Cummings, used the latest digital technology to get his cult Leave message across, deploying more than 1000,000,000 paid Facebook adds, targeting hidden voters and those in the swing zone.

Corby-Nation – The most complex sub-plot surrounded the leader of the opposition – (Quick reminder Jezza – The leader of the Opposition opposes Tory policy – Just saying).   Jeremy Corbyn suffered an assassination attempt before May’s 2017 General Election but was overwhelmingly saved by Union members and the young. Since then logical criticism of JC (He is a Brexiteer whilst also leading the Labour party) has been forgotten in favour of crazy, spiteful and personal attacks (He is the grandson of Joe Stalin / He is more antisemitic than the Tory party / He is a vegetarian / He is an old man / He is not part of the British elite etc. etc.)

Hello Jeremy, it’s me Tony.

PS – Honest Jeremy did, however, contribute to this disaster himself too. His Mr. Consistency brand did not allow him to give a clear boost to the Remain / Stay IN campaign and his lack of political leadership and poor planning abilities have been rather obvious in the last 2 years.

Onwards to the Negotiation table – In the early 1970’s we put away the history books and moved on from the past. The EEC, The European Economic Community was the thing. No more mention that Britain had been at war, at one time or another, with just about all of the major EU players. The only exception being Greece (and some say we did try to organised an internal coup there…) 1973 was time to trade and thus prevent further war in Europe (something forgotten by the hardline Brexiteers). The EU was set up so that peace could conquer hate.

From a cultural perspective, those dusty history books look like being opened up again and used against us in a court of law, as the goodwill of 2016 morphs into irritation, anger, disgust and attack around the negotiation table, as we attempt, slowly, to sort out 27 new bilateral trading agreements with people who used to admire us and call us a friend.

Cultural Perspective – For interculturalists this mad moment provides an expensive and invaluable case study with rich content for the classroom – Brexit being an example of the dangers of Government lead patriotic rhetoric, the power of the media to spread negative country stereotypes and inflame broad and scary levels of xenophobia and an example of complexity keeping reason and clarity from the masses and, the reversal of 40 years of relatively reasonable diversity and inclusion practice in the workplace happening in a matter of months.

What’s happens next? –  The exit negotiations were triggered way too early when Theresa invoked Article 50 before there was a plan, before establishing cross party support, or, we were ready. This will have consequences – Investment in UK PLC will continue to be on hold, the pound will stay weaker until clarity emerges and, as always, speculative and dirty money will continue to pour into UK shares and UK property and be washed by the London FX markets. – Yes the UK is just as corrupt as Continental Europe.  The economy will move into mild recession as uncertainty rules and the economically deprived regions, that voted Leave, will begin to feel the immediate cold wind of economic downturn (except the few marginal Labour seats amongst former mining communities – They will receive a DUP type bribe to covet their vote for PMTM’s Brexit deal.) We will see a more violence Northern Ireland. And, Summer holidays will be 10% – 20% more expensive in 2019.

The End – Going Going Gone –  On behalf of the leavers – Boris Johnson, Nigel Farage, David Cameron (accidentally) and Jeremy Corbyn we will not be hearing a very British and special word any time soon – “Sorry” (They have not uttered this word themselves though, I like to think they are experiencing a few sleepless nights of burning shame and guilt.) History will not be kind to the Pale Stale Males listed above.

(Number of words in the original post – 1066 – that is a British history joke about an early EU initiative.)

The Author, Matthew Hill, is currently applying for Albanian Citizenship.