This is the excellent foppery of the world, that, when we are sick in fortune, — often the surfeit of our own behavior, — we make guilty of our disasters the sun, the moon, and the stars; as if we were villains on necessity, fools by heavenly compulsion, knaves, thieves, and treachers by spherical predominance, drunkards, liars, and adulterers by an enforc'd obedience of planetary influence, and all that we are evil in, by a divine thrusting on.
This quote from Shakespeare's King Lear (via the Mises Institute) finds a description of those who, throughout human history, have denied free will and personal responsibility, instead blaming their wrongdoings on interventions divine and planetary.
Western criminal law is based on the premise of free will but as neuroscience develops further it is beginning to challenge this basic tenet that glues free societies together.
The British government is seeking to change the law in order to lock up people with personality disorders that are thought to make them likely to commit crimes, before any crime is committed. The national DNA database being built up allows identification of such people. How long, ask the Economist, before those people are subject to surveillance.
In the late 1990s a previously law-abiding American began collecting child pornography. The day before his sentencing, his brain was scanned and he was found to have a brain tumour. When it had been removed, his paedophilic tendencies disappeared. When it started growing back, they returned.
Was he responsible? Should he be locked up?
Scientists have now found a higher concentration of certain molecules in people prone to anger and violence. Are they too blameless for their violent actions?
The old French proverb, "to understand all, is to forgive all" may about to become true.
This would be a huge mistake.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Erosion of personal responsibility - Part II
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Affluenza by Oliver James
'Over a nine-month period, 'bestselling author' Oliver James travelled around the world to try and find out why. He discovered how, despite very different cultures and levels of wealth, affluenza is spreading. Cities he visited include Sydney, Singapore, Moscow, Budapest, Copenhagen, Delhi and Shanghai, and in each place he interviewed several groups of people in the hope of finding out not only why this is happening, but also how one can increase the strength of one's emotional immune system. '
He wasn't very kind to Sydney.
"The most vacuous of cities. The Dolly Parton of cities in Australia."
Ouch.
'Sydney's culture of the relentless pursuit of property, perfect bodies and status has British psychologist and author Oliver James worried. He found the obsessive pursuit of money and possessions was not buying happiness. He had not been to Sydney before and expected a
"philistine nation of jolly, uncomplicated fun-seekers"
Does he mean simple shire-folk that he can condescend?
'Instead, he found a city in thrall to American values and a puritan work ethic (how awful!) that robbed life of joy and meaning. Middle-class Sydney, he writes, is'
"packed with career-obsessed workaholics, people who place a high value on money, professional status and appearance"
The British, James concludes, are a cut above their convict cousins.
"The British elite have been around for an awfully long time and there is not the crassness of the Australian rich."
In other words James is a fan of the landed aristocracy, those who inherited their money from Dad. As opposed to those who earned it via a meritocracy.
Well, Olly, i have lived in both cities and i can 100% assure you that you are talking utter bollocks. That should suffice for my book review of Affluenza. I'll submit it to Amazon.
Scott Burgess draws slightly different conclusions
via Tim Blair
Monday, January 29, 2007
Hizb-ut-Tahrir - To Ban or Not To Ban
Hizb-ut-Tahrir should not be banned says Attorney General, Philip Ruddock
"Yes they should!" screams Morris Iemma, Premier of NSW
The case for the prosecution,
The main speaker at their latest Bankstown shindig where they once again called for the restoration of the Caliphate (Khulifah), was one Ismail Yusano, leader of Hizb in Indonesia and firebrand extraordinaire (makes Hilali seem warm and cuddly). His pearls of wisdom include,
Exhibit 1; "US President George Bush and British Premier Tony Blair must both be labelled as terrorists and warmongers"
Well if that were the criteria, then half of Iemma's Labour Party would have to be expelled.
He has also called for the severing of all ties between Indonesia and Australia, the introduction of Sharia Law (i.e stoning for adulterers and homosexuals) and a ban on, err, discos.
Exhibit 2; "This is an organisation that is basically saying that it wants to declare war on Australia, our values and our people"
says Iemma...without citing or explaining. No blogger he.
Exhibit 3; Chair of the Community Relations Commission, Stepan Kerkyasharian, says Hizb ut Tahrir is overstepping the mark. "If people are going to hold public meetings calling for a way of life and our institutions to be replaced by some other system, then they are definitely crossing the line. It's not acceptable in our society and it's tantamount to calling for a revolution."
It isn't very nice to to our liberal ears but it is isn't tantamount to calling for a revolution, Stepan. And not acceptable? I find people who don't pooper scoop their dogs unacceptable but i wouldn't ban them.
The case for the defence;
Exhibit 1; Hizb ut-Tahrir Australia spokesman, Wassim Doureihi, said calls for the group to be banned were misplaced as the group was opposed to terrorism.
Yes, maybe. But Hizb are good at spinning and their website is pretty clear.
Exhibit 2; Hizb ut-Tahrir says it is non-violent but it has been proscribed in many Middle Eastern, European and central Asian countries after being deemed a threat to national security.
Yes. But Tony Blair tried to ban it and also found evidence to be lacking.
Exhibit 3; Mr Ruddock said Hizb ut-Tahrir had been closely monitored by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation but had been found to have done nothing in Australia to warrant it being banned.
I'm assuming his info is better than mine. Or at least i'm hoping.
Exhibit 4; Former chairman of the Federal Government's Muslim Community Reference Group, Dr Ameer Ali, says banning the group and its controversial teachings could do more harm than good.
However, Dr Ali is concerned the conference held by the group may further damage the community's perceptions of the faith.
He is absolutely right.
"The best way to deal with the group is to engage moderate Muslims to counter its views."
Yes. Spot on again. Smart guy this Dr. Ali.
"And I think the law enforcement authorities must monitor them."
Yes. Yes. Yes.
For the moment, Ruddock has the last line,
"Just because people have messages that I don't regard as broadly in keeping with Australian values doesn't mean they can be proscribed as terrorist organisations,"
But Dr. Ali comes out best.
Verdict; hung jury.
Ayaan Hirsi Ali on ABC
Attack on personal responsibility - Part I
The British government is desperate to increase the conviction rate in rape cases, argues Stephen Matthew syed in The Times' Thunderer column.
Convictions for rape are pathetically low. Police recorded 14,449 allegations of rape in 2005, a rise of 247% since 1991. However, only 12% of cases actually reached court and then only one in 19 men was convicted.
Ministers are proposing, despite the opposition of the Council of Circuit Judges and the Criminal Bar Association, to amend the concept of consent in cases of serious sexual assault, so that consent when given in a state of intoxication is not recognised in court. Rape laws were tightened in 2003, making it clear that people who have lost consciousness are incapable of giving consent, but this did not lead to a rise in conviction rates.
The government has found that in 120 cases of sexual assault examined by researchers, in 119 cases the woman had been drinking.
The idea emerged after an aborted trial last year in which an alleged victim of rape admitted under cross-examination that she was too drunk to remember whether she had consented to intercourse or not — but went on to say that, even if she had consented, she was too inebriated for such consent to be meaningful. The judge, Mr. Justice Roderick Evans, ordered the jury to return a not guilty verdit saying
"Drunken consent is still consent"
This assault on the concept of personal responsibility and free will raises the following questions the government must answer;
- Can the accused also use drunkenness as an excuse for evading responsibility for his actions?
- Can drunk men too be the victims of rape by sober females? If so, why not?
- Can being drunk now be a legitimate defence in cases of causing death by dangerous driving? Logically it now must be a mitigating factor.
- How will 'being drunk' be measured? Rates of alcohol decay differ from person to person.
- How can a man ensure that a prospective sexual partner is not drunk? Must men carry breathylysers to the nightclub with them?
Teyd concludes that
"The Government must recognise that its proposal is offensive to women, oppressive of men and sets a legal and philosophical precedent that will corrode the concept of personal responsibility. "
Indeed. Or as one Timesonline commenter put it,"A lot of innocent men will be convicted for the crime of not calling the girl back."
Saturday, January 27, 2007
It's official; Poms whinge
The Advertising Standards Board has reviewed a new Tooheys New Super Cold radio ad and this time has upheld the complaints against it and taken it off air.
The very witty ad features a group of British men sing the tune of “Land of Hope and Glory” using various synonyms of the word “whinge” including “whine”, “moan”, “slag” and “complain”
At its previous meeting in December the Board had dismissed complaints about the use of ‘Pom’ in other advertisements, determining that the word in isolation was generally acceptable and used as a term of affection.
BPARD spokesman, David Thomason, had claimed the word 'pom' was
"every bit as bad as the term n***er".
Said Advertising Standards Bureau acting CEO, Mark Jeanes,“This time the Board felt that the negative words used in the radio ad detracted from the otherwise playful nature of ‘Pom’, leaving it with a derogatory and almost hostile meaning,”
he continued,
“The Board considered the advertisement negatively stereotyped and demeaned English people and found that it breached Section 2.1 of the Advertiser Code of Ethics dealing with vilification based on nationality"
Update 28/1; encouraged by their victory against the ASB, BPARD are petitioning the UN to take action on the word, Pom. BPARD spokesman, Dave Thomason
"We just object to the fact that the media won't use nicknames for other nationalities - the Italians, the French, the New Zealanders, the Americans - but they use Pom all the time. How would most Australians feel if they were called prisoners in the paper all the time."
BPARD has 14 members in Western Australia and 12 in Victoria.
I intend to file suit against BPARD for bringing the reputation of Britons into disrepute.
Tossers.
Thursday, January 25, 2007
The pigs at the trough
Robert Nardelli, the CEO of Home Depot, has been fired. To ease his fall from grace, his employer has 'compensated' him with a $210 million severance package. Home Depot said Nardelli resigned effective Tuesday 2nd Jan and that vice chairman Frank Blake would succeed him in a "mutually agreed decision."
Nardelli had faced growing criticism from shareholders for what some of them called a very "generous" compensation package (and others called 'obscene') relative to the stock's weak performance, slowing profits and a regulatory probe about its options practices.
Home Depot was co-founded by Marcus and Arthur Blank in 1978 and was run by the duo until Nardelli was brought in as CEO in 2000. During his tenure, the share price actually fell over the six year period, despite coinciding with one of the strongest upturns in the US housing market of all time. His zero 'value' to the company was confirmed by the stock market as the shares actually jumped 3% on the announcement of his departure.
In 2005 the average pay of an S&P 500 CEO was $13.5 million, an increase of 16% over 2004. The average CEO to worker pay ratio has soared from 42x in 1980 to an incredible 411x in 2005 says the Union movement, AFL.
For a system to survive, it does not need to be popular, but it must not be despised. Socialism died because those exposed to it could see the dire effects it produced. Capitalism is not yet hated, but CEO pay is a propaganda gift that the anti-globalisation Luddites can only dream of.
The Home Depot Board should hang their crooked heads in shame.
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Bass Hill Boyz
"You'll witness war, you'll see
Scattered all over the beach, your family
Just like that war in Gallipoli
All you Aussies from Cronulla
Get your fists fucking down
Gonna take over your fucking town
This is our town now, you dirty fucking Aussies"
Check out this delightful rap song from a Bankstown-based Lebanese Muslim group called the Bass Hill Boyz.
Stern slams Stern report
Above - estimated fossil-fuel black carbon emissions since 1875, in gigatons (billions of tons) per year.
In October last year, the UK Treasury sponsored Stern report on climate change was published together with a massive publicity campaign. The report made the following conclusions;
- If nothing is done to reduce carbon emissions then the level of carbon in the atmosphere will climb to 550ppm by 2035 (currently 430ppm), causing temperatures to rise by 2C
- By the end of the century, the stock of greenhouse gases could more than treble, leading to a rise of 5C in average temperatures.
- Flood risk from melting glaciers would then threaten one sixth of the world's population and up to 40% of species would face extinction.
- Temperature change of 5C will cause global output to fall by up to 20%, greater then the Great Depression
- However, if emissions are contained at 550ppm, the fall in GDP will be just 1% of output
However, a fascinating interview in this week's Spectator (subscription only) reveals a very different side to the story. It appears that the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the world authority on whose work the Stern report was itself based, is preparing its own review on the economics of climate change due for release later this year.
It calculates that the 550ppm target would cost up to 5% of economic output, five times the figure Stern suggests. The IPCC declares it has found a
"high level of agreement and much evidence"
So how sure is Stern that his claims add up?
"We don't have sufficiently detailed knowledge to simply add this up. Anyone who places too much faith in one computer model is deluding themselves."
Those 'deluded' souls include
- European Commission
- The UK business lobby, the CBI
- Greenpeace
- The Carbon Trust
- Prime Minister, Tony Blair ("the most important report on the future ever published by this government". )
- Future UK PM, Gordon Brown
- The Trades Union Congress
Good to see that UK policy is being decided on 'insufficient knowledge' and by 'delusionals'.
Update 29/1; A BBC report for Radio 4 pours more cold water on Stern and his suspect economics. Prof Richard Tol, professor at both Hamburg and Carnegie Mellon Universities, and one of the world's leading environmental economists (i.e not some eco-sceptic loon).
"If a student of mine were to hand in this report as a Masters thesis, perhaps if I were in a good mood I would give him a 'D' for diligence; but more likely I would give him an 'F' for fail"
He continues in a similar vien,
"There is a whole range of very basic economics mistakes that somebody who claims to be a Professor of Economics simply should not make"
Many economists are also sceptical about the figures Stern uses to estimate the costs of reducing our greenhouse gas emissions. The review suggests this will cost only 1% of GDP but according to Yale University Economist Robert Mendelsohn, this is far too optimistic and the figure could easily be much higher.
"One of the depressing things about the greenhouse gas problem is that the cost of eliminating [it] is quite high. We will actually have to sacrifice a great deal to cut emissions dramatically,"
Translation - the report is unmitigated bollocks and at 670 pages, is a waste of a good copse.
Un-Australian awards of the Year
Friday is Australian Day. To celebrate this momentous day in Australia's history, that weighty political tome, Zoo Weekly, has published their Un-Australian awards of the Year
1. Sheikh Taj al-Din al-Hilali for his comments comparing immoderately dressed women to meat.
2. Germaine Greer for her anti-Steve Irwin comments following his death.
3. Paul Hogan for having "too much plastic surgery".
4. Lara Bingle for encouraging Poms to come to Australia ... and failing.
5. Rio Tinto for sacking workers who looked up internet porn at work.
6. Bowls Australia for banning sherry during tournaments.
7. Guus Hiddink for deserting the Socceroos for more money in Russia.
8. Paul Dundon of Direct Health Solutions who checks workers on sickies are genuinely sick.
9. Shane Warne for suggesting he might coach the English Cricket side.
10. Nathan Fien for lying by saying that his grandmother was born in New Zealand so he could play for their rugby league side.
Nothing to quibble with here.
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Advance Australia Fair
One of the worst aspects of Australia Day on Friday will be the endless playing of the only national anthem more dreary than God Save the Queen. Why oh why did Aussies vote for this dirge to be their anthem when they could have plumped for this gem.
Advance Australia Fair was composed by Peter Dodds McCormick in 1878.
In 1973 the Whitlam government decided that the country needed an anthem that could represent Australia with "distinction", and started a competition to find one. Advance Australia Fair emerged as the most popular choice for the national anthem after an opinion poll in 1974 saw it gain 43.6% of the vote, defeating the three alternatives: Waltzing Matilda (28.5%), Song of Australia (9.7%), and the then-current national anthem God Save the Queen (18.7%).
Advance Australia Fair was adopted as the national anthem in 1984 by a decision of the Labour government of Bob Hawke.
The lyrics of Advance Australia Fair express reasonably uncontroversial Australian self-beliefs and aspirations. For its adoption as the national anthem, the second, fourth, and fifth verses were dropped from the "official" version, as they emphasised the British aspects of Australia's heritage, along with the virtues of Britain, and three lines were changed, in order to promote less male oriented language and to reflect the fact that Australia is no longer a 'youthful Commonwealth'.
For example:
"Australia's sons let us rejoice" became "Australians all let us rejoice".
"To make this youthful Commonwealth" became "To make this Commonwealth of ours".
"For loyal sons beyond the seas" became "For those who've come across the seas".
Advance Australia Fair - The official version
Australians all let us rejoice,
For we are young and free;
We've golden soil and wealth for toil,
Our home is girt by sea;
Our land abounds in Nature's gifts
Of beauty rich and rare;
In history's page, let every stage
Advance Australia fair!
In joyful strains then let us sing,
"Advance Australia fair!"
Beneath our radiant Southern Cross,
We'll toil with hearts and hands;
To make this Commonwealth of ours
Renowned of all the lands;
For those who've come across the seas
We've boundless plains to share;
With courage let us all combine
To advance Australia fair.
In joyful strains then let us sing
"Advance Australia fair!"
McCormick's original lyrics
Australia's sons let us rejoice,
For we are young and free;
We've golden soil and wealth for toil,
Our home is girt by sea;
Our land abounds in Nature's gifts
Of beauty rich and rare;
In history's page, let every stage
Advance Australia fair!
In joyful strains then let us sing,
"Advance Australia fair!"
When gallant Cook from Albion sail'd,
To trace wide oceans o'er,
True British courage bore him on,
Till he landed on our shore.
Then here he raised Old England's flag,
The standard of the brave;
With all her faults we love her still,
"Britannia rules the wave!"
In joyful strains then let us sing
"Advance Australia fair!"
Beneath our radiant southern Cross,
We'll toil with hearts and hands;
To make our youthful Commonwealth
Renowned of all the lands;
For loyal sons beyond the seas
We've boundless plains to share;
With courage let us all combine
To advance Australia fair.
In joyful strains then let us sing
"Advance Australia fair!"
While other nations of the globe
Behold us from afar,
We'll rise to high renown and shine
Like our glorious southern star;
From England, Scotia, Erin's Isle,
Who come our lot to share,
Let all combine with heart and hand
To advance Australia fair!
In joyful strains then let us sing
"Advance Australia fair!"
Shou'd foreign foe e'er sight our coast,
Or dare a foot to land,
We'll rouse to arms like sires of yore
To guard our native strand;
Britannia then shall surely know,
Beyond wide ocean's roll,
Her sons in fair Australia's land
Still keep a English soul.
In joyful strains then let us sing
"Advance Australia fair!"
Monday, January 22, 2007
It's against my religion
A Muslim woman police officer has sparked a new debate by refusing to shake hands with Britain's most senior police chief for religious reasons. The incident happened at a passing-out parade where Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair was inspecting a line-up of 200 recruits. The woman had earlier insisted that it was contrary to her religious teaching for her to touch a man.
Is it? I don't recall this passage in the Koran or the Hadith.
The Mail on Sunday reports that some officers believe her attitude towards men might impede her ability to detain offenders.
You don't say.
However, it is clear that she is happy to come into contact with men, just not shake their hand or kiss them.
Huh?
The unidentified WPC - described as 'a non-Asian Muslim' - could face the sack if it is considered that her strict religious beliefs prevent her performing as an effective police officer. However, senior commanders are worried that dismissing her would deepen the atmosphere of mistrust between the police and the Muslim community.
Oh, purlease. Um. Hate to be the one that asks the bleeding obvious but how the hell is she going to make an arrest if she refuses to touch men?
A police spokesperson said
"There is a standard between personal and professional life. A passing-out parade is a personal event. You are not fulfilling a professional duty there."
I believe this is called stretching a point.
There are still only around 300 Muslims among the Met's 35,000 officers and fewer than 20 are women.
Why?
Related news;
A 31 year old female smoker was refused cigarettes at a Cambridge store because the Muslim shop assistant said it was against her religion to sell tobacco. The customer said,
"If she had just said, I can't serve you, then that would have been fair enough, but the thing that really annoyed me was the way she gave me a lecture as well."
Fair enough? Are you fucking kidding?
The store's assistant manager opined,
"It is true that Muslims can't sell cigarettes - I used to be Jehovah's Witness and I wouldn't on religious grounds either.
What? Where does it say these in the Koran?
Nowhere, says Asim Mumtaz, president of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association in Cambridge,
"Islam, like most religions, is against anything that injures health or the body, but there is no ban on cigarettes or on smoking. "The holy Koran is quite specific about intoxicants, alcohol and other drugs which cause a person to lose control are forbidden, but cigarettes are not forbidden so I am surprised by this."
Precisely. So has she been sacked?
What is more disturbing about this story? The appallingly arrogant attitude of the Muslim shopkeeper, or the pathetic cravenness of the assistant store-manager and the customer.
Love - you dont like the weed sticks, then dont work in a fucking newsagent.
Hat tip; Tim Blair
EarthHour - The Green's Mr. Silly moment
When i was a child, my favourite books were the Mr. Men series. In particular, i loved Mr. Silly - the silliest inhabitant of Silly Town. Every year the people of Silly Town held a competition to see who could come up with the silliest idea. Mr. Silly inevitably won with a plan to paint all the trees red and the grass blue. Australia's Green movement has just come up with an idea to out-silly Mr. Silly himself.
19:30 on March 31st 2007. I'm buying an industrial sized spotlight, which i plan to shine throughout Middle Harbour. I plan to compete with the Great Wall of China for visibility from space.
If the Australian office of the WWF get their way, at this time on this date, the lights of Sydney will go out for precisely one hour. Why? You may understandably ask,
Apparently WWF hopes it Earth Hour campaign will send a message to Australians about climate change.
WWF Australia CEO, Greg Bourne,
"If we prove that together we can significantly cut our greenhouse gas pollution it will send a message to every city around the world that we have the power to take action against global warming,"
Ohh. purleeaasse. Each year China adds more power stations than Australia's entire production.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change confirm that the benefits from Kyoto amount to about 0.06 degrees in half a century
Unbelievably this is not some isolated moonbat group. Earth Hour is supported by the City of Sydney, the NSW Government, The Sydney Morning Herald, and the Lord Mayor of Sydney, Clover (is there a name sillier than that?) Moore,
"Australia's commercial business sector is responsible for around 10 per cent of national greenhouse gas emissions and all commercial businesses and their workers should join the community in supporting Earth Hour, but also take concrete actions to reduce energy use."
The WWF uses the following justification for its Mr. Silly campaign,
- The production and use of energy in Australia provides 69% - the single largest source of greenhouse gas emissions and is the greatest contributor to global warming. (CSIRO)
What? Provides 69% of what?
- By 2100, up to 15,000 Australians could die every year from heat-related illnesses (Australian Medical Association).
By 2100 the AMA 'could' release a sensible statement.
- 2005 was Australia's hottest year on record, with an annual mean temperature 1.09°C above the average. (Australian Bureau of Meteorology).
And? That the Earth is warming is not in doubt. That this is man-made is.
- There has been a 30% reduction in snow cover over the last 45 years in the Snowy Mountains. Areas with at least 3 days snow cover annually are predicted to shrink by between 39% and 96% by 2070. (Murdoch University).
The weather men can barely even predict if it will rain at the weekend, let alone what the weather will be like in 2070. How does anyone take this crap seriously?
Sign up for here Earthhour.
Mr. Silly's idea was to paint all the trees red and the grass blue. I think his idea has more merit.
The Big Day Out self-haters
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Muslim population explosion
Plotting fertility rates against income per capita, reveals the following;
i) Hong Kong has the lowest fertility rate at a measly 0.94 children per woman
ii) Niger has the highest at a whopping 7.91 children.
iii) there is a linear relationship between fertility and wealth up until $20,000 per head. Then it is almost flat.
iv) the most fertile countries (adjusted for wealth) are the oil-rich Middle Eastern countries e.g. Saudi, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait etc
v) the least fertile countries are the old Soviet republics, which are literally dying out (whose populations are almost halving each generation).
vi) the majority of European countries have birth rates between 1.1 and 1.5 - they too are slowly dying out.
vii) those European countries with higher birth rates are those with high levels of immigration e.g. Norway, France
In short, African and Muslim countries are witnessing population explosions, whilst Christian countries are shrinking.
hat tip; Tim Worstall
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Anti-gay discrimination laws
The Spectator is a real hit-and-miss publication. Made much less relevant by the termination of Mark Steyn's contract, the only remaining reason to read this weekly is the ex-Radio 4 Today program editor and quintessential grumpy old man, Rod Liddle.
Writing in this week's edition, he reminds us why he would not make a great B&B (guest house) manager.
"I dislike so many different communities of people...that my market would be infinitessimally small. No toffs, no chavs, no people working for local govt, no NGOs or quangos, no Muslims, no young people, no fox-hunters, no salespeople, no poets, no Belgians, no old people and no mentals."
Commenting on the recent anti-gay discrimination laws, he throws up a nice quandry. The govt has recently passed laws making it a crime to deride Islam. But a week later, Sir Iqbal Sacranie, boss of the Muslim Council of Britain told the BBC that homosexuality was a 'sin'.
"And so we now have a case where you can be charged, under the law, for expressing a central tenet of a religion and also be banged up for challenging the validity of that religion."
This, as he rightly points out, is absurd.
The govt has no right telling us which particular groups of people we must be nice to. Leave that to society and watch the bigots wither away.
Tony Blair loves the Koran
In this month's edition of Foreign Affairs, Tony Blair argues for a passionate defence of freedom and democracy. He takes swipes at the media for aiding and abetting the terrorists, at the lack of stomach shown in the West for the fight against the jihadists, and is scathing of those who believe that if we only left Iraq and Afghan, then all will be ok.
In short it is a rigourous and impressive defence of Western values. With one curious exception. His strident defence of the Koran.
"To me the remarkable thing about the Koran is how progressive it is...the Koran strikes me as a reforming book....trying to return Judaism and Christianity to their origins.....The Koran is inclusive. It extols science and knowledge and abhors superstition. It is practical and far ahead of its time in attitudes toward marriage, women and governance. Islam led the world in discovery, art, and culture."
Utterly astonishing. Tony, for your benefit, here are a few snippets.
The Koran On Women
"men have authority over women becayse God has made one the superior to the other" 4:34
"you women are a field for you to cultivate so go to your field as you will." 2:223
that a woman's testimony is worth half that of a man - 2:282
"marry women of you choice, two or three or four" 4:3
"good women are obedient. As for those whom ye fear rebellion, admonish them and banish them to beds apart and scourge them" 4:34
Why does Tony persist with this remarkable line that Islam is ok, the Koran is great, but it's just the jihadists we must worry about? Ignorance or political correctness?
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
We are winning the War on Terror
The one year change in the oil price. Peaked at $78.40 in July 06, now $52.
Monday, January 15, 2007
Mecca LaaLaa - Burqini Babe!
It is also part of a campaign, called On The Same Wave, assisted by a $600,000 government grant to recruit Australians of Middle Eastern heritage to try to rebuild community relations following the Cronulla riots in December 2005.
Mecca Laalaa, 20, is one of a group of Muslims hoping to become a life saver following completion of a ten week training course in November. She is unable to wear a bikini so a local Lebanese designer came up with a novel idea, the burqini - a full-length lycra suit complete with built-in headscarf. The suit does make swimming more difficult but hopefully not significantly so.
The SLSA's national development manager, Chris Giles, commented,
"With the growing level of multiculturalism, we risk becoming irrelevant.'"
No Chris. It's called assimilation, the diamteric opposite of multiculturalism.
Reason #54,678 to end BBC funding
The under-resourced BBC reports on a horrific attack on a Swindon schoolboy.
The boy suffered serious head injuries when he was battered with a hammer on Thursday afternoon. She (his mother) told the BBC the men attacked the boy and then another got out a hammer and starting hitting him. "He fell to the floor and asked them to stop, but they kept kicking him. The boy tried to get up but they kept hitting him, then suddenly they all ran away."
A family statement released through the hospital said: "Our son has had major surgery to his head and he is in a stable condition. Our priority at the moment is to get him better."
In a letter to parents the school said the "extreme incident" was a challenge to the strength of friendship and community at Ridgeway School. "It is important we don't give in to prejudice or accept rumour as truth." Police have arrested eight male youths aged between 14 and 20 in connection with the incident.
Right wing hate-paper, The Guardian, provides a liitle more colour.
Furious parents have staged a protest at the school where a 15-year old boy suffered severe head injuries after being attacked by a gang of men with a hammer. Around 20 parents, who believe that the attack on the white schoolboy by a group of Asian men was racially motivated, refused to leave Ridgeway school in Wroughton, near Swindon, until they saw the headteacher, Mr Colledge.
The parents said that a gang called the 'Asian Invasion' was behind a campaign of bullying at the school, and demanded that security guards be employed to protect pupils.
The victim, Henry Webster, was allegedly pinned down on the school tennis courts and hit repeatedly with a claw hammer during the incident. Some parents said they would not be sending their children back to the school until they were happy it was safe.
"I am one of the pupils and i know full well why they made they attack, the "asian invasion" want to be the new maffia, the kids in our year and school are always bragging about their cousins fights and how they aren't to be messed with; thus thinking this, they think they are above everybody else and can do what they like. At school they are given VIP treatment, they say jump and the teachers say "how high," and the reason why they did this to Henry was because they barged into one another, accidental, in the corridor at morning break. Whilst three of the year nines (apart of the asian invasion) were provoking a fight, Henry laughed at them and tried walking away, with the three of them still at it, he pushed them off of him and carried on walking. Then the three boys contacted their families and suddenyl the push turned into a "punch" to the face because he was pakistani.So tell me, this isn't racially motivated and that was a decent reason to do what he did.
"From Ridgeway Pupil at 2.03: I find it disguisting that all he has been given is GBH. I attended school on friday and through whatever means (internet and work of mouth) these older Asian Invasioners said "if we see your face on the news or name in the papers, we will do the same to you and it will be worse." Students are too scared to attend school, whitnesses (200+) are tramatised and parents are outraged. This has been going on for long enough, it started off they physically and verbally bullied the younger white boys, they then brought knives into school, they taunted other indian boys who aren't apart of the gang, calling them "white wannabes" and betrayers, and only a couple a months ago one of their dads assulted a teacher and put a kid in hospital. All linked, all formulating from racism and never ever named and shamed. Nothing was done when a cousin who was in their 20s broke a year 11s jaw so i ask you, if they get away with this AGAIN what will be next? Death is what. The head has quoted on a day to day basis of the running of Ridgeway, there is no racism, which is complete and utter bull. It infuriates me that the teachers try brainwashing everybody who isnt apart of this group that it isnt racism when we try voicing about this group, bu the minute they accuse any others of racism, numerous people are expelled and excessive, unneeded action is ALWAYS taken. It infuriates me completly and the school are too scared to take fair a just action against them incase they are labelled "racist." They have the upper hand of this school and they controll the running of it, it isnt fair and it had gone on long enough.Either they go, or i know alot of other students a I will go elsewhere.
Heavily-resourced local newspaper, This is Wilshire, has a bunch of revealing comments,
In a separate incident, the BBC is quick to provide full details of an even more horrific hate crime, involving the heinous and unprovoked removal of a scarf,
A man who racially abused a Muslim woman and then tried to rip off her veil is being hunted by police.
The BBC operates a policy of not reporting racially-motivated crime where the perps are non-white for fear of aggravating community tensions. Fair enough? There is an argument somewhere here, though where it leaves the BBC as a neutral reporter of the facts, i don't know.
However if this really is the official line, then it should apply to all racial attacks. The fact that the crimes of whites are gleefully reported smacks of hypocrisy and a political agenda. And the BBC just cannot afford to have an agenda when it drains the taxpayer of 3.5 billion each year.
hat tip; Laban Tall
Friday, January 12, 2007
London's Olympic Mosque
The Spectator reports on the controversial plans to build a new 70,000 seater Sunni Mosque next door to the London Olympic Village. The decision to go ahead will be taken later this year but it looks as though it will go ahead.
The project has the backing of a group called Tabligh-i-Jamaat, a missionary Sunni sect. They claim to be 'non-violent' but a number of convicted terrorists have passed through its ranks, including John Walker Lindh and Richard Reid (the shoe bomber). The movement's European headquarters is in Dewsbury, Yorkshire, and was often visited by Mohammed Khan, the mastermind of the 7/7 bombings.
Abdul Khaliq, the Mosque director and Tabligh spokesperson said that
"We would like to think that the Olympic authority will use it as the Islamic quarter of the 2012 Games."
ie a separate Islamic zone.
Unsurprisingly, Mayor Ken Livingstone has enthusiastically endorsed the Mosque proposal, hoping to open the building himself. Labour MP, Mike O'Brien has also endorsed the project expressing the belief that
"radical Islam is acceptable, in contrast with extremist Islam"
I'm sure there is a difference.
Meanwhile the good citizens of London maintain their total silence on the subject, cowed by the PC authorities into going with the flow. Sharia Law just got a little closer in England.
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Creeping Sharia in New Zealand
Now the local imams in NZ are asking for the same privilege.
Popular support for this idea is minimal. An opinion poll showed just 3% support for the idea.
Expect it to happen imminently, then.
That's not a Knife!
The movie veteran, who starred in Storm Boy and Crocodile Dundee, was arrested in July last year after an incident at a friend's house on Wood Street in the city's centre. He was accused of grabbing a machete when an argument started between a group of people over his drinking.
The 54-year-old said the knife was in his bag because he had recently returned to Darwin after filming in Kakadu National Park, where he had used the machete to carve and make bush tents.
Magistrate Tanya Fong Lim today dismissed the charge against the star, saying Gulpilil used the machete for cultural reasons.
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
The Trashy, Tarty, Trust-Fund Babes
Australians are avid readers of magazines. In 2005, they bought over 300 million of them or 18 per person.The top 100 magazines purchased are published each year. The list is dominated by Women's Weeklies. However the fastest growing area is the Celebrity sector, spearheaded by market leaders OK and Hello.
Sadly the two publications that i subscribe to (The Economist and Quadrant) do not feature in the Top 100 list as current affairs and news magazines take up a paltry 5% of total circulation.
Within the celebrity sector, the last two years has witnessed the rise of the trashy, tarty, trust-fund babe. As more and more trash mags litter the newsagents stalls, the diversity of people they feature has dwindled to a hard core of just seven uber-celebs.
For those who have never perused such magazines, (i.e. almost no-one) they are in no particular order Nicole Ritchie, Britney Spears, Jessica and Ashley Simpson, Angelina Jolie, Lindsay Lohan and the undisputed Queen of Trash, Paris Hilton.
You may write off these girls as irrelevant D-listers but their ability to shift magazines that would clear rainforests the size of a small European country is unrivalled. People (and in particular, women) are just fascinated by these seven girls.
But they are talentless nobodies, i hear you cry. Yes they are - but that's the whole point. For to join this elite group, you must possess the following characteristics;
- no discernible talent whatsoever (Angelina is the only member of this group who has any talent but she's mad as bar of soap and her life is a disaster area)
- do nothing of any value to society (dont join UNICEF, ask for world peace or get serious, just party)
- be quite good-looking (Jennifer Aniston used to be in the magic circle but her star is waning due to her unnatural good looks, ability to act and all-round decent personality)
- an IQ just above your average eleven year old (Hilary Swank is way too smart to join the club)
- prepare to have your life filmed 24/7
- take drugs (at a minimum cocaine, but preferably dabble in heroin). Kate Moss is a British member of the club, entirely due to anorexia and cocaine
- be single, have lots of sex (ideally published on the web) and change your partner a lot (if you do marry, then make sure it is to someone who everyone knows is completely unsuitable, Britney)
- cry a lot, argue a lot
- have various eating disorders, ideally leading to dramatic weight loss and gains (Nicole, Lindsay)
- undergo regular bizarre plastic surgery resulting in a complete face change (Ashley)
- live off Dad's (huge) pile
So why do women just love reading about them? My theory is that these train-wrecks make us feel good about ourselves. We can't feel superior reading about Jennifer Aniston or Kiera Knightley but we sure as hell can about Nicole or Lindsay. They are basically the girl next door who won the lottery. They are, in fact, us. They are the ultimate reality show. God bless them all.
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Hizb ut-Tahrir in Sydney
Spokesman Wassim Doureihi (pictured),
"The caliphate is a political reality. It's imminent. There is a burgeoning Islamic revival, and it's only a matter of time before the caliphate is a state"
No multiculturalist is Mr. Doureihi, as he added
"Just because Muslims were born in Australia doesn't mean we have to accept these conditions".
Conditions? Like freedom of speech, women and gay rights, tolerance and democracy?
Wassim and his delightful crew believe that the world was "plunged into darkness" on March 3, 1924, when Turkish leader Kemal Ataturk ended the Ottoman caliphate.
The promo for the conference can be found on YouTube, here.
The Aussie Hizb homepage is here.
Some background on Hizb, which Australian Attorney-General, Philip Ruddock, ought to browse at his leisure,
Hizb ut-Tahrir was set up in 1953 by a Palestinian judge to inspire the creation of a Muslim Caliphate state. Its Sydney arm has more than 200 members. Hizb ut-Tahrir still endorses Sharia law, which stipulates the death penalty for gay and lesbian Muslims, apostates and unchaste women.
In a recent article in the Times (subscription only), Shiraz MaherPublished, a former member of the group, had this to say of the group.
Hizb ut-Tahrir is no paper tiger. It is a revolutionary movement seeking to overthrow governments in the Muslim world, establish a caliphate and then wage jihad on other nations. The mobilisation of British Muslims is an integral part of that vision. I know because for two years I was a member, recruited while studying for a degree in history. With a presence on campuses across the country, Hizb ut-Tahrir is experienced in avoiding detection. Its members were the architects of the national "Stop Islamophobia" student campaign launched last year. They have also organised seemingly innocuous football tournaments and "welcome dinners" for new Muslim students.
Recruiting such members of the UK's emerging middle class is particularly important to Hizb ut-Tahrir. Although the party's primary role in the UK is to articulate the case for Islam as an alternative to capitalism, such work is intrinsically linked to its wider ambitions.
Hizb ut-Tahrir is opposed to every regime in the Muslim world and has orchestrated coup attempts in Jordan, Syria, Iraq, Egypt and Morocco. Exiled members who have regrouped in the UK have used the freedoms afforded to them here to seek to springboard their recruits and ideas back into the Muslim world. The effects have been felt most acutely in Pakistan, to which scores of British recruits, born and raised here, have returned since the late 1990s to propagate the party's message and incite the army to sedition.
While Hizb ut-Tahrir continues to mobilise British Muslims in pursuit of its cause, its threat to global security cannot be understated. Silencing the party is, therefore, not simply a debate about free speech or criminalising alternative opinions. It is about protecting ourselves, and our allies, from the excesses of a totalitarian Islamic movement with grand ambitions. Hizb ut-Tahrir's openly stated ambition of global conquest sits uncomfortably with its newfound obsession with free speech.
A party leaflet from 1999 reads: "In the forthcoming days the Muslims will conquer Rome and the dominion of the (nation) of Muhammad will reach the whole world, and the rule of the Muslims will reach as far as the day and night." It's a world in which freedom of speech, of course, would be notably absent.
Monday, January 08, 2007
Who needs the MSM?
Aussie-based bloggers are full of stories of the mainstream media's unwillingness to report the full extent of police crime bulletins.
Contrast this message for public help from the NSW police website about a violent carjacking,
"The offender is believed to be aged in his mid-20s, and described as being of Middle Eastern/Mediterranean in appearance, around 180-185 cm tall and of a with a muscular build. He has dark short hair and is clean shaven and was last seen wearing black baggy jeans"
with that reported by the local paper, the Sydney Morning Herald,
"The carjacker is described as being in his mid-20s, around 180cm tall with a muscular build.
He has short, dark hair, is clean shaven and was last seen wearing baggy black jeans."
The statement is reported in full with the exception of one key sentence,
"of Middle Eastern/Mediterranean in appearance".
Why did they do this?
Are they embarrassed? Are they racist? Or do they not agree with the police that this is a key identifying characteristic of the perps?
Writing in the SMH, Paul Sheehan makes a similar observation following the horrific killing of an innocent bystander in the NSW town of Griffith.
"Right from the start, the police and media reports of this crime smelled of censorship. It took just two phone calls to Griffith to discover what was being left out: the perpetrators were young Aborigines who had been cruising for a brawl, and it was a common occurrence."
Sheehan goes on to attack the police report following the murder calling it an 'informational G-string' - it provides the bare minimum. The reporter considers this part of a wider and more serious problem,
"the whitewashing of the official depiction of the realities of criminal life in Australia."
Other reports of these 'men of no appearance' as they have become known can be found here, here and here. etc, etc.
Whatever the answer, this is a phenomenon not unique to Australia.
During the French rioting of late 2005, it was simply not possible from reading the French papers to determine that nearly all the 'disadvantaged French youth' were in fact 'disadvantaged Muslim youth'.
The BBC, the market leading provider of news in the UK, rarely reports the ethnic origin of criminals, in contrast to the police reports which do provide such information, not as a means to pick on a certain group, but to help the public identify the perps.
It would seem that anything that interferes with the MSM's touch-feely, multi-culti way of viewing the world is simply ignored as non-newsworthy.
No surprise then that people are turning in droves to the blogosphere to find out what is actually going on in the world.
Friday, January 05, 2007
Ashes jokes
Q. What would Glen McGrath be if he was an Englishman?
A. An all rounder.
Q. What advantage do Kevin Pieterson, Andrew Strauss and Geraint Jones have over the rest of their team-mates?
A. At least they can say they’re not really English.
Q. What is the English version of a hat-trick?
A. Three runs in three balls.
Q. What do you call an Englishman with 100 runs against his name?
A. A bowler.
Q. What is the most proficient form of footwork displayed by English batsmen?
A. The walk back to the pavilion.
Q. Who has the easiest job in the English squad?
A. The guy who removes the red ball marks from the bats.
Q. What does “Ashes” stand for?
A. Another Sad Horrific English Series.
Q. Who spends the most time on the crease of anyone in the English team?
A. The person who ironed the cricket whites.
Q.What do Geraint Jones and Michael Jackson have in common?
A. They both wear gloves for no apparent reason.
Q. What is the height of optimism?
A. An English batsman applying sunscreen.
Q. What does Ashley Giles put in his hands to make sure the next ball almost always takes a wicket?
A. A bat.
Q. Who has the easiest job in the English squad?
A. The guy who removes the red ball marks from the bats.
Quote of the day after Harmie and Jimmy Anderson forge a 20 run last wicket partnership,
Thursday, January 04, 2007
The dying Welsh
i) Merthyr Tydfil
ii) Easington
iii) Rhondda, Cynon, Taff
iv) Neath Port Talbot
v) Blaenau Gwent
vi) Caerphilly
vii) Bolsover
viii) Bridgend
x) Carmarthenshire
The healthiest places are apparently the Scilly Isles, Eden, Orkney and the City of London.
According to a different survey carried out in 1999 for the National Assembly of Wales, an astonishing 43% of Merthyr residents reported a health problem. 33% had arthritis, 22% a mental illness, 30% a respiratory illness, 24% were being treated for heart disease and 35% for back pain.
One possible explanation might be this;
Between 1976 and 2000, the number of children attending school dropped by 13% to 478,000.
Even tourists are no longer coming with numbers down 25% since 1974.
Incidentally, the NHS is now the largest employer in Merthyr Tydfil.
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
Tegan Wagner - a brave, brave girl
A Supreme Court judge today rejected claims made by a Pakistani-born man (known as MSK for some reason) that his cultural Muslim upbringing made him believe that he had the right to rape girls he considered promiscuous.
MSK was already serving 22 years for gang-rape when the judge added a further 5 years to his sentence for good measure. He will not be eligible for parole for 22 years.
The victim, Tegan Wagner from Sydney, now 18 but 14 at the time of the rape, waived her right to anonymity and gave the defendant the bird on his exit from court, adding
"See ya boys. Have a nice life in prison. Fuck you and go to hell, mate".
God Bless her.
At a hearing, MSK had argued that Ms Wagoner had come to his house unchaperoned, had been drinking and had not worn a headscarf. This led him and his brother to believe that she was "promiscuous". The defence actually used the argument that because of his strict Muslim upbringing in a provincial Pakistani town, he believed he had the right to rape her.
If this is the case, what exactly does this say about Islam and the way Muslim boys are being brought up?
Update - Jan 07;
The four K brothers are the children of a Sydney GP. They had grown up in Pakistan and were brought to Sydney in 2000. The good doctor lied on oath to provide his doting cherubs with an alibi. He was facing perjury charges at the time of his death in Nov 2006.
The fifth rapist, Ram Shrestha, a Nepalese immigrant and friend of the brothers, hung himself in his prison cell after he was found guilty.
The brothers are now serving sentences ranging from 15 to 24 years.
The brothers' lawyer who used the defence of 'cultural differences' was reprimanded by the judge for using this racist argument.
On leaving the court Tegan stated,
"This wasn't about culture; this was about abuse against women."
Tegan is an overwhelming case for Australian of the Year. If you think so too, walk into your local Commonwealth Bank, pick up a leaflet and send it here.
Creeping Sharia in the UK
Heartwarming New Year news! Scott Burgess is back from his self-imposed exile.
His opening post features the loony-toon local council of Wolverhampton which is running black and Asian-only swimming sessions at the local pool on a Thursday evening.
The council claims the weekly periods are for women and children with
"religious or cultural issues which would otherwise prevent them from taking part."
How exactly does one's religious beliefs prevent one from learning the backstroke?
Anyway they continued,
"It is one of the most ambitious schemes in the country and aims to tackle childhood obesity, engage the city's ethnic minority communities and work with children who fear water.
Tackle obesity? Will there be fat-bastard only sessions soon?
Didn't we battle the KKK in America's South and the white racists who ran SA to end apartheid?
Croydon council also recently initiated apartheid swimming sessions but with an emphasis on female only swimming. No race or religious issues they claim. Though the involvement of the Norbury Islamic Academy sugests otherwise.
A Croydon council spokesperson said,
"We are keen to ensure sporting facilities in the borough are accessible to the whole community. We appreciate that certain religious groups, such as Muslims, have strict rules on segregation for activities including sports, so in response to requests from the local community, we have been running these sessions at Thornton Heath Leisure Centre for the past year."
For those wishing to find out more about the delights of Croydon, this website, Croydon is Crap, may help
Child disorders - fact or fiction?
My son has just started primary school. One third of his class has been diagnosed as 'special needs'. The teachers are under special instructions that they must teach these kids differently, that they must tailor the school day individually to each child. In addition, they have been told that these children will not respond 'positively' to being disciplined.
This is all well and good, but it leaves some pretty serious questions;
i) How does a poorly paid primary school teacher find the time to design 25 individual 'learning plans'?
ii) What time is left over for the 'normal' kids?
iii) If you are no longer able to discipline a special needs child, how do you maintain order with the rest?
iv) If a child's poor behaviour is 'not their fault' but a result of a mental condition, where does that leave free will? Should their resultant criminal behaviour also be excused?
v) If special needs children are no longer encouraged to 'fit in' and to conform with society, then what chance will they have when they leave school and come to look for a job?
vi) Is pumping six year old children full of anti-depressants and amphetamines (ritalin) really the answer?
Below are the 'illnesses' that i have come across and in brackets are what my old teachers might have called us.
Anxiety Disorder (nervous)
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (nuts)
Post-traumatic stress disorder (very anxious)
Clinical depression (sad)
Bipolar disorder (emotional)
Aspergers (naughty)
ADHD (very naughty)
Learning disorder (thick)
Conduct disorder (rude and naughty)
Anorexia or bulimia nervosa (thin)
Binge eating disorder (a bit like bulimia without the thowing up) - fat
Oppositional Defiant Disorder (a little shit)
Periodic Limb Movement Disorder (sleepy)
Indigo child (badly brought up)
Some children clearly do suffer from mental conditions and need extensive help but i suspect that the proliferation of special needs children is more related to the spread of special needs parenting.
Possibly why the UK government is considering introducing parenting classes.
