Last year I drew attention to the big work programme highlighted on the EU website to strengthen Turkey’s borders as part of its Visa Liberalisation programme with the EU.  The officials wrote that they needed “ditch excavation, lighting, wire entanglement, trellis fence, road maintenance and construction and modular wall construction” along the extended  Turkish  border with Syria and Iraq. It would be good to have an update on how far they have got with their 900 km Syria/Turkey wall.

I raise it again because many in the EU are hostile to Mrs Trump’s proposal to extend the already substantial USA/Mexico wall. I wonder why they apply different standards to this wall than to the ones the EU is helping finance and design closer to home. I invite proponents of the EU to tell us why they think these two walls are different, and why they support the Turkish one which is part of the EU/Turkey Agreement.

The EU approved border controls including ones along EU borders can incorporate watch towers, constant camera surveillance and plenty of “guards” to deal with any problems at crossing points. The 10th action point in the 72 point “Visa Liberalisation Roadmap”  is to ensure sufficient well trained guards and surveillance equipment at crossing points.   The 33rd point in the 72 point “Visa Liberalisation roadmap” agreed with Turkey by the EU is to “ensure effective expulsion of illegally residing 3rd country nationals.”

If it is moral to oppose border walls and barriers in Mexico, surely it is similarly necessary to oppose them in Europe and Middle East?

A new ship is seen at a dock in Sansha of south China’s Hainan province, Jan. 30, 2017. The ship completed its maiden voyage on Monday from east China’s Shanghai to Sansha where it will serve. The 32-meter vessel weighs 498 tonnes. It has endurance of 45 days and is able to resist gales with speed of more than 60 kilometers per hour, according to its captain Yin Minzeng. It was designed to help extinguish fires on the sea, tow vessels that lose power and assist law-enforcement vessels. In addition, it will provide supplies for islands of Sansha. (Xinhua/Dai Chao)

A new ship completed its maiden voyage on Monday from Shanghai to China’s southernmost island city of Sansha where it will serve.

The 32-meter vessel weighs 498 tonnes. It has endurance of 45 days and is able to resist gales with speed of more than 60 kilometers per hour, according to its captain Yin Minzeng.

It was designed to help extinguish fires on the sea, tow vessels that lose power and assist law-enforcement vessels. In addition, it will provide supplies for islands of Sansha.

Sansha City was established in 2012 to administer islets and reefs in the Xisha, Zhongsha and Nansha islet groups as well as waters in this area.

In confirmation that the rise in western inflation is mainly to do with rising commodity prices, especially oil, German CPI inflation today hit 1.9% compared to the UK’s 1.6%. It confirms that inflation in the UK is not special to UK and  has not been  caused by sterling weakness and Brexit.

Jeremy
Corbyn MP, Leader of the Labour Party, calling on Theresa May to withdraw her
offer to Donald Trump of a State Visit, said:

“Let
no one be in doubt that I will oppose, and the Labour Party will oppose, all
those who fan the flames of fear at home and abroad.

“I
support the demand of millions of British people: Donald Trump should not be
welcomed on a state visit to this country while he continues to propagate his
anti-women, anti-Muslim and anti-Mexican policies.

“This
world defeated segregation, we defeated Apartheid and we will defeat this nasty
policy created to sow division and hatred.

“His
invite should be withdrawn until the executive orders are gone and every
element of them repealed.

“History
judges us by the actions we take in opposing oppression.

“I
am proud that during the 1980s and 1990s I stood with Labour party members,
trade unionists and faith leaders opposing the racist regime of South Africa.

“I
was there on the day Margret Thatcher opened her door to P.W. Botha while
Nelson Mandela languished in a prison cell.

“Margaret
Thatcher and the Conservative Party were on the wrong side of history then just
as Theresa May and her Conservative Party are on the wrong side of history
today.

“The
Labour party stands unequivocally with those demonstrating today and will do so
until we are victorious.

“I
have written to Theresa May to demand that she withdraws her offer to Donald
Trump of a State Visit.”

30 January 2017

Jonathan Bartley, co-leader of the Green Party, has responded to the news today that Donald Trump could pull the US out of the Paris Climate Change Agreement within a matter of days. [1]

Bartley said:

“The news that Donald Trump could pull the US out of the Paris Agreement is a shame on our own Government. The Prime Minister’s failure to prioritise climate change with the President is a complete dereliction of duty.

“But although a US withdrawal would be a bitter blow to the fight to save our planet, the momentum we have gathered is unstoppable, and the Paris Agreement will continue in strength with or without Donald Trump.”

Notes:

1. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/donald-trump-paris-climate-change-deal-myron-ebell-us-president-america-pull-out-agreement-a7553676.html

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