Britannia Radio

Britain on the Brink

From the desk of A. Millar on Tue, 2009-06-02 09:03

Just under a year ago, maverick Labour MP Frank Field gave a speech to The University of Hertfordshire in which he pondered the possibility of “the strange death of Labour England.” As Field noted, the Labour Party had itself replaced the Liberal Party nearly a century ago, after the latter failed to tackle issues of importance for the electorate. In recent years “The two issues of immigration and Englishness,” he also observed, “have been denied a legitimate role in our parliamentary representative system.” And, it must be said, not just these.

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Wilders Causes Another Row. Pre-Captivity Stockholm Syndrome

From the desk of Thomas Landen on Mon, 2009-06-01 12:29

In November 2008 a Dutch journalist, Joanie de Rijke, was abducted by Taliban fighters in Afghanistan. She was held captive, raped repeatedly, and released after six days for a ransom of 100,000 euros ($137,000). After her ordeal, she acknowledged that her captors “did horrible things to me,” but added in several media interviews “They also respected me,” and emphasized “They are not monsters.”

In a speech in the Dutch Parliament last Thursday, the Dutch opposition leader Geert Wilders referred to Joanie de Rijke’s case.

“She was raped, but she was not angry. The journalist who went looking for the Taliban in Afghanistan saw her curiosity end in a cruel ordeal of multiple rape. While this would make others angry or sad, this journalist shows understanding. She says: ‘They also respected me.’ And she was given tea and biscuits.”

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