Skylon's Potential

Recent news concerning the testing of the SABRE engine demonstrated the exciting potential of  this revolutionary piece of British developed (although ESA funded) technology. Although it is as yet still in its experimental stages, should tests go to plan the Skylon spaceplane for which it is designed could fundamentally transform the launching of satellites and other cargoes into low-Earth orbit. Coming as it did during the same week as the announcement that a private consortium is to take the first steps towards the exploitation of near-Earth asteroids for their raw materials, the era of space exploration could be revitalised, with the economic potential of space beyond low-Earth orbit being explored for the first time. Unlike asteroid mining however, Skylon holds out the prospect of providing a faster return on economic investment.

The real potential of the Skylon concept derives from its prospective ability to repeatedly loft cargoes into space for a mere fraction of the current cost owing to the fact that it requires neither booster rockets nor massive amounts of liquid fuel, instead taking much of the fuel that it needs direct from the atmosphere. Estimates suggest that it could cut the cost of satellite launches from £15,000/kg to £650/kg. Moreover, this ability to transport heavy cargo to low-Earth orbit also allows for the possibility of the orbital assembly of spacecraft designed for deep space flight, thereby dramatically reducing the cost both of human and robotic exploration of the Solar System. Skylon could be adapted to transport up to 24 passengers into low-Earth orbit, dwarfing the capability of other existing launch systems as well as the now-retired space shuttle fleet.

After the excitement of the Space Race of the 1960s culminating in the Apollo Programme, there has been something of a lull in manned spaceflight, with human missions instead concentrating upon orbits a few hundred miles above our heads in Soyuz capsules, Skylab, Mir and most recently the International Space Station. Although the Obama administration has set the objective of sending a manned space mission way beyond the orbit of the Moon to explore an asteroid, no firm date has been set, and it will not take place until the 2020s at the earliest.

Russia and China are currently the only nations capable of sending humans into space. If the investment for Skylon can be found, the UK should be joining them within the next decade or so. It is important that this opportunity to make the country a leading spacefaring nation should not be lost, for it holds significant economic promise. This is the type of project that ought to be supported by funds from the proposed National Investment Bank, thereby providing our people with the opportunity to benefit from supporting productive capital investment in hi-tech industry at home. Our engineering and manufacturing sector needs to be revitalised to secure our long-term economic recovery. It would be a tragedy were the primary beneficiaries to the development of this technology prove to be investors from the Arab petro-states.

Below is a concept video of the Skylon spaceplane in action.

The True Enemy of Nationalism

Guest Article by Mr Brigantian

Anyone who has supported/followed/voted for or had a cursory interest in the British nationalist movement will know that it has supposedly always been held back by a combination of the Left-Wing media, the 'all powerful Jews', Marxist troublemakers and state infiltrators.

If you take on board what is written on certain nationalist websites and blogs they have foiled our attempts to be seen as a respectable and credible electoral force time and time again. They combine their dark forces to split our ranks, denigrate and demonise decent law abiding members and publish lies about us. They have created an environment where it is almost impossible for a nationalist party to have its voice heard without having its words twisted beyond their original meaning.

Well, I believe that the main problem we have is far closer to home and I realise that what I am about to suggest isn't going to be popular but I believe it needs to be said.

The biggest enemy that nationalism has in this country is nationalists. Let me explain.

Whilst I accept that some of the aforementioned elements have had an effect on the progression of nationalist ideology, I think its own blindness to what is palatable to the general public and a burning need to always have a bogeyman on which to blame its shortcomings has been far more damaging.

A brief glance at the comments section on any site (or at least the ones that are willing to publish the opinions of those that disagree) reveals that there are almost as many definitions of nationalism as there are nationalists, and people fiercely and vociferously defend their position. 

While I think that debate is healthy, the sad fact is that all too often this descends into a pointless and damaging free for all where insults and accusations are the norm. Add to this the hateful minority who actively seek to undermine and destroy the efforts of those they consider 'soft' or too liberal then its a wonder that the other perceived 'malign forces' ever get a look-in.

It’s a sad fact of life that, in general, people are more vocal and passionate about things they dislike than things they do like, but instead of spending an inordinate amount of time and effort attacking those you disagree with, isn't it more productive to be constructive?

The harsh reality is that it is unlikely that any single party will be a perfect fit for everyone in every way. We all have to find one that is the best fit for us as individuals, and the one that we believe has the potential to grow into something that can affect a change for the better. We can't simply sit on the sidelines and grumble any more because time is running out. The current social and economic climate should be fertile ground for the growth of a moderate and sensible Nationalist party, yet we're doing a sterling job of ensuring that doesn't happen.

As far as the public perception is concerned, nationalists are still Nazi-obsessed anti-Semites, obsessed with outlandish conspiracy theories. This is why, despite the majority sharing some of our ideals, we make little to no headway in elections. We are constantly preaching to an ever decreasing number of converts and seem to have no idea how the rest of the population perceives us.

Times have changed yet we are resolutely standing still. We need to look at ourselves from the outside in, assess where we have gone wrong and be brutally honest with ourselves about our mistakes.

The cranks need to be sidelined and starved of the oxygen of publicity. We need to grow up and stop spending all our time arguing over the minutiae of policy, find some common ground and agree to work together.

We cannot be perceived as being obsessed with a single issue. What true nationalism offers us is the opportunity to make headway with the public based on sound economic policy. We need to focus on this.

We should be making hay while the sun shines yet we are treading water.

This is why I believe that the time has never been better for the emergence of a brand new, credible and electable nationalist political party. The current crop are never going to get us out of the mess we are in. Time is wasting, we need to make a move.

Rochdale Muslim Grooming: More Arrests

The Manchester Evening News has reported that more arrests have been made following the sentencing of nine Muslim paedophile residents of Rochdale and Oldham earlier this week in Liverpool. It is stated that all ‘have been arrested on suspicion of sexually abusing the same girl’ and that all of the arrestees were ‘from Asian and Afro-Caribbean backgrounds’. The scene of the arrests has once again been Rochdale. The girl of course, was English. According to a BBC News 24 report delivered just after 3pm, a total of nine men have been arrested. One question that naturally arises is this: were they, as previously, all Muslim? This strikes me as being highly probable.

It has been written elsewhere that there could be up to 50 other men involved in the grooming ring to which the nine sentenced in Liverpool belonged, so there will hopefully be many more arrests to come. The Manchester Evening News states that: 

Judge Gerald Clifton, jailing the nine, suggested they had targeted their victims because they were ‘not of your community or religion’. But police and political leaders denied the crimes were about race – saying the men had targeted their victims simply because they were vulnerable.

Quite clearly, the corrosive influence of the Macpherson Report is both what has allowed these crimes to go untackled for so long (it is thought that 47 girls were probably victims of the gang sentenced in Liverpool), and what has hindered recognition of them for what they are. The concept of ‘institutional racism’ which Macpherson fabricated must be ditched, as must all of the policy and legislation that rests upon it. It will be a top policy priority of the new party to ensure that such legislation is repealed, and that police are encouraged to investigate and tackle Muslim paedophile grooming without feeling inhibited. Those who ushered in the Macpherson Report should feel a sense of shame for allowing this factually incorrect document to have exerted such a malign influence over the criminal justice system in this country over the past 13 years, for it has undoubtedly facilitated the actions of brutal Muslim paedophile gangs across the country. In 2005 for example, The Daily Telegraph reports that social workers in Rochdale deliberately ignored evidence of an underage girl being kidnapped and repeatedly gang-raped ‘because they were frightened of being accused of racism.’

The Macpherson Report has proven to be a great facilitator of multiple rape and torture. Moreover, it has created a general culture of fear amongst the indigenous population in this country, in which anyone’s career or reputation may be destroyed by a mere allegation of ‘racism’, and the resultant ‘diversity’ legislation has sought to inculcate a misplaced sense of ‘guilt’ for a non-existent ‘collective racism’ that all native Britons are supposed to harbour. It is time for the authors, supporters and champions of Macpherson to offer us an apology, and to admit that they got it terribly wrong. It is time to bid adieu to the corrosive concept of ‘institutional racism’ and to the ‘diversity’ dogma.

BBC’s racist Reporting: 'Asians'

Yesterday’s conviction of nine Muslim male residents of Rochdale for the systematic grooming and repeated multiple rape of young English girls has now rightly been covered by the mass media. However, the manner in which this has been done is striking, insofar as the BBC in particular, and even The Daily Telegraph, have decided to describe the perpetrators of these crimes as ‘Asians’, whereas if they were to be accurate they would have described them as ‘Muslims’ or eight Pakistanis and one Afghan, for it is the Muslim identity of these men that is salient in this instance, it being a common denominator in the many other cases of systematic grooming of native English girls by these so-called ‘Asian’ gangs. It was not Hindus in Keighley who carried out the notorious mass grooming of girls in the town; it was not Thais in Blackpool, Sikhs in Blackburn, Chinese in Rotherham, Japanese in Derby, Burmese in Burnley or Vietnamese in Bradford. No. So, what was the identity of the men involved in the serious cases of systematic grooming in all of these towns and cities? Muslim males of predominantly Pakistani background.

Given the clear pattern displayed in these cases, why do the BBC and other media outlets choose to employ the language of race, casting a slur upon all ‘Asians’? It is quite straightforward really: these criminals are described as ‘Asians’ to render any criticism of this specifically Muslim, usually Pakistani phenomenon, ‘racist’. In doing so, the BBC it could be argued, is being ‘racist’. If I were a Sikh or a Hindu, my blood would be boiling with respect to this linguistic usage. 

At least Mohammed Shafiq of the Ramadhan Foundation has had the decency to condemn this type of crime. Today’s Daily Mail states:

The leader of the Ramadhan Foundation has accused Pakistani community elders of 'burying their heads in the sand' on the issue of on-street grooming.

Mohammed Shafiq, chief executive of the group, said police should not let the 'issue of race' stop them from addressing the issue.

The Ramadhan Foundation is a Manchester-based moderate Muslim youth group that works for 'peaceful co-existence and dialogue for all communities'.

Mr Shafiq said: 'There is a significant problem for the British Pakistani community, there is an over-representation amongst recent convictions in the crime of on-street grooming, there should be no silence in addressing the issue of race as this is central to the actions of these criminals.

'They think that white teenage girls are worthless and can be abused without a second thought; it is this sort of behaviour that is bringing shame on our community.

'I urge the police and the councils not to be frightened to address this issue, there is a strong lesson that you cannot ignore race or be over sensitive.'

Mr Shafiq’s intervention is welcome, and he acknowledges that insofar as the perpetrators of these crimes are concerned, the ‘racial’ element comes into play in the selection of their victims: non-Muslim indigenous girls. The Rochdale case led to a protest in the Heywood district of the town in February, which was unfortunately infiltrated by a number of troublemakers who attacked a local takeaway and the police.

Despite the BBC's innate bias and reluctance to identify the ethno-religious specificity of the majority of crimes of this type, an interview with criminologist Mark Williams-Thomas on this evening's BBC News 24 was quite remarkable, for in spite of the interviewer trying to imply otherwise, Williams-Thomas was startlingly and refreshingly forthright in his insistence that this systematic grooming of English girls was carried out in the overwhelming majority of cases by males of Pakistani and Afghan origin. He emphatically reiterated this point several times, much to the discomfiture of his BBC interviewer. Could it be that this dreadful case from the streets of Rochdale will finally help to bring about a sea change, and force, albeit highly reluctantly, official recognition of the reality of this type of crime and its widespread nature? If so, the EDL should be accorded some credit for tirelessly seeking to highlight the issue of organised Muslim paedophilia. 

For the time being however, neither the mass media nor the mainstream political parties are truly willing to allow members of the public to give vent to their thoughts and feelings on this matter, as demonstrated by the fact that the comments facility on Brendan O'Neill's blog piece entitled 'Muslims, 'sex gangs' and white working-class women' in The Daily Telegraph this evening has been switched off. Likewise, whereas it is normally possible to comment upon Ed West's blog postings, his piece entitled 'Why liberals turned a blind eye to the 'grooming' of girls' also featured a disabled comments facility. Real debate about this issue evidently remains off-limits, and for as long as it does so, those who keep this a taboo subject aid the abusers and betray existing and potential victims.

Beyond the Fringe: Conclusion and Announcement

Now that the local elections are behind us, it is an appropriate time to reply to Andrew Brons’s article which critically tackled my three-part ‘Beyond the Fringe’ (BTF) series of articles, as well as to make an announcement about the formation of a new party that is in the process of being set up (its name and further details will be announced within the next six weeks). The individuals involved have backgrounds in politics, marketing and academia.

It was encouraging to see that the BTF series was reproduced in its entirety on the Nationalist Unity Forum, and that the articles elicited a range of reactions and lively debate. Most of the commentary was prompted by Andrew Brons’s considered response which took the form of an article entitled ‘Musing Analysed – Parts of Them are Good!’ This in itself suggests that some merit was perceived in their content, although not unnaturally, the reception that they have received has not been uncritical. That the articles have stirred up a certain amount of debate is to be welcomed, as is the fact that this debate is helping to differentiate those who wish to make a positive fresh start in politics from those who do not. Amongst the latter are those who belong to what could be dubbed the ‘Reichest Tendency’, a small but vocal minority who have long bedevilled nationalism in this country through their bizarre obsession with an imported ideology spawned in the last century.

In his response, Brons made a number of specific criticisms, with those in his conclusion being of a pertinent and practical nature. Others however, perhaps arose from a lack of clarity on my part. For example, one criticism related to his conclusion that I had asserted that the BNP’s collapse had not been attributable to the media, with some specific examples being provided of how media hostility had been detrimental to the party’s fortunes. Whilst recognising that media hostility did play a role in its demise (I have written about this previously), even without this stance, the BNP would have failed for the serious reasons that were outlined in part I of the series. The decision was taken not to focus upon the attitude of the media, for there was little or nothing that could have been done to change this.

Although Brons can be said to have made a credible case against the formation of another nationalist party, I did not and do not find his case persuasive; to be credible is not necessarily to be convincing. My opinion with respect to the necessity of forming a new political party has only been reinforced by the recent local election results. As to the details of how that should be achieved, it was not the intent of the BTF series to provide this information. Such practical matters will become self-evident through the party’s creation and subsequent growth. This does not signify an absence of thought regarding this matter or a lack of planning, but rather a desire not to give too much away to prospective opponents of the concept.

Brons placed great store upon the failure of breakaway parties. This assumes a somewhat proprietorial attitude towards nationalism and nationalist politics. Having never belonged to any political party myself, my reflections have not been addressed exclusively to former and existing members of the BNP, but rather to all in this country who think and feel that the first and foremost duty of the state should be to advance the welfare, prosperity and security of the members of the national community as a whole, rather than the particularistic interests that promote globalism, globalisation and our attendant loss of sovereignty and identity. It is therefore addressed to a wide readership including members of other parties such as the English Democrats, the Democratic Nationalists, UKIP and the BFP, individuals who have traditionally supported the mainstream parties, and those of no political affiliation whatsoever. The new party concept is not supposed to appeal only to those who have been involved in the nationalist movement, but to those who whilst sharing its core values have up until this point been repelled by some of its fringe obsessions and the less savoury behaviour and opinions of a number of its prominent spokesmen (Clive Wakley has grasped this point perfectly). Thus the title of ‘Beyond the Fringe’. The goal may seem grandiose, but the ultimate aim is to create a mass party. 

What has been proposed therefore, is not a ‘breakaway party’, but a new party altogether; an exercise that could be deemed to be even harder than establishing a breakaway party, but one that is nonetheless necessary owing to the manifest serious shortcomings of existing parties.

The criticism was also levelled that I had made the assumption that a certain percentage of the vote would somehow fall into the lap of a new party. Whilst I did identify a potential baseline of electoral support by aggregating votes cast for particular parties, it was stressed that this was a potential share rather than being automatically available. As shown by the election of the BNP’s two MEPs, it is far from necessary to obtain 30% of the vote to succeed in EU elections.

Brons implied that I assumed that candidates from competing nationalist parties would stand aside to allow a new party to fight elections without them hindering its prospects, yet this is something that I neither stated nor believe would be the case. A central objective of a new party, as was reiterated throughout the ‘Beyond the Fringe’ series, would be to establish recognition as a credible and moderate nationalist party, as well as being such a party rather than just appearing to be. As such, it ought to render the challenges of the existing small parties irrelevant, although of course competing with UKIP in EU elections would be a serious business.

With respect to the five specific practical questions posed by Brons in his conclusion, my responses are as outlined below.

1. How do we overcome the dilemma that breakaway parties always fail if the parent party is still operative?

Response: I am not proposing a breakaway party. This will not be ‘son’ or ‘daughter’ of the BNP, but it will contain former BNP members, as well as people who would never have considered joining the BNP.

2. How do we prepare a party to win seats in the European Parliament against all of the competition that will undoubtedly be there?

Response: The answer to this question depends very much upon how large and how strong the party has become by the spring of 2014. Whatever the case, the concentration of resources will play a crucial role.

3. How do we make this Westminster breakthrough in 2015?

Response: Once again, a perfectly legitimate question, and a very tough one to answer. The same observations apply as in the preceding answer.

4. When we have recovered the serious small party status that we had in 2010, how do we progress to become a large party? How many of the factors that determine that are within our gift and how many are beyond our control?

Response: If our message, and indeed our policy, is what the public wants and the party is rational, credible and moderate, that question will answer itself. It will grow.

5. Is it possible to change the political culture of a party without changing the type of people we recruit?

Response: As stated in the answer to the first question, this will not be BNP Mark II, thus the type of people recruited will be more varied. ManxmanGreenhaugh was correct in his observation that ‘There needs to be a split between the ‘old school’ nationalists and the modernisers.’

Forthcoming articles dealing with the question of perception in the media and within the nationalist movement will provide further clarification with respect to some of these issues.

Conclusion

I welcome Andrew Brons’s qualified positive response and also the pertinent set of practical questions that he raises in his conclusion. I fully acknowledge that it will be no easy task to take this concept, realise it and make it succeed, but if we do not try, only one outcome is certain: failure. Without an animating desire to initiate and realise the positive changes required to protect and advance the well-being, freedom and security of our people, there will be no action and success. Ultimately, the success of this endeavour will rest upon the motivation and dedication of those who share the goals outlined in the BTF series, and who find the forthcoming detailed party concept to their taste. That detailed exposition will however have to wait until another day.

In closing, I would also like to take the opportunity to thank all for their feedback, particularly those of you who have responded positively. Given your favourable comments, further suggestions would be welcome from (names in alphabetical order, those with real names first followed by pseudonyms): Lewis Allsebrook, Geoff Crompton, David Hamilton, Bert Leech, Peter Mills, Kevin Scott, Clive Wakley, Ivan Winters, ‘Adrian’, ‘Barry’, Bilbo, British Activism, Cygnus, For England, Goldenmerlin, Lanky Patriot, A Man from Brum, ManxmanGreenaugh, Mo, North-West Nationalist, Quiet Man, SerpentSlayer, Salford Nationalist and Silly Kuffar. Apologies are in order for anyone that I have omitted from this list. Mention of these individuals does not of course imply that they have necessarily endorsed this concept. 

Appendix
For those of you who are perhaps mystified as to why this decision has been taken and think that the concept of a new party is a waste of time, then please refer to the three constituent articles of 'Beyond the Fringe' by following the links below:

• Part 1 dealt with the electoral failure of nationalist politics in general and nationalist parties in particular, highlighting the weaknesses of each of the visible small parties.

• Part 2 tackled the issue of which policies should form the bedrock of a new party.

• Part 3 examined the potential baseline of support for a new party, as well as: electoral strategy, tactics, linguistic usage and general principles of party organisation.

 

English Democrats' Performance in Doncaster: May 2012

It should perhaps come as a relief to the English Democrats that the electors of Doncaster voted in favour of retaining its mayoral system last Thursday, for following the local elections English Democrat Mayor Peter Davies remains the sole individual from that party to hold office in the borough. He himself was not up for re-election on this occasion, but the electors chose to retain the system by a margin of 61.7% to 37.8%. Just quite how far this is indicative of his personal popularity is difficult to gauge, but this result does seem to provide a clear popular endorsement of the system itself.

In the 2011 May local elections the English Democrats chose to contest twelve wards in Doncaster, whereas this year they fielded candidates in only seven. This tactic seems to have paid off, by perhaps enabling them to better concentrate their modest resources. Although on this occasion the party failed to secure elected representation, it did make tangible progress in the borough, with the average number of votes per candidate increasing from 642 to 754 despite a decline in turnout, and the average share increasing from 16.2% to 22.3%. Last year, the best share obtained was 23.3% in the Bentley Ward, whereas this time the highest proportion was obtained in Wheatley with 28.3%. The positions of the candidates improved too, for in 2011 the party achieved three second places, whereas this year it took five, with one third (just a few votes behind second place) and one fourth.

Although the English Democrats failed to make a breakthrough, these figures would seem to indicate that the presence of the mayor has accorded the party considerable public visibility and thereby generated a certain level of popular support, although this has yet to translate itself into councillors in this Labour stronghold. The future of the party however appears to be in question, as there is some dissent within the English Democrats regarding the leadership largely arising from the admission of a number of ex-BNP members, and there have been expressions of disappointment with the party's results this time around, for nationally it has not made any real headway. Moreover, the party is said to be in considerable debt.

The results below contrast this year's performance with last.

Bentley            681 (25.1%) / 739 (23.3%)

Bessacarr and Cantley        535 (12.9%) / 756 (15.9%)

Central            533 (17.7%) / didn't stand

Edenthorpe, Kirk Sandall & Barnby Dun        731 (19.9%) / 655 (14.8%)

Finningley        1163 (26%) / 1137 (21.2%)

Hatfield            827 (26%) / 673 (17.5%)

Wheatley          806 (28.3%) / 786 (22.9%)

'Go away Galloway!' Anti-Galloway Protest in Bradford

A report has reached me of an unusual protest that took place in Bradford this afternoon. An eyewitness stated that she had seen a group of Muslims bearing placards emblazoned with the slogan 'Go away Galloway!' in the city centre. The men, dressed in traditional Muslim clothing, were also handing out literature to shoppers next to the escalators entering Kirkgate Shopping Centre opposite McDonalds, and using loudspeakers to get their message across. Clearly, George Galloway is not welcomed by all Muslims in Bradford. There is speculation that the protestors disapprove of Galloway's distinctive opportunistic brand of divisive politics, and that they believe he is serving to further alienate the city's Muslim population from the rest of its inhabitants. Do you have any additional information about this protest and the motivations of the protestors? If so, please feel free to leave a comment.

UPDATE: Blogger 'Tales from Bradistan' states that he saw yesterday's protest and that it was being led by Anjem Choudary. This explanation would make sense, as Choudary has apparently been urging Muslims not to vote in elections, and given Galloway's recent victory and Respect's success in Bradford, it would make perfect 'sense' for him and his unwelcome band to descend upon the city to seek to make their point and generally stir up trouble. 

EDL Luton March Coverage: Lennon and Carroll join BFP

Today the EDL is holding a demonstration in Luton to mark the third anniversary of its foundation. Unsurprisingly, UAF and the SWP are holding a counterdemonstration (badged as 'We are Luton'), as has become traditional upon such occasions. According to the Casuals United blog (hat tip for the picture below), some 2,000 supporters have taken to the streets of Luton. This also coincides with the long-anticipated official announcement regarding Stephen Lennon/Tommy Robinson joining the British Freedom Party (BFP) as Deputy Chairman. It has been announced that he will be sharing this role with Kevin Carroll. Quite how effective that arrangement proves to be remains to be seen.

Yesterday witnessed the first electoral test for the BFP, and as can be seen from the results at this link, it fared spectacularly badly. Although those who head both the BFP and the EDL hope that today's announcement will provide a boost for the former, it has already prompted the departure of a number of BFP members. However, what is beyond dispute is the fact that Stephen Lennon's decision to join the BFP will generate headlines and afford the party far more coverage than it has hitherto enjoyed. Although Matthew Goodwin correctly observed in The Guardian yesterday that the BNP was spent as an electoral force and should now be considered a political irrelevance, he perhaps places rather too much store upon the potential success of an EDL/BFP tie-up, owing to the numerous reasons outlined in previous articles highlighting the weaknesses both of this strategic approach and of the BFP's policies and presentation (a detailed criticism of its 20 Point Plan can be found here).

Luton of course has acquired a reputation for radical Islamism, with the most recent arrest for terrorist-related offences taking place towards the end of last month when five men in the town were detained in police swoops. It is therefore not surprising that Luton was the town that gave birth to the EDL, and this fact has in recent months drawn considerable media coverage, most notably in two documentaries looking at ethno-confessional polarisation in the town: Stacey Dooley's lightweight 'My Hometown Fanatics' and the rather more serious but partial episode of Despatches 'Proud and Prejudiced'. Both of these came after a special Radio 4 report on the town last September, featuring interviews conducted by John Humphrys with Stephen Lennon and Sayful Islam amongst others.

The following video gives a flavour of the EDL demo today.

 

EDL Luton Demo: Saturday 5th May 2012

Shabir Ahmed: Little Horton’s Paedophile Predator

Yesterday’s conviction of 39-year-old Shabir Ahmed of Little Horton, Bradford, for the grooming and sexual assault of a 13-year-old girl, fits into a certain pattern of predatory paedophile behaviour that has unfortunately been witnessed in many towns and cities, particularly in the North of England. The ethnicity and cultural background of the victim was not mentioned in the Telegraph and Argus on 5 May, but following the sentence the paper revealed on the morning of 9 May that she and her sister were actually 'from a respected, traditional, Asian family', rather than from an indigenous background as is usual in such cases. However, use of that term so beloved of the media - 'Asian' - does not meaningfully reveal what sort of background the victims came from. It has been known elsewhere for example, for Muslim paedophile males with origins in the sub-continent to treat Sikh girls with the same sort of abusive contempt that is normally displayed towards English girls in such grooming cases. Whilst it is also known that Ahmed had previous convictions for sex offences involving minors, their background was not mentioned in the reports.

This case comes to a close of course at the same time as the sentencing of eight Pakistanis and one Afghan for a high-profile grooming case in Rochdale. Shocking as this case is, it is unfortunately far from uncommon, and child protection expert Mark Williams Thomas in an interview on BBC News 24 on the evening of 9 May made it clear that this type of crime was specifically a Pakistani and Afghan male one, for 'the overwhelming majority of men' involved in such cases are from these backgrounds. Typically, the victims are white and non-Muslim, as is sadly known to the inhabitants of Blackburn, Burnley, Bradford, Blackpool, Keighley, Rochdale, Rotherham and Derby and other locations.

In this instance Ahmed appears to have acted with one other man who has already pleaded guilty to having sex with the unnamed schoolgirl, but in others Muslim gangs, often based upon family networks, have perpetrated this type of abuse in a systematic and wide-ranging fashion. It is the perceived lack of publicity given to this phenomenon by the mass media, and a sometimes-apparent reluctance by the police and politicians to highlight the religio-cultural specificity of these crimes for fear of endangering what they term 'community cohesion', that has fuelled the anger that has found direct expression in the emergence of the EDL. The official line does not, contrary to the stated intention, preserve 'community cohesion', but rather leads to increased alienation from and mistrust of the legal system, mainstream politicians and the media amongst the sections of the indigenous population whose daughters tend to be targeted for this sort of crime. Any chance of 'community cohesion' is thereby wrecked by a politically correct desire to close their eyes to the reality of this pattern of criminality and to hide it from the public.

Many Muslims, who owing to their innate human decency will be law-abiding individuals who condemn the sort of behaviour displayed by Ahmed and their co-religionist paedophile gangs, will perhaps feel affronted by my drawing attention to the religio-cultural specificity of these crimes, but they should not. They should instead seek to root out and expose those individuals and gangs within their 'communities' who indulge in such behaviours and practices, and to voice categorical condemnation of the example of their prophet Mohammed who married Ayesha at the age of six and consummated their marriage when she was nine years old, for it is precisely this example of their ‘prophet’ that provides ideological, cultural and psychological legitimation to paedophiles from Muslim backgrounds. Moreover, it is also the example of Mohammed that leads these Muslim men to target non-Muslims for sexual exploitation, and to treat them with contempt.

Returning to the specifics of the Ahmed case, the Telegraph and Argus reports that these were not his first offences, for he was a ‘convicted child sex offender’ who was also yesterday sentenced for ‘nine offences of having child pornography on his computer’. In an effort to prevent his most recent crimes from coming to light, he went so far as to threaten ‘to petrol bomb’ the elder sister’s ‘home if she reported what he had done’ and ‘to put sexually explicit film of himself and the schoolgirl on the internet’. He and the co-accused - Munwar Khan - were sentenced on Tuesday 8 May. These men deserve to be locked away for a long time. It would be preferable if they were also to be expelled from the country and stripped of their citizenship, but this will not happen. If there is to be any hope of so-called 'community cohesion' in future, then the onus is upon Muslim 'communities' to vigorously root out, condemn and ostracise the paedophiles in their midsts, just as the rest of society does.  

UPDATE 21 June 2012
It would seem that another Shabir Ahmed has been sentenced, this time at Liverpool Crown Court, for his leading role in the Rochdale-based paedophile gang of Muslim extraction. The series of crimes associated with this gang sparked unrest in the town and led to an EDL protest in Rochdale on 9 June. Additional suspects await trial.

 Shabir Ahmed (courtesy of The Telegraph & Argus)

British Freedom Party storms to success in Liverpool

The British Freedom Party made its first electoral outing this week, fielding a total of five candidates in Liverpool and one in Basildon. There can be no denying that the BFP's results were remarkable, and they will forever remain seared into my memory. Anyone who has heard of the BFP and set eyes upon the figures will never be able to forget them, proving as they do, just how much potential there is in the party's current strategy and approach.

Taking the results ward by ward in alphabetical order, we first come to Clubmoor, where Andrew Edward Philip Harvey secured a startling 26 votes, some 0.78% of the total. In County ward, Peter James Stafford won a truly memorable 17 votes, or 0.6% of the total. Everton however, was to provide a slightly more encouraging result with a whopping 50 votes (1.7%) won by its female candidate Jacqueline Stafford. This was enough, as was also the case in Clubmoor and County, to gain her an unchallenged last place. Did Fazakerley buck the trend? Well, to a certain extent yes! Peter Stafford managed not to come last by taking 50 votes and a 1.51% share. However, it was Norris Green that was to play host to the BFP's strongest showing in Liverpool, where its candidate Peter Squire achieved 2.77% with 78 votes and came third. As for the party's performance in Basildon, this was to be the BFP's most 'impressive', which was still very weak indeed: Tony Harris polled 87 Votes, securing a 4.2% share and fourth position out of five.

Given that the BFP currently claims 724 members, has its own website, is supported by a number of bloggers, possesses links with the EDL and has been covered in the national press (e.g. The Independent), should not the expectation be that it ought to fare better electorally than a party of circa 60 members that possesses a rudimentary website, no supporting network of bloggers and has zero visibility? Well, such a party does exist, and it is called the Democratic Nationalists. Despite the fact that to all intents and purposes it is invisible, its five candidates clocked up the following results on Thursday (the first three wards being in Bradford, the fourth in Doncaster and the fifth in Pendle): Royds - 453 votes, 15.1%; Tong - 276 votes, 11.5%; Wyke - 313 votes, 9.6%; Stainforth and Moorends - 410 votes, 16.6%; Waterside - 92, 7.8%. If the Democratic Nationalists could achieve this, why did the BFP poll even more abysmally? The DNs even managed to beat both the Respect and Liberal Democrat candidates in Wyke. Overall, the DNs averaged 309 votes per candidate with a 12.1% share, whereas the BFP equivalent figures were 51 and 1.93%.

What do these results prove? It would seem safe to conclude that were Ken Dodd to choose to stand any of his Diddy Men at the next round of local elections, they would be sure to beat the BFP. Neither however, could beat this party here.

 Ken Dodd and his 'Diddy Men': the BFP's primary challengers

Bradford: Respect take five seats

Although George Galloway had initially made the claim, following his own dramatic election victory, that Respect would field candidates in every Bradford ward during the local elections, in the end they managed to field only twelve. Of these twelve, some five have been elected. It may be rather modest, but it is potentially significant. What this significance may be will be considered this evening. The most high profile victim of Respect's success, reports The Telegraph and Argus, was Labour Leader of Bradford Council - Ian Greenwood - who was ousted from his Little Horton seat by Respect candidate Alyas Karmani who enjoyed a margin of 17 votes.

Yesterday also witnessed a referendum as to whether Bradford should elect its mayor, with voters delivering a clear verdict: 'no', with 55.1% voting against the proposal and 44.9% for.

All hail the Queen of the May!

Today is May Day, when thoughts turn not to the international labour movement, but to the regenerative forces of nature. Thus Lord Summerisle would have it, at any rate. Alas, it proves to be the case that I am unable to embed the code for the video of Britt Ekland's memorable invitation to Sergeant Howie, so instead present here an audio recording of Willow's Song, one of the many atmospheric pieces composed and arranged for The Wicker Man by Paul Giovanni. Being short of time this evening, I shall have to leave you to seek out the delights of the film's varied score including a chilling climactic rendition of Sumer Is Icumen In. Prepare to reverence the sacrifice! Poor Edward Woodward went through hell shooting the final scene, for a startled goat peed upon him from above. For further information, please turn to "the Rites and Rituals of May Day, chapter five."