7/7 Bomber Grave Vandalised

The BBC reports that the grave of one of the 7/7 bombers, Hasib Hussain, has been vandalised. Apparently, his was one of a number of graves in the ‘Muslim section’ of Cottingley Cemetery that was vandalised and according to the BBC ‘had racist graffiti scrawled on it.’ Whether it did or not cannot be objectively ascertained, for the BBC deems criticism of an ideology – Islam – to be ‘racist’.

Hasib Hussain does not deserve to be remembered with fondness or with any degree of respect; his name should rather be execrated. He, along with his fellow bombers, took the conscious decision to kill and maim innocent people for no reason at all, and as such, the vandalism of his grave specifically does not cause any disquiet to me. It would have been better had he possessed no grave at all, and whatever had remained of his body had been burned and the ash dumped far out at sea. Putting this aside, it is of course unacceptable that the graves of other Muslims in Cottingley Cemetery were vandalised, and the fact of their vandalism will understandably be painful to their family and loved ones. Such an action cannot be condoned. However, only two graves – one of which was Hussain’s – were damaged. West Yorkshire Police state that:

 "We have received a report of damage to two graves in the Muslim section of Cottingley Cemetery and we are investigating.”

"Neighbourhood Policing officers are paying extra attention to the area and have liaised with local community representatives to reassure them."

Given that the West Yorkshire Police refer to only two headstones, why does the BBC report mention ‘a number of graves’, for this seems to imply more than two? Unfortunately, given the innate contemporary bias and unreliability of the broadcaster in reporting such matters, doubt must be cast upon its portrayal of this act of vandalism. As one commenter - Dinan - has stated below, gravestones are vandalised every day, yet the BBC chose to accord this incident national prominence and to highlight it as a 'racist hate crime'. Why then did the BBC choose to completely ignore the racist nature of the murder of Luke Fitzpatrick (who was white) in Dollis Hill last month, when a 22-strong masked black gang descended upon a pub armed with bats and knives and unleashed a violent assault upon the drinkers inside? Apparently, the defacing of a gravestone belonging to a Muslim supremacist mass murderer is deemed to be some heinous 'racist hate crime', whereas a black gang attack upon white Britons resulting in death and injury, is not. The editorial policy of the BBC can be described as nothing less than perverse.

Hussain murdered 13 members of the public, and wounded many others.

Hasib Hussain's Handiwork: Tavistock Square Bus Bombing

Report complains about Police Dogs

Any guesses as to why a report might complain about the use of police dogs? Exposing dogs to unwarranted danger? Long working hours for dogs? Inadequate dog pension plans? Well, no, none of these. Apparently, it has something to do with allergies to dogs, or more correctly speaking, cultural ‘allergies’ to dogs. To borrow the words of the great Rolf Harris: ‘can you guess what it is yet?’ Why of course, it’s our old ‘friend’ Islam rearing its covered yet prominent head again, this time in the context of the policing of an anti-EDL demonstration in Leicester on 4 February this year!

An organisation calling itself Netpol – the Network for Police Monitoring – found the handling of policing in Leicester on the day in question unacceptable, for in its report into the operation it criticises the police for attempting to persuade young Muslims not to demonstrate against the EDL, and for using dogs to help hold them at bay (that last phrase not being found in the report). The key findings of the report are worth quoting, for they betray the innate bias of the compilers:

‘The report was launched at the Highfields Centre in Leicester on Monday 11th June by community youth worker and Netpol campaigner Saqib Deshmukh, who presented the findings to local activists, journalists and a representative of Leicestershire constabulary. Saqib has also helped to train community based legal observers in East London, as part of the initiative to monitor the policing of the Olympics by Netpol partner Newham Monitoring Project.

Key Findings:
• Police, working with Leicester council, put significant resources into a campaign aimed at persuading local people, particularly the youth, to stay away from counter demonstrations.
• The use of the Children Act, which allows police to take under-eighteen year olds to a ‘place of safety’, was unacceptably used as a ‘scare tactic’ to further dissuade young people from attending demonstrations
• Police maintained control over the movements of local people, making Leicester effectively a ‘no go zone’ for young Muslim men.
• Police used substantial force to control groups of Muslim youth, including the use of kettles, baton strikes and police dogs, leading to one young man sustaining dog bite injuries.
• Stop and searches were carried out under s60 Criminal Justice and Public Order Act, a police power that does not require suspicion of an individual. Although the number of such stop and searches was not high, all reported searchers were of people of Asian appearance. Powers to remove face coverings and scarfs also appear to have been disproportionately used against Muslim/Asian young people.
• The facilitation of the EDL appeared to take greater priority than the facilitation of counter demonstrations.’

The clear thrust of the report seems to be that the police in England should not be permitted to use English policing methods. Most peculiar. Do you find it reassuring that Saqib Deshmuq has some involvement with the forthcoming Olympics?

The observers involved in the data gathering exercise can hardly be adjudged to take an impartial position, given that they were drawn from TREC (The Race Equality Centre) and something called the Highfields Centre. The Highfields Centre, founded in 1974, hides behind an innocuous enough name, but take a look at its website and you see that it is linked to 44 groups, 15 of which are specifically Muslim, and a number of which cannot be classified owing to their existence only as acronyms. Some of the names of affiliated organisations will I am sure warm the cockles of your heart: Al-Islamia Institute; Ansaar; Bangladesh Youth and Cultural Shomiti; Brit Bangla Progressive Society; Federation of Muslim Org; Leicester Khalifa Highfields Cricket Club; Saracen Archery Club; Somali Development Services Ltd.

The findings of this Netpol report can thus be dismissed as tendentious special pleading on behalf of a section of the Leicester population that neither wishes to acknowledge English law nor wishes to see its implementation continue. The police operation worked well, and there appears to be nothing in this report to contradict this conclusion. However, although The Leicester Mercury referred to the report's findings, it also drew attention to the fact that both Leicester's Mayor Sir Peter Soulsby and the Chief Superintendent Rob Nixon who was in charge of the operation have defended the manner in which it was handled. 

Free Media Training Workshops (but not for You)!

Feel tempted? You could even attend a free media summer school in Sweden! Sorry, but they are not for you, but for ‘migrants’, for which read immigrants. Friday 22 June will witness the Free Media4All Conference (a nasty example of sub-literate titling if ever there was one) which will be hosted at London Metropolitan University. As you can see from the programme reproduced below, it is aimed squarely at providing yet more opportunities for immigrants to tell us why our country is their country, and why we are all the better for their being here. Of course, the fact that many immigrants will wish to say such a thing is only natural, but why should this initiative be sponsored and who is behind it? What benefit accrues to the indigenous population?

The Migrants Resource Centre turns out to be the driving force behind the conference, and it may come as a surprise (or not) to some readers that this organisation possesses charitable status (registered charity number 291789) and is also registered as a limited company (number 191162). Why has such an obviously political group been given charitable status? Also backing the conference and Swedish summer school is the website www.thenewlondoners.co.uk which is also devoted to propagandising the immigrant message that London is now theirs, and another body called Migrants and Media whose web address www.migrantsandmedia.eu no longer seems to be functioning. As to the aim of the Migrants Resource Centre, it is best stated in its own mission statement: 

‘Migrants Resource Centre has a vision of a British Society in which migrants and refugees are empowered and valued for their contribution to society.’ 

Interesting, is it not, that it has specifically chosen to substitute the term ‘migrants’ for ‘immigrants’, thus displaying its deep commitment to the ‘no borders’ movement and the concomitant assertion that we possess no right to political self-determination in our own country.

The conference programme reads as follows:

The MEDIVA project at London Metropolitan University invites you to an exciting and free media conference for migrants – a day of media related discussion, knowledge sharing and workshops in partnership with the Migrants Resource Centre

Register for this free media conference for migrants and learn practical skills and improve your confidence in journalism, radio, photography and engaging with the media.

Programme

9:30 – 10:00     Registration and refreshments

10:00 – 10:15   Welcome (Migrants Resource Centre)

10:15 – 11:00   Diversity in the Media: presentation and discussion on the MEDIVA testing of diversity indicators (London Metropolitan University)

11:00 – 13:00  Workshops running simultaneously:

‘Journalism: Telling your story effectively’

‘Practical skills in radio journalism’

‘FOCUS ON THE EDGE: digital story telling with photography’

‘How to be a media spokesperson’

13:00 – 13:45   Lunch

13:45 – 15:45  Workshops running simultaneously:

‘Journalism: Telling your story effectively’

‘Practical skills in radio journalism’

‘FOCUS ON THE EDGE: digital story telling with photography’

 ‘How to be a media spokesperson’

15:45 – 4pm     Closing remarks

Ridley Scott's 'Prometheus': a Review

Ridley Scott's 'Prometheus' has been long awaited in some quarters, and whilst the film proved to be entertaining and at times visually impressive, it represented to a considerable extent a lost opportunity, in which plot and dialogue were sacrificed to predictable chase scenes and others that looked more akin to computer gaming than to cinematography. H.R. Giger's influence upon the look of the film remained heavily in evidence, not only in its depiction of the Aliens themselves, but in the interior settings on a far-flung moon: a dark, menacing and tormented fusion of industrial metallic and organic forms.

Shot in 3D, 'Prometheus' was at its most spectacular when displaying Iceland's desolate scenery of ice, rock and water and the Cuillins of Skye; the wild landscape wrought by the blind forces of nature trumping the artifice of the human programmers. 'Prometheus' set out to be mythic, dealing as it did with the age-old questions of human origins, mortality, evil, fear and more recent preoccupations with the employment of science and technology for good and for ill. This was how the film was set up, but the promise of the exploration of these themes was left unfulfilled, leading to a less satisfying second half. In part, it proved to share its premise with the bizarre Raëlian Movement, but whereas this contemporary cult believes our putative creators to have been 'benign', 'Prometheus' takes quite the contrary position.

In reaching into the future 'Prometheus' delved into the past, with some of its early scenes involving the archaeological investigation of a newly discovered cave on the Isle of Skye, containing artwork said to be 45,000 years old; its depictions of horses' heads clearly inspired by the stunning Palaeolithic paintings from Chauvet cave, and of humans by the current fashion for claiming that ancient Europeans were black. Without wishing to give away the plot in its entirety, this quest for origins became conjoined with the search for a futuristic version of the fountain of youth and of the transcendence of space and time.

It thus seemed strange that an expedition costing a trillion dollars revealed upon arrival at its destination that its members appeared to have been selected more upon the basis of the criteria employed in the making of 'reality' television than those used in scientific and commercial exploration. The archaeologists were overly emotive and irrational (removing helmets on another world: had they never considered the possibility of bacteriological contamination?), the geologist seemed to be temperamentally unstable and a number of other crew members did not seem to be particularly bright. Having spent a trillion dollars on an interstellar expedition, surely Earth could have furnished a rather better crew than this?

European Palaeolithic Art: Chauvet Cave

Strangely, the most interesting character - David - proved not even to be human. The scene in which he attempts to communicate with another being in reconstructed Proto-Indo-European is certainly one of the most memorable in the film. Weyland Corporation employee Meredith Vickers in a way forms a female complement to David, albeit human and possessed of a similarly icy and emotionless demeanour; beautiful, yet strangely sexless. The pair form a natural foil to the irrational and emotive archaeologists, but it is clearly the flawed and very human Elizabeth Shaw with whom we come to empathise.

'Prometheus' is at times a good-looking film, at others an ugly one, and contains the occasional shock and a number of stomach-churning moments for the squeamish; but it is underscripted, underplotted and lacks a satisfying conclusion. Originality is absent, and even its best characters are two-dimensional. Thus, it is a long way removed from the original Alien film, Blade Runner or Gladiator, but it does make for a reasonable couple of hours entertainment on a rainy afternoon. If you want to know more, then you will have to watch the film yourself. 

Of Meteorology and Migration: Flooding Expected

Well yes, it does look as if the rather dismal beginning to summer is set to bring more flooding, certainly if the forecast for the coming weekend highlighted by Paul Hudson on his blog proves to be correct. However, it is not only flooding of a literal nature that may be afflicting England in future, but a human deluge too, precipitated by storms of a rather different type: the economic ones battering the member states of the Eurozone.

The European Union, and the Eurozone in particular, appears to have entered an age of constant crisis. In the case of Greece, bailout package has succeeded bailout package, each one being heralded as the ‘solution’ and an end to the crisis, only to give way to another wave of panic as the country’s economy shrinks and the consequent need for capital necessitates another massive injection of cash. Fears of contagion grow, with Spain and Italy seen as being the next in line to default followed by Portugal and Ireland. The Spanish economy totters and its banking system begins to quake, leading to another bailout package that looks to be nothing more than a stopgap. Worried eyes now alight upon Italy, but Mario Monti denies that his country is in need of a bailout.

With unemployment rising as rapidly in Greece and Spain as their incomes are falling, freedom of mobility within the EU means that increasing numbers of economic migrants are likely to flock to England owing to the perception that it offers better prospects than their own countries, despite our own dismal economic plight. However, with the Spanish and Greek unemployment rates already standing at circa 24% and 22% respectively, a migratory flow born of desperation is comprehensible, although not from our perspective desirable. If the bailout packages for the two countries fail, what impact will this failure have upon their respective ailing economies? A mass migratory pulse seems likely, and the Home Office acknowledged at the end of May that it was already planning for such an eventuality following a possible fragmentation of the Eurozone associated with a Greek exit from the currency. I may be proved wrong, but I suspect that such ‘plans’ are little more than a few soundbites being readied for deployment when the human wave breaks, explaining that “Our hands are tied. We can do nothing to prevent this.”

More clearly than ever, the folly of EU membership and its no borders policy is hitting home. I bear no animus towards the Greeks, Spanish, Italians or any other people in Europe either collectively or as individuals, but one single incontrovertible fact that we need to face up to is this: we have room for no more people in our country. We already face a demographic crisis, born largely of the dismantling of our border controls and immigration from the former colonies and other non-European states. For all of the media focus upon European immigration, it is immigration from Asia and Africa, particularly Muslim immigration, that has added substantially not only to our numbers in recent decades (particularly since the advent of the Blair Government) but also to our social tensions. A mass influx of Greeks, Spaniards and Italians would place great pressure upon our housing stock, labour market, transport infrastructure, health and other services, but it would not challenge the code of values upon which our society is based, unlike the immigration that has emanated from Africa and Asia.

The EU represents a failed experiment and as such should be dismantled, allowing each member nation to regain its sovereign right to political and economic self-determination. Greece may find an exit from the Eurozone painful in the short-term, but might this not ultimately be its best option?

Although Edward Gibbon wrote his magnum opus the ‘History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire’ over two centuries ago, his observations as to the benefits of the political fragmentation of Europe in his own day as compared to its unity under Roman imperial authority seem apposite when discussing the EU today:

The division of Europe into a number of independent states, connected, however, with each other, by the general resemblance of religion, language, and manners, is productive of the most beneficial consequences to the liberty of mankind. A modern tyrant, who should find no resistance either in his own breast, or in his people, would soon experience a gentle restraint from the example of his allies, and the apprehension of his enemies. The object of his displeasure, escaping from the narrow limits of his dominions, would easily obtain, in a happier climate, a secure refuge, a new fortune adequate to his merit, the freedom of complaint, and perhaps the means of revenge. But the empire of the Romans filled the world, and when that empire fell into the hands of a single person, the world became a safe and dreary prison for his enemies. (Vol. 1, p. 94).

The governing orthodoxy of the ruling elite is that were Europe to return to such a state of political fragmentation, then tensions would likely result in World War III. This threat has been repeatedly wheeled out by advocates of the European superstate, and constitutes a blatantly cynical attempt to impose a form of soft authoritarianism through proposing a false either/or juxtaposition between ever closer and tighter economic and political union and resurgent European fascisms. Millions of us across Europe desire neither, and instead favour a return to Gibbon’s patchwork of independent states, where liberty will always find a place to flourish.

A new Europe after the fall of the Treaty of Rome?

Marine Le Pen wins in Hénin-Beaumont

Reuters have confirmed that Marine Le Pen has won the first round of voting in the town of Hénin-Beaumont by taking 42% of the vote. As she has not won more than 50% there will be a second ballot next Sunday, so victory is not yet in her grasp. Her arch-opponent Jean-Luc Melanchon came third, and has thus announced that he will not be standing next week, recommending instead that his supporters vote for the Socialist candidate Phillipe Kemel. When the Front National looked as if they would win the mayoralty of the town in 2009 by securing 39% in the first round, all other candidates bar one stood down and recommended that their supporters vote in favour of the one remaining opponent. Melanchon's decision to stand aside indicates that this tactic is about to be repeated, but can Le Pen win anyway, for she is after all starting at a higher baseline of support than in the mayoral election? The contest in the town looks set to have a nailbiting finish. Background on the race, including information on a rather controversial flyer campaign, can be accessed by clicking here.

UPDATE
Across France as a whole, the Front National took the third largest share of the vote. Marine Le Pen's niece - Marion Le Pen - managed to top the poll with 34% in Vauclause, and thus will also enter next Sunday's runoff. The GalliaWatch blog reports that the Front National has made it into the second round in 61 of the 577 constituencies, rather less than its high watermark of 133 in 1997.

Marion Le Pen - First in Vauclause

Tommy Robinson's Rochdale Speech 9 June 2012

The two videos below were shot outside of Rochdale Town Hall yesterday at the EDL demo. In them, Tommy Robinson/Stephen Lennon attacks the failure of the social services and the police in acknowledging and facing up to the problem of Muslim paedophile gangs, differentiating between the rank-and-file police officers, who he thinks do a good job, and their politically correct superiors who have prevented them from effectively protecting young girls from this pattern of abuse not only in Rochdale, but in many other towns and cities across England.

A tweet by a BBC journalist yesterday led to unfounded rumours about Lennon setting fire to a Qur’an. Instead, he initially held it aloft in a plastic bag “because supposedly, I’m not worthy enough to touch it. You can pass 47 of our youth around your community and rape them and abuse them, but I can’t touch this book.” He then proceeded to remove it from the bag and hold it next to a cigarette lighter, stating that children are being brainwashed by schools into believing that Islam is a religion of peace. Given that allegedly only 3% of the population is Muslim, why is it then that are 80% of grooming cases are perpetrated by Muslims? “Why are they so overrepresented when they are raping our youth?” He made reference that another nine men had been arrested in connection with the Rochdale case, but stating “That is the tip of an iceberg.” He stated that 60 girls in Derby and 100 in Blackpool had been victims of such crimes, and that cases had also occurred in Huddersfield, Rotherham. In “[e]very single city that has an Islamic community, they are raping, pimping and abusing our youth.” He then went on to state that “There is a court case next month in Oxford with another seven Muslim men and another 50 of our kids aged 11 to 14.”

Following this enumeration of cases of Muslim paedophile grooming, members of the crowd chanted “burn it”, urging him to set light to the Qur’an. However, he desisted from doing so, citing as the reason his unwillingness to offend decent, peaceful Muslims belonging to sects such as the Sufis and Ahmadiyyahs who wish to coexist with us. An Ahmadiyyah EDL supporter named Abdul was then invited to join him in front of the crowd: “We accept that there are some Muslims who are proud to be British” stated Lennon, who also pointed out that Abdul found verses such as Surah 4 Verse 3 objectionable. Instead of burning the Qur’an, Lennon urged supporters to read it so that they could become acquainted with its negative content, reiterating that you can hate a religion and an ideology, but not a group of people.

One surprise that emerged from the speech (perhaps some readers will already be aware of this) is that Lennon claims to have a Muslim second cousin who was also a victim of multiple rape.

In closing, he drew attention to the fact that Muslim gangs targeted all non-Muslim girls, not just English girls, for such a pattern of abuse has occurred with young Sikhs being targeted. Lastly, he stated that “we have to form a movement in every town and city where we can defend ourselves.”

 

Hénin-Beaumont: Le Pen versus Melanchon

Today the first round of the French elections to the 577-member National Assembly will take place, with the second round being held in a week’s time. Given the economic and political turmoil besetting the Eurozone, this election will have particular significance for the future tenor of policy within its constituent states and for the EU more widely.

Hitherto, the Front National has not won a seat in the National Assembly under the current first-past-the post system (under proportional representation it managed to take 35 seats in 1986), but it is estimated that the party could possibly, rather than probably, take up to 8 seats on this occasion. It is in the town of Hénin-Beaumont that the most interesting constituency contest looks set to take place, with Marine Le Pen standing against Left Front leader Jean-Luc Melenchon. Across France the Front National has been scoring between 12 and 18% in opinion polls over the past month, with those from the past week suggesting a level of support between 14 and 15%. However, in Hénin-Beaumont the popularity of the Front National is considerably higher, which coupled with Marine Le Pen’s profile, could result in a win for the party.

Hénin-Beaumont is twinned, rather appropriately given its closed pits and post-industrial malaise, with Wakefield. Even the light industry that replaced mining, notes the BBC, is closing down and moving out, such as in the case of a Samsonite factory which shut five years ago, its jobs being outsourced to Eastern Europe with half of its workforce remaining unemployed today. The ‘enormous factory floor is now home to squatters.’ Clearly, this is not a town imbued with a sense of optimism, its economic plight serving as an indictment of globalist free-market policies. Le Pen’s approach therefore, ought to possess a strong appeal in the constituency.

Traditionally, Hénin-Beaumont has been a Socialist stronghold, but in 2009 the Front National secured first place in its mayoral election with 39% of the vote in the first round, but alas, it was defeated in the second ballot owing to all other candidates standing down and uniting around a left-wing independent Daniel Duquenne. If Le Pen does not take more than 50% of the vote today, it is therefore likely that opposing candidates will once again stand aside and recommend that their supporters unite against the Front National. However, this in itself should not be a cause of despair for Le Pen, for Duquenne’s victory in 2009 was secured by a very narrow margin: 52% to 48%. The most recent test of popularity for the FN in the constituency was the presidential election, and Le Pen came out on top with 35%. Will she therefore be able to break the mould of French politics and win a seat? Such a victory appears to be plausible.

Jean-Luc Melanchon is a visceral opponent of the FN, the Galliawatch blog noting his recent comment that "Our objective remains to defeat the FN, to eradicate it politically, we will do whatever is necessary until we have the last word." (from an interview published in Direct Matin June 5, 2012). His bad tempered totalitarian tenor is accompanied by a vigorous anti-French position as expressed in his recent statement that “There is no future for France without Arabs and Berbers from the Maghreb.” Quite the contrary Monsieur Melanchon, I think that you will find that France will possess no future other than as a mere geographical and historical expression if the demographic inroads made by these North African peoples continues.

Flyers displaying these two statements have been circulating in Hénin-Beaumont, but who has produced them is a matter of uncertainty. It has undoubtedly made the irascible Melanchon furious, but why, given that he has said these things and presumably believes what he has said, should he be angry? The flyers after all, are only informing voters of what Melanchon stands for. One of them, admittedly, is in poor and rather inappropriate taste, featuring a doctored image of Melanchon set against the backdrop of a concentration camp, presumably as a retort to the constant unjust accusations of ‘Nazism’ thrown at the FN (Madonna, the superannuated enfant terrible, apparently made a cheap and inaccurate 'political' point whilst performing in Tel Aviv last week, appearing onstage brandishing an AK47 with a projection of Marine Le Pen with a swastika on her forehead as a backdrop). The other however, is reproduced below and features his quote on Arabs, Berbers and his de facto support for the end of France. It is only fair that the voters know what this man believes, and as such, these flyers fulfil a useful function. 

What, if any role, will this negative publicity play in the campaign? Whatever happens, the contest in this French town in desperate need of economic regeneration is going to prove to be a very interesting one.

Blackpool Charlene Downes Demo

Whilst a large EDL demo gets underway in Rochdale today, the Casuals United blog reports that a demo demanding justice for Charlene Downes is taking place in Blackpool. This is said to have drawn circa 60 demonstrators from a variety of groups including the EDL, SDL and Northwest Infidels. There have been a number of previous demos by the EDL in connection with this case, most having been of a larger scale than today's. For those unacquainted with its nature, the following post providing useful background information: Blackpool EDL Demo: Justice for Charlene Downes.

EDL Rochdale Demo Coverage: 9 June 2012

As news comes in about this event, updates will be posted here throughout the day. Until information becomes available, it will perhaps be useful to provide a little context for why the EDL has chosen to stage a demonstration in Rochdale today.

The demo has been prompted by the recent conviction of a gang of Rochdale Muslims at Liverpool Crown Court for the grooming of English girls, with these nine convictions being followed up by further arrests and a police hunt for an additional 40 suspects. At least 47 girls are believed to have been victims of the gang sentenced in Liverpool. What has angered members of the EDL, and many members of the public who have read reports of the case, has been the fact that the police and social services had been reluctant to act upon information relating to this case for fear of being branded ‘racist’. Clearly, when such a fear overrides the duty of social workers to protect the vulnerable and police to investigate crimes and arrest criminals, something is seriously amiss both with our legal system and the mode of politically correct thought that it imposes. Moreover, much of the media reporting relating to this case, particularly the BBC’s coverage, has been deliberately inaccurate, seeking to hide the faith background of the criminals by dubbing them ‘Asians’, which in itself constitutes a racial slur against Sikhs, Hindus, Chinese, Japanese and anyone else originating in the vast continent of Asia.

Underpinning the grossly distorted and biased reporting of this phenomenon is the NUJ Code of Conduct, Article 9 of which reads:

Produces no material likely to lead to hatred or discrimination on the grounds of a person’s age, gender, race, colour, creed, legal status, disability, marital status, or sexual orientation.

This singles out ‘creed’, hence presumably the BBC’s coyness about identifying the Islamic identity of the child rapists, and preference for opting for the blanket term ‘Asians’ which encompasses more than one racial group and thus enables its journalists to state that they were not writing anything that could be construed as discriminating upon a racial basis.

Additional NUJ guidelines have been explicit in stating that any party or group that it deems to be ‘far right’, in which it includes the EDL, should not be reported in an objective fashion and should instead be stigmatised. The reporting of any card-carrying member of the NUJ cannot therefore be trusted to provide an accurate representation of an EDL protest or what the EDL stands for.

It is not the first time that supporters of the EDL have taken to the streets of the town, for in March 2011 a protest took place that was met by violent counterdemonstrators (a report of this demonstration can be read here and videos viewed here). Rochdale has witnessed other protests relating to the Islamic issue this year, with an anti-halal protest at a local ASDA in January, a Northwest Infidels (EDL splinter group) demo in February and a local demo in Heywood later that month connected to apprehensions about the Muslim grooming issue which, owing to the actions of a few troublemakers, later resulted in a small number of violent incidents. Rochdale therefore is not a town at ease with itself, and it would behove social services, local politicians and the police to acknowledge and address the real problems that Rochdale faces rather than pretending that they did not exist. It is because of this official reluctance and absence of objectivity that the EDL has seen it necessary to hold the protest, so when local traders complain about the EDL ruining their business on a Saturday, they should instead be directing their complaints to their negligent councillors and telling them to tackle the problems that the EDL highlights, for then such protests would not be necessary and their business would not be disrupted.

Rochdale voters should take note of the attitude of MP Simon Danczuk who has clearly indicated in Mancunian Matters that he wishes to continue to ignore the root cause of this issue, and thereby potentially facilitate further grooming:

“Tomorrow’s ‘protest’ is nothing more than an attempt to stir up racial tensions and incite violence.

“The police are fully prepared to deal with this and the protest will be outside of the town centre, which will be open for business as usual.

“I would urge everyone to continue to support local shops and businesses.”

Danczuk’s statement is a nastily cynical appeal for Muslim votes. It is the ignorance of people like him that has allowed real violence to be perpetrated against English girls by those of a radically different ethno-religious background. If he continues to be blinded by the ‘diversity’ dogma, the voters of Rochdale should ensure that he is ejected at the next General Election, and that someone who does acknowledge their concerns is put in his place.

The Casuals United blog outlines arrangements for the demo as follows:

Coaches please make your way to Sandbrook Park OL11 1RY where you will be met by the police and escorted to designated EDL muster point for drop off.

People arriving at Rochdale train station will be transferred by bus to the muster points.

The muster points are Yate’s and the Flying horse. Postcode OL16 1ND and OL 16 1NJ.

A short march will begin at the Flying Horse at 13.30 to the demo point where speeches will be made.

UPDATES
Hope Not Hate reports that a 'local group' named Rochdale Unity will be gathering today at the same time as the EDL to mount a 'counter protest'. However, it must be borne in mind that this is no ordinary 'local group', but as is spelt out quite explicitly on the Socialist Workers Party website, a 'local' Trotskyist front group which seeks to capitalise upon the EDL demo to draw in misguided Muslims and locals alike to further the SWP's subversive strategy of undermining our democracy and our right to exist as a people. Local MP Gerald Kaufman, a number of trade unionists (including members of the National Union of Teachers) and anti-democratic organisation UAF have all given their backing to the Rochdale Unity demo. On the Muslim social networking site named yanabi.com Mohammed Shafiq stated that he had made a speech at the counterdemonstration. Shafiq claimed that there were about 100 present at the Rochdale Unity protest. The declared purpose of yanabi.com: 'reviving the spirit of Islam.'

The Halifax Courier reports that 150 EDL supporters gathered in Sowerby Bridge this morning to catch the train to Rochdale. It employed the mandatory NUJ stigmatising label of 'far-right' to describe the EDL, whereas it referred to the convicted Muslim paedophile gang as simply being 'Rochdale men' as in line with Article 9 of the NUJ Code of Conduct as quoted above. However, it did concede that they had been peaceful.

As of 13:06, the Hope Not Hate blog was claiming that 500 EDL had arrived in Rochdale. This contrasts with an estimate of 600 posted on the EDL Forum at 12:26. According to Greater Manchester Police (GMP), no arrests had been made as of 14:03. However, a GMP Tweet of 14:10 stated:

'Four local youths have approached demonstratrors, which caused a standoff. Reports of 'attacks' are exaggerated.'

Quite what was meant by 'local' in this context was not clarified.

According to a Tweet by BBC journalist Catrin Nye, Tommy Robinson/Stephen Lennon had taken to the 'stage with a koran and a fag lighter.' However, the GMP later Tweeted that this statement had been incorrect, and that only EDL posters had been burnt. According to a GMP Tweet issued at circa 14:30 a total of eight arrests had been made, although it was not stated who had been arrested. The demo finished at circa 15:30.

Surprisingly, when the BBC did get around to posting a report on its website at 19:35 it refrained from labelling the EDL as 'far-right' which makes a refreshing change, and even went so far as to make reference to the Pakistani and Afghan origin of the convicted groomers who had been resident in the town. In continuance of what appears to have been a rare piece of straight matter-of-fact reporting from the BBC, it went on to cite the GMP's Chief Superintendent John O'Hare as saying that the scale of arrests - 11 in all - was "not uncommon for an event of that size" and that "I do think it is testament to the organisers themselves who worked with us to ensure the event passed off as peacefully as possible." Although the piece was short, the absence of the usual venom churned out in line with NUJ diktat was welcome, but is this merely a momentary aberration in its reporting of the EDL, or does this mark a new departure? Whatever the case, the EDL organisers are clearly to be congratulated in doing a good job of keeping the protest in good order.

As with the Halifax Courier, the Manchester Evening News chose to describe the EDL as 'far-right' and provided a lower estimate of the number of demonstrators than other sources, claiming that there were 400 in all. It also reported that there had been a total of eleven arrests, ten being made at the protest and one at the counterdemonstration. However, Greater Manchester Police noted that the protest had "passed off peacefully." 

A video of Tommy Robinson's demo speech can be viewed by clicking here. 

The official EDL promo video for the demo can be viewed below.

Greece’s not so Golden Dawn

The behaviour displayed in this video from Greece today is disgusting. A member of Greece’s Golden Dawn party is depicted assaulting a rival politician in a television debate. This is not the sort of action befitting someone who claims to love their country and their people, and from what I have seen of the Golden Dawn so far, it looks to be a very unpleasant outfit indeed. It would seem that violent sentiments are bubbling to the surface from a variety of political sources in Greece, which can only serve to make the country’s miserable situation still worse.

Ed Miliband’s bloodless Conception of Englishness

This morning Ed Miliband delivered a speech at the Royal Festival Hall, ostensibly addressing the question of England and its relationship to the United Kingdom, even touching upon the nature of English identity whilst predictably recoiling from recognising the English as a distinct people. Naturally, the fate of the United Kingdom is of rather more than theoretical concern to the Labour Party, for if Scotland were to become independent, it would remove a large tranche of Labour MPs from Westminster, perhaps depriving the party of the chance to again form a government in a truncated union or England.

That Miliband has bothered to mention England and the English highlights growing Labour concern that the party has lost touch with the English working class, and must be seen as in all likelihood prompted by Jon Cruddas who is working on a policy review intended to renew Labour’s appeal to its traditional support base. Whereas Miliband’s speech was not billed as such, its content could thus be viewed as presaging the tentative introduction of the ‘Blue Labour’ concept (although 'Blue Labour' is said to have been "effectively disbanded" in July 2011, the party would be wise to heed its recommendations with respect to immigration and its critique of neoliberalism) of which Cruddas is said to be one of the leading exponents, occupying to a certain extent the territory claimed by the ‘Red Tory’ idea. Although both seek to capitalise upon a sense of English alienation from mainstream political parties generated by the latter’s promotion of globalisation and mass immigration, the ‘Blue Labour’ and ‘Red Tory’ approaches affect concern about these issues, whilst neither tackling them nor wishing to do so. Each is fashioned so as to present a reassuring message to the electorate, an anodyne for the dying English patient which is being ushered out of existence to make way for new blood from overseas.

Returning to the ‘substance’ of Ed Miliband’s speech, he emphasised how he believes that “multiple allegiances” are stronger than single ones and that the “debate about nationhood and identity can’t be left to one part of the United Kingdom.” As ever, although this speech was billed as being about England and Englishness, Miliband could not restrain his enthusiasm for globalist internationalism from breaking through, referring to the need “to embrace a positive outward looking version of English identity” and an outward looking patriotism. Heaven forbid that the English should for a moment reflect and perceive themselves to be a distinct nation and people bound by common ties of culture, history, language and descent!

Miliband, as in previous speeches, employed the parental refugee theme, outlining his parents’ flight from Nazism and subsequent settlement in England, which whilst offering them “a new home . . . allowed them to stay true to who they were.” In this way, he underscored his belief in multiculturalism: “Britain is a country where you can have more than one identity; more than one home.” Yes, that is the case, but it does not strike me as desirable for swathes of the population here not only to self-identify as Pakistanis, but to also possess Pakistani passports, Pakistani attitudes and a Pakistani animus towards the English. “Multiple allegiances” in this case are no “source of strength”, but rather one of discord and weakness.

One of the most striking aspects of Miliband’s speech was that he repeatedly referred to the Scots, the Welsh and the English and the “false choice” that was proffered between these various identities and Britishness. Of course, in this respect he is correct, for we are all native peoples of the island of Britain and thus by definition simultaneously a member of one of these three peoples and British, but it did seem to be telling that he did not acknowledge the real problems that can arise from cleft identities nurtured by multiculturalism such as ‘British’-Somali or ‘British’-Pakistani, etc.

In mentioning English culture, Miliband emphasised that musicians, artists and scientists were characterised by their “constantly moving across national boundaries”, and his speech was peppered with references to being “outward looking” and “internationalist”. In other words, whilst purporting to address and acknowledge the importance of England and Englishness, Miliband was simultaneously reducing England to a territorial expression and Englishness to a bloodless malleable cultural construct essentially devoid of substance, continuity and distinctiveness. By adopting such a vapid approach to the question of England and Englishness, Miliband was thereby able to talk about “English identity [which for the Labour Party] has tended to be a completely closed book that people have shied away from.” Although Miliband may today have opened a book whose cover displayed the Cross of St George, its contents consisted of the same old Labour globalist internationalism. Whilst those such as Miliband may think that Englishness consists of nothing more than a flag and a bit of bunting, the English themselves know this not to be the case.