Clowns & Jokers

Suggestion Box

2007-05-12T19:59:00.000+01:00

...anyone who does have any ideas of inspiration - please stick them in this comment thread as Id love to hear them!

I think this is a terrific and interesting summary. Its from a hand wringing lefty-apologist and in some ways typifies what i mean about the lack of left right convergence on the issue of Islam.

I didnt mention religion as a seperate issue - and as a whole - but it worries me. We are getting more and more polarised as a nation over religion. As a very relaxed catholic i see the views on secularism becoming increasingly more important, even though ive argued very much against them in this past year and never thought that the UK would EVER need to think about this.

and lastly....'Eurabia'

2007-05-12T18:21:00.000+01:00

"The possibility that some smelly little jihadi is looking at his computer screen, laughing and saying to his friend; "Look Ahmed.... They hate each other as much as they hate us.... this is going to be easy!", is perhaps not as remote a possibility as people may think. Some people need to get a fucking grip" (commenter at LGF)

Rightwing blogging doesnt seem to be about circulating whats hopeful and monopolising the propaganda war or battling the issues. Whereas it should be. I often think the Left and Right, the anti religious and the mod-religious DO need to converge on issues cleverly, if those issues are to be shouted down. The issue being islamic nuttism.

Some of the issue is down to the fact that the Establishment is comprised mostly of White Self Loathing Middle Class PC Liberals - so to be anti establishment or rebellious is to be in many ways anti-PC, anti-Islam, anti-everything. Where the Left have been slogan driven the Right now seem to be following.

Its not just about uncovering what the media misses anymore - its about hoping for the very worse to prove your point about it even if that is dangerously contributing to the issues you hate (eg the self loathing, hand wringing PC and anti democratic forces be they in your view Islam, the EU or New Labour or a useful combination of all three!).

And sometimes the arguments are not all they are cracked up to be. France is one such issue where people actually seem to be hoping for the very very worse. The issues -which are certainly there - sometimes get hyped out of all proportion by all the hyperventilating. The fact that most of the recent rioting occured in central Paris and was by white anarchists in the throws of extreme leftwing '68 throwback chic, or that France suffers from a deep underlying racism (but theyre secular socialists.. so say it aint so!?) which has long affected jobless North African third and fourth generations, slips on by.

And gives smelly gangstaboy-jihadiz an unnecessary sense of superiority.

"According to the information in our possession, Muslims voted in more or less equal numbers for both candidates - Sarkozy and [Socialist contender Segolene] Royal in Sunday's run-off..." says the head of the Islamic Council ...that Sarko cleverly set up a few years back and which consequently are very on board with the guy. If you look at the interactive voting map of the regions below, its pretty interesting overall.

And so much for Sarko being racist.

French footballer player Lilian Thuram has something to say on the above.

"Stop. There are many other means of being heard more effectively. We live in a society full of prejudices, this violence reinforces them whereas they should be fought.(...) people revolt when there is injustice...but Nicolas Sarkozy was elected democratically....and (contrary to what he was saying in a debate on racism that was too often 'banalise' )...what he is saying now is pretty good"

First there was Thatcherism...followed by Son of Thatcherism - Blairism...followed by not too distant French Hungarian cousin ....Sark-asm

Blogging is Bollocks: Rant Numero Trois

2007-05-12T16:27:00.000+01:00

What was all that bollocks over Iran about?

Opening up a third front in the war on terror... or Iran, however you see it, at a time when we have fuck all to show in Iraq, stretched militaries both here and in the US and an incredibly important mission to win in Afghanistan with the start of their Spring Offensive isnt very smart. Sure everyone has opinions about it, right or wrong - but the level of crap that spewed forth towards the UK and its military just underlined a point: this isnt about 'the West'.

Propaganda.

The Middle East is shit hot at this. Not only are they skilful using the media and internet in the service both of electronic jihad and the bamboozling of Western opinion by Muslim spokesmen ...but a collective outpouring of sentiment from across the Atlantic and in the blogosphere lamenting the fact that Britain didnt start world war three and slamming Britain and its military as 'wimps' was really quite, um - special.

If you'd followed the Iranian newswire, as I did, you would have seen it first hand. They loved our self loathing.

What sickened me most though was the desire for so many across the Atlantic, who yell about anti-americanism if you criticise their soldiers - ever - was the desire to whitewash our entire military over this.

Quite honestly thats the equivalent of me suggesting the US military is entirely comprised of rapists, torturers and gung ho morons who enjoy alientating the civilian population of the country they are trying to help. Or Jessica Lynch.

Isnt that what the MSM does?

We won that round of the propaganda battle by isolating Iran - but you could be forgiven for thinking we had lost if all you ever believe is knee jerk might is right - and that propaganda has nothing to do with it.

One of the things about the blogosphere I would have at least expected them to circulate in opposition to the MSM was this image below. Someone at Free Republic got that, i suppose. And Michael Yon is an absolute star.

But the comments and crap ive read over the last year and a half needling the UK over a nos of issues were pretty much confirmed in that little issue. ...along comes a situation where the world needs to take a collective deep breath and suddenly everyone is to put it mildly indulging that certain fantasy...

Ill borrow from Steve here : Bloggers and commentators can have teenage wank fantasies about what they'd like to do to the Iranians but that's all they'll ever be - fantasies"

Blogging is Bollocks - part 2

2007-05-12T15:33:00.000+01:00

The media is trying to colonise the blogosphere.

All the major media outlets have comment pieces on them and in many instances the British media has started to cotton on to what issues are of interest and dig a little deeper - C4 Dispatches has, even the BBC is now looking into the issues and Sky even ran a piece on Hamas propaganda last week, amongst a whole slew of comment pieces in various broadsheets - to outsmart the MSM blogging has got to almost reinvent itself again.

Of course the blogosphere has been successful in catching the media out as it did over the Hitzbollah-Israel war last year and the appauling lies propagated as truths. In fact EU Referendum has a good piece here on another buiried issue.

But part of this means some joined up writing. Instead of all standing in various corners and screaming - blogs need to try to generate some much needed light instead of so much heat.

How About Rooting for the WEST for a change you rightwing scumbags!

For an example of one of the biggest cultprits Id be inclined to point to LGF. A clever blog that to its authors kudos has been incredibly successful and was definitely one of the original blogmasters to outwit the MSM.

But it often links to islamic sites where its commenters rush to pour in their special brand of vitriol and hatred that gives the too often undeserving recipients the moral high ground!

And its dislike of anywhere outside America is all too bleedin' obvious. And often indulged by the kind of British idiots that still unfortunately wash around these shores and who like nothing more than a bit of self indulgent self-loathing. The left and right seem to have so much more in common than they thought! The "Britain deserves to be bitten. They've invited the vampires in" attitude for example.

Along with its desire to hog the limelight - detracting from the blogospheres main strengths - the ability to work collectively. An example of this was when Pub Philosopher did some great work on the Clare College Cambridge nonsense that LGF didnt even bother to credit. There isnt much of an excuse for that really.

Great comment lifted off LGF and reproduced here in same shit in our own backyards :-

....."It's not just you either. I can't count the number of posts I read each and every day prattling on about the lack of moral fortitude or opposition towards any given issue that can be ascribed to the people of Britain, mostly based on what little representation our media affords the majority of our citizens....Need I point out that you would find it grossly offensive if we held to the view that Americans are little more than overweight, beer swilling, gun toting cowboys, sitting in their trailers and watching talk shows, waiting for the weekend when they'll be marrying their cousins?. Never mind that it would be an entirely crass and uneducated view.
So we just love to be bombed do we?. We'd just love to see our children blown to pieces by terrorists would we?. Whose arse did you pull that opinion from eh?. Also, since when did any single nation have the monopoly on historical infallibility?. Any person who wishes to express that their particular nation has never made a mistake or followed the wrong path before today is full of shit, end of story. No mans nation is unnacountable for its errors in the past, but the past is unchangeable. It's where we go from today that determines where we'll be tomorrow. As Churchill said: "If we open up a quarrel between the past and the present, we will find that we have lost our future"..."

I do wonder though - especially after the Iran issue: next!

Blogging is Bollocks - part 1

2007-05-12T13:19:00.000+01:00

It is our job continually to retest old assumptions and to seek new ideas. But we must not try to find one unalterable answer that will solve all our problems for none can exist. Margaret Thatcher

I'm trying to get into perspective why i think blogging is a load of old bollocks and why its best left. First up: The Right in the US and UK.... & Tony Blair.

Not your average homo-lefticus - credit where its due, morons!

From what ive read so far, the Right in the UK and US are happy to see the back of a man who stood firm after 9/11, took this country to war to fight terrorism, acted as a sort of Lawyer to the often hopeless George W Bush and who stood firm on Israel - all at a time many on the Left would have sold their souls to the devil on any of these issues. The right wing blogosphere spends a great deal of time issuing criticism to the Left on its reaction to 9/11, the War on Terror, Israel, anti-semitism, anti-americanism and the failure to grasp what it feels (uniquely you could be forgiven for thinking), is a basic fight for our shared values.

Interesting then that in their sending off of Tony Blair ive not see one sincere mention of the mans single and often lonely ability to cut through all of those apparently massively important issues in his own party and make a decent number of points.

Mr Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister between 1996 and 1999, speaking about Tony Blair last year during the Hitzbollah-Israeli conflict:

He said he believed Mr Blair had correctly judged this situation: "that this is not a local conflict between two tribes". He said Hezbollah regarded Israel as "the first step on the way to an Islamic empire"

"It is a mad wisdom and it should not be dismissed because it's mad, just as Hitler - he started off as an attack on the Jews and this is the same thing," he said.

"Tony Blair understands this. Some of the chattering classes do not. They learnt nothing from history. They really think it is a problem with Israel.

"Mr Blair is doing a great deal. He's standing up for his beliefs - he is nobody's puppet.

"He genuinely understands what is the correct picture. He is getting attacked from every side.

That makes him more of a leader, not less so.

"Leadership is tested in doing the unpopular things - not going with the flow."

Please show me a Western leader who has, on the international stage, been as outspoken on these apparently massive issues as Tony Blair or one who has dedicated as much energy since 9/11? At a time when we could have been under some nutjob commie, here we have a leader that makes clear his position on Israel. On democracy. On supporting our values. On reaffirming the problem of islamism. On daring to suggest that pernicious forces are at work globally formenting anti western opinion and who sees it as a wholly international problem. Anyone would think these issues are the kind to be easily unpicked. How can you implement anything at home and abroad when it takes the energy it does to sell the idea in the first place? And if the manner in which he went about it at home wasnt up to scratch where were the big demos, the outrage..in fact come to think of it where is there any challenge from Opposition or opposition? I get the feeling its easier to point the finger and bemoan the fate of democracy than play a part in defining it.

Blair party speech 2006:

"This is a struggle that will last a generation and more. But this I believe passionately: we will not win until we shake ourselves free of the wretched capitulation to the propaganda of the enemy, that somehow we are the ones responsible.This terrorism isn't our fault. We didn't cause it. It's not the consequence of foreign policy. It's an attack on our way of life. It's global. It has an ideology"

"Yes it's hard sometimes to be America's strongest ally. Yes, Europe can be a political headache for a proud sovereign nation like Britain. But believe me there are no half-hearted allies of America today and no semi-detached partners in Europe. And the truth is that nothing we strive for, from the world trade talks to global warming, to terrorism and Palestine can be solved without America, or without Europe"

Blair on Israeli conflict 2006:

"The purpose of the provocation that began the conflict in Lebanon was clear. It was to create chaos and to provoke retaliation by Israel that would lead to Arab and Muslim opinion being inflamed, not against those who started the aggression but against those who responded to it."
The point is this. This is war, but of a completely unconventional kind....9/11 in the US, 7/7 in the UK, 11/3 in Madrid, the countless terrorist attacks in countries as disparate as Indonesia or Algeria, what is now happening in Afghanistan and in Indonesia, the continuing conflict in Lebanon and Palestine, it is all part of the same thing. What are the values that govern the future of the world? Are they those of tolerance, freedom, respect for difference and diversity or those of reaction, division and hatred? My point is that this war can't be won in a conventional way. It can only be won by showing that our values are stronger, better and more just, more fair than the alternative. Doing this, however, requires us to change dramatically the focus of our policy..." ...."And most contemporaneously, and in some ways most perniciously, a very large and, I fear, growing part of our opinion looks at Israel, and thinks we pay too great a price for supporting it and sympathises with Muslim opinion that condemns it. Absent from so much of the coverage, is any understanding of the Israeli predicament..."

Blair - Council of Foreign Relations written piece in the US 2006

"....many in Western countries listen to the propaganda of the extremists and accept it. (And to give credit where it is due, the extremists play our own media with a shrewdness that would be the envy of many a political party.)"

"If we recognized this struggle for what it truly is, we would at least be on the first steps of the path to winning it. But a vast part of Western opinion is not remotely near this point yet.This ideology has to be taken on -- and taken on everywhere. Islamist terrorism will not be defeated until we confront not just the methods of the extremists but also their ideas. I do not mean just telling them that terrorist activity is wrong. I mean telling them that their attitude toward the United States is absurd, that their concept of governance is prefeudal, that their positions on women and other faiths are reactionary. We must reject not just their barbaric acts but also their false sense of grievance against the West, their attempt to persuade us that it isothers and not they themselves who are responsible for their violence"

2007-05-07T20:24:00.000+01:00

Couple for the road:

Good read. Can't read French? tough! c/o l'Ombre (great blog) who notes what i thought:

"the banlieues failed to explode into an orgy of rioting and protest as certain folks (hoped) predicted".

I hope Nawal El Saadawi was as encouraged by Sarkozys words in his victory speech - to women in burqas (eg under Islam) - as I was.

She wrote the following letter c/o Ni Putes Ni Soumises:

Ségolène Royal, Nicolas Sarkozy. Vous qui aurez dans deux semaines les rênes de notre pays, puis-je vous interrompre quelques instants. Je sais que la campagne vous occupe pleinement, mais le sujet pour lequel je vous interpelle est suffisamment sérieux

A l’heure où vous lisez ces quelques lignes, une femme égyptienne, Nawal El Saadawi, est exilée de son pays et ne peut pas y revenir. Médecin psychiatre, écrivaine et féministe depuis près de 50 ans, Nawal a publié une pièce de théâtre en janvier dernier. Elle y écrit que Dieu est un esprit, et non une femme ou un homme. Pour cette « injure à l’islam », l’université islamique du Caire lui a intenté un procès.

Nawal is an Egyptian exile, psychiatrist wroter and feminist who has fought for equal rights in the muslim world and wants to get the Arab world out of 'l’obscurantisme religieux'. She made the mistake of publishing a theatre piece in which she likened God to a spirit - causing offence to Islaaaaaaaam! And so the University of Cairo has started legal proceedings against her.

Maybe they should contact Cambridge Uni for some pointers.

Bye Chirac

2007-05-05T20:19:00.000+01:00

Im still in France and will be for a while (this will be last post from me for a good while reckon, not sure about this blogging lark and so need some time away).

Its been fascinating to be here as the French election draws to a close. The tv and news is no longer allowed to report - allowing the traditional two days of reflection for the French public.

Ive been following the campaigns for over a year and now its crunch time finally. Everyone here wants to talk politics and share their views, considerable choice and real democracy has seen all the parties get a reasonable look-in.

The TV debate between the final two contenders did little to sway people one way of another in the end though Sego cam eout of it well - and neither did Bayrou who came out and damned Sarkozy on Friday in a day that offered up little other than desperation.

It seems as though the French have, barring some last minute shock, which i wouldnt put past them, made up their minds. Most felt the gaff prone Sego came across well in the debate but that it wasnt enough - and that Sarko though at times too often on the backfoot and unsure of how to tackle this woman, in the debate - had all the ideas. I also felt that Sego spent too much timing chalking up her resume for women. Anyway - 90% of the French public have now decided and the polls indicate a solid Sarkozy win - which would be fantastic.

Im not sure that I am the same as everyone on the right in that I view good and bad in all ideas but essentially want a strong leader in the West. I am fed up with the transatlantic nonsense. Chirac was a buffoon but then Bush is noone to hold up as an aspirational leader - and whats to come in both the UK and US fills me with a sort of malaise! For all his faults i still maintain Blair was a Tory and a strong one at that. The issue for me there was always how we eventually went to US hardcore style over substance in terms of personality and media driven agendas. All politicians rest on soundbites and that includes Sarkozy but he offers France a clear choice. Please point to what we have in comparison in the UK?

Anyway- the debate was substance over all too often simpering style. I hope that the French dont cave in at the last moment. Watching the UK elections in comparison you could be forgiven for thinking democracy is well and truly dead, finished, over. I caught the news on the BBC in time to hear one Scot moan that if this was a small African country the issue of the ballot paper spoiled would have resulted in international cries for a re-vote. Quite. The politcal stalemate was indicited nowhere more so than in the Tory victory - nothing short of sensationally boring. Across the Atlantic I gather a young Obama is seen as something of a breath of fresh air. But reading his speech on Harrys Place left me cold - rhetoric rhetoric and yet more rhetoric.. What are people voting FOR?

Thats the issue with Sego. And she though became desperate and ridiculous yesterday suggesting he was a threat to democracy. An offer of something clear and different to socialism on the table is a threat now. She looked ridiculous and i think that may have finished her off.

Slowly walking down the road flanked by muslims suggesting Sarko’s elections would spark violence to end her campaign she bemoaned what was to come in the face of a clear set of proposals to lift France out of 1968 politically. Sarko also used the banlieues at the start of his campaign - suggesting they would clean out the banlieues with a karsher. The issue goes to the core of some of the French worry.

Then of course she suggested Sarko was a mini-Bush - but not the war mongerer, rather the veneer of compassionate conservatism:

"He (Sarkozy) imitates George W. Bush in this technique of compassionate conservative. One cries over people. The various facts are used and, when one is at responsibilities, one does not act for the present and one promises for tomorrow. See the election campaigns of Bush, but, when there was the catastrophe of New-Orleans, one did not see it on the ground!...(Sarkozy) carries the same neoconservative ideology."

Sarko eventually put paid to her desperation in Le Parisien on line:

"To explain that if people don't vote for one candidate there will be violence is quite simply to refuse the democratic and republican expression of opinion. We've never seen this before, never. It's a worrying form of intolerance."..(Come to the Uk Sarko experienece itfor real and then revel in the future)...."Instead of explaining her propositions and criticizing mine, she has wanted to caricature me...I am myself, I defend my own ideas."

Good luck to him & cheerio at alst to Chirac Le Grand Voleur.

"Is he still the President? I thought it was the little guy?" from a cartoon last year

Friends like These

2007-03-30T18:13:00.000+01:00

Shitbag Mr Armageddon and his (not so ) adoring 'masses' - hat tip Azamehr

Last weekend, 15 of our sailors and marines -- part of an international force and under U.N. auspices (which means nothing nowadays)-- carried out a routine inspection of a merchant ship near the mouth of the Shatt al-Arab waterway separating Iraq from Iran. As they returned to their own vessel in small boats, two Iranian gunboats approached, signalling friendly intentions – fairly regular and normal encounters in these waters - according to the journalist on board HMS Cornwall at the time. However four more gunboats, armed with machine guns and RPGs surrounded the patrol boats and with the 15 sailors clearly outgunned forced a surrender. It appears the Cornwall lost sight of her patrol boat (not unheard of) and faced with RPGs a helicopter stood NO chance. Opening fire at this point (Cornwall or personnel) would have been an utterly futile and frankly, pathetic last act. As would hairy chested gung-ho knee jerk military action into a third front in a war with Iran. The IRG are well trained ffs.

The Iranians have their men in a pre planned mission and are now attempting to do what the Islamic world does best, drive propaganda and blood pressure levels to drive rifts between allies and the West in general, show Western ‘aggressors’ as weak and distract from popularity issues at home. How much more popular are service personnel along with their "confessions", in uniform, paraded & widely broadcast to get people feeling good about a government unpopular with so many.

It’s pretty clear now that some (unexpected) voices are doing their level best to play along with the Iranian ruse at a point when even the EU has stepped out of its traditional line!

Without a hint of irony, one jerk, in his helpful rush to pass judgment a week after the ambush, in some American rag I need to provide a link to (!), managed to heap blame on the British AND talk about Nelson spinning in his grave. As if Nelson was bobbing around in some dingy when he took on the French? The Cornwall unleashing any power on retreating boats would have done what precsiely? Anyone? He also manages to pour scorn on the British reaction and then bypass the facts that the US were caught hand-wringing for a ‘mere’ 444 days in the mother of all hostage crises that ended so tragically and went on to inspire the arab world. Mr Armageddon was even a main player in the abduction of those US staff in 1979. And sidesteps the fact that in Mogadishu in 1994 the greatest military power in the world was ill-prepared, out-manoevered, humbled and humiliated, its men paraded both dead and alive –to Bin Laden’s delight. Who cares they got their man when 2 Black Hawks were brought down and the American Goliath was dragged through the town?

The point is that in 2007 it really matters very little how they rumble you at the end of the day. The 'lame', 'spineless' accusations are just a load of useless tub thumping & music to Iran’s ears. To my surprise, there seems to be plenty of this in the US blogosphere. Why? UK forces, command & government have been no quislings (whether you support this as a war on terror or view them as tools in America’s 9/11 payback). Blair is isolating Iran and has done so quickly. He seems to playing his hand in this ludicrous game rather well. What do those who accuse the British government of being spineless specifically want them to do – RIGHT now.

Any war with Iran needs some preparation. However this progresses it's patently clear the Iranian government is holding a burning fuse (from the inside and out)..not a fucking candle!

(Christ on a bike - Pelosi blocks motion of basic support for the British hat tip Troll.)

2007-03-22T23:52:00.000Z

'Percifics'

(hit pause and let it load)

(Going to be away for a bit, bfn)

Medals from the Queen

2007-03-22T21:48:00.000Z

The Queen presented Major William Chesarek from the United States Marine Corps with a Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC), awarded for gallantry in action during operations. He became the first American serviceman to receive a DFC since the Second World War. Private Michelle Norris has become the first ever woman to be presented with a Military Cross, one of the highest awards for exemplary gallantry against the enemy on land.

pic hat tip Op For via Defence News

Mike at ATW points to this - 'see how we like to say 'Thanks!' to our friends and neighbours".

Iraqi children celebrate their hard fought freedom

pics from Lenins Tomb Watch

"Many believe that the war was a dreadful mistake from which Iraq will take decades to recover and that its people would happily prostrate themselves in front of Saddam Hussein again if the hangman’s noose had not intervened. However, a survey of more than 5,000 Iraqis by Opinion Research Business, a reliable pollster, gives an utterly different view. It shows a country which is far more optimistic than anyone would have expected. By two to one, Iraqis say that life is better under the present system. There is, as might be expected, a clear Sunni-Shi’ite split. But even 29% of Sunnis, who had it pretty easy under Saddam, say things are better now. This result, when you take into account the fear, the bloodshed, the power cuts, the lack of water and the sheer struggle of everyday life, is remarkable...."

2007-03-15T23:11:00.000Z

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is:
Empress Alison the Ceaseless of Yockenthwait Walden
Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

Power to the People

2007-03-11T17:28:00.000Z

Ken Livingstone's transport heavies have been giving someone we know an unjust threatening hard time of late.

I'm pleased to report a citizens victory.

INTERNATIONAL Womens Day.... Was Rubbish

2007-03-09T23:37:00.000Z

Ethical shopping, exhibitions from fashion designers and Kulture2Couture, preparing meals with Spice Magic and how to fix your bike. Some of the treats in store for us layyyydeees care of our gracious Mayor, for International Womens Day, in an email circulated last week.

What a patronising joke (and way to spend your money!).

Truly emphasising how trivial International Womens Day has become in this country, if it were even needed other than to grab your cash. It took some time to dig about and get some 'soundbites' about meaningful issues that represent the original intention of this day and I posted the ones i found below earlier this week.

In the West weve moved beyond 'feminism'. The IWD website acknowledges that we have come so far, this day is more a 'celebration' than a movement. Yep we left that sad shower of hippie 'radicals' (Germaine Greer and her...um, gusset). The Commies who turned into Barbies PR brigade or worse..Islams PR brigade. Eugh. I'd love to dissolve the twitty 'war' started by people who think i should be boiling pulses, smiling at native dancers (as a token gesture to international) and cooing over some street fashion ...whilst paying glossy lipservice to the environment and 'positive discrimination'. Continued by their male antagonists and 'misguided' f$male chauvinists - the ones who think a womans virtues are best liberated by size 6 airbrushing and frilly thongs. Tweee! Being duped into the male stereotype is nothing new - at the opposite end of the addled spectrum are women who tell you the burqa protects them.

Ultimately - if you want to, you can make it on merit in this country. You can argue your case by demonstrating your self belief, or by example, or presenting a strong enough case, or saying ladz magz schoolboy needling is like Gay Pride - all in-ya-face tits, arse and innuendo.

You can challenge real issues like rape and get it taken seriously. (This is NOT an issue that sits on the left or the right by the way and i resent that being perpetuated by the old associations with the word feminism in this country).

Maybe Ferris Bueller was right all along. "A person should not believe in an 'ism' he should believe in himself. I quote John Lennon, "I don't believe in Beatles, I just believe in me"". At any rate the mysognists that remain here in the West (mostly it would seem bobbing about in the blogosphere..) only need a 'dose' of reality - here we can at least load and administer the 'syringe' ;) .

On a serious note the issues that matter to women here, still do matter but they are perhaps more readily surmountable if we find a common, respectful ground and understand all sorts of issues really do matter to gals ...and guys.. to us all. We all need to 'buy in' to 'it'.

The 'sisterhood' and its true worth in obtaining insurances on votes, a chance to change things politically and fight real injustice should extend to the serious efforts being made beyond our own borders to women who want the same 'start'. Serious serious efforts. Big risks are being taken elsewhere. This international day should be a unique (soley!) an opportunity to focus attention onto those who are making these powerful strides, as the original meaning of this movement intended - if its to have any lasting meaning at all. They are fighters. They have a genuine desire to change their lot and risk it all. The MSM rarely shout about it. This is an opportunity to go all out and support them.

Last year's International Women's Day rally in Iran for equal rights was a horrendous affair. The women were set upon and violently beaten by special anti-riot squads from the Revolutionary Guards. The security forces charged the group and began beating the protesters. Even after the protesters had dispersed many were followed and beaten. Some of the female protesters were beaten repeatedly with batons, and some male protesters were beaten severely by security forces in teams.

Last Sunday in what seems like a premptive attempt to dissuade anyone from demonstrating this year on IWD - and after a year of crackdowns on what women can wear, university places for women and so on...Thirty seven leading Iranian women campaigners were arrested outside the revolutionary court for staging a peaceful demonstration. One was thrown against a busstop and had her teeth smashed. See pictures of the women posted here on ATW and in this link The gathering was in support of five other women activists who were appearing in court for having organised previous peaceful gatherings. The five who were appearing in court today were Nooshin Khorassani, Parvin Ardalan, Shahla Entesari, Fariba Davoodi Mohajer and Soosan Tahmasbi.

The following petitions in support of the arrested Iranian women campaigners -HERE

hat tip on this as always... - For a democratic secular Iran

International Womens Day? Bear with me....!

2007-03-06T23:10:00.000Z

Since its International Womens Day March 8 (is that a collective groan i hear?!) here are some different inspiring thoughts and themes I collated that stand out (to me) that I thought id share with you (if you are out there)... some where we need to see urgent change.

-'The capacity to dream and have fun' - Urvashi Butalia, head of Kali books, India - (from the Guardian)-

"I'd be deep in a campaign, locked in discussion with the state, fiercely opposed to the fundamentalists, fighting for the rights of minorities. If he were then to ask - as young men in the21st century might well do - what I wished for Indian women in this century, I would say an end of illiteracy, poverty and hunger, and, of course, the capacity and possibility to dream and have loads of fun. In other words, not only the whole of akasha, but a profoundly transformed akasha, a whole new sky, covering a whole new world, And I'd hope that the young man wouldn't then slink off but would stay, cast off his devilish garb, and join in the campaigns and the fun..".

-343 mothers of the ghettoes speak out - France-Campaign for Mamans (Ni Putes Ni Soumises)-

"It was to us, the mothers in the ghettoes, that you turned when the riots erupted in France, to calm the rage. To tell our children that violence isn't the solution to unemployment and racism. To stop these images of civil war that ran throughout the world. It was us you asked to prove our ability to control our kids, to keep our kids (often bigger & stronger than us) inside and at home. We ask you to assist us as women first. Give us transport out of the ghettoes - where the only meeting places are cafes...for men. Creche facilities ...so that we are not restricted to homes, vulnerable to sexist violence. Help us expose and condemn polygamy, forced marriage. ...Put our academic qualifications to good use. ..Because we are the real actresses of integration, we ask you the ladies and gentlemen of Politics to stop marginalising us. It is only by being free, emancipated that we can fulfil our roles as mothers properly and make real Citizens of our children"

-'Another sexual revolution' Women's rights and healthcare advocate, New Zealand-(Guardian)-

"My second wish is to see another sexual revolution led by women. The first one was about women earning the right to say yes and now women need to fight for the right to say no - to reclaim control over their bodies. What I see now is women willingly embracing damaging stereotypes concerning their bodies and their sexual behaviour. New Zealand has a major problem with eating disorders, there's a boom in cosmetic plastic surgery, then we see people like Bernadine Oliver-Kirby, a prominent sportswoman, posing on a rugby magazine cover naked from the waist up with a rugby jersey painted on her torso. How can you expect to be treated seriously and at the same time want people to look at your tits?"

-Women with Voices Bagdad - planned and on the IWD website but not sure if this will go head -

A day planned to Inspire, Educate and Empower the international women within the International Zone..to celebrate the beautifully diverse cultures and history within the local military and civilian populations as well as women from our Host Nation of Iraq. * American military women read inspiring poetry and true stories; * The highest ranking female Iraqi military officer who is Kurdish will speak about her "Journey of Courage" and An Iraqi female physician speaks to "Vision and a Voice".

-Prostitution: What's Going On? (a UK Exhibition until 31 March) -

A provocative and challenging exhibition exploring the topical and urgent issues of prostitution and trafficking for sexual exploitation ....and ...elsewhere a seminar entitled Women’s Rights, the Veil and Islamic and religious laws will be held by the International Campaign in Defence of Womens Rights in Iran and with the Secular Society - at the University of London Union Thursday March 8 from 6 - 10pm.

In IRAN recently, over 30 women were arrested and charged with endangering national security, propaganda against the state and taking part in an illegal gathering after protesting outside the court where 5 women were being tried for organising a protest last June against laws discriminating against women (hat tip Harrys Place)

Thing that i am most grateful for today? That I was born here in the UK and that I can make my own informed choices about everything - and that I can make my way on merit. Thing i most hate about feminism? A man summed that up. Nick Cohen remarked in Whats Left? that if western feminists dont fight oppression in Kabul and turn their backs on, for example, Afghan women..and believe God only gave rights to free born Englishmen... then feminist beliefs wouldnt be a philosophy but...a way of obtaining advantage in the Western job market. And you could conclude that feminism was not a serious political force. I agree. (Yes i think there are issues to highlight here - rape, the justice system and the shoulder shrugging being one such issue). And i thought it was pretty poor indeed that Alan Johnson chickened out of reinforcing the recent High Court ruling on the veil in schools - leaving it to schools to muddle through that equality battle and Islamic quagmire unsupported themselves.

The pic is of a recently freed Nazanin top left and middle ex Miss UK 'role model' 'Danielle Lloyd LAID BARE Inside!' in Maxim and 'a Marianne', a celebrated woman of France - who tragically died of stomach cancer after surviving gang rape in the banlieues as a young girl and helping found Ni Putes Ni Soumises (Neither Whores nor Submissives).

There was one other on Afghanistan to add in - too tired now, later...fwiw

You will Reap Nothing

2007-03-06T23:01:00.000Z

After looking at the images posted on ATW of systematic kilings i think its only natural to question who on earth we are helping in Iraq.

Prior to the overthrow of Saddam all sorts of hideous barbaric acts were committed and the people who participated in any of these were vile then and are vile now. A country with systematic abuse is bound to have its share of vile specimens. And a good number pouring in from abroad.

What shocks me most is the lack of condemnation. Whilst our lads actions are held to account and highlighted and used to condemn every reason to be there, such disgusting muslim on muslim violence is not met with anything near the outcry from those who claim we are just there 'killing muslims'.

Last weeks Guardian heaped scorn on the PM towards his remarks that we should be 'immensely proud' of our efforts and our troops as they withdraw from southern Iraq. Marina Hynde in The Guardian alluded to and made light of Comical (not Chemical) Ali's remarks to make her jokey point. Asserting that his 'ravings' seemed somehow 'prophetic' - "Dont be so hasty because your disappointment will be great".he said ."You will reap nothing from this aggressive war except for disgarce and defeat" . 'Little did we know it but he was speaking more sense than our Prime Minister' she concludes. Really Marina? Could that be because you've thought so from the start and drumming home your determination has helped it along? It is interesting that Comical Ali and Marina both concentrate on what 'we' would reap as opposed to what local Iraqis want as that is the view they both couldnt care less about.

Who knew for example that, thanks to British troops, Saddams cruel efforts to drain the southern marshes have been reversed and are now back to 40% of their original size? That British aircraft sprayed almost 100,000 trees with insecticide helping their production to double since the days of Hussein's rule, immensely appreciated by the locals. BBB comments in the IHT that one of the locals asked him to visit the old British cemetery in Baghdad.

It was beautiful, he said: a sanctuary, a paradise. "And the gravestones are safe," the local assured him. "I have removed them, so that no one will destroy them." Such is the hatred?

He also points to the turnout in the elections which was strong and better than elsewhere (re Basra), 'where there have been highly successful missions to capture arms caches and terrorists, and grateful Iraqis rush to ask for their help in mediating tribal disputes or providing more protection from the militias'. Importantly 'The American presence also is helping to convince local tribes to turn against the bleak worldview offered by Al Qaeda and they are frequently asked to return to protect neighbourhoods they have cleared and moved on'.

He concludes that the "moral hazard" argument — 'the idea that, the longer coalition troops stay, the longer we simply allow the Iraqis to avoid sorting out their own problems — is perhaps the most powerful claim for coalition troops to leave Iraq altogether. To some extent this is too simplistic - Iraq's historical state has always been one of constant internal violence...The priority now is to give Iraqis the best possible conditions to achieve the best feasible Iraq: one that stays whole, that suffers less internal violence than it has historically, that is not a threat to its neighbours or to the rest of us and that, through a few good internal examples and a modicum of representative government, has hope and mechanisms for improving itself'. Pity the worlds media couldnt get behind that idea at the start.

How often did we hear of the success stories and achievements such as these? How often was this allowed to balance out the negative, damaging and often hysterical propaganda prefered by the likes of Marina, Stoppers and co in her quasi admiration for Comical Ali? Hers was the sort of dispicable criticism most often parroted eg all a BIG joke...like 'Bush No 1 Terrorist' and 'Bliar'. Same tired old joke. It certainly is a case of you reap what you sow from that perspective.

We are ALL Angry

2007-03-02T17:33:00.000Z

In a well structured response to the newspaper The Independent (a broadsheet with an ailing circulation i prefer to think of as the Daily Mail for liberals) Michael Ehioze-Ediae at 18DoughtyStreet summarises what we've all said at one time or other.

You are not the only ones grieving.

1 Increase in Terrorism
2 Africans are Angry
3 The British are Angry
4 The Americans are angry
5 We are all angry

1 Increase in Terrorism

The Independent’s leading story has laid the blame for the rise of terrorism at the feet of America. It argues that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have radicalised a new generation of young Muslims who are angry about the treatment meted out to their fellow Muslims. Further, the paper claims that its view is backed up by evidence provided by the United States National Intelligence estimate. One should ask, even if these claims are true, do they justify the slaughter of innocent women and children? Why is it that the rest of the world is expected to ‘understand’ the anger of these radicalised Muslims? Are they the only ones who are angry?

2 Africans are Angry

Black Africans are angry that Condoleezza Rice was described as a black monkey by Palestinian newspapers because she supports Bush’s policies. They are angry that black people are being killed in Sudan by an Islamist government. They are angry that black people were killed when Tanzania and Kenya were bombed by Al-Qaeda. They are angry that black people are taken as slaves by Muslim Arabs. They are angry that when the Trade Towers collapsed, killing black people, there was rejoicing by Muslims on the streets of Gaza.

3 The British are Angry

The British people are angry that they have offered hospitality to Muslims fleeing persecution in their home countries only for clerics to call for the destruction of Britain in return. The British people are angry that British Muslims whose parents were welcomed to this country decided to blow up the underground trains killing over 50 people. The British people are also angry that during the cartoon protests, Muslims carried banners warning Britain to expect another terrorist attack.

4 The Americans are angry

The Americans are angry that despite intervening at the cost of their lives to prevent genocide in Kosovo, Muslims cheer when America is called the great Satan. The Americans are angry that despite the huge amounts of financial aid they provide to Pakistan and Egypt, the populations of those countries hate America. The Americans are angry that despite the fact that they provided security to the Arab countries when Saddam Hussein threatened to attack them, people danced in the streets during 9/11.

5 We are all angry

Well, Independent, as you can see, there are a lot of people angry on the planet. Therefore instead of appeasing fundamentalist anger, it would be perhaps more advisable to explain to these people that they should join the peacful political processes in Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine. Other groups have done the same and thus they have no excuse for murdering innocent people in the name of ‘grievance’. After all, they do not have a monopoly on ‘grievance’.

2007-03-01T00:08:00.000Z

I just somehow ended up reading a wiki entry on Norman Tebbit. Tebbit was a close ally of Thatcher and served as her Secretary of State for Employment, Trade and Industry and as party chairman. - fyi - His wife became permanently wheelchair-bound after the Provisional IRA bombing of the 1984 Conservative party conference in Brighton. On 30 January 2006 he accused the Conservative Party of abandoning the party's true supporters on the Right, and opposed the new Leader David Cameron's attempts "to reposition the party on the 'Left of the middle ground'. Ive heard some of these before but liked them grouped together.

Quotes:

Said to Tom Litterick, a Labour MP, during a Commons debate in the late 70s (he died of another heart attack soon after this):

Go away and have another heart attack

On the BBC:

A typical piece of BBC anti-Tory propaganda.

(From an article heavily critical of the BBC and of what Tebbit regarded as the corporation's left-wing bias. Tebbit was referring to an episode of Doctor Who entitled Pyramids of Mars which he had recently seen - he perceived a "wasteland version of 1980" featured in the episode to be a symbolic, allegorical and propagandistic attack on the Thatcher government. Tebbit was apparently completely unaware that the episode in question was actually filmed in 1975, four years before Thatcher had even come to power). (He wasnt wrong though. It was just the BBC being ahead of its time.)

and

The word 'conservative' is used by the BBC as a portmanteau word of abuse for anyone whose views differ from the insufferable, smug, sanctimonious, naive, guilt-ridden, wet, pink orthodoxy of that sunset home of the third-rate minds of that third-rate decade, the nineteen-sixties.

On John Major

He has the mulishness of a weak man with stupidity

About Tony Blair

I don't think he's a liar, just a fantasist. He says whatever he likes, and then he believes it.

On Islam and the West

The Muslim religion is so unreformed since it was created that nowhere in the Muslim world has there been any real advance in science, or art or literature, or technology in the last 500 years...we've leapt ahead in all material terms, but the Muslim world would say we have fallen down in all spiritual and moral terms. We have to accept our share of the blame and they have to accept theirs.

On changing the rules of the House of Lords

My Lords, would it not be a good idea if the Chairman of Committees and all Members resisted the mad idea of this House being dragged into this century? It is a very disagreeable century. Would it not be a better idea to drag us back perhaps into the 19th century, which in many ways was a very much better one for this country?

On claims that he is a racist:

I haven't got a racist bone in my little finger

On Muslim women wearing the veil:

If they wish to cover their faces and isolate themselves from the rest of the community and so thoroughly reject our culture then I cannot imagine why they want to be here at all. Perhaps they should just push off back to their own countries.

The Lost Tomb

2007-02-26T00:36:00.000Z

The Discovery Channel now has a website up and running about the documentary The Lost Tomb of Jesus, which will premiere in the US and the UK, i think, at the beginning of March.

In the feature documentary a case is made that the 2,000-year-old “Tomb of the Ten Ossuaries” belonged to the family of Jesus of Nazareth. Since the 1970s, hundreds of tombs and thousands of ossuaries (limestone bone boxes) have been discovered in the Jerusalem area. These ossuaries served as coffins in first-century Jerusalem. One of these tombs was found to contain ten ossuaries. Six of the ossuaries in this tomb have inscriptions on them. As it turns out, every inscription in this particular tomb relates to the Gospels.

All leading epigraphers agree about the inscriptions. All archaeologists confirm the nature of the find. 'It comes down to a matter of statistics'. A statistical study commissioned by the broadcasters (Discovery Channel/Vision Canada/C4 UK) concludes that the probability factor is 600 to 1 in favour of this tomb being the tomb of Jesus of Nazareth and his family. The film also documents DNA extraction from human residue found in two of the ossuaries and reveals new evidence that throws light on Jesus’ relationship with Mary Magdalene. (How would they be able to do that?!). All sounds incredible to me but fascinating nonetheless.

Misogyny 6, women 0

2007-02-25T20:28:00.000Z

A fanatical religious preacher shot a woman cabinet minister in Pakistan for not wearing a Muslim veil at a public meeting she was about to address. Zilla Huma Usman was Punjab's Minister for Social Welfare and a strong campaigner for women's rights,. She was shot in the face as she was being showered with rose petals by supporters on arrival at a public meeting. Her bearded attacker, Mohammad Sarwar, called out: "Why aren't you in Islamic dress?", her sin in his eyes was not wearing the traditional veil . "I have no regrets. I just obeyed Allah's commandment," he said. The country's minister for social welfare described her death as "an unbearable loss to the cause of women's rights and their empowerment". Meanwhile of course, back in Lancs: Mohammed Riaz made every conceivable attempt to prevent his wife and daughters enjoying their Westernised lifestyle. He destroyed their clothes...t[T]he labourer killed his wife and four daughters by throwing petrol over them as they slept and igniting it. (hat tip Butterflies and Wheels, yes, i feel sick too)

**update: Mysoginists 8, women O

It has a name: Raunch Culture

2007-02-25T00:14:00.000Z

Something's been bugging me for ages and ive never been able to really put my finger on it - other than to say i am fed up with knickerless Britney, Paris Hilton and some dirty internet footage, Jordan and her boob jobs, Abbey Titmuss and Rebecca Loos celebrated as celebs for doing nothing more than shagging someone famous..... Im fed up with GQ, Maxim, Loaded and a variety of soft porn bullshit boys magazines that set girls up on the cover like a couple of grinning bimbos which the models themselves seem to buy into, unquestioningly, and would probably babble on about being 'empowering'.

On the back of a post at ATW on teenagers aspiring to have kids as fashion accessories (nothing new really 'i want a brown baby like all the other mothers on the estate') it got me thinking about role models and all this sort of stuff again. It has a massive influence. I was looking up figures and found this:

Which of these professions appeals the most to teenage girls?

Glamour model 63%

Lap dancer 25%
Teacher 3%
Doctor 4%
Lawyer 3%
Nurse 2%

In a poll conducted by mobile entertainment providers, www.thelab.tv over half of British teenagers between the ages 15-19 would rather take their clothes off for a living than enter the professional sector. The seemingly endless media coverage of celebrities such as Jordan, Abi Titmuss and Lucy Pinder has sparked a shift in the professional ambition of Britain's teenage girls as they see glamour modelling as more appealing than more traditional jobs such as doctors and lawyers.

Looking up the stats I also found this. A book that tries to pinpoint it all.

"Levy cleverly leads us to explore the role models women aspire to emulate. We are not pursuing the confident, self-determined, powerful, free ideal the women’s liberation movement would have dreamed for its daughters. Instead, our icons are porn stars and strippers and prostitutes. Paris Hilton and Jenna Jameson flaunt their successes in the pornography industry, and in doing so seem to earn our adulation", "that a number of female Olympic athletes saw fit to pose nude for Playboy before the 2004 games in Athens, for instance..." says it all really.

This comment struck a chord for a number of reasons:

"Every once and awhile, a book brings together cultural trends that until then were rattling around unconnected in the back of our minds. This is one of those books. When and how did porn suddenly become mainstream and cool? It wasn't that long ago that it was a back-room thing, and now it's sexy and desirable. Girls don't want to be pretty anymore -- they want to be "hot," which apparently means something that used to be called "slutty." Read this book, and a lot of contradictory cultural trends suddenly come into sharp focus. A great analysis of modern American trends".

Tom commented on the ATW post:

"I think teen magazines (both lads' and girls') play a part in all this too.You walk past the magazine racks and the covers of Zoo & Nuts are just porn in your face. What image of women do those mags create for the 13-20 year old lads who buy them?"

Very true. It does cut both ways and does create this vicious spiral. There's been a relentless media drive towards this sort of consumerist 'ideal' which then gets heaped back onto young men and women growing up as they grapple with it all. Some power struggle. It has really all gone off the deep end when women buy into all this crap and see it as 'empowering', when the media churn it out for a fast buck ad nauseum and when tacky models are known by name by some blokes and are seen as aspirational by some girls.

"Our popular culture, she argues, has embraced a model of female sexuality that comes straight from pornography and strip clubs, in which the woman's job is to excite and titillate - to perform for men. According to Levy, women have bought into this by altering their bodies surgically and cosmetically, and - more insidiously - by confusing sexual power with power, so that embracing this caricaturish form of sexuality becomes, in their minds, a perverse kind of feminism"

Apparently this book which is two years old, will 'create many aha! moments for readers who have been wondering how porn got to be pop and why feminism is such a dirty word'.

Having just used that word pop on that thread myself, Im inspired to read the book.

We all aspired to be British Once

2007-02-23T23:09:00.000Z

"My secular creed is drawn from Rudyard Kipling, and is succinctly reviewed in his “If” poem, wherein the applicable text reads: “If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster / And treat those two impostors just the same.” It is a creed in which, plainly, wailing and gnashing of teeth is for savages.

As likewise, hysteria at funerals, chauvinist displays, and expressions of hatred in the public square. Ladies and gentlemen don’t do that sort of thing, and don’t even need a religion to know better. Unmanly behaviour is “not British”, if I might use an expression our Canadian ancestors understood, whether French, English, or whatever. For we all aspired to be “British” once, in the sense just given: it was something deeper than ethnicity"

I loved the story the Man Who Would Be King by Rudyard Kipling, concerning two British ex-soldiers who set off from 19th century British India in search of adventure and end up as Kings of Kafiristan (Afghanistan).

The story was inspired by the travels of American adventurer Josiah Harlan who claimed the title Prince of Ghor around the year 1840 thanks to the military force he led into Afghanistan.

The story goes (thx to Wiki for sumary) : On a hot summer night, Carnehan creeps into the journalist's office a broken man, a crippled beggar clad in rags. For the rest of the evening, he tells an amazing story. Dravot and Carnehan succeeded in making themselves kings, persuading the natives that Dravot was a god (the son of Alexander the Great). Their schemes were dashed when Dravot tried to take a native girl for his wife. Terrified of marrying a god, she resisted, biting him so he bled. At this point, he was seen to be "Not a God nor a Devil, but only a man!"

Led by the priesthood, the people turned against their would-be rulers, pursuing them to a gorge. Driving their quarry to ground, they forced Dravot, wearing his crown, to walk a rope bridge and sent him to his death by cutting down the long rope bridge with the bottom far below, and then crucified Carnehan between two pine trees. Seeing that Carnehan survived a day with wooden pegs driven through his hands and feet, the people concluded it was a miracle and released him. As proof of the veracity of his tale, Carnehan shows the journalist Dravot's head, still wearing his golden crown. He had climbed down that deep bottom and got the head and crown of his friend. He hobbles away in the morning. When the journalist searches for him two days later, he finds that Carnehan has died of exposure to the blistering mid-day sun. No belongings are found with him.

The film is great and starred Michael Cane and Sean Connery.

Gramsci the Dog

2007-02-23T15:46:00.000Z

In honour of Pete at ATW who has been on about Gramsci and the Commies all week - not all wrong, it has to be said. I would post it at ATW but..um, i cant figure out how. From tv series 'Spaced' starring Simon Pegg, a series c. 2000, about 'hapless happy go lucky twenty somethings' living in North London. Funny and Genius.

Window shopping

2007-02-21T22:02:00.000Z

2007-02-20T21:57:00.001Z

The Gloves are Off -from 18DoughtyStreet.com

2007-02-19T18:46:00.000Z

Tom posted a poem (a slightly modified version) ...on his blog and since i love it ive stolen it from him and posted it here for posterity. It's wonderful.

"The Last Hero"

The wind blew out from Bergen, from the dawning to the day
A wreck of trees, a fall of towers, a score of miles away
And drifted like a livid leaf I go before the tide,
Spewed out of house and stable, beggared of flag and bride.
The heavens are bowed about my head, raging like seraph wars,
With rains that might put out the sun and rid the sky of stars
Rains like the fall of ruined seas from secret worlds above,
The roaring of the rains of God, none but the lonely love.
Feast in my halls, O foemen! O eat and drink and drain!
-You never loved the sun in heaven as I have loved the rain.

The tide of battle changes - so may all battle be;
I stole my lady bride from them, they stole her back from me.
As I wrenched her from her red-roofed halls, I rode and saw arise
More lovely than the living flowers, the hatred in her eyes.
She never loved me, never wept, never was less divine;
And sunset never knew us, her world was never mine.
Was it all nothing that she stood, imperial in duresse?
Silence itself made softer with the sweeping of her dress.
O you who drain the cup of life! O you who wear the crown!
-You never loved a woman's smile as I have loved her frown.

The wind blew out from Bergen from the dawning to the day,
They ride and rage with fifty spears to break and bar my way,
I shall not die alone, alone, but kin to all the powers,
As merry as the ancient sun and fighting like the flowers.
How white their steel, how bright their eyes! I love each laughing knave,
Cry high and bid them welcome to the banquet of the brave.
Yea, I will bless them as they bend and love them where they lie,
When upon their skulls the sword I swing falls shattering from the sky.
That hour when death is like a light and blood is as a rose,
-You never loved your friends, my friends, as I shall love my foes.

Know ye what you shall lose this night, what rich uncounted loans,
What heavy gold of tales untold you bury with my bones?
My loves in deep dim meadows, my ships that rode at ease,
Ruffling the purple plumage of strange and secret seas.
To see this fair earth as it stands, to me alone was given,
The blow that breaks my brow tonight shall break the dome of heaven.
The skies I saw, the trees I saw, after no eye shall see.
Tonight I die the death of God: the stars shall die with me!
One sound shall sunder all the spears and break the trumpet's breath:
-You never laughed in all your life as I shall laugh in death

Its Friday....

2007-02-16T14:48:00.000Z

You Are Most Like Ronald Reagan

People tend to think you're a god - or that you almost ruined the country.
But even if people do disagree with you, they still fall victim to your charms!

Which Modern US President Are You Most Like?

Thing I remember most about Reagan as a kid was Nancy standing behind a tree on the ranch (or something) feeding him his lines to the press. Bless her!

I liked the presidential quotes best. They're all great:

"Don't try to take on a new personality; it doesn't work." (lol, who was that to?)
"Character is a journey, not a destination." (deep man...)
"People say I'm indecisive, but I don't know about that." (lol)
"Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names." (lol)
"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction"(sobering)
"I see this glass not half-empty, but half-full and more."(well dodgy)

In fact id be interested to know who said what...

Arguing about Religion

2007-02-16T14:15:00.000Z

Who isnt? Some interesting ones:

William Rees Mogg on why its best not to act against a church or religion:

Society has no choice but to act against a church or religion that attacks social order, as some Muslim groups do. In the reigns of Queen Elizabeth I or King James I the English Government was justified in acting against Catholic plots, though many Catholics were unjustly punished and were pushed into extremism. British policy in Ireland has never been forgiven.

The Catholic Church believes that doctrine would be prejudiced if Catholic agencies arranged adoption for same-sex couples. After 2000 years, the Church is not going to change its mind because of a vote in the House of Commons. In matters of faith and morals, the Catholic Church sees itself as sovereign, because it is teaching the doctrine of Jesus. The Church may not break British law, but it will certainly not break its own law.

A prudent prime minister knows the limits of his own authority. He can pass laws, but he cannot enforce consent. The great religions command strong loyalties. It would be a great mistake if the British Government decided to take them on, and a pity if the Leader of the Opposition supported a policy of compelled uniformity.

David Vance on the influx of eastern europeans:

So, the reformation is now in reverse, with the decline of the Protestant faith accelerating as the Anglican Church totally fails to stand up for Christian principles, and the only real leadership is that being shown by the Roman Catholic church. I make no apologies for my fundamentalist Protestantism and I wonder about this massive influx of Roman Catholicism coinciding with the tenure of a Labour Government containing prominent Roman Catholics and whose historical inner city voting base is Roman Catholic.

James at Nourishing Obscurity on seperating Church and State

The separation of state and religion should be sacrosanct. There is no place for any religion to be aggressively and temporally enforced. Religion is a personal belief. That’s all. Better one person who truly believes than a billion who are coerced.......Christianity, having no secular basis, therefore cannot be a state religion. Thus, to compare adherents of different religions, as if numerical supremacy has anything to do with it, is illogical. On the other hand, the state can claim to nominally support a certain religion, e.g. Christianity but that’s as far as it goes. This was clearly demonstrated in the discussion with Pilate - JC was the first to argue for the separation of Church and State

Steve at Pub Philosopher on concessions, the road to Sharia', one of several posts:

...it is likely that there will be increasing demands for Muslims to be allowed to live under Sharia. For this reason, any concessions to religious minorities, whoever they are, would be extremely unwise. You may not agree that adoption agencies should be compelled to help gay people adopt children, or that hotel owners should be forced to accept bookings from gay couples but if a law is passed there should be no exemptions. Allowing people to obey a different set of laws on the grounds that they have a strong religious belief would set a dangerous precedent.

Into a few of which ive put my oar as I try to work it all out.

Losing my Religion

2007-02-14T17:37:00.000Z

Mr S has got a post up about Love, christianity and women at ATW. I imagine this as a more thoughtful approach to the challenges posited off the back of a string of grossly titled, uselessly heated debates on abortion.

The romantic notions of women and faith are ideals. Romance wasnt all about chivalry, the idea of some woman being whisked off into the sunset by a knight back then reflect the lucky ones i expect! Marriage was very much a trade with women as commodities. The realities are always a bit different.

The thing about being 'westernised' is that I can challenge my faiths absurdities. I havent had a view of an obstinate unmovable God since I realised that much like Islamic texts are stuck in the socio political context of the time but remain unchallenged, christian texts were also. I cant imagine Jesus building his church via St Peter, the first Pope, and being disingenius to think faith would not evolve with time. Thats just stupid. The rules of Islam apply and can be distorted by murdering nutjobs precisely because noone en masse thinks they can change much and the ones in charge dont want to. Critical masse has had effect in the West for christianity but at the top its still a bit murky. I'd wager from the number of christian couples with standard size families at mass when i get a chance to go along, they dont follow the rules. They dip in and out of what suits their lives in 2007.

I admire the devout but i dont feel bound in by them until they start ranting. However lets not kid ourselves about the timeline in all this. The general secularizing trend gradually dissolved many of the barriers and made it easier for the faithful but it is still pretty vague. Catholics are divorced, use contraception, and have abortions at about the same rate as non-Catholics. (Recruitment of priests and nuns has ebbed to a very low level, while the average age of priests and nuns is very high). As recently as in 1968 Pope Paul VI, against the counsel of his own advisers, issued his infamous encyclical, Humanae Vitae, condemning contraception. The encyclical triggered a massive revolt among Catholics--lay and clerical--and was viewed widely as an attempt to turn back the clock, to restore medieval authoritarianism. Ive chucked abortion into that. Pretty obvious to me if someone wants to tell me my life is worth less than an unformed group of cells then I should. It is a constant challenge and in comparison to Islam and women, largely a question of degree and context. Insisting on no contraception (supported better because it affects guys too) or a pregnancy is a huge deal for anyone. The faithful in Islam truly believe they are doing women and the world a favour protecting them under that veil and keeping them inside. They truly believe it is in their best interests.

As i was growing up in the fall out of feminism i quickly recognised the crap applied to women in the form of fundamentalism - to which i added and still include the decrees on contraception and abortion. I argued about them when i was 16 and at a catholic school. Not a lot has changed. Looking further afield at Islam when i was in my early 20s before the jets hit the twin towers, fundamentalists of all religious sorts seemed pretty similar in what they were saying. Some of it made me very angry. Not Without My Daughter a film i watched in the early 90s about an American woman stuck with her nutjob husband in Iran - gentle and loving in America it didnt take long for the Ayatollah via his own family to work the loony magic and turn him into a fundi. He saw what he was doing as righteous - insisting she wore the veil for her own good and that his daughter stay in Iran. Saudi Princess the book followed, stories about the 'dirty women' who bleed and the rituals of Judaism...and then the following bit of advice from the pope - all made me question just how tenable a position you can have as a female in any of the great faiths without looking utterly foolish. The twenty-year papacy of John Paul II has confirmed this perception, while his selection of conservative bishops and cardinals may surely continue this trend well into the future in spite of Ratzinger. These events highlighted to me the disconnect between the Vatican's power structure on the one hand and most ordinary Catholic and non-Catholic opinion on the other, myself included.

Pope John Paul the II. A man I greatly admired for his devout ways in a fierce consumerist environment made some dreadful and probably predictable errors. The following didnt take place two centuries ago. It took place a few decades ago in Kosovo. The Pope forbade raped women in Kosovo to use the "morning after pill". He condemned them to bear the children -of another faith- and caused many of them, born into a country where religious and social tolerance were non existent to be shunned by their communities for the sin of being raped. Without meaning to undermine Mr Smiths post of good intentions re reverence to women - so 'revered' were catholic women that inspite of the hideousness of their situations they were to make the ultimate sacrifice. Apparently though in contrast the Vatican's distribution of contraceptives to nuns in the Congo in the 1960s, was what senior Vatican official Monsignor Ello Sgreccia called "a legitimate defense" against the possibility of rape. Catholics for a Free Choice even launched an effort to get Useless Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan to review the special Non-Member State Permanent Observer status that the Holy See (the headquarters of the Roman Catholic church) enjoys at the U.N. I understand, though i need to look into this properly, that The Holy See is the only religious body so privileged and has used that status to exert pressure on the U.N. to down-play efforts to deal with the problem of overpopulation and the reproductive health and rights of women. Somehow though it really doesnt surprise me. On the one hand i support women kicking out of the socio political chains of Islam. Id be an enormous hypocrite if i didnt recognise the issues the Holy See's direction compounded not so very long ago and continues to compound today in the third world.

No one knows how many Kosovan Albanian women were raped. There were unconfirmed Nato reports of 'rape camps' operated by Serb soldiers. Groups working with refugee women shipped forbidden morning after pills to camps in Kukes, Vlora, Lezja and Tirana in Albania. The Popes removed dispassionate advice amounted to turning their rape into an act of love by accepting the enemy within and carrying their pregnancies to term. How thoughtful. This blatant misinformation was in some understandable views 'intended to further a political agenda to prevent access to contraceptives in general and specifically to emergency contraceptives, which enables the prevention of unwanted or enforced pregnancy, clearly an urgent need of some women in a war situation such as Kosovo.'

UNFPA executive director Nafis Sadik said: 'It shows an insensitivity to the suffering of the women of Kosovo. The women of Kukes need our support and care, not condemnation.' Why would anyone argue with that?

A spokeswoman for Marie Stopes International said women in the camps were suicidal at the prospect of bearing their Serb rapists' babies and would opt for this rather than giving birth. I bet they bloody well were!

Outside of hideous scenarios such as these. The church still says that marriage is ordained for the procreation of children. Therefore it is a woman's duty to have children with her husband. Thwarting God's intention must be just as heinous as abortion. The first bit it is obvious - but we arent bound by duty to this. We are bound by hormones. Imposing a duty makes it banal.

Thanks to living in the UK, where a more liberal western set of values came about through mounting enormous challenge and criticism of the Church, I can actually ignore all of it. Im very lucky to live here. But their chipping away at issues is a reminder that where sometimes I feel they are hard done by and the government needs to work on some basis of give and take... they ARE there- and given half a chance would insist every bit as much as the next religion. Problem is the way government gets all muddled and tackles it. In Islams case, frightened of it. This flopping around on Islam, after keeping christianity at arms length quite fiercely, makes the whole approach so antagonising.

There is a clear difference in degree between religions and attitudes towards women. The clear difference in socio political dogma where the religion is meshed into the fabric of society. There is something rather creepy sounding, though, in the similarities between parotting the reverence for women in christianity which sets specific female gender based roles and the worship of Perfection ...and the men in Islam who do the same (and the women who go along with it in both). There are plenty of references within Islam that gave women a much better social status than women ever found in christianity. And the burqa is not advocated in the Koran but seen as protcetion. Of course how it all then becomes interpreted is at the crux of the issue really. And just how much it gets applied in the West is down to the society that keeps it at arms length and mounts a critical challenge rather than imposing. Third world backward ratholes having, of course, a much much harder time. But really - did anyone give a shit about womens rights under Islam before 9/11?

The catholic view on contraception and abortion is a clear parallel to all this given it operates in the third world but little reminders come about when in the west people parrot the Old Testament to justify no abortion rulings with religious zeal. That is religion dictating to me how to make a decision and then condemning me for it without compassion and without the first clue what leads to such a decision. Zygotes trump a fully formed human. Bollocks.

What it boils down to is something you cannot shirk. Religious dogma, controlling sexuality and ultimately controlling men and women. Its just the latter are easier to control for some.

It is pretty accurate to recognize that toward one side are gathered conservative, even reactionary, Catholics, evangelicals, and Jews, while toward the opposite side are diverse groupings of moderate and progressive Catholics, Protestants, Jews, humanists, and others. I prefer the gentle aspects and voices of my faith wherever I can find them and opt for the latter - but i do not discount the former. A fundamentalist is a fundamentalist, a literalist by degree. It hasnt altered for me personally because 9/11 changed the goalposts. Islam has adopted a far fiercer dogmatic vicious and violent method overall and therefore becomes the number one priority. Wound more tightly into communities untouched by reason and progress, the attempt is to keep a much tighter grip on the faithful using the progress in the West as an example of how not to proceed. Of course here in the UK governments compound what might have been better progress by making a religion an ethnicity. Im not ethnically catholic.

I respect and hugely admire the women who are fighting off the bigotted mysoginist assholes in Islam whilst maintaining their own degree of faith as only they can - given the limitations and laws applied to women. You cannot as a christian 'use' Ayaan Hirsi Ali as a brave example when she wants women to reject their faith altogether and at the same time then raise an eyebrow at gobby women who challenge christian rules. If you want to be a really verbose 'God botherer' then take up the flack.

Interestingly Ratzinger has a new approach to the role of women. Whilst facsinating and seemingly progressive it falls back upon the virtues eschewed around Mary the mother of God. Who remains the paragon of womanhood as the Perfect Virgin, that ideal not so very different from the other faiths. Beautiful but flawed, odd and extra unatainable concept into the bargain. Tough eh. Bear in mind the year this Pope came to extol his progressive ideas and reexamine these texts though: 2004.

Faiths have huge values. What weve gained and lost as a society makes a tremendous impact socially and extracting all of it has left a massive vacuum filled by worship of rubbish.

Long post. Yeah, Im thinking it all through and constantly having to work it all out as I go along in the current climate. But Ill take the contraception, the option to divorce, abortion, commit all these sins if i face them and seek my peace with God, thanks. Whatever judgement falls upon me is through God and not the lectures judgments and views of others.

Some briefer thoughts on the Harley Street abortion decision later.

Girl with a one track mind

2007-02-11T10:15:00.000Z

At the moment this blog has been concentrating mostly on one subject. I didnt set out with that in mind - but learning about Nazanin's case and thinking that the outcome would be different to what it was, is pretty inspiring. I dont feel there is enough of a spotlight on some issues.

And of course the blogosphere is certainly inspiring for its macho knock-about style for which i mostly love it. The good the bad are fascinating, the ugly is motivating!

In getting linked here as the mystery blogger (thank you James!) i've discovered some new reads to possibly give some yin to the yan, or yan to the yin, never sure which way round that is.

To add to this list id also recommend the no nonsense Grizzly Mama, and the thought provoking Tu S Tin.

"Not Whores or Submissives"

2007-02-10T11:12:00.000Z

Young Muslim women in the working class suburbs of France have two choices: slut or servant. Fadela Amara is trying to offer them a third option: respect

Fadela Amara has a mission. One sees it in the intensity of her eyes and feels it in the passion of her speech. A good two years ago, the daughter of an Algerian immigrant family in Paris, she founded the organisation "Ni putes ni soumises". This is also the title of her book, which won the "Prix du Livre Politique" of the French national assembly last year. In the book, Fadela Amara tells in a simple and direct style the story of her fight against the growing violence and social disintegration in France's suburbs.

Reading Amara's book, one understands quickly the gravity of the situation. On October 4, 2002 in Vitry-sur-Seine, a satellite town of Paris, 18 year old Sohane Benziane, the daughter of Kabyle immigrants, was burned alive. The perpetrators were two men her age of North African descent. They lured the girl, who refused to submit to the "norms of the neighbourhood", into a cellar. While one kept watch outside, the other poured gas over Sohane and set her on fire with a lighter.

This horrible deed was a catalyst for Fadela Amara. A few days later, she along with 2000 other men and women took part in a silent march. Then she organised gatherings at which girls and women could speak openly about violence in their districts. In February 2003 she initiated a "March of Women from the Suburbs". It went through a total of 23 cities and drew the nation's attention to the particular repression of the "girls of the city". Today "Ni putes ni soumises" has more than 6000 members and 60 local committees. The organisation encourages young women
and men in the suburbs to act against ghettoisation and the suppression of women, and to support equal opportunity and rights. Fadela Amara wants to break the law of silence which has masked the violence of the suburbs, mafia-style.

Bellil's book and Amara's activites have woken up politicians. In various cities, emergency
hotlines and hostels have been set up for women and girls forced to flee their neighbourhoods. In police stations, specialised workers are being trained to deal with "migrants' problems". But
Fadela Amara believes that these measures address only the symptoms of the grievances; to eliminate the roots of the problem, steps have to be taken against mass unemployment and
the ghettoising of the suburbs. But the author does not hold political forces responsible. In her
book, she is very critical of the way many immigrants bring up their children."In Muslim immigrant families, the sons are treated like kings. They are not just preferred over the girls,
they are spoilt and coddled." The crux is that when these young men encounter resistance beyond the family for the first time - when they don't get into university or college, for example - they react helplessly and destructively. They compensate for their fury and inferiority complexes with machismo and violence against those who are socially and physically weaker – girls in particular."In the suburbs, sexual education takes place through porn videos
– how can these boys not have a twisted image of women?"

Her colleagues discuss with students their notions of marriage, virginity, forced marriage, circumcision, tenderness and love.

Amara emphasises that this is the difference between those who talk about cultural relativism and her organisation, which is aimed at achieving universal human rights. "An exaggerated tolerance of supposed cultural differences which results in the maintenance of archaic traditions - that's just not acceptable."

The movement fights against violence targeting women and it focuses on these areas:
Gang-rapes
Pressure to wear the hijab
Pressure to drop out of school
Pressure to marry early without being able to choose the husband.

Petition

2007-02-07T18:36:00.000Z

To those of you who know London...Please have a look at the following... And maybe sign the petition.

Borough market is London's oldest market. It was established on the south bank of the Thames when the Romans build the first London Bridge and people have been trading on this site for over 2000 years. It's a beautiful undercover food market and a truly wonderful part of London's history. Some bright spark has decided to expand the railway line running through the roof of the market, which will involve knocking down 23 of the beautiful listed and unlisted buildings in the closely surrounding area. They already have planning permission, but are waiting funding. There is a strong local campaign to put a stop to it. If you know and love the market in its present state, please sign the petition to prevent this from happening. The plans, photographs and the petition are on the following site. Unfortunately not a lot of people are aware of it so please sign it and pass it on to anyone else you know who loves this great bit of London heritage.

One Drop of Water

2007-02-07T18:19:00.000Z

Two of a handful of books im trying (!) to read at the moment and which are relevant to blogging are ‘Whats Left? How Liberals Lost their Way’ and ‘Mukhtar Mai: In the Name of Honour’.

In the Name of Honour is an account of an illiterate peasant from Pakistan who has made headlines over the last few years by succeeding in an unprecedented legal battle. In 2002 she was gang raped on the orders of the village elders who ruled on a punishment for the offence committed by her younger brother (of contact with a woman in the village). The punishment was carried out at gunpoint. It was assumed, as is custom, that she would then take her own life. Instead, encouraged by a local imam, she resolved to get justice and took her rapists to court.

Mukhtar’s story and the international interest that followed have caused embarrassment to President Musharraf who initially condemned the rape as a ‘heinous crime’ but seems to think latterly she is out to bathe in her own glory as some sort of self publicist bad mouthing Pakistan.

Mukhtar eventually succeeded in prosecuting her rapists and won compensation money which she used to start two schools. The sentences for the men involved (sentenced to death) were not nearly as swift as the one meted out on her - and are in appeal (the appeal court in Lahore overturned their convictions, amid an outcry from human rights groups). She still lives in the same village yards from the families of the rapists who have vowed to kill her.

The book was written by a French translator who sat with Mukhtar and noted down her story as she narrated it, commenting that she felt like she was in the presence of ‘greatness’ and when you read what she says you can sense why.

Mukhtar says she is unafraid and that the cause of women’s rights is more important than one life. Unbowed by the Presidents remarks and anger she warned him:

“He is a great leader and I am peasant. But when he talks of me shaming the country he should be careful, as he is also the son of a woman”. She went on: “I am just the first drop of water in the village. I believe it will rain after me”

Mukhtar also mentions that without the support of the world she might not have succeeded.

Another woman living under the threat of death and championing women’s rights (but at the opposite end of the spectrum), is Ayaan Hirsi Ali, currently promoting her book ‘Infidel’. I was pleased to see her take on a local utterly cringeworthy British ‘feminist’ for the Islamic cause on Sky last Friday night. Directly accused of being ‘a self publicist’ in the interview it was Hirsi Ali who reminded her adversary (whose name I have forgotten) that there are issues beyond merely the polarising ‘right’ to wear a veil in the UK. There are issues which affect millions of women in the name of Islam and third world patriarchy and both she, Hirsi Ali, and this woman were privileged to hold the position they do to raise awareness of it. They have gained a status afforded them by Holland and the UK that is unique in this sense. It was really terrific to hear Hirsi Ali acknowledge this.

Hirsi Ali has elected to reject her faith altogether and has been criticised for it – it certainly makes her position as a critic that much tougher - but the points she makes are no less valid.

Without highlighting issues and continuing to generate international interest in this sense, women (such as Mukhtar Mai) would never get the support they need. This attention is needed in the hidden corners of the West aswell.

Ultimately, the more opinions and debate on the real everyday issues the better.

*******************

Nazanin has finally been released from prison. (For details of the case followed please click on the Save Nazanin link on the right).

Thanks to 42,000 USD in donations advanced to Iran, along with $1,000 USD collected in Iran, the total amount of bail requested by the courts in Iran were paid. Nazanin’s lawyer Mr. Mostafaei completed all of the paper work necessary for Nazanin’s release. A small congratulatory reception was organised by her lawyers to celebrate her freedom. Nazanin's attorney Mr. Mostafei thanked everyone for their "Hearts filled with so much love".

Nazanin - In an interview after her release: While in prison I received some news of the activities for my freedom. If it wasn't for all the efforts on my behalf, I would not have been released. I thank Nazanin Afshin-Jam and Mina Ahadi for their efforts as well as everyone who worked so hard to gain my freedom.

I also thank everyone who made donations to make the payment of the bail possible. I wish I could do something in return but there is not much that I am capable of doing at this time. There are so many innocent inmates in prison but there is nothing that they can do.

Many innocent people have been in prison for few years and still unsure of their cases outcome. Shahla Jaahed, Zahra and many others there were sentenced to death.

I am hopeful that they all be freed with the efforts from outside. They also are hopeful that their innocence be also proven so they too can be free. I want me and my sisters to study and finish school. Thank you so much."

"The Debate is Ghettoised"

2007-02-02T17:44:00.000Z

I wanted to link to the article but can't. So if you want to you can click and try to read the jpg.

This is the first time ive read a male perspective like this. He makes some great points and it's pretty balanced. He doesn't excuse binge drinking but acknowledges the social implications on both sides.

One of the things you notice about blogging is that when issues such as rape come up and various discussions ensue there is an immediate decrying of the way women behave first, especially on the Right. I've been gobsmacked by the entrenched attitudes. On the level, over time this has made me feel like shedding few tears when laws are discussed that might mean some rutting stag gets banged up.

As it stands the law doesnt make it easy for women and so far the legal status quo doesn't seem to have worried men all that much.

The liars, the sensational football star allegations are awful but they are a tiny minority. They make great press too. Whenever rape and the issues are discussed and opinions are sought on-line (or in discussions with friends and colleagues) you invariably get women commenting about some hideous situations. Few of these make every day headlines.

The outdated militant feminist agenda is frustrating for all of us. But I find it depressing that quite a few men are dismissive of issues because of the latter. Yes women need to take care of themselves, of each other when they are drinking (or not), only a fool would think differently. But a change in attitude needs to take place on both sides.

Hang on a sec...

2007-01-31T22:30:00.000Z

Until now the key religion and state had operated in this country with give and take, pull and push - for the most part it (christianity) had kept its head down in a sort of gentlemans agreement. I say this because I was brought up and educated a catholic (not the State religion) but at no time in my life have ever received direct instruction from the church I regularly attended, and the school for that matter, that issued direct requests to compete with the accepted norms of society or insist.

My father is a devout catholic and i grew up to love this faith. My mother by contrast an atheist with a respectful but forthright view of religion that countered hard at the ideas that women are generally looked down upon in any of the Great World Religions. An opinion equally cherished. This give and take worked well in modern Britain and it was something of which I was proud. I felt i was able to criticise, respect, see both sides of the religious vs non religious argument and accept both its flaws and respect its pretty decent outlook.

I think I recognise a zealot when I see one. Growing up with a religion as a big part of your life and holding untypical ('lapsed'...'moderate' whatever you want to define it as) views means ive had my fair share of experience facing up to some on both sides of the argument. There are some Christians with deeply held convictions who will go for the throat if you mention the unmentionables. Occasionally they pop out of all corners of the blogosphere now and make their Judgements and threads get, lets say, interesting! But by and large I respect their deeply held views. If that balance were wholesale inversed somehow then Id be inclined to fight back. Equally you get those who will sneer and look down their noses and think your views highly suspect. But people living here with deeply held views either way have in listening to opinions, come to take less harsh views, adjust their thinking, sometimes move away from religion altogether or accept that beliefs vary in their devotion. Mainly because christianity has accepted Reason for the most part and Criticism for the rest and it is wound into our society with a bond that worked well up til now.

I disagree with Steve here. I see this as idiots who pop out of situations of the governments own mishandling and meddling. They are emboldened purely by Islams antics and the lack of government 'zeal' to condemn them or get a grip. The people he describes as zealots are not. Zealots are the kind of people who rock up at Waco and proclaim themselves the son of God reborn for whom a group of people wish to die. Or bomb abortion clinics. These people he describes are idiots in a harmless minority who probably shouldnt even have been employed. The reason they have, has a dotted line back to the governments and their agencies enforcing of quotas without thinking it through properly and leaving idiots to pop up into the current media friendly limelight. It isnt about making concessions. Its about not allowing them to crop up in the first place and become an issue. The 'dangerous precedent' was set by this government and its pussyfooting around a fanatical version of Islam, indulging the likes of the MCB and stating them as 'moderate', along with 'community leaders' (ive never had one of these as a catholic) and media spokespeople (again, never one for catholics). And yet - my religion is a foreign religion.

There is only one religion where religious zeal is gaining momentum at a terrific pace unchallenged at the moment. And so for many of its adherents any action, idiotic or otherwise, will justifiably be met with either a raised eyebrow or outright condemnation. Until such time where they measure up to the respectful give and take established through years of change that has come about for christianity Ill happily point it out -and no- I wont feel in the least bit like I should be applying equal eyebrow raising zeal to other religions to counter it.

If you treat all religious groups as the same you will create more issues than you solve and generate reflex conservatism. Theyll band together at the top and the issues of Islam where it needs to reform and adapt will dissipate.

Some religions have a lot of basic catching up to do.

Don’t threaten agencies acting for years without problems in a diverse adoption environment and reward them with closure. Don’t throw positive discrimination for ethnic and religious groups into the bargain without thinking through how it will play out and deciding how to handle it first given the huge differences in the faiths and the socio political impact of some.

The quick fix answer isn’t to then constantly legislate against social problems and issues of consicience across the board. (Even less so when that legislation is so utterly flawed that it purports to be in favour of reducing discrimination but is anything but. eg Equal rights for gays at the expense of catholic beliefs when Id wager no single gay couple ever faced a discriminatory issue in that regard. Meanwhile women’s equality gets a bypass and a SSSHHHH! when it comes to discussion on the burqa where there is good reason to believe women in this country are forced and abused)

2007-01-26T17:19:00.000Z

2007-01-26T00:11:00.000Z

In light of the current situation with ongoing rape law reform, I admit it was also refreshing to read an opinion from another woman blogger on the issues.

Ellee presents some interesting research below. Its good to know that this issue is not simply a cause for the Left, or 'traditional' feminists per se. It is an issue many women I know do regard as such - an issue - because we do live in a society where we socialise more often and more frequently and we all drink. Fact.

"...researchers have found that jurors often took the view that it was ‘reasonable’ for a man to assume that silence represented sexual consent, even if the silence was due to the fact that the woman was totally intoxicated.

Because it is unlawful to conduct research with real juries, researchers from The Economic and Social Research Council used trial and jury room simulations to find out how the legislation was working. These are its main findings, showing that gender stereotyping is very much evident:

In situations where the woman had become involuntary drunk, many jurors continued to hold her partially responsible for what took place - either because she accepted drinks from the defendant, failed to stand her ground against pressure to drink more or did not take adequate care to ensure that her drinks were not ’spiked’ (by either extra alcohol or drugs) .

Even when a woman had unknowingly drunk spiked drinks, juries were reluctant to convict defendants of rape unless they were convinced that the drink had been spiked with the specific intention of sexual assault, as opposed to ‘loosening up’ a reluctant partner.

It also emerged that jurors were less inclined to equate ‘taking advantage’ of a drunken women with rape in situations in which the woman’s normal behaviour was to drink heavily in the company of men.

By contrast, in cases where the date rape drug - Rohypnol - had been used, jurors were more inclined to hold the defendant responsible for rape, even though the effect of the drug on the woman was the same as if she were very drunk.

We live in a society where women do go out and socialise as i said and most will take reasonable precautions to keep themselves safe. They remain vulnerable. Even a few glasses of wine can have an effect. Excusing rapists first by suggesting women need to do more is a bit rich, as is suggesting they are all de facto drunken slags or liars who deserve to be taken advantage of - but that attitude seems to be out there.

Distinguishing violent assault rape from date rape and classifying the two seperately would help. Challenging attitudes in young males and making it clear date rape is a crime not a rutting right would help, eg men accepting some responsibility in their behaviour and that there are limits. Challenging public attitudes to rape generally would help since they make up the juries. Tackling the drink industry and its targeting of young people - for a broad number of reasons not only rape. Keeping anonymity all round. But ultimately where assault is concerned it rests with the law to make the impact - somehow or other the law has to change. And likely will. I agree with Ellee that 'the jury is guided on matters of law at the end of the day, and as the law stands, it does not help the alleged victim'.

2007-01-25T23:37:00.000Z

Clinton vs. Fox News

I never really go to watch this last year but heard about a particularly furious Clinton in interview with Fox defending his record and involvement in the failures over 9/11. And he is furious. He certainly is a smarter 'orator'. To speak with heartfelt conviction and handle the media in this day and age is a good part of the battle. A lot of it he gets hung up over the issue of perceived american weakness in Somalia Black Hawk Down, that is to say how Bin Laden describes this. This issue of how the terrorists manipulate situations and play the media is an enormous factor in their game. Huge. Tony Blair mentioned this also. The media relays events, discusses weaknesses and the open criticism plays a big part in their propaganda. How do you balance the need to be critical without playing into their hands?

"....many in Western countries listen to the propaganda of the extremists and accept it. (And to give credit where it is due, the extremists play our own media with a shrewdness that would be the envy of many a political party.) If we recognized this struggle for what it truly is, we would at least be on the first steps of the path to winning it..." (monsieur Blair)

hattip Outside the Box

Stop the World I Wanna Get Off

2007-01-24T17:50:00.000Z

Harrys Place have noted that there's a good interview with Nick Cohen in this week's Time Out, by Jonathan Derbyshire (the left wing one, not the right wing one).

Ive just finished reading 'Saturday' belatedly (as it seems it was a best seller that everyone else has already read). I loved it.

The following kind of typifies why i feel 'blograge' as 'Tu' points out in a comment below (great word lol). The Left are battling away with their gremlins and its interesting to see where they are heading - neo liberalism apparently. Is the way to combat the issues we face to adopt on the Right the same finger pointing process as the old hard Left? Do you have to sit wholly in one political bubble? Im not so sure Left and Right are clearly defined at all and not because I cant stand Cameron.

I prefer Thatcher but I think Blair is alright ...I just cant stand his cronies or being lectured to on whats good for me and what i can and cant say and seeing Britain defined as fucking 'communities'? (Where's my community representative?! Muslims have one).....I dont think its bigotted to have a go at Islam. ...I dont think the EU is all bad and the cause of all our woes ... I support the war in Iraq... but think Bush is a useless communicator in a world that needs good ones. YES - the Left have been responsible for just so much bullshit about America and rounded on for it and YES the MSM more than anything else needs a boot up the arse. But the way we move forward on all this is crucial.

I feel a bit like Perowne in Saturday myself and im not sure why. At times ive felt quite ostracised by the Right for not having the kind of views that are generally the accepted norm with them eg a hatred of Europe (sorry 'EU' but you can hardly tell nowadays), 'feminist' issues that most women on the right discuss in a rational manner but which appear on blogs to get labelled as knee jerk 'feminazism'....

Other issues more widely out there that Ive mentioned below such as euro-phobe versus anti-americanism in the fight with terrorism...the incandescant rage that appears on most American blogs which would have you believe Europe is about to go under and that we should all head West and that turns a mirror outwards but never inwards. Bollocks!!!!!

Its just all so much NOISE now. If we remain polarised on the issue of islamic terrorism we will spend more time broadsiding each other than getting at the issues.

'In Ian McEwan’s novel ‘Saturday’, the protagonist Henry Perowne watches as demonstrators gather for the massive anti-war march of February 2003. He is struck, and slightly disturbed, by the levity of the crowd. ‘Everyone is thrilled to be out together on the streets – people are hugging themselves, it seems, as well as each other.’ The protestors may be right, Perowne muses: leaving Saddam’s sanguinary dictatorship in place might, just, be preferable to aerial bombing and invasion. But they ought to be ‘sombre’ in this view – it’s a dreadful moral calculus, after all, that weighs summary execution and ‘occasional genocide’ against the hazards of regime change.

The marchers’ placards and slogans catch Perowne’s eye too. Some belong to the Islamist group that helped to organise the march, an outfit, Perowne remembers, which believes that ‘apostasy from Islam was an offence punishable by death.’ Others bear the legend ‘Not in My Name’, a phrase whose ‘cloying self-regard suggests a bright new world of protest, with the fussy consumers of shampoos and soft drinks demanding to feel good, or nice.’
The journalist Nick Cohen quotes this passage in his new book ‘What’s Left?’ It used to be, Cohen writes, that the left marched in the name of internationalism and solidarity; now its banners merely proclaim the ‘righteousness’ of its anger – that is, when they’re not declaring an explicit affinity with movements of the religious right (‘We are all Hizbullah’ anyone?).
Cohen tells me he felt very much like Henry Perowne when he watched that million-strong crowd walking through central London. ‘There wasn’t a single banner criticizing Saddam Hussein. I thought at the time, surely that’s going to change, surely they’ll be able to criticize Bush and Blair but at the same time support the people in Iraq who deserve something better than Saddam. But they never did. I realised that people on the left who had once supported Iraqi socialists were going to dump them. That’s when the iron entered the soul. That’s when I thought something is going very badly wrong and that I need to write about it.’
Instead of supporting socialists and trade unionists in Iraq once Saddam had been overthrown, some on the left went so far as to romanticise the insurgency launched by Baathist irregulars and radical Islamists, declaring it to be a movement of ‘national liberation’ – as if this were Vietnam in 1968, not Iraq in 2003. At the same time, the far left group that ran the anti-war movement entered into a formal political accommodation with reactionary Islamism, a strategy which required that history be rewritten and the terms of left-wing politics be overhauled. Cohen was bemused. ‘To say it’s left-wing to turn your back on Kurdish and Iraqi socialists is to throw the best traditions of left solidarity out of the window. What kind of left is it that betrays its comrades?’
‘What’s Left?’ is not a book about the rights and wrongs of the war in Iraq but rather an attempt to answer the question of betrayal. Cohen deals in some detail with the history of socialist movements in the twentieth century in order to diagnose a number of ‘morbid symptoms on the liberal-left’ that the campaign against the war certainly brought into sharp focus but which he thinks were there long before Bush and Blair came to power.
For instance, he compares the strenuous act of historical forgetting involved in seeing Islamism as authentically ‘anti-imperialist’ with the mental gymnastics demanded of Communists and their fellow-travellers in 1939 when the Nazi-Soviet pact was sealed. Cohen is interested in the psychology of such accommodations. ‘I quite deliberately went back in the book and looked at the 70s and the 30s, at communists in the 30s and Trotskyists in the 70s (who ended up taking money from Saddam). That gives you clues to mental patterns, how people argue themselves into such positions.’
Yet, for all the historical parallels, Cohen insists that there is something distinctive about the latest ideological mutation on the left. For one thing, he says, ‘socialism as a practical political project is simply dead.’ What remains is the anti-imperialism of fools.
But isn’t this sort of thing restricted to a tiny and remote fringe of the far left? Cohen thinks not. ‘Taking a kick at the far left is good fun, but it certainly wouldn’t be worth writing a book about. The difficulty is that this attitude is so pervasive it’s hard to see how extraordinary it is. Because you’re no longer a socialist putting forward a programme, you don’t have to stand for anything. That’s why so many people read Noam Chomsky and Michael Moore – they don’t have to commit to anything. They just have to jeer.’
That is a chastening diagnosis. But at least in setting it out Cohen shows that there is still an alternative on the left to Chomsky’s suave nihilism and Moore's lumpen idiocies.

Re this book of Co0hens - if you are in the UK, buy your copy here. In the US, buy your copy here.

In the comments section at HP, i dont agree with all his views but i do agree with the sentiment:

What gets me is that those who have committed themselves to one side or the other in this struggle all insist that everyone has to commit themselves to one side or the other in this struggle. Well, f*ck you all. Saddam was a murdering f*ck who ought to have been ripped apart by wild dogs in the middle of the biggest stadium in Iraq. GWB and his cronies are a bunch of lying f*cks who ought to be on trial for crimes against peace -- you CANNOT start a war on the basis of LIES just because you think a war is a good idea! And the Iraqi 'insurgents' and any other assorted Islamists out there are f*cked so far upside their own heads that it's hard to know what we ought to do to them, but it ought not to be pretty. And f*ck Ahmedinejad, and f*ck the settlers in the West Bank. F*ck the suicide-bombers, f*ck the twisted bastards who wind them up. F*ck George Galloway, and the entire membership of 'Respect', and Ken Livingstone, and the MCB, and Tony f*cking f*ck-face Blair. F*ck you all, you stupid useless, f*cking dog-turd excuses for human beings, all of you!
I have children! And this is the world you are making for them -- gleefully, as far as I can see. F*ck you, if I could I'd rip out your hearts and piss in the holes.
Posted by Dave at January 24, 2007 11:53 AM

To which someone followed up - Enough of these coy euphemisms, Dave. Tell us what you really think.

2007-01-24T00:25:00.000Z

A close up shot of a sunspot.

SOHO, the Solar & Heliospheric Observatory, is a project of international collaboration (wow)between ESA and NASA to study the Sun. It was launched on December 2, 1995. The SOHO spacecraft was built in Europe. NASA was responsible for the launch.

Dispense with Islam, its apologists, China, Left and Right, 'Doomed!!' Europe and America 'Alone!!' ..oh and of course the issue du jour Jade for a minute - and consider how small we all are in the grand scheme of things instead.

The Sun is the centre of our Solar System. The diameter of the Solar System is approximately 11,400,000km. The Sun is one of more than 100 billion in our galaxy.

It has a mass of about 2x10^30 kg.

Its diameter is 1,390,00 km.

The Sun contains more than 99.8% of the total mass of the Solar System

About 74% of the Sun's mass is hydrogen, with 25% helium and the rest made up of trace quantities of heavier elements.

The rotation rate of the Sun is 25.4 days at the equator, 36 days at the poles.

The Sun is personified in many mythologies: the Greeks called it Helios and the Romans called it Sol.

The distance from the Earth to the Sun is 149,570,000 km.

Sunspot activity isn't constant. There was a period of very low sunspot activity in the latter half of the 17th century called the Maunder Minimum. It coincides with an abnormally cold period in northern Europe sometimes known as the Little Ice Age.

The Sun is a second-generation star, perhaps formed from the remains of a previous supernova as there's a high abundance of heavy elements such as iron, gold, and even uranium in the Solar System. The most plausible ways that these elements could be produced are by endothermic nuclear reactions during a supernova.

Direct viewing of the Sun with the naked eye delivers about 4 milliwatts of sunlight to the retina, heating it up and potentially damaging it.

The Sun emits a low density stream of charged particles known as the solar wind which travels throughout the solar system at about 450 km/sec. The solar wind and the much higher energy particles ejected by solar flares can have dramatic effects on the Earth ranging from radio interference to the beautiful Aurora Borealis.

Akhenaten, the 'heretic' pharoah, changed almost 2,000 years of Ancient Egyptian polytheistic religion when he banned the worship of any God or Goddess other than the Sun disc Aten. He, his wife Nefertiti and his daughters were depicted worshipping and making offers to the Aten.

The temperature of the Sun varies from 5800K on the surface to 15,600,000K at the core. The outermost layer of the Sun, the corona, is between 1-2,000,000K. Though its temperature is high, its particle density is so low that it releases little heat. If a person were able to stand in the Sun's corona they wouldn't burn, instead they'd freeze in the near vacuum.

The Sun when it dies will collapse into a 'white dwarf' (that's racist and mean) and take around one million million years to cool off (to coincide with a diminution of a certain sense of grievance/reaction to the 'racism' in Big Brother, presumably)

2007-01-23T23:37:00.000Z

Im heartily fed up with the blogosphere at the moment. Decent posts spoiled by petty pointless bickering. As usual - for a dose of puerile anti-americanism or a spot of islamic PR for whinging muslims please refer to your mainstream press (with some noteworthy exceptions in the British media). For a dose of rabid europhobia commentary go on-line. Same tactics, same labels, same old same old. Right versus left, left versus right and some outwardly whinging inwardly chuckling religious fanatics in the sidelines exploiting it all very smartly.

For an example of what can be achieved when right and left come together see here.

'Clash of Civilisations' - The Debate on Islam

2007-01-23T00:24:00.000Z

Informative report at Harrys Place from 'Ami' on Ken Livingstone's "A World Civilisation or a Clash of Civilisations?" debate with Daniel Pipes, amongst others. Usually packed out with uber lefty loons it appears this one had a good bunch of sane people in attendance. She says:

"I disagree with those who say that Ken Livingstone’s A World Civilisation or a Clash of Civilisations was inappropriate as a mayoral event and would commend Jonathan Hoffman's account as an excellent and accurate reflection of the event.London by its nature has concerns which extend beyond the parochial. As an opportunity for gauging and assessing the mood of Londoners towards international phenomena which now impinge willy-nilly on their lives, this was a revelation. Accustomed as I am to the monolithic baying and sloganeering of much of public leftish meetings, I was cheered by the diversity of views of this 3000 to 5000 (estimates vary) strong crowd......." you can read the whole piece and the included link above is useful also.

Update on Dispatches

2007-01-22T23:53:00.000Z

Keeping an eye on the Dispatches follow up amidst the Jade obsession

The Birmingham mosque exposed in a Channel 4 documentary as a Mecca for extremist Muslims is being investigated by police after calls from an MP for police to intervene.

Eight MPs have signed an early day motion condemning the preacher's views.

Labour MP Roger Godsiff wrote to the West Midlands Chief Constable asking for an investigation, and police have confirmed they are studying the documentary.

"I am delighted the police are looking into this. I will see what conclusions they draw," Mr Godsiff said, according to ITN.

"If the police or Director of Public Prosecutions decide these comments were not racist, I think they are going to have a very difficult time"

Also:

THE firebrand Midland Islamic preacher at the centre of a controversial TV documentary was questioned by the FBI in America about alleged links with an al Qaida operative, the Sunday Mercury can reveal.

Abu Usamah At-Thahabi, who was secretly taped by undercover reporters as he delivered extremist lectures at a Birmingham mosque, was quizzed by US agents just months after the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York.

The New Jersey-born Muslim convert was an imam at the Islamic Center of Peoria in Illinois when federal agents swooped in December 2001 and arrested Qatari student Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri, who was a regular worshipper.

Abu Usamah was questioned by federal agents who believed he may have had
some influence on the student - but he was never arrested.

Happy Birthday. (I think)

2007-01-17T22:03:00.000Z

Andrew has written a great post over at ATW about the birthday of Great Britain.

"This, the 300th anniversary of the first Act ofUnion, should allow us to think about the UK and what it has achieved. It once ruled the world and, as recently as the end of the First World War, was considered the only global superpower. It created the largest Empire the world has ever seen and, in contrast to many other imperial ventures by our European neighbours, did far more good than ever it did harm to the countries which submitted to its control (whatever you may think about the principle of empire, that is a fact). Today, there is nothing equivalent to the Commonwealth for the former conquests of France, Spain or the Netherlands.

Not only did the United Kingdom build much of the infrastructure in its imperial backyard, it also forged great and significant ties with countries never under its colonial stewardship.

The two best examples of this are Argentina and Chile, where the railways, roads, agriculture and naval strengths of those two countries were created and built by the British - not the Spanish. Even as recently as the early 20th century, more people in Argentina spoke English and Italian than Spanish.

In the 21st Century, the UK is still a global player and is one of only 5 permanent members of the UN Security Council. It is Europe's (excluding Russia) foremost military power and has ties to the United States unequalled by any other country. The importance of this alliance cannot be underestimated for anyone who has lived through WW2 or has seen the global ventures undertaken by ourselves and the Americans since that time.."

Great stuff.

Another way of looking at it of course is to think that without the socialists in the land of William Wallace ('braveheart and hero of scotland - hammer of the english and scotlands greatest patriot!!' etc etc etc la di daa) England wouldnt be run by Nu Labour. Ever. As demonstrated beautifully top left by the 2005 election map which doesnt much change from one general election to the next.

"The HORROR! the HORROR!"

2007-01-17T20:17:00.000Z

Oh FFS. Please...

What in the hell is Tony Blair and a slew of politicians doing getting involved with the utter rubbish that is Big Brother and the even worse absurdities that are the allegations of 'racism'?

Blair: "The message should go out from this country loud and clear that we are a tolerant country and we will not tolerate racism in any way."

Labour disclaimer: ..."we will not tolerate racism in any way, unless it emanates from mosques"

Look. Get a few gormless girls made good from Chavsville Central together with a haughty snob of a Bollywood Princess (a consumate actress who clearly attended the Princess Diana Tearful Doe Eyed School of Media Training) and place them in a cheap shot competition ... the result is a bunch of degenerate bitching that is worthy of only one thing - the off switch. It does not merit the kind of attention thrown at it presently from all quarters* from Parliament to the streets of India - most of whom haven't watched it. Take *Livingstone tonight on the news commenting without having seen any of it (prat) but..hey.. if its white racists he merely thinks he is talking about, no holds barred. Lets extend the racist label to the white working classes and the whooooole of Britain based on the brainless ignorance of those dummies paid squillions to appear in Big Brother? Good grief.

Over at Pickled Politics who have (predictably) stirred it all up - one post on the mosques expose and a dismissive shoulder shrug over the MCB role - but the same shrug is lost on them over Jade Bloody Goody? Give me a break. What is the world coming to when pure murder inciting hatred & bigotry is clearly presented to you warts and all and brushed to one side whilst what amounts to stupidity, snobbery and pure cultural ignorance on both sides of a nasty bitchfight becomes the issue du jour. Utterly utterly absurd. Being practically mute on some bigotry but marginalising the rest means you are full of shit.

Racism - its an industry.

(oh and someone might like to suggest to Jermaine Jackson that marrying a white person is actually ok in 2007 btw!...)

Update: yep what HE says.

Mr Moderate clears up any misunderstandings

2007-01-17T08:55:00.000Z

A letter dated 7th January 2007 from Shouaib Ahmed, Secretary General, Markazi Jamiat Ahl-e-Hadith UK to Andrew Smith of HardCash Productions Ltd, the C4 Dispatches programme maker - in which the SG is very concerned about bigotry and hatred. Only not the kind that is being spread in the mosques he attends. No - this would be the imagined kind that was expected after July 7th and never materialised etc etc. He also goes on to make it quite clear its ok to smack your wife and kids about a bit and that amputations are a very effective deterrant. No time to comment on all but have a read. Parts of the very long letter which does him no favours - below.

I am writing in response to your letter dated the 28th December 2006 which appears to have been written just when you knew we would be celebrating the ‘Id al-Adha, thereby giving us less time in which to respond to what in any case appears to be a programme whose content has already been decided.

Naturally I am surprised that you appear to have already more or less decided what words you are going to put into my mouth and that you did not even have the courtesy to request an interview with me so that my viewpoint could be included in your programme. In my humble opinion the mark of balanced investigative journalism is to do just this, to talk to everyone who is going to feature in an article or documentary, even if this means that some preconceived notions may prove to be unsustainable before they are aired.

If, which I hope is not the case, this is going to be just another attack on Islam and Muslims, which is very much in vogue nowadays, then I must remind you that if I or any member of my staff or anyone who worships at the Green Lane Mosque or the Mosque itself are subjected to any form of physical attack as a result of your programme then you, HardCash Productions Ltd and Channel 4 will all be liable to prosecution for incitement to commit a criminal act.

As regards corporal punishment, the teachings of Islam permit a light smack as a mark of disapproval, but never the violent physical abuse of either children or marriage partner ..

As regards amputations, whippings, and crucifixions, [...] Some of the hadd (fixed punishments) punishments in Islam work as an effective deterrent, even for those who do not fear Allah and the Last Day.

Has that cleared that up for everyone?

Essential Viewing

2007-01-16T09:05:00.000Z

UK Mosques. Part 1 Of 3.

Part 2:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoi5DWt3b0w&eurl=

Part 3:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_TjzCcTkE8&eurl=

The Princess & the Frog

2007-01-11T23:32:00.000Z

Once upon a time, in a land far away, a beautiful, independent, self assured, princess happened upon a frog as she sat, contemplating ecological issues on the shores of an unpolluted pond in a verdant meadow near her castle.

The frog hopped into the princess lap and said:

"Elegant Lady, I was once a handsome prince, until an evil feminist witch cast a spell upon me. One kiss from you, however, and I will turn back into the dapper, young prince that I am, and then, my sweet, we can marry and set up housekeeping in yon castle with my mother, where you can work full time, prepare my meals, clean my clothes, look permanently gorgeous, bear my children, contribute to declining world birth rates and forever feel grateful and happy doing so "

That night, as the princess dined sumptuously on a repast of lightly sautéed frog legs seasoned in a white wine and shallot cream sauce, she reflected on the frogs earlier offer and thought

'Not fucking likely'

Africa A Key Battleground

2007-01-09T23:49:00.000Z

The New Year began with a spectacular and much-needed defeat for terrorism: in Somalia

Most Westerners still think of sub-Saharan Africa as the frontline in the battle against poverty and Aids, not terror. But the region is becoming an increasingly critical front in the global struggle against terrorism, as the events of the past few days in the Horn of Africa have demonstrated. To anybody with an interest in maintaining international stability, the march of globalisation and preventing fresh terror attacks around the globe, Africa warrants increasingly close scrutiny.

Africa A Key Battleground in the global war on terror - great article here

Black Hawk Down

2007-01-09T23:15:00.000Z

In an interview in Le Monde Ethiopia's prime minister has said a whole bunch of international terrorists had been killed, injured or captured in the fighting recently - including 'Britons'. I use the term loosely because frankly i dont see them as such - real Britons dont go around killing for islamic shari'a. Meanwhile, Somalia's deputy prime minister claimed that much of the funding for the Islamist militants was coming from Britain and that some of their fighters were British and American passport holders. How depressing.

I was pleased to see America get its men in the bombing today. The media went into typical overdrive about civilian casualties as if only American action in removing these guys had ensured any innocent blood spilled in this country.

Of course this is the first American action since American troops got caught in vicious street to street fighting in Mogadishu as part of the U.S. military's 1993 campaign to capture Somali warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid. The raid itself by the Delta operators was successful but unprepared for an RPG onslaught 2 of their Black Hawk helicopters were brought down and the personnel killed (and paraded) - one survived and was taken hostage. A quick in and out mission turned into lengthy pitched battles into the night as they tried to secure the crash sites and recover bodies.

I was privileged to meet some of those involved in that fateful mission, something i wont forget in a hurry.

One of the best portrayals of those events is in the brilliant film Black Hawk Down. A stark, powerful and accurate interpretation of events. The book by Mark Bowden is a great read too.

British trrops destroy more Taleban

2007-01-09T22:49:00.000Z

British troops have destroyed a Taliban training camp in Afghanistan, killing dozens of the enemy, in a victory the military said would help bring electricity to nearly two million people, Guardian reported on Monday. About 110 Royal Marines swept through northern Helmand targeting insurgent boltholes to pave the way for much-needed repairs on a hydroelectric dam in the north of the restless province. Launched on New Year's Day, Operation Clay saw troops from Plymouth-based 42 Commando engaged in four days of ferocious firefights.

The raids resulted in the deaths of a senior Taliban commander and "tens" of his henchmen. Amazingly, only one marine was injured during the deadly battles. He was shot through the hand.

An equally tricky task remains to overhaul the Afghan government:

Mr Hoon said MPs were being too pessimistic about progress in Afghanistan and he praised the way Afghans had "effectively rebuilt their nation from scratch" since 2001.

The "key state institutions are now in place" the economy was growing rapidly, five million children, 37% of them girls, were in school and "much of Afghanistan is at peace", Mr Hoon told MPs, but he conceded "challenges remain".

"We cannot win in Afghanistan through military action alone"

"There is a need to extend the rule of law and the writ of the democratically elected Afghan authorities across those parts of the country where there are still challenges.

Afghan MP Malalai talking about the same issues but not so enamoured with whose in power:

"Look, they want again an office of 'vice and virtue,' just like the Taliban had, and which they used as a pretext for their crimes. This is the reason we want a secular government. With a secular government, they cannot commit their crimes in the name of Islam. Or in the name of Jihad. Until these warlords, these drug lords, who right now have the support of the U.S. and its allies in our country, until they become powerless, our people can never hope for democracy, women rights, human rights, and especially security in Afghanistan."

As one example of the approach that Joya objects to, Sen. Bill Frist, R-Tenn., while visiting Afghanistan before Christmas, voiced his support for efforts to bring "people who call themselves Taliban into a larger, more representative government." These, according to Malalai, and easy to see, are the same "warlords and drug lords [who] committed lots of crimes when they were in power under the name of jihad and even now are committing lots of crimes under the name of jihad and Islam."

We cannot follow this ridiculous process of appeasing thugs by putting them in power. Especially not in this region.

We are not being bold enough

2007-01-07T19:02:00.000Z

Tony Blair has written quite a piece on Islam for the Council for Foreign Relations.

I only take issue with the start. But since it is at the start i think he intends to ensure that battle for hearts and minds' that has become government policy is not given shortshrift. Without the carrot and stick approach he might not have had to wax lyrical about Islams 'great achievements' and the Korans 'progressive stance'. After all if it was so progressive then islamists, extremists, muslims whatever you want to call certain factions (that he goes on to talk about in depth) might not have so easily been able to skew their world view using the Koran itself.

Salman Rushdie has always hit the nail on the head in this respect arguing that the texts are taken literally because they can be and because of a lack of any reformation. And you cannot argue that shari'a is progressive. It is interpreted as it is by mysoginist societies - which means that any sections which 'extols science and knowledge and abhors superstition' or are 'practical and far ahead of its time in attitudes toward marriage, women, and governance' as Blair states are lost on these very societies given to exercising extreme forms of control via religion. When he talks about reformation and rennaisance leaving Islam behind, he forgets that pre these periods christianity was used as a socio political force and it is Islamic nations intentions that this force remains the status quo for them.

The intentional gushing aside he is really quite emphatic in outligning the core issues. To focus on the gushy bits would be a mistake in what i assume is his swansong on this issue. (Besides he goes on to talk about 'religious doctine' and refers to those he loathes as 'Islamists' - that can only come about from religious texts in Islam and he knows this)

Some of it we have heard before but he draws us back to the key key point:

"Yet despite all of this, which I consider fairly obvious, many in Western countries listen to the propaganda of the extremists and accept it. (And to give credit where it is due, the extremists play our own media with a shrewdness that would be the envy of many a political party.)

If we recognized this struggle for what it truly is, we would at least be on the first steps of the path to winning it. But a vast part of Western opinion is not remotely near this point yet.This ideology has to be taken on -- and taken on everywhere. Islamist terrorism will not be defeated until we confront not just the methods of the extremists but also their ideas. I do not mean just telling them that terrorist activity is wrong. I mean telling them that their attitude toward the United States is absurd, that their concept of governance is prefeudal, that their positions on women and other faiths are reactionary. We must reject not just their barbaric acts but also their false sense of grievance against the West, their attempt to persuade us that it is
others and not they themselves who are responsible for their violence.

The debate over the wisdom of the original decisions, especially about Iraq, will continue. Opponents will say that Iraq was never a threat, that there were no weapons of mass destruction, that the drug trade in Afghanistan continues. I will point out that Iraq was indeed a threat, as two regional wars, 14 UN resolutions, and the final report of the Iraq Survey Group showed. I will remind people that in the aftermath of the Iraq war, we secured major advances in tackling the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, not least a new relationship with Libya and the shutting down of A. Q. Khan's nuclear weapons network. I will recall that it was the Taliban who manipulated the drug trade and housed al Qaeda and its training camps..'
It is almost incredible to me that so much Western opinion appears to buy the idea that the emergence of this global terrorism is somehow our fault'

"Why are we not yet succeeding? Because we are not being bold enough, consistent enough, thorough enough in fighting for the values we believe in"

Our media, his own government (at times to his frustration not to mention mine...) and the Opposition have all been slow to understand what is at stake, flopping around trying to placate and posture the you know who's - and the continuing moronic ranting about the rights and wrongs of Iraq both here and in the US add nothing but fuel to the islamist fire. He is right to remind us of the reasons for going to war and of course he is right in the reasoning. But he is most right in slamming the wars critics for their part in adding to the victim mentality he very appropriately mentions.

It wont just be Britain that loses out when he steps down. The thought of a power hungry Brown keen to distance himself from Iraq, an inept Bush, utterly utterly useless at vocalising this situation and worse still those grandstanding policy-light Democrats, shaping the future on this problem sends shivers down my spine.

(p.s imho the manner of Saddams execution was a disaster. That we are instrinsically involved in it by virtue of our prescence there and allowed this get out of hand as it did and find its way into the media like that is more than embarrassing, it was an unmitigated FIASCO)

An invite to Mecca...in America

2007-01-07T17:23:00.000Z

Always dreamed of going to Mecca, but didn't have the time, the money or the spiritual inclination? starts the article..! hinting at the exciting assortment of pleasures that await you in Sacramento courtesy of the Sacramento Area League of Associated Muslims (SALAM, of course!).

Of course there is nothing wrong with holding a religious exhibit promoting your faith to others. But talk about being loaded with nonsense....

SALAMs imam gushes:-

"Above all things, hajj celebrates the diversity of human beings," Azeez said. "No place on Earth has 3 million people, men and women, young and old, rich and poor, saying the same stuff, sleeping in the same places, wearing the same clothes (a simple white gown), worshipping the same God."

Celebrates diversity? How? By forbidding non muslims, segrating women from men? Lets be at least honest.

Indeed he goes on to confirm this in a very roundabout sugar coated fashion:

"It's perhaps the only place on earth where non-Muslims -- who are forbidden to visit the real Mecca -- can experience a bit of hajj, which celebrates the tradition of the prophet Abraham, revered by Muslims, Christians and Jews alike, Azeez said"

The irony is subtle. It is less so more generally:

"....Even non-believers were moved by the virtual hajj. " the artcile continues. "After 9/11, I wondered, 'Why are they attacking us,' but they (Muslim Americans) didn't attack us, crazy people attacked us," said Jim Hulcy, who built the Ka'ba and the mountains while his wife, Ladonna, made sure they met fire and safety codes. "I'm an atheist," said Ladonna Hulcy. "I believe in my community, though. We're the human race."

These crazy people (above pic) who cant stand even the smallest criticism ( and havent since the days of at least the Rushdie affair) dont believe in the essence of an equal community though - and they are willing participants to the easy manipulation of Koranic texts to fuel extremism at worse or trumpet Shari'a at 'best'. There is no such thing as atheism in Islam without consequences ...and real equality, women's rights? Forget it. If there are going to be these exposes on 'Islam' such as here in the US or at IslamExpo in the UK then Islam needs to at least face its own demons first and accept its faults FIRST-any responsible 'unbeliever/islam fan' who insists 'islamophobia' is the real modern issue should be promoting the merits of proper debate with some of Islams critics - from amongst its own - if there is any true concern for society's views. Not brushing the issues under the carpets (at Virtual Mecca ) and hinting at the blame elsewhere. Its depressing to think that in sections of America, the proud modern champion of enlightenment values, they can't see that.

Al Qaeda's New Year Message

2007-01-01T18:27:00.000Z

There are some muslim women for whom freely choosing to wear the veil is merely an attempt to intimidate. Its really the equivalent of donning a nazi uniform, after all.

Al Qaeda agree.

"AL-QAEDA'S deputy leader said yesterday that any Muslim woman who wears the veil in Western countries is a supporter in what he described as a fight between Islam and "Zionist Crusaders".

If you are born in this country and then choose to wear this garb you are making it very clear where you stand in 2007. In turn so am I.

Happy 2007

2007-01-01T14:10:00.000Z

Some of those cakes...

2006-12-24T15:41:00.000Z

Bit limited with internet access here as Im not at home...sorry to have not made it round to various blogs to say.... Merry Christmas!.....:)

French musings

2006-12-21T20:44:00.000Z

Im back in Fwwance. For Christmas. Heathrow was a nightmare. Packed with people jetting off and the usual jobsworth BAA staff trying to make everyones lives twice as difficult. And that was before the fog set in.

Landed in Fwance. I checked. No sense of impending doom. Or encroaching Eurabia. Just the usual. Nicely decorated streets with seasonal red carpets out for shoppers. Hundreds of frosted trees. Cafes still quite full with locals still sitting outside (its quite chilly). Old ladies in big fur coats (its not that chilly!). Jewish families out celebrating with hanukkah lights in the square last night. They didnt look remotely like they were about to be set upon by the small contingent of local french arab youth walking by - who couldnt have given a toss. They were more interested in joining in the break dancing 'act' on the cobbled street. (The French will never be cool). The little jewish boy was cycling around and cutting through them with flashing hannukah lights attached to the back of his bike. Each street is decorated differently for Christmas. Chandelier style lights in one road and flashing strobe effects in another. The cake shops all look enticing as usual. Beautiful glistening works of art in every window. There are queues for cakes at this time of year and the variety increases. Photo required i think.

We took a trip out to the supermarket - giant hypermarche - on the outskirts of the city - to buy some food to make for a starter on Christmas day at friends. With so much fresh food to choose from it is hard to know where to start. The fish section is washed down regularly as new batches of fish are thrown into the pool bays and lobsters, oysters, mussels and unrecognisable assorted scary alien looking things are piled high. There is one ice display with crab and lobster claws sticking out in perfect rows. They look sort of comical. We took time out to have lunch in the one of the cafe arrangements in the centre of the supermarket. The food is amazing and all the locals will sit and take the time to lunch properly. With a glass of red wine. As did all of us. Actually we got quite pissed which made choosing the starter easier. Somehow we came back with a tube of creme de frozen mashed up snail.

Watching the world go by in a coffee/bread shop today my dad (who had surgery recently c/o that fab french nhs) told me how the woman who runs it had come to be known as Madame Cleavage (by my parents). The story was funnier when in one of those mobile phone conversations my father had to raise his voice to give directions to my mother..."Yes the cafe opposite the Spar...yes you do know...yes you do....Madame Cleavage!" with his hands cupped around the phone as best he could. Hopefully she doesnt speak English. She was modestly dressed today. She must be about 40 and wears an incredible amount of makeup. She looks a bit like a painted doll. She is very polite and helpful. And shriiillllll. Each 'Bonjouuuuuurrrrr!!!!' could shatter glass. Today she was wearing a polo neck and dress over the top. Her hair is bright bright red. Eventually she tottered round to check on a customer et voila...a skirt the size of a belt. But. Possibly because she is French she somehow manages to carry this off. I think if she had opened her mouth in England she would have sounded awful - like a bird from Croydon. But her happy shriiiiiill French accent seem to make all the difference. She is an anomale though. Most French women appear to have a permanent bad smell under their noses. Nothing fills me with more fear than entering a boutique. It all looks pretty. Beautifully laid out. But the second you enter the shop the snooty female assistant NEEDS to help you. You cant sift through bits at leisure. You have to be helped, jostled around, frowned at. Which makes me feel all English and apologetic. However. If you find a cadeau for Christmas, the moment is transformed. Your purchase is beautifully wrapped. Bowed. And presented back to you as a gift. All for free. They will turn any little purchase into a ceremony.

On Friday there are Christmas drinks with a variety of people all of whom im going to politely interrogate about Europe's impending demise. Finnish, Dutch, French, Italian and a Persian French woman who prefers to be thought of as Persian French, not Iranian. My mums French teacher who by rights should be an ardent socialist agreed with my mother today that 'la greve' (strikes) are a waste of time, irritate a large number of French people generally and that France needs a Maggie Thatcher. Not a Segelene Royal. Sarkozy has announced he will rid France of beggars in three years. They arent inundated but they add to the riff raff he dislikes. And in other news a previously unsolved mystery in Monaco was finally solved (please say solv-ed with a Clouseau accent to add to the occasion): 68-year-old former lawyer, Jean-Maurice Agnelet, has been acquitted of the murder of missing hotel heiress Agnes Le Roux. The 29-year-old woman vanished in 1977 during a casino war in Nice. In exchange for a payment of £300,000, Agnès Le Roux betrayed her mother at a business meeting, thereby removing her control of the casino and forcing her to sell it to her rival. Mr Fratoni paid the money into a joint bank account in Switzerland in the names of Ms Le Roux and her lover, Mr Agnelet. Four months later Agnès Le Roux disappeared and her body has never been found. Suspicion quickly fell upon Mr Agnelet, who had transferred the £300,000 into an account in his name alone. His wife provided an alibi. He was back in the dock after he divorced his wife for his mistress. Unfortunately for him she retracted her statement. I wonder why! lol. 'Beware the fury' and all that. The Telegraph wrote: "The case relates to the events of 1977 and bears all the hallmarks of a James Bond plot – passion, money, betrayal, a glamorous heroine and playboy protagonist".

Finally in another cafe musing - we were wondering why 'war' is feminine and 'paradise' is masculine in French. 'La guerre' and 'le paradis'. DAFT.

Christmas Message

2006-12-17T00:21:00.000Z

FreeBornJohn the organiser of 2005's Free Speech rally has picked up on the issue with Channel 4 and writes:-

"Who needs to self-censor when the channels into living rooms are dominated by an unrepresentative, illiberal elite of fascist sympathisers?"

"...there's nothing liberal about supporting fascists. This past March, I organised a rally in Trafalgar square in support of freedom of expression, in direct response to the Danish cartoons controversy. Maybe 600 people attended. The best turnout elsewhere in the world for a similar rally was, so far as I know, 180, so this was good. It wasn't the thousands the fascists get, though. Not many people really support freedom of expression, and to some people at least, I don't either. This is because I asked people not to bring the cartoons to the rally. I did this because I was trying to make the event as friendly to supportive Muslims as possible, and I did manage to make the British National Party disappear, attracting instead a mixture of democrats from the left to the right, but excluding the violent fascistic elements of all camps. I'm very glad of that, and I stand by what I did.

He updates:

We have very little censorship today, but increasingly, we have self-censorship, mainly out of fear of violent Muslim extremism. And then we have Channel 4. Who needs to self-censor when the channels into living rooms are dominated by an unrepresentative, illiberal elite of fascist sympathisers? We don't need the advocacy of free expression, we need the expression itself. And we need channels through which this can reach more than just the converted who seek out blogs.

So that's what I have been working on for the past six months. That's how it comes to be that tomorrow I am going to film an alternative, alternative Christmas Message. I hope to be able to join with Muslims in Egypt, Saudi, Iraq and every other part of the world - democrats who hate the extremism that is crippling their beloved countries. I hope to be able to join with democrats in Africa, Europe, America, Australia. I hope they will take this project over and make it their own. Perhaps they won't. But it would be wrong not to try.

And I have already joined with a group of UK based bloggers and activists who embrace this idea. The mainstream media has tried to colonise the blogosphere. Now, my friends, we're going to return the compliment...

Keep an eye out for updates.

2006-12-16T23:50:00.000Z

Life of Brian - Peoples Front of Judea

Great its on youtube! hat tip Drunks for War

L.A Lady

2006-12-16T00:21:00.000Z

I love this song.

And this scene ...in this film (and yes ...Billy Crudup). Spoke to my sister this week who is having a miserable time over in LA at the moment . I really feel for her and miss her like mad. Especially at this time of year. I kind of imagine her feeling about as miserable as Bill in this scene! But I HOPE NOT. Hope this cheers her up.

Elton John songs remind me of horsing about with her around about the time my dad was busy with fantastic pieces of hi fi, switching up the volume full whack for as long as possible to listen to the incredicle bassline in the various tracks from Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy. A trick we loved - particularly my sis - who is now something of an expert on the decks.

Blue jean baby, L.A. lady, seamstress for the band...Pretty eyed, pirate smile, you'll marry a music man...Ballerina, you must have seen her dancing in the sand....And now she's in me, always with me, tiny dancer in my hand...Jesus freaks out in the street...Handing tickets out for God ...Turning back she just laughs...The boulevard is not that bad...Piano man he makes his stand..In the auditorium...Looking on she sings the songs...The words she knows, the tune she hums...But oh how it feels so real...Lying here with no one near...Only you and you can't hear me...When I say softly, slowly...Hold me closer tiny dancer..Count the headlights on the highway...Lay me down in sheets of linen..you had a busy day today...Blue jean baby, L.A. lady, seamstress for the band...Pretty eyed, pirate smile, you'll marry a music man...Ballerina, you must have seen her dancing in the sand.. And now she's in me, always with me, tiny dancer in my hand..

Poetry. And check out Elton on Top of the Pops singing this superb track waaaay back in 1971 below. LOL.

2006-12-16T00:15:00.000Z

Elton John - Tiny Dancer - Top Of The Pops

2006-12-15T00:30:00.000Z

A hero soldier who died saving seven comrades from Taleban gunfire has been awarded the prestigious Victoria Cross. Corporal Bryan Budd, 29, was killed when he single-handedly stormed a Taleban position. Amazingly the BBC in reporting this story has some footage that generally seems to honour our soldiers.

Corporal Bryan Budd, 3rd Battalion Parachute Regiment, was killed in Afghanistan on 20 August 2006 . He was leading his section when a planned element of surprise was lost.

"In order to regain the initiative, Corporal Budd decided to assault the enemy and ordered his men to follow him. As they moved forward the section came under a withering fire that incapacitated three of his men. The continued enemy fire and these losses forced the section to take cover. But, Corporal Budd continued the assault on his own, knowing full well the likely consequences of doing so without the close support of his remaining men. He was wounded but continued to move forward, attacking and killing the enemy as he rushed their position. Inspired by Corporal Budd's example, the rest of the platoon reorganised and pushed forward their attack, eliminating more of the enemy and eventually forcing their withdrawal. Corporal Budd subsequently died of his wounds, and when his body was later recovered it was found surrounded by three dead Taliban.

Truly humbling.

The Ministry of Defence has announced another 132 awards, covering operations all round the world by all three services, for the period 1 April to 30 September 2006. It includes the Military Cross awarded to Private Michelle Norris who without pausing for a second to consider her own safety, jumped on to the turret of a Warrior to aid the badly-injured vehicle commander as a sniper fired at her.

Heroes every one.

For the full list of awards, you can click here.

they were women, weren't they?

2006-12-14T22:17:00.000Z

Prostitute is a noun and a useful descriptive term, but is it the right word to use in a headline reporting the death of a woman? “Another prostitute murdered” — yes, she was murdered and she was a prostitute, but she was a woman first, a woman of whom you could have said so many things if you had known her, only one of which was that she worked as a prostitute....We ignore our common humanity when in the very naming of a person we launch straight into a descriptive term drawing attention to difference and inviting shame.

Well said. Good man

Someone else who feels the same....

"I am having a real problem with the media at the moment....The fact that the victims are prostitutes has to be reported, but it is not the main story. The main story is that there is a serial killer on the loose. The continual emphasis on the life style of the victims is demeaning but, more worryingly, is seen by some as mitigating the offence"

Gulp

2006-12-08T17:12:00.000Z

I admit it. Bono from U2 has in the past got right up my nose. So reading this today came as a bit of a surprise. I always felt so hacked off at the whole 'Troubles' business to feel anything other than a deep rooted hatred for the terrorists who spent so much of their time wiping people out - that the idea of any 'noble cause' was utterly lost on me as a kid.

I freely admit that I didnt know he had said this, no matter how 'infamous' it apparently is. I ignored much of anything spoken about the lot. I once ventured to mention the word Irish and IRA to an American Irish woman standing outside the catholic church i attended as a kid. She brushed me off quite hastily with 'dont you start talking to me about the IRA, I support them'. I was 14 and remained baffled about that comment ever since - we were discussing abortion at the time. 'Hate abortion' but support indiscriminate killing of civilians ...was what i took away from that encounter.

I have in the past year met some Irish Americans via various blogs who dont think that way about the IRA at all, of course. So there you go. The whole blogging business is a learning experience.

This is Bono's infamous, anti-IRA ‘fuck the revolution’ speech, coming as it did a day after the Enniskillen atrocity:

“Let me tell you somethin'. I've had enough of Irish Americans who haven't been back to their country in twenty or thirty years come up to me and talk about the resistance, the revolution back home…and the glory of the revolution…and the glory of dying for the revolution. Fuck the revolution! They don't talk about the glory of killing for the revolution. What's the glory in taking a man from his bed and gunning him down in front of his wife and his children? Where's the glory in that? Where's the glory in bombing a Remembrance Day parade of old age pensioners, their medals taken out and polished up for the day. Where's the glory in that? To leave them dying or crippled for life or dead under the rubble of the revolution, that the majority of the people in my country don't want. Sing no more!"

c/o Harrys Place who comment 'A pretty brave thing for an Irish icon to say at any time; even more so in the middle of US stadium concert in the late-80s. So brave, in fact, it earned him a temporary spot on the IRA's hitlist (allegedly). (That's a paramilitary organisation's hitlist, not the musical variety.)'

************

Meanwhile, in Afghanistan this week a teacher was yanked from his bed, from his wife his family, disembowlled, attached to motor bikes and torn limb from limb- for teaching girls.

F*ck the islamic revolution.

C4 Propaganda

2006-12-06T21:15:00.000Z

Iranian Women Demonstrate

Thanks to Azamehr's blog and c/o youtube.com,

"...some interesting video clips have been posted which demonstrate the struggle of women against the religious apartheid in Iran. Ajust and worthy cause which never really got the support of the active feminist groups in the West. I suppose it was not anti-American enough for them to deserve any solidarity actions! The clip below is from the early post-revolution days. Thousands of Iranian women demonstrate against the compulsory veil. Lots of interesting points in the clip. For example, the support shown by some women who themselves are observing the Islamic veil but at the same time, demand freedom of choice on what to wear by women. The solidarity shown by the nurses as the demonstrators pass a hospital. The Iranian men who supported the women and joined their demo. The young school girls, unaware of what is coming their way in the near future, and statements by Leftist intellectuals who were still under a delusion that they could achieve equal rights by taking part in an Islamic revolution which brought the fundamentalists to power. Most of the clip
is self explanatory, shame about the biased partisan commentary and another clip
of their struggle, 27 years later (which is in the post below- A)

How does platforming a fundamentalist extremist opinion at Channel 4 on Christmas Day serve these women who suffer abuse in this country? And when so many women suffer under the veil world wide how can liberals use 'freedom of expression' without the true challenge of debate when so much controversy exists on this garb elsewhere? Ever since i was 17 and read 'Saudi Princess', then read and watched Not without my Daughter I have been opposed to this bullshit mysoginist rubbish shroud. Now there is no escaping it. Some women marry child molesters on death row in the United States. It doesnt make them right! Christ, you can't bury it. Its even a publicity drive for Christmas bloody viewing on Channel Fucking 4.
I have seen appallingly beaten Muslim women forced into the niqab (here on the UK) to keep their wounds hidden......
The young women in niqab who claim they have made the decision without coercion understand nothing about the sacred Islamic texts, struggles for gender equality, history or the unpleasantly sexual symbolism of what they claim is just one more lifestyle choice. ‘Oh I won’t have that green coat, think it is the black shroud for me, suits me better don’t you think?’ Britons who support them are clueless about the silent march of Wahabism. I have been uncomfortable for years about the rapid spread of the hijab too because for Islamicist puritans it is the first staging post on a road map that leads to the burkha, where even the eyes are gauzed over. Some young hijabis say they feel wanton and must go ‘higher’ to theniqab.. So when does this country decide that it does not want citizens using their freedoms to build a satellite Saudi Arabia ....
The Iranian revolution turned that into a cause and the modern re-covering of women voluntary and imposed, took off. In Iran educated women who fail stringent veil tests are imprisoned by their theocratic oppressors. They are branded whores and beaten. It is happening in Iraq, Palestine and Algeria too. Taliban are back in Afghanistan, pushing girls and women back into the home and full burkha. Instead of expressing solidarity with these females, sanctimonious British niqabis are siding with their foes here?

2006-12-06T21:14:00.000Z

IRANIAN WOMENS WING OFTHE LIBERATION FRONT BY:MANI TURKZADEH

2006-12-06T20:02:00.000Z

Jonz at Drunken Blogging has received a reply from Channel 4 in relation to his excellent Furious post and the questions he directly asked them which they neatly sidestepped. I had at a go today over at ATW fwiw. I admit I initially thought it was best buried and dismissed - but since they are already getting the publicity they craved from both the MSM and well, the blogosphere, well done him for putting awkward questions to them. They now need to be challenged directly on this.

Cross post it if you can.

Look forward to hearing from them.

Thank you for contacting Channel 4 Viewer Enquiries. We felt it fitting that the Alternative Christmas Message should be from a British Muslim woman in a year in which issues of religious and racial identity and freedom of expression have dominated the news agenda.

If you require further information, feel free to email me back or visit http://help.channel4.com/tv.Max WhitmanChannel 4 Viewer Enquiries

"How noble! Freedom of expression! Here's my reply for what it's worth"

Dear Mark,

With respect, please answer the questions.
Most of the British public think it is far from "fitting". This brush off really is quite outrageous. Channel 4 did not publish the Mohammed Cartoons or Theo Van Gogh's Submission film. These have been far more prominent on the news and the "freedomof expression" agenda. It's easy pickings to offend non-Muslims. If you really want to talk about freedom of speech you should be giving a voice to moderate muslims in Afghanistan and Iraq who are being slaughtered by religious fascists whilst walking to school, or those women in Iran who get beaten by religious authorities for demonstrating for equal rights. Or perhaps all those British Muslims who have come out in opposition to the burqa and the niqab in Britian, and those normal Muslims who don’t go and pray in the mosque every week, and sometimes even, mix with strangers of the opposite sex. Channel 4 seems to be consistently presenting the case for literalist and extremist Islam.
When will Channel 4 embrace the real moderates? It seems Channel 4 is trying to becontroversial. It has certainly achieved that, but it has consistently played the safe bet of offending non-Muslims only.
I await your answers with anticipation.

2006-12-04T22:05:00.000Z

Jamesons whiskey advert

Infidel babe.

Totally gratuitous. He's gorgeous.

What were they like

2006-12-03T11:57:00.000Z

Historians in Poland have discovered the wreckage of a World War II RAF Halifax bomber along with the remains of its British and Canadian crew. The bomber was shot down while dropping supplies and ammunition to the Polish underground during the Warsaw uprising.

Project manager Piotr Sliwowski, who heads the museum's history departmentMr Sliwowski said: "These were boys aged 28 or 30. Their remains were for decades in the ground, now they will be able to return to their homelands."

Documents, notes and maps and personal items belonging to the crew, like a folding knife and a well-preserved aviator's badge, were also discovered.

"It takes you back 62 years and you start thinking, 'What were they like? What did they look like? Did they have girlfriends?'" Mr Sliwowski said....

Thats exactly what I was wondering as I read the article. I also considered how young, how brave they were and what they sacrificed.

Reasons to Not be Cheerful 1-10

2006-12-02T15:54:00.000Z

Can the West defeat the Islamist threat? ten reasons why not

1) Western Incoherence: The first is the extent of political division in the non-Muslim world about what is afoot. Some reject outright that there is a war at all; others agree with the assertion by the US President that “the war we fight is the decisive ideological struggle of the 21st century”.

2) Underestimating the Threat: The second reason why, as things stand, Islam will not be defeated is that the strengths of the world community of Muslims are being underestimated, and the nature of Islam misunderstood. It is neither a “religion of peace” nor a “religion hijacked” or “perverted” by “the few”.

2.5) Underestimating the ‘Religion’: Islam is not even a religion in the conventional sense of the term. It is a transnational political and ethical movement that believes that it holds the solution to mankind’s problems. It therefore holds that it is in mankind’s own interests to be subdued under Islam’s rule.

3) Crap Western Leadership: Indeed, the third reason why Islam will not be defeated, as things stand, is the low level of Western leadership, in particular in the United States. During the half-century of the Islamic revival, it has shown itself at sixes and sevens both diplomatically and militarily.

4) ‘Islamophobes’ & ‘Apologists’: Next is the contribution to the disarray of Western policy-making being made by the egotistical competitiveness, and in some cases hysterics, of “experts” and commentators on Islam. They include hyperventilating Islamophobes as well as academic apologists for the worst that is being done in Islam’s name.

5) Leftist Guilt: The fifth disablement is to be found in the confusion of “progressives” about the Islamic advance. With their political and moral bearings lost since the defeat of the “socialist project”, many on the Left have only the fag-end of anti-colonial positions on which to take their stand.. Moreover, to Islam’s further advantage, it has led most of today’s “progressives” to say little, or even to keep silent, about what would once have been regarded as the reactionary aspects of Islam: its oppressive hostility to dissent, its maltreatment of women, …. Mein Kampf circulates in Arab countries under the title Jihadi.

6) Trojan Horses: The sixth reason for Islam’s growing strength is the vicarious satisfaction felt by many non-Muslims at America’s reverses. Those who feel such satisfaction could be regarded as Trojan horses, a cavalry whose number is legion and which is growing..

7) Moral Poverty: The seventh reason lies in the moral poverty of the West’s, and especially America’s, own value system. Doctrines of market freedom, free choice and competition — or “freedom ’n’ liberty” — are no match for the ethics of Islam and Sharia, like them or not…

8) Propaganda: The next indication that Islam’s advance will continue lies in the skilful use being made of the media and of the world wide web in the service both of the “electronic jihad” and the bamboozling of Western opinion by Muslim spokesmen.

9) Dependency: The ninth factor guaranteeing Islam’s onward march is the West’s dependency on the material resources of Arab and Muslim countries. In April 1917, Woodrow Wilson, recommending to the US Congress an American declaration of war against Germany, could say that “we have no selfish ends to serve”. American levels of consumption make no such statement possible now. The US is, so to speak, over a barrel.

10) Powerful Retrograde Force: Finally, the West is convinced that its notions of technology-driven modernity and market-driven prog- ress are innately superior to the ideals of “backward” Islam. This is an old delusion. In 1899, Winston Churchill asserted that there was “no stronger retrograde force in the world” than Islam.

Shortened version - Full article in The TimesDavid Selbourne is the author of The Losing Battle with Islam, which was published in the United States in November last year

What do you think?

Leave Well Alone

2006-11-28T20:43:00.000Z

Honestly I really think that there are some battles worth fighting but that this isn’t one of them. The existing legislation doesn’t need tinkering with – access is already adequate, one or two doctors signatures on a form makes little bureacratic difference in surgeries staffed by several and the involvement of a doctor should surely remain paramount as a duty of care (it is ridiculous to suggest a nurse be in charge). Additionally rattling cages gives rise to this sort of nonsense.

The call, at a time of concern about teenage pregnancy, will increase concerns that women will turn to abortion instead of contraception.

Will we? Thanks for telling me. What an absolutely appauling and ludicrous generalisation. To suggest that most women would seek abortions rather than contraception is a sensational press tactic aimed at ramping up the abortion debate for all the wrong reasons. The regulations on abortion ‘bureaucracy’ don’t need messing with, and even less so when they are seized upon to present all women as heartless thoughtless morons or conflate the issue with failing attempts to reduce teen pregnancy, another scaremongering tactic – and all in one fully loaded alarmist sentence!

If an objective is to lower the numbers of teen pregnancies then start by looking at the ‘incentives’ to leave it to chance in the first place. A pregnancy represents a shoe-in to a council property, the socialist legacy of rewarding you for being ‘poor’.

An abortion remains a last resort for most women and more worryingly now in the UK is becoming an increasingly contentious 'right' (if you can call it that). The arguments in favour of attacking legislation use statistics to present their case. This one from Canada where completely relaxed legislation is argued as the factor for 90% of abortions being undertaken early on in a pregnancy. But compare that with the UK where the stats are the same under existing tighter legislation. (89% of abortions were carried out at 13 weeks; 67% were at under 10 weeks).

If anything amending the law will send out an unnecessary and confused message on such a sensitive issue. I think The British Pregnancy and Advisory Service should leave the more than adequate UK legislation as it is and refocus their efforts on the teen pregnancy debate, eg prevention.

At the same time today the same issue is viewed from the other end of the spectrum by The Washington Post reporting on the effects of Nicaragua’s absolutist abortion laws. An estimated 32,500 women get illegal and potentially unsafe (‘backstreet’) abortions in Nicaragua every year and account for 16 percent of the more than 100 maternal deaths there annually. Worldwide - 70,000 women die each year from the same.

For the UK pre-the 1967 Abortion Act it was estimated by a parliamentary committee that the treatment of abortion accounted for as many as 20% of gynaelogical admissions. An estimated 100,000 to 150,000 abortions were carried out illegally in 1966 ~ this compares with 185,000 legal abortions carried out in 2005.

2006-11-23T22:28:00.000Z

A young Afghan girl, looks on as the Provisional Reconstruction team (PRT) patrol to the south of Lashkar Gar, in order to discuss various matters with members of a village. This image was taken during Operation Herrick IV, the UK's deployment into Helmand Province of Southern Afghanistan. Operation Herrick IV saw the development of the Helmand Task Force in the province, which saw the cross Governmental Provincial Reconstruction Team set up in Lashkar Gar, to help the Afghan Government build strong governmental institutions, security and create jobs. The Task Force was made up of 3300 troops from the British Military, with the majority being taken from 16 Air Assault Brigade.

2006-11-23T22:23:00.000Z

Soldiers of the 1st Battalion the Worcestershire & Sherwood Foresters in the Aybak caves in northern Afghanistan, which date back over a thousand years.

It is in this area where the troops are operating as members of the Afghan Provincial Reconstruction Teams.

An officer from HQ 16 Air Assault Brigade, shows the very eager children of a small village pictures he had just taken of them. Provisional Reconstruction team (PRT) patrol to the south of Lashkar Gar in order to discuss various matters with members of the village.

This image was taken during Operation Herrick IV, the UK's deployment into Helmand Province of Southern Afghanistan.

Operation Herrick IV saw the development of the Helmand Task Force in the province, which saw the cross Governmental Provincial Reconstruction Team set up in Lashkar Gar, to help the Afghan Government build strong governmental institutions, security and create jobs. The Task Force was made up of 3300 troops from the British Military, with the majority being taken from 16 Air Assault Brigade.

2006-11-23T22:16:00.000Z

A judo coaching session for girls in Kabul, Afghanistan, conducted by a female Flt Lt serving in the RAF. After seeing an article in "The World of Judo" magazine, about the state of judo in Afghanistan, a female Flt Lt decided she could help. As a former GB international, a qualified coach and the captain of the RAF ladies judo team she contacted the President of the Afghan Judo Federation, Zakaria Assadi, to ascertain what could be done.

The result was a two-day training package in Kabul and the donation of 30 mats from the UK's Royal Air Force (RAF) Judo Association and £2,000 worth of judo suits from Fighting Films, a UK-based martial arts equipment supplier. The Flt Lt is an RAF officer serving with the British detachment at Kandahar in Southern Afghanistan. The British presence leading NATO's International Security and Assistance Force (ISAF) in the region is tasked with stabilising life south of the capital Kabul as well as regenerating society within Kandahar and neighbouring Helmand Province.

U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Jon B. Woods, a medical officer, examines an Afghan girl's loose tooth during a village medical outreach in Andarh village, Daychopan district, Afghanistan, June 12, 2006. DoD photo by Sgt. Andre Reynolds, U.S. Army.

Back

2006-11-21T19:39:00.000Z

I have full access to an internet connection again and a better chance of blogging properly again...finally, after a busy few months. I'm no longer on the Jack Idema blogroll. For updates see Rottweiler Puppy on Wednesday. Am also contributing to A Tangled Web....hopefully more often than not now.

Hello?

2006-11-20T13:39:00.000Z

...normal service will resume shortly. I dont have proper access to an internet connection at the moment....Hopefully this will be resolved mid week....

Unusually Im going to recommend you watch a BBC current affairs programme called THIS WEEK which isnt half bad...pretty English eccentric in style and commentary...but alright considering. Includes an interesting point of view and discussion on the terror threat with French philosopher Henri Levy. He's excellent. You can also watch 'the big clunking fist' debate in the Commons. And you might catch a funny remark from one of the MPs before the Queen arrives to open Parliament - in which he asks Black Rod (who announces the Queen is running late).... whether or not 'Helen Mirren is on standby'. Very funny....

Women - Know Your Place!

2006-11-09T22:41:00.000Z

Following on from a previous post about Malalai Joya & stressing the importance of success for our forces in Afghanistan, I was pleased to find she also has a website,...together with an interesting piece dated October 27th posted here.

Malalai is an outspoken MP working in that mysoginist rathole, & risking her life daily. She warns:-

"Warlords who have now learned how to talk about democracy and women and how to wear a suit and a tie" - are no better than the Taliban:

"Every country that wants to prove itself as real and honest friends of the Afghan people must stop following the policy of the U.S., because this is not a real democracy and this is not a real war on terror. At one hand they are saying 'we fight the Taliban' and on the other we have members of parliament who are Taliban. The only way is to stop this policy. If they don't stop this policy, I am sure that one day there will be another September 11. Another September 11 will happen — because they are like the Taliban [and] they will act like the Taliban."

She goes on to explain....

"Look, they want again an office of 'vice and virtue,' just like the Taliban had, and which they used as a pretext for their crimes. This is the reason we want a secular government. With a secular government, they cannot commit their crimes in the name of Islam. Or in the name of Jihad. Until these warlords, these drug lords, who right now have the support of the U.S. and its allies in our country, until they become powerless, our people can never hope for democracy, women rights, human rights, and especially security in Afghanistan."

As one example of the approach that Joya objects to, Sen. Bill Frist, R-Tenn., while visiting Afghanistan two weeks ago, voiced his support for efforts to bring "people who call themselves Taliban into a larger, more representative government." (Remind you of anything?) She says these are the same "warlords and drug lords [who] committed lots of crimes when they were in power under the name of jihad and even now are committing lots of crimes under the name of jihad and Islam."

"I'd like to remind you how easy it was," she adds, "for the U.S. to destroy the government of the Taliban. It was very easy when they wanted it, right after 9/11. And I would like to tell you, and especially those countries around the world that support these criminals who are now in the government, that they have the same ideals as the Taliban. One day, they will do another September 11. They are more dangerous than the Taliban right now because they are in power."

OK so I'm in danger of becoming a femininst. But not the bra burning kind....to see just how much testosterone fuelled mysoginist religious influence affects us all (men and religion ..or man-made religion, however you care to view it - oh the joys!) ~ read this.

"Nobody will ever win the Battle of the Sexes. There's just too much fraternizing with the enemy" ~ Henry Kissinger - and without doubt thats what scares the crap out of the jihadists.

America

2006-11-09T21:27:00.000Z

I agree with him though he might not always agree with me.

"Amazing thing democracy. What are Guardian CIF commentators going to do if a Democrat is elected President and all the ills of the world don't disappear when Bush goes back to his ranch?Will their heads implode? Can I watch?"

(Can't wait)

Oh and the accompanying comment:

"Pseudo-leftists will be exposed as the fascist-accomodating runts that they are. It's time to play more hard core, not less. Not that the Dems are that great, even from a British "Blairite" perspective (we'll need to find a new word for that position), but that it will no longer be able to talk of "Amerikkka". What a fucking relief. Finally. Let's shit them up. Should be fairly easy"

Ill resist the temptation to refer to the US as the 'United States of Arabia' in spite of the vitriol the US conservatives have chucked Europe's way for lesser offences (hat tip JOnz):

Hizbollah judge elected in Michigan.

Then there's that dodgy sounding Nation of Islam guy elected as first US muslim congressman ~ Keith Ellison. I don't feel quite so bad about Galloway now.

I see LGF managed to miss the reasonable Figaro article i posted about anti americanism (what, they dont read MH?! lol) and focus on France 'rejoicing'. Presumably to give them somebody else to direct their doom mongering at in an hour of need. Who better than the French after all...(or the UK..or Europe...). Its like saying 'OK, these Democrats - maybe..dey natsogood - but hey look ...you're burning!'

2006-11-07T17:38:00.000Z

Dove Evolution Commercial

The exacting western standards of beauty.

We Have No Value

2006-11-07T17:21:00.000Z

Cross posted at ATW

It is crucial we succeed in Afghanistan. NATO's reputation is on the line and failure to tackle the re-emergence of Taliban forces there will embolden terrorists and strengthen their worldwide agenda. Without success there it will become a breeding ground for Al-Qaeda. Added to which we cannot abandon the people of Afghanistan themselves. Whilst it is important to succeed in Iraq I am concerned that our failure to support the fragile democracy in Afghanistan has allowed resurgent forces to regain control and in particular to threaten women’s rights. This is absolutely essential if the balance of power in a testosterone fuelled culture is to change.

Although the Taliban has been driven from power, Afghan women still suffer under fundamentalist persecution. Yes, some of the most notable achievements in ousting the Taliban included a small step forward in women’s rights. Afghan girls have been permitted to go to school and women have been allowed to rejoin the work force. But recent events indicate that fundamentalist restrictions on women are taking hold in Afghanistan again. And the Northern Alliance still includes a collection of Mujahadeen warlords of whom women, especially, were frequent targets.

It is these warlords who, as reported in The Times today (alongside other harrowing accounts), are threatening incredibly brave women in volatile but important positions - MPs such as 27 year old Malalai Joya, physically attacked in the Afghan parliament, survivor of 4 assassination attempts ~ but solid in her commitment to stay put and shout down the warlords. She is revered as a heroine amongst the people of Afghanistan.

“We have no value.” “When I speak, they pelt me with water bottles,” (referring to her fellow male MPs). “One shouted, ‘Take and rape her!’ “The West talks of Afghan women having freedom and going outside without a burqa but I tell you the burqa was not the main problem for women. Look at the high rate of suicide among our women. The real problem is security and more and more are returning to the burqa (for protection).”

As recently as last month Safia Ama Jan the director of Womens Affiars was murdered for standing up to the mysoginist forces tightening their grip again. And whilst President Kharzai was quick to condemn her death I think much more pressure ought to brought to bear on him. Its imperative our forces establish security for the reason I mentioned above but equally crucial that womens status is improved in a country where there is a chance to achieve this. Our government and the US government can no longer afford to cite advances in women’s rights in wistful historical terms. It should be up their on the list above opium cultivation!

I also can’t help but feel hugely disappointed that muslim women in the west, who should champion their ‘muslim sisters’ in Afghanistan are failing them. They have so much in comparison and yet take it for granted. It’s incredibly sad and an inditement on the cultural strategies of the government that they feel more inclined to ignore women who have shown such enormous courage to get the little they have.

2006-11-05T14:18:00.000Z

Some effagies for today's bonfire. I believe they are from the Battle bonfire celebrations in previous years. Guy Fawkes and Saddam Hussein. Kind of fitting that Saddam Hussein is found guilty and sentenced on November 5th.

1605 - Guy Fawkes and several of his co-conspirators are arrested in London whilst attempting to blow-up the Houses of Parliament. Guards discovered them planting 30 barrels of gun powder in the cellar beneath the building. All are later executed for treason.

The BBCs announcement of the happy news re Saddam is here. Savour their mournful curiosity over his semi triumphant 'smile', hardly worth a mention but they cant help themselves, the drooling over how it won't resolve sectarian violence, the odd wistful note that it is 'a form of victors' justice, given the close attention the US has paid', the unsubtle nod to Human Rights Watch alluding to an 'injustice'...and if that's not enough you can read John Simpsons fawning tribute to the ex Iraqi leader here. I hate the BBC. If Hitler was alive today they would have mourned his suicide.

France's Era of Self Doubt

2006-11-01T08:50:00.000Z

The recent events in France and the events we saw unfold this time last year need to be put more in context. Ive often argued elsewhere (and here) that overall what is happening in les banlieues should be seen within the context of what is happening in France as a whole. Its too simplistic to chalk this all up to Islam though it is relevant in a post 9-11 world. When pressed, the trouble makers will refer to a (very palpable) lack of opportunity, a sense of rejection, no equality of opportunity before they start to mention religion. (France is secular after all)

The riots in France are really reminiscent of those that occurred in London or in Toxteth in the early 80s, there are parallels to the L.A riots. Race, densely populated urban areas, immigration, racism, rejection and tension plus a run in with the law. There are parallels between the accidental death of a woman at the hands of the police in Brixton that kicked off the riots in 1982 and the accidental death of 2 young men in France last year. We see young male French North Africans using various missiles in the riots, torching cars mostly,..and balk but then again the Brixton riots saw molotov cocktails being used on the mainland (for the first time ever outside Northern Ireland) and weeks of ensuing destruction. In London the riots ended with the violent death of a police officer (PC Blakelock – hacked to death with machetes) and in Marseilles a young woman - herself an immigrant, possibly even muslim – is seriously injured in an attack on a bus (aimed at the bus driver, perceived as racist for refusing to stop).

These parallels indicate the overwhelming social tensions of the time. Namely, immigration forced on to a society expected to somehow ‘cope’.

France, socially and economically, is going through its 1970s/early 80s. In the UK the 1970s was a decade of decline, social unrest, strikes, crippling union powers. Similarly France rides the same storm, unsure of its footing, with a lame duck President at the helm. ‘Dirigisme’ and ‘protectionism’, which have served France well, are now proving costly political strategies in a global economy.

The French have also resolutely rejected immigrants and done very little to integrate their north African immigrant population. Added to which there is extremely high youth unemployment in France, Thanks to the aforementioned strategies (used by both left and right) –the chances for a young French North African gaining employment after university, are significantly reduced.

There is a good piece that touches on all this, by Sophie Peddler, in the Economist

“Just as Britain battled through its winter of discontent in 1978-79, when rubbish went uncollected, school gates unopened and ambulances undriven, France has fought its way through a series of social upheavals in the past 18 months”

(Of which these riots are a part)

“SOMETHING seems very wrong with this country. Once the very model of a modern major power—stable, rich and smug—it appears beset now by political and economic instability and by civil unrest and disorder. One observer has even taken to calling it 'the sick man of Europe'. Hardly a month passes without the appearance of a new book or learned article on the decline and imminent demise of a once proud country..… written in 1979 by Isaac Kramnick, an American political scientist, and refers to Britain.

The 1970s were Britain's decade of self-doubt, not so unlike the first decade of the 21st century is turning out to be for France”

She goes on to argue the problems are not insurmountable, requiring political will. I agree. My views on anglo-saxon friendly Sarkozy’s chances (and reflecting on the French situation in the same way) remain unchanged from when I posted in Feb this year.T

They certainly have options and opportunities in terms of a new presidency in 2007. Royal or Sarkozy will have to tackle this upheaval...and move to tackle integration. Having studied the British formula on the latter, they have rejected it - to their credit.

My guess is nothing much will be done before 2007 but still, im envious of the opportunity they now have to shape their social structure, integration and future and think that when (not if) they are able to break with the past they will do it maintaining some admirable lifestyle elements. As I said previously, the French have gone all out to protect a way of life that is still largely to be envied. They have staved off cultural decline by fighting tooth and nail for it. This will morph to facilitate the necessary change needed to compete economically and tackle social upheaval. It won’t be easy though. As Peddler concludes “politicians have consistently failed to explain to the citizens why the country cannot afford to go on as before”.

2006-10-29T23:47:00.000Z

*Buy a poppy* read why

2006-10-29T22:29:00.000Z

1970's cartoon "Its a gnat, its a fly, its U.N- MAN!!"

In Le Figaro, France's right wing broadsheet, there is an article which, in the english at least, reads as a 'modest' argument against anti americanism. Its a start! It examines what it views as an era of potential US impotence (which worries me too) and actually warns it 'is not to be welcomed'....with what i view as typical but somewhat 'softened' French arrogance:

"France cannot welcome the destruction of the United States' deterrent power. The United States is a difficult, sometimes even arrogant, ally, but it is an ally, and the only one that we have in order to grant credibility to the resolutions that we jointly adopt within the UN Security Council"

Well precisely. First up. They are an ally. This over fixation with the US as a deterrent power is what people like myself try to challenge - it has become a negative, unhealthy, unbalanced fixation that only centres around Iraq and Bush. This article certainly doesnt labour over the 'was it right to go to war' argument, but it does look at Iraq and the US being 'unsuccessfully' bogged down in it as a danger. I say 'unsuccessfully' because though i support the current aims in Iraq and view them as fundamentally correct, they have been so lost in a determination on the part of some here to undermine the aims ostensibly to undermine Bush, that they have contributed to the failure, in my opinion.

The article argues that

1. "In the absence of a real permanent UN force, the United States is the only permanent Security Council member that has a credible modern army, capable of being dispatched quickly to any part of the world. The problem is that this force no longer really inspires fear"

2. "By launching the invasion and occupation of Iraq on 20 March 2003, the United States unnecessarily abandoned a deterrence posture, despite the fact that it had worked well. Its failure to seek and obtain the UN Security Council's approval further exacerbates the situation"

3. "The US defeat in Iraq has paradoxically made the mullahs' Teheran safe: They have realized that Congress will not allow George W. Bush to attack Iran, under the present circumstances. The US opposition within the Security Council to Iran's nuclear programme no longer carries much weight, because we know that it will not be followed up by any use of military force"

4. "Provoking the tripling of oil prices, the United States has granted [Iranian] President [Mahmud] Ahmadinezhad's regime the financial leeway that it dreamed of in order to pursue militarily its hegemonic regional ambitions..(Hezbollah)"

Interesting points. But i'd argue all the more reason to support and succeed in Iraq, to disband the UN, to disarm Hezbollah.... All the more reason to root out anti americanism, conflating hardened attitudes towards Bush and a dislike for the war producing this childish stream of hatred and spitefulness that manifests with monotonous regularity - it all works against us the whole time. OK you didn't support the war. Get over it.

And here's why (as the Figaro piece concludes)

"Since the 21st century promises to be a century of dangerous religious, ethnic, political and economic rivalries, the world needs a global policeman. Until the United Nations has, as its Charter requires, established a military force of its own, the need for such a policeman will continue to make itself felt. And like it or not, this policeman is a US one"

Forget the UN, France..forget it. Therein lies the French requirement to assume some responsibility in this mess - they, like others, still believe in this corrupt organisations ability to do anything. In recognising that the world does indeed need a Team America, its also time to recognise how inept and corrupt an organisation the UN is and see America for the force for good it still is. A timely introduction to Nick Cohens piece in the Guardian:

How the UN lets genocidal states get away with murder.

"Annan will be gone soon, but unless his successor can tackle the moral corruption of a potentially noble institution, then the UN should be honest with itself and world opinion and take Chemical Ali's words as its motto. 'Who is going to say anything? The international community? Fuck them!'" .

*THAT* is how corrupt and murderous world players view the UN. Powerless. (Talk of impotence!). For any mistakes it makes the US needs to be seen as a strong armed policeman - it will only work if the policeman is seen to act precisely as that deterrant power - and with full western support, it actually needn't be so isolated. The US just needs to be more even handed.

2006-10-29T17:29:00.000Z

Little Green Rugby Balls might be sticking to its guns over the BBC at the moment but the fact is the message is finally getting through regards bias and its always worth pointing this out .

"The BBC has a problem with impartiality. The row over BBC bias has been rumbling on longer than war in Sudan... no matter how much BBC bosses swear blind there is no problem, the issue refuses to go away. Why? Because for many licence-payers, the BBC's skewed assumptions about what the world is about and how its inhabitants should think is the most annoying thing about it – more annoying than dumbing down, than the universal licence fee, than Jonathan Ross's £18 million pay packet. More annoying even than Natasha Kaplinsky. And particularly infuriating when the BBC denies it outright, as did Michael Grade, the BBC chairman, in an article published a few days before a governors' impartiality summit a month ago.

We all saw Spooks, LGF, its laughable. If anything it does more to damage the BBC. As the author of the Telegraph article demonstrates by citing it as an example.

I wouldn't know where to start in tackling the political correctness of BBC drama, but I think the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves would go to Spooks, BBC1's flagship series about impossibly right-on MI5 agents. The series was originally praised (by the BBC) for its accuracy about the real work of the Security Service. So what did it kick off with on the first episode? A pro-life extremist bomber out to cause mayhem. Come on, you must know about them! No? Well, what about episode two, which tackled the equally pressing issue of racist extremists in league with Right-wing politicians plotting mass murder of immigrants? I lost interest in Spooks, but tuned in again a few weeks ago for the start of the fifth series. It was about homegrown al-Qa'eda terrorists taking over the Saudi embassy and murdering innocent people. Except that they weren't British Muslims at all, but undercover Israeli agents. Once again, the villains are a million miles away from the ones you might expect, and top-heavy with the forces of reaction.

Good stuff. And equally I look forward to reading an honest piece of reporting about the UK in the New York Times one day...or watching a CNN news report that isnt busy patronising us.

I won't hold my breath.

2006-10-29T17:20:00.000Z

The BBC has corrected a report written in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 attacks which has been cited by conspiracy theorists. It relates to the 'confusion at the time surrounding the names and identities of some of the hijackers.

'This confusion was widely reported and was also acknowledged by the FBI' according to the Beeb. 'The story has been cited ever since by some as evidence that the 9/11 attacks were part of a US government conspiracy'.

In an 'effort' to correct the assumptions made they have amended the copy underneath the photo which alluded to one of the suspected hijackers being alive and well in Morocco. It turned out to be a case of mistaken identity. The emphasis around the word 'suspects' and 'alive and well', however, remains incorrect.

Read the comments and weep.

More reports justify terrorism

2006-10-29T16:46:00.000Z

Iraq war 'fuelling UK terrorism'

Iraq 'has been used as an excuse' for terror, says Downing Street.

Sigh.

"Downing Street has distanced itself from leaked papers suggesting Iraq is fuelling terrorism, stressing they were not drawn up by its officials. The papers demand a "significant reduction in the number and intensity of the regional conflicts that fuel terror activity".

The papers then set out a list of perfect scenarios in a series of troublespots - including stability for Iraq and Afghanistan -10 years from now. As well as Israel living in "peaceful coexistence" with its Arab neighbours and Iran devoid of nuclear weapons, they say that there should be "no new failed states, dictatorships or wars" in the Middle East and South Asia.

"If all or most of the above were in place, threats from other sources of Islamic terrorism (eg Indonesia, Philippines, Nigeria) would be manageable or on the way to resolution," they conclude.

What was Saddam if he wasnt a dictator? Who and how will a non nuclear Iran come about? When Israel withdrew from Gaza did Hamas go about creating a peaceful environment or feel emboldened to carry on with terrorism? Who doesnt want a stable Middle East? Which side is unquivocal about a peaceful co existence with Israel? Who else but the West will influence a reduction in failed states, dictatorships and wars? Even Sudan will be seen as malign western interference.

The conclusion drawn comes as no surprise - submit, appease, submit! Lets have our foreign policy dictated by threats please!

"Any remaining deployments of the British armed forces should be seen as contributing to international stability and security." Actions should be designed to reduce terrorism, "especially that in or directed against the UK".

Afghanistan is precisely that scenario. There were no anti war demos when troops were sent there to oust the Taleban - but its become a useful number to add to the list of grievances now. The troops are contributing to stability and security there and were welcomed by the people, just as they were when Saddam was ousted. If the West is not seen as such it is largely down to the media, anti war spin and rubbish that spews forth from the Left and their buddy jihadis who dont really care what is happening anywhere... provided it makes a good slogan.

If anything it is these reports, platformed by the media which contribute to the threat of terrorism - by justifying their actions.

I thought this was an interesting comment piece in last weeks Telegraph:

Bush is wrong: Iraq is not Vietnam

"The Vietnam war was not lost on the battlefield, but in the American media's treatment of news from the front line"

Give me a break?

2006-10-22T22:45:00.000+01:00

"Add to that the rapid change in the composition of our communities; the faces we see in the high street are changing colour; the accents in the shops are more varied. It’s unsettling and there are people, notably the far right, ready to poison the communal well with sly attacks on anyone who can be painted as a “foreigner”. Even the “white” incomers bring their problems; the CRE is already receiving reports of eastern Europeans bringing pre-1960s attitudes from countries pervaded by deep racism, attacking black and Asian people in our streets.

The real problem that Britain faces is not Muslims’ way of life. Nor is it Islamophobia, poverty or foreign policy, although all these things are contributing to the turmoil. The real crisis is our failure to adjust to change in our society and our failure to find a civilised way of talking about our diversity...."

I'm not sure what to really make of Trevor Phillips 'swansong' at the moment. Generally his comments are a breath of fresh air and counter balance the rubbish someone like Livingstone spews so I was expecting a lot. But this article kind of sits on the fence.

Couple of points that stood out.

In one breath he condemns "White" incomers bringing in pre 1960s attitudes towards blacks and asians but then goes on to suggest we dont have a problem with the 'muslim way of life'. If eastern europeans have brought in pre 1960s style racism to Britain then surely muslims have gone one better in resurrecting their positively prehistoric rubbish.

And who is he condemning for failure? Even after 7/7 British attitudes remained calm and measured towards the islamists in their midst as so called British citizens blew up their fellow citizens. Since then we've endured open and direct incitement, threats limiting free speech, proposals for sharia, insistence at wearing full veils and suggestions of giant mosques to reward a community who have done absolutely nothing to merit it. 'We' were not 'socially polarised by race and faith' before islamists went mental and 'we've 'always been 'chilled'. 'We' were world renound for being positively cold at one point. The request for any section of society 'to chill' needs to be clearer. We all know *who* needs to chill ffs or should 'we' spell it out?

Furthermore it is not society that swings open the doors on immigration. Society finds immigration imposed on it and has to deal with the fallout whilst being lectured to by politicians on how bad they are at it and the need 'for talk'.

I appreciate he is offering up a solution to the issues we face and that he proposes a proper debate minus all the PC whining... finally. But knock it off with the accusations of society's failure to adjust.

The primary onus should quite simply be on those coming into the country to embrace the host culture, integrate and put back into society what they take out. It's that simple.

2006-10-22T21:29:00.000+01:00

I do partly admire Segelene Royal, France’s socialist presidential candidate. It can’t be easy to stand as a female politician in France.

The self declared ‘Land of Liberty’ hasn’t made it easy for women in terms of participation in the political landscape. The break ('rupture' as they say) with the ancien regime brought in constitutional reforms and individual rights of 'liberty equality fraternity' but these didnt really extend to women. French women have had to wait longer than their English counterparts for the right to vote (1944), divorce, gain access to contraception and abortion...

Dealing with France's old dragons in the socialist party and competing for the chance to stand as the first ever female presidential candidate, means challenging old style chauvinism. France's only female prime minister, Édith Cresson, was its most unpopular and had to deal with all sorts of nasty remarks about how she came to be in power mostly alleging she slept her way to the top. (I met her once. She reminded me of Edwina Curry!).

This hilarious picture speaks volumes with respect to Segelene’s position. In an apparently dull live TV debate her own socialist party adversary with whom she is pictured, described her speech as ‘que des conneries’ (a load of shit). To the point in France aren’t they?! I cant help wondering if that is less about her Cameron style approach to the position (where she isn’t being exactly forthcoming in laying out her policies) and more about the fact that they resent her standing.

Both Sarkozy and Royal have been referring to a political (badly needed) ‘rupture’ (break with the past) for France. In Sarkozy's case it centres around a break with the old style socialism that weakens France’s employment system amongst other things. Aimed at the young his is a rallying call on the value of work and need for progress.

For Royal it literally is about breaking with the tradition of a male dominated political environment. As such she can afford, in appealing to women as she does, to rely on style over substance and talk in vagueries. In France she is judged, like all women, on her appearance first and is probably milking that for all its worth. The whole style thing works well in a modern age of glamourous TV politics and I think that is what her colleagues resent most.

At some point, like Cameron, she will actually have to state her aims. She doesn’t appear to be in a hurry. Sarkozy is the one who sets the pace and takes the flack. His aggressive position with regards to the rioting in the banlieues, where job prospects are such that they’ve nothing better to do than cosy up to the islamists, his open move to court Bush and the anglo saxon economic model hasn’t been all that well received recently (by some) and plays to her advantage. In spite of all that though, promisingly, Sarkozy, my fav, maintains a strong lead in the polls. He’s a darn sight more interesting than the intensely irritating Cameron. In fact even Royal’s lack of substance is more interesting and post worthy than Cameron’s, god help us.

2006-10-22T19:04:00.000+01:00

Has anyone seen the ad for the new Sony Bravia TV? The one filmed in Glasgow where the typically grim looking housing estate literally explodes in a colour paint firework display? I assumed it was mostly all done digitally. Turns out they used 70 ooo litres of paint, 455 mortars and a lot of detonators. Fun. Ive posted 'the making of' below.

The advert if you haven't caught it is here

Certainly cheered up the residents.

2006-10-22T19:01:00.000+01:00

The making of the new sony bravia paint advert in toryglen g

My big fat miserable bar mitzvah

2006-10-22T18:42:00.000+01:00

I wonder if this film will turn out to be as funny as the trailer makes out. (It cracked me up)

The same Shit in our own Back Yards

2006-10-19T23:31:00.000+01:00

So was it the front page of the Independent (aka the Daily Hate for liberals) that irritated me today and set me thinking? The Guardian.. with its clear crummy reporting? The announcement from Security Services about Al Q?

Nope.

I made the big mistake of clicking on the comments section at Little Green Footballs again. Charles Johnson had stuck some piece up about Britain, Doom, Doom, Doooooomed!!!....and the comments on that post well...let's just say that they make the Guardian, the BBC and the Indy's readers look balanced and gentle in their criticism of the US.

Responses to LGFs post on the Security announcement today included such gems as:

"Britain deserves to be bitten. They've invited the vampires in"

"More and more, the British citizenry are seeing these Islamopukes for what
they are, and their media for what THEY are".

"What do you think that means? Are they finally scared?"

Bloody hell. So whats sets LGF apart from the BBC then? ....if i suggest America deserved 9/11 for supporting Irish terrorism all those years, is that OK? ARE we finally scared, fellow Brits? Do we not recognise media bias, fellow Brits? Poor us. We need the Americans to tell us! LOL ....and deep breath.

I'm not the only one to wonder at the kind of insulist ignorant moron that would post that kind of rubbish ( it went on and on and on...) and then assume some moral superiority over their ignorant BBC oodling cousins. I also wonder what the hell im doing every day rubbishing anti americanism when its pretty clear the same kind of crap spews forth across the Atlantic from the other side towards 'Americas no 1 ally'. This isnt a reaction to whats happening here vis a vis opinions formed about the US via the BBC et al. LGF is a convenient forum to pander to lingering, 'post-colonial' anti English resentment ...and raise the bar. Its a great site for quick news bursts..but if you want views on what affects Britain, any Americans out there... please dont listen to Charles.

This excellent comment following 'anthean' below a few weeks ago was spot on. It applies equally well today to the kind of idiot who would think 'we deserve to be bitten'.

#7 anthean 9/12/2006 05:50PM PDT

"Can someone help me understand why both the British public and the Irish public are such incredible suck ups to the Palestinians ? What is it about suicide bus bombers that Brits find so attractive ? I'm not talking about the British government, but the people. What is wrong with them ? "

With all due respect anthean, but what an incredibly stupid fucking statement. I'd love to know where you found the time to poll every British citizen, from the PM right down to the last shit-shovelling dock worker, for the basis of your outburst.

It's not just you either. I can't count the number of posts I read each and every day prattling on about the lack of moral fortitude or opposition towards any given issue that can be ascribed to the people of Britain, mostly based on what little representation our media affords the majority of our citizens

Need I point out that you would find it grossly offensive if we held to the view that Americans are little more than overweight, beer swilling, gun toting cowboys, sitting in their trailers and watching talk shows, waiting for the weekend when they'll be marrying their cousins?. Never mind that it would be an entirely crass and uneducated view.

So we just love to be bombed do we?. We'd just love to see our children blown to pieces by terrorists would we?. Whose arse did you pull that opinion from eh?.

Also, since when did any single nation have the monopoly on historical infallibility?. Any person who wishes to express that their particular nation has never made a mistake or followed the wrong path before today is full of shit, end of story. No mans nation is unnacountable for its errors in the past, but the past is unchangeable.

It's where we go from today that determines where we'll be tomorrow. As Churchill said: "If we open up a quarrel between the past and the present, we will find that we have lost our future".

Yet there are those who would seek to judge the Britons of today upon the actions or misjudgements of people long dead and buried, people already judged by history. Would it be fair to say that all Americans are racists based on the history of the slave trade?. Of course it wouldn't. So why paint all Britons today with the brush of Anti-Semitism on that same basis of historical prejudices?.

There are many things wrong with our nations. Yet there are becoming too few people these days that seem capable of expressing the simple notion that we all have, to some degree, the same shit in our own back yards. This notion in itself is the seed of debate. I have had many productive discussions with people from many nations with a view to discussing our mutual problems and exploring the ways and means of solving them.

But to hear my nation arbitrarily written off and spoken of as no better than our enemies, I must take issue. As I am sure most good and proud Americans would (and should) do, when their nation comes under attack. I would never attack the American nation in such manner as I have seen my nation attacked in some posts. To do so would be ignorant and ungracious, sneering and self righteous.

The possibility that some smelly little jihadi is looking at his computer screen, laughing and saying to his friend; "Look Ahmed.... They hate eachother as much as they hate us.... this is going to be easy!", is perhaps not as remote a possibility as people may think.

Some people need to get a fucking grip.

Jack Idema

2006-10-19T23:30:00.000+01:00

where do things stand with Jack Idema, the U.S. Special Forces soldier being held illegally in Afghanistan?

On the face of it, the situation seems to have stabilized:

Jack continues to broadcast his weekly Wide Awakes Radio show from Pulacharke prison
Captain Brent Bennett, in spite of being bundled out of Afghanistan against his will by the U.S. State Department two weeks ago, remains free
Jack now has his friends in the Northern Alliance watching his back again
Solitary Confinement Cell Number 10 at Tawab Keef prison, reserved by Karzai for Jack, remains empty

… So has everything returned to ‘normal’? Well, no.....Rottweiler Puppy has the update

Anniversaries

2006-10-16T23:55:00.000+01:00

I need to get rid of the sinister spectres in the photos below. So how about a history lesson.

On Saturday it was the 940th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings. The norman conquest of England. A significant event that altered the course of our history. The last time any foreign power conquerered England in fact. Wikipedia offers quite a decent summary - 'the conquest linked England more closely with Continental Europe, lessened Scandinavian (saxon) influence, created one of the most powerful monarchies in Europe, created the most sophisticated governmental system in Western Europe, changed the English language and culture and set the stage for English-French conflict that would last into the 19th century'. In fact i like the way they phrase this part: 'Anglo Norman and French political relations became very complicated and somewhat hostile after the Norman Conquest'. Not sure why but the manner of King Harold, last anglo saxon King of Englands' death for some reason remains my earliest school (lesson) memory...probably because it was quite gruesome. (He was killed by an arrow in the eye). I can still 'hear' our teacher recounting the story now.

When i was about 14 we went to Normandy to see the Bayeux Tapestry - a 230 foot long elaborately embroidered cloth which depicts the battle. It was arguably commisioned by Mathilde, William The Conqueror's wife. On the way we stopped at a French market town and besides bothering the French waiters, my 'best friend', horrified at seeing crab upon crab cruelly stacked alive onto a market stall, bought one with a view to releasing it back into the sea at the earliest opportunity. Unfortunately it stank the school coach out as he slowly capitulated. She was forced to bury it in a sand dune. After giving the crab a good sending off she spotted some French garcons selling rides on dune buggies. With half an hour to spare before we had to return to the coach on our afternoon off, she handed over all her francs, lied about her age and set off. Ten minutes later she flew over a dune and over the handle bars and broke both her arms. The other thing I remember about that trip is that my sister was sporting the uber cool Diana look (wedge).

Anyway. The other battle that has an anniversary this month took place on the 10th in the year 732.

The Battle of Tours also called the Battle of Poitiers - which Steve at Pub Philosopher remembered. Muslim forces had crossed into Spain & 'but for Charles Martel's victory, things could have been very different'. Leader of the Christian army that prevailed at Tours, Charles the Hammer was Belgian. The illegitimate son of the curiously named Pippin the Middle and his concubine 'Alapaida', he emerged as a 'giant figure of the Dark Ages'. So there you go. Interesting point in time for Labour to pick its own battles. Long may those continue.

I went on to read up and remind myself about the Reconquista when Isabella was on the throne, becoming the successful patron of Christopher Columbus and regaining Spain from the Moors. The messy and bloody side of all this was of course the Inquisition where muslims and jews were forced to be either baptized or expelled.

I really like this part though: 'During their reign they (Ferdinand & Isabelle) supported each other effectively in accordance to their joint motto of equality. When you read about Isabella and for that matter Elizabeth I, saviour of England, you wonder - (the vote aside) who needs feminism?

Tanto monta, monta tanto, Isabel como Fernando
"They amount to the same, Isabella and Ferdinand"

"Spain was united, the crown power was centralized, the reconquista was successfully concluded, the groundwork for the most dominant military machine of the next century was laid, a legal framework was created, the church reformed. Even without the benefit of the American expansion, Spain would have been a major European power. Columbus' discovery set the country on the course for the first modern world power"

Charles de Steuben's Bataille de Poitiers en Octobre 732

The Capitulation of Granada by F. Padilla: Boabdil before Ferdinand and Isabella

A Rant

2006-10-14T19:27:00.000+01:00

Iranian woman being dragged from an equal rights demonstration in Iran
in March this year by the female dahlek style police

The same police enforcing the dress code

Homa Darabi grew up in Iran where she studied to become a doctor before completing her studies in America. She became quite active in politics during the revolution, supporting human rights and equal status for women. (She supported the revolution but was opposed to the islamic republic). Despite being very successful in the US and becoming a naturalized American citizen in the 70s she decided to return to Iran to do some good there. In 1976 she was appointed Professor at the University of Tehran School of Medicine. Progressively dissolusioned with politics as the islamic republic got a hold on Iran she devoted her time to her profession as a medical doctor. As a testament to her talent - she was the first Iranian to pass the board in Child-Psychiatry in U.S. and also went on to establish the Psychiatric Clinic of Shahid Sahami in Tehran. In 1990, she was fired from her position as a professor at the School of Medicine at Tehran University due to her 'non compliance to islamic rules relating to the hijab'. She was later harassed in her practice for the same reason and finally had to close down her practice and limit herself to being a housewife. Over time and under pressures from many Iranian parents, Dr. Darabi had been obliged to apply the label of "mentally incapacitated" to many perfectly intelligent, bright young girls to save them from the punishments (torture) of the new zealots. When a 16 year old girl was shot to death in Northern Tehran for wearing lipstick, Dr. Darabi could no longer handle the guilt she felt about 'her favourable involvement in the Iranian Revolution', and the way women were being treated in Iran. She finally decided to protest the oppression of women by setting herself on fire in a crowded square in northern Tehran, on February 21, 1994. Her last words were "Death to Tyranny Long Live Liberty Long Live Iran"

You can read her sisters letter to a CNN reporter she isnt too happy with here.
Recommended. Seems also to be a decent synopsis of womens rights in Iran from pre revolution. Very interesting read....

"There is no such a thing as a moderate Moslem. Islam means submission and one either submits or gets killed in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
I have not found anyone who can define "moderate submission." Under the Shah we had personal freedom and not political freedom. Under the Islamic Republic we have lost both. I also don¹t know what Iranian woman told you that she does not mind the hijab. Perhaps you did not ask the question from a broad sample of women in Iran to validate your assumption. My sister burned herself to death in the public square because she did not want to wear the hijab. Her last cries were "death to tyranny, long live freedom, long live Iran."

And in Britain today... never mind the above eh girls...youre happier endorsing their REAL oppression by aligning yourselves with the dahleks yeah?

Jack Straws polite request now qualifies him as an Oppressor of Muslim Women. (Dopey bint).

Ignorant, mindless, moronic little twits parade about placards condemning Straw for his "oppression of muslim women".

I can't relate to them in that garb as British citizens. Neither frankly do i want to. I feel nothing but shame. These young girls are growing up in a society where women have equality and rights AND FOUGHT FOR THEM like the women in Iran are trying to do today. This garb denies anyone full access to that world. Just because they have chosen to wear it doesnt make me respect them for their 'choice'. Women choose to support husbands who deceive them, they choose to support husbands who rape and murder and chop people into bits and bury them in their backyard. They choose to write to men on death row. There are stupid cows the world over. Doesnt mean we should endorse it or not at least attempt to show them up for what they are. Jack Straw a man i would normally have little time for better bloody well stand by his comments. The rest of his liberal buddies and their multi culti paradise have a lot to answer for.

>rant mode off

Real Oppression continued ~ Iran Update

Irans female racing champion barred from defending her title:-

It was the first time Seddigh, whose exploits earned her the soubriquet "the little Schumacher", had been excluded from a contest. Senior federation officials said they had been unable to obtain permission for her participation. However, Seddigh believes she was banned to prevent her earning enough points to repeat her championship success, which won her international fame but upset Iran's male-dominated religious ruling establishment.

Dozens of women arrested in Iran Protest:-

Hundreds of Iranian women gathered outside the offices of the judiciary in Tehran on Tuesday in protest to the impending execution of a female prisoner, dissidents have told Iran Focus. Dozens of protesting women were arrested outside the judiciary as they clashed with armed agents of Iran’s State Security Forces (SSF) and its undercover units. Agents of the SSF sealed off the area, and motorbike patrols roamed the vicinity breaking up crowds of women. The women were protesting the death sentence of Kobra Rahmanpour.

Male Teachers barred from teaching in girls schools:-

Iran’s Ministry of Education has issued a decree banning all male teachers from teaching in all-girls schools, a top ministry official announced earlier this week. The new regulations will take effect from the beginning of the new academic year, Iran’s deputy Education Minister said. The latest move is part of a wider plan to enforce gender segregation laws in public arenas inlcuding seperate teaching buldings for women altogther.

"It feels," says Mohsenian, "as if we're all incapable of behaving like normal people and need to be regulated at all times."

The new hypermorality isn't exactly a return to the days of the Ayatullah Khomeini. Today the tactics are subtler than in the past, when morality police were dispatched onto the streets of Tehran to harass youth. Instead, regular Iranians are being cowed into the role of enforcer. A month ago, I met a few girlfriends for coffee at a popular café. One of my friends lit a cigarette and was informed by the embarrassed owner that smoking is now illegal for women in cafés. Such small but significant restrictions are a discouragement. Half the women I know don't go out for coffee anymore. So without a single police raid, the authorities have stifled Tehran's bustling café scene. The restrictions are multiplying daily, with dress codes imposed on women's-clothing retailers and limits on women performing music in public. Last week trucks laden with satellite dishes rolled through my Tehran neighborhood; police have been confiscating the illegal devices all around town.

A little Iranian girl ponders her bright future

The Figures you Dont See

2006-10-13T22:56:00.000+01:00

In view of what the armys top dog has been saying and the way Bad News Iraq has taken on renewed momentum with the Lancet report I thought the following interesting. Originally posted at Harrys Place earlier in September it is the same survey from which we see a lot of stats to support the anti war agenda in the media. It does seem to be a fair review and poll - conducted in September for the WorldPublicOpinion.org by the Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA) at the University of Maryland.

As HP notes:

The "bad news" for the 'Imperialists' is that 71% of Iraqis want US-led forces to withdraw within a year. 61% approve of resistance attacks against US forces.

To support the anti war agenda this is the info that gets published and makes the headlines. The following echoes remarks made today by Sir Richard.

If US-led forces were to withdraw within the next 6 months, 58% of Iraqis believe this would lead to a fall in inter-ethnic violence, and 61% believe there would be an improvement in improve day-to-day security.

"An overwhelming majority believes that the US military presence in Iraq is provoking more violence than it is preventing".

Ok - Na'sogood - cue those headlines.

Interestingly though the report suggests that this hostility to US troops is related to the belief, held by 77% of Iraqis, that the US is planning permanent military bases.

So, say the Allied forces make a clear agenda on withdrawal in some support of Mr Army here and the propaganda is dispelled about an 'Occupation' then the approval ratings for hostility might diminish?

This is significantly supported by the following that Harrys Place extracted from the same survey:

61% who support attacks on US-forces, more than half say that their support would diminish if the US announced a commitment to withdraw its forces.

As we have started to see recently...as tribes group to oust Al Qaeda.

• Al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden are rejected by overwhelming majorities of Shias and Kurds and large majorities of Sunnis: 94% expressed an "unfavourable" view of Al Qaeda, with 82% expressing a "very unfavourable" view.

The "unfavourable" figure included 77% of Sunnis. 93% expressed an unfavourable view of Osama bin Laden, with 77% very unfavourable. The unfavourable figure included 71% of Sunnis.

Also:

• Support REMAINS for a US presence in a non-military capacity, with 63% approving of the US continuing to train Iraqi security forces, and 68% supporting the US in "helping Iraqis organize their communities to address local needs such as building schools and health clinics".

Again, as HP notes, this is linked to the withdrawal of US forces. Of those expressing disapproval of a non-military US role, more than half said they'd be more likely to support such a role if a timetable for withdrawal was agreed.

Fair enough.

Furthermore:

• Confidence in the Iraqi security forces is rising: 70% expressed confidence in the police, 64% in the army and 62% the Interior Ministry. 56% said they believed that in 6 months Iraqi security forces would be strong enough to cope with security challenges on their own, up from 39% in January. 63% believe the government is doing a very or somewhat good job.

Isnt that good news? How comes these figures aren’t banded about as they should be?

• Militias are seen as the problem rather than the solution: 77% support "a strong government that would get rid of militias", while only 21% preferred to continue to have militias. Support for militias was highest among Shias, but even then only 33% preferred militias to a strong central government. 68% of Iraqis said that they'd be able to rely on the government to ensure security if the militias were to disband.

Isnt that good news???

• The report states that "majorities of all groups do not favour a movement towards a looser confederation and believe that five years from now Iraq will still be a ****single state****" (72%). Only 37% believe that the central government has too much power, and 65% see it as "the legitimate representative of the Iraqi people".

Isnt that good news?

• 61% continue to believe that ousting Saddam Hussein was worth the hardships entailed.

This includes 75% of Shias and 81% of Kurds. The 61% figure is down from 77% in January 2006, but is consistent with previous polls from 2004.

The report suggests that the high January figure "may have been influenced by optimism over the election in December 2005".

Nothing wrong with optimism unless youre a Bush hating westerner and want to flog the chaos theory. Im not surprised the army is fed up when the media brow beats them via their prescence there the while time, how demoralisizing. It doesnt surprise me he has spoken out but i do think it is wrong to do so publicly on this issue, certainly wrong of him in his position as it gives succour to the terrorists and suggests we want to give in. Surely it is in our troops interests to publicize the rest of these figures which present a more encouraging picture and echo what the Iraqi government finally came out and said today.

So in summary yes have a clear agenda for withdrawal leaving behind support as they require. Frankly id like our troops home asap (though they are more likely to be moved to Afghanistan). But get out of Iraq and leave them to it? Er nope. Suggest young men died for nothing? Er nope. Condemn Iraq as a total failure? Well, consider the immediate lack of planning after the ousting a partial failure yes.

But consider the prospects for (an imperfect) democracy emerging supported by the people a good result ~ even more so as North Korea plays its part in the Axis of Evil, an Axis minus one more nutter.

Have a look for yourself at the complete report

Those 'Feminists'

2006-10-12T23:43:00.000+01:00

Yasmin Alibhai Brown c/o Butterflies again. The link is to the article as it appears at the MPAC forum and as Butterflies point out its not pleasant reading the comments.

Ive put up a post about Straws comments at ATW here and previously mentioned YAB on the veil here. A chance encounter with a woman in need of her help seemed to lead her to favour a ban ( advocated as a 'feminist'). But as she points out in the first paragraph many 'feminists' have not only sidestepped the potential for debate but have totally denounced Straw.

Thats why i dont ever want to be labelled a feminist. Eugh! They sold out ages ago Im afraid.

I now find myself in the unusual position of agreeing with Straw's every word. Feminists have denounced Straw's approach as unacceptably proscriptive, and reactionary Muslims say it is Islamaphobic.

But it is time to speak out against this objectionable garment and face down the obscurantists who endlessly bait and intimidate the state by making demands that violate its fundamental principles. That they have brainwashed young women, born free, to seek self-subjugation breaks my heart.

Britain has been both more relaxed about cultural differences and over-anxious about challenging unacceptable practices. Few Britons have realized that the hijab — now more widespread than ever — is, for Islamicist puritans, the first step on a path leading to the burqa, where even the eyes are gauzed over...I refuse to submit to the hijab or to an opaque, black shroud. On Sept. 10, 2001, I wrote a column in the Independent newspaper condemning the Taliban for using violence to force Afghan women into the burqa. It is happening again. In Iran, educated women who fail some sort of veil test are being imprisoned by their oppressors. Saudi women under their body sheets long to show themselves and share the world equally with men. Exiles who fled such practices to seek refuge in Europe now find the evil is following them...Millions of progressive Muslims want to halt this Islamicist project to take us back to the Dark Ages. Straw is right to start a debate about what we wear.

Where have all the girls gone

2006-10-12T23:05:00.000+01:00

Do Not Contact the Parents

...a statistical analysis done several years ago by Bradford city council. It tracked 1,000 boys and 1,000 girls with Muslim names as they moved through school; at primary, for 1,000 boys on roll, there were 989 girls; by secondary, the 1,000 boys were still around, but the number of girls had dwindled to 860. Across the report the analyst had written: "Where have all the girls gone?" Balmforth, who gives talks to teachers and social workers, says the answer is that the girls have been taken to Bangladesh or Pakistan. In such cases, by the time teachers notice girls have disappeared, it is frequently too late to do anything. The pattern that leads to forced marriage tends to run as follows: emotional blackmail, threats, beatings, imprisonment and kidnap.

hat tip Butterfliesandwheels