Category Archives: Civil Rights

Is this the “counter-Enlightenment”?

By bananabrain | Published: August 6, 2010
i’ve not posted for a while, mostly because of pressure of work, but there are a number of things which are currently causing me to more or less lose sleep. recently, i gave up posting on pickled politics, partly because of the level of personal animosity i was facing, but mostly just in frustration at my [...]
Also posted in Anti Fascism, Anti Muslim bigotry, Antisemitism, Blogosphere, Christian Evangelical Nutters, Democracy, Entryism, European Fascism, Freedom of Expression, Freedom of Religion, Human Rights, Identity Politics, Interfaith, Islamism, Jewish Extremism, Moral relativism, Multiculturalism, Obscurantism, Sectarianism, Secularism, The Far Left, The Regressive Left, UK Politics | 37 Comments

meanwhile, in israel…

By bananabrain | Published: June 4, 2010
with the flotilla imbroglio (or fiasco, if you prefer) in full swing, yours truly has just arrived back from the zionist entity, where numerous representatives of clan bananabrain continue to live as normal a life as one might expect in what hussein shobokshi of asharq al-awsat describes as “a state established on a lie based [...]
Also posted in Democracy, Freedom of Religion, International Affairs, Israel/Palestine, Jewish Extremism, Politics | 13 Comments

The Illiberal French Burkha Ban

By Faisal | Published: May 18, 2010
Norman Geras refutes/dismantles Christopher Hitchens’ poorly argued support of the French burkha ban in seven bullet points. Here’s the first of them: This, I’m sorry to say, is how it strikes me as being with Christopher Hitchens’s piece in Slate supporting the French move to outlaw the burqa. He has plenty of arguments, but not one of [...]
Also posted in Moral relativism | 45 Comments

A New Bill for Civil Liberties

By Faisal | Published: May 16, 2010
Watch out for a new bill to sweep away in a single repeal act all the pernicious laws against civil liberties introduced by New Labour in the last 13 years. The Con-Dem coalition could be a rare fluke which would enable such a bill, something a Lib-Lab coalition or a Conservative minority government would not [...]
Posted in Civil Rights | 1 Comment

No Banning for BNP Teachers

By Faisal | Published: March 12, 2010
The BBC reports: Teachers in England should not be banned from membership of the British National Party or any group which may promote racism, a review has concluded. The government commissioned the report last September after a leaked list identified 15 BNP members as teachers. Review author Maurice Smith added his recommendation should be reviewed every year, which [...]
Posted in Civil Rights | 31 Comments

Tower Hamlets: Muslim Woman Councillor Receives Death Threats From Other Muslims

By Effendi | Published: March 8, 2010
Today is International Women’s Day. International Women’s Day (8 March) is a global day celebrating the economic, political and social achievements of women past, present and future. But in some parts of Tower Hamlets, some things remain the same: Shiria Khatun, 38, told the police that callers threatened to kill her and her four young children. In one call, [...]
Posted in Civil Rights | 36 Comments

“Galloway Begged the Police to Detain Us”

By Guest | Published: March 2, 2010
This is a cross-post by Azarmehr from “For a democratic secular Iran. For peace and prosperity  in the Middle East” **** I found about a Stop the War meeting in the House of Commons where Galloway was speaking through my friend. Peyvand Khorsandi [Shappis Khorsandi's brother]. We decided to go along and meet this stooge of dictators [...]
Posted in Civil Rights | 27 Comments

Artist MF Husain given Qatari Citizenship

By Effendi | Published: February 26, 2010
Good news (that’s sarcasm) for people who feel their right to be religiously offended trumps freedom of expression: Renowned Indian artist MF Husain, under attack from hardline Hindus for his paintings of nude Hindu goddesses, has been offered Qatari nationality. The artist made the announcement in The Hindu newspaper. It is not clear whether he will accept [...]
Also posted in Freedom of Expression | 1 Comment

Spying is morally acceptable, says Sunny Hundal

By Effendi | Published: January 8, 2010
Sunny Hundal of Pickled Politics and Liberal Conspiracy is a “journalist” who fancies himself as a champion of civil liberties. This was his last evidence-free and appallingly unresearched piece on Abdulmutallab’s radicalism at UCL in CiF: Singling out universities as potential conveyor belts for terrorists is an old talking point for neocons. The most notorious example in [...]
Also posted in Moral relativism, Terrorism | 6 Comments