Is it appropriate that Muslims work  in care homes?

An elderly woman who suffered a fall was left lying on the floor at  a care home for up to ten minutes because a senior nurse was  praying, an inquest heard. Abdul Bhutto, an agency nurse, told junior staff they would have to wait until he finished before he would attend to 87-year-old Dorothy  Griffiths, who died nine days later. Mrs Griffiths, who suffered from  Alzheimer’s, was left on the floor while the Muslim nurse continued to pray on his mat. Mr Bhutto failed to appear at  the inquest in Sheffield and a  summons had to be issued for him to attend later in the year.

The court heard he had been contacted and denied being senior nurse that night. After the hearing was adjourned, Mrs Griffiths’s daughter Jean David, 61, said the family had been put through more grief due to the nurse not turning up. Mrs David added: ‘You put your trust in these people. What would happen if there was a fire, would they then stop praying?’

Good point. I feel so sorry for the family of Mrs Griffiths. Clearly there are some serious questions to be asked of the Nursing Home and its recruitment and operational policies but there is also the question of the humanity of someone who continues to pray, on their mat, as an elderly lady lies dying.

And should anyone be surprised, especially after she presided over the formulation of rubbish like this?

Sometimes it seems that the marriage of lyrics to melody is a lost art.  It’s not.

This is indeed a dreadful day for all of us who value the remarkable achievements of Human Rights warrior Monica McWilliams. Brace yourself…

“The UN Human Rights Council, on whose unique merits ATW recently expounded, has let us down.

Today, in the final session of its current meeting, it had to decide on whom to appoint as “Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantee of non-recurrence”.

ATW was glued to the live webcast of proceedings in Geneva, champagne bottle at the ready, given that a UK candidate was in the shortlist of three for this prestigious three-year appointment – our very own Monica McWilliams, Professor of Ladies’ Studies at the University of Ulster and former Chief Commissar at the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission. 

True, she put herself forward as the “Irish” candidate, but as a Londonderry woman born and bred, and a proud consumer of British tax money throughout her academic, political and quango queen career, we were surely entitled to regard her as one of our own. In any case, ATW’s (very few) friends inside the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission were able to confirm that milady travels on a proper British passport; but one can understand that putting “Irish” on the application form is better for the optics in the anti-Western cabals of the Palais des Nations. Readers may recall that, a few weeks ago, that very application form accidentally fell into ATW’s inbox, allowing us to share with you her own modest and self-critical presentation of her suitability to advance across the globe the causes of Truth, Harmony and Universal Happiness.

The official UN closing time of 5pm came and went with no decision. The session overran so badly that our champagne had reached room temperature when the announcement came at nearly 8pm Geneva time… and readers, our cork spontaneously popped at the very moment that the Council President announced that, having taken extensive soundings among states, non-governmental organisations and other interested parties, it had been decided to appoint the Colombian candidate, one Pablo de Greiff. 

ATW readers will be struggling for ideas as to how to console our former Chief Commissar for this cruel blow to her fragile, if vast, ego. We have a suggestion. Given that a UN Special Rapporteur post only has as much credibility as the person appointed to it, its actual value to Monica’s CV would have been absolutely negligible. So we should club together to buy her an equally bogus mark of distinction; say, for example, the Fellowship of the Royal Society of Arts that her successor at the NIHRC, Father O’Flaherty, purchased for himself and now lists on the NIHRC web page as though it were an actual qualification or honour.”

Via: Open-Site.org

The tragedy for France is not just the vile actions of Islamic killer Mohammed Merah. It is also in how some respond;

A teacher is facing disciplinary action in France after reports she asked pupils to hold a one-minute silence for a gunman who killed seven people. Mohamed Merah died in a police assault on his flat in Toulouse on Thursday after a 32-hour siege. The Paris Normandie newspaper says the teacher in Rouen called Merah the victim of an unfortunate childhood. She apparently said his links to al-Qaeda were invented by the media and French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

A teacher. Need I say more?

Well, yes actually. The line between libel and incitement is one that French TV has questions to answer;

“French television, which Merah no doubt often watched is notorious for crossing it. It was France 2 that gave us this century’s first anti-Semitic blood libel with its October 2000 tale of Muhamed al-Dura’s alleged death at the hands of IDF soldiers. The France 2 story was exposed as a fraud by an appellate court in Paris in 2008. The appellate court overturned a lower court’s libel ruling against Internet activist Philippe Karsenty who claimed on his personal website that the al Dura story was a hoax.

What an unpleasant chap.

#

“Soon and very soon…..” – sounds almost like a threat.

A 17 year old black kid in Florida was shot dead by a white (or Hispanic) neighborhood watchman for what at this point appears to be the crime of being a young black man walking at night.  Martin was unarmed, and was carrying some candy and an iced tea.  The Watchman, who had apparently called in to the police and had been told to back off claims self-defense.  The local police responded to the shooting, tested the deceased kid for drugs (none) but did not test, arrest or detain the shooter.  As I understand it, the shooter was licensed to carry the gun.  I believe the neighborhood watchman had appointed himself to the role, but I have to dig some more into the story. 

The case is drawing more national attention, from people of good will across race and political lines, and of course from people of not so good will across the same lines.   I feel sorry for the young man’s family, who not only have to deal with their grief, but now with the hurricane of media attention.  At this juncture it appears that a full investigation into the incident is clearly warranted, and reports indicate that such an investigation will be undertaken.   

I hope that the investigation is thorough and the full story is revealed.

I’m a bit surprised that anyone seems to think that the views of Jeb Bush are critical to determining who wins the the GOP presidential nomination race. Jeb, predictably, weighs in for Romney, as the GOP establishment closes ranks and hints that Santorum should graciously stand down so that Mitt can be crowned and proceed with the really important business of LOSING to Obama. After four years, the GOP has learned nothing and is about to repeat the same mistake. It does not deserve to win the White House if all it can do is throw up (and I use the term advisedly) McCain 2.0.

Local Councillors can always be relied upon when it comes to effectively dealing with the big issues.  

“The notion of playing ‘Danny Boy’ over a loudspeaker every day at lunchtime in Limavady has been dismissed as an early April Fool’s day joke. However, the proposal, made by Sinn Féin councillor Anne Brolly, which floated the possibility of the world famous song being played on a daily basis, appears to be gaining momentum at official level. While Limavady Borough Council has agreed to investigate the costs of a loudspeaker system, Ms Brolly contends that playing different versions of Jane Ross’s tune, also known as the Londonderry Air, would draw attention to Limavady as the birthplace of the 157-year-old tune.”

It would also, dare I suggest, draw attention to the lunacy that pervades the local Council chamber.