Under the Greenwood Christmas/Eid Tree

That Hardy annual, 'Christmas-is-Banned-even-though-it's-not' story emerges from the Daily Mail. Don't look so surprised. Yet another school is forced to issue a statement refuting the basis of the original article. Not that it'll be much use; it will pass into the annals of myth-as-fact.

The DM headline is Primary School Cancels Nativity Because It Interferes With Muslim Festival of Eid.

As Mail readers need a bit more coaxing, there's even a lovely picture of a traditional nativity scene. So, what's the score?

• A primary school infuriated parents after cancelling the traditional Christmas nativity play to make way for the Muslim festival of Eid.

Traditional........nativity...............Christmas...............Muslim.................cue frothing readership.

• Is this the thin end of the wedge ? They will be banning all Christian activities next, just wat and see.
  This is Britain ( no longer Great ), BUT still our country.

  - JAYGEE, United Kingdom, 3/12/2008 12:41

• We live in a christian society, why have we yet again had to bow down to the minority and suspend the Nativity until after the CHRISTMAS PERIOD, what is the point in that. The political correctness in this country has now gone way too far and something should be done about it

  - Sam McCormick, Denton, Manchester,

Now, it's tempting to be charitable to these people. After all, they're only commenting on what they have read. But, what exactly have they been given? Aside from the headline and opening sentence, where is the evidence?

• In a letter, sent by the staff at Greenwood Junior School, mothers and fathers were told: 'It is with much regret that we have had to cancel this year's Christmas performances.

So, it must be a nativity performance then? With Christian connotations? Three Wise Men, donkey, wobbly scenery, angels, shepherds washing their socks etc?

• Why do we have this sort of thing repeated year after year? Wouldn't it be much easier for all concerned to abandon our long-held traditions and hand over the country to whoever wants it. That's obviously what's going to happen eventually anyway so why don't we just get on with it? Then we won't have this silly Christmas thing interfering with other, apparently more important, beliefs.

  - Frank, Lancaster, UK, 3/12/2008 13:19

Let's be Frank. No, let's not. I agree that we shouldn't have this repeated every year, but it will be whilst this despicable excuse of a newspaper gets away with twisting the truth to lie to its readers. Frank then goes into a sulk and sounds like a child that's just been told he is to be a cloud in the nativity whilst his nemesis is to play Joseph. Sound familiar, Frank?

Of course, the truth, as Mulder and Scully would say, is out there. Oh yes it is!

• A school has had to defend itself against claims that it rescheduled its Christmas show to make way for Eid.

  Greenwood Junior School, in Nottingham, told pupils' families that the pantomime would be held in January because of a "full calendar of events" this month.

  It said the move was in keeping with the tradition of pantos in the New Year.

We see now that the Christmas performance was in fact that well-known religious extravaganza, Cinderella. Unlike this panto, Chris Johnson's scoop is all balls!

Chris must be so proud. So many Mailites queuing up to agree how terrible this decision is, suckered in by his lies. I hope your family google you Chris and see this blog showing what a worthless journo you are.

Even The Daily Express - although still having a dig at Muslims for the cancellation- managed to get the Cinderella part right.

• A SCHOOL’S traditional Christmas pantomime was scrapped to make way for the Muslim festival of Eid, it emerged yesterday.

There does seem to have been a slight administrative error in that it might have been expected for a multi-faith school like this one to know the dates of the Eid festival (which varies a bit like Easter) but we can all have hindsight. The school also seem to suggest that it was not a concrete date anyhow.

The worrying aspect is that the school has been forced onto the back foot and needed to issue a second letter. From the Press Association:

• In a statement, the school said it planned to stage Cinderella on January 28 and 29.

  It said: "The date of the pantomime was only set recently, once we were confident that pupils and staff would be fully prepared.

  "Because of this, and the full calendar of events happening in the lead-up to Christmas, we were unable to fit it into the schedule.

  "In order to avoid any disappointment, a letter was sent out to parents advising that a performance would not take place in December."

  The "full calendar" comprised a range of events, including a Christmas carol concert and Eid celebrations, a Nottingham City Council spokeswoman said.

So, here we go again. The Mail has not issued an update to this to clarify matters because that would have involved a grovelling admission of fault.

The Mail also knew about the second letter:

• Yesterday, a statement issued by the school said: 'We would like to apologise for any confusion caused as a result of [the original] letter we sent out and would like to reassure parents and the community that Christmas has not been cancelled at Greenwood Junior School.

The Mail knows quite well that for all its readership's mocking of education standards, its army of admirers tend to read bold type only. This makes this article doubly deceitful.

As I mentioned in my criticism of The Liverpool Echo over the Santa story, I would have thought it appropriate to contact the subject at the centre of the story before letting rip. That would have ruined the headline, of course. The Mail could still have had a thinly-veiled attack on Muslims like The Express, but it wouldn't have enabled them to imply the banning of not only a seasonal tradition but a Christian one at that.

I hope the Governors and Head of Greenwood Junior School make an official complaint to the Press Complaints Commission. Whilst not much will happen, it's important that such sham journalism designed to create intolerance as much as the BNP, is officially recognised.

Merry Xmas and Eid Mubarak. I hope the children enjoy all the festivities in December and January.

UPDATE:

I should have predicted that the odious BNP would make something of this. They refer to the story and chillingly ask:

• Does your child attend ‘The School that Cancelled Christmas?’ Did you receive the Scrooge letter? Please contact the BNP National Enquiry Line and we will do everything we can to help you fight for your children’s British culture and heritage.

The Youth BNP site also asks people to contact the school and provides names, address and telephone and fax number (admittedly in the public domain). It says,

• Please be polite, and ask why the school discriminates against indigenous British people. We would also urge local parents to put on their own Nativity play, or attend one nearby

As I said before Chris Johnson and the other vile journos must be very proud. On the one hand writing for papers that publicly distance themselves from the BNP; with the other hand reaching out and providing alms.

When the school receives an avalanche of protests from fascist morons, I hope you can all sleep at night!

Dark Side of the Star

I don't think I'm the only one who thinks that this front page stinks. A complaint should be made to the Press Complaints Commission so they can slap the wrists of Richard Desmond. Given that he doesn't feel much contrition over the smacked bum given to his other publication, The Express over the McCann story, as sales increased markedly while the soap opera was on, I doubt if he's bothered.

Defamation actions cases may be the new golf club, but it would nice if it could be shown that a Muslim TV Licence payer had sufficient locus standi to bring a class action. Hmmm.

The issue of the BBC is not the point here. Us and Them is the forerunner to burning of mosques.

Us And Them"

Us and Them
And after all we're only ordinary men
Me, and you
God only knows it's not what we would choose to do
Forward he cried from the rear
and the front rank died
And the General sat, as the lines on the map
moved from side to side
Black and Blue
And who knows which is which and who is who
Up and Down
And in the end it's only round and round and round
Haven't you heard it's a battle of words
the poster bearer cried
Listen son, said the man with the gun
There's room for you inside
Down and Out
It can't be helped but there's a lot of it about
With, without
And who'll deny that's what the fightings all about
Get out of the way, it's a busy day
And I've got things on my mind
For want of the price of tea and a slice
The old man died


(Waters, Wright) 1973

Tonight's Latest Scores

As I've said before, the attitude of the Daily Mail can be gleaned not from the actual comments made by its posters - as only the more vocal and extreme readers tend to bother - but by the number of comments made on various stories. The reason is simple: the Mail claims to receive thousands of comments, which are then subject to moderation before publication - a justification for only including some of those received. Of course, some form of pre-moderation is understandable but despite claims that comments are not censored for political views, this is patently not the case.

I try to post at least a dozen comments each week. I know it's a forlorn task so I keep them succinct in the vain hope that one will sneak through. The disturbing aspect is that I only succeed when posing completely sycophantic letters in support of whatever bile they are spouting.

Whilst I was working on a post about Rowan Williams's letter to Muslim religious leaders (his actual letter can be downloaded as a Word doc here) and the predictable reporting of it by Steve Doughty in The Mail here, I started looking at what was exercising the collective mind of DM Land.

Make your own videprinter noises:

Teenager's Guantanamo interrogation Video 0

Lorraine Kelly seems to have gained weight 14



Blair 'assassination' plans 19
Rhodes Earthquake kills someone not British 0


Swindon Council (may) scrap speed cameras 40
Alleged torture of UK citizens 4 (all supportive of torture)

The last story is particularly vile and the 4 comments add weight (not in the Lorraine Kelly sense) to the argument that the DM just lights the blue touch paper and awaits the explosion of bigotry to come.

• They are NOT British.

  - Mr. J. Smith, Birmingham, England, 15/7/2008 9:03

  I'm sorry terrorists don't have human rights.

  - A M, Wolverhampton, 15/7/2008 9:14

  Along with most other Britons, I couldn't care less how our security services get the information that keeps us safe.

  - Fed-up, Coventry, England, 15/7/2008 9:25

  And the problem is?

  - Andy L, St Helens, Lancs, UK, 15/7/2008 11:15

If the Mail truly wanted to distance itself from these bastards, and not want them to be representative of its readership views, it has the means to do so. Needless to say my comment attacking the overt racism of at least one of the comments will be ignored.

Kate McCann and the Muslims

More misleading headlines. I admit mine may sound like a new folk/pop indie group, but the DM is a past master at this fine art.
The daily mail has, like most of the terrible tabloids, been obsessed with the McCann story. They have had several (sometimes contradictory) stories each day. They know tht it sells papers and have tried to cover all bases in the are they guilty/innocent/suspects saga. Today's story plumbs new depths even allowing for the paper's (not so) hidden agenda.

'Stop the car, there's Madeleine': Witness sees her dragged by Muslim woman

Bingo! Buy one get one free! As well as the deluge of immigration/race/Islam scaremongering, we now have these gutter journos linking unrelated topics to the general hatred.

• A Spanish mother told today how she is convinced she saw Madeleine McCann being dragged across a street in Morocco.
  The potential witness believes she spotted the missing girl with a woman in a headscarf crossing a road in the northern town of Zaio in May.

Note the date of the alleged sighting. This will become relevant when considering the comments of the faithful DM cadre. The woman had a headscarf. Ipso fact she is a Muslim. This could well be the case but again the Mail is quick to let its disciples read between the lines. It could also be argued that merely seeing a child dragged across the road is not tantamount to abduction. Remember the 100% sighting in Belgium? Have you ever seen a child cting distressed state when with parents. If only all children behaved properly when out. The Spanish woman may have legitimate concerns so let us proceed.

• She said she told her husband to stop the car. "I shouted 'Stop! It's Madeleine, the missing girl.' But by the time we pulled over and ran back to where she had crossed, they had both vanished."

The reported conversation seems a bit contrived. Rather like the dialogue in the Daily Mirror's Scorer cartoon ("I must get on the end of this cross because our result last week left us in 5th place"), it does not seem right. Maybe it was lost in translation and I am being too picky. I notice that the much-denied 'they've taken her!' cry of Kate McCann has now resurfaced. The relevant part is in the second sentence. They did not have the opportunity to photograph, question, or contact the Daily Mail. I know this crossed my mind with the Belgian sighting as most people have camera phones these days and it is relatively easy to get some evidence - we're all photo-journalists or detectives now (see the increased use of viewers footage on 24 hours news channels). However, if the DM commenters had actually read the story they would not have made such moronic claims. Nobody knows what they would do in a given situation, though plenty of people seem to think they would be heroes if they thought someone was drowning in a lake.

I wonder if there is a price to be paid for such a high profile campaign. I'm not criticising the couple for that alone, but there may be drawbacks. If everyone is looking for a blonde girl of her description, isn't there a risk of inadvertently producing these false sightings. I have heard somewhere there is a psychological phenonemen whereby thinking intently about a person recently lost (e.g. dead relative or even estranged partner) can result in false apparitions. I'm not sure of the name of this but maybe someone out there does.

• "The girl was wearing a skirt and short-sleeved top, with hat on and her hair tied up. A gust of wind blew up the hat and I saw that it was Madeleine McCann."

If her hair was tied up how could she be certain it was Madeleine? Unless you were close and could see the tell-tale eye, how can you be 100%. I hope if she is my phone-a-friend on Millionaire she is not in the habit iof making hyperbolic claims. That is why I don't speak to my previous phone-a-friend in Belgium.

Without getting into OJ Simpson territory....if I did it.....I'd dye the child's hair, cut it and give her sunglasses.

• She added [that the Portuguese police] told her they believed Madeleine was already dead.

I've no idea about the veracity of this claim. So much has been said about the PJ which has ranged from the sneering to the outright racist. There are aspects of the investigation that seem strange to an outsider and maybe criticism can be levelled at the apparent leaks. Maybe the same can be levelled at the McCann camp. If true, it is insensitive to say the least. It is unlikely that she spoke to anyone at a high level. It does not make clear when she spoke to the police in Portugal, but it is only recently that the PJ have said that they thought the child may be dead.

• Her revelations are certain to be studied by the McCanns' legal team, and private-investigators who they have engaged.

I still cannot understand the need for high profile legal team at this stage. Putting aside the funding situation, they have not been charged with anything. If they had been then one could understand it more, but this is not a red herring because it stinks too much.

The DM have, as I have said, kept their options open. They have printed fawning pro-McCann gush but also (occasionally) pieces wondering about the case. They let their headlines tell the story.

When I was at Uni, there was the old trick plyed on the smartarses by lecturers. The written test where the top of the page has the rubric: read all questions before starting writing. Most would plough on and answer complex posers before arriving at Question 20 which said, "Do not write answers to the questions until Lecturer X performs a handstand" or similar.

(Can I just say that I didn't fall for it because I like to read the small print - a lawyer in the making one day!)

But I digress.........................

This particular story is intersting in DM terms as it does not attract one-side comments. There are two distinct camps.

And now for the unthinking comments:

• If these people think it's Madaleine why don't they do something about it?- John Salkeld, Sheffield, England read the words John, don't just hum the tune.
• Do the people who reported these sightings not carry a mobile phone that can take pictures for crying out loud?- Lawrence, London because it is compulsory to have one.
• It is apparent that the Portuguese police, with little or no training in true law enforcement, decided that the McCanns did it, regardless of the lack of evidence and testimony. From day two, the Portuguese police were not interested in investigative work. Probably because they have never had the background, education or training that US and UK police go through. Britain is a thriving democracy, with strong democratic traditions. - Marlene, Alexandria, VA we will never take lectures from the US about democracy. I think Kate in Exeter has your number................
• Indeed Marlene, Alexandria, VA. Thank goodness all crime in Britain and the States is solved within minutes of it happening...- Kate, Exeter [chuckle]
• Why the hell do all these people not take photos? And why does it take them almost 5 months to tell the police? Why do they not just shout Madeleine's name and see if she turns around?- Sophie, Cornwall
• If all the people that say they have spotted Madeleine, would have tailed the people, that have the little girl, then gone straight to the police with a address where she is held, this case would have been solved months ago. Don't just think ACT ON YOUR HUNCH. As Charles Laughton did in the film version of Hugo's novel. Think how the parents must feel with all these sightings.- Steve R, Manchester England
• It is sad but true, anyone who dare say they have seen Madeleine or are acquainted with the McCann's no matter how vague that acquaintance is, are immediately accused of being associated with her abduction.It is therefore of little wonder the witnesses are wary of coming forward.- Kerrie St John, USA Name one person sighting Madeleine who is a suspect? You win my monthly award for thickest American.
• The false Belgium sighting should serve as caution - many eye-witness reports are unreliable. What is apparent however is the quite blatantly racist attitude of many commentators (example: Marlene of Alexandria, VA) towards the Portugese police, now culminating in an attack on their education and society as a whole. Ridiculous.- David, London, England Well done David, but be ready for the flak from Derek below. I think he mistakes you with John.
• John, London - You have not been to Morocco recently, there are very few blond children to be seen now the European tourists with children have gone home.- Derek Small, Tangier, Maroc Small by name...........May, Derek, May!
• So get the expert team over to Morocco then and lets end this soon for Madeleine's sake! All that matters is finding this child -and for Pete's sake anyone who believes they have sighted her must NOT call her name or photograph her -they will be placing her in further danger if her captors realise they have been spotted. Stop reporting on sightings and let the specialist team get on with bringing her home safely. She only stands a chance of being returned home if the spotlight is removed for a while so her captors can feel safer and relax more allowing more definitive sightings.- Dawn, England This is very sensible actually. It i possible to do more harm than good in such situations. I would even question the publicising of these sightings. I also question why the McCanns don't go to scenes of sightings. Do they know something?
• Please God, let Maddy be in Morocco, alive and well, and waiting to be returned home to her loving family.- Sara, Leicester Lovingly to be left alone while we go to the Tapas Bar.
• How did this woman know that the other was Muslim? Can you tell a Muslim just by looking at them? Smells fishy...- Carys Mathews, Chester, UK Not only from these here parts but a great point and uses my fish motif! I like Catatonia but that was Cerys!
• At least twice in the past couple of months I've seen a girl that is the spitting image of my daughter. At one time I was behind in the street and was going to ask the girl I thought was my daughter what she was doing as I knew she should be elsewhere. This proves we all have doubles sometimes more than one including poor Madeleine.- Pen, Durham Another spooky point as I'd written my bit about this before seeing his comment. We all have doppelgaenger. Mine is the guy that gets drunk sometimes and talks bollocks whilst I am doing my aerobics classes.
• Do you really think that if she has been abducted that her kidnappers are going to parade her in public view? For a start if they did they would probably cut her hair dye it change her appearance. How many times have people said they're 100% sure they have seen her and it turns out not to be true?- Natasha, Stafford, England Again, I didn't copy Natasha's idea but it's nice to know there is a part of me in the Potteries.

DO NOT READ ANY OF THE ABOVE UNLESS THERE IS NOTHING STOPPING YOU