Rick´s News

To be honest I am at quite a loss for what to say. I suppose with amateur political analysis as a hobby I should find some consolation in the fact that at the Brexit present there is hardly a professional opinion that does not carefully hedge its bets as to where and what the Uk will end up with at the end of the Brexit process. As far as I can discern there is a reasonable amount of understanding amongst most parties and interest goups about what the different types of Brexit will entail albeit with a ”mums the word” attitude with those advocating the most damaging one. The great divider would seem to be the acceptance of the various price tags and the reasons for that acceptance. A price tag that effects everyone though no matter the outcome is the effect Brexit has had on the country’s reputation. An advisory referendum resulting in a no to the EU most certainly came as a shock but it also came with a large portion of advice to Westminster that had very little to do with membership of the European Union. Unfortunately voting ”no” became the warning shot that didn’t miss. From there on it just went from bad to worse. At the moment the country needed leadership and not a small portion of statesmanship it got sound bites, cover ups, obfuscation and head in the sand politics from the Prime Minister. Jeremy Corbyn as leader of the opposition has been offering much the same only in red. The world may be laughing, Brits are not.

When you get to my age the future has some very limited options one of them being an extremely persuasive factor in looking back rather than forward. As yet I haven´t actually got to the stage where I might have second thoughts about  booking next month´s theatre tickets but it might be fun to begin relating the occasional ”aha” moments of my life. I believe I have at some time already mentioned my second ”real” job was working for an American publishing company and in fact the very reason I first moved to Sweden. Please do not think that working as a Horsham council lorry driver or as a  dustman, as the term was in those days, are considered by me as not being ”real” jobs. For me at the time they were just temporary jobs supplementing my income as a student. Anyhow to get on with my story the company was short of a Middle East representative and added it onto my list of areas to visit. I have always been interested in politics and world affairs so my reason for confirming that I was quite happy with this appointment had little to do with any ignorance of what was and still is going on in that area. Leila Khaled had made a name for herself parking airline jets in the desert and the PLO was on everybody´s lips. This was my opportunity to see the world or at least more of it than before. With Stockholm as my base for Scandinavia, the countries on my new list now included Greece, Turkey, Israel, The Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Syria and Iran. I actually managed to visit all of them at least once, barring Saudi Arabia which being last on my list of priorities remained unvisited due to me changing jobs. I have a story for nearly all the countries on this list and common to them all are memories of meeting kind and hospitable people. Perhaps one of the most revealing experiences of my life is that whatever country I find myself in, believe me to date that is quite a number, with the exception of language and local peculiarities people´s daily lives remind me very much of my own. 

In the foyer of the Kuwait Hilton a gentleman in a well cut suit approached me with the words, ”hello again, maybe you do not recognize me?”  He presented himself and I realized that he and I had attended the same meeting at the university that very morning only at the time he had been wearing traditional Arab dress. It took me a while to understand that my mind had played me that not uncommon trick of diverting attention from what really matters. We exchanged a few words about our earlier meeting and decided to continue the conversation over dinner later that evening. His parting words were ”if you brought some whisky with you, bring the bottle along so we can have a pre- dinner drink. In fact I had been in doubt as to whether or not to take some duty free with me full well knowing the attitude to alcohol in Kuwait. The advice I was given before leaving was that bottles of spirits need not be declared unless directly asked for by a customs official in which case they could but would not necessarily be confiscated. Nobody asked. A little subconsciously I took the bottle to the dining room and instructed by my friend, placed it under the table. This was quite amusing as it slotted in perfectly with the Swedish mode d´emploi of the day where hard liquor was not put on the table. My friend on ordering two empty glasses explained to me that the Hilton hotel was the only place in Kuwait this could be done. Well I never! 

After a very pleasant dinner my friend offered to show me around Kuwait City which I gratefully accepted and we arranged to meet the next day.

On getting into his car he handed me a small package containing a white headscarf, a small white embroidered skull cap and a black cord. ”Now you will look like a true Kuwaiti,” he said with a laugh. Anyone who has seen Lawrence of Arabia will understand my feelings although I did refrain from breaking out in ”the man who broke the bank at Monte Carlo” and had a little difficulty not feeling somewhat awkward as we had tea in the Sheraton later in the morning. As we were drinking our tea there was a newsflash on the radio and apparently a group of terrorists as yet of unknown nationality but suspected as being  Palestinians had occupied offices belonging to the Kuwaiti foreign office. ”That is very close to my own office,” my friend exclaimed and suggested we drive over to see what was happening. Getting out of the car there was a strong wind blowing and again I had this Lawrence of Arabia moment as I wound my Keffiyeh around my face and tucked it in to prevent it blowing away. The large square in front of the office buildings was cordoned off and as we walked up to the barrier, a policeman or soldier unslung his rifle when he saw me. A few words from my friend and the rifle was returned to his shoulder. ”What was all that about”, I asked. My friend´s explanation was that the soldier could not see my face and was suspicous of me because of my blue eyes. I was a little confused at this and said, ”Palestinians and blue eyes?” ”Yes,” he replied, ”many Palestinians have blue eyes, the Crusaders you know.”

I recently saw a picture of a man wearing a T-shirt with the words, ”we won now send them back.” You might imagine I was shocked yet if anything I was shocked at not being shocked. Sadness could probably best describe my initial reaction immediately followed by a sense of curiosity shrouded in incredibility. Contrary to my usual rather flippantly dismissive attitude to discomfort I paused to think why this picture had that effect on me. Of course I realized that it was the usual case of ”we and them” or in this particular instance ”him and them.” As he must have bought that T-shirt somewhere it can be assumed he has companions sharing his views or rather more unlikely his T-shirt maker’s market analysis is for the dogs. So this man thinks ”they” should be sent back. He makes no reference to who ”they” are and expects us all to understand. Sounds a little bit like the one question on the referendum, all including you choose the details.  As usual in this kind of sound bite messaging there is no way of exactly knowing who or what is meant which of course is the intention thus freeing the messenger from any sort of well thought through or well founded argument. Instead this vagueness puts the onus to define ”them” on the recipient of the message.

Sending someone back is pre-determined by someone actually having come here. For reasons of logic that even our friend with the T-shirt would both understand and subscribe to, being born here may comfortably be excluded from this category. His ”we won” would seem to refer to the referendum so I suppose that in that case he would, in any logical context, only be referring to EU citizens who had utilized their freedom of movement although I feel tempted to suggest he is unwittingly exercising a little poetic licence. Whatever message he feels he is communicating, the T-shirt says so much more about its owner than anything else. The words are provocative and hurtful, they could apply to any one of millions of people whose only common denominator is that they were not born in the UK. There is complete disregard for any other factors negative or positive that might be considered, they should just be sent back. 

So should this happen, does T-shirt man think his life will improve?  I don´t think he gives it much thought either way. His message, his provocative attitude have given him something he rarely experiences in daily life, attention and respect which is what he would call the fear he raises in many breasts. T-shirt man is not a new phenomenon. Insecure, small minded individuals spouting nationalistic and other rubbish with great self confidence. The greater that self confidence the more we had better watch out.

Just over 2 years ago I made a most memorable cruise from Buenos Aires to Los Angeles via amongst other places the Falkland Islands. All in all it was an enjoyable cruise but for two minor incidents that a little over a year later made me realize I had for the first time come face to face with supporters of two political forces that would come to change the lives of millions. At dinner one evening the subject turned to Trump and even though in my experience the American passenger contingent had their fair share of Republicans nobody seemed enthused by the idea of Trump becoming President. The conversation halted abruptly followed by an embarassed silence when a gentleman at the table exclaimed, ”I would vote for Trump.”  I shrugged it off thinking, ”no way that´s gonna happen.” 

Somewhat later on the cruise whilst sharing a table with an English couple the conversation turned to the upcoming referendum. The couple were struggling to give the impression that they were upper middle class after only a short while pointing out that they had gone to university and the woman loudly exclaiming she would never buy anything from Marks and Spencers saying it would be akin to wearing a uniform. As Marks & Sparks do a nice line in lingerie I sat there musing on how many people actually get to see her drawers. At first I was a little surprised when the husband came across as being in favour of the UK leaving the EU. A little later a distinct flavour of xenophobia intruded into the conversation and I began to understand. He was however of the opinion that although he intended to vote ”Leave” that it would not happen. I agreed with him on this suggesting that a ”Leave” vote could result in Scotland breaking away from the union. ”Let them go,” was his immediate response. I think the aghast look on my face must have shocked him a little as he began to stutter explanations. I have always felt it is important to be polite to people so for the remainder of the cruise I shunned them as politely as possible. Little did I realize that the American gentleman and the British couple were evil omens signalling the beginning of a disturbing journey nobody yet knows how it will end.

A lot of water under the bridge since then and we now have President Trump and Brexit yet notwithstanding with only 4 months to Christmas I think you can guess what I want from Santa. It is not inconcievable that Trump will be ousted as president and Brexit will eventually be abandoned yet when and how, before or after Christmas, is anybody´s guess. That is quite a turn around, so what happened?  As far as Trump is concerned I shall leave him to his fate and answer the question simply by saying that I believe him to be a despicable human being and people are finding that out.

In the case of Brexit much ado is made of the electorate consisting of large numbers of people who really have no clue about anything. This of course is unkind and also very untrue. Even the greatest lack of understanding or analysis of a political situation does not deprive anyone of the means to judge the qualities or lack thereof of their daily lives. In a democracy this has to be respected if a country is to call itself a democracy, with representative democracy and elections being the tools that make this work. The system may be slow and clumsy but well capable of punishing politicians or parties not living up to their promises on important issues.  Referendums play by different rules and as such should be treated with much greater respect than elections where people have a general understanding where to find their political benefactors. Leaving the EU was done on a blank sheet of paper and the electorate, knowledgable or not, was asked to fill in what it was it wanted, anything from a close association with the EU to leaving with no deal. The first step was leaving and whatever the outcome the sunny uplands would follow. The argument for ”Leave” has now shifted to a promise of a better life in maybe 10 to 50 years and in the short term a stagnant economy, isolation and less influence in the world. Project fear and Brexit may not be the end of the world as Theresa May now claims but for many Brits it is not the beginning of a new and better life either. People now realize they have been shafted and judging by the latest opinion polls the country is coming to its senses. Unfortunately referendums have no electoral escape hatch so now it is up to our politicians to come to their senses.

#PeoplesVote

For heaven´s sake what the hell is going on.  The entire UK seems to be in the middle of a nervous breakdown. Now I wouldn´t go as far as saying everybody has gone stark raving mad as there seem to be a large number of sane voices on Twitter telling me otherwise. Without a doubt though there is enough mad input from a great number of people, politicians not excepted, that makes for a very scary feeling. Tuning into the UK with serious talk of food and medicine stockpiling in the event of a “Hard Brexit“ as well as large sections of the community being labelled as traitors for expressing their views makes me feel I am in the middle of an Orwell or Huxley re-run. After having pinched myself a number of times to ensure the whole thing is not a nightmare which of course it is but not my own personal one, I feel somehow that this will end as nightmares do, by us all waking up.  Until then or latest in 4 weeks no more on Brexit from me.

Over the past 5 days I have been involved in a nightmare of a different kind which unlike Brexit is not self inflicted. For quite a while now the weather in Sweden has been dry and hot with weeks of sunshine and temperatures normally associated with holiday destinations in warmer climes. Mixed feelings of appreciation coupled to nagging concerns of global warming and the long term effects on peoples lives these extreme temperatures have led to some very frighteneing short term effects in the way of enormous forest fires. With the entire countryside in practically the whole of Sweden as dry as a tinderbox, a fire of the smallest kind easily becomes a monster spreading over thousands and thousands of acres of forest where the tree tops as well as the undergrowth are bone dry. As a member of an FRG group (Frivillig resurs grupp) under the auspices of the Swedish Civil Defence authority I recently spent 5 days in Färila and Ljusdal, the scene of Sweden´s largest ever forest fire.  The work assigned to our group consisted mainly of administering vast amounts of volunteered resources both people and material. Primarily this means listing offers of help via a telephone call, an e-mail or communicated via the Municipality of Ljusdal´s website. Organising a group of volunteers to set up a tent camp on the football field of Färila school, the headquarters of the co-ordinating team, was one of our very first assignments. Some of these tents were later occupied by a French contingent proudly hanging their “tricolore“ next to the blue flag with the yellow stars. I stopped to think for a minute. The pilots in that tent as well as the Polish, German, Danish, Finnish and Portugese firefighters may or may not have very much in common with the locals in the county of Hälsingland whose forest, properties and maybe even whose lives they are saving but they share the values that have made that flag the symbol of co-operation amongst the nations of Europe putting an end to fighting each other, instead working together for the sake of our common future.

• An enormous demonstration in London demanding a final say in the negotiated deal with the EU including an option to remain. 
• Theresa May embarrasses herself on the internet with a near to deranged appearance spouting new sound-bites.
• Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson says ”fuck business”
• Airbus and BMW leaving UK as a consequence of a no deal Brexit.
• Government criticises Airbus and BMW for revealing their plans?
• Scotland heading for a new independence referendum.
• Polls showing growing suppport for a united Ireland.
• House of Lords says what the House of Commons would like to say.
• Latest polls suggest the tide has turned in Remain´s favour.
• Jeremy Corbyn hiding in Jordan during #PeoplesVote march.
• Keir Starmer, Emily Thornberry et al. hiding somewhere else.
• Labour and anti-Brexit well represented by the young people OFOC, Our Future Our Choice
• Left wing Labour people say FBPE is full of Tories?
• Left wing Labour people say the #PeoplesVote is a Lib Democrat attack on Corbyn?
• Left wing Labour people say people who are openly anti-Brexit attack Corbyn?
• Left wing Labour people say unless you love Corbyn your political views are irrelevant.
• Tories are divided.
• Labour is divided.
• The country is divided.
• The Good Friday agreement needs the single market and the customs union.
• Ireland needs the Good Friday agreement.
• British business needs to know what the deal will be.
• Theresa May needs to know what the deal will be.
• Theresa May has sound-bites, red lines and little else.
• Unless #PeoplesVote is successful the House of Commons has a choice; any old deal or no deal.
• Some people think no deal means status quo. 
• Some people haven´t a clue, they just hate foreigners.
• Some people have a clue, also hate foreigners and are bonding with those that haven´t a clue.
• Jacob Reese-Mogg is funny; both meanings, makes you laugh and squirm.
• David Davis is busy taking somebody out. 
• Brexit for the many not the few decent Tories left.
• Tory government doesn´t know what it wants.
• Everybody´s forgotten Gibralter and the Falklands.
• People starting to prepare for a no deal Brexit.
• Remainers more confident there will not be a Brexit of any kind.
• The EU has several off-the-shelf offers which with or without adjustments are unacceptable to the government.
• May hosts sleepover Cabinet meeting to agree on plans for leaving the EU, including those not acceptable to the EU?
• The EU knows the UK is leaving but not how.
• The government knows the UK is leaving but not how.
• The government is pretending it has a ”no deal” ace up its sleeve.
• Brussels knows the ace is a suicide bomb.
• The government knows it´s a suicide bomb but isn´t telling anybody.

How will this end? Haven´t a clue but it´s better than anything on TV. 

Like when the French bellboy in the Peter Sellers film wishes the newly weds: ” a great `a penis”  Time to say, I beg your pardon what was it you really meant? 

#PeoplesVote

 

Almost two years since the referendum and we are no further down the road than ”Brexit means Brexit”, meaning nobody has a clue what Brexit will turn out to be. That fact in itself together with the ever increasing warnings of economic woe is slowly beginning to get to people, making them wonder if their no to the EU was such a good idea.  Although the government and Labour are still dithering around their own Brexit supporting standpoints there is growing political pressure to subject whatever deal Theresa May comes up with to a vote, including an option to stay in the EU. 

As I mentioned in October, Theresa May is on a mission impossible and there really is no way out for her other than one of a limited number of more or less dramatic moves.  It is said pride comes before a fall and the Prime Minister is the victim of her own arrogance from the invoking of Article 50 to her nonsensical ”Brexit means Brexit, Strong and Stable, Citizens of Nowhere, No Deal is better than a Bad Deal” etc. etc.  Lack of competence or foresight, you choose?  Theresa May was of the persuasion that forceful yet meaningless sound bites, showing she was getting behind it, was all that was needed to deliver the prize. 

At the outset as a new Prime Minister this advisory referendum gave her plenty of scope from on the one hand viewing the result as a voice for a cliff edge departure to on the other hand negotiating the best possible deal as a non-member of the EU and offering transparency on all the strings attached. A complement to this pragmatic approach would have been an escape-hatch in the form of a vote in Parliament including a Remain option should any of the Brexit optains fail to gain enough political support. 

This in fact is where we are today with the exception of the escape-hatch in the form of a parliamentary Remain option. The wheels have come off the Tory Brexit bus and for good measure it appears the engine has seized too. Theresa May is still behind the wheel making engine noises and Jeremy Corbyn is still collecting fares but it is nothing if not embarassing.

Apparently Labour are not doing well in the polls and despite all the talk of Tory austerity who needs an opposition that verbally opposes austerity yet actually supports future Brexit austerity?  Under Jeremy Corbyn Labour is running a sideshow and until it changes its Brexit stance the future of Britain will be in the hands of the Tories.

Theresa May´s options?

1. Doing nothing and letting time slip into a ”no deal crashing out” scenario which would not require Labour support only tacit acceptance.
2. A U-turn on a red line or two and negotiating a BINO, Brexit in name only.
3. Calling another election as all other options with existing red lines are unattainable might be seen as a way out but the question has to be asked. On what platform?

 

It seems to me that the Brexit can that Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn have taken turns in kicking down the road has run out of road to kick down.  The next few months will be decisive in defining Theresa May´s Brexit means Brexit. If you have never had much time for that expression and are seriously upset at whatever prospects are in store for you or the country, depending on the undefined will of the people in combination with the incompetent handling of negotiations and the whole damn Brexit issue, then you might be advised to make use of the local elections come 3rd May. Being a more than 15 year absent disenfranchised Brit I would like to urge all EU nationals living in Britain to exercise their right and vote in the country I am now barred from doing so. Now it is not my place to tell anybody who or what to vote for but if you are anti-Brexit and pro-EU here is a little story that might help.

As a teenager in the 60´s we had a retired greyhound whose racing name was Loud Laughter, possibly because whenever she was pleased with something she would bare her teeth with a snuffle, making it look and sound as if she was laughing. We called her Saucy for short and although she once bit me on the nose (another story) I otherwise only have fond memories of our time together. Now Saucy and I would take long walks past the cricket field in Horsham up to Denne Hill  where I would let her loose. Now I had no record of her racing history and despite doubting that she was ever a racing star she ran a lot faster than I ever could. Once on Denne Hill her favourite pastime was chasing rabbits. Now you may think it awful of me to have allowed such a thing considering the more than bloody consequences should she have succeeded in catching her prey. The thing is I was very much aware that she would never catch a rabbit not because she couldn´t run fast enough which she could but solely because she had no focus. It almost seemed to me as if the rabbits were just a tiny bit smarter than dear old Saucy. She would be chasing one rabbit and getting closer when suddenly, catching sight of another rabbit on her right or  left, she would begin to chase that rabbit instead. This procedure would be repeated until all the rabbits had disappeared into their burrows.

The moral of this story is if you are anti-Brexit keep your focus.

No chasing on the right or left. Labour and Conservative are luring you away from your goal.

Catch the rabbit in the middle = ABTV. That rabbit will get us a final say.

(ABTV = Anti-Brexit Tactical Voting)

Today marks the day when in one year from now the United Kingdom will be leaving the EU. There is a lot of talk about getting our country back, taking back control of our borders, sovereignty, no freedom of movement, control of our money, blue passports, becoming a global nation, free trading with the world etc, etc. These arguments together with the soundbites Brexit means Brexit, Strong and Stable, Deep and Special Relationship are not unlike any sort of political rhetoric before an election. Simple, easy to understand as they have little factual content and are very much appealing, more to the emotion than anything else.

Jacob Reese Mogg in his usual polite, excremental manner puts a finer point to it. He calls Remainers cave dwellers. Being on the side of Brexit he is not only rude but also biased. In essence what he is saying is that Remainers did not understand what they were voting for.  In the case of Brexit it has become painfully obvious that that is exactly what has happened and unfortunately for JRM it is Leavers who did not know what they were voting for.

People who voted Remain, for whatever reason, voted for a status quo. In fact knowledgable or no they understood exactly what they were voting for. Saying yes to leaving the EU on the other hand was putting your trust in a variety of arguments and the Brexiters/politicians offering those arguments. There is a lot of talk about lying on both sides. Maybe so but to me it´s more about faith than truth. I wouldn´t call a man who believes in God a liar.  So I think we can forget the mud slinging and accept that Remainers understood what they were voting for and Leavers didn´t.  Now I would expect a Brexiter to pop up and say, ” yes, we knew exactly what we were voting for, leaving the EU”

Ok. Now we are back at the simple political rhetoric stage. We still do not know what leaving the EU means.  Brexit means Brexit is as clear as pizza means pizza although there is some agreement on avoiding the hot sauce.

So if you knew what you were voting for and it was a blue passport then congratulations and Happy Easter.

Leadership as defined by the Business Dictionary

• The individuals who are leaders in an organization, regarded collectively.
• The activity of leading a group of people or an organization or the ability to do this.

Leadership involves:

1. Establishing a clear vision.
2. Sharing that vision with others so that they will follow willingly.
3. Providing the information, knowledge and methods to realize that vision.
4. Coordinating and balancing the conflicting interests of all members and stakeholders.

A leader steps up in times of crisis and is able to think and act creatively in difficult situations.

I found the above definition of leadership on the internet and although there is obviously a ”more detail” link to be pressed this rather sums up the essence of what is required to lead any group, formal or informal. This advice is as pertinent to parents with children unruly or otherwise as it is to leaders in business, with politicians being no exception. The raison d’être differs considerably as do the preconditions set for each leading individual and although the definition of well-being may vary from organization to organization it serves well as a common denominator be it for a family, a club, a business, a hospital or even a country. Ignoring the basics of leadership puts this well-being at risk.

With Britain in its present state there are certainly a good many people asking themselves how are we going to get out of this mess. Unfortunately for the country the people who led the UK into this are the very same people now trying to unravel it. Having bungled the first point on the above list, ignored points 2, 3 and 4 they are now at the crisis bit, bickering amongst themselves and incapable of facing the issues on hand. ”The will of the people” a mantra nowadays being muttered with much the same reverence as the Lord´s Prayer is the vision that according to them must under all circumstances be adhered to. Even if I find that argument a little weak as the referendum was advisory the ”will of the people” ought to have been seen as a precondition for establishing a vision being open ended enough for some sensible solutions. The stage was set for a leader to step up and take control; a Brexit sound bite Prime Minister Theresa May has not and is not living up to. She took the easy way out. She let the ”will of the people” become the vision, full well knowing it to be incomplete as such. At this moment she usurped the leave vote and slammed the door shut on her chance of ever becoming anything other than a political parenthesis.

Theresa May´s nonsensical ”Brexit means Brexit” and invoking of article 50 was a slap in the face of her country and her party. Instead of some careful reflection on what people were expecting by voting leave and research on how that compared to the attainable options and then carefully moving on to point 2 she shoved ”strong and stable” and ”Brexit means Brexit” down everybody´s throat resulting in the absolute opposite to gathering willing followers. This was underlined by her foolishly calling and then losing an election. Now that ”strong and stable” had become ”weak and wobbly” and the country´s less than willing followers into the Brexit unknown were voicing concern as to the negative effects of leaving the EU, point 3 on the list was definitely not on. By rapidly invoking article 50 she exposed her weakness as a leader with little regard and or ability for point 4.

Together with many other people who feel the Uk´s future lies with the EU I was of course disappointed with the result but in all seriousness it is the people who voted leave that should also be up in arms. People who voted remain realize that their lives will change. They lost. People who voted leave were lied to on a number of issues concerning the benefits of Brexit and bearing in mind the great number of options still open have not yet won anything other than an unachievable slogan the ”will of the people. ” Remain may have lost the referendum but leave have lost their Brexit due to political incompetence and arrogance. When Brexit is finally negotiated only a fraction of these leave voters will have received what they voted for. The question therefore is and should be can the rest of us go along with the happy few? The question has to be put.

A final say is the only decent and democratic thing to do.