JUST NOT FOR THE KIDS...

ITS GONNA WORK

America's CIA has found a novel way to gain information from fickle Afghan warlords - supplying sex-enhancing drug Viagra, a US media report says.

The Washington Post said it was one of a number of enticements being used.

In one case, a 60-year-old warlord with four wives was given four pills and four days later detailed Taleban movements in return for more.

"Whatever it takes to make friends and influence people," the Post quoted one agent as saying...

MY INBOX ON XMAS DAY...

Have you ever thought of becoming a POLICE OFFICER?

[Chat now] POLICE OFFICERS NEEDED

Thursday, December 25, 2008 6:49:40 AM

You think that you are the type? Do you think that you have what it
takes to become a police officer? Do you feel that you have a need to
serve the public trust and to protect others?

"A Police Officer with a college degree has a 73% chance for superior
performance!"
-Journal of Police Science & Administration

Click Here to Learn More Now.


I have been spammed by the law on Christmas day

..

GRANDAD IS OK

...McCain was asked if he would back Palin in 2012. His terse reply was that he “can’t say something like that,” adding that the GOP has a stable of great governors poised to play a greater leadership role in the party, according to a report in The Hill.

“I have the greatest appreciation for Gov. Palin and her family, and it was a great joy to know them,” he conceded. “She invigorated our campaign.”

McCain used the forum to voice support for President-elect Barack Obama and for some of Obama’s Cabinet choices. He said that the national security team picks could be his own. He also praised the tapping of Timothy Geithner as Treasury Secretary, according to the report.

McCain, however, was quick to condemn the tactic of the Republican National Committee seeking to take political advantage of the arrest of Democratic Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich - by attempting to link the incoming Obama administration to the controversy.

“In all due respect to the Republican National Committee and anybody - right now, I think we should try to be working constructively together, not only on an issue such as this, but on the economy stimulus package, reforms that are necessary,”
McCain said...

cheers to Kev here

..

THIS IS NEWS

Apparently the Taliban regret burning schools and also regret harbouring Bin Laden.

..

THIS IS NEWS?

Three-quarters of the most serious terror plots investigated by UK authorities are linked to Pakistan, claims Gordon Brown.

Saying the time had come for "action, not words" - the prime minister unveiled a pact against terror as he visited Pakistan for talks with its president.

Oh God here we go again. Six million pounds to who? For what? How is that de-radicalization money process going over here? Any results? Anyone?

..

Fancy a Bevy?

I watched the Money Programme about the state of British pubs. Intersting stuff. When I was at art college I worked in a great pub in Birmingham when lager was under a pound a pint. These were probably some of the best days of my life although like most students I didn't know my ass from my elbow.

I remember the introduction of Pub co's and a dramatic hike in the price of beer over a few years. I moved to London and noticed pubs starting to close. As I had started squatting I found this an advantage. Once you were in, the owners of these closed pubs often left you there until they needed it. Better to have people looking after the place.

I didn't care about Pub co's. The misery of these managers didn't affect me. I have only gone into these big, cheap, "successful" chain pubs with friends who were alchoholics. Inside, they are full of alcholholics. They are seriously sad places. Some of the best parties I have ever been to have been in squatted pubs. I am glad of the conclusion this documentary points to. The only happiness, and the only genuine pub atmosphere, which I thought long gone exists still in free holds and pub co ops. It seems that if you want a good pub you have to buy one with your mates. If you like pubs, take notice, and buy one before there are none left.

Money Programme: Last Orders: Calling Time on Pubs on the iPlayer here

..

WATCH THIS. WATCH IT AGAIN.

Ken defends Menezes police

...Mr Livingstone, who was Mayor at the time of Mr de Menezes' death, has consistently defended the Met over the incident.

He said: "The police have always said they made mistakes - no-one has ever denied that - but under these intense pressures, this is when mistakes happen and they have tragic consequences."...

A few of my protester friends who spend their time being hassled by the FIT squad try to link this with their grievances about the Police. I can't see it myself. Sure, they are institutionally challenged. Aren't we all? They rarely just shoot people here. This isn't Greece. This was fifteen days after a series of bombings took place in London. How can you shout a warning to someone you have been led to believe is about to trigger a bomb? This is a mistake.

..

Four tragedies

A child suicide bomber is thought to be behind the deaths of three Royal Marines in Afghanistan. The 13-year-old approached a unit south of the Sangin area of Helmand province on Friday with a bomb that killed two soldiers from 45 Commando and one from Commando Logistics Regiment...

Whats the Use?

Don't ever try and film Muslims. Honestly. Meeting Abu Waleed and Mr Choudhary recently reminded me of the frustrating circular quandry I was in with Atilla for so many years. They believe TV is controlled by those with evil intentions. So what if I try and make something my way which involves TV? What if I try and make something which I think might be useful to the British public at large? Or do some straightforward journalism?

No really- they believe the stations are controlled by.. you get the idea.

Its not that they don't have previous experienece to go on. Seeing Mr Choudhary's group I am at a bit of a loss as to what I could concievably do with them. He makes himself available to TV, fairly predictable shows with predictable results. The nugget I need to make any headway into creating something different is the fundemental key to any documentary project- Access. Anyway, I'll keep trying. See what happens. I am quite into other stuff at the moment so I am in no hurry.

I went round to see Hajj a while back to enquire as to the welfare of Mr Hamza's sons now in custody. The news I had read online was news to him.

"If they have done this, they should pay the penalty." he said firmly.

In fairly vague terms he said he wasn't keen about what he heard from East London.

"Shouting about taking over England isn't any way to speak to the kaffirs. How will anyone learn about Islam if I first make them my enemy?" I think he said. Something along those lines anyway.

He always talks in quite glowing terms about the UK.

"The reason Islam is good in the UK is because we live amongst the best of the kaffirs." he told the young guys who were also round keeping him awake into the night. When a couple of them look at him questioningly, he lays down the law, repeating himself with finality and certainty. And thats it. And this guy stood on the other side of Hamza to Atilla. For the whole time I was in Finsbury. He is just TV gold.

I know by now that the main reason for these guys to speak to a kaffir is to try and bring him to Islam. One of the guys had another fairly good attempt with me.

"He understands it all. He knows all this is true." says Hajj.

I don't get this at all. We ended up talking about anal sex in more detail than I am used to. Why should I care if people have anal sex? Personally I would only do it to afemale if she asked me nicely. All these concepts around how people hold belief. Would that make a good film? God knows. If he or she exists they do anyway. Anyway I don't care. I just like people who I like for whatever reasons suits me and everyone else can fuck off.

Apart from that I've done a few disastrous gigs which have musically been OK. I didn't puke anyway. I have been learning how to put down slate floors which is ace. I love it. We taught ourselves plastering from a Youtube video with results we are happy with, saving oursleves hundreds of pounds. I was asked for some footage by someone in the National Front. This is my movie about them. I had to decline as I don't support the National Front though I don't doubt that any of the guys who I spoke to would make fascinating TV.

However you say things through the amplification of media would be distorted. I was talking to Mike the other day about how all the Muslims we have met want to be "Clones of the prophet". I can say that here, but if it gets any further this could sound like I was being seriously offensive to Muslims. What to do?

I was asked the other day to remove some comments from my youtube page which a Muslim in Canada found offensive. I quite like the way youtube comments are a serious lowest common denominator comment wise. I am pro freedom of speech and against censorship. I try to pretend I am above intelectual snobbery regarding those who comment in an err.. more expresive way than I do with less opportunities to get a grip on spelling than I had.

No. Really, its like running a fucking playground.

Here is a bit of sporadic conversation I had recently through my Youtube inbox

Youtuber: yo do u belive in all this shit and hatred people chat agenst the west ???????

Bones: Do I believe what?

Youtuber: all the shit them musilms about how they hate the west so much and all this crap of haterid and no pice

Bones: Do I believe "all the shit them musilms about how they hate the west so much and all this crap of haterid and no pice"? I don't believe or disbelieve anything. Does this answer your question?

I received no answer.

When I look at my webstats I often wonder what the fuck I am writing about myself. The most common searches which end up here are Antichrist cookbook, Squirtwoman, varitions on "Fucking paki", "Sand Nigger" etc. and a whole load of shit about lap dancing.

I've watched loads on the iPlayer. I am still addicted to Top Gear. I am really anti petrol head but I can't help it. I am addicted. I don't want to say how many times I watched these idiots jaunting across the States in muscle cars.

I am wondering if Charlie Brooker is going to save TV. His piece about advertising was excellent, as was his piece about TV writers about their craft. I just noticed his next target is documentaries.

Anything else? Oh yeah. I re read Stranger in a Strange land. A friend has a copy which boasted of being Heinlein's original manuscript discovered by his wife after his death, with a whole load of extra stuff which he had been asked to cut. This was before science fiction became the genre it is now. The publisher felt he should only take a chance on less words. Shaking the dust off their memories, everyone re read it and agreed it was better, so out it came.

What struck me straight away was in how much detail I remember this book as the last time I read it I was 14. As for the new words, they must have been "ifs" "ands" and "buts" because I couldn't find them. The next thing to occur to me was how much older I am reading it now. Last time I read this there was no internet, moblie phones, digital media etc which now date Heinleins referal to type writers, tape recording, libraries etc. He is still ahead with flying cars, one world government and 3D TV.

I am amazed by how much of the beliefs about life I have now were shaped by reading this book.

Guided by Voices

the biggest challenge, I think, is always maintaining your moral compass. Those are the conversations I’m having internally. I’m measuring my actions against that inner voice that for me at least is audible, is active, it tells me where I think I’m on track and where I think I’m off track


via RWS here

WHAT TIME IS IT?

cheers to Brian

..

USE YOUR NOGGIN

Checking through the blogs I found out Oliver Postgate has died. I was just watching Noggin the Nog and a bit of Ivor the engine with 'im o' the nails the other night. I think he'll be very sad. Clicking over to Oliver Postgates website I couldn't help noticing he is recommending a novel way to deal with the quandry Afghan poppy growers find themselves in-


The Afghan farmers have no option but to sell their produce to the drug-traders who bank-roll the Taliban, or have it destroyed and so lose their livelihood.

After the British and Coalition forces have fought their way across Hellmand Province in Afghanistan and have ‘taken’ villages and settlements of farmers who grow poppies for sale to the illegal drug-trade via the Taliban insurgents, they must retreat again to prepared positions. Before they leave they are faced with the prospect of destroying the poppy-crop. This they can do either by burning it or, as has been proposed, by spraying plant-poison on it from the air.

This action would immediately destroy the farmers’ means of livelihood and so engender enormous hatred and hostility towards the Coalition forces, thus encouraging the farmers to welcome the return of the Taliban as soon as the coast is clear.

The alternative, of leaving the poppy-crop intact, is more likely to increase the friendliness of the Afghan farmers, but would allow them to harvest a valuable crop for which the drug-dealers will pay a good price to the Taliban which will use it to buy sophisticated weaponry to use against the Coalition forces.

The only viable alternative is the heretofore unthinkable one of subsidising and helping the Afghan government actually to buy the poppy-harvest and convert it into medicine in village-centred processing plants in Afghanistan.


Maybe they could name one of these processing plants after Mr Postgate. Better still, they could name them after some of his characters. The Clangers scag house maybe?

..

Remains Repatriated

Utterly bizzare story over on Rightwingsparkles blog about a Somali suicide bomber with an American passport whose remains were repatrialted to, and buried in America.

..

Jamaica's Culture Stolen? Good says Lee Scratch Perry

In January this year, staff from at Jamaica's Public Broadcasting Corporation made a shocking discovery.

One of the country's most important music collections, including original recordings by Bob Marley and Pete Tosh, had been ransacked...

...Lee Scratch Perry was one dub reggae producer who had his early hits played on the JBC.

Speaking at his home in Kingston, he says..."I'm glad they did that, you're glad why, what you give you get, who robbed me deserve to get what they've got,"...

..

ED HUSSAIN

From The Telegraph..

...A fortnight ago, a terrorism-supporting group gathered with 300 supporters in council property in Britain's most densely Muslim-populated area, Tower Hamlets, and called for rejection of British law and support for convicted terrorists in prison. They beamed in from Lebanon the banned cleric Omar Bakri, who called on young Muslims to disobey the law.

Afterwards, a blame game broke out between the police, the Home Office and the local authority as to how this banned group gathered without being noticed. ( Did it? I never knew. They met again on Sunday in Southall but it was a bit far for me..) If we are unable to stop such events, or even disrupt the phone line from Beirut to London, then not much faith can be placed in our law enforcement agencies' surveillance of extremists...

..

RUPTURE

The new Rupture magazine is out. Online as a pdf here

Not so fast Muthafuker!

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) upheld complaints about a TV ad for the iPhone 3G which boasted of the gadget's "really fast" performance.

..

I didn't expect this from The Times

I haven't really got a lot of commentary about pot shots into Pakistan. Its "off my territory" shall I say. I read about it, I read the usual reactions from the usual people. This, from Patrick Mercer stood out-

A death that plays into terrorists' hands

We cannot respect human rights at home and be complicit in the killing of suspects abroad

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has not yet confirmed whether Rauf was the target of the attack. But whether he was or not, this strike raises significant questions about this Government's counter-terrorism policy and I shall be calling for clarification from the Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, about British counter-terrorism operations in these circumstances...

there is more

MUTATE BRITAIN

Fuck Tracy Emin. Fuck Damien Hirst. Fuck Goldsmiths Fine Art. If you want real Brit art visit Mutate Britain on Curtain rd. The quality of this sculpture is just spectacular. I remember Mutoid Waste from Kiings Cross squat parties when rave was all one still. Mutate and Survive!

YEAH MAN

BIT OF ARGY BARGY

STILL FUCKED

ITS ALL A GAME

The Nobel Peace Centre, Oslo, representing perhaps the world's most famous arbiters of peace, and recognising deeds for 'the good of mankind' now stock our game.

We always intended for War on Terror to be a peaceful protest and debate instigator via the medium of family fun (that's not what it says on the box - ed) but even we were surprised and honoured by this latest edition to our stockists page...


We are going to play the War on Terror board game at the weekend. I'm surprised I never heard of it before. A friend of mine got one of the first 40 games sold. I will report back hopefully with photos.

..

Al Zawahiri calls Obama a house negro

..

Zombies, Zeitgeists and Ghoulish movies

It has been inteesting living through "Change". I know exactly why I am optimistic. Because I know myself and the mood swings I am prone to too well. Its fuck all to do with Obama anyway. I have been fairly skint so I've been watching a lot of shit on the net, interspersed with some very useful conversations with real people and some great free gigs so I am not complaining. As I said I am optimistic.

The first thing I'd like to draw your attention to if you haven't caught it yet is Dead Set, The Big Brother zombie film. Its staying on 4catch up for an unusual length of time, they must be proud of it. They should be. I watched it in episodes as it came online, and then convinced some friends to watch it all the way through. During the last few episodes I wondered why I was watching such a gory film as they aren't usually to my taste. The last one put everything into place. The very last scenes properly wrapped up everything the writer wanted to say about the Big Brother concept and its position in the human psyche. I wont spoil it for you, its here for another thirteen days. Highly recomended.

More confusing and disturbing were the films Zeitgeist and Zeitgiest addendum. Confusing and disturbing because for the life of me I didn't know what I made of them at all. I tried watching the first one some time ago and gave up because I thought it was total shit. More friends of mine on facebook got fired up about the second part, so I gave it a go and found it a bit better, which put me in the frame of mind to give part one another chance.

I just don't know. Should I run around screaming? Would it help? I boggled my mind looking through detailed refutations of the claims made in these films. This really isn't my sort of thing. I think I agreed with the overall spirit in which these films were made and I'd love to see a shift in human conciousness away from monetarism. Having said that I wouldn't like to be in a room full of people who were totally sold on this stuff. I don't think I'd have anything useful to add to the conversation.

Apart from that TV wise I'm afraid its been formula TV the whole way for me with Last Man Standing, which I manage to stick to watching once per episode, and Top Gear which I am frighteningly addicted to. I'm not even going to tell you how many times I watched them drive muscle cars to the Boneville Salt flats.

Another movie I saw during "The Change" was How to Loose Friends and Alienate People which totally and utterly alienated me. Think The Devil Wears Prada switched to a male lead character. Don't add ANYTHING. Nothing at all. Thats it. One of the rare films I actually walked out of, How to Loose Friends... was just as bad for exactly the same reasons, but I sat through the whole thing to be polite to the company I was with this time. Utter, utter bollocks film.

Apart from that I have been puking, just the once but it is going to be quite memorable because I was puking in the toilets whilst my band were playing on stage without me. I don't think anyone noticed. When I told the rest of the band afterwards why I was late joining them they all said I should have stayed on stage and puked, securing myself a place in New Cross Folklore.

HOPE FOR CHANGE

Coldplay frontman Chris Martin is preparing to retire from music - because he believes rock stars should call it quits before reaching their mid-30s.

Martin is adamant the Yellow hitmakers will step away from the limelight..

..

More Speculation of More Change?

Speaking at a news conference in the Afghan capital Kabul, Mr Karzai said:

"If I hear from him [Mullah Omar] that he is willing to come to Afghanistan or to negotiate for peace... I, as the president of Afghanistan, will go to any length to provide him [with] protection.

"If I say I want protection for Mullah Omar, then the international community has two choices: remove me, or leave if they disagree. And both are good.

"If I am removed in the cause of peace for Afghanistan by force by them, then I'll be very happy. But if they disagree they can leave. But we are not in that stage yet."

..

Speculation or Change?

Transition news from The States:

CHICAGO - PRESIDENT-ELECT Barack Obama plans to tape a weekly address to the country not just for radio listeners, as US presidents have done so for years, but for YouTube viewers as well.

It is the first visible result of a major transition-team effort to make Mr Obama's conversations with the electorate more direct, reported the Miami Herald.

In addition, members and supporters of the White House media upgrade want more input opportunities for the public.

Many of the changes, if adopted, would curb the power of a traditional but often unpopular middleman between presidents and the populace: the mainstream media.

Connecting the White House hearth to the American home, the late president Franklin D. Roosevelt talked to people through the radio in the 1930s, with crackling broadcasts delivered near a crackling fire. John F. Kennedy in the 1960s and Ronald Reagan in the 1980s mastered television.

For President-elect Obama, who built a big part of his campaign on the Internet, it is YouTube.

also

Barack Obama is to pursue an ambitious peace plan in the Middle East involving the recognition of Israel by the Arab world in exchange for its withdrawal to pre-1967 borders, according to sources close to America’s president-elect.

and from the Republicans, getting in on the act too:

" 'Drill, baby, drill,' is not, by itself, an energy policy," Pawlenty said.

..

MORE SPECULATION

from the Taliban (cheers to Mr Camel)

...The ground realities in Afghanistan and the expectations of the people of America expressed through their votes demand that Obama should shun all policies followed by Bush once and for all. He should respect the rights of the people to independence and observe the norms of human rights. In short, he should set out on a policy that will have a message of peace for the war-stricken world which has been victimized by the arrogance and tyranny of USA.

SPECULATION...

...Obama was silent and out of sight in Chicago, one day after quietly meeting with Clinton at his headquarters there. She addressed a transit conference in New York and said emphatically, "I'm not going to speculate or address anything about the president-elect's incoming administration, and I'm going to respect his process."

Obama is also reaching out to Republican Sen. John McCain, hoping to make an ally of the man he defeated for the presidency only last week. Obama meets with McCain on Monday.

Obama has not made his choice for secretary of state and is considering other candidates, said Democratic officials, speaking on a condition of anonymity about deliberations they weren't authorized to discuss...

LOOKING ON THE BRIGHT SIDE...

...Barack Obama is nothing more than a kaafir, who is vehement in violating the rights of Almighty Allah (SWT) in terms of His legislation and hence should be treated with much hostility calibrated according to the Qur'an and Sunnah.

As for those so-called Muslims who view his election as a ‘victory' for Islam and Muslims, it seems as if they have forgotten the very foundations of this Deen which stipulate the necessity of dissociating oneself (Muslim) from the camp of the disbelievers as well as rejecting taghout both of which are central components of Barack Obama and his evil administration....

Anjum Choudhary's full US Election address

GOD- THE TERRORIST IN THE DOCK

A judge has thrown out a case against God - as the Almighty doesn't have an official address and legal papers can't be served.

Nebraska State Senator Ernie Chambers filed the lawsuit last year seeking a permanent injunction against God who he said made terrorist threats against him and his Omaha constituents.

Additionally, he said God inspired fear and caused "widespread death, destruction and terrorisation of millions upon millions of the Earth's inhabitants".

..

SONGS OF PRAISE IN JAMAICA

This is great. You'd never get this over here. Brought to you by Digicell. Ian Boyne is a big star in Jamaica. Everyone watches this on Sunday night. Ian takes on the evils of dancehall here

..

CHANGE?

"I think the answer is going to be, they can be as securely guarded on U.S. soil as anywhere else," Tribe said. "We can't put people in a dungeon forever without processing whether they deserve to be there."

VISUALIZATION

Newsweek in the States has some great stuff from journalists on the campain trail of all the candidates who promised not to print until after the elections. From chapter 2 about John McCain:

...McCain lost Michigan to Romney on Jan. 15, largely because Romney pandered to his boyhood home state by promising to bring back jobs long gone. In South Carolina on Jan. 19, McCain was on edge and his wife, Cindy, even more so. This was the place where the dirty tricksters had slimed the McCains in 2000, and Cindy could not shake off a sense of dread. The weather in Charleston was awful—sleeting rain—and McCain seemed caged, cooped up with his friend Lindsey Graham, who was annoying him by trying to "visualize" victory. By 7 p.m., Cindy and Graham were ready to "jump out the window," Graham later recalled...

cheers to Rachel for spotting this

OBAMAVISION

I don't post a lot of thoughts here any more do I.

I enjoyed the elections very much. Viewing the whole of the run offs between Hillary and Obama, Romney, McCain etc through the eyes of my Republican buddies must have given me a cock-eyed view of Obamas chances. I spent my whole time telling them it wouldn't make any difference anyway if Obama did win- but I never expected him to actually do it.

I spent as long as I could stay awake election night in Republicanland which was really good fun. I wasn't too nervous of a McCain win. Its obvious to me McCain isn't Bush. The BBC site kept crashing and I don't have a TV so I kept asking them "Are we winning?" and shouting "Down with the Liberals!" until it looked pretty safe for Obama and I could stay awake no more.

So I had a great day Nov 5th. I had a few people try and spoil it, telling me what I was telling my Repub buddies online for so many months, but I ended the day in a squatted pub with my band improvising around the American National Anthem loud enough to shut them all up.

Obviously we've had Blairs "A New day has dawned has it not" over here, so we probably can't help being a bit cautious but I like hope. Its not even hope for Obama or politics. For me it is hope for the huge amounts of people who have been energised by the process. The "We the people" who are picking up flags for the first time.

It was great to see the first post Obama session of the BBCs Question time just how incensed people are with all our politicians over here. The first person to come with a genuine vision for this country could make a lot of headway very quickly, but I have been saying that since 2003 eh. It was great also to see Dizzie Rascal on Newsnight.





I'd certainly like to see a few more Politicians going rogue eh. Personally I'd like to see McCain involved in some way in the future of America. I think his concession speech was one of the best I have ever seen in US Politics. A real highlight of the whole grimy buisness.

Its been fun. The landscape looks different now. I wish all Amerians best of luck with their country.

UPDATE FROM THE SUN

Mohamed Kamel Mostafa, 27, Hamza Mustafa Kamel, 22, and six other men allegedly targeted Mercedes, BMWs and Range Rovers.

They allegedly used fake documents to dupe dealerships into handing them duplicate keys — then took the cars.

The gang were also said to have used the log books as collateral for loans.

Westminster JPs remanded the brothers in custody

HAMZAS SONS

Two sons of hook-handed hate preacher Abu Hamza were last night charged with plotting to steal luxury cars.

Hamza Moustafa Kamel, 22, and Mohammed Kamel Moustafa, 27, will appear in court today with six others.

They also face two charges of conspiring to commit fraud, allegedly related to obtaining duplicate car keys and making false representations to secure a loan.

A fourth charge accuses them of knowingly "facilitating" the acquisition or control of stolen property.

They will appear before City of Westminster magistrates with Mohammed Chiadmi, 30, Abdul Chiadmi, 22, Mosshin Ghailan, 28, Khalid Jebari, 22, Hamza Mrimou, 29, and Ali Amel, 26.

Hamza, 50, was jailed for six years in 2004 for soliciting murder and inciting racial hatred. He faces extradition to the US for allegedly setting up an al-Qaeda training camp.

YES WE CAN

HOW TO FIND YOUR WAY TO THE POLLING BOOTH

HAD ENOUGH HOT AIR YET

BREEZING IT?

More than a righteous wind by Rachel here. I am not so sure myself but how can the bookies be wrong?

...the bookies have Obama to win solidly, and it is them, not the polls that I trust. Unlike the pollsters, they go bust if they get it wrong. They have got it right for the last 8 elections.

I will be up all night tomorrow, watching and waiting. Hoping that the clean breeze I felt blowing two years ago out of Springfield gathers force and power until it is more than a righteous wind, but a mighty gale sailing this man, and the millions of ordinary men and women whom he has inspired to hope for change, to a safer shore, where the hard, slow work of rebuilding the dream of America can begin...

I've been very much enjoying these elections. I don't really see how either candidate can make a lot of difference. Both have made some pledges to do the right thing. Lets see. I don't believe in politics in the slightest but I can't help liking both these guys. I have a lot of hope. Maybe that is just me.

THE MAGICIANS OF THE PHARAOH

OK. Taking it from the top, Anjum Choudhary called me yesterday. He took me by surprise as I don't know him and I was recovering from a pretty good Halloween, but if he hadn't have called I might have been tempted to go to some huge multi rig squat party last night and I'd have missed his event today, or worse still turned up with no sleep in fancy dress on some mad mission so all is well that ends well as they say. I turned up without shoes in Finsbury one friday but luckily a friend pulled me away. I am off too much head battering at the moment. I am sure they would say Allah is decreeing all of this. What did I hear tonight which I didn't hear in two years on the street outside Finsbury? Some stuff about going to the toilet and a story about a bull. Oh and there is a new government policy directed at their main man, Mr Bakri. More of all that in a bit.

I turned up at 2pm stopping off at my favourite place on Brick lane to pick up a singara. There were a lot of people, male and female waiting outside for the place to open. I recognised a coupla people from Mr Waleeds talk the other day. I was looking for familiar faces from Finsbury as there are a few people I am worried about and I'd like to make sure are OK. Its been a long time.

Like in Finsbury I stood back, and stood out racially, culturally and fashionably, not that I was fashionable. Although dressing a bit smarter would probably help me in a lot of situations, and people often tell me to do so I find it a lot easier doing these things being myself from the start. It saves confusion. I don't see any point pretending to be all paly with people or thinking that anyone would view me with anything but suspicion knowing that I am a journalist -of sorts.

Once the seating had been arranged I sat down and read my book. I've borrowed Last Night a DJ Saved My Life from Paula so I read about the early history of hip hop whilst projectors were set up, microphone feed back got sorted etc. I've heard a lot of Muslims joke about how they always turn up late for things, this meeting scheduled for two finally got underway at three o'clock.

I'm not very good at numbers, there were maybe 300? Muslims of which maybe two or three were white faces and a couple of journalists who sood out almost as much as me. I introduced myself to Mr Choudary who sat on the stage in the middle. He started the event talking about Muslim prisoners and a desire to see the black flag of Islam over Downing street. He said that Richard Watson from Newsnight was there, and said that he and the BBC were working for the government and would probably hand their tapes to the Police afterwards. He was quite happy for them to do this, and wanted the Police to be sure of what was going on at his meetings. From first impressions he seems the calmest and most serious Muslim leader I have met so far. He introduced Abu Muaz, Head of the UK Salafi Youth Movement.

Mr Muaz straight away spoke about Muslims living without the Sharriah for 84 years. He said Muslims had forgotten the law and their obligations according to the Koran. He said they had fallen for the western concepts of "I think" and "I believe" and that this was a disease amongst Muslims today. He said that Muslims were calling for communism, socialism and secularism and that a lot of them didn't even know that Islam was itself a social and economic system.

He spoke of a blind Sheik locked up in 1996 who couldn't even speak English. He spoke about Aafia Siddiqui, who had been abducted from Pakistan, raped and tortured in Bagram air base and that a kidney of hers had been removed. He spoke of Abu Qatada, held without charge for years. Now he had been relesed he was tagged and under house arrest for 23 hours a day. He spoke about a Muslim in Leicester who had been pepper sprayed for parking on a double yellow line.

He said that he had to go around with a pocket full of belts to give to kids to stop their trousers falling down. He had spent some time at a big Islamic conference called GPU where 30 or 40 thousand Muslims had gathered. He detailed how he had challenged them. They agreed that a lot of what they were doing was haram but said it was all worth it to get so many Muslims in one place. He said they were confused. They thought they needed to read the Koran for forty years before they understood it and only intended to set about implementing it after that. They read books but they don't struggle. What would Mohammed do if he was alive today?

People practice Islam inside the mosque but outside they are secular. In Saudi Sheiks pass fatwahs which decree that the Saudi army are the mujahadeen, yet their job is to kill Muslims who want to live under Sharriah law. Sheiks in this country decree that it is OK for Muslims to join the army and the Police who suppress Islam. Mohammed said that if you join them, you are them.

He said that he had confronted one of the main organisers of the GPU conference. He had asked him whether Muslims should uphold the law of the Sharriah or the law of the Queen. The guy had said this was a "fikdi(?") question- one he was not qualified to answer. He spoke of a Saudi Sheik (Bin Baz I think) who had decreed that it was OK for 500 thousand US troops to be in Saudi, but in the next breath had said that it was wrong for someone to have a christian maid.

The West pushes freedom but doesn't allow people to defend the freedom of others. The west champions freedom of speech, yet Muslims are jailed for words whilst paedophiles go free. He accused the media of being the "Magicians of the Pharaoh" who would always portray Islam in a negative light, using terms like Terrorist, Fundamentalist and Extremist to describe those who wanted to live under the Shariah.

"What do you expect from a dog? Even if you put the skin of a lion on a dog it is still a dog."

He said that they always invited the media, but they always twist and spin what is said because they are a mouthpiece for the government. The government were now passing instructions to schools to spy on Muslim kids, The NASUWT had approved this and were now informing the Police if a kid drew a picture of a Christmas Cracker.

Mr Choudhary then spoke some more about the labelling of those who belived in Islam as "Exremists" "Radicals" and "Fundamentalists". He said that Newsnight had connected every terrorist plot in this country to Omar Bakri. He said they were blamed for everything for just being Muslims, but all these labels would mean nothing on the day of judgement. He encouraged people to smile in the face of those who would attack them. He spoke of a new government policy, introduced by Jaqui Smith to "Name and shame" extremists and said that the first person on the list was Omar Bakri.

We watched a video detailing the fate of Muslim prisoners in Guantanamo, particularly the youngest prisoner who you have probably seen on the news crying for his mother. His mother said Muslims could help by sending money and by turning up at his court case. The video was paused to introduce Omar Bakri live from Lebanon. This didn't quite work out over the net, so Mr Choudhary phoned him from the stage and put the phone to the microphone.

Mr Bakri spoke against man made law and repression disguised as socialism and caplitalism. He said that people should go back to the Koran and the Sunna which contained the only solutions. He said that Muslims shouldn't obey man made laws and that if anyone ordered them to they should tell them they are a Muslim "Loud and Proud". They should walk, talk, sleep and eat like Muslims. He said that "They" want to silence you and branded the new law of inctement "crazy". He reassured people that names weren't important. Only Mohammed was important. Whatever disbelievers said about them they shouldn't worry.

Mr Choudhary said that they should never stop calling for Shariah law, then he introduced Abu Yahya, Spokesman for the Followers of Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jama'aah who would give a talk about "Defending the Honour of the Muslims".

He was maybe the youngest person on the stage. Mr Yahya said someone had challenged a Muslim (In the Koran? I'm not sure) asking if Mohammed had decreed how to go to the toilet. The guy had countered that Mohammed had told them to wash with their left hand, some wierd shit I couldn't understand about stones (piles? clangnuts? fuck knows) and not to face "kiblah" when taking a dump. That probably shut the guy up. I think he said something about the fossilised remains of kaffirs having shit on their right hands. I'm not too sure.

He critisized Muslims for going to the UN. Mohammed had told them that if they went to the kaffirs with begging bowls in their hands "The fire would touch them". He also critisized Muslims for having selfish western attitudes which led them to look after themselves and their families and not worry about Muslims abroad. He told a parable to illustrate this.

If I have got this right, there were three black bulls and a white bull and a wolf who wanted to eat them. Whilst they stuck together they could see off the wolf. The wolf came to the back bulls and told them that if they stood without the white one at night he couldn't see them. The white bull gave them away. He said that this was the US policy toward Pakistan. The black bulls had a discussion like a lot of western Muslims did about Hamza and Bakri. They were a problem. They ditched the white bull.

The next night the wolf attacked the lone white bull who cried "Where are my brothers?". He equated this with the situation in Palestine. Over the next nights he took his chances with the black bulls and picked them off one by one. Mr Yahya equated this with Afghanistan and Iraq. He said that as the last bull died he realised that he had actually died the day he let his white brother down.

Muslims everywhere say "What has Bakri, Hamza and Quatada got to do with me?". Mohammed told them to stand with the Muslim whether he is an oppressor or oppressed. He spoke of the disease of nationalism amongst Pakistanis and Arabs. No one could call themselves a true Muslim unless they wanted for their brother what they wanted for themselves. Taking Shahada (becoming a Muslim) was totally a political thing. It couldn't be seperated from politics like some Muslims say. Musilms would be tested. He berated Muslims for doing nothing about 17 sisters in British jails.

He spoke of an 18 year old Muslim girl who had been taken from a camel train in a raid and presented as a gift to the King of Grenada who raped her. Some Islamic ruler upon hearing this swore that he wouldn't sleep with his wife whilst this girl remained a prisoner and conquered the whole shit, town by town until he rescued her.

He said that talk of the Taliban not educating women was propaganda. He said that the prophet had told them to take half their deen from his wife Aysha. The Taliban had only closed schools when there was a civil war. People laughed when they said Islams black flag would one day be over Downing street. People laughed at the prophet when he said they would one day conquer Persia too.

Mr Choudhary closed this first half of the meeting by stating his belief that a Covenant of Security existed for them in this country as their life and wealth was protected by our laws, but that they should never stop exposing man made law, and never stop calling for the Shariah which was inevitable. Just before the break Mr Choudhary said that all kaffirs were liars. Even if they spoke truth sometimes they were just kaffir liars who spoke the truth.

I couldn't stay for the second half. I left thinking that if everyone at Finsbury thought this lot were in league with MI-5 they were probably wrong. Its certainly an interesting theory which is no doubt popular with conspiracy heads. Maybe I will get round to asking them, to see what they say. Muslims in the press used to say that Hamza was giving Islam such a bad name that he was probably working for MI-5 himself. I also left wondering what I could do with these guys on film which hasn't already been covered. Maybe I could report what they say without "twisting or spinning" or becoming a "Magician of the Pharaoh". Maybe I could be a "Kaffir liar who spoke the truth." Some ambition eh.

Report what people say?

What- Journalism? Here? ha ha ha ho ho. Seriously?

Naaah.

Boring.

No one would be interested in that.


Islam4UKs own video footage of the event is here


Richard Watson presented some of his work on "The Rise of the British Jihad" and chaired a discussion at the Frontline club a few days ago which you can find online here.

UPDATE:

Islamic radicals make mockery of hate laws in The Evening Standard

Why Hasn’t Anjum Choudhry Been Arrested from Harry's Place

..

PERUVIAN SHAMEN FOR OBAMA

via Dan Covan

HA HA CHECK THIS OUT

HELLFIRE DESCRIBED

All you need to know in a lecture which sounds like it is being delivered by Chris Eubank. I didn't even know he was a Muslim.

WELFARE FOR THE RICH

WASSSSUUP??

via Rachel

MALUNG TV NEWS

I had three punctures today on two different bikes. Life is trying to tell me something important? Lets find out.

Before all that I cycled to Whitechapel to buy some dv tapes. You know, I thought- fuck it. Lets take up filming mad Muslims again. See what happens. This time, I am much calmer, much more certain of what I am doing and why I am doing it. Hamza and Atilla was a very painful, obsessive, emotionally draining experience. I've had a lot of time off, during which time I have become very good friends with Musa Ahmet. In five years I've had zero financial success, but I've got to know Musa, so I don't care. Its all been worth it.

A friend of mine asked me to pick up some tailors chalk. I knew a place a little further north of the river. I cycled up brick lane to pick up a breakfast from one of the famous bagel shops. As I cycled off I saw a face I recognized but couldn't put a name to. I sat and thought for a second, then turned round.

"Are you Mousa Brown?"

"Dave Bones!"

The last time I had seen this Mousa he was behind bullet proof glass at Woolwich crown court. It was good to see him as a free man, carrying on with his life. We talked for ages about the court case. I had missed his testimony, but the court reporter who I had become friends with told me he had made a good account of himself.

It sounded like I had missed the most interesting part of the trial.

"I made Farrel look like an idiot. He only asked me one question which actually related to the charge I was on."

He said the Police had suppressed tapes which would clear him, and distorted tapes in places so they appeared to say something else. He said at one point after he was charged a policeman came in to the interview room at Paddington green and said

"Salaam Aleikum! Don't worry, we know you are not a terrorist. I can help you."

He reckoned the whole trial was ridiculous. He was aware of the tensions between Atilla and Hamid from first hand in Belmarsh but didn't believe either were bad people.

"Run a terror organisation? Hamid couldn't run a bath."

He said that in pre trial arrangements The judge had banned them from referring to an expert from the 21/7 trial who had said that what they were talking about was from the Koran. During his testimony he had tried to refer to the guy as someone who could help the jury a couple of times and the judge and prosecution had objected, leading the jury to smell a rat. One time when he dismissed the jury for lunch the judge had held Mousa back.

"I know very well what you are up to. What do you think you are playing at?" he asked.

"I am trying to defend myself." said Mousa.

He said that the Police had released his minibus and his sprinter van almost immediately after he had got out. His wife had declared them off the road for the 18 months he was inside. Within days a tow truck came to pick one of them up as untaxed. He suspected the Police had a hand in this.

"Inside I wouldn't talk to the screws. They suspected me of this and that. I don't hide what I think of people. I got arrested doing what I have always done for twenty years. I pray five times a day. I am a Muslim."

He said he wouldn't want to repeat the experience but he had learned from it.

"I bet you steer clear of Muslim groups now no? Have you been back to Speakers Corner?" I asked.

He said that he had a couple of times.

When I got back home I offered to help a friend down the road to pick up a couple of bags of tiling glue for his floor on our bikes. We cycled along the river. I had puncture number one near the millennium dome. The tube was so old I couldn't get the valve undone so I had to push the bike to B+Q to get some hacksaw blades. My friend carried a spare tube, but it was an ultra thin one for a racer. Luckily with 25kg of floor glue on the handlebars it went not too far from home.

A couple of hours later I borrowed a bike and headed up to east London at the invitation of Abu Waleed. As there is a bit of interest in what I am doing now my tourist camera no longer cuts it, so it is always a scrabble to find friends with professional cameras who are actually interested enough in what I do to lend a hand.

Funnily enough, the person who has always shown the most interest is a girl who is as facially pierced as I am. Obviously with Muslims strict rules of segregation this posses a problem. I had emailed Mr Walled earlier. He told me the room in which they met had a curtain down the middle and she would have to be on the other side.

We arrived to find the London School of Sharreah was under an east London railway arch. There were maybe 12 British Asian guys in their early twenties and through the curtain I think I could see two females in Muslim dress. My camera woman friend set up on the other side.

Abu Waleed talks very fast. He makes a lot of jokes, more than Hamza. He isn't angry like Hamza was some times and Atilla was most of the time in Finsbury park. He is happy to critisize other Muslim scholars by name, and does so a lot. Scholars he respects are Hamza, Bakri who he calls Sheik Omar, Al Faisal, and he also spoke well of a Palestinian sheik who he left his audience to guess. I would assume he is referring to Abu Qatada.

At no point did he remotely glorify terrorism, or encourage his audience in any acts of violence, but he would indulge in a lot of black humour about the situation Muslims find themselves in. I could see why he was charismatic to the group in front of him and how what he said and the way he said it would be relevant to their lives. I was bemused at how often I heard the unmistakable chuckle of my friend with the camera through the curtain. The atmosphere Waleed projects is very relaxed. People would duck out to answer their mobile phones and interupted whenever they liked, mostly to ask him to repeat his justifications from the Koran.

At the end of his talk he thought I was going to ask questions. I had made loads of notes after our phone conversation the other day but hadn't brought them as I knew we would need much more time to go through everything and I was too knackered to attempt questioning at 10 pm on a friday. I asked him to think of a place he would be comfortable to sit down for an afternoon to film properly.

On the way home we stopped in my favourite east end pakistani dinner.

"They believe things I would disagree with but they are OK really as people aren't they?" said my camerawoman.

"I think so. I think we are more extreme than they are" I agreed.

I had puncture number three on the way back.

I will put up some clips of what Abu Waleed had to say on youtube soon as.

AL-QAIDA MANCHESTER

POLICE investigating a Cheetham Hill taxi driver found the names and mobile phone numbers of high ranking members of al-Qaida written on a piece of paper at his home, a terror expert told a court...

Its a good job this trial is in Manchester or I'd be hooked..

FIRST AND SECOND

via Rightwingsparkle. Its hotting up over there!

Sunny's Guardian Article

...Last year, a British born and trained journalist of Pakistani origin, Waseem Mahmood, got together a bunch of well-known Pakistani actors and singers to compose a song against terrorism titled Yeh Hum Naheen (This is not us). It quickly became a sensation and inspired a petition against terrorism launched earlier this year that enlisted the help of over 9,000 volunteers to gather over 60 million signatures from across the country. It is being entered into the Guinness Books of Records as the biggest petition ever...

WHO ARE YOU?

The U.S. said its forces "may have mistakenly killed and injured" Afghan soldiers in what may have been a case of mistaken identity "on both sides."

WICKED

Found this on Last fm. I don't know why I like it, its cliched bollocks lyric wise. I miss Jamaica.

THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE FLOATING OVER NORWICH

via Mr Camel

A FORMER Top Gun told yesterday how he was ordered to shoot down a massive UFO — over NORWICH.

RAF controllers told US pilot Milton Torres to “lock on” and launch all 24 of his rockets over the city.

Tale ... Milton Torres as a young man, and today

Tale ... Milton Torres as a young man, and today

But as he came within seconds of firing at the alien intruder — “the size of an aircraft carrier” on his radar — it vanished at 10,000mph.

The amazing close encounter is revealed in secret Ministry of Defence X-Files which are declassified today.

Milton said: “It was some kind of alien snooping over England. I guess we’ll never know what it was.”

UPDATE: Also from Mr Camel check this floating over Turkey

WHAT IS HAPPENING TO TV?

Its all crap isn't it. Dumming down? Well er.. No. I can't quite believe this. I turned up at a friends house to see Paul Merton sitting down with a bunch of Sadhus in a circle. Anyone who has been to India knows what happens next. But Paul Merton? On prime time TV? Cut to the advert break. I've seen people watch people do drugs on TV, I've seen a very scientific presentation of a couple of guys out of their heads on Fly Agarics being observed by scientists but a presenter doing a chillum?

Watching Paul Merton taking a first pussy puff I was still thinking, no. As he got into it and started laughing, so did I. Wonderful. The program is reviewed in the Telegraph here. If you scroll down there are some hilariously stuffy comments from Telegraph reading Indians. They haven't posted my comment- yet.

This got me thinking about what I've seen recently. Dawn Porter really isn't my kind of girl, but the way she got into sexual experimentation with Lesbians and Free lovers has been majestic TV, and Anne Richardsons Sex education show is proper, honest liberation.

The cream of the crop which I was totally unaware of has got to be The Angel in the North- Jamie Oliver. We raved about his School Dinners series over on Socialistwanker. Watching him "Hit the North" was just beautiful. Seeing someone use their celebrity and ambition for such a wholesome concept is just fucking faultless, and is also beautifully made drama. Jamie is a real champion of the common man, and woman.

All of the above programs (except Paul Merton) are available on 4oD.

UPDATE: Paul Merton in India is on demand here!! You need to register but its free.

also:

Comedian Paul Merton has deeply offended the British Hindu community in the first part of his new series on India

LOOK AT THE GROUND

Britain's military chiefs should "hang their heads in shame", was a coroner's damning verdict, as he ruled that a catalogue of failures and a lack of crucial equipment was to blame for the death of a British solider in a minefield in Afghanistan.

Now I'm not an expert but sending a fucking Chinook into a minefield? To rescue someone?

NO ONE IS ALLOWED TO VOTE

Steal Back Your Vote! from Greg Palast on Vimeo.

WHO WILL WIN? JOE DECIDES

TALK

YOU LIKE IT?

Single Ladies

(I embeded the video but I couldn't get it to stop autoplaying)

New Single from Beyonce, all these chicks look a bit foreshortened considering they are wearing such high heels. They don't look so frightened standing next to her as the original line up of Destinys Child used to so she must have relaxed a bit. Sounds like someone was playing Sapce Invaders in the background while they were recording. Like it? Well you shoulda put a fuckin ring on it innit.

ABU WALEED

I'm an old mate of Atilla so don't worry I won't kill u!

I've been following the tabloid sensations of Abu Waleed over the last coupla weeks. As I said I never met him and questioned the tabloids associating him with Finsbury park. He emailed last night and phoned this morning. We had a long chat about a lot of things Hamza, Atilla, Quilliam Foundation, MI-5, Al Mujaharoun, Bakri, Abdullah Al Faisal, Al Qaida etc. I wrote four or five pages of notes.

We covered stuff from the 1990s right up to the present. Most interestingly for me, he filled me in on the tension between Al Muj and Finsbury park I used to hear about when I was up there and the difference in media style and focus between Hamza and Bakri over the years. He speaks quite fast and I don't do shorthand but I think I got everything. After the roller coaster of knowing Atilla I haven't been jumping to delve back into the story of Fundamental Islam in the UK but talking to Abu Waleed, like talking to Atilla I can't help but be intrigued by the particularly modern British nature of someone talking about such an age old religion.

I am a bit tied up at the mo but I will translate my notes over the next coupla days.

US EMBASSY TERRORISED

OK. I went up. No Police. No media. No "Beheading" placards and no Muslims I recognized from Finsbury. I didn't stay long as I got a puncture on the way and had to pick my bike up on the way back. I saw an interesting painting in some posh gallery. I don't know if you can make it out with the reflection in the glass. its some sort of bondage scene.

PREACHERS OF HATE

A term coined by the media, and denied by Hamza and Atilla is adopted by Islam4UK who are protesting today outside the US Embassy in London.

"Indeed, there has been an excellent example for you in Ibrahim and those with him, when they said to their people, ‘Verily, we are free from you and whatever you worship besides Allah! We have rejected you, and between us and you is hostility and hatred forever, until you believe in Allah Alone." [Al-Mumtahinah, 60:4]

This was the da'wah (preaching) and hikmah (wisdom) of Ibrahim (AS) and his followers - who, if alive today, would undoubtedly be accused of preaching hatred. His da'wah was not diluted or sugar-coated, to please the authorities or sceptical disbelievers. Rather, his message was a message of hate for those who disbelieved in Allah (SWT) and a message of love, peace and glad tidings for the servants and worshippers of Almighty Allah (SWT).

This is my preachers of hate video from Finsbury park in 2003

Two of Britain's biggest high street banks will in effect be nationalised today in a dramatic move by the Government that follows a day of international negotiations aimed at co-ordinating a pan-European approach to the global financial crisis.

The Apprentice has always been the show I have loved hating on this blog, but I thought Alan Sugar seemed to be talking sense in The Mirror today.

I'm wondering again whether this boom and bust isn't the game of a very few people who are laughing at us. It all just looks too scripted. For all the good times we had smileyBlair, and waiting in the wings this prudent, safe guy in charge of the money. Then just as he takes charge- what do you know? The economy crashes and he comes out stern faced, leading the world. Did they not know all this was going to happen? But I don't believe in conspiracy theories eh.

CONTINUES

Hostages

Iran condemned a decision by British authorities Saturday to release from prison the only surviving member of a group of gunmen who seized the Iranian embassy in London in 1980. Several newspapers reported Friday that Fowzi Nejad, 50, would be freed within days after serving 27 years in jail.

On my travels I have met someone who was in jail with this guy. I will make inquiries..

You can do it pimp Lucious!

Jack: A Soldiers Story

Is it worth it? On the iPlayer.

The Hidden World of Lap Dancing

Fascinating. Sorry, I mean disgusting. Shocking. I wasn't titillated by that at all. I bet the journalist wasn't either. Tough work. Narrated by Mark Bonner. Sorry I meant Bonnar.

Seriously though for a second, this is like the story of the emperors new clothes. Really? Dancers get up close and personal in lap dancing clubs? Really? Some of them offer sex for £250-£300? That's not really a surprise is it. The programme, for those who watched it in genuine horror pitched it just right though. If this is going on, it should be answerable to the community around it. Fat cats can open these places and there is nothing residents, councillors or MPs can do about it. What is the answer? Red light districts set up and regulated to protect everyone maybe? Places where everything goes and undercover doco makers can bring their cameras out into the open?

I don't know. I have a bit of experience working in strip joints a long long time ago when I err... wasn't very well. I remember when there was a mass exodus of the more, shall we say "up market" looking girls to lap dance clubs. I am not really for or against regulation. All of this would exist somewhere wouldn't it. I've never had a lap dance. I think treatment like this guy was subjected to for his money would drive me fucking mad. It drove me mad enough looking at naked girls from behind a bar all day and night.

Seeing nakedness and not touching it is too frustrating for me. Seeing it and touching it if you pay for it, well that is beyond my experience. I have never been offered sex by a prostitute. Maybe once through a window in Amsterdam. In my experience, bar a very very few who are absolute gems, these sort of women are just addicted to the money. A lot of them are intelligent but lazy to try something which might be more of a struggle, but which might actually reward them rather than returning them to the same place. As the guy in the film says they are very skilled, but they are hypnotised by basic, and when you get down to it, very boring capitalism.

Do read the review of this show on Stephs blog and also on The F-Word

Also, for a really amazing take on all this from one of the rare gems read ex-Millenial girl from the beginning. You won't be disappointed

And the Bile Filled Lecturer...

Abu Waleed in the Midlands

And the bile-filled lecturer even joked about Al-Qaida handing out suicide-bomber backpacks in youth centres and snooker halls.

In video clips posted on popular website Youtube, Waleed mocks the British intelligence services and warns they have underestimated the strength of the violent jihad movement in the UK.

Is there a difference between what the guy actually says in the video and how they present what he is saying?

STRATEGISM

Brig Carleton-Smith said the aim should be to change the nature of the debate in Afghanistan so that disputes were settled by negotiation and not violence.

"If the Taliban were prepared to sit on the other side of the table and talk about a political settlement, then that's precisely the sort of progress that concludes insurgencies like this," he said.

"That shouldn't make people uncomfortable."

TACKLING EXTREMISM

This is very interesting. I've seen this guy before. Choosing my words very carefully as one who talks to these "extremist" types on occasion, I think he has often said things I can relate to as sensible. Obviously he is a lot closer than the useless expensive horse shit about "tackling extwemism" which comes from government. Because he is taking government money a lot of Muslims are going to say that he has made a deal with Zionists and kaffirs and is therefore a kaffir.

This has been edited to tell a story, media types are pinning their hopes on this guy. I'd like to see the raw footage. Not surprisingly I am ominously drawn to attend one of these meetings. I can be honest and say that although I have a huge amount of disagreement with these guys they are brave to still be meeting like this. I don't know what they are saying, I don't trust that a true picture of what they are saying is making it to TV. I saw Hamza preach for too long to make that mistake.

Watching Inyat Bungawala describing them as hooligans who can't be reasoned with made me smile, remembering Finsbury park. Were they hooligans? Yeah, some of them. And as so many were masked in was very hard to tell the difference between hooligan and sincere Muslim. When Atilla gets out I'm going to ask him the truth behind all this- as far as Finsbury is concerned anyway.

I have no idea who these lot are or if anyone ex-Finsbury has drifted toward them. As I have said before everyone Finsbury when I used to go there thought Choudary, Bakri et al were MI-5.

"We don't say any of this and are demonized and arrested. They say everything and remain free?"

There is a loud voice inside me saying "No! Don't do it! Stay away! Stick to your music, find a new chick to entertain yourself."

Christ knows