New page: UK: Immigration, Economics and Pensions. The conclusion reads:

"The UK is ageing, and we need more working-age people to fill the emptying hole in our demographic make-up. Otherwise, multiple industries and all pensions are at severe risk. Already, some industries and local economies depend on immigrants, especially as cheap labour to do work that not many others want to do but also we have serious shortages in some skilled trades, for example, nearly half the new doctors and nurses employed in the National Health Service have qualified abroad. We already have shortages of medical staff. Imagine the world without half the staff of the NHS, cheap labourers working in industries that our ageing population avoids, no pensions for increasing numbers of the elderly, and you imagine a UK without immigration. Despite this, some extremist, simpleton and short-sighted parties (such as the BNP and NF) campaign for a complete stop to immigration, and even promise to send home nationalized foreigners. With a population that is ageing, they will soon find that they have rather a lot of pensioners and not many workers."

Tags: bnp, economics, europe, foreigners, immigration, migration, nf, nhs, pensions, politics, racism, tolerance, uk, xenophobia
Current Location: Germany
Listening To: "Monuments of Flesh" by Chaingun Operate

"Faith Schools: Abolishing Sectarian Education Decreases Inter-Racial Violence and Curbs Religious Extremism" by Vexen Crabtree (2003)

Page has a new conclusion and has been lightly edited:

In 2001 there were 7000 state faith schools in the UK (of 25000). The worst teach creationism (that the world is only 6000 years old, against all scientific evidence) and some, although they excel at religious education and Koranic studies, fail on everything else from science to fitness. Reports on the race riots of 2001 criticized faith schools for creating the segregation that increases racial and religious sectarian tensions. Over 800 studies by social psychologists have found that cooperating and extended contact between racial groups is a very good way of producing positive race relations. Faith schools sometimes produce better-than-average results, but they also select students based on ability (despite attempts to stop them), whereas state schools accept poorer students in the first place. The Home Office, National Union of Teachers, Chief Schools Inspector, the Association of Teachers and Lecturers have all spoken out against faith schools and the United Nations Human Rights Commission recommends non-sectarian education, especially of children. The National Secular Society has long campaigned for the government to reverse the creation of faith schools (100 new ones since 1997), and instead convert faith schools back into all-inclusive secular schools where religion and race do not define the children. Abolishing faith schools will decrease social tension between ethnic and religious groups, increase the fairness of the schools system (as religious schools accept fewer poor and disadvantaged students), and reduce the scope for religious extremism and indoctrination.

Tags: children, creationism, education, faith schools, fundamentalism, indoctrination, intolerance, prejudice, racism, religion, schooling, sectarianism, segregation, tolerance, vardy foundation
Current Location: Germany

"Islam and the West: Cultural wars, immigration and pluralism" by Vexen Crabtree (2006)

There are peaceful Muslims in the West, and any policies towards Islam must be careful not to alienate or radicalize them. But, there are problems with Muslims in the West. The murder of Leo van Gogh in Holland for making a film that highlighted the role of Islam and the Qur'an in the oppression of women showed us that Islamists are everywhere. This follows from the riots, violence and threats that have left over 100 dead as a result of a Danish newspaper publishing Muhammad cartoons. And before this, the book burnings, shop bombs, violence and mass riots that resulted from Salmon Rushdie's book (and the murder of a translator of it), that examined the life of Muhammad in a non-traditional way. The murder of Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn 'for Dutch Muslims' because he questioned the ability of Muslims to integrate into the West shows us that honest opinions, artistic freedom, freedom of expression and intellectual criticism are being challenged by religious superstition again. It is mature and civil to accept criticism without resorting to violence: How can we teach our Muslim populations to restrain their own immoral extremists?

I look at a few methods:

1. Laissez-Faire - Let them come (a failed technique)
2. Alienation, Racism and Intolerance (makes things worse)
3. Citizenship and Values tests for immigrants
4. Citizenshop schooling for all UK children
5. Stricter immigration and security checks: Already in place

Tags: globalism, islam, pluralism, religion, tolerance
Current Location: Afghanistan

Technically the British Army does not have compulsory Church Parades. They were abolished. I have to point this out at the beginning of this page, because it is a surprise to many soldiers within the British Army. This page is about the reality of compulsory, or pseudo-compulsory, Church Parades and communal Christian events in the British Army. We also discuss the frequently-repeated notion that atheists should have to do work duties over Christmas and Easter holidays 'because they don't believe'. We conclude that Memorial Services should be secular, enforced Christianity should be abolished, and religious beliefs should be respected just like it says they should in Army literature such as the British Army Values and Standards booklet. [Click any of the text to go to http://www.vexen.co.uk/military/church_parades.html</a>

Contents:

1. Beliefs Are Important and Personal
2. Memorial Events Should be Secular and Inclusive
3. Christmas, Easter, and other Religious Events
4. The Army Ethos and the Padre's Mission
5. Conclusion

Tags: army, church parades, religion, tolerance