Taharrush jamai

Scene in front of Cologne Cathedral on New Year's Eve, when over a hundred women were assaulted allegedly by "immigrants".

From an article in Wikipedia:

The mass sexual assault of women in public has been documented in Egypt since 2005. Egyptian security forces and their agents were blamed for using it during political demonstrations in Tahrir Square, Cairo, as a weapon against female protesters. The behavior spread, and by 2012 sexual assault by crowds of young men was regularly seen at protests and religious festivals in Egypt.

Typically acting under the protective cover of large gatherings, assailants encircle a woman while outer rings of men deter rescuers. The attackers may pretend to be there to help, adding to the confusion. Activists have called this "circle of hell," in which women have reported being groped, stripped, beaten, bitten, penetrated with fingers and raped.

Commentators say the attacks reflect a misogynist ideology that blames women for leaving the house, seeks to terrorize them out of public life, and views sexual violence as a source of shame for the victim, not the attacker.

Difficult to believe that this practice is condoned by the imams, but you never know these days. At least one imam is reported as saying that he was not surprised that women were assaulted in Cologne. He used the "they were asking for it" argument.

Brexit? You'll regret it!

It's very difficult to be sure which way the Great British Public are swinging, but the indications are that there are more saying GET OUT than saying STAY IN.

The result is predictable: all the people and institutions that have a vested interest in continuing membership, from the Prime Minister down, are producing horror stories every day. It's "You mark my words!" time. I have lost count of the disasters promised us if we get out, but here are a few:

- the other members of the EU will turn their backs on us, stop trading with us;
- EU firms with branches in the UK  will pull out;
- the UK will still be bound by treaties and regulations even outside the EU;
- prices will go up (vague this, so supply the details yourself);
- foreign holidays will cost a lot more;
- there will be no more cheap air flights;
- dire financial consequences (not sure what);
- it will adversely affect our relationship with the USA;
- refugees currently being held in Calais will pour into the UK;


The idea is that all this scaremongering will send Joe Public scurrying to press the STAY IN button, even though his euroscepticism will remain (dislike of bureaucracy, red tape, loss of sovereignty. Most of all, he doesn't like being told to do by bloody FOREIGNERS).

But will it work? If I were D Cameron, who is clearly orchestrating this scaremongering behind the scenes, I would pause, take a deep breath and consider this: Joe Public doesn't like being manipulated by the powers-that-be, foreign or domestic. He knows when he's being bullshitted, so he's more likely to vote GET OUT just out of a sort of perverseness. Bloody-mindedness is something we ordinary Brits do well.

My penn'orth? My guess is that the EU is structurally unsound and is
doomed to disintegrate anyway, so I'd rather jump ship before it hits the fucking iceberg and takes us down with it.

Bollocks to Political Correctness

Golliwog Scandal: Police Called After Racist Costumes Spotted At Wick Gala In Scotland

Police were called after three youths attended a summer gala in Scotland dressed as golliwogs. The trio attended Saturday’s Wick Gala in Caithness, wearing brightly-coloured costumes, curly wigs and black-face.

A spokesman for Police Scotland said: “On Monday 27th July 2015, Police in Wick received a call from a member of the public seeking to raise awareness of what they deemed as possible inappropriate behaviour at a public event known as the Wick Gala. Officers have also been in contact with the charity event organisers to provide advice on guidance for future events of a similar nature.”

Donna Plowman of the  the Wick Gala Committee commented: “We strive to make the gala week entertaining and inclusive for everyone If we said to people they can't go out as famous characters such as the Jackson Five, it will be difficult to know where you stop dictating. I don't know if it will get to the point if people would have to produce a picture of what they are coming as before they take part.”

Racist costumes my arse! What a waste of police time!

Sakal kecide de var

NEWSITEM: QUOTE

The Bishop of London has praised two Tower Hamlets priests for growing beards to "reach out" to local Muslims. Richard Chartres said the men - "two of the most energetic priests in east London" - have facial hair that "would not have disgraced a Victorian sage".

"The clergy of Tower Hamlets are safe from episcopal censure, and their desire to reach out to the culture of the majority of their parishioners can only be applauded," Chartres wrote in The Church Times.

"Most of the residents [in Tower Hamlets] are Bangladeshi-Sylheti, for whom the wearing of a beard is one of the marks of a holy man."

The east London borough is 38% Muslim, the highest of any borough in England and Wales. Muslims are the largest single religious group there. Only 30% of the borough is Christian, compared with a national average of 59%.

NEWSITEM: UNQUOTE

That's it, then. I'm shaving my beard off. Sad really, when you think that I've had this beard the best part of fifty years and never once reached out to a Muslim.

PS The title of this piece is a Turkish saying: Even goats have beards.

Brave Old World

Jeremy Corbyn has suggested that the UK could retain nuclear missile submarines, but they would go to sea without their warheads. The plan appears designed to win over trade unions who fear that scrapping Trident - as the Labour leader wishes - would destroy tens of thousands of jobs in the defence industry.

He has also  suggested opening up a line of communication with Islamic State (IS) and has also called for a "sensible dialogue" with Argentina over the Falkland Islands. 

He also wants to repeal the legislation that made "sympathy strikes" and "flying pickets" illegal.

Well, that's all right then. For a minute I thought we were in trouble. 

How do you spell N-I-G-G-E-R?

Here's a funny thing: bok. Here's another funny thing: zoob. And here's another funny thing: stronzo.
The first word is Turkish, the second Arabic, and the third Italian. If you don't know these languages, nothing nasty has happened to you. If you do, then you might be quite shocked, and begin to wonder why a nice boy like me can utter such filth.
Isn't it odd that we can be mortally offended by a particular combination of phonemes? In our own language, we mostly apply the Auntie Mary Test: is it a word you would not use in front of your Auntie Mary?
It's a reasonable test, I suppose, but it does mean that our freedom of speech is determined by (in the case of my Auntie Mary) someone who is very easily offended. It amounts to a serious limitation on my freedom of expression.
All this sounds trivial, but we are living in a grundian age, where people can be banned and punished for saying things that other people don't like. When those other people are our elders and betters, the leaders of public opinion and mores  - politicians, intellectuals, teachers, etc - we are on a very slippery slope indeed.
I am in fact too old and too ugly to give a fuck any more, but I fear for the world my grandchildren are inheriting. I just hope that they give a fuck, and I am not sorry if that phrase upsets you. 

Raging against the dark

QUOTE
British MPs are debating a petition calling for Donald Trump to be banned from entering the UK. The petition has so far been signed by 574,000 people. Signatories believe Trump should be barred on the grounds of hate speech, following his calls for a ban on all Muslims entering the U.S., and his claims that London has become “so radicalised” the city’s police force are “afraid for their own lives".
UNQUOTE

The new approach to freedom of speech, as Voltaire didn't say: 

"I may disagree with what you say, and there is no way I will defend your right to say it."

The barbarians have entered the castle and the lunatics have taken over the asylum. It is a measure of the inferior intellectual and moral stature of so many of today's Members of Parliament that they can even contemplate this kind of fascistic action. The Age of Enlightenment is entering into an age of darkness, and I am very very scared. By the way, it has nothing to do with Donald Trump; it's about the politics of intolerance and bigotry.