Brexit, for once some facts.

50Hertz

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jan 2, 2019
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It isn't always easy for older people, and especially difficult for Muslim women who often have limited contact with British people. I think it's sufficient that their young learn English, which they do with remarkable speed and are often the family translators.

All around me in London there's a mixture of many languages being spoken all the time and it doesn't worry me. What they are speaking about is none of my business anyway.
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That’s ok until they need to communicate with medical staff.

I think I mentioned an experience I had when I visited my elderly neighbour in hospital recently. There were people on the ward who didn’t speak English. As a direct result, the nurse was spending a disproportionate amount of time trying to figure out what these non English speaking people were on about. This is straining already strained resources at the expense of others. Very selfish.

I don’t care whether some medieval custom or spell cast by a man dressed as a goat prevents it, they should made to learn English. There should also be penalties for refusing or making inadequate progress.

I do agree with you, what the non English speakers are talking about isn’t my business.
 
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oldgroaner

Esteemed Pedelecer
Nov 15, 2015
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Nothing wrong at all with making them learn English. That’s a sensible position to adopt.
There are better ways of implementing such a policy than coming on a as a macho tough guy ,and alienating the immigrant population with a show of hostility and "You will obey"
Only a complete idiot would do that.
One did,
And of course it will appeal to the usual section of the population easily led by such obvious ploys, who want immigrants to know their place.
 

oldgroaner

Esteemed Pedelecer
Nov 15, 2015
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Yes - I do. Yes - it is not always trivial. But in this case, it isn't that they need to reconcile a whole database. A statistically-based sampling process would likely have highlighted some cases to look at further. And when they did, the issue should have been obvious.

I'll also point out that the Companies House database does not properly reconcile people. There are many entries which have the same real-world person under more than one name - very often changes of "middle" names and initials. It is a widespread issue. Hence, as I have already said, very well-known and easy to at least start to protect yourself against.

If they are happy to trust their members not to vote multiple times, they might as well have printed a ballot paper in, say, the Barclays' daily telegraph. Cut out and don't keep. In fact, by placing all the onus on the voters, and then relying on thorough post-vote checking, they might have caught out the disreputable members who would vote more than once.
Disreputable Conservatives? good heavens! surely not!
 
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oldgroaner

Esteemed Pedelecer
Nov 15, 2015
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That’s ok until they need to communicate with medical staff.

I think I mentioned an experience I had when I visited my elderly neighbour in hospital recently. There were people on the ward who didn’t speak English. As a direct result, the nurse was spending a disproportionate amount of time trying to figure out what these non English speaking people were on about. This is straining already strained resources at the expense of others. Very selfish.

I don’t care whether some medieval custom or spell cast by a man dressed as a goat prevents it, they should made to learn English. There should also be penalties for refusing or making inadequate progress.

I do agree with you, what the non English speakers are talking about isn’t my business.
And neither is their right to use their own language.
The English have a history with that on Gaelic for instance
Not impressed, not at all.
 
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flecc

Member
Oct 25, 2006
53,197
30,601
That’s ok until they need to communicate with medical staff.

I think I mentioned an experience I had when I visited my elderly neighbour in hospital recently. There were people on the ward who didn’t speak English. As a direct result, the nurse was spending a disproportionate amount of time trying to figure out what these non English speaking people were on about.
Maybe you still have mostly English staff in your hospitals.
Here that isn't so common and plenty of other languages are available. I've mostly seen the non-English speakers bringing someone with who can translate, usually a youngster or friend.

My Italian grandmother who came here in her 30s never did learn to speak English properly, developing a sort of pidgin English, interspersed with numerous Italian words.

The Italian mother of a friend on mine never got beyond a poorly expressed English present tense, sounding as though she'd just arrived, despite her being here from 18 years old to her old age. Maybe it's more difficult for women due to less social and workplace interaction than men.

It's a temporary problem though, since their English speaking children soon succeed them and I can't imagine how someone can be made to learn English. Perhaps we should start by making Welsh speakers in Wales use English!

Don't forget we already have a minimum English speaking requirement for British citizenship, sometimes even to be able to stay here if a spouse. A Thai wife of another friend had to reach that requirement to avoid a threatened deportation, despite being married to my all English friend.
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flecc

Member
Oct 25, 2006
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Common decent prisoners voting Tory?.
Voting any way they wish. Tory wouldn't be so strange, given their kin that the party has always contained.

The European Court is quite right, as citizens they are entitled to a democratic vote.
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Zlatan

Esteemed Pedelecer
Nov 26, 2016
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Thought everybody would like this. Poor woman, worrying about losing benefits because of Brexit crashed her car into a ditch. She was so worried she had to get drunk before driving.
 
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oldgroaner

Esteemed Pedelecer
Nov 15, 2015
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Thought everybody would like this. Poor woman, worrying about losing benefits because of Brexit crashed her car into a ditch. She was so worried she had to get drunk before driving.
I'll buy it,what is your point actually?
What are you implying?
The fact is
Some idiot comes up with the first excuse that comes into her head.
What conclusion are you trying to extract from that?
Is there a moral for us all to share?
 

Zlatan

Esteemed Pedelecer
Nov 26, 2016
8,086
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I'll buy it,what is your point actually?
What are you implying?
The fact is
Some idiot comes up with the first excuse that comes into her head.
What conclusion are you trying to extract from that?
Is there a moral for us all to share?
It was a pointless post OG. Like 99% of yours. (that means for every hundred posts of yours, 99 are pointless) And that is being very generous, think its actually 99.9% of your posts but we, d be here a fortnight explaining that to you.
I can hear the question. "how can you have 0.9% of a post?".
 

Danidl

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 29, 2016
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Ireland

Thought everybody would like this. Poor woman, worrying about losing benefits because of Brexit crashed her car into a ditch. She was so worried she had to get drunk before driving.
Why would you suppose anyone would care?.
Middle-aged woman suffering with drink problem,has single vehicle collision. Fortunately no one was injured . Opinionated Solicitor produces rambling incoherent , irrelevant excuse. .. Not as shocking a headline?.
 
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Danidl

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 29, 2016
8,611
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Ireland
Voting any way they wish. Tory wouldn't be so strange, given their kin that the party has always contained.

The European Court is quite right, as citizens they are entitled to a democratic vote.
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..I thought the comment referred to the Tory leadership election.. Incidentally ,Irish law provides the right of prisoners to a postal vote.. though apparently very few excercise that right.
 
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