What made you 'Shake your Head' today?

[ChrisJ]

4 hours ago, Dan E said:

Italians are mad

This is an interesting entrance to a motorway in Italy

 

[Nick Sticks]

37 minutes ago, ChrisJ said:

This is an interesting entrance to a motorway in Italy

 

I'm more concerned over what's creating that shadow on the roof of your car..... 😁

[Chillidoggy]

1 hour ago, Nick Sticks said:

I'm more concerned over what's creating that shadow on the roof of your car..... 😁

They don't call him "Mr. Big" for nothing.

[pete]

8 hours ago, Dan E said:

Best post so far🤩, @pete would have said, "i don't like motorways" 

Motorways,No

[C8RKH]

3 hours ago, ChrisJ said:

This is an interesting entrance to a motorway in Italy

 

It's so Ferrari can practice their pit lane starts.

[C8RKH]

Hmmmm, yet more double standards from the PC brigade - there is no doubt in my mind that the rainbow/pride flags are very definitely "political" in their use.

 

The European Commission has described a decision to ban the EU flag from Saturday's Eurovision Song Contest as "regrettable", after a politician said he had been prevented from bringing the 12-starred banner into the Malmö arena.

Writing on X, external, formerly Twitter, Dorin Frasineanu from the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe party said he had been "denied entry to Eurovision with the EU flag".

"We were told by security it's 'political' and 'not allowed'," he added.

According to European Broadcasting Union (EBU) rules, only flags of "participating countries and the rainbow/pride flags" are allowed inside the contest venue.

A spokesperson for the EBU said the Eurovision flag policy this year was "the same as 2023".

[LotusLeftLotusRight]

3 minutes ago, C8RKH said:

A spokesperson for the EBU said the Eurovision flag policy this year was "the same as 2023".

That was not really an issue when the event was held in non EU Liverpool, was it?

[Chillidoggy]

The Eurobollox contest is used as a political platform.

[ramjet]

On 10/05/2024 at 19:47, Dan E said:

All over, French and Germans are excellent, Italians are mad but i kind of like that, Spanish also pretty good , no one beats the brits at being shite at lane discipline 

Australians are pretty bad, truth be known.

Lots of cars sit in the right hand lane, tailgating each other and there's little ol' me doing the speed limit in the left hand lane. Indicator on and wanting to move to the right for my turnoff and get very indignant stares from drivers who tailgate you all the way to your turn off.

I just make sure that I indicate early for my exit. Oh and I ensure to begin slowing down at the same time.

On the three lane highway going up to Melbourne, in lanes 2 & 3 you take your life in your own hands.

[C8RKH]

I found this, a really interesting read. Some of it. Not all of it. Made me shake my head.

https://www.euronews.com/2024/05/13/germany-limits-cash-benefit-payments-for-asylum-seekers-as-migration-numbers-increase

 

So apparently, taking in migrants, and providing them with an electronic card to access benefits, that they can use to get food, clothes, travel tickets etc, is akin to "creating an instrument of discrimination and to bully refugees" according to a Migrant Advocacy group. The Group also goes on to say that it is "clear that people are coming due to civil war and persecution".

This small excerpt highlights to me, very clearly, the real issues, and that is that too many people in the West are too eager to over compensate migrants.

Firstly, it has been proven, over and over again, that a significant proportion of these "migrants" are moving for economic reasons, primarily. If they can afford to pay £5,000 to £10,000 per family member to people smugglers then, actually, they are quite wealthy in their country of origin. There is never any recognition of this from these bodies and advocates who seem to blindly insist that ALL migrants are fleeing war and persecution, which is simply not true.  Indeed, it was only last year that the Albanian Government fell out with the UK Government when the numbers of Albanian males were being smuggled here was suggested as being because Albania was a country were they were persecuted and at threat of death.

The use of the Card also restricts access to cash, which means taxpayers money is harder to be sent, by the migrants, "back home". At the same time though, it also means that the "money" is being spent, and be tracked as such, on the right things, namely food, clothes etc. Surely, as this is public, taxpayers, money, there should be accountability re how it is spent?

I am all in favour of this approach and would like to see the UK learn from Germany and adopt this approach and several others. 

When a migrant first enters Germany, my understanding is that they are assigned to a "location", where they get access to interpreters and social workers who help them to register properly, find out their ethnic backgrounds (so they can be communicated with and treated properly), etc. 

Whilst being processed they are provided with somewhere to sleep and three meals a day. They don't get any cash, but they can volunteer for work duties at the camp and earn some cash that they can use as they like.

Once they have been processed, they are then moved into places across Germany, or deported/sent back as they were not eligible to stay.

All migrants should be treated with dignity and respect and their cases should be handled quickly and sensitively. But the UK taxpayer should not be expected to fund them, with the current "open cheque book" approach, and nor should unscrupulous hotel owners and businesses be made rich housing them, at the tax payers expense. 

We need to have a system that treats ALL people fairly.

Why should a migrant get access to housing, and benefits, any quicker or with any more priority than an indigenous person?  There should be "one list" for each Local Authority, and people enter the list, and processed fairly, and equitably, with a clear ranking and scoring system, for all to see, based on circumstances, needs, etc to assign priority.

Immigration and migration has, in general, been great for the UK. We have a rich multi-cultural and largely quite tolerant society. Although I have noticed that more recently, some of the migrants seem to struggle with the concept of recognising that they are actually in a different country, and recognising that a multi-cultural, tolerant, society is what we have.

I struggle to understand why we currently seem to be so shit at dealing with the issues here. Our systems, processes and organisations seem to be totally broken, disjointed, and often very unfair in how people are, and have been, untreated. 

The Police, Home Office, Immigration and Border Services, should all be ashamed at how they treat people, and what they subject them too. "It's the law" doesn't work as a justification when often the law is plainly an ass, and the prosecution of it by these bodies is so inconsistent and utterly shambolic and lacking in coordination and the application of decent common sense.

We seem to have no issue with the identification of decent, law abiding, hard working immigrants, who we persecute and throw out of the country with impunity (for example, many of the Windrush people), whilst the workshy, lazy, law offending, racist and bigoted migrants seem to have no issues with avoiding deportation.

The whole system stinks. Our Government and institutions are failing the British people, and immigrants and migrants, in a terrible, wasteful way.

We need a complete refresh in our approach. One that puts transparency, decency, and fairness at the core of what we do. One were agencies are forced to cooperate for the right outcome, and one that has the teeth to root out and deport the undesirable element who seek to break our laws and rile against our societal values.

Looking at what other countries are doing. Analysing and learning from them. Then putting into practice the best bits would not only protect this great nation of ours, and our society, but it would also make us a more welcoming and supportive place for those migrants who really are in fear of their lives and fleeing persecution. It would stamp out the abuses of the system, the profiteers and racketeers, and create a fairer system for everyone.

I have zero faith in any UK political party actually taking this by the scruff of the neck and coming up with the real vision, policies and actions, to fix all of this. What a waste.

 

[pete]

Blimey I thought the article was long but,,,,,....

[Chillidoggy]

More words than Pete’s written in his whole lifetime.

[pete]

1 hour ago, Chillidoggy said:

More words than Pete’s written in his whole short lifetime.

Corrected

[Kimbers]

It's very rare I comment on anything "Serious" like Politics or laws etc but todays news does make me wonder when they replaced Politicians with Aliens. 
1. We have overcrowded Prisons and no spaces for those currently going through the system what's their answer? Delay sentencing people and let out prisoners early. I mean, if you can't see the problem with both those items please apply to be a politician! Delay people who should be in prison, or going to prison and release those who should be in prison but early to put in more people who should be in prison but you have left out in the community whilst you sort spaces. We can all see how to solve it, make more spaces!
2. Cancel sex education for children under 9. Do they actually understand what is taught in Sex Ed for young children? Well, for a start try "Consent", "Inappropriate touching, talking and coercion", "Sexting", "Use of Social Media and sending pics" and that's just the tip of the iceberg. Who doesn't want their children being taught those things.... I'm sure we all know!

My mind is seriously blown. Please someone sack the Politicans and create a new Party we can all understand and get on board with! "The Common Sense Party". 

[C8RKH]

Yet again the Home Office and its Civil Servants show themselves as being arses.

Unbelievable. This guy has lived here, paid his taxes and NI, and is being told he can't stay.

Yet thieving scumbags who defile our society and cheat our benefits system, somehow, seem to be impossible to remove.

Absolutely bonkers.

BBC News - Man told he is not British after 42 years in UK
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-69016539

[pete]

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/05/14/fly-tippers-caught-farmers-vans-blocked-spared-jail-meriden/

No jail but why not send them back to Romania.

[C8RKH]

2 hours ago, pete said:

No jail but why not send them back to Romania.

Absolutely. We are too soft when people break the law here.

[ramjet]

This wins the Darwin Award for a great period of time, I think.

 You can find this on the internet. It is real.

 Some stupid, harsh I know but what other word is there, woman has posted up how she thinks it is unfair that her son, who identifies as a cat, was refused treatment by a vet.

She thinks this is a form of discrimination.

 Where is the white bus when it is desperately needed?

[Escape]

Last weekend I grabbed a pack of salty crisps. Much to my surprise, it said in bold letter 'now with 25% less salt'. What the actual f#ck?? Don't we even get to decide how many herbs we want on heart attack inducing snacks?

This is at least as bad as the energy drink that now only comes in a low calorie variety. I only drink the stuff when I don't have time to eat, so please can I have my calories?

[LotusLeftLotusRight]

Unsubscribing.

Why do so many companies assume that you want your e.mail inbox to be flooded with their boring spam after you start dealing with them? Surely it should be mandatory to opt in to such correspondence, rather than the customer having to find a way of opting out, I.e unsubscribing? I have just had Direct Line’s monthly newsletter. I never opted in to receive it. I unsubscribed from it last month and yet still it comes. The small print says that they need 28 days, possibly even longer, to unsubscribe a customer from their newsletter! Why does it take that long? It’s the touch of a button!

[Bibs]

Nuts isn't it. I'm very bored of being asked to fill out surveys about their service, even when it's rubbish! I'm sure one company has asked me 5+ times with reminders, I'm not their unpaid marketing team! 

[r3nault]

I get multiple times weekly emails from a company selling tow hooks. How many tow hooks do they think I need??

[ChrisJ]

Does "tow hook" have a different meaning in Australia?

[tim_marra]

3 hours ago, r3nault said:

I get multiple times weekly emails from a company selling tow hooks. How many tow hooks do they think I need??

Buy one and then you may find out 

[C8RKH]

1 hour ago, ChrisJ said:

Does "tow hook" have a different meaning in Australia?

Did he mean "camel toes"?