In a class of her own
In A Class of Her Own from this week's Spectator (free registration required; goes PPV when next edition is out). The author, James Bartholomew, explains why he is taking his daughter out of school...
Indigo Jo Blogs Blog
Oriana Fallaci dead
Via Islamophobia Watch, the Italian journalist notorious for her outbursts on Islam, Oriana Fallaci, has died. You can read obituaries on her here and here. The latter, in the Times surprisingly enough, highlights the...
9/11: the anniversary and the conspiracy theories
This week is the fifth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, if anyone hasn't been listening to the news or watching the calendar. It's fair to say that the day was a watershed; it...
9/11 film made by religious right activist
Guardian Unlimited: BBC did not know of 9/11 film’s link to religious right Anyone see that “path to 9/11” film that was on BBC1 earlier this week? It turns out that the director was...
Marcel Berlins: Muslims let down by spokesmen’s poor English
The Guardian's legal writer Marcel Berlins has a column in today's paper about how certain causes – in particular, Palestine and Muslims – are continually let down by the poor English displayed by the...
The Divine Right of Politicians
Rachel from North London and Kitty Killer have recently posted on the Blair-Brown "succession" controversy. My position on this has long been very simple: Brown is not fit for the job, because he considers...
Ambulance attack “was no hoax”
The Guardian's readers' editor responds to speculation on various websites and blogs that a report, accompanied by photographs, of an attack on a Red Cross ambulance (which prompted Melanie Phillips to write this entry...
How we have, and haven’t, moved on
Ben Macintyre wrote yesterday in the Times that, despite the occasional talk of a Muslim “fifth column” in Britain, there has been no scare remotely comparable to those surrounding German spies in the early...
Don’t ban packed lunches
Last year Jamie Oliver, a famous young British TV chef, was credited with bringing about a massive improvement in the quality of school dinners after running a TV series exposing the rubbishy quality of...
Muslim women, hijab and employment
Guardian Unlimited: Why are so many of Britain's Muslim women unemployed? A report from yesterday's Guardian on how women from ethnic minorities generally, but particularly those of Bangladeshi and Pakistani origin have low economic...
Why Misbah isn’t going back to Mama
Osama has been doing a good job, ma sha Allah, of keeping up with the story of Misbah Iram AKA "Molly Campbell" ([1], [2]), a combination of her nickname and her mother's boyfriend's name....
Sookhdeo on terrorism and Islamic schools
This afternoon someone from the Evening Standard sent me a copy of an article the paper had printed by the infamous Patrick Sookhdeo, an apostate given to writing inflammatory and inaccurate articles about Islam...
On Natascha Kampusch and ‘Stockholm Syndrome’
One of the biggest news stories the past couple of weeks has been the reappearance of a young woman called Natascha Kampusch, who was kidnapped on her way to school, aged 10, in March 1998. For most of the time she was kept in a windowless underground cell measuring 3m x 4m (9ft x 13ft), being allowed out for the first time in May of this year according to some accounts. As you might expect, it’s a sensational story with the media somewhat frustrated by the refusal of the young lady and those around her to furnish them with salacious details. This has led to a lot of column inches being spent on speculation and commentary.
An offer I really could refuse
The other day, with some money my nan gave me, I went into Borders in Kingston to get some books. I hoped to take advantage of the "three for the price of two" offer...
Review: Shoot the Messenger
Shoot the Messenger was on BBC2 last night; it featured David Oyewolo (from the drama Spooks, British slang for spies) as Joe, a young black teacher who entered the profession after attending a meeting to discuss the chronic underachievement of black boys in British schools, at which one lady announced that what was needed was more black male teachers to provide positive role models.
Railroading east London
SocietyGuardian.co.uk | Society Guardian | Laura Holland: Taken for a ride by a train link that we don't need Found in today's Guardian Society supplement: how the authorities are apparently set on forcing a...
Spectator refuse my “poem”
A week or so ago, in response to Stephen Schwartz's screed in the Spectator, I wrote the magazine a letter as well as the article I posted here. The editor decided to print two...
Review of Gita Saghal’s Hecklers appearance
Last Saturday Gita Saghal of Awaaz South Asia Watch and “Women Against Fundamentalisms”, an organisation which monitors and opposes religious fundamentalism in south Asia, appeared on BBC Radio 4’s programme Hecklers, so-called because one...
Second proggie group hit by mass resignations
Via Dr Maxtor, another representative-only-of-themselves "Progressive Muslim" group, the so-called Muslim Canadian Congress, has been hit by the resignation of several of its board. Readers might remember that a similar group, the Progressive Muslim...
No apartheid in Norbury
In this week's New Stateman, Darcus Howe responds to the persistent talk of "segregation" by presenting the situation in his home suburb of Norbury, south London, widely perceived (at least locally) as some sort...