They say that the past is another country, but let me tell you that it’s much more unsettling to find that the present has become another country, too. In my lost youth I lived in Finsbury Park, a shabby area of North London, roughly between the old Arsenal football ground and the Seven Sisters Road. It was a working-class neighborhood, with a good number of Irish and Cypriot immigrants. Your food choices were the inevitable fish-and-chips, plus the curry joint, plus a strong pitch from the Greek and Turkish kebab sellers. There was never much “bother,” as the British say, in Finsbury Park. Greeks and Turks might be fighting in Cyprus, but they never lifted a hand to one another in London. Many of the Irish had republican allegiances, but they didn’t take that out on the local Protestants. And, even though both Cyprus and Ireland had all the grievances of partitioned former British colonies, it would have seemed inconceivable—unimaginable—that any of their sons would put a bomb on the bus their neighbors used.
Returning to the old place after a long absence, I found that it was the scent of Algeria that now predominated along the main thoroughfare of Blackstock Road. This had had a good effect on the quality of the coffee and the spiciness of the grocery stores. But it felt odd, under the gray skies of London, to see women wearing the veil, and even swathed in the chador or the all-enveloping burka. Many of these Algerians, Bangladeshis, and others are also refugees from conflict in their own country. Indeed, they have often been the losers in battles against Middle Eastern and Asian regimes which they regard as insufficiently Islamic. Quite unlike the Irish and the Cypriots, they bring these far-off quarrels along with them. And they also bring a religion which is not ashamed to speak of conquest and violence.
“Quite unlike the Irish and the Cypriots, they bring these far-off quarrels along with them. And they also bring a religion which is not ashamed to speak of conquest and violence.”
Gonna get crap for my un-PC’ness but that is the problem.When you allow others to bring their crap into your country and neighbourhood,and allow them to preach about it,you have nobody to blame but yourself. The only good Islamofacist/Religion of Peace follower is a dead one! Newfies had the right the idea with the Indians. No Indians,no problems.
…for a second there, I thought the article was describing certain places in Toronto.
The Irish planted their share of bombs in London.
We are experiencing the same thing in our larger cities, at a slower rate. Wait for it to catch on here, with neighborhoods the Police are afraid to drive through.
Multiculturalism entrenched in Law, is insane. Our intellectual classes are blinded to this fact by their own utopianism.
“Newfies had the right the idea with the Indians. No Indians,no problems.”
That would be the Europeans. But you would still be wrong as most died from starvation rather than warfare or disease.
“Actually, the first permanent newcomers to seriously affect the Beothuk were Native American, not European. For as long as they can remember, the Micmac from Cape Breton had been visiting Newfoundland during the summer to take advantage of the fishing. Their relations with the “Red Indians” had almost always been friendly, but in 1613 a French fisherman shot at an Beothuk who was trying to rob him. The Beothuk responded with an uprising which killed 37 French fishermen, and to protect themselves, the French began to encourage their Micmac allies to settle permanently in southern Newfoundland. As Micmac settlement spread along the southern coast of Newfoundland, competition with the Beothuk for resources led to fighting. The French provided the Micmac with firearms to defend both themselves and French fishermen, and it was no contest. The Beothuk were driven inland away from their usual food sources on the coast.” More here.
http://www.dickshovel.com/beo.html
Brothers (and sisters?) in arms:
1) “Marxism: a festival of resistance”, May 10-13, 2007, Toronto:
http://www.carleton.ca/socialists/marxism/
‘a four day conference of over fifty workshops, artistic display and performances. If you are against imperialism, war, corporate greed and destruction of the environment, if you want to learn about and organize for a new world of peace, freedom and liberation then don’t miss Marxism: A Festival of Resistance’
2) ‘TorontoMuslims.com, “Where Toronto Muslims go first”, Events:’
http://www.torontomuslims.com/events_display.asp?ID=3652#
‘Type: Political Title: Building Unity: Muslims and the Left Date: 5/10/2007 Time: 7:30pm to 10:00pm
Speakers:
Zafar Bangash – Director, Institute of Contemporary Islamic Thought
Ali Mallah – Ontario Vice-president, Canadian Arab Federation
Peter Leibovitch – Peace and social justice activist
Ausma Malik – Vice-president, Equity, University of Toronto Students’ Union (2006-07)
Wahida Valiante – National Vice-president, Canadian Islamic Congress
James Clark – Leading member, International Socialists
Registration: Registration info and full schedule at:
http://www.socialist.ca
Suitability: Men, Women, Youth, Non-Muslim, New Muslim
Contact Info: Marxism 2007: A Festival of Resistance
Phone: 416-972-6391
E-mail: marxism@sympatico.ca
Place: Bahen Centre for Information Technology
40 St. George Street
University of Toronto
TTC: Queen’s Park (walk west to St. George, walk north of College)
Comments: George Bush’s “war on terror” has been accompanied by a wave of rampant racial profiling and Islamophobia. Hear this diverse panel of activists discuss the opportunities and challenges for building a united movement against war and Islamophobia, and for social justice and a new world of freedom.
This talk is one of two opening meetings for Marxism 2007: A Festival of Resistance, a four-day conference of over fifty workshops, artistic displays and performances.
If you are against imperialism, war, corporate greed, and the destruction of the environment, if you want to learn about and organize for a new world of peace, freedom, and liberation, then don’t miss Marxism 2007: A Festival of Resistance.
NOTE: Group rate — Five full weekend registration passes from $100 (that’s $20 per person for the full weekend pass!!)
Registration info and full schedule at:
http://www.socialist.ca‘
Mark
Ottawa
Another great Hitchens article and a reminder of how fast a neighbourhood can change….and what is a city but a collection of neighbourhoods, and a country is a collections of cities and towns.
Canadians kick butt at world championship! Doan thanks BQ for inspiration! Rabbit accused of being off topic!
Chris Hitchens is the legitimate heir of Orwell; he cuts through the hypocrisy and cant to deliver the truth. His recent series of excerpts in the Post (also available online at Slate) showcase his ability to cut through the lies surrounding religion. As a semi-Catholic, I will admit to some terrible activities by pedophilic priests, and some undefendable activities by the Church in centuries past, but I’ll still say the Church has been, on balance, a positive influence in human affairs.
Islam, on the other hand, has never been a force that moves humanity forward, IMHO. I think it’s important to note that before the advent of Islam, the Arab world was not only the seat of human learning, but also the seat of scientific progress. Islam stopped everything in its tracks. When I look at the major world religions: Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, and Islam, I can think of no one that has hindered human progress and peace than Islam. “religion of peace” – what a crock…
Hitchen was interviewed and claimed we came from evolution , he slowly made sense until he used the caveman defense and said that a generation mutated and evoled away from the man/ape gene and became the homo-erectus to change over time and become us .
Sorry folks, but I need a bit more than a pre-existing bi-ped to fit into a theory.
I’ve heard Christians take different sides of issues for Capital Punishment and Creation, so here’s my take on them.
I’m in favour of the death penalty for a proven Murder and admission by the killer, I say this because if Jesus was here to denouce this punishment he could have stopped his own death , but he didn’t.
Jesus focused on the Life after you die no matter what the cause of death will be , so if I choose to kill someone knowing what awaits me on Earth , then I caused my own suicide and got the State to do it for me.
Next is the idea that the Earth wasn’t created close to how we see it now , but these same Christians will cite Jesus feeding the masses with fish and bread , the fish created for the masses were adult fish and this shows God’s power to make mature entities with life and existance.
This wasn’t a magic show where the rabbit grew up over the years and is hidden so it appears out from a hat as being created , plus I think if jesus hadn’t fed the hungry they would have called him the cheap bast*rd and tight wad prophet.
Christians have yet to convince me that I’m wrong over the adult fish and the crusifix punishment, he said he didn’t come to bring Justice on earth but Eternal Life in paradise
for your spirit .
Give to Ceaser what’s his and give to God what is his, I stopped worrying about death because i have never been to a Graveyard and heard the dead bragging about their wealth or what they did in life.
Even if there is nothing waiting for me I still had a good life and i can’t feel cheated and decide to be un-dead and come back , who cares if you didn’t pay the phone bill or finished night school .
You’re dead , DEAD dead dead dead.
Violence and conquest rabidly endorsed – it’s no surprise left leaning people sympathize with the Islamists who hate the rest of us just as much as they do.
Our elites described Canadians who wanted to preserve their culture as racists-unless they were French Canadians.
KevinB
Hitchens is good, but he’s no Orwell. Did you see that the teenage clerk in the case of the Fort Dix Six wondered whether it would be racist to call the police? This is what it has come to- and its only going to get worse because we do not pay enough attention to whom we invite into our home.
my thoughts on this matter would be distressing to all.
The great experiment foisted upon us – multiculturalism, has had the exact reverse effect. It is exposing, increasing and flaming racial tensions and violent cultural differences at an accelerating speed.
Since no western governments are doing anything to correct and reverse the situation, it appears there will be a violent end to it. But given the increasing awareness of multiculturalism as the cause and violence and hate as the effect, it will end.
Look what the Danes are doing:
S.I.A.D. (STOP THE ISLAMISATION OF DENMARK PARTY) have now started to collect money to start a court case again those parts of the koran that contravene the Danish Constitution.
This is what they have to say on the English part of there Blogg
The Minster of Justice is breaking the Constitution of the Kingdom of Denmark Act. (the Danish constitution). We shall now take legal action.
We have now started a collection of money in the whole world in order to take legal action against passages of the Koran, i.e. passages which are contrary to the Danish constitution and the Danish Penal Code.
Having received a refusal of our claim from the Ministry of Justice and having noted that the case worker acted on complete ignorance, as she had not even read the Koran and as she did not know the meaning of the word “hadith”, SIAD forwarded a second claim.
But again we received a short reply from some Jens-Christian Bülow from the Ministry of Justice with the following wording:
By e-mail of March 27, 2007 you have again addressed the Ministry of Justice in order to have passages of the Koran prohibited in Denmark.
The Ministry of Justice refers to an earlier reply of March 7, 2007. Yours faithfully, Jens-Christian Bülow.
Again we see a total negligence of our arguments which are based on the very clearly stated sections of the Danish constitution. We have now opened a bank account where money received on this account will be ear-marked for the trial.
S.I.A.D. Was started by group of ordinary Danes who had had enough with all the shit that was heaped on them over the Cartoon crisis and decided to fight. They are still a small organization. They do not hid behind Aliases the way we do here.
Anders Gravers real name is Anders Gravers, his photo is to be seen on the Blogg. They are starting a counter crusade to defend there land. Denmark has a population approximately half the size of New York. The Muslim hoards went for them because they thought that they were an easy victim, how wrong they were now the victim is hitting back. Denmark has fallen once again below the worlds political radar and very little that comes out of Denmark makes news. Did you know that of the two Muslim clerics that started the crisis one is dead and the other one left Denmark complaining bitterly how misunderstood he was by the Danes. No the Danes didn’t misunderstand him, he misunderstood the Danes. I know the Danes, and I can assure you if this Crisis had happened 1,000 years ago it would have been over in a few days. Unfortunately it cannot be solved in the good old Viking way. S.I.A.D. Works within in the law and are committed to observing the rule of law only they don’t fudge the issue in there case it is Danish Law not Sharia law. They are going for the Islamic Jugular, they see it as a win win situation. If they win muslims in Denmark would have to reassess there attitude to religion and state. It might even give our political Dimmis a bit more Backbone when they realize that if little Denmark can stop Islam in its track perhaps we can do the same. If they lose they also win as this case will get lots of coverage in the media and the pissed off Danes will get a very effective lesson in what is in store for them if islam gets its way. They deserve our support so if you have the odd dollar or Euro to spare after paying the exorbitant petrol prices to pay for the jihad please send it. They will need a lot of money, we all know how greedy lawyers are. If you have a Blogg please post this comment on your Blogg we must spread the word as wide as possible . It would be also very nice if Robert or Hugh would write an article here on Jihad Watch or Dimmi Watch. I will include the E-mail address of S.I.A.D. At the end of this post plus and the links to there blogg both the English section and the Danish section to show that this is not a Con trick. Enjoy the English section they do not mince their words and don’t forget to leave a comment. If you can’t send them money then please send a message of support they are a small number of Danes who have stuck their neck out to defend us all, they have no police protection. Remember if Europe goes America is in the front line. I am not saying that you are not already, but the Danes are one of your most faithful Allies, they are fighting now side by side with American Soldier in Iraqi and Afghanistan and like you, their sons are also dieing.
And unlike the Irish back in the day the Algerians don’t blow things up in London on a regular basis.
I guess you haven’t been staying up with the news, Jose. All Irish militant parties have laid down their arms and are getting along. In fact, forming coalitions.
But then, you don’t let little things like reality cloud your world view, do you?
What part of “back in the day” don’t you understand?