Two reports on the alleged plot to Islamise schools in the
Birmingham area have been published or leaked to the press this week. The
report by a former police chief, commissioned by the Education Secretary, is
extremely hard-hitting; it speaks of a “sustained and coordinated agenda to impose upon children in a
number of Birmingham schools the segregationist attitudes and practices of a
hardline and politicised strain of Sunni Islam.” Children were apparently
taught that “all Christians are liars” and that wives who refused to have sex
would be “punished by angels,” and some schools displayed posters warning children
that if they didn’t pray they would “go to Hell.” It also accuses Birmingham
City Council of ignoring evidence of extremism for years, repeatedly failing to
support bullied head teachers and putting the need to soothe community tensions
ahead of all else. The Council has rejected some of this criticism based on the
report that it commissioned, which was also published this week; but even that
report found there had been “a determined effort to change [a handful of] schools,
often by unacceptable practices, in order to influence educational and
religious provision for the students served,” although it concluded that there
was “no evidence of a conspiracy to promote an anti-British agenda [or] violent
extremism.” The council’s leader also said, “We have previously shied
away from tackling this problem out of a misguided fear of being accused of
racism.”
A Portuguese mother who had an alcoholic husband has
recently written an autobiography telling how she tried to abort her (now
adult) son. The doctor she approached refused to cooperate, so she tried
various folk “remedies” including drinking warm beer and running till she
dropped. However, she was unsuccessful, and so Cristiano Ronaldo was born.
The House of Lords’ debate on the Assisted Dying Bill has
produced some strong criticism of assisted suicide, with a disabled peer
likening it to a “runaway train.” The Bill was sent to the Committee stage for
further consideration without a vote, but is unlikely to be allocated any time
in the House of Commons before next year’s General Election.
President Obama is to use his executive powers to pass a
Bill that bars federal organisations and contractors from discriminating
against employees based on sexual orientation or gender identity. The action is
seen as controversial because the Bill that was passed by the Democrat-dominated
US Senate (but has yet to pass the House of Representatives) included an exemption for organisations that
are already exempt from provisions on religious discrimination; Obama’s executive
order does not include this exemption. Some see the removal of this exemption
as payback for the recent Supreme Court decision that granted many religious
organisations exemption to parts of “Obamacare.”
Even more Christian-themed films have been announced,
although these films are in development and will not be shown until next year.
“Tolkien & Lewis” is a British independent film about the friendship
between JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis; while “Michael,” starring James Franco, will
explore the issue of ex-gays by telling the true story of Michael Glatze, a gay
man who renounced his gay lifestyle and became a Christian pastor.
In sport, a newspaper has published its list of the 11 worst
players at the World Cup. The list includes four Spaniards and two Brazilians,
but no Englishmen. It does, however, include five current Premier League
players: Benoit Assou-Ekoto, Wilson Palacios, Antonio Valencia, Paulinho, and
Diego Costa.
And finally, there is controversy in China over new
women-only parking places in a shopping mall in Dalian. The objection is not to
the idea of women-only parking places (which have previously been used in other
countries) nor to the pink road markings used to indicate the spaces; it is to
the fact that the parking spaces are 30cm wider than other parking spaces on
the grounds that “women have a few issues with parking.” Some have complained the
parking spaces are an insult to women; some men have complained that “it’s
always the women who enjoy privileges.” However, a female user of the basement
car park simply said, “It’s very convenient. Other parking spaces are too
narrow.”
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