Britain a "Third World country"?

[alan refail]

Here's a view I didn't expect?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/se ... de-dropped

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11317441

[richard p]

nothing a papal aide says should surprise anyone... the ability to spout senile drivel is a necessity for the job.

[The Mouse]

Taken at face value, that particular comment doesn't surprise me - on recent visits to many English towns I have also felt like I was in a third world country!

[Cider Boys]

You are quite correct 'the mouse', my wife's relations who left England for Tasmania forty four years ago recently came over to visit us. When they landed at Heathrow and visited London they indeed not only thought that they had landed in a third world country but soon realised, when they visited my daughter in Leicester, that they were indeed in a third world country.

Of course these were their opinions, I can't possibly say if I agree with them or not since I was living here during this change, but they were very shocked.

Barney

[alan refail]

The letter in yesterday's Guardian serves to remind us what a forward-thinking and tolerant "state" the Vatican is.

We, the undersigned, share the view that Pope Ratzinger should not be given the honour of a state visit to this country. We believe that the pope, as a citizen of Europe and the leader of a religion with many adherents in the UK, is of course free to enter and tour our country. However, as well as a religious leader, the pope is a head of state, and the state and organisation of which he is head has been responsible for:

Opposing the distribution of condoms and so increasing large families in poor countries and the spread of Aids.

Promoting segregated education.

Denying abortion to even the most vulnerable women.

Opposing equal rights for lesbians, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

Failing to address the many cases of abuse of children within its own organisation.

The state of which the pope is head has also resisted signing many major human rights treaties and has formed its own treaties ("concordats") with many states which negatively affect the human rights of citizens of those states. In any case, we reject the masquerading of the Holy See as a state and the pope as a head of state as merely a convenient fiction to amplify the international influence of the Vatican.

Stephen Fry, Professor Richard Dawkins, Professor Susan Blackmore, Terry Pratchett, Philip Pullman, Ed Byrne, Baroness Blackstone, Ken Follett, Professor AC Grayling, Stewart Lee, Baroness Massey, Claire Rayner, Adele Anderson, John Austin MP, Lord Avebury, Sian Berry, Professor Simon Blackburn, Sir David Blatherwick, Sir Tom Blundell, Dr Helena Cronin, Dylan Evans, Hermione Eyre, Lord Foulkes, Professor Chris French, Natalie Haynes, Johann Hari, Jon Holmes, Lord Hughes, Robin Ince, Dr Michael Irwin, Professor Steve Jones, Sir Harold Kroto, Professor John Lee, Zoe Margolis, Jonathan Meades, Sir Jonathan Miller, Diane Munday, Maryam Namazie, David Nobbs, Professor Richard Norman, Lord O'Neill, Simon Price, Paul Rose, Martin Rowson, Michael Rubenstein, Joan Smith, Dr Harry Stopes-Roe, Professor Raymond Tallis, Lord Taverne, Peter Tatchell, Baroness Turner, Professor Lord Wedderburn of Charlton QC FBA, Ann Marie Waters, Professor Wolpert, Jane Wynne Willson

[alan refail]

Ah, all is explained!
I just heard on the 7 o'clock news that a Vatican source explains that all he meant was that Britain was a "multi-ethnic community". I can't see how that makes things better, just a lot worse and clearer. I never thought that "multi-ethnic community" or "aggressive atheism" were particular markers of a third world country.
In any case, without a century and a half of immigration from catholic countries most catholic churches would never even have been built.

[Shallot Man]

What puzzles me is with the abuse of children that has been carried out by a small number of Priests, why the Police are not involved.

[PLUMPUDDING]

I like the wording of the Guardian letter Alan.

It just shows what a tolerant people we are to let the Pope get special treatment from the Queen and our Government. It might be austerity Britain, but we can still spend (waste) vast amounts of money on people who don't seem to have any idea, or won't acknowledge what they have done and who have the cheek to liken us to a third world country. The vatican city can hardly be classed as a state anyway as it is only a cathloic ghetto in a bit of Italy.

I must say though that I've been to several "third world countries" who have better airports, railways, roads and customer service than places I've been to in Britain.

Funny how the old chap who said it has suddenly got gout and can't come anyway.

[Geoff]

Sometimes I wish the politicians would accept we are a third world country, or second anyway. Stop fighting foreign wars, dismantle the last bits of empire, half the foreign diplomatic service, scrap nuclear weapons - those are the sort of cuts we should be looking at and I would guess would be pretty generally acceptable.

[poppingjay]

I like the wording of the Guardian letter Alan.

It just shows what a tolerant people we are to let the Pope get special treatment from the Queen and our Government. It might be austerity Britain, but we can still spend (waste) vast amounts of money on people who don't seem to have any idea, or won't acknowledge what they have done and who have the cheek to liken us to a third world country. The vatican city can hardly be classed as a state anyway as it is only a cathloic ghetto in a bit of Italy.

I must say though that I've been to several "third world countries" who have better airports, railways, roads and customer service than places I've been to in Britain.

Funny how the old chap who said it has suddenly got gout and can't come anyway.

Sure it wasn't a rusty nail through the foot? oh the irony

[alan refail]

I'm trying to think of the last time a visiting "Head of State" spent a large part of his/her time criticising the host country

But I did enjoy the tartan knickers