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Manchester Pride: the Capitalisation and inaccessibility of activism featuring Ariana Grande.

Historically, Pride marks a pivotal moment for the LGBTQ+ community. In the 1960’s New York’s underground LGBTQ+ scene was constantly attacked and safe spaces raided by the police for just existing. The police were often extremely abusive and invasive to those who did not fit the social norms in regards to sexuality. This was due to rampant homophobia and a lack of understanding that existed at the time. On June 28th 1969 during a police raid in Stonewall, New York the disputes finally reached boiling point. The LGBTQ+ community fought back demanding their rights and protested against the oppression of the LGBTQ+ community. These riots and protests had a knock on effect on LGBTQ+ activism as they began fighting for legality and equality across the globe.

The first pride was held in London in 1972, hosting around 2000 protesters in response to the banning of same-sex marriage in England and Wales in 1971.  Since then laws regarding the lives of LGBTQ+ people have drastically changed including the legalisation of same-sex marriage in 2013 and same-sex couple adoption in 2002. Pride has now become more of a celebration than a protest. Sadly in recent years many cities, companies, and artists have begun to capitalise off of and exploit the annual Pride celebrations. It seems as if pride has neglected its activist roots.

This week it became very evident that pride celebrations were being capitalised on as the prices for Pride tickets were released starting at a staggering £71 for Manchester Pride and £40 for Brighton. Both events have gated off areas in which you cannot go into without a ticket and in the case of Manchester Pride, the whole “festival” is contained to a paid only area. The event is coined as a fundraiser, however, attendees were left baffled as ticket prices rose from the 2018 price of £28. It was revealed that this was due to the fact Ariana Grande would be performing at the “festival”.

Tweet from LGBTQ activism Tanya Compassions

First of all, Pride should under no circumstances be a paid event. No one should have to pay for their unchosen identity and for a safe space to exist especially within one as historically open as Pride. Without diminishing how successful Ariana Grande is and without disrespecting her connections to Manchester, she should not be headlining at an LGBTQ+ EVENT. Pride being coined as a fundraiser is a lie. Ariana’s performance has increased prices by £40 making it now inaccessible to many young LGBTQ+ people who rely on this event to openly be who they are and if ALL LGBTQ+ people cannot attend Pride then what is the point of it? Pride is now an elitist battle for tickets and capitalist event denying access to the people who need it for financial gain.

https://twitter.com/princessmolly04/status/1100088516460064768
Tweets from angry LGBTQ people

Ariana Grande is a huge star who has every opportunity to visit Manchester without her and her non LGBTQ+ fans taking up space that could have been used by actual LGBTQ+ artists and people. This is a space for the LGBTQ + community to celebrate and fight for their rights. Upon these criticisms, her fans quickly came to her defence stating that she was an ally. However, it is 2019 racists marry and give birth to black people, we are fully aware that you do not have to support a movement to exploit it for your own gain. Her fans do not care where she performs, they will still go just to see her. Whether or not she is an ally or not that space she is using could be used by people who need it.

Both Manchester and Brighton Pride should look to the likes of London and Amsterdam Pride. As they provide a free space for the LGBTQ+ community to exist without extreme capitalisation. Ariana Grande fans need to stand back and listen to the LGBTQ+ community rather than speak on their behalf.

Joy Morgan: Man Charged For Murder of Missing Teen

A north London man has been charged on suspicion of murder of the missing Hatfield teen, Joy Morgan.

Ajibola Shogbamimu, 40, was re-arrested for murder earlier this week and is said to appear appeared at St Albans Crown Court today.

It is reported that both Shogbamimu and Morgan were members of the same church, Israel United Church in Christ (IUIC) located in IIford. Shogbamimu is said to have been regularly driving Morgan to her church services, also being the last person to be seen with the missing teen on the 27th of December last year.

The church is part of the Hebrew Israelite movement in America, which hold controversial views regarding race and Black Supremacy.

The church have yet to make a formal statement on the disappearance of Joy, however, IUIC’s New York Branch have released a statement stating that: “local news reports…have misconstrued IUIC’S involvement into the investigations of Joy Morgans disappearance.”

They add that the church has been fully cooperative with the law enforcement investigation and that “any person accused of or charged with an offence will no longer be a member”.

A Go Fund Me page has been created to help fund Joy’s burial but her mother, Carol is disputing the speculation of her daughter being dead. She expresses her belief that her daughter is alive and has pleaded for her to come home.

Shogbamimu trial date is set for Monday 8th of July.

01 – The Detail: Echo Chambers

In an age of hyper information, one would be forgiven for expecting a growing number of information sources to result in a more informed and considered demos.

In fact, the opposite is true. People are more polarised and disenfranchised than they have ever been. Don’t believe me? Take a look at the Brexit vote in June 2016 where 51.89% of 46,500,001 voted Leave and 48.11% voted Remain. A clear depiction of the United Kingdom’s stark division. What has transpired since, for the most part, is a heel digging into ideological trenches and a general unwillingness to learn about the ‘other side’.

Now, I should temper this early apocalyptic claim with an acknowledgement that division isn’t new. It is as old as speech itself. However, the emergence and proliferation of tech has exacerbated division, and led to the creation of new online echo-chambers, where opposing views don’t meet. This why we created The Detail. At The Common Sense Network, we believe you deserve to hear all the sides of a debate before you make up your mind. Especially debates this important.

Here’s The Detail: READ NOW

Wilful Ignorance: The New Political Power Play?

The Home Secretary Sajid Javid was forced to reassess his decision to revoke Shamima Begum’s citizenship this week, in an exchange that posed some potentially sinister questions.

After the furore of the past fortnight surrounding Shamima Begum, the discussion appeared to have finally been settled with the Home Office’s controversial decision to revoke the 19-year-old’s citizenship. However, speaking to the Home Affairs Committee on Wednesday, Sajid Javid shed new light on the debate by conceding that this may be more difficult to action than first thought. The issue being that under the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights, no citizen can be legally left stateless.

” (1) Everyone has the right to a nationality. (2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality”

Universal Declaration of Human Rights – Article 15

Upon removing Shamima Begum’s citizenship, Javid was adamant that he would not be breaking UN law, as she had inherited Bangladeshi citizenship due to her parentage. As we know, the Bangladeshi government quickly refuted this claim, due to the fact that she has never lived in Bangladesh. She is able to apply for citizenship yes, but she cannot be a citizen simply because her mother is Bangladeshi-born. Naturally, the Bangladesh Foreign Office were never going accept a plea from someone with little connection to the country and a proven affiliation with ISIS. Were they?

Simple misunderstanding, or slight deception?

This poses an interesting question about Javid’s role in all this and how much he knew in regards to the law. During his questioning in front of the Home Affairs Committee, he made sure to use choice words when pressed on the issue.


“I certainly haven’t done that and I am not aware that one of my predecessors has done that in a case where they know an individual only has one citizenship, as that would be breaking international law as we understand it.”

Javid’s words from Wednesday.
Source: The Guardian

By addressing the issue of international law and including the caveat of ‘knowing’ an individual does not have dual citizenship, Javid has expunged himself of any responsibility. Perhaps it was a case of genuine ignorance and Javid simply didn’t know Shamima Begum did not have Bangladeshi citizenship. Surely though, as the Home Secretary, he must have been aware of her circumstances and known full well that the decision to deny her re-entry to the UK was not wholly his to make. Even before this week, he has faced fierce criticism over the situation, as some have seen it as a cynical bid for Tory leadership; even those in his own party.

Social media the catalyst

In truth, whatever happens next with Shamima Begum, Javid and the Home Office have already won. Such was the media circus surrounding the story, that their decision to revoke Begum’s citizenship when they did was inspired. It clearly presented the Home Secretary as a strong leader; who is not afraid to make difficult decisions; and most importantly for the general public, a Home Office that is tough on terrorism. This subsequent back-pedalling at the Home Affairs Committee simply has not received anything like the same coverage or shares on social media. If the decision is reversed, the circus will start up again, but Javid can then point to a ruling that was simply out of his hands and down to obeying international law.

With social media, it is becoming easier for this level of wilful ignorance to be used as an important political tool. Daniel Kawczynski’s now infamous Twitter claim that Britain received no compensation from the Marshall Plan after the Second World War, as a way of criticising the EU’s stance on Brexit is perhaps the worst example of this. Kawczynski was heavily condemned online and in the press for spreading false information, but only apologised a whole two weeks later. The claim remains up on his Twitter feed, having now been retweeted 3316 times and liked 8528 times.

The issue is wide reaching, but its utility to drum up support among the converted should not be underestimated. Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour party leadership have seemingly been ignorant to antisemitism for the past 18 months, yet Corbyn held Chris Williamson as a close ally; a man with a chequered history to say the least. The cheers that met Williamson’s controversial speech this week however, show that there is great support at a Labour activism level for this line of the party.

A broken political climate, ease of use on social media and the rise of echo chambers have all contributed to this ‘post truth’ environment. There’s a growing view that as long as what you preach is seen by enough of the right people, nothing else really matters. It is frustrating, staggering and deeply troubling, but it is not going to go away anytime soon.

The £52 Schengen Brexit Visa

Spanish demands to change the EU statute book wording on the status of Gibraltar are stalling agreement exempting UK nationals from requiring the travel permit.

Gibraltar is currently titled a ‘colony of the British Empire’.

Spain would have it replaced with: ‘disputed territory on the UN list of “non-self-governing territories…subject to decolonisation”’.

The 26-member states have reluctantly agreed to include the footnote with Spain’s demands, yet the European Parliament rejected the language.

At this late hour, the European council are really being very brash with such a short time window to patch up the immediate issues that a ‘no-deal’ Brexit would leave.

Brexit will hurt the EU and United Kingdom alike in the short term. To be throwing faux punches and jibes at this stage are creating further problems when they should be in fact trying to alleviate the blows. It’s comparable to leaving a relationship turned sour, where the best-case scenario would be for the two parties to hold their heads high and move on with their lives, however, what likely ensues is a pitching battle of vitriol and pyrrhic, often needless battles.

Current formal proceedings would see the UK remain visa-exempt until 2021. Thereafter, visas would be £7 for 3 years for UK nationals.

Should we crash out of the EU without breaking the impasse? British tourists will be left in legal limbo as the UK will be neither on the list of countries where a visa is required or among those with an exemption.

Fewer than 90 days may incur a £52 (60 euros) Schengen visa or be left waiting for the completion of bilateral deals before being allowed to travel.

If the Commons can agree to back the Prime Minister’s withdrawal agreement, we would have 21 months transition period to allow more time for a solution to be found.

The Spanish request was blocked by France with provinces of French Polynesia and New Caledonia also being on the UN list of non-self-governing territories…subject to decolonisation.

The addition of “colony”, as noted by Labour MEP, Claude Moraes, is a political act that is unnecessary for this legislation to be enacted.

Should Spain Complain and Accuse the UK?

Northern Ireland is not comparable to Gibraltar given that the Good Friday Agreement is to remain during the Brexit process. May’s minority government is now stuck between a rock.

With populism on the rise in Europe, it’s an appropriate time for Spain to complain and accuse.

Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats power waning with each election.

Since 2017, Alternative for Deutschland, AfD, has been the largest opposition party in the Bundestag. They are right wing populist eurosceptics open to working with far-right groups like Pegida, feeding criticism they sympathise with identitarianism, neo-nazism, xenophobia and racism.

Austria’s Sebastian Kurz, Hungary’s Viktor Orban boasting of his “destiny-deciding victory” giving Hungarians “the opportunity to defend themselves and to defend Hungary”.

Viktor Orbán, leader of Hungary // Wikimedia Commons

Orban believes he is defending his country and the whole of Europe from the threat of Muslim marauding immigrants.

Swedish democrats, with roots in neo-Nazism won 18 per cent of the 2018 general election.

Marine Le Pen was runner-up in the French elections. Macron, only carries 28 per cent voter satisfaction now.

Le Pen competed with formidable candidates like Francois Fillon and Jean-Luc Melenchon in the last French election and survived.

The UK had the Scottish Referendum and the Brexit Referendum under the same Tory leadership of David Cameron, which would make him the worst in living memory. Fingerprint evidence all over the botched referenda.

Unabating populism in Southern Europe

Five Star Movement and the League, headed by Matteo Salvini, constituting the coalition government in Italy. Podemos in Spain and Alex Tsipras in Greece.

Given all this, why would it not be a good time for Spain to voice her objections, deflecting the attention from current challenges and restoring some of her national pride and identity with geopolitical postulating.

Why Should Gibraltar remain British?

There’s no need for the UK to consider having a backstop with Spain. Gibraltar voted (95.91%) remain during the Brexit referendum, yet the total votes cast were only 20,172.

If Gibraltar decided to leave the UK simply because it doesn’t like the UK’s decision to leave the EU, it doesn’t have much of an arsenal in its tool set to make waves. It can’t afford to have its own money. Would it print its own money for such a small population? More likely it would be cornered into adopting the euro.

If Gibraltar continued using the pound after leaving the UK, would that not then lead to continued manipulation?

EU membership is proportionally the most expensive when you have no money.

What if it went back to Spain and Catalonia seceded?

Gibraltar has a population of 33, 140 in 2015. It has an unemployment of 62 people in the 3rd Quarter of 2018.

That essentially means every Gibraltarian has a job. Nearly 84% of Gibraltarians make up its workforce.

Spain, on the other hand, has an overall unemployment rate of nearly 15%.
(seasonally adjusted, i.e. the figure could be higher during off season.) Spain’s youth unemployment rate is well in excess of 40%

GINI index for Gibraltar is unavailable but here are the GINI indices for the UK and Spain from the World Bank. It is used as a gauge of economic inequality, measuring income distribution with 1 representing perfect inequality and 0 perfect equality. Spain is heading up and the UK’s GINI coefficient is falling.

Given the dire economic condition that Spain is in at the moment, why shouldn’t its politicians and government distract its own citizens? This is by no means an isolated case. It’s indeed a worldwide phenomenon that has gone on since the dawn of time. With the election of Trump, the Americans and people from the world over are having more than a bit of consternation after all.

If you still recall Cristina de Kirchner of Argentina (President Argentina 2007-15), you will remember that she’d so many domestic political woes on many fronts. What did she do then? She made cries to reclaim Malvinas (Falkland Islands), condemned the UK with threats to prosecute British oil companies and called the islanders “squatters”. Loud and clear announcements that carried little substance but plenty of volume, all to distract her citizens from her domestic problems. The UK, on the other hand, simply ignored her.

Cristina de Kirchner – “Malvinas is ours!”

If Spain is indeed using the Brexit vote and Gibraltar as political pawns, it isn’t going anywhere.

I can clamour for Ariana Grande and Emily Ratajkowski all day long, but I can tell you it’d get me nowhere.

NBA Announces Basketball Africa League

by Rutvik Bhaskaer Perepa

NBA commissioner Adam Silver announced a partnership with Federation International Basketball (FIBA) to launch a global expansion league in Africa. 12 teams will be representing 9 countries across the continent. Teams will have to qualify to play in the league, with no more than two teams per country advancing.

“The Basketball Africa League is an important next step in our continued development of the game of basketball in Africa,” Silver said in a statement. “Combined with our other programs on the continent, we are committed to using basketball as an economic engine to create new opportunities in sports, media, and technology across Africa.”

According to Silver, several of the NBA’s major sponsors have already reached out about partnering with the new Basketball Africa League. Pepsi and Jordan Brand are among the most notable. Former USA president, Barrack Obama, was in favour of the announcement and praised the advancement of the NBA into Africa.

Prominent African emmisery and NBA legend, Manute Bol, who hailed from Sudan, was primarily responsible for taking the game to Africa through his philanthropy work. Popular Chicago Bulls player and ex-Laker, Luol Deng, was one of his pupils. Hall of Famer, Dikemebe Mutombo, has also been paving the way for the unveiling of the new league through his work on the NBA/FIBA’s Basketball Without Borders project, which has been conducting basketball development and community outreach in Africa (as well as five other continents) since 2001.

A famous highlight

Ex Houston Rockets player, Hakeem Olajuwon, and Cameroonian NBA All-Star, Joel Embiid, are the past and present superstar centres along with Manute Bol and Mutombo, who raised the African presence in the NBA. In a league where there is only one African president of basketball operations in Toronto Raptors president, Masai Ujiri, this NBA expansion into Africa is exactly what the sport needs on all levels.

The NBA and FIBA plan to dedicate financial support and resources toward the continued development of Africa’s basketball ecosystem, including training for players, coaches and referees, and infrastructure investment. Additional details about the Basketball Africa League will be announced at a later date.

Keep up to date with TCS Sport for all the latest sports news!

Rutvik Bhaskar Perepa is a student at The University of Manchester working towards a MEng in Mechanical Engineering hoping to be on a placement after Year 3. He has had the privilege to travel around his home country, India and discover the rich heritage and diversity. His personal interests include Food and travel, history, Sport among many others. Often found in discourse on various issues ranging Engineering to Religious Practices, he never shy’s away from being expressive. He believes in being open minded, empathetic and analytical is the key to problems posed on a daily basis.

Shamima Begum’s Citizenship Revoked: When Will Minorities Be British enough?

Shamima Begum, born and raised in East London and of Bangladeshi descent, had her citizenship revoked last week after travelling to Syria to join ISIS four years ago.

Recently, Begum asked the UK to accept her return to where she was born so that she is able to raise her new born son free from the fears that concurrently develop when living in a state of war. Yet, with her British citizenship stripped, it is hard to consider this a consequence autonomous from the fact that she is a second generation immigrant holding ethnic minority status in the UK. 

By revoking her citizenship, the British government is echoing past sentiments that ethnic minorities are not, and will never be, British. The windrush scandal last year has further proven such, with British-Caribbeans having their citizenship unreasonably challenged and often downgraded. It continues a narrative that Britishness is monopolised to be synonymous with whiteness.

Whilst the British government refuses to face its responsibilities as a state in providing care for Shamima, or her new born son at the least, it has previously been quick to deport other individuals associated with terrorism to their own home countries. In 2013 Abu Qatada, a Jordanian national living in Britain, was deported back to Jordan after serving multiple sentences under terrorism laws in 2002. The British government is extremely quick to alienate its resources when involving non British nationals, yet it now has also mirrored these actions with its own people. 

Over the last seven years, 900 British citizens have left to join ISIS. Rather than using Begum’s case to create a precedent of harsh ruling against former ISIS members, the government should instead explore the root causes of the crisis. I predict that this would show that social isolation of ethnic minorities due to stereotypes of both muslims and south asian culture is a huge factor in making children as young as Begum vulnerable to online grooming.

The rise of Islamophobia in the past decade has caused a hyper visibility to descend onto the British muslim population. For someone who is constantly looked at as an outsider, it is easy to look for an alternative sense of belonging, which Shamima became victim to. Helen Powell, a researcher in extremism at George Washington University, explained that ISIS exploits teenagers’ idealised vision of the world, where there is a strong search for social justice and this romanticism that comes with young naivety. It is a similar romanticism that we see in cases of sexual grooming of under age girls, yet our reactions are naturally completely different, even though Shamima was married to a man almost a decade older than her within 10 days of her arriving in Syria. 

As a population and a government, we must look at the situation as how we would look at other children becoming susceptible to online grooming and coercion. If this was a young white girl, with two white parents living in the home counties would the reaction be the same? I would argue it wouldn’t be. Within the Rochdale grooming case, white girls groomed by asian men rightfully caused fury nation wide. Yet there is an absence of concern surrounding the fact that Shamima was impregnated three times before her nineteenth birthday by a man far older than her. Like the ever so patronising question of “Where are you really from?”, we must change our associations of Britain and what being British means to reflect the fact that much of what Britain is built on is owed to families like Shamima’s.

The Britishness of muslims and other minorities needs to stop being second guessed and downplayed. 

Chelsea vs Tottenham Preview: One of England’s Most Underrated Rivalries?

The two sides meet again at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night in a fixture which perhaps doesn’t get the recognition it deserves.

Despite much huffing and puffing on Sunday afternoon, Chelsea were
ultimately unable to prevent Manchester City from claiming the first silverware of the season in the League Cup final. While avoiding the utter humilation of a couple of weeks ago, the blues never really looked like seriously threatening to take the crown. There is no rest for Maurizio Sarri’s men however, as on Wednesday night they host a Spurs side desperately trying to cling on to their fading title hopes. A contest which always seems to provide plenty of entertainment, should carry an added edge considering both teams’ current predicaments.

This fixture has traditionally gone under the radar somewhat due to the relative lack of historical competition for success between the two sides. Both Millwall vs West Ham and Arsenal vs Spurs will always be spoken about ahead of this match up, simply due to the geographical closeness of the clubs. The North London derby is often hailed as the biggest game in London, though some believe Chelsea and Spurs is now poised to overtake this.

When you think of the other great rivalries, you’re also instantly reminded of those teams who are known for fighting out league titles and cup finals. Due to their shared dominance, Man United and Arsenal formed a new hatred for one another throughout the late nineties and early noughties. Even Liverpool vs Man United, which will always be a derby for the North West, took on new meaning with Sir Alex Ferguson’s arrival and claim that his greatest challenge was “knocking Liverpool right off their f*****g perch”. This is what Chelsea and Tottenham has been missing, but their continued developments over the last decade have brought a new level of significance to this game. With Chelsea winning five of the past 15 league titles and Spurs on course to record their fifth successive top four finish this season, the stakes have never been higher between the two sides.

Sure fire entertainment?

Source: BBC Sport

This is not a game that tends to disappoint on the pitch either. Matches between those teams fighting it out at the top can often be disappointing, with both sides cancelling one another out of the game. That certainly wasn’t the case back in November, when a scintillating Tottenham performance saw them blow Chelsea away at Wembley, 3-1. It was also perhaps the first glimpse of how teams quickly learned to nullify ‘Sarriball’. A year earlier, it was Chelsea who were celebrating at Wembley, in another hugely entertaining 4-2 FA Cup Semi-final victory. Tottenham, however, came out top in the most memorable recent meeting between the two sides; that 5-3 victory in 2015, where Harry Kane truly came of age and was unplayable on the day, scoring a brace.

The game that will be in the back of everyone’s mind is the 2016 2-2 draw between the two teams that saw Chelsea terminate Totteham’s title hopes and practically hand the crown over to Leicester City. It was a scintillating game that saw Dembele square up to a fiery Diego Costa, not to mention Chelsea coming from behind to make the game square in the 83rd minute; pushing the dagger into the hearts of hopeful Spurs fans.

Whatever happens on Wednesday night, there should be goals.

Things got heated in Chelsea and Tottenham’s 2016 match up. Source: Evening Standard

The most important game of the season?

Considering both teams’ current standings, this could well prove to be the case. Chelsea go into the game with a game in hand on those above them, but will know they simply cannot afford anything less than a win. With Manchester United drawing to Liverpool at the weekend, Chelsea now find themselves just two points behind United and three points adrift of Arsenal in fourth. Considering all that has been said about Sarri’s failing reign, this is not a bad place to be in. With trips to Liverpool and United still to come, Chelsea simply must find a result against Spurs to keep their top four hopes alive.

Spurs meanwhile, might be forgiven for feeling slightly relaxed ahead of this game. After their shock defeat to Burnley, Mauricio Pochettino conceded that the title is out of reach and yet they still have a very comfortable top four cushion. It may seem on the face of it, therefore, that Spurs have little left to play for. A little look at the fixture list however, raises some serious worries for Pochettino’s men. After Chelsea, they face Arsenal in the North London derby on Sunday and still face trips to Manchester City and Liverpool later in the season. Defeat to Chelsea means Arsenal could go into Sunday’s game just four points behind Spurs. It is then not unlikely that Spurs may return from the Etihad and Anfield with zero points, meaning their top four place could be seriously under threat. This of course relies on other sides dropping minimal points, but watch this space.

Dodgy Kepa

Source: Fox Sports

All eyes will be on Chelsea’s Spanish goalkeeper after his extraordinary refusal to be substituted in the League Cup Final. It is likely he will be dropped and may not feature again this season, but if he is to feature, the attention will be directed back to Chelsea’s under-fire manager. If Kepa publicly disrespected Sarri on Sunday, what would it say about the Italian’s authoritative qualities to allow him back into the team on Wednesday? Pochettino may also be under the spotlight after he was charged for improper conduct over the tirade he subjected Mike Dean to on Saturday. This should be a fascinating contest between two under pressure teams and their respective managers.

Brexit Delay: Yay or Nay?

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On March 12th, Parliament will vote on another Brexit agreement deal put forward by Theresa May, however there are talks of a potential delay in leaving the European Union, which is leaving many people very uncertain and uncomfortable. 


President of the European Council, Donald Tusk was asked about the prospect of an Article 50 extension. He responded by stating that the closer it gets to the deadline – March 29th – the more likely an extension becomes. At the moment, there is no strong majority in the House of Commons for a potential deal, thus an extension would be a “rational solution”, of which the EU would be “understanding”.”I believe that in the situation we are in, an extension would be a rational decision but prime minister May still believes she will be able to avoid this scenario,” Tusk told a news conference in Egypt a day after seeing the British leader, according to the Guardian. 


Whilst Donald Tusk supports the extension of Article 50 in an almost sympathetic manner, most people are enraged and despise the possibility of living in uncertainty for another 2 years. According to Independent, Guy Verhofstadt, The European Parliament’s Brexit Chief, branded Theresa May’s position to delay the Common’s ballot as “one of the most reckless” he had ever seen, accusing May of “kicking the can down the road”. 


Ian Blackford, SNP Westminster leader, also sides with Verhofstadt, stating that May “could not be trusted” to not avoid another significant vote. According to BBC news, he also said: “It’s the height of irresponsibility for any government to threaten its citizens with these consequences. Rule out no deal, extend Article 50, but do it today – this should not be left until the middle of March.”

Ex-Conservative, Anna Soubry and former Labour MP, Chuka Umunna have warned May that the deadline agreed in Parliament had to be met. The Independent Group have become vocal on this issue since its formation, stating that the member MPs will bring contempt proceedings if the Conservatives “fail to publish cabinet papers on the damage on the no-deal Brexit wishing 48 hours”.“If they don’t do so” Umunna states, “we will immediately move to institute contempt proceedings against them in the Commons for going back on their promises,”Beyond the Westminster Sphere, ADS Group Chief Executive Paul Everitt mentioned that the poorly managed political process of the Withdrawal Agreement causes evident damage to the British economy. He states: “The continued delay is turning the UK’s political failure into a full-blown economic crisis”, as reported by Reuters.


Though many people are gritting their teeth and ripping their hair over the prospect of a delayed Brexit, blaming Theresa May for being disorganised and, as Guy Verhofstadt describes, “reckless”, May has made her perspective on the circumstance very clear. 
For an extension to be achieved, Theresa May must formally ask the European leaders for the Article 50 process to be extended, with the member states unanimously agreeing to her request.According to the Telegraph, May told MPs “I do not want to see Article 50 extended”, before then going on to say: “our absolute focus should be working to get a deal and leaving on 29 March”. 


At this point, whilst the clock continues ticking, Britain can only keep their fingers crossed that an agreement is reached on March 12th as a best case scenario. If not, the next best option would be a delayed EU-exit, given Labour’s recent support of a second referendum, nobody wants a no-deal Brexit.

American Suspension of INF Treaty Risks 21st Century Nuclear Arms Race

“Russia is in material breach of its obligations under the INF treaty”

At the beginning of the month, Trump announced the American suspension of the INF treaty, a treaty that one acted as a pivotal catalyst in ending the tensions of the Cold War once implemented in 1987. The suspension was applied following long term Russian breach of the treaty, which bans intermediate range nuclear forces (INF) – mainly those with a travel range of 500-5500km. With insinuations by the American government suggesting the USA are now working to engineer their own INFs, this risks a new age arms race coming to the surface of international security.

Effectively, the INF treaty banned a class of weapons that would have detrimental effects globally if used. Yet, following its suspension, Trump wrote in his official statement that “we will move forward with developing our own military response options”, suggesting an offensive reaction amongst the West to the actions of Russia. The Russian missile in question, a ground-launched cruise missile known as the 9M729, has been further scrutinised by global powers and organisations such as NATO.

The organisation, whose name stands for the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, and its 29 member states, issued a joint statement in support of Trump’s decision. Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, following the meeting of NATO foreign affairs ministers in December, concluded that “Allies agree that this missile system violates the INF Treaty and poses significant risk to Euro-Atlantic security. To which they agree that Russia is therefore in material breach of its obligations under the INF treaty”. The suspension includes a six month implementation period meant to encourage Russian to re-allign with treaty standards. 

This was a somewhat controversial move on behalf of the organisation, as although it tends to stand with America on most matters, its foundations are rooted within the upkeep of international norms and laws – thus its primary role tends to be protecting treaties, such as the INF. This could prove to be a driving wedge for the future relations between NATO allies, with only a handful of current members possessing nuclear weapons themselves, whilst countries such as Denmark refuse to allow nuclear weapons on their soil due to domestic political sentiment.

This could potentially cause complexities within Trump’s plans for future nuclear deployment. The ability to deploy Nuclear weapons into Europe is central in allowing America to appear as a significant challenger to Russia, as without European deployment and support, the weapons are not actually capable of reaching Russia. The situation is further made critical with continuing moves of aggression by Russia towards its neighbouring states, as seen within the last two months from the Kerch-Strait crisis, and continuing occupation of Ukraine and Crimea. 

Unless NATO is able to reinstate a replacement treaty or create a coherent alternative framework within six months, international politics faces a potential revival of Cold War tensions that will inevitably feature a modern day Nuclear Arms race. Yet, with the increasing intricacies we see in our present political system due to the creation of organisations such as NATO and the divisions seen specifically within Eastern Europe, the effects of intensified tensions between Russia and America will have unprecedented consequences. 

School Children in the Scottish Borders to be Given iPads

by Dolline Mukui

The Scottish Borders Council announced that every child between the age of the 10 and 17 will receive the gadget as part of a £16m investment for digital learning.

This plan will allow children to take home the iPad given to them to use with families but pupils in P1 to P5 will have an iPad at a ratio of one for every five children.

The investment is aiming to promote digital technology in classrooms which is part of the Scottish Borders Council’s 2019/20 financial budget. This comes after the council need to save £29.5m in the next five years with also a 4% rise in council tax.

Council leader, Shona Haslam said ‘We’re really excited about the impact it’s going to have in the poverty attainment gap, as well as for additional needs students. Quite often in classrooms, additional needs students are the odd ones out because they’re sitting with their iPads. That will now no longer be the case.’

She also mentioned that although the Borders have faced some challenges, ‘Despite being faced with significant financial challenges, this administration is presenting a really exciting budget for the Borders, packed with huge investment plans at a truly vital time for our economy.’

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Alongside this news, an extra £2.3m has been allocated to repair roads and pavements and within the coming year – they will be safeguarding all public toilets.

With council tax set to increase, Councillor Robin Tatler, Executive Member for Finance said ‘A balanced budget is increasingly hard to achieve, particularly when public expectations are so high, demand for various services are increasing and public finances are reducing.’

It seems that the council have a strategy in place for their budget for this year, however, this doesn’t come without a price. 

Increasing council tax to 4% might help save money but without increasing wages such as the national minimum wage, residents might have to rethink their cost of living, especially for those with large families. It might seem justifiable that council tax increasing by 4% but for those already struggling to make ends meet will see the difference.

Investing in education can be achieved in other ways such as using money towards art facilities, playgrounds; simply materials for children to use before resulting to iPads. £16m could be evenly distributed among schools and let the schools decide what to use the money on to help their school.

Digital learning is a key aspect in any curriculum as children need to build multiple skills and be digitally aware, but is there a need for the tablets to be taken home? 

Giving a child an iPad can be a good addition to any classroom whether the focus is on digital innovation or using the device for online work, however, taking the iPad home could essentially be problematic. There are many parents trying to reduce online screen time for themselves and their children for many reasons. Consulting the parents on these plans would have been beneficial to this financial decision.

Dolline is a traveller, journalist and blogger who has palate to try new things. She is a very spontaneous person; you might find her skydiving over the Kenyan coast to kayaking in the Lake District. She can be an over thinker who thinks of every outcome but if she doesn’t she welcomes the change that wasn’t planned. However, she is a very simple person who is up for a good laugh or a book and enjoys living the moment. Dolline also writes for her small personal blog called ‘Swatches of Beauty’ and is currently a production journalist trainee at ITV Border.

Brexit: The EU Is Looking At Delaying Brexit By Up To 21 Months

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The Guardian has reported that the EU is preparing to propose a lengthy extension of Article 50 to avoid a no-deal Brexit. This comes as Theresa May struggles to find a cross party consensus in the House of Commons that continues less than five weeks away from Brexit day.

This is undoubtedly in reaction to the ongoing pressure that May faces: a large portion of the House of Commons and some of the ministerial cabinet are pushing for May to take a no-deal Brexit off of the negotiating table. This is further exacerbated by the amendment due to be tabled this week by Yvette Cooper and Oliver Letwin, which will force May to seek an extension of Article 50 if she does not have a deal ratified in Parliament by March 13th.

The EU apparently prefers an extension period of 21 months, as it provides more certainty over the UKs short term relationship over the EU. The EU fear that a short-term extension of three months will merely result in repeated extension requests and continued uncertainty.

This news is likely to provide a boost to the British Pound, which has become increasingly turbulent in the last few months. It has been provided with a boost in the last week as a no-deal Brexit seems to have become increasingly unlikely, but will likely surge even more upon the opening of business.

Recent Brexit Update

It has been quite a turbulent seven days in British Politics. Twelve MPs have resigned from the Conservative and Labour parties, with eleven of them becoming part of the independent group – a pro-EU, centrist organisation. They have already had their share of controversy, with one of the founding members, Angela Smith, almost immediately referring to ethnic minorities as people with a ‘funny tinge.’

Theresa May has also delayed the meaningful vote by two weeks, now promising to deliver it by the 13th of March. The decision to delay it to less than three weeks before Brexit day has provoked backlash, as May faces accusations that she is merely running down the clock to force parliament to accept her withdrawal agreement – backstop and all.

Jeremy Corbyn has also shifted Labour policy towards a people’s vote, which senior members of the labour party are said to have been pushing for. John Mcdonnell, the shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, has confirmed that in the event of a second referendum he will campaign to remain in the EU.

The Department of International trade is expected to publish a list of import taxes this week that will apply in the event of a no-deal Brexit. There were previously reports that the UK were considering a zero tariff regime, but Michael Gove, the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, recently ruled this out. These tariffs will see the prices of goods increase, as the cost of the extra tax will undoubtedly be passed onto the consumer.

Amani Simpson: Establishing Community Potential in the Midst of Authoritative Ignorance

“Sometimes you can be trapped in this mental prison and society isn’t offering any alternatives. Society is putting these young boys in the box of criminals but not humanising their experience”

Amani Simpson, the CEO of “Aviard” and the man behind Jovain Wade’s new short film, discussed with TCS the impact of the community, the responsibilities of mainstream media, and positive role models on violence and ‘gang’ crime. The “Amani” Short Film has received over 1.5 million views on Youtube since being released earlier this month. At the root of the film is Simpson, who was stabbed seven times and almost died after trying to break up a fight in 2011. This turn of events created “Aviard” – the organisation now ran by Simpson to help young people elevate themselves to reach their full potential rather than falling into a cycle of violence. Instead, Simpson emphasises societal and personal improvement through the utilisation of agency by the community, rather than relying on authoritative structures and mainstream representation. I interviewed Simpson in relation to Aviard’s mission and how elements of the “Amani” short film relate to this. 

1) In researching Aviard, I found that one of the most emphasised ideas is that you compare human beings to an aircraft, in the sense that we all need the correct fuel, engineering and destination to elevate ourselves. How does this relate to Aviard’s goals as an organisation?

“The metaphor relates to the idea that sometimes we aren’t meant to fly. Sometimes the environment is set up to hold us back, but essentially we need to engineer our minds to steer away from that, so we are not being trapped by a mental prison. Its more about trying to make sure that your are improving. So that if you’re unhappy, you can do something about it.”.

2) This idea of self empowerment is also seen at the beginning of “Amani”. There is a conversation with God which is pretty much driven by this self realisation of power, and the ability to escape this mental prison; How as a community, as a society or as organisations can we encourage this self belief to prevail over difficult environments? 

“As a community we need to learn, earn, return. For example, role models like myself and my peers need to go into schools and go into those sorts of environments. We need to go into schools where they are willing to teach because I know that if I had a mentor, a black mentor, that looked like an older brother, that dressed well and had respect and confidence, i’d aspire to be like that. That would have given me what I was looking for in the negative side of things.”.

3) Do you think it goes back to finding more representation for communities that are more vulnerable – Is it more about trying to get more representation for ethnic minorities as working professionals to counter this negative stereotype promoted in the media?  

“Yeah definitely. It’s not just about being distant role models, we need to be in and around that. We as a community need to promote more of these things in general conversation. Someone sent me a video of a boy being stabbed up in McDonalds in my area, and I said ‘Why would you share that? Why would I want to see that?’.  For me one of the missions for Aviard was to create a platform for positive personal development and something that will work to change minds. Like I said before, sometimes you can be trapped in this mental prison and society isn’t offering any alternatives. Society is putting these young boys in the box of criminals but not humanising their experience. I was in an interview the other day and someone asked ‘right, so gangs…’, and I said no, not gangs, it’s a group of friends first of all. They’ve all grown up together and so on, and it develops from there because if one person on the block gets stabbed, then everyone in the area feels like they have to carry a knife. Its a story, not an isolated thing of just someone being a criminal. There are a lot of factors, and there is going to be times when we are faced with hard situations but that is when we have to find ways to promote positivity.” 

4) Within the media I think we see some lack of responsibility. There is a lot of blaming and discourse surrounding gangs, and drill music but when there is a crime committed by a group of ethnic minority youths it is labelled differently to their white counterparts. Do you think this image portrayal holds some responsibility in the rise of violent crime? 

“We live in a society that perpetuates particular stereotypes because that is what feeds the state of fear we live in. We live in a state where people find it easier to fear things rather than communicate. When the media publishes these sorts of things, I think it’s prejudice. Within the team of people that are publishing it, there is not enough representation from the communities that are being spoken about. If we are looking at young people in general, the news is going to say whatever it is they have to say just to sell a paper, and to make everyone choose not engage in that group. But really, they are just humans that are making mistakes as they’re growing up. Really there is no difference between them and a white guy in Cheshire that is getting in trouble. Its just the fact that you’re putting it on TV and saying that these are all hoodies, and gang members. There is no difference – we are all affected by our own adverse experiences and the environments we grew up in.”.

5) So would you say one of the biggest problems is representation and portrayal in the media? 

A lot of visual media does not represent us in a good light. It’s a multi layered problem. For example when I listen to drill music, I understand that it is an opportunity to make money for some young boys and to move away from their areas and express their experiences. Similar to how Grime music was – but Grime artists slowly became more palatable to the public, and the artists were able to change and develop. However, with Drill music, it is just about killing people, it’s not allowing young boys to free their mind. They are constantly in this space where you are seeing it on TV and with the music, what else are the kids supposed to think of themselves? When it comes to drill music, I think it’s just too violent. Its not artistic, you’re just rhyming and talking about violent things. Listening to that every single day cannot be good for your mindset. There’s always going to be violence. For example – Gun Lean. It’s now part of popular culture, but at the same time boys in London are being shot up. I’m not saying that song is directly responsible but it’s part of that culture. Then the news are sharing it, and then videos of it go viral and it just engulfs everything.”.

6) But with that, how do we separate music which could have a positive impact, to Drill music which can be seen as having a negative impact?

Music has a massive responsibility. I think the solution is to create an alternative platform where young people are challenged to talk about something else. Right now people aren’t being challenged to talk about anything else apart from what we hear in drill music. With the showcases Aviard are running, i’m trying to create an alternative platform. It allows young people to talk about more positive things,  so no ones allowed to talk about drugs, or violence, nor are they allowed to swear, because there are other ways to express yourself. If I can impact that a little bit then I will.”. 

7) A couple of years ago, you were stabbed yourself. Knowing that that would have happened, but also knowing that it would have led to Aviard, would you have done anything differently? 

“No. No, to be here right now is a blessing, not even in an arrogant way. I hear young boys and girls saying ‘thank you, because of you I don’t want to be on the street anymore’. And for me, that is a massive responsibility. Me getting stabbed was pre-destined, before I was born, that was meant to happen to me. As much as I could have been upset about it, you have got to elevate, be positive, there is a silver lining on every cloud. It all depends on what you are willing to sacrifice. I had chances to retaliate, but for me, that only feeds into this never ending cycle of fear and bad decisions. At one point you have to break the cycle and move forward. You can never go back, you have got to keep moving forward.”.

From my discussions with Amani Simpson, I deducted a strong emphasis on collective responsibility. Regardless of if you are a white privileged man in ‘Cheshire’ as Amani mentioned, or a single mother on an inner city council estate, we all have a sense of responsibility to look after our kids, siblings, and our community. Through this responsibility, we need to recognise the importance in representation and empowerment. If we allow the mainstream media or authoritative structures to represent communities as inherently more evil or criminal than others, the cycle will never stop. As members of grass-root communities, we are more at risk of experiencing violence than policy makers who have never looked beyond the surface. As Simpson said, society is quick to label criminals and criminal acts but not condemn the social conditions that shaped criminality as a consequence. Both Aviard and Amani Simpson recognise community experience and membership as holding an empowering potential hence why Simpson has been able to help as many young people as he has. We all must follow Simpson in his steps towards reshaping discourse surrounding ‘gangs’, youth and violence. 

To find out more about Amani Simpson’s organisation, follow the link: http://www.aviard.co.uk/

Shamima Begum: The Case for Citizenship

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Around this time, four years ago, a 15-year-old Shamima Begum flew via Turkish Airlines from Gatwick Airport to Istanbul, Turkey. From there, she crossed the border to Syria where she married an ISIS fighter, had three kids (the first two have since passed away) and sparked a national debate with her seemingly emotionless request to return to the United Kingdom.

Controversially, she has now been stripped of her British Citizenship, however, she is likely to appeal this decision on the basis that she has now been rendered stateless, following Bangladesh’s declaration that they are ‘deeply concerned that [Shamima] has been erroneously identified as a holder of dual citizenship.’ The Bangladeshi government also went on to expressly state that Shamima would not be welcomed into Bangladesh – as a citizen or otherwise.

It has, at this point, become increasingly clear that she should be permitted back in the country. As someone who was brought up in the United Kingdom, Shamima is undoubtedly ‘Britain’s problem’. She was born and raised in the UK, radicalised whilst she was still in the British educational system and was allowed to catch an international flight – unquestioned by British border control – at the age of 15. Given the number of opportunities that Britain had to intervene and prevent her from finding herself in the situation she is in today, it is unfathomable that the country now seeks to wash its hands of her.

This attempt by Savid Javid to abandon her in Syria, a country that is presently still fighting and recovering from a civil war and one which cannot provide adequate care over its own citizens, is unsettling. The same Britain that took charge of the Madeline McCann investigation when she went missing in Portugal over ten years ago, should take charge in investigating, prosecuting and rehabilitating Shamima. We must take responsibility for the actions of our citizens, regardless of the crime.

There is also the matter of her new born child. Abandoning Shamima, is tantamount to abandoning her new born child – an indisputably innocent and vulnerable British citizen. By obstructing Shamima’s entry, the UK is, by extension, preventing a British citizen from returning to the United Kingdom. This is, of course, unless the United Kingdom is willing to separate a new born baby from its mother. This calls into questions if her child goes onto suffer from ill health due to lack of proper healthcare, will the UK take responsibility for it?

Another issue that the Shamima Begum debacle has brought to light that British Citizenship is revocable for actual or potential dual nationals and non-white British citizens, even if the latter do not have dual citizenship- as is the case for Shamima and the Windrush generation. The Immigration Act 2014 gave the Home Secretary the power to revoke British citizenship from anyone who is or may be able to become a citizen of a foreign country. This means that if you, your partner, parents or grandparents are dual citizens or were born outside of the United Kingdom, you may be eligible to have your British citizenship revoked. This is the case irrespective of whether the person in question has even visited the third country, or whether they have any relatives living there.

It is also interesting to note that the Home Office have not made any comment indicating that they may seek to revoke Jack Letts, popularly referred to as ‘Jihadi Jack’s’, citizenship. This is despite the fact that the government would be able to do it in accordance with National and International law, as Jack is also a citizen of Canada.

While it is clear that Shamima is likely to be found to have committed a crime by going to support ISIS, revoking her citizenship is not a precedent that the UK should want to set or follow going forward.