Wootton Bassett Does Not Need Islam 4 UK

The previously little known web-based extremist group, Islam4UK, has managed to grab attention in the media by creating an outcry over its plans to hold a demonstration in the Wiltshire town of Wootton Bassett - the town whose people have lined the streets to honour the passing coffins of our military personnel returned from Afghanistan.

Islam4UK is said to be the front for the Al Mohajiroun group, which has been banned in the UK for several years. Their aim is to cause political instability and to turn Britain into an Islamic state governed under sharia law.

Its frontman, Anjem Choudary, is said to have stated that “Islam is undeniably the only real solution for Britain’s problems.” This ‘solution’ is said to advocate banning alcohol and introducing public floggings for people who get drunk. Mr Choudary is also said to believe Christmas is "evil" and turkey dinners, crackers and Christmas trees are the "pathway to hellfire".

Choudary has published an open letter on his group’s website, addressed directly to the people of Wootton Bassett. He explains, in rather long and ranting prose, his reasoning for his proposed action. He also invites us all to join the Islamic faith. Interestingly, when I tried to access the website tonight, it appeared to have mysteriously disappeared but you can read the full text here.

Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, has said, in his usual understated way, that Choudary’s intentions are “completely inappropriate”.

They are far more than that. They are inflammatory and designed to cause conflict and civil unrest.

I have immense faith that most members of the Muslim communities in the UK will be horrified at the publicity seeking actions of Islam4UK and will shun them totally.

I am not so hopeful the same is true of the extreme right wing organisations this stunt is designed to irritate.

Meanwhile, if Mr Choudary and Co. are genuine in their concern for the Afghan people, I am sure we could offer them free passage on the return flights that delivered our dead soldiers.

Somehow, I think life in the UK, and the right we all have to freedom of speech in our non-Islamic state, is far too comfortable to leave behind!!

Life On Planet Concussion!

It has been a while since I last posted on here, following my spectacular dive down the stairs and my teeth numbing stop, using my head as a brake, against a doorframe.

Since my unplanned flight, I have been living on Planet Concussion. It is a strange world I entered after needing the rather confusing quality of service available from the NHS (could do better – maybe more written later) and where I have imagined strange things to be happening all around me.

For instance, I had visions of the leader of the over hyped and allegedly racist BNP being grilled on Question Time while outside the studios, demonstrations were taking place ; of MPs being made to re-pay and apologise for the expenses they had inadvertently claimed while “just following the rules”; of X Factor contestants taking up more space in newspapers than proper journalism; of footballer’s wives miraculously being able to give birth to babies; of even more of our troops losing their lives in a mystical land called Afghanistan; of senior scientific advisors to the government being sacked for not agreeing with the political will of our rulers; of bankers being curbed from receiving huge bonuses for doing what they are already paid to do and of the next prime minister of our great country performing a complete U-turn over holding a referendum over Europe.

The weirdest vision of all was the one where Transport for London insisted that actress Kelly Brook should have her own 'buns' concealed with...even bigger buns on a poster advertising the play Calender Girls on London's underground trains.

Planet Concussion is a scary place to be and I am really looking forward to returning to the real world, where things like these would never happen!!

BBC Bans The Word 'Butcher'

I am irritated!

Tonight, while travelling home from work, I was listening to the excellent Eddie Nestor who hosts the drivetime programme on BBC London 94.9FM.

Eddie is one of the few broadcasters who has the rare gift of being able to discuss any subject, however sensitive, in a fair and amiable way, while still being able to express his own opinion without causing offence.

Tonight, he was engaged in a telephone conversation with respected financial expert, David Kuo, about a new London initiative called the Brixton Pound. It is a concept that is aimed at promoting trade in the locality of Brixton and David was explaining why it might not work in reality.

To help his explanation, he was using the examples of a Butcher's shop and a Grocer's shop to demonstrate how the Brixton Pound might be used in practice.

However, half way through his explanation, he was told by Mr Nestor that he could not use the example of a butcher as it could cause offence to those with certain religious beliefs, or non-meat eaters. Nestor had been told to explain this, by his programme producer, while Kuo was talking.

Are you getting irritated yet?

Has the normally excellent BBC finally become a censor for the political correctness movement?

Surely the whole point of a phone-in show is to exploit the values and principles of free speech and to hear the views of the callers by promoting discussion? It is not to publically admonish a guest expert for describing a profession that has been the mainstay of most high streets and food stores for as long as commerce has been in existence.

Sadly and unusually, Mr Nestor did not challenge the instruction he was given by the time I arrived home. I can only hope this is because he was in a state of shock at being given such a pathetic instruction by his producer.

In reality, though, I fear incidents like this will become more common.

If you are one of those whom the BBC assume would be offended by the mention of professions to which you do not approve......tough!!

Last time I checked, the majority of us were still sane.....just!

BBC - Face To Race!

Today's big 'storm in a media teacup' is whether the BBC should invite a spokesperson for the British National Party (BNP) to sit on the panel of the political discussion programme Question Time.

Of course they should. It is a no brainer!

The BNP are mainly known for appearing to be a party with extreme and racist views and their outlandish statements have been seized on by the media and our MPs as being unacceptable. But, they have managed to openly voice the concerns that are genuinely held by a large number of voters worried about what is perceived as being a huge increase in immigration in the UK.

There have been many varied and diverse arguments, both for and against an appearance on Question Time, but like it or not, the BNP are becoming a legitimate political party because an increasingly disenchanted public are using them as a protest vote against the humbug spoken by our mainstream political leaders.

Many of those in favour of the BNP appearing on the programme, have said it would expose them as having no other policies and no idea what they would do about things like the economy but hey....we have been watching the regular panelists for years who suffer with the same problem.

The real reason for them appearing, though, should be because we constantly preach to the world that we live in a democracy where everyone has a voice and we cherish the right to freedom of speech, however distasteful the words that are spoken.

We should remember that the leaders of Sinn Fein - who were accused of far worse things than the BNP could ever hope to achieve - were once gagged by Margaret Thatcher. Their voices were muted on newsclips and replaced by a commentary.

Today they are entitled to sit in the Houses of Parliament.

But whatever we all think, the real winners will be the BBC who will get an increased rating for a programme that most people would normally avoid watching.

I can't wait!

Enoch Powell Was Not A Racist......He Was A Prophet !

A Tory Member of the European Parliament, Daniel Hannan, has got himself into hot water with his peers - yet again.

Two weeks ago he was severely criticised for describing the NHS as a "60 year mistake" - his Party Leader David Cameron publicly denounced his views as "eccentric".

Hannan's latest 'crime' is to tell a TV interviewer in the US that Enoch Powell had been a great political influence on his career.

For those who lack memories long enough, Powell was sacked from the shadow cabinet back in 1968 by Edward Heath after making a speech on the dangers of immigration which became known as his "Rivers of Blood" speech.

It was in the days when MPs were free to speak as their consciences guided. They were not tethered to electronic pagers and worked hard to represent the views of their constituents - even if they were at odds with the official party line.

Powell was, arguably, one of the greatest orators in the history of Parliament. I clearly remember his captivating speeches and his daunting presence. He had a personality that most of today's politicians would die for and could easily hold his own against his critics - using reasoned argument and not the cheap jibes and backbites of today's MPs.

His "Rivers of Blood" speech was, in retrospect, a mistake and caused immense damage to his following career. He was held up as an example of all that is bad in the politics of 'racism'.

When asked by David Frost in 1969 if he was a racialist he replied:

'It depends on how you define the word "racialist." If you mean being conscious of the differences between men and nations, and from that, races, then we are all racialists. However, if you mean a man who despises a human being because he belongs to another race, or a man who believes that one race is inherently superior to another, then the answer is emphatically "No."

His words are arguably even more relevant in today's politically correct world, where 'blackboards' have become 'whiteboards' and the nursery rhyme 'bah bah black sheep' has become 'bah bah white sheep'; 'blacklists' have become 'blocklists' (see earlier post) and comedians are not allowed to joke about people from other countries.

We have been forced into a world of PC fear and this particular quote, from 1970, seems to sum up our present situation perfectly:

Have you ever wondered, perhaps, why opinions which the majority of people quite naturally hold are, if anyone dares express them publicly, denounced as 'controversial, 'extremist', 'explosive', 'disgraceful', and overwhelmed with a violence and venom quite unknown to debate on mere political issues? It is because the whole power of the aggressor depends upon preventing people from seeing what is happening and from saying what they see

He added:

The public are literally made to say that black is white. Newspapers like the Sunday Times denounce it as 'spouting the fantasies of racial purity' to say that a child born of English parents in Peking is not Chinese but English, or that a child born of Indian parents in Birmingham is not English but Indian. It is even heresy to assert the plain fact that the English are a white nation.

Whether those who take part know it or not, this process of brainwashing by repetition of manifest absurdities is a sinister and deadly weapon. In the end, it renders the majority, who are marked down to be the victims of violence or revolution or tyranny, incapable of self-defence by depriving them of their wits and convincing them that what they thought was right is wrong.

The process has already gone perilously far, when political parties at a general election dare not discuss a subject which results from and depends on political action and which for millions of electors transcends all others in importance; or when party leaders can be mesmerised into accepting from the enemy the slogans of 'racialist' and 'unChristian' and applying them to lifelong political colleagues..."

A lot to read I know, but when you consider the words were spoken almost 40 years ago, it seems that Mr Powell was lucky not to have been denounced for being a psychic!

Politically Correct 'Block' Heads Remove Black As A Colour!

This should not take long to write....

The politically correct management of the Citizens' Advice Bureau has decreed that spam emails should not be placed on a 'blacklist' but instead be placed on a 'blocklist'.

Can you spot the subtle difference? Clever isn't it?

A spokesperson said:

Our approach to language is not prescriptive or dogmatic, but where we know or become aware something is offensive, fosters stereotypes or prejudice, or is inaccurate, it makes sense and is respectful to use alternatives"

We are not even talking about people here!

How is it that our fellow citizens who happen to be born 'black' are quite happy and proud to call themselves 'black' while a minority of white people have to work so hard to convince us all they are 'right-on' and colour blind?

There would not be any perception of racial divide in this country if idiots like those who made the decision at the CAB, did not keep trying to alter our language and pretend the difference in our colour was non-existent.

If you happen to be black and disagree please let me know!!

BNP? - One Lump Or Two?

There's been much ado in today's press about a guest attending one of the Queen's annual garden parties to be held in June.

Nick Griffin is the leader of the British National Party (BNP) and is being taken to the event as the guest of a BMP member of the London Assembly.

London's mayor, Boris Johnson has publically accused the far right BNP of trying to turn the garden party into a "political event" which seems to be a bit rich coming from someone with the track record of Boris.

Last time I checked, we were living in a democratic society where freedom of speech is paramount and people of differing views are tolerated. The Queen is the figurehead of our society and during her reign has met people with all beliefs and attitudes - many far worse then those of the BNP. She is the ultimate professional and I am sure she will be able to handle the situation with both grace and charm.

Whatever mainstream politicians may think of the BNP and its moral standing, after recent events, now is not really the perfect time for the 'pot to be calling the kettle black!'

Guilty Joke!

Q. "What do you call a Pakistani cloakroom attendant?"

A. "Me hat, me coat."

Did the above joke make you chuckle or did it offend you?

If you chuckled are you feeling you are racist or are you just amused by jokes that are a simple play on words?

If you happen to originate from Pakistan are you outraged or do you appreciate a little humour as being an acceptance of your origin?

Sir David Jason, much loved British actor and a man who has starred in many situation comedies where humour is the main foundation of the genre, thought it was amusing. I thought it was too!

Not because I thought it was derogatory to Pakistanis – in fact, I hardly registered the origin of the person referred to in the joke – but because it was a simple, silly bit of humour.

Sadly, the BBC did not see the funny side and the remark has now been removed from a recording of the radio programme in which Sir David uttered the controversial words.

If we cannot make light hearted and possibly affectionate, remarks about each other's race we will never knock down the boundaries that separate us and we will never integrate as a society. The politically correct 'police' are not known for their sense of humour; they are a handicap, rather than a healing hand towards race relations.

We should not feel guilty for having a bit of banter with each other. Humour spoken without malice is a medicine and not an illness.

If I have any criticism of Sir David Jason, it is that he felt pressured to apologise, for something he had not even done!