Bartholomew's Notes

Here’s a blogger who’s come under threat for criticising (UK) Kent County Council’s internet-based Kent TV service. The station, paid for by tax payers in the county,  is provided by Bob Geldof’s production company Ten Alps. Private Eye reports (1229, p. 11):

[Tony Flaig] received a pompous letter from Jo Phillips, “director of communications” for Ten Alps, claiming he had made “inappropriate, unlawful and damaging allegations about Kent TV and the people who work there”. Ms Phillips, who has since left the company, concluded: “Please therefore ensure that your blog does not publish any further defamatory statements about Kent TV. I trust you will not do so, but if you do, you should note that Ten Alps reserves the right, if appropriate to protect the reputations of our staff, initiate legal proceedings without further reference to you.”

It’s unclear from the report whether Phillips made specific objections to particular assertions – a vague complaint of “defamatory statements” would fail to meet the Pre-action Protocol for Defamation.

Flaig also received the following, from Geoff Wild, Kent County Council’s director of law and governance:

If you continue to choose to exercise your right to free speech in the manner that you do – as is your right – you must expect to take whatever consequences the law provides…

And under UK libel law, that means Flaig, a railway track-layer by trade, would be forced to defend himself under presumption of guilt and without Legal Aid against a powerful organisation with infinitely larger resources. Even if Flaig is confident he’s done nothing wrong, making a stand means gambling with financial ruin. That is what “the law provides” in the UK.

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From the Daily Telegraph:

[Benjamin] Netanyahu, who claimed to have forecast the destruction of the Twin Towers by Islamic extremists in 1995, said terrorists would target the Church of the Holy Sepulchre – Christianity’s holiest site.

“Radical Islam is willing and will want to attack the symbolic heart of the Christian religion,” he said. “This will incur a chain reaction we can’t even envision. We will witness an escalation of religious conflict above and beyond the regional conflict we have now.”

The leader of the Right-wing Likud opposition recalled that he had warned Islamic terrorists would detonate a nuclear device in the Manhattan World Trade Centre complex in a 1995 book, six years before the Sept 11 attacks.

…and a mere two years AFTER Islamic terrorists bombed the World Trade Center – which the report fails to mention.

Netanyahu is of course trying to scare us into accepting that Israel ought to retain control of the site. The Holy Sepulchre was destroyed by a Muslim fanatic once before – but that was back in 1009, and the Caliph responsible was mad. Doubtless al Qaeda finds the place religiously objectionable, but there is no indication that its leaders have any interest in plotting to destroy the site, either for religious reasons or as a strategy to stir up strife.

On the other hand, Jewish extremists torched a church in Jerusalem in 2007 – and back in 1983 a Greek Orthodox church in Bethany (Eizariya) was attacked with a hand grenade. There have also of course been Israeli far-right plots to blow up the Dome of the Rock: in 1983, and allegedly in 2005.

And we should recall that Netanyahu enjoys close links with American Christian Zionists, and he has never complained about the Christian Zionist fantasy which would see the ancient Islamic structures on the Temple Mount demolished to make way for a new Jewish temple. Over to Billye Brim, Regional Director for Christians United for Israel:

Yerushalayim, in Yerushalayim there is a hill, where Abraham offered Isaac, Moriah, the Temple Mount. On that hill there is a rock [Dramatic pause] where a holy arch stood. Today there’s a dome over the rock. [Dramatic pause] God has a plan for that hill.

That was at a “Night to Honor Israel”, at which regular event at John Hagee’s church Netanyahu has also appeared. On another occasion, Brim was more explicit in her barbaric plans:

…We’ll see it come down. Lots of other people have prayed it, God’s put it all together. We just happen to be the ones that were there on November the ninth, the date of Kristallnacht, the date that the Berlin Wall fell over, and he had us there. And he had us saying “that Dome is coming down!” [ululation] Hallelujah, Glory be to God! Bless the name of Jesus.

(Name variations: Holy Sepulcher, Anatasis)

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As I’ve blogged several times over the past few months, following a schism there are now two groups called the London Swinton Circle, which was founded “For Traditional Conservatism and Unionism”. One group is linked to Alan Harvey and his “Springbok Club”, while the other is run by Allan Robertson. Both groups have declared an anathema on the other; presumably the one that prevails will be whichever gets the most credibility from prominent outside speakers.

First off the mark, then, is the Robertson sect:

The Reverend Dr Peter Mullen addressed the Swinton Circle at its winter buffet on the 28th January.

The Swinton Circle thanks the Reverend Mullen for his lecture which was entitled “The Rise and Rise of Aggressive Secularism”. The lecture has now been published on the Reverend’s website and can be accessed by clicking here.

Mullen has featured on this blog previously – a “right” libertarian, he is Chaplain to the Stock Exchange and the Freedom Association, and he hit the headlines in October with a “joke” (which he later repented of) about forcing gay men to be tattooed with health warnings.

Mullen’s sermon is interesting as neither of the Swinton Circles advertises itself as promoting religion; yet Mullen was invited to give a typically self-satisfied and middle-brow “intellectual” sermon consisting of some random bugbears about secularism and explaining that

atheists and secularists favour the doctrine of evolution for ideological reasons. It fits with their progressive prejudices. Starting with Darwin’s first followers, such as Herbert Spencer, secularists have always tried to make a link between physical evolution and moral evolution.

Mullen instead appears to support Intelligent Design, although by describing evolution as a “doctrine” rather than as a “theory” it seems to me a more thorough-going rejection of evolutionary biology is implied.

Unsurprisingly, Mullen is also a popular figure at the Social Affairs Unit; this think tank also links Conservative politics with the rejection of Darwin.

[NB: It is not here claimed that Mullen has any sympathies with the aims, opinions, or activities of the Swinton Circle]

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As MediaWatchWatch notes, Jerry Springer: The Opera is to be performed at St. Andrews University, to the annoyance of conservative Christian groups. One quote, however, particularly stands out:

Solicitor Michael Phillips, who represented Christian Voice when they sued the BBC for blasphemy after broadcasting the musical in 2007, said: “It’s a worry that this production is rearing up again, and it’s sad that something with so little artistic merit was given such a lot of attention because it used profanity and blasphemy.

“St Andrews University could be opening themselves up for protests which could lead to legal action if there is somebody with the right funding behind them.”

That BBC prosecution famously failed, leaving Christian Voice leader Stephen Green with a massive legal bill. Phillips is a member of the Lawyers’ Christian Fellowship, which has links with the US Christian Right’s Alliance Defense Fund, and which I blogged on here. He also represented Emily Mapfuwa in her failed case against the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art last year.

So what exactly does Phillips mean by the phrase “protests which could lead to legal action if there is somebody with the right funding behind them”? What legal action? By whom? The play isn’t illegal, so what can he have in mind?

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From the Sunday Mercury:

THE Muslim population at a Midland prison housing terrorists masterminds has almost DOUBLED in just two years.

…Terror expert Glen Jenvey said: “There is a whole support network from outside prison walls for terrorists locked away in British prisons.

“They are sent religious texts, given links to extremist websites and handed all the tools they need to spread their fanatic ideology.

“Prayer services inside some prisons are not monitored by guards, and inmates can speak in Arabic to avoid being detected.

“Men like Abu Qatada are able to reach out to young Muslims and influence them.

“Terrorists and extremists are hijacking Islam to radicalise thugs for their own criminal plans. It’s disgraceful and these men have to be stopped.”

So, Jenvey is still available as a rent-a-quote, yet there’s no (proper) response to the allegations about why the Sun and other papers pulled his “British Jews on terror list” scoop.

The prison under discussion is HMP Long Lartin, and apparently joining a Muslim gang is a good way to get protection from other gangs.

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From a discussion forum:

It’s also the way I write – there was much parental disappointment when I was first given a fountain pen and was completely unable to use it.

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Among the slew of anti-Muslim screeds published in recent years, one of the more prominent was The Sword of the Prophet, by Serge Trifkovic. Despite Trifokovic’s dubious background as a former spokesman for Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic (although he also spoke against Slobodan Milsoevic), he was embraced by American conservatives  – paleo and neo – as yet another expert who dared to tell “the truth” about Muslims and Islam. Here he is on Frontpage, discoursing on the subject with fellow polemicists Robert Spencer and Walid Shoebat. Sites such as Jihad Watch and pundits such as Don Feder toasted his efforts; Brian Mitchell of Investor’s Business Daily gushed over him as

a European historian of broad learning, sound philosophy and keen political insight.

In 2006, Trifkovic demonstrated this “keen political insight” in a cosy interview with the BNP’s Nick Griffin, in which he took at face value Griffin’s denials of racism and failed to ask any questions about either Griffin’s anti-semitic past or the various private comments made by BNP leaders expressing crude racism and praise for Hitler. The BNP has a Jewish town councillor, Patricia Richardson, and this is presented as evidence that the BNP has rejected its past anti-semitism – although in fact Griffin has (by his own admission) merely discarded anti-Jewish politics for anti-Muslim as a matter of strategy.

And as it happens, Richardson and Trifkovic will be meeting at the end of this week at a conference in Baltimore entitled “Preserving Western Civilization”. According to the event’s “statement of purpose“:

We believe that America’s Judeo-Christian heritage and European identity must be defended. Today, our glorious Western civilization is under assault from many directions. Three such threats will be discussed at this conference. First, the massive influx to the United States and Europe of Third-World immigrants who do not share our fundamental political and cultural values. Second, the threat from Islam, a militant ideology that is hostile to our society and, in principle, committed to destroying it. Third, because of the persistent disappointing performance of blacks (which many whites mistakenly blame on themselves) many whites have guilt feelings that undermine Western morale and deter us from dealing sensibly with the other threats.

The same statement on the pdf brochure omits the first sentence and “Today, our glorious”.

The conference is being organised by Dr. Michael H. Hart, an astrophysicist who claims that human history should be interpreted by considering differences in racial IQs; he also argues that the USA should be divided into white, black, and mixed “nations”. Other speakers include Philippe Rushton, the “scientific” racialist who believes that white intellectual superiority over blacks can be inversely correlated to size of genitalia – as I blogged here, in 2006 he spoke on the “biological basis of patriotism” at a Right Now! conference held at Mark Mason’s Hall in central London – and the usual characters from the American Renaissance circuit.

(Hat tip: David Williams, “Richardson goes West”, in Searchlight Magazine, 404, February 2009, p. 23.)

(Name variations: “Preserving Western Civilisation”; Srdja Trifkovi?; Sr?a Trifkovi?)

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The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has just issued a report on Congo; a couple of paragraphs are devoted to the subject of children who have been accused of witchcraft:

78. While the Committee notes that awareness-raising and rehabilitation activities for children accused of witchcraft have been developed, however remains concerned that a large number of children are labeled as witches and consequently suffer serious stigmatization. The Committee is also concerned that violence against children accused of witchcraft is increasing, and that children are being kept as prisoners in religious buildings where they are exposed to torture and ill-treatment or even killed under the pretext of exorcism.

79. The Committee urges the State party to take effective measures to prevent children from being accused of witchcraft, including through continuing and strengthening public awareness-raising activities, particularly directed at parents and religious leaders and by addressing the root causes inter alia poverty. The Committee further urges the State party to implement legislative and other measures to criminalize making accusations against children of witchcraft and bring to justice persons responsible for violence and ill-treatment of children accused of witchcraft. Finally, the Committee recommends the State party to provide measures recovery and reintegration measures for children who have been victims of such practices.

I’ve blogged on the subject several times, such as here – I’ve also followed reports about the same problem in Nigeria.

In both countries, it should be noted, the phenomenon is a relatively new one – in the past children were considered too weak and uneducated to be witches. The subject has been tackled by the anthropologist Filip De Boeck, whose analysis is summarised by Diane Chesla here:

The role of the child and his/her power structure have been changing within the family system in Kinshasa. With access to artisanal diamond mining in neighbouring Angola, teens have been able acquire significant wealth, often greater sums than that of either parent. This has given the child the power to defy the parents; and, in fact, a type of role reversal occurs.

The role of child as soldier (notably evident with Laurent Kabila’s march into Kinshasa surrounded by underage armed soldiers) presented the idea of guns as power to impressionable Congolese youth. Again, the child learns he can be liberated from the constraints of family life by turning to the streets, witchcraft and life as a soldier.

Changing maternal roles are also evident in Kinshasa. Women, for example, may engage in activities generated by diamond mining in Angola and are absent from the family. In some cases, the fathers are absent as well, as they take up arms in the ongoing conflict. These examples show how kin relations in the capital are changing and affecting the role and power structure of the Congolese child. The child’s response is to liberate him/herself by turning to the street and the occult. Similarly, witchcraft is a solution to rid the family of a child thought responsible for inexplicable hardships.

****

PS: accusing children of witchcraft is not just an African thing; the Independent reported in 2001 that

Just over a year ago, Brandi [Blackbear] was summarily suspended from Union Intermediate High School in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, and told to stay at home for two weeks. The reason had to do with her ceramics teacher, a certain Mr Kemp, who had fallen suddenly ill and had been rushed in to hospital.

According to the assistant principal of the school, Brandi had caused this sudden illness by casting a spell on Mr Kemp.

No proof was offered for this startling assertion other than the evidence of Brandi’s right hand, which was scrawled with a five-pointed star in a circle. Charlie Bushyhead, the assistant principal, insisted it was a witch’s pentagram and badgered her into admitting that she was an adherent of the Wicca, the popular New Age religion that harks back to pagan models of spirituality.

… Mr Kemp was not stricken by some mystery ailment but, rather, underwent a routine emergency operation for appendicitis and has since fully recovered. The ceramics teacher was not himself a party to the accusations against Brandi and appears to have been one of her favourite instructors at the school.

That story was eventually made into a movie.

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