"While dictators rage and statesmen talk, all Europe dances — to The Lambeth Walk."

Wednesday 29 July 2009

German Killed in Turkey Was Murdered for Being a Christian

Here is an update on the story of the German businessman stabbed to death in Turkey last week:

Mentally disturbed Muslim stabs German businessman as he leaves church.

ISTANBUL, July 28 (Compass Direct News) – On a crowded street here last week a German businessman died after a Turk with a history of mental problems stabbed him for being a Christian. Witnesses saw Ibrahim Akyol, 26, stab Gregor Kerkeling in the chest on July 20 at 10:50 a.m. after following him out of St. Anthony Catholic Church in Istanbul’s central district of Beyoglu.

Church security cameras captured the attack on Kerkeling, who regularly visited the church when he was in town for business. Akyol, a Muslim who reportedly had been visiting area churches scouting around for a Christian victim, followed Kerkeling out of the church building and asked him for a Turkish lira. When Kerkeling refused and gestured him away, Akyol repeatedly stabbed him in the heart and chest area before passersby intervened.

In a statement to the prosecutor, Akyol reportedly confessed that in the morning he woke up and decided that on that day he would kill a Christian. “I wanted to kill a Christian that day and was visiting churches for this reason,” he told prosecutors, according to the Hurriet Daily News. “I saw the person and killed him.”

The question now, of course is where will the march about increasing 'Christianophobia' in the Muslim world be held?

Which street in Istanbul will be named after this slain tourist?

Best not hold our breath.

Tuesday 28 July 2009

Update on Belgian Prison Break

When I wrote previously about three criminals who escaped from a Belgian prison in a helicopter, I was chastised for mentioning that the three escapees happen to be Muslim.

Just like they happen to be three of Belgium's most dangerous criminals.

It now emerges that the woman who rented the helicopter used in the escape and coerced the pilot is the girlfriend of one of the criminals - a Belgian convert to Islam, who went on television after converting several years ago to tell the world how she had adopted Islam because she abhorred violence.

From Islam in Europe:
The court in Bruges identified the woman who rented a helicopter under the pseudonym "Kelly Verstraeten" last Thursday and freed three criminals from the Bruges prison. The woman is Lesley D. (24) from the Hoboken suburb of Antwerp, who converted to Islam in 2004.

The court already knew the identity of the person responsible several days after the daring helicopter escape from the Bruges prison. The young woman who rented the helicopter, coerced the pilot and fled with the escaped criminals is a 24 year old woman from Hoboken. Lesley D. is known as a girlfriend of Mohamed Johri, the 23-year old criminal from Antwerp who escaped. Her voice was recognized by acquaintances. The young woman wasn't found yet and has gone into hiding.

The revelations throws new light on the escape. Until now it was supports that it was contrived by the Mechelen criminal Ashraf Sekkaki, the most well-known of the three escapees. The suspcion was that the operation was carried out by people from his entourage. Now it appears to have been a cooperative partnership. Lahoucine El Haddouchi, the hijacker who was left behind during the rescue mission, is an old acquaintance of Sekkaki. The young woman who set up the operation did it for Johri. How the cooperative effort came to be is still a mystery. It is also still unclear what was the role of Abdelhaq Melloul-Khayari (42), the third escapee.

Lesley D. (24) from Hoboken appeared to the helicopter pilot as a 'jovial, easy-going Flemish girl' Thursday. Ludwig Louwagie (51) said that the black-haired girl carried out small talk. Until her accomplice Lahoucine El Haddouchi took out a pistol, put it to the pilot's head and forced him to land inside the prison. During the hijacking the young woman took the pilot's headphones so that he wouldn't be able to inform anyone.

Lesley D. was exposed last weekend when acquaintances recognized her voice on the tape that a helicopter company from Wettern made on July 17th, when she tried to rent a helicopter. The owner thought her call was suspicious and had kept it. After the hijacking he made the connection. Lesley D. had also visited her friend Johri in jail.

Last week detectives served the house in Hoboken where D. lives with her mother. They fond several indications that Lesley D. was indeed involved in the planning of the helicopter escape. She appeared to have studied the plans of the prison well.

According to Het Nieuwsblad, Lesely had a childhood like other children. She played soccer, went to the Chiro youth group, went to school in Hoboken. When she was about 18, she suddenly changed direction. She converted to Islam. She began to wear a headscarf and observe the strict rules of Islam. She made no secret of her choice, which she defended openly in the papers and on TV. In interviews she appeared as a calm young woman, who wanted to keep away from violence and aggression. "Sometimes friends think that I don't side enough with my Muslim brothers, but I don't side for somebody who attacks Jewish youth," she said.

It is still a mystery how she became the girlfriend of the violent young robber Mohamed Johri. The young man is the least important of the three escapees, but had already committed several robberies. Johri, also from Hoboken, was sentenced to five years in prison in 2008 for robbing a toy story and a supermarket. His family describes him as a 'playboy', who liked having a lot of money and lavishly scattered it. The family does not want to speak about the escape. The older brother already announced that Mohamed should give himself up as quickly as possible. The mother and father of Mohamed Johri have broken by the misery that their son had caused.

It's unclear if Lesley had already been in touch with the police. But the daring escape doesn't appear to be the work of experienced criminals. Leaving her voice on an answering marching was a serious beginner's error. Moreover, it appears that the escape route was badly prepared. The escaped criminals had to land faster than planned then hastily car-jack a car. Additionally, the Bruges prosecution already announced that the criminal who was left behind, Lahoucine El Haddouchi, was quickly identified because his had his ID with him.

Lesley's family did not want to make any comment. The Bruges prosecution also did not want to confirm or deny the news about the identification.

Source: Het Niewusblad (Dutch)
She may hate violence - but she clearly has no qualms about breaking the law and spending her time with a violent criminal.

Tensions in Majorca

From Euro Weekly News:

THREE arrests were made at Palma’s main mosque in Calle Joan Mestre after police followed a North African suspect into the building. He was arrested together with the president of the Moslem Defence League and the mosque caretaker, both of whom had reportedly tried to prevent the police from entering the premises, saying that the sanctuary of a mosque should be respected in the same way as that of Christian churches and Jewish synagogues.

The Moslems claimed that the police had become violent and had used force in making the arrests. However, the police have a very different story to relate. They state they were following a man who had failed to stop when being flagged down on his motorcycle for a roadside check, and that he had taken refuge in the mosque.

On hearing of the incident, some 150 angry local Moslems protested outside the police station, saying that relations between the Islamic community and the security forces were now at an all-time low due to their holy site not being respected.

An internal enquiry is to be launched to establish exactly what happened during the incident.

Typical pandering from a European government displayed here with the investigation - I highly doubt that in this day and age a suspect would simply be left alone by the police because he ran into a church.

This is simply an attempt to give Muslims licence to break the law (more so) and intimidate the authorities.

The Police are Still Racist

As the previous post showed, catching violent criminals is not always something which the police do well.

That's OK - these days, they have other priorities, such as proving that they are not racist:

Racial discrimination still exists in the police, 10 years after a report described Britain's biggest force as institutionally racist, MPs have said.

While there has been some progress, black people are still more likely to be stopped and searched, according to the Home Affairs committee.

Chairman Keith Vaz warned of damage to community relations.

But the Association of Chief Police Officers said forces had "worked hard" to counter accusations of racism.

The committee looked at recommendations made by Sir William MacPherson following his 1999 inquiry into a Metropolitan police investigation of the murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence.

Sir William's conclusion that the force was "institutionally racist" led to 70 recommendations to counter discrimination within the police service.

MPs said while forces had met 67 out of the 70 anti-discrimination targets, they still failed to employ 7% of officers from ethnic minorities - roughly in proportion to the composition of the UK's population.

Mr Vaz said evidence suggested officers from these communities struggled to attain promotion and were more likely to be subject to disciplinary action.

"We are also particularly concerned at the discrimination which apparently persists within the force, in recruitment and promotion of black and minority ethnic officers," he added.

"The police service must now focus its efforts on tackling these issues within its own workforce."

The report concluded a disproportionate number of black and Asian people also had their profiles held on the police DNA database.

Mr Vaz said: "While there is such blatantly disproportionate representation of particularly black people in the criminal justice system... there will continue to be damage to community relations which in turn undermines police work."

Keith Bristow, of Acpo, told the BBC that attitudes within the police reflected those of wider society, where "of course there are some people that have racist views, the same as there are some people who have views about women".

"But I'd say as a service we have worked as hard if not harder than anyone else to make sure that we have the most balanced, fair and ethical workforce possible."

This is all such obvious nonsense it is shocking Yet still, the police have to suck up to the politically correct elite and take it seriously.

The fact is that both black and Muslim people are vastly over represented in the prison statistics.

This is because they are vastly more likely to be involved in crime than other groups, not because society has it in for them specifically.

The fact that the police catch criminals is not racist. Many 'ethnic minority' groups, such as Sikhs, Hindus and Chinese, are under represented in the prison population.

Why does this vile wave of institutionalised racism not affect them?

It's time for some honesty on these issues - but whilst the cash cow of 'racism' continues to pay out, don't bank on it happening.

Scotland Yard Blunder Allows Rapist to Go Free

A terrifying story of police ineptitude which scuppered the chances of bringing a beast who raped a pensioner to justice:

After working hard as a secretary for more than 30 years to raise her only son alone and buy a comfortable Victorian terrace house, Hazel Backwell was looking forward to a long and happy retirement.

Comfortably settled in a quiet - and seemingly safe - neighbourhood in Stratford, East London, the 66-year- old spinster enjoyed gardening, listening to radio discussion programmes and sharing a pot of tea with her best friend, who lived a few doors away.

But her contentment was shattered by the sickening ordeal she endured in the early hours of January 23, 1997.

As a BBC documentary will recount this Thursday, it would not only alter the course of her future, but precipitate landmark criminal proceedings with huge implications for British law.

Stirred at 4am by a disturbance in her downstairs bedroom, Hazel awoke to find a burly intruder standing on a chair by the window, his dreadlocks silhouetted in the halflight.

In menacing tones, the man ordered her to roll over and lie face down, whereupon he bound her wrists with flex, beat her with such savagery that he broke a rib and her mouth filled with blood, and raped her.

When the attack was over, he bundled her into a cupboard under the stairs - so small that he had to remove a vacuum cleaner and tool box to squeeze her inside - and barricaded the door with boxes.

He then made off with the few pounds that Hazel had saved to pay a vet's bill, leaving her trapped for 15 hours with the fear that she might die before anyone found her.

It was only when her friend, George Walpole, walked past the house the following evening and saw milk bottles on the doorstep and a light in the basement, where Hazel seldom ventured, that she was freed.

She spent three weeks in hospital, but never really recovered. Unable to face returning to her home, with its terrible memories, she hid from the world in a warden-controlled retirement home, where, five years later, she died.

'The death certificate says my mum died of emphysema but her life finished the day she was raped and locked in that cupboard,' her son David Backwell told me.

'She had been so outgoing and friendly, but from then on she was almost a recluse. She gave away her cat, put on a lot of weight and had a complete nervous breakdown. It's a very sad story.'

It is indeed - and this week, after I discovered how a breathtaking police blunder has ended any possibility that Hazel's attacker might be brought to justice, it took one final, wretched twist.

On the surface, this Thursday's documentary, filmed for the BBC by independent programme maker Mentorn, appears to offer new hope to Mr Backwell and his wife Margaret, who have suffered for 12 years in the knowledge that the rapist is still at large.

In a bold move, the programme makers have secured the right to name publicly the man who almost certainly committed the assault, a chilling character called Wendell Wilberforce Baker who was acquitted on a technicality.

Nine years ago, as the argument about his acquittal exercised Britain's finest legal brains, the Law Lords took the extremely rare step of granting him anonymity - a privilege normally afforded only to rape victims, not defendants.

But now his identity can be revealed because BBC lawyers have persuaded the Lords to overturn the order.

The documentary is thus able to make a compelling argument for Baker, now 52 and living with his girlfriend in a leafy part of East London, to face a retrial following the abolition, four years ago, of the double jeopardy rule, which prevented anyone being prosecuted for the same crime twice.

The programme explores whether DNA evidence, which was deemed inadmissible by the judge at his original trial at the Old Bailey in 1999, could be used at a new hearing, and possibly prove his guilt and concludes 'there could still be justice for Hazel'.

However, I have learned of an astonishing development - one that ends any possibility of a retrial and raises deeply troubling questions about police competence.

So what is the background to this extraordinary and complex case? When Hazel was attacked, her assailant left no fingerprints or other tangible clues.

The only physical evidence detectives could find came from swabs taken from her. These contained the culprit's bodily fluids and were duly run through the National DNA Database, which had been set up two years earlier and was already proving a vital tool in fighting crime. Initially, the computer threw up no matches.

But in January 1998, about a year after the rape, Baker was arrested for another crime - a burglary in Hackney. He gave police an alias but provided a saliva sample from which his DNA could be logged on the database.

A few months later, he was acquitted of this burglary and as the law then stated that the Forensic Science Service could retain only the DNA of people convicted of a recordable offence, it should have been destroyed.

In one of several basic mistakes in this case, however, it was left in the computer's hard-drive, and when another test was run, it showed a clear match with the DNA on swabs taken from Hazel.

According to genetic profiling experts, there was just a one in 17 million chance that the rapist and the cleared burglar - Wendell Baker - were not the same man.

Convinced they had their quarry at last, detectives arrested and charged Baker, then aged 41. He refused to provide a fresh DNA sample, so - as permitted by law - an investigating officer tugged out a fistful of his dreadlocks in the interview room.

This was necessary because only the roots of the hair contain a human's unique genetic code. This second DNA sample also matched that of the rapist.

But (not for the last time) there was a major legal hitch. Because Baker had been rearrested only on the basis of the saliva sample, which should have been destroyed, the defence argued that the genetic match must not go before the jury.

For their part, the prosecution attempted to persuade Old Bailey Judge Alan Hitching that the evidence was so 'clear, compelling and incontrovertible' that he should exercise his discretion and allow it to be heard.

Listening intently to this arcane legal argument from the visitors' gallery, Hazel's only son, David, shared their hopes. Speaking to me last week, the semi-retired security guard, now aged 54, recalled how he sat in court, praying that the man he felt sure had violated his mother's dignity, wrecking her last years, would not cheat justice.

But when the judge ruled in favour of the defence and threw out the DNA evidence, a gloating Wendell Baker walked out of court a free man.

Mr Backwell broke down and wept before delivering the news to his mother. She struggled to comprehend how the sadist who had done such unspeakable things to her could be freed on a mere technicality. 'My mum felt she had been victimised again,' he says grimly.

The bouquet of flowers Hazel received from the Crown Prosecution Service was scant consolation.

The CPS challenged the judge's ruling, but the Appeal Court upheld it. However, the case went to Britain's highest court, the House of Lords, and in December 2000 they ruled that judges could admit DNA evidence - even if it was obtained during an investigation that ended in acquittal.

The following year, prompted in part by this judgment, the then Home Secretary Jack Straw announced controversial plans to retain all genetic samples on the database indefinitely, even when the suspect was cleared.

These developments seemed of little importance to Hazel, of course, because the 800-year-old double jeopardy rule still stood: an individual could not be tried twice for the same crime.

So in 2002, when she was 72 years old, Hazel Backwell went to her grave believing that justice had failed her. Next week's documentary questions why it remains undone.

For, in the aftermath of the Stephen Lawrence case, the double jeopardy law was changed to allow repeat prosecutions where there is 'new and compelling evidence' and the offence is serious enough to be punishable by a life sentence.

Only two cases have subsequently been retried - and it was hoped Wendell Baker might be among the next to come before the courts.

That view was supported by one of Britain's leading authorities on criminal law, University College London Professor Ian Dennis, who opines that the DNA samples taken from Wendell Baker could certainly be classed as 'new' evidence, as they were never placed before the jury at the first trial.

Moreover, given that there is only a one in 17 million possibility that the database match is wrong, it is surely 'compelling'.

So why can Wendell Baker continue to rest secure in the knowledge that he will never again stand trial for the brutal rape of Hazel?

It is because, quite simply, Scotland Yard have made a monumental error. I can reveal that they have lost the file on the Backwell case.

And as it contained vital evidence, including, crucially, the deceased victim's statement, senior officers have privately agreed they would have no chance of persuading the CPS to reopen the Wendell Baker case, let alone of securing a conviction.

'Basically, the case papers don't exist any more,' a shamefaced Scotland Yard spokesman admitted to me. 'Hazel's statement would have been a key part (of the evidence). The file would have been key to any reinvestigation. Therefore, we don't have anything we could consider.

'It is obviously unfortunate that we can't find them (the papers). We have done some extensive searches, including checks to see if there was a copy at the court. There wasn't, unfortunately.'

Unfortunately? That seems a euphemistic way to describe such a serious professional failure.

Losing the file on a case, which, given its far-reaching implications, must surely rate among the more important on the Yard's unsolved crimes list, is scarcely credible.

As Hazel's son, who learned the truth in an apologetic phone call from the Yard several months ago, told me: 'It beggars belief.'

He says he has considered suing the police, but doubts he will do so. For, as he remarks: 'It won't bring back the papers, or my mum. And it's not going to bring this man to justice, is it?'

Given the depraved manner in which he allegedly attacked his mother, Mr Backwell fears it is only a matter of time before Wendell Baker strikes again.

This seems a reasonable assumption. Baker is a recurrent fixture in London's courts and he has convictions for assault occasioning actual bodily harm, damaging property, and carrying a bladed instrument, with several more offences - including threatening to kill - ordered to lie on the file.

His one lengthy jail term appears to have been an 18-month sentence for affray - handed down in May 2001, more than four years after Hazel was raped and battered. He has also garnered a fearsome reputation among his own tough Jamaican-British circle for violence - as has his close family.

His ex-wife, Sandra, by whom he has three daughters (their son died in infancy), was jailed for life in 2005 for hacking a woman to death with a machete and baseball bat in South London.

She and her daughter by a previous relationship were convicted of killing an innocent woman who attempted to intervene when a long-running dispute with two female neighbours erupted.

At all events, viewers of this week's documentary will be left in little doubt about Wendell Baker's true nature.

Venturing outside his semidetached home, a stick in his right hand and a Rottweiler's straining leash in his left, he appears momentarily nonplussed when invited to comment on the case against him.

Then he launches into a foulmouthed and intimidating outburst: 'Go and **** your mother you

****! Get out of my face! **** off!' he snarls, unleashing a flurry of blows that injure the hand of one of the film crew. With that, Wendell Wilberforce Baker stalks off down the street, his simpering female companion in tow.

That this vile man will never face a retrial, even though the law has been changed precisely to prevent his ilk from slipping through the net, is truly a travesty of justice.

Just how much harm might accrue from that lamentably lost police case file, one shudders to imagine.

Muslim Gang Used Chinese Illegals "as Slaves"

A Pakistani family used illegal Chinese immigrants as slave labour in the biggest DVD-pirating scam ever seen in Britain.

Whilst they raked in hundreds of thousands of pounds from their crimes, they continued to claim benefits:

A family who made £7million from Britain's biggest fake DVD scam were jailed for a total of 16 years yesterday.

Khalid Sheikh, 53, and his two sons Rafi, 26, and Sami, 28, used dozens of Chinese illegal immigrants as 'slaves' to produce millions of counterfeit copies of blockbuster films at a rate of up to 350,000 discs a week or one every two seconds.

The hits, such as Ice Age 2, The Da Vinci Code and Iron Man, were then touted in pubs and on street corners for as little as £3 - some even before their big-screen debut.

The Sheikhs also churned out copies of hardcore porn films.

Despite their multi-million pound turnover, the family shared a council house and claimed thousands of pounds a year in housing and disability benefit.

The two sons wore designer suits, bought sports cars and flew first class, yet shared a small bedroom. They also made numerous trips to lap-dancing clubs.

For three years, the family produced the fake DVDs at a phenomenal rate in a series of cramped 'factories' in rented industrial units or terraced houses across London.

These were staffed by 'largely illegal Chinese immigrants', some of whom paid up to £20,000 to be smuggled into the UK to earn money to send back to China.

John Hardy QC told Southwark Crown Court in London: 'They were housed in factories, residential premises acquired on short-term lets where they worked round-the-clock in conditions of virtual slavery.'

He said the aim was to 'flood London, the South East of England and beyond with pirate DVDs'.

But to do this the family first needed a legitimate front company to provide a 'veneer of legitimacy and respectability'.

So Khalid Sheikh, who was born in Pakistan, invested £70,000 to start Samrana Ltd in 2003, selling blank DVDs and plastic cases. It was initially run from a shop in Walthamstow, North East London, with Sami and Rafi as directors, but it quickly 'changed from a cottage sideline into a major, organised, criminal industry'.

DVD empire story graphic

The family was so successful that in April 2005 they were able to buy a £658,000 warehouse in Harlow, Essex.

They also imported a £300,000 state-of-the-art press from Hong Kong to ensure that the quality of their DVDs was as close as possible to the real thing.

Mr Hardy said: 'At first it may seem this was something of a Robin Hood-type of activity - the works of major production studios, often in Hollywood, were being distributed cheaply for about £3 each in relatively good quality copies to members of the public who might not otherwise be able to afford them.' But the reality was far different.

'The losers ... are not only the major motion picture houses, as well as smaller film-makers such as the producers of Wallace and Gromit, but also - to name but four groups - shopkeepers, cinemas, the slave labour force and the law-abiding public at large'. The court heard that raids three years ago not only found equipment, large numbers of DVDs and a six-figure fortune in cash, but that the Sheikhs were claiming housing benefit.

The father was also claiming disability benefit for a heart problem that he claimed prevented him from walking more than a few steps, despite regularly jetting off to the Middle East and China.

A police source said: 'The two boys acted and behaved like young executive entrepreneurs.

'They wore designer suits, bought a Porsche and Range Rover Vogue and acted like cheeky cockney wide boys. They used their charm and good-looks to great effect on the jury, but they couldn't hide their true colours.

'Their father tried to pretend he was just the book-keeper but he was at the heart of this as much as the boys.

'We don't know what they did with all the money, but they had accounts in Pakistan, Hong Kong, China and the Middle East plus property in Dubai.'

All three, from Chingford in Essex, were found guilty of conspiracy to acquire criminal property between March 2003 and June 2006, following an 11-week trial which ended earlier this month.

The two sons were also convicted of conspiracy to contravene copyright and conspiracy to contravene the Trade Marks Act. Judge Martin Beddoe jailed them each for six years and their father for four years.

The Pope Almost Understands

From the Mail:

The Pope has condemned a ' disgusting' taxpayer-funded exhibition in which visitors are urged to deface the Bible.

Visitors were offered pens by gallery bosses so they could scrawl comments on the text - leading to a host of puerile and obscene remarks.

Pope Benedict XVI believes the stunt would not have been contemplated with a copy of the Koran.

His anger over the show, organised by council-funded arts body Culture
and Sport , was expressed by a senior Vatican priest.

The adviser to the Pope said: 'It is disgusting and offensive. They would not think of doing it to the Koran.'

Public complaints about the exhibit at the prestigious Gallery of Modern Art in Glasgow have forced organisers to put the vandalised Bible on show in a locked case, while still allowing visitors to write comments on blank sheets of paper.

The Made In God's Image exhibit is the work of Glasgow artist Anthony Schrag.
He wanted gays and transsexuals who felt left out of religion to 'write their way back in' to the holy text.

Mr Schrag worked with members of the Metropolitan Community Church (MCC) in on the project. But MCC minister Jane Clarke said: 'I had hoped people would show respect for the Bible.

I am saddened some have chosen to write offensive messages.'

The Pope doesn't seem to quite understand; the gallery would never have done this with the Koran for two reasons.

The first reason is fear, and justifiably so. If they had allowed the Koran to be defaced, presumably there would have been death threats at the very least; it is not outside the realms of possibility that there would have been riots.

The other reason is that all of the anti-Christian, 'think freely' Lefties in Britain and the wider West don't generally have a problem with Islam; many seem to see it as an ally in their quest to destroy anything associated with Western Civilisation and the people who created it.

If the Pope woke up to this reality, perhaps he would emerge as a valuable ally in the fight against Islamisation.

The Cost of Being a Soft Touch

Many of the costs which mass immigration of the unproductive inflicts on the host society are subtle; but it was revealed this week that they are varied and often unexpected indeed.

Firstly, it was revealed that illegal immigrants in Calais - who have not even reached Britain or claimed asylum - are being offered 'resettlement grants' of £1,700 to return home voluntarily:

Illegal immigrants queuing to enter Britain are being offered 'bribes' worth £1,700 to return home instead.

The British and French Governments are funding the Global Calais Project which targets those staying in squalid makeshift camps near Calais.

The immigrants - many of whom have paid people smugglers to help them reach the UK - are told they will be put on a flight home and given help worth 2,000 euros if they agree to go voluntarily.

The UK taxpayer's contribution, likely to run to millions of pounds, is to help the migrants set up a small business once they return to their homeland.

It also emerged last night that the Government is reconsidering funding joint flights with the French to take failed migrants home.

Last year the French pulled out of a plan to introduce charter flights to repatriate illegal Afghan migrants, citing humanitarian reasons.

The Home Office already funds payments worth £4,000 for failed asylum seekers living in the UK who agree to go home. But inducements are now on offer to people who have not even reached the UK.

Officials insist that any cash payments made to the migrants come from the French Government. However, the UK pays millions every year to the International Organisation for Migration, which is running the scheme. Last year the Home Office gave it almost £20million.

That's bad enough, but it gets worse; it emerged on the same day that failed asylum seekers who had no right at all to be in Britain were being paid thousands of pounds to leave voluntarily and cover their expenses - including starting up a business once they returned home:

Failed asylum seekers living in Britain can already benefit from generous 'resettlement' grants worth thousands of pounds each.

The value of the support packages - described as 'bribes' by critics - can be as much as £4,000.

The deal includes money for housing, childcare, school fees for any children and even help setting up a business.

Ministers insist it provides good value as the total cost of forcibly removing a bogus refugee can be as much as £11,000.

But the programme has cost the taxpayer well in excess of £30million. In part, this is down to the nature of the businesses opened by its beneficiaries.

A 35-year-old Iranian was given money to open an ostrich farm, an Albanian was given cash to open a vineyard while a Zimbabwean was paid hundreds of pounds to open a beauty salon.

The hope is that setting up migrants with fledgling businesses will give the failed migrants a chance to settle and prosper when they return to their homelands, rather than leaving them rootless and ready to return to Britain.

A few days earlier, it was reported that the government has paid out over £500,000 in compensation in one year to foreign prisoners awaiting deportation - for detaining them past the end of their sentence:

Foreign criminals have been awarded compensation of £500,000 for being kept in custody beyond their release date.

The prisoners were held while the Government considered whether to deport them.

Alan Johnson, the Home Secretary, told MPs that between April 2008 and June this year the UK Border Agency paid out £498,897.21, but did not disclose how many prisoners were involved.

His written parliamentary answer was published on the day Parliament rose for the summer recess.

Dominic Grieve, shadow justice secretary, said: “The public will rightly be shocked to learn that not only are the Government failing to deport foreign prisoners but taxpayers are also paying the price for the Government’s incompetence”.

Phil Woolas, the immigration minister, said: “Our priority is to protect the public and we believe foreign lawbreakers who have committed serious offences should be sent home at the earliest opportunity and last year removed nearly 5,400 foreign criminals.

"We do not apologise for our tough system, but where the courts tell us that we have detained a criminal for too long, we are bound to accept their decision.”

Tough system. Simply boggles the mind, doesn't it?

If the system was so tough, many of these individuals would not be here in the first place, and they certainly wouldn't be able to claim compensation for being (rightfully) detained as their deportation was arranged.

Perhaps if they were not allowed so many appeals at the taxpayers' expense, it could all be sorted out a lot more quickly.

What we need is a government that is actually in touch with reality - and I can't see that happening.

Monday 27 July 2009

Non-Muslim WPCs Issued with Headscarves in South West England

In most European countries which suffer high rates of Muslim immigration, there will be a debate about whether or not the Muslim headscarf should be incorporated into the uniforms of the emergency services, to enable Muslim women to join should they so wish.

As usual, Britain leads the way in simpering, grovelling abject politically correct dhimmitude; Avon & Somerset Police have created a uniform headscarf which will be issued to all female officers, Muslim or not.

The day when they will be forced to wear it on the beat (not that any of them actually have a beat anymore) is probably twenty years or so away, but for the moment it is there if they should be called upon to enter a mosque.

Sean O'Neill in The Times calls this 'pioneering policing':
Non-Muslim female police officers issued with hijabs to wear during visits to mosques! Do we hear the familiar cry of: "Is this political correctness gone mad?" But take another look. The force pioneering the idea is Avon & Somerset which marked a significant success earlier this month with its policy of active engagement with Bristol's Muslim community.

The conviction of
Andrew Ibrahim, jailed for planning to carry out a suicide bombing at a shopping centre, was obtained because of contact between the mosque and the police. The picture above shows him on a reconnaissance visit to Broadmead shopping centre. It was the first terrorist case where mosque elders had alerted detectives to concerns about the behaviour of a suspect - Ibrahim, 20, a former public schoolboy, was arguing in favour of suicide bombing and had burns and scars on his hands from testing homemade HMTD high-explosive.

A mosque elder rang a police officer who took the call while on a canal boat holiday and alerted colleagues. Ibrahim was tracked down within 36 hours and a search of his flat uncovered explosives, detontators and a suicide vest.
All of that makes an assumption, however; that to respect Muslims or permit them their beliefs, you must submit to their rules and customs, always, even f you are not a Muslim yourself.

Policewomen already have a head covering which they can wear in a mosque, or anywhere else; it's called a hat.

To specifically have a uniform headscarf is unnecessary and patronising, and it does not send out a very good message from those who are supposed to be objectively enforcing the law, without fear or favour.

Is O'Neill seriously suggesting that the only way to stop 'moderate' imams from ignoring terror in their mosques is to submit to Islam ourselves?

If so, we are reaching the destination the terrorists wish to take us to - via a different route.

Here is the full story:

Women police officers are being issued with headscarves to wear when they visit a mosque.

They are expected to put the scarfs on shortly before they enter the mosque, in keeping with Islamic custom.

There are two versions - one matches the black of a police officer's uniform, while another goes with the blue uniforms worn by community support officers.

The headscarves are being given out by Avon and Somerset Police, and have the force's emblem sewn on.

They have already been given to seven officers, including Assistant Chief Constable Jackie Roberts, and eight community support officers who work with Muslim groups in the area.

Mrs Roberts said: 'It recognises and respects the cultural and religious practices of our communities. This is a very positive addition to the uniform and one which I'm sure will be a welcome item for many of our officers.'

The force said the scarves, which cost £13, can be used in other religious settings as a mark of respect - for instance to cover the shoulders of a non-uniformed officer in a church.

Islamic custom expects women to cover their head inside a place of worship.

During an official visit last year, the Queen wore a headscarf to tour the crypt and caverns of an historic Islamic shrine in Turkey.

Rashad Azami, Imam and director of the Bath Islamic Society, said: 'It is highly pleasing to see that Avon and Somerset Constabulary is introducing specially designed head coverings for female officers.

'This will go a long way in encouraging a trustful relationship between the police and the Muslim community. The police have been working closely with the Muslim community for the last few years.

'We hope this step will further strengthen the mutual relationship.'

Avon and Somerset Police caused a race row two years ago when it rejected 186 white job applicants at the first stage of selection.

The force received 800 applications for 180 jobs and 'deselected' white males to increase ethnic diversity. Chief Constable Colin Port apologised.

This year, the fire service unveiled full-length skirts, hijab headscarves and long- sleeved shirts for Muslim women recruits to wear in fire stations and for events such as school trips.

Again, the use of the term 'mutual relationship' is erroneous. Law abiding Muslims should have a duty to report crime anyway, without needing bribes such as this.

Their mutual relationship with the law and the state is either as normal, law abiding citizens of this country - or it is not.

If it is the latter, we need to ask ourselves searching questions indeed about the future of this country.

Mullah Krekar is a Symptom of European Softness

Recently an American television programme, 'The Wanted', highlighted the case of Mullah Krekar, a known terrorist cleric from Northern Iraq who sought asylum in Norway.

Naturally, the Norwegian authorities will not deport him, lest his human rights be violated - even though the Kurdish authorities have guaranteed he will not face the death penalty if convicted.

The Progress Party have pledged to get rid of him should they gain power in the upcoming Norwegian elections:

How long will the terrorist, mullah Krekar, be able to menace citizens before he is send out of Norway? Although the Kurdish authorities promise that he will not get the death penalty, the Labor Party insists that Krekar will not be deported. The Progress Party believes Krekar should be held in custody until he can be sent out of the country. Norway has been a refuge for terrorists, and even Osama bin Laden would receive protection in Norway. His friends, at least, will stay in Norway. Taliban minister, Abdul Rauf Mohammad, has lived in Norway since 2001. The same men who threw acid in the eyes of the young Afghan girls that wanted to go to school would be allowed to stay in Norway.

Krekar came to Norway as war refugee in 1991. Although he claimed prosecution in Iraq, he has repeatedly visited the country. Kurdish authorities have wished that he’d be extradited on the basis that he has led a terrorist organization called Ansar Al-Islam. The terror organization announced once in a letter that all Christians in Iraq had to get out or they would be killed. Ansar Al-Islam is affiliated with Al Qaida and is allegedly behind the killings of several Kurds civilians.

Norway’s authorities have point blank refused to extradite him, because they fear that Krekar could be sentenced to death. Now, however, TV2 reports that the Kurdish authorities will guarantee the security of the former leader of the Ansar al-Islam. The government guarantees that Krekar will not be subjected to torture or inhuman treatment. The matter should be clear-cut. The Labor Party’s Bjarne Håkon Hanssen, Jens Stoltenberg, and Jonas Gahr Støre have previously stated that Krekar cannot be kicked out before we are able guarantee for his safety.

But no, it is not as easy as it appears. Jonas Gahr Støre does not believe in the Iraq’s regional authorities’ promises. He will fight with tooth and nails that Krekar, who is behind a series of murders and has several times in recent years talked enthusiastically about the murder of western citizens, will stay in Norway, because of the security reasons. I agree with Carl I. Hagen: "All actions of this government suggests that Mullah Krekar’s safety and security comes before the security of the kingdom.

This is not only a disgrace for Norwya’s immigration policy. But it is also a shame to all those currently serving in Afghanistan and Iraq for peace. It also dishonors those who work either in aid or human rights organizations in Muslim countries. People like Mullah Krekar endangers all that.

The Progress Party believes the TV2’s documentation is good enough for Mullah Krekar to be extradited from Norway. Norway’s immigration and asylum policy should not apply terrorists or people who support the killing of civilians.

Until Krekar can be put on a plane out of Norway, he should be in custody the same manner others in similar situation are being treated. When the Progress Party takes over the government, we will ensure that all necessary documentation will be prepared and Krekar will sit on an airplane on the way home within 100 days.

You'll notice thought that this is not solely about Mullah Krekar.

Whilst British and European troops are fighting and dying in Afghanistan, allegedly keeping us safe, a former Taliban minister and his family are living safely in Norway, on the Norwegian taxpayer.

How can this be right or just?

Meanwhile, here in Britain, it has been revealed that convicted terrorists are living in bail hostels after their release from prison:

At least 20 men suspected of harbouring al-Qaida sympathies and convicted of terrorism offences have been released from British prisons this year, according to probation staff.

The men had reached the two-thirds point of their sentence and therefore qualified for release back into the community, where the majority are being supervised by probation staff as they reside in hostels.

Many have been placed on curfews or placed under strict licence conditions in a bid to ensure they are kept under close supervision. But the revelation that convicted terrorists are being housed in hostels is likely to trigger a national debate on how best the authorities can deal with what is considered by many experts to be a new type of serious offender.

Most of the men released so far were convicted for offences associated with the possession of terrorist material or literature or aiding others who went on to carry out terrorist attacks both in the UK and abroad. The probation union, Napo, claims that nine men convicted for terrorist offences are being housed in hostels in London, two in the Midlands and another four in Yorkshire.

Probation staff say that, although many of those released may pose a real threat, the normal tools used to assess the risk of reoffending are of limited value because of the motivation which led to their crime.

"It is extremely difficult to work with any individual whose criminal behaviour is politically motivated," said Harry Fletcher, assistant general secretary of Napo. "The psychology is totally different from the vast majority of persons convicted of criminal offences whose activity is either acquisitive or, in cases of violence, often pathological."

However, with an estimated 160 people convicted of terrorism offences inspired by al-Qaida currently residing in Britain's jails, there is growing pressure on the authorities to give details of how they intend to deal with convicted terrorists.

While most are considered "minor" offenders, several convicted of more serious offences are due to be released soon. Andrew Rowe was given a seven-and-a-half year sentence after being caught with details of how to fire mortar bombs and secret codes to facilitate terror attacks. He is due to appear before the parole board within weeks.

Raids on his home uncovered a handwritten guide to firing battlefield weapons, videos of the 9/11 atrocities and tapes of Osama bin Laden. He had used the names of specific models of mobile phones as code for words and phrases such as "airline crew", "explosives" and "army base". His socks carried traces of TNT and plastic explosives.

A Ministry of Justice spokeswoman said anyone convicted of terrorist offences and sentenced to more than 12 months' imprisonment would be subject to probation supervision on release from prison.

"They have to adhere to a set of strict conditions and are subject to recall to custody if they breach their conditions or their behaviour indicates that it is no longer safe to allow them to remain in the community," she said. The Home Office has also pledged to deport any convicted terrorists who are foreign nationals.

We should go further; any terrorist should be stripped of their British citizenship and deported. If our security is worth the blood of our troops, then it should be taken far more seriously.

When 'Asian' is not a Coy Euphemism (II)

More (admittedly rarer) cases of cultural enrichment from non-Muslim Asians:

  • A man left the mother of his children to die. When she survived, he wrote a letter from prison vowing to 'finish what he started':
A jealous lover who slashed and stabbed the mother of his three children 17 times and left her to die in a field near Wolverhampton was today beginning a 14-year prison sentence.

Garage worker Kulvinder Ram even trod on and mocked Michelle Emery as he tried to kill her, quizzing her about a new relationship in what he called a “kangaroo court”.

His 23-year-old victim, who thought she would die, crawled through fields and barbed wire fences to a main road to find help.

Today detectives described the 31-year-old knifeman, who smirked and smiled at his victim as she sat in the public gallery at Wolverhampton Crown Court, as “vile”.

Ram, of Holloway Street, Wednesfield, pleaded guilty to the attempted murder which happened on July 13 last year.

But the court told that while in prison on remand, he had written a letter explaining he wanted to “finish off what he started”.

He was under a court supervision order at the time of the attack after a previous assault on Miss Emery. The court heard yesterday how they had been in a relationship for eight years which ended in January last year.

Mr Kevin Hegaty, prosecuting, told the court that Ram became jealous of a new relationship that she had formed after their split. Ram would turn up at her house and “make a nuisance of himself”, prompting her to install CCTV.

Two weeks before the attack, Ram had told his brother “she has gone too far this time - I’m going to sort her out once and for all”.

Ram even said he had an alibi ready, but the brother did not take him seriously.

In July last year, he picked Miss Emery up in his Ford Probe in the early evening and was “friendly with her” as they drove around the city before going on to Wood Hayes Road, Westcroft, South Staffordshire.

He pulled up in a layby and asked Miss Emery if she wanted her present.

The pair went to the back of the car and Ram opened the boot to reveal his nephew, who was hiding in there.

Mr Hegaty said: “Ram then punched her in the mouth with such force that she was knocked to the ground. He grabbed her by the hair and dragged her towards the fields. The nephew got into the car and drove it away.

“Ram punched her again in the face and threw her back down and told her to stay. He knelt by her. She was terrified at this stage and started to beg for her life. She tried to tell him about the children.

“He said that the children would be with him as he was the next of kin.

“He told her he was having a kangaroo court and said that if he didn’t like what she said, he would kill her. She got up and tried to run away back to the road, but he got hold of her and pulled her back.” Miss Emery recalled bleeding and when Ram asked if she wanted an ambulance, she said ‘yes’.

But he mocked her and said he would not call one and stabbed her, putting his foot into her stomach to accelerate the bleeding.

Mr Hegaty said: “She then realised she was going to die. She was in such immense pain that she was almost at the point when that’s what she wanted.

“She blacked out and whether he continued to stab her after that is not clear.

“He covered up the body with a children’s paddling pool, believing she was dead or dying.

“She regained consciousness and she lay they quietly until she was sure she was alone.

“She pulled off the cover and made her way through a barbed wire fence. She pulled herself through another barbed wire fence and to Old Hampton Lane.

“She came to a house and she rang the buzzer, but there was no response as the householders were asleep. She carried on down Old Hampton Lane and she saw Ram’s car coming towards her.

“She thought he was going to run her over. It’s not clear if he had gone back to the scene, but he had a spade in the boot of his car.

“At this stage she said to Ram: ‘They know, the police are coming’.

“He then reversed away from her and she made her way to the A460 Cannock Road where a passing motorist Roger Hazeldine took her straight to Cannock Hospital, she arrived at 2.45am. She was transferred to University Hospital of North Staffordshire and arrived just after 4am.”

Mr Hegaty revealed that Miss Emery was left with a punctured lung as well as injuries to her shoulder, chest, liver, bowel, thigh, arms and hands, where she had apparently tried to get hold of the knife.

He said: “The injuries are described as all potentially life threatening. If there had been just a few millimetres difference, it could have severed a major blood vessel. She could have bled to death by having so many stab wounds.”

Ram was arrested a short time later, but while he was remanded in Birmingham’s Winson Green prison he wrote a letter to a relative explaining that he wanted to “finish off what he started”, the court heard.

Mr Balbir Singh, defending, said: “He wants to say to Michelle that he’s very sorry for what he did. He’s expressed his remorse in the best way possible by ensuring that she doesn’t have to give evidence.”

Jailing Ram, Judge John Warner said Ram had “pre-planned” the murder bid and had lulled Miss Emery into a false sense of security.

He said: “She still bears the physical and mental scars from that dreadful attack.”

Charges were dropped against the nephew who was not named in court.


  • A man has been arrested and remanded in custody for an attempted rape in Northamptonshire:

A 33-year-old man has been remanded in custody by magistrates charged with the attempted rape of a 37-year-old woman in a park in Northamptonshire.

A woman told police she was attacked in Abington Park in Northampton on Tuesday evening.

Ramesh Kandi, 33, of no fixed abode, was remanded in custody when he appeared at Northampton Magistrates' Court on Thursday morning.

He will next appear before Northampton Crown Court on 28 September.

Anti-Semitic Incidents on the Rise in Britain

Interesting wording from The Evening Standard:

Israel's invasion of Gaza this year prompted a steep increase in anti-Semitic attacks and intimidation in London, according to Jewish groups.

The Community Security Trust recorded 303 anti-Semitic incidents in the capital in the first half of this year, a record.

There were 67 more attacks than in the same period last year and the total accounted for nearly half of all incidents in Britain.

Much of the surge took place in January when there were more than nine incidents every day.

Trust spokesman Mark Gardner said: "British Jews are facing ever-higher levels of racist attack and intimidation that threaten the well-being of our otherwise happy and successful Jewish community.

"There is no excuse for anti-Semitism, racism and bias, and it is totally unacceptable that overseas conflicts should be impacting here in this way.

"During the conflict, people were phoning up Jewish groups and screaming abuse down the phone or bombarding them with insulting emails. Most of those groups are in London and that accounts for some of it.

"But there was also graffiti with slogans like 'Kill the Jews', attacks on synagogues and a number of assaults."

Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Chris Huhne said: "Britain is setting a shameful new record in anti-Semitic incidents this year, which are running at double the annual rate of the previous record.

"It is abhorrent that anyone should be intimidated on the grounds of their race, colour, gender, sexuality or creed."

Of course, if you believe this, you would think that the Israeli government is directly responsible for the rise in attacks.

This is simply untrue, however.

The main things responsible for this rise are the growth of Muslim populations in certain areas, and the increasingly acceptability of anti-semitic rhetoric on the mainstream political Left, disguised as "pro-Palestine" sentiment.

Indeed, one thing which the war in Gaza demonstrated was how comfortable Leftists, the anti-war movement and radical Islamists are becoming with each other.

Although you risk accusations of racism for pointing out the obvious, many contributors at the article seem to get it; here are two comments from a reader describing himself only as 'Real', from London:

We all know who is behind this, and much of the heroin trade, people smuggling, money laundering etc. And no doubt it will continued to be ignored here on our streets whilst young men die fighting a useless war in Afghanistan. Why can't our troops fight the war that is here on our streets in London? Without the Afghan heroin trade from (nearly 100% of which makes its way to the UK funnily enough) certain fundamental terrorist wouldn't have any money! Strange how my whole town has turned into one great giant kebab shop / shisha bar during this time of recession. We need to stop this global holocaust that is about to rear its ugly head here in our country. Those people want to see us ALL dead not just Jewish people. I have been harassed by them several times but I'm white and atheist so there's nothing to tell the police. And we all know way over half of them aren't here legally. When is this stupid government going to wake up and get real?

In response to Russell - there is a recent large immigration of Palestinians to my local area, I guess they are awaiting their refugee status to be assessed or are here illegally. I'm not saying that as a judgement, just pointing it out that there are huge numbers of Palestinians here in an area which also has a rapidly shrinking Jewish community. I live near a Jewish business which I will not endager by naming but which has been suffering more than one racial attack and direct intimidation per week for many years now and never more so than recently. However, the growing number of Somali / Turkish / Afghan muslim shops in the same street are not being attacked and there are countless informal prayer rooms in the local shops units which are not even being enquired upon by the council or harasses in any way at all despite being clearly in breach of planning regs. Not to mention the strange 'cafes' where men sit and smoke and watch TV all day despite not having food licences, entertainment licences, or complying with smoking legislation. I think that is what people mean by 'kid gloves' - I personally feel that is an accurate assessment. Any war in the name of religion should be intervened on by the UN peacekeeping force in my opinion. Blair and Bush have escalated this situation beyond all our wishes and many Jewish people have rejected their faith because of Gaza - how many muslims are rejecting theirs because of 9/11?

Here are just some of the things that Jews in Britain have to put up with, these cases taken from North East England:

From The Sunday Sun:
Boy, 11, led gang in racist attack

A SCHOOLBOY aged just 11 beat-up a Jewish man because of his religion.

The school-aged attacker launched himself at the victim — in his late 20s — landing a punch on him outside the synagogue, on Bewick Road, Gateshead.

After spearheading the onslaught, the 11-year-old stepped to the side as a gang of older attackers “piled-on” the isolated man, leaving him bloodied.

The child-attacker is now at the start of a four month supervision order made by magistrates at Blaydon youth court, after pleading guilty to racially-aggravated assault by beating at an earlier hearing.

His young age means he cannot be named.
The court heard that the youngster had been involved in drugs and alcohol.

After reading reports, chairman Doug Howell said: “It says here you haven’t used cannabis for a while.

“At your age, I can’t understand how you can get your hands on alcohol or drugs at all. Don’t do it.”

The court heard that the attacker, from the central area of Gateshead, was stood outside the Gateshead Hebrew Congregation, at the junction of Bewick Road and Rydal Street in Bensham, Gateshead, with a group of older males.

The youth squared up to a Jewish man after older lads urged him on in March this year.
Below is an earlier report (by an “anti-fascist” source) from January 16, 2009:
Arrests made after racist abuse in Gateshead

Several arrests have been made following allegations of racist abuse in a Tyneside community.

Police in Gateshead stepped up patrols in the Bensham and Saltwell area, home to around 5,000 Jews, amid fears Jews could be targeted because of events in Gaza in the Middle East.

Officers received reports of abuse towards members of the Jewish community on Bewick Road, and windows at a Jewish building were damaged last Friday. Two boys, aged 14 and 15, were arrested for affray and racially-aggravated criminal damage. Then on Sunday night, there were reports of a man driving on Coatsworth Road shouting abuse. An 18-year-old male youth was arrested for racially-aggravated harassment.

As violence escalates in Gaza, police have been keeping a watchful eye on the community but they say neither of the incidents appear to be related the conflict.

Gateshead Central Neighbourhood Inspector, Peter Storey said: “The first incident involved two local boys shouting racial abuse at Jewish students and breaking a window of a Jewish building. The second was someone shouting abuse as they went by in a car. These are infrequent offences which happen in the Gateshead area from time to time. But they are in no way, shape or form connected with the events in Gaza. It is disorder that got out of hand. We have got extra patrols in the area but no-one in the community has change their patterns or behaviour. It is business as usual.”

It is understood that the victims of the abuse were pupils at local Jewish schools. Mrs Bas, of the Gateshead Hebrew Congregation, said the abuse had been frightening.

She said: “I didn’t actually see anything but I’ve heard exactly what happened. In the first incident, a group of girls from the college were just passing by when they all of a sudden were chased and had abuse shouted at them. The people chasing them broke windows, including some car windows.

“It’s frightening, really, and it must have been particularly frightening for the girls involved. In the second incident, some people started fighting with a group of boys from the college. It really must be made clear that this sort of racial behaviour is not going to be tolerated.
Of course, for those who simply want to blame the semi-mythical 'far-Right' for all of these attacks, here is Mark Steyn's account of Holocaust Memorial Day 2008 - in London:

Those few dozen London Jews considered themselves at ’ome. But they weren’t. Not any more. The tour was abruptly terminated when the group was pelted with stones, thrown by “youths”—or to be slightly less evasive, in the current euphemism of Fleet Street, “Asian” youths. “If you go any further, you’ll die,” they shouted, in between the flying rubble.

A New Yorker who had just moved to Britain to start a job at the Metropolitan University had her head cut open and had to be taken to the Royal London Hospital at Whitechapel, causing her to miss the Holocaust Day “interfaith memorial service” at the East London Central Synagogue. Her friend, Eric Litwack from Canada, was also struck but did not require stitches. But if you hadn’t recently landed at Heathrow, it wasn’t that big a deal, not these days: Nobody was killed or permanently disfigured. And given the number of Jewish community events that now require security, perhaps Her Majesty’s Constabulary was right and these Londoners walking the streets of their own city would have been better advised to do so behind a police escort.

Food for thought for all of us, I think, about who the real fascists are in Britain today.

Hat tip: Gates of Vienna.

Muslim Nurse Fired in Den Bosch

A Muslim nurse in the Dutch city of Den Bosch refused to wear the regulation short sleeves on her uniform.

I would imagine such a regulation exists for the purposes of good hygiene, and is therefore non-negotiable.

The woman was duly sacked for her stance, then fought in a legal battle when she resisted - but the judge who dissolved her contract of employment awarded her €8,500.

From Islam in Europe:
A judge dissolved the employment agreement of a nurse from Den Bosch (the Netherlands), since she refused to come to work in the Jeroen Bosch hospital with bare arms.

The 33 year old nurse has been working since 2001 in the Den Bosch hospital. In 2007 she started becoming more engrossed in her faith, according to her lawyer, Frank Vermeeren. For this reason, she started wearing long sleeves under her work uniform.

But in the department the nursing staff has to wear shirts with short sleeves. Because the woman continued to refuse to appear with bare arms, she was not welcome at her work anymore in April 2008. The nurse then lodged several objections.

The judge in Den Bosch dissolved the nurse's employment agreement starting August 1, reports Nederlands Juridisch Dagblad. The woman received compensation of 8,500 euro.
Why the compensation?

Surely being a nurse who refuses to follow basic hygiene procedures, for whatever reason, is as useful as a nurse who faints at the sight of blood?

Scotland Must Become "a Melting Pot"

Jim Murphy, the Scottish Secretary, is determined that Scotland will follow England's failed experiment with mass immigration and multiculturalism.

Apparently our friends north of the border are not getting their fair share of diversity or cultural enrichment.

Therefore he has declared that immigrants who go to Scotland could be eligible for bonus points, which will help them on their path to British citizenship (and the ability to enrich us all).

His greatest wish is that Scotland should become a crime ridden hellhole a 'melting pot':

Immigrants who choose to live and work in Scotland could earn British citizenship more readily, according to Scottish Secretary Jim Murphy.

Writing in Scotland on Sunday, he says moving to Scotland could see immigrants earn points towards their application.

Points are granted according to things like skills, age and potential salary.

Mr Murphy said he wants to see Scotland become a melting pot - but he stressed new arrivals must be controlled under a tight immigration policy.

There is to be a consultation process on the proposal, but in his article Mr Murphy writes of the demographic challenge facing Scotland, with an ageing population and the need to recruit in sectors such as tourism.

Scotland Office Minister Jim Murphy
Jim Murphy wants to see Scotland become a melting pot

The article says a new "points-based" test for citizenship will credit applicants if they have set up home in parts of the country in need of increased population.

Scotland has been singled out by the Home Office as a place where points could be earned, because its own population is likely to fall over the long term.

Mr Murphy wrote: "Our need for a growing population is ranked along with the need to recruit to shortage occupations."

The current system means foreigners can apply for British citizenship on the basis they are settled and have lived in the country for a specified period of time.