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The unjustness of the libel laws and the way they are administered in England and Wales (I admit to not being sure if the issue extends to the rest of Britain or the UK) is such that a very popular petition is being starting to be taken seriously.
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I barely heard any opposition on BBC Radio 4's news bulletins when the Government's pointless and self-serving student visa "restrictions" were announced a few days ago, so it's good to see that Spiked has come up with the goods, as usual [despite not being paid for by a licence fee!]. The student visa bureaucracy, and indeed most of the current UK immigration procedure, is incompetent at best and malicious at worst, and helping no-one. The story quoted below is totally plausible:
One US student who started a Finance Masters at the London School of Economics in October 2009 almost lost her chance to do so when, although she had submitted all the necessary documentation in June 2009, she was informed in July that proof of sufficient funds now needed to be held in a bank account under her own name (rather than her parents’ account, as before). She did this, but was told in August that they were still expecting the rest of her documentation. So she flew to the regional processing centre, and only managed to resolve an absurd situation because she talked her way into the building to find the required documentation lying on a desk. Had she not, she would have had to restart the whole process and repay the application fee.
Basically, the latest rule changes will only harm genuine students; "bogus" immigrants and criminals will always find another way to get into the country. But as long as the Government gets good headlines, why should they care about how they're ruining the lives of powerless young foreigners? Apparently this report from the Manifesto Club covers this stuff in greater detail, but I can already predict with high levels of certainty that it was all eminently preventable.
Update: By a happy coincidence I found out that the Parliamentary Ombudsman (who is a woman) has very recently published a report about the UK Border Agency, who she does not describe as a bunch of incompetent nincompoops, but rather "have consistently generated a large number of complaints to the Ombudsman". She includes in her report case studies like the following (which I quote from the accompanying press release):
In the case of Mr P, a Jamaican man who was granted indefinite leave to remain in the UK in 1990, it took three and a half years for the Agency to provide` him with a No Time Limit (NTL) stamp confirming his right to stay in the UK for his new 2004 Jamaican passport.
During this time Mr P was threatened with deportation and missed the funerals of his father and sister and was unable to visit his ill mother as he was afraid he would not be allowed back into the country.
The Ombudsman upheld Mr P’s complaint. The Agency agreed to apologise unreservedly and he received fee refunds of £755 and £2,500 in compensation for the severe distress, inconvenience and embarrassment.
That is an extremely small amount of compensation for such a horrendous experience. Shouldn't this sort of behaviour be a criminal offence? The immigration system is indeed broken, but not in the way the politicians keep saying.
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嘣
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From the Jewish Chronicle:
Benny Morris talk cut by Cambridge Israel society
Cambridge University’s Israel Society has been slammed for bowing to pressure from Muslim students to cancel a speech by a top Israeli historian.
Prof Benny Morris had been due to speak on Thursday, but the event was cancelled after complaints from, among others, the university’s Islamic and Pakistan societies who claimed he was an “Islamophobic hate speaker”.
[...] the JC understands the cancellation may have been part of a pre-emptive strategy ahead of a planned visit by Daud Abdullah, Muslim Council of Britain deputy secretary.
He is due to speak on February 18 as part of Islam Week. Last year he signed the Istanbul Declaration which threatened violence against supporters of Israel and British troops. Cambridge’s Jewish students now plan to ask for his invitation to also be withdrawn.
Mr Witzenfeld said: “While Prof Morris’ contribution to history is highly respectable, his personal views are, regrettably, offensive to many.
“Ultimately, we place respect for those who have been offended above the importance of hosting this speaker.” [emphasis added]
Prof Morris said: “Basically, it is foolishness. But the cancellation has generated an invitation for me to speak at Cambridge’s Department of Political and International Studies, which will have a bigger audience.”
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The board of Cadbury's have agreed a takeover of their firm by Kraft. (You're not allowed to read it in Japan, apparently, so be very, very careful).
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An amusing titbit I received today from the American Statistical Association as a new member:
Originally called the American Statistical Society, the organization's name was changed at its first meeting
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The latest MPs' expenses have been revealed. Much juicier findings will be available elsewhere, but I just wanted to draw attention to a minor but telling detail I came across which goes some way to explaining why Parliament is held in such contempt by the public these days.
James Plaskitt is "my" MP. I have little complaint with his Additional Costs Allowance claims, as far as they go. I can't countenance paying for politicians' mortgages, but that's the system currently in place and is not what I want to discuss here. Here is the PDF document containing the scans of all of his latest claims. Take your time reading through it if you like; it's only recently we gained this right, after all, and it should be savoured. At length you will reach the last page. There are many redactions throughout this document, but given that the items are redacted, it is quite impossible to know whether those redactions are justified or not. However, on this last page is a letter to Mr. Plaskitt from an (anonymous) Assistant Validation Officer of the Department of Resources of the House of Commons, informing him that his broadband won't be paid for (even though telephone calls will be, for some unfathomable reason). At the top of this letter are Mr Plaskitt's contact details -- or, rather, part of them. The last few digits of his phone and fax numbers are hidden, as is the first part of his email address. The second part of his email address, however, is shown, and it is: @parliament.ukSo it's his parliamentary email address being kept private! Why would it be kept private?!? This is an especially stupid state of affairs because his email address can easily be found (as it should be), at the BBC, along with those phone and fax numbers. Here they are again, along with other information available from that site: Constituency: Party:
Labour
Date of birth:
23 June 1954
Office address:
Department for Work & Pensions, Richmond House, 79 Whitehall, London , SW1A 2NS
Office phone:
020 7219 6207
Office fax:
020 7219 4993
Office e-mail:
plaskittj@parliament.uk
Constituency address:
First Floor, 2A Leam Terrace, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, CV31 1BB
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