BritCits

Today's links

https://twitter.com/freemvntblog tweets : Even stronger rejection of new immigration human rights rules by President of immigration tribunal: http://bit.ly/XmNhEn  (via https://twitter.com/BAILII) .

Worth a read!
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Marriage and civil partnerships inspection report.

http://www.freemovement.org.uk/2013/01/31/6491/

'The following findings and observations can therefore be gleamed from the report:

Article 8 of the ECHR is not being considered in every case;
Some ECO’s did not think that they had to consider Article 8;
Even when ECO’s do consider Article 8, this is often not case specific;
The best interests of the child are not being considered in every case where there is a UK based child;
In many cases, UKBA are not retaining documents or notes to enable a review of the decision.  Caseworkers are instructed that they should retain only documents of particular relevance to the decision.
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British citizens who don’t earn enough are finding their basic rights to a family life violated by new Immigration regulations.

http://tribune.com.pk/story/491578/immigration-woes-cant-buy-me-love/

It was a fairy tale romance that turned into a nightmare. Maliha Khan, a British citizen of Pakistani origin, met Bilal while working in Dubai in 2011. They fell in love, and Maliha first thought she would move to Dubai permanently to be with him. But then, due to other commitments she had to travel back to the UK...

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Two interesting pieces on remittances :
'How migrants' money makes the world go round' - http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/2013/jan/30/uk-migrants-money-makes-world-go
'Remittances: America is the big loser as France cashes in' - http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/2013/jan/30/remittances-america-big-loser-uk-cash
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'As the European economic crisis deepens, more and more people are leaving to seek a better life in emerging economies around the world. We speak to four who have moved abroad.'

http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/2013/jan/30/great-escape-european-migrants-fleeing-recession

Note the wording - 'migrants' not 'expats'.
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For failed asylum seekers, life on section 4 is a nightmare worse than Kafka.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jan/30/asylum-theresa-may-private-fiefdom?CMP=twt_gu
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Woeful asylum support pushes children and families into destitution.

http://www.ein.org.uk/news/woeful-asylum-support-pushes-children-and-families-destitution

Alarmingly low levels of asylum support are forcing thousands of children and their families seeking safety in the UK into severe poverty, putting babies' and mothers' lives at risk, a parliamentary inquiry reveals today.

The cross-party parliamentary inquiry into asylum support for children and young people, led by former children's minister Sarah Teather MP, today launches its report (summary, full text) into how asylum-seeking children and families are supported by the Home Office.

The panel, supported by The Children's Society, found widespread examples of families on levels of support far below mainstream benefits, leaving them barely able to put food on the table or buy a winter coat.
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PACE says Europe must help Turkey and Greece tackle irregular migration 'storm'.

http://www.ein.org.uk/news/pace-says-europe-must-help-turkey-and-greece-tackle-irregular-migration-storm

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Interesting piece on the (revived) Manx language, the Isle of Man and its unusual relationship with the UK.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21242667
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Mapped: Twitter languages in London.

http://spatialanalysis.co.uk/2012/10/londons-twitter-languages/

... and around the world :

http://www.flickr.com/photos/walkingsf/6277163176/

... European detail :

http://www.flickr.com/photos/walkingsf/6276642489/

... Asian detail :

http://www.techinasia.com/twitter-asia-map/

Indigenous tweets - Welsh, Basque, Maori, Hausa, Setswana and more :
http://indigenoustweets.com/

Vive le tweet! A map of Twitter's languages :
http://bigthink.com/strange-maps/539-vive-le-tweet-a-map-of-twitters-languages
(I was reminded of these by the Guardian data blog's fantastic map of Britain's languages: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/datablog/2013/jan/31/census-2011-language-map ).
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'With the poster tagline 'We May Not Like Britain, But You Will Love Romania', daily newspaper the Gândul has launched a series of posters, explaining why Britons should come to Romania.'

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/01/31/immigration-romania-eu-anti-britain_n_2588012.html?utm_hp_ref=uk

It leads with the claim that 'Half of our women look like Kate. The other half like her sister,' and also refers to TopGear. 
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Life in the UK, government style. The JCWI comments.

http://jcwi.org.uk/blog/2013/01/30/life-uk-government-style

I had a chat with Ferdy, a Polish friend of mine about the new material in the test. He was enthusiastic.

“The one thing I have always had a problem with when it comes to integrating in the UK is in those awkward conversations about medieval British history. I feel totally left out of those lively debates about Vikings and British resistance at bus stops, in the newsagents and in the queue for the checkout at supermarkets.”
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We don’t make our country stronger by forcing refugees into desperation.

http://www.newstatesman.com/global-issues/2013/01/we-dont-make-our-country-stronger-forcing-refugees-desperation

Via https://twitter.com/MigrantVoiceUK
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