Archive for January 12th, 2006
Hajj vs. Katrina
Posted by: Gav in Gavin Ayling's blog on January 12th, 2006
It is immeasurably sad that people died in Saudi Arabia today because a few people wouldn’t leave their luggage elsewhere.
But where are the comments about the victims that sound like:
- Muhammad Yousef Al-Mlaifi, who is director of the Kuwaiti Ministry of Endowment’s research center. He published an article titled “The Terrorist Katrina is One of the Soldiers of Allah, But Not an Adherent of Al-Qaeda.”; and
- This
After the extremists announced to the world that the Infidels deserved their treatment by mother nature there was a stunning silence about the earthquakes in Pakistan.
I’m sure that silence will continue over the trampling of pilgrims in Hajj. As a rationalist I would expect that as 345 (at the time of writing) out of 3 million pilgrims died, it is very unlikely that such a relatively small number contained any extremists. And so these people, we must assume, are as much infidels as the victims of Katrina if they did not support the exploding of innocent Israelis, Indians, Iraqis, Londoners, residents of Bali, Spaniards, Afghans etc.
So the inconsistent exponents of murder, homophobia and xenophobia have a choice:
- Criticise those who died as infidels deserving of Allah’s wrath and risk a PR disaster; or
- Retract their previous comments
I’m already going blue as I hold my breath.
Ruth Kelly – Not about Punch and Judy?
Posted by: Gav in Gavin Ayling's blog on January 12th, 2006
Mr Punch
As I said on the Cameron Leadership today, Cameron’s done an excellent job of increasing the number of Shadow MPs who are consulted and reported about in opposition to the Education Bill lately.
Today, however, Nick Gibb said that the resignation of Ruth Kelly was not important. It was, he said, “not about the Punch and Judy politics of resignations, but about ensuring that children are protected” about the horrendous revelation that a man who admitted downloading paedophilia was actively and positively allowed to take up a job in a school’s physical education department.
Frankly I do not care what his involvement with children in his job is; I do not care what form of offence he was cautioned for; a man who has admitted using material that is only of interest to someone with evil feelings towards children should vehemently never be allowed to work near children.
That Ruth Kelly’s department (for which, she admits, she is ultimately responsible) authorised his employment and then cannot, within four days, confirm specific details suggests a complete lack of ability on her part. There are no excuses for scrimping on the safety of children in schools. Her resignation is of fundamental importance — all the time she remains Education Secretary children remain in danger of her inability to control events within her department and of the unnumbered sex offenders currently working in schools.
Nick Gibb should not say that her resignation is not important — it is imperative.
