Life is riddled with a procession of minor impediments

[Judge Palmer]

Well done John, it's never easy to speak up in a situation like that. We see enough stories in the media of people attacked and killed all because they intervened to help somebody. In a society that continues to grow with disrespectful young people (that makes me sound old but i'm not, i'm only 38) fuelled by alcohol and a government weak, spineless, afraid of the EU and their limpwristed laws that do nothing to protect the public it falls upon the ordinary man/woman to step in. This in turn leads to untold consequences (injury, imprisonment, bereavement etc) that can effect us physically, mentally and emotionally which can last for a lifetime.

I have been in similar situations before so I know how you feel, hopefully by helping to bring a bit of peace and normality back the young lads will look back at their behaviour with shame and regret and the ladies will not be put off going out again.

[SuperSurfer]

Good one CF. Apparently, the more people are around, the less likely someone else is to intervene to help someone out when there are incidents.

A few months back I was on a very crowded bus waiting to leave the station and there was an extremely aggressive bloke who was either out of his head on drugs or with severe mental health issues (or both) who was screaming abuse at passengers and cursing people of (shall we say) a different ethnic group to himself. He terrified one man who left the bus, telling him "I will burn you and your family in your house." I was psyching myself up for my response if he found his way to me at the back of the bus, when security came to get him off. One brave young Asian woman pointed him out to security but other than that no one got involved. Not surprising really as he was so aggressive. Sadly, if things kick off in such situations I think the assumption should always be that one is on their own.

[TordelBack]

...afraid of the EU and their limpwristed laws that do nothing to protect the public

Examples, please?

[Noisybast]

Good man, John.

[Judge Palmer]

Here it is:-

Any EU citizen is free to seek employment in Britain, and may have a legitimate benefit claim in the UK.

Polish criminal gangs are defrauding the benefits system and conning banks by luring poverty-stricken Poles to Britain with false promises of work and then stealing their identities.

"I just grabbed my child and never went back.

"I left everything in the flat - a buggy, my child's cot and all of our clothes - everything."

Anna - not her real name - is a single mum in her late twenties, from Poland. She anxiously recalls how she fled a criminal gang in London who were using her identity to cheat the benefits system and run up large debts in her name.

In an interview with 5 Live Investigates, she explains that she was lured by a friend who promised her free travel to the UK and work when she arrived - only to discover that her real job was to unwittingly assist the fraudsters.

"The lady, who was a member of the gang, was very nice to me. One day she took me to the Jobcentre and a bank. She explained I needed to apply for a National Insurance number, before I could get a job.

"At the time, when I came to the UK, I was not able to speak or read in English. I had no idea what she, as my interpreter, said on my behalf, and what kind of questions the Jobcentre officer asked her. I had no idea what is legal and what is not.

"The gang applied, on my behalf, for child benefit, working tax credit and child tax credit - and they registered me as self-employed."

Elaborate scam

As a declared self-employed person with a child, Anna was eligible for benefits and tax credits worth up to £7,500 per year if the gang pretended she was working.

Suffice to say, it was the gang who were reaping the rewards since they controlled her bank account and employment returns.

Anna's criminal handlers stole her ID card and her child's passport, and tried blackmailing her to return to Poland to recruit more victims. She was told to lie and tell people she could guarantee them three month's wages.

The day before the gang had planned to fly her back to Poland, Anna found an excuse to leave the home she shared with other migrants.

"I said, 'I want to visit my friend and say goodbye'."

Instead, she ran away.

It is believed the criminal gangs which lured Anna to London are specifically targeting the UK. Soren Petersen, spokesperson for Europol, the European law enforcement organisation, told 5 live Investigates: "It seems to mainly be a UK phenomenon and the British authorities are aware of it.

"Europol has not received any information or inquiries from other major western European countries concerning the trafficking of people from Poland, or other accession countries, in order to use their identities for credit fraud or to claim benefits."

Need I say more!

[TordelBack]

So the "limpwristed EU law" is the right of freedom of movement and employment between member countries?  What you describe is benefit fraud - which is against the law anywhere in the EU, and has absolutely nothing to do with CF standing up to loudmouth cretins on the train.

[JOE SOAP]

"It seems to mainly be a UK phenomenon and the British authorities are aware of it.

No fan of the EU but the words quoted above say something else. Creating more/harsher laws won't solve a problem like this anyway.

[Judge Palmer]

What i'm trying to say is that our own current legal system is outdated and needs to be reformed, we really don't need any other laws from the EU or anywhere else which in turn erodes and adds to our justice system that currently seems to reward and protects/promotes the criminals and their rights over the victim. The trial of an accused criminal is often delayed for weeks, months or even years. In some cases, the accused is allowed to roam free "on bail" enabling him to commit further crimes before being judged for the first. To add to this the accused can procure the advice and counsel of a solicitor/barrister for the sole purpose of doing everything in their power to set the accused free. How many times has a person with money/celebrity status being freed/fined on a similar or lesser offense against a person of average/poor status who has been jailed. This isn't particulary difficult to do since accused persons are judged before a "jury of their peers"-that is, ordinary people picked at random who have absolutely no knowledge of the legal system and who themselves are open to bribery and corruption. Judges themselves appear to not live in a realistic world and those who wish to hand down tougher sentences on the most violent/sexual of crimes find their sentences reduced on appeal or their hands tied due to outdated laws.

'Crime takes it's toll on the individual which in turn creates an enormous financial burden on the community as a whole. It's our taxes which support criminals once charged and sent to prison. Food, housing, health care and even entertainment are provided by us, the very people criminals vicitimise.

It should be the inmates who bear the cost of their incarceration, prisons should be built by prison labour. Cost of of the materials can be recovered by his/hers possesions such as Property, Vehicles, Money etc and not given back upon release. Prisoners should be making goods which can be sold to cover costs such as utilities and as well as food eaten to be grown by the prisoners themselves. Clothes the prisoners wear could be made and "entertainment" could be restricted to health-related activites as a lot of prisons at home and abroad already provide.

Prisoners should not be paid wages as they currently are but instead upon release receive the equivalent of one month's income based on current mininmum wage standards as well as receiving support and rehabilatation when applying for employment whether they have served six months or thirty years.'

Nuff said!

[JOE SOAP]

Those are societal problems in most western countries and it's more to do with 'root' problems. Locking people up with the worst elements in society doesn't solve the problem either; basically the gist of what you are saying is give criminals jobs, a home and a purpose in life, which really goes back to the root problems of not havng those things in the first place mainly because of the increasingly organized/in-built disparities of western bureaucracies. The prison system favours the rich too.

[Judge Palmer]

As a species we are imperfect and have many flaws, these if left ignored or exploited can lead to individuals indeed causing problems within society which can then lead to crimes being committed. Everything we do good or bad leads to positive and negative consequences and it's these negative consequences that people need to be held accountable for through financial penalties/community service or loss of freedom. Criminals once released after completing their penalties/service or unpaid work have as much rights as everybody else seeking financial, physical and emotional support in finding work and a home in order to fit back into society. The important steps to take whilst the prisoner is in prison is improving their mental and emotional well being. Without the help/support whilst inside a prisoner is more likely to re-offend them be grounded upon release and seeking a better life for him/herself. But this doesn't mean that a prisoners life should be easy, the person still needs to be held accountable and that what prison should be for. 

[House of Usher]

Please take any further discussion of this topic to The Political Thread, because that's what it's there for.

http://www.2000adonline.com/forum/index.php/topic,28209.1380.html

[Dandontdare]

I'm disappointed CF didn't get to punch anyone's nose-bone into their brain.

[TordelBack]

I'm disappointed CF didn't get to punch anyone's nose-bone into their brain.

Only a matter of time.  I've a tenner on that it happens before the end of the decade.  I stand to win €15!  Problem is hiring these gangs of youfs to hassle those around him isn't cheap.  At least smartphone updates make him easy to track.

[Roger Godpleton]

I finally used up all of my Adidas: Ice deodorant and was looking forward to a good few months of L'oreal, Dove For Men and Gillette deo fun, but there was a another can lurking at the back of my deo pile. Another can of Adidas: Fresh Impact. I can't even spray it where it needs to be.


FUCK YOU ADIDAS.

[mogzilla]

Here it is:-

Any EU citizen is free to seek employment in Britain, and may have a legitimate benefit claim in the UK.

Polish criminal gangs are defrauding the benefits system and conning banks by luring poverty-stricken Poles to Britain with false promises of work and then stealing their identities.

"I just grabbed my child and never went back.

"I left everything in the flat - a buggy, my child's cot and all of our clothes - everything."

Anna - not her real name - is a single mum in her late twenties, from Poland. She anxiously recalls how she fled a criminal gang in London who were using her identity to cheat the benefits system and run up large debts in her name.

In an interview with 5 Live Investigates, she explains that she was lured by a friend who promised her free travel to the UK and work when she arrived - only to discover that her real job was to unwittingly assist the fraudsters.

"The lady, who was a member of the gang, was very nice to me. One day she took me to the Jobcentre and a bank. She explained I needed to apply for a National Insurance number, before I could get a job.

"At the time, when I came to the UK, I was not able to speak or read in English. I had no idea what she, as my interpreter, said on my behalf, and what kind of questions the Jobcentre officer asked her. I had no idea what is legal and what is not.

"The gang applied, on my behalf, for child benefit, working tax credit and child tax credit - and they registered me as self-employed."

Elaborate scam

As a declared self-employed person with a child, Anna was eligible for benefits and tax credits worth up to £7,500 per year if the gang pretended she was working.

Suffice to say, it was the gang who were reaping the rewards since they controlled her bank account and employment returns.

Anna's criminal handlers stole her ID card and her child's passport, and tried blackmailing her to return to Poland to recruit more victims. She was told to lie and tell people she could guarantee them three month's wages.

The day before the gang had planned to fly her back to Poland, Anna found an excuse to leave the home she shared with other migrants.

"I said, 'I want to visit my friend and say goodbye'."

Instead, she ran away.

It is believed the criminal gangs which lured Anna to London are specifically targeting the UK. Soren Petersen, spokesperson for Europol, the European law enforcement organisation, told 5 live Investigates: "It seems to mainly be a UK phenomenon and the British authorities are aware of it.

"Europol has not received any information or inquiries from other major western European countries concerning the trafficking of people from Poland, or other accession countries, in order to use their identities for credit fraud or to claim benefits."

Need I say more!

i thought he meant the "human rights "act that allows failed asylum seekers to kill 12 yearold girls while banned then continue to drive regardless.

well done cf i wouldve probably just sunk quietly into my seat and hoped my stop was next but then i'm not a trained killer.