philosophy, politics, education, economics, stupid politicians, atheism, secularism and religion
This is a longer read than usual because I needed to be clearer about how my proposed DFTP (Democracy For The People Party ) could improve matters. I was prompted to write after a recent discussion in my local pub with a friend who strongly disagreed with me. If you disagree with my proposal I would love to hear your thoughts as to how we could get out of the short-term decision-making and economic mess we have been in since
Prince Andrew’s latest example of corruption has encouraged me to release another Chapter of my book ‘British Politics is broken, but…‘ This is for those of you who have not bought my book but who might be just persuaded to read or listen to this complete chapter. Just below is the Audible version where you may hear my mellifluous tones reading the full chapter. Today’s Royal family are the anachronistic remnants of a feudal and barbaric group who have, over
Humanists UK teamed up with their Vice President Professor Alice Roberts to explore the humanist approach to life in their brand new animation for children: ‘One Life, Live It Well.’ 🎥 Please watch the video below; just two minutes of your time, you will love it. Humanists UK hope that ‘One Life, Live It Well‘ will be of value to teachers and schools as well as engaging a wider public audience with what it means to have a humanist outlook on
My second book is the first to be published and is all about the danger that faith creates for society. Perhaps not something that most of you might think about, but hopefully this might provoke some discussion. The book is on Amazon in paperback, Audible and Kindle versions. You can read the first twenty or so pages by using the “Look inside” feature. I started my second book six months before the Covid-19 virus appeared so the use of the
Words and their changed meaning The process of that change fascinates me. First we need a definition from the Oxford English Dictionary (OED). Then I will move on to what happened at Batley Grammar School. The OED states that a phobia is an irrational fear of something. So Islamophobia should therefore mean ‘an irrational fear of Islam’. Now it apparently means “a hatred of Islam”. That change of meaning has turned into that ridiculous recent creation, viz. a Hate Crime.
“No one is above the law”; if only that were true… I quote Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, speaking on January 13th 2021. She said it as she confirmed the second impeachment of Donald Trump. The very fact that she even needed to say those words yesterday reflects the depths to which democracy has descended in the USA. There are many ways in which politicians and the rich in the USA are above the law.
Nigel’s response to my letter is just underneath my response to his response. Dear Mr Huddleston Thank you for responding. I hope to change your mind eventually because we really have no real alternative. However, once again you miss my point entirely. The very existence of “faith” (i.e. irrational) schools is divisive and it has to be up to government to force the change. Government seems set on actively, but blindly, promoting a path of societal division and is ignoring
My letter sent to our local MP sent today Dear Nigel Huddleston MP I have written to you before about faith schools and their very existence which cause many obvious divisions in society. Parliament still actively encourages this rapidly developing calamity by funding and encouraging ever more faith schools – but why? Society has changed fundamentally in the last 60 years and I want my representative in parliament to come out in support of radical change. A secular education system
Such an important issue this, as is evidenced on front pages everywhere and QuestionTime on BBC 1 last Thursday. Opinions ranged from Rory Stewart(*1) saying “Kill them, there is no alternative”. Then the leftist intellectuals saying “understand them, hug them but then imprison them”. Finally the Questiontime audience saying “don’t let them back in, they have lost any rights, they might have had as British citizens”, by going out there to fight for ISIS etc. What I think what Rory
Oh I know the title of this piece is a bit Daily Mail! But, while the press & TV concentrate on Theresa May’s announcement promoting grammar schools, a far more important part of the new education bill she proposes gets hardly any air time at all. May wants to increase both the number, and the selective power, of faith schools, by effectively removing the current 50% non-faith element! For god’s sake ( 😉 that is today’s only attempt at humour) will all our politicians, and
A few words of light relief and escape from the nauseating, banal utterances from both sides of the public EU debate. This piece was written sometime ago by an American contributor to this blog, and for some reason I have not published it before. It is well worth a read. Thank you perspective. Belief in some kind of “higher power,” or not, has a relationship to one’s preference in governance. The Left has the most straightforward belief in a higher
Peter Brookes said it beautifully in his cartoon printed six weeks before Saudi Arabia executed 45 ‘enemies of state’. I can’t show it on my blog but you can see it here. It’s becoming clear that our view of Saudi Arabia is in need of review (Ed: Understatement of the decade?). ISIS Meanwhile our boys have carried out 4 bombing raids in Syria with absolutely nothing to show for their efforts. All the hoohah in the recent Parliamentary debate was really
I summarise some recent news and offer a long term solution as human misery is being played out at Europe’s borders. Hundreds of thousands of foreign Muslims are trying to migrate to northern Europe from Syria and Iraq, to name but two countries. A few hundred British Muslims have left for Syria to help set up an Islamic Caliphate in parts of Syria and Iraq. I wonder if those travelling to Syria have wondered why so many of their Muslim
This piece has been coming for a while now. Recent the new Fox hunting bill, and the Scottish National Party’s successes recently, kicked it back into life. The United Kingdom of Great Britain is the name of this country, which I love, and in which, I live. The name describes poetically, and politically, where the British people live and how we expect to be governed. It took over a fifteen hundred years to unite this island’s disparate warring tribes into
Our Dave wants to defeat the poison of radical Islam, jolly good eh? Well, no, he still defends state funded faith schools. His use of the word poison, copies Blair, his hero, who has used the word poison in the same context many times since 2010. Yet, despite agreeing on the word, neither Blair nor Cameraman have the slightest clue about the nature of so-called radical Islam. Cameraman’s Birmingham speech on the 21st July was welcome, but several years too
As the old joke goes “Is the Pope a Catholic?” in other words, the answer to the question just asked is Yes, obviously! Catholic he may be, but Christian? No. The new PR man at the Vatican, Pope Francis, has made the most ridiculous statement supporting a violent response to those who poke fun at religion. He would ‘punch‘ anyone who mocks the irrational belief in the invisible, whatever variety of religious silliness is being mocked. This is in
A terrorist attack at the Paris office of Charlie Hebdo, a French satirical magazine, left at least 12 people dead. Paris January 7th was a wake up call to all politicians in the west, and to the vast majority of people who do and say nothing about the slow rise of radical Islam in Europe and Great Britain. Appeasement to the religious vote is no longer acceptable. Radical Islam is being silently and ignorantly supported by moderate Muslims, and by
In the UK we have private schools treated as charities for tax purposes for no good reason that most of us can see. Other than, perhaps, the establishment who made those tax rules to save themselves money on their children’s education. After all, they need to separate their offspring from the great unwashed (that’s you and me if you were wondering) and therefore invented charitable status to protect their socially divisive academies. We also have a divisive education system that
Or, if you do then you are wilfully misleading the people you lead and represent. Obama has just said in his speech last Tuesday night, “Now let’s make two things clear: ISIL is not Islamic.” (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) On the face of it, that shows his profound ignorance of the Qur’an and Hadith (supplementary Muslim instructions written after their manual was last updated in 1910). However, he is probably doing what all western politicians are doing,
Charles, when prince of Wales said “Look chaps, when I ascend, the throne that is, I will sort this all out.” (I paraphrase) I’m sure it’s just a misunderstanding that can be solved by an inter faith dialogue meeting with those those nice people from the Orthodontic Society offering us all herbal teas. (Ed: Sire, do you perhaps mean the Homoeopathic Society? ). That nice Mr Blair has offered to help too, so at least I will be kept up
There is currently a daft & pointless row between Michael Gove (Education Secretary) and Theresa May (Home Secretary). The argument is about who’s ideas are best to fight ‘religious extremism’ in schools. They have not, and cannot, define extremism, yet the ill-defined argument nevertheless rages in the ‘poli-news’1 Both want to gain credit for ‘fighting extremism’ in the wake of the UKIP earthquake, which has woken up the Tories. This is a further example of how our party political leaders
Ariel Sharon’s recent death marked the end of what was the last slim best chance for a solution to the Israeli / Palestinian turmoil. Sharon was hardly a great beacon of hope for the region, but his last few actions were moving in a positive direction. Age might have been slowly bringing wisdom to this former soldier and enthusiastic, Arab bashing Zionist hero of the 1967 Arab Israeli war. Sharon, in 2006, just before his terminal stroke. As Prime Minister he
Supreme Court of Wisconsin (1890) “There is no such source and cause of strife, quarrel, fights, malignant opposition, persecution, and war, and all evil in the state, as religion. Let it once enter into our civil affairs, our government soon would be destroyed. Let it once enter our common schools, they would be destroyed. Those who made our Constitution saw this, and used the most apt and comprehensive language in it to prevent such a catastrophe.” (Supreme Court of Wisconsin,
Almost daily now, on the BBC, we hear religious leaders droning on about the importance of faith in our lives and the dangers of aggressive secularism. Now ‘we’ are sending Baroness Warsi to the Vatican, accompanied by 7 cabinet ministers, to join forces with the Pope to speak out against so-called ‘aggressive’ secularism which I would simply describe as reason and common sense! I find this government mission frankly deeply misguided and almost unbelievable – and who on earth sanctioned that
Supreme Court of Wisconsin “There is no such source and cause of strife, quarrel, fights, malignant opposition, persecution, and war, and all evil in the state, as religion. Let it once enter into our civil affairs, our government soon would be destroyed. Let it once enter our common schools, they would be destroyed. Those who made our Constitution saw this, and used the most apt and comprehensive language in it to prevent such a catastrophe.” (March 18, 1890) So, we
BBC – Have Your Say debate Should there be more religion on tv? Wednesday, 10 February, 2010, 14:38 A question, if I may, to the BBC ..? Your current Charter calls for 110 hours of religious programming – why then are you increasing funding to provide 168 hours this year? Could it be that the top brass are all Catholic or Anglican? Surely not! On a more serious note, I suspect that you are in breach of your own guidlines
