Australian attitude to immigration

[englishangel]

I totally agree with John on the female circumcision but not necessarily on the male.

[J.R.]

It seemed to be the 'norm' for most boys of my era, circa mid-1940's to cirumcised.

One gynie Jan and I were speaking too many years ago said the incidence rate of cervical cancer in women with un-circumcised partners was appreciably higher than with those of circumcised partners.

Then again, I suppose it's all a matter of taste. (No pun intended !!!!)

Still - As they say - There are statictics, statistics and then there are damn lies !

[englishangel]

I haven't actually read it but a friend of a friend of a friend is the Middle East adviser to the Archbish and was on holiday when the speech was made. His verdict! the speech was fine but he should never have done the interview afterwarfds to justify it.

[Katharine]

I haven't actually read it but a friend of a friend of a friend is the Middle East adviser to the Archbish and was on holiday when the speech was made. His verdict! the speech was fine but he should never have done the interview afterwarfds to justify it.

Agreed Mary - I do wonder about the advisers that Archbishops have -George Carey came to Sarawak when we were there. At the dinner hosted by the State Government the Archbishop spoke first and gave a very trite thank you for having me, then the (Muslim) Chief Minister gave a tour de force on the need for understanding and tolerance. I really felt that the Archbishop's minders had seriously let him down on that occasion.

[sejintenej]

Just noticed I hadn't been courteous to reply to this missive..

No probs, Alan. At least we don't seem to be diametrically opposed

I am afraid I am profoundly and unrepentantly anti drug. I do not share the current fashionable relativist view that they are one the same level as alcohol and tobacco.

I am also anti-drug though I have to admit I have never taken any of them. To be totally correct I do drink (in moderatio in my view) and I used to smoke. English law in this respect is an ass; the use of drugs is illegal and has been for generations. That includes tobacco (as a narcotic) and, I suspect, alcohol. OTOH the government is very happy to make money out of such drugs in exactly the same way is it makes money out of prostitution (isn't that "pimping" and illegal?)

I blame the "get rich quick instant satisfaction" culture as a whole for this, peoples minds are too valuable to be wasted on this stuff. They should develop intellects and imaginations not chemical dependencies.

I disagree on that; it is a tiny number who get rich at the expense of others. With the majority it is a case of following government policy thay they have a human right to happiness

[jhopgood]

Should we accept the Euro ?

A cross- section survey of 1000 residents of the UK made up of Afghans, Pakistanis,Indonesians, Poles, Serbs, Iraqis, Africans, Bosnians, Glaswegians, Geordies, Liverpudlians and Muslims from Bradford and Leeds were asked if they thought that Britain should change over to the Euro.

99% said NO as they are happy with the Giro.

p.s. None of the current 5.9 million illegal immigrants (awaiting processing) (conservative estimate) in the country were asked for their views in case it distorted the result?

[kerrensimmonds]

Ho Ho.
Did anyone see the Sunday Times article this week, about the mind boggling number of UK former residents who now live in luxury in Australia and who draw their Old Age Pension from the UK (because that is where they lived and worked and paid their stamps....). I wonder what happens re the other OAP benefits like Winter Fuel Allowance, etc. etc., for such people. And if there are so many in Australia, there must be three times that number in Southern Europe (not getting at you, John or David?!)

[jhopgood]

Ho Ho.
Did anyone see the Sunday Times article this week, about the mind boggling number of UK former residents who now live in luxury in Australia and who draw their Old Age Pension from the UK (because that is where they lived and worked and paid their stamps....). I wonder what happens re the other OAP benefits like Winter Fuel Allowance, etc. etc., for such people. And if there are so many in Australia, there must be three times that number in Southern Europe (not getting at you, John or David?!)

There are about 200,000 Brits in Spain well behind some other nations

1. Moroccans 648,735
2. Romanians 603,889
3. Ecuadorians 395,808
4. Colombians 254,301
5. British 198,638
(Feb 28/2008 figures, just counted them)
There are almost 4 million foreigners in Spain, not counting the Spanish.

Moroccans are not surprising as they come over in droves and work on construction sites, the Romanians are reputed to be the beggars, thieves and orange pickers, at least in the Valencia area, the Latin Americans seem to work in construction or in the service industry, your waitress/waiter is more likely to be Latin American than Spanish these days. Curiously, most OAP carers tend to be Latin American as well, you often see them pushing OAP's around in wheelchairs etc.

Most of the Brits I know are either working or drawing a Pension, some from the UK government. They also use the Spanish Social Security Hospitals and doctors. What they don't get is the fuel allowance etc, which relies on a UK address, I believe. Unfortunately for many, as the pound drops in value, so does their pension, making Spain less cheap than it used to be. But then the weather is good and the booze and food is cheap, so it still makes sense to be here.

[kerrensimmonds]

Hello John
How soon can I join you...?

[Katharine]

Hello John
How soon can I join you...?

Well ... you have a magic birthday very very soon!!!

[kerrensimmonds]

Magic? Are you speaking from experience, Katharine?
I have had one card (OK, yes it was from an Old Blue.....) showing two caricature bats hanging upside down. One is pondering the problems of growing old and deciding that incontinence is the greatest challenge ahead........well, incontinence would be a major problem if one were to be hanging upside down...
I hope that I survive tomorrow in one piece....
And yes this is definitely :mutley: :mutley:

[icomefromalanddownunder]

I have, several times, begun posts to this topic, and deleted them because I slid into the incoherent state that the mere mention of John Howard's name induces in me.

The first I heard of the supposed comments was when a fellow student received it, by email, from an American friend. None of us recall any such statement/speech being made or published in Oz.

No time to debate the issue at present, other than to say, as an immigrant myself, I have no wish to live like a true Australian.

What I would like to say is that, IMO, no country should want a leader like John Howard. A friend of mine summed his activities up by recalling that 'in hard times a country needs a strong leader. Sadly, strong leaders forget to listen to the people they are supposed to represent'.

Lunchtime. Off to light the barbie

xx

[icomefromalanddownunder]

I have, several times, begun posts to this topic, and deleted them because I slid into the incoherent state that the mere mention of John Howard's name induces in me.

The first I heard of the supposed comments was when a fellow student received it, by email, from an American friend. None of us recall any such statement/speech being made or published in Oz.

No time to debate the issue at present, other than to say, as an immigrant myself, I have no wish to live like a true Australian.

What I would like to say is that, IMO, no country needs a leader like John Howard. A friend of mine summed his activities up by recalling that 'in hard times a country needs a strong leader. Sadly, strong leaders forget to listen to the people they are supposed to represent'.

Lunchtime. Off to light the barbie

xx

[sejintenej]

There are almost 4 million foreigners in Spain, not counting the Spanish.

Bootiful