A twice emigrant speaks on immigration
Posted by Ken Y-N (aka Tepido Naruhodo) on March 6, 2012
New visa rules for domestic workers 'will turn the clock back 15 years'
Campaigners say changes announced by Theresa May will mean domestic workers who flee abuse risk being deported
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Alan Travis, home affairs editor
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 29 February 2012
Changes to the visa rules for foreign domestic workers amount to "turning the clock back 15 years" to the days when they were deported for experiencing abuse, say campaigners.
The changes announced by the home secretary, Theresa May, as part of a wider package of immigration reform will prevent foreign cooks, nannies and other staff who come to work in private households from switching employer or staying longer than six months.
May has told MPs the changes are being made to ensure that overseas visitors and diplomats can be accompanied by their domestic staff and the route is not used to provide permanent access to Britain for unskilled workers.
But campaigners believe the changes will mean any domestic workers who leave a private household to escape abuse will immediately face the prospect of being deported.
She added the situation in Britain would now mirror the "kafala" system across the Middle East where a change of employer means losing the right to residency.
Skilled migrants to lose right to settle in UK
Theresa May plans to force skilled migrant workers to leave the UK after five years if they earn less than £35,000 a year
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Alan Travis, home affairs editor
The Guardian, Wednesday 29 February 2012
More than 40,000 skilled migrants a year are to lose their right to work beyond five years in Britain, in a move towards creating a temporary "guestworker" migrant labour force in the UK.
The home secretary, Theresa May, will tell MPs on Wednesday that she is breaking the link between migration and settlement for the first time, by taking away the right to remain in Britain for more than five years from any migrant worker earning less than £35,000 a year.
Hideously diverse Britain: is this any way to test a citizen's English?
Eric Pickles wants us all to speak English. But the current test for new arrivals is laughable
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Hugh Muir
guardian.co.uk, Friday 24 February 2012 20.00 GMT
Article history
They shall all speak English, says communities secretary Eric Pickles, unveiling his measures to kill off multiculturalism. The highlights are exciting: neighbour shall eat with neighbour, presumably from one big melting pot. There's something about setting up a curry college. Even cockneys will be able to make a tasty dhansak. And no more cash for translations. We're going to speak English. In-gerr-lishhhhh.
Which is not a bad thing in itself. People need English to make a success of life here and those who shy away from learning the language damage themselves. But dramatically pulling up the drawbridge, cutting off access to information and services, as Pickles would have us do, seems a bit brutal.
And a bit premature. How much English should the good citizen have? And how will Pickles assess them? He'll have to do better than at present.
Bernard Milward does quite a bit of assessing, in part to ensure that those who seek to join a spouse already here have sufficient English. There is no discretion. No wiggle room. The test is the test. Bernard has written about it in the multicultural newspaper the Prisma.
One test, not untypical he says, comes to mind. The candidate is South African. What's this number, the examiner asks. "It appears to be 23." And this one? "Well, apparently 50." And what's the day today? Is it Monday? "Er, no. I believe it is Wednesday." And tomorrow? "Well, if today is Wednesday, tomorrow would presumably be Thursday." What month is it? Is it September? "No, it's January." And next month? "Well, as night follows day, January is followed by February."
The examiner points to a picture and asks: is he playing tennis? "No, he is clearly playing soccer because the ball would be considerably smaller if someone wanted to play tennis." The examiner points to his shirt. It's mine, he says. Is it yours? "Well, obviously not because you are wearing it, so it wouldn't be mine."
The applicant seems puzzled. "Are you some sort of psychiatrist?" he asks. "Because these are very strange questions. Mind you, my future wife is from Liverpool. Perhaps I should be getting a scouse visa." The interview concludes, the box is ticked. Time neither will ever get back.
Brave cancer teen who had hand amputated in life-saving operation is 'beaten by drunken Eastern European yob' he told to stop vandalising park bench
Police hunting 6ft, bald brute, thought to be from Eastern Europe
Ciaran Fenton had hand removed in life-saving operation and undergoes chemotherapy
By MATT BLAKE
Last updated at 1:58 PM on 7th March 2012
Heart-breaking plight of the Chinese man who has spent his life locked in a wooden cage
By DANIEL MILLER
Last updated at 9:10 AM on 7th March 2012
'Curry makes our children grow up faster': Pakistan authorities cite spicy food as reason to block plans to raise criminal age of responsibility to 12
By NICK ENOCH
Last updated at 4:53 PM on 7th March 2012
デリメにおける東欧・中国・パキスタン
Just the job for women?
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Published: 07 March, 2012, 14:10
A woman’s place is in the… laundry, British men’s clothing retailer Madhouse has suggested, causing a furore over what many women in the UK have labeled “sexist trousers.”
The discount label’s signature pair of jeans features not only a set of trivial washing instructions, but also some additional advice: “Or give it to your woman. It's her job.”
The brainwashing recommendation has provoked a storm of criticism among Twitter users, mostly extremely angry women.
“WHOA! I thought we had left this all behind?!?!” some fume, while others wonder “What do you think…sexist or silly??”
It’s not the first time a retailer has come under fire for selling sexist garments.
Last year, high-street men’s clothing chain Topman created T-shirts complete with the provocative question “Nice new girlfriend – what breed is she?”
女の役割
田舎のウチに外人の兄ちゃんが泊まってった話する
Lost Generation: Japan's uncertain future
7 March 2012 Last updated at 16:26 GMT
これだけ英語ができて仕事がないというのはもったいない。
もっとも、日本語のほうはどうなのだろうか？
