Cake, Cardiology and Christianophobia

The morning I had my heart attack, I was preparing to head off to New Broadcasting House to do BBC World News that afternoon.

In that huge list of ridiculous things that happened that morning, I had first tried dealing with the chest ache with a small glass of milk and a lemon fancy. No. Cake is not the answer to a heart attack. Aside from my woeful misdiagnosis of 'some acidy thing', the fact that I had anticipated still making the 11.08 to Waterloo, having just been dropped off at the hospital by ambulance at 8am, I hope speaks to my optimism more than anything else.

Its odd what you think about whilst sat in a hospital bed waiting to hear about troponin levels. For me, I was keen to rip the line out of my arm and was badgering my wife on the logistics of getting out of Dodge and upto London. She seemed unimpressed. I had wondered whether she had actually listened to my mad rantings at 5am about how I was going to tackle Rupert Shortt that afternoon on his book 'Christianophobia'.

As lovely as she is, I wasn't sure how Rabbi Glasner was going to get a word in edgeways. Attacks on Christians are heinous and to be completely condemned, however the figure being banded around of 200 million persecuted faithful was appalling. Not for the scale, nor for what it says about our current geopolitical situation but for the fact it was utterly nonsensical. I was going to tell him how that figure had been regurgitated since the early 90s and how Ken Roth from Human Rights Watch had discredited it. How the figure was based on a late 80s estimate of a Chinese Christian population which was anywhere between 14m - 100m. I was also going to tell him that Shea (whom he called a civil rights activist)  was a neocon GOP stooge and how she with Michael Horowitz had been outed as wanting to not only wage war on 'the liberal elite' in the US, but they had admitted and Jeffrey Goldberg had established in the New York Times in Dec 1997, that the Christian Coalition was working to lobby Congress - the persecution narrative was entirely political. Even Nelson Graham (Rev Billy Graham's son) had called it a 'destructive political tool'.

Shortt was peddling a 20 year old narrative that we had imported from the US, based on a flawed and politicised narrative from Paul Marshall via the World Evangelical Alliance feeding the fundamentalist far right of US Christian politics, which had been used to devastating effect in train-wrecking legislation and ousting the Democrats to bring GW Bush into office. It was the precursor to the Tea Party and a golden period for the GOP and neoconservatism. Aside from that I wanted to hear from Shortt on his speech at St Michaels College, Cardiff a couple of weeks previous, where he had repeated the same mantra of attacking the liberal elite media. I thought it was about human rights.

And where was God, tolerance and bridging the gap with the Muslim world in amongst all of this? Working towards understanding and peace, not using the insidious, dangerous and reckless language of division and absolutism. I had wanted to know about connections, philosophical or otherwise to Nina Rosenwald and Gatestone, a spin off from the Hudson Institute. Rosenwald had been called the 'Sugar Mama of anti Muslim hate' by Max Blumenthal, was hugley influential in funding pro-israeli and anti-Muslim organisations, and had previously rolled out the red carpet for Geert Wilders. I had wanted to know what Shortt thought about his work being commented on by as varied luminaries such as Pepintster but also Frank Gaffney Jr.

I had wanted to know how he felt being a poster boy for this unholy alliance of anti-Muslim activists and intolerant Christian fundamentalists, and how even the US National Council of Churches had warned about this persecution complex giving rise to pre holocaust Nazi ideology. I had wanted wanted to know how he responded to the idea of widespread anti Muslim action, a hardening in the West and how there is almost no populous country on the planet where Muslims are able to live free and unfettered by either political  social or economic oppression.

But that was rather a lot to squeeze into a small discussion slot and I wasn't entirely convinced Mishal Hussain was going to allow it. In fairness, this stuff is enough to give anyone a heart attack, let alone a morbidly obese political commentator of Asian extraction. I had better take my meds. Visiting hours soon.

The Red Cap of Liberty

It was only when they came into power as coalition partners at the last election, that we realised precisely how far we had come.

Finally, children had become used to studying for the English Baccalaureate. After the judicial reviews had abated, it was only natural to see social acceptance follow. 

All it needed was a little time. 

Last week, the Education minister spoke out for all of us “The Government has a duty ensure that before all else, the children of this land learn about Englishness”. 

The Englishisation reforms were entirely necessary, we were told, to strike back at the heart of cultural and academic revisionism, and a growing intolerance of the English. The billboards two elections ago echoed what every child now knew by rote -

"The English are no longer a minority in their own land. The fightback begins here"

Without the education reforms a generation ago, it may well have been that we would continue patiently down the wrong path. The problem with multiculturalism was that it had given rise to fanaticism - a belief that all peoples, of whatever race, religion or creed were entitled to a proportionate slice of the pie. Clearly, in such an overcrowded land as ours, this could never be the case. As in fact, history had proven time and time again. A handful of Marxist journalists and now jailed politicians, had created a climate where understanding and the accommodation of different backgrounds, had become more important than remembering who we as a people once were.

A leading backbencher quipped during a Commons debate that "having a month dedicated to studying the influence of Blacks - it's simply got nothing to do with us in England". It was important to give children an understanding of how The Indian Mutiny had been an uncharitable poke in the face of a benevolent presence by poorly educated Indian hoards; it was equally beyond comprehension to think that once our children had learned of Seacole rather than Thatcher.

Restrictions on foreign press reporting had been a natural consequence of the great Press Reform Act which followed a series of inquiries and a decade of debate. We had been shown evidence of 'scandalous misreporting' and 'media manipulation' from foreign broadcasters and naturally, as both upholders and arbiters of media virtue, the Government now had a responsibility to ensure the collective would not be corrupted again; and so it was only "right and proper" as the Home Secretary had said, that two licensed broadcasters be enough. In fairness, as we often say to the children, if they don't like the cartoonomercials from the English Broadcasting Company, they can watch America Global - choice as we have been told, is quite rightly, distracting.

Arguably, the "Reinigungwoche" even today, and after all these years, is still considered controversial in some quarters. History teaches us that whenever those predicated to barbarism, incivility and unrest increase in numbers, when a critical mass is reached, that public disorder follows. The Reinigungwoche deaths, as sad and widespread as they were, entirely needless had those people not resisted their facilitated relocation to the Supermax residences. The minutemen had to do their jobs. As our historians have subsequently recorded, as have our politicians showed their support. It was important, as the PM said to "cleanse the palette" once in a while.

Society is indebted to those brave activists and political social leaders who worked tirelessly to awaken the English to the terror of Islamic extremism. No longer shackled by the bureaucracy of long defunct and man-made concepts of human rights and fiscal union, once European states were set free, we too were able to press forward with long needed domestic national security reforms. Secularism has been our saving grace. That we have a state Church which does not interfere in our lives and has nothing but a ceremonial presence, is as much of a compromise as we the people, will allow. For once, we can recognise the work of the Secretary of State for Communities and Secular Society in ensuring that religious extremists keep their views to themselves. Advances in our understanding of the non-overlapping magisteria of the real world and the spiritual realm, have enlightened society beyond all recognition.

Today, we realise that limiting our understanding of human rights has been an economic disaster. The "Pathways to Success" program has saved 72% of our welfare bill through effective management and was a key component in the reducing the deficit - it's something a nationalised health service could never have introduced. In fact, amongst my friends it's now considered unusual to not take the state subsidy at age 60. Dignity and being able to choose the time and place of one's passing is a fundamental human right. Latest polls indicate that Population Management is the fastest growing area of study for the Oxbridge-Ivy students.

For the record, my wife and I have already opted to take our state subsidies together on her sixtieth birthday. We have booked a two week, all inclusive, assisted-retreat in the Bahamas. It should be incredible.

The Demise of the British Liberal Democracy

The self destruction of the Liberal Democrats is the opening salvo in a dangerous power play that leaves the door open to the return of the far right to the mainstream of British politics.

No, its not sensationalist. And that is something of a sincere admission from me, as someone in the past who has been not short of a sensationalist claim. There is a reason we need to call for cool heads and calm, rational thinking at this time. Simply, it is quite possibly one of the gravest matters our generation will have to face. 

We look back at a decade which resulted in the ruin of the political left across Europe. Two years ago, David Miliband delivered a speech on the European left which offered an analysis leaving no room for doubt: the last time this many key governments in Europe were on the right (or as it now turns out, having a significant far right component) it was a period of history when we were also seeing the rise of pre-holocaust Nazi anti-Semitism. In fact, prior to the economic crisis in the 1920s, the NSDAP were virtual unknowns. They had won only 3% of the Parliamentary vote in 1924. Within a decade, supported by disaffected youth and the unemployed, they were in coalition with the conservatives and had won 33% of the vote.

Today, we continue to live with the consequences of the left's dalliance with neo-conservatism: a hefty share of a multi-trillion dollar global war on terror, misadventures in Iraq and Afghanistan and £130bn for the renewal of trident; all of which have been minnowed by an entirely avoidable £1 trillion banking bailout which has left our economy shattered, battered and broken. It was those same shards which for the left, then brought about death by a thousand cuts.

Economic confidence is Odin's Draupnir. Without it we are utterly lost. Two decades ago in Japan, as markets tanked and consumer confidence hit rock bottom, interest rates plummeted and stagflation and growthlessness set in. Little can be done in that situation to stimulate confidence and the economy other than to drop money from a plane. And sure enough, the Japanese government issued vouchers to every man, woman and child to encourage spending. Japan took 20 years to recover from failed policies of tax cuts for the rich and staggering levels of quantitative easing. If you think economic confidence is a harsh task-master, loss of political and public confidence is arguably harder from which to recover. Withdrawals from the fidelity and trust bank are not easily compensated. 

Despite a renewed dynamism and with young Turks leading the way, Blue Labour has so far been unable to shake off the burden of the economic and political crimes of which its predecessor stands accused. It is something those on the right of centre have been utterly relentless and unrepentant in exploiting. Successfully. And who can blame them? Claims that Bullingdon Club initiates burn £50 notes in front of beggars, that 500,000 are to be taken off disability living allowance, or the reckless slash and burn of our educational system, health service and welfare system; none of this seemingly enough to oust an unpopular and out-of-touch Prime Minister currently leading a coalition with a partner in political death throes. More, much more, is needed by the left to eclipse the millstone of their past recklessness. Glasman's argument that Ed Mili needs to be everything to everyman, is a mistake. The left needs to find its soul, return to core values and underpin, not shift to capture the right of centre. Why? Because right now, that centre is very right indeed. 

A decade of unfettered media hysteria - the demonisation of immigrants, Muslims and now benefit claimants, large families, the disabled, the sick, the poor - it has left the electorate blaming one another for the ills of society, for the consequences of this moral vacuum now permeating every mien, nook and cranny of our public and private lives. This administration's modus operandi is that social reform is easiest ushered in under utter chaos, with fires to put out at every turn and where neighbour is turned against neighbour, the poor against the rich and religious orthodoxy against the LGBT lobby, in a twisted manipulation of the equalities brief.

It says much when the Rennard scandal and ensuing fiasco cannot further worsen the train wreck that the Lib Dems have become over the last two years. Broken promises, compromises on core values let alone policy and the fall of Huhne - a man who used to slam down papers onto the table as he went toe-to-toe against the PM in cabinet meetings - leaves the Lib Dems on the political equivalence of a palliative care pathway ahead of the next general election. 

We are, as things stand, facing a period of phenomenal change - a social engineering which places our society on the edge of a precipice. Beneath us lie the ruins of civilisations which have chosen self interest and injustice over the public good, iniquity and concentration of wealth and power over enlightenment and true democracy. Anger and outrage at Tory lead policies and social reforms need to calm, it is an anger that can easily return to bite us. We need to cut through the rhetoric, be cool headed and clear not only about where the left stands but also the about rise of the right. The far right is on the rise, let there be no mistake about it. In Germany, 9% of the country expresses right-wing extremist attitudes and xenophobic prejudice is expressed by 25% of the population. In Greece, we see Golden Dawn, Italy's Northern League, Le Pen's Front National, Wilders' Freedom Party, Hungary's Jobbik, the list goes on. Increasingly, people are speaking out but little is being done to stem the tide as they fill the vacuum created by the implosion of the left and liberal democratic parties.

And yet there seems to be an ostrich-like denial that this is, or could ever be the case in the UK. Like reporters in Iraq, we have become so 'embedded' with the far right here, that we cannot see the wood for the trees. UKIP is tied with a number of European far right parties through the Europe of Freedom and Democracy (EFD) group. Although UKIP walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, Farage has long denied ties with domestic far right movements. However, last year I was shown evidence of a secret meeting which took place between UKIP MEP Gerald Batten, the fundamentalist group Christian Concern for Our Nation, Islamophobic hate peddler Sam Solomon and via telephone, the leader of the English Defence League, Tommy Robinson. The meeting was entitled "Dismantling Multiculturalism" and amongst the policy discussions was the attack on core institutions of British Muslim communities - organisations such as the Muslim Council of Britain and Quilliam Foundation. Batten's scrawl also says (under green highlighter) "3) No Islamic Banking" and listed under number four "no halal, no kosher". On the last page of his “Charter of Understanding” intended for Muslims, Batten has prepared an “affirmation” for Muslims to sign and return by post.

Chilling.

There are significant questions for both UKIP and Farage. As the Lib Dem’s wither on the vine and Labour searches for its soul, UKIP continues to drag Tory policy (not unwillingly) to the right. Cameron continues to court their voters through policy tweaks and with Marta Andreasen defecting, we see little divide between the parties. As shown in Eastleigh, there is no effective protest option in the British political landscape outside of UKIP. At the Rotherham by election Farage remarked to Newsnight 

"at the general election two and a half years ago, UKIP scored 3% of the vote... you're looking at a very different party, a very confident party". 

The far right is here. In our midst. And we see it not. Or worse still, we care not. If the left can get their act together quickly, the Horn of Gabriel need not yet be sounded. In this instance, hope needn't prolong the torment of man. Epictetus asked us to leave our sons well instructed rather than rich, since the hopes of the instructed are better than the wealth of the ignorant. It's advice we would do well to follow. 

God only knows what horrors a UKIP-Tory coalition might usher in after 2015.