Big Sister is Watching You!

No compliance with British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA)'s new demands on promoting diversity means no film or TV awards. An Orwellian measure indeed! A typical totalitarian tactic is to profess to favour freedom while restricting freedom. The Equal Opportunities Commission was set up to promote women's work opportunities. (Men of course lose out; just look at the present composition of the Houses of Parliament.) The EOC devoted much time and public expense to defeating the Conservatives' 1979 election manifesto policy to stop foreign men using marriage to live in the UK. But on 7 July 1983 (not quite 1984!) the House of Lords determined immigration control was not covered by the 1975 Sex Discrimination Act. Therefore the EOC acted illegally and spent public money illegally. As a result, at least 300,000 men are living in these islands because it was FORCED. Please see this blog of 13 August "An Abnormal British Muddle..." Likewise, curtailing artistic freedom has been FORCED. Foreign husbands are, of course, beneficiaries of BAFTA's policy.

Where's Britain's Gandhi?

For decades politicians have been saying they will reduce immigration. But they don't do it. So it's no wonder some Britons get exasperated! Thomas Mair was sent to prison yesterday for life for killing Jo Cox MP. My guess is it's not by chance that Thomas Mair's a man and Jo Cox a woman. Also yesterday 7 Iraqis (all male) landed by boat at Folkestone. Everybody knows that asylum seekers should claim asylum at the first safe country. But the Iraqis were not returned to France.... Thomas Mair did nothing to further his cause. He should have used non-violence, like Gandhi, who, I suggest, would have supported him. If a British Gandhi emerges he can expect much derision and no help from the law. In addition to 30,000 people deported from the UK every year, another 30,000 are turned back at the borders. (Chris Huhne's figures during the run-up to the 2010 General Election.) It's thought that those who are turned back at the borders will lose themselves and seek work if they are allowed to enter the UK. But so can those who claim asylum and they are not turned back despite not having any papers! Welcome to the Asylum! P.S. I may have been the last British boy attached to the military to leave India at the end of August 1947. I was living with my W.V.S. Mum in Deolali, a transit camp near Bombay. We lived at 19 Plymouth Street. I don't know if it's still there, but a few years ago I was told Barnes High School is still there.

Mud-dle

Other countries have medical ID cards to prevent foreigners using health services for free. England (today's News) is trying out ID proof in certain areas (e.g. Peterborough). If these procedures aren't done properly and comprehensively they can easily be circumvented. The present scheme will mean that natives are inconvenienced, and hospital staff waste valuable time checking. Britain is not just a puddle (hit by heavy rains last night), but a muddle.

She Turned

A main reason Mrs. Thatcher was elected with a large majority in May 1979 was she said she would control immigration. But within days she allowed thousands of Vietnamese who had gone to Hong Kong to settle in the UK. And a couple of months later she allowed tens of thousands of Iranians to settle in the UK. She didn't keep her election promise to stop foreign men using marriage to live here. The result is hundreds of thousands of men are living in these islands. Mrs. Thatcher won the 1983 election on the back of the Falklands Conflict. Her most famous words were "The lady is not for turning. She was given what amounted to a state funeral. Now immigration has taken the UK out of the EU. And Spain cooperates with Argentina over the Falklands....

British Sovereign Territory (Remembrance Sunday)

On 12 May 1982 the European Commission of Human Rights determined in favour of three women whose husbands weren't allowed to live in the UK. While that was happening British servicemen were fighting for the Falklands. 255 died and, we're told, a similar number have since committed suicide. They died for British sovereign territory. The Falklands memorial is at Pangbourne College which used to be the Nautical College Pangbourne and where, as a teenager, I was a Cadet. At least 300,000 foreign and Commonwealth men have taken advantage of the "human rights" decision that enables them to live in these islands.

"Stop foreign men using marriage to live in the UK."

My epetition with the above title closes today. It reads: "Marriage is a loophole in visa constraints. Abolishing the spouse visa would be for the common good because England is over-crowded and the UK has more young men than young women. It would not prevent women from marrying foreign men because they can live in the husband's country, as is normal. This loophole for foreign men was closed in 1969 but was re-opened by the next Labour Home Secretary. The Conservatives promised to close the loophole again in their 1979 election manifesto, but did not keep their promise." This epetition achieved 735 signatures. (4 Signed this afternoon! - GREAT!) I would like to thank everyone - particularly the women - who signed, and who Liked, Retweeted and expressed favourable comments. Many thanks!

The Heart of the Matter

The European Commission of Human Rights was set up after the Second World War in response to its atrocities. Surely, therefore, the last thing it should do is facilitate people from outside Europe to take up permanent residence in Europe. Instead it should support a complaint to prevent that from happening. In 1977 (10 June) I complained to the ECHR that the UK allows foreign and Commonwealth men to live in the UK through marriage even though I (and other British men) cannot live in their countries through marriage. I wrote (26 August): "the 1971 Census revealed that in Great Britain there were 1,660,690 unmarried men in their 20s as compared with 973,425 unmarried women in their 20s. This shows there was a surplus of 687,265 single men in that age group." The ECHR wouldn't investigate my complaint on the grounds I had not been the victim of a Government decision. The Government's official figure at that time for the number of men allowed to live in the UK through marriage was about 10,000 a year. About a dozen years ago I read in the Press the number was over 15,000 a year.

Rights #Trump Democracy

In 1977 I read in the Press that the Conservatives' policy to stop foreign men using marriage to live in the UK wouldn't succeed because there would be an appeal to the European Commission of Human Rights. So on 10 June I complained to the ECHR that foreign men could live in the UK through marriage even though I (and other British men) couldn't live in their countries through marriage. The ECHR's response was that I hadn't been the victim of a Government decision. So I put my complaint to the Equal Opportunities Commission, which I knew was campaigning vigorously against the Tory policy. The EOC response was that my complaint was "outside our ambit". So I complained to the ECHR about the EOC. The ECHR's response was that I should challenge the EOC in the UK courts. To this end I sought Legal Aid. But the Law Society denied me the requisite Green Certificate (though I was getting Legal Aid for the divorce I was going through at the time). On 12 May 1982 the ECHR determined in favour of 3 women whose husbands weren't allowed to live in the UK. This was part of a process, while British servicemen were fighting for "British sovereign territory", the Falklands, that has enabled some 300,000 men to live in these islands! On 7 July 1983 the House of Lords determined that the 1975 Sex Discrimination Act did not apply to immigration control Therefore the EOC spent public money illegally.

Power to Judges (not Parliament)!

In 1979 the Conservative manifesto promised to end the concession by which foreign men can use marriage to live in the UK. But Mrs. Thatcher's Government didn't keep its promise despite having a large majority. Therefore it's up to the judiciary to end this concession. It's clearly unjust that foreign men can deprive Britons of work and promotion through finding someone to marry. Moreover, the Equal Opportunities Commission led a vigorous campaign to defeat the Tories' policy. But the House of Lords determined on 7 July 1983 that the 1975 Sex Discrimination Act didn't apply to immigration control. Therefore the EOC spent public money illegally. Either British men can live in other countries through marriage or they can't. If they can then people in such a transnational marriage are privileged compared to couples in other marriages, because they have the great choice of being able to live in 2 countries. If British men cannot live in their countries then it is clearly unequal that foreign husbands can live in the UK.

Power to Parliament (not Judges)!

The Conservatives' election manifesto in 1979 promised to end the concession whereby foreign men can use marriage in order to live in the UK. But Mrs. Thatcher's Government didn't keep its promise. This issue was challenged in the European Commission of Human Rights which decided in favour of 3 women whose husbands weren't allowed to live in the UK. ("The Times" 29 May 1985, page 1.) The UK has many immigration lawyers and many immigration cases are decided in courts and not by immigration officials. Now 3 judges in the High Court have controversially determined that triggering Article 50 to enable the UK leave the European Union should be a matter for Parliament and not the Government. In 1914 and 1939 Britain declared war on Germany (I'm sorry to say - please see this blog, 3 September 2016). There was no parliamentary vote in either case and no judges to say there should be! Strange that judges determine power resides in Parliament when they themselves override it! How have judges acquired these powers? And who pays them?

"Some (foreign) Students may be Genuine" !

"100,000 foreign students now crowding the capital...clearly push up property prices. While some students may be genuine, for many London is a fun finishing school, with the added attraction of a student visa and possibly never having to leave." Simon Jenkins, "London Evening Standard", 1 November 2016, page 14. I agree with foreigners who say the British have only themselves to blame. My epetition "Stop foreign men using marriage to live in the UK" at https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/129594 is running out of time. It has 695 signatures. I'm grateful to those who signed, particularly the women. But it is far short of the 10,000 needed to make any difference.

Newfies

The Battle of Agincourt,near Calais 601 years ago today, was fought because King Henry V invaded France in order to unite England. The country was divided because his father had usurped the throne. Henry V's success so stirred up the French that England then lost territories in France she had held for hundreds of years. All were lost except Calais which the French took in 1558. The loss of France led to bitter civil war - the Wars of the Roses. Henry V was born in Monmouth. Welsh archers won Agincourt. He married a French princess in Paris, who, in Shakespeare, accuses him of not liking France. On the contrary, he responds, he likes France so much he wants all of it. After his death his queen marries a Welsh courtier. Their progeny resulted in a Welsh dynasty - the Tudors. Henry Tudor, King Henry VII on winning the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, looked further afield now that France had been lost. He sent an expedition to Newfoundland.... (The rest is history.)

Vicious Inequality

On BBC Radio 4 on Sunday a feminist coined the phrase "vicious inequality". Back in 1965 Labour had a slim majority. The Conservatives agreed to the Race Relations Act provided the Government reduced immigration. Immigration marches on relentlessly.... The Act incorporates the word "nationality". This means that foreigners can use the law to deprive Britons of work and promotion. That's a vicious inequality if ever there was one. Also in 1965 President Johnson relaxed the US's strict immigration laws. The current political debacle in the US can be partly attributed to this.

The Abuse of Power

The Prime Minister said (BBC Radio 4 "Today") about immigration that we need to close loopholes. She has been in charge of UK immigration since 2010! So why hasn't she already closed them? One of the most obvious loopholes is marriage. Mrs. May ended by saying that what makes her angry is "the powerful abusing their position". Patricia Hewitt, Tony Blair's Equality Minister, wrote of her campaign opposing Mrs. Thatcher's 1979 election policy to stop foreign men using marriage to live in the UK in her 1982 book "The Abuse of Power". Hewitt subsequently was in a position of power. Her successful campaign against the Conservatives' 1979 policy was contrary to the democratic vote....

Peace brings War (as Thucydides observed in 5th c. B.C)

The Roman Empire had Peace & Prosperity. The Goths were pushed out of their lands by the Huns. In 376 A.D. the Goths appeared on the banks of the Danube and asked the Romans to be allowed to live within the Empire. The Romans agreed on condition the Goths surrender their weapons and children. The Romans had weapons inspectors! But some Goths kept their weapons by allowing the inspectors to sleep with their wives or daughters. Following a skirmish started by the Romans there was a battle at Adrianople. The Goths won. On New Years Day 407 the Vandals crossed the Rhine which was frozen over. In 410 the Goths sacked Rome. Some things were better: because of Christianity gladiator fights were stopped. Were "human rights" partly responsible for the misery of the Romans? Thucydides wrote "The Peloponnesian War" in the belief it would be a model for future wars.

Poor Britons

Mrs May said at the United Nations we should distinguish between refugees and economic migrants. Mrs Thatcher was saying that in the 1980s. It's pointless saying it and not doing anything about it. Nobody persecutes children. Workers in the flourishing refugee industry (which, unlike other successful British industries, has - alas - yet to be sold off) have 2 strings to their bow: the Law and Morality. While poor Britons who want good immigration control only have one: the Vote. Where has it got us? Disunity and discord with our fellow Europeans. This is an appeal for a judge to take affirmative action against foreign men using marriage to live in the UK.

"Deja Vu" again

Historians will dispute everything under the sun. But there's one thing, I believe, they all agree: History doesn't repeat itself. Conditions and personalities are always different. However, there's deja vu. In 1962 the implementation of the Commonwealth Immigration Act was deliberately delayed to allow Commonwealth people to settle in the UK. The result was a rush of young men. Now the illegals coming to live in Europe are likewise mostly young men. "History is past politics. Politics is future history."

No wonder they Head here

The senior rabii has written to the Prime Minister asking that more refugees be admitted to Britain. The rabbi said (Radio 4 "Today") she was one of 90,000 Jewish children who came to Britain from Germany and Austria in the 1930s. But I have heard the argument - I expect everyone has - that Britain should accept more refugees because Britain turned away Jews in the 1930s (i.e. we should learn from past mistakes and atone for guilt).

Selfish Interests

President Charles de Gaulle (means "of France"!") said France doesn't have policies, only interests. When an Englishman on the radio recently said Britain shouldn't take any more refugees he was told by Mahmood that he was selfish. But Mahmood too was being selfish. Immigration increases his political clout, and it is obviously more fun to occupy than to be occupied. And maybe he wants revenge for Britain's past imperial endeavours. De Gaulle emphatically said "Non!" when the UK applied to join the Common Market. That may have been for selfish reasons. But he didn't like the British. (Strange that he liked the Americans even less.) Now that the UK has voted to leave the European Union it would be a surprise if any Frenchman likes us.

15 Years On... The UK leaves the EU

"Welcome to the Asylum", Centre for Policy Studies 2001, page 10: "The Home Office Control of Immigration Statistics are equally suspect.... As very few illegal immigrants are ever forced to leave this country, most would have stayed on anyway, invisible, at least statistically."

Pointless Leaving the EU

Brexit disrupts European co-operation and goodwill and aggravates rifts in the UK. It was driven by discontent with immigration. The person in charge of immigration for the past 6 years is now the new Prime Minister! Mrs May has just said there will be no points system (as was largely advocated by Leavers). Instead, other means of immigration control must be implemented. Presumably that means reducing chain migration through marriage, deporting illegals, ending abuse of the asylum system, etc. All of which could have been done without leaving the European Union, and which should have been done anyway....

Public Opinion

Goering told his British captors in 1945 something like: "We never wanted war with you. It's true we wanted war. But with the Bolsheviks. You'll find they're now your enemy. And they are stronger now than before. You think you've gained a great victory. But you will lose your great empire." The historian A.J.P. Taylor argued back in 1961 that Britain made a big mistake in declaring war on Germany on 3 September 1939. Hitler had no territorial designs on Western Europe; and he admired Britain. Taylor tells us Britain's Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain was a man of peace but he was under pressure from members of his own Cabinet and from public opinion. If there was such concern about Germany invading Poland it begs the question: Why not also declare war on the Soviet Union which a couple of weeks later also invaded Poland?

British Enterprise

In 1942 no ship did more to win the war in the Pacific than the American aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (at Midway and Guadalcanal). In 2016 there is much anxiety that Southern England is wide open to illegal migration because of a shortage of ships to patrol the coastline. So what is HMS Enterprise doing? She is in the Med., officially combatting people traffickers but in fact helping them by bringing more people (mainly young men) illegally to Europe.

Ever Been Had?!

A quarter of a million people are in Libya waiting to come to Europe. 10,000 have been picked up by warships and coastguard vessels in the past 3 days and taken to Italy. But we're told the purpose of these ships is to defeat the people traffickers! Instead, they are doing their work for them! And, of course, this encourages others who want to come to Europe to head for Libyan ports. Col. Gaddafi had an arrangement with the Italians to take back illegals. Britain and France helped depose Gaddafi and kill him. People traffickers provide a service. Just as immigration lawyers do. Politicians denounce the traffickers. So why don't they denounce the lawyers? Unlike people traffickers, immigration advisory services are directly funded by the poor British taxpayer! While traffickers are ... well, in part, they're indirectly funded by the poor British taxpayer (who funds the Royal Navy).

France, home to the Sorbonne & rational thought

Britain's new Home Secretary Amber Rudd is in Paris tomorrow to discuss the jungle at Calais where 9,000 people, almost all young men, are trying to enter England illegally. If they succeed, they are never sent back to France. If, on arrival, they were immediately deported the jungle would soon close. Every year 30,000 people are refused entry to the UK. (Chris Huhne's 2010 figure.) My Japanese girl friend and I were sent back to France on 12 August 1979. Please see this blog's "Inhuman Wrongs" in 2008. If the people at Calais were granted asylum in France they would then be able to buy a ticket and come to the UK. Anyway, what's wrong with France? England's King Henry V liked it so much he wanted all of it (according to Shakespeare).

What we need is Will

Nothing is more important than the occupation of territory. But a judge dismissed my case about not being able to live in Hong Kong as "frivolous", and he didn't give me the chance to refute it. Please see "Sauce for the Gander" in 2013, my Comments at the end. And the European Commission of Human Rights dismissed my 1977 complaint about foreign men being able to live in the UK through marriage even though I (and other British men) often cannot live in their countries through marriage. The reason given was that I hadn't been the victim of a decision by a Government body. Today (BBC Radio 4 "World at One") we are told that a foreign criminal used the European Convention on Human Rights to prevent his deportation from the UK because he has a girl friend here; another was also prevented from being deported because he once had a cat. (!) The legal expert said that the Prime Minister, who had 6 years of experience as Home Secretary, could see no way to prevent such rulings in the future. As Shakespeare said, Where there's a Will there's a Way.

Corollary (a challenging word for Japanese to say)

One reason Prime Minister Lloyd George changed his mind in 1917 about extending the parliamentary vote to women was that because of the slaughter taking place among young men it would be impossible for many young British women to get married. That is no longer the case. What it would have been impossible for him or anyone else to imagine is that empowering women has brought about a surplus of young men in the UK. But that is what has happened. This is because of the successful feminist campaign to defeat the Conservatives' 1979 election manifesto policy to stop foreign men using marriage to live in the UK. The corollary of "rights" is responsibilities. I am grateful to the many women who have expressed support for my epetition at https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/129594

An Abnormal British Muddle (incl. lavatory humour)

The Council of Europe (home to European human rights) stated in its literature that the international community has long-recognised the privileged position of women in transnational (non-EU) marriages. This is because they can live in their husband's country as well as their own. Patricia Hewitt, long before becoming Tony Blair's Equality Minister, wrote that just as women had won the struggle for the parliamentary vote so they would defeat the Conservatives' 1979 election manifesto policy to stop foreign men using marriage to live in the UK. The comparison is just, though the result isn't. An energetic and determined campaign led to Mrs. Thatcher's Government not keeping its promise. Instead a policy was adopted of making it harder for foreign wives to live in the UK ("The Times", 29 May 1985, page 1.) For example, an income of at least £18,600 a year is required; and if the wife lives abroad for a certain time she loses her "Indefinite Leave to Remain". This latter is a disincentive to leave the UK, bearing in mind that if the husband dies she can only be in the UK as a tourist even if her only home is here. While it is normal for a woman to live in her husband's country, the UK is abnormal in preventing them from doing so. The UK is also abnormal in that, because of "equality" laws, foreign wives are entitled to deprive British men of work and promotion both because they are foreign and female. It would make more sense if foreign wives who leave their husbands lost their "Indefinite Leave to Remain" status. But to do that requires ID cards. And Britain's experiment with ID cards was that they should be voluntary (!) not compulsory. No wonder David Cameron abandoned the scheme. Besides, if children are involved the wives can shelter behind them. In c.1970 I knew an Englishman with a Japanese wife. They were not speaking to each other. And were in a battle for the house. She had just had a baby. I don't know the outcome. But it can be imagined. The introduction of the Commonwealth Immigration Act was deliberately delayed till June 1962 to enable as many people who wanted to to come here. The result was a rush of young men. In November 1962 the Japanese were no longer required to have visas to come to the UK. I thought: Britain is going in two different directions at once; making it harder for Commonwealth citizens to come here and making it easier for the Japanese. In 1967 I lobbied my Conservative MP about immigration. "But they fought for us during the war," he said with a smile. "Times have changed since then." He became hostile. A few years later he was made a lord. In 1975 on Radio 4s "Any Questions?" the first question was "This being International Women's Year what would the panel like to see?" The Presenter turned first to Germaine Greer. After much thought she replied: "I'd like to see a man clean the lavatory." (Much laughter ensued.) Greer, like Hewitt, is Australian. The novelist Mrs. Humphry Ward, also Australian, wrote in a Letter to "The Times", 23 May 1917, that it was an outrage that a rump Parliament extend the vote to women at such a time. 1975 was the year of the Sex Discrimination Act which governed the Equal Opportunities Commission. The EOC was a major campaigner in the struggle against the Conservatives' 1979 policy to stop foreign men living in the UK through marriage. But on 7 July 1983 the House of Lords determined the SDA did not apply to immigration control. Therefore the EOC spent public money illegally. Please see "How we got here" in this blog on 17 April 2016. Thanks!

History Matters

Nostrodamus was famous for correctly predicting that King Henry II of France would be killed in a tournament in 1559. The royal sons were children, so rule went to Queen Catherine de Medici and her councillors. The Queen had brought from Italy sidesaddle riding and underwear (to cover her legs). Protestants in France were a minority but had a capable military commander, Coligny. In 1572 Coligny was invited to Paris for the wedding of the Queen's daughter. Catherine was afraid that Coligny wanted to join Protestants in the Netherlands in their fight with Spain, and that this would bring France into war with Spain. She decided Coligny had to be assassinated. As the assassin fired Coligny's shoe buckle broke. He was only wounded. It took a fight to kill him. The Paris mob went on the rampage killing Protestants. It was 24 August - the St. Bartholomew Day's massacre.

Monstrous Misuse of Language

Scotland, Northern Ireland and the UK all have female leaders. Men who think it more natural that men should lead are called misogynists. This is a wilful misuse of language. Because its purpose is to convey the impression that such men dislike women. Disliking feminists is not the same as disliking women. Quite the contrary. When John Knox referred to the monstrous "regiment" of women he was similarly referring to the rule of 3: Mary, Queen of Scots; Elizabeth Tudor; and Catherine de Medici.

Equality

The Women and Equalities Committee of MPs says (BBC Radio 4 News) that Moslem women are the most disadvantaged people in Britain. Their situation compares favourably with native British men who not only see their country occupied by other peoples but are the target of equality laws. If it were not for this perceived unfairness Jo Cox MP would still be alive. I have found foreigners to be sympathetic but the native British call each other bigots - notoriously the Prime Minister in 2010 used the word to describe a woman who expressed concern about immigration. Yesterday I received a tweet calling me an "old bigot". I'm not so much as the judge who asked me in court "Why are you bringing this case?... Is it because you're black?" Please see "Sauce for the Gander" in 2013, my Comments at the end. When Ghandi was asked what he thought of Western civilisation he replied it would be a good idea. So would equality.

Illegitimates

All but 9 of 35 Albanian "migrants" have been deported (yesterday's News). In which case they are not "migrants"! Call them "potential migrants" or "Albanians who entered the UK illegally". To call them "migrants" gives them a legitimacy to which they are not entitled. Besides, why didn't they get passports and buy tickets? Then, because the UK doesn't have ID cards, they could overstay like everyone else. Calling EU citizens who come to the UK "migrants" is misleading. If it doesn't pan out for them they just go home. Though Brexit has caused uncertainty.

Bromide - not the real thing

Jeremy Corbyn, leader of Britain's Labour Party, says there are 5 evils: Inequality, Neglect, Insecurity, Prejudice and Discrimination. It is clearly Unequal that some people have the privilege of being able to live in two countries(through marriage) while others cannot. Mr. Corbyn could sign my petition "Stop foreign men using marriage to live in the UK" at https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/129594 But immigration issues are marked by denial and Neglect. The main reason a majority in England and Wales voted for the UK to leave the EU was immigration. They feel Insecure. No wonder! "5,895 foreign offenders are still in the community after being released from prison, Home Office figures show... they have used human rights legislation..." Prejudice means pre-judging. My only time in court was when in 1991 I brought a case about not being allowed to live in Hong Kong. The judge dismissed my case without allowing me to express it. Please see "Sauce for the Gander" in 2013. That was Prejudice. If Mr. Corbyn uses Prejudice to mean unfair treatment then it is clearly unfair that foreigners are entitled, because of equality laws, to deprive Britons of work and promotion. It is also unfair that only foreigners have access to human rights law where immigration to the UK is concerned. There is a clear systemic imbalance. Discrimination between right & wrong and good & bad is good! Judges are supposed to Discriminate - having heard the case! If by Discrimination Mr. Corbyn means unfair treatment, then it is clearly unfair that through allowing foreign men to live and work in the UK through marriage the sex ratio of young people is unbalanced - to whit, there are more young men than young women. Please see "Linguistic and Cultural Relativism" on 24 November 2010, for more on Discrimination.

Submarines

Parliament has just voted to renew Britain's nuclear deterrent, the Trident submarines. To some, this is essential for the defence of the realm. For others, it keeps the UK as a Permanent Member of the UN Security Council. But Scots don't want it, and if Scotland votes to separate from the UK then the rump UK will look ridiculous at the UN. So, instead of keeping nuclear weapons keep the Scots happy! It's pointless having nuclear weapons while not having effective immigration controls - which really would be a defence of the realm. In Arthur Miller's 1940s play "A View from the Bridge" illegal immigrants are referred to as submarines. This is because they cross the Atlantic unnoticed and pop up in America.

Factional Self-interest

Russia, by far the world's largest country, has taken 3 Syrians who applied for asylum from a war in which Russia is deeply involved. (Iran and Saudi Arabia, how many?) Syrians travel through Russia to live in Norway. Afghanistan shares a border with China. But Afghans don't go to China (the world's 2nd. richest country). They come here. Communities help their own people. And it is no secret that in Europe Non-Governmental Organisations and lawyers help people who want to live in Europe. Thousands of people, mainly young men, illegally in France and Belgium flock to the Channel ports to enter Britain. They don't have to come to Britain to claim asylum, but this is where they want to come. That says everything. While people without passports are allowed to stay here, not a day passes but that people with passports are refused entry to the UK. 30,000 a year are sent back on arrival (Chris Huhne's figure in 2010). This has badly affected me. First in 1965, and then in 1978 and 9. Please see http://marriageandmigration.blogspot.com "Inhuman Wrongs" in 2008. Factional self-interest was behind a determined campaign to defeat the Conservatives' 1979 election manifesto policy to stop foreign men using marriage to live in the UK. Conversely, discontent with immigration is forcing the UK to leave the European Union, which has many negative impacts not least of which is annoying our neighbours. It also resulted in the recent murder of an MP, to the ruin of more than one life.

What Goes Around Comes Around (II)

The official figure in 1979 for the number of men using marriage to live in the UK was about 10,000. Mrs. Thatcher's 1979 election manifesto promised to close this loophole. But she did not keep her promise. The Immigration Minister, Mr. Timothy Raison, when asked Why not? replied "Because of the fuss." As a result at least 300,000 men are living in these islands. The British Empire was built on the principle of divide-and-rule. Now it is the British who are divided....

Welcome to the Asylum

"Welcome to the Asylum", Centre for Policy Studies's booklet in 2001, page 1:"Our immigration policy is an exercise in wishful thinking.... Attempts at reform have been piecemeal and have mostly failed, partly through mismanagement and partly through lack of vision. Any strategy on immigration requires vision, morality and courage.... The last 15 years have seen a dramatic change in all categories of people who seek to enter the UK; asylum seekers, economic migrants with permission to work here and illegal immigrants." Overstayers (in 2001) are put at about 200,000 annually, and London alone is estimated to have a million people living there illegally.

LoL = Land of Lunatics (II)

When David Blunkett was Home Secretary he abandoned plans to deport 30,000 failed asylum seekers a year. ("The Times", 16 July 2002, p. 11) Both he and Theresa May when Home Secretary criticised judges for interfering in immigration cases. A few years ago there was a TV programme on the Supreme Court (BBC Four "The Highest Court in the Land") in which the senior judge responded to this by saying (with a smile) "We're only doing what the politicians want us to."

"stupid, divisive and wrong"

David Cameron called Donald Trump "stupid, divisive and wrong". Mr. Cameron has just taken the UK out of the EU contrary to his own wishes! The main reason a majority of people voted to Leave the EU was because of lack of immigration control. Mr. Cameron was responsible for that. Mr. Trump wants stricter control of immigration to the US.....

Mayday! (= M'aidez! = Help!)

Mrs. May in her first speech (4 mins. 16 secs.) in Downing Street yesterday made no mention of the main reason Britons had voted to Leave the European Union and why she had just become Prime Minister - immigration. So the new broom swept the elephant in the room under the carpet. The talented Mr. Cameron said on resigning after 6 years as Prime Minister his greatest achievement was same-sex marriage. (!) So now foreign men can become British by marrying a man! For me, yesterday was not a gay day.

LoL = Land of Lunatics

Discontent with immigration to the UK caused millions of people to vote to Leave the European Union. In charge of immigration for the past 6 years has been Theresa May. Today Mrs. May becomes Prime Minister! Lunatic. In charge of the asylum.

Appeals

During Britain's Coalition Government the Home Secretary, Mrs. Theresa May, said she was going to reduce the number of appeals in immigration cases from 17(!) to 4. The reason for appeals is in case the first decision is wrong. But it could equally have been wrong the other way. Someone could have been given "Indefinite Leave to Remain" wrongly. There is no appeal against that. The Republic of Ireland had a Referendum on the EU. The Government didn't like the result. So they had another one. The Government liked the result, and that was the end of the matter.

Spoilt for Choice

The Council of Europe in Strasbourg, home to European human rights, states in its literature that the international community has long recognised the privileged position of women in transnational marriages because they can live in their husband's country as well as their own.

Love Equality

Venus Williams was a complainer for equal pay for unequal work at Wimbledon.
As though she hasn't enough money!
She and her sister, today's Wimbledon singles champion, are doubles champions.
It's impossible for a man to win two prizes in the same tournament if he is a top singles player.
Equality was the argument that prevailed to defeat the Conservatives' 1979 policy to stop foreign men using marriage to live in the UK. But wives can live in their husband's country, so if they marry a foreigner they have the privilege of being able to live in two countries.

The Rites of Man

Before and after 1979 the Equal Opportunities Commission campaigned vigorously against the Conservatives' election policy to stop foreign men using marriage to live in the UK.
By law the EOC was obliged to support complaints from men.
So I complained to it that foreign men were allowed to live in the UK through marriage even though British men often could not live in their countries through marriage.
The EOC's response was that my complaint was out of its ambit.
So I complained to the European Commission of Human Rights about the EOC's failure to support my complaint. Its response was that I should challenge the EOC in the UK courts.
To this end I sought legal aid. My finances entitled me to it (I was getting divorced). But the Law Society refused it.
On 7 July 1983 the House of Lords determined that the 1975 Sex Discrimination Act did not apply to immigration control. This was in the case of Regina vs Entry Clearance Officer, Bombay, Ex parte Amin.
Therefore the EOC's campaign was illegal.
Furthermore the European Commission of Human Rights acted against its own rules. Article 26 of the Convention had not been complied with: because not all domestic remedies had been exhausted when on 11 May 1982 it determined in favour of three women whose husbands were not allowed to live in the UK.

Rights r Wong

179 British troops were killed in Iraq.
1,000s of foreign and Commonwealth men every year are allowed to live in the UK through marriage.
255 British servicemen were killed in and around the Falklands. A similar number have subsequently committed suicide.
While that Conflict was going on (11 May 1982) The European Commission of Human Rights determined in favour of 3 (foreign) women whose husbands were not allowed to live in the UK.
The Commission had dismissed my complaint of 10 June 1977 that the UK allows foreign and Commonwealth men to live in the UK through marriage even though I (and other British men) are often not allowed to live in their countries through marriage.
The Commission's reason was that I had not been the victim of a government decision.
Therefore, over the most important subject known to man - the occupation of territory - Britons have no "rights".

Criminal Blair (?)

Saddam Hussein expelled the weapons inspectors. He allowed them back in when troops were sent to the Kuwait-Iraq border.
The Chilcot Report is out today.
On 18 March 2003 several MPs said in Britain's House of Commons that British troops could not remain behind if the Americans invaded Iraq. (They would be worse than useless as allies.)
While British lives were at risk on the battlefield the Government allowed foreign men to take up permanent residence in the UK.
Tony Blair swatted aside the many critics by saying they were racists.
Immigration has forced the UK out of the EU.
Judges gleefully weigh in on immigration cases where there is the prospect of someone being enabled to live here. But not when there isn't.
Please see "Sauce for the Gander" in 2013. My Comments at the end.

Rebarbative

Theresa May is the frontrunner to become Britain's next Prime Minister.
She has been Home Secretary for 6 years, i.e. in charge of immigration.
It is discontentment with immigration to the UK that has driven people (a majority in England and Wales) to vote to leave the European Union.
It is rebarbative that someone who has caused such discontent and such a drastic outcome should now even be thinking of leading the UK.

Wars Within Wars

Having commemorated the first day of the Battle of the Somme (1 July 1916), when 19,240 British soldiers died, soon there will be a celebration. This will be of women getting the parliamentary vote.
As a teenager I was troubled by this.
I didn't know that some women opposed the conflict.
For example, the novelist Mary Ward wrote in a Letter to "The Times" (23 May 1917) that Frenchwomen were suffering and contributing to the war effort but they were not agitating for a great constitutional change.
The Conservatives' 1979 election promise to end the concession whereby foreign men can live in the UK through marriage was vigorously opposed by, among others, Patricia Hewitt (Australian-born, like Mrs Ward, and Equality Minister in the Blair Government) who argued that just as the women's campaign to get the vote was successful so would their campaign succeed.
Unfortunately it is men who mainly fight wars. British soldiers who are killed are mainly men. Foreign husbands are men.
I am grateful to the women who have signed https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/129594

Pointless

My cousin who lives in South Africa tells of a woman who came to Britain from Kenya when it became independent.
She became so fed up with British politics she is now living in South Africa.
A response I got to my petition - please sign https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/129594 - was: "We should send you  abroad."
My brother is Canadian. In 1988 I applied to live in Canada. They have a points system. I got no points for being a journalist, and lost points for being over 44.
The campaign to take the UK out of the EU promised an Australian-style points system.
Strange that Canada was never mentioned....

100 Years On

"Our immigration policy is an exercise in wishful thinking. We pretend that we control our borders when we have lost all control." (Welcome to the Asylum", Centre for Policy Studies, 2001)
That quote from 2001 is equally valid today.
It explains the murder of Jo Cox MP and why England and Wales voted to Leave the European Union.
Yesterday much media attention was focussed on the first day of the Battle of the Somme, 1 July 1916, when the British Army suffered 60,000 casualties.
It begs the question:  What would the young men who flocked to the colours 100 years ago make of the UK's failure to protect her borders now?

Do as the Romans (& Irish) do!

In 1973 I was against the UK joining the EU because of immigration and because I read that of 125 mandatory EU laws Italy had complied with only 17 (i.e. those Italians agreed with).
Britain, being law abiding, wouldn't be playing on a level field.
Many people blame Mr. Cameron for having a "stupid" referendum. It is said to have been because of divisions in the Conservative Party.
But everyone knows that the UK is being exploited. E.g., by Romanians sending child benefits back to Romania. Something had to be done.
Mr. Cameron got concessions from the other EU countries only because of the threat of the UK leaving the EU.
That policy failed big time when a majority in the UK voted to leave.
Mr. Cameron told EU leaders they hadn't given him enough about immigration.
We fined our fishermen while other EU countries didn't fine theirs. It's no wonder Cornwall voted to leave.
Britain should just have ignored EU laws, like other countries....
Italy:    What laws?
France: We're a founder member, so we can ignore them if they don't suit us.
Spain:   Manana....
Greece: We gave everyone democracy, and we can't afford it....
A few years ago the Republic of Ireland had a referendum about the EU. The Government didn't like the result, so they had another one. Which got the result the Government wanted....

What Goes Around Comes Around

The original "Thucydides trap" was Sparta (a land power) fearing the rising (sea) power of Athens. Sparta's King Archidamus urged restraint rather than war. He was cited in Britain's House of Commons on 18 March 2003 by an MP who opposed the invasion of Iraq. But in the 5th century BC Athens' democratic leader Pericles argued that concessions would be interpreted as weakness. Athens lost the war.
The early years of the 20th century were an example of Thucydides' (an Athenian general) theory. Germany (a land power) was rising. Britain (a sea power) was afraid.
Today the rising power, China, is building airfields on islets in the South China Sea and claiming the Sea as its own.
Only the existing power (the US) can stop them.
Both Athens and Sparta had allies. So did Britain and Germany 100 years ago.
Weaker countries bordering the South China Sea look to the US to help them....
Thucydides believed that war in one place caused a movement of people and so another war....

Good and Bad

Socrates said few are the good things in life, many are the bad. For the good things we can thank God, for the bad we have to look elsewhere. When asked to define Good, he replied "I'm afraid it's beyond me".
Hamlet famously said "There's nothing either good or bad but that thinking makes it so."
Enoch Powell said immigration to the UK was a "preventable evil".
It's certainly good for lawyers....

Atrocious Misuse of Language

In one fell swoop Mr. Cameron has taken the UK out of the EU and probably broken the UK.
In his speech to the Commons yesterday he described hostility to Poles living in Britain as "despicable" and the perpetrators as "racists".
My beef is not with the word "despicable" (although yesterday I had the misfortune to meet a woman who once said to me "You are despicable"). It is with the word "racist" (which I have also had directed at me).
The usual word for people who don't like foreigners occupying their territory is "patriot" or "nationalist".
Patriots are usually admired, so Mr. Cameron avoided that.
Nationalists are identified with Scotland. Ditto.
On this day in 1914 a Serb nationalist (no one calls him a racist) committed an atrocious assassination. (He told his captors he hadn't meant to kill the wife.) Archduke Ferdinand was killed not for being a bad man but for being a good man who wanted to smooth things over.
(P.S. To cap the above, England lost at football to Iceland! in the European Cup yesterday.)

Good Grief! From Goodwill to Goodbye!

Tony Blair recently received an award from the Polish Government because in 2004 when Poland and other East European countries joined the EU he allowed their citizens to live in the UK though other EU countries prevented them from moving there.
It is now extremely ironic that this moral act may well have been a major factor in the UK leaving the EU.
Politicians over the years have said EU citizens could not be stopped from coming here. That was not strictly true, because other EU countries stopped the East Europeans while the UK did not.

Hope and Understanding

There has been a lot of praying ("flopping" as Dickens called it in "A Tale of Two Cities") recently. A frequently quoted passage from the Bible says: "Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do." The people who caused unhappiness to Mr. Mair (and others) know fine what they do.
My local vicar says "sisters and brothers". I pointed out that if Jesus did not say it like that (in Aramaic) then that version is unChristian.
The Church would do well to pray for Mr. Mair. Not for forgiveness (leave that to God), but for Hope and Understanding.

The Moral High Ground

In one of the most prominent debates, just 2 days before the late, much-to-be-regretted EU Referendum, the Mayor of London accused people who want to restrict immigration to the UK of hate. This strong word is effective in claiming the high moral ground for the speaker.
London's Covent Garden used to have this graffito: "Hell hath no fury like a vested interest masquerading as a moral principle."
The Mayor of London is Labour and most immigrants vote Labour.
Immigration causes ill feeling. That is what the Referendum was mostly about.
Provoking ill feeling is morally wrong.

Hara-kiri!

National hara-kiri, leaving the EU, has been driven largely by the illusory notion that it will solve the UK's immigration problems.
If causing Scotland to separate and causing Northern Ireland problems is not hara-kiri I don't know what is.

"Because of the Fuss"

David Cameron said we are having today's EU Referendum because the UK is a democracy.
It was in the Conservatives' election manifesto.
In 1979 the Conservative manifesto included the promise to stop foreign men using marriage to live in the UK.
But that promise wasn't kept.
When asked Why? by Douglas Stewart, presenter of Radio 4 "Tonight" (end October 1979) the Immigration Minister Timothy Raison replied: "Because of the fuss."
In 1979 the official figure for the number of men using marriage to live in the UK was about 10,000 a year.
Therefore as a result of Mrs. Thatcher's Government not keeping its promise at least 300,000 men are living in these islands.
I knew that foreigners were using legal aid to contest immigration decisions.
So in 1980 I applied for legal aid to bring a case of treason against Mrs. Thatcher.
I was granted legal aid for my divorce in 1980, but  the Law Society refused legal aid for a case against Mrs. Thatcher. When I enquired Why? I was informed the Committee did not have to give a reason but simply felt legal aid should not be given.

It's Like the Weather

The unnecessary Referendum tomorrow is driven by the success of UKIP which is driven by "legitimate concerns" ( a euphemism for varying degrees of resentment) about immigration.
It is like Mark Twain said of the weather: Everybody talks about it, but nobody does anything about it.
That being so, it is a wonder that only one Englishman (so far) has been driven off the rails.
(P.S. Mr. Mair and Mr. Cameron have Scottish names.)

Self-inflicted

David Cameron spoke of targets to cut net migration to the UK knowing they couldn't be attained while the UK remains in the EU. (Radio 4 News.)
In 2010 he stressed a "cap" was the answer. Now there is no mention of a cap.
Brexit won't solve the UK's immigration problems.
If Leave win on 23 June there is a 2-year period before it takes place.
Immigration will soar to beat anticipated restrictions.
Boris Johnson has repeated his 2010 view there should be an amnesty for illegals.
So Brexit leaders clearly don't have the will to reduce immigration numbers.
All this controversy and disruption! All for what?!
From the outside it must look to foreigners as though Britain is committing hara-kiri.

Thought Control

In "1984" there is a Ministry of Equality that promotes inequality.
In 1984 I thought Britain was worse than Airstrip One (Orwell's name for Britain) because we now have two equality organisations. The Equal Opportunities Commission had successfully campaigned against the Conservatives' policy to stop foreign men using marriage to live in the UK. Even though the House of Lords determined (7 July 1983) that the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 did not apply to immigration control. The EOC was set up by Parliament to enforce work opportunities for women (the corollary being depriving men). Foreign husbands ae similarly entitled, by law, to deprive Britons of work and promotion. These men are here (partly) because of the EOC's illegal campaign. The largest group of taxpayers is British men. They fund the people in the "equality" industries!
In "1984" the only hope lay with the poor, the "proles", who cared about the future of Airstrip One. Central to the theme of "1984" is language. Newspeak enabled thought control. Jo Cox said: "women and men". 
I am grateful to the many women who have expressed support for my epetition "Stop foreign men using marriage to live in the UK" at https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/129594

Pearl Harbour again!

"We lived in India. Now Indians live here. It's just history repeating itself." BBC Radio 4 "Today", yesterday.
In the early 1860s, while American had civil war, Britons in Japan were being killed. Unrepentant samurai were forced by the Japanese Government to commit hara-kiri.
Today on Radio 4 "Sunday" the Archbishop of York said killing was too weak a word to describe the murder of Jo Cox MP. It was "a day of infamy in our country", though immigration is a legitimate concern. "Concern" is a weak word, when it is obvious that immigration to the UK has ruined some people's lives.
"A day of infamy" was how President Roosevelt described the attack on Pearl Harbour. History repeating itself, indeed!
The Archbishop of York came to Britain because of persecution by Uganda's Idi Amin. As everybody knows, Idi Amin has long gone, but the Archbishop is still here. Everybody also knows that every day for many years there has been abuse of the asylum system. To dismiss this as "concern" is to downplay its negative impact on some Britons and to gloss over the problem which ordinary citizens look in vain to politicians to protect them from.
In 1991 I was sitting on a bench in a crowded shopping mall in Japan when I heard an American (Canadian?) voice say: "The English and the Japanese are so alike it is weird."
No one is forced to commit hara-kiri but the suicide rate among young men in the UK is notoriously high.

Wherein Lies the Fault

The reaction to the murder of Jo Cox MP was: "Prejudice and hate must be defeated". A better reaction would be: "We shouldn't give cause for prejudice and hate in the first place". People who give cause know fine what they are doing - causing unhappiness - yet imagine they have the moral high ground.
Prejudice is pre-judging. The judge who heard my case about Hong Kong in 1991 was guilty of that. He dismissed my case without ever giving me the chance to express it.
He also lied, cheated and stole.
Please see "Sauce for the Gander" in 2013. My Comments at the end.

Cause and Effect

Grievances breed resentment.
Assassinations (as happened yesterday) are not a good idea. (Signing https:petition.parliament.uk/petitions/129594 is a good idea.)
In 1914 a Serb nationalist caused great suffering to his fellow Serbs (not to mention elsewhere!).
Feminism and immigration are closely connected. (Please see http://marriageandmigration.blogspot.com "How we got here" 17 April 2016.)

Spanish Fly - in the Ointment

Mr. Cameron's Referendum on the UK remaining or leaving the European Union is a week from today.
Remain argue that the UK has control of its borders. If that is so, why aren't the many people who enter the UK illegally from the Continent send back?
Leave say they will get back control of our borders. But they don't say they will send back to France, Belgium, etc. those people who have crossed over from there illegally. Why not?
It can only be because both Remain and Leave politicians have no intention of ending this violation of our borders.
Months of controversy! Nothing solved!
As if not enough feathers have been ruffled already here and abroad, Mr. Cameron has angered the Spanish by flying off to Gibraltar today.
P.S. Please see http://marriageandmigration.blogspot.com "Inhuman Wrongs" in 2008, which tells of me and my Japanese girl friend having to return to France in 1979.

The Irish Question

A Radio 4 "Today" Presenter in Dover said she was as close to our nearest EU neighbour as was possible.  France is 22 miles away. But if she went to Northern Ireland she could have one foot in the UK and the other in the Republic of Ireland. This is important when it comes to the contentious issue of controlling our borders. The Leave campaign's mantra is "get back control of our borders". It's very effective. It's what everyone wants. And it may well result in a victory for Leave in next week's Referendum. But very little has been said on how controlling our borders will be achieved.

Migration Watch's Opinion

"We don't think the Australian-style points system is the right system for us," so said a Migration Watch spokesman on BBC Radio 4 "Today". He also said Migration Watch do not have a view as to whether the UK should Leave or Remain in the EU when it comes to the Referendum on 23 June.
Australia requires visas for everyone who goes there. Imagine if everyone in Europe had to get a visa to come to the UK

Indefinite Leave

Most foreigners want to get Permanent Residence stamped in their passports when they live abroad.
Foreigners here don't get P.R. Instead "Indefinite Leave to Remain" is stamped in their passports.
There's a difference.
A vigorous campaign was waged by various factions to defeat the Conservatives' 1979 election manifesto policy to stop foreign men using marriage to live in the UK.
It culminated with the European Court of Human Rights' decision in favour of 3 (foreign) women whose husbands were not allowed to live in the UK. Mrs. Thatcher's Government's response to this was to make it harder for foreign wives to live in the UK. ("The Times" 29 May 1985, page 1.)
For example a British husband must have an annual income of at least £18,600.
Another example is that if they live in the wife's country for a certain length of time she loses "Indefinite Leave to Remain" in the UK. To get it back the couple have to return to the UK and  prove they have lived together for a year. So naturally there is an incentive to not leave the UK in the first place.

Diverse but Unequal

Universities are a hotbed of Equality and Diversity.
In 1970 I was involved in an argument at university.
Fees for foreign students, which had been the same as for British students, were increased. The reason was scarce university places were being taken by foreigners. Of course, increasing the fees was denounced as discrimination.
Now, to help with funding, universities actively recruit foreign students.
Thus the original reason has been turned on its head.
Naturally I don't know about all countries, but it is common for foreign students to pay more and for them not to be allowed to work.
And it is uncommon to have publicly-funded Equality and Diversity Officers.

Kamikaze Saga

Edward Heath became Prime Minister in 1970 because, it's widely accepted, of Enoch Powell's 1968 speech on immigration.
Mrs Thatcher said she would restrict immigration. She won a big majority in 1979. In her victory speech on the steps of 10 Downing Street she said that unlike previous Prime Minsters who broke their election promises she would keep hers.
Her most famous one-liner was "The lady is not for turning!"
 But she broke an election manifesto promise, and she turned.
That promise was to stop foreign men using marriage to live in the UK.
Many people want the UK to leave the European Union because of immigration. David Cameron's answer was to have a Referendum.
But Leaving the EU won't solve the UK's immigration problems. Instead, there will be a rush to beat any restrictions (just as in 1962 there was a rush of young men to beat the Commonwealth Immigration Act).
Leaving will bring problems:
It will create discontent in Scotland (which mainly wants to Remain);
Destabilise peace in Northern Ireland;
It will antagonise all remaining 27 countries (who have made concessions to keep the UK in the EU), and in particular any country to which visa restrictions are directed;
Result in Spain blockading Gib. (even faster than a new Referendum on Scotland leaving the UK).
Instead the Government could:
Cut down on chain migration (of relatives);
Cut out lawyers, appeals, advisory services (not available to Britons abroad, and funded by the British taxpayer);
Stop students from working (British students abroad are often not allowed to work);
Have medical cards for everyone entitled to use the NHS (as in other countries);
Have more British-trained doctors and nurses - and get 'em to stay!
Increase the period before someone gets "Indefinite Leave to Remain" and can apply for British citizenship;
Deport illegals (of whom there are said to be up to 1 million in these islands).
Both outcomes of the Referendum in 2 weeks' time are bad!
If Remain wins handsomely then nothing will be done to address immigration problems.
Bad blood will  intensify!

10,000

"10,000 houses continue to be built every year in flood risk areas," BBC Radio 4 "Today".
What a coincidence!
10,000 men a year use marriage to live in the UK. (The Government's official figure in 1979, when it broke its promise to close this loophole.)
So everybody knows how to stop the foolish activity of building in flood risk areas.
Sign https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/129594
10,000 Greeks marched into Persian territory in 401 BC. An exciting account is told by Xenophon in "The Persian Expedition" (or "Anabasis"). It pays to read Herodotus and Thucydides first.

Forced Injustice

"Justice and equality will win!" So proclaimed Hillary Clinton announcing her nomination as Democratic candidate. (Today's News)
The taxpayer (mostly British men) funded the Equal Opportunities Commission, the purpose of which was to help women with work and promotion. Naturally for every woman helped a man loses. It can't be otherwise. The EOC devoted much time and effort and public money to oppose the Conservatives' 1979 election policy to stop foreign men using marriage to live in the UK. The official figure was about 10,000 men a year taking advantage of that loophole. The EOC's campaign succeeded. Mrs. Thatcher's Government backed down. The result is that at least 300,000 men are living in these islands. They are entitled, thanks to equality laws, to deprive Britons of work and promotion. This is neither Justice nor Equality for native Britons. Moreover the House of Lords determined on 7 July 1983 that the 1975 Sex Discrimination Act does not apply to immigration control. Therefore the EOC acted illegally.

Distracting & Divisive

It is clearly unjust that foreign husbands are entitled, because of equality laws, to deprive Britons of work and promotion. It is also unjust that foreign wives are entitled to deprive British men of work and promotion both because they are foreign and female.
The former injustice exists because of the latter.
The Equal Opportunities Commission vigorously campaigned against the Conservatives' 1979 election manifesto policy to stop foreign men using marriage to live in the UK. Mrs. Thatcher's Government duly backed down. The EOC's campaign was illegal, because the House of Lords determined on 7 July 1983 that the 1975 Sex Discrimination Act did not apply to immigration control.
Never mind injustice, we have a Referendum on the European Union to distract us.
In 1415 Henry V invaded France to distract English/Welshmen from his father's usurpation and regicide. His intention was to unite the country behind him....The result was the War of the Roses.

What's the Point... if our Leaders show they haven't a clue what to do?

The 2010 General Election in 2010 was marked in England by 3 TV debates. Next to the economy they focussed on immigration.
The Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, stressed that what was needed was a points system. This is what the Leaders of the current Leave campaign want! It begs the question: Labour was in power 13 years so if a points system was the answer why didn't they have one?
All 3 Speakers repeated their arguments in all 3 debates.
David Cameron wanted a "cap".
Nick Clegg wanted an amnesty.
Both Labour and the LibDems later admitted they had got it wrong on immigration.
It only remains for Mr. Cameron to admit it.
Instead he has called a Referendum on the UK remaining in the EU, knowing that people who want to Leave mainly do so because of immigration.
It's for sure that foreigners who witnessed those debates would have laughed in disbelief, or if they are pro-British shaken their heads in despair.

Armies, Then and Now

Derby Day! Last year I went to Epsom Racecourse for the first time. Someone had placed flowers on the spot where a woman had thrown herself in front of the King's horse in 1913 as part of a bitter power struggle. Thank Goodness! not all women are like that. Mary Ward argued against extending the parliamentary vote to women (Letters in "The Times", 23 May 1917), pointing out that men served in the Army. Nowadays groups of young men from Africa and Asia march towards the Channel ports intent on occupying the UK. An army of lawyers, activists and civil servants are busily engaged - usually at public expense - on their behalf. These people helped defeat the Conservatives' 1979 election manifesto policy to stop foreign men using marriage to live in the UK. (My petition https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/129594)  The official figure in 1917 was about 10,000 men a year using marriage to live in the UK. As a result of Mrs. Thatcher's Government not keeping its 1979 promise at least 300,000 men are living in these islands.

"Tug and Scamble"

Shakespeare egregiously refers to England as an island (instead of part of an island). That aside, he nails it with "England doth tug and scamble", the Bastard in "King John". "This England never did, nor never shall, Lie at the proud foot of a conqueror, But when it first did help to wound itself."
The Tories (Irish rebels!) have inflicted a divisive EU Referendum on the UK. Mr. Cameron's explanation is that the UK is a democracy and there was a demand for it.
Whatever the outcome, it's harmful.

For Immigration Control Look Elsewhere

In 1904 the Entente Cordiale between Britain and France was widely celebrated as being the end of centuries of hostilities. Britain's Foreign Office opposed it because it identified Germany as a potential adversary. But King Edward VII was pro-French and in favour. Hotels in France are named after him! When former Prime Minister Lord Salisbury was told of it he replied: "Brilliant. Now you've made a future war with Germany inevitable."
At the end of July 1914 there was a naval review at Kiel. When the Royal Navy ships sailed they flew a signal to their German hosts: "Friends today. Friends forever."   Within a few days they were at war.
If the UK were to vote to leave the European Union  on 23 June it would antagonise our neighbours. The main driving force for wanting to leave is immigration. The prospect of restrictions would spark a rush (as happened in 1962 with the Commonwealth Immigration Act), so will be counter-productive. Britain's immigration problems can be tackled in other ways: e.g., by returning people who have crossed the English Channel and North Sea illegally back to the Continent; by cutting out the power of lawyers; and by cutting down on chain migration: e.g., by signing my petition "Stop foreign men using marriage to live in the UK" at https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/129594
Many thanks to those who sign!

Theirs isn't the Glory ("Theirs is the Glory" is an old film about Arnhem)

"The Glorious First of June" was a sea battle between Britain and France in 1794.
There won't be a glorious 23 June 2016. Most people who will vote for Britain to leave the EU will do so because of immigration. Even if they win they will have nothing to celebrate. They will have rubbed our neighbours up the wrong way. Leaders of the Leave campaign say (BBC Radio 4 8 a.m) they will introduce an Australian-style points system. But Oz requires visas for everyone (Kiwis?). Co-operation with the French (and others) will not be improved by requiring them to have visas. Canada has a points system. I applied to live there in 1988. I was refused and told not to apply again. My brother is Canadian, but I didn't get any points for being a journalist, and I lost points for being over 44.

Bigger Battles

3 sea battles can claim to be the greatest ever. (1) Ecnomus in 256 BC, for the number of ships: Rome 1 - Carthage 0. (2) Leyte in 1944, for firepower and expanse of ocean: USA 1 - Japan 0. (3) Jutland on 31 May 1916, for number and size of battleships: Germany beat Britain on penalties but fled the field.
Libya's Col. Gaddafi had an arrangement with Italy to take back people who entered Italy illegally. Now Italy gives them permits and transports them North in the hope they will go to another country. The USA's strict immigration laws were relaxed in 1965. Britain, an island, used to return illegals to France but, since 1991, now doesn't.
Legal battles have replaced sea battles to determine who lives where.

23 May 1917

Patricia Hewitt, when General Secretary of the forerunner of "Liberty" and long before becoming Equality Minister, wrote in her book "The Abuse of Power" she was sure her campaign against the Tories' 1979 policy of stopping foreign men using marriage to live in the UK would succeed - just as women's struggle for the vote succeeded. She was right, and says it was her "most satisfying achievement".
The novelist Mary Ward (Australian, like Hewitt) thought the vote would bring women into competition with men and result in the collapse of the Empire. I would like to thank the women who have signed my petition "Stop foreign men using marriage to live in the UK" at https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/129594
255 British servicemen died in the Falklands Conflict (and a similar number subsequently committed suicide). It is a scandal that while that was taking place, 12 May 1982, the European Commission of Human Rights determined in favour of 3 (foreign) women whose husbands were not allowed to live in the UK.
Wars within wars - the occupation/control of territory - is a feature of Britain's decline over the past 100 years.

New Petition needs Signatures!

My new petition "Stop foreign men using marriage to live in the UK" can be found at https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/129594. I'd be very grateful to anyone (British or resident in the UK) who signs!
A recent petition about women having to wear high heels at work got 100,000 signatures in a few days, and will be debated in Parliament. That shows how bizarre British priorities are. I'm sure foreigners will agree that allowing thousands of men a year to live and work (by law on equal terms with the natives) in one's country is far more serious.  Yet this is my 5th epetition on this subject and the most signatures I have had so far is 280. (Thanks to all who have signed!)

No Laughing Matter

In 1959 I set out for Asia age 21. But there was nowhere I was allowed to live & work. I returned to the UK in 1962 just as the Commonwealth Immigration act was coming into force. There was a rush of young men to beat the Act. It was obvious that Commonwealth men would now find someone to marry to live in the UK. Conscription had just ended. That was good for young British men. It was also good for young foreign and Commonwealth men; they would come to the UK to avoid conscription in their own countries. I used to want children. But not since then. So it is easy to imagine my feelings when politicians say 3,000 children living in France should be allowed to live in the UK "to get the future they deserve". The UK gets the future it deserves! The people who have organised for these children to get to France must be laughing.....

"Since it must be so"

"Sayonara", a famous novel and film set in Japan during the Korean War, tells of 2 US airmen who fall in love with Japanese women. If the couples married they could not live in either Japan or the US. It ends with one couple committing suicide. I was surprised to read recently in the blurb of Bernard Cornwell's latest book "Warriors of the Storm" that he became a novelist because although his wife is American he cannot work in the US. His series of novels is set in 9th and 10th century England and last year was a TV series "The Last Kingdom".
The Council of Europe states in its literature: The international community has long-recognised the privileged positon of women in transnational marriages. This is because they can live in their husband's country (as well, of course, in their own).
In 1979 The Conservatives promised to stop foreign men from being able to live in the UK through marriage, but did not keep their promise.
In the 9th and 10th centuries England's problem was foreigners (Danes) wanting to occupy the place. Now that is what drives many Britons to want to leave the EU.
In 1991 I was sitting on a bench in crowded Sannomiya shopping mall in Kobe, Japan, when I heard an American (Canadian?) voice say "The English are so like the Japanese it's weird".
In Saxon England "weird" meant "fate". Hence the Weird Sisters in "Macbeth".
Voting to leave the EU because of immigration is odd because it won't work. Immigration may well increase as a result of the rush to get here to beat any restrictions.
In 1962 there was a rush of young men to come to the UK to beat the Commonwealth Immigration Act.
"Sayonara" = "Since it must be so"

It's a Fair Swop!

The Government is under pressure to allow 3,000 unaccompanied children in Europe to settle in the UK. (BBC Radio 4 "Today".) That's a "small but significant number", said Labour's Shadow Immigration Minister.  In 1979 I was told that 10,000 men a year using marriage to live in the UK was "not many". These men have children both to strengthen their claim to these islands and to strengthen their community. Mrs. Thatcher's Government did not keep its promise to close this loophole. So since 1979 probably a million people are living in these islands. Children have children. 3,000 fails to take into account chain migration. I would readily swop those 3,000 for the 10,000 men a year who use marriage to live here.

All Roads lead to ....

Allowing 12 Syrians to live in the Vatican is doubtless humanitarian, but, pace Il Papa, it's also political because unless they arrive by helicopter Italy's authority is required for them to enter Italy.
It is easy to sympathise with 3 Syrian families; not so easy to sympathise with the thousands of young men who flock to English Channel ports with covetous looks towards our island.

Migration and the Military

The Defence Secretary, Michael Fallon, announced yesterday that the European Convention on Human Rights would not apply to the military. He had no need to announce that. Because the Council of Europe's own literature states that the only area in which the Convention does not apply is the military.
Immigration can be a form of military activity and/or a product of it. Therefore the European Commission of Human Rights should not have determined in favour of 3 (foreign) women whose husbands were not allowed to live in the UK. Which it did on 12 May 1982, right in the middle of the Falklands Conflict when 255 British servicemen were being killed. A similar number - we are told - have subsequently committed suicide. The number of foreign and Commonwealth men who have taken advantage of that ruling (and Mrs. Thatcher's Government's failure to honour its promise to close the loophole) must be at least 300,000 (based on c.10,000 a year using this method, which was the Government figure in 1979).

How we got here

There was no Christmas message by the Queen in 1966. But such was the demand for one that the Queen said in 1967 she would write the message herself that year on a subject that she felt strongly about. There was much speculation as to what that subject was. It turned out to be feminism.
A female Labour MP was inspired by it to press for a similar act for women as the Race Relations Act. This resulted in the Sex Discrimination Act 1975. (The Conservatives having unexpectedly won the 1970 election, due, it was widely believed, to Enoch Powell.)
The SDA governed the activities of the Equal Opportunities Commission which campaigned vigorously against the Conservatives' 1979 election manifesto policy of ending the concession whereby foreign men can live in the UK through marriage. (That policy did not, of course, forbid foreign husbands from living in the UK - as was sometimes claimed - because there are many other visas.)
On 7 July 1983 the House of Lords determined that the SDA 1975 did not apply to immigration control.
Therefore the EOC acted illegally.
If the SDA had applied to immigration control then the EOC acted illegally by not supporting my complaint that the British Government allows foreign and Commonwealth men to live in the UK through marriage even though I (and other British men) often cannot live in their countries through marriage. Because the EOC was bound by law to support complaints by men (as well as women). But the EOC's response (13 March 1978, ref: 20S 2793/KA) was that my complaint "does not come within the ambit of our work."
On 12 May 1982 the European Commission of Human Rights found in favour of 3 (foreign) women whose husbands were not allowed to live in the UK. Right in the middle of the Falklands Conflict! So "human rights" were being used to enable foreign men to occupy these islands while 255 British servicemen were being killed. (A similar number - we are told - have subsequently committed suicide.)
In December 1982 the House of Commons voted on allowing foreign husbands to live in the UK through marriage, but the Bill did not pass because many Conservatives believed they should honour their election promise.
In January 1983, however, Mrs. Thatcher said the Conservatives had to be united because there would be an election that year. Despite some continued opposition - one Conservative MP described it as "insane" - the Bill then passed.

A Clear & Specific Aim

An epetition to "Block Donald J Trump from UK entry" got over 546,000 signatures. This was in response to the Republican presidential candidate's suggestion that all Muslims be denied entry to the US. Parliament debated it, but rejected it.
Migration Watch's epetition "No to 70 Million" got over 145,000 signatures. It achieved nothing because it had no specific request in addressing overpopulation in Britain.  My request to Migration Watch that it support my epetition on marriage being used for immigration purposes was rejected because it "muddies the waters"!
"End Immigration Concession" was signed by only 290 people. 

Appeal!

I am trying to start a new petition. I need 5 signatures to get started. If you are British or UK Resident please send an email address for me to forward it to. I'd be very grateful if anyone does.

"End Immigration Concession"

My epetition "End Immigration Concession" read: "In their 1979 election manifesto the Conservatives promised to end the concession whereby foreign men can live in the UK through marriage. But Mrs. Thatcher's Government did not keep its promise.
England is overcrowded and he UK has more young men than young women.
The official figure in 1979  was about 10,000 men using marriage as a means to live in the UK. Therefore at least 300,000 men are living in these islands as a result of Mrs. Thatcher's Government not keeping its promise. Foreign husbands are enabled, thanks to equality laws, to deprive Britons of work and promotion.
It is also clearly unjust that some people have the privilege of having two (non-EU) countries in which to live, while others do not."
This petition closed today. Only 290 people signed it.
By contrast, epetition "Stop allowing immigration into the UK" got 216,949 signatures.
Parliament's response was "We are building an immigration system that works in the public interest...." There was no specific request of Parliament, so the petition achieved absolutely nothing.

A Useful Language

"Migrants Smuggled to UK for Just £100". Today's front page headline in the "Daily Mail".
My beef is not just with the criminality but with the word "migrant". This word gives them legitimacy. It implies they are going to stay and have a right to do so. That this word is wrongly used is shown by e.g. "Migrants returned to Turkey". For "migrant" read "people" (or "young men", which they usually are). Why come here, and not Russia or China? No ID cards, hard-working lawyers, the usefulness of the English language....

The "War" to Bring Young Men Here

Wars are mainly fought by young men.. If I were a foreign young man facing conscription I know what I would do. I come to Britain as a student. Of English, of course! To stay here permanently I would find someone to marry. Then I would have free health care, free education for my children....
And I would be able to do all this because of the campaign that succeeded in defeating the Conservatives' 1979 promise to close this loophole. That was a war fought not by young men. They were busy being shot at in Northern Ireland and on and around the Falklands. I used to want children, but not since 1962 when it was obvious that following the Commonwealth Immigration Act men from the Commonwealth would now seek someone to marry so as to stay here.

The Common Good!

"The Archers" (BBC Radio 4) storyline on domestic violence has attracted the attention of TV. BBC 1's "Countryfile" says that 2 women a week throughout the UK are killed by domestic violence.
Allowing foreign men to use marriage to live in the UK is the main reason there are more young men than young women. This in turn results in some men marrying women they don't really want to. "The Times" had a Leader about this c.1979. My epetition "End Immigration Concession" is for the common good. It closes in 3 days. I would like to thank everyone who signed it, particularly the women.

Contrasting Wrongs!

Folkestone's Road of Remembrance was opened by Prince Harry in August 2014. 10 million (!) men could see France as they marched down to the docks during the First World War.  Now Folkestone is criticised over the "human rights" of asylum seekers. These almost all young men could have claimed in France and few are ever deported. Unlike my Japanese girl friend who arrived at Dover at midnight in September 1978 and was promptly sent back to Ostend on the grounds she was "not a genuine visitor". Not true! She had a job in Tokyo, and intended to return after a week or two.  Please see "Inhuman Wrongs" posted in 2008.

Marriage, a popular loophole

Marriage was popular in 1915. Conscription had been introduced for the first time in Britain, but not for married men. That loophole was closed in March 1916. MPs were conscripted if they hadn't volunteered. After the Second World War two professions were exempt: merchant navy and mining. I joined the MN. "An army dodger, eh?" There was a strong feeling of duty. Now young men come here because of conditions in their countries. Lawyers get paid to help them. Marriage is the obvious loophole.  Instead of holding a divisive and disruptive referendum on the EU the Government should control borders. UKIP support would evaporate! Leaving the EU doesn't mean the UK gets back control of her borders. There were no visa requirements for Western Europe before the EU. Is it envisaged that there should be?

A Taste for Discrimination!

Today's BBC Radio 4 "Midweek": "There was a lot of discrimination in the '50s." For real (not imaginary!) discrimination in 1991 please see "Sauce for the Gander" in 2013 & my comments at the end. Thanks!