Archive for category Multiculturalism
It is Not Just Family Unity or Income that Determines Childhood Well-Being
Posted by David Conway in Education, Family, Marriage and the Culture, Immigration, Multiculturalism on 21/04/2009
Far be it from me to say a bad word about the institution of marriage or the benefits of the two-parent family. However, anyone tempted to hold the vast recent increase of family break-down and single parent families in Britain responsible for the country’s very low place in the European rankings for youth well-being should think again.
Many European countries with appreciably much higher rates of out-of-wedlock births than Britain come much higher than it in those rankings. One other European country, with a much lower rate of out-of-wedlock births than Britain (Lithuania), comes even lower than it does in the rankings.
It’s time to shelve the Equality Bill
Posted by James Gubb in Civil Liberty, Human Rights, Immigration, Multiculturalism, Political Correctness, Race and Equality on 30/10/2008
Trevor Phillips, chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), an organisation armed to the teeth with legal powers to protect groups that claim to be victims of oppression, recently expressed fears that the recession will not only harm ethnic minorities but also some white people.
“It is clear,” he said, “that what defines disadvantage won’t be black or brown, it will be white. And we will have to take positive action to help some white groups”.
Was he saying that we should help people when they need assistance, regardless of their colour? If so, he was spot on.
Continue at the Daily Telegraph Blog.
An Inauspicious Start for the Year of Intercultural Dialogue
Posted by David Conway in Multiculturalism on 18/03/2008
2008 is European Year of Intercultural Dialogue. I bet you didn’t know that.
According to its own dedicated website, the purpose of the year is ‘to encourage all those living in Europe to explore the benefits of our rich cultural heritage and to learn from different cultural traditions’.
A flavour of the sort of thing being aimed at can be gathered from the list of those whom the European Commission describes on its own website as “personalities from the cultural scene from across Europe and beyond who have offered their services as ‘European Ambassadors for Intercultural Dialogue’”.
continued on the Centre for Social Cohesion blog.
It does matter if you’re black or white….if you’re a school kid, that is
Posted by James Gubb in Education, Multiculturalism, Race and Equality on 13/04/2007
The DfES ought to be proud: they’ve cracked the child psyche and come up with the best way to encourage good behaviour in formerly wayward and wild pupils, namely, for schools and teachers to offer ‘prizes’ and increase their use of ‘encouraging language and gestures’. This is some of the guidance offered by the Elton Report (something commissioned 18 years ago – which, incidentally, is a longer time than I’ve been alive!), that the government has just brought in.
The guidance also states that ‘a rewards/sanctions ratio of at least 5:1 is an indication of a school with an effective rewards and sanctions system’ – which makes me wonder exactly what constitutes an ‘effective system’ in today’s society. Though I’m all for teachers being encouraging and supportive, I’d like to point out that whilst we may be children, we’re not ‘dense’. It is painfully obvious when a teacher is being genuine in their praise and when false praise is used. Words may be cheap, but they are more ‘effective’ when used sparingly.
New Labour Finally Removes Its Gloves, If Not Yet Their Veils
Posted by David Conway in Multiculturalism, Religion on 12/10/2006
Well, I never. What’s going on?– to borrow the title of Marvin Gaye’s illustrious soul ballad.
You wait forever for a New Labour minister to say something moderately critical about the intransigence of some British Muslims, and then, blow me, in the space of a week no fewer than three of them show up doing so.
The first was Jack Straw who last week-end publicly expressed his preference for Muslim women in Britain not to wear the niqab, especially when visiting his parliamentary surgery. The niqab is that particular form of veil favoured by some Muslim women which conceals all but the eyes of its wearer. Straw said he preferred they didn’t because he claimed their doing so placed a barrier between them and whichever non-Muslims wth whom they happened to be having dealings at the time that prevented communication and so was not conducive to social harmony and cohesion.
The response of some British Muslims to Straw’s remarks has been predictably negative: ‘The Muslim community feels angry and let down’ one Labour-party Muslim activist in Straw’s Blackburn constituency is reported to have said. ‘We want him to apologise and will keep on protesting until he does. I feel outraged and want him out of his job. The majority of Muslim women want him out’ another Muslim woman reportedly said at a protest held in Blackburn against Straw.
Judged by the tone of these comments you would have thought Straw had asked Muslim women to disrobe completely before entering his surgery.
Incitement to Murder Outside a Cathedral? Apparently Not, According to Met Police Chief
Posted by David Conway in Civil Liberty, Multiculturalism, Religion on 29/09/2006
Pope Benedict XVl delivered his controversial lecture at the University of Regensburg on Friday 15th September. His lecture was controversial because it included a quotation from a 14th century text that was highly critical of Islam.
The inclusion of that passage ignited massive protests around the world from Muslims who claimed that it had insulted their religion and its founding prophet. In the Middle East, churches were burnt in protest, and, in one north African country, a nun murdered in apparent retaliation for what the Pope had said.
Where there have been demonstrations against the Pope, some have merely demanded that he apologise for having insulted their religion. Others have gone further, calling for the Pope to be killed by way of punishment. Demonstrations of this latter sort arguably verge on incitement.
On the Sunday following the lecture, a widely reported demonstration against the Pope took place outside Westminster Cathedral at which various placards were displayed and slogans chanted that bordered on calling on Muslims to kill the Pope in revenge for including the quotation in his lecture.
This demonstration was well-attended by police who received a score of complaints from those attending the Cathedral service that morning who claimed to have been upset and intimidated by what they witnessed upon leaving it.
Although a spokesman for the CPS is reported to have not ruled out that some prosecutions may result from what was said at the demonstration, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair is today reported as being satisfied none were.
He is reported as having said of the demonstration: ‘We are living in an angry time. It is the job of the Metropolitan Police to hold the line of free speech and it is a difficult line to hold. But in this particular case I am satisfied there were no offences committed by anybody.’
On the Sunday of the demonstration, a Catholic medical student living in London who keeps a blog attended the service in the Cathedral. This is what he posted about the demonstration that same day:
‘My family decided this Sunday to make the trip to Westminster Cathedral together. As we came out about 100 Islamists were chanting slogans such as “Pope Benedict go to Hell”, “Pope Benedict you will pay, the Muja Hadeen are coming your way”, “Pope Benedict watch your back”, and other pretty hateful things.
‘There were about 100 police around and about keeping an eye on things and video recording the protestors. I asked if they’d be prosecuted, and the policeman sounded edgey. He said they’d been warned about their behaviour already but arresting any of them might just fuel them up ever more.’
In light of this personal testimony, backed up by several photographs taken at the time by him and posted along with his account, presumably Sir Ian Blair’s denial that any offences were committed at the demonstration illustrates what sort of policing he had in mind for the capital on appointment when he introduced a new logo for the force which runs: ‘Working Together for a Safer London’.
That this form of policing may result in Rome or elswhere in the world becoming less safe is presumably of no concern to the Met.