That 'slavery' case

[Wij]

Is it a surprise to anyone that the perps were hard-left Maoists?

The far left should be vilified as much as the far right. Human life is nothing compared to the cause.

Examples such as the rape-apologists and casual racists (as long as it's just generalising against Chinese or Indians) working their way up the SWP by who they know.

http://madammiaow.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/more-swp-rape-accusations-dangerous.html

 

[rynnor]

I think communes in the 70s probably attracted and gave a home for lots of vulnerable people - it doesn't surprise me that that's where they met.

I think the court case will be extremely difficult to prove unless there's a lot more to come out - not sure how well it fits the legal definition. Similar recent cases against travellers holding the destitute for years - working them at sites and beating them and stealing their giros had a pretty hard time.

 

[Hawkwind]

Watching Sky News last night about slavery in the UK. I still can't believe the UK government response. Certain groups say that there could be as many as 12,000 people being treated as slaves in the UK. Most are in the forced sex business and from Eastern Europe/China. Bonded labour is the other main form which is common practice in countries such as India and China. The UK's response, a new task force with a senior figure head (highly paid). Why? even if it was 12,000 people we have bigger things to worry about. Let the police deal with drugs and crack down on prostitution and would solve half of it.

Another government response to media pressure that has no real value or meaning.

 

[DaGaffer]

Watching Sky News last night about slavery in the UK. I still can't believe the UK government response. Certain groups say that there could be as many as 12,000 people being treated as slaves in the UK. Most are in the forced sex business and from Eastern Europe/China. Bonded labour is the other main form which is common practice in countries such as India and China. The UK's response, a new task force with a senior figure head (highly paid). Why? even if it was 12,000 people we have bigger things to worry about. Let the police deal with drugs and crack down on prostitution and would solve half of it.

Another government response to media pressure that has no real value or meaning.

Ah, you're not allowed to think about these things logically, what are you, some kind of fascist? There needs to be appropriate handwringing, a"task force" and possibly a "slavery Czar" (although that may slightly inappropriate terminology) and then the whole thing can be quietly forgotten.

God forbid you actually point out the problem is actually tiny. I was thinking about this yesterday when I saw an ad at the train station for Focus Ireland (a homeless charity) talking about something like "five children a week lose their homes when their parents' house is repossessed, this is too much blah, blah". That's about 200 kids a year, out of a population of 4 million. Frankly they'd have been better off using the cost of the ad campaign to give every one of them a cheque.

 

[rynnor]

Watching Sky News last night about slavery in the UK. I still can't believe the UK government response. Certain groups say that there could be as many as 12,000 people being treated as slaves in the UK. Most are in the forced sex business and from Eastern Europe/China. Bonded labour is the other main form which is common practice in countries such as India and China. The UK's response, a new task force with a senior figure head (highly paid). Why? even if it was 12,000 people we have bigger things to worry about. Let the police deal with drugs and crack down on prostitution and would solve half of it.

Another government response to media pressure that has no real value or meaning.

I would be quite happy for them to tackle it but I don't think the police are really up to it - most victims will not testify and fear the state because they correctly perceive that the state will chuck them out as illegals if they go to the police. Other issues are reprisals threatened against family overseas - these cases are a mess - you are probably right that cracking down on the sex trade is probably the only way to stamp it out over here.

 

[DaGaffer]

I would be quite happy for them to tackle it but I don't think the police are really up to it - most victims will not testify and fear the state because they correctly perceive that the state will chuck them out as illegals if they go to the police. Other issues are reprisals threatened against family overseas - these cases are a mess - you are probably right that cracking down on the sex trade is probably the only way to stamp it out over here.

Except that after all the who-ha about thousands of Eastern European sex slaves being trafficked to the UK a few years ago it turned out the numbers were massively overstated (by like factors of 10 I seem to remember).

 

[rynnor]

Except that after all the who-ha about thousands of Eastern European sex slaves being trafficked to the UK a few years ago it turned out the numbers were massively overstated (by like factors of 10 I seem to remember).

I'm sure the figures are inflated but we will never get a definitive figure because they are almost certainly illegal immigrants with no right to remain and thus invisible to stats.

Do I think there are thousands? No - maybe hundreds and those largely centred around London.

Is it a huge problem in the UK? Clearly not but it has political convenience because no one will ever know or be able to show if you did any good or not and it pleases certain pressure groups.

 

[DaGaffer]

I'm sure the figures are inflated but we will never get a definitive figure because they are almost certainly illegal immigrants with no right to remain and thus invisible to stats.

Do I think there are thousands? No - maybe hundreds and those largely centred around London.

Is it a huge problem in the UK? Clearly not but it has political convenience because no one will ever know or be able to show if you did any good or not and it pleases certain pressure groups.

Actually I seem to remember the trafficked ones were all in the 'burbs (I remember watching some C4 documentary about raids on horrific looking brothels in Birmingham and Bradford etc.) whereas London was all girls on student visas coming over from Asia and Eastern Europe fully aware of what they were doing.

 

[rynnor]

Actually I seem to remember the trafficked ones were all in the 'burbs (I remember watching some C4 documentary about raids on horrific looking brothels in Birmingham and Bradford etc.) whereas London was all girls on student visas coming over from Asia and Eastern Europe fully aware of what they were doing.

I'd believe anything of Brum