I am delighted by the apparent sea-change in media opinion on the treatment of refugees, but concerned that in modern society compassion only seems able to operate in a wave of emotional hysteria rather than as a fundamental, underlying everyday principle. There is also a danger that those arriving in the Mediterranean and Balkans are viewed, quite wrongly, as in some way different from those in the awful camps at Calais, who have been demonised all summer, reaching its peak when a child being killed by a train led to vicious media headlines about delays to British passengers.
Cameron and May’s apparent willingness to budge at least minimally in admitting more from Syria must be matched by a willingness to admit those from the Calais camps who are genuine refugees. I still have a home in Ramsgate from which you can actually see France. I for one am willing to make accommodation available at no charge to help out in the crisis.
These are troubling times. In London the National Youth Centre has cancelled a play, Homegrown, which explored Islamic radicalism, because it had an “extremist agenda”. By this they mean that it did what it was meant to, it explored the reasons that attract young people to terrorism including a revulsion at western foreign policy and the alienation from society of urban youth in a society that values materialism above all but increasingly restricts access to prosperity and choice. These are precisely the issues that modern playwrights ought to be considering, if they are worth anything.
However it goes against the government’s insistence that radicalisation is nothing whatsoever to do with our invasions and bombings of Muslim countries or the huge and burgeoning wealth gap in our society. We are supposed to view terrorism as a spontaneous outbreak of pure evil, for no reason. So the play was cancelled, after consultations between the National Youth Theatre and the Metropolitan Police. When you have the police deciding on the content of plays, you really are on the road to being a fascist state: we already have the police involved in what can be said in universities under the government’s definitively illiberal Prevent strategy.
Just as there is still no official admission that our invasions and bombings greatly boosted terrorist organisations, so there is still no official admission that the wave of terror and destruction we helped unleash on the Middle East, either by direct invasions or bombings or by proxy, by funding and through the Gulf States, is the root cause of much of the refugee crisis. It is good we are moving a tiny way towards helping. We should do very much more. And acknowledgement of our own culpability in the crisis should be an essential part of a new attitude.
Twoleftfeet
“habbabkuk, you need to update your English urban dictionary, we don’t say chump or twerp these days.”
________________
Who is “we”?
Has Mr Goss infected you?
‘We’ the British, you plank.
Well how else will they create a Greater Israel, they must remove the inhabitants first.
If I were your line leader, I would withdraw you from the frontline. Compassion for Assad enemy Arabs combined with your silence at the Arab victims of Israeli violence kind of gives your game away. Must try harder, Hinge and Bracket.
And lets not forget that Assad pere wasn’t opposed to the odd massacre or that his not so secret police had something of a reputation.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1982_Hama_Islamic_uprising
Anyone who describes Syria as a peaceful country even more the present mess is clearly an Assad sycophant.
I have plenty of sympathy for the Palestinian victims of Isreali violence and vice versa. What I don’t do is try to use one type of violence to justify an other. One of my fist lessons at Methodist Sunday School was two wrongs don’t make a right – and although I am agnostic I still believe it is a good principle to follow.
Mary spits “The Koala bear (of little brain like Pooh) from Downunder makes a totally incorrect assumption about my religion.”
Tsk, tsk, Mary. That sounds a little racist seeing that my geographical location and ethnicity is altogether irrelevant in matters of global political discussion .. which you don’t do because you haven’t the faculties to articulate a coherent argument.
“Who is “we”?
Has Mr Goss infected you?”
Habba you forget that they are fans of the despotic kind of monarchy and so can believe in the royal “we”.
You and principles, give me a break. You’re a (selective) warmongering loon with the morals of a rat. I might not post very often but I do observe your behaviour as well as your mate habbabkuk and the masks are slipping. Must do better!
I have no affiliation with Assad but have noted how he has defended the minorities of Syria and he has dealt with the worlds media and neocon governments attack on his country. By attacking him you simply confirm your support for the liver eaters and Israeli interference.
Try to stay calm, anger induces mistakes.
Note the sudden rush of the comments by the same brigade of the keyboard warriors spamming the board concurrently pigeon English included.
The same bunch who will be sending proof of posting for their ten dollars a day retainer spewing the parasitic zionist “wisdom” ad nauseam. Hardly able to disguise their racist and supremacist world view, all the while verily believing they have fooled the natives pretty well!!!
“Hardly able to disguise their racist and supremacist world view”
Oh you mean the one that most Syrians want neither Assad or Isis or any of their allies.
Twoleftfeet
I’m sure your mother and the Assad monarchy love you. Is your inability to count beyond two alternatives related to your cloven hooves?
Although the majority of the refugees may originate from Syria, most in fact have arrived from Turkey where they have been living (for several years in many cases).
The sudden influx of refugees into Europe is therefore less about is happening in Syria and more about what has been going on in Turkey over the past weeks. What has happened? I haven’t got a clue.
Twoleftfeet.
RD.
Is a well know if somewhat tiresome protagonist, who bats for the establishment, whilst claiming to have a fair view on international matters, excuse me whilst I take my tongue from my cheek.
Occasionally he posts a comment that’s actually worth reading, but when his buddies Anon1 and Habb, don’t like the direction the comments head in, (usually anti-establishment or the berating of Israel) they tag-team specific commentors, normally it’s John Goss or Mary or Macky, today however, you’re the lucky fella.
A United Nations report has said that you are more likely to be physically assaulted in Scotland than any other country in the world. 1,200 out of every 100,000 people were assaulted in 2013, double the rate in England and seven times the average for the rest of the world combined.
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/scotland-assault-capital-world-according-6391138#ICID=sharebar_twitter
Time Nicola lost her delusions of grandeur, stopped swanning around pretending to be a world leader and concentrated on governing the country she is paid to govern.
On topic. An excellent poem that includes some pointers for some on here.
Wake-Up Call
by Scott Thomas Outlar / September 6th, 2015
http://dissidentvoice.org/2015/09/wake-up-call-2/
Twoleftfeet
“I have no affiliation with Assad…”
____________________
“affiliation”? And it was you who was berating me for my use of English??
Mary: …Did you mean Fox’s mouthings on the Iran deal Winkletoe?…
Sorry I was a bit slow to reply. I meant this…
Verity Fox Warmongers for Atlantic Bridge (WatO 4.9.15)
The Good Doctor Fox urging a “revote” on invading Syria. One suspects it would pass through the Commons more easily.
Tories won’t hand back corrupt businessmans party donation, I’m sure David Camreron will soon reward him with a peerage, afterall he gives them out like confetti.
The Conservatives have been been called on to forfeit over £1.6m in donations from a disgraced businessman who was the party’s treasurer in Scotland.
An SNP spokesman said the financial contributions by Malcolm Scott – who had a 66 month Bankruptcy Restriction Order placed on him last week for misconduct – should be surrendered.
http://m.heraldscotland.com/news/13648740.SNP__Tories_should_hand_back_donations_from_disgraced_businessman/
Here are two questions the Excellences won’t be in a hurry to answer.
!/. The overthrow of the beastly and oppressive President Mubarak was rightly welcomed by most of the Excellences on here.
Why did the very same Excellences not welcome with the same vigour the uprising against the equally beastly and oppressive Assad regime?
2/. The overthrow of the Muslim Brotherhood government in Egypt by the beastly and oppressive General Al-Sissi was roundly condemned by most of the Excellences on here. Rightly so.
Why was the crushing of the popular uprising against the equally beastly and oppressive Assad Junior – before it was hijacked by ISIS – not equally roundly condemned by the very same Excellences?
Off you go! I’ll be back this evening to read the silence. 🙂
i. too am bewildered by the confusion wrought by a little alliteration. Confounding isn’t it? Let’s have some simple sentence structure for the sake of the mentally lazy, shall we? I’ll work on it.
Assad is a monster of Blair/Cameron proportions, only less stealthy.
Beth,
Regarding your sister-in-law and her two children, consider writing to your MP, or attending a local councillor’s public surgery.
An MP (from the North of England I think) was on the TV last week saying a number of his constituents were writing to him to ask him how they could offer their spare rooms to refugees.
Interesting. http://veteransforpeace.org.uk/2015/letter-on-the-refugee-crisis-by-charlie-bird/
To Habba and his mates. We are all not as unaware as yourself.You need to get out of your pajamas although it looks like its to late for you old chap.
http://veteransforpeace.org.uk/2015/perfidious-albion-and-the-war-in-syria-by-steve-jefferies/
There is one question Habbabkuk has not been in a hurry to answer.
Are you one of the few who does not think Netanyahu is a war-criminal?
Yesterday he totally ignored it.
As to Resident Dissident – well – same old same old. Calling Assad a despotic monarchist when it is NATO countries bombing the life and soul out of former peaceful countries and vilifying their leaders. Creating pariahs is a pastime of our governments to set up their so-called arab spring coups (regime change) at the same time supporting the real monarchic dictatorships like the House of Said. But the House of Said should be aware it is only a few years back when John Kerry and his wife were cosying up to Bashar al-Assad and his wife.
The west cares not where it creates failed states, Vietnam, Afgahnistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria or Ukraine. It thinks it is establishing democracy. Resident Dissident cannot see the difference between trying to escape a war-zone and seeking a country which is equated with the western-funded arab spring (failed state).
“Strangely omitted from this list of culprits is Assad who actually did the bombing that drove out most of the refugees when Syrians objected to his regime in the Arab Spring, Putin who supplied most of the hardware, Iran who supplied further military backing and the terrorists of Hezbollah.”
In this one sentence he has managed to try and vilify Iran, Russia (a favourite of his “Blame Russia”) and Lebanon, which has been, along with Palestine severely bombed by Israel. Are you Resident Dissident another of the few who do not think Netanyahu is a war-criminal?
“Was it all about getting the people out and then bombing the place to smithereens?”
And how would you suggest that we deal with your friends in ISIS? Not that your other friend King Assad II is against a little bombing.
“at the same time supporting the real monarchic dictatorships like the House of Said.”
Where and when – pleas at least try and provide some scraping of evidence for your lies in future
“In this one sentence he has managed to try and vilify Iran, Russia (a favourite of his “Blame Russia”) and Lebanon, which has been, along with Palestine severely bombed by Israel.”
There is no vilification of the long suffering Palestinians or the Lebanese in the sentence – and the vilification is of Putin not Russia – the same old lying crap and distortion from Mr Goss I’m afraid. Assad bombs and starves Palestinian refugees btw.
Yes Netanyahu, Hamas, Assad, Putin (in Chechenya) and Hezbollah have committed war crimes – to say nothing of your old friends Saddam and Ghadaffi.
resident diss just cannot bring his “methodist” self to declare the deranged lunatic net an yahoo as a war criminal! He has to bring in what aboutry and boatload of others in the same sentence!
Furthermore anyone opposing the zionist parasites is declared a terrorist (Irgun, Hagana were women’s institutes cake baking circles) and a poopy pants. Although no one will ever sus out resdiss cuz he is so awfully clever; keeps shutting his eyes and he is invisible to all!
Assad was running a country that took four million Iraqi refugees and never once groaned about the costs and the stresses on his country and the Syrian society, but that is not counted is it?
Assad close to being knighted under Blair perfidiousness is an understatement.
Jemand troll often bemoans the lack of ‘debate’ implying that he has superior intellectual powers.
Debates with racist trolls are an impossibility.
PS Still linking to Condell. Suggest Pamela Geller or Donald Trump for a change.