The EU is passing
through a generation of general integration and mixing driven by the power of
employment, the access to English in particular, and residual local
chauvinism. The size of the possible
shifts is demonstrated here.
I have reached the point
in which I think that local chauvinism needs to be made over into city state
polities whose primary function is to preserve that particular culture while
the remaining countryside is open to all under similar protocols. That at least strips chauvinism of its
obvious economic basis which easily translates into conflict.
Who cares if a new city
is set up in the middle of France, housing one million Islamic fanatics living
under insane laws if that is precisely where it ends? The citizens would still be free to travel to
work elsewhere and to return but not their laws. In time the worst distortions would actually
unwind anyway but it eliminates the zones of friction.
As posted the solution
to the Palestinian problem is amazingly simple.
We build a communication corridor from Alexandria through to Gaza along
its southern border, have it pass through Israel through to the West Bank and
then up through southern Lebanon to Beirut.
Defined high density cities would be built in Gaza the West Bank and in Southern
Lebanon linked into this corridor. These
cities define actual citizenry.
Then sell the remaining
land free and clear to Israel while retaining full right to accept employment
and visit with the usual protections against gangsterism. Put this in place, the new citizens can also
realize on past and present title with inevitable adjustments to equity and get
on with their lives. In this way
millions of Palestinians can own land in Israel, work in Israel, actively
participate in the urban life, even live there.
Their citizenship however remains secure and protected by their city
state just down the road and their rights are then protected by their united
polity.
My point is that this
can be applied to any locale that chauvinism is a risk and to be fair, that is
most everywhere. The key is to remove
the chauvinism from the economic levers while protecting the general economy.
Half a million leave
Poland in 2013
11.02.2014
10:27
A
leading demographer has estimated that up to 500,000 Poles emmigrated in 2013,
as Poland's population shrinks still further since it joined the EU in 2004.
“Official
statistics point towards what has been another huge wave of immigration,”
affirmed Professor Krystyna Iglicka from Warsaw's Lazarski University.
“According
to German data, some 200,000 Poles moved there last year. A similar number of
our compatriots also went to the UK.
“Large
groups have also started to seek their fortune in Norway and the Netherlands,”
she added.
Professor
Iglicka noted that a significant proportion of the immigrants are those joining
family members who have already settled abroad.
If
Iglicka's estimates are correct, it would mean that about 2.6 million Polish
citizens currently live abroad, with the first major wave of immigration
occurring after Poland joined the EU in 2004.
In
2013, about 2.1 people in Poland were registered as unemployed.
Agnieszka
Zerek, who runs the Legalis legal advice office for Poles in the UK, says her
clients generally find life easier in the UK than in Poland.
“It's
easier to get a job, it's easier to maintain a family, it's easier to put money
aside and save something,” she said. (nh)
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