blogolob

As one looks at the - entirely correct - reactions from so many Muslims in the UK, it becomes clear that the Gillian Gibbons affair has little to do with teddy bears or Mohammed and everything to do with throwing up a smokescreen to help Sudan continue to resist UN and Western efforts to halt the rape, slaughter and ethnic cleansing in Darfur.

Now, Jean-Marie Guehenno, the United Nations peacekeeping chief, has said that the obstacles raised by Sudan are putting in doubt the planned deployment of a peacekeeping force for Darfur.

“Do we move ahead with the deployment of a force that will not make a difference, that will not have the capability to defend itself, and that carries the risk of humiliation of the Security Council and the United Nations, and tragic failure for the people of Darfur?” asked Guehenno.

So it seems that, once again, the UN is proving itself to be completely and utterly fucking useless. What a surprise.

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The BBC has dug a little deeper into the Sudanese political scene, particularly with regard to overseas aid workers and ex-pats, in this article by Jonah Fisher.

During the two-and-a-half years I lived in Sudan, expatriates were regularly targeted by the authorities.

Aid workers who provided information about human rights abuses in Darfur were often arrested or expelled as spies.

On one occasion a small private party of aid workers and peacekeepers in Darfur was violently broken up by national security and one of the women was sexually assaulted by an officer.

The story that appeared in newspapers the next day was of a Western orgy having been halted.

In view of some of the incidents reported in this article and the apparent naivety of Gillian Gibbons, I wonder, “Does the Foreign Office issue sufficiently strong warnings and adequate guidelines to those British citizens who work or intend to work in this region?”

This is Hamas’ statement sixty years after the United Nations voted to partition British-ruled Palestine into two states, one Jewish and the other Arab.

“from the river to the sea” includes all of Israel, of course.

They’re sketches from The Armstrong & Miller Show and now, thanks to Will from A General Theory of Rubbish, I’ll pay more attention in future.

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Naming a teddy bear ‘Muhammad’ is not incitement to hatred.

But by pretending that it is, aren’t the Sudanese authorities ridiculing Islam?

They must free Gillian Gibbons, now.

The FA’s Chief Executive, Brian Barwick, plans to discuss the question of the next England manager with the captain, John Terry, and various football notables including Sir Trevor Brooking, Arsene Wenger, Sir Alex Ferguson and Sir Bobby Robson.

“I think it’s really important to gauge what they think about the situation. The critical question is what is needed to take the England team forward. We have to get it right this time.”

This time? What about last time? Wasn’t Brian Barwick the man responsible for appointing Steve McClaren to the job, a man who is at best a slightly better than average club manager?

We need someone far more knowledgeable to be in charge of the selection of the man on whom the hopes of much of the nation rest. I suggest that Mr. Barwick might be better qualified to choose the name of the next Blue Peter dog or (not that I’d wish this on him) a classroom teddy bear in the Sudan.

After an average start to this season’s Championship campaign which sees them currently in 13th position, the board of Burnley FC have shown their ambition by making a managerial change. The new man is Owen Coyle, the ex-manager of St. Johnston who has been awarded a 3.5 year contract after gaining a reputation for positivity, ambition, drive and… well… winning matches. He has also been described as ‘the new Bill Shankly’. Preparing for his first match in charge, Coyle insists the team will go all out to deliver attractive, attacking football in their quest for success.

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The Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh, temporary home to some 36,000 Muslims who have fled human-rights abuses and religious persecution in Burma. (via normblog)

When Jack, my eldest boy, was 5 years old he watched “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone”. A few days later he asked me “What’s a philosopher?” I said that philosophers were people who thought about the important questions in life and, not being able immediately to think of a better example, added that for instance they considered questions like ‘do we really exist?’

“Do we exist?” I asked him.

“Well, we’re talking aren’t we?” he replied.

A Guest Post by Clyde

Upon her return to the UK, Gillian Gibbons will be accorded celebrity status. It is scripted: there will be interviews both by tabloids and on TV, and there will inevitably be a book contract. She will enjoy her moment of fame.

And, she will follow the by now all-too-predictable multicultural meme: she will express affection for and tolerance of the savages who jerked the west around yet again, and use her pardon for the crime of “religious insensitivity” as an example of reason and negotiation over force.

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In retrospect, she should have ‘done a Blue Peter’ - counted the votes and announced that the winning name was ‘Ahmed’.

This is what can happen when one doesn’t keep up with the latest BBC ‘updates’ to the democratic process.

The horrific story of the 19 year old Saudi woman who was gang-raped and then sentenced to 200 lashes by the Saudi authorities after she refused to keep silent about her ordeal is recounted by Daniel Howden in The Independent.

Reading Daniel Howden’s article, one learns that, as a result of this case, the young woman’s lawyer, Saudi Arabia’s foremost human rights advocate, has been suspended and has had his passport confiscated, that the Saudi Justice Ministry has launched a deliberate “campaign of defamation” against the girl and that her own brother has reportedly tried to kill her.

As a result of her refusal to keep silent, her punishment has been doubled by the Saudi Authorities. What’s really angered them is the massive overseas publicity this case has generated. Frankly, I’m not surprised. This horrific story and the way that the Saudi authorities have dealt with this unfortunate young woman and indeed their attitude to women in general just reminds the rest of the world, if a reminder was needed, what a primitive, violent and sick country Saudi Arabia is.

If it wasn’t for the oil, what free and democratic country would want anything to do with them? The fact that we do trade so extensively with them should give us no pride whatsoever.

Following the shocking news of the arrest in Sudan of British primary school teacher Gillian Gibbons, for the crime of allowing a teddy bear to be named Muhammad, blogolob is alarmed to learn that thousands of primary schools up and down the UK, are planning to put on plays whose central character will be a doll called… Jesus.

For goodness sake, can I beg these schools to stop this madness before things go beyond the point of no return. I fear for the safety of our teachers.

H2Om

I am in favour of free speech. So, if Nick Griffin (racist leader of the BNP) and David Irving (a discredited Holocaust denier) wish to hire a hall and make speeches they should be permitted to do so. 100%. Provided of course their speeches are legal and don’t insight racial hatred or violence.

However, for the juvenile publicity-seekers of the Oxford Union to give these two pieces of shit a platform by inviting them to talk on a debate on ‘free speech’ is wrong.

I completely agree with Trevor Phillips, the Commission for Equalities and Human Rights, when he says: “This is not a question of freedom of speech, this is a juvenile provocation” and admire the stance of MP Dr Julian Lewis who has resigned from the Oxford Union over this sorry affair.

The war on terror is over. Norm has a leaked ‘Spooks’ exclusive on the very latest from MI5.

Dave (davem) writes a series of posts at Harry’s Place about his life in Syria from July 2006 to August 2007.

These pieces provide some stunning insights into the politics and mindsets of that country and are well worth reading.

If you’ve ever been spammed…