Michael Nazir-Ali resigns
I was shocked to learn this morning of the resignation of the Bishop of Rochester, Michael Nazir-Ali. This is a massive blow to the Church of England, which has little enough credibility as it is. There are, effectively, only two Bishops of the established Church who make a regular and positive impact on a broad [...]
Cutting ties with the MCB
The Communities Secretary Hazel Blears has suspended ties with the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) in a row about a statement signed by one of its leaders, Daud Abdullah, which appears to countenance the use of violence against British forces:
Blears has suspended official links with the MCB over allegations that its deputy general secretary endorsed [...]
Proportional Representation and the BNP
Sadie Smith has a thing or two to say about Jon Cruddas’ call for proportional representation:
Firstly, there’s the brain-wangling contention that to thwart the BNP we should actually work on getting more of them elected:
“First-past-the-post actually increases support for marginal parties such as the BNP because it allows Labour to ignore them in constituencies where [...]
Anti-semitic crackpot stands down
Clive Davis points us at James Fallows, who isn’t sure that Charles W. Freeman Jr., who has withdrawn as nominee for post of Chairman of the U.S. National Intelligence Council, was quite as bad as he was painted by sections of the media:
After learning something about the now-resigned Chas Freeman, I came to disagree with, [...]
Guns and custard
Here’s Andy Carling on Custardgate:
In [Leila Deen's] defence, she says Mandy is unelected. Well, Mandy has previously been elected by the people of Hartlepool and is in his current position at the request of an elected government. Precisely who elected Leila Deen? Who elected Plane Stupid to represent them?
And we might add, have Leila Deen [...]
Beating the BNP with wishful thinking
This article was originally posted at A Progressive Viewpoint.
As occasionally happens these days, concerns are being expressed about an upsurge of support for the British National Party. Maybe this year they will win some seats in the European Parliament to go alongside their single seat on the Greater London Assembly and few dozen local councillors.
Some [...]
Beating the BNP with wishful thinking
As occasionally happens these days, concerns are being expressed about an upsurge of support for the British National Party. Maybe this year they will win some seats in the European Parliament to go alongside their single seat on the Greater London Assembly and few dozen local councillors.
Some kind of breakthrough for the BNP in [...]