Not sure why you added your last sentence Rob

However, totally inappropriate demonstration. I would hope so action is taken against the protestors.

Likewise, the Celtic supporters who protested against Rememberance.

I wonder why the counter demonstrators seemed to be prevented from demonstrating?

There really is a simple solution to this.

Remove all British soldiers from Afganistan. God only knows what they’re doing there anyway. Certainly not fighting and dying for Queen and country – more for the name of Politics.
It’s scumbags like those from yesterdays anti-armistice demonstration who are the threat to UK security not the Taliban.

Round up every Muslim extremist in the UK and send them to Afganistan on the return flights. No doubt MI5 have photographic evidence of yesterdays London demonstration – they know who these people are – they might have a UK passport but they are not British citizens.

Simple – status quo achieved. Everybody happy – well everybody but the deportees who have to come to terms with life in a third world country after the creature comforts of the country they hate with such venom.

And as for Afganistan, Iraq, Iran – let’s let them find their own way in the world – Israel too for that matter, if Israel wants a war with the Muslim world that’s their lookout.

The CSH solution to Foreign Affairs – keep your f***ing nose out.

Whereas I didn’t support the invasion and occupation of Iraq, Afghanistan is a completely different kettle of fish.

We can’t afford to adopt a policy of Isolationism (mainly because we need the resources from other countries…. Errr Perhaps that was why we were in Iraq then?) but the militant Muslim organisations want the world to be a Muslim state: They want Great Britain to be a Muslim country!

If we weren’t engaged in a fight with the extremests in Afghanistan the frontline could be a damn sight closer to home and I certainly know where I would prefer them.

With regards to yesterdays pathetic attempt to attract publicity by a minority burning poppies: Had the Nazi’s been victorious in the Second World War, I wonder how lenient they would have been in allowing them to protest in this manner?

They are only able to engage in that activity through the sacrifice of the very people they sought to insult!

I think that the average person (which I consider myself to be) is getting pretty fed up with the Muslim extremest. I was all up for going down to stop the proposed march in Wooton Wawen last year and I was asked today by someone who knew I had been in London on business yesterday if I had seen them. I said, “Did you see me on the news being dragged off one on the news last night?” Obviously they said no. “Well I didn’t see them then!”

We may have a “T” Party here soon.

I do not think you can ever say no to all conflicts beyond British shores. I personally think Africa is going to create more and more problems in the next few years and in many respects we turn a blind eye due to the lack of resource exploitation opportunities.

I do not care what colour somebody’s skin is, what their religion is there are scum of all skin colour and all regioions. Scum need to be dealt with properly and firmly.

Some of the best students I have taught have been Asian. Some of the worst have been Asian. To give you some examples of how race is abused.

Asian students often refer to each other as Pakis. I never allow it but they argue an asian calling an Asian a Paki is different than a non Asian calling an Asian a Paki. Rightly or wrongly I disagree. An Asian girl was sexually molested by 3 Asian boys. The girl was sent back to Pakistan in disgrace, nothing whatsoever happened to the 3 boys. An Asian boy was joyriding and spotted by the police. He tried to escape by switching the car lights off and in doing so ploughed down / killed an Asian father. In court the family of the dead Asian father actually defended his killer and spoke up for him.

@caster rob wrote:

Few signs of the much-hyped integration there then NWCA.

Alas no Rob. I taught in the middle of Brierfield which was the worst place in Burnley during the race riots. Integration was non existant but even worse integration between different groups of Pakistanis was non existant too.

Whether or not thing are different elsewhere, in East Lancashire, migrants migrated en masses from the same Pakistani villages / countryside areas to work in the textile industry. Migrants of any race/religion tend to prefer to live together certainly when they first migrate in my experience and are constrained by wealth anyway. So you had areas of Brierfield, Nelson and Colne inhabited by different village/groups from Pakistan.

In my experience, housing / house prices led to racism. Rightly or wrongly house prices dropped alarmingly with the presence of an Asian family. For an area to become an Asian area was the death knell. I know of areas in Blackburn where white British citizens would wage campaigns to force any Asian family out of their street/area. In Burnley it became a question of land height. Housing, house prices tend to be lowest at the bottom of the valleys closest to the mills. Asians settled here. White Lancastrians moved away and up the valley. The higher up the valley, the better and more expensive houses became.

Racism grew / festered on both sides of the argument. Normal so called ordinary people became racist. White people in the best areas had flag poles flying Union Jacks. I once took a part of students on a River Field Study trip and the 3 Asian students in 30+ students were racially abused for walking alongside a public pathway next to a picture postcard cottage by an elderly white homeowner.

The flip side is that Asians were hateful towards each other depending on the village/area of Pakistan they originated from. The most integrated Asian students whose friends were in the main white was assaulted by an Asian student for being a traitor. The case was takent to court etc etc

Schooling wise. Two adjacent schools. One became 95% Asian. The one I worked in ‘prided itself’ on a low % of Asian students less than 10-15% which was deemed acceptable by White parents in order to send their students to the school. % of Asian ethnicity student was a school selection criteria by parents.

Long after my time and after the riots. The two schools were merged. A new school built under BSF. The majority of white students must now be schooled elsewhere because the single school now educates 75-80% Asian students and the White under class students.

So no Integration there IMO Rob

Since then I have found few racial issues working in schools with 5-10% non white students. Number I guess plays a part but Integration just happens. IMO Geographical dispersal/integration of race / class lead to natural integration.

Poverty is the most fertile ground for racism IMO.

I do not think it will happen because I presume the subsequent financial return would be less but I believe housing type should be much more integrated. So rather than a £250K + housing estate, a £500K housing estate. A new estate would have a much bigger variation in houses (size/value) and naturally integrate people of different class brackets. A pipe dream.

The biggest success of that school in the middle of a race riot era was securing the best opportunities for students to progress.

Some fantastic Asian students went on to University and 3 working class white students earned scholarships to Gordonstoun studying alongside royalty etc and travelling across the globe. The most intelligent student I ever taught remained in the state system, came in the top 2% nationally for A Levels and then went Oxbridge.

Social integration at its best

Racism is a strange thing Rob. I do not care where somebody is from but I daresay some of the things I have said (certainly in my teens etc) on the sporting field would get me hung drawn and quartered and labelled a racist. Today, I try to consider anything I say before saying it.