Sceptical

We are living through uncertain times, worrying times. The world will never be the same again.

It's been a while since I wrote anything. I have spent my time in the last few weeks rebuilding the home server. It has been an interesting project, and something of a diversion from the world beyond my front door.

We are in the midst of the third national lockdown. The new variant of the virus is sweeping across the country, hospitals are beyond full, and the death toll continues to rise. We are warned the peak may still be weeks away.

Meanwhile in the US, Trump faces impeachment, accused of inciting the riot that resulted in the storming of the Capitol Building. He continues to make inflammatory comments, and there is real concern there will be further violence at the inauguration of Biden. The leader of the free world is in danger of spiralling into civil war.

We rarely see news about what is happening in China or Russia. I imagine the virus is taking its toll in those countries too, but I also suspect the priority for Xi and Putin is not controlling the virus but how best they can exploit the turmoil in the States.

We are living through uncertain times, worrying times. The world will never be the same again.

13th January 2021

#coronavirus #politics

What have the Austrians done to offend Islam?

When the teacher Samuel Paty was murdered in France, we were told he had brought it on himself. What did he expect, they said, showing those terribly insensitive cartoons? When the next attack occurred, this time in Nice, some commentators explained the act was un-Islamic, but France had to pay for the crimes of colonialism.

Now the attack in Vienna, and I am left to wonder what is it the Austrians have done to offend Islam? Perhaps they remain upset that the Austrian capital stood as a bulwark against the invading Ottomans in the 17th century, and prevented Europe being overrun?

Despite what the apologists might say there is of course no justification for this or any of the other earlier attacks. What we are seeing is an assault on European values, a war being waged against our society by groups of Islamists who are offended by our laws, our culture and our way of life.

The Islamists pose a greater long term threat to the stability of Europe than the coronavirus, and this assault on our society cannot be allowed to continue. President Macron is reported to have promised after Paty’s murder to crack down on Islamist extremism, including shutting down mosques and other organisations accused of fomenting radicalism and violence.

The nations of Europe should follow the President's lead and root out this evil.

4th November 2020

#islam #terrorism

The government is driving this country into utter penury

Boris Johnson announced yesterday that as of next Thursday England would be going into a second national lockdown. The experts are worried that a surge of cases over the next few weeks will overwhelm the hospitals, and the NHS will be unable to cope. We were told in the spring a lockdown was needed so that the NHS could prepare, so why the need for a lockdown now? What has been the point of the restrictions of the last 6 months? Surely the NHS should have been ready for what they knew would be a difficult winter?

What of the impact on people's livelihoods and businesses, of the effect on people's physical and mental health? As to when this lockdown will end, there is uncertainty. In yesterday's announcement we were told it would end on the 2nd December. Today, it emerges that a review will be carried out on that date, so the lockdown might end then, but it is possible it will continue.

The government is driving this country into utter penury, and all to control a disease that by and large severely affects only the elderly and those with underlying conditions. Complete madness.

1st November 2020

#coronavirus #politics

I have yet to see a single article questioning why adherents of Islam believe they are justified in butchering innocent citizens

French citizens, having been butchered in Paris and Nice, the media is picking over arguments about what France has done wrong, how it has incited the violence we now see. I have though yet to see a single article questioning why adherents of Islam believe they are justified in butchering innocent citizens. Where is the article asking whether such a religion has a place in modern society?

France has a long history of secularism, going back to the post-Revolutionary period. The laws apply to all citizens, whatever their religious beliefs, so why should France be expected to make an exception for Islam? Why should they be expected to treat Islam with any more respect than they do Christianity? And if they make an exception for Islam on the subject of satirical cartoons, what comes next? Fundamentalist Islam treats women as second class citizens; will all women be required to walk behind their husband, for fear of upsetting the Islamic community?

If you want to believe in God, if you want to follow a particular religious doctrine, that is entirely your right, and that right should be protected. However, in a secular society, whether it is France or Britain, when the religious beliefs come into conflict with state laws, then the state laws must always take primacy. The right to freedom of speech is a basic tenet of a free society, and that includes the right to satirise and question any and all religions. If that means the publication of what you consider to be offensive cartoons, then so be it. After all it is that very same freedom that allows you to practise your religion in peace.

Vive la France.

1st November 2020

#freespeech #politics #terrorism

The barbarity of Islamic fundamentalism is there for all to see

Two weeks after the murder of teacher Samuel Paty, three more people have been murdered in France. This time the attack took place at the Basilica of Notre-Dame in Nice. According to the BBC

One elderly victim who had come to pray was virtually beheaded

Despite reports that the murderer shouted 'Allahu Akbar' several times during the attack, the usual suspects are already lining up to argue that the act had nothing to do with Islam.

It is as if we have learnt nothing in the last 5 years. In 2015, following the attack on The Bataclan, some on social media were using the hashtag #terrorhasnoreligion, arguing that religion, and specifically Islam, had no bearing on the the actions of the terrorists. I didn't agree then and I don't agree now.

As I commented in 2015, the perpetrators of these terrible actions

Proselytise a barbaric, medieval interpretation of Islam, which they use to justify the murder and beheading of non-believers, the rape of women, the selling of young girls into slavery, the throwing of gay men from roof tops and the destruction of pre-Muhammaden culture.

They use religion to justify their actions and one cannot divorce their beliefs from those actions. The barbarity of Islamic fundamentalism is there for all to see, and unless we acknowledge the nature of the beast we cannot possibly formulate a suitable response to the threat posed.

Rather than offering sympathy and platitudes, it time for the governments of Western Europe to take meaningful action.

29th October 2020

#politics #terrorism

Lockdowns have just one consequence and that is making poor people an awful lot poorer

England has adopted a three tier lockdown system, the idea being that only those regions that are suffering the worst infection rates need to go into full lockdown. At the moment about half the population of England is living under these most stringent measures. At least it is better than Wales, where the devolved government has decided to enforce a total lockdown across the country, to last for 17 days, even in the most remote areas that have seen very few cases.

Lockdowns continue to be the principle means of virus control, this despite Dr David Nabarro of the World Health Organisation urging world leaders to stop using lockdowns as your primary control method of the global health crisis. He is reported to have said;

Lockdowns just have one consequence that you must never ever belittle, and that is making poor people an awful lot poorer.

Meanwhile in Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon has espoused the view that the Scots had all but eliminated the virus during the summer, and that it has only taken off again because of people travelling to Scotland from other parts of the UK. Even in the midst of a pandemic it seems there is time for a spot of blatant nationalism.

Former colleagues tell me they are at risk of losing their jobs because of a covid induced reduction in work. A woman in the local pub, who has been working there for 10 years fears losing her job if there is another lockdown. In her 50's, what hope does she have of finding alternative employment? There is a friend who cannot get his new business up and running because the bureaucrats who need to issue the requisite trading certificate before he can do so are, as a result of covid, working at reduced staffing levels.

Again we are left to wonder at the damage the being caused to people's livelihoods and wellbeing, and whether the government's strategy for controlling the virus will come at too high a price.

25th October 2020

#coronavirus #politics

Murdered because he taught freedom of expression.

We wake this morning to the news that a teacher has been murdered in France in what the French government has described as an Islamist terrorist attack.

According to the BBC report,

The victim is said to have shown controversial cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad to his pupils.

The French President, Mr Macron said the as yet unnamed teacher was murdered because,

He taught freedom of expression.

A teacher murdered for discussing a subject his murderer objected to. On social media, the useful idiots are already making excuses, trying have us believe this has nothing to do with Islam, others agreeing that the teachers murder was awful, but by showing cartoons of the Prophet he brought it on himself.

I have in the past expressed the view that multi-culturalism is a failed experiment perpetrated on society. Mass immigration has simply allowed the import of religious intolerance and cultural beliefs that have no place in western society.

When will our leaders acknowledge their is a problem?

17th October 2020

#politics #terrorism

The governments strategy is simply unsustainable, and at the very least Parliament needs to be allowed to debate it.

I woke up angry this morning, not sure why, but I was in no mood for fools. It didn't help my state of mind when I read a tweet issued by Matt Hancock, the Secretary of State for Health & Social Care to give him his full title. He said;

Our strategy is to suppress coronavirus while protecting our economy & education until a vaccine arrives.

Until a vaccine arrives? We were told earlier this year that a vaccine could be available in the late summer, then they hoped it might be ready by the end of the year. The truth is they do not know when or even if a vaccine will ever be available. It could be months, it could be years, it could be never. We must learn to live alongside the virus, protect the vulnerable but otherwise try to get back to some semblance of normality. The alternative is the utter shattering of the economy, people losing their livelihoods and homes, and more people dying needlessly from illnesses other than the coronavirus.

The governments strategy is simply unsustainable, and at the very least Parliament needs to be allowed to debate it.

30th September 2020

#coronavirus #politics

The data being used to justify the restrictions is disputed and controls are being imposed on the nation without any scrutiny whatever by Parliament

Boris Johnson yesterday announced further restrictions, suggesting that they could go on for as long as another six months if the number of cases of covid-19 continued to rise. This followed the press conference on Monday when the government's chief medical advisors warned that case numbers were growing at an alarming rate and action was needed to slow the spread of the virus.

There are some scientists who take a different view, who dispute the figures cited on Monday and question the need for a further tightening of restrictions. They disagree that infections or deaths will be anything like as bad as the government scientists would have us believe.

I worry that the measures being taken go too far. If we consider that In August, the top 10 reasons for death did not include the coronavirus, while for men under 55 there is a greater risk of being killed in a motor accident than succumbing to covid-19. The ongoing restrictions will destroy the livelihoods of many people. With the furlough scheme set to end shortly, many are likely to be made redundant, and of those some are at risk of losing their homes.

I remain of the view that the devastation of the economy and the resultant detrimental effects on the health and wellbeing of us all will be so much worse than the effect of the coronavirus. The actions being taken to control the virus are draconian and out of proportion to the risk it poses. The data being used to justify the action is disputed and is being imposed on the nation without any scrutiny whatever by Parliament.

23rd September 2020

#coronavirus #politics

Amidst the mayhem and uncertainty, the government has proven to be next to useless.

We are now officially into autumn. The days are shortening noticeably, but it has remained warm and pleasant. The summer madness that has afflicted society also continues unabated.

This week has seen a growing number of people testing positive for the coronavirus, the numbers increasing at a rate similar to that experienced in February. However, the numbers being admitted to hospital has not risen at the same alarming rate it did in the spring. The experts cannot explain why this might be.

There are numerous local restrictions in place, and talk of another nationwide lockdown. An assortment of malcontents, opposed to lockdowns, face masks and vaccines, were out on the streets of London over the weekend to protest against the current measures and the consequent impingement on civil liberties. Some violence ensued as the police tried to control the demonstration.

The culture wars show no signs of ending. What I find odd is that we are told we live in a multi cultural society, that we should celebrate and embrace diversity, but it is only white/European culture that has to confront its history, that has to change. Say the same of any other culture, and you would be denounced as a racist.

Some footballers have taken the brave step of refusing to take the knee before every match, and of course they are vilified by some for doing so. Their refusal to kneel put me in mind of a paragraph written by Hannah Arendt in her book The Origins of Totalitarianism;

Men have been found to resist the most powerful monarchs and to refuse to bow down before them, but few indeed have been found to resist the crowd, to stand up alone before misguided masses, to face their implacable frenzy without weapons and with folded arms to dare a no when a yes is demanded.

The demands of BLM and their acolytes, expecting all to kneel before them, and dispensing swift and sometimes violent penalties against those who don't, is the very definition of totalitarianism. They have become the very thing they profess to oppose.

Amidst the mayhem and uncertainty, the government has proven to be next to useless. Their policies change from week to week, there is no consistency, no obvious route out of the current crisis. Boris Johnson is rarely seen and there is a complete lack of leadership. It feels as if the country is drifting. People are concerned, if not scared; the pandemic is out of control, we are worried about job security, and whether some will be able to keep a roof over their heads.

To continue drifting risks deepening the divisions within society. If Mr Johnson cannot provide the strong leadership this country needs he should step aside and let someone who has the capability take his place.

21st September 2020

#coronavirus #politics #racism