Yorkieabroad

My sons JH civics teacher was telling the class a couple of weeks back that the UK isn't a democracy because the Queen makes all the laws and tells Parliament to enact them. Wonder what she would make of the reports out this week about the study from Princeton that concluded the US is not a democracy but an oligarchy....

Pulaski

The irony is that I don't see having an ID and being asked to show it infringes my "freedoms". It is entirely reasonable that when someone does business with me that they know I am really me, and that I can ask the same of people I do business with. How does that infringe on my "freedoms"?

When we all lived in villages such things weren't an issue, but dealing with people you have never met pretty much necessitates that people can verify their identity, doesn't it?

hungryhorace

To be fair to the teacher, they're partially correct. The UK is less of a democracy than, France, for example. Just wait until big ears becomes King and he starts directly meddling in policy as head of state rather than his current position.

hungryhorace

Britain started sacrificing it's 'freedoms for security' (a phrase so caked in bullshit I don't even know where to begin!) way before the US did imo. Despite the whole NSA spying revelations, at least America is having a conversation about it and partially changing their approach.

The Brits, on the other hand, stuck an ex Foreign Secretary and gentleman who couldn't be more representative of the ruling classes if he tried (Rifkind) to review a department he spent years running! An utter absurdity and affront to democracy. Rifkind is a stooge of the state of the highest merit.

I applaud the Americans for being outraged at what they heard; the idiot Brits care not a jot. I guess that's what happens when the state imposes mass surveillance into everyday life. I am devastated at the surveillance state the UK has become. Just 'offending' people in society now gets plod knocking at the door.

Britain has more in common with the Stasi than they would care to appreciate or realise.

Pulaski

I think the difference is that here they (almost) all "patrol" in cars, and are fairly conspicuous, whereas there are more "beat cops" in the UK. Aside from a few cops that patrol on foot in the center of downtown areas, cops on foot in the US are almost as rare as hens teeth.

Certainly I know of only one troubled neighborhood in the nearby town where the duty cops park their cars and patrol on foot (there may be others I am unaware of). One of the officers told me she often parks outside the house of known trouble makers (brothers arrested several times for various thefts, mom's boyfriend a convicted sex offender, one brother awaiting trial for homicide), "just to let them know we're around"!

kimilseung

Patrols on foot, in what numbers? I have not seen it, even downtown its pushbikes. Round my way they need about five car loads for any call out.

Yorkieabroad

Beat cops in our neck of the woods back home are pretty rare too....town of 25000, the police station was closed down a few years ago, and is now covered from a station 10 miles away by a rotating shift of 2 cops who cover an area which includes numerous other villages, around a 10x15 mile area. The only time you see significant numbers of police is when they bus them in on a Saturday night to police the pub area. Apart from that, the only foot officers seen are the community protection types, or whatever they are called. I wonder if they were counted in the figures.

Can't recall ever seeing a foot patrol where we live here...the donut shops are too far apart for that! I think they have foot patrols in downtown...they certainly have bike and horse officers out.

Lanyu

Interesting thread

It interesting how some of the comments are definitely relative to which part of the uk you live in. I live in Wiltshire in a developing town and this is the first year that I have seen police actively in the community during the school holiday I'm guessing to cut down on anti social behaviour which is getting silly
Keying cars
Braking wing mirrors
Seems to happen more when the clocks go back (to much time on there hands)

I completely agree about littering, barking dogs and not picking up there mess these things are getting worse and no one really to in force the law.
I don't feel like I'm under surveillance got no problem with showing I'd I don't like it when copies are taken of it though

markonline1

The wife is American, although swapping Bracknell for the Californian central coast didn't take too much thinking about.

Beaverstate

Is the UK short on marriage worthy women?
Seems on here at least its nearly all UK men with US women.

Cardienscarf

UK women know better

Beaverstate

Very good...insulting UK men and American women in one post

Pulaski

When I was still in the UK I noticed that my manager, over a four year period had hired ten people, all but one were men (she didn't like hiring women ), but every one of those hires had a foreign spouse/partner! Given that, needless to say, the hiring process didn't include interviewing the spouse, or asking about them, I assume that in London, at least, it is very common for well educated men to have foreign spouses.

The foreign women were from Ireland, Germany, Austria, the US, Russia (2), Ghana, Morocco, Spain, and Ireland; the only woman my manager hired had a husband from New Zealand.
Bad teeth, bad hair, and a pasty complexion.

AndFinally

I came here for money, pure and simple. On the whole however I do enjoy living here.

Yorkieabroad

I think she has the wrong hand holding the rubber stamp....