EDF & EDL

Thaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaanks to Ursula LeGuin and Heidi the cross-eyed Opossum without whom I'd never do this again. Yeh. Thanks.

Paxo's face was a picture! Jeremy Paxman that is, the presenter of Newsnight who attempted tonight to interview Stephen Lennon the LEADER of the ENGLISH DEFENCE LEAGUE. Talk about the wrong Lennon!

Fascinatingly the EDL are doing to the BNP what they themselves did to the NF in the 1980s, ie replacing them as the Fascist opposition, a role that both EDL and BNP have denied playing, pretending instead to represent the authentic white working-class voice. The hardcore football hooligan types provide the street presence and get media attention while the leadership compose a rationale for their existence that becomes the basis of their unsophisticated somewhat paranoid political ideology. Each evolution of the Fascist movement gives a more nuanced and inclusive version of the ideology; the BNP dropped the NF's overt antagonism toward Afro-Caribbeans whereas the EDL denies having any concern about immigration at all, except for where it involves immigrants of the Islamic faith. Rather there is a constant re-iteration of the support the EDL gains from homosexuals and non-Muslim ethnic minorities. It points to injustices commited by Muslims on animals, women and unlike some of its notorious predecessors it applauds the nation of Israel's actions against Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon. They've come a long way from Mosley but not so far that they don't still stink of him. BNP founder John Tyndall once privately said they he couldn't care less about the blacks or immigration or politics. He just liked having a gang of toughs he could march around and there's always a section of males towards the bottom of any society who'll march to some tune or other. It's when those higher up start getting scared that the Mosley's, the Tyndalls and the (ha!)Lennons become an actual threat to civilisation.

Not that I believe that Lennon is the real brains behind the EDL. A grotty paranoid little Luton headcase with a equally grotty business turning women orange is hardly dictator material. Though I might be under-estimating the man of course. Certainly his analysis of the religion of Islam is nothing to write home about anyway.

It's just that with the uproar on the middle-east right now, who can say how that will tilt the delicate balance there and how the consequences could rebound on us here and well, everywhere. Israels only allies of any kind in the Muslim world have been Turkey and Egypt and if they're suddenly not as friendly, how will Netanyahu's government react? If it were me and you (hi!) we might think that more diplomacy may be advisable in the face of greater hostility but we're not Israelis, (I don't think we are anyway, perhaps one of us is) and there's a people whose history might suggest to them that a show a strength may be a better response to hostility. Particularly a show of strength against the allies of Iran like Hamas who control Gaza or Hezbollah who now control the coalition government in Lebanon. Iran itself isn't likely to be intimidated into submission by such action. Israel has nuclear weapons. Iran looks likes it wants them pretty bad and really can you blame them?

It might kick off this year or maybe a couple more years. Maybe sense will prevail but even so. Is it good to have the EDL marching around stirring up fear amongst ourselves? We're just furry little mammals, it's got nothing to do with us. These players are crazy collective-versions of us. They don't get hungry like us, or afraid or lonely. They don't feel love or friendship. Ah.. I'm losing it.

Also I owe EDF about £600 which I'm having a little difficulty raising in this frozen hell-hole. That worrys me more than any of that shite.

Never mind! MSN homepage has 'Foods to make you handsome'. The only thing I could concievably eat that would make me look any better in the mirror is LSD and a lot of it. Here goes!