Thought Police Deployed by P.C. British Left

The steady, benign "bobby" of previous generations is giving way in the formerly free United Kingdom to a more Orwellian sort of intrusive ideological police model. Hilary White wrote last month about episodes of British police enforcing P.C. views against a teen schoolgirl, a 10-year-old boy and an elderly lady. I'm sure most British police officers are good people, but it sounds like the thoroughgoing disarmament of the British citizenry has emboldened the worst elements of the police there.

UK Police Increasingly Used to Enforce Political Correctness
14 year-old-student arrested and taken to police station after requesting move to class with students who speak English
By Hilary White

BRITAIN - A few days before his election as pope, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger denounced a growing "dictatorship of relativism." The pope's rhetorical device, however, is increasingly becoming the lived experience of ordinary Britons visited and questioned by police for publicly expressing politically or religiously "incorrect" views.

In October 2006, the Daily Mail reported that a 14-year-old school girl, Codie Stott, was arrested by police and detained in a cell for three hours after she asked to be moved into a group of students who spoke English in class. Stott was denounced to police for "racism" by her teachers at Harrop Fold High School in Worsley, Greater Manchester.

Codie told police that she had been placed in a group of five students who would or could not discuss the class work in English. When she asked to be moved to another group with whom she could communicate, the teacher responded, "It's racist, you're going to get done by the police." A week after the incident she was taken to Swinton police station under arrest. Codie told the Daily Mail, "They told me to take my laces out of my shoes and remove my jewelry, and I had my fingerprints and photograph taken."

In May this year, a shopkeeper in Manchester was threatened with prosecution under the race hate statutes if she did not remove a number of soft toys that some consider racist in origin. Moira Pickering, 62, was told by police to get rid of her stock of traditional English dolls called "gollywogs". Gollywogs, based on a children's literary character created by Florence Kate Upton, have been a staple of British children's toys since the late 19th century.

Pickering told the Daily Mail, "I find sex shops offensive, I find cabbage patch dolls offensive, but I wouldn't report them. Golliwogs have been going for years and I've always sold them. They sell very well. People are far too politically correct they go over the top."

In early April this year, a father of a ten-year-old boy was astounded when two police officers arrived at his Cheshire home to question his son for calling another boy "gay" in an email.

"I could not believe what I was hearing," Alan Rawlinson, aged 41, told media. "They told me they considered it a very serious offence. I thought they were joking at first… [T]his just seemed a huge waste of resources for something so trivial. I am furious about what has happened, it just seems the politically correct brigade are taking over."

"If somebody had called the police about something like this in my day they would have laughed - they certainly wouldn't have sent two officers out. It is completely ridiculous."

Perhaps more ominously, accusations of direct interference by police with the electoral process for ideological reasons are starting to be heard in Britain.

The British National Party, a far right but completely legal political party, is preparing a package of evidence to present to the Electoral Commission alleging that this May, West Midlands police interfered in the Birmingham local election at the behest of opposition parties. The party alleges that the police cooperated with a campaign of intimidation when they visited and questioned each of the 400 people in the Birmingham ridings who signed nomination papers for BNP candidates.

The BNP, a nationalist party opposed to non-ethnically British immigration, has been at pains recently to shed its early association with white supremacists. But its opposition particularly to Muslim, African and Pakistani immigration, and its nationalist anti-EU position, has earned the BNP the status of most politically incorrect, and therefore most publicly vilified party in recent British history.

Some observers have said that the combination of racial tensions and violence springing from mass immigration in densely crowded areas, together with a growing police and media suppression of free speech have created fertile ground for the nationalist party that excludes non-racially British members and is known for its blunt and forceful condemnations of politically correct ideology.

This backlash may explain why the BNP took 20,000 to 30,000 votes in the Birmingham area, despite police questioning their supporters, arrests of BNP party volunteers and organised "anti-fascist" opposition. Last week the BNP moved into fourth place behind the three main parties in a Parliamentary by-election in Sedgefield, County Durham, the riding recently vacated by former Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Canadian Judge Holds That Christian Public Official Must Provide Gay Rites

Homosexuals and their allies are driving Christian conscience out of the public square, and Christians out of public service. There is unquestionably a great deal of synergy in this for coercive Sodomy, as it simultaneously removes existing obstacles to depravity and packs public institutions with willing soldiers for the next offensive campaign.

This summary of a recent Saskatchewan court decision comes from The Persecution & Prayer Alert, published by Voice of the Martyrs, Canada.

The Voice of the Martyrs, Canada
The Persecution & Prayer Alert
www.persecution.net

On July 23, Saskatchewan's Court of Queen's Bench Justice Janet McMurty
upheld the ruling of the province's Human Rights Tribunal that marriage
commissioner Orville Nichols did not have the right to refuse to marry a
same-sex couple in April 2004 on basis of his personal Christian beliefs.
(see www.persecution.net/ca-2008-06-25.htm) The tribunal had also ordered
Nichols to pay the complainant $2,500 in compensation.

Nichols had appealed the May 23 ruling, arguing that his religious beliefs
should be protected under Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms. McMurty
dismissed his argument, however, in her 39-page ruling dated July 17,
concluding that the Human Rights Tribunal was "correct in its finding that
the commission had established discrimination, and that accommodation of Mr.
Nichols' religious beliefs was not required." Nichols has 30 days to appeal
the decision. He has not indicated whether he will do so.

There is hope that the Saskatchewan government will introduce legislation
allowing marriage commissioners to refuse to perform same-sex marriages for
religious reasons. The government has referred two versions of new
legislation containing a religious exemption to the Saskatchewan Court of
Appeal to rule on their constitutionality.

Monolithic Sodomy Retracts NYU Welcome Due to Unforgivable Decency, Morality

Monolithic Sodomy scored another victory recently when it drove off an Asian scholar of civil rights and constitutionalism who had been invited to lecture at New York University. Anybody who believes that Big Sodomy is committed to tolerance and academic freedom has to account for incidents like this one, in which homosexuals and their allies in academia chased a meek foreign law professor out of the marketplace of ideas, for comments she offered while she was a member of her country's parliament.

Singapore Legal Scholar Cancels NYU Visit, Driven Off by Homosexuals & Their Allies

A Singaporean law professor has pulled out of a teaching stint at New York University after her traditional views triggered a backlash on campus.

Richard Revesz, dean of New York University's law school, says Thio Li-ann informed him she will not be teaching during the fall semester because of "controversy surrounding her views regarding homosexuality and gay rights.

"She explained that she was disappointed by what she called the 'atmosphere of hostility' by some members of our community towards her views and by the low enrollments in her classes," he said in a press release Friday.

Thio - a former member of Parliament and a current professor at the National University of Singapore, which has an exchange program with NYU - could not immediately be reached for comment.

The 41-year-old was due to teach courses on human rights law and constitutionalism in Asia at NYU during the fall semester starting in September. Singapore's Straits Times said NYU students were outraged after learning that Thio had said in a parliamentary debate in 2007 that repealing a colonial-era law making sex between men a criminal offense "would subvert social morality, the common good and undermine our liberties." More than 800 members of the NYU community signed a petition against Thio after gay activists circulated copies of her speech, it said.

Revesz said he was not aware of the speech when NYU made the offer to Thio, and both courses have now been cancelled as a result of her pullout.

In Singapore, sex between men is still a criminal offense punishable by up to two years in prison, although it is rarely enforced.

British municipal council fires employee for saying "God Bless" to homeless woman

A municipal council in the formerly free United Kingdom has fired an employee with 18 years' service for saying "God bless you" to a homeless woman with an incurable medical condition. This is the reality of Secular Humanist political correctness - it is not about tolerance or diversity. It is totalitarian in its ambitions, insensitive to suffering and utterly intolerant.

Wandsworth Council has sacked London Homelessness Prevention Officer after previously threatening "say 'God Bless' and we'll sack you"

A Homelessness Prevention officer with Wandsworth Council has been dismissed from work for encouraging a homeless woman with an incurable medical condition to look to God for help, after doctors told her they'd given up hope. Even the woman had said that she did not want him to lose his job.

Duke Amachree, aged 53 who has worked for the local authority for almost 18 years was suspended for discussing his faith with a client, and was told in an investigatory interview later that he should not raise the issue of religion at work. Not only was Amachree told it was inappropriate to 'ever talk about God', he was also told that he may not even say 'God bless'. Amachree, a member of the UK World Evangelism Church in London, was summoned to an interview as a result of a complaint made against him by a member of the public.

Michael Phillips, a solicitor working with the Christian Legal Centre, which was consulted by the worker, said: "Amachree met a client who was due to be moved out of her home because her landlord wished to sell the property. Doctors had told the client that she had an incurable illness and, as such, could only work part time. In general conversation, Amachree asked the lady why she believed her condition was incurable, and in encouragement, commented that sometimes doctors do not have all the answers. So concerned was he that the lady was in despair and without hope, he suggested she might try putting her trust in God. The lady, however, explained that she had tried religion and because she did not have any faith she was satisfied with what the doctors had told her and was able to move on. She smiled, thanked Amachree and left."

Two days later Amachree was handed a letter informing him that a service user (the lady) had made serious allegations against him and he was therefore suspended.

Phillips, who was present at the meeting today and on previous occasions, added: "Amachree's employers told him that 'God had to be kept out of the workplace'. He was accused of crossing boundaries. The issue of religion, according to the interviewer, should not be raised in a housing issue. I, on behalf of Mr. Amachree, queried this statement by asking if 'God bless' would be an appropriate comment. He was told that it would not be appropriate and that any complaint would again lead to an investigation. Today they have reached their verdict and carried out their threat of dismissing him. This is a clear manifestation of secular intolerance."

Amachree will take his employers to an Employment Tribunal. His claim is that their decision effectively 'privatises' Christian faith and is against his human rights. His case comes after a number of public sector workers have seen their employers forcing secularist views on them . The Christian Legal Centre, and its legal team has supported Caroline Petrie, the nurse who was suspended for offering to pray for a patient, a Christian magistrate forced to resign over his reluctance to place children into the care of homosexual couples; a Police Officer sacked for using the internal email system to respond to blatant pro-gay advertising in his force, and a myriad of cases where Christian foster parents have been refused the opportunity to care for children on the grounds of their faith and practice. CLC has instructed leading Human Rights barrister, Paul Diamond, to take up the case.

Andrea Minichiello Williams, director of the CLC said: "We are supporting Mr. Amachree in this case because it is absurd and unjust to think that any public body could be in a position to enforce a policy which means that you can't even say 'God Bless' . This would effectively mean that faith would become entirely privatised. A Christian cannot leave faith out of any aspect of his or her life including work ."

Obamist IRS Presses Pillow to the Face of Peaceful Pro-life Activism in Iowa

One has to wonder if the Obama IRS clamp-down on peaceful pro-lifers in Iowa is a harbinger of future totalitarianism. According to this slightly edited press release from the Catholic lawyers' Thomas More Society, the new sheriff in town has delivered an ultimatum to the Coalition for Life of Iowa: abandon your protests against Planned Parenthood, or abandon your tax-exempt status.

As a Condition for 501(c)(3) Recognition, IRS Demanded Assurance that the "Coalition for Life of Iowa" Not Picket or Protest Planned Parenthood Locations

The Thomas More Society has demanded that the IRS withdraw its opposition to the 501(c)(3) status of the Coalition for Life of Iowa.

After inquiring about the "educational" nature of the Coalition for Life of Iowa's activities, the Internal Revenue Service stated that it would not grant tax exemption unless the Coalition agreed to limit its "picketing" and "protesting" of Planned Parenthood. Compliance with this request would result in a restriction of the speech of the Coalition for Life, as well as a breach its First Amendment rights.

While other similar pro-life non-profits have had little trouble attaining tax-exempt status from the IRS in the past, this unwarranted ultimatum reveals what may be a new government prejudice against pro-life organizations and the Pro-Life movement. Such demands should never arise in the IRS's decision-making process to grant tax-exempt status for any applicant non-profit organization.

Read more on the IRS ultimatum on the TMS website at http://www.thomasmoresociety.org.

Authoritarian Sodomy Silences Decent British Schoolteachers

Authoritarian Sodomy suffered a partial reversal in the formerly free United Kingdom recently when North London schoolteacher Kwabena Peat was restored to his teaching position after gay allies suspended him for expressing his Christian views outside the classroom. The Christian Legal Centre represented Peat, and issued the release below.

Although the seasoned 54-year-old educator will return to his classroom in the Fall, the homosexuals and their collaborators nevertheless have succeeded in silencing him in the future, prohibiting any open discussion of the moral dimensions of sodomy or of the coercive sodomite regime that has descended on the United Kingdom, via the school order's gag order against Peat.

If U.S. Christians have wearied of the culture wars, if they're counseled to just go along with U.S. sodomites on gay marriage and hate crimes legislation, they should at least surrender without deluding themselves that the totalitarians will then leave them in peace. Kwabena Peat has seen the future, and he is now prohibited by the most depraved elements of his country, in the birthplace of the Magna Carta, from telling you about it.

Christian Teacher facing sack for expressing Christian beliefs on homosexual practice to Colleagues is re-instated after threat of Legal Action

Kwabena Peat's Story : A senior London teacher, suspended and threatened with the sack for expressing his Christian beliefs at work will be back at work next term.

Kwabena Peat, 54, was suspended after he complained that a staff training day was used to promote homosexual rights, and to marginalise and label those who disagreed with homosexual practice. His case follows a number of others which have left Christians feeling sidelined in the workplace.


Mr Peat, who is head of year at a North London secondary school, walked out of the compulsory training session along with several other colleagues. The session included a presentation by Sue Sanders, a co-founder of the Schools Out organisation which promotes a radical homosexual agenda in schools, in which she questioned whether heterosexuality was “natural”.

Mr Peat states there was no opportunity for those with a different point of view to respond. He wrote to three staff who organised the event and complained about the “aggressive” presentation of homosexual rights. His letter also referred to his Christian beliefs about the practice of homosexuality – that sex should be between a man and woman within marriage.


The recipients of the letter said they felt “harassed and intimidated” by it. Following an investigation, Mr Peat was suspended.


The committed Christian said he fully expected the training session to provide information to help teachers handle homophobic bullying, but the guest speaker had gone much further. He said: “She started promoting homosexual lifestyles and suggesting those who had objections should sort out their prejudices. She asked us ‘What makes you all think that to be heterosexual is natural?’ It was at that point I walked out.”


Mr Peat, supported by the Christian Legal Centre challenged the school’s employment procedures and informed the school that claiming the letter ‘harassed’ staff was ludicrous as the teachers to whom he complained about the event were all senior to him. He also told them he believed the charge ‘gross misconduct’ was disproportionate to any alleged ‘offence’ that they claimed to have taken place. The CLC instructed leading human rights barrister Paul Diamond to advise the teacher and as a result, Mr Peat told the school he was prepared to take them through Industrial Tribunal, and if necessary, to seek a Judicial Review of the Human Rights of Christian Teachers via the High Court if necessary.


The school’s appeal panel, meeting last Friday, week agreed the charge of ‘gross misconduct’ to be disproportionate, and Mr Peat will return to work when the new term commences in September.


Andrea Minichiello Williams, barrister and director of the Christian Legal Centre said: “Although we consider this a great victory for common sense, the School is still seeking to control Mr Peat’s views and behaviour by not allowing him to talk about what has happened, both within the school or via the media, which has been very supportive. Mr Peat was discriminated against for expressing his Christian faith and his invitation to consider Christianity was deemed ‘harassment’. What kind of society are we living in when a legitimate orthodox Christian view as expressed by Mr Peat is construed in this way?


“I am delighted that CLC has secured another success, and that Mr Peat can return to work. It must surely be deemed unacceptable that highly trained teachers should be discriminated against and face dismissal for seeking to protect children. Mr Peat simply expressed a Christian viewpoint and objected to the school undermining parental rights regarding the education of their children on sexual ethics. He should be applauded for challenging the new political orthodoxy in an attempt to protect children rather than face such harsh intimidation”.


Mr Peat is not available for media interviews in order to comply with the school’s request.

Democrats Will Enact Hate Crimes With Minimum of Debate and Transparency

If Democrats were actually proud of their "hate crimes" proposal, they ought to be willing to hold hearings on it, debate and discuss it, and be accountable for their public comments on it. But they're not. According to this LifeSiteNews article, they intend to slip it into the law books by riders (legislative amendment to unrelated legislation, such as a budget measure).

Hate Crimes Bill to be Smuggled through Senate as a Legislative Amendment
By Peter J. Smith, LifeSiteNews.com

WASHINGTON, D.C. (LifeSiteNews.com) – The US Senate intends to smuggle controversial hate crimes legislation into federal law by passing it as an amendment to another major piece of legislation instead of a stand-alone piece of legislation, according to remarks by a representative of a major homosexualist organization.

"We understand that Senate leadership does not believe a hearing or mark up on the bill is necessary and plans to bring it directly to the floor as an amendment to another moving vehicle," said Trevor Thomas, a spokesman for the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), in a statement provided to the Washington Blade, a homosexual news journal.

Although the US House of Representatives had passed H.R. 1913, the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, as a stand-alone bill by a 249-175 margin in April, the Senate leadership had until lately been debating how to pass its version S. 909 - either as a stand-alone piece legislation which could attract opposition and a possible filibuster, or as an amendment.

Thomas told the Blade that the Senate had opted for the latter as “the most efficient way” to guarantee the measure arrived as quickly as possible at President Barack Obama’s desk for signature.

Opponents of the hate crimes legislation have charged that the bill violates the due process and equal protection clauses of the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution by making an individual’s thought regarding certain groups as much a factor as the nature of his act in prosecuting a crime.

Family Research Council president Tony Perkins has pointed out that, “What converts the acts targeted by this bill into a federal offense are the thoughts or opinions of the perpetrator alone.”

H.R. 1913 added "sexual orientation" and “gender identity” as well as race, religion, class, gender, and disability to categories that are protected as "hate crimes.” Under this legislation, crimes against individuals who belong to the protected classes receive stiffer penalties than crimes against other groups not mentioned by the bill, a fact that critics charge makes “second class citizens” out of those not covered by the law.

The bill has also been labeled the "pedophile protection act," in large part due to the refusal of House members to approve an amendment specifying that the bill would not penalize the free speech of those objecting to pedophilia.

The term “sexual orientation” is not defined in the bill, an oversight that some legislators charge could lead to a too broad interpretation – since the term is used by psychologists to encompass a variety of sexual deviancies (including pedophilia), and not just homosexuality.

The HRC told the Blade that they are pushing to have the legislation approved before the end of the August session. It stated that senators in favor of the “hate crimes” bill are looking for “any and all options” as vehicles for the passage of the amendment.

See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:

Focus on the Family's Dobson on Hate Crimes Bill: "Utter Evil" Coming out of Congress http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/may/09052002.html

Free Speech Concerns Ignored as "Hate Crimes" Bill Passes Fed. Judiciary Committee http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09042407.html

Obama Urges House of Representatives to Pass Sexual Orientation "Hate Crimes" Bill http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09042911.html

Fed. Judiciary Committee to Examine Homosexualist "Hate Crimes" Bill Monday
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09041714.html

Pro-Family Group Urges Congress to Oppose Federal "Hate Crimes" Bill Set for Committee Hearing Tomorrow http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09042114.html