> According to the UN, England has the highest crime rate in the world. England, where it's all but impossible to legally own a gun.
You've rather misquoted the article which says that England and Wales have the highest rate of crime amongst the top 20 leading economies.
Partially, this is because the UK uses a very different method of crime recording: the British Crime Survey does _not_ use police crime records, instead it uses polling to determine if people have been victims of crime - it therefore picks up unreported crime which could artificially inflate the figures.
Secondly, you state that it is all but impossible to legally own a gun - this is simply NOT TRUE! I own 2 firearms, kept in my home and can assure you that the process for applying for a firearms certificate is simple: it costs 60 pounds and takes about 2 weeks. Look you can even download the application form: http://www.met.police.uk/firearms-enquiries/pdfs/F F101.pdf
These are public examinations - what's the problem?
In the UK, degree results are published with name, degree taken and mark achieved in the national newspapers (Times, Guardian, Telegraph etc.)
There is no import duty on computers, however VAT at 17.5% is payable with an exemption on the first 145. It is fairly easy for a dishonest person to evade this but you are risking seizure of goods and possibly a gaol sentence if you do so.
Also, there is no way of claiming back the NY sales tax (~9%).
Even with this, you will still make a saving - my girlfriend bought a Mac back in 98 and even with the dollar quite strong she still saved quite a lot of money.
You also need to note that you will find it hard, if not impossible, to make any claims on the warranty, and you will not be covered under UK consumer protection should something go wrong.
If you combine the last paragraph, with the fact that you are buying a Dell laptop, you should think twice...
I know you're just trolling but I'll bite anyway as someone has modded you insightful.
FYI:
Unemployment in the UK currently stands at 5%, compared with 6% in the US and 10.5% in Germany which puts the lie to your 'everyone is on welfare ' claim. BTW, Brits don't say 'welfare', it's call the dole which makes me suspect your claim to be British.
Inflation is at 2.6% compared with the US at 2% and Germany at 1.2%, however wages have increased 3.6% whicg puts the lie to your 'no-one has any money' claim.
And finally, the UK is running a budget deficit of 1.9% of GDP compared to Germany at 3.7% and the US at 4.6% (and Japan 7.7%). Not great, but better than most.
On the whole, the UK has ridden the downturn better than most countries.
Anecdotally, I used to work for a US s/w firm in the UK - when the firm folded with the tech crash, every single UK employee had no problem finding other work - to this day many employees in the US are still unemployed or at least under-employed.
Cheers, Nick
PS All figures are from the Economist indicators section for November 22nd-28th 2003.
What you say may be true in the case of Germany, however France has had an effectively independent defence strategy since leaving the NATO Command Structure in 1966. There are no US troops or bases in France and it (like the UK which remains a full member of NATO) maintains an independent nuclear deterrent force.
Glad to enlighten you. It's probably a credit to the law-abiding nature of the firearms-owning community in this country that you didn't realise this. There are many, many more legally-held in guns in the UK than there are illegal ones, particularly in rural areas - virtually every other household round where I live (rural southern Surrey) has a shotgun or old.22 for rabbits, woodpigeon or driven game. Deer stalking is widely practiced around the country on Forestry Commision and NT land - just look for a giant stepladder next time you're out walking in the woods - it's a high seat used in deer stalking. We now have more deer in this country than at any time in the past several hundred years, and deer stalking has gone from being a preserve of the rich to being accessible to anyone on a modest budget (firearms certificate: £50, 2nd hand rifle: £300, 2nd hand scope: £150)
Unfortunately, the tabloid papers don't seem to be able to distinguish between a legally held weapon used for target shooting or hunting, and an illegally held weapon used for shooting rival drug dealers. Interestingly, the two groups of firearms do not really intersect - organised criminals prefer to import weapons rather than steal sporting guns from legal owners.
Hope this enlightens you a bit more.
Nick
Slashdot Mirror
> According to the UN, England has the highest crime rate in the world. England, where it's all but impossible to legally own a gun.
F F101.pdf
You've rather misquoted the article which says that England and Wales have the highest rate of crime amongst the top 20 leading economies.
Partially, this is because the UK uses a very different method of crime recording: the British Crime Survey does _not_ use police crime records, instead it uses polling to determine if people have been victims of crime - it therefore picks up unreported crime which could artificially inflate the figures.
Secondly, you state that it is all but impossible to legally own a gun - this is simply NOT TRUE! I own 2 firearms, kept in my home and can assure you that the process for applying for a firearms certificate is simple: it costs 60 pounds and takes about 2 weeks. Look you can even download the application form: http://www.met.police.uk/firearms-enquiries/pdfs/
These are public examinations - what's the problem? In the UK, degree results are published with name, degree taken and mark achieved in the national newspapers (Times, Guardian, Telegraph etc.)
Or you could just declare it, still make a saving, and sleep soundly in the knowledge that you're not a dishonest, tight-arsed little toerag.
Umm, but the customs are only concerned about what you have brough _in_ to the country - i.e. when you've got off the plane.
There is no import duty on computers, however VAT at 17.5% is payable with an exemption on the first 145. It is fairly easy for a dishonest person to evade this but you are risking seizure of goods and possibly a gaol sentence if you do so.
Also, there is no way of claiming back the NY sales tax (~9%).
Even with this, you will still make a saving - my girlfriend bought a Mac back in 98 and even with the dollar quite strong she still saved quite a lot of money.
You also need to note that you will find it hard, if not impossible, to make any claims on the warranty, and you will not be covered under UK consumer protection should something go wrong.
If you combine the last paragraph, with the fact that you are buying a Dell laptop, you should think twice...
Cheers,
Nick
I know you're just trolling but I'll bite anyway as someone has modded you insightful.
FYI:
Unemployment in the UK currently stands at 5%, compared with 6% in the US and 10.5% in Germany which puts the lie to your 'everyone is on welfare ' claim. BTW, Brits don't say 'welfare', it's call the dole which makes me suspect your claim to be British.
Inflation is at 2.6% compared with the US at 2% and Germany at 1.2%, however wages have increased 3.6% whicg puts the lie to your 'no-one has any money' claim.
And finally, the UK is running a budget deficit of 1.9% of GDP compared to Germany at 3.7% and the US at 4.6% (and Japan 7.7%). Not great, but better than most.
On the whole, the UK has ridden the downturn better than most countries.
Anecdotally, I used to work for a US s/w firm in the UK - when the firm folded with the tech crash, every single UK employee had no problem finding other work - to this day many employees in the US are still unemployed or at least under-employed.
Cheers,
Nick
PS All figures are from the Economist indicators section for November 22nd-28th 2003.
What you say may be true in the case of Germany, however France has had an effectively independent defence strategy since leaving the NATO Command Structure in 1966. There are no US troops or bases in France and it (like the UK which remains a full member of NATO) maintains an independent nuclear deterrent force.
Glad to enlighten you. It's probably a credit to the law-abiding nature of the firearms-owning community in this country that you didn't realise this. There are many, many more legally-held in guns in the UK than there are illegal ones, particularly in rural areas - virtually every other household round where I live (rural southern Surrey) has a shotgun or old .22 for rabbits, woodpigeon or driven game. Deer stalking is widely practiced around the country on Forestry Commision and NT land - just look for a giant stepladder next time you're out walking in the woods - it's a high seat used in deer stalking. We now have more deer in this country than at any time in the past several hundred years, and deer stalking has gone from being a preserve of the rich to being accessible to anyone on a modest budget (firearms certificate: £50, 2nd hand rifle: £300, 2nd hand scope: £150)
Unfortunately, the tabloid papers don't seem to be able to distinguish between a legally held weapon used for target shooting or hunting, and an illegally held weapon used for shooting rival drug dealers. Interestingly, the two groups of firearms do not really intersect - organised criminals prefer to import weapons rather than steal sporting guns from legal owners.
Hope this enlightens you a bit more.
Nick