"I have never welcomed the weakening of family ties by politics or pressure" - Nelson Mandela.
"He who travels for love finds a thousand miles no longer than one" - Japanese proverb.
"Everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and his correspondence." - Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
"When people's love is divided by law, it is the law that needs to change". -
David Cameron.

Wednesday 20 February 2013

Today's links

Man, 84, dies at immigration detention centre.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/feb/19/man-84-dies-immigration-detention

An 84-year-old Canadian man has died after becoming ill at an immigration removal centre near Heathrow airport. Alois Dvorzac was said to be "extremely distressed" before being rushed to hospital on 10 February.

https://twitter.com/UNHCRUK tweets :
Man, 84, dies at #immigration #detention centre http://gu.com/p/3ev4x/tw 

https://twitter.com/jcwinews tweets :
How many more must die?

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Moaning against immigration will damage trade, says Gavin Barwell MP.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/9881747/Moaning-about-immigration-will-damage-trade-says-Gavin-Barwell-MP.html

David Cameron's trade mission to India will fail unless ministers stop talking about immigration as a problem, a government aide has warned.

The number of Indian-funded investment projects in Britain fell from 97 in 2011 to 81 in 2012, Mr Barwell said, adding that the immigration controls of the UK Border Agency were “expensive”, bureaucratic and “intimidatory”.


https://twitter.com/GavinBarwellMP tweets :
Migration Matters launched to re-balance the debate on immigration in this country:
http://gavinbarwell.com/blog.asp?BlogID=729

Barbara, Navnit and I come from different political traditions. We’re not necessarily going to agree on the detail of policy. But we are united in wanting to see a nuanced debate that recognises the benefits of immigration as well as addressing the problems.
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https://twitter.com/UKBAMonitor on Twitter is worth monitoring!

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Could a new phonetic alphabet promote world peace?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21505114

You are in Vietnam and want a bowl of soup. You ask a local where you can get "pho". After momentary confusion you are handed a book.

It's the curse of phonetics. Pho was correct. But you failed to emphasise the vowel and so articulated in Vietnamese "copy" (of a book).
(That's because it's pronounced 'fur').

This page on constructed alphabets is great (and less anglocentric than the one linked above; basically there are issues with tones, clicks, and other sounds which should really have their own characters - Japanese r, Arabic k-sounds, even the Greek theta doesn't seem to have its own character in the script referenced in the BBC article). :
http://www.omniglot.com/writing/conscripts.htm
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https://twitter.com/jcwinews tweets :
The Daily Express: Inflaming A2 Fears
http://www.jcwi.org.uk/blog/2013/02/19/daily-express-inflaming-a2-fears

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https://twitter.com/FullFact tweets :
Migration Watch has looked into incentives for Bulgarians & Romanians moving to the UK. So have we:
http://fullfact.org/factchecks/bulgarians_romanians_migration_minimum_wage_richer_uk-28784

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Why have the white British left London?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21511904

The movement of the white British is often characterised as white flight - the indigenous population forced out of their neighbourhoods by foreign migrants. That may be part of the story, but I think the evidence suggests it is also about working class aspiration and economic success.

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Carlos Saavedra: keeping the dream alive for undocumented people in the US.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/feb/19/carlos-saavedra-kept-dream-alive

The Latino vote won Barack Obama a second term in office. Activist Carlos Saavedra helped put the plight of undocumented people on the agenda. Now he's touring the UK, hoping to inspire young people.

https://twitter.com/nandosigona tweets :
Great story @guardian on keeping the #DREAM alive for #undoc people in the US http://gu.com/p/3dqqt  but why no reference to UK young undoc?

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'Ask Angy' humanises the experience of undocumented migrants.

http://globalvoicesonline.org/2013/02/20/ask-angy-humanizes-the-experience-of-undocumented-immigrants/

Angy Rivera shares her immigration story with the world in hopes of humanizing this complex experience, particularly in the United States. Two years ago she publicly announced that "she did not fear being undocumented," and since then she writes a column entitled Ask Angy, in which she responds to questions, doubts, and comments.

Her YouTube channel :
http://www.youtube.com/user/AskAngy?feature=watch
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Greece asylum: Journey through a broken system.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-21509198

When it comes to seeking asylum, Greece is the gateway to Europe. But the Greek asylum system is a mess. Paul Mason spoke to one man who has spent more than a year on the road - in squats, living rough and for a time in detention - about the experience of trying to claim asylum on Europe's frontier.


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16 year old unlawfully detained.

http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Admin/2013/284.html

Via http://www.freemovement.org.uk/

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Bulgarian police attack protesters.

http://globalvoicesonline.org/2013/02/20/bulgarian-police-attack-anti-government-protesters/
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Australian senator deported from Malaysia.

http://globalvoicesonline.org/2013/02/18/australian-senator-deported-for-interfering-in-malaysian-politics/
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City living 'makes it harder to concentrate'.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-21506132
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Another good piece on World Flag Ant Farm.

http://www.mymodernmet.com/profiles/blogs/yukinori-yanagi-the-world-flag-ant-farm

The symbolic movement of the ants across sandy borders is a statement on national identity and the division of cultures across the world. As the ants work to transport food and sand through the system, the sands evolve over time and the divided system breaks down into an ambiguous blend of flags. Yanagi personally identifies with the project and he says, "My works are borders I have had to cross or barriers I have confronted in trying to define myself as a Japanese.”

And another... with an homage to Jasper Johns :

http://www.ethanham.com/blog/2008/02/yukinori-yanagis-flags.html

More : http://britcits.blogspot.com/2013/02/world-flag-ant-farm-world-flag-ant-farm.html

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Interesting piece on the state of Welsh language blogging.

http://globalvoicesonline.org/2012/07/21/wales-the-state-of-welsh-language-blogging/

Like blogging, the Welsh language used to enjoy the run of the place [ed. note: as opposed to Facebook, Twitter, ect.). The precursor to modern Welsh was once spoken all over the British Isles. Today it is spoken by roughly 20% of the population of Wales, or about 600,000 people, and we wait with bated breath for the results of the next census to see whether that number has gone up or down. All adult Welsh speakers in Wales can also speak English.

Welsh, when it had the run of the place :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Britain_in_AD500_-_Project_Gutenberg_eText_16790.jpg
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https://twitter.com/NUSISCampaign tweets :
The UKBA has still not responded to our FOI on Christmas Delays despite the fact that 28 days have passed
https://twitter.com/APPGMigration  https://twitter.com/CommonsHomeAffs
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https://twitter.com/APPGMigration tweets :
Delighted to announce 4th March Oral Evidence Session will hear from
https://twitter.com/anita_hurrell Dr Helena Wray Dr Vivienne Nathanson & https://twitter.com/duncanhames
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Comment: UK press bashes Romania again. ‘If times are tough, forget EU rights!’
http://www.romania-insider.com/comment-uk-press-bashes-romania-again-if-times-are-tough-forget-eu-rights/75552/
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https://twitter.com/nandosigona tweets :
Excellent piece in FT by @annafifield on how immigration law fallout hits Alabama economy
http://on.ft.com/11Tp6EC

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https://twitter.com/britishfuture tweets :
Of 1/3 of Londoners born abroad, like Boris, many of them have become British http://bit.ly/XoV9V7

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https://twitter.com/BritishCouncil tweets :
'More international students are now studying for UK qualifications outside of the UK than those in the UK.' – http://bit.ly/XkN1YV

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https://twitter.com/britishfuture tweets :
Afghan refugee who has won a scholarship to Eton, also got a trial for #HullKR, story in Sun today, http://bit.ly/VJazbZ

https://twitter.com/DetentionAction tweets :
Vast majority of young Afghan refugees like Rohid are in immigration detention + facing deportation http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4804386/Afghan-refugee-wins-scholarship-to-David-Camerons-school-Eton-College.html
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https://twitter.com/IngyIngram tweets :
Celebrating Somalis in London's East End - March events inc. photography, discussion, oral history, film, genealogy http://www.ideastore.co.uk/en/articles/somali_east_end_march_2013

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The Coordinating Council of the Russian Opposition has been a fascinating eDemocracy experiment, conducted in the shadow of Russia's competitive authoritarian status quo. Yet, a recent decision not to nominate candidates for any elections—local or regional—has intensified doubts about the KSO, making it a target for one of the RuNet's more vicious attack memes.

http://globalvoicesonline.org/2013/02/19/russian-opposition-what-are-you-doing-stahp/

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A video blogger in Kuwait is walking away from his cyber-activism, writing that police have threatened and beaten him. Mona Kareem tells us why the Angry Bedoon will no longer be sharing videos of oppression against stateless people in Kuwait.

http://globalvoicesonline.org/2013/02/20/kuwait-video-blogger-threatened-and-beaten-by-state-police/

https://twitter.com/BedoonRights

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RuNet sceptical about Chelyabinsk meteor.

http://globalvoicesonline.org/2013/02/18/runet-skeptical-about-chelyabinsk-meteorite/

The tendency of the RuNet to amplify conspiracy theory explanations of any given event cannot be overestimated. And yet, the degree to which such explanations often become part of the mainstream discourse never fails to surprise.
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Interactive maps of China's most and least polluted places.

http://www.tealeafnation.com/2013/02/interactive-maps-of-chinas-most-and-least-polluted-places/

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The economic impact of a war between Japan and China.

http://globalvoicesonline.org/2013/02/18/the-economic-impact-of-a-war-between-japan-china/

One Minute MBA uploaded a video explaining the global economic impact of Sino-Japanese war over the Diaoyu Islands (or Senkaku Islands) if it really happened.

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Canada: Abusive policing, neglect along 'Highway of tears'.

http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/02/13/canada-abusive-policing-neglect-along-highway-tears

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police in northern British Columbia has failed to protect indigenous women and girls from violence, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Women and girls Human Rights Watch interviewed also described abusive treatment by police officers, including excessive use of force, and physical and sexual assault.

Via https://twitter.com/hudsonlw via Facebook.
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Sea ice in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=80467
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