Gurkhas again betrayed by UK government.

Thanks 13th_redneck.

I guess the two courses in Korean language I took didn't go to waste after all.
 
Well Del Boy, looks like good news on a number of counts! Not least Brown getting a licking!

Brown defeated over Gurkha rules

Gordon Brown's government has suffered a surprise defeat in the Commons on its policy of restricting the right of former Gurkhas to settle in the UK. MPs voted by 267 to 246 in favour of a Lib Dem motion that all Gurkhas be offered an equal right of residence.
Tory leader David Cameron backed the Lib Dem motion to scrap rules which leader Nick Clegg called "shameful".
Mr Brown's first significant defeat as PM came despite last minute concessions being offered to rebel Labour MPs.
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith had promised to start a review of the new criteria - which was only announced last week - by the summer and gave an assurance veterans would not be deported.
'Immense victory'
The vote is not binding, but it represents an embarrassing Commons defeat for Gordon Brown at a time when he has faced criticism over a number of other issues.
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8023882.stm
 
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Well, Perseus, at last the people are speaking. Integrity has been sadly missing of late, as far as our politicians are concerned, has it not?

I do care about political colours; I do care about integrity. Thank for the prompt post, I was not up to speed on it.

Like most of us, I want the Gurkhas to get a good deal. How does it read?:- 'Bravest of the brave, most faithful of the faithful'.


Here is the reply I received from my local MP:-


Dear Derek,

Thank you for getting in touch about the Government's amazing decision
on the Gurkhas. I have had scores of e-mails from constituents - and I
share your contempt for the way they have been treated.

I met Joanna Lumley in the House of Commons to discuss this campaign and
I know how angry she is, too.

I will support the motion which opposes the Government's mean decision -
I have the greatest admiration for the Gurkhas and for their wonderful
record of loyal support and achievement.

I cannot predict what will happen - and I know this is not a
straightforward matter because of Treaty and Contractual obligations -
but they certainly should not be written off in this way. I have
attached an email from my colleague Damian Green who sets out how a
Conservative Government will treat the Gurkhas.

With good wishes from.............
 
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That's pretty rotten to block the Gurkhas from living in the UK, especially considering some of the types the British government allows in, like the militant Muslims who taunted the British troops marching in their homecoming parade in Luton.
 
tomtom22 said:
I may not have this entirely correct but I believe the slang term gook came from the Korean War era when Korean kids first saw Americans they said Miguk (English sound of actual Korean language word meaning American). The American soldiers not knowing anything about Korean language, thought the kids were saying "me gook" or in the correct English "I am a gook." In fact the gook or guk sound is in almost all Korean words for nationalities; for example Chinguk for Chinese, Hanguk for Korean, etc. The term gook eventually took on a much nastier connotation as the Korean War progressed and in later years was applied derogatively to any Asian.

My two cents.
Click to expand...

That was always my understanding of the term.
 
Anyways, I hope this thing turns out the way it's supposed to... not another case where there's a vote, a show of hands, a feel good moment, and the Gurkhas get canned anyway.
 
To be fair, the present government is the first to allow ANY Gurkhas rights to stay in the UK, this should be something the government should be able to use to their advantage. Everything Gordon Brown does seems like an unecessary own goal nowadays, take the first 10% tax band, and the expenses row which could be his next defeat. Either he is badly advised or he isn't listening.
 
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Yeah that sort of thing does happen.
A bit like the current South Korean administration. Don't matter how right they are it seems, the public is ready to crucify them.
 
How dare the British betray their allies, the Gurkhas have fought bravely and deserve better. Shame on you Britain.
 
All Gurkha veterans who retired before 1997 with at least four years' service will be allowed to settle in the UK, Home Secretary Jacqui Smith has said. Ms Smith told MPs she was "proud to offer this country's welcome to all who have served in the brigade of Gurkhas".
It comes after a high-profile campaign by Joanna Lumley and other supporters of Gurkha rights - and an embarrassing Commons defeat for the Government.
Some 36,000 Gurkhas who left before 1997 had been denied UK residency.
Actress Joanna Lumley, who has campaigned on behalf of the Gurkhas, said: "This is the welcome we have always longed to give."
She called Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who she had met earlier, a "brave man who has made today a brave decision on behalf of the bravest of the brave".

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8060607.stm
 
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