My Comment on The Times, 'Martin Ivens: Lost an empire? At last we’ve got a role'

Posted on | Sunday, 29 May 2011 | No Comments

Ref:  http://thetim.es/ko50C1
(Blocked by Moderator - they don't appreciate criticism of their own 'journalists')

Martin Ivens should not have been told how to type, because he certainly can't write an intelligent article. This is a jumble of twaddle. It's the people who hire so called 'journalists' like this who need to be fired. 

Great Britain doesn't need a 'role' in some global play by a here today gone tomorrow new world leader. We've done it all before and we prefer to sit this short run theatrical extravaganza out thank you.

"The business of Britain, to coin an American phrase (what?), is business!". What astonishing platitudes this man drivels out. Now it wasn't so long ago that we were referred to as a nation of shopkeepers. As a proud nation, we have buffeted the blows of many detractors during our long and illustrious history and and I'm sure we'll witness many more.  It's of no consequence as we know who and what we are. And it's neither shop keepers nor business operatives.

For us, primarily, we're a nation borne of warriors, with battle honours that no nation over time has been able to equal. We have no need to align ourselves as second best to any nation. And those from our own ranks who belittle us might just as well be immigrants for they know so little about this country, its people and its history; that such individuals currently govern us is the tragedy. But be assured it won't last. We will create real government in this country; government that pays homage to no man or nation; that respects integrity and understands how best to manage the roles played on the global stage by others. 

--
Grenville Mills
Googleble© though not yet Wikipediable©
(new word creations from the pen of the author)

Belated Comment on The Sunday Times Feature Article, 'As a Muslim believing in Darwin, I’m a dead man', 13 March 2011

Posted on | Monday, 23 May 2011 | No Comments

Ref: http://thetim.es/kxpwcC


Hopefully there will be no death threat carried out in Great Britain, Dr Hasan. However, you are a brave man to publish your views and brother Muslims should try very hard to understand and accept your reasoning. "...that science has the same starting point, that life began in water or clay, in the earth....that God gave life but science could be seen as the process by which life happened,”  is an enormous leap forward in Islamic interpretation of the Koran, as is “the simple picture that God created Adam from clay, much as a potter makes a statue, and then breathed into the lifeless statue ... is a children’s madrasah-level understanding and Muslims really have to move on as adults and intellectuals”. But move on they must and adjust to this view as it is intellectually sound and will help integrate Islam into modern society.

Regarding Quilliam, one wonders why the Home Office suddenly reduced the funding to the Foundation? And by how much? - this is an important omission from this article. On the face of it, the Foundation is a very necessary inter-cultural agent. If it truly is a counter-extremism think tank set up to  address the unique challenges of integrating Islam into a multi-cultural, pluralistic society then fine, so why deny it the funds it needs to continue this work? 

Comment on the lead Feature in the Sunday Times, 22 May 2011, 'I come in peace'

Posted on | Sunday, 22 May 2011 | No Comments

Ref: http://thetim.es/mjpNEJ

It's perplexing that a senior Diplomat who seems to understand the history of foreign intervention in Afghanistan, and who has proposed/supported three sound military/intelligence initiatives there, can conclude by stating that any solution must involve America.

To quote,"To have any chance of succeeding, such a process will need sustained and vigorous diplomatic engagement by the US. In particular, America will need to talk to all the internal and external parties to the conflict, including the Taliban". But, Mr Cowper-Coles, hasn't America had enough time already, sacrificed enough lives, to have achieved this by now?  Are you completely unaware that this conflict has been the result of dubious America foreign policy, a continuously flawed 'end game' strategy and ineffective military tactics.

You quite rightly mention the lessons our own history has taught us from the North West Frontier (where our forefathers knew better than extend Empire beyond the Pass into Afghanistan) and Malaya where we succeeded because WE devised the strategy, planned the tactics and implemented this in the field of battle. But then you go on to show that nothing has been learnt from this, not least by the American overseers of the Afghan debacle.

And now you are telling us that America (qualifications; Vietnam, Iraq etc) is capable of resolving the Afghan polity involving conflicts between Islam and secularism, tradition and modernism, town and country, Sunni and Shi’ite.....I don't know whether you were smoking the same stuff as your American counterpart, but your tour of duty out there has seriously unbalanced your judgement.

The answer is out, and out now. There is no gain for the Afghans, or honour for  our military by remaining there under American command. Our forces have been the whipping boys for failures in Helmet and earlier in Basra, Iraq. Enough is enough.

Your conclusion should have resolved that our troops must leave now and will never return unless part of a UN initiative. The reason, you know full well; those conducting this occupation have no understanding of the issues involved.

Another comment blocked by the Lebedev newsgroup. This time The Independent

Posted on | Wednesday, 16 February 2011 | No Comments

The US bank and the secret plan to destroy WikiLeaks



It seems the last paragraph caused the problem?! Baffles me

“Ironically you've strengthened the thrust of my argument. Take a handful of recent information, in no order or priority because that's how it showers down on us, whether leaked or gathered through good investigative journalism - whatever its source, lets call it 'informed' news, e.g., Chevron's unchallengeable devastation in Ecuador; Union Carbide's slithery escape from blame for the destruction in Bhopal; NHS cuts; UK Government assisted release of Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset al-Megrahi; US release of 7/7 bomber Mohammed Junaid Babar; NHS cuts; cuts for the disabled; scrapping of Nimrods; sale of forests; illegality of Iraq war, children slain by rising knife crimes, et al - the list is now history and will be replaced by a new deluge tomorrow. It washes over us like water on a ducks back. The sheer volume of information intended to stir us into action, spiced by celebrity entertainment, produces such a heady mixture it simply doesn't penetrate our social conscience. With so much information flooding through our new social networks and the Internet, we have become blasé and apathetic. And that's the tragedy.

Governments are aware of this, i.e., our apathy. They of course expect criticism through channels such as this, but such diatribe doesn't threaten their hold on power; it doesn't deter them from implementing change not sanctioned by the electorate.

20-30 years ago, we were probably fed more propaganda than we knew at the time. But at least when we became aware of real issues, eg, Vietnam we got off our arses and demonstrated. Now, we receive so much 'news' we no longer care a shit. We Tweet or complain in these columns and believe we've done our bit. We are beginning to live in a world of virtual reality.”

Another comment blocked by the Lebedev newsgroup. This time the London Evening Standard

Posted on | Sunday, 6 February 2011 | No Comments

Boris Johnson rages at Tube bosses after Jubilee line chaos

Dick Murray and Ross Lydall
4 Feb 2011 


My comment referred to Johnson being the cause of the problem in the first place and rather than rage in the Press, he ought to be down where the problem is and sorting it out 'on the shop floor'. I expect my comment was pulled as I referred to him as a arse 'ol and tart. Now maybe the wording was a bit rich, but nevertheless warranted given the crass decisions of this man

Comment on 'The Electorate Didn't Sign Up to Cuts Like These' (Evening Standard)

Posted on | Tuesday, 1 February 2011 | No Comments

Good article by Jenni Russell on 31 January 2010. You can find it here: http://bit.ly/eLKMjW

My comment:
With the exception of misinformed belligerents like Dennis, N London, the vast majority of level headed citizens concur with your concern over the abuse of power we are now seeing. There is something very wrong with our democracy for elected representatives to ride roughshod over the very people who put them in office; to lie and deceive and know full well they can continue to lie because we have become a servile, belittled people. Unfortunately no amount of media exposure of what is happening will alter their political agenda, or modus operandi. Each of them should be held accountable for their actions, as we would hold a bent copper accountable to the point of imprisonment. 

Consider this rather well worn but no less powerful thought: 

“Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have found out the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them, and these will continue till they are resisted with either words or blows, or both. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress.” 

Don't for one moment believe change results from peaceful demonstrations or that the causes led by Gandhi, Mandela, Grivas, and a host of latter day freedom fighters (referred to as 'terrorists' at the time) were without violence. We need to look no further than the unfolding events in North Africa to see what is required to realise change.

- Grenville Mills, London, 31/01/2011 22:56

The UK's 'Independent' newspaper unjustifiably censors reader's comments

Posted on | Sunday, 23 January 2011 | No Comments

In fact a somewhat mysterious application within the Independent's comment page, called DISQUS throws up the message to say a comment has been withheld pending moderation. Now I entirely agree with a moderating function on any open comment page but what is extraordinary is the innocuous nature of the post that in my humble view doesn't justify rejection (which has subsequently transpired as the original attempt to place a comment was 24 hours ago and it hasn't appeared).

The article that I attempted to comment on was in Saturday's issue, 22 January 2010, entitled, "Tony Benn: Protest is Vital to a Thriving Democracy" (http://ind.pn/f54noo) Benn's treatise would have us believe key historic demonstrations were peaceful. My response (the one blocked by Disqus/The Independent) read:


Mr Benn, we are somewhat surprised by your naivety.  Well before Gandhi or Nelson Mandela, or indeed the Suffragettes mounted their demonstrations, a North American slave encapsulated the need to demonstrate, but he called for more than just peaceful demonstrations. His name was Frederick Douglass, and he wrote:

“Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have found out the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them, and these will continue till they are resisted with either words or blows, or both. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress.” 

If you believe the causes led by Gandhi,  Mandela, Grivas,  and a host of latter day freedom fighters (referred to as 'terrorists' at the time) were without violence, you are mistaken.  

Neither The Independent nor Disqus have responded to my subsequent emails asking why the comment had been rejected. 

Be warmed, freedom of speech stops at The Independent. Who's to know whether our comments are or are not filtered and selectively fed to the ISS. Frightening thought isn't it, but one we need to consider seriously when attempting to speak 'freely' though some of the UK media who would have us believe they are independent of state censorship. It's disturbing to realise that The Independent does indeed resort to third world censorship.

Update 6 February 2011. The Independent finally responded to my numerous emails through a Laura Davis presumably from their Moderation section to say she has posted my comment - that's over 2 weeks since Tony Benn's article! Go figure...

The Opening

Posted on | Saturday, 22 January 2011 | No Comments

“Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have found out the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them, and these will continue till they are resisted with either words or blows, or both. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress.” ~Frederick Douglass

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