Rowan Williams and Sharia: a guide for the perplexed

Here’s one of the best and most intelligent discussions of the Archbishop of Canterbury’s remarks on Sharia that I’ve seen yet. Perhaps it’s the kind of discussion that he hoped for, and it least it goes beyond the simplistic media distortions: Kai euthus: Rowan Williams and Sharia — a guide to the perplexed.
He assumes that [...]

Backtracking on secularisation

Father David MacGregor has linked together a number of reports in his Contact Online blog about the Archbishop of Canterbury’s views on introducing Sharia law into Britain, which has set a herd of cats among the pigeons. Here’s an example of what people have been saying Contact Online Weblog: Archbishop backtracks amid calls to resign
The [...]

Non-violent direct action

I’ve come across two posts recently on non-violent direct action. The first is about those protesting against the erection of the Israel/Palestine apartheid wall.
I was recently rereading my diaries for 1989, that annus mirabilis when pro-democracy demonstratons were breaking out all over, and dictators fell in Romania and Paraguay and several other places, including, [...]

British motorway closed for crime scene investigation

A British motorway has been closed for a murder investigation after a biker was shot over the weekend.
I’m struck by the thoroughness of the investigation. I can’t imagine the South African police investigating a crime as thoroughly as this, even murder. Imagine the N1 or N3 being closed like that. Perhaps that is why [...]

Moral regeneration

South Africa is not the only country that needs moral regneration, it seems.
I don’t much care what these women wore to go to court. It’s what they were in court for that shows that moral degeneration proceeds apace.

Sour grapes

Depleted Uranium seems to have had a bad case of sour grapes because South Africa didn’t wholeheartedly support Britain at the UN in the captured sailors affair and urges Brits not to travel to or invest in this “once great nation“.
The problem is that the government of that once-great nation Britain has lied to us [...]

Blair, the slave trade and apologies

Anglican bishops have demanded that British Prime Minister Tony Blair apologise for the slave trade on the 200th anniversary of its abolition in Britain.
This has led to quite a lot of discussion in the blogosphere, with some pointing out some of the advantages of the slave trade, and others supporting the call for an [...]