Well here we are in February 2008, 4 months after I started this thread. Many intelligent people in the UK who I expected to comment haven't. Many others have but usually from abroad. There have been no discussions, no contra views, no animosity only agreement and disappointment.
So where does that leave this blog? Still important? I think so. Still topical,? Probably even more so. Still useful? Probably not but at least it is worth trying!
I mentioned that recession seemed to be coming in the first blog. Well now it is here and we are feeling it even in Spain. We are also seeing many more dreams of escape from Northern Europe (Yes it is not just the UK which is in trouble) being dealt bitter blows. I develop websites for many things out here and I am seeing a significant reduction in house sales on estate agents sites but a considerable rise in park home sales on their websites.
I am seeing dreams being shattered for those who have moved out here to start businesses with a massive downturn in trade to bars and restaurants. There are exceptions where the owners are good and experienced business people not just people who wanted to get out of the UK and thought running a bar would be easy! I am seeing disappointment and worry from people who came out here thinking it would be easy to rent property or run a guest house. It isn't and the market is shrinking. Again the ones who are surviving are the ones who work hard at it!
I mentioned that I develop websites, my own, www.myvicinity.co.uk is unique in that it only accepts recommended businesses to advertise which means it is small but trusted. It is also bluntly elitist, if a business isn't up to scratch it won't get on! Up until now we have had no problem getting businesses recommended to us but, as the crunch comes, standards seem to be slipping and the number of recommendations is dropping. We won't lower the standards because there is no point and it would be unfair to the businesses who have qualified to get on and stay on.
Where is all this leading? We are seeing the effects of this recession, we are seeing local authorities in the UK limiting rubbish collections to fortnightly, libraries being closed, swimming pools operating for shorter hours. We are seeing authorities like London putting extra charges on lorries for 'pollution'. A good excuse but I am sure the revenue will come in handy somewhere!
We are seeing taxes rise.....almost every day. An exaggeration? No it isn't! Take fuel as an example VAT is charged on the pump price at 17.5%, fuel duty is fixed at 47.1 per litre. If the pump price goes up by £0.02 per litre and say (for simplicity sake) one million litres (probably it is a lot more than this) are used a day the chancellor has made yet another £3500 per day in taxes. Let's face it, fuel doesn't often go down!
The government really isn't greedy it just needs more money all the time to support the infrastructure and there is only one place it can get it. I said they were not greedy I didn't say they were competent! The trouble is that it is getting harder and harder to get and the individual taxpayer burden is growing. If you want to really start worrying take a look at GDP, National debt, International debt, Imports v Exports and what is happening in the USA!
I started all this by moaning at the silent majority and I still am. I spread the word of this blog with an email. If you get the email please don't just sit there saying 'yeh I agree with that', DO SOMETHING even if it just posting a comment here. The more people that reply the more exposure, so more people read it, think about it and hopefully reply.
There is a real 'stitch up of an election coming. The current government probably won't be re-elected, interestingly that is also probably true of Spain. The choices in the UK are less than attractive and whoever gets elected is going to pick up a horrible mess for which, unjustly, they will take the blame. If the Silent Majority can become the talkative majority all the parties will have to think VERY carefully about what they offering and what they are going to do.
There is a chance take it! I really don't care if you think I am wrong, I don't care if you agree with me, I don't care if you argue with me, what I do care about is getting a reaction.
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10 comments:
I agree with what you say,& feel sorry that the situation has reached
us here in Spain, but not to such a degree. At least we can walk out in the evgs. without being afraid which means an awful lot.
The crime situation in the UK is horrendous,the NHS.a shambles, the
Govt. in my opinion should pay decent
wages to important people such as Police & Medical staff,plus immigration is out of control.
Well Richard.. I would not be alone in agreeing with your views.. funnily enough I would imagine75% or more of your readers have similar gripes to yours, but it doesnt matter how much effort you or the Silent Minority put in, I am afraid there is also a Silent Majority. Not only that, there is also the minority who ARE heard, and as usual they are the ones who seem to get their way one way or another. In an ideal democratic world, (isnt that what we have already?) the majority voice their opinion, and that is what comes to pass. But how on earth can the silent masses be heard when most of them earn a wage, not a fortune. And when they know that a whopping 10,000 signature petition will not be enough to even get the ONLY public toilet in the local town maintained for another year. (To actually get the doors open at all would be a miracle!) and I am certainly not a racist or even against the free movement of people between countries, but with some of the horror stories we are fed by the media are to be believed, millions... BILLIONS of our hard earned taxes are being given to the likes of immigrants who seem to re-locate with no money at all, are given benefits to send back home, and then proceed to milk the NHS for all they are worth. Even worse, we give then 3000 quid to go back home!!!!! We are a nation of do gooders, soft touch idiots and suckers! We can not join forces and win, we cannot hope to advertise on the TV, and even with the knowledge that in the unlikely event everyone who agrees with a common aim would respond, it would still get us nowhere. You cannot buck the system. There is no answer. We CAN occasionally change something small, but anything meaningfull..... FORGET IT!
I heartily agree with what has been said here, I no longer live in the UK, I escaped whilst I could, but feel frustrated that seemingly nothing can or will be done about the current situation - did I hear recently that many schools will also be closed? Not only is it a sin that our children cannot, in some cases, read or write, now they will be shoved into classes with too many children per teacher again. I am absolutely certain that due to do-gooders, hooliganism & crime will only get worse - we didn't come to much harm being sent to the head if we misbehaved, whatsmore you were punished when you got home as well!! Dare I say, bring back the birch!!
Well of course you will get little response because so many people living here agree with your observations. You could correspond with the Mail or Guardian but not the Telegraph. They cover items like that every day but not all in one text.
Of course we are the silent majority because we have no vote. I am still on the electoral role of Hampshire but unless I renew it every year on a form that they do not send me I am excluded from voting and after 5 yrs it is automatically cancelled so unless one has people of influence we are automatically put out of circulation.
Frances is trying to do his bit in Spain but will he get far I doubt it. The Spanish are more closed shop than the Brits. and we cannot vote here anyway and I am not changing nationality just to do so.
The bars have been going down for longer than the recent crashes in the banks and we have watched the canny Spaniards off loading their busineses on each other but they do not give up their ownership as they see it as their pension and anyway they avoid tax more than the Brits.
It really is worth making a comment on todays news from the UK because if the situation was not so farcical it would be tragic. Dustman (Sorry Refuse Disposal Engineers)in Hampshire have worked out that if the bins are going to be emptied only once per fortnight they are going to be heavier. They have suggested that householders should take their rubbish to the kerb or better still to a central disposal point (that's called the dump isn't it, could put yourselves out of work here boys). Good idea now why haven't other countries thought of this. Oh I have just thought, they have! Spain has a point about every 100 mtrs from property but they are emptied DAILY. Australia has large Wheely bins which they empty mechanically weekly!
Breweries and p'ups spring to mind!
Well Richard ,you wanted a response to your letter so here it is ,All the major countries within the EU have the same internal problems as the UK regarding Immigration crime over burdened health services(ask the spanish about that one) I have
lived here fourten years and have many friends of all nationalities and believe me they all have the same moans and groans.
Lets not forget immigration is no longer immigration as it was in the old days.Every EU citizen is free to live and work anywhere he or she wants,which is the main reason most of us are able to come here with the minimum of fuss set up house and push up house prices so that the locals cannot afford to live in the towns they were born in ,(sorry i am digressing)
Spain has problably as many immigrants as the UK.We are immigrants believe it or not
the vast majority of us dont even try to speak the language and as for integration ,you only have to look at the number of
2nd rate english bars and fish and chip shops to see which way we are going in that direction .
As for failed buisnesses most people rush over here with bulging wallets do no homework whatever, have no understanding of local rules and regulations and end up losing lots of hard earned money .There is one bar in my local town, Altea ,which has changed hands at least 15 times in 14 years and still is not making a living for its owner.
I think you will find that the bosses in England are loving the unlimited supply of cheap labor a lot of them employed through agencies which makes it easier to dump them when they are no longer needed .
You are right about one thing though ,Britain is, no longer the country we knew, and neither are any of the others,
One thing more. Most of the comments you have had on your blog are from people who still seem to believe that they are part of the UK rather than people who have immigrated to Spain I personnally think that we , (Brits Dutch Germans etc) have created colonies within spain which have caused as many problems here for the local people as have the immigrants you are complaining about at home in the UK ,albeit in a slightly different way .Regarding the health service ,I think you will find that the spanish healthservice is over burdened with immigrants just the same as the UK, difference being when a brit goes into hospital he does not consider himself a foriegner and usually complains if the staff cant speak english.
I dont understand your remarks about a stitch up of an election coming maybe you could explain it in more detail.
In summing up i think its about time we all realized that the UK isnt as we know it,and neither is any other country .
The big buisness corporations control just about everything that happens to us nowadays,with our politicians making minor changes now and then to make us think Democracy is still out there somewhere at work,cos after all ,this is what we have had pounded into our brains all of our lives .The fact that we can put a cross next to someones name on a bit of paper every five years and change the course of things i find quite ridiculous .More so every time we do it nowadays. I dont have any answer to all this ,my own philosophy is to get on with life as best you can ,help those you are able to .And try not to moan too much because life is too short .
Elections, by their very nature, tend to be 'stitch ups'. The election is called by the party that is in power. It is timed to when they may or may not have the best chance to win the election! This one is probably a case in point. If we accept the premise that a recession is here and that it is worldwide it is probably not a good time to be in the position where blame can be placed. It is therefore possible that a party in power, seeing real trouble looming over the horizon, may take the opportunity to 'cut and run' rather than take the flack! They will of course be blamed anyway but that is always expected and generally ignored.
We will see because the timing for this election is going to be very interesting indeed.
We are NOT the silent majority that you and others so easily off the cuff quote........We are the majority that allows the minority to stifle and SILENCE our views........ I would appreciate it if you would print the following on your Blog..............In its entirety, because as sure as Hell the Gutless British Press wont have the arsehole to do so.
Susan MacAllen is a contributing editor for Family Security Matters. Salute the Danish Flag - it's a Symbol of Western Freedom
In 1978-9 I was living and studying in Denmark. But in 1978 - even in Copenhagen, one didn't see Muslim immigrants.
The Danish population embraced visitors, celebrated the exotic, went out of its way to protect each of its citizens. It was proud of its new brand of socialist liberalism one in development since the conservatives had lost power in 1929 - a system where no worker had to struggle to survive, where one ultimately could count upon the state as in, perhaps, no other western nation at the time.
The rest of Europe saw the Scandinavians as free-thinking, progressive and infinitely generous in their welfare policies. Denmark boasted low
crime rates, devotion to the environment, a superior educational system and a history of humanitarianism.
Denmark was also most generous in its immigration policies - it
offered the best welcome in Europe to the new immigrant: generous
welfare payments from first arrival plus additional perks in
transportation, housing and education. It was determined to set a world example for inclusiveness and ulticulturalism.
How could it have predicted that one day in 2005 a series of political cartoons in a newspaper would spark violence that would leave dozens dead in the streets -all because its commitment to multiculturalism would come back to bite?
By the 1990's the growing urban Muslim population was obvious - and its unwillingness to integrate into Danish society was obvious.
Years of immigrants had settled into Muslim-exclusive enclaves. As the Muslim leadership became more vocal about what they considered the decadence of Denmark 's liberal way of life, the Danes - once so welcoming - began to feel slighted. Many Danes had begun to see Islam as incompatible with their long-standing values: belief in personal liberty and free speech, in equality for women, in tolerance for other ethnic groups, and a deep pride in Danish heritage and history.
The New York Post in 2002 ran an article by Daniel Pipes and Lars
Hedegaard, in which they forecasted accurately that the growing immigrant problem in Denmark would explode. In the article they reported:
"Muslim immigrants.constitute 5 percent of the population but consume upwards of 40 percent of the welfare spending."
"Muslims are only 4 percent of Denmark's 5.4 million people but make up a majority of the country's convicted rapists, an especially combustible issue given that practically all the female victims are non-Muslim. Similar, if lesser, disproportions are found in other crimes."
"Over time, as Muslim immigrants increase in numbers, they wish less to mix with the indigenous population. A recent survey finds that only 5 percent of young Muslim immigrants would readily marry a Dane." "Forced marriages - promising a newborn daughter in Denmark to a male cousin in the home country, then compelling her to marry him, sometimes on pain of death - are one problem"
"Muslim leaders openly declare their goal of introducing Islamic law once Denmark 's Muslim population grows large enough - a
not-that-remote prospect. If present trends persist, one sociologist estimates, every third inhabitant of Denmark in 40 years will be Muslim."
It is easy to understand why a growing number of Danes would feel that Muslim immigrants show little respect for Danish values and laws.
An example is the phenomenon common to other European countries and the U.S .: some Muslims in Denmark who opted to leave the Muslim faith have been murdered in the name of Islam, while others hide in fear for their lives. Jews are also threatened and harassed openly by Muslim leaders in Denmark , a country where once Christian citizens worked to
smuggle out nearly all of their 7,000 Jews by night to Sweden - before the Nazis could invade. I think of my Danish friend Elsa - who as a teenager had dreaded crossing the street to the bakery every morning under the eyes of occupying Nazi soldiers - and I wonder what she would say today.
In 2001, Denmark elected the most conservative government in some 70
years - one that had some decidedly non-generous ideas about liberal unfettered immigration. Today Denmark has the strictest immigration policies in Europe . ( Its effort to protect itself has been met with accusations of "racism" by liberal media across Europe - even as other
governments struggle to right the social problems wrought by years of too-lax immigration.)
If you wish to become Danish, you must attend three years of language classes. You must pass a test on Denmark 's history, culture, and a Danish language test. You must live in Denmark for 7 years before applying for citizenship. You must demonstrate an intent to work, and have a job waiting. If you wish to bring a spouse into Denmark , you must both be over 24 years of age, and you won't find it so easy anymore to move your friends and family to Denmark with you.
You will not be allowed to build a mosque in Copenhagen . Although
your children have a choice of some 30 Arabic culture and language schools in Denmark , they will be strongly encouraged to assimilate to Danish society in ways that past immigrants weren't.
In 2006, the Danish minister for employment, Claus Hjort Frederiksen,
spoke publicly of the burden of Muslim immigrants on the Danish
welfare system, and it was horrifying: the government's welfare committee had calculated that if immigration from Third World countries were blocked, 75 percent of the cuts needed to sustain the huge welfare system in coming decades would be unnecessary. In other words, the welfare system as it existed was being exploited by immigrants to the point of eventually bankrupting the government. "We
are simply forced to adopt a new policy on immigration.
The calculations of the welfare committee are terrifying and show how unsuccessful the integration of immigrants has been up to now," he said.
A large thorn in the side of Denmark 's imams is the Minister of Immigration and Integration, Rikke Hvilshoj. She makes no bones about the new policy toward immigration, "The number of foreigners coming to the country makes a difference," Hvilshøj says, "There is an inverse
correlation between how many come here and how well we can receive the foreigners that come." And on Muslim immigrants needing to demonstrate a willingness to blend in, "In my view, Denmark should be a country with room for different cultures and religions. Some values, however, are more important than others. We refuse to question democracy, equal
rights, and freedom of speech."
Hvilshoj has paid a price for her show of backbone. Perhaps to test
her resolve, the leading radical imam in Denmark , Ahmed Abdel Rahman Abu Laban, demanded that the government pay blood money to the family of a Muslim who was murdered in a suburb of Copenhagen , stating that the family's thirst for revenge could be thwarted for money. When
Hvilshoj dismissed his demand, he argued that in Muslim culture the
payment of retribution money was common, to which Hvilshoj replied
that what is done in a Muslim country is not necessarily what is done in Denmark. The Muslim reply came soon after: her house was torched while she, her husband and children slept. All managed to escape unharmed, but she and her family were moved to a secret location and she and other ministers were assigned bodyguards for the first time - in a country where such murderous violence was once so scarce.
Her government has slid to the right, and her borders have tightened. Many believe that what happens in the next decade will determine whether Denmark survives as a bastion of good living, humane thinking and social responsibility, or whether it becomes a nation at civil war
with supporters of Sharia law.
And meanwhile, Americans clamor for stricter immigration policies, and demand an end to state welfare programs that allow many immigrants to live on the public dole. As we in America look at the enclaves of Muslims amongst us, and see those who enter our shores too easily, dare live on our taxes, yet refuse to embrace our culture, respect our traditions, participate in our legal system, obey our laws, speak our language, appreciate our history. We would do well to look to Denmark , and say a prayer for her future and for our own.
Although I can see where Ian's comment stems from I am not sure that I agree with it in it's entirety. Targetting one group of immigrants doesn't seem to me to be the cause or the answer. It is the system that is wrong, the system that allows an immigrant of whatever race creed or colour to be housed, fed, medically supported and given financial support while those born in the country in some cases live on the streets, on the breadline or worse.
It is, I think, too easy to confuse a religous argument with a political one or with a practical one in terms of the way a society is run. Although I haven't seen the text of his speech it is possible that the Archbishop of Canterbury has fallen into this trap. I think on the surface that his argument (if he said it) is wrong but I would defend and support his right to say it. We should be able to say what we think. We should be able to provoke reasoned argument and discussion because it is from this that progress can be made.
I would not however support an attack on any particular group made simply on racist or religous grounds. I am racist, human racist and think that everybody should get a fair and reasonable deal and be able to live, prosper and grow in their own society safely. If only this could be true then most of the problems discussed in this blog would not be occuring.
"So Who is Barack Obama????????" email doing the rounds.
Have you seen the email detailing Barrack Obama as a 'secret Muslim' If you have, read on, if you haven't I suggest you go to http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/muslim.asp before carrying on with this comment.
This particular email is very clever! It ‘pretends’ to use snopes.com to validate it’s content but actually relies on the fact that the vast majority of people don’t check and take the statement at face value. With the current state of the world I don’t take anything at face value and a check immediately revealed that the claims made in the email are at best highly exaggerated but in the main simply false and malicious.
This is probably somebody attempting to smear a politician or at least damage their chances of election. I don’t know if the man would be a good president for America or the world. I don’t know if Hilary Clinton would be better or worse but I am sure that things like this don’t do anybody any good. The full text of the rebuttal by Snopes is available at
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/muslim.asp
I think the trend in many emails that are going round at the moment is getting quite disturbing in that they are promoting conflict and racism by actually doing what they are accusing others, particularly Muslims, of doing. We are heading down a very sticky road and if we don’t stop it trouble is just around the corner.
I urge everyone not to take these things at face value, check yourself on Snopes or even internet news sites such as the BBC, ITN, CNN or Sky. There are people out there intent on manipulating us, we need to be aware of it and be on our guard.
The whole purpose of this blog was to get the slient majority to gain a voice. To gain a voice also means to become more aware of what is going on. By being aware of what is going on in the world we become less susceptible to manipulation. I, as usual, look forward to reading the comments!
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