The NUS President has lost the plot

With all the horror unfolding over the murder of Labour MP Jo Cox one story seemed to disappear of the medias radar. That is the latest ideological atrocity from the new President of NUS Malia Bouattia.

I read with sheer disbelief and horror her words from a debate on Wednesday reported in The Times (no link£):

 ..that young people joining terrorist groups in Syria felt "so dis-empowered they're left with no choice"

This is down to unemployment, privilege and youth centres being closed down apparently.

In other words anything but the theology behind Islamist extremism and quoted at length by ISIS from the Koran and the Haddiths (supposed sayings of their "prophet" Mohammed).

This all as part of the campaign against the governments "Prevent" campaign to try and stop the murderous radicalisation of young men (and women) reading this clerical-fascist garbage in the privacy of their "safe spaces" (or bedrooms).

That such a woman has become President of the National Union of Students is a result of the privileges of radical student activists who dominate and bully small meetings of students to ensure dissent is suppressed in favour of their ant-imperialist/trigger warning/safe space elitism.

Bouttai was elected by delegates, not members to her position which is why there have been moves to break away from NUS which has gone on to hold because of the student holidays. What they really need to do on their return is campaign for the democratisation of the NUS and have a secret ballot of members just like trade unions.

Meanwhile her words must surely be seen not just as misleading and disgusting but also as an insult to the vast majority of underprivileged young people who do not go on to murder, rape and commit genocide in the name of some false medieval faith.



But most of all Ms Bouattia owes an apology to the victims of ISIS and their ilk.

ISIS are criminal murderers and they act in the name of Islam whether she, other Muslims or anyone else tries to deny it. There is a connection between faith and fascism which she like most of the self-proclaimed "left" attempt to ignore.

The NUS leadership has lost the plot and Ms Bouattia has proved to be the worst possible representative for the politics of the supposed new generation.

The Vile World of Twitter

The murder of Jo Cox, the Labour MP shocked the nation today. Like every normal person my thoughts and sympathies are with her family tonight.

The motive behind this atrocity is not yet known and I have no intention of speculating.

However on the vile world of Twitter this disgusting man individual tweeted the following reprehensible comments for which he should immediately apologise.

 

Such remarks are beneath contempt.

I have nothing more (that's printable) to say.

Musical Interlude - Slade

Noddy Holder is 70 today! So here to help him and his fans celebrate is a little number from 1972 would ya believe it was that long ago!?!

Gudbuy T'Jane. Live.

Brexit Alert!

The Times reported that "a clear majority of voters want to quit the European Union" as they published the result of their poll. Of course after the last general election a lot of people are suspicious of polls but for once this seems to tie in with what is actually happening on the ground.

Both at work and in my neighbourhood (an inner city London council estate) this is the view of so many of those around me. Next to no-one except me seems to be in favour of remaining in the EU. Even my partner remains "undecided" as some 11% of the population found by the poll.

Those that are likely to make the final difference appear to be Labour voters, most of whom seem unclear on the party's position (which is to remain) and are oblivious to the trade union leaders who have come out in favour.

This in part can be explained by the growing civil war inside Labour which has distracted many activists and is viewed by those who bother outside political circles as simply suicidal.

Most people I know expect the Tories to win the next election. And it's not just because they see Labour as weak and divided.

Corbyn may be the darling of party activists, but he is not going down well with their traditional electorate. Ordinary working class voters differ from the left on so many basic issues.

Corbyn is seen as  anti-monarchy, anti-trident, weak on terrorism and immigration.

Exactly the opposite of so many ordinary voters who would normally be expected to vote Labour.

They do feel abandoned. 

When it comes to patriotism the white working class is clearly at odds with the middle class activist base around Corbyn. People were exasperated at Corbyn's view that he felt "uncomfortable" with a shoot to kill policy in the event of a terrorist attack.

And that's not restricted to the white working class.

Immigration has put an enormous pressure on mixed communities and both black and white inner city residents are concerned about the obvious effects on rents, overcrowding and their children's futures.

During a rebuild on my council estate there was quite obvious anger from residents when recent asylum seekers were prioritised. The result of housing policy rather than a direct favour towards new immigrants and the neighbourhood has visibly changed.

The West Indian community has declined., replaced by Middle Eastern/North African migrants, Algerian (for some odd reason) and Somalian. Leaving the EU won't change that.

The myth that the EU is the main problem for immigration is widespread.

The top groups of people give UK citizenship include Albanians, Indians and Bangladeshis apparently.

Regardless of facts the hostility to the EU is obvious and none of the political parties, and especially Labour have tackled the real issues at the heart of this.

We have a low wage, high rent economy which is strangling hard working people.

That's what needs to be addressed. leaving the EU will in my view only make matters worse. On top of that there will be a bonfire of rights in the workplace and trade unions will be further caste aside.

The EU is not perfect. It does need reform and democratisation. It also needs consolidation. The EU's current tranche of problems arise from expanding it's membership into countries not yet ready. There needs to be a moratorium on expansion for now.

Leaving the EU will damage the economy. It will leave Britain isolated. It is a step backwards.

Labour must act quickly over the next few days to persuade as many of it's supporters and voters to vote to remain in Europe. They must also look long and hard at the gap in what the activists believe and those that the people they claim to represent actually want

The alternative is an unbridled Tory nightmare.

Please vote YES to the EU.

Gays Must Die Says Speaker At Orlando Mosque

This video report speaks for itself. From April 2016, not more than a few weeks before yesterdays atrocity.

This man Hate Cleric should be barred from all civilised nations.

Orlando Gay Murders: "Nothing to do with religion" says father..

The attack on a Gay Club in Orlando, Florida has left some 50 people dead and scores injured. This is a hate crime carried out by a muslim man, Omar Mateen not long after ISIS said they would launch an attack in Florida.

And yet according to the terrorists father:

Mateen's father Mir Seddique told NBC News that the incident had nothing to do with religion, and may have been triggered by the sight of a gay couple kissing in Miami.

But NBC News reported that Mateen called the emergency services before the attack and swore allegiance to the so-called Islamic State militant group.

What nonsense. How many people, even in America walk around with an assault rifle, handgun and large amounts of explosives?

And why should the sight of two gay people kissing provoke someone into launching an indiscriminate killing spree?

Where exactly did his hate come from?

This was a planned terrorist act in the name of the religion of Islam whether liberals want to deny this or not. 

Not every Muslim is a potential terrorist, but the failure to recognise and deal with violent extremism within the Islamic community is one that both Muslims and Western countries must face up to.

The Koran (like many religious texts including the Bible) is full of quotes that promote hate against gays and in particular the Koran rails against non-believers.

The intolerance within Islam has always been there but until comparatively recently has been dormant outside Islamic societies and it's growth within non-Muslim countries due to immigration is a disturbing trend.

This attack like so many does have something to do with religion but not all followers of Islam are a danger.

The problem is that there are quite large numbers of fundamentalists who are disposed to acting on their Jihadic impulses.

Denying the religious element of these acts is dangerous and bodes ill for the future.

Sunday Supplement: Doctor Who Magazine reaches #500!

One of my earliest childhood memories was the first episode of Doctor Who where Ian and Barbara wander into the Tardis looking out for Susan who appeared to be inside. Here they meet the Doctor and in disbelief go off into time and space for adventures with a renegade Time Lord (not that we knew that for some years).

The Daleks, Cybermen, the Zarbi, Sontarans and many, many more were to scare and thrill us over the next 53 years in what is now the longest running science fiction series of all time.

It should come as no surprise that Doctor Who also has the longest running tie in Magazine to go with it. Launched in 1979 as a weekly comic by Marvel UK, Tom Baker, the current Doctor at the time enthusiastically joined in the promotion.

The first issue sold 150,000 copies but only lasted 43 issues in the weekly format before becoming the monthly magazine that we have today.

 

The eighties were hard on the British comics industry, even Marvel were having problems so a decision was made to produce the monthly which has been a success over the years and kept the TV show alive even when the Doctor disappeared off the telly for a few years.

 

 

The latest landmark issue is a joy to read. You actually get a package containing not one but two magazines, the extra journal covering the history of the magazine plus a giant poster of the current Doctor, Peter Capaldi and for younger readers there is a sheet of stickers.

The magazine has never been just articles and features. There has always been a comic strip and this issue sees the return of Dave Gibbons amongst the contributing artists for a complete 20 page story written by Scott Gray.

According to the publishers Doctor Who Magazine has sold over 14 million copies in it's lifetime.

Here's to another 500 issues!

Whilst we wait for the new series here's a clip of my favourite Doctor: Patrick Troughton.



Who was your favourite Doctor?