[Justlovemy]

Never before has a person of even simple means been able to pick up and move to a new country as easily as today. But what motivates people to do this? More particularly, what motivates those from modern countries that boast good economies and life spans to move to other countries?

From a recent edition of The Telegraph

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/m.../16/dl1601.xml


Immigration's flip side

Last Updated: 12:01am GMT 16/11/2007

The British have always been susceptible to wanderlust, a trait that helped create an empire and has given the globe its common tongue. Even today, we remain the most dispersed nationality on the planet.

There are 41 countries where at least 10,000 Britons reside and a further 71 with British communities of more than 1,000 souls.

Yet, if emigration has been part of our way of life for centuries, it has rarely been on such a scale as today. New figures from the Office for National Statistics show that more than 200,000 UK citizens emigrated last year, the biggest outflow of nationals since before the First World War.

Why the exodus? There is little hard evidence, but much that is anecdotal, to account for the figure. There is the traditional lure of a better life, higher wages, lower living costs, more sunshine and, increasingly, the desire to make permanent the lifestyle enjoyed in a holiday home. Cheap air travel makes living in a distant land not quite the leap into the unknown that it was even a few decades ago.

Increasingly, too, people are leaving these shores not to earn money but to spend it – the number of retired Britons living overseas, where their pensions go further, appears to be climbing inexorably.

That's the pull – what about the push? For it is also clear that people would not be departing on this scale if they did not find life in this country unsatisfactory. High taxes, intrusive government, unsafe streets, dirty hospitals, a coarseness of society that is squeezing out the old-fashioned virtues of courtesy and consideration – expats everywhere cite these aspects of life in modern Britain to justify their escape.

Yet none of these ills prevents this country remaining the most astonishing magnet for people. Last year, 510,000 foreigners came to live here, taking to 3.9 million the total since Labour came to power, the largest prolonged wave of immigration in our history.

It is when these two trends are set alongside each other that we see the profound implications. Put simply, as more and more UK nationals leave and more and more foreign nationals arrive, it is inevitable that the nature of this country, its society and its culture, will change.

Many will welcome the change and the diversity it brings. For centuries we have welcomed newcomers (though never on this scale) and they have contributed to the richness of British society and its wealth. But others will be alarmed by this "churn" of population, worried by its speed and scale and the way it is transforming our way of life.

These are big issues that are only now, belatedly, being addressed by politicians, notably by David Cameron with his call for a grown-up debate on population management. They have clear implications, too, for Gordon Brown's quest to identify that elusive thing, Britishness.

Most of all, they should lead us all to question why, when we have never been more prosperous, so many Britons no longer find this country such an agreeable place in which to live.

[BenWired306]

And heres a comment on that piece by a reader:

Posted by Billy Barnett on November 16, 2007 10:33 AM


I second Andrew Cramb's observations (Nov 16 9:42am).

If you spend any protracted period away from Britain in most of the western world, then coming back is, in my opinion, like stepping into an urban nightmare.

Unfortunately many media pundits, journos, a significant proportion of the legal/administrative professions and all politicos don't want to tell the truth as their very existence is dependent upon the status quo. To tell the truth would expose them all to the question as to how this situation has come about and why.

As for prosperity in everyday Britain, this has never been a reality in my lifetime. Instead what passes for it here is an ability to borrow (large) sums of money or credit for things that we otherwise could NEVER afford.

The average Brit has barely got a pot to piss in. Ask anybody on the street if they could raise £3,000 within 72 hours without borrowing and see what replies you get.

We all know why this is and we all know why so many of those that can, depart.

Indeed if the average Brit was better educated and could speak another language, many more would have gone long since. However they cannot, trapped by their lack of education, personal debts (encouraged by the finance industry) and the accompanying black hole where their disposable income should be (further exacerbated by punitive taxes).

I suspect that whoever wrote this leader is in the 'I'm alright Jack' category. It is patronising, condescending, entirely inappropriate and makes me very angry.

My guess is somebody under the age of 30/35, probably university educated and with their head up their backside. If it is anybody older then they are seriously deluded or should know better.

[Izzy]

I was pulled here by New York and I am extremely proud of where i come from and frequently boast my British heritage with pride.

[GlarlraTpople]

I was pulled here by New York and I am extremely proud of where i come from and frequently boast my British heritage with pride.

I certainly wouldn't, (quote), "frequently boast my British heritage with pride"!
Britain has slaughtered, ravished, raped & pilloried around the world, using & abusing many nations and peoples - it built its empire on violence and greed and left in its wake a mess of humanity that still to this day is paying the price of British aggression.


Boswell said that Samuel Johnson made his famous pronouncement that patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel on the evening of April 7, 1775. He doesn't provide any context for how the remark arose, so no-one really knows for sure what was on Johnson's mind at the time.

However, Boswell assures us that Johnson was not indicting patriotism in general, only false patriotism.



As a salty old sea-dog I'm always wary of "patriotism", I've seen too much of it being used for the wrong reasons.

[Izzy]

Oh believe me I dont go around thinking Im better than everyone, just proud of where I am from.

[SappyAppy]

A great animal migration.

Common wildebeest, Connochaetes taurinus, C.t. mearnsi, Western white-bearded race and C.t. albojubatus, Eastern white-bearded race.

Each year around the same time the 'Great Wildebeest Migration' begins in the Ngorongoro area of the southern Serengeti of Tanzania. A natural phenomenon determined by the availability of grazing. It is January to March when the calving season begins. A time when there is plenty of rain ripened grass available for the 500,000 zebra that precede 1.8 million wildebeest and the following 100,000 plains game.

February marks the start of this great migration, preceding the long rainy season when wildebeest spend their time grazing and giving birth to approximately 500,000 calves within a 2/3-week period, which starts abruptly and is remarkably synchronized. Few calves are born ahead of time, the few that are as much as 6 months out of phase, hardly any will survive. (Estes 1992) The main reason for this being that very young calves are more noticeable to predators when mixed with older calves from earlier in the previous year, and so are easier prey.


The calving grounds of the eastern Serengeti happen to be outside the hunting territories of most of the predators, such as hyena, cheetah, hunting dogs and lions although some losses to these predators can occur.



Wildebeest cows do not seek isolation during calving or afterwards. In migratory populations the cows will congregate in there hundreds on the calving grounds. Wildebeest society is much more structured at this time. Groupings of pregnant cows, cows that have calved, groups of yearlings recently separated from their mothers and bachelor herds, which are usually excluded by the territorial bulls from the calving grounds.


Expectant cows gather and drop their calves before midday (very few are born after midday). Labor will last 30 minutes to one hour and may be interrupted at any time, should the cow be disturbed. When the calves head and trunk emerge, gravity will complete the process as long as the cow is standing. Giving birth usually occurs whilst the cow is lying on her side and can have visible contractions. Once the calf is born the mother will lick her new-born and within around 10 minutes the calf will be on it's feet, seeking it's mothers udder. The mother may move away at this point which will encourage the calf to follow closely. Mothers and calves then group into nursery herds. Mix-ups and lost young can be a problem at first in large groups, as the instinct to follow means the calf will approach anything that moves, including predators.
It is the responsibility of the mother to stay with her calf for the first day or two, for the calf to be imprinted on her. The imprint process starts with the first successful suckling. Initially each mother will recognize her own calf by scent and will actively reject all others. This means, the calves that become separated from their mothers, are doomed to starvation or predation.


March, April and May is when the herds begin to sweep west and north towards the long grass plains and woodlands of the Serengeti's western corridor. Here the herd divides when some swing further west than others who head northwest. They will meet up again in the Masai Mara of Kenya. The long rains have started and the southern grass plains they leave behind are depleted of all food, so the herds must press on.

By the end of May the rains peter out and the rutting season begins. A time when males are in their prime condition. Wildebeest bulls become territorial at 4/5 years (Estes 1969), when during the rut they will undergo dramatic behavioral changes, becoming the noisiest (C.t. mearnsi) and most active of all African antelopes.

Territories, mostly small can be fought, won and lost but usually only held for a matter of hours while the migrating herd is passing. Territories of sedentary populations are much larger and usually are held for longer.


The rut will occur when the animals are in prime condition so as to ensure an adult conception rate of more than 95%. If female yearlings are well nourished, first conception may occur at 16 months, but more usually they only conceive one year later. The gestation period being from 8 to 8.5 months.


Competition to gather and hold as many females as possible is great; on average one bull will hold in the region of 16 females as long as they are within his territory. During this peak of male activity the bulls will neither eat nor rest as they indulge in constant fights with neighboring males.


June to July is a transitional period between the rains and the dry season. As they concentrate on the few remaining green patches of savannah, these huge herds reform and push further north towards the Masai Mara. This final push north results in a massing along the banks of the swollen Mara River, producing one of the world's truly most spectacular sights.

After four long months trekking, these animals are in desperate need of water to drink and grass to graze. Many of the young find it exceptionally difficult to come this far, sometimes going for days without water. Many die from exhaustion and thirst before they reach the Mara River, but also many survive, just, only to find one last huge obstacle in their way.
Depending on the recent rainfall sometimes the chosen crossing place is shallow, which allows the majority of the herds to cross safely. But often the river is deep and fast flowing, with steep banks either side.
Many of the weaker animals are not able to cope with the strong river currents or the buffeting from other wildebeest as they swim. Hundreds of animals can die during the crossing, littering the waters edge with corpses. These will be dispatched by the numerous, hungry, and eagerly waiting crocodiles. These Nile crocodiles are some of the largest in Africa, measuring up to 15 feet in length. Lion and hyena will also take the bodies from the waters edge if they can pull them out on to land.
When so many animals are massed at rivers and waterholes, stampedes are common, causing cows and calves to inevitably become separated. It is possible for a calf to cross and re-cross the river 2/3 times during the frantic search for its mother. This is when the vulnerable animals can be taken by crocodiles as they panic and become exhausted. Luckily for the calves, most separations are only temporary and when they are re-united the calf will immediately dive for the udder.


Between July and October the wildebeest reside in the Masai Mara, grazing the lush green grasses that the earlier rains encouraged.

The mass of over 2 million animals cover the savannah and grasslands as far as the eye can see. Predation by leopard, lion and hyena at this time is great simply due to numbers. There are just so many prey animals around that the predators have to taken advantage to feed their own young, a time of plenty for all. October to November is when the short rains begin to fall in the south and east Serengeti, so the herds start to leave the Masai Mara, crossing the Mara River yet again, bringing all the same perils as before. They head slowly back to the Serengeti's eastern plains. By the time they arrive it will be February and the cycle is complete. Arrival at the calving grounds marks the end of this, and the start of the next year’s migration.
In all 250,000 wildebeest die during this 1,800-mile journey, the sick, the lame, old and very young, but the next calving will produce around 500,000 new calves who must take their chances along with the adults on the following 'Great Migration'. (Being a natural event the timings of this migration may vary from year to year).

WHY THE MIGRATION OCCURS

The entirety of the migration is dependant upon the coming of the rains.

In Africa's hot and dry climate, such huge numbers of animal life cannot be sustained by one place. They have such a dramatic effect on the grazing pastures, taking no time at all to completely exhaust the available food supply.
As the rains come at different times in the Serengeti and the Masai Mara, so the animals are driven to search for the rain-ripened grasses and water to drink.
Wildebeest need to drink every day or at least every other day. So, this clockwise constant search for favorable conditions pushes the herds onwards, month by month in order to feed themselves and their young.


There are a few sedentary populations of wildebeest, but most are migratory. Even the process of birthing has evolved to become unlike any other land mammals.

Wildebeest are the only land animal to synchronize birthing to within a 2/3-week period. At a time and place, when there is plenty of grass and water to drink. Open plains away from the majority of predators. The rains herald the birth of many animals' young in Africa; such is their dependence on water.
If the majority of young are born around the same time and are able within a few minutes to keep up with their mothers and the constantly moving herds, they are more likely to avoid predation. The larger the herd, the smaller is any individual members probability of being targeted for attack by a predator. This is known as the "dilution effect".

[Gcromqgb]

Planet Earth had an amazing segment on the wildebeest migration in the Great Plains episode. Just incredible the type of footage they got, I highly recommend it even for people who aren't usually into that sort of thing.

[shihoodiacarf]

Planet Earth is amazing! I love that show, i was lucky enough to see it all in the Uk before coming over here. It is so much better with David Attenborough narrating.

[Riprincattiva]

I'm hoping to go on safari in a few years - its a real dream of mine to see the wildlife in Africa - absolutely amazing, it would be a once in a lifetime experince. Maybe even go down to the Kalahari to see my small friends in the flesh

David Attenborough is brilliant, i've got loads of wildlife DVD's at home he narrates.

[costamarianavia]

Not into going on safari, it would be amazing to see these amazing animals but ive heard too many horror stories concerning tourists.

[siklop]

A great animal migration.

A textbook example of hijacking a thread.

If a thread is generally offensive, report it. If you personally don't like the topic, stay away. But don't try to redirect it.

Back on topic please.

[__CVineXPharm__]

However, Boswell assures us that Johnson was not indicting patriotism in general, only false patriotism.

Captain, i'm curious, what do you mean by false patriotism? I'm not sure what you mean

[embefuri]

A textbook example of hijacking a thread...Back on topic please.

You could say the topic was "Great Migrations."

[ebookinfo]

Wisenheimer.

[RogerButton33]

The British have always been susceptible to wanderlust, a trait that helped create an empire and has given the globe its common tongue.

Isn't that really an American phenomenon?





(There! ... back on topic. )

[payloansday]

Isn't that really an American phenomenon?

No.

[scemHeish]

Captain, i'm curious, what do you mean by false patriotism? I'm not sure what you mean

Back in 1778, Thomas Paine warned Americans about false patriots who wave the flag on sunny days, but fail to uphold liberty in stormy weather: "These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph."
Americans want those responsible for the WTC tragedy caught and punished. However, that doesn't mean that Americans must lose any of their Constitutional rights. To the contrary, any infringement on the Bill of Rights not only violates America's heritage of freedom, it violates the Constitution and dishonors the brave American patriots who sacrificed their lives for our freedom.

Waving the flag and singing patriotic songs may help unite us as a nation, but let's not forget that America's Constitution and Bill of Rights must always come first. As Thomas Jefferson so wisely advised his fellow Americans: "A bill of rights is what the people are entitled to against every government on earth, general or particular; and what no just government should refuse, or rest on inferences."

The real tragedy of September 11th is that the public's fear of terrorism is being used to fraudulently barter away rights that are supposed to be guaranteed, without exceptions, to all Americans. Cowed by public hysteria, Congress has turned its back on the Constitution and passed anti-terrorism bills (H.R. 2975 and S. 1510) that authorize completely unconstitutional activities such as the "delayed notice" provision, Section 213, allowing the government to conduct covert searches. This means that law enforcement agencies can enter a person's home or office, search through the person's possessions, in some cases seize physical objects or electronic information, without the person knowing that law enforcement agents were there.

America, once admired for its freedom and democratic ideals, suddenly finds itself in a secret war, with secret courts, sealed warrants and secret searches. Like deer caught in the headlights, we are too paralyzed by fear and denial to take proper evasive actions. Waving flags and promoting false patriotism, this new and highly secretive oligarchy is shamelessly using our fear of terrorism to suspend our rights and the media's access to the truth. Even the Freedom of Information Act is under attack with Attorney General John Ashcroft issuing a new statement of policy that encourages federal agencies to "resist Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, whenever they have legal grounds to do so."

Speaking of summer soldiers and sunshine patriots, how is it that the Congress abrogated its responsibility to exert checks and balances on this power grab by the Bush Administration?

The Congressional oath is to uphold the Constitution, and the rights guaranteed by that document, against all enemies foreign and domestic. There is nothing there about selling out our Constitutional rights because of a war or "national security." No, each member of Congress took an oath to defend our rights. Now Congress has betrayed its oath, sold out our rights, and is guilty of aiding and abetting a slow-motion coup d'etat.

Showing solidarity with the President may seem patriotic, but no one has the right to barter away our inalienable rights, especially the Congress, since their oath requires them to defend the Constitution and the rights it guarantees. Yes it's terrible that 5,000 innocent people were so brutally slaughtered on 9/11, but we must remember that hundreds of thousands of brave American patriots also paid the ultimate price to preserve our heritage of freedom.

Patriotism is more than waving a flag or supporting the government. Real patriotism demands an unwavering commitment to upholding and defending all of our rights, regardless of any argument of necessity or "national security."

Quote from: Steve Kubby who was 1998 Libertarian Party candidate for Governor of California, speaking in 2001