Indo-UK: News & Discussion

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 09 May 2010 07:00

my BIL got into a NHS facility in liverpool after suffering a spinal neck injury in a cycle accident. the delays in getting basic stuff like MRI scan done and getting seen by specialist doctors were huge. mostly they just had him lie there except on the 1st day when it was a emergency case. so it was very frustrating for them.

so either there arent enough specialist docs or not enough money to keep sufficient nos on the payroll to ensure timely and high-touch attention to needy patients.

in most other countries (like india) such a inpatient would be visited by the senior doc atleast once a day on his "round" and a more junior doc in the other "round". there's usually two such rounds a day - midmorning and evening.

harbans · Post by **harbans** » 09 May 2010 11:03

Can't imagine us SDREs, and that includes me, doing the same even if provoked by the BNP thugs.

For CRams:

SDRE taking on 2 low lifes:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GR3vx-Pg2O4

Hari Seldon · Post by **Hari Seldon** » 09 May 2010 11:09

OK, so what's the emergent scene in UK-stan, anyone? Who's gonna sleep with who to form gubmint?

I continue to hope, almost fervently, that the demonstratably capable Sri Brown retain office. He ain't done enough damage yet, I reckon.

Let's wait n see.

Jai ho.

joshvajohn · Post by **joshvajohn** » 09 May 2010 16:38

Though I did not like Labour government and expected the conservative to come to power with a majority, I now feel that the deal between liberal democrats and conservative cannot be workable. It is better to make a deal between Labour and liberal democrats without Brown, milliband and a few others. Rather Mandelshon can lead the labour.
If liberal democrats continue to support we will see some more Indian political resemblance there - possibly the liberal democrats might split with scottish and Welsh liberal democrats would go away from Nick. Even if there is an election within a year then Labour with new leadership has a better chance. If Conservative wish to make a deal then they have to give up all immigration toughness otherwise in the midterm election Nick will even loose more MPs.

General Election 2010 as it happened: May 8
Nick Clegg seeks Liberal Democrat MPs backing for a deal with the Conservatives that could force Gordon Brown out of No 10.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/electio ... May-8.html

shiv · Post by **shiv** » 09 May 2010 17:26

Singha wrote:my BIL got into a NHS facility in liverpool after suffering a spinal neck injury in a cycle accident. the delays in getting basic stuff like MRI scan done and getting seen by specialist doctors were huge. mostly they just had him lie there except on the 1st day when it was a emergency case. so it was very frustrating for them.

so either there arent enough specialist docs or not enough money to keep sufficient nos on the payroll to ensure timely and high-touch attention to needy patients.

in most other countries (like india) such a inpatient would be visited by the senior doc atleast once a day on his "round" and a more junior doc in the other "round". there's usually two such rounds a day - midmorning and evening.

GD, for this case in the cities he would have an MRI within hours after having been seen by a Neurosurgeon/Orthopedic surgeon. Same day definitely. Villages is a different issue. UK has become neither city nor village (by Indian standards) in such cases. But docs are paid much better than before - now that humongous numbers of underpaid junior docs have been eliminated.

Why didn't you come for the meet.

Haresh · Post by **Haresh** » 09 May 2010 19:24

Electoral fraud, from the paki community in the UK, liarbours best friends.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/p ... 120760.ece

Johann · Post by **Johann** » 09 May 2010 21:54

Hari Seldon wrote:OK, so what's the emergent scene in UK-stan, anyone? Who's gonna sleep with who to form gubmint?

I continue to hope, almost fervently, that the demonstratably capable Sri Brown retain office. He ain't done enough damage yet, I reckon.

Let's wait n see.

Jai ho.

Not much chance that Brown will survive I'm afraid. The Lib Dems would not be willing to work with him as PM, and many within Labour think it's high time he stood down as party leader. Of course Brown will not go down willingly.

The most likely outcomes at this point may be a "supply and confidence" arrangement between the Tories and Lib Dems, or a minority Tory government that must seek parliamentary consensus (either with Lib-Dems or Labour) on each and every bill, with early elections about 1-2 years from now.

All three parties have been chastened by the polls - there is a real fear of public sentiment, so there's far more use of the term 'national interest' than I've heard in a long time.

Haresh · Post by **Haresh** » 09 May 2010 23:11

Normally I vote Conservative, however when Cameron stood up and said "I am the heir to Blair" I thought why bother to vote for him, why not have the original party?
The fact is Cameron for reasons of political correctness would not be radical enough.
The Uk's entire education system needs a total overhaul. Rich conservatives tend to send their kids to private schools, Labour politicians speak against private schools, but are rich enough to buy houses near to good state schools.

Labour have sold their souls to the islamic vote block, the Conservatives would like to.
The Indian govet, should make it clear that future trade deals depend on a crack down on islamist anti Indian activities and fund raising.
The entire country is ******!!!!
Economically, socially, politically it is a disaster.

Abhijit · Post by **Abhijit** » 10 May 2010 02:19

/flame bait on

Isn't it about time to accomplish what the Irish sea has already achieved as an agent of Mother Nature? Let the Nation of Ireland take back what it lost to English imperialism. Let there be an exchange of population whereby the union-jack waivers of occupied northern ireland return to the mother country as refugees. After all, England and Ireland are two distinct nations, cultures and religions and what not. India will be happy to send neutral observers to oversee the exchange of population.

flame bait off/

Mahendra · Post by **Mahendra** » 10 May 2010 02:32

Haresh wrote:
Labour have sold their souls to the islamic vote block, the Conservatives would like to.
The Indian govet, should make it clear that future trade deals depend on a crack down on islamist anti Indian activities and fund raising.
The entire country is ******
Economically, socially, politically it is a disaster.

Fat chance of that happening, the current gobmint of India is formed by the majority CON-gress party which is eerily similar to the Labour when it comes to pandering to the islamist vote bank. I fully agree with your closing statement, the intelligent have migrated, the rich have homes in Spain and South of France to be evacuated to, only those who will be left behind are the yobs and the pensioners who will not/ cannot resist Pacqification of UQ. If the people don't wake up now and tackle the islamists on a war footing, people will start waking up to the call for prayer from Buckingham Masjid within the next 20 years.

Johann · Post by **Johann** » 10 May 2010 04:49

Abhijit,

- The Protestants of Ulster are almost entirely of Scottish, not English origin. King James IV of Scotland who later became King James I of England encouraged migration. Scotland also has deep sectarian divisions between Protestants and Catholics - its particularly bad in Glasgow.

- If you've ever wondered why Scottish and Irish names sound so much alike that's because the Scottish Highlands were largely settled by the Irish. The cultures and peoples share a common origin despite the sectarian differences.

Haresh, Mahendra,

If Labour has completely "sold their souls" for the Muslim vote, why are British troops still in Afghanistan, with their numbers actually growing? Why is MI5 still surveilling mosques? Why is there a massive backlog of Pakistani visa applications to process?

Mirpuris, Sylhetis, etc can subvert the rule of law within their ghettos through the collusion of Muslim police officers, counsel officers and MPs, etc, but they can not do much more than that. All they're doing is succeeding in keeping themselves economically marginalised, and Britain like most democracies is a place where economics talks at least as loudly as votes.

Even when it comes to votes for all the Pakistani and Bangladeshi votes (which are usually tightly clustered together), there's the other ~97% of the voting population that expects security and freedom.

The fact is the vast majority of Britain is either pink, or pasty white and if they wanted to they could elect the BNP in a second, but that blend of fascism and racism just doesn't appeal to them.

The Islamists are a dangerous nuisance, and an affront to modern values, but to make them seem like 20-feet giants is just beyond the realm of reality. The Islamic conquests of India are not something that can be transposed on to Britain (past, present or future) by anyone who is looking and thinking clearly. The political and geographic realities are just not comparable.

Hari Seldon · Post by **Hari Seldon** » 10 May 2010 07:39

x-post from the persp dhaga.

UK-stan has pulled yet another rabbit outta its musharraf - fooled the markets yet again. At this trate, winning will become a habit for them like for the OZ kirket team. Here, judge for yourselves.

Greek Lessons for the New U.K. Prime Minister (Simon Nixon in wsj)

Politicians were fortunate that for the best part of a year investors and rating agencies effectively suspended judgment on the UK. It's unlikely the UK would have retained its AAA-rating or been allowed to borrow at less than 4% on the basis if the market had not believed tough action on the deficit would be taken after the election.

See what I mean. The mkts have been exceedingly kind to UQ all these yrs, allowing them to borrow at low rates to ever higher debt-driven fake prosperity. In the process, it (the great moderation?) has hollowed the land's traditional immune defences to mkt shocks and swings of a violent nature.

An let's be clear - a 200 bp jump in UK-stan's avg borrowing rate will entail what smt Hillary infamously called 'severe consequences' to bear only. UK-stan is not Yindia and doesn't quite have our immune system to benignly shrug off mkt shockas like that.

It's only now the election is over that the real voting will begin. The futures market opened at 1AM Friday to allow investors to start trading as the election results came in. From now on, whoever emerges as Prime Minister will have his performance judged not by daily opinion polls but in real-time by the markets. And unless that performance is remarkably sure-footed, the judgment is likely to be brutal.

Bah. Show me the money, honey. I've lost count of the # times I've heard such dire forewarnings with zero followup. The UQ is not greece or portugal or some such piddly pipsqueak country. No? The UQ will persist, like always. No?

The new Prime Minister should not kid himself that the UK is somehow a special case, immune to euro zone contagion. The UK may have a separate currency, an independent central bank and longer debt maturities than other troubled economies. But these will come in little use if the markets lose confidence.

What blashphemy the bolded part be!

The UK, with gross debt of 72.9% of GDP and a deficit likely to reach 12.6% this year, the largest in the European Union, has no such capacity – and only the IMF to turn to for a bailout. {Now that can't be fun, can it?}

As Moody's points out in a new report, what makes the UK so vulnerable to a sovereign debt crisis is the weakness of its banking system. Including private and public sector debt, the UK is one of the most leveraged countries in the world of debt equivalent to [400%] of GDP and a banking system still highly dependent on wholesale funding.

We'll see when (and *if*) rubber meets road. History shows us over-clearly that UKstan is invincible.

In the parallel universe of the campaign, Gordon Brown repeatedly claimed no other country was cutting spending this year. Back in the real world, Greece, Portugal, Spain and Ireland are doing just that. If the markets insist on cuts as deep as those countries – and the latest slide in the markets may force them to make deeper cuts still – then the new government really can expect, in the words of Bank of England Governor Mervyn King, to become so unpopular it is out of power for a generation.

Again, more yap-yap with little practical feasaibility. UQ will default, as it has done enough times in the past and reset to a new, fresh start. All this talk of austerity and cuts and crap won't fly in a democracy where even pakis have a legit vote.

By the way, just by way of a thought experiment, what cuts are these so required of UQ (and you can clearly see why these are impractical to implement even in as disciplined, loyal, patriotic, awesome, tax-paying, honest, integrity-laden, noble (did I mention awesome?) nation as UK-stan? Let's stroll down possibility lane quickly:

Putting up VAT by 3p in the pound will be the easiest decision the new Chancellor ever gets to take. How about cutting public sector pay by [10%], as Ireland has done? Or raising the retirement age by 14 years from 53 to 67, as Greece has done? The Tories in their manifesto proposed only to freeze public sector pay for one year; and the retirement age will rise by just one year to 66 only in 2016. Far tougher measures will be required to convince the markets the UK is serious about tackling its problems.

The easiest decision glate bitten's gubmint can take is boost immigration quotas fro pakistan. history shows that by screwing Indian interests, UQ usually benefits only.

The euro zone does offer some clues as to what may be required of the new government. For example, until the latest slide, Ireland remained largely unscathed by the sovereign debt crisis despite a wrecked banking system and a huge deficit, which demonstrates the credibility to be gained by taking tough actions early. And Wednesday's joint statement by both Spain's main political parties on banking sector reform underlined the need to seek as wide a national consensus as possible for the most difficult measures. Whoever "wins" the election is unlikely to feel like a winner for long. Voters will return from their holiday from reality to find the house has been ransacked. A new dawn indeed.

Bah, nothing will happen. We'll see. Time will tell in its own sweet time. Jai ho.

shiv · Post by **shiv** » 10 May 2010 08:24

Mahendra wrote:Shyam D ji

Just a few quick points

There is an acute shortage of doctors for non training posts, none of the native doctors want to go in for non training posts, these posts need to be filled up with overseas doctors.
Yes, overseas doctors had a hard time from 2005-2007/8, things have changed now and practically every doctor who comes to the UK gets a job and there is no shortage of overseas doctors willing to take up non training posts as the money they earn will be at least 5 times more than what a doctor without a post graduate qualification would earn back home.
I don't have sources to prove that interviews are conducted in India but I know a couple of doctors who recently came through that route, it goes like this.. Hays Healthcare>> Naukri.com >>Interview at Mum/Del/Chennai>>Job offer>>>UK within 2 months. I'm told that India is not the only country where these interviews are being held, and wait for this, some doctors who returned to India when the times were bad are getting job offers after telephone interviews!.
Yes, the treatment provided by the NHS has more to do with the funding than the patient's needs, more often than not the decision to administer certain drugs or to conduct certain investigations depend more on managers than on clinical judgement. Acute shortage of doctors has led to situations where patients are often not seen for an entire day after being admitted.
Trainee doctors are reduced to being pen pushers, booking transport, booking health advocates, contacting patient's family etc.
Things are different for Private Patients being treated in NHS hospitals, these people demand and get the best care available, for those without private insurance, well to be honest, they get the best care under the given circumstances and the circumstances are very bad!

Mahendra - what I heard is that non clinical specialities (where the doctor does not directly deal with a patient) like radiodiagnosis and pathology/microbiology still have openings for Indians- and yes even telephone interviews. Some clinical specialities like dermatology too have openings. Dental/faciomaxillary too is still open. But the "meat" specialities to which the largest number of patients go such as medicine (and its subspecialities), surgery and its subspecialities and orthopedics are closed. Several structural changes have been made to ensure that this happens.

For example - a person with my training background in Surgery who went to the UK 25 years ago and was exposed to anything and everything that a surgeon will face in life as a surgeon cannot have that kind of experience any more. That door is closed. I believe that people of my generation +/- 10 years had it lucky in the UK. That is no longer the case. I hear this from my peers who settled down as consultants in the UK. In the past one could go to the UK and then decide on a specialization to follow. People who went as specialists (as I did ) had it even easier. Such things are not happening any more. The door is essentially shut. Consultants do a lot of their own work and much of the "waiting list' work is subcontracted to South African entities who do the "waiting list" surgeries. No place for Indians like it used to be.

Viv S · Post by **Viv S** » 10 May 2010 08:48

shyamd wrote:Tories are pro business - They will start cutting the deficit this year, as supposed to Labour who won't make the cuts very deep this year. Either way, Labour or Conervative - There will be painful cuts which is why parties did not say explicitly where it would come from. Tories announced £57bil, while Labour announced £47bil. So Tories clearly more serious. The only reason why Labour did so well is because they were riding the boom times imo. Also why I think around the world many governments who were in power during the boom years of 2002 to 2007/8 were voted back into power.

The problem with that is the threat of double dip recession still looms. Especially given the prevailing crisis in the Eurozone. Frankly of the three, I thought Gordon Brown had the best plan to get the economy back on track. Clegg and Cameron just seemed to dish out platitudes. Also his tenure as Chancellor of the Exchequer saw the UK consistently outperform the Eurozone on most indicators of growth and unemployment. Even right now economic prospects for UK look better than France and somewhat better than Germany.

Haresh · Post by **Haresh** » 10 May 2010 12:22

U.K.: Suspected al-Qaeda member fights deportation, says it's not safe for him to go back to Algeria

http://www.jihadwatch.org/2010/05/uk-su ... l#comments

IT'S MAD!!!
MAD I TELL YA MAD!!

derkonig · Post by **derkonig** » 10 May 2010 12:36

UK-stan must respect the hyuooman rights of this poor imigrant, nothing less than residency + full welfare benefits + 4 wives will do.

Nandu · Post by **Nandu** » 11 May 2010 03:15

Brown offers to resign in return for Liberal Democrat support for Labour. Miliband has good likelihood of becoming UK PM.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100510/ap_ ... n_election

Not good for India, IMHO.

JwalaMukhi · Post by **JwalaMukhi** » 11 May 2010 03:42

^^ In fact that will the best for India. It is going to be good test for India. India has matured and the leadership and babus should necessarily look to deal with entities as such, and not depend on benevolence of some kindred soul/s to deal with India. Gone should be the days of preferring one Mr./Ms.Twiddle Dee. In fact, the maturity of the nation should surpass these kinds of wishful thinking of someone in office in foreign nations is going to be better to deal with. The nation hopefully has gone past such kind of thinking.
Sad that sri.Milliband

is not showing any enthusiasm to lead UK, in the interests of world peace.

Akshut · Post by **Akshut** » 11 May 2010 03:51

^^

Phew!! Mili-juli-bund and Ombaba will make a perfect combo to focus on the "core issues". No doubt his strings are in symphony with Obama. They are for peace only. He's for next in line for Nobel peace prize. I million more pacquis as the reward for UKstan.

Manu · Post by **Manu** » 11 May 2010 04:19

Milliband is Jewish. He can never be PM of the UK. Even Blair had to wait till he stepped down from Office before converting to Catholicism (his wife's faith).

I've been saying again and again on BR, that UK doe not face an Islamic problem to the extent India does - but no body cares, it seems. It just helps some people fantasize, and "get even". It is however, divorced from reality.

For what it's worth, I agree with Johann's last post completely.

UK has no problem of Islam(ism) - not even in the league of France yet, let alone the massive problems of India. The citizens of UK have never had to face a Terror attack after the last one. And I doubt they ever will. France hosts an Annual Muslim car burning festival, folks should look it up.

And it's all about Demographics and sources of future immigration - net new immigrants into the UK speak Polish, not Urdu (see any Hotel, Restaurant or Airport Lounge) - And UK Muslims as a % of Total Population are less than - Austria, France, Denmark, Germany, Holland and even SWITZERLAND. Please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. And the Violent Muslims in UK are Mostly Pakis. Please consider that Bangladeshis, Arabs, and other Muslims also live in the UK. Pakis' noise to population ratio is very high, though.

The way the UK positions itself - their special relationship with the US is their most important policy. And that will exist only if UK is relevantly attached to to Europe as well as USA. If it completely divorces one or the other, it will become totally irrelevant.

Their Economy will bounce back by 2011. You read it here first. This post is not directed at anyone in particular.

joshvajohn · Post by **joshvajohn** » 11 May 2010 04:44

Besides milliband there are many in the bbc list - harman (female) Alistair, Alan and so on. If milliband kind of people attempts, then it is better to have deal with conservatives under cameroon than a labour with disaster.

Hari Seldon · Post by **Hari Seldon** » 11 May 2010 07:51

Manu wrote:I've been saying again and again on BR, that UK doe not face an Islamic problem to the extent India does - but no body cares, it seems.

no body cares? No body? uh, ok.

It just helps some people fantasize, and "get even".

Get even? Your ill-wisher dies in a road accident in another city, so you 'got even' with him/her? Getting even implies deliberate action from your side that leads upto the event of interest, I would think. No?

It is however, divorced from reality.

Of course it is. Implying that ordinary patriotic folk on BR wanna 'get even' with UQ or don't care about an internal security problem of India could be, might just be, kinda sorta divorced from reality, eh?

/Just kiddin', not to be taken too seriously

More seriously, sure, I among UK-stan's detractors here realize UK-stan will be around and kicking a very long time. Just like TSP. Doesn't mean I have to applaud the inevitable. Or is it?

UK has no problem of Islam(ism) - not even in the league of France yet, let alone the massive problems of India.

*no* problem in the UK? wow. The other comparisons seem more like 'torn-shirt open-fly', like sri shiv likes to say.

The citizens of UK have never had to face a Terror attack after the last one.

Neither has Kolkata faced a Maoist/HUJI attack. Reason? It is the allegedly hotbed/safehouse of the maobadi and huji types. why draw attn to the place that provides succor, nurture, shelter, fundraising and propagandu opportunities? Just saying. It's not that I necessarily disagree that the UK-stani security apparatus is less psec and more efficient than our own.

And I doubt they ever will.

Time will tell whether your doubts are laid to rest or not. Jai ho.

France hosts an Annual Muslim car burning festival, folks should look it up.

More torn-shirt open-fly.IMVVHO, of course.

And the Violent Muslims in UK are Mostly Pakis. Please consider that Bangladeshis, Arabs, and other Muslims also live in the UK. Pakis' noise to population ratio is very high, though.

Agreed.

If it completely divorces one or the other, it will become totally irrelevant.

Many of us here merely want the UK-stan find its path to irrelevance. Some others don't like it. Theek hai, part of life. One doesn't have to agree all the time. In any case, doesn't matter what some on BR may want or not, reality will take its own course. No?

Their Economy will bounce back by 2011. You read it here first.

Time will tell. Lez wait n watch for lack of a better option.

This post is not directed at anyone in particular.

Of course, just as this response isn't either.

Jai ho and all that.

Karan Dixit · Post by **Karan Dixit** » 11 May 2010 10:43

I have to agree with Johan as well. It is unfortunate to portray Muslims as troublemakers in UQ. The reality is they (Muslims) are victims of a racist British society, which has completely disenfranchised Muslims (and other Colored folks) in UQ.

---

On a separate note, it seems like there are not enough rich people in UQ to start multinational companies. Indian multinational companies along with some other Asian countries are set to dominate british trade and commerce. Read on.

http://business.scotsman.com/business/C ... 6285216.jp

vina · Post by **vina** » 11 May 2010 11:03

Milliband is Jewish. He can never be PM of the UK

I would like to point your attention to a Mr Benjamin Disreali

VikramS · Post by **VikramS** » 11 May 2010 11:19

vina wrote:
Milliband is Jewish. He can never be PM of the UK
I would like to point your attention to a Mr Benjamin Disreali

Mr Wikipedia says
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Disraeli

A teenage convert to Anglicanism, he was nonetheless the country's first and thus far only Prime Minister of Jewish heritage

joshvajohn · Post by **joshvajohn** » 11 May 2010 14:31

If Milliband is a Jewish what is the problem? It does not necessarily stop him becoming primeminister in UK. There may be other reasons for him not to become primeminister rather than his national or racial identity. There may be other qualified or popular political folks within Labour party.

Manu · Post by **Manu** » 11 May 2010 19:12

I suppose I should have added a Bon Appétit! with my previous post. Too much food for thought for some folks.

No body here "likes" the U.K. - or defends past actions (or current Pakiness) anyway.

Just don't want to drag down BRF to the level of a Paki forum. There has to be a balance between polemical and analytical.

Those that think they bestride BRF like an intellectual colossus and make lesser men quiver in awe of their cranial prowess will hopefully realize that a lot of people are not familiar with the intricacies of the UK system, and if we have D&G posts only, it gives them (who rely on BRF for objective opinion and analysis) a very colored view. Not reality.

Old Blighty, erstwhile Queen of the Waves - is not going under quite yet.

munna · Post by **munna** » 11 May 2010 19:20

Manu wrote:Old Blighty, erstwhile Queen of the Waves - is not going under quite yet.

I agree on that one Manu! But they will keep on diminishing in relative size and influence. UK remains a potent power and their only sore point is the lack of access to vast natural resources needed for industrial rejuvenation (since they have dealt with the population issue through an influx of poles).
We need to be wary of their power and stop the lungi dance lest we suffer hubris. Wish for certains things should not give way to wishful thinking.

vina · Post by **vina** » 11 May 2010 20:09

UK remains a potent power and their only sore point is the lack of access to vast natural resources needed for industrial rejuvenation

Oh, UK is a "paper" power, with an economy way past it's sell by date. Okay, you can spin it as a "post industrial service society" . But point is UQ is de industrialized and has no industries worth speaking of. No influx of Poles or anyone can do a darn about it.

Other than Rolls Royce engines and 7 seas Mint and Altoids, there is absolutely nothing UQ can make competitively. Oh. and dont forget UQ IS a natural resources power. It is well endowed with coal and other resources . It is a world class power in Oil and Gas (BP & Shell are giants) and dont worry, Brent Sea oil is shared largely between UQ and Norway.

In fact, lets face it, if not for the discovery of oil in the North Sea, UQ would have been flushed down the toilet in the 70s itself. I doubt UQ would have survived as anything but a irrelevant non entity but for that. Let us not kid ourselves. Tatcher might have "saved" britain, but that was because , the did the ol "drill baby drill".

So UQ and Soddy Barbaria have one more thing in common, other than being infested with Pakis.. OIL. (In fact, historically before Oil replaced coal, UK was a world leading energy exporter..Coal shipped from Newcastle to other places in Oierope was a pretty significant export and source of riches)..

Yes. UK survives for two reasons. 1) Oil and 2) They basically sold themselves off to the Americans and get the due Baksheesh in financial services for being the "unsinkable carrier" off Oierope.

munna · Post by **munna** » 11 May 2010 20:19

Vina your statements reaffirm my point. UK suffers from Dutch Disease whereby it has become progressively deindustrialized over the latter half of 20th century. They lack the internal resources to generate scales of production that will allow them to be competitive producers in a globalized world. The problem of higher wages for working classes has been successfully dealt with the influx of polish immigrants. US-UQ are blood cousins and they shall always remain so, from my experiences in both the countries there are ties deeper than superficial stuff we get to see in the media. UQ ain't going anywhere its just that we will dwarf them pretty soon and I want them to be around to see that

!

surinder · Post by **surinder** » 11 May 2010 20:38

UK has strategic depth in nations of Canada, Australia, NZ. The can shift populations there, get their resources in case of emergencies. If these nations become non-WASP, then UK cannot count on that support.

UK's cousin relationship with US has not helped it a wee bit, US has always extracted its pound of flesh for every act of generosity it has bestowed on UK. Reagan refused to stablize its currency when Thatcher was there. In 1940's it refused to enter into WW-2 unless UK aggree on de-colonization. Just few years back it got back the loan with interest from UK which was given in WW-2. US is populated by non-cousins more than cousins. Its current president is also a non-cousin.

Countries go down in two ways: one is when they go down in real term, but most commonly they go down relatively. That the UK is going down relative to the rest of the world is without question. Even within Europe Germany & others have far exceeded it. Since the time of steam engine, UK has missed the high-tech revolution. No nation is destined to be #1 for all times to come. Greece was once the unquestioned power, now a basket case. So was India, so was China. No nation has a monopoly.

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 11 May 2010 23:15

We should not wish UQ going under for this will end the story. UQ 's most productive institutions must come under Indian control to be used for various purposes. You don throw the lemon till whole juice is squeezed. The change in demographics in Massaland will make UQ's lapdog position irrelevant to US. Canada too is changing and Auusies alone might welcome theese bad teeth. UQ's diminshing status coincide with the rise of Asia and naturally they will try to find new massa there. India/ Indians will/can be a natural choice for them to solve all of their Paki , Paisa and Pasban problem.

brihaspati · Post by **brihaspati** » 11 May 2010 23:22

Manu wrote
Their Economy will bounce back by 2011. You read it here first. This post is not directed at anyone in particular.

This piques my curiosity too! As early as 2011? Can you give the basic reasons? Would be delighted to be enlightened. Don't have to be elaborate, just give me the macro trends. I have recently consulted about a dozen economists in preparation for a talk. None seemed to be hopeful for even stabilization before 2014 and then also if several factors conicided. Would be good to hear of some positive notes. If usable, I will also acknowledge you.

Folks, Islamism is not really a problem for UK on the homefront. It is not just about demographics, but also because the actual movers or shakers in polciy making had always had a melting corner for Sunni-Wahabism. In fact they are more uncomfortable with the "decadent" versions of Turkey or Persia - which are left for the French and the Germans to drool over. I guess it is only the English pork that stands in the way of a more wholsome love-fest. Lawrence's discovery of the seven pillars of wisdom should be a study for all who want to understand the British mindset about desert-Islam-Arab. His book also holds a curious possibility related to the English vice - sharing a common pleasure perhaps.

surinder · Post by **surinder** » 12 May 2010 00:29

B,

I have seen the Lawrence of Arabia movie. I know of that scene in the movie that hints about some stuff that one would much rather not talk about. What else is there in the book that you can quickly outline in a para or two?

Why do the british have a soft/molten corner for hard core Wahabbism?

surinder · Post by **surinder** » 12 May 2010 01:05

While it is true that at 3% of the population the RoP are hardly a risk in RoP takover of UK. But people forget two things: one, there is massive illegal immigrants. So the real problem is bigger than the legal census would indicate. Places like London are already 10% RoP. So while Brittanistan is a distant dream, Londonistan is a distinct possibility.

anmol · Post by **anmol** » 12 May 2010 01:15

David Cameron is UK's new prime minister

Conservative leader David Cameron is the new UK prime minister after the resignation of Gordon Brown.
Mr Cameron, 43, is in Downing Street after travelling to Buckingham Palace to formally accept the Queen's request to form the next government. He said he aimed to form a "proper and full coalition" with the Lib Dems to provide "strong, stable government".
His party won the most seats in the UK general election last week, but not an overall majority.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/poli ... 675265.stm

Mahendra · Post by **Mahendra** » 12 May 2010 01:59

surinder wrote:While it is true that at 3% of the population the RoP are hardly a risk in RoP takover of UK. But people forget two things: one, there is massive illegal immigrants. So the real problem is bigger than the legal census would indicate. Places like London are already 10% RoP. So while Brittanistan is a distant dream, Londonistan is a distinct possibility.

Muslim Europe: the demographic time bomb transforming our continent

Slightly dated but still very relevant

Large ROP population may not be a bad thing but a large Pacqui population that wears its version of ROP on its sleeve is bad news for any one including the creator of Pacquistan.

Mahendra · Post by **Mahendra** » 12 May 2010 02:17

Karan Dixit wrote:I have to agree with Johan as well. It is unfortunate to portray Muslims as troublemakers in UQ. The reality is they (Muslims) are victims of a racist British society, which has completely disenfranchised Muslims (and other Colored folks) in UQ.

I have to disagree with this. Muslims are not victimised/discriminated against in the UK, at least not openly or as a matter or state policy.
People are wary of ROP followers mainly because of the activities of Pacquis who by far are the most intolerant people on the face of this earth

It is amazing that people cling on to the 3% argument ignoring the fact that it takes hardly a few decades to convert that 3% to 20% and more and then start growing from a large base. Add to that the large back log of Pure Pacquis who are waiting for their visas to be approved so that they can come and marry their cousins in the UK.

Bhima · Post by **Bhima** » 12 May 2010 03:46

Cameron as Brit PM could change U.S. ties

David Cameron becoming Prime Minister is good news for UK-India relationship or as he calls it "special relationship". Britain has actually realised the Anglo-American alliance is no more and Cameron knows this well. This is an exceptional opportunity for India to develop a new relationship with a major world power bruised by not being loved by America and indifferent towards Europe yet having strong relations and influence with both.

svinayak · Post by **svinayak** » 12 May 2010 03:52

Bhima wrote:David Cameron becoming Prime Minister is good news for UK-India relationship or as he calls it "special relationship". Britain has actually realised the Anglo-American alliance is no more and Cameron knows this better than other British politicians.

David Cameron visited India in 2006 and wrote blog during his trip.
http://dcindia06.blogspot.com/

I have a new blog...
...you can find it at www.webcameron.org.uk

You can view all my India videos on Webcameron, as well as lots of other content from me, our guests and our members.

This blog is now closed, thanks for visiting.

What has been the highlight of your trip to India? (mohamed sheikh)

There were so many highlights but overall the thing that really stuck in my mind was the way in which India has made a success of its pluralist secular democracy. Funnily enough, it was something on the very last day of the visit, just before we left for the airport, that really brought this home. We were taken on a tour of the Red Fort in Delhi, and the guide pointed out that the architecture is an eclectic mix combining a range of different artistic, religious and cultural influences. It was a vivid demonstration of India’s long heritage of successfully dealing with diversity.