A Teddy Bear Called ...............

[steeljack]

Originally Posted by Eric

I may be wandering into something completely off topic, but just how difficult (or easy, if you want to look at it that way) to get into England? Is it as "open door" as a lot of comments in various threads seem to suggest?

Last time I went back (to the UK) I got stopped at immigration by a guy in a turban wanting to know the reason for my visit , I explained I had come to bury my Father , so he stamped my passport 'good for three months only/ no work ' , a bit surprising really, considering I had been born and raised in the country . So I suppose even if you are born there you have no automatic right of abode there .

[Eric]

Originally Posted by BERNADETTE

To damn easy as far as I'm concerned, we have people coming from all over.

I was just wondering because the Canadian govt. requires that those wanting Landed Immigrant Status have to score a certain number of "points." There is a long and complex questionaire, and one has to pass in order to be considered for this first step in aquiring citizenship. A couple of years ago ... I can't exactly remember when ... the test was given to a bunch of Canadian citizens, most of whom failed the test and would not be Canadians if they had not been born here La Belle Province is even tougher on those wanting to settle in Quebec.

[BERNADETTE]

Originally Posted by Eric

I was just wondering because the Canadian govt. requires that those wanting Landed Immigrant Status have to score a certain number of "points." There is a long and complex questionaire, and one has to pass in order to be considered for this first step in aquiring citizenship. A couple of years ago ... I can't exactly remember when ... the test was given to a bunch of Canadian citizens, most of whom failed the test and would not be Canadians if they had not been born here La Belle Province is even tougher on those wanting to settle in Quebec.

Would stick my neck on the line and say the vetting for UK Residency is a joke compared to other countries. Come on how many countries put notices up in foreign places telling people what benefits they will be entitled to if they come to live here? It is well known this is what they did in Poland telling them they could claim child benefit for children not even resident in the UK Before people start telling me they are only taking jobs that British people won't do they are not. They are taking the low paid jobs and are prepared to work for less than the minimum wage. Also they are working longer hours against H&S advice!!! I do wonder if they can claim family credit as well. The reason I wonder that is my sister who works at Hollands said they had two Poles working there who regularly did overtime. The other week they said they just want normal hours. My suspicious mind then thinks are they due for a revue of their benefits for which they need six weeks proof of pay? If the way benefits are calculated hasn't changed once you are awarded said money they can't change it for a certain length of time. As soon as benefits are awarded you can then go back on overtime. Another thing is if their families are not living here money is being lost from the economy because very little of what they earn is spent here.
I don't blame the people for coming here I blame our goverment for allowing it to happen and causing feelings of resentment to fester because what few jobs there were are being taken by immigrants!!!

[Margaret Pilkington]

This country is easy to get into, but the government are looking at ways to make it impossible for us to leave. (a propos the 53 questions we will have to answer if we want to get on a train, a ship or a plane leaving these shores)

[bullydia]

I,m not up to speed on this thread.I don't think i am a racist either but the treatment this woman has got is disgraesfull.Bollox to this,tell sudan to let her go or we will make their country a nuclear waste ground.Stop all aid.Tell OXFAM to pull out and led sudan get on with every drought it gets from now on!

[Donal]

We must remember that when people go to other countries to work they must respect the religion and culture of the people to whom they are going, i worked in Sudan for over three years and we were told what we could and could not do, respecting religion was one of them, i only wish we christians were as committed to our religion as Muslims are to theirs, you only have to go to any church on Sunday to say twenty or thirty people there, same isnt it wih Christmas everyone is running around getting presents and booze and food without ever remembering anything about what they are celebrating so we cant call other countries, to them their religion is the very essence of their lives, since the so called war on terror muslims have been branded as terrorists which is unfair, then this teacher goes to a muslim country and calls and lets young chidren call a teddybear Mohammed? come on folks its not on and it is an insult maybe she should not be in prison but deported at once. Its not the Uk where christians have had to put up with their faith being marginised and treated with contempt by our own people, muslims revere Christ as a prophet and would feel just the same when they hear his name being taken and used and abused by many

[MargaretR]

What has struck me about this whole affair is-
How can a woman in her 50s, from Liverpool, be so naive

[lancsdave]

Originally Posted by Donal

We must remember that when people go to other countries to work they must respect the religion and culture of the people to whom they are going,

I will refer back to post #80

[Neil]

Here is a bit I agree with from the newspaper.

Well I'am sorry, I refuse to respect or tolerate a religion whose followers take to the streets demanding the death of an innocent primary school teacher simply because she decided to call a teddy Mohammed.
And I'm praying Britain's Muslims can't either.
Because if ever a case highlighed the hideous manipulation of a religion and the stupidity of some of its followers it has to be the case of Gillian Gibbons......

If you want to read the rest you will have to buy the paper 'cus I am not typing it all in

[West Ender]

I would estimate that 90% of the people rioting in Khartoum haven't really got a clue what it's all about. They've been told a Western woman insulted the Prophet by naming a "savage" beast (they don't know what a teddy bear is) after him. They've also been told that they mustn't tolerate it because they are good Muslims.

Why aren't we seeing protest marches outside the Sudanese Embassy? Why do we put up with every outrage that comes our way? Why the hell are we giving £millions in aid to a vicious, corrupt state like Sudan that indoctrinates its citizens with hate for the West?

[WillowTheWhisp]

She didn't choose to call the bear Mohammed. She asked the children what they wanted to call it. Several names were suggested. One boy in the class, whose name is Mohammed wanted to call it after himself. She let the children vote and choose from the suggested names. 20 of the 23 children, including MUSLIM children brought up by MUSLIM parents voted for the name Mohammed. Obviously their parents hadn't taught them that it was an insult to Islam and they are not visitors to the country. They are the indiginous inhabitants. Even flippin Muslims here have said it isn't an insult, even a hardline Muslim spokesman said to name a thing of endearment such as a teddy bear after the prophet is not an insult.

Yet people who come to this country can insult us all they like and if we complain we are criticised.

[Margaret Pilkington]

Originally Posted by Donal

We must remember that when people go to other countries to work they must respect the religion and culture of the people to whom they are going, i worked in Sudan for over three years and we were told what we could and could not do, respecting religion was one of them, i only wish we christians were as committed to our religion as Muslims are to theirs, you only have to go to any church on Sunday to say twenty or thirty people there, same isnt it wih Christmas everyone is running around getting presents and booze and food without ever remembering anything about what they are celebrating so we cant call other countries, to them their religion is the very essence of their lives, since the so called war on terror muslims have been branded as terrorists which is unfair, then this teacher goes to a muslim country and calls and lets young chidren call a teddybear Mohammed? come on folks its not on and it is an insult maybe she should not be in prison but deported at once. Its not the Uk where christians have had to put up with their faith being marginised and treated with contempt by our own people, muslims revere Christ as a prophet and would feel just the same when they hear his name being taken and used and abused by many

You are entitled to your opinion, but I think it is wrong to suggest that the Muslims in question are right to want a firmer punishment of this woman.
Just because we don't all wear religion like a badge doesn't mean that we don't live christian lives. I am not aware that you need to be in a church to pray.....and can it be acceptable for any religion to call for the life of a person for such a thing.
Muslims in this country believe that the treatment being meted out to this woman is wrong. These people have taken almost 3 months to be offended by the action of this woman....and it was the children who named the bear....these are muslim children, so surely if the teacher was unaware of the fact that this was wrong, surely the children, who are indoctrinated in this faith from birth would know that it was wrong.

[Margaret Pilkington]

Sorry Willow, you got there before me.

[Margaret Pilkington]

Abu Hamza was allowed to preach all kinds of insults outside the Finsbury Park mosque without any harm coming to him........Donal, perhaps we should rise up against him and ask that he be shot too. But no, in this country we tolerate all shades of opinion - religious and otherwise......tolerance, isn't that a christian principle?

[bullydia]

we used to hang draw and quarter people maybe we should bring it back for people like abu hamza