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World and Press September 2 2022

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6 Britain

6 Britain September 2 2022 | World and Press Don’t bring babies in, British Parliament tells lawmakers PARLIAMENT Legislators asked for a review of the rules after a lawmaker was told she could not bring her three-month-old child into a debate. mit Übungsmaterial By Ellen Francis 1 BRITISH lawmakers should not bring their babies to parliamentary debates, authorities said Thursday in a review of the rules prompted by a legislator who was reprimanded for bringing her three-month-old son to a session. Some British politicians had called for a change in regulations after Labour Member of Parliament Stella Creasy received a notice for carrying her sleeping newborn in a sling in Westminster Hall last year. 2 In its report published Thursday, the Procedure Committee said the “long-standing practice” of keeping babies out during debates should remain in effect for lawmakers to “observe, initiate, speak, or intervene in proceedings.” 3 Responding to the report, Creasy said the ban challenges efforts to allow “politics and parenting to mix,” particularly for new mothers. “They don’t recognize who is put off parliament by its antiquated rules and approach to women who have children and the need to modernize,” she told ‘The Washington Post’ in an email. 4 The speaker of the House of Commons, the lower house, had asked for the review after an outcry from Creasy and her supporters, while some complained that infants were distracting. One Conservative lawmaker called the legislature “no place” for a baby. 5 Britain is not the only country to reconsider conventions in recent years, as many people contend with how the institutions that make decisions affecting 0 – 1 LAWMAKER; s.w.u. legislator “"ledZIsleIt´‘ Abge ordnete(r) — review Überarbeitung — authority “O…"TÅr´ti‘ Behörde — to prompt veranlassen — to reprimand “"reprImA…nd‘ rügen — to call for fordern — regulation Vorschrift — sling Tragetuch 2 – 3 procedure committee “pr´"si…dZ´‘ Verfahrensausschuss — long-standing langjährig — to remain in effect in Kraft bleiben — to observe beobachten; h.: folgen — to initiate “I"nISieIt‘ anstoßen — to intervene in eingreifen; s. beteiligen an — proceedings Verfahren; Geschehen — ban Verbot — parenting “"pe´r´ntIN‘ Kindererziehung — to put s.o. off s.th. jdm. etw. verleiden — antiquated “"œntIkweItId‘ altmodisch; veraltet 4 – 5 outcry “"aUtkraI‘ Protest — infant “"Inf´nt‘ Säugling — to distract ablenken — legislature “"ledZIsl´tSU´‘ Parlament — to reconsider “Æri…k´n"sId´‘ überdenken — to contend with darüber diskutieren — to ensue “In"sju…‘ folgen Stella Creasy speaking to Parliament in 2021, while carrying her baby in a sling. | Photo: Picture Alliance/empic families can be friendly to them and welcoming to mothers in the world of politics, long dominated by men. Similar questions ensued after a Danish lawmaker was told her baby daughter was “not welcome” in the chambers in 2019 and when a German lawmaker was thrown out of a state parliament for bringing along her sixweek-old son in 2018. 6 New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern – the second elected world leader to give birth while in office, after Pakistan’s Benazir Bhutto in 1990 – drew attention when she brought her baby daughter to the U.N. General Assembly in 2018. Also in 2018, [Democratic] Sen. Tammy Duckworth cast a vote while holding her ten-day-old baby, the first time an infant was allowed on the floor. The Senate had just passed a rule allowing children under the age of one on the floor. … 7 Thursday’s report in Britain said lawmakers had on “several occasions” brought babies into debates “without disruption” since 2018, but that this “contributed to some confusion and a gap between the House’s practice and the guidance.” It said chairs had some discretion that “should be exercised sparingly.” The report acknowledged the rules had not been fully clear, noting “a lack of awareness of the guidance.” 8 Creasy voiced disappointment with the review. She has lobbied for more adequate maternity coverage for members of Parliament to encourage women into policymaking. The House of Commons has a record 225 female MPs, making up about 35% of its lawmakers. 9 While members of Parliament who give birth can get a proxy vote for six months and some additional funding, critics say this is insufficient for them to represent the interest of their constituents. “Change will only come when we start listening to those outside the status quo,” Creasy said. © 2022 The Washington Post zusatzmaterial Unterrichtsvorbereitung fertig zum Download! — chambers “"tSeImb´z‘ Sitzungssaal — state parliament h.: Landtag 6 in office im Amt — General Assembly Generalversammlung — to cast a vote seine Stimme abgeben — on the floor im Plenarsaal — to pass a rule e-e Regelung verabschieden 7 disruption Störung — guidance “"gaId´ns‘ Richtlinien — chair Vorsitzende(r) — to have discretion Ermessensspielraum haben — sparingly sparsam — to acknowledge “´k"nÅlIdZ‘ einräumen — awareness “´"we´n´s‘ Bewusstsein 8 – 9 to voice äußern — to lobby for werben für — maternity coverage “m´"t‰…n´ti "køv´rIdZ‘ Versicherung für Mutterschutz und Elternzeit — policymaking Politik — proxy vote Abstimmung durch Stellvertreter(in) — insufficient “ÆIns´"fIS´nt‘ unzureichend — constituents “k´n"stItSu´nts‘ Wählerschaft A view of the Elizabeth Tower on May 31, 2022. | Photo: Mary Turner/The New York Times Big Ben’s bongs will soon ring out again across London LONDON By Stephen Castle 1 FOR FIVEyears, the most famous clock tower in Britain was hidden behind an ugly fortress of scaffolding, and its hourly bong was rendered mute. But the restoration work is done, and this summer, a sound familiar to Londoners for more than 1.5 centuries will again ring out across the British capital – Big Ben is back. 2 The clock tower – officially known as the Elizabeth Tower since 2012 when it was renamed in honor of the queen’s diamond jubilee – stands tall over the Palace of Westminster, which houses the British Parliament and is one of the world’s most instantly recognized constructions. But it is the nickname of the biggest bell in the belfry that draws the most name recognition: Big Ben. 3 During the past five years, the clock, which has four dials, was dismantled and serviced for the first time since it started ticking in 1859. More than 3,500 parts were removed from the 316-foot tower, including much of its iron roof. 4 “At the end of the day, you could say it is just a series of concentric stone shafts with a bloody great clock on top,” said Adam Watrobski, chief architect of the tower’s restoration, which cost 80 million pounds. “But it’s the symbolism, the size of the great clock of Westminster, that gives it its importance.” Indeed, when Parliament is in session, there is a special illumination above the dials, which Watrobski said represented “the light of freedom and democracy.” Big Ben, he added, had come to symbolize “the sound of freedom and hope,” particularly during World War II. 5 Inside the tower, morning light shone through the four restored clock faces – perched high above the Houses of Parliament – each with 324 pieces of pot opal glass produced in Germany. Newly refurbished golden orbs that decorate the tower’s stonework glinted in the sun. The restoration work has gone a long way to modernizing the Elizabeth Tower, which will reopen this year to tourists. But the improvements will benefit visitors and maintenance staff alike. … © 2022 The New York Times Company This article originally appeared in The New York Times. 0 – 2 CLOCK TOWERUhr- und Glockenturm — fortress “"fO…tr´s‘ Festung — scaffolding “"skœf´ldIN‘ Gerüst — to render mute verstummen lassen — restoration work Restaurierungsarbeiten; s.w.u. to restore restaurieren — to rename umbenennen — diamond jubilee “"dZu…bIli…‘ 60-jähriges Thronjubiläum — construction Bau — belfry “"belfri‘ Glockenturm — name recognition “Ærek´g"nIS´n‘ Bekanntheitsgrad 3 – 4 dial; s.w.u. clock face Zifferblatt — to dismantle demontieren — to service warten — 316 feet ca. 96,3 m — concentric konzentrisch — shaft Schacht; Säule — bloody (coll) verdammt — to be in session tagen — illumination “IÆlu…mI"neIS´n‘ Beleuchtung 5 to perch (fig) thronen — pot opal glass “"´Up´l‘ getrübtes Opalglas — to refurbish “Æri…"f‰…bIS‘ renovieren — orb Kugel — stonework Mauerwerk — to glint funkeln — maintenance staff “"meInt´n´ns‘ Wartungspersonal

World and Press | September 2 2022 Britain 7 The United Kingdom is broken. It’s time for a new British federation A supporter of Scottish independence holds a flag during a protest march in May 2022. | Photo: Picture Alliance/empics DEVOLUTION Celtic grievances have erupted once more and can no longer be waved away by Whitehall. By Simon Jenkins comment 1 THE LEGENDARY Welsh rugby star Phil Bennett, who died last month, would rouse his team against England, calling them “bastards … taking our coal, our water, our steel … They exploited, raped, controlled, and punished us – that’s who you are playing.” It was fighting talk, only half in jest. It was Celts against the English. 2 In British history and politics, the Celts have grievances that wax and wane, but they never heal. They have erupted once more over Brexit and Ireland and in a revived demand for Scottish independence, a process Boris Johnson and latterly Keir Starmer have vowed to resist. The result of this relentless nagging pressure has been to make the boundaries of the United Kingdom among the most unstable in Europe. 3 That a once-imperial nation on a small archipelago in the Atlantic cannot hold its domestic union in place is astonishing. Partly underlying its disunity is a notional split of the population into “Celts” and “Anglo-Saxons”, based on a fanciful conquest of one by the other supposedly in the fifth century. Modern genetics has shown the divide to be meaningless, yet it is embedded in the politics of the so-called Celtic fringe – or at least in England’s reaction to it. 4 Traditional histories maintained that some time in the late Bronze or Iron Ages a group of European tribes called Celts invaded and overwhelmed the ancient Britons, spreading their disparate but related languages over the entire population. They survived the Roman occupation intact, but tradition again holds that, on the Roman retreat, they were overwhelmed in turn by invading Saxons. These invaders reputedly drove the Celts westwards and created an English empire of the British Isles. No trace of the preceding Celtic remained in its language. 5 The details of both these invasions have long been challenged by scholars. In the 1960s, the historian JRR Tolkien dismissed the Celtic Age as a “fabulous twilight … a magic bag”. The archaeologist Grahame Clark protested against “invasion neurosis”, the idea that all social change required a conquest. Since the 1990s, DNA archaeology has indicated that the diverse peoples of the British Isles were many and various, their settlement dating back to the Stone Age. As the prehistorian Barry Cunliffe has argued, today’s Celtic speakers probably migrated up the Atlantic littoral from Iberia long before anyone knew of Celts. 6 This might be of no account were it not for the manner in which the eastern Britons asserted supremacy over their western neighbours and maintained it ever since. From the Normans onwards, the rulers of the half of the British Isles called England created one of the most centralised states in Europe. Medieval wars against the Welsh and Scots and later conflicts with the Irish duly bred a passionate western and northern aversion towards the English. In the 19th century, this was reciprocated by an English invention of a “Celtic” stereotype. Matthew Arnold dismissed Celts as “romantic and sentimental … lacking the temperament to form a political entity”, so unlike the “disciplined and steadily obedient” Anglo- Saxons. 7 It is significant that this collective abuse of the Welsh, Scottish, and Irish never met a collective response. There was no Celtic solidarity, never one nation, language, or culture, let alone a military or political alliance. To the English, these peoples should see themselves as what amounted to English counties, like Yorkshire or Kent, to be assimilated into a “great British” union. Wales was forced to join in 1536, Scotland in 1707, and Ireland in 1801. 8 Wales came into union peacefully, Scotland grudgingly, and Ireland never. Irish rebellions followed one after another until it won its independence in 1922. Thereafter, a rump United Kingdom did cohere. It was sustained by a Tory unionist obsession and by a Labour Party that saw it as embodying Aneurin Bevan’s “unity of the British working class”. … 9 This makes the more extraordinary what happened at the end of the 20th century. Infuriated by Thatcher’s centralism, in 1989, a majority of Scottish MPs demanded the return of a Scottish Parliament. Seizing the moment, Labour’s Tony Blair would later deliver a modest devolution to new Scottish and Welsh assemblies. These assemblies sparked a sudden outbreak of regional identity politics. Nationalism surged back to life. In Scotland, the Tory Party all but vanished. 10 In 2007, Scottish nationalists took power in Edinburgh and have never lost it. Though the popularity of independence among the Scots has risen and fallen, voters under the age of 50 are overwhelmingly in favour. The odds at present are on Scottish independence one day. Meanwhile in Northern Ireland, Brexit chaos has fuelled an expectation of a vote for reunion with the south in the future. Even in Wales, the nationalist Plaid Cymru has acquired new vigour, with support for an “independent” Wales at between a quarter and a third of voters. 11 The response of England to this burst of dissent has been inert. … Boris Johnson really could not care less. The prime minister has called devolution in Scotland “a disaster”. After Brexit, he insisted that all EU powers and subsidies be repatriated not to the devolved governments but to London. On trade, he appeases the wildest Northern Ireland unionism. A mere one in five of voters in England now profess to care if Scotland goes independent, yet Johnson fights to retain this first English empire with all the fervour of Edward I. 12 If I were Northern Irish, I would vote to rejoin the prospering south. If I were Scottish, I would wonder why I was once richer than Ireland and Denmark but am now poorer, and would opt for independence, whatever the pain. Yet I am neither of these things. I believe that a federated United Kingdom of England, Scotland, and Wales benefits greatly from its diversity. 13 Lumping Celts together as one people and one problem that can be swept under a unionist carpet is demeaning to the ambitions of Irish, Scots, and Welsh. It will not silence them. It will not help the search for what is now critical, a bespoke autonomy for each nation in a new British federation. © 2022 Guardian News and Media Ltd 0 – 1 FEDERATIONStaatenbund — devolution Dezentralisierung — grievances “"gri…v´nsIz‘ Unmut; Groll — to erupt hervorbrechen; s. entladen — to wave away zurückweisen — Whitehall (fig) brit. Regierung — to rouse “raUz‘ aufrütteln; anfeuern — fighting talk Kampfparolen — in jest im Scherz 2 to wax and wane zu- und abnehmen — latterly letzthin — to vow “vaU‘ geloben — to resist s. widersetzen — relentless unerbittlich — nagging quälend — boundary “"baund´ri‘ Grenze 3 archipelago “ÆA…kI"pel´g´U‘ Archipel — underlying zugrunde liegend — disunity “dI"sju…n´ti‘ Zerrissenheit — fanciful fantastisch — conquest Eroberung — supposedly; s.w.u. reputedly angeblich — divide Unterscheidung — Celtic fringe keltische Randzone 4 to maintain; s.w.u. to hold behaupten — Iron Age Eisenzeit — to overwhelm überwältigen — disparate “"dIsp´r´t‘ grundverschieden — occupation Besatzung — on the retreat auf dem Rückzug — invaders Invasoren — preceding vorig 5 scholar “"skÅl´‘ Wissenschaftler(in) — to dismiss s.th. as … etw. als … abtun — twilight Dämmerung — to indicate darauf hindeuten — settlement Ansiedlung — prehistorian “Æpri… hI"stO…ri´n‘ Vorgeschichtler(in) — littoral “"lIt´r´l‘ Küste 6 of no account ohne Bedeutung — to assert supremacy “´"s‰…t; su…"prem´si‘ die Vorherrschaft geltend machen — ruler Herrscher(in) — medieval “Æmed"i…v´l‘ des Mittelalters — duly prompt — to reciprocate “rI"sIpr´keIt‘ erwidern — entity Einheit — obedient “´"bi…di´nt‘ gehorsam 7 – 8 abuse Beleidigung — let alone ganz zu schweigen von — to amount to s.th. etw. gleichkommen — to assimilate “´"sImIleIt‘ integrieren — grudgingly “"grødZINli‘ widerwillig — thereafter danach — rump Rumpf- — to cohere “k´U"hI´‘ e-e Einheit bilden — to sustain aufrechterhalten — to embody verkörpern 9 – 10 infuriated “In"fjU´rIeItId‘ wütend — assembly Parlament — identity politics Identitätspolitik — to surge back to life “s‰…dZ‘ wieder aufleben — overwhelmingly mit überwältigender Mehrheit — to fuel anheizen — reunion Wiedervereinigung — Plaid Cymru “ÆplaId "kømri‘ — vigour “"vIg´‘ Kraft 11 burst of dissent Ausbruch an Widerspruchsgeist — inert “I"n‰…t‘ träge; untätig — He could not care less. Es schert ihn nicht im Geringsten. — powers Befugnisse — subsidies “"søbsIdiz‘ Subventionen — to repatriate “Æri…"pœtrieIt‘ zurückkehren — to appease beschwichtigen — unionism Eintreten für e-e enge Bindung Nordirlands an GB — to profess “-"-‘ beteuern — to retain erhalten — fervour “"f‰…v´‘ Eifer 12 – 13 prospering florierend — to opt for s.th. s. für etw. entscheiden — federated als Staatenbund — to lump together (fig) in e-n Topf werfen — demeaning erniedrigend — bespoke maßgeschneidert

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