Anarchists Don't Understand Irony

Anarchist protesters who attacked Prince Charles's car as it drove him to the London Palladium allegedly shouted "why are we funding you?" and "get a job!"

I'm told in good faith this genuinely took place without irony.

I would say to these scum, whose antics are pictured below, that whatever one's views on the Monarchy, at least Prince Charles serves a purpose; what do they do to earn the tax money that's no doubt lavished on them in various forms (including cleaning up the mayhem they cause)?

The best case scenario is probably roll in for three hours a week of lectures on Britain is Racist, Dude studies at the former Bradford Polytechnic before going home to smoke pot and wallow in their own filth.

I acknowledge that the legitimate protesters have a right to voice their opinions, and in some cases a right to be angry; but where were they when New Labour was squandering all of Britain's money?

Using their Socialist Worker's Party placards to keep the sun off their backs at Glastonbury whilst pontificating to their friends about social justice and the evil Tories, no doubt.

I believe that the government yet again using the money of English taxpayers to buy votes in Scotland and Wales is deeply unjust and deeply wrong, but that is an issue that seems to have been somewhat sidelined in the general noise about tuition fee rises.

The fact is, fees will have to rise because funding the current university system is simply unstainable. What's needed is for that system to be scaled back; we need to be honest that it is much larger than necessary, get rid of some of the more frivolous courses and institutions and return to the days when a university education was a sign of academic prestige, rather than a sign that one is very familiar with drinking games and Pot Noodles.

But of course, pointing that out will only lead to more violence, because many of these people are beyond reason.

I would urge the genuine demonstrators to disassociate themselves with such acts as urinating on Churchill's statue, the descration of the Union Flag and the Cenotaph and the attack on Prince Charles before they lose whatever public sympathy remains for them.

***UPDATE 16:49***:

The moron seen desecrating the Cenotaph is Charlie Gilmour, the adopted son of Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour.

Is calling him a moron a bit harsh? Read Charlie's attempt at an apology before you judge:

"I feel nothing but shame. My intention was not to attack or defile the Cenotaph. Running along with a crowd of people who had just been violently repelled by the police, I got caught up in the spirit of the moment.

"I did not realise that it was the Cenotaph and if I had, I certainly would not have done what I did.

"I feel additionally mortified that my moment of idiocy has distracted so much from the message yesterday's protest was trying to send out."

Seeing as the issue Charlie's actions have apparently distracted us from are giving people like him more money for their education, isn't it slightly worrying that he can't recognise the Cenotaph?

Still, he probably thinks "The Glorious Dead" is a band.

Next he'll be telling us he didn't think it was the Union Flag he was swinging from.

The only thing he's sorry about is getting caught, and it looks like mummy and daddy have got the lawyers and the publicists on to some damage limitation.

Colonel Gaddafi Comes to Rome

Yesterday Libyan dictator Colonel Gaddafi arrived in Rome to begin a three day state visit.

Having swept in with an entourage which is 300-strong and includes 40 female bodyguards, Gaddafi hopes to squeeze more concessions from Italy by playing on Italian guilt over the colonial era (Italy occupied Libya in 1911) - and an Italian desire to be first in line for lucrative oil and gas contracts.

Gaddafi, who claims to be an emancipator of women and someone who wishes to 'save European women', will see his visit culminate in a meeting with 700 influential Italian women from the fields of politics, culture and the media. He did a similar thing when he visited Paris in 2007.

Gaddafi's first provocative act was thus:

Colonel Gaddafi has arrived in Rome at the start of an historic visit to Libya's former colonial masters with an archive photograph provocatively pinned to his chest showing the arrest of an anti-Italy guerrilla fighter dubbed "The Lion of the Desert".

The photograph shows the arrest in 1931 by colonial Italian troops of the Libyan guerrilla leader Omar al Mukhtar.

Officials from both Libya and Italy insist that despite the anti-colonial gesture, the colonel's three day trip - his first since gaining power in a coup 40 years ago - is a "visit of reconciliation". Wearing full colonel's uniform with gold epaulettes, numerous medals, sunglasses and straggly long black hair beneath a military cap, the Libyan leader said "a page of the past has been turned, thanks to the courage of Italy", as he embraced Silvio Berlusconi, the Prime Minister.

Mr Berlusconi, who paved the way for the visit by travelling to Libya last year to apologise for the colonial period and offer three billion pounds in compensation, echoed the remark, saying a "painful page has been turned".

That wily old dog Berlusconi just wants the contracts and the boost to the economy they will bring.

Bear in mind though that Gaddafi is not an amusing figure - he is a blood-soaked tyrant, the ruler of a violent regime, and was once the sponsor of much of the world's terrorism.

This terrorism was carried out in the name of Palestine, Arab nationalism and Islamism - whatever suited Gaddafi's purposes at the time, in other words. Forces operating from Libya with his backing (tacit or otherwise) were responsible for the Lockerbie atrocity, the shooting of WPC Yvonne Fletcher, and many more outrageous acts throughout the world.

He has also declared that Islam will conquer Europe through the wombs of Muslim women, and has used the countless illegal immigrants who leave for Europe from Libya as a means of putting pressure on Berlusconi and the Italians.

So, with this in mind, what did Italian students say they were going to protest about during Gaddafi's visit?

The trip has its pitfalls, including Mr Gaddafi’s visit to Rome University, where students plan to protest against “the Libyan dictator” for “co-operating with the Italian Government over the repatriation of immigrants”.

Oh, yes - the Berlusconi regime's repatriation of illegal boat people upon sight. Cooperating with this is the only thing that wonderful Mr Gaddafi has ever done wrong, the only thing which excludes him from polite company.

But, this brave and sensible act by Berlusconi not only reduces the aces in the hand of those such as Gaddafi, it does much more.

It halts or severely hinders the invasion and demographic conquest of Italy, Malta and Europe; it saves countless amounts of money spent in detention, processing and countless appeals by the migrants; it saves countless Italians and potentially other Europeans from violent crime and the general social deterioration which comes with mass immigration from the Third World.

That preventing all of the above good is all that concerns these students says an awful lot about our future, none of it good.

An Audience with Yvonne Ridley (II)

Please read Part One first.

So, to continue from the last post, who is Yvonne Ridley, the woman we saw recently leading the 'Viva Palestina' convoy to Gaza? What is her agenda?

At the lecture I described in the first part, she was introduced to us as an ordinary, liberated, British woman and mother who had simply found the truth of Islam, with no political or other agenda. I will now expose this for the outright lie it is.

Here's the biography from her official website:

British-born, award-winning journalist Yvonne Ridley is well known in the Muslim world for her outspoken views and defence of Islam. She endeared herself to the Muslim community in Britain when she reverted to Islam 30 months after making international headlines when she was captured by the Taleban on an undercover assignment in Afghanistan. She was a senior reporter of the Sunday Express at the time, having spent nearly 10 years in Fleet Street working for several prestige titles including The Sunday Times, The Observer, Daily Mirror and Independent on Sunday...

I found an interview she gave to the BBC shortly after her conversion was announced. It confirms a few of the points she told us in the lecture which I described in my first post, including here first thought about the Taliban soldier capturing her being 'he's gorgeous'.

More on the Taliban:

"I couldn't support what they did or believed in, but they were demonised beyond recognition, because you can't drop bombs on nice people."

She says of reading the Koran and converting:

"I was absolutely blown away by what I was reading - not one dot or squiggle had been changed in 1,400 years.

"I have joined what I consider to be the biggest and best family in the world. When we stick together we are absolutely invincible."

She also described the Koran as 'a Magna Carta for women', and stated Islamic abuses of women stem from local cultures rather than Islam, as Islam 'makes it clear women are equal'.

One thing they miss, though - Ridley was 'defending Muslims' and radical Islamic causes long before she became a Muslim herself. Oh yes, indeed.

In fact, her first husband was a colonel in the Palestine Liberation Organisation, the PLO. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, to be specific.

You could not make this stuff up. What is this individual, Daoud Zaaroura, up to these days? You may well ask - he is the chief executive of the North of England Refugee Service.

His biography:

"...Daoud Za'aroura is a Palestinian refugee, born in 1947 in a little town near Nazareth (Saffouri). In 1948 his family left Palestine to Lebanon with hundreds of thousands of other Palestinian refugees who have lived since then in Palestinian refugees camps. As a young Palestinian he joined the Palestinian resistance movement and was active within the Palestinian political groups. He left the Middle East in 1992 and arrived in Britain where he was granted political asylum. Since then he has been working with refugees and homeless people in a charitable refugee organisation in Britain. He continues to be involved in refugee issues and social justice research.

He and Ridley met in Cyprus whilst she was on an assignment; in 1992, they had a daughter together, so presumably that's what got him into the UK.

When they met, he was still an active officer in the PLO. I shan't comment on the wisdom of letting such a man run a 'refugee' service - you, the reader can make up your own mind about whether this is sensible or desirable. But please bear in mind that 'resistance movement' is a coy euphemism for 'terrorist organisation' - and one of the most vicious and violent the world has ever known.

However, these are the sorts of circles in which she has moved since her younger days. On this basis, I find it very hard to believe that she only troubled herself to find out about Islam after her release from Taliban captivity.

Don't most non-Muslim women who marry Muslim men have to convert? Wouldn't her daughter have been born and raised a Muslim? Even if she didn't convert, wouldn't she have been at least a little curious? Why does it seem she took on his politics but not his religion?

For the record, I recognise the PFLP is technically a secular, Marxist branch of the Palestinian terror tree. But to be accepted under the PLO umbrella, there must have been some recognition of the majority agenda - Islamic supremacy and Arab nationalism.

There is a conspiracy theory which suggests Ridley's capture was staged, part of a ploy to draw attention to various Islamic 'resistance' movements and rehabilitate the Taliban in the same vein as the PLO.

Frankly, I think the whole situation is bizarre enough, although I'm sure her ex-husband could have pulled some strings somewhere. Many believe that she would have been killed as a spy had it not been for her already impressive CV of militant Islamic connections.

After her release and conversion, Ridley's life becomes a murky stew of warped views, questionable motives and shady connections. You have to ask whether Islam can change someone totally - or perhaps like attracts like?

Soon after her conversion, she started insisting that the CIA and Mossad were conspiring to kill her in order to escalate the war in Afghanistan. No reason was given why they would do this or desire it - apart from the worldwide conspiracy against peace-loving Muslims, obviously.

Ridley supports the vast majority of the Muslims jailed for terror offences in the UK, no matter how extreme. Her website hosts poems and letters by jailed Babar Ahmad (who, as I reported earlier, also counts Sadiq Khan MP amongst his friends), awaiting extradition to the US for hosting terrorist funding websites.

Among the websites he hosted and ran was 'azzam.com' a site which raised funds for Mujahideen fighting British, American and coalition troops in Afghanistan. The organisation 'Stop Political Terror', formerly 'Stop Police Terror', is also heavily involved in the campaign to prevent his extradition - and Ridley was closely linked to this organisation.

A barrister friend assures me that Ahmad would not have been in jail for 5 years awaiting extradition unless the evidence was 'overwhelming enough to convict him here'.

In fact, comparing democratic Western leaders and institutions to the bloody, murdering, terrorist ones she supports and apologises for is a bit of a forte of hers. I believe the psychological explanation for this phenomenon is 'projection'.

She wrote an article on her website saying she wouldn't blame Iraqi terrorists for cutting off George Bush's head, or at least wanting to; she compared Tony Blair to Pol Pot, and calls Israel

"...that disgusting little watchdog of America that is festering in the Middle East" and further that her party, the Respect Party, "is a Zionist-free party...if there was any Zionism in the Respect Party they would be hunted down and kicked out. We have no time for Zionists," while both the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats were "riddled with Zionists." [9][10]

Presumably, these would be the same 'Zionists' or, if we're being honest, Jews who want to kill her because she's just so important it would intensify a foreign war.

Despite claiming these organisations wished to kill her, she was allowed into the US for a university speaking tour. She mocked US intelligence services:

In an article about her conversion she taunted members of US intelligience agencies as "incompetant spooks"and joked about "opening a Madrassah for [al-Qaeda] recruits from my flat in Soho".

Ridley calls the PLO and the Taliban resistance to coalition forces in Afghanistan 'humanitarian organisations', and when asked about British Muslims found with footage of Western hostages being beheaded in Iraq, her response was thus (according to her own Wikipedia page):

At the "Muslimer i Dialog" conference in Copenhagen in September 2005, Ridley was asked if she didn't see it as a problem that militant Islamists distribute recruiting videos of Iraqi insurgents killing hostages. She replied that it was necessary for Muslims to have these videos at home as an alternative form of news to what she perceived as the propaganda of Western media. At the same meeting she compared British Prime Minister Tony Blair with Pol Pot.

As far as I can tell, the 'Yvonne Ridley' Wikipedia page many of these quotes come from is maintained by herself and her supporters - she is referred to as 'sister' throughout.

Now, the following is very serious, and reveals much about her character and her interpretation of Islam. Here is a set of quotes from radical Islamic cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri, taken from his wiki page - please read them carefully:

Abu Hamza claims that the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster was a sign from God:

"These missions would increase the number of satellites for military purposes. It would increase the slavery of governance of other countries by America. It is a punishment from God. Muslims see it that way. It is a trinity of evil because it carried Americans, an Israeli and a Hindu, a trinity of evil against Islam. The fact that the motor of the craft fell on Palestine [a town in Texas] – all these are messages from God. It is a strong message, for the Israeli, to be taken up there to space and he spoke about the Holocaust, to try to make religious advancement from it and gain some moral high ground, hence you have seen this message over Palestine."

"Killing of the kafir (non-believer) for any reason you can say it is OK, even if there is no reason for it." He called on his followers to poison, ambush and kill non-believers and added: "You must have a stand with your heart, with your tongue, with your money, with your hand, with your sword, with your Kalashnikov. Don't ask shall I do this, just do it."[16]

He suggested that people coined the term suicide attack to put others off it. "It is not called suicide - this is called shahada, martyring, because if the only way to hurt the enemies of Islam except by taking your life for that, then it is allowed," adding: "The person who hinders Allah's rule, this man must be eliminated".

In January 2006 while on trial, he accused the Jewish people of being "blasphemous, treacherous and dirty" and explained that this was "why Hitler was sent into the world".[18]

He also called for "a world dominated by a caliph, sitting in the White House".[16] Whilst under cross-examination Hamza claimed the Jews control the Foreign Office, the media and the money supply in Britain and the USA.[19]

OK. Nice chap, right? What does Yvonne think? He phoned her after news of her conversion broke:

He said, 'Sister Yvonne, welcome to Islam, congratulations'.

"I explained I hadn't yet taken my final vows and he said, 'Don't be pressured or pushed, the whole community is there for you if you need any help, just call one of the sisters.'

"I thought, I can't believe it, this is the fire and brimstone cleric from Finsbury Park mosque and he is quite sweet really.

"I was just about to hang up when he said, 'But there is just one thing I want you to remember. Tomorrow, if you have an accident and die, you will go straight to hellfire'.

"I was so scared that I carried a copy of the vows in my purse until my final conversion last June."

A sweet guy. Someone who believes Hitler was born to teach the Jews a lesson. You have to ask yourself at this point what sort of person would want to be associated with the religion of a man like him. What impressed Ridley most, however, was how generous he was in lending her Islamic texts.

Anyway, after her conversion Ridley became even more prominent in the Muslim world. She joined the Islam Channel, then al-Jazeera, then Press TV, all of them English-speaking Muslim backed channels with an agenda.

In fact, she was instrumental in setting up the English section of al-Jazeera and helping it spread, propagating the lie that Western media outlets were more biased than the Islamist shills she worked for.

On at least two of these channels she hosted programmes called 'The Agenda with Yvonne Ridley' - apparently without irony.

In 2005 she courted yet more controversy by backing the radical cleric Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and his campaign of violence in Iraq and Jordan, describing the victims of the 9 November 2005 Amman bombings in Jordan, which saw 60 persons killed and 115 injured, as:

"Iraqi collaborators, Saudi, Indonesian and Chinese intelligence officers and the upper echelons of society." The outpouring of public outrage manifested in spontaneous demonstration she described as staged and the work of "Jordanian troops out of uniform" and "government lackeys" together with "Christian and Muslim Bedouins" who had all been commandeered or paid to demonstrate by the Jordanian government and the CIA."

Al-Zarqawi was denounced by his family after the bombings, a move that Ridley thought "cowardly." She said of al-Zarqawi himself that she would "rather put up with a brother like Abu Musab al-Zarqawi any day than have a traitor or sell-out for a father, son or grandfather" – a reference to Jordanian royal family. [13].

In 2006 she was active in the propaganda campaign against Israel in its struggle with Hezbollah, which had breached its borders and captured and killed a number of Israeli soldiers. Here is a video of her speaking outside the Israeli (or possibly American) embassy on 22/10/06:

To screams of 'Allahuakbar' and 'long live Hezbollah', Ridley mounts the platform. She launches into a rant - the people in the embassy are 'behind the wire', under siege. Hezbollah 'whupped the arse' of the world's fourth most powerful army. By that, I assume she's referring to the 121 Israelis who died in the 2006 Lebanon War, 44 of them civilians.

She then informs us that 'drinking Coca-Cola is the same as drinking the blood of Palestinian children' and 'shopping at Marks & Spencer is the same as giving bullets to Israeli soldiers to shoot into the backs of Palestinian schoolgirls'. She calls Israel an apartheid state, quoting the words of that well known authority on morality, leader of the Iranian Revolution Ayatollah Khomeinei.

After that, she blesses the 'Palestinian resistance movement' and the Second Intifada which was responsible for the deaths of 1,079 Israelis, 731 of them civilians.

But then, 2006 seems to be the year in which Yvonne sank further and further into extremism. In June 2006, this had occurred:

At a meeting of the Respect party on 6 June 2006, following a controversial police raid in Forest Gate, East London, on 2 June 2006, Ridley urged all Muslims in Britain to "boycott the police and refuse to co-operate with them in any way, shape or form until the boys are released," including "asking the community copper for directions to passing the time of day with a beat officer." Her comments were labelled as "sheer, undiluted madness" by Shadow Home Secretary David Davis.

Yeah, David Davis usually hits the nail on the head, I find. But when George Galloway thinks your beliefs are too extreme, well, maybe the message should be heeded.

After the Chechen rebel leader Shamil Basayev (accused of the Moscow theater hostage crisis and blamed for the Beslan school massacre) was killed, Ridley wrote an article referring to Basayev as a "shaheed". She went on to refer to Basayev as leader of "an admirable struggle to bring independence to Chechnya". [17]

As you can see, with Yvonne Ridley there is no attempt to claim the middle ground - she is an unashamed extremist.

Now, last but not least, we will look at her recent activities in the 'free Gaza' movement, which she joined in August 2008. This movement took a flotilla of boats from Cyprus to 'break the Israeli blockade' around the Gaza strip and deliver aid and supplies.

They completed this mission, and Ridley was given a genuine Palestinian diplomatic passport by Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who described her as 'an ambassador for Palestine'. Here you can see her pathetic attempts to reconcile her beliefs with reality at the Rafah border crossing:

Finally, it all came full circle with the setting up of 'Viva Palestina' and the £1 million, 100 vehicle aid convoy which drove from London to Gaza. After the 25 day journey, she wrote the following article for the 'Viva Palestina' website:

"I'VE never been a huge flag-waving fan of the Union Jack because to me it was largely a symbol of the old British Empire and all the bad things it once represented in terms of occupation, slavery, tyranny and imperialistic wars."

Yes, it must be nice to be part of a 'worldwide family', as you term your religion, that would never dream of being involved in any such shenanigans. Never mind the fact that Islam is synonymous with slavery, tyranny, occupation and imperialistic wars. Never mind the fact that Muslims would rather die and violently slaughter innocents around the world for a 20,770 / 22,072 km2 (151st in the world) 8,019 / 8,522 sq mi strip of land, Israel, because people who aren't Muslims dare to live there and run a successful, modern state - when they could be enjoying the 13,953,041 km2 (2nd) (5,382,910 sq mi) which is the Arab League alone.

Still, why would a little thing like reality intrude?

She continues:

"I can't really remember the urge to pick up the Union Jack again declaring to the world: "I am proud to be British".

As Leo Tolstoy once remarked, such patriotism in its simplest form is nothing more than a "means of obtaining for rulers their ambitions" as well as a sign from us lesser mortals as our "slavish enthralment to those in power".

So it was rather a peculiar feeling when I watched several members of Viva Palestina cloak themselves in the Union Jack for the final stages of our 5,000 mile journey from London to Gaza.
In truth, the British flag was flown throughout our marathon journey across nine countries and the message was loud, proud and clear at each border crossing: "We are British, the convoy is British and we support the Palestinian people."

Clearly this woman is not familiar with the term 'irony'. She claims patriotism is a means of 'claiming for rulers their ambitions' - but what is her slavish love for the Islamic world and every Muslim-backed power struggle going?

The convoy was not 'British' - it was largely made up of Muslims and deluded idiots, with a few people who can't see beyond the goodness of their own hearts for good measure.

To finish, I would like to say something to Yvonne Ridley which I'm sure she'll be familiar with:

"Not in my name."

That's what she said about the struggle to remove the Taliban from power. I repeat it back to her now about her and Galloway's shameless attempts to pretend the British people are all duped dhimmis who can't see through the 'Palestinian liberation struggle'. It's nationalism and chauvinism in its purest, ugliest, most dangerous form, pure and simple.

You're not fit to hold the Union Flag Yvonne, let alone wax lyrical about the 'noble Desert Rats'. I had two relatives who served with the British army in North Africa, and I can assure you they didn't do it with the dream of a Muslim Britain or Europe - they were fighting against evil, oppressive beliefs, not for them.

An Audience with Yvonne Ridley (I)

British journalist and prominent Muslim convert Yvonne Ridley, pictured above, was in the news a while back leading a convoy of British vehicles containing £1 million in aid to Gaza.

I have some personal experience of this woman. In 2005, whilst I was attending the University of Kent and completing a degree in Politics & International Relations, she came to the campus to deliver a talk on her time in captivity in Afghanistan and her (then) recent conversion to Islam.

The talk was organised by the university's 'Muslim Society', and I decided to attend along with three friends, two male, one female. We were all quite interested in current affairs, and thought we were simply in for a good story.

At the time I knew almost nothing about Islam, at least compared to what I know now. The talk occurred just a few months before British-born Muslim suicide bombers slaughtered commuters during London's morning rush hour on the 7th July 2005.

Like the vast majority of the civilised world, I was distressed and upset by the events of 11th September 2001, but I did not realise the inherent nature of Islam and Jihad at that time; I was more concerned about the lax immigration policies which exist in most Western countries, and which 9/11 highlighted quite mercilessly.

Anyway, my friends and I arrived at the lecture theatre in which Ridley was to speak. Three large Asian men, who wouldn't have looked out of place as nightclub bouncers but for their long beards, stood blocking the door. Next to them stood a long table, upon which were stacked scores of green-bound books, which turned out to be free, English-language copies of the Koran.

We approached the men and explained we wished to hear Ridley's talk. Their stony faced demeanour changed - they smiled and opened the door whilst wishing us As-Salāmu `Alaykum السلام عليكم.

The lecture theatre was fairly full, and I was surprised by the number of Muslims in the audience. There were also some lecturers and other students, but the vast majority of people seemed to be Muslims and Left-wing activists from outside the university staff and student body.

We found four seats next to each other and filed in. However, as we sat down, a bearded Muslim man cleared his throat and explained that 'sex segregation' was in force - women sat to the left of the aisle and men to the right, as in a mosque.

Two of the large men from the door came over, and explained again that my female friend would have to move across the aisle. She didn't particularly want to, so I told them that we were staying put - if we'd chosen to go in a mosque then I would within reason respect any requests they made, but this was a lecture theatre in an English university.

One of the men looked angry and told us we would have to leave, but the other suggested a compromise - that she sit in the aisle seat of the men's side. We agreed to this, and duly shuffled around, but by now I was wondering what on earth was going on.

It got worse, however - we were told by the president of the Muslim Society, a Muslim girl wearing a headscarf, that the car that had been sent to collect Ridley had become stuck in traffic - so to pass the time, we were going to listen to pupils from an Arabic-language Koran 'Sunday school' in Canterbury recite prayers and passages from the Koran.

The menacing bouncers shut the doors, and we resigned ourselves to sitting there and listening to one child after the other take the podium and chant in Arabic. I'm as tolerant and open-minded as the next person, but I found it an unnecessary imposition, in all honesty. I had not gone to a religious event, and even a few of the lecturers and aging Leftists looked a little uncomfortable.

After about 20 minutes of incessant chanting, the doors burst open, and the president urged our applause - Yvonne Ridley was there, wearing a pink headscarf.

She's not an imposing woman to look at or speak to - she has the air of a teacher at a polytechnic, sort of a cross between someone with an academic air of authority, and someone who just wants to be friends and buy you a pint (well, not anymore, obviously).

She sat rather than stood, and spent about an hour and a half telling us about her journalistic career, her determination to get into to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan and expose the treatment of women, her subsequent capture by the Taliban and her treatment, and her conversion to Islam after her release.

Something was not quite right, though. Although she admitted she was scared when the Taliban found her wearing a burqa in the back of a taxi, that was as far as it went. She talked of gazing into the green eyes of the bearded maniac who disrobed her at the roadside, as if they were strolling along the Seine together. As it was, she was actually being arrested by one of the most fearsome and misogynistic Islamic regimes the modern world has known.

Foreigners at that time were banned from Afghanistan on pain of death. The idea of an infidel, a woman at that, trying to sneak in to reveal the plight of ordinary Afghans should have been packed with notions of courage and honour - but it simply fell flat.

It fell flat because it was obvious as soon as she opened her mouth that she had some sympathy for the Taliban - and had even before her conversion.

The rest of the story was less James Bond and more Mills and Boon; 'they were so polite, so courteous, they didn't rape me or murder me or force me to convert to Islam...' etc etc etc.

Big of them. It seems she spent some time locked in a palatial room with a Taliban big-wig - the deputy leader, their interior minister or some such. She seemed far more interested in his 'beautiful white clothes and bejewelled turban' than the medieval barbarities he was almost directly responsible for, however.

He asked her to convert to Islam, or as she put it, 'revert to Islam'. She refused, but promised him that when she was released, she would read the Koran, study its message, and make up her own mind. She also promised she would help the Taliban get 'a fair hearing' in the British media.

She kept her promise, liked what she saw, and became perhaps Britain's most famous and prominent Muslim convert. Unfortunately, instead of whiling away her days in purdah reading the Koran, she decided to proselytize and spread Islam's message.

Here's where the talk completely parted company from reality (and, let's be honest, it had been touch and go before); Islam, you'll be surprised to learn, is a religion of peace, truth and beauty. Bush, Israel and the American media distort these simple realities.

Not 9/11, not rape and forced marriage, not forced conversions, honour killings and acid attacks, not suicide bombings, not treating women like cattle, gang rapes and violence. Just Bush, Israel and the US media.

At the time, I felt angry. Not only had I been lured to the talk under false pretences, but she was taking me and every non-Muslim in the room for an idiot, a complete dupe. I gritted my teeth through the rest of it, then left speedily at the end, but not before asking her an awkward question about women's rights and taking a free copy of the Koran.

That night, I sat down and read - and I began to understand. However, the picture I formed was very different to Ridley's. But then, maybe she was always inclined that way. For who is Yvonne Ridley, this woman I am almost indebted to for helping me to discover the truth of Islam?

Please proceed in an orderly fashion to Part Two.

The Shministim שמיניסטים

Last week was 'Israeli Apartheid Week' - a global round of hand-wringing, generally upon university campuses, about Israel and its propensity for unashamed self defence.

The vast majority of the protests and events took place in North America, (although there was this programme of lectures in London) and concentrated on spreading the usual propaganda about 'occupation', 'racism' and 'apartheid', false comparisons to South Africa, lies about war crimes.

There were some ugly incidents, such as the one at the University of Toronto where the following happened [hat tip: Vlad Tepes Blog]:

'Tonight at the U of T [Israeli Apartheid Week] event, two Jewish students were assaulted by the Palestinian “Security” team for being “disruptive” (asking a legitimate question “does Israel have a right to exist”) The Palestinian “security” smacked a student in the head and grabbed him by his neck, while another “security” officer told a second Jewish student to “Shut the F**ck up or he’ll saw his head off”…All of this was done in a crowded lecture room with over 100 witnesses!!'

It was also reported that after the above incident was brought to the attention of police, nothing was done, which sadly does not surprise me.

Anyway, to coincide with this event the RMT London Transport Region & Finsbury Park RMT and Workers Liberty organised a lecture tour of the United Kingdom by Tamar Katz.

She is one of the 'Shministim', Israeli teenagers jailed for refusing to serve in the IDF (2 years of national service is mandatory in Israel for women, 3 for men). Here is the reason she gives:

“I refuse to enlist in the Israeli military on conscientious grounds. I am not willing to become part of an occupying army, that has been an invader of foreign lands for decades, which perpetuates a racist regime of robbery in these lands, tyrannizes civilians and makes life difficult for millions under a false pretext of security.”

“I oppose the anti-Palestinian policy of attrition and the oppression, not because I prefer the Palestinian society to the Israeli one, but out of an understanding that this policy has led us down a dead-end road politically and to immorality, forced especially on soldiers stationed in the Occupied Territories. I am not willing to become on of those holding the gun pointed indiscriminately at Palestinian civilians, and I do not believe that such actions could bring any change except ever more antagonism and violence in our region.”

Personally, I vehemently disagree with all she says and all she stands for. However, in some ways I think it is a testament to Israel as a free society that such people exist within it, however misguided they are. I wonder what would happen to a group of Palestinian school pupils who vocally supported Israel and denounced violent attacks upon it?

There are more like her, though, profiled here by 'Jewish Voice for Peace'.

Two things primarily concern me about this; firstly the way that their cases are becoming a cause celebre for the radical left and even Islamists here in Britain (if you click on the links for the groups which organised this tour, that should speak for itself).

Secondly, just how frighteningly misguided these young people and their shills here in the West are.

Here is a blog post on Katz's tour by a supporter of the Green Party. It calls her a 'war resistor' and opens with the line:

"Just seen this...great, great, the Shministim are one of the great hopes in the Middle East!"

Are they? Hope for what, exactly?

In a conflict between two parties, peace cannot come from one side alone unless it is absolutely and mercilessly crushed.

However well intentioned these people are, peace cannot come simply from Israeli conscripts laying down their arms.

Unless of course, Israel disappearing is your vision of peace. But it's not mine. A vibrant, free, Western society will not be willingly snuffed out - we all realise the kind of violence it would take to conquer Israel and make her submit.

This young woman and her ilk are idealists. They see that war and violence are inherently wrong, and think the world would be different somehow if the strong laid down their arms and let the weak do as they please.

I see that as chaos, anarchy, and it would create an evil far more profound than the current Israeli military presence in parts of Israel's borderlands. Tearing down the existing order always does.

The campaign calls this woman a hero, and pretends her cause is moral. It isn't moral, and the word hero should never be used in such a glib fashion.

The true heroes are the young men and women who put on their uniforms and fight; not because they love war or violence (or because I do), but because they are prepared to stand up for what they believe in against an implacable, unenlightened foe. More than that, the fact they are willing to serve and risk all is the only thing which stands between the likes of Miss Katz and death or slavery. Whatever they think of her, they allow her to exist; the reverse is not and cannot be true.

They fight for their country, their homes, their families, their own rights and their very existence as a nation and a people. They also fight for freedom - and that includes giving the Shministim and their ilk the right to their own opinions. Many are maimed or pay the ultimate price for these things - they give their lives.

That, to me, is infinitely more heroic and selfless than strutting around Europe at the invitation of a proudly Marxist political party, pretending you're superior because you were punished according to the law for your own free actions - whilst knowing the people you see as dupes or pawns are keeping your family safe as their own lie awake wondering if there will be a phone call or a midnight knock, and just how bad the news will be.

When the two concepts of heroism are confused or swapped, we are finished. But fortunately, some people still recognise the truth; this is the story of Yaakov Wolf, a 20 year old British Jew from London.

He miraculously survived having his throat torn open by a mortar blast whilst fighting in Gaza for a cause he believes in and identifies as his own - a free Israel, safe from terrorism and violence.

Miss Katz may think she wants the same, but sadly she's the dupe, being used by forces which conspire against her country and her people whilst shamelessly using her as a mouthpiece.

The Madness Continues

Several days after the ceasefire in Gaza, several suspicious incidents have been reported in Israel. However, it seems that for the moment, things are largely settled.

That hasn't stopped a group of approximately 40 Manchester Metropolitan University students attempting to use the dying embers of this fire to push their own strange agenda on the powers that be.

***UPDATE*** A link found, such as it is. Apparently these protests were co-ordinated among several British universities, despite the ceasefire.

I also have a source on the ground (unfortunately one the sheep who took part in this), so you'll have to take his overbearingly smug word for it (my refutations are under each point in bold):

Students from the Manchester Metropolitan University have today occupied the ground floor area of the Geoffrey Manton building in a show of solidarity with the people of Gaza.
In a statement issued earlier today, the protesters made the following demands upon the Vice-Chancellor:

1) Issue a public statement condemning Israel's attack on Palestinian educational institutions, including the bombing of the Islamic University of Gaza, and encourage your colleagues in the other Universities to issue a similar call.

This particular 'educational institution' had links to terrorism and the most vile extremist ideologies. I very much doubt if any of the 'protesters' would be happy to find a general Christian university in their city, let alone a Christian version of this, terror labs and all. I certainly wouldn't.

2) Establish an emergency fund for Palestinian students from Gaza and waive their tuition fees to support their efforts to acquire an education.

What's the emergency? That Hamas won't allow secular education? Why should our taxes go to potentially rewarding terrorist activity? If Arab students want to learn here, they can apply and pay like everyone else. Or is that the idea, to send out the message that if you elect a group of religious lunatics who insist upon attacking a powerful neighbour, it doesn't matter because the West will ride to the rescue. Failing scholarships, maybe we could just pay for their 'Jews and Christians are apes and pigs' textbooks and be done with it. Oh, we do already! My mistake.

3) Waive all application and tuition fees from students coming from Palestine and create scholarships specifically available for Palestinian students.

See above. But I will add many Muslims in the past have abused the hospitality of the West, so this seems a recipe for disaster. I would also say if you're that concerned about Arab education and freedom of mind, use your cash to fight Islamic extremism, not Israel.

4) To build links with Palestinian universities.

Israel actually built some Palestinian universities, and look where it gets them. They're often funded by the West somehow in any case. However, you would (rightly) not tolerate the sentiments of these universities were they Western or Christian.

5) Divest MMU funds from all firms contributing to the Israeli war effort.

If Israel ever does succumb to the war(s) being waged against it, efforts such as this will bear some of the moral responsibility. I would rather help a free nation defend itself and defeat terrorism than play any part in a second holocaust (again, see Hamas' stated goals).

6) To create a proper memorial to Tom Hurndall, a MMU student murdered by the Israeli Occupation forces in Gaza.

Tom Hurndall was actually shot by an Israeli-Arab soldier, although that fact was conveniently overlooked by much of the media.

7) To sever all academic links with Israeli institutions that don't oppose the continued occupation of Palestine.

This amounts to collective punishment, which these protesters supposedly stand so steadfastly against. Besides, what sensible Israeli would advocate the abandoning of strategic settlements and sealed borders without serious and tangible compromise on the Arab side?

8) That the Student's Union should allow political posters to be displayed on its windows/noticeboards/walls.

In other words, the Student Union should be allowed to inflict its nonsensical leftist agenda on all students, whilst claiming to speak for those who join simply for the discounts and social life.
Are we seriously to believe the other side would be heard?

9) That no military recruiters should be allowed on campus.

They show their true colours here. The British Army has nothing to do with Israel or its conflicts (well, since we pulled out of the Mandate at least). This is a display of the Student Union's anti-military agenda, and being against self defence is not the same as standing for peace.

10) That the University should boycott Coca-Cola and stop the sale of it in all its outlets.

No idea what this means. Do they refresh the 'evil occupiers?' Or have we roped in anti-Capitalist protesters now too?

11) That there should be no repercussions for anyone involved in the occupation of MMU buildings.

Again, true colours shining brightly through, and they're streaks of yellow. If these people had the courage of their convictions as they claim, this ridiculous (even contextually) addition would never have made the list. But no, they expect to act as they please and get away with it scott free - could this be what they have in common with Hamas?

When this first landed in my inbox I was at a loss for words, but I at least I did attempt a rebuttal, much good that it'll do me.

What annoys me the most is this list employs shameless double standards (the sort with which anyone with an independent mind who follows the news will be instantly familiar); for example, it's apparently not OK to 'collectively punish' the people of Gaza for electing Hamas, despite their actions and agenda, even though several venerable organs were crowing about how legitimate the murderous gang/political party are, and how free the elections were.

But it's OK to punish all Israelis for the actions of their (actually freely elected) government, whether they agree with them or not. Obviously.

I also find the omission that most of the Arabs killed were Hamas terrorists, and the fact that the (Israeli built) 'Islamic University of Gaza' was servicing weapons and extremist literature, deeply disturbing.

The most frightening thing about this conflict is how everyone with an anti-West, anti-nation state, if not outright anti-Israel or anti-semitic outlook has crawled out of the woodwork in a perverse unity, as if their views are now mainstream.

God help Britain if these people are our future.