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.

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