Victor's accents

Victor's different accents

I came across Victor's different accents on youtube.
For me, the one I like most is London Cockney accent as I lived in  East London for nearly a decade although it made me frustrated in my early days in England.

English Accents (Redneck American)

 

English Accents (Cockney)

 

English Accents (Standard British)

 

English Accents (Australian)

 

English Accents (Indian)

 

English Accents (Standard American)

 

Problematic teenagers and moral issue

These days, knife crimes have been going on in London and around. The Home Office figure shows that one person is the victim of knife crime every four minutes. It is more common among teenagers. I suspect it is due to a couple of major predisposing factors.

The first is that those age group has special privilege by law. Even they commit a serious crime, the softer punishment is applied. Police might say "kids are kids". But they do not seem to care about the fact that those kids have got enough power to kill someone else.

The second would be the attitude of youngsters toward others. The availability of knives is not new. Even kitchen knife can be used as a fatal weapon. Why is the incidence of knife crime growing up rapidly these days? The authorities are just making a big plan to crack down carrying knife. Do you think this approach alone can sort out the problem?

We can see more police and community officers have been deployed on the streets. Will this help building a better and safer London? For me, police may have some deterrent effects. Not more than that.

I suspect that the basic phenomenon would be the devil in some teenager's bodies. So long as it exists, they will continue to kill by using alternative weapons or methods.

The question is how to clean up the devil staying inside the body. With the aid of God? By upgrading the social environment? By educating them? By making more friendly environment? By doing cultural revolution? This would be a matter of extensive debates. For an evidence based law making practice, I wonder how many more people needs to make ultimate sacrifice.

Lately, a teenager has been killed again on the street in London.



The boy, named locally as 18-year-old Frederick Moody, became the 21st teenager to die violently in the capital this year.

He was found with stab wounds to the stomach in Lambeth at around 7pm on Thursday and died before arriving at hospital.

A 16-year-old boy has been arrested at his home in Brixton Friday morning and is being held in police custody. More on:

How many years to become a British citizen?

Early this year, there are proposals in British immigration rule , as authorities are trying to make some changes. Previously,for instance, if you have been in the UK for 4 years with work permit or on High skilled migrant programmes, you are entitled to apply for Indefinite leave to remain in the UK (Permanent residency). 1 year after qualifying that status, you can apply for British citizenship. That means you can become a British citizen in maximum 5 years (plus application process), provided that you are clear from criminal offences.

But early this year, the government proposed the new system with 3 steps of immigration status.

1. Temporary residence
2. Probationary citizenship
3. British citizenship/permanent residence

For example, if you are on work permit or Tier 1 (former High skilled migrant status), you need to wait for 5 years. After that, you are entitled for probational citizenship.

The issue is variation of duration of probational citizenship. According to government immigration website, those who participate in voluntary work/ community work, it takes only one year and those who do not bother those works, it will take up to 3 years before applying for citizenship.

Probably, this new system will start in 2009 after approval at parliament is Ok.

That means the the journal to British citizenship will take from 6 years to 8 years if you have got all requirements.


Related news :
Daily Mail
Guardian

Related forum
UK Immigration

Related website:
UK Border Agency

You may think that the process is rather lengthy and complicated. In fact, you can sort out step by step while living and working in Britain. That is we normally do. In 2007, 164,635 citizen applications were approved - the equivalent of one every three minutes.

A friend of mine claimed that becoming a Burmese citizen is more difficult. He is an elder brother of Chinese family as his father moved from China to Burma 50 years previously. He and his siblings were born in Yangon, former capital of Burma. But he is still foreigner there. No right to attend professional schools. On the other hand, his younger brother who moved to the USA after matriculation in Myanmar (former Burma) has already got a US passport long ago.

Today weather'nice

I am on one week holiday and back home again. Just trying not to think about sick people from my work place. I switched off my all mobile phones. Yesterday, I had a proper shower with a fab and a pint of Stella. Basically, the hospital accommodation is not bad. Domestic worker comes and cleans the room on a daily basis. But, I need to share bath room and kitchen with another doctor. So I only had a shower as I don't want to clean bath tub in order to have a bath.

Well today's weather is really nice. Temperature is around 24. I did not miss that opportunity. I opened the door. I invited my friend. He brought 4 cans of lager. I did barbecue. This afternoon, we were talking about the past while grilling pork chops, fish, broccoli,mush room, cutter fish and shrimps. I also took random pictures from my window. Click here

Friday night supper

This photo doesn't mean anything. It's just my Friday night supper. But I won't forget that night and next early morning for some reason.

If no birth certificate, no country, no passport

This is an example how much a document is important these days.

A girl, whose parents are British, born in Spain during the holiday did not have a birth certificate for some reason. Now she find it difficult to obtain a British passport.

A 16-year-old schoolgirl is unable to leave the country, open a bank account or get a job - because she does not officially "exist".

Jade Jacobs-Brooks, of Harlow, Essex, was born during a holiday in Spain and due to a mix-up she does not have a valid Spanish birth certificate.

This means that she is unable to register her birth in the UK and is unable to get a passport.

Jade was turned down for a Saturday job because she was unable to prove her ID.

Her parents Victor and Linda have spent 16 years trying to get the necessary paperwork.

'So upsetting'

Unless she can produce a Spanish birth certificate she will have to undergo a £750 Life in the UK citizenship test - usually required of non-English speaking immigrants.

Jade said: "It's so upsetting feeling like I don't exist in this country. My life is on hold at the moment.

"'I can't get a job, a driving licence, go abroad, get married. I couldn't even go on a day trip to France.

"I have been really angry at times but I'm prepared to do whatever it takes to be allowed to live a normal life." Source BBC

Less useless IT people, less wasting time

During last 2 weeks, I tried to set up web cams after buying from local supermarket.( I am not new in installing those stuffs). Not successful. I simply returned and took refund. It was easy. But the thing is I had spent over 2 hours for installing those dodgy web cams. Those wasted my time unnecessarily and unexpectedly. But I did not get refund for my wasted time.

I never trust IT products from MS operation system Vista to USB storage. .........................................................................
.......
....................................................
................................................

My friend's freind is working for net working, looking like a gypsy, strong body smell of tobacco mixed with ....................
.............................. I felt his project not successful, too much depressed, going to suicide soon. I should help him, but
...................

Is he a professional person?