Now to see Hawkwind

Off to see Hawkwind at the Shepherds Bush Empire. Here is them performing at their 40th anniversary concert in August (which I had to miss sadly because of my leg, still I got £90 for my ticket on ebay, a tidy profit... I didn't scalp, I put it up at face value and the bifs wet a bit mad!)

Santa refused leave to enter

Although it is was not quite a case of radar surveillance and Rapier missiles on standby, the UK Borders Agency (UKBA) refused entry to Santa Claus entry to an immigration detention centre at Yarl’s Wood in Bedfordshire.

Rev Canon James Rosenthal, who also happens to be a world authority on St Nicholas of Myra , had resolved to bring festive cheer to some children who are at the bottom of the pile of British society - those caught up in the British asylum system.

Rev Rosenthal arrived at Yarl’s Wood dressed in a red robe and long white beard, clutching a bishop's mitre and crook, carrying presents donated by congregations of several London churches. Sadly he never got past the security personnel who guard the perimeter fence, despite gently protested that he was not a security threat.

Then as St Nicholas, accompanied by the Rev Professor Nicholas Sagovsky, canon theologian at Westminster Abbey, attempted to bless the gifts, the increasingly angry security guards called the police. The resulting impasse has been videotaped but I cannot find it yet on You Tube.

"St Nick has never been turned away from anywhere before," Rosenthal said. "So I was extremely disappointed not to be able to hand deliver the gifts to the children detained at Yarl's Wood. I hope the kids realise that they will be firmly in my prayers."

Serco, the company responsible for management of the centre for UKBAm also refused permission for the two clerics to enter the centre to visit two refugee families later the same day, as it had previously agreed. They were handed letters from Dawn Elaine, contracts manager at Yarl's Wood, saying permission had been revoked because of "concerns about your conduct".

According to the Telegraph report the presents were eventually loaded into an unmarked van by staff who refused to provide a name, number or receipt for the gifts. Mr Rosental asked one "guard" his name and the man said "write down 'Father Christmas'".

It is estimated that 1,000 children are detained every year. Last week the Royal Colleges of Paediatrics and Child Health, alongside leading GPs, psychiatrists and the UK Faculty of Public Health, warned the detention of children and their families caused "significant harm" and should be ended without delay.

Alan Kittle, Director of Detention Services for the UK Border Agency said: "UKBA already has procedures in place to ensure any children held in detention over the Christmas period receive a present and get to see Santa."

To be honest this was a ridiculous situation. Rosenthal and his associate had an agreed meeting. Although the garb and the presents were a bit of a deviation it is not exactly the sort of situation that is going to cover UKBA in glory!

Whatever your view on asylum seekers the detention of children is a disgrace. Yarl’s Wood may not be a prison but it is surely no place for children

Alfredo Astiz finally faces trial

Alfredo Astiz was and still is a complete and utter piece of human excrement. Who was responsible for the death of innocent people during Argentina’s “Dirty War” in the late 70s. He has already been tried in absentia (and found guilty) for the murder of two French nuns, Alice Domon and Léonie Duquet. He was responsible for the kidnap and murder of Azucena Villaflor, the founder of the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo. He was almost certainly responsible for the murder of Dagmar Hagelin, a 17 year old Swedish citizen, who was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Sadly we had him in captivity during the Falklands War. We should have packed his sorry arse off to France or Sweden to face trial for the murder of the nuns or Hagelin but we did not,. Sady the Geneva Convention did not allow for this.

Victim Dagmar Hagelin

Victim Azucena Villaflor

Anyway the good news is that Astiz is at long last facing trial accused of multiple crimes that include the killings of Domon and Duquet and the disappearance of an Argentine journalist.

I hope the bastard rots in jail then rots in Hell

Iranian protestors show how to Be a Man by wearing a hijab

According to the BBC Iranian opposition supporters have launched an online campaign to free a student activist accused of dressing as a woman to try to avoid arrest.

Hundreds of men have posted photos of themselves wearing Islamic headscarves as part of the "Be a man" campaign to show solidarity with Majid Tavakoli who was arrested during protests in Tehran on Monday.

State media showed images of him in headscarf and robes in. The opposition described as being staged in a bid to discredit him. They say he was not wearing the headscarf and robes when he was arrested.

Iranian state media say Mr Tavakoli was arrested as he sought to leave Tehran's Amir Kabir university "disguised as a woman" after Student Day protests. He is a leading activist who spent 15 months in jail along with two fellow students after being arrested in 2006 on charges of insulting religion and the country's leadership in student publications

As a result there is an online protest in which scores of Iranian men are uploading photos of them in hijab Be a Man iranian.com, has posted scores of photos submitted by readers.

Some of the website's readers argue that the campaign is also a gesture of solidarity with Iranian women, who are obliged by the authorities to wear the hijab in public.

This is an excellent protest in my view. It may not achieve the desired result but it could be an excellent way to galvanise people for the next wave of protest. That is not to say I want the protest to fail by any means. I hope Mr Tavakoli is released immediately and without harm.

It's been a while since I had some sublime poetry. Here's some William Topaz instead!

ATTEMPTED ASSASSINATION OF THE QUEEN
by William McGonagall

God prosper long our noble Queen,
And long may she reign!
Maclean he tried to shoot her,
But it was all in vain.

For God He turned the ball aside
Maclean aimed at her head;
And he felt very angry
Because he didn't shoot her dead.

There's a divinity that hedges a king,
And so it does seem,
And my opinion is, it has hedged
Our most gracious Queen.

Maclean must be a madman,
Which is obvious to be seen,
Or else he wouldn't have tried to shoot
Our most beloved Queen.

Victoria is a good Queen,
Which all her subjects know,
And for that God has protected her
From all her deadly foes.

She is noble and generous,
Her subjects must confess;
There hasn't been her equal
Since the days of good Queen Bess.

Long may she be spared to roam
Among the bonnie Highland floral,
And spend many a happy day
In the palace of Balmoral.

Because she is very kind
To the old women there,
And allows them bread, tea, and sugar,
And each one get a share.

And when they know of her coming,
Their hearts feel overjoy'd,
Because, in general, she finds work
For men that's unemploy'd.

And she also gives the gipsies money
While at Balmoral, I've been told,
And, mind ye, seldom silver,
But very often gold.

I hope God will protect her
By night and by day,
At home and abroad,
When she's far away.

May He be as a hedge around her,
As he's been all along,
And let her live and die in peace
Is the end of my song.

Perhaps you can judge a book by its cover after all

According to Science Daily it seems that one really can judge a book by its cover.

A study in the current issue of Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin (PSBP), the official monthly journal of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology indicates that subjects were able to accurately judge some aspects of a stranger's personality from looking at photographs

Researchers asked participants to assess the personalities of strangers based first on a photograph posed to the researchers' specifications and then on a photograph posed the way the subject chose. Those judgments were then compared with how the person and acquaintances rated that individual's personality. They found that while both poses provided participants with accurate cues about personality, the spontaneous pose showed more insight, including about the subject's agreeableness, emotional stability, openness, likability, and loneliness.

"As we predicted, physical appearance serves as a channel through which personality is manifested," stated the authors. "By using full-body photographs and examining a broad range of traits, we identified domains of accuracy that have been overlooked, leading to the conclusion that physical appearance may play a more important role in personality judgment than previously thought."

Well I never! Perhaps you can but first impression do often lie. I know that to my cost.

SAGE Publications (2009, December 11). Personalities accurately judged by physical appearance alone. Science Daily. Retrieved

Phutu Hunt - Undesriable

The theme for this week's Photo Hunt is undesirable. This week I have a choice of photos that are more or less on topic. The pic above was over the window of a unit in the local shopping centre. The shop will be selling Apple products. Fair enough. What is undesirable is the name which it shares with a race hate website...



Here is a closed fast food place. What it sold was undesirable but at least it was honest about what it sold... Chicken Ribs And Pizza

Finally here is something utterly undesirable! Who on earth could love a big fluffy, loving and gentle cat like our Boris!

Another perfect Christmas gift idea

If a recording of Ian Paisley#s sermons is tempting but does not quite hit the spot then fear not, there are other, sterner options, for the Opus Nazi, sorry Dei member in your life.


They can mortify their flesh to their heat's content with a range of cilices from Cilice.co.uk. Lovingly made by Italian nuns they will bring hours of painful pleasure. The cilices also come in silver, a perfect anniversary, wedding or first communion gift...

If a cilice is not enough then a range of hair shirts and flagellation devices are available too


Scourge your way to a very happy Christmas!

Thanks to Ship of Fools and their hilarious Gadgets for God section for highlighting this!

Bebe

This week's entry for the Friday Ark and Carnival of the Cats.

The perfect present for the one you love.

Are you worried about eternal damnation? Does the prospect of being cast down into the lake of fire get you down? Fear not, just play a hell and damnation sermon from the Reverend Ian Paisley and you will soon be in touch with your inner puritan,,, Spiritual salvation for less than the cost of a night out!

As found on Ship of Fools