Ethical Companies – The Blog

As you may already be aware (and if you weren’t you soon will be) that the Daily Mail website, amongst its articles has little “mini polls” where you can click yes or no in response to a topical question. Questions such as “Does Britain still have a special relationship with America ?” After selecting yes or no you get to see the results.

You may also be aware that I don’t believe in banning the burka, from my recent posts on the subject. So on this article here: The burka empowering women? You must be mad, minister. I spotted a poll (presumably some of the polls on the specific pages are contextual and bear a relationship to the article surrounding them) entitled “Should Britain ban women from wearing a burka in public ?” and voted no. Here are the results at the time of writing this article:

Now maybe I just don’t “get it”, but do 88% of British people really want to ban the burka in Britain ? I just don’t understand the problem here. I get the whole thing about possible coercion into wearing them and the idea they are a “walking coffin” (in some people’s minds) but do 88% of British people (well 88% of the Daily Mail readers who do polls at least) care one way or the other about burkas ? Is banning them not just replacing one form of control with another ? Maybe I’m just stupid, but I really don’t see what all the fuss is about. If you’re one of the “yes” crowd then please explain what the problem is you have with them.

Thanks in advance.

Steve

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Female minister insists women must be able to choose their own clothes as ban on burka is ruled out.

Banning the burka would infringe a woman’s right to ‘choose each morning when you wake up what you wear’, Cabinet minister Caroline Spelman said today. The Environment Secretary claimed it was ‘empowering’ to be able to choose your own outfit, and this must not be taken away.

Do men not have the right to ‘choose each morning when you wake up what you wear’ then Catherine ? Not sure about the “empowering” bit for the majority of us, after all we’re talking clothes here. However, the point being made is that we should be allowed to basically wear “what the bl*&^%$ hell we want”, and that applies to the burka as much as it does to any other items of clothing.

It came after the immigration minister, Damian Green, resisted demands from within the Tory party to ban the burka – which critics claim is actually a symbol of oppression.

And banning the burka is not oppression ? Taking away somebody’s right to wear something they want to wear sounds oppressive to me. This of course is the problem with people and politicians demanding specific rights on the grounds they are being oppressed, they can often end up oppressing others. Not with me ? Well let’s take the smoking ban as an example, people demanded the right to clean air etc, because they were being oppressed in where they could consume beer etc. However, all the ban has done has shift oppression to another sector of society, in this case the smoker. You’ve seen the quote at the top of my blog ? “Do as all pragmatists do, compromise”, but of course the anti smoking brigade didn’t compromise did they and now they are hammering away again to oppress the smokers even further. You may of course be under the impression that I smoke, but I don’t. I do, however, respect the rights of people wanting to smoke and I believe we should have shown compromise all round. Anyway I digress, back to the burkas (where compromise was not needed as wearing one is hardly a health issue to others is it ?)

Mr Green said a ban would be ‘rather un-British’ and run contrary to the conventions of a ‘tolerant and mutually respectful society’.
This is despite a YouGov survey that found that 67 per cent of voters wanted the wearing of full-face veils to be made illegal.

Hmm. I guess he’s right, it does seem somewhat un-British, although I’d have preferred the suggestion that such a ban was pointless, and would be demeaning and oppressive to the burka wearers. As for YouGov, more information please. How many voters ? What ratio of men to women ? What quantitative methodology was used, or was it a straight yes/no ? What are the demographics of the “average” YouGov user (I could think of a great many examples but I will not comment) ?

Some Tory MPs also back a ban, including Philip Hollobone, who has tabled a private member’s bill that would make it illegal for anyone to cover their face in public. Mr Hollobone, the MP for Kettering, said that he would refuse to hold any constituency meetings with women wearing burkas.

Bigot.

He said: ‘This is Britain. We are not a Muslim country. Covering your face in public is strange, and to many people both intimidating and offensive.’

I don’t find it intimidating and offensive, I don’t find it “anything”, I have no views one way or the other from that perspective.

But Mrs Spelman made the counter argument that wearing a burka is important for women’s rights. She said: ‘I don’t, living in this country as a woman, want to be told what I can and can’t wear.’

Damn right. By the way Caroline that dress you’re wearing is too “loud”, you are no longer allowed to wear it (yes this is sarcasm).

‘I’ve been out to Afghanistan and I think I understand much better as a result of actually visiting why a lot of Muslim women want to wear the burka. It is part of their culture, it is part of understanding that they choose to go out in the burka and I think those that live in this country, if they choose to wear a burka, should be free to do so. We are a free country, we attach importance to people being a free and for a woman it is empowering to be able to choose each morning when you wake up what you wear. ‘

Let’s not forget the men Caroline, we want to “empower” ourselves and wear what the hell we like as well. Today, Steve is wearing a white silk shirt, black jeans and holey socks …. Conclusion: I need some new socks.

French parliamentarians voted last week to outlaw full-face veils, including burkas, in public. Mr Green said he did not think that the French vote for a ban would have an impact on immigration into Britain, as Muslim women move here instead. He said: ‘I stand personally on the feeling that telling people what they can and can’t wear, if they’re just walking down the street, is a rather un-British thing to do. We’re a tolerant and mutually respectful society.

‘There are times, clearly, when you’ve got to be able to identify yourself, and people have got to be able to see your face, but I think it’s very unlikely and it would be undesirable for the British Parliament to try and pass a law dictating what people wore. I think very few women in France actually wear the burka. They [the French parliament] are doing it for demonstration effects. The French political culture is very different. They are an aggressively secular state. They can ban the burka, they ban crucifixes in schools and things like that. We have schools run explicitly by religions. I think there’s absolutely no read-across to immigration policy from what the French are doing about the burka.’

Ahh the French, they certainly do things differently to the English. As for the point about security and proving identity, that’s fair comment, sounds reminiscent of the compromise I mentioned above.

The Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali, the former Bishop of Rochester, told the Sunday Telegraph he is not in favour of an outright ban on the burka. But he added that they should not be worn if doing so ‘compromises public or personal safety, endangers national security or impedes professional or social interaction’. The new head of the Muslim Council of Britain, Farooq Murad, said that Britain was the most welcoming country in Europe for Muslims. He pointed to the spread of mosques and sharia, or Islamic law, as positive signs of the greater freedom Muslims are given in this country. Under the French ban, a woman wearing the burka can be stopped on the street by police and ordered to a police station, where she will be compelled to remove the veil. The woman faces a possible fine. Muslim men who are deemed to have ‘forced’ their wives or daughters to wear the burka will also be fined. President Sarkozy has said that the burka ‘is not welcome’ in his country. He claims that it is ‘oppressive’ to women and reduces them to ’servitude’. He said: ‘The burqa is not a sign of religion, it is a sign of subservience.’

I thought it was piece of clothing myself …. If it must be a sign then it’s a sign that these women shall wear what the heck they want.

Catherine Heseltine from the Muslim Public Affairs Committee said UK MPs should not waste their time discussing a ban. She said: ‘Britain is a free country. We value our freedoms and we don’t want MPs or the government telling British citizens what they can or can’t wear. How does it hurt anybody else if a woman chooses to wear a small piece of cloth across her face ? Quite frankly, MPs, there’s a £160bn debt; shouldn’t they be busier worrying about what they’re going to do about that, than a small piece of cloth that a few women choose to wear ?

Nicely put Catherine, straight to the point. I guess this will all die down and we’ll move on. I’m glad though that it won’t be banned, but I must admit I’d love to know the reasons why 67% of YouGov users voted for banning the burka.

Steve

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Calls grow for burka ban in Britain as French outlaw Islamic ‘walking coffins’.

Britain faced growing calls to ban the burka today after French MPs voted overwhelmingly to outlaw full-face veils in public. Politicians in France united yesterday to ban Islamic veils that cover a woman’s face, which some described as ‘walking coffins’. Deputies in the country’s 557-seat lower house, the National Assembly, voted in favour of the ban by 335 votes to one.

I guess French politicians have nothing important to be dealing with …. Oh, you know, like national deficits, unemployment, recession and so on …. Let’s ban burkas instead …. Hmmm.

Support for a ban in Britain has come from Tory backbencher Philip Hollobone and the UK Independence Party. Mr Hollobone has tabled a private members’ bill which would make it illegal for anyone to cover their face in public. The Kettering MP, who has previously likened full face veils to ‘going round with a paper bag over your head’, said: ‘It is unnatural for someone to cover their face and it not a religious requirement. ‘We are never going to have a fully integrated society if an increasing proportion of the population cover their faces’. His Face Coverings (Regulation) Bill is the first of its kind in Britain, and is one of only 20 private members’ bills drawn in a ballot for the chance to make it into the statute books.

And long may he stay a back bencher ! As for it being “unnatural” to cover your face there is no law against it. So if I want to go out of the house with a paper bag over my head (I’d make some eyeholes), or with underpants on my head and pencils up my nose (can you tell I like Black Adder ?) or even wear a pink bra as ear muffs, then I WILL DO SO.

The bill, which had its first reading in June, stands little chance of becoming law due to limited Parliamentary time and a lack of support from the main political parties.

Oh dear, what a shame, snigger.

Mr Hollobone has insisted that his bill has widespread public support: ‘People feel that something should be done about burkas, but so many are afraid to speak out for fear of being labelled a racist.

Really ? Let’s do a snap poll on the streets and I bet the resounding response most British citizens would give to the query “should wearing burkas be made illegal ?” is “who cares what they wear, it’s not my problem, and utterly unimportant to me”.

‘Part of the British way of life is walking down the street, smiling at people and saying hello, whether you know them or not. You cannot have this everyday human interaction if you cover your face. ‘These people are saying that they don’t want to be part of our way of society.’

You should try walking down Tottenham Court Road in London Mr Hollobone (see previous post below), I didn’t see that much smiling, just people going about their business.

Far-Left groups such as the Communists joined president Nicolas Sarkozy’s ruling UMP party in voting for it, although Socialists and Greens abstained. Communist MP Andre Gerin said yesterday: ‘Talking about liberty to defend the wearing of the full veil is totally cynical – for me, the full veil is a walking coffin, a muzzle. ‘The result follows months of heated debate during which immigration minister Eric Besson also described the burka as a ‘walking coffin’, while prime minister Francois Fillon accused wearers of ‘hijacking Islam’ and displaying a ‘dark sectarian image’. Recent polls suggested that more than 80 per cent of French people wanted the burka banned, including some of the country’s five million Muslims. Under the terms of the bill, anyone caught wearing a burka, which covers the entire face and body with just a mesh screen for the eyes, or a niqab, which has a slit for the wearers’ eyes, will face a £117 fine.  Men caught forcing a woman to wear a burka or a niqab will face a year in prison or a £25,000 fine.

The garments are seen as undermining women’s rights and a threat to France’s secular status. The proposed legislation, which is colloquially referred to as the ‘anti-burka law’, is officially called ‘the bill to forbid concealing one’s face in public’. The draft bill backed by Mr Sarkozy’s government will now pass to the Senate upper house where it could be ratified in September to become law. But it could be shot down by the European Court of Human Rights and France’s constitutional watchdog, the Council of State, which has warned that the bill may be illegal because it does not allow freedom of expression. This would be a humiliation for Mr Sarkozy, whose government has devoted much attention to a bill that only affects around 2,000 women in France. It could also dampen efforts in other European countries to outlaw veils. Belgium and Spain have begun the initial stages of burka bans. The main body representing French Muslims fears the ban will stigmatise the religion, which it says does not require women to cover their faces anyway.

A French tycoon is setting up a fund to help Muslim women pay ‘burka fines’. Muslim businessman Rachid Nekkaz has pledged to sell property worth 1million euros to finance the fund.

I’m glad that the motion to introduce an anti burka law in the United Kingdom is unlikely.  I mean really, if these women choose to wear them then let them.  If they want to burn them (and possibly burn their bras at the same time) then let them.  We are supposed to be a tolerant society, yet we have this sort of nonsense proposed.  Our government has far more important things to be worrying about, let’s deal with those instead and scrap the idea of banning burkas and save a few quid in the process ….

Now, where did I leave my pink bra ….

Steve

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Plastic bags to be put over Birmingham ‘terror cameras’.

Bags are to be put over scores of surveillance cameras in parts of Birmingham with large Muslim populations, after local objections. Safer Birmingham Partnerships (SBP) said 216 cameras were put up, including hidden ones, mainly in the Washwood Heath and Sparkbrook districts. The cameras were financed through a counter-terrorism fund, but the SBP said they would tackle all crime. Councillor Salma Yaqoob said people had lost faith in the authorities.

The Respect Party councillor for Sparkbrook said: “In terms of reassurance it’s going to take a lot more than plastic bags. “The residents have lost faith with the authorities for their sneaky handling of the way they went about this and will not be reassured until they have been told the locations of the hidden cameras too.”

The partnership said it would not be putting bags on the covert cameras because, even though they are not being used, it does not want to reveal their location.

I’m sure there’s a lot of people out there who object to CCTV cameras, not just Muslims and/or Brummies in fact.  Is the government to listen to the concerns of people in areas not predominantly Muslim as well ?  Don’t get me wrong, I have no issue with Muslims, indeed I have several friends of the faith.  However, I have to question why it’s the areas where the populace is of primarily of the Muslim faith that are to have their cameras “bagged”.

How much does it cost to operate all these cameras ?  David Cameron wants to save some cash, start scrapping all the excessive CCTV cameras, save on the ‘leccy bill if nothing else

Steve

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The whole “banning the burqa” thing has been going around for a while now and I have so far not commented, as I personally think it’s pretty much a bit of a “storm in a teacup”. However, I was amazed to read the following article this morning:

Belgium moves to become first European country to ban the burka.

Belgium is on the verge of becoming the first European nation to ban the burka. A parliamentary committee agreed yesterday to outlaw the wearing of face-covering veils in public. The full Parliament will vote later this month.

Under the proposals, women could face a week in prison or a fine for wearing a veil in public. There are an estimated 650,000 Muslims in Belgium – 6 per cent of the population. The text of the new law does not specifically mention burkas but makes it illegal for anyone to wear clothing ‘that covers all or most of the face’ in any public place.

Left-wing MP Denis Ducarme left no doubt the rules were targeting-Muslim extremists. He said after the vote by the home affairs committee: ‘This sends a very strong signal to radical Islamists.’ The French- speaking liberals who have proposed the law argue that an inability to identify people presents a security risk and that the veil is a ‘walking prison’ for women.

Daniel Bacquelaine, the bill’s chief promoter, said the ban might also be used against potentially violent demonstrators who covered their faces. He estimated that only a few hundred women in Belgium wore facial veils, but said it was a rising trend.

I am aware that the burqa may well offend many, especially feminists who claim it is a symbol of submission by the female and goes against the feminist movement and the freedom they ‘fought so hard to win’ (the words of Allison Pearson of the Daily Mail).  But in my opinion I don’t think it is right, or appropriate, for us in non Muslim countrys to comment on the cultures and customs of other nations and/or states, no matter how much we dislike them we should basically “mind our own business”.  A quote I once posted on this blog springs to mind:

“The most dangerous people in the world are those who believe that they know what is best for others” – Jeffrey Masson

Anyhow, I have a solution to all of this. Consider the fact that I recently applied for a job in Kuwait. Me and Jean discussed the implications of such a role (if I was offered it) and it was obviously mentioned that I wouldn’t be able to eat pork (or bacon, noooooooooooooo) or drink alcohol. Personally I’m fine with this (I would miss bacon sandwiches but hey I could cope) and would be prepared to do it as a mark of respect for their religious culture and laws of the land. Therefore, if Muslims in the EU reciprocate then what’s the problem ? By reciprocate I mean they show their faces as and when necessary (security at airports, in the bank etc) and then re-cover them. A bit of common sense and compromise all round would go a long way to dealing with this problem in general.

As for the argument about terrorism and terrorists covering their faces, just bear in mind that terrorists will find a way to do their deeds, whatever rule you might have about face coverings. I’d also love to see how Belgium is going to justify this ban considering its track record with the European Court Of Human Rights ….

Steve

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Outrage as Islamic extremists vow to march through streets of Wootton Bassett.

“A town famous for honouring dead British soldiers returning from Afghanistan reacted defiantly today to news that a controversial Islamic group is to march through its streets.

Islam4UK – which calls itself a ‘platform’ for extremist movement al-Muhajiroun – plans to parade through Wootton Bassett, in Wiltshire, in the coming weeks.

The group’s website says the event is being held ‘not in memory of the occupying and merciless British military’ but of the Muslims its says have been ‘murdered in the name of democracy and freedom’.

Proud tribute: The town of Wootton Bassett has become a solemn symbol of the heroism of British troops killed in Afghanistan

Leader Anjem Choudary said today the protest, involving 500 people, would be peaceful one, with ’symbolic coffins’ being carried to honour Muslim victims of the conflict.”

This could well end in tantrums, teddies being chucked out of prams and tears before bedtime.

Steve

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