Nostalgia for Colonialism from Marxists

No, not from former colonial powers, but people that fought to free themselves from British rule. And from retired "Marxist revolutionaries" no less.

“I am sorry about what happened,” said Ahmed Mighali Said, 77, who fought the British Army in the bloody four-year uprising known as the Aden Emergency, which ended with Britain’s withdrawal in 1967. “Under the British we had peace. The Yemeni fighters were ignorant. I hope the British come back.”

No chance of that. Here's another one,

“It was a great mistake,” said one former fighter, now a grizzled old man. “People didn’t know any better. It was an emotional response born out of Arab nationalism and Nasserite revolutionary feelings. If the British came back, we would sign a protocol saying we are sorry.”

I find these statements amazing. These veteran independence fighters are actually sorry they achieved independence, and would welcome British imperialism. That's a measure of what a hellish basket case of a country Yemen has become. I wonder if similar feelings exist in other former colonies. I can't recall ever hearing these types of comments from members of other national independence movements.

An Irony of History

China executed a British citizen today for heroin smuggling, despite strenuous protests from the British government, including Prime Minister Gordon Brown. China responded as follows,

Beijing called the British criticism groundless interference in its judicial sovereignty. ... "Nobody has the right to speak ill of China's judicial sovereignty," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said. "We express our strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition over the groundless British accusations."

It's a measure of just how far Britain has fallen in the world, that China can execute a British citizen and just brush off criticism -- and not just brush it off, but actually condemn the UK for daring to offer any criticism at all.

In the mid-19th century, the British actually fought two wars with China, the Opium Wars, in order to force the Chinese to allow the opium trade -- which was against Chinese law -- and to protect British smugglers. They succeeded. Now in the 21st century, they are powerless to protect a single smuggler from execution. It's yet another measure of how far Britain has fallen, and how far China has risen.

Lack of Intelligence In Britain

What's going on with British intelligence/security services? Earlier this year there was an incident in which Britain's top counterterrorism police officer got out of his car wtih secret documents in full view of security cameras. The breach compromised ongoing investigations, and he later was forced to resign. The latest problem involves Sir John Sawers, the new head of MI6, the UK's extremely secretive foreign intelligence service. His wife posted all sorts of information on Facebook. This is amazingly careless behavior by the wife of someone in such a position, and apparently also indicates sloppy security on the part of MI6 & the Foreign Office. As the report notes,

Once the Foreign Office had been informed of the faux pas all the material was removed from the internet. The move suggests that MI6 or the Foreign Office had not vetted the information the Sawers family shared over the internet.

It looks like intelligence services are having a hard time keeping up with technology.

How Will Britain Respond to Iran?

Iran announced today that British embassy staff members would be put on trial for their supposed role in the recent election protests. Attacks on embassies and embassy personnel have occurred at various times throughout history, and usually involved angry mobs. But a deliberate attack by the ruling government of a country can easily be seen as an act of war. In this case the embassy itself was not attacked, but local embassy members were arrested and now will face trial on trumped-up charges.

In years past, such an action by a third-rate power like Iran would never have been tolerated by Great Britain. The Royal Navy would have been dispatched, the Iranians forced to release the prisoners, apologize, and pay an indemnity. Of course the West is now much too civilized to teach rogue nations lessons that might actually have an effect. We can't even hang pirates anymore. So what will the UK do? Will there be any response to this near act of war beyond some diplomatic protests?  I'm not holding my breath waiting.

Muslims Facing in the Wrong Direction

The latest from the UK sounds like something from the Onion News Network. The Norfolk police department will give arrested Muslims compasses, so they can locate the right direction to Mecca when they pray.

The force had already painted the ceilings of some of its cells to point worshippers in the right direction.

Apparently that wasn't good enough. According to a police spokesperson,

'Wherever possible custody staff facilitate any reasonable request in respect of religious considerations.'

Yeah, because asking for a compass to pray is really reasonable. I guess their all-powerful God won't hear Muslims if they happen to face in the wrong direction when they pray. He can't be expected to overlook a minor mistake in facing when a worshipper is in jail. I don't know if a mere compass is good enough. Maybe they need a state of the art GPS system that precisely locates the angle of Mecca. After all, with a compass they might be off a degree or two in their facing, and we can't have that.

Cold War Memories

Britain has released a formerly classified document called the "War Book" from 1970. It describes the measures that would be taken in the UK following the outbreak of a nuclear war that left an estimated 12 million British citizens dead.

In calm bureaucratic language — loaded with code words to render the book meaningless to those not in the know — the document describes how as the crisis worsened, civil servants would introduce censorship, evacuate all but the sickest patients from hospitals and eventually be sent to one of 12 underground bunkers scattered around the country.

Britain was to be governed from these bunkers after a nuclear attack, with officials exercising powers of martial law over the remaining population.

Contingency planning always makes for fascinating reading.

More Terrorists Filing Lawsuits

Former members of the Kenyan Mau Mau Rebellion against British rule (1952-60) are suing the British government over their treatment in captivity.

Today, the Kenya Human Rights Commission and the Mau Mau War Veterans Association will file a suit in London against the British Government for human rights abuses and torture. It is expected that the British Government will present a range of legal arguments to stall the case, deny responsibility or refute the allegations. The case could drag on for years.

What the British should do is laugh the suit right out of court. The Mau Mau war was a vicious insurgency, with atrocities a regular feature on both sides. The idea that one side gets to sue the other almost 50 years later is so silly that only a European or U.S. court would even entertain something that crazy. 

Another Man Who Knows Torture Works

Don Southerd, age 75, of Overseal in the UK is another man who would be amazed to learn that torture doesn't work -- as many torture opponents like to argue. Three robbers showed up at his house, knocked him unconscious and searched the house. When they didn't find the cash they wanted, they tortured Southerd.

"They came down and started to beat me with a baseball bat, breaking three of my lower ribs, badly bruising my intestines and causing a slight leakage in my liver.

"The leader lost his cool. He said ’now final ultimatum, live or die, where big money?’

"The other guy pulled my up by my hair, because I could hardly stand after the beating, and put a knife to my throat.

"The third man, who was a complete madman, jabbed a knife in my ear and threatened to cut my ear off.

Once again, torture worked quite well at extracting accurate information. The attackers left with "thousands of pounds from a safe."

Waterboarding in Britain?

According to the TimesOnline, London Metropolitan police are under investigation for allegedly waterboarding suspects, among other things.

senior policing officials are most alarmed by the claim that officers in Enfield, North London, used the controversial CIA interrogation technique to simulate drowning.

It's interesting that UK police would think of using the tactic but so far there haven't been any similar incidents in U.S. policing. Our police just shoot people with tasers at the drop of a hat.

Moderate Muslims vs. Extremists

Back in March in the UK, Muslim extremists protested a parade by British soldiers returned from Iraq. But today twelve of them who preach from a stall in Luton, England were confronted by an angry mob of a couple hundred fellow Muslims who want them to leave town.

Farasat Latif, of the Islamic Centre in Luton, which was firebombed after the protest against the soldiers, said moderate members of his community took action because police had failed to move the group on.

According to the article, the Muslim community there is fed up with the extremist fringe. The radicals have attracted retaliation from anti-Muslim groups, and ordinary Muslim residents are caught in the middle.  Latif said,

'I don't know if they will be back. We have been the victims twice over - from the stupidity of Muslim extremists who metaphorically pour petrol and fan the flames of the right wing extremists.

'This was a peaceful demonstration and we hope they get the message that the law-abiding community is sick and tired of them.'

Torture Works in Britain

It seems that many criminals just don't understand that torture doesn't work-- as many torture opponents claim.  In Britain today, three robbers demanded that a homeowner tell them where he kept his money. When he refused they began utilizing proven non-coercive interrogation methods to win his confidence. Just kidding. Actually they tied him up and poured boiling water on him. They left with a "large amount of cash." Torture can be a fast and efficient means of extracting accurate information. Who knew? Only pretty much every criminal violent enough to employ it.

Before the next "expert" pontificates about the ineffectiveness of torture, he might want to take a look at the crime reports and interview a few criminals and their victims.

Echoes of the Past

Britain and Spain had a recent clash over Gibraltar, which has been a British possession since the War of the Spanish Succession, ended by the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713.

ROYAL Navy warships have again clashed with Spanish vessels trying to invade British waters in a tense stand-off, it emerged yesterday.

Spain claims possession of the territorial waters around Gibralatar, and apparently the EU has exacerbated the situation by "moves to hand responsibility for the environment around the Rock to Spain."

It's just bizarre to see an naval confrontation between Britain and Spain in 2009. 

Obama Protecting Secret Information for a Change?

I've been harshly critical of President Obama for unnecessarily releasing classified CIA documents. But today, Eli Lake at the Washington Times reports that the president has threatened to limit intelligence sharing between the U.S. & the UK, if Britain publicly discloses details of Binyam Mohamed's treatment while in U.S. custody. I wrote about the situation with Mohamed after he was released to British custody back in February.

Although it is a recent story, it appears to be true. Noted terrorist rights proponent and useful idiot for our enemies Glen Greenwald also has an article up at Salon whining about the adminstration's action. Both Lake and Greenwald provide copies of a letter sent by the U.S. to Britain.

Anyone who cares about national security and the efficacy of CIA operations against terrorism should strongly support the Obama administration on this issue, regardless of partisan differences. Hopefully Obama will stand firm against the howls of outrage from his left-wing base, and the objections of the UK. As I pointed out in my earlier piece, Mohamed isn't even a British citizen, and there is strong evidence that he is an Al Qaeda member.  He openly admits leaving Britain to become a jihadi and deserves no legal consideration at all, let alone any that would compromise classified information. The British are wasting their time and money investigating his claims of torture, when they should just laugh at him. It's good to see that the Obama administration will not meekly play along with UK idiocy.

Bulletproof Turbans

No, that's not a joke. The Guardian reports:

Sikh police officers want special bulletproof turbans to be developed so they can serve in firearms units, according to the new British Police Sikh Association. The Sikh religion requires its male followers to wear the turban, but existing police safety helmets do not fit on top of them.

What's next, bulletproof burkhas for conservative Islamic women police officers?

King Arthur at Stonehenge

Strange religious happenings in Britain as a druid remains camped out at Stonehenge, in violation of a court eviction order. Believe it or not, that druid's name is King Arthur Pendragon. He says,

"I am not going to go, I am battening down the hatches and continuing my lawful right to protest and my equal right to religious practice."

Apparently he is upset about having busy roads pass close by what he sees as a sacred shrine, and wants visitor restrictions dropped. He wants everyone to be able to walk up and touch the stones. You'd think he might be worried that if Stonehenge was fully open to the public without restriction, it would be vandalized or otherwise damaged.  But I guess we shouldn't expect too much thinking from someone who legally changed his name to King Arthur Pendragon.

Atheist School Campaign

A UK atheist group associated with Richard Dawkins is attempting to take its message to schools.

the initiative aims to establish a network of atheist societies in schools to counter the role of Christianity...Chloë Clifford-Frith, AHS co-founder, said that the societies would act as a direct challenge to the Christian message being taught in schools.

Naturally, some are horrified.

Simon Calvert of the Christian Institute said: "Atheists are becoming increasingly militant in their desperate attempts to stamp out faith. It is deeply worrying that they now want to use children to attack the Christian ethos of their schools. 

"Many parents will also be anxious at the thought of militant atheists targeting their children."

What about atheist parents anxious at the thought of militant Christians targeting their children? If it is alright to indoctrinate children in Christianity, what's wrong with atheists offering a differing point of view?

UPDATE

According to Adrian Hayter at The Atheist Blogger, who is a member of the AHS, the Telegraph story is misleading about what the organization is trying to accomplish.

UK Surveillance Plans

If you thought the government was to intrusive here in the U.S., be glad you aren't in the UK. Britain plans to monitor "every phone call, email or website visit." What will it do with all the tracking data? It will store it in an "enormous national database." That sounds reassuring. I'm sure none of the information will be abused in any way. According to reports, the Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith will argue that

the powers are needed to target terrorists and serious criminals who are taking advantage of the increasing complex nature of communications to plot atrocities and crimes.

If the U.S. gets hit with another major terrorist attack, we'll probably be seeing similar proposals here too. Maybe we should be working to prevent one, instead of trying to cripple our main intelligence agency.

Britain's WW2 German Forces

The Telegraph has an interesting article up about Germans who fought for Britain during World War Two.

Some 10,000 men and women from Germany and Austria, Jews and other opponents of the Nazi regime, fought in British uniform. As "friendly enemy aliens" they could not be compelled to join up. All were volunteers, representing almost one in eight of the 78,000 German and Austrian nationals who fled to Britain before September 1939.

One of those profiled in the article is Sir Ken Adam, born Klaus Adam, a film production designer famous for his work on James Bond movies and other major releases. His family was Jewish and wisely got out of Germany in 1934, moving to Britain. During WW2 Adam was the only German to serve as a Royal Air Force pilot.

Is the Jedi Religion Atheist?

There are 390,000 people in England & Wales who claim to be followers of the Jedi religion, and another 14,000 in Scotland.  But Britain's Office of National statistics groups them as atheists. Should believers in the Jedi religion, whether fictional, or real life individuals who claim to believe, be classed as atheists?

If you ask Jedi believer if he believes in God, what is his answer? It would probably be: "I believe in the force," or possibly, "no, but I believe in the force." If he says no, then it would seem he is an atheist. But what is the force? Here is the definition from Wookiepedia,

The Force was a metaphysical, binding, and ubiquitous power that held great importance for the Jedi and Sith monastic orders. 

Described by Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi as "an energy field created by all living things," some societies and organizations thought of the Force as a non-corporeal sentient entity that might be capable of intelligent thought, while others simply considered it something that could be manipulated and used as though it were a tool.

In the Star Wars universe, there is actual hard evidence of the existence of the force. Belief in it does not require the same type of faith as does belief in God. So it might be reasonable to call the Jedi & the Sith atheist religious orders, as they have no actual God and merely work with what appears to be a type of natural force -- regardless of its metaphysical nature -- that exists in their universe.

But what about people in our universe who believe in the Jedi religion? Since no hard evidence of the force exists here in our world, people claiming that a fictional force has actual reality appear to be using faith to create their own sort of deity. A religion based on faith in the unseen sounds quite a bit like other religions, even though the force is not a typical deity.  In my opinion they are not atheists and have been wrongly classified. 

Why hasn't more attention been focused on this critical question for our times?

You Can't Account for Human Error

You can take all sorts of security precautions to protect sensitive material, but sometimes it is difficult to account for a simple human error. According to the Mail Online, Britain's "most senior counter-terrorism police officer," Bob Quick, accidentally compromised ongoing operations, necessitating a series of raids to arrest suspects earlier than planned. What did Quick do?

On his way to a meeting with the prime minister, he got out of his car with a sensitive document in full view of security cameras. Anyone viewing the camera feed could read it. According to the Mail, the document

included the names of several senior officers, locations and details about the nature of the overseas threat.

It's a bizarre incident that demonstrates just how easily leaks can occur.