Slavery abolished? Don't believe it

There is a lot of talk in the media at the moment on whether Britain should apologise for the slave-trade. And there is a valid case for and against it. How can we, or rather the government, apologise for something that our predecessors did. I just about apologise for the things I do, why should I have to apologise for my ancestors? Surely for an apology to be heartfelt it should be made by the people that committed the act, and they died hundreds of years ago. So whilst we can express regret, state it was an awful act, can we really apologise? On the other hand, we still live with the effects of slavery today. In Bristol, a beautiful and fascinating city I visited a couple of weeks ago, almost every landmark we visited (and believe me we did the whole tourist-thing) had something to do with the slave trade. Descendents of slave owners still own much wealth which they didn’t work for, and descendents of slaves still live in poverty. And the idea instilled by slavery, that Black people are inferior, still exists.

Yet whilst I see both sides of the arguments, I fail to understand why the argument is even taking place at all. So slavery was abolished? It still takes place today. How can we apologise for something that supposedly ended 200 years ago when right now slavery is still rife?

According to the Anti- Slavery Society, no state recognises slavery, in that they recognize title or property in a living human being. The most used definition of slavery is the one stated by the High Court of Allahbad, India where if a person has their personal liberty restrained or made to labour against their will, they are classed as a slave. Under this definition, in 1995 the Anti-Slavery Society estimated the number of slaves as 27 million. The likelihood is there are many, many more – mostly children.

Let me present you with some statistics, cos whilst I could write reams and reams on the extent of slavery today, nothing hits like the cold hard facts:

• Unicef estimates 1.2 million children are trafficked every year for use as domestic servants, factory workers, camel jockeys, child soldiers and sex slaves.
• Concentrating particularly on South Asian countries: an estimated 496,000 children are in slavery in Bangladesh
• Of the 35 million soccer balls stitched in Pakistan, children produce around a quarter of these, most of them as bonded servants.
• Christian Aid believes there are as many as 10,000 children between ages 6 and 14 are enslaved in brothels in Sri Lanka.
• In the carpet industry of India alone, human rights organisations estimate that there are up to 300,000 children working - most under conditions that amount to bonded labour.
• Just in India’s Bombay, 90% of the 100,000 women in prostitution in are indentured slaves.

These are just a tiny handful of the many statistics I found on the web. With just these in mind, can you now see why from my point of view it is pointless arguing about apologies for slavery? Combat today’s, so or grandchildren’s grandchildren’s children can be proud they live in a world where all people have rights and freedom, and then maybe the apology would mean something.

Iran will be attacked - at precisely 4am on the 6th of April

The drums of hate are beating again, and the army of hate has Iran in its sights.

WASHINGTON DC, -- The long awaited US military attack on Iran is now on track for the first week of April, specifically for 4 am on April 6, the Good Friday opening of Easter weekend, writes the well-known Russian journalist Andrei Uglanov in the Moscow weekly “Argumenty Nedeli.” Uglanov cites Russian military experts close to the Russian General Staff for his account.

The attack is slated to last for 12 hours, according to Uglanov, from 4 am until 4 pm local time. Friday is the sabbath in Iran. In the course of the attack, code named Operation Bite, about 20 targets are marked for bombing; the list includes uranium enrichment facilities, research centers, and laboratories.

The first reactor at the Bushehr nuclear plant, where Russian engineers are working, is supposed to be spared from destruction. The US attack plan reportedly calls for the Iranian air defense system to be degraded, for numerous Iranian warships to be sunk in the Persian Gulf, and for the most important headquarters of the Iranian armed forces to be wiped out.

The attacks will be mounted from a number of bases, including the island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. Diego Garcia is currently home to B-52 bombers equipped with standoff missiles. Also participating in the air strikes will be US naval aviation from aircraft carriers in the Persian Gulf, as well as from those of the Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean. Additional cruise missiles will be fired from submarines in the Indian Ocean and off the coast of the Arabian peninsula. The goal is allegedly to set back Iran’s nuclear program by several years, writes Uglanov, whose article was reissued by RIA-Novosti in various languages, but apparently not English, several days ago. The story is the top item on numerous Italian and German blogs, but so far appears to have been ignored by US websites.

Observers comment that this dispatch represents a high-level orchestrated leak from the Kremlin, in effect a war warning, which draws on the formidable resources of the Russian intelligence services, and which deserves to be taken with the utmost seriousness by pro-peace forces around the world.

Asked by RIA-Novosti to comment on the Uglanov report, retired Colonel General Leonid Ivashov confirmed its essential features in a March 21 interview: “I have no doubt that there will be an operation, or more precisely a violent action against Iran.” Ivashov, who has reportedly served at various times as an informal advisor to Russian President Vladimir Putin, is currently the vice president of the Moscow Academy for Geopolitical Sciences.

Ivashov attributed decisive importance to the decision of the Democratic leadership of the US House of Representatives to remove language from the just-passed Iraq supplemental military appropriations bill that would have demanded that Bush come to Congress before launching an attack on Iran. Ivashov pointed out that the language was eliminated under pressure from AIPAC, the lobbing group representing the Israeli extreme right, and from Israeli Foreign Minister Tsipi Livni.

“We have drawn the unmistakable conclusion that this operation will take place,” said Ivashov. In his opinion, the US planning does not include a land operation: “ Most probably there will be no ground attack, but rather massive air attacks with the goal of annihilating Iran’s capacity for military resistance, the centers of administration, the key economic assets, and quite possibly the Iranian political leadership, or at least part of it,” he continued.

Ivashov noted that it was not to be excluded that the Pentagon would use smaller tactical nuclear weapons against targets of the Iranian nuclear industry. These attacks could paralyze everyday life, create panic in the population, and generally produce an atmosphere of chaos and uncertainty all over Iran, Ivashov told RIA-Novosti. “This will unleash a struggle for power inside Iran, and then there will be a peace delegation sent in to install a pro-American government in Teheran,” Ivashov continued. One of the US goals was, in his estimation, to burnish the image of the current Republican administration, which would now be able to boast that they had wiped out the Iranian nuclear program.

Among the other outcomes, General Ivashov pointed to a partition of Iran along the same lines as Iraq, and a subsequent carving up of the Near and Middle East into smaller regions. “This concept worked well for them in the Balkans and will now be applied to the greater Middle East,” he commented.

“Moscow must exert Russia’s influence by demanding an emergency session of the United Nations Security Council to deal with the current preparations for an illegal use of force against Iran and the destruction of the basis of the United Nations Charter,” said General Ivashov. “In this context Russia could cooperate with China, France and the non-permanent members of the Security Council. We need this kind of preventive action to ward off the use of force,” he concluded.
Source: The Intelligence Daily

I truly hope that Iran isn't attacked, but we've all got to stop kidding ourselves.

I personally think that they are gonna go for Iran, then Syria and then bring on Pakistan.

May Allah protect the innocent and end their suffering - Ameen.

"Reach Out To Israel, Arabs Urged"

I don't think everybody needs to be told as to what is going on in Palestine. Our mothers are being raped there this very second, and another one of our brothers just got shot in the head.

But I can't believe that Arab countries are being asked to reach out to Israel! Below is the article from the BBC

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has called on Arab nations to reach out to Israel.

Ms Rice was speaking in Jerusalem after three days of meetings with Israeli, Palestinian and Jordanian leaders.

She said Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas had agreed to meet every two weeks.

Ms Rice also said there was a "path of co-operation" with the new Palestinian unity government.
The secretary of state was speaking on the eve of the opening of an Arab League summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

'Complex' issues

Ms Rice urged Arab nations to take a more active role in regional peace efforts, although she said the presence of the militant Hamas faction in the Palestinian government made the issues "more complex".

"The Arab states must be reaching out to Israel... to show Israel that they accept its place in the Middle East," she said.

Ms Rice said there could be co-operation with the new Palestinian unity government but stressed again that Hamas must renounce violence.

Hamas has refused to adhere to three key international demands to recognise Israel, renounce violence and honour previous peace agreements.

Ms Rice said Mr Olmert and Mr Abbas would meet regularly and that she would attend some of the meetings.

"They achieved something, which is the very regularised meetings between the two of them, in which they will not just talk about their day-to-day issues, but also about a political horizon," she said.

Ms Rice said it was "not inconceivable" for a peace deal to be reached before the end of US President George W Bush's tenure.

But she added: "We're not yet at the... [stage] of final status" negotiations.

I can't believe this - it's like they're saying "why don't you Arabs do more? - it's all your fault".

Yes the Arab nations should do more - they should help their Palestinian brothers and sisters by forcing the Western countries to see that they can't be paid up (as so many of the arabs have already) and that they want Israel to no longer exist - everyone can live in Palestine in peace. If it was possible in the past then surely it is possible now.

The part that really made my blood boil though was when Condoleeza Rice said:

"The Arab states must be reaching out to Israel... to show Israel that they accept its place in the Middle East," she said.

Israel is murdering innocent people day in and day out. The only crime of the Palestinians is that they are Palestinians.

But how do we stop this? How can we end the killing of the Palestinians?

The answer lies in our mental ressurection. We shouldn't stay oblivious to the butchering of the Palestinians. It's our foreign policy (along with America's ) which allows Israel to get away with murder.

Change the foreign policy, then you change the future of the Palestinans to something that they can look forward to.

Our mosques and our MPs have too long allowed injustice to prevail - now we have to hold them to account and show Allah that we are Muslims who do care and want to please Him.

If we politically activate then we can ensure that Palestinians get the justice that they deserve.

Victory to the Intifada

Interpal has been targeted again by pro-Israeli lobbies Muslims are in no position to counter. We are a million light years away of even competing! I learn Natwest has decided to close the bank accounts of Interpal – the biggest and probably the most effective Palestinian charity.

The closure is likely to cause untold disruption to Interpals delivery of humanitarian assistance to the beleaguered Palestinian people in occupied Palestine, Lebanon & Jordan and comes at a time when the hardship and destitution in the region has reached an unprecedented level. Importantly it is likely to deprive 6,000 Palestinian children of their monthly relief assistance for many months to come. http://www.aqsa.org.uk/news_detail.aspx?newsid=1086

Today they try to close down the biggest and best Palestinian charity, tomorrow it will be smaller charities and finally the Israelis will have starved the Palestinians from their land. http://www.mpacuk.org/content/view/3475/64/

Back in 2003 Interpal were targeted by the Jewish Board of Deputies – they mobilized so fast and furiously that they managed to convince British Authorities that Interpal were linked to ‘funding terrorist activities in Palestine’ – their accounts were frozen immediately surprise surprise. However after a thorough investigation by the Charities Commission – they were cleared of the charges and even sought a libel case (and get this) won a notorious public apology from the JBOD…Woop woop!

To make a difference in this check out these sites: MPACUK, Friends of Al-Aqsa.

The smallest action can make the biggest of differences. Make that call today.

Victory to the Intifada

Zero Tolerance To Israel!

After a long exhausting day of shopping, cleaning, cooking and some more cleaning (man I sound like a nag!), I put my feet up with a cuppa. The lil' brother was intently gazing at the TV screen and I dared ask who was playing tonight. 'England'. He then kinda stuttered 'VS Israel - IN Israel.'

So it was that match on tonight, I had forgotten all about it amidst my busy yet
uneventful day. I can't quite explain the feeling I had watching the interviews of some of the England players with the beautiful scenic view of a beach in Israel. Images of the Gaza strip, Palestine flashed by; the blood, the bullets, bulldozers destroying homes of the defenceless, children attempting to defend their homes by throwing stones at shooting tanks .

My blood was boling - another example of injustice directed towards the Palestinian people. A people who have been occupied, persecuted, humiliated, and terrorised for over 50 years.

The occupation of Palestinian land by Israel is illegal. Apartheid Israel should never have been allowed to be included in Euro 2008, especially seeing that Palestinian footballers are not allowed excluded from international football.

Whatever happened to 'kicking racism out of football' ! Guess it's just a fancy slogan
to allude the public as this is evident contradiction...Israel operates an entrenched system of racial Apartheid against its own non-Jewish occupants and has been illegally occupying Palestinian land.

The sporting boycott was an integral tool in the movement against South African Apartheid...Although protests were planned for this match; they didn't have much impact unfortunately...

Now I've not seen many Muslims or pro-Palestinian activists in large numbers protest against this (and by this I mean the average, pacified, Muslim) 'cos a big up to those that have been inundating the appropriate body's via emails and calls! It's definitely worth a shot to still voice your disgrace:

* Write to the Football Association to complain about Israel's inclusion in Euro 2008 and England's qualifier match with Israel in Tel Aviv on the 23rd March: Football Association, 25 Soho Square, London W1D 4FA.

* Complain to the FA at info@thefa.com or call them on 02077454999. You could copy in UEFA at info@euro2008.com

* Please also write to Kick Racism out of Football about the inclusion of Apartheid Israel in Euro 2008 while Palestinian footballers are excluded from international football. Email them at www.kickitout.org or email their chairman Lord Herman Ouseley at hermanouseley@aol.com

And I will leave you with this beautiful, heart aching poem I found from this superb website: (Be warned - tissues may be needed)

A tale too familiar to talk about,
A tale too hard to explain:
A family of six sitting down for dinner,
They barged in and quartered my home,
They took away my future;
My two sisters were held at gunpoint and stripped of their dignity.
A family of four,
My father left.
He had to join the freedom fighters.
A family of three.

So now,
Since the soldiers crashed my house,
We cook for five.
So now,
We do their laundry,
And for all I know,
This could be the same soldier who killed Ali.
Ali was my older brother,
He was only 15 years old.
Shot, dead, point blank range.
We were only playing catch,“Oh, I didn’t have my safety on” as he smiled.

They call it the Holy Land, but it is blood filled.
They call it their homeland,
They say it was meant to be theirs.
They say it was their right.
Olive trees uprooted and houses quarted.
Palestine shall find its days of freedom and peace.

They own our damn media,
America receives the crooked story,
How about I walk into a village and open fire upon a bunch of long side-burned punks,
Would they hear it in America then?
Of course Americans would.
Is that what it takes to be put on the media?!

Israeli soldiers,
I want to destroy them,
For what they did to my familiy,
For what they did to Ali,
For what they did to my land.

The Jewish media,
I want to see it fall,
For what they are doing to the American people,
For not saying what is really happening,
For not showing Americans what is true,
For Palestine,
For me,
But better yet,
for freedom,
Please end the oppression.

But yet,
I am too young.
Too young to understand what really goes on.
All I know is that when I was seven,
They destroyed my familiy,
All I know is that when I was seven,
They occupied my house and oppression took over my land.
All I know is that when I was seven,
My brother was murdered,
All I know is that when I was seven,
My father left us and told me to be strong,
All I know is that when I was seven,
I saw my sisters being taken away from me,
Disrespected and unfaithfully touched,
All I know is that when I was seven,
They ruined my life,
And that is when my life flashed before my eyes,
And said to me,“You are a special child;
Spread what you know,
Because you are a living example ofPalestine’s struggle.”
May God help us all,
Amen.

Women in Mosques

I came across this interesting video on the MPACUK website. It's a segment done by Islam Channel about women trying to get their (rightful) places in the mosques.

Here's the video:



Lol I loved the interview where the committee member says he can't find any women who are interested in being on the committee but he won't advertise for the positions!

Remembering Malcolm X

Today's the 21st of March and on this very date 43 years ago a man was martyred in the cause of the Truth - I speak of none other than Brother El Hajj Malik al Shabazz (aka Malcolm X).

I'm been reading his autobiography recently, and it is absolutely amazing (it can be purchased from here).

He spoke the Truth with no fear and he really was, and is, a great role model for people who want to make a change for a brighter future - may Allah bless him for all the good he did and all the good he has done after his death. Allah says about the martyrs that they are alive, and as we can clearly see, Malcolm X's legacy lives on and inspires so many people to the straight path even today.

Here's a short video about Malcolm X - enjoy:

20th March 2003

No I didn't get the date wrong, but I just wanted to remind everyone that it's been 4 years since America attacked Iraq and ,well, got away with it.

No proof, no truth, all spoof.

So many lives were lost and now it seems Iran will be next.

We shouldn't let that happen.

We can't let that happen.

We CAN do something, but we should realise that it all depends on politics and on our (the UK's) foreign policy. Our elected 'leaders' are letting us down and we should hold them to account.

Remember, they work for us, not the other way around.

I know it sounds like I'm ordering you guys to do this, but it's just that I read this action alert by MPACUK (here's the link), and it made me realise that sitting around for our butchering leaders to change their stances by themselves ain't gonna happen. We gots to teach them a lesson :P

At least let's try to make a difference -as victory is for the believers, and Allah loves those that strive in His Cause.

Watch Out Iran!

Ok, sorry, back to some serious stuff. Was reading the BBC site and it doesn't look too good for Iran. The drums for war are...well...basically drumming louder and louder for them.

The double standards and the cheek of it though! How often do Israel, America or any other country for that matter get a hard time and sanctioned over their nuclear weapons - Zilch, never!

Taken from: news.bbc.co.uk

A new sanctions package designed to put pressure on Iran over its nuclear
programme has been agreed by the six countries handling the issue at the UN. The
British ambassador immediately sent the draft to the 10 non-permanent Security
Council members, who have not been included in the negotiations. The package
includes an arms embargo and economic penalties.

Iran insists its nuclear programme is peaceful, but Western governments say
it wants to develop nuclear weapons. Last December, the Security Council voted
unanimously to impose a first, limited set of sanctions against Iran for
refusing to halt uranium enrichment. The latest package includes extending
a freeze of assets to those linked to Iran's nuclear and missile programmes and
a ban on new grants and loans to the state.

Before the draft was presented, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
vowed the initiative would not sway his country.

Be Warned: These are Funny!

Thought I'd be slightly less serious all the time and share some hilarious videos I've found of people making a right fool outta themselves! They are way tooooooo funny. What possess's these people I really don't know!

Enjoy.....

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4795237232324013939

http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/stfu.php

http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/numa.php

(Sorry, I'm very untecchified (is that even a word?) so I have not the the foggiest as to how to upload them for real on the blog)

Hijab Ends Football Dream

Props to Maniac Muslim for finding this:

Last week in Canada, a young Muslim girl - Asmahan Mansour (aka Asi) - was ejected from a Quebec summer football tournament for wearing a hijab.

Here's the full story:

Five young teams from across Canada walked out of a Quebec soccer tournament Sunday because a young Muslim girl was ejected for wearing a hijab.
Calling the rule banning the headscarf worn by Muslim women racist, four other teams followed Asmahan Mansour's team, the Nepean Selects from Ottawa, after she was thrown out for running afoul of a Quebec Soccer Association rule.

"The referee was staring and pointing. 'She can't play,'" said Asmahan, Asi to her friends. "I was like why? Why can't I play?"
Because of a safety rule, league spokesman Lyes Arfa said. He pointed out that the referee is Muslim himself, and that the ban on hijabs is to protect children from being accidentally strangled.
"We have to protect the players on the field, and that's the main point. It's not against the Muslims."
And the league had told organizers about the rule — "The wearing of the Islamic veil or any other religious item is not permitted" — before the game.
Asi's team was aware of the rule, but didn't expect it would be enforced.
So when it was, many players and adults were outraged.

Girls backed up teammate
"I automatically went back to the referee: 'Are you sure this is what you wanna do?'" said Louis Maneiro, the Selects' head coach. When nothing changed, he said, "I just decided that there's no way that I would allow our team to continue, and the girls backed up Asi very strongly."
Asi's teammates supported the move. "I felt disgraced, I was crushed, I couldn't see Asi like that," said Lisa Furano.
"It's just a piece of material, it can't do any harm," added Alicia Stainton.
The Selects left the tournament in good spirits. But they say they won't come back until the rule changes.

There have been other occasions of things like this happening in Canada. For example, a bearded Sikh boxer is challenging the Canadian Amateur Boxing Association who say that beards are "banned for medical reasons". (Source: CBC News)

?!

Now I may not be a doctor (although my parents would like me to be), but how the hell is a beard dangerous?! And a Hijab?!!!!!!

I know some hijabis may be scary, but to say that the hijab is, well that's just absurd.

It's not like the hijab will grab people by their throat while they are running past Asi - unless it's one of those mutant hijabs. My local hijab shop sells them (don't ask how I know....)

But how long till these problems come over to the UK?

Heck they already are

I mean after Jack Straw's crazy comments about the niqab (full veil) there has been alot of tension in many areas, but how long till the cheap tabloids start calling for a ban on the hijab? or on the beard?


Some of this has already started, and the marching Islamophobes are coming ever nearer.

I wish more Muslims would try to stop the war of terror before it's too late for us to stop anything at all. If we politically empower ourselves, then we could end these attacks against our civil liberties, but obviously that's not gonna happen - because that requires working and striving for a good cause ...

Introducing the iRack

Lol this is so true...

I'm back...

Assalaamualaikum,

I promised to keep people updated on what I got up to while I was at Hajj, but as soon as I came back (on the 18th of Jan), I was bogged down with so many things that I just couldn't find the time to write about my experiences.

However, I'm back now (it depends if you see that as good thing or a bad thing) and want to share what happened when I first got to Makkah and to the House of Allah.

We (I mean my family and I) had a 7 hour stay in Cairo before we got to Makkah, and as such were really really tired. I couldn't soak in everything as I was getting used to wearing two pieces of white, unsewn cloth and I was so tired.

We were lucky enough to have an old family friend in our Hajj group, and he had been coming for the past 26 years to perform either Hajj (pilgrimage) or Umrah (the lesser pilgrimage).

I remember walking for about 5 minutes before we got to the beautiful mosque, the marble looked so pure, and the atmosphere was electric - I was finally going to get the chance to see THAT house, I was finally going to see it with my own eyes. No TV broadcasts, no sir, I would get a chance to see the House of Allah for which so many believers in the past have strove to protect. As water washes away dirt, the thought of finally seeing Baitullah (the House Of Allah) washed my fatigue right out.

We entered through one of the doors that was close to mount Marwa (one of the two hills that Hajira/Hajar - the wife of Ibrahim/Abraham peace be upon him - ran on to try and find some water to quech her screaming baby's thirst).

There were so many people - all the men dressed in simple white cloths, no one could tell who was a king and who was a pauper, but they all had one common goal, to follow the Command of Allah.

As we got closer to the House I could feel the hairs on my neck stand up, I hadn't even seen it yet, but I could sense that it was there.

And then I saw it.

And I cried, and I kept crying, throughout the time I spent there that day that is all I did, such was the effect of Allah's House.

When we got to the end of the ritual, the men went to get their hair cut and then we all headed home to change out of our Ihram clothes (I did the type of Hajj where you take the Ihram clothes off after having done the preliminary rituals and then don it again when the 5 days of Hajj begin).

However something weird happened over the next couple of days, I couldn't feel any emotions when I looked at the Kaabah while I was in the Mosque - had I become so impure from within that I couldn't even show thanks, even FEEL thanks?

But that's when I realised - it wasn't that I couldn't feel anything when I looked at the Kaabah - the truth was that I was experiencing a new emotion that throughout my hectic life I have never encountered - sakinah (tranquility).

In the hustle and bustle of today's world where is the chance to just sit and thank Allah? I had all the time in the world to say thank you to Allah, and it was due to this new feeling of trainquility that Allah bestowed every time I looked up at the big beautiful House Of Allah.

There's so much more to say, but if I say it all now I'll need to make a new blog! Instead, from time to time I'll let you know what happened.

Fiamaanallah,

Abu Funza

How to become a Lord

Lately we have been reading a lot of stuff in the press on the cash for honours scandal. The latest twist are the claims that Lord Levy is going to be used as a scapegoat, and some people are crying anti-Semitism. For perhaps the first and only time ever I agree with Melanie Phillips when she says “But to say he is the victim of ‘anti-Semitism’ when he is at the centre of an ongoing police investigation in which he has been arrested and bailed is simply outrageous. There is not a shred of evidence to support such an allegation. If Lord Levy is in trouble, this has nothing to do with his ethnic identity.” Here’s where we slightly differ (well I think as I don’t really understand her last paragraph- there’s a lady who needs to use more commas): in my opinion, the problem with claiming anti-Semitism (or Islamophobia or other forms of racism for that matter) when that is not the case, is extremely dangerous and harmful to the respective communities. After a while, people will get sick of hearing that so and so is anti-Semitic and stop believing. Anyone remember the story of the boy who cried wolf?

However, this is not where my interest in the case lies. In fact the whole issue really quite annoys me. Not particularly because people are buying their way into one of our great parliamentary institutions, cause let’s face it, most of the people who are in there shouldnae be anyway- heriditaries, “friends” of the parties, bishops etc. Or that it reveals how corrupt our government because, well we already knew that. No, it is the fact that the scandal has been discovered, and has been revealed to the general public so the problem will now be scrutinised and rectified.

That sounds (reads) strange doesn’t it? Normally I obviously want corruption to be cleared up as how will a country progress otherwise? Of course, unless it is in my potential interest.

Let me explain. The only guaranteed way to get into the House of Lords is brownnosing (that’s honestly the politest way I could think of to express that) the leaders of the party, and that’s just not me, but I really really REALLY want to be a Lord. My plan was therefore, one day marry rich, donate a lil money to a party of my choice, get myself a peerage. Ideally it would have been a birthday present. You get my drift? Now how’s that going to happen?

I suppose with the Lords being reformed (assuming they actually pass it) I would have to be elected anyway- but that’s just long. Pretending to be nice (when people don’t deserve it) and caring about people’s opinions when blatantly I’m going to do what I think is right- just not my cuppa tea.

Thanks to a few journalists, some dumb politicians that can’t cover their tracks very well, my dreams of being a Lord disappear……

Sunny Hundal's Unhealthy Obsession

Should we be surprised at Patrick Mercer's (MP) racist comments? It hasn't been the first time he's said something so offensive and he is a member of Conservative Friends of Israel so what more can we expect!

And why oh why is Sunny Hundal so damn obsessed with Muslim organisations? I've come across his rants for some time and have noticed a slight pattern. If you are a Muslim who is vocal and active in defending the Palestinians against Israeli occupation - then you are either labelled anti-semitic or extremist - he has done this time and time again with the likes of MPACUK and the MCB - both credible pro-Palestinian Muslim organisations. If you object to Israel's crimes and occupation against the defenceless Palestinians - he will automatically have something to say about it.

There's something not quite right with him. He seems to use any excuse possible to attack and discredit Muslims. This one here as a prime example: http://www.pickledpolitics.com/archives/1040

When it came to the Holocaust Memorial Day, he attacked Salma Yaqoob and Inayat Bunglawala (of the MCB) for not 'mentioning' the massacre and genocide of Bengalis in 1971 by Pakistani soldiers. Fair enough but I don't see Hundal himself holding to account other massacres- namely the current one ongoing in Palestine!

He is the editor of Asians in the media (an informative site when it wants to be) but here comes the dodgy part - he also runs Pickled Politics - which is very hospitable to Islamophobes and far right fascists. He seems very chummy with the racists at Harry's Place and apparently the BNP organised a march 'in honour' of Hundal...!

Anyway, the point of my rant here is who is Sunny Hundal to go round attacking and vilifying groups like these and what exactly is his agenda? I for one can see the benefits reeling from racists like Harry's Place, Islamophobes and pro-Israeli lobbies - he is doing their dirty work for them by smearing and discrediting influential Muslim groups... but what's in it for Hundal?