A Happy New Year To All My Readers with Sam the Sham the Pharaos

Not quite midnight as I post this. In fact it's early evening UK side. However since most people will be going out partying tonight I thought I would take the opportunity to say Happy New Year to all my readers.

Just a quick tune tonight from Sam the Sham the Pharaos and their classic song Wooly Bully for no ther reason than I like it and haven't played it for years!

See you all in 2019!

Funny He Never Married - A Holiday Interlude.

I came across this little sketch whilst listening to some records the late great June Whitfield had sung on. I'm not sure what show this originally appeared in but it's amusing though the current generation would probably run to a safe space the moment they cottoned on to the joke here.

I don't think the BBC would broadcast this these days either. Might request it though.

Sometimes the old days were better........

Marty Feldman & Tim Brooke-Taylor tell us the story:

2018: At the Gates of Hell?

Photo: By Jean-Pierre Dalbéra

A few days later than advertised I thought it was time to put fingers to keyboard once again. I can hardly say pen to paper as so few of us do that anymore. In fact The Daily Telegraph reported a couple of days ago that the young generation were "embarrassed" to send "thank you" letters as they were afraid of misspelling and thought their handwriting was dreadful. The shame.

But seriously we don't "write" in the traditional sense anymore. We type. We don't send letters, just e-mails and PM's. We don't even need to go out to talk to our mates anymore. Everyone (except this blogger) has one of those mobile telephone things or can talk to loads of people all at once on Facebook as well as antagonise people we don't like.

My dislikes are political rather than personal but I have found my views and approach to politics is changing. In part because I now read a greater range of political views and factual content than I could before the advent of the Internet and find my tolerance levels varying on the subjects I choose to discuss, blog or when feeling a little belligerent rant about!

Al of us are prone to these changes and as social media expands with more members of wider society commenting on political and social affairs than ever before we are faced with an avalanche of opinion, some true, some false, some requiring taking sides, most forcing us to take a side. The demand of the internet is ever endless.

This year more than ever has been a challenging one. In part due to the fact that this time last year I was in intensive care, in pain and paralysed. I got worse in the new year losing 40% of my body-weight and virtually giving up until with the help of doctors and the encouragement of nurses and physios I learnt to talk, eat and eventually even walk again. I am deeply indebted to the NHS which is and always should be there for all of us, our families and friends to use. 

Free at the point of entry and part of the welfare state that is necessary to prevent those too ill or incapable of falling into abject poverty and despair. The one we have is far from perfect and there will always be demands for more no matter how much money is spent on these services.

The key to that success will be a stable and strong economy based on profitable businesses with workers paid a fair wage and taxes paid by all to ensure our safety net including protection from criminals, terrorists and would be invaders are kept at bay.

This country has a rich history which we should be mostly proud of. Britain has made mistakes, taken wrong turns and not always been the good guy but it was the Royal Navy that was instrumental in suppressing the slave trade despite our earlier participation. We need make no apologies or be asked for any for the actions of our forefathers.

The emergence of those wishing to re-write history, pull down statutes and make us feel bad about ourselves have been loud in recent years. Our universities have been centres of suppression of ideas rather than stimulating the necessary debate we need as a nation and humanity to move forward, The past is set in stone. The future is not.

Social media has seen people tear each other apart mostly over Brexit but over censorship trans vs women's rights. The bullies have the upper hand. The opposition party in the UK has become a breeding ground for racism, misogyny and intolerance as the monster around the false messiah takes hold.

Whilst I continue to recover society is becoming ill around me. Intolerance, hate, intellectual bullying both real and subliminal as people become afraid to speak out lest they commit the ultimate offence, to offend someone, somewhere and be denounced for hate speech.

Sometimes it's necessary to take it on the chin or as a Christian might put it turn the other cheek. But there are those who seek to stop us from having a free and open society. The Marxists are rising on the left hiding in plain site behind Corbyn's apron. 

Further to the right there are those who think they are hard done by because they feel forgotten. the white working class, now probably the bottom rung in politicians priorities as they race to be politically correct adding women to their list of victims of the new fascism of political correctness. Big Brother is growing.

This has not been a good year for me, you or for politics in general. The political classes have let us down badly. From Brexit to the demands of the trans-males society is in a mess. There is little hope for change as the current generation of politicians are too useless or cowardly to act. A plethora of new parties have sprung up offering Utopian and bizarre solutions that will satisfy only a small section of society . 

A democratic secular future where discussion is open and free from coercion is the aim we should all have. It may never be reached but should always be striven for. No story, no politician, no holy book should be exempt from a critical appraisal. Those that threaten violence when their ideologies and theologies are opposed or satirised are just weak like ultimately all bullies are.

The fight is on for the individual. Let's make the 21st Century about the rights of mankind. These trump all politics, all religions. Utopian? Perhaps. I live in greater hope than before. Perhaps facing my own mortality has shown me there is nothing else to fear and gives me the strength to take up that fight.

A Merry Christmas to All My Readers - (explicit lyrics)

I would like to wish all my readers a very Happy Christmas. 

Enjoy the holiday and Howie's Corner will return on Boxing Day (unless  the aliens finally show themselves!).

Here's a rather amusing little ditty for you which is not suitable for children.

Take it away ladies!

Boys toys of Christmas past..and present

As we head to Christmas and I see the occasional adverts for toys to be given to children I warmly recall the ones I has as a kid which were frankly far less sophisticated than the ones today. Even simple things like model trains have changed in a direction I would never have dreamed of.

I hadn't delved into the world of models for a while until I saw Jools Holland on the cover of the latest issue of the Railway Modeller. Must get a copy! Jools joins Rod Stewart and Pete Waterman (who has the largest privately owned model railway in the UK (situated in a barn) as known celebrity modellers. So was Hughie Green, but that really shows my age.

I had a 6x4 feet double track layout with a station some sidings an an engine shed with very basic scenery. Most of the trains were Tri-ang Hornby but I did have some Czech and German models that I picked up on holiday. They ran on the same track but confusingly were to a slightly different scale British "00" was 4mm to the foot on 16.5mm wide track whilst Continental & American models were 3.5mm to the foot running on the same track. The latter was the proper scale not that we cared!

Most of my friends only ran British trains so Tri-ang-Hornby was the company for most children of my age. These started with a basic train set and then grew as birthdays Christmases and pocket money helped expand the layout.



Modern Hornby engines include digital fittings which would allow the modeller to add sound and multiple operation on the same track. Amazing.

Hornby Trains can be found here: www.hornby.com

Another "boys toy" was of course Scalextric and allowed children to race cars of various types around some track in the front room . All sorts of extras were available but I never had one of these. Maybe one day...

Scalextric remains a big hobby today having also gone digital but here's a short video of an adaptation of models to play The Italian Job in miniature!



Great fun!

Scalextric can be found here: www.scalextric.com



Then of course there were the Airfix kits. Most us modelled aircraft (mainly from World War 2) but also had those little !:72 soldiers and tanks that were roughly the size of our train sets (1:76)..stop me if I'm being a bit nerdish. I just remember all these things and do sort of keep in touch and do actually have some kit built tanks plus die cast one's that come ready made!

 
The finished product depended very much on patience and skill, especially with the painting which is where being colour blind my problems lay.

Airfix are still very much around and are owned by Hornby. Go to: www.airfix.com

Santa Claus is Coming to Town with Alice Cooper!

Every year I take a break from politics to have a bit of fun and nostalgia. Most people I know are busy preparing for Christmas so here's another number to get you in the mood..hopefully with Alice Coopers take on a traditional Christmas song!

Alice has his own show late evening on Planet Rock on DAB. Tune in!

The Holidays Begin: Twisted Sister - Oh Come All Ye Faithful

The holiday season has started as a lot of people head off to their homes or parents for the Christmas break. I've just got back from a wonderful time at my old workplaces party and it's far too late to start thinking about blogging about serious matters.

So here to start the celebrations is a great version of an old Christmas Carol from Twisted Sister!

Droning on.....

Photo: By ZullyC3P CC

I was a bit late tuning in to the PM programme on Radio 4 and because of Brexit had basically been avoiding the news, so bored of it I am. However there is a problem with someone operating a drone deliberately at Gatwick Airport which has prevented planes from taking off all day.

Whoever the presenter was interviewing suggested that this wouldn't last 5 minutes at Tel Aviv airport, the Israeli military would have put a firm stop to it. The authorities state this is not a "terrorist" incident. It should be treated as such and the perpetrator sent to jail for a long time.

This incident shows how far this country is from being able to deal with such threats. What if this had been a real terrorist threat and not some oik having a laugh, which is not funny for the thousands of people who will now have difficulty getting where they need to be for Christmas.

Just shoot the bloody thing down.

The only thing that isn't droning is our politicians who have all buggered off for their Christmas break leaving the country in a mess as we countdown to Brexit. Talk about brinkmanship. It's almost like playing "chicken" except it's us that will get hurt by the fallout.

It's always the innocent that suffer.

Stupid Woman?

Photo: By Chris McAndrew

The first thing I noticed on Sky News this morning was an annoying clock counting the 100 days down left to leaving the EU probably without a deal from the way things are going. At least preparations have been put more or less in place for that eventuality. I hope...

Meanwhile there's a big fuss about whether old Steptoe muttered "stupid woman" under his breath during a commons debate. I hate the bloke but really there's plenty of their things to knock Corbyn and his deluded flock with, But this? Ridiculous.

It's not sexist to say a man or woman is stupid. It is sexist to say all women are stupid or worth half a man as one leading religion tells us. The use of the words against one woman, the Prime Minister a crime does not make. Anyway Corbyn is a very stupid man full of slogans and lacks intellect. That's not being sexist. That's telling it as it is.

Meanwhile Labour have a real problem and have essentially expelled one of their own MP's The BBC reports:

An MP has been found guilty of perverting the course of justice by lying to police about who was behind the wheel of a speeding car.

Peterborough MP Fiona Onasanya denied she was driving her car when it was caught doing 41mph in a 30mph zone in Thorney, Cambridgeshire, in July 2017.

The 35-year-old Labour MP was convicted in an Old Bailey retrial.

A Labour Party spokesman said she had been "administratively suspended" and called for her to resign.

He added: "The Labour Party is deeply disappointed in Fiona Onasanya's behaviour. It falls well below what is expected of politicians. She should now resign."

The incident happened one week after Onasanya became an MP. Stupid woman is inappropriate in this case. Stronger words about her lying should be used. Criminal is one of them. Perjury is a serious matter.

Musical Interlude - Walking Round In Women's Underwear

Christmas is coming and politics is the same old shite day after day. Brexit, bloody Brexit or Corbyn making a twat of himself. Another outbreak of anti-Semitism in the Labour Party and some mad Mullahs mouthing off nonsense even their fellow Muslims laugh at.

So let's have a little Christmas cheer with this little ditty suitable for those trans-extremists screeching their bleeding heads off everywhere. Y'know Brighton Council is authorising sessions that say even boys have periods. For fucks sake......They'll say Only Fools and Horses is offensive..oh wait some millennials already did.

Still have fun!

Home secretary urged not to adopt definition of ‘Islamophobia'

Cross Post from the National Secular Society

The National Secular Society has urged the home secretary to resist calls to adopt a formal definition of 'Islamophobia' which have been put forward by a parliamentary group.

NSS chief executive Stephen Evans co-ordinated a letter to Sajid Javid on the subject after a high-profile reportfrom the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) on British Muslims.

The APPG's report recommended that the government define 'Islamophobia' as "a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness".

The NSS's letter has been co-signed by six other activists. A shortened version was published in the Sunday Times.

The letter called the APPG's definition "vague and unworkable" and said it "conflates hatred of, and discrimination against, Muslims with criticism of Islam".

"While we believe that in a liberal secular society individuals should be afforded respect and protection, we are clear that ideas should not."

It said the phrase "expressions of Muslimness" could "effectively be translated to mean Islamic practices". At the report's launch its authors indicated that it was 'Islamophobic' for inspectors from the education watchdog Ofsted to question why young girls were wearing hijabs in primary schools.

The report also gave examples of speech which could be declared 'Islamophobic' – for example the claim that "Muslim identity" has "a unique propensity for terrorism".

The APPG's report also outlined five 'tests' which would determine whether speech was 'Islamophobic'. The NSS said these would "clearly render legitimate commentary and debate about Islam beyond the bounds of reasonable public debate".

The letter said erroneous claims of 'Islamophobia' had become "a cover for" prejudice and bigotry rather than tackling it. The signatories also said they were united by their "commitment to tackle anti-Muslim bigotry coupled with the belief that the fundamental right to speak freely is precious and essential".

The NSS submitted evidence to the APPG's inquiry on the matter before its report was published.

The APPG's report acknowledged the concerns raised by the NSS, along with the Southall Black Sisters group which campaigns for the rights of women from minority backgrounds. But it based its conclusions largely on the interpretations of groups which claimed to represent the Muslim 'community'.

In the wake of the report high-profile Muslim groups have pushed the government and major parties to adopt the definition.

According to last week's Observer Harun Khan, secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain, has called on politicians to "understand the importance of listening to communities" and adopt the definition.

Yvette Cooper, the chair of the home affairs select committee, and the minister for faith Lord Bourne responded enthusiastically to the report at its launch.

The government has previously indicated that it does not intend to adopt a definition. In March Home Office minister Victoria Atkins told the Commons that the government did not "accept the need for a definitive definition".

Explaining his decision to write and coordinate the letter, Mr Evans said: "Racism and anti-Muslim bigotry need to be confronted, but proposals to promote the vague concept of Islamophobia seriously risk restricting public discussion and making matters worse.

"People opposing gender segregation in schools, forced hijab wearing and the non-stun slaughter of animals have all been condemned as 'Islamophobic'. It has become impossible to fight for any internal change in Muslim communities without encountering the slur.

"Prosecuting anti-Muslim crimes and challenging bigoted attitudes towards Muslims are both essential in a free society in which citizenship is open to those from all faiths and none. But rendering legitimate free speech beyond the bounds of acceptable debate would be a major error."

Full text of letter

Dear Home Secretary

We are writing to you regarding the recent report from the APPG on British Muslims, entitled 'Islamophobia defined'. We wish to highlight our concerns with the report and to urge the Government to resist its proposal to adopt a definition of 'Islamophobia'. Some of us also highlighted these concerns in written and oral submissions to the APPG inquiry on the matter.

The report includes many examples of anti-Muslim bigotry and hate crimes which should be universally condemned. However, the genuine problems identified in the report will only be exacerbated by adopting the vague and unworkable definition of 'Islamophobia' it proposes.

While we believe that in a liberal secular society individuals should be afforded respect and protection, we are clear that ideas should not. We are concerned that the report's proposed definition of 'Islamophobia' conflates hatred of, and discrimination against, Muslims with criticism of Islam.

The report's core point is that the Government should make it policy to define Islamophobia as "a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness". However, "expressions of Muslimness" can effectively be translated to mean Islamic practices. In a society which is free and open, such practices must remain open to scrutiny and debate.

Further, the report's backers are keen to stress the need to avoid shutting down criticism of religion. However, advancing the report's ill-defined concept of 'Islamophobia' and aligning it with the five 'tests' it recommends to determine whether speech is 'Islamophobic', will clearly render legitimate commentary and debate about Islam beyond the bounds of reasonable public debate.

Far from combatting prejudice and bigotry, erroneous claims of 'Islamophobia' have become a cover for it. LGBT rights campaigners have been called 'Islamophobes' for criticising the views of Muslim clerics on homosexuality. Meanwhile, ex-Muslims and feminist activists have been called 'Islamophobes' for criticising certain Islamic views and practices relating to women. Even liberal and secular Muslims have been branded 'Islamophobes'.

While we represent a wide spectrum of beliefs, opinions and politics, the one thing that unites us is our commitment to tackle anti-Muslim bigotry coupled with the belief that the fundamental right to speak freely is precious and essential.

We therefore seek a meeting with you to further explain our concerns and to seek reassurances that the Government will not treat the civil liberties of British citizens as an afterthought in its efforts to tackle anti-Muslim prejudice. Please do let us know if you would be open to doing so.

Yours sincerely,

Stephen Evans, Chief Executive, National Secular Society

Mohammed Amin MBE

Amina Lone, Co-Director Social Action and Research Foundation, Women's Right Campaigner

Maajid Nawaz, Founder, Quilliam

Yasmin Rehman, Women and Human Rights Activist

Pragna Patel, Southall Black Sisters

Gita Sahgal, Centre for Secular Space

Sunday Supplement at Howie's Corner

Asia Bibi to spend Christmas in hiding



The British Pakistani Christian Association reports:

While the worlds attention is focused on freedom for blasphemy victim Asia Bibi over a dozen other innocent Christians are still languishing in prison cells awaiting their own appeal to Pakistan's blasphemy laws. We remind our readers of those we have to pray for over Christmas.

To the world freedom for Asia Bibi after 9.5 years of brutal incarceration is regarded as a victory for justice, despite no arrest or convictions being placed on the persecutors who had falsified their witness testimonies to imprison Asia Bibi.

Moreover, the Pakistani High Commissioner to the UK, in a meeting with Wilson Chowdhry, affirmed the official position that the appeal process against the acquittal is legitimate and said in no uncertain terms that the court process would run its course, a reality that has been confirmed by politicians and diplomats worldwide. That being said they have all now also confirmed to the BPCA that the Supreme Court hearing of a petition challenging Asia Bibi's acquittal will now be heard in January, meaning Asia Bibi will have to spend another Christmas locked in a room, albeit in the presence of her husband now that she is allegedly free.

Wilson Chowdhry said:

"Despite her joy at being free I cannot believe that Asia Bibi is feeling like much of a winner today. Especially as she remains under police protection in Pakistan at a secret location unable to even exit the room she is in for fear she will be instantly killed, while she is forced to await a Supreme court hearing of a petition in January calling for her acquittal to be quashed.

"Christmas will be a lonely time for Asia Bibi and her husband Ashiq as they spend it together away from other family members as we know the appeal will not be heard before Christmas and is expected during the early part of the new year."

Last free newspaper in Venezuela closes



The crisis in the socialist "paradise" turned nightmare continues with millions fleeing poverty and hyper-inflation caused by President Nicolas Maduro. 

All opposition media bar one had already been been closed by the forces of socialism and yesterday the last edition of the 75 year old El Nacional closed it's doors. The paper was highly critical of Maduros and his corrupt regime.

Th end of feedom of the press in Venezuela

A glimpse into the world of socialism so admired by Jeremy Corbyn and the left around the world. Be warned.

And finally.....

A short little ditty from Kenneth Williams.

A Novelty Musical Interlude

Taking a short break from political blogging tonight here's a novelty song I recall hearing on the BBC Light Service (now Radio 2) back in the sixties.

I'm sure Ed "Stewpot" Stewart played it on that Children's Choice show if you are old enough like me to remember.

Here's Allan...

Support the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain

Cross Post from Maryam Namazie & Sadia Hameed

We wanted to give you an update on the crucial work of Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain this past year, thank you for your support and ask for you to continue to help us, including by donating to our crucial work. Every bit helps and no amount is too small. If you are thinking of donating during the holiday period, CEMB is a great secular/non-religious option doing important work without religious conditions, dogma or proselytizing.

Since it is nearing the end of 2018, we would like to tell you some of the highlights of the year that couldn’t have been possible without the support of our donors:

In January, Maryam spoke at the third anniversary event marking the attack on Charlie Hebdo in Paris and on the importance of mocking religion on French TV.

In February, Sadia went to Australia to speak at the first ever event of ex-Muslims speaking out publicly. She took part in a number of speeches and panel discussions in Sydney and Melbourne and also took part in media interviews. Here is one on Australian TV where she debates a Muslim woman apologist.

On World Hijab Day in February and in the women’s march in London in March, CEMB defended the movement in Iran against compulsory veiling.

In April, Maryam spoke at the 10th anniversary celebration of FEMEN in Paris. They are the topless activists that have worked closely with CEMB in support of apostasy, blasphemy and women’s rights.

On 18 May, CEMB has an “eat-in” in front of several embassies of countries that persecute people for eating during Ramadan. At the Saudi embassy, armed metropolitan police told us we were “offending” staff in the Saudi embassy, to which we exclaimed that their persecution offends us and is a lot more serious than hurt sentiments!

In the same month, Maryam spoke at a seminar at European Parliament on Fundamentalism & Neo-Liberalism in Europe: Their Collusion and Impact on Women’s Rights and Ethnic Minorities Rights. You can see a summary of her speech here.

Maryam also spoke at the Muslimish conference in NYC about ex-Muslims being a “community in protest” (as opposed to community in the regressive sense of identity politics). Here is Maryam’s speech at the conference and the Q&A that followed. Also see a shortened article in sister-hood explaining ex-Muslims as a community in protest.

With the rise of atheism in countries under Islamic rule, we are seeing many more cases of those being persecuted for blasphemy and apostasy. Here is a recent article we have published on the demand for atheism which calls for normalising #AtheismNotACrime. We developed a successful series of publicity materials for it, including for #BlasphemyNotACrime, #ApostasyNotACrime.

On 14 June, CEMB organised a panel discussion on LGBT rights and blasphemy in order to address the accusations of Islamophobia against CEMB at Pride last year. It was co-sponsored by Pride in London, which was important given that Pride was considering barring our presence in 2018. A video of the discussion, including with CEMB Spokespersons Sadia Hameed and Jimmy Bangash and chaired by Gita Sahgal, can be seen here.

In July, CEMB joined Pride in London for the second year (organised by Daniel Fitzgerald). It was a great success for us given that we were not sure if we would be allowed to march officially until a few months before the event. We received tremendous amounts of support. This year we had a much larger group joining us, including a Bangladeshi LGBT group, Boys Love World. A filmmaker Carl Russ-Mohl joined our march and produced a short film on CEMB and Spokespersons Jimmy Bangash. You can see the film here. Spokesperson Imad Iddine Habib explains why “Allah is Gay,” a placard he made first in 2017, which has now been picked up by ex-Muslims from Germany to Canada.

With the International Coalition of Ex-Muslims formed after our 2017 conference (the largest gathering of ex-Muslims in history), we read a poem written by Jimmy Bangash in defence of LGBT rights in countries under Islamic rule.

In July, Maryam worked with MEP Teresa Barbat Gimenez to suggest amendments to the European Parliament’s Committees of Foreign Affairs and Human Rights report regarding Freedom of religion and belief.

In August, CEMB organised a Vegetarian Heathen Eid. Bakra Eid is about slaughtering animals in the most brutal manner. Many CEMB members miss Eid and the time with family but don’t want to take part in a religious event or have anything to do with animal sacrifice so CEMB celebrated Eid the heathen way.

In September for International Blasphemy Day, CEMB members tore verses of the Quran that were anti-apostate and anti-women in a public protest action.

The International Ex-Muslim Coalition also did a video accusing “Ayatollah Facebook” of silencing blasphemers by constantly shutting down pages of ex-Muslims and freethinkers. Here is Maryam’s message.

CEMB sponsored Bullet Hole, a powerful production about FGM, at Park Theatre, for black history month. It is a story of hope, love and human rights played by an all-female cast.

In October, Spokespersons Sadia Hameed and Maryam Namazie conducted a training for 11 Malaysian government officials who are involved in the Islamic religious affairs department, including those implementing Sharia in the law, education and government. We showed them the film, Islam’s Non Believers, and had an extended discussion on apostasy and the right to atheism. They argued that atheists go against “their culture” and that the law must be respected. We argued that unjust laws must be challenged and culture is not homogenous. We stressed the importance of secularism and universal values. Discussions were sometimes heated but it was the first time they had met with ex-Muslims and it helped some of them to understand the awful treatment Malaysian atheists face and humanise ex-Muslims. We also linked it to the treatment of women, religious minorities and LGBT, amongst others.

In early November, at the Freedom from Religion Foundation Convention in San Francisco, Maryam awarded Ensaf Haidar, Raif Badawi’s wife (the Saudi freethinker sentenced to ten years in prison and 1000 lashes for “insulting Islam”) with the Henry Zumach Freedom From Religious Fundamentalism Award that she won last year.

On 25 November, CEMB sponsored an international Conference on Sharia, Segregation and Secularism, marking the 10th anniversary of our sister campaign One Law for All. The conference was a landmark event. (Organising Committee: Maryam Namazie, Sadia Hameed and Sina Ahadi Pour; MCs: Fariborz Pooya and Nahla Mahmoud).

Some of our events and actions have been covered by media. You can see media coverage here.

In April and October, we held "Coming Out" parties where ex-Muslims received their apostasy certificates. The parties are one way of seeing people's coming out as a cause for celebration rather than vilification and a source of shame.

We also started monthly support groups in addition to monthly meet-ups to allow ex-Muslims to share issues and empower each other. So far, the group has discussed issues like shunning, identity, post-apostasy trauma, family, drug and alcohol abuse, community, why we left Islam and relationships.

Our monthly meet-ups continue to go strong. It is a place where ex-Muslims and their friends can come to listen to a speaker, socialise, have a drink and let off some steam. The events bring speakers dealing with a range of issues including on the ex-Muslim experience through art and evenings with lawyer Ana González on apostasy and asylum, with Hassan Radwan on Islamic reform and Imad Iddine Habib on challenging racism and the far-Right.

In 2018, we also organised swimming lessons, picnics and movie nights and took ex-Muslims to Thorpe Park. You can see all our events and speaking engagements here.

In addition to all our public work, we continue to support around 300 ex-Muslims a month. Our publication, Political and Legal Status of Apostates from Islam, revised and updated last year has become an important document supporting apostasy cases across the globe. One such example is that it has become part of the documentation of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada.

We have done a huge amount of work for the right to apostasy and blasphemy (see also a timeline of our highlights from 2007-2018) but much more needs to be done. Particularly at a time when fascism, including religious fundamentalisms, is on the rise, we must keep going and defending universal rights for all, freedom of conscience, including for non-believers and secularism.

Go to: www.ex-muslim.org.uk

On anti-Semitism and the far left again

First up is the newspaper of the Alliance for Workers Liberty (AWL), Solidarity. Of all the Trotskyist organisations they are the only one's that do more than pay lip service to fighting anti-Semitism, they actually do oppose it.

In the latest edition Omar Rail writes:

I used to think that conspiracy theorists were just silly. I must have made countless jokes about people who think the moon landings were faked, that Prince Philip ordered Diana’s death or that, despite NASA’s protestations, the Earth is in fact flat. But it’s become clear for some time now that conspiracy theories have reached a whole new level of influence. 9/11 was an inside job, Mossad created ISIS, George Soros is controlling the news — this kind of stuff is getting more and more mainstream. ...

So I went with interest to see ‘Conspiracy Theory: A Lizard’s Tale’, a one-man-show written and performed by Marlon Solomon, a Manchester-based actor and performer. Solomon has been performing across the country and at various CLPs and Labour Party events, and his show discusses the content and the appeal of conspiracy theories throughout history.

 Naturally the show focuses on the world’s oldest (and at various times, murderously consequential) conspiracy theory: antisemitism. Solomon makes the show very touching and personal, and discusses his own experiences as both a former conspiracy theorist and as a Jew in Britain who, while for a long time not particularly involved in politics, has recently taken a more active role in tackling antisemitism, including on the left and in the Labour Party. Much of the talk discussed the singly person most synonymous with modern conspiracy theories, David Icke (yes, the lizard guy). 

While I had previously regarded David Icke and his lizard theories as laughable nonsense, I was astounded to find out how much coverage he gets, including on some ostensibly “progressive” platforms, and the fact that he sells out thousand-seater stadiums for his talks. Most shocking of all was how blatant and explicit the antisemitic nature of his “theories” were. Icke’s speeches had simply unending talk of “Rothschild Zionists” controlling the world and fomenting wars.

This is in stark contrast to the view taken by the Labour Party Marxists a barely disguised front for the Communist Party of Great Britain (Weekly Worker).

Rather than join a protest against David Ike the LPM/CPGB explain:

Who would have thought that the mad ideas of David Icke would be the thing that forges unity between Jon Lansman’s Momentum, the rightwing Jewish Labour Movement and the ‘centrist’ Open Labour. Together they have attempted to organise joint protests outside the venues hosting Icke’s latest speaking tour. Labour First is supporting the protests too. Maybe Progress was busy when Lansman called.

Earlier this year Lansman, a self-confessed Zionist, raised eyebrows when he attended a conference organised by the JLM. But this joint campaign is clearly going a step further. The JLM is an openly Zionist grouping, affiliated to the World Zionist Organisation and the sister party of the Labor Party of Israel. Its leaders (among them Ella Rose, Louise Ellman, Mike Katz and, until recently, the disgraced Jeremy Newmark) are virulently anti-Corbyn and helped to organise the March 26 ‘Enough is enough’ demonstration outside parliament.

Any excuse to attack "Zionism" and oh look Lansmans Jewish and must be in League with them even though he isn't and is not popular at all in the Jewish community for his actions inhelping create Corbynism that has itself attracted the worst elements of the left including rabid anti-Semites.

It is the Communists who are a threat and their mad ideas of a capitalist conspiracy are also the refuge of fools. They have more in common with Ike than they would even begin to imagine.

Militants squabbling in PCS union continues unabated

Whilst the rest of the UK is either preparing for Christmas or has ended up bored silly of Brexit, the far-left inside the PCS civil Service Union continue to squabble about control of the union. The Socialist Party or Militant to us oldies has been firmly defeated in it's control of the Left Unity organisation, a front without which they cannot control PCS.

Whilst current Assistant General Secretary Chris Baugh has been painted the pantomime villain, it's really Mark Serwotka's political ambitions that are behind the current internecine warfare. Serwotka wants to orientate to Corbyn's Labour Party and bring PCS in a position to affiliate in the near future. The Socialist Party are a barrier.

Whether relations between the frankly useless Baugh and the over-bloated Serwotka were that bad after all these years is now an irrelevance. The inability of Janice Godrich to continue into the election has resulted in a demand that Chris be re-instated as AGS candidate.

The breakaway Socialist View group issued a statement yesterday:

The attention has understandably turned to what Left Unity will now do following Janice’s withdrawal.

The Socialist Party have unfortunately already demanded that Chris now be allowed to take the LU nomination for AGS.

While the LUNC will need to decide a way forward, Socialist View are clear that supporting a candidate whose methods and strategy have just been defeated, following a lengthy campaign and much debate, would create a significant problem for Left Unity and would be a huge error of judgement.

Chris has played his part in the history of both Left Unity and the union itself, and no one will wish to wipe that from the record, but he has become an increasingly divisive figure, and the policy and record on which he stood in this election has been overwhelmingly rejected by LU members.

It is equally true to say that many of those who supported Chris, adopting the same platform, have also been defeated in these elections. That cannot just be ignored or overlooked.

We urge the new LUNC (Left Unity National Committee) to write and ask Chris Baugh to step aside, in the interests of unifying and strengthening the left, not endorse his nomination as AGS candidate.

It may of course lead to a current Full Time Officer being offered the post. There's plenty of potential bag carriers for the General Secretary amongst that crowd. One leading LU member asks:

Would anyone be surprised if a candidate from the FTO staff were to emerge if Chris B were to stand aside? 

Err no. Meanwhile leading Socialist Party hack Kevin Greenaway makes the Socialist Party's demands quite clear:

There is only one option. Chris is the remaining nominee. The LUNC should accept that and move on. This is the most convoluted and contrived attempt at constructing a position to avoid the truth of the position imaginable. The continued vilification ofChris and others, presenting them as divisive is an irony that persistently evades SV. There is no way Chris should stand down. This is no attempt at creating unity it is the very opposite. SV needs to think again. Mind you, it took long enough to come up with this masterpiece. Then you had to wait until the end for the demand. Anybody would think SV was that embarrassed to put it out that we would barely notice. Reality is of course that the letters are almost certainly written already.

Martin Cavanagh, Socialist View replied in no uncertain terms:

There only ever was for you. You said Janice was wrong to stand originally, now having seen Chris and the strategy he proposed defeated - despite demanding votes be included that wouldn't be in any democratic election - you still say it should be Chris. Your assertion may be based on either genuine belief or out of party loyalty, that's not for me to say, but to pursue it means whoever reads it can take it with a pinch of salt.

And there we have it. The road to there being three candidates is becoming more a possibility by the moment.

Politics is Broken say half the British Public

Photo: By Jun OHWADA

There has never been a time in my living memory that this country has been so divided. Brexit and the rise of Corbynism destroyed it for me and I would imagine most other people. The political classes have never been so divorced from the electorate.

A sign of the times was yesterday's Brexit march organised by UKIP ans somewhat hi-jacked by Tommy Robinson due to the media attention the demo attracted. Plus of course hthe thought of trouble by so-called "anti-fascists" counter demonstrating.

Thing is I knew people on both sides of the barricades. I do not see UKIP as a"fascist" party of any description. The same applies to the For Britain outfit led by Anne Marie Waters. Yes there were a handful of boneheads floating around. They had their equivalents on the counter demonstration who wore mainly black and had masks.

The survey published in The Sunday Times (no link £) showed 48% beleive that politics has broken. Both party leaders get minus ratings May -28%, Corbyn -35%. Faith in the political mainstream is being lost on a major scale.

There has never been a time when new parties could stand a chance to being founded to change the current system. I would support a moderate/mainstream breakaway from the Labour Party but there is is a danger that the extremes could take advantage of the situation.

The far-left have virtual control of the Labour Party and moderate MP's are being targetted and will continue to be a target for the intolerant left. Even the Women's movement has been split by extremists from the Trans-community and those who want to defend women's spaces.

On the right UKIP  and For Britain could fill a gap but the actual fascist Neo-Nazi far-right are too small and isolated to make any gains. Some of them have already turned to terrorism and join the Islamists as being a direct threat to our physical safety.

Meanwhile until Brexit is settled half of us don't care much for the political parties in Parliament. Does anyone mention the Lib Dems any more?

Until a new party comes along there's a lot of disillusioned, disenfranchised and alienated people out there.

That includes me.

Not for snowflakes: The Pogues - Fairytale Of New York

This song has been in the news of late. Some snowflake student got offended by the word faggot in this song. The idiot obviously doesn't realise it's an argument between two people. We all say things in the heat of the moment. So fuck him and the Irish DJ who wanted to censor the song too.

It's a great song and full of the party spirit we need in this winter season no matter what festival you celebrate at this time of year.

So while some twats need to get real let's sing along to one of the greatest Christmas singles of all time.

Militant weeps, comrades sneer and more Trots appear

While some of the comrades are gearing up for Sundays ruck with the UKIP pro Brexit march in London on Sunday there's still some paper selling days before Christmas. First up is this weeks Socialist from the remnants of the Militant tendency which is getting smaller every time I dip into their affairs.

One of the most boring papers on the left (General Election Now! Nationalise the top 100 monopolies etc...) the only item of real interest is that they have seriously got the hump that their boy Chris Baugh lost the PCS Assistant General Secretary election especially since his opponent subsequently announced she was withdrawing  from the contest next year due to health problems.

The Socialist Party have lost their major base in the unions, the largest of the civil service unions, the PCS. It was inevitable after the winding up of the mainstream opposition group, 4themembers that splits would happen in the unions big tent. The defection of so many of their leading trade unionists to the Serwotka camp (organised around Socialist View) has devastated their ranks in the union.

The Socialist reports

There was a heated debate because initially the votes of three Left Unity geographical groups, who had all voted for Socialist Party member Chris Baugh in the assistant general secretary election, were going to be ruled outbecause of 'clerical errors'.

This caused a big number of complaints from Left Unity members, in those and other groups.

While conference accepted a proposal from the Left Unity secretary to include the votes of London and Fylde, plus nine of 13 ruled-out postal votes, the votes from the West Midlands - which while known and verified but not received - were still disallowed.

These votes would have meant that Socialist Party member Dave Semple would have retained his Left Unity editor's position.

The smaller wing of Militant now known as Socialist Appeal put it another way:

Rather than accept the verdict graciously, Socialist Party supporters desperately tried to block the result at the Manchester conference. In a sometimes heated two-and-a-half hour debate, they demanded that all votes be included in the count, whether they had been received or not! The fault, they declared, was not theirs but privatised Royal Mail.

This was despite the fact that the scruitineers had made it clear that even if all the disputed votes had been included it would not have made any difference to the result.

This feeble attempt to get the results overturned was clearly in vain.

Meanwhile while the SP are obviously bitter their small but somewhat saner rivals the Alliance for Workers Liberty comment:

A Left Unity conference on 1 December agreed to include the extra votes, but Godrich still won, and Godrich supporters dominated the newly-elected Left Unity committee. Soon after, however, Godrich said that ill-health would prevent her from standing for AGS. 

As we go to press, we do not know whether Left Unity will now back Baugh, or try to nominate a third alternative. 

The political differences between Godrich and Baugh are murky. Mark Serwotka, who has been General Secretary of the PCS since 2000, is not a Socialist Party member, and was elected General Secretary without the support of the SP, but has worked closely with the SP since then: he has backed Godrich against Baugh. The SWP, a relatively small force in the union, has also backed Godrich. 

The AWL will be backing John Maloney from the PCS Independent Left.

Finally it has belatedly come to my attention that another and obviously quite minuscule group of Trotskyist group has entered the Labour Party not that anyone seems to have noticed. This group is the British Section of the Revolutionary Communist International Tendency  (RCIT)(formerly known s the League for the Reconstruction of the Fourth International (LRCFI), (They love their long winded names these tiny self important groups).

Their supporters hide behind the name Red Liberation, not very well if you look at their mostly unreadable websites.  They don't like Jeremy Corbyn much though: A statement issued when they wandered into the Labour Party in 2016 is quite clear in their hostility to old Steptoe:

....the Labour leadership clearly shows they are ready to implement the government’s pro-austerity agenda. So much for Corbyn’s much vaunted anti-austerity program. Corbyn will continue to be a hostage of the Blairites until he breaks with them completely!

It is important that MOMENTUM, the campaign organization of left-wing Corbyn supporters, openly criticises the political adaption of the Corbyn leadership group to the Blairites. Furthermore, we demand that MOMENTUM operates in a transparent and democratic way. Hence it is important to have a national conference of MOMENTUMactivists in spring which democratically decides on the policy and elects a leadership.

and previously before they had their "turn":

Corbyn clearly wants to work with the Blairite section of the party now that he has been elected leader and chooses to ignore their pro-capitalist views. He is very close to the trade union bureaucracy and has a neo-Keynesian outlook.

The "International" or cult they belong to is led by Michael Pröbsting of their German Section. He is the International Secretary of the RCIT and appears to write all their books and pamphlets. They no longer seek to "rebuild the Fourth International but are working towards creating a Fifth International no less. Except there already is one organised by the Workers Power now called Red Flag and also buried inside the Labour Party.

Perhaps they should skip to the Sixth International!

If you have no paint to watch dry their websites are here and here.

The March for Brexit, the Far-Left and Tommy Robinson.

This weekend might not be good for Christmas shopping as demonstrators gear up for action on the streets. The London Evening Standard reports:

Protesters are set to march through central London for a pro-Brexit march organised by Ukip and backed by former English Defence League leader Tommy Robinson.

Several thousand people are expected to descend on the capital's streets on Sunday, December 9 to demand that there is no “betrayal” over Britain’s exit from the European Union.

The rally is taking place just three days before parliament’s crucial vote on Theresa May's deal.

Organised by UKIP and backed by Tommy Robinson the organisers say:

This is a cross-party People's Rally to show our MPs that the 17.4 million who voted Leave really meant what we said! We need as many people here as possible.

UKIP Leader Gerard Batten will be speaking on the political aspects of Brexit, and there will be prominent speakers from across society speaking on the various aspects of national life that will continue to be adversely affected by Theresa May's 'Withdrawal Agreement', from farming, fishing, immigration, the military, police, to criminal justice.

There will also be speakers from Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales explaining how the very Union of the United Kingdom is under threat.

This will be a democratic and peaceful demonstration expressing the strength of feeling amongst Leavers despite the torrent of anti-Brexit propaganda we have been exposed to for almost two and a half years.

Of course the Brexit issue has been the most divisive issue in British politics for years. The arguments have raged both before and after the referendum and has brought together both the far-right and the far-left in tandem against the EU.

Photo: Shayan Barjesteh van Waalwijk van Doorn.

So theoretically UKIP and Tommy Robinsons supporters should be marching to defend Brexit along side the Communist Party of Britain, the Socialist Workers Party and the Socialist Party (Militant) to name only the larger of the sects.

Then there's Corbyn. He's been against the EU for years as has a great deal of the traditional Labour left. Unfortunately the youngsters in and around him and Momentum are pro-EU. So even the foot soldiers of the new left are divided.

Of course the two extremes would never march together.. The CPB, SP, Militant, Counterfire and the so-called Stop the War Campaign will be protesting behind their various "front" organisations such as Unite Against Fascism & Stand Up to Racism. I'm sure Hope Not Hate will be there too.

The far left will be counter-demonstrating Brexeteers against Brexiteers. Hordes of so-called "anti-fascists" or communists as I prefer to call them wil be shouting Nazi's at the Kippers and friends and a few boneheads will "seig heil" back.

UKIP is not a fascist party although under Gerard Batten are starting to veer further to the right. Tommy Robinson surprisingly joined up with the UKIP leader rather than Anne-Marie Waters For Britain Party. 

For Britain is anti-Islam and pro-Brexit and not fascist either despite the presence of a couple of ex BNP members like Eddy Butler and Jack Buckby. Butler was a campaign manager for Nick Griffin and Buckby was Griffin's protege who spread propaganda at his university about interracial marriage.

Most of the Brexit supporters are likely to be just ordinary folk outraged by what they see as the betrayal. Yes there'll be some hotheads from the real far-right present but the decision by the left to use street tactics against what is just an expression of the "white working class" who feel rightly or wrongly they have been left out is misguided.

In this age of identity politics and political correctness free speech has come under attack which has gone further than the genuine bigotry that exists in society. Everybody wants "their" rights sometimes at the expense of others which is particularly seen in the bullying antics of the trans-men activists against women trying to question and debate the trans agenda.

When Brexit is done and dusted, the sooner the better in this bloggers opinion society needs to start healing itself. I'm not talking mediation type bollocks but just a simple calming down the anger and hate seen in so much debate.

The "new, kinder politics" promised by Corbyn has turned into an uncontrollable monster as his supporters have become.

Everyone has the right to demonstrate. No one has the right to use violence. Whilst both sides have participants that are equally responsible, it is the far-left. the so-called anti-fascists and Anarchists who are the worst culprits. I've seen it myself on many a march ruined by these jerks.

Let's hope Sunday doesn't turn into a riot.

Christmas is a "blasphemy" and "insult" to Islam apparently

This is the hidden face of "Islam".

Literally.

Democracy is unacceptable as the people and the Government decide laws. The whole idea of Christmas is blasphemous and against Sharia.

Sharia means no freedom of or from religion, no freedom of speech or expression. Muslims are superior to all others. Women are inferior to men. Gays must be killed.

She explains why they believe the West is evil, because it is based entirely on Christianity which is against Islam.

The accusations of Islamophobia are false. The fear of Islam is real.

Monday Miscellany

Raelians 45th Anniversary 




Chatting on Facebook sometimes leads to a mention of strange things and sects that I hadn't heard of or looked at in years. Just as part of a "passing remark" the Raelians were mentioned. So I went and had a look.

It seems the Raelians who believe that life on Earth was implanted by aliens they call the Elohim.

They "preach" that Moses, Jesus, Buddha & Mohammed amongst others were sent by aliens to help us. OK. Noah's Ark was a spaceship and the great flood was caused by the Elohim who then scattered the Israelites around the globe. Bizarre.

Here's a taste of their thoughts on this auspicious occasion:

Welcome to the 45 anniversary of the first encounter between Maitreya Rael and Yahweh, the president and representative of the extra-terrestrial scientists known as the “Elohim”, when they told him how they made all life on earth, including “man in their image”, thousands of years ago. Together we will celebrate this historic encounter with love, laughter and kindness, because that is the essence of the message that Yahweh gave to Maitreya for humanity.

This meeting 45 years ago was the beginning of the Raelian Movement, a wonderful adventure that we are all part of, and which is catalysing the peaceful transformation of humanity from a primitive warlike group of tribes into the golden age of freedom, love and supraconscioiusness.

This encounter also represents the final chapter of a succession of meetings between the Elohim and the prophets of old, who were their contactees, charged with passing on their message of love, adapted to each epoch.

Finally in this age of science, where we are beginning to experiment with DNA ourselves, we can understand how we were created in laboratory by these expert scientific artists, and how these creators love us like their children and hope to meet us at The Embassy.

So this encounter is both the end of the darkness and the beginning of the new light, the first rays of a new dawn for humanity, and it is right and fitting that it should happen in the land of the rising sun.

Anti-Semitism in Derry

Image:www.derrycity.gov.uk

The Belfast Telegraph reports:

The homeland of the Jews, the one state in the world that provides the Jewish people with assured sanctuary and is the only real democracy in the Middle East, is singled out as the global Great Satan. And it is that singling-out that is the crucial point.

No other country attracts such opprobrium.

Israel gets it from the right, from the left and from just about anyone who doesn't want to provoke a maelstrom of hate on Twitter.

This week we learn that Steven Jaffe, who is co-chair of Northern Ireland Friends of Israel, has been banned from addressing Derry City and Strabane District Council.

So much then for diversity, inclusivity, respecting minorities and 'it's good to talk'.

I know Steven Jaffe well. He's one of my heroes. Steven is fiercely intelligent, passionate about his Belfast Jewish heritage - and has a brilliant, dry sense of humour.

Listening to him, you will not be bored. You may not agree with him. You may not agree, even, with a word he says.

But here's what baffles me: why would any elected representative, supposed to be serving the whole local community, not want at least to listen to what he has to say?

It is enormously brave for any Jew in Ireland to stand up and speak out these days. I think we all accept that. We should also be shocked by that.

Doubtless those elected representatives in our second city who voted down the proposal to listen to Steven are smug in their conviction that they are open-minded, even-handed, liberal thinkers. But their actions suggest something very different.

Atomic Rooster- Tomorrow Night

And finally just for fun is one of my school day favourites from Atomic Rooster. Great Band!

PCS: Socialist Party routed but Janice Godrich is out!

The infighting over the future of the way PCS is run by the two main strands of the left, The Socialist Party and the Serwotka tendency around Socialist View reached a dramatic end this weekend at the Left Unity AGM.

For weeks Chris Baugh the besieged PCS Assistant General Secretary has been fighting for his political survival following a fallout out with PCS head honcho Mark Serwotka. Several leading members of the Socialist Party split to support Janice Godrich for the AGS post.

Janice was already in trouble with Socialist Party guru Peter Taffe for breaking the party line and canvassing for the Scottish National Party at the General Election. She formed Socialist Voice with Taffes bitter enemies from Tommy Sheridan's now defunct Solidarity.

Accusations were thrown around with John McInally PCS Vice President for years and a major figure in PCS was accused of being "Janice's poodle" by his erstwhile colleagues in the Militant Tendency. Having known John for some years (albeit as an opponent) he's definitely nobodies lick-spittle and a very intelligent man. He's nobodies fool.

Insults aside the Socialist Party got so desperate they even dragged Debbie Darracot from their retired South of France branch to defend the useless Baugh.  Comrade Debbie wrote:

The AGS post is a democratically elected position, but it is also a job. The AGS is paid by PCS. Chris Baugh is not like Janice Godrich, paid by DWP or another employer and on facility time. You are seeking to sack Chris Baugh, let's be clear about that. If Janice loses the election she keeps her job. If Chris loses the election he loses his.

Well actually Baugh could go back to the Land Registry as an ordinary member doing a regular day's graft.

 

The Socialist View slate run by Godrich & Serwotka won all the internal elections. Then at conference we are told:

These election results represent a very important decision for PCS, with Socialist View candidates winning every election, and our position on motions being carried forward in every debate.

Left Unity members should not under-estimate the scale of the majority at the conference, which was approximately 41/19.

Blimey how the mighty have fallen. The SP had an inbuilt majority or at least the largest block vote in previous years. Not that many in attendance either. Just 60 people turned up according to those figures. The control of the largest civil service union has been decided by so few.

The sort of future now in place for the Labour Party under the same people but I digress.

The real shock is this news:

It is with real sadness that it was announced tonight that Janice Godrich, having been elected as Left Unity’s AGS candidate, is no longer well enough to continue.

I'm sorry to hear Janice is ill but it seems that this very public spate may in the end have not got rid of Baugh. Fran Heathcote concludes her announcement:

This matter will be dealt with as a priority by the incoming Left Unity National Committee in order that Left Unity can move forward with the maximum unity.

Has Baugh been handed a lifeline or will Serwotka find himself another preferred candidate.

Watch this space!

Eight Days of Hannukah

Photo: Gil Decal www.poeticmind.co.uk

I would like to wish all my readers a Happy Hanukkah. Here's a nice little tune you & the family can sing along to!

Emmerdale meets Doctor Who!

Photo: By Source, Fair use

It's getting close to the holiday season so since it's Saturday night a quick break from politics to bring you a song by Frazer Hines who played Jamie in Doctor Who (With Patrick Troughton) and Joe Sugden on Emmerdale Farm (now just "plain" Emmerdale).

These are two of my favourite TV programmes and this link is just a bit of fun for those of you who like "trivia"!

In the mean time start preparing for Christmas Hanukkah or Winter Solstice!

Here is Frazer singing Who is Doctor Who. It's not that bad........ give it a spin!

A Landmark Conference for Universal Rights and Secularism and against Fascism

The 25 November International Conference on Sharia, Segregation and Secularism in London celebrated the 10th anniversary of the founding of the One Law for All campaign in the UK.

The conference was a landmark event in the fight against all forms of fascism and in defence of universal rights and secularism with leading activists in the fight against the far-Right – including religious fundamentalisms of all stripes – from 24 countries and the Diaspora, including Algeria, Bangladesh, Europe, India, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Kurdistan, Morocco, Pakistan, Poland, Russia, Serbia to Sudan, Tunisia and the United States.

In her welcome address, Conference Organiser Maryam Namazie reiterated how women are the first targets of fascist, fundamentalist and other far-Right movements and are leading the opposition to the sustained backlash against women’s rights and secular values – and in many cases continue to win victories in the most adverse circumstances. She stressed the urgency of secularism as a minimum precondition for women’s and minority rights.

Centre for Secular Space Director Gita Sahgal’s opening keynote address emphasised the precious heritage of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights noting that Indian and Pakistani women fought for the clause on right to choice in marriage – the foundation for many struggles taking place on family laws and equality in marriage today. Muslims from Pakistan and India also voted for the right to religious freedom, including the freedom to leave religion.

Asia Bibi’s lawyer Saif Ul Malook spoke about the Asia Bibi case in his keynote address. As mentioned in a DW report on the conference, Ul Malook spoke of the Pakistani constitution and its secular credentials and his childhood when Christians and Muslims lived peacefully together in Pakistan and how a minority are behind the intolerance seen today. He was given a standing ovation for his courage in defending Asia Bibi and prosecuting Mumtaz Qadri, the man who murdered Salman Taseer. Ul Malook said he had no regrets.

The Conference passed a resolution in solidarity with Asia Bibi and her lawyer and the Judges who had the courage to strike down her conviction for blasphemy, called for asylum for Asia Bibi, the release of all those imprisoned for blasphemy and an end to blasphemy laws everywhere.

The film 3 Seconds Divorce by Shazia Javed about the struggle against triple talaq in India, had its UK premiere at the conference. On a panel discussion that followed, campaigners gave examples of similar practices in Britain. One Law for All had criticised the ‘theological inquiry’ into sharia law in Britain that the government had established and raised concerns about how the British government has effectively caved into religious lobbies by recommending that marriages may require a religious as well as a civil divorce, giving Islamists the green light to establish community-based ‘zina law.’ Women’s rights campaigner Yasmin Rehman explained this was not the historic practice of Muslim communities in Britain. Rights activist Afsana Lachaux pointed out that while she won a victory in France where a Judge set aside decisions made by a UAE Sharia court regarding custody of her son, the English court accused her of ‘demonising’ Sharia law.

In various other panels on Gender Segregation, the Veil and Women’s Bodily Autonomy and Secularism as a Defence of Women’s and Minority Rights, activists spoke about the far-Right marching against migrants on the one hand and against women’s rights on the other from Russia to Poland to the US and South Asia. Polish feminist Nina Sankari described rise of far-Right militias in Poland; Freedom from Religion Foundation Co-President Anne Laurie Gaylor warned of the takeover of the courts by the religious-Right with grave implications for the future. Italian journalist Cinzia Sciuto argued that universal rights were a better way to ensure migrants’ rights than to entrench multi-cultural practices that left them at the mercy of homogenised communities. Eve Sacks of the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance gave examples of extreme isolation and erasure faced by Jewish women in Orthodox communities, where literally all images of women and girls are excised and women are forced to shave their hair and cover with a wig and or a hat. She called for support in the campaign for sex and relationship education to be applied to religious schools.

Staša Zajović reminded the audience that religious revival was on the main tools for an aggressive nationalist politics which caused the genocidal war in former Yugoslavia. The irreligious feminists who worked across the conflict and took care of victims of all backgrounds were called ‘internal enemies’ or ‘witches,’ and faced numerous attacks.

The importance of direct action was reiterated by Inna Shevchenko of Femen who argued that religious patriarchies found women’s bodies ‘sinful, dirty, guilty and always shameful,’ and Ibtissame Betty Lachgar of Morocco, who described living under a monarchy that claimed descent from Muhammed, Islam’s prophet, and turning fountains red to challenge violence against women, organising ‘kiss-ins’ and eating in public during Ramadan. These activities were dangerous and brought legal and other threats.

There was also considerable good news. The Rojava movement which had confronted ISIS and in the middle of war, protected refugees and developed women’s leadership was remembered by Culture Project Founder Houzan Mahmoud who added that secularism alone was not enough, rather a transformation of society was needed. Campaigner Homa Arjomand recalled the successful struggle against the recognition of Sharia courts in Canada and Filmmaker Nadia el Fani reported on the adoption of equal inheritance rights in Tunisia in the face of opposition from the government. The struggle against ‘Triple Talaq’ reflected women’s struggles for equality across the world. The One Law for All campaign also won a number of victories forcing regulators to abide by their responsibilities- see timeline for victories against the Law Society and gender segregation at universities and schools, amongst others.

At the Conference, a short film by Iranian performance artist Atoosa Farahmand in support of White Wednesdays, was followed by a protest action by body painter Victoria Guggenheim in support of the Girls of Revolution Street and against compulsory veiling. Women and men present all raised white hejabs and raised their voices against forced veiling.

Artist Mahshad Afshar also had a solo exhibition to showcase her “Cursed Seal” Photography collection. There was a dance performance by LCP Dance Theatre.

One Law for All gave awards to Afsana Lachaux, Annie Laurie Gaylor, Gita Sahgal, Houzan Mahmoud, Ibtissame Betty Lachgar, Inna Shevchenko, Masih Alinejad, Marieme Helie Lucas, Nadia El Fani, Nina Sankari, Pragna Patel, Staša Zajović and Yasmin Rehman for their immense contributions to the cause of women’s rights and secularism. The awards were sculpted by Sodabeh Gashtasebi and was a likeness of Vida Movahedi who first stood on a plinth on Revolution Street in Iran waving her white hejab on a stick.

In her closing keynote address, Pragna Patel of Southall Black Sisters warned of the rise of fascism all over the world, and recalled Southall Black Sisters stand against blasphemy laws and in defence of Salman Rushdie, nearly 30 years ago. The need to oppose both racism and fundamentalism within a framework of secularism has never been more urgent.

The conference adopted a Ten Point Manifesto for Women and Secularism which recognised that the far-Right, including religious fundamentalisms, was gaining power in both authoritarian and democratic states and that its strength was due to the complicity of governments who see fundamentalists as allies to deliver services, post-conflict ‘stabilisation’ and privatised law. The Manifesto acknowledged that universal rights were won in the struggle for civil rights, liberation and against colonial occupation and called for the promotion of a universalist based approach to human rights, the right to free conscience and expression, abolition of religious-based laws in family, civil and criminal matters, prohibition of gender segregation and compulsory veiling, prohibition of religious laws that violate children’s rights, the need to counter both racist and fundamentalist discourse, and secularism as a basic human right, amongst others.

__________________________________________________________________

The Conference was sponsored by Bread and Roses TV; Center for Inquiry; Centre for Secular Space; Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain; Culture Project; European Network of Migrant Women; Equal Rights Now; Fitnah; Freedom from Religion Foundation; National Secular Society; One Law for All; Southall Black Sisters and Secularism is a Women’s Issue.

Socialist Party lose first stage of PCS Assistant General Secretary Campaign.

The influence of the Socialist Party begins it's final decline as incumbent PCS Assistant General Secretary Chris Baugh failed to win the Left Unity nomination. Janice Godrich as expected won. Only the interim result has been published though as you guessed it the Socialist Party are contesting the result.

The Socialist reports:

..on the AGS election, the interim report indicates 139 votes for Chris Baugh and 167 votes for Janice Godrich. However, Left Unity members are still waiting for the final results. This is because a whole number of votes have been ruled out - some postal ballots and those cast at three voting meetings, including London.

Despite this, the 'interim' results were published. Many Left Unity members are shocked and angry that this was done when there are issues still outstanding. Despite the claims of Janice's supporters in Socialist View, the ruled-out votes could materially affect the results of three key positions: AGS, Left Unity chair and Left Unity editor.

The only way to clarify this is for the full report to be published, with all the results included, along with explanation for those omitted. This is not an attack on the integrity of the scrutineers, as Socialist View claims, but a call for transparency and democratic processes.

Socialist View asks, would it "be acceptable to count votes that fail to comply with laid down, and agreed, Left Unity regulations?" But to us this would be far more preferable than to disenfranchise Left Unity members who through no fault of their own have had their vote discounted.

In at least two of the meetings, we believe that Chris had a majority. The discounted votes at the three meetings could be over 12% of the total vote!

Unsurprisingly those in the Janice/Serwotka camp take a different view and trumpeted their victory! 

The report confirms the result of the ballot for all contested elections, including the Assistant General Secretary and National President. We are pleased that the results show both Janice Godrich and Fran Heathcote have been successful in their attempt to secure the LU nomination for the posts of AGS and President respectively. Alongside Janice and Fran all other nominees, supported by the Socialist View campaign, have also been successful......

Marion Lloyd (SP/LU Chair) has issued a statement (abridged) complaining:

Gordon has published this report despite me raising several concerns and despite the fact that he proposed to the Left Unity national committee that this should be done at a later date. I agree the interim report should be published, even though the Left Unity constitution states that election results are announced at the Left Unity conference by the chair.

Only four members of the 13-strong national committee responded to agree the publication of the results. The report was then published less than two hours after my initial email (on a Sunday afternoon) and without any majority agreement.

This, in my view, is a blatant attempt to brush over genuine issues I have raised, ignore Left Unity democracy and prevent the national committee from discussing and reaching a view. It has gone against the inclusive left spirit that we have tried so hard to foster.

As things stand, the votes of three Left Unity voting meetings - London, West Midlands and Fylde - have been ruled out because of clerical issues. I am totally opposed to Left Unity members being penalised and disenfranchised through no fault of their own.

There have also been 13 postal votes ruled out. I am of the view that these votes, taken together, could have a material effect on some of the results, including for example the positions of AGS, Left Unity Chair and Left Unity editor.

The margin of votes for editor is only seven. Therefore, it would have been correct to wait until we have the additional information I have requested from the scrutineers before publishing.

Socialist View respond:

Unfortunately the statement issued yesterday by the current Left Unity Chair, Marion Lloyd – not addressed to Left Unity members as you might expect legitimate concerns to be raised, but outside of our organisation – does nothing to foster that unity and instead only serves to create further division and suspicion.

The statement claims that “legitimate issues” have been raised by Marion as to why certain votes have been disallowed. The interim report of the two scrutineers, one a member of the Socialist Party, has confirmed they unanimously agreed to disregard a number of votes as they clearly breached the Left Unity election regulations agreed by the LUNC, and which Marion herself was instrumental in drafting. The report also confirms the discounted votes would not “materially affect” the overall result, and yet Marion claims the opposite.

SV conclude:

Left Unity members will be disappointed with this latest development that should be seen by those on the left for what it is; a desperate attempt to cloud the ballot result, by falsely suggesting the election was close, and creating a suspicion of wrongdoing.

Since the Socialist Party appear to be preparing a challenge at the Left Unity AGM on Saturday December 1st it seems the squabble will not end with this election. The possibility of Baugh standing as a candidate against the official Left Unity nominee Janice Godrich.

With a third candidate now in the field from the rival Independent Left it looks increasingly like a three way fight for the coveted post of PCS Assistant General Secreatry or Mark Serwotka's bag carrier as we jest!