Hello all,
It’s been a while I know. Not that things have not happened that were rant worthy – they sure as hell have. Its just that many other things have been demanding my time. I apologize if any of you felt bereft of my insightful meanderings (tongue firmly in cheek).
What has catalysed my return to the blogosphere? Well, that can summed up in a name - Dr Muhammad Abdul Bari.
Dr Bari is a Bangladeshi immigrant who heads up the Muslim council of Britain. He is ostensibly a moderate politically, resistant to extremist interpretation of the Koran, and does good work in under privileged school districts as a special needs teacher.
He is also, in my opinion, and absolute muppet. In an interview that is widely being reported today in all sorts of British media, he has warned the British people that we are in danger of becoming like 1930s Nazi Germany.
"Every society has to be really careful so the situation doesn't lead us to a time when people's minds can be poisoned as they were in the 1930s. If your community is perceived in a very negative manner, and poll after poll says that we are alienated, then Muslims begin to feel very vulnerable. We are seen as creating problems, not as bringing anything and that is not good for any society."
He also claims that Muslims are being unfairly targeted as potential dangers to society, and that there is no such thing as Islamic Terrorists, and that labeling terrorists as Islamic just exacerbates the problem.
As I said, he is a muppet.
I am getting heartily sick of hearing about how victimized the poor poor Moslem community is. I mean – is it unreasonable that, when looking for potential terrorists that we concentrate on the ONLY community in Britain that has spawned home grown suicide bombers? I don’t see Afro-Carribeans blowing themselves up, nor do I see turbaned Sikhs, Hindus, Buddhists, Chinese Communists, Japanese Shintoists, Jews (orthodox or otherwise), Christians, Wiccans, Satanists, Scots Nationalists, Plaid Cymru activists or ANYONE ELSE strapping explosives to themselves and detonating during morning rush hour.
Given that the Moslem community stands alone as a community that has people within its ranks that so opposed to British/Western way of life that they feel the need to kill themselves and take as many innocent people with them as they can, is it illogical that that community is the one that is scrutinized the most?
Most normal people would say yes. And they would be branded Islamophobic racists by both the moderate Moslem majority and the feel good chattering classes. This can easily be seen in the recent Channel 4 show, Britz, which will doubtless spread across the Anglosphere in short order as a syndicated show.
Britz was well written, well acted, and bloody infuriating. Avoiding most spoilers, it is basically about a brother and sister whose parents emigrated from Pakistan. The brother feels proud to be British, and even though he may not agree with all of Britain’s foreign policy choices, feels very patriotic and loyal, so much so that he ends up joining MI-5.
He sister is on the opposite end of the spectrum, becoming increasingly radicalized as the show goes on. At one point she launches into a monologue about how there are no innocents in Britain, that people of non-Moslem communities who tolerate control orders and other legislation that targets Moslems “unfairly” become guilty by association, and are thus enemies of Islam and of the Moslem community. It is this latter point of view that really got my goat.
I mean, if Moslems represent the most obvious danger to the current public safety, and due to their insular nature the communities and individuals are relatively easy to target and monitor, why should we not do so? I am sorry, but if even 99% of the Moslems detained are innocent, but that 1% that is taken off the streets was planning another 7/7 type atrocity, I can live with that. If that makes it easier for radicals to recruit, then that is just more reason to monitor and restrict the Moslem community. It may be a self-perpetuating cycle, but at the end of the day I want my daughter to grow up in the United Kingdom, not the Moslem (or Peoples) Republic of Britain.
If the Moslem community doesn’t like it they have two choices – police themselves far more strictly than our PC-shackled security services ever can, or leave. Yes leave, even those born here. Go back to somewhere under Islamic law where you can marry 9 year olds and beat the shit out of your women. It may hurt our economy, and cheapen our culture, but I would rather that than worry about every Asian bloke with a back-pack and a beard that I see on the tube.
I mean, its not even a matter of assimilation or integration – it’s a matter of respect and tolerance, traits that British people of all colours are expected to demonstrate, and traits that most do in fact possess. It comes down to culture. Are brown, black or yellow people inherently bad or inferior? No. Are their native cultures and religions inherently inferior to our own? No again. But that does not mean that we want to adopt those cultures as our own, nor does it mean that we deserve to be bombed for refusing to do so.
Dr Bari also claims that the British should adopt certain Moslem social traits, such as “assisted” (arranged) marriages and that our society would be better for becoming more like his.
Bollocks. If that was the case, why the hell is he here at all? If traditional Moslem society is so inherently superior, would we not all be flocking to their countries to get rich and gain better opportunities for ourselves and our children? Does their culture have any merit? Yes – but it belongs where it is now, not imposed upon our own.
Much is made of how the UK handled the IRA situation differently. As just about everyone knows, the IRA perpetrated dozens of bombings, amongst other acts, over a period of decades, including causing the death of innocents. But, what is often discounted is that the IRA, at most, had a couple of thousand members, of which a tiny number actually committed crimes on the mainland UK, and that most of the bombings involved warnings so that innocents could be evacuated.
Not to justify or approve of the IRA in any way, but it was a different type of organization with a difference operating mandate and practice. But look at the figures. Hundreds or low thousands involved, yet the head of MI-5 this week said that as many as two thousand TEENAGERS alone were being groomed and radicalized in Britain RIGHT NOW!
I could go on forever, but I will stop for now. The plain truth is that the most current danger to the public welfare of the majority (black, white, yellow, brown and mixed of all religions, cultures, creeds, and sexual orientations) in the UK today is posed by radicalized members of a religious/cultural community. Are all Moslems guilty? Of course not, but it is their responsibility to police their community, to root out the mad dog elements. They have not, so now we are doing it for them, and they cry about it.
And I can’t see the situation changing any time soon – can you?
Saturday 10 November 2007
Tuesday 18 September 2007
Meanderings on Zimbabwe...
Hello all,
I was pleased to see that, finally, a senior African personage resident in the UK has finally called for the stronger measures against the revolting regime of Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe.
His Grace the Archbishop of York, Ugandan born John Sentamu, has been waxing lyrical in various media over the last few days about how its time for Britain to shed its “colonial guilt” and for Gordon Brown to take the lead in imposing strict sanctions against Zimbabwe, and to encourage other EU states to put pressure on Mugabe and his cronies through limitations on their diplomatic prerogatives in their embassies (which are being used as fronts to circumvent EU financial and travel restrictions on members of the ruling circle).
Which is all well and good. I am sure that most people would be hard pressed to deny that Robert Mugabe deserves even more pressure than sanctions, that he has destroyed a vibrant, prosperous nation through his megalomaniacal need to retain power over an increasingly poor and decrepit nation-state. I have been amazed that what is going on in Zimbabwe has been allowed to do so for so long, ascribing it to misplaced colonial guilt, much as Archbishop Sentamu has.
But its all too little too late. Why has it taken almost a decade of increasingly blatant oppression and insanity on the part of Mugabe for this point to be made by a senior, globally important African man? (For those of you who don’t know, York is the second most senior Archibishopric in the Anglican Communion – in essence Sentamu is the second most powerful man in the Anglican Communion after the Archbishop of Canterbury).
At a recent summit of African leaders, Mugabe was given a standing ovation. He is seen as a hero by many black Africans, peasant and politician alike, as a stalwart warrior against the legacy of colonialism. His methods and rhetoric are parroted in several countries, most worryingly in Namibia and South Africa, who have thus far managed to avoid the seemingly inevitable slide into anarchy that typifies post-colonial Africa.
Even Archbishop Sentamu himself said that it is “now time” to take action since the diplomatic efforts of African leaders have failed to reign in Mugabe’s excesses. Now time? Come on! Where the hell have influential Africans like Sentamu been for the last decade? Mugabe should have been stamped on hard around the turn of the century, either by major African power players like South Africa, or by the UK and damned be the politically-incorrect fallout.
The Archbishop has even spoken to Gordon Brown, and the general feeling is that some sort of stern worded message will be forthcoming soon. Big deal. A stern worded message that will be ignored, and another opportunity to avert a Uganda/Amin style tragedy in Zimbabwe will be lost.
What we need is someone to take a damned stand against this “boys club” of ex-communist leaders now in positions of national leadership in Africa and let them know that yes, the colonial past does have more than its fair share of injustice and exploitation, and yes part of the responsibility for Africa’s current state can be laid at the feet of the old colonial powers; but that this same colonial past is no excuse for the blatantly racist, corrupt, criminal, short-sighted, malicious persecution and destruction of their own countries.
Archbishop Sentamu is not the first senior black African churchman to make this stand, only the most high profile. Catholic Archbishop Pius Ncube of Bulawayo has been one of the most valiant and vocal opponents of Mugabe for several years now. But we need more than just Churchmen to stand up and be counted. It is time for the UK and the EU to stop playing politically correct games and get over their un-necessary colonial guilt complexes and treat African nations and leaders as mature peers – which means holding them up to the same standards that are expected in the West. No more excuses. No more unconditional aid. No more colonial guilt cards to be played by either side.
Mad dogs like Mugabe would never be tolerated as a head of a European state. He should not be tolerated as the leader of an African one either, especially as a leader who seemingly can get away with anything he bloody well pleases with the only “sternly worded” diplomatic messages as a punishment. Its time to get tough before we see a spontaneous revolution in Zimbabwe that will leave that shattered country in an even worse condition that it is now – perhaps even see massacres and pogroms that will make Rwanda look like a tea-party spat.
So yes, it is “now time” Archbishop Sentamu. It has “been time” for years, thanks for noticing. Now lets hope someone else does too, someone who is willing and able to do something about it.
I was pleased to see that, finally, a senior African personage resident in the UK has finally called for the stronger measures against the revolting regime of Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe.
His Grace the Archbishop of York, Ugandan born John Sentamu, has been waxing lyrical in various media over the last few days about how its time for Britain to shed its “colonial guilt” and for Gordon Brown to take the lead in imposing strict sanctions against Zimbabwe, and to encourage other EU states to put pressure on Mugabe and his cronies through limitations on their diplomatic prerogatives in their embassies (which are being used as fronts to circumvent EU financial and travel restrictions on members of the ruling circle).
Which is all well and good. I am sure that most people would be hard pressed to deny that Robert Mugabe deserves even more pressure than sanctions, that he has destroyed a vibrant, prosperous nation through his megalomaniacal need to retain power over an increasingly poor and decrepit nation-state. I have been amazed that what is going on in Zimbabwe has been allowed to do so for so long, ascribing it to misplaced colonial guilt, much as Archbishop Sentamu has.
But its all too little too late. Why has it taken almost a decade of increasingly blatant oppression and insanity on the part of Mugabe for this point to be made by a senior, globally important African man? (For those of you who don’t know, York is the second most senior Archibishopric in the Anglican Communion – in essence Sentamu is the second most powerful man in the Anglican Communion after the Archbishop of Canterbury).
At a recent summit of African leaders, Mugabe was given a standing ovation. He is seen as a hero by many black Africans, peasant and politician alike, as a stalwart warrior against the legacy of colonialism. His methods and rhetoric are parroted in several countries, most worryingly in Namibia and South Africa, who have thus far managed to avoid the seemingly inevitable slide into anarchy that typifies post-colonial Africa.
Even Archbishop Sentamu himself said that it is “now time” to take action since the diplomatic efforts of African leaders have failed to reign in Mugabe’s excesses. Now time? Come on! Where the hell have influential Africans like Sentamu been for the last decade? Mugabe should have been stamped on hard around the turn of the century, either by major African power players like South Africa, or by the UK and damned be the politically-incorrect fallout.
The Archbishop has even spoken to Gordon Brown, and the general feeling is that some sort of stern worded message will be forthcoming soon. Big deal. A stern worded message that will be ignored, and another opportunity to avert a Uganda/Amin style tragedy in Zimbabwe will be lost.
What we need is someone to take a damned stand against this “boys club” of ex-communist leaders now in positions of national leadership in Africa and let them know that yes, the colonial past does have more than its fair share of injustice and exploitation, and yes part of the responsibility for Africa’s current state can be laid at the feet of the old colonial powers; but that this same colonial past is no excuse for the blatantly racist, corrupt, criminal, short-sighted, malicious persecution and destruction of their own countries.
Archbishop Sentamu is not the first senior black African churchman to make this stand, only the most high profile. Catholic Archbishop Pius Ncube of Bulawayo has been one of the most valiant and vocal opponents of Mugabe for several years now. But we need more than just Churchmen to stand up and be counted. It is time for the UK and the EU to stop playing politically correct games and get over their un-necessary colonial guilt complexes and treat African nations and leaders as mature peers – which means holding them up to the same standards that are expected in the West. No more excuses. No more unconditional aid. No more colonial guilt cards to be played by either side.
Mad dogs like Mugabe would never be tolerated as a head of a European state. He should not be tolerated as the leader of an African one either, especially as a leader who seemingly can get away with anything he bloody well pleases with the only “sternly worded” diplomatic messages as a punishment. Its time to get tough before we see a spontaneous revolution in Zimbabwe that will leave that shattered country in an even worse condition that it is now – perhaps even see massacres and pogroms that will make Rwanda look like a tea-party spat.
So yes, it is “now time” Archbishop Sentamu. It has “been time” for years, thanks for noticing. Now lets hope someone else does too, someone who is willing and able to do something about it.
Wednesday 12 September 2007
I am back, and some meanderings on Climate Change...
Hello all,
I know its been a while since I last posted, and apologize to anyone who was waiting. The passing of my mother-in-law threw everything into a bit of a spin for a while and real life took total priority over everything else I am afraid.
Now, obviously, that has not stopped my mind latching onto things that I feel like ranting about. I could wax lyrical over the most recent of events to get my goat – the way the press handles the hand-over of Basra to the Iraqis, the shocking twist in the search for Madeleine McCann (I never did trust her parents for some reason), the regular diet of health related scare headlines etc.
These are just a tasted of what caught my attention, and I may expound upon my feelings regarding these things in due course, amongst many other topics. However, today I reserve the bile that has built up in my spleen over the last few weeks for one of the most annoying and pointless topics to enthral the chattering classes lately – climate change.
It was while watching a show called “Dumped” on TV a couple of weeks ago that I really started becoming aggravated. The premise was simple – get a bunch of volunteers for an eco-themed TV show, don’t tell them where they are being sent, then drop them off on a landfill site and get them to show everyone how extravagant we are with what we throw away by thriving on the dump.
Throughout the show, contestants who did not buy into the whole ‘make the world a better place through sleeping in piles of crap’ were given a patronising commentary, bullied by the slightly scary hard-core eco-warriors in the group, and harangued for lack of effort and vision by the shows revolting ‘expert guide’, Rob Holdaway, who seemed unable to understand why the group was not building five bedroom palaces using the detritus of society.
The attitudes of Holdaway, and the tone of the show in general, really got to me. The basic fact that we, as a prosperous 1st world society, throw away excessive amounts of rubbish that could be put to further use by someone enterprising, interested, or desperately poor enough to try is no surprise to most people. The implication, however, that those who do not try and use every article of crap left over from our daily lives to the absolute extreme permutations of usefulness are somehow deficient is, frankly, insulting.
Yet this attitude seems to becoming more prevalent in society. Local Councils in the UK force recycling through various methods – sometimes refusing to collect your refuse unless you sort through the recycleables. Others level fines. There is talk about increasing council tax on homes that produce “excessive waste”.
More than just about any other Anglophone country, the UK has bought whole heartedly into the ‘climate change is without doubt our fault’ theory, and this is spreading to all aspects of life, including an increasing fanaticism about recylcing. Once again, the communal societal guilt about our own prosperity that possesses the chattering classes is getting in the way of the lives of the silent majority of normal people in the country.
Not that I am actually against recycling in principle – it makes sense to do so within reasonable limits. What annoys me is that those who are less than rabidly enthusiastic about doing so are labelled as somehow deviant and callous. Likewise, I don’t oppose cutting down on other pollutants, although mainly this is due to a selfish personal desire to lower the levels of carcinogens that I come into contact with on a daily basis.
But the idea that me, as an individual, is responsible for climate change, pollution, and hundreds of thousands of tons of waste every year, that I as an individual am killing our planet and setting us on a course for global apocalypse is nonsense. What is worse is that the chattering classes that control the media would have me think that I can somehow have an impact on solving the world’s environmental problems.
While developing economies such as India, China, Indonesia, Brazil etc continue their rapid and impressive growth with an impressive disregard for pollution output and gas emissions, what possible difference can I make in my modest Buckinghamshire home? Does my not recycling my cans really make much difference when China is throwing up coal-fuelled power stations on an almost daily basis? While the great unwashed of Europe and can fly hither and yon on budget airlines for a financial pittance, generating more pollution in one flight than my car will in an entire year?
Please.
It is amazing though how many people buy into this rubbish. Individuals can have a negligible impact on environmental issues, even if they are inclined to commit themselves wholeheartedly to the effort. As always, its government and big business that truly have the say – and in this case, the worlds ecological future (again, if you believe the hype about global warming) is in the hands of governments and big business in countries which have spent decades getting this far in a quest to achieve the prosperity of the west, and who are hardly going to stop what they are doing because we say so.
Until a scientific community, which is almost evenly split in opinion, can categorically agree that human activity is either causing climate change, or at least speeding up the process we will get no-where. And even then, once the scientific community reaches consensus, it will be up to the developed world to reign in the developing – not up to you and me to cut down on how much crap we throw away every week.
To partially steal a line from Mr Gore, the “inconvenient truth” is that nothing that you, I, or even the UK, can have any effect on the greater global output of pollution, green house gases etc and even thinking that an individual can do anything about it is a terrifying level of hubris and self delusion.
I know its been a while since I last posted, and apologize to anyone who was waiting. The passing of my mother-in-law threw everything into a bit of a spin for a while and real life took total priority over everything else I am afraid.
Now, obviously, that has not stopped my mind latching onto things that I feel like ranting about. I could wax lyrical over the most recent of events to get my goat – the way the press handles the hand-over of Basra to the Iraqis, the shocking twist in the search for Madeleine McCann (I never did trust her parents for some reason), the regular diet of health related scare headlines etc.
These are just a tasted of what caught my attention, and I may expound upon my feelings regarding these things in due course, amongst many other topics. However, today I reserve the bile that has built up in my spleen over the last few weeks for one of the most annoying and pointless topics to enthral the chattering classes lately – climate change.
It was while watching a show called “Dumped” on TV a couple of weeks ago that I really started becoming aggravated. The premise was simple – get a bunch of volunteers for an eco-themed TV show, don’t tell them where they are being sent, then drop them off on a landfill site and get them to show everyone how extravagant we are with what we throw away by thriving on the dump.
Throughout the show, contestants who did not buy into the whole ‘make the world a better place through sleeping in piles of crap’ were given a patronising commentary, bullied by the slightly scary hard-core eco-warriors in the group, and harangued for lack of effort and vision by the shows revolting ‘expert guide’, Rob Holdaway, who seemed unable to understand why the group was not building five bedroom palaces using the detritus of society.
The attitudes of Holdaway, and the tone of the show in general, really got to me. The basic fact that we, as a prosperous 1st world society, throw away excessive amounts of rubbish that could be put to further use by someone enterprising, interested, or desperately poor enough to try is no surprise to most people. The implication, however, that those who do not try and use every article of crap left over from our daily lives to the absolute extreme permutations of usefulness are somehow deficient is, frankly, insulting.
Yet this attitude seems to becoming more prevalent in society. Local Councils in the UK force recycling through various methods – sometimes refusing to collect your refuse unless you sort through the recycleables. Others level fines. There is talk about increasing council tax on homes that produce “excessive waste”.
More than just about any other Anglophone country, the UK has bought whole heartedly into the ‘climate change is without doubt our fault’ theory, and this is spreading to all aspects of life, including an increasing fanaticism about recylcing. Once again, the communal societal guilt about our own prosperity that possesses the chattering classes is getting in the way of the lives of the silent majority of normal people in the country.
Not that I am actually against recycling in principle – it makes sense to do so within reasonable limits. What annoys me is that those who are less than rabidly enthusiastic about doing so are labelled as somehow deviant and callous. Likewise, I don’t oppose cutting down on other pollutants, although mainly this is due to a selfish personal desire to lower the levels of carcinogens that I come into contact with on a daily basis.
But the idea that me, as an individual, is responsible for climate change, pollution, and hundreds of thousands of tons of waste every year, that I as an individual am killing our planet and setting us on a course for global apocalypse is nonsense. What is worse is that the chattering classes that control the media would have me think that I can somehow have an impact on solving the world’s environmental problems.
While developing economies such as India, China, Indonesia, Brazil etc continue their rapid and impressive growth with an impressive disregard for pollution output and gas emissions, what possible difference can I make in my modest Buckinghamshire home? Does my not recycling my cans really make much difference when China is throwing up coal-fuelled power stations on an almost daily basis? While the great unwashed of Europe and can fly hither and yon on budget airlines for a financial pittance, generating more pollution in one flight than my car will in an entire year?
Please.
It is amazing though how many people buy into this rubbish. Individuals can have a negligible impact on environmental issues, even if they are inclined to commit themselves wholeheartedly to the effort. As always, its government and big business that truly have the say – and in this case, the worlds ecological future (again, if you believe the hype about global warming) is in the hands of governments and big business in countries which have spent decades getting this far in a quest to achieve the prosperity of the west, and who are hardly going to stop what they are doing because we say so.
Until a scientific community, which is almost evenly split in opinion, can categorically agree that human activity is either causing climate change, or at least speeding up the process we will get no-where. And even then, once the scientific community reaches consensus, it will be up to the developed world to reign in the developing – not up to you and me to cut down on how much crap we throw away every week.
To partially steal a line from Mr Gore, the “inconvenient truth” is that nothing that you, I, or even the UK, can have any effect on the greater global output of pollution, green house gases etc and even thinking that an individual can do anything about it is a terrifying level of hubris and self delusion.
Monday 30 July 2007
Away for a few days...
Hello all,
Sadly my mother-in-law passed away during the early hours of Sunday morning. Will be back online in a few days.
Sadly my mother-in-law passed away during the early hours of Sunday morning. Will be back online in a few days.
Saturday 28 July 2007
A few meanderings on Africa
Hello all,
Today I added a new link to my blog – the Affirmheid blog. This blog is set up to highlight the various activities of blatant ethnic and racial discrimination being perpetrated in various Southern African countries in the name of “affirmative action.” Its worth a read just to see what is going on in Zimbabwe, Namibia, and South Africa.
Why do I care what is going on down there? Well, for those of you who did not know, I was born in Rhodesia. Although I have lived in England longer than in any other country, and for over half my life in total, I spent a good number of my formative years in Zimbabwe, the country that Rhodesia became after a rather nasty combination of communist backed insurgency and international political back stabbing.
I have been pondering lately on why nothing ever gets done about the mad bastards who are running Africa into the ground. Sure, even a madly pro-colonial like myself has to recognise that European Imperial policy is somewhat responsible, but many of these countries have been independent since the 1960s, surely that is enough time to find their own feet and start on a path to stability and (relative) prosperity?
Yes, we all know about fair trade thanks to the chattering classes, and there may even be some truth in the claim that its Western business practices that are keeping the “3rd world” down. But this is far from the whole story. I recently watched, for a second time, the excellent film “Blood Diamond” which, along with Leonardo DiCaprio actually doing a pretty fair Rhodesian/South African accent for an American, brought to attention an acronym that is chilling in its simplicity and applicability.
Both DiCaprio and various others say, at various points in the movie, “TIA” – “This is Africa”. Three simple letters that do so much to portray the shocking state of Africa and the cynical jaded acceptance of the status quo by the people who live and work on that continent.
What does TIA really mean though? In general, it stands for corruption, for politicians doing nothing more than pillaging their countries and sending the loot to Swiss banks. It stands for deep seated ethnic hatreds, most of which pre-date European colonisation, that transcend what the Western chattering classes would term simple prejudice or racism.
It stands for a generally low estimation of the value of human life, of human dignity, of human rights. A willingness to perpetrate horrendous crimes on anyone and everyone who stands in the way of whoever is in a position of power, no matter their gender or age.
It stands for "democratically elected" governments for acting in the pseudo-feudal manner of paramount chieftains of centuries past, massacreing their opponents, albeit in socio-economic terms rather than literal in some of the more stable countries.
Sadly, this is not hyperbole and nonsense. One only has to listen to the news to see how bad things in Africa are (Zimbabwe, Darfur, what used to be Zaire), and one only has to do a small amount of research to see how bad they can get (Rwanda).
Sure, there are isolated success stories. Botswana, for example, has managed to avoid the worst excesses of African politics and social unrest. Zambia and Mozambique are clawing their way to modest prosperity after many years of economic meltdown and/or civil war. It should bear notice that the latter two countries owe a large portion of their recovery to cooperation between their indigenous black population and white Africans displaced from Zimbabwe and South Africa, who have settled in new lands.
But why should we have so few countries to point to as success stories? Why does the west allow people like Robert Mugabe to do what he has done to wreck Zimbabwe and reduce its economic and industrial development to the same place it was in the 1950s? Why do they say nothing while Thabo Mbeki of South Africa and Hifikepunye Pohamba of Namibia begin to march their own countries down the same path?
Tony Blair, for all of his problems, espoused a doctrine that I heartedly agree with – Humanitarian Intervention. The debacle of Iraq (which I mostly blame the Americans for – but that is another post) aside, Western intervention, largely inspired by Tony, in Kosovo, Sierra Leone, and Afghanistan had immediate and positive results. But why has the West not acted in Darfur? In Zimbabwe? Why will it not act when Namibia and South Africa go the same way as Zimbabwe?
The answer is simple. Guilt. Thanks to the dominance of left-wing apologists, shaped in the “feel-good” nonsense of the 1960s and 1970s, in the media and political spheres of the West, they are paralyzed by a misplaced sense of guilt over our colonial past, and an almost pathological fear of being seen as neo-colonialists should they answer the moral necessity and bring the excesses of Africa to heel.
The very same people who sponsor heart wrenching infomercials of starving African children, who throw lavish concerts to increase awareness, who use every iota of political and social influence that they can bring to bear on shaping policy to reduce poverty in the 3rd world, it is their fault, and the fault of those who agree with them, that Africa is in the state that it is in.
Giving aid to countries where democracy is non-existent and ethnic and racial oppression exists is wrong. Supporting businesses in countries where the government exists to shaft their own people and get rich doing it is wrong.
Yet the aid continues and the sympathy and racial-cultural guilt endemic in Western countries rages unabated by reality and expediency. Until people get over the ridiculous idea that all of the worlds problems are because on white Westerners, the situation in Africa will never improve. What is past is past. African countries need to get responsible and ethical leaders in place. They need to stamp out corruption and archaic and destructive urges to massacre each other indiscriminately. Once they have, everyone concerned can get on with peaceful and profitable development.
This will need a period of “tough love” from the West, but at the end of it we might see stable, sane, sensible African countries that can take advantage of the huge natural resources, natural entrepreneurial spirit and intelligence of the indigenous African people, and the good will of the West to build better countries and a better continent.
But this will not happen, because cry-baby idiots wracked by irrational feelings of responsibility for the acts of past generations are the ones who have the say on out TVs, in our schools, in our governmental legislatures, and on the pages of our newspapers and magazines.
Given this state of affairs, I am confident that my 5 month old daughter will one day hear the acronym TIA and know exactly what it means, because things have, at best, stayed the same in Africa, but more than likely have become far far worse.
Today I added a new link to my blog – the Affirmheid blog. This blog is set up to highlight the various activities of blatant ethnic and racial discrimination being perpetrated in various Southern African countries in the name of “affirmative action.” Its worth a read just to see what is going on in Zimbabwe, Namibia, and South Africa.
Why do I care what is going on down there? Well, for those of you who did not know, I was born in Rhodesia. Although I have lived in England longer than in any other country, and for over half my life in total, I spent a good number of my formative years in Zimbabwe, the country that Rhodesia became after a rather nasty combination of communist backed insurgency and international political back stabbing.
I have been pondering lately on why nothing ever gets done about the mad bastards who are running Africa into the ground. Sure, even a madly pro-colonial like myself has to recognise that European Imperial policy is somewhat responsible, but many of these countries have been independent since the 1960s, surely that is enough time to find their own feet and start on a path to stability and (relative) prosperity?
Yes, we all know about fair trade thanks to the chattering classes, and there may even be some truth in the claim that its Western business practices that are keeping the “3rd world” down. But this is far from the whole story. I recently watched, for a second time, the excellent film “Blood Diamond” which, along with Leonardo DiCaprio actually doing a pretty fair Rhodesian/South African accent for an American, brought to attention an acronym that is chilling in its simplicity and applicability.
Both DiCaprio and various others say, at various points in the movie, “TIA” – “This is Africa”. Three simple letters that do so much to portray the shocking state of Africa and the cynical jaded acceptance of the status quo by the people who live and work on that continent.
What does TIA really mean though? In general, it stands for corruption, for politicians doing nothing more than pillaging their countries and sending the loot to Swiss banks. It stands for deep seated ethnic hatreds, most of which pre-date European colonisation, that transcend what the Western chattering classes would term simple prejudice or racism.
It stands for a generally low estimation of the value of human life, of human dignity, of human rights. A willingness to perpetrate horrendous crimes on anyone and everyone who stands in the way of whoever is in a position of power, no matter their gender or age.
It stands for "democratically elected" governments for acting in the pseudo-feudal manner of paramount chieftains of centuries past, massacreing their opponents, albeit in socio-economic terms rather than literal in some of the more stable countries.
Sadly, this is not hyperbole and nonsense. One only has to listen to the news to see how bad things in Africa are (Zimbabwe, Darfur, what used to be Zaire), and one only has to do a small amount of research to see how bad they can get (Rwanda).
Sure, there are isolated success stories. Botswana, for example, has managed to avoid the worst excesses of African politics and social unrest. Zambia and Mozambique are clawing their way to modest prosperity after many years of economic meltdown and/or civil war. It should bear notice that the latter two countries owe a large portion of their recovery to cooperation between their indigenous black population and white Africans displaced from Zimbabwe and South Africa, who have settled in new lands.
But why should we have so few countries to point to as success stories? Why does the west allow people like Robert Mugabe to do what he has done to wreck Zimbabwe and reduce its economic and industrial development to the same place it was in the 1950s? Why do they say nothing while Thabo Mbeki of South Africa and Hifikepunye Pohamba of Namibia begin to march their own countries down the same path?
Tony Blair, for all of his problems, espoused a doctrine that I heartedly agree with – Humanitarian Intervention. The debacle of Iraq (which I mostly blame the Americans for – but that is another post) aside, Western intervention, largely inspired by Tony, in Kosovo, Sierra Leone, and Afghanistan had immediate and positive results. But why has the West not acted in Darfur? In Zimbabwe? Why will it not act when Namibia and South Africa go the same way as Zimbabwe?
The answer is simple. Guilt. Thanks to the dominance of left-wing apologists, shaped in the “feel-good” nonsense of the 1960s and 1970s, in the media and political spheres of the West, they are paralyzed by a misplaced sense of guilt over our colonial past, and an almost pathological fear of being seen as neo-colonialists should they answer the moral necessity and bring the excesses of Africa to heel.
The very same people who sponsor heart wrenching infomercials of starving African children, who throw lavish concerts to increase awareness, who use every iota of political and social influence that they can bring to bear on shaping policy to reduce poverty in the 3rd world, it is their fault, and the fault of those who agree with them, that Africa is in the state that it is in.
Giving aid to countries where democracy is non-existent and ethnic and racial oppression exists is wrong. Supporting businesses in countries where the government exists to shaft their own people and get rich doing it is wrong.
Yet the aid continues and the sympathy and racial-cultural guilt endemic in Western countries rages unabated by reality and expediency. Until people get over the ridiculous idea that all of the worlds problems are because on white Westerners, the situation in Africa will never improve. What is past is past. African countries need to get responsible and ethical leaders in place. They need to stamp out corruption and archaic and destructive urges to massacre each other indiscriminately. Once they have, everyone concerned can get on with peaceful and profitable development.
This will need a period of “tough love” from the West, but at the end of it we might see stable, sane, sensible African countries that can take advantage of the huge natural resources, natural entrepreneurial spirit and intelligence of the indigenous African people, and the good will of the West to build better countries and a better continent.
But this will not happen, because cry-baby idiots wracked by irrational feelings of responsibility for the acts of past generations are the ones who have the say on out TVs, in our schools, in our governmental legislatures, and on the pages of our newspapers and magazines.
Given this state of affairs, I am confident that my 5 month old daughter will one day hear the acronym TIA and know exactly what it means, because things have, at best, stayed the same in Africa, but more than likely have become far far worse.
Tuesday 24 July 2007
Meanderings on a John Stuart Mill Quote
Hello all,
I recently joined another major internet fad – Facebook. I dabbled in MySpace, but found it incomprehensible. Facebook is far easier for semi-tehcnoliterates like myself.
While fleshing out my profile, I came across a “favourite quotes” section. This intrigued me. Whilst the vast majority of Facebook denizens would doubtless post song lyrics, or snippets of pop-culture, I though that this would be a fantastic opportunity to let those who ended up on friends list get a glimpse at the real me by posting quotes that strike a cord with what I belive.
Needless to say, not one single comment has been made about my quotes list – which is kind of what I expected. However, I thought I would take this opportunity to wax a bit more lyrical on one particular quote.
The quote in question is from a seemingly unlikely source - a 19th century liberal philosopher, economist and MP named John Stuart Mill. Wiki him yourself – I don’t possess the skill of lazy linking yet (see plea for aid below).
The quote is as follows…
"War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself."
To me this quote is extremely pertinent to today’s Britain. Can anyone argue that we do not live in a society of “decayed and degraded moral and patriotic feeling?” Where the concepts of national pride and patriotism are equated with the goose stepping fanaticism of the 1930s and 1940s? Where British, and especially English, pride is reduced to tattoos of flag wearing bulldogs on the beer bellies of football fans?
It sometimes seems as if the Britain of today is a dichotomy. There are people willing to fight for what is morally right, and indeed to fight to keep others in their society free to spout their own nihilistic liberal drivel. Yet the most vocal segments of this society prefer to play the appeaser, the apologist, the placater, the “enlightened citizen of the world” convinced that everything will be ok if we just stop criticizing other cultures/religions and sit down and talk it all over.
I cannot bring myself to think that the majority of the British people fall into the latter camp. At worst the misguided children of the flawed philosophies of peace and love inherited from the 1960s and 1970s are a plurality, and even that thought turns my stomach.
We all know that war is an ugly thing, but I am sure that you will agree that the reluctance to wage a necessary war (specifically the War on Terror, which is in reality a war to preserve Western Civilization) to the full extent that it demands is short sighted foolishness of the first order.
I would like to think that this country possesses the spiritual, moral and patriotic strength that will be necessary to win the war of civilisations and cultures that will be waged for the foreseeable future – certainly for the rest of our lives and more than likely for those of our children and our grand children as well. I would like to think that a kernel of what made this small island great in the first place remains, but faced with the constant media bombardment of negativity and airtime for a vocal appeaser minority it is sometimes hard to believe that enough of the “blitz spirit” remains.
I hope it does.
I recently joined another major internet fad – Facebook. I dabbled in MySpace, but found it incomprehensible. Facebook is far easier for semi-tehcnoliterates like myself.
While fleshing out my profile, I came across a “favourite quotes” section. This intrigued me. Whilst the vast majority of Facebook denizens would doubtless post song lyrics, or snippets of pop-culture, I though that this would be a fantastic opportunity to let those who ended up on friends list get a glimpse at the real me by posting quotes that strike a cord with what I belive.
Needless to say, not one single comment has been made about my quotes list – which is kind of what I expected. However, I thought I would take this opportunity to wax a bit more lyrical on one particular quote.
The quote in question is from a seemingly unlikely source - a 19th century liberal philosopher, economist and MP named John Stuart Mill. Wiki him yourself – I don’t possess the skill of lazy linking yet (see plea for aid below).
The quote is as follows…
"War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself."
To me this quote is extremely pertinent to today’s Britain. Can anyone argue that we do not live in a society of “decayed and degraded moral and patriotic feeling?” Where the concepts of national pride and patriotism are equated with the goose stepping fanaticism of the 1930s and 1940s? Where British, and especially English, pride is reduced to tattoos of flag wearing bulldogs on the beer bellies of football fans?
It sometimes seems as if the Britain of today is a dichotomy. There are people willing to fight for what is morally right, and indeed to fight to keep others in their society free to spout their own nihilistic liberal drivel. Yet the most vocal segments of this society prefer to play the appeaser, the apologist, the placater, the “enlightened citizen of the world” convinced that everything will be ok if we just stop criticizing other cultures/religions and sit down and talk it all over.
I cannot bring myself to think that the majority of the British people fall into the latter camp. At worst the misguided children of the flawed philosophies of peace and love inherited from the 1960s and 1970s are a plurality, and even that thought turns my stomach.
We all know that war is an ugly thing, but I am sure that you will agree that the reluctance to wage a necessary war (specifically the War on Terror, which is in reality a war to preserve Western Civilization) to the full extent that it demands is short sighted foolishness of the first order.
I would like to think that this country possesses the spiritual, moral and patriotic strength that will be necessary to win the war of civilisations and cultures that will be waged for the foreseeable future – certainly for the rest of our lives and more than likely for those of our children and our grand children as well. I would like to think that a kernel of what made this small island great in the first place remains, but faced with the constant media bombardment of negativity and airtime for a vocal appeaser minority it is sometimes hard to believe that enough of the “blitz spirit” remains.
I hope it does.
Technical Help!
Hello all,
As I plan on getting more into this "blogging" phenomenon, I think that it would be a good skill to learn how to "lazy link". By that I mean, inserting a link into text subsituting my words for the url. Any help on this would bne most appreciated.
Thanks.
As I plan on getting more into this "blogging" phenomenon, I think that it would be a good skill to learn how to "lazy link". By that I mean, inserting a link into text subsituting my words for the url. Any help on this would bne most appreciated.
Thanks.
Monday 23 July 2007
A "Manifesto"
Hello all,
About a year ago, in the midst of a significant period of cynicism and disillusionment with all UK political parties, I wrote a manifesto up. Its pretty authoritarian - I am not a libertarian by any stretch of the imagination and so if will grate the nerves of most "right" wing bloggers and readers, as well as of course cause cries of outrage amongst any "left" and "liberal" readers.
I did, however, find it very cathartic and satisying to tabulate what I would, if I could, like to see done. Its fantasy, some of its just not practical, and some is wishful thinking, but those of you who read this, if any, might find it interesting.
http://www.mediafire.com/?7n1gykpwe22
I hosted it online in word format - probably a big no-no due to copyright, but to be honest I don't care all that much - if people want to copy it, then so be it - some of the ideas may do some good to somebody. Its still in pretty rough format, so expect typos, syntax, and mauled grammar. Much like all the rest of my writings :)
Again, I dont expect much agreement, and certainly no universal agreement with the sentiments the manifesto contains, but it may provide food for thought.
About a year ago, in the midst of a significant period of cynicism and disillusionment with all UK political parties, I wrote a manifesto up. Its pretty authoritarian - I am not a libertarian by any stretch of the imagination and so if will grate the nerves of most "right" wing bloggers and readers, as well as of course cause cries of outrage amongst any "left" and "liberal" readers.
I did, however, find it very cathartic and satisying to tabulate what I would, if I could, like to see done. Its fantasy, some of its just not practical, and some is wishful thinking, but those of you who read this, if any, might find it interesting.
http://www.mediafire.com/?7n1gykpwe22
I hosted it online in word format - probably a big no-no due to copyright, but to be honest I don't care all that much - if people want to copy it, then so be it - some of the ideas may do some good to somebody. Its still in pretty rough format, so expect typos, syntax, and mauled grammar. Much like all the rest of my writings :)
Again, I dont expect much agreement, and certainly no universal agreement with the sentiments the manifesto contains, but it may provide food for thought.
Boris for Mayor
Hello all,
I know its been a few days already, but I would just like to take the opportunity to enthuse about Boris Johnson, Conservative MP for Henley, deciding to run for the post of London mayor.
Boris is probably best known for his social gaffs, his disheveled appearance, and his repeated appearances on the TV show “Have I Got News for You”. Yet his apparent buffoonery hides a keen intellect and, I think, potentially, a great leader for what is arguably the greatest city in Europe, if not the world.
The left have predictably started taking swipes at Boris, and the chattering “champagne socialists” that make up a truly distressing proportion of the UK media and intelligentsia classes are talking about what a disaster Boris would be for London.
This is deeply unfair, given that their champion is the reprehensible Ken Livingston, who takes credit for the financial and social growth that London has experienced over his two terms as mayor, even those this growth has happened despite the best efforts of “Red Ken” to turn this town into the “People’s Republic of Londonistan.”
The congestion charge has done precious little to lower traffic levels in the city – all it has done is swell the London Assembly’s coffers at the expense of a lot of business. Many smaller businesses have had to massively increase their advertising budgets in order to become “destination stores” as opposed to relying on passing trade – my family’s business being a case in point.
There has been none of the corresponding improvement in public transport that was promised as a side effect of the congestion charge as far as I can see – just more money for Ken to do things like throw a “Cuban Cultural Festival” or subsidize St. Patrick’s day celebrations. No sign of a St. George’s day celebration of course – that might offend some minority group or other.
He also takes his time to invite controversial and dangerous Moslem clerics who champion suicide bombings and global jihad to the capital. Why, I have no idea. I am actually surprised that Ken has not just thrown in with the revolting George Galloway and joined the “Respect” party.
Then there is his banner-holding for the newest and most disturbing manifestation of left-wing insanity – anti-Semitism originating in the “liberal” segments of society. Ken should never have kept his job after making a Nazi jibe aimed at a Jewish reporter – if a similar comment had been made to an Afro-Caribbean or Moslem individual the outcry from the left would have been deafening.
So, bring Boris on I say. His father, I believe, said that “it was far better for an intelligent man to pretend to be a buffoon than for a buffoon pretend to be an intelligent man”. Will Boris solve all of the problems existing in London, many created by Red Ken? No. For one, Boris is a cyclist, which is a segment of society that I despise, but mainly it will be the total in-ability of any subsequent mayor to repeal the congestion charge – its been around too long now and the money is too imbedded in the LA’s income.
One thing is certain at least – Boris is a personality and a character, and hopefully next year’s campaign will be entertaining watching at the very least.
I know its been a few days already, but I would just like to take the opportunity to enthuse about Boris Johnson, Conservative MP for Henley, deciding to run for the post of London mayor.
Boris is probably best known for his social gaffs, his disheveled appearance, and his repeated appearances on the TV show “Have I Got News for You”. Yet his apparent buffoonery hides a keen intellect and, I think, potentially, a great leader for what is arguably the greatest city in Europe, if not the world.
The left have predictably started taking swipes at Boris, and the chattering “champagne socialists” that make up a truly distressing proportion of the UK media and intelligentsia classes are talking about what a disaster Boris would be for London.
This is deeply unfair, given that their champion is the reprehensible Ken Livingston, who takes credit for the financial and social growth that London has experienced over his two terms as mayor, even those this growth has happened despite the best efforts of “Red Ken” to turn this town into the “People’s Republic of Londonistan.”
The congestion charge has done precious little to lower traffic levels in the city – all it has done is swell the London Assembly’s coffers at the expense of a lot of business. Many smaller businesses have had to massively increase their advertising budgets in order to become “destination stores” as opposed to relying on passing trade – my family’s business being a case in point.
There has been none of the corresponding improvement in public transport that was promised as a side effect of the congestion charge as far as I can see – just more money for Ken to do things like throw a “Cuban Cultural Festival” or subsidize St. Patrick’s day celebrations. No sign of a St. George’s day celebration of course – that might offend some minority group or other.
He also takes his time to invite controversial and dangerous Moslem clerics who champion suicide bombings and global jihad to the capital. Why, I have no idea. I am actually surprised that Ken has not just thrown in with the revolting George Galloway and joined the “Respect” party.
Then there is his banner-holding for the newest and most disturbing manifestation of left-wing insanity – anti-Semitism originating in the “liberal” segments of society. Ken should never have kept his job after making a Nazi jibe aimed at a Jewish reporter – if a similar comment had been made to an Afro-Caribbean or Moslem individual the outcry from the left would have been deafening.
So, bring Boris on I say. His father, I believe, said that “it was far better for an intelligent man to pretend to be a buffoon than for a buffoon pretend to be an intelligent man”. Will Boris solve all of the problems existing in London, many created by Red Ken? No. For one, Boris is a cyclist, which is a segment of society that I despise, but mainly it will be the total in-ability of any subsequent mayor to repeal the congestion charge – its been around too long now and the money is too imbedded in the LA’s income.
One thing is certain at least – Boris is a personality and a character, and hopefully next year’s campaign will be entertaining watching at the very least.
Welcome to my meanderings...
My first blog post ever! I have resisted this particular craze for some time now, although I have enjoyed reading the blogs of several friends.
Why do I succumb to the craze now? Well, partly it is due to an increasing level of irritation with British society and a desire to rant and rave about it. That someone out there might actually be interested will be interesting to see as well. Also spurring my writing this blog is another factor – my newly arrived daughter.
At the moment she is less than six months old, yet I find myself seriously wondering what sort of world she will grow up in. I also find myself becoming increasingly dogmatic in defining what world I want her to grow up in. Frustratingly, those two paradigms are far far apart from one another.
As the weeks go by, more and more elements of my thought processes will doubtless be posted, and hopefully a cathartic experience will be obtained by posting them. I seriously doubt that all my posts will be of a uniform type – I can see general rantings about all sorts of things in the future of this blog, and possibly even the odd positive post, especially about my daughter.
So, welcome to the meanderings of a non-PC man, the meanderings of a young middle class white man living, working and raising a family in 21st century Britain. I hope the journey will be a long one.
Why do I succumb to the craze now? Well, partly it is due to an increasing level of irritation with British society and a desire to rant and rave about it. That someone out there might actually be interested will be interesting to see as well. Also spurring my writing this blog is another factor – my newly arrived daughter.
At the moment she is less than six months old, yet I find myself seriously wondering what sort of world she will grow up in. I also find myself becoming increasingly dogmatic in defining what world I want her to grow up in. Frustratingly, those two paradigms are far far apart from one another.
As the weeks go by, more and more elements of my thought processes will doubtless be posted, and hopefully a cathartic experience will be obtained by posting them. I seriously doubt that all my posts will be of a uniform type – I can see general rantings about all sorts of things in the future of this blog, and possibly even the odd positive post, especially about my daughter.
So, welcome to the meanderings of a non-PC man, the meanderings of a young middle class white man living, working and raising a family in 21st century Britain. I hope the journey will be a long one.
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