Police Support the Troops badges: bring them home or support the war?

With the news that Metropolitan police are to be allowed to wear Union flag badges supporting British troops currently on action in Afghanistan, I was surprised to hear Eddie Mair on yesterday's BBC Radio 4's PM programme taking a hostile stance towards Stop The War's spokesperson, Chris Nineham.

Chris did a stolid job if a bit spluttery and tiresomely "Um" laden (brother of Bin) when taken by surprise by Mair's interview which consisted of "Who says!", cutting off his sentences, and ignoring his points of logic. I was baffled by the utter denial that "Support The Troops" is read by most people to mean support for the war.

Indeed, what does happen when police wear their opposing politics on their lapels at anti-war demonstration, perhaps in place of their ID numbers which some of them are so fond of leaving off? Wearing these "Support The Troops" badges, according to the police spokesman in terms reminiscent of something out of Kipling, does not compromise their independence, neither do previous badges supporting RUC widows and orphans, or the union flag itself which is "the symbol of our country". Some might question exactly who in this country the Union Jack represents: the policeman seemed to think it meant Her Majesty and all who sail in her.

Wrong-footed by Mair, I wish Chris had stuck to his strongest point which he only seemed to stumble across in the course of the interview: Fine, if the key issue is support for the troops and not the war, then will police on duty be allowed to support the troops by wearing Troops Out badges calling for our boys and girls to be brought back home to safety?

Police Support the Troops badges: bring them home or support the war?

With the news that Metropolitan police are to be allowed to wear Union flag badges supporting British troops currently on action in Afghanistan, I was surprised to hear Eddie Mair on yesterday's BBC Radio 4's PM programme taking a hostile stance towards Stop The War's spokesperson, Chris Nineham.

Chris did a stolid job if a bit spluttery and tiresomely "Um" laden (brother of Bin) when taken by surprise by Mair's interview which consisted of "Who says!", cutting off his sentences, and ignoring his points of logic. I was baffled by the utter denial that "Support The Troops" is read by most people to mean support for the war.

Indeed, what does happen when police wear their opposing politics on their lapels at anti-war demonstration, perhaps in place of their ID numbers which some of them are so fond of leaving off? Wearing these "Support The Troops" badges, according to the police spokesman in terms reminiscent of something out of Kipling, does not compromise their independence, neither do previous badges supporting RUC widows and orphans, or the union flag itself which is "the symbol of our country". Some might question exactly who in this country the Union Jack represents: the policeman seemed to think it meant Her Majesty and all who sail in her.

Wrong-footed by Mair, I wish Chris had stuck to his strongest point which he only seemed to stumble across in the course of the interview: Fine, if the key issue is support for the troops and not the war, then will police on duty be allowed to support the troops by wearing Troops Out badges calling for our boys and girls to be brought back home to safety?

The Shat does Sarah Palin's farewell speech

William Shatner recites Governor Sarah Palin's farewell speech as she retires from politics to much wailing and gnashing of teeth by a distraught electorate. She wishes.

Lurve that Shat.

UPDATE: Killjoy Universal has had all YouTube videos of Shatner impalin' Palin taken down, and the one remaining — presumably its own — has had its embedding disabled. So you have to watch it here.

The Shat does Sarah Palin's farewell speech

William Shatner recites Governor Sarah Palin's farewell speech as she retires from politics to much wailing and gnashing of teeth by a distraught electorate. She wishes.

Lurve that Shat.

UPDATE: Killjoy Universal has had all YouTube videos of Shatner impalin' Palin taken down, and the one remaining — presumably its own — has had its embedding disabled. So you have to watch it here.

Obama wouldn't hurt a fly ... heh, heh!

Aw! And he didn't even use chopsticks.

Trevor Phillips race watchdog a waste of space, shock, horror

Fancy that! The pressure is on for Trevor Phillips to get the heave-ho as head of the new Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC).

When he was in charge of the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) I never heard of him doing squat for the UK Chinese community, although I'm sure he liked the food.

But even before his appointment in 2003, when we were the subject of an anti-Chinese campaign in the national media blaming the Chinese for the Foot & Mouth Disease outbreak in 2000 which was so royally screwed up by the government, the CRE was the chocolate teapot. Chinese were scapegoated, attacked and vilified, some physically, their businesses trashed and yet the public body did nothing. It failed miserably in its goal, "To use its legal powers to help eradicate racial discrimination and harassment."

We had to run a sharp press operation to counter the misinformation and outright lies with no help whatsoever from the public body that was charged with protecting minorities. If the Chinese community hadn't come together so spectacularly in the campaign to challenge the attacks, the outcome might have been a whole lot worse.

Since then there have been numerous cases when the Chinese have had to do it for themselves, not that that's a bad thing. It was, after all, individuals such as Suresh Grover, Imran Khan and their Monitoring Group, and the Lawrences themselves who made groundbreaking gains in the Stephen Lawrence case. But a bit of support from the state-funded bodies in the face of overwhelming odds wouldn't have gone amiss.

For many of us involved in anti-racism, New Labour appointee Phillips has been a highly paid waste of space and the public organisations that gave him a lucrative career not much better either. I see from the current list of EHRC commissioners that, while some of them have principles, others may differ.

And now Clever Trevor has been found handing over public dosh to his friends in TV. Knock me dahn wiv a fevva! Can I ask, who'd'a thunk it? I mean, like, WHO?

Status, career, opportunism, hypocrisy and public funds — the pearls and twinset of political life. Am I stating the bleedin' obvious when I say that being part of an ethnic minority does not automatically guarantee you're on the right side?