Physicians heal thyselves!

Photo: PAUL GROVER

Ex-criminal lawyer and banker Francis Maude gave his practised smooth performance again on breakfast TV this morning as the public sector continues to be the government's whipping boy, or more likely girl these days, taking the blame for the spectacular failures of the private sector. Another MP and ex- minister paints a different picture here. 

The 'Millie Dowler' trial brought into sharp reality the role of the defence lawyer but fairness was thrown out of the window in the public sector pensions row when Danny Alexander announced the result of discussions with the unions while they were still taking place.

It was no surprise in this morning's interview that Mr Maude neatly side-stepped a question about MPs' rhodium plated pensions but then he is adept at avoiding tricky issues. 

Child grooming

Details emerging about the extent of child grooming in this country are being accompanied by warnings not to jump to any conclusions about ethnicity just because one in five men accused of grooming under-age girls for sex is Asian.

Demographic figures show that 'British Asians' account for only 4% of the population, including around 1.8% Indians, many of whom prefer to be counted separately on account of their diversity. That leaves those of Pakistani origin at just 1.3%.

Peter Davies, head of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (Ceop) "will say that the research does not show that child grooming can be associated with any particular ethnic group" because "the data is so patchy that the perpetrators' ethnicity was marked as unknown in about 40% of cases". Patchy it may be but it is hard to see how people will not draw their own conclusions on the basis of these figures. Even if we assume that all the remaining 40% were white, that still leaves a hugely disproportionate level of offenders from the Asian community. Earlier this year Jack Straw was vilified for suggesting that there was a specific problem of young Pakistani men targeting white girls because they regarded them as "easy meat". The latest figures suggest he had a point.

Protest march against Blasphemy Law on 2nd July 2011

I spotted this protest on the 'A Reluctant Sinner' blog. The plight of Christians in Pakistan is dreadful. Recalling the sacrifice of Shabbaz Bhatti the event deserves as much publicity as possible. 


'Googling' the event under 'News' came up with only two entries. One from Independent Catholic News, the other from 'Aid to the Church in Need'. 


No doubt the Church of England is busy navel gazing on what they would regard as more important, secular matters, eg, here and here. 


Postscript
A report of the march from the Pakistan Christian Post can be found here.

In one ear and out the other?

"We've gone direct to the British people - some Labour supporters, others not.
And a lot of it wasn't easy listening.
People were blunt with us.
You've all heard it.
Because week in week out, you are out there on the doorsteps.
Talking to people about their concerns.
You know they were livid about the banks.
Worried about the squeeze on their incomes.
Frustrated that their concerns on immigration were not addressed.
Angry when they thought some could work, but didn't.
And you know we lost trust, including because of what happened in Iraq.
We must prevent this happening again.
And you know it's not just about policy, it's about the way we do politics too.
A party created by working people for working people lost touch with them.
We need to be honest about the way we operated as a party.
Because only by being honest can we rebuild.
We need to confront some hard truths.
And if we ever doubt why we need to do this, if you find what I say today difficult, think of the people in your communities suffering today as a result of this Conservative-led Government.
These truths may be uncomfortable for us; but life is more uncomfortable for the people we serve suffering under this Government.
It's not their fault; it's ours that we lost the last election.
We owe it to them not to shy away from any of the difficult changes we need to make."

- Extracted from Ed Miliband's National Policy Forum speech published in the New Statesman.

Time will tell!

Innocent

The verdict of 'Innocent' following the trial of Geert Wilders is welcome news not just for Christians alarmed by the threat posed to Christianity and other non-Muslim faiths by the spread of Islam but for free speech in general.


The public prosecutor said that in Holland it is forbidden to offend groups of people and to incite discrimination and hatred. It would be an odd world if only Muslims were allowed to say what they like and discriminate against other religions.

Cameron accepts Thatcher's advice

Not the grocer's but a grocer's daughter, the then plain Mrs Thatcher offered some advice to her opponents, "You turn if you want to, the lady is not for turning".

Mr Cameron clearly took that hilariously received advice to heart. Today we have yet another U-turn as the Government reprieves the BBC World Service. And sensibly so!

Positive intentionality and the C of E

Confused? Join the club. Googling "positive intentionality" throws up many images, including the Buddha shown above. Reading The Guardian online presents a more specific clue: "Church of England report calls for affirmative action on race".

The report produced ahead of the General Synod in York next month says that the Church of England needs to "embrace affirmative action to increase the number of priests from ethnic minorities and the number of non-white parishioners, both of which lag changes in the wider population." The key recommendation to address the racial imbalance is to introduce 'positive intentionality' – recognising there are 'missing faces and missing voices and actively seeking ways to enable them to be seen and heard'.

Probity prevents me from repeating the words of a traditional rugby song recalled from my youth which drew attention to various differences in colour and appearance but seriously, are so many people falling over themselves to be priests to require positive discrimination? Only a few weeks ago the Church in Wales begged people to write a postcard responding to the call if they, or anyone else they knew, would consider a career in the Church in Wales!

As numbers dwindle following the church's business approach to faith I would have thought any increase in congregations would be welcomed, ethnically diverse or otherwise, but for vocations to be determined by quota seems plain stupid.