Trial by Televison

This one is from last friday:

With a view to an attempt to tie the more constructive elements of the Supporters of Shareeah into a useful film for wider public consumption I met Samir Shah from Juniper TV yesterday who gave me a much needed insight into TV. I was relieved to find that he thinks the theory of a “Zionist media conspiracy” is a load of baloney, in his experience of the media in this country. He told me he felt that a “Real Abu Hamza” story with the involvement of his family, lawyer and friends would be a goer.The "Man behind the headlines”.

He didn't think my favourite idea, which would bring Sparkle and three of her Republican christian friends over to be put into a “reality situation in bizzare places over a couple of weeks” with Abdullah Hajj and co (with dumplings cooking dumplings) a “Pow wow between those we are told are religious and political enemies” was much cop as he thought “reality” to be the domain of the shallower end of Television.

I don't really think I sold it to him properly or explained how good TV I thought Abdullah, Hajj and Dumplings would make. I was very emotionally drained as I had just walked out of Perry's summing up of the case against Mr Hamza. This whole thing has given me a lot of spiritual pain which has physical symptoms or maybe its focused pain which was already there. I need a holiday. I am actually missing squatting. All the involvement in lots of peoples lives, communal eating, living like animals in chaos. It was nice to find my ex-squatting buddies in a rare oasis of comradeship through their last move into fantastic five floor office accomodation.

I think the last year I would rather have seen an organised liason between the rev. Stephen Coles, Rabbi Goldstein and Mr. Hamza with a view to solving the situation we find ourselves in than to see him locked away in Belmarsh. He was never a danger on the street in Finsbury park. I think he said some things which were well over the top, in a heated situation as the temperature rose between Islam and the West. When his passport was taken away he preached that no one should bomb in this country. A position he has stuck to and tried to explain in court.

Perry called the arrival of Rev Coles and Rabbi Goldstein in court a “stunt”.