Science as a Social Contruct

There is an abstract philosphical sense in which everything we know is a social construct. After singular solipsism, we might agree we are seperate minds; and then it looks, to those minds, like there’s an empirical reality; and that reality includes our brains; and our brains are the physical substrate upon which the mind software operates. This is how we see reality*.

(*when we’re not inventing fantasies and believing them)

The most useful social construct we have is science, because it’s so practically productive. And science can be used to evaluate other social constructs, sufficiently well that we can now assess the nature of the very mind that started to contemplate the nature of the world. Science is a social construct because it has been constructed socially, by cooperating humans over centuries; and, before that nascent ‘science’, natural philosophy was the most rigorous discipline, for millennia. Of course a lot of the old ideas have been superceded by better ones, backed up by good empirical evidence; and many old ideas have been rejected because after millenia there is still zero positive evidence to support them.

Science is such a useful social construct it can assess the utility and reliability of the sciences themselves. There’s a hierarchy of sciences. They are commonly referred to as being on a spectrum of hard and soft sciences.

But ‘hard’ sciences, while difficult at higher levels of expertise, are simpler, more reliable, easier sciences than the ‘soft’ sciences. The term ‘hard’ does not mean difficult or complex, relatively speaking, but solid, reliable, repeatable. The ‘soft’ sciences are far more complex and difficult to do well, reliably, as sciences. The hierarchy is not one of moral merit, but of simplicity, reliability, repeatability. Physics, Cemistry, Biology, Neuroscience, Psychology, Sociology, to pick a few, go from hard to soft. Note, though, for newer sciences, like neuroscience, the field will change fast but become more reliable, while much older sciences, like psychology, will contain a lot of historic contested results. Hard science experiments are easier to replicate, support, or falsify; soft sciences are way more difficult, with much more disagreement about the ‘facts’ that the science uncovers.

This is why the biology of sex, backed by general biology, chemistry, physics, trumps the flaky end of the social sciences, where the abuse of science results in statements like ‘sex is a social construct’ in an attempt to refute inconvenient biological science. Well, yes, in the extreme philosoiophical sense, sex is a social construct but it results from the reliable categorisation of members of sexually reproducing species into male and female; a categorisation that is NOT a construct of science, but a construct of millions of years of differentiation between males and females in many species.

Are there variations that aren’t as ‘hard’ as the difference between a proton and an electron? Yes. Biological complexity being far greater than atomic complexity (not least because biology is constituted by the physics and chemistry of matter – there are necessarily more ways to make a biological system than an atomic one) has variations that don’t conform to strict and simple ‘hard’ differences typical of smaller objects viewed through the social construct of the science of physics.

But, if reality has any meaning at all, it really is the case that there are two sexes, and that the variations we see are deviations from statistical norms that dominate the biology of sexually reproducing species.

The norm is so strong that it’s only in 20th and 21st century sciences of biology, neuroscience, psychology, sociology that we have established reliably that the variations we see in sexual attraction and gender identity are ‘normal’, natural variations, while not being close to the norm.

However, the softer the science, the easier it is to politicise and attribute moral meaning to, and interpret in any desired politically motivated context one wishes. It’s difficult to politicise Newton’s laws of motion – they do not care about your feelings or your moral probity. This is why the moralising politicisation of the social sciences looks so much like religion.

The religious often object to the ‘dogma’ of science, but to say Newton’s laws are dogmatic is to mistake solid consistency and reliability for unsupported actual religious/political dogma. To say scientists are being dogmatic when they debunk crank ‘science’ (perpetual motion, astrology works, morphic resonance) is to be completely ignorant of the reliability of the hard sciences. On the other hand much soft sciences is infected with claims based on unrepeatable results from inadequately controlled observations with too few trials, all wrapped up in moralising political dogma: decide what you want to be, invent the ‘science’ to support it, falsification be damned.

Out of respect for the difficulty of the soft sciences (how really ‘hard’ they are) they should be treated with far more scrutiny and caution, but sadly, that goes out the window when you have a political and moral crusade to push.

Social Constructs Gone Mad

[It wasn’t my intention to pick on trans issues when I started writing this post, but coincidentally, the trans-ideology and gender-idology just happened to have provided extreme examples.]

People that vary in their sexual orientation or their feeling of their gender identity have been, and still are, persecuted for wanting to be who they are. I don’t know any TERFs (to use the derogatary term that many trans rights activists are fond of) that do not respect the rights of adults to identify as they wish, to engage in any sort of consensual adult relationships they wish.

The disagreements amount to two key ones:

Respecting one’s chosen identity and how one wants to be referred to – typified by the topic of pronoun use.
The interaction in safe spaces reserved for women.

The main disagreement regarding identity is not whether one should use whatever pronouns one chooses, but to what extent everyone else is expected to comply. If your gender is so fluid it changes as often as your underwear, and appears (no matter how serious it may feel to you) that you are inventing it as a political social construct in order to make a political point and entrap others into being ‘transphobic’ (i.e. you’re forever being dramatic about it) then sorry, but not everyone wants to be on their toes all the time trying to pre-empt your current gender or apologise for getting it wrong.

If you want to take a look at the insanity of social constructions at work, look no further that left wing progressivism.

If a serious discussion about how you are going to end Capitalism is degraded by you forever interrupting with a ‘point of order’, don’t be surprised if people stop taking you seriously.

Conversely, you might have a case of claiming transphobia if you have established an identity and even after plenty of time for adaptation colleagues insist on misgenering you. This is all about social niceties, and sadly, on both sides, some people are dicks.

For many women, the second disagreement is far more serious. Millennia of male domination and abuse is not merely a social construct but an evolutionarily determined biological one. I find many, but not all, radical feminists to be dicks too. Many really do hate men. But it may not be without justification that they hate most or all men, if they have suffered abuse at the hands of one or more significant men in their lives: fathers, uncles, brothers, cousins, boyfriends, husbands, … bosses and co-workers, … priests, police men.

The Changing Social Construct of Being a Man

Men have had to adapt to the realities that have emerged from the social constructs of science too. Women are not bimbos, sexual toys, properties of marriage, but are equal on most counts, and better or worse on others, on average.

Men also have to adapt to the fact that compared to the average woman, many if not most men are hypersexualised beasts that need to control our urges because we don’t have rights to women’s bodies. You only have to look at any war zone to realise this nature of men is on a tight leash, at least for some. The tendency not to rape may be innate to some men, perhaps many men, perhaps most – though its difficult to see in wars over the last few centuries to what extent the pre-war socialisation of behaviour of ‘gentlemen’ has programmed its suppression, rather than it being innate. If, as a man, you feel this is an unfair characterisation of men, that their ‘decency’ around women is not natural but socially programmed, you’d need a heck of a lot of information that isn’t available – we don’t have access to pre-social man; we can’t yet investigate our brains sufficiently well to separate nature from nurture.

The clues in other species don’t always help. While some species of ape seem to have acquired at least some habits of decency, requiring a modicum of consent, clearly females are attracted to some males when they are ready to mate – the biological tendency is heavily related to procreation, though not always.

Given the typical human family size compared to interest in sex, sex is very much a social pleasure that varies between the sexes and more so between individuals. Male sexual attacks dominate. Most sexual offenders are men. Female sexual offenders are far more rare.

History, even recent history, even the very recent history of 2023, shows that some men have a tendency to want to rape if the opportunity arises. To what extent is our socially constructed morality preventing men behaving in ways they would it the rules were not in place? How far off are we from becoming raping and pilaging mobs?

The sciences of anthropology, sociaology, psychology can inform us to some extent, but there’s no hard science test you can perform to determine whether women would be safe around any particular man if the social rules were lost in a post-apocolypse world.

Religious Constructs

Religions are social constructs. It may be difficult to convince a bleliever of a particular religion that theirs is a fantasy, but they are unlikely to conclude that other religions are fantasies, or at least delusional distortions of a true religion.

The hard science fact is that there is zero evidence to support the spiritual claims of any religion. Though the historicity of mortal religious figures is on firmer ground, they tend to be in the distant past, and the only ‘evidence’ are the books that were often written long after the period to which they refer.

It is ironic then when the religious complain about science being a social construct, as if that in any way lessens the abscence of evidence for their gods. Some of the challenges that refer to ‘scientism’ have some merit, when scientists are sloppy with their own claims about what science can and cannot prove. But it is particularly funny when the cry of “Scientism!” comes from the religious.

Summary

Yes, science is a social construct. An excellent one that has been particularly productive.

Every other systems of thought we invent is also a social construct, but always with less rigor and less certain results, and with a greater susceptability to ideological abuse, than is science.

Science is not to be confused with bad science, or the abuse of science, where it is used incorrectly to affirm some even less reliable ideology.

Does Mehdi Hasan Think Islam Is A Mental Health Issue?

Mehdi Hasan is an Islamist – someone that expresses support for Islam, politically. He is an active apologist for Islam.

He is also rather sparing in his criticism of Islamic extemists. It’s not that he never criticises them, it’s that his criticisms appear to be one of two kinds, possibly both:

Where the outrageous atrocity of an Islamic terrorist incident is so extreme, it would be remiss not to criticise it. I find Mehdi to be an insincere person on the whole, but without evidence to the contrary I have to accept he’s sincere in his opposition to these extreme cases of Islam.
He feels he must make some criticism, to avoid being seen as supportive by his omission of any comment. You can only ignore Islamic terrorism so much.

One of Mehdi’s ploys is to complain about how little criticism of ‘far-right’ attacks there is. Or, more specifically, he wants to know why when some perceived ‘far-right’ attack happens they are often attributed to the ‘mental health’ of the ‘far-right’ perpetrator, and not labelled as terrorism. In many cases he uses the ‘far-right’ label when there is no connection to any political cause, and he is using this as an opportunity to expand the number of ‘far-right’ incidents he can point to – an aspect of his insincerity and duplicity.

He then wonders why most Islamic terrorist attacks are labelled as terrorism, and not the result of ‘mental health’ problems.

He attributes this difference in blame as a result of Islamophobia.

Let’s address the labels he uses, ‘Islamophobia’ and ‘far-right’.

Islamophobia as Racism – The term ‘Islamophobia’ was invented, it is said, by the Muslim Brotherhood, as a means of making Islam seem like a race, so that it can compete with ‘antisemitism’ as a form of racism – and that’s certainly how many non-Muslim politicians use it (shout out to the race baiters of UK Labour). The problem is, Islam is not a race. Many white Muslims from the West joined ISIS, so how can white critics of Islam be racist towards those Muslims. When some of the most vociforous critics of Islam are ex-Muslims, of the same ‘race’ as their Muslim families, it makes the charge of racism look a little foolish.

In fact Islam is specifically not a race by design, and theoretically is not a racist religion – anyone can become a Muslim. The principle of non-racism is about the only redeeming characteristic of Islam – though even that can be questioned, not only by looking at the words and acts of Muslims, but also of Mohammed. So that raises the question of how can opposing Islam be racist?

Not is opposing Islam a phobia.

So the cry of “Islamophobia!” by Mehdi and other apologists for Islamism is a dishonest means of deflecting attention away from Islam and towards its supposedly racist critics.

Far-right – This is an odd one. Because Islam is a far-right political ideology: it’s ultra-conservative, homophobic, misogynistic, endorses slavery, demands the death penaly for apostasy, blasphemy, adultary and other non-crimes, and the Quran has prescriptions for beheading and chopping off of limbs. How on earth can Islam not be considered far-right?

In Mehdi’s 2017 article, “The numbers don’t lie, white far-right terrorists pose a clear danger to us all.“, he said the following:

Compare and contrast: Islamist terrorists are depicted as wild-eyed fanatics driven to kill by their religious faith or ideology, while far-right terrorists — be it the shooter of two Hindus in a bar in Kansas in February, or the killer of nine black worshippers in a church in Charleston, South Carolina, in 2015, or the murderer of six Sikh worshippers in a temple in Duffy’s own state of Wisconsin in 2012 — are almost always “mentally ill.” After the recent double murder in Oregon, it didn’t take long for Portland police spokesperson Pete Simpson to announce: “We don’t know if [the suspect] has mental health issues.” (Isn’t it weird how we Muslims seem somehow immune to “mental health issues”? Mashallah.)

OK, fine Mehdi, all terrorists suffer mental problems, so all Islamic terrorists are wide-eyed fanatical mental cases. What makes them so mentally unstable? Islam. They cite Islam when they commit their attacks. They do it for Allah. They can often quote from the texts of Islam to justify their attacks.

This ‘mental health’ issue is not restricted to Islamic terrorists. How many times have we seen enraged mobs of Muslims rioting? Many rioted over Rushdie’s Satanic Verses, and many more wanting to hang Asia Bibi. Are they mental cases too? Maybe Mehdi is right, Islam causes mental illness.

It won’t be the first time that religious fanaticism has been considered a mental health problem. So, what is it about religions, Islam in particular, that makes it so appealing to the mentally ill? Or, what is it about Islam that makes otherwise stable people go off the rails, become so insensed by the ‘insult’ that people commit towards Iaslam that makes these Muslims think they should kill someone?

It’s not restricted to acts of public terrorism on strangers, or mobs of offended and enraged Muslims. Many an ex-Muslim will attest that their families have theatened to kill them for leaving Islam. So devout are these Muslims that they think their own children should die for leaving Islam! That sounds pretty mentally deranged to me.

There does indeed seem to be something unstable about a religion that promotes death over life. Many Muslims will tell you themselves this is so:

The Death Cult – We Love Death As You Love Life – This is what Muslims say, in their own words. When you read what they actually say, you come to understand why dying in a terrorist attacks isn’t a big deal. Now, Mehdi might come out with the usual excuse, “It’s a sin to commit suicide in Islam” … well, maybe, if it’s a pointless death, but not if it’s considered an act of martyrdom in a justified battle against Jews, Christians or infidels. Mehdi is a Shia Muslim, and it’s the Shia Muslim clerics of Iran that popularised suicide bombing … so, who is Mehdi to disagree with the clerics of his religion?

The Numbers Don’t Lie – Oh Yes They Do

Mehdi tries to pull the wool over your eyes with figures from the USA, “since September 12 2001”.

Why do they always choose figures “since 9/11”. Why not including 9/11? They do it because by ignoring 9/11 it makes the deaths from Islamic terrorism look much smaller. Why not choose since 31st December 1999 – i.e., why not start counting for the 21st century?

The duplicitous Mehdi Hasan, skipping 9/11, gives us these figures (his article was in 2017).

Yet the numbers don’t lie — even if the Islamophobes do. “Since September 12, 2001,” noted a recent report prepared for Congress by the Government Accountability Office, “the number of fatalities caused by domestic violent extremists has ranged from 1 to 49 in a given year. … Fatalities resulting from attacks by far-right wing violent extremists have exceeded those caused by radical Islamist violent extremists in 10 of the 15 years, and were the same in 3 of the years since September 12, 2001.” Imagine that.

The report continues: “Of the 85 violent extremist incidents that resulted in death since September 12, 2001, far-right wing violent extremist groups were responsible for 62 (73 percent) while radical Islamist violent extremists were responsible for 23 (27 percent).” That’s a margin of almost three to one.

What Mehdi neglects to tell you here is that Muslims amount to less than 2% of the US population. So how about multiplying his Islamic terrorist attacks by 50 for a pro-rata comparison with everyone else in the USA.

It’s also rather convenient that Mehdi focuses on the USA, where the number of Muslims is relatively low, when Islamic terrorism is a world wide theat – even in “Muslim lands”. Yes, Islamic terrorism poses a top security concern in most Western nations, and in many Muslim nations too.

Mehdi Being Mehdi

It’s not unusual for Mehdi Hasan to twist words to suit his own Islamist agenda. Many other people have noticed.

Here he is pretending a comparison of Islam and Nazism is supposed to be excusing Nazism rather than criticising both.

Special pleading for Islam …

Failing to criticise Islamic terrorists …

More special pleading – Mehdi has no problem with the vile messages in the Quran, but complains when anyone bad mouths Islam …

Getting blood from a stone is easier than getting Mehdi to criticise Islamic terrorism …

For this next example, you may have heard that Mehdi has distanced himself from these opinions. However, you should know what Taqqiya is in Islam:

1-Taqiyyah, according to Ithna-`Ashri Rafidis, means presenting outwardly something that is different from what one believes inwardly, as an act of religious devotion. 2- Taqiyyah, according to Ahl as-Sunnah, is something to be resorted to when one has no other choice, and it is an extraordinary measure to be used only in times of extreme necessity. For more, see the detailed answer. What is Taqiyyah

These were Mehdi’s views, but now he claims they are not …

Bear in mind, Hamas removed their explicity antisemitic end-times antisemitic quote, “Oh Muslim, there is a Jew behind me come kill him.” from their second charter … nobody believes they don’t still mean it. What makes you think Mehdi doesn’t still hold his views privately? Does he now deny that these passages from the Quran are applicable? This is a tricky one when the Quran is supposed to be the inerrant world of Allah … isn’t is blasphemous to not hold the same views as Allah?

So, Mehdi do you really want Islam to appear as an insane psychotic death cult mental problem, or not?

Here’s a guide to terrorists for idiots: https://ronmurp.net/2016/03/31/a-guide-to-terrorists-for-idiots/.

Which Far Right? White Spremacy or Islamic Supremacy?

There has been an attempt by successive UK governments, as well as ‘progressive’ activists and press, to boost the narrative that White Supremacism’s “far right” terrorism is a greater threat than Islamic Supremacism’s terrorism.

This post looks at that narrative, why it is an inadequate perspective, and then covers a Channel 4 programme from 2022 that tries to put the freighteners on the public, with the help of some dubious characters. The programme makes fair points about a particularly nasty group of racists, but the agenda of the participants in the programme becomes clearer with a bit more background information.

Which Far Right?

The first slight of hand here is the name, “far right”. Historically in the West we have distinguished far right and far left by the nature of the dominant politics: Fascism is far right, Marxism is far left.

But where does Islam and Islamic extremism fit into this? Well, by Islam’s own definition it is far right: ultra conservative, highly political (Sharia), misogynistic, homophobic, brutal punishments … it has more in common with Fascism than Marxism.

This becomes more obvious when we look at the history of Muslim Palestinians during and after WWII. There was a Muslim SS division. The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, in Germany during the war, encouraged Hitler to exterminate Jews rather than let them expel Jews to Palestine. Many Muslim Palestinians have made it clear they supported Hitler’s ‘solution’ and that they intend to finish the job.

The Fastest Growing

With a majority white non-Muslim population, the UK certainly has a greater potential for growth in white supremacist ‘far right’ terrorism, but the figures don’t match up. This Guardian piece from 2019 tried to pull a fast one: Fastest-growing UK terrorist threat is from far right, say police

What the headline neglects to tell you is that in the article the Islamic extremism remains the far greater risk to the UK. The ‘fastest rising’ claim is based on a very low starting point.

Racism In The UK

While we’re concerend with white racism here, it’s important to point out that there is plenty of non-white racism in the UK. Darcus Howe made the Channel 4 documentary in 2004, primarily about racism in the UK Asian community towards bglack people.

In 2004 Darcus Howe investigated the changing face of racial politics in Britain, predicting trouble ahead for Britain’s ethnic population. In this authored film, he travelled the country expressing his views on a netherworld of unreported violence and prejudice, not between blacks and whites, but between Britain’s increasingly divided ethnic minority groups.

There are a few clips of the programme online:

This is another topic in itself, so here we’re only looking at white racism.

Channel 4 Dispatches: Inside Britain’s Far Right

The title is misleading. The programme puts an under cover journalist into one particular group, Patriotic Alternative (Wikipedia). While I accept much of what the Wiki page has to say about the group, care needs to be taken when considering who is criticising them.

This 2022 Channel 4 Dispatches programme is mostly a good one, exposing a specific racist far right group.

The racial aspect of “white replacement theory” is stupid. It not only racializes the problem, it makes it too easy to oppose a genuine active replacement theory: the Islamization of the West … which has nothing to do with race and everything to do with the problems of Islamic extremism.

The main subject group, “Patriotic Alternative” is one that should be monitored. It may put on a face of simply protecting white culture, but from the programme we can see that there are definitely racist aspects to the movement that could turn violent. The Wiki page makes specific claims abut Neo Nazism links to the group.

The Three Stooges of Islamic Apologetics

However, the programme is tarnished by the use of Nick Lowles, Julia Ebner, Dame Sara Khan.. They are all known for their opposition to anyone criticising Islam – they declare such people far right, whether they are or not.

Lowles (of Hope Not Hate – you see their banners at all the trendy marches, even pro Hamas marches) is the one that produced this false claim that there were reports of acid attacks on a Muslim woman. Not a black women, not a far east woman, … not even an Asian women (Asian Christian?). No, a Muslim woman. It’s important to make sure that Muslims are under attack because for the left, Muslims are a (convenient) protected minority. The point being that the anti-Islam was a significant factor following the Middlesborough riots.

As posted on X

Ebner has been stirring this “far right” labelling of critics of Islam since at least 2017, with lies in her hit piece while at Quilliam .

As with the other two, Khan will not be found criticizing Islamic extremism too much … it’s far more likely that if an Islamic terrorist attack occurs, her first thoughts will be for the violent backlash against Muslims … that rarely happens. Muslims feel unsafe because other Muslims have committed a terrorist attack … perpetual victims.

It’s ironic that the three stooges here focus on the far right, when Islam is far right by design. It’s a conservative political ideology that has Sharia at its core, that if implemented as the governance of a state (Caliphate) would see many of the horrors we see in many Islamic states: homophobia, misogyny, apartheid (dhimmi status), brutal punishments.

In the programme Khan says that although Patriotic Alternative claim to be non-violent, they have the same ideology as far right extremists. … Hilarious. Every moderate Muslim follows the ideology that Islamic terrorists follow – Islam.

So, can we say the same of Muslims that Khan says of PA, “.. the fact that they are promoting the same ideology, the same dangerous anti-non-Muslim narrative (read the Quran) as extreme Islamic terrorists, they are fundamentally helping to create a climate that is conducive to terrorism and violence. The law in this country at the moment is not adequate to deal with hateful religious political ideologies like Islam.“

The Far Left Appear

There is further irony in the programme after Khan’s words, when the PA are delivering leaflets in Rotherham and are attacked by a group of masked men. “PA blame the attack on far left anti-fascists.” … Nick Lowles, do you know anything about that? Bit of a coincidence.

Indoctrination of Children

Ebner is on screen again looking at the ‘educational’ material of PA, which is clearly promoting racist indoctrination.

Indoctrination in Islamic is far greater, as many ex-Muslims will attest. And if you look at how Muslim Palestinians are raised to hate Jews, you might understand the ME troubles more clearly. You won’t find the three stooges covering that indoctrination.

The programme goes on to make legitimate claims about the links of PA members to other more dangerous far right groups. It’s reminiscent of the way we see many ‘moderate’ Muslims in the UK and US have links to more extreme Islamic groups.

Batley & Spen

Along with showing the far right links to people like the killer of MP Jo Cox, Thomas Mair, the programme moves on to the 2021 Batley & Spen by election, where Kim Leadbeater, Jo Cox’s sister is standing.

We hear that Leadbeater won the seat, and much is made of her being the sister of Cox.

The purpose of this part of the programme is to point out the illegal activities of PA in putting out fake leaflets supposedly from a Labour union, and then again with a fake leaflet, mimicing Conservatives, in the constituency of murdered David Amess.

What the programme neglects to mention is that

In Batley a school teacher had to go into hiding because of death threats from Islamic extremist (he’s drawn a picture of Mohammed in class to about free speech).
Amess had been killed by an Islamic terrorist.

I appreciate that the programme was about a specific white racist far right group, but what they don’t say is often significant. It’s a common tactic to deflect from or ignore Islamic extremism: Owen Jones – Missing In Action – The Battle of Batley

Summer Camp

The programme turns next to the summer camp held by PA.

The undercover reported has been invited to their mass national gathering. … About a hundred and fifty people are descending on the Peak District.

That’s fewer than many a single extremist mosque. The programme are certainly continuing to hype up the far right influence in the UK.

The summer camp recording certainly exposes nasty racist ideas. PA is definitely a group of racists. The links to other more dangerous “far right” groups is a legitimate concern. There’s also plenty of evidence on X that this is definitely a hateful group.

Avoid them like the plague.

Sadly, useful programmes like this don’t help, because many non-racist Brits know the three stooges for what they are and that will diminish the imapct of a programme like this.

The BBC made a similar programme.

Sara Khan appears again …

There is no good reason why we should allow hateful extremist groups like PA to operate, and I believe there’s an obligation on our Parliament, on our government, to outlaw the activity of groups like Patriotic Alternative. To not do so I think would be a failure.

There are plenty of mosques and Islamic groups that spout just as much hatred, but aimed at unbelievers, homosexuals, … and Jews (they have that in common).

The Three Dangers

These are the ideologies that threaten the West:

Islam, because it is anti Western democracy and freedom. It is an explicitly far right ideology. While many ‘moderate’ Muslims are not themselves extreme, like Sara Khan they enable extremism by opposing criticism of Islam and trying to pass such criticism off as racism.

White racism, because it is infecting fair criticism of ideologies with racism and conflating ideology and race. It’s stupid, because it alienates so many great non-white opponents of Islam and far left extremism.

Marxism and far left activists and apologists for Islam, like Hope Not Hate, and governments that follow their line of criminalising criticism of Islam.

The Red Green Alliance

The Red Green Alliance is one between the far left Marxists and Socialists, and the far right Islamists, both of which hate Western democracy, free markets and capitalism.

This is why we see such bias from our politicians, press and other media, that pust a lot of effort into demonising people as far right, whether they are or not, and neglect as far as is possible extremists of Islam and the far left.

Self and Other

Humans have a sense of self, and a sense of other – other people. It’s part of how our brains work.

The senses of self and other as teleological beings—meaning understood as purposeful or goal-directed agents—are not localized to a single brain area, but instead emerge from the interaction of multiple brain regions across several networks. However, neuroscience has identified key core regions involved in these processes:

Sense of Self (especially as a teleological agent):

Medial Prefrontal Cortex (mPFC): Critical for self-referential thought, introspection, autobiographical memory, and personal goals. Also involved in evaluating one’s own intentions and internal states. Strongly active during rest (“default mode”) and self-reflection.

Posterior Cingulate Cortex (PCC) & Precuneus: Part of the Default Mode Network (DMN), crucial for reflective thought, imagining oneself, and narrative self-continuity. Involved in integrating self-related experiences over time.

Temporoparietal Junction (TPJ): Left TPJ: Sometimes involved in distinguishing one’s own agency. Right TPJ: Especially important for self-other distinction, crucial for attributing mental states and perspectives to the self.

Insula: Processes interoception (internal bodily awareness), contributing to the sense of self as embodied. Linked to subjective emotional experience and awareness of agency.

Sense of Other (as a teleological agent):

Right Temporoparietal Junction (rTPJ): Key node in Theory of Mind (ToM); involved in understanding others’ beliefs, intentions, and goals. Crucial for distinguishing self from other and attributing independent agency.

Medial Prefrontal Cortex (again): Plays a dual role: helps model both one’s own and others’ mental states. Especially active during mentalizing (inferring intentions).

Superior Temporal Sulcus (STS): Detects biological motion and intentional actions of others. Helps infer purpose behind others’ movements and behavior.

Anterior Cingulate Cortex (ACC): Supports empathy, error monitoring, and social evaluation of others’ behaviors.

Network-level Summary:

Default Mode Network (DMN):
Key for self-referential thinking and simulating other minds.
Social Cognition Network / Theory of Mind Network:
Includes the mPFC, TPJ, STS, and temporal poles; essential for understanding others as intentional agents.
Mirror Neuron System (premotor cortex, inferior parietal lobule):
Supports embodied simulation—understanding others’ actions via mirroring.

Integration:

The teleological sense of self and other likely arises from the interaction between the DMN and social cognition networks, coordinated by prefrontal and parietal hubs. These systems allow us to:

Represent our own intentions as part of a coherent narrative.
Model others’ goals as purpose-driven.
Distinguish agency between self and other.

The Consequences of Damage

Damage to the brain regions involved in self/other representation disrupts core aspects of agency, mentalizing, and identity, often with striking consequences. Below is a region-by-region breakdown of how damage impairs the sense of self, other, and their distinction—with examples of symptoms and behaviors from both clinical and experimental observations.

1. Medial Prefrontal Cortex (mPFC)

Role:

Self-referential thought
Intention and goal processing
Understanding self and others’ mental states

Effects of Damage:

Blunted self-awareness
Reduced introspection and autobiographical memory
Difficulty in mentalizing—understanding others’ intentions

Symptoms & Behaviors:

Flat affect or inappropriate self-perception
Inability to reflect on one’s past or anticipate one’s future (identity fragmentation)
Impaired social judgment: e.g., failing to recognize that a comment was offensive
Example: In frontotemporal dementia, damage to the mPFC can cause loss of empathy, apathy, and inappropriate social behavior.

2. Temporoparietal Junction (TPJ)

Role:

Distinguishing self from others
Theory of Mind
Perspective-taking

Effects of Damage:

Confusion between self and other
Deficits in attributing intentions to others
Impaired moral reasoning

Symptoms & Behaviors:

Autistic-like features: Difficulty understanding sarcasm, lying, or hidden motives
Over-identification: Attributing one’s own thoughts to others, or vice versa
Example: Right TPJ damage can impair the ability to pass false-belief tasks—classic tests of Theory of Mind.

3. Posterior Cingulate Cortex (PCC) & Precuneus

Role:

Self-continuity
Autobiographical memory
Self in time (past/future)

Effects of Damage:

Loss of narrative identity
Disrupted sense of personal continuity

Symptoms & Behaviors:

Amnesia for personal events, even if general memory is intact
Disorientation about one’s life story or future goals
Depersonalization: Feeling unreal or disconnected from one’s identity
Example: In Alzheimer’s disease, early PCC disruption contributes to identity fragmentation.

4. Insula

Role:

Interoception (body awareness)
Embodied self-awareness
Emotional salience

Effects of Damage:

Disconnection from bodily self
Blunted emotion or affect
Loss of “gut-feeling” in social and moral decisions

Symptoms & Behaviors:

Alexithymia: Difficulty identifying emotions
Anosognosia: Denial of illness (common in right insula damage in stroke)
Impaired empathy, especially emotional contagion
Example: Damage can make a person fail to recognize that their heart is racing during fear—breakdown of the emotional self.

5. Superior Temporal Sulcus (STS)

Role:

Perceiving others’ actions as intentional
Reading gaze, posture, and biological motion

Effects of Damage:

Others’ actions seem random or meaningless
Breakdown in social nonverbal cues

Symptoms & Behaviors:

Difficulty inferring goals from movement
Impaired gaze following, important in joint attention
Seen in autism spectrum disorders (hypoactivation of STS)
Example: Patient may not interpret someone looking toward the door as intending to leave.

6. Anterior Cingulate Cortex (ACC)

Role:

Emotional salience
Conflict monitoring (self vs other)
Empathy

Effects of Damage:

Social apathy
Poor emotional regulation
Impaired conflict resolution (self vs group goals)

Symptoms & Behaviors:

Lack of guilt or concern for others (can resemble psychopathy)
Poor moral reasoning
Flat social affect despite intact language or intelligence

Disorders Illustrating Disrupted Self/Other Representation:

Schizophrenia

Hyperactivity or miswiring in the TPJ and DMN
Symptoms: Delusions of control (“my thoughts aren’t mine”), auditory hallucinations (attributing one’s inner voice to others)
Loss of self-boundaries—often thought to reflect faulty self-other distinction

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

Hypoactivity in the mPFC, TPJ, and STS
Symptoms: Difficulty understanding others’ perspectives, intentions, or sarcasm
Often retain sense of self, but struggle with social cognition and teleology of others

Depersonalization Disorder

Altered activity in insula and DMN
Symptoms: Feeling detached from one’s body, as if observing oneself from outside
Disruption of embodied self and continuity of identity

Gender and Other Body Dysphorias Meet Politics

Various forms of body dysphoria—including gender dysphoria, body integrity dysphoria, and body dysmorphic disorder—are deeply related to disruptions in the sense of self, particularly in how the brain integrates embodiment (the felt experience of the body) with identity (the conceptual sense of “who I am”).

These conditions involve mismatches between the subjective experience of the self (who I feel I am), and the perceived or physical body (how my body appears or feels). This mismatch implicates specific neural networks and regions that contribute to the construction of the embodied self. This can result in a personal struggle to come to terms with differences between perceived and experienced self.

When it comes to gender dysphoria it is no longer a private medical issue about dealing with personal problems of coping with one’s view of self. It has taken on a contentious political dimension that impacts not only the individual with the dysphoria, but also affects other people, especially women, and how the trans-lobby and weak politicians have changed policy and law.

Forms of Body Dysphoria & Neural Basis

1. Gender Dysphoria

Experience: Incongruence between experienced gender identity and assigned sex at birth.
Relation to Self: Affects the core narrative and embodied sense of self.
Brain correlates:
- Insula: Disrupted interoceptive and emotional body awareness.
- mPFC: Involved in identity formation and gender representation.
- Structural/functional differences in brain regions associated with body perception (e.g., somatosensory cortex, anterior cingulate, hypothalamus).
Evidence: fMRI studies show brain activity patterns in transgender individuals that more closely resemble their experienced gender than their assigned one, particularly in self-related tasks.

2. Body Integrity Dysphoria (BID)

Experience: Desire to amputate a healthy limb because it feels “not part of the self.”
Relation to Self: Distorted bodily self-awareness; a limb is disowned at the perceptual/identity level.
Brain correlates:
- Right superior parietal lobule: Associated with body ownership and multisensory integration.
- Premotor cortex and insula: Integrate touch, position, and body schema.
Evidence: Reduced connectivity in brain regions responsible for integrating bodily signals and constructing body ownership. The limb is intact, but not felt as “mine.”

3. Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD)

Experience: Preoccupation with imagined or minor bodily flaws.
Relation to Self: The aesthetic self becomes pathologically distorted—how one sees themselves is at odds with reality.
Brain correlates:
- Orbitofrontal cortex: Overactive in self-monitoring and error detection.
- Amygdala and insula: Heightened emotional response to appearance-related stimuli.
- Occipitotemporal cortex: Altered visual processing of faces and bodies.
Evidence: Functional imaging shows hyper-focus on details of the face/body, and difficulty integrating a coherent visual body image.

These forms of dysphoria reveal that the sense of self is not a monolithic entity—it’s layered and distributed:

Level of Self	Description	Neural Substrate	Disrupted in…
Embodied self	The sense of owning a body, having a location and agency	Insula, parietal lobes, premotor cortex	BID, gender dysphoria
Narrative self	The autobiographical identity—who I am over time	mPFC, PCC, hippocampus	Gender dysphoria
Social/aesthetic self	How I appear to others or believe I do	OFC, visual cortex, amygdala	BDD

Body dysphorias are expressions of fractured self-experience, often rooted in neurologically and psychologically measurable dissociations between aspects of the body and the self. They do not imply delusion or insanity, but rather a misalignment between brain-level representations of the body and one’s internal identity. They often involve core regions tied to self-perception, body ownership, emotion, and social identity.

Treatment

It is generally the case that clinical treatment of dysphorias aims to reduce or resolve the dysphoria itself—but how that is done varies greatly depending on the type of dysphoria, the individual’s needs, and evolving ethical standards.

The core goal across cases is to alleviate the suffering caused by the mismatch between self-experience and bodily or identity representations. However, how that’s achieved differs by condition and philosophical/clinical approach.

The general clinical strategy for dysphorias can be summaraised as:

Primary aim: Reduce psychological distress and improve functioning
Not necessarily: Restore a “normative” body or identity
Often: Align external realities (body, environment) with internal experience when that is stable and persistent

Examples by Dysphoria Type

1. Gender Dysphoria

Goal: Align body and social role with internal gender identity.
Treatment may include:
- Psychotherapy: Supportive, exploratory, not reparative.
- Social transition: Changing name, pronouns, clothing.
- Medical transition: Hormone therapy, surgeries.
Ethical approach: The dysphoria is treated by affirming the identity, not by attempting to “correct” it toward the assigned sex.
Effectiveness: Transition (social and/or medical) often results in substantial reduction in dysphoria and improvement in quality of life, according to major clinical studies (e.g. WPATH guidelines).

2. Body Integrity Dysphoria (BID)

Goal: This is highly controversial and medically complex.
Typical treatments:
- Psychotherapy (often ineffective)
- Experimental use of VR, neurofeedback, or brain stimulation
Surgical amputation: Ethically debated. A very small number of surgeons have performed amputations with informed consent, resulting in reduction of distress, but this is rare and medically contested.
Clinical dilemma: When the sense of body ownership doesn’t respond to therapy, clinicians face the challenge of respecting autonomy while avoiding harm.

3. Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD)

Goal: Correct distorted body image perception, not the body itself.
Treatment:
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): Targets faulty beliefs and behaviors.
- SSRIs: Often effective, due to overlap with OCD-like patterns.
Not recommended: Cosmetic surgery—can worsen symptoms since the dysphoria is about perceived flaw, not actual appearance.

Dysphoria Type	Core Strategy	Example of Alignment
Gender Dysphoria	Affirm identity, adapt body/social role	Hormones, surgery, social support
BID	Unresolved; experimental	Rare surgical cases, neuromodulation
BDD	Challenge beliefs, reshape self-image	CBT + medication, avoid surgery

While the goal is often phrased as “resolving dysphoria,” the ethics of treatment focus on minimizing suffering and supporting autonomy—not imposing a fixed or “normative” model of self or body.

In gender dysphoria, the most effective and ethical approach is to support self-identification and bring the body/social experience into alignment with the felt self. In BDD, the emphasis is on changing perception, not the body. In BID, treatment is still evolving because the condition challenges current medical norms of body integrity.

However, there are further controversies when it comes to treating gender dysphoria: the medical treatment of the young, and political consequences of affirmation and its impact on women.

Pushback Against Genger Affirmation and Self-ID

There has been increasing pushback in recent years against the affirmative model of care for gender dysphoria, in cases involving adolescents, and especially young children. This pushback isn’t uniform or universally accepted, but it’s shaping public policy, clinical guidelines, and ethical debate in many countries.

The gender-affirmative model holds that clinicians should respect and affirm a person’s stated gender identity, without pathologizing it, support social transition (e.g. name/pronoun change). When appropriate and desired, facilitate medical transition (e.g. puberty blockers, hormones, surgery). This model is based on the belief that:

“Gender diversity is a normal part of human variation, not a disorder to be corrected.”

But why isn’t that the case with other dysphorias? Why is gender dysphoria the special case? Aren’t other dysphorias also “a normal part of human variation, not a disorder to be corrected.” Would it be acceptable to start affirming BID by amputating limbs and carrying out other affirming surgeries?

Concerns About Medicalization in Minors

Puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones carry irreversible effects on: Fertility, Sexual development, Bone density, Brain development (still under research).
Surgical interventions (e.g. mastectomy or genital surgery) are irreversible and, if later regretted, cannot be undone.

Some critics argue that adolescents may not be developmentally capable of informed consent for such life-altering choices.

Example: Sweden, the UK, Norway, and Finland have revised their national guidelines to de-emphasize early medical interventions, particularly for youth, in favor of psychological exploration first.

Detransition and Regret

A small but visible population of individuals have detransitioned—returned to living as their birth-assigned gender. Some feel that medical transition was rushed or encouraged without adequate exploration of other factors (e.g., trauma, autism, internalized homophobia). While detransition rates are low overall, some critics argue that the lack of long-term follow-up studies makes it difficult to accurately assess regret.

Ideological vs Clinical Framing

Some argue that the affirmation-only approach is politicized and discourages neutral, exploratory psychotherapy. Concern exists that therapists feel pressure to affirm gender identity without deeper assessment of psychological complexity (e.g., co-occurring conditions like depression, trauma, or neurodivergence). Critics say this may foreclose developmental possibilities, especially in adolescents whose identities are still forming.

There is also a marked political aggression shown to detransitioners by the trans-ideology movement, that pressures people to transition in the first place then demonises those that regret it.

Rapid-Onset Gender Dysphoria (ROGD) [Highly Controversial]

Rapid-Onset Gender Dysphoria describes a phenomenon where adolescents, especially natal females, develop gender dysphoria suddenly, often in peer groups. Critics say it may reflect social contagion, trauma, or identity distress—not a stable transgender identity. This term is not officially recognized by most medical bodies (e.g. APA, WPATH), but it has driven political and clinical debate, especially around screening and gatekeeping.

Responses from Medical Institutions

Revisions in Guidelines:

UK (NHS): Closed the Tavistock gender clinic in 2022, replacing it with regional centers emphasizing broader psychological assessment.
Sweden/Finland/Norway: Moved toward psychotherapy-first models, allowing medical interventions only under strict criteria.
WPATH (v8): Continues to support access to care but encourages individualized assessment and greater caution with youth.

Core tension:

How to balance autonomy and access vs safeguarding and caution, especially for young and vulnerable individuals.

Issue	Debate
Consent	Can minors consent to irreversible treatment? Should parents/clinicians delay transition until adulthood?
Identity Formation	Is gender identity always innate and stable, or can it evolve through adolescence?
Gatekeeping vs Affirmation	Does caution protect or harm trans people? Does affirmation suppress legitimate clinical inquiry?
Regret and Responsibility	Who is responsible if someone regrets treatment? Should clinicians be held accountable for affirmative pathways?

Women’s Spaces

There is a greater concern for the way trans-women in women’s spaces impact women that there is for the way trans-men impact men. Why?

Why do women historically have separate spaces and sports?

Women-only spaces arose from a need to protect privacy and bodily safety in a world where women were, and still are, at greater risk of sexual violence. They also ensure dignity and comfort during vulnerable acts like undressing, using the toilet, or seeking refuge (e.g., shelters), all of which are opportunities for male predators to take advantage of women. The safe spaces further acknowledge physical and social differences between men and women, including societal gendered power dynamics.

These spaces include: Bathrooms and locker rooms, Shelters for survivors of domestic or sexual violence, Prisons and inpatient facilities, Changing rooms and some female-only services (e.g., spas)

Women’s sports exist because biological males (on average *) have substantial physical advantages in speed, strength, endurance, and size due to male puberty and testosterone. Fairness and safety in athletic competition requires separation based on sex, not identity. Without this separation, women would be systematically outperformed in nearly all elite sports.

* It is the case that many women are stronger than many men. Comparing the bell curves of the distribution of stregth in men and women there will be some overlap. However, competetive sports do not pit strong women against weak men, they select for the strongest. And it has been shown over and over that trans-women that would be below average in a men’s competition tend to win easily when they compete against women.

The Religious Problem

Religious or cultural values may prohibit women from being seen by males while undressed. This is a particularly contencious point, politically, because there cross-overs of interests and political views.

The Trans-ideology lobby is typically ‘left-wing aggressive progressive’, and will demonise Christians for trying to impose their religiously motivated restrictions on how people live their lives. This has been the case when Christianity was explicitly homophobic, but even now, when homosexuality is accepted, or at least tolerated, in modern Christianity, the trans-lobby will be hightly critical of Christians that express their religious views on the matter.

However, the left has an odd tolerance for Islam, which has arisen out of Muslims initially being a minority in the West, and where the West has historically colonised what are seen of as ‘Muslim lands’. What they are keen to neglect is that ‘Muslim lands’ were aggressively colonised Christian and Jewish lands … but, one’s view of history is selective when current politics matters. (In a wider context, there is also the Red-green alliance that hangs over us, where both the far left and the far right of Islam are allied in opposition to democratic free market capitalist West.)

It is no easier for feminist critics of Trans-ideology, because many of them are also of the left progressive, and have been part of the ‘left-wing aggressive progressive’ (with some justification) when criticisng men. Many of them too are reluctant to criticise Islam for fear of stoking the perceived ‘far-right’.

But, as it happens, the regressive Islamic ideology does discriminate against women in many ways, and sees both homosexuality and transgenderism as corruptions of the human spirit. The idea that homosexuals should be “thrown off high places” has been reified by ISIS and other factions of Islam; and it is not far below the surface of the sentiments of many Muslims in the West.

This is a bit of a dilemma for gender critical feminists, though some have become more outspoken about it, such as Kellie-Jay Keen aka Posie Parker.

The Self-ID Problem

A major problem has arisen with Self-ID laws or policies that allow individuals to declare their gender identity (e.g., as a woman) without medical, surgical, or legal requirements—in some cases, without even psychological assessment.

Allowing anyone to enter women’s spaces based on self-identification creates a loophole that bad-faith actors (biological males) could exploit. Examples are: changing rooms or shelters where women are undressed or sleeping; cases where biological males convicted of sexual crimes identify as women and request transfer to female prisons.

Critics emphasize: Not all trans women are predators, but all predators are opportunists—and policy matters more than intent.

Many women are uncomfortable undressing or using intimate spaces with someone biologically male, regardless of identity. Critics argue that compelled exposure to male-bodied individuals violates women’s bodily autonomy and consent.

Trans women who went through male puberty retain significant athletic advantages, even with hormone therapy. In several sports, trans women have outperformed female competitors and taken spots in competitions, podiums, or scholarships. Female athletes may feel unable to speak out for fear of being labeled transphobic, creating a climate of suppressed dissent.

Policy Landscape: A Global Variation

Different countries have taken different approaches:

UK: Protects single-sex spaces under the Equality Act; debate ongoing over gender recognition reform.
USA: Highly state-dependent; Title IX interpretations vary.
Nordic countries: More cautious in extending self-ID to female-only spaces.
Canada & Ireland: Self-ID laws with few restrictions; some public controversy followed.

Closing Thoughts

This issue doesn’t have easy answers, but thoughtful policy needs to:

Respect the dignity of trans individuals, while
Preserving hard-won protections for women, particularly in safety-critical spaces and competitive arenas.

This will likely involve nuanced distinctions—e.g., between informal public bathrooms, high-risk environments like prisons, and regulated domains like elite sports—rather than one-size-fits-all solutions. The public bathroom is probably the easiest to solve, with more single occupant rooms, rather than a room with cubicles. Prisons and sports need to be segragates spaces. Sports are always for elites – most men and women do not make it into elite sports.

That does mean that there are some social costs to being trans-gendered, beyond those experienced as a result of the dysphoria directly. There’s more focus from the trans-ideology movement on how sex-based space affect trans-women, when in reality the really vulnerable members of the trans community are trans-men (i.e. women). While sex-based spaces keep trans-women out of women’s spaces, must trans-men therefore use women’s spaces because they are women? What friction will ‘they ‘passing’ trans-men suffer when women are already opposing the presence of male looking trans-men.

To counter that concern we might wonder how a passing trans-man would fare if they continued to use men’s bathrooms – they should fare no worse than many men that appear to be effeminate, whether gay or straight. There is a unspoken rule in men’s bathrooms that you don’t make eye contact or interact with other men … glory holes aside.

There are other associations with gender dysphoria that blur the issue: political persuasion, sexual kink, drag, homosexuality, non-binary politics.

We don’t have this political fallout with other dysphorias, because they do not have a related political activism that makes use of them for other goals, and they don’t have difficult consequences for half the population, women.

The social contagion aspect of gender dysphoria conflated with political activism and the weaknesss of policy makers that respond too easily to fashion, has caused a lot of conflict.

This may take a long time to resolve. In the meantime it will probably be the case that harmless ‘passing’ trans-women and trans-men will continue to use the batchroom of their choice

Islam – When The Left Go Missing

There’s a pattern of activity of people on the left, where they are quite active on Twitter/X … until there’s some bad news about Islam. Then they go missing.

Iran – Missing In Action – Owen Jones

When the Trump administration took out Iran’s terrorist Czar, Owen was all over the story. But he went very quiet when the Iranians shot down the passenger plane.

Iran – Missing In Action – Jeremy Corbyn

Jeremy Corbyn also went missing when Iran shot down the plane.

Owen Jones – Missing In Action – The Battle of Batley

Owen’s next vanishing trick occurred when the Batley teacher had to go into hiding in fear of his life because Islamic extremists were threatening him. Owen had been very interested in Batley, as Jo Cox’s sister was the candidate for Labour in the Batley & Spen election.

Hamas Attack – Owen Jones Response?

When the Islamic terrorist enclave of Gaza attacked Israel on October 7 2023, Owen wen missing yet again. This time he waited until the 9th October, not to give Hamas a slap on the wrist, but to lay into Israel for responding to the invasion and slaughter of Israelis.

Condemning Hamas – Corbyn Goes AWOL Again

What we might expect of our politicians and political commentators, even those critical of Israel, is a swift, explicit and vehement condemnation of the Islamic terrorism of Hamas. But not from Corbyn.

Woke Ideology – Marxism or Individualism?

The first video is a discussion between Dr. Gadi Taub and @GadSaad, where they talk about Gad’s ideas on the parasitic nature of woke ideologies.

Dr. Gadi Taub challenges the idea that woke ideology is a form of cultural Marxism, and he thinks it is instead based on extreme individualism, because the American left has individualistic roots.

So, Judith Butlers ideas, according to Gadi Taub, are not really Marxist, but rather individualistic, “the self-made man is not the self-made transgendered individual, … and the whole logic is that only I will decide who I am.“

It is inevitably both, and here’s why …

We think of Marxism as a collective ideology. But all collective ideologies, including religious ones, they are made up of the individuals that sign up to them, and the great flaw of collectivism is that the proponents think you can paper over the cracks of evolutionary individualism in humans and make us all the same, working for the cause, like ants. “Be nice!“

What the collectivist ideologues are deluded about is that they think you can rub out the individualism. They can’t. It turns out they are just as nasty in tooth and claw as anyone – they are not very nice.

When they try to destroy the individualism, they end up with two results:

1 – They destroy the soul of the masses of powerless individuals that are forced to comply.

2 – They suffer from factionailsm among the leadership, because individuals have individual and conflicting ideas about what the ideology entails. And those individuals are either: killed or imprisoned, or at best ostracized; or they take power as a new faction, that then destroys the previous faction. It depends on who you can convince to support you … preferably the army.

We have seen this in Russian Communism. And we see it in Islam and other religions. See the second video, “Emo Phillips – Golden Gate Bridge”, one of the best expositions of the problem.

Islam even has a methodology for dealing with it: Takfir.

Takfir is so refined it even has a counter. If you try to Takfir someone’s ass into being declared an apostate, and you are not convincing, or you can’t muster the support, you are Takfired yourself. It’s the sort of paradoxical idea that could only come out of an ideology so full of insane ideas, where it doesn’t seem out of place.

So, woke ideology is based on a collectivist a delusion coming face to face with reality of individualism.

In the American context, we have a hyper-individualism of self-identity, where everyone can possess different oppressed characteristics, and where the collective will support you, no matter how crazy. But … step out of line, slip up and vocalize your marginal oppression over another’s greater oppression, and you’ll find your ass Takfired.

The clue that it’s still a Marxist ideology? The enemies of Marxists are Nazis … and that’s what they’ll call you rather than ‘apostate‘, but it’s the same thing.

Die, heretic!

Two Tier Hate Crimes – Nissar Hussain Attacked In 2015

Now in 2024, we see a lot of evidence that the police and the justice system engage in two-tier policing and justince. But this has been the case for many years.

Not only have we seen the failure of several UK police forces to investigate Muslim Grooming Gangs, there have also been incodents of violence where the police are reluctant to investigate crimes that are related to religion.

This systemic two-tier approach is not so evidence in other crimes, such as drugs gangs, where, as far as I am aware, there is no preferential or tame policing.

One example of the failure of the police to properly protect a victim of hate crimes, and a failure to investigate, is that of Nissar Hussain, a man who lived in Bradford, UK, converted from Islam to Christianity, along with his family.

In 2008, British citizen Nissar Hussain appeared along with the rest of his family in a documentary film about mistreatment of Muslim converts to Christianity, a group to which Nissar himself belongs. Since then, according to Nissar, their life had been unduly difficult. As he tells it, because of his family’s departure from Islam for a new religion, they faced an atmosphere of fear and intimidation, including sustained threats and harassment. This intimidation came to fruition in November 2015 when Nissar was physically attacked.

https://persecution.exmuslims.org/cases/ex-muslim-nissar-hussain-brutalized-by-pickaxe-handle-wielding-jihadists

Such a conversion carries the death penalty in Islam. Those Muslims in Bradford that persecuted and attacked Mr Hussain didn’t go that far. Nevertheless, the police failed him.

The Muslim community are largely decent people but because of the taboo of converting to Christianity we are classed by them as scum and second-class citizens … If we were living in Pakistan or the Middle East I would probably [be] looking at prison or a death sentence for my beliefs. – Nissar Hussain

Mr Hussain was had his his kneecap and hand broken in the attack.

A police investigation was launched following the incidents, but the case was ‘complex’ and ‘sensitive’ due to the religious dynamics involved – not an unusual excuse for police being afraid of offending Muslim communities for simply doing what police are supposed to do. Despite this, the police supposedly took the matter seriously, with efforts made to investigate the assaults and threats against Hussain. However, the investigation was not without controversy, as Hussain and his family felt that the authorities could have done more to protect them and ensure justice.

Human Rights – Azerbaijan Prison System

There are numerous reports of human rights abuses within the Azerbaijan prison system. These reports span over several years and involve a range of violations:

Harsh and Life-Threatening Prison Conditions: Reports from various sources, including the U.S. Department of State and Human Rights Watch, highlight that prison conditions in Azerbaijan are often harsh and life-threatening. Overcrowding, inadequate medical care, and poor sanitation contribute to these conditions, leading to the spread of infectious diseases like tuberculosis. [1] [2]
Torture and Ill-Treatment: There have been credible reports of torture and ill-treatment of prisoners, particularly political prisoners and detainees. This includes beatings, electric shocks, and other forms of physical abuse aimed at eliciting confessions or punishing dissent. Torture has been documented in specific cases, like those involving political activists, journalists, or members of opposition parties. [3] [4] [5]
Arbitrary Detention and Political Prisoners: The system has been criticized for arbitrary arrests, with many individuals considered political prisoners detained on what are widely viewed as fabricated charges. The judiciary’s lack of independence is often cited, with judges potentially taking instructions from higher government authorities, particularly in politically sensitive cases.[6] [7]
Denial of Medical Care: Prisoners, especially those detained for political reasons, have reportedly been denied adequate medical treatment. This denial can lead to severe health deterioration or death, as seen in cases where prisoners needed urgent medical attention but were not provided with it.[2] [8]
Corruption and Bribery: The prison system is also plagued by corruption, where prisoners or their families are often required to pay bribes for basic rights like visitation, access to better cells, or even basic medical care.[9]
Punishment of Family Members: There are reports of family members being punished for the alleged offenses of their relatives, which can include harassment or arbitrary detention to pressure the prisoner. [1]
Restrictions on Freedom of Expression: Prisoners, especially those detained for political reasons, face significant restrictions on communication with the outside world, including limited access to reading materials and censorship of mail.[6]

These reports indicate systemic issues within the Azerbaijani prison system that have not shown significant improvement over the years, with ongoing concerns about impunity for those committing these abuses. The sources of these reports include established human rights organizations, government reports, and international bodies, suggesting a widespread acknowledgment of these issues.

Human Rights – Algerian Prison System

There have been reports of human rights abuses within the Algerian prison system. These reports include:

Torture and Ill-Treatment: There are credible reports of torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment by members of the security forces, including within detention facilities. Some individuals have alleged physical and mental abuse while in detention. [1] [2] [3]
Arbitrary Arrest and Detention: There have been instances of arbitrary arrest and detention, where individuals, especially those critical of the government or involved in activism, have been detained for extended periods without proper legal proceedings. [1] [2]
Political Prisoners: Reports suggest the existence of political prisoners, with activists, journalists, and human rights defenders being arrested or prosecuted under charges like “spreading false news” or “undermining national unity.” [1] [2]
Overcrowding and Poor Conditions: Overcrowding in detention facilities has been noted, particularly due to the overuse of pretrial detention. Some sources mention that the conditions in Algerian prisons can be poor, raising human rights concerns.[1] [2] [3]
Lack of Judicial Independence: Concerns about judicial independence and impartiality have been raised, which can affect the fair treatment of prisoners and the legal process they go through.[1] [2]
Transnational Repression: There are documented cases where Algerian authorities have pursued critics abroad, leading to abuses in the context of renditions or forced returns.[3]
Freedom of Expression: The restriction on free expression often leads to the imprisonment of individuals for their public or social media statements.[1]

These issues have been highlighted by various human rights organizations and reports over the years, indicating a pattern of human rights concerns within Algeria’s prison system.

Sexual Assaults

2024 – Unknown

A 10-year-old boy was sexually assaulted at Leicester Square Tube station, police have said. The boy was walking with his mother at around 4.30pm on February 16 when a man sexually assaulted him as he walked up the stairs. The boy’s mother chased after the man as he fled from the scene but could not catch him. The British Transport Police has now released a CCTV image of a man they would like to speak to.

Source

2024 – Merwais Nasiri

Merwais Nasiri sentenced to five years in prison after carrying semi-conscious woman into alleyway.

A depraved sex predator has been jailed for kidnapping a drunken student after she left an Exeter nightclub and taking her into an alleyway. Merwais Nasiri, 25, pretended he was helping the woman but his real motive was to commit a sexual offence, a court heard.

She was barely conscious when he lifted her into a rubbish-strewn alleyway just metres away from clubbers leaving Fever nightclub in Mary Arches Street. He then rolled bins across the entrance so nobody could see what he was about to do.

But a takeaway worker raised the alarm and doorstaff from the club moved the bins to find him kneeling over the woman. No sexual offence was committed but a judge at Exeter Crown Court said Nasiri’s intentions were clear.

“The one thing dominating your mind was sexual activity,” said the judge. Nasiri was jailed for five and a half years. He was found to be a dangerous offender and given an extra four years supervision to be served once he is released.

Source

2023- Naveed Hussain

A man who told a woman he had a room she could rent before raping her, has been jailed.

Naveed Hussain lured his victim to the property in Birmingham before he locked her in a room, threatened her with a machete, and attacked her.

The 33-year-old, who had pleaded not guilty, was jailed for 18 years after a trial at Birmingham Crown Court.

Hussain was arrested shortly after the woman fled the house in Handsworth, and was helped by passers-by who found her.

West Midlands Police said the woman was able to “bravely recall what happened and gave a strong description which led us to arrest Hussain in Handsworth shortly afterwards”.

The defendant, of Sandwell Road, was discovered with a knife in his trousers, before police then found the machete at his house.

On 9 October, a jury found Hussain guilty of two counts of rape, one count of possession of a bladed article and one count of assault.

He will be on the sex offenders register for life.

Source

2023 – Adbulrizak Ali Hersi

Abdulrizak Ali Hersi, 32, of Invicita Close, Limehouse, was found guilty of sexual assault at Inner London Crown Court on May 5. He was given 18 months in prison and a ten-year sexual harm prevention order, meaning that he cannot intentionally stand behind or next to a woman or girl that he doesn’t know in a public place. The incident took place on the Piccadilly Line of the Tube on October 11 last year (as of the date of this article).

Hersi got on the train just before 5pm at Green Park in central London and stood near the doors. Plain clothes officers were also onboard.

A 13-year-old girl got on the train with her family at the next stop, Piccadilly Circus. Hersi sexually assaulted her moments later.

Officers saw the sick attack, stepped in and arrested Hersi after taking him off the train at Leicester Square.

Inspector Sharon Turner said: “Our plain clothes teams are specially trained in identifying dangerous sexual offenders like Hersi, who will do their level best to commit such crimes without notice.

Source

UK Knife Crime

The numbers are rising …

British policing – attacking the effect not the cause
2024-08-30 – A man on a mobility scooter was stabbed to death
2024-08-30 – Boy, 13, killed in stabbing attack
2024-08 – Notting Hill Carnival
2024-08-19 – Triple stabbing in Manchester
2024-08-23 – Stabbed In Birmingham
2024-07-29 – Southport Stabbings
2024-03 – Jaskirit Kaur stabbed daughter
2024 – Sahil Sharma
2024 – Marcus Arduini Monzo
2023 – Croydon: girl, 15, killed on way to school
… scroll for more

British Policing – Attacking the Effect not the Cause

Take a look at the Knife Crime Data for England and Wales

2024-08-30 – A man on a mobility scooter was stabbed to death in east London on Wednesday

Victim Jade Anthony Barnett, 38:

Two men have been arrested on suspicion of murder after a man on a mobility scooter was stabbed to death in east London on Wednesday.

Jade Anthony Barnett, 38, was found with a stab injury after reports of a fight on Rushmore Road, Clapton, at 15:38 BST.

He was treated by paramedics but died at the scene, the Metropolitan Police says.

His sister Simone Barnett described him as a “cheerful and caring” man.

Source

2024-08-30 – Boy, 13, killed in stabbing attack

A 13-year-old boy has been stabbed to death at a house in the West Midlands.

A murder investigation has been launched after police were called to Lovett Avenue, Oldbury, at about 16:00 BST on Thursday.

A spokesperson for West Midlands Police said: “The 13-year-old was treated by paramedics, however, despite their best efforts the boy sadly passed away.

“We have a team of detectives investigating exactly what happened during this tragic incident, and we’re following active lines of inquiry to identify who was involved.”

Source

2024-08 – Notting Hill Carnival

2024-08-19 – Woman dead and girl, 17, critical after triple stabbing in Manchester

A woman has been killed in a knife attack in Manchester that also left a 17-year-old girl fighting for life.

A 64-year-old man is also seriously injured after the attack on Barnard Road in the Gorton area near Longsight at around 11.20pm last night.

A 22-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder.

Police rushed to a property on Barnard Road in the Gorton area near Longsight after receiving calls from members of the public. When officers arrived they found a girl, 17, woman 43, and a 64-year-old man who had all been stabbed.

The woman, 43, died from her injuries at the scene.

The girl and man in his 60s are both in hospital with life-threatening injuries. Police say the suspect was known to the victims and the attack is being treated as an isolated incident.

Woman dead and girl, 17, critical after triple stabbing in Manchester

2024-08-23 – Stabbed In Birmingham

This is the shocking moment a man was stabbed in the street in the early hours of the morning – as police arrest a 34-year-old on suspicion of attempted murder.

A horrific video posted on Snapchat with laughing emojis shows a man gearing up to slice another with a flick knife, missing by just a few inches at 1.30am yesterday.

He then grabbed the man – who was pushing a pram filled with belongings but no child – by his shirt to stop him from backing away.

The attacker then stabbed him in the neck as people on the street shouted in the background.

The injured man backed away before noticing the blood pouring down from the wound, pressing his hand to his neck.

The injured man, his barking dog and the woman all walked down the road as the group of men continued to laugh and shout.

The footage then cuts to being filmed out of a car window as they drove past the injured man lying on a pavement with his dog and the woman leaning over him, concerned.

‘Ambulance right here boy’ the person filming shouted as the emergency services arrived, shouting ‘you’re f*****g lucky, lucky. There’s no saving him. Watch him bleed out’.

Police confirmed the injured man was taken to hospital and he remains in a stable condition as of this evening.

A 34-year-old man was arrested and is in custody on suspicion of attempted murder.

Source

2024-07-29 – Southport Stabbings

Picture of the suspect, at younger age, and a sketch in court, age 17, and pictures of victims. The press used the young photo of suspect Axel Muganwa Rudakubana, which has produced a sympathetic image. So far, only the court sketch appears of him now, at 17 (remember, when the left play on such young images, Labour want to lower the voting age to 16).

He is charged with three counts of murder, 10 of attempted murder, and one count of possessing a bladed article and is remanded in youth custody.

PM Sir Keir Starmer denounces the actions of “a gang of thugs” who took part in a riot in Southport and says a new “national capability” will be established to tackle violent disorder

Source

While the violent riots were unjustified, and culprits were rightfully brought to justice, what’s more interesting is how the narrative conveniently and almost wholely switched to the riots, rather than the stabbings, … and yet the stabbings and other violence at the Notting Hill Carnival were passed off as “mostly peaceful”. Well, may totally peacefull protests by British people have been associated totally with the riots and and classified as far-right racist.

2024 – March – Mother Jaskirat Kaur admits killing her 10-year-old daughter Shay Kang

Jaskirat Kaur admitted the manslaughter of Shay Kang on the basis of diminished responsibility at Wolverhampton Crown Court today.

Shay was found dead in Robin Close, Rowley Regis, West Midlands, after police were called to her home at about 12.10pm on Monday 4 March.

Brickhouse Primary School pupil Shay died as a result of stab wounds to the chest, the opening of an inquest into her death heard at Black Country Coroner’s Court earlier this year.

Source

2024 – Sahil Sharma

A killer who stabbed his teenager wife to death in their south London home has been jailed for life.

Sahil Sharma, 24, attacked 19-year-old Mehak Sharma at an address in Croydon, before phoning the police to inform them of his actions.

Emergency services received a call at shortly after 4:15pm on 29 October 2023, with Sharma telling operators that he had killed his wife.

At the address on Ash Tree Way, officers found Mehak unresponsive. She was pronounced dead 20 minutes later.

A post-mortem examination found the cause of Mehak’s death was a stab wound to the neck.

Source

2024 – Marcus Arduini Monzo

Monzo, a dual Spanish-Brazilian national living in Newham, killed Hainault Boy, Daniel Anjorin, 14, in sword attack.

A 14-year-old boy has died after an attacker armed with a sword went on the rampage in north-east London.

Police were called to reports of a car crashing into a house and people being stabbed in Hainault at about 07:00 BST.

The boy was taken to hospital where he later died.

Four other people, including two police officers, were injured before the suspect – who had been leaping over people’s garden fences – was cornered and Tasered in a front garden.

The 36-year-old man was arrested and the Metropolitan Police said he was in hospital being treated for injuries sustained when the vehicle he was in crashed into the house.

Source

2023 – Croydon: Tributes paid to girl, 15, killed on way to school

A 15-year-old girl who was killed on her way to school has been described as “very comedic” with a “bright future”.

Flowers and cards have been placed near the scene where the stabbing took place in Croydon, south London, at about 08:30 BST on Wednesday.

A witness said the victim was stabbed in the neck with a foot-long knife.

A boy aged 17, believed to be known to the victim, was arrested shortly after the girl died at 09:21.

Neither the victim nor the suspect have been named.

Witnesses said there had been an argument with a boy who tried to give the girl or her friend flowers.

Source

2020 – Hilal Mohamed, 22, Abdisalam Mohamad, 21, and Roberto French, 22

Three north London men have been convicted for raping a 16-year-old schoolgirl, after one threatened her with a machete, robbed her and held her captive.

The three defendants, in their early 20s, were all found guilty of rape at Wood Green Crown Court on Friday morning, with one further convicted of robbery and false imprisonment against the same victim.

They will be sentenced at the same court on Thursday, March 19, and have been named as Roberto French, 22; Abdisalam Mohamad, 21, and Hilal Mohamed, 22.

Jurors heard how the victim had travelled to London from Bristol on August 13, 2016, when French held a machete against her throat while he robbed her in front of the other defendants.

Source

More examples …

Train stabber Rakeem Thomas had been released early from a 6 month sentence for knife crime. British justice.

Manchester Park Life, 2014, 2024

Leeds and Reading Festivals

Two Tier (Inconsistent) Policing

The British Police have been accused of Two Tier policing on many occasions … often by people at different points on the political spectrum. A vast number of the British public feel that Muslims are let off the hook all too often – and this was the case, with many examples, for Muslim grooming gangs, which were actively ignored, and even protected, by press, politicians and police. The left also feel aggrieved, with less justification, when the police appear to be over zealous towards them.

All this has come to a head with the recent riots stemming from the Southport stabbing, and the Manchester Airport attack on police. The following is a tweet from Yvette Cooper, Home Secretary and Labour MP for Pontefract, Castleford & Knottingley.

She is quite right to praise the police for dealing with the violent thugs that went on the rampage in response to the Soutport stabbing. The swift response was justified.

However, the response of the police is less than swift, or as severe, in many other cases where it should be, and has been grossly oheavy handed in cases where they should not be involved at all. This isn’t all down to Cooper, as successive governments, Labour and Conservative, have been guilty of not insisting of consistent, fair and unbiased policing.

Let’s make this clear: the rioters were responsible for what they did. There is no excuse. But perhaps the riots could have been avoided had the police been more helpful with their information following the stabbing, because, as is often the case, they went out of their way to avoid being honest about the attacker, who turned out to be a British born 17 year old from Cardiff, though bor, ironically, to Rwandan parents, who, as far as we know, are Christians.

But, the police were so reticent to give out any information that the idiots that took to the streets relied on fake news that the culprit was a Muslim. The thugs attacked a mosque, as a result. The violence may still have errupted, as the culprit was a second generation migrant (after many attacks by migrants), but the mosque may have been spared (or maybe not, given the number of attacks by Islamists and the number of times UK mosques have been reponsible for iciting extremism).

No UK government has been this swift to find, charge, convict and lock up rioters. So, this is celarly politically motivated. I support the swift action, but do not support the governments failure to be as quick to bang up so many other criminals.

To get a sense of the politicisation of these particular riots, take a look at the twotter accounts of the Home Office and some of the agencies involved. I haven’t seen this sort of constant tweeting regarding any other riots.

Home Office

Mersey Police

Greater Manchester Police

Compare the response to the riots to other incidents.

Manchester Airport Incident

Muslim men violently attacked and seriously injured police officers. They were released on bail, and not immediately charged, convicted and jailed. Given there is video evidence fo their attack, why is it taking so long, given Cooper’s insistence that police should be protected, and that those that attack them will be dealt with swiftly.

This incident was made more complicated by the fact that a police officer kicked one culprit in the head. This brough the full force of ‘Islamophobia’ victimhood (with an atrociously biased public media event by the second solicitor the culprits hired).

Two-tier policing.

Nandos Police Failure (OR Two Tier Policing)

Bear in mind that while UK police have been responding rapidly to the rioters, tracking them down and jailing them, this is what Jess Phillips has to say:

So, what happened at Nandos? The video shows the attack on the server at Nandos, by what appears to be a Muslim man, with his wife and child.

As if this isn’t bad enough, what we’re really interested in the context of this post is the police response. After much public support, the Nandos server posted this video.

Nandos manager didn’t throw the family out for their behaviour.
Female police officer “wasn’t bothered” – So much for support for women from female police officers.
Police let the culprit go, without taking details. Female officers seems to be frierndly with the wife.
When they did realise he had hit her, the polcie lied and said she couldn’t press charges. Her account seems typical of police that don’t want to do anything.
The police supervisor seemed uncooperative, and repeated the response that she couldn’t have the man charged.
The officers are ‘experienced’, and didn’t understand the man had hit her … despite the video evidence.

This all sounds like totally poor policing. And, given how familiar we are now with police not wishing to confront Muslims, that there is an element of police cowardice here. This of course depends on individual officers, and the extent to which their supervisors are prepared to make them do their jobs.

Whatever the reasons, this is definitely a case of two-tier policing.

Notting Hill Carnival Stabbings

After stabbings at previous carnival events, the police said they were fully prepared for this one … except …

Police errected scanners, but then didn’t use them. The result?

Notting Hill Carnival: Mother fighting for life after being stabbed while with her young child. The victim was one of three people stabbed at the event in west London on Sunday

Why is this not taken more seriously, given the MANY stabbings in London, and after the governments declared intent to deal with criminals harshly?

Police Visit Christian

Many Christians feel under threat from Islam – and justifiably so, given some examples:

Ahmadi Muslim, Asad Shah, was killed by a Sunni Muslim, supposedly for disrespecting Islam. What’s more, when Ahmadis held a peach vigil, Christin, Jewish and other faith leaders turned up, but Sunni and Shia would not. Bear in mind, Ahmadis are not allowed to call themsleves Muslims in Paksitan … and we have a large Paksitanin Muslim presence in the UK, many from the more extreme factions of Islam.
Asia Bibi, a Christian in Pakistan, had mobs of Muslims clamouring for her hanging, before she escaped Pakistan.
Nisar Hussain, a Muslim from Bradford, converted to Christianity, and was brutally persecuted, and eventually beaten, by Muslims.

And, following the stabbing of a Christian bishop in Australia, this Christian voiced his concern to his priest. Then the police turned up, with a psychologist.

It appears thought policing of opinions on Islam is now a thing. As he said, they wouldn’t be turning up at the house of a Muslim – heavn knows they would have enough reason to do so. Two-tier policing.

Police Persecute Christian (2022)

Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, a Christian charity volunteer, received a £13,000 payout and an apology from West Midlands Police after being arrested twice for silently praying outside an abortion clinic in Birmingham. Despite being found not guilty after her first arrest in November 2022, she was arrested again in February 2023. Vaughan-Spruce claimed wrongful arrest, false imprisonment, and human rights violations. Her case raises concerns about freedom of speech and thought in the UK, especially as the government considers criminalizing silent prayer outside abortion clinics. Vaughan-Spruce, who leads the anti-abortion group March for Life UK, insists that “silent prayer is not a crime” and warns of increasing threats to Christian expression in the country.

Source

Now, I don’t approve of protests outside abortion clinics, as the women attending are undeer enough stress and they don’t need any more. But, my feelings on this aren’t the point. The point is that the left, including goverment MPs, have been supporting the right to protest so so many other cases, and NOT opposing religious protests by Muslims (such as outside the Batley school). She said her aim was to be “a peaceful and prayerful presence for women in crisis pregnancies”. But, if Isabel was protesting, so what?

The campaigner told the BBC that as a “crisis pregnancy support volunteer” for 20 years, she had offered leaflets about charitable services available to women who would rather avoid abortion.

But she added she “found it particularly shocking” to be accused of “intimidating” action, as she “would condemn anyone who tries to intimidate or harass women”.

In addition, when she was arrested in November 2022, the centre was shut with no service users present, she said.

“I was there simply to pray for women facing very difficult situations and decisions. Prayer isn’t a crime. Neither is standing,” she said.

The city council brought in the PSPO to deter protesters.

Abortion clinic payout woman shocked at prayer arrest

So, while Labour where in opposition in 2022, they have been very active in supporting protests they agree with.

Two-tier policing.

Christianity v Islam

Christian Pastor Arrested

One interesting point here is that he is arrested for breaching the peace, because “nobody wants to hear it … you’re disturbing their day”. This is outrageous. It disturbs my day when I see Islamic preaching, prayer groups stopping traffic in the road … there seems to be no prevention of Muslims disturbing our days. As an atheists I could do without any preaching, but at least the police could be even handed …

Two-tier policing.

He was eventually has been offered £2,500 in exemplary damages from the Metropolitan Police in relation to his false arrest, imprisonment and unlawful detention.

Police payout after Christian street preacher arrest

Islamic Preachers Arrested … None That I Know Of

Itried to look up the number of Islamic preacherse arrested, in London. I did see a freedom of information request, but with no result. There were some FOI requests made to some Welsh police forces, and they did respond … None were arrested.

There’s a good reason. It’s not illegal to preach.

So, Christian preachers are arrested, Muslim preachers are not. Two-tier policing.

Apparently rocking up at Westminster and having a little get together attracts no police attention.

Meanwhile, Another Christian

Two Tier Mugshots

Where are the mugshots all over social media for these thugs? Where’s the instant conviction?

Demos – Marxist Soros Tool

Demos is supposed the be a think tank. The quality of the thinking that goes on there is a little suspect, judging by the thinking that its team members demonstrate public.

I have a couple of other posts related to their thinking:

There was this: BBC Victoria Derbyshire – Sloppy Islamophobia Journalism, on the BBC News channel,
and this, on Carl Miller, of Demos: Carl Miller of Demos Still Misfires on ‘Islamophobia’.

I’m not impressed by Demos.

This is their Twitter (X) bio …

“Britain’s leading independent, cross-party think-tank.”

Independent? Hardly

Take a look at their 2018 accounts, here: Trustees’ Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2018.

And, after you’ve tried to work out the flow of money in and out, go to page 30 for some of their suppliers of funding.

The Open Society Foundation. And who are they? You want to know what George Soros funds? Demos is one of his pets.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is image-17.png

So, Demis is independent? Of what? Political persuasion?

Cross-Party? Hardly

From the Wiki page:

Demos was founded in 1993 by former Marxism Today editor Martin Jacques, and Geoff Mulgan, who became its first director.

In the run-up to the 1997 general election it was seen as being close to the Labour Party, in particular its then leader Tony Blair.

On 9 August 2006, in a speech at a Demos conference, British Home Secretary Dr John Reid stated that Britons ‘may have to modify their notion of freedom’, as a result of his plans, claiming that freedom is ‘misused and abused by terrorists.

This is Demos on Wikipedia.

The use of ‘Cross Party‘ is not sincere. I don’t see any evidence other than it being a far left Marxist propaganda machine.

And, Marxism has a habit of “modifying the notion of freedom”.

The Victimisation of Islamic Terrorists

There’s a two-faced game being played out by Islamists and the British Left Wing that is intent on playing on the heart strings of decent people in the UK, and the game is to victimise terrorists, while pretending to care about prosecuting them.

We see it in the rhetoric or journalists and politicians. It’s on display here in the piece by Maya Foa.

The claim is often made that Begum was no more than a child, at 15-1/2 – but there are a couple of issues with that:

She was only months away from being what many ‘left wing progressives’ consider to be a valid voting age of 16.
She is above the threshold of 15 that Criminologist Professor Phil Scraton, from Queen’s University in Belfast, thinks is suitable for criminal prosecution.

The selective victimisation and removal of personal responsibility is common even when it comes to adults – progressives are keen to make excuses for the most abhorrent of criminals. We see it with the ‘racism of low expectations’ that often results in criminals from other cultures being let off lightly. But when it comes to teenagers, their emotions get the better of them.

For decades in Gaza, young children have been groomed from an early age to be terrorist that want nothing more than to kill Jews and become Martyrs for Islam, They became the adults that perpetrated the horrific acts on 7 October.

Muslim Palestinian TV has childrens programmes encouraging children to stab Jews.

But the British press rarely point this out. Some would much prefer to blame Israel for anything that the ‘resistance’ does.

These Jihadi Brides, and the terrorists of Gaza, are turned into victims, and their acts ignored.

Don’t be fooled by the “bring her back to face British justice“. That is nothing more than a headline meant to appease those that think ‘justice’ would be possible. I get the feeling that if it were to be strong justice, Foa would be right there opposing the British justice she assumes Begum would come back to face.

There is a case to be made about whether children should be criminalised for their acts. These are the words of Criminologist Professor Phil Scraton, from Queen’s University in Belfast, regarding the criminalisation of children, as reported here, in reference to the young killers of James Bulger:

“What I am surprised at is after all these years and so many studies on children and young people we still see it as appropriate to prosecute and criminalise children and young people and to put children and young people into custody.

“The impact on a child of having a criminal record at a very young age is immense. That goes with them into schools and where ever they go. The label stays with them and is internalised.”

He suggested that the age of criminal responsibility here should be 15 or 16.

“Ten to 15-year-olds would not be prosecuted and instead would go through a welfare supported process,” he suggested.

“They would not be let off the offence but we would support their troubled behaviour and attempt to understand it and put it in context.

“We need to remove the criminal label from children so that can develop as a human being to his or her full potential.

“Early intervention programmes should not be about selecting a child on the basis of clear indicators of who might be at risk. We assume that all children might be in that category and put in place appropriate education, welfare, social support for all children.

“This would be a model which would not single out and demonise individual children and their behaviour.”

The problem here is that the ages he chooses are somewhat arbitrary, as if they were road speed limits or the voting age. Notice the imprecision of his age ranges – 15 is included in both the criminalised and non-criminalised ranges.

Many 30mph roads would be safe at 35mph, or even higher, and many are not safe at 30mph – though drivers are expected to adjust their speed down to suit the road and conditions. But it would be rediculous to have continuously variable legal speed limits on every road, so we accept national standards: 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70 being arbitrary but convient limits.

There are left wing calls to lower the voting age from 18 to 16. Again, the ages are somewhat arbitrary. But in the context of indoctrination we know that teenagers are naturally rebellious are are more likely to be captured byt the more extreme ideologies – and yes, Begum and ISIS are evidence of that.

However, when it comes to horrendous criminal acts we have to be sure we are protecting the public. And, in terminal cases of murder, the risk to the public is greater than the risk to the wellbeing of the perpetrator. And, there are aspects of personality that can mean an individual is never fit to be free.

Add to that the many cases of Islamic terrorists being released, or on security watch lists, that have then gone on to kill, and it is clear there are many innocent deaths that are due to the far too lenient assessments of the danger terrorists pose.

This report shows that terrorst recidivism is relatively low:

Re-Offending by Released Terrorist Prisoners: Separating Hype from Reality

However, that’s no concession to subsequent victims and families of released terrorists that go on to kill – and on the whole we are lucky that a relased terrorist hasn’t committed a massive terrorist act like Manchester Arena or 7/7.

Incidentally, there is no shortage of Muslim and other political opinion, particularly the ‘nice progressive’ people of the far left, that that thinks ‘far right terrorists’ should be locked up for life. From their rhetoric you’d think Tommy Robinson and Nigel Farage were on a par with Anjem Choudary – and look how much damage he has been able to do before finally being locked up for life.

So, what of ‘victim’ Begum? was she groomed? Sure – all Islamic terrorists are, for who would choose to kill innocents other than for bezarre ideological reasons.

Is she still being groomed? damned right she is. This transition from Jihadi terrorist bride, to nice British Muslim girl with Union Jack cushion, to cool liberated Western Asian teen is not convincing. I’d be curious to know if she dresses just for the photo shoots. Are we still being played.

It is possible to deradicalise. I’ve seen moving stories, such as the one from Manwar Ali, a former radicalised Muslim. But radicalisation of chilren is easier, and deradicalisation is far more difficult.

Begum and friends wanted to joined the wonderful Islamic Caliphate being constructed by ISIS. Any indoctrination that invokes that desire cannot escape the features of the Caliphate that the readicals are only too pleased to tell us about: death for inocuous ‘crimes’, enslavement .. the beheadings of the Kaffir.

And, even later in the camps, age 19, before her re-styling, Begum was unrepenting of her extremist beliefs. She’s still in Islamic Syria. Why would she want to come home to the terrible West?

Islam – ISIS Brides

Hamas Interviews

I have no other information on these interviews other than what is presented in them.

The Creationism Error: ‘Evolution Of Difference In Kind Is Unobserved, So Didn’t Happen’

Some religious believers are Creationists that deny, to varying extents, that Evolution is ‘proven’ and that God created humans from scratch, and that humans did not evolve from earlier animals, even from ape common ancestors, never mind from fish. Yet, many can no longer find enough faith to deny what they term ‘micro evolution’, even speciation. So, that particular species of the Creationist family have to take a different route to Evolution denialism, and it goes something like this, to paraphrase …

We [now have to] accept that micro evolution can be observed in the lab, and that Speciation via DNA changes occurs. So, generations of fruit flies can be observed to ‘evolve’ to create different fruit flies, or different species of fly. But, they are still flies. We never observe them evolving into something different, like a bird, or a cat.

Here’s a post on the Creationism Facebook group that makes this point. And, of course, the point being that Young Earth Creationists have a special place in their heart for dinosaurs – “They must have roamed the Earth with early humans, 6,000 years ago, because the fossil record contains dinosaurs, but the world isn’t that old, and ‘macro’ evolution didn’t happen.”

Throughout a series of posts, including this one, opponents of evolution have made an argument from observation, or rather the lack of observed evolution, as emphasised in my paraphrasing above. Here are some examples from one contributor, Mark Lambert:

And that’s where it stops. Never above the species level. A species is not a kind – Mark Lambert comment

Religion only looks for the truth. Truth : evolution has never been observed above the species level. – Mark Lambert comment

As I and others try to put Mark straight, he’s having none of it.

Nope only conjecture by using assumption and guessing – Mark Lambert comment

And you don’t understand it enough that you have no evidence of adaptation in anything other than species. If it’s not observed it’s only conjecture – Mark Lambert comment.

I and others tried to point out some details:

Everything above Species is just futher categorisation, and so ‘Kind’ has no useful meaning outside categorisation, and what he thinks is a different Kind (of Family, or Genus, etc.), is still a difference in Species, which in turn is determined by sufficient differences in DNA making attempts at breeding between species fail: producing no offspring, or offspring that are sterile – this is the only way in which speciation has any significant meaning.
Speciation to the extent that there appear to be different ‘Kind’, or Genus, Family, etc. is merely the accumulation of differences in different branches, and is not something different. Observing ‘mico-evolution’, which they accept, is what constitutes ‘macro-evolution’.
It’s not ‘observed’ by humans personally, with large animals that they give as examples because humans don’t live on the time scales required to observe it. While new species of large animals have evolved in human lifetimes, the larger scale accumulation of differences that Mark sees as different ‘Kind’ takes much longer, and so is unobservable personally.

So, is it the case that if we don’t observe something personally it didn’t happen? This seems to be Mark’s contention. I tried to point this out …

Base on your own view your great great grand parents x 10 are not proven to exist. Their existance is ‘just a theory’, a ‘conjecture’. So, anyone claiming they were created by magic fairies has just as much credibility as your claims about God.

The reality is science works and the evidence for evolution on all scales is compelling, while all claims for gods have zero evidence, and your use of ‘not observed’ is irrelevant and a dishonest and laughable attempt at a “Gotcha”. – My comment

When mark pointed out that his recent ancestors were documented by people that did observe them, I tried the following:

You didn’t observe those people observing it [your N x grand parents, or Jesus] so by your criteria there’s no evidence, so it didn’t happen as you claim it did.

Humans can lie about what they observe, and can be convinced of nonsense. Just look at how many religions there are, sects within religions and even indivudual believers that disagree in the detail of what they believe their gods want of them. So, by your own criteria, nobody alive today observed anything that happened and all ‘written’ records could be fake. Your criteria discredits all knowledge of the past, especially religions. Your criteria.

So you putting any significance on written work from the past contradicts your own position.

But if you do want to admit written work, DNA is written in every living thing and it tells us the relationship between all categories of evolution, and it tells us large scale differences all occurred through speciation via DNA differences. And, that record is more reliable than any written work from the distant past because it can be examined, observed, today …. and it is not written by humans who are often motivated to lie, as is the case with religions, where absolute assertions are made based in written words that nobody today observed being written, and from when ignorance and claims about gods were abundant. My comment

Mark still didn’t seem to get the significance and implication of his claim that if it isn’t observed it’s only conjecture or it didn’t happen by Evolution, God did it. He didn’t get that his criteria for observation could be applied to anything he used from the past, or out of reach of personal observation, and as such contradicted his own claims.

Eventually he blocked me and others trying to point out his errors, so we didn’t get the opportunity to challeng him further. I’d welcome further discussions.

AI, Robots, and Creationism: Implications for Intelligent Design Argument

If humans eventually create intelligent robots that think like us and have similar sel-awareness, what would the implication be for the intelligent Design (ID) argument. Would it show that we are intelligently designed by a creator God?

In an online debate with creationists I suggested that: if all things need a designer, the designer is a thing, and therfore needs a designer. Of course they went to their version of the first cause argument.

As I said before an intelligently designed creation requires an intelligent creator. Period. You sidestepping, deflecting, mudding the waters, asking who created the creator, is just making excuses. The creator would be uncreated. It must be. The Creator would be eternal. There was never a time that it didn’t exist. Now, what’s your problem? This state of affairs you obviously consider to be unfavorable or distasteful. You clearly have a problem with it. Why? To deny the Creator IS to hate it.

The first issue here is the presupposition that we are intelligently designed – because it would be tautologically true that by definition an intelligently designed thing needs an intelligent designer. That aside, let’s stick with the usual creationist Intelligent Design (ID) claim:

We humans design and ceate things, and if you came across a designed thing, like a watch, you’d presume it was created by a human.
Therefore things that look designed have a creator.
This world, and we humans in it, look designed, therefore we have a designer and creator.
That creator is God.
But, intelligent creaator God does not require a designer and creator, that God is eternal.

The error starts with the presumption that this world and us in it look designed. There are no grounds to make this claim. It’s a category error to presume that because we design things, we need a dersigner – we are not like the things we design, in regard to the capacity to design.

If we were actually designed it would be fair to claim there must be a creator. But if everything needs a creator, then so does the designer, and claiming the creator does not need a creator but in fact is the first cause is comitting the fallacy of special pleading.

And, if theists think that there can be things that don’t need a creator, then our universe doesn’t need a creator, and always existed – and the Big Bang and subsequent events we know about are just a phase in that eternal system.

AI, Robots, Thinking Machines

What if we eventually create intelligent robots that thing in ways similar to ourselves, in that they are self-aware, and feel as if they have free will.

If we manage to create such entities, would that show that in fact intelligent things can be designed, and therefore falsify the atheist hypothesis that we are not designed? Would this show that we had a designer, and would that in turn prvide a loophole for theists to claim their Creator exists?

No.

AI would show that intelligent systems CAN be designed, not that they must be. We would still have no evidence that we are designed.

It would add an extra difficulty for thesists. It would show that you don’t need a ‘soul’, or dualist mind, to be an intelligent self-aware system.

The atheism + science world view would remain intact, and it would all be consistent. As always, it would lead to yet more contradictions for the theistic world view.

Knowing Little Enough To Be Religous

This cartoon appears in a Creationist post on Facebook. What’s wrong with this cartoon? Let’s see …

Three of those examples have observed designers, all of the same kind: humans INSIDE this universe, … even, ONLY on this planet.

Religions ASSERT that an entirely different kind of entity, ‘God’, OUTSIDE this universe, created space, time, the material matter of this universe, and the processes that not only went on to create the waterfall scene, but also the creatures, the humans, that made the items in the other images.

If you can’t see the difference in the evidence required to support the knowledge of the creators of the three man-made items, as opposed to knowledge about the creation of the the natural one, you know little enough about logic, reason, evidence, to be religous – your assertions damn you with your own stupidity. To suppose that the creation of man-made objects is carried out by humans, is not at all in the same category of the cause of the existence of the natural universe.

You get this difference if posed in a different way. You have evidence that a human created any car you come across, but this in itself is not evidence that some car might have been created by an ant, just because you didn’t see who created that particular car. Even though we have evidence ants exist as well as humans, we would not conclude, without evidence, that cars can be created by ants – we’d expect to see evidence of ants creating cars.

But, according to the religious, gods are very different entities to humans, and ants. Gods are not even supposed to be in the same realm. So, if you want to prove something created the natural world, you need to provide evidence – and we have NONE! You need to provide evidence of a god BEFORE then claiming that god did ANYTHING.

Let me compare those once more:

1: We have evidence of the existance of ants and humans. 2: We have evidence of humans creating cars. 3: We would not conclude that an ant created a specific car we did not see produced, BASED ON seeing humans creating cars.
1: We have evidence of humans, but not of gods. 2: We have evidence of humans creating cars. 3: We SHOULD NOT conclude “God did it” (created cars indirectly by creating the universe and the humans that create cars), when we don’t even have evidence of gods, let alone gods doing anything.

Your CONCLUSION of ‘Intelligent Design’, based on seeing human design, is a massive category error, AND comits the Begging the Question fallacy:

The fallacy of begging the question occurs when an argument’s premises assume the truth of the conclusion, instead of supporting it. In other words, you assume without proof the stand/position, or a significant part of the stand, that is in question. Begging the question is also called arguing in a circle.

We have evidence that GIVEN we find ourselves in this universe, there appear to be natural laws that describe how things work. And we have discovered evidence that explains how life works, and how there are different species of life – Evolution. This is all consistent, AND predictive:

The most important prediction was that there must be a mechanism for organisms to generate variations in body structure and pass them along to their offspring. At the time Darwin formulated his theory, there was no direct evidence for such a mechanism. The prediction was not confirmed until DNA was discovered and its way of working was revealed.

What we don’t have are:

Specific evidence of abiogenisis – how the first replicators were formed from complex but naturally occurring organic compounds. But we do have good evidence to form hypotheses about the process.
Knowledge of the origins of the universe – the space-time system we find ourselves in, and the ‘laws’ that describe how it works. Even the Big Bang tells only about certain phases the universe went through, based on the evidence we have so far.

These limitations apply to all of us – they are not opportunities for ‘God of the Gaps’ to be inserted.

Some crackpot ancient prophets from the Middle East have LESS going for them with their assertions than parts of Scientology – at least the idea of aliens in Scientology is consistent with this universe, given we exist.

Yes, Scientology has some crazy ideas (Thetans, and the specific of Xenu above), but even they don’t compare with the religious claims that there’s a teleological entity that not only created the universe, but has a special interest in us humans.

Creationists are obviously not in a position to appreaciate the irony of giving the cartoon what is intended to be a sarcistic title, “Atheist Logic”. Logic isn’t their strong point.

Knowing Less Than Atheists

This was a comment on another post:

So you’re admitting that you don’t know, so you don’t know that God exists or not. So why argue about something you don’t know about. Now, what DO you know? And how can theists no less if you don’t know anything? Where’s YOUR data and evidence of how everything came into existence?

NOBODY knows ANYTHING about the creation of the universe.

Atheist are a-theists, simply denying the assertions of theists when they assert they have evidence, or worse, proof, of the existance of gods … because theists have ZERO evidence or proof.

But, theists do know less:

Theists and atheists know the same about the creation of the universe: NOTHING.
But, theists know far less about evidence, logic, reason, because they misuse them, abuse them, …or don’t even use them at all (when they resort to faith).

So, overall, theists do know less. Instead they use the ‘God of the Gaps’ move – any gap in scientific knowledge is evidence that it required a God. The problem is, theists have ZERO evidence to support their claims that there is a god … there assertions are ALL GAP!