see url:
https://unusualplaces.org/the-immovable-ladder-under-the-window-of-the-church-of-the-holy-sepulchre/
Since the 18th Century, the protagonists in Jerusalem, mainly of
different religious affiliations and proclivities, have been disputing
about who it is that should move the ladder and finish the work. No one
knows who put the ladder there in the first place. One wonders, even if
someone has replaced the ladder, surreptitiously, to keep the myth and
tourist trap going.... The ramifications for the one who has the courage
to move the ladder and get on with finishing the job, are unfathomable.
It is a question of ownership, of proprietorship. For over two
centuries the argument has been going on between the various religions.
It looks like it is going to be a bit like that between the EU and the
UK, Eire and Northern Ireland. It might never be resolved, which means
a hard Brexit on the one hand, or a soft Brexit on the other with a
border between the whole of Ireland and the UK...And, according to Mrs.
May, the P.M. and the DUP of Northern Ireland, that ain't gonna happen...
Two of the major sticking points over what kind of border solution there
should be between the EU and Northern Ireland, when the UK leaves the
EU, is the Customs Union, and also immigration and emigration and how
to implement them. Within the EU in central Europe, there is the
Shengen agreement, which allows free passage and movement within the EU
boundaries, though the UK isn't part of that agreement, and therefore
has border controls between it and the rest of Europe. "We got to stop
them damn immigrants". At the moment, there are two Ireland, Eire,
which is in the South and is an independent sovereign state with its own
government, which negotiated independence from the mother country, the
UK, way back in 1921, and which is a member of the EU; and Northern
Ireland, which is still part of the UK, and which is also part of the
EU...at the moment.
A number of years ago, an American, George Mitchell...see url:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-belfast-agreement
after over 30 years of a terrorist war, funded by the United States and
the Irish in the United States, and the Libyans under Gaddafi and
goodness knows who else, and between various factions in Ireland, mainly
in the north, which are and were mainly based on religion and politics,
of socialist leanings, and composed of those who are for unity with the
rest of Ireland, the Catholic Sinn Fein and those, who are Protestant,
the Unionists, (Unionists are great believers in Union with the UK and
the UK Conservative Party), Conservatives and other various factions who
are mainly for unity with the UK, to the exclusion of Eire, an
arrangement was made, called the "Good Friday Agreement", which as part
of the price of disarmament and peace between the various factions,
would create and guarantee a borderless province with Eire and with self
rule for Northern Ireland with its own parliament at Stormont, though it
would still be under the sovereignty of the UK government. The Euro
and the pound would co-exist and intermingle and there would be no
barriers to trade or movement of people across it, no checks, no customs
posts, no immigration kiosks, no soldiers, no customs or immigration
officials, cluttering up the free movement of the people in both countries.
It all worked very well, and folks on both sides of the border were
happy. With the troubles over, peace and free trade developed, and
both countries prospered, people could go out on the streets without
being bombed or kneecapped, or having their property set on fire, their
cars stolen or pipe bombed, or UK soldiers entering and wrecking their
homes in hot pursuit of terrorists without warrants, or the local
Conservative, Protestant, Northern Ireland Police Force looking for
terrorists...or the various security services setting one another up to
create and find informers and organising agent provocateur-ism;... until
the occurrence of the latest economic crisis of sub prime mortgages in
the US of A.
There was still the Protestant/Catholic divide of course, which
reflected itself in the voting for the main political parties, but
proportional representation helped to overcome the relationship between
the parties in Northern Ireland, and they agreed to consult one another
and work together to try and resolve the political problems within
Northern Ireland without resort to armed force. (An interesting point,
here, is that the Catholic population of Northern Ireland, which is in
the minority, is due to overtake the Protestant majority in a few years,
due to their higher birth rate). (Another interesting point is that
Sinn Fein M.P.s when they are elected at General Elections for the UK
Parliament, refuse to take the Oath of Allegiance to the Queen of the
UK, promising loyalty, obedience and fiefdom and all that sort of stuff,
so they don't get to enter the UK Parliament). Complicated...in
it...:-). Politicians refusing salaries...well I never...unheard of in
UK politics.:-)
All of this worked OK until a couple of years ago, until the
happening of the referendum on leaving the EU which took place, and
when the UK decided to leave the EU. Northern Ireland voted to stay
within the EU, just like Scotland, but for different reasons. At around
the same time, an economic scandal took broke out into the open
concerning the Ministers in the Northern Irish Parliament, where the
ruling DUP (Democratic Unionist Party), had become involved in a
multi-million pound scam using enormous amounts of public money in
heating subsidies to private industry. The DUP refused to take
responsibility for it, so Sinn Fein withdrew its support and the
Northern Ireland parliament has remained closed in stalemate ever
since. Then, Mrs May, in all her wisdom, decided that because we had
all voted Brexit...except her...we had all automatically become
Conservatives, so she organised a general election on that basis, and
found out much to her dis may (that's a hidden one), that, though she
had won the election, she had done so with a reduced majority, and which
needed the support of the DUP and eventually, 2 Billion pounds for
Northern Ireland). (though I still haven't been able to find the
payment). However, what I also noticed, was that no attempt has been
made by the UK government to get Stormont operating again, and all those
local politicians are still getting paid for doing nuffink. The UK
government hasn't even taken over the administration of Northern
Ireland, or organised another election. Of course this has nuffink to
do with Brexit....:-).
And so, dear colleagues, where do we go from here...I do not know...it
is beyond my ken. We are in the lap of the Gods, and the EU
negotiators, who have to decide whether a hard Brexit is preferable to a
soft Brexit and a compromise on principles. The new situation, is that
it is going to be up to the lobbyists, the vested interests and up and
coming interests, the businesses and the corporations, financial,
production, international and national, who are affected adversely or
advantageously, and the people themselves, to decide what the
arrangements are going to be.
I hope you enjoy this little article..and if you have, and have any
queries or questions to ask, please, feel free to ask them...even
adverse criticism would be most welcome, but there you are, they are a
pretty silent crowd on here...too busy hiding behind their security
wallets and purses, weighing up what is to their advantage or
disadvantage, not revealing too much...playing it safe. Isn't it nice
to have the luxury of playing it safe...:-) whilst some poor bastard
dies at the hands of the Saudi Arabians, or drones and such like...
Have a nice day. Watch this space....
ATB
Dougie.
