Zombie

Semantics? Nope, not me. It's you that is playing the semantics card by suggesting that defining "oppression" is really much too complicated and difficult - so best not to bother at all, let's just forget about 'em because, in your own words, these are "other people's problems". Refugee / asylum seeker "A refugee is a person who is outside his or her country of origin or habitual residence because they have suffered (or fear) persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or because they are a member of a persecuted 'social group' or because they are fleeing a war. Such a person may be called an 'asylum seeker' until recognized by the state where they make a claim." [OED] If you'd read Steve's link carefully you would have seen the statement that a hearing is held for each asylum claimant and decisions are made for each individual "based on the merits of the specific facts presented in an individual case". You should open your eyes to the "oppressed people like political refugees, people who suffer discrimination up to and including death" that Steve referred to. Immigrants Er, that would be you. And your Mum and Dad. And the rest of your family who have ever lived in America. People who wished to move, in your own words, "from their undesirable circumstances into a much more appealing one". In fact every single American is an immigrant except those who were already living there since ancient times - the Native Americans. So it's nothing but selfishness and hypocrisy for a Non-Native American to want to deny immigrants to your country, let alone oppressed people who rightly deserve compassion - see below. As if your country is overcrowded!! Compassion As for your witterings about "compassion", well I'm not going to try and explain compassion to you. You either have it or you don't.

Perhaps best not to share how I'm reading this ...

First, I'm very sorry to hear of your health problems, Trebs. Sounds like you've had a real shit set of cards dealt and I hope you can make a good recovery. In Britain we all pay an insurance contribution through the state taxation system. So it's an efficient system - it avoids the huge costs of individual policies and individual underwriting and money handling - but just as with any healthcare system there are problems with delivery, which have been widely reported. But we've had a comprehensive national health service - the NHS - free at the point of delivery since 1948. That's a long time. We were broke when it started - just after WWII - and we're still broke now so nothing's changed Alongside the NHS we also have private health which provides everything except A&E. So we can have hip replacements done through private healthcare but these would cost nothing like the figures you quoted. Maybe the existence of the NHS acts as real competition to the private healthcare sector. Or maybe our private insurance - much of which is through mutuals - keeps a tighter lid on costs. No it's not perfect and it won't ever be, though most people in Britain are pretty happy with what they get. It takes away the worry. But this year the NHS has undergone the biggest changes since it was created and much of the money will now go to private healthcare providers. The jury is out on how those changes will affect delivery and cost.

Of course there are limits to "freedoms". That's always been the case because it's a truism. The only free man is Robinson Crusoe. Freedom in a group or society - oops, I used the "S" word - has always been relative, always a compromise between conflicting interests. So freedom's no more dead than it ever was - just more compromised

phwoar!! *exclamation when a hottie is spotted *

Don't see this guy being Barclays CEO anytime soon

General relativity is the geometric theory of gravitation

In the UK many employers have always had dress codes and that's still OK provided they can be justified for the job role if there's a claim that they're discriminatory. Health and Safety could be one justification. Another might be the nature of the job itself, so a claim by a health worker or teacher, say, not allowed to wear a burqa or niqāb would almost certainly fail due to the core requirement for person to person communication with patients and pupils where facial expressions are a key means of effective communication in those jobs.

Yeah, haircuts definitely. Touch is an incredibly powerful sense. I think we're programmed to need it right from birth - babies respond to being touched and if they don't get it then it can badly affect their development. As we get older we tend to get less touch and in many cultures touch has become taboo - this is wrong and very damaging to us emotionally. So when someone is touched and, say, they've been deprived of touch it can almost overload the senses. We need to touch more, hug more. We are tactile creatures

If it floats in a straight line, then it's defying relativity

Some years ago I walked past an amazing acoustic combo on Cornmarket and said to myself "cool - I'll stop by on my way back and buy their CD". Course, when I got back they'd packed up and gone. Dunno who they were and never saw them again

doncha mean double yikes!!

Um, "immigration", "asylum". Different words. Different meanings. Let's just repeat that. Granting "asylum" is NOT "immigration". They do not mean the same. They should NOT be conflated. Asylum is to grant people safe refuge from oppression. Asylum is about compassion. You're not an oppressed homosexual. Lucky old you.

The years are nipping by nicely Have a good one

Actually this guy had no issue with the cat - which is alive and well and living happily with new owners But, yes, animal cruelty exists everywhere sadly. Interesting that we have a National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children but a Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

Not a good day with technology today - won't let me post under Comments But I think thebrinkoftime has the winner

Some of you may think buskers like Bryson are just playing to a pre-recorded backing track so there's not much skill involved. That's not the case - all there is is him, the amplifier and ... a tiny red box on the ground. That's a loop box, or loop station - specifically a Boss RC-2 - commonly used by guitarists. So when Bryson starts, you'll notice his left foot is hovering over the box switch which he presses periodically when he wants to add what he's just played to the loop recording, such as the percussion effect created by slapping the violin casing. In other words throughout the 4 minute gig he is building up the multi-layered recorded backing track from scratch at the same time as he is having to think about and then play his violin solo. Clever.

Good for the Canadian Government Not so good the comments from ordinary Canadians

???

Other schemes in Britain and Europe to use "waste heat" are ground source heat pumps - to recover solar energy stored in the ground - and roof-mounted solar heating panels to provide hot water.

In Europe we're extracting waste heat from crematoriums using heat exchangers, heat that otherwise just goes to heat up the atmosphere. The first UK plant went into operation this summer to heat a nearby public swimming pool. We're going to have to get smarter in our energy use and this is just one example of what can be done. Other schemes are heating housing developments with waste heat from power stations.

Gazing at nothing in particular the nondescript individual seemed to move slightly, but perhaps he didn't. It was difficult to be sure with the drizzle. Meanwhile, Mr Mellish - an average-looking and really rather dull person - was wondering why nothing interesting was happening in his boring and pointless life as he opened the front door into the brown-painted office and asked Enid, in his flat monotone, if the new paper clips had arrived. Enid, looking up listlessly, replied in a bland toneless voice that, yes, the new paper clips had indeed arrived and were in a box on Mr Mellish's desk awaiting his arrival. Asleep yet?

People have been performing on the streets since ... well, since forever In Britain it's part of our daily life. Maybe it's one reason why Britain is such a global force in world entertainment for such a small country. My nearest town - actually a small city and university town - always has street performers and I love to see and hear them, especially the musicians or "buskers". Some are very talented, maybe students supplementing their income, or getting performance practice. So next time you go shopping look out for the street performers - you may come across a real gem Here's Bryson Andres on Spokane Street, Washington, covering the well known Secrets - I actually prefer this stripped back version

I need captions

Yes, it's irritating having to pay for creatures like this On the upside, though, they do give us something to laugh at ... and The Ginger One to ogle at On the other hand we currently pay £33m pa to Her Maj for all of 'em except Prince Charles and his brood who are funded by the Duchy of Cornwall estate. In return UK plc gets a hefty income from royalty-related tourism, increased "brand awareness" and trade deals across the world, and loads of useless-trinket manufacturers employ lots of people and sell this crap to grateful buyers all over the world, which all helps And yes there are travel and security costs - but you'd have to pay those for a Head of State anyway, like a President, and those costs are not exactly cheap So in purely financial terms it's a bit of a no-brainer as royalty really is quite a nice little earner This brand site had a look at this a year or so ago http://brandfinance.com/knowledge_centre/stories/how-we-valued-the-monarchy-as-a-brand-uk-tourism-contribution And this trashy US website explains it quite well "the royal family acts as a sort of charismatic megafauna for the entire royalty-tourism ecosystem" http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2013/07/is-the-british-royal-family-worth-the-money/278052/ .