Category: General

Clutching at straws

northern-ireland-customs-post-390x285Before German unification, the EU agreed a ‘GDR clause’, allowing easy access in the event of liberation. And now could N. Ireland be offered a similar deal when Brexit bites? Apparently the diplomatic community thinks so.

Just a couple of details to consider though. The province is fiercely British and unlikely to vote for integration with Eire; and Eire would be taking responsibilty for the N.I. economy – which is hardly high on their wish-list.

Recent reports however suggest that many EU leaders might be starting to see the folly of aggressive negotiations with London, perhaps under the influence of big business which will demand a seamless transition to the new order, and the growing threat from Beleavers in other EU states. Will they agree a strategy when they get together this weekend?

 

La Pauvre France

France has survived the first round of its obtuse presidential election system. Little Manny Macaroon and Marine Le Pen survived and France will have to choose between these two underwhelming specimens next month. Le Pen does not actually openly despise France and wish for it to be dissolved in an EU fantasy empire, but her economic manifesto is an absolute catastrophe. 1930s statism and protectionism failed then and they’d fare worse now. Even if she’s wrong about many things, and that her desire to withdraw from the eurozone and EU would be legally complicated to say the least, she is still motivated by a love for la France profonde. Little Manny Macaroon, the school boy who ran away with his French teacher, is favoured to win. He, naturally, has no clue about governance. However, he at least has a basic grasp of economics. He does, sadly, openly despise France having publicly denigrated it abroad. His idea of a foreign policy is the destruction of France as a sovereign state, being an even bigger euro-fanatic than Hollande. Neither candidate is what France needs. France needs strong and spirited leadership to end its drift — it needs someone who can read the mood outside Paris and Brussels. Neither, ultimately, does this. It seems as if Little Manny Macaroon is favoured to be the next president. He will have little support in parliament and his views on the EU and immigration are about as popular in France as a bad case of the clap. Should he, as he apparently intends to, emulate Blair and Obama France will be a year past its collapse in 2022.

June 8th General election

This could be funny. As the election bill goes against the fixed parliamentary term bill, it will need a two thirds majority to pass through the house. As Labour, the Lib Dems and the Snp will all stand to lose out big time, we could see all the opposition parties voting to keep the Tories in power by voting not to have a general election. Shrewd move  Mrs M. 

Flying the Friendly Skies

My fellow Charioteers will already know that I am hardly the world’s largest fan of the USA. That I am hardly enamoured with the idea of going on holiday in the USA will, thus, surprise no one. That’s not to say that the USA is without its merits and charms. It has both, at times in abundance. In my experience Planet ‘Murca’s native aggro simply outweighs the good. Continue reading “Flying the Friendly Skies”

Germany and Europe

Metternich once quipped “Italy is a geographical expression”. Replace “Italy” with “Germany” and that quote would be equally applicable. Germany is a geographical expression. In 1805 there were over 300 political entities in German-speaking Europe. After Napoleon, these myriad polities were reorganised into 38 Germanic states in a loose, Austrian-led confederation. Eventually, Prussia grew increasingly powerful as Austria was forced to focus on the ever-growing number of problems in its formal empire. Bit-by-bit, Prussia expanded its territories. In 1871, a Prussian-led federal German empire was formed comprising 26 states. Continue reading “Germany and Europe”

Service, or lack of it!

I read today of a protest by disabled users of Southern Rail against the inadequacy of staff to allow them to board the train without prior booking.

It reminded me of last time I travelled by rail a couple of years ago in the UK. There were no staff!  There were no porters in Swansea or Reading, both large stations.  No assistance of any kind for love nor money.  Passengers helped me to manhandle my suitcase on and off the train, but in Reading there was a footbridge to negotiate, quite impossible!  I waited, expecting to see some type of employee hove to on the horizon, nothing.  I waited until the train was gone, nothing, absolute desolation!  So I stood and shouted Help! loudly. Finally someone came, I explained my predicament, Oh, says he, I’m not a porter, well says I, I am going to stand here and shout and scream until someone helps to get me off this platform. He capitulated, and, mirabile dictu a staff only lift was found.  I gave him 10 pounds at the taxi rank, he was aghast, I can’t take that!  Why not? He did!  I did ask him why there were no porters, he looked at me like I was fresh out of the ARK and said there had been none for years, I did admit to not having been on a train for thirty years!

Continue reading “Service, or lack of it!”

Drones

I note an article in the papers today about drones.

I personally abhor their use over other people’s personal property.  One had the temerity to crash land here in the garden!  What would have happened had it hit a dog or wrecked a plant?  I confiscated it immediately, put it in the dustbin to trap it and later took it out, hung it on the garage wall and eventually gave it to my gardener for his nephew, anywhere but here.  Had it merely hovered I would have shot it without a thought.  Nobody ever turned up to claim it.

What would you all do with the wretched things?

As a foot note to this , at our last place we had a gas pipeline jut behind the property, that is at the top of a five acre field.  A helicopter used to fly down the line every day checking for leaks.  Our neighbour, an elderly man, was convinced that it was the tax man spying on him so he routinely took his gun and shot at the helicopter.  This happened more than a few times.  I suppose he got a hit or too many near misses but some nice policemen turned up and explained that it really wasn’t the taxman and it was doing a useful service stopping the pipeline from blowing up his house and that he had better cease and desist before they had to do something about it.  He did.  No effort to remove his gun or licence of course or prosecute him in any way, shape or form!

I note people have been prosecuted for shooting them, I cannot understand why when they are an unwarranted intrusion of privacy.  More like give the bugger a medal for good shooting!!