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.
Jemand
“As Kunwar Shahid recently wrote in Pakistan’s Friday Times, we Pakistanis incessantly lament the evils of Western imperialism and cite a “foreign hand” for all our troubles, but we vehemently defend the most devastating and long-lasting imperialism we’ve ever been subjected to: the “foreign hand” of seventh-century Arabia and its Islamist ideology, which cancerously continues to eat away at us to this day.’
From –
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ali-a-rizvi/a-conversation-between-tw_1_b_5733362.html2
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The man’s living dangerously, Jemand – no doubt a fatwa will folow in due course….
habbabkuk, which reports have you seen where the refugees have blamed Assad as their reason for fleeing? If, as you claim this popular revolution was so popular, why are so many Syrians laying their life on the line fighting in the SAA? Why is Damascus regarded as a reasonably safe haven (currently) for hundreds of thousands of Syrians and why is Assad still very popular in Syria? You and your team are so busy trying to get rid of Assad for the benefit of Israel that you completely ignore facts. Have you any comment to make concerning Israeli treatment of injured Al Nusra terrorists in their hospitals? Do you regard Al Nusra as being good and ISIS bad? How do you view the constant violation of Syrian airspace by Israel?
Habbabkuk, quite right regarding housing and its (lack of) affordability. It’s very bad in Oz and prices going up on the back of unprecedented migration levels and foreign “investment” (embezzled Chinese state finances). The common problem, and I know I am altogether alone in thinking this, is one of overpopulation made worse by ignorant calls for more poor, non-English speaking people to join the endless unemployment queue and take housing that should be availed to the existing homeless and strugglers. It’s like calling for more wood as the house burns down.
And yes, the silence is deafening from the council of the pure when the script has nothing to say about the feasibility and consequences of their crackpot demands. “Compassion” is just a thought-terminating buzzword used as a passive-aggressive siren to shut down debate. When it all turns to shit, they will scurry of like the cockroaches they are, denying involvement in and responsibility for their part in driving the UK down.
Remembering another little one Ali who was burnt alive and his father who also died in the arson attack.
Condition of mother of slain Palestinian toddler deteriorates
Sept. 5, 2015
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=767452
NABLUS (Ma’an) — The health of Riham Dawabsha, the mother of an 18-month-old Palestinian toddler who was killed in an arson attack carried out by Israeli settlers at the end of July, has deteriorated further, leaving her in critical condition, her family said Saturday.
Muhammad Dawabsha, a relative of Riham’s and also a doctor, told Ma’an that her blood pressure was extremely low and she was not responding to any treatment.
A spokesperson for Tal HaShomer Hospital could not be reached for comment, although Israeli newspaper the Jerusalem Post reported that the hospital had said “her life was in immediate danger, and that the coming 24 hours were vital for her.”
Riham, 27, suffered third-degree burns to 90 percent of her body in an arson attack on her home in the southern Nablus village of Duma on July 31.
Her 18-month-old son, Ali, was burnt alive in the attack, while her husband, Saad, 30, succumbed to his wounds a little over a week later.
Their four-year-old son, Ahmad, was also severely burnt in the attack, although Muhammad Dawabsha said Saturday that his condition had improved.
Muhammad added that Saturday was Riham’s birthday.
Twoleftfeet
Assad Junior is a brutal, murdering swine of a dictator, as was his father. His cuntishness is matched, but not necessarily exceeded, by that of the fanatical members of ISIS.
However matters turn out, be assured of one thing, you West-hating, dictator-loving ignoramus – when Assad is finally kicked out – as he will be – he will enjoy the millions he and his family have been salting away abroad for decades. Unlike the poor devils he has, directly or indirectly, caused to be driven out of his country.
And now, woth great respect, be silent.
Another child, Bilal, a boy aged 11, is shot in the thigh whilst fishing with his father off the Gaza coast.
Israeli forces shoot, injure child of fisherman in Gaza
Sept. 4, 2015
GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Israeli forces shot and injured a Palestinian child near the shores of the Beit Lahiya village in the northern Gaza Strip, medics said.
Medics told Ma’an that Bilal Abu Amro, 11, was shot in the thigh while he was with his father, a fisherman.
He was taken to Kamal Adwan hospital for treatment.
An Israeli army spokesperson told Ma’an they were unaware of the incident.
Palestinian fishermen making a living off of the shores of the besieged Gaza Strip face daily risks, including routine harassment from Israeli naval forces, confiscation of boats and materials, detention, and potentially death.
At least three Palestinian fishermen have been shot dead by Israeli forces since September. Israeli forces often allege that fishermen deviate from the designated fishing zone and pose a security threat.
/..
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=767427
Mods’ night off?
Mr Goss
““Who are the “we” apart from the signers of the petition?”
The many thousands who do not want their names on the security services books.”
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A very convenient argument, Mr Goss. And, of course, unprovable.
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“The many thousands who consider Netanyahu to be a war-criminal.”
__________________
Fewer, probably, than those who consider Assad Junior to e a war criminal against his own people.
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“Are you one of the few who does not consider him to be a war-criminal?”
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Absolutely right, Mr Goss. Just replace the word “few” by “many” and you’d be even more spot on.
Twerp.
Time for the Transatlantic Ignoramus to speak:
“Your Majesty? PM Cameron? Where are ye?
“Finland’s prime minister has offered his private home in northern Finland to asylum seekers, at a time of massive flow of refugees to the Western Europe through land and sea.
Juha Sipila told state media that his home in Kempele, located in 500km north of the capital Helsinki, could be used to accommodate asylum seekers after the end of the year.
“We should all look in the mirror and ask ourselves how we can help … My house is not being used much at the moment. My family lives in Sipoo [east of Helsinki] and the prime minister’s residence is located in Kesaranta,” Sipila told public broadcaster YLE.””
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Pure gesture politics, coming from the PM of a country which has welcomed rather few asylum seekers and refugees compared to most other Western European countries (and in particular its next door neighbour Sweden).
For some unfathomable reason, very few asylum seekers and refugees seem to wish to settle in Finland.
Even fewer, I suspect, would wish to spend the winter 500 kms north of Helsinki.
Chump.
Mary
“Mods’ night off?”
_________________
Or, in translation:
“Oh please help me, Mods, do some deleting, that nasty Habbabkuk has pushed me into a corner and I can’t think of any good answers and my friends remain strangely silent; how can you let him bully a poor old woman so? BwaaaHaaa.”
With which, a very good night to you all (Original Trolls excepted).
http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/New-UN-report-reveals-collaboration-between-Israel-and-Syrian-rebels-383926
The Jerusalem Post giving the details of the UN Peacekeeping Force report from the Golan Heights :
” The documents show that Israel has been doing more than simply treating wounded Syrian civilians in hospitals , and a few past reports have described transfer of unspecified supplies from Israel to the Syrian rebels…………etc ”
So what would Israel have in common with Syrian Jihadists , and what would the political reaction be from Tel Aviv’s beach users ?
I see he is retiring hurt. Miffed that he could not make me rise to his taunts. An infantile and unpleasant troll who infests this blog and detracts from its good reputation.
My reference to the absence of moderators is due to the fact that Jemand’s muck has not been deleted and that he is still commenting.
Wasn’t there an EU plan to bomb the boats that Syrian refugees might wish to use to ‘escape’ , could this plan work? Is there any EU nation that might have the necessary military experience? Bombing boats, not refugees. . .
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11508594
Let’s not assume emotion other than shadenfreude or arrogance attends our trolls or their enablers. Only the most craven personality disorder could lead the herd of sycophants to attach themselves to Hab’s square-wheel wagon and pull their burden with oxen-like obedience. Their pathology is complete with hero-worship. What a hoot !
I’m not sure about the Kiwis but the Aussies are up to drowning children to avoid supporting them in camps.
The heightened state of anxiety and psychosis of the zionist support parasites is reflected in the copious numbers of the vile posts of these disgusting specimens. The plans for the “defense of the realm” had not envisaged the stream of the Muslims and Christians streaming into Europe (unintended consequences are a bitch).
The fact is zionist scum have leaned come to expect as their inalienable right to maintain the mushroom treatment (keep them in the dark and throw manure at them) of the Europeans. These new comers are getting the Muslim and Arab population to a critical mass that will start expressing itself politically. Hence bringing to an end the uncontested narrative of the zionist scum. This is an intolerable competition that the keyboard warriors assigned to this blog and elsewhere cannot stomach!
Hence the tugging of the heart strings of the “natives” by recourse to their; bigotry, prejudice, they (Muslims/immigrants) take our jobs, women, state benefits, houses, schools, ……. all the while attacking those other “natives” whom are supportive of the “competition”.
As in evidence jemand the purported “atheist” whose vile imagination has me and Macky as the same person (simply cannot face the extent of the failure of the mushroom treatment of the Europeans) , and its despicable remarks about women. Truth be known if he ever saw me, he/she/it will shit him/her/itself pronto!
Fact is the zionist supremacists have no stomach for any kind of competition of any kind, hence their efforts to thwart any kind of probable competition.
BTW have you noticed Osborne delivering the “killer blow” (Cameron has not the balls and is floating the idea and flying a balloon up to see which way the wind is blowing?); “evil Assad regime” which of course conviviality overlooks the simple fact that these refugees are not streaming out of the Syrian held territories and in fact are running away from the Daesh the Western created barbarian brigands.
It is ominous that a fatal case of Ebola has occurred in Sierra Leone, just as the six week case free period was ending. The lady who died lived in a village in Kambia in the north of the country bordering Guinea.
Sierra Leone village in quarantine after Ebola death
4 September 2015
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-34151494
The Ugandan Asians and later the Vietnamese ‘Boat People’ initially were accommodated in old RAF barracks and so on. Habbabkuk, I do not think the ultimatum of calling on individuals to have people stay with them in their flats or houses need be applied. Obviously if people have room and are willing to offer places, then all power to them. But I do not think people should be made to feel guilty if they cannot afford, or do not have the space in their bedsits, etc. It’s really a red herring here. As with those previous exoduses or refugees, this is a stat-wide response to a man-made humanitarian catastrophe.
Satan is alive in the form of George Carey, ex Arch of Canterbury. He advocates a spot of bombing.
‘It’s not enough to send aid to refugee camps in the Middle East. There must be renewed military and diplomatic efforts to crush the twin menaces of Islamic State and al-Qaeda once and for all. Make no mistake: this may mean air strikes and other British military assistance to create secure and safe enclaves in Syria.’
According to him, it’s all to do with rescuing and saving Christians but he lets slip his distaste for Muslims in his polemical essay.
‘Some will not like me saying this, but in recent years, there has been too much Muslim mass immigration to Europe. This has resulted in ghettos of Muslim communities living parallel lives to mainstream society, following their own customs and even their own laws. Isn’t it high-time instead for the oil-rich Gulf States to open their doors to the many Muslims who are fleeing conflict? Surely if they are concerned for fellow Muslims who prefer to live in Muslim-majority countries, then they have a moral responsibility to intervene.’
Lord Carey: Britain has a duty to rescue Syria’s Christians
Accepting refugees from UN camps won’t help this persecuted group, which has been driven into hiding
5 September 2015
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/11846651/Lord-Carey-Britain-has-a-duty-to-rescue-Syrias-Christians.html
He should consider openly supporting Farage’s crowd.
He should also remember the 6th commandment ‘Thou shalt not kill’.
For Carey, read Hollande and Osborne.
France ‘may extend airstrikes on Isil to Syria’
President Francois Hollande is studying the possibility of sending French warplanes to attack Isil in Syria, as George Osborne says “evil Assad regime and the Isil terrorists” must be dealt with at source http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/11846298/France-may-extend-airstrikes-on-Isil-to-Syria.html
5 September 2015.
Was it all about getting the people out and then bombing the place to smithereens?
And of course, George Carey omits to mention that the situation is what it is in Syria and Iraq (and Libya) precisely because of too much, not too little, ‘intervention’ by NATO et al. the Christians in Syria and Iraq were thrown out as a consequence of the US/UK invasion and destruction of Iraq and all the catastrophe consequent upon that war criminal act. Syria too has been a focus of clandestine (US/UK/France/Saudi) and overt (Turkey, Jordan, Qatar, etc.) NATO attention form 2011 onwards. We caused all of this. We – menaing we and our allies in the region – are the reason Arab Christians are being killed and expelled.
http://www.jpost.com/Not-Just-News/Israeli-prof-John-Lennons-utopia-would-actually-be-a-nightmare-for-Jews-and-humanity-415151
It is sad that in the last 48 hours when ordinary peoples compassion for those whose ‘ life is not good ‘ has blossomed into action and support , driving their political elites to act , is subject to nit-picking derision on this blog for displaying their compassion openly . Meanwhile in the country who call refugees ‘ infiltrators ‘ , those for whom ‘ life is good ‘ are driven to attack John Lennon’s vacuous but well meaning and humane song ‘ Imagine ‘ as a threat . Herzl’s dream continues on its nightmarish journey.
Mary I hear Satan and his minions regularly attend Sunday school ran by Carey!
This is the shades of the Macedonian border Kosovan refugee flood, that was used as an excuse to attack Yugoslavia/Serbia.
I don’t want to sound trite, but have you noticed the numbers of portly refugees filmed and the shaven well groomed refugees getting interviewed?
Mary
05/09/2015 11:10pm
It is becoming clearer and clearer that this sudden publicising of the refugee crisis is a pretext for an attack on Syria.
I find it amazing that a former Archbishop of Canterbury would permit himself to be manipulated in this way, but I regret to say that there is very little doubt about it, reading this article. Indeed, it is so transparent as to be embarrassing.
Kind regards,
John
Pulcinella (23h!8)
“It is sad that in the last 48 hours when ordinary peoples compassion for those whose ‘ life is not good ‘ has blossomed into action and support , driving their political elites to act , is subject to nit-picking derision on this blog for displaying their compassion openly .”
_______________
Shame they don’t display their compassion in a more practical manner, isn’t it.
Stick to commedia dell’arte, Pulcinella.
+++++++++++++++++++++
Habbabkuk says: internet compassion is easier than giving house room to a refugee.
“Stick to commedia dell’arte, Pulcinella.”
In your case pulcinella should be putenesca.
Suhayl
“Obviously if people have room and are willing to offer places, then all power to them.”
_______________
I couldn’t agree more. Did I do more than suggest that certain people – vociferous here on this blog – might consider doing so?
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“But I do not think people should be made to feel guilty if they cannot afford, or do not have the space in their bedsits..”
______________________
Again I agree entirely. The people I had in mind (they know who they are…)can both afford and certanily do not live in bedsits.
“It is becoming clearer and clearer that this sudden publicising of the refugee crisis is a pretext for an attack on Syria….”
Astonishing but true. This article, in today’s Toronto Star, actually suggesrts that Assad is much worse than ISIS. The writer Mitch Potter clearly made some profitable contacts while covering Israel for the Star.
http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2015/09/04/saving-syrias-ocean-of-little-alan-kurdis-analysis.html
“the overwhelming evidence suggests it will be the indiscriminate weapons of Syrian President Bashar Assad — including illegal barrel bombs dropped on residential areas by regime helicopters — that kill them.
No serious analyst of the Syrian civil war believes otherwise. The latest damning indictment of Assad’s killing machine came this week in a new report from the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR), which said the regime was responsible for 82 per cent of the 2,236 children killed between Jan. 1 and Aug. 31, 2015. That’s 1,883 Syrian kids so far this year, compared with 104 killed by the Islamic State and 58 killed by the international coalition at war with ISIS.
The UN Security Council, in closed-door testimony earlier this summer, was presented with new documentation showing that while all parties to the conflict are killing civilians, the use of barrel bombs by Assad’s forces now is responsible for the vast majority. French UN Ambassador François Delattre emerged from the session telling reporters, “This primitive, crude, cheap method of war is by nature indiscriminate. And it is inhumane.”…
Crude stuff, raw propaganda from warmongers in a hurry to let no crisis pass unexploited.
Maybe you could recoup your integrity and empathy to offer accommodations in your flat, since you rarely occupy for want of online obligations to your employers. stop requiring of others what you yourself in stingy attachment, refuse based on your narcissism.
John Spencer-Davis, I think you are possibly correct in that.
Although the attitude seemed to change on Thursday, when the body of poor little Aylan Kurdi was washed up on a Turkish beach, and Britain was shamed because of its lack of action over the refugee crisis, if you look at the media, everything from the Guardian to the Sun, they are still pushing the meme of hoardes of young Muslim men invading Europe. With regard to Britain this is totally ridiculous, because out of the millions of refugees only a couple of thousand end up in Calais, trying to get to across the Channel.