Author: Mick Hartley

There are, as you'd expect, a number of clips on MEMRI TV showing reactions from throughout the Muslim world to the beheading of the French teacher.

Sheikh Ali Al-Yousuf of the International Union of Muslim Scholars, on Turkish TV, argued that, from the perspective of Islamic law, one cannot say that the Chechen teen was guilty of a serious crime. The teen’s transgression, rather, was that he took it upon himself to carry out the death penalty for insulting the Prophet Muhammad, whereas the sentence should have been carried out by a shari’a court in an Islamic state. People, said the Sheikh, should focus on the fact that Paty had been teaching people to “hate” the Prophet Muhammad. France is undergoing a crisis, since “Islam is growing because of its moral values.” Which moral values were proudly on display in that Paris suburb last week.

Sudanese Islamic scholar Muhammad Abd Al-Karim, the Secretary-General of the Muslim Scholars Association, said that the main crime had been the insults against the Prophet Muhammad. Arguing that the killing was a natural reaction to provocation, Abd Al-Karim criticized French President Emmanuel Macron for "encouraging" insults against Islam and the Prophet Muhammad. He said that if France wanted to stop such reactions it should stop offending Islam and its symbols, such as Prophet Muhammad.

Egyptian TV host Mohamed Abdelbaky rebuked French President Emmanuel Macron, saying that he "offended" the Muslims by describing the beheading as an act of Islamic terrorism, and criticised the French authorities for killing the murderer instead of arresting, interrogating, and trying him to find out the "truth." Claiming that Macron only seeks to prove that Muslims are terrorists, Abdelbaky said that freedom of expression in France should not include speech that is blasphemous against Islam. He also questioned why Paty had been showing cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad in the first place.

The prize for all-out weirdness, though, goes to Qatari sociologist Abd Al-Aziz Al-Khazraj Al-Ansari:

The recent murder and beheading of history teacher Samuel Paty in Paris may have been a “fabrication,” according to Al-Ansari, similar to how the 9/11 attacks have been “orchestrated” to distort the reputation of Islam. He said that the Chechen killer may have been paid to carry out this attack, and that Paty may have even been paid to insult the Prophet Muhammad. While he condemned the murder, Al-Ansari suggested that killings and stabbings are “normal reactions” to attacks against the Prophet Muhammad. He also said that Muslim ambassadors to France should be recalled and that French President Emmanuel Macron should be told that France’s freedom of speech laws are “stupid.”

A breezy day on the Jersey Shore ca. 1910. "Casino and boardwalk, Asbury Park, N.J."

[Photo: Shorpy/Detroit Publishing Company]

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They list a number of articles that Tablet have published on the subject of Farrakhan. Worth a look.

Tempting though it may be, the man can't just be dismissed as a demented demagogue. He has influence… 

t: 40px”>Many now believe this is Banksy officially confirming the mural as his own – as this is Banksy's usual method of confirmation – with onlookers flocking to the site throughout Saturday to check it out.

But Itchers has repeated his claim to the artwork and says he 'wants answers' from Banksy on "why he is trying to claim my work".

"It's definitely mine, I'm not sure what he is doing to be honest," the 28 year old said. "I'm flabbergasted.

"I don't know what to think about it, whether he is trying to help me out and show support or completely take credit for it.

"I was a bit disappointed when I saw he is trying to claim my work, people I spoke to said I should take it as a compliment.

"I just want answers from him, and I want to know why he is trying to claim my work….

"It's all going to come out in the end, I'm just trying to get in touch with the right people, to speak to them and get it sorted and cleared up."

The Birmingham-based artist says there has "been some beef" between himself and the anonymous Banksy in the past.

It centred around Itchers painting a red nose on to a reindeer Banksy had drawn in Birmingham.

"There has been some beef with us in the past," Itchers said.

"To be honest it was to do with the red nose I drew on his reindeer in Birmingham but it is art, things evolve and it's nice to have additions to your work."

However, news that the artwork was shared by Banksy himself has caused mass excitement across Nottingham and Nottinghamshire.

Well, Banksy has put the mural up on his Instagram page. And it certainly looks like a Banksy.

Watch this space. Possibly.

Kew Gardens today:

Labour Women's Declaration: a call to the Labour leadership to respond to the increasing trans activism in the party – particularly important now, with the disgraceful witch-hunt against MP Rosie Duffield.

The Labour Party and trades union movement has a proud history of struggle against the exploitation of women. It has stood for the rights of women in work and public life and for the safeguarding of girls. We, the undersigned, declare that:

1. Women and girls are subject to discrimination and oppression on the basis of their sex.

2. Women have the right to freedom of belief, freedom of expression and freedom of assembly (Articles 18, 19 and 20 of the UN Declaration of Human Rights).

3. Women have the right to discuss policies which affect them, without being abused, harassed or intimidated.

4. Women have the right to maintain their sex-based protections, as set out in the Equality Act 2010. These include female-only spaces such as changing rooms, hospital wards, sanitary and sleeping accommodation, refuges, hostels and prisons.

5. Women have the right to participate in single-sex sports, to ensure fairness and safety at all levels of competition.

6. Women have the right to organise themselves, as a sex, across a range of cultural, leisure, educational and political activities.

7. We condemn all attempts to undermine or limit the rights of women to self-organise and call on the Labour Party and the trades union movement to actively support these essential freedoms.

There's a petition to sign.

Nicola Adams, Olympic champion boxer and high profile lesbian, has been outspoken about her views on trans athletes: they should not be permitted in female competitions.

Now she's on Strictly Come Dancing, as part of the show's first ever same sex partnership. 

But Bex Stinson, Stonewall's “Head of trans inclusion", is sad (via).

I’m sad because Nicola Adams was almost prevented from being her true self on #StrictlyComeDancing by homophobia. But she is trying to prevent trans people from playing sports by using transphobia. I’m sad that the first same sex dancer on the show is transphobic 🙃🙃

— BEX (@Bex_Stinson) October 18, 2020

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Her sadness, alas, is not shared by any of the commenters to that tweet:

I recommend you take up boxing and then review how you feel about it.

— Chris C (@decaffreinated) October 18, 2020

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Nicola Adams merely wants trans people to play sport in the correct category, so that female people aren't pulverised. Why do you want her to be a misogynist?

— Helen Joyce (@HJoyceGender) October 18, 2020

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Plenty more on the same lines…

ent are shocked to be receiving the response from Facebook that the meme “does not violate community standards.”

On December 2019, the Trans Army uploaded a cartoon of an individual with long pink and blue hair, wrist chokers and a transgender symbol tattoo who is reading a book called “How to Kill Transphobic *uckers.”

Many Facebook users are just discovering the Trans Army’s hateful meme….

“A page that posts violence-promoting pictures isn’t against community standards because it’s a pro-Trans page,” one woman wrote after receiving such a notification from Facebook support….

Threats of violence are usually reserved for women and girls who are seen to blaspheme against gender identity ideology, but men are occasionally subjected to this and other consequences. A person may be declared “transphobic” by gender identity believers for simply acknowledging that there are two biological sexes. For example, children’s author JK Rowling has been branded a hateful transphobe who wishes for trans women to die after she pointed out on Twitter that “people who menstruate” are women. Rosie Duffield, a Member of Parliament for the UK’s Labour Party, has similarly branded a transphobe, and transgender activists have been making an organized call for her ouster from political office, after she agreed on Twitter that only women have cervixes.

“Imagine the furoré if a GC [gender critical] page posted a picture about killing misogynists or transgender people,” a man remarked about the Trans Army’s hate post….

Facebook returned a notification to one man informing him of their refusal to remove the Trans Army’s pro-murder advocacy, instead providing him the advice, “consider using Facebook to speak out and educate the community around you. Counter-speech in the form of accurate information and alternative viewpoints can help create a safer and more respectful environment.” Another man pointed out that “the only problem being here that ‘counterspeech’ will be banned instantly!”

Critiquing the practices of the gender identity movement by writing the phrase “the transgender movement is a cult” leads to an instant strike and removal of the comment or post from Facebook, as many, including the writer of this piece, have personally experienced on the platform.

More Ford publicity shots from Shorpy:

"1959 Ford Country Squire with pushbutton 'Station Wagon Living' equipment."

"1959 Ford Country Squire with pushbutton 'Station Wagon Living' equipment."

"1960 Ford Country Squire nine-passenger station wagon."
[Photos: Shorpy/Ford Motor Co. photographic archive]

class=”asset asset-image at-xid-6a00d83451ebab69e20263e96efb7c200b img-responsive” src=”http://mickhartley.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/mt_imported_image_1758338746.jpg” style=”width: 550px” title=”Banksybbc” />

The graffiti artist Banksy has confirmed a piece of art that appeared in Nottingham was created by him.

The work, outside a beauty salon, shows a girl hula-hooping with a bicycle tyre. It went up on Tuesday, next to a bicycle that is missing its back wheel.

Amid speculation over whether the piece was a Banksy, a screen was fitted to it. In an ironic twist, soon afterwards the screen was sprayed with graffiti.

A picture of the work was posted on Banksy's Instagram on Saturday morning.

The salon the artwork appeared outside is on the junction of Rothesay Avenue and Ilkeston Road in Lenton, a popular residential area for students.

After the announcement, people began arriving to have their photographs taken with the artwork, with about 30 people there at one point, as well as police officers.

People were seen openly weeping in the streets of Nottingham, as the news of their Banksy visitation spread. And the experts soon arrived, to provide some much-needed interpretation.

Banksy expert Prof Paul Gough, from Arts University Bournemouth – who initially doubted whether it was the real deal – said he was "really pleased" the work was by the artist.

Talking about the meaning behind the artwork, he said: "It is curious. The last four or five [Banksy pieces] have all related to Covid or something in the news. This is much more whimsical and much more of the moment. It is someone enjoying themselves.

"Perhaps that is the message: 'we are in difficult times, let's try to make the most of it and get some fun out of something which is broken'.

"The hoop is holistic. The circle is a positive and life-affirming. Even with a knackered bicycle, she is finding something she can play with."

He added: "The Nottingham picture is a different kind of [Banksy] painting to what I have seen before. There is less fluidity and a more pixelated effect, especially around the chin and parts of the face."

Yes, I noticed that too.

The big question, though: does the knackered bike form part of the artwork? Has that now acquired a value of its own?