Brain Burning 🔥🧠🔥

"Yeah, but in FPTP you can't do that, it's practically like voting for <enemy du jour>."

Usually said, often by Labour supporters, in a tone suggesting you don't understand how FPTP works.

But they can't explain why, despite the members wanting it, switching to RP never makes the manifesto?

You can still move. It's harder, yes, but still achievable. Your absolute worst case is having to rely on the common travel area and being limited to relocating to Ireland.

While I haven't personally spent much time in Ireland, I'd still say that as "worst cases" go, 99.9% of immigrants envy you.

But unlike us in the UK, there's nothing EU citizens can do to achieve FOM with the UK. Nada, niente.

For us UKians, it's a choice we made, not to have FOM with the EU. One we could, if we wanted to, attempt to change by voting for a party that promises to apply to join the EU, or possibly the EEA.

And we could offer automatic residency with a path to citizenship for refugees arriving by boat.

For some unfathomable reason, we opted not to do so, and instead just apply the standard rules. Similar to how EU opts to apply its standard 3rd country rules to visitors from the UK, now a 3rd country.

I don't think the people who voted for this and supports it are prepared for, or even understand, the consequences of the actions they've thrown their support behind.

In the end, they will have paid with their humanity for something that will cause great harm both to them and their families.

Because of this, now most people both inside the EU and outside have a rough understanding of what the basic benefits of being part of the EU/EEA are.

Or at least that there are benefits, and that they're usually valuable both personally, professionally, and nationally.

Honestly? Yes.

Brexit has done a lot of good for the EU and EU MS. It's usually very hard to explain to people the value of intangible benefits they've "grown into" when no concrete examples of the consequences of losing them exist.

We (UK) graciously volunteered to provide such an example to EU.

Well, I suppose it should come as no surprise. As he's keen to point out, his dad was a toolmaker, so it's natural that he, as his son, is a huge tool.

It appear I was wrong about Ian. I thought he knew better than to think the UK would be in any position to demand things from the EU anytime in the next couple of decades and before some major commitments, never mind just b/c the UKG finally has wised up enough to start more serious talks w/ Bxl.

To be fair, that's true, albeit to a lesser extent, even if you're a UK citizen.

E.g., the UK doesn't provide a good way to verify the identity of residents, nor a secure way to find/verify their "official" home address.

Hence the horrible and obviously insane kludge of trusting utility bills to do the job.

It practically invites and encourages fraud and abuse.

It's just like with US social security numbers, the dangers and problems don't typically come from their actual purpose and intended use, but rather from various (usually unrelated) entities trying to kludgily repurpose them for other tasks that they weren't intended for.

Maybe in Spain, but in a number of nations, neither ID cards, nor drivers licenses have addresses on them.

Where you live is irrelevant to the question of if you're licensed to operate a car, and since you're not your home address, it's not needed to ascertain that you are who you claim to be.

For sure, but I was more thinking along the lines that the consequences ("punishment") for taking such inhospitable views of immigration are both automatic, as well as the seeds of the exact kinds of situations that many harboring those views claim as their most feared outcome of immigration.

"Can you tell me more about this lucrative career in divisive entertainment, and where to apply to join it?"

--
Just a reflection on how you chose to formulate that blurb for your article / job ad... Cost of living is going up, so a lot of people are looking for ways to increase their earnings.

I.e., you'll be almost guaranteed that those who come will organize themselves into enclaves, separated from the rest of the population and culture.

With little interest in trying to integrate into, or invest in, a surrounding society that's fundamentally hostile to them and their presence.

But isn't that the beauty of it? It's self-regulating.

If you're being a miserable twit about immigrants coming to fill needed jobs, the only ones willing will be those without better options. Even then, they'll do so only grudgingly and without feeling any loyalty or obligation to the host nation.

"Treaties won't protect you."

Oh, I think they will.

Not, obviously, if you're foolish enough to live in a nation led by Farage, but treaties will protect 🇮🇪, other 🇪🇺, and 🇬🇧 citizens alike, as legal residents in an 🇪🇺 MS.

Remember: In a calamity, presence of mind is good, absence of body better.

Since several of the Nordics support multiple mother tongues, does this mean that someone could rock up in Reykjavik or Odense, expecting to communicate in Saami with the local authorities?

Am I uncharitable for assuming that this article, and similar one, originates from these "part time residents" having found some guy named "Spain", and either browbeat, or paid, him to make some specific statements about his personal preferences?

Mr Spain: "I'd love for Ms England to come back!"

a woman wearing a hat and a tank top has the word ragr on her chest Alt: a man wearing a hat and a tank top has the words "no ragrets" on his chest

I spent all of 2023 researching options, talking to colleagues in EU, sending applications, and towards the end, applying for work visa and residence permit, vet schedule for bringing the cat, finding accommodation, etc.

I moved Feb 2024, and started the new job March first.

No ragrets.

I couldn't emigrate while I could still benefit from the WA, b/c of family. (I guess I also held out some small amount of hope in Labor and Starmer.)

Later, end of 2022, w/ the obligations keeping me in UK gone, and realizing Starmer & co were serious about "Make Brexit Work", I decided to leave.

If you arrive for the purpose of seeking asylum, it doesn't matter if you did so by irregular means that would otherwise be "illegal".

That's what I'm talking about - the confusion, obviously shared by you, that arrival by small boat by refugees seeking asylum is illegal. It isn't, just irregular.

Those irregular means are not illegal to use for refugees looking to seek asylum, so your assertion is factually wrong.

E.g., taking small boats across the Channel is illegal for most purposes, but not for refugees intending to seek asylum in UK.

Nitpicky, perhaps, but an important distinction.

I bet it's deportations!

Did you miss that large parts of Europe already officially warns their citizens about visiting the US in terms quite similar to those used about other repressive dictatorships?

It's just too bad so few US citizens are able to see what's become of their nation since the beginning of the year.

No, it's not just likely, but highly likely, there isn't a single American capable of doing this job.

Perfectly symmetrical with how personnel from American companies are similarly sent out to assist with deployment of US-made kit all across the world - from Europe and Japan, to China and India.

It's not (just) about knowing Korean, but knowing the specifics of the equipment that's under final installation and commissioning. Something usually limited to employees of the manufacturer, and restricted by NDA.

Extremely common when purchasing/installing/servicing advanced low-volume equipment.

Many nations even have specific exceptions allowing such staff to come and do such tasks on regular visitor visas/waivers, similar to how business meetings, academic lectures, etc, are also permitted.

I just happened to browse the German rules for this only the other day, and know they're common.