Having been roundly defeated in the Court of Appeal, and with it now established beyond doubt that the UK knew that Binyam Mohammed was being tortured by the USA, Miliband has the massive effrontery to welcome the decision.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/blog/2010/feb/10/david-miliband-binyam-mohamed-statement
The truth about the government’s complicity in torture is becoming established beyond doubt. I am still shocked about the virtual media blackout on my own evidence to the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LF9spgagSHI
But am comforted that the forthcoming dramatisation of Murder in Samarkand with David Tennant will do more for popular understanding than dry evidence ever could.
We will never see justice, but I would strongly support the calls for a public inquiry into UK complicity with torture. Preferably of an inquisitorial kind; but even the cosy conversations of the Chilcot committee have thrown up some truth.
“Bet you wish you’d stayed in bed this morning, eh, with Mr Robinson perhaps?”
Given the available evidence, this is an extremely odd conclusion to arrive at.
That’s not a definition of something that exists.
It’s an aspiration.
They’re the last things that are definable, for obvious reasons.
Well, I think multiculturalism exists as a concept, as well as a practical reality. Though we can aspire to improving it, as you say, and we should.
But why are you so opposed to it? Is segregation, or apartheid, better in some way? How?
“I’m still waiting for your definition of multiculturalism. I am beginning to suspect, though, that you do not want to define it, because that would reveal it to be harmless, if not actually rather positive. But surprise me.”
“I’m still waiting …”
He came here telling us all to read some writer or other, with some fantastically applicable description of UK society. The tyranny of repressive gun laws, etc. Oh, well it’s self evidently not a description of the UK, only a fool would think so; but it _could_ be, if only everybody else would do the work of making it fantastically applicable. Then, no, no, it says something very important about ‘multiculturalism’, but he won’t say what.
In short, there’s no evidence that he has anything to say at all, except that we should all read this thing, and it’s up to us to guess why. No evidence, in fact, that he’s read it himself, or understood a word of it if he did.
A remarkably ineffective advertising campaign.
“A remarkably ineffective advertising campaign”
On which happy, and perspicacious note, good night, all.
@ Jon
“Well, I think multiculturalism exists as a concept, as well as a practical reality. Though we can aspire to improving it, as you say, and we should.”
Multiculturism certainly exists as a project, a policy, an aspiration, an engineering of the social sphere. I’m not so sure it has reality and existence as an achieved.
But still, your idea that different cultures can live together in an improved way, shows at least that you have insights and potential that are lacking in technicolour and Mr Robinson.
On apartheid and segregation, fwiw, I’ve opposed both when they were real live issues, as did the vast majority of my generation.
I remember when racism was a real live issue just as others will have remembered when anti-semitism was a real live issue, before they became disgracefully appropriated by particularly nasty political projects, who sought to use them to dominate others for advantage.
@Nurse:
“I’m not so sure [multiculturalism] has reality and existence as an achieved.”
Not sure what you mean by this. Is that a reference to the imperfectness of multiculturalism e.g. cultural segregation in Britain by choice? That does happen, though our streets are still multicultural in reality even if complete harmony and acceptance is not possible (hey, all races are still only human).
“On apartheid and segregation, fwiw, I’ve opposed both when they were real live issues, as did the vast majority of my generation.”
Glad to hear it! 🙂
“… before [racism and anti-semitism] became disgracefully appropriated by particularly nasty political projects, who sought to use them to dominate others for advantage.”
Would love to respond to that, but of what “nasty political projects” do you speak? Zionism, perhaps?
But surely multiculturalism is not merely the fact that we have a diverse culture, as we obviously have. It’s the making of special laws about it.
It’s the making of extra laws to ensure people have the correct attitudes.
The nasty political projects are quite simply those who have exploited anti-racist legislation in the West to attack critical enquiry.
The Zionist or right-wing Israeli project accuses everyone who criticises it of anti-semitism, even if they are Jews. That’s how bad they are.
They’ll destroy your career if you criticise them, even the careers of brilliant Jewish intellectuals.
We see a similar thing, on a much smaller scale, when we look at the career of former Met Commander Ali Dizaei.
There are many more examples of abuses of multicultural legislation, so much so indeed that the majority community lose faith in the project.