I have often pointed to Melanie Phillips to illustrate the fact that while left wing radical thought is excluded from mainstream media, you can be as completely mad, raving off the wall right wing as you wish, and yet still get invited onto every BBC panel or discussion series in existence. She still justifies the Iraq War. She thought Saddam did indeed have those WMDs and they were hidden in secret underground chambers underneath the Euphrates.
Less harmlessly, Phillips employs hate speech and was praised by Anders Breivik. Sweeping anti-Muslim Phrases such as “the Islamic enemies of civilisation” come easily to her. I was appalled by this particular example of Phillips’ hate speech four years ago. You can see how Breivik found her inspiring:
Romney lost because, like Britain’s Conservative Party, the Republicans just don’t understand that America and the west are being consumed by a culture war. In their cowardice and moral confusion, they all attempt to appease the enemies within. And from without, the Islamic enemies of civilisation stand poised to occupy the void.
With the re-election of Obama, America now threatens to lead the west into a terrifying darkness.
I called this out at the time as incitement to religious hatred. Interestingly enough it has now disappeared from Phillips’ own website: http://melaniephillips.com/america-goes-into-the-darkness. But you can’t hide your disgrace on the internet.
Today Phillips spreads the hatred still wider by telling us the Scots and the Irish are not real nations. Only Britain is an authentic nation (behind the Times paywall). Scottish nationalism, she states, is based purely on romance and a hatred of the English. As for Ireland:
The truth is that a large majority of the states in the world achieved independence after 1922. Even if you pretend an Irish nation did not exist until 1922, that still makes it one of the world’s older states. In fact of course Ireland, like most other states, re-emerged into independence following colonial dominance. Nationality is a human construct, not a fact of physics or geography – there never was a state before colonialism with the precise boundaries of India or Nigeria or almost any post-colonial state you can name. But there were autonomous peoples. And very few would describe them as not a nation now.
Even old states change their boundaries from time to time. Norman Davies has a beautiful phrase about Poland emerging again and again into statehood through the mists of history, but never in the same place twice. Yet despite radical boundary changes and having had political autonomy for only 50 of the last 250 years, nobody doubts Poland is a nation state. Nobody doubts Ireland is a nation state either, except Mad Mel. As for Scotland, not only was it a full nation state for hundreds of years until it entered into a voluntary union, it is possible to trace distinct political and cultural expressions of popular nationhood.
Phillips’ hate-filled opinions would be her own affair, were she not given such powerful platforms from which to expound them. I return to where I started. Phillips is evidence you cannot be too right wing for a media platform in the UK, even if you propound actual religious hate. By comparison, nobody as left wing as Phillips is right would ever be given airtime on the BBC or a column in The Times.
I think ‘religious hate’ is a bit sweeping, Craig. Phillips is specifically Islamophobic, which as long as you’re a barking rightwinger, is absolutely fine, and gets a lot of public attention. Mrs. Philips-Rozenberg is certainly not guilty of deflecting hatred from one group by whipping it up for another – who would dare suggest such a thing?
PS Melanie is a regular on Radio 4’s Moral Maze, in which the likes of Portillo, another regular, and she, debate the moral dimension of current news stories. As an alternative to switching off and washing some interesting dishes, you may play Mel Bingo during this, with points scored for the mentions of a sunbaked Mediterranean country, its state religion, and Mel’s interest in any aspect of either. Additional points may be scored for the earliest point in the diatribe at which Mel levers in these references, and for their irrelevance to the topic.
A proud player in the Arsehole Premier League –
http://arseholepremierleague.com/table/2016-17/
..she is bubbling under at 19th, just beating Philip Hammond, and three places behind Tony Blair, but nowhere near Katie Hopkins’ challenging position. Frankly, I think she’s due for relegation, and barely worth our attention.
I just LOVE “The Moral Maze”! Who says the BBC can’t do comedy? It’s the funniest radio program I have heard since “The Goon Show”. They’re all so solemn, as they demonstrate their complete ignorance of the normal rules of civilised debate, and question logical and historical conclusions that have stood rock-solid since before Aristotle.
As comedian Elaine May once said, “I love a moral problem so much more than a real problem.”
‘ Mad mel’ is weak. It’s the same way you are mocked by mainstream hacks.
Funny she thinks being an island reinforces Britain’s nationhood but not Ireland’s.
Phillip’s seemingly metaphysical idea of the British island state seems dangerously close to a belief in a race of Supermen who have to continuously defend against tribes of untermenschen
And a god-given freehold…
I look forward to Phillips being denounced by the Zionists, since she’s implicitly saying that Israel has only a tenuous claim to nationhood having only been established in 1947, a full 25 years later than the Irish.
Agree entirely, Phillips does not even bother to cover her output with a figleaf of rationality let alone evidence.
Anybody in doubt as to what constitutes hate speech need only replace ‘Muslim’ for ‘Jew’ and ‘Islam’ for ‘Judaism’ in the statement under examination. If it is not obvious you can always test the water by tweeting the amended statements. The interweb in its infinite wisdom will soon let you know.
She thought Saddam did indeed have those WMDs and they were hidden in secret underground chambers underneath the Euphrates.
…. and the impartial researcher who ‘discovered’ these bunkers? Dave Gaubatz, founder of
Mapping Sharia – “Correlations between Sharia Adherence and Violent Dogma in U.S. Mosques” and author of “Muslim Mafia: Inside the Secret Underworld That’s Conspiring to Islamize America.”
For an alternative view, Glenn Greenwald’s Right-wing blogs discover massive conspiracy to hide WMDs in Iraq.
Extract from WikiP on Ireland:
“”On 1 May 1169, an expedition of Cambro-Norman knights with an army of about six hundred landed at Bannow Strand in present-day County Wexford. It was led by Richard de Clare, called Strongbow due to his prowess as an archer.[44] The invasion, which coincided with a period of renewed Norman expansion, was at the invitation of Dermot Mac Murrough, the king of Leinster.[45]
In 1166, Mac Murrough had fled to Anjou, France, following a war involving Tighearnán Ua Ruairc, of Breifne, and sought the assistance of the Angevin king, Henry II, in recapturing his kingdom. In 1171, Henry arrived in Ireland in order to review the general progress of the expedition. He wanted to re-exert royal authority over the invasion which was expanding beyond his control. Henry successfully re-imposed his authority over Strongbow and the Cambro-Norman warlords and persuaded many of the Irish kings to accept him as their overlord, an arrangement confirmed in the 1175 Treaty of Windsor.””
Thus began the long, sad, history of Anglo-French, and later English interference in Ireland.
Essay topic for Phillips: “How Ireland became part of the “British” isles”.
Somebody had better break the news to Iceland. They only became independent in 1944. The case of Norway looks a bit dodgy too. 1905.
Funny how she’s a vehement supporter of israel.. another post 1922 “nation”.. I suppose the irony is lost on her
She might also have a look at this;
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plantations_of_Ireland
Familiar pattern?
What is the purpose of being a nation state if the nation state is not independent?
As of today the only independent states in the world are the US, Russia, China, Iran, Syria and North Korea. All other states are colonies of the US and follow the policies that the US instructs them to follow. The most amazing thing is that for the first time in a very long time there has emerged a man in the US who perhaps wishes to return independence to the rest of the world. Those who call most loudly for a kind of faux independence also rail most loudly against any prospect of genuine independence.
Why could that possibly be?
Interesting point. Why is Melanie Philips exempt to the normal rules? Same reason Trump is. It’d be a lifetimes work to hold either of them to account and most of all, whomsoever gives them a platform does so with tacit approval.
Or perhaps nobody ever told her “no” as a child…
Melanie Philips is a person of no interest whatsoever – just a small cog in the fake news industry. Most likely her main interest is in seeking to deploy specious arguments that are favorable to Israel. A lot of Israeli intransigence is a result of the example of South Africa – which has been comprehensively abandoned to its fate by the so called left. It is for this reason that the left does more to support Israel than Melanie Philips ever could – presumably they detest Melanie Philips because they see in her the consequences of their own actions.
Donald Trump has been given a platform by the American people – not with tacit approval but with specific approval. It is possible that he may unwind US hegemonic ambitions. Iraq and Libya were both destroyed in pursuance of US hegemony. Syria is being destroyed and Russia is being threatened for the same reason. All those who do not support Trump by obvious definition support mass slaughter up to and including the destruction of the planet in support of US hegemony. Presumably people hate Trump because he is forcing people to acknowledge their support for mass slaughter. Soon those who hate Trump will also be forced to confess their sneering contempt for the average American.
Loony is a good name for you.
At least I had the foresight to choose the name loony, whereas you have missed a trick insofar as your ideal name would be ad-hominem
“All those who do not support Trump by obvious definition support mass slaughter up to and including the destruction of the planet in support of US hegemony. ”
And that’s not just extended ad-hominem?
Get real.
Bob why not look at some facts.
Look at the number of countries whose governments have been overthrown by the US. Look at trends – at first it was places like Guatemala in support of the United Fruit Company, then places like Vietnam to oppose Communism more latterly places like Iraq and Syria in order to support US global hegemonic power.
Look at US debt levels and ask yourself what is the last place on earth left to rob that can stave off a debt collapse. Answer: Russia. The Russians have been clear – they intend to fight. In which case you, me and everyone else dies.
There is an unbroken trend over many decades in US policy – it ends in annihilation. Trump may seek to alter policy, in which case the end game may potentially be avoided. He may not so intend, and even if he does he may not succeed. He is however the only hope. All other possible candidates for POTUS would unquestionably have continued with the same policy.
Therefore all those who do not support Trump by obvious definition support mass slaughter up to and including the destruction of the planet in support of US hegemony. No-one other than a devotee of, or victim of, fake news could reasonably mistake this line of thought for an extended ad-hominem.
Listing a few American historical engagements and implying continuity between those events and politicians in 2017 is not proof of anything but a lunacy in your mind. As for “robbing” Russia – it’s Trump that has the Exxon-Oil contact in his administration and has designs on Russian resources.
Trump was given the tacit approval of the entire western press before he became president. What did you think I meant?
Certainly not what your clarification of meaning states.
“Today Phillips spreads the hatred still wider by telling us the Scots and the Irish are not real nations. Only Britain is an authentic nation.”
________
Strange Phillips should say that, for I always thought the reverse, for without the Home nations, there would be no Britain.
Speaking of nation’s and there births, I’m reminded, of the 2012 Eurovision Song contest, in which Britain’s participant was the spritely Engelbert Humperdinck, at the age of 76, Mr Humperdinck wasn’t just the oldest contestant, he was actually older than several of the nation’s taking part as well.
The rise of the right, especially South of the border, has emboldened many, indeed UKIP appear to be on one TV channel or another, on a regular basis.
The right wing bravado appears to have spread to Whitehall, manifesting itself in the form of empire. As the Civil service, secretly dubbed itself Empire 2.0, with regards to post-Brexit trade plans with African nations – Watch out Africa.
No doubt that old colonial feeling, will have the hair’s on the back of the necks standing, for those who long for the return of the British empire.
http://www.thenational.scot/politics/15137690.Tory____Empire_2_0____African_trade_plans_under_fire/?ref=mr&lp=14
… indeed UKIP appear to be on one TV channel or another, on a regular basis.
A possible resurgence of conscience following 25 years of no anti-EU comment or discussion whatsoever ?
BOMB – BOMB – BOMB Iran – Melanie Phillips – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYNwcxMe-8I
It was the US, UK and EU which between them empowered Iran and turned Russia into the most powerful kid on the block. The
regime changeslaughter in Syria is the result. Melanie Phillips June 2013The ‘slaughter’ in Syria was mitigated of course by the ‘White Helmets’ funded by the Intelligence services albatross the ‘Conflict, Stability and Security fund’ -£1 billion of UK taxes: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/mar/06/amber-rudd-secret-billion-pound-conflict-stability-security-fund…
I’m investigating and will report back.
absolutely agree about Melanie Phillips. Toxic ‘provocatrix’. But there. is also. not. much doubt that she simply isn’t very bright. She is one. of these people who are aggressively confident because they succumb to the simplistic logic of their own prejudices and cannot and do not extend themselves to consider any other position because their. pathological egotism is all consuming. There are many people like this and they are often in. high profile. positions. because more thoughtful. people are pushed. on to the back foot by the sheer chitzpah of the. performance although they are. quickly exposed as empty but hollowly loud -‘teem boxes’-as they say in Fife. They. get their high profile because they are. often confident (simplistic, stupid, certainty begets confidence) performers. BBC etc are dominated by people like this-where the performance virtues far outweigh the substance of anything they say. Basically, they are truculant but entertaining, teenagers.
There. is a question. however. as to why such organs as the. BBC knowingly make use of, and reward, such
intellectual flotsam and jetsam.
Agree, she’s pretty damn thick, but disguises this with the delivery of a stage lawyer. Probably got that from hubby, but…there’s something about her…quick Google…ah, yes. St. Anne’s, Oxford, read English. File under ‘expert on evverything’.
ok take your point. I want to make distinctions in qualities of intelligence though. Speed of thought is of course a useful attribute. Presentation skills are also important. I think it has. been reported that Tony Blair had prodigious powers of ‘recall’ in that. he. could. remember many bits of information (and many people and their names-even on single, short, encounters.
Interested to see that ‘ability’ in the. form of IQ varies within individuals. It varies according to income-if skint the IQ scores are much reduced. Thought to be related to ability to make longer term/short term choices.
Just. listened to. ‘any questions’ and a spat about Corbyn and. his lack of leadership. I had the thought that Corbyn’s support is based on a recognition and rejection of, by many people, of those gilded oxbridge illuminati successes, who turn out to be so clever that when big things come along, they are. guided. by the cultivated and groomed sense of their infallibility.
Is there a corollary. A connection between one’s ‘incapacities’, and one’s ability to defer ‘logic’ and ‘success’ to a deeper, more considered and more satisfactory moral position.
Apologies for going O/T.
Wikileaks released almost 9,000 document on CIA activities today, if anyone is interested?
https://wikileaks.org/ciav7p1/
Staying on the subject of “Intelligence” for a moment, when George. W. Budh was asked what his favourite childhood book was, he (Bush) replied The Very Hungry Caterpillar by (Eric Carle) however the book was published when Bush was 23 years of age.
I wish WikiLeaks would target someone other than the United States, you know, ever…
If they continually degrade all our intelligence capabilities, well, we won’t be very intelligent when it’s all done.
Speaking of children’s books, did any of you “Scots” read any Mollie Hunter?
I think that they hace a policy. Something to the effect that any country with 900 bases abroad, armed agents operating in about 90 countries, at war permanently and promoting proxy forces in dozens of places gets the same treatment.
The CIA has been involved with cultural policies that have been dumbing the populace down. Like television and recent Hollywood.
No, that’s Republicans & FOX News.
They’re all very stupid.
But Dem supporters are definitely much more stupid than Republican supporters.
All Dems do these days is abstract idealism and emotion.
At least Republicans address concrete issues like jobs and the economy.
The fantasy world that’s been sold to the public over the past forty years is over.
Those who know nothing but that world may find themselves a bit lost as reality hits home.
My favourite Bush quote is “The French don’t even know what an entrepreneur is!”
Wasn’t it “The French don’t even have a word for Entrepreneur in their language” ?
Probably. Thanks for the correction. I admit my mistakes.
The BBC doubtless has several managerial objectives:
Spread the word/consolidate the one country UK concept. Notice Teresa May refers to country not UK nations in discussion.Assimilation is the code word.
Spread/develop global awareness of the UK/London/England via BBC world service – my experience whilst living abroad, wholly English news and drama.
Viewing numbers – hence controversial, you might say obnoxious “personalities” like Melanie Phillips, Clarkson. And, Ms Hopkins, whatever channel she is on
Promoting UK/England sport.
Why pay any attention to the BBC, unless you are actively seeking to be brainwashed?
In your case your mention of sport (as promoted by the BBC) you have likely been successful in terms of voluntary brainwashing. The BBC has substantially no coverage of sport (as that term is defined in the dictionary). Rather it concentrates on activities wholly corrupted by either drugs or money or both. A more honest alternative to BBC sports would be either to gaze at a bank or to gaze at a pharmacy.
In Australia we have a National Living Treasure named Michael Leunig who draws just such wonderful cartoons as you evoke here with your suggestion. Michael also writes essays which have me weeping and laughing on the one page. Michael Leunig too, receives huge amounts of condescension, sneers and scorn. But he goes on, anyway –
Our National Living Treasure.
I remember hearing her on the Moral Maze oppose gay marriage on the grounds that the marriage sacrament was invalidated if a couple could not produce children ‘naturally’ through intercourse. As a recovering Catholic, I seem to recall that this was orthodoxy for the Church of Rome. Maybe it still is, but the logic of this medievalism, of course, is that people who are infertile or paraplegic should not be allowed to marry either. I suspect, but might be wrong, that Phillips wouldn’t argue that, which suggests that her opposition to gay marriage is, as usual, just a matter of hate and prejudice. As with so much of what she says, there’s a pretence of intellectualism and moral authority, but it’s really just a bit thick.
“the marriage sacrament was invalidated if a couple could not produce children ‘naturally’ through intercourse. As a recovering Catholic, I seem to recall that this was orthodoxy for the Church of Rome.”
I think the cultist retort to that argument is that a miracle is always possible (but not for the gays).
Jonathan Cook from within the belly of the beast on Israel’s crazy policy of excluding certain visitors.
Israel: Where Vision and Reality Violently Diverge
by Jonathan Cook / March 6th, 2017
Dustin Pfundheller, 30, an American dentist living in Singapore, was set to become the youngest person to visit every country in the world while in a full-time job. His globetrotting has taken him to 192 of the 193 recognised states, bringing his medical skills to the world’s remotest places. But in January he was barred for the second time from Israel, the only country left on his list, having previously been refused entry last year.
Despite an invitation to a dental conference in Tel Aviv, and Israelis who vouched for him, border officials banned Mr Pfundheller for 10 years. No reason was given, but lawyers suspect visits to Iran and the Arab states sealed his fate. There could hardly be starker evidence that Israel stubbornly refuses to become a normal country.
Paradoxically, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Singapore last month to promote Israel as a tolerant country, one “committed to a better world, a world of diversity.”
The reality could not be more different. Arabs and Muslims have always struggled to gain entry to Israel. Palestinians are routinely abused at the borders, and thousands, especially from Jerusalem, have been stripped of the right to return home after living abroad.
/..
http://dissidentvoice.org/2017/03/israel-where-vision-and-reality-violently-diverge/
Perhaps Mel could explain.
“No reason was given, but lawyers suspect visits to Iran and the Arab states sealed his fate.”
He should have done Israel first. Then Dissident Voice could have done an article on how he was refused entry to Iran and Pakistan. Lol.
Interesting inadvertent juxtaposition.
” There could hardly be starker evidence that Israel stubbornly refuses to become a normal country…”
I can think of some.
Actually this story suggests an unwonted sense of proportion in the Border Officials- anything to put an end to records like “the youngest person to visit every country in the world while in a full-time job…” is OK in my book.
Ah yes the stubborn refusal of Israel to become a normal country.Not really a very useful criticism absent a definition of “normal”
How about Saudi Arabia a country that bans women from driving, has the death penalty for apostasy and prefers to throw women into burning buildings than for them to be on the street improperly dressed. Is that normal?
How about North Korea – Is that a normal country?
Rwanda – chopped up some 800,000 people in a matter of months – normal?
Iraq, Libya, Syria, Somalia, Yemen, Sudan, South Sudan any of them normal?
There is an ongoing shortage of toilet paper in Venezuela and the economy is in a state of collapse. Venezuela has the largest oil reserves of any country on the planet – Is Venezuela a normal country?
Is Zimbabwe a normal country? Or how about South Africa where the government is mooting land seizures – Is that normal?
How about Papua New Guinea where cargo cultism still holds some sway. Is that normal?
Iran executes homosexuals – normal?
Ukraine is in a state of civil war. Normal?
Is the Greek economy normal?
The US has 2% of global population but 25% of global prisoners. Normal?
The UK – a country infested with and obsessed by strange and disturbing sex scandals – normal?
Who would describe Nigeria as a normal country? (Certainly not Nigerians). Have you checked out the situation in Equatorial Guinea? Doesn’t seem very normal to me.
But still who cares about all of these places – far less interesting than seeking to define a Israel as abnormal because it refuses to admit some random dentist who no-one has ever heard of.
“Whataboutary” at its finest.
Not really Glenn. It is Ebglish.
“Normal” means “conforming to a standard, usual, typical or expected”
Therefore if Israel is not normal then there needs to be a standard against which its abnormality can be measured. Perhaps you can propose such a standard, or perhaps you can’t.
In the absence of such a standard then what is really being discussed is one particular subjective view that demands Israel be classified as abnormal simply because it does not conform to someones imagined standards or personal preferences. In all probability these imagined standards are the product of a narcissistic and virtue signalling mindset that is determined to detach itself from observable reality. I believe that the psychiatric profession classify such thinking as a form of mental illness..
How about, a normal country has borders. Israel does not.
OK – so what are borders of Saudi Arabia?
Is Crimea part of the Ukraine or part of Russia?
Why is Kuwait a separate country from Iraq? Is this a legitimate border? What is the Neutral Zone and why does it exist?
What is border in Kashmir as between India and Pakistan?
What are the borders of China?
Identifying Israel as abnormal on account of its borders (or lack thereof) does not meet the test of failing to conform to a standard
Even more whataboutary from you, Loony.
Anyone can attempt to deflect justifiable criticism by reference to even worse behaviour by someone else, just about.
How “normal” is it to keep another people as refugees in their own country?
How “normal” is it to be an occupying force of another country for 70 years?
How “normal” is it to declare a different race second class citizens?
How “normal” is it to have checkpoints to humiliate and delay just one race within a country, and have roads criss-crossing a country which only one race are allowed to drive upon?
How “normal” is it to demolish the home of the family member of an alleged criminal – but only if it belongs to the unfavoured race?
How “normal” is it for the occupying army to decide to take over a school belonging to the unfavoured race, destroy all the kids’ work, shit and piss everywhere and smear it all over walls, desks, draws, stationary etc. while they vandalise the school for a week or so?
This could be continued at exceptional length.
Don’t worry, I’m not expecting an honest response to these perfectly obvious points, so very little is expected of you here.
By the way, the answer is that for Israel, this is entirely “normal” because they do it all the fucking time.
Very well said, Loony.
It is good to see people exposing those silly little insults like “not normal” or “fascist” or “racist” for what they often are – unthinking, unconsidered, intellectually lazy, ejaculatory expressions of hate-thought (whether addressed to real entities or other commenters on the blog).
Interesting discussion.
“What is normal?”
Loony plumped for semantics and abstraction.
And quite convincingly.
Few lame one line replies from Glenn.
Game over.
But!
Then Glenn comes back with a litany of concrete abnormalities.
You just kinda know.
It’s a moral thing.
And not quite the maze some would have us think.
Game over.
Equatorial Guinnea
http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2015/02/letter-equatorial-guinea-forget-human-rights-here-comes-football
Black Beach Prison.
I’ve searched for ‘normal’ all my life. Through communities, relationships, churches, books, universities, workplaces around the globe. There is no such thing/person/institution as ‘ normal’.
This malicious woman has even scored a rebuke from the the very civilised and erudite Irish ambassador to the Court of St. James.
https://twitter.com/DanMulhall/status/839051223244369921
Ireland is not a nation but BRITAIN is. Mindbending stuff.
Miss PHillips likes to pump herself up and become the unofficial spokesperson for the FoI in the British party system.
thanks for picking up on this ‘coverage’ conundrum again, Craig, and the reminder from Mark G. of her persistent right wing amplification here.
How is it possible that a proponent with such split loyalties can hold such a high profile in our MSM?
Ask to interview her Craig, see what her views are on incarcerating Palestinian children and whether her love for Golda, ‘there are no Palestinians, they are all terrorists, Meir is still alive and well?
^^Made-up quote. Fake news.
No. (1) Not fake.
Meir claimed inthe NYT in 1979 that it was a misquotation of what she said in an interview with the Sunday Times in 1969
Which is here:
Frank Giles: Do you think the emergence of the Palestinian fighting forces, the Fedayeen, an important new factor in the Middle East?
Golda Meir: Important, no. A new factor, yes. There was no such a thing as Palestinians. When was there an independent Palestinian people with a Palestinian State? It was either southern Syria before the First World War and than it was a Palestine including Jordan. It was not as though there was a Palestinian people in Palestine considering itself as a Palestinian people and we came and threw them out and took their country away from them. They did not exist.
http://cosmos.ucc.ie/cs1064/jabowen/IPSC/php/art.php?aid=171679
The intention is clear enough, though.
And (2). Not news. Olds.
You really need to stop visiting http://[email protected] , Anon.
Ireland’s very national anthem is A Nation Once Again.
No. That was rejected in favour of The Soldiers’ Song (Sinne Fiana Fáil).
Dan’s a very amusing chap. Do his words still tumble out in no particularly discernable order when he’s excited?
The Ambassador of the Republic of Ireland to the UK writes powerfully and beautifully.
1916 and its commemoration
https://www.dfa.ie/irish-embassy/great-britain/about-us/ambassador/ambassadors-blog-2016/december-2016/1916-and-its-commemoration/
So he may do but have you ever heard him talk when he’s got excited? 🙂
Melanie Phillips is as mad as Nicola Sturgeon
Hi Michael, I’m not sure if you are Sexist Sid or Roger Irrelevant from Viz – either way, you are are dated cartoon character, although not always entertaining.
So, Sturgeon might be a bit less mad than Melanie
but is she sane enough to run a party?
I very much doubt.
Louise Mensch has decided that Putin murdered Andrew Breitbart.
Of all the dispiriting things which have happened recently the elevation of this moron who is now heralded as an expert on Russia is probably the saddest.
Loony, me brainwashed? I don’t have a TV license, stopped several years back, “I’m not paying to be lied to” was my response to their visiting reps. I do scan the tv programmes on newspapers – Great British….., sitcoms, silly costume dramas. Life’s clock keeps ticking.
Sport? Turn the sound off and then note how “exciting” the sporting event is.
“Sport? Turn the sound off and then note how “exciting” the sporting event is.”
_________
Velofello.
Interestingly, Ireland, a on topic point, and sport, come together, in a rather bizarre way, from 1912 to 1928, painting was classed as a Olympic sport, Jack Yeats brother of poet J.B Yeats, won Ireland first ever Olympic medal, a silver, by coming second.
Now Velofello, wouldn’t that be a sight worth watching on TV, with the sound up. ?
Interesting story WB though.
W.B it is Bevin, thank you. ?
Melanie is a national treasure . You tell us why the evil unreformed, medieval , murderous totalitarian belief system is so in accord with your smug largesse .
What does “largesse” mean in this context?
Craig’s idea of “radical thought” is a far cry from the radical liberal tradition he often claims to be descended from. He wants to shut free speech down, ban it as “hate speech”, turn it into a criminal offence under such ludicrous constructions as “Islamophobia”.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with even the most vehement criticism of religions, particularly one as demonstrably violent as Islam. When was the last time Craig criticized anything about Islam, which is surely as opposed to his liberal ideals as it is possible to be?
No, this radical free-thinking liberal calls criticism of a religion “incitement to religious hatred”, and reports it to the authorities. Pfft.
You realize it was Christianity that 1. annihilated most other religions across 5 continents and stole all their land, and 2. created Islam?
Since the end of World War Two the United States of America has butchered far more people worldwide than the Nazis ever did. The people at the forefront of this slaughter have been almost entirely ‘Christian’ fundamentalists. The current Vice President of the USA is a batshit crazy Christian fundamentalist who believes in creationism and the Rapture, and also believes that dinosaur bones were placed on this Earth as a test ‘of our faith’.
Those who want to get rid of Trump should be careful of what they wish for. Mike Pence & Co are all screaming for war with Russia and Iran.
Total-batshit-crazies.
Sorry, what were you saying about Islam..?
Craig’s in the tank for Islam. It’s too pathetic for words.
“No, this radical free-thinking liberal calls criticism of a religion “incitement to religious hatred”, and reports it to the authorities. ”
_______________________
Does that mean that Lysias will be calling Craig an “odious snitch” as well? 🙂
Hit one, hit all, I say.
If it’s illegal to criticise one group:
http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/britain-adopt-controversial-definition-anti-semitism-stop-hate-crimes-353654024
it should be illegal to criticise any comparable group
and someone who “reports it to the authorities” is merely doing his civic duty.
Nice Norman Davies phrase. His Forgotten Kingdoms is a fascinating study of vanishing and now forgotten states (the rulers of some pop up elsewhere, like Poland, ruling here for example).
Tony Benn once said, every single generation has to fight the same battles over and over again.
With the neo-con lie rapidly collapsing in ruins we now seem to be in new territory.
The Great Leap Forwards?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZaYEniPaJg
“Tony Benn once said, every single generation has to fight the same battles over and over again.”
The battle to avoid inheritance tax.
The laughable thing is that people like you, who totally swallow all the childish propaganda, are just as enslaved as those dusky-skinned people that you hate so much.
Cheer up Rob, it may never happen.
Try The Slits
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyXGblps64M
Michael, thank you for that. Back in the day I saw the Slits performing live at the old Marquee Club.
Quite by chance, I was right there when punk rock first kicked-off (I saw one of the first ever gigs by a band called the Sex Pistols).. The original punk rock was in no way racist; quite the opposite in fact, as envisaged by bands like ‘The Clash’. Yet again, history gets re-written. If you were there at the time who can forget this number…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6GDdKrQ8EI
If interested here’s a very good documentary about the Sex Pistols…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vWd3S9FCNk
You really couldn’t make this stuff up!
I like dusky skin
JEREMY Corbyn has stepped back from supporting a SNAP general election after two Tory peers called on Saint Theresa May to go to the polls early.
However, during a tetchy BBC interview the Old Labour generalissimo, after much prompting, insisted that his party could WIN a snap election and that support for it across the UK should not be underestimated!!!
http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/15139365.Jeremy_Corbyn_steps_back_from_supporting_a_snap_general_election/
He sounds as deluded as sturgeon
I can’t quite see why Melanie Phillips has more doubts about the nationhood of Ireland than she has about the nationhood of Israel. Ireland was independent in 1922, but autochthonous for millennia before that; Israel was independent only in 1947, and is still being “settled” in what is at best only controversially its territory in 2017.
It is true that people have been going to live in Israel ever since 1948/9 and it is true that people have continued to leave Ireland for a better life ever since independence and up to the present.