Anglosphere

James   Tue May 19, 2009 6:59 pm GMT
>> Their culture shares the same roots <<

If you look far enough in history we all do have the same roots - in Africa.
me   Tue May 19, 2009 7:10 pm GMT
The cultural roots of Britain and its former colonies is much more recent than say between Britain and Yugoslavia.
Nat   Tue May 19, 2009 8:01 pm GMT
customs Tue May 19, 2009 6:43 pm GMT
>> Their culture shares the same roots <<

The same could be said about the former colonies.

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People who say that don't know what is "European culture", you confuse it with globalisation or "americanization" of the world.
Nat   Tue May 19, 2009 8:03 pm GMT
The cultural roots of Britain and its former colonies is much more recent than say between Britain and Yugoslavia.

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Did you go to Yugoslavia to say that ? I think no, you know nothing about Yugoslavian culture and population.
Damian London SW15   Tue May 19, 2009 8:03 pm GMT
Nothing, but nothing on earth, can alter the fact that the United kingdom is part and parcel of the Continent of Europe, not only geographically but now politically and sociologically as well. As the major physical part of an off-shore archipelago we may not be part of the continent in the literal sense, but in more or less everything else we are.

Our future does now lies with Europe, and although some factions walking the nationalistic "We are British all the way and we won't be governed by and dictated to by bloody foreigners!" line within our country would dearly love it to be otherwise (some such call themselves the United Kingdom Independence Party - UKIP - or the odiously fascist "nasty verging on the Nazi" British National Party - the BNP - those shaven headed Doc Marten booted muppets who, if they had their way, would kick ass out of this country poste haste anyone who doesn't have a fair skin and doesn't have proven British lineage.

There are now 27 member states (sovereign countries) contained within the EU - virtually the whole of Western Europe (excepting highly independent and exceedingly prosperous Norway and that highly intriguing little island of neutrality Switzerland - breathtakingly beautiful scenically, immaculately spotless, eternally neutral yet still quite cosmopolitan and multi lingual - well, it's position on the map of Europe would surely guarantee that - its only concession to the EU is the ready acceptance of the almighty € in all its retail and financial stablishments alongside the Swiss franc. The UK may well be forced/enticed/cajoled into adopting the € in place of the £ before wee Switzerland does, and the same goes for Norway (non EU) and Denmark (EU) too.

All nationals of the EU countries have right of access to the UK at any time as long as there are good reasons legally or on grounds of criminality to deny them entry. Every single person entering the UK from anywhere in the world - even from our closest Continental neighbour countries or any other EU country - are required to produce a passport, and pass through all the control channels under the auspices of the UK Border Agency.

There are separate channels for all entrants at the control posts be it at airports, seaports, ferry terminals or any other kind of entry point to the UK.

UK passport holders zip through their own channels and naturally the procedure is usually fairly fast- the immigration officer glances at your devilishly handsome features comparing it with the mugshot in your passport, asks you where you've just flown in from if it's at an international airport, admires your suntan and then hands your passport back with a "Cheers!". After the luggage carousels you then pass along a line of HM Customs officials who seem to strip you naked with their eyes and if they have the merest suspicion you may be carrying something illicit they will say "Will you step this way, please" and you have to follow them into a separate section where they unpack your lugggage for you or scan it or whatever. I wouldn't know exactly what - I've never had to do it.

EU pasport holders usually have an easy ride through although the immigration guys are usually a little more cautious in some cases - it depends on so many things, but basically all EU citizens can enter the UK at will and are free to work here, as very many do. Eastern Europeans in particular are scattered all over the UK now, living and working here. They are generally very hardworking, save up their money, some send a lot back home and after a couple of years or so some may return to their home countries, but others find a new life here, buy their own homes, raise families and chhose to remain here permanently. One such is a really amazing guy from Romania working as a waiter in a restaurant I use a lot back home in Edinburgh. He's so cute and even cuter is his increasing use of Scottish expressioins and I swear he's developing a slight Edinburgh accent.

All other entry channels are for use by all other nationalities, no mater where - be it Commonwealth countries, and the Americans of course.

I've actually seen Americans kicking up a fuss over this, taking it as some kind of affront to their dignity, as if the fact that they are English speaking people entering an English speaking country entitles them to join the queues of Brits waiting to re-enter their own country, and when they see all the EU nationals, all jabbering away in their own Languages, moving through the whole process with comparative ease, without the third degree questioning by frowning Border Control guys, they can get quite irritated.

Citizens from Commonwealth countries have long since felt the same irritation - seeing EU "foreigners" being treated more leniently and casually than they themselves while waiting to enter the so called "Mother Country".

It's a different world now.

In two weeks' time the entire European Union will be electing a new Parliament in elections which are held every five years. The election days vary across the whole 27 countries - the UK, Ireland and the Netherlands votes on Thursday 04 June, and all other countries on Sunday 07 June. Resulkts from all 27 countries will come in overnight Sunday/Monday 07/08 June. Turnout in European Elections in the UK is usually quite low - the lowest of all European countries, while it tends to be quite high across the Continent. I think that fact alone can speak for itself really - there are more apathetic, reluctant Europeans in Britain than perhaps in any other EU Member State.

Whatever - Britain is a European country, and that's that! Europe is now a totally different place.
Leasnam   Tue May 19, 2009 8:11 pm GMT
<<Did you go to Yugoslavia to say that ? I think no, you know nothing about Yugoslavian culture and population.>>

I have been to Yugoslavia (Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, even Serbia). My mother is Montegegran and my parents live in Obrenowac outside Beograd.

And I'll say it: UK has more in common with its former colonies, even break-away ones like the US, than with Yugoslavia!

There. Satisfied?

: p
jimmy   Tue May 19, 2009 8:11 pm GMT
I've actually seen Americans kicking up a fuss over this, taking it as some kind of affront to their dignity, as if the fact that they are English speaking people entering an English speaking country entitles them to join the queues of Brits waiting to re-enter their own country, and when they see all the EU nationals, all jabbering away in their own Languages, moving through the whole process with comparative ease, without the third degree questioning by frowning Border Control guys, they can get quite irritated.

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Not all americans are like that!
h"   Tue May 19, 2009 8:36 pm GMT
I am. It's so irritating.
NZer   Tue May 19, 2009 10:19 pm GMT
NZ was part of the UK only 100 years ago. Yugoslavia was never part of the UK. I believe NZers should be granted "historical" UK citizenship, and hence access to the EU. We fought in the wars after all, so why not? Spain gives historic citizenship to the descendants of people who took part in the civil war...
Nat   Wed May 20, 2009 12:00 am GMT
Leasnam Tue May 19, 2009 8:11 pm GMT
>>I have been to Yugoslavia (Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, even Serbia). My mother is Montegegran and my parents live in Obrenowac outside Beograd.

And I'll say it: UK has more in common with its former colonies, even break-away ones like the US, than with Yugoslavia!

There. Satisfied?

: p <<
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Yes...that makes it clearer.
WRP   Wed May 20, 2009 12:03 am GMT
No one likes waiting in line and no one want to be in the slow one.

"NZ was part of the UK only 100 years ago. Yugoslavia was never part of the UK. I believe NZers should be granted "historical" UK citizenship, and hence access to the EU. We fought in the wars after all, so why not? Spain gives historic citizenship to the descendants of people who took part in the civil war..."

Well my Belgian-American grandfather was briefly in the RAF, does that mean I get UK citizenship, even though he had no British ancestry? Do I get French citizenship for all my ancestors who fought in the Franco-Prussian War and Napoleonic Wars? Because that would kinda rock, but if a country wants to make some repatriation law that's their business not ours. Or does it only work if your country raised an army in defense of the motherland?
a corrector   Wed May 20, 2009 2:32 pm GMT
Montenegrin
Obrenovac
Nat   Thu May 21, 2009 9:52 am GMT
Nat Wed May 20, 2009 12:00 am GMT
Leasnam Tue May 19, 2009 8:11 pm GMT
>>I have been to Yugoslavia (Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, even Serbia). My mother is Montegegran and my parents live in Obrenowac outside Beograd.

And I'll say it: UK has more in common with its former colonies, even break-away ones like the US, than with Yugoslavia!

There. Satisfied?

: p <<
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Yes...that makes it clearer.

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sorry, but this "Nat" is not me. I completly disagree with you Leasnam and don't believe you. You're just a big american liar. You never went to Yugoslavia.
Italian-Dutch american   Thu May 21, 2009 9:55 am GMT
Well my Belgian-American grandfather was briefly in the RAF, does that mean I get UK citizenship, even though he had no British ancestry?

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Let's go invade Britain.

I don't have British ancestry too. I don't feel related to UK at all.
Kiwi   Fri May 22, 2009 6:07 pm GMT
Citizens from Commonwealth countries have long since felt the same irritation - seeing EU "foreigners" being treated more leniently and casually than they themselves while waiting to enter the so called "Mother Country".


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This is stupid and racist, because many Australian, Canadian, New Zealander don't have british ancestry, so UK is not their "Mother Country".