Yes, you read the title right. This guy was told that he couldn’t get past airport security until he changed his shirt because, you know, Transformers are real and they carry guns.
Here’s the offending shirt.
The Sun did a story on him.
So did the BBC.
In Miami, Spanish is quickly becoming the language to speak if you want to get anything done. Miami natives are pretty pissed off about it, saying that it’s getting more and more difficult to find a job if you don’t speak Spanish.
In many areas of Miami, Spanish has become the predominant language, replacing English in everyday life. Anyone from Latin America could feel at home on the streets, without having to pronounce a single word in English.
In stores, shopkeepers wait on their clients in Spanish. Universities offer programs for Spanish speakers. And in supermarkets, banks, restaurants – even at the post office and government offices – information is given and assistance is offered in Spanish. In Miami, doctors and nurses speak Spanish with their patients and a large portion of advertising is in Spanish. Daily newspapers and radio and television stations cater to the Hispanic public.
But this situation, so pleasing to Latin American immigrants, makes some English speakers feel marginalized. In the 1950s, it’s estimated that more than 80 percent of Miami-Dade County residents were non-Hispanic whites. But in 2006, the Census Bureau estimates that number was only 18.5 percent, and in 2015 it is forecast to be 14 percent. Hispanics now make up about 60 percent.
This influx of Hispanics has caused many non-Hispanics to leave, with many more considering doing the same.
“I do resent the fact that people seem to expect that the people who live here adjust to their ways, rather than learning English and making adjustments,” she said. “Obviously I don’t expect an older person to learn to speak English, but younger people come in and they don’t seem to make much of an effort to learn to adapt to this country and they expect us to adapt to them.”
Some Spanish speakers say they have their own trouble with those who only speak English.
Mary Bravo, a 37-year-old Venezuelan business owner, moved to Miami nine years ago. She understands English but only speaks a little.
“This land is theirs. We should try to speak English,” she said, “but they don’t even try to understand us.”
Therein lies the problem. No feels that they should have to be forced to learn the others’ language, leading to resentment. However, Ms. Bravo was 28 when she moved here and, in nine years, still speaks little of the language. Despite the fact that she claims she should be learning English, she has done little in her time in America to become fluent, something most countries of the world require you to do in two years.
In yet another bizarre scheme, British MPs want their citizens to be required to carry carbon rationing cards to be used for purchasing big ticket items such as gas, airline tickets, and their electric bills.
The influential Environmental Audit Committee says a personal carbon trading scheme is the best and fairest way of cutting Britain’s CO2 emissions without penalising the poor.
Under the scheme, everyone would be given an annual carbon allowance to use when buying oil, gas, electricity and flights.
Anyone who exceeds their entitlement would have to buy top-up credits from individuals who haven’t used up their allowance. The amount paid would be driven by market forces and the deal done through a specialist company.
The government currently thinks this is a good idea, though a bit ahead of its time, and also thinks that everything, including food, could be added to the ration card. That, indeed, could penalize the poor. Plus, the plan is flawed, as it would penalize those in the country and the elderly as well.
The scheme would penalise those living in the countryside who were dependent on their cars, as well as the elderly or housebound who need to heat their homes in the day.
Large families would suffer, as would those working at nights when little public transport is available.
Fraud is also a concern. No one knows how the cards will be made or how easy it would be to clone or duplicate them. Instead of taxing the people, the government should be spending that £2 billion researching alternative energies so that we can forgo the current system we have now. Taxing the people more is not the way to change things.
[SRG] Metallica sold out in 45 mins :/
[NotOneOfUs] Yeah I know.
[NotOneOfUs] Oh wait
[NotOneOfUs] You mean, like, a concert?
[SRG] yes
After reading about Metallica now wanting to share their music online (the bastards!) it reminded me of this link to Bash.org.
Postville, Iowa is a small town. There are about 2,300 residents who live here and they all seem to be upset that ICE has come in and arrested about 10% of the population for being in the USA illegally.
Monday’s raid on the Agriprocessors plant, in which 389 immigrants were arrested and many held at a cattle exhibit hall, was the Bush administration’s largest crackdown on illegal workers at a single site. It has upended this tree-lined community, which calls itself “Hometown to the World.” Half of the school system’s 600 students were absent Tuesday, including 90 percent of Hispanic children, because their parents were arrested or in hiding.
Those arrested include 290 Guatemalans, 93 Mexicans, 2 Israelis and 4 Ukrainians, according to the U.S. attorney’s office for the Northern District of Iowa.
Eighteen were juveniles who have been released or turned over for refugee resettlement, and the prosecutor’s office would not say if there were underage workers at the plant. Of the adults, 306 face criminal charges for aggravated identity theft and other crimes related to the use of false documents. A lawsuit filed on behalf of the workers on Thursday, meanwhile, accused the government of violating their constitutional rights through arbitrary and indefinite detention.
We are, again, supposed to be upset that these families are being broken up because the government is actually doing their job. The response from several people were to the effect of, “but they don’t arrest the CEOs.” While I agree that this should be happening, this is not the point of the arrests, nor is it to be used as an excuse for violating the law.
First, there is the claim that the illegal immigrants have had their constitutional rights violated through arbitrary detention. Arbitrary detention would mean that they were arrested for no reason and on a whim. This is entirely incorrect. Their first instance of breaking US law was entering the country illegally. Their second instance of breaking US law is by committing identity theft and forging documents so that they can work. Yet, we are still, somehow, supposed to feel sorry for them because they are working.
Second, there is the claim that the illegal immigrants have had their constitutional rights violated through indefinite detention. Uhm, they were arrested a few days ago. You have no idea if their detention is indefinite or not. You also can’t just release them on bail because they are illegal immigrants! You need to ensure they are processed properly and sent back to their home countries. If you release them on bail they are not going to appear for a court date. They will just disappear into the American landscape.
Naturally, the question will be asked, “Who is going to replace these workers?” Well, how about good old Americans? We’ve seen it before and we’ll see it again. If you remove illegals from a job, there are plenty of Americans willing and able to line up and replace them.
