UK Forum News Politics & Current Affairs

Spanish Whining

Northumbrian — Fri, 18 May 2012 01:28:45 GMT

Apparently, the Spanish royal family are going to boycott our Queen's jubilee celebrations as a protest against our so-called "occupation" of Gibraltar.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-18098104

Good as far as I am concerned, as I don't particularly want any elephant-killers coming over here. The Spanish are clearly taking a leaf out of the book of their inbred South American colonialist cousins in denying the rights of a population to have self-determination. The hypocrisy of the Spanish position on Gibraltar can be summed up in two words - Ceuta and Melilla (or is that three words?).

Incidently, next year is the 300th anniversary of our rule in Gibraltar. Time perhaps to reward the Gibraltarian people for their loyalty with a high-level visit from the Queen herself? Stuff the Spanish who will complain about that. If they don't rescue their economy, they may have to sell us Menorca back to make ends meet! :D

Lions and Donkeys

Mack — Thu, 17 May 2012 19:43:11 GMT

Great news, from General Motors, today regarding continued production in this country. This along side the fact that we are now once more a noted producer of motor vehicles, with nearly all our production sites expanding, must give all of us some hope for the future.
But where oh where! are the British owners? You know the ones who like to put all the blame for Britains woes on the workers ? I ask this question, because all thats left of this industry, from the days when it was all British, are the workforce, the very people who were suposed to be unmanageable, lazy ,good for nothing. It would seem we have here as clear an example of, what was refered to ,by a German general as lions led by donkeys, as you could wish for. The problem being that we can,t rid ourselves of the donkeys.

Knife Crime

Jamie Bennett — Mon, 14 May 2012 10:42:23 GMT

This is an alarming issue that we need to do something about! There seems to be too many people standing by whilst many members of the public suffer! I'm not sure how strongly you feel about this issue but I know it worries me every time I step out the house and I want to do something about it! How does the whole situation make you feel?

Threatening Gay Marriage

eatmywords — Wed, 09 May 2012 07:34:01 GMT

The US have continued an assault on same-sex marriage with last night's passing of Amendment One by 61%. There is now a US legal definition of what a marriage constitutes, that of one man and one woman under God. In consequence of this vote it seems likely that other states will now follow and ban the marrying of same sex couples. The replacing of Richard Lugar by the Tea-Party and NRA supported Richard Mourdock is a clear indication which way the wind is blowing in the South.

It seems rather hypocritical that a Union that separated God from State over 60 years ago with the Scopes trial is now invoking their God to appease their own religious conscience: "Tami Fitzgerald, chairwoman of Votes for Marriage NC, the main group behind the amendment, said: "We are not anti-gay, we are pro-marriage. The whole point is you don't rewrite the nature of God's design for marriage based on the demands of a group of adults."" The main impetus for the passing of this amendment came from various sectors of the Republican Party, with republican observers, tea-party campaigners and religious radicals all overwhelming the State running of the election: "When asked whether the trouble was coming from the groups for or against Amendment 1, Sims said: "Put it this way: we had zero Democratic party observers." He added: "I've probably said more than I should."

The problem I see with gay marriage, or even just relationships, is that it is now nearly 50 years since legal gay rights were established in the UK, but I think this rejection of union between same sexes is a damning indication the public, in its majority, still rejects homosexuality in most of its forms. The US does seem to be taking steps to keep homosexuality off the streets, and the majority of North Carolinians seem to want it this way. If you think gay-rights in the US are in for an easy ride, then think again, "Chris Christie vetoed New Jersey's law and opponents in Maryland and Washington are threatening ballot initiatives to overturn those state's laws"

Do you think gay-marriage was forced upon the heterosexual, and this is merely the reaction when the majority have been marginalised? Do you think Britain will follow suit in banning civil-unions, or remain a sea of calm amid American radicalism?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012...t-1?intcmp=239
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012...ns-amendment-1

Rochdale sex abusers guilty

rmg3 — Tue, 08 May 2012 17:13:01 GMT

Nine men, who happen to be Pakistani, are found guilty of the sexual exploitation of young girls. The police deny it was racially motivated. A Pakistani leader thinks otherwise.

"Mohammed Shafiq, chief executive of of the Ramadhan Foundation accused Pakistani community elders of "burying their heads in the sand" on the issue of on-street grooming.

"There is a significant problem for the British Pakistani community," he said.

"There should be no silence in addressing the issue of race as this is central to the actions of these criminals.

"They think that white teenage girls are worthless and can be abused without a second thought; it is this sort of behaviour that is bringing shame on our community."

But Assistant Chief Constable Steve Heywood of Greater Manchester Police (GMP) denied that the ethnicity of either the defendants or the victims was a factor.

"It is not a racial issue," he said. "This is about adults preying on vulnerable young children."

The police seem to be playing down what Pakistani leaders acknowledge is a problem.

Drug Driving

regerme — Mon, 07 May 2012 19:20:23 GMT

Although a fine idea in principle the governments new idea to prosecute drug drivers will have little impact on this type of offender.
Austerity measures cutting front line policing means the �panopticon� method police rely on in the uk is less effective as people are getting to realise it is unlikely there is a police officer around the corner.
If you could tell a driver the consequence of their actions could prove catastrophic and as a result make our roads safer would you?
Regerme is the peer pressure solution to road safety particularly around our schools. Encouraging responsible people to post constructive comments or incriminating pictures on the site and timeline the actions of persistent inconsiderate, anti social or simply dangerous drivers. Although unable to be used for prosecution the site can be used for intelligence. Log on to regerme post a constructive comment or search your own reg. Somebody may be trying to tell you something

Time to ban this cruel practise

Northumbrian — Sat, 05 May 2012 07:15:00 GMT

Isn't it time that Britain, as a supposedly civilised country, bans the ritual slaughter of animals for religious purposes? One of our leading vets has just condemned this practise as unacceptable.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17966327

10% of sheep in Britain are killed in this manner, which suggests that halal meat is not only being used to feed Muslims. How many restaurants, takeaways or cafeteria's in public workplaces serve halal meat without labelling it as such, just to make things easier for themselves? I would hate to think I am eating meat from an animal which has been killed in such a barbaric manner.

This is a straightforward question. Which right is more important? The right of people to eat ritually slaughtered meat in accordance with their dark age religious beliefs, or the rights of animals to avoid suffering. To me the latter comes first a thousand times over. This is the sort of issue that could easily be put to a national referenda as everyone can understand the issues. Where are the left-wing campaigners who fought to ban fox-hunting I wonder?

Vote for 'None of the Above'

Will — Fri, 04 May 2012 12:14:46 GMT

I've long been an advocated of this idea. People who WANT to vote but who don't believe ANY of the main political parties represent their views, have no way of expressing this.

Adding 'None of the Above' to the ballot papers would change this. I can only imagine how much our political parties would be against this, which is why it should be done. They would be forced to tackle voter apathy as a serious issue. I just found an e-petition calling for this very thing.

https://submissions.epetitions.direc...petitions/1629

Pakistan's dirty little secret

Northumbrian — Wed, 02 May 2012 21:48:46 GMT

It would seem that prior to his death, Osama Bin Laden was able to travel relatively freely throughout Pakistan, lapping up the adoration of ordinary Pakistani's.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17907764

Does anyone actually believe that Bin Laden wasn't receiving assistance and protection from the highest echolons of Pakistani government? The fact that he had been living in a compound in a key garrison town is a bit like finding the head of the IRA living in Catterick.

I seem to remember Pakistan being presented by the US as an important ally in the War against the Taliban. In reality, Pakistan is as duplicitous and untrustworthy as it ever was. I don't care that Pakistan is part of the Commonwealth. We need to close our borders to Pakistani citizens.

P&Overty

eatmywords — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 07:17:12 GMT

P&O Staff working on their fleet of cruise ships are receiving a relative rate of 75p an hour. This practice is viable because P&O circumvent labour laws and minimum wages through the hiring of non-European labour. This slave wage is now to be compounded with the abolition of cash tipping in favour of an electronic method, which is automatically added to passengers’ bills. The system also permits the passenger to opt-out of tipping crew if they feel they have not received an expected level of service. In consequence of this P&O will also withhold payment of the annuity if feedback ratings and working targets are not met in any given cruise.

The CEO of Carnival UK, P&O’s management company, said “sadly, our customers were reluctant to pay the recommended level of tipping.” Whether this is due to a downturn in the economy for the rich, the rich not receiving an expected level of service, or for some other labour-related reason, is unclear. What is clear however is that P&O are more than content to find ways to further oppress their staff in a bid to cut costs yet while expecting to improve standards of efficiency: “a junior waiter on a ship sailing out of Southampton now earns a basic salary of �250 a month, for six shits lasting a minimum of 11 hours, seven days a week”. The additional bonus of tipping can drive the wage upwards of 50-60%, and considering many P&O staff hail from third-world countries, this increase in salary can mean a difference in subsistence we in the West cannot comprehend.

To combat this exploitation of labour tt may seem a simple case of staff uniting against unfair labour relations, but Dingle is clear on this point, “Our businesses have to remain competitive…. We have a manning office in Mumbai. There are queues out on to the street. It clearly is of value to these people.”

This may be the normal conditions for labour upon cruise ships, and indeed when I left my brief term in the early 1990s, British workers were already being phased out for eastern European labour; mainly due to their pricing themselves out of the labour market. However, how are staff to be motivated and enthusiastic in their work if pay-levels remain inconstant and mainly depreciatory? Recently there have been high-profile incidents that could be attributed to low morale and poor working standards. The Star Princess is under investigation over their sailing past a stricken fishing boat with three dying men, and the high-profile grounding of the Concordia with the loss of 32 lives. With regard the latter it is clear Captain Shettino did not have the moral or physical fibre to be making critical decisions in any capacity; as this call between the captain and the coast guard reveals.

I have been aware for some time that business is constantly seeking ways to drive down the working class wage. Appreciably P&O are merely shafting some poor Indian waiters today, but the "tipping model" could so easily be implanted into our service sector. Compounded with the Government’s flagship slave-labour scheme, the future could soon reveal the poorer-classes driven to motivation through monetary tips and bonuses from the employer, while picking up their wages from the dole office.

Skylon - worth investing in

Northumbrian — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 23:52:17 GMT

The UK government really needs to put money into this, and quickly.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17874276

A one-stage spaceplane that can fly from a normal runway straight to orbit. Imagine the possibilities. Flying to Australia in a couple of hours. Launching satellites cheaply. Ferrying space tourists to an orbiting hotel. According to ESA, the technology is sound and there is no reason why it shouldn't work. All it needs is investment. I would be more than happy for the government to take a few billion from the overseas aid budget and give it to these guys.

Space tourism is going to be the big thing of the next century. If we don't help these British engineers who are already ahead in the game, we will lose them to America. We have been here before. In the 1950's, Vickers came up with a prototype transatlantic jet airliner - the Vickers V-1000. All they needed was investment, but the British government refused to help. A few years later, a suspiciously similar aircraft - the Boeing 707 - appeared in America.

Pep Guardiola - The Right Thing To Do?

eatmywords — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 19:54:22 GMT

This bothers me because the man has brought so much success to the club in four years, it staggers me he would leave when they need him most. Was it just the team and he was a stock figure? Has some other team offered him a price he could not refuse?

I'm sure Barcalona would have allowed him to stay, for at least another season, but I was always told to leave when you are on a high, not a low. I just think we have a strange concept of success and commitment these days, that it must breed down to the young minds of Europe; especially in the football industry.

:wasntme-sign:

Nationwide Health records: Good idea or a data protection breach waiting to happen?

Mr Muckspreader — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 21:37:26 GMT

This is one idea I was supporting up until a day or two ago.

On the face of it, this is great scheme: Your health records are digitised so that any health professional in the NHS can access it. Could come in very handy if you are taken ill away from home. So far so good, until I heard of a GP practise manager that wanted her records to be opted out. The reason?
Your records can be accessed by many private health companies who could then use that data in many ways including to 'send you information regarding products you may be interested in'.

So, once again I hear the 'whup! whup!' of incoming black helicopters and am having second thoughts about allowing the 'presumed consent', (You have to fill in a form to opt-out of the scheme). It certainly makes you wonder when the governments, (Both Labour & Tory), have allowed greater and greater access for private health firms in the NHS.
Any comments from anyone out there?
Are there any NHS workers among our membership who could comment on this?

Mr Muck

The wrong way to deal with the BNP

Northumbrian — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 01:46:49 GMT

The three major party candidates for London mayor, plus the Green candidate, have all withdrawn from a BBC radio debate because the BNP candidate was also invited.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-17790972

Of course, once one had withdrawn, it was inevitable the others would have to do so as well. This is not the way we should do things in a democratic nation. We allow people to have their freedom of speech, and then if we don't agree with them we argue our point against them. We don't use censorship, and it should be noted that it wasn't the BBC who were practicising censorship this time. Arguing against the BNP is easy given the absurdity of their racist views. Let these people have all the airtime they want, and they will crucify themselves with it. Censoring them, or refusing to debate with them, plays straight into their hands. The BNP love to be portrayed as persecuted martyrs, denied their "democratic" rights to stand up for the "British" people.

According to Ken Livingstone, "The far right want to destroy our democracy and stand for the elimination of our basic rights. They cannot be treated as a legitimate part of politics". Well the same could be said about the far left and parties such as the Socialist Worker Party or Respect, whom doubtless Ken has some sympathy with. It might also be noted that these words seem rather hypocritical coming from a man who openly supports the socio-fascist regimes in Cuba and Venezuela. Perhaps Boris Johnstone and the others should be spitting out their dummies and refusing to share a platform with an extremist like Ken Livingstone?

Are we a nation or not?

Northumbrian — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 06:08:48 GMT

It is high time that the British people - and David Cameron in particular - decide whether we are a free and sovereign nation, able to take decisions in our own best interest, or whether we are subject to the inexplicable decisions of Brit-hating unaccountable foreign judges in Strasbourg. The European court in not part of the EU and there is no reason why we have to abide by its rulings. Most European countries see it as nothing more than an advisory body, to be ignored when it is convenient to, which is as it should be. We seem to regard it as the ultimate legal authority in our country, able to over-rule our judges and over-rule our own elected government. How is this acceptable 800 years after Magna Carta was signed? When were the British people given a referendum to decide whether we should give away this important piece of sovereignty over our country?

The case of Abu Qatadi is infuriating. We have jumped through every hoop imaginable to get this evil man removed from our country - something we should have been able to do on our own account without referring to these fools in Strasbourg. Now it seems Strasbourg is changing the date on the deadline it set itself for Qatada to make yet another last minute appeal to the European "star chamber". All the time the British taxpayer is footing the bill. David Cameron should stop agonising and grow some balls for once. He should make an executive decision and get Qatadi on a plane to Jordan tonight. If the lawyers want to whinge about deadlines, let them do that with Qatadi safely out of this country.

Please Mr Cameron, give us our country back.