At our last meeting, back in August, the Wessex Regionalist Party approved the following statement on antisemitism: In May 2016 the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance adopted the following, non-legally binding, working definition of anti-semitism: “Anti-semitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitismContinueContinue reading “WR statement on antisemitism”
Category Archives: Human Rights
Unenlightening Europe
Quelle surprise! As we noted in September, France was an easy target for terror. So, ten days on from the Paris attacks, how’s the reaction unfolding?Canadian blogger Vlad Tepes sums up the polarisation:“The most important thing you can do when people you don’t know are murdered by Muslims in an act designed to promote theContinueContinue reading “Unenlightening Europe”
Wrapped in Golden Chains
“There’s been a lot of pressure to highlight human rights abuses but the Chinese haven’t mentioned the DWP once.” Tory Comedians on Facebook Questioned in London this week on his country’s human rights record, Xi Jinping responded with the kind of explanation that would have appealed to Deng Xiaoping back in the 80s. Something alongContinueContinue reading “Wrapped in Golden Chains”
That Sinking Feeling
In the late 1940s, large numbers of people were forced out of the lands where they and their ancestors had lived for generations, since at least the time of the Crusades. Their ancestral homes were handed over to immigrants from other parts of the world, who brought their own history with them. The displaced livedContinueContinue reading “That Sinking Feeling”
Being Sub-Human
The Pyrenees are a formidable geographical barrier, the terror of would-be conquering armies approaching from north or south. What they are not is a formidable cultural barrier. Basque culture in the far west and Catalan culture in the far east transcend them and have done, peaceably, for millennia. The national frontier of today results fromContinueContinue reading “Being Sub-Human”
Jeux Sans Frontières
Events in Paris this week have exposed Europe’s anxieties to the full. Let’s consider some of the possible reactions. On the far Right, and among the not-for-prophet movement generally, this is I-told-you-so time. Even those who disagree with the politics must find recent analysis strikingly prescient. And at least it’s an opportunity to highlight someContinueContinue reading “Jeux Sans Frontières”
The Spirit of ‘15
Last year’s commemorations of the First World War were a good excuse to re-open old wounds and close our eyes to modern Europe. Now consider that 2015 marks the 200th anniversary of Waterloo and the 600th anniversary of Agincourt. In 2014 the French were our glorious allies against the Hun. This year, it will beContinueContinue reading “The Spirit of ‘15”
Silenced in Court
The Torygraphyesterday reminded us that the Conservatives may be in coalition with the Liberal Democrats but they are far from being liberal. (Democracy isn’t often their strong point either.) Theresa May’s proposal for ‘Extremism Disruption Orders’ could see courts banning speech that’s judged to be a bit too free. George Osborne has described this newContinueContinue reading “Silenced in Court”
The Eastern Question
“‘Fighting’ was one of the most honourable words in the vocabulary, ‘the real, highest, honestest business of every son of man’, as Thomas Hughes put it… Of course, the fight had to be for a good cause. But one of the effects of imperialism had been to imbue very large numbers of people with aContinueContinue reading “The Eastern Question”
Wise Men (and Women) From The East?
January’s issue of BBC History Magazine includes an interview with Professor Linda Colley, described by Wikipedia as “a historian of Britain, empire and nationalism”. It’s a very revealing article, to the extent that Colley articulates what are the common, unconscious prejudices of the metropolitan chattering classes – the MCCs – towards the past, present andContinueContinue reading “Wise Men (and Women) From The East?”
Wessex Regionalists 