From our own correspondent’s Nick Danziger tells us that the Afghani people are the most wonderful people he knows. It’s women who continue to suffer the worst of the conflict. Outsiders make the same mistakes as most Afghan men, they don’t listen to women. Not a single one wants the Western forces to leave. “As the West rushes to exit the quagmire, they deserve continued support.”
Consider today’s demo in Trafalgar Square. It’s a ‘an Anti-War Mass Assembly’ demanding the withdrawal of British troops from Afghanistan.
George Galloway, Lauren Booth, Julian Assange, Seumas Milne, Moazzam Begg, Yvonne Ridley, Salma Yaqoob are some of the names who pledged to attend.
Harry’s Place has posted an article by Terry Glavin who is dismayed that Peter Tatchell has also “lent his good name” to the cause. Peter Tatchell the crazy mixed-up gay activist who stood with the homophobic Muslims in a recent demo against the EDL. He’s a very brave mixed-up activist, and very mixed-up.
However, after a heated exchange of emails, it seems Tatchell was persuaded to modify his anti-war stance. He has issued a revised statement:
”The left and anti-war movement is gambling with the lives of Afghan women, democrats and leftists when it calls for the immediate withdrawal of all UK and NATO troops. This demand is rejected by most Afghans and could result in mass slaughter by the Taliban. It risks capitulation to a clerical fascist movement that threatens the human rights of the Afghan people,”
(Read the rest here.)
He concludes:
“There needs to be a more sophisticated anti-war alternative to the Nato strategy. I haven’t got the answers but I know we should not abandon the Afghan people to a Taliban bloodfest. Anti-imperialism cannot be allowed to trump human rights.”
Of course it would be a lot easier if he didn’t go to such demos at all.
But maybe he didn’t. BBC news 24 reported this demo uncritically, or should we call it ‘with studious impartiality’, in the context-free manner to which we’ve become accustomed. On the website, though, they’re positively enthusiastic.
“The Stop The War Coalition said up to 5,000 people joined musicians, actors, film-makers and MPs at the Anti-war Mass Assembly in Trafalgar Square.”
Yippee. Sounds like a proper knees up. But they did say the organisers would find the attendance disappointing. There were only ‘about a thousand’ there. Too bad.
What a surprise, Jemima Khan was there. Via her Twitter feed I see that one of her society chums is designer Bella Freud of the achingly right-on Freud dynasty. Check out this tweet for a near-perfect example of privileged lefty-liberal luvvie fashionable opinion:
@bellafreud bella freud The fab Tilda Swinton in this months @vogue_london wearing the Palestine scarf I designed for Hoping Foundation.… twitpic.com/6wm23v
Privileged luvvies from the fashion and thespian communties uniting in superficial trendy left-wing activism. I despise them.
(Keep up the good work Sue)
Thanks D.B., Will do.
Bella Freud is a disgrace and an embarrassment. More random tweets from your link:
“Vote for Palestine today!”
“Congratulations to Jon Snow for an exciting live interview with Jimmy Carter. JC aged 87 and super quick, knew everything. And funny”
“Jimmy Carter is one of the very few US politicians to speak out about Palestine, honest and unafraid. Read his book Peace not Apartheid.”
“Peter Oborne is fantastic”
“If you want to see Blair in shameless action watch this Dispatches, Beggars belief. Even I am shocked.”
“Palestine Statehood bid not what it seems. Read @ns_mehdihassan for clear explanation.”
“Don’t let BBC censor Palestine! 1 day left to get ‘Freedom for Palestine’ into charts. BUY IT NOW! http://www.freedomoneworld.com”
“Delegitimization alert! Gaza kids send kites to Sderot in response to artillery shells signed by Israeli kids”
“One film about a 16 year old boy who served 8 years in prison for putting a Palestinian flag on top of the hideous separation wall.”
I read a more recent piece by Tatchell since he nearly got the living shit kicked out of him by Muslims in Whitechapel, and it’s all ok now, it was just a misunderstanding. He’s worked out how to get them under control so they can peacefully protest together hand in hand. . .
Alin Desai counted at least a quarter of a million at the demo-and surely the BBC would want that as the “official” figure.
What a list of useful Mullah-lites here eh?…useful idiots all.
Tatchell has held many things in his life…but office isn`t one of them.
Unelected by anyone…yet here he is again as a confused spokesman for…well Islamic rights to hang gays…or is that well-hung Muslims…oh, it`s all so confusing eh babes!
If Christian pastors and gays weren`t sharing condemned cells in Iran, we could indulge his befuddlement. Unfortunately, we can`t allow him the time to learn lessons when others pay for his wristband-limp or not.
An utter disgrace that the one democracy that doesn`t put gays at risk…or Christians for that matter…in that benighted part of the world would only be vilified and hated at todays demo.
Still-if those women get their fingernails ripped out under torture…I`m sure that Cherie Blair and her half sister will be most disappointed…Jemima won`t be slow in finding another token cause to point a finger at…unlike the sisters of Kabul,she`s in no danger of losing it!
What an unprepossessing bunch! But that does not alter the fact that our Afghan policy makes no sense. My opinion I Know.
Do we have a battle plan? Have we ever had a battle plan? Too few men and a mistaken belief in liberal interventionism typified by a desire to bring democracy and human rights to the people .
Our soldiers should only be asked to risk their lives in defence of this country and I cannot see how the Afghan venture defends us.
We could have dealt with this another way but the liberal cohorts would definitely not have liked it at all. The country could have been left after the fall of the Taliban to it’s own devices. Any return to the old ways of the Taliban could have been met by overwhelming arial destruction. Harsh I know and probably unjust but it may have concentrated minds and produced a regime anxious not to offend .
Gladstone’s Library opens Islamic House of Wisdom room
Why is it that help promote inter-faith understanding and co-operation only ever means Islam and not any other religion?
Just saying to Ahmed the othere day…how could we all have missed that obvious Gladstone-Jihadi connection?
Considering that many Beeboids are atheists, they don’t openly criticise the dogmas of Islamic ‘education’.
At least Dawkins does.
“Richard Dawkins attacks Muslim schools for stuffing children’s minds with ‘alien rubbish'”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/8814298/Richard-Dawkins-attacks-Muslim-schools-for-stuffing-childrens-minds-with-alien-rubbish.html
For ‘Today’s ever-present, ‘Thought for the Islamic Day’, Muslim, Mona Siddiqui.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/apps/ifl/religion/tftd/queryengine?attrib_1=author&oper_1=eq&val_1_1=Mona+Siddiqui&submit=Search+author
When will the political left catch on to ISLAMIC IMPERIALISM, and start opposing that?
Some required reading:
‘Islamic Imperialism: a history’
(by Professor Efraim Karsh, Kings College, University of London)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Islamic-Imperialism-History-Efraim-Karsh/dp/0300122632/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1318114286&sr=1-1#reader_0300122632
Pointless demo; pointless posturing by pointless people.
Of course, any sane Briton wants our troops to leave Afghanistan at some point but this rally is an excuse for flatulent stoppers and assorted useful idiots to engage in a circle-jerk in central London. Plenty of Jew-haters there, too, I see.
Incidentally, the BBC doesn’t point out that the Kate Hudson mentioned in the article is not the sultry actress but the head of CND and a prominent member of the Communist Party (insofar as any member of the CPGB can be considered ‘prominent’). She is pure, 100 per cent moonbat.
I opposed the invasion of Afghanistan and think the occupation has been a right old mess but I’d sooner be stuck in a lift with Polly Toynbee than attend a rally with these bozos.
“but I’d sooner be stuck in a lift with Polly Toynbee than attend a rally with these bozos.”
:-[ What a choice!
could we not stick them all in a lift and cut the cable?
Glad you didn’t say Dianne Abbott, you’d be hard pushed to get in a lift with her she’s so fat. Mind you Polly isn’t far behind in the blubber scale.
Did I miss the protesters condemning the ‘murder’ of Bin Laden by Obama or his relentless assassinations and killings of ‘wedding parties’?
I swear I didn’t see one Obama is a murderer banner.
No don’t think you will I think it’s against the lefts religious beliefs so have an image of the obit one. it’s why they scream and wail so much if a tea partier has a picy of their lord !!
Jemima Goldsmith wasn`t it?…now Imran Khans wife isn`t she?
That name Freud seems to ring a bell…for Gods sake, how many cherry bombs did he leave in our sewage system whilst we sheltered him from Hitler way back?
As for Cheries half-sister Lauren…Tony Benn interviewd on Russian TV…can only have been a couple of families NOT connected to the current crop of nomarks that infest our culture.
The BBC really ought to be telling us how many of the crowd were not related to others there at the Beeb or the Guardian sets…the Hampstead liberal and Bloombury demi-monde “de nos jours” don`t half know how to keep it all in their families…and make a lot of noise in the process!
Does Roger Lloyd-Pack do any acting these days apart from being Al Jazeeras glove puppet? Don`t be surprised to see he`s related to another famous Lloyd…wish he`d Pack off!